Commemorative biographical record of Washington County, Pennsylvania, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 34

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 34

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WILLIAM M. MURRAY, a prosperous merchant of West Alexander, was born in Ohio county, W. Va., the eldest son of Charles Murray. He was reared and educated on the home farm, and on August 14, 1862, he enlisted in Company D, Twelfth West Virginia Infantry, and was then sent to the Shenandoah Valley with his regiment, where they fought in Sheridan's campaigns. They took part in the principal engagements, and were sent to the front at Richmond, where they remained until the close of the war. Mr. Murray then re- turned home. In 1871 he formed a partnership with his brother John, and they conducted a gen- eral store at West Alexander, for eight years wlien another brother, O. E. Murray, entered the firm; the latter soon afterward sold his interest to Mr. Valentine, who is now the partner of Mr. Murray.

They have a large store, and are very successful. William M. Murray was united in marriage with Elizabeth, daughter of Alexander Ruth, and they have two children: Eva Belle and Charles Ruth. Mr. Murray is an active and valuable member of the Republican party. He and his family are members of the Presbyterian Church, to which he is a liberal contributor.

J. W. MURRAY was born April 21, 1845, in Ohio county, W. Va., where he was reared and educated. On August 14, 1862, he enlisted in Company D, Twelfth West Virginia Infantry, his brother Will- iam M. having enlisted in the same company on the same day. (William M. never missed a day's duty in three years, and he brought home the saine gun he had carried out). This regiment was first attached to the army of West Virginia, and was stationed at Clarksburg, W. Va., whence it was sent to Winchester, Va., where it participated in the battle there June 13 and 15, 1863. The Union forces were driven back, and our subject and his comrades afterward took part in the battle of Gettysburg, July 1 to 3, following, after which they participated in all the skirmishes, etc., in the Shenandoalı Valley, including the famous "Hun- ter raid." While charging the works at Piedmont, W. Va., June 5, 1864, Private J. W. Murray was wounded in the right arm, above the elbow, by a ball (which he still carries), in consequence of which he was incapacitated for duty for three months, at the end of which time he rejoined his regiment. On December 19, 1864, the regiment was trans- ferred to the army of the James, in which it served until the close of the war. At the siege of Peters- burg, Va., Mr. Murray was in the famous charge on Fort Gregg; was in the chase after Lee's forces when the latter were outflanked, and was present at their surrender. On May 9, 1865, the war having ended, he was mustered out of the service, June 16, 1865, returned home and took up the Arcadian pursuit of an agriculturist, which he continued nn- til 1871, when he entered into partnership with his brother William M .. in a general merchandise business at West Alexander, this county. In July, 1891, he came to Washington, and entered into partnership with J. I. Carson as pension agents, also in real estate and loan business, and after April 1, 1893, the firm will be Rodgers & Murray.

On August 14, 1875, J. W. Murray was united in marriage with Margaret, daughter of James P. Chambers, of Donegal township, and three chil- dren were born to them: James E., Arthur E. (deceased) and Alford L. Mr. Murray is a mem- ber of the Second United Presbyterian Church of Washington, Penn .; in politics he is an active Republican, and takes a live interest in every measure tending to the advancement of his adopted city and the county at large.

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W INFIELD MCILVAINE, of Taylor & McIlvaine, one of the prominent law firms of Washington, is a native of Somerset township, born January 30, 1856. He is the eldest son of S. B. McIlvaine, a substantial farmer and one of the leading citizens of the east- ern part of the county. His mother's maiden name was Catherine Hill, a very extended family name in the southwestern quarter of the county. Their other children are Arabelle, married to William M. Irwiu, and now a widow; Ella Laverne, intermar- ried with Josiah Thomas; Lena, U. G., Julia, and Edwin L.

The subject of this sketch received his first edu- cational training in the public schools. Later he attended Canonsburg Academy for two years, and in the winter of 1876-77 taught in the public schools of Somerset township. In the fall of 1877 he entered the sophomore class of Washington and Jefferson College, and in June, 1880, was gradu- ated with honors from that institution. Previously, in June, 1879, he had registered as a law student with his cousin, now the Hon. J. A. McIlvaine, president judge of the Forty-seventh Judicial Dis- trict of Pennsylvania, completing his legal studies under his direction. The two years immediately following his graduation were spent partly on his father's farm, recuperating his physical powers, and partly in teaching. In the fall of 1882 he en- tered politics, serving as secretary of the Repub- lican County Committee during the campaign of that and the three succeeding years. At June term, 1883, he was admitted to the bar of Wash- ington county. In the fall of the same year he purchased from E. F. Acheson an interest in the Washington Observer, and from 1886 was manager of the paper. During all this time, he still took an active part in politics, and his paper was the rec- ognized exponent of Republican principles in Washington county. In October, 1890, however, he sold his interest in the Observer to his partner, Mr. Acheson, and, on January 1 of the following year, entered into partnership with J. F. Taylor in the general practice of the law, at Washington. In religion Mr. McIlvaine is a Presbyterian, being a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Washington. On October 19, 1892, he married Miss Elizabeth S. Stewart, daughter of the late Galbraith Stewart, of Washington, and they now reside on Wade avenue.

R ICHARD WAUGH. The Waugh family have been in Pennsylvania at least one hundred and fifty years, and came west from Adams and Cumberland counties. Richard Waugh was born December 3, 1796, on a farmi, now owned by W. W. Dinsmore,

on the road from Buffalo to West Middletown. He grew to manhood on a farm now owned by James Hauna, near Independence. Mr. Waugh was a grandson of David Boyd, an officer in the war of Independence, whose thrilling story is mentioned in Crumrine's "History of Washington County." Throughout life he was noted for his energy and indomitable perseverance. In 1823 he married Eliza, daughter of John Moore, who owned 600 acres of land embracing what is now known as " Waugh's Mill." Mr. Moore inherited part of this tract from his father, who bought it from Lawrence Van Buskirk. Both Van Buskirk and his wife were killed by the Indians, the wife in 1792 and the husband in 1793.

Immediately after his marriage, Mr. Waugh re- moved to what is now Brooke county, W. Va., and purchased from his father-in-law the old frame mill, one of the first operated in that part of the country. This mill stood just where the bridge reaches the south bank of Buffalo creek, after you pass through the first tunnel in going from Wells- burg. Some time before Mr. Moore had attempted to pierce the hill called "the backbone," for a mill race, but the enterprise was abandoned for some years. Mr. Waugh completed this work, and the race is used to this day, as it affords the best water-power in the county. He built two mills, each using a tunnel for a race, and, with these mills, he turned out as much as 10,000 bar- rels of flour in a year, besides manufacturing all his own barrels. He also did a large amount of country work.

He was a man of enterprise, both public and private. He made, at his own expense, two tun- nels for the Wellsburg & Bethany road, both of which are still in use. By these works and the bridges he constructed, generally at his own charges, he greatly shortened and improved the roads of his adopted county. No man, before or since, in his section did so much for the improve- ment of the roads. More than half of his life was passed in Washington county, aud, as much of the grain for his mills was purchased from the farm- ers in that section, he was well-known throughout the county. The old mill books show that much of the wheat brought only 373 cents a busliel, and flour but $2.50 per barrel. Mr. Waugh was also a farmer and stock-grower. Although he began life in narrow circumstances, at the time of his death he was owner of more than 2,000 acres em- bracing some of the best lands in Brooke county. Part of this land extended from a point below Waugh mill for two miles along the pike toward Bethany. He also owned a steam flouring mill in Lagrange (now Brilliant), Ohio. He was an act- ive member of the Presbyterian Church, aud his liberality is still remembered. He offered Dr. John McCluskey a farm of 100 acres if he would

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consent to settle as pastor of the Lower Buffalo Church. It is said that he would make up what- ever was lacking in the pastor's salary, after the other subscriptions had been made. His death occurred at the early age of forty-eight, and, when his career is considered, it is surprising to learn that for fifteen years before his decease he had been a confirmed invalid. He left the reputation of a conscientious, upright man and public-spirited citizen.

JOSEPH WAUGH, the fourth son of the above, was born in Brooke county, Va., in 1835, and received his education in the common schools, West Alex- ander Academy (under Dr. Jolin Mccluskey), Washington College, and the Western Theological Seminary. He graduated with honor from college in 1857, and from the Theological seminary in 1860; was licensed to preach by the Washington Presbytery in 1859, and ordained by the Presby- tery of Mississippi in 1860. For one year, until the outbreak of the Civil war, he preached near Natchez, Miss. His decided Union sentiments brought him North. He then taught two years in Washington College, and two years in the Steuben- ville Seminary, after which he took charge of the Hollidaysburg Seminary, being its first principal. Here he continued eleven years, and, with the as- sistance of his devoted wife, made it one of the leading institutions of its class in Pennsylvania. It is still a flourishing school. On account of ill health Mr. Waugh was forced to relinquish his educational work, and retired to a farm in Dela- ware, where for several years he was interested in fruit growing, and still reads the reports of the peach crop with occasional anxiety.

The subject of this sketch married, April 12, 1864, Miss Arabella S. Todd, sister of A. M. Todd, Esq. She was a native of Kentucky, daughter of the Rev. Andrew Todd and Catherine (Wilson) Todd. Mrs. Waugh was a lady of unusual intelli- gence and accomplishments, whose life was marked by a special spirit of self-sacrifice and devotion to duty. As vice-principal of the Hollidaysburg Seminary, she made many ardent friends, and her character and noble life made themselves felt upon all with whom she came in contact. Fourteen years before her death she received injuries by be- ing thrown from a carriage. From these she never recovered, but bore her suffering with marked pa- tience and resignation, and continued her works of kindness and devotion to the very day of her death, which occurred January 21, 1892. In 1889 Mr. Waugh returned to Washington, Penn., and has since made it his home. He is treasurer of Wash- ington and Jefferson College, does some insurance business, occasionally writes for the papers, is an Independent in politics, and is suspected of having some leanings towards free trade.

A LONZO LINN has been for many years a professor in Washington and Jefferson Col- lege, and is worthy of more than a passing notice in the pages of this biographical record.

This highly esteemed educator is a native of Pennsylvania, born September 26, 1827, in Butler, Butler county. His father was Dr. George Linn, a prominent physician of Butler. He was a native of New Jersey, but removed in early life to Craw- ford county, and there lived on a farm with his widowed mother. When a young man he served as a soldier in the war of 1812, having taken the place of an older, married brother, who was drafted. Afterward he studied his profession, practiced for some time in Kittanning, but finally settled in Butler, where he was much esteemed as a good physician, and an upright citizen, taking an active part in all that promoted public morals and religion. He died in the prime of life in 1834. His wife was Elizabeth Gibson, born in Paisley, Scotland. She was a woman of great intelligence and force of character. After the death of her husband she removed to Allegheny county, in the neighborhood of Monongahela City, and there lived with her three children: Alonzo, Hannah (Mrs. Thomas Manown), and George A. She survived her husband fifty-seven years.

The subject of this sketch, prepared for college at Blake's Academy, in Monongahela City, and was graduated from Jefferson College in 1849. In his career at school and college he attracted the notice of his companions and instructors as a per- son of unusual ability and great aptitude for the acquisition of knowledge. He was modest and retiring, but, notwithstanding, always somewhat prominent for excellence. After leaving college he entered the Western Theological Seminary, at Allegheny, and completed its course, and was licensed by the Redstone Presbytery in 1854. From the seminary he went to the La Fayette College as tutor, served a year, and was promoted to be Adjunct Professor of Mathematics. He resigned this position, and for a short time was principal of an academy in New Brunswick, N. J. This again he left to enter upon a professorship.in Jefferson College, in 1857. At the time of the consolidation of Washington and Jefferson Colleges in 1869, he removed to Washington, and here in addition to being a Professor he was made Vice- President of the college. In all these busy years he has maintained a uniform reputation as an edu- cator, as a teacher and a scholar. He received the degree of Ph.D. from his own college, and that of LL. D., from La Fayette.

On November 17, 1858, Prof. Linn married Rebecca E., daughter of Abram Fulton. Their children are four sons: George S., a druggist in

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Monongahela City; Andrew M., a lawyer in Wash- ington, and Harry H. and Charles F. The Linns and the Fultons for many generations have been Presbyterians, even before their forefathers came from the North of Ireland.

AMES B. KENNEDY, register of wills for Washington county, is descended from rugged Scotch ancestry, and is a grandson of David Kennedy, a weaver, who came to America from the "land of the mountain and the flood " in 1818, making his first home in his adopted country in Philadelphia.

One of his sons, Peter, came, in 1826, to Wash- ington county, from Steubenville, Ohio, where he was first married, there being four children living by this union. Mr. Kennedy's second wife was Mrs. Frances (Anderson) Doyle, of Steubenville, whose father was a soldier of the Revolution at Valley Forge. She had one son by her first mar- riage, William J. Doyle, of Washington. By Mr. Kennedy's second union there are children as fol- lows: John H., deputy sheriff of this county; James B., our subject; Benjamin K., living at Steubenville, Ohio, in the employ of the Pennsyl- vania Railroad Company; Peter G., Margaret O. and Mary F., living at Washington. The mother died in 1876, at the age of fifty years, the father on Jan- uary 2, 1890, in his eighty third year, and was buried in Washington cemetery by Post 120, G. A. R., Department of Pennsylvania, of which he was a member. He was a most patriotic Union man at the time of the war of the Rebellion, and, al- though aged fifty-five years, his military ardor was tired to such enthusiasm that he enlisted in Com- pany K, Eighth Pennsylvania Reserves, and served eighteen months in Mcclellan's Peninsular cam- paign. He commanded the company at Draines- ville and participated in the affair at Richmond. He was injured by a falling limb of a tree which was knocked off by one of the enemy's shells.

James B. Kennedy was born in Washington, Penn., September 6, 1840, and was educated at the common schools, which he attended until he was fourteen years old, when he was apprenticed to the printing business in the Examiner office, serving at this four and a half years; then, in 1859, he commenced to learn the trade of a bricklayer with James Hamilton, and was so engaged when the first gun of the war of the Rebellion was fired at Fort Sumter. On April 15, 1861, at a meeting of the citizens of Washington, in response to Lin- coln's call for 75,000 men, Mr. Kennedy was the first man here to offer his services to the Govern- ment. He enlisted in Company E, Twelfth P. V. I., Col. David Campbell commander, and his first duty was protecting the Northern Central Railroad near Baltimore, Md. At the end of three months

he was discharged, and on August 31, 1861, he re- enlisted, this time in Company A, One Hundredth P. V. I. (" Roundheads "), of which he was ap- pointed fourth sergeant and was promoted to first sergeant. Mr. Kennedy took part in all the en- gagements of his regiment up to and including the siege of Knoxville, when at the assault on Fort Sanders, November 29, 1863, he was shot in the neck and cheek and knocked off the parapet, being badly hurt by the fall. He lay in the hospital at Knoxville until March following, when his father came for him and took him home. He suffered much, and his life was in great danger, as erysipe- las had set in and he was quite blind part of the time; in fact he still suffers from the effects of his wounds. Being unable, on account of his hurts, to follow his trade, bricklaying, he resumed the printing business, and was given the position of foreman in the office of the Examiner, of which paper A. H. Ecker and David F. Patterson were editors; was afterward foreman in the office of the Cumberland Presbyterian, a journal published at Waynesburg, Penn .; then worked on the Washing- ton Observer. On January 16, 1879, he was ap- pointed mail messenger on the Hempfield railroad, making trips from Washington to Wheeling, and when the B. & O. Railroad Co. took that road and extended it to Pittsburgh, Mr. Kennedy's route was also increased. This position he held until the election of Cleveland, and, being a Republican, he resigne 1, as he believed that "to the victor be- long the spoils," and his health being much im- paired, he retired June 6, 1885. On November 8, 1887, he was elected register of wills for three years, his opponent being A. C. Morrow, a Demo- crat. He was re-elected in 1890, to serve to Jan- uary, 1894. On October 15, 1867, he married Mrs. Sarah J. Martin, daughter of Josiah Raw- houser, of Hartford county, Md., who died August 14, 1892, aged eighty-two years. This union was blessed with two children: Fannie H., clerking for her father in his office, and Carrie B., who died in her seventh year. Mr. Kennedy was at one time assistant burgess of Washington borough.

He was commander of W. F. Templeton Post, No. 120, G. A. R., Department of Pennsylvania, and is also quartermaster; he is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and of the Methodist Protest- ant Church. On May 29, 1891, was unveiled, at Knoxville, Tenn., a monument to the memory of Isaac R. W. Garrettson and Aaron Templeton, two members of Company A, 100th P. V. I. ("Roundheads"), who were killed at the time of the attack and repulse of the Rebels on Ft. Sanders, November 29, 1863. William H. Under- wood, present postmaster of Washington, Penn., and our subject were wounded at the same time. Ed Memard Post, G. A. R., of Knoxville, Tenn., performed the dedication ceremony, Mr. Kennedy

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being the only surviving member of Company A who was present.

John H. Kennedy learned the weaver's trade, and when the war broke out served draft notices in Washington county. He has been a deputy sheriff under Sheriffs Smith, Work, Hemphill, Lockhart and Cherry; also worked for a time with Sheriff George Perritt. Mr. Kennedy conducted a grocery business in the county for several years, also served as postmaster at Zollarsville for some time. Before the war he was a Democrat, but since that time he has affiliated with the Republican party. In religious faith he is a member of the Methodist Protestant Church. When a young man he was united in marriage with Minerva Cox, who has borne him four children, viz. : John, Flora, Donnetta and Millie A.

ONATHAN ALLISON. Prominent among the foremost of Washington county's most prosperous and progressive citizens stands this well-known and highly respected gentle- man. He is a native of the county, having been born February 3, 1828, in Chartiers town- ship, his ancestry being traceable to a family who left Scotland for the North of Ireland during the period of religious persecution in their native land.

James Allison, grandfather of our subject, was a native of Ireland, whence he emigrated to Maryland, locating in Cecil county, and thence on October 26, 1773, moved to Washington county, Penn., having purchased from Thomas Moffatt of Cecil county a tract of wild land in Washington county contain- ing 560 acres. This tract Moffatt had acquired by squatter's right, and the first patent for same was made out to James Allison; the farm is now owned and occupied by his grandson, Jonathan Allison. Here the grandfather set to work to carve out a home for himself and family, and great were the hardships he endured and many the dangers he encountered in his herculean task of converting a forest wild into a smiling fruitful farm. Indians and wild animals were numerous and ofttimes aggressive, and many a night did this old pioneer watch with his trusty rifle for the bloodthirsty sav- age and not less ferocious marauding wolf. In fact, after his first visit to his tract of land the In- dians were so hostile that he had to beat a retreat, betaking himself to the " Forks of Yough," as the confluence of the Youghiogheny and Monongahela rivers was then called, but, in 1774, he returned to his new home in strength, some twenty families accompanying him, among whom were the Brad- fords; McDowells, Parks, Scotts, etc. As a haven for the families to retreat to in times of danger, they here built themselves a blockhouse or fort, in which they lived one year, and then erected log cabin, so that they might have individual homes,

and here they endured the many hardships and privations incident to pioneer life, and which were particularly distressing in the northern part of the county. The old frame house, built by James Allison in 1788 or 1789, is still standing in a re- markably good state of preservation.

James Allison was married to Miss Jane, sister of David Bradford, who was prominently connected with the " Whiskey Insurrection " in Pennsylvania, and by this union eight children were born as fol- lows: William, who moved in 1834 to McDonough county, Ill., where he died; James, for fifty years an attorney at Beaver, Penn., now deceased, but whose descendants still reside there; John, who in 1834 went to Illinois, where his descendants are yet to be found; George, who was a merchant in Pittsburgh, Penn., where he died; Thomas, father of Jonathan; David, killed when a youth by kick of a horse; Mary, married to Rev. McIlroy, of New York City, and Rachel, married to Dr. George Craighead, of Washington county. Mr. Allison was a very prominent citizen in his day, having been associate judge of the courts of Washington county in 1786-'87-'88, and in 1789 a member of the Supreme Executive Council at Philadelphia, during which incumbency he voted for the aboli- tion of slavery, the question having, in some con- nection, been brought up in that council, and thus he became one of the first Abolitionists in the county. He was one of the first ruling elders in Dr. John McMillan's church in North Strabane township, one of the first Presbyterian Societies organized in the county. For years he was a trustee of Jefferson College, and strongly advocated the union of the two colleges, Washington and Jefferson.

Thomas Allison, son of this honored pioneer, was born in 1780, in Chartiers township, Wash- ington Co., Penn., where he grew to manhood on his father's farm, helping to clear it of timber and brush. In 1817 he married Mary, daughter of Richard Johnson, of North Strabane township, and ten children came to brighten their pioneer home, viz .: Jane (deceased), James (now in Char- tiers township), William and Richard (both de- ceased), Thomas (in Chartiers township), Jona- than (subject of sketch), David and Joseph (both in Chartiers township), Uriah (deceased), and Mary (in Chartiers township). Of these, James served five years in Company G, One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment, P. V. I. ; he was made a pris- oner at Gettysburg, and held by the enemy two hours, but on account of his having rheumatism was released. The father of this sturdy family died October 21, 1849, at the age of sixty-nine years; the mother, who was a "mother in Israel," a thorough home woman, beloved by all for lier many noble traits, passed from earth in 1884, at the patriarchal age of eighty-six years. Mr. Al-

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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 34

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