USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > Book of biographies : this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Beaver County, Pennsylvania > Part 29
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David Park, the grandfather of William A. Park, was born at Wilkinsburg, Pa., and there learned the trade of wagon-maker and wheel- wright, which he followed until he moved upon a farm, purchased by him in New Sewickley township, Beaver county, Pa., in 1845. There, in addition to cultivating the soil, he plied his trade for many years, dying when eighty-six years old. The property is now owned by his son Theodore. The maiden name of David's wife was Ann Hamilton, and she was born in Warren county, Ohio, in 1806, and died at the age of seventy-nine. Their children were: James F., the father of the gentleman first named above; William; George, who married Mary Beal; Elizabeth, the wife of Hiram Phillip; Mary, the wife of Rev. John Brown; and Theodore, who mar- ried Kate Campbell.
James I. Park was born at Wilkinsburg,
Allegheny county, Pa., and adopted the trade of a carpenter, but early in life removed from his native place to Freedom, Beaver county. where he became a contractor and lumber dealer. He was very successful, and now owns a farm near Freedom, upon which he is living a retired life. He married Emiline Mc- Donald, a daughter of William and Rebecca (Magee) McDonald, who was of Scotch an- cestry, and she died leaving four children, as follows: William A .; John H., a record of whose life appears elsewhere herein; Annie V., the widow of Milton Mccullough; and George I., who is also identified with the Park Fire Clay Company. He formed a second union,- in this instance with Mary Dean, a daughter of Samuel Dean, and they have two children : Mabel D. and Nellie D.
William A. Park was joined in the bonds of wedlock with Mary J. Park, a daughter of Thomas and Helen (Duff) Park. Thomas Park, a son of William Park, the first of the family to locate in this country, was born in Wilkinsburg, Allegheny county, Pa., and set- tled in Penn township, where he became a farmer of considerable prominence. He died at the age of sixty-three years. His wife, Helen, who now resides with William A. Park, is a daughter of David Duff, and they had two children : James Graham, of Cripple Creek, Colo .; and Mary J.
Socially, the subject of this sketch is a mem- ber of the Masonic orders, F. & A. M., and R. A. M., of Rochester, Pa., and of the Com- mandery, of Pittsburg. He is also a member of the Mystic Shrine, of Pittsburg.
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AVID PHILIPS ESTEP, deceased, a gentleman whose life was marked by years of activity in the industrial world, was a prominent dairyman in Chip- pewa township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. He was a son of Ephraim and Susanna (Phil- ips) Estep, and was born in Washington county, Pa., March 9, 1822.
His grandfather was Robert Estep, who was born in Baltimore, Md., in 1750, and was of Welsh parentage,-his father having come from Wales to America, in 1720, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland. Robert Estep. after reaching maturity removed to Bedford county, Pa., making the trip on horseback,- and there engaged in agricultural pursuits. He subsequently bought a farm in Washing- ton county, Pa., and lived there during the re- mainder of his life. He was a Democrat in politics, and served as a "squire" under the old laws, being appointed by the governor. He was also burgess of Lawrenceville, when that was a busy little town, entirely apart from Pittsburg. He was united in marriage with Dorcas Wells, and they became the par- ents of thirteen children, namely: Eliza; Nathan; Jemima (Dailey) ; Ruth (Potter), of Darlington, Pa .; John; James, a physician, and later, a minister of the Gospel; Ephraim, whose business was that of a merchant ; Mary (Gaston); Elizabeth (Holmes); Thomas; Wil- liam, who died in infancy; Joseph; and William. v
Ephraim Estep, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Washington county, Pa., and was mentally trained in the public
schools, after which he took up the occupa- tion of a farmer, but subsequently learned the trade of a blacksmith,-buying a place which was furnished with water power. He then re- moved to Pittsburg and became a prominent manufacturer of shovels and axes,-buying the old plant of Orrin Waters. He supplied all the jobbers of Pittsburg, and employed about forty-five men. Some time later, he moved to New Brighton, Beaver county, Pa., and built a factory in which he manufactured all kinds of edge tools, employing seventy- five men, and in 1849, he retired, and turned the management over to two of his sons. He married Susanna Philips, a daughter of John Philips, who was a very successful merchant in Philadelphia. He was appointed an en- sign in Washington's army during the Revo- lutionary War, and the commission is highly prized by the subject hereof, in whose posses- sion it has remained. He was a man of exten- sive business interests, and besides conduct- ing his store he was an extensive weaver ; for many years he was a "squire" of his district. Religiously, he was a Baptist ; politically he was a member of the Whig party. Susanna Philips was born and educated in Philadel- phia, and as a result of her union with Eph- raim Estep, she became the mother of nine children : Mary Hall, deceased ; Joseph Phil- ips, manufacturer of wagons; William C .; David Philips, the subject of this sketch; Dor- cas (Marquis); Elvira; Harriet; Ephraim; and Robert.
David Philips Estep was mentally trained and educated in Washington county, Pa., in
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the public schools, and in the schools of Pitts- burg, and thereafter became prominently identified with his father's business interests. In 1849, he went to California, and became an active speculator,-being one of the first min- ers in that field. While in California he turned his attention to seine fishing in the Sacra- mento River and supplied the camps and towns with fish,-in this way doing a good business. In 1851, he returned to Pittsburg and was employed at the Lippencott axe fac- tory, for a time, but subsequently became foreman for Hubbard & Bakewell. He served in that capacity for thirty-two years, and as a workman was unexcelled. He seemed to possess the happy faculty of pro- curing the best efforts from the men under his direction, and yet, by showing them kind- ness and consideration, he gained their es- teem and affection. In fact, it was with great regret that they saw him take his departure from their midst in 1879, and he was pre- sented with what is, probably, the hand- somest set of engrossed resolutions ever drawn up in Pittsburg. It was an extraor- dinary exhibition of their regard for him, and was signed by a committee of seven, and by over two hundred of the employees. I is a gift of which any man would feel proud. He then removed to Beaver county, and pur- chased a tract of two hundred and seventy- one acres of land in Chippewa township, one- half of which was in a state of cultivation. The handsome brick house was then standing, and was known as the Mckinley homestead, but was subsequently owned by William David-
son and then by Mr. Hamilton, from whom the subject of our sketch purchased it. He made many important improvements on the place,-clearing a considerable portion of it,-and engaged in dairying and farming. He possessed fifty head of cattle,-making a specialty of Jersey stock,-and retailed milk, keeping two wagons busy in selling directly to the consumer. Up to the time of his death, he was ably assisted in the management of the farm by his son Edgar, who attended to all of the active duties incident to so extensive a business. He also had eleven head of fine horses, one of them being twenty-six years old, and still a very good horse,-a fact which speaks well for the treatment and care it has received. Mr. Estep made a host of friends after locating in Beaver county, and was everywhere received as a man of worth to the community.
His wife was Hannah Squires, who was born in 1823. and received an excellent mental training in the schools of Pittsburg,-being an exceptionally bright woman. He was de- prived of her companionship by death in 1892, when she was sixty-nine years old. They had the following children : Frances M., who died in infancy; Thomas S .; Albert D., who died in infancy; Susanna Catherine, who also died in infancy; Edgar S., who assisted his father; and Harry Clay, a prominent real estate dealer, of Pittsburg. Politically, the sub- ject of this memoir was a Republican. In re- ligious attachments he was a member of the Baptist church, of New Brighton. He was a member and past master of Pittsburg Lodge,
REV. JAMES L. DEENS.
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F. & A. M .; past commander of Pittsburg Commandery, No. 1; past commander-in- chief of Pittsburg consistory ; and a member of Arsenal Lodge, No. 480, I. O. O. F., of which he was, for some time, deputy grand master of the Pittsburg district. His death occurred September 22, 1899, and he was buried with Masonic honors in Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
R EV. JAMES L. DEENS, who for many years served in the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church, became thoroughly identified with the inter- ests of Beaver county, after his retirement from active ministerial service, when his pref- erence of the freedom of country life asserted itself in the choice of a home here. Prior to a permanent residence on his farm, how- ever, he had served as pastor of several local charges, and thus strengthened his interests in the Beaver Valley.
His thorough enjoyment of farm life, ex- empt from the strain of routine service, was marked by evidences of vitality and adapt- ability to surroundings seldom experienced by one of his years.
James L. Deens was born in County Ar- magh, Ireland, January 3, 1820, being the only child of James and Margaret (Graham) Deens. His father, of direct Scotch descent, died when a young man, and the widowed mother, during a period of general emigration from Ireland, brought her infant son to America,
locating in Pittsburg, which became to them a permanent home around which their inter- ests ever centered ; for there Mrs. Deens sub- sequently married John Lompre, a French Canadian, whose paternal interest in the boy was marked by a voluntary embodiment of the step-father's name in the boy's full name of James Lompre Deens, and by a close com- panionship in business, interrupted only by the sudden death of the father just as James was entering manhood.
To the mother, thus left a second time with a family of which only Lydia Sergeant and Eliza Lompre Irwin attained maturity and established families of their own, the best trib- ute that can be paid is the acknowledgment of the respect accorded her for half a century by all who came under the influence of her un- selfish spirit, which remained young and sym- pathetic until the close of a long life of loving interest in family and friends. In 1887, at the age of eighty-seven, she peacefully passed away.
James Lompre Deens during his early years was sent to both private and public schools, and when opportunity afforded, or necessity required, was reared by his father's side as a tobacconist, of which trade he be- came master. His general education was completed in the Western University of Pennsylvania, after which careful and thor- ough preparation for the ministry was made under the leading teachers of Methodism, to whose influence was largely due his connec- tion with the Pittsburg Conference in 1846.
After traveling several circuits, he became
,
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pastor in charge of various stations in Ohio and Pennsylvania, serving as Presiding Elder of the Barnesville District, Ohio, during that period of unrest in our Nation's History- the Civil War-in which he was commis- sioned Captain of the Barnesville Company, Monongahela Regiment of Unattached De- partmental Troops Volunteers.
Subsequently, as pastor, he was stationed successively at Brownsville, Pa., New Brigh- ton, Pa., Main street and Bingham street charges, Pittsburg, and at Mansfield Valley. His last appointments were all in Beaver county, at Georgetown, Homewood, Nobles- town, and Shoustown; after which a super- numerary relation, later changed to superan- nuated, was taken.
Two years after his admission to the confer- ence he was united in marriage with Mary E .. daughter of Samuel Mckinley, who stood high in the Masonic fraternity, and was also a prominent Methodist.
The wife shared faithfully her husband's itinerant life, and still survives him in her home in Beaver, surrounded by her chil- dren,-Margaret A., who resides with her mother; James C., representing the pottery industry of East Liverpool; Anna M., en- gaged in scientific work in the Pittsburg High School.
The three other children have established their own homes in Beaver : Minnie G., whose union with James Dowdell, a paper manufac- turer of Wellsburg, W. Va., resulted in the following issue,-Grace P., Marie E., James Deens, John Irwin, Anna M., and Olive S .;
Charles H. A. conducts his farm on the south side of Beaver county, but occupies a Beaver residence for the educational advantages of- fered there,-his marriage with Anna M. daughter of John Adams, the pioneer glass manufacturer of Pittsburg, has been blessed by the following children .- Harry Adams (recently deceased), Walter Lompre, Mary Natalie, John Adams, Charles Wilfred, Jean Annette, Alta Carol. and Helen Elizabeth; John L., a pharmacist, became united in mar- riage with Lydia Ferguson, to whom have been born two children, Louise and Lillian.
The paternal spirit showed itself strikingly in the watchful interest exercised by this father over children and grandchildren alike, and undoubtedly bore fruit in the community of family interests now centered in the Bea- ver Valley.
It would be a depreciating familiarity toward a man like James L. Deens to attempt to sum up in a few paragraphs his life of serv- ice, the responsibilities faithfully met, the hardships cheerfully undergone, or to describe his life as a husband, father, friend. and citi- zen. Brief mention, however, of a few strik- ing traits may be permitted. He knew men as few are able to know them; he believed his brethren, and with a loyal devotion he stood by his friends. As a preacher he knew what he wished to say and had unusual ability in making himself understood. Thoroughly fitted for his work, scriptural, evangelical, simple, fearless, though tender of heart, he taught his people righteousness. A despiser of shams, he could strip the borrowed gar-
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ments from assumed humility or pretentious ignorance. Master alike of pathos and in- vective, able to see at a glance the strong and the weak points of an issue, capable of clear statement, his arguments had often- times a startling suddenness, always a clear- ness, and kindly wit, which made him in an age of great conference debaters easily the foremost ; already some of his speeches belong to the traditions of the conference.
A lifelong student, when years of failing health came to him, he never lost interest in things which are and are to be. Questions of church polity, the civic discussions of the time, the welfare of the church and the work of his brethren were matters of living inter- est and constant conversation. Only the out- ward man grew old; mind and heart re- mained young. When retirement from active ministry became necessary, his nobleness of spirit was strikingly exhibited. Unwilling to be idle, fearful of an aimless existence, he lo- cated on his farm near Beaver, Beaver county, Pa. His children and their children always found this place of rest beautiful, as did also his old companions in the ministry, and other acquaintances who shared his hospitality. There he passed from this earth at Eastertide in 1892, and from the altar of home and church, he was borne to the Beaver Cemetery, and tenderly laid to rest in the beautiful Ohio Valley.
The publishers of this work take pleasure in announcing that a portrait of Rev. James L. Deens is presented in connection with the foregoing account of his life and deeds.
OHN H. PARK, one of the reliable business men of Rochester, Beaver county, Pa., is superintendent of the Park Fire Clay Company, a prominent firm whose products are shipped to all parts of this country and Canada. He is a son of James I. and Emiline (McDonald) Park, and was born in New Sewickley township, Beaver county, Pa., in 1856.
William Park, the great-grandfather of John H., was born in Cookstown, County Ty- rone, Ireland, whence, after attending school, he moved to Philadelphia, Pa., where he learned the trade of a stone mason. Papers in their original state, now in the possession of W. A. Park, show that he was admitted as a member of lodge No. 479, F. & A. M., at Tul- laghoge, County Tyrone, December 3, 1873. When he came to America, April 26, 1791, he was given a demit from that order, and also one by the Knights Templar, together with high recommendations as to his charac- ter. He landed in Philadelphia, in May, 1791, but located in Wilkinsburg, Allegheny county, Pa., in 1796, where he instituted the first, and for many years the only, Masonic lodge in that region. He followed his trade the rest of his life, and there are many houses standing in that county today which are the result of his work. He died at the age of eighty-eight years and was laid to rest in the Beulah burying grounds. His wife was Mary McGahey, who died at the age of ninety-four years, and they had the following offspring : John, who married Margaret Duff; James, who married Betsey Duff; David, whose
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wife was Ann Hamilton; Jane; Wil- liam, who married Nancy Johnson; Robert, who married Elizabethi Loney; and Thomas, who married Helen Duff.
David Park, the grandfather of the gentle- man whose name heads these lines, was born at Wilkinsburg, Pa., and early in life learned the trade of a wheelwright and wagon-maker. In 1845, he removed to Beaver county, pur- chasing a farm in New Sewickley township, where he followed his trade, and engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death. This property is now owned by his son, Theodore. He died at the age of eighty-six years, and was buried in Oak Grove cemetery, near Free- dom. His wife, Ann Hamilton, was born in Warren county, Ohio, in 1806, and died at the age of seventy-nine. Their children were: James I., the father of the subject hereof; William; George, who married Mary Beal; Elizabeth, the wife of Hiram Phillip; Mary, the wife of Rev. John Brown; David; and Theodore, who married Kate Campbell.
James I. Park was born at Wilkinsburg, Allegheny county, Pa., and learned the car- penter's trade, but early in life removed to Freedom, Beaver county, where he became a contractor and lumber dealer. He was very successful, and is now living in retirement near Freedom, where he owns a fine farm. He was first married to Emiline McDonald, a daughter of William and Rebecca (Magee) McDonald, who was of Scotch ancestry, and she died leaving four children, as follows : Wil- liam A., a record of whose life appears else- where in this Book of Biographies; John H.,
the subject proper of this sketch ; Annie V., the widow of Milton Mccullough ; and George I., who is also identified with the Park Fire Clay Company. Mr. Park formed a second union, in this instance with Mary Dean, a daughter of Samuel Dean, and they had two children : Mabel D. and Nellie D.
John H. Park was reared on the farin and studied in the public schools. He assisted his father in the lumber trade and later en- tered the field of business on his own account, opening a general store at Park Quarries, which he conducted under the firm name of J H. Park & Co. He also opened a stone quarry there, and in 1882 established an- other at New Galilee, from which he furnished fine sand stone for building .- shipping it to Pittsburg and Philadelphia. In 1885, the Park Fire Clay Company was organized at Park Quarries, with J. I. Park, president ; W. A. Park, treasurer, and John H. Park, superintendent. They have a capacity of 250,000 brick per day, and three hundred and fifty men are employed. The product is nearly all from Beaver county. The general office is at Rochester, Pennsylvania. They have filled large paving contracts in Pennsyl- vania and adjoining states, and ship brick to all parts of the United States and Canada. John H., and W. A. Park built a railroad three miles in length, connecting their es- tablishment at Park Quarries with the main line of the Pennsylvania Company at Conway, in 1884, and this they later sold to the Ohio River Junction Railroad Company. Of this the subject of this sketch is now president.
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DR. JAMES SCROGGS. JR.
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He is a man of great energy, is sagacious and possessed of keen foresight. He has always exerted his greatest efforts in what- soever he has undertaken, and the fruit of his work is evidenced by the prosperous condition of the plants under his supervision.
Mr. Park was joined in hymeneal bonds with Jennie M. Sproat, a daughter of James Sproat, of Economy township, Beaver county, and they are the parents of three children, namely: Emma, aged nineteen years; Wil- liam, who is seventeen; and Lizzie, who died at an early age.
R. JAMES SCROGGS, Jr., an emi- nent physician and surgeon of Bea- ver, Pa., a recent portrait of whom is shown on the opposite page, has seen twen- ty-four years of practice in Beaver alone, and stands at the head of his profession in West- ern Pennsylvania. Especially is this assertion true of his position in the field of surgery, to which he devotes especial attention, having probably done more work in that line than any other physician in the county. Dr. Scroggs, Jr., was born in Allegheny county, Pa., July 19, 1850, and is of Scotch ancestry. He ob- tained a good education in the Pittsburg schools, after which he began the study of medicine with his father, who was one of the . ablest physicians of his day. The subject of this review then entered the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich., and, after tak- ing a course of lectures there, he graduated from the Cincinnati College of Medicine and
Surgery in 1873. Engaging in the practice of his profession at Fairview, Pa., for two years, he met with a good degree of success. From Fairview, he went to Beaver, Pa., and became a partner with his father. In 1890, he took a trip to Europe, where, after visiting the place where his ancestors came from in Scotland, he attended the Charing Cross Medical College in London, taking a special course in surgery, and visiting the leading hospitals on the Con- tinent. He served eleven years as surgeon of the Beaver County Infirmary, and contrib- uted some valuable articles to the press. He was also one of the first promoters of the Beaver County Hospital at Rochester, Pa., and is one of its charter members.
The Doctor was united in marriage with Annie M. Aber, an accomplished daughter of John Aber, of Industry, Beaver county. This happy union resulted in the birth of four children, namely: A. Emily; James Joseph, at present a student of Pennsylvania Univers- ity; Hal E., at present a student at Geneva College; and Fred J. Dr. Scroggs, Jr., has ever taken a deep interest in the educational affairs of his home, having served on the board of education for a period of eleven years. He has always taken a great interest in the prog- ress and development of Beaver, and is one of the directors of the Beaver National Bank.
Dr. Scroggs, Jr., is a son of Dr. James and Emily (Seaton) Scroggs, grandson of James and Elizabeth (Gilbraith) Scroggs, great- grandson of James Scroggs, and great-great- grandson of James Scroggs, of Scotland, who was found when a small child by the side of
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his dead parents, victims during the "Rebel- lion of the Covenanters." This child was named Scroggs, which in Scotch means bush. He was thereafter called James Scroggs, grew to manhood and became one of the represen- tatives to the Lord Chief Justice of Scotland. According to history, James Scroggs, the great-grandfather of our subject, immigrated to America about 1760, from near Edinburgh, Scotland, locating near Cumberland, Cum- berland county, Pa., where he settled in com- pany with some Scotch Covenanters. He ac- quired a large tract of land in that vicinity later in life, and was either a minister of the Gos- pel, or a physician,-it is not definitely known which. He brought eight children with him to America, having two children born to him later in this country. His first wife, who was a Miss Jack before marriage, bore her hus- band the following children: James, Ebene- zer, John, Ellen, Polly, Reynold, Rachel, and Joseph. His second matrimonial alliance was contracted with a Miss Cowden, but the names of their children have not been pre- served. The old homestead in Cumberland is still known as the Scroggs estate, although it is now owned by a Mr. Armstrong.
James Scroggs, grandfather of our subject, was born in the Cumberland Valley, Pennsyl- vania, and in early life moved to Washington county, Pa., where he came in possession of a large tract of land, near Midway, and, being an ardent lover of the beauties of nature, he devoted his life to agricultural pursuits. He was married to Annie Paxton, who bore him two children : Margaret; and James Paxton,
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