USA > Pennsylvania > Greene County > History of Greene County, Pennsylvania > Part 65
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M. L. STROSNIDER, manufacturer of woolen goods, Waynes- burg, Penn., was born in West Virginia, June 11, 1847, and is a son of Moses and Mary (Thompson) Strosnider. They were natives of Greene County, Penn., and of German and Scotch-Irish extrac- tion. His father was a wheelwright by trade. M. L. Strosnider is next to the youngest of ten children, was reared in West Virginia, and received his education in Waynesburg College. Ile first began manufacturing in Blacksville, W. Va., in 1870, where he continued until 1884. In that year he established the woolen-mills at Waynes- burg, where he has since successfully engaged in that business. Mr. Strosnider was united in marriage May 19, 1875, with Caroline, daughter of Alexander Wallace, and they have had three children, viz .- James W., Harley L. and Flora, of which two are living. Mr. and Mrs. Strosnider are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a Democrat, and a member of the Knights of Honor.
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CAPT. W. H. STOY was born at Brownsville, Penn., February 12, 1815, and is a son of Henry W. and Catharine (Cook) Stoy. His mother was born at Hagerstown, Maryland, and his father at Lebanon, Penn. They were of Dutch and English descent. His father received a medical education in Germany. His grandfather was a graduate of Heidleberg College, and was sent to this country by the King of Germany as a foreign minister. Captain Stoy's father came to Brownsville in 1807 and practiced medicine for forty- five years. Captain Stoy had a natural inclination for music, which he wisely cultivated, and for fifty years he has been a teacher and
composer. HIe has twenty bands in different towns and cities for which he furnishes music. In 1861 he enlisted and served in the Union army as leader of the band for the Eighth Pennsylvania Reserves. He served until the bands were discharged by general order, when he returned to Waynesburg, where he has since resided. He was married in 1844 to Margaret, daughter of Allen Biggs. Mrs. Stoy was born in Ohio County, W. Va., in 1826. Their chil- dren are all married except the youngest. They are-Mary, wife of J. P. Sullivan; Charlotte, wife of George Albertson; Catharine, wife of I. B. Raisor; Henry W., a printer; Gustavns, a drug clerk; Dollie, wife of T. J. Hawkins; Lillie, wife of D. M. Morrison; Jennie, widow of W. F. Clayton; George B., who married Miss Anna Robison, of Bealsville, in 1888; and Frank, a tailor in Pitts- burgh, Penn. Captain Stoy is a prominent member of the Masonie fraternity and a Sir Knight Templar. Gustavus, his second son, was born in Washington, Penn., August 26, 1854. He was reared in Waynesburg, where he attended school and also learned telegraphy. At the present time he is salesman and prescription clerk for II. S. Blachly, of Waynesburg. He was married in 1884 to Miss Ruth Robinson, a native of West Moreland County, Penn., and a niece of Ilon. R. S. Robinson.
GEORGE TAYLOR, a successful farmer and stock-grower of Franklin Township, was born in Washington Township, this county, February 16, 1832. His parents were William and Jane (Crane) Taylor, also natives of this county. His father's family consisted of three children, of whom George is the oldest. He was reared in Washington Township, where he received his education, and early in life began farming. He is now the owner of 318 acres of good farming land in Greene County. In 1858 Mr. Taylor married Miss Dorcas, daughter of William Grimes. Mrs. Taylor was born in Franklin Township in 1831, and is a sister of H. M. Grimes, a prom- inent farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have a family of eight chil- dren-Margaret Maria, wife of J. Iluffman; Elizabeth Mary, wife of Thomas Robinson; William G., George W., C. F., Daniel C., Ella
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and Dorcas Anna. Mr. Taylor is a Democrat, and has served on the school board of his district.
JUSTUS FORDYCE TEMPLE, ex-auditor general of the State of Pennsylvania, was born in this county February 13, 1824, and is a son of John and Elizabeth (Douglas) Temple. Ilis parents were natives of Pennsylvania, and of English extraction. His father, an inn-keeper, was also a drover, and dealt in stock extensively. General Temple was the oldest in a family of four children, and was reared in Greene County, where he attended the common schools. Early in life he learned the cooper's trade, at which he worked for four years. Ile then taught school and took an active part in the teachers' institutes. In 1854, General Temple, who is a Democrat, was elected county auditor, and in 1857 was elected register and recorder, which office he held for six years. He was then elected prothonotary of the county and served for six years in that office. Ile then took up the study of law and was admitted to the bar in 1869, remaining in active practice until 1874, when he was elected State auditor general, where he served with honor for three years. He then resumed the practice of law. General Temple was at one time somewhat of a musician, and considered by the boys in blue as an expert fifer. Ile takes an active interest in the schools, and has served as a member of the school board. He was an active mover in the erection of the new college building at Waynesburg, and gave liberally to the enterprise. General Temple was married in 1851 to Miss Nancy Ann Schroy, who died in 1875. Their children are- Mary, wife of William J. Bayard; Nevada, wife of Williamn G. Os- goodby; James B. and Anna Belle, wife of Joseph O'Neill. In 1877 the General married Katherine, daughter of Michael Salmon. General Temple is a prominent member of the I. O. O. F. He has been Deputy Grand Master, and is also a member of the Masonic fraternity.
JOHN P. TEAGARDEN, attorney at law, was born at the old Teagarden homestead in Richhill Township, Greene County, Penn. His father was Colonel Isaac Teagarden. His mother's maiden name was Sarah A. Parker. The family is of Prussian origin, and the ancestry is traced back many generations. Abraham Teagarden was an educated civil engineer, and came from Prussia to America in 1744, locating first at Philadelphia, Penn., where in 1745 he married Miss Mary Parker, of English birth. Their oldest child, William Teagarden, was born in Philadelphia on the 17th day of January, 1746. Some time after this Abraham Teagarden, with his family. moved to Western Pennsylvania. He was one of the first white men who attempted to make a settlement in this part of the State. Tradition tells of the many thrilling adventures he and his family had with the Indians. William Teagarden was married to Bethia
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Craig, of Maryland. Shortly after this Abraham and William Tea- garden, and two other families named Hughes and Hupp, made the first settlement attempted in the limits of Greene County, near where Clarksville now stands. Old Fort Red Stone, near Brownsville, was the nearest fort or place of refuge from the savage marauders. Will- iam Teagarden and his wife, had, one occasion taken refuge in old Fort Redstone, and it was there, on March 6, 1775, that Abraham Teagarden, grandfather of John P. Teagarden, was born. Abraham Teagarden secured a liberal education for those days. During the Indian wars following, he enlisted as a private soldier in General Wayne's army, and remained in the field until peace was restored. Hle married Nancy MeGuier, and immediately moved to lands he had located in Richhill Township and in West Finley Township, Wash- ington County. His first house was on the old Teagarden home-
stead in Richhill Township. Twelve children were born to them, the third being Isaac, the father of John P. Teagarden. Isaac Tea- garden was born April 12, 1807. He was a mill-wright by occupa- tion, and built many of the mills in this and Washington County. When the slavery question arose he was among the first to array him- self on the side of liberty and equal rights. He assisted in the or- ganization of the so-called Abolition party and cast one of the first votes for that party in this county. HIe voted for Birney, the Free- soil candidate for President, and continued to act with the party of freedom, voting for all its candidates, until the organization of the Republican party in 1856, when he connected himself with that party, and remained steadfast to its principles till the time of his death, June 20, 1886. Ile was elected Colonel of the Forty-sixth Pennsylvannia Militia and was commissioned Colonel by Governor Ritner in 1838, for three years. When the war of the late Rebellion came, he, at the advanced age of fifty-four, enlisted in Company F, Eighty-fith Pennsylvania Volunteers. He participated with his reg- iment in the battles of the Peninsula and before Yorktown. He was a member of the Christian Church. His family consisted of four children-Phoebe Jane, Charity Lonise, John Parker and Thomas L., the latter having died early in childhood. Phoebe Jane Teagarden was one of the prominent teachers of the county, but she abandoned that profession and commenced the study of medicine, which she completed in a three years' course at the Woman's Medical College at Philadelphia, graduating from that institution in the class of 1882. She then immediately commenced the practice of medicine at Waynesburg, where she now has a large and lucrative practice. Charity Lonise Teagarden is also a teacher of prominence, and is at present a teacher in the Union school of Waynesburg, a position she has held for the past twelve years. John P. Teagarden commenced life as a teacher. In 1869 he went to Iowa to teach school, and in
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the fall of that year commenced the study of law under the tutorship of W. W. Haskel, of the Oskaloosa, Mahaska County bar, and was admitted to practice in the several courts of Iowa in 1871. Hle re- turned to the home of his parents in Richhill Township, and in 1872 the entire family moved to Waynesburg. He was admitted to prac- tice at the Greene County bar in 1872, and later to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and the United States Courts, and has contin- ued in the practice ever since. He is a Republican in politics. and
has always taken an active interest in political affairs. In 1878 he was tendered the Republican nomination for State Senate in the For- tieth Senatorial Distriet composed of Greene and Fayette counties; and while he was defeated, yet he materially reduced the large Dem- ocratie majority in the district. In 1850 he was elected President- ial elector and cast one of Pennsylvania's votes for General James A. Garfield for President. He served two years as Secretary and three years as Chairman of the Republican County Committee. Ile was elected burgess of Waynesburg borough two terins, was a member of council two terms, and is a prominent member of the I. O. O. F. of this county. He was married in 1885 to Miss Mary E. Davis, of Waynesburg.
JOB THROCKMORTON, a farmer and stock-grower of Oak Forest, 'Penn., was born in Greene County December 17, 1809. His father and mother were Joseph and Catharine (IIulsart) Throckmor- ton, natives of New Jersey, and of English origin. His father, who was a farmer all his life, came to Greene County in 1809, and settled two miles west of Waynesburg, Penn. His family consisted of ten children, five danghters and five sons, of whom Job was the oldest, and was reared on the farm with is parents. Early in life he learned the tailor's trade and engaged in that businass for seven- teen years. He then bought his first farm, in 1835, and has since devoted his time wholly to farming. His home farm contains 109 acres of valuable land. Mr. Throckmorton was united in marriage with Sarah Fry, who is of German extraction. Her grandparents
· were among the earliest settlers of this county. Her father was a farmer and lived to be over forty-five years old. Mr. and Mrs.
Throckmorton's children are-George, a farmer; Catharine, wife of John Maple; Joseph R., a farmer; and Franklin B., a carpenter. Mrs. Maple, the only daughter, died February 17, 1885, and her husband died February 18th of the same month and year, and both were buried in one grave at the same time. Mr. and Mrs. Throck- morton are members of the M. E. Church, in which he has held vari- ons official positions. He has been a life-long Democrat, and has held most of the offices in Franklin Township. 7 Mr. Throckmorton is greatly interested in school matters, and has served as school direc- tor for a number of years.
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F. B. THROCKMORTON, secretary of the Waynesburg Rol- ler Mill Company, was born in Franklin Township, Greene County, Penn., October 12, 1852. Ile is a son of Job and Sarah (Fry) Throckmorton, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the lat- ter of New Jersey. They were of English descent. His father was a tailor by trade and followed that business in early life, but later he retired to the farm where he now resides in Franklin Township. F. B. Throckmorton is the youngest in a family of four children and was reared in Franklin Township, where he attended the district schools. Early in life he learned the cooper's trade which he followed until 1885, when he was employed by the roller inill company at Waynesburg. In 1872 Mr. Throckmorton married Sarah A., daughter of William Johnson. Their children are Ada B., Jesse E., George Albert and William. Mr. and Mrs. Throckmorton are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is trustee. lle is a Democrat and has served as town- ship assessor. He is chaplain of the Royal Arcanum at Waynes- burg.
J. T. ULLOM, physician and surgeon, of Waynesburg, Penn., was born in Center Township, Greene County, Penn., April 11, 1847. Hle is a son of D. T. and Anna (Johnson) Ullom, natives of this county, and of German and Irish lineage. His ancestors were among the earliest settlers of the county. Dr. Ullom is a member of a family of twelve children, nine of whom grew to maturity. He was reared on the farm and attended Waynesburg College. Ile began the study of medicine in 1866, with Dr. S. L. Blachly, at Sparta, Washington County, Penn. In 1868 he attended lectures at Charity Hospital Medical College at Cleveland, Ohio. In 1869 he entered Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia, and graduated in 1870. Ile at onee began the practice of his profession in Rogersville, Greene County, where he continued for seventeen years. He came to Waynesburg in 1887 and formed his present partnership with Dr. J. T. Iams. Dr. Ullom was married in Rogersville, Jannary 8, 1875, to Anna, danghter of George Sellers. She is also a native of this county, and of English descent. Their children are-Blanche and Frank S. Dr. and Mrs. Ullom are members of the Methodist Pro- testant Church. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity. He has been president of the County Medical Society, and in 1887 was elected first vice-president of the State Medical Society.
W. S. VANDRUFF, surveyor, born in Perry Township, this county, May 18, 1852, is a son of John and Rachel (Maple) Van- druff, natives of Greene County. They own a well-improved farm of 119 acres in Perry Township, where Mr. W. S. Vandruff was born. He is the oldest in a family of ten children, and was reared on the farm, attending the common schools of the county. When
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he reached his majority, he began working by the month on a farm. At the age of twenty-three he learned the carpenter's trade, at which he worked until 1880. While working at his trade he studied sur- veying, and is now considered a competent surveyor. He also draws maps with great speed and accuracy. In 1887 Mr. Vandruff erected a neat and substantial residence in Waynesburg, where he now lives. He owns a small farm in Perry Township, where he has given con- siderable attention to bee culture. Mr. Vandruff, who is a man of more than ordinary ability, is a great reader and has a bright future before him. He was married in 1876 to Matilda, daughter of Jolin and Dorotha (Haines) Fox, natives of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Vandruff are the parents of two children-Ross Elliott and Ottly Earl. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
D. S. WALTON, attorney, and member of the firm of Wyly, Bu- chanan & Walton, was born at Ryerson's Station, Greene County, Penn., May 17, 1853. Ilis parents were D. M. and Mary M. (Drake) Walton, the former a native of Washington County, Penn., and the latter of Philadelphia. They were married in Clarksville, this county, and settled in the city of Pittsburgh, where they were burned out in 1845. They then returned to Clarksville, and in 1850 moved to Ryerson's Station. Mrs. Walton departed this life in 1859. Nine years after her death Mr. Walton moved with his family to Oskaloosa, Iowa, where he has since resided. The family consisted of ten chil- dren, of whom three are living. Mr. D. S. Walton, who is next to the youngest, acquired his education in the common schools and in the colleges at Oskaloosa and Waynesburg. He read law with Wyly and Buchanan, of Waynesburg, and Judge Rinehart, of Oskaloosa. He was admitted to the bar in Iowa, November 17, 1874, practiced one year, and came to Waynesburg, entering the firm of which he is still a member. Mr. Walton is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and has filled several offices of trust in Waynesburg. He has been a member of the borough council, a member of the school board, and in 1884 was burgess of the borough. He has been a trustee of the college for twelve years, and is now president of the board. Mr. Walton was united in marriage, March 18, 1873, with Miss Mary A., daughter of James A. J. Buchanan, and they are the parents of one child, Jimmie B., a bright and interesting son, who was born March 27, 1874, and departed this life April 17, 1888.
GEORGE W. WISECARVER, farmer, Waynesburg, Penn .- Among the representative business men of Greene County, we take pleasure in mentioning the name of George W. Wisecarver, who was born in Whiteley Township, this county, July 22, 1813. His parents were George and Catharine (Orndorf) Wisecarver, natives of Fred- erick County, Va., and of English and German descent. The former was born in 1756. Mrs. Wisecarver was several years younger.
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They came to Greene County in 1800, settled in Whiteley Township and remained until their death. They were the parents of nine chil- dren, all of whom lived to be over seventy years of age. . Of these six are living, the youngest now past the seventieth mile-stone. George W. Wisecarver's early life was spent with his parents on the farm in Whiteley Township, and on account of the thinly settled country his opportunities for an education were very limited, and he reecived but four months' schooling. His father did not succeed in accumulating very much of this world's goods, and was obliged to have his children raised by strangers. At the age of sixteen George started out in life for himself, and has succeeded so well that at one time he was the owner of 4,000 acres of good land in Greene County, the most of which he has divided with his family. It is very inter- esting to hear Mr. Wisecarver relate the many things that have transpired from the time he did his first day's work in the county for himself, up to the present, when we find him among the wealthiest men of Greene County. The pay for the first day's work was a fish- hook, and we would presume that he did not like work by the day, as he soon found employment by the month at very low wages, and for his first month's work received from his employer, Samuel Nelson, one pair of shoes valued at $1.50. At that time $4 was considered good pay for a month's work. Mr. Wisecarver learned the cooper's trade, which he followed in connection with his farming. Most of the time for twelve years he worked eighteen hours out of every twenty-four, and for seven years he made enough at night at his trade to pay two men for their work through the next day. In 1843 he bought a farm of 210 acres in Washington Township. In 1849 his shop and coopering tools were destroyed by fire. Since then he has devoted most of his time to farming, dealing in real estate and raising live stock. In 1854 Mr. Wisecarver went to Iowa and entered 2,000 acres of land. In 1857 he bought 330 acres more in Greene County, and in the same year he traded his land in Iowa for 500 acres in Richhill Township, this county, giving the difference in easlı. He traded most of his land in Iowa for land in Pennsylvania. By good management and industry he added many acres to these purchases, and has cleared over 1,000 acres in this county. Mr. Wisecarver, like the majority of business men, has had his share of bad luck, and has paid over $45,000 for security and otherwise, from which he derived but little benefit; but being more of a believer in pluck than luck, he has succeeded notwithstanding his losses. He was united in marriage, May 1, 1843, with Priscilla, daughter of Jacob and Phæbe (Crayne) Barnes. To Mr. and Mrs. Wisecarver have been born eight children, viz: Nancy, who has been twice mar- ried, first to Norman Worley, deceased, her present husband being Maj. Benjamin Herrington; Caroline, wife of Amos A. Allison;
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Frank P., of Philadelphia; Timothy J., a large land-owner in this county; Margaret M., wife of Jesse Wise, a young attorney of the Waynesburg bar; and Virginia, a very estimable young lady. The deceased are Phoebe J. and Elizabeth. Mr. Wisecarver's father served as wagon-master under Gen. Washington, and drew a pension until his death. He was present when Lord Cornwallis surrendered.
REV. JOEL J. WOOD, farmer and stock-grower, Waynesburg, Penn .-- The subject of this sketch is one of the few Methodist min- isters who have been financially successful. He owns over four hundred acres of land in Greene County, and also has land in the State of Iowa. Mr. Wood, who is of English extraction, was born in Whiteley Township this county, in 1814, and is the third son of Edward Wood, also a native of Greene County. Rev. Mr. Wood attended the old Greene Academy at Carmichaels, Penn., and obtained a good English education, together with a fair knowledge of the lan- gnages. Early in life he made a profession of religion. He taught school a few months, but subsequently accepted a circnit in the Pittsburg conference, and was actively engaged as a minister over twenty-five years. Ile was always faithful to his charge and allowed nothing to interfere with his appointments. He has met with marked success in building church honses and has been to a great extent instrumental in building up the Methodist Protestant Church. Since 1866 Mr. Wood has engaged in farming. He has been twice mar- ried. Ilis present wife, whom he married in 1864, was Miss Maggie E. Boyd, of Washington County, Penn. He was first married at Fairmount, West Virginia, to Mary Ann, second dangh- ter of Rev. A. A. Shinn, D. D., who was one of the organizers of the Methodist Protestant Church. Mrs. Wood died in 1852. They had two children, one now living -Asa R., a prominent business man of Washington, Penn. By his second marriage Mr. Wood is the father of three children-Mary E., Phoebe A. and Harriet Frances.
HIRAM C. WOOD), wool and stock-dealer, was born in Franklin Township, Greene County, Penn., April 11, 1851. Ile is a son of John D. and Sevela (Barnes) Wood. His mother was a native of New Jersey. Ilis father, who was born in Greene County, Penn., was an extensive dealer in wool and stock, and died September 26, 1876. He was also a physician of the Eclectic School and had an extensive practice. Mr. Hiram C. Wood is the youngest of six children living. Ile received his education in the common schools of Greene County. Hle very naturally took up the business of his father and was his partner in stock-dealing for several years. He owns a fine farm of one hundred and seventy-five acres in Franklin Township. In February, 1873, Mr. Wood was united in marriage with Sarah J., daughter of Corbly Orndoff, ex-county commissisner, and they are the parents of three children-John F., Nora M. and
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Mattie C. Mr. and Mrs. Wood are members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church. He is a Democrat, and a member of the I. O. O. F. Lodge at Oak Forest, Penn .; also a member of the Waynesburg Council, No. 550, Royal Arcanum. He was a member of the firm of John Hesket & Co., commission merchants for the sale of live stock at the Central Stock Yards, Pittsburg, Penn.
HENRY ZIMMERMAN .- The writer takes great pleasure in giving a sketch of the life of Henry Zimmerman, of Franklin Town- ship, one of the oldest citizens of Greene County, born November 23, in the year 1813. He has witnessed great strides in the progress and improvement of the county. He has seen the wilderness metamorphosed into . highly cultivated and rich farming lands, covered with pleasant homes and inhabited by a prosperous and intelligent people. Ilis parents, who were of English and German descent, came to Greene County in 1809, and resided in Whiteley Township twenty-five years, then they took up five hundred acres of land in Franklin Township, on which they resided until their death. Ilenry was a member of a family of nine children, all boys; and his father lived to see the day-the proudest of his life-when he and his nine sons could march to the polls in solid phalanx and cast ten democratie votes. At present writing (1888), however, but two of his sons areliving-the subject of our sketch and Robert Zimmerman, of Wayne Township. In his youth Henry Zimmerman learned the trade of stone masonry, which he has followed through life, together with farming, being the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and twenty-five acres in Franklin Township. Ilis California peaches are the finest ever brought to market in this part of the country, and he takes great pride in his orchard of over eight hundred trees. Mr. Zimmerman was united in marriage, September 29, 1839, with Mary Ellen, daughter of William and Ellen (Hood) Seals, who were of Irish and English ancestry. Mrs. Zimmerman is a grand-daughter of James Seals, who was a Colonel in the Revolutionary war. To Mr. and Mrs. Zimmerman were born two children-Ellen J. and James B., who was born in 1856, and in 1879 married Jane A., daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Tewksberry. Their children are W. S., Robert H. and Gilbert T. R. Ellen J. was united in marriage with J. S. Herrington, and they were the parents of two children --- Mary C. (deceased) and Emma A.
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