USA > Pennsylvania > Lawrence County > Biographical sketches of leading citizens of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania > Part 41
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Robert Gageby was born in Westmoreland County, where his early years were spent on the farm, going to school when he could at the neighboring district school. He learned the trade of a blacksmith, and went to Kentucky, where he worked for a few years in an axe fac- tory. When the canal and railroad were being built from Philadelphia to Pittsburg, he returned
to the Keystone State, and found profitable em- ployment in the work attendant upon the carry- ing out of those projects; he finally settled in Johnstown, where he labored at his forge until the year 1870, when his death took place when he was aged seventy-three years. He married Rebecca S. Douglass, cousin of the late Thomas Scott, ex-president of the Pennsylvania railroad; she was drowned in the Johnstown flood at the age of seventy-four years. There were born to our subject's parents the following children: James H .; George W., our subject; Ellen M .; deceased; Mary E .; Jemima, D. (White), de- ceased; Arabella (McClure); Sarah J., deceased; Joseph S .; and John S. Of the above, Jemima D. (White), and Sarah J. lost their lives in the great Johnstown flood, which awful disaster cast a black shadow for many years over the beauti- ful valley. The family favored the Presbyterian Church. Our subject's father was a Whig and later a Republican.
George W. Gageby began to care for himself at the age of fourteen, commencing to work at that age in the Cambria Iron Works, serving his apprenticeship as a machinist. He remained with that company seven years, and then on the breaking out of the civil war enlisted in Co. G, 3rd Pa. Vol. Inf., and after serving his original term of enlistment of three months, he re-enlist- ed in Co. D, 54th Pa. Vol. Inf .; he was with Sheridan in the valley, and was located in West Virginia the greater part of the time; he was . mustered out of the service and received an hon- orable discharge Dec. 29, 1864. His war days over he returned to Johnstown, and again en- tered the employ of the Cambria Iron Co., but after six months with them he went to West Vir-
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ginia for a short stay, and then to Philadelphia, where he worked at his trade for the Pennsyl- vania railroad for one year, after which he again returned to Johnstown to work for the Cambria Iron Co. In 1873, he was promoted to the as- sistant foremanship of the shops, and in the same year was made general foreman, and remained with the company in that connection until 1883. In that year he went to Chattanooga, Tenn., where he became master-mechanic of the South Tredegar Iron Co.'s shops; after being with them but eight months, he was taken sick, and was compelled by that circumstance to return to his native town and seek a restoration of his health. In three months he had recuperated sufficiently to accept a position with the Niles Tool Works at the branch office at Chicago, Ills. During the time he was with them, he erected and started in successful operation the rolling- mill at Pullman, Ills. He then returned to his native State again, and became foreman of the machine shops of the J. P. Witherow Iron Co. of New Castle, remaining with them in that ca- pacity for three years. He then accepted a posi- tion as foreman of the Horton, McKnight shops in Pittsburg Pa., and for eight months fulfilled the duties of that position. Later on he returned to New Castle to work in the shops of the Wire Nail Co., and when the rod mill was built, he set up and ran the engines for that branch of the concern for six months. He was then made night foreman of the mill, a position he held until 1893, in which year he set up all the ma- chinery in the tin mill and started the same in operation. After a short rest he became engaged with the Shenango Valley Steel Co. as its master mechanic, a position he still retains. As will be
noted by the foregoing account of Mr. Gageby's labors, he has been engaged in many important and trying positions, and his skill and knowledge of machinery has been thoroughly adequate to the most unforeseen emergency, enabling him to discharge his duties in a manner that has reflect- ed credit on his ability, and that has never given his employers the least cause of complaint.
Mr. Gageby married Rose Pisel, daughter of Benjamin Pisel, and to them have been given the following children: Susan; Leonora; Viola. He is a strong, unyielding Republican, and always active in whatever will materially assist his chosen party. He is a member of the G. A. R. Post, No. 30, and has been through all of the offices; he also belongs to the Union Veteran Legion, and to the Royal Arcanum. As a Mason, he is a member of Cambria Lodge, No. 278, F. & A. M., and Chapter No. 195, R. A. M. It gives us pleasure to call attention to the por- trait of Mr. Gageby that appears on a preceding page, for his worth is apparent to the most dis- interested reader.
FRANK L. KELLY, who until recently was engaged in retailing oil in New Castle, having built up a large business in that city and the sur- rounding country, but who is now interested in the grocery business in company with Perry S. Martin, was born in Mahoning township, Law- rence Co., Pa., April 25, 1866. His parents were Andrew and Rhoda (Robinson) Kelly, the lat- ter a native of Mahoning township, and a daugh- ter of John H. and Catherine (Ward) Robinson. Catherine (Ward) Robinson was a daughter of
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Francis Ward, and was born about 1800, and died in 1845. John H. Robinson was born in Mahoning township, then a part of Mercer County, in 1795, and died in 1873, having throughout his entire life followed the peaceful pursuits of agriculture. Of the eleven children born to him and his wife, eight now survive. John H. Robinson was a son of Henry and Mary (Kelly) Robinson, the father a native of old Ireland.
Andrew Kelly, our subject's father, was born in Mercer County in that part of it which is in- cluded in Mahoning township, Lawrence Coun- ty, and followed farming in his native town all his life. His father, Andrew Kelly, Sr., was also a respected agriculturist, having come to Mer- cer County at an early day. To Andrew Kelly, Jr., were born seven children: John A., de- ceased; Newell, who died in a military hospital at Nashville, Tenn., while in the service of his country during the late rebellion; an infant daughter, deceased; Melissa, deceased; Elmer, who is conducting the old home farm in Mahon- ing township; Frank L., our subject; and Cary L., the youngest son, who is attending school in Granville, Ohio.
Frank L. Kelly obtained his education in the district schools of his native township, and the high school of Hillsville, Pa., until he had reached the age of eighteen years. During the following seven years, he worked on the home farm, giving his time to his parents. He mar- ried at the age of twenty-five, and for the next two years took entire charge of the homestead. Then seeing an opening in New Castle for a man of energy and indomitable will, he came to the city in 1893, and purchased an oil business which
he extended in every direction to the city limits, and to outside points within a radius of eight or ten miles, delivering a superior quality of oils to his patrons throughout his district. July 22, 1897, he sold his oil business to Guy Zimmer- man, and purchased, in company with Perry S. Martin, the store and grocery stock of John A. Miller & Son, of No. 388 West Washington Street, and they are now meeting with the most flattering success.
Mr. Kelly was married in Hillsville to Miss Nora M. Martin, a native of that borough, and a daughter of John S. and Rebecca (Fox) Mar- tin. One bright child has come to gladden the home of Mr. and Mrs. Kelly, to whom has been given the name of Gladys. Our subject and wife are both members of the First Baptist Church of New Castle. Mr. Kelly is a Republi- can partisan, and a hard worker for his friends.
R. E. W. ZIEGLER, superintendent of the Prudential insurance Company at New Castle, Lawrence County, is a gentleman whose business career has been a steady progress, and whose present position has been the result of many years of faith- ful service to the great Prudential Insur- ance Company of Newark, N. J. He was born in Heidelberg township, Lehigh Co., Pa., Dec. 17, 1865, and is a son of Charles F. and Eva A. (Riedy) Ziegler. Our subject's mother was a native of Heidelberg township, and a daughter of Elias and Maria (Mantz) Riedy, the latter a daughter of David Mantz. Elias Riedy, who was a native of the Keystone State, was a far-
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mer by occupation, and in early life was interest- ed in milling; he lived to be upwards of seventy years of age. Our subject's father was a son of Charles and Hannah (Newhard) Ziegler, both natives of Eastern Pennsylvania. Charles was the son of one of three brothers who came to America in the last century; he was a farmer throughout his life, and owned one of the finest farms in Lowhill township, on which he lived until his death in February, 1896, at the age of seventy-five years. His son, Charles F., was born in Claussville, in Lehigh Co., Pa., in 1842; he was a man of good education, and taught school twenty-four years. Later he embarked in mercantile pursuits, keeping a general store at Allentown, until he became interested in the insurance business, to which he has since given his entire attention. He has been exclusively in the employ of the Prudential Insurance Com- pany since 1893. He is a member of the Evan- gelical Church.
Richard E. W. Ziegler lived in Heidelberg . township until ten years of age, when the family moved to Claussville, where they remained three years before taking up their residence in Allen- town, where our subject spent the remaining years of his youth, and completed his education, having passed through the high school at Claussville. After living in Allentown four years, during which period he was engaged in teaching music, an art he was very proficient in, he became in his eighteenth year a solicitor for the Prudential Insurance Company in Allen- town. From that place he went to Shenandoah, and represented the company in the same ca- pacity, remaining there from 1886 to the spring of 1887, when he was transferred to Shamokin,
and continued there until July, 1887, when he became assistant in the detached office at Lan- caster, Pa., where he was employed eighteen months. He next went to Reading, where he stayed until the fall of 1890, and from there to South Bethlehem, where he was until January, 1892, at which time he took full charge of the office at Catasauqua, where he remained until his appointment, Jan. 23, 1893, superintendent of the New Castle district, comprising eight counties in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Under Mr. Ziegler's management, the business increased so rapidly, that it was soon too large for one dis- trict, and the four Ohio districts were set off into a separate field of their own, and the four Penn- sylvania counties were continued under Mr. Zie- gler's management. These have been thorough- ly organized with twenty-nine agents to look after the details of the field work, with seven clerks at the district office in the Pearson Block, New Castle. Our subject's particular talents lie in organizing, and in this phase of the work has he proved himself especially valuable to his em- ployers, and has commanded their respect and esteem.
He was joined in the bonds of holy matri- mony, Dec. 19, 1884, at Allentown, Pa., to Emma S. Koch, daughter of Charles D. and Helen (Heil) Koch of Allentown. To our sub- ject and wife three children have been born, as follows: Florence Eva Eleanor; Stanley Frank- lin Le Roy; and Harold Ward Dryden. Mr. and Mrs. Ziegler are included among the most regu- lar and faithful attendants and members of the M. E. Church. In his politics, Mr. Ziegler throws his influence and vote in favor of the Prohibition party.
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WILLIAM W. WADDINGTON, general perintendent of the New Castle Manufacturing foreman of the yards and shops of the W. N. Y. Co. Later he became a moving spirit in the firm & P. R. R. at New Castle, was born in the above of Shaw, Waddington & Co. on South Mercer Street. There the firm established a foundry and machine shop, and our subject's father continued in business until his death, which was caused by contracting a severe cold, from which he never recovered. city, May 29, 1859. He is a son of Wilkes and Kate (Lint) Waddington. Our subject's mother was born in New Castle, and was a daughter of Jacob and Mary (Slogge) Lint; the latter at- tained an age of eighty years; the former, who was born in Lancaster Co., Pa., was a carpenter by trade, and died in New Castle about 1875, being upwards of eighty years of age. Our sub- ject's father was a son of Benjamin and Nancy (Burnley) Waddington, and grandson of Ben- jamin Waddington, Sr., who was a citizen of England, where he lived his whole life, engaged in the woolen mills, and died in 1845. His son, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Eng- land, at Eccles Hill, Yorkshire, in 1794, and de - parted this life at Ft. Wayne, Ind., Feb. 29, 1876; he was interred in the cemetery at East Brook, where he had long been a resident. He was a member of the M. E. Church, and voted the Democratie ticket. His trade was that of a wool spinner, and he followed it many years in the mills at East Brook. His wife was a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Holmes) Burnley, and she had a brother who fought in the battle of Water- loo under Wellington. Joseph Burnley was born in England in 1766, and came to America in 1832; he was a woolen manufacturer, and died about 1851.
Wilkes Waddington was born in England in 1826, and became a resident of America when he was twelve years of age, his parents emigrat- ing hither at that time. When of suitable age for apprenticing him to a trade, he was taught the trade of a machinist, and shortly became su-
William W. Waddington was brought up in New Castle, and attended the public schools un- til thirteen years of age, when he went into his father's shops as a fireman and engineer, and continued in such occupations for two years. He then learned the machinist's trade, and worked at it five years. At the age of twenty- one, he became engineer in New Castle's fire department, and remained there until April, 1882, in which month he was given a position as fireman on the W. N. Y. & P. R. R., and after serving in that capacity fifteen months became an engineer, and held the throttle three years. Following this, he was associated with the James P. Witherow Co. some two years in the machine shops on Jefferson Street. He again accepted a position with the W. N. Y. & P. R. R. as fore- man of the round-house, and held that position until August, 1895, when he became foreman of the shops and yards of that company in New Castle, a position he is creditably filling at the present time. Mr. Waddington is the eldest of four sons, born to his parents, all of whom are expert machinists ; fine mechanical skill seems to run through the entire family in all its branches. The names of the four brothers are: William W., our subject; Ben L., machinist for the New Castle Wire Nail Co .; Frank W., machinist for the New Castle Steel & Tin-Plate Co .; and
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Oliver C., the engineer of the New Castle Trac- man of the quarry by diligent, intelligent ser- tion Co.
The marriage ceremony which united our sub- ject and Georgiana Howard for life was per- formed in New Castle, June 25, 1886; the bride was a daughter of Lewis F. and Martha (Hill- man) Howard. Mrs. Waddington is a member of the Baptist Church. Our subject is a Repub- lican in politics. Socially, he is a member of Fidelis Lodge, No. 460, Knights of Pythias, of which he is past chancellor, and has represented it on two different occasions as a delegate to the Grand Lodge. He is also a member of Mahon- ing Lodge, No. 243, F. & A. M .; Delta Chapter, No. 170; and Lawrence Commandery, No. 62, K. T.
FRANK P. MAJOR, senior member of the firm of Major & McCready, general merchants of Wampum, dealing in all kinds of dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes, and clothing, is one of the prominent business men of that borough, and numbers his friends and patrons by the hundred. He came into this busy world May 4, 1857, at Middleton, Ohio; he was a son of Will- iam O. and Lena (Martin) Major. The mother was born in Mahoning Co., Ohio, Oct. 11, 1832.
Mr. Major passed his boyhood days in Mid- dleton until he was eleven years of age, when he went to Carbon, Pa., and spent five years in the family of William Walters, a well-to-do farmer of that place. His next move brought him to Wampum, where he found work in the limestone quarries; in the brief period of six months he had become competent for the position of fore-
vice, and held that position for seventeen years.
In March, 1889, our subject determined to in- vest his earnings, and to engage in business, as an agreeable change from the life of hard work he had previously experienced. He accordingly purchased a half interest in a stock of goods, thereby becoming the junior member of the firm of Cunningham & Major. He has retained his partnership in the store since, although the first partnership was dissolved at the end of three years, and Mr. Braby displaced Mr. Cunning- ham. On Dec. 29, 1896, Mr. Braby transferred his interest to Hugh J. McCready, and the pres- ent style of the firm is Major & McCready. They conduct a well-appointed general store, having all the departments usually found in an estab- lishment of that kind, such as dry goods, no- tions, clothing, boots, shoes, and groceries. They have the largest, neatest and best stock in the borough, and by placing before the poeple standard goods at moderate prices, they have built up a large trade. Being accommodating and courteous in their treatment of customers, they have hosts of business acquaintances, who have only the best words to speak of them. Mr. Major relied solely on his own efforts to win for him success in life, and to this success he has been entitled, and has enjoyed in a marked de- gree. He is a careful, conscientious business man, and his present position is as gratifying to those who have watched him from the begin- ning as it is to himself.
Mr. Major was married in 1876 to Kate Cox, daughter of William Cox and wife, the latter having been a Miss M. A. Longacre. One daugh- ter, Daisy, came to bless their home, and she is
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JOHN B. IRVIN.
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, LAWRENCE COUNTY.
now Mrs. Frank S. Key of Ashtabula, Ohio. Her husband is a tobacconist and confectioner. Having suffered the loss of Mrs. Major in Feb- ruary, 1884, Mr. Major contracted a matrimonial alliance with Hattie McCandless, and they have two sons, Walter and Glenn. Mr. and Mrs. Ma- jor are members of the United Presbyterian Church. Politically, Mr. Major inclines toward the party of Jeffersonian simplicity, and of the good old times. He has been a school director for a term of nine years. He is a member in good standing of the Junior O. U. A. M., and of the I. O. O. F.
JOHN B. IRVIN. Among those leading citizens who have been engaged successfully in the pursuits of agriculture in Hickory township, and have acquired a comfortable competence thereby, John B. Irvin, whose portrait accom- panying this sketch is shown on the opposite page, occupies a prominent position; he is no longer actively engaged in farming, but at the age of seventy-nine is leading a retired life on his fine farm, enjoying the grateful rest that comes after a life of toil. He was born June 21, 1818, on the banks of the Susquehanna River in Lycoming Co., Pa. His father, William Irvin, who was also a native of Pennsylvania, was a farmer by occupation, and after many profitable years in Lycoming County, he settled in what is now Hickory township, where he spent the remainder of his life in agricultural labors. His wife, who was Jane Brown before her marriage with him, bore him the following children: Eli- za, deceased; Sarah; Greer; Nancy; Matthew;
and John B., the subject of this sketch, who was the only member of the family to marry. Our subject's mother lived to the very advanced age of ninety-six years. They were Presbyterians in religious belief.
John B. Irvin completed his education in his native town, and at an early date turned his at- tention to agricultural pursuits. He came to Lawrence County and settled on his present farm in 1845, and this has since been his home and the scene of many years of labor, of seed-time and harvest. He was always a hard worker, and directed his energies in a manner superior to the ordinary farmer, and to-day he is held in the highest esteem as a man of sterling worth and many excellent virtues. Ever since the forma- tion of the Republican party, he has labored zeal- ously for its interests, his first vote being for John C. Fremont, and his last for Major William McKinley; prior to the time when he associated himself with the Republican party, he voted the Whig ticket. He has held the township offices of supervisor and assessor.
In 1839, he was joined in wedlock with Aman- da McCreary, who was born Nov. 3, 1816, a daughter of John McCreary of Hickory town-' ship. This union has been abundantly blessed with these children: Margaret E., who married William Boyd, and has presented him with two children-Minnie and Sarah; William B., who was captured by the Confederates and confined in the rebel prison at Dansville, Va., and died the next year after returning home; Thomas D .; Martha W., who became the wife of Thomas Wilson of Neshannock Falls, Pa .; Willis E., who married Anna Buxton of Neshannock Falls, Pa., and had four children-John, Margaret, David,
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and Amanda; after her death he married it was a principle that guided and marked his again, this time to Callie Hayne of Mer- cer County, who bore him two children, Mary and James. Of the above family born to Mr. and Mrs. John B. Irvin, Willis E. is the only survivor to-day. In religious belief and church attachments, both our subject and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church of East Brook.
DAVID JAMESON, cashier of the Citizens' National Bank of New Castle, Pa., was born in Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, July 24, 1856, and is a son of Bevin P. Jameson, whose birthplace was in Mercer, Mercer Co., Pa. Our subject's father spent his boyhood days near Warren, Ohio, and during the greater part of his active mercantile career was engaged in the hardware business in that city, following that line of trade until 1870, running at one time the Russia Roll- ing-mills at Niles, Ohio. He with two associates owned and operated the gas plant of the city of Warren for many years. For twenty years pre- ceding his decease, he was also a director of the First National Bank of Warren. He was a good thinker, a man of excellent judgment, and also a shrewd business man; his influence was exten- sive and powerful and enabled him to assist in the furthering of the progress of his native town beyond what could have been expected from the single-handed exertions of one man. When any work of trifling or of large proportions, whether agreeable or unpleasant to him, devolved upon him for its performance, he was not the man to shirk, or to plead off on some excuse or another;
life that when work of whatever character, pri- vate, public or charitable, presented itself, he was to take hold and do the best he could to perform the work faithfully as it should be done. To his persistent and hard work is attributed the cause of his death. Two large business corpora- tions near Warren had made assignments, and to him as assignee fell the work of straightening and settling the accounts; he devoted his time and strength to the work, and his constitution was so undermined that his death was hastened by a number of years. He died in the year 1876, aged fifty-nine years. He married Sarah A. Blair, daughter of Robert L. Blair, a pioneer iron manufacturer of Lake County, Ohio, and there were born to them ten children, namely: William C., deceased; George L., deceased; Al- bert L., who lives in Warren, Ohio; Bevin, de- ceased; Robert B., deceased; David, the subject of this narration; Henry, deceased; Frederick, deceased; and Lucy, who became the wife of John M. Ormond of Toledo, Ohio. Our sub- ject's mother is still living at her old hime in Warren at the age of seventy-six.
David Jameson, subject of this writing, re- ceived his elementary education in the schools of Warren, Ohio, then attended Allegheny College of Meadville, Pa., and Victoria University of Co- bourg, Ontario, Canada. He determined on the legal profession for a life career, and studied law with Hutchins & Tuttle of Warren, Ohio, for three years, and was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of Ohio in 1881, entitling him to practice in any of the State courts. He then moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where he prac- ticed law for two years, and then came to New
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