USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of genealogy and biography of the state of Pennsylvania with a compendium of history. A record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Volume I > Part 35
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David S. Bunting. He was born September 19. 1728, and died February 2. 1804. His father having erected the first twisting mill in Pennsyl- vania, he learned the trade of weaver. but. possessing a marked me- chanical genius, he invented the first wire rolling screens and sieves for cleaning grain ever made on this continent. The first wire store in America was in Philadelphia. This invention proved such a success that he abandoned the manufacture of textile fabrics and devoted his atten- tion to wire weaving. He was one of the prominent men of the town. and was elected to serve in the assembly in 1767, holding the office for five terms. On February 26. 1749. he married Miss Ann Gibbons, and the following named children were born to them: Nathan, David. John and George Sellers. 3 David Sellers, maternal grandfather of David S. Bunting. was a native of Upper Darby, and after completing his education he learned the trade of wire worker in Philadelphia, where le erected the first wire-working establishment ever operated in America. His death occurred in 1813. at the age of fifty-six years.
David S. Bunting, son of Josiah and Sarah Bunting, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. September 23, 1820. He was reared on the old Bunting homestead at Darby, Delaware county, to which his parents removed when he was a young child. He obtained his education in the Friends' school at Darby, a boarding school at West Chester, and this was supplemented by a course of study at a college in Wilmington. Delaware. Shortly after completing his studies he was engaged in farming and dairying at Upper Darby, and. meeting with so large degree of success in this enterprise, he remained there for eight years. He then purchased a farm on Chester creek, and pursued the same line of trade until 1862, when he sold his property, located in the city of Chester, and engaged in the lumber business in partnership with Joseph H. Hinkson. This connection continued until the death of Mr. Hink-
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son two years later, since which time Mr. Bunting has carried on the lumber and coal business alone. Ile has the most extensive lumber trade in the city of Chester, and carries constantly in stock the largest assortment of rough and dressed lumber to be found in the locality. He has always been regarded as a careful, conservative business man. whose plans and operations are based upon mature judgment and strict integrity, and his commendable methods have been rewarded with con- spicuous and well merited success. Mr. Bunting is an ardent Republican in politics, and has been several times elected a member of the city council, and his services in that body were recognized as useful and im- portant.
On March 9. 1843. Mr. Bunting married Miss Hannah P. Serrill. a daughter of Benjamin Serrill. a grazier of Darby, Delaware county. Their children are: Sidney P., wife of Joseph W. Sharp, president of the National Bank at Berwyn, Chester county, Pennsylvania ; Elizabeth, wife of J. Charles Andrews, of Darby : and Sarah S., now deceased. who was the wife of Josiah Bunting, chief of the dress-goods depart- ment of John Wanamaker's store in Philadelphia, and who at her death in 1888 left three sons, Joseph S., Sydney S., deceased, and Aubrey R. Bunting. Personally Mr. Bunting is genial and affable, and is very pop- ular with the residents of the community in which he has resided for so many years, and is rightly called one of Chester's foremost citizens.
WILLIAM G. TAYLOR, D. D.
The family of this name originating at Pittsburg, includes four brothers, all of whom achieved brilliant success in various walks of life. One became an author of note. two others were for over forty years prominent in the mercantile world and the fourth was the late dis-
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tinguished minister at Beaver, concerning whose career it is the object of this biography to give full details. He was one of those many-sided characters, abounding in energy and enterprise, who are ever busy with some scheme to elevate humanity and benefit the race and whose pic- turesque personalities are constart sources of absorbing interest. Dur- ing his long and useful carcer Dr. Taylor's mission seems to have been to take hold of what others had either refused to touch or proved un- equal to, or to use an expressive agricultural colloquialism "t : hold up the hard end of the row." And this he did rather from choice than compulsion, apparently liking a task in proportion to the difficulties it presented. If there was an old church somewhere so run down that no other minister would touch it. Dr. Taylor was called ou to lift it out of the Slough of Despond. If some parish had become so involved in debt that there seemed no escape from the bankrupt court Dr. Taylor's persuasive eloquence and boundless vitality were pressed into service to perform that financial miracle of converting a deficit into a surplus. Hopeless congregations, abandoned chapels, discouraged parishes, lan- guishing enterprises of every kind turned instinctively to the evangel of optimism and altruism, whose stock of talismans was apparently inexhaustible. Thus, like "Old Mortality" in Scott's famous novel of that name, Dr. Taylor was constantly going around in search of some- thing that needed restoring; and it was strange if his incisive chisel did not cut the surplus accumulations of moss and restore to legibility what had become undecipherable from neglect.
In 1789 there came to Pittsburg a young Irishman by the name of James Taylor, who had been driven from his native land by the patriotic uprising against England which occurred at that period. He was a druggist by profession, and soon after his arrival set up in that line of business in the city of his adoption. James Taylor was ambi-
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tious. full of nervous energy like most of his compatriots, and was inclined to overtax his strength in his efforts to achieve success in the mercantile world. To this tendency to over-taxation and worry is attributed his somewhat premature death, as the result of which all the family burdens devolved upon his devoted widow. But Margaret Tay- lor assumed the responsibility without flinching, and addressed herself bravely to the task that fate had set before her. Mrs. Taylor is described by those who knew her well as a woman of vigorous and practical mind. with an abundance of good common sense, of devout piety and a strict disciplinarian in the domestic circle. Although she had been the mother of ten sons, six of these had died in infancy, so her maternal cares and anxieties were limited to the remaining four.
William G. Taylor, the member of this quartette with whom this sketch is concerned, was born in Pittsburg, March 3, 1820, and as he grew up was trained in the store with a view to taking his father's place as a druggist. This plan, of course. was defeated by the latter's death. but Mrs. Taylor took pains to see that her boy had the benefits of a busi- ness training. During the intervals between school terms he was kept at work in some mercantile house until he was nine years old, and in later life always found employment during absence from college on vacations. He displayed a natural fondness for teaching. and in this pursuit developed marked talents as a disciplinarian, qualities which proved of use and had more ample scope for exercise at a subsequent period of his career. In 1847 he finished a course at the old Jefferson College. now Washington and Jefferson, and from there went to the Western Theological Seminary, where he was graduated in the class of 1848, and in April of the same year was licensed to preach by the Pitts- burg Presbytery. In 1849 he was ordained as an evangelist by the same religious body, and thus at an unusually early age he was equipped for
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that remarkable work of educating and upbuilding which have been the distinctive features of Dr. Taylor's career. At this formative period he seemed equally well adapted for success in the ministry, secular educa- tional work or in mercantile pursuits, and for awhile he was engaged in the latter line at Pittsburg with flattering prospects, but eventually other ambitions were abandoned for the evangelistic field.
One of the first important engagements was as editor of the Prairie Herald, a paper published at Chicago, Illinois, by a company which also issued two religious weeklies, two dailies, one monthly and two quarterly journals, besides conducting a book store. Aside from his editorial duties Dr. Taylor also assisted the pastor of the Third Presby- terian church, but the labors proved too much for his strength at that time, and he sought that rest which comes from a change of occupation by taking charge of a small congregation in New England. Shortly after, and without any physical improvement, he returned to Pittsburg. and in April, 1851, began work in the Mount Washington district of the city, which laid the foundation for a large and flourishing church. His next call was for half time to a church at Beaver, which had de- clined in membership from one hundred and ninety-six to forty-two. but the Doctor asked for full time and soon had a neighborhood church of three hundred active members gathered into the fold. About the same time the churches at Tarentum and Natrona needed special labor, and the Doctor's specific cures, administered during the following four years, enabled each of these congregations to secure a pastor of its OW'n.
Thus released from an arduous undertaking. Dr. Taylor next turned toward Mount Carmel. Pennsylvania, where a church had been without a pastor for twenty years. This case of religious Ripvanwinkleism was taken in hand by the evangelistic healer in 1861, and after arduous
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wrestling with the problems involved during a period of four years Dr. Taylor was able to report satisfactory progress to the higher author- ities. The pastor of the branch church took the place until the two churches merged into one, secured Rev. R. J. Cummings as pastor at a salary of one thousand dollars per annum, built a new house of worship and started on a new career of prosperity.
But a greater achievement than any of these is yet to be recorded, the achievement par excellence of Dr. Taylor's life and the one on which he might safely rest his fame if all other things were wanting. It was now for the first time in his life that he was to have full opportunity to show his qualities and prove his abilities as an organizer. educator and builder of character.
Being an intensely patriotic man and in full sympathy with the veterans of the Union, his thoughts had often turned upon the physical, moral and educational needs of the soldiers' orphans. At length he broached the question to Colonel Matthew Quay, now senator from Pennsylvania, and in conjunction the two raised twenty thousand dollars as a preliminary fund for buikling an asylum at Phillipsburg. Two hundred and ten acres of land were secured, suitable buildings erected. and in time six hundred orphans were comfortably housed. Of these. two hundred required medical attention at the time of their admission, and it is mentioned as a remarkable fact that only four of the six him- dred died within ten years, and of these three were incurables. Dr. Taylor was appointed principal and chaplain of this eleemosynary insti- tution at its inception, and remained in charge for ten years, from 1866 to 1876, with results that made him famous throughout the state and gained for him the undying gratitude of every old soldier who understood the grandeur of his work. He looked after the mental. spiritual and physical welfare of his wards with a devotion that could not have been
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increased had every orphan in the establishment been his own child. In a lecture delivered to the orphans of this school many years ago Pro- fessor Beamer paid the following tribute to the presiding genius: "In · my entire experience as a public lecturer in the United States, Canada and Europe I have never seen such perfect development of the physical organization as there is in this entire body of the children of the Phil- lipsburg Orphan School under the care of Dr. Taylor, and as is presented to-night by the one hundred and fifty boys and girls here present. I have never seen on both continents such perfect development as is here shown to-night by these attentive children, whose happy countenances testify that this discipline is the result of proper government and not of fear. As a soldier of the war that made them orphans, I am happy to meet them and thrice happy in their home, their training, their education and their preparation for usefulness in life."
Ile was in charge of the churches at Neville and Island, and his next achievement in the role of "Okd Mortality" was in connection with an old (lisbanded church at Concord, now a part of Pittsburg, where there were eleven languid workers and no Sunday-school. Before the Doctor had finished with this moribund congregation he had them completely re- vived and on their feet, built a new edifice and established a new Sab- bath-school, which enrolled two hundred and fifty pupils in four years.
The characteristic trait of Dr. Taylor throughout life was his aver- sion to injustice and iniquity in all its forms, with special horror of slavery as it existed in the south in the bad old ante-bellum days. Im- mediately after the firing on Fort Sumter. in fact, on the very evening of that eventful day, he began recruiting for the mighty conflict which he had long foreseen as inevitable. His labors were directed toward securing a church commission and fund for its support both at home and in the field during the period of hostilities. All his work in this line
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was entirely gratuitous so far as pecuniary compensation was concerned. and it led to good results.
Aside from his main work Dr. Taylor was always a factor in every community where he resided in movements to bring about progress and enterprises of any kind of a beneficial character. Thus we find him one of seven in the organization of the Beaver County Agricultural So- ciety and likewise prominent in establishing the Beaver Female College and Musical Institute. He was also one of the first to advocate the necessity of a county superintendent of schools, conducted the first teachers' institute and took the lead in organizing a Sabbath-school institute. Always an advocate of internal improvements, he was nat- urally found among those who at an early stage of the proceedings pressed the claims of the Pittsburg & Lake Erie Railroad, which after- ward developed into an upbuikling agency of such importance. At a later period Dr. Taylor was a director of the Freedom & Beaver Street Railway Company, served in the same capacity on the boards of the Third National and Germania banks of Pittsburg, and was for many years a member of the Western Pennsylvania Prison Society.
On the 15th of April, 1849, Dr. Taylor was united in marriage with Miss Charlotte, daughter of John and Mary Thompson, of Alle- gheny, and this lady not only proved an ideal wife and mother, but was a co-worker with and great assistant to the Doctor in his many difficult undertakings. A few particulars concerning the children resulting from this union will prove of interest. Mary M., the eldest daughter, is now the widow of C. Martin, formerly a well known attorney, and had two children, William T. and Erwin S. Charlotte E., the second daugh- ter, now deceased, became the wife of T. L. Kerr. James W .. the eldest son, is in the machinist business at Beaver. Ellen S .. the third daughter, married William J. Steward. superintendent and a stock-
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hokdler of the Fallston Fire Clay Company, and they have three children. William J., Herbert T. and Ethel T. John T., the second son, who is a capitalist and real estate dealer of Monaca, married Ida M. MeDonald. and has four children. Jean K., William G., Jr., Vera Me., and Ida M. Hervey J., the youngest son, married Hester L. Potter, and has four children, James S., Harokl .A., Joseph E., and William G., Jr.
It is pleasing to be able to add in conclusion that this philanthropist. while laboring so much for others, succeeded also in laying up for him- self a liberal share of this world's grods, and at his death was in af- fluent circumstances. Being a man of excellent business judgment and trained to estimate values, these qualifications were brought to bear in real estate and other transactions in such a way as to yield large pecun- iary profits. The residence in which Dr. Taylor's family lives is re- garded as the finest at Beaver, and within its portals are all the evidences of refinement which befit such a man and such a family. His fondness for reading and study is proved by the large and well selected library which ornaments the home. and his desire to induce others to love books is shown by the fact that at various times he gave away over one thou- sand volumes of choice literature.
During the last two or three years Dr. Taylor was in feeble health but his energy and vitality continued unabated until within a few months of his demise. He realized the passing away was near, and he gradually faded from earth and was ushered in the brighter home above on Sab bath evening. September 6, 1903. His masterful career extended over nearly eighty-four years of life, and his death was the sign of full fruition and culmination of earthly endeavors.
In the language of a few lines, written by an elder brother, on the death of their mother, we quote:
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"My husband has gone to the land of the blest. On earth we will see him no more, In the mansions of love, his soul is at rest. His sorrows and sufferings are o'er."
The following is extracted from the Beaver Times:
The Rev. Dr. William G. Taylor, aged eighty-four years, died at his home in Third street, Beaver, at 10:50 p. m., Sunday. He had been declining in health for a long time and his death was not unexpected.
Dr. Taylor, during his life, did as much to advance education. elevate the morals and give prosperity to the people under his charge as any man in western Pennsylvania. His intellectual faculties were 1111- usually clear. forcible and powerful, rendering him a superb organizer. He was a natural theologian, minister and teacher. He was a keen judge of human nature and could lay plans and think for others, at- tending to a great variety of affairs at the same time with rapidity and ease, apparently without the least confusion.
The following from the Beaver Daily Star:
Most solemn and impressive, but withal beautiful, funeral ser- vices were held over the remains of Rev. Dr. William G. Taylor at his late home. Third street. Beaver, yesterday afternoon. . \ representative gathering composed largely of ministers and other professional men with a goodly proportion of women, paid their last respects to the deceased divine. A comparatively large delegation of ministers from the Pitts- burg presbytery, who had been associated with Dr. Taylor, were present. and either took some part in the services or acted as honorary pallbearers.
Rev. Anderson made the opening address, which was full of con- solation from the Scriptures and timely admonition. concluding with a loving and eloquent tribute to the memory of Dr. Taylor as a friend. father, counselor, helper and patron.
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Rev. W. G. Chalfant followed with a sympathetic address, setting forth, first. Dr. Taylor's public work and finally his personal character- istics. A kind, loving, serene soul, strong in faith, were the traits dwelt upon. Rev. S. A. Hunter concluded the addresses with some well chosen remarks.
JAMES KENNEDY IRWIN, M. D.
Dr. James Kennedy Irwin, who is well known in Pittsburg as a physician and specialist on diseases of the eye, belongs to one of the very oldest families in this part of the state. It was founded here in the year 1732. the date of George Washington's birth and twenty-four years before that gallant young officer accompanied the ill-fated Braddock expedition toward Fort Du Quesne, which was then the point of vantage in this part of the country and did not receive its name of Pittsburg for more than thirty years. For thirty years after this pioneer Irwin settled there his home was in the center of the mighty conflict between France and England which only ended with the absolute supremacy of the English rule from the Atlantic to the Mississippi. It was also more than forty years before the Declaration of Independence was signed and the revolution begun which was to make this same soil free forever and a part of a sovereign state.
With this historical setting in mind, the reader can better appre- ciate the extreme antiquity ( from an American standpoint ) of the Irwin family's residence in Allegheny county. The pioneer who thus located the family seat over one hundred and fifty years ago was Joseph Irwin, the great-grandfather of Dr. Irwin. He was born in the south of Ire- land in 1710, and in 1732 came to America and took up a tract of land
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in what is now Mifflin township AAllegheny county, Pennsylvania. After obtaining his patents he gave this tract the name of Wormwood Farm, on which he followed the vocation of farmer until his death, which oc- curred in 1790. There his son James Irwin, who was born in 1747. grew to manhood, married Miss Margaret Whittaker, the daughter of a neighboring farmer, and one of the children born of this union was James Harvey Irwin.
James Harvey Irwin, who was, in his day, one of the representa- tive business men of Allegheny county, was born in Mifflin township. September 16, 1825. Wealth was not conferred upon him when he came into the world, but with a determined will he chose to overcome the obstacles that came in his way, and in order to attain the goal of success, of which he estimated the cost so well, he equipped himself for the battle with honesty. frugality and industry. Beginning life as a clerk at two dollars a week, he thus formed the stepping stone to a successful career. and amassed a handsome competence, not in the field of speculation or chance but by hard work and muremitting toil. After his marriage in 1860 he located at East Bethlehem, Washington county, Pennsylvania, whence he came to Pittsburg in 1870. He began dealing in real estate and investing in various enterprises, in which, owing to his business judgment. he was usually successful. He continued in this business all his life, and from the very nature of the occupation formed many ac- quaintances, the large majority of whom became his steadfast friends.
Mr. Irwin was a most congenial and upright man, had a sincere and lasting confidence in those that he could see were making a strong effort to succeed, and this class he was willing to aid and assist at all times and on all occasions. In the great volume of business which he transacted with the rich and poor he was rarely mistaken in his judg- ment as to their being worthy of his confidence. He was suspicious of
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none, and his presumption was that every man was honest until the contrary was proved. Shrewd in his transactions, it would have been difficult to take an undue advantage of him in a business matter, and. being methodic and deliberate, he took time to consider well any and all his acts; notwithstanding, he suffered losses, but was never known once to complain.
An intimate friend said of him, "I have known Mr. Irwin since 1880, and regarded him as a model and upright citizen, well balanced, possessing a strong memory, and was a shrewd business man in the strictest sense of the word. Social and congenial to his friends, unsel- fish to a fault. he always had a desire to help those who would help themselves. To my knowledge many individuals are indebted to him for favers in an opportune time that brought prosperity. He also pos- sessed remarkable courage, was able to decide quickly, and I never knew him to err in his judgment. He lived not alone for himself but for others, and died. as he lived, an honest man."
Mr. Irwin was in life a simple, plain and unostentatious man, loyal and faithful to his friends, and a lover of his home and family. On June 10. 1860, he was married to Miss Eliza West, the daughter of Mathew and Mary West, who were among the carly settlers of the county. To this marriage were born three children: James Kennedy : Ettie M .: and Dessie, who is now the wife of R. L. Thompson, of Ben Avon, Pennsylvania. Politically Mr. Irwin was a Whig in his earlier years. Upon the organization of the Republican party he became one of its stanchest adherents, and remained so until 1872, when he voted for Tilden, and from that time till his death was a supporter of Demo- cratic principles. He was a member of the United Presbyterian church, and died firm in that faith, February 9. 1901. His widow is still living. and is a resident of Ben Avon, a beautiful suburb of Pittsburg.
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