USA > Pennsylvania > Fayette County > Genealogical and personal history of Fayette county, Pennsylvania > Part 32
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(I) One of the descendants above men- tioned was William Seawright, born about 1720, came from county Donegal, North of Ireland, about the year 1740, and settled in Lampiter township, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. He was at the time of his death (1771) a prominent citizen and land- holder of that county. He sought religious liberty in the new world, where he was des- tined to found a family whose name should be written high on the rolls of fame in the new Republic whose birth he did not live to see. Shortly after his settlement in Penn- sylvania, he married Anne Hamilton, a de- scendant of the powerful dukes of Hamilton of Scotland. She came from Belfast, Ire- land, at the same time as her husband, and settled in about the same locality, near Lan- caster City. She was accompanied to Am- erica by her brothers, William and Hugh, and a sister Mary. Her brother William was the grandfather of the distinguished governor of South Carolina in Calhoun's day, who was known as the Nullifier Gov- ernor, in consequence of his having advo- cated the nullification of certain laws passed by Congress, which he considered adverse to the interests of the people of the south. The ancestors of the Hamilton family came from Scotland to Belfast, Ireland, when it became the refuge for persecuted Covenant- ers. They were a part of the historical Scotch family of Hamiltons, one of whom was chosen as the husband of Queen Mary, and another as the husband of Queen Eliza- beth. Family tradition and family history also teach that Alexander Hamilton, of Rev- olutionary fame, was connected with this same Lancaster county family of Hamiltons. Children of William and Anne Seawright :
I. Mary, married John Glenn; the Glenns are extinct, and are mostly buried in Pe- quea churchyard, Lancaster county, Penn- sylvania. 2. Esther, married Gilbert Sea- wright, who was the founder of the large family of Seawrights in and around Car- lisle, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. 3. Anne, married William Woods, and re- moved from Lancaster county, Pennsylva- nia, to Albemarle county, Virginia, where they died; two children: Alexander and Seawright, born in Lancaster county, Penn- sylvania; they later settled in Fayette coun- ty, Kentucky, and subsequently removed to Illinois, where the former died in Jo Da- vies county, and the latter in Greene coun- ty. 4. William, of whom further. 5. Alex- ander, married a Miss Logan, and removed to Augusta county, Virginia ; children : Wil- liam, Alexander and Margaret, who re- moved with their families to Henry county, Tennessee, about the year 1826, where some of their descendants are living at the pres- ent time.
(II) William (2), son of William (1) Sea- wright, the American ancestor, was born in 1753, died in 1824. He learned the trade of fuller. He moved from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, to Augusta county, Virginia, returning to Pennsylvania later and settling in the Ligonier Valley, Westmoreland coun- ty, where he built and operated a fulling (cloth) mill until his death. He was a Pres- byterian, like his father, and was for many years an elder of that church. He married, in 1784, Jean, daughter of Samuel and Ca- therine (Seawright) Ramsey. Children: I. Samuel, married Mary A. Wilson, and after 1810 settled in Tippecanoe county, Indiana. 2. Alexander, married Catherine Jones, first settled in Brooke county, Virginia, and afterwards removed to Morgan county, Ohio. 3. William, of whom further. 4. Mary. 5. John. 6. Hamilton. 7. Archibald. The four latter named remained in the Li- gonier Valley and died without issue. They are buried by the side of their parents in Pleasant Grove graveyard, about five miles from the town of Ligonier.
Samuel Ramsey, father of Jean (Ramsey) Seawright, was a man of wealth and gave largely of his means to aid the cause of in- dependence. He was a prominent citizen of
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Engraved by James R Fice & Se Phila
Searight
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Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, and was the owner of the famous "Letort Springs" tract near Carlisle, where he lived and died. He married Catherine Seawright, daughter of William Seawright, who came from Don- egal, Ireland, about 1740, and settled in Leacock township, near Lancaster City, Pennsylvania, where he lived and died. He was for many years a landholder and promi- nent citizen of Lancaster county. In the revolution of 1688 the ancestors of William Seawright threw themselves into the cause of William of Orange. Some of them were driven within the walls of Londonderry when its gates were closed against James the Second, some afterwards died in the be- sieged city, while others of them survived the siege. William Seawright married Ca therine Jackson, also a resident of the North of Ireland, and they were the parents of one child, Catherine, who married Samuel Ram- sey, and they were the parents of children, namely : Jean, aforementioned as the wife of William Searight; Catherine, died unmar- ried; Margaret, died unmarried; Esther, died unmarried; Elizabeth, died unmarried ; Samuel, married a Gettysburg lady, no chil- dren; Archibald, married Margaret Dean, and their grandchildren are now residents of New Bloomfield, Perry county, Pennsyl- vania ; Seawright, married a member of the Pittsburgh family of Dennys. After the death of his wife Catherine, Samuel Ramsey married (second) the Widow Macfeely, grandmother of General Robert Macfeely, commissary general of the United States army, Washington, D. C.
(III) William (3) Sea- SEARIGHT right, son of William (2) (q. v.) and Jean (Ramsey) Seawright, was born near Carlisle, Cumber- land county, Pennsylvania, December 5, 1791, died August 12, 1852. He received a plain English education, but he was endowed with the precepts of stern integrity, indus- try and honor, the elements of his future success in business, and of his elevated char- acter. He learned the trade of fuller and dyer of cloth. At the age of twenty-one years he came to Fayette county, Pennsyl- vania, his entire stock in trade being an ex- pert knowledge of his trade, a keen sense
of honor, and a stout heart. He arranged a lease of the Hammond fulling mill, later was a partner in the operation of the old Cook's mill, on Redstone creek, operated another fulling mill at the mouth of Dun- lap Creek, and subsequently rented another mill on the George Washington farm near Perryopolis. This was accomplished in a few years, the young man becoming the largest fulling mill owner and operator in Western Pennsylvania. He continued in business until, with rare foresight, seeing that the fulling mill must fall before the modern factory system of the east, sold his milling interests and became one of the prin- cipal commissioners of the National road and the Erie extension of the Pennsylvania & Ohio canal. He also purchased a farm and hotel on the National road and founded the village of Searights, named in his honor, and there made his permanent settlement. He was gifted with rare sagacity, universal business ability, undaunted courage, be- came a leading business man of his county, and was intimately connected with the fore- most of her institutions. He was a man of sympathetic nature, and his private chari- ties were many. He stood high in church and community life, all realizing in him a friend and counselor in whose fidelity they could with safety confide.
Mr. Searight was a prominent and zealous old-time Democratic politician, and wielded a wide influence. On one occasion he rode on horseback from Searights to Harris- burgh, a distance of over two hundred miles, to assist in the preparation to nominate General Jackson for the presidency. He was an intimate friend of the late Simon Cameron, ex-United States senator from Pennsylvania, and had close political rela- tions with the leading politicians of his day. In the early history of Fayette county, po- litical conventions of both parties were ac- customed to meet at Searights and plan campaigns. A memorable meeting, of which Mr. Searight was the chief instigator, was held there in 1828, known as the "Gray Meeting," from the name of the keeper of the hotel at that time, John Gray. At this meeting the Jackson and Adams men met to test their strength. They turned out in the meadow below the hotel, formed in
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rank and counted off, the Jackson men out- numbering their opponents decisively, and it was regarded as a great Jackson victory. In the political campaign of 1836 a large Democratic meeting was held at Union- town, and the delegation from Searights bore a banner with the inscription, "Menal- len the battle ground of the Gray Meeting."
The many similar political meetings with which Mr. Searight was identified prove the esteem in which he was held by the citizens of the county by all parties. But Fayette county, although the first, was but little in advance of other communities to learn and admire his worth. He early became known and appreciated throughout the entire state. He was appointed commissioner of the Cum- berland road (National road) by Governor Porter, a position he held for many years. In 1854 he was superseded by Colonel Wil- liam Hopkins, of Washington, Pennsylva- nia. Subsequently an act of the legislature placed the road in the hands of trustees ap- pointed by the courts, and these trustees restored William Searight to the commis- sionership, the duties of which office he con- tinued to discharge with great fidelity and industry. He was thoroughly familiar with all the hills and valleys of that grand old thoroughfare, once so stirring and active, but now still and grass-grown. Previous to his appointment as commissioner of the National road he was a contractor on the same. He was one of the contractors who built the iron bridge over the mouth of Dun- lap creek, between Bridgeport and Browns- ville, and was also a contractor on the Erie extension of the Pennsylvania and Ohio ca- nal. At the time of his death he was the candidate of the Democratic party for one of the most important offices in the state, that of canal commissioner. To this office he would have undoubtedly been elected ; after his death, Colonel William Hopkins, of Washington county, was nominated by the Democratic party for the same office, and was elected by a large majority.
Mr. Searight was a man of the most gen- erous and humane character, ever ready to lend his counsel, his sympathies, and his purse, to the aid of others. Though a strong political party man, yet he always treated his opponents with courtesy. In religion
he was like most of the race to which he be- longed, imbued with Calvinism. The bright- est traits of his character were exemplified in his last hours. So far as human judgment can decide he died a Christian. His aged widow often quoted an expression he made as he was approaching the sad realities of death, which gave her great comfort. It was this: "Our prayers have been answered ; I feel that if I should die to-night, the Lord will receive me into His Holy Kingdom." Although death plucked him from the very threshold of earthly honors, yet it caused him no regrets. The Kingdom into which he was about to enter presented higher hon- ors and purer enjoyments. To him they offered :
ยท "No midnight shade, no clouded sun, But sacred, high, eternal noon."
Mr. Searight married, March 25, 1826, Ra- chel Brownfield, born at Gainsboro, Frede- rick county, Virginia, February 7, 1805, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Brown- field, of Uniontown, Pennsylvania. Chil- dren: I. Thomas B., of whom further. 2. Ewing B., of whom further. 3. Jean, of whom. further. 4. William, of whom fur- ther. 5. James Allison, of whom further. 6. Elizabeth S., of whom further.
Mr. Searight died at his residence in Me- nallen township, August 12, 1852. A more emphatic eulogy than is in the power of lan- guage to express was bestowed upon him on the day of his funeral by the assembling around his coffin to perform the last sad duty of friendship of as great, if not a greater, number of citizens than ever at- tended the funeral ceremonies of anyone who had died within the limits of Fayette county. Among that vast assemblage were both the patriarchs of the county and the rising youth who came to give their testi- mony to the lofty worth in life of the dis- tinguished dead. A few days after his death a large meeting of the citizens of Fayette county, irrespective of party, convened at the court house for the purpose of bearing suitable testimony to his memory and char- acter. The following gentlemen were chosen officers: Hon. Nathaniel Ewing, president : Hon. Daniel Sturgeon (ex- United States senator), and Z. Ludington, vice-presidents ; John B. Krepps and R. P.
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Flenniken, secretaries. On motion of Hon. James Veech (later author of "Mononga- hela of Old") a committee of resolutions, composed of leading citizens, was appointed, which committee presented the following preamble and resolutions, which were unan- imously adopted :
"When a valuable citizen died, it is meet that the community of which he was a member mourn his loss. A public expression of their sorrow at such an event is due as some solace to the grief of the bereaved family and friends, and as an in- centive to others to earn for their death the same distinction.
"In the recent death of William Searight, this community has lost such a citizen. Such an event has called this public meeting, into which enter no schemes of political promotion, no partisan purposes of empty eulogy. Against all this, death has shut the door. While yet the tear hangs upon the cheek of his stricken family, and the tiding of death are unread by many of his friends, we his fellow-citi- zens, neighbors, friends, of all parties, have as- sembled to speak to those who knew and loved him best, and to those who knew him not, the words of sorrow and truth, in sincerity and soberness. There- fore as the sense of this meeting:
"Resolved, That in the death of William Sea- right, Fayette county and the commonwealth of Pennsylvania have lost one of their best and most useful citizens. The people at large may not realize their loss, but the community in which he lived, over whose comforts and interests were diffused the influences of his liberality and enterprise, feel it, while his friends, of all classes, parties and professions, to whom he clung, and who clung to him, mourn it.
"Resolved, That while we would withhold our steps from the sanctuary of domestic grief, we mav be allowed to express to the afflicted widow and children of the deceased our unfeigned sorrow and sympathy in their great bereavement, and to tender them our assurance that while in their hearts the memory of the husband and father will ever be cherished, in our hearts will be kept the liveliest recollections of his virtues as a citizen and friend.
"Resolved, That among the elements which must enter into every truthful estimate of the character of William Searight are a warm amenity of man- ner, combined with great dignity of deportment which were not the less attractive by their plain- ness and want of ostentation; elevated feelings were pure than passionless: high purposes with in- tiring energy in their accomplishment: an ennobling sense of honor, and individual independence. which kept him always true to himself and his engage- ments; unfaltering fidelity to his friends: a lib- erality which heeded no restraint but means and merit ; great promotness and fearlessness in the dis- charge of what he believed to be a duty, private or pi:blic, guided by a rigid integrity, which stood all tests and withstood all temptations; honesty and truthfulness in word and deed, which no seductions could weaken or assaults overthrow, in all respects
the architect of his own fortune and fame. These, with the minor virtues in full proportion, are some of the outlines of character which stamped the man whose death we mourn, as one much above the ordinary level of his race.
"Resolved, That while we have here nothing to do or say as to the loss sustained by the political party to which he belonged, and whose candidate he was for an office of great honor and responsi- bility, we may be allowed to say that had he lived and been successful with a heart so rigidly set as was his, with feelings so high and integrity so firm, and withal an amount of practical intelligence so ample as he possessed, his election could have been regretted by no citizen who knew him, and who placed the public interests beyond selfish ends and party success. As a politician we knew him to hold to his principles and party predilections with a ten- acious grasp, yet he was ever courteous and liberal in his deportment and views toward his political opponents.
"Resolved, That in the life and character of William Searight we see a most instructive and encouraging example. Starting the struggle of life with an humble business, poor and unbefriended, with an honest mind and a true heart, with high purposes and untiring industry, he by degrees gained friends and means which never forsook him. He thus won for himself and family ample wealth, and attained a positon among his fellowmen which those who have not had the best advantages our country affords, might well envy. That wealth and that position he used with a just liberality and in- fluence for the benefit of all around and dependent upon him. Though dead, he yet speaketh to every man in humble business: 'Go thou and do likewise, and such shall be thy reward in life and in death.' "Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be furnished for publication in all the papers of the county and a copy thereof, signed by the officers, be presented to the family of the deceased."
STIDGER-One of the later and most powerful of the races of the human family is the English ; and the making of the Eng- lishman can be traced from the cradle and nursery of the human race in Central Asia away into five great climate zones around whose settlement centers grew race masses. Three were in Asia, one along the Nile, the other on the shores of the Mediterranean, where civilization had its birth and the two great groups of modern nations, the Latin and the Greek, had their rise.
Of the fierce Northland German races that swept from the Mediterranean to the Baltic, one was Teutonic, whose unconquer- able tribes settled largely along the north- ward waterways from the heart of the great German forest. Three of these tribes, the Angles, Jutes and Saxons, stretched west-
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ward along the North Sea coast from the mouth of Elbe river to that of the Weser. The Angles gave their name to the country, the Saxons theirs to the language, while the Jutes were so few in numbers as to stamp their name in no prominent way, and were even denied meniton in the name of the new race, which at the time of their con- quest by the Normans was called Anglo- Saxon. The Anglo-Saxon had driven the Briton from the land, but when in turn they were conquered by the Dane and Norman, they remained, and in one hundred and fifty years had so largely absorbed their last con- querors that there were an Anglo-Saxon and Norman Dane people that became known as English when they aided the Barons, on June 16, 1215, to compel King John to sign the Magna Charta, which secured many lib- erties for all the people of England, which country had formerly been called Angle- land. From the granting of the Great Charter, the Englishman rapidly developed those magnificent and powerful traits of character for which he is noted all over the world.
From this wonderful English race was descended Mrs. Rachel (Brownfield) Sea- right-Stidger, born in the village of Gains- boro, Frederick county, Virginia, February 7, 1805, died at her home at the west end of Main street, Uniontown, Pennsylvania, January 3, 1893. Her lineage is traced back to the origin of the Society of Friends in the early part of 1600. From thence, through equally reliable sources, in parish and other records, her lineage can be traced into the same family of Fishers of which John Fish- er, Bishop of Rochester, who was beheaded by Henry VIII. in the early part of the year 1535, was a member. Through her grand- mother, Mary Butler, her lineage is also traceable through the same reliable sources into the family of which Bishop Butler, of "Butler's Analogy" fame, was a member.
Her great-grandfather, Thomas Butler, was born at Hanley on the Thames, Eng- land. His first settlement in America was in Middletown, Bucks county, Pennsylva- nia, after which he removed to Chester, Del- aware county, same state. He married, sev- enteenth day, fourth month, 1731, Rebecca Gilbert, in the Middletown meeting house.
Children : Joseph and Mary. Mary married Barak Fisher, and they removed from Bucks county, Pennsylvania, to Frederick county, Virginia, in 1763, where they raised a large family, one of whom, Elizabeth, married Thomas Brownfield, a native of Frederick county, Virginia, and they were the parents of Rachel, aforementioned. Barak and Mary (Butler) Fisher settled on Back creek, near the village of Gainsboro, Vir- ginia. The ruins of the old house in which they lived when they first removed from Pennsylvania to Virginia can yet be seen, and the old farm upon which they originally settled is still in possession of some of their descendants. Barak Fisher died in 1784, and his wife in 1800. Barak Fisher was the eighth child of John and Elizabeth (Scar- borough) Fisher.
Thomas and Elizabeth (Fisher) Brown- field, with their children, Catherine, Re- becca, Sarah, Mary, Ewing, Rachel, re- moved from Virginia to Uniontown, Fayette county, Pennsylvania. They traveled over what was known as the old mail route road, the old Braddock road, and the old Nema- colin road. At this time Rachel was about six weeks old. She received the education the schools of that day afforded. In her girl- hood days she sang in the Methodist church choir, and she was one of the young girls selected to strew flowers in the pahtway of General Lafayette when he visited Union- town in 1825. On March 25, 1826, she mar- ried (first) William Searight, of Menallen township, to which place she removed im- mediately after her marriage. She married (second) in 1858, Harmon Stidger, M.D., of Canton, Ohio, and removed with him to that city. She resided in Canton during the civil war, and watched its progress with great interest. She resided in Canton until 1869, at which time she purchased what is known as the "Roberts property," situated at the west end of Main street, Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and returned to the old town in which she had passed her earlier years, to live the remainder of her life amongst her old friends and early acquaintances, and from that year until her death lived within one hundred feet of the spot on which she landed in 1805, an infant in her mother's arms.
ar: Heste-cal Pub L
Rachel Pearight flieger
. by E G Whans & Bre NY
yours truly DB. Serviche
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Soon after her first marriage and removal to Menallen township to live, she became a member of Grace Episcopal Church, in Me- nallen township, and continued a faithful member of the Episcopal church during her entire after life. She was confirmed by Bishop Onderdonk, whilst the Rev. Mr. Freeman was rector of Christ Church. Be- fore the building of the present Grace Church at Menallen, services were frequent- ly held at her home. Mrs. Searight-Stidger was quiet, gentle and patient, never neglect- ing a duty, nor failing in an act of kindness, or lacking on any occasion in any courtesy of life. Her life spanned one of the most wonderful periods in human history. At her birth there was not an iron ploughshare in the entire world, nor was there a steamboat, steamship, locomotive nor railway train ; telegraphing and telephoning were un- known ; most of the inventions in machinery and nearly all the appliances for comfort and convenience were also unknown. The improvements in agriculture, mining, manu- facturing, etc., were all made during the span of her life. What a privilege and yet what a responsibility to be permitted to live so long and witness so much. Her remains were interred in Grace Church burying ground, January 7, 1893, and the funeral services were conducted by the rector of St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Uniontown, and the rector of Christ's Church, Browns- ville.
SEARIGHT (IV) Colonel Thomas Brownfield Searight, eldest son of William (3) (q. v.) and Rachel (Brownfield) Searight, was born at Searights, Menallen township, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, February 20, 1827, died in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, April 3, 1899.
He was reared on his father's farm, and successfully prosecuted his academic studies at Dr. Wilson's Academy and Madison Col- lege at Uniontown. He entered Washing- ton and Jefferson College, May 1, 1844, and was graduated in the class of 1848. Among his classmates was Judge Slagel, of Pitts- burgh, Hon. John Murray Clark, and James G. Blaine, later the famous statesman, who was one of his most intimate friends, and
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