History of Venango County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, including, Part 111

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868-
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago : Brown, Runk & Co.
Number of Pages: 1323

USA > Pennsylvania > Venango County > History of Venango County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, including > Part 111

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JOHN HAWORTH, retired miller, was born in England, May 5, 1797, and came to America in 1820, leaving his wife and one son behind. After secur- ing a farm in Venango county, Pennsylvania, he went back to his native land for his family. Soon after reaching them his young wife sickened and died. Her maiden name was Nellie Whitworth and her only son, William, some time subsequent to her death accompanied his father to America and is now a resident of Kansas. In 1825 Mr. Haworth was engaged in the coal business in Pittsburgh, in which city he was married to Susan Short, and to this union six children were born: Thomas; George; John; Jane E., Mrs. S. W. Stewart; and two other daughters, who are dead. The second wife of Mr. Haworth died and he was married for a third time, to Mrs. Harriet Mccullough, and now resides near Pithole where he was for many years en- gaged in the milling business.

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BIOGRAPHIES OF ALLEGHENY.

ASA LOVELL was born in Tompkins county, New York, December 7, 1809, son of Abraham and Elizabeth (Crosby) Lovell, the former a native of New Jersey and the latter of Carlisle, Pennsylvania. They settled at Pleasant- ville in 1819, cleared a large farm, and reared ten children, six of whom are living; Sarah, widow of Aaron Benedict, of Pleasantville; Asa; Jane, Mrs. Daniel McCaslin, of Crawford county; Abraham, of Warren, Pennsylvania; Elizabeth, Mrs. J. Chase, of Crawford county, and Joanna, widow of Doc- tor Thomas B. Shugert, of Pleasantville. Our subject has resided in this county since the age of ten years, and has been principally engaged in farm- ing. He was married in 1835 to Eliza Irwin, daughter of Samuel Irwin of Cherry Tree township, who died September 1, 1851, and has one surviving child, Eliza Jane. He subsequently married Rachel E. Allen, daughter of Charles Allen of Crawford county, who died February 10, 1885, and was the mother of one daughter, May I. Mr. Lovell was fifteen years school director and has filled other township offices. A strong Prohibitionist, he has been active in the advocacy of that party, and is a member of the Pres- byterian church.

SAMUEL W. STEWART, farmer and oil producer, was born in Venango town- ship, Butler county, this state, June 29, 1820, and is a son of William B. and Isabella (Craig) Stewart. His father was a native of Butler county and his mother of this county. John Stewart, his grandfather, settled in Butler county about 1810, and was later appointed a justice of the peace by the governor of the state. In 1820 he moved to Harrison county, Ohio, where he lived until his death. His son, William B. Stewart, remained in Butler county, purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land and improved the same, building the first frame house in that county. He died in 1822 and his widow was again married, in 1830, to Thomas R. Kerr. She removed with her husband to Venango county, where she lived until her death. Three children were born to her first marriage, two of whom are living: William B., a Presbyterian minister and secretary of the American Tract Society, who resides in Philadelphia; Samuel W. is the other. The children of her second marriage are Mrs. W. R. Crawford and Miss Elizabeth Kerr of Frank- lin. Our subject, after the death of his father, remained with his grand- father Craig, and afterward with his step-father, until sixteen years of age, when he was apprenticed to McNair Brothers of Butler and learned the mill-wright trade. In 1840 he returned to Venango county and built several mills in various parts of the same. He located on his present farm in 1850 and erected the mill known as Stewart's mill, which he operated suc- cessfully for many years. He has been an oil producer from the beginning of its discovery and now owns one thousand acres of oil land and several acres in the Bradford field. In 1851 he married Miss Jane Elizabeth Ha- worth, daughter of John and Susan (Short) Haworth, natives of England and settlers of Washington county. By this union they have three sons and

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two daughters: Belle, Mrs. William H. Wood of Titusville; Ferris C., at home; William B., in a Warren savings bank; James B., a physician of Bradford, and Mary, at home. Mr. Stewart is an ardent Democrat. For many years he was president of the Oil Creek Agricultural Association, and is a director and stockholder in the Pleasantville Bank. His family are members of the Presbyterian church, and he is one of the wealthiest and most influential men of the county, enjoying the respect and confidence of the community in which he lives.

JAMES VANDERLIN, farmer, was born in Butler county, Pennsylvania, April 14, 1829, and is a son of Stephen and Eliza (Seaton) Vanderlin of that county. He was reared on the homestead, and learned the trade of a plasterer and bricklayer, which he followed for twenty-six years. He set- tled on his present farm in 1857. In 1852 he married Miss Nancy Kerr, daughter of John Kerr of Butler county, and has six children: Matilda, Mrs. Robert Graham of Forest county; Stephen, of Butler county; Willie, at home; J. M .; Eli, and Effie. Politically he is a Democrat, and was elected commissioner of Venango county in 1875. He has also filled town- ship offices. His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

ALBERT TYRRELL, farmer, was born in Ulster county, New York, Decem- ber 20, 1830, son of James N. and Maria (Dewitt) Tyrrell, who came to Venango county in 1844, and located on the farm where our subject now resides. John N. Tyrrell was a carpenter and joiner and in partnership with two brothers built a mill on Pithole creek. He was a Whig and Republican in politics, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and held various township offices. He died in 1877 and his wife in 1864. They reared six children, four of whom are living. Our subject conducted a sash and door factory at Pithole Center seven years, but has been principally engaged in farming. He was married in 1854, and has three living children: Emma F .; James H., and Ernest A. He is a Republican in politics, served as township clerk and postmaster for some years, and in 1878 was elected county commissioner, serving three years. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and F. & A. M.

H. J. DUNHAM, farmer. was born in Warren county, Pennsylvania, June 18, 1842, and is a son of William and Susan (Knight) Dunham, natives of Cayuga county, New York. His father moved with his parents from the state of New York, and settled in Allegheny township, this county, when a young man. After his marriage he settled in Warren county, and there engaged in the lumber business. Our subject was their only child, except one by adoption-Lina Steele, Mrs. G. B. Spangler of Pleasantville. H. J. Dunham was reared and educated in Warren county, and settled on his present farm in 1868. He was married in 1863 to Miss Nancy E. McCaslin, daughter of John McCaslin of Oil Creek township. To this union have been born four children: Myrtle; Herbert M. ; Mary Edna, and Jennie Belle.

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BIOGRAPHIES OF ALLEGHENY.

He is a Republican, and has filled various township offices. He is ruling elder in the Presbyterian church of Neillsburg, and is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees.

JAMES H. CLARK, farmer and oil producer, was born in Cambridge, Washington county, New York, May 11, 1836, and is a son of Jerothman and Dorcas (Smead) Clark, natives of New York and Connecticut, respect- ively. The parents moved from Washington to Erie county, New York, where the mother died and the father still resides. James H. Clark was reared in his native county until eight years old, and lived in Franklin county, the same state, until nineteen years of age. In 1864 he came to Oil creek and was employed as general superintendent of the Perry Oil Company for three years. He then returned to Erie county and managed a saw mill for three years; in 1870 be located in Allegheny township upon his present homestead, and has three producing oil wells. He was married in December, 1865, to Miss Alzada V. Dean, daughter of Joseph Dean, of Erie county, New York. The fruits of this union are four children: Ida May; Cora Bell; Roy Manley, and Carey A. Mr. Clark is an active mem- ber of the Republican party and has held his present office, that of consta- ble and collector, eleven consecutive years. He belongs to Seneca Lodge, No. 519, I. O. O. F., and the Knights of the Maccabees.

J. W. BOTSFORD, farmer, was born in Allegany county, New York, Sep- tember 18, 1841. His father, E. H. Botsford, was a native of Cayuga county, New York, and his mother, Lydia Franklin, a native of Steuben county, New York. His grandfather, Ezra Botsford, was a native of Massa- chusetts and a soldier in the war of 1812. He settled in Cayuga county at an early day. The father of our subject, after his marriage, located in Allegany county, New York, where he became a prominent farmer, and also served as county treasurer. He died in that county in 1876 and his wife in 1887. They reared five children, three of whom are living: Marion, Mrs. J. T. Severance, of Genesee county, New York; Harriet, Mrs. C. F. Mason, of Rushford, Allegany county, New York, and our subject, who was reared and educated in his native county and has followed the occupation of a farmer. In 1862 he enlisted in Company F, First New York Dragoons, and served until the close of the war, after which he came to Venango county and located in Pinegrove township. April 12, 1866, he married Mrs. Susan McBride, daughter of Jacob Karrs, of Pinegrove, and settled on his present homestead in 1868. Seven children were born to this union: Lydia, Mrs. J. S. Sacorcy, of Zeno, Butler county; Ezra H .; Blanche; Jennie; Maud; Mamie, and Floyd. Mr. Botsford is a member of Titusville Post, No. 50, G. A. R. Politically he is a Republican.

DOANE BURROWS, farmer, was born in St. Clairville, Chautauqua county, New York, July 4, 1845, and is a son of Andrew and Mary (Bronson) Bur- rows, natives of that county. His parents came to Venango county in 1847

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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.

and located in Allegheny township, where the father was engaged in farm- ing and working at his trade, that of cabinet maker. The mother died in 1850 and Mr. Burrows was again married, to Nancy Woodcock. In 1866 he moved to Erie county, where he still resides. Two children were born to Andrew and Mary (Bronson) Burrows: Doane and Willard, the latter a resident of Erie county, Ohio. Our subject was reared and educated in the common schools of this county, and has devoted his principal time to farm- ing. In 1867 he married Miss Catharine Shelmadine, daughter of Nelson Shelmadine, by whom he has three children: Arthur E .; Nathan N., and William Earl. He is a Republican, a member of the E. A. U., and of the Knights of the Maccabees.

NELSON A. SHELMADINE, farmer and oil producer, was born on his present homestead, February 3, 1859, and is a son of Wesley and Margaret (McClune) Shelmadine. His father was born and reared near Titusville, and settled where our subject now lives about the year 1857. He enlisted in Company I, One Hundred and Forty-Second Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was probably killed at Gettysburg, as he was never afterward heard of from the time of that battle. Our subject was the only child, and was educated at Pleasantville and a commercial college at Pittsburgh. He resides on the old home place with his mother, and now operates six oil wells. He is a Republican in politics with Prohibition proclivities, and for six years has been auditor of the township.

CORNPLANTER.

JOHN WALLACE, deceased, was born July 12, 1839, in Ireland, son of Hance and Jane (Scott) Wallace. The father came to America in 1850, and now resides in Cornplanter township. John, our subject, saw service in the English army in the war with Russia, before emigrating to America, in 1857. He first located for some time at Pittsburgh, where he was employed at hauling coal by Francis Orderly. From there he went to Cincinnati, and there worked in the moulding department of an iron foundry for one year, coming thence in 1859 to Franklin, this county, and after a period of employment as a laborer, he started a grocery store at Rynd Farm, which he continued until 1874, selling out at that time, and giving his entire attention to the production of oil, which he had also followed in connection with the store business. He began his business career with little means, but by careful dealing he became the possessor of a large fortune before his death, July 31, 1880. He was married November 10, 1863, to Anna J. Young, to which union were born six children: William H., married to Lizzie Cooper; infant, deceased; John S .; Jennie Y .; Daisy R., and Robert L.

William Young, the father of Mrs. Wallace, was a native of Donegal, Ireland, and came to this country at an early day. He kept a store and

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BIOGRAPHIES OF CORNPLANTER.

the postoffice where Oil City now stands, about the year 1838, and was the father of five children: Nancy R .; Anna; Robert; James, deceased, and William, deceased. William Young died in 1849, aud his wife in 1843.

GEORGE P. ESPY, farmer and oil producer, above Petroleum Center, was born at Kittanning, Armstrong county, this state, December 9, 1817, and his father, who died in 1863 at the age of seventy-five years, was Josiah D. Espy, a farmer by occupation. The senior Mr. Espy was an early settler of Venango county, coming here from Crawford county. He reared three sons and three daughters, and the subject of this sketch was his second son. George P. was reared on the farm, alternating the seasons of his boyhood with attendance at the public schools. He was thirty-six years of age when he moved upon the farm where he now resides. In 1860 he started his first drill in search of oil and early in 1861 he struck a " gusher " in the Buckeye well-one among the first great flowing wells on Oil creek. During 1861 and 1862 he had wells producing an aggregate of fifteen hundred barrels per day, and he is now pumping wells drilled in 1869. On his farm he has but eight or ten wells in operation, while he has at least one hundred and fifty acres of as fine oil land as can be found in the county wholly untouched. As an agriculturalist he is painstaking, careful, and successful, as is evident from the condition of his farm. Mr. Espy was married in Franklin, Penn- sylvania, in April, 1853, to Miss Mary Jewell and has two children: Kate D., wife of W. P. McCray, and Geo. R., student at Philadelphia.

JOSEPH Ross, oil producer, was born in Pittsburgh July 7, 1812. His parents, Daniel and Mary (Phillips) Ross, were natives of Scotland and Pennsylvania, respectively, and had eight children. Joseph is the only one living and was educated in the common schools and a college at Pittsburgh. After teaching school eight years he went into the grocery business in his native city. He was elected prothonotary of Allegheny county in 1868 and served a term of three years with credit and ability. Five years of his life were spent in Kansas and he bought the farm where he now lives during the summer seasons, in Cornplanter township, this county, in 1863. He however did not begin to spend his summers on this farm until 1880. Upon this farm are twenty-one producing oil wells. He was married October 17, 1844, to Jane Brown, a native of Pittsburgh, by whom he has had the fol- lowing children: James; Emma J .; Anna M., wife of George Robinson of Pittsburgh; William, a clerk in the Pittsburgh postoffice; Thomas, deceased; Elizabeth, deceased; Joseph, a professor of music, and Edward, who enlisted as a soldier in the United States army. Mrs. Ross died May 7, 1869. Mr. Ross has always been an active member of the Republican party; he is a consistent member of the Presbyterian church and an honest, upright citizen.

JAMES LEACH, merchant and justice of the peace, Plumer, was born in Lan- castershire, England, November 16, 1825, and came with his parents to Amer-

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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.

ica in 1843. His father, Reverend Daniel Leach, was a superintendent of print works in England; in the United States he became for a time a farmer. He settled first in Frankford, Pennsylvania, and thence removed to Block- ley, where for four years he superintended a print works. From Blockley he moved to Jefferson county and followed farming until 1865. In January of that year ho moved to Plumer, and here died September 24, 1873. He was fifty years a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal church. His wife died in Jefferson county in 1864. Of their two sons and two daughters James was the eldest. He was educated in England and at the schools of Philadelphia. In Jefferson he followed farming until 1865, and in March of that year came to Plumer in charge of some oil wells. In 1873 he em- barked in the mercantile business; in 1875 he carried his merchandise to Beaver City, and built the first storehouse of that place, sold goods there fifteen months and returned to Plumer, where his family had remained. He was first elected justice of the peace in 1877, and his present term expires in 1891. He was married in this place February 24, 1866, to Mary Ewing, and their children are: Daniel J .; Elizabeth M .; Sarah Grace; Frank C .; John W .; Margaret J., and Willie M. Mr. Leach is a stanch Republican and temperance advocate.

ADAM WEBER, merchant and oil producer, Plumer, was born in Kirch- berg, near the river Rhine in Prussia, December 31, 1825, and in 1851 came to America. He was educated in his native country and served three short terms in the Prussian army. His parents, Francis Jacob and Charlotte (Schueler) Weber, reared six sons and one daughter, all of whom except Adam are in Europe. The senior Mr. Weber died in 1862, aged sixty-five years; his wife died in 1839. Adam Weber spent his first two years in the United States in Wisconsin, and in 1853 and 1854 worked in the press rooms of the Young American (Chicago) and the Chicago Tribune. From there he went to Pittsburgh; he visited Germany in 1856, but returned to Pittsburgh and engaged in the hotel business in 1858, 1859, and 1860, and October 3, 1862, enlisted in Battery H, Pennsylvania Volunteer Artillery, and served to the close of the war in the Army of the Potomac. He was discharged at Camp Reynolds, June 19, 1865, as a corporal. He returned to Pittsburgh and in the same year came to Plumer to work on the Hum- boldt refinery. This, then the largest refinery in the world, soon after- ward closed and he gave his attention to masonry, working thereat in the employ of H. Wilbert for some years. We next find him for five or six years manufacturing cigars at Plumer, a business which merged, in time, into merchandising. Since 1877 he has been producing oil. Mr. Weber married in Pittsburgh, August 1, 1859, Miss Eliza Frasch, and has had borne to him nine children. The living are: Lotta, a teacher in the public schools; Adam, a mechanic; Anna, and Florence. The deceased were: an infant daughter; George, aged six months; Louisa, aged three and one-

Philip M Natch

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BIOGRAPHIES OF CORNPLANTER.

half years; Francisca, aged one and one half years, and Laura, aged one year. The family belong to the Lutheran church, and Mr. Weber is a mem- ber of the G. A. R.

PHILIP M. HATCH, farmer, was born in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, May 25, 1833, and is a son of Lucien and Varnera (Bly) Hatch, the former a native of Washington county, New York, born August 24, 1808, the lat- ter born in February, 1811, in Chautauqua county, New York. The father received a common school education and moved to Crawford county in 1818, with his parents, Philip and Arethusa (Snow) Hatch, who had the following children: Lucien; Horatio; Flavy; Elijah; Caroline, and Cordelia. Philip and Arethusa Hatch were members of the Baptist and Congregational churches, respectively.

Lucien Hatch lived in Crawford county until 1844, when he was employed at the Clapp furnace, located at the mouth of Hemlock creek in Venango county, whither he removed his family and remained seven years. He then settled on a farm along Allender run, in Cornplanter township, where he lived several years. He and his wife now reside in Cattaraugus county, New York; their children were ten in number: Myron B., living in Dakota; Philip M .; Mary L., deceased; Arethusa, married to Otis Copeland, who was killed in the late war; Henry S., residing in Kansas; Eunice E., deceased; Willis M., a resident of Georgia; Lucien H., living in Potter county, Pennsylvania; Tryphenia M., who married James Gibson, of Mead- ville, and Herbert W., living in Cattaraugus county, New York. The par- ents were members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Philip M. Hatch was educated in the common schools, receiving the larger portion of his instruction after reaching his majority. He came to Venango county in February, 1851, and remained with his parents until March 20, 1856, when he was married to Mary P., daughter of Abraham and Sarah (McCalmont) Prather, who are mentioned in the historical chap- ter on Cornplanter township. Mr. Hatch settled immediately after mar- riage on his father's original farm on Allender run, where he remained until 1879, at which time he moved to the homestead of Abraham Prather and is the owner of that valuable property. During the time he lived on the Allender run farm, he was engaged under the firm name of Prather Brothers & Hatch in operating a saw mill; he also conducted a refinery at Oleopolis, situated at the mouth of Pithole creek, for three years, the firm being Hatch & Prather Brothers. He built the first frame building in Pithole City, it being a store and dwelling house. After keeping a line of general store goods in this house for one year, he removed to New Wilming- · ton, Lawrence county, this state, bought a hotel and farm, and four years later returned to Plumer and purchased the Prather farm. Here he resided until 1883, when he removed to Dakota, and there engaged in farming and stock raising until the fall of 1889, when he returned to Plumer. His

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children are as follows: Emma J., wife of Doctor S. B. Hotchkiss, of Edin- boro, Erie county; David M., married to Katie L. Harrington, of St. Joe, Missouri, and residing in Dakota, and Sarah E., wife of John R. Robertson, of Strabane, Ontario, Canada, a resident of Cooperstown, this county. Mr. Hatch has been school director and road commissioner; he is a member of the F. & A. M., at Rouseville, and of the G. A. R .; he was postmaster at Plumer from 1878 to 1885, and was a trustee for some time of Plumer .Methodist Episcopal church. He enlisted in Company I, One Hundred and Forty-Second Pennsylvania Volunteers, and after seven months' service was discharged because of physical disabilities. In politics he is a Republican.

HENRY WILBERT, hardware merchant, of Petroleum Centre, was born in Germany, December 9, 1834, son of Peter and Katharine Wilbert. The father died in June, 1887, one year after celebrating his golden wedding. Henry was educated in Germany, and learned the mason's trade in that country and Lewis county, New York. He came to this county in 1862, and worked at his trade about ten years. In 1864 he had his first experi- ence in the oil business. He opened a hardware store in Petroleum Centre, in the year 1879, and has since enjoyed a prosperous business. He is the owner of five hundred acres of land in this county, including the site whereon Petroleum Center is located, with twenty-five producing oil wells thereon. He was married in November, 1865, to Barbara Strahl, a native of Germany, born December 4, 1846, and who came to America when six years old. To this union nine children have been born: Caroline, John, Lizzie, Peter, Mary, Maggie, Charley, Barbara, and Henry Lawrence. Mrs. Wilbert died August 10, 1889, in her forty-third year, and was laid at rest in the Catholic cemetery, at Erie, Pennsylvania. She was a worthy mem- ber of that church, to which faith Mr. Wilbert also belongs. He is a mem- ber of the C. M. B. A., and one of the most active, enterprising citizens of the township.

CYRUS DICKSON RYND, an oil producer on the Rynd farm, and at the station of that name, is the great-grandson of Ambrose Rynd, the grandson of John Rynd, and the son of John Rynd the second.

Ambrose Rynd, a native of Ireland, was born in 1738, came to America in 1799, and located, first, in Westmoreland county, this state. He was a woolen factor in Ireland, and brought with him to this country, as the product of the sale of his plant, one thousand two hundred dollars in gold. In Westmoreland he labored for his daily bread, hoarding carefully his small fortune for investment when opportunity should present. In the year 1800 he found his way to the mouth of Cherry Tree run, and there purchased of the Holland Land Company a tract of land, containing five hundred acres, and lying on both sides of Oil creek. He here erected his cabin, and, as far as known, spent the rest of his life in contentment. The wife of his early manhood died in Ireland, and his son, John, was ever after

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History of Venango County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, including, Part 111

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868- Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Chicago : Brown, Runk & Co. Number of Pages: 1323

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868-
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago : Brown, Runk & Co.
Number of Pages: 1323