USA > Pennsylvania > Lawrence County > Biographical sketches of leading citizens of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania > Part 52
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HISTORY OF THE CONGREGATION.
Prior to Aug. 1I, 1888, the date of Father Eger's appointment, there was but one Catholic church in New Castle, viz .: St. Mary's. Sev- eral attempts were made by the German Cath- olics of the city to organize a church but with- out success. During the winter of 1887-88 com- mittees were selected to call upon Bishop Phe- lan of the diocese and make known the religious wants of the German Catholics of Lawrence County. On the third of May, 1888, a commit- tee of disinterested priests were sent to New Castle, and after a thorough investigation re- ported to Bishop Phelan that the need of a church in New Castle was great. The committee was composed of Rev. A. A. Lambing of Wil- kinsburg, Rev. F. Regis Canevin, chaplain of the penal institutions of Allegheny County, and Rev. Father Kaufman, pastor of St. Joseph's, Al- legheny City. All of these clergymen are Americans and natives of Pennsylvania.
Father Eger having assumed charge of the parish, the First M. E. Church was purchased at a cost of $4,800.00. The church was then over- hauled, inside and outside, and was ready for service Dec. 16, 1888. On that day the church was dedicated by Bishop Phelan, assisted by
well-known clergymen of this diocese. A paro- chial school was opened in the basement of the church in March, 1889, with an attendance of about fifty children.
THE FIRE.
About 9 o'clock Monday morning, April 29, 1892, St. Joseph's Church was almost totally de- stroyed by fire, which caught in some way from a flue. The fire burned rapidly and despite the hard work done by the fire department, the building was almost a total loss.
THE NEW CHURCH.
St. Joseph's Church, as recently dedicated, is a handsome structure. The entire building has been painted. There are three front entrances, two by the outside stairs and one opening di- rectly into the church proper. The interior of the church is finished in Wisconsin oak, and the woodwork was made in Chicago. The church will seat 600 people. The pews have high backs and the foot rests or kneeling benches are ar- ranged so that they may be swung up out of the way. The altars are beautiful, the high altar be- ing very nicely finished. The statuary of the church is particularly fine. It was all imported and was presented to the congregation. The choir loft and confessionals are finished in wal- nut and ash, and are artistic in their design. The windows are beautiful and were all presented by members of the Sunday-school and congregation and individual members. It is the intention of the congregation to have the walls and ceilings frescoed, but this will not be done at present. Altogether the church is a model of neatness and beauty, and reflects much credit on the congre-
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gation. In connection with the new church it might be said here that St. Joseph's possesses the finest and largest pipe organ in this part of the State. It cost in the neighborhood of $2,500.00, half the cost being defrayed by Leo- pold Rohrer, one of the parishioners. There is a school attached to the congregation. The chil- dren to the number of 180 are in charge of Sis- ters of Divine Providence.
JOHN HINKSON, a venerable and well-re- spected citizen of Hickory township, where he is engaged in blacksmithing and in performing all kinds of fine machine work, both setting up and repairing articles of husbandry, and tools and appliances made for use in the trades and arts, was born in New Castle, Pa., June 19, 1831. He is a son of Aaron and Anna (Horn) Hinkson, both of whom were natives of Philadelphia, Pa.
George Hinkson, our subject's grandfather, who with his wife was-a member of the Society of Friends, was born in the Keystone State in the near vicinity of Philadelphia, and was edu- cated and passed his boyhood days on the home farm. He learned the millwright's trade, and learned it and improved on his knowledge so well that his services were in constant demand over a large part of the country, for he was one of the most skilled of mechanics. He followed this trade more or less throughout nearly all the years of his singularly active and useful career. He settled in Hickory township, this county, in 1820, taking up a farm and giving it the best of attention and cultivation. George Hinkson's
death took place in the 40's, and his decease was followed two years later by that of his wife. She was Kate Firlamb before her marriage; she bore her husband the following children: George; Preston; Aaron; William; Jonas; Henry; Cyrus; and Nicholas. He was a Democrat in his poli- tics, but too unassuming to take a leading place in even local politics. They were honest, up- right people, who commanded the full respect and sincere admiration of all who knew them.
Aaron Hinkson received his education in the schools of Belmont, and Canonsburg, Ohio, and at an early age learned the shoemaker's trade, and followed it several years after moving to the western part of Pennsylvania. He then settled in New Castle, where he plied his trade some four or five years until he moved to Hickory town- ship, where he received at his father's death fifty acres of the original homestead. There he fol- lowed his trade, and gave much of his attention to rural occupations, being considered a very able, industrious citizen, with a requisite amount of good judgment and energy to make a com- fortable home for his family, and to never have to feel the keen edge of want. Like his father, the Democratic party was his first and last choice in the field of politics, and loyally and well did he support it, but never required the slightest favors in return for his valiant services. He married a daughter of William Horn of Philadelphia, and to our subject's parents were born the following children: John, the subject of this sketch; Thomas, who married Kate Gormley of Hickory township by whom he had two children: Sadie, who married Torrence White of Hickory town- ship, and Charlie Firlamb, who married Lizzie Fair of Mercer County, as his first wife-Willie
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and Bina, both living, were the fruit of this union; he married as his second wife, Mary Pat- terson of Mercer, Pa., and they have five chil- dren, Jennie, Jessie, Frank, John, and Firlamb; Sarah, who became the wife of James Reynolds of Neshannock township, and bore him Hannah, deceased, Luther, Aaron, deceased, James M., and Emma J .; Aaron, who married Maggie Young of Hickory township and has John, Han- nah, Mary, James, Lewis and Kate. Our sub- ject's father was also a member of the Friends Society. His death occurred Jan. 29, 1891, when aged eighty-two years; he was preceded in the journey to the farther shore by his wife, who de- parted this life March 18, 1855, aged fifty-two years.
John Hinkson, subject of this sketch, and old- est child in the parental family, was educated in the schools of New Castle, and also in those of Hickory township, then known as a part of Neshannock township. He learned as a trade blacksmithing, and later on when a resident of New Castle thoroughly mastered the trade of machinist, which he followed for a number of years, when he came to Hickory township, and located on the old Hinkson farm, later taking up a residence on the south branch of Hutenbaugh Run, where he put in operation a saw-mill, to which he afterwards added a machinist's lathe. He is now doing a large and prosperous busi- ness in the line of work of a machinist, and re- pairs all kinds of machinery in an unfailing sat- isfactory manner. He is a Democrat in politics, and is a strong advocate of political rights; for a period of four terms he has held the office of commiteeman from Hickory township on the Democratic County Committee.
On Dec. 25, 1854, he was joined before the altar with Caroline Weakly, daughter of Robert Weakly of Mercer Co., Pa., and to them were given as a blessed heritage four children: Henry C .; James S .; Clara, deceased; and Frank B., who married Ida Rhodes of Scott township, and has three children, Jesse, Benjamin, and Bertha. Our subject's first wife dying Oct. 23, 1893, he then formed a second union with Annie Love of New Castle, Pa. Their religious attachments identify them with the M. E. Church at East Brook, Pa.
DAVID W. CHRISTIE, master mechanic of the New Castle Electric Light Co., was born in Arbroath, Scotland, Sept. 15, 1867, and is a son of James F. and Helen (Wilson) Christie, who were natives of that place.
Our subject's father was a machinist by trade and worked in the manufacture of locomotive engines, serving his apprenticeship in Scotland. He was an expert workman, and when he came to this country with his family he easily found work in the engine shops of Buffalo and Roches- ter, N. Y., but being seized with an attack of malaria, and not liking this climate as well as that of his own bonnie Scotland, he returned to his former home with his family, and has lived there since.
Of a family of ten children, nine of whom are now living, our subject was the eldest son. Fol- lowing is the record: Helen; Betsey; Mary; Da- vid W .; James; Lizzie, who died young; Theo- . dore; George; Alexander; and Minnie. David W. served his apprenticeship and learned his
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trade thoroughly in Scotland, and in 1886 re- turned to this country, arriving in Boston and worked in the Atlantic Works a short time, then in New York City, Philadelphia, and Pittsburg, being employed in the latter place in the Carne- gie works. He then settled in New Castle, and served as master mechanic a few years for the S. V. Steel Co., and then obtained his present situation with the New Castle Electric Light Co.
Mr. Christie married Miss Catherine Ann Jones, daughter of Mrs. Margaret Jones, and born in Wheatland, Mercer County. They have two children: Frank and Helen. Mr. Christie is . a Republican, a member of the K. of P. Lodge, and an attendant of the United Presbyterian Church.
THOMAS S. LINDSEY, deceased. This gentleman, who is familiar to. the older genera- tions of Lawrence County, as one of the coun- ty's most progressive and prosperous agricultur- ists of the early day, was born in Mercer Co., Pa., in 1806, and died in 1866, being survived by his wife and a number of children and grand- children.
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George Lindsey, the father of Thomas, was an Irishman by birth and by parentage; he came to Pennsylvania from the "ould sod" about 1770, and settled in Mercer County, where he pur- chased a farm in the vicinity of Wilmington, and was engaged in cultivating its virgin soil the re- mainder of his life, reaping and garnering splen- did crops by reason of his skill in gardening and agricultural work. He married Nancy Sampson, who bore him nine children: John; James;
Robert; Elizabeth; George; Thomas; Jane; Nancy; and Boyd. They were upon coming to this country what were known as Seceders in religious belief, but later in life united with the United Presbyterian Church.
Thomas S. Lindsey received his education in Neshannock township, and followed the foot- steps of his father in adopting the vocation of a farmer as a means of support. He was a man who loved to see the most made of things, and his industry and exceptionally good judgment, which placed him among the first citizens of the township, were the subject of remark for long years after his death. He was at first a Whig, and then in 1856 became a Republican, as that party seemed destined then to succeed its parent.
In 1831, he married Sarah Bay, daughter of William V. Bay, a native of Neshannock town- ship, and to them were born nine children: Lily Ann, who married McGiffin Fisher of Neshan- nock township, and has four children-Melda J., Lawrence, William, and Sarah E .; William, deceased, who married Mary A. Bay of Neshan- nock township, and has three children-Fred- erick L., Thomas L., and Edna F .; Lawrence, deceased; George, deceased; Margaret, de- ceased; Lizzie, deceased; John, deceased; Nancy Florenda, deceased; and an infant that died un- named. Mrs. Lindsey, who was born Oct. 16, 18II, and is therefore well-advanced toward the nonogerarian mark, is active and bright, and does not seem to be as old as she really is by twenty years. The family are United Presbyter- ians, of which society Mrs. Lindsey has been a member for sixty-five years, quite a wonderful record, and one that she may well be proud of, for it is not met with every day.
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WILLIAM H. BRABY. The gentleman, whose name stands at the head of this brief biography, ranks among the first business men of the County of Lawrence, as a man whose interests are many and lucrative, and whose commercial operations for the past twenty years have been mainly confined to Wampum and its vicinity. He was born in Kingston, Canada, July 23, 1847. He was a son of William Braby and his wife Marian, who was a daughter of George Witherspoon, a powder- maker of Edinburgh, Scotland. William Braby was born near London, Feb. 2, 1806, and was a farmer by occupation, although twenty-two years of his life were passed in the British Army, where he reached the rank of sergeant. He was a son of William Braby, Sr., who was a game- keeper on a large landed estate in England.
Mr. Braby, our subject, was the fifth of a family of sixteen children. He has two brothers living in Wampum-one of whom is James, the proprietor of a restaurant, and the other is Ben- jamin, a grocer. Mr. Braby's residence in Cana- da terminated at the age of sixteen, when he started on the journey that found its end in Clin- ton, Beaver Co., Pa. For two years he was with his uncle, William Somerville, who dealt extensively in coal. He then became a clerk in the store of Pierce, Somerville & Co., in the same town, and remained with that firm a period of two years, and later with the Clinton Coal Company sixteen years, during which time his salary was gradually increased from $20 to $150 per month.
In 1877 our subject decided to branch out for himself in commercial life, so he opened a hard- ware store in Wampum, and as his business
grew to large dimensions during the next four years he built a store-room and added a stock of dry goods. In 1888, he again increased his facilities and branched out still farther by adding the departments of furniture and undertaking to his other successful ventures. On Jan. 1, 1897, he sold all of his mercantile interests, retaining only the furniture store. In 1894 he opened a livery barn, being associated in this venture with his son-in-law Charles C. Cunningham, and is able to furnish the most stylish of conveyances, as well as serviceable, in a reasonable length of time. In 1896, he negotiated for the large sand- stone quarries that lie two miles south of Wam- pum, and after satisfactory terms and arrange- ments for payment had been made took posses- sion, and began developing the resources of his new venture, exhibiting his customary thrift and energy in doing so. Mr. Braby is pre-emin- ently a self-made man, according to what is un- derstood in the general sense of the word, for he has relied on his own ability to make for him- self a place in the world, and he has attained an enviable position, being a thorough business man in every respect. He is serving his second term as postmaster of Wampum, and he is a Democrat of the Jacksonian type to the very backbone. He is a member of two secret soci- eties-Wampum Lodge, No. 4, I. Q. O. F., and New Castle Lodge, F. & A. M.
Mr. Braby was united in marriage on Nov. 23, 1870, to Jennie E. Wilkinson, daughter of Will- iam S. and Mary E. (Robinson) Wilkinson. Three children blessed this marriage: Maude M., Lillian, and Mary. Maude M. became the wife of Charles C. Cunningham, son of H. Ira Cunningham of Wampum, and they have two
SAMUEL CLARK McCREARY.
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children-Louis and Clare. Mr. and Mrs. Braby are regular attendants of the Presbyterian Church. Our subject is benevolent and kind, a good neighbor, a devoted father and husband, and is entitled to the confidence of his fellow- townsmen and friends, which he possesses to a marked degree. Oct. 1, 1897, the Major & Mc- Cready Co., formerly in the dry goods business, and Braby & Snare, who were interested in the stone business, and W. H. Braby consolidated, and the stone firm is now known as the Wam- pum Sand Stone Co., and the grocery and dry goods business is under the style of the Beaver Valley Supply Co. (Snare retiring from the firm of Braby, Snare & Co.) with main office at Wampum, Pa.
SAMUEL CLARK McCREARY, a pros- perous agriculturist of Neshannock township, whose portrait may be found on the opposite page, was born in the above township, in 1838, and is a son of Thomas and Jane (Lindsey) Mc- Creary, and grandson of Samuel and Margaret (McCleary) McCreary.
The grandfather of our subject came to this country from his native place in Union Co., Pa., with his wife in 1802, and settled in Mer- cer County, in that part of which is now a part of Lawrence County. He was a farmer by occupation, which calling, in connection with raising cattle for the mar- ket, continued to occupy his attention and to command his labors until failing powers de- manded his retirement; his death took place in
1858, when he was aged eighty years. He worked hard and late, with an industry that is rarely seen or even equalled and was considered as a prosperous man of the time in which he lived, and would be considered well-off to-day, for he owned upwards of six hundred acres of valuable land. He was a supporter of Whig doctrines in politics. He and his wife were at- tendants of the Presbyterian Church. She bore him ten children, as follows: Enoch; Eliza; Eliz- abeth; Thomas; William; Jane; Martha; Find- lay; Margaret and Nancy. Grandfather Samuel McGreary served in the War of 1812.
Thomas McCreary was educated in the schools of his native town, and upon arriving at manhood's estate chose agriculture as a life- work, and followed it all his life, also dealing in cattle, sheep, etc., to a considerable extent. The virtues of the father were continued in the son, and he too by industry and excellent judgment improved upon the patrimony left him, and be- came a leading citizen of his community. He at first wielded his franchise of a voter under the direction of the Whig party, but later became an earnest Republican, but would never accept office, although very active in the service of his party. His wife, before mentioned, was a daugh- ter of George Lindsey, and bore him the follow- ing children: Samuel C .; Margaret, who mar- ried Robert D. Patterson of Union township, and made him the proud parent of five children- Thomas, Adella J., Nannie T. P., John D., and Robert H. S .; George L., deceased, was a mem- ber of Co. F, 100th Reg. Pa. Vol., he died of wounds received in the army; Baxter, who mar- ried Hattie Lee of the State of Iowa; Henry, who married Mary A. Gibson of Wilmington
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township, this county, and has two children, George and Letitia; Nancy J., now deceased, who married Thomas Pomeroy, and left him two children, Margaret and Nellie. They were Presbyterians in religious belief. Mrs. McCreary passed away in 1891, aged eighty years. Our subject's father is still living and enjoying life at the age of eighty-eight years.
The district schools of Neshannock township furnished Samuel C. with a rudimentary educa- tion. He worked on the farm until August, 1861, when he enlisted for service in the defense of the Union in Co. F, 100th Reg. Pa. Vol. Inf., and served until Dec. 4, 1862, being discharged at that time for disabilities received in the serv- ice, losing a limb at Chantilly, Va. On his re- turn, he managed the farm for a time, and then took a course in the Iron City Business College of Pittsburg, Pa., and in 1872 was elect- ed prothonotary of Lawrence County (common- ly known as clerk of court); in this capacity he served six years, retiring Jan. 1, 1879, returning then to his farm. He owns and cultivates ninety- six acres of valuable, well-improved land, devot- ed to general farming and stock-raising. He is a stanch Republican, politically. Socially, he is a member of the G. A. R. Post, No. 100, of New Castle, Pa.
In 1867, he was joined in matrimony with Margaret A. Deemer, daughter of Benjamin and Nancy (Rodgers) Deemer of Plain Grove town- ship; five children have been the fruit of this union : Jennie M., who married William V. Fish- er and has two children, Margaret M. and Lilly Ann; Ira C., who is studying for the ministry at Allegheny, Pa .; Thomas E. married Miss Clau- dine Shoaff of Neshannock township; Nancy E .;
and Harry D. The family are members of the United Presbyterian Church. Mr. McCreary is an elder of the first U. P. Church of New Castle. Mr. and Mrs. McCreary are highly esteemed in their neighborhood and township, and are en- titled to be classed among the first citizens. They are the friends of good order and system, and are contributing their portion toward the further progress of the community, morally, so- cially, and intellectually.
REV. THOMAS W. WINTER, the subject of this personal notice, is one of New Castle's most honored and respected citizens, who has seen many years of varied service in the minis- terial field in the United Presbyterian Church. He was born in Xenia, Ohio, July 27, 1828, and was a son of William and Elizabeth (Cochran) Winter, the former of Virginia but raised in the State of Kentucky, and the latter a native of Kentucky.
Stephen Winter, the grandfather of Rev. Thomas W., was born in London, England, where he followed his skilled trade of a lapidary or cutter of precious stones. He drifted with the tide of emigration to the American colonies in 1775, and settled in the eastern part of Pennsyl- vania. The common cause of the patriots against King George and his minions for deeds of op- pression, violence and injustice found in him a ready sympathizer and a zealous soldier in the War of the Revolution, serving as a private through many a weary and doubtful campaign, for which service he drew a pension during his life. He later removed to the State of Virginia,
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and he was living with his youngest son at Xenia, Ohio, at the time of his death, in No- vember, 1836, at the age of eighty-four years. He married Martha Linn, and their union proved fruitful in the birth of the following chil- dren: James, born Feb. 14, 1785; Joseph S., March 13, 1787; Agnes, July 21, 1789; Eliza- beth, July 10, 1792; William, Dec. 14, 1795; Adam, Aug. 14, 1798; John, March 29, 1801 ; and Joseph C., Feb. 9, 1808. They were mem- bers of the Associate Presbyterian Church.
William, the fifth son and father of the subject of this short biography, after completing his edu- cation in his native town, early turned his at- tention to the tanner's trade, and served a num- ber of years as apprentice, and also as a partner with his brother James, but finally gave up that calling to engage in agricultural pursuits, in which line of work he was occupied in Greene County, Ohio, in the vicinity of Xenia up to the time of his death, July 18, 1839, at the age of 46 years. He was considered a well-to-do farmer, and was able to provide very well for his family, but was never able to lay by any large amount of money. In his political affiliations he was a stanch Whig, and was an especially firm and de- cided Anti-Slavery man. Public affairs, whether of local or national interest ever appealed to him, and he served very acceptably as county assessor, and settled a large number of estates. He was a very honest man, whose reputation for strict integrity and uprightness had not its equal in the community where he lived. He pos- sessed no small ability, that was exhibited not only in his farming operations but also in what- ever transaction to which he was a party. In his religious belief he followed in the
footsteps of his father, and was an elder in the Associate Presbyterian Church through many years. His wife, Elizabeth, was a daughter of William Cochran, of Cyn- thiana, Harrison Co., Ky. There were born to our subject's parents the following named ten children, as follows: Mary J .; James; William C .; Martha; Marguerite A .; Rev. Thom- as W .; Agnes; Matthew H .; Elizabeth; and Jo- seph L.
From the district schools near his home our subject was advanced in the securing of an edu- cation to Xenia Academy, from where he went to Franklin College at New Athens, Ohio, and graduated from that institution in 1853. He then pursued a theological course at the Seminary in Cannonsburg, Pa., and was licensed to preach as a minister of the church in 1856. His first work was as a missionary in the State of Wis- consin. He then was a pastor of a church in Law- rence Co., Pa., for eleven years, after which he was pastor in Adamsville, Crawford Co., Pa., for eight years, and in East Palestine, Ohio, for six years. He then retired from the arduous work in which he had been engaged for so many years, and in June, 1892, came to New Castle as a pleasant spot where he could settle down and take the latter years of his life in comfort, with no harrassing cares to disturb the mind. Mr. Winter has a large circle of friends who delight to do him honor. He has always been an adher- ent of the Republican party.
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