Century history of New Castle and Lawrence County, Pennsylvania and representative citizens, 20th, Part 119

Author: Hazen, Aaron L. (Aaron Lyle), 1837- comp. and ed. cn
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold publishing co.
Number of Pages: 1058

USA > Pennsylvania > Lawrence County > New Castle > Century history of New Castle and Lawrence County, Pennsylvania and representative citizens, 20th > Part 119

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After his marriage, James Crawford bought a small place in North Beaver Township, which he later sold, buying a farm near Mt. Jackson. This also he sold in a few years and bought the present Crawford farm of 120 acres in Big Beaver Township, and 100 acres in North Beaver Township, his house being in Big Beaver and his barn in North Beaver Township. In his younger days James Crawford fol- lowed bricklaying and stone-cutting, build- ing many walls throughout this section, which are still in good condition. That he was well thought of by his fellow citizens is proved by the fact that he was elected county commissioner on the Republican ticket and was sworn in, but died before he had an opportunity to enter upon the duties of the office. He belonged to no fra-

ternal orders, but was a member of the United Presbyterian Church. He and his wife Nancy were the parents of seven chil- dren, as follows: William Henderson, Samuel W .; Edwin W., who is as- sistant postmaster at New Castle; Thomas Porter, who resides on the old homestead; Robert James; Silas Elmer, and one who died in infancy. James Crawford died on the homestead in January, 1891, and is survived by his widow, who is now past the age of seventy- eight years. She resides on her 220-acre farm in North Beaver and Big Beaver Townships, about seven miles south of New Castle, and is one of the most respected residents in that locality, where she has passed the greater part of her life.

William Henderson Crawford was reared on his father's farm in North Bea- ver Township, and in his early days assist- ed in the farm work. He attended the schools of the district, and then worked five years at the trade of a stone-cutter. At the age of twenty-one years he went west to Noble County, Indiana, where he worked on a farm for six years, during which time he was married. He subsequently re- turned with his bride to Lawrence County, and began railroading on the Allegheny Valley Railroad. He was employed as fire- man five years, then was promoted to en- gineer, in which capacity he served eleven years. In 1892 he purchased his present farm of fifty-eight acres in Big Beaver Township, of Joseph McAnlis, it being a part of the old William McAnlis home- stead. At the end of his railroad service he located upon this farm and turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, farming also a part of his mother's land. A man of great energy and enterprise, progres- sive in the methods he employs and a cap- able manager, he has prospered and at- tained a position of affluence in the com- munity.

Mr. Crawford was married in December, 1883, to Miss Elmira Thumma, a daughter of John Thumma, who was an early day

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resident of Ohio, and from there moved to Noble County, Indiana. This marriage was blessed by the birth of seven children, three of whom died in infancy: William J., who teaches school and is preparing himself for the profession of a civil en- gineer at Ohio Northern University at Ada, Ohio; Florence, who attended school at Brighton, Pa., and is now teaching; Nancy, and Mary. Mr. Crawford has been a life-long Republican, and has served as mercantile appraiser. He was formerly a member of the Order of Odd Fellows; the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. He resides in a comfortable house, and his farm is well located, being seven miles southwest of New Castle, near the Penn- sylvania, Lake Erie and Baltimore & Ohio Railroads.

J. L. SOMERS, one of New Castle's sub- stantial business men, who has been en- gaged in a general contracting line here for a number of years, is also a veteran of the great Civil War and a valued member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He was born in Lancaster County, Pennsyl- vania, in 1845.

Mr. Somers was a babe of one year when his parents removed to Mifflin Coun- ty, and there he was reared and attended school. In 1861 he enlisted in the service of his country, entering the Thirty-sixth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infan- try, for three months. After a short period of rest at the close of this term he re-en- listed for three years as a member of the Twentieth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volun- teer Cavalry. He saw many hardships in- cident to the life of a soldier. In July, 1864, he was made a prisoner by Mosby's band of guerrillas, at Ashby Gap, but as he was sick he was willingly paroled. He was on the skirmish line when General Lee sur- rendered, and witnessed the stirring scenes of that eventful time.

After the close of his military service, Mr. Somers returned to Mifflin County and

followed railroad work until 1877, and then went into business first as a farmer, but later as a contractor. Since 1879 his busi- ness has been general contracting, and when he came first to New Castle, in 1897, he was foreman on several very important contracts, and after they were finished he went into the business here for himself. Mr. Somers built the Lindall Street sewer, the largest and most important of these public utilities at New Castle, and other like structures, together with innumerable buildings of all kinds. He has given his personal attention to his contracts and has completed them honestly and punctually. Mr. Somers is a Republican, but no longer takes any very active interest in politics, although formerly, while living in West- moreland County, he was an important fac- tor therein.

In 1872 Mr. Somers was married (first) to Miss Rosa Jennings, who, at death, left three children: Mary, now deceased; Jennie, wife of Smith Sankey, of New Cas- tle, and John L., who is associated with his father in business. In 1898 Mr. Somers was married, secondly, to Sarah Harris.

GEORGE ALONZO MARTIN, one of the best known citizens of North Beaver Township, Lawrence County, Pennsyl- vania, is engaged in general farming and dairying. He was born near Edenburg, Mahoning Township, of this county, Jan- uary 10, 1842, and is a son of Alfred and Rachel (Blazier) Martin.

Alfred Martin, the father, was born in the State of Maine and when a young man moved to Pittsburg, Pa. He located on an island below the city and was there en- gaged in truck gardening for some time. He next moved to Mahoning Township, then in Beaver County, now Lawrence, and farmed there some years. About 1854 he moved to North Beaver Township, pur- chasing the farm now owned by Thomas Norwood, near Westfield Church, and lived there until 1864, when he sold out to John Norwood. He then purchased 180 acres,

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where our subject now lives, and resided there until his death in 1895. His widow survived him two years, dying in 1897. She was born and reared in Washington Coun- ty, Pennsylvania, where she was living at the time of her marriage. They became the parents of the following children: Cal- vin, who ' served in an Illinois regiment during the Civil War, and died in the hos- pital as the result of exposure during the battle of Pittsburg Landing; Julia, de- ceased, who was the wife of Samuel Gib- son; Harriet, wife of James A. Davidson; George Alonzo; Algernon L., who is in the department of the secretary of agriculture for the State of Pennsylvania, and who is known prominently throughout the State as a writer on agricultural subjects and a lecturer before farmers' institutes, of which he has charge for the State; Eliza- beth, deceased, was the wife of Milo Gib- son; Alfred, who died at the age of nine- teen years; Frank A., a painter, who lives in North Beaver Township, and Zelia, wife of David Bradford, of New Castle.

George Alonzo Martin, better known as "Lon" Martin, was reared on the farm and received a common school education. He has followed farming more or less all through life, and at the same time has worked at his trade as a painter. He sold out sixty acres, his share of the home farm, and for a time lived in Little Beaver Town- ship, where he had purchased land. This he subsequently sold and went west to Kansas, where he purchased a tract of land, but never resided. He returned to the home place, where he now owns some sixty acres. His son, Calvin O. Martin, owns a 100-acre farm adjoining on the west, and makes his home with his parents. Our subject follows diversified farming, but makes a specialty of dairying.

In 1871 Mr. Martin was united in mar- riage with Mary Kennedy, who was born and reared in Beaver County, Pennsyl- vania, and is a daughter of David and Ra- chel Kennedy. They were married in North

Beaver Township and have four children, as follows: Lillian, who married S. D. Ful- lerton and has four children, namely : Amy, Guy, Margaret and Esther; Calvin O., who is single and resides at home; Rachel, who also is at home, and Harry, who is in the passenger service of the Pittsburg & Lake Erie Railroad.

Mr. Martin saw service during the Civil War, enlisting August 23, 1864, as a mem- ber of Company B, Fifth Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery. He served until the close of the war, then returned home. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Repub- lic, whilst in religious attachment he is a member of the Petersburg Presbyterian Church.

REV. JOSEPH K. BYLER, Amish preacher and a recognized leader among his people, resides on a farm in Neshan- nock Township. He was born in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, April 15, 1847, and is a son of Solomon and Annie (Kauffman) Byler.

Solomon Byler, a son of Christian Byler, was born in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, and lived to the age of seventy-eight years. He moved from his native county to Wil- mington Township, Lawrence County, about the year 1849, and purchased a farm on which he lived several years, then moved to Pulaski Township. He married Annie Kauffman, a daughter of Isaac Kauffman of Juniata County, Pennsyl- vania, and they became parents of eight children, of whom the following grew to maturity: Moses, of Wilmington Town- ship; Joseph K .; Christian, of near Pitts- burg; Isaac, of Pulaski Township, and Annie, wife of Moses Wendgard, of Geau- ga County, Ohio. Religiously the parents of this family belonged to the Amish Church.

Rev. Joseph K. Byler was reared and educated in Pulaski Township, whither his parents had moved when he was young. He helped farm the home place, on which

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he lived until the second year after his marriage, and then rented a farm in Ma- honing Township. About the year 1888 he purchased his present farm of fifty acres in Neshannock Township, where he carries on general farming and stock rais- ing. He has a fine orchard of three acres and a well improved farm throughout. A man of industry and frugal habits, he earned a competency and is considered one of the substantial and reliable residents of the township. Although a man of deep learning, his educational advantages in his youth were limited and his education was acquired only through individual research and long years of study. A man of the highest Christian type, with all the qualifi- cations of a leader, he has been a power for the accomplishment of good, not alone in the congregation over which he has guidance, but throughout the community. His transactions in the field of business have always been characterized by the strictest honesty and fairness, and there is none more universally accorded the re- spect and confidence of the people than he. He is a man of wide acquaintance. The Amish live close to nature, following the simple life of the early Christians, are a moral and law-abiding people and elevate the moral tone of any community in which they are found. Were more to follow their precepts, their unpretentious manner of living, and adopt their frugal and indus- trious habits, there would be little use for the costly penal institutions and alms- houses so necessary in our country.

Rev. Byler was united in marriage with Sarah Yoder, a daughter of Benjamin Yo- der, of Mifflin County, and they have had four children to grow up, namely: Betsy, wife of David H. Byler, of Wilmington; Lydia, wife of Isaac Yoder, of Wilming- ton; Sarah, wife of John L. Yoder, of Ne- shannock Township, and Eli, who is living on the home place. In politics Mr. Byler is a Republican, but reserves the right to cast his ballot for the man best suited for the office.

ANDREW B. SPENCER, whose place of business is at No. 74 Pittsburg Street, New Castle, handles and deals in all kinds of house furnishing goods, a business he established seventeen years ago. Mr. Spencer was born in 1868, in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, and is a son of the late John H. and Jane (Jones) Spencer. Her father came to America from Wales about 1832 and settled in Pittsburg, and to New Castle about 1850. His name was David Jones. He was a boilermaker by trade-one of the first in this country.

John H. Spencer was born in Massachu- setts and came to Lawrence County in 1850, with his father, Paul Spencer. John H. Spencer was a shoemaker by trade, but after he came to New Castle he entered into mill work and became foreman of one of the big mills.

Andrew B. Spencer attended school through the usual period and began his business career as a traveling salesman. Later he engaged in a grocery business, but in 1891 he established his present house furnishing business, gradually en- larging and adding new features until he now offers to the public a complete line of everything needed to furnish either a hum- ble cottage or an elegant mansion. He has the largest establishment of its kind in New Castle. He has made investments at. New Castle and is interested in several other successful enterprises. In 1891 Mr. Spencer was married (first) to Miss Minta L. Brown. She died in 1898 without issue, and in 1906 Mr. Spencer was united in marriage with Miss Ina M. Eberly, daugh- ter of H. K. and S. J. R. Eberle, and grand- daughter of Dr. Murray, one of the pioneer physicians of this section; was born and reared at New Castle. Mr. Spencer is a member of the Christian Church.

MILTON FULLERTON, whose valu- able farm of seventy-five acres is situated in North Beaver Township, Lawrence County, was born on this farm July 22, 1839, son of James and Ann (Clark) Ful-

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lerton. James Fullerton, father of Milton, was born on a farm one mile southwest of the present one, and was a son of James Fullerton, a pioneer settler of this section. The second James Fullerton was reared in North Beaver Township, and followed farming all his life. Both he and his wife died on the farm of their son, Milton, to which they had come when they married. The mother was a daughter of John Clark, who came to this locality from the eastern part of the State. Of the family of nine children born to James Fullerton and wife, three survive, namely: Milton, subject of this sketch; Margaret Jane, who married Samuel Moorhead, of New Castle, and Nancy Quigley, who married Charles L. Harrah, of New Castle.

Milton Fullerton was reared on the farm he now owns and since his school days end- ed has been engaged in its cultivation and improvement. He carries on general agri- culture. In 1866 the comfortable residence was built and in 1901 he put up the large and substantial barn. He owns improved machinery and excellent stock.

Mr. Fullerton married Margaret Ann Hayes, who is a daughter of John R. Hayes, a prominent resident of this town- ship. They have had four children, name- ly : Harvey O., who married Stella Burge, had one child, and they reside in New Cas- tle; Willis Love, who married Jennie Mc- Creary, has three children, Mabel, Nina and Sylvia; Jennie May, who married Henry Hamerly, of Allegheny, has one child, Cora May, and Cora, who died, aged thirteen months. Mr. and Mrs. Fullerton are members of the Westfield Presbyterian Church. The former belongs to the Knights of Pythias and to the Odd Fel- lows. He is one of the township's repre- sentative citizens.

ANDREW H. HOOPENGARDNER, proprietor of the Keystone Garden, which is situated in Big Beaver Township, about three miles south of Wampum, also fills the office of secretary of the Big Beaver Tele-

phone Company. He was born June 15, 1875, at New Castle, Pa., and is a son of George and Amanda (Shaffer) Hoopen- gardner.

George Hoopengardner was born in 1846, in Fulton County, Pennsylvania, of Ger- man parentage. He was reared on his father's farm, where he gave particular attention to gardening and in all his sub- sequent life as a farmer he found time and space to do a little work in that line. When he later moved to New Castle he worked for George Crawford, in his planing mill, still later in a grist-mill belonging to Lee Raney. For three years he rented a farm near Mahoningtown, and then returned to New Castle and built him a residence on the west side of the city, where the family lived for five years. Mr. Hoopengardner then resumed farming and operated Rev. Bradford's farm, near Enon, for a time. In 1881 he moved to Homewood and estab- lished the Keystone Gardens, later renting the McCready farm in Big Beaver Town- ship. He operated that farm for ten years and then bought the farm on which his son, Andrew H., resides. At the time of purchase it was wild land and this he cleared and later erected all the substan- tial buildings that are in evidence. Here he died May 15, 1902. He was a Democrat in his political views and his sons were reared in the same belief. He was liberal in the support he gave to the Methodist Episcopal Church. He married Amanda Shaffer, who was born at Rochester, Bea- ver County, Pennsylvania, the only child of Charles and Eliza (Daugherty) Shaffer. They had five children, namely: Charles, residing in Chicago, Ill .; William J., resid- ing in Lawrence County ; Andrew Howard; Rebecca J., wife of Frank L. Herbert, re- siding in Lawrence County, and Jessie May, residing with her brother, Andrew H.

Andrew Howard Hoopengardner spent his boyhood days at New Castle, Enon and Homewood, securing an excellent common school education. When seventeen years of age he became interested in printing

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and opened a job printing office on the home farm, an enterprise he still continues. In 1900 he went to Chicago to take charge of the printing department of the Farmers' and Merchants' Insurance Company, for Montgomery & Funkhouser, of Lincoln, Neb., and remained there for one and one- half years. After the death of his father he took charge of the Keystone Gardens. On June 1, 1907, he organized the Big Bea- ver Telephone Company, a prospering en- terprise, of which he was elected secretary. There are ten stockholders and the other officers of the company are: H. K. Hart- suff, Jr., president; F. L. Herbert, vice president, and R. J. Davidson, treasurer. He is also substitute for Rural Mail Route No. 3 from New Galilee. He has been active in polities for a number of years, has served in all the township of- fices and his party has made him its choice for county offices on many occasions.

The Keystone Gardens are well known in this section. Mr. Hoopengardner grows hot-house flowers and small plants and supplies cut flowers for every occasion. He has inherited the taste for this work and was trained to it. With his mother and sister, he occupies one of the finest resi- dences in the outskirts of Wampum. He is a very popular citizen.

DON H. AMSBURY, superintendent of the city of New Castle Water Company plant, and vice-president of the New Cas- tle Paint and Varnish Company, has been identified with New Castle interests for the past eleven years. He was born in 1869 in Illinois.

Mr. Amsbury remained in his native State through his educational period. Prior to coming to New Castle, in 1897, he had, for years, been connected with the Ameri- can Water Works Guarantee Company, first as bookkeeper, and after being trans- ferred to the auditing department, trav- eled all over the country to their different plants. He has become a fixture at New Castle, making business investments and

accepting a high office in one of the city's prospering concerns. He has interested himself also in local polities, with a view to advance the prosperity of the city and makes his influence felt.

In 1900 Mr. Amsbury was married to Miss Isabel Peebles, who was born and reared at New Castle. Mr. and Mrs. Ams- bury are members of Trinity Episcopal Church. Fraternally he is a Mason, and has attained the fourteenth degree in the Lodge of Perfection. An active business man he belongs to the New Castle Cham- ber of Commerce, while he maintains social relations with the Lawrence Club.

ALBERT J. GWIN, one of North Bea- ver Township's representative agricultur- ists, residing on his excellent farm of 100 acres, which is situated about four miles southwest of Mt. Jackson, on the Lower Petersburg road running between that place and Petersburg, was born on the old Gwin homestead, May 8, 1853. His par- ents were James and Catherine (Leslie) Gwin.

Albert J. Gwin was one of a family of nine children, six of whom still survive. His two brothers, E. A. and Charles, own the old homestead of 100 acres, situated in North Beaver Township. Mr. Gwin re- ceived a district school education and has devoted himself to agricultural pursuits, carrying on general farming and stock raising. He purchased his present prop- erty on February 2, 1882, and moved to it in the following fall. In 1899 he erected the commodious frame dwelling, and in 1905 added to the appearance and conveni- ence of his place by erecting the substan- tial barn.

Mr. Gwin married Altha Jane Paden, who is a daughter of Henry and Catherine (Crawford) Paden, early settlers in this section. Mr. and Mrs. Gwin have four children-Harry M., Dale, Eudora Cath- erine and Willis Albert. Mr. Gwin and family belong to the Bethel United Presby- terian Church, of which he is a trustee.

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HENRY WELLHAUSEN, a prosper- ous farmer and a veteran of the Civil War, is a well-known resident of Slippery Rock Township, Lawrence County, Pennsyl- vania. He was born in Germany March 13, 1832, and is a son of Ernest Wellhau- sen, who was a farmer in the old country and the owner of sixty-five acres of land.

Henry Wellhausen was the youngest of a family of ten children born to his par- ents, is the sole survivor of the family, and the only one to come to America except one sister. He was but two weeks old when his father died, and two years old at the time of his mother's death. He attended the public schools of Germany, but was thrown upon his own resources at a very tender age, and all that he possesses in this world came through a long and hard struggle. He has earned a handsome com- petency, and is a self-made man in every sense of the term. He crossed the Atlantic to America when he was twenty-two years of age, and in 1857 became a resident of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, buying a small farm in Wayne Township. As he was without means, it was necessary to earn the purchase price out of the returns from the farm, which was wholly unim- proved, a task which only the pioneer knows about. He made a clearing for a small house which he built, and then set about cultivating the land as it was cleared. He finally paid for it, then sold out and purchased his present farm of fifty-five and one-half acres in Slippery Rock Town- ship. He also now owns an additional tract of fifty acres northeast of his home place. He has always engaged in general farm- ing, except for two years in which he was employed in the iron works at Pittsburg, and he now is classed among the substan- tial residents of his township. In 1864 Mr. Wellhausen enlisted in the Eighty-third Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infan- try, and served until the close of the war, participating in a number of engagements.

Mr. Wellhausen was united in marriage with Hannah Rock, who died in December,

1904, leaving two sons: William, who mar- ried Maggie Houk and has four children, Charles W., Reed C., Mary Ella and Al- fred; and Charles, who married Lillie Shu- maker, a daughter of Robert Shumaker. She died April 6, 1908. In politics Mr. Wellhausen is a Republican. In religious faith he is a member of the United Pres- byterian Church.

FREDERICK G. BEER, a well-known business man of New Castle, proprietor of the Oak Park Monumental Works, situated near the Oak Park cemetery, New Castle, was born May 8, 1863, in England, and is a son of Eli S. B. and Emeline (Aunger) Beer.

Eli S. B. Beer died in 1903. Like his father and grandfather, he was a marble and granite worker, and probably there were few others who reached such perfec- tion in monumental work, the branch to which he especially directed his efforts. He won a medal for being one of the most ex- pert granite workers at the London Expo- sition, in 1862, and the statute which gained him this coveted distinction now stands in the great London Museum. In 1870 he came to America and eighteen months later was joined by his wife and their eight children. He had obtained the position of superin- tendent of the stone work on the bridge crossing from Buffalo, N. Y., to Fort Erie, Canada, and he established his family at the latter place. Subsequently he entered the employ of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad and did the stone work on the double track railroad between Buf- falo and Cleveland, and this work brought him to Ashtabula, Ohio, to which place he transferred his family in 1873. When his contract with the railroad was completed, he started into the monument business and continued in the same until his death, after which his son, Frederick G., as administra- tor of his estate, sold the works to John A. Beer, one of the sons of Eli S. B., who still operates them at Ashtabula.

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Century history of New Castle and Lawrence County, Pennsylvania and representative citizens, 20th, Part 119

Author: Hazen, Aaron L. (Aaron Lyle), 1837- comp. and ed. cn Publication date: 1908 Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold publishing co. Number of Pages: 1058

Author: Hazen, Aaron L. (Aaron Lyle), 1837- comp. and ed. cn
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold publishing co.
Number of Pages: 1058