USA > Pennsylvania > Lawrence County > Biographical sketches of leading citizens of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania > Part 59
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Hugh Sproull, born in 1824, after he had im- bibed all the learning that the common schools could impart, learned the trade of a carpenter and joiner. He then went to Cherry township, where he has resided ever since. His industries have been various. He through his active life worked at his craft, became the owner of a val- uable farm of 200 acres, and for years super- intended the operation of a grist-mill. Though to-day an aged man, he is a power and an influ- ence in the township. Like his father he was twice married. His first wife, a Miss Elizabeth Smith, daughter of John Smith, gave birth to two children: Elizabeth J., the wife of C. S. Stoner of Butler, Pa., and John P., the subject of our sketch. She died Aug. 13, 1848. A few years later, Mr. Sproull married Sarah Glenn of Clay township, and by this union ten children came into the household, as follows: William
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S., now deceased; Eleanor G., also deceased; William J., who died while a medical student in the Cleveland Medical College; Ada, the wife of Jacob Rennick of Butler Co., Pa .; Andrew, who married Emma Christley of Butler Co .; Rella, the wife of Samuel Hindman of Branchton, Pa .; Everett, who is engaged in the grocery business in Chicago, Ill .; Ross, who wedded a Miss Hind- man, and is a resident of Butler Co .; and Minnie, the consort of Rush Hockenbury, also of Butler Co., Pa. In politics, Mr. Sproull since the found- ing of the party has been a Republican. In church matters, the family are United Presby- terians.
Dr. John P. Sproull, our subject, first attended the public schools. Qualifying for the profes- sion of a teacher, he followed that calling for seven years, during that period obtaining ad- vanced instruction at the Sunbury Academy. Finishing the academic course and being gradu- ated, he read medicine with Dr. Gibson of Cleve- land, Ohio, for two years. Then he entered tlie Cleveland Medical College, and was graduated with high honors in 1877. His first .field of prac- tice was in Plain Grove, where he has since grown to be one of the most necessary and use- ful citizens of the community.
In 1867, he was united in the bonds of matri- mony with Miss Lucinda J. Wasson, daughter of William Wasson of Sunbury. Unto them were born six children, three of whom survive. Those living are: Millie E., the wife of Dr. J. E. Magee of Salem, Venango Co., Pa., and the mother of two children, Frank and an infant named Mary Mabel; William A., a student, now attending the Dental College at Cleveland, Ohio; and Ada M., who is living at home. In social
affairs, the Doctor is none the less active than in his professional duties. He is devoted to the United Presbyterian Church, and is a member of the Sessions. In medical circles, he is one of the best-known physicians of the Lawrence County Medical Society. Politically, he was a Repub- lican, but of late has been a strong temperance man, and a follower of the Prohibition party. In spite of a. life filled to the utmost with the many cares ยท and duties of a general practice, Dr. Sproull has kept in step with the wonderful ad- vances made by his profession during late years. He is pre-eminently of a studious turn of mind, and his reading covers an extensive field over and beyond the actual needs of his vocation. He is fortunate in his home surroundings and in the fact that his life work has been among a people who know well how to appreciate real worth and honest endeavor.
SETH RIGBY, a prosperous farmer of Shen- ango township, who is carrying on farming op- erations on his farm, situated in the suburbs of New Castle, was born Oct. 9, 1837. He is the third of that name in direct descent. His father, Seth Rigby, was born in the Shenandoah Val- ley and came to Lawrence County in 1801, when a boy, his father settling where our subject re- sides. The father of our subject was a soldier in the War of 1812, in which he served one year, and was a participant in the battle of Lake Erie; his death took place at the age of eighty-seven years. He was a carpenter and cabinet-maker and worked at his trade many years at New
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Castle. He was second in a family of seven sons and two daughters born to his parents; the sons. all became skilled mechanics. He married Mar- garet Brady, who was born in Westmoreland County, a daughter of Samuel Brady, who was a native of Germany. Our subject's grand- father, Seth Rigby, was born near Leeds, Eng., was a carpenter and wagon-maker by trade, and lived to the exceptional age of ninety-five years; he married a Miss Clark, who was born in Vir- ginia of Irish ancestry.
Our subject was reared on the paternal farm on Sheep's Hill, and attended the district schools till he was nineteen years old; from that age till the outbreak of the war he lived with his father, and gave him all his time and earnings. He enlisted in Co. B, 14th Reg. Pa. Vol. Cav., and served two years and ten months, mostly in West Virginia and Shenandoah Valley. He was in many skirmishes, was under fire fifty-two times, and fought in the battles of Winchester, Haysville, Droop Mt., Rocky Gap, Opecan Creek, Cedar Creek, Fisher's Hill, and Kearns- town. On his return from the army he worked eighteen months in the quarries, was then for a time on the farm, and then at Rosena Fur- nace for two years, living in New Castle during this period. Since then he has been living on the farm.
He was married in 1872 near New Castle to Elizabeth Carson, who was born in Allegheny City, and was a daughter of Alexander and Su- san (Kirkpatrick) Carson. Alexander Carson was a carpenter by trade, and died from the ef- fects of wounds received at the battle of Peters- burg; he was a son of Hugh Carson. The fol- lowing children have graced our subject's mar-
riage: Ida May, who married Samuel Parks, and has one daughter, Mabel Ruth; Harvey E., who married Jennie Shoaf, and has a little girl, Pearl; Margaret Luella; Robert Perry; Hugh; Susan; and Frank, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Rigby are members of the Disciples Church. Mr. Rigby is a firm Republican. He is a mem- ber of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, and Knights of Labor, and was formerly a member of the I. O. O. F. This is, in brief, the outline of Mr. Rigby's life. As a young man he was industrious and persevering, not easily daunted by difficulties or reverses. As a soldier he was brave and patriotic, and served his country with the same or even greater fidelity than he would have attended to his own interests at home. As a citizen he sustains all the qualities of his earlier manhood, and enjoys the respect and esteem of his friends and neigh- bors.
ROBERT C. McCLURE, deceased, an ex- sheriff of Mercer County, this State, was born in Perry township, Lawrence County, March 22, 1839. He was a son of John and Ruth (Axtle) McClure, the former a native of Perry, Pa., and the latter a native of Lake township.
John McClure was born in Ireland and came over from the "ould sod" with his mother when a young man, and settled in the vicinity of Sandy Lake; he was the oldest of the children, and, as his father was dead, he was to all intents and purposes the head of the family. He turned his attention to agricultural pursuits and was thus engaged all the active period of his life. In
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, LAWRENCE COUNTY.
his political affiliations he was a stanch Repub- lican but never held office of any description. His wife, Ruth, bore him the seven following children: Mary, who married John Hadley of Perry township; Zenas, who married Elizabeth McQuestan; Loretta, who married Josiah Long of Perry township; Robert C., our subject; Hannah, who married David Pattison of Perry township; Ufame, who married James A. DeFrance of Sandy Lake; and Emily, who be- came the wife of Lafayette Riggs of Hubbard, Ohio. They were Presbyterians in their relig- ious belief. The father died in 1863, aged seventy years, and the mother was taken to the heavenly home in 1882, aged seventy-two years.
Robert C. McClure, upon the completion of an education, acquired in the district schools of his native place, worked on a farm until he was twenty-two years of age, when he enlisted in Co. G, 145th Reg. Pa. Vol. Inf., Second Corps, under Capt. W. W. Wood; he served two years, received the commission of lieutenant for meritorious conduct and superior abilities, and was discharged because of disabilities received in the service. He then carried on farming at home until 1872, when in the November election of that year he was chosen sheriff of Mercer County, a position he filled with dignity and vigor, giving complete satisfaction to all law- abiding citizens, but dealing relentlessly with the members of the criminal classes. His energy and perseverance made him a valuable member of the community, and he was always ready to be interested in any movement intended for the public good. Socially he was an Odd Fellow, and also a member of the G. A. R. Post of Greenville, Pa. His life was spent in great part
in Mercer County, and there his death took place in 1890; it was only after the latter sad occurrence that his widow became a resident of New Castle.
In 1860 our subject married Isabell Pattison of Hadley, Pa., and to them were born five chil- dren: David, the eldest, married Emily Luce of Hubbard, Ohio, and has two children, Robert and Adelia; Margaret; Alexander P., who mar- ried Nora Douglass of Pittsburg, Pa., and has had two children, Margaret, deceased, and Helen; Ruth F .; and Robert, who died aged one year. The family are faithful in their ad- herence to the principles and dogmas of the Presbyterian Church.
DAVID SAMUEL, deceased, was born in Cum Haven, Wales, in the month of May, 1834, and departed this life in New Castle April 19, 1895. He had learned the trade of an iron puddler in the Old Country, and was engaged at that trade in this country until his death. His second marriage occurred on Feb. 5, 1884, to Mrs. Emily J. Pancake, daughter of John and Mary W. (Gitt) Keefer.
Emily J. Keefer was born in Manchester, Pa., and came to New Castle with her parents when very young, so that her mental training and edu- cation were in most part obtained in the public schools of New Castle. On Dec. 28, 1851, she was married the first time to Peter Pancake, a native of the eastern part of Pennsylvania. He was a nailer by trade and operated one of the old-style mills until his death July 28, 1877; he was located at Warren, Wheeling. W. Va., Pitts-
DR. ROBERT E. REDMOND.
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burg, Pa., and then at Youngstown, Ohio. Four children were the fruit of this marriage, as follows: Clinton D., who died in infancy; Iva Virginia (now deceased), who was the wife of Thomas Nessle Fischer, and left him as a precious heritage two children, Emily and Eliza- beth; Cora Estelle, who bore her husband, E. Davis, two children, an infant who died un- named, and Bessie; and Amanda Matilda.
Mrs. Samuel's father, John Keefer, died at Rock Island, Ill., at the age of seventy years. Her mother, Mary (Gitt) Keefer, was born in Eastern Pennsylvania, and was a daughter of Jacob and Mary (Wert) Gitt. Both of Mrs. Samuel's husbands were members of the Disci- ples Church, and both adhered to the principles as advocated by the Republican party. Mr. Samuel was a member of the Protected Home Circle, and Mr. Pancake was a member of the Masonic Order, having attained the Royal Arch degree. Mrs. Samuel is a regular attendant of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
DR. ROBERT E. REDMOND, the subject of this sketch, is one of New Castle's leading and most successful practitioners of medicine, and possesses, in addition to a lucrative office prac- tice, an extensive patronage in the surround- ing territory. His birth-place was in North Liberty, Pa., and in that place were the years of his boyhood passed, and the rudiments of a common school education mastered. As a boy he dearly loved study for its own sake and for the pleasure to be derived from increasing his stock of knowledge and improving his oppor-
tunities; when his age and advanced state de- manded better facilities than the district school, he was sent to Pine Grove Academy of Grove City, and from there he went to the State Nor- mal School at Edinboro, Pa., from which he graduated as a member of the Class of 1877. Until 1879, following his graduation, he read medicine under the direction of the Hon. J. M. Martin of Grove City, Pa., and in the fall of that year became a student in the Miami Medical College of Cincinnati, Ohio, and received his degree and diploma, entitling him to practice in 1882. The year previous to his graduation was spent as resident physician in the city hospital of Cincinnati. In the spring of 1882, he located in Grove City, and practiced medicine there three years, removing from that place at the end of the three years to enter a new field he had chosen for himself in the town of Harmony, located in the oil region of Butler County, where he continued until 1893. In the fall of 1894, he located in New Castle, bringing with him an excellent reputation as a physician well versed in all the intricacies and details of the difficult art, and has since been successfully engaged in the practice of his profession, enjoying the con- fidence and good-will of a very desirable class of patrons.
Dr. Redmond is a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Drenning) Redmond, both of whom were na- tives of County Antrim, Ireland. Henry Red- mond, a farmer by occupation, came to America in 1848, and lived in North Liberty township, Mercer Co., Pa., where he purchased a large farm, a very valuable piece of property now in the possession of his heirs and descendants, al- most half a century, dying in 1896, aged eighty-
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eight years. Sagacious and prudent in his deal- ings, and exercising excellent judgment in his agricultural labors, he attained a high place in the estimation of his neighbors and fellow-citi- zens as a prosperous farmer, and was enabled by his financial success to provide liberally for his children. He early espoused the cause of the Democratic party, and ever afterward was found among its stanchest and most serviceable supporters; however, to be known as a plain, honest man, and as a good provider for his fam- ily, was the height of his ambition, and it was for this reason that he never filled an office nor posed as a candidate for election, although his great popularity might have warranted him in so doing. His wife, who was named Elizabeth Drenning, made him the proud father of eight children. Mary A., the eldest, lives at home with her aged mother. Samuel is a leading attorney of Mercer Co., Pa .; he married Grace Newell of Punxsutawney, Pa., and has four children: Newell; Henry; Mary; and an infant. Elizabeth married John Smith, and resides in Mercer County on the old homestead. John married Julia McBride, by whom he has two children, and lives in Pittsburg, Pa. Jemima married the Rev. Hazlett, a Presbyterian minis- ter of Butler Co., Pa .; they have two children. William A. married Christie Reigel of Grove City, Pa. Henry married Jennie Black of Grove City, Pa., and their union has been blessed with one child; Henry Redmond is a surgeon dentist of New Castle, Pa. Our subject's father died in 1896, leaving a widow, and the aforementioned family. They were United Presbyterians in their religious belief.
Dr. Redmond, in 1882, led to the altar Mary
Rolston of Prospect, Butler Co., Pa., and by this union there was born to him one daugh- ter, Jessie M., born Oct. 27, 1883. Our subject's wife died June 17, 1893, and on July 10, 1894, he entered into a second matrimonial union with Laura F. Gill of Jackson Center, Mercer Co., Pa. Socially, he belongs to the I. O. O. F., and F. & A. M. Lodge of Middle Lancaster, Pa. He retains a membership in the organization of Free Masons of Harmony, Pa., and in the Royal Arcanum of the same town, and is a member of the Knights of Pythias of Grove City, Pa. Religiously, he is a member in good and regu- lar standing of the English Lutheran Church of Harmony, Pa. After Dr. Redmond had been engaged in practice a number of years, he took a post-graduate course at the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, Pa., to better fit him- self to cope with the many problems that present themselves to a physician.
The readers of this volume will view with in- terest the portrait that appears in proximity to this sketch of the genial doctor, whose station among the most prominent physicians of the county entitles him to the highest esteem and respect.
SAMUEL M. KENNEDY, one of the rep- resentative farmers of Shenango township, was born in Slippery Rock township, Jan. 1, 1824, coming of goood Scotch-Irish ancestry, that sturdy class of citizens that has contributed so much to the development and enrichment of Western Pennsylvania. His parents were Will- iam and Elizabeth (Stickle) Kennedy. Our sub-
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, LAWRENCE COUNTY.
ject's mother was born in Slippery Rock town- ship in 1800, and died at the age of eighty-six; She was a daughter of Samuel and Katherine Stickle, the former a farmer, who lived to a good old age.
William Kennedy was born in Eastern Penn- sylvania about the year 1800, and attained the age of seventy-seven years; he came to Law- rence County with his parents when two years old, and lived the remainder of his life in Slip- pery Rock township, where he engaged success- fully and with profit in agricultural pursuits.
Our subject attended school till the age of nineteen years, and lived with his parents until he had attained his majority, when he went to Allegheny County, where he worked on a farm for one year. At Mckeesport he learned the carpenter's trade, and worked at it for three years. He then returned to Slippery Rock township, and worked at his trade in connection with farming for some six or seven years, since which time he has devoted his entire time and attention to agriculture and its varied pursuits. At the outbreak of the war, before enlisting, he purchased a ten-acre tract with a cottage on it, and put it in order for his family, in order that they might have a comfortable home when he was away to the war, fighting for his country, and with a slender chance of seeing the loved ones again. He enlisted Feb. 22, 1864, in Co. B, 14th Reg. Pa. Vol. Cav., and was engaged in the bat- tles of Winchester, Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek, Swickle's Gap, and was in Sheridan's command when the cavalry made the famous raid of the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. Hostilities hav- ing ceased at the South, he was sent with other soldiers to Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., to quell the
Indian troubles on the border, and was on duty there some two months, receiving his discharge in the month of August, 1865. On his return from the army he worked at his trade some seven years in Slippery Rock township, as be- fore mentioned, and has since interested himself in farming, living the most of the past twenty- five years in Shenango township.
He was first married in November, 1854, to Lizzie Jane McMasters, daughter of William and Annie McMasters, and of this union two children resulted-William H., who is living with his father, and Mary Louise, the wife of Sol. Wimer. His second marriage took place in October, 1859, the bride being Sarah A. War- nock, daughter of Hugh and Elizabeth (Man- ning) Warnock, and a member of one of the old- est-established families in the county. The father of Elizabeth Manning served seven years in the Revolutionary War, and lived to attain the very unusual age of one hundred and fourteen years, a fact that is on record and as authentic as one could wish. Six children, whose names are given below, were the fruit of the second marriage: Jesse B., who is living with his father; John H., who is engaged in the coal bus- iness in New Castle; Thomas, who owns and operates a saw-mill and thresher; Hugh, who makes his home with his father; Mamie Eliza- beth, who is attending school; and Robert Stockman, who is in the employ of the Tele- phone Company. The family are members of the M. E. Church. In politics Mr. Kennedy is a Republican. In the sunset of life he is enjoy- ing the fruits of his early labors at the home which he has established by the work of his own hands and a life of unremitting industry. That
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, LAWRENCE COUNTY.
he stands well in the community as a man of strict integrity and good judgment is evident from the fact that he has at different times been called upon to fill the offices of constable and collector, serving four years in that capacity, and of supervisor, an office he satisfactorily filled for a period of three years. He has also been a member of the election board a number of times. As an old soldier he has for years taken an active interest in G. A. R. affairs, and is a member of the Post, No. 318, at Wampum, this county.
WILLIAM DOUTHITT, ex-sheriff of Law- rence Co., Pa., was born in Big Beaver town- ship Aug. 16, 1852, and is a son of Jonathan and Sarah (Cannon) Douthitt.
The grandfather of our subject, Robert Douthitt, was born in Carlisle, Pa., but later settled in Beaver Co., Pa., where he achieved prominence as a very successful and prosperous farmer. Politically, he was a Democrat. His wife, a Miss Mary Loutzenviser, bore him twelve children, of whom Jonathan, our subject's father, was among the youngest. In the mat- ter of religious preferences he favored the Pres- byterian Church.
Jonathan Douthitt was educated in the schools of his native town, and when a young man learned the stone-cutter's trade, which. he fol- lowed to good advantage a number of years; later on he purchased a farm in Big Beaver township, and moved into what is now Lawrence County in 1848, although at that time it was a part of Beaver County; in that district he spent
the remainder of his years in agricultural pur- suits, dying in 1875, aged sixty-seven years. He reared ten children as follows: Jerome, who married Sarah Henderson of Washington Co., Pa .; Harriet, the wife of Thomas C. Taylor of Little Beaver township; Joseph, who married Mary McClure of Beaver Co., Pa .; Mary, who became the wife of S. D. Eckles of Big Beaver township; John; Rhoda, who married R. W. Mc- Chesney of Big Beaver township; Andrew J., who married Elizabeth Snyder of Wampum; Thomas J., who married Nancy Leet of Wam- pum; William, the subject of this sketch; and Sarah J., who became the wife of Levi Repman of Wampum. He was a prominent and influen- tial politician of the township, and as a Demo- crat served as collector, road supervisor and as school director. He was an attendant of the Presbyterian Church. Our subject's mother died in 1864, aged fifty-seven years.
William Douthitt obtained the elementary principles of an education in the district schools of Big Beaver township, and upon leaving school turned his attention to agricultural pur- suits, which he followed with excellent results until 1890, being also interested in the Wam- pum Run Coal Co., and is now heavily interested in the Thompson Run Coal Co. in Beaver Co., Pa. He has always been found in Republican political circles, and in reward for his constancy to party and in recognition of his many estima- ble qualities, he was elected sheriff of Lawrence County, taking his office in January, 1892, and holding office three years to the complete satis- faction of citizens of all parties. He has also held the office of collector and constable for four years. After filling out his term as sheriff he
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, LAWRENCE COUNTY.
engaged in the coal business mentioned above, and devotes a large share of his time to his min- ing interests. Socially, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Western Star Lodge, No. 160, of New Castle, Pa.
In 1875 Mr. Douthitt chose as a life-partner Emma Bell Vance, daughter of R. M. and Caro- line S. Vance, of Big Beaver township, and to them have been born seven children, as fol- lows: Frank H., who works for the Standard Oil Co. at Bayonne, N. J .; Harriet, who is at- tending high school; Robert Roy, who is attend- ing school; Sarah C., also a pupil of New Cas- tle's public schools; Samuel; and two that died in infancy. In religious matters, the family fa- vors the Presbyterian Church, of which Mrs. Douthitt is a member.
MICHAEL KNOBLOCH is a respected cit- izen of the city of New Castle, and a prominent wholesale and retail dealer in hides, pelts, furs, and tallow. His birth took place April 24, 1832, in the State of Prussia, German Empire, and he is a son of Adam Knobloch, a citizen of that country.
At the age of seventeen years our subject left the ancestral home to seek his fortune in the young Republic across the seas, and after arriv- ing in the United States came to New Castle, where he secured employment in the nail mills, and in the next ten or twelve years worked in all the principal mills in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Virginia. In 1861 he became a resident of the State of Michigan, where he engaged in tilling
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