USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > Genealogical and personal history of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 18
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Mr. McCandless married Mary Fox, born in Wurtemburg, Lawrence
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county, Pennsylvania, who lost her parents when she was a very young child. They have had children: Samantha, married Lysle Blanford, and lives in Beaver Falls; Elsie, now attending high school; Ethel, also in high school; Earl; Joy; Edith, at home.
AGEMAN It is not yet a century since the first member of the Ageman family came to America, but their influence has been felt in the business and industrial worlds. John Ageman was born in Germany, and brought to this country those habits of thrift and industry which distinguish the citizens of that land. He made his home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where for many years he followed his trade as a shoemaker, and met with well deserved success. He lived there until about 1900. He was a Democrat in political opinion. He was of a quiet and retiring disposition and took no part in the public affairs of the com- munity. Mr. Ageman married Mrs. Elizabeth (Farmory) Fox, a widow, who was born in Pittsburgh, and died prior to 1900. They had a number of children, those growing to maturity being: John, of further mention; Cath- erine, married Frank Dawson, and lives in Pittsburgh; Annie, married John Brawn, and lives in Pittsburgh; Joseph, who died in young manhood.
(II) John (2) Ageman, son of John (1) and Elizabeth (Farmory Fox) Ageman, was born on South Side, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Febru- ary 7, 1858. He received a good public school education, and at the age of thirteen years commenced working in a glass factory, and has been identified with the glass industry in various capacities since that time. He has seen many changes in this line of manufacture, and the introduction of many inventions, which have been the means of saving both time and labor. In 1878, in association with a few other men, the Beaver Falls Co- operative Glass Company was organized, in which Mr. Ageman has been a director and held other official positions. When this project was first discussed, a committee was chosen to go to Beaver Falls and select a suitable site for the proposed plant. This was decided upon close to the tracks of the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie railroad, as offering the best facilities for the transportation of the manufactured goods, and the neces- sary buildings were constructed there. Mr. Ageman was a leading spirit throughout these proceedings, as indeed he has remained throughout his connection with the enterprise. Since it was first established the plant has more than doubled in size and working capacity, and has proved a most profitable investment. Mr. Ageman has very little time to devote to public matters, but he gives his staunch support to the Republican party. His fraternal affiliation is with the Knights of Pythias. He married (first) in 1883, Sadie Wright, of Wall Rose, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, who died in 1895; his children by his first wife were: Catherine, Seaburn, John E., who died September 29, 1911, and an infant deceased. He married (sec- ond) in 1900, Mrs. Fannie M. (Criswell) Sechler, a member of the Metho-
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dist Episcopal church. By her first marriage to Wesley W. Sechler, of Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, who died in 1894, she had a son, J. Edward.
John Criswell, paternal grandfather of Mrs. Ageman, was born in Ireland and came to this country when he was young. He amassed con- siderable wealth and lived retired from business responsibilities for many years prior to his death. He married, in America, Margaret McClure, born in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania.
James Criswell, son of John and Margaret (McClure) Criswell, and father of Mrs. Ageman, was born in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. Af- ter his marriage he settled on a large farm in Lawrence county, Pennsyl- vania, and his last years were passed with his daughter, Mrs. L. M. Roth, in Butler county, Pennsylvania. He married Jennie Henry, born in Law- rence county, daughter of Judge James Henry, a circuit judge of Beaver county, before the division of Lawrence and Beaver counties. He re- sided in the part set aside for Lawrence county, and there his death oc- curred. James and Jennie (Henry) Criswell had children: Margaret, who died in infancy ; Fannie M, who became the wife of Mr. Ageman, as men- tioned above; Elizabeth, married Dr. L. M. Roth, and lives in Prospect, Butler county, Pennsylvania; Eva Irene, married Charles P. Craig, and died in New Castle, 1904.
EACHEL The name of Eachel, Eachline and Achline, as the original forms of the name were, is one that is well known in the state of Pennsylvania, where the family has been domiciled for a number of generations.
(I) Andrew Eachel was born east of the mountains and from thence came to Hopewell township. There he engaged in farming on the present site of the summer home of Mr. Hoovler. The spot was called Locust Grove, and the farm was kept in a fine state of cultivation. Mr. Eachel purchased this property in 1810. He married Catherine Ardlemoore, and resided on the farm until his death.
(II) Samuel Eachel, son of Andrew and Catherine (Ardlemoore) Eachel, was born 1809, died 1886. He purchased the farm which had been owned by his father, and in addition to managing this he was occupied with the weaving of coverlids. He was very successful in both enterprises, and was highly esteemed in the community. He married Isabella Johnston, born in Hopewell township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, died at the age of sixty-six years.
(III) Charles Eachel, son of Samuel and Isabella (Johnston) Eachel, was born in Clinton, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, October 23, 1844. His education was the limited one which the district schools of that time afforded, but he has amply supplemented it by keen powers of observation, and by keeping himself well posted as to current events. He followed the occupation of farming until he was thirty years of age, at which time he became identified with oil enterprises. He drilled the first well which was
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on his farm and ran the first tank (Hoovler's) from Murdocksville. He also operated oil wells at Marietta, Ohio, and elsewhere, and is still con- nected extensively with this line of industry. He gives his political support to the Democratic party, and he and his wife are members of the United Presbyterian church. Mr. Eachel married (first) Sarah Jane Brunton, born in Greene township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, by whom he had children: Vinnie; Emerson C., see forward; Lillian and Laura, twins; Gertrude. He married (second) 1911, Salina J. (Campbell) Boyd, of But- ler county, Pennsylvania.
(IV) Emerson C. Eachel, son of Charles and Sarah Jane (Brunton) Eachel, received his earlier education in the public schools of Beaver coun- ty, after which he took an extended course at the Commercial College of Beaver under Professor Pollock. His entire business career has been identified with the typewriter industry. His first position was with the old Caligraph Company, in 1891, when he was seventeen years of age. Two years later he was in the employ of the United Typewriter and Supply Com- pany which was organized at that time, and he remained with them until 1900. For a time he was with the Hammond Typewriter Company, then with the Wagner Typewriter Company, after which he formed a connec- tion with the Underwood Typewriter Company, opening an office in Pitts- burgh for them. In 1905 he went to London as assistant general manager of the company and took charge of the foreign department, returning to New York City in 1907. In 1911 he became associated with the Under- wood Standard Adding Machine Company, of which he is vice-president, as general manager, a position he is holding at the present time.
RANSOM The ancestry of the Ransom family traces to Ireland, from which country came the pioneer American of the line herein chronicled, Ira Ransom. He was born in Ireland, and there grew to manhood, coming to the United States soon after attaining his majority. His first permanent abode in this country was in Beaver Falls, which he left for a short time to live in Coitsville, Ohio, later returning to the former place. Contracting was the line of business in which he engaged, and he was responsible for much of the work performed in the construction of the railroad on the east side of the Beaver river. He was a Democrat, ardent and active, and with his wife, belonged to the Meth- odist Episcopal Church. He married Margaret Braden, and had: 1. Mary, died unmarried. 2. Darwin, died in young manhood. 3. Willard, was educated for the ministry and died before being ordained. 4. John, died in young manhood. 5. Alfred, for many years a hardware merchant in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. 6. A child, who died in infancy. 7. Ira, of whom further.
(II) Ira (2), son of Ira (1) and Margaret (Braden) Ransom, was born in Old Brighton (now Beaver Falls), Beaver county, Pennsylvania,
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in 1842, died there in February, 1891. As a boy he attended the public schools of the locality in which he lived, early in life apprenticing himself to the tinner's trade, learning that occupation under the tuition of Henry Hubbard, his first work having been as his father's assistant on the farm in Ohio. After moving to Beaver Falls he continued in the pursuit of his trade in partnership with his brother Alfred, who also conducted a hard- ware store. He married Harriet Celestia, daughter of Henry and Eliza Anne (Robinson) Hubbard, born in Poland, Ohio, October 8, 1844. She is a member of the old Hubbard family of New England, her great-grand- father, Abijah Hubbard, being born at Meriden, Connecticut, October 15, 1741, married Achsa Beckley, born February 5, 1743. Children: Abijah J., born April 23, 1765; John, of whom further; James, born June 25, 1776; Sarah, born February 22, 1780; Harvey, born March 18, 1782; Polly, born November 3, 1785.
John Hubbard, son of Abijah and Achsa (Beckley) Hubbard, was born in Meriden, Connecticut, and there lived his entire life. He married Katie King. Children: Katie, born March 11, 1800; Henry, of whom further; John, Jr., born May 24, 1807; Mary, born February 19, 1810; Harriet, born April 25, 1813, married a member of the Porter family, of New England, and died December 4, 1851.
Henry Hubbard, son of John and Katie (King) Hubbard, was born in Meriden, Connecticut, May 26, 1805, died in May, 1894. He spent his early life in that locality, learned the tinner's trade, and there married. He then moved to Poland, Ohio, where he conducted a hardware store. He prospered in business, employing several novel devices for securing trade, not the least successful of which was his practice of keeping a wagon stocked with his wares constantly on the road, so that the farmers of the countryside should not be overlooked in his list of customers. He married Eliza Anne Robinson, born in Meriden, Connecticut, July 31, 1806, died in Poland, Ohio, October 14, 1860. Children: 1. John, born March 19, 1829, died January 18, 1835. 2. George, born October 6, 1830, died Feb- ruary 7, 1833. 3. George Edwin, born October 31, 1833, an officer in an Ohio regiment during the Civil War, later went to Omaha, engaging in the real estate business and there died. 4. Thalia Maria, born March 8, 1836, died February 25, 1839. 5. John Henry, born August 11, 1838, a tinner, engaged in business in Poland, Ohio, with his father, died about 1893, unmarried. 6. Cyrus Hayden, born February 22, 1841, a school-mate of William McKinley, served in an Ohio regiment with that martyr in the Civil War, and after the conflict moved to Sacramento, California, where he became manager of the hardware business of Baker and Hamilton. He married (first) Pauline Smith, (second) Blanche Cushman, and died in 1906. Children, both of second marriage, Muriel and Hazel. 7. Harriet Celestia, of previous mention, married Ira (2) Ransom. 8. Charles Wesley, born August 10, 1848, died March 27, 1850, the victim of an attack of scarlet fever.
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Eliza Anne Robinson was a daughter of David Robinson, born in 1749, died November 15, 1826. He was twice married, his second wife being Naomi Pease, born in Glastonbury, Connecticut, in 1767, died June 20, 1856. Children of the first marriage of David Robinson: 1. Mary Ann, born February 5, 1770. 2. Lydia, born May 25, 1772, died December 15, 1793. 3. James, born March 8, 1774. 4. David, Jr., born in 1778. 5. Chadwick, born January 13, 1781, died June 12, 1821. He married and had one son: Lester, born December 9, 1810, married, May 26, 1833, Mary Twitchell, of Oxford, Connecticut; children: George Conder, born July 7, 1834; Mark, born September 24, 1835, died March 15, 1836; Nancy, born October 12, 1836; Richard; Bernard, twin of Richard; Martha Jane, born March 16, 1842.
Children of Ira (2) and Harriet Celestia (Hubbard) Ransom: I. Frank H., a tinner, married Mary E. Ferguson, and lives in Moundsville, West Virginia. 2. Frederick W., of whom further. 3. Nancy, married J. E. Nevin, cashier of the Avalon Bank, Avalon, Pennsylvania. 4. Lucy May, married John Renwick Metheny, and lives in Beaver Falls, Penn- sylvania.
(III) Frederick W., son of Ira (2) and Harriet Celestia (Hubbard) Ransom, was born in Beaver Falls, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, Novem- ber 27, 1872. As a youth he attended the public schools of that place, being graduated from the high school. His first business experience was as clerk for the Hartman Manufacturing Company in the capacity of clerk, his next service being with the Peerless Wire Matting Company, with which concern he remained for one year. In September, 1894, he began a lasting association with the Keystone Driller Company, as book-keeper, now round- ing out two decades of employment with that firm. During that time the size of the plant has been increased ten-fold, and as the fortunes of his firm have prospered, so have those of Mr. Ransom, his present position, that of assistant general manager, having been offered him because of his extensive acquaintance with all of the departments of the works and the loyal fidelity that his twenty years of service have shown. His business policy is an aggressive one, always following the lines of progress, and the Keystone Driller Company has reaped a plentiful reward for the trust and confidence placed in his capable hands. The firm manufactures portable well drilling and prospecting machines and Downie deep well pumps. The general offices and shops are at Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, with branch offices in New York City, Chicago, and Carthage, Missouri. They are affiliated with the National Association of Manufacturers.
Mr. Ransom's home is at No. 3233 Sixth avenue, where he and his wife receive their many friends with gracious hospitality. Both are mem- bers of the Reformed Presbyterian Church.
He married, September 13, 1894, Margaret Elizabeth George, born at Cedarville, Ohio (see George). Children of Frederick W. and Margaret Elizabeth (George) Ransom: 1. Frederick Brown, born July 23, 1897.
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2. George Edward, born July 29, 1899. 3. Lynn Hubbard, born June 19, 1903. 4. Robert Willard, born April 28, 1905.
(The George Line.)
Of Scotch-Irish ancestry, the George family is an old one in Pennsyl- vania, the two generations of which full record is given below having lived lives of activity and usefulness, the influence thereof having a telling effect upon the day and generation in which they were placed. Alexander George, grandfather of Henry Hosic George, was a native of Pennsylvania, a farmer, and was twice married. Children of his first marriage: Robert, Thomas, and Michael, all farmers of Jefferson county, Ohio, where they died. Children of his second marriage: William, a merchant of Adams county, Pennsylvania; Polly, married William Story; and Henry Hosic, of whom further.
(II) Henry H., son of Alexander George, was born near Elizabeth, Al- legheny county, Pennsylvania, in September, 1800, died in March, 1875. He grew to manhood on the paternal farm in Allegheny county, attending the district schools as the opportunity presented itself, and upon attaining mature age moved to Jefferson county, Ohio. He there became the owner of a farm, later opening a general store in Cumberland, Muskingum county, Ohio, and in 1840 moving to Locust Grove, Adams county, Ohio, where he established another store of the same nature, likewise purchasing a farm in that locality, which his sons cultivated. He remained in this district for fifteen years, at the end of that time moving to Bellefontaine, Logan county, Ohio, his death occurring in the town of Rushsylvania. Disregarding his lack of early educational advantages, throughout his entire life he was a deep student, and at his death was better informed on general subjects and possessed a better education, in the true sense of the word, than many a man who today carries the diploma of a reputable college. Like most men who are wide readers and earnest thinkers, there were two or three subjects upon which he held strong opinions, and, if the occasion offered, he was not averse to hold forth upon these topics, provided that among his auditors there were some whose views were opposed to his and who would contend his points. He would inveigh with eloquence against the evils of secret organizations, against the holding of slaves and their traffic, or would defend as righteous the existing laws of capital punishment, Being a man of strong likes and dislikes, he was naturally deeply attached to his religion, the Covenanters, and as an elder of that church, was for many years a leader in all of its works, writing many articles for church periodicals, through them becoming known throughout the whole church organization. He married Maria Dolman, a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1802, died in 1849. Children: 1. Mary, died in young womanhood. 2. Michael, deceased, a farmer of Mansfield, Ohio. 3. Alexander, died in boyhood, in Adams county, Ohio. 4. Margaret, deceased, married Wil- liam Copeland, and lived in Adams county, Ohio. 5. Joanna, died unmar- ried, aged seventy years, having been for many years an invalid. 6. William,
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deceased, a merchant, for some time was his father's partner in the mer- cantile business at Rushsylvania, Ohio. 7. Elizabeth, died young. 8. John, a farmer, lived in Cedarville, Ohio, died aged eighty-two years. 9. Sarah, married Joseph A. Torrens. Two of her children, one a daughter, Jennie, became missionaries, both offering their services in China. 10. Henry Hosic, of whom further. 11. Maria, married a Mr. Gabel, and lives in Con- nersville, Fayette county, Indiana. Henry and Maria (Dolman) George were the parents of three other children, who died in infancy.
(III) Henry Hosic, son of Henry H., and Maria (Dolman) George, was born near Zanesville, Muskingum county, Ohio, February 20, 1833. He began acquiring his excellent education in the public schools of the county of his birth, also attending those of Adams county, Ohio, later entering Geneva College, at Northwood, Ohio, whence he was graduated in the class of 1853. After receiving his diploma from this institution he was offered the chair of languages, a tribute to the success with which his studies there had been pursued, and for two years taught in that college. In 1858 he entered the ministry of the Covenanter Church, becoming pastor of a church on Clinton street, Cincinnati, Ohio, the synod of the church calling him to the presidency of his alma mater in 1872. That their choice was well made was amply proved by his record as head of the college. After he had gathered about him a talented and able faculty and had started the mechanism of the college at full speed under the new ad- ministration, he turned his attention to a matter that had impressed him when he was first connected with the school in an official capacity-the advisability of moving the college to another place. To this project he gave careful and long consideration, finally deciding upon College Hill, a suburb of Beaver Falls, as an ideal site. The change was begun in 1879 and completed in 1880, the new conditions being much more advantageous than the old, more effective work resulting therefrom. At this time the enrollment of the college was one hundred, a fifty per cent. increase having been recorded since the institution was housed in its new surroundings. Another of Mr. George's achievements was the endowing of the college, $200,000 being devoted to this purpose, by means of which the equipment of the college has been vastly improved, a point benefiting both pupils and instructors, since with the handicap of insufficient materials neither could obtain the best results, even from the most honest labor. In 1890 he paid the penalty that Nature exacts from all who disregard physical limitations, and was compelled to resign from the presidency of Geneva College, the fruits of his eighteen years continuance in that position being rich and bountiful. Two years of rest followed, in which the abused nerves, muscles, and tissues, remarshaled their defeated forces, and when he was once more restored to health and strength he entered the lecture field, his engagements carrying him to nearly every state in the Union. This he continued for fifteen years, at the end of that time identifying himself with the National Reform Movement, in which he remained until 1906. In the latter year
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he retired, as he has since lived, although on rare occasions he may be prevailed upon to deliver a lecture or an address. During his active career he was a contributor to several periodicals, his written work carrying the same tone of conviction that characterized his addresses. Now, at the age of eighty-one years, Mr. George retains all of his old freshness of mentality, strength of spirit and voice, his age and the wearing nature of his past occupations having left their only impress upon his physique.
He married (first) in 1865, Sarah Brown, of Cincinnati, Ohio, who died in 1893; (second) Ella M. Martin, a native of Beaver county, Penn- sylvania. Children: I. McCleod Melville, a practicing physician of Denver, Colorado. 2. Nettie M., married Frank Agnew. 3. Mary Jane, married Walter McCarrol, a missionary on the island of Cyprus, in the Mediter- ranean Sea. 4. Margaret E., married Frederick W. Ransom, both of previous mention. 5. William Henry, the incumbent of the position for- merly filled by his father, that of president of Geneva College.
GEER It is one of the proudest boasts of the family of Geer, which came to Beaver county, from Butler county, Pennsylvania, that in the conflict between the north and the south, in 1861-65, there were nineteen members of the family in the Union army. All were not, of course, of one line, but all traced to the common ancestor. It was the fortune of war that out of this large number there was not one who escaped the payment of some tribute to the god of battle, the lives of some being exacted, the toll of others being a limb, while still others paid with the blood of wounds.
(I) The first of this line of whom records are extant is Samuel Geer, who settled in Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, being granted a claim of government land fifty acres in extent, which he later increased as he be- came more independent. The first cabin that he erected, a rude and un- substantial affair, defied the attacks of the elements until about eighteen years ago, when it succumbed to the furies of a winter storm, and once fallen quickly decayed and disappeared. He and his wife, Barbara, whose birthplace was the same as his, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, were the parents of several children, one of their daughters marrying a Mr. Mercer. She was the mother of two sons, Harry and George, both of whom enlisted in the Union army at the outbreak of the Civil war, the first named meeting his death at the first battle of Bull Run, the latter having a leg shot away in a subsequent battle, although he was taken from the field and sent in safety to his home, living to a good old age. Another of the children of Samuel and Barbara Geer was Samuel (2), of whom further.
(II) Samuel (2) Geer, son of Samuel (1) and Barbara Geer, was born in Scott township, Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, died in Suffolk, Virginia, where he is buried. After completing his public school studies in the county of his birth, he came to Butler county, Pennsylvania, and there established in the live-stock business, owning, buying and selling. He
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prospered amazingly, and at an early age was counted as one of the largest and most influential dealers in his line in the county. To leave his business even for a short time meant comparative ruin, for competition was keen and summary methods were the rule, so that none would hesitate to seize his customers if the opportunity presented. With a full realization of what the result would be, with a patriotism so lofty as to overlook material profit, he enlisted in a Butler county regiment at the first call for volunteers, and was immediately forwarded to the front, his company being Company H, One Hundred and First Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, in which he was enrolled on September 15, 1861, his first enlistment calling for three months service. When that expired he renewed it for three years, but on September 9, 1862, almost exactly a year after joining the army, he was taken prisoner by the Confederate forces, and was confined in Anderson- ville Prison, the military place of custody that held so many Union soldiers during the four years of that struggle. His health was not able to with- stand the abuses of prison life, the lack of light and air, the unnourishing food, the ill treatment of the inhuman guards, and soon after his parole- ment he died in Suffolk, Virginia, where he was buried. It would seem that one with a spirit such as his, so unselfish, so full of love of country, should have been granted the privilege of a soldier's death in action, that it would have been more fitting for him to have fallen with martial music ringing in his ears and the sting of a bullet in his vitals, rather than to languish and waste away behind prison walls, the defenceless prey of brutish keepers.
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