History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, Part 121

Author:
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1288

USA > Pennsylvania > Mercer County > History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present > Part 121

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ABEL S. McVEY, farmer, post-office Worth, was born May 26, 1839, and is a son of Abel and Elizabeth (Copper) McVey, of East Lackawannock Town- ship. Abel was born in Lawrence County in 1793, and was married May 22, 1817. In 1831 they settled on the William Aspy farm of forty-nine acres, in East Lackawannock Township. There were eight children born to them, of whom Abel S. is the only surviving one. They were Martha, Nancy, Hannah, Ben- jamin, Maria, Alexander, Joseph and Abel S. Abel S. obtained his educa- tion at the common schools. He was drafted near the close of the war, but paid the amount of money necessary for a substitute. Politically he is a Democrat. He is the father of four children: Martha E., William Y., Lorenzo H. and Anson C. His father, Abel, died February 15, 1844. The widow is still surviving. Both were members of the Old Seceder Church of Mercer.

ADAM ROGERS, farmer, post-office Mercer, was born September 22, 1835, son of Thomas T. and Eva (Wise) Rogers, natives of Lawrence County, Penn. The father was of Irish and the mother of German descent. They had nine children: Andrew, George T., John, Adam, Catherine J. (wife of Jacob Steiner, of Cool Spring Township), Ruth A. (wife of J. P. Brest), John B., Mary M. (wife of Jacob Grimm) and Sarah E. (wife of James Eastlake, of Jefferson Township). Thomas T. was a farmer, and in politics a Whig and Republican. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He died in March, 1859. Adam was married March 27, 1864, to Harriet, daughter of David and Rebecca (McChesney) Roberts, of Lawrence County, Penn. They settled on a farm of ninety-two acres, purchased of John P. Hoagland, in East Lackawannock Township, where they reared a family of four children: Elizabeth K., Robert W., Edwin S. and Leota. The land was partially cleared, but the buildings have been erected by his own labors. He served seven years as school director. He was a volunteer in the late war in Company B, One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Pennsylvania Volun- teers, under Capt. James McCune, and served nine months. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a Republican.

ANDREW STRANAHAN, farmer, was born in 1837. His father, Andrew Stran- ahan, emigrated from his native country, County Down, Ireland, in 1828, and lived three years in New Jersey, and in 1835 he went to Philadelphia, where he was married August 5, 1835, to Mrs. Elizabeth Shaw, and remained in that city until 1851, when he purchased 121 acres in East Lackawannock Township of the Dickson heirs. Here he died November 17, 1869. He and his wife were members of the First United Presbyterian Church of Mercer, and he in his younger days was a member of the I. O. O. F., having been admitted to the Amity Lodge of Philadelphia in 1842, and to a lodge in

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Mercer in 1851. Andrew Stranahan, our subject, was married April 4, 1866, to Jeannette, daughter of Thomas and (Merideth) Parsons, of Clarion County, who bore him three children: Thomas, Elizabeth and Harry L. Mrs. Stranahan died August 22, 1877, and he was again married, to Maggie J. Pat- terson, of Logan County, Ohio, May 25, 1880. He was for many years identified with the Democratic party, but is now an earnest Prohibitionist, and with his wife is a member of the Covenanter Church of Mercer. He was drafted in the service of his country, and after serving a short time secured a substitute, and subsequently enlisted in the 100-days' service, and remained until the close of the war.

ROBERT STRANAHAN Was born April 22, 1841, in Philadelphia, and is a brother of Andrew Stranahan, whose sketch appears elsewhere. He came to Mercer County with his father, and on July 17, 1861, he enlisted in Company G, Tenth Regiment, Pennsylvania Reserve Volunteer Corps, under Capt. A. J. Warner. He participated in the battle of Drainsville, the seven days fight under McClel- lan before Richmond, South Mountain, Antietam, the second battle of Bull Run, Fredericksburg, the Wilderness, and returned to Pittsburgh, in 1864, where he was mustered out of service. His injuries received in the war are total deafness in the right ear, and hernia in the right side. He was married December 19, 1864, to Julia, daughter of Jacob and Wilhelmina (Brenaman) Hess, of Ohio. Robert W., Julia A. and Mary L., their only children, are dead, and their mother died May 21, 1870; she was a member of the Unity congregation of Lackawannock Township. He was again married, February 28, 1871, to Elizabeth J., daughter of Euphema (Linn) Wallace, of Espyville, Crawford County, and has had five children: Euphema H. (dead), Ella M., Jennie E., James A. and Mary L. He settled in 1865, on a farm of fifty-five acres given him by his father. In 1887 he purchased twenty-eight acres of the McConnell farm adjoining. He and wife are members of the First United Pres- byterian Church of Mercer, and he is a Democrat. He has served as school director for several terms. He is a member of the A. O. U. W. of Mercer.

ROBERT K. WALLACE, deceased, farmer and stone-cutter, was born April 26, 1815, in County Antrim, Ireland, son of Hugh and Ann (Kerr) Wallace, who immigrated to America at an early day, and settled in Jackson Township, this county. Robert K. followed them in 1839, and also purchased a farm of sixty acres in Jackson Township, at that time a dense forest. With his ax he commenced the clearing for his future home. He was married February 21, 1844, to Euphema daughter of John and Elizabeth (Collins) Linn, of Espyville, Crawford Co., Penn. They then settled on his farm in a house he had previously erected. There were eleven children born to them: Elizabeth (wife of Robert Stranahan), Hugh C. (died at the age of thirty years), John L., James S., Will- iam C., Robert K., George, Anna E. (wife of Milton Stephenson), Mary L. (widow of John J. Wharton), Phemie (wife of S. Hazen, of Crawford County, Penn. ) and Talitha. The parents were members of the United Presbyterian Church of Springfield. Politically the father was a Democrat to the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion, after which he became identified with the Republican party. He died on his old homestead February 1, 1870, in his fifty-fifth year. After his death the family sold the farm and purchased a portion of the Cozad farm, in East Lackawannock Township, where they still reside.

B. A. WILLIAMS, farmer, was born October 10, 1831, in Center County, Penn., to William and Mary (Poorman) Williams, natives of the same place, and who married in Center County, Penn., in 1818, where they remained five years, and then moved to Clarion County, Penn. ; remained there a number of

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years, and then moved to Trumbull County, Ohio; remained there five years, then moved to Mercer County, Penn. They had ten children: Barbara A., married Henry Thompson; Sarah, married Richard Arthurs, an attorney at Brookville; Ithamer B., died in Rock Island County, Ill. ; Mary E., married Harrison Clover; Benton A .. resides in Mercer County, Penn. ; Daniel P., farmer in Rock Island County, Ill .; Maria, deceased; John Z., lives in Mitchell County, Kas .; Princetta, married William McLaughlin; Gifford is a resident of Mercer County, Penn. The father of the above named children was born in 1800 and died March 23, 1876, and their mother was born in 1797 and died October 9, 1885. Our subject attended the common schools, and was brought up at farm labor. He began for himself at the age of twenty-three years, renting a farm of 175 acres in Hickory Township, of Everhart, Satter- field & Co., for seventeen years. He kept the cattle for this company, and after awhile became a partner in the stock. In 1868 he began cultivating a farm, known as the "Truesdale Farm," which he continued for five years. In 1872 he bought a farm in Jackson Township, and five years later he pur- chased the J. P. Kerr farm of 285 acres, in East Lackawannock Township, paying for the same $28,000 cash. He deals especially in cattle, sheep and hogs, and raises the finest of each. He was married to Lizzie Shilling, a sister of W. W. Shilling, a rising young attorney of Sharon. This union has given him four children: Mary E., married Austin Hoagland; Charles G., John F. and Jennie M. The family attend the United Presbyterian Church at Mercer, and he is a Democrat.

JOSEPH H. WRIGHT, farmer, post-office Mercer, was born on his present homestead July 10, 1818. George Wright, his grandfather, was married in 1778'to Margaret Simon, of the eastern part of the State. They settled in 1806 on a farm of 130 acres, which they bought from Samuel Hawthorn, when it was all a wilderness, in what was then Lackawannock, but now East Lacka- wannock, Township. Their family consisted of four boys and four girls: George, died in infancy; Maria, wife of John McCullough, of Cool Spring Township; John and Susannah, both deceased; William, deceased; Catharine, widow of Jacob Zahniser, of Mercer; Elizabeth and Adam, deceased. Their names are recorded in a Bible which has been in the family for 137 years. John, the father of our subject, was born in Franklin County, Penn., in 1783. At maturity he was married to Sarah, a daughter of Cyrus Beck- with, of Cool Spring Township. They remained on the old homestead, where five children were born to them: Sarah, married Benjamin McWilliams; George, died in infancy; Sabina, wife of William Stephenson, of East Pal- estine, Ohio; Joseph H. and Caroline, the latter deceased. They followed farming and coal operating. The subject's father was an elder in the United Presbyterian Church for many years, being such at the time of his death. His wife belonged to the same church. Politically he was a Democrat. He served ·

a short time in the War of 1812. He was county treasurer one term and com- missioner several terms, and served in various local township offices. He died in 1845, and his widow in 1846. At the death of the parents Joseph H. suc- ceeded to the ownership of the farm. He was married September 3, 1846, to Phoebe, daughter of Daniel and Mary Edwards, of Armstrong County, Penn., and they are the parents of nine children: John, deceased; Mary, wife of James H. Allen, of New Castle, Penn. ; Caroline, deceased; George, deceased; James E. ; Sarah, deceased; Phoebe, still at home; Amelia and Emma, the lat- ter deceased. Mr. W. obtained his education at the common schools and Mer- cer Academy. Politically he is a Democrat. His wife was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and died October 1, 1884, in her sixty-second year. Mr. W. and his three daughters are members of the United Presbyterian Church.

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

WILMINGTON TOWNSHIP.

AUSTIN B. CARTER, merchant, post-office Indian Run, was born June 18, 1859. He is a son of Joseph and Jane (Welker) Carter, of East Lackawan- nock Township. Our subject was married June 7, 1884, to Emma, daughter of John Montgomery, of Springfield Township. He purchased the store owned by R. J. McClain, at Indian Run, Wilmington Township, where he lives and continues the mercantile business. His wife was appointed postmistress in 1885, which she conducts in the store-room. One child, Pearl, is born to them. Our subject attended school at Grove City College, and graduated at the Iron City College, of Pittsburgh. They are members of the United Pres- byterian Church.

JOHN W. McCRUMB, farmer, post-office New Wilmington, Penn., was born January 12, 1840, on the old homestead where he now resides. The paternal grandfather, John McCrumb, was a native of the County Down, Ireland, and immigrated to Chester County, Penn., and subsequently removed to Fayette County, Penn., and in 1799 to Wilmington Township, what is now in Law- rence County, Penn. In 1818 he removed to Wilmington Township, Mercer County, and purchased a tract of 400 acres, upon a portion of which our sub- ject now resides. John, Sr., was married in Ireland, to Jane Bell, and the result of this union was seven children: one died on the passage to America; Sarah, married James Waugh; William, John, Samuel, Robert and James, all of whom are dead excepting John, who resides in Philadelphia, Penn. John, Sr., died February 6, 1842, and his wife in September, 1832. Robert, the father of our subject, was born in 1798. He was a farmer and spent his life upon the homestead. He was married July 20, 1836, to Prudence A. Craw- ford, and by this marriage they had five children: Harriet, wife of James Don- aldson; John W., Martha R., wife of J. F. Caldwell, of Allegheny City, Penn. ; Sarah E. and Valentine. The latter died at the age of seventeen. Robert

McCrumb died February 13, 1864; his widow died July 20, 1881. Our sub- ject was educated in the common schools of the township. He was reared a farmer, which occupation he has always followed. In 1887 he purchased the extensive flouring-mills formerly owned by Swogger Bros., in Wilmington Township, which he conducts in connection with his farm. Our subject has never married, and is one of Wilmington's most progressive and wealthy citizens. Politically he has followed the footsteps of his ancestors, and is a stanch Republican.

DAVID G. McWHIRTER, farmer, post-office New Wilmington, was born June 19, 1852, in Lackawannock Township, to John and Mary (Garvin) Mc Whirter, and is a second cousin of the late Hon. W. S. Garvin, of Mercer. David was married February 18, 1875, to Margaret, daughter of William and Alice (Spratt) Crocker, of Butler County. They settled on a farm of eighty acres in Wilmington Township, purchased of his father. Seven children have been born to them: John S., Charles A., William H., Frederick, Mary A., Leroy and Pearson, deceased. David obtained his education at the common schools. Politically he is a Democrat,

JAMES MERCER, deceased, was born July 14, 1819, in Wilmington Township, and was the oldest son of William Mercer, who came from Ireland, in company with his brother Henry, in 1788. James, our subject, was married October 29, 1850, to Joanna, daughter of James and Elizabeth Reed, of East Lack- awannock Township. They settled on a tract of land which was willed to him by his Uncle Henry. There were three children born to them: James W. (deceased), Lizzie E. and Sarah B. James, our subject, received a common

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school education; was a volunteer in the late war in Company B, One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Volunteers, and served three and one-half months, when he was taken sick and died January 21, 1863, in the forty-fourth year of his age. He was a Republican. His daughter, Lizzie E., was married September 19, 1878, to John Stein, and resides in Wilmington Township, Mercer County. Mr. Stein is a Republican, and was elected justice of the peace in 1886. Sarah B., the other daughter, was married May 25, 1886, to George W. McFarland, and also lives in Wilmington Township.

LYLE MERCER, farmer, post-office New Wilmington, was born January 20, 1825, in Wilmington Township, this county. William, his father, was born in Ireland, and came with his parents in 1788, and located in Lancaster County. Penn. William came to Mercer County in 1801, and purchased a tract of lan in Wilmington Township containing 500 acres, on which he settled in 1802. He was married to Martha Waugh, of Carlisle, Cumberland County, but she died in about eleven months after they were married. Will- iam married for his second wife, in 1818, Jane, daughter of William Moore, of Washington County, Penn. To them were born eight children: Catherine, wife of Samuel Young; James, died in the army; William, died at the age of fifty; Sarah, wife of John P. Thompson; Lyle; John, lives on part of the homestead; Mary A., died at the age of nineteen; Josiah, died at the age of five. The parents were among the original members of the Presbyterian Church of Neshannock. In politics the father was formerly a Democrat, then a free soiler, and later a Whig. He died May 13, 1852, and his widow died October 30, 1871. Our subject was married November 4, 1851, to Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Thompson, of Lackawannock Township. They settled on a portion of the old homestead. There were five children born to them: Margaret J., wife of William Woods; Joseph W., James C., Syl- vester T. and Flora. The parents are members of the Presbyterian Church. He is a Republican, and was drafted in the late war, for which he furnished a substitute.

W. L. MERCER, farmer, post-office New Wilmington, was born March 12, 1846, on the premises on which he now lives in Wilmington Township. He was the eldest son of William and Sarah Mercer, and was married September 29, 1885, to Iris, daughter of William and Nancy Junkin, of Fayetteville, Lawrence Co., Penn., by which union there is one child, William A. Will- iam Junkin was a soldier in the late war; was taken prisoner, and cast into

Libby Prison, where he died September. 1864, from starvation. He was to have been exchanged the next day if he had lived. Our subject settled on the old homestead, in which he purchased the interests of the other heirs. He completed his education at Westminster College. Politically he is a Republican. He was elected to the office of county auditor in 1881, served for three years, and was re-elected in 1884. He was a volunteer in the late war under Capt. J. C. Vincent, Company I, Fifty-fifth Regiment Pennsyl- vania Volunteer Militia. His wife is a member of the Presbyterian Church.

J. C. VAN ORSDELL, farmer, post-office New Wilmington, was born December 9, 1847, in what is now Pulaski Township, Lawrence County, and is the sixth son of Ralph L. Van Orsdell. Our subject was married December 23, 1869, to Mary E., daughter of John and Nancy (Jack) Barnett, of Mercer. They lived on a farm in Pulaski Township, Lawrence County, until 1882, when he purchased a farm of forty acres of F. T. Davis, in Wilmington Township, Mercer County, on which they now live. Five children have been born to them: Ralph M., A. Belle, Cora, Nannie and Maud. Our subject attended school at Westminster College for three years, after which he taught school

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for three years. He was elected justice of the peace in 1888 for a term of five years. His mother died April 30, 1887, at the age of seventy-four years. His father is spending his declining years with him. They are members of the Presbyterian Church.

THOMAS B. PORTER, farmer, post-office New Wilmington, was born March 25, 1835, in Wilmington Township, this county. His father, Thomas, was born in County Donegal, Ireland, in 1791. At the age of twenty-six he im- migrated to America, and worked for four years on a farm for Squire Abrams, near Philadelphia. He then visited Mercer County and purchased a farm of sixty acres of Mr. McConnell. He soon after returned to Philadelphia, where he was employed by Stephen Girard, as overseer of his farm hands, where he remained two years. He then returned to Mercer County. He was married in 1826, to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of John and Elizabeth Waugh, of Wil- mington Township. They located on a farm, where they lived about ten years, when they sold it to Joseph Douglass, and bought 100 acres of Dr. Smith, near Wilmington. There were six children born to them: Sarah A., deceased wife of William Glendenning; Robert M., Rachel J., wife of George Allen; Thomas B., Elizabeth, wife of Allen Watson, and one child died in infancy. His wife died in 1838, and he married for his second wife Hannah Pomroy, of Lawrence County. To them has been born one child, John W., of Lackawannock Township. In 1856 he purchased a farm of 100 acres in Lackawannock Township, on which they went to live. He was a Democrat. They were members of the Presbyterian Church. His wife died December 18, 1877, and he died April 15, 1886. Thomas B., our subject, was married September 18, 1860, to Margaret J., daughter of Joseph and Nancy (Stewart) Allen, of Wilmington Township. They located on a farm which was given to him by his father, in Wilmington Township. To them were born eight chil- dren: Joseph S., Thomas M., William E., Nannie L., Lizzie M., Sadie M., Emma R., deceased, and Robert B. Our subject obtained his education at the common schools. He is a Democrat, and the family are members of the Presbyterian Church.

CHAPTER XXXV.

BIOGRAPHIES OF PYMATUNING, DELAWARE AND JEFFERSON.

PYMATUNING TOWNSHIP.

D AVID ARTHERHOLT, deceased, was born in Brookfield Township, Trumbull Co., Ohio, December 12, 1820, and in 1828 removed to Pymatuning Township, Mercer Co., Penn., with his parents, Samuel and Sarah (Bibighans) Artherholt. They were born and reared in Berks County, Penn., and lived for a few years in Northampton, Luzerne and Union Coun ties before their removal to Trumbull County, Ohio, about 1815, whence they came to this county. Both died upon the old homestead in Pymatuning Town- ship, having had a family of four sons and three daughters. David grew up in this township, and married Miss Mary Ann, daughter of John H. Speir, of West Salem Township, April 15, 1841. He settled on a tract of uncleared land, deeded to him by his father, to which he added by purchase. He

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cleared up and resided on this farm till his sudden death by accident, June 18, 1887. Nine children were the fruits of this union: Curtis H., of Kent, Ohio; Smith S., of West Salem Township; Sarah E., wife of James P. Sim- cox, of Pymatuning Township; Silas A. and John R., of Greenville; Marilda, deceased; Myron D., of Pymatuning Township; Ida, wife of Charles A. See, of Butler, Penn., and Levoid D., of Greenville, Penn. His wife died Septem- ber 4, 1867, and he was married again in the fall of 1868. to Mrs. L. (Miller) Splitson, but left no children by the second marriage. Mr. Artherholt and wife were members of the Reformed Church, and he was an ardent supporter of the Democratic party. He was a quiet, earnest and obliging neighbor, and belonged to the old school of honest, industrious and square-dealing citizen- ship. He was kind, considerate and hospitable toward all, and was recognized as one of the wealthiest and most highly respected citizens of Pymatuning Town- ship. Myron D. inherited the old homestead, upon which he was born Decem- ber 19, 1854, and was reared and educated in this township. He married, September 24, 1878, Miss Vesta, daughter of John and Caroline (Chestnut) Kelly, of Pymatuning Township. Two children have been born to them, Ida and Ruby C. Politically Mr. Artherholt is a Democrat, and both he.and his wife belong to the Reformed Church.

ANDREW BYERLY, farmer, post-office Sharpsville, was born December 17, 1812, in Westmoreland County, Penn. He is the son of Joseph and Mary (Smith) Byerly, natives of Westmoreland County, and of German descent. They came to Mercer County in 1832, and settled on a farm in Pymatuning Township. They were the parents of Andrew, Fanny, widow of J. Mc- Dowell; Joseph, died in California about 1860; Catherine, wife of Robert Hodge; Lovina, widow of H. Sharp; George and Lebious, now of Wisconsin; Phoebe, wife of Mr. Klingensmith, of Crawford County. Their parents lived on the homestead until their deaths. They were consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Joseph was politically a Democrat. He died August 19, 1865, in his eighty-third year. His wife died June 6, 1861, in her sixty-ninth year. Andrew, our subject, was married March 13, 1834, to Ruth, daughter of George and Lydia (Gill) McDowell, of Hickory Town- ship. There have been born to them George, Joseph, Isaac, Andrew, James, Sarah, wife of James Reed; Lile, married; Julia, wife of J. W. Lindsay, and Smith, who died in the service of his country in the late war. George and Isaac were also in the service four and three years respectively. Andrew pur- chased a portion of his father's farm, on which the family lived about twenty- five years, when they bought a farm of 140 acres of Mr. Hull, in Pymatuning Township, on which they still reside. Our subject and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and politically he is a Democrat.

JOSEPH BYERLY, wagon manufacturer, post-office Sharpsville, Penn., is a son of Andrew and Ruth (McDowell) Byerly. He was born in April, 1837, in Pymatuning Township, and was educated at the common schools. He was taught the trade of wagon manufacturing, serving his time with S. Runser, of Hickory Township, and was employed for three years, after he served his time, in the shops of Sharon, Pittsburgh and Warren, Ohio. In 1859 he established himself in business in Pymatuning Township, and is engaged in the manufacture of wagons and buggies and general blacksmith business. In 1862 he engaged in the livery business in Sharpsville, which he conducted, in connection with his manufacturing business, for fourteen years. Our sub- ject was married in 1859, to Miss Sophia, daughter of Henry Lightner, of Huntingdon County, Penn., and to them have been born six children: Maud, Elizabeth, Mrs. Justius Hum, of Sharpsville; Palenia, Ruth, Harvey and Mary.

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History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, Part 121

Author: Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk Number of Pages: 1288

Author:
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1288