Commemorative biographical record of Washington County, Pennsylvania, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 64

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 64

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HE HALLAM FAMILY. The Hallums de- scended from the middle classes of England, the family there embracing the historian and the poet. From here are descended Governor Helm, of Kentucky, Secretary Bristow, of President Grant's cabinet, President Polk and a long roster on both sides of the waters, who have never broken through the veil of honest obscurity. "Hallam is the proper way to spell the name. The substitution of the 'u' instead of 'a' in the last syllable is a corruption growing out of the freedom incident to backwoods life, and Re- publican simplicity, where heraldry is lost in the common level."

About 1770 two brothers, William and Henry Hallam, cut off from ancestral inheritance by the laws of entail and primogeniture, sought to lay foundations by their own enterprise in a field of more promise and a wider range than England ex- tended to the portionless scions of her gentry and nobility. Imbued with the broadest spirit of re- ligious toleration, so deeply rooted in the institu- tions of Maryland, they first located in Hagerstown, in that colony. Both married and became heads of families. Henry settled in Virginia, William in South Carolina, and there became one of the larg- est planters of his day. Both adhered to the fort- unes of the colonies, and became Revolutionary soldiers. William was captured at the battle of Germantown, October 4, 1777. The British officer, to whom he was delivered after capture, insulted him and slapped him in the face with his sword, but paid the penalty of his temerity with his life, for the brave cavalier shot him dead instantly, and made good his escape. After peace was declared he settled in South Carolina. He was. a cultured gentleman of the old-school brood, enlightened and liberal, and in his will cut through the laws of primogeniture and divided his property equally among a large family of sons and daughters.

In that tide of emigration which came pouring its westward flood across the Alleghanies after the Revolution came William, Henry, John and Andrew Hallam, to the frontier settlement of Tennessee in 1795, and they settled on the historic Cumberland, in what is now designated as Smith county, Tenn., all sons of Henry, the Revolutionary sire; and with them came Rachel, daughter of William, the soldier, and wife of her cousin William, the

pioneer. All were possessed of courage and marked individuality of character, and all were stanch friends and supporters of Gen. Jackson. De- scended from these brothers may be here men- tioned, prominent of the present generation, Sena- tor Hallam, of Kentucky; John Hallam, the jurist and historian, of Arkansas, and a long list of emi- nent lawyers, doctors and divines, besides others previously referred to.

Joseph Hallam (grandfather of the Hallam brothers in Washington), who was descended from the Hagerstown branch, was born on the farm now owned by John G. Clark, of Franklin township, Washington county. His parents had come hither, bringing slaves with them, and died in this county. Joseph entered the hotel business and became pro- prietor of the old "Valentine House" (now the " Allison "), and died in the borough of Washing- ton. He was married in Washington county to a Miss Zediker, and they reared a family of children as follows: Lewis, father of the Hallam brothers of Washington; John, living in South Strabane town- ship, this county; George, deceased; Joseph, who allied himself with the Confederates, and remained in the South; Levina, deceased wife of William Wolf; Elizabeth, deceased wife of James McGui- gan, also deceased; and Mrs. Hamilton Todd, of Richmond, Ind.

Lewis Hallam was a blacksmith by trade, and ran line teams over the National pike from Balti- more to the Ohio river, for the transportation of merchandise, and owned some of the finest teams that ever traveled over the road. He married Rosanna Teagarden, of West Finley township, and they then took up their home in Washington. They reared a family of eleven children, namely: Levina, wife of George H. Thurston, of Washing- ton; Elizabeth, deceased wife of Hon. J. S. Stock- ing; Sophia, widow of George E. Parshall, of Washington; Joseph; George T .; Rosanna, at home; Lewis F .; Finley B .; John W .; Charles F .; and Robert H., all in Washington. The seven brothers in this family comprise the firms of ! R. T. Hal- lam & Sons, general contractors; Hallam Bros., proprietors of livery and dealers in ice, etc; Fin- ley B. Hallam, attorney at law; and Robert H. Hallam, merchant. On November 27, 1876, the father died. At the breaking out of the Civil war he closed his business in Washington and took up the manufacture of wagons for the National Gov- ernment in Wheeling, W. Va. At the close of the struggle he returned to Washington and again built up a large business. He was originally a pronounced Whig, Abolitionist, and later a Re- publican, but was never an active politician. After his death, his widow, with her sons, continued the business until in August, 1891, when she passed from earth.

FINLEY B. HALLAM was born November 25, 1856,

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at Monongahela, Penn., where his parents were living at the time. He was educated at the com- mon schools up to eleven years of age, and then became a clerk at the old news depot for his brother-in-law, J. S. Stocking. He carried a news route and learned telegraphy, the old Pacific & Atlantic Telegraph office being in the same room. J. S. Stocking was the manager, but Finley B. in reality managed the business. After a time he gave up telegraphing, and took the position of line- man, repairing lines half way from Washington to Pittsburgh and Wheeling and Brownsville. He continued in this until the absorbing of the business by the Western Union. He had made up several studies while working, and after ceasing lineman's work he entered (1873) Washington and Jefferson College. Here he remained a short time, and then was with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company, as telegraph operator, at Sandpatch, Connellsville, Broadford and Pittsburgh, in a few months reaching the management of the last office, the most important on the road. Two years later he returned and entered the class of 1879 as Fresh- man, he having made up studies, and at the com- pletion of the year, his funds being gone, he resumed telegraphy. Going to the upper oil country, he took a position in the office of the superintendent of the Columbia Conduit Pipe Line Company,. at Petrolia, filling also a temporary charge of the Pittsburgh and Parker office, of same line. In the winter of 1876-77 he left the Colum- bia Conduit and entered the service of the United Pipe Line (Standard), taking charge of a large pump station at North Washington, Butler county; there he remained a short time, and then went, in the spring of 1877, to the Argyle Pump station, at Petrolia. As the result of the absorption by the "United" of Antwerp, Atlantic and others, in Clarion county, he went to St. Petersburg (same county), headquarters for that district, first as telegraph operator, and then as bookkeeper for the same company. A few months later he was made chief bookkeeper, of eight or ten men. In the summer of 1878, in consequence of the exceptional growth of the Bradford field, the work became too heavy for one office, and so the Bradford field was cut in two, and the headquarters of the second division were made at Olean, N. Y., near the Penn- sylvania line. Mr. Hallam was then called by the general manager of the line to take control of the Olean headquarters, having exclusive charge of all accounts, with a large force of assistants. While his promotion was exceptional, he was the young- est bookkeeper in the business. Having saved sufficient money to see himself through college, and having kept up his reading and study, he re- signed his position in the fall of 1878, returned to college, entering the sophomore class, and fin- ished with the class of 1881. He led his class, but

from some cause, first honor was not awarded him, though second honor was offered him, which he declined to accept, feeling that he deserved first. He was given the salutatory address, but declined to make it, and was consequently suspended for insubordination, his diploma and degree being withheld. A man high in college affairs said to Mr. Hallam: "While first honor had by accident been nominally awarded to another man, yet your classmates, the faculty and everybody connected with the college will ever regard you as first-honor man of the class of 1881."

His funds again gone, and the Mutual Union Telegraph Company having extended a new enter- prise in competition with the Western Union, Mr. Hallam was offered by the officials the position of electrician and circuit manager with control as su- perintendent from Cumberland, Md., to Cincinnati, Ohio, with electrical headquarters at Washington, Penn. Here he remained fifteen months, when he was called to Washington, D. C., and placed in charge of the company's affairs there, and all points from Philadelphia to Cincinnati. He re- mained during the celebrated strike of commercial telegraphers, at the termination of which he re- signed his position, gave up the telegraph busi- ness, and resumed the study of law at Washington, Penn., which he had incidentally pursued while in college. He was admitted to the bar of Washing- ton county, November term, 1884, and has since continued in practice, his office being in the Mur- doch Building. In January, 1885, oil developed, and he engaged in the oil business, leasing many fields, and drilling many wells. He was one of the plaintiffs in the equity suit against the Union Com- pany et al., for the oil rights of the Davis property in South Strabane township, which produced $1,000,000 worth of oil, and which suit is still pending. In the oil business of Washington county, he was in a company composed of leading and wealthy business men.

Politically Mr. Hallam has been a worker in the Republican ranks since a boy, working for his party earnestly; was secretary of the county com- mittee in 1891, and contributed much in time and money to the success of his party nominees. In 1892 he was candidate for the office of district at- torney in Washington county, but the nomination was given to Mr. W. S. Parker, who had served one term. By the House of Representatives of Harrisburg (of 1891 to 1893) Mr. Hallam was elected transcribing clerk of the House, which po- sition he held to the close of the session.

In December, 1890, Finley B. Hallam was mar- ried to Miss Rosa Alba, daughter of Dr. Charles Teagarden, of Tyler, Tex. Her grandfather, Dr. Oswin Teagarden, a double cousin of the mother of Finley B. Hallam, her husband, was general purchasing agent of medical stores for the Southern

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Confederacy, and his most intimate associates and friends were Jefferson Davis and Senator Reagan. Mrs. Hallam's mother was Florence Johnson, daughter of Dr. Johnson, of a well-known Southern family whose ancestry is traced to Dr. Samuel Johnson, the first of all lexicographers. No chil- dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hallam.

JOHN W. HALLAM, general contractor, Washing- ton, was born in that borough, February 24, 1859. At the age of ten years he commenced work as a clerk in a clothing store in his native city, where he remained until he was fifteen years of age, when he embarked for his own account in the general grocery business, being at that remarkably early age proprietor of a store in the borough for about three years. At the end of that time he sold out, and traveling South and West, spent a year from home. At the age of twenty years he began tak- ing upon himself the responsibility of accepting contracts for various improvements in and about Washington, which was the nucleus to his present extensive business in that line. His brother had united with him, and since 1887 the firm name has been "R. T. Hallam & Sons," John W. being general manager and principal of the establish- ment. The line of work engaged in has been chiefly stone foundations, paving, sewer building, etc., and no firm in Washington county is better or more favorably known than this one for thor- ough and reliable work. During the year 1891 they contracted for and completed some 49,000 square yards of street paving, 30,000 feet of curb- ing and nine miles of sewers in the borough of Washington, besides some 5,000 yards of paving in Monongahela, amounting in all to over $200,000 of work.

On February 25, 1887, Mr. Hallam married Miss Katie H., daughter of - and Rebecca Brady, of Washington, and one son, Harold Her- bert, has blessed this union. Mr. Hallam is a Re- publican, and has for six years served as a mem- ber of the borough council, his first election to any office being when he was but twenty-two years of age. Socially, he is a member of the I. O. H. and Jr. O. U. A. M. He has taken an active interest in all movements tending to the advancement of his native town, and has served as one of the di- rectors of the Chamber of Commerce of Washing- ton. As a man of thorough business principle, he is respected by all who know him, and of his per- sonal habits it may be said of him that in no form does he use tobacco, and never during his life has he tasted liquor of any kind.

ROBERT H. HALLAM, merchant tailor, Washing- ton, is a native of the borough, born July 24, 1865. His education was obtained at the public schools of the place, after which for six years he clerked for Thomas Morgan, dealer in dry goods. In 1888 he opened out a merchant tailor-

ing and gents' furnishing establishment in Oak Hall, No. 20 North Main street, Washington, which establishment is allowed to be the best in the place, in that particular line. Mr. Hallam is one of the enterprising business men of Wash- ington, wide-awake and progressive. In politics he is a live, active Republican. In church mat- ters he is an Episcopalian; socially he is a mem- ber of the I. O. H. He lives at the old Hallam homestead on East Beau street.

Lewis F. Hallam, a member of the well-known livery establishment of Hallam Bros., at Wash- ington, was born February 28, 1855, in Washing- ton county, Penn. He learned and followed the blacksmith's trade for several years, then drove teams, and in 1878 embarked in the ice business, shipping from Wheeling, W. Va. On February 7, 1878, he was united in marriage with Jennie, daughter of Hugh Hallam, of Washington county, Penn., and she has borne him four children, as follows: Garnet, Jay, Opal and Baby. In 1880 Mr. Hallam opened the livery establishment, which has been most prosperous, and he has also been interested in oil wells, besides carrying on a busi- ness in sand and stone. In political opinion he is a stanch supporter of the principles embodied in the Republican party, and socially he is a member of the I. O. H.

D ONALDSON FAMILY. A biographical rec- ord of the pioneer residents of Washington county would be incomplete, were not prom- inent mention made of the Donaldson fam- ily of Robinson township, who have been intimately connected with every movement tending to the ad- vancement of the interests and welfare of the com- munity at large. The first member of this prominent family, of which we have a record, was one James Donaldson, who came from Ireland to America in early pioneer times. He settled on a farm in Wash- ington county, and accumulated considerable prop- erty. He left the following children: Thomas, Andrew, John, Richard, and four daughters, the names of two of them being Elizabeth and Jane.

Andrew Donaldson, the second son in the above- named family, was born in 1789, and reared in Washington county, attending school at the log schoolhouse with its slab benches, puncheon floor, greased paper in lieu of window panes, and other primitive contrivances which served to answer the purposes of our modern articles of school furni- ture. In early manhood he married Miss Jane McBurney, who was born May 23, 1793, daughter of John McBurney, a resident of this county. They began wedded life on a farm located midway be- tween Bavington and North Star, where they lived about twenty-nine years and reared children as follows: Sally, Jane, Mary Ann, Elizabeth

James Donaldson

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(deceased), Esther (deceased), James, John M., Mar- garet, Thomas and one deceased in infancy. Andrew Donaldson was a counselor and adviser of the Democratic party, and held several township of- fices. In religious faith he was for many years a member and ruling elder of the Associate Reformed Church, which afterward became a part of the Robinson United Presbyterian Church. He died in 1843, in his fifty-fourth year, deeply mourned by the entire community.

JAMES DONALDSON was born October 25, 1828, on the old homestead in this county, receiving in the country schools the basis of an education which he afterward acquired by private study of all availa- ble and useful books. On March 27, 1851, he was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Bigger (also a resident of this county), born October 25, 1826, a daughter of Samuel Bigger, whose father, Thomas Bigger, came from Ireland in early pio- neer days. James and Elizabeth (Bigger) Donald- son after marriage settled on the Crawford farm, where they still remain. They have had children as follows: Andrew, Samuel Bigger, Jane E., Thomas R., Matthew J. and John M., of whom Samuel B. is married to Miss Jean Newell, daugh- ter of Rev. John Newell, D. D., of Allegheny county, Penn. Mr. Donaldson has been a very successful business man, for one who began life in comparatively ordinary circumstances, and he now owns over 230 acres of very fine land, upon which a beautiful dwelling has been erected. He is an ardent member of the Democratic party. He was the candidate of the Democratic party for Assem- bly: first in 1868, and was defeated by fourteen votes; again, in 1872, he was candidate of same party for same office, but was again defeated, his District being largely Republican. It may be here added that at the time Mr. Craig was nominated, Mr. Donaldson's name was selected by the confer- ees of his own county in connection with the nom- ination for Congress, but he refused to allow it to go before the meeting of conferees, whereupon Mr. Craig's name was selected and made the unanimous choice of the convention. He has served many years as justice of the peace, and has held several township offices. Being a popular and much re- spected citizen, a genial gentleman and sympa- thetic friend, Mr. Donaldson is frequently asked for counsel and advice by many of his acquaint- ances. He possesses deep religious views, a strong personality, and has been a consistent member and liberal supporter of the Robinson United Presby- terian Church.

JOHN M. DONALDSON was born July 25, 1831, on the farm of his father, and grew to manhood, as- sisting with the farm duties. In 1855 he was mar- ried to Miss Martha M. Bigger, and then settled on the farm where they are now living, which in connection with 109 acres presented to them by

Mrs. Donaldson makes them a home of 279 acres. To this union the following children have been born: Andrew, born February 18, 1856; Jane M., born August 20, 1857; Thomas B., born July 28, 1859; Sarah C., born April 16, 1861; Mary E., born January 28, 1864; Emmett T. (deceased), born August 26, 1865; Elizabeth H., born March 3, 1867; James W., born February 16, 1869; Mar- garet B., born February 23, 1870; Richard M., born April 27, 1873, and Holland H., born August 16, 1876. In politics Mr. Donaldson has always been a strong member of the Democratic party, and cast his first vote for Franklin Pierce. He has been an active worker and elder in the United Presbyterian Church for twenty-five years, and is a citizen of whom any community might well be proud.

H AMILTON MCKINNEY BELL, usually known as "H. K. Bell," is one of the most successful farmers and business men of Morris township, Washington county. Ham- ilton Bell (great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch) emigrated from Ireland to America some years prior to the Revolutionary war. His son Hamilton (whose commission is still in the possession of his grandson, Hamilton Mckinney) was an officer in the. Revolutionary army; he mar- ried Miss Mckinney, a Scottish lady. Both father and son died of yellow fever in 1808.

Raphield Bell, father of Hamilton McK. Bell, was born March 7, 1807, in the same house where his ancestors died, in Buffalo township, Washing- ton Co., Penn., on the farm now owned by Thomas Boone. His school advantages were very limited, but by perseverance he managed to secure a fair education for that period, and he subsequently taught school. He learned the trade of a mill- wright, and for some time owned and managed the "Graham Mill," now known as the "Hague Mill," in Buffalo township. He was married to Margaret Woods (born May 15, 1814), of Washington county, Penn., daughter of Nathaniel and Margaret Welch Woods, both natives of Ireland, the former of whom was a soldier in the war of 1812. Raphield and Margaret (Woods) Bell had eight children, of whom the following is a brief record: Hamilton McKinney is the subject of this sketch; Eliza Jane is the wife of James Patterson, of Peters township, this county; Sample Swaney is an invalid, having been injured at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, and is now residing in Claysville, this county; Hazlett M. is an undertaker in Finleyville, Union township, Washington county (was wounded at Chancellors- ville, May 3, 1863, by the explosion of a shell); Joseph Thompson is a carpenter, residing in Clays- ville; R. T. and James M. are millwrights, both also being residents of Claysville; Theodore Fre-

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linghuyson died February 20, 1849, aged one year and nineteen days. The father died August 15, 1872, aged sixty-five years, five months and eight days, and the mother September 30, 1834, aged forty years, four months and fifteen days.

Hamilton Mckinney Bell was born May 30, 1837, in Buffalo township, Washington Co., Penn., near the route of the Hempfield Railroad, now called the Wheeling and Pittsburgh Division of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad. In early life he had learned of his father the trade of a millwright, and from 1853 to 1855 he conducted a grocery store at Ewings Mills, in Chartiers township, now called "Meadow Lands." After leaving the gro- cery business Mr. Bell began to learn more thor- oughly his trade, and followed the business of millwrighting until his enlistment, August 22, 1861, at Wheeling, W. Va., in Company B, First West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry (for three years or during the war; but he served his country three years and five months on his first enlistment), which was led by Capt. Farabee, subsequently by Capt. H. P. Boon; said company was composed princi- pally of men from Washington and Greene coun- ties, Penn. Our subject was a duty sergeant at the organization of said company, and was pro- moted to commissary-sergeant and afterward to quartermaster-sergeant. He was mustered in at Camp Carlisle on the island in the Ohio river, Wheeling, W. Va., and took part in several battles, among which may be mentioned Blumery Furnace, Winchester, Port Republic, second Bull Run, and several other engagements; was taken prisoner at Berlin, Penn., June 30, 1863, by the Seventeenth Virginia Confederate Cavalry, and from there was taken to Gen. Early's headquarters in Berlin, where he was questioned by the General concern- ing the past and present movements of the Fed- erals; but true to the country which was dearer to him than liberty or life, the brave soldier turned a deaf ear to all questions of the Confederate leader, only replying: "I am not commanding the army of the Potomac." He then asked the General if he knew the nature of the oath a United States soldier was required to take, to which the latter replied that he did. Mr. Beli then remarked to the General that it was not befitting either a gentleman or a soldier to endeavor to get a prisoner of war to perjure himself by giving the enemy any intelli- gence of the movements of an army that he knew of; whereupon Gen. Early said: "I will not ask him any more questions." Mr. Bell was then turned over to the Fifth "Louisiana Tigers," and while a prisoner he witnessed the three-days' fight at Gettysburg, employing his time during the first day in helping to dress the wounds of his fellow- prisoners and directing them to hospitals. On the evening of the third day of the battle, he, with about fourteen hundred other prisoners, was sent

under a flag of truce to Carlisle, Penn., arriving within our lines July '4; thence went to parole camp at West Chester, Penn., on July 5, 1863, and finally to Camp Stoneman to be remounted and equipped for duty. He was honorably discharged January 21, 1865, and returning home settled in Prosperity, Morris township, whither he had come prior to his enlistment. Here he resumed his trade of a millwright, but was soon compelled to abandon it on account of ill health, having con- tracted asthma during the war. On June 3, 1868, Mr. Bell was united in marriage with Miss Eliza- beth Ann, daughter of Simeon McClain, of Frank- lin township, this county, who was a son of John McClain, Esq., and brother of James McClain and John McClain, Jr.

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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 64

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