Commemorative biographical record of Washington County, Pennsylvania, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 17

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 17

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La Fayette College, studied law with G. W. Bid- dle, Esq., of Philadelphia, and after practicing some years in Pittsburgh, died leaving a widow highly esteemed and respected. Carrie Belle, the daughter, married Dr. C. B. Wood, a regular physician, and lives near her parents.

M RS. MARY (CLARK) WYLIE. This highly esteemed and much beloved lady is a native of Washington county, born in Hopewell township, July 30, 1811, of Scotch-Irish origin and Covenanter ex- traction. Her paternal ancestor, James Clark, was driven from Scotland to Ireland during relig- ious persecution, and from the latter country he emigrated to America about the year 1750, and in the Revolutionary war he was found in the Conti- nental army. James Clark settled upon land in Cumberland (now Franklin) county, Penn., upon which the town of Strasburg was afterward laid out and built. "Clark's Knot," or "Clark's Gap," at the mountain near there, still tell of the original owner of the land which was then called "Clark's Fancy." James Clark died near Mercersburg, Penn., of which locality her grandfather, David Clark, was a native. The latter was married to Hannah Baird, of Carlisle, same State, and they became the parents of seven children, viz .: James (father of Mrs. Mary Wylie); Esther, married to Rev. Joseph Stockton, of Allegheny, now deceased; Nancy, married to David Larimer, a merchant of Steubenville, Ohio; Elizabeth, married to Daniel Houston, of near Canonsburg, this county; Mary, wife of Paul Anderson, of St. Louis, Mo .; David and Eliza, in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania.

James Clark, the eldest son of David and Han- nah (Baird) Clark, grew to manhood on the farm in Canton township (now known as the S. K. Weirich farm), where he received a liberal educa- cation for those early days. Later he kept a store in Hopewell township, also a mill, and was engaged in various other business enterprises; he had an interest in the wagon trains that crossed the mountains for merchandise, and assisted in the building of the National pike. He married Jane Henderson, a daughter of Rev. Matthew Hender- son, one of the first Associate ministers to cross the mountains, and who came to Washington county in 1780, taking charge of the Chartiers Church. He was in line of Rev. Alexander Hen- derson of "Solemn league and Covenant" fame, of Edinburgh, Scotland. Rev. Matthew Hender- son married Miss Mary Ferris, who bore him ten children, all of whom grew to maturity and mar- ried, their names being as follows: Matthew, Ebenezer, Robert, John, Mary, Ann, Elizabeth, Jane, Joseph and Helen. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. James Clark settled on a farm in Hopewell

WASHINGTON COUNTY.

township, where, July 10, 1821, at the age of thirty-seven years, the husband was summoned from earth. He was a member of the Associate Church. They had seven children, as follows: David, who died in Washington county, leaving a family of five children; Mary, the subject proper of this memoir; Matthew, who was a physician, and died in Washington, Penn .; James, who died in Canonsburg, Penn. ; Elizabeth, married to John Murdoch, and died in Parkersburg, Va .; Will- iam, who died in Canton township, and Ebenezer, who died when a child. The widowed mother con- tinued to remain on the old home farm with her children, until they had all left for homes of their own, and she then lived with one or other of them, the last year of her life being passed with her daughter, Mary (Mrs. Wylie), at whose home she died in 1870, at the ripe old age of eighty-six years.

Mary Clark remained at the place of her birth in Hopewell township until her marriage Septem- ber 2, 1829, with William Wylie, when they took up their residence on the farm in Canton township, now occupied by the David McClay heirs, whence after five years they moved to the Razortown farm (now known as the Ellenmount stock farm) in the same township, and here for forty-five years they shared life's joys and sorrows. In 1877 Mr. Wylie was called from earth at the age of nearly seventy- seven years. About a year and a half after her hus - band's death, Mrs. Wylie broke up housekeeping, and in 1880 moved to her present home on East Maiden street, in the borough of Washington, where she resides with her widowed daughter, Mrs. Annie Thompson. She is remarkably well preserved for her years, and is in the enjoyment of good health. All her life from girlhood she has been a member of the United Presbyterian Church. She can recount many interesting anecdotes of her early life and other days, which carry the listener back to a time when Washington county was in a condition of comparative wildness. In her child- hood the Indians had for the most part gone from the county, but when she was about seven years of age, on proceeding one day to the old spring in the neighborhood for water, she heard a moan, and on looking up was horrified to see a hideous Indian watching her; it is almost needless to add that she fled in no small alarm to the honse. Her people went in search of the Indian, and finding him they gave him food, and sent him on his way rejoicing, for they learned from him that he was traveling eastward.

Mrs. Wylie is the mother of four children: Rob- ert, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere; Jane, married to John S. Beall, and has two children (residence, Wellsburg, W. Va.); Annie, widow of Rev. Joseph R. Thompson, and James Clark (de- ceased). Joseph R. Thompson was born in Mt.

Pleasant township, Washington Co., Penn., in 1828. He graduated from Canonsburg Theolog- ical Seminary, became the pastor of the U. P. Church at Hickory (he was one of three brothers, all of whom were ministers in the U. P. Church), and was filling the incumbency at the time of his death in 1861. In 1859 he was married to Miss Annie Wylie, and they had one child, named Will- iam, who died at the age of four years.

UDGE WILLIAM McKENNAN. The great- grandfather of Judge William McKennan, Rev. William McKennan, immigrated to America from the North of Ireland about the middle of the last century. For a period of fifty- four years, from December, 1755, he was pastor of the White Clay Creek and the Red Clay Creek Presbyterian churches, near Wilmington, Del., and during thirty-four years of this time he was also pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Wilmington. He died in 1809, at the age of ninety, and is buried at Red Clay Creek church.

His son, William McKennan, was born in Dela- ware in 1758. In the early part of 1776 he en- tered the Continental army as second lieutenant of Capt. Kean's company of the regiment of the Fly- ing Camp. In the latter part of the same year, upon the organization of the famous Delaware Regiment, he became first lieutenant of the first company, and afterward he was promoted to the captaincy of his company. In September, 1777, he was engaged in the battle of Brandywine, and a month later, at the battle of Germantown, he re- ceived a wound in the arm which ultimately caused his death, thirty years later. In 1780 he took part in the battles of Monmouth, Camden, South Carolina and Cowpens. After the battle of Camden, in which the Delaware regiment suffered severe losses, Capt. Kirkwood took command of the regiment, and, in December, 1780, Capt. Mc- Kennan returned to Delaware and enlisted a body of men, who, however, did not join the Delaware regiment, but was brigaded with William Washing- ton's Legion and troops of the Maryland Line, and was commanded by Capt. McKennan until the close of the war, in 1783. Capt. McKennan and his battalion were engaged in the operations against Yorktown, which resulted in the surrender to the Continentals of the main British army under Cornwallis. Afterward the battalion per- formed arduous and highly honorable service un- der Gen. Greene, in North and South Carolina. Upon his return to civil life, Capt. McKennan was chosen colonel of a regiment of Delaware militia, and was elected a member of the Legislat- ure of his native State. He also became a mem- ber of the Order of the Cincinnati. In 1797 he removed to Charlestown, Va. (now Wellsburg, W.

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Va.), thence, in 1800, to West Middletown, Wash- ington county, and in 1801, having been ap- pointed prothonotary of Washington county, he be- came a resident of the town of Washington, and continued to live there until his death, in January, 1810. In 1800, before his removal from Charles- town, he was one of the three presidential electors from Brooke county. Col. McKennan married Elizabeth Thompson, daughter of John Thomp- son, one of the judges of the court of common pleas and Orphans' court of Newcastle county, Del., an active patriot and prominent citizen of the State during and subsequent to the Revolutionary war. Mrs. McKennan's mother was the sister of Thomas Mckean, a member of Congress and a Signer of the Declaration of Independence, from Delaware, and afterward governor and chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Mc- Kennan died at Washington, Penn., in 1839, at the age of seventy-eight years.

Thomas McKean Thompson McKennan, the third son of William and Elizabeth Thompson McKennan, was born in March, 1794, in Newcas- tle county, Del. He was educated at Washing- ton College (Penn.), whence he graduated at the age of sixteen in the class of 1810. Immediately thereafter he began the study of law under Parker Campbell, of Washington (Penn.), one of the most brilliant lawyers who has ever graced the bar of western Pennsylvania, and on November 7, 1814, at the age of twenty-one, he was admitted to practice. Shortly afterward he formed a legal partnership with Obadiah Jennings, eminent as well in the forum as in the pulpit, and at once entered upon a career of success. A year later he succeeded Walter Forward as deputy Attorney- general or district attorney of the county, in which office he served until 1817. In 1831 Mr. McKen- nan was elected to the House of Representatives of the United States, and continued a member thereof for four terms, finally declining further re- election on account of the urgency of his profes- sional work. In 1842, however, a vacancy having occurred in the House by reason of the death of Joseph Lawrence, Mr. McKennan yielded to the solicitations of his party and the public demand, and served the remainder of the term. He was chairman of the Committee of the Whole for two months of the first session of that year, and as such was largely instrumental in securing the pas- sage of the famous Tariff Act of 1842. In 1840 he was chosen a presidential elector on the Whig ticket, and in 1848 he was made president of the Pennsylvania Electoral College. In 1850 he was appointed Secretary of the Interior by President Fillmore, but resigned a few weeks later. Soon after this he became president of the Hempfield Railroad Company, and while attending to its

affairs he died at Reading, Penn., on July 9, 1852. In politics Mr. McKennan was an earnest Whig.

Mr. McKennan entered Washington College at a very early age, and passed through the entire cur- riculum. In February, 1813, he was appointed tutor of the ancient languages, in which position he continued for eighteen months. In April, 1818, he was chosen a member of the College Corporation, and continued as such up to the time of his death, a period of thirty-four years. For several years he held the position of adjunct professor of languages. The degree of LL. D. was conferred on him by Jefferson College, Canonsburg, Penn. The life of Mr. McKennan was one of purest probity, and in his quiet, unobtrusive, yet effective way, he con- tributed largely toward the shaping of the political destiny of the State of Pennsylvania. He was universally respected, and his popularity was un- bounded. In his private life he was beloved by all as a loyal citizen, a devoted husband, an affection- ate and indulgent parent and a true friend. He was devotedly attached to children, was a lover of good men and a supreme detester of all manner of vice and meanness. In 1815 Mr. McKennan mar- ried Matilda, daughter of Jacob Bowman, one of the pioneer merchants of Brownsville, Penn.

William McKennan, the eldest son of Thomas M. T. and Matilda (Bowman) McKennan, was born at Washington, Penn., September 27, 1816. He graduated as valedictorian of his class, from Wash- ington College, Washington (Penn.), in 1833, and afterward took a post graduate course at Yale Col- lege, New Haven,, Conn. He was admitted to the bar of Washington county in June, 1837, entered into partnership with his father, and on August 23, 1837, qualified as deputy attorney-general or dis- trict attorney of Washington county, and .served one term. In 1847 he was burgess of the borough of Washington, and in 1852 a member of its coun- cils. In 1858, 1862 and 1863 he was a delegate from Washington county to the Republican State Conventions, and in 1868 a delegate to the National Convention. In 1857 he was chairman of the Republican committee of Washington county ; in 1858 was a member of the Republican State Central commitee; in 1860 was a presidential elector; in the same year was a delegate to the Peace Congress, and on December 21, 1869, was commissioned Judge of the Circuit Court of the United States for the third circuit, comprising Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, which office he resigned on January 3, 1891. While at the bar, Judge McKennan was recognized as one of the foremost lawyers of western Pennsyl- vania, and during his twenty-one years' incum- bency of the bench he won a high reputation for integrity and ability.

He married, October 12, 1842, Pauline Gertrude

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de Fontevieux, who was born at Paris, France, March 23, 1821, and died May 7, 1886, at Wash- ington, Penn. The children of this union were: Isabel B., who married George M. Laughlin, of Pittsburgh, Penn., and died December 5, 1891; Thomas M. T .; Emma W., who married William W. Smith, of Washington, Penn., and died August 30, 1879; Henry S., who died at Washington, Penn., January 9, 1888; Samuel C .; John D .; Gertrude M .; Annie, who married Alexander W. Biddle, of Philadelphia, Penn .; David W. and William, Jr.

HE GRAYSON FAMILY of Washington, Penn. Nathaniel Grayson, the first of the family of whom we have record, lived and died in or near Glaslaugh, County Monaghan, Ireland, where he carried on a woolen manufactory. He was the father of five children: four sons-George, William, Robert and Thomas- and one daughter-Mary. The family residence was called "New Mills," where the youngest son died, and William and the late Judge John Gray- son were born. George, the eldest son, followed the pursuit of his father, and removing to Man- chester, England, established a manufactory. The family at latest accounts, still reside there. Will- iam, the second son of Nathaniel, preceded his brother to this country, both arriving several years prior to the adoption of the Federal Constitution. Robert, whose wife was Mary Murdock, of Glas- laugh, sister of Robert and John Murdock, prom- inent citizens of that place, arrived at New Castle, Delaware, in June, 1784, with his wife and son, John, then nine months old, widowed mother and son William. He soon purchased property, locating in Mifflin, Penn., where at an early period his wife and mother died. The family then re- moved to Carlisle, Cumberland county, Penn., where the sons were reared and educated. After the lapse of several years the father married Mrs. Jane Kennedy, widow of Thomas Kennedy, who tenderly, indulgently and faithfully contributed to raise her stepsons, William and John. The latter in his diary, speaking of his stepmother, remarks: "And even now, in my old age, I recall to mind with tender recollection her devotion and anxious care and industry, as a wife and mother." The children of this marriage were as follows: George, Mary, Margaret and Anne. Mr. Robert Grayson, as a citizen, occupied a prominent place and took an active part in the political events of his day. At one time he was sheriff of Cumberland county, and died in Carlisle after a well-spent life.

William was connected with the regular army, and stationed at Carlisle barracks. In 1808 he was ordered to Fort Wayne, Ind., where, soon after his arrival, he died from fever contracted on the march.

Having a taste for the printing business, John Grayson at a suitable age commenced to acquire a knowledge of the same in Carlisle. After close appli- cation for four years, he went to Philadelphia and entered the book office of William Duane, editor of The Aurora. From this time until near the break- ing out of the war of 1812, Mr. Grayson was engaged in the printing business at different times, in Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore. On June 18, 1812, news was received by express from Washington, D. C., of the declaration of war by Congress against Great Britain, Mr. Grayson be- ing in the city of Baltimore at the time. He at once enlisted in a volunteer regiment, serving as a volunteer in the army until September, 1813, when he was honorably discharged; but immediately re- enlisted in the regular army, serving as lieutenant and adjutant in the regiment to which he belonged until the close of the war, participating in many of the prominent battles. After the close of the war he was appointed by President Madison to the corps of artillery to form part of the "New Seventh Regiment;" but, wishing to return to private life, he resigned his commission September 7, 1815. Returning to Baltimore, he entered the book office of James Kennedy as partner, and remained there until after his marriage. On May 9, 1816, he was married in Baltimore, Md., by Rev. James Inglis, D. D., to Miss Martha Wray, daughter of John and Mary Wray, of that city. Mr. Wray came from Ireland to this country soon after the Revolu- tionary war, settling in Carlisle, Cumberland Co., Penn., where he became an active citizen, being identified with the business and political interests of the community. He was married to Mary, daughter of John Robinson, of Chester county, Penn. Their family consisted of three children, viz., Thomas R., John and Martha, the wife of Mr. Grayson. Mr. Wray, the father, died in Bal- timore, June, 1819, aged sixty-nine years, and Mrs. Wray, having spent a long and useful Christian life, died peacefully in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Grayson, Washington, Penn., at the advanced age of ninety-five. In the year 1817, Mr. Grayson purchased in Philadelphia a plant for the establish- ment of a newspaper. Traveling by stage, he proceeded to Washington, Penn., and issued the first number of The Examiner on May 28, 1817, of which he was sole proprietor and editor until 1833, when he took into partnership William Jack. This partnership continued several years, when Mr. Jack retiring, his son Thomas W. became his partner, Mr. Grayson, senior, retiring in 1840.

Thomas W. Grayson, the eldest son, was born in Baltimore, Md., and brought by his parents, all infant, when they permanently removed to Wash- ington. After his father retired from the editor- ship, he continued connected with The Examiner until May, 1861, when he removed to Meadville,

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Penn., there becoming proprietor and editor of The Crawford County Democrat, and continued to edit it for more than twenty years, when he retired on account of ill health. Thomas W. Grayson was married to Miss Mary Elizabeth Green, daughter of Mr. A. Green, of Washington, D. C. Their family consisted of four daughters and one son: Miss Annie, now a resident of Washington, Penn. ; Mrs. Mary W. Richmond, wife of A. G. Richmond, Esq., of Meadville, Penn .; Mrs. Martha Ayres, wife of Samuel Ayres, M. D., of Pittsburgh, Penn .; Lucy M. (deceased), and Thomas Wray, a resident of Washington, Penn. Mr. T. W. Grayson died in Meadville, Penn., May 20, 1876, and Mrs. Grayson in Washington, Penn., in February, 1892.

The remaining portion of Mr. and Mrs. John Grayson's family consisted of four sons and two daughters. Of these a son, Stephen, and daughter, Mary J., died in infancy. John Grayson, Esq., at present a resident of Pittsburgh, Penn., until within a few years a prominent and useful citizen of Washington, was married to Miss Sarah Ellen Scott, daughter of Mr. George Scott, of Pittsburgh. Their children: Mary, Lizzie, Eleanor, John, John T., William, and Eugene deceased. Anna Moore, residing with her parents; Sarah E., wife of Mr. Douglas Buchanan, Pittsburgh, Penn., and Harry S., of the same city.

William Grayson, son of Judge Grayson, gradu- ated at Washington College, studied law with John L. Gow, Esq., was admitted to the bar. He was a young man of fine, scholarly attainments, a close student with bright hopes before him, but died just entering upon a professional life, lamented by all who knew him.

Miss Martha, the only remaining daughter, is a graduate of the Washington Female Seminary, and during the principalship of Mrs. Hanna was an in- structress in that institution. Being a member of the Presbyterian Church, she is much interested in the missionary efforts of that body. Miss Gray- son resides at and dispenses the hospitalities of the homestead. Dr. Wray Grayson resides in his na- tive place. At an early age he entered Washing- ton College, and graduated in the class of 1846. Soon after he commenced reading medicine, finish- ing his studies, and receiving his degree at the Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, in 1853. With the exception of ten years, when engaged in hospital practice, Dr. Grayson's entire professional life has been spent in his native place. In 1877 the Doctor was married to Miss Margaret Hazlett, daughter of Mr. Samuel Hazlett (banker), of Washington, Penn. He is a member of the " American Medical Association," "The Pennsyl- vania State Medical Society," and the " Washing- ton County Medical Society."

Judge John Grayson's ancestry were adherents

to the Evangelical Church; and for many years he was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, Washington, Penn. Reference has already been made to his faithful services during the war of 1812. In after life he was appointed and elected to the following official positions: Register of wills by Governor Wolf in 1830; re-appointed by same in 1833. Appointed, by Governor Porter, prothonotary of Washington county, and in 1839 was elected to same office. In March, 1843, he was appointed associate judge of the courts of Wash- ington county, by Governor Porter; in 1853 was appointed, by President Pierce, pension agent; in 1857 was appointed to same by President Buchanan, and continued performing the duties of that office in Pittsburgh, Penn., until August, 1861. Al- though a large portion of Mr. Grayson's life was occupied with the public duties mentioned, he nevertheless took a deep interest in matters per- taining to the moral and educational improvement of the community in which he lived. He was the fast friend of educational institutions, and in con- nection with other venerated and spirited citizens, assisted in establishing the Ladies' Seminary of Washington, Penn., performing the duties of treasurer of the board of trustees for more than thirty years, when advancing age compelled him to resign-yet, as a trustee and stockholder, he con- tinued to take a deep interest in the institution. Mr. Grayson retained in a remarkable degree his mental vigor, and was interested in everything pertaining to the public welfare almost to the hour of his death, which event occurred March 11, 1871, with the full assurance of a blessed immortality, his last words being: "Passing, passing, entering through. Peaceful, peaceful, peaceful with God in Christ through all eternity."

Mrs. Grayson died April 20, 1865, at the age of seventy-five, leaving the cherished record of a use- ful life; loving and affectionate in lier home, at the same time reaching forth with sympathetic heart and generous hand to others. Her memory is revered by all who knew her.

R OBERT HAZLETT, head of the Hazlett family of Washington, Penn., with his wife, Mary Colwell Hazlett, came to Amer- ica from Coleraine, Ireland, about the close of the Revolutionary war. They settled in Carlisle, Cumberland Co., Penn., where their chil- dren, Hugh, Isaac, John and Jane, were born. In 1793 they concluded to change their residence for a home in the South (Kentucky), but upon arriving at Washington over the road then traveled from Red Stone Fort, they were detained on account of a severe storm. The impression made by this brief detention was so favorable that they con- cluded to locate in the then small village of Wash-

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ington, where he commenced business as a dry- goods merchant. Being successful he purchased property in the central part of the town, where his sons-Robert and Samuel-and daughters-Mar- garet and Mary-were born. (Thisspot has been in possession of the Hazlett family about one hundred years, part of the third generation being its occu- pants at present). Of Robert Hazlett's ancestry in Ireland we know but little personally. His parents being interested in the highest welfare of the family, Robert was sent to Edinburgh (Scot- land), to be educated for a clergyman in the Es- tablished Church (Episcopal), but that not being his desire, he left before taking orders. His brother, it is thought, was also at the same univer- sity, and, being more devout in the faith, became a minister in the Anglican Church, and afterward was ordained bishop. Mary Colwell Hazlett, as nearly as we can trace history, was of Huguenot descent (the family name being Reanie). The an- cestors escaped from France to England, and went from there to the North of Ireland, after the "Edict of Nantes" had been revoked, as there was "no safety for Protestants but in flight from their native land." Mary (wife of Robert Hazlett) was remarkable for her personal beauty, and great force of character. During her residence in Car- lisle she became very ardently attached to the Methodist Episcopal Church. With a heart con- secrated to the service of Christ, her enthusiastic nature and integrity of purpose were wonderfully developed by Divine influence. She was not only a wise counselor, judicious mother, in her own home, but a tower of strength in the Church of her choice. Upon arriving at Washington, not finding a Methodist minister, such was her love for the Master, she would ride several miles to Chartiers Presbyterian Church to hear a sermon (Dr. McMillan being the pastor). But her zeal urged her to work for her own denomination. Col- lecting the few members she could find, she formed a class, and in a short time a Methodist minister (Rev. Furlong) held service in an upper room in a building used as a market house; afterward in the court house, where seats were provided for women only, men being obliged to stand. This continued until 1801, when, through the kindness of David Hoge, a lot was donated at the corner of Franklin and Chestnut streets, where a log church was speedily built, in which the small congregation statedly worshiped. increasing in numbers and re- ligious interest until 1816, when, through the in- fluence of Mary Hazlett and family, a new brick church was erected on Franklin street (now occu- pied by Hays & Wilson as a carriage factory). As long as health permitted, she was a devout worshiper in that church, and when strength failed, had a religious meeting weekly at her own home, until removed in 1844 to the "City whose

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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 17

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