USA > Pennsylvania > Lawrence County > Biographical sketches of leading citizens of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania > Part 39
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Robert E. Cage was born in Crawford Coun- ty, near Little Cooley, Dec. 31, 1849; he was reared in his native county, and attended the dis- trict school when opportunities were offered,
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when he was not laboring on the farm or in the oil region. He then learned the carpenter's trade, and supported himself at that vocation for a number of years, and next became a specula- tor in tools of various kinds, after which he kept a hotel. In May, 1881, he came to Lawrence County, and for two years thereafter was em- ployed as engineer for the Hope Furnace Co. In 1883, he took up his residence in New Cas- tle, and worked as engineer for the railroad com- pany, the glass works and others for a period of three years, and then bought a confectionery store and conducted it with profit two years and a half. Then he was interested in the livery business for the space of a year, and then after working a few months at his trade of a carpen- ter, in 1893, he went into the coal business, and has since taken to contracting and to supplying stone flagging, sewer pipe, hearths, and chim -. ney tops, making a specialty of the two last items.
Mr. Cage was married, Feb. 25, 1878, at Edin- burg, Pa., to Hattie B. Van Horne, daughter of William and Mary A. (Moorehead) Van Horne, and six children have cemented this union: Myrtle Maude; Charles Milford; George Aud- ley; Grace Emmett, deceased; Robert Henry; and Nahoma Marie. Mrs. Cage is a member of the Baptist Church, and a zealous laborer in re- ligious work. Our subject is a Republican in his politics, and has served the city one year as street commissioner. He is a member of West- ern Star Lodge, Knights of Pythias, No. 160, also of the Protected Home Circle, New Castle Lodge, No. 5. He has been a member in years past of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, and also of the A. O. U. W.
JOHN PARKER, a gentleman in the prime of life and an enterprising citizen of Wayne township, actively engaged in doing custom and repair work in carriage ironing and in carrying on light farming, raising of small fruits, etc., on his farm near Hazel Dell, is of sturdy Irish paren- tage, springing from that race that has contrib- uted so much to the prosperity and growth of Western Pennsylvania. His existence began in County Down, Ireland, on Aug. 25, 1845, as a son of John and Agnes (Jackson) Parker. The father was Scotch by birth, and in 1859 emi- grated to America with his family, his wife's fam- ily having previously come to Allegheny Coun- ty, where the Parkers stopped two years. In 1861, our subject's father brought the family to Wayne township, where he bought sixty acres of the old Matheny farm from Mr. Fombelle. The property was partially cleared and had a log-house on it, which he made the family home until his circumstances allowed him in 1877 to build a new home, the farm having been cleared and made productive of a comfortable revenue. When he decided to give up active labor, he re- tired to Wampum, where he resided up to the time of his death, which occurred in May, 1897. She was taken from him several years since. John Parker, Sr., was in many essential respects a self-made man; he arrived in this country after a journey of three weeks and two days on the sailing-vessel Constitution practically without means. He made a home for his family of six children, who lived to reflect much honor on their name, the sons inheriting to a large degree the energy, enterprise and perseverance of their father; one of the sons served in the late war as a wearer of the loyal blue, and another is a
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, LAWRENCE COUNTY.
United Presbyterian minister. He was respected and esteemed by his neighbors and the commu- nity at large, and possessed all those qualities which entitled him to be classed as an honest man and a good citizen. The children born to him were: John; William; Sarah; Samuel; Ag- nes; and James. The Parkers are adherents of the United Presbyterian Church, and the father was a loyal Republican.
After obtaining a rudimentary education, John Parker, Jr., served an apprenticeship at carriage ironing in Noblestown, Pa., and worked as a journeyman at his trade for fifteen years, much of the time serving as foreman in carriage manu- factories in Allegheny, Mckeesport, and Steu- benville. In 1880 he invested his savings in his father's farm, when that gentleman retired from active work, and erected a carriage repair shop with the intention of doing custom work, and he has had plenty to do. In 1885, he built a new house, and five years later still further im- proved his property and increased the conven- iences by erecting a spacious barn. As he de- votes time and land to the culture of small fruits, he has found a dairy profitable, also.
Mrs. Parker was formerly Sarah Roberman, whose father was Henry Roberman of Morgan Co., Ohio. To our subject and wife ten children have been given, of whom only John, the eldest, is deceased. Carrie married John Hassler, a telegraph operator of Ellwood City, and has two children, John and Sarah; Howard assists in the work about the home; Estella wedded F. E. Cole, and bore a son, Andrew J .; Harry is at- tending the State Normal School and preparing himself for the profession of a teacher; Blanche is also attending the Ellwood High School;
while the younger children, Grace, Ralph B., Etha M. and Nellie R., remain at home and at- tend the common schools of the neighborhood. Mr. Parker's farm has such an advantageous lo- cation in respect to Hazel Dell, for he has found a profitable sale for a part of his farm in build- ing lots. He is a faithful Republican, and has served two terms as school director, and two terms as township auditor. The doctrines of the Presbyterian Church they accept as the grounds of their religious belief.
JOHN BLEVINS, city treasurer of New Castle, is a native of Ireland, that oppressed de- pendency of the English Crown, which has fur- nished so many sturdy, industrious citizens to our country, whose presence has been especially felt in the growth and development of this sec- tion of the State. He is a son of John and Eliza- zeth (Anderson) Blevins; the mother passed away in 1870, aged seventy-six years, and the father followed six years later at the same age. John Blevins, Sr., emigrated to America in 1831, and after the first two months spent in Canada came to this State to that part of Mercer County which was set off to make Lawrence County; in what is now Washington township, he found a cousin of his wife's named Anderson, and there he bought a farm, and set out to acquire a com- fortable competence and rear his children de- cently.
Till the age of seventeen years, our subject attended the country schools, where the whole year's instruction never exceeded a three months'
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, LAWRENCE COUNTY. .
term in the winter. When seventeen years old, he came to New Castle, and learned the tailor's trade with T. D. Morgan, then in 1846 he went to Mercer, and worked at his trade, and in the spring of 1847 he came to New Castle again, and this city has since been his home. The first ten years were spent at his trade, and then he em- barked into the grocery business, in which he continued until 1875, in which year he was elect- ed county treasurer on the Republican ticket, and served a full term of three years; he then be- came a clerk in a grocery store and was so occu- pied until 1884, when he was elected city treas- urer, which office he has held continuously ever since. Mr. Blevins has been an active supporter of the Republican party ever since its birth and inception in 1856.
Mr. Blevins was joined in the marriage bond with Ruth J. Thorne on Jan. 3, in Washington; the bride was a daughter of Smith and Mary (Stewart) Thorne, and a granddaughter of James and Ruth (McLean) Thorne. James Thorne was a soldier on the side of the Union in the War of 1812. Our subject is one of three children, James, a resident of Washington township, and Elizabeth, wife of R. C. Rice, being the others; four children born to his parents are deceased. To our subject and his much-esteemed wife have been given six children, the three of whom that now live are: Mary Elizabeth; John Smith, who married Mary Gantz, a daughter of the well- known Prof. Gantz; and William James. Mr. and Mrs. Blevins are devout members of the United Presbyterian Church. Mr. Blevins has with credit established and sustained a splendid record through many years of public service as 'an honest and capable servant of the people.
WALTER S. CRAWFORD, a retired loco- motive engineer, living at No. 105 Court Street, New Castle, also interested in a stone quarry and in operating a farm, was born in the above city Feb. 27, 1835. He is a representative of one of the oldest families of New Castle, and is a descendant of one of the early settlers of James- town, Va., in the seventeenth cenutry. Our subject's father, David Crawford, was a son of David Crawford, Sr., who was descended from one of five brothers, who came to Jamestown, Va., in 1672. David Crawford, our subject's father, was born in the year 1798 in Westmore- land County, when it was still a part of Virginia, and when he was two years old was brought by his father with the rest of the family to Mercer County, where he lived until he became of age. His father took up a farm of 1,600 acres at Wheatland on a soldier's land warrant, he having served in the Revolutionary War; later in life he moved to Newark, Ohio, where he died of par- alysis at the advanced age of ninety-two years. He was a relative of the famous Col. William Crawford, who was killed by the Indians. Our subject's father learned the printer's trade, and published the Western Press of Mercer County for many years. In 1827, he came to New Cas- tle, and established the Register, which was for many years the leading paper of the city, and identified with all the business and financial in- terests. Our subject still has in his possession, as articles of some little interest to him at least, the press, which is of the old Franklin type, the composing stone, and screw. These articles were all of the most primitive kind. He pur- chased forty acres in the city on the east side of the Neshannock Creek, and continued farming
E
ALEXANDER THOMSON.
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, LAWRENCE COUNTY.
on this tract until his death, Aug. 31, 1874. The lowed railroading as engineer on the line road land on which the Lawrence County Court for a number of years, but is now retired from active work in that vocation, and operates a farm and stone quarry. House was built was donated by him. When he first came to New Castle, and decided upon lo- cating there, only about a dozen houses were Mr. Crawford was married in Burlington, Ia., to Mary E. Hill, a native of Chilicothe, Ohio, and a daughter of Francis and Nancy (Hukill) Hill, both of Fayette Co., Ohio. One child, Will- iam Francis, was born to our subject, but he is since deceased. Mrs. Crawford was taken to her home on high April 13, 1896. Mr. Crawford is an active member of the M. E. Church, as was also his wife during her life. Mr. Crawford was married again Aug. 17, 1897, to Mrs. Hannah G. Dice. He is a stanch Republican, and a zealous supporter of the party, and has served two years in the common council. where hundreds upon hundreds are now. He was a drummer-boy in the War of 1812. He married Rebbeca Hosack, daughter of Col. Thomas and Mary (Ewing) Hosack, the latter a daughter of Col. Ewing of Hollidaysburg, Pa. Col. Thomas Hosack commanded a regiment at Fort Crawford on Lake Erie in the War of 1812; the regiment returned home in the winter on sleds. To our subject's parents were born the six following children: Matilda, deceased; La- fayette, deceased; Emeline, deceased; Walter S., our subject; Arabella; and Florence.
Until he was fifteen years of age, our subject attended the subscription schools and academy of his native place, and then went West, first visiting Toledo, Ohio, then looking over Chi- cago, Ills., finally locating himself at Burlington, Iowa, where he learned the printer's trade, and worked two years on the force of the Gazette, the Telegraph, and the Hawkeye. He next spent three summers in rafting, and in the winters fol- lowed steamboating on the lower river. He learned how to run an engine-in short picked up a little knowledge here and a little there, and after a little practice was skilled engineer, and followed this occupation on the packets until the spring of 1862. In that year he crossed the con- tinent, and followed agricultural pursuits in Ore- gon for six years. On Sept. 16, 1868, he re-en- tered New Castle after an absence of about eighteen years, and for the two years following his return was a grocery clerk. He then fol-
MRS. JANE DORAN. Numbered among the oldest residents of the county, and as an honored resident of New Bedford, Pulaski township, the esteemed lady, whose name heads this sketch, is widely known in a wide circle of acquaintances as the widow of the late Jeremiah Doran. Mrs. Doran was born March 10, 1816, and was a daughter of Capt. Alex. and Rebecca (Smith) Thomson. Robert Thomson, the grandfather of our subject, was a native of Lancaster County, where he followed agricultural pursuits, always earning his subsistence by the cultivation of the soil. He also owned a large estate in Washing- ton Co., Pa. His wife was Sarah Robison, who was also born in Lancaster Co., Pa. They were ever faithful to the precepts of the Presbyterian
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, LAWRENCE COUNTY.
Church, and brought up their children to walk in like paths. Their children were named: El- len (Allison); Polly (McCollister); Sarah (Cloak- ey); Thomas; Alexander, the father of Mrs. Doran; and Robert. Mr. Thomson served in the Revolutionary Army, and acquitted himself very creditably, winning the notice of his superiors for his meritorious work. In his politics, he was a stalwart of the old Jeffersonian school.
Capt. Alexander Thomson received the rudi- ments of an education in the common schools of his native place, and following in the footsteps of his father was a farmer all his days. He was a captain in the War of 1812. In Pulaski town- ship, where he early took up his residence and identified himself with the best interests of the town, he rose to be one of the foremost men and was considered very well-to-do. His business instincts were well-developed, his judgment was at all times unerring and sure, thus admirably qualifying him for a successful career. His com- panion in connubial felicity was Rebecca Smith, whose father, John Smith, lived in Washington Co., Pa. Eleven children found places under the parental roof. Robert, the first-born, married Betsey McClain, and reared a family of seven: Albert A., John S., Sarah, William N., Rebecca J., Joseph, and Ira. Robert contracted a second marriage with Mary Carnahan, and their chil- dren were: Lizzie, deceased, Thomas M., Achsah, and David. The second child was Kath- erine, who married David McConahy of Mt. Jackson, and became the mother of Emily, Re- becca, Alexander, David, John, William N., Isa- bella, Samuel, and Lizzie. The third child, John, espoused Eliza Young, and was blessed with these children: Almon, Robert M., Thomas,
Mary A., and Jeremiah D. Sarah, the fourth child, is demised. Mary married John Shehy of Ohio, formerly of Pulaski township, who is now deceased. His widow makes her home with her sister, the subject of this personal history. The sixth child, Rebecca, became the life-companion of William Sowash of Mercer Co., Pa., and has a family of four, James A., William N., Alva, and Jennie. The seventh child of Alexander Thomson was Jane (Mrs. Doran), whose name heads this article; she espoused Jeremiah Doran, who was a soldier of the War of 1812, being sta- tioned at Erie, Pa. After his honorable dismis- sal from the service, he engaged in agricultural pursuits in Pulaski township, and became one of the solid men of that section. Mrs. Doran is now the worthy recipient of a pension, that the United States Gevernment grants her because of her husband's services. The eighth child of Capt. Alexander Thomson was also named Alex- ander; he won for his helpmeet Margaret Carna- han of Pulaski township, and they had a family of five: David M., Artibella, Robert W., Joseph- ine R., and Katie, demised. The ninth child was Thomas R., who wedded Rebecca Smith of Smith's Ferry, in Beaver Co., Pa., and they had one daughter and one son, Maggie B. and Clau- dius K. The tenth and eleventh children were Milton and Andrew, both of whom are now de- ceased. Religiously, the Thomson family have remained true to the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Thomson, the father of Mrs. Doran, helped to build the first Presbyterian Church in New Bed- ford, this county.
Mrs. Doran and her sister, Mrs. Shehy, have . never deviated from their expressed allegiance to the Presbyterian Church, and they hold mem-
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, LAWRENCE COUNTY.
berships in the New Bedford Church. These ladies are worthy in every respect of the esteem in which they are held, which is called forth by their admirable lives. There are many friends, who hope that only kindness and peace may at- tend the ladies all their days. A portrait of Mrs. Doran's brother, Alexander Thomson, accom- panies the foregoing sketch and may be found in proximity.
JOHN MARSHALL, one of the foremost men and progressive farmers of Wayne town- ship, Lawrence County, who is engaged very ex- tensively in the raising of all kinds of fruit that grow in this clime, and in market-gardening, was born Aug. 15, 1840, on the farm where he now makes his home and carries on his work. Our subject is a son of David C. and Margaret (Davidson) Marshall, grandson of John and Elizabeth Marshall, and great-grandson of Hugh and Hannah Marshall.
Hugh Marshall, who was a native of northern Ireland, emigrated from his native heath with his wife and children, and made their -first stop- ping-place in Pittsburg, whence Hugh Marshall in company with a Mr. Crawford set out for what is now Big Beaver township. They made a small clearing, but were hindered by the Indi- ans to a great extent, and made little progress until William Penn made his memorable treaty with the Indians, and bought the territory from them, thus establishing peace between the un- tutored savage and the advance guards of civili- zation. There were four sons in this pioneer family, John, Robert, Hugh, and William; and
at the death of the father, the task of carrying on his work fell to the oldest 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 stirring, hard working pioneer, and brought about all the increase in his wordly possessions by his own efforts. He lived to the age of sev- enty-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; Margaret; and Hugh James. Mr. Marshall during the War of 1812 was a pri- vate, stationed at Fort Erie.
David C. Marshall spent his boyhood and youth at home in Beaver County, and on attain- ing his majority bought the Roberson farm of 104 acres in Wayne township, Lawrence Co., Pa., a great portion of which he cleared in the subsequent years of his occupancy. In 1857 he built a home on it, and gradually instilled a spir- it of thrift and prosperity into the whole place, adding extensive barns in 1873. Mr. Marshall has had large interests in sheep-raising, but of late years has paid more attention to dairying and to grain production. At the present time, because of the weight of his years, being in his eighty-second year, he rents the farm, and is leading a life that is practically retired.
Our subject's mother, Mrs. Margaret (David- son) Marshall, whose father was a native of Ire- land, was born in Beaver Co., Pa., July 1, 1816, and passed away July 5, 1895. The children in the parental family are as follows: Elizabeth Jane, who has devoted herself to the care of her parents in their last years, and who is now house- keeper for her father; John, the subject of this
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, LAWRENCE COUNTY.
narrative; Sarah Margaret, who married I. T. Spangler, and is now demised; Andrew, who died at the age of six; William Hillis, an account of whose life may be found on another page: Mary M .; and Nancy Rachel, deceased. Orig- inally, our subject's father was a Whig, but since the war he has been faithful to the tenets and principles of the Republican party. He has held various offices of trust in the township, and is a strong, virile character. It is scarcely neces- sary to say that this upright man and good citi- zen is receiving his just reward in the apprecia- tion of his many friends and neighbors.
John Marshall's boyhood was passed on the paternal estate, much as country boys usually pass those days, and he helped his father on the paternal estate until his marriage to Jane Cole, a daughter of Abraham Cole, a leading resident of Ellwood City, Wayne township, whose per- sonal history is recounted on another page in this volume. Mr. Marshall invested in the Orin Newton farm of seventy-five acres, and soon after the wedding-day of Sept. 16, 1862, the young people set about making a home. That continued to be their residence until 1869, when he bought the D. and C. Robison property of thirty acres adjoining his father's property. Mr. Marshall possessed the spirit of the age in regard to making improvements, and was very particu- lar in that respect. He built two new houses and barns, complete in all the modern appoint- ments, set out 100 fine apple trees, grafted fruit, and to-day they are yielding a bountiful harvest in return. He has fifty peach trees, besides pears, plums, prunes, and various kinds of berries and small fruits in abundance; the most of his time and land are thus devoted to his market-garden-
ing. Mr. Marshall has a choice dairy that in- cludes Holstein and Jersey cows, the milk pro- duct being shipped to Allegheny City, Pa. Mr. Marshall used to raise sheep quite extensively. He is a man of means, active, progressive and very popular among all classes. A Republican in, politics, Mr. Marshall has acted as school di- rector for twelve years, and also as overseer of the poor. The Marshalls have been Presbyter- ians for years. Our subject's children are: Margaret E .; David M .; and Alice and Willie who were taken from their home by the hand of death. Margaret E. Marshall was joined in mar- riage, Oct. 5, 1887, to A. P. Hazen, a farmer of Beaver County; their household has been bright- ened by the birth of a daughter, Mary J. David M., who is a hardware dealer at Wampum, this county, married, May 22, 1889, Genevieve Cun- ningham; four children are the fruit of this union: Lulu E .; J. N. Harold; Emma R .; and Charles V.
CAPT. ABRAHAM C. GROVE. Conspicu- ous among the leading business men of Ellwood City, who have done much toward its develop- ment, and who are closely identified with all of the leading interests, is the subject of this biog- raphy, who is the senior member of the firm of A. C. Grove & Co., dealers in hardware, agricul- tural implements, paints, oils, etc. He began his life in New Lebanon, Mercer Co., and is a scion of a family, the members of which for three gen- erations back are Pennsylvanians.
Jacob Grove, our subject's great-grandfather, came from a place near Philadelphia, and set-
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, LAWRENCE COUNTY.
tled in Montgomery County, where his son Abraham was born. Abraham moved to Center County, where he farmed several years, and then removed to Mercer County, where he became the owner of 100 acres of land that was entirely in its natural state, unspoiled by the hand of man. The spot he cleared is now a part of New Lebanon borough. He passed his life in agricul- tural pursuits, and also served in the War of 1812 at Fort Erie, receiving an honorable dis- charge at the end of the struggle. He married a Miss Mook, and they became the parents of these children: Elizabeth, Barbara, Jacob, Catherine, Mary, David, Hannah, and Rachel.
Jacob Grove, the father of the Captain, was a strong youth of eighteen years when the family settled in Mercer County, and so he aided his father in clearing the land, and putting it under the plow. He bought an adjacent tract of 100 acres, and spent his life in its culture. His wife was Catherine Van Voorhees, daughter of Ryneer Van Voorhees, and of the nine children she bore him seven are living: Jay C., Mary E., Capt. Abraham C., Elizabeth, Sarah J., Jacob T., Jonas B., Jeremiah M., and Zilphia C. Mrs. Grove met her death in a distressing railroad accident at Polk, Venango Co., Pa., when in her sixty-second year.
Captain Grove had the usual educational ad- vantages, and after a course in New Lebanon Academy entered into mercantile life in 1867, by purchasing the store of McHenry & Son. He was successful in this venture, and kept that store until 1891, when he sold it to M. E. Dean, and came to Ellwood City. In company with H. S. Blatt, who has been referred to in another sketch as a hardware dealer of Ellwood City,
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