USA > Pennsylvania > Butler County > History of Butler County, Pennsylvania. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 40
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SPRINGDALE.
The attractive little villa known as Springdale, and situated in the southeast part of Butler Borough,
was laid out in 1872-73, by William S. Boyd, who came to Butler in 1834, and moved to the property on which he now resides in 1841. He purchased a farm of 150 acres, including a greater part of the site of Springdale, from Sheriff MeBride, in 1839. Originally, the land was a portion of a large tract owned by John MeQuistion, whose log house was built at an early day where Mr. Boyd's fine residence now stands.
Several years prior to the laying-out of Spring- dale, Mr. Boyd bought of Mrs. Mackey thirty seven and a half acres, lying between his first purchase and the town, and leaving her a piece of land on the I ree- port road, between his purchase and the Connoquen- essing. It was his intention to lay out a separate village, but, the land being included in the borough boundaries in 1871, the allotment became an addition to Butler. Mr. Boyd erected about fifty comfortable dwellings, and, in the years 1872, 1873 and 1874, one-half of them were sold. In 1873, he built the large structure opposite his home, for a temperance hotel, and, in 1874, built Springdale Hall. When the oil excitement subsided, the hotel could no longer be profitably carried on, and the building was used for other purposes, serving in 1880 as a ladies' sem- inary. The building is three stories in height, taste- fully constructed and spacious (its dimensions, 40x65 feet), and the time will doubtless soon arrive when it will be utilized. The hall has been used for various useful purposes, and for nine years has been the meeting-place of a large and well-conducted mission Sunday school. A day school has also been suc- cessfully carried on in the building.
Springdale presents a neat and thrifty appearance, and contains some of the pleasantest homes in But- ler. Its aspect and character are creditable both to the projector and the residents of the little village.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
DAVID DOUGAL.
The life of the strange man whose name heads this sketch was the latest severed of the links which bound the present generation to the pioneers. He came to Butler about the year 1800, and was an al most universally known character in town and coun- try until his death, which occurred November 8, 1581, at the remarkable age of one hundred and three years.
There is probably no means of determining the exact date of David Dougal's birth, but there can be no reasonable doubt that it was in the year 1775, and it was probably upon either the 21st or 23d day of September.
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.
He was born near the " Burnt Cabins, " in the vi- einity of what is now known as Fannetsburg. in Franklin County. Poun. His father was a Presby- terian preacher, and was instrumental in planting the first churches of his donomination in that vicinity. He was of Scotch descont.
David Dongal loft home when a very young man (possibly before arriving at his majority), and was engaged for some time as a clerk in the Prothonotary's office of Huntingdon County, and while there obtained a knowledge of surveying. From Huntingdon he went to Pittsburgh. and soon made his way into "the dark and bloody ground " of Kentucky, where he ac- quired a taste for adventure, and. in some respects, for the customs and habits of the Indians. From Kentneky the young man went to Detroit, where he acted for a time as a clerk in a trading post, and met many Indians. He also speut some time among them in what is now the State of Ohio. He returned to Huntingdon, and, as we have said, came here about 1800. That was the year the county was formed. Three years later, when Butler was laid out as the county seat, and the sale of lots ocenrred. Mr. Dou- gal bonght two -the ones which extend from the Dia- mond on both sides of Main street to what are now known as the Vogley and Etzel alleys -which ho held until the day of his death. Ho engaged in mer chandising, but did not long continuo in the business. as it was distasteful to him. " He took delight. " says an obituary notier. " in surveying, for this gave him the opportunity of roaming through the woods and associating with the settlers, whose rough ways of liv- ing suited him better." He did nearly all of the early surveying in Butter County, and had a wonder- fnl knowledge of the lines of districts, tracts and farms. He became the agent of the great land-owner, Stephen Lowrey, and continued in the capacity of Mrs. Collins' agent when Lowrey's lands came into her possession, and also was the agent of her heirs until he became so feeble that he was compelled to give up active business. At one time he was a large land- owner himself. He was the first County Commis sioners' Clerk, and afterward one of the Commission ers. He was always a very useful man to his fellow citizens, although very poenliar in his habits, His business ability was never questioned. His stock of general information was remarkable, and he was a man of muusual mental power. He was especially well versed in science, and there was scarcely a branch of this department of knowledge of which he was ig. norant, but he possessed withal a strong. speculative fancy, and was much given to philosophizing. His conversational abilities were inite remarkable, and he was mneh esteemed by the leading men of Butler and of the surrounding country who became acquainted.
In his last years. he was noted for his encyclopedial knowledge of local historieil matters, and conversa- tions with him upon these topics were eagerly sought. by the older citizens, to whom they were peculiarly interesting. He possessed a ready wit, and was very apt in reparteo, as many ean remember --- some. per- haps, to their sorrow. In religions doctrine, he might perhaps be called a Presbyterian. but he was too ee- centrie to be orthodox. Mr. Jacob Ziegler. who, per- haps, know him as well as any of his fellow-citizens, says of him, in an obituary in the Democratic Herald. that. "while ho nover attended church, he had an ut- tor contempt for the man who treated the forms of religion, as practiced in any church. with levity. * 4 He never sought to interfere with the religious convictions of any man."
We have said that he was peculiar. Doubtless his verentricities and his general manner of life tended as much or more to make him a marked figure in the town as his learning, and the fact that he was a pio- neer.
Notwithstanding the fact that he owned a large property, and could have surrounded himself with all the comforts of life, ho persisted in living in one of the smallest of the hut-like houses in " Dongal's Row," " surrounded by rubbish of all kinds, with a few broken chairs, and a bed that defied all civiliza tion: and in the midst of an odor that had not its like ontside of the rude tent of the untutored savage. In other words, ho despised all modern fashion, whether it pertained to eating, sleeping, clothing or comfort." Mr. Ziegler. from whom the above is quoted. says: " This was not the result of acquired habit. We al- ways believed, and believe yet. it was the result of an inward delight for the free and unrestrained life of the Indian." He never would improve any of the small, unsightly houses which he built in Butler. He considered them amply sufficient for any one to live in who was uot. as he used to say, "beset with sin and stinking with pride." lle was born and reared in a log cabin, and he maintained the manner of log cabin life until his death. His way of living was in no degroo dictated by anything like miserly feel- ing. He was gonerons to his tenants. If they had the means to pay, well and good; if they had not, ho permitted them to remain or move away, as they thought best. Notwithstanding the fact that. for a very long term of years, he rented his town and coun try property. he never issued a landlord's warrant. He was serupnlously fair in all his dealings, and con- scientions to the extreme in the discharge of basi- IPSS.
As we have said. this eccentric character passed away November 8, 1881. He was an honest man, and the last of the Butler County pioneers.
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.
ROBERT GRAHAM.
Robert Graham was a pioneer of 1797, and his family was doubtless the first which settled within the present limits of the borough of Butler. They resided in a log cabin where Mr. Daugherty's fine honse now stands, near the North Cemetery, and the location was near but not inside of the original town płat. Robert (traham was born on the banks of the Susquehanna, near Harrisburg, in the year 1768, and emigrated from there to Washington County with his father's family when a young man. He was the youngest of several brothers: was of Scotch- Irish de- seent, and in his religious views was a Presbyterian, and, for a period of forty years before his death, which ocenrred in 1849, he was an Elder in the But- ler Church. Mr. Graham married, about the year 1800, Miss Sarah Brown, a sister of Robert Brown, of Middlesex Township. Their children were Will- iam, the first child born in Butler, who died near Pittsburgh, leaving a family; Robert, who died in Penn Township, also leaving a family; James, who is a resident of Williamsport; John B., who is still living in Butler; Rachel, deceased; Mary (Heiner). of Kattanning; Williamson, who lives in Oakland. Cal .: Samuel, who died when a young man: Sar- ah (Reed), of MeKeesport; Lydia (Crawford), of Al- legheny County: and Ebenezer, who is a resident of Butler.
Walter Graham, son of John B .. "is a resident of Butler, and an attorney at law. He was a mom- ber of the convention which nominated Lincoln in 1860.
Lloyd Graham, son of James, is a successful Pres- byterian clergyman in Philadelphia.
William Graham, son of Williamson, is an attorney of Oakland. Cal.
JOHN NEGLEY.
The man whose name stands at the head of this sketeh was one of the first settlers in the vicinity of Butler, and. for a period of seventy years. he was prominently identified with the history of the town and eounty. He was born in Fort Ligonier, West- moreland Co., Penn., April 6, 1778. His parents were moving West from Bucks County, and, owing to the hostility of the Indians, were'obliged to take shelter. with others, in the fort. Shortly; after his birth, they moved on, and settled at East Liberty. Allegheny County. The subject of our sketch first eame into what is now Butler County (then a part of Allegheny) in 1799, when he was twenty-one years of age. Before making his final settlement, he made two trips through Northwestern Pennsylvania, or at least that part of it now included in the counties of Venango, Mereer, Crawford and Erie, in search of a
favorable location. It seems that he was best pleased with the site of Butler Borough, for, in the year 1800, almost immediately after Butler was erveted as a separate county, and three years before the town was founded, he settled hore. He was at first employed by John and Samuel Cunningham in their mill-the first fouring mill erected on the Connoquenessing Creek at Butler-which stood where the Walter & Boos mill now stands. Shortly afterward. about 1806, he purchased the mill and a considerable body of land around it. He established a woolen-mill in connection with the flouring-mill, and also a cabinet shop near by (as has been already more fully related in the history of the borongh). He carried on vari- ous lines of business, and entered largely into real estate investments. He was a man of mueh force of character. large exeentive ability and correct princi- ples. His worth was quickly recognized by the poo- ple of the town, which grew up after he made his set tlement on the banks of the Connoquenessing, and by the citizens of the county. We find that he was elected to the General Assembly as early as 1809, and again in 1821 and 1822. He was Prothonotary of the county, and held various other offices of trust and honor within the gift of the citizens of county and borough, as the lists of officials show. During his early life and middle age, he was a Democrat, but his political views underwent a change in 1556. and he voted for Fremont for President. He was a man of strong religious tendency, and a member of the German Lutheran Church. He contributed liberally toward the erectiou of the old house of worship of this denomination, as well as to all of the other church edifices built in Batler during his long resi- denee here. His benevolence found expression, too, in various other ways beneficial to individuals and the community. When he died, August 11, 1570, aged ninety-two years four months and five days, ho was buried in the South Cemetery. in ground given by him for the dead. A massive marble monument marks the resting. place of this departed pioneer, one of the latest lingering of all that band of sturdy men who formed the vanguard of the army of civilization in this region.
In 1816. John Negley was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Ann Patterson, who died in Angnst. 1835. They were the parents of ten children. viz. : Mary B. (Muntz), living in Butler: Elizabeth H., de- ceased Angust, 1835; Snsan A (Patterson). in But ler: John Henry, of whom a biography appears elso- where. also in Butler; Felix Casper. living in Pitts burgh: Minerva (Haseltine), de wased IS59; And MeLean. also deceased: James Alexander. living in Allegheny City. Poun .; William Clark. deceased 1850; Albert Gallatin, living in Pittsburgh.
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.
ABRAHAM BRINKER.
Abraham Brinker came from Northampton Conu . ty to Westinoreland County, and thenco to Butler. in 1801. He built a log honse sonth of the site of the court house, in which he kept tavern a number of years. He afterward moved to a farm on Bonny Brook, where he built a mill, a carding mill, distil Jery, etc. He was one of the most prominent and enterprising men of his time. Ho served as a Cap- tain in the war of 1812, and held several local offices. He died at his home, in Summit Township, in 1850. His widow. Eliza (Moser) Brinker, lived some years after him, and died in Butler. Her children were Jacob, John, Henry, Catharine ( McCandless), Susan (Henry), Polly (Henry), Elisa ( Prosser), Louisa ( Mc- Langhlin), Sarah (Ziegler), Amy M. (Ritchie). Mrs. Prosser, wife of Charles Prosser, Esq., of Centerville, is the only survivor.
JOSEPH TURNER.
In 1832. Joseph Turner and family emigrated from Ireland to this eounty, and settled at Butler. 1 step-daughter of Turner's. Ellen Frazier, married Samuel S. Wilson, who came from Clarion County. He lived at Butler and worked at wool-carding until his death, in 1853. Mrs. Wilson died in ISS1. Two children survive-Sammel, Detroit, Mich .: and James S., hardware merchant, Centerville.
WALTER LOWRIE.
No citizen of Butler County has ever attained greater eminence or labored in a broader field of ex- alted usefulness than Hon. Walter Lowrie, the earthly chapter of whose life closed in 1868, after a long life tilled with earnest action and noble achievement.
The limits of such a sketch as we are necessarily contined to in this work are not sufficient for the pres- entation of the life history of such a character as was Hon. Walter Lowrie, but we can at least briefly ont line his remarkable earcer.
Walter Lowrie was born in Edinburgh. Scotland, December 10, 1784, and came to America with his parents, John and Catharine (Cameron) Lowrie, in 1792. The family first located in Huntingdon Coun ty, but. after a sojourn of only a few years, removed to Allegheny Township. Butler County, being among the earliest settlers. Hore the father and mother lived the remainder of their days, dying respectively in 1840 and 1837. John Lowrie owned a farm and a grist and saw mill, and was a prosperous pioneer. He was a man of sturdy character, and of large na- tive ability. Excellent moral traits, combined with high mental qualities, made him an honored man in the community in which he lived.
The subject of our sketch grew up on his father's farm. enjoying nothing more in the way of education than the home instruction of winter nights, and an occasional quarter's schooling. His parents were de- vont Presbyterians, and the young man had careful religious training. At an early age, he entered upon a course of study, with the ministry in view, and pur sned the Latin, Greek and Hebrew languages with great diligence, under the Rev. John McPherrin, of Butler. He came to Butler originally as a teacher, in 1807. A number of years later. his older brother, Matthew. and himself. opened a store in the village. which was conducted most of the time by clerks. Matthew never being actively engaged in the business, and the duties of public life soon absorbing all of Walter Lowrie's attention. In IS11, he was elected to the Senate of the State of Pennsylvania. a posi- tion to which he was repeatedly re-elected. In 1818, he was elected to the Senate of the United States, and served in that body with ability and distinction for six years. This period was one of great interest in the history of our country, owing to the importance of the measures then agitated. and the prominence of the men who were then guiding the affairs of the na- tion. Webster. Clay. Calhoun. Randolph. Benton. and many others scarcely less illustrious as statesinen and thinkers, were members of the Senate, and their powers were exerted in the discussion of the Missouri compromise and other great national themes. Among these eminent Senators, Walter Lowrie " occupied a position of honorable prominence. His great integ rity won their contilonce. whilst his peculiar sagae- ity and practical judgment led them to seek his ad- vice and rely npon his opinions. *
He was regarded by the Senators who knew him best as an anthority upon all questions of political history and constitutional law. During the discussion of the Missouri compromise, he made a speech, which is de- scribed as one of great power and force of argument. in which he took strong grounds against the exten- sion of slavery, and uttered his strong protest against the establishment of slave labor upon a single foot of free territory." The writer from whom we have quoted the foregoing contimmes: " His influence in the Senate was not only that of a statesman, but also of a Christian." He was one of the founders of the Congressional prayer-meeting, " which has ever since mingled the influences of prayer and faith with the councils of the nation." Ho was also one of the founders of the Congressional Temperance Society, and was for a long time a member of the Executive Committee of the American Colonization Society. and member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. At the expiration of his term of service as Senator, he was elected, in 1824. Secretary of the Senate, an
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.
office which he held for twelve years. This honora- ble and lucrative position he relinquished in 1836, to become Secretary of the then small, obscure and almost powerless Board of Foreign Missions, which he after- ward was the chief instrument in building to its present condition of stupendous importance. It is seldom that such an example of obedience to the dictates of duty is afforded as was set before the people in this action of Senator Lowrie's. Herelinquished a happy home. a position of ense and large emolument, the society of a large circle of eminent men. with whom he was on terms of the utmost intimacy, for a life in humble quarters, among strangers, in a city with which he was unfamiliar, and to assume an arduous position. the remuneration of which was scarcely sufficient to sustain him. He brought the strength of great ear- nestness of purpose to his new field of action. and be- came the efficient head of a great missionary work. His labors only terminated with his death, which oc- curred on the 14th of December, 1868. His eldest son, Rev. John C. Lowrie: his third son. Rev. Wal- ter M. Lowrie; and his fourth son. Rev. Reuben Lowrie, all became zealous laborers in the missionary field. The two last named fell as martyrs in the cause, Walter M. being murdered by Chinese pirates in 1847. and Reuben falling a victim to overwork and the enervating climate of India.
The subject of this brief biography was twice mar- ried. His first wife. Amelia McPherrin. to whom he was united in 1SOS, died in 1832. He afterward married Mary K. Childs.
REV. JOHN MCPHERRIN
The pioneer of Presbyterianism in Butler County and the first pastor of the church in Butler Borough was the Rev. John MePherrin. a man of much ability and large usefulness. He was born in Adams County Penn., November 17, 1757. His father's family subsequently removed to Westmoreland County. His studies preparatory to entering college were pursued with Rev. Robert Smith. D. D .. of Piqua. He gradnated at Dickinson College in 1788. His theo- logical education was pursued under the direction of Rev. John Clark, of Allegheny County. He was li- censed to preach by the Presbytery of Redstone, on the 20th of August. 1759. On the 224 of September in the following year, he was ordained by the same Presbytery. and installed as pastor of the congrega- tions of Salem and Unity, in Westmoreland County. where he remained until 1503.
In 1805, he became a member of the Presbytery of Erie, having removed to Butler County and ac cepted calls from the congregations of Concord and Muddy Creek. The records are not clear in regard
to this period of his pastoral labors. In 1809, he is reported as pastor of Concord and Harmony.
On the 7th of April, ISI3, he was installed as pastor of the church of Butler by the Presbytery of Erie. This was in connection with the church of Concord. Of this united charge he remained pastor until his death, a period of about nine years. His death took place at Butler on the 10th of February. 1822. in the sixty fifth year of his age and the thirty- third of his ministry.
He was a warm and zealous preacher, but "ap- pears to have been of a nervous, sensitivo tempera- ment, illy fitted for the rough contact with life. Dr. Loyal Young. his successor, relates the following of him: " For a few years, he labored under great men- tal depression. A sense of his unworthiness some- times led him to the conclusion that it was wrong for him to engage in ministerial work. Sometimes on Sabbath morning he would tell his wife that he could not preach that day, and would seom inclined not to till his appointment. She would persuade him to go and conduct prayers-meeting. if he could not preach. On sneh occasions he would generally preach sermons of unusual power."
A glimpse of the character of the pioneer preacher is afforded by the Hon. Walter Lowrie: " Mr. Mc- Pherrin did not write his sermons. He ned very brief but comprehensive notes. + * *
He was tall in person. his hair when I first saw him qnite gray. and his whole appearance the most venerable of any man I have ever seen. Decision and energy were the leading traits of his character. He knew not the fear of man, though sometimes his firmness degenerated into obstinacy. His natural temper was warm; hypocrisy formed no part of his character. aud his heart was the seat of friendship and good will to man. He possessed a strong mind and strong nat- ural abilities. *
* As a minister of the Gos pel. his zeal in his Master's canse 'never flagged. and his sincere desire to do good was his ruling passion through life. His eloquence was classically chaste. yet strong and nervous. His hearers were. in gen- eral. rather awed than charmed. more instructed than delighted. yet often did the tears of his andience flow before they were themselves aware of it " *
Mr. MePherrin was in early lite united in mar riage with Mary, daughter of John Stevenson, of Washington County. Several of his descendants have served the church in the ministry. Rov. J. C. Lowrie. D. D .. formerly a missionary to India, and the late Rev. Walter JF. Lowrie and Rev. Renben P. Lowrie, missionaries to China. and Rev. Josiah Me- Pherrin. of the Presbytery of Allegheny, are his grandsons.
From the ' History fthe Presbytery . Eri. "
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.
CAMPBELL P. PERVIANCE.
Campbell E. Purviance, son of John Purviance, Esq., was born in Butler on the 6th of May. 1506. At an early age, he learned the printing business in the office of Maurice and John Bredin. After work- ing some years at his trade, ho commenced the mercan tile business, and continued in that business until he bogan the manufacture of gunpowder. in which he was engaged about fourteen years, and up to the time ho was elected Prothonotary of the county, in ISIS,
About the time of the gold excitement in Califor- nia, he, with a number of others, went there, but the enterprise did not prove successful. When the late civil war commeneed, ho voluntepro l, and was ap- pointed and commissioned Commissary of Subsist- ence of volunteers, with the rank of Captain, on the 7th day of July. 1864, and was honorably discharged on the 10th of August, 1865, and for faithful service was brevetted Major.
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