Commemorative biographical record of Washington County, Pennsylvania, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 112

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago, J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1540

USA > Pennsylvania > Washington County > Commemorative biographical record of Washington County, Pennsylvania, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families > Part 112

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George Henry (eldest son of Thomas), Viscount Dup- plin, in 1711 was created a peer of Great Britain by Queen Anne. In 1718 he succeeded his father as seventh Earl of Kinnoul. In 1709 he married Abigail Harley, youngest daughter of Robert, Earl of Oxford, and by her had four sons and six daughters. The sons were Thomas, Viscount Dupplin; Robert, who took the name and arms of Drummond as heir of entail to his great-grandfather, William Drummond, Viscount Strathallan, and was elected in 1748 bishop of St. Asaph; in 1761 was elected bishop of Salisbury, and same year archbishop of York. John was rector of Lincoln; Henry Edward was consul- general in Portugal in May, 1754, and plenipotentiary to same king, 1762.

Thomas, eighth earl of Kinnoul, was commissioner of the revenue in Ireland, afterward commissioner of the board of trade in England; was ambassador to the King of Portugal, 1759, and was soon afterward appointed chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, but resigned all his offices in 1762. In 1741 he married Constantia, daugh- ter of John Kirle Ernle, of Whetham, in Wiltshire, Esquire; she died 1753 without surviving issue.

JOHN HAYS, a widower, emigrated from Lismore, County Londonderry, to America about the year 1775, accompanied by four sons, one, John, the second eldest, remaining in Ireland. He settled on Plum run in Washington county, Penn., taking up in his own name a tract of land containing some 419 acres, which in the patent is called "Hayfield." This patent, which had not been lifted until April, 1794, covered what was after- ward known as the Anderson, Halft and Ramsey properties, the old homestead being on the Ander- son tract. John Hays, after coming to this country. married a second time, and this wife, Jean, died September 15, 1795, aged sixty years. John Hays departed this life December 26, 1801, aged seventy- five years, and was laid beside his wife. He had five sons, all born in Ireland as follows: William, March 1, 1753; John, April 15, 1756; Robert, September 12, 1758; James, December 10, 1762; and Samuel, February 27, 1776. As the father lived in the bounds of Dr. McMillan's church, doubtless he was a member of same. Politically he was an Old-line Whig.

William Hays, eldest son of the pioneer John, on his arrival in the county from Ireland, took possession in his own name of a tract of land about one mile further up the Plum run valley, containing 441 acres, which he designated in the patent "Haywood." Soon afterward (probably about the year 1793) he married Jane Henderson who bore him children as follows: Jane, born November 4, 1794; William, March 26, 1796; Nancy, March 25, 1798; John, July 14, 1799; Isaac, March 15, 1801, died October 6, 1805; Cath- erine, August 29, 1802, died October 24, 1805; Robert, May 12, 1804, and Catherine, December 15, 1805, died September 4, 1806. The father of this family died suddenly October 26, 1805, and he and a son and daughter, all dying within a few hours of each other, were laid to rest in Miller's Run graveyard. The bereaved wife and mother subsequently married Henry McAfee.

John Hays, second son of William, was born in Chartiers township. He married, March 29, 1819, Miss Orpha Cornwell, and the young couple re- mained in Chartiers township until 1860, when he came to Canonsburg. The children by this union were William, born July 29, 1820, died April 27, 1881; Nancy, born June 17, 1822, married to James Reed, sketch of whom follows; Jane E., born September 7, 1824, married to Rev. Mc- Farland; Isaac, born April 17, 1827; John Smith,

#From a work giving an account of the "Clan Hay."

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born August 2, 1830; Matilda, born September 29, 1832, died September 2, 1833, and George Price, born February 2. 1838. The mother died Novem- ber 2, 1851, in the fifty-fifth year of her age, hav- ing been born in 1796. The father subsequently married Miss Jane Daily, formerly of Mononga- hela City, but then of Pittsburgh. He died July 31, 1875; his widow is living on the old homestead in Canonsburg. He was first a Whig, afterward a Republican, and served many years as justice of the peace. He was a member and elder of the Presbyterian Church at Miller's Run, and at Can- onsburg, and was a trustee of Jefferson College.

James Reed, only son of Mathew Reed, was reared and educated on the old home place in Cecil township, and December 11, 1845, was mar- ried to Isabel Johnston, of Washington county, Penn. They had four children, namely: Mathew M., Eliza J., Carr and James I., all of whom died young. This wife dying January 21, 1857, Mr. Reed married, September 15, 1866, Nancy Hays, of Canonsburg, Washington Co., Penn. He re- mained on the farm until the spring of 1869, when failing health compelled him to give up agricultural pursuits, and he removed to Canons- burg, where he died December 4, 1890. Like his father he was a thorough Presbyterian and lib- eral supporter of the church.

W ILLIAM H. UNDERWOOD is a descend- ant of a family of Quakers of that name who came to America with William Penn, and made a settlement in what is now the State of Pennsylvania. The paternal grandfather of William H., a tailor by trade, was a resident for a time of Fayette county, this State, whence he moved to Monongahela, where he died about the year 1843, at the age of seventy-seven years.

George Washington Underwood, father of our subject, was born February 22, 1814, at Red Stone, Fayette Co., Penn., and was reared to the tailor's trade. In Monongahela he married Elizabeth Jay, a native of this county, and this union being out- side of the Quaker faith, his name was dropped from the list of Society of Friends, as was then the custom. When William H. was seven or eight years of age the family returned to Fayette county, whence, after a stay of some years, they came, in 1850, to Washington, where the father followed tailoring in partnership with George W. Deiver for several years, but is now living retired in Erie county, at the age of seventy-seven years; the mother was called to her long home in 1856, aged forty years.

William H. Underwood is a native of Washing- ton county, born in Monongahela, June 4, 1839,

and was consequently eleven years old when the family came to Washington, the common schools of which city he attended in his boyhood and early youth. He then commenced clerking in a store in the borough, continuing in that capacity until 1861, when, in response to Lincoln's call for troops he enlisted in Company E, Twelfth P. V. I., which was ordered to the vicinity of Baltimore, Md. At the end of the three months' term he returned, invalided with camp fever. In January of the- following year he re-enlisted for three years, in Company A, One Hundredth P. V. I. (" Round Heads "), and participated in the memorable expe- dition to South Carolina. His war record in this regiment is as follows: Mustered in January 1, 1862; promoted first sergeant May 12, 1865; mus- tered out with the company at Harrisburgh, Penn., July 24, 1865. Prior to the expiration of his term he veteranized, in East Tennessee. He was twice wounded, first November 29, 1863, at the siege of Knoxville, Tenn., a minie rifle ball breaking his jaw. Declining to go to hospital, he tied his face up with his handkerchief, and remained on the field. The second wound he received June 2, 1864, at Cold Harbor, where he was struck by a. minie ball in the right shoulder, which necessitated his going to hospital, where he remained until September following. After that he was present at the siege of Richmond, etc. At the close of the war he returned to Washington, and again took up clerking, which he followed four years, at the end of which time he bought the news-stand now occu- pied by Mckay & Co., selling out the same in 1881. In the meantime, in the fall of 1878, he had been elected register of wills, in which office he served three years. After selling out his news business, he remained in Washington, engaged in various occupations, until the spring of 1884, when he bought a grocery store, carrying it on alone until his appointment in 1890 to the postmaster- ship of Washington, a position he has since filled with credit to himself and satisfaction to the public. . At the time of his appointment he sold an interest in his grocery business to R. B. Dougherty, the firm being now Underwood & Dougherty. On April 29, 1869, Mr. Underwood married, in Wash- ington, Penn., Miss Emma, daughter of Silas Clark, whose family (now almost extinct) came to the county at an early day. They were for the most part stock dealers, and the village of Clarks- ville was named after them. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Underwood, viz .: Owen Clark (whois a graduate of Washington and Jeffer- son College, class of 1891, in classics, and is now assisting his father in the postoffice), and Homer Krepps. Mr. Underwood is a member of the M. E. Church, and of William F. Templeton Post- No. 120, G. A. R., Department of Pennsylvania.

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WASHINGTON COUNTY.

OSEPH HOWARTH, of the firm of J. How- arth & Son, of the marble, slate, granite and mantel works, Washington, Penn., was born at Barnsley, England, January 14, 1826. Joseph Howarth,his grandfather, was a stone cut- ter in England, where he died. George Howarth, father of our subject, also a native of that "little spot," there married Ann Walker, an English- woman, who bore him the following-named chil- dren: Ann Elizabeth, widow of William Day, of Allegheny, Penn .; Joseph; John, who died in Eng- land; Sarah Anna, who died in infancy in Phila- delphia; William James, in the marble business in Washington, Penn .; . Hannah Mary and Emma (both deceased), and Emily Mary, deceased wife of George A. Lawman, of Pittsburgh. In 1830 George Howarth and his wife came to the United States, making their first home in Philadelphia, and moved to Pittsburgh in 1833. The father died at Se- wickley, Penn., in January, 1876, at the age of seventy-nine years; the mother died in March, 1881, at Washington, Penn, in the home of her son Joseph, aged seventy-eight years.

Joseph Howarth, of whom this biographical sketch mainly treats, was brought by his parents to this country in 1830. He learned his trade of his father at Pittsburgh, and in 1865 came to Wash- ington, Penn., where he established his present prosperous business. In 1874 he erected the build- ing at present occupied as a business stand and dwelling, in which one store room is rented for a grocery. In 1852 he married, at Pittsburgh, Jane, daughter of John Tyler. Nine children blessed this union, namely: George, in the marble trade at Sacramento, Cal .; Elizabeth A., at home; Joseph- ine, married to Rev. J. E. Irvine, of Altoona, Penn. ; William E., in partnership with his father; Bertha E., Harry A., Annie W. and Edna Jane, all at home. Mary A. died in Allegheny. Mr. Howarth is the oldest resident marble cutter in Washington, and from a very small beginning has made his own success, and won an enviable popularity through strict attention to business, earnest perseverance, judicious economy and unquestionable integrity in all his dealings. Politically he is a Republican, and has served as a councilman of the borough of Washington.

M ARTIN COULSON. Although this gen- tleman has been identified with the history of Washington for but a short time, he has already taken a place among the most prominent and valued citizens of the com- munity. He was born October 6, 1830, on a farm on the National road, situated about one mile east of Brownsville, Fayette Co., Penn., and there learned the blacksmith's trade of his father, who had followed that vocation all his life.

At the age of eighteen years Martin Coulson left home, and, taking a position on a steamboat, was rapidly promoted. For thirty-three years he served as engineer on the Mississippi, Ohio and Missouri rivers, having run on the Missouri river for sixteen years, and during the last seven years of his river life he was captain. On March 4, 1857, he married Violet G., daughter of Capt. Joseph Sheplar, a native of Westmoreland county, Penn. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Coulson resided in Allegheny until 1888 (where they moved in the highest social circles), when he purchased his present farm, about two miles west of Monon- gabela. He has given especial attention to stock raising, and now owns nearly fifty blooded trotting horses. The place consists of 260 acres, sur- rounded by a good fence of pine and cedar, which he had erected, and he also erected the buildings on the farm. The dwelling is a handsome modern structure, fitted and furnished in a manner afford- ing ample evidence of the progressive spirit char- acterizing the owner. In politics Mr. Coulson votes with the Democratic party. He takes an active interest in all public enterprises. His chil- dren are Joseph S., Mrs. Margaret E. Adams and A. K., all living with their parents on the home place. Mrs. Coulson and her daughters are mem- bers of the Methodist Church, and are well-known society ladies.

OHN WHITE was born December 10, 1814, in East Pike Run township, Washington Co., Penn., and is a son of Fisher I. White, whose father, Benjamin White, was a native of Delaware. The last named was a ship- builder by trade, and died in his native State. His children were Fisher I., James, and Sarah (wife of John McIlvaine).

Fisher I. White was born in 1773, in Delaware, and grew to manhood on the home farm, receiving a subscription-school education. In early life he was married to Helen Joy, who bore him four children, namely: Wesley, Mary, William and John, the latter being the only living representa- tive. The father was identified with the Whig party, and served in many township offices. He died April 28, 1858, and not long after was fol- lowed by his wife to the grave. Both were mem- bers of the M. E. Church.

John White received an education in the neigh- borhood of his birthplace, and October 26, 1843, was married to Maria L. Allen, a native of Allen township, this county, born October 28, 1822. She is a daughter of Abia Allen, and grand- daughter of Joshua Allen, whose father, Joseph, was a Quaker of eastern Pennsylvania. The last. mentioned came here, and bought of William

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Penn a large tract of land near the present Fayette City. This tract was called in his honor " Allen township." He donated the grounds for the Mt. Tabor cemetery, in which three genera- tions of the Allen family are now sleeping, his wife, Deborah (Hill) Allen, being the first tenant ·of a grave there. Joseph Allen became a wealthy farmer. Among his children was a son, Joshua, who followed his father's agricultural business, and, when a young man, married Elizabeth Mc- Crory, who bore him eight children, all of whom are deceased except Mrs. Stark.

Abia Allen, son of Joshua and Elizabeth Allen, was born in July, 1799, in Allen township. In 1821 he was united in marriage with Mary Hough, born near Mt. Pleasant, December 22, 1799. They were the parents of Charlotta, wife of D. Morlin, a resident of Allen township; Barbara, wid- ow of Wilson Jackman, of Henry county, Ill .; A. B., living at Cleveland, Ohio; Maria L., wife of John White, and two who are deceased. Mr. Al- len was a prominent worker in the Republican party, and served in various local offices. He was a successful farmer, and died in 1849. In 1886 his wife was laid by his side. Both were members of the Disciple Church. To the union of John and Maria L. (Allen) White, three children were born: Allen J., a resident of Fallowfield township; Elliott S., a Methodist clergyman of Elizabethtown, Allegheny county, and Frank W., living at home. The home place contains 148 well-cultivated acres, upon which Mr. White car- ries on practical farming with signal success. He is identified with the Republican party, and in re- ligious faith he and his wife are members of the Ebenezer M. E. Church.

W ILLIAM IAMS. Prominent among the progressive farmers of West Bethlehem township is the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch. He is a grand- son of John Iams, a native of New Jersey, who in early manhood removed to this county, where he secured a patent for nearly one thousand acres of land in West Bethlehem and Amwell townships, nearly all of which land is yet in the possession of his descendants. His children were: John, Mary, Sarah, Nancy, Charity and William, all of whom were born in Amwell township, where they lived and died respected citizens.

William Iams, son of John the pioneer, was born, in 1782, near Martins mill, Amwell township, and received a liberal education in the common branches of the subscription schools. He married Delilah, daughter of Elisha Meek, one of the early settlers of Greene county, Penn., and to them were born the following named children: Betsey (deceased), Miller James, John H. (deceased), Elisha, Thomas, Isaac, William, Delilah Johnson, Mrs. Mary Bigler

(deceased), Abraham (deceased) and Rachel Smith. Abraham died in the service of his country at the battle of Fair Oaks, while a member of the Eighty- fifth P. V. I., serving under Capt. Sellers. Miller Iams resides in Ritchie county, W. Va., where he is a well-known farmer; Delilah Johnson and Thomas live in Greene county, Penn. ; Isaac resides in Amwell township; Elisha, William and Rachel are residents of West Bethlehem township. The father of this family was a Christian, and a member of the Baptist Church; a brilliant Bible scholar and faithful toiler in the service of his Master. He was a Democrat of the Old School, but, aside from doing his duty at the polls, was not prominently iden- tified with politics. His death took place in 1868, aged seventy-nine years. His wife died in 1877, aged eighty-four years.

William Iams, son of William and Delilah Iams, was born March 2, 1830, on the old homestead farm still retained in his possession. In early manhood he learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed five years, when he turned his attention to farm- ing and stock raising, in which he has been very successful. He married February 9, 1854, Eliza, a daughter of Zebulon and Catherine Ferrel, a na- tive of New Jersey, and an early settler of Wash- ington county. They have the following family: Sadie F., John H. (deceased), an infant (deceased) and Laura A. Mrs. Eliza Iams died July 8, 1863, and on February 13, 1870, he married Mary, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Swihart. The children born to this union were: Etta R. (de- ceased), Lizzie B. (deceased), William J., Mary E., Miller A., Clark J., Isaac W., Charlie P. and Iris M. Miss Laura A. Iams, who married Samuel Greenlee, resides in Amwell township, also Sadie, married to James Hufford. Mr. Iams is a remarkably intelligent man, and an active member of the Democratic party, who have shown their appreciation for him by electing him to town- ship offices of trust, which he has filled with credit to himself and the satisfaction of his constituents. He is a member of the Baptist Church, and an ardent believer in the teachings of our Lord. The home farm consists of 127 acres of very good land, upon which he raises a fine breed of cattle and sheep.

W ILLIAM WOLF is descended from a stal- wart German family who in an early day made a settlement in Washington county. Peter Wolf, great-grandfather of our sub- ject, was born in Germany, and prior to the French-Indian war in this country emigrated from his home on the banks of the Rhine, to seek a new one on the less densely populated American continent, where

A man is a man if he's willing to toil, And the poorest may gather the fruits of the soil.

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WASHINGTON COUNTY.

When the Wolf family came to Washington county they made their home in the dense forest, where roamed the wolf, the deer and the bear, and the ofttimes less welcome Indian. Here they lived in comparative safety in their little log house, en- during all the hardships and privations incident to pioneer days, and ere they passed from earth were eyewitnesses to very many of the changes that brought about the development of civilization in their midst. At one time the Indians became so hostile that the settlers were compelled to seek safety in the nearest blockhouse. Peter Wolf bought three farms in this county, one for each of his sons, William, John and Jacob. Two sons, Peter and Cresley, had moved to Ohio, where all trace of them is lost. The father died in this coun- ty at a very advanced age, and it may here be men- tioned that the family have generally been remark- ably long-lived.

William Wolf, grandfather of William, was born in Lancaster county, Penn. In 1775 he came to Washington county, and soon afterward enlisted in the service of Louis Wetzel, the great Indian- hunter, as a spy. For some time he taught in country schools. In those days the Indians were very hostile, and the only protection the settlers had was a blockhouse or fort, situated some dis- tance off. William Wolf married Miss Susan Ashbaugh, who bore him eight children: Mary, Betsey, Susan, William, Peter, John, Simon and Christopher, all of whom lived to be over eighty years of age, except William who died when sixty years old. The mother died some time in the early part of the present century, and the father afterward remarried in Ohio; he died in 1840, aged fourscore years, his second wife surviving him. Jacob Wolf, his brother, followed farming in Buffalo township, and was also a justice of the peace. His home was on the road usually taken by travelers, and his house frequently served the purposes of an inn. One of his daughters, Sabina, was a beautiful girl of a comely figure. In 1780, when she was eighteen years of age, Judge Hugh H. Brackenridge, of Philadelphia, being enroute, in company with several friends, for Wheeling, W. Va., stopped at her father's house, to seek a night's lodging. Sabina was told to "put the gentle- man's horse away," and supposing herself unob- served sprang lightly on the horse's back, and galloped off to the stable. The Judge, however, saw the act, and also observed that on her return to the house she cleared the fence with a running jump. Brackenridge was so delighted at seeing such an agile female, so different from city girls, that he passed the entire evening in conversation with the fair damsel, and became so infatuated with her, that, just as he was about to renew his journey the following morning, he asked the "old squire " for his daughter's hand in marriage. A

few days later, on his return trip, the Judge again stopped at the house of his lady-love, married her- in her father's house, and took her with him to Philadelphia, where he had her educated in a se- lect seminary. Some of her descendants are now residents of Washington county, where she died. some twenty years ago.

Peter Wolf, father of our subject, was a native of this county, having been born in the year 1786, in Buffalo township, where he was reared to farm. life, but subsequently learned the trade of cabinet maker with John Wilson, of Washington borough, where he followed the business forty years. In 1849 he was elected sheriff of the county, serving three years, and then retired into private life. In 1813 he married Miss Sarah McGonigal, a lady of Irish parentage, and a native of Carlisle, Penn., who had come to Washington, Penn., when about thirteen years of age. The children born to them were William; Elizabeth, wife of William K. Shannon, of South Strabane township; Jane, wife- of John C. Copeland, of Steubenville; Sarah, wife of J. H. Bristow, also of Steubenville, and Simon,. who died in Washington, Penn. The father died in 1865 at the age of eighty years, the mother in 1846, aged fifty years.

William Wolf, the subject proper of this sketch,. was born in the borough of Washington, Penn., June 10, 1815. He was educated at the schools of the place, and learned the trade of cabinet. maker, at which he worked in Washington some twenty-eight years. For twenty years he has been speculating and dealing in real estate. He built the John A. Best store, which he afterward sold to Mr. Best. In 1836 Mr. Wolf was married in Washington to Lavina, daughter of Joseph Hallam; they have had no children. He is a Re- publican in politics, and during his father's incum- bency as sheriff he served as deputy under him. He is a Sir Knight Templar, and at one time was- a member of the I. O. O. F. Strictly a temper- ance man, Mr. Wolf has not tasted liquor for forty years, and has never used tobacco in any form. For thirty-four years he has lived at the same home, in South Strabane township, just outside the bor- ough limits. Mr. Wolf has made his own success. in life, and has accumulated a comfortable com- petence.

EORGE W. STACEY, proprietor of a hand -. some glassware and china store in Monon- gahela, has become prominently identified with the interests of that town during his short residence within its limits, and is a. most valued citizen.

John Stacey, his father, was born in Cut Lam- beth, London, England, and coming to America, when a young man, settled in Kentucky and fol-

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Commemorative biographical record of Washington County, Pennsylvania, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 112

Author: J.H. Beers & Co Publication date: 1893 Publisher: Chicago, J. H. Beers Number of Pages: 1540

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago, J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1540