USA > Pennsylvania > Colonial and revolutionary families of Pennsylvania; genealogical and personal memoirs, Volume II > Part 3
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65
ABBOT S. COOKE, son of Dr. Nicholas Francis and Laura Wheaton (Ab- bot) Cooke, was born in Chicago, Illinois, July 9, 1859. His early education was under private tuition in his native city. From 1876 to 1879 he was a Cadet at the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland. His early business experience was gained in the office of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad at Chicago. From 1881 to 1885 he was in the mercantile and banking business in New Mexico. He then removed to Kansas, where he engaged in banking and in the lumber business until 1896, when he settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and engaged in the mining machinery business. In 1905 the cor- poration of Cooke-Wilson Electric Supply Company of Pittsburgh was formed with Mr. Cooke as president. He is also the president of Cooke & Wilson Company of Charleston, West Virginia. He is a director of the Capell Fan and Engineering Company and of the Union Electric Company. He is a member of the Pittsburgh Board of Trade, the Pittsburgh Athletic Association, the Pitts- burgh Art Society, the National Geographic Society, the Sons of the Ameri- can Revolution, and the Automobile Club of Pittsburgh. Mr. Cooke and daugh- ters are members of Sacred Heart Roman Catholic parish of Pittsburgh. Ab- bot S. Cooke married, at Lincoln, Illinois, November 15, 1883, Mary Belle Smith, born in Lincoln, Illinois, daughter of Benjamin F. and Ann Louisa (Ashe ) Smith. Her father, Benjamin F. Smith, was born in Adair county, Kentucky,
674
COOKE
in the year 1830. He removed to Lincoln, Illinois, and in 1862 enlisted in the Union army as corporal of Company F, One Hundred and Sixth Regiment, Illinois Infantry. He was mustered out in July, 1865, with the rank of ser- geant of the same company and regiment. He was in service two years and. ten months. Sergeant Smith was a member of James R. Fulton Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Garden City, Kansas. He died in 1902. Children of Abbot S. and Mary Belle (Smith) Cooke are: Georgia Gertrude, Sister Aquin, a novice of the reglious order Sisters of Mercy. Laura Abbot, Dorothea May, Mary Bertile, Wilhelmina Louise. Mr. Cooke resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsyl- vania, No. 6100 Jackson Street.
ABBOT FAMILY
GEORGE ABBOT, emigrant ancestor of Abbot S. Cooke, emigrated from Yorkshire, England, about the year 1640, and was among the first settlers of Andover, Massachusetts, where he lived and died on a farm that was until recent years still in the Abbot family. His house was a garrison and was used as such for protection against the Indians many years, both before and after his death. George Abbot married, in 1647, Hannah, daughter of William and Annis Chand- ler. George Abbot died December 24, 1681, aged sixty-six years. For forty years in the New World he had with his wife Hannah endured the trials, privations and dangers of that early frontier life. They reared a large family and trained them in the way they should go, according to the strict tenets of that early day faith. Children : I. John, born March 2, 1648, died March, 1721. 2. Joseph, March II, 1649, died June 24, 1650; his is the first death recorded in the town records. 3. Hannah, June 9, 1650, died in March, 1740. 4. Joseph, March 30, 1652, died April 8, 1676; he was the first Indian victim to fall in Andover. 5. George, June 7, 1655, died February 27, 1736; selectman and captain. 6. William, No- vember 18, 1657, died October 24, 1713. 7. Sarah, November 14, 1659, died June 28, 1711. 8. Benjamin, see forward. 9. Timothy, November 17, 1663, died September 9, 1730. 10. Thomas, May 6, 1666, died April 28, 1728. 11. Edward, drowned while young. 12. Nathaniel, born July 4, 1671, died December, 1749. 13. Elizabeth, February 9, 1673, died May, 1750.
BENJAMIN ABBOT, eighth child of George (the emigrant) and Hannah (Chandler ) Abbot, was born December 20, 1661, on the Abbot homestead farm, where he lived, active, enterprising and respected. He married, in 1685, Sarah, daughter of Ralph Farnum, an early Andover settler. Children: Benjamin, born July II, 1686, died December 8, 1748; Jonathan, September, 1687, died March 21, 1770; David, born January 29, 1689, died November 14, 1753; Sam- uel, born May 19, 1694, died October 29, 1762.
BENJAMIN (2) ABBOT, son of Benjamin (1) and Sarah (Farnum) Ab- bot, born July 11, 1686, died December 8, 1748. He lived at home on his father's farm and assisted in the cultivation of that and the farm of his brothers. He married (first) in 1717, Elizabeth, his cousin, daughter of George Abbot. She died in 1718, and he married (second) in 1722, Mary Carlton, who died in Janu- ary, 1726. He married (third) in 1729, Abigail, daughter of Nehemiah Abbot; she died December 8, 1753, aged fifty-four years. Child of first wife was Sarah, born August 13, 1718, died March 5, 1778. Children of second wife were: Ben- jamin, see forward; Daniel, born January 9, 1726, died April, 1793.
BENJAMIN (3) ABBOT, son of of Benjamin (2) and Mary (Carlton) Abbot, born November I, 1723, died January 5, 1770. He married, in 1747, Elizabeth, daughter of George Abbot. Children: Benjamin, born and died in 1748; Ben- jamin, born April II, 1749, died September 5, 1839; Elizabeth, February 22, 1751, died February 19, 1836; Samuel, April 13, 1752, died February, 1794; Mary, December 13, 1754, died January 23, 1755; George, December 29, 1755,
676
ABBOT
died September 15, 1818; Joel, see forward: Jacob, April 12, 1760, died April II, 1815; Mary, died 1796.
JOEL ABBOT, son of Benjamin (3) and Elizabeth (Abbot) Abbot, was born December 4, 1757, died April 12, 1806. He married Lydia Cummings, born No- vember 26, 1769, died March 5, 1813. Children : Elizabeth, born January 22, 1787, died April 30, 1837; Joel, born and died June 29, 1789; Lydia, born November 27, 1790, died August 20, 1791; Joel, see forward; Walter, September 17, 1795, died July 12, 1825, of a wound received in the Chesapeake, he was a lieutenant in the United States Navy; Lydia, July 5, 1798; Mary P., November 23, 1801, died 1831; Isaac Houghton, January 18, 1804.
JOEL (2) ABBOT, son of Joel (1) and Lydia (Cummings) Abbot, was born January 18, 1793, died at Hong Kong, China, December 14, 1855. He entered the United States Navy and was a midshipman under Commodore MacDonough, and took part in the memorable battle on Lake Champlain during the war of 1812. He was promoted to a lieutenancy for gallant conduct, not only during the action, but before, on discharge of hazardous duty. In addition to the promotion he received a handsome sword from Congress, and an appointment to the navy for his brother as an appreciation of his gallantry. In 1848 he was made Post Captain, the highest rank of the old Navy, and was ordered to the Japan Expedi- tion in command of the frigate "Macedonian". This was the famous "Perry" expedition to make a treaty with Japan and open the ports of that country. At the conclusion of the Treaty, in which he bore a prominent part, Captain Abbot succeeded Commodore Perry to the command of the squadron, with the rank of Commodore. His extraordinary labors in the interest of navigation in Chinese waters, together with the onerous and delicate duties of the position, impaired his health and shortened the days of the veteran, and after a career singularly eventful and romantic, Commodore Abbot died at Hong Kong, China, December 14, 1855. When told by his physicians that a speedy return home alone could save his life, he replied : "I belong to the old school of officers and remain at my post until regularly relieved". The government, which had already given public approval of his course in Japan and China, had ordered a relief sent to him, but it arrived too late to save the life of the old hero. Commodore Joel Abbot married, Novem- ber 29, 1825, Laura, daughter of Charles and Abigail (Miller) Wheaton. She was his second wife. His first wife was Mary Wood, of Newburyport, Massa- chusetts, who died April 15, 1824, aged twenty-four years. By the first wife he had a son Joel Wood Abbot, born February 24, 1821. By his second wife, Laura Wheaton, he had: I. Lydia Lord, born September 14, 1826. 2. John Pickens, June 26, 1828. 3. Charles W., November 18, 1829, who died at the old homestead in Warren, Rhode Island, December 26, 1907, with the rank of Rear Admiral in the Pay Department of the United States Navy. 4. Trevett, July 2, 1831, died at sea in command of United States Steamship "Yantic," October 27, 1869. 5. Mary, born 1832, died 1837. 6. Laura Wheaton, see forward. 7. Nathan, Decem- ber 25, 1836. 8. Mary, May 1, 1839. 9. Walter, October 14, 1841, died in active service, February 3, 1873; Lieutenant Commander United States Navy.
Laura Wheaton Abbot, daughter of Commodore Joel (2) and Laura (Wheaton) Abbot, was born March 10, 1835, died December 13, 1895. She married, Octo- ber 15, 1856, Nicholas Francis Cooke, M. D., LL.D. (see Cooke V). With this marriage the union of the three families, Miller, Abbot and Cooke, treated
ael Affol 1
677
ABBOT
in the record is complete. Commodore Abbot's wife, Laura Wheaton, was a daughter of Abigail Miller, daughter of General Nathan Miller. He and Gover- nor Nicholas Cooke were of the same state, time and mould of men. From their day to the present each generation of the three families has furnished exemplary citizens and men of mark in business, in the professions and in public life.
FINDLEY FAMILY
JOHN T. FINDLEY is a great-grandson of William Findley, a captain in the Revolution and a prominent early political leader and congressman from the Westmoreland district, Pennsylvania, for over twenty years. He is also a lineal descendant of William Amberson, a lieutenant of the Pennsylvania line during the Revolution, and by marriage is connected with John Algeo, an early Wes- tern Pennsylvania settler.
WILLIAM AMBERSON was born in Pennsylvania and died in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1835. He was first lientenant of the Eighth Regi- ment Pennsylvania line, commanded by Colonel Mackey, during the year 1776- 77. In 1779 he was deputy quartermaster-general. He married a danghter of Devereux Smith, a crown magistrate and an early settler in Pittsburgh. Smith- field street, Pittsburgh, is so named from the fact that it ran through a part of Smith's land. William Amberson's daughter Elizabeth married John Findley (see Findley).
WILLIAM FINDLEY, paternal great-grandfather of John T. Findley, and the founder of the family in America, was one of the noted men of his day. Born in the north of Ireland in 1741, he came to Pennsylvania in 1763. He achieved prominence as a soldier and statesman, while in the world of literature he is known as the author of at least two works of national repute. William Findley was a descendant of one of the old signers of the "Solemn League and Cove- nant" in Scotland, and another of his ancestors bore a prominent part in the memorable siege of Londonderry, Ireland. The family was thus Scotch-Irish, and sprang from those who under the persecution of James II, were com- pelled to seek shelter elsewhere. He was still a young man when he came to Pennsylvania, and made one of the famous Octoraro settlement. He here early brought himself to notice among the "New American Covenanters". While under his father's roof in Ireland, he had the advantage of a larger library of books on church history and divinity, than was possessed by many of his neighbors. He says that he "had also been taught to read the Bible, and that he had inclined to some books on ancient history". The evidence of his appli- cation and taste is seen in his subsequent writings, because it was impossible for him. for a length of time after he came to America, to devote himself studiously to literary pursuits. At the outbreak of the Revolution he took sides with his adopted country and entered the army. He rose to the rank of captain and is so designated in some of the old records. While at Octoraro he taught school for several terms. He removed to Franklin county, Pennsylvania, where he purchased lands and was elected county commissioner for two terms of three years each. About the year 1782 he removed to Westmoreland county, Penn- sylvania, and bought a farm upon which he resided until his death. This farm, now a beautiful and valuable tract between Latrobe and St. Vincents, through which the Pennsylvania railroad passes, had then just been opened, and more than four-fifths of it was covered with bushes, vines and swamp growth. The
679
FINDLEY
community around him was Presbyterian in religious preference, and in a short time he was one of the chief members of that church body, a leading lay- man, and for many years an elder. Nor was he less prominent in politics. He was a born leader of men, and from the first not only had the confidence of the most substantial citizens of the district, but obtained and held an ascendency over the common people that was relaxed only with his death. He refused a seat in the Assembly, but was sent as one of the Council of Censors. From that time, he says, until 1821, he never spent but one whole winter with his family. In the Board of Censors he voted invariably against the party which professed Federalism, and at all times upon the opposite side from General Ar- thur St. Clair, who sat as a censor from Philadelphia. This board sat from November 10, 1783, until the Constitution of 1790 was adopted. Findley, with William Todd as colleague, represented Westmoreland county in the Constitu- tional Convention of 1789-90. In the convention he introduced a resolution which he hoped to become a law under the constitution, "to educate the poor gratis". He was a member of the Supreme Executive Council and a member of the first State Legislature of Pennsylvania, under the constitution of 1790. In 1791 he was elected to Congress from the Westmoreland district and sat in the House until 1799, and then after an interval of two terms was re-elected again and again served from 1803 until 1817. Some of his old friends said he would still be in Congress if he had lived. In Congress some of his political enemies said he was inconsistent, but such was his tact that his constituents nev- er found it out. He was a consummate politician but something more than a "puller of threads and a disentangler of skeins". He helped to shape public opinion, as much possibly as any other man in western Pennsylvania in his day, and as a politician was more effective out of Congress than in it. He had a large personal acquaintance and his manners were such as to make him a favor- ite in a democracy. Besides this, he had the sympathy and influence of the strongest church organization in the county at that time. The Scotch-Irish swore by William Findley. He was opposed to the adoption of the Federal Con- stitution, but after its adoption took a firm stand in its support. He wrote and published a book entitled "Observations on The Two Sons of Oil, containing a vindication of the American Constitution and defending the blessings of Relig- ious Liberty and Toleration, against the illiberal strictures of the Rev. Samuel B. Wylie," by William Findley, Member of Congress, 1812. He is somewhat prolix in the volume and at times a little tiresome, but he goes through a wide range and supports his statements by numerous quotations from and reference to the writers of church history both modern and patristic and by texts from the Scriptures. His most important writing, however, was entitled "History of the Insurrection in the Four Western Counties of Pennsylvania," in the year MDCCXCIV by William Findley, Member of the House of Representatives of the United States, with a recital of the circumstances specially connected there- with and historical review of the previous situation of the country, 1796. This history of the "Whiskey Insurrection" seems upon careful review to give but a partial view of the matter and to be a justification of his own share in it, as he was without question one of the principal characters in that event. The work has been widely quoted by nearly every general and local historian who has written upon the subject. It is undoubtedly the most important and substantial
680
FINDLEY
one he wrote, and treating as it did of a political subject and giving the view of one of the most active participants in that great civil disturbance, it could not but be a work to which attention would be drawn. It has been quoted and drawn upon by eminent legal and historical writers such as Wharton and Hil- dreth, while on the other hand it has been assailed with violence by political opponents of the author and was ridiculed by the New England Federalists. Touching all the criticisms and the attacks the book received, all of his adver- saries are free to admit, that he would not knowingly deviate from the truth, but they assert that his prejudices were strong and that his personal feelings biased his judgment. There was only one edition of the History published and copies are now very scarce, the few extant being in the possession of various historical societies or in the state libraries. He published many articles in the Farmers Register between 1799 and death in 1821, under the nom de plume of "Sidney". Also in 1794 "A Review of the Funding System".
From the foregoing it will be seen that he was no idler and a man of versatile thought and interest. He was present at every session of Congress and when at home superintended his farm. He took a deep interest in Unity Church (Presbyterian) of which he was an elder. Some time before his death, he built a large and substantial two-story brick residence, which is still standing, and situated on the west bank of Loyalhanna Creek, in the town of Latrobe, a short distance south of the line of the Pennsylvania railroad. In this home he lived until old and infirm, when he removed to the home of his daughter Mrs. Carothers, where he died. He is buried in the churchyard of Unity Church where a plain gray stone marks the spot, bearing the following inscription :
"The Venerable William Findley Departed this Life Apr 5 1821 In the 80th year Of his life."
He was a very large man and very tasteful in dress. At home he dressed in homespun, but on going out in fair weather wore a complete suit of white, with white hat, having a very broad brim, silk stockings and queue. In cold weather, his dress was the conventional "shad belly" coat, long waistcoat, dark knee breeches, long boots, but always the broad rimmed beaver hat. An old lady who passed her childhood in the family of William Findley has said, that the period- ical occasion of his going away to Congress was one of the greatest magnitude, not only in the family but in the neighborhood. He went of course on horse- back, on a horse he used for that purpose only. For weeks before he started arrangements were making; his horse was well housed and well conditioned and an abundance of the finest linen was prepared for the use of the congress- man until he should return. On the day that had been fixed for his departure, all the neighbors came around to see him off, to lift their hats and say goodbye. The women part of the household would always be in commotion, for the journey at that day was great, the distance long and the good man would be away so long. He was twice married, his second wife being a widow, Mrs. Carothers, a beautiful woman and much younger than her husband. By the
681
FINDLEY
first wife he had three children: David, an officer in the regular army of the United States; Nellie, married a Carothers, a son of her father's second wife by her first husband; Mary, married John Black. By his second wife he had :-
JOHN FINDLEY, son of William Findley, was born at the homestead farm in Unity township, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, near Latrobe, February 23, 1776. He became a surveyor and a farmer. After his marriage he removed to Mercer county, Pennsylvania, near the present town of Mercer, which he sur- veyed and laid out. He was a man of probity, intelligence and high standing. He was appointed associate judge of Mercer county and sat upon the bench for several years. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Lieutenant Amberson (see Amberson) and reared a family of four children: William, see forward; David, a farmer of Mercer county ; John, a minister of the United Presbyterian church ; Patterson, a farmer of Mercer county. John Findley, the father, died December 9, 1855.
REV. WILLIAM FINDLEY, D. D., son of John and Elizabeth (Amberson) Find- ley, was born February 4, 1808, died May 9, 1886, at Newcastle, Pennsylvania. He was a graduate of Jefferson College of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. His theo- logical education was obtained at Princeton Theological and Allegheny Theolog- ical seminaries. His early career was begun in Butler county, where he served several charges as pastor until 1857. From that date until 1876 he was connected with Westminster College as Professor of Latin. After 1876 he retired from professional duties although he filled pulpits occasionally until his death. He was a strong Abolitionist, but he never took active part in politics. He married Eliza- beth, born January 20, 1819, daughter of John Cunningham, of Mercer. She resides in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, where she recently celebrated her ninetieth birthday. Children of William and Elizabeth (Cunningham) Findley : I. Dorcas, (Mrs. Thomas Dobie), a resident of Chesley, Ontario, Canada. 2. Rev. Dr. James G. D., of Newburg, New York, who married Mary Gormly. 3. Elizabeth, who died in the South in 1864, while engaged in mission work among the freedmen. 4. William L., a lawyer of New York City; married Carlibelle Chase and has four children. 5. Jane, deceased; she was Mrs. Robert B. Tag- gart, of East Palestine, Ohio; one child survives her. 6. Grace, (Mrs. William E. Browne) of Newcastle, Pennsylvania, who has four children. 7. Emma, deceased ; she was Mrs. Malcolm McConnell, of Newcastle, Pennsylvania, and left three children. 8. John T., of later mention. 9. Isabella, unmarried.
JOHN THOMAS FINDLEY, son of Rev. William and Elizabeth (Cunningham) Findley, was born at Prospect, Butler county, Pennsylvania, April 4, 1852. He is a graduate of Westminster College, class of 1873. In the latter year he set- tled in Pittsburgh, where he has since resided. In politics he is an independent thinker and voter. He married, March 22, 1887, Kate Oudry, born March, 1859, at Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, the maternal granddaughter of John Algeo, who with his parents, William and Margaret (Levins) Algeo, came to Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, in 1796, and settled in the Charteris Valley near Robinson's Run and in 1802 located in Pittsburgh. Mr. and Mrs. John T. Findley have one son, Paul Bruce Findley, born in Pittsburgh, April 20, 1888. He is a graduate of Princeton University, class of 1909.
WICKLIFFE C. LYNE
The ancestry of Wickliffe C. Lyne, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is traced by direct line of descent to the earliest days of colonial Virginia and then back sev- eral generations to the early days of English and Scotch history.
Sir Richard Waller, hero of Agincourt, whose capture of the Duke of Orleans, the father of Louis XII of France, in October, 1415, added the ducal crest of Orleans to the Waller coat-of-arms, is one of his lineal ancestors through his mother's descent from Colonel John Waller, of Virginia. This branch of his fam- ily is a very ancient one; the great-grandfather of Sir Richard being mentioned in the Domesday Book which contains the tax registration of the Norman Kings. The family of Benjamin Waller, of Williamsburg, Virginia, is traced back to the days of Charlemagne by some authorities on family genealogy.
General Lewis Littlepage, descendant of Zachary Lewis and Mary Waller, the forebears of Wickliffe C. Lyne, was a distinguished diplomat who spent many years in Europe attached to various courts and was the reputed favorite of Cath- arine of Russia and intimate friend of Stanislas, King of Poland.
The English branch of the Lyne family was seated for many years in Cornwall, and John Lyne was the well-known representative of the family in 1645 at Ox- ford. Lieutenant Laughline Lyne, one of the forty-nine officers of Charles I, in his war with Ireland, is supposed to be a member of the same family, as is also the branch of the Lyne family now represented by Sir William John Lyne, K. C. M. G., member of Parliament, Melbourne, Australia, premier and colonial treas- urer and minister for home affairs.
The American ancestry begins with William Lyne, emigrant, who came to Vir- ginia from Bristol, England, in 1725. He settled in King William county, Vir- ginia, the favorite spot of many English cavaliers and among these he brought the traditions and culture of social heritage and also the arms and crest, which to-day is included in the Harleian Collection in the British Museum of the heraldry of English nobility and gentry approved by the king-at-arms in the College of Her- aldry established by William and Mary. His natural force and fine character were recognized in his new environments and we find him mentioned by Bishop Meade in his "History of Old Families of Virginia" as one of those "Prominent in civil and ecclesiastic matters."
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.