USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > Genealogical and personal history of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 39
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the elder man's death, took charge of the business, which has ever since remained under his management. In 1901 the business was incorporated under the laws of Pennsylvania with the name of F. Walters & Sons and with Charles A. Walters as president and Albert Walters as secretary and treasurer. The home of F. Walters & Sons is now a large two-story brick building situated prominently on Market street, West Bridgewater, and the firm does a large and extensive business. Besides his commercial activities, Mr. Walters is also engaged in politics and public affairs generally. He is a Republican and on that party's ticket has been elected to the borough council for about nine years all together, and has served as a member of the board of education for upwards of fifteen years. Mr. Walters is also con- nected with a number of fraternal organizations in his neighborhood. He is a member of Rochester Lodge, No. 786, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was a charter member of the organization which the Knights of Pythias founded in Butler, Pennsylvania, but since his residence in West Bridgewater has become associated with the order there.
Mr. Walters married, in 1895, Blanche Morgan, of Bridgewater, Penn- sylvania, and to them have been born eight children, as follows: Mary Esther, deceased; Catherine B., Charles, Grace L., Martha M., Lillian A., Millicent R., Dorothy May.
Three generations of Dietrichs have now been resident in DIETRICH the state of Pennsylvania, and they have made their mark as very successful men of business.
(I) Claus Dietrich was a native of Germany, and came to the United States with his family in 1855. He settled at Etna, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, making his permanent home there, and at that place he and his wife died. He had married in Germany, Catherine Elizabeth Leberuin, and they had children: Henry, deceased; Jacob, deceased; Claus; John E., see forward; Kate.
(II) John E. Dietrich, son of Claus and Catherine E. (Leberum) Dietrich, was born in Germany, February 24, 1841, and came to this country with his parents in 1855. He had learned the trade of shoemaking, and followed this after his arrival in America. During the course of the Civil War he was engaged in making boots and knapsacks for the Union army. For a time he abandoned the manufacture of shoes in order to engage in the liquor business, but upon removing to Bellevue, Pennsylvania, he again established himself in his former calling. In 1884 he removed to Monaca, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and there conducted a shoe business until his death, which occurred in the year 1907. In politics he was a staunch Republican, and his religious affiliations were with the German Lutheran Church. Mr. Dietrich married, May 18, 1868, Anna Catherine Truber, born in Germany, August 4, 1846, daughter of John Truber, born in Ger- many, who came to America in 1847 with his wife and one child, and located at Shaws Mill, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. For a time he was
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employed in the coal mines, and later was a farmer. He was a Republican, and a member of the German Presbyterian Church. He removed to Butler county, Pennsylvania, near Bakerstown, where his death occurred in August, 1860, at the age of forty-two years. He married, in Germany, Catherine Elizabeth Zimmerman, who died about 1890. They had children: Anna Catherine, who married Mr. Dietrich; Charles; Elizabeth; Mary; Emma Louisa. Mr. and Mrs. Dietrich had children : Charles A .; George E., see forward; Ida May.
(III) George E. Dietrich, son of John E. and Anna Catherine (Truber) Dietrich, was born at Bellevue, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, September 18, 1880. His education was a liberal one, being acquired at the public schools of Monaca, Pearsall's Academy, and Butcher's Business College, at Beaver Falls. He was then apprenticed to learn the plumbers' trade, and has been successfully engaged in that calling up to the present time, his place of business being located at No. 817 Pennsylvania avenue, between Eighth and Ninth streets. He is a wide-awake, enterprising young man, and an ardent member of the Progressive Republican party. His fraternal affiliation is with Rochester Lodge, No. 229, Free and Accepted Masons, and he is a member of the German Lutheran Church. Mr. Dietrich is un- married.
HAMILTON The Hamilton family of Pennsylvania is of Scotch de- scent, numbering among its members many men who have gained prominence in all paths of life, both in the Old and New World. While some members of the family came to America from their native land, others made settlement in the north of Ireland on forfeited land as "servitors" and thence came to America. The emigrant ancestor of the branch to which the Hamiltons of Beaver county belong is unknown, but those bearing the name have been present in the county since the early pioneer settlements.
(I) James Hamilton, a farmer of Beaver county, is the first of whom there is authentic record. He was a farmer, a Democrat in politics and a member of the Presbyterian Church. It was in all probability to two of his sons, Lute and James, that credit was given for the second attempt at pottery making in Beaver Valley. They obtained their clay on the west bank of Brady's Run, near its confluence with the Big Beaver. James Hamilton married Mary -, a native of Germany, and had issue.
(II) Oscar Hamilton, son of James and Mary Hamilton, was born in Beaver county. Pennsylvania, April 28, 1829, died in Monaca, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, 1903, aged seventy-four years. He obtained his edu- cation in the public schools, and followed the farmer's occupation for many years. For a time after his marriage he made his home in Lawrence county, later returning to Beaver county and in 1884 coming to Monaca, where his death occurred. Both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He married Catherine, born 1832, daughter of Benjamin
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and Catherine Craig. Benjamin Craig was a native of Scotland, came to Pennsylvania and began farming operations in Beaver county, Pennsyl- vania, where both he and his wife died. Children of Oscar and Catherine (Craig) Hamilton: Electa, deceased; Elizabeth Ellen, deceased; Ida; Nel- son; Samuel D., of whom further; Dora, deceased; Ira L., deceased.
(III) Samuel D. Hamilton, son of Oscar and Catherine (Craig) Hamil- ton, was born in Newcastle, Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, January 19, 1863. He spent his early years on his father's farm in Lawrence county, and obtained his education in the public schools of Newcastle and Monaca, also attending Peirsol's Academy at Bridgewater. Completing his studies, he taught school in that locality for several years, discontinuing this occu- pation to learn the painter's trade, at which he was employed for a period of fifteen years. For an equal length of time he has held the office of secretary of the Phillipsburg Building and Loan Association, discharging his duties in that connection capably and with uniform satisfaction to his col- leagues in the management of the organization. In 1903 he erected the Hotel Hamilton on the corner of Pennsylvania avenue and Twelfth street, a three-story brick building, and since that time has conducted the hotel. He is a proprietor of rare quickness of perception in the detection of means for increasing the comfort and convenience of his guests, and has been very successful during the decade of his venture. Through his efforts, vigorous and incessant, to maintain a hotel of the highest reputation, he has acquired a modest competence, the due reward of a well directed aim. Mr. Hamil- ton is a Democrat in politics and has taken so prominent a part in the affairs of Monaca that he has held every borough office except those of con- stable and councilman. He is a member of Monaca Lodge, Knights of Pythias; Lodge No. 283, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Rochester, Pennsylvania, and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church. Actively interested in all municipal questions, Mr. Hamilton is a constant worker for Monaca's advancement along all lines. He is also one of the important business men of the town, and as such is a supporter of its prosperity.
SUTHERLAND The name of Sutherland has long been associated with honorable records throughout the United States, and the Sutherlands of the State of Pennsylvania are no exception to this rule. They have borne their share bravely in defense of the rights of their country whenever there was need for their services, and as business men and citizens they have borne the highest character.
(I) John Sutherland was born in Brighton township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and was there engaged in farming. He married Sarah Jane Rhodes, also a native of Brighton township, and they had children: Sarah Jane; Nancy ; William, who served in the Civil War, was captured and made an inmate of Andersonville Prison, from which he escaped; Minerva;
S. a. Aucherland
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Joseph Alexander, see forward; John; a daughter, who died in infancy; Hugh.
(II) Joseph Alexander Sutherland, son of John and Sarah Jane (Rhodes) Sutherland, was born in Brighton township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, July 22, 1845, died July 14, 1911. His preparatory education was received in the public schools of his native township, from whence he went to Duff's Business College, and was graduated from this institution. For some time he taught school with a very satisfactory amount of success, then engaged for a time in the mercantile business in Beaver. For nine years he was deputy prothonotary, then established himself in the ice bus- iness, with which he was connected for a period of six years. His industry and systematic business methods enabled him to amass a considerable fortune, and he retired from business responsibilities about two years prior to his death. He had the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens, by reason of his upright business methods, kindly disposition and unassailable integrity. Mr. Sutherland kept well abreast of the times in all matters of public interest, and never failed to cast his vote in the interests of the Republican party. He was for many years a member of the Masonic Order, affiliating with Beaver Lodge, No. 248, of Beaver, Pennsylvania, and was also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He and his wife were members of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Sutherland married, November 3, 1868, Isabella S., born in Cranberry township, Butler county, Pennsylvania, daughter of David and Mary (McMahan) Barto, the former of German descent and one of the early settlers of Butler county, having come across the state by wagon route, and engaged in farming. One of his sons, Jesse Barto, was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil War, and was confined in Libby Prison. He managed to effect his escape, and two days afterward his companions in the prison were ex- changed. Mr. and Mrs. Sutherland had children: Bertha M., born Jan- uary 29, 1870; Edith Anna, March 3, 1874; Joseph H., August 23, 1875; Edward Alexander, November 29, 1877, was an active participant in the Spanish-American War, being one of the first recruits, was a member of Company B, Tenth Regiment of Pennsylvania State Volunteers; died in 1912.
The name of Urwin is well known in England and Scotland, URWIN and has been well represented in this country. William Urwin, a native and resident of Newcastle-on-Tyne, Northumberland county, England, married Jane - and had several children, among them being James, see forward.
(II) James Urwin, son of William Urwin, was born in Newcastle-on- Tyne, Northumberland, England, 1817, died June 23, 1871. His calling was that of an engineer. He married Margaret Charlton, born 1818, died July 19, 1894, daughter of William and Jane (Robson) Charlton, she a native of Kelso, Scotland, and they both died in Newcastle-on-Tyne.
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William Charlton died January 28, 1867, at the age of eighty-one years, and his wife died November 16, 1868, at the age of eighty-nine years. They had children : William, see forward; Jane, deceased; Thomas.
(III) William (2) Urwin, son of James and Margaret (Charlton) Urwin, was born in Newcastle-on-Tyne, Northumberland county, England, November 17, 1839. He was educated in the public schools, and was ap- prenticed to learn the trade of glass blowing, which he subsequently fol- lowed. Finding little chance for advancement in his native country he decided to emigrate to America, and accordingly sailed for this country on the 24th of January, 1880, landing February 4, 1880. He arrived at Phila- delphia, and at the end of one month went to Meriden, Connecticut, where he worked at his trade of glass blowing until September, 1881. He then came to Monaca, Pennsylvania, where he formed a connection with the Phoenix Glass Company, and was foreman in the blowing department for a period of eighteen years. He is now living retired from active business. He owns his residence at No. 1209 Virginia avenue. In political affairs Mr. Urwin is a Republican, and he served three years as a member of the common council. His religious affiliations are with the Presbyterian Church, while his grandparents and parents were Primitive Methodists, his Grand- father Charlton having been a local preacher. Mr. Urwin is a member of The Flint Glass Workers' Association; Rochester Lodge, No. 229, Free and Accepted Masons; and a charter member of Knights of Pythias, of Monaca.
Mr. Urwin married, in Scotland, June 8, 1866, Johanna Mitchell, born in Leith, Scotland, and they have had children: 1. Jane, born in Edinburgh, Scotland, June 2, 1867; attended the schools there and came to this country with her mother and the other members of the family, the father having come to the United States one year previously ; she is unmarried. 2. George, born in Edinburgh, Scotland, May 2, 1869, was educated in his native country ; he came to this country with his mother and took up his calling of glass blowing, and is now with the Phoenix Glass Company; he married Mary Thompson, born in Monaca, but of Scotch descent, and they have had children : Ethel, Florence, William, David. 3. Johanna, born in Edinburgh, Scotland, June 13, 1872; she is unmarried, and was educated in Scotland and Monaca. 4. William, born in Edinburgh, Scotland, January 27, 1874; was educated in Monaca ; he is also a glass blower by trade and is in the employ of the Phoenix Glass Company ; he married Elizabeth Veil, of Monaca, who died January 17, 1913; they have had children : Bessie, born May 30, 1897; George Thomas, born 1899, died in infancy.
MATEER
Michael Mateer, born in Alsace-Lorraine, Germany, at that
time French, now German, February 6, 1804, came to America in 1826, and went directly to Pittsburgh, and for a time lived at Bakerstown. In 1838 he purchased the farm on which his direct descendants are still living, and died there in 1882. He married, in
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Pittsburgh, Margaret Rook, also a native of Alsace-Lorraine, who came over on the same ship with him, and died about 1885. They had children : Michael; George, see forward; Margaret, deceased; Eliza, deceased; Caro- line; Mary, deceased; Louise. Mr. Mateer was very successful as a farmer.
(II) George Mateer, son of Michael and Margaret (Rook) Mateer, was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, March 12, 1846. He was a black- smith by trade and also engaged in farming, making a success of both call- ings. He and his wife still live in Moon township. He is a staunch Democrat, and an earnest member of the Presbyterian Church. He married Mary Baker, born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, July 14, 1852, daughter of Michael Baker, and a granddaughter of George Baker, both pioneers in the settlement of Beaver county, where they were farmers. Michael Baker had children: George; John; Joseph, killed on the second day of the fight at Chancellorsville, during the Civil War; Martha, died in 1912 at the age of eighty-three years; Eliza Jane; Belle; Caroline; Mary, married George Mateer, as above mentioned; Malinda. George and Mary (Baker) Mateer had children: John R., see forward; James; George, deceased, was a car- penter in Los Angeles, California, where he died, February 18, 1912; Alice; Leenora; Harry, who was in the butcher business in Los Angeles, Cali- fornia ; Bessie; Blanche, who lives in Michigan.
(III) John R. Mateer, son of George and Mary (Baker) Mateer, was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, August 24, 1876. He was reared on the farm, attended the public schools of the township, and supplemented this by a course at Piersol's Academy at Bridgewater. For a short time he taught school, but as a business career appealed to him more strongly he soon abandoned this occupation. In 1902, in association with his brother James, they commenced a provision business at No. 1000 Pennsylvania avenue, under the firm name of Mateer Brothers. They have been eminently successful in this undertaking and have a large class of customers. The place is equipped with all modern improvements and is conducted in every detail on the most up-to-date and approved methods. In political matters Mr. Mateer is a staunch Democrat, and he is a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles and of the Turners of Monaca, Beaver county, Pennsyl- vania.
ZIGERCAL While the Zigercal family has not been represented in this country many generations, the members of the family who have made their home here have amply demonstrated their business ability and their patriotism to the land of their adoption.
(I) Louis Zigercal was born in Italy, and emigrated to America with his family. He made his home in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where his death occurred in November, 1891. He married Anjelena Aella, also born in Italy, died in Beaver county, 1893. They had children : Mary, Francesco, Joseph, see forward; Peter, deceased.
(II) Joseph Zigercal, son of Louis and Anjelena (Aella) Zigercal, was
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born in Italy, November 28, 1861. He was educated in his native country, and upon his arrival in America went to Washington, District of Columbia, where he was employed until 1901. In that year he came to Monaca, Beaver connty, Pennsylvania, and established himself as a tobacconist and confec- tioner. His methods of doing business were original and up-to-date, and he speedily won the success his efforts so richly deserved. He amassed a con- siderable fortune, and in 1909 erected the Zigercal Block on Pennsylvania avenue, between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets. He is a member of the Republican party, and a devout attendant at the Catholic Church. Mr. Zigercal married, in Italy, January 1, 1884, Carmella, born in Italy, Feb- ruary 28, 1861, daughter of Antonio and Theresa (Orella) Crebarr, the former of whom died in 1878, the latter in 1870. Mr. and Mrs. Crebarr had children: Carmella, Pasquallina. Mr. and Mrs. Zigercal have had children : Ralph, born November 30, 1885, married Carmella Gerson and has one child, Joseph; Charles, born April 6, 1888; Carl, born June 6, 1889; Otto, born July 4, 1891; John, born April 6, 1893; James, born May 10, 1895.
The various members of the Jackson family in this country JACKSON have been noted in the annals of military and professional life for many generations, and the progenitor of the branch here under review was a relative of President Andrew Jackson.
(I) James Andrew Jackson, who was born in the North of Ireland, emigrated to America at an early date, and settled in Beaver county, Penn- sylvania, when that section of the country was but sparsely settled, and the country almost a wilderness. In all probability he was engaged in agri- cultural pursuits. He married - McCreary, a sister of Thomas Mc- Creary, now deceased, a noted banker of Beaver in his day. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson had children: James, Thomas, see forward; Orville, Sharpe, Robert. (II) Thomas Jackson, son of James Andrew and - (McCreary) Jackson, was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, in May, 1826, and was reared on his father's homestead. This was a large tract of land, and Thomas Jackson sold a portion of it to the Colonial Land Company. Politically he affiliated with the Democratic party, and he was an active worker in the interests of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Jackson married Malinda Alcorn, born in Moon township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, 1831, died 1911, daughter of William and Sarah (Hultz) Alcorn, the latter a native of Eastern Pennsylvania. William Alcorn was born in the North of Ireland, and emigrated to America with his brothers-James, John and Joseph. They settled in Beaver county, where, together, they purchased five hundred acres of land in Moon township, and where Joseph died and bequeathed his estate to the schools of Moon township. Thomas and Malinda (Alcorn) Jackson had children: W. J., a contractor in Beaver Falls; Sarah M., now the widow of Dr. J. M. Douds, of Beaver Falls; Dr. J. O., of Corry, Erie county, Pennsylvania; Thomas Sharpe, see forward.
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(III) Thomas Sharpe Jackson, son of Thomas and Malinda (Alcorn) Jackson, was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, December 27, 1861, on the site of the present Colonial Steel Works. He was reared on the home- stead farm, and attended the schools of Moon township, where he acquired an excellent and practical education. For one term he then taught school, after which he assisted his father in the management of the home farm until it was sold. He found employment in a grocery store in Monaca, acquiring a thorough knowledge of all the details of this line of business, and in 1900 built his present place of business on Pennsylvania avenue, where he has been very successful. He is an active supporter of the Democratic party, although he has never desired to hold public office. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church, He married, in May, 1908, Sarah Florence, born in New Sheffield, Pennsylvania, daughter of the Rev. P. J. Cummings, of Monaca. They have one child, Thomas William, born in February, 1909.
The emigrant of the Engle family of Pennsylvania made the ENGLE commonwealth his home by a combination of circumstances that were, to say the least, unusual. Henry Engle was born in Metz, Alsace-Lorraine, Germany, and was one of the army that came to America under the French nobleman, General La Fayette, to fight for the colonists in the war for independence. He survived that struggle without serious injury, but had imbibed so much of the American spirit of liberty and had become so ardent a champion of the cause he had so bravely aided to defend, that when the foreign army of which he was a part embarked for Europe, he and a companion deserted. Alone in a country with which they were almost unfamiliar, except for the section over which their campaigns had carried them, they settled in the eastern part of Pennsyl- vania for a short time and then, Henry Engle and his comrade separating, the former came to what is now Beaver county. For a time he was en- gaged in farming operations near Industry, and there died at the home of his son George, concerning whom see forward.
(II) George Engle, son of Henry Engle, was born near Shippensburg, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, 1790, died in Industry, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, 1866. He was brought to Beaver county when a child by his parents and there spent his entire life. He followed his father's occupation of farming and purchased a farm of one hundred acres in Industry town- ship, later adding thirty acres to the original tract. In 1836 he erected a substantial brick mansion, now used as a residence by his son, Enoch Engle, and here his death occurred. He was a Democrat in politics, but later be- came a partisan of the Republican party. Both he and his wife were members of the United Brethren Church, regular in their attendance and devout in their worship. George Engle married Amy Dannals, born in Salem county, New Jersey, 1799, died in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, hav- ing survived her husband twenty-one years. She was a daughter of Stacy
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Dannals, a Swiss, who came to America prior to the Revolution, and who fought in that conflict in defense of the Colonial cause. After the war he settled on a farm in Brighton township, where his death occurred. He was the father of several children by two marriages. Children of George and Amy (Dannals) Engle : George, a carpenter, died in Beaver county ; Henry, deceased, a farmer and wagon builder, was for some years steward of the County almhouse; Stacey D., deceased, a farmer and wagon builder; Jem- ima, deceased, married Nicholas Todd; John, died at the age of twenty-four years; David, deceased, a farmer, married Cynthia Knight; Washington, see forward; Franklin, died at the age of twelve years; Joseph, a fruit grower of Industry township; Enoch, born November 9, 1839, a fruit grower on the old homestead.
(III) Washington Engle, son of George and Amy (Dannals) Engle, was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, April 20, 1832, and is now living retired in Brighton township, in the same county. He won fame as a fruit grower, and his orchards were models of their kind. He is a Republican in politics, and a member of the United Brethren Church. He married Lorinda, born in Ohio, 1838, who was brought to Beaver county as a child by her parents, Benjamin and Sarah (Shirts) Todd, both of whom died in Monaca. Mr. and Mrs. Engle had children: Benjamin Franklin, see forward; John A., Joseph L., Luetta, deceased; Alvin S., Harry U.
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