USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > Genealogical and personal history of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 30
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The name of Patterson is one of the noted ones in the
PATTERSON annals of our country, were it only for the patriotism displayed by William Patterson, during the trying times of the American Revolution. His deeds at that time are a matter of his-
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torical record and need not be entered into in detail at this point. His beautiful daughter became known the world over for her romantic mar- riage with a member of the house of Bonaparte. William Patterson was a great-uncle of Harry Clay Patterson, now residing in Beaver Falls, Beaver county, Pennsylvania.
(I) Gawin Patterson, the American ancestor of the branch of the Pat- terson family here under consideration, was born in county Antrim, Ireland, and sailed for America in 1799, leaving Belfast, Ireland, May 4, and arriv- ing at Albany, New York, July 4, of that year. He had one sister, Sallie, who died in Ireland, and eleven brothers, the greatest number of whom were sea captains and finally were lost at sea. Gawin Patterson remained in Albany some five or six years, then removed to Philadelphia, where he built himself a home on Arch street. He was a builder by trade and very comfortable in his circumstances, He established the first mill in Philadel- phia which manufactured the tanks provided to carry fresh water in sea- going vessels. He married Jane McCann, born in county Down, Ireland, who was of the Presbyterian faith; they are both buried in Philadelphia. They had children: James, see forward; Sallie, who came to Beaver Falls with her brother James, there married William Harrison, and died, March 10, 1888; Samuel, who died of yellow fever in the South at the age of six- teen years.
(II) James, son of Gawin and Jane (McCann) Patterson, was born in county Down, Ireland, March 4, 1799, died September 18, 1876. He was just two months old when his parents emigrated with him to America. He grew up to be a self-willed little lad, and one day, when he was about five years of age, while shooting at a target, he jumped across a ditch. In doing this he tripped, fell, and broke his ankle. He returned to his home but hid under the table for the remainder of the day, bearing the pain bravely and silently, as he feared if the accident were discovered he would be sent to bed, a proceeding he intensely disliked. When he was finally discovered and the doctor summoned, the ankle had swollen to such an extent that it could not be properly set, and the result was a slight lameness with which he was affected throughout his life. With this exception, he was a vigorous, robust man, of untiring energy and ambition. It was about 1805 that the family removed to Philadelphia, where Mr. Patterson attended the common schools for a time, but he was mainly a self-educated man. His reading was of a wide and diversified character, and by the time he had reached middle age, his wonderful memory caused him to be considered a man of an unusually fine education. In his early manhood in Philadelphia he had learned the cotton milling business, and at the age of twenty-five years he made a trip to Europe for his health and to broaden his education. After his return to the United States he removed to Beaver county about 1827, and there purchased one thousand three hundred acres of land at the falls of the Beaver river, taking in the ground on which the main part of Beaver Falls is now located; also owned the ground on which the New Brighton
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Cemetery is now located, and by this means controlled the water power. He had the machinery for a cotton mill installed, and erected a flour mill, shipping his products by way of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and the Gulf of Mexico. The following year his family came, the mode of travel being by means of two carriages and a sufficient number of Conestoga wagons, across the mountains. Mr. Patterson operated his cotton mill con- tinuously until 1856, at which time he sold it to a New York firm. At the time of the great famine in Ireland, Mr. Patterson bought large quantities of corn which he kiln dried and ground in his mills, and shipped to Ireland, solely at his own expense. He had considerable trouble in proving his title to the land he had purchased, and on which Beaver Falls now stands, but finally won. His attorney was former Secretary of State Stanton. He was connected with all the important business enterprises of the time in Beaver county, and he was associated with ex-Governor Todd, of Ohio, in the ownership and management of the cannel coal mines in Darlington town- ship and built a railroad in order to have better transportation facilities. During the Civil War he held the office of assessor for the Draft Commis- sion. He was a Whig and Abolitionist, and later took a prominent part in the deliberations of the Republican party. He and his family were members of the Presbyterian church, and he was one of the leading spirits in for- warding the educational movement, built the first school in Beaver Falls, and personally defrayed the cost of teaching.
Mr. Patterson married Eliza Large, born in Lancashire, England, June 4, 1804, died April 17, 1878. She was the daughter of Daniel and Mary (Morehouse) Large, both born in Lancashire, England, and married there. He was a machinist by trade, which had been the calling of the male mem- bers of his family for many generations. In 1809 they emigrated to Amer- ica, landing at Philadelphia, in which city they were residents all their lives. He was considered one of the best machinists in the city, and they were members of the Episcopal church. They had children: William, a machin- ist, lived in Fallston, Pennsylvania; Daniel, died young; Christian, lived in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania; Horatio, was a contracting builder, and one of the buildings constructed by him was the schoolhouse on Eleventh street; Eliza, mentioned above as the wife of Mr. Patterson ; several other children whose names are not on record. Mr. and Mrs. Patterson had children: Mary, who died in 1911, married Daniel H. Stone, of Beaver, Pennsylvania ; Conrad, born September 9, 1832, is a retired farmer and canal constructor, and lives in Patterson Heights, Pennsylvania; Charles, deceased, lived in Beaver Falls ; James, died young; Sallie H., unmarried, lives with her broth- er, Harry Clay; Elizabeth, died in infancy; Jane, died in infancy; Harry Clay, see forward; Samuel, deceased, was a prominent merchant, and asso- ciated with his brother Harry Clay for many years in Beaver Falls.
(III) Harry Clay Patterson, son of James and Eliza (Large) Patter- son, was born in Beaver Falls, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, October 16, 1838. His early education was acquired partly in the public schools of
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Beaver Falls, partly under the home tuition of his father and mother, and he then become a student at the Beaver Academy, under Prof. Coulter, and later at Sewickley, under the direction of Joseph Trevila. Until he entered the army he was for the most part engaged in farming. In July, 1862, he became a member of Company E, Captain Vera, One Hundred and Thirty- fourth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Colonel Quay com- manding, and served nine months. Later his brother Samuel became cap- tain of Company E. Mr. Patterson re-enlisted and was sent to Cumber- land, Maryland, with the Fifty-sixth Pennsylvania Militia. Upon the re- organization of the regiment of his first enlistment, he was elected quarter- master sergeant, but he soon did full duty as quartermaster. When he enlist- ed a second time, he was commissioned second lieutenant. Following is a partial list of the battles in which he was an active participant: Second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville. He was mustered out in the fall of 1863. In association with his brother Sam- uel he had started a general store in Beaver Falls in 1860, under the firm name of H. C. & S. R. Patterson, and this was located in a brick building opposite the First National Bank. At the close of the war they resumed these business operations, this time where the "Tribune" office is now located, and for many years carried on the largest and most profitable mercantile business in the town. Subsequently they erected a block at the corner of Seventh avenue and Ninth street, having one store devoted exciu- sively to the sale of footwear, and the adjoining store for the sale of gro- ceries. The death of Samuel Patterson was a great shock to his brother, whose health commenced to fail, and he sold out his business in 1897. Since that time he has retired from active business life. He makes his home at No. 910 Eighth avenue, Beaver Falls, where his sister Sallie, who is also unmarried, presides over his household. Their winters are usually spent in Florida. They attend the Episcopal church, and Mr. Patterson is a Republican, giving his ardent support to the Quay party. He is a member of the blue lodge, chapter and commandery of the Masonic fraternity. He and his father were largely interested in real estate, the latter owning at one time, as before stated, practically the entire ground on which Beaver Falls .is now located. During the great fire in Pittsburgh, he lost about thirty- seven thousand dollars worth of cotton goods, and for that reason was obliged to part with a quantity of his real property. They were also the owners of the four hundred acres which formed the nucleus of Patterson Heights, which fashionable suburb of Beaver Falls was named after the Patterson family. The present residence was erected by Mr. Patterson in 1888.
In the gathering of nationalities which is to be found in the
BEISEL United States, the German element has always exerted a benefi- cial and wide-spread influence. The sturdy men of that na- tionality, who came to the shores of this country, were imbued with a stern
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sense of right and a deep patriotism, qualities which they have transmitted to their descendants, greatly to the advantage of the land of their adoption. The Beisel family is no exception to this rule. This family has been resi- dent in the United States for a number of generations, and its branches are now to be found throughout the Union. David Beisel, a resident of Harris- burg, Pennsylvania, for many years, had two sons: Frederick and Henry Beader.
Henry Beader Beisel was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, August 19, 1813, died in Rochester, 1886. He was educated in the public schools of Harrisburg, and at a suitable age was apprenticed to learn the tinner's trade, with which he was identified throughout his life. He removed to Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, from there to Clearfield, then to New Brighton, and finally to Rochester, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, coming to the latter town in 1868. In all of these places he followed his trade successfully. His thorough and practical understanding of his business enabled him to manage it on economic principles, and as time passed he found himself in possession of a comfortable competence as the result of his well directed efforts. In all his business transactions his reputation was unassailable, and in every relation of life his character was above reproach. He was a great temperance advocate, being one of the pioneer workers in this field. His political support was given to the Democratic party, and he served as a justice of the peace in New Brighton, Wherever he lived his influence was felt for the good of the community. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War he was commissioned a colonel in the regular army, but by reason of ill health was unable to go to the front. He was a member of the Methodist church. In the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he had been a mem- ber for many years, he had passed three chairs. Public-spirited to a degree, he often neglected his own interests to serve those of the community.
Mr. Beisel married (first) September 18, 1833, Jane Eliza McKee, born in Bellefonte, Center county, Pennsylvania, who died March 29, 1844. He married (second) February 16, 1846, Mary Stephenson Irvin, born at Clearfield, Clearfield county, Pennsylvania, 1828, died May 28, 1861. He married (third) January 16, 1868, Margaret (Lehmer) Donelly, born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, November 9, 1830, widow of Robert L. Donelly, and daughter of George and Rachel (Shea) Lehmer. George Lehmer was a farmer and hotel keeper in Westmoreland county, Pennsyl- vania, and about the year 1840 removed to Bridgewater, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where he also engaged in the hotel business with which he was identified until obliged to abandon it by reason of advancing age. He retired and settled in Rochester, Beaver county, where in 1858 he moved into a house now at the corner of Madison street and Delaware avenue, in which his death occurred. By his first marriage Mr. Beisel had children: I. Jona- than Kearsley, who died in New Brighton in 1858 at the age of twenty-four years. 2. Elizabeth Ann, born in Clearfield, June 4, 1836; married Thomas J. Cooper. 3. Alphonso Blake, born January 13, 1838, died in Carlisle, Penn-
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sylvania. 4. Catherine Susannah, died August 28, 1846, at the age of six years. By the second marriage he had: 5. Frederick Valentine, born April 29, 1847, died in June, 1890. 6. Harry Venemon, born September 19, 1849, died December 10, 1864, in Bloomsburg, Columbia county, Pennsylvania, from the effects of exposure while a drummer in the Union army during the Civil War. 7. Charles Miller, born July 2, 1852, died March 17, 1912, at Haysville, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. 8. Cora Ada, born August 27, 1855, died October 8, 1860. 9. Anna Bertha, born January 28, 1858, died September 28, 1881 ; married Avery Graham, and left three sons. 10. Car- rie Emma, born December 9, 1860; married Thomas P. Toynbee, and lives in Haysville, Pennsylvania. Children of third marriage: 11. Luella, born in Rochester, February 12, 1869, died in the same town, March 25, 1875. 12. Margaretta, born December 17, 1870; married Harry C. Foerstige, lives in West Bridgewater, and has two children: Virginia Margaret and Joseph Lehmer. 13. Mary Eva, born March 4, 1874; married John Walter Hunter, an insurance agent, lives in Rochester, and has children: James Lehmer, Margaret Elizabeth, Mary Ruth. Mrs. Beisel, widow of Henry Beader Beisel, is now eighty-three years of age and is of a vigorous mentality which would do credit to a woman her junior by twenty years. She is of a chari- table nature and her kindly disposition makes her the center of a large circle of friends.
BISHOP The pride of America is in her selfmade men; the possibilities
which she offers to her citizens is one of her greatest sources of growth and strength, and in return for the advantages which she extends she receives the loyal devotion of those who find homes and protection under the starry emblem of the republic. John H. Bishop, of Rochester, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, is among those of foreign birth who have advanced to a position of local prominence and achieved a com- petence.
John H. Bishop was born in England. Becoming early orphaned, he came to America at the age of nineteen years. Since that time he has re- sided in Beaver county or its vicinity. While still in England he had learned to become an engineer, both for stationary and steamboat purposes, and upon coming to this country he was fully able to accept a position as steamboat engineer on the Ohio river. He was occupied in this capacity until a very few years prior to his death, when by reason of ill health he was obliged to abandon this occupation. He then established himself in the furniture business, but this not being to his liking he became a boiler inspector, in which capacity he was active until very shortly before his death. This oc- curred January 8, 1883. His church affiliations were with the Baptist denom- ination, and he was a member of the order of Free and Accepted Masons, and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. During the Civil War he had many thrilling experiences while in the discharge of his engineering
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duties. He was obliged to run his boat past the Confederate lines in order to get goods to Memphis and other southern points.
Mr. Bishop married (first) a Miss Bell and had two sons, both now de- ceased, and both of whom grew to manhood and married. He married (second) 1876, Mrs. Electa A. (Johnson) Hart, daughter of William and Harriet Johnson and widow of John Wolf Hart, who was a son of John and Esther (Wolf) Hart, born on Stones Point, now within the borough limits of Rochester, Pennsylvania. When a young man he took up ship carpentering, having learned the trade with his father; this he followed for several years and was also a clerk on the Ohio river boats for several years; in company with a Mr. John Whistler they operated the first shipyard in this section of Pennsylvania; their yard was located at Bowlesville and they built many of the canal boats that plied on the Ohio and Beaver rivers. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Hart: John W., a plumber, who lives in Mckees Rocks, Pennsylvania; Edward P., overseer of the Carey Furnace, who lives in East Pittsburgh. Mr. and Mrs. Bishop had children: I. Bertha B., married Harry Myers, and lives in Wellsville, Ohio. 2. Sylvia Electa, mar- ried Charles Myers, and lives in Rochester, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. 3. Hallie Johnson (Mrs. St. Clair), lives with her mother and has her two children with her, Charles and Herbert. Mrs. Bishop was born in East Liberty, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, January 22, 1844, and was but two or three years of age when her parents removed to Rochester, Beaver county, and has resided in Rochester since that time. Upon coming to Rochester, her father was at first overseer of a starch factory, then the proprietor of Johnson's Hotel for a period of ten years, and finally took up landscape gardening.
This is a name which has borne an honorable part in the de- REEVES velopment of the state of Pennsylvania, as well as of other states of the Union, and is still borne untarnished by its rep- resentatives in present generations. While not occurring as frequently as some others, it has borne its full share in the spread of civilization. By mar- riage it has become allied to several other leading families. The family traces its descent to Welsh ancestry, and the hardihood, endurance and other sterling qualities of the Welsh race have been inherited in rich meas- ure by the descendants in the United States.
(I) Joseph Reeves, who was of Welsh extraction, was a resident of Mount Holly, New Jersey, where his father lies buried in the Episcopal Cemetery.
(II) Joseph (2) Reeves, son of Joseph (1) Reeves, was born in Mount Holly, New Jersey, July 5, 1758. He married Elizabeth Toy, born in Mount Holly, New Jersey, July 5, 1758. She was the daughter of Daniel and Sarah (Bennett) Toy, residents of Mount Holly, whose other children were: Frederick, born November 16, 1759; John, January 25, 1764; Daniel, February 15, 1766; Mary, February 9, 1769. Mr. and Mrs. Reeves had chil-
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dren: Daniel, of further mention; John, unmarried, who was drowned in the Beaver river while helping to float a raft over the Beaver Falls; Mary, Jane, Hannah, Martha and Sarah, married, and lived in New Jersey.
(III) Daniel Reeves, eldest son of Joseph (2) and Elizabeth (Toy) Reeves, was born at Mount Holly, New Jersey, 1783, and was drowned in the Beaver river, November 30, 1837. He was apprenticed to learn the car- penter's trade at Mount Holly, his master being Billy Atkins. Mr. Reeves did not like his position, and at the age of nineteen years ran away to Pitts- burgh, where he worked for a time as carpenter and cabinetmaker. While working here he met Henry Sims, who had known both Mr. Reeves and his master east of the Allegheny mountains, and Mr. Sims promised not to re- port his abiding place to the latter, if Mr. Reeves would come with him to Beaver county and there work for him. Mr. Reeves consented to this propo- sition, and in this manner came to Old Brighton, now Beaver Falls, Beaver county, where he worked in the shop of Mr. Sims, which was located on the bank of the Beaver river. He remained with Mr. Sims until his marriage at the age of twenty-two years, at which time he established himself in business independently. He assisted in the building of the first court house in Beaver county, at Beaver, receiving for this sixty-two and a half cents per day, walking to and from his work, a daily walk of eight miles, so that he could board at home. He erected a large number of houses and barns in Beaver county, one, the house on the old Hugh Marshall farm, which is still standing. He and his family were Episcopalians, and while he never joined the church, he was an earnest and devout Christian man. Like all of his family he was patriotic and enthusiastic in behalf of the adopted land of his family, and enlisted for service during the War of 1812. His gun and other accoutrements were ready, and he was on the point of leaving in order to join his regiment when his daughter Jane was taken ill and was supposedly on her deathbed. Under these circumstances, Benoni Wilkinson, a young man in the employ of Daniel Reeves, volunteered to go as a sub- stitute for Mr. Reeves, and this service was accepted.
Mr. Reeves married, in 1808, Margaret Steen (see Steen II). She was the recipient of an excellent education, having been graduated from Jefferson College, could read Latin, Hebrew and Greek with ease, and would fre- quently quote from the Catechism. She was by far the best educated woman in the valley in her day. She was a Seceder in religious faith, very strict in the observance of her religion, and so well informed on theological matters that she was able to overcome in argument the preachers who frequently came to discuss religious affairs with her, and obtain the benefit of her pro- found studies. It is to her that her son, John Reeves, is mainly indebted for his fine and thorough education. Mrs. Reeves was born in Canonsburg, Washington county, Pennsylvania, October 4, 1782, died in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, December 3, 1844. She removed with her parents to Beaver county in 1804, and they located on what was then known as the Platt farm, near the present site of Beaver Falls. At that time this section was almost
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a wilderness. The season after their arrival there Margaret Steen met Dan- iel Reeves, and the acquaintance then formed ripened into a sincere and lasting affection which culminated in their marriage. They were blessed with children as follows: 1. Eliza, born March 9, 1809, died March 14, 1892; she married, January 1, 1828, Samuel Corbus, a resident of New Brighton, Beaver county, who worked in a wire mill and also in a tool factory. Chil- dren: Mary Jane, Thankful, John, Margaret, Daniel, Jesse, Elizabeth. 2. Mary Jane, born May 20, 1811, died April 25, 1884; she married, October 7, 1834, David Whitla, who lived in Old Brighton, removed to a farm near Alliance, Ohio, came to New Brighton, in 1859, and there his death oc- curred; children : William H., Joseph, Elizabeth, Amanda, Esther, Margaret Ann, Daniel R., John, Henry Reeves. 3. Valeria, born March 27, 1814, died February 18, 1867; she married, October 8, 1834, William Carter, and lived in New Brighton, where he was a paper manufacturer until he retired from business ; children : Charles, Adelaide, Margaret, Elizabeth, John. 4. Joseph, born February 16, 1818, died July 2, 1876; he lived in New Brighton, and was a conductor on the old Fort Wayne railroad; he married, July 4, 1843, Sarah McGahey; children: Mary Jane, Eliza, Margaret, John B., James J. 5. Esther, born September 29, 1820, died 1853; she married, July 8, 1841, Henry Hipple, a carpenter, and lived in New Brighton; children: James, deceased ; William; Margaret, deceased; Thankful, deceased. 6. Matthew, born February 14, 1823, died March 31, of the same year. 7. John, of fur- ther mention. 8. Henry Taylor, born October 14, 1827, died November 16, 1889, in Jacksonville, Florida, whither he had gone in search of health; he was a prominent and successful man of business in Beaver Falls, Beaver county, for many years; from 1856 until 1865 he was associated with his brother John in the mercantile business in New Brighton, Pennsylvania ; he was a devout Christian and a member of the Methodist Protestant church; he married, October 27, 1857, Sarah Jane Haines; children: Harry W., born April 21, 1860; Martha Jane, April 27, 1862; Walter, March 8, 1864, died February 24, 1885; Romulus L. B., January 1, 1866; Albert, June 21, 1868, died July 30, 1877.
(IV) John Reeves, third son and seventh child of Daniel and Margaret (Steen) Reeves, was born February 9, 1825, at Beaver Falls, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, the town at that time being known as Old Brighton. His parents' house was located between what was then the Newcastle road and Walnut street, about where Eighth street now meets the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie railroad right of way. Mr. Reeves deserves more than ordinary credit for the fine education he now possesses, as his opportunities for attending school in his early youth were very limited. He was but twelve years of age at the time of the death of his father, and for two months he had at- tended a private school in charge of the Quaker meeting, and under the di- rect supervision of a Mr. Consert. For a period of a few months he also attended a private school on what is now Patterson Heights. But his main and most beneficial instruction was obtained at the hands of his mother,
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