Genealogical and personal history of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Volume II, Part 35

Author: Jordan, John W. (John Woolf), 1840-1921 ed
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: New York : Lewis Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 758


USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > Genealogical and personal history of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Volume II > Part 35


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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He married, September 28, 1854, Martha Ann Curl, born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, March 18, 1834, daughter of John and Sarah (Mc- Minn) Curl. Her father was a native of Greene county, and a son of James Curl. Children: I. Elizabeth, born April 23, 1856; married John Armstrong ; children: Helen, married William Howard, and has children : Lucille, Elizabeth, Armstrong; John Darrow; Martha; Thomas Russell; Wilda ; Mary, died in infancy. 2. John Fremont, born November 12, 1857; married Annie Barkman; children: Fred C., married Julia McGrew, has one child, James; James Blaine, married Jane (June) Byer, one child, Ruth ; Charles B., Albert, twin of Charles B. 3. Mary Margaret, born March 29, 1860; married, in October, 1880, George A. Stilwell; children : Charles Morris; Jennie Belle, died in infancy, this being the first death in the family ; Bertha Darrah, born February 3, 1886, married D. C. Lightner, has one child, Graham Wells; Andrew Stewart Flenniken, born May 7, 1889; Albert Metz, born July 24, 1892; Harriet Elizabeth, born in August, 1894. 4. Hetty A., born March 3, 1862; married Thomas Morris (see Morris III). 5. Jennie Belle, born December 6, 1864; married W. M. Crago; children: George Rex, married Carrie Call, has two children: John H., Anna Belle; Ida Florence; Mary, married Frederick Burnett, and has one child, Leonard. 6. Galena Rebecca, born April 18, 1867; married Simeon Stillwell; children : William, Bessie, deceased; Robert, Harry, Edwin, Alberta, deceased; Mer- tie, Maud. 7. Harriet Evans, born May 12, 1869; married, June 21, 1902, Thomas L. Lincoln, died August 21, 1902. 8. Flora Florence, born July I, 1871; married, October 6, 1894, Albert G. Crago; children : Mabel Evans, born July 31, 1895; Margaret, born September 11, 1900; Clarence Flenni- ken, born July 24, 1902; Emily Christina, born June 1, 1910. 9. Charles Morris, born November 6, 1873, died July 24, 1887. 10. Robert Ingram, born May 30, 1876; married October 24, 1899, Daisy Belle Conn; children : Robert McGonigle, born September 8, 1900; Ruth; Andrew Thompson, died at the age of five weeks; James Gordon, born May 17, 1906; Harleigh Emery, born August 26, 1910.


James Cotter, a prominent citizen of Monaca, Pennsylvania, COTTER is of Irish parentage, and was born May 31, 1860, in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, a son of John and Rose (Geary) Cotter. His parents were both natives of Ireland, where they were born in the years 1810 and 1816, respectively. They migrated singly to the United States, he coming to Bridgewater, Pennsylvania, in 1842, and in this country they met, being married at Pittsburgh ten years later. Their deaths occurred in the years 1872 and 1898, respectively. To them were born four children: Elizabeth; John, deceased; Ellen; James, the subject of this sketch. The eldest daughter, Elizabeth, married Ephraim Martin, of New Brighton, Pennsylvania, to whom she bore one child, Cora Martin, who married James Abbott, with whom she now lives in Fairmont, West Virginia. They have had born to them ten children, as follows: James


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Clyde, deceased; George William, Lawrence, Edward Millard, Elizabeth Rose, Clara Martin, Paul, Francis Regis, and twins, John and a little girl who died in early childhood. Mr. Cotter's second sister, Ellen, lives unmarried in Beaver county, Pennsylvania.


James Cotter was reared and educated in Bridgewater, and during his school years also worked on a farm, from fourteen years of age to twenty- one. He then found employment as a clerk in a store, a position he held for two years. In the year 1883, when he was about twenty-three years of age, he began working in the shipping department of the Phoenix Glass Company of Monaca, though for some time he still resided in Bridgewater. He finally moved to the scene of his employment, where he still makes his home at the corner of Indiana avenue and Ninth street. He has now for some years held the position of manager of the shipping department, and is a well-to-do property owner in Monaca, where he possesses a fine residence. He is a director of the Building and Loan Association of Monaca. In politics Mr. Cotter is independent, casting his vote without regard to party lines for the candidate or cause he favors. He takes a keen interest in public affairs. He is a member of Rochester Lodge, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and of Bridgewater Lodge, No. 265, Knights of Pythias.


Mr. Cotter married, December 27, 1909, Catherine Richardson, a mem- ber of a prominent family in Beaver county, but of English origin. Her paternal grandparents were Robert and Mary (Ross) Richardson, both of whom lived and died in England. Their son, John, Mrs. Cotter's father, was born in England, October 1, 1850, and was reared and educated there. He went to Scotland as a young man, and there met and married Annie Grant in the year 1873. Annie Grant was a daughter of Colin and Annie (Robertson) Grant, of Scotland. Mr. Richardson and his wife came, about 1880, to America, settling first at Corning, New York, then in Monaca, Pennsylvania, and finally to Rochester, in the same state, where they now live. Mr. Richardson is a glass cutter, and is employed by the H. C. Fry Glass Company. Mr. Richardson and his family are communicants of the Episcopal Church in religion, and in politics he is a Republican. He and his wife are the parents of seven children, as follows: Mary, now Mrs. Frank Dawson, of Beaver, Pennsylvania, and the mother of one child, John Francis Dawson; Catherine, the wife of Mr. Cotter; Dorothy Isabel, now the wife of Carl Mader, superintendent in the steel mills at Bessemer, Alabama; Robert, who married Anna Thomas and by her had two children, Jean and Robert; Jean Grant, now Mrs. Thomas Scantling, her husband an optician of Rochester, Pennsylvania; Elizabeth, resides at home; Frances Winnifred, now the wife of Charles Johnson, of Rochester, formerly book- keeper with the First National Bank, but now holding a similar position with the Birmingham Trust Company, of Birmingham, Alabama. To Mr. and Mrs. Cotter has been born one son, James Cotter. Mr. Cotter, in con- junction with his two sisters, Mrs. Martin and Miss Ellen Cotter, owned


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until recently a large tract of land in Bridgewater, which they sold to the railroad company. Mr. Cotter's parents were members of the Roman Catholic Church. Mr. Cotter's wife is a communicant of the Episcopal Church.


The Musgrave family, members of which are actively MUSGRAVE interested in all the worthy enterprises of Beaver county, Pennsylvania, trace their descent to James Musgrave, who was born in England, April 26, 1816. He came to America with his parents when three years of age, and the family settled in Beaver county, Pennsylvania. For a time Mr. Musgrave lived in the state of Ohio, but returned to Beaver county, and died on the old homestead, September 12, 1906. He held official position in the Baden Methodist Episcopal Church, of which his wife was also a member. He married Margaret Hendrickson, who died on the homestead, September 27, 1872, at the age of fifty-four years. They had children: 1. Josiah, born April 8, 1840, drowned May 24, 1861. 2. Joshua, born November 22, 1841; married Kate Bental; lives in Economy township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. 3. Margaret, born October 19, 1843; married John Noonan; lives in New Sewickley, Penn- sylvania. 4. Maria, born March 1, 1845, died July 3, 1881 ; married Henry Douglass. 5. Nelson, born October 2, 1846; married Annie Stewart; lives in Economy township, Pennsylvania. 6. Lydia, born December 23, 1848; married (first) Solomon Davis, (second) David Baird; lives in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. 7. Reuben, born November 13, 1850, died July 6, 1884; married Dora Wilson. 8. Eliza Ann, born November 13, 1852; married Adam Hill; lives in California. 9. James H., see forward. 10. Levi, born November 4, 1857; married Annie Nichols; lives in New Sewickley, Penn- sylvania. II. Albert, born March 2, 1860, died January 17, 1912; married (first) Lena V. Armstrong, (second) Stella Shaffer. 12. Emma R., born July 27, 1862, died March 1, 1863.


(II) James H. Musgrave, son of James and Margaret (Hendrickson) Musgrave, was born in Economy township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, July 27, 1855, and with the exception of three years passed in Fayette county, his entire life has been spent in his native county. He attended school in Beaver county, and then commenced to assist his father in the cultivation of the homestead farm. In 1904 he purchased one hundred and three acres of land which he commenced to farm independently, and on which his son, Avery R., is now living. He is Republican in his political opinions, and served as school director for a period of four years. The entire family has been very active in church work, belonging to the Luth- eran Church, and Mr. Musgrave has been deacon, trustee, treasurer and a member of the building committee. Mr. Musgrave married Louisa Bock, of Bocktown, a daughter of Frederick and Anna Lizzetta (Amsler) Bock, the former a miller and farmer in Economy township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where he died in 1886 at the age of sixty-five years. They


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had children: I. Charles J., born May 18, 1848; married Elizabeth Kieff- ner, now deceased. 2. J. Frederick, born January 16, 1851 ; married Pru- dence Brown; he is a farmer in Ohio. 3. Louisa, born March 5, 1854, mentioned above. 4. William H., born April 5, 1856; married Emma Sohn; lives in Oakdale. 5. Rose, born May 5, 1858; married Samuel C. Gray; lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 6. Adam, born June 9, 1861, died at the age of fifteen years. 7. Sophia, born June 30, 1864, died unmarried, August 4, 1887. 8. Henry J., born September 9, 1867; married Clara Marr; lives in Conway, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Musgrave have had children: I. Avery R., see forward. 2. Vira Ada, born October 25, 1887; unmar- ried, lives with her parents; is a teacher in the Sunday school and secretary of the Ladies' Missionary Society. 3. Fern Arbutus, born December 23, 1889; unmarried; organist in the Lutheran Sunday school and a member of the Ladies' Missionary Society. 4. Hazel A., born September 18, 1891; unmarried; secretary of the Concord Presbyterian Sunday school. 5. Alva Edison, born March II, 1893; lives with his parents. 6. Stanley Quay, born January 13, 1896. 7. Violet Ivy, born March 13, 1900.


(III) Avery R. Musgrave, son of James H. and Louisa (Bock) Mus- grave, was born in Economy township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, Oc- tober 17, 1884. His early years were spent in his native township, and he received his elementary education in the public schools of Conway. He then attended Peirsol's Academy in Beaver, and the Rochester Business College, then under the management of Mr. Depew. Upon the completion of this excellent and practical education, Mr. Musgrave was for a time a clerk in a grocery store in Ambridge, Beaver county, then returned to his home and became an assistant to his father on the farm. He is now in the employ of the South Pennsylvania Oil Company of Pittsburgh, and has charge of the oil-pumping station on his father's farm. He has been active in working for the interests of the Republican party, and has served two terms as township auditor. His religious affiliation is with the Lutheran denomination, and he is a member of that church. Mr. Musgrave is unmarried.


McCAW The McCaw family, now creditably represented in New Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and also in other sec- tions of the country, came to America originally from Ireland, from whence have come so many families who have furnished us with rep- resentative men in various walks of life.


(I) Thomas McCaw, the first of the family of whom we have record, was born in Ireland, and died in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, at about ninety years of age. He came to Allegheny county, when he was about twenty-three years of age, and married in Butler county, Pennsylvania, Elizabeth, who died at an advanced age about six years before her husband's death, a daughter of James Magee, a native of Ireland and a pioneer set- tler in Butler county, where he died. They had children, all deceased with


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the exception of George : Jane; John; Mary Ann; James; Rebecca ; William Magee, of further mention; Susanna; Margaret; George ; David.


(II) William Magee McCaw, son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Magee) McCaw, was born near Bakerstown, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, Sep- tember 15, 1831, and died in 1903. His early years were spent on the pater- nal farm and he acquired his education in the public schools of his section of the township. He was apprenticed to learn the trade of plastering, with which he was identified for some years. In 1869 he came to New Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where he established himself in the grocery business at the corner of Ninth avenue and Ninth street, and carried on his business until 1890, at which time he retired from business responsibilities. During these years he had amassed a comfortable com- petency, and was the owner of a number of pieces of property in New Brighton. He took an active part in the religious affairs of the community, and served as an elder of the United Presbyterian Church of New Brighton for many years. In political matters he was a Prohibitionist. Mr. McCaw married, June 11, 1861, Lucy Caroline Anderson, born in West Greenville, Mercer county, Pennsylvania, March 4, 1841. They had children: Thomas Walter, born in 1864, in Butler county, Pennsylvania; Mary Elizabeth, born in 1866, married Stuart Magee, of New Brighton ; George S., born in 1868, a resident of Dennison, Ohio; Charles Francis, of further mention. William Crow Anderson, son of James Anderson, and father of Mrs. McCaw, was of Irish extraction and was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1800, and died in Scioto county, Ohio, about 1864. He was a farmer by occupation and owned a tract of about two hundred acres in Cranberry township, Butler county, Pennsylvania. About the year 1861 he removed to Scioto county, Ohio, and died there three years later. He married Mary Orr, a native of county Antrim, Ireland, who died in 1876, and they had children: Margaret, deceased; James, deceased; Eliza, died in Scioto county, Ohio, in 1913, at the age of eighty-four years; Sarah E .; Mary, deceased ; Emma; Robert, served four years in the Civil War, and died on the Mississippi in 1867, at the age of thirty years; Lucy Caroline, who be- came the wife of Mr. McCaw, as above mentioned. James Anderson, grand- father of Mrs. McCaw, was born in Ireland, and was scarcely more than a young lad when he emigrated to the United States. He was one of the pioneer settlers of Washington county, Pennsylvania, and died at an ad- vanced age, near Evans City, Butler county, Pennsylvania, where his wife also died at an advanced age. They had children: Mary; William Crow, mentioned above; David; Eliza ; Margaret ; Eleanor ; James; Hannah, Sarah.


(III) Charles Francis McCaw, son of William Magee and Lucy Caro- line (Anderson) McCaw, was born in New Brighton, Beaver county, Penn- sylvania, January 28, 1870. Having completed his education in the public schools of his native town, Mr. McCaw took up the study of pharmacy in a thorough and practical manner, and became a registered pharmacist. For three years he was associated with his brother, George S., under the


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firm name of George S. McCaw & Brother, Druggists. He then established himself in the tea, coffee and spice business, with which he was success- fully connected for a period of twenty years. He manufactures his own flavoring extracts, and does a considerable business in this line. His place of business is at No. 908 Ninth street, and some of his customers come from great distances. Like his father, he is a Prohibitionist in political matters, and he is a member of the United Presbyterian Church. Mr. McCaw mar- ried, in June, 1905, Athalia C., a daughter of Alfred and Martha Stacy, the latter deceased, the former residing on Eleventh street, New Brighton. Mr. and Mrs. McCaw have two children: Lois and Louise, twins, born May 4, 1906.


EATON-WILHELM Eaton, as a family name, under various forms of spelling, is found from a very early period. There is no evidence that all of the families bear- ing this name are descended from a common ancestor. It is quite probable that several distinct families assumed the name, its signification being "River-town," Aqua dunum, and it occurs before 1060 A. D. as Ettuna- the name of several places in England. The principal founders of Eaton families in America, who came to this country before 1700, were the fol- lowing: Francis Eaton, of Plymouth, who came in the Mayflower in 1620; John Eaton, of Haverhill; John Eaton, of Dedham; Jonas Eaton, of Read- ing; Nathaniel Eaton, of Cambridge, and William Eaton, of Reading, who settled in New England from 1630 to 1640; William Eaton, of North Carolina, about 1670; Thomas Eaton, of Shrewsbury, New Jersey, 1670 to 1680; and John, George and Edward Eaton, of Philadelphia county, Pennsylvania, 1683 to 1686. The lines of the last named have persisted numerously in Pennsylvania, all indications leading to the conclusion that it was from one of the Eatons of Philadelphia county, Pennsylvania, that Henry Eaton, who married Jane Gibb, father of John Eaton, was de- scended.


(II) John Eaton, son of Henry and Jane (Gibb) Eaton, was born in Findley township, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, May 24, 1814, died December 2, 1872. He was a coal dealer of Pittsburgh, owning many barges carrying this product on the Ohio river. To his business associates he was always known as "Captain," a title purely familiar, for he never commanded one of the vessels used in his business. He was a Republican in political faith, a member of the United Presbyterian Church, and affiliated with the Masonic Order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His residence was in Allegheny City (Pittsburgh North Side).


John Eaton married Nancy, daughter of Andrew and Mary ( Maloney) Morton, in 1845, her father a native of Ireland who, after immigrating to the United States, settled in the Pittsburgh district. He became the owner of a large amount of real estate in Pittsburgh and Allegheny City, and, holding it through the rapid rise in value that came to property in that


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locality, realized a generous profit, part of that land which he retained being now in the possession of his descendants. Children of John and Nancy (Morton) Eaton : I. Edith A., born November 9, 1857, married Henry Wilhelm, of whom further. 2. Sarah S., born in September, 1860, married William T. Gibb, and resides in Jacksonville, Florida, the mother of one child, Bessie H. 3. John H., born in October, 1864, married Eliza- beth Hamilton, and has children: John Morton, a graduate of Cornell Uni- versity ; Harry H. and Margaret E., twins.


Henry Wilhelm, son of parents of German birth who settled in Alle- gheny county, Pennsylvania, after their immigration to the United States, was born in St. Clair township, that county, February 21, 1845. He was favored by a liberal education and was, through his German extraction, a thorough master of that tongue. His boyhood and young manhood were passed on his father's farm, one of his later acquisitions being a farm in Moon township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where he conducted farming operations successfully for many years. He disposed of his farm in 1888 and moved to San Antonio, Texas, where he became a hardware merchant, making that his line of activity until his death, which occurred January 21, 1893, fortune attending his ventures in that business as in agriculture. In him the Democratic party found an enthusiastic worker, one who gave to the party's advancement all of his influence and effort and who steadfastly refused recognition of his labors in the form of political preferment, never accepting office. He was a man of high principle, which he never lowered to achieve any end, and because of his steadfast championship of the right and the purity of his daily walk he was granted the respectful esteem of his fellows. He made as fine a distinction between things worthy and unworthy as he did between those right and those wrong, and throughout his life lived true to noble ideals, passing his days in the approbation of men and ending it confident of the approval of his Maker. He was a member of the Lutheran Church.


Mr. Wilhelm married, November 28, 1878, Edith A. Eaton, of previous mention, who now resides in Beaver, Pennsylvania.


There is much of the history of the Pflug family in its native PFLUG land that is unwritten, much that, were a book to be made of the records, would provide no thrills of interest to the reader nor would it encourage a second perusal. It would contain no mention of titled personages or royalty, the scenes would not be laid in palaces, man- sions, or country estates, but would carry one into the heart of the industrial world of that great manufacturing country, Germany, from there to the useful arts and trades, and thence into the fields and meadows of rural Germany, whence is derived a large part of the daily food and all the com- forts and conveniences that make mansions, palaces and royalty possible. It is a distinctively American idea to applaud the superiority of the worker over the drone, of the supporter over the parasite, and to the American


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members of the family of Pflug it must bring genuine satisfaction to realize that in the land in which their name originated Pflugs bore their part as men and well, their labors adding to the stability and prosperity of the land and materially aiding it in its advance among the nations of the world. .


(I) This chronicle begins with Jacob Pflug, who like the ancestors of his line was a follower of agriculture, and who left his native land to make his home in the United States. Pennsylvania was the state that he chose, Marion township, Beaver county, the place in which he finally settled, he and his wife, whom he had married in Germany, both dying in that locality. He married Sarah Householder, and among his children was Henry, of whom further.


(II) Henry Pflug, son of Jacob and Sarah (Householder) Pflug, was born in Marion township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, in 1846, died in North Sewickley township, that county, March 13, 1913. He was educated in the public schools of his native township, and as a young man there began farming operations, later moving to North Sewickley township, Beaver county, where he purchased a farm of seventy-five acres, which at his death had increased to three hundred and nineteen acres. He was industrious and thrifty, and in addition to general farming, which he con- ducted on a large scale, he maintained a herd of the finest stock, giving to these two departments of farming his undivided attention. Among his friends he was noted for his quality of hard-working persistency, which never allowed him to abandon a project until it had been carried to a successful consummation. His goal was ever in his mind's eye and he saw no difficulty, obstacle or stumbling block, the completed idea, in all its alluring desirability, being the spur that kept him to his task. This at- tribute contributed largely to his success, for his achievements and acqui- sitions along agricultural lines merit no other title, and marked the whole course of his life, so that he was prominent among that small class of men whose promise was received with as great satisfaction as the completed pledge. He and his wife were at one time members of the German Re- formed Church, later identifying themselves with the North Sewickley Presbyterian Church, of which he was a member at his death.


Mr. Pflug married, May 29, 1873, Caroline, born in Marion township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, daughter of Michael and Caroline (Gardner) Miller. Michael Miller and his wife were natives of Germany, and upon coming to the United States settled in Marion township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where he became a farmer. Children of Michael and Caroline (Gardner) Miller : Henry, Frank, Caroline, who married Henry Pflug and survives him, living on the farm in North Sewickley township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. Children of Henry and Caroline (Miller) Pflug: Clara Elizabeth, Emelia, Frank Frederick, Charles Henry, Elmer Elton, Amos Edmund, Vernelia Emelia, Eva Matilda, Arthur Lamont, Leslie Nor- man, Edna Ethel, Ralph Jacob, all living and all married with the exception of the last two.


Henry Oflug


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The part played by our Irish-American citizens in the history RODEN and development of their adopted country is no insignificant one, and no land has given us truer and abler men than those who have come to us from the "Emerald Isle." The family under consid- eration in this review is no exception to this general rule.




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