USA > Pennsylvania > Jefferson County > Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II > Part 27
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James Brady, son of Hugh and Hannah
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(McCormick) Brady, married Rebecca Young, and we have the following record of their chil- dren: Lieut. John Brady, who died in 1850, married Mrs. Margaret ( McElheny) Thomp- son (he was a soldier in the war of 1812) ; Joseph died in 1861 (he was also a veteran of the war of 1812) ; Ebenezer lived in Indiana county ; Samuel married Mrs. Anna (Barr) McPherson ; James Y. married Sarah Ricketts ( their grandson James H. was governor of Idaho) ; Margaret was next in the family : Jane married William McCall; Hannah mar- ried John Wiggins. James Brady settled in Indiana county, Pa., in 1804, coming hither with his brother Samuel. The history of thesc two brothers is very closely connected. They settled in the same neighborhood in Mahoning township, which is that part of Indiana county taken from Lycoming county north of Penn's Purchase Line. Previous to their removal thither they lived in Wheatfield township, In- diana county. James Brady served in the Indian war prior to 1790 as captain, and after- wards drew a pension for his services. His son John was in the war of 1812, taking part in the actions at Queenstown Heights, Lundy's Lane and Chippewa, and the records show that he drew a pension until his death. His son Joseph was also a soldier of the war of 1812. The brothers Samuel and James Brady, the former's son John and the latter's sons John and Joseph, are all buried in the old Gilgal cemetery in East Mahoning township, Indiana county. The first church was organized in that community in 1806 as the Gilgal Presby- terian Church, and the church edifice was built on grounds donated by William P. Brady, on an elevation surrounded by a beautiful grove. Several generations of Bradys are buried in the adjoining cemetery. A Robert Brady was one of the three members of the building committee and one of the first trustees of the church. In later years some of the Bradys left the Gilgal Church and helped to organize what is now the United Presbyterian Church of Smyrna. The first schoolhouse es- tablished in Mahoning township was built by three families, the Van Horns, Bradys and Works, and was near the home of James Brady, Sr. It was built of logs, was 16 feet square, and had oiled paper windows. It is remarkable that although education had to be obtained under great disadvantages in the early days, there was never a member of the family who was illiterate.
The Bradys were usually independent in politics and active in the affairs of their lo- cality, siding with whatever cause they con-
sidered right. They have not sought office, but have been active in placing worthy people in official positions. In 1809 an election proc- lamation was issued calling on the freemen of Mahoning township to meet at the house of James Brady, Sr. His name is found on many road views.
James Young Brady, son of James Brady, Sr., lived to be eighty-five years old, and is buried in Gilgal cemetery in East Mahoning township, Indiana Co., Pa. On Feb. 24, 1814, he married Sarah Ricketts, a native of Hunt- ingdon county, Pa., and they settled on a farm in what was then Mahoning township, Indiana county. James Y. Brady held the office of justice of the peace there for forty- three years; after he had served a little more than forty years the Legislature passed a spe- cial act authorizing him to act for two years more. He was so thoroughly in the confidence of all who knew him that he was called upon to settle many estates, and he made many legal conveyances. Ten children were born to his marriage with Sarah Ricketts, namely: An- drew Jackson is mentioned below : John, born July 10, 1816, married Catherine Lee, and died Aug. 3. 1901 (they had a family of twelve children) ; Mary Jane, born Feb. 12, 1820, married Robert Chambers, and died at Punx- sutawney, Pa., a widow : Julian, born June 21, 1822, married Dr. Thomas Stewart, whom she survived: James Cook, born Dec. 23, 1825, married Elizabeth Patterson, and died at Fort Worth, Texas; Oliver, born July 15, 1827. married Margaret Long, and died aged seven- ty-eight years; Evaline Barton, born Oct. 10, 1829, married Samuel T. Means, and lived near Frostburg, Jefferson Co., Pa .; William Wallace, born Nov. 25, 1831, married a Miss Bryan, of Tennessee, and settled in Wise county, Texas; George W., born July 17, 1833. resides at Home, Pa. : Silas Wright, born July 24, 1836, married Lucinda Hastings and (second) Mary Casper.
Andrew Jackson Brady was born Feb. 3. 1815, in Mahoning township and died in Brook- ville, Pa .. Nov. 16, 1885. He remained on the farm where he was born until he reached man- hood. He learned the trade of carpenter and cabinetmaker, and in 1840 came to Pinecreek township, Jefferson county, to build a house for John Long. He remained a year or two, following his trade in the summer season and teaching school during the winter, one of the schools he taught being the Moore school, near Emerickville. Marrying early in 1842, he re- turned to Indiana county and settled down to farming. The young couple had a struggle
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at first to make ends meet, but they were strong and industrious, and Mrs. Brady not only did her housework during the first few years but also helped her husband with the farm labor, taking her baby with her to the field and plac- ing the cradle in the shade of a tree while she followed his plow, setting up the corn or help- ing to put up the hay. After the first two years they could afford to hire a hand, which enabled Mrs. Brady to give all her time to the house. But she and her husband never looked back to those days with remembrances of anything but their happiness in their prospects and the joy they found in mutual helpfulness. About 1848 Mr. Brady sold his farm in Indiana county and came back to Jefferson county. The next year, in partnership with Samuel Findley, he bought a fleet of boards which they ran to Cincinnati, where they sold them. In 1850 he and his brother-in-law, Irvin Long, bought the Port Barnett mill property, and besides operating the mills Mr. Brady kept the old Barnett hotel. In 1852 he sold the Port Barnett property to Jacob Kroh, Sr., and moved to Brookville, purchasing the house at the corner of Mill and Main streets where he resided until 1857, at which time he bought the property on Mill street where his family continued to live for many years after his death. It is now owned and occupied by Frank Swartzlander. Mr. Brady became one of the best known men in Jefferson county, and was well connected in business, being one of the most successful local lumber and real estate operators. In the for- mer line he was the senior partner in the firm of Brady & Long, and the Blaine mill and the lumber business carried on with it were con- tinued under the firm name long after his de- cease. His lumber operations on Red Bank creek were extensive and valuable, and he ac- cumulated much valuable real estate, being prosperous in every sense of the word. His reputation for integrity as well as good judg- ment was such that he was solicited to handle the affairs of others frequently, and in 1867 he made a trip to England in the interest of the heirs of William Robinson, leaving New York Sept. 23d and returning home in the latter part of November. For years he filled the position of justice of the peace in Brookville, and he was elected to the office of assessor again and again. He was chosen as guardian for a large number of orphaned children. and his interest in their welfare was sincere and lasting, for he had deep sympathies and a generous nature whose concern extended to all his friends without reserve.
On March 3, 1842, Mr. Brady married
Susanna Catherine Long, daughter of John Long, and eleven children were born to them : Hezekiah E., Sarah Elizabeth, Margaret Al- vira, Mary Alzaide, Nora Adelphia, Harry Grant and Walter Zeigler died young, Mar- garet dying when four years old, the rest in infancy. Lewis Armstrong, born Feb. 6, 1845, is the eldest of the survivors ; Minerva J. mar- ried John Matson Jr., and made her home in Brookville for several years, but moved to Salem, Oregon, and died there June 6, 1897 (she is buried in the Brookville cemetery) ; Milton Seymour also married and settled in Brookville; Gertrude remained with her mother at the homestead in Brookville, and after her mother's death married James Mat- son of Shehalis, Oregon, where they are buried. Mrs. Brady, the mother, born Sept. 30, 1825, died May 7, 1892. All the family were given good educational advantages. The sacrifices the Bradys have always been ready to make for educational and religious privi- leges are well typified in an incident in the early married life of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Jackson Brady. Money was very scarce in those days, and books were a luxury often un- obtainable. Mrs. Brady had no Bible when she came to her new home, and being accus- tomed to its daily use felt the deprivation very keenly. As soon as she had the opportunity she purchased one, which is still owned in the family, and which contains many valuable family records, although she had to pay out the last money in her possession to buy it. It was the only time she had to part with her last cent, but she did so willingly rather than go without a Bible.
Lewis Armstrong Brady, son of Andrew Jackson Brady, was born Feb. 6, 1845. He en- joyed excellent advantages in his boyhood for the times, and has led a useful, honorable life, allying himself with the best interests of the community and taking an active part in its development along modern lines. For twenty years he was engaged in the hardware business at DuBois and Brookville, ranking among the most substantial commercial men, and he is now living in retirement and in the enjoyment of the highest respect of all his townsmen.
On June 5, 1878, Mr. Brady was married to Lovisa W. Corbet, of Brookville, Pa., daughter of W. W. and Elizabeth A. Corbet, of Brook- ville. Four children have been born to them: Burk Corbet, the only son. after taking a course in the Brookville high school (from which he graduated with first honors), entered Penn- sylvania State College and was one of the first honor men when graduated from that institu-
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tion ; then he became a student in the scientific department of Cornell University, where he took a course in blacksmithing, intending to fit himself for mining engineering; he died in Parral, Mexico, when twenty-two years old. Myrta married Marlin G. Reed and has three children, Ruth C., George L, and Robert Ray- mond. Helen Gordon has been employed in the old Bank of Pittsburgh ( Pa.) for five years. Carrie L. lives at home.
Mention has been made above of the large representation of the Brady family in the Union army during the Civil war. At least forty-four descendants of Hugh Brady were in that conflict. The first company to leave the northern part of Indiana county for the front was Company A, of the 6ist Pennsylvania Vol- unteers, and included eight of Hugh Brady's posterity, and six of these were killed or wounded. On the call for volunteers for the Spanish-American war there were four de- scendants of Samuel and James Brady in the company that went from Indiana county, and three others went from other States.
There are four families now living in Brook- ville who are descendants of Hugh Brady, viz. : The family of H. Brady Craig, who is en- gaged in business in the borough as a furniture dealer on East Main street; the family of James 1. Brady, of whom mention is made else- where in this work; Robert Brady's family ; and the family of Lewis Armstrong Brady.
CHARLES H. IRVIN, of Big Run, is asso- ciated with his brother, Benjamin W. Irvin. in the management of the various Irvin inter- ests at that point, whose prosperity has prac- tically been the measure of that of the town and surrounding country. The Irvin tannery and allied enterprises are among the most ambi- tious business ventures of Jefferson county. . \ mere outline of the industries which the men- bers of this family have originated or fostered would be sufficient to convey a proper idea of how great a part their activities have played in the growth of Big Run. The friendly feel- ing of its citizens toward them is, however, not based entirely on the magnitude of their oper- ations, but more because of the broad spirit which has been evidenced in all their dealings with their employes, a willingness to be fair. just and liberal which has won popularity on the best of terms.
WILLIAM IRVIN, late of Big Run, and the moving spirit in the founding of the big tan- nery which has meant so much in the develop- ment of its business life, was born in 1835 in Lehigh county. Pa., where his father, Benjamin
Irvin, was then residing. The latter, also a native of Pennsylvania, followed the occupa- tion of collier until 1848, and was subsequently engaged in agricultural pursuits, purchasing a farm in Tioga county, this State, upon which he remained until his death, in 1892. Of his large family, seven sons served on the Union side during the Civil war, one in the rank of captain. Two lost their lives in that war.
William Irvin had only ordinary common school advantages, for he began work at the age of fourteen years, in the lumber woods. During the period of his youth it was cus- tomary for boys to turn their earnings over to their parents until they reached their majority. and wishing to start out on his own account when he was nineteen years old, young Irvin bought the remainder of his "time" from his father for two hundred dollars, which he paid as he was able. He was one of the seven sons who entered the army during the Civil war, enlisting from Tioga county in Company D, 106th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and serving for three years. He was in most of the important actions in which his regiment was engaged, and was three times wounded, at Savage Station, on the Peninsula, receiving a buckshot wound which disabled him for a short time; in the battle of the Wilderness he was seriously wounded in the left shoulder, and he also received a flesh wound in the hip at the Wilderness. He was a non-commissioned offi- cer, serving as orderly and sergeant.
Returning to Pennsylvania upon the comple- tion of his military duties, Mr. Irvin became engaged in tanning in Tioga county, where he remained for six years, until he and his brother-in-law. Leroy R. Gleason, formed a partnership and erected a small tannery at Can- ton, Pa. It prospered so well that after sell- ing his interest in it Mr. Irvin was encouraged to build another, in 1881, at North Bend, Clin- ton Co., Pa., at which location he was estab- lished for six years. Thinking he would like to retire he sold and moved to Williamsport. Pa., but he soon became uneasy and desirous of starting up again, and after considerable deliberation he decided upon Big Run as a suit- able location. He had had offers from differ- ent towns presenting business advantages, but refused them and bought at this borough in 1887, beginning business operations at his new plant in August, 1888. At that time he took his eldest son, Charles H. Irvin, into partner- ship, and the latter has continued his associa- tion with the business without interruption since, the father being chief manager until his death, which occurred Feb. 1. 1901, when he
THE NEW YORK FULLIC LIENARY
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was sixty-six years old. The son has been in charge since.
Nothing could show more clearly the changes brought about by the deforestation of this sec- tion of Pennsylvania than the differences it has caused in the operation of the tanning plant. Big Run was chosen for the site because of its proximity to the bark production, the local out- put having been used exclusively at the begin- ning, whereas now it constitutes only fifteen per cent of what is required. However, in spite of the fact that so much material muist now be brought in, to say nothing of the in- convenience of buying outside of the neighbor- hood, the concern has been in profitable oper- ation. Sole leather has been the only output since the tannery was started. The company secures large supplies of hides from the West. and many from South America, importing also much of the material required in the tanning processes at present. The annual business now amounts to four and a half million pounds of green hides, with a production of eighty per cent through the up-to-date methods which pre- vail all over the plant; formerly it ran from sixty-five to sixty-eight per cent. The plant has been enlarged to meet increased demands, the capacity having been tripled since it was opened-from a daily output of thirty-nine hundred pounds to fourteen thousand. The original investment of seventy-five thousand dollars has been raised to five hundred thou- sand dollars, including the value of the stock ordinarily carried. The output of the William Irvin Company, under which name the tannery has been operated since 1888, is known as Union Crop sole leather, and is used exclusively by the Sole Cutting Company, of Lynn, Mass., in which the Irvins are also interested, having formed this advantageous connection as a de- sirable means of marketing the tannery prod- uct. Shoe manufacturers now buy soles already cut. The William Irvin Company also operates a 230-acre farm near the tannery, and Charles II. and Benjamin W. Irvin have other valuable interests in this section. William Irvin owned a timber tract of fifteen hundred acres, situated in Bell township, Clearfield Co .. Pa., and Gaskill township, Jefferson county, which was not cut until after his death. Thirty men were originally employed at the tannery, but the working force now numbers sixty-five -half of all the male employes at Big Run. with a monthly payroll of forty-five hundred dollars. At Christmas, 1915. the men received a five per cent addition to their wages, and in 1916 an increase of ten per cent was granted. 9
The operation of the plant requires about six thousand dollars' worth of coal monthly.
To return to Mr. William Irvin, the principal founder of this great industry, it was typical of him that he should be an ardent Prohibi- tionist, important public questions being of the greatest interest to him. However, he cared nothing for public life, or for the honors of office. Fraternally he affiliated with the Masons, the Odd Fellows and the Grand Army of the Republic, and he was an elder in the Christian Church, to which his wife and children be- longed. In 1865, soon after the war closed, he married Mary C. Weil, daughter of the late Judge C. F. Veil, an old tanner at Liberty, Pa., and one of the leading citizens of Tioga county. He had learned his trade in Germany, and was a typical thorough workman of the old school, skilled in all branches of his calling. Mr. and Mrs. Irvin were married at Liberty. They be- came the parents of seven children : One daugh- ter died in infancy ; Charles H. is mentioned fully later; Emma married Elmer Dittmar, a furniture manufacturer of Williamsport, Pa .; Ida lives at home ; Jennie is the wife of James G. Hayes, of Rome, N. Y. ; Benjamin W. is a prominent resident of Big Run; Nellie died in 1914. The mother died in 1915 at the age of seventy-three years.
Charles H. Irvin was born in 1866 at Lib- erty, Tioga Co., Pa., and had excellent educa- tional advantages, beginning in the public schools of Canton. Pa., and later attending Bethany College. in West Virginia. His father being anxious for his assistance and cooper- ation in business, he did not complete a college course, and when the big tannery at Big Run was started in 1888 it was under the proprietor- ship of William Irvin & Son, with Charles H. Irvin as junior partner. The present firm style was adopted in 1901, after William Irvin's death. Charles H. Irvin now devotes a large share of his time to the management, his prin- cipal interest being still in that establishment, though he has formed other connections of vital importance to its success and to the ad- vancement of Big Run, chief among his local concerns being his association with the Citi- zens' National Bank, of which he is president.
The Citizens' National Bank of Big Run was founded originally in 1890 as the Citizens' Bank, with a capital of thirty-one thousand dollars. William Irvin was president, Adam Miller vice president, and Silas Swartz cashier. Mr. Irvin continued to fill the office of pres- ident for five years, being succeeded by Dr. A. P. Cox. On Oct. 29, 1900, the institution was incorporated as the Citizens' National Bank,
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with a capital of thirty-five thousand dollars, joint interests in the tannery and leather busi- ness. He married May Bowers, of Big Run, and they have four children, Merl, Benjamin, Robert, and an infant unnamed.
beginning business as such Feb. 1, 1901. G. WV. Miller then became president, holding the position until 1912, when he was succeeded in that office by Charles H. Irvin. Mr. Miller has since been second vice president and one of the directors, with J. M. McClure as first vice president. About 1895 J. A. Miller became cashier of the bank, being succeeded by G. C. Bowers, the present cashier, Aug. 15, 1902. The board of directors consists of C. H. Irvin, G. W. Miller, August Weber, Fred Lott, Jacob Bucheit, J. M. McClure and W. C. Newcome. The deposits have increased from one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in 1901 to over three hundred and fifty thousand dollars ( Septem- ber, 1910), and all of the business of the bank is upon a sound basis, making the institution worthy of the confidence of the townspeople and neighboring patrons. The bank has oc- cupied its own building since 1892, the prop- erty, with furniture and fixtures, being valued at eight thousand dollars.
The Irvin brothers have each erected a fine home in the borough, and in other ways have shown commendable public spirit and interest in its welfare. They are Prohibitionists in political sympathy, and always ready to advo- cate and encourage all movements of sound character designed to improve the condition of mankind and elevate standards of living and morality.
In 1892 Charles H. Irvin married Fannie V. Williams, of Indiana, Pa., daughter of the late Philip A. Williams. She had normal school training, and was a teacher at Big Run before her marriage. Four children, William P., Helen B., Mary L. and Frances V., have been born to this union. Mr. and Mrs. Irvin are active members of the church at Big Run. Socially he is a Mason and a Shriner.
Mr. Irvin's favorite recreation is hunting. and his home is adorned with many fine mounted specimens of moose, caribou, elk. mountain sheep, mountain goat, etc., taken in his expeditions into New Brunswick, New- foundland, Wyoming and other sections where big game may be found. However, he has not vet satisfied his ambition to capture a grizzly bear, and is planning an Alaskan trip for the purpose.
BENJAMIN W. IRVIN, younger son of Wil- liam Irvin, was born Oct. 30. 1883, in North Bend. Clinton Co., Pa., and like his brother obtained his education in the public schools and at Bethany College, near Wellsburg, W. Va. He has been associated with his brother in business since the father's death, they having
JACOB A. WALTER, M. D., of Punxsu- tawney, is one of the leading medical practi- tioners in Jefferson county in his particular field, which he has limited for a number of years to treatment of diseases of the eye, ear. nose and throat. His circle of patrons has be- come so large that he has practically given up making calls upon them, his time being amply occupied with office practice-the most satis- factory where special appliances are so often necessary for careful diagnosis and treatment. His conscientious work in the lines he has chosen has helped to advance the profession as well as benefit his patients, and he is highly regarded by his fellow physicians in the county for his earnest cooperation with them in pro- moting hygienic conditions generally.
Dr. Walter is a native of York township, York Co., Pa., born in 1860, son of John and Rebecca ( Stump) Walter, the latter deceased in I891. The father followed farming throughout his active years, and died in 1900 at the old place in York township where all his life had been passed. and which property has been in the Walter family continually since 1771, when taken up by an early ancestor. Both of the Doctor's parents were born in Pennsylvania.
Jacob .A. Walter received his early education in the public schools of the home locality and at the old York County Academy then taught by Prof. George R. Prowell. This institution was organized in 1787 and prepared students for teaching, also offering preparatory course for literary college. Dr. Walter improved his opportunities so well that he was engaged as a teacher during his young manhood, for eight years following the profession which has been the stepping stone to so many to other profes- sions. Meantime, in the year 1882. he began the study of medicine with Dr. O. C. Brickley, of York. Pa., continuing it in connection with teaching for the next three years. Then he matriculated at Hahnemann Medical College, Philadelphia, from which institution he was graduated in 1887. During the nine months succeeding his graduation he was in the office of Dr. W. Van Vleet at Renovo, Pa., coming thence to Punxsutawney, where he began in- dependent practice. But he was not yet satis- fied with his preparation, and after only six months' practice he went to New York for post-graduate study. also taking a special
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