USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > Genealogical and personal history of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Volume II > Part 7
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Concerning the name Vance, O'Hart, in his "Irish Pedigrees,"
VANCE says, "this name was at one time De Vans; was modernized Vans; and more lately Vance. In Scottish heraldry it is re- corded that few of the ancient names of Scotland can trace their origin to a more distinguished foreign source." Vances are numerous in the southern part of the United States, many of the families having been there settled by immigrants arriving at southern ports of entry, and still others landing further north and joining their kinsmen in the southland.
(I) This chronicle begins with Colonel David Vance, who held a position upon the staff of General Washington, being an intimate friend of that gallant officer and inspired statesman. He was compelled to resign his honorable place as advisor to General Washington and to retire from active service because of the increasing infirmities of fast approaching old age, he being at the time of his military service far past the prime of life. He married and had issue, among whom was Robert, of whom further.
(II) Robert Vance, son of Colonel David Vance, was born in North- umberland county, Virginia, about 1728. He obtained his education in that oldest of southern universities, William and Mary College, and in his later life, following the example of a soldier father, enlisted in the Colonial army in the Thirteenth Regiment Virginia Cavalry, and fought for seven years in the cause of independence. He also served in the American army during the French and Indian War, and was the lieutenant in charge of the secret burial of General Braddock, after that gallant officer met his death at the hands of his Indian foes. Soon after the capture of Fort Du Quesne he came to Allegheny county and there purchased land, now covered by the city of Coraopolis, being the first white settler in the Ohio Valley, coming there the year following Braddock's defeat. Here he was a farmer, and the danger from marauding and hostile Indians at that time being very great, and his land being the most central to all the ad- joining farms, he and his neighbors there erected a fort, known as "Vance's Fort." Although dignified with this military title, it was in reality no more than an enclosure or stockade, composed of long and stout logs set so deeply in the earth as to be able to withstand a rush and so closely to- gether as to be impervious to a storm of arrows. There were small openings in the wall of logs to permit the besieged party to aim their rifles against their savage attackers. To this haven of refuge the entire neighborhood fled in time of alarm, and by this union of their forces were often able to repel attacks that, were no such asylum at hand, would have undoubtedly been disastrous, both because of the superior numbers of the Indians and the wiles of their warfare. Until his death, in 1818, Robert Vance was the recognized leader of his community in all public and military matters, in the latter because of his wide experience as a soldier, and in the former because in education and aptitude for leadership he was far above his neighbors. He died respected for his many good works,
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and is buried in the old Montour Cemetery. He assisted in the erection of the old Montour Church and was a member of its first session. In the public records of the day, regarding the various claims as to the honor of being named as the first settler of Beaver county, there is an affidavit of Robert Vance, sworn and subscribed to before John Way, a justice of the peace of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, dated December 6, 1807, wherein he declares that "he hath for the past fifty years been well acquainted with the tract of land in question, having lived upwards of thirty years of the latter part of that time in the same neighborhood;" and "That the land during that time was in the quiet and peaceable pos- session of John McDonald, his heirs, or those under whom the said John McDonald claims." The land referred to was opposite Logstown.
Robert Vance married Jean White; she was a woman of exceptional at- tainments and took her part in all the hardships incident to pioneer life, and stood by her husband all through; she was a famous beauty in her youth, and an accomplished horsewoman. Children: David, Samuel, Joseph, Robert, William, Sarah, married - Ferguson; Jennie, married - McCabe; Elizabeth, Andrew, of whom further.
(III) Andrew Vance, youngest of the nine children of Robert Vance, was born July 27, 1793, died November 19, 1858. He attended the public schools and later continued his education as the opportunity offered. Possessed of a fondness for mathematics, he indulged this liking by taking up surveying, also cultivating decided musical talent, and for many years was a teacher of music and commercial branches in Allegheny and Wash- ington counties, Pennsylvania. In 1856 he moved to Beaver county, in- tending to open an academy at Frankfort Springs, and for that purpose purchased an old brick mansion near the Washington county line. This building had been erected in 1801-02 by James Dungan and for a long time had been a famous hostelry, but before adequate arrangements and alterations had been made to house the pupils, Mr. Vance's death termin- ated all further plans, and the project was abandoned. He had been the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of land on Kings creek, Washington county, property which was sold soon after the Civil War, and thus left the possession of the family. He also owned ninety acres of excellent farming land in Beaver county. Mr. Vance was always an ardent church worker, and for a long time was the leader of singing in the old Montour Church, his being a familiar figure to the members of that organization as he led the congregation in the grand old hymns, so many of which have been supplanted by probably more artistic, but certainly no more tuneful melodies. In the Sunday school he was likewise prominent, not only in the direction of the singing, but as a teacher of a class. He was as strong in his political beliefs as in his religious faith, and all his life sup- ported the Whig party, both with his vote and his influence in his neigh- borhood. His private life was lived in the same simple and unpretentious channels as his public life, and while he was ever the faithful and duti-
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ful husband and father, he reared his family with a hand governed by the strictness born of love, and a rigidity of conduct was required that would be exacted by none unless he had the deepest good of his children at heart.
Mr. Vance married Nancy, daughter of John Byers, of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. Children: I. Sarah, married Robert Carothers; died in the spring of 1913, aged eighty-two years. 2. Anna, of whom further. 3. John, since 1873 a contractor of Newark, Ohio, where he died; he was a soldier in Company H, One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and took part in most of the important battles in which that regiment was engaged, with the exception of those that took place while he was in the hospital, recovering from wounds received in action; in the battle of the Wilderness he sustained an injury from the enemy's fire that made him a lifelong cripple, also in the first charge of Hancock's corps at the famous "Bloody Angle" and again a slight wound at the battle of Gettysburg. 4. Robert, died at Hot Springs, Arkansas, in January, 1908; through an unfortunate accident he had lost the sight of one eye. 5. Alexander, who enlisted in the First Regiment, West Virginia Volunteer Infantry, and was wounded at Grafton; im- mediately after being discharged from the hospital he re-enlisted in Com- pany A, Eighty-fifth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and served in that company until the close of the war, having veteranized by his third enlistment; during his service he participated in twenty-five decisively fought battles, including those of the Peninsular campaign. 6. Mary I., of whom further.
Two of the three daughters of Andrew Vance, Anna and Mary I., live in the old mansion which was designed by their father to be his academy, their home the scene of his hopes and aspirations, which were cut short so untimely.
The Mitchells of Pennsylvania are descended from many MITCHELL sources and are found at early dates in Chester, Lan- caster, Cumberland and Montgomery counties. They are of Scotch-Irish and English descent, and all through the years of their residence in Pennsylvania have produced men who were leaders in law, medicine, politics and business. The branch of the family under discus- sion in this article did not come to America until 1858, but their influence has been beneficially felt.
(I) Thomas Mitchell, who was born in county Monaghan, Ireland, died in Williamsport, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, in 1901, at the age of seventy-eight years. He was educated in Ireland, and lived there until the age of thirty-five years. There he followed the occupation of farm- ing, but finding that this was becoming an unprofitable line of industry, emigrated to the United States in 1858, being the only one of his family to do so. Here he became a contractor for the Reading Railroad Com- pany. He was Republican in his political views, and a member of the
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Presbyterian Church, in which he held official position. He married (first) Mary Ross, who died in Ireland, where she was born, daughter of John and Margaret (Frazier) Ross, the former of whom died in 1870; he married (second) a Miss Cassady in England. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Ross: Thomas, born in Ireland; John, died in New York; William, of Belfast, Ireland; Margaret, born in Dundee, Scotland; Jane, born in Ire- land; Susan, born in Ireland; Mary, married Mr. Mitchell, as above men- tioned ; John; Richard. Mr. Mitchell had children: John Ross, of further mention ; Thomas, resides in Coffeeville; Robert, resides in Williamsport; Margaret, died at the age of fifteen years.
(II) John Ross Mitchell, son of Thomas and Mary (Ross) Mitchell, was born in county Monaghan, Ireland, April 2, 1855. His education was acquired in the public schools of Ireland, for the most part, but after his arrival in this country at the age of fourteen years he attended the public schools of Williamsport for a time. He then went to Pittsburgh and to Conway, and on October 15, 1877, commenced working on the Pennsylvania & Erie Railroad. In 1881 he entered the employ of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad Company. His first position on the railroad was as brakeman, which he filled for two and a half years; he was then fireman for four years; fireman for the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad for seven years; September 18, 1889, he was promoted to the position of freight engineer, which he held for more than twelve years, and was then appointed engineer on a passenger train, an office he is still filling. He has always given his political support to the Republican party, and served as burgess for more than three years, and is now in his twelfth year of service as a justice of the peace. He is one of the stockholders in the Automatic Train Control Company. His religious affiliation is with the United Presbyterian Church, and he is a member of the Pennsylvania Relief Society, and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.
Mr. Mitchell married, August 15, 1881, Naomi Pictou, born near Louisville, Pennsylvania, August 1, 1862. She is a daughter of Joseph Pictou, born in Wales, emigrated to America at the age of fourteen years, was a farmer, and died in Louisville, Pennsylvania, at the age of eighty- four years. He married Mary Deater, born in Union county, Pennsylvania, in 1825, now living in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, and they had children: Thomas, mrried a Miss West; Naomi, mentioned above. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell have one child, Evaline, who married E. J. Chaisty, of Baltimore.
Michael Conner, born in Ireland about the year 1804, died CONNER near Elkins, West Virginia, in 1894. He was educated in his native country, and was still a young lad when he came to the United States. He settled near Elkins, West Virginia, where he engaged in farming, and was actively identified with this occupation all his life. He gave his political allegiance to the Republican party, and in
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religion was of the Catholic faith. He married Sarah Powers, born near Elkins, West Virginia, where her father was a farmer and died at the age of seventy years. She had three brothers and one sister as follows: George, married Margaret Hedrick, and had a daughter Deltha, who mar- ried James Smith; William, married Lou Hedrick; Thomas, was killed in the Civil War; Martha, married Michael Ward, and had two daughters. George and William were also soldiers during the Civil War. Mr. and Mrs. Conner had children: Mary, married Patrick McGinnis, and had five children; Margaret, died unmarried; James, died unmarried; John, married Eliza Robins, and had three children, lives in Evart, Michigan ; Ellen, married James Crum, has four children, and lives in Conway, Pennsylvania; Elizabeth, married James McCrackin, has four children, and lives in Wheeling, West Virginia; M. William, of further mention; Frank, died unmarried; Anna, resides with her mother.
(II) M. William Conner, son of Michael and Sarah (Powers) Conner, was born near Elkins, West Virginia, October 22, 1866. He was educated in the public schools of Elkins, and when he had finished his education followed various occupations for some years. Among the firms with whom he worked was the Westinghouse Electric Company, with whom he remained eight years. In 1908 he established himself in the butcher business, opening a store in Conway, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and successfully carried on this business up to April 1, 1914. His store was well equipped and his business carried on in a systematic and up-to-date manner. He takes a deep interest in all that concerns the welfare of the community, and is a staunch supporter of the Republican party. He and his wife are members of the Catholic Church. Mr. Conner married, Feb- ruary 23, 1892, Elizabeth Burkhart, born in Woodsfield, Ohio, December 31, 1872, daughter of Wendling Burkhart, born in Germany. He came to this country in early manhood, and engaged in farming near Woods- field, Ohio, where he died at the age of sixty-nine years. He married Catherine Stornochel, born in Germany, died in Columbus, Ohio. They had children: Joseph, of Wheeling, West Virginia, married Margaret Singer, and has eight children; Regina, married John Donnall, of Tiffin, Ohio, and has two children; Margaret, married John Witzberger, of Wheeling, has eleven children; Catherine, married Charles Witzberger, also of Wheeling, and has ten children; Henry, of Kuhn, Ohio, married Isabella Kuhn, and has one child; Elizabeth, married Mr. Conner. Mr. and Mrs. Conner have no children.
McNEESE The name of McNeese, originally spelled McNees, is not one of frequent occurrence in this country. The family had its origin in Holland, from whence they went to Ire- land in 1608, and in 1668 the earliest member of the family to make her home in this country arrived in America. This was Cornelia Vansant (Covert) McNees, who took up land along the Harlem river, now a part of the New York Central Railroad.
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(II) The next generation removed to Butler county, Pennsylvania, during the pioneer days, and were among the earliest settlers of that county, taking up large tracts of land. They were active in the early Colonial wars, and assisted materially in the development of the country. The McNeese of this generation was twice married, the children of the first marriage being as follows: Marcus, of further mention; Mary Ann, born February 4, 1814; William, May 13, 1816; James, December 2, 1818; John, Novem- ber 7, 1820, Rachel, October 8, 1822. Children by second marriage: Eliza- beth, born September 18, 1824; Retta, January 1, 1827; Urich, July 18, 1830; Sarah, November 27, 1834.
(III) Marcus McNeese, son of the preceding by his first wife, was born in Butler county, Pennsylvania, February 9, 1812, and spent his entire life in that county. At the outbreak of the Civil War he volunteered his services but was not accepted because of a weakness of his ankles. He was a devout member of the Pleasant Valley Presbyterian Church, and an active worker in its interests. He married Martha Adams, also born in Butler county, Pennsylvania, and they had children: William, born August 9, 1833; Catherine, December 20, 1836; Mary, July 22, 1838; Sarah, June 24, 1840; Matthew, July 24, 1843, was killed while in service during the Civil War; Samuel, of further mention; Margaret, April 16, 1847; Ann, December 26, 1849; Cornelia, August 5, 1851.
(IV) Samuel McNeese, son of Marcus and Martha (Adams) McNeese, was born in Slippery Rock township, Butler county, Pennsylvania, March 27, 1845. His education was acquired in the log school house near his home, at a time when the country was still so sparsely settled that on one occasion a deer ran through the school yard. He was engaged in farm- ing in his home district when the Civil War broke out, and at once tendered his services to his country. He enlisted in December, 1861, in Company I, One Hundred and Thirteenth Regiment Pennsylvania Volun- teer Infantry, and was discharged, August 2, 1862. December 28, 1863, he re-enlisted in Company F, Twenty-third Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered out at Cumberland, in July, 1865. At that time the late President Mckinley was a major in the regiment, and Presi- dent Hayes was its colonel. He had been living in East Palestine, Ohio, prior to the war, and at its close he returned to that town, and for five years was a member of the Columbiana county militia. He was in the employ of the Fort Wayne Railroad Company in various capacities. In 1886 he removed to New Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where he has since that time made his home. He has followed a variety of occu- pations, and was for a time tax collector of the third ward. He was at first connected with the United Brethren Church, later affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is now a Free Methodist. He was first a Republican, later a Prohibitionist, and has worked earnestly for many years to forward the interests of this party.
Mr. McNeese married, August 23, 1865, Lydia Clupper, and
Samuel cheese
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had children : Matthew Sherman, born June 30, 1866, a member of the firm of S. H. Funkhouser & Company, tinners, of New Brighton; Anna, born April 23, 1868; John Marcus, July 8, 1870; Samuel Albert, March 18, 1876, died the same day.
This record of the Coopers of Pennsylvania begins with
COOPER the member of the family who bore arms in the American army in the war for independence, Mathias Cooper, in whose right his descendants hold membership in the various patriotic so- cieties in existence. He followed agricultural pursuits all his life, with the exception of the lengthy period devoted to the Colonial service, and settled in Moon township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, whither he came from Chester county, Pennsylvania, from which locality he had enlisted in the army. He and his wife Christiana were the parents of several children, among whom was Daniel.
(II) Daniel Cooper, son of Mathias and Christiana Cooper, was born in Pennsylvania, and there died. He became the owner of two hundred acres of land in his native township, at the time of purchase covered by a dense growth of timber, which almost impenetrable forest he cleared, erect- ing first log buildings, later replacing them with frame structures. He cultivated this land until his death, the property now known as the Shaffer farm. He married Prudence Hamilton, and had children: Ann, Lydia, Christiana, Mathias, Thomas Hamilton, Jane, Daniel, Robert, of whom further; Sarah, Prudence, Mary, Juliana, David. All of these thirteen children grew to healthy and vigorous maturity.
(III) Robert Cooper, son of Daniel and Prudence (Hamilton) Cooper, was born in Moon township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, May 21, 1817, died aged seventy-six years. He obtained an unusually good education in the subscription and public schools, which latter he attended for one term. He learned the carpenter's trade, specializing in that branch of the carpenter's occupation devoted to boat building, following this calling in Freedom, Pennsylvania, Louisville, Kentucky, and New Orleans, Louisiana. He later cultivated one hundred and sixty acres of land in Moon township, a part of which belonged to his father, and in the clearing of which he had assisted. He and his family were members of the United Presbyterian Church, and for more than forty years he was a member of the session of that denomination. His exemplary life and nobility of char- acter gave him unquestioned prestige upon the board of spiritual advisers of the church, and in all the plans for extending its work and enlarging its capacity for well doing his counsel held much weight. He married (first) in 1841, Eliza Orr, of Raccoon township, Beaver county, Penn- sylvania; (second) in 1846, Mary, daughter of Henry and Jane (Purdy) Ewing; (third) in 1875, Mrs. Alice (Calvert) Laird, of Moon township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. Henry Ewing's father, Alexander Ewing, and a brother of Alexander Ewing, Henry, also the father of Alexander
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and Henry Ewing, were soldiers in the Revolutionary War, while James Purdy, father of Jane Purdy, also fought in that conflict, so that the descendants of the second marriage of Robert Cooper have a triple claim upon Revolutionary ancestors. Children of the first marriage of Robert Cooper : William J. and Robert H. Children of the second marriage of Robert Cooper: Margaret J., a teacher in the graded schools of Paterson township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania; D. Austin, Henry E., David K., Mary Emma, Elmer C., John P., of whom further.
(IV) John P. Cooper, youngest son of Robert and Mary (Ewing) Cooper, was born on the homestead farm in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, December 15, 1863. He was educated in the township schools. When he was nineteen years of age he left the paternal farm and passed the follow- ing ten years in the middle west, where he taught school. In 1893 he re- turned to the home farm and at the present time conducts general farming operations, cultivating one hundred and sixty acres. Good fortune has attended his agricultural undertaking and he has derived from the soil gratifying yields, results which give him high place among the farmers of the locality. The Republican is the party in which he places his con- fidence, and in local public affairs he has ever taken an active part, having for nine years been a member of the school board and was township auditor for six years. Mr. Cooper married, in 1903, Olive L., daughter of William F. Dodds, of Nebraska. They have children: William Roy and Mary Elizabeth.
The McNallys have come to America at various times, and
MCNALLY the greater number of them have been identified with in- dustrial callings. Some, however, are also to be found in professional and diplomatic lines.
(I) Philip McNally was born in Ireland, and emigrated to the United States in 1896. He settled at Braddock, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, where his death occurred the following year, and he is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Pittsburgh. He married, in Ireland, Ann Haney, also a native of that country, who died in 1891. They had children: Martin, see for- ward; Hubert; Mary, deceased; Bridget, deceased; Michael; Patrick, de- ceased; Ann; John, deceased.
(II) Martin McNally, son of Philip and Ann (Haney) McNally, was born in county Galway, Ireland, November 8, 1856. He emigrated to America in 1881, arriving here in the month of May, and went to Albany, New York, where he was employed until 1885. He held a position on the steamboat "St. John," of the People's Line, and while in the com- pany's employ had the misfortune to lose one of his legs. For the next three years he was engaged in the fruit business, then removed to Braddock, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, where he opened a hotel, of which he was the proprietor and manager until he took a trip to Ireland in 1902. He remained in his native land for the period of one year, then returned
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to Pennsylvania, and lived in the city of Pittsburgh until 1908. Aliquippa, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, was the next scene of his activities, and there he purchased the Columbia Hotel, and has been its proprietor since that time. It is conducted upon the most modern and approved plan, and is one of the finest hotels of its size and class. Mr. McNally was one of the organizers of the Aliquippa National Bank, and is one of its directors. He is a charter member of "The Owls," which was organized in 1913, and is a member of the Republican party. He married, in 1887, Bridget C. Conway, born in Ireland. They have no children.
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