History of the city of Washington and Washington County, Pennsylvania and representative citizens 20th century, Part 115

Author: McFarland, Joseph Fulton; Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1474

USA > Pennsylvania > Washington County > Washington > History of the city of Washington and Washington County, Pennsylvania and representative citizens 20th century > Part 115

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

David Hart assumed the entire management of the homestead, and cared, as a father, for his three sisters. On April 12, 1798, he married Sarah Paxton and re-

--------

DAVID P. HART DUNNING HART

DAVID HART WILLIAM B. HART DAVID D. HART

619

HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY

mained on Muddy Run until the spring of 1807, when he and wife, feeling that the advantages and future wel- fare of their family demanded removal farther west, severed the strong ties that bound them to their childhood home. They started on their journey to Washington County, coming through on horseback and arriving in Somerset Township about the first of April, 1807. Here, in this house they had hewed out of the forest, they lived and died. There were born to them nine children, three born in Adams County and six in Washington County, as follows: Andrew Hart, born July 19, 1799, died August 10, 1861; Jane Hart, born January 28, 1801, and died February 21, 1864; Paxton Hart, born February 19, 1803, died October 30, 1828; John Hart, born December 15, 1805, died March 1, 1820; James Gibson Hart, born January 2, 1807; David Hart, born December 18, 1808, died March 30, 1872; Maria Hart; Sally Hart, born April 10, 1813, died May 17, 1830; and William Hart, born September 19, 1817. Sarah (Paxton) Hart died in 1830. In 1832, David Hart married for a second wife, Mrs. Margaret Dunning Butler, to whom were born three children, namely: Margaret Hart Kerr, deecased; Eliza Hart Hosack, of Scenery Hill, and Dunning Hart, of Washington, Pa.

David Hart died October 1, 1862, and as to the life he led and to the high esteem in which he was held by those who knew him, it can be told no better than to add here the words written by one who knew him well, Rev. Bank- head Boyd, of Pigeon Creek.

"David Hart died at his residence in Somerset Town- ship, Washington County, on the first day of October, 1852, in the seventy-eighth year of his age. He was born in Adams County, Pa., November 28, 1775. The time of his removal to this county was 1807. He was a ruling elder in the Associate Presbyterian Church of Pigeon Creek. In noticing the death of this good man, it is not our design to pronounce any eulogy upon him. He was too well known in the community in which he long resided, to render this necessary. It is but justice, however, to say that but few men stood higher in the community than the deceased. He possessed a strong, discriminating judgment, a character fair and unblem- ished, strongly marked by decision, and at the same time distinguished for uprightness and sterling integrity, which secured for him the esteem and confidence of all who knew him. This was evident from the large amount of business with which he was from time to time entrusted, and indeed, during the greater part of his long life, he was acting for others, in one way or another, and the vast concourse of people which accompanied his mortal remains to their final resting place, showed the high esteem in which he was held by the community at large. Benevolence was a paramount feature in his character. The good of others was an object which he kept steadily

in view, and any measures which he believed calculated for the promotion of the public good, received his cor- dial support. At the time of his death he was an active and influential member of the Bible Society of Somerset . Township. The interests of true religion, also the ad- vancement of the Redeemer's Kingdom, in this world, were always with him matters of the first importance. Having early made a profession of his faith in Christ, he ever manifested a deep solicitude for the cause he had espoused, and his counsel and contributions were never wanting but always rendered with the greatest cheerful- ness, when the interests of the church required them. His whole life was an ornament of the profession he had made. His house was the house of prayer, the morn- ing and evening sacrifice was never neglected. His seat was never vacant in the House of God but for the weightiest reasons, and in all the relations of life he seemed to aim at maintaining a conscience void of offense toward God and toward man.

"In a word, he was a just man who feared God and wrought righteousness and was eminently useful in his day and generation, both in the church and in the world, being always ready for every good work. From the nature of the disease from which he died, he was in a great measure deprived of the powers of speech during his last illness, and consequently little could be obtained from him respecting his feelings or state of mind, but, judging from the general tenor of his life, we can have no doubt but that his latter end was peace. 'Mark the perfect man and behold the upright for the end of that man is peace.' He left a wife and numerous relatives to mourn his loss, but trust their loss was his gain, and that he is now in the Upper Sanctuary, singing the song of Moses and the Lamb with the angels and the spirits of just men made perfect."

Dunning Hart was reared on the home farm in Somer- set Township. He enlisted in Co. G, 140th Pa. Vol. Inf., and served three years of the Civil War, in the Army of the Potomac. He was wounded at the battle of Gettys- burg, receiving three gunshot wounds, one slight and two serious, and was in the Philadelphia Hospital for about eight months before again fit for duty. He was then transferred from Co. G, to the 3rd Vet. Res., of which he was an officer, and was discharged at Augusta, Maine, in September, 1865. He is a member of W. F. Temple- ton Post, G. A. R.

After his military service was over, Mr. Hart returned home and resumed farming and stock raising in Somerset Township, continuing until 1868, when he purchased the Lowland Stock Farm, in Amwell Township, to which he moved and carried on farming and stock raising there until 1908, when he sold out and retired to Washington. He was an extensive raiser of all kinds of stock and in later years he made a specialty of registered Shorthorn

620

HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY

cattle, in which he met with much success. He has al- ways been an active citizen.

Mr. Hart was married in the fall of 1865, to Miss Mary J. Davis, born in Allegheny County, Pa., July 24, 1839, a daughter of George and Martha (Crawford) Davis. When Mrs. Hart was sixteen years of age, her parents moved to the Brownlee farm in Washington County, and she has resided in the county ever since. Mr. and Mrs. Hart reared a family of seven children, namely : George Davis, who lives on the Lowland farm; David Paxton, who also resides in Amwell Township; Margaret M., who is the wife of J. Preston Horn, lives near Baker's Station; Dunning Albert, who died when just past his seventeenth year; James G., who is engaged in business at Duquesne, Pa .; John Fergus, who is deceased ; and William E. William E. Hart is a practicing physi- cian in the Roosevelt Hospital, New York City. He grad- uated from Washington and Jefferson College, in the class of 1905, and from Johns Hopkins Medical College, Baltimore, Md., in the class of 1909. Mr. and Mrs. Hart are members of the First Presbyterian Church of Wash- ington.

JULES J. CHARLIER, treasurer of the MeDonald Savings and Trust Company, at McDonald, Pa., has been identified with this financial institution since 1905, and has spent thirty years of his life in America, but another land claims his birth. He is a native of Belgium, born in that country in September, 1868, and is a son of Jules and a grandson of Alexis Charlier.

Both grandfather and father were coal miners in Bel- gium and it was with the hope of finding better indus- trial conditions in the coal districts of Pennsylvania, that the father of Jules J. Charlier brought his family to America in 1879. He had married Josephine Mander- lier, in Belgium, and they became the parents of the fol- lowing children: Emma; Octavius; Fred; Emil; Mary, who married Morris Evans; Alice, who married Roy L. Smith; and Jules J., who was the second in order of birth.

Jules J. Charlier had only the rather meager educa- tional opportunities that are afforded children in the mining districts, where very often their school days are shortened in order that they may join the other male members of the family and by their work add to the general income, and his was no exceptional case. His teaching in Belgium had been in the French language and only four months was afforded him in the common schools in the United States in which to master an en- tirely new tongue, and then he went into the mines and did his daily task under ground with the others. How- ever, he was different in that he had ambition and when his hard labor was over for the day, he applied himself to study in the evenings and in a surprisingly short time

had acquired knowledge that made him a valuable em- ploye in another direction and provided a stepping stone to the promotion which later awaited him. After leav- ing the mines he entered the employ of a merchant, T. B. Rollins, and later, of J. D. Sauters, a coal operator, and still later he embarked in a grocery business for himself, at McDonald. He continued in the latter en- terprise for some time and then sold out, and in 1905 accepted the position of bookkeeper for the McDonald Savings and Trust Company, of which he is now treas- urer.

The McDonald Savings and Trust Company was organ- ized in 1903, with a capital stock of $125,000, John P. Scott being its first president, and W. L. Scott, its first treasurer. The capitalists who formed the first board of directors were the following: John P. Scott, W. L. Elliott, Dr. G. H. Miller, C. G. Haden, J. M. Stilley, D. G. Bamford, James Baell, K. N. McDonald and Richard Lamb. It is a sound, safe concern that has more than met every expectation and is one of the most solidly financed institutions of this section.

In November, 1890, Mr. Charlier was married to Miss Emma Egbert, whose parents are Nicholas and Flomey (Leroy) Egbert, residents of McDonald, whose other children are: Lena, wife of Augustus Bailey Isadore; Flomey, wife of Eli Conlier; and Helen, wife of Frank Scouvart; and Jules.

Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Char- lier: Raymond, Earl and Evaline. They are members of the First United Presbyterian Church at McDonald. He is identified with both the Masons and the Odd Fel- lows, a member of Garfield Lodge, No. 604, F. & A. M., and MacDonald Lodge, No. 605, Odd Fellows, both at McDonald. In politics he is a Republican.

ROBERT L. JOHNSTON, president of the school board of California, Pa., and a director of the First National Bank, has been a resident of East Pike Run Township since about 1854, and was born February 5, 1848, at Brownsville, Fayette Co., Pa., a son of James M. and Jane B. (Scott) Johnston, and a grandson of George Johnston, a native of Ireland, who came to this country about 1806 and located at Brownsville, Pa., where he died at the advanced age of ninety-three years. The father of our subject was a plasterer and contractor by trade, but spent his later years on a farm in East Pike Run Township.

Robert L. Johnston was reared at California, Pa., where he attended the local schools and the old academy, and when a youth removed with his parents to the farm in East Pike Run Township, where he subsequently en- gaged in farming until 1897, when he sold the property and came to California, where he and his brother James M. carry on a plaster contracting business. Mr. John-

621

HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY

ston has for the past twenty-two years served as a mem- ber of the township and borough school boards, and is now serving his fourth term on the California board, of which he has for a number of years been president. The other members of the board are as follows: W. J. Weaver, T. J. Underwood, Peter Dewar, Joseph Galla- gher, and Ross Denny. Mr. Johnston is a Knight Tem- plar Mason. He married Mary Worrel, who was born in Washington County, Pa., and was reared in Fallow- field Township by James Stroud. They have three chil- dren: James S., Jane S., and Robert L.

LEWIS N. YOHE, a member of the Yohe Brothers' Lumber Company, which is the oldest concern of its kind in Monongahela City, and was established in 1878, has been a life-long resident of this city, where he was born April 15, 1855, and is a son of Michael and Phoebe (McConnel) Yohe.

Michael Yohe was born and reared on a farm at Val- ley Inn, Carrol Township, in 1815, and was a son of Isaac Yohe, who came from the eastern part of Penn- sylvania, locating on a farm three miles east of Monon- gahela City, where he spent his life engaged in farming. Michael Yohe was reared on the home farm, where he remained until after his marriage. He moved to Monon- gahela City, Pa., where he died at the age of sixty-eight years. He married Phoebe McConnel, who was born in 1825, in West Middletown, Pa., and who was of Scotch- Irish ancestry. Their union resulted in the birth of nine sons, namely : John M., a resident of Pittsburg; Isaac, a resident of Monongahela City; Leroy S., deceased; James L., who is in partnership with his brother Lewis; William G., of New Kensington, Pa .; Lewis N., the sub- ject of this sketch; Frank; and Charles (twins) both residents of Monongahela City; and Sherod, who also resides in Monongahela City.

Lewis N. Yohe grew to maturity at his father's home, and after obtaining an education in the common schools of the township, spent two years on Capt. J. B. Gibson's farm, and two years on Daniel Reil's farm, where he took the place of his cousin, J. B. Yohe, now general manager of the Lake Erie Railroad. He then came to Monongahela City, where he learned the carpenter's trade with his brother Isaac, with whom he and his brother James, established in 1878, the plaining mill and lumber company, which is still operated under the firm name of Yohe Brothers' Lumber Company. The plant, which is located on the Monongahela River, gives employment to an average of 60 to 100 men, and the concern does a general contracting business, dealing also in all kinds of building materials. Isaac Yohe disposed of his in- terest in the business to Clyde C. Yohe, a son of James L. Yohe, and is now living in retirement. James L. Yohe is manager of the mill, his son Clyde is secretary

and treasurer of the company, and Lewis N. Yohe, man- ager of the general contract work.

In March, 1877, Mr. Yohe was united in marriage with Sallie A. Wilson, a daughter of John and Susanna Wil- son, of Chester County, Pa., and they have had the fol- lowing children: Warren I., who married Margaret Ab- bott, and has one child, Lewis, Jr .; George W .; Lewis H .; deceased; Michael, who married Nellie McCalister and has two children, Donald and Harold; Sarah N., who is the wife of George H. Peterson; Susan, deceased; Percy P., and Elsie.

In politics Mr. Yohe is a Republican. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Royal Arcanum. He is an active member in the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he has been trustee for the past twenty-eight years.

WALTER H. BAKER, secretary and treasurer of the Universal Rolling Mill Company, whose plant is located at Bridgeville, Pa.,- is one of the prominent young busi- ness men of Washington. He was born at Zollarsville, in Bethlehem Township, but has practically spent his en- tire life in Washington, where his father, N. R. Baker, of the Citizens' National Bank, located when he was a child.

Walter H. Baker graduated with the class of 1898 from Washington and Jefferson College, and immediately afterward became identified with the Tyler Charcoal Iron Mills for two years, after which he went to Waynes- burg as superintendent of the Waynesburg Forge, Sheet and Tin Mills, in which capacity he served until 1907, when he accepted a position as secretary and treasurer of the Universal Rolling Mill Company, with which he has since been identified, his office being located at No. 531 Washington Trust building, Washington.

Mr. Baker is a member of the First Methodist Epis- copal Church; is fraternally affiliated with Sunset Lodge. F. & A. M., and belongs also to the Duquesne Club of Pittsburg.

In April, 1909, Mr. Baker married Amy Patterson Duncan, a daughter of the late James E. Duncan, who was a prominent glass manufacturer of Pittsburg and Washington.

WILLIAM BAMFORD, a prominent farmer of Robe- son Township and the owner of a farm of 114 acres, on which he has a producing oil well, was born November 16, 1864, at Bulger, and is a son of Robert and Sarah (Gordon) Bamford. The father was a blacksmith during his early life, but subsequently followed farming. He died January 1, 1886, leaving his widow, who is a resi- dent of Midway, and the following children: D. G. Bamford, William, our subject; Robert, and Mary, who lives with the mother at Midway.

William Bamford obtained his education in the com-

622

HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY

mon schools of the towship, and since completing same has been engaged in agricultural pursuits in Robeson Township. He is a stockholder in the Midway National Bank, and the McDonald Savings and Trust Company. In politics he is a Democrat and has served three years as collector and treasurer of the school funds, and three years as road supervisor of the township.

In 1882, Mr. Bamford married Anna M. Hood, a daughter of James and Margaret (Burns) Hood, who was one of ten children born to her parents, who were well known farmers of this county: Jane, the deceased wife of James Coventry; Mary, deceased wife of John Coventry; Nancy, who first married Samuel Ackleson, formed a second union with Thomas Ramsey; Catherine, the deceased wife of William Moreland; John; Alex- ander; Amanda, deceased; Anna Margaret, who is the wife of our subject; James, and George. Mr. and Mrs. Bamford have three children: Sarah G., Margaret H. and Robert James.

ROBERT LEMOYNE ELWOOD, ex-mayor and an honored and highly esteemed citizen of Monongahela City, Pa., who has been a resident here for the past forty-seven years, was born August 3, 1856, in Washing- ton Co., Pa., and is a son of Robert and Elizabeth (Howe) Elwood.

Robert Elwood, father of our subject, was a small boy when his parents removed from Ohio to Washington County, Pa., where they settled on a tract of timber- land. Here he was reared and learned the blacksmith trade, and during the Civil War, came to Monongahela City, where he ran a shop on Main street, where the Ideal Theater is now located. He was married to Eliza- beth Howe, a native of Washington County, Pa., who died at the age of eighty-two years. Of their union were born the following children: Eliza, who married William Grable, both of whom are deceased; Anna, who married William Hartman, both deceased; John William; Margaret, who is the widow of John Frye; Maria, who married Aaron Reese; Clara, who is the wife of Amzi Eckles; Ella D., who is the wife of Harry McMasters; Robert L., the subject of this sketch; and Jennie, who married Lewis Stuler. Mr. and Mrs. Elwood were married fifty years before death entered the family, the former's death occurring at the age of seventy-four years.

Robert L. Elwood was quite young when the family removed to Monongahela City, where he was reared and attended the common schools, having been a member of the Kate Clemmons class of 1872. He early in life began working on the river boats, beginning as a deck hand on the "Clipper," which was owned by William Clark. He later entered the employ of Joseph Walton & Com- pany, with whom he began as mate and was promoted

to captain. During his period of twenty-one years of service with that company he was presented with a token of appreciation by the independent coal dealers for having carried the largest amount of coal ever car- ried in six months on the Monongahela River, and he was at the same time presented with a miniature of his old boat, "Maggie," by the other employees of the Jo- seph Walton Company. During his thirty-two years spent on the river he was fortunate in not having sunk even the smallest amount of coal, which is a distinction that falls to the lot of but few sailors. In 1904, Mr. Elwood retired from the river, and the following year was elected mayor of Monongahela City on the Republican ticket, serving in that capacity for two terms, and during his second term was appointed alderman by the governor to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John Holland. At the expiration of his first term in that capacity, he was elected to that office and is still serving.

In 1904, Mr. Elwood and his son Robert embarked in the ice business at Monongahela City, and operate three wagons. He and his son have invented and ob- tained a patent Mar. 23, 1909, on a nut-and-bolt-lock, which will doubtless be used extensively in the con- struction of railroad structural iron work, the nut itself having a leveled face, which, when bolted to a surface of the same angle, makes slipping absolutely impossible.

Mr. Elwood was married Jan. 8, 1878, to Mary A. Furlong, who is a daughter of John Furlong, of Oil City, Pa., and they have four children: Seward, Eliza- beth, Morley and Robert L., Jr. Mr. Elwood is fra- ternally a member of the I. O. O. F., B. P. O. E., Jr. O. U. A. M., and the Steamboat Protective Association, Harbor No. 25. His religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal Church.

WILLIAM COULSON, proprietor of the Central Hotel, a commodious, well equipped modern hostelry situated at Roscoe, Washington Co., Pa., was born in England, Sept. 6, 1869, and is a son of Eneas and Mary (Barnes) Coulson.

The parents of Mr. Coulson came to America, in 1879. The father was a coal miner and found employment at Elco, formerly called Wood's Run, one mile up the river from Roscoe. Mr. Coulson worked as a miner until 1901, when he went into the hotel business and it was in his father's hotel at Donora that William Coulson obtained his training and experience in this line.

William Coulson started to work in the coal mines when he was 12 years old and knows all about the hardships and dangers of a miner's life, which he con- tinued to face until 1902, when he began to assist his father. He came to Roscoe and took charge of the Central Hotel in September, 1908. This building was erected in 1897, but has been remodeled and the latest

JOSEPH A. HERRON

625

HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY

modern comforts and conveniences installed. It is a large, roomy structure, 40 apartments in all, 20 of these being comfortable sleeping chambers. It is of brick and tile construction and is three stories in height. Its cuisine is unsurpassed and its charges of $1.50 per day are very moderate.

Mr. Coulson married Miss Mary J. Gillie, a daughter of James Gillie, Sr., of Courtney, Washington County, and they have three children: Russell E., Isabel and Mary. In politics, Mr. Coulson is a Republican and was serving in his fourth year as a member of the Donora borough Council, when he resigned the office, on coming to Roscoe. He is identified with the order of Elks.

AMBROSE L. EAKIN, one of Washington's repre- sentative citizens, a member of the city Council from the Eighth Ward, has long been identified with the oil industry and is district superintendent of the South Pennsylvania Oil Company, with offices on the second floor of the W. T. Building. He was born in 1866, in Venango County, Pa., but from the age of 8 years un- til he came to Washington County, his home was in Mc- Kean County.

Mr. Eakin began to work in the oil fields when he was a boy and more or less has been connected with oil interests ever since. In 1886 he came to Washington, being then in the employ of the Union Oil Company and transferred to the Forrest Oil Company when that or- ganization succeeded the Union, which, in turn was suceeded by the South Pennsylvania Oil Company. The territory over which Mr. Eakin has charge includes the business done in 234 wells. His long experience and thorough knowledge of details and conditions, both serve to make Mr. Eakin a valuable man for this responsible position. He takes an active interest in politics and for seven years has been a member of the Council.

Mr. Eakin was married at Bradford, Pa., in 1885, to Miss Carrie Belle Taylor, and they have had eight chil- dren, seven sons and one daughter, namely: Charles, who is in the employ of the South Pennsylvania Oil Company; Flossie, who resides at home; Glade, who is a resident of Spokane, Wash .; and Glenn, Leon, J. Shaw, Fred and Fay. Mr. and Mrs. Eakin attend the Metho- dist Episcopal Church. He is a Thirty-second degree Mason and is a member of the Blue Lodge, Chapter, Council and Commandery, at Washington, and the Con- sistory at Pittsburg. He is also a member of the order of Maccabees.

JOSEPH ALEXANDER HERRON, who is president of the Monongahela Trust Company, and senior member of Alexander & Company, bankers of Monogahela City, Pa., with which he has been associated since 1866, is

identified with various banking houses of Washington County. He was born October 16, 1847, in Monongahela City, Pa., and is a son of David and Eliza Alexander Herron.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of the city of Washington and Washington County, Pennsylvania and representative citizens 20th century, Part 115

Author: McFarland, Joseph Fulton; Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1910 Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1474

Author: McFarland, Joseph Fulton; Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1474