History of Erie county, Pennsylvania. Containing a history of the county; its townships, towns, villages schools, churches, industries, etc, Part 103

Author: Bates, Samuel P. (Samuel Penniman), 1827-1902; Whitman, Benjamin, 1940-; Russell, N. W. (Nathaniel Willard); Brown, R. C. (Robert C.); Weakley, F. E; Warner, Beers & Co. (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : Warner, Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1280

USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > History of Erie county, Pennsylvania. Containing a history of the county; its townships, towns, villages schools, churches, industries, etc > Part 103

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

CONRAD DIEHL, merchant tailor, Erie, was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, Dec. 5, 1832 ; he learned tailoring in his native country, and came to America in 1851, and prosecuted same business in Rochester, N. Y., for several years, and in Lockport, same State, for twelve years. Mr. Diehl came to Erie in 1867, and has since been actively engaged as a merchant tailor. He was married at Lockport, N. Y., 1856, to Mary S. Southworth, of Middleport. To this union have been born two sons and three daughters, viz., Mary, wife of Jacob Harr, baker ; Emma, wife of John Kwiatkonski, baker ; and George A., who is a merchant tailor ; and a son and daughter, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Diehl are members of the M. E. Church ; he is a member of the Odd Fellows, Encampment (branch), and A. O. U. W .; he is an active member of the City Council ; is President and Chairman of the Fire, Health and Hospital Committees, and of the Water and Market Committees.

CAPT. DANIEL DOBBINS, deceased, was born in Lewistown, Mifflin Co., Penn., Jan. 5, 1776, and was married to Miss Mary West, near Cannonsburg, Penn .. April 1, 1800. She was born. Oct. 26, 1779. They had eight children-William W., deceased; Jane S., deceased wife of the late John A. Tracy, of Erie; Stephen Decatur, deceased; Mary Ann; David Porter; Leander; Eliza M., wife of the late Capt. John Fleeharty; and Marcus, de- ceased. Mr. and Mrs. Dobbins came to Erie on horseback in company with Squire Rees' party of surveyors in the year 1795. Soon after his arrival Capt. D. engaged in the mer- chant service, and was part owner and master of the schooner Harlequin, which he sailed

886

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES:

for some time. In July, 1812, he sailed the schooner Salina, and while he was lying at Mackinac the British landed on the island, took possession of the fort, captured his vessel and took him and his passengers, Rufus S. Reed and Wm. W. Reed, of Erie, prisoners They were all soon after released on parole, and returned to their homes in Erie, This was their first intimation that war had been declared. Capt. Dobbins' experience in lake navigation, and his thorough knowledge of the harbors on the lake rendering him well qualified for the position, he was appointed by the Government, in 1813, sailing master in the U. S. Navy, and given the superintendency of the construction and equipment of the fleet of war vessels then being built at Erie (an account of which appears in another part of this history), and it was through his efforts and indomitable perseverance that Erie was made the U. S. Navy station. While connected with the navy he was also engaged in the merchant service. He had command of the schooner Washington in 1816, which the same year conveyed troops to Green Bay, and his was the first vessel to enter that harbor, it then being considered a difficult task to navigate it. On his first visit some of the harbors in that locality were named, and still retain the names given them, by Capt. Dobbins and the army officers who accompanied him. In 1826, he was ordered to sea in a vessel fitted out to bring home the remains of Com. Perry, and resigned his commission. In 1827, he was engaged in constructing piers at Ashtabula, Ohio. In 1829, Gen. Jackson appointed him to the command of the revenue cutter Rush, and he was re-appointed in 1845 by President Polk to the command of the revenue cutter Erie. He left active serv- ice in the revenue department in 1849. Capt. Dobbins possessed many sterling qualities, and having been a close observer was enabled to relate many interesting and exciting in- cidents connected with the early navigation of the lakes and life on the frontier. Capt. Dobbins died in Erie, Feb. 29, 1856, aged eighty years. His wife died Jan 27, 1879, in her one hundredth year. The remains of both now lie buried in the Erie Cemetery.

JOHN DOLL, druggist, Erie. is a native of this city, born May 30, 1842, son of Mar- tin and Anna M. (Freshcorn) Doll, natives of Germany, and who were married after em- igrating to America. Martin Doll is a shoe-maker by trade, and is now in business in Erie. Our subject, the second of a family of four. received his education in the public schools of his native place. After clerking for some time in a dry goods store in Erie, he commenced a drug business. in 1866, under the firm name of Wilkins & Doll, under which title it re- mained until 1873, when Mr. Doll disposed of his interest to H. L. Wilkins, his father-in- law, who continued the business until his death in 1881. when our subject again became its proprietor. Mr. Doll was married, Sept. 4. 1866, to Margaret C. E., daughter of H. L. Wilkins. In politics, he is a Republican.

TRUMAN DOWNER, of Downer & Howard, ale brewers, Erie, was born in Benning, ton, Vt., Jan. 10, 1801, son of Avery and Pattie (Allen) Downer, natives of Vt., of English descent. Our subject received his education in Jefferson Co., N. Y., where his father and mother died; was reared on a farm, and avers that, until he was twenty years of age, he "never saw an Irishman or a Dutchman." Having learned the distilling business, he worked at it in Onondaga Co., N. Y., and invented many improvements that were adopted in the distillery. Our subject was at one time in business in N. Y., in Cleveland, Ohio, and in Chicago during the great fire, by which he lost considerable property; he lost $22, - 000 also by going security for several parties. Coming to Erie Co. in 1876, he embarked in his present business. Mr. Downer was twice married; on first occasion, in N. Y., to Remember Nye, who bore him three children, one of whom, Martha A., is wife of H. B. Bemis, of Downer, Bemis & Co., Chicago. Mrs. Downer dying, our subject married Mary F. Smith, of Oswego, N. Y. To this union were born the following-named children: Arthur M., in Towa; William, in Meadville, Penn .: Mary C., wife of E. J. Howard, partner with our subject; and Henrietta C. Mr. Downer has never given testimony or sat on a jury in his life: has never been affiliated with any secret organization.

JEROME FRANCIS DOWNING, youngest member of a family of thirteen brothers and sisters, was born March 24, 1827, in Enfield, Hampshire Co., Mass., to which place bis father had moved from Boston in 1804. Like many others who have achieved success in life, he was obliged to experience in his youth the " rough and tumble " incident to fortunes of most poor boys, compelled to struggle with poverty, and dependent upon his own re- sources and exertions to conquer difficulties. By laboring on the farm, in the factory and in the machine shop, money was earned and saved for the acquirement of a better educa- tion than the common district school afforded. To accomplish this was his first and supreme ambition. School days over, he became interested, for a short time, in editing and pub- lishing a weekly newspaper in his native State, and during 1851 served as editor-in-chief of the Troy (N. Y.) Daily Post, taking the place of the regular editor (who was also one of the proprietors of the paper) during his absence that year. Although the editorial profes- sion possessed many attractions, and his friends, among whom were Thurlow Weed and George Dawson, of the Albany Evening Journal, complimented him highly on his success as an editor of a political journal, Mr. Downing determined to carry out the ambitious purpose of his youth and become a lawyer. To this end, he engaged in teaching school for a few years, becoming, in the spring of 1853, the Principal of the Male High School in Carlisle, Pean. He continued in that position two years, studying law in the meantime under

I Hl Bennett

889

CITY OF ERIE.

the direction of Wm. B. Penrose, Esq., then a leading member of the Carlisle bar. Having been admitted to the bar in Carlisle, Mr. Downing came to Erie in the fall of 1855, to establish himself in the practice of the law. In 1863, he was elected District Attorney for the county of Erie, and was fairly started in his profession. The following year, however, he was offered the position of Gen. Agt. and Manager of the "Insurance Co. of North America," of Philadelphia, for the Western States, which position was finally accepted, but not without some misgivings as to the expediency of the new departure, after having struggled to secure a foothold in the legal profession, and the hardest part of the battle apparently won. As the new undertaking was regarded by Mr. Downing as an experi- ment, it was agreed that he should make his headquarters at Erie, for the time being, an arrangement that would enable him, in case the duties of his new position should be unsuited to his abilities and experience, to go back to the practice of law in the place where he was acquainted. Nearly all of the prominent fire insurance companies doing an agency busi- ness in the Western States and Territories have their Western offices in Chicago; but the "Insurance Co. of North America" forms an exception to the rule in this respect, and for the reason that the Gen. Agt. and Manager, when first employed, had his home in Erie. The Western Department of the company having been established at Erie, uuder the cir- cumstances above named, it now became a fixture, and one of the important business enter- prises of the city. The business done is not exceeded in extent by any branch fire insur- ance office either in Chicago or elsewhere, and the net earnings of the business have been entirely satisfactory to the company, as well as to their Western Manager. However suc- cessful Mr. Downing might have been, had lie followed the law, he has certainly developed a special fitness for the profession of fire underwriting, in which he holds a rank second to no one occupying a similar position. In 1872, the "Pennsylvania Fire Insurance Co.,"another favorite Philadelphia institution, secured the services of Mr. Downing as their Western manager, and the business of that company has grown to large proportions under his ex- perienced and energetic management. Erie may well be proud of the fact that so popular, so extensively known and so prominent a branch office for fire insurance exists in her midst. But Mr. Downing has not simply been a successful business man: he has always taken an active interest in promoting the growth and prosperity of the city where his home has been for nearly thirty years; investing liberally in manufacturing enterprises, and in the erection of a large number of fine dwellings amd other buildings, his new office building, just completed, being one of the finest of the kind in the State. As School Director and member of the City Councils, he has done his share of public duties, but his influence and example, whether in or out of office, are always on the side of progress and improvement. Being a forcible and ready public speaker, his voice has often been heard in earnest advocacy of questions of public interest. Possessed of talents which eminently fit him for legislative halls, he has no ambition for office, and a decided aversion to all office seeking. In politics, he was first a Whig and then a Republican, but is not a strong partisan, holding to no extreme views on any of the leading political questions of the day. Mr. Downing has long been a member of the First Presbyterian Church, and a liberal sup- porter of that society, as well as of the charitable and benevolent enterprises connected with it. The same may be said of his contributions generally for objects of benevolence of public interest, they have been liberal but unostentatious. In early life, he married Miss Henrietta Bagg, of South Hadley, Mass., and by this union has had seven children, all now living save one daughter.

J. C. M. DRAKE, M. D., 201 West 8th St., Erie, was born in Panama, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., and reared in Westfield, same county. His father was Col. J. C. Drake of the 112th N. Y. S. V., and he is a lineal descendant of an ancient family of that name. After receiving a good literary education at Greylock Iustitute, Mass., he entered Cornell University, taking a thorough literary and scientific course when twenty years of age; after two years he entered Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago, graduating in 1880, when twenty-five years of age. After practicing a year at Westfield, in connection with Dr. Geo. W. Seymour, le came here and has since been identified with the practice in this city. He has worked actively for the development of the social life of Erie City.

MARTIN DRIGGS, passenger car conductor of the L. S. & M. S. Ry., Erie, was born in Genesee Co., N. Y., Oct. 14, 1828; son of Anson Driggs, who came from Conn. and located in N. Y. State. The subject of our sketch was reared and educated in Portland, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., and in 1860 began train work in the railway business with the L. S. Ry., and has been serving for this line twenty years as a conductor. He was married in 1851, in Westerfield, N. Y., to Caroline E. Thayer, an estimable lady, born and reared in Portland. N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Driggs have two children-Chas. T., chief clerk of freight dpt., L. S. Ry., Erie; and Ruby E., a graduate of the Erie High School. Mrs. Driggs is a member of the Simpson M. E. Church. Mr. Driggs, since coming liere, has taken an active part in developing the social and industrial growth of the city.

JOHN M. DU MARS, architect and builder, Erie, was born and reared in Erie Co. He began the carpentering business when fifteen years old, and early developed a marked talent for architecture. He employed his spare minutes in this study, and became profi- cient in it, though he has rather retired from it professionally, preferring to devote his

890

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES:

time exclusively to the building industry, in which he has taken a prominent part in this city. His grandfather of same name, was an early settler in the county, and carried on farming in Mill Creek Township. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. John R. Du Mars, the father of our subject, has been prominently connected with the building interests of Erie City.

CAPT. JAMES DUNLAP, Erie, was born in Erie Co., Penn., March 17, 1801 : son of James and Rebecca (Meach) Dunlap ; the former, a carpenter by trade, was born in Ireland; the latter was a native of Dauphin Co., Penn. They were married in the latter county in 1794, and three years later came to Erie County ; reared a family of five, of whom our subject is the only survivor ; he received his education, necessarily limited, in the old log schoolhouse in this county ; then farmed till 1823, since which time he has been a resident of Erie City. The Captain owns a farm of 100 acres, valued at $10,000, which his father received for living on same five years, according to the laws of the State of Pennsylvania. Our subject filled large contracts, building docks, etc., and at one time was worth over $30,000. Though he has lost considerable through his sons' unfortunate investments, he has still a comfortable competence left ; he lately gave over $1,000 to the Baptist Church, in which he has been Trustee and Deacon for a number of years. Our subject received his commission of Captain of the Militia, in 1827, from Gov. Porter ; was member of City Council for six years; for several years was Harbor Master, Erie City. Capt. Dunlap was married in 1828 to Mary Boyd, and has reared three children-John D., Helen, wife of John Bowers, and James J.

C. H. EADES, grocer and saloon keeper, Erie, was born in the village of Greenfield, Erie Co., Penn., son of William and Betsy (Wallace) Eades, natives of New York ; the latter of German descent : the former, a farmer, of English lineage, came to Erie Co. in 1849, settling in Greenfield. Our subject, who was fitth in a family of seven children, was reared on a farm, and attended the common and high schools of his native county ; he en- gaged as book-keeper for a time, but from 1873 to 1883 followed farming. In December of the latter year he embarked in his present business, corner of 18th and Parade streets, and has been very successful. Mr. Eades was married, in 1875, to Annetta J., daughter of William Baybrooks, and of English descent, by whom there is one child-Conydon Byron. Mrs. Eades is a member of the M. E. Church ; he is a Republican in politics.

PROF. JOHN ECKERT, teacher of instrumental and vocal music, and composer of music, 420, 7th street, Erie, was born in N. Y. City on July 8, 1847, and at an early age showed marked musical talent, and when only ten years of age took active part in con- certs ; he continued the study of music in Cincinnati (whither he had removed) until he was sixteen, when he went to Europe and took a thorough musical course at the Leipsic Conservatory, graduating in April, 1868 ; he then returned to Cincinnati, and was promi- nently identified with his profession there for some time ; he subsequently accepted a posi- tion at Ironton, Ohio, in connection with the public schools of that city as music instruc- tor, and, after a reputable engagement there of a short duration, joined the Magill & Strong Concert Troupe, with whom he remained until the summer of 1876, when he located in Westfield, N. Y. Prof. Eckert came here in 1881, having previously been pro- fessionally connected here. Since his coming, he has always taken an active interest in the social development of the city ; he is an active member of the Masonic order, Royal Arcanum and K. of H. societies. He was married at Westfield, N. Y., in 1881, to H. Blanche Smith, a finely-educated lady, and a daughter of one of the leading business men of the city.

JOHN ELIOT, manager German Savings Bank, Erie, was born March 7, 1825, son of George Augustus Eliot, who died March 2, 1829. The latter was a lawyer in Erie City, Penn. ; married Nov. 12, 1818, Sarah, daughter of Robert Brown, of Erie, Penn. She was born March 12, 1800. They were parents of two children-William H., born June 14, 1823, died Oct. 7, 1845, and John, our subject. The father was a native of Conn., of English descent, and the mother a native of Penn., of Scotch-Irish descent. George Augustus Eliot was a graduate of Yale College. He left Conn. for Cincinnati on horseback, but ran short of money, and arriving at Erie City, he remained three years with Robert Brown, his future father-in-law, who practiced law fifty years in Erie City, and died there in 1870. Our subject was educated in Erie Academy, where he graduated in 1845. His father owned a mill, and with an eye to business, sent John to Ashtabula, Ohio, to learn the milling business, which he did, and on his return took charge of his father's mill, running it suc- cessfully for twenty years. This mill is now inside the corporation limits of Erie City. Mr. Eliot embarked in the banking business under firm name of John Eliot & Co. This firm existed for fifteen years. He then assumed the position he now holds. Our subject was twice married; on first occasion, May 16, 1854, to Elizabeth Johnston, of Pittsburgh, Penn., who bore him two children- Sarah M., wife of Harry Richards, in Dakota, and Ruth. Mrs. Eliot dying in 1861, Mr. Eliot took for his second spouse, in 1863, the widow of Dr. Trissler. She is a native of Buffalo, N. Y., daughter of Joseph Kelsey. Mr. Eliot traces his gene- alogy back to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. In politics, he is a Republican.

MAJOR ANDREW ELLICOTT (deceased). The subject of this sketch devoted a long life to the service of his country, and illustrated in an eminent degree the valuable

891

CITY OF ERIE.

aid intelligence and learning can render in the settlement and civilization of a new country; he was born in Bucks Co., Penn., Jan. 24, 1754. His attainments in science soon drew public attention to him, and from the Revolution to the day of his death he was employed in the fulfillment of trusts conferred by the General or State Governments. Though be- longing to the society of Friends, he commanded a battalion of Maryland Militia in the Revolution. In 1784, he was employed on behalf, of Virginia in fixing the boundary line between that State and Penn. In 1786 he was commissioned by the Supreme Executive Council of the State to run the northern boundary line of Penn., and in 1788 he was directed to make a survey of the islands in the rivers Allegheny and Ohio within the bounds of the State. In 1789 he was commissioned by the U. S. Government to locate the western boundary of N. Y. State, and ascertain the validity of the claim of that State to the site upon which Erie now stands. He located the line, after much hardship and trouble, some 20 miles east of Presque Isle; his valuable service in this important and responsible survey seems to have been duly appreciated by Washington, for he writes in the year of its completion: "General Washington has treated me with attention. The Speaker of Congress and the Governor of the State have constantly extended to me most flattering courtesies." Thus we find that this city was laid out or originally surveyed by Maj. Andrew Ellicott. In 1790 he was employed by the U. S. Government to survey and lay out the District of Columbia and Washington City; in 1796, he was appointed by Washing- ton Commissioner to fix the boundary line between the United States and the Spanish posses- sions. One important trust succeeded another, and for more than 40 years, and up to the time of his death, he was constantly employed in some public capacity. His high character and superior intelligence elevated him without special effort; he had an exalted sense of duty, and a well-sustained conception of personal responsibilities. In March, 1801, he was appointed by Jefferson Surveyor General of the United States, which office he accepted upon conditions imposed by himself. Sept. 1, 1813, he was appointed Professor of Mathematics in the Military Academy at West Point, and removed the same year to that place with his family, and here died, Aug. 28, 1820; he left a widow and nine children. Col. John H. Bliss, of this city, is his grandson. Pres. Hale, in his memoir of Maj. David Bates Douglass, the son-in-law of Andrew Ellicott, says: "The memoirs of the late Andrew Ellicott, when written, will form a valuable addition to the history of our country, taking us away from the beaten ground of battle- fields and Senate Chambers and Cabinets to the services which science can render in the settlement of a new country in a civilized age." Extracts from a sketch of Maj. Andrew Ellicott in Stuart's Civil and Military Engineers of America.

JOSEPH ERHART, No. 710 State street, Erie, jobber iu saddlery hardware, harness, trunks, etc., was born in Girard, Erie Co., Penn., Sept. 9, 1841, and is a son of Stephen and Catherine (Hemmerlin) Erhart. Stephen was born in Baden, Germany, Dec. 15, 1817, and his parents, Magnus and Mary Erhart, came with him to the U. S. in 1832, and the following year settled in Erie, where both died. Stephen Erhart learned the harness trade with his brother, Wolfgang, who located in Erie in 1828. On the 6th of Sept., 1840, he married Catherine Hemmerlin, a native of Alsace, France, born April 23, 1822, whose parents, Dominick and Anna Hemmerlin, settled in Mckean Township, Erie Co., Penn., in 1828, and there died. To this union were born four children-Joseph, Mary J., deceased; Helen A., deceased, and Edward F. M. From 1837 to 1844, Stephen Erhart carried on the harness business at Girard, Erie Co., then returned to Erie, and entered into partnership with his brother Wolfgang. He continued in the successful prosecution of the harness and saddlery business at Erie until 1883, when he sold out to his son Joseph, with whom he had been in partnership since 1866, and retired from active life. Joseph Erhart learned the business with his father, became a partner in 1866, and sole proprietor in 1883. On the 11th of Aug., 1868, he was married to Mary M. Zones, a native of Newark, N. J., born Oct. 12, 1846, and a daughter of Christian and Mary A. (Sterlin) Zones, he a native of Prussia and she of Alsace, France. Mrs. Joseph Erhart is the mother of three children, viz .: An- nie M., born May 25, 1869: Mary M., born Aug. 7, 1873, and Aloys J., born Sept. 20, 1878, all of whom are living. Politically, Mr. Erhart is a Democrat, and the whole family are faithful adherents of the Catholic Church.

W. C. EVANS, M. D., physician and surgeon, Erie, was born in Franklin, Venango Co., Penn., April 13, 1829, son of Col. John Evans of Franklin Co., Penn., for many years editor and publisher of the Venango Herald and High Sheriff of Venango Co. Our sub- ject acquired a literary education in Harrisburg, Penn., read medicine with Dr. B. Gillett and graduated from the Western Reserve Medical College in 1854. He commenced the practice of medicine in the city of Franklin, Penn. In 1862, he came to Erie Co., settling in North East, where he remained five years. Afterward he accepted a professorship in Kansas City College of Physicians and Surgeons. In that city he resided until 1876; during the last two years spent there, he had charge of the City Hospital. The Doctor returned to Erie City in 1876, and has been engaged in the practice of medicine here ever since. In 1849, he was married to Kate C., daughter of Luke Turner, of Penn. By this union were born Arthur, deceased in 1863, and Alfred. Dr. Evans was Lieut. Col. on Gov. Packer's staff, Penn. In politics, he is a Democrat. He is a member of the Central Presbyterian Church; Mrs. Evans of the Episcopal Church.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Erie county, Pennsylvania. Containing a history of the county; its townships, towns, villages schools, churches, industries, etc, Part 103

Author: Bates, Samuel P. (Samuel Penniman), 1827-1902; Whitman, Benjamin, 1940-; Russell, N. W. (Nathaniel Willard); Brown, R. C. (Robert C.); Weakley, F. E; Warner, Beers & Co. (Chicago, Ill.) Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Chicago : Warner, Beers & co. Number of Pages: 1280

Author: Bates, Samuel P. (Samuel Penniman), 1827-1902; Whitman, Benjamin, 1940-; Russell, N. W. (Nathaniel Willard); Brown, R. C. (Robert C.); Weakley, F. E; Warner, Beers & Co. (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : Warner, Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1280