USA > Pennsylvania > Venango County > History of Venango County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, including > Part 95
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HENRY ALLEBACH, deceased, was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, November 5, 1800, the son of Jacob and Verona Allebach. His early life was spent in his native county, engaged for a time in a woolen mill, and subsequently at Reading where he followed the jewelry business. In 1837 he removed to Beaver township, Venango county, now Clarion, to which place his parents had previously come. There he bought a farm and car- ried it on for a period of three years. In 1840 he located in Emlenton and engaged in the jewelry business for a number of years. He subsequently went into merchandising, but after four or five years returned to the jewelry line and continued in it until he retired from business in 1872. He was married November 30, 1823, in Berks county, to Miss Sarah, daughter of Christian Shaner. Their children are as follows: Maria, deceased wife of George Truby, deceased; Sarah, widow of John Sloan; Levi; Susan, wife of John C. Porterfield, and Henry H., deceased. Mrs. Sarah Allebach died in Emlenton January 3, 1888, aged eighty-six years, eleven months, and twenty days, her husband surviving her until September 25, 1888, and
Joseph Weller
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dying in his eighty-eighth year. They were members of the Lutheran church and among the organizers of the Emlenton congregation.
ELIAS WIDLE, deceased, was born in Lebanon, Lebanon county, Pennsyl- vania, September 25, 1809, the son of George and Sarah (Lasher) Widle. He resided in his native place until he reached his nineteenth year, when he removed to Williamsville, near Buffalo, New York. Prior to his removal from Lebanon and subsequently at Williamsville, he obtained a common school education, and likewise learned the plasterer's trade which he subse- quently followed. On the 25th of January, 1838, he married Miss Louisa M., daughter of Robert and Margaret (Minor) Burts, of Williamsville. From this union sprang the following children: William E., baker and con- fectioner, Emlenton; Henry Jerome, who died in the army; Eugene E., con- tractor and driller, Emlenton; John W., engineer in the Emlenton flouring mills; Benjamin J. ; George W., and Mary Louisa, both deceased; Loren Burt, miller, Emlenton flouring mills, and Emanuel O., deceased. A few months subsequent to his marriage Mr. Widle removed to Perry county, Pennsyl- vania, where he resided about eight years. He then lived successively in Lancaster, Juniata, Union, and Venango counties; in the last named he dwelt for a time at Mariasville, and finally established himself in Emlenton, in 1854, where he resided to his death, November 26, 1866. It ought to be said that Mr. Widle, about 1841, learned the foundry business and pros- ecuted it until the oil excitement began, after which he was an oil producer and speculator. He was first an old line Whig, with strong anti-slavery sentiments, and subsequently entered the Republican party. During the last thirty years of his life he was a member of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Widle was a liberal, public-spirited, and useful citizen of the community. His widow still survives him and is a resident of Emlenton.
CHAUNCEY HAMILTON. - We are unable to trace, at present, the history of the Hamiltons back farther than the middle of the last century, though good reason exists for believing that the original stock came from Scotland shortly after the landing of the Pilgrims. In some of the family records we find this simple memorandum: "Joseph Hamilton, born September 7, 1760. Priscilla Hill, born September 7, 1762." When the Revolutionary war broke out Joseph gave his services to his country, a portion of the time as an ordi- nary soldier, and also as a commissary. In the latter capacity he supplied the American army with meat. A large supply being on hand in Boston when the war closed, he sustained a heavy pecuniary loss. Joseph and Priscilla had a family of twelve children.
Chauncey, the subject of our sketch, was the second child. He received his education, which was considered excellent in those days, at an academy in Boston, which he attended four years. He was specially noted as a superi- or penman, specimens still in existence exhibiting all the neatness and system of copperplate. In 1821 Chauncey came west and stopped for a time at 52
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
Franklin. Shortly thereafter he began to teach school near what was then called Anderson's furnace, but latterly Kennerdell. After completing one term he went to the neighborhood of Clintonville, where he spent some four years as a pedagogue.
On the 26th of August, 1825, he was united in the bonds of matrimony to Miss Jane Yard, daughter of John Yard, a former resident of New York who removed to Venango county at the close of the war of 1812. After his marriage, Mr. Hamilton removed from near Clintonville to Harrisville, Butler county, where he spent some six years in teaching and other pursuits. At the expiration of this period he purchased in Irwin township one hundred and sixty acres of "donation land" from an old soldier named Pemnan for two hundred dollars. In 1834 he removed to this land and began to improve it. His first residence was a quaint rectangular inclosure about twelve by sixteen feet, made by nailing boards to four trees fortunately placed, and covering the space with boards. The chimney was simply an open space inclosed by boards, but not covered. The door was made by suspending a quilt over an opening. This tabernacle answered the purpose from spring till autumn, when a round-log house took its place. It in turn was sup- planted about 1844 with a frame house which still stands and is occupied as a residence. Mr. Hamilton spent twenty-four years upon his farm, when, having sold it, he returned to Harrisville and engaged with his son, Joseph, in the foundry business. In this he continued until his son's entry into the Union army during the Rebellion required him to close out his interests. Sub- sequent to that time he never kept house, but resided with his children until the day of his death.
His services as a teacher commanded the highest encomiums. The state school report for 1877 contains this just compliment: "He was a man of learning and ability, and a fine educator." He established one of the pioneer schools taught in Irwin township. The pupils came from adjoining districts, so popular was his work. As illustrative of his pedagogical experience, it is stated that while he was on a certain occasion about to punish two overgrown boys, they escaped from the school house. He pursued them two miles, captured and returned them to the building, where he administered the promised castigation. He was, under the school system of 1834, the first examiner for Irwin township, a position he continued to hold for about twenty years.
It has been stated that Mr. Hamilton was married to Miss Jane Yard. This union resulted in the following children: Julian, born August 22, 1826; Hannah, born November 21, 1828; Joseph, born October 6, 1830; Ann Eliza, born October 18, 1832; and Benjamin Franklin, born June 21, 1838, prac- ticing physician in Emlenton. Mr. Hamilton died in Emlenton at the home of his son, Doctor Hamilton, on the 2nd of November, 1874, in his eighty- eighth year. His wife survived him until September 22, 1884.
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BIOGRAPHIES OF EMLENTON.
JOSEPH HAMILTON, retired, was born at Harrisville, Butler county, Penn- sylvania, October 6, 1830, and is the third child of Chauncey and Jane (Yard) Hamilton. At the age of about four years he removed with his parents to Irwin township, Venango county, where he principally resided for about twenty-two years. He attended school in a log cabin under the direction of his father and others, and subsequently the Clintonville Academy. From his twentieth to his twenty-sixth year he taught school in Irwin and adjoining townships, and then removed to Harrisville. Mr. Hamilton has been twice married, first in 1853, his wife dying a year later. He was next united in matrimony to Miss Sarah A., daughter of James and Rachel (Hall) Cummings, formerly of Maryland, but then residents of western Pennsylvania. Four sons and one daughter were the fruits of this union, the daughter and youngest son being dead. Of the remaining sons, Edwin C. and Frank E. are clothing merchants in Emlenton, while Henry A. is the postmaster of the borough, having been appointed by President Arthur and re-appointed by Harrison. Mr. Hamilton spent a portion of his later life in merchandising and the oil business. During the Rebellion he served as a member of Company I, Sixth Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery, from July, 1864, to July, 1865. He and wife and family reside in Emlenton. He has been identified with the Whigs and Republicans in politics, and the Methodist Episcopal church in religion.
JAMES W. ROWLAND, banker, was born in Mahoning township, Law- rence county, Pennsylvania, April 16, 1838, the oldest son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Murdock) Rowland. He is of Scotch-Irish and German extrac- tion. His paternal grandparents, William and Mary (Stillwagon) Row- land, were natives of Beaver county, Pennsylvania. The former was of Irish descent, and was a soldier in the war of 1812. His wife was of German ancestry. Their family consisted of the following children: Henry; Jacob; Ann, married to George Kelly; Mary, married to I. P. C. Murdock; Thomas; William; John, and James. Mr. Rowland's maternal grandparents were James and Naomi (Mitchell) Murdock. Their family consisted of. Ann, who married W. P. Byles; Elizabeth, who married Jacob Rowland, and I. P. C. James Murdock was of Scotch descent and a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania. Naomi Mitchell was born and reared near Finleyville in that county. She was first married to George McWilliams, by whom she reared a family, and after his death married James Murdock. She was compelled to make several trips in the pack-saddle to Philadelphia and return with salt and flour to support her family.
Jacob Rowland, the father of our subject, was a farmer, and removed to Lawrence county, then Mercer, in 1829, and assisted his father to open a farm in the dense forest. He afterward established a home for himself on the adjoining tract. He was an industrious, public-spirited citizen, and
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
during the war was one of the county commissioners who saved a large sum of money to his constituents by refusing to levy a tax and pay interest on what they considered fraudulent railroad bonds. He died February 17, 1885, in his seventy-fourth year. His widow still survives him, and is living at present on the farm near Pulaski station. Their family consisted of seven children: James W .; Naomi, deceased; Rebecca; Mary, deceased; Seraphina, deceased; Mahlon, and George K.
James W. Rowland was educated in the common schools of his native county, and subsequently took a course of training in Duff's Commercial College, Pittsburgh. He lived on a farm until he was twenty-five years old. In 1863 he removed to Oil City, and soon thereafter engaged with W. A. Cooper, of Franklin, in the grocery and express business. In 1868 he entered the First National Bank of Franklin as book-keeper and afterward teller, but after one year embarked in merchant tailoring. In 1873 he came to Emlenton to open the Emlenton Bank, of which he has since been cashier, and from that date has been a resident of the borough. Mr. Row- land has been interested in many of the enterprises of his adopted town, and in many others even beyond the limits of the state. He became interested in the Emlenton and Shippenville Railroad Company, and for many years was a director, secretary, and treasurer of that corporation. He was one of the projectors of the Oil City Fuel-Supply Company, in which he still holds the position of director; he became equally interested in the Emlenton Gas Light and Fuel Company, and is its president. He is also president of the Union Light and Heat Company of Foxburg and of the Union Improvement Company, Morgantown, West Virginia. Since 1883 he has been a stockholder and director in the Norfolk and Virginia Beach Railroad Company, which is the owner of the seaside resort near Norfolk, Virginia. Mr. Rowland was married February 20, 1868, to Miss Sarah P. McDowell, of Franklin, daughter of Parker and Livinia (Titus) McDowell, of the same town, and granddaughter of Jonathan and Mary (Martin) Titus, the former of whom was the founder of Titusville, Pennsylvania. Parker McDowell was a son of Colonel Alexander and Sarah (Parker) McDowell, who removed from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh and thence to Franklin in 1794. For a more particular account of Colonel McDowell the reader is referred to Chapter XXI of this work. This union has been blessed with two children: Harry W., and Fred J., both of whom are assisting their father in the bank. Mr. Rowland is an active member of the Masonic order and an earnest Republican.
ALEXANDER B. CRAWFORD, retired, is the eldest son of Ebenezer and Jan- nette (Grant) Crawford. He was born in Perry township, Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, April 18, 1815. Being the eldest member of the family his services were required on the homestead farm until he was twenty- three years of age. Meantime, however, he attended the old-fashioned pio-
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neer log school house at intervals, and there acquired a rudimental English education. At the age of twenty-three he began to learn the carpenter's trade, and pursued that calling without interruption in Venango and adjoining counties for half a century. On the 15th of September, 1842, he married Miss Margaret, daughter of John Anderson of Scrubgrass township, Butler county, and the same year became a resident of Emlenton, which at that time contained only about half a dozen families. From this union have sprung three children: Sarah, who married John McCombs, of the firm of Porterfield & McCombs of Emlenton, and died December 13, 1875; E. J., an oil producer, and John Anderson, who married a daughter of James Bennett, president of the Bank of Emlenton. In 1836 Mr. Crawford cast his first presidential ballot for Harrison, and in 1888 he voted for Benjamin Harrison, the grandson of "Tippecanoe." All his life he has been identi- fied with the Whig and Republican parties, and has followed the general bent of the Crawfords in adhering to the Presbyterian faith. The evening of their days he and his wife spend in their quiet Emlenton home.
E. J. CRAWFORD, second child of Alexander B. and Margaret (Anderson) Crawford, was born in Emlenton May 27, 1845. He attended the schools of his native village and learned the carpenter's trade with his father, which he followed until 1870. He then engaged in the furniture business in Confluence, Somerset county, Pennsylvania. Closing out in 1874 he went into oil producing in Venango county, and has continued that busi- ness ever since. He was married January 9, 1867, to Miss Alice J., daughter of Roland and Harriet E. (Whitehill) Patton, then of Emlenton. They have had nine children: Horace P .; Harriet E. ; Maggie V. ; Maud L .; Ida Blanche; Alexander B., deceased; Roland, deceased; Birdella, deceased, and Colonel E. J. Mr. Crawford is a Republican, and a member of the I. O. O. F.
SAMUEL W. CRAWFORD, oil producer, is the eleventh child and sixth son of Ebenezer Crawford, and was born August 20, 1829, at the old homestead in Armstrong county. His education was such as the country schools af- forded. He learned the carpenter's trade but never followed it for any length of time. In 1854 he went to California and engaged in mining for eight years, mainly in Calaveras, Merced, and Tuolumne counties. In 1862 he went to Idaho, and remained several years. In 1865 he returned to Em- lenton, and for four years engaged with his brothers Eben and A. H., George Livingston, and D. D. Moriarty in the foundry business, then fell into line with the community and began oil producing. On the 19th of April, 1866, he was married to Miss Jane Catharine Truby of Emlenton. As a result of this union they have had four children: Harry J. ; Edwin O., and Gertrude E., still living, and Louie L., deceased. Politically Mr. Crawford is a Republican, and like most of the name a member of the Pres- byterian church.
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
A. H. CRAWFORD, JR., oil producer, is a son of Ebenezer and Jannette (Grant) Crawford. He was born February 15, 1835, in Armstrong county, Pennsylvania. His early life was spent on his father's farm, and he at- tended the country schools during the winter season. In 1861 he located in Franklin, Pennsylvania, and for fifteen years was engaged in the oil busi- ness. In 1876 he removed to Emlenton where he has since resided. In January, 1858, he married Miss Martha J., daughter of William and Rebecca (Davidson) Ross, of Rockland township, Venango county. From this union have sprung seven children: Evan, Jeannette, and Edwin, all deceased; Louis G., infant, deceased; Lily; Mary, and Frank E. Mr. Crawford is an independent Republican and has served in the borough council for several years. He is also a member of the A. O. U. W. His wife is a member of the Presbyterian church.
T. A. MORAN, deceased, was born November 29, 1846, in County Mayo, Ireland, and was a son of James Moran, a native of the same county. He came with his parents to America when but a small boy. His father's family consisted of T. J., first husband of Mrs. Mackin; Mary, married to Austin Cannon; Anna, married to John Munhall; Cecilia, married to Martin Howley; T. A., subject of this sketch; James; P. H., and Ella, married to P. Moran, of Pittsburgh. Mr. Moran was married in Richland county, Wisconsin, February 4, 1869, to Miss S. C. Loughney, daughter of Roger and Marcella (McDonald) Loughney. Roger Loughney was a native of County Mayo, Ireland, where he was born February 4, 1802. His family consisted of five daughters and two sons: John, a resident of Wisconsin; Mary, wife of Owen O'Malley of the same state; P. J., a resident of Pittsburgh; Sadie C., widow of T. A. Moran; Anna, married to John Timlin, of Kilborn City, Wisconsin; B. F., deceased; and Jennie M., wife of T. S. Flynn, of Pittsburgh. Mr. Loughney immigrated to America with his family in 1864, and located in Ironton, Wisconsin, where he purchased an excellent farm upon which he resided until his death, May 9, 1889, at the age of eighty-seven years and three months. His widow still survives him, and is a model of vigor and health. Mrs. Moran was born in Ireland September 29, 1847, and received her education in the schools of her native land and Wisconsin. At the time of his marriage Mr. Moran was a merchant of Pittsburgh, and came to Em- lenton in 1870 where he engaged in merchandising. His store was burnt down in September, 1871, and he went into the hotel business, commencing in the Valley house. In August, 1876, he purchased the Crawford house, a four-story building, and intended to occupy it as a hotel the following April, but his death occurred October 10, 1876, and thus frustrated his de- signs. The building was destroyed by fire in February, 1877. With com- mendable zeal and energy his widow undertook the erection of the present commodious and comfortable brick structure in April, 1877, and opened it to the public the following November. She has since managed it in a highly
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successful manner. Five children were born to T. A. and S. C. Moran: Mary Cecilia, deceased; James Edward; Roger William, deceased; Blanche, and Genevieve. The whole family on each side of the house are members of the Catholic church, in which faith her husband lived and died.
THOMAS BUTTERFIELD, deceased, whose widow and two sons are residents of Emlenton, was a member of a family whose connections have attained considerable distinction in this country. In their ranks were General Daniel Butterfield, of Lookout Mountain fame, and Butterfield Brothers, who or- ganized and operated the Butterfield overland express. Thomas was the oldest child of Giles and Margaret (Waddle) Butterfield, and was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, August 30, 1814. His father was a native of Vermont; his mother, of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. The remaining members of his father's family were: Mary; Lavinia; Clark; Giles, and Sarah Jane. Our subject received a common school education, subsequently learned the trade of miller, and followed successfully through life the business of conducting a merchant flouring mill at Livermore, in his native county. A barrel of his flour, made by the old process and exhibited at the World's Fair in London, England, in 1851, took first prize. Though a strong Republican he attended scrupulously to his personal affairs, and never permitted himself to be a candidate for any office. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, and an elder in that organization for thirty years prior to his death, which occurred October 10, 1880.
Mr. Butterfield was married September 28, 1837, to Miss Nancy, daugh- ter of Jacob and Margaret (McLaughlin) Bush, of Blairsville, Pennsylvania. Mr. Bush was a native of Baden, Prussia, and his wife of Chester county, this state. The fruit of this union was six children: Taxeina, married first to John G. Hart, who was killed in the battle of Gaines' Mills, and next to Conrad Mixner, of Pittsburgh; Thomas H., member of Company E, Eleventh Pennsylvania Reserves, a graduate of Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, and afterward a practicing physician who died February 20, 1876; Israel G., agent of the Allegheny Valley Railroad Company, at Em- lenton; Giles, merchant at Tionesta; Margaret, married to William Walton, of Moorestown, New Jersey, and Sylvester, assistant agent at Emlenton. Mrs. Nancy Butterfield nee Bush, was born at Blairsville, Pennsylvania, July 26, 1817. She still survives her husband, and is a consistent member of the Emlenton Presbyterian church.
THOMAS J. EAKIN, oil producer, was born December 19, 1840, on the old homestead in Clinton township, the fourth child of David and Rebecca Eakin. He lived at home until June 5, 1866, when he married Miss M. A. Coulter and began to farm on adjoining lands. This he did until 1874, when he bought the old homestead and occupied it until 1886, and then selling his land removed to Franklin. He remained in the county seat until April 1, 1889, when he removed to Emlenton, his present home. Septem-
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
ber 9, 1862, Mr. Eakin enlisted in Company E, Sixteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, and served with it in the Army of the Potomac. He was detailed in the commissary department, and participated with his regiment in the en- gagements at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and Appomattox. He was mustered out at Lynch- burg, Virginia, June 17, 1865. Mr. Eakin held several of the minor offices in his native township, among the number being justice of the peace, and served as county commissioner from January, 1882, to January, 1888. From his marriage to Mary A. Coulter ten children have been born to them: Mary Alice; Charles P .; Elizabeth May; Sarah A .; Howard J .; David B .; Thomas J., Jr .; Martha; Marshall, and Caroline, deceased. Mr. Eakin belongs to the K. of H., and is an active supporter of the Democratic party. He and wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and their four oldest children are also Presbyterians.
L. M. HALE, oil and gas producer and supplier, is a son of Daniel and Caroline (Fritz) Hale, and was born in Clarion county, Pennsylvania, Octo- ber 26, 1855. His father was born on the same farm; his grandfather, Ja- cob Hale, was one of the pioneers of that county, whence he came from the eastern part of the state. In those days the people received their supplies from Franklin, to which place they had to go along a trail, exposed to the dangers of frontier life. His family consisted of his wife, who was formerly a Miss Knight, seven sons, and four daughters: Jacob; John; George; Daniel; Gideon; Joseph; Jonah; Katie; Mollie, and two daughters who died young. Jacob died in 1871, in his eighty-third year. His son Daniel, father of our subject, was married to Caroline Fritz in 1850, who bore him the following children: Franklin F .; Lyman M. ; Ursinus, deceased; Mary F., wife of Lewis Wolfe, of Akron, Ohio; Livina, married to Charles Way, of Akron; William E .; Cora I., and Albert. He was a farmer, and died September 23, 1883, aged fifty-seven, and his widow is still a resident of Emlenton. Our subject was educated in the country schools, and then took a course in the Iron City College, at Pittsburgh. Soon after leaving school he engaged in the news and stationery business at Turkey City, then a thriv- ing oil town. Subsequently, from 1875 to 1877, he resided at Sacramento, California. Returning in the latter year, he engaged in the oil business, and has pursued it ever since with varying success. In 1883 he located in Emlenton, and united insurance business with his other affairs. He was married June 5, 1878, to Miss Lizzie Depue, of near Conneautville, Craw- ford county, who has borne him five children: Homer D .; Gay; Jessie M. ; Lyman M., and Edward E. He is a member of the Masonic order, and po- litically independent.
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