USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > Genealogical and personal history of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 7
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H.9. Biller
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church. Children of Jonathan and Mary (Reedy) Schreiber: 1. Melinda, of previous mention, married Peter (3) Zeller. 2. Mary, married Fred Mil- ler, and resides in Corning, Ohio. 3. Emma, married Thomas Quinn, and lives in Corning, Ohio. 4. Elizabeth, deceased, married David Otto, and they lived in Higgins, Pennsylvania. Children of Peter (3) and Melinda (Schreiber) Zeller: 1. Henry William, of whom further, 2. Samuel, born April 11, 1860, a roofer, lives in New London, Ohio; married (first) Olive Reble, (second) Anna Shroeder. 3. Mary, born October 4, 1862, died September 18, 1894, married Seth Wilson, deceased. 4. Ada, born Sep- tember 20, 1864, married John Smith, a farmer owning land near Bessemer, Pennsylvania, where they reside.
(IV) Henry William Zeller, eldest of the four children of Peter (3) and Melinda (Schreiber) Zeller, was born in Schuylkill county, Pennsylva- nia, August 20, 1856. He attended the public school at Donaldson, Penn- sylvania, until he was nine years of age, when his father's death made his assistance necessary in the support of the family. His first employment was as a slate picker, after which he entered the mines, his first employment being the turning of a fan, and as soon as he gained sufficient strength he began digging coal. Appreciating the desirability of some line of em- ployment offering greater chances and opportunities for advancement than this, he went to Shamokin, Pennsylvania, entering a machine shop, where he learned the trade of machinist and was afterward employed there for four years. A skilled workman, he left the place of his apprenticeship and started upon a limited tour of the country, working at his trade in each place in which he tarried. In this manner he covered a wide extent of territory, and in 1876 located in Lowellville, Ohio, where for two years he was employed in the lime-stone quarries. The next seven years were spent in Youngstown, Ohio, in the employ of Dalzell Brothers, slate roofers, a business he learned thoroughly and well, becoming so competent therein that he was made the head of their construction work, for several years directing their operations. In 1888 he came to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and in partnership with his brother, Samuel, was engaged in slate and tile roofing, the association being dissolved after a relation covering a period of ten years, Henry W. Zeller continuing in business independently. His business is a flourishing one, whose growth has been proportionate with that of Beaver Falls, his share of the work in roofing the homes covered with the materials in which he deals having suffered no ill effects through the competition that has been established. Nor does his career in Beaver Falls end with the recital of his business life, for he has ever taken the interest required of good citizenship in matters of public importance, while his abilities have been recognized by his fellows, whom he represented for six years as a member of council, two years of that time being spent as chairman of that body. His political aid has always been at the disposal of the Republican party, and he and his wife are member of the Methodist Episcopal church. His fraternal societies are the Masonic order and the
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Knights of Pythias, he holding the Knights Templar degree in the former order, also being a member of Newcastle Lodge of Perfection. In 1889 he purchased his present home at No. 1414 Ninth avenue, and has since that time resided there.
Mr. Zeller married, October 20, 1881, Elizabeth, born in Prussia, Ger- many, May 30, 1860, daughter of Peter and Lena (Youngblood) Hoffman. Her parents were born in the same part of Germany, not far from Saxon- burg, her father in 1821, her mother in the same year, the former dying, May 16, 1905, the latter, in August, 1899. Peter Hoffman was a shepherd in Germany, that having been the family occupation for several genera- tions, and in 1872 he and his family came to Lowellville, Mahoning county, Ohio, where he was employed in the limestone quarry until his death. They were members of the German Reformed Church. Children of Peter and Lena (Youngblood) Hoffman: I. Caroline, married Charles Smith, their home being in Lowellville, Ohio. 2. Kate, married Henry Boland, and resides in Lowellville, Ohio. 3. Peter, a quarryman, married Anna Boland, and is a resident of Lowellville, Ohio. 4. Jacob, a quarryman of Lowellville, Ohio, married Mary Wriggle. 5. Lena, married Frank Moore. Their home is in Struthers, Ohio. 6. Elizabeth, of previous mention, married Henry William Zeller. Children of Henry William and Elizabeth (Hoffman) Zeller: 1. Peter William, born November 5, 1883, died April 18, 1911 (see below) ; married Grace Gasgill, whose death followed his in six weeks. 2. George, born January 21, 1886, married Mabel Thatcher. He is associated in business with his father, and has a home in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. 3. Arthur, born February 20, 1888, died July 16, 1889. 4. Elda Mabel, born March 18, 1890, died June 4, 1891. 5. Ethel May, born January 24 1893, married George Miksch, and resides in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. 6. Howard Everett, born March 30, 1895, a student in High School. 7. Martha Malinda, born October 27, 1897.
Peter William Zeller, son of Henry William and Elizabeth Zeller, was educated in Beaver College, while in that institution winning his college letter and gaining a collegiate reputation as a pitcher. His record in contests with other colleges brought him to the notice of league scouts, and he received an attractive offer from Atlanta, from the Southern League, after he had received a two years' training in professional ball with the Rochester, Washington, and Homestead teams. He played in this locality for two years, and had started the season of 1905 with the last named organization when he was sold to Atlanta, Georgia, the sale taking place in July. He finished that season with the Atlanta team, and was with them in 1906, 1907 and 1908, speedily establishing himself in favor with the enthusiasts in that city by his splendid pitching, proving a tower of strength to his team. His local sobriquet, seized upon with avidity by the sporting writers of the daily papers was "Rube" Zeller, the "Wizard of Atlanta," and he justified the latter title by some performances of merit in league games, as, for example, in the season of 1906, April 13, when he pitched
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a game against Montgomery, Alabama, in which he was credited with nineteen strike-outs, a record made at the first of the season, when a pitcher is scarcely expected to give a creditable exhibition. In the following year he attained the pinnacle of success in his line in pitching a no-hit game, and in the same year he twice held his opponents to one hit. The great promise he had earlier shown having been thus realized, he was drafted for the major leagues by Clark Griffith, the manager of the New York team of the American League, who had heard favorable reports of his work with special reference to an unusually baffling underhand delivery, and went into spring training with that team. He speedily rounded into condition, and was about prepared to make his debut into major league circles when he was taken seriously ill, and after a lingering illness of two years, died at his home. That he did not attain prestige in the majors is to be regretted by all lovers of the national game, for he was a mag- nificent figure, more than six feet in height, blessed with a build that would have withstood the rigors of many hard seasons of work, and with no harmful habits to weaken his strong physique. He had learned from the game in which he was so proficient at least one lesson, that of fair play, and among his associates he was known to possess all the other qualities of good sportsmanship.
The race of Mead is assured of more permanent remembrance
MEAD in Pennsylvania than is many another whose achievements may have been quite as great or whose deeds just as glorious, it having been the fortune of the former to give its name to a locality that has since become a prosperous city, firmly established and numerously inhabited. In the city of Meadville, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, is a permanent monument to the Mead family, which came originally from Devonshire to the county of Essex, England, during the reign of Henry VI., in 1422, and which was first settled in Elmdon. There appears to have been eight distinguished families of the name in England, known by their respective coats-of-arms, four bearing the pelican and four the trefoil as their heraldic designs.
Of the noted individuals who appeared among these English families were Rev. Matthew Mead, a celebrated divine famous in the reign of Charles I., and his son, Dr. Richard Mead, appointed physician in ordinary by King George II., and who first practiced inoculation in England. The name is spelled with and without the final "e", although the descendants of the Irish branch of the family, from whom the Meads of Virginia are derived, always used the final "e".
The first record of any of the name in this country is the following, found among the town papers of Stamford, Connecticut: "December 7th, 1641, William Mayd received from the town of Stamford a house lot and five acres of land." This William Mead, in company with his
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brother John emigrated from England about 1640, and settled in Stamford, where he died about 1670. His brother, John, in 1650 moved to Greenwich, Fairfield county, Connecticut. William Mead married Ruth Hardy, who died September 19, 1657.
(II) John Mead, son of William and Ruth (Hardy) Mead, was born about 1616, died in 1696. He married Hannah, daughter of William Pot- ter, of Stamford, Connecticut. Children: John, Joseph, Hannah, Ebenezer, Jonathan, David, of whom further; Benjamin, Samuel, Abigail, Elizabeth, Mary.
(III) David Mead son of John and Hannah (Potter) Mead, was born in 1666, and settled in Bedford, Westminster county, colony of New York. He married and among his children were William, David, Ebenezer, of whom further.
(IV) Ebenezer Mead, son of David Mead, was born in 1702, married, and had children, one of whom was David.
(V) David (2) Mead, son of Ebenezer Mead, married and had Darius, of whom further; Ebenezer, John, William, Eli, born in 1740.
(VI) Darius Mead, son of David (2) Mead, was born in Stamford, Connecticut, March 28, 1728. In 1750 he settled in Hudson, New York, and about 1770 moved with his children to the Wyoming Valley, in Penn- sylvania, subsequently following his two sons, David and John, to the new lands on the Venango river, where he was killed by Indians in 1791. He married Ruth Curtis, born in Connecticut, May 27, 1734, died in Mead- ville, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, in 1794, hers being the first death recorded from natural causes in that county. Some of the numerous chil- dren of Darius and Ruth (Curtis) Mead: David, of whom further; Jeanette Finney; Agnes Wilson; Asahel, born August 9, 1754, was killed in the Wyoming Massacre, July 3, 1778; John, born July 22, 1756, married Kath- arine Forster ; Ruth, born April 16, 1761 ; Darius, born December 9, 1764; Elizabeth, born June 1, 1769.
(VII) David (3) Mead, son of Darius and Ruth (Curtis) Mead, was born at Hudson, New York, January 17, 1752, died in Meadville, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, August 23, 1816. In 1770 he moved to the Wyoming Valley and obtained a tract of land under the Pennsylvania title from which he was subsequently forced by the "Connecticut Intruders," moving thence to Sunbury, Pennsylvania, where he became a tavern-keeper, also erecting and operating a distillery. In 1787 he and his family settled on French Creek, where in 1789-90 he erected a saw-mill and not long afterwards a grist-mill. In 1793 he laid out the present town of Meadville, commenc- ing the sale of lots on February 20 of that year. Prior to his coming to French Creek he had enjoyed the office of justice of the peace, and on March 31, 1796, he and Thomas Reese, of Erie, were appointed justices of the peace by Governor Mifflin for the district consisting of "the Town- ship of Mead in the county of Allegheny," the official terms stating "so long as he shall live and behave himself well." Upon the organization of
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Crawford county, March 12, 1800, he was appointed one of the associate judges, but resigned the following December. He was again appointed in September, 1803, and served on the bench continuously until his death. He had a military record of length and honor, being appointed major- general of the Fourteenth and afterward of the Sixteenth Division Penn- sylvania Militia by Governor Snyder. In the War of 1812 he rendered important and saving services to Commodore Perry, in his prompt defense of Erie, in 1813, when the fleet then being constructed in Presque Isle Bay was threatened with destruction by the enemy. He continued in his. position until the passage of the law annulling all militia commissions.
In his youth David Mead had been deprived of the means and the op- portunity of securing any but the most meagre kind of an education, and throughout his life he constantly felt the handicap of his lack of learning, although it never caused him to lower his head before the most august and erudite of personages, and he used every implement and means in his power to secure and propagate greater educational advantages for the part of the country in which he was a pioneer. He equipped and supplied the ground for the first public schools opened in the county, and pre- sented the property to the board of directors of the Meadville Female Seminary upon which that institution was later built. In 1800 he was mainly instrumental in raising the sum of $4,000 necessary to build and establish the Meadville Academy, and was one of the founders of Allegheny College, being known as one of its most generous benefactors.
He married (first) about 1774, Agnes, who died in 1795, daughter of John and Janet Wilson; (second) Jeanette, daughter of Robert Finney. Children of his first marriage who grew to maturity: William, Darius, Elizabeth, Sarah, Margaret. Children of his second marriage who attained mature age: Robert, Alexander, Catherine, Jane, Maria. It is of one of the four sons of the two marriages of David Mead that John Mead, with whom this record continues, is a son.
(IX) John Mead was born in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, and in manhood became a farmer of Crawford county, there spending his latter years. Although an industrious and successful farmer, he was imbued with the spirit of trade, and on one occasion he loaded a raft with his products and floated it down the Allegheny river to its confluence with the Ohio at Pitts- burgh, where he disposed of his cargo and the raft and walked back to his starting place. He married Eliza Moore, born in Venango county, Penn- sylvania, and had two sons, Wilson, of whom further; Hiram.
(X) Wilson Mead, son of John and Eliza (Moore) Mead, was born in Venango county, Pennsylvania, and died on the home farm. He was educated in the public schools, and for some years was a teacher in the district schools, later entering business as proprietor of a hotel. After a season spent in that line he became an oil hauler, an industry profitable at that time before the completion of the modern methods of transporting oil to the market. Retiring from this business he became a farmer and so
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continued for the remainder of his life. He was prominent in local affairs, public and political, holding all of the township offices, for many years being justice of the peace. His church was the Presbyterian, to which he belonged for thirty-five years, thirty of that time as an elder. He married Nancy Boughner, her father, William, and her mother, both being natives of Center county, Pennsylvania, where he was justice of the peace for twenty years. Children: Clinton E., a resident of Venango county; William J., prosecuting attorney of Sandusky county, Ohio; Mary, died in childhood; Harry Burton, of whom further.
(XI) Dr. Harry Burton Mead, son of Wilson and Nancy (Boughner) Mead, was born in Venango county, Pennsylvania, October 10, 1873. He obtained an excellent education in the public schools of his birthplace, the academy at Utica, Pennsylvania, Grove City College, and the Ohio Normal University, now the Ohio Northern University, preparing him for his later specialized studies. Having completed his preliminary education, he en- tered Jefferson Medical College, in Philadelphia, whence he was graduated in the class of 1902. He immediately established in active practice, Coopers- town, Venango county, Pennsylvania, being his first field, later Stoneboro, Mercer county. In April, 1909, he came to New Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and has since that time been a physician there, practicing con- tinuously. His growth into public favor has kept pace with his ever-widen- ing acquaintance, and the limits of his activities have been gradually ex- tended. He is a young and able champion of his profession and well fitted to hold his place among his brethren of the medical world in New Brighton, suffering by no comparison. He belongs to the County, State, and American Medical societies, the Woodmen of the World and the Masonic order.
Dr. Mead married, December 25, 1902, Anna Madge Scowden, born in Venango county, Pennsylvania, and has one child, Winifred; an elder child, Harold, being deceased. Mrs. Mead is a member of the Presbyterian Church.
BRADEN This branch of the Bradens begins its American history about 1789, when James Braden and his large family of children arrived in Philadelphia. He had been born in county Fer- managh, Ireland, and there married Margaret Howe, of English parentage, his wife dying in that county after the birth of many children. James Braden, with a father's desire that his children should have the best ad- vantages obtainable, decided to bring them to the United States, whither many of his countrymen had preceded him, not a few participating in the American Revolution, and whence came wonderful accounts of the pros- perity and happiness that rewarded industry and right-doing. After landing in Philadelphia the family remained in that vicinity for a few months, then moved to Greene county, Pennsylvania, settling near Ten Mile Creek, still later moving to the neighborhood of Youngstown, Ohio, where James
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Braden died. Among his numerous children was John, of whom further. (II) John Braden, son of James and Margaret (Howe) Braden, was born in Enniskillen, the capital of the county of Fermanagh, Ireland, April 25, 1780, died in Chippewa township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, May 25, 1864, at the advanced age of eighty-four years. When he was nine years of age his father brought the family to the United States, and he attained man's estate on the farm near Youngstown, Ohio. The farm that his father had purchased in this locality was free from the remotest suggestion of a clearing, and the combined efforts of father and sons were directed toward removing the timber and toward beginning the cultivation of the land thus won from the forest. He enlisted in the American army in the War of 1812, became an officer, and was engaged in several conflicts with the British and their redskin allies in the vicinity of Lakes Erie and Huron. He was attached to the army commanded by William Henry Har- rison, the sword that he used in that war being one of the prized and cherished possessions of his grandson, David C. Braden. The summer fol- lowing the close of the war, 1815, he was married, he and his wife locating in Chippewa township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where he farmed for the remainder of his active years. His farm was productive and fertile, well improved with sightly buildings, the farm house being spacious and comfortable, the large rooms of the old fashioned house providing ample space for the entertainment he and his wife loved so well. If one character- istic can be said to dominate a man's life and actions, hospitality can be mentioned as the one that was the controlling force of John Braden's nature. A gathering of their friends in their home was a delight unsur- passed, and their sincere, cordial welcome to any who chanced to stop in at their house made of the guest one who was anxious to repeat his visit. The same spirit that prompted his hearty reception of a friend or ac- quaintance led him to extend the same friendly greeting and welcome to a stranger or traveler who stopped at his gate, a guest room being at the disposal of such as readily as for a lifelong friend. Throughout his entire life John Braden lived on terms of peace and harmony with his fellowmen, no local disturbances or agitations marring the quiet tranquility of his daily walk, and to his many virtues he added the attribute of a godly, upright life, passed in the fast harbor of Christian service.
He married Catherine McEntyre, born in Hagerstown, Maryland, in September, 1791, died at Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, August 13, 1879, youngest daughter of William and Margaret (Herce) McEntyre. William McEntyre came to the United States as a boy and lived on his father's farm near Hagerstown, Maryland, where he grew to maturity and where he married. When his daughter Catherine was a child, he moved to Wash- ington county, and was in that region for about eight years, then pur- chasing the old Stratton farm in Chippewa township, Beaver county. About a year later, Catherine, while visiting a married sister whose home was in Washington county, joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, and for the
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seventy remaining years of her life was a member of that church, devoting much of her time to its works, giving freely and unselfishly of her best to its service, and becoming known for the purity, sweetness and beauty of her life, spent ever in the service of others. Children of John and Catherine (McEntyre) Braden: 1. John D., born November 21, 1826, died in 1894; was a graduate of Washington College, class of 1851, located at Washington, Pennsylvania, and became an attorney of power and reputa- tion in southwestern Pennsylvania; married Anna C. Ruple. 2. Alfred B., of whom further. 3. Jane, married David Mackey, and lived at Young- stown, Ohio, both deceased. 4. Elvira, married David Magaw, a prominent hotel proprietor of New Brighton, Pennsylvania, both deceased. 5. Mar- garet, married Ira Ransom, Sr., and lived in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, both deceased. 6. Mary, died unmarried in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, aged seventy years. 7. Nancy, married Isaiah Rhodes, a farmer, and lived in Chippewa township, later in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. 8. Mahala, died unmarried in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.
(III) Alfred B. Braden, son of John and Catherine (McEntyre) Bra- den, was born on the old homestead in what was then Chippewa township, now College Hill borough, in 1829, died in Beaver Falls, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, February 17, 1902. He passed the early part of his life on the homestead, which after his father's death was sold by the heirs of the estate to the Harmony Society, when Mr. Braden purchased a portion of the old Brittain farm in Chippewa township, where he and his family lived until 1880. In that year he came to Beaver Falls, and in partnership with his son, David C., established in the grocery business at the corner of Fourteenth street and Seventh avenue, retiring from business after two years. He was a Democrat in political faith, and with his wife was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, He married Celina R. Boyle, born at Moravia, Pennsylvania, died in Beaver Falls, Beaver county, Penn- sylvania, daughter of David and Rhoda (Hendrickson) Boyle. David Boyle settled early in Beaver conuty, purchasing a farm adjoining the Braden property in Chippewa township, the land formerly the property of the Bell family. He was a master of the blacksmith's trade, for many years main- taining a shop on the road bordering his farm. Children of David and Rhoda (Hendrickson) Boyle: I. John, was postmaster of New Brighton, Pennsylvania, during the Civil War. 2. Andrew Jackson, for twenty-five years superintendent of a section of the Erie Canal. 3. Mary, married Crate Beal and resided in Memphis, Tennessee. 4. Henry, married a Miss Nowling and lived on a part of the homestead. 5. Sarah, married Hugh White, and her present home is in Cleveland, Ohio. 6 and 7. Daniel and Christopher, went to California at the time of the gold discoveries and made their homes in that state. 8. Eliza, married John Edwards, and lived near Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, where he owned a farm. 9. Celina R., of previous mention, married Alfred B. Braden. Children of Alfred B. and Celina R. (Boyle) Braden: 1. Walter Scott, born in 1851, resided in
x
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New Brighton, where he was postmaster from 1885 until 1889; married Edith Goddard, deceased, and had four children. 2. John W., born in 1853, deceased, was a contracting painter and decorator of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania ; married Ella Crawford. 3. David Crockett, of whom further. 4. Elvira, died aged seventeen years. 5. Alfred Jackson, a conductor in the employ of the Nickel Plate Railroad; lives unmarried in Buffalo, New York. 6. Alfred B., Jr., died young. 7. George Washington, a roller in the mills of the American Steel Company, in Cleveland, Ohio; has been twice married; by his first marriage he has two sons, Grover C., in business in Mexico, and Charles, a resident of Duquesne, Pennsylvania; he has one son by his second wife, George Washington, Jr. 8. Emma Jane, married William T. Taylor, a farmer, and resides in Brighton township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania; children: Joseph R. and David C., both firemen in the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad. 9. Darwin Ransom, a roller in the Colona Steel Mills. 10, 11, and 12. May, Weltha and Catherine, all died as victims of typhoid fever within the space of three months, the same disease causing the death of the brother, Alfred B.
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