USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > Genealogical and personal history of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Volume II > Part 67
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The name of Todd is one which is identified with numerous TODD interests in the state of Pennsylvania, but with none more so than with those pertaining to the agriculture of the state. They were early residents here, and became large landed proprietors, in many instances the land now in the possession of the present generation of the various branches, having been held by the family in the very early colonial days, when the owners defended it and the rights of the country.
Thomas H., son of William Todd, was born on the Todd homestead in Hopewell township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, in 1844. He was ed- ucated in the public schools, and followed the occupation of farming on eighty-three acres of land, a part of the original homestead. He had ex- cellent buildings erected on this, and improved it according to the most modern and scientific ideas in agriculture. As an ardent Republican he took a deep and beneficial interest in all the public affairs of the township, and, almost all his life he was a member of the Mount Carmel Presbyterian Church. Mr. Todd married Sarah E. Todd, born at Raccoon Creek, Rac- coon township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, a descendant of an old family. Her grandfather, James Todd, was born in Scotland in 1760, and died in 1845. He emigrated to America, settled in Moon township, Beaver county, where he became the owner of four hundred acres of land; he married Catherine Forbes and had four children. Thomas, son of James and Cath- erine (Forbes) Todd, was born in 1802 and died in 1874. He married Elizabeth Spaulding, born in Scotland in 1804, died in Moon township, Beaver county, in 1888; among their seven children was Sarah E., who became the wife of Thomas H. Todd. Thomas H. and Sarah E. (Todd) Todd had children: Gilbert, lives in Raccoon township; Charles P., in South Heights; Frederick L., of Woodlawn; Orlando, of Ravenna, Ohio; Sidney V., see forward ; Harry R., of Ambridge.
Sidney V., son of Thomas H. and Sarah E. (Todd) Todd, was educated in the common schools of Hopewell township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and for some years was engaged in farming. He abandoned this occupa-
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tion in favor of that of painting, with which he is identified at the present time. He has served as township commissioner one term for Crescent town- ship, Allegheny county, and is a member of the River Dale Presbyterian Church, at Glen Willard. He married, November 24, 1904, Edna E. Dew- rose, and has had children: Anna Bernice, born February 2, 1907; Sarah Eliza, born February 16, 1910.
The Barto family was resident in the eastern part of Pent-
BARTO sylvania for a number of years before any member of the family made any attempt at a new settlement farther to the west. Since then they have spread to all parts of the state and bearers of the name are to be found all over the United States.
(I) David Barto, in the early days of the western settlement of the state of Pennsylvania, traveled across the mountains in a wagon built by himself, and located at the headwaters of Brush Creek, Cranberry town- ship, Butler county, Pennsylvania. There he took up one hundred and eight acres of land in what was practically a wilderness at that time, and had cleared a considerable portion of this at the time of his death. He married Catherine -, and had children: Christian, Polly, Catherine, David, Abraham, Daniel, see forward.
(II) Daniel, son of David and Catherine Barto, was born in Cranbury township, Butler county, Pennsylvania, and was educated in the district schools. He was the youngest of the family, and from his early years com- menced to assist his father in the cultivation of the homestead, and was a farmer all his life. He gave his political support to the Republican party, and he and his wife were members of the Presbyterian church. He mar- ried Catherine Limer, born near Portersville, Lawrence county, Pennsyl- vania, a daughter of Isaac and - (Darcus) Limer, who were of Scotch descent, but probably born in America. Isaac Limer was a farmer in Lawrence county, and he was in active service during the war of 1812. He had children: Pamela, who married John Kelly; Catherine, who became the wife of Daniel Barto, as above mentioned; Nancy, never married; Re- becca, married Frederick Boder; Oliver; John; James; Isaac; Robert, who died while in service during the Civil War; William. Daniel and Cath- erine (Limer) Barto had children: Isaac Newton, see forward; Mary; David; John; William; Anna.
(III) Isaac Newton, son of Daniel and Catherine ( Limer) Barton, was born in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, February 6, 1851. He acquired his education in the public schools of his native county, and at the age of eighteen years was apprenticed to William Bayde & Sons in Allegheny, in order to learn the carpenter's trade. He assisted in putting in the first pews in the chapel of the old jail on Beaver avenue, Allegheny City. In 1870 he removed to Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where he was in the em- ploy of Matthias Mecklem, and about the year 1880 established himself in the contracting business, with which he has since been identified in Roch-
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ester. He has been very successful as a general contractor. In 1889 he erected the fine residence in which he is living at the present time. Mr. Barto married, in May, 1875, Lydia Mecklem. They have had children: Nancy Jane, a teacher ; William, a carpenter, died aged twenty-four years; Rachel; Grace, married Gilbert Arkley; Edna; an infant, died unnamed; Frank, a carpenter; Mary, a teacher; Olive, also a teacher.
Samuel Mecklem was born in the eastern part of Pennsylvania, came across the mountains and located in Beaver county at Brush Creek, about 1800, and there was the owner of a fine farm. He married Rachel Mc- Daniel, who was of Scotch-Irish descent, and they had these children : William; Gideon; Jethro; Smith; Archibald; Rachel;, Sarah; Eliza. William, son of Samuel and Rachel (McDaniel) Mecklem, was born on Brush Creek, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where he later became a farmer. He married Nancy, daughter of Matthias and Lydia Strock, farmers of Brush Creek, whose other children were: George, David, John, Lillian and Catherine. William and Nancy (Strock ) Mecklem had children : Matthias; Samuel; Rachel; Joseph; Lydia and John.
LAUGHLIN This name is a shortened form of MacLaughlin, and under that name formed a part of the Clan Owen in Scotland. They settled in Ireland where they are of record in county Down, and where the name became Mclaughlin, and in this country in some instances was still further shortened to the form of Laughlin.
(I) Thomas Laughlin resided in Maryland, from whence he came to the western part of Pennsylvania, settling in Greene township, Beaver county, prior to 1800. He took up a large tract of land, which he cleared, and where he erected a house, and was engaged in farming until his death. The first house he put up for his family was a log cabin, and this was suc- ceeded by a frame house. He married Jane -, and raised a large family.
(II) Robert, son of Thomas and Jane Laughlin, was born near or on the Laughlin homestead near Georgetown, and was educated in the district schools. He became a farmer and was the owner of one hundred and ninety acres of land, twenty of them being in Virginia. He married Re- becca Dawson, born near Georgetown, a daughter of George and Jane (Mackall) Dawson, who located in Maryland in 1792, near Georgetown. George Mackall and his brother laid out the city of Georgetown and put up a storehouse which is still standing. He also laid out the cemetery, and was engaged in farming until his death. Mr. and Mrs. Laughlin had six sons and four daughters, among them being Charles and John, the latter on a gunboat during the Civil War, the former in the same company and regiment as Samuel Mackall. The family were Presbyterians.
(III) Thomas, son of Robert and Rebecca (Dawson) Laughlin, was born in Greene township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, March 3, 1832. He was educated in the old stone schoolhouse at Georgetown, and at an early age commenced to assist his father on the farm, continuing this until
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he had attained manhood. He then found employment on the river, on keelboats, and was thus occupied for twenty-eight years, between Wheeling and Pittsburgh. His father had also been thus employed during the last five years of his life. About 1875 Mr. Laughlin commenced farming opera- tions in Greene township, purchasing a farm of one hundred acres, and on this he is residing at the present time. He married, in August, 1855, Phoebe Carnegie, and they have had children: Hugh, deceased; Sarah Martha, deceased; Matilda, deceased; William, deceased; Amanda, de- ceased; T. G., deceased; John, a farmer and teamster; Robert L., also a farmer and teamster, married, in 1899, Ettie, daughter of Joseph Kennedy, and has had children: Mary; Homer; Lawrence, deceased.
The story of this branch of the Wagner family of Ger-
WAGNER many, whose members have brought so much fame and honor to the mother country, is one of lives well spent in peaceful pursuits, and of endeavor directed not only toward personal benefit, but for the good of members. There is probably not one of the German teachers so tenderly remembered by so large a number of men and women who were once his pupils as Johannes Wagner, for forty-five years a teacher of schools in Koengen, Germany, where he is buried. Others may be better known to fame, may have risen to greater heights in their pro- fession, but none has a throne more lofty in the hearts of those whom he instructed, nor is there any whose teachings will have a more lasting effect. He was born in Faurndau, Wurttemberg, Germany, his later years being passed in Koengen. Through years of custom the office of schoolmaster requires that the incumbent of that position shall play the church organ, be the director of the church choir, and conduct the funeral services at the grave of anyone who is buried during his term of office, the minister con- ducting the services only at the church. Herr Johannes Wagner was a familiar figure. He taught not only rules of grammar, reading and mathe- matics, but laws of daily life, principles used in the formation of character, etc., with much sound advice for the solving of life's riddles and problems. In many cases he taught the sons of men who had learned at his feet a generation since, and at times there would enter one of his younger classes the grandchild of an old pupil. Thus he became a personage of much in- fluence, all knowing the strength of his character and the soundness of his teachings. And so he lived until his death, daily inculcating in those whom he taught principles of honor, truth, industry and thrift, reminding those of more advanced age in what they had departed from his instruction, to his last days being a sturdy champion of right living and right acting, and followed by many faithful disciples. He married and had children: Wil- helmina, Frederick, William, Carl, of whom further; and Mathilda.
(II) Carl, son of Johannes Wagner, was born in Koengen, Germany, Christmas Day, 1838. He lived there until 1869 when he married Barbara Heller, and took over the old homestead at Faurndau, where he lived until
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1888, when he paid a visit to the Economites, and in 1890 he moved with his family to Economy, Pennsylvania. His education was received in the school conducted by his father, and his early occupation was that of agri- culture, in which he is engaged at the present time, having varied the routine of his life by one visit to the Harmony Society's colony at Economy, Pennsylvania. He and one sister are the only survivors of his father's children. His religious faith, like that of his father, is Lutheran, that being the prevailing creed in all the branches of the name. He married Barbara Hiller, of Zell, near Aichelberg, Wurttemberg, daughter of Ebenhardt Hiller, a farmer, and Barbara Hiller. Children of Carl and Barbara (Hiller) Wagner : Karl Rudolf, of whom further ; Lydia, Emilie, Victor Emmanuel and Otto.
(III) Karl Rudolf, eldest of the five children of Carl and Barbara (Hiller) Wagner, was born at Faurndau, Wurttemberg, Germany, May 18, 1872. He was educated in the schools of his native place, and after finishing his preparatory studies entered a college at Cöppingen. Just be- fore he attained his seventeenth year he left college, with the date of his graduation but three months distant, and came to the United States, his father having arranged for his welfare with the trustees of the Harmony Society at Economy, Pennsylvania. Arriving in that place he became an employee in the Economy store and postoffice from January 30, 1889, until 1893, in which latter year he became secretary of the board of elders of the Harmony Society, holding this office until the dissolution of the society. For one year thereafter he was in the employ of the Liberty Land Com- pany, then establishing in the real estate business independently, so con- tinuing until 1909, when he admitted a partner to his business, the two operating as the Valley Realty Company. Of this concern Mr. Wagner is now the sole proprietor, and holds a prominent place among those of his calling in Ambridge. The growth of that place has offered opportunity for the wise disposition of real estate, and of the profits that have been forthcoming from those transactions he has had a generous share, sufficient to mark his enterprise with the stamp of success. He is a Republican in politics, and from 1894 until 1904 was justice of the peace, having also held various other township offices before the incorporation of the borough. His church is that of his ancestors, the Lutheran, and he holds the office of trustee of St. John's German Evangelical Lutheran Church at Economy. He also affiliates with the Masonic order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, being a charter member of the Ambridge Lodges of the two latter organizations.
Mr. Wagner married, October 7, 1897, Elise Mercur, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and they are the parents of one child, Johannes Eberhardt.
WALKER
James Leander Walker, a prominent citizen of New Brigh- ton, Pennsylvania, is descended on his father's side of the house from an old Pennsylvania family, while his mother
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was a native of Ireland. He was born in 1848, at Clarksville, Mercer county, Pennsylvania, a son of Harvey and Martha ( McDowell) Walker. His paternal grandparents were George and Sarah Walker, both probably natives of Mercer county, though of Irish descent. George Walker was a cabinetmaker, and died in Clarksville when our subject was about five years of age. Harvey Walker, the father of our subject, was the eldest of his four children, and was born in Mercer county and educated in the early schools of the region. His education completed, he apprenticed himself to his father and of him learned the trade of cabinet making, which he after- wards followed through life at Clarksville. He was a strongly religious man and an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and of the Sons of Temperance, and an extremely ardent partisan of the cause for which that organization stood. He was married to Martha McDowell, a daughter of parents who were immigrants to the United States and settled in the southern part of New York state. Miss McDowell herself came to this country when only three years of age, with an aunt. To Mr. and Mrs. Walker were born six children: Julia; Kathrine; James Leander, our subject ; Mary Ellen; William G. and Francis H. Walker.
James Leander Walker obtained his education first in the local school of Clarksville and later in the Jamestown Seminary. Upon completing his course of studies at the latter institution, he engaged in a number of mechanical occupations and finally became engineer for Logan and Stro- bage, a position which he has held for twenty-six years. He has also large real estate interests. Mr. Walker has been very active in the affairs of the community, especially in the matter of public education, and has served for a considerable period on the school board of New Brighton. He is at present (1913) a member of the New Brighton board of health. He is prominent in social and fraternal circles in his community and is a member of the Royal Arcanum. An interesting episode in Mr. Walker's life was his attempt to enlist in the United States army at the outbreak of the Civil War. His youth was such that the authorities would not accept him, and he then tried to get in by joining a number of substitutes at Orangeville. He was discovered and finally prevented, however.
Mr. Walker has been twice married; first, in 1872, to Miss Pamela Townsend, a daughter of Levis and Harriet ( Hanck) Townsend. Of this union were born three children; Elma T .; Harriet, died when three years of age; and Pamela, died in infancy. The first Mrs. Walker died in Novem- ber, 1888. Mr. Walker again married, in 1899, Miss Ada Way Coventry, a daughter of John and May Coventry, of New Brighton, Pennsylvania. They have had one child, Arthur C. Walker. Mr. Walker and his family are members of the United Presbyterian church.
GLASSON
The Glasson family has been resident in the United States for a number of generations, the exact date of their ar- rival in this country not being a matter of record.
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(I) James Glasson was born in New York City, and is now deceased. He was a machinist and steelman with the Colonial Steel Company, and his entire life was spent in New York. He had five brothers who were in active service during the Civil War. Mr. Glasson married Jane Nelson, also a native of New York City.
(II) James E., son of James and Jane (Nelson) Glasson, was born in the city of New York, December 18, 1855. In that city he received his education in the public schools and upon the completion of this, entered the employ of the steel mills at Pittsburgh. Later he accepted a position at Colona, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and was employed there as a hammer man for a number of years. In April, 1911, he purchased the Clyde House, at New Brighton, Beaver county, and has conducted this with success up to the present time. He has made many improvements in this property, and is noted for his tact and executive ability as the host of this well known place. He was formerly a member of numerous organiza- tions, but has resigned from all with the exception of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Mr. Glasson married, 1881, Emma Isabella Boylston.
The Tait family is an honored one of Scotland, where their coat-
TAIT of-arms is well known. The motto of the family is: "Every Day the Same." Sir William Watson Tait was an only son, and died in England. He married Jane Danson and had children: 1. Mortimer, who was owner of a cotton goods factory in Manchester, England, and this is still carried on by his two sons. 2. Ferdinand Adolphus, of further mention. 3. Alfred H., who was a sea captain, and a composer of some note. One of his compositions was entitled "Fare Thee Well, My Dear Susanna," and was dedicated to his wife. 4. William. 5. Jane. 6. Con- stance.
(II) Ferdinand Adolphus, son of Sir William Watson and Jane (Danson) Tait, was born in Liverpool, England, August 8, 1808, and died in New Orleans, Louisiana, of an attack of yellow fever. He came to America in 1849, arriving at Philadelphia, from whence he went to Pitts- burgh. Subsequently he went to New Orleans, where he was engaged in the sugar refining business with one of his brothers at the time of his death. He married at Guernsey, July 29, 1839, Elizabeth Trevilla Richards, and they had children: Elizabeth Constance, Alice Jane; Ferdinand Mor- timer ; Herbert Thomas; Alfred James, of further mention; Augustus Henry ; Emilie Lucy.
(III) Alfred James, son of Ferdinand Adolphus and Elizabeth Tre- villa (Richards) Tait, was born in England, and was an infant at the time of his arrival in this country. He grew up with a great love for the country of his adoption, and during the Civil War was a member of Company D, 155th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and served three years. He was an active participant in some of the most important battles of that
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struggle, among them being the battles of the Wilderness, Antietam and Gettysburg. He was but thirteen years of age when he enlisted, being the youngest soldier in the army, and never was wounded. Mr. Tait married Frances, born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, daughter of Benjamin Reno, one of the early pilots on the Ohio river. They had one child: Charles A., of further mention.
(IV) Charles A., son of Alfred James and Frances (Reno) Tait, was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. While still a young lad he went to Salem, Ohio, then to Harrisville, where he remained until about fifteen years of age. After this he was on a farm in Butler county, Pennsylvania, for a time, then for about four years teamed and contracted in the oil fields of Pennsylvania. In December, 1904, he came to Economy, Penn- sylvania, where be established himself in the livery and coal business. Four years later he abandoned the coal business, but he is still successfully en- gaged in the livery and transfer business. In 1908 he had a fine home erected for himself, in which he now resides. He is a member of the lodge, encampment and canton of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Tait married, in May, 1889, Ida A. Harper, and has children: Violet, mar- ried, May 8, 1913, James A. Gahagan, and they have one child, Ida Hen- rietta ; Harry, Myrtle and Alfred. In politics Mr. Tait is a Republican, and has served on the borough council of Cambridge. In religious affiliation he and his family attend the Methodist Episcopal church, Mr. Tait being one of the members of the official board.
The name of Johnston is found in various forms in this JOHNSTON and all English speaking countries-Johnston, Johnson, Jonson, etc. The American progenitors for the most part came to America directly from England and settled in New England, from which section of the country they have spread all over the Union. Some members of the Johnston family were among the early settlers of Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, and it is of their descendants that this review treats.
(I) Sylvester Johnston was born in Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, August 17, 1843, and was a harness maker by trade. He came to Monaca, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, in 1879, and there established the Eureka Harness Manufacturing Company, with which he was associated until his death in 1895. He married Sarah Crable, born in Lawrence county, Penn- sylvania, November 30, 1843, a daughter of - and Ruth Crable, pioneers in Lawrence county, where he died, while Mrs. Crable died in Monaca. Mr. and Mrs. Johnston had children: John A., who resides on Washington avenue, Monaca ; Henry L., deceased; Edward M., see forward. Sylvester Johnston was a Republican in politics, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. During the Civil War he enlisted in the Old Round Head Regiment in 1861, and served three years and eleven months. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and of the Equitable Aid Union.
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(II) Edward M., son of Sylvester and Sarah (Crable) Johnston, was born in New Castle, Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, September 18, 1877. He was but two years of age when his parents removed to Beaver county, and he was reared in Monaca and there obtained his education. Upon the completion of this he was apprenticed to learn the trade of glass blowing, and was employed at this until 1904. For three years he was then con- nected with the harness making business, after which he engaged in the milk business. In connection with this latter undertaking he established himself in the wholesale ice cream business at Beaver Falls, in which he has been eminently successful. In 1911 he erected his present place of business at No. 1200 Pennsylvania avenue, and is now a manufacturer of ice cream and candies on an extensive scale. He has taken an active part in the political affairs of the section in which he lives, and has served as a member of the Republican county committee. He is a member of the Improved Order of Eagles of Monaca, and represented this lodge at Seattle, Washington, in 1908. Mr. Johnston married, in 1896, Mary Canton, of Monaca, born in Steubenville, Ohio, and they have children: Howard S., James Miller, Roberta May and Edna La Verne.
STOOP The Stoop family has been resident in America for many gen- erations, and the name is to be found in various forms --- Stoop, Stoup, Stoupe, etc.
(I) James Stoop, the progenitor of the Pennsylvania family of the name, was born east of the Allegheny Mountains, and when he attained manhood, leased, for ninety-nine years, the farm on the site of which is the present city of Hagerstown, Maryland. He removed to Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, with his family, at a time when the country was an almost impassable wilderness, and there erected a log cabin at Chartier's Creek. During his absence the cabin was burned to the ground by Indians, and his wife and son William made prisoners by the same savages. A hunter by the name of Brady recaptured Mrs. Stoop and returned her in safety to her husband, but the child was in captivity three years. He was three years of age at the time of his capture, and the Indians took him to Michigan, where they sold him to the British and he became a great favorite among the British officers. Later they found an opportunity of delivering him to a lady who said she would return him to his parents and at the expiration of three years this was done. During his stay with the Indians, William Stoop was struck on the head by a tomahawk in the hands of one of his captors, and he carried the mark of this blow to the grave. He lived at Blades Run, at the foot of Hog Island, and is buried in Van Kirk Cemetery, a large pine tree now growing over his grave. About 1813 or 1814 James Stoop was killed on the Strawbacker farm, in the borough of Monaca, then called Phillipsburg.
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