USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > Genealogical and personal history of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Volume II > Part 60
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Genevieve, Juliete Bradford, Richard M., Harriet. 4. Vincent Loockerman Bradford, of whom further. 5. Charles C., born April 2, 1872; married, October 9, 1895, Mary Calvin, born September 18, 1875; children : Mildred, Walter, Kathryn, Harold, Elizabeth S. 6. Benjamin Rush Bradford, born October 3, 1873. 7. John Macdonald, born November 27, 1877; married, January 28, 1904, Mary Myrtilla Myers, born June 20, 1880; one son, Edward M.
(VIII) Vincent Loockerman Bradford, son of Charles C. and Julia Sophia (Bradford) Townsend, was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, April 3, 1871. He was educated in the public schools of New Brighton, finishing the high school course. At the age of seventeen years he entered business life with his father, then a partner in the wire manufacturing firm of W. P. Townsend & Company, and later head of C. C. and E. P. Town- send. The latter corporation is now owned and managed by the great- grandsons of the founder, Robert Townsend, who in 1828 established the plant in Fallston. He was succeeded by his son, William Penn Townsend, and in 1894 by his grandsons, C. C. and E. P. Townsend, the fathers of the present owners. Vincent L. Bradford has been continuously in the service of this corporation since his seventeenth year, occupying various important positions, his present one being that of secretary and treasurer. The business is an extensive one and ranks with the leading industries of the United States. Mr. Bradford is a member of the Masonic Order, be- longing to New Brighton Lodge, No. 219, Free and Accepted Masons; Beaver Falls Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Mt. Moriah Council, Royal and Select Masters; Pittsburgh Commandery, No. I, Knights Templar; Syria Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, the latter two bodies located in Pittsburgh, the first three in New Brighton, his home. He is a member of the Pittsburgh Athletic Club and interested in out-of-door sports. In political faith he is a Republican, and in religious affiliation a Presby- terian.
He married, January 29, 1894, Grace G. Critchlow, born April 23, 1871, daughter of Samuel and Mary (Gales) Critchlow, of New Brighton. Children : Juliet S., born October 16, 1902; Vincent Loockerman (3), De- cember 12, 1905.
Hon. James J. Davidson was an honored citizen and DAVIDSON representative business man of Beaver, Pennsylvania, during his active career. He left an indelible impress upon the civic and industrial annals of the city, and upon his record there rests no shadow or blemish. His strength was as the number of his days, and not only did he accomplish much in connection with the practical affairs of life, but his nature, strong and kindly in tolerance, was everywhere a potent influence for good. Mr. Davidson was born at Connellsville, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, November 5, 1861, and he was summoned to the life eternal January 2, 1897, at the comparatively early age of thirty-five years
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James J. Davidson was a descendant of ancestors who as Protestants were driven by religious persecution from their native Scotland and took refuge in the northern counties of the Green Isle, their children and grand- children forming that stalwart Scotch-Irish stock which has given to the United States some of her best and ablest citizens. The founder of the American branch of the Davidson family came about 1695 from the north of Ireland and settled near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is a noteworthy fact that he had lived in Londonderry during the famous siege of that city by the English.
William Davidson, grandfather of James J. Davidson, was born Feb- ruary 14, 1783, at Carlisle, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, and in 1808 settled in Fayette county, in the same state. His first important position was that of manager of the Laurel Furnace, and later he became iron- master at Breakneck. Mr. Davidson was a recognized leader in the public affairs of Fayette county, and stood high in the confidence and esteem of luis fellow citizens, as appears from the fact that he was a member of both the senate and house of Pennsylvania, serving also as speaker of the latter body. His influence among his colleagues in the legislature was very great. Mr. Davidson married Sarah Rogers, a woman of strong personality and a high order of intellect, and they became the parents of two sons, among them Daniel R., mentioned below; and one daughter.
Daniel R., son of William and Sarah (Rogers) Davidson, was born January 12, 1820, at Connellsville, Pennsylvania, and received his education in the public schools of Fayette county, where the greater portion of his life was passed. After completing his course of study he turned his attention to agriculture, cultivating with signal success a tract of land given him by his father. At the age of twenty-one he became interested in the project of the railroad from Pittsburgh to Connellsville, and was instrumental in se- curing rights of way and funds with which to further the undertaking. The road was completed in five years and became a power in developing the business resources of this part of the state. Later Colonel Davidson (as he was always called) promoted the Fayette County railroad, and he was also one of the promoters of the Southwestern Pennsylvania railroad. His fine business abilities were not devoted to the development of railroads alone, but were also of service in utilizing the resources of the great coking- coal lands in Fayette county. He was the owner of two plants in the coke region, and was president of the Love Manufacturing Company of Roches- ter during the period of its existence. He was one of the organizers of the National Bank of Commerce, Pittsburgh, and during his later years was president of that institution. Colonel Davidson married Margaret C. John- ston, and twelve children were born to them, among whom were the follow- ing: George, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work; James J., mentioned below; and Frederick, a prominent business man of Beaver. Colonel Davidson resided for years on his farm near Connellsville, widely sought as a counsellor in business, politics and personal matters. Though
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actively interested in public affairs, he could never be prevailed upon to accept office. At the time of his death, which occurred in 1884, he was one of the prominent men, not only in his own county, but also in western Pennsylvania.
Hon. James J. Davidson, of this notice, was educated in the public schools of his native place and he also attended Beaver Seminary. In 1878 he was matriculated as a student in Bethany College, at Bethany, West Vir- ginia, and later spent three years in the University of Kentucky, at Lexing- ton, in which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1883, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. After leaving college he took up the study of law in the office of Hon. John J. Wickham, of Beaver, devoting his attention to legal work for the ensuing two years. In 1886 he became in- terested in oil development as a member of the firm of Darragh, Watson & Company, prominent oil producers, and with the passage of time he gradually became interested in other important business enterprises in Beaver county. He was elected president of the Union Drawn Steel Works, of Beaver Falls, and his brother Frederick is now the controlling spirit in that in- stitution.
Early in life Mr. Davidson affiliated with the Republican party, in the local councils of which organization he became an active factor. In 1894 he received the unanimous endorsement of his party in Beaver county for delegate in Congress, but at the District Congressional Convention later in the year, held at Beaver Falls, he withdrew his candidacy in favor of Hon. T. W. Phillips, of Lawrence county. In 1896 he was again the unanimous choice of Beaver county for congress, and at the district convention held at Butler he was nominated on the first ballot, and at the ensuing election won by a big majority. Shortly after the election he went west in order to recuperate his health, which had been seriously affected by an attack of pneumonia. He spent considerable time in Salt Lake City and Colorado Springs, and eventually settled at Phoenix, Arizona, where January 2, 1897, he died in his thirty-fifth year.
Mr. Davidson was married, January 31, 1889, to Miss Emma E. Eakin, a daughter of John R. Eakin, of Beaver. Two children were born to them, namely : Philip James, whose birth occurred on May 26, 1891 ; and Sarah Norton. Mrs. Davidson resides in Beaver with her two children.
In a fraternal way, Mr. Davidson was prominent in Masonry, having attained to the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite branch, and having likewise passed through the circle of York Rite Masonry. He was a valued and appreciative member of Tancred Commandery, Knights Templar, and of Syria Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He was connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the American Mechanics, and the Americus Club of Pittsburgh. He was for many years a leading and influential citizen of Beaver, and his activity in business affairs, his co-operation in public interests and his zealous support of all objects that he believed would contribute to the material,
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social or moral improvement of the community, kept him in the foremost rank of those to whom the city owes its prestige as a commercial center of the state.
Documents show that the Rhodes who settled in Rhode
RHODES Island emigrated from Yorkshire, England, about 1635. In England the name was originally spelled Rode and later Rhode. In 1566 appears the first record with the letter "s" added to the name. , That the name was taken from a place is shown by the following quotation from an old book: "Two Norman warriors who accompanied William the Conqueror to England, 1066, Willelmus and Hugh by name, were granted the moiety of O'Drode (or little Arm de Rode), situated 47/2 miles S.S.W. of Macklesfield, Chester county, England. That the name was adopted from this place is proved by a deed of 44 Henry III., in which Willelmus' descendant, Thomas de Rhode, granted by charter to Margery, daughter of Geoffrey de Lostoc, all his rights to the town of Rode for one pair of white gloves and a halfpenny for all services." The late Cecil John Rhodes, of Kimberley, Africa, and of England, was a descendant of the Hertfordshire branch of the family.
(I) Zachary Rhodes commences the history of the family in Rhode Island. He was born in 1603, and settled in Rehoboth in 1643. In 1644, with other settlers, he signed an agreement forming a town government. In 1646 he left Rehoboth, crossed the river and bay to Rhode Island, and with others settled at Pawtuxet, where he became a large owner of land. His reason for leaving Massachusetts appears to have been of a religious nature, as records show that he refused to comply with the Massachusetts law which sought to compel him to contribute for the support of preaching. In religious sentiment he was an Independent, or Baptist. Without doubt he was banished from the colony because of his peculiar views, but he became a man of strength and influence in the community, in Rhode Island. From 1664 until 1665 he was treasurer of the town of Providence, and at the same time was a member of the town council. In 1658 he was admitted a freeman. He was a member of the general court at Portsmouth in August, 1659, and in 1662-63. In 1661 he attended as commissioner from Provi- dence the general court at Newport, and was appointed member of a com- mittee to adjust difficulties existing between Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and was also appointed, with Roger Williams and others, to draw up and sign an address to His Majesty, King Charles II. In March, 1663-64, as deputy from Providence, he attended the general assembly of Rhode Island, held at Newport, and also in 1665. In 1653 he, with five others, signed an address to the court assembled in Boston, asking that Pawtuxet might be dismissed from the government of the Massachusetts colony. He made his will in 1662 and died in 1665. In 1646, Zachary (or Zachariah) Rhodes married Joanna Arnold, born February 27, 1617, died in 1692. Children : Jeremiah, born June 24, 1647; Malachi; Zachariah; Elizabeth ; Mary; Rebecca ; John, of further mention ; Peleg.
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(II) John, fourth son and seventh child of Zachary and Joanna (Ar- nold) Rhodes, was born in 1658, and died August 14, 1716. He was admitted a freeman in 1681, at a meeting of the general assembly at New- port, at which time he was a resident of Warwick. In 1700, at a meeting of the general assembly held at Newport, he was elected general attorney for the colony of Rhode Island. In 1702-03-04 he was a deputy from Warwick to the general assembly, and in 1707 he was elected clerk of the general assembly. He married (first) February 12, 1685, Waite Waterman, born in 1668, died in 1711. He married (second) Sarah -, born 1653, died March 30, 1730. Children : 1 Zachariah, born at Scituate, Rhode Island, November 5, 1687, married (first) Mary Randall, (second) Mary Sheldon ; LJohn, of further mention,3Mercy, born November 20, 1691, twin of John;/Joseph, born September 25, 1693, at Providence, married Mary Arnold &William, born July 14, 1695, married Mary Sheldon @2Phebe, born November 30, 1698, married (first) Anthony Holden, (second) Samuel Aborn,7Resolved, born May 22, 1702, married Mary Greene ; (Wait, born December 16, 1703, married Abraham Sheldon.
Waite (Waterman) Rhodes was a daughter of Resolved and Mercy (Williams) Waterman. Richard, the American progenitor of the Waterman family was born in England in 1590, came to America in 1629, and was of Salem, Mass. He was one of the seven persons to whom Roger Williams deeded land in Providence, and in 1639 was one of the original twelve mem- bers of the First Baptist Church. He was one among those who signed an agreement in 1640 for a form of government. In 1655 he was made a freeman and served respectively as commissioner, juryman and warden. He died in 1673, and his wife Bethia in 1680. Their children were: Mehitabel, Waite, Nathaniel and Resolved. Resolved, son of Richard and Bethia Waterman, was born in 1638 and died in 1670. He served as deputy to the general court in 1667. He married, in 1659, Mercy Williams, born in 1640, remarried after the death of her first husband, and died in 1705. Children: Richard, born in June, 1660; Mercy, 1662; John, 1666; Resolved, 1667; Waite, who married John Rhodes, as above mentioned. Roger Wil- liams, father of Mercy (Williams) Waterman, and grandfather of Waite (Waterman) Rhodes, founded the colony of Rhode Island in 1636. He was born in South Wales, about 1598, and was a son of William Williams, of Conwyl parish. He died at Providence, Rhode Island, in 1683. He mar- ried, in 1632, Mary Warnard, who died in 1676. Children: Mary, born in 1633; Freeborn, 1635; Providence, 1638; Mercy, who became Mrs. Water- man; Daniel, born in 1642; Joseph, 1643.
(III) John, son of John and Waite (Waterman) Rhodes, was born in Warwick, November 20, 1691, and died in 1776. He held a commission as major in the colonial militia. In 1716 he was admitted a freeman, and in 1731-35-42-43-44 and in 1751 and 1753 he was deputy in the general as- sembly from Warwick. He married (first) January 29, 1714, Catherine, who died July 25, 1731, a daughter of Lieutenant Charles and Catherine
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(Green) Holden; he married (second) Mary Whipple. Children: Waite, born December 29, 1714; John, May 5, 1716; Catherine, August 1, 1717; Charles, September 29, 1719; Mercy, February 29, 1720-21, died, February, 1723-24; Anthony, born May 29, 1722; Joseph, August 22, 1723; Zachariah, September 8, 1727; Holden, May 30, 1731.
(IV) Records deficient.
(V) William Rhodes, the next in line, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, March 18, 1749. He must have come to Beaver county, Pennsyl- vania, prior to 1774, as he was married there in that year. He was a Whig in political opinion. He married, January 29, 1774, Elizabeth Maginn.
(VI) William, son of William and Elizabeth (Maginn) Rhodes, was born January 10, 1778, and died April 17, 1853. His entire life was spent in Beaver county, where he was active among the pioneer settlers of that section. His death occurred in what is now Chippewa township. He owned about one hundred acres of land, a large portion of which he cleared, and in 1826 he served in the office of overseer of the poor of Chippewa township, as is stated in a document now in the possession of his grandson, Robert J. Rhodes. He married, January 1, 1806, Margaret, born April 2, 1781, died May 25, 1855, a daughter of Andrew and Catharine Elizabeth (Mercer) Eberhardt and a niece of General Hugh Mercer, of revolutionary fame. Children: Jonathan ; Margaret Ann; Robert Mann ; Milton J .; William, of further mention; Smiley; Joseph Andrew; Robest Magn.
(VII) William, son of William and Margaret (Eberhardt) Rhodes, was born in Beaver county, September 25, 1814, and died November 28, 1883. He was educated in the early district schools, and followed the occu- pation of a farmer all his life. He was a man of prominence and influence in the community, and filled a number of township offices. He married (first) November 22, 1836, Mary Maria Baird, who died September 6. 1852. He married (second) October 6, 1853, Eliza Isabel McMillan, who died July 23, 1855. He married (third) April 5, 1856, Mary Jane Whann. Children by first marriage: Margaret Ann, married William Bradshaw Hunter ; Bradford, married Caroline Augusta Fuller; three who died in infancy. Child by second marriage: Joseph William, married Margaret Moore. Children by third marriage: Elizabeth Jane, married John Louthan; Robert James, of further mention ; Jonathan Pearson Finley, married (first) Jane Oskey, (second) Isabel Whitten; Thomas Josiah, married Ella Thom- son ; Elmer Elsworth, married Amy Dinsmore; Nancy Isabel, married Am- brose Fombelle; Ira Hillis, married Nettie Dausmann; Nettie Jane, mar- ried Stephen S. Smith; Norris Odley, married Myrtle Barnes.
(VIII) Robert James, son of William and Mary Jane (Whann) Rhodes, was born in Chippewa township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, in 1860. He received an excellent education in the public schools of Chippewa township and at the Darlington Academy, and then engaged in the occupa- tion of teaching. He followed this profession four years in the schools of Beaver county and five years in Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, after which
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he became actively identified with mercantile pursuits. For a period of two years he held a clerkship in Beaver, then became a commercial traveler, and for the past six years has been a resident at College Hill, Beaver Falls. He has been frequently solicited to accept public office, but until recently, re- fused. Now, however, he is filling the office of a school director of College Hill Borough.
Mr. Rhodes married Laura Anna Taylor. During the past nine years he has been an active worker in the interests of the Masonic fraternity, and is a member of blue lodge and chapter. He is a member of the College Hill Presbyterian Church, and ever ready to do what he can for the success of the church and Sunday school, and the welfare of all connected therewith.
McKIBBIN The western part of the state of Pennsylvania appears to have been particularly fortunate in some respects, one of these being that it has attracted an unusually large per- centage of the intelligent and educated class of emigrants, whose attention was called to the fertile soil and generally favorable conditions. This seems to have been more especially the case with the Irish element, and the coun- try has profited accordingly. The Mckibbin family of Beaver county, Penn- sylvania, forms no exception to this rule.
(I) Alexander McKibbin was born in the north of Ireland, and emi- grated to the United States in the year 1832. He located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he followed his calling of stone mason for one or two years, then purchased a farm in Green Garden, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and also established himself in the mercantile line there, conducting a store very profitably for a period of thirty-five years. At the time of his death in 1870 he had one hundred acres of land in clear and improved property. He was one of the active members of the Service United Presbyterian Church, and was a staunch supporter of the Republican party, although he never desired public office. He married Nancy Bryson, also born in the North of Ireland, who came to this country in 1832, and was a daughter of John and Mary Bryson, who came to West Deer township, Allegheny county, Penn- sylvania, in 1832, where they purchased a farm on which some of their descendants still reside.
(II) Alexander L. Mckibbin, son of Alexander and Nancy (Bryson) McKibbin, was born in Green Garden, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, March 24, 1845. At the completion of his preliminary education, when he was in his sixteenth year, the struggle between the north and the south had its commencement. Mr. McKibbin at once enlisted, becoming a private in Company H, 140th Pennsylvania Volunteers, in August, 1862, his regiment being assigned to the Second Corps, Army of the Potomac, Chancellorsville being their first engagement. In 1864 he was transferred to the Sixth Regiment Veteran Reserve Corps, and assigned to Johnson's Island, Ohio, to guard rebel officers, and from there was assigned to Company B of the same regiment, to do patrol duty at Cincinnati, Ohio, and later became mail
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carrier for the company. In July, 1865, he was honorably discharged at this post. During his three years' service he was constantly engaged except for a short period when afflicted with typhus fever. He was fortunate in never having received a wound and never being imprisoned. He keeps in touch with the old soldiers by membership in the post of the Grand Army of the Republic, at Beaver, and is strict in his observance of decorating the graves of the soldiers in his home cemetery.
At the close of the war, Mr. Mckibbin entered Iron City College, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was graduated from that institution. He then returned to his home for a time, taking charge of the homestead farm, which consisted of one hundred and sixty acres, and has been identified with agricultural pursuits since that time. He purchased one hundred and seven- ty-one acres in Beaver county, which he has devoted to fruit raising and general farming. He has been a member of the State Board of Agriculture for the past fifteen years, and during this period has held three Farmers' Institutes in the county each year, and through this influence considerable good has been accomplished. He has been one of the most public-spirited men in the county, and among the other public offices he has filled with a remarkable degree of ability are the following: Member of the school board for many years, and secretary of the same for fifteen years; member of the board of supervisors for eight years, and secretary of the board; one term as county auditor ; one term as director of the poor of the county ; deputy register and recorder of the county; director of the First National Bank of Monaca; vice-president and director of the Beaver County Mutual Insur- ance Company ; director of Dixmont Hospital for the Insane for the past fifteen years and chairman of the board of directors; member of the County Fair Association ; served two years as inspector of orchards in division of zoology, and served two years in the state highway department as inspector of roads. He has also taken an active part in the councils of the Republican party, and is a devoted member of the Raccoon United Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Mckibbin married, in 1870, Matilda J. Irwin, who bore him four children, all now married: Ella May, Martha Jane, Anna Mary, Stewart L.
MACDONALD John MacDonald, member of a family of Scotch origin, was born in the north of Ireland, and is found in the colonies in 1773, when he settled on Robinson's Run, in Washington county. Of him it is said that he became the possessor of valuable property, wide in extent, cultivated by a large number of slaves, his first home being near the Virginia line. He married Martha Noble, a native of Maryland, daughter of the founder of Noblestown, Pennsylvania. John MacDonald cleared the meadow on which an Indian trading post was erected, much of his original tract of land still remaining in possession of his descendants. He was a Federalist in politics, and a member of the Presbyterian church at Candor. Children of John and Martha (Noble) MacDonald: James, Andrew, William, twin of Andrew (of whom further) ;
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Alexander, Edward, John, Margaret, married a Mr. Glenn; Martha, mar- ried a Mr. Allison; Elizabeth, married a Mr. Mitchell, and Mary, married William Nesbit.
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