USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > Genealogical and personal history of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Volume II > Part 38
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(II) George W. Barclay, third child and second son of William and Margaret (Mccullough) Barclay, was born in South Beaver township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, October 30, 1824, and died at Darlington, in the same county. He spent his early life in Beaver county, as a boy at- tending the public schools, and upon arriving at man's estate there mar- ried. He purchased one hundred and thirty-two acres of land adjoining his father's property, and there lived until old age compelled him to abandon the strenuous farmer's life to which he had been accustomed from child- hood. During his residence on his farm he had improved it with many buildings, useful in character and attractive in design. The last years of his life were spent in quiet retirement at Darlington, Beaver county. With his wife he was a member of the Presbyterian church, of which faith his father had been a communicant, and in political matters supported the Re- publican party, although he never considered it an imperative duty to par- ticipate actively in local affairs.
He married, in South Beaver township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, Keziah Johnson, born there in 1823, daughter of Francis and Sarah (Mc- Kean) Johnson, both natives of Beaver county, where they married. Francis Johnson owned a farm of one hundred and thirty acres in South Beaver township, which he had cleared and improved with serviceable buildings, and there they both died, he in 1833, when a young man, she over
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sixty years of age. They were both members of the Presbyterian church. Children of Francis and Sarah (Mckean) Johnson: I. James, died on his farm in Chippewa township, Beaver county. 2. George W., a farmer died near Fort Wayne, Indiana. 3. Andrew, a farmer of South Beaver township, Beaver county, died in 1907. 4. Thompson, died aged nineteen years. 5. Mary, born January 8, 1823, died in August, 1910; married Robert Barclay, mentioned elsewhere in this work. 6. Martha, married Wallace Ramsey, died in 1914, and lived near Vanport, Pennsylvania. 7. Adeline, married John M. McMillan, deceased, and lives on the homestead. 8. Sarah Jane, married a Mr. Young, and died in Mahoning county, Ohio. 9. Margaret Ann, married Madison McMillan, deceased, and lives in Carlton, Colorado. 10. Keziah, of previous mention, married George W. Barclay. Children of George W. and Keziah (Johnson) Barclay: I. William Francis Johnson, of whom further. 2. Sarah Isaphine, born Feb- ruary 24, 1852; married Joseph F. Gilliland, and died on the old homestead in 1913.
(III) William Francis Johnson Barclay, eldest child and only son of George W. and Keziah (Johnson) Barclay, was born in South Beaver town- ship, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, September 1, 1850. He attended the public schools when a boy, and remained at home, working on his father's farm, until 1873, when he rented a farm in Big Beaver township and cultivated it for a period of seven years. For the five following years he managed the homestead farm, then returning to Big Beaver township and purchasing the property he had formerly rented. Here he has resided since 1885, and at the present time conducts operations general in their character, stock breeding and fruit raising being the two departments to which he gives most of his interested attention. The two acres that he has planted in fruit trees have brought him excellent returns, both in a financial way and in the satisfaction that successful efforts will bring in any line of endeavor, be it agricultural or otherwise. On his farm he built the house that he now occupies, a commodious and comfortable dwelling. With his wife he is a member of the United Presbyterian Church, and in political belief is a Republican, tending toward a more progressive plat- form than that usually attributed to his party.
Mr. Barclay married, May 30, 1872, Elizabeth, born January 14, 1854, a native of New Brighton, Beaver county, daughter of George and Frances Catharine (Burwell) Boswell. They were both natives of England, whence they came to the United States, settling at New Brighton, Beaver county, where he purchased a farm. There they both died, she in 1857, he four years later, in 1861, survived by seven children, of whom Elizabeth was the youngest. Mr. Boswell was twice married; there were seven children by his first marriage. Children of William Francis Johnson and Elizabeth (Boswell) Barclay: I. Ettie, born June 24, 1873 ; married Samuel Duncan ; children: Leonard, Clarence, Arthur, Wayne, Louis; lives in Big Beaver township, Beaver county. 2. Minnie M., born January 9, 1875;
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married W. R. Gilkey, and lives at New Galilee, Pennsylvania; they are the parents of three children-Grace, William and Lynn. 3. George W., born March 23, 1880; married Effie M. Blake, and has one child, Lewana. 4. Grace M., born September 29, 1884; married Frank Freed, and lives in Darlington township, Beaver county. They are the parents of one son, George.
The family of Craig in widespread over the state of Pennsyl-
CRAIG vania, being more numerous in the eastern part of the com- monwealth, whence probably came the ancestors of Joseph Craig, who settled in Moon township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, when a young man. He was a farmer and was twice married, first to Elizabeth Manor, second to Eliza Stoops. His death occurred in 1865, that of his second wife, April 15, 1893. By his first marriage he was the father of Hiram, Richard, Benjamin; by second marriage: Edward, William, Joseph A., of whom further, Mahala.
(II) Joseph A. Craig, son of Joseph and Eliza (Stoops) Craig, was born in Moon township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, April 3, 1859. He was educated in the public schools of that township, there living until 1893, when he came to Aliquippa, a town then in the course of its first opera- tions. He helped dig the first cellar of the town and sold the first carload of coal shipped into that place, dealing in coal for some time after the town became more thickly settled. For seventeen years he has been a farmer, and now, in addition to his agricultural works, he engages in teaming, from both of which lines he receives a profitable revenue. His political preferences are Republican, and as such he was elected a member of the first council of the borough of Aliquippa, of which body he has been a member for fifteen years, his present term expiring in 1915. In that time he has been treasurer both of the borough and of the school board, holding a position upon the latter for two years. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a progressive citizen and has done much in public service for Aliquippa, with which borough he has been identified since it has borne the name. He takes pleasure in the scrupulous performance of the duties entrusted to him and in the able administration of the responsibilities that have at various and numerous times been placed upon his shoulders, and none could be more constantly faithful or more energetically enterprising than he. He richly deserves the universal commendation that he receives.
He married, in Colona, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, February 14, 1882, Ella, daughter of Amos and Matilda (Irwin) Ewing. Amos was a son of William and Eleanor (Estep) Ewing, pioneer settlers of Beaver county, where they died. Eleanor Estep had an aunt who, with her infant child, was captured by Indians and was compelled to watch her baby put to death, torture to a mother's heart a thousand times worse than death. She afterward escaped from her inhuman captors and returned to her
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home. Amos Ewing was born in Independence township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, in 1832, and there grew to manhood, obtaining his education in the public schools, and there followed the occupation of contractor, his business attaining large dimensions. He was a Republican in political action, with his wife a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, his death occurring September 26, 1893, that of his wife January 16, 1891. His wife was a daughter of Daniel and Jane (Meanor) Irwin, and was born in Moon township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, in 1844, her father dying in Leipsic, Putnam county, Ohio, her mother in Beaver county, Penn- sylvania. Children of Amos and Matilda (Irwin) Ewing: Eleanor Jane; Thomas Ellsworth, deceased; William John, deceased; Daniel Harry, de- ceased; Matilda Alice, deceased; Minnie May, deceased; Amos Oliver, de- ceased; Carrie Blanche; Callie Adelia; Mary Belle; Maggie Fern, deceased ; Ella, of previous mention, married Joseph A. Craig. Children of Joseph A. and Ella (Ewing) Craig: William David, of whom further; Matilda, born November 14, 1884; Elizabeth, July 3, 1887; Minnie May, December 5, 1888; Joseph Walton, February 9, 1891; Orpha Ellen, February 6, 1893; Oliver Ewing, April 16, 1895; George Dewey, April 25, 1898; Thomas Ellsworth, December 9, 1899; Harold Eugene, May 7, 1905.
(III) William David Craig, eldest son and child of Joseph A. and Ella (Ewing) Craig, was born in Moon township, Beaver county, Penn- sylvania, December 31, 1882. He was educated in the public schools of Moon township, a part of his youth being spent in Monaca, and he later attended the public schools of Aliquippa. Completing his primary educa- tion he matriculated at Geneva College, after a course in Peirsol's Academy, continuing his studies in that institution until his junior year, when he left to begin the study of law, which he did in the office of William A. McConnell, of Beaver. He passed successful examinations and was ad- mitted to the county bar on September 14, 1908, and later was admitted to practice in the United States district court and supreme court. He immediately established in active practice and was for a time in Beaver, later coming to Woodlawn, and then to Aliquippa, at the present time hold- ing clients in both of these places. All of Mr. Craig's active life has not been devoted to the profession of which he is now an able exponent, pedagogical pursuits having claimed his attention as a young man for three years, two of which he passed as principal of the Aliquippa public schools. He did not, therefore, come unheralded to the community in which he opened his office, but with the recommendation of former serv- ices in a different capacity in which he exhibited true worth and merit, and all who observed his efficient administration of the public schools of Aliquippa would unhesitatingly entrust him with any commissions that might fall within the limits of his profession. To the public life of Aliquippa he has also contributed of his services, and for seven years has been a member of the school board, during which time he held the offices of both secretary and treasurer, also being for four years secretary of the
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council of that place. He is a member of the State Bar Association, the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, also affiliating with Wood- lawn Lodge, No. 1221, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Mr. Craig married, in June, 1907, Grace Louise De Castrique, of Aliquippa, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. Children: Grace Lucille, born April 6, 1908; Norma Jean, born January 11, 1912; William David Jr., born March 23, 1914.
There has been but one generation of this branch of the O'NEILL O'Neill family born in the United States, although in the father of James Morgan O'Neill it was represented by a man who in his chosen career, railroading, left a record of faithfulness of service, marked by efficiency of high rank, that will be long remembered in railroad circles in his adopted country. It is to Ireland that the search for the origin of the O'Neill family leads, and it is there, in county Down, that the seat of those bearing the name is found. This chronicle begins with Charles O'Neill, a farmer of Dunmoor, county Down, Ireland, where he spent his entire life, dying in middle life. His wife survived him, dying aged seventy-five years. Children of Charles and Ellen (McElravy) O'Neill, all deceased: I. Elizabeth, died unmarried, in Ireland. 2. Mary, died in her native country, unmarried. 3. Lois, died in Ireland, unmarried. 4. Henry, of whom further.
(II) Henry O'Neill, fourth child and only son of Charles and Ellen (McElravy) O'Neill, was born in county Down, Ireland, in October, 1835, died in Darlington township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, June 4, 1910. He attended school in his native land, and when twenty years of age came to the United States, having been employed at farming prior to his emigration. He immediately enlisted in the service in which he re- mained for so long a time, railroading, his first position being on the gravel train of the old Fort Wayne Railroad, now the main line of the Pennsyl- vania system to Chicago. In this capacity he remained for only six months, at the end of that time being promoted to the rank of fireman. It serves well to illustrate in what a primitive condition railroading was when it is stated that at that time there were but three engines in use on the Fort Wayne Railroad, while to-day that same division probably num- bers its locomotives by the hundred. For four years he fired, and at tlie conclusion of that period reached the pinnacle of road service, the en- gineer's cab. From 1860 to 1904 he was constantly at his post, watching and adapting himself to the startling changes and revolutions that came into his world of activity, in the size, strength, and speed of engines; in the substitution of steel for wooden passenger coaches; in systems of signals; in methods of watering; and fitting himself to each innovation, always more wonderful than its predecessor, always tending to greater efficiency. His hand had been at the throttle of the first locomotives of the road, whose speed a swift horse could more than equal, and had guided
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the mile-a-minute flyers that devoured distance with hungry greed. In the midst of this bewildering metamorphosis, he, too, changed, but only in action. Whether he peered through the mist for a block signal or ran his train straight ahead, confident in the thought that the other two engines of the road were behind him, he was ever the steady, vigilant, alert leader, master of every throbbing valve and gauge before him, strong in his tried ability, and ever conscious of his tremendous responsibility and the precious value of the human freight that rode in the passenger coaches behind, calmly placing their lives and physical well-being in his skilled hand. For forty-four years he remained on the road as engineer, his regular, tem- perate, habits enabling him to withstand the awful nervous strain that so often breaks down the nervous systems and the physiques of the exponents of his profession, and gaining the trust and confident reliance of those in authority above him. If there was need of a special to convey an official bent on important business, or in some crisis of life awaited at the end of a long, hard run, he was chosen for its execution more frequently than any of his comrades in the service, the highest tribute that could be paid to one who had given the best years of his life in the service of one master. At the time of the Columbian Exposition at Chicago he ran the old locomotive, "John Bull," the first locomotive used in the United States in 1831, to that city, he being the only engineer in the road's service who could master a sufficient amount of the construction details of the ancient engine to run it on its own steam. In the year 1904 the Pennsylvania railroad granted him a pension upon his retirement. He had in 1866 purchased forty-five acres of land in Darlington township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, now know as Roselawn farm, and here he and his family lived for six years, then returning to their former home in Allegheny, also remaining there for six years. In 1878 they came once more to Darlington township, Beaver county, and he purchased the Cochran farm of sixty-eight acres, east of Darlington. Here he lived until his death, in a large frame house which he caused to be erected, and on that farm his widow still resides. Mr. O'Neill later added to his property the Oliver Braden farm of one hundred and five acres, contiguous to his land. He never engaged in active farm labor, his son, James Morgan, managing the home farm. It was one of the greatest sources of satisfaction to him in his retired life that in the nearly half century that he had spent as engineer he had never been in a severe wreck, neither had he endangered the lives of his passengers nor jeopardized the reputation of his road for safety in travel. He was a member of the Roman Catholic Church, devout in his devotions and reg- ular in his attendance at its services.
He married, in 1857, Mary Morgan, born in county Down, Ireland, April 13, 1837, daughter of James and Rosanne (O'Neill) Morgan, both born at Dunmoor, county Down, Ireland. In that country he was a farmer, and there married, his wife being a daughter of Thomas and Nancy (Mur- ray) O'Neill, both of whom lived to a good old age in county Down.
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James Morgan came to Pennsylvania in 1850, settling at Allegheny, Penn- sylvania, where he was employed by the railroad until his death, aged forty- seven years. He was conspicuous among his fellows because of the magnif- icent physical prowess with which he had been favored, being six feet two inches in stature, and more than two hundred pounds in weight. Chil- dren of James and Rosanne (O'Neill) Morgan: I. Mary, of previous mention, married Henry O'Neill and lives on the home farm in Darlington township, Beaver county. 2. Patrick, born in 1840; entered the shops of the Fort Wayne railroad, first as carpenter and later as machinist. In 1862 he obtained an indefinite leave of absence from duty to go to the front in the defense of the Union, enlisting in the 123d Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, and receiving an honorable discharge in May, 1863. Upon his return from the war he once more entered the railroad shops in his old capacity, later becoming a fireman on the road and, in 1868, engineer. This position he held until he retired on a pension, having been one of the most trusted and best-known engineers in the employ of the Pennsyl- vania railroad. During his connection with the road he was privileged to hold the throttle of the locomotive that bore many famous men, renowned in public and industrial life, to their destination, one of his most notable commissions being his appointment as engineer of the train carrying James G. Blaine upon his country-wide campaign, during which run the train of the candidate for the presidency suffered no mishap of any kind, a record that reflected favorably upon the man in the front cab, who received the congratulations of the officials of the road for his excellent service. He was also engineer of the train that bore President Mckinley to the bedside of his dying mother, the railroad officials having given the train a clear track from Pittsburgh to Canton in the hope of getting the chief executive to his destination before his mother breathed her last. The average speed of the train on the run was a mile a minute, Patrick Morgan ably doing his part in the race against death. 3. Anne, married John Grant, deceased, and lives in Allegheny. 4. Phoebe, unmarried, lives with her brothers, James and Patrick, at "Roselawn," Darlington township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. 5. James, lives at "Roselawn." Children of Henry and Mary (Morgan) O'Neill: 1-2. Mary and Maggie, live at home, unmar- ried. 3. Charles, an engineer on the Pennsylvania railroad; married Della Walker, and lives at Conway, Pennsylvania. 4. James Morgan, of whom further. 5. Phoebe, unmarried; an operator for the Western Union Tele- graph Company at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 6. Rosalia, a school teacher in Darlington, Pennsylvania. 7. Alice, a school teacher.
(III) James Morgan O'Neill, fourth child and second son of Henry and Mary (Morgan) O'Neill, was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, De- cember 18, 1869. His education was obtained in the Sixth Ward school at Allegheny, the Douthitt district school, and, after the family moved to Beaver county, the Darlington Academy, then under the supervision of Professor Judd. As he grew to manhood he gradually assumed more and
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more of the responsibility of the management of the home farm until he was in entire charge, as he has been since the death of his father, although the latter was never concerned with the active operation of his property. He, his mother, and his three unmarried sisters now reside on the home farm, over which he exercises careful and competent supervision. The property is well-improved, the large barns having been built in 1890, and now house some of the best blooded live stock in that section, that being a subject upon which Mr. O'Neill is an intelligent enthusiast. From his fine Holstein cattle he obtains a supply of rich, pure milk, of which he makes disposition to the retail dealers of the vicinity, conducting a pre- tentious wholesale milk business. Besides some heavy Percheron horses, giants in strength and endurance, handsome in their evident power, he has several fast, graceful and pedigreed driving horses, of which one, a trotting mare named "Justina H.," has a mark of 2.27. He is also the possessor of two colts from "Allawood," which he is raising, and which should develop into the finest horses which he owns. In these animals Mr. O'Neill takes the pure delight of the connoisseur, and carefully watches their daily welfare, lest their beauty or usefulness be marred or impaired. His pride in the sturdy strenth of his Percherons is as great as in the fleet feet of his driving horses, a combination, which, when found, denotes the true lover of horseflesh. In political action Mr. O'Neill is a Democrat, and has served the township as school director and supervisor. With his neighbors he is popular and well-liked, straightforward in all his relations with men, keen in wit, genial in disposition, and broadminded in regarding the faults and peculiarities of others. These qualities and the integrity that has been prominent in all the business dealing of his life have gained him the reputation of a thoroughly "good fellow," wherever and however met. His religious convictions are those of his family and ancestors, Roman Catholic.
The names of Coale, Coal and Cole have all had a common COALE origin. Coel, as the name was formerly spelled, founder of Colchester, was one of the early kings of Britain. Justice Cole lived in the reign of King Alfred. Another Cole defeated Sweyne, the Danish chieftain, in 1001 at Pinhoe. William Cole and wife Ysabella are named in Assize Roll, of the county of Cornwall, in A.D. 1201, show- ing that Cole was at that time established as a surname. Various branches of the English Cole family bear coats-of-arms, all indicating relationship by the similarity of the device.
(I) Joseph H. Coale was born in Harford county, Maryland, where his parents, Samuel and Lydia Coale, resided. It is known that later he lived in Eastern Pennsylvania. He married a daughter of Joseph and Susannah (Rigbie) Brinton, whose marriage occurred at Deer Creek, Lan- caster county, Pennsylvania, in 1784. Susannah was the daughter of James Rigbie, of Harford county, Maryland, born at West River, province
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of Maryland, in 1720, son of Nathan and Cassandra Rigbie, the latter named a daughter of Philip and Cassandra Coale.
(II) Joseph B. Coale, son of Joseph H. Coale, was born in Harford county, Maryland. He migrated with his mother and his step-father, David H. Townsend, from the eastern part of Pennsylvania about 1830, and settled at New Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. There he owned and operated a mill, and died in June, 1846, in his thirtieth year. He married Sarah V., youngest daughter of Benjamin Townsend, and had children: Benjamin T., born in 1841; Garrison, born in 1843; Joseph Brinton, of further mention.
(III) Joseph Brinton Coale, son of Joseph B. and Sarah V. (Town- send) Coale, was born in New Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, November 3, 1846. He received his education in the public schools, and in due course of time entered upon his business career. His first position was with the Bentley Twine Works, where his occupation was that of sizing twine. He then formed a connection with the T. B. White Con- struction Company, and was engaged in the construction of wooden bridges until 1868. He then was employed by his uncle, Charles Coale, who was a manufacturer of buckets and tubs, in his store on Ninth street, and when this business was purchased by Hiram Reed, in 1873, he worked for that gentleman for a period of two years. In 1875 he purchased a feed and flour store in Sewickley, which he conducted for two years, then entered the employ of the Novelty Iron Works, where he remained three years. His next field of activity was in the position of a railway mail clerk, from which he resigned in order to become a messenger between New Brighton and Pittsburgh, the duties of which responsible office he discharged eleven years. Having formed an association with Dawes & Myler, manufacturers of sanitary goods, he is still holding this position greatly to the satisfaction of the proprietors. In political matters he was formerly a Republican, but is now a Progressive, and is now serving the third year of a four-year term as a member of the borough council, this being his second term of office. His religious affiliation is with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the Order of United American Mechanics.
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