Commemorative biographical record of Washington County, Pennsylvania, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 86

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 86

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Hill, of Paris, Penn. To this union the following children were born: Elizabeth E., widow of Stephen Peabody; Fanny M., living at home; Sarah J., residing with her parents; William M., agent and operator at Dinsmore Station, P. C. C. & St. L. Ry .; Maggie V., Leona and Halbert, the latter three living at home. After his marriage Robert T. Barbour located in Hanover township, and soon afterward moved to McLean county, Ill., remaining there until 1859, when he returned to Hanover township, and has since been engaged in general farming and stock raising. In 1885 Mr. Barbour was seized with rheumatism, and this un- welcome companion has clung to him so tenaciously that he has been obliged to almost retire from act- ive farm work. Mr. Barbour is gifted with a good memory. He is a pleasant and agreeable com- panion, a good neighbor and valued citizen. In politics he has been a lifelong Democrat.

OHN F. SCOTT was born October 25, 1826, on the farm which is yet his home. He is a son of Arthur Scott, who was born about 1794, in County Tyrone, Ireland.

Arthur Scott married Martha Finton, who was born in Ireland in 1789, and about 1824 they sailed for America. On landing at New York they proceeded to Philadelphia, thence to Wash- ington county, Penn., making a location on the headwaters of King's creek, in Hanover township. He rented property for some time, finally purchas- ing a tract of fifty acres, from the greater part of which the heavy timber had to be cleared away. He possessed but limited means, but finally managed to accumulate sufficient money to place him in comfortable circumstances. He was a member of the Democratic party. He died December 12, 1852, being preceded by his wife October 29, 1852. They are buried in the Pres- byterian cemetery at Frankfort, both having been members of that denomination. They were the parents of the following children: John F., Martha J. (Mrs. Henry Breen, of New Cumber- land, W. Va.), Letitia (wife of Jesse Sleutz, of Jefferson county, Ohio), Eliza (unmarried, de- ceased November 4, 1852, at the age of seventeen years), and Robert (deceased October 26, 1852, aged fifteen years). All the deceased members of the above family passed away within five weeks of each other.

John F. Scott was born on the old farm, attended the rude schools of the period, and con- tinued work on the farm until some time after the death of his parents. On April 25, 1857, he married Mary Ann Lipsey, who, born in 1821, in Ireland, came to this country with her parents in 1823. To this union three children were born, viz .: William McF. (deceased when two years old),

Mary J. (living at home) and Sarah C. (a school teacher, and graduate of the Pennsylvania State Normal School). Mr. and Mrs. Scott have always resided on their present farm, where he follows general farming and stock raising, being an admirer of first-class stock. In politics he is a life-long Democrat, having held numerous offices in Hanover township. On October 18, 1891, he was called to mourn the loss of the wife of his youth, who was buried in the Presbyterian ceme- tery at Frankfort. She was a member of the Presbyterian Church, in which Mr. Scott is an active worker, having held the office of trustee for several years.

AMES WARD, an expert blacksmith, of Cal- ifornia, is a son of William Ward, who was born near Bel Air, Harford Co., Md. In early manhood he learned the blacksmith's trade, and then came to Washington county, Penn., locating in Fallowfield township, and there followed farming in connection with his trade. Prior to locating in -Pennsylvania, William Ward had been a slaveholder, but liberated them after leaving Maryland. He was married to Pleasant, daughter of Henry Speers, of Fallowfield township, and their children were Nancy, Solomon, Wilson, Rebecca, James, Elizabeth, Mary Jane, Amanda, William and Melissa. The father was a Whig and Republican in politics, and in religion was promi- nently identified with the M. E. Church, having served for some time as a local preacher.

James Ward was born March 16, 1826, in Fal- lowfield township, and received his early education in the subscription schools. When he was twenty years of age he opened a blacksmith shop at Twi- light, and six months afterward moved to Green- field, remaining there until 1886, then came to California. On June 15, 1852, he married Sarah, daughter of Solomon Fry, and she has borne him three children, namely: Addison, Alberta (wife of Dr. Letherman) and Laura. Although Mr. Ward had an inclination for the carpenter's trade, circum- stances compelled him to continue in the black- smith's business, and he was obliged to borrow the money with which to purchase his first set of tools. He became an expert in his trade. Originally a Whig, he has been, since the organization of the Republican party, an active worker in its ranks. He and family are members of the M. E. Church.

W ILLIAM RODGERS, a prominent dairy- man and leading agriculturist of Fallow- field township, is a native of the North of Ireland, born in 1828, in County Done- gal. In 1833 his parents, Samuel and Margaret (Cook) Rodgers, also natives of County Donegal,

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WASHINGTON COUNTY.

embarked with their family for America, and after a voyage of seven weeks landed in the New World. Proceeding at once to Pennsylvania, they made a permanent home in Clarion county, where the father followed agricultural pursuits during the remainder of his busy life. He died in 1852, his widow in 1860. Their children were as follows: Elizabeth (wife of Matthew Banks, of Butler county, Penn.), deceased in 1889; Susanna (widow of George Harwood, who died in 1891), living in Pittsburgh, Penn. ; Jane (widow of Robert Banks), living in Butler county, Penn .; Sally (wife of William McElhaney, of Armstrong, Penn.), de- ceased in 1891; Margaret, married to Mr. Robert Gailey, of West Belle Vernon, Penn .; Rebecca, widow of Samuel Rodgers, of Armstrong county, Penn .; Mary (wife of George M. Mckinney), de- ceased in 1886, and William, subject of sketch.

William Rodgers, as will be seen, was five years old when he came with his parents to the United States, and to Pennsylvania. He received his education at the common school, and in the academies of Clarion and Butler counties, after which he commenced farming in Clarion county. In 1863 he removed from there to Fallowfield township, Washington county, where he has since resided. In 1859 William Rodgers was united in marriage with Miss S. E. Sphar, daughter of John and Lucy Ann (Scott) Sphar, of Allen township, this county, and ten children have been born to them, as follows: Myron K., a graduate of Wash- ington and Jefferson College, civil engineer-in- chief of the "Mountain Consolidated Company," in Butte City, Mont., where he has lived since 1886 (in 1892 he married Lucy Joiner); Anna M., a graduate of Washington Female Seminary, married to Dwight Furness, U. S. consular agent for the State of Guanajuato, Mexico, and dealer in high-grade ores, living in the city of Guana- juato; John, a law student, at present residing in Chicago; Samuel Clark, a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University, now secretary and treasurer of " The Furness & Lewis Co.," in Guanajuato, Mexico; William G., attending Washington and Jefferson College; Lillie Gertrude, who attended Ohio Wesleyan University, and is married to Don E. King, a lawyer in Washington C. H., West Va., and Wesley P., Rosetta B., Joseph Henry and Adeline Patti, all four yet under the parental roof. The parents, sensible of the weighty responsibility involved in rearing a large family, and justly appreciating the benefits resulting from a thorough education-to the end of educing and cultivating what is best and noblest in the young mind-have given their elder children more than an average academical and collegiate training, while the younger members have before them similar advantages and blessings. Mr. Rodgers has all his life taken an active interest in educa-

tional matters, and is an especial enthusiast in the common-school system of the present day. When a young man he was the promoter of an academy in Franklin, Penn., and he taught school for some three years with marked success. Politically he votes the Republican ticket, and he and his wife and all their children are members and liberal supporters of the M. E. Church.

SAAC LEADBETER. The life of this gen- tleman is a history in itself, illustrative of what can be attained by indomitable perseverance, a stout heart and a willing pair of hands. He is a son of the rugged and romantic land of the Cymri, having been born in Blaenavon, Mon- mouthshire, South Wales, in 1828. In 1840, then a lad of twelve summers, he came with a brother- -in-law and family to America, the passage across the Atlantic being made in an American sailing ves- sel. Landing in Alexandria, Va., after a voyage of seven weeks and two days, the party proceeded to Washington, D. C., thence by train to Balti- more, from which city they traveled by canal to a place called Trout Run, on the Susquehanna, and from there by stage some twenty-five miles through the wilderness to a small town in Tioga county, Penn., called Blossburg, where they resided three years. At the end of that time they retraced their steps by the same route to Trout Run, and from there journeyed to Pittsburgh by canal. The canal boat which conveyed them was built in three sec- tions, which were taken apart when they reached the Alleghanies, being brought separate over the mountains-five inclines up and five inclines down, into the canal again, and then once more hitched together. They crossed the Allegheny river in the aqueduct, and landed at Bayardstown, near where the Union depot now stands. There they took boat to Young's Landing, on the Mononga- hela, two miles below Greenfield, now called Coal Centre.

At the time of the California " gold fever" Mr. Leadbeter, in company with six others, set out for the new Eldorado in the spring of 1850, taking the overland route, and arriving in Hangtown six months after the day of their starting, many hardships being endured on the journey. After two years' sojourn in the mines, he returned home via the Isthmus of Panama, and in 1856 he re- visited California, traveling by the Nicaragua route, and again remained in the "gold diggins" two years. In 1863 the Smith & Co. Coal Com- pany was organized, the firm being composed of Isaac Leadbeter, L. E. Smith and Edward Blinco, which was dissolved on the death of Mr. Smith in the year 1873. In 1874 a new company came into existence, styled the I. Leadbeter Company, which did business until 1878, and in the following year

y Laadlieter

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WASHINGTON COUNTY.

our subject and family moved to Cherokee county, Kans., but the fascination of his early manhood home still haunted him, and impelled him in 1880 to once more become a citizen of the Keystone State. Up to the year 1880, when he retired from active life, Mr. Leadbeter's occupation was for the most part mining and shipping coal. He began life with a coal pick in his hand, and has felt the cutting edge of poverty's lance; but by industry and perseverance, coupled with sound judgment and solid business principles, he succeeded in con- quering every opposition, and to-day he ranks with the most prosperous men in the land.

In June, 1849, our subject was united in mar- riage with Isabel, daughter of Robert and Mar- garet Smiley, and six children have been born to them-one son and five daughters, viz .: Sarah Crow, wife of John Crow; Nancy, wife of John Young; Robert Leonard, a general merchant of Coal Centre, married to Cora Hicks; Mary Eliza, wife of Jacob Hormell; Harriet Malinda, wife of A. E. Freeman, and Cora Belle, living at home with her parents. The parents have given their children excellent school advantages, and all have been brought up to a Christian life. Mr. Lead- beter's home since 1855 has been in Coal Centre, with the exception of two years he and his family lived in Kansas (as already related), from which place he and the family moved to their present · residence in 1880. In 1858 Mr. Leadbeter united with Pike Run Lodge, No. 491, I. O. O. F., of California, and was one of the organizers and charter members of Vesta Lodge, No. 696, Coal Centre. He has proven a most zealous and active member, and has passed all the Chairs. Mr. Leadbeter has extensive real-estateinterests in the boroughs of California, Granville and Coal Centre. In church affairs he has ever been especially prominent. From the days of his early youth he has been identified with the Methodist Episcopal denomination, and has served in every official capacity, being at the present time district stew- ard. In the Sunday-school he is recognized as a leader, and when the Sabbath day comes Mr. Leadbeter appears in armor, at his post.

It is but fair to add that in business circles few in his line of trade are better known throughout the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys than Isaac Lead- beter, whose name is the synonym for honor and integrity. As a man he is genial as the sunshine, generous to a fault, respected and beloved by all.

S COTT FAMILY. The sons and daughters of Old Erin have ever been among the first to volunteer in any enterprise requiring pluck, fortitude and gallant heroism. It is therefore not surprising, that, in ascertaining thena- tionality of our forefathers, so many of those who first

braved the dangers and privations of pioneer life have been natives of the fair Emerald Isle, small in area, but mighty in the strength of a heroic race. One of their poets aptly expresses the sen- timents of the true Irishman the world over, in the lines:

When Erin first rose from the dark swelling flood, God blessed the green island, He saw it was good. The Emerald of Europe, it sparkled, it shone, In the ring of this world the most precious stone. Arm of Erin prove strong; but be gentle as brave, And uplifted to strike, still be ready to save. Nor one feeling of vengeance presume to defile, The cause of the men of the Emerald Isle.

WILLIAM SCOTT, the great-great-great-great- grandfather of the present generation:

Should auld (relations) be forgot And never brought to mind; Should auld (relations) be forgot, And days of auld lang syne.

William Scott, the progenitor of the family with which this genealogy has to deal (as taken from a late history), was born in Scotland in the latter part of the seventeenth century, the exact date be- ing not known. On account of his loyalty to the principles of the "Church of Scotland," and bitter opposition to popery, he, with many other families of Covenanter sympathies, in order to enjoy peace and safety, was compelled to leave his native land and find a home elsewhere. He accordingly went to the North of Ireland, County Derry. There he laid out a deer park and salmon fishery, as he was a man of considerable wealth (judged by the standard of those days, not of the present). But few details of his life have come down to us, nor do we know when he died, and of his family we have no account, except of one son, Joseph.

Joseph Scott, son of William Scott, was born in County Derry, Ireland, in the early part of the eighteenth century. His children (so far as has been ascertained) were one daughter and five sons, viz .: Mary, William, Zaccheus, Nathan, Samuel and James. He died in Ireland, after which his children emigrated to America, first locating in Lancaster county, Penn., some of them afterward moving to Washington (now Allegheny) county, same State. William (the eldest son) was killed in one of the Indian wars; Zaccheus settled with his brother James, on a farm in Elizabeth township, Allegheny Co., Penn., and all trace of him has been lost; Nathan located in New Jersey, and nothing further has been heard of him except that he had one son; James, the youngest son of Joseph Scott, Sr., when he came to western Penn- sylvania settled in what is known as the " Forks of the Yough " settlement, now Elizabeth town- ship, Allegheny Co., Penn. This farm he after- ward patented, November 9, 1789; part of this farm is now owned by his grandson, Zaccheus Scott. James Scott had eight children, and three

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WASHINGTON COUNTY.

of the sons were in the war of 1812, two of them as captains, one being promoted to colonel (but little further is known of the family connection).

Mary (the eldest child and only daughter of Joseph Scott, Sr.) was married near the year 1760, to James Young, of Lancaster county, Penn. Mr. Young lived on the main road from Philadelphia to Lancaster, and kept an inn at which the wagon- ers stopped on their route. Mr. Young died prior to the year 1780, his wife afterward married John Morgan, and with her eight children came to west- ern Pennsylvania in 1780, and located in what is now Robinson township, Allegheny Co., Penn., near where the fort (afterward known as the "Cowan Fort") was built. She was known to the succeeding generation as Grandmother Morgan, and her descendants as far as known at this writ- ing are 324.

Samuel Scott (son of Joseph Scott, Sr.) was born in County Derry, Ireland, in 1751, and in youth came to this country, first locating in Lan- caster county, Penn. He attended a communion of the Reformed Presbyterian Church at that place, was married about the year 1775, to Eliza- beth Wilson, a sister of Rev. J. R. Wilson, of the same church, and moved to western Pennsylvania, settling on a farm on Mingo creek, Washington Co., Penn. He bought a team of horses in Lan- caster county, a Conestoga wagon and farm imple- ments, and drove through by way of Bedford Springs to the above-named place. There he re- mained until about the year 1795, when he moved to Campbell's run, Washington county (now in Robinson township, Allegheny Co., Penn.), was one of the pioneers of the settlement, and helped to build the Cowan fort, or blockhouse, in which the set- tlers would often leave their wives and children for safety from the Indians. He rented a farm of 331 acres from John Bail, which he afterward bought, in November, 1799, the same for £516 specie, the deed thereof being recorded March 1, 1800. Mr. Scott purchased on May 4, 1805, a farm in Wash- ington county on the headwaters of Miller's run, Mt. Pleasant township, containing 309} acres, for the sum of $2,474 (which farm he afterward willed to his sons John and Joseph), same being the east- ern part of the land granted to Gen. George Wash- ington, owned at that time by Alexander Addison. In the fall of 1805, a communion service was held at the home of Samuel Scott, on Campbell's run, about fifty persons having gathered, most of them coming from a distance. The dwelling was but a log cabin, and consequently the barn floor was covered with straw, over which was spread wagon covers and blankets. Here the guests slept, Mr. Scott lodging with the company, feeding the horses and people. Thursday was kept as a fast day; Friday all the able-bodied men went to work hewing and hauling logs to erect a communion table, seats

and a tent, so that the minister could address the audience, and services were held Saturday after- noon, Sabbath and Monday morning, after which the worshipers returned to their homes.

In 1815 Mr. Scott went on a chase on horseback to the land office at Canton or Mansfield, Ohio, be- ing first of the numerous competitors, and entered a section of land (640 acres) ; he also, at another place entered a half section-in all 960 acres. It was a perilous journey at that time, on account of the Indians. He died in 1819, aged sixty-eight years, owning at the time about 1,600 acres of land. His wife died in 1827, aged seventy-eight years, and they are buried in the cemetery at Union (U. P.) church, in Robinson township, Allegheny county. They were active and influential members of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, in which he was a ruling elder for many years. They raised a family of nine children, all of whom grew to maturity and reared families. Their names are as follows: John, Margaret, Elizabeth, William, Mary, Joseph, Samuel, Nancy and James. His descendants at this writing, as far as known, are 619 in number. Part of the farm or homestead is still owned by Scott connection. The farm on Miller's run he left by will to his two sons, John and Joseph -the north end, 1594 acres to John, and his grand- children still own sixty-five acres of it, and goes by the name of the Scott heirs .- The south end, 150 acres, he left to his son Joseph, and his son James owns and lives on it. Each of the farms have three producing oil wells, some of them, at this writing, producing at the rate of seventy-five bar- rels per hour.

Joseph Scott, son of Samuel, was born in 1786, in Allegheny county, Penn., becoming inured from boyhood to the privations and hardships of the frontier settlements. In 1808 he was married to Margaret McCurdy, of Allegheny county, after- ward settling in Mt. Pleasant township, this county, on the farm afterward left him by his father Sam- uel. She bore him eight children, one of whom, Joseph L. (the only one living), is married and resides in Cecil township. The mother died June 4, 1827, and in 1829 the father was united in mar- riage with Sarah Douglas, who was born in 1795, in Cecil township, this county; she was a daughter, of Patrick Douglas, a native of Scotland, who came with his parents to America when but nine years of age, locating in eastern Pennsylvania, and afterward settling in Cecil township, where he died in his eighty-ninth year. The mother passed away when eighty-eight years old. Joseph and Sarah (Douglas) Scott began married life on his farm (as above mentioned) on Miller's run in Mt. Pleasant township (now occupied by their son James), upon which he erected a good brick resi- dence in 1834. Their children were as follows: Nancy (deceased in infancy), Margaret S. (widow

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WASHINGTON COUNTY.

of James K. Robb, of Jackson county, Kans., who was reared in this county but died in Ohio), Nancy (deceased in 1887), Robert D. (of whom a sketch follows), James (of whom special mention is made further on) and John (living in Mt. Pleasant town- ship, married to Lizzie Bolton). The father was a soldier in the war of 1812, and an influential citizen, having assisted in settling several estates. He was an active member of the Reformed Pres- byterian Church, of which he was ruling elder sev- eral years. He died May 14, 1861, and August 2, 1882, his wife was laid beside him.

ROBERT D. SCOTT, eldest son of Joseph and Sa- rah (Douglas) Scott, was born January 16, 1834, on the old home place in Mt. Pleasant township, where his early education was received. On May 25, 1870, he selected a life companion in the person of Mattie R., daughter of William Thompson. The father was born in Mt. Pleasant township, and was married to Eliza Jane Fleming, a native of the same place. In 1874 they moved to Alle- Allegheny county, Penn., where he passed away in April, 1882. Mrs. Thompson is yet living in that county, and is the mother of twelve children, viz .: Mary (deceased in her twenty-second year), Mattie R. (Mrs. Robert D. Scott), Sarah Ann (wife of Alexander May, of Cecil township), Eliza Jane (Mrs. C. R. Potter, of McDonald, Penn.), Ebenezer (at home), Maria (residing with her mother), Alice (Mrs. Samuel Thompson, of Canonsburg, Penn.), Emma (wife of James Riddile, of Allegheny county, Penn.), William Harvey Smith (living in Mansfield, Penn.), two deceased in infancy, and Joseph (living in Sioux City, Iowa). Since their marriage Robert D. and Mattie R. (Thompson) Scott have resided on the farm in Cecil township, containing 119} acres of well-improved land, upon which he has erected good buildings. Four children have blessed this union: John Herbert, Sarah Elizabeth, one deceased in infancy, and Mary (who died at the age of seven years and six months). Mr. and Mrs. Scott and their two children are members of the Reformed Presby- terian Church, of which he is an elder, and he has also served about thirty-five years as treasurer.

JAMES SCOTT (second son of Joseph and Sarah (Douglas) Scott) was born January 1, 1836, on the home farm in Mt. Pleasant township, this county, receiving his education in the district schools of the neighborhood. In 1867 he was united in marriage with Eliza Thompson, a native of Carroll county, Ohio, daughter of Hance and Eliza (Hen- derson) Thompson. The parents were born in Ireland, emigrating to America in 1830. In 1834 they moved to a farm in Carroll county, Ohio, thence to Harrison county, Ohio, where he died February 9, 1892, having been preceded in 1863 by his wife. She was the mother of the following . children: Sarah (deceased in Carroll county, Ohio,

at the age of ten years), Margaret (deceased in Pittsburgh, Penn. ), George (deceased in childhood), Eliza (wife of James Scott), George (deceased in his eighteenth year), Jane (living in Harrison county, Ohio), Sarah (wife of Joseph Thompson, Carroll county, Ohio) and W. P. (living in Carroll county, Ohio). James and Eliza (Thomp- son) Scott lived on a farm adjoining their present home until 1880, when they removed to the place of 150 acres which they now occupy. The tract has been in the family name since 1805, being originally a part of the George Washington survey. It also contains a producing oil well, which yields from seventy-five to eighty barrels of oil per day. Mr. and Mrs. Scott are members of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, of which he is ruling elder. They have four children, namely: Lizzie H., Sadie B., Ida M. and Jennie A.

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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 86

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