History of Butler County, Pennsylvania, Part 84

Author: Brown, Robert C., ed; Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.); Meagher, John, jt. comp; Meginness, John Franklin, 1827-1899, jt. comp
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Chicago : R. C. Brown
Number of Pages: 1658

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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

poetry, and his little library was well stored with their works. He was an enter- prising, generous and liberal citizen, of a cheerful and hopeful temper, social in disposition, exemplary in all the relations of life, outspoken in his convictions, fearless in maintaining the right, and a good representative of the worthy band of pioneers who laid the foundations of Butler's prosperity.

JAMES SULLIVAN was born in Allegheny county, March 8, 1795, and be- came the possessor of the old homestead in Franklin township. Ile was a pros- perous farmer and for a short time a merchant. ' lle married Dorcas McGowan, to whom were born three children, two sons and one daughter. One of the sons is a lawyer in Pittsburg, the other a merchant in Beaver Falls, and the daughter is the wife of Dr. Richardson, of Prospect. Mr. Sullivan died many years since.

WILLIAM SULLIVAN was born on the old homestead in Butler county. December 5. 1804. Ile was for some years associated with his brother Aaron in the glass business at Birmingham. After his brother's death, he pursued the same business at Wheeling, West Virginia, for a while, then returned to Butler county, and lived for several years on a farm. He finally removed to New Al- bany, Indiana, where he resided until his death, successfully engaged in the mer- cantile business. llis widow and a daughter are residents of New Castle, Penn- sylvania.

CHARLES CRAVEN SULLIVAN was born at the old country home, in Butler county, March 10, ISO7, graduated at Jefferson College in 1828, studied law in Butler with Gen. William Ayres, was admitted to practice in 1831, and for thirty years was one of the most distinguished and successful members of the Butler bar. He served six years in the State Senate, was a recognized leader in that body in all matters of State reform, and there is a law on the statute hook regard- ing the morality of our people, better known to lawyers as " the Sullivan Law." which has received the unqualified approval of all good citizens. He was the leader in the movement to secure railroad communication to Butler, and was president of the North Western Railrod Company, the first organization looking to that end. Mr. Sullivan was a Whig in politics, and later a Republican, and a Presbyterian in religious faith. In 1846 he married a Miss Seltzer, of Lebanon county. They had five children, two sons and three daughters, who, with the widow, are still living. Both the son- are lawyers, one practicing in Pittsburg and the other in Bradford. Mr. Sullivan died February 27, 1860.

COL. JOHN MCPHERRIN SULLIVAN, son of John and Mary ( McPherrin) Sullivan, was born in the borough of Butler August 9, 1822. At that date his father was one of the proprietors and publishers of the Butler Centinel, was afterwards a merchant in Butler, then a farmer, and filled the offices of county treasurer and prothonotary. His paternal grandfather, Charles Sullivan, a soldier of the Revolution, settled in what is now Franklin township in 1797, while his maternal grandfather, Rev. John McPherrin, settled on a farm in what is now Clay township in 1805. Mr. McPherrin was the first settled minister of any denomination in Butler county, and had two daughters, one of whom married Walter Lowrie, and the other John Sullivan. The subject of this sketch received his primary education in the old stone academy of Butler, under the tuition,

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severally, of Rev. John W. Scott, D. D., Rev. Douthett, Alexander Shirran and Rev. Loyal Young, D. D., and entered Jefferson College in November, 1838. He graduated at that institution on September 28, ISI3, in a class of forty-seven, representing thirteen states, with an award from the faculty of one of the first honors of the class, and was assigned to deliver the valedictory. Among his well-known classmates were Rev. Dr. James Matthews, of San Francisco : 1Ion. A. W. Ilendricks, of Indianapolis; Hon. Richard T. Merrick, of Washington ; Hon. John P. Penney and Gen. J. B. Switzer, of Pittsburg, and Rev. Dr. E. E. Swift, of Allegheny.

Immediately after leaving college he entered the law office of Hon. Samuel A. Gilmore, of Butler, and was admitted to practice December 9, 1845. A few months later he formed a law partnership with Hon. Samuel A. Purviance, of Butler, which continued until January 1, 1855. The winters of 1845 and 1846 were spent at Harrisburg, as a legislative correspondent of the New York Tribune, Philadelphia Enquirer, and Pittsburg Commercial. He served as assistant clerk of the Senate of Pennsylvania in 1847, 1848, 1849 and 1850, and as chief clerk in 1852 and 1853. His last election was a unanimous one, every mem- ber of the Senate being present and voting for him, while a unanimous vote of thanks was recorded at the close of his term. This was all the more gratifying . to him as the Senate at that time was nearly equally divided in politics.

In January, 1855, Colonel Sullivan became deputy secretary of the Common- wealth under the administration of Governor Pollock, Andrew G. Curtin being secretary of the Commonwealth. At the close of Governor Pollock's administra- tion, in January, 1858, Colonel Sullivan was appointed deputy superintendent of common schools, and held that office until July, 1860, when he resigned to assume the duties of secretary of the Republican State Committee in the memorable campaign of that year, which resulted in the election of AAbraham Lincoln to the presidency. After the presidential election he returned to his home in Butler. where he remained until July, 1861, when he received an invitation from Ilon. Simon Cameron, secretary of war, urging him to come immediately to Washing- ton, and render assistance in the rapidly accumulating work of the war depart- ment. This summons was at once obeyed, and from that date until April 1, 1867, Colonel Sullivan held the position of chief corresponding clerk in the office of the quartermaster-general of the army. These were nearly six years of very arduous labor. Over thirty letter-press volumes in the files of the war depart- Inent, bearing the impress of his handwriting, remain as witnesses of his official work. These duties were supplemented during the war by unremitting services for the soldiers of Butler county in the field, camp and hospital, and for their friends at home, who with anxious hearts made him the medium to aid them in planning and executing their kind ministries. The patriotic people of his native county owe him a debt of gratitude for his noble services in thus aiding her brave boys who went out in defence of the flag. During his residence in Washington he was secretary of the Pennsylvania Soldiers' Relief AAssociation, and also of the Pennsylvania Republican Association.

In March, 1867, Hon. Thomas Williams, member of Congress from this dis- trict, and Hons. Simon Cameron and Charles R. Buckalew, United States Sena-

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tors from Pennsylvania, without any knowledge or solicitation on the part of Colonel Sullivan, united in asking President Johnson, to appoint him collector of internal revenue for the Twenty-third district. an office which had been vacant for several months, owing to the inability to secure an agreement between the President and Senate, then of opposite politics, as to a nominee. The appoint- ment was made and unanimously confirmed by the Senate, and Colonel Sullivan immediately resigned his position in the war department to enter upon his new duties as collector in Allegheny. He held the collectorship from May 1, 1867, to July 1, 1882, excepting a few months, interval, from July, 1869, to April, 1870. On July 1, 1882, he turned over the collectorship to his successor, and before the close of that month he received from the commissioner of internal revenue a cer- tificate that all his accounts were satisfactorily closed. every cent of over $7,000,- 000 of public money that had passed through his hands having been faithfully accounted for.

Soon after retiring from the collectorship, Colonel Sullivan, from inclination as well as filial and fraternal duty, returned to his old home in Butler. His ven- erated mother died May 4, 1888, in her eighty-eighth year, and with his sister, Miss Mary E. Sullivan, he has since occupied the old residence, which has been the family home for more than fifty years. Since his return to Butler he has not resumed professional life, but is ever ready to assist all worthy enterprises and to aid in every good work. He retains unabated interest in everything pertain- ing to the welfare of the surviving soldiers, and was one of the leading spirits in organizing the movement that culminated in the erection of the handsome mon- ument in Butler, to the memory of "Our Silent Defenders." A descendant of two leading pioneers families of Butler county, he has given close attention to the preservation of local history, is one of the best living authorities on pioneer reminiscences, and has rendered valuable assistance in furnishing data in the compilation of this volume. The title of Colonel, usually applied to him, was not acquired from military service, but followed commissions from Governors John- ston and Pollock, who each assigned him to a position on the staff of the Gov- ernor as aide, with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Colonel Sullivan was married June 10, 1873, to Miss Mary S., eldest daugh- ter of Hon. Daniel Agnew, late chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsyl- vania, and was called to experience the sad bereavement of her death, December 14, 1874. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and has been the teacher of a men's bible class in that church since February 5, 1888, which at present has an enrolled membership of fifty. In justice to him it may be said that no man in the community has won and retained to a greater degree the confidence and esteem of the whole people. Always kind, courteous and affable, Colonel Sulli- van is a fine specimen of that consistent manhood whose integrity is never ques- tioned and whose charity is a part of his daily life.

REV. JOHN MCPHERRIN was one of the founders of Presbyterianism in western Pennsylvania, the pioneer minister of that denomination in Butler county, and the first pastor of the Butler church. He was a native of what is now Adams county, Pennsylvania, born November 15, 1757, whence the family removed to Westmoreland county. His preparatory studies were pursued under

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Rev. Robert Smith. D. D., of Pequea, Pennsylvania, and he graduated at Dick - inson College in 1788. He studied theology under the direction of Rev. John Clark, of Allegheny county, and was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Redstone, August 20, 1789. On September 22, 1790, he was ordained by the same Presbytery, and installed pastor of the congregations of Salem and Unity. in Westmoreland county, where he remained until 1803. In the meantime. how- ever, he had visited this portion of the State on a missionary tour, coming here in the summer of 1799 and preaching to a congregation under the spreading branches of a large tree that stood near the site of Concord Presbyterian church. in what is now Concord township, Butler county. Several of his audience requested him to name the embryo church, which he did, calling it " Concord," the title it has borne to the present day.

In 1803 Mr. McPherrin returned to this county and accepted calls from Con- cord and Muddy Creek churches, both of which he took charge of the same year. In 1805 he became a member of the Presbytery of Erie, and continued to minis- ter to the congregations mentioned until 1813, when he resigned the Muddy Creek charge, having been installed pastor of the Butler church April 7, 1818, in connection with the church of Concord. It is also said he was pastor of Har- mony church for several years. He remained pastor of Butler and Concord churches until his death, which occurred at Butler, February 10, 1822. Before coming to Butler county, Mr. McPherrin was married to Mary Stevenson, a daughter of John Stevenson of Washington county. His children were as fol- lows: Amelia, who married Walter Lowrie; William ; Samnel ; John ; Clark : Mary, who married John Sullivan; Ebenezer; Josiah, and Anderson. The following tribute to his memory is from the pen of Hon. Walter Lowrie, his son-in-law :

Mr. McPherrin did not write his serinons. He used very brief but comprehensive notes, which he placed in a small pocket bible. It is no easy matter to draw a faithful likeness of Mr. McPherrin's character and appearance. He was tall in person, his hair, when I first saw him, quite 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, and his heart was the seat of friendship and goodwill to man. He possessed a strong mind and strong natural abilities. At Dickinson College, under the celebrated Dr. Nesbit, he had received a thorough education, and by his studious habits his mind was in a constant state of improvement. As a minister of the gospel, his zeal in his Master's cause never flagged, and a sincere desire to do good was his ruling passion through life. His eloquence was classically chaste, yet strong and nervous. His hearers were, in general, rather awed than charmed, more instructed than delighted, yet often did the tears of his audience flow before they were themselves aware of it. All his sermons were, in the highest degree, evangelical. Christ Jesus and Him crucified, was the burden of his message ;. and yet in every discourse he urged in the strongest manner the necessity of good works and a holy and christian walk, not as a means or ground of acceptance with God, but as an evidence of being in the right way.

REV. LOYAL YOUNG, D. D., was pastor of the Presbyterian church of Butler for nearly thirty-five years, and his name is a familiar one in many of the homes in Butler county. He was a son of Robert and Lydia (Gould) Young, of Charle- mont, Franklin county, Massachusetts, where he was born July 1, 1806. When.

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Loyal was five years old his parents removed to French Creek, Harrison county, Virginia. lle obtained a good English education in the schools of that locality, entered Jefferson College in 1826, and graduated from that institution in the autumn of 1828. After teaching a private family school in Virginia one year, he entered the Western Theological Seminary, at Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, and was licensed to preach the gospel, by the Presbytery of Ohio, June 21, 1832. On the 25th of October following, he was married to Margaret P. Johnston, a daughter of Rev. Robert Johnston, the first pastor of the Scrubgrass Presbyterian church. Venango county. to which union were born seven sons and one daughter. Four of their sons. Robert J .. Watson J., Torrence F., and James W., were soldier- in the Union army.

Mr. Young came to Butler county soon after he was licensed to preach, his first sermon in Butler being delivered August 29. 1832. The following summer he preached as a candidate, and was ordained and installed as the third pastor of the Butler congregation, by the Presbytery of Allegheny, December 4, 1833. For nearly thirty-five years he labored faithfully and assiduously in building up the church. During his ministry here he baptised about 800 children and adults, united in marriage over 200 couples. and nearly 450 persons were brought into the Butler church. Ile delivered his farewell sermon May 10, 1868, and the same month took charge of French Creek and Buckhannon churches, in West Virginia. He remained at French Creek eight years, and was then installed as pastor of the First Presbyterian church of Parkersburg, in the same State, which position he filled five years. His next charge was the Winfield, Point Pleasant and Pleasant Flat- churches of West Virginia, which he ministered to from 1880 to 1885. He then removed to Washington, Pennsylvania, and became a supply for a few years. Here his wife died December 29, 1887, and soon after he returned to But- ler, where he continued to follow the ministry up to within a few weeks of his death. which occurred October 11, 1590.

While pastor of the Butler church, in 1858, the degree of D. D. was con- ferred upon him by Washington College. Dr. Young was twice moderator of the Synod of Pittsburg, once of the Erie Synod, and represented the Presbytery at the General Assembly several times. He was also the author of the following works : " Commentary on the Book of Ecclesiastes," " Hidden Treasure," " Interviews with Inspired Men," " Communion," and " From Dawn to Dusk." A few weeks before his death he completed a commentary on the Book of Prov- erb -. which has not yet been published. To Dr. Young more than to any other man was due the establishment of Witherspoon Institute at Butler. He was the guiding spirit in calling the convention which brought that school into existence. in preparing the charter, in raising money, and placing the Institute on a solid foundation. Hle was its principal for quite a long period, and his name is closely interwoven with its early growth and progress. In a sermon delivered July 2, 1876, Rev. C. II. McClellan paid Dr. Young the following tribute :

A man bold in the defence of truth, vigorous and active in frame, and indefatigable in promoting the interests of Christ's cause, his life and work in Butter will be remem- bered long after he hiuisetf shall have passed from earth. No better testimony to his ability as a preacher and pastor can be found than the well taught and strongly organ-

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ized church he left in this place; no better proof of the reality of his piety and good works than the readiness with which all classes, young and old, rich and poor, Protes- tant or Catholic, speak his praise. He was an Israelite indeed in whom there was no guile

REV. ISAIAH NIBLOCK, D. D., was one of the pioneer ministers of what is now known as the United Presbyterian church of Butler. He was a native of County Monaghan, Ireland, born in the year 1794, studied divinity under Rev. John Dick, D. D., professor of theology in the United Sessions church, Glasgow, Scotland, and was licensed to preach in 1817. The following year he immi- grated to New York, and preached in Philadelphia in the autum of 1818. Soon after he crossed the Allegheny mountain- on horseback, arriving in Pittsburg, December 20, 1818, where he was appointed to supply vacancies for three months in this section of the State. Ile arrived at Butler three days later, and preached in the court house on the last Sunday of the year. He continued to preach as a supply until April 23, 1819, when he received a call from the congregations of Butler and White Oak Springs, which he accepted, and after filling his previous engagements, was ordained and installed as their pastor by the Monongahela Asso- ciate Reformed Presbytery, and preached his first sermon as pastor of the Butler church on the third Sunday in May, 1819. This pastorate continued in an unbroken chain for more than forty-five years, or until his death in Butler, June 29, 1864, although he was unable to preach for nearly five months preceding that event. When Mr. Niblock became pastor of the Butler church it consisted of but one elder and nine communicants. Under his ministry there were added to the Butler, White Oak Springs and Union congregations about 1, 100 members. Ile baptised about 2,000 children and adults, and united in marriage more than 200 couples. Dr. Niblock was married after coming to Butler, to Rachel Alex- ander, of Pittsburg, which union was blessed by six children, viz : Mary J. : James ; Alexander ; John, a United Presbyterian minister; Hugh; Mrs. Maria Zimmerman, and Harriet. The following tribute to his worth and character, written by one who knew him well, will give the reader a good idea of this pioneer missionary :

Dr. Niblock was a minister of modest disposition and retiring habits, not much known to the world, but beloved by all his fellow ministers who knew him, and much esteemed among his pastoral charge. Of him it might be said: He was a good minister of Jesus Christ -- an able and faithful expositor of the Word of God. Among the first of our ministers who settled northwest of the Allegheny river, he lived to see the church and the country grow numerous and prosperous around him, and as the fruit of his own labors many added to the church " of such as should be saved." He loved the church of which he was minister, arduously and faithfully labored to maintain her principles and her purity, and the work of the Lord prospered in his hands. His life was one of self- denial. labor and usefulness, esteemed in the community and beloved in the church.

REV. WILLIAM WHITE, D. D., the honored and respected rector of St. Peter's Protestant Episcopal church of Butler for half a century. is one of the few living pioneer ministers of his church in Pennsylvania. He is a native of Stewartstown, County Tyrone, Ireland, born March 18, 1811, and is thus in the eighty-fifth year of his age. He grew to manhood in his native land, came to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1832, and entered the Western University, graduat- ing from that institution in 1834. In 1837 he graduated at the General Theologi-

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cal Seminary of New York, was ordained a deacon by Bishop Onderdonk, in Christ church, Philadelphia, the same year, and was sent to take charge of the Freeport and Butler congregations. In 1838 he was ordained a priest by the same bishop, and remained in charge of both churches mentioned until 1842, when he gave up the Freeport charge and confined his labors to Butler and vicinity. Dr. White was married October 7. 1840, to Mary Bredin, a daugh- ter of James Bredin, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to whom have been born six children, as follows : Annie : Isabella ; Thomas, an Episcopal minister of East Albany, New York ; George R., attorney at law of Butler ; James B., deceased. and William, a consulting engineer of Pittsburg. For several years Dr. White combined with his parochial duties those of a teacher in the old Butler Academy. and many of the leading men of western Pennsylvania look up to him with pride as their preceptor. He continued as pastor of the Butler congregation until 1877, when the infirmities of advancing age induced him to lay down the burden. although he still occasionally performed the offices of his sacred calling in the adjoining counties of Armstrong and Clarion. With the passing years this work also had to be abandoned, and now at the ripe age of eighty-four he confidently and patiently awaits the call to his eternal reward. For nearly sixty years his name has been closely associated with the religions and educational life of Butler county, and few of its citizens have won to a greater degree the unbounded love and confidence of the whole people than this venerable patriarch whose rare use- fulness throughout that period is gladly acknowledged by all.

DAVID DOUGAL was one of the best known citizens in Butler county throughout his long and eventful career, and his name is inseparably linked with its history for a period surpassing the allotted life of man. lle was a native of Franklin county, Pennsylvania, born near Fannetsburg, September 23, 1778, the son of a Presbyterian minister. He obtained a good English education, and left home in early manhood, going to Huntingdon, where he clerked in the prothono- tary's office. Here he studied the art of surveying, afterwards went to Pittsburg. and later to Kentucky, where he acquired a taste for adventure and free out- door life. He next went to Detroit and acted as clerk in a trading post, meeting hundreds of Indians there, and subsequently spent some time among the Indian tribes of Ohio. These associations had a marked influence on his character that remained with him to the day of his death. He finally returned to Hunting- don, whence, about the year 1800, he came to Butler county. Upon the organ- ization of this county he was appointed the first clerk of the board of county commissioners, and later served one term in that body. At the first sales of lots in Butler borough, Mr. Dougal proved his faith in the new county seat by pur- chasing several lots, some which he owned until he died. He was one of the pioneer merchants of the town for a short time, but soon abandoned merchandis- ing to pursue the more congenial vocation of a surveyor, which profes- sion he followed until the infirmities of old age compelled him to retire from active life. Ile loved nothing so well as to roam through the primitive forest. running lines, establishing corners and blazing trees to mark boundaries. He did the greater part of the early surveying in this county, and his wonderful mem- ory retained in old age the most precise and exact knowledge of lines and sur-

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History of Butler County, Pennsylvania, Part 84

Author: Brown, Robert C., ed; Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.); Meagher, John, jt. comp; Meginness, John Franklin, 1827-1899, jt. comp Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Chicago : R. C. Brown Number of Pages: 1658

Author: Brown, Robert C., ed; Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.); Meagher, John, jt. comp; Meginness, John Franklin, 1827-1899, jt. comp
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Chicago : R. C. Brown
Number of Pages: 1658