Century history of New Castle and Lawrence County, Pennsylvania and representative citizens, 20th, Part 68

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 68

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farming and stock raising, and at first was engaged in feeding cattle and sheep on quite an extensive scale. The farm is now under the care of his son Elmer.

Mr. McCreary was united in marriage with Margaret Deemer, a daughter of Ben- jamin Deemer, of Venango County, and they have five children: Jennie, wife of William V. Fisher, of Neshannock Town- ship; Rev. Ira G., of Greenville, Pa .; T. Elmer, who operates the home farm but lives on an adjoining farm; Nancy; and Harry D., who is a member of the class of 1910 in Cornell University; and May, who is being reared by Mr. McCreary. Mr. Mc- Creary is a Republican in politics, and has filled various township offices. Fraternal- ly, he is a member of Post No. 100, G. A. R., at New Castle. Religiously, he is a consistent member and elder of the United Presbyterian Church, of which his son Elmer is also an elder.

H. R. SANKEY, one of New Castle's old established business men, dealing in pianos and sewing machines and making a spe- cialty of talking machines and records, with quarters at No. 18 West Washington Street, was born in Venango County, Penn- sylvania, in 1842, but from childhood has lived at New Castle.

Ezekiel R. Sankey, father of H. R., was a son of William Sankey, and a nephew of David Sankey, who was the father of the noted evangelist and vocalist, the late Ira D. Sankey. Ezekiel R. Sankey was a car- penter by trade, later became a contractor of note, at New Castle, subsequently en- gaged in farming and during the closing years of his life used his capital in invest- ments.

H. R. Sankey attended school in Union Township and at New Castle, and then learned the shoemaking trade, at which he was working when the Civil War was de- clared. Lawrence County was very loyal and no one was more ready to put aside personal aims and ambitions than was Mr. Sankey, and in 1861 he enlisted in Com-

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pany H, One Hundredth Regiment, Penn- sylvania Volunteer Infantry, which was then known and is still proudly spoken of as the Round Head Regiment, and, with this brave body of men he served for three years. On one occasion he was captured by the enemy but contrived to escape before incarceration in a horrible prison. He en- listed as a private and at the time of his honorable discharge was a sergeant in rank.

Upon his return to New Castle Mr. San- key worked at his trade for about seven- teen years and then embarked in a general mercantile business, which he conducted for eight years, and then became interested in his present line. For about twenty years Mr. Sankey has been the leading piano dealer in this section. He has an additional interest in a brokerage business.

In 1865 Mr. Sankey was married to Miss Sarah Frazier, who was born at New Cas- tle and is a daughter of Thomas Frazier, a native of Scotland, who was a settler here when the place was but a village. Mr. and Mrs. Sankey have five children, namely: Necie Belle, who is the wife of Benjamin Bigley, of New Castle; Estella Ann, who is the wife of David Pyle, who is superintend- ent of the American Tin Plate Company's plant at New Castle; J. Maud, who is the wife of Roy Evans, of Emporia, Kansas; Sarah, who is the wife of Walter Kelty, of New Castle, and Gulie E., who is the wife of John Kuntz, also of New Castle. Mr. Sankey attends the Methodist Episcopal Church. He has always taken a decided interest in politics, not only in public af- fairs of the country, but also in local mat- ters, where so much depends on a proper municipal government to advance the pros- perity of a community. He is identified with the Republican party. He is a mem- ber of the G. A. R. Post, No. 100, at New Castle, and he belongs to the Protected Home Circle.

ROBERT M. SHERER, a leading citi- zen and prominent farmer of North Beaver Township, residing on his valuable prop-

erty which contains 125 acres of excellent land, lying two miles west of Mt. Jackson, on the Small's Ferry road, belongs to an early pioneer family of this section. Mr. Sherer was born October 25, 1830, in the brick house in which he resides, in North Beaver Township, Lawrence County, Penn- sylvania, and is a son of Joseph and Nancy (McFarland) Sherer, and a grandson of Richard Sherer.

Richard Sherer came to North Beaver Township as one of the earliest settlers. Almost all this fertile country was then covered with timber and very few cabins had yet been erected in the little clearings. Richard Sherer acquired 200 acres. He was a man of more ambition and of better business perceptions than his neighbors and, in addition to building a log house in which to shelter his family, he opened up a store in the upper part of the spring house, and with the assistance of his son Joseph, conducting it very successfully. He subsequently purchased for the latter the farm which his grandson, Robert M., now owns, paying $500 for the 125 acres. Joseph Sherer was a boy when he accom- panied his father from Eastern Pennsyl- vania to the wild regions of Lawrence County. He served as a soldier in the War of 1812. He assisted his father in clearing up the farm on which the latter had settled, about one mile distant from the present one, which later became his, and with his father went often into the forest in search of game. Robert M. Sherer owns the rifle with which his grandfather formerly shot deer, on the present farm. In 1823 Joseph Sherer built the standing barn, its dimen- sions being 80 by 45 feet, and it was a not- able structure in its day, being the largest barn in Beaver County, North Beaver Township then being included in that county. Every part of this old and still stanch building was hewed out of solid tim- ber, not a stick was sawed. In 1826, when Joseph Sherer built the present brick house, it attracted attention far and near. There were very few brick houses in the county at that time. Like his father, Jo-

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seph Sherer was a man of business enter- prise and acquired a large estate. He was married twice, first to a Miss Forbice and second to Nance McFarland. There were four children born to his first union and six to the second, Robert M. being the youngest son of this marriage. In addition to his other enterprises, Joseph Sherer operated a teaming route between Pitts- burg and Erie. His death took place April 13, 1869, and he was survived only three days by his widow.

Robert M. Sherer grew to manhood on his present farm, attended the country schools and later became his father's main helper on the farm. He has devoted him- self to agricultural pursuits ever since, and although he has reached an age when many men feel like laying aside business cares and responsibility, he still takes an interest in managing a large part of his farming operations as of old. For over seventeen years he also engaged more or less in threshing.

Mr. Sherer was married (first) to El- vira Wallace, who was a daughter of James Wallace, and they had six children, namely : Frank Z., Alice, Eva, William, Hi- ram and Charles. Frank Z. was married twice, first to a Miss Welker. They moved to North Carolina, where she died and left two children, Jennie and Ruth. Frank Z. married again and resides with his family on a farm near Salisbury, North Carolina. Alice is deceased. She married John In- man and left two children, Robert and Tod, the former of whom is married and lives in Cleveland, Ohio. Eva died in girlhood. William lives at Struthers, Ohio. Hiram and Charles both live on the home farm. For some time the former was foreman of the Lawrence Laundry at New Castle. Charles married Maude Taylor, daughter of Lee Taylor of Little Beaver Township, and has two children, Eva Margaret and Robert Lee. After the death of his first wife Mr. Sherer married Nancy Jane Spar- row, a widow. She died in December, 1907. Mr. Sherer and son Charles are both mem-

bers of the Westfield Presbyterian Church, in which the latter is a deacon.

S. JAMES CALLAHAN, a leading citi- zen of New Castle, secretary of the Cham- ber of Commerce and prominent in Repub- lican politics, was born in 1868, in Lycom- ing County, Pennsylvania, and was about seven years of age when his parents moved to Tioga County.

Mr. Callahan was liberally educated, at- tending the Wellsboro High School, Cook Academy and Hillsdale College, after which he accepted a position as teacher in a school in Lycoming County. In spite of the fact that this school was situated twen- ty-five miles from home, he visited the old mother, who was left alone on the farm, every week, walking the distance back and forth, his father having died the previous winter. After completing his college at- tendance he acquired a knowledge of short- hand and typewriting, which he had lacked, at Pott's College, at Williamsport, Pa., and this acquirement he has frequent- ly found a great convenience. He then en- tered the law office of C. E. Sprout, a lead- ing attorney at Williamsport, with whom he studied law for one year and during this time had an agency for the Connecti- cut Mutual Life Insurance Company in that district. After coming to New Castle he continued with that company as general agent for about six years and then became general agent for the New York Life, a position he still fills. He registered, on locating at New Castle, with Attorney Mc- Caslin, with whom he completed his law studies, and was admitted to the bar in April, 1907, and has engaged in the prac- tice of his profession in addition to at- tending to his numerous other interests. He is a member of the Lawrence County Bar Association.

At Warren, Ohio, in 1900, Mr. Callahan was married to Etta B. Hayford, of that city, and they have had three children: Clare; Berdena, who died aged two years and eight months, and James. Mr. and

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Mrs. Callahan belong to the First Baptist Church, in which he has been a prominent and useful official member. He was chair- man of the finance committee when the church edifice was remodeled, and at pres- ent is a member of the lecture course com- mittee. He has farming interests in Mer- cer County. In politics he is an ardent Republican and is treasurer of the Law- rence County Republican Committee. For three years he has been secretary of the New Castle Chamber of Commerce and is closely identified with the city's business interests. He belongs also to various branches of Masonry.

ALBERT RENFREW BRIGHT, rep- resentative citizen and general farmer of North Beaver Township, residing on his valuable property which consists of eighty acres of excellent land, lying one-half mile north of Moravia, on the New Castle- Moravia road, has been located here since 1882. He was born at Hulton, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, twelve miles north of Pittsburg, August 17, 1860, and is a son of Adam and Elizabeth (Hulton) Bright.

Adam Bright was a son of Peter Bright, of old Pennsylvania Dutch stock. The lat- ter came from one of the old settled coun- ties east of the Allegheny Mountains and, with Jonathan Hulton and Caleb Lee, was one of the earliest settlers in that section of Allegheny County. These three men owned all the land surrounding the settle- ment, which was named Hulton in honor of the grandfather of Mr. Bright. During the Civil War, Adam Bright served as a soldier in Company K, One Hundred and First Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He was made prisoner, was taken to Andersonville prison and died in that place of unspeakable torture. His memory is preserved as one of the nation's honored defenders.

Albert R. Bright was reared at Hulton and after leaving school he learned the machinist trade in the shops of the Alle- gheny Valley Railroad, but has not worked

as such, his inelinations being more in the direction of farming. Together with his wife he owns 16212 acres of land, in two farms, residing on the one containing eighty acres.

Mr. Bright married Mary Chambers, who was born and reared in North Beaver Township, and is a daughter of James Chambers, of a prominent family of this locality. They have had four children: James, Elizabeth, Isabella and Albert Ren- frew, the latter of whom died aged nine months. James Bright is a general farmer of North Beaver Township. He married Daisy Beacom and they have two children, Kenneth R. and Birda Lucinda. Elizabeth Bright married Frank Withrow and they have one daughter, Josephine. The young- er daughter lives at home. The family is one which is held in high esteem in their community.

JOHN M. BRUCE, a representative citizen of Mahoning Township, residing on his excellent farm of 150 acres, which is situated near Edenburg, is a native of this section of Lawrence County, where he was born October 10, 1842. His parents were Thomas and Agnes ( Mitchell) Bruce.

Mr. Bruce comes of Scotch parentage and ancestry and bears a name made hon- orable by his remote forefathers. His grandfather left Scotland when his father was small and established the family home in the north of England. When Thomas Bruce reached manhood he emigrated to America, accompanied by his youngest brother and oldest sister, reaching the United States in 1820. He was a stone- mason by trade and he followed this in various parts of the country for eight years before he finally settled permanently on the farm which his son John M. now owns. Forest covered all this region at that time and Thomas Bruce's log cabin was one of the first ever built in Mahon- ing Township. With his brother Robert he contracted for and built two locks on the old Erie Canal, south of and near New

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Castle, but after he acquired his land he gave his attention almost entirely to clear- ing and cultivating it. He died in Sep- tember, 1866. He was a man well fitted for the troubles, hardships and terrors which attended pioneer life, possessing a sturdy frame and robust health, together with the sterling traits of character which belong to Scotchmen the world over. He was firm in his political attachments, at first a Whig and later a Republican, and was equally consistent in his support of the Presbyterian Church. Of his four children, John M. is the only survivor.

John M. Bruce was reared to man's es- tate on the farm he now owns and occupies and here he has carried on general farm- ing through the whole of his mature life. Mr. Bruce has kept up with the times in his farming methods and is numbered with the substantial agriculturists of this sec- tion. In October, 1894, he was married to Mrs. Mahala (Hill) Bruce, who was born near Hillsville, Lawrence County, Penn- sylvania, and is a daughter of John and Maria (Zediker) Hill. John Hill was born in Mahoning Township, where he still re- sides, being now in his eighty-sixth year, surviving his wife, who died in December, 1906. The children of John Hill and wife were: Mahala; Jennie, who is the wife of David E. Myers, residing in Hillsville, and Elizabeth, who is the wife of John Mackey, also of Hillsville, a village that was named in honor of the Hill family. The Hills set- tled in Mahoning Township among the very earliest people and the grandmother of Mrs. Bruce was a typical pioneer wom- an, surviving all the hardships and depri- vations which were difficult for even men to overcome, and outlived many of her descendants. She was within a few weeks of being 100 years old when she died. By her first marriage with C. C. Bruce, Mrs. Bruce has one daughter, May F., who is a graduate of the New Castle High School. In politics, Mr. Bruce is a Republican. He is a member and liberal supporter of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Edenburg.

JAMES WHIPPO, who comes of one of the most prominent old families of Law- rence County, Pennsylvania, is engaged in gardening and fruit growing on an exten- sive scale, in Shenango Township, about one mile from the limits of the city of New Castle. He was born in that city, Septem- ber 28, 1840, and is a son of Dr. Charles Tillotson and Althea A. (Warner) Whip- po.

James Whippo, grandfather of James, was born October 14, 1760, and was of Scotch descent. Prior to 1802, he lived in Washington County, New York, then moved to Cayuga County, New York, where he followed the occupation of farm- er. During eleven years of his life he was a sailor on the high seas. His death oc- curred January 24, 1832. He was united in marriage with Hannah Wood, who was born May 5, 1771, and was a daughter of John and Dinah (Hussey) Wood, of Dart- mouth, Mass. She was a woman of un- usual ability, and for a period of years was clerk of the Friends' Yearly Meetings, of New York City. One of her brothers Jethro Wood, was the inventor of the first cast-iron plow. Her death occurred Au- gust 30, 1838. Mr. and Mrs. Whippo were parents of the following children: Amelia, who died at the age of four years; John, who married and reared a family, lived at Dublin, Ind., at his death; Charles Tillot- son; and Anna, who died at the age of twenty-one, and was unmarried.

Dr. Charles Tillotson Whippo, father of James, was one of the most distinguished men who ever claimed New Castle as his home. He was born in Washington Coun- ty, New York, April 19, 1793, and being ambitious to procure a superior education, he relinquished all the interest he might have in his father's estate, to gain that end. He studied medicine with Dr. John Thompson, brother-in-law of his mother, and embarked in practice in Cayuga Coun- ty, New York. He subsequently practiced at Henrietta, Monroe County, in that state. He was very fond of the higher branches

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of mathematics, in which he excelled, and was well versed in the sciences of astron- omy, geology and botany. The profession of civil engineering held greater attrac- tions for him that did that of medicine, and he had charge of a large portion of the construction work on the canals of his day. Relinquishing practice, he entered the engineering service of the Erie Canal, with David Thomas. Leaving his family on a farm he owned at Holly, N. Y., in 1831 he went to Beaver County, Pennsyl- vania, and took charge as engineer of the Beaver and Erie extension of the Penn- sylvania Canal. The following year he moved his family to New Castle, where he purchased 500 acres of land, 250 of which now forms a part of that city, the re- mainder being in Shenango and Taylor Townships. In October, 1849, the year Lawrence County was organized, Dr. Whippo was elected associate judge of the county, and served a full term of five years with signal ability. He was first president of the Bank of New Castle, in- corporated March 30, 1855, the first bank of issue in that city. He was the foremost man of the city in that day, and labored zealously for the advancement of its best interests and the development of the re- sources of the community. He was instru- mental in organizing the first seminary in New Castle, and was president of its board of directors. Dr. Whippo having amassed a handsome property, his declining years were spent in ease and comfort, his great- est pleasure being found in the companion- ship of the books which filled the shelves of his magnificent library, and in literary pursuits. His death, which occurred June 14, 1858, was mourned as an irreparable loss to the city. He was united in mar- riage January 18, 1818, with Althea Ann Warner, who was born July 18, 1798, and passed from this life August 21, 1865. Five children were the issue of their union, namely: Amelia Ann, born October 28, 1818, in Henrietta, N. Y., and died at Con- nersville, Ind., December 11, 1845, was the

wife of Henry Clay Moore, by whom she had these children : Robert, Charles Whippo, Mary Stibbs, and Franklin; Ellen D., born October 1, 1822, and died October 7, 1881, maried Dryden Reno, and they had two children : Althea Ellen, wife of Frank D. Storm, and Louis Cassius; Maria, born January 20, 1834, and died May 15, 1874, was married to Henry Reis, and they had seven children: Robert C., Charles, Ellen (wife of W. S. Jackman), James Whippo, Lillian, Louis and Althea May; Charles, who was born January 21, 1837, died February 18, 1857; and James, the only surviving members of the family. Dr. Whippo was a Republican in politics.

James Whippo is a man of educational attainments ; he attended the public schools and seminary in New Castle, then, during 1853 and 1854, was in attendance at Prof. Sulio's school at Salem, Ohio. This was supplemented by college courses at Green- mount, Pa., and Richmond, Ind. In 1856 he attended Duff's Business College at Pittsburg. After his marriage he took up his residence on the old homestead, and continued there until 1867, when he moved to his present location. He has a fine farm of thirty-four and one-half acres, which is devoted mainly to fruit growing. He raises all kinds of fruits that will grow in this climate, including apples, pears, cherries, plums and the small fruits. He erected a fine barn in 1879, and in 1893 re- modeled and rebuilt the residence which adorns the place. Mr. Whippo enlisted in June, 1862, in Company I, Eighty- seventh Regiment Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, and was taken prisoner by Long- street's Brigade at Harper's Ferry, Va. He was subsequently paroled and returned to his home, where he remained until his enlistment ended, in October, 1862. As he was never exchanged, he could not re- enlist in the service.

James Whippo was united in marriage June 5, 1859, with Miss Elizabeth Jane Armstrong, who was born in the town of Monaghan, County Monaghan, Ireland,

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January 10, 1841, and is a daughter of Thomas Armstrong. Her father was born in County Monaghan in 1812, and died at the early age of thirty years. He was a well-to-do farmer and a large land owner, as were the Campbells, into which family he married. Mrs. Whippo's mother was born in 1816 and died in 1841. Mrs. Whippo and her brother were brought to America in 1844, and she resided in Pitts- burg until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Whippo became parents of five children, as follows: Minnie E., who is engaged in the grocery business at East Liverpool, Ohio; Maude, wife of J. B. Hutton, of Shenango Township; Charles T., born February 10, 1868, died December 21, 1868; Daisy N., wife of Thomas J. Ham- mel, of New Castle; and Blanche, who lives at home with her parents. Mr. Whippo has always been an enthusiastic Republi- can in politics, and has worked hard for party success. Although he has been very active, especially in the service of his friends, he has never himself sought politi- cal preferment. He was formerly a member of the Republican County Committee. Fraternally, he was formerly a member of the Knights of Pythias, of New Castle. He is a member of the G. A. R. post at New Castle. He is a man of sterling character, and enjoys the highest esteem of his fel- low citizens.

EVANS AND WILLIAMS, physicians and surgeons, at New Castle. Each year the value of electricity in the treatment of disease is becoming more and more recog- nized, and when made use of by experi- enced men of science, its curative proper- ties are little less than marvelous. In the firm of Evans and Williams, made up of D. E. Evans, M. D., and T. V. Williams, M. D., New Castle has a professional com- bination that in its special line is scarcely equaled in western Pennsylvania.

poid, Llandebie, ten years later. Dr Evans has been a resident of the United States since his sixteenth year, while Dr. Williams was twenty-eight years old when he reached America, having been a school- master in Wales for a number of years. Dr. Evans first settled in Flushing, L. I. Then he moved to Nanticoke, Pa., where he practiced medicine for several years be- fore graduating in medicine. He was borough physician during the Nanticoke smallpox epidemic in 1889, when he had eighty cases in the quarantine hospital. He subsequently entered the College of Phy- sicians and Surgeons at Baltimore, Md., and was graduated from the Baltimore University in 1892. He immediately lo- cated at Nanticoke, Luzerne County, Penn- sylvania, where he engaged in medical practice until 1899, when he came to New Castle and entered into partnership with Dr. Williams. He was a member of the Nanticoke Board of Health for five years. In 1876 he married Miss Ann Davis, of Scranton, Pa., and they have three chil- dren: T. J., who is engaged in the prac- tice of dentistry, at Youngstown; Arthur, who resides in New Castle; and J., who is a resident of New York City. Dr. Evans is a valued member of the Lawrence Coun- ty and the State Medical Societies, the American Health League, and the Ameri- can Medical Association. His fraternal connections are with the Ivorites and the Foresters of America. He attends the Baptist Church.

Dr. T. V. Williams commenced the study of medicine before he came to America, completing his medical education at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, at Baltimore, Md., in 1892. After a period of practice at Nanticoke, Pa., he came to New Castle and entered into the present part- nership with Dr. Evans. He was married in 1894, to Miss Florence G. Bache, who is a daughter of Rev. T. C. Bache, a minister in the Primitive Methodist Church. They have on daughter, Hazel. Dr. Williams is

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Century history of New Castle and Lawrence County, Pennsylvania and representative citizens, 20th, Part 68

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