USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Bridgeport > Hart's history and directory of the three towns, Brownsville, Bridgeport, West Brownsville also abridged history of Fayette county & western Pennsylvania > Part 25
USA > Pennsylvania > Washington County > West Brownsville > Hart's history and directory of the three towns, Brownsville, Bridgeport, West Brownsville also abridged history of Fayette county & western Pennsylvania > Part 25
USA > Pennsylvania > Fayette County > Brownsville > Hart's history and directory of the three towns, Brownsville, Bridgeport, West Brownsville also abridged history of Fayette county & western Pennsylvania > Part 25
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45
Disinterment and re-interment in new grave, child under 10 years 10.00 Disinterment and re-interment in new grave, child under 1 year. . 8.00
No. 3. In case of disinterment from the single graves, for removal of the remains out of the Cemetery, or for re-interment in lots belonging to or pur- chased from other owners, no allowance shall be made for the grave vacated, the use of the ground being considered as an equivalent for the amount originally paid.
PROVISION.
Whenever any person shall have selected a lot, and paid part of the pur- chase money, but has refused or neglected to pay the remainder, and stands indebted therefor, for a term of one year, he shall forfeit his right to any further occupancy of said lot, and no permit for an interment shall be granted to him or his heirs until all arrearages due, principal and interest, are paid; and if said persons shall neglect to pay said arrearages for the further term of one year after being served with a notice of his delinquency, on said lot therein, the bodies shall be removed, and the lot sold; or the graves shall be leveled. and the lot set apart as a portion of the ornamental part of said Cemetery, as the directors may decide in cach case.
ENDOWMENT FUND.
There is a mode of providing for the care of a lot and monuments for all time. This Endowment Fund is designed for those who wish to provide a fund, the income of which shall be spent as it is needed, in keeping in repair, tombs, monuments, etc. It is founded on An Act passed May 14th, 1874, entitled, "An Act to permit Cemetery companies, not organized for the purpose of corporate profit, to take and hold any grant, donation or bequest of property. for the use herein mentioned."
Those who wish to avail themselves of the benefit of this Act, will find the following form of agreements in complete conformity with the law, to wit :
ARTICLE OF AGREEMENT.
THIS AGREEMENT, Made this day of. A. D. 18. ... , between of the one part, and the Board of Directors of the Bridgeport Cemetery, in the County of Fayette and State of Pennsylvania, of the other part:
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Article of Agreement
WITNESSETH, that the said. has deposited with the Bridgeport Cemetery Company, the sum of $25, in consideration of which the said Directors, for themselves and their successors, hereby agree to receive and hold the said sum in trust forever, and invest the same with other of like character, and to apply the income therefrom, from time to time, under the supervision of the Directors for the time being, to the re- pair and preservation of any headstone, tomb or monument, or for planting or cultivating trees and shrubs, upon or in Lot No. Section
, in the said Bridgeport cemetery, and the surplus, if any, at the end of each year, to remain as a sinking fund, to be applied solely and exclusively to the repair and keeping in order, said Lot . Section.
PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That the said Directors shall never be responsi- ble for their conduct in the discharge of such trust, except for good faith, and such reasonable diligence as may be required of mere gratuitious agents and provided further, that the said Directors shall in no case be obliged to make seperate investment of the sum so given, and that the average income derived from all funds of the like nature belonging to the Corporation, shall be divided annually, and carried proportionately to the credit of cach lot entitled thereto. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, The said has hereunto set
. hand, and the Directors of the Bridgeport Cemetery Company have hereunto set their corporate seal, together with the signature of the President and Treasurer, this. day of. President.
Treasurer.
As the income of the company will cease when the lots are all sold, a sinking fund has been created from the interest of which the cemetery will then be maintained. This sinking fund already amounts to $2,000 and it is hoped that it will be increased by donations, and from the surplus on the sale of lots after deducting current expenses, as the years go by.
NOT ORGANIZED FOR PROFIT.
As will be seen by article sixth, this cemetery company was not organized for profit and the business of the corportion is done under the provision of an act of assembly approved the 14th day of May, 1874. Many public men of the Three Towns among whom the most prominent was Roland C. Rogers, donated liberally to the fund for the erection and maintenance of the come- tery in the earlier days of its existence and still continue to do so. It is a fact worthy of comment and commendation that while Bridgeport has always been active in promulgating public institutions and enterprises for the better- ment and benefit of the living, it has not neglected to provide a peaceful. quiet and withall a beautiful home for the repose of the ashes of those who have passed down over the great divide and beyond the vale that divides time from eternity.
Biographies of Borough Officials ( Bridgeport)
THOMAS A. JEFFRIES is a son of William and Rachel (Dixon) Jeffries and was born at Scarights, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, August 5, 1868. He received his education in the New Salem public schools and at Waynesburg College.
On completing his education, Prof. Jeffries selected the profession of teaching, which he followed with the most flattering success for ten years. He was principal of the public schools of New Salem two years, Masontown two years, Fayette City four years, and Belle Vernon two years.
When Prof. Porter died in 1902, Prof. Jeffries came to Bridgeport and bought out his real estate and insurance business, at which he has since been engaged. While Prof. Jeffries has always taken an active part in polities he has never sought public office. However, in the spring of 1903 he was prevailed upon by his freinds to accept the nomination for burgess of Bridgeport on the Republican ticket and was elected by a large majority and is still serving with credit to himself and satisfaction to the people of Bridgeport.
In Waynesburg, August 7, 1893, he married Miss Emma J. Goodwin and to them have been born the following children: Helen G., Thomas A., Jr., Margaret M., and Joseph A.
Prof. Thomas A. Jefferies is a man of exceptional ability, a deep and close student, a fluent and forceful speaker and the ranks of pedagogy lost a valued member when he sought other fields of labor.
WILLIAM VINCENT WINANS was born at Florence, Washington County, Pennsylvania, July 21, 1857. He is a son of J. V. and Elizabeth (Cannon) Winans. He received his education in the public schools of New Brighton and on leaving school learned the printing trade which he followed for a number of years. He served for eight years in the government printing office in Washington, D. C., and three years with the New York Times.
In 1889 he came to Bridgeport and in 1891 became manager of the Ph. Hamburger Distilling Co., which position he still occupies. He is a Re- publican and an active worker in his party and is now serving his second term as a member of the council of the borough of Bridgeport, being chosen president both terms, and was elected as delegate to the State convention in 1896.
GEORGE L. MOORE is the son of William B. and Eliza Ann (Sharp) Moore, and was born in Luzerne Township, Fayette County, Pa., October 30, 1843. At the age of twelve years he accepted a position of errand or cabin boy on one of the steamboats plying on the Monongahela river and continued in this position for five years, except in winter when he attended school at home. Ile subsequently attended the State Normal School then located at Millsboro,
297
Dr. Henry Eastman - Levi B. Waggoner
Washington County, and at the age of eighteen years commeneed teaching district school in Fayette County, at which he continued during the winter for about eight years. In 1868 he entered the mercantile business with his brother at Millsboro but sold out his interest to his brother in 1873 and came to Bridgeport where he entered into partnership with C. W. Wance, the firm name being Moore & Wanee, dealers in hardware and agricultural implements. In 1875 Mr. Wanee died and Mr. Moore became sole proprietor. He has continued in this business ever since and has met with flattering success.
Mr. Moore was one of the prime movers in organizing the first company to drill for natural gas at or near Bridgeport, and since then has been inter- ested in several companies that have operated here, or near here, with varied degrees of success.
In 1873 Mr. Moore married Miss Emma F. Gibbons, daughter of E. P. Gibbons of Luzerne Township. To this union were born five children namely Guy G., Frank D., Charles L., Carl F., and Elisha P. Mr. Moore has always been a staunch Republican but has never sought political office. He has been a member of the school board for many years and is at present president of that body. While he is conservative in business matters he is liberal in aid of all worthy public enterprises and active in promoting the best interests of the community in which he lives.
DR. HENRY EASTMAN is a son of Dr. Henry Eastman, Sr., and Mary E. (Porter) Eastman, and was born at Merrittstown, Fayette County, Penn- sylvania, September 17, 1869. His great-grandfather. Ebenezer Eastman was a son of one of the pioncer settlers of New Hampshire and served as a captain in the battle of Bunker Hill during the Revolution.
Dr. Henry Eastman was educated at St. Vincent's Academy, Latrobe, Pa. From there he went to Mt. Union College at Alliance, Ohio. He entered Jefferson Medical College in ISSS and graduated with the class of 1892. He was immediately appointed surgeon of the Northern Pacific Railroad with headquarters at Missoula, Montana. He remained there about two years when he came to Bridgeport, where he has since practiced medicine with marked success.
In February, 1903, he formed a partnership with Dr. Wilbur M. Lilley and the two have built up a lucrative practice in and around the Three Towns.
He is surgeon for the Monongahela Railroad and also for the P. & L. E. and the Pennsylvania. Dr. Eastman has large coal interests in Greene and Washington Counties, Pennsylvania, and extensive mining interests in Montana and Alaska.
July 2. 1902, Dr. Eastman married Miss Evelyn Gates, daughter of D. O. and Flora (Cooper) Gates of Buffalo, New York. They now reside on Second Street, Bridgeport. Dr. Eastman is now serving as president of the board of health.
LEVI CRAFT WAGGONER was born in Brownsville, Fayette County, Penn- sylvania, December 28, 1851, and is a son of George and Mary M. (Craft) Waggoner. He is of German extraction, his great-grandfather, George
298
David M. Hart
Waggoner having been born in Germany but came to this country about the middle of the eighteenth century.
Levi C. Waggoner received his education in the Brownsville and Grindstone schools and afterwards learned the trade of marble cutting with the firm of M. & T. S. Wright at which he continued for ten years in Brownsville and two years in Pittsburg. In 1880 he embarked in the mercantile business opening a grocery and provision store in Brownsville, which he sold several years ago.
In September, 1875, he married Miss Ella W. Aubrey, daughter of the late Thomas and Maria (Boyd) Aubrey. They have four children, Thomas A., teller of the Monongahela National Bank; Leroy C., Carrie and Nellie.
Mr. Waggoner is a member of the I. O. O. F. and Royal Arcanum. He is one of the projectors of and for a long time president of the Brownsville Natural Gas Company. He has always been actively identified with the Republican party and has served a number of times as central committeeman and as delegate to conventions. He was burgess of Bridgeport where they now live, for three years, and assessor four years, retiring last spring. He is also a director of the Monongahela National Bank of Brownsville, and is senior member of the firm of Waggoner & Lilley, paving and sewer contractors.
DAVID MOFFITT HART who came to Bridgeport in 1869, is a native of Washington County, Pa., and was born near Centreville, September 15, 1832, and is the son of James Gibson and Isabel (Moffitt) Hart. His father was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, January 2, 1807, and moved with his parents to Washington County where he learned the trade of weaver and fuller of woolen cloth. He was prominent in politics, being a Whig until the Republican party was formed when he joined its ranks. He served two terms as associate judge of Washington County. He died in 1885.
David M. Hart, after completing the common-school course in the schools of Centreville, Washington County, studied the higher branches under the tutorship of Samuel Linton and his brother. Having completed his educa- tion he devoted himself to farming for the next four years. He then accepted a position as clerk in a drug store in Jefferson, Greene County, where he continued till 1854 when he purchased a sawmill in West Bethlehem Town- ship, Washington County. With this he was eminently successful. He also operated a sawmill near Brownsville and one in Preston County, West Virginia. He retired from the lumber business in 1880.
Mr. Hart has always been an active and progressive citizen, and taken a deep interest in all commendable public enterprises. He has always been a staunch Republican and was elected burgess of Bridgeport in 1880 in which official capacity he served two terms. He has twice been elected member of the borough council serving as president and was also a member of the school board for three years, and is now a justice of the peace. September 12, 1862 he enlisted in Company E, 14th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers.
Mr. Hart has been married twice. May 1. 1856 he married Miss Peria Rex, daughter of Charles Rex, of Jefferson. Greene County. While on their wedding tour, Mrs. Hart was stricken with typhoid fever in St. Louis and died
1
299
Daniel H. Pearsall
there. Her remains were brought home and buried in Greene County. Mr. Hart was married a second time July 26, 1869, to Miss Sarah M. Wilgus, daughter of John S. and Barbaretta (Hunter) Wilgus. Sarah M. Wilgus was born in Fayette City, Fayette County, Pa., May 1, 1818. She was the second in a family of seven children. Her father was born in Perryopolis, Fayette County, Pa., October 28, 1823 and moved to Bridgeport in 1850 and engaged in the manufacture of boots and shoes and in the general mercantile business. In 1873 he was appointed postmaster of Brownsville in which office he continued five years. (See further notice in his biography.)
To David M. and Sarah Hart were born ten children, J. Percy. Wallace A .. Peria A., Russell, Lawrence W., Kenneth M .. James G., Isabel M., J. Wilgus, and David M., Jr., all of whom are living except Russell. Mr. Hart has retired from business and though in his seventy-second year still takes an active interest in public affairs and is one of the best-posted men in Bridgeport particularly concerning the carly history of the Three Towns and Fayette County.
DANIEL H. PEARSALL is a son of Daniel and Sarah (Hingley) Pearsall. He was born at South Staffordshire, England, August 4, 1852.
Daniel Pearsall was a miner in England, where he died. His wife came to America in July, 1880, and eight years later died at Brownsville in the sixty- fourth year of her age.
Daniel H. Pearsall attended pay schools in England until thirteen years of age, when he learned the trade of puddler. After five years of experience as a puddler, he came to the United States, locating at Saw Mill Run in Allegheny County, and engaged in mining coal for seven years. In 1877 he removed to California, Washington County, and continued in coal mining for one year.
After eight years' hard labor, by prudence and economy he acquired a small sum of money. He invested this money, assisting to organize the Knob Coal Company. The Knob Coal Company was organized in February, 1878, leased and operated for five years. The coal bank is one-half mile north of West Brownsville. In 1882, with fifteen others, bought the bank and christened it "The Knob Coal Works." They are well equipped with the latest machinery for the mining, breaking, screening and shipping of coal. Daniel and Samuel Pearsall owned eleven of the sixteen shares. The company employed from 125 to 150 men, and their yearly output was about one million and a half bushels of coal.
In 1882 he was elected by the company to take charge of their general store at Bridgeport, and as such still continued until the sale of the work in 1900 to the Monongahela River Consolidated Coal and Coke Company.
In 1872 Mr. Pearsall married Miss Tillie Leadbater of Sand Creek, Alle- gheny County. They have four children, Henrietta, Eva, Sarah and Minnie. He is a K. of P., a member of the Royal Arcanum and Masonic fraternity. and is now a member of the school board of Bridgeport.
Mr. Pearsall has large coal interests, being treasurer for about a dozen dif- ferent companies. He has one of the finest greenhouses in the Monongahela
300
Uriah F. Higinbotham
Valley, and takes great delight in working among the flowers, where he spends all of his leisure moments.
URIAII F. HIGINBOTHAM is a son of Uriah and Tabitha (Edington) Higginbotham and was born in Redstone Township, Fayette County, Penn- sylvania, November 30, 1858. He was educated in the common schools of his township, in Dunlap's Creek Academy and in the Southwestern State Normal College. He has served several terms as school director.
Mr. Higinbotham has always been actively engaged in business, having taken up many different lines and prosecuted each successfully. On leaving school, he returned to the farm where he remained till 1884 when he went to Kansas and formed a partnership with A. G. Miller. They purchased 1,000 acres of land, well improved, and stocked it with fine cattle. In 1888 he sold out his interest and returned to Bridgeport where he bought the Pros- pect Flouring Mills and adjacent lands. In 1892-3 he was proprietor of the famous Barr House in Bridgeport. He next bought Seaborn Crawford's furniture store in Brownsville, and after running that business for three years, he sold it to Steele & Ross. He is at present engaged in farming and stock raising.
In 1889, Mr. Higinbotham was elected a member of the Bridgeport borough council and is at present serving his second term as a member of the board of education. He has always affiliated with the Republican party.
In 1880 Mr. Higinbotham married Miss Emma V. Miller, daughter of Oliver and Mary (Gibson) Miller and to this union there were born two daughters, Ethel M. and Margaret T.
HENRY WARNER MOSSETT is a son of Charles and Louisa (Warner) Mossett, and was born in Luzerne Township, April S. 1852. He received his educa- tion in the common schools and in the California Normal, attending the latter two terms.
Mr. Mossett followed the river from 1862 to 1871 as cabin boy first and later as cook and as striking engineer. In 1876 he commeneed teaching school and followed that profession for five years teaching eleven terms (summer and winter). He served as janitor of the Bridgeport High School for one year and is now janitor of the Monongahela Railroad union station.
He was twice elected as school director of Bridgeport and is at present serv- ing his second term as auditor of the borough. Mr. Mossett is the first colored man who ever served as inspector of elections in Luzerne township.
February 29, 1871, he married Miss Annie Honesty, daughter of Nelson and Rithener (Butler) Honesty of Bridgeport, and to this union were born three children, Oliver N., Charles E. (deceased), and William S.
HARRY MARSHALL is a native of Bridgeport, and was born Nov. 8, 1862. He is a son of Thomas R. and Jane (DeLaney) Marshall. He received his education in the Bridgeport common and high schools but at the age of thirteen he quit school and commenced clerking in a grocery store for his
301
George M. Rathmmell- O. K. Martin
mother on Bridgeport hill. Here he continued till February 12, 1894, when he went into the meat business with Win. Garred. At the end of the first year he bought out Mr. Garred and has since continued the business at the same stand in the "Neck." In connection with this he has also been con- ducting a real estate business for the past two years, the firm name now being Marshall & Hart.
He served one term as mercantile appraiser of Fayette County. He has also served his party as central committeeman, being a staunch Republican. The borough has honored him with the office of member of the board of educa- tion and he is at present serving his sixth year as a councilman. He is a man of exceptional energy and executive ability and endowed with that degree of public spirit that fosters every commendable public enterprise that is for the betterment of the community.
On October 1, 1890, he married Miss Emily, daughter of William and Jane Swan of Luzerne Township, Fayette County, Pa., and to them have been born five children, namely Jane, Henry, William, Harold, and Ruth, (deceased).
GEORGE M. RATHMELL is a son of John Jacob and Anna (Mathews) Rath- mell, and was born March 9, 1865, in Bridgeport, Pa., where he received his education and where he has always resided. After completing his education he secured a position as clerk in the drug store of H. W. Robinson where he remained for about ten years. He then commenced the drug business for himself at his present place of business with his brother A. Ross Rathmell as partner, and success has crowned their efforts.
George M. Rathmell has taken an active part in the politics of his town and county and is at present a member of the Republican Central Committee. He has served as member of the board of education and is at present a member of the Bridgeport borough council.
OLIVER KNIGHT MARTIN Was born in Bridgeport, Fayette County, Penn- sylvania, February 14, 1874, and is a son of James and Kate (Norcross) Martin. He received his education in the public schools of Bridgeport and after finishing the common-school course, he commenced working at the carpenter trade at which he has ever since been engaged.
While Mr. Martin has never aspired to office, his popularity is shown in the fact that his fellow-citizens honored him with the position of councilman in 1898 and have kept him in that position ever since, having re-elected him again for a three-year term in the spring of 1904. He is a young man of energy and ability and is bound to make his mark in the world.
B. R. A. TILGHMAN, was born in Bridgeport, Fayette County, Pa., May 10, 1862, and was educated in the public schools of the borough. He is the son of Richard and Mary E. Tilghman. For some years Mr. Tilghman followed mining but for the last twenty years he has been engaged as cook at the different hotels and is an expert in that line.
Mr. Tilghman is a Republican in politics and has always taken an active
302
Edwin P. Couse - Dr. A. C. Smith
interest in public affairs. He is now serving his fifth year as councilman of the borough of Bridgeport and has served as clerk of elections, inspector of elections and in other minor elective and appointive offices.
EDWIN PHILIPS COUSE was born in Sandy Creek Township, Mercer County, Pa., February 20, 1868, and received his education in the common schools at Grove City and at Allegheny College graduating with the class of 1889. He is a son of William P. and Sarah (Philips) Couse.
Mr. Couse spent his early days on the farm and in the lumbering business and subsequently taught school several terms. He then entered the field of journalism at which he is still engaged. For ten years he was telegraph editor of the Pittsburg Leader. He was also on the reportorial staff for two years. In November, 1902 he came to Brownsville and purchased the Monitor which he has since conducted with great success. Mr. Couse is a Republican but has never aspired to public office though he is now serving as clerk of the Bridgeport council.
In 1894, Mr. Couse was married to Miss Henrietta Emma Miller, daughter of the late Squire James and Ruth (Cannon) Miller, and now resides at the old palatial Miller Homestead in Bridgeport. Mr. and Mrs. Couse have three children, Catherine Emily, James Miller, and Edwin Philips, Jr.
DR. ALFRED C. SMITH is a son of James R. and Mary J. (Ryburn) Smith and was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, Septemper 29, 1864. He was raised on the farm and received his early education in the common schools of his neighborhood, afterwards graduating from Sterling Medical College at Columbus, Ohio, and from the Kentucky School of Medicine at Louisville.
Dr. Smith continued working on the farm till 1886 when he went into the drug business and commenced the study of medicine attending and gradu- ating from the colleges above named. In 1898 he commenced the practice of medicine at which he has since continued and at which he has met with phenomenal success.
He is a Republican but has never sought political preferment, being too closely wed to his profession. He is now serving as a member of the Bridge- port board of health, served for a time as president of the board and is now secretary.
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