Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th, Part 146

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1526

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William M. Kennedy was educated in the public schools and at Witherspoon In- stitute, after which he became interested in horses and for years was an extensive dealer. He has also been connected with the oil industry. He has always been an active citizen and has taken part in poli- tics, and in 1903 he was elected mayor of Butler. He served for three years in this office and it was during this period that the great typhoid fever epidemic visited this city. In that time of dread, danger and sorrow, he proved himself a man of resource and handled the situation and met the grave responsibilities in a way that endeared him to his fellow citizens and cemented their confidence.

Mr. Kennedy was married on August 29, 1888, to Miss Elmira P. Hays, a daughter of Edward W. Hays, who in pioneer days ran a stage from Washington to Erie and at one time had in commission as many as 800 horses. Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy have three children, Jean, Belle and John. Mr. Kennedy is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, the Eagles and the Woodmen of the World.

ROBERT MORRIS WADE is a pros- perous farmer of Venango Township, But- ler County, Pennsylvania, and is the owner of a fine farm of 100 acres, located one

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and a quarter miles south of the borough of Eau Claire. He was born in Washing- ton Township, Butler County, January 21; 1860, and is a son of Isaac, Jr., and Mary (Hannah) Wade, and a grandson of Isaac Wade.

Isaac Wade, Jr., was a soldier in the Union Army and lost his life during the Civil War. He married Mary Hannah, a daughter of Robert Hannah of Washing- ton Township, and the following children were born to them: Elizabeth, who had six children as a result of her union with Lewis Korona-Manuel, Mary, Elizabeth, Annie, Louisa and Lewis; Robert M., sub- ject of this sketch; Isaac H., deceased; and one who died in infancy. After the death of Lewis Korona, Elizabeth Wade Korona married John Hein. The mother of this family, after the demise of Isaac Wade, formed a union with Robert Wade, brother of her first husband, and they had three children-Mifflin, Clarinda and Isaac.

Robert Morris Wade first attended school at Annisville, in his native town- ship, and assisted in the work upon the farm. He later worked at lumbering in the woods about Bear Lake, Michigan, for some time, but finally returned to Butler County, Pennsylvania. Here he purchased a farm of sixty-six acres of the Sloan heirs in Venango Township, which he owned for a time and then sold to the Lake Trade Coal Company. He next pur- chased the one hundred acre tract on which he now lives from M. J. Kuhn of Grove City, the latter having obtained it from Jacob Frantz. Mr. Wade has made most of the improvements on the place and built all of the buildings. He has eighty acres in tillable shape and about twenty acres of timberland.

January 10, 1882, Robert M. Wade was married to Louise Sloan, a daughter of . Samuel Sloan, and they became parents of the following children: Minnie, who mar- ried Robert Wood, a son of James Wood

of Hilliard, and has a daughter, Gladys; Harry; John; Philip; Alonzo; Finley; Curtis; and Thomas. Religiously, they are attendants at the Methodist Episcopal Church of Eau Claire. Mr. Wade is a Republican in politics, and was elected road supervisor and school director, but declined to serve. Fraternally, he is a member of Lawrenceburg Lodge, No. 782, I. O. O. F., at Parkers Landing, and served as representative at the grand lodge at Scranton.

ELLSWORTH MILLER, president of the Butler city council, is head bookkeeper of the W. S. Wick Lumber Company and is one of Butler's best known citizens. He was born in 1862, in Center Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania. His father, Samuel Miller, was born in Butler County in 1820, and was a son of Michael Miller, who was one of the early settlers of the county.

Although both his grandfather and father were agriculturists, and he was reared on a farm, Ellsworth Miller chose another calling. After completing his education in the public schools and at West Sunbury Academy he learned teleg- raphy and went into railroad work and for three years was agent at Jamisonville, Pennsylvania, and relief agent for the road which was then the Pittsburg, She- nango & Lake Erie Railroad. He was then promoted to the position of freight agent for the Bessemer & Lake Erie Rail- road Company at Butler, Pennsylvania, and was also paymaster during the con- struction of the line from Butler to North Bessemer, Pennsylvania. He remained with the Bessemer & Lake Erie at Butler for sixteen years. He then accepted the position he now fills with the W. S. Wick Lumber Company. He has been a resi- dent of Butler for twenty years and has taken an active interest in local affairs. He was chosen a member of the city coun- cil on account of his eminent fitness for

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the position and is serving in his third term and is president of this important body. Mr. Miller's business judgment has been of great value to his fellow citizens and they very generally recognize the fact.

In 1888, Mr. Miller was married to Miss Amy Frances Wick, of Oil City, Pennsyl- vania, and they have four children: Mary Florence, who is a teacher in the public schools; and Pauline Frances, Clinton Reddick, and Milton Ellsworth. Mr. Miller and family belong to Grace Luth- eran Church. He is a member of the Protected Home Circle, and the Woodmen of the World, being head manager of the latter for six years for the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

W. E. GAMBLE, a well known resident of Allegheny Township, Butler County, Penna., has oil interests in various parts of the country, and has been a producer for more than a quarter of a century. He is also engaged in agricultural pursuits in this township, where he has been located since 1876. He was born in Franklin coun- ty, Penna., March 1, 1856, and is a son of James F. and Bethsheba M. (Morrow) Gamble, both natives of Franklin County. The Gamble family is an old and respected one in that county.

W. E. Gamble was reared to maturity in his native community and there re- ceived his educational training in the pub- lic schools. For more than thirty years he has been more or less identified with the oil industry, and is one of the pioneers of the Allegheny Township oil fields, where he has been a producer for more than thirty years. He has interests in the Byron Center oil fields, and also in the fields of Lawrence and Richland Counties in Illinois. He has been a school di- rector in Allegheny Township for a num- ber of years, and has served as secretary of the board. He is independent in poli- tics, voting for the man without. regard to his party affiliations.

Mr. Gamble was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Parton of Mercer County, Penna., and five children were born to them: Herbert B., of East Liberty, Ohio, who married Miss Anna Smith; Mervin C. of Marion, Indiana, who married Pearl Manna and has one daughter, Mildred May; Major C. of Allegheny Township; Paul E., also of Allegheny Township; and Alice, who lives at home with her parents. Religiously, Mr. Gamble and his family are members of the Allegheny Presbyterian Church. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees at Parker.

JOHN McKAIN, a well known citizen and substantial retired farmer of Venango Township, Butler County, was born in 1832, in Ireland, and is a son of Samuel and Nancy (Bovard) McKain.

The parents of Mr. McKain came to America with their children and lived first at Philadelphia and later came to Wash- ington Township, Butler County. They had the following children: Sarah, who married George Haggarty, of Emlenton, Penna .; Jane, who married Joseph Hen- derson, of Philadelphia, had two children, Annie and Mary; James, who married Emma Richey, daughter of James Richey, of Venango County, had seven children- Samuel, Jennie, Sarah, Rebecca, John, William and Frank; Catherine, who mar- ried David McKain, of Washington, Penna., had four children-George, Annie, Louisa and James; and John.

After his parents established them- selves in Philadelphia, John McKain at- tended school and then worked in a brick- yard there until he accompanied his father to Washington Township, Butler County. In 1858 he bought a farm of 132 acres in Venango Township, Butler County, and after clearing it he returned to Philadelphia, where he conducted a brick-yard of his own. He was married there in 1861 and then returned to his Butler County land, on which he has re-

MR. AND MRS. W. E. GAMBLE

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sided ever since. Mr. McKain has sold all of his farm except fifty-two acres, to his son Silas. Mr. McKain did all the improving on the land and developed it into a valuable property. He was a prom- inent citizen in his neighborhood during his active years, took a deep interest in public matters and on the Democratic ticket was elected township auditor and school director, serving for three years in the former office and for twelve years in the latter. He is one of the leading mem- bers of the Eau Claire Methodist Episco- pal Church, of which he has been trustee and steward for thirty years and his seat in the sanctuary is seldom vacant, al- though he has to drive two miles from his farm to the village.

Mr. McKain was married in August, 1861, to Miss Ellen Hoffman, a daughter of Samuel Hoffman, of Cape May, New Jersey, and they have had the following children : James, who married Catherine Pringle, a daughter of Joseph Pringle, of Dubois, Penna .; John, who married Mar- tha Rodgers, has five children-Vala, Daniel, Margaret, Joseph and Martha; Annie, who married Henry Custard, of Rimersburg, Clarion County, has three sons-John, Joseph and George; Samuel, who married Elizabeth Montgomery, daughter of Henry Montgomery, has seven children-Joseph, Helen, Adeline, Mary, Walter, Julia and Silas; Isaiah P., who married Mary Sloan, daughter of Thomas Sloan, of Venango Township; David, who married Dora Melvin, has one daughter, Hazel; Sarah, who married George Schmuck, of Emlenton, Penna., has seven children-Elizabeth A., George C., Helen Marie, Paul Silas, Grace, Marie and an infant; Silas, who married Mar- garet A. Jones, daughter of John Jones, of Birdville, Penna .; and Joseph, who resides at home.

The coal bank of the McKain Bros. Coal Company of Venango Township is situ- ated about one and one-half miles north

of Hilliards. This coal bank was first opened by James Higgins, who sold it to M. F. Mizner, of Erie, Penna., who sold it to the McKain Bros. The mine yields under present working about 2,500 bushels of coal in a nine-hour day.

ALFRED ZEIGLER, a representative citizen of Mars, Butler County, where he is engaged in dealing in hardware and roofing, was born in the old residence standing on the homestead farm in Jack- son Township, this county, not far from Evans City, on November 17, 1864, and is a son of Abraham M. and Sarah (Mateer) Zeigler.

The Zeigler family of Butler County originated in Germany, but it has been established in Pennsylvania ever since the death of the great-grandfather of the sub- ject of the sketch-Jacob Zeigler-who came from Zeiglerville, Montgomery Coun- ty, Penna., to Butler County and bought a large tract of land in the vicinity of Har- mony. His three sons inherited this land, one of them being David, who was born in Butler County and spent his life near Harmony. David Zeigler had twelve chil- dren, seven of whom died when young. The five whose names have been preserved were G. M. Zeigler, Abraham M., Henry, David, and Elizabeth. The last mentioned became the wife of Lewis Sheever.

Abraham M. Zeigler, father of Alfred, was born on the farm at Harmony, and spent his entire life in that vicinity. He married Sarah Mateer, who was a native of Allegheny County, Penna., and who still survives. His death occurred Febru- ary 2, 1906. The family numbered twelve children, namely: Diodoris, Theodore, Frank, Alfred, Clark, Grant, David, Ferdi- nand, Edward, Russell, Melzena and Yetta.

Alfred Zeigler spent his boyhood on the home farm, attending the public schools during the winter season until he was eighteen years old, when he taught his first term of school. Meeting with success in

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this occupation, he subsequently taught three terms in Penn Township and Har- mony, and finally became principal of the Evans City school. For several years fol- lowing he was employed in the store of George Ifft & Son, at Evans City; then for two years and a half he was engaged in drilling and dressing tools in the oil fields. In the spring of 1891 he came to Mars, where he opened a small roofing and tin shop. The enterprise proving success- ful, he added hardware, and after con- ducting the establishment for ten years, he found it necessary to secure larger quarters, and accordingly moved into his own two-story brick block on Main Street, which he had erected in 1901. Here he carries a complete stock of hardware, stoves, builders' supplies, slate roofing, and other material in this line. He is also president of the Mars Brick and Tile Com- pany. His business enterprise, united with honest methods, have brought him his present prosperity.

Mr. Zeigler is a Democrat in politics. He was one of the original organizers of the borough of Mars, was elected presi- dent of the first borough council, and sub- sequently served as president and treas- urer of the school board. He belongs to several fraternal organizations at Mars, including the Maccabees, the Modern Woodmen, and the Knights of Pythias. In 1891 Mr. Zeigler married Rose F. Crum, a daughter of Amos Crum. They have two children-Floyd and Lucille.

WILLIAM T. FREEHLING, a member of the well known firm of Krause & Freeh- ling, general merchants and lumber deal- ers of Marwood, Winfield Township, was born August 17, 1866, son of John G. and Anna (Miller) Freehling. His parental grandfather Henry Freehling, was born in Germany and came to this country at an early date, being one of the first settlers in Butler County, Pennsylvania.

The subject of this sketch was educated

in the common schools of Butler County, and in the year 1887 he began industrial life as a clerk in the general store of Louis Weidhos, remaining there until November, 1896. He and his father-in-law, Robert Krause, then purchased the entire busi- ness and goodwill and have since con- ducted the store under the firm name of Krause & Freehling. They have a large and varied stock of hardware, furniture, wagons, buggies, farming implements, lumber, brick, lime, cement, plaster, sewer pipe, etc., and they have a large trade among the farmers and other residents of this section, having gained a reputation for fair and straightforward dealing that has done much to increase their business.

Mr. Freehling was married, in 1893, to Anna E. Krause, a daughter of Robert and Maria (Camphire) Krause, and into their household have been born four chil- dren, Bessie M., R. LeRoy, Florence I., and J. Roland, all of whom promise to be worthy and useful members of society.

Mr. Freehling is a member of Saxonia Lodge, No. 496, I. O. O. F., and religiously a member of the English Lutheran Church.

LEONARD FREDERICK WICK, whose valuable farm of ninety acres is situated in Connoquenessing Township, is a repre- sentative citizen of this section and one of the successful agriculturists. He was born December 16, 1851, in Donegal Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, and is a son of Conrad and Sophia (Hetzel) Wick.

The father of Mr. Wick was born in Germany and was brought to America by his parents who settled first at Harmony and then moved into Donegal Township. He was a stone-mason by trade and he also engaged in farming, owning a large property. He was married three times, his last wife being Sophia Hetzel. Her father was born in Germany. To this marriage five children were born, namely : Elizabeth, deceased, who was the wife of John Cress; Leonard F .; Adam, who

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lives in Connoquenessing Township; Ja- cob, who died in Missouri; and Mollie, who is the wife of Hartman Endress, of New Brighton. Conrad Wick and wife were members of the Lutheran Church. In 1870 they settled on the farm in Con- noquenessing Township, a part of which their son Leonard F. now owns.

Leonard F. Wick was nineteen years old when he accompanied his parents to Con- noquenessing Township and he has re- sided here ever since. He owns ninety acres of the original farm and cultivates seventy acres, raising corn, oats, wheat, hay, potatoes and buckwheat. He keeps first class livestock, has ten head of cattle and the same number of hogs. In the early winter seasons he does considerable butchering for his neighbors. In politics, Mr. Wick is a Republican but he is not enough interested to be willing to take on himself the cares of any office.

Mr. Wick married Miss Emma Rea, a daughter of Samuel Rea, of Penn Town- ship, Butler County, and they have one daughter, Hazel, who resides with her parents. Mr. Wick and family belong to St. John's Reformed Church. He is a quiet, industrious, reliable citizen and is held in esteem by all who know him.

JAMES HALL TEBAY, a well known citizen of Butler, Penna., who has been employed in the United States Revenue service since 1894, for many years gave his attention to educational affairs, having charge of various schools in Butler County. He was born November 28, 1847, in Muddy Creek Township, this county, and is a son of Joseph and Jane C. (Mc- Kee) Tebay.

Mr. Tebay's paternal grandfather was William Tebay, a native of England, who came to this country at an early date, locating first in the eastern part of Penn- sylvania, but later crossing the mountains and settling in the valley of Muddy Creek, Butler County. There were cross roads

on the land where William located and they became known as the Tebay Cross Roads. A clearing was made near the spring, by which a fine willow tree stood, and here a log house was erected, but an- other building was later built nearer the cross roads. Here William Tebay was engaged in farming until his death. He and his wife are both buried at Mountville, Lawrence County. They were the parents of eight children, as follows: Robert, who lived and died on part of the homestead farm in Butler County; William, who spent substantially his entire life in Mer- cer County, his descendants being now in the West; Isaac, who resided in Ohio, opposite Sistersville, West Virginia, and some of whose descendants still reside in that locality, while others have gone West; John, who always resided in Muddy Creek Township, who was a teacher, and widely recognized as an extremely able mathematician; Joseph, father of the sub- ject of this sketch; Isabella, whose hus- band, Christopher Russel, died near Muddy Creek, her death occurring at the home of Mrs. Alexander Balph of New Castle; Hannah, who married Archie Mc. Gown, who died on his farm in Muddy Creek Township (she afterwards moved with her family to the West, her death occurring in Chicago, where she was buried) ; and Mary, who married Isaac Stephenson and resided in Butler County all her life.

The maternal grandfather of the sub- ject of this sketch was Richard McKee, who came to the United States in 1805 from County Antrim, Ireland. He located on a tract of land in Pleasant Valley, Muddy Creek Township, and both he and his wife are buried at Portersville. Their children were as follows: Samuel, who moved to a farm in Mercer County, where he died; David, who resided all his life on the old homestead in Pleasant Valley, where his descendants still live; Jane C., who became the wife of Joseph Tebay and

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the mother of the subject of this sketch; Isabella, whose death occurred in Ohio and who married Isaac Tebay; Eliza, who married Samuel Kelly and resided for many years in Slippery Rock on a large farm, which they later sold, passing the remainder of their lives on a farm which they purchased near Butler, where they are buried; Mary, who married David Mc- Connell and resided all her life on the homestead near Butler in Butler Town- ship and whose son James McConnell now resides on the farm; Catherine, who mar- ried David Smith, a wagonmaker, and re- sided at Enon Valley, Lawrence County; Martha, who married James Gardner and resided at North Washington, Butler County (her husband went to California in company with Edward Frazier and never returned) ; and Margaret, who be- came the wife of John M. Shira, and resides in Parker Township near the village of Annisville.

Joseph Tebay, father of James Hall Tebay, was born in Westmoreland County, England, and came to this country with his parents when twelve years of age. He was reared on his father's farm in Muddy Creek Township and was there engaged in farming all his life. He married Jane C. McKee and their children were William D., Catherine McKee, Matilda, Eliza J., Amanda, Margaret, and James Hall.

William D. Tebay, who is now deceased, was a farmer residing on the old Tebay homestead; he married Margaret Mc- Gown. Catherine McKee Tebay married John Douthett and moved to Calaveros County, California, where her husband died and was buried at Angel's Camp. She subsequently married Samuel Abbott, who came here from Connecticut. Her death took place in Oakland, where she is buried in Greenwood Cemetery. Matilda became the wife of James Jones of Mercer County, where they spent the rest of their lives. She has a son, an officer in the army, who has been twice to the Philippine

Islands. Eliza J. married Henry A. Black of Chicago, Ill. Amanda, who died in her twenty-sixth year, was unmarried. Margaret married M. J. Mccullough and now resides in Wilkinsburg, Penna.

James Hall Tebay acquired his early educational training in the common schools of Muddy Creek Township, and at a pri- vate school in Portersville, besides taking a course at the old Witherspoon Institute of Butler. After finishing his studies he was engaged in farming and teaching for some years. In the fall of 1875 he was elected to the office of prothonotary, in which he served for three years. He then resumed teaching, first in Franklin Town- ship, afterwards spending three years at Zelienople, where he had charge of the schools from 1887 to 1889, being principal at the time of the first graduation. Dur- ing the year 1890 he was principal of the schools at Harmony. While acting as principal of the schools Mr. Tebay was elected justice of the peace, and served as such for a period of five years, during which time he was also engaged in writing oil leases. In the spring of 1894 he re- ceived an appointment in the United States Revenue service in which he has since been actively engaged. He was at one time a registered law student, but has never entered actively into the profession. He has always lived in Butler County, having been a resident of Muddy Creek Township, Butler, Prospect, and Zelie- nople, and at the present time he travels between different points in the Twenty- third . Internal Revenue District.

In 1870 Mr. Tebay was united in mar- riage with Anna Eliza Mccullough, a daughter of Matthew and Fanny Jane (Shannon) Mccullough. The children of this marriage are as follows: Lillian E., wife of C. S. Passavant of Zelienople; Fanny B., a teacher in the Butler public schools; Herschel M., who has been en- gaged in educational work as school prin- cipal in Indiana; and Grace, who after

ROBERT S. IRWIN

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graduating from the Zelienople High School and the Butler Business College, passed the civil service examination of the city department of Pittsburg, but is at present in the employ of a large contract- ing company of that city. Mrs. Tebay, whose death occurred October 3, 1905, was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Butler, to which Mr. Tebay also belongs. In politics he is a stanch Democrat, believing thoroughly in the

principles upheld by Jackson, Jefferson and Bryan, and keeps closely in touch with public affairs. He has always been greatly opposed to the present National Banking system, as established and de- fined by the Sherman act, believing it to be a flagrant example of class legislation that should be repudiated by the American people.

ROBERT STERLING IRWIN, al- though just entering middle life, is a man of wide experience in business affairs, and has been prominently identified with the affairs of Forward Township, Butler Coun- ty, Penna. He was born in Pittsburg, Sep- tember 9, 1874, but comes of an old family of Butler County. He is a son of John A. and Margaret F. (Calvin) Irwin, and a grandson of Washington Irwin, who was an early resident of Forward Township and lived on the home farm there at the time of his death.

John A. Irwin was born in Cadiz, Ohio, and for many years followed the business of book binding in various parts of the country. He was located at Memphis, Tennessee, at the time Lincoln first ran for president, and cast one of the two votes recorded for him in that city, with the re- sult that his house and shop were stormed and his property destroyed, entailing a loss of some $7,000. He was left without a cent in the world, and immediately repaired to the north, locating at Pittsburg where he made a fresh start in life. He was a man of indomitable will power and unusual abil-

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Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th, Part 146

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1526

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1526