USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > Genealogical and personal history of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 35
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After this long period of time passed in making provision for himself and his family, he takes great enjoyment in a little relaxation from the cares and perplexities that creep even into well-regulated businesses, realiz- ing this in the breeding of fast horses. Among the best of those that have come from his stables are: Mattie, whose time was 2.1414; Lady Russ, 2.161/4; Ollie B., 2.2112 ; Lilly B., 2.2914, and several others equaling the above in speed. Nor do the pride, pleasure, and delight that these excellent horses give him justify the conclusion that his interests are self-centered and selfish, for in the promotion of projects for the benefit of his fellows and his community he finds a satisfaction just as wholesome and an interest fully as attractive. His ideas are progressive and in their advancement he is in no way timid, a fact shown true by his pioneer advocacy of the substi- tution of an electric street railway in Beaver Falls for the old horse-drawn
John C. Bayer
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system that had formerly accommodated the inhabitants of the town, an innovation that, owing to his tireless efforts in its behalf, was installed long before it would have been accepted had his position been one of passivity. He was also one of the early stockholders in the Citizens' Gas Company. He is a Republican in politics, a member of the Methodist Protestant church, and belongs to the Knights of Pythias.
He married, in 1862, Kate Fossett, born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. They were the parents of: 1. William, died in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. 2. Oliver J., of further mention. 3. Ella, died unmarried. 4. Lily, married Herbert J. Peirsol; lives in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania; they are the par- ents of two children, Florence and Jennie.
(III) Oliver James Bryer, son of John E. and Kate (Fossett) Bryer, was born in West Bridgewater, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, January 22, 1867. All of his graded school instruction was received in the Humbolt school in Pittsburgh, although his studies were discontinued when he was nine years of age to allow him to accept employment in the glass factory where his father was engaged. Here he was employed until his father's family moved to Beaver Falls, whither he also came, entering the service of the Co-operative Glass Works in 1897. He specialized in no one branch of this industry, but worked in all of the various departments, this general- ization tending toward a knowledge of the whole not superficial in character but wide and all embracing, such as would have fitted him for the manage- ment of such a plant had he made that his life work. From 1897 until 1903 he was engaged in the liquor business, in the latter year purchasing Mr. Akin's shoe store at 1601 Seventh avenue, and after conducting the same with excellent success and prosperity for eight years he placed it in the hands of his son, Oliver James, Jr., who has since continued it. Since March, 1912, Mr. Bryer has been the proprietor of a wholesale liquor store at 1524 Seventh avenue. He is a Republican in politics, and fratern- izes with the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His home is at No. 1835 Fourth avenue.
Mr. Bryer married, May 14, 1893, Catherine Elizabeth Sheridan, born in New York City, August 31, 1870, daughter of Bartholomew and Anna (Brady) Sheridan. Children: 1. Oliver James, Jr., born March 8, 1894, a retail shoe dealer. 2. Helen May, born August 3, 1898.
Bartholomew Sheridan was the son of Thomas and Catherine Sheridan, both natives of county Cavan, Ireland, where they died. Thomas and Catherine Sheridan were the parents of: 1. Bartholomew. 2. John, de- ceased; was superintendent in charge of Fleetwood Park, New York City. 3. James, deceased; was a painter. 4. Mary, deceased; married Patrick Carroll, and lived in Tuckahoe, New York. Bartholomew Sheridan was born in county Cavan, Ireland, and there spent his youth, as a young man attending Monuth College in that country. After coming to the United States he made his home with an uncle, and upon entering business chose contracting as the field to which he would devote his future efforts. Rail-
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road work was the branch of his business to which he gave most of his personal attention, New York and New England being the scene of much of his railroad construction. His business partner was Daniel Hickey, who realized a vast fortune from their contracting dealings, possessing at his death property valued at more than one million dollars. Mr. Sheridan actively supervised much of the work of the firm of a more important na- ture, and his death was due to this laudable desire to ascertain that the promises and contracts made were fulfilled. His was not the type that avoids responsibility by thrusting it upon subordinates, but for all work contracted for by his firm he was willing to receive whatever of censure or praise might result therefrom. Hickey and Sheridan were constructing a division of the New York and New England Railroad in 1881, and Mr. Sheridan had journeyed to Tarrytown to direct a rather difficult piece of work involving the making of a cut through a solid wall of rock, a procedure necessitating the use of many charges of dynamite. He was in the middle of the operation, directing the placing of the charges so that the explosion would have the greatest effect, when a current was sent through the wires connected with the dynamite, the following hail of dirt and boulders caus- ing his death. Through this most lamentable accident his life was ended in his thirty-fifth year, when he was enjoying the full vigor of youthful man- hood and watching, with pleasurable pride, the maturing of his business plans. Throughout his entire life he was a member of the Roman Catholic church, devout and regular in his devotions. He married Anna Brady, born in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, 1853, who after his death moved to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, where she married a second time, her husband being Thomas Coyle, a blacksmith of Beaver Falls, where she now resides. She is a daughter of Thomas and Margaret Brady, both natives of Ireland, who came to the United States with their parents. When the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad was in the course of construction Thomas Brady came to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and was there employed in the file factory until his death. Thomas and Margaret Brady were the parents of: I. Thomas, a resident of Allegheny City (Pittsburgh North Side), Pennsyl- vania. 2. Robert, deceased; was proprietor of a hotel in Texas. 3. James, deceased ; was a member of a traveling opera troupe. 4. Anna, of previous mention, married Bartholomew Sheridan. 5. Elizabeth, married George Harrison ; lives at McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. Children of Bartholomew and Anna Sheridan: 1. Catherine Elizabeth, of previous mention, married Oliver James Bryer. 2. Thomas, an employee in the glass factory in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. 3. Hugh, a conductor on the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad. 4. John, an employee of the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad. 5. Robert, a resident of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. 6. Bartholomew, lives in Youngstown, Ohio. Anna (Brady) Sheridan, by her marriege with Thomas Coyle, is the mother of one daughter, Margaret, who married M. J. Convolinka, and lives in Monaca, Beaver county, Pennsylvania.
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The blood of the ancestors of the American Frazier family FRAZIER is of the purest Scotch descent, and in the third American
generation alliance was made with another of the oldest and first families of that land. Besides these two ancient Scotch lines, Eng- lish and Irish strains have entered into the family, so that for generations it is unnecessary to search beyond the British Isles for the origin of the Fraziers of the twentieth century.
(I) The American ancestor of the direct Frazier line came to America from his native land when a young man, settling in Philadelphia and there learning the trade of ship carpenter, later moving to Steubenville, where he died. He married and was the father of a large family, one of his sons being William, of whom further.
(II) William Frazier was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, there spending his youth, coming in young manhood to Steubenville, Ohio, whith- er his parents moved at the same time. He became the owner of a good sized farm in the vicinity of Steubenville, a water-course traversing the land, and on this stream he erected a grist mill, an accident occurring in the operation of this mill causing his death. He married Elizabeth Hanlon, born at Pomeroy, Meigs county, Ohio. Children of William and Elizabeth (Hanlon) Frazier: I. Elizabeth, died unmarried. 2. William, of whom further. 3. James, twin of William, a soldier in the Union Army, held the rank of sergeant in an Ohio company, was captured at the battle of Chicka- mauga, and died in Andersonville prison.
(III) William (2) Frazier, son of William (1) and Elizabeth (Han- lon) Frazier, was born in Steubenville, Jefferson county, Ohio, March 12, 1828, died in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, August 12, 1900. His boyhood was passed in the place of his birth, where he attended school, and being possessed of unusual natural mechanical ability, he learned the trade of millwright. The serving of his apprenticeship was in reality little more than a formality, for since his childhood he had been adept in the use of tools, and when he began his term of instruction was the equal of some of the mechanics with whom he worked. After a few years passed in the pursuit of his trade he became a paper manufacturer at Bridgeport, Ohio, continuing in this line for four years, the burning of his mill with a total loss forcing him from business. He then went to Winona, Minnesota, his family remaining in Steubenville, Ohio, and became the proprietor of a paint factory, in 1857 moving to Old Brighton, later named Beaver Falls, and assumed charge of a paper mill owned by his uncle, Archibald Robertson. He then served in a similar capacity in a paper mill at Monongahela City, Pennsylvania, later returning to New Brighton, as manager of the Pitts- burgh Paper Manufacturing Company. In 1865 he formed the firm of Frazier, Metzgar & Company, purchasing the plant of the company pre- viously mentioned, and for several years the new concern continued in successful operation. Although the panic of 1873 did not force them from business immediately it so weakened their financial standing that the plant
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was closed in 1875. In 1866 his family joined him in Beaver Falls, that place being the home of the family ever after. Mr. Frazier was an active, interested worker in church organizations, and was instrumental in securing the charter for the Presbyterian church at Beaver Falls from the Pittsburgh Synod. He and his wife were charter members of this congregation, of which he was an elder, and for several years he was leader of the choir, having a baritone voice of more than ordinary sweetness, range and power. His political sympathies were with the Republican party. One of the sub- jects upon which he held the strongest views and of which he could speak with fervent feeling was that of temperance, his course in life being ever that of the total abstainer.
He married Anna Elizabeth Robertson, born in Steubenville, Ohio, May 12, 1832, daughter of William and Anna (McFetridge) Roberston (see Robertson IV). She was a woman of refinement and excellent educa- tion, having attended the Female Seminary at Steubenville, Ohio, at that time the only institution planned exclusively for the instruction of girls west of the Allegheny mountains. She took pleasurable pride in the ability to teach her children, and indeed performed that service quite as well as an experienced teacher and with infinitely greater benefit to her little pupils. Children of William (2) and Anna Elizabeth (Robertson) Frazier: I. Anna, married Fred Hosmer; died in August, 1884. 2. Louise, married James B. Donaldson; lives in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. 3. William Matthew, of whom further. 4. John, died aged two years. 5. Jennie, a schoolteacher, unmarried. 6. James B., of whom further.
(IV) William Matthew Frazier, son of William (2) and Anna Eliza- beth (Robertson) Frazier, was born in Beaver Falls, Beaver county, Penn- sylvania, February 10, 1859. His education was obtained in the public schools of New Brighton and Beaver Falls, and after leaving school he spent one year in the capacity of clerk in Pangburn's Clothing Store. He then learned file cutting in the file factory at Beaver Falls, following this occupation for four years, after which he engaged in the real estate busi- ness for one year. For the three following years he was employed in the office of Chandley Brothers as bookkeeper and in 1888 he entered the United States postal service in the Beaver Falls office as letter carrier, a position he has since held. He is at the present time (1914) the oldest letter carrier, both in point of years and in length of service, on the Beaver Falls force. He has been a member of the civil service examining board, is a Presbyterian in religion, and is president of the choir of that church. His home is at No. 1312 Third avenue, in a comfortable residence erected for him in 1898. Mr. Frazier is well regarded by all of his many friends in his native city, his straightforward uprightness meriting the approbation of all.
He married, May 4, 1882, Sarah Florence, born in Taunton, Massachu- setts, March 6, 1861, daughter of Henry and Susannah (Keeling) Hill. Her parents were both born in Sheffield, England, he in 1825, she in 1826,
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their deaths occurring in 1875 and on December 24, 1907. They were married in the land of their birth, and in 1849 Henry Hill, his wife, parents, and family, immigrated to the United States, settling in Matteawan, New York, later moving to Taunton, Massachusetts, where they established a file factory, all of the family holding interest in the business. In 1871 the family residence was changed to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, where they all obtained employment in the Great Western File Works. All were members of the Episcopal church. Children of Henry and Susannah (Keeling) Hill : I. William, deceased. 2. Anna, married William Almond. 3. Lucy, mar- ried George Chandley; lives in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. 4. Eliza, lives in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, unmarried. 5. Susan, lives in Beaver Falls, unmarried. 6. Sarah Florence, of previous mention, married William Mat- thew Frazier. 7. William, died in Taunton, Massachusetts. 8. Belle, mar- ried Thomas H. Barber; lives in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. Children of William Matthew and Sarah Florence (Hill) Frazier: 1. William H., born May 8, 1889; a plumber, lives in Beaver Falls, unmarried. 2. Clarence Donaldson, born September 23, 1890, a student at Pennsylvania State Col- lege.
(IV) James B. Frazier, son of William (2) and Anna Elizabeth (Rob- ertson) Frazier, was born in New Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, December 3, 1866. In his youth he attended the public schools of Beaver Falls, when nineteen years of age entering railroad service, in which he has ever since remained. His first position was with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad at Confluence, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, where he studied and learned telegraphy, for seven years being employed by that road as telegraph operator at various stations along their lines. In 1891 he accepted a similar position with the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad, serving in that capacity for eight years, for the four following years being stationed in the ticket office of the company in Pittsburgh. He was appointed to his present position in 1903 as ticket and station agent at Beaver Falls, "New Brighton Station," also ticket agent at the "Beaver Falls Station," which he fills in a competent manner, his long experience in railroad work eminent- ly qualifying him for the responsibility of his present situation. Mr. Fra- zier is a Republican in politics, a member of the Beaver Falls Presbyterian Church, and belongs to the Masonic order, lodge, chapter and commandery. His home is at No. 619 Ninth street, Beaver Falls.
(The Robertson Line.)
The Robertson family, allied with that of Frazier by the marriage of William (2) Frazier and Anna Elizabeth Robertson, descends from Don- nachadh Reamhair (Donnachadh, the red-haired), who about 1260 founded the family of Robertson. He was a descendant of the ancient earls of Atholl, to which line Malcolm II., of Scotland, the gracious King Duncan, whom Shakespeare employs in his wonderful "Macbeth," belonged. Other lines belonging to the clan of Donnachadh were the Robertsons of Inches, Kindeace, Auchleeks, Trinafour, Tulliebelton, Kindrochet, Edradynate,
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Ladykirk, Glencalvie and Quay. Donnachadh, the chief of the clan, was twice married and had four sons, the many lines of Robertsons descending through them.
(I) This record begins with John Robertson, born in Perthshire, Scot- land, about 1710, who, under "Prince Charlie," took a prominent part in the uprising of 1745, and after the battle of Culloden was compelled to flee the country, taking refuge in county Tyrone, Ireland. His habitual garb was a dress coat, with silver buttons, some of his descendants cherishing what are said to be the buttons from this coat. He married and had a son, Wil- liam, through whom this line continues.
important business enterprises, and was regarded as a man of remarkable (II) William Robertson, son of John Robertson, was born at Tivaney county Tyrone, Ireland, 1753. He married Margaret Denny, and had chil- dren: I. Matthew, of whom further. 2. John, born 1778, came to the United States, died in Ohio, 1836. 3. Robert, born 1779. 4. James, born 1781, died in Ohio, 1855. 5. Denny, born 1784, died in Ohio, 1829. 6. Alexander, born 1785, died in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, 1811. 7. David, born 1787, died in Gloucester county, Virginia.
(III) Matthew Robertson, son of William and Margaret (Denny) Robertson, was born at Tivaney, county Tyrone, Ireland. His share of the paternal estate in Ireland made him independently wealthy, and when in 1812 he and his family decided to come to the United States, he secured transportation for ten other families of their neighborhood, their indebted- ness to be paid by their services after reaching the United States. He never reached his destination, the ship in which they were making the passage being stopped on the high seas by a British man-of-war, the commander of the English vessel impressing every able-bodied man on the ship to enlist in the English service. His family never saw him after that time, his death occurring in Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1815, the result of a malignant fever. His widow, with her children, awaited news of his fate in the eastern part of the country and after his death moved west, locating near Steubenville, Ohio. Matthew Robertson married Rebecca Shaw. Children: 1. Margaret, married James Johnson ; lived in Rock Island, Illinois. 2. William, of whom further. 3. Archibald, born 1805, died in New Brighton, Pennsylvania, 1871; was a prominent paper manufacturer of Beaver county, Pennsyl- vania ; married Ann Baker. 4. Mary Ann, died in St. John's, New Bruns- wick, about 1814, when a small child. 5. Rebecca, died in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in childhood. 6. James, born 1808, died in Coshocton, Coshocton county, Ohio; owned a large farm near that place and acquired a consider- able fortune; married Eliza McFetridge. 7. Jane, married Hugh Sterling, a merchant of Steubenville, and there resided. 8. Rebecca, married Lowry Shaw; lived in Iowa.
(IV) William (2) Robertson, son of Matthew and Rebecca (Shaw) Robertson, was born in county Tyrone, Ireland, 1800, died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1892. He came to the United States with his family when he
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was twelve years of age, having passed his previous life in acquiring an education, and was brought by his mother to Steubenville, Ohio, where he" grew to maturity, later becoming a merchant in that place and the proprie- tor of one of the best appointed stores in the city, devoted to the dry goods business. He amassed a comfortable fortune, was prominent in all the activities of the city, and a devoted member of the United Presbyterian Church. He married Anna McFetridge. Children: I. Elizabeth, died in infancy. 2. Lavinia, died in infancy. 3. Louisa, married James D. Layton ; lives in Steubenville, Ohio. 4. Anna Elizabeth, of previous mention, mar- ried William (2) Frazier (see Frazier III). 5. John Lloyd, for thirty-five years general superintendent of the Span-Chalfant Company, of Pittsburgh ; married Bella Cochran; lives in Etna, Pennsylvania. 6. Rebecca, lives unmarried in Canton, Ohio. 7. Rev. James Lovejoy, a minister of the Pres- byterian church; married Margaret Johnson; lives in Bronxville, New York. 8. William Matthew, died aged twenty-one years. 9. Mary Jane, married James Blair; lived in Steubenville, Ohio, 10. Amelia, married Charles Spaulding. 11, George A., a merchant, married and died in Pitts- burgh, Pennsylvania. 12. Hugh Sterling, married, and died in Steuben- ville, Ohio.
The name of Mckinley has been a well known one for McKINLEY many years, not alone in this country, but also in England, Scotland and Ireland.
(I) John Mckinley was born in Ireland, November 5, 1845. While still a young man he emigrated to America, arriving in Philadelphia in 1874. In 1876 he removed to Mercer county, Pennsylvania, and after he entered the employ of a railroad company he removed to Butler, Butler county, Pennsylvania, in 1886, where he now resides. He is a conductor on the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad, and is very efficient in the discharge of his responsible duties. He is a Republican in politics, and a member of the United Presbyterian Church. Mr. Mckinley married Elizabeth Stewart, born in Scotland, May 12, 1850, and they have children: Catherine L., Mary I., Andrew Stewart, see forward; Robert J., Elizabeth S., all of whom are now living.
(II) Dr. Andrew Stewart Mckinley, son of John, and Elizabeth (Stewart) Mckinley, was born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, December 23, 1881. His elementary education was acquired in the public schools of Butler, Butler county, Pennsylvania, where he was graduated from the high school. He was also graduated with honor from the Butler Business College, after which he matriculated at the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, from which he was graduated in the class of June, 1906, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. One year was spent as interne at the Chenango Valley Hospital of New Castle, and he then came to Beaver county and practiced one year at Aliquippa. In 1908 he removed to Mon- aca, Beaver county, where he has already secured an extensive practice,
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owing to the successes he has achieved. He is painstaking and thorough, and has won the affection as well as the confidence of his numerous patients. Dr. Mckinley is a member of the Presbyterian church. He is unmarried.
HUGHES We are told by the economists that the opportunities to rise financially are no longer so great as they were once upon a time, that it requires a higher degree of ability and that we consequently see fewer examples of conspicuous success on the part of men who started poor than formerly. That this is true should be readily ad- mitted, but the full force of the fact is only to be noted in the metropolitan districts, in regions of great concentration of wealth and population. In the rural sections of the country, where great wealth with its irretrievable handicap is not so often in the race, we may see many cases of the rise of poor men to positions of prominence in their communities, and observe that here at least industry and consistency of purpose meet with their full re- ward. The life of Andrew Hughes is a case in point. Coming from West Virginia to a region strange to him, he performed at first the most humble tasks, but through faithful performance of his duties and careful thrift, he gradually wrought a place for himself in the region of his adoption and is now the owner of a thriving business of his own and prominent in the social life of the place.
Andrew Hughes was born September 30, 1860, near Ravenswood, Jackson county, West Virginia, a son of Judson and Caroline (Stanley) Hughes, natives of that state. Indeed, his paternal grandparents were pioneers in the Jackson county region, and their son, Judson Hughes, was a farmer there. He was a staunch Republican in his politics, and with the breaking out of the Civil War, sided with the Federal government and en- listed in the army. He was a member of a troop of Union Cavalry, in which he held the honorable but perilous office of color sergeant, and was wounded on the field of action. To him and his wife were born twelve children: Andrew, see forward; Roseline; Averel, deceased; Matthew ; Reta ; Leonard; William; Orville ; Cora, deceased; Clara. deceased; Edward; Nora.
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