History of the city of Washington and Washington County, Pennsylvania and representative citizens 20th century, Part 216

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 216

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In 1874 Mr. Will was married to Miss Anna Belle Collins, and they have had the following children: John E., Emma Gertrude, Guy C., C. L., Sallie Belle, and Anna May, the last named dying when nineteen years of age. Emma Gertrude is the wife of H. H. Beatty. Mr. Will and family attend the Baptist Church. He is a stanch Republican and takes a good citizen's in- terest in public matters. He is a member of the order of Heptasophs, at New Kensington, and of the Royal Arcanum, at West Newton, Pa.

CHARLES F. ALRUTZ,* who, through his various in- dustries is known all over Washington County, resides on his valuable farm of 218 acres, which is situated in Mt. Pleasant Township, four miles south of Hickory, Pa. He was born in Germany, February 17, 1849, and is a son of Christopher and Malissa (Kinnemond) Al- rutz.

The father of Mr. Alrutz was born in Hanover, Ger- many, February 22, 1812, and died on the present farm, his burial being in Buffalo Cemetery, March 4, 1897. When he came first to Washington County he settled on the line of Hopewell and Canton Townships, and worked by the day for farmers and later bought land in Hope- well Township. In 1880, in association with his son, Charles F., he purchased the present farm and spent his subsequent life here. He was a member of the Lutheran Church at Washington, and in politics he was a Democrat. His widow did not survive him long,

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her death taking place January 18, 1898, and her burial was in the same cemetery. They had three children, Charles F., Fred and Louisa.

Charles F. Alrutz went to school in both Hopewell and Canton Townships, after which he spent seven years as a teamster hauling coal into Washington. In 1867 Mr. Alrutz went to farming and also entered into the threshing business and operated a sawmill. For forty years he has been engaged in threshing, missing but five days in the season, and those were spent in procuring re- pairs for his machinery. He undoubtedly enjoys the distinction of having been the longest engaged in con- tinuous work in this line of anyone in Washington County. During late years he has operated each fall only through Mt. Pleasant, Cross Creek, Canton and Hopewell Townships, but formerly his territory covered a large part of the county, extending as far as Mc- Donald, Burgettstown and Claysville. During the period of his first marriage he lived with his father, but after his second marriage he took charge of the farm and has continued to operate it. All of the land is tillable and productive, with the exception of fifteen acres yet in woodland.

On May 1, 1872, Mr. Alrutz was married to Miss Mary Uller, a daughter of George Uller, of North Strabane Township. Two children were born to that marriage: Charles C., who married a daughter of David Briggs; and Nancy, who married H. C. Razzel, of South Strabane Township. Mr. Alrutz married for his second wife, April 6, 1898, Miss Mary M. Dugan, a daughter of Peter Dugan, of Allegheny County, and they have two children, Edna and Mary May. Mr. Alrutz and wife are mem- bers of the Lutheran Church. He always casts his vote with the Democratic party, exercising his right as a citizen, but has never desired any public office.

GEORGE C. BRICELAND,* a well known citizen of Canonsburg, belongs to a family that has been identified with this section for more than 100 years. He was born at Canonsburg, Pa., November 22, 1862, and is a son of John and Emily J. (Zimmerman) Briceland.

Thomas Briceland, who was the great-grandfather of George C. Briceland, was born in North Ireland and when he came first to Washington County, at a very early day, he was accompanied by his brother, James Brice- land. They settled at a point which became known as Briceland Cross Roads, the present site of Florence, and there they kept a hotel. Later Thomas Brice- land moved to Canonsburg, where he seems to have been a man of consequence, as he was elected a member of the first village council, in 1802.

John Briceland, son of Thomas and grandfather of George C., was a resident of Canonsburg, where he died

when aged seventy-two years. He was married three times, his second wife bearing the name of Ross and his third that of Proudfoot. His first wife, whose name has not been preserved, was the grandmother of George C. Briceland.

John Briceland (2), son of John and father of George C., was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, March 9, 1832. In young manhood he spent some years in the West and later became the proprietor of the Brice- land Hotel at Canonsburg, which he was conducting at the time of his death, in 1900. He married Emily Jane Zimmerman, who was born at Canonsburg and still resides in this borough. One of her ancestors was a Donaldson. Her parents died in Washington County. Her mother was married (second) to Henry McAfee. Mrs. Briceland has one brother, William Zimmerman, who is a resident of Brier Hill, and two sisters: Mary Ellen and Margaret. The former married Josiah Cham- bers, and the latter married James Layburn, of Canons- burg. The children born to John and Emily Briceland were the following: William Newton, residing on College street, Canonsburg, a carpenter by trade; John H., who also follows the carpenter trade at Canonsburg; George C .; Julia, who is the wife of Joseph McMillan, of South Canonsburg; Emily, who is the wife of W. J. Balentine, of Cecil Township; Artis, who resides at Crofton, and is a painter by trade; Walter, who married Miss Tessa Vance; Mary, who married Albert Vance, of South Canonsburg; Harriet, who is the wife of Mark Morrison, and resides on Greenside avenue, Canonsburg; Wade Hampton, who resides at home, is a painter by trade; and Ida, who also lives at home.

George C. Briceland obtained his education in the schools of Canonsburg and remained at home until he was twenty years of age. He then went to Pittsburg and learned stair-building and was employed there for twelve years, after which he was engaged in the grocery and produce business with the firm of W. R. Bell & Company, and then purchased an interest from Thomas Jackson, shoe merchant at Canonsburg. After Mr. Jackson's death, Mr. Briceland conducted the business alone for about nine years. During the past five years he has been working at his trade, in which he is an ex- pert, and does some contracting in Pittsburg.

Mr. Briecland was married in 1885 to Miss Lila Jack- son, a daughter of Joseph and Fannie Jackson, of Canons- burg, and they have three children: Frances Emma, who is a bookkeeper for the Citizens Trust Company; Thomas Earle, who is employed in the purchasing department of the Fort Pitt Bridge Works, at Canonsburg; and George Franklin, who is still a student in the public schools. In his political sentiments, Mr. Briceland has been a stanch adherent of the Democratic party, as was

JAMES A. BUBBETT

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' HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY

his father, but he has had no ambition to serve in office. He belongs to the beneficiary order of the Royal Ar- canum.

JAMES A. BUBBETT, attorney-at-law, with offices at No. 80 South Main street, Washington, Pa., is num- bered with the rising young men of Washington County, apparently entering upon a successful career both in his profession and in politics. He was born in Hanover Township, Washington County, Pa., in 1882, and is a son of Willis C. and Kate E. (Burns) Bubbett.

Willis C. Bubbett, who died in the infancy of his son, James A., was born also in Hanover Township and was a son of James Bubbett, who was one of the early set- tlers in this section. His occupation was farming. The mother of Mr. Bubbett survives and resides on the old homestead in Hanover Township. The maternal grand- father was John B. Burns, a well-known citizen.

James A. Bubbett was reared in Hanover Township and was educated in the public schools and Ingleside Academy, at Burgettstown, after its removal from Mc- Donald, and later took a business course at Washing- ton. He studied law with the firm of Duncan, Chalfant & Warne, and was admitted to the senior class in the law department of the University of Pittsburg, attend- ing that institution one year. He immediately entered into the practice of law at Washington. From early manhood he has been active in local politics and has recently been elected to the responsible office of chair- man of the Democratic County Committee, this testify- ing to the confidential relations existing between him and the party leaders of the State. He is identified with the Masonic fraternity and he was reared in the United Presbyterian Church.

JOHN H. JEWELL,* one of the best known and most highly esteemed citizens of West Finley, Pa., where he conducts the popular Jewell House, belongs to a family that is well and favorably known in this part of Pennsylvania. Mr. Jewell was born in 1845, in Waynesburg, Greene County, Pennsylvania, a son of Samuel and Eliza Ann (Johnson) Jewell.

Samuel Jewell, who spent all of his life in Green County, was a cabinet maker and undertaker by oc- cupation, conducting an establishment at Waynesburg for thirty-five years. Later he purchased the old hotel in that vicinity and the farm surrounding it, and con- ducted it from 1865 until 1879, or until the time of his death. He held many township offices, and served on numerous juries, including the one which cleared the famous VanAtti of a murder charge in Greene County. He and his wife were the parents of children as follows: Phoebe, deceased, who was the wife of Daniel Condit; Marguerite, deceased, who was the wife of Jacob Zollard;

George M., who resides at Washington, Pa .; Zerine, who met his death at Hagerstown, Md., during the Civil War; Charity, deceased, who was the wife of John Ackley; Mary Jane, who married W. T. Hayes, of Waynesburg; John H .; Samuel M., who resides at Wheeling, W. Va .; and Annie Eliza, deceased, who married James Carter.

The education of John H. Jewell was secured in the common schools and Waynesburg College, and after leav- ing the latter institution at the age of twenty-one years, he began assisting his father in the hotel. Later he learned the trade of carpenter and stair-builder, becom- ing a contractor in Wheeling, and doing considerable work all over western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. In 1897 Mr. Jewell purchased a small hotel and farm at West Finley, and later bought his present establish- ment, a popular hostelry known as the Jewell House. He is a Democrat in politics and, although living in a district that is strongly Republican, is serving his second term as justice of the peace, having received more than two-thirds of the total votes cast during the last elec- tion and being practically forced to accept the office, although he was out of the county at the time of his nomination. With his family he attends the Presbyterian Church at Charleroi.

In 1868 Mr. Jewell was married to Melvina Murrey, of Fayette County, who died one and one-half years later, leaving two children: Louise Bertha, the wife of Samuel Martin, of Amwell Township; and Ida Melvina, wife of James Gunkins, of Sand Hill, W. Va. Seven years later Mr. Jewell was married to Emma Evans, daughter of Caleb Evans, of Amwell Township, and she lived about three and one-half years, dying without issue. In 1887 Mr. Jewell was married to Mary Margaret Dodd, daugh- ter of Dr. Thaddeus Dodd, of Amity, Amwell Township, and two children were born to this union: Lois Clare, who died in infancy; and John, a student at the Washington high school, who was born in 1891. Mrs. Jewell was the first woman in Charleroi after the establishment of the village, and her daughter Lois Clare, now deceased, was the first child born there.

CASSIUS A. DORSEY,* who resides on the old Dorsey homestead, situated in East Pike Run Township, Wash- ington County, Pennsylvania, on the National turnpike road, about two miles west of Brownsville, is one of the most substantial and enterprising agriculturists and stock men of this section. Mr. Dorsey was born on this farm, March 29, 1864, and is a son of George and Martha (Phillips) Dorsey.

George Dorsey was born on the old river farm of his father, James Dorsey, in East Bethlehem Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania. James Dorsey was born at Elliott Mills, Md., where his father, Joseph Dorsey, resided until 1780, when he came to Washington

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County and settled in East Bethlehem Township, where he built the stone house which still stands. He acquired 1,500 acres of land in this section of Washington County. In 1849, James Dorsey, grandfather of Cassius A. Dorsey, moved on the farm in East Pike Run Town- ship and erected a fine brick house. Later it was de- stroyed by fire, but in 1888 the present handsome resi- dence was built on the same site. James Dorsey died in 1852.

George Dorsey was sixteen years old when his parents came to the farm which is now owned by his two sons, Cassius A., and Charles I. Dorsey, and he engaged in farming and stock raising during the whole of his active life. In 1852 he was married to Martha Phillips, who was born in East Pike Run Township, a daughter of Solomon Phillips. Of their nine children there are only three survivors: Mrs. Elizabeth Grimes, Cassius A. and Charles I. The mother died in January, 1908, and was survived but a few months by the father, his death occurring in May, 1908.

Cassius A. and Charles I. Dorsey, who are in partner- ship in the ownership of a number of farms and in the profitable industries carried on on their various proper- ties, including general agriculture, stock raising, dairy- ing and dealing in horses and mules, both obtained their schooling in the township in which they were born and afterward helped their father. The home farm on which they live contains 315 acres, thirty-two acres lying in East Pike Run Township and the remainder in Centerville Borough. They own also the Joseph Williams farm of sixty acres, in Centerville Borough, and the Leonard Sword place, which contains seven acres, improved with twelve tenant houses, situated also in Centerville. The' brothers have joined their interests and are numbered with the most progressive and successful business men of this part of Washington County.

Cassius A. Dorsey married Miss Henrietta Watkins, a daughter of John and Margery (Britton) Watkins, and they have had six children: Nellie, George, Collie, Ruth, Elma and Rebecca, two of these being deceased, Nellie and Collie. Mr. Dorsey served twelve years as a school director in East Pike Run Township, for two terms being secretary of the board, and one term its presi- dent. He belongs to the Grange.

Charles I. Dorsey was born January 25, 1867. He married Miss Annie Watkins, a daughter of John and Margery (Britton) Watkins, and they have had four children: Margery, Helen, Roscoe C. and Grace, Helen being now deceased. Charles I. Dorsey is a mem- ber of the school board of Centerville Borough.

CHARLES S. CALDWELL,* manager of the A. B. Caldwell Company, the leading department store of Wash- ington, and one of the most important mercantile con-

cerns of the county, was born at Washington, Pa., in 1869, and is a son of the late A. B. Caldwell, merchant, financier and capitalist. Mr. Caldwell is the only sur- viving son of his parents and with his sisters compose the present membership of the Caldwell Company.

Charles S. Caldwell was educated at Washington, and has been identified with his present business since he was sixteen years of age. The business block in which the A. B. Caldwell Company is installed is situated at Nos. 26-28 South Main street, Washington, and was erected by the founder of the business, the late A. B. Caldwell. The three stories and basement occupied give about 30,000 square feet of selling space. The first floor is devoted to dress goods, trimmings, notions, men's furnishings and clothing; the second floor to feminine be- longings, including corsets, ladies' underwear, ready made garments and millinery; and the third floor to carpets, wall paper, merchant tailoring and pictures, while the basement is given up to curtains, upholstery, trunks and bags. The stock is reliable and modern in every particular; and the house finds its customers from all over the county. Employment is given to from sixty-five to seventy-five people, to whom ample wages are paid, and throughout the whole house modern ideas prevail.

Charles S. Caldwell was married in 1900 to Miss Eleanor Baird, who is a member of one of the old county families. They have a beautiful home at No. 54 West Maiden street, Washington.

JOHN ADOLPH SMITH,* a member of the select Council of the First Ward, at Monongahela City, and engaged in business as a coal merchant, is one of the representative and enterprising business men of this place. He was born at Essen, Germany, February 28, 1856, son of Gerhard and Lena (Schmidt) Smith. The father was a merchant in Germany, and his other children were, Joseph, residing in California; and Anna and Mary, both of whom are deceased. John Adolph and his younger brother, Joseph Smith, were the only members of the family who came to America.

John Adolph Smith attended school in his native land until he was eighteen years of age, and then, according to the military law of his country, became a soldier. In 1876 he entered the German Army as a private and later gained promotion, first being commissioned corporal and later sergeant in Company 12, 42nd Regiment In- fantry, and was honorably discharged in November, 1880, his service having been on the French frontier. In June, 1881, he left his native land for the United States, taking passage on a vessel of the Red Star line, and fourteen days later landed in the city of New York. Two weeks later he reached Richville, Pa., where he worked for two weeks as a miner. On August 6, 1881,

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he came to Monongahela and became a coal miner here, and after being in the employ of James Jones for five years, was promoted to be mine foreman. He worked in that position for two years at Galliten, then Rankin, across the river, after which he started a country mine at Monongahela, and has prospered in the coal busi- ness,

In September, 1882, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Henrietta Walger, a daughter of John and Henrietta Walger, all of whom came from Germany, and the parents died in America. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith the following children were born: Amelia, who married T. A. Schmidt, and has one daughter, Margaret Schmidt; and John G., Leonora, Ida, Clara, Pauline, Mary, Emma, Elizabeth, Alfred and Arthur. Mr. Smith and family be- long to the German Catholic Church. Mr. Smith is an active and interested citizen. He votes with the Re- publican party, and he is now serving in his second year in the select Council, proving himself a valuable ad- visor of that body. He is identified with the Order of the Moose, No. 125, at Monongahela, and with the North American Turnerbund, at Charleroi, Pa.

LEWIS BROTHERS,* a firm of representative busi- ness men at McDonald Pa., oil operators, ice dealers and teaming contractors, have led in these lines of activity at this place since 1899. The firm is made up of Thomas and Benjamin Lewis, sons of Thomas F. and Mary (Jones) Lewis.

The parents of the Lewis brothers are both deceased and their remains rest in the Robeson Run Cemetery. The father was a coal miner during his earlier life, but in later years engaged in teaming at McDonald. He was a stanch Republican and never failed to perform all du- ties resting on him as a good citizen. His children were the following: Margaret, who married George Grimes; Mary, who married Alexander Plance; Maggie, who mar- ried Edward Hershel; Lydia, who married Albert Riffley ; Ida, who married Oliver Bish; Elizabeth, who married John O'Neal; and Henry, Thomas and Benjamin.

Thomas Lewis, of the firm of Lewis Brothers, was born in Mercer County, Pa., March 4, 1876. His education was obtained in the public schools and as soon as old enough he became associated with his father in the team- ing business and continued after the father's death. He then entered into partnership with is brother, Benjamin Lewis and in 1899 the firm went into the oil business and also started their other industries and being capable business men have wonderfully prospered.

In May, 1896, Thomas Lewis was married to Miss Emma Behling, a daughter of August and Minnie Beh- ling, and they have five children: Terza, Ola, Thomas, Mildred and Edward. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis are members

of the United Presbyterian Church at McDonald. Like his father, Mr. Lewis is a stanch Republican.

Benjamin Lewis, the partner of Thomas Lewis, was born in Mercer County, Pa., in 1872. He married Miss Minnie Behling, a daughter of August and Minnie Beh- ling, and they have five children: Thomas, Ida, Benja- min, Elletta and Harry.

U. G. BOAK,* who conducts a jewelry business at Venice, Pa., has been a resident of this borough for sev- enteen years. He was born at Rochester, N. Y., March 8, 1862, and is a son of R. J. and Annie (Kittredge) Boak. The mother of Mr. Boak died at Venice in 1905.

Mr. Boak was small when his parents moved to Mc- Kean County, Pa., where his father was connected with the oil industry, and there he attended school through boyhood, and later took a business course in a com- mercial college at Elmira, N. Y. He then came to Wash- ington County and lived one year at McDonald, being connected with the Standard Oil Company at that time as an engineer. After his marriage he lived one year at Willow Grove and then located at Venice, where he embarked in the jewelry business. He has continued with the Standard Oil people and is their gauger at this point. He is a careful, reliable business man and one of the borough's active citizens, serving on the school board and acting as its secretary. He was married February 14, 1892, to Miss Lottie Tour, a daughter of Benjamin Tour, and they have four children: Rodger, Earl, Clyde, and Grant. In politics, Mr. Boak is a Republican. He is a Mason of high standing, having reached the thirty- second degree in the fraternity.

JOHN BOYD MCCLURE,* a well known and success- ful merchant of Wyland Station, is also engaged in dairying and the stock business. He was born in 1853 in North Strabane Township and is a son of David and Nancy (Thomas) McClure. Mr. McClure was reared on his father's farm and obtained a common school educa- tion, after which he embarked in business as a huckster, shipping produce to Pittsburg, for about nineteen years. In 1894 he purchased from the William Kerr estate, his present storeroom and mercantile business at Wyland Station, which he has since conducted. Mr. McClure is also engaged in the dairy business, shipping milk ex- tensively to Pittsburg, and is interested in buying and selling live stock.

In 1877 he was joined in marriage with Jennie Dunn, a daughter of Robert Dunn, of North Strabane Town- ship, and they have one son, Robert David, who is in partnership with his father in the mercantile and dairy business, and is also assistant postmaster at Wyland, the office being kept in the MeClure store. In politics, Mr.

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MeClure is identified with the Democratic party, but has never cared to hold office. The family are members of the Pigeon Creek Presbyterian Church.

W. B. PFLEGHARDT, a representative business man of Charleroi, Washington, County, Pa., who is the pro- prietor of the leading furniture store of the place, was born at Fayette, Fayette County, Pa., and is a son of John and Charlotte Pfleghardt, who spent their entire lives in Fayette County. John Pfleghardt was a pros- perous shoe merchant at Fayette. He was very active in the Masonic fraternity, missing but one meeting in a membership of forty-two years in that order.

W. B. Pfleghardt attended the Fayette schools and later took a course at Eastman's Business College, at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., after which he entered the employ of T. J. Wood, at Wood's Run, in Washington County, and continued with him for twenty years, having charge of the store and also acting as bookkeeper. He has been located at Charleroi for nine years and for seven of these has been in business at Nos. 530-532 Fallowfield avenue, but on April 1, 1910, expects to take posses- sion of a four-story brick building which he is erecting at Nos. 416-418 Fallowfield avenue. This will be the finest business structure in Charleroi and Mr. Pfleg- hardt intends to occupy the whole building and to put in a complete line of furniture and carpets. Since coming to this place he has built up a large trade, not only in Charleroi but throughout the Monongahela Val- ley, and he has earned the reputation of being both a shrewd and honest business man and a public-spirited citizen. Mr. Pfleghardt is identified with the Masons and the Elks. He has never married.

ELGY CHAMBERLAIN,* who deals extensively in hay, feed, grain, poultry, meats, eggs, etc., at West Brownsville, Pa., is one of the most enterprising and pro- gressive business men of that borough, and was born Oc- tober 22, 1854, on a farm near Bentleyville, Pa., a son of Cephas and Mary Ann (Slusher) Chamberlain, who were farmers of Washington County.

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History of the city of Washington and Washington County, Pennsylvania and representative citizens 20th century, Part 216

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