USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > History of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Volume One > Part 42
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Thomas Mehaffey attended the public schools of Erie and began life as a messenger boy for the Empire Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, at 16th and Parade Streets. He served in various clerical posi- tions in the Pennsylvania Railroad Company freight house and as general foreman of the freight department from June 13, 1892, until Jan. 1, 1918. In the fall of 1917 he was elected a member of the city council and served
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as director of public safety in 1918 and 1919. He was reelected in the fall of 1919 and served two years as director of the Department of Accounts and Finance, 1920-1921. Mr. Mehaffey was reelected in 1921 for a term of four years and has served three years of that period. Dur- ing his term as director of public safety, the complete motorization of the entire fire department of Erie was installed and during his office as director of the department of Accounts and Finance a complete and modern system of accounting has been installed, as well as a budget system.
On Oct. 19, 1899, Mr. Mehaffey was married to Miss Mary Blanch Hunt, a native of Erie, and a daughter of James Harrison and Isabel (Dougherty) Hunt, natives of Erie County. Mr. Hunt died Oct. 19, 1913, and his wife died April 15th of the same year.
Mr. Mehaffey is a Republican and belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and his wife are members of the First United Pres- byterian Church of Erie.
Edward E. Walker, vice president of the Erie Malleable Iron Company, is a well known and successful business man of Erie, and a member of a family that has long been identified with the industrial development of the city. He was born here, Dec. 29, 1881, and is the son of B. J. and Sarah Elizabeth (Kies) Walker.
Benjamin J. Walker was born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1858, and came to Erie in 1876. He was one of the founders and served as vice president of the Erie Malleable Iron Works for a number of years and died in 1915. He was a prominent citizen of Erie, was a director of the Peoples Bank, a member of the school board for many years, and served on the board of fire commissioners. His wife is a native of Worcester, Mass., and re- sides in Erie. Mr. and Mrs. Walker had three children: Edward E., the subject of this sketch; Clara Luella, married C. G. Strickland; and Olive, married W. Warfel, who died in 1923.
Edward E. Walker was educated in the public schools of Erie and after his graduation from Erie High School in 1899, he entered Cornell University, where he received his degree in 1903. He has since been connected with the Erie Malleable Iron Works, of which he is vice presi- dent and director.
On April 19, 1906, Mr. Walker was united in marriage with Miss Florence Trautman Keil, the daughter of Jacob T. and Gertrude (Traut-
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B. J. WALKER
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man) Keil, of Pittsburgh. She attended Peebles and Thompson's School, New York. To Mr. and Mrs. Walker have been born two children: Sally, born April 27, 1909, a student at the Westover School for Girls, Middle- bury, Conn .; and B. J., born July 27, 1919.
Mr. Walker is a director of the Peoples Bank of Erie, and is identified with the Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the Erie Club, Kahkwa Club, University Club, Erie Yacht Club, Toledo Club, Union League Club of Chicago, Tavern Club of Cleveland, Phi Delta Theta fraternity, and the Elks lodge.
R. L. Rodgers, who is successfully engaged in the real estate and in- surance business in Erie, with offices at 609 Masonic building, was born in Kansas, June 2, 1875.
The Rodgers family traces its genealogy back for many centuries in the annals of Ireland. Many of its original members were Scotch Cove- nantors, who fled to the north of Ireland on account of religious persecu- tions. It is a matter of record that the grandfather of Robert Henry Rodgers, grandfather of R. L. Rodgers, took part in the famous siege of Derry Castle, Ireland, at the time of the fierce wars between the Catholics and Protestants. He was taken prisoner and ordered to be killed, but his life was saved by a prominent Catholic woman who had nursed him in his childhood and was so attached to him that although she had five sons in the Catholic army herself, she told his captors that the only favor she asked was that they spare the life of Rodgers.
Robert Henry Rodgers was married in 1844 to Miss Catherine David- son, of Crawford County, Pa., who was born April 2, 1819, and died Nov. 6, 1897. Their children were: Samuel H., father of the subject of this sketch; Martin C., Mary E., Harriet, William S. and Nancy J. Rodgers.
Samuel H. Rodgers was born July 8, 1847, and spent his early years on the old homestead. He attended school at Jamestown, and then re- moved to Kansas, where he followed the trade of a carpenter. He owned land in Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma, and served as deputy sheriff in Castro County, Texas. While there he built the first court house and a hotel. For a number of years he was United States Marshal in the "Wild and Wooly West." He also served as government agent at Fort Reno, Indian territory, being appointed by President Garfield. On Aug. 19, 1874, Mr. Rodgers was married to Miss Carrie Gooding, of El Dorado, Kans., who was born Dec. 12, 1854, and died Feb. 14, 1878. Two children
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were born to this union: Robert L., the subject of this sketch; and Carrie Pearl, born Aug. 2, 1877. The children were then brought to Pennsyl- vania and made their home with their grandparents.
Nancy Jane Rodgers was born May 3, 1856, and died Feb. 17, 1901. She taught school, gained quite a reputation as a public speaker and writer. A poem in Hiawatha meter, being a history of the Rodgers family for 100 years, was read at their centennial reunion June 29, 1899-held on the farm originally settled and which had never passed out of the family.
R. L. Rodgers attended the public schools and spent one year at Jamestown Seminary. He then entered Fredonia (Pa.) Institute, and after completing a three-year course taught school for four terms. At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War he enlisted in Company K, 15th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and served until the regiment was mustered out, then returned to Jamestown where he taught school for three years and also managed the old home farm.
After retiring from school teaching, he entered the real estate and insurance business at Jamestown, also served for a number of years as justice of the peace, secretary of the school board, secretary of the town council and was for a time editor and manager of the local newspaper.
Disposing of his business and real estate holdings in 1914, Mr. Rodgers moved to Erie where he has since been engaged in the insurance and real estate business, also for the past several years being the Erie representative of the State Capital Savings and Loan Association of Har- risburg, Pa., the largest institution of its kind in the state of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Rodgers has always been prominently identified with civic, fra- ternal and patriotic activities. In Masonry he is a Past Master by service, a 32d Mason, a Knight Templar and Shriner and very active in Scottish Rite and Shrine work. He is also a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Erie Real Estate Board, various insurance organizations, Erie Rotary Club, Erie County Historical Society, United Spanish War Veterans and City Planning Commission.
During the world war, he was very active in all the Liberty Loan, Thrift Stamp, Red Cross and other war activities. As chairman of the Liberty Loan campaigns in the county of Erie, outside of the city, being a public speaker of considerable experience and ability, his services were much in demand at that time and he made hundreds of addresses, not only in Erie and Erie County but elsewhere. He is still called on to speak
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on nearly all patriotic days, such as Memorial Day, Perry Day, Armistice Day, Lincoln and Washington birthdays and others and for many local and civic activities.
As this sketch is being prepared a two-column news item appeared in the issue of the Erie Daily Times under date of February 10th which, by way of introduction reads as follows:
"Members of the Rotary Club were brought to a vivid realization of Abraham Lincoln and the debt which this country owes him when one of their members, R. L. Rodgers, delivered a striking address at the regular meeting of the club at the Lawrence Hotel on Wednesday afternoon.
Seldom have more powerful speakers appeared before the Rotary Club; never has a more sincere man addressed the members, and the talk given by Mr. Rodgers will go down in the history of the Rotary Club of Erie as one of the best talks ever given before the membership of that organization."
In religion the subject of this sketch was reared in the faith of the Old Scotch Covenanters, but on coming to Erie he and his wife iden- tified themselves with the First United Presbyterian Church of which they are still members.
On March 20, 1908, Mr. Rodgers was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Ellen Cathcart, the daughter of Thos. G. and Elizabeth (McKee) Cathcart of Adamsville, Crawford County, Pa. Three children were born but only one survives, Thomas Andrews Rodgers, born December 13, 1915.
Frank M. Wallace, president of the Second National Bank of Erie, is a native of Allegheny City, Pa., born Jan. 11, 1868. He is the son of Dr. Thomas C. and Elizabeth (Hamilton) Wallace, and the grand parents on both sides were natives of County Donegal, Ireland, who came to the United States about 1825. William Wallace and William Hamilton, the grandfathers, also first located near Pittsburgh, Pa., and later moved to Butler County, where they engaged in farming. Dr. Thomas C. Wallace was a student at Prospect (Pa.) Academy, and after his graduation from the Cleveland Homeopathic College, he entered practice at Allegheny, where he continued until the time of his death in 1905, at the age of 64 years. His wife died Dec. 22, 1891, at the age of 52 years.
Frank M. Wallace was reared and educated at Allegheny and in 1893,
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when only 27 years of age, he was appointed a national bank examiner, resigning that position after a service of five years to become vice presi- dent of the Second National Bank of Erie. Following the death of the late Daniel D. Tracy, on Dec. 9, 1901, Mr. Wallace succeeded to the presidency of the institution, and has since been the active head of its administrative affairs.
Mr. Wallace is an active member of the Erie Chamber of Commerce and as a Mason is identified with the Tyrian Lodge. As an offset to his strenuous life in the fields of finances and business, he is associated with numerous organizations of a social, out-of-door and athletic nature. This list includes the Erie, Kahkwa, and Yacht clubs of Erie, the Duquesne Club of Pittsburgh, and the Pennsylvania Society of New York City. But his domestic affairs are, after all, his chief pleasure. His wife was before marriage, Miss Margaret Shannon, daughter of Henry C. Kelsey of Erie.
James Purcell is a well known business man of Erie and a member of one of the county's oldest and most prominent pioneer families. He was born at North East, Feb. 8, 1859, and is the son of James and Mary (Fleming) Purcell.
James Purcell, deceased, was a native of Ireland as was also his wife. His life's occupation was that of a railroader, and he was killed while in line of duty in 1859. His wife died in 1907, and they are both buried in the Trinity cemetery at Erie, Pa. James, the subject of this sketch, was their only child.
James Purcell received his education in the schools of Erie and began his business career as a stationary fireman at 12 years of age. In 1886 he entered the plumbing and heating business in partnership with James Lumbard, at North East. Two years later Mr. Purcell sold his interest to Mr. Lumbard, and in 1894 embarked in the same business in Erie, under the firm name of James Purcell, at 514 State Street. In February, 1912, Mr. Purcell removed to his present location, 5 West Fifth Street. He is among the active pioneer business men of Erie and has a well established business.
On Sept. 22, 1887, Mr. Purcell was united in marriage with Miss Honora Keough, a native of Greenwich, N. Y., and the daughters of James and Mary (Quinn) Keough, natives of Ireland. They have four sons, namely: James Jr., born Oct. 9, 1888, a plumber, lives at 251 East 6th Street, Erie; William J., born June 8, 1890, a plumber, lives at 711 East
James Purcell
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6th Street, Erie; Dr. Joseph A., born Oct. 17, 1897, a dentist, lives at 251 East 6th Street; and Leo G., born Aug. 13, 1894, a bookkeeper, lives at 251 East 6th Street, Erie. Three members of the Purcell family are World War veterans.
In politics Mr. Purcell is identified with the Democratic party. He is a member of the Catholic church, and belongs to the Chamber of Com- merce, the Erie Builders Exchange, the Erie Sanitary Association, the Loyal Order of Moose, president of Twenty-three Club, and a member of the Erie County Historical Society. Mr. Purcell has always been active in patriotic, historical and municipal affairs. He was instrumental in creating sentiment which secured the Perry Memorial Building for the city and active in striving to secure Perry Monument for the city.
Theodore Eichhorn, the well known superintendent of streets, is a member of a pioneer family of Erie. He was born in this city, Feb. 22, 1880, and is a son of Jacob and Catherine (Sevin) Eichhorn.
Jacob Eichhorn, who now lives retired in Erie, was identified with the business interests of the city as a tailor for 25 years. He is a native of Kandel, Germany, and his wife, who died in November, 1915, was a native of Erie. They had four children: Clara, married John Phillips, lives at Bay City, Mich .; Theodore, the subject of this sketch; Charlotte and Carl, both of whom reside in Erie.
Theodore Eichhorn attended the public schools of Erie and when a young man was employed in the Black & Geimer Stove Foundry. He later was an apprentice to the printing trade and at the age of 17 years became a member of the Erie Typographical Union. Mr. Eichhorn has been active in local, state and international trade union affairs for more than 27 years. He is now secretary of the Erie Central Labor Union, secre- tary of the Erie Typographical Union, No. 77, and president of the West- ern Pennsylvania Typographical Union Conference.
On May 7, 1900, Mr. Eichhorn was united in marriage at Buffalo, N. Y., with Miss Ida Schnitzer, a native of Erie and a daughter of Frank and Mary (Ohmer) Schnitzer, natives of Germany, and both now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Eichhorn are the parents of six children, namely: Char- lotte M., married Carl Larson, Jr., lives in Cleveland; Dorothy K., Theo- dore, Jr., Alverta A., Robert F., and Ruth Jean, all at home.
In politics Mr. Eichhorn is an independent Democrat. He is a member of the city council and in 1913 was appointed superintendent of streets.
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He is a member of the Pennsylvania State Park and Harbor Commis- sion and belongs to the Elks, Moose, Eagles, Knights of Pythias, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, South Erie Turnverein, and the Erie Maen- nerchor. He is a representative and dependable citizen of Erie and has many friends.
Robert F. Devine, president and general manager of the Erie Forge Company, ranks among the most prominent citizens and successful busi- ness men of this section. He was born at Lake Run, Schuylkill County, Pa., Sept. 17, 1860, and is the son of Robert and Jeannette (Murray) Devine, natives of Scotland, who came to America with their parents when in childhood. After residing about a year in Nova Scotia, the family migrated to Pennsylvania, the father enlisting in the 48th Infantry of that state for service in the Civil War and contracting a fatal attack of pneumonia in 1864.
When a boy of eight years, Robert F. Devine went to work in the coalmines of Schuylkill County as a "breaker boy" and continued iden- tified with the coal mining industry until 1879, after which he served an apprenticeship of three years as a mechanic blacksmith in Philadelphia. In 1885 he moved to Kansas City where he became foreman of the black- smith department of the Armour Packing Company. After several years he removed to Seattle, Wash., and established a shop of his own, devoted largely to the manufacture of ship repair parts and lumber machinery repairs. In 1895 Mr. Devine returned east and entered the Frankfort Steel & Forging Company of Ellwood City, Pa., where he became superin- tendent of the works. In 1903 he organized the company which pur- chased the Erie Forge Company, Ltd., and the new concern was incor- porated on May 22nd of that year. At the time the new company started in 1903 the plant consisted of only a small forge and a small machine shop, low frame structures. Approximately 50 men were employed. From this small beginning the plant was extended to cover the area of an entire city block with modern buildings and equipment and with an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons of steel and steel forgings, and employ- ing in 1918 a force of 1,650 men.
In 1912 a new company was formed under the name of the Erie Forge & Steel Company, which acquired approximately 300 acres of land in and adjoining the city limits of Erie. In 1917, due to the urgent need for war materials by the Navy Department an arrangement was entered
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into by the Navy Department and the Erie Forge & Steel Company for the erection on their property, by the Erie Forge & Steel Company, of a plant for the Navy. Ground was broken in November, 1917, and in spite of the hardships of the winter of that year, it was possible to make steel the following May. Upon the termination of the war in 1918, the plant remained the property of the Navy until August, 1920, when it was purchased by the Erie Forge & Steel Company. It has since that time been radically changed from a war plant to one adapted to commer- cial work and with an annual steel and steel forging capacity of 60,000 gross tons. In the meantime it was deemed best to concentrate the manu- facture of steel forging at one plant, and much of the equipment was moved from the Erie Forge Company to the plant of the Erie Forge & Steel Company. At the same time the Erie Forge Company was install- ing modern and up-to-date equipment for the manufacture of steel cast- ings, ranging in weight from one to 90,000 pounds.
On May 27, 1885, Mr. Devine was married at Philadelphia to Miss Sarah Craig, a native of Grace Hill, County Antrim, Ireland, and the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Christy) Craig, natives of Ireland.
Mr. Craig died in 1914 and his wife died in 1919. To Mr. and Mrs. Devine the following children were born: May, died in infancy; Robert F., Jr., born March 1, 1888, a sketch of whom appears in this history; Elizabeth, born July 25, 1890, married K. E. Blair, lives at Erie; Jeannette Craig, born Oct. 29, 1893, married Nelson Darling, lives at Beech Bluff, Mass .; and Craig, born May 8, 1895, a salesman, lives at Erie.
Mr. Devine is identified with the following clubs and lodges: Erie Chamber of Commerce; Engineers Club of New York; Erie Club; Kahkwa Club; University Club; 32nd Degree Mason; Elks; Royal Arcanum; Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Improved Order of Hepta- sophs. He is a Democrat.
Robert F. Devine, Jr., is the son of Robert F. and Sarah M. (Craig) Devine, a sketch of whom appears in this history. He was born in Kan- sas City, Mo., March 1, 1888, and when a young man removed to Seattle, Wash., with his parents. He was educated in the schools of Erie, Pa., and is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Devine is now associated in business with his father, who is president and general manager of the Erie Forge Company and the Erie Forge & Steel Company.
On June 9, 1914, Mr. Devine was united in marriage with Miss Anne
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Herbst, a native of Erie, and the daughter of Henry and Fredericka (Doerhl) Herbst, natives of Germany, and residents of Erie. To Mr. and Mrs. Devine have been born two children: Robert F. Devine, III; and Shirley Anne Devine.
Mr. Devine is a member of the Erie Club, the Kahkwa Club, the University Club, the Elks lodge, and the D. K. E. Club of New York.
Clarence Lloyd Thompson, a well known and successful business man of Erie, is a member of one of Erie County's pioneer families who have been identified with the development of this section of the state since 1832. He was born in Erie, Jan. 21, 1862, and is the son of Victory Marion and Rebecca (Glenn) Thompson.
Victory Marion Thompson was for many years closely identified with the development of the coal, oil and real estate interests of northwestern Pennsylvania, and was recognized as one of the most progressive business men and citizens of Erie for a period of over 30 years. He was a native of Madison County, N. Y., where he was born Aug. 7, 1829, the son of Joseph S. and Rachel (Case) Thompson. Joseph S. Thompson was born in Vermont, the son of Joseph Thompson, a native of France, who originally settled in Massachusetts and thence moved to Vermont. The maternal family were of Scotch origin. The parents of Victory Marion Thompson located in Erie in 1832 and in 1848, when 19 years of age, the youth engaged in the canal boat business, not as a laborer, but as proprietor of a number of boats which he operated and later owned, organizing what was long known as the "Thompson Line." During this period he also became interested in the oil business owning and operating the Erie City Oil Works, one of the early refineries in the United States. As a young man, Victory Marion Thompson carried on a successful coal business at Erie and had other large commercial interests, and was an extensive holder of real estate in many of the points around which his business interests centered. At his prime, in fact, he was considered one of the most eminent business men of this section. Mr. Thompson died in October, 1886, his wife having passed away the year before. To Mr. and Mrs. Victory Marion Thompson the following children were born: Clarence Lloyd, the subject of this sketch; Victor Park, born April 24, 1864, lives in Jersey City, N. J., married Deborah Davis of Mount Carmel, Pa., and they have five children, Donald N., Park Lloyd, Glenn, Harold and Marion; and Clara R., married E. Haddon Ball, of St. Paul, Minn., and they have three children, Hannah, George and Sarah.
Rom thompson
Br Thompson
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Clarence Lloyd Thompson lives in the home in which he was born, 605 West 8th Street. After attending the public schools of Erie, he en- tered the retail coal business in 1879 and was connected with the well known Scott interests from 1885 until they sold their interests to the Susquehanna Coal Company, owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad. He then held the position of general western agent with this company, in charge of all western business, until they sold their interests to the M. A. Hanna Company of Cleveland, with whom Mr. Thompson was connected until he embarked on his own account in the wholesale coal business with offices in the Marine Bank Building, Erie. He has been connected with the Marine National Bank as director for 20 years and is a large holder of real estate in the county.
On Oct. 14, 1909, Mr. Thompson was united in marriage with Miss Grace E. Nicholson, a native of Lakewood, Ohio, and the daughter of Ezra and Alice S. (Fowles) Nicholson, natives of Ohio and Wisconsin, respectively. Mr. Nicholson died Jan. 15, 1915, and his wife died Jan. 7, 1911. A biography of Mr. Nicholson of Lakewood, Ohio, appears in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have a daughter, Alice Eloise Thompson, born June 12, 1911, now a student at Mary Lyon School, Philadelphia.
In politics Mr. Thompson is identified with the Republican party. He and his family are affiliated with the Protestant church and he is a 32nd degree Mason, a charter member of the Kahkwa Club, and also belongs to the Erie Club .. He was a member of the Public Safety Committee of Pennsylvania, the Public Safety Committee of Erie County, in charge of civilian service and labor, and was a member of the Canal Basin Commis- sion for two terms, having been appointed to that position by Governor Stuart. Mr. Thompson has inherited the stability and genius of his father and is one of the progressive and successful men of Erie.
Ezra Nicholson, inventor and manufacturer, was born at Lakewood, Ohio, Feb. 8, 1835. He was a son of James and Betsy (Bartholomew) Nicholson, and was educated in the common and high schools of Cleve- land. He was married at Lakewood June 9, 1863, to Alice Samantha Fowles and they had six children, three living and three died when young. He was the first clerk and treasurer of Lakewood, and one of a committee of two to select a name for the town. In 1862, at the call of Governor Todd for volunteers, to protect Cincinnati against the rebel army under command of Gen. Kirby Smith, he enlisted with 16 others under Capt. (33)
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