Century history of New Castle and Lawrence County, Pennsylvania and representative citizens, 20th, Part 51

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 51

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Dr. Ferguson is of Scotch-Irish ancestry, both the Fergusons and the Doyles com- ing to Franklin County direct from Ire- land, in the days of the grandfathers. His father, Hon. James Ferguson, was a son of David and Margaret (Mckibben) Fer- guson. He was a man of unusual promi- nence in Franklin County and served for four years on the bench, as associate judge. He died June 22, 1895, aged eighty-six years. Of his five sons and two daughters, Robert G. was the eldest.

During boyhood, Dr. Ferguson enjoyed academic advantages, first at Chambers- burg and later in Tuscarora Acad- emy, in Juniata County, going from there to Jefferson College, where he was graduated with honors. During the Civil War he served seven months in the Signal Corps, under General Couch, having enlisted at Harrisburg, as second lieuten- ant in the Twenty-second Regiment, Penn- sylvania Volunteer Cavalry.

After completing his theological course at the Allegheny Theological Seminary, Dr. Ferguson served the united charge of Mercersburg and Cove, and in 1874 as- sumed the duties of pastor of the First United Presbyterian Church at Butler,

where he continued for ten years. His election as president of Westminster Col- lege followed in the fall of 1884, when he came to New Wilmington and entered upon his successful career as the head of one of the leading educational centers of his re- ligious body. Through the many years that followed, his directing force increased the efficiency of this school and added to its reputation and high standing. The weight of years and increased responsibilities caused Dr. Ferguson first to consider and later to put into effect his resignation of the office of president. His present duties as professor of the English Bible are thor- oughly congenial and his name still adds value to Westminster College.

On January 28, 1868, Dr. Ferguson was married to Emma M. Huber, who is a daughter of Dr. H. S. and Priscilla J. (McCurdy) Huber, the former of whom was a very prominent physician at Gettys- burg, Pa. Dr. and Mrs. Ferguson have five children, namely: Mary Emma, who is a teacher of music; Huber, who married Caroline Kraer, has five children-Kraer, Helen, Jane, Robert G., Jr., and Paul; James Markle, who married Floy Robert- son, has two children-Louise and Robert Doyle; and Wallace Radcliffe and Helen.

SAMUEL FOLTZ. In recalling the prominent citizens of New Castle who have passed off the scene of life, the late Sam- uel Foltz commands attention, both for the sterling qualities of the man and for the useful and honorable activities of his life. Samuel Foltz was born at Butler, Pa., in 1826, and died October 22, 1878. His par- ents were Nobert and Elizabeth (Riddle) Foltz.

Nobert Foltz, father of Samuel, was born at Kirchstadt, Germany, in 1774, came to America in young manhood, was mar- ried in 1819, and died in 1869, at his home in Butler County, Pennsylvania, where he was accounted one of the section's largest capitalists. He married Eliza Riddle, and they had seven children, namely: Mary, Eleanor, James, Madison, Samuel, John

SAMUEL FOLTZ.

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Adams, Francis Marion, Julia and Horatio Nelson. Two of the above, Francis Marion and James Madison Foltz, enlisted at Leavenworth, Kan., when President Lin- coln issued his first call for volunteers, and they were in the service as members of the One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry.

Samuel Foltz was given the best educa- tional advantages his native place afford- ed, and when he decided to make the prac- tice of law his business in life, he prepared for his examinations under the tutorship of Charles C. Sullivan, a leading attorney at that time, and from Mr. Sullivan's of- fice was admitted to the bar. Mr. Foltz proved an able lawyer, but he did not con- fine his activities to the practice of law. When opportunity offered, he became in- terested in industrial and financial enter- prises, with which he remained honorably connected for many years. In associa- tion with his father-in-law, William Stewart, he owned and operated the Mar- garet and the Will Roy and Winfield fur- naces, located in Butler and Lawrence Counties, and until the close of his life was identified with the manufacture of iron. In 1873, he went into the banking business, establishing at that time the pri- vate bank of Foltz & Sons, and in 1874 he accepted the presidency of the First Na- tional Bank of New Castle and remained at the head of this institution until his death, which was accidentally caused by a runaway horse.

Samuel Foltz was united in marriage with Amanda G. Stewart. She is a daugh- ter of William and Margaret (Sullivan) Stewart. William Stewart was born on the site of the present city of Pittsburg, in 1802, and died at New Castle, in 1888. From the beginning of his career, Mr. Stewart was prominently identified with the iron interests of Pennsylvania, owning and operating for many years furnaces in different sections. He was one of the di- rectors of the First National Bank, of New Castle, and vice president at the time of

his death. In his early political life he was a Whig, but later became an ardent Republican. He was prothonotary of But- ler County for seven years, and during the incumbency of John Gilmore, in the office of State treasurer, really performed all the duties, as Mr. Gilmore was an in- valid. Mr. Stewart served in the State Legislature as a representative from the district which included Mercer, Butler and Lawrence Counties. For a period of forty years he was also an ordained local minis- ter in the Methodist Episcopal Church. He married Margaret Sullivan, who was a daughter of Charles Craven and Susannah (Johnson) Sullivan. Charles Craven Sul- livan was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and was with General Washington at Valley Forge. It was there that he met the modest Quakeress who subsequently became his wife. On a mission of mercy, she, with her sister, had gone to the camp of the starving patriot soldiers with bas- kets of food. After the close of his mili- tary service, Charles C. Sullivan sought her and married her. She was consistent in her religious belief, always wore the Quaker garb, and, by her request, was dressed in it at her burial.

The mother of Mrs. Foltz was born in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, at No- blestown. in 1797, and died May 20, 1884. She was an admirable woman, one who was respected and beloved to the close of her life. The children of William and Mar- garet Stewart were: Elizabeth, Mrs. Mary McKee, Mrs. Samuel Foltz, Mrs. Me- lissa P. McKee and Charles William, the last mentioned of whom died aged two and one-half years.

To Samuel Foltz and wife were born the following children: William Stewart, Le- roy Sullivan, Mrs. Margaret Stewart Brown, Samuel, Richard, Duroc and Mary Amanda. Three of the above family, Le- roy Sullivan, Duroc, and Mary Amanda, are deceased. Prior to the death of their father, William S. and Leroy Sullivan Foltz had been associated with him in his

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banking enterprises, and carried on the Foltz Bank until 1883, when it was con- solidated with the First National . Bank. Upon the death of Samuel Foltz, William S. Foltz was elected president of the First National Bank, and Leroy S. Foltz, cash- ier. Since the death of the latter, in 1902, Samuel Foltz, Jr., has been cashier. Pos- sibly the sons have inherited a measure of their business capacity from their late father, at any rate they are numbered with the leading financiers of this section, and are prominent members of the community. The mother survives, and resides, with her eldest son, at her residence No. 122 West Grant Avenue. The home of Samuel Foltz Jr., is at No. 107 East Wallace Avenue.

JOHN M. PONTIUS, a prosperous farmer and respected citizen of Hickory Township, is a native of Armstrong Coun- ty, Pennsylvania. He was born October 26, 1847, and is a son of Ezra and Emily (Tur- ney) Pontius.

Ezra Pontius was also born in Arm- strong County, and was a son of Jacob and Elizabeth Pontius, who moved to that county from Huntington County, Pennsyl- vania, at an early date.

John M. Pontius attended the common schools in his native county, and subse- quently the Dayton Academy at Dayton. .He engaged in the lumber business quite extensively there until 1873, then moved to Hickory Township, Lawrence County, where he has since been engaged in agricul- tural pursuits, with good results. He had 120 acres in his farm, but seventy acres of this is now owned by his son, Ezra. He has a fine two-story frame house in which he lives, and a set of large and substan- tial outbuildings. A two-story brick house adorns the part of the farm owned by his son.

On March 26, 1873, Mr. Pontius was united in marriage with Elwilda Sherbine, who came of a prominent old family of the county, and was a daughter of George and Dorcas (Bays) Sherbine. They reared six children, as follows: John Fisher, born

December 25, 1873, married Gertrude Heil- ager, and has one daughter, Geraldine; Ezra Augustus, born March 9, 1876; Fred Montrose, who married Nancy Gates, and has three children-John Henry, Harvey and George; Fern S., who is at home; Bertha Grace, who is engaged in the mil- linery business in New Castle, where she is popular in social circles, and Beulah Pearl, who has been her father's house- keeper since the demise of her mother. Mrs. Pontius was a charter member and a very active worker in the Women's Chris- tian Temperance Union, at East Brook, and was a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. She died April 20, 1908, at the age of fifty-six years, and was buried in Oak Park Cemetery. Mr. Pontius is an active member of the East Brook M. E. Church and has for some years served as steward.

Ezra Augustus Pontius received his edu- cational training in the public schools, and has always followed farming. At the age of twenty-two years he was united in mar- riage with Anna Rebecca Dinsmore, a daughter of Charles and Agnes (Cham- bers) Dinsmore, of East Brook, and they are parents of four children, namely : Charles Henry, Elwilda, Robert Dinsmore and Laura Agnes.

WILLIAM J. DUFF, a well known and respected citizen of North Beaver Town- ship, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, with his sisters, is the owner of a fine farm of 194 acres, situated about three miles west of Mount Jackson, on the Springfield road. He was born on this farm March 22, 1864, and is a son of William and Jane (McClel- land) Duff. His grandfather, James Duff, was a pioneer settler of this township.

William Duff, the father, was born on a farm and lived in this community all his life, engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was a successful farmer and a man of con- siderable prominence. His first marriage was with Hannah Sherer, by whom he had several children, all of whom died in in- fancy, except a son, Hernando, who met

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death in the Union Army while serving in the Civil War. Mr. Duff formed a second union with Jane McClelland, who was born in Lawrence County, and was a daughter of William McClelland. Six children were born to them, one dying in infancy. Those who grew to maturity are as follows: Mary E., who died in 1903; Martha J., Mina E., Lizzie H., and William J. Both parents died on the home farm in North Beaver Township.

William J. Duff was reared and has al- ways resided on the old home place, which has been in the Duff family for so many years. It is a finely improved farm, with' two dwellings, in one of which his sisters live, and well equipped with barns and outbuildings, so necessary for the success- ful prosecution of farm work. He is a man of modern ideas, which he brings into play in his work, and the results accomplished have justified the methods he employs. He takes rank among the substantial men of the township, and takes a wholesome and public-spirited interest in all that pertains to the development and prosperity of the community.

Mr. Duff was united in marriage with Elizabeth Walker, who was born in Pulaski Township, Lawrence County, Pennsyl- vania, and is a daughter of John and Mary (Cowden) Walker, an old family of the county. Four children were born to bless their union: Wendell W., Margaret I., Clarence W., and Robert A. Politically, Mr. Duff is a Prohibitionist. He is a mem- ber of Westfield Presbyterian Church, of which he has been ruling elder for some years.

ABRAHAM SECHLER, who is engaged in a marble business at Princeton, has re- sided here since 1853. He was born March 8, 1830, in Butler County, Pennsylvania, in a log house which his father built and which is still standing. He is a son of Abraham and Nancy (Boyer) Sechler.

The Sechler family is of German ex- traction and no other language than the German was used in the family through

Mr. Sechler's youth, he being eighteen years of age before he spoke English. His grandparents, however, were American born and his father was born in North- umberland County, Pennsylvania. When twenty-three years old the father moved to Butler County and settled near Harmony, where he built his house and conducted a mill for thirty years. He died in 1872. He was married three times; first, to Nancy Boyer, who died in 1832, the mother of six children, namely: John, Jacob, Abraham, Katherine, Susan and an infant. The sec- ond marriage was to Mary Bear and they had seven children: Michael, Samuel, Sarah, Mary, Lizzie, Nancy and Elizabeth. His third marriage was to the widow of Jacob Davidson, and there was no issue to this union.

Abraham Sechler resided in Butler County, attending the neighborhood school a part of the time and looking after the cultivation of a farm of forty acres, up to the age of eighteen years, when he left home and went to Allegheny, where he learned the cabinet-making trade. He re- mained in that city for two years and then returned to Butler County and for the next two years worked around Harmony and also in Lawrence County as a carpenter. He then bought five acres of land near Rose. Point, Lawrence County, which he rented out and kept for three years. In the meanwhile, being unmarried, he lived with a family named Kennedy, but in 1853 he married Caroline Houk, a daughter of Philip and Isabella ( White) Houk, and im- mediately moved to Princeton. He con- tinued to follow the carpenter trade and erected a number of the buildings still standing in this neighborhood. Since 1887, Mr. Sechler has been conducting a marble business at Princeton and his sons are more or less interested in the same.

The first wife of Mr. Sechler was born October 13, 1832, and died June 15, 1886. There were nine children born to that union, namely: William W., Edwin T., Wesley W., Samuel A., Philip H., John A., Mary E., Margaret I., and a babe

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that died unnamed. William W. Sech- ler was born May 13, 1854, married Mary Rutter and they live in Dayton, Ohio. They have four children: Law- rence, Fannie, Leonora and Minnie. Ed- win T. Sechler was born March 31, 1856, married Sarah Hoon and they live in Princeton. They have one son, Harry. Wesley W. Sechler was born April 16, 1858, married Frances Criswell and they have one son, Edward. Samuel R. Sechler was born October 7, 1860, and died May 30, 1889. John A. Sechler was born April 19, 1870, and resides at home. Mary Sechler was born March 24, 1863, married J. H. Boyd and they have had these chil- dren: Katherine, Nina, Loy, Gareth, Mer- ril, Maurice, Margaret, living, and Willie and Minnie, deceased. Philip H. Sechler was born September 9, 1866, married Ag- nes Boak and they live in Butler. They have three children: Gula, Jean and Wen- dell. Margaret E. Sechler was born July 8, 1878, and died December 7, 1898.

Mr. Sechler was married (second) March 7, 1888, at New Wilmington, by Rev. J. M. Mealy, to the estimable lady who still pre- sides over his household. For fifteen years prior to her marriage she was an ac- ceptable and efficient teacher in the public schools in Allegheny, Washington and Mer- cer Counties. Her maiden name was Mary A. Leach and she was born July 27, 1840, in Washington County, Pennsylvania, and is a daughter of John W. and Elizabeth J. (Moore) Leach. The father of Mrs. Sech- ler was born January 1, 1817, and died December 9, 1870. His wife was born in 1809 and died in 1845. They had three children: Mary A., Elizabeth and James P. Mr. and Mrs. Sechler are members of the Hermon Presbyterian Church, in which he has been an official for many years, serv- ing as trustee, member of the sessions, treasurer and elder, having united with this church in 1854.

Mr. Sechler has been one of the most active men in public affairs in his com- munity ever since settling at Princeton. He has held at one time or another almost

all of the township offices, including clerk, school director, auditor, judge of elections, inspector, constable and tax collector. He has ever been a loyal citizen of his coun- try. During the Civil War he enlisted on February 21, 1865, at New Brighton, in Company I, Sixteenth Regiment, Pennsyl- vania Volunteer Cavalry, with the rank of corporal. On account of the termination of the war his company was never called into action and he was honorably dis- charged at Lynchburg, Virginia, July 22, 1865. He is a valued member of Princeton Post, No. 420, Grand Army of the Republic, of which he is past quartermaster and chaplain.

COL. ROBERT B. McCOMB, soldier, lawyer, statesman and incorruptible citizen, was born in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, August 15, 1820, and died at Sandy Lake, Pennsylvania, September 22, 1907, in his eighty-seventh year. He was a son of Malcolm and Jane (Summerville) Mc- Comb.

The father of Colonel McComb was born in Delaware, in 1792, and in 1806 he accom- panied his parents to Mercer County, Pennsylvania, and died on his farm in Lackawanna Township, in 1849. Of his six children the late Robert B. was the second son.

In early manhood, Colonel McComb worked as a cabinetmaker, and from 1839 until 1843, resided at Cincinnati. In 1851 he entered upon the study of law, his op- portunities never having been such as to permit him to follow his natural inclina- tions until thirty years of age. He was ad- mitted to the bar in 1853 and to practice in the Superior Courts of the United States in 1861. He was an intimate friend of the Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War in Lincoln's administration, and it was he who introduced Colonel McComb into the U. S. courts at Washington, D. C. Ill health finally compelled him to give up professional life. He was much interested in public affairs and early embraced the principles of the Republican party. In 1853

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he was first elected to the State Legisla- ture, was re-elected in 1855 and again in 1856. The record of his work while serv- ing as the representative of the people's interests makes a long story and one full of interest. As chairman of the committee on Ways and Means, he had occasion to look into the subject of taxation, and his trained legal mind soon discovered the in- justice of many of the statutes, and he henceforth made it his care to bring before the legislative body bills to correct many of the existing evils. It was Robert B. Mc- Comb who was the father of the Sunday liquor law.

During the early part of the Civil War, Colonel McComb was a strong supporter of the administration, and in 1862 he en- tered the Union army, first as colonel of the Fourteenth Regiment, Pennsylvania Vol- unteer Infantry, and later was commis- sioned colonel of the Fifty-fifth Regiment. He served with distinction and always took pride in his military record. He was a per- sonal friend of Governor Pollock and served on his staff. In local affairs he was particularly interested in the public schools and served on educational boards. Following his death, the Bar Association of New Castle, of which he was the Nestor, met and passed resolutions and made speeches in eulogy of their honored com- rade.

The marriage of Colonel McComb was to Mrs. Anna L. (Guerard) McGuffin, who was the widow of John N. McGuffin. She was a native of Savannah, Georgia. Colonel McComb is survived by one daughter, Har- riet G. She was married January 7, 1891, to Lewis B. Hamilton, who is a son of the late David B. Hamilton, a native of Con- necticut. Mr. Hamilton is a civil engineer and prominent in his profession. Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton have three sons. They re- side in a very pleasant home at No. 151 East Falls street, New Castle.

JOHN L. HETTENBAUGH, farmer and stock raiser of Scott Township, was born on the farm he owns and occupies, De-

cember 1, 1846. His parents were George H. and Hannah (Daniels) Hettenbaugh.

The late George H. Hettenbaugh, father of John L., was born in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, on Big Meadows Creek, February 14, 1812. His father, George H. Hettenbaugh, was born in Germany and came to America with his parents when a child. They settled in Berks County, Pennsylvania, where the boy was reared to the age of seventeen years, when he accom- panied a brother on a kind of pioneering expedition westward and landed in Wash- ington Township in 1796. The boys camped in the strange woods the first night and in the morning met Indians who, for- tunately, proved friendly to them. They prospected for a time, but finally decided to locate in Scott Township, as it is now, and secured land, entering 200 acres in the heart of the woods. For several years fol- lowing they lived in Big Meadows, but in 1813, George H. Hettenbaugh, Sr., moved to the present farm. He went to work clearing and improving, and remained on the place until he sold it to his son, George H., after which he moved to Mercer Coun- ty, where he bought farming land on which he continued to live until the close of his life, when aged eighty-seven years. He served in the War of 1812, and through all his political life voted with the Democratic party. He was a consistent member of the Presbyterian Church. He married Sarah Michaels, whose people came to Pennsyl- vania from Germany. There were eleven children born to this marriage, five sons and six daughters.

George H. Hettenbaugh, Jr., father of John L., was the second child and second son of his parents. He attended school in a log building six miles from his home, walking the distance to and fro whenever sessions were held. He married Hannah Daniels, who was born in Lawrence Coun- ty, Pennsylvania, near New Castle, her father owning at that time 200 acres there, a part of which is included in the present thriving city. She was a daughter of James Daniels, who was a pioneer in Lawrence

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County, settling here when dense forests covered all the land in this section and wild conditions everywhere prevailed. Twelve children were born to this marriage, four sons and eight daughters, John L. being the only son to reach maturity. The father lived to the advanced age of ninety-four years. He was one of the best known men of all this section and was most highly es- teemed. In his political views he was a Democrat.

John L. Hettenbaugh was educated in the district schools of Scott Township and grew to manhood skilled in all kinds of farm work. On December 21, 1873, he was married to Elizabeth Bruce, who was born at New Lebanon, Mercer County, Pennsyl- vania, December 22, 1854, and was a daugh- ter of Riley Bruce, formerly a farmer of Plain Grove Township, Mercer County. His father was an early pioneer of Lawrence County, where he cleared up a farm of 200 acres, on which he reared his family and lived until his death. Riley Bruce later moved to Mercer County, where he subse- quently married and resided until the close of his life.

John L. Hettenbaugh and wife became the parents of two sons and five daughters, namely: Mary H., George E., Minnie E., Sarah and Norman L., living, and Clarence C. and a babe, deceased.

Mr. Hettenbaugh has an excellent farm, twenty-five acres of which he cleared him- self, and he has made it a valuable, well improved property. Formerly he raised much fine stock and has sold and shipped stock to various sections, even as far as Germany. In politics he has always been identified with the Democratic party, but has never been a seeker for political hon- ors. He is a representative citizen of Scott Township.

LAWRENCE WHITING, a well known resident of Mahoning Township and a member of one of the oldest families of this section of Lawrence County, was born March 27, 1849, in Mahoning Township, and is a son of William and Barbara

(Stevens) Whiting, the former of whom was a son of Adam Whiting.

Adam Whiting was one of the first set- tlers to venture into the wilds of Mahon- ing Township and take up his residence in the great green woods that then covered all the present cultivated land. Indians still held possession in many sections and wild animals had their lairs in the forest. He was a representative pioneer, did his full part in developing the country and reared a respected family. His son, Will- iam Whiting, father of Lawrence, died early in the nineties. He was a worthy representative of the stock from which he came and in his death his community lost a good man. He married Barbara Stevens and their surviving children are: Mar- garet, who is the widow of Joseph Ripple, lives at Hubbard, Ohio; Elizabeth, who is the wife of Jeremiah Seamans, resides in Mahoning Township; Ada, who is the wife of Hunter Maccance, lives in Mahoning Township; Ollie S., who is the wife of Charles Cooper, lives at New Brighton, Pennsylvania, and Lawrence and Miller, both of whom live in Mahoning Township.

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Century history of New Castle and Lawrence County, Pennsylvania and representative citizens, 20th, Part 51

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