History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, Part 89

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

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A. H. McELRATH, ex-prothonotary and attorney, was born in Beaver Coun- ty, Penn. His father, Dr. John McElrath, was a native of Ireland, and immigrated to Beaver County, Penn., in 1822, with his father, Archibald. John and his father came to Mercer County, and John subsequently returned to Beaver County. In 1852 the Doctor settled in Jackson Township, where he died, February 24, 1872. He married Jane Brandon, a native of Pine Township, this county, by whom he had the following children: James B. (a physician at Jackson Center), Archibald H., Mary E., Ida N. (who married A. M. Clawson). The father took his medical course at Cleveland and Jeffer- son Medical Colleges, and practiced successfully for many years. Archibald H. attended the common schools, Mercer Union School, Beaver Academy and Alleghany College, at Meadville, Penn. After teaching a number of terms, including two years in the Freeland Seminary, Montgomery County, Penn., and one year as principal of the public schools at Washington, N. J., he, in 1870, began reading law, and was admitted to the Mercer County bar in 1873, and practiced, except when employed as clerk in public offices, until elected

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

prothonotary of Mercer County, which position he filled with credit. He was deputy under Sheriff McClure, and clerk in the prothonotary office from 1879 to 1882. He enlisted in the Fifty-fifth Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia, and served until the regiment was mustered out. He was married to Miss Mary, daughter of Josiah McJunkin, of Mercer, by whom he has one son, Archibald H. He is a Republican, and he and his wife are members of the First Presbyterian Church of Mercer.

JAMES MCKEAN (deceased). - James McKean was born in Ireland in 1794, and immigrated to Amerca in 1818. He settled for a time in Cumberland County, and in 1820 came to Mercer, bought property and went back for his family, consisting of his mother, brothers and sisters, whose names were: Cath- arine, married Henry Snowden, of Pittsburgh; Margaret, married James Mc- Clure; Jane; William, who studied law with Hon. John Banks, was associate judge one term, justice of the peace five years, started the independent Dem- ocratic paper mentioned elsewhere, and died in Meadville; Samuel, who went to Ohio soon after 1821, and there died, and John, the youngest, died recently in Mercer. Archibald and Sarah Mckean, the parents of the above named children, are dead, the former passing away at Newville, Cumberland County, and the latter in this county. They were Presbyterians and of Scotch-Irish extraction. James, whose name heads this memoir, when he located in this borough engaged in the manufacture of spinning-wheels, which he discontinued in 1836, and took contracts on the construction of the Erie & Pennsylvania Canal. He built the dam that raised Conneaut Lake and constructed many

aqueducts and locks. In 1843 he was elected treasurer of Mercer County, and in 1848 was chosen sheriff, and served in these important offices with credit. He was appointed postmaster of Mercer by President Grant, and served eight years. He married Elizabeth Simpson, daughter of James Simpson, who set- tled about the year 1796 on the farm in Cool Spring Township now owned by S. H. Miller. By this union he had seven children: Prudence, married George Lyon, and died in California, whither she moved in 1850; A. J., Catharine, married John P. Sheriff, and died in 1887; Rebecca J., married James R. Reed, a jeweler of Pittsburgh; The others died in infancy. He associated himself with the Methodist Episcopal Church in Ireland and was a member sixty-five years. He died in 1884. His wife, Elizabeth, was received into the United Presbyterian Church by Rev. Dinwiddie. He was married a second time, to Eleanor Canon, of Columbiana County, Ohio. By her he had three children: James, Caroline and Ella. James was first lieutenant of Company G, One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was killed at Cedar Creek on the day of Sheridan's famous ride; Caroline married A. C. Ray, of the editorial staff of the Dispatch and Republican; Ella married Thomas Moore, and died in Colorado.

W. J. MCKEAN, insurance agent, was born September 3, 1834, in Lawrence County, Penn. His father, William McKean, was a native of the same county, and was a son of Hugh Mckean, who was born in Ireland and immigrated to what is now Lawrence County, then Mercer County, about the year 1774, and died in his ninety-eighth year. Patrick Rice, the father of Anna Rice, the mother of W. J. Mckean, emigrated from Scotland and settled in what is now Findley Township, this county, in 1785. He was a cabinet-maker and died a farmer. William McKean was one of nine children: James, John, Hugh, Furgeson, Elizabeth, Muncy, Jean, Jane and William. Patrick Rice was the father of the following children: Robert, John, Templeton, Samuel, Anna, Rebecca, Margaret, Maria, Esther, Eliza and Mary. William and Anna Mckean were the parents of: Hugh, a farmer in Iowa; Esther, married

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

Parker Simison, lives in Lawrence County, and W. J. The mother of our subject is living in her eightieth year. W. J. McKean was educated in the common schools, and at the age of twenty-five began the mercantile business at Mercer. Prior to his embarking in the mercantile business he was employed as a clerk by Burwell, Beach & Co. for eight years, This prepared him well for taking the responsibility of managing an enterprise for himself. He did business under the firm name of Mckean & Porter for six years, when he with- drew and entered into the woolen factory then in Mercer. Later he was engaged in the lumber trade, after which he was again interested in the mer- cantile business with a Mr. Mckinney for about eighteen months. In 1870 he entered into his present business, that of real estate and fire insurance, which he has continued and is doing a large amount of business. He was married October 11, 1859, to Miss Rebecca McBurney, a daughter of James and Mary A. McBurney, by whom he has four children: Benjamin S., Eva C., Jennie and Matilda. He has been school director, a member of the borough council, burgess one term, and is serving his ninth year as assessor of Mercer. He has been secretary of the Mercer Central Agricultural Society. He enlisted in Company F, Fifty-fifth Pennsylvania Volunteers in June, 1863, and served sixty days. Heis a member of the Royal Templars and E. A. U., is a Repub- lican, and, with his wife, belongs to the Second United Presbyterian Church.

J. S. McKEAN, postmaster, was born in Cool Spring Township, September 28, 1840, to John and Nancy Mckean. The father was born in Ireland, and immigrated to America with his parents in 1818, and first settled in Cumberland County. Archibald, the father of John, had the following children: James, William, Samuel, Margaret, Catharine and Jane, John McKean came to Mer- cer in 1820, and after learning the brick mason's trade built the house where Mrs. Armstrong's boarding house is conducted. He also built many others, and followed that business until 1869, when he retired, principally because of ill health. He was a sufferer for many years, but was finally relieved by death on June 9, 1888. His widow survives, and blessed him with the following children: Archie, Anna, married David Farrell; J. S., William T., John H., Sarah, married M. M. Veach; Agnes, married John Asper; Margaret, married J. W. Baird; H. N. and Kate S. The parents worshiped at the Second United Presbyterian Church. J. S. Mckean was educated in the common schools, and from the age of fifteen to twenty-two was a clerk for A. J. McKean in his drug store. He then enlisted in Company A, One Hundred and Thirty- ninth Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was discharged in June, 1865, On his return he resumed clerking until 1868, when he engaged in the grocery bus- iness. He was appointed postmaster by President Cleveland in 1886. He mar- ried Nancy J. Lindsey in 1869, by whom he has, Alice, his assistant postmas- ter, Irene and Robert L. He has been a member of the town council, is a Dem- ocrat, and with his wife belongs to the Second United Presbyterian Church. ‘

ROBERT McKEE, lumber dealer, was born January 6, 1822, in Butler County, Penn. His parents, James and Jane McKee, were natives, the father of Ireland and the mother of Juniata County, Penn. The father immigrated to Mercer County in 1798, and settled in what is now Liberty Township, on land that is now owned by the Ubers. He removed to Butler County before the War of 1812, where he was subsequently appointed a justice of the peace by the governor, and became thoroughly identified with the development of that county. His death occurred in 1847, and that of his widow in 1863. Their children were: Thomas, John, James, Hugh, David, Robert, Hiram, Nancy, Martha, Jane and Letitia. The parents were members of the Seceder Church. Robert was educated in the log-cabin schools of Mercer and Butler

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

Counties. He began to learn the carpenter's trade in 1840 with Johnson Smith, an old settler of Liberty Township, with whom he worked for three years. He followed his trade for several years. He was married in 1848 to Caroline V., a daughter of James Robinson, of Berkley County, Va. By her he has four children: Amanda J., E. L., S. E. and Mary. He settled in Liberty Township in 1849, and engaged in the mercantile business until 1856, when he moved to what was then Irishtown, now Pardoe, where he continued in the same business until the commencement of the late war, when he moved to a farm and kept the post-office, then known as Irishtown, for three years. In connection with his other business he dealt extensively in cattle for about twenty years. In 1881 he engaged in the lumber business, and in 1883 moved to Mercer, where he still continues in the same business. While on the farm he served a term as justice of the peace. He has been a member of the State Board of Agriculture for eight years, and was one of the organizers of the Mercer Central Agricultural Society, of which he has been both president and director. For ten years he has served as a director of the Pymatuning Fire Insurance Company, and is now its treasurer. He has always been a strong Republican.

DR. S. S. MEHARD (deceased) .- The following appeared in the Mercer Republican a few days after the death of Dr. Mehard: "On last Sunday morn- ing about half-past one o'clock Dr. S. S. Mehard, tired of the struggle of life, calmly heard and answered the summons that called him from its battle. The family were astir, but he knew the significance of the hour better than they. As his son entered the room and raised his father from the couch, the latter extended his hand and quietly whispered, 'My son, this is death.' As soon as his sister was called he appeared contented, relapsing into a slumber so soft and natural that the watchers did not know whether it was the repose of sleep or repose of death until the breathing ceased. 'Dr. Mehard had been gradu- ally declining for years. A bronchial affection induced him to lay aside the practice of his profession a decade ago, but such was his vigor that he daily sat in his office and refused to become an invalid. A week ago, on Monday last, he parted from his son James, and the news of his death that followed Tuesday evening was a greater shock than his weakness could support. He retired to rest on Tuesday night never to rise again. Dr. S. S. Mehard was a public man, and as such occupies a place in our local history. He was the son of James Mehard, who emigrated from Larne, County of Antrim, Ireland, to this State, in 1818. He was a millwright by trade, and although his edu- cation was such as he gave himself, he had cultivated a mind that was naturally strong and sound, to a degree that enabled him to exert a wide influence. His son, Samuel S., was born in Harmony, Butler County, in 1822. He received an exceptional education in those days at the old Darlington Academy, and the Western University at Pittsburgh. Studious in his habits and ambitious, he began the study of medicine with Dr. Mowry, of Allegheny. Thence he went to the Jefferson Medical College, of Philadelphia, where he was graduated in 1847. Coming back to Butler County he practiced at Sunbury for five years, and then again returned to take an extra course in Philadelphia. In 1853, on the decease of Dr. Baskin, Dr. Mehard came to this county. Thor- oughly grounded in the science of his profession he gained and held a large practice. He was a true lover of his art, kept abreast of the times and enjoyed a superior reputation as a physician. Having secured a competence, however, he was content to establish his son James in his position, and gradu- ally shifted the burden of his practice to the latter's able shoulders, until he at length retired from practice altogether. His is the oft repeated tale of

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

human existence. He lived a busy, useful life, and made himself a name. To-day he sleeps with his fathers. Glad to sleep, for he sleeps the sleep 'He giveth His beloved.' "'

JAMES WALKER MEHARD, M. D., deceased, was born in Allegheny City, Penn., April 17, 1848, and was the eldest son of Dr. Samuel S. Mehard, who is mentioned elsewhere. In 1853 he came with his father's family to Mercer. He attended the Mercer public schools until 1865, when he entered Westmin- ster College, from which institution he graduated in 1869. He began the study of medicine under the direction of his father, and was graduated from the Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, in 1872. He entered upon the practice of his profession with his father, and continued to practice medicine until the time of his death, which occurred September 25, 1883. He left a wife and three children. The Mercer Republican of September 27, 1883, con- tained the following in referring to his death. "Thoroughly trained, keen of perception, sound in judgment, fertile in resource, bold in action, he knew the course to follow and had confidence to follow it. Success attended him in all his operations, and to-day, though only thirty-five, he leaves vacant the presiden- tial chairs of board of pension and medical association of the county. High strung, at times almost imperious, he had a sensitive nature and a warm heart. He had his faults; who has not? But he had virtues that made him tenderly beloved by those who learned to know him, and abilities that snatched his memory from oblivion. In this short and incomplete career he has wrought a work that will live after him. It shows the design of a master mind, and, half done, the ruin speaks eloquently of man's soaring ambition and the van- ity of human aims. Neither in remembrance nor spirit will he be buried." "For now he lives in fame though not in life."

S. S. MEHARD, president judge of Mercer County, was born December 18, 1849, in Sunbury, Butler Co., Penn. His father, Dr. S. S. Mehard, is men- tioned elsewhere. The judge received his literary education in the Mercer schools and Westminster College, entering that institution in 1866, from which he graduated in 1869. He then registered as a law student under Hon. John Trunkey, late of the supreme bench of Pennsylvania. He was under Judge Trunkey's tuition until September, 1872, when he was admitted to the bar, and associated himself with Hon. James A. Stranahan, and re- mained in that connection until he sailed on a tour through England, Ireland, Scotland and Germany in May, 1874. He spent some time as a student of jurisprudence at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, after which he con- tinued his tour of the Continent, and returned home in the summer of 1875. He resumed his law practice with Mr. Stranahan until December 8, 1883, when he was appointed by Gov. Pattison president judge of Mercer County, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Judge A. McDermitt. He held this position until January, 1885, when he took the oath of office by virtue of his election to the same position. He was married July 1, 1880, to Ida Augusta Brown, daughter of the late Judge George H. Brown, of Somerville, N. J. Mrs. Mehard died May 29, 1883, leaving one son, Churchill Brown Mehard. The Judge is a Democrat and a member of the Second United Presbyterian Church, and one of Mercer County's most worthy citizens.

HON. S. H. MILLER, attorney, was born in Cool Spring Township, Mercer Co., Penn., and is a son of William Miller, one of the pioneers of this county. He attended the common schools of his native township until he was twelve years of age, when he entered Westminster College, New Wilmington, Penn., from which institution he was graduated in 1860. He became the owner of the Mercer Dispatch in 1862, and edited and published that journal until 1870.

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

He read law with Hon. Samuel Griffith, and was admitted to the Mercer bar in the fall of 1870. He at once entered upon the practice of his chosen pro- fession, and to-day ranks among the leading attorneys in Northwestern Penn- sylvania. He was elected in 1880 as Congressman for the Twenty-sixth Penn- sylvania District, composed of Mercer, Butler and Crawford Counties, and served in the Forty-seventh and Forty-eight Congresses, from 1881 to March 4, 1885, with credit and ability.

J. C. MILLER, attorney, was born October 27, 1855, in Wolf Creek Town- ship, this county. His parents, James and Lodusky (Baker) Miller, were born, the former in Findley Township and the latter in Venango County, Penn. The father died in January, 1888. Our subject attended the common schools until he was fourteen years of age, when he went to a select school at Grove City. He taught in the common schools for eleven years, beginning at the age of fifteen. In 1874 he entered Westminster College at New Wilmington, Lawrence Co., Penn. He began reading law with James A. Stranahan in 1878. Judge Mehard was also one of his instructors in the study of his chosen profession. In 1882 he was employed by County Prothonotary S. C. Simon- ton, Jr., where he remained until May 1, 1885. February 14, 1884, he was admitted to the bar of Mercer County, and has practiced ever since. During William Jack's term as county clerk Mr. Miller acted as second deputy clerk. He was the Democratic nominee for the office of prothonotary of Mercer County in 1888. He has always taken a deep interest in politics, having been chairman and secretary of the Democratic county committee.' He is serving as a member of the school board,

WILLIAM R. MONTGOMERY, druggist, a son of Charles and Elizabeth (Cus- tard) Montgomery, was born in 1836 in Mercer County, and was reared and educated at Sheakleyville, Penn. Early in life he entered the employ of T. G. Van Lew, a merchant of Sheakleyville. In 1862 he was appointed county .commissioner's clerk, filling the position for some six years. He then engaged in his present business. He was elected in 1880 a member of the State Leg- islature. He has also filled the office of councilman of Mercer. He married in 1858 Miss M. E. Powell, of Crawford County, Penn., who died in 1876, leaving three children: Alexander L. R., Charles L. and Minnie A. He mar- ried for his second wife Miss Rebecca Nelson, and by this marriage they have one child, Nellie. Mr. Montgomery is a Republican.

A. B. MooN, hotel keeper, was born in Mercer County, January 25, 1842, to George and Catharine (Crills) Moon, of German extraction. The father was a stone cutter the greater part of his active life. He helped to build the old stone jail at Mercer, and also the stone house where the Robinson family now reside. The parents had nine children: Elizabeth, married Samuel Boston; Lewis, married Mary Hosack; George W., married Mary Paxson; David, mar- ried Miss Sarah Jane Black; Nancy, married William Ringer; Sarah Jane, married Hugh Gordon; A. B., John, married Emma C. Webb; Cyrus, mar- ried Sarah Bestwick. The parents were Presbyterians, and the father was a Whig. A. B. Moon attended the country schools until he was thirteen years of age. He then began to learn the carpenter's trade with his brother, George, going to school each winter until twenty-one years of age. He followed his trade for twenty-seven years. In 1876 he built his present elegant residence and hotel. He was married in 1867 to Catharine J. Smith, of Butler County, by whom he has one son, S. B. Moon, who was educated at the Mercer graded or high schools, read medicine, and is now at the Homoeopathic College of Chicago. Mr. Moon has been a member of the town council, and is a Demo- crat. He and wife and son belong to the First Presbyterian Church of Mercer.

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

GEORGE A. MORRIS, miller for William Houston, was born November 6, 1841, in Mercer County, Penn. His parents, George and Harriet (Winton) Morris, are mentioned in another part of this work. Mr. Morris was educated in the common schools, and worked while a boy with his father in a mill. In 1874 he bought a half interest in a mill then owned by his father. This he operated until 1882, when he was employed by Mr. Houston, and two years later he was made the head miller, which position he now holds. He was married to Mary M. Hosack, whose family history is written in another part of this work. By his union he has one daughter, Anna M. He is a Repub- lican, and he, wife and daughter are members of the Second United Presby- terian Church of Mercer.

J. B. MOWRY, boot and shoe dealer, was born August 23, 1851, in Mercer, to Thomas and Ellen H. (Beatty) Mowry, natives of this county. The father was born in 1824, and was a son of John B. Mowry. Thomas Mowry had two children, J. B. and Mary, married W. P. Ealy. Thomas was a merchant of Mercer for some years. J. B. Mowry was educated in the Mercer schools, and at the age of seventeen he entered the drug store of P. E. Shipler & Co. as a clerk. In 1871 he engaged in the boot and shoe business in Mercer, under the firm name of J. W. Bell & Co., and in the spring of 1872 R. R. Wright be- came his partner, who sold to Mr. Mowry in 1874. Since then he has done business in his own name, and conducts one of the largest boot and shoe houses in Mercer. He was married to Elda E., a daughter of Robert Logan, by whom he has two children, Mintie and John L. He has served in the borough council and is a director of the Mercer schools. He is also a director of the First National Bank of Mercer, and together with his wife belongs to the First Presbyterian Church.

DANIEL NELSON, retired farmer, was born October 1, 1815, in Huntingdon County, Penn., to John and Margaret (Graff) Nelson, natives of the same county. The former was of Irish extraction and the latter of German. The parents came to Mercer County in the spring of 1837, and settled in what is now Springfield Township. Here they bought land, on which they died. Daniel attended the country schools of his boyhood days. At the age of twenty- three years he was married to Mary, a daughter of George Webb, an early settler of his county. He took his bride to a farm of 140 acres given him by his father. After having improved his farm he, in 1860, sold and came to Mercer, and bought a building which stood on the present site of the Whistler House, and there kept hotel for five years. While thus engaged five of his children died within thirty days with diphtheria. Their names were Nancy, Mary A., Harriet, Charles and Frank, and they are buried side by side in the cemetery with their graves marked with marble slabs. The remainder of Mr. Nelson's children were: Margaret, married William F. Thomas; Melissa, Catharine, George, Caroline and Rebecca. He bought and improved property in Rochester, Bea- ver County, where he lived for two years. He was engaged in the dry goods business at West Middlesex with a Mr. Rossler, the stock of goods having been removed by him from Rochester, where he had been engaged in business for one year. In one year Mr. Nelson bought the stock and removed it to Prime's Corners, and after one year there he bought the store of Adam Ketler, at Lon- don, Springfield Township, where he remained for two years. He gave the business to his daughter Catharine, and came again to Mercer in 1873, and bought his present residence, where he lives a somewhat retired life. His wife is a member of the First Presbyterian Church and he is a Republican.

JOHN W. NICKUM, liveryman, was born September 3, 1854, in Mercer. His father, Thomas J. Nickum, was born in Emmitsburg, Frederick County,

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

Md., and his parents, John and Elizabeth (Weaver) Nickum, were natives of Maryland, Elizabeth having been born in Emmitsburg, Md .; their children were: Margaret, the wife of J. G. Kline, of Mercer, Penn. ; T. J., of Mercer; Lewis S., of New Castle, Penn., and Joseph B., of Mercer. John died in Emmitsburg. Thomas J., the father of our subject, came to Mercer in 1842 with his uncle, Lewis Weaver, for whom he clerked in a store until 1847, when he began to learn the printer's trade in the office of the Mercer County Whig. In 1851 he went back to his native town, and soon after brought his mother and family to this place. Here his inother died September 30, 1888, at the age of eighty-nine years. Mr. T. J. Nickum, with Hon. J. H. Robinson, bought the Mercer County Whig, December 11, 1854, and published the paper until De- cember, 1866, and sold to Thomas Irwin. During the war Mr. N. was appointed United States Assessor for Division No. 5, of the Twentieth District, and served four years. In November, 1885, he was elected jury commissioner for three years, and in February, 1886, was elected constable for Mercer, and is serving in both offices. He was married December 25, 1851, to Hannah M., daughter of Thomas Rogers, by whom he reared nine children: Ella, John W., Thomas, Eva, Jessie, Charles F., Minnie, George M. and Flora. He served as deputy sheriff under Flem Smith and Penrose Leech. John W. Nickum was educated in the Mercer schools. He began for himself in running a milk wagon in company with Pack Kerr, who lived on the farm now owned and occupied by B. A. Williams. In 1871 he sold his interest, and with two horses and two buggies he began a career of a liveryman and stock dealer, which has grown until he is known all over Northwestern Pennsylvania as the possessor of an exten- sive business, second to none in the country. Some time after he entered business he erected a fine stable at a cost of $7,075, which was later destroyed by fire. He subsequently rebuilt at a cost of $6,500. He married Ida M. Brown, daugh- ter of D. J. Brown, the present proprietor of the St. Cloud Hotel, of Mer- cer. By her he has the following children: Katie B. and Nellie. He is a member of the A. O. U. W. and K. of H., and has served as burgess and councilman of Mercer two terms each. He is a Republican, as is also his father. His wife is a member of the Episcopal Church.

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History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, Part 89

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