Commemorative biographical record of Washington County, Pennsylvania, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 31

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 31

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ditions to the membership. The Sabbath-school, prayer-meetings, pastoral visitations, and all the accustomed agencies have been kept up, and hap- py pastoral relations, a united people, and church strength have been the fruits. While emigration has annually removed families and members in considerable numbers to other places and churches, the loss has found its compensation in the wide diffusion of benefits from the common center. In no direction has the influence of this beloved pastor been greater than in the introduction of young men into the ministry, not only during the few years of the academy's continuance after his settlement, but ever since, as occasion offered, by private instruction. Fifteen ministers, including two foreign missionaries, have gone forth from the pastorate into the work of the Lord, to extend and perpetuate its power.

During all these years Dr. Lester has been re- garded by ministerial brethren, and by the churches, as one of the active and reliable of the members of the Presbytery of Washington, ever vigilant and efficient in the management of eccle- siastical affairs. One element operating toward all these happy results deserves special mention. It is the work of a devoted wife. Mrs. Lester, ever active in all the duties of her sphere, until failing health made her a confirmed invalid, has since, in the seclusion of her home, by her polished and consecrated pen wielded an effective influence through the churches of the Washington Presbytery. She was one of the organizers of the Presbyterian Female Foreign Missionary Society, and has through years of its effective work been its faith- ful corresponding secretary. She has each year written to every mission helped by the Society, and from the return letters made her report, which has been one of the enjoyable features of the annual meeting.

The aim and life-work of this couple has been to promote the spiritual interests of the church and the advancement of Christ's cause.

[From the pen of Rev. J. I. Brownson, D. D.

R EV. JOHN S. MARQUIS, D. D. The fam- ily of which this gentleman is a worthy representative is one of the oldest of Cross Creek township. They are descendants of French Huguenots, who fled from France on account of religious persecutions, and settled in Ireland.

In 1720 William Marquis and Margaret, his wife, together with their son Thomas and daugh- ter Mary, emigrated to this country from Ireland, and settled in Frederick county, Va., near to Win- chester. It is believed that some of the children of this family remained in Ireland. Some years after their parents came to America, Thomas

Marquis married Miss Mary Colville, and Mary Marquis married John Wilson, and died shortly after. Thomas was the father of seven children -four sons and three daughters-named as fol- lows: William, James, John, Thomas, Elizabeth, Sarah and Anne. Thomas Marquis, the father of these children, was killed by the falling of a limb of a tree, whilst gathering corn. His children were brought up under the direction of his brother- in-law, John Wilson, who was a school teacher, and a religious man, consequently they were care- fully educated, both secularly and religiously.

William Marquis, son of Thomas, married Miss Elizabeth Vance, and reared a large family, most of whom came to this county, but afterward moved to Ohio. Hon. William Vance Marquis, ex-lieu- tenant-governor of Ohio, is a great-grandson. James Marquis married Miss Mary Vance, a sister of the wife of his brother William, and his family, which was large, came to this county, but after- ward went to Ohio. John Marquis, the third son of this family, was the first of the name to settle in this county, and was one of the first settlers of Cross Creek township. He was born June 10, 1750, and married Miss Sarah Griffith, of Fred- erick county, Va. He settled, in 1774, on a tract of land for which he obtained a warrant February 23, 1786, and afterward received a patent. This tract was called "Marquesata," and contained 421 acres, and allowance. embracing the farms now owned by H. C. Anderson and Robert Anderson, and a part of the farm of Richard Wells, called the "Mason " farm. For some time, on account of the Indian raids, he was obliged to keep his family in Vance's fort, while he tried to clear his farm. Once, while in his cabin, he heard the report of a rifle close at hand, and going out he saw a party of Indians killing his hogs. On seeing him they immediately gave the war whoop and rushed down upon him. It was a race for life, and although the Indians were so close to him at the start that he heard their footsteps in pursuit, yet he outran them and arrived in safety at Vance's fort. He was noted among the scouts and backwoodsmen as a fleet runner, and he was a man of strong and de- cided character; for many years was an elder of the Presbyterian Church of Cross Creek. He died February 25, 1822. He raised a family of nine children-six sons and three daughters, viz. : Thomas, John, Mary, Sarah, Edward, Robert, James, Anne and William, of whom Thomas mar- ried Nancy Marquis, his cousin, and they had a large family; John married Elizabeth Taggart, and they spent their days on a farm in Jefferson township, now owned by their son James T. Mar- quis (Rev. John A. Marquis, pastor of a Presby- terian Church at Greensburg. Westmoreland Co., Penn., is a grandson, and Mrs. Rev. J. B. Lyle, of Scottdale, is a granddaughter); Mary Marquis

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married Hon. Joshua Robb, who was for many years an associate judge of the courts in Logan county, Ohio, and he represented that county in the State Legislature for several terms (Hon. Judge T. M. Robb, of Lima, Allen Co., Ohio, and Hon. Vance Robb, of the same county, also Hon. James Smith Robb, M. D., of Logan county, Ohio, were their sons); Sarah Marquis married John Nelson, and lived near Bellefontaine, Logan Co., Ohio (they had a family of eleven children); Edward Marquis was twice married, first to Mar- garet Marquis, and then to Elizabeth Newell (he had several children; his home was near Mt. Ver- non, Knox Co., Ohio); Robert Marquis was also twice married, first to Hannah Van Nordstrand, and afterward to Mary Stevenson (his children, all of the second marriage, were Newton, Rev. John S., Miles and Robert, of whom Newton married Mary Patterson, daughter of Hon. William Patter- son, and granddaughter of Gen. Thomas Patter- son, of Cross Creek; he died when a young man); Rev. John S. Marquis, D. D., married Margaretta Bryant McConaughy (he was for seventeen years pastor of Pigeon Creek Presbyterian Church in this county; his home is now in Washington, and he has supplied the church of Lower Ten Mile at Amity, Penn., for nearly seven years). (Prof. J. S. Marquis, principal of Brainerd Institute, Chester, S. C., and Hugh McConaughy Marquis, S. K. of the B. & O. R. R. Works at Glenwood, Penn., are grandsons of Robert and Mary (Stevenson) Mar- quis); Miles Marquis died young; Robert Marquis was twice married, first to Jane Patterson, daugh- ter of James Patterson, and granddaughter of Gen. Thomas Patterson, and his second wife was Eliza- beth Scott (they now reside in Caldwell county, Mo., and have a family of seven children-four sons and three daughters).

James Marquis, fifth son of the pioneer John, married first Nancy Roberts and afterward Nancy Elliott (he died in Knox county, Ohio; Mrs. Rev. N. C. Helfrich, of Plymouth, Ohio, is his daugh- ter); William Marquis (sixth son of John) married Elizabeth Adams, and lived near Tiffin, Seneca Co., Ohio (Mrs. Rev. Solomon Cook of that county is his daughter); Anne Marquis (third daughter of John) married Isaac Morrison, and they lived near Bellefontaine, Ohio. The children of John and Sarah (Griffith) Marquis were noted for their mu- sical talents and fine musical voices. Dr. John Stockton told the writer, that Robert Marquis had the finest musical voice of any man he ever heard sing.

John Marquis and his brother Thomas (after- ward Rev. Thomas Marquis), in company with some others, pursued a band of Indians, which had made a raid into that neighborhood, in 1776, mur- dered one woman and took captive another woman (Reynolds) and child. They came upon the Ind-

ians just at daybreak, as they were making a raft to cross the Ohio river opposite where is now Mingo Junction, on the Pan Handle Railroad. Seven of the eight Indians were killed, and one man of the pursuing party. The families of James T. Marquis and of Rev. J. S. Marquis, D. D., are the only descendants of John and Sarah Marquis now residing in this county.

Rev. Thomas Marquis, the fourth son of Thomas and Mary (Colville) Marquis, was born in Opequan Valley, Va., in 1753; was married March 5, 1776, to Jane Park, and some time after came to Wash- ington county. He settled on a tract of land for which he took out a warrant February 23, 1786, and afterward obtained a patent. This tract was called "Marrigate " and contained 417 acres, and allowance. The tract embraces one of the farms now owned by Richard Wells, the farm of the Be- bout heirs, and a part of the Perrine tract. After- ward, by deed dated August 27, 1794, he pur- chased from Alexander Wells, of Cross Creek, and Nathan Cromwell, of Baltimore, a tract of 500 acres, embracing lands now owned by Hon. J. S. Duncan, John Lee, a tract (called the " McCon- nell" farm) now owned by W. C. Lee, and a part of the farm of Rev. J. S. Marquis, D. D. His fam- ily was obliged to live for a time in Vance's fort, owing to the incursions of the Indians, and while there he was converted under the preaching of Rev. James Power, D. D. By the advice of Revs. Smith and Dodd he commenced preparation for the ministry. His classical education was obtained at Canonsburg Academy, and he studied theology under the direction of Rev. Dr. McMillan and Rev. Joseph Smith; was licensed to preach the Gospel by the Presbytery of Redstone at Dunlap's Creek, April 19, 1793. He soon received three calls- from Bethel and Ebenezer, Ten-Mile, and Cross Creek. He was a natural orator. The tones of his voice were so musical that he was called the "Silver-tongued Marquis." He was pastor of Cross Creek Church for about thirty-three years. While on a visit to his son-in-law, Rev. Joseph Stevenson, he was attacked with fever, dying of same September 27, 1827, and was buried in the cemetery of Bellefontaine, Ohio. He had a large family of children, and his descendants are scat- tered far and wide. Rev. John M. Stevenson, D. D., one of the secretaries of the American Tract Society, at New York, Rev. James E. Marquis and Rev. Thomas Marquis Newell were grandsons. Rev. W. S. Marquis, pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Rock Island, Ill., is a great-grandson, and Mrs. Patton, wife of Rev. Dr. Patton, president of Princeton College, Princeton, N. J., is a great- granddaughter. Only one of the daughters of Thomas and Mary (Colville) Marquis (Anne) came from Virginia to this county; she married Maj. James Park, who was killed by the Indians

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on a farm now belonging to the heirs of Josiah N. Scott, Esq., in Jefferson township, this county. The other daughters married in Virginia-Sarah married John Vance, and lived near Holstein, Va .; Elizabeth married Daniel McCauley, and re- mained in Virginia.

There were some others of the name of Marquis who lived in this county, and were cousins of the children of Thomas and Mary (Colville) Marquis. George Marquis was one of the first bench of elders of Cross Creek Church. Samuel Marquis also lived near to Burgettstown, and John also lived in the same neighborhood. If these were first cousins of John and Rev. Thomas Marquis, as they claimed, William Marquis, who came from Ireland in 1720, must have left other children in Ireland, who came to America at a later period; and this appears most likely to be the case as all these par- ties came from near Winchester, Va., to this county.

S® TEVENSON FAMILY of Washington county. Among the first settlers of Somer- set township, this county, were two families named Stevenson, the one of English, the other of Irish descent. Of the latter, Joseph Ste- venson and Margaret, his wife, emigrated from Ireland and settled in Letterkenny township, Franklin Co., Penn., at an early period in its his- tory. They had two sons. The elder one of the two was killed by the Indians, along with several others, whilst harvesting his wheat, and his two children, with a hired girl named Jennie Harper, were taken prisoners. The younger of the two chil- dren, a son, was afterward murdered, having his brains dashed out against a tree; the other, with the hired girl, was taken to Canada, but afterward ex- changed and returned home. She was married to Zachariah Spriggs, and they removed to a farm near to West Liberty, Ohio Co., W. Va. Afterward they made their home in Wheeling, where she and her husband died. The "Spriggs House" in Wheeling was named for her husband, and the proprietors, the Yarnell Brothers, were her grand- sons.

John Stevenson, the other son of Joseph Steven- son, was born in 1729, and for many years made his home in Cumberland county, Penn., where he was married, first to a Miss Mitchell, by which union he had two sons, named Joseph and George. His second wife was Jean McCombs, and their children were Mary, Robert, John, James, Mar- garet, Elizabeth, Jane and Anne. In 1781 he re- moved to Somerset township, Washington Co., Penn., and settled on a tract of land bought from Philip Whitten, containing 320 acres. He lived on the part of the farm now owned by Samuel B. Weir. Afterward selling this farm, he purchased

the tract of land now owned by Andrew McCarrell, and the heirs of Hon. Thomas McCarrell in Mt. Pleasant township, this county. Having divided this farm among his children, he removed to one he owned near Cross Creek village, and which is now in the possession of Hon. J. S. Duncan and Jolin S. Lee. He died at the age of ninety years, and is buried in the cemetery at Cross Creek vil- lage, where his second wife is also buried, having departed this life at the age of eighty-six years.

Joseph Stevenson, the eldest son in this family, was in the Revolutionary army under Gen. Wash- ington, and was with him the night he crossed the Delaware river in the ice with his army, and fought the battle of Trenton the following morn- ing. He married Miss Mary Espy, and removed to Washington county some years after his father had come out. He made his home in Canonsburg, where he died, and he is buried in the cemetery at Chartiers Church. His children were as follows: Josiah Espy (who was a physician for many years at Kittanning, Armstrong Co., Penn.), Joseph, Marrianne, Maria, George Espy and John Mitchell. Rev. A. Russell Stevenson, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Schenectady, N. Y., is a great-grandson of Joseph Stevenson.

George Stevenson, the second son, was also a soldier in the Revolutionary war, serving under Gen. Washington at the battle of Brandywine. At the close of the struggle he came to the home of Zachariah Spriggs, near West Liberty, W. Va., and whilst in the field plowing corn he was taken prisoner by the Indians under the leadership of that renegade white man, Simon Girty. He was compelled to carry a heavy iron kettle, lashed to his bare back, all the way to Canada. He was also at the same time suffering from a severe gash in the forehead, made by an Indian striking him with a tomahawk at the time of his capture. Three years and five months passed before he was ex- changed as a prisoner of war. He married Cath- arine McCombs, and lived for a time at what is now known as Hunter's Mill, on Harmon's creek in Hanover township. He afterward removed to Knox county, Ohio, where he died. The names of his children are as follows: John, George, Martha, Thomas, Eliza and Jane. Rev. George Graham, of Clarksville, Iowa, is his grandson.

Mary Stevenson, the eldest child by the second marriage, was twice married, first to Joseplı Nel- son, by whom she had two sons, James and John; after the death of this husband she was married to Rev. John McPherrin, who for many years was the pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Butler, Penn. Their children were as follows: Amelia, Samuel, William, Clark, Ebenezer, John, Ander- son, Josiah and Mary, of wliom Amelia was mar- ried to Hon. Walter Lowrie, for many years sec- retary of the board of foreign missions of the Pres-

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byterian Church, and Rev. John C. Lowrie, D. D., LL. D., the senior secretary of the same board, and Rev. Walter M. Lowrie, and Rev. Reuben Post Lowrie, both missionaries to China (now de- ceased) were her sons.

Capt. Robert Stevenson, the eldest son of John Stevenson, Sr., by his second marriage, was a sol- dier in the Revolutionary war, and belonged to a company commanded by Capt. McConnell, of Cum- berland county, Penn .; he was also in the war of 1812, as captain of a company; he assisted in the building of "Fort Stevenson" near Sandusky, Ohio, and the fort was named in his honor; he married Miss Mary Teeters, and came to Wash- ington county at the close of the Revolutionary war; afterward he moved to near Salem, Colum- biana Co., Ohio, where he died; he was a member of the Legislature of that State at the time of his death. John Stevenson, Jr., son of John, Sr., was also a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and a member of the company commanded by Capt. McConnell; he settled first in Somerset township, this county, on a farm now owned by the Whitely heirs, afterward in Mt. Pleasant township, on a farm now owned by James Buchanan, Esq., and lastly in Cross Creek township, on part of a farm now owned by Hon. John S. Duncan; he packed on horseback over the mountains to the first store in Washington its first lot of goods; he died June 13, 1847, aged eighty-six years, and is buried in the cemetery at Cross Creek village; his wife was Mary McCombs, and their children were: John, Margaret, Jean, Mary and Malcom McCombs, all of whom died unmarried except Mary, who mar- ried Robert Marquis, and she leaves to survive her two sons: Rev. J. S. Marquis, D. D., who for many years was pastor of Pigeon Creek Church (of which his grandfather had been one of its members at an early date of its history), and Rob- ert Marquis, now of Caldwell county, Mo.

James Stevenson died young and unmarried, and is buried in Pigeon Creek cemetery. Margaret Stevenson married John Cratty, and became the mother of two children: Keziah and John Steven- son; Keziah married Robert Curry; a grandson, Robert Curry, Jr., Ph. D., was the founder of "Curry University " at Pittsburgh, was for a time assistant State superintendent of public schools in Pennsylvania, and afterward State superintend- ent of public schools in Nebraska. Elizabeth Stevenson married John Stevenson, a son of the Stevenson family who were of English descent, of Somerset township; they lived on a farm now owned by the McCorkle heirs near to Pigeon Creek Presbyterian church; their children were Jane, Joseph, John, Maria, Elizabeth, Mary, Margaret, Emily, Frances and James Edgar, who became a Presbyterian minister, and died at Talla- hassee, Florida.

Jane Stevenson married John Graham, of Cross Creek, and their children were Henry, Robert, John, Mary, James, Ebenezer Stevenson, Margery, Elizabeth, Joseph, Thomas Smith and Anne; Ebenezer Stevenson Graham became a Presbyte- rian minister, and was for some years pastor of Pigeon Creek Presbyterian Church; he died at Tampa Bay, Fla. Anne Stevenson, the young- est member of this family, married Col. John Vance, of Cross Creek, and her children were John, Anne, David, Jane, Joseph and Julia A. ; her son Joseph was a lawyer by profession, and was a member of the bar at Mt. Vernon, Knox Co., Ohio; in the Civil war he was the colonel of a regiment in the army of Gen. Banks, and was killed in the battle of Red River, Louisiana.

H ON. GEORGE S. GRAHAM, M. D., rep- resents an old and prominent pioneer family, whose first settlement was made in Cross Creek township, Washington Co., Penn., in 1776.

Henry Graham, the earliest pioneer, of this family, of whom we have any authentic record, was a native of Chester county, Penn., where he was married to a native-born lady, and, moving to Washington county, settled in Cross Creek town- ship, on the waters of Cross creek, before the Indians had left that part of the county. He died in 1827, leaving one son, John, married to Jane Stevenson, whose parents were also early settlers in Smith township. The following children were born to the union of John and Jane Graham: Robert, who moved to Knox county, Ohio, where he lived to old age; Henry, who went to Ohio; Thomas, now a resident of Mt. Gilead, Olio; John, living in Knox county, Ohio; Joseph, who fol- lowed farming in this county, and resided on the old homestead in Cross Creek township; Rev. E. . S., of whom a sketch follows; Ann, wife of Dr. Boyd Emery, both deceased in Somerset township, this county; Mary, deceased when young; Jane, who died in early youth; Margery, Mrs. Murray; and Elizabeth, wife of James Walker. Of these, Thomas and Margery are yet living. The father always resided on the farm in Cross Creek town- ship, where he died in 1830. The Grahams were active Whigs and influential citizens; they were zealous members of the Cross Creek Presbyterian Church, which they assisted in founding.

Rev. E. S. Graham was born in Cross Creek township, this county. He received his elementary education in the rate schools of the day, then at- tended Cross Creek Academy, and finally took a thorough course at Jefferson College, graduating therefrom in 1834. In 1837 he was installed as pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Pigeon Creek, Washington county. where he remained until 1842,

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proving a very popular minister. After preach- ing in a heated school-room on one occasion, he caught a cold which terminated in bronchitis, and he then took a trip to Florida in search of health, residing at Tampa Bay for several years; he died in 1846. In the early part of his ministry he had married Sarah, daughter of John Johnson, who was born near Washington, Penn., and died a few years after her marriage, leaving four children. viz .: John J., a farmer of Washington county, who moved to Kentucky, thence to Knox county, Ohio; Hannah J., wife of James Morrison, of Mercer county, Penn .; George S., whose name opens this sketch; and Sarah E., Mrs. James Maxwell, of Mercer, Penn., all now deceased except our sub- ject.

George S. Graham, son of E. S. and Sarah (Johnson) Graham, was born December 26, 1839, in Somerset township, this county, and received a limited education in the common schools. At an early age he began working with a farmer named Stevenson (of Somerset township), and also lived for some time with Dr. Boyd Emery, of Somerset township. He then resided in Morrow county, Ohio, with an uncle, Thomas Graham, remaining there for some time, but wishing to secure a more extensive education finally returned to his native county, and entered Cross Creek Academy (where his father had also been a student), remaining in that institution one year. He then took a three- year's course at the Bethany Academical Institute, under Dr. Marshall, afterward entered Jefferson College at Canonsburg, Penn., where he was a student at the beginning of the Civil war. Young Graham enlisted Sunday, April 27, 1861, in Com- pany D, Tenth Regiment, Pennsylvania Reserve Corps. He was mustered in at Harrisburg, Penn., thence proceeding with his regiment to Washington, D. C. His regiment was attached to the First Army Corps, under command of Gen. McDowell, and was later attached to the Fifth Corps, serving through the Peninsular campaign. Our subject served in all the campaigns, marches and engagements of his regiment during his term of engagement. Their first engagement was at Drainesville, Va .; he remained in active service until his regiment was mustered out June 12, 1864, when he received an honorable discharge, and returned to his native county. After the war our subject began the study of medicine, and en- tered Jefferson Medical College, of Philadelphia, graduating March 10, 1866. In the following June he came to Florence, Hanover township, this county, where he has ever since practiced his chosen profession. On September 22, 1868, he was married to Sallie J. Tucker, who was born September 15, 1846, a daughter of David and Sarah (Watt) Tucker, of Hanover township. The following children have been born to their union:

John T. (deceased), Lemuel F., David S., Charles S., Bertha M. and Thomas C. They have had excellent educational advantages. Dr. Graham has been a leading physician of Hanover township for many years and enjoys an extensive practice throughout the county. Politically he has for years been a leader of the Republican party in Hanover township, and has never missed an elec- tion since his residence in this county. In 1884 he was elected to the Legislature, serving during 1884-85. Dr. and Mrs. Graham are active mem. bers of the Presbyterian Church, and he is a mem- ber of the Session.

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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 31

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