History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, Part 150

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

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JOHN VOROUS, farmer, post-office New Lebanon, is a son of W. G. and Leah (Firster) Vorous, of Mill Creek Township. The first to locate in this county was Rhyneer Vorous, the great-grandfather of our subject, who was a native of Washington County, Penn., and located on a tract of land in what is now Mill Creek Township early in the century. His son Price, the grand- father of our subject, was also born in Washington County, and after his mar- riage located on the farm, a part of which is now owned by John. He reared six children, all of whom are dead except W. G. and Jane (Mrs. Albert Klin- gensmith), who lives on the old homestead. W. G. was born in 1820, and has always been engaged in farming. Our subject was the eldest of his family, and was born March 18, 1843. He attended the township schools, and after- ward learned the stone-mason trade, which he followed for a number of years. In 1861 he enlisted in Company I, Fourth Regiment Pennsylvania Cavalry, and served until the close of the war, receiving wounds at the battles of Deep Bottom, Va., St. Mary's Church and Sailor's Creek. In 1864 he married Miss Margaret A., daughter of William Miller, of Mill Creek Township. By this union they have seven children: Cora Lee, wife of John Steelsmith; William F., Hattie A., Adison V., Emma J., John I. G. and Hugh S. M. Our sub- ject was elected county auditor in 1875, which office he filled for three years. He has also been school director, supervisor and assessor of the township. He is a member of the Sandy Lake Lodge No. 573, I. O. O. F. fraternity, also of the A. O. U. W., No. 54, of New Lebanon, and votes the Republican ticket. He and wife are members of the Fairfield Presbyterian Church.

FRENCH CREEK TOWNSHIP.

JOHN W. COOPER, farmer, post-office Milledgeville, is a son of William R. and Mary (Thompson) Cooper. William Cooper, the grandfather of our subject, was a native of Westmoreland County, and settled on a tract of land in Mill Creek Township, this county, about 1796, and died there in 1809. His family consisted of six children, all of whom are dead. The father of our subject was next to the youngest, and was born in Mill Creek Township. In 1803, after his marriage, he located in French Creek Township. He was a carpenter by trade. He was one of the organizers of the Milledgeville Presby- terian Church, in which he was ruling elder until his death in 1865. His widow is still living on the homestead with her son, Samuel J. His family consisted of twelve children: Martha and Charles R. are dead. The living are: Rebecca J., wife of Robert M. Jackson, the treasurer of Lynn County,

ـوخمستاج

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

Iowa; Keziah, wife of James S. Williams; Eliza, wife of F. S. Whitling, of Cochranton, Penn. ; John W .; Clara, wife of Isaac Canfield; William H. ; lumberman in Parksburg, W. Va. ; Margaret, wife of Eli Ward; Samuel J., Albert T., lawyer of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Annie V., teacher in the public schools of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Our subject was born on the homestead at Milledgeville, September 2, 1841. He was educated at the public schools and Cochranton Academy. From 1868 to 1875 he engaged in manufacturing lum- ber, erecting a saw-mill at Milledgeville. Since that time he has followed farming. In 1888 he purchased the general mercantile business of George E. Hamilton, which he conducts in connection with farming. March 24, 1868, he married Eliza J., daughter of John Hamilton, of Allegheny County. By this union they have four children: Charles William, Jean M., John Hamil- ton and Thomas Logan. Our subject has held the offices of school director, supervisor and constable of the township, and is now serving a second term as justice of the peace, having been elected in 1880 and again in 1885. He votes the Republican ticket, and has been an elder in the Presbyterian Church since 1874.

SAMUEL J. COOPER, farmer, post-office Milledgeville, is a son of William R. and Mary (Thompson) Cooper, and was born on the homestead, where he now resides, February 23, 1852. He was educated in the township schools,- and November 8, 1882, was married to Matilda G., daughter of Joseph Stevenson, of French Creek Township, and by whom he has two children: Arthur and Carrie Annabel. Mr. Cooper is engaged in general farming and breeding draft and driving horses and pure Poland-China hogs. He is a stanch Republican.

ISAAC CROWELL, farmer, post-office Milledgeville, is a son of Dennis and Kate Crowell, of Clearfield County, Penn. He was born in Decatur Township, Clear- field County, this State, in 1831. In 1866 he moved to Mercer County, and lo- cated on his present farm in French Creek Township. In 1855 he married Miss Elizabeth Baughman, of Clearfield County. By this union they have had five children: Sovilda, born May 9, 1857, died May 13, 1859; Allen, on the home- stead, married Eva Grinnold, of Geneva, Crawford County; Lucinda, mar- ried A. A. Lasher, of Venango County; H. H., on the homestead, and Ashley W. Our subject has served as a justice of the peace since 1887. He has also held the office of supervisor. He is a trustee of the New Lebanon United Brethren Church, and votes the Republican ticket.

HENRY DEAN, farmer, post-office New Lebanon, is a son of Abner and Su- sanna (Remley) Dean, natives of Huntingdon County, who settled in that part of Mercer County which is now Lawrence County in 1818. About 1858 they removed to New Lebanon Borough, where the mother of our subject died in 1866, leaving ten children, of whom Allie and Nancy are dead. The living are: Elizabeth, widow of William Corbin, of Akron, Ohio; Henry, William, John, Abner, Eliza, Susanna and Washington. Mr. Dean, Sr., married for his second wife Mrs. Elizabeth Whitman, who is still living. By her he had two daughters: Eula May and Cora. Mr. Dean was treasurer of New Leba- non for a number of years, a devoted member of the Lutheran Church, and voted the Republican ticket. He died in January, 1888. Our subject was born November 11, 1818; he attended the log school-houses of that period, and has always followed farming, moving onto his present farm about 1839. In 1837 he married Elizabeth Duff, of Lawrence County; she died in March, 1852, leaving five children, of whom Susanna and Susan are dead. The living are: Wilson; Elizabeth, Mrs. Solomon McBride; Sarah Jane, Mrs. Robert Mitchell; Martha Ellen, Mrs. Theodore Klingengsmith. His present wife is Susanna Mc- Cammant; by her he has two children: Lucy, deceased, and Dessie, Mrs. Urias

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

Jewell. Our subject has held the offices of school director, tax collector and constable of the township, and votes the Republican ticket.

GEORGE E. DILLEY, farmer, post-office New Lebanon, is a son of Lewis and Jane (Elliott) Dilley. His father was born in New Jersey in 1786, and moved with his father, Price Dilley, to Washington County, Penn. About 1800 they came to Mercer County and located on a tract of land in what is now Mill Creek Township. The father of our subject first married a Miss Cooper, of Milledgeville. The children of that union are: William, of Kansas; John, of Illinois; Rev. Samuel, of Kansas; Price, of Lackawannock Township; Sarah, Mrs. William Gordon, of Illinois. His second wife was Jane Elliott. Their children are: Robert E., of Venango County; Mary, Mrs. William Miller, of Mill Creek Township; James, of Venango County; Elliott, in French Creek Township; Jane, Mrs. Christopher Evans, of Mill Creek Township; George E., of French Creek Township; David W., of Mill Creek Township; Adam C., was a member of Company B, One Hundred and Fortieth Penn- sylvania Volunteers, and died from the effects of wounds received at Gettys- burg. Price and George E. were also members of that regiment. David and James were in the Fourth Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry. He, Lewis, was a member of the Republican party, and a deacon in the Fairfield Presby- terian Church for many years. He died in July, 1863. Our subject was born in Mill Creek Township September 15, 1834, and attended the township schools. In 1862'he enlisted in Company B, One Hundred and Fortieth Penn- sylvania Volunteers, and was honorably discharged in 1863. In 1858 he mar- ried Eliza, daughter of Abner Dean, of New Lebanon. By this union they have one child, Ona Daisy, living at home. Mr. Dilley has acted as school director and treasurer of the township. He is a member of the Norval Muse Post, G. A. R., and of the Cochranton Lodge No. 902, I. O. O. F., and votes the Republican ticket.

ORRIN FARVER, farmer, post-office Milledgeville, is a son of John and Mar- garet (Stright) Farver, the father, a native of what is now Lawrence County. In 1840 he came to this county and located in what is now French Creek Town- ship, on the present homestead, which was then an unbroken wilderness. For many years he acted as surveyor and justice of the peace; was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and politically a Republican. He died in 1886, and his wife in 1884. They reared three children: Cerilla, Mrs. Alva S. Bailey, of, Oregon; our subject, and Emma, Mrs. Charles E. Stevens, of French Creek Township. The father was born in the Shenango Valley January 11, 1811, and married December 6, 1843. In 1844 he located on the farm now owned by our subject, where he remained until his death. Our subject was born October 27, 1847, attended the township schools, and always remained on the homestead. In 1878 he married Esther, daughter of Charles Buchanan, of French Creek Township. By this union they have four children: Myrtle, Winona, Earl and Fern. They are members of the Presbyterian Church. They are also members of Saunder's Grange, and earnest advocates of Grange principles. Their highest ambition is to assist in the mental, moral and finan- cial advancement of their class. They are also earnest advocates of Republi- can principles.

HON. JAMES W. McCONNELL, farmer, post-office Milledgeville, is a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Wallace) McConnell, natives of Beaver County, Penn. William McConnell, the great-grandfather of our subject, was born near Phil- adelphia prior to the Revolutionary War, and afterward settled near the village of Clinton, in Allegheny County, Penn. His son John, the grandfather of our subject, after his marriage, located on a tract of land across the line of

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

Allegheny County, in Beaver County, Penn. Their home is in the heart of the Shannopin oil fields, and is still owned by the descendants of his family. Joseph, the father of our subject, was born in Allegheny County in 1801. He was reared in Beaver County, and lived there until his death in 1882. He was an elder in the United Presbyterian Church for many years, and voted the Whig ticket. His wife died in 1863. Their family consisted of eight children, two of whom are dead, Agnes and Elizabeth; the living are James W., John, Susanna, Rachel, Joseph W. and Mary Alice. Our subject was born in Beaver County, November 21, 1825, and remained on the homestead until 1849, when he married Jane McCorkle, of Mahoning County, Ohio, and came to Mercer County, and first located in French Creek Township, near Evan's Bridge, which is now known as Carlton. In 1853 he moved onto his present farm. Mr. McConnell has experienced the many hardships of the early pioneers. For many years he engaged in teaching school during the winter months, and in clearing and improving his land during the summer. His first wife died in 1881, leaving five children: Alice, Joseph F., William W., Charles C. and Elizabeth L. He was again married, in 1882, to Mrs. Mary L. Braden, daughter of Samuel McCleary, of Lawrence County, Penn. Mr. McConnell has held the offices of justice of the peace and school director of French Creek Township for ten years. In 1879 he was elected to the Legislature, and filled that position with credit for one term. He has always been a leader in the interest of the Republican party, and is connected with the Stoneboro and Cochranton French Creek Valley Agricultural Societies.

O. P. SHIRK, farmer, post-office Milledgeville, is a son of John and Martha (Mains) Shirk, the father a native of Germany, and reared in Centre County, Penn. At the commencement of the War of 1812 he went to Erie, and volun- teered and served during that war on one of the Government boats. He re- ceived a silver medal for his bravery in the naval action under Commodore Perry on the 10th of September, 1813, which medal is in the possession of O. P. Shirk. After the close of the war he returned to Centre County, and moved his family to the vicinity of Erie, where they lived until 1824, when they re- moved to Mercer County, and located in that portion of Shenango Township which is now in Lawrence County. In 1841 they purchased the farm in French Creek Township which is now owned by our subject. Here the father died, December 11, 1864, aged eighty-one years, and his widow April 8, 1869, aged seventy-two years. They were members of the Milledgeville Presbyterian Church, and he voted the Democratic ticket. Their family consisted of twelve children, seven of whom still live: Mary, Mrs. William Bell, of She- nango Township; O. P .; Amelia, Mrs. Robert Bell, of Lackawannock Town- ship; Lafayette, in Shenango Township; Jane, Mrs. Hiram Bell, of Ohio; Joseph, of Kansas, and Walter, of Wisconsin. Our subject was born in Centre County, Penn., August 5, 1821; came to this county with his parents,

where he has since resided.

In 1847 he married Miss Jane, daughter of George Morstler, of New Vernon Township. They had eight children, six living: Martha Jane, Mrs. John Baughman, of French Creek Township; Efegenett, Mrs. James Melon, of Crawford County; Oliver Jesse, farmer, French Creek Township; George, living at home; Arabella, Mrs. John Cratty, of French Creek Township. Our subject has held the offices of school direct- or, supervisor and constable of the township. He and family are mem- bers of the Cochranton Methodist Episcopal Church, and he votes the Demo- cratic ticket.

JAMES S. WILLIAMS, post-office Milledgeville, is a son of Daniel and Ele- nora (Smith) Williams. The father was born in Lancaster County, and in

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

1798 moved to Crawford County, where he remained until about 1825, when he located in Lackawannock Township, this county, and in 1837 purchased a farm in French Creek Township, now owned by our subject, where he died in 1847, and his wife in 1867. He was an officer in the War of 1812, He voted the Whig ticket, and was always connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church, joining the Deer Creek Church after locating in French Creek Township. Their family consisted of six children: Sarah Jane, died in 1887; the living are Elizabeth, Mrs. James S. Price; Amanda, widow of Robert Cooper; James S .; Matilda, widow of Samuel Markle; Catherine, widow of Josiah Cratty. Our subject was born in Lackawannock Township September 20, 1831, and was reared on the homestead he now occupies. He learned the carpenter trade, which he followed for a number of years, and for the last ten years has been entirely engaged in the lumber busi- ness. In 1880 he entered into copartnership with Gaston & Kline, under the firm name of Gaston, Williams & Kline. In 1859 he married Keziah, daughter of William R. Cooper, of French Creek Township; by this union they have nine children: Joseph E., married Sadie, daughter of Andrew Bean, of Venango County; Mary E., wife of Prof. S. H. Sheakley, of Greenville, now living in Nashua, Iowa; William Grant, now living in Butler County, married Ida M. Braden, and has one child, Hazel K .; Frank J., Robert H., Charles C., Ethel L., Harold J. and Edna K. Our subject and family are members of the Milledgeville Presbyterian Church, and he votes the Repub- lican ticket.

CHAPTER XL.

BIOGRAPHIES OF SANDY CREEK, DEER CREEK, NEW VERNON AND PERRY.

SANDY CREEK TOWNSHIP.

W ILLIAM H. AXTELL, physician, post-office Sheakleyville, Penn., is a son of Dr. Samuel and Mary (Loveridge) Axtell, natives of Washington County, Penn. The father of our subject came to Sheakleyville, then Georgetown, in. 1825, and engaged in the practice of his profession until 1853, when our sub- ject succeeded him in the active duties of his practice, and he engaged in farming and mercantile business in New Vernon. He died in 1864 in that place, his widow surviving him until 1886, His family consisted of twelve children, of whom our subject was the third. He was born in 1816, in Morris Township, Washington Co., Penn. His early education was received at the common schools, and he completed his education at the Meadville Academy and Alle- gheny College. His medical education was obtained in his father's office. He commenced the practice of medicine in Sheakleyville in 1839, and has been in active practice until the present time, in connection with his son, John L., under the firm name of W. H. & J. L Axtell. Our subject was twice mar- ried. His first wife was Mary J., daughter of Moses Findley, whom he married in June, 1841. She died in 1856, leaving six children: Mary E., Mrs. Ste- phen Morrison; Henry S., deceased; Cynthia, Mrs. Horton Balster; Samuel H., deceased; Anna-M., Mrs. William McElhaney; Mary J., Mrs. William Schnau-

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

ber. His second wife was Miss Sadie, daughter of John S. Showers, of Dela- ware Township. The result of this union was eight children, six of whom are living: George W., Deer Creek Township; John L., physician, Sheakley- ville; Abraham L., Sheakleyville; Grace, Stella, and Nannie. Our subject has filled the office of county coroner; has held the office of school director for twenty years, and has been a member of the borough council. He is a member of the Prohibition party, with Republican antecedents.

WILLIAM BELL, deceased, was a son of Sir William Bell. of Scotland, and grandson of Lord John Bell, colonel of a Highland dragoon regiment of Scot- land, and afterward a general. The subject of this sketch was born in the parish of Killade, County Antrim, Ireland. He received a collegiate educa- tion, and was a graduate of one of the celebrated institutions of Belfast, Ireland. He was educated as a civil engineer for the India service, but immi- grated to this country. His first location was in Quebec, and while there he engaged in teaching school. He subsequently purchased a farm at the head of Lake Chautauqua, N. Y. Afterward he removed to Pittsburgh, Penn., where he engaged in teaching and farming. He also taught and resided in Ohio, and in 1838 he settled in Mercer County, in Sandy Creek Township, on the farm where his sons now live. While in Canada he enlisted in the Eng- lish army, and served in the War of 1812, and was afterward engaged in the Irish rebellion in 1816, and was wounded by a cannon ball in the leg below the knee. He was an active citizen of Sandy Creek Township, and held all the important township offices. He was married twice. His first wife was Catherine McChain, of Ireland, who bore him four children, three sons: William J., Arthur and James; one daughter died in infancy. All are dead excepting Arthur. His second wife was Lavina Boylan, and by this marriage they had nine children: Charles J .; Samuel T., who was born July 3, 1844, and married September 10, 1867, Miss Ada, daughter of David Amon, and they have eight children: Edith E., Charley A., Florence R., Laura S. Elsie D., J. Garfield, Bessie R. and Albert T. January 14, 1862, Samuel T. enlisted in the One Hundred and Eleventh Pennsylvania Volunteers, Company K, and served three years and three months. He participated in all the bat- tles from Winchester to Gettysburg; was wounded at Antietam in the knee, and at the battle of Gettysburg was wounded in the right ear, breast, left arm and finger of the left hand; engaged in farming in Sandy Creek Township, and is an enterprising citizen. He is one of the present school directors (also township road commissioner), having filled the office for eleven years; belongs to the Elijah Thompson Post No. 417, G. A. R., of Sheakleyville, and is a member of the Presbyterian Church. The balance of Mr. Bell, Sr's. family were: Hannah, widow of Dr. Feather, of Sandy Lake, Penn .; Mary, wife of Eli Robinson; David, deceased; Joseph, Jane, John, deceased, and Sarah, deceased. Mr. Bell died in 1878, at the age of nine-five years, nine months and fifteen days, and his wife died in 1875, aged sixty-two years, eight months and sixteen days.

CHARLES J. BELL, justice of the peace and insurance agent, post-office Sheakleyville, Penn., is a son of William and Lavina (Boylan) Bell, natives of Ireland and Mercer County, respectively. The sketch of Mr. Bell, Sr. appears in this chapter. Our subject was born December 21, 1842, on the homestead farm in Sandy Creek Township. He received his education at the public schools. He was apprenticed to the shoemaker's trade at the age of sixteen, which he followed for eighteen years. He then entered the employ of T. K. Cochran, of Sheakleyville, as a clerk, where he was employed for a number of years. He then engaged in the insurance business, and represents

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

the following companies: Allemania Fire Insurance Company, of Pittsburgh, Penn. ; City of Pittsburgh; Pymatuning Fire Insurance Company, of, Mercer County; Travelers' Accident, of Hartford, Conn., and others. In 1883 our sub- ject was elected justice of the peace for Sheakleyville Borough, and re-elected in February, 1888, which office he now holds. Mr. Bell has served as school director and in various other township and borough offices, and while a resident of Porter County, Ind., was postmaster for Porter Cross Roads, Ind., which office he held for two years, 1866-67. He was married, September 17, 1863, to Miss Catherine, daughter of Justius Meibert, of Perry Township, who died December 23, 1878, leaving three children: William, George and Emma. He was united in marriage, December 24, 1879, to Alice Dearmont, of Crawford County, and by this marriage they have four children: John, Leoida, Ralph and Bernice. Our subject is a member of the K. of H., Norman Lodge 1640, of Sheakleyville, Penn., and is one of the charter members. He is a promi- nent member of the Presbyterian Church of Sheakleyville (became a member in March, 1864), of which he has been a deacon for fourteen years. Politically he is a Republican, and first voted for A. Lincoln.

THOMAS J. BRADBURY, retired, post-office Sheakleyville, Penn., is a son of David Bradbury, a native of Washington County, Penn, In 1828 he came to Mercer County, and settled in Sandy Creek Township. Our subject was born October 18, 1810, in Greene County, Penn. He came to Mercer County with his parents, and was brought up to a farmer's life until 1831, when he began running a boat on the Ohio River from Lawrenceburgh to Cincinnati and New Orleans, which he continued until 1834, when he came home, married and settled on a farm until 1847, when he moved to the Mineral Ridge Furnace, and acted as engineer, and kept a boarding-house until 1851, when he moved to a farm until 1854, and then bought a saw-mill on Pine Run, near the little Shenango. This he operated for three years, and traded for pine land in Crawford County, Penn., which he sold to Thaddeus Simmons, and then went to Illinois, and after four years he returned to this county, and bought a saw-mill on Ball Run, in Otter Creek Township, which he afterward sold, and bought a farm, which he subsequently traded for a mercantile business in Sheakleyville, which he conducted for a number of years. He was married in 1835 to Miss Margaret, daughter of John McLean, of Mercer County, and by this marriage they have had four children: William, a member of the Thirty-eighth Pennsylvania Volunteers, who died at a Philadelphia hospital from wounds received at the battle before Petersburg; Hugh, a member of the One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Volunteers, now resides in Greenville; Sarah, wife of William Welker, of Erie County, Penn. ; Lillie, wife of Joseph Baxter, of Greenville, Penn. Our subject was constable for six years. Mr. Bradbury is one of Sheakleyville's oldest and most respected citizens. He is a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and an ardent supporter of the Republican party.

JOHN BYERS, farmer, post-office Sheakleyville, Penn., was born February 1, 1804, and is a son of Ross and Sally (Elliott) Byers. The father of our sub- ject was a native of Cumberland County, Penn., and his mother of York County, Penn. The grandfather, John Byers, removed to Pittsburgh, Penn., and in 1797 the father of our subject came to Sandy Creek Township, and took up a tract of 400 acres of land. He was one of the progressive men of his day, was one of the first county commissioners elected in Mercer County, and was one of the board of county commissioners that erected the county court- house. He was the father of seven children: Jonathan; Sally, wife of John Thompson; John, Elliott, Polly, Nancy and Peggy, all dead except our sub-

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History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, Part 150

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