Commemorative biographical record of Washington County, Pennsylvania, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 33

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 33

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).

fit to be hitched again, and two of them were killed outright in the disaster." Mr. McCleary lived in Claysville six years; then, when Col. William Hop- kins was commissioner of the road, he took charge of the tollgate near West Alexander (at which time the tolls often amounted to as much as $400 per month), and lived there nine years. It was not uncommon in those days for twenty or more stage- coaches to be in full view at one time, so great was the traffic. After leaving the toll gate, Mr. McCleary moved to East Finley township, and settled on a farm purchased of George Enlow. Later he bought three other tracts of land, two in this connty, and one in West Virginia, all valu- able. William McCleary was married January 17, 1836, to Susan G., a daughter of Thomas Wilkin- son, of Hillsboro, Penn. Their children were Thomas J., James C., John E., Mary J. (Mrs. Robert Bell), Sarah E. (Mrs. Porter McCarrell), William L., Martha L. (Mrs. John Donely), Fran- cis M., Lewis C., Martin L. (deceased) and Caro- line A. (Mrs. William Wachter). The father died April 3, 1882, all his family being with him in his last moments, except one daughter who had died in her thirtieth year. He was essentially a self- made man, having started in life with naught save his industrious hands and a willing heart, and when he was called from earth his estate was valued at $50,000. He was an exemplary man in all respects, of unquestioned integrity and truth, a lover of home with its quiet cares and enjoy- ments. For many years he was a consistent member of the Baptist Church at Pleasant Grove, East Finley township, in which he held the office of deacon; in politics he was a pronounced Democrat, holding at different times various township offices.

William L. McCleary, the subject proper of this memoir, was born May 23, 1848, in Donegal town- ship, his education being received at the public schools of the district. At the age of nineteen he came to Washington borough, and entered the den- tal office of Dr. Samuel Fulton, where he remained in the study of dentistry two years, and then opened an office for the practice of that profession, in Uniontown, Fayette county, whence, after a res- idence of four years, he returned to Washington. On November 3, 1875, he was married to Mary E., daughter of S. M. Brinton, of Allegheny county, and to this union seven children were born. viz. : Mariana L., William M., Sarah E. (deceased), Ruth G., Elizabeth B., Homer B., and Esther B. The ancestors of the Brinton family of Allegheny county came from England at an early day, set- tling in West Chester, Penn., and the grandfather of Mrs. McCleary moved thence to Allegheny county, making his home on a farm in the Turtle Creek valley, where he died. He was a member of the Society of Friends. S. M. Brinton, father of

194

WASHINGTON COUNTY.

Mrs. McCleary, was born in eastern Pennsylvania. He came with his parents to Allegheny county, where he followed agricultural pursuits all his days. He was twice married, firstto Elizabeth Donley, who bore him one child Robert. His second wife was Mary McGrew, a native of Westmoreland county, and by this union were born: S. M., Jr., William M., Mary E., M. H. and Sarah J. (Mrs. J. How- ard Clark), Mr. Brinton died on January 16, 1890. In religion he was a member of the Society of Friends, and in politics was first a Republican, later a Democrat. Dr. McCleary is a member of the Baptist Church, and is at present serving as trustee. In politics he is purely independent; vot- ing according to his judgment for " the right man in the right place." Aside from his profession he has divers interests, such as oil and gas specula- tions, as well as various farming interests. He is a member of the People's Light & Heat Com- pany and of the Tyler Tube Works.

R EV. MATTHEW HENDERSON was born in Fifeshire, Scotland, in 1735, graduated at Glasgow, studied theology, and . was licensed to preach in 1756. Ordained in 1758, he was sent to America. Soon after his arrival he settled as pastor of the Associate Church at Oxford, Chester Co., Penn., and re- mained at Oxford until 1781, when he became pas- tor of Chartiers and Buffalo churches in Washing- ton county, Penn., being the first minister of that denomination to settle west of the Alleghany mountains. He remained with this people, teach- ing and preaching the Gospel, until called to his rest October 2, 1795. A falling tree caused his death. He was married to Mary Ferris, and to them were born ten children, namely: Matthew, Mary, John, Ellen, Elizabeth, Ann, Ebenezer, Joseph, Robert and Jane. Matthew was a minis- ter and married Miss Patterson; Mary married Samuel White, a farmer; John married Isabella Russell; Ellen married Samuel Murdoch, M. D .; Elizabeth married Alexander Murdoch; Ann mar- ried Rev. Thomas Allison; Ebenezer was a minis- ter and married Miss Noble; Joseph was a phy- sician; Robert married Elizabetlı Russell, and Jane married James Clark, a farmer.

Robert Henderson, who married Elizabeth Rus- sell, lived on a farm in Chartiers township, and to them were born seven children: Matthew, Andrew, Ebenezer, Alexander, John, Mary and Robert. Their eldest son, Matthew, was born December 1, 1803, in Chartiers township, was married February 11, 1829, to Mary Hutchinson, and lived here until 1853, when they moved to Mercer county, Penn. In 1859 they moved to Lawrence county, Penn., and returned to Washington county in 1885. Mrs. Mary Henderson died in Lawrence county,

January 1, 1877. To them were born six children: Johu H., Elizabeth R., Robert A., Martha J., Frances M. and Harriet A. John H. married Nancy Hammond, who died, and he married Em- ma C. Robinson. By his first wife he had four children: John Allison, Margaret, William and Alexander. The latter died at the age of nine- teen, Elizabeth R. married Robert J. Harper, and to them four children were born: Anna M., Eliza- beth H., Ella (now deceased) and Eva O. G. Robert A. married Mary Ellen Blair, to whom three sons were born: Frank B., Audley C. and William A. Martha J. remains single. Harriet A. died December 17, 1881. Frances M. married Rev. John Weir, has two daughters: Mary H. and Margaret B. Rev. John Weir died May 28, 1873. He was a preacher in Canada. In politics Mr. Matthew Henderson was a Whig, and is now a Republican. In religious faith he is a member of Chartiers United Presbyterian Church.

HOMAS MAXWELL POTTS has been a resident of Canonsburg since early in 1870. He is a thorough American, being able to trace every line of ancestry (with perhaps a single exception) to progenitors upon Amer- ican soil for two centuries and longer, embracing English, Welsh, German, Dutch, Swedish and French original settlers. He is a descendant of the old Cheshire (England) family of Potts, through a branch who had settled in Montgomeryshire, Wales, where they embraced the religious views of George Fox and William Penn.

On account of the religious persecution of the time, David Potts and one or two brothers mi- grated to Philadelphia county, Penn., about 1690. In 1694 David Potts married Alice Croasdale, who with her parents had come over with William Penn in 1682. Their third son, Daniel, born in 1697, married Sarah Shoemaker in 1721. Their son, Samuel, born in 1723, married Ann Ashmead (nee Rush) in 1751. Their son. James, born 1752, married Sarah Wessell in 1777. Their youngest son, Thomas Jefferson Potts, was born in 1798, and married Margaret Carter in 1835. The subject of this sketch was the eldest son of this marriage, having been born February 17, 1836, in Chester county, Penn. The other original paternal ances- tors of Mr. Potts, in America, were: Thomas Croasdale, Peter Shoemaker, Isaac Opden Graef, Jacob Isaacs Van Bebber, Capt. John Rush, Bryan Peart, Henry Stirk, Edward Eaton and John Wells, of Pennsylvania, and Wessel Evertszen, Claes Jan- sen Stavast, Cornelis Van Tienhoven, Guylen Vinge and Claes Claeszen Bording, of New York. Among the first American ancestors on his mother's side, may be mentioned Jeremiah Carter, William Clay- ton, Edward Bezer, Walter Marten, Joseph Bushal,

195

WASHINGTON COUNTY.

William Cloud, John Butler, John Fisher, John Hough, William Bean and Hance Pietterson, of Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Mr. Potts spent his boyhood upon his father's farm in Chester county, Penn., receiving his edu- cation in the schools of his neighborhood, and at the State Normal School in Millersville, Penn. From 1857 to 1866 he taught school at Green wood Seminary, Millville, Columbia county, and at the academy in Dowingtown, Penn. In 1866 and 1867 he was principal of the public schools of Bellville, Ohio. From 1866 to 1877 he had an interest in the retail hardware business at Bellville, Ohio, and at Canonsburg, Penn. He has held a num- ber of local offices. In 1867 he was mayor of Bellville, Ohio, and subsequently a member of the Bellville school board. At Canonsburg he has served a number of terms as chief burgess, and as a member of the town council. He has served some thirteen or fourteen years as a school director, and since 1888 has been a justice of the peace. In politics he is a Republican, and in religion a Pres- byterian, being a ruling elder and superintendent of the Sabbath-school of the First Presbyterian Church of his adopted town. In 1870 he estab. lished the first permanent printing office in Can- onsburg, and in 1872 founded the Canonsburg Herald, which he edited and published until 1888. This paper, under his charge, was edited with great care and considerable ability, and became a power for good in the community. In 1888 he dis- posed of it to the present publisher. For many years he has been an amateur antiquarian and genealogist, and has collected a large amount of val- uable family history of Pennsylvania and New York families. In 1877 he published " A Short Biograph- ical Sketch of Maj. James Potts," a small bound volume of about eighty pages. In 1883 he issued a "Bi-Centenary Memorial of Jeremiah Carter, etc.," containing about 300 pages. He has now in press a volume entitled "Our Family Ancestors," which promises to be a very valuable work to genealogists, It will embrace sketches of some fifty families, tracing each from the settlement of the first American ancestor. The material for all of these works has been gathered from original sources. He has been a corresponding member of the New England Historic-Genealogical Society since 1887, and has been president of the Canons- burg Library Association since 1880. Mr. Potts has attained some distinction in Fraternal societies, being a Past Grand and a Past Chief Patriarch of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and a Past Regent of the Royal Arcanum. As an Odd Fellow, he has served as a deputy grand master of Wash- ington county, and has been a representative in the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania many times. He has also been a representative in the Grand Coun- cil, R. A., of Pennsylvania.

On March 22, 1860, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Miller, daughter of Reuben and Sarah (Baker) Miller, of Chester county, Penn. Mrs. Potts can trace quite as honorable and nu- merous a lineage as her husband, being a direct descendant of the following early settlers of Penn- sylvania and New Jersey: Gayen Miller, Dr. Patrick Henderson, Jacob Kirk. Francis Hobson, Henry Mitchell, Richard Gove, John Stackhouse, Thomas Pearson, Thomas Stevenson, Samuel Jen- ings, Joseph Baker, Richard Woodward, William Edwards, John Ingram, Henry Hayes, Thomas Cox, John Buzby, Archibald McNeill, Richard Few, Francis Stanfield, John Bently, Joel Baily, and others. Mr. and Mrs. Potts have had born to them the following children: (1) Reuben Claude, who married Clara B. Fife in 1882, and resides at Parkersburg, Penn .; (2) Thomas Pliny, now a theological student; (3) William Baker and (4) Mitchell Miller, merchants at Canonsburg, and (5) Louis Maxwell, a student in Washington and Jef- ferson College.

W ILLIAM DENNEY, M. D., one of the established and most successful physi- cians of Washington, is a native of the State, born in Jefferson, Greene county, October 28, 1851.

John Denney. his great-grandfather, came to America from England at an early date, settling in Greene county, Penn. In his native land he was a tailor by trade, but in this country he fol- lowed agricultural pursuits, and at the time of his death was the owner of a considerable estate. His son, William, grandfather of Dr. Denney, married Elizabeth Blackledge, and some time in the " forties " they moved to Missouri, where they died of malarial fever. A brief record of their children is as follows: Enoch Harvey has special mention further on; Simon died in Missouri; John is a resident of Marion. Ohio; Benjamin is a prac- ticing physician in Waynesburg, Penn .; George also resides at Waynesburg; William died in Missouri; Hannah is the wife of a wealthy farmer named R. Colony. in Johnson county, Iowa; Mary is married to a Mr. Keefer, and lives near Monte- zuma, Iowa; Grace is married, and resides near Tiffin, Johnson Co., Iowa.

Enoch Harvey Denney, father of Dr. Denney, was born near Jefferson, Greene Co., Penn., in 1820. By occupation he was a carpenter, cabinet maker and undertaker. In politics he is a Re- publican, for many years served as school director, and has been elected a justice of the peace six times. In 1880 he married Mary, daughter of Evan and Nancy (Fulton) Mccullough, who lived and died on Castile run, in Greene county, Penn. The Mccullough family have been prominent in

196

WASHINGTON COUNTY.

educational matters in Iowa. The sisters Jane, Rachel and Margaret organized and have since conducted Mount Pleasant (Iowa) Female Semi- nary. Jane and Margaret are graduates of Wash- ington Female Seminary, and Rachel of the Steu- benville (Ohio) Seminary. . The only brother was Col. Johuz Fulton Mccullough, who, at the age of eighteen years, entered the United States army as a private in Company F, First P. V. C., but on account of his father's death, in 1861, received his discharge and returned home. In 1862 he organized Company A, One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Reserves, and returned to active service; in 1864 he was promoted to major of the regiment, and was afterward commissioned colonel of the One Hundred and Eighty-third P. V. I. He was mortally wounded at the battle of Cold Harbor early in June, 1864, and died on the field. To Enoch H. and Mary (Mccullough) Denney were born children as follows: William, Isabella (wife of David Bell, of Morgan town- ship, Greene Co., Penn.), Anna N. (wife of M. S. Smalley, president of the First National Bank of Hiawatha, Kans.), and Evan M., in the employ of the Southwestern Pipe Line Company, at Morgan- town, W. Va. The mother departed this life on Christmas day, 1878, aged fifty-four years; the father is still living in Greene county.

William Denney, the subject proper of this sketch, received his primary education in and near his native village. In the fall of 1864 he went to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, where he studied for four years in Mt. Pleasant Seminary, under the direc- tion of his uncle, Rev. E. L. Belden, who was principal of that institution. He then entered the Wesleyan University of Iowa, where he studied for about two years. In 1870 he returned to his na- tive town of Jefferson and engaged in school teach - ing, which vocation he followed in different parts of Greene county until 1876. He then entered regularly upon his medical studies which he had been pursuing during vacation in teaching, in the office of his uncle, Dr. B. W. Denney, of Garard's Fort, Greene Co., Penn. He afterward entered Miami Medical College, Cincinnati, Ohio, in which he took the progressive course, and from which he graduated in the spring of 1879. In June of that year he established himself in Claysville, where he remained until December 1, 1891, when he moved to Washington and has since continued in the act- ive practice of his profession, in which he has met with gratifying success, being professionally and socially highly esteemed in the community. On March 3, 1881, the Doctor was united in marriage with Lucinda, third daughter of John and Sarah Bell, of Morgan township, Greene Co., Penn., and they have two children: John McCullough and Mary Bell. Politically Dr. Denney is a Repub- lican, and has held various offices of trust. He

served as supervisor in the Eleventh Pennsyl- vania District, in connection with the eleventh decen- nial census of the counties of Washington, Greene, Fayette, Beaver and Somerset. He is a member of the Americus Club of Pittsburgh, Penn., and in religious faith is a member of the First Presbyte- rian Church of Washington. . Dr. Denney is prom- inently identified with the Masonic fraternity, be- ing a member of the lodge, chapter and command- ery at Washington, Penn., and a member of Syria Temple, Pittsburgh.

C HAMBERS, "JUDGE" JAMES C., one of the most esteemed and honored residents of Amwell township, ranks among its first citi- zens. His grandfather, James . Chambers, 'emigrated from the shores of "Green Erin" to America in the latter part of the eighteenth cent- ury, and in 1797 located in Amwell township, Washington Co., Penn., on Bane's fork of Ten- Mile creek. He and his wife died on the old farm, the parents of six children.

James Chambers, son of this brave old pioneer, at the age of eleven years emigrated from Ireland to Amwell township with his parents, and two bro hers who came with him died on the farm where J. W. now lives. James learned and fol- lowed the trade of carpenter in Washington bor- ough, and was here united in marriage with Mary, daughter of John Dodd, who settled on the farm now owned by D. T. Morgan, and owned a house where the Citizens' Bank now stands in Washing- ton. In 1803 he (Mr. Dodd) went on a voyage down the Mississippi, and on his return was shot by Indians. When he fell his horse ran with the saddle bags and papers, by which means he was identified as John Dodd. Mrs. Chambers died in November, 1814, and Mr. Chambers afterward married Sarah Hastings, who died in 1867. Mr. Chambers was called from earth in February, 1862. He was a major in the militia, and more of a military man than a politician ..

"Judge" James C. Chambers was born January 11, 1812, in Washington, Washington Co., Penn., on a lot south of where the David hardware store now stands, and afterward lived on East Maiden street. He grew to manhood on the old farm, and remained there until thirty years of age. His school privileges were of a very limited character, and in his case (to quote his own words) " pro- ficiency in the 'three R's' was the synonym for a 'full-fledged graduate.'" On November 10, 1835, he was married to Miss Mary Hughes, and their union was blessed with nine children, as follows: Mary A. (married to T. J. Nichol), residing in Washington county; John (married to Martha Moninger); Margaret, deceased wife of John F. Terrel; Warren (deceased at the age of nine years);

7.6. Chambery

199

WASHINGTON COUNTY.

Ellen, married to Richard Fitzwilliam, of Wash- ington county; Sarah, married to Joshua Dicker- son, of Franklin township, this county; James C. (deceased in his ninth year); Clarinda (married to Samuel C. McLean, and living in Franklin town- ship), and William (who died in his twenty-first year). In 1839 Judge Chambers removed to Mor- ris township, where he remained fourteen years. In February, 1854, he came to his present home in Amwell township, where his wife died February 27, 1891, at the age of seventy-three years.

In politics Judge Chambers was for many years 'one of the most active men in the county, origi- nally as an uncompromising Whig, afterward as a member of the American party, and he was one of the "Committee of Ten " appointed to sit in conven- tion for the purpose of organizing the Republican party in Washington county. This convention was held in the "Fulton House," Washington, March 18. 1856, the platform being occupied by Whigs, Americans, and kindred others whose leanings were toward the Republican phase of politics. The president on this occasion was James G. Hart, the vice-presidents being J. Clark Chambers, John Hayes, John Johnson, Francis Fitzwilliams, David Walker, T. J. Odenbaugh, Joshua Wright, W. H. McNary and Samuel J. Crothers; the secretaries were: Craig Ritchie, E. L. Christman, Joseph Welsh and Thomas Miller. Of late years the " Judge " has practically retired from political life, but he never fails to assert his rights as an Amer- ican citizen at the polls. In 1866 he was elected associate judge for Washington county, his official term coming to a close at the end of five years. On same date (1866) Judge Acheson was elected pre- siding judge, and our subject is the only elected associate judge now living in Washington county. So highly satisfactory, and with such a degree of integrity and strict impartiality, had he discharged the duties of his responsible position, that at a meeting of the members of the bar and officers of the court, held in the court-room November 17, 1871, resolutions were passed bearing testimony to the high regard in which the retiring judge was held. The proceedings were presented in open court, and Judge Acheson directed them to be filed and entered on record, as so requested in one of the resolutions.

On the occasion of the eightieth anniversary of Judge Chambers' birth, about sixty of his friends gathered at his home, and as a token of the high regard he commands in the community, and sub- stantial evidence of the unbounded respect in which he is held, he was made the recipient of several valuable presents.

The Judge, in 1835, was commissioned a captain in the cavalry. He has been a member of the Dis- ciple Church fifty years, and has served as elder

in the same four decades. He is in the enjoyment of good health, and now, as his life draws near the close, he has the friendship and esteem of all who have been associated with him in his earlier years of vigorous action, as well as of those who have but recently met this honored hero of so many conflicts in which he has won the laurel wreath of victory.

[Many of these facts have been taken from the records, and are known to be authentic.

M URRAY .- This family in Washington county, of whom William M. and J. W. Murray are worthy representatives, is de- scended from one of the Dukes of Athol (Scotland), a son of whom, Lord Murray, having become involved in a political conspiracy against the reigning monarch, was compelled to seek safety in flight. It was no easy task, however, to elude the vigilance of his pursuers, especially as a price was placed upon his head, but friends de- vised a means of escape for him, novel if not risky. It is a historical fact that they placed Lord Mur- ray inside an empty hogshead, then headed it up, being careful to leave some apertures for the ad- mission of air, carted him a considerable distance to a convenient seaport (where was, fortunately, a ship about to sail for America), got their "freight" on board, one or two of the friends accompanying "it," and as soon as the vessel was well out to sea, they liberated the contents of the cask, and set the cooped-up scion of a noble house on deck, once more a free man. Ultimately they reached the shores of America in safety, where the hero of the adventure was no more enquired after by the Eng- lish Government. In this country Lord Murray married and had a family of children, but the names of all are lost except that of Nicholas, the direct ancestor, in America, of the subject of this memoir. This Nicholas Murray, who was a sea captain nearly all his life, married, in April, 1775, Temperance Bond, of Baltimore, Md., and the names and dates of birth of their children are as follows: Nicholas, April 16, 1776; Benjamin, October 8, 1778; Ruth, October 25, 1781; William, March 1, 1784; Christopher, October 26, 1786; Charles, March 7, 1792; Kizia, September 23, 1789, and Sarah, December 11, 1794. The father of this family died April 10, 1812, the mother April 20. 1828.

William Murray, third son of Nicholas and Temperance (Bond) Murray, was reared in the State of Maryland, where he was married to Nancy Roberts, and their children were Samuel, Nicholas (professor in Washington and Jefferson College), Hanson, Elzy, Charles and William. At an early" day Mr. Murray migrated to Virginia, and made a settlement near West Liberty, Ohio county, in that

200

WASHINGTON COUNTY.

State, becoming a prominent agriculturist. He was one of the first members of the Presbyterian Church at West Liberty, and in his political sym- pathies he was a lifelong Democrat.

Charles Murray was born in Ohio county, Va., in 1814, where he was educated. He was there married to Elizabeth J., daughter of William Reed, of that State, but a native of Scotland, whence lie came when a young man to America, making a settlement in what is now West Virginia, at that time a wild, uncultivated region. He there married Martha Ashinghist, of Washington county, Penn., and the children born to them were Ellen (Mrs. William Brackenridge), Nancy (deceased wife of Elijah Moore), Oliver, Elizabeth J. (Mrs. Charles Murray), Margaret (Mrs. James McMur- ray), William (deceased), Catherine (Mrs. James H. Brackenridge). Mr. "Reed followed farming all his days, in which he met with success. He was a strict Presbyterian, and a member of the Three Ridge Church at West Alexander, Penn. ; in politics he was a Democrat until the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion when he became a Republican. He died in Ohio county, Va., about 1861, and is buried in West Alexander cemetery by the side of his wife, who departed this life in 1861. After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Murray settled on a farm in Ohio county, W. Va., where they passed the remainder of their days, dying, the father January 10, 1860, the mother May 30, 1874, at the age of fifty-two. They were consistent members of the West Alexander Presby- terian Church, and in politics Mr. Murray was a Whig until the formation of the Republican party, when he enrolled himself under its banner. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Charles Murray were William M., J. W., Oliver E. and Hanson E. (twins, Hanson being deceased), Johnston R. (in Wheeling, W. Va.), Oliver E. (merchant in Wheel- ing, W. Va.), Alfred N., Charles F. and Joseph L. (all three deceased), and Elijah T. (in Ohio).

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.

Commemorative biographical record of Washington County, Pennsylvania, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 33

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