USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > Genealogical and personal history of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 13
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(III) John Patterson Thompson, son of Samuel P. and Lavenia (Gormly) Thompson, was born in Big Beaver township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, May 5, 1861. His earlier years were spent in the ordinary manner of a boy in a country town. He attended the public schools, where he obtained a good, practical education, and then learned the blacksmith's trade under the supervision of his father, remaining thus occupied until he was eighteen years of age. He was then employed in a variety of oc- cupations for some time, after which he accepted a clerkship in a clothing store in Pittsburgh, and held similar positions in that city and at Beaver Falls for a period of about twenty years. In July, 1907, he associated himself in a partnership with George C. Veon, the firm name being Thomp- son & Veon. They bought out the business of Bernard Berkman, and conducted it very successfully until January, 1914, when the firm dis- solved, Mr. Thompson continuing under his own name. His stock con- sists of up-to-date clothing of all kinds and men's furnishing goods, and this is displayed in the most novel and attractive manner. Everything possible is done to ensure the comfort and convenience of his patrons, and his customers are among the best in Beaver county. Mr. Thompson and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church, and he is a Republican in political opinion. He is a member of Parian Lodge, No. 662, Free and Accepted Masons, and of Beaver Falls Lodge, No. 348, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Mr. Thompson married (first) November 23, 1892, Zelia, a native of Beaver county, who died November 29, 1911, daughter of George Teets. They had no children. He married (second) February 12, 1913, Mrs. Freda (Hagerman) Corcoran, who had by a previous marriage one son, Edward.
To write of the Copes of Wiltshire, England, and their American COPE descendants, as well as the noble records of the families with
whom they are connected, is a task that might well give the historian pause, for Oliver Cope founded a family that has become very numerous in the United States, and the English ancestors allied them-
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selves with at least two lines of the most noted Norman families. At a very remote period the Cope family held, according to Sir Bernard Burke, in his "Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage," "considerable estates" in Northamptonshire, England, but their early history is unwritten, or lost. "Cope in Domesday signifies a hill," says Mr. M. A. Lower, in his "Patronymica Brittanica," and the name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, perhaps that of some sturdy Thane's house, which had weathered the repeated storms of Norman oppression. Thanes they certainly were and not churls, in the remotest period of their written history, "noble and gentle men," "time whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary."
The first definite record of those of the name is of John Cope, esquire, of Denshanger, county Northants, England, born in the time of Edward III. He was twice high sheriff of the county and was five times knight of the shire in Parliament. He espoused the cause of King Henry IV., and died in 1417. His wife, Joan, died in 1435. He was the father of three sons, John, Stephen, and William, the latter marrying a daughter of William Gossage, esquire, of Spratton.
Alexander Cope, son of William Cope, had a son, Sir William Cope, who married (first) Agnes, co-heir of her father, Sir Robert Harcourt, through whom the Copes trace to a most honored, brave and valiant Nor- man line, the mainstay of their ruler in councils of peace and a tower of strength in his powerful army, which lineally descends from Bernard, a nobleman of the blood of Saxony, who came to Normandy with Rollo, the Viking. Sir William Cope, of Hanwell, county Oxon, Knight, married (second) Jane, daughter of Sir J. Spencer, of Hodnell, Knight.
Stephen Cope, son of Sir William Cope, was esquire of Bedhampton, county Hants, and Sergeant of the Poultry to Henry VIII. and Edward VI. He married Anne, daughter and co-heir of William Saunders, esquire, of Banbury, county Oxon.
Sir Anthony Cope, son of Stephen Cope, of Bedhampton, county Hants, Knight, married Anne, daughter of Sir Humphry Stafford, of Blatherwyke, county Northants, Knight, and here the Copes ally with another ancient line, descended from Malahulc, uncle of Rollo. An early member of the family was Roger de Toeni, who invaded Spain about the year 1010, married a daughter of the Countess of Barcelona, and was killed in battle against William, Duke of Normandy, afterwards King of England, his family being taken captive. His son fought with William, the Conqueror, at Senlac, and was made Baron of Stafford, a hereditary title.
Edward Cope, son of Sir Anthony Cope, was the father of John, who died at Marden, county Wiltshire, England, in 1656. John married Mar- garet and was the father of John, of Chisledon, county Wiltshire, died in 1649. They were the parents of John and Oliver, the latter the American emigrant, with whom the American history of the family begins.
(I) Oliver Cope, the ninth generation of the name of whom there
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is record, but the first on American soil, purchased a tract of land two hundred and fifty acres in extent from William Penn in 1681, and in all probability made settlement with his wife, Rebecca, the following year. His home was on Naaman's creek, near its confluence with the Delaware river, and there he died in 1697. Four of his children survived him: I. William, born about 1672; married Mary -, and presumably had several children, among them Oliver and Rebecca. 2. Elizabeth, mar- ried (first) - Foulk, (second) Hugh Blackwell, of Bethel, and by her first marriage was the mother of several children. 3. Ruth, married Thomas Buffington, of Bradford, and died about 1728. 4. John, of whom further.
(II) John Cope, son of Oliver and Rebecca Cope, was born about 1691, died 2nd month 14, 1773. In the year that he attained his ma- jority, 1712, he purchased two hundred acres of land in East Bradford, erecting thereon a log house which for one hundred and fifty years with- stood the attacks of the elements, an unusual age for a structure of that nature. It is about this time that he is said to have first married, but his wife died soon after the marriage and all record of her is lost, even to her name. He was again married, 9th month 30, 1721, to Charity, widow of John Evans and daughter of Robert and Jane (Chandler) Jefferis, of East Bradford. She was born 4th month 11, 1695, died about 1743, after which John Cope married a third time, this time his bride being Elizabeth Fisher, widow of Thomas Fisher, of East Caln. His third marriage was solemnized 12th month 23, 1748. After his second marriage he united with the Society of Friends and from the time of the establishment of Brad- ford Monthly Meeting, 1737, until his death, he was an active member. Although farming was the occupation in which he engaged most extensively, he appears to have also manufactured malt. His children, all of his second marriage: 1. Hannah, born 4th month 25, 1724, died 10th month 10, 1817; married John Carter. 2. Samuel, born 1726, died 9th month 15, 1817. 3. Mary, born 1728, died 2nd month 6, 1813, unmarried. 4. John, of whom further. 5. Nathan, born 1733, died 12th month 3, 1820; married Amy Bane. 6. Caleb, born 11th month 4, 1736, died 5th month 30, 1824; married Mary Mendenhall. From him are descended the Philadelphia shipping merchants of the name. 7. Joshua, twin of Caleb, died 1818; married Jane Brown. 8. Joseph, born 6th month 1, 1740, died 12th month II, 1820; married Ann Taylor.
(III) John (2) Cope, fourth child and second son of John (1) and Charity (Jefferis-Evans) Cope, was born in 1730, died 7th month 31, 1812. Throughout his entire life he followed the occupation of his ancestors, and was a sturdy, industrious tiller of the soil, unpretentious in his man- ner of life, and a member of the Society of Friends. He married (first) Grace Cloud, (second) Mary Dickinson. He was the father of fifteen children, among whom was Jesse, of whom further.
(IV) Jesse Cope, son of John (2) and Mary (Dickinson) Cope, was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, 9th month 28, 1774. Until he
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was ten years old he lived in the county of his birth, but in 1784 he was brought to Fayette county, where he grew to manhood. Throughout the summer season he followed farming, in winter conducting a district school. He had never had any special training for the pedagogical pro- fession, but in those days students were few and far between and most of the pupils discontinued their studies before reaching very advanced stages. Strength of character and tact were more essential to a school- master of the olden time than depth of scientific knowledge, while in some cases strength of arm was more desirable than either. His mar- riage took place in 1801 and five years later, he, with his family, moved to Ohio, in company with his brother, Caleb, and purchased land near Leetonia in the Steubenville district, Columbiana county. After arriving on the site of his future home his first duty was the erection of a shelter for his family, the material used in the construction thereof being the trees felled to make room for the cabin. No material was wasted or time lost in removing the fallen trees, for no sooner had the crash of the fall ceased to re-echo through the forest than it was followed by a new sound, the sharp ring of the axe hewing out suitable lengths for the little home. The log cabin built on his arrival in the locality was used until 1819, when a larger edifice became necessary. By this time the fortunes of Jesse Cope had so prospered that he was well able to afford the spa- cious, substantial brick building that rose beside his former home, and which is in use at the present time. Like his parents and ancestors, he was a member of the Society of Friends. At his death he was the pos- sessor of two hundred and eighty acres of fertile farm land, although his original tract had contained forty acres more, which he had disposed of at various times.
He married, in 1801, Margaret, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Dixson, of Salem, Columbiana county, Ohio, born 5th month 3, 1738, died 7th month 12, 1852. Children of Jesse and Margaret (Dixson) Cope: I. Elizabeth, born 8th month 4, 1802, died in Ohio, 11th month 26, 1847; married Mahlon Erwin. 2. Mary, born 10th month 3, 1805, died near Waterford, Ohio, 1879; married Joseph Taylor. 3. Hannah, born Ist month 3, 1809, died 7th month 24, 1824, unmarried. 4. Ellis, born first month 19, 1812, died in Columbiana county, Ohio, 1872; married Amy Stratton. 5. Samuel D., of whom further. 6. Ann, born 5th month 10, 1818, died 3rd month 30, 1853, unmarried. 7. Hiram, born 12th month II, 1821, died in Indiana, where he owned a farm, 1903; married Mary J. Way. 8. Lucinda, born 10th month 4, 1829, died in infancy.
(V) Samuel D. Cope, fifth child and second son of Jesse and Mar- garet (Dixson) Cope, was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, May 5, 1815, there died June 24, 1901. He spent his early life on his father's farm, attending the public schools, and when he attained his majority began farming operations independently. Upon the death of his father he re- ceived a share of the old homestead of which Jesse Cope had been the
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original farmer, and by purchasing the interest of a brother became the owner of two hundred and fourteen acres, of which he still held one hundred and forty-five acres at his death. Sheep raising was the busi- ness in which he engaged most extensively and with the greatest success, his large flocks bringing him profitable returns. Not only did he sell the wool that he obtained from his own sheep, but he performed the duties of a middleman between many of his neighbors, whose flocks were not large enough to warrant direct dealings with manufacturers and owners of woolen mills. He was a Republican in politics and an implacable foe of slavery, and hiding places on his farm were often the asylum of terror- stricken negroes flying to the Canadian borders. The family religion was continued in him; his wife belonged to the Methodist denomination.
He married (first) Alice Rogers (of whom further), born in Colum- biana county, Ohio, July 27, 1815, died there February 22, 1864. He mar- ried (second) Mary Kridler, whom he also survived. Children of Samuel D. and Alice (Rogers) Cope: 1. Rufus, born January 4, 1843, died in Chicago, Illinois, June 28, 1910; was a lawyer. 2. Mary Etta, born De- cember 11, 1844, died 1884; married James K. Peirsol, a lawyer, now of Fort Bragg, California. 3. Eliza Cyrena, born July 27, 1846; married Ervin Rogers, who died November 9, 1913, and at the time of his death was living in the state of Washington. 4. Udora, born October 7, 1848; lives, unmarried, in Ohio. 5. Roger, of whom further. 6. Emma, born October 4, 1852, died December 12, 1872. 7. Jeannette, born July 17, 1855, died unmarried in 1885. 8. Amanda, born November 18, 1857; married McNeil, and lives in Lomond, California. 9. Alice Florence, born October 13, 1862; lives unmarried in Leetonia, Ohio.
Alice (Rogers) Cope was a daughter of John and Phoebe (Kimbel) Rogers. John Rogers was a son of George R. Rogers, who was born in Clogher, Ireland, June 17, 1736, died in Columbiana county, Ohio, 1828, at the advanced age of ninety-two years. He was a soldier in the British army and was sent to America in command of a detachment of soldiers to take part in the French and Indian war. For his services in this con- flict he was offered either a cash or land reward. He accepted the money, and returning to his homeland lost it all in an ill-starred business venture. He once more came to America, this time on more peaceful pursuits bent than on the occasion of his first visit, and settled in what later was set up as Fairfield township, Columbiana county, Ohio, where he became the owner of considerable land other than that which he farmed. He married Alice Fife, born December 17, 1751. Children of George R. and Alice (Fife) Rogers: George A., Thomas, Alexander, Mary, Ann, Rachel, John, of whom further; Elizabeth, Hester. John, son of George R. and Alice (Fife) Rogers, was born in Fairfield township, Columbiana county, Ohio, and there grew to maturity, inheriting at his father's death one hundred and eighty acres of the home farm. He here lived until his death, 1851, with his wife, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Children of
Roger Cope
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John and Phoebe (Kimbel) Rogers: 1. Alice, of previous mention, mar- ried Samuel D. Cope. 2. Samuel, died unmarried, aged twenty-six years. 3. Eliza, died unmarried, aged thirty years. 4. Susan, married Solomon Switzer, and died in Ohio, aged about eighty-four. 5. George, died in Salem, Ohio, aged eighty-two years. 6. Rufus, died young. 7. Hester, lives unmarried in Leetonia, Columbiana county, Ohio.
(VI) Roger Cope, fifth child and second son of Samuel D. and Alice (Rogers) Cope, was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, December 8, 1850. He obtained his preliminary education in the public schools and for two years attended Mount Union College. Upon reaching a decision to make the law his life work he began to study for the same with his brother Rufus, later entering the law department of the University of Michigan, whence he was graduated in the class of 1881. He immediately came to Beaver county and for one year was in the law office of Chamberlain & Peirsol, in New Brighton, being admitted to the bar of the county, December 5, 1881. On March 10 of the following year he opened his own office in Beaver Falls and has there practiced continuously since that time. His practice is general in character, cases of all kinds finding their way to his desk, and in the thirty-two years of his residence in Beaver Falls he has gained an admirable reputation as an able lawyer, a citizen of unsurpassed public spirit, and a gentleman of refinement. When to these attributes is added the virtue of his integrity, unimpeachable in all respects, it is plain that in him is found one of the best representatives of the legal profession in the state. For two years he served as solicitor for the council. He is a member of the Beaver County Bar Association, the Knights of Pythias, and the Independent Order of Americans.
Mr. Cope married, June 28, 1894, Mary C. Mercer, a native of Worth- ington, Greene county, Indiana. Children of Roger and Mary C. Cope: Rue Alice, born in June, 1895, a student in the Beaver Falls High School, and Elizabeth Cyrena, born in September, 1900.
TODD The Todd family in America originated with Robert Todd, a native of Brittany, France, and a captain in the Home Guards, who at the overthrow of the government at the time of the in- surrection, hastened from his native land and found a haven in America. He lived and died in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania.
(II) Robert (2) Todd, only son of Robert (1) Todd, the immigrant, removed from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, to Rostraver, Westmoreland county, in the same state, 1779. He settled on a farm located one and a half miles east of Rostraver postoffice and this is now owned by his grandson, also Robert Todd. When he took possession of this property it was a wild tract of land, but he carefully improved it and brought it to a high state of cultivation. He followed agricultural pursuits in con- nection with the conduct of a tannery during all the active years of his
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life, and achieved a most gratifying success. He was an industrious citizen and a man of influence in the community. He was a member of the Society of Friends. His death occurred in 1821, at the age of fifty-eight years. He married Hannah Hammond, born in France, and they had children as follows: Hannah; Polly, married Peter Van Meter, a French- man; Margaret, married John Foot, a descendant of an old Connecticut family; Ann, married John Hasson; Robert, was a farmer of Rostraver township; Daniel, married Elizabeth, daughter of Jonathan and Mary (Har- rold) Merritt; Samuel, a farmer of Rostraver township; James, of fur- ther mention.
(III) James Todd, son of Robert (2) and Hannah (Hammond) Todd, was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, died in Beaver Falls, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, July 13, 1885. He grew to manhood in his native county, and for many years was captain of a steamboat plying between Pittsburgh and New Orleans. He then removed his home to Brownsville, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, where he established himself in the general merchandise business. Still later he removed to Beaver Falls, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in the stove foundry busi- ness in 1870, with which he was identified until his death. He was a Re- publican, and a member of the Presbyterian Church, as was his wife also. He married Elizabeth P. Smith, born in Westmoreland county, Pennsyl- vania, a granddaughter of Bela Smith, who was the first white man to cross the Allegheny mountains. He settled with his family in Westmore- land county. His son, Bela B. Smith, father of Mrs. Todd, was a farmer in Westmoreland county, and an influential member of the community. He was a man of fine education, a large land owner, and served many years as a justice of the peace. He was one of the active supporters of the Whig party. He married Nancy Plummer and they had three children who lived to maturity: Bela B., died on the homestead in Westmore- land county; Elizabeth P., who became the wife of Mr. Todd, as above stated; Margaret, married J. Wesley Douglas, a school teacher, and died in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Todd had children : Emma, widow of Captain W. H. Barclay, now lives in Carlisle, Pennsyl- vania; Bela B., of further mention; James, died at the age of thirteen years.
(IV) Bela B. Todd, son of James and Elizabeth P. (Smith) Todd, was born at Brownsville, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, October 27, 1849. He acquired his education in the public schools, from which he was gradu- ated with honor, and then accepted a position as clerk in a drug store. After his marriage he removed to Beaver Falls, Beaver county, Pennsyl- vania, and established himself in business there independently, being very successfully engaged in this until 1900, when he abandoned it in order to engage in his present line of business. This is the fire insurance and real estate business, and he represents a number of important companies, among them being the following: The Fidelity Phoenix, Fidelity Under-
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writers, Law, Union & Rock, London Assurance Corporation, Keystone Underwriters, and a number of others. His business interests keep him too fully occupied to permit him to accept public office, but he gives his staunch support to the Republican party. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church, and his fraternal affiliations are with the Royal Arcanum and with the Woodmen of the World.
Mr. Todd married, November 19, 1873, Lida A. Morlan, born in New Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and they have children: James, hospital steward at Fort Bliss, Texas, in the service of the United States army; William, connected with the offices of the Union Drawn Steel Com- pany, and lives in Beaver Falls; married, October 14, 1908, Juliet P. Hutchinson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. L. Hutchinson, of Beaver Falls ; they have one child, Lucile H.
John Benjamin Barratt, a prominent real estate man of BARRATT Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, is a member of an English family on his father's side, and of old Pennsylvanian Qua- ker stock on his mother's. His paternal grandparents were and Elizabeth (Hewitt) Barratt, both natives of Lancaster, England, where he was engaged in the manufacture of cotton, and where they were mar- ried. They came to America when their children were still young, upon the representation of their eldest son, who had preceded them. They settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on the north side of the city, and there resided during the remainder of their lives. To them were born four children, as follows: Ezra, of whom further; Annie, who later be- came Mrs. John Nevergold, of Pittsburgh, where she died; Elizabeth, who married Charles Fox, of Pittsburgh, and there died; Emma, married (first) Coates, (second) Exra Cozad, of Sharon, Pennsylvania, where she now resides, his widow.
(II) Ezra Barratt was born in Lancaster, England, and there spent his childhood until he was about twelve or fifteen years of age. He then, in spite of his great youth, sailed for the New World to seek his fortune. Coming to the United States, he settled in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, where he found employment in the Pennsylvania Cotton Company. In this concern he did his work so successfully and gave such eminent satisfac- tion to his employers, that before a great while he was given the position of manager of the company. His own success being so phenomenal, he naturally desired his family to partake of it also, and so persuasive were the accounts which he sent home to England that his entire family, in- cluding his grandmother and a number of his uncles and aunts, joined him in America. The expenses of their passages were all borne by him, and he personally made two trips to England and return, on each occasion bringing over a number of his relatives with him on the return voyage. These and his original voyage made three times in all that he crossed and
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recrossed the Atlantic Ocean. Nor were his travels uneventful. Twice were his ships wrecked off the coast of Newfoundland, and on one oc- casion he was delayed many days until another vessel could be secured On this occasion he was obliged to carry his grandmother ashore. Finally, after many hardships and expenses, they all settled in Pittsburgh, Penn- sylvania, and here another difficulty presented itself. The cotton mills, in which he had been so lucratively employed, closed down and he was ob- liged to seek elsewhere for a means of livelihood for his so greatly en- larged family. His resources were adequate to the situation, however, and he opened a grocery business on the south side of the city, an enterprise in which he prospered greatly and in which he continued for twenty-five years, only leaving it toward the latter end of his life when he removed to a new home on the east side of Pittsburgh, where he passed the few remaining years of his life. He was a very energetic man and one of wide and varied interests. He was a prominent figure in his community and took an active part in politics. He was one of the organizers of the Republican party in 1856 and was an ardent supporter of its policies.
He married Sophia Bamford, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Enick) Bamford. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bamford were of old Quaker stock and both were early settlers in Allegheny county, where they grew up from childhood, and finally met and were married. Mr. Bamford was one of the early blacksmiths of Pittsburgh, and had a shop on Fourth avenue between Wood and Smithfield streets, and there carried on his business for many years, dying finally, about the year 1883, when between ninety and one hundred years old. He was a Republican, and both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. To them were born four children, as follows: John, who served the Union during the Civil War, and died shortly afterwards from the effects; Sophia, men- tioned above; Rebecca, who became Mrs. Joseph Adams, of Pittsburgh; Margaret, now Mrs. John Price, of Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Barratt died, and is survived by Mrs. Barratt, who still resides in Pittsburgh, at the age of eighty years. To them were born four children, as follows: William, who lives with his mother in Pittsburgh, a retired steel melter and twice a widower ; John Benjamin, of further mention; Elizabeth, now Mrs. William Cooper, of Mckeesport, Pennsylvania; Alice, who lives with her mother. (III) John Benjamin Barratt was born June 4, 1859, in Pittsburgh, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. At the age of nine years he began to work in the glass factory there, and later secured a position in the Black Diamond Steel Works, where he remained six years. In the year 1879 he moved to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and there found employment in the Beaver Falls Steel Works, with whom he remained twenty-five years, or until the absorption of the concern by the Steel Trust in 1904. When this occurred he was superintendent of the melting and hammer depart- ment. In 1904, following the closing of his concern, he engaged in a grocery business in which he continued for five years, abandoning it in
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