USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > Genealogical and personal history of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 59
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Dennis Cronin, a native of Ireland, who had lived some years CRONIN in England, came to Toronto, Canada, in 1871, with his wife and family, and there lived the remainder of their lives, and till his death occurred. He married Mary Cagney, also a native of Ire- land, and they had children: Margaret, John D., see forward; Joseph, Dennis, Walter, Cornelius, deceased; Mary.
John D. Cronin, son of Dennis and Mary (Cagney) Cronin, was born in England, June 22, 1864. His education was acquired in the public schools of England and Ireland, whither his parents had returned prior to their coming to this country. He was about seventeen years of age when he came to this country, and he learned the baker's trade, following this for a period of three and a half years. He then became a brass molder, working at various places, and was thus engaged for several years, then engaged in the glass business in Washington, Pennsylvania. He came to Monaca, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, in 1900, where he became asso- ciated with the Opalite Tile Company, and in 1908 was advanced to the position of superintendent of the plant, which at that time had seventy- five men in its employ. His political views are those of the Democratic party, and he is a devout member of the Catholic Church. His fraternal affiliations are with the following organizations: Knights of Columbus, Knights of St. George, Knights of the Maccabees. Mr. Cronin married. in Toronto, Canada, Johanna Ellard, of that city, and they have had chil-
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dren: Florence May, Mary Eleanor, Anna Irene, John Dennis, Margaret Theresa.
Walter Dixon Kaye is a member of a family long associated with KAYE Monaca, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and is, himself, one of the prominent citizens of the community in spite of his youth. Four generations back the Kayes emigrated from Birmingham, England, to America, in 1818, going first to New York, but soon removing to Pitts- burgh, in which region they have since made their home.
(I) David Kaye, grandfather of Walter D. Kaye, was two years old when his parents came to this country in 1818. He became a glass worker by trade and lived to the good old age of eighty-one. His brother, Joshua, went to Louisville, Kentucky, to live and eventually became mayor of that city. David Kaye had eight children, as follows: Edward, of whom further ; Mary, wife of James Simpson, of Elwood, Indiana; David, of whom further; Sarah, a resident of Pittsburgh; Hannah, wife of Elmer Ains- worth, of Chicago; Belle, wife of Edward Estep, of Pittsburgh; Timothy Poole, a resident of Fostoria, Ohio; George K., a resident of Washington, Pennsylvania.
(II) Edward Kaye, son of David Kaye, was born in the year 1854 in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, died August 23, 1909. He passed his childhood and youth and obtained his education in the region known as the South Side of Pittsburgh. After completing his course of studies, he learned the trade of glass blower and soon found employment with the Evans Glass Company, with whom he remained four years, giving eminent satisfaction to his employers and perfecting himself in the handicraft of his trade. At the expiration of this period, he removed to Phillipsburg, Penn- sylvania, now Monaca, and shortly secured the position of manager of the Phoenix Glass Works of that town. In 1904 he once more removed, this time to Rochester, Beaver county, and located at 178 Munroe street, where he spent the remainder of his life. Mr. Kaye took a vital interest in politics and gave his allegiance to the Republican party. He was an active mem- ber of the Presbyterian Church. He was very active in fraternal circles and a prominent member of a number of organizations. He belonged to Rochester Lodge, No. 229, Free and Accepted Masons; Eureka Chapter, No. 167, Royal Arch Masons; Beaver Falls Commandery, Knights Tem- plar; and was a thirty-second degree Mason of the Pittsburgh Consistory. Besides these Masonic associations, he was a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Rochester, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Monaca, of the Knights of Pythias, of Monaca, and of the Eastern Star.
Mr. Kaye married, in Butler county, Pennsylvania, September 21, 1876, Anna Katherine Koedel, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she was born November 24, 1856, daughter of Henry and Sophia (Kepple-) Koedel. Mr. and Mrs. Koedel were both natives of Germany who met in
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Pittsburgh, after their immigration to America, and were married there. They afterwards removed to Butler county, Pennsylvania, in 1869, where Mr. Koedel had purchased a farm, upon which he is living at the present time (1914) at the age of ninety-three, his birth having occurred November II, 1820. Mr. Koedel has always been a Republican in politics, and a staunch member of the Lutheran Church. Mrs. Kaye was the fifth of the eight children born to Mr. and Mrs. Koedel. To Mr. and Mrs. Kaye were born two children: I. Melvin Wesley, born July 21, 1877; he was educated in the local public schools and in Duff's College of Beaver Falls, Beaver county, Pennsylvania; he also filled the position his father had oc- cupied before him, of manager of the Phoenix Glass Works of Monaca, in which he at present resides; he married Marie Eiven and has had by her two children: Edward and Marian. 2. Clarence Edward, born August 7, 1880; he was educated in the public schools of the district and in Depughs College, and is now assistant manager of the Phoenix Glass Company at South Washington, Pennsylvania.
(II) David (2) Kaye, son of David (1) Kaye, was born in Pitts- burgh,, July 12, 1859, died September 16, 1907. He was educated in Pitts- burgh, but soon went to Monaca, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where his elder brother Edward was the superintendent of the Phoenix Glass Works, and here he found a position as glass worker, remaining in this work until the autumn of 1906 when he was appointed postmaster of Monaca, a position which he held until his death. He was a Republican in politics and was active in the affairs of the town, serving on the council a number of times. He was prominent in the ranks of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias, holding chairs in both orders, and was a representative to the Grand Lodge of Knights of Pythias, held in Phila- delphia a short time before his death. In 1900 he established in Monaca "The Only Drug Store," remaining in active management of it until 1905. In Monaca also he met and married Ida M. Hogan, born at Monaca, Sep- tember 5, 1866. Children: Walter Dixon, of whom further; Violet, de- ceased; William Edgar, of the class of 1914 in Pittsburgh University where he is taking a course in civil engineering ; Aletha May, a clerk in the Monaca postoffice.
(III) Walter Dixon Kaye, son of David (2) Kaye, was born in Monaca, Pennsylvania, December 27, 1884. He was educated in the public schools in Monaca, and after a high school course he went to the Pitts- burgh University, graduating from the department of pharmacy in 1904. During this time he was further employed during the summers as a clerk in a drug store, and continued in this work until 1905, when he became manager of the store, and two years afterwards bought the business which he now conducts. Mr. Kaye is a Republican in politics, like his father before him, and like his father, also, he is active in the affairs of his com- munity. He is a member of Lodge No. 229, Free and Accepted Masons, and of the Golden Eagles. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church.
David Kaye
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It is not alone on his father's side that Mr. Kaye's associations with Beaver county and Monaca have been formed. His maternal great-grandfather was a native of Ireland, who had been educated for the priesthood, but re- nouncing his religion, he came to the United States and was one of the early settlers of Pittsburgh. His son, Frederick Hogan, was a riverman and an early settler of Monaca as was also his wife, Kate (Lias) Hogan. Ida, Hogan, afterwards Mrs. Kaye, now Mrs. Martsolf, has since the death of her first husband continued to hold the position of postmistress of Monaca. On August 11, 1913, she was a second time married, this time to J. H. Mart- solf, a druggist in Beaver, Pennsylvania.
The Bevingtons came to Western Pennsylvania prior to BEVINGTON the Revolution, the early settler serving as a soldier in that struggle. The earliest record found of this branch is of Thomas Bevington, a woodsman and farmer of Beaver county, Penn- sylvania. He served in the Indian Wars and in the Revolution, three years of his service during the latter war being as a spy under Captain Brady. He also served three years under the immediate command of General Wash- ington. After his marriage he bought a farm in Ohio township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where he and his wife Elizabeth lived and reared their family of four daughters and six sons. The sons: John, Thomas, Ezekiel, William, Samuel, Charles, all becoming tillers of the soil, locating mostly in Beaver county.
(II) Charles Bevington, son of Thomas Bevington, the Revolutionary soldier, was born in Ohio township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, in Octo- ber, 1796, died about 1880, He remained in his native township engaged in farming as boy and man until he was thirty-six years of age, obtaining an education in the subscription schools of that early day, In 1832 he moved to Brighton township, where he bought a farm of one hundred and twenty-six acres in that part now Industry township. Here he resided all his after life with the exception of four years spent in Vanport engaged in lime burning. He served in the War of 1812 and in Indian and other wars, his military service covering a period of six years. In political faith he was a Democrat, and in religious belief a Baptist, He married, in Ohio township, Catherine, daughter of John and Christina Knight, both from Eastern Pennsylvania, but early settlers near Industry, Beaver county. John Knight, a farmer and large land owner, had children: Jacob, Daniel, Richard, David, Polly, Rebecca, Susan, Catherine, John, Charles. Children of Charles and Catherine Bevington: Mary, died in girlhood ; Elizabeth, died unmarried; John, a farmer near the old homestead in Beaver county, where he died; Thomas, deceased; Daniel, of whom further; Mason, deceased; Samuel, now residing near his brother Daniel; Cynthia, married Benjamin Grove, and resides at Vanport; Artemesia, now the widow of Joseph Adams, and resides in Brighton township; Charles Richard, died in youth.
(III) Daniel Bevington, sixth child of Charles and Catherine (Knight)
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Bevington, was born in Industry township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, August 22, 1831. He attended the public schools of his district, and spent his early life in farm labor and boating on the Ohio, both on coal and steamboats, In 1865 he purchased seventy acres, located at the mouth of Four Mile Run, Later he sold his farm and purchased, in 1909, a tract of one hundred and sixteen acres situated further up the Run, where he now resides. He has retired from active labor, his son operating the land as a dairy and stock farm. Mr. Bevington has lived a long and useful life, has borne well his part and now in his declining years enjoys the results of his industry and thrift. He is an Independent in politics, and a man of strong upright character. He married, in 1853, Eliza Knight, a distant maternal relative, daughter of John and Mary (Mason) Knight, also old Beaver county settlers. Children : Two who died unnamed ; Mary Alwilda, deceased, married William Clark and left issue: Charles D., Olive May and James ; Samuel, died aged two years; James, manager of the home farm, married Annie Neville and has: Edna Pearl, Mildred, Bessie, Josephine, deceased, Myrtle, Catherine, Dorothy, James (2), Emma.
BUNN When the subject of immigrants is broached one's mind travels
rapidly to a man of foreign tongue and birth, surrounded by his wife and family, stepping from a transatlantic liner, with a boldness that gives the lie to the pounding fear in his breast. He is imagined as endeavoring to converse with a native of another land, a son of an- other tongue, in order to receive instruction as to the usual course of pro- cedure, and giving it up in hopeless despair of ever making himself under- stood. It is therefore difficult to conceive of the immigrant ancestor of the Bunn family of this chronicle, Gains Bunn, landing on the soil of the United States, and having the same feeling of familiarity with the faces, speech and customs of Americans, as a bona fide immigrant, yet as such he must be considered, even though England, his homeland, is our Mother country.
Gains Bunn was born in England in 1843. After receiving his edu- cation in that country, he learned the trade of boiler-maker, which he pur- sued until his emigration. In 1874 he came to the United States, having first married, and settled in Grove City, Pennsylvania, later moving to Pittsburgh, his present residence. Since his arrival he has followed the trade he learned in England, and is a mechanic of more than ordinary ability, thorough instruction and years of experience making him one of the best. He is a staunch member of the Latter Day Saints, and in political issues supports the Republican party. He married, in England, Jane Over- field, born in that land in 1844, died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1911. Children of Gains and Jane (Overfield) Bunn: 1. Mary Ann, married Thomas Richardson, of Pittsburgh. 2. James A., a resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 3. John T., of whom further. 4. Harriet, married Benja- min Evans, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 5. Charles G., a resident of
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Beaver, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. 6. Joseph F., lives in Monaca, Penn- sylvania.
John T. Bunn, son of Gains and Jane (Overfield) Bunn, was born in England, September 18, 1872. His parents came to the United States when he was two years of age, bringing him with them, and he attended the public schools of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After com- pleting his preliminary studies he took up several special courses and ob- tained an electrical engineer's degree, in 1902 coming to Monaca, Beaver county, as an electrical engineer in the employ of the United States Sani- tary Manufacturing Company, with whom he has since been employed. So satisfactory has his service with that concern been, and so favorable the comment carried to his superiors in position, that in 1912 he was ap- pointed superintendent of the entire plant of the company, approximately five hundred men being employed in the factory. Mr. Bunn's jurisdiction extends over all of this vast number, and in the direction of such a quantity of labor, much of it skilled, he has displayed tact, judgment and discretion, at the same time upholding the dignity and honor of his place. Among his workmen he has many firm friends, who recognize and appreciate the fact that he regards himself as one of the company's employees and not as a superior being designed to rule them in an overbearing manner. Although he has occupied this position of responsibility for a short period of time, the results that he has achieved and the general air of satisfaction and contentment that pervades the shops prove that under his administration the force works without discord, which is an excellent omen for the con- tinued prosperity of the concern, inasmuch as the working force is the very basis and foundation of its existence. Mr. Bunn is a member of the National Association of Stationary Engineers of Pittsburgh; Rochester Lodge, No. 229, Free and Accepted Masons ; Monaca Lodge, No. 1115, In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, and belongs to Universal Craftsman's Council, No. 11, of Pittsburgh. He is a Republican in politics, and with his wife affiliates with the Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Bunn married, in 1898, Ada, daughter of Charles T. Tomlinson, of Braddock, Pennsylvania. They are the parents of one son, John Leon- ard, born in September, 1903.
David Lais, born in Germany in 1817, came to America with his LAIS mother, after the death of his father in Germany. They located "in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, for a time, then came to Economy, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. He was a weaver by trade and found employment in a silk factory. Later he went to Pittsburgh, where he learned the carpenter's trade. He removed to Monaca, Beaver county, in 1832, and there he died in 1890, He was a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Lutheran Church. He married Catherine, born in Alsace- Lorraine in 1816, died in Monaca, Beaver county, February 26, 1900, daughter of Frederick Steinbach. They had children: George Henry,
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see forward; Catherine, deceased; Matilda; Margaret; Mary, deceased; David, deceased; Charles Phillips; Pauline. The parents of Mrs. Lais came to Waynesburg, Ohio, in 1826, by way of the canal, and there he was a farmer. He and his wife died about 1870, each more than ninety years of age at the time of death.
(II) George Henry Lais, son of David and Catherine (Steinbach) Lais, was born in Monaca, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, March 6, 1841. There he attended the public schools, and was then apprenticed to learn the carpenter's trade. He commenced the active business of life at the age of sixteen years, and from the time he was twenty-five years of age he was engaged very successfully in the contracting and building line. Ten years were spent in the West, two of these in Quincy, Illinois, and eight in Marion county, Missouri. In 1901 he returned to Monaca, and has since made that town his home. He is active in the interests of the Democratic party, and has filled a number of local offices. He is a councilman and a member of the board of school directors, and has served as borough as- sessor since 1908. He and his wife are members of the Lutheran Church. Mr. Lais married (first) 1865, Ellen Maria Stewart, and had children: Harry; Minnie, married George Mullen; Elsie, married Philip Faust; George. Mrs. Lais died in 1873, and he married (second) Anna Butchly, and had children: Bertha, Matilda, Annie, Margaret. Mrs. Lais died in 1884, and he married (third) Lizzie Shaneman, and has children: Nora, Mary, Catherine.
The Yost family, in all probability, came to the United States
YOST from the homeland, Germany, through a southern port of entry, since it is in the south that those of this line are first found, tradi- tion recording that three brothers came to this country at the same time, each founding a separate line.
(I) The first of the branch herein chronicled is George Washington Yost, born in New Market, Baltimore county, Maryland, in 1819. He married Mary Gibbs, born in Springfield township, York county, Pennsyl- vania, and in that county followed the occupation of farmer until his death. They were the parents of five sons, Charles, Fletcher, Thomas Milton, of whom further, James, Clayton.
(II) Thomas Milton Yost, son of George Washington and Mary (Gibbs) Yost, was born at Glen Rock, York county, Pennsylvania, Sep- tember 17, 1851. He was educated for the profession of mechanical en- gineer and was therein engaged all his life, Middletown, Pennsylvania, being the scene of most of his work, He was an engineer of ability, a fact realized by all having business connections with him, and his services were ever in demand. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church, his politi- cal action being in accord with the Republican party. He married, in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Hannah Elizabeth Atkinson, born at Royalton, Pennsylvania, in 1854, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Donovan) Atkinson.
Geo Hb, Lais
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Joseph and Mary Atkinson were married in 1848, her death occurring eighteen years later, in 1886. Joseph Atkinson was a son of David and Mary (Jones) Atkinson. Children of Thomas Milton and Hannah Eliza- beth (Atkinson) Yost: I. Walter Milton, of whom further. 2. May, married Ray Clayton; she is now deceased; she left one child, Dorothy. 3. Lloyd, died in infancy. 4. Bertha, married Henry H. Rhodes; three children : William, Charles, John.
(III) Dr. Walter Milton Yost, son of Thomas Milton and Hannah Elizabeth (Atkinson) Yost, was born at Middletown, Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, March 22, 1886. He was a student in the public schools of his birthplace and was graduated from the Middletown high school in the class of 1903. Making medicine his life profession he later graduated from the Hahnemann Medical College, of Philadelphia, in 1908, and spent the following year obtaining practical experience in the Rochester Homoeo- pathic Hospital, at Rochester, New York, as well as one year, in connec- tion with his college course, in the Children's Homoeopathic Hospital, Philadelphia. He graduated from a course in the New York Ophthalmic Hospital in 1912, having entered that institution after his active practice had been begun in Rochester, Pennsylvania, where he had established in July, 1909. Dr. Yost has sprung into favorable popularity during his Ro. chester residence, and attends with able care to a steadily increasing patron- age. A modern-day physician, hampered by no laws of custom confirmed by the usage of years, free in a large degree to establish his own precedents, Dr. Yost, with his carefully studied medical lore, is one of the doc- tors of that locality destined for still greater achievements than those at hand. Aside from his thorough and profound acquaintance with all branches of medical art, he is especially trained in the treatment of optical ailments, his course at the New York Ophthalmic Hospital, one of the best of its kind in the country, having fitted him for advanced work along that line. Dr. Yost is a director in the People's National Bank of Rochester, Pennsylvania, in the Beaver County Telephone Company, the Steubenville Bridge Company, Steubenville, Ohio, and in the Beaver County Home for the Aged. Dr. Yost is a member of the Greek Letter Society, Phi Alpha Gamma, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; is a member of the Beaver County Homoeopathic Medical Society ; Homoeopathic Medical Society of the State of Pennsylvania, and American Institute of Homoeopathy. Dr. Yost is a Republican in political action, and with his wife holds membership in the First Presbyterian Church, of Rochester, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Yost married, October 11, 1911, at Freedom, Pennsylvania, Mar- guerite Mitchell, born in Freedom, Pennsylvania, March 13, 1890, daughter of James Glover and Martha (Bentel) Mitchell. James Glover Mitchell, deceased, was a banker. Child of Walter Milton and Marguerite ( Mit- chell) Yost: Martha Mitchell, born July 30, 1912.
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Reuben Henderson McPherson, son of Reuben (q. v.) McPHERSON and Elizabeth (Greer) MicPherson, was born in Econ- omy township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, December 4, 1839. After completing his studies in the public schools he entered Mount Union College, and after attending three terms at the latter insti- tution taught school for a few years, abandoning his newly begun peda- gogical career in 1863 to enlist in a battery raised in Pittsburgh under the command of Captain J. J. Young. This organization, which he joined in August, immediately went to Harrisburg and later to Fort Delaware, and was there from that time until his honorable discharge was given him in June, 1865; he was in constant and active service with his battery, partici- pating in some effective and deadly work credited to that body, designated as Battery G. At the close of the war he turned to the carpenter's trade, and from that advanced to contracting and building operations, establishing in business in New Brighton, Pennsylvania, in 1866, and has since been a resident there. He has engaged extensively in both departments of his business, converting a generous share of his profits into valuable real estate, and is responsible for many building and contracting operations in that locality. His first presidential vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln, and he has ever since supported Republican candidates, and has served his borough as a member of the council and as one of the school board. He and his wife are members of Grace Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mr. McPherson married, December 28, 1865, Margaretta Jane Hamil- ton, born in Franklin township, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, March 10, 1844, daughter of Mathew and Harriet (Glass) Hamilton, her father born in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, in 1818, died in 1898, her mother born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1821, died in 1907. Matthew Hamil- ton was a farmer, also working at the blacksmith's trade, having a shop on his land; was a Republican in politics; a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and an active worker in all religious enterprises. Children of Mathew and Harriet (Glass) Hamilton: Elizabeth; Margaretta Jane, of previous mention, married Reuben Henderson McPherson; Anna, de- ceased; Charles Wesley, deceased; Martha Glass; Walter; Emma; David Lincoln; Harriet; Elmer Ellsworth, deceased; Mary Theora, and another child who died in infancy. Children of Reuben Henderson and Mar- garetta Jane (Hamilton) McPherson: Elizabeth Greer, deceased; Anna May, Harriet Gertrude, Elmer Ellsworth, Ira Hamilton, Winifred Leona.
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