USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > Genealogical and personal history of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Volume II > Part 39
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Mr. Coale married, Jone 20, 1883, Minnie M. Morgan, and they have had children : Florence T., born in 1884; Susan B., 1885; Sarah V., 1887.
High among the wars of international nature that have had LITTELL permanent and important effect upon the history of the world is the American Revolution. Chief of all wars waged among the people of one country is the Civil War, fought on American soil. Of less importance and significance, but still vital to our country's development and prominent in its history, is the second war with England, or the War of 1812. Of the four generations of the Littell family that have had American residence, three have been represented in the three
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conflicts named above, William, the emigrant, fighting in the Colonial army for independence, and sharing the glory that came with the blessing of liberty to the thirteen infant colonies; William (2), his son, fighting against the same foe to maintain the position gained at such a costly sacri- fice; and John S., father of Joseph M., of this chronicle, a participant in the struggle that made everlastingly permanent that for which his father and grandfather had bravely taken up arms to establish.
William Littell came to the American colonies from Belfast, Ireland, with his brother James, both entering the Colonial army at the outbreak of the Revolution. Because of his aptitude for clerical work, William Littell performed much service in the capacity of clerk, watching over the distribution of arms, ammunition and stores, serving as private secretary to General George Washington throughout the war, while his brother became a private in the ranks. According to a written account still in the posses- sion of his family William Littell had the following experiences: He was taken prisoner, February 13, 1777, marched into Brunswick, and paroled. There he was befriended by one person who gave him a guinea, and by another who gave him a dollar, and he was told to divide this with his fellow prisoners. He was then marched to New York City, and there placed in confinement in the "Old sugar house." While there he received a letter from Andrew Robinson or Robertson, enclosing two dollars. He was given permission to work in the city for General Beechy until there was an exchange of prisoners. He then went back to prison. There he found his messmen and artillerymen with their rations before them, which consisted of spruce beer and bread. Later he received all the money that was due him from the state. The letter mentioned above, enclosing the two dollars, is now in the possession of one of his grandsons. At the close of the Revolutionary War, William Littell located on land in Hanover town- ship, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, which is still in the possession of his descendants, and followed his trade of painting. He was a supporter of Whig principles and for many years served as a justice of the peace, his commission being dated April 10, 1795. The farm on which he located con- sisted of four hundred acres, which he partly cleared and cultivated, and on which he died, about the year 1820. That section of the state was then in little better condition for habitation than it had been before anyone of white blood set foot upon the American shore. Wild beasts roamed the surrounding forests in great numbers, settlers were few and widely sep- arated, communication with the eastern villages and hamlets was uncertain, supplies must be grown or hunted, and above all was the terrible, haunting fear of savage and barbarous natives. It was to a home in the midst of all these dismaying conditions that William Littell brought his wife, little more than a girl in years, Elizabeth Walker. In the life of William Litte.l there had been a romance of rare beauty and sweetness, and when unfavor- able fortune had made it impossible for him to marry the girl of his choice, he still cherished the ideal he had held, which found fulfillment in he
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daughter of his former sweetheart, whom he made his wife. It is recorded that on many occasions, when there were rumors of the presence of maraud- ing Indians on the war-path in the vicinity, Elizabeth Littell would spend the night in the limbs of a nearby tree, one of her babies held close in her arms, while below would prowl the painted, befeathered murderers who sought her blood and that of her family. The constant terror in which the family lived in beyond comprehension, and yet the little family, so dan- gerously exposed to savage ravages, was divinely guarded from all the harm that threatened, and there grew to manhood and womanhood. Al- though Elizabeth Littell was spared from torture and death at the hands of the Indians, her brother, Robert Walker, was less fortunate, and was killed in conflict with a band of the aborigines at Toledo, Ohio, in 1813. The children of William and Elizabeth (Walker) Littell were: 1. James, died in Calcutta, Ohio. 2. Betsey, married John Reed, and died in Pitts- burgh. 3. Jane, married Joseph Calhoon, and died in Greene township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. 4. William, of whom further. 5. David, of whom further. 6. Mary, married James Todd, and died at Beaver Falls. 7. Thomas, lived in Oregon. 8. Alice, married William Sharp, and died at Mechanicstown. 9. Agnes, married Bennett Libby.
(II) William (2) Littell, fourth child and second son of William (1) and Elizabeth (Walker) Littell, was born in Hanover township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, in 1794, died in 1854, aged sixty years. He followed the occupation of farmer all his life, only interrupting his agricultural operations to enlist in the American army at the time of the second war with Great Britain. He and his family were disciples of the religious teach- ings of Rev. John Anderson, a minister of the Seceders Church, who founded a theological seminary, in all probability the first west of the Alle- gheny mountains, from which grew the institution now located at Xenia, Ohio. He married Cynthia Smith, born near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1801, died in 1853, daughter of John Smith, of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Children of William (2) and Cynthia (Smith) Littell: 1. John Smith, of whom further. 2. Eliza, married G. L. Robertson, and died at Mechanics- burg, Pennsylvania. 3. Rebecca Ann, married John Calhoun, now deceased; she lives in Raccoon township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, aged eighty- seven years. 4. Maria, married J. P. Ewing, and died in Raccoon town- ship. 5. Nancy, married John Ewing, and died in Kansas. 6. Cynthia Jane, married John McHenry, and died in Raccoon township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. 7. Washington, served in the Sixteenth Regiment Ohio Infantry, in the Civil War; lives in Creston, Ohio. 8. William M., a resident of Corydon, Iowa. 9. David, died in Lawrence, Kansas. 10. James M., a member of the Twenty-third Regiment Iowa Volunteer In- fantry, died at Rolla, Missouri, from a disease contracted in the service. 11. Henry C., fought through the Civil War in the Sixteenth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, died at Beaver, Pennsylvania, in 1867, likewise as the result of sickness contracted in the Union service. 12. Morgan, died
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aged one year. 13. William McElwee, captain of a company attached to the Twenty-third Regiment Iowa Infantry; he was named after the Rev. William M. McElwee.
(III) John Smith Littell, eldest child of William (2) and Cynthia (Smith) Littell, was born in Hanover township, Beaver county, Pennsyl- vania, October 22, 1822, died March 31, 1901. He obtained his education in the public schools, and in the course of his studies displayed matha- matical ability of a high order, which augured well for his success in an engineering profession or in scientific research, but the path of his life directed him to the pursuit of agriculture, in which he was actively engaged until the firing of the shot that marked the beginning of the four years of strife that brought him so much of fame and reputation. The account of his military life is better recorded by a historian who wrote while the deeds were fresh from the doing than by one who bridges a space of nearly half a century, and of his career Bates, in his "Martial Deeds of Pennsyl- vania," writes:
He early joined a militia company and in 1853 was elected captain, and after- wards brigade inspector of the nineteenth division. He recruited a company for the Seventy-sixth Pennsylvania Regiment, of which he was captain. Soon after its organization it was ordered to the Department of the South, where it was engaged with the enemy at the capture of Fort Pulaski, and in the battles of Pocotaligo, James Island, Morris Island, and in the first and second assaults on Fort Wagner, in all of which he led his company with a steadiness and devotion which characterized his entire service. At Morris Island, on the tenth of July, he was slightly wounded, but kept the field. On the following morning he was again hit, receiving a flesh wound in the right arm and side. The assault on Fort Wagner proved very disastrous to the regiment, the loss being nearly half of its entire strength. In the summer of 1864 it was taken to Virginia and at- tached to the Army of the James. On the thirty-first of May Captain Littell was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and on the following day, in the action of Cold Harbor, received a severe wound, the missile entering the right thigh, tearing quite through both limbs and emerging from the left. After lying in the hospital for a time he was taken to his home, but his wound was slow in healing and his recovery was protracted. On the seventeenth of August follow- ing he was promoted to colonel. In January he sailed with the expeditions, first under Generals Butler and Weitzel, and finally under General Terry, for the reduction of Fort Fisher, commanding the approaches to Wilmington, North Carolina. Colonel Littell was of Pennepacker's brigade, and followed that gal- lant officer in the desperate assault upon the stronghold. In the midst of this struggle and while leading on his regiment in the face of a destructive fire, he was struck by a minie-ball in the left thigh, which passed through, penetrating a pocket-book containing a roll of bank notes, and finally lodging in the body. It was an ever memorable day for the armies of the Union, and though experi- encing intense suffering, he still had spirit to rejoice over the glorious victory achieved. He was removed to Fortress Monroe, after having the ball extracted, and, when sufficiently recovered, to his home. As a merited recognition of his valor on this field, upon the recommendation of General Terry, he was brevetted brigadier-general.
While Lieutenant-Colonel Littell (his rank at that time) was recover- ing from wounds received at Cold Harbor, a number of inferior officers tried to secure his discharge, thinking that by his removal their chances for advancement would be strengthened. This action, however, is no index to the regard in which he was held by the regiment at large, but was merely the envy and jealousy of a few men of inferior minds and personalities as well as inferior rank, blind to the fact that promotion and advancement are
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I .S. Littell
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won, not by the removal of those at the top, but by a display of ability and talent sufficient either to displace those above or to add one to their select ranks. It is the fate of those in high position to be the object of the spleen- ful dislike and petty plottings of such as those, but Lieutenant-Colonel Littell completely overthrew their ambitious plans by reporting for duty before his wounds had fairly healed. Upon returning to his home from the war General Littell was met with great acclaim, as were the other soldiers who had enlisted in the army from that region, he being the only one from Beaver county who had attained the rank of general during the war.
In 1866 he was the county's choice for sheriff, running on the Re- publican ticket, and served as such for three years, retiring at the end of his term to his farm in Big Beaver township. This property, rich in fine clay and coal, he had purchased in 1867, and on it he lived until his death. The memory of his services in behalf of the Union were never forgotten by his townsmen, and he was held in reverent honor all his days because of the glorious part he played in that struggle. But aside from the re- nown he had gained upon the field of battle, he was likewise a favorite for his many neighborly qualities, and the public spirit he always ex- hibited.
General John S. Littell married Mary Calhoon, who died August 15, 1897, and is buried beside her husband in the Beaver Cemetery. She was a daughter of Richard and Sarah (Moffit ) Calhoon, who were among the early settlers of Beaver county. Their home was in Hanover township, where he was a farmer and extensive landowner, and where they both died. Children of John S. and Mary (Calhoon) Littell: I. Richard War- ren, deceased; he was fifteen years of age when his father recruited a company for the Seventy-sixth regiment and he joined as drummer boy and served in his father's regiment for three years; after each battle he would look over the battlefield to see if his father had been killed, he being very devoted to his father and ever watchful for his welfare; upon his return to Beaver county he engaged in farming, later embarked in the grocery business in College Hill, but for a few years prior to his death led a retired life; he was an elder in the United Presbyterian Church of Beaver Falls; he was survived by his wife and three children: John, Har- vey, Warren. 2. William P., served for twenty months in the Sixth Regi- ment Pennsylvania Cavalry in the Civil War, now a foreman in the cork works at College Hill, where he resides. 3. Robert C., a clerk, lives at Ben Avon, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. 4. Isadora S., married Benjamin White, and lives on the homestead. 5. Harriet Frances, married Frazier Rhodes ; their home is on Seventh avenue, Beaver Falls. 6. Joseph M., of whom further. 7. Ina B., unmarried, lives on the home farm with her brother, Joseph M. 8. John M., a resident of Big Beaver township.
(IV) Joseph M. Littell, sixth child and fourth son of John S. and Mary (Calhoon) Littell, was born at Hookstown, Beaver county, Penn- sylvania, September 24, 1859. In his youth he attended the public schools
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of his birthplace, completing his studies at the Darlington Academy. Liv- ing on the home farm, he was, of course, his father's assistant in the numer- ous labors incident to farm life, and in the years prior to his father's death managed the property entirely. After the death of the latter he and his sister, Ina B., purchased the interests of their co-heirs and have ever since lived on the home farm. They call their home "Highland Farm" and thereon Mr. Littell conducts successful operations, specializing in the breeding of Fresian Holstein cattle of a high grade. In the course of his endeavors in this line he has acquired a vast fund of knowledge through personal experiments, sometimes favorable, at other times discouraging, and at the present time is exceedingly well versed on all subjects pertaining to the raising of cattle. He is a sympathizer with the principles of Republicanism, and has several times been the choice of his party as candidate for local offices and the elected representative of his neighbors. His church is the United Presbyterian at Darlington. Mr. Littell and his sister have a most comfortable house on their land, and enjoy a life of exceptional congeniality to both.
(II) David Littell, son of William (q.v.) and Eliza- LITTELL beth (Walker) Littell, was born on the farm now in the possession of his son, John R., within thirty rods of the present dwelling house. He received the meager education which fell to the lot of a country boy of that period, and at an early age commenced to labor with his father in the cultivation of the home- stead. Later he established himself in the tanning business, and had a large tanyard. By means of conveying old towboats to their destinations he was enabled to make his first purchase of hides, and from this small beginning he grew to be a man of considerable fortune. He became the owner of four hundred acres of land on which, in 1851, he erected the fine brick house in which his son, John R., is now living. At one time he held the rank of lieutenant in a rifle company. He was very active in religious circles. He was a member of the Service United Presbyterian Church, and his son has in his possession the minutes of a meeting at which the proposal for the organization of this church was made, these minutes being in the handwriting of David Littell.
Mr. Littell married Jane Shillito, born at Robinson Run, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, who came to Raccoon township, Beaver county, with her parents when she was ten years of age. She was the daughter of George and Nancy Shillito, born in Ireland, who came to America about 1770 and located in Washington county, Pennsylvania. Later they re- moved to Service in Raccoon township, Beaver county, where Mrs. Shil- lito died in the house in which John R. Littell now lives, and Mr. Shillito is now living in his ninety-third year. Children of David and Jane (Shil- lito) Littell: George; James, Malinda; William; Elizabeth, married J.
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T. Parkerson; Agnes, married John D. George; Rev. D. S .; John R., see forward.
(III) John R. Littell, son of David and Jane (Shillito) Littell, was born on a farm now in Hanover township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, July 14, 1838. He enjoyed the advantages of a very excellent training, receiving his elementary and preparatory education in the public schools of his section of the country, and then became a student at Westminster College, New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. He has always lived on the home- stead farm, and now has one hundred and fifty acres under cultivation. These he utilizes for general produce and for stock raising, of which he has a number of fine varieties. In 1862 Mr. Littell enlisted, and was assigned to Company G, One Hundred and Sixty-eighth Regiment Penn- sylvania Volunteer Infantry. He served until 1863, when he was honor- ably discharged. He has been an active supporter of Republican prin- ciples, and has served the community as tax collector. He and his family are members of the Service United Presbyterian Church. Mr. Littell married Jane, daughter of John McManus, of Taylorstown, Washington county, Pennsylvania. They have had children: Ernest D .; Emmett; Jcannette, who married A. M. Lance; Cyrus C.
Hon. John W. Carson, editor and publisher of the Beaver CARSON Falls (Pennsylvania) Review, has been identified with jour- nalism during the greater part of his active career thus far, and the discussion of public questions and the promotion of the general wel- fare of the community through the columns of his paper constitute life's object with him, a private citizen.
A native of Jefferson county, Ohio, John W. Carson was born April 30, 1853, son of James N. and Eliza (Kelly) Carson, both of whom were born and reared in the north of Ireland, where was solemnized their mar- riage, and they immigrated to the United States in the year 1850. Mr. and Mrs. James N. Carson, on their arrival in this country, located in Jefferson county, Ohio, where the father turned his attention to agricul- tural operations. For twelve years prior to coming to America Mr. Car- son was in the service of the English army, and at the time of the out- break of the Civil War he enlisted for the service as a soldier in the Second Ohio Heavy Artillery. He was a man of strong convictions and forceful character.
John W. Carson, the subject of this sketch, received his early educa- tion in the public schools of his native state. In 1877 he removed to New York City, where he was engaged in business for six months. Returning to Ohio, he found employment in a factory at Youngstown. During this time he attended night school, and also received private instructions, which studies were supplemented by a course in a business college. The law as a profession appealed to him at this time and in 1879 he took up the legal studies which were continued for two years. A position being offered
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him on the Daily News, of Youngstown, Mr. Carson gave up the study of law and entered the field of journalism, where he has since continued with marked success. In 1886 he moved to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and entered the employ of the Daily Tribune as a reporter. Subsequently he formed a connection with the Daily Journal, which was discontinued in 1896. In that year Mr. Carson purchased the Journal plant and established the Beaver Falls Review, a weekly publication which boasts a fine editorial section and an extremely large circulation. Mr. Carson is proprietor, editor and publisher of this newspaper and he has associated in business with him his two sons.
In 1904 Mr. Carson was elected to the state legislature by a large majority. He served in the special session of 1906 and in the same year was re-elected. In the session of 1905 he served on the committee on Agriculture, Public Roads, Printing and Federal Relations. In the session of 1907 he was made chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, a compli- ment paid him because of intelligent interest shown in agricultural matters in the previous sessions. He was a member of committee on Electric Rail- ways, Printing, Public Buildings and Senatorial Appointments. Mr. Car- son was elected vice-president of the Pennsylvania State Editorial Associa- tion in 1906 and president in 1907 and later served a term as a member of the executive committee of that body. He was chairman of the Republican county committee in 1912-13-14. He is trustee of Beaver College and a trustee in the first Methodist Episcopal Church, Beaver Falls, and served four terms as superintendent of the Sunday school of that congregation.
As a citizen of Beaver county, he has manifested an interest in many things for its betterment. He was among the first to advocate good roads, and through his efforts some substantial highways have been constructed within the county limits. He was an early advocate of public playgrounds and was chairman of the park committee, and aided in the work of establish- ing the first playgrounds in Beaver county, a few years since, thus giving to Beaver Falls four acres of ground admirably adapted for this purpose.
During the spring and summer of 1914 Mr. Carson made a tour of the Old World, visiting, besides all the Mediterranean cities, Egypt, Pales- tine, Asia Minor, Greece and the principal countries of Europe. Upon his return he published a series of letters in the Review, describing por- tions of the Holy Land, Egypt and Asia Minor, which were widely read and formed a most interesting feature of his paper. Since then he has frequently lectured on his travels abroad and on various other subjects.
On September 7, 1880, Mr. Carson married Lida G. Robinson, of Niles, Ohio, who is a daughter of the late James and Elizabeth (Cullander) Robinson, who were prominent citizens of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Car- son have two sons: James H. and Charles B.
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MOLTRUP Originally a family of New England, the Moltrups jour- neyed westward to Ohio, the representatives of the present generation of the line herein given now residing in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, although both in New England and Ohio those of the name are still found. For two generations manufacturing has been the field of endeavor of several of this branch, and it is in this line that the strongest claim of the family to permanent recognition has its source.
(I) William Moltrup, of Vermont, was a shoemaker of Dutch descent, and by his marriage with Disah Rust united his line with one whose an- cestors claim Scotland as their home and which had, like his own, been for many years in New England. When he was well past the prime of life William Moltrup and his wife moved to Loudonville, Ashland county, Ohio, and there he established his shop, only to retire soon afterward to await his final summons, which he and his wife received at dates not widely separated. Their faith was the Baptist, in which both had been reared and which church they attended all their lives. William and Disah (Rust) were the parents of: Amanda, died in young womanhood; James Coulton, of whom further.
(II) James Coulton Moltrup, only son of William and Disah (Rust) Moltrup, was born in Shenango county, New York, about 1822, died in Beaver Falls, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, about 1895. He was reared and educated in Vermont, and soon after his marriage moved to Loudon- ville, Ohio, becoming a partner in the ownership of the foundry which the Rusts, his wife's relatives, had established. In this business he continued until the infirmities of old age rendered him unfit for active participation therein, when he retired and moved to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, where his death occurred. He married (first) Rosanne, daughter of Stephen and Mary Rust, who died in Loudonville, Ohio, (second) Abigail Russell. He was, throughout his entire life, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and at different times affiliated with both of the leading political parties, with the Democratic previous to, and the Republican after, the War of the Rebellion. Children of first marriage. I. Amanda, married Jonas Robinson, and died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 2. William, of whom further. 3. Helen, married Matthias Beaver, and lives in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. 4. Stephen, of whom further. 5. Ida, married Thomas Underwood, and died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 6. Mary, married John Chapel, and died in Perrysville, Ohio. Children of second marriage: 7. J. Thomas, of whom further. 8. Rose, married George Brenneman, and lives in New Brighton, Pennsylvania. 9. Walter, a resident of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. 10. Jennie, married Bert Reisinger, and lives on a farm in Beaver county.
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