USA > Pennsylvania > Fayette County > Genealogical and personal history of Fayette county, Pennsylvania > Part 6
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He married, in February, 1846, Eliza, young- est daughter of Samuel and Ruth (Elliott) Caruthers, of Sewickley township, Westmore- land county, Pennsylvania, a ruling elder in the Sewickley Presbyterian church. The mother of Samuel Caruthers was a daughter of Lieu- tenant John Potter, first sheriff of Cumber- land county, Pennsylvania, in 1750 to 1756, and her brother, General James Potter, was a trust- ed officer and friend of General Washington during the revolution. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Thompson : I. Ruth A., educated at Wash- ington, Pennsylvania, Female Seminary ; mar- ried, in 1875, Dr. J. T. Shepler, of Dunbar, Pennsylvania. 2. Lenora M., educated at the same institution as her sister ; married, in 1873,
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Eliza Thompson
I.V Show Body
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John A. Niccolls, of Brownsville, Pennsylvania. 3. William M., whose sketch follows. 4. Josiah V., of whom further.
(IV) Josiah Vankirk, son of Jasper Markle Thompson, was born in Menallen township, near Uniontown, Pennsylvania, February 15, 1854. He attended the public schools and lived on the home farm until he entered Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, Pennsyl- vania, whence he was graduated in June, 1871. On November II of that year he entered the employ of the First National Bank of Union- town as clerk, his father being then president of the bank. On April 3, 1872, he was promoted teller, and on June 5, 1877, following the death of James T. Redburn, was made cashier. March 15, 1889, his father died, and on April 2, 1889, he succeeded him in the presidency and still remains (1912) the honored head of that most wonderful financial institution, which according to the government reports, has more surplus and profits in proportion to capital than any other national bank in the United States, and the bank examiner says that it pays the largest salaries to the minor employees of any bank in the country. The capital stock is $100,000. In 1907 its surplus was $1, 100,000, which means that every one hundred dollars of stock has a real book value of eleven hundred dollars. The surplus now (August 28, 1912) is $1,512,000. In addition the bank pays a semi-annual divi- dend of eleven per cent. or twenty-two per cent. annually. There is just one reason for this and that is Josiah V. Thompson. To lead from a country town over six thousand national banks, many of them with greater capital, much larger. deposits, and located in the very center of the business of the nation, needs a reason and you have it in Mr. Thompson himself.
First let us explain what Mr. Thompson and the First National Bank does not do: No loans are made for more than the legal six per cent. rate, nor is a bonus ever asked or taken from borrowers. If you get the money at all you get it regular and no bonus inducement can tempt a dollar from their vaults; again, no de- posits are received except subject to check, no interest being paid on deposits no matter how large. Employees are never put under bond. Mr. Thompson hires no one until satisfied that he is thoroughly trustworthy and of the right mettle, then he is placed on his own sense of duty and honor. No one has ever gone wrong in the entire history of the First National Bank,
but all are required to abstain from drink and tobacco in every form, this on the ground that such habits are not conducive to success in business or growth in morality.
The things that President Thompson and the First National Bank do are many, and from them can be gleaned why the bank leads the Roll of Honor issued by the United States government. The high salaries paid insure the best service. Old employees are rewarded for faithful service by being made participants in the profits of his large, lucra- tive individual coal operations. This policy has been extended to depositors, particularly women with limted incomes. whom he has allowed to share in the same manner until they have become financially strong through their small investments. There are at least four hundred depositors to whom he has af- forded opportunity for profitable investment. This generous policy has enriched many and built up a loyal host of depositors and work- ers for the advancement of the bank. This policy of generous advice to investors has ever been carried to those of another class. There are many men in his community to whom unsecured advances of money have been privately made in times of financial dis- tress which have placed them again on a safe footing. This, of course, is the personal affair of Mr. Thompson, but Mr. Thompson and the First National Bank in Uniontown are synonymous terms, but the greatest factor is his wonderful capacity for work and his power of inspiring his subordinates with en- thusiasm and zeal.
It is not uncommon for Mr. Thompson to work continuously in his private office at the bank for a week without as much sleep as would amount in that period to one good night's rest. He personally attends to all his own correspondence and writes his own let- ters. Frequently on his return home from an absence of a day or two he will drive to the bank after a lunch at his home, Oak Hill, to see what letters demand his attention. There may be one hundred and fifty of them, but every one will be answered before the light above his desk is turned out, daybreak often finding him at his desk. When this hap- pens he usually makes the best of the situa- tion and again goes to work with the bank force for another day's business without hav- ing either rest or sleep. It is not uncommon,
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when work is very pressing, to even follow this by another night's work at his desk, then going home for a couple of hours' sleep to be back again at 9 A. M. to begin again. The spirit of emulation aroused by the knowledge all the employees have of the strain and se- verity of Mr. Thompson's work has much to do with the success of the bank, naturally all wishing to keep pace with the president, but none can do it, try as they may. He can go sound asleep in a second anywhere, and when he awakens it is with every faculty and instinct alert with life. He will fall asleep standing in the public bank room writing a letter, nap, perhaps, for fifteen minutes, and on awaken- ing resume instantly the writing of his letter just where he dropped it, without having to read it over to pick up the thread of his thought.
In his enormous coal and land operations he personally attends to all the detail, whether he is in them alone or with others. All his associates do is to put in their share of the purchase money. When the deal is closed each partner gets a statement of the essential details and a memorandum that such an amount of money has been placed to his credit in the First National. This is usually his original investment plus a hand- some profit, often many times the sum in- vested. His operations are startling. He has bought and sold most of the coking coal de- posit of Fayette county and still owns many acres. In Greene county his coal acreage is immense. He is also a very large owner of Washington and Allegheny counties, Penn- sylvania, and of West Virginia coal lands. He is undoubtedly the largest individual owner of the valuable thick vein coking coal lands in the United States, and has an enormous for- tune, which he is credited with having accu- mulated by fair means, without having wronged a single person or having enjoyed any exclusive legislation or social or com- mercial advantages.
Another marked feature of his personality is his remarkable memory. Of the two thou- sand notes held by the First National Bank he can name from memory every maker and endorser and give their address. On one oc- casion he entertained at his residence at Oak Hill a party of Cleveland capitalists to whom he had sold a $3,000,000 tract of coal. On be- ing asked concerning his trip around the
world, beginning in 1903 and continuing fif- teen months, he took his questioners to near- ly every quarter of the globe, naming not only the places visited, but the date and de- tails associated with each place. He stated that he had not kept a diary further than that each day he noted the number of miles trav- eled. His ability to read nature is wonderful, and seldom is he wrong. Many loans are made by the First National Bank with no se- curity beyond Mr. Thompson's knowledge and belief in the man. In 1901 he conceived the idea of an eleven-story building as a suit- able home for the First National Bank. The population was then seven thousand, four hundred and thirty-three, and only the Car- negie building in Pittsburgh was the superior of this proposed building as recently as 1890. But he reasoned that the First National Bank had made its money in Uniontown and that it was meet and proper that this able and progressive bank should foster home invest- ment and give Uniontown what it greatly needed-a modern office and apartment building. The plans were drawn by the World's Fair architects, D. H. Burnham & Company, and the building when completed was unsurpassed in the United States or in It the world for utility and convenience. houses a thousand persons, and from morn- ing until night is a scene of continuous ac- tivity. In no city in the world of its size can such a commercial building be found. A fit- ting home for the greatest bank and a fitting monument for the man who inspired it. The bank building has a frontage of 150 feet on Main street, and runs back 150 feet to Peter street.
The public service of Mr. Thompson has been weighty and valuable. He served on the commission that freed the Monongahela river from the heavy burden of toll; was a member and president of the city council from 1892 to 1900, a period of great improve- ment in the city; was president of the News Publishing Company, president of the Union Cemetery Company, and has aided and abetted every legitimate enterprise in his city which has been offered to him for support.
Mr. Thompson married, December II, 1879, Mary, daughter of John and Sarah. (Redburn) Anderson. She died August 8, 1896. Children: Andrew A., born October 25, 1880; John R., born October 6, 1882.
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(The Markle Line.)
The progenitor of the Markle family in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, was Christian Markle, born in Alsace, Germany, 1678. To avoid religious persecution follow- ing the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes he fled to Amsterdam, Holland, where he mar- ried Jemima Weurtz, a sister of an admiral in the Dutch navy. In 1703 he came to America, settling at Moselem Springs, Berks county, Pennsylvania, where he purchased fifteen hundred acres of land. He was a coach maker and established on his farm a wagon-making shop, a blacksmith shop and a grist mill.
Caspard, youngest son of Christian Mar- kle, was born in Berks county, Pennsyl- vania, 1732, died at Mill Grove, Westmore- land county, Pennsylvania, in 1819. He owned, with Judge Painter, large tracts of land on Sewickley creek, extending for sev- eral miles.
He erected a grist mill on the creek, which traversed his
homestead, and made some of the first flour manufactured west of the mountains; this he transported in flatboats to New Orleans. In 1819 the citi- zens erected a monument to him to commem- orate his early connection with flour making west of the Alleghenies. He married (first) Elizabeth Grim, and moved to Westmoreland county. His wife died there, and in 1776 he returned to Berks county, where he married (second) Mary Rothermel and again re- turned to Westmoreland county. He had by both wives twenty-two children, the youngest being Leah, wife of Andrew Finley Thomp- son (see Thompson).
Several of the Markles were soldiers. George Markle was a soldier of the Indian war and fought at the defense of Wheeling. Another George Markle was a revolutionary soldier and fought at Brandywine. Jacob Markle was in the naval service under Com- modore Barney. Another member of the family, Abraham Markle, came from Ger- many and settled in Canada and was a dele- gate to the provincial parliament. In the war of 1812 he came to the United States and be- came a colonel in the American army. The British government confiscated his property in Canada, but the United States gave him four sections of land near Fort Harrison, in Indiana.
(IV) William M., son of
THOMPSON Jasper Markle (q. v.) and Eliza (Caruthers) Thomp- son, was born November 13, 1851, in Menal- len township, Fayette county, Pennsylvania. Being the eldest son, responsibilities came to him at an early age, but he was eager to be useful, and in addition to his school work be- came a most useful assistant, even while yet a growing boy. He attended the public schools of Menallen township and later Madi- son Academy in Uniontown. After finishing his preparatory course he entered Washing- ton and Jefferson College, from whence he was graduated, class of 1871. After gradua- tion he returned to the home farm and took full charge of its operation. His father at that time was deeply engrossed with his affairs of the bank and gladly surrendered the man- agement of his agricultural interests to his son. So good a manager was he that the farm of one hundred and sixty acres, when he took it as a young man, had been in- creased to an estate of seven hundred acres at his father's death. This land all lay in fertile portions of Menallen and South Union townships. By his father's will William M. interited four hundred and fifty acres, includ- ing the homestead, which has ever since been his home. He has devoted his entire life to agriculture and its kindred pursuits. Besides caring for his own estate he also has the management of several hundred acres belong- ing to the brother, Josiah V. Thompson. He has taken a deep interest in high grade stock and has a herd of short-horned cattle on his farm that experts pronounce the finest among the many fine herds of short-horns in the state of Pennsylvania. He carries this same idea of excellence through all his stock breed- ing and farming operations, and is a perfect type of the prosperous modern American farmer. In most comfortable circumstances financially, he is in position to follow modern progress in all lines pertaining to his business and to prove by actual experiment the value of the different methods in fine stock breed- ing, rotation of crops, selection of seed, etc. These experiments he is constantly carrying 01, his being almost an experimental farm for that section. He has raised the standard of the agricultural methods of his township and freely gives of his experiences for the benefit of his neighbors.
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He is a Republican in politics, and al- though deeply interested in public affairs, never desired or sought public office. He stands for what is pure and honest in local government and wields an influence exerted only for good. He is a member and an elder of the First Presbyterian Church of Union- town and interested in all god works. While not deeply interested in business other than agriculture, he yet holds a position in the directorate of the First National Bank of Uniontown, and the same position in the Richhill Coke Company.
He married, January 12, 1887, Catherine Mays Ruple, born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, daughter of General James B. and Sarah A. (Mays) Ruple. Children, all born in Menallen township, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, and living at home: 1. Helen Ruple, born November 9, 1887, graduate of Washington Seminary. 2. Jasper Markle, born January 5, 1889, a student at Washing- ton and Jefferson College. 3. Catherine M., born January 26, 1895, student at Washing- ton Seminary.
(The Ruple Line.)
The Ruples, originally from Germany, set- tled in Philadelphia, where Baltus Ruple, the tounder of the family, was born about the year 1740. Shortly after the revolution he moved to Morris county, New Jersey, where he lived until 1794, when he came to western Pennsyl- vania, locating in Washington county near the line of Morris and Finley townships, two miles north of Prosperity Village. He died there the following year. He was twice married, his second wife being Anna McCallum, the inother of his five children: Colonel James, David, Elizabeth, Mary and Margaret. By his first wife he had: John, Ruth and Samuel. His widow married (second) Major Charles Cracraft, a pioneer and Indian fighter, who on several occasions was captured by his red foes, but always escaped.
(II) Colonel James Ruple, eldest son of Baltus Ruple, was born in Morris county, New Jersey, February 18, 1788. He was six years of age when his father came to western Pennsylvania, where he received a fair educa- tion and grew to manhood on the homestead farm. Before attaining his majority he went to the town of Washington, where he learned the carpenter's trade with Samuel Hughes. He became a leading contractor and builder
of Washington county, continuing until a few years prior to his death, when he became a brick manufacturer on a large scale. Shortly after the war was declared against Great Brit- ain in 1812 he enlisted as a volunteer and was chosen first lieutenant of Captain Sample's company, and upon the formation of the regi- ment was promoted adjutant. He was in service at Black Rock (Buffalo) on the Niag- ara frontier and served until the troops were discharged from duty there. In 1814, when the city of Washington was reported threat- ened, he quit his business, uniformed his ap- prentices and started with them to the seat of war. They were, however, ordered to re- turn before reaching the state line. Shortly afterward a volunteer regiment was formed and Mr. Ruple was elected its colonel. In 1817 he was elected coroner of Washington county, holding the office three years. In 1828 he was appointed clerk of the county courts by Governor Shultz, and in 1830 was reappointed by Governor Wolf, serving six years. In January, 1839, he was appointed to the same office by Governor Porter, and in October of the same year was elected un- der the provisions of the amended state con- stitution, serving three years. He died Jan- mary 8, 1855. He married, in 1809, Diana Goodrich, born in New York state near the Connecticut line, a descendant of William Goodrich, who came from England to New England in 1643 with his brother John. Wil- liam Goodrich married Sarah Marvin and be- came a man of consequence in Connecticut. His son John married Rebecca Allen and lived in Weathersfield, Connecticut. Their son Jaoch, born November 27, 1694, married Benedict, daughter of Nathaniel and Mehit- able (Porter) Goodwin, and lived in Wethers- field and Windsor, Connecticut. Their son Elijah, born July 3 ,1724, married, August 20, 1752, Margaret Gillett, resided at Windsor, Connecticut, and Hancock, Massachusetts. Their son Jesse, born October 28. 1759, died September 21, 1852, married, January 16, 1782, Dinah or Di na Bishop. Their daugh- ter Dinah or Diana, born January 16, 1789, died December 14, 1885, aged ninety-six years, married Colonel James Ruplc. She came to Washington county, Pennsylvania, with her parents shortly after the year 1800. Children of Colonel James Ruple: I. Eliza- beth, deceased; married John Ruth, of Wash-
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ington county, Pennsylvania. 2. James B., of whom further. 3. Minerva, married Henry M. Buston, whom she survives, a resident of Ohio. 4. Joseph C., died in Washington county, Pennsylvania. 5. Dr. Samuel H., a practicing physician of Illinois. 6. Sarah, de- ceased; married William Acheson. 7. Rebec- ca, married Rev. L. P. Streator, of Washing- ton, Pennsylvania. 8. Anna, married John D. Brading, of Washington, Pennsylvania. 9. John, resides in Washington, Pennsylvania. 10. David, deceased. II. Henry. 12. Ruth.
(III) General James B. Ruple, son of Colonel James Ruple, was born June 3, 1812, in Washington county, Pennsylvania, died March, 1901. At the age of twelve years he became his father's assistant in the manufac- ture of fanning mills. The wire screens used had to be bought for cash in Pittsburgh, and, times being hard, father and son attempted to make wire screens themselves. The experi- ment was a success, and when prosperity again came to the country in 1826 they did a good business among the millers of that section. They made all kinds of milling, wire screens, sieves, riddles, etc., laten adding wire rat and mouse traps.
When a boy of fourteen he was afflicted with a disease that left him a partial cripple for several years. When more advanced in years he became a clerk in the county offices. In 1832 he moved to Greenbrier county, Vir- ginia, where he engaged in the manufacture of fanning mills, continuing until 1835 or 1836. At the request of his friend, John A. North, clerk of the court of appeals for the western district of Virginia, he accepted a sit- uation in the latter's office, continuing a few years, then returning to Washington, Penn- sylvania. Here he was clerk in the post office, then the heaviest distributing office in the country. He spent the following summer working out of doors at carpentering and in the winter he went south to Louisiana. Here malaria drove him north again, and in the fall of 1837, in company with T. B. Bryson, he engaged in cabinetmaking, but was compelled again by his health to abandon business. In January, 1839, he was appointed to a clerk- ship in the office of the secretary of state at Harrisburg, serving under Governor David R. Porter until 1845. Prior to this he had bought a half interest in the Washington Examiner and for four years was connected
with that journal in partnership with T. W. Grayson. In 1852 he was appointed deputy sheriff by John McAllister, sheriff of Wash- ington county, serving three years. He was then acting prothonotary of the court of com- mnon pleas during the illness of W. S. Moone. In 1857 he was elected to that office and re- elected in 1860, serving in that office eight years in all. Like his father, he was a Den- ocrat, but in 1854 he split with his party and ever after acted with the Republican party. In February, 1867, he was appointed by Pres- ident Andrew Johnson as assessor of internal revenue of the twenty-fourth Pennsylvania district, serving four years. He, later lived a retired life. He gained his military title of general by service in the National Guard of Pennsylvania. In 1836 he was elected cap- tain, and in 1846 was appointed by Governor Shunk a member of his staff with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. In 1855 he was commis- sioned brigadier-general of Pennsylvania militia.
General Ruple married, September 24, 1839, Sarah A., daughter of Charles Mays, one of the oldest settlers of Washington county, Pennsylvania. Children: I. Charles M., now an attorney of Washington, Pennsylvania. 2. James Goodrich, district passenger agent of the Pennsylvania railroad, located at Pitts- burgh. 3. Virginia, married Rev. J. J. Jones, of Washington, Pennsylvania, whom she sur- vives. 4. Anna M., of Washington, Pennsyl- vania. 5. Frank W., of Columbus, Georgia, connected with the Georgia Central railroad. 6. Catherine Mays, of previous mention, wife of William M. Thompson. 7. Etta, married Dr. A. J. Culbertson, of Washington, Penn- sylvania.
HARMAN The Harmans, originally from Germany, settled at an early date in Westmoreland coun- ty, Pennsylvania, where Andrew Harman was born, lived and died. He was a farmer and dealt largely in live stock. He raised a great deal of stock on his own farm, which, with his purchases he formed into droves and sent on the hoof to eastern markets. Until the railroads came they had to be driven the en- tire distance. He served in the war between the states, and was a man of influence in his town. He married Mary M. Shaffer. Chil-
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dren: 1. Henry, of whom further. 2. John, a .J. W. Ruth, of Scottdale, Pennsylvania. In farmer of Donegal township, Westmoreland county. 3. Panina, married John Getemey. whom she survives, a resident of Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
(11) Henry, a son of Andrew Harman, was born in Donegal township, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in 1844. He learned the carpenter's trade, and also owned and con- ducted a farm when a young man. In 1880 he moved to Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. After the Johnstown flood he engaged in the rebuilding of that town, carrying on a large contracting and building business. He is now living practically retired. He and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he is a Democrat. He married Mary Barkley, born in Donegal township, in 1844, died May, 1898, daughter of John Bark- ley, a farmer of Donegal township, of an early Westmoreland county family. Children of John Barkley and wife: I. Hiram, now a farmer of Donegal. 2. Mary, of previous mention. Children of Henry and Mary Har- inan: I. Ezra N., married a Miss Hoyman and resides at Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania ; he is a well-to-do real estate dealer, specializ- ing in farm property. 2. Emma, married W. S. Huffman, a livery man of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. 3. Allen, resides in Connells- ville, Pennsylvania; baggage master with the Baltimore & Ohio railroad; married a Miss Crytsner. 4. George, a Pennsylvania railroad employe living at Youngwood, Pennsylva- nia; married a Miss Seamon. 5. Elizabeth, died 1903: married Isaac Bungard. 6. Isaac, died 1903; was a liveryman of Mount Pleas- ant, Pennsylvania; married Miss Hood. 7 Minnie, married W. E. Rumbaugh, and lives at Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. 8. John Henry, of whom further.
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