USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > Genealogical and personal history of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 4
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(II) Rev. James M. Wertz, son of Reinhart and Johanna (Nunnink) Wertz, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, November 10, 1856. He was educated at a Jesuit College, St. Mary's, Kansas, and after completing studies of exceptionally wide scope on subjects not entirely classical, he was for two years a teacher in the public schools, during the terms of 1876 and 1877. He then took up more advanced collegiate work at St. Lawrence
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College, at Calvary, Wisconsin, entering that institution in September, 1877, and continuing his studies from the point at which they had been aban- doned when he left St. Mary's. After his graduation from St. Lawrence College he was adopted by Bishop Twigg, of Pittsburgh, entering St. Vincent's Seminary, where his course included two years of philosophy and three of theology, and whence he was graduated April 21, 1886. On the day of his graduation he was regularly ordained a priest of the Roman Catholic Church, his first ecclesiastical duties being as assistant at St. Mary's Church, at Connellsville, Pennsylvania, where he served for two years and eight months. His first pastorate was at St. Joseph's Church, in Braddock, Pennsylvania, a parish he left to establish a church, school and parochial residence at Dawson, where previous to that time there had been but a mission. He accomplished this in a manner that brought a large measure of satisfaction to the heads of the church in that region and was commissioned to perform the same task at West Newton, where he was situated for four years after completing the organization of the parish. From 1892 until 1900 he was pastor of St. Joseph's parish at Carnegie, Pennsylvania, in the latter year coming to Beaver Falls, where he has ever since remained as the pastor of St. Mary's. His stay in that place has been productive of great good to the parish, which, num- bering about seven hundred and fifty souls when he was installed, now has a membership of double that number. St. Mary's Church had been built four years before he became pastor and since then he has improved both the appearance and value of the entire church property by installing many conveniences and necessities, adding, as well, a handsome new pas- torate. The sanctuary is an edifice of graceful and pleasing design, an interior view revealing decorations tastefully and beautifully arranged.
In educational work Rev. Wertz has found a field for which he is not only admirably fitted by his own wide studies, but in which he takes especial pleasure because of the association with young people which it entails, the society of those of fewer years than his always giving him enjoyment. He has introduced into the high school shorthand, bookkeeping, telegraphy, Latin, also a course in wireless telegraphy, and so practical is the system and so embracing the curriculum that it is his pride that between the ages of six and fourteen years a child of unimpaired faculties may be fitted for a life-work. He is the instructor in Latin and telegraphy, gifted with the power of the true teacher, that of holding the interest of his classes, and obtains excellent results, forming in the class-room many friendships that continue after the pupil has left the confines of the school and has entered the university of life.
Rev. Wertz's parish is one of the most flourishing in the state, all of its varied works prospering in plentiful degree. He is the pastor ideal, indefatigable in his labors for his people, solicitously anxious for them in times of trouble or distress and actively helpful in the emergencies of life
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in which his aid is required. He holds the merited honor and respect of those who know him and his works, regardless of difference in religious convictions, and is a popular member of the community. His political action is independent of party dictates and he is a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association.
BERNHARDY Michael Bernhardy, who was born in Germany, came to the United States with his wife in 1842, and settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Later he removed to Rochester, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where he lived retired until his death in 1899, at the age of eighty years. He married, in Germany, Mag- dalena Veiock, a native of that country, who died in Pittsburgh, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, in 1893, at the age of seventy-two years. They had three sons and three daughters, of whom two sons and two daughters are now living.
(II) Henry A. Bernhardy, son of Michael and Magdalena (Veiock) Bernhardy, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, January 18, 1860. He was educated in the public schools. He had charge of the Tie Plate Depart- ment for Dilworth & Porter, South Pittsburgh, until 1897, when he resigned in order to establish himself in the mercantile business, from which he retired in 1912. He has always supported the Republican party. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and of the Junior Order of American Mechanics, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Mr. Bern- hardy married Anna Louise Walper, born in Pittsburgh, September 9, 1859, daughter of Augustus and Marie (Miller) Walper. Augustus Walper came to East Liverpool, Ohio, with his wife, and later removed to Pittsburgh, where he was a blacksmith, and from which city he enlisted to take part in the civil war. He died in Pittsburgh in 1904, at the age of seventy- three years, and she died in the same city in 1893, at the age of sixty-five years. They had one son and three daughters, all of whom are living at the present time.
(III) Dr. Harry Walper Bernhardy, son of Henry A. and Anna Louise (Walper) Bernhardy, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, December 16, 1885. The public schools of both Pittsburgh and Rochester furnished his elementary and preparatory education, and he then became a student in the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated in the class of 1909, the degree of Doctor of Medicine being conferred upon him. One-half year was then spent as an interne in Mercy Hospital, and one year at St. John's Hospital, after which he es- tablished himself in the practice of his profession in Rochester, Beaver county, where he has been exceptionally successful. He is a member of the County, State and National Medical associations; member of Rochester Lodge, No. 229, Free and Accepted Masons; Eureka Chapter, No. 167,
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Royal Arch Masons; Beaver Falls Commandery, No. 84, Knights Templar ; New Castle Lodge of Perfection, thirty-second degree. Dr. Bernhardy is an attendant at the services of the Presbyterian Church.
That the Merricks of America are descendants of the pur-
MERRICK est Celtic stock is established and ably confirmed by that admirable authority, Burke's "Peerage," which says, in
part :
The Meyricks are of the purest and noblest Cambrian blood and have possessed the same ancestral estate and residence at Bodorgan, Anglesey, Wales, without in- terruption above a thousand years. They have the rare distinction of being lineally descended both from the sovereign Princes of Wales, of the Welsh Royal family, and from King Edward I., whose eldest son was the first Prince of Wales of the English Royal family.
The descent and the unpronounceable Welsh names are too lengthy and difficult to be here reproduced, it being sufficient to here record that the line is traced through many generations and centuries to the Rev. John Merrick, rector of Llandachya, Wales, from whom all obtainable evidence claims descent for the four brothers, William, James, John, Thomas, who settled in Massachusetts, in 1636.
(I) James Merrick, the ancestor of the line following, was born in Wales in 1612, and was one of the four brothers previously mentioned who reached Charlestown in the ship "James" in the spring of 1636. He was a fish packer and cooper by trade, and owned his place of business on the water front in Charlestown. If the supposition that he was born in Saint Davids, Pembrokeshire, Wales, is correct, his choice of occupation is easily accounted for, as Saint Davids depended entirely upon its fishing for the support of its population. In 1657 he moved to Newbury and be- came a farmer, the records of Charlestown showing that "James Merrick, the cooper, and Margaret, his wife, sold house and lot in Charlestown to John Andrews." The same records state that in 1676 "James Mirrick, aged fifty-two years in 1664, deeded to his son James, in Newbury, lands situated in Newbury." The date of his death is not found in the records, but he died prior to the death of his wife, which occurred in Newbury, Massachusetts, April 2, 1708. Children of James and Margaret Merrick : I. James, born at Charlestown, Massachusetts, about 1654. 2. John, born at Charlestown, Massachusetts, 1656, died there February 15, 1657, the victim of an attack of small-pox. 3. Hannah, born at Newbury, Massa- chusetts, February 6, 1657, married, in 1676, Benjamin Knowlton, of Springfield, Massachusetts. 4. Abigail, born in Newbury, Massachusetts, September 5, 1658. 5. Joseph, born in Newbury, Massachusetts, April 27, 1661. 6. Isaac, born in Newbury, Massachusetts, January 6, 1665. 7. Timothy, of whom further. 8. Susanna, born in Newbury, Massachusetts, August 20, 1670.
(II) Timothy Merrick, fifth son and seventh child of James and Mar- garet Merrick, was born at Newbury, Massachusetts, September 28, 1666,
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died there March 15, 1719. He married, May 9, 1696, Mary, daughter of Joseph Lancaster, of Amesbury, Massachusetts. Children: 1. Ezra, born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, March 31, 1697. 2. Abigail, born at Charlestown, Massachusetts, November 26, 1698; married, July 10, 1718, Stephen Ordway, of Newbury, Massachusetts. 3. Mary, born at Newbury, Massachusetts, July 10, 1701 ; married, July 14, 1726, Samuel Huse, of Newbury. 4. Anne, born in Newbury, Massachusetts, June 24, 1702. 5. Timothy, of whom further. 6. Jacob, born in Newbury, Massachusetts, May 30, 1707. 7. Joseph, born prior to 1719.
(III) Timothy (2) Merrick, eldest son and fifth child of Timothy (1) and Mary (Lancaster) Merrick, was born at Newbury, Massachusetts, February 22, 1704, died in 1784. From the notes of Alfred Poore, of Salem, who in 1861 made a pedestrian trip through portions of Massa- chusetts and New Hampshire, taking notes among the oldest people, for the purpose of writing a history of Essex county, the following is taken:
Mrs. Webster (Mr. Webster's mother) says that her grandfather was Timothy Merrick, who, with his brother Ezra (and they had a brother Jacob in Newbury), came up Methuen from Newbury and moved into their new house when her Aunt Elizabeth, who married William Emerson, was fourteen years old; they lived about one-fourth of a mile from the Salem line, in New Hampshire, and one half mile from the mills at the Falls. The place was afterwards owned by Daniel Huse. He died the day she was twelve years old and the day he was eighty. This was her grandfather, Timothy Merrick. His wife was Mary Bodwell, of Methuen, who died March, 1805, aged ninety-three years. Captain Eliphalet Bodwell was taken by the French at Fort William Henry, but by running fourteen miles he got to the American lines at Fort Edward, but lost all his clothes, taking off one garment at a time as he was running, until he was naked. He was a nephew of Mrs. Webster's grandmother, Mary.
Timothy (2) Merrick married, at Methuen, Massachusetts, December 5, 1728, Mary Bodwell, who died in March, 1805, aged ninety-three years. Children of Timothy (2) and Mary (Bodwell) Merrick: 1. Timothy, born January 10, 1738, died at Methuen, Massachusetts, November 29, 1738. 2. Timothy, born November 17, 1739, was taken prisoner at Fort William Henry in August, 1757, never returned from captivity. 3. James, born July 1, 1742, was taken prisoner at the same time as his brother Timothy, and never returned to his home. 4. Mary, born April 27, 1744, married Stephen Gates; they lived for a time at Bridgston, Maine, later moving westward to Ohio. 5. Jacob, born September 2, 1746. 6. Sarah, born November 19, 1748, married James Hibbard, and settled in Methuen, Massachusetts; they had children, Esther and Marianna. 7. Joseph, of whom further. 8. Elizabeth, born February 8, 1751, married William Emerson.
(IV) Joseph Merrick, seventh child and fifth son of Timothy (2) and Mary (Bodwell) Merrick, was born at Hampstead, New Hampshire, December 30, 1749, died there December 29, 1823. He was a farmer in the town of his birth, and served in the Revolutionary War, having been a sergeant in Captain Joseph Illsley's company, Colonel Cogswell's regi-
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ment, Massachusetts Volunteers, from September 30, 1776, to November 16, 1776. He married, at Hampstead, New Hampshire, in 1770, Judith, daughter of Stephen and Judith (Bailey) Little, born November 17, 1753. She was descended from George Little, born in London, England, im- migrant at Newbury, Massachusetts, in 1640; married (first) Alice Poore, who died December 1, 1680, (second) July 19, 1681, Eleanor, widow of Thomas Barnard, of Amesbury, Massachusetts. His son, Moses Little, born March 11, 1657, married Lydia, daughter of Tristam and Judith (Somerby) Coffin. Moses Little served as a soldier in King Philip's War, and was town collector for several terms; his son, Moses (2) Little, born February 26, 1691, married Sarah, daughter of Sergeant Stephen and Deborah (Plumer) Jaques. His son, Stephen Little, born at Newburyport, Massa- chusetts, May 19, 1719, married Judith, daughter of Joshua and Sarah (Coffin) Bailey, of Newbury, Massachusetts, born February 15, 1724, died August 19, 1764. He lived on Turkey Hill for twenty years after his marriage, afterwards on a farm which he owned in Sandy Lane. In 1763 he was one of the grantees of Newbury, Vermont, and also owned lands in Bath and Hampstead, New Hampshire, and in Cumberland and Lincoln counties, Maine. He was a representative to the legislature in 1776, and held many town offices. He was for many years a member and deacon of Dr. Spring's Church, in Newburyport, and through the marriage of his daughter and Joseph Merrick the Little and Merrick lines were united. Children of Joseph and Judith (Little) Merrick: 1. Judith, born January 22, 1771, married Rufus Harriman. 2. Joseph, of whom further. 3. Temperance, born September 8, 1775, married James Noyes. 4. Mary, born March 16, 1778, married, in 1793, Samuel Dalton, and among her numerous children was Eldridge. 5. Hannah, born May 17, 1780, married John Grimes. 6. Abner Little, born June 22, 1782, married Martha Cor- liss. 7. Sarah, born July 3, 1784, married Edward Noyes. 8. Nathaniel, born December 26, 1786, married Sarah Corliss. 9. Abigail, born October 28, 1789, married Bartholomew Heath. 10. Ann, born August 28, 1791, married Paul Gardner. 11. Joshua, born May 20, 1793, married Eliza Emery, and resided at New Hampton, New Hampshire. 12. Lydia, born December 28, 1796, married Oliver Lake, and lived at New Hampton, New Hampshire.
(V) Joseph (2) Merrick, son of Joseph (1) and Judith (Little) Merrick, was born at Hampstead, New Hampshire, June 22, 1772, died in Adrian, Michigan, March 2, 1870. He became a shipwright and for a time was employed in the United States navy yard at Charlestown, Massa- chusetts, afterward working in the shipyard at Newburyport, of which he was part owner. In 1816 he left Salisbury, Massachusetts, in a two horse team and sleigh, with his wife and eight children, the oldest a girl of eighteen years, the youngest less than three years of age, with New York state as his destination. He traveled as far as Brutus, New York, which place he reached in March, 1816. An old and abandoned log house stood by
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the road-side, of which he took possession, and remained for several days, until he could secure more comfortable quarters. Favorably impressed by the country and fertility of the soil, he purchased a large farm and began gardening on an extensive scale aided by his six boys, whose ages were included between eight and sixteen years. Syracuse, twelve miles away, was the market for his garden products, and every week day morning he rose before daylight and drove to that place with a two horse load. The work of each day was planned the night before and the boys were required to accomplish all that was laid out, his share being commensurate with his greater strength. His home was in Brutus until 1834, when he sold the property and moved to Michigan, settling in Adrian, where he bought eighty acres of land, all of which is now within the city limits, lying west of Main and South Merrick streets, the latter named in his honor. In this locality he followed the business which had engaged his labors in Brutus, the raising of garden produce for the local market, and there he died. He was a powerful man, over six feet in height, and erect as an Indian; brave, fearing only his God. It is said of him that he avoided quarrel, but never turned his back to any man, a trait which he transmitted to his sons, who were all brave men and cool in the face of danger.
He married at Hampstead, New Hampshire, April 11, 1797, Sarah Harriman, born at Chester, New Hampshire, July 17, 1781, died at Adrian, Michigan, March 2, 1870, daughter of Laban Harriman. She was des- cended from one of two brothers, John and Leonard Harriman, of York- shire, England, who came to America about 1640, settling at Haverhill, Massachusetts. Joseph Harriman, a grandson of the immigrant, married Lydia Eaton; their son Reuben, born at Haverhill, Massachusetts, No- vember 5, 1725, married Mehitable Putnam, a niece of General Israel Putnam, of Revolutionary fame, Reuben and Mehitable (Putnam) Har- riman, with their negro servant, are buried at Hampstead, New Hampshire. He saw service of some kind during the Revolutionary War and his grave is decorated each Memorial Day by the Civil War veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic. There is on file in the war department a receipt (partially torn) showing that Lieutenant Moses Little, of Captain Page's company, Colonel Gale's regiment, New Hampshire Militia, received one hundred dollars for Reuben Harriman (receipt torn) and another soldier who were enlisted in the company to go "on an expedition to the State of Rhode Island." His son, Laban, was the father of Sarah, who married Joseph Merrick. Children of Joseph and Sarah (Harriman) Merrick: I. Eliza, born at Hampstead, New Hampshire, April 23, 1798. 2. Rufus, born at Corinth, Vermont, April 15, 1800. 3. Laban Harriman, born at Corinth, Vermont, February 23, 1802. 4. Joseph, born at Newbury, Massa- chusetts, June 2, 1804. 5. Silas, of whom further. 6. George Washington, born at Salisbury, Massachusetts, July 22, 1808. 7. Sarah, born at Salis- bury, Massachusetts, September 14, 1810. 8. Abigail, born at Salisbury, Massachusetts, May 25, 1813. 9. Mary L., born in Brutus, New York,
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September 8, 1818, died unmarried aged twenty years. 10. Judith Little, born in Brutus, New York, November 26, 1820. 11. Byron Lafayette, born in Brutus, New York, there married, his wife's death occurring within six months after their marriage, his own following within the next half year, at Adrian, Michigan, August 5, 1848.
(VI) Silas Merrick, fifth child and fourth son of Joseph (2) Merrick, was born at Salisbury, Massachusetts, August 16, 1806, died at New Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, July 4, 1887. After his marriage he moved from Jordan, New York, to Fallston, Pennsylvania, coming to the latter place in 1837, and there formed a partnership with his brother- in-law, engaging in the manufacture of buckets, tubs and keelers with ma- chinery invented by his father-in-law, Amos Miner, and patented from 1826 to 1828. The partnership of Miner & Merrick continued for nearly half a century, during which time Silas Merrick took out several patents, among which were several on iron passenger and freight cars, the man- ufacture of which he conducted from 1859 to 1861, his limited capital necessitating its abandonment. Some of the products of his shops are in use at the present time, showing the soundness of their construction and their fitness for the purpose intended. He indulged his inventive genius further and was granted patents on improvements on wash boards, a device to attach to the tops of chimneys to regulate drafts, and a splice bar to join the ends of rails on railways, a lock-nut device. In conjunc- tion with his partner, Mr. Miner, he bought an unfinished hotel in New Brighton, which they finished and furnished, naming it the "Merrick House," opened in 1852, destroyed by fire in 1855. His political associa- tion was originally with the Democratic party, but he afterward cast his vote in favor of Republican candidates. He was a man of industrious habits, unyielding integrity, and as shown by the previous recital of con- siderable inventive talent. The rigorous training of his youth under the stern discipline of his father developed and strengthened the best of his character, making him reliant, independent and ambitious.
He married, at Jordan, New York, September 22, 1828, Fanny Miner, born July 14, 1811, died at New Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, December 4, 1891, daughter of Amos and Phoebe (Hamlin) Miner, a descendant of an old New England family, her ancestors having landed at Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1630. Her mother died September 20, 1838, her father June 2, 1842. Children of Silas and Fanny (Miner) Merrick: 1. John Miner, born in Jordan, New York, January 14, 1831, died at Fallston, Pennsylvania, September 24, 1837. 2. Edward Dempster, born in Jordan, New York, August 24, 1832. 3. Charles Morris, born in Jordan, New York, April 14, 1834. 4. Mary Malvin, born in Jordan, New York, July 25, 1836, died in Fallston, Pennsylvania, July 9, 1838. 5. Franklin Angelo, born in New Brighton, Pennsylvania, January 17, 1845. 6. Frederick Silas, of whom further.
(VII) Frederick Silas Merrick, youngest of the six children of Silas
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and Fanny (Miner) Merrick, was born at New Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, June 30, 1853. "Merrick House," of which his father was proprietor, was his birth-place, and until he was eighteen years of age he was a student in the public schools. In 1871, in company with his father, he opened a book-store, with which was connected a wall paper and window shade business, in which line he continued for about ten years. He, his brother, Charles M., and a third associate, Mr. Pierce, in January, 1881, inaugurated a business that later was incorporated as the Standard Horse Nail Company, with works at New Brighton, for the manufacture of hot forged horse nails. Three years after the birth of the industry the works were flooded, entailing damaging loss, and in February, 1886, the plant was burned to the ground. Undismayed by these evidences of fortune's disfavor, the partners reared a new factory, installed machinery, and started the company upon an era of prosperity that has continued to the present time, its present working force numbering hundreds, its monthly payroll mounting into the thousands, its products covering a world area. From the time of the organization of the Standard Horse Nail Company, Mr. Merrick has been secretary, a position he now holds, and during that time has also managed the sales department. His best effort has ever been directed for the good of the company; he has been as faithful in adversity as in fortune, and has ever striven to place the business in its present prominent place. In the past he has been connected in official capacity with the Kenwood Oil Company, and has been in- terested in Porto Rico sugar lands and factories. He is a musician of proficient talent, the violin being the instrument of which he is most thor- oughly master, and in his youth he was for ten years leader of a theatre orchestra. His wife is also a musician of merit, having been a concert singer prior to her marriage, and since that event has been soprano in the choir of the Presbyterian Church of New Brighton. Their children have inherited their parents' love of music as well as their aptness and ability, the eldest and youngest playing the piano in an extraordinarily artistic and able manner. Mr. Merrick is a Presbyterian in religion, po- litically a Democrat.
Mr. Merrick married, at Massillon, Ohio, September 16, 1875, Clara Asenath Ickes, daughter of Isaiah and Emeline (Wertzbaugher) Ickes, born at Patterson, Ohio, March 13, 1855. Children: 1. Frederick Ickes, born July 2, 1876, a graduate of the New Brighton high school, the Massa- chusetts Institute of Technology, S. B., June, 1901, taking the course in architecture in the latter institution; he was employed in New York for a time, now an architect of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 2. Silas Clar- ence, born June 17, 1879, a graduate of the New Brighton high school, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in June, 1903, from the me- chanical engineering course, now superintendent of the Standard Horse Nail Company. 3. Marguerite Livingston, born June 25, 1891, a graduate of the New Brighton High School.
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