Commemorative biographical record of Washington County, Pennsylvania, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 57

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 57

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J OHN M. GRABLE is a native of Washington county. Penn., born in Fallowfield township January 2, 1846, a son of Joel, who was a son of John, who was a son of John.

John Grable, his great-grandfather, was born in Washington county, Md .. in 1754, and died in 1785. On December 10, 1779, he was married to

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Salome Hickman, and by her had four children, viz. : Jonathan, Jacob, John and Joseph. The mother of this family died in 1854; she and her husbandlived in Washington county, Pennsylvania.

John Grable, grandfather of John M., was born in Chester county, Penn., in 1787, and died in 1822. He was by trade a tanner, in connection with which he followed farming, being owner of 400 acres of land which had been patented by his father under a Virginia grant, and repatented since the war. He married Miss Mary Carson, a native of Washington county, and four children were born to them: Joel, Jerome, Mary Ann and Julia (married to John McCormick, a farmer of Washington county). Jonathan Grable, a brother of John, was a major in the war of 1812.

Joel Grable, father of Jolin M .. was born in 1819 in Fallowfield township, Washington Co., Penn., where all his school days were passed. In 1842 he married Miss Maria, daughter of John Mitchell, a Washington county farmer, and two sons and five daughters blessed their union, viz. : John M., Julian, Jane, Zidana, Josephine, Rox- anna and Carrie B., the last three named being now deceased. Julian married Angeline, daughter of Henry Fry, a well-known farmer of this county, and two sons and one daughter came by this mar- riage, all living at the home place with Joel Gra- ble, whose wife had passed away in 1888. The farm comprises 150 acres of improved land, and the family own 443 acres further down the river. Joel Grable has served his township in various offices of trust, and was a justice of the peace eight years.

John M. Grable attended the common schools of the district, and worked on the home farm ull- til he came of age. He then embarked in the in- surance business, as solicitor for A. C. Sampson, of Monongahela City, with whom he remained some years; then moved to York county, same State, where he conducted an agency in the same line of business. Returning to Washington county, he started a grocery store at Bentleyville, which be carried on for some years; then moved into Mo- nongahela City and opened an insurance office, where he lias built up a satisfactory and safe busi- ness in both fire and life insurance. On November 25, 1875, Mr. Grable was married to Margaret, daughter of William H. Jones (of whom special mention is here made). They have no children. In politics our subject is a Democrat, and has for many years taken an active interest in the affairs of his party. He has served as mayor of Monon- gahela City several terms.

WILLIAM H. JONES, one of the oldest residents of Monongahela City, was born October 10, 1809, in Somerset township, Washington Co., Penn. His father, William Jones, was born in Baltimore county, Md., in 1763, a son of a resident of the

same State, who was a sailor by occupation and was lost at sea; his children were Mary (Mrs. Joseph Alexander) and William. After the death, by drowning, of her husband, Mrs. Jones married a Mr. Woods, by whom she had two children, Eliza and John; this husband dying, she married, for her third husband, a Mr. Morton. William Jones was reared in his native county, and learned the trade of blacksmith, which he followed for a time in the town of Harper's Ferry. He married Elizabeth McClelland, and to this union were born children as follows: John, Elijah, Ruth, Delilah (married to Rev. James Mills), Jesse Samuel, Re- becca (married to Andrew Mills), Rosanna F. H. (Mrs. Williams), Elizabeth (Mrs. James McCan- ley), Ann (Mrs. John Hess) and William H. The father of this family came to Washington county prior to 1790, and settled on a partly improved farm of 350 acres in Somerset township, which he had purchased. This property he improved, at the same time carrying on a blacksmith shop, where, during the "Whiskey Rebellion," he shod the horses of the cavalry that were sent to suppress the rising: He died in 1863, at the patriarchal age of one hundred years, lacking twenty days. Of the M. E. Church he was long a member, and was frequently elected to office in the same, but whilst truly loyal to his own particular persuasion, lie contributed freely of his means to all churches. "He was strictly temperate in all things, of a quiet disposition, calm in judgment, firm in prin- ciple, inflexible in the performance of all his duties to God and to man as was given him to see right."

William H. Jones received his education at the subscription schools of the neighborhood of his birthplace, and as soon as he was old enough com- menced working on his father's farm, on which he lived and labored until 1886, when he came to Monongahela City, where he has since had his home. On May 1, 18-, he was married to Sarah, daughter of John Fulmer, of Allegheny county, Penn., and the issue of this union are the follow- ing named children: Leonidas, William, Mary (Mrs. William Patton), Kate (Mr. John K. Mc- Millan), Margaret (Mrs. John M. Grable), Albert S., Rose, Frank, Flora, and John S. Mr. Jones is a member of the M. E. Church, in which he held various offices while residing in Somerset township, aud he is now a trustee of the church in Mononga- hela City. Politically, he was a Whig originally, and since the formation of the party he has been a stanch Republican. Of the school board of Som- erset township he was an enthusiastic member. Up to within the past few years Mr. Jones was act- ively engaged in farming pursuits, in which he realized a comfortable competence, and now he is living retired in the enjoyment of peace and quietude.

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OHN C. SLOAN. The most successful men in the arena of life are not usually those who have been reared in the lap of luxury and idleness, but are men who have braved the bitter storms of hardship and poverty, hewing their way through every difficulty to positions of houor and prominence. Among the few who have thus risen from the ranks to places of recognized power and leadership, the Sloan family are most conspicuous.

James Sloan was born in 1776, in County Ty- rone, Ireland, and when a young man was married to Martha Sloan, who was born in 1779, also a na- tive of that county. They were distant relatives, many of the early Sloan family having settled in County Tyrone years before. Mr. and Mrs. Sloan rented a farm of thirty acres, where he became a prosperous farmer, but the tenant system of Ire- land contained many features which no high-spir- ited man could brook with patience. When James Sloan first entered the presence of his landlord, he was required to take off his hat and place it under his arm. He obeyed, but inwardly vowed that never again would he submit to such an order. To quote his own words: "I am willing to remove my hat to superior worth, goodness or mental quali- ties, but not to a man whose sole distinction is his riches." With true Irish independence, James Sloan sold his lease, which was valuable, inasmuch as he was able to employ workmen, while his own time was occupied in attending markets. Deter- mined to seek a home where none could force his fealty or homage, with his wife, her mother, and two children (Jane and John), he set sail from Bel- fast, bidding farewell to one little grave on the soil of old Erin. They touched at Liverpool, and after a six-weeks' voyage arrived at New York. During the trip so fierce a storm arose that the hatches of the vessel had to be battened down, con- fining the passengers below for twenty-four hours. In the meantime a sailor was washed overboard, but was rescued by a comrade. The elder passen- gers were troubled with sea-sickness, but the chil- dren were well, both crew and passengers finally arriving in New York, in the summer of 1804.

The Sloans stopped two weeks with friends, and recruited from the long voyage, then proceeded on their journey, whither, they scarcely knew, but finally paused at Gettysburg, Penn., where they secured a vacant house; the wife and her mother then began to mend their clothing and clean the household effects. It was harvest time, and for three weeks Mr. Sloan assisted the farmer who owned the house. He then secured a horse and cart, packed the household goods, and with the family journeyed westward to Washington county, Penn., where his wife had relatives. A month later they arrived in Hopewell township, this coun- ty, and remained for a time on the farm now owned

by James Maxwell, then the home of an aunt of Mrs. Sloan. On this farm Robert was born Au- gust 8, 1804. Mr. Sloan had obtained a good sum of money from the sale of his property in Ireland, part of which he invested in the farm of seventy- five acres now occupied by his son, reserving tlie remainder for other uses. This land was a portion of the 500-acre tract granted to Col., Chambers, in consideration of his services in the Revolutionary war. A house (the first built of hewn logs) was then erected upon the farm (being considered a very luxurious dwelling in those days), and new settlers beginning to arrive, Mr. and Mrs. Sloan were found congenial associates in their new home. They had both united with the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, and brought their letters with them, which they placed in the Church at Upper Buffalo. After coming to this county, the following chil- dren were added to the family circle: Robert, William, Mary Ann, Margaret, James, Eliza, Mar- tha, one deceased in infancy and John C. (whose name opens this sketch). The father voted the Democratic ticket until 1835, when he joined the Whig party. He died in September, 1851, in his sixty-fourth year; his widow reached her eighty- fifth birthday, and passed away August 18, 1865. Her mother, who had crossed the ocean with her children, lived with a bachelor son in Cross Creek township, this county, until she was one hundred years of age. She then came to live with her grandson, John C., where she awaited the final call, living over again the happy days of child- hood, knowing no care or anxiety, and finally passed away, peacefully as might a child, in her one hun- dred and ninth year.

John C. Sloan was born September 8, 1820, in Hopewell township, this county, being nine years younger than the other children. He passed his boyhood on the home farm, attending the country school, of which he retains a vivid recollection. de- scribing it as follows: "Built of round logs, the crevices chinked with clay; the great fireplace con- structed of the same material, with an old- fashioned stove, so large that it would hold great logs; the seats of hewed slabs without backs, up- on which the luckless urchins sat and dangled their short legs, which in many cases failed by several inches to reach the floor." The first teacher, of whom Mr. Sloan has any recollection, was Joseph G. Chambers, son of Col. Chambers. Joseph G. Chambers was a remarkable man in many ways, possessing unusual intelligence; by self-exertion he won a place for himself beyond the reach of many even at that day. Possessing a wonderfully active brain, he prepared a system of English spelling; he discarded superfluous letters, having published a book to illustrate the plan. But his system was not adopted, the educational world then having had but little idea of phonic

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orthography, which he was one of the first to ad- vocate in America. He was the originator of re- peating guns, and attempted to have his invention patented, but there was much delay and trouble on the part of the Government. Agents of the English Government attempted to get control of the invention, offering a large sum of money. This fact coming to the knowledge of American officials, Mr. Chambers was put under surveillance for treason, being saved from harsh dealing only by the entreaties of influential friends. In the end he met with the fate of many inventors who have trusted the American Government for protec- tion of genius-his invention went begging for recognition. He was a pioneer leader in the now modern fields of literature and education, and, though not a lawyer, was well versed in legal matters, possessing all the legal qualifications of a jurist. In character, Mr. Chambers was, when necessary, stern and unflinching in matters of principle, withal being kind and affectionate in disposition, qualities which are seldom blended in one individual. A man of excellent judgment, and calm, well-balanced mind, he was frequently called upon to settle feuds and differences in his com- munity, his decision being accepted as an ulti- matum.

John C. Sloan appreciated the advantages he enjoyed under the tutelage of so intellectual and cultured a professor, proving himself an apt pupil, and learning invaluable lessons which have greatly influenced his later life. Mr. Sloan's parents planned to give him a classical education as a preparation for professional life, and to that end he was sent, at the age of thirteen years, to an academy at Florence, this county. He remained there eighteen months, beginning a course in Latin literature, but was then obliged to return home and take charge of the farm, leaving his education somewhat deficient. He afterward attended Frank- fort Academy one winter, and has since supple- mented his early training with an extensive course of reading and general information, gleaned from active intercourse with business men. On October 16, 1855, he was united in marriage with Miss Ann Denny, who was born December 21, 1818, in Washington county, Penn., daughter of Robert and Lydia (McManus) Denny, old residents of Washington county, and to their union five chil- dren have been born, namely: James S., Martha Jane, Mary M., Robert D. and Lizzie A. Of this family the eldest son is married and living in Hopewell township; the others are yet residing with their parents.

Mr. Sloan has inherited the characteristic spirit of energy and principles of integrity which are distinguishing traits of the majority of the Scotch- Irish race. He has ever taken an active interest in political matters, being among the first to aid

any progressive movement. In earlier life he was and Old-line Whig, and upon the organization of the Republican party he became an active worker in its ranks. In 1855 he was the first represent- ative elected on that ticket to the General Assembly. He was one of the committee on agriculture, also on banking, and was instrumental in the passage of numerous bills of local interest, transacting a large amount of land-office business for his con- stituents. The principal act of that session of general importance was the sale of the public works, in which Mr. Sloan was actively interested. In 1857 an extra session of the Legislature was called, to consider some method of relieving the great financial crisis of that year, and a bill of relief was passed, after which the Legislature adjourned. To illustrate the financial condition of the country at that time, Mr. Sloan was unable to pay his fare from Washington to Harrisburg with currency issued by any State bank of Pennsylvania, only three of the State banks having withstood the crash, and they had no paper in circulation. After his term in the Legislature had expired, Mr. Sloan determined to retire from public life, declining a renomination as representative, but has continued to serve in township and county offices. He has hell all of the township offices except that of justice of the peace, which he declined. He was school director for twenty years, and served as director of the County Home for twelve consecutive years. He has kept pace with the progressive movements of each year, learning the best methods and systems of carrying on public work. He has visited most of the asylums and almshouses in the State, taking a very pardonable pride in the fact that Washington county is equal if not superior to any other. In his boyhood Mr. Sloan united with the Presbyterian Church, in whose teachings he was reared to manhood, and with his entire family is now connected with the Old Presbyterian Church at Buffalo. He was for many years a inember of the board of trustees, also taking a deep interest in the Sabbath-school, where he has long taught an interesting Bible class.

AMES PATTERSON SAYER, whose name and worth will long be remembered in Wash- ington county, throughout the length and breadth of which he was known and respected,. was a native of the Keystone State, born in the city of Allegheny, August 6, 1845.

He was the eldest son of Henry A. Sayer, who was an Englishman by birth, and was the nine- teenth son in a family of twenty-four children- full brothers and sisters. Henry A. crossed the great waters of the Atlantic, to make a new home on American soil, and whether infatuated with the ocean, or not, the greater part of his life was spent

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on the waters of our most navigable rivers, acting in the capacity of steward. In form he was tall and slender; in religion he was a Protestant, wor- shiping with the Methodist Episcopal denomina- tion. At the age of thirty he was married in Al- legheny to Miss Margaret Boyd Patterson, and to them three children were given, viz .: Eliza R., James P. and Charles B. The duty of rearing these children devolved largely upon the mother, the father being absent from home much of the time. The parents resided in the town in which they were married until 1864, when the mother died and was buried in the Allegheny cemetery, where in the year 1888 kind friends conveyed the remains of the father, and laid them side by side with those of his beloved wife, there to repose un- til the resurrection morn.

James P. Sayer in his childhood was considered rather delicate, and in view of the frequent attacks of disease, the family physician advised that he be sent to the country. Accordingly, when he was four years old his aunt Lizzie Snodgrass took him to their home three miles southwest of Washing- ton, Penn., where he soon outgrew the malady, and developed into the robust boy that he was. While it can be truthfully said of these foster parents that no child received more care and affec- tion than they bestowed upon young Sayer, it can be added that few children were more obedient, loving and kind than was he to them. The following incident relative to the first money he earned may be here related: His uncle owned an interest in a mill, and consequently there was a considerable amount of hauling or teaming. to do which the uncle kept four horses. One morning, when "Jem- mie" (as they lovingly called him) was about ten years old, his uncle offered to advance him 10 cents if he would groom two of the horses, and the lad earned his pay so well that he secured a steady job; for a long time after it was his business to clean two of the horses. while his uncle groomed the other two and placed the harness on all four, the one dime paying for all. At the age of twelve years he was placed on a two-horse wagon, and for two or more years he hauled the coal with which to run the mill.

James P. Saver received a good common-school education, and in his seventeenth year (while a student at Washington College) he enlisted in the war of the Rebellion, entering the service as a cor- poral in 1862. He went out with the One Hun- dred and Fortieth Regiment Pennsylvania Volun- teers. Company C. of which the lamented David Acheson. who was killed at Gettysburg. was cap- tain. He was discharged with the rank of ser- geant, October 25. 1864, on account of wounds received in action. In May, 1863, at Chancellors- ville, he was one of the few who, at the call of Gen. Hancock, volunteered to remove a battery, which

had been a special mark of the enemy, and from which almost all the horses had been shot away. It was a brave deed, and was done by courageous men. At Gettysburg Sergt. Sayer was terribly wounded, receiving two shots in the right arm, one in the left shoulder, and one in the leg, which latter finally led, twelve years later, to the ampu- tation of that limb. From the date he received these wounds he was a great sufferer, compelled to go on crutches, and his friends would naturally suggest that he should have the leg amputated. But he was a man who seldom changed his plans after having come to a decision, and his reply to such suggestions invariably was that when it (his limb) went, he would go with it. Poor fellow, life's prospects did not promise for him much pleasure; indeed, regarding death as only a sweet sleep, he manifested little concern as to whether he lived or died.

After his return home from the war Mr. Sayer taught school for a time at Point Lookout, Amity, and at Baker's school-house. both in this county, and for two years he pursued the study of law un- der the direction of E. M. Sayer, of Waynesburg, completing his course with Alex. Wilson, of the Washington bar, and was admitted to practice December 13, 1869. As a lawyer he was careful, industrious and honest. for which and other reasons he was successful, securing the confidence and respect of the people. his brother practitioners and the court. And he was not only successful in his law practice, but also in his oil ventures, being interested with John W. Donnan and others in some wells at Coffey's Crossing, which paid him handsomely. On August 22, 1879. he was ap- pointed judge advocate of the staff of Gov. Beaver, with the rank of major, serving in that capacity five years. Early in the "seventies" he was elected by the Republicans to the office of county treasurer, and he discharged the duties of that position with entire satisfaction to the county and credit to himself. The success of the Prohibition amendment campaign of 1889, in the county, was largely due to the effective work of Mr. Sayer as county chairman. His stronghold, however, was in the line of memorial and patriotic speeches, and he was always in demand wherever there was a reunion of old soldiers, or when the season for decorating soldiers' graves was celebrated with memorial services.

In October, 1870, Mr. Sayer was married to Mary F .. daughter of Isaac Sharp, a well-known merchant of Washington. Penn .. and one child came to make bright their home, Mary Lavina Boyd Sayer, born September 12, 1876, at present a student at East End College for Women, Pitts- burgh. Penn. About a year after the birth of the daughter, the father was informed that in order to preserve his life, amputation of the wounded

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limb was a necessity; and now with more than self and former friends to live for he yielded to advice and solicitation. His wonderful will power and endurance were shown when that operation was performed; he made all preparations for it him- self, bade his friends "good-bye" pleasantly, say- ing he would not see them for a day or two, and to very few did he tell what was to occur. He placed himself on the operating table, refusing to take any anæsthetic, and directed the operation in a measure himself.

Just eleven weeks before his death he was taken seriously ill while in town, and was at once removed to his home, where he grew worse, his condition indicating an organic change in progress in his brain, the result of wounds received while in the service. Thus he lingered with great suffer- ing, which he bore with true Christian fortitude, until summoned to his long home by the Angel of

Death. At five minutes after 8 o'clock on the evening of Friday, July 22, 1892, in his forty- seventh year. he breathed his last, and the spirit of a worthy man was borne away. Death had no terrors for him, and he passed from things tem- poral to things eternal with his hopes firmly anch- ored to the Rock of Ages. His wife and daugh- ter, and also a brother-Charles, in one of the Government departments at Washington, D. C .-- and a sister-Eliza, the wife of Rev. Edwin R. Jones. a M. E. minister, in Ohio-survive him. Maj. Sayer had resided in Washington until about five years ago, when he purchased the pleasant country home about two miles west of the borough, on the National road.

In the death of James Patterson Sayer the com- munity lost one of its best citizens, for a noble man and valiant soldier had gone from among them. In the Temple of Justice, the Post room of the G. A. R., in church, Sunday-school, and busi- ness and social circles generally, his absence is noted with regret and his departure keenly felt. He was a man of sterling integrity. His views on all moral questions were pronounced, and his acts -public and private-were invariably the consist- ent exercise of the principles of an upright Chris- tian gentleman. If one element in his nature pre- dominated over another, it was the religious sentiment. The following letter written by him on his twenty-third birthday, bears testimony to the deep religious feeling he was possessed of:

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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 57

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