USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > Genealogical and personal history of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Volume II > Part 66
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(V.) Charles M., eldest child of Lawrence and Mary Ellen (Walsh) Shuster, was born in New Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, Decem- ber 27, 1867. He attended the public schools of that place until he was sixteen years of age, when he entered the apprenticeship of Merrick & Donnellson, of New Brighton, remaining in their employ for two years. At the opening of the Conway yards of the Pennsylvania railroad, the largest railroad yard in the world, he obtained a clerkship in the railroad service, later taking a one year's course at Smart's College. After leaving college his first position was as clerk in the Mayer Brothers Pottery, and after a year he became conductor in the employ of the Pullman Company, the youngest conductor then in the service. He then established in the plumbing business independently, at Rochester, and for years had no com- petition in his line, he being the only plumber in the town. Selling his business, he was for six months thereafter engaged as proprietor of a hotel in Columbiana county, Ohio, subsequently returning to the service of the Pennsylvania railroad as plumber. He resigned this position to return to the scene of his former plumbing activities, Rochester, and was there situated for six years, not only as a plumber, but as a general con- tractor and builder of stone and concrete structures, conducting operations in the neighboring towns as well as in Rochester. He then formed a part- nership with F. B. Cheney, and erected the Hotel Saint Clair, at Freedom, where he now resides. In politics he is a Republican, and gives freely of his time and service to his party. He has been a member of the county committee on numerous occasions, and when nominated for the office of jury commissioner he was elected by the largest of any plurality of the party's candidates, both the nomination and the election being entirely due to the confidence placed in his upright ability, as he made no campaign. The choice of the people was amply justified by the masterly manner in which he performed the duties of his office, as, by insisting upon juries of business and professional men, he obtained jurors of a much higher order of intelligence than are ordinarily found. He is a member of Lodge No. 274, Knights of Pythias, of Rochester, and has passed all the chairs of the lodge. He is a member of the Methodist Protestant church, of New Brighton ; his wife belonged to the Presbyterian church.
Mr. Shuster married Virginia Goff Adams, who died January 13, 1901, daughter of Lewis Adams. Lewis Adams was first officer on a river
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steamer, and was killed in a boiler explosion at Gallipolis, Ohio. He mar- ried (first) -- , (second) Ellen Coe. Child of first marriage, of Lewis Adams, Catherine, married J. K. Howard, both deceased. Children of sec- ond marriage of Lewis Adams: I. Frankie, married James Morrow, and lives at New Brighton ; children : Lewis, Edith, Virginia, Kate, and James. 2. Virginia Goff, of previous mention, married Charles M. Shuster. 3. Lillian, married Stewart Todd, of Columbiana county, and has two chil- dren. Children of Charles M. and Virginia Goff (Adams) Shuster: I. Infant, died soon after birth. 2. Mary Ellen, born July 6, 1898; lives with her grand-parents at New Brighton. 3. Gene Adams, born November 14, 1899; a student at the Mary Baldwin Seminary, Staunton, Virginia.
Mrs. Shuster was at one time a school teacher of Bridgewater and Rochester. She was a musician of rare talent, the possessor of a soprano voice of exceptional clearness and sweetness, and at the time of her mar- riage was soloist in the Episcopal church at Sewickley.
The name of Taylor is one which has received honorable
TAYLOR mention in many instances in the history of the United States, and the family of this name in Beaver county, Penn- sylvania, have their personal share in these records. The immigrant an- cestor of this branch of the Taylor family was William Taylor, born in county Kent, England, who removed to London, and was a sea captain. He married, and had children: John B., see forward; William, Jeffrey, Elizabeth, Sarah, and Edith.
(II) John B., son of William Taylor, was born in county Kent, Eng- land, in 1792, and died in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, in 184 -. He was educated in his native county, and at the age of seventeen years was made a member of a press gang which was to assist in abolishing the slave trade along the coast of Africa. During the time of this labor he rose from the rank of common seaman to that of midshipman. While lying at anchor at Quebec, Canada, he and eight others deserted; six of this party were caught and strung up at the yardarm, while Mr. Taylor and two of his companions escaped. He then became a ship carpenter, and went to New Orleans, Louisiana. Upon his return trip he engaged in run- ning a boat between Pittsburgh and New Orleans, before the time of steam- boats. He also assisted in constructing the first steamboat, the work probably being done at Pittsburgh. He received the title of captain while on a keel boat, and later made his home, at Beaver, Beaver county, Penn- sylvania, although his occupation took him to various places. Finally he bought the homestead on which his death occurred after he had lived on it for a number of years. His wife also died there. The date of his death was December 12, 1877. He married Sarah Bennett, and had children: John and William, who died in infancy; Elizabeth; Mary Ann; Emilia; Esther L .; Clara; Minnie E. L .; Joseph; Alvin M .; George L.
(III) Alvin M., son of John B. and Sarah (Bennett) Taylor, was
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born on the Taylor homestead, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, August I, 1842. He was but a few years of age at the time of the death of his father, and owes much to the good and wise counsel of his mother. The education to be obtained in the public schools of that period was but a comparatively limited one, yet Mr. Taylor profited by it to a great extent. His record as a soldier is a brave and inspiring one. He enlisted as a drummer boy, August 11, 1862, in Company F, 140th Regiment Pennsyl- vania Volunteer Infantry, but was put to carrying a gun until July 2, 1863. He was wounded at the battle of Gettysburg, and taken a prisoner on the field of battle. Paroled July 4, 1863, he was sent to the hospital, trans- ferred July 15, and lay there until May, 1864. He then returned to his regi- ment. At the battle of Chancellorsville, May 1-5, 1863, one of the longest and most terrible in the progress of the Civil War, Mr. Taylor was one of the rescue party deputed to carry the wounded from the Chancellors- ville house into which they had been taken for shelter, and is the only one of this party of devoted soldiers now living. While in the discharge of this duty his comrades on either side of him were killed. He served with his regiment until the close of the war, and then returned with it to the more peaceful occupations of life. He received a gunshot wound in the left thigh. After the close of the war he learned the carpet trade, being with Keyser, of New Brighton. He was identified with this line of work until 1869, was then interested in oil enterprises until 1881, and then re- turned to Beaver, where he followed the last named business until 1910, when he retired to private life. He is the health and ordinance officer for the borough. He formerly gave his political allegiance to the Republican party, but is now a member of the Washington party. He has been an active worker in local public affairs, and served as a member of the bor- ough council for a period of eight years. He assisted in putting in the new waterworks, and has been identified with all movements which made for advancement and development of the community. Secret societies have en- gaged a considerable share of his attention, and he is a member of the Junior Order of American Mechanics; Knights of Pythias; and the Grand Army of the Republic. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Taylor married, July 4, 1876, Josephine Landis, born in Mercer, Mercer county, Pennsylvania, April 15, 1855. They have had children: Effie, born June 28, 1877, died January 24, 1879; Elmer, born at Freedom, October 24, 1879; Elsie O., born December 8, 1881, died October 24, 1900; Ollie Leon, born December 18, 1883; Cora L., born July 22, 1886; Mamie Bell, born November 6, 1888; Frank Johnston, born August 20, 1891; Al- vin M. Jr., born March 26, 1895.
HANAUER
The city or region in which a family lived in Germany often gave rise to the name by which they were designated upon moving to another part of the empire. In conse-
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quence of this custom, when a family which had been residents of the town of Hanau, in ancient times moved to another locality, they received the distinguishing title, Hanauer, which plainly told everyone that they had come to the region in which they were then living from the town of Hanau, information to which all had a right. Thus we have the derivation of the family herein recorded, of whom Asher Hanauer is the first whose record is obtainable. He was employed for nearly all of his life as manager of the large estates of the Hursch family, their tracts consisting of thousands of acres, and besides his duties in superintending the care of this vast place he engaged extensively in farm products dealing. Not only did he market the fruits of their land for the farmers of the country-side, but he con- ducted even a still more lucrative business in wool, receiving the raw product from the shepherds round about and supplying the large manufacturers in the Rhine valley. He prospered in his dealings and by his thrift and capable management of the Hursch estate won the favor of his employer, whose daughter Sophia he married. Children of Asher and Sophia (Hursch) Hanauer: 1. Wolf, owner of a tannery and proprietor of an extensive leather business ; married and had seven sons, all of whom served in the German army. 2. Julius, a business partner of his brother, Samson. 3. Samson, of whom further. 4. Hannah. 5. Nannie. The last two married, and spent their lives in the grand duchy of Baden, Germany.
(II) Samson, son of Asher and Sophia (Hursch) Hanauer, was born near Heidelberg, Wurttemberg, Germany, in 1812, died there June 16, 1880. He grew to manhood in that locality, as a young man attending the college at Hohenheim, graduating from the Royal School of Agriculture. For a time after leaving college he devoted his time and attention to the applica- tion of the great store of knowledge he had acquired in that institution, and was accredited the most uniformly successful farmer in that neighborhood, both in the quantity of his yield and the quality of his products. Satisfied that his years of application and study had not been for naught, he sought for greater returns than those of an humble tiller of the soil, and found them in the management of a business similar to that which had been es- tablished by his father, trade in farm products and wool. He had also inherited the paternal duties in the care of the estates of the Hursch family, his administration of these responsibilities meeting with the same apprecia- tion as had his predecessor's. He and the family were believers in the orthdox Jewish faith, and were minutely exact in every observance of the Mosaic law. He married Fannie, born at Neiderstetten, Wurttemberg, Ger- many, in 1810, died in that country in 1885, daughter of Isaac and Janet (Altman) Baer. Isaac Baer was born in Neiderstetten and there died; he was engaged in mercantile pursuits all his life. He was a man of notice- able erudition, held a college degree, and was interested in all scholarly studies, his reputation as a man of learning extending throughout the region in which he lived. He and his wife were the parents of thirteen children, four of their sons coming to the United States, the remainder living and
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dying in the homeland. One of these sons, Martin, is living in Rochester, New York, aged ninety-seven years, having spent his life in the insurance business. He is a member of the Masonic order, in which he holds high position. The other three were Asher, Simon, and Joseph, all of whom were engaged in mercantile dealings in Rochester, New York, the latter having been a high officer in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Chil- dren of Samson and Fannie ( Baer) Hanauer: 1. Sophia, married Lazarus Bloomer, and lives in Adelsheim, near Heidelberg, Germany. 2. Asher, of whom further. 3. Wolfe, died in Germany, aged forty years, a merchant. 4. Esther, married Victor Vollweiler, and lives in Baden, Germany. 5. Isaac, at one time a baker owning a shop in New Brighton, Pennsylvania, lives retired in Rochester, New York. 6. Hursch, a merchant of Adelsheim, died in Germany, aged forty years.
(III) Asher, son of Samson and Fannie (Baer) Hanauer, was born near Heidelberg, Wurttemberg, Germany, November II, 1841. Until he was twelve years of age he was a student in the public schools of his home town, later entering the college at Margentein, discontinuing his studies at that college after three years to come to the United States, which he did in 1856, arriving in New York on April 15 of that year, half a year before his fifteenth birthday. Since that time he has made three visits to his native land-in 1865, 1881, and again in 1886. He made his home in New York at first, from 1856 until 1865 traveling in the employ of a wholesale millinery firm, Rosenblod & Rheinstein, being but an unbearded youth when he began calling upon prospective customers as the representative of that house. After his return to the United States in 1865 he opened a whole- sale millinery house in Cleveland, Ohio, the first of its kind in the city and for quite a while the only one, conducting business with his partner under the name Sloss & Hanauer, which in 1867 became Hanauer & Lyon. He then located in New Brighton, Pennsylvania, establishing the same manner of business in that place, which he managed until 1886, and while proprietor of that store opened another in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, in 1873, his third, of the same nature, being placed in East Palestine, Ohio, in 1877, all three of which he supervised with pleasurable success. He then branched out into the clothing business, establishing stores in Petrolia and Martins- burg, Pennsylvania, and until 1902 owned a similar store in Beaver Falls. In 1902 he built the Lyceum Theatre at the corner of Seventh avenue and Fifth street, Beaver Falls, which at the present time is under the able man- agement of his son, Samson. Another of his enterprises in the city which has been his residence since 1886 was the building of a business block, modern and substantial in design, graceful in appearance, a welcome addi- tion to the business facilities of the city. He is now the proprietor of a millinery store in that place, handling all kinds of ladies' garments, his store holding a generous and lucrative patronage. Mr. Hanauer has had a business record of excellent good fortune, and yet to attribute one iota of his success to any other source than his own self-reliance, courage, energy,
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ambition, and ability, is to take from him his just due. He has fought a good fight and that the tide of victory has been turned in his favor has been through no turn of chance, but has resulted directly from his wise ex- ecutive ability, his sound judgment, and his calm, cool, business sense, which have never permitted him to embark in an unsafe venture or one in which there was not a fair chance for ordinary profit. Another attribute leading to his success has been the accuracy with which he is able to determine the moral quality and mental capability of men with whom he associates, and never has his instinctive judgment as to the merit of one whom he has taken for a trusted employee led him astray or caused him financial loss. Mr. Hanauer is a member of no church, but despite his lack of religious affiliation has lived a life of kindness, generosity, and charity that in useful- ness and true fellowship with man far outshines those of many professing strong religious convictions, and he has been a contributor to nearly every church erected in Beaver county since his connection with that neighbor- hood. He was secretary of the first Building and Loan Association or- ganized in Beaver county, and is now interested in several organizations of a like nature, all firmly established and well-paying associations. Al- though it has been many years since Mr. Hanauer has been in constant inter- course with those of his own birth he has lost none of his ease and grace in the use of the German tongue, and it is said by those in a position to judge that his is the most correct and grammatical, as well as the most fluent, use of the German language heard in the county, a high compliment in a locality where so many of the inhabitants are of German birth and residence.
He married, September 17, 1867, Hannah, born in Germany, April 26, 1851, daughter of Dr. Raphael Steinfeldt. Dr. Steinfeldt was a native of Germany and was educated for the medical profession in that land, also taking up the study and practice of surgery, in which department of his pro- fession he became especially famous. He came to the United States in 1855, living in New Brighton, Pennsylvania, all of his life, and had to his credit fourteen hundred successful operations, testifying an active, useful life in the curing and alleviation of suffering. He was the inventor and patentee of Steinfeldt's Magnetic Salve, as well as of several other remedies, the manufacture of which Mr. Hanauer still continues. Children of Asher and Hannah (Steinfeldt) Hanauer: 1. Samson, born July 1, 1880, manager of the Lyceum and Savoy theatres, of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. 2. Ralph, born January 29, 1890; was graduated from college at the age of fifteen years, and has since been employed by the American Bridge Company in the capacity of draughtsman and civil engineer.
PURDY Of the early history of the Purdy family but little is known. In the year 1770, - Purdy, with wife and three children, left his native land, Ireland, and embarked on a sailing vessel for America. It was destined that he should never reach these shores. He,
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his wife, and two of his children, succumbed to the hardships of the trying voyage, and the only one to reach America was
(I) James Purdy, the third child, arrived at Philadelphia in 1770, being at the time eleven years of age. For some time he lived there with an aunt, then went to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where his marriage took place. In 1808 he removed with his family to Allegheny county, Pennsyl- vania, locating near Mansfield, where he remained eight years. He then re- moved to a farm near Clinton, in the same county, following farming all this time, and died in March, 1822. On this homestead his son Thomas, Thomas' widow and three children, lived many years. James Purdy was a soldier during the war of the revolution, and was one of the heroes of Valley Forge. He gave all his children the best educational advantages that the times afforded, this being obtained in the district schoolhouse, a crude structure, with oiled paper in lieu of glass panes in the windows, and the floor and seats made of "puncheons." James Purdy married Mary, a daughter of Gregor Farmer. They had children: Jane, Andrew, James, Archibald, Isabelle, John, Farmer, Elizabeth, Thomas, see forward; Mary. All of these children grew to maturity and were members of the Associate Presbyterian church. Andrew, John, Farmer and Thomas were each rul- ing elders in the Associate Presbyterian church, or, as it is now known, the United Presbyterian church.
(II) Thomas, son of James and Mary (Farmer) Purdy, was born on the Purdy homestead near Clinton, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, and was a farmer there all his life. His death occurred in March, 1882. He married, December 10, 1833, Margaret Cavitt, who lived on the farm with her son, Andrew J., after the death of her husband. They had children: Nancy, James, George C., John, William F., Mary Jane, Margaret Eliza, Isabella, Thomas H., Andrew J., Samuel H., see forward.
(III) Samuel H., son of Thomas and Margaret (Cavitt) Purdy, was born in Finley township, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, March 10, 1853. He was educated in the public schools of his native township and the high school at Clinton. Upon the completion of his education he devoted his time and attention to farming, buying land on which he is now located in Murdocksville, Independence township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, in 1884. His farm consists of one hundred acres upon which he had made many improvements. He and his wife are members of the Clinton United Presbyterian Church. In political matters he is a strong Republican, and has filled a number of public offices. He became assessor in 1903, and is still in office, and is also registrar.
Mr. Purdy married, October 23, 1883, Agnes Reid, of Independence township, Beaver county, and they have children : David Reid; Thomas A., a carpenter ; James Edwin, now a student in Geneva College, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania ; Mary M., a student at the State Normal School in California ; Emma B.
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Robert Trotter, the American progenitor of this branch TROTTER of the Trotter family, after the death of his first wife in Ireland, emigrated from his native land with several of his children, and founded the family in the United States. He was a con- tractor on Little Beaver creek, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and was in all probability thus engaged until his death about 1844. He married (second) in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, but had no children by this marriage. The children of the first marriage were: Alexander, John, George, Robert, see forward : Margaret.
(II) Robert, son of Robert Trotter, the immigrant, was born in Ire- land, in 1827, and died in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, March 13, 1902. He came to America alone some time after his father had settled here, and located in Ohio. He purchased a farm, but removed to various places until 1864, when he settled on land he had purchased in New Sewickley town- ship, Beaver county, and in the spring of 1874 bought the sixty-three acres of land on which his son, James R., is living at the present time. He cleared the greater part of this land, utilizing it principally for potato raising, and erected a number of substantial buildings upon it. There the remainder of his life was spent. He was active in the Democratic ranks in local politics, and served as supervisor of North Sewickley township, and as school director in Moon township. He was a member of the Presbyterian church. He married, May 25, 1847, Mildred Cotton, born February 26, 1828, a daughter of Simon and Mary (Musgrave) Cotton, both born in England, and married in their native land. They then emigrated to the United States, and located at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. About 1818 they settled on a large tract of land in Economy township, this consisting of several hundred acres, which they purchased, and they were among the pioneer settlers of the section. Their first home was in a log cabin which they erected, and this was later replaced by a stone structure which is still in use. They had children: Nancy, Simon, Sarah, Catherine, Mary, Re- becca; Alice; Mildred, mentioned above; Winifred. Robert and Mildred (Cotton) Trotter had children : Margaret, John, Lewis, Mary, Catherine, Mildred, Sarah, James R., see forward; William, Jennie.
(III) James R., son of Robert and Mildred (Cotton) Trotter, was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, July 9, 1863. He was a very young child when his parents removed to Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and he received his education in the public schools of Moon township. From an early age he had assisted his father in the latter's farming operations, and he later followed the same occupation. He has taken a prominent part in the Demo- cratic councils of his township, and has served the community in the office of school director. He and his family are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Trotter married, June 17, 1896, Jennie Zimmerley, born in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, and they have had children : Mildred, Sarah Isabella, Robert James, and Jeannette Rebecca. Jennie (Zimmerley ) Trot- ter is the daughter of Henry and Isabella ( Bruce) Zimmerley, the former
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born in Moon township, the latter in Hopewell township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania; and the granddaughter of Samuel and Rebecca (Mowry) Zimmerley, the former a native of Germany who came to this country in early youth, located first in Erie county, Pennsylvania, then removed to Beaver county, where he spent the remainder of his life. Isabella (Bruce) Zimmerley was a daughter of Jacob and Jane (Johnston) Bruce, he of Scottish descent, who came to Beaver county in the pioneer days; and a granddaughter of John and Margaret (David) Johnston; and great-grand- daughter of James and Jane (Anderson) Johnston. James Johnston was a private under Colonel Montgomery Gancy, in the Revolutionary War, hav- ing enlisted in Chester county, Pennsylvania, was captured at Fort Wash- ington, and kept in confinement in New York. Rebecca (Mowry) Zim- merley was a daughter of James Mowry, born in county Derry, Ireland.
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