Century history of New Castle and Lawrence County, Pennsylvania and representative citizens, 20th, Part 52

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 52

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Lawrence Whiting, with his brothers and sisters, attended the district schools in the neighborhood of his home. He was reared to agricultural pursuits and these he has always followed. For a number of years he has engaged in farming and also in operating a threshing machine during the threshing season. On December 25, 1873, he was married to Priscilla Park, who is a daughter of Abner Park, of New Cas- tle, and they have three children: Minnie, who is the wife of V. Rogers, of New Cas- tle, and Harry and Jennie, at home. In political life Mr. Whiting supports the can- didates of the Democratic party.

JOHN PRESCOTT, general farmer and dairyman, who owns ninety-five acres of excellent land in Little Beaver Township, which is situated on both sides of the road, bordering on Little Beaver Creek, is a na- tive of England and was born in Somer- setshire, September 22, 1851. His parents

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were Thomas and Ann (Stenner) Pres- cott.

The parents of Mr. Prescott never left England. The father lived and died with- in ten miles of his birthplace. For many years he operated a country blacksmith shop. The mother died a short time after John Prescott came to America, but the father survived to the age of ninety years. They had eight children, namely: William, Samuel, Mary, Martha, Alling, John, Frank and Thomas, only two of whom came to America.

John Prescott very early became a wage- earner, beginning to work when only six years old, and he has always led a very in- dustrious life. Until he was fifteen years old he worked on a farm and then made his way to Wales, where he worked in a rolling mill for three years. He was not satisfied with industrial conditions there, however, and in May, 1869, he came to America and secured employment in rolling mills in the city of Pittsburg, where he continued until he came to Lawrence County, in 1896. He was then financially able to invest in land and purchased his present farm from Thomas Paden. He erected the substan- tial barn and so remodeled the house that in all essentials it is new and here has a com- fortable and pleasant home. He engages in general farming and on account of his fine pasturage, makes his dairying industry one of great profit, keeping from sixteen to eighteen cows and shipping his milk to Pittsburg. Mr. Prescott has every reason to take pride in his possessions, for they have been secured entirely through his own energy.

In April, 1882, Mr. Prescott was married to Mary Garner and they have two chil- dren: John T. and Blanche. In politics he is a Republican.

WILLIAM PARSHALL, justice of the peace and prominent citizen of Wampum, has been a resident of Lawrence County for the past twenty-seven years. He was born on the old home farm in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, June 26, 1849, and is a son

of Joseph and Elizabeth (Wilkin) Par- shall.

The father of Justice Parshall was born on his father's farm, in Eastern Pennsyl- vania. He was a stone-cutter by trade and this he followed after locating in Mercer County for a period of thirty-seven years. Failing health led him to try a different climate and he went to Virginia City, Ne- vada, where he died in 1877, when aged sixty-five years. He had been married in Mercer County, where his wife died in 1875, aged fifty years. They had eight children, namely: Jennie, who is the wife of W. A. Munnell, lives on the old home place in Mercer County; Sarah, deceased, who married I. D. Kirk, also deceased; Mary, deceased; William, Jonathan, Clark, Dorcas, deceased, who married William Eddyburn, and John, who is deceased.

William Parshall was permitted to at- tend school until he was nineteen years of age, having early shown unusual quickness of intellect, and then went to Mercer, where he read law for two years with the firm of Griffiths & Mason, and was admitted to the bar in 1873. Mr. Parshall practiced his profession for six years at Mercer and then moved to Nebraska. After practicing law there for two years he returned to Law- rence County, and in 1881 he was appointed burgess of Wampum, to which office he was regularly elected in the following spring, and he served continuously for seven years. Other offices were tendered him and he ac- cepted that of justice of the peace, for which his previous training had so well qualified him, and is serving in his third term as such. He has been an active Re- publican ever since attaining his majority.

On February 26, 1874, Mr. Parshall was married to Eliza J. Nelson, who is a daugh- ter of John and Elizabeth (Daniels) Nel- son, of Scott Township, Lawrence County. Prior to her marriage, Mrs. Parshall was a successful teacher. Four children have been born to this union: Elizabeth, who is the wife of W. J. Miller, of the Wampum Milling Company, has two children, Ralph and Carl; Gibson, who is agent of the Erie

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Railroad at New Castle, married Florence Craven, and they have three children, Erma, Marie and Wilbur; Clark M., who is traveling representative of the Wampum Mill Company, married Bertha Wardman, and Elta Jane, who married Rev. Herbert W. Hunter, of Erie, a minister in the Meth- odist Episcopal Church. They have three children, Harry, Elta and Helen.

REV. ROBERT McWATTY RUS- SELL, D.D., president of Westminster College, a noted educational institution which is located at New Wilmington, Law- rence County, Pennsylvania, was born on his father's farm in Mercer County, Penn- sylvania, April 6, 1858. He is a son of John T. and Jane ( Williamson) Russell.

Dr. Russell comes of Scotch-Irish an- cestry. He was reared to manhood on the home farm, attending the district schools of the neighborhood and later enjoyed bet- ter advantages in the Blacktown Academy and the Mercer High School. In the fall of 1875 he entered Westminster College and in 1880 was graduated with the de- gree of A. B. During the year of 1880-1 he taught in the academy at Mckeesport, and in the winter of 1882 he entered the Allegheny Theological Seminary and was graduated in April, 1884. In the follow- ing July he took charge of the First United Presbyterian Church at Caledonia, N. Y., where he remained for six years and three months. In 1896 he accepted a call from the Sixth United Presbyterian Church of Pittsburg, Pa., where he con- tinued ministerial work until April 1, 1906. When Dr. Russell first located in Pittsburg he was elected a member of the board of control of Westminster College and has been closely identified with its in- terests ever since his student days. In 1906 Dr. Russell was invited to become the president of this institution and his name and services have added luster to an edu- cational center that has long been a point of pride to citizens of Western Pennsyl- vania.

Dr. Russell was married, in 1888, to Caroline B. Keech, who is a daughter of Elisha and Hannah (Swan) Keech. Mrs. Russell was born at Brooklyn, N. Y. She has been most intimately associated with her husband in both church and college work. They have three children: Robert Mc Watty, Jane Walker, and Donald.

JAMES A. MCMILLIN, county commis- sioner of Lawrence County and a prom- inent agriculturist of Scott Township, has been a leading factor in county politics for a number of years and he is also a veteran of the great Civil War. He was born in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, and is a son of Archibald and Jane (Aiken) Mc- Millin.

The MeMillin family is an old one in Pennsylvania and for generations has been given to agricultural pursuits, its members living and dying on their own lands. The grandfather of James A. McMillin was Ed- ward McMillin, who was born in Pennsyl- vania. In 1820 he settled in Beaver Coun- ty, having resided previously in York and Westmoreland Counties. . He married Ag- nes Lamont. Archibald McMillin, father of James A., was the first born of their children. He was reared to farm pursuits and in early manhood taught school. He purchased a fine farm in Slippery Rock Township, Lawrence County, and he de- veloped into a very prominent citizen of his community. Being a practical survey- or, he was employed in this capacity by the county, served as a justice of the peace, and before the division was made which separated Beaver and Lawrence Counties, he served as county commissioner. Archi- bald MeMillin married Jane Aiken, who was born in Wayne Township, and they had six children, five of whom reached ma- turity, namely : James A., Mary, who mar- ried Anderson Gardner; Catharine, who married James A. Ray, of New Castle; Edward M., residing in Illinois, who mar- ried Sarah Johnson, and Martha, deceased, who married John E. Forbes, residing in Slippery Rock Township. Edward M. Mc-

ROBERT McWATTY RUSSELL, D. D., LL. D.

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Millin, of the above family, was a soldier in the Union army in the Civil War and was captured and incarcerated in Libby Pris- on. Archibald McMillin died in 1889, crowned with eighty-two years of honor- able living. His widow survived until 1894, dying at the age of eighty-four years. In their passing, the community lost peo- ple of real worth.

James A. McMillin secured his educa- tional training in the district schools and to such an extent that he was fitted for teaching. He was reared to agricultural pursuits and prior to enlisting for service in the Civil War, he alternated farming and teaching. On August 6, 1862, Mr. MeMil- lin entered Company B, One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and served faithfully in every position to which duty called him. He resumed his former pursuits upon the close of his military service, acquired a good farm in Scott Township, and has de- voted much attention to its development and improvement. Like other intelligent young men, he early took an interest in public matters and soon identified himself with the Republican party, which he has actively supported ever since. For ten years he served as a justice of the peace, and during this long period he won the confidence of his fellow citizens, who uni- versally recognized the excellence of his judgment and the disinterested motives that ruled every decision. In 1900 he was appointed supervisor of the census. In 1902 he was first elected a commissioner of Lawrence County, being re-elected in 1905, and to this office he gives the attention which its importance demands.

Mr. McMillin married Sarah Emery, who was born in Scott Township. They have two children, Jennie and John L., now a resident of Cleveland, Ohio. He married Eleanor McMillan and they have one son, James Ellsworth. From far back the Mc- Millin family has been connected with the United Presbyterian Church.

CHARLES F. and FRANK E. AL-

BORN, who stand foremost among the en- terprising business men and progressive citizens of Shenango Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, are proprietors of the Cascade Roller Mills, a flourishing plant which enjoys an extensive patronage throughout that section of the State.

The Alborn family is an old one in West- ern Pennsylvania, and was first estab- lished here by Augustus Alborn, grand- father of the gentlemen named above. He was a native of Germany, where in his youthful days he learned the trade of a mil- ler. In the summer of 1846 he emigrated from his native land, and after an ocean voyage of fifty-one days landed in Balti- more, Maryland. He immediately made his way westward to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, thence to Beaver County, where he joined friends who had preceded him to this coun- try. He soon after purchased a tract of fifty-five acres in Franklin Township, Bea- ver County, and being a man of great en- ergy and thrift, he added to this from time to time until he was possessed of 105 acres in that tract, and another farm in Frank- lin Township of fifty acres, which became his homestead. There his death occurred in December, 1885, at the age of seventy- eight years. He married in Germany Miss Christina Elias, who was born in that coun- try near Fuerstenhaagen, and they became parents of five children, the three oldest of whom were born in Germany.

Henry C. Alborn, father of Charles F. and Frank E. Alborn, was the eldest of the children of his parents' family, and was born in the village of Fuerstenhaagen, Germany, November 7, 1839. He was seven years old at the time the family became es- tablished in Beaver County, and there he attended the public schools until he was seventeen. He continued to make his home under the parental roof until he was twen- ty-two, at which time he rented of his fath- er a farm in Perry Township, Lawrence County, in which he lived for three years. He next purchased a farm of seventy-five acres in Franklin Township, Beaver Coun- ty, which he farmed about ten years, when

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he took up his residence in Shenango Township, Lawrence County. There he purchased a farm of ninety-six acres, all cleared and well improved, being adorned with a fine brick home and substantial out- buildings. He there lived and prospered the remainder of his days and was classed among the substantial men of the com- munity. In his latter years he was asso- ciated with his son, Charles F., in the pro- prietorship of the Big Run Mill, now known as the Cascade Roller Mills, which was con- ducted under the firm name of Alborn & Son. His death occurred July 3, 1904, and he is survived by his widow, who is living at the old home and is now seventy-two years of age. She in maiden life was Caro- line Young, a native of the village of Deitchweiler, Reinfels, Bavaria, and is a daughter of John and Mary (Miller) Young. Her father came to the United States in 1852, and located in Butler Coun- ty, where he died in 1858. He was the owner of a farm of fifty-six acres. Henry C. and Caroline Alborn became parents of the following children: Mary Ellen, de- ceased; Caroline, wife of Rev. Ivan Deit- rich, of Allegheny City ; Charles F., Henry W., who lives on the old home farm; Tillie and Frank E. Mr. Alborn was a Demo- crat in politics, and religiously was a mem- ber of the Lutheran Church.

Charles F. Alborn was born in Franklin Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania, October 11, 1865, and his educational train- ing was obtained mainly in the schools of Shenango Township, Lawrence County. He learned the milling business at Big Run Mill, under the instructions of Mr. E. D. Failer, and he has been actively engaged in this line of business ever since. He was united in marriage January 21, 1892, with Miss Annie M. Weinschenk, a daughter of George G. Weinschenk. The following chil- dred are the issue of their union: Carrie A., Emanuel H., Carl L., George W., Ralph P., Clara Matilda and Bertha May. Re- ligiously, they are members of the Luth- eran Church. Mr. Alborn is independent in politics, filling his third term as a mem-

ber of the school board, and is also road supervisor.

Frank E. Alborn was born in Franklin Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania. and received his schooling in the public schools of Lawrence County. He was unit- ed in marriage with Miss Rose Weinschenk, a daughter of George G. Weinschenk, and they have three children: Clare, Harold and Arthur L.

The Cascade Roller Mills is one of the leading business concerns of Shenango Township. It is thoroughly modern in its equipment, is a three-story structure, and is supplied with both water and steam power. Steam is merely auxiliary, as the water power is excellent, there being a twenty-seven foot fall of water. This has been a mill site since the pioneer days, the first being established there by Henry Wolf. It was in turn conducted by a Mr. Brice and a Mr. Sechler until it was de- stroyed by fire. Some years later, in the fall of 1887, Henry C. Alborn and his son, Charles F., purchased the land and erected the present mill, which for some years was conducted under the name of the Big Run Mill. In 1901 the plant was remodeled and the oscillator system installed, giving a capacity of thirty barrels per day. Their brand, "Purity," is well known through- out this section, and the local consumption exceeds the capacity of the mill. The pro- prietors are men of recognized standing in the business circles of the county.

ANDREW BAIRD, a leading farmer and business man of Mahoning Township, who is proprietor of a well patronized harness shop near Hillsville, was born in North Beaver Township, Lawrence County, Penn- sylvania, March 12, 1849, and is a son of John W. and Elizabeth A. (Steele) Baird.

Both parents of Mr. Baird were born in North Beaver Township, where the grand- fathers had been early settlers. The pa- ternal grandfather, Andrew Baird, was born in Ireland and came from his native land directly to Lawrence County. John W. Baird followed harnessmaking and

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farming in his native township, where he died in February, 1898, surviving his wife for just seven years. They had eight chil- dren, the survivors being: Andrew, Eliza- beth J., who is the wife of Andrew Mar- shall, of New York; John S., who resides in Mahoning Township; Martha E., who is the wife of David L. Patterson, lives at Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania; Thomas A., who resides in North Beaver Township.

Andrew Baird has followed closely in the footsteps of his estimable father, growing to manhood in North Beaver Township and here engaging in farming together with harnessmaking. He is a type of the solid, reliable class of citizens who help to de- velop their communities by furthering gen- eral improvements and assisting in the maintenance of schools and churches. In politics he is a Democrat and on the ticket of that party has been elected for some years to the office of road supervisor, and he has served also as school director.

Mr. Baird married Harriet E. Burk, who was born in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, and they have had these children, namely : Mary B., who is the wife of C. C. Patter- son, of Heppner, Oregon; Ira T., who lives in Mahoning Township; Ethel S., who is the wife of B. F. Kariher, resides in Ma- honing Township; Charles H., who resides in Mahoning Township, and Emma R., who lives in Heppner, Oregon. Mr. Baird is a member of the order of Knights of Pythias at Mt. Jackson. Both he and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Hillsville, of which he is a trustee.

ROBERT J. HAGGARTY, who conducts a blacksmith business on his farm in the southeastern part of Little Beaver Town- ship, where, with his sister, he owns sixty- five acres of valuable land, was born near his present farm in Little Beaver Town- ship, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, No- vember 29, 1856. His parents were John and Mary Ann (McPherson) Haggarty.

John Haggarty was born in Ireland and was a son of Robert and Dorothy Hag-

garty. The family consisted of four sons and two daughters, namely: John, James, George and Robert, and Esther and Jane. When the three brothers came to America about 1840, they located first on the west side of the Schuylkill River, in Philadel- phia County, Pennsylvania, where the fam- ily lived for ten years, John, in the mean- while, having entered the employ of some people of large fortune, who placed him in charge of their gardens and green- houses. George and James Haggarty were the first members of the family to come to Western Pennsylvania, and the others fol- lowed, John Haggarty reaching Lawrence County in April, 1856. The three brothers were associated in the purchase of the old Wheeling farm and the land now owned by Robert Haggarty and his sister, who resides with him, is a part of their father's portion. John Haggarty was born March 17, 1818, and died in January, 1894, aged over seventy-four years. He was married in Eastern Pennsylvania to Mary Ann Mc- Pherson, who was also born in Ireland. She died on this farm in 1885, aged fifty-six years. They had the following children : Robert James, Mary Jane, who died in 1879, aged twenty years; Dora, who died aged fourteen years; John W., who died in 1872; Esther, who owns a one-half interest in the farm under consideration; George, who died in 1872; Allen W., who died in 1876; Charles, who was accidentally killed at High Bridge, in 1897, and two who died in infancy.

Robert J. Haggarty spent his boyhood on the farm and was twenty-five years old when he learned the blacksmith trade and then opened a shop on his farm for his own use. Soon, however, the neighboring farm- ers began to come to him with their work, and in 1899 he opened his general shop. Prior to that he had spent four years in J. W. Mitchell's blacksmith shop at New Galilee. Mr. Haggarty is something of a traveler and has visited fifteen of the States of the Union, mainly those in the South. In addition to his blacksmithing and general repair work, in which he has a

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very large trade, he also runs the farm. The old log house is still standing, its date of erection being about 1815. A part of the farm is utilized by the P. F. Railroad. In politics Mr. Haggarty is a Republican. He is a leading member of the Reformed Church and is one of the elders in the same.

JAMES A. GARDNER, city attorney of New Castle, and a prominent citizen of Lawrence County, was born January 12, 1843, in Butler County, Pennsylvania, just across the Lawrence County line, on the old family homestead, and is a son of John and Jane (Vance) Gardner.

John Gardner the first, who was the great-grandfather of James A. Gardner, was born near Belfast, Ireland, and came to America soon after his marriage with Jane Anderson. He settled on a tract of land which was then included in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, where he followed agricultural pursuits during the rest of his active life. He died aged ninety-three years. The estate came intact to his son, James Gardner, who resided on the place during his life, which covered ninety years. He married Catherine McComb and they had the following children: John, George W., William, Robert A., Mrs. Jane Stew- art, Mrs. Martha Frazer, Mrs. Isabella Burnside, and Mrs. Eliza A. Frew.

John Gardner, son of James, and father of James A. Gardner, inherited that por- tion of the homestead that lay in Butler County. He engaged in farming and also followed the occupation of a drover. He did not survive into old age as did his father and grandfather, his death taking place when thirty-three years old. He mar- ried Jane Vance, who was born in 1820, and died in 1864. She was a daughter of James Vance of Lawrence County. They had five children : James A., John V., Mrs. Mima Gardner, Theodore L. and George R. The daughter is deceased.

James A. Gardner's education was ac- quired in the district and in select schools, and also at an academy, and after complet- ing his literary studies he taught two terms

of school. He was then eighteen years old. The Civil War had been precipitated and with youthful ardor and commendable patriotism, he hastened to enlist in the de- fense of his country from rebellion. On July 24, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Battery B, First Regiment of Artillery of the Pennsylvania Reserve Volunteer Corps, which battery won fame as Coop- er's Battery. It was first attached to the First Corps of the Army of the Potomac and later to the Fifth Corps. This battery took part in nine out of the twelve greatest battles of the Civil War, and had the rec- ord of losing more men in the service than any other volunteer battery. Mr. Gardner participated in the following battles : Dranesville, Mechanicsville, Gaines' Mills, Glendale or Charles City Cross Roads, Malvern Hill, Gainesville, Groveton, Sec- ond Bull Run, Chantilly, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Fitzhugh's Crossing, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Mine Run, Wilderness, Laurel Hill, Po River, Spottsylvania Court House, North Anna River, Bethesda Church, Totopoto- mey, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Weldon Railroad, siege and capture of Petersburg, and Appomattox Court House. On June 9, 1865, Mr. Gardner was mustered out of the service with the rank of first lieutenant, having gained the same through personal bravery.

Following his return from the army, Mr. Gardner engaged in a mercantile business at Princeton, Pennsylvania, where he con- ducted a store for six years. He was a member of the School Board while residing there, and served as a justice of the peace, and it was his introduction to legal forms and procedure in this connection that cre- ated on his part a strong desire to study law. Accordingly, in 1875, he gave up his mercantile business and entered upon the study of law under Judge John McMichael and J. M. Martin, at New Castle. In 1876 he was admitted to the bar of Pennsylvania and immediately began the practice of his profession, opening an office at No. 1361/2 East Washington street, where he has re-

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mained. Mr. Gardner has handled a con- siderable share of the important legal business of Lawrence and neighboring counties. In 1883 he was first elected city attorney of New Castle and was re-elected in 1884 for a term of two years and again in 1896, and has been continued in the of- fice ever since.

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Century history of New Castle and Lawrence County, Pennsylvania and representative citizens, 20th, Part 52

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