Commemorative biographical record of Washington County, Pennsylvania, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 80

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 80

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John S. Wilgus passed his youth at the old home in Perryopolis, and there received a liberal education. In after life he followed clerking and merchandising. On September 21, 1845, he mar- ried Barbara, daughter of Samuel Hunter, of West- moreland county, Penn., and seven children blessed their union, viz .: T. B., of whom a brief sketch follows; Melissa A. (Mrs. D. M. Hart); Jane (de- ceased); Eva (Mrs. William Beatty); Dora (Mrs. Krepps); Blanche (Mrs. Fred Mason, now Mrs. Crawford), and Etta. Mr. Wilgus was originally a Whig, and cast his first vote for Henry Clay; on the formation of the Republican party, he enrolled himself under its banner, and he was also a mem- ber of the Know-nothing party. He held various offices in different localities: in 1873 he was ap- pointed postmaster at Brownsville, Penn. On coming to Monongahela City in 1880, he embarked

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in the grocery trade, which he conducted until 1890, when he discontinued the business, and was elected an alderman of the city. Mr. Wilgus is an earnest member of the Disciple Church, and takes an interest in all matters tending to the ad- vancement and prosperity of his town, county and State.

T. B. Wilgus was born in Fayette City, Penn., April 12, 1846. Schooling in Brownsville, Penn. He clerked on the steamers "Franklin" and " Telegraph," on the Monongahela river in 1861, 1862 and 1863; clerk of steamer "Mercury " (1864) which was in the Government service, carry- ing troops and commissary stores up the Cumber- land river to Gen. Thomas' army, at Nashville, Tenn. Then steamboated until 1869, on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. In 1870 he married Bessie M., daughter of Jerman Jordan, Esq., and their children were: Maud (deceased), Blanche and Frances. Mr. Wilgus was in mercantile business in Pittsburgh, Indiana and Brownsville (all in Pennsylvania), until 1878. In 1879 he went to Leadville, Colo., and Denver, and made a success of mining. In 1881 he returned, and was an active broker of the Pittsburgh Oil Exchange until 1885. He was proprietor of "Hotel Wilgus," Mononga- hela, for six years, to 1892. He has been a mem- ber of the Masonic Fraternity since 1879, belong- ing to Ionic Lodge, No. 35, A. F. & A. M., of Leadville, Colo.,. Chapter No. 2, Denver; and Com- mandery No. 1, Knights Templar, of Denver, Colo.

S PROWLS FAMILY. Over one hundred years ago there emigrated from Ireland to Pennsylvania two brothers, John and James Sprowls, who, after a short sojourn at Car- lisle, came to Washington county, where James settled on a farm in East Finley township. He mar- ried a Miss Enlow, who had come to America at the same time as her husband, and they had children as follows: Melinda (married to Joseph Martin), Cyrus, Jesse, John, Simeon and James. The father of this family died in East Finley township in 1837, the mother in 1865, at a very advanced age.

Simeon Sprowls, son of the old pioneer James, was born in East Finley township in 1822, and, as he was but a boy when his father died, was taken care of and reared by Albert Squires, in Morris township, where he learned the trade of carpenter. He worked at this throughout the county till 1848, when he bought a farm adjoining the one on which he was born, and during the rest of his life fol- lowed agricultural pursuits. He died in June, 1878, at the age of fifty-six years, of typhoid fever; his widow is yet living on the old home place. Simeon Sprowls was a man above the average; he was well educated, and had, moreover, strong native talents. He was a Democrat in poli-

tics, and held many positions of trust in the com- munity in which he lived. He was married in East Finley township to Mary, daughter of Hugh Montgomery, and the following named children have been born to them: Oliver M., in West Fin- ley township; Albert S., of whom special mention will presently be made; Harvey B., on the old homestead in East Finley; George B., a merchant in Claysville; Ruth E., at home with her mother; Jennie M., married to Christian Plant, of Clays- ville; and William M., at the old home, caring for his widowed mother.

ALBERT S. SPROWLS was born July 3, 1854, in East Finley township, Washington Co., Penn., and was reared on the home farm, attending, during the winter months, the common schools of his dis- trict. At the age of eighteen he commenced study at Waynesburg College, where he spent a few summer seasons, his winters in the meantime being occupied in teaching country schools. In Febru- ary, 1875, he went to Mt. Union College, in Ohio, where he graduated in the classical course in 1877. He had registered as, a law student with Alexander Wilson, Esq., Washington, in 1876, and after graduation read law with him. In September, 1879, he was admitted to the bar of the county, and in 1881 commenced the practice of his pro- fession in Washington, in partnership with T. F. Birch, which continned till 1888, when it was dis- solved by mutual consent. Since then our sub- ject has carried on the business alone. He is a Democrat in politics, and in 1882, when Robert E. Pattison was running for governor, he was chosen chairman of the Democratic County Committee. He worked with unflagging zeal for the cause, and was in every election precinct during that fall. In 1883 he received the nomination for district attor- ney. While at college he was a member of the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, and is also a F. & A. M.

A LBERT OSBORNE WILSON, prominent among Washington county's most success- ful young agriculturists, is a descendant of one of the oldest families in this section.

Benjamin Wilson, the youngest of five brothers, was a native of New Jersey, born June 25, 1751, of Scotch-Irish parentage; he married in 1770, Esther Correll, also a native of New Jersey, born June 29, 1750. The three children by this union were Joseph M., born March 9, 1771; Sarah, born March 10, 1774 (married to one Giles, died March 1, 1846), and Margaret, born September 14, 1778. The mother of these passed away De- cember 16, 1782, and the father married a second time (the full name, date of birth and marriage of this wife are not recorded, but it is known she died February 16, 1811). Nine children were born to . this marriage, two in New Jersey, viz .: Benjamin,

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born January 11, 1788, and Samuel, born July 9, 1790, died June 14, 1818. In 1793 Mr. and Mrs. Wilson came with their children to Washington county, Penn., then a vast wilderness, and entered land'about one and a half miles east of Prosperity, in Morris township, where they set about to pre- pare themselves a comfortable home. Benjamin Wilson was a weaver by trade, which he followed in conjunction with attending to his farm, though the number of inhabitants in the section at that time was not sufficient to give him steady employ- ment in that line. After coming to this county the following children were born to him: Eliza- beth, born September 18, 1794, died December 27, 1859; Jeremiah, born December 11, 1797, died November 8, 1804; Jacob, born August 4, 1800 (no record of death); William B., born April 24, 1803, died November 11, 1804; Esther, born May 19, 1805, died January 19, 1889; Nathan, born July 7, 1807, died March 8, 1853, and John, born February 23, 1810, died April 10, 1811. Esther Wilson (who died in 1889 in her eighty-fourth year) resided with her nephew, John C. Wilson, the father of A. O. Wilson, for thirty-three years, and with A. O. Wilson for the last seventeen years of her life. Benjamin Wilson, Sr., died May 24, 1839, having been bed-ridden for five years. He was married a third time, this wife being Barbara Orr, who died November 29, 1855. She was blind for several years prior to her death. The pioneer Benjamin, made three trips to New Jersey, after locating in Pennsylvania, each trip requiring about twenty-one days, the last being made about 1810. On one occasion he brought back from New Jersey, in the old-fashioned saddle bags, the nails to roof a dwelling which he constructed shortly afterward; they were of the old flat-jointed variety of wrought nails, and may still be found on the premises, now in possession of William Elliott.

Benjamin Wilson, Jr., the eldest child born to Benjamin Wilson and Mary Wilson, was five years of age when his parents removed to Washington county. He learned the trade of a weaver, and was also practically tutored in the knowledge of farm work. On March 8, 1810, he married Mary Pru- den, who was born May 17, 1782, and to their union six children were born: Pruden, John C., Hannah, Gabriel, Mary and Eliza. The mother of these died July 22, 1828, and Mr. Wilson shortly afterward removed to Greene county, Penn., where he married, March 4, 1832, Mary Dewberry, to which union six children were born: Ephraim, Rhoda, Jacob, Luella, Samuel and Sarah Jane, all of whom lived to maturity. The surviving mem- bers of the two families are as follows: Hannah, wife of James Fry, of St. Louis, Gratiot Co., Mich .; Ephraim, of Morris township, Greene Co., Penn .; Rhoda (widow of William Dewberry), re- siding in Virginia; Jacob, a resident of Illinois;

Samuel, living in Nebraska; Sarah Jane living near Jollytown, Greene Co., Penn.

John C. Wilson, the second son of Benjamin Wilson and his first wife, was born May 11, 1816. He received a fair education, and assisted his father on the farm in Greene county. At the age of six- teen years he went to live with and care for his grandfather Wilson, who was growing an almost helpless invalid. After the latter's death (as before mentioned) in 1839, John C. gave his attention to farming, and on January 28, 1846, married Mary O. Wilson, born December 21, 1817, a daughter of John Wilson, of Washington, Penn. They reared a family of five children. viz .: Albert Os- borne; Mary R., born October 5, 1848, married Moses Winget, and resides in Morris township; George M., born July 31, 1851, married Clara Breese, and resides at Lindley's Mill; Oliver, born August 15, 1854, married Viola Hanna, and also resides at Lindley's Mills; Sarah, born July 2, 1858, married Lindley Headley, and resides in Tyler county, W. Va. The mother died February 25, 1863, and the father July 29, 1872. For five years previous to his death Mr. Wilson was totally blind. For twenty years he was an elder in the Pres- byterian Church of Upper Ten Mile at Prosperity.

Albert Osborne Wilson was born December 7, 1846. He received a common-school education, and at the age of eighteen began learning the shoe- maker's trade, at which he worked three winters, assisting his father on the farm in the summer. On June 14, 1868, he married Lavina Sanders, a daughter of Thomas Sanders, of Morris township, and to them three children were born: Isadore, June 21, 1870; Elsie Ann, June 24, 1873, and Edna Viola, January 3, 1880. In 1876 Mr. Wil- son purchased the farm where he now resides, about two and a half miles north of Lindley's Mills, but did not remove there until 1882. He is a successful business man, and a public-spirited citizen. In politics he is a Democrat, and he and his wife and three children are members of the Upper Ten-Mile Presbyterian Church at Pros- perity, of which he has been an elder for ten years. He has now in his possession a hymnbook, bearing publisher's date of 1792, the family Bible and record, which belonged to his great-grandfather, Benjamin Wilson. It bears the name of the book- seller from which it was purchased one hundred years ago, also the cost mark, which was £1 17s. 6d. From this volume the family have obtained an accurate record of the early ancestry of this family.

EFFERSON P. DUVALL. The Duvall fam- ily, of which the subject of these lines is a well-known member, has for many years been closely associated with the progress and im- provement of Washington county.

J.J. Duvall

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Alexander and Elizabeth Duvall were natives of Maryland, descended from French ancestors. They came to America many years ago and located on a farm in Washington county, Penn., where Alex- ander died at the age of eighty-five years. Of his children are named John, David, Jacob, Lewis, Eli, Jehu, Hiram and Elizabeth, all now deceased.

Jacob Duvall was born February 17, 1789, on the old home farm in Washington county, Penn., where he grew to manhood. In 1810 he was married to Jane Patterson, who was born January 29, 1797, and their children were Mary (wife of Moses Bil- ingsley), Harriet (married to Robert Duvall, a resi- dent of Appanoose county, Iowa), Samantha (wife of Lewis J. Weaver, a farmer of East Pike Run township), Jefferson P. (the subject of this sketch), Alexander, Harrison, Emily, Jane, Thomas, Ruth and two unnamed. Of this family are yet living Mary, Harriet, Samantha and Jefferson P. The father was a prominent agriculturist, and died in 1864, the mother having passed away ten years prior to his demise.

Jefferson P. Duvall was born April 10, 1830, in East Pike Run township, Washington Co., Penn., and remained on the old place during his youth, securing a common-school education. In early life he learned and followed the trade of millwright, and then ran a gristmill near Coal Centre for several years. On July 27, 1851, he was united in mar- riage with Sarah Robison, who was born November 9, 1830, in West Pike Run township, Washington Co., Penn., a daughter of Hiram Robison, who was born August 19, 1804, and when a young man was married to Sarah Zook, who was born June 22, 1803. They were the parents of twelve chil- dren, viz .: Thomas, Tyre, Sarah (Mrs. Duvall), Salem, Isaiah, Hannah (wife of Mark Eagye), John, John (deceased), Eliza (deceased), and three who died in infancy. The father, who was a farmer, died September 23, 1890; the mother was laid to rest November 24, 1882; both were members of the M. E. Church, and in politics he was a Democrat. To the union of Jefferson P. and Sarah (Robison) Duvall the following children have been born: Thomas; Jane, wife of Allen J. White; Melissa, wife of John B. Carson; Jacob; Hiram; Ells- worth, and Harrison and Jefferson (twins). Mr. Duvall owns a good farm of one hundred acres, with good improvements thereon, and the place among the old settlers is known as the old Bedall homestead. Mr. Duvall owns 186 acres in another tract in East Pike Run township. In politics he is a Republican, and has served as school director. He is a charter member of the F. & A. M. Lodge, No. 461, Coal Centre, and holds the office of junior warden; his first membership in the Fraternity was in 1862 at Brownsville, Penn. He and his wife are members of the M. E. Church.

J V. REA is a representative of one of the pioneer families of Cross Creek township. Alexander Rea was born in the North of Ire- land about the year 1700, emigrated to Amer- ica and settled on the eastern shore of the Dela- ware, within the confines of New Jersey, in 1734; but it is not known when or where he died or was buried, nor can an account be given of any of his family except his son.

Samuel Rea, son of Alexander Rea, was born in 1734 in New Jersey, soon after the arrival of his parents from Ireland. It was his boast that he was begotten in Ireland, bred on the ocean and born in America. At an early age he settled on Martin's creek, in Lower Mount Bethel township, Northampton Co., Penn., and owned a tract of land lying between Martin's creek and the Great Bethel Church (Presbyterian). He was a colonel in the Revolutionary war, which commenced in 1775. He was married to Ann McCracken, Sep- tember 22, 1761, and to Rebecca Nelson Decem- ber 10, 1782. He died September 19, 1813, in his eightieth year, and was buried in Great Bethel graveyard. The marriage with Rebecca Nelson was without issue, but the following children were born to him by his wife Ann McCracken: William, intermarried with Jane Mason; Sarah, with Robert Lyle; Janet, with Mr. Sillimen; John, with Re- becca Cox; Alexander, with Miss Jones; Isabel, with Jephtha Orison; Mary, with William McKib- ben; Ann, with Rev. George M. Scott, grandfather of ex-President Harrison's wife (deceased). Ann McCracken died March 27, 1781, aged forty-five years.

William Rea, the grandfather of J. V. Rea, was a farmer. He was born in Lower Mount Bethel township, Northampton Co., Penn., September 13, 1762, and was married to Jane Mason January 24, 1788; crossed the Alleghany mountains to Wash- ington county, Penn., in 1789; lived and taught school one winter one and one-half miles west of the town of Hickory, in Mount Pleasant township; in March, 1790, he purchased a tract of land in the adjoining township of Cross Creek, from George Marquis, situated about half way between Cross Creek village and West Middletown, being part of a patent entered by Col. James Marshall. He was appointed and sent as one of a committee of three by the Whisky Insurrectionists in 1794, to meet the United States army at Braddock's Fields, sent for the subjection of the Insurrectionists. He was appointed by the governor of Pennsylvania in 1823, a justice of the peace for the townships of Cross Creek, Hopewell and Mount Pleasant. He died September 28, 1835, aged seventy-four years, and was buried in the Presbyterian graveyard at Cross Creek. The following named children were born to his marriage with Jane Mason: Annie,

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intermarried with David Campbell; William Mason, Sr., with Elizabeth Campbell; Elizabeth, with George Campbell; Sarah, with Rev. Joseph Vin- cent; Rhoda, with Robert Allison; Isabella, with William Beatty; Jane, with Joseph McNary; Samuel, died in 1821, aged twenty-one years; John, died in 1822, aged twenty years; Mary, died in 1806, when sixteen months old; Jane Mason, the mother, died September 18, 1854, aged ninety years.

William Mason Rea, Sr., was born March 16, 1790, in Cross Creek township, on the farm on which he lived and died. His death took place June 27, 1865. He married Elizabeth Campbell December 26, 1811, and to them were born the following children: John C., born March 19, 1813, intermarried with Mary Ann Lyle October 16, 1835; William, born December 19, 1815, un- married; Joseph V., born June 22, 1818, married Eliza Ann McElroy November 26, 1840; Jane, born June 4, 1823, intermarried with Cyrus Wells, De- cember 22, 1842; Elizabeth, born April 19, 1828, married William T. Kerr June 27, 1849; C. C. Rea, born April 28, 1834, married Catherine Cook, November 27, 1856; Mary, born February 21, 1821, died October 21, 1821, and Samuel, born April 1, 1830, died February 1, 1839. William Rea died December 7, 1884; Elizabeth died De- cember 5, 1883; Jane died September 26, 1853; John C. died September 24, 1882. William Ma- son Rea, Sr., died June 27, 1865, his wife, Eliza- beth on August 21, 1868.

John C. Rea's family is as follows: James L. married Lizzie Anderson, to whom one daughter was born (all deceased); William M. married Martha Keys, to whom four daughters were born (after her death he married Nannie A. McElroy, to whom four sons were born); Samuel Jefferson married Sarah Jane Graham, to whom four sons and two daughters were born (one son now de- ceased); Lizzie married D. M. Pry, to whom two sons and three daughters were born (Lizzie is de- ceased); Aaron L. (deceased) married Ageline Keys, and to them one son (deceased) and one daughter were born; Joseph V. (deceased) married Clara White, who became the mother of two daughters; Mary married John Pry, and to them one son and one daughter were born; Alice M. married Ewing McWreath, and they had two sons and one daughter; Eliza A. married J. D. Cook, and had one daughter (now dead) and one son.

J. V. Rea's family is as follows: Alexander M., a physician and surgeon of West Middletown, married Tamer A. Cochran, and had one daughter (wife and daughter are both deceased; by his marriage with Mrs. Coulter three daughters were born, one of whom is dead); William M., married to Maggie J. Acheson, had two sons, Joseph V. and William A. (wife died May 1, 1873); Nancy Jane was married to J. W. McDowell, Esq., and

to her were born two sons, Joseph Rea and John Wilton, and one daughter, Fleda Estella (de- ceased); Jane was married to Cyrus Wells, and had four sons and two daughters (one daughter deceased) as follows: Alexander Franklin, married to Annie Berry, has four sons and three daughters; William, married to Miss Robison, had four sons and one daughter; John, married to Clara Ams- poker, had three sons and one daughter; Joseph, married to Annie Sheppard, had two sons; Ruth A., married to Clinton Morton, had two sons and one daughter. Elizabeth (Rea) Kerr's family is as. follows: Ella Kerr, married to Theodore Camp- bell, had no issue; Isaac Kerr, married to Matilda. Neal, had two sons and one daughter; Elizabeth Kerr had one son and one daughter (deceased). C. C. Rea's family comprised Mary Elizabeth, mar- ried to John N. Smiley (has two sons and two daughters); Florence Ida, married to William Mar- shall (has one son); Winifred Eloine, married to William Buchanan (has two sons and one daugh- ter); Effie Leonin, not married; Charles Maynard, single; Jennie Evelrena, married to Wilmer Cum- mins (had one son and one daughter); Tamer Catherine, Ella Alberta, Iva Viola, all three single.

W H. JONES was born in Monongahela, Penn., January 23, 1848, a son of T. M. and Elizabeth Jones. He is a worthy and intelligent representative of one of the oldest and most prominent of the colored families of the city.

Educated in the schools of his native town, there was developed in him a love for literary pursuits, a result of which is a library of excellence and value, and a well-informed man. In his early days Mr. Jones held various positions in the service of the Pittsburgh & Brownsville Packet Company, but desiring to go into business for himself he resigned and returned to his home, where he has,. in various ways, rendered much service to his people and city. He has been to some extent identified with the politics of his city and county, for several years serving on the county committee, his services being recognized by his election as city clerk in 1887, in 1889, in 1890 and in 1892, a position he has uniformly filled with dignity and credit. In June, 1891, Mr. Jones was nominated by the Republicans for a county office (jury com- missioner), and at the succeeding election, was accorded a handsome majority, leading the entire county ticket.

In 1871 our subject married, but was unfortunate in the loss of his amiable wife in 1889. Two sons, the fruit of this marriage, are living, the eldest, Harry, holding a lucrative position in the Govern- ment service; the younger, Fred, a student in the schools of Brownsville, Penn. A barber by pro-

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fession, Mr. Jones owns the finest equipped parlors in the Valley, doing a prosperous business; in addition to the offices heretofore mentioned, held by Mr. Jones, he is corresponding secretary and member of the board of management of the Western Pennsylvania Charitable Association, correspond- ing secretary First District S. S. Association, and for several years served as on officer in Company F, Tenth Regiment National Guards of Pennsyl- vania. He also is identified with Church and Sun- day-school work. Mr. Jones enjoys the respect and esteem of the community in which he lives, and is recognized as a man of ability, and a good citizen.

OEL PATTERSON BLAYNEY. This gentle- man, one of the wealthy and influential citi- zens of West Finley township, is a lineal descendant of Cadwallader Blayney, a Welsh- man by birth, and a gallant officer in the British army, who for meritorious services to his country was made a general, and soon thereafter was given an estate in Ireland, the mansion on which came to be known as " Blayney Castle," while the new occupant was raised to the peerage with the title of "Lord Blayney." Cadwallader had a brother, whose baptismal name is forgotten, a rector in the Church of England.

John Blayney, grandfather of Joel P., came with his family, in 1795, from his native Ireland to this country, making his first settlement in Ohio county, W. Va. Among his children was one Ed- ward, who was born in the Emerald Isle, in 1785, and, as will be seen, was ten years old when he came to the United States with his father. Ed- ward assisted in the duties of the farm his father had settled on in Ohio county, W. Va., until his marriage with Miss Betsey Potter, of the same county. To this union were born four children, viz .: Joseph, died in West Alexander, Penn .; David, died in Morrow county, Ohio; Matilda, died in Ohio county, W. Va .; and Eliza, died in Mor- row county, Ohio. The mother of these children dying, Mr. Blayney married, for his second wife, Miss Nancy Patterson, of Ohio county, W. Va., daughter of Robert Patterson, a native of Ireland, who came to America in pioneer days, settling in Ohio county, where he passed from earth at the advanced age of ninety-six years. By this union there were eight children, as follows: Robert, married to Jane Campbell, and living in Tuscola, Douglas Co., Ill .; Edward, married to S. J. Pat- terson, and residing in Osage county, Kans. ; Joel, deceased in infancy; Joel Patterson, our subject; Mary Jane, died in Ohio; Isaiah, married to Nancy Floyd, in Nebraska; John McKinley, married to Sarah Jane Wheatley, and living in Washington, Penn. ; William S., married to Anna Robinson, 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 80

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