USA > Pennsylvania > Colonial and revolutionary families of Pennsylvania; genealogical and personal memoirs, Vol. III > Part 38
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Peirce and Temperence (Colt) Butler had four children : Houghton Seymour Butler, born December 15, 1818, died August 22, 1870, married, 1847, Amanda Meyer ; Mary Lucinda Butler, married Elijah W. Reynolds, 1842; James Mont- gomery Butler, of whom presently; and Peirce Butler Jr., born October 13, 1832, married, 1855, Catharine A. Kelley.
JAMES MONTGOMERY BUTLER, third child and second son of Peirce and Tem- perence (Colt) Butler, born in Kingston, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, died there December 9, 1861. He married, March 18, 1852, Martha Lazarus, born September 28, 1832, daughter of John and Polly (Drake) Lazarus. Her fath- er, John Lazarus, born in Northampton county in 1796, died December 14, 1879. He was of German descent, a son of George Lazarus, born in North- ampton county in 1761, who married Mary Hartzell, and early in 1800 removed to Hanover township, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, where he became a large landowner and where he died in 1844. James Montgomery and Martha (La- zarus) Butler had five children, two of whom died young and unmarried. The survivors are: Peirce Butler, of Dorranceton, Pennsylvania, born March 31, 1855 ; George Hollenbach Butler, of whom presently; and James Montgomery Butler, Jr., born May 23, 1862.
GEORGE HOLLENBACH BUTLER, third child and second son of James Mont- gomery and Martha (Lazarus) Butler, born in Kingston township, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, September 2, 1857, was educated at private schools in Wilkes-Barre and at Wyoming Seminary in Kingston. He read law in the of- fices of Edwin P. and J. Vaughan Darling, at Wilkes-Barre, and was admitted
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to the Luzerne County Bar June 6, 1881, and since that time has been in the ac- tive practice of his profession at Wilkes-Barre, residing however at Dorrance- ton. He is a director and the secretary of the Central Poor District of Lu- zerne county, and corresponding secretary of the Wyoming Commemorative As- sociation. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Society, Sons of the Revolution, in right of descent from Colonel Zebulon Butler, Deputy Quartermaster General Lord Butler, and Major Ezekiel and Private Abel Peirce of the Twenty-fourth Regiment, Connecticut Militia, all of the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Butler married, May 8, 1890, Gertrude Taylor Stoddard, daughter of Joseph Marshall Stoddard and his wife Eliza Fahnestock. Mrs. Butler is a member of the Wyoming Valley Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolu- tion, by right of descent from Lieutenant Isaac Ashton, of the Philadelphia Ar- tillery, 1777. She is also a member of the Colonial Dames of America by right of descent from George Mifflin, of the Common Council of Philadelphia, 1730.
Mr. and Mrs. George H. Butler had three children: John Lord Butler, born December 28, 1892; Georgine Gilbert Butler, born September 26, 1894; and Gertrude Stoddard Butler, born September 26, 1894, died October 6, 1895.
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JAMES THORINGTON, M. D.
DR. JAMES THORINGTON, oculist and physician of Philadelphia, was born at Davenport, Iowa, June 6, 1858, and is a son of James and Mary (Parker) Thorington.
Mr. Thorington received his elementary education in Davenport, Iowa, and in 1875, entered Princeton University, Class of '81. He was injured in the gymna- sium, and was unable to finish his course. However he recovered in about six months, and continuing his studies, eventually, the degree of A. M. was conferred by Ursinus College. Taking up the study of medicine, he graduated from Jef- ferson Medical College, Philadelphia, in 1881, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He was surgeon for the Panama Railroad Company at Colon, Isth- mus of Panama, 1882 to 1889, and then returned to Philadelphia where he has since practiced his profession. He is a member of the American Ophthalmological Society, of the American Medical Association, Fellow of the College of Phy- sicians, Philadelphia ; and Professor of Diseases of the Eye in the Philadelphia Polyclinc and Graduates in Medicine. Dr. Thorington is the author of a num- ber of works on medical science, among them, "Retinoscopy," 1897; (now in the fifth edition) ; "Refraction and How to Refract," 1899; in the (fifth edition in 1910) ; "The Ophthalmoscope and How to Use it" (1906), and has written much for medical journals.
Dr. Thorington married, at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, September 15, 1885, Florence May Jennings, daughter of John E. and Mary (Houseworth) Jennings, and they have issue: James Monroe, born October 7, 1894; and Richard Wain- wright, born July 30, 1898.
MACLAY
The name of Maclay is one of the most prominent in the history of Pennsyl- vania, the family numbering among its representatives in the successive gen- erations, patriots who have served their country both on the battlefield and in the council chamber. The original home of the race was among the moun- tains and crags of Scotland. In the county of Ross the Maclays were an inde- pendent clan, dating back to 1200 and having a distinctive tartan of their own in which the chief colors were purple and yellow. When the English government endeavored to colonize Ireland with foreigners, the Maclays, among others, were attracted by the offer of free lands, and Charles Maclay joined those of his countrymen who settled in the Green Isle. His son John was the father of a son who bore the name of his grandfather, Charles, and who determined as a young man to seek a home in the New World across the sea.
CHARLES MACLAY, son of John Maclay, and founder of the American branch of the family, was born in Ireland and came to Pennsylvania with William Penn, settling in New Garden township, Chester county, whence he removed to Lurgan township, Lancaster (now Franklin) county. He was the father of two sons: William; and Samuel, mentioned below. William Maclay was born in New Garden township, Chester county, laid out the town of Sunbury, Penn- sylvania, and in 1789 was elected senator from that state. He was a surveyor and used the knowledge gained while surveying the Buffalo Valley to acquire large tracts of good land. A monument erected by the state marks his burial place in Cumberland county.
SAMUEL MACLAY, younger son of Charles Maclay, was born June 17, 1741, in what is now Franklin county, Pennsylvania, and was educated at the classi- cal academy presided over by the Rev. Dr. Allison. He had acquired a knowl- edge of surveying, and when the Buffalo Valley was opened for settlement by the heirs of William Penn he and his brother William were the surveyors chos- en for the work of laying out that territory. When they surveyed the "Officers' Tract" in the Buffalo Valley they secured good land there and in the Cumberland and Kishacoquillas valleys, and on his tract in the Buffalo Valley, Samuel set- tled in 1769, that farm remaining his home until his death in 1811. When the trouble with England began he warmly espoused the cause of the colonies, join- ing his neighbors in organizing and arming for defense. He became lieutenant- colonel of the Northumberland County (Pennsylvania) Associators, and used his means freely for the cause. He entered actively into the politics of the state, and in 1789 had the great satisfaction of seeing his brother Willian elected United States senator, Pennsylvania's first United States Senator, also first Republican senator. He was in the Senate during Washington's first term of office. In 1792 Samuel Maclay was appointed one of the associate judges of Northumberland county, which post of responsibility he held until December 17, 1795, when he resigned to accept the office of congressman, serving for the session of 1795-96. In 1797 he was elected a member of the senate of Pennsyl-
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vania, an office which he retained until 1803. December 2, 1801, he was chosen speaker of the state senate and was reelected December 7, 1802. December 14, of that year, he was elected United States senator from Pennsylvania and, be- ing speaker of the state senate at the time, signed his own certificate. He was a member of the Buffalo Cross Roads Presbyterian Church, and in 1787 was one of those who signed a call to the Rev. Mr. Morrison. Political feeling ran very high, and in 1796, Samuel Maclay, not being in accord with his pastor, stopped paying his pew rent. In 1799 these differences resulted in a suit for slander, Morrison versus Maclay, which, Linn says, was regularly continued until 1817, long after both clients and most of the lawyers interested had died. He was re- siding on his farm in the Buffalo Valley in 1803 when he was chosen by the Pennsylvania legislature for United States senator. . On account of ill health he did not serve the full term of six years, but resigned on January 4, 1809, dying October 5, 1811. Linn says of him that he was a very popular man, a good scholar and a clear and forceful writer, having an extensive library con- taining many valuable works. The following anecdote well illustrates his demo- cratic spirit. While a member of congress he once, on his way home, pur- chased a fine carriage and the next Sunday the family rode in it to church. The neighbors cast at it and them, looks of disapproval, and on their return home the carriage was placed in the carriage-house and never again taken out during the senator's lifetime. He was of the people and for the people. He had a black servant, Titus, who was a character in his way, always wearing a ruf- fled shirt, and on holidays sporting a "coat of many colors". Titus had hair as white as snow and was of very striking appearance, resembling a typical Afri- can king. He was devoted to his master who was extremely fond of him, and local tradition says that this slave, the senator's war horse and his dog were all buried with him in the family burial plot on the farm. Senator Maclay was a large man, in personal appearance resembling Henry Clay, although stouter in the latter years of his life.
He married Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. William Plunket (see Plunket line) and had several sons who served in congress and in the state legislature. On October 16, 1908, the remains of Senator Samuel Maclay were removed from the burial ground on his farm in Buffalo county, where they had reposed for ninety-seven years, and carefully deposited in the Dreisbach Cemetery, near Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, where an imposing monument had been erected by the state. The monument stands within sight of the house he built in 1795 and bears the inscription: "Samuel Maclay, United States Senator, born June 17, 1741, died October 5, 1811. Surveyor, Farmer, Soldier, Legislator, Statesman, erect- ed by the State of Pennsylvania. Maclay." The monument was unveiled by Helen Argyll Maclay, a great-great-granddaughter of Senator Maclay, and an address was made by Captain Samuel R. Maclay, of Mineral Point, Missouri, a grandson.
WILLIAM PLUNKET MACLAY, son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Plunket) Maclay, removed to Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, and from 1816 to 1820 represented that district in congress. He died September 2, 1842, in Milroy, Pennsylvania. In religious belief he was a Presbyterian and served as elder in the West Kishaco- quillas church, of which he was a life-long member. He married (first), Decem- ber I, 1802, Sallie, daughter of Judge William Brown, of Mifflin county. He
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married (second) Jane Holmes, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Children by his first marriage: I. Samuel, born October 5, 1803, in Union township, Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, attended public schools of Washington, and in 1825 received froni Dickinson College the degree of Bachelor of Arts, that of Master of Arts being conferred upon him in 1827. In 1829 he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He was a Presbyterian and an ardent Republican from the time of the organization of that party. His first vote was cast in 1824 for John Quincy Adams, and in 1840 he voted for General Harrison, as did his father and all his brothers. He married, April 26, 1824, Margaret Baxter, whose father was an officer in the English army. His second wife was Harriet Gwin, by whom he had two daughters, Helen and Sarah. In 1856 he was one of those who voted for Fremont, and in 1860 and 1864 his vote was cast for Lincoln. He died in Washington. 2. William Brown, born April 5, 1805, educated in the schools of Lewistown. He was a Republican and a respected citizen, and died on his farm near Milroy, Pennsylvania, March 28, 1853. In October, 1830, he married Eleanor Lashell. Children: Sarah, Ralph Lashell, Mary, Elizabeth, Ellen, Isabella, who married A. A. MacDonald and died, leaving three children, Margaret, Annie and Ralph. 3. Charles John, died at the age of twenty-one. Children by second marriage: 4. Holmes, was born June 5, 1815, at Lewistown, Pennsylvania, was educated at the academy of his native place and at Washington College. In 1862 he was elected to the legislature of his native state, serving one term. He married, April 15, 1852, Isabella Plunket Richardson, of Macedon, New York, and they had three chil- dren, Mary, William and Ella. He died November 29, 1869, in Milroy, Penn- sylvania. 5. David, mentioned below. 6. Robert Plunket, born May 16, 1821, in Lewistown, Pennsylvania. He married, November 25, 1857, Martha Barr, of Belleville, Pennsylvania, where he died April 20, 1881. Children: William Barr and Jane Henderson. 7. Joseph Henderson, born November 21, 1825, received a good education and in 1879 and 1881 represented Mifflin county in the legislature. The most important measure before that body during his term was the Pittsburgh Riot Bill, which he opposed. He was a witness in the bribery suits which followed. In 1881, in the long contest for the United States senatorship, he was one of the fifty-six Republicans who refused to support General Oliver. He married, November 15, 1854, Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Judge Robert Maclay, and they had one daughter, Margaret Lashell, now living at Belleville, Pennsylvania. Joseph Henderson Maclay died a few years ago.
DAVID MACLAY, son of William Plunket and Jane (Holmes) Maclay, was born June 9, 1818, in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, and in 1872 represented Clarion county of the state senate. He moved to Clarion county in 1845 from Lewistown, Pennsylvania. He married, February 17, 1846, in Wayne county, New York, Elizabeth Plunket, daughter of Dr. William Plunket and Mary (Porter) Rich- ardson (see Plunket line). David Maclay was a genial, hospitable man, a Pres- byterian and a staunch Republican. During the Civil War, at the time the Southern army came into Pennsylvania, he went out with the militia, his sympathies being always with the Union soldiers. He died in 1894, in Missoula, Montana, having moved there from Clarion, Pennsylvania, in 1892, in order to be near his sons who made their homes there. Children of David and Elizabeth Plunket (Richardson) Maclay: I. William Plunket, born in Clarion county,
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Pennsylvania, in 1880, moved to Bitter Root Valley, Missoula, Montana, where he now resides. In March, 1884, he married Mrs. Fleta Gardner, of Erie county, Pennsylvania, and they have two sons, William Chide and Harvey D. 2. Sam uel, of Missoula, Montana, married, in 1895, Julia St. Clair; children, St. Clair, Elizabeth Plunket, Anna May, Alma, John David and Sarah. 3. David Rich- ardson, born November 26, 1863, in Sligo, Clarion county, Pennsylvania, edu- cated in Reed's Academy, as were his brothers, and in 1881 moved to Missoula. Montana ; married, May 20, 1888, Carrie V. McClain; children : David Lamar, Holmes, Helen, Carrie and Emily; they reside in Florence, Montana. The three sons, like their father, are Presbyterians and Republicans. 4. Jane Holmes, married, March 5, 1872, Levi S. Clover; children, Elizabeth Richardson, Mary Porter, Sarah Brown, Sophia Bell and David Maclay. 5. Mary, mentioned below. 6. Margaret Richardson, married John N. Redmond and lives at Van- couver, British Columbia. 7. Elizabeth Plunket, married, December 17, 1884, George Westcott ; children, Nannie, David Maclay and George. 8. Sallie Brown, married Edward Rainford and lives at Spokane, Washington. 9. Anna Means, married Charles Gwin, of Garfield, Washington; children, Helen, David Maclay, Margaret and Harriet. 10. Harriet Patton, married Guy Manford Goheen, of Seattle, Washington, and has two children, John David and Elizabeth Jane.
MARY MACLAY was born near Sligo, Clarion county, Pennsylvania, and mar- ried, September 3, 1873, Henry Van Leer Curll, of Scotch-Irish Presbyterian de- scent. He is a son of Daniel B. and Nancy Ann (Reynolds) Curll, the latter a de- scendant on the maternal side of Peter Brown, who came over in the "Mayflower". The Reynolds ancestors were all of Revolutionary stock and saw active service. Mr. Curll has been a merchant, as were his forefathers for several generations, and throughout his active career was engaged in the lumber business. Mrs. Curll has in her possession several relics of the Pilgrim ancestor, Peter Brown, among them the glasses he used when reading his Bible. She also has a very interesting journal kept by her great-grandfather, Samuel Maclay, while sur- veying the West Branch of the Susquehanna, the Sinnamahoning and the Alle- gheny rivers. Children of Henry Van Leer and Mary (Maclay) Curll: I. Daniel Benard, married, June 24, 1899, Lillian Anthony, of Brookville, Pennsylvania, and they have one son, Daniel Benard Jr., Mr. Curll lives at Wayne, Pennsylvania, and is engaged in the lumber business. 2. Harry Maclay, married, April 17, 1906, Jessie Corbet, and lives at Glenray, West Virginia, where he is engaged in the manufacture of lumber; they have one son, Henry Van Leer, 2nd. 3. Mrs. Elizabeth Richardson (Curll) Moore, who with her daughter, Elizabeth Curll, resides with her parents in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 4. Anna Maclay, married, September 16, 1903, L. Ralph Richard, engaged in the lumber business in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ; they have two children, Mary Maclay and William John. 5. Carolyn, married, October 18, 1910, David Noble Carlin, engaged in the machinery and steel business in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
(The Plunket Line)
Patrick Plunket, the first ancestor of whom we have any knowledge, was a Presbyterian clergyman in the North of Ireland. He married Margaret Baxter, who bore him two sons, graduates of Trinity College, Dublin, and named re- spectively William and James. The former is mentioned below. James mar-
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ried Miss Conyngham, and their son, William Conyngham Plunkett, was a law- yer in Dublin. In recognition of his professional and scholastic attainments he was created by Queen Victoria Lord William Conyngham Plunket.
William Plunket, son of Patrick and Margaret (Baxter) Plunket, and found- er of the American branch of the family, after graduating at Trinity College, studied medicine and then emigrated to Pennsylvania, landing in Philadelphia. During the Revolutionary War he served as colonel of the Third Battalion of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania Associators, under a commission dated March 13, 1776. He saw active service and his command was an unusually large one. He married, in Harrisburg, Esther, daughter of John Harris, founder of that city, and their children were: I. Elizabeth, married Samuel Maclay (see Maclay). 2. Isabella, married William Bell. 3. Esther, married Richard Bax- ter. 4. Margaret Baxter, mentioned below.
Margaret Baxter Plunket, youngest daughter of William and Esther (Harris) Plunket, married Isaac Richardson, and they were the parents of eight children.
William Plunkett Richardson, eldest son of Isaaac and Margaret Baxter (Plunket ) Richardson, was a resident of Palmyra, New York. He married Mary Porter, and nine children were born to them, six of whom survived the father who died in 1833, namely: I. Margaret, married Ashly Colvin, and died in Battle Creek, Michigan. 2. Mary, married Henry Roberts, and died in St. Louis. 3. Elizabeth Plunket, married David Maclay (see Maclay). 4. Lydia, married John Crims and died in Chicago. 5. Isabella, married Dr. Hiram Vos- burgh, of Lyom, New York, living at the present time (1911). 6. David, gradu- ate of Yale University, class of 1856, lawyer of Angelica, New York, and mem- ber of congress in 1878-80. He married Julia Lloyd, and died, leaving three sons.
CHARLES NAYLOR MANN
REV. WILLIAM MANN, grandfather of Charles N. Mann, was born at Burling- ton, New Jersey, April 5, 1785. He received an excellent classical education, and for several years conducted the Mount Holly Academy at Mount Holly, Burling- ton county, New Jersey. He removed to Philadelphia in 1821, and established a classical school in that city which he conducted for nearly a half century, and also officiating as minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He died in Phil- adelphia, July 4, 1867. Rev. William Mann married, at Mount Holly, New Jer- sey, in 1809, Alice Benson, who was born at Schaick's Point, New York, June 4, 1787, died in Philadelphia, December 15, 1848.
Joel Benson, father of Alice (Benson) Mann, was born at Fredericksburg, New York, October, 1749, died at Ripley, Chatauqua county, New York, March 17, 1837. He enlisted as artificer and private in the company of Captain Jacob Van Doozen, regiment of Colonel Abraham Van Schaick, New York Line, and was employed as artificer at Saratoga until July, 1776, when he was. ordered to Ticonderoga, where he was employed as a carpenter in building and repair- ing fortifications, until the retreat of the Continental forces after the failure of the expedition against Canada, July 5, 1777, to "Half Moon Point", below Sara- toga, where it met General Gates. Here Joel Benson was assigned to Captain Van Armand's company in the same regiment, with which he engaged in the various engagements that led up to, and in the memorable battle of Stillwater, September 19 to October 17, 1777, which terminated with the surrender of Bur- goyne at Saratoga on the latter date. Mr. Benson was three times wounded, twice in the head and once in the leg. In the spring of 1778 he acted as guide to a scouting party sent out to break up marauding parties of Tories and Indians, and later guided a detachment to Lake Champlain, after which he returned to Albany, where he was employed as an artificer until the close of the war. He was discharged as of the company of Captain Abner French in the battalion commanded by Colonels Hay and Lewis. Joel Benson married Mary Shaw.
COLONEL WILLIAM BENSON MANN, son of Rev. William and Alice (Benson) Mann, and father of Charles N. Mann, was born at Mount Holly, New Jersey, November 26, 1816, and came with his parents to Philadelphia in 1821. He was educated at his father's school, in which he served as an assistant teacher for three years while preparing himself for the legal profession. He was admitted to the Philadelphia Bar in 1838, and soon rose to considerable prominence in his profession. He early entered the political arena, and was the Whig candi- date for mayor of the Northern Liberties in 1844, but the district was strongly Democratic, and he was defeated at the polls, though he ran far ahead of his ticket. In 1850, when William B. Reed was a candidate for district attorney of Philadelphia, he was defeated as shown by the returns, but contested the election, Mr. Mann acting as his leading counsel in the case, which he won, and Mr. Reed installed into office. He named Mr. Mann as his assistant, and on his reelection in 1853, again named him as assistant. After six years experience as assistant
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district attorney, Mr. Mann established a reputation as an able prosecuting officer, and was himself nominated for the office in 1856 by both the Republican and American parties, and elected by a handsome majority. He was reelected in 1859-62-65, in the latter year securing a majority of over ten thousand votes, a remarkable one for that day. He thus served in the office of prosecuting attorney for the county and city of Philadelphia for eighteen years, six as deputy and twelve as principal.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Colonel Mann recruited the Second Regi- ment Pennsylvania Reserves, of which he was commissioned colonel, and in May, 1861, encamped with it on the banks of the Lehigh River at Easton, Pennsylvania. After the first reverses of the war the Second Reserve Regiment was called into the state service as the Thirty-first Regiment Pennsylvania Vol- unteers, and proceeded to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, July 24, 1861. Impetuous for action in the defence of their country they proceeded to Baltimore, Mary- land, before being sworn into the service of the state and receiving orders or as- signment. This led to difficulties and disappointments on their arrival, and a number of the men declined to be sworn in and joined other commands. How- ever the regiment was finally mustered into the service and participated in the campaign of 1861 under the command of Colonel Mann, who, however, resigned when the regiment went into winter quarters, November 1, 1861, and returned to Philadelphia to look after his civic office of district attorney. When the state was threatened with invasion he recruited an independent company of mi- litia, of which he was commissioned captain, and which was mustered into ser- vice, June 17, 1863, and discharged, July 24, 1863.
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