USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > Genealogical and personal history of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 66
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He married, at Oakdale, Illinois, April 24, 1872, Sarah Eleanor Wylie, born in Dresden, Ohio, April 9, 1840, died in Conway, Pennsylvania, Sep-
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tember 22, 1908, daughter of John and Maria (Wishart) Wylie. John Wylie was a farmer near Coulterville, Illinois, where he died in 1878, aged seventy-six years, his wife a native of Pennsylvania. Children of John and Maria (Wishart) Wylie: 1. James. 2. John W., married, has two children, and lives in California. 3. Rev. Richard C., married Nannie Bu- chanan, and lives in Allegheny, Pennsylvania; their children, Anna, Bessie, Vella, deceased, and Sloan, died aged five years. 4. Joseph M., deceased; married Elizabeth Morrison ; lived in Valley City, North Dakota; one son, Rev. E. M., who has been twice married, now living in Delaware, Ohio, the father of one daughter, Lulu, who married Dr. Elvin Zimmerman. 5. Samuel. 6. Rebecca. 7. Sarah Eleanor, married John Johnston Torrens, both of previous mention. 8. Elizabeth. 9. Nancy. John Johnston and Sarah Eleanor (Wylie) Torrens were the parents of one son, Adelbert Elmer, of whom further.
(IV) Dr. Adelbert Elmer Torrens, only child of John Johnston and Sarah Eleanor (Wylie) Torrens, was born in Coulterville, Illinois, November 24, 1874. During his early boyhood his father's business made it neces- sary for the family residence to be situated in Alexandria, Minnesota, and it was in that place that he obtained his public school education. - After adequate preparation he entered Geneva College, whence he was graduated in 1898, with the degree of B. S., taking a degree in the medical course of the University of Pittsburgh four years later. After one year's service as interne in St. John's Hospital, in 1903 he opened an office for general practice in Conway, Pennsylvania, later he removed to where he still continues, West View, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. During his stay in Conway he be- came an active member of the community, a sturdy pillar of its public in- stitutions, as well as one of the most popular physicians in the locality. For eight years he served on the staff of the Rochester General Hospital, re- ceiving his appointment to his position in 1905, and in that capacity render- ing that institution valuable service. His practice is large and lucrative, but he has devoted a large proportion of his time to public duties, having been appointed postmaster of Conway in 1910. The year previous he had been elected burgess of the borough, but upon receiving his appointment to the federal service resigned his civil office. His political faith is Republican and it was as the candidate of that party that he was placed in the office of chief executive of the town. His varied relations to the life of the town prove him a man of exceptional talent and versatility, for he not only stands high in his chosen profession among the foremost physicians of the county, but has shown executive ability of merit and faithfulness to trusts reposed in him.
Dr. Torrens married, September 18, 1906, Elsie Jones, born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, August 13, 1881, daughter of William Gleason and Maria (Hunter) Jones. William Gleason Jones was a farmer and dealer in farming implements, and died in Mercer, Pennsylvania. Children of William Gleason and Maria (Hunter) Jones: 1. Clara Jones, married L.
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A. Hartman, and lives in Mercer, Pennsylvania, the mother of four chil- dren. 2. Elsie Jones, of previous mention, married Dr. Adelbert Elmer Tor- rens. 3. Lizzie (Jones) Jones, deceased. 4. Rebecca (Jones) King, de- ceased. 5. Amanda Jones, of Kansas City, Missouri. 6. Blanche (Jones) Maledon, of Fort Smith, Arkansas. 7. Sadie (Jones) McCreary, of New Castle, Pennsylvania. Maria (Hunter) Jones is still living, her home being in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Dr. Torrens and his wife are members of the United Presbyterian Church. They are the parents of one daughter, Eleanor Marie, born February 1, 19II.
The advance of rents in Ireland was the immediate cause for LEEPER the large exodus from that country at various periods. In 1771 this was the case in county Antrim, where the rents had again been raised. One hundred vessels left Ireland, carrying thousands of Presbyterians away from its shores. This was prior to the Revolutionary War in this country and America was the goal toward which the tide of emigration naturally turned. Among these emigrants was James Leeper, the progenitor of all bearing this name in America. There are several traditions and records concerning his advent in this country, and several records which are apparently irreconcilable at the present time. There was a James Leeper, who married Nancy Blair and had a son James. The line under discussion here lived near Belfast, county Antrim, Ireland, and was of Scotch lineage.
(I) James Leeper was born in 1748. In 1771 his name appears in the list of contributors to the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, and on April 14, 1776, he was ordained as ruling elder in that congregation, just two months and twenty days before the Declaration of Independence. In the course of time he removed to Washington county, Pennsylvania, in the neighborhood of Hickory, and settled on land which had been granted to General George Washington. The farm is now owned and occupied by Luther Morgan. On one occasion, when Washington came to look after his interests, and remove the squatters from it, it is said that he was pro- voked into using profane language. According to the law he was subject to a fine for this violation, and when the accusation was made, said: "Make out your bill, Your Honour," which was done and the bill paid without demur. In 1789 James Leeper, with his family, came to the tract of land now owned and occupied by Joseph Leeper, near Frankford Springs, then in Washington, now in Beaver county, Pennsylvania. At that time Wash- ington county extended northward to the Ohio river. The original deed to this tract reads: "Two hundred and 75 acres deeded to James Leeper by Thomas Mifflin, Gov. of the State of Pa. for two pounds and five shillings and ten pence." He had, however, for some reason to pay for this land a second time. He erected his cabin near a spring a short distance from the present residence of J. W. Leeper, the spot being marked by a small pile of stones from the chimney. While engaged in the building of this cabin
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Mr. Leeper fell so unfortunately as to break his leg, and was taken to the neighboring cabin of Archibald Ralston, where he was tenderly cared for. At this time he already had several children, among them being Robert, aged seventeen. At this place he and his family endured all the hardships of a frontier life, and the depredations of the Indians became so unendurable that Mrs. Leeper wished to return across the mountains, but his more op- timistic nature prevailed over her fears. He was a man of unusual intelli- gence and piety, and receives special mention in Rev. James P. Williams' "Biographical Sketches and Sermons," which was published in 1839, and is a history of the ministers and elders in the Associate Presbyterian Church. The family attended church at Paris, a distance of seven miles, where Dr. John Anderson preached until the congregation of King's Creek was or- ganized. James Leeper died March 13, 1814, and was buried in the "Old King's Creek" Cemetery. Mr. Leeper married, while living in York county, Pennsylvania, Nancy McCleary, and had children: Robert, James, John, William, Hugh, see forward; Margaret Susannah, Nancy, Isabella, Anna, Mary.
(II) Hugh Leeper, son of James and Nancy (McCleary) Leeper, was born in 1794, died in October, 1867. After his marriage he settled on his father's farm, now owned and occupied by Joseph N. Leeper, at Frankford Springs, Pennsylvania. After eighteen years of residence on this place, he removed to a farm which he purchased from John Nelson, two miles east of Hookstown, Pennsylvania. An additional farm was purchased, the one now owned and occupied by their son Robert, a half mile south of Hooks- town. He removed to it in 1840 and lived there until his death. For thirty years he filled the office of ruling elder, at first in the Associate Pres- byterian Church, and later in the United Presbyterian Church of Hooks- town. His death was caused by rheumatism of the heart, and his last words were: "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly." His wife died in 1871, also in her seventy-fourth year. Hugh Leeper married, in 1818, Esther Harper, and of their fifteen children the following named lived to maturity: Jane, James, Samuel, William, John, Anderson, Robert, see forward; Mary, Ann, Archibald, Harriet, Amanda, Joseph Harper, Hugh Y.
(III) Robert Leeper, son of Hugh and Esther (Harper) Leeper, was educated in the early district schools of Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and for a period of nine years was engaged in teaching school at McKees Rocks, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, in Beaver county, in the same state, and in the state of Ohio. He then engaged in farming and stock raising, on a farm of one hundred and fifty acres near Hookstown, Pennsylvania. During the Civil War he was a member of the Christian Commission, which cared for the sick and wounded, and for a part of the time he was located in Ten- nessee. He was very active in local political matters as a supporter of the Republican party. He was equally so in the interests of religion, serving as an elder in the United Presbyterian Church at Hookstown, which he helped to erect. He married (first) Mary Collins, of Xenia, Ohio, and
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had two sons: Hugh Collins, see forward; William R. He married (sec- ond) Elizabeth Dallas; child, Robert J., see forward.
(IV) Hugh Collins Leeper, son of Robert and Mary (Collins) Leeper, was born on the homestead south of Hookstown, Beaver county, Pennsyl- vania, November 6, 1860. He was educated in the public schools and was graduated from the Hookstown Academy. For many years he has made farming the business of his life, and he has been an extensive breeder of fine Jersey cattle. He has a farm of one hundred and fifty-two acres, and another of thirty-eight acres, and has erected all the buildings on the home- stead. During the past five years he has had considerable dealings in oil, and is still largely interested along that line. He is a member of the United Presbyterian Church, and has taken an active part in the political affairs of the community, working in favor of the Republican party, and has served as juror for the past three years by appointment of the county judge, his appointment being made in the fall of 1911.
Mr. Leeper married, February 15, 1882, Elizabeth, daughter of William and Jane Campbell, who lived on a farm two miles south of Hookstown. They have had children: 1. Joseph Earl, born in 1883; married Martha Adams, and resides near Hookstown; they have one child, Mary Edith, born January 13, 1914. 2. William McKirahan, born 1886; married Nellie Ramsey and has one child, Mareta Elizabeth, born August 25, 1912. 3. Jennie Verne, born 1889; married C. V. Stewart. 4. Robert Harper, born in 1897; now a pupil in the Sewickley high school.
(IV) Robert J. Leeper, son of Robert and Elizabeth (Dallas) Leeper, was born on the homestead south of Hookstown, Beaver county, Pennsyl- vania, April 4, 1870. He grew to maturity on that farm, attending, as a boy, the nearby public schools, and has ever since lived on the homestead, which he now owns. His land is one hundred and forty-nine acres in extent, general farming and stock raising occupying all of his time. Accustomed to agricultural duties from his boyhood, his early training now has its effect in the bountiful returns he receives from the soil, and he has prospered accordingly. As a Republican he has been elected by his neighbors to fill numerous township offices, and has willingly granted his time and labor to discharging the duties entailed. He and his wife hold membership in the United Presbyterian Church, while he belongs to the Masonic Order, being a member of Glasgow Lodge, No. 485, while Mrs. Leeper is a member of Eastern Star, Crystal Chapter, No. 18.
He married, March 15, 1893, Helen Rachel, daughter of Dr. Franklin David and Susan Mary (Nelson) Kerr (see Kerr IV). Children of Robert J. and Helen Rachel (Kerr) Leeper : Arthur Wallace, lives at home; Hugh Franklin, a student in the Beaver high school; Susan Elizabeth; Fred- erick Kerr; Helen Nelson.
(The Kerr Line.)
The decade immediately following the American Revolution witnessed the arrival in the United States of William Kerr and his family, he the
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founder of his name in the vicinity of Hookstown, Pennsylvania, where his descendants live to the present day. He was a native of Ireland, was there reared and educated, and was there married, two of their children, Mary Ann and David, being born in that land, the other two, William, who became a soldier in a company of English dragoons and was engaged in the battle of Waterloo, and Rebecca, both owning Pennsylvania as their birthplace. Wil- liam Kerr and his wife, Mary, with their two children, took passage on a sailing vessel for the United States in 1788, their son, David, being at that time but one year old. Soon after land was left behind the infant sickened and sank so rapidly that his life was despaired of. Indeed, so precarious was his condition that at one time the ship's physician pronounced him dead, terrible news that the mother could not believe, and clasping her child to her breast, so warmed his little, wasted body with the heat from her strong frame that the chill of death was dispelled and the infant, with the timely aid that her maternal instinct prompted her to give, rallied from his low condition and straightway began to gain strength, the steadfast faith of his mother almost giving him a second birth. William Kerr and his wife were both members of the Seceder Church and lived to good old ages, his death occurring in 1804, hers in 1814.
(II) David Kerr, son of William and Mary Kerr, was born near Dun- cannon, county Antrim, Ireland, March 24, 1787, died near Hookstown, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, August 7, 1872. He was, as before related, brought to the United States by his parents in infancy, and lived on the paternal farm until his marriage, attending school whenever sessions were held and in every way seeking to acquire an education, the opportunities for which were slight. He studied under many masters, working indus- triously and deriving unusual enjoyment therefrom. Some of those who led his feet in the paths of learning were Dr. James Ramsey, Rev. Taylor, compiler and publisher of an almanac, William Ramsey, Hezekiah Jenkins, Professor Metcalf, and, when he was sixteen years of age, George Ander- son, who conducted a night school at Frankfort. He was his father's valued helper upon the home acres and could handle a plow with skilled dexterity when he was twelve years of age. At his father's death, when David was seventeen years old, he took entire charge of the farm, planting, cultivating and reaping according to his own judgment with good success. After his marriage he built a small cabin, seventeen by seventeen feet, one and a half stories high, near the old home, where his mother still lived, and there re- sided from 1809 until 1823, in the latter year erecting a more pretentious house near the former building, a structure of two stories, seventeen by twenty-seven feet, with a kitchen built at the rear. In 1832 he sold the farm on King's creek, having first bought two hundred and eighty-seven acres bordering on Service creek, three miles southeast of Hookstown, here building a house that was famous throughout the countryside for the gracious hospitality ever freely extended and the joy and cheer always found there. The social life of the locality centered there, both because of the size of the
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Kerr house and because of the genial, generous and convivial natures of the host and hostess, who delighted in the companionship of their friends and in their enjoyment. The old house was seldom free from the ring of happy laughter, merriment and pure pleasure reigning on nearly every oc- casion, and of parties and other jollifications, organized and planned on the slightest pretext, there was no end. This property was sold to James Tor- rence in 1864, David Kerr and his family moving to Hookstown. His early love of study did not desert him in his later years and he was a continual reader, delving deep into the pages of classical authors. His active and well-stored mind needed constant occupation for his greatest ease, which he found in literary pursuits and the careful consideration and study of topics of current importance and interest, his opinion on questions of political, social or economic topics showing a clarity of thought and depth of per- ception one would hardly expect in one whose paths had been led as his. He and his family were Presbyterians, members of the Mill Creek congre- gation, and the regular services of the church rarely found him out of his pew, religion holding an important place in his plan of life.
David Kerr married, November 24, 1808, Rachel Moore, born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, in April, 1790, died April 1, 1880. Children of David and Rachel (Moore) Kerr: Thomas, born September 17, 1809; David, of whom further; Samuel, September 8, 1820; Mary Ann, April 11, 1823; Agnes, May 19, 1825.
(III) David (2) Kerr, son of David (1) and Rachel (Moore) Kerr, was born on King's creek, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, August 1, 1811, died in Hookstown, Pennsylvania. Until he was sixteen years of age he was employed by his father, also attending the public schools, and from his father learned the wheelwright's trade of which the elder Kerr was a master and at which he was at various times employed. He served a three years apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade in Pittsburgh, continuing in that line for a few years, finally returning to Hookstown, where he bought two lots and erected a large brick house, owned by the family for more than half a century, and in this house he died. His business was contracting and building, many operations, which were at that time considered quite ex- tensive, being pushed to completion under his direction, and he also devoted considerable time to oil producing, in both lines realizing gratifying profit. He married Mary, daughter of Samuel Swaney. Samuel Swaney was instru- mental in organizing Company H, One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and was offered the rank of orderly ser- geant, which he eagerly accepted, rising through the different grades until he held the rank of major, the latter conferred upon him by a special com- mission from the president for meritorious and gallant conduct upon the field of battle. He was wounded, April 15, 1865, two days before the final surrender, and died from the effects of his wound. Children of David (2) and Mary (Swaney) Kerr: Franklin David, of whom further; Sylvester, died in infancy; Thomas Taylor, died in infancy; Mary Estelle,
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married John C. Langfitt, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Jane, died in 1852, aged eighteen years; Rachel L., died in North Carolina, married Dr. Johnston, president of Biddle University, North Carolina, and prior to holding the latter post he was missionary to India for many years and is now filling a like position there.
(IV) Dr. Franklin David Kerr, son of David (2) and Mary (Swaney) Kerr, was born in Hookstown, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, August 16, 1844. He was educated in the public schools and the Hookstown Academy. As soon as he attained the required age he entered the United States volun- teer service in the Union army, becoming, on August 14, 1862, a member of Company H, One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment Pennsylvania Volun- teer Infantry. He was a private in that company until April 14, 1864, when he was promoted to the first lieutenantcy of the First Regiment, Maryland Cavalry, serving in that rank until the end of the war, emerg- ing from the conflict without having suffered a wound of any kind. Re- turning to Hookstown he took a scientific course in Washington and Jefferson College, after his graduation teaching school for several years before entering Cleveland Medical School, attached to Wooster Univer- sity. He was graduated from that institution with his degree in 1878, and at once began practice in his native town, where he at once found pro- fessional favor, and where he continued in practice for twenty-two years. During this time his patients were rapidly increasing in number and his repu- tation in medical circles growing in proper proportion, and at the expiration of his twenty-second year of professional activity in Hookstown he opened a sanitarium at Frankfort Springs, later practicing in Shousetown for eight years. He was giving close attention to a large and flourishing patronage in this place when his health gave way under the strain of constant appli- cation, compelling him to seek rest and quiet, which he found in farm life. In 1913 he bought one hundred and thirty-seven acres of land in Greene township, and there lives at the present time, general farming being the line he follows. His farm is fertile and well kept, being also prettily situated, so that its appearance is not that of acres whose only good is to support a family, but of a country estate chosen for its location and natural beauties.
Mr. Kerr married, September 21, 1871, Susan Mary, born November 9, 1851, daughter of James Nelson, of Hanover township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. Children: Helen Rachel, born September 30, 1875, mar- ried Robert J. Leeper; Jane Swaney, April 1, 1879, married, in 1910, Edwin Glenn Frazier, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Edith, July 21, 1881, married, August 3, 1909, Rev. David Chalmers Fulton, of Newcastle, Pennsylvania; Olive Mary, January 18, 1884, died at four years of age; Esther Nelson, January 14, 1886; Nannie Estella, November 19, 1889; David Franklin, June 28, 1894.
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