USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Memoirs of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, personal and genealogical with portraits, Volume I > Part 33
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at Norwich, Conn.
Deacon, 1695-1735.
First Townsman, 1695-1709. Large landholder.
Sarah Adgate, B. Jan., 1663. D. Feb., 1706, at Norwich.
Daughter of
M. 1652. Ruth Rockwell,
of Windsor, Conn. B. England, Aug. 1, 1633. Daughter of
Wm. Rockwell. M. April 14, 1624,
Came over in the in England.
"Mary and John."
Sussanan Chapin. B. Dorchester, England.
William Rockwell was a Puritan, who, in 1630, with 140 families, organized into a church and left England for America. His family is of Norman origin, running back to Sir Ralph de Rock- ville, a knight of the roth century. The widow of William Rock- well afterwards married a member of this colony, Matthew Grant, the ancestor of General and President U. S. Grant. See "Savage's Genealogical Dictionary," Vol. 3, page 558, also "Rockwell Family in America, from 1630 till 1873."
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MEMOIRS OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY
Judith Elderkin. B. Norwich, Conn., 1743.
D. Sept. 24, 1786.
Daughter of
Colonel Jedediah Elderkin, of Norwich, Conn. Attorney of Colony of Connecticut, member of "Committee of Safety" under Governor Trum- bull during Revolution; very prominent in civil and military affairs. Died at Windham, Conn. He descended from
John Elderkin, of England, who came to Massa- chusetts in 1637, and Norwich, Conn., 1664. Married 1660 Elizabeth, widow of William Gaylord, of Windsor, Conn.
He died at Norwich, June 23, 1687, aged 71.
See "Savage's Genealogical Dictionary."
Deacon Thomas Adgate of Saybrook, Con. one of the original proprietors of Norwich, Con.
M. 1660
Mrs. Mary Bushnell, widow of Richard Bushnell. Born Mary Marvin, in England, 1629.
D. July, 1707. Daughter of
Matthew Marvin. M .- Elizabeth-
Born in England.
Came to America, 1635.
Mem. Genl. Council of
Connecticut, 1654. Died 1687. See "Marvin Genealogy," Boston, 1848, pages
3, 4, 37, 38.
JAMES CROSSAN CHAPLIN.
Among the successful young business men of whom Sewickley is justly proud, Mr. James Crossan Chaplin holds a prominent place. He has been a business man since his fifteenth year, and has made a record that boys ought to know. Mr. Chaplin was born in Pittsburg, Sept. 7, 1863, his parents being James Crossan Chaplin, lieutenant-commander United States navy, and Martha (Harris) Chaplin. When Mr. Chaplin was three years old, his father died, leaving three children, whose early years were spent in Missouri. In 1879 Mrs. Chaplin removed to Sewickley, and James accepted a position in the Citizens' National bank, where he occupied several positions. He resigned in order to accept a better position in the Fidelity title and trust company, remaining
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MEMOIRS OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY
there for about ten years-first as teller, then as treasurer-and upon the formation of the Colonial trust company, he was appointed its vice-president. In Sewickley Mr. Chaplin has always been interested in local politics; he filled two terms in the council, and is now its president. He is a vestryman and the treasurer of St. Stephen's Protestant Episcopal church, and is connected with a number of business enterprises and director of several financial institutions. In society, Mr. Chaplin and his wife, formerly Miss Fanny Campbell, daughter of the late Col. David Campbell, are as prominent as Mr. Chaplin is in business circles.
Mr. Chaplin's grandfather was William Craig Chaplin, a lieu- tenant in the United States navy, 1826 to 1851. His grandmother was Sarah J. Crossan, daughter of James Crossan. Mr. Chaplin comes of one of the oldest families in Pittsburg, a descendant from officers prominent in Revolutionary times. He is a member of the Pittsburg chapter of the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.
JULIUS GOTTFRIED, wholesale liquor dealer in Carnegie, was born in the province of the Rhine, Germany, Aug. 6, 1857. His parents were Fred- erick and Amelia (Wuesthoff) Gottfried, both natives of Germany, where Mr. Gottfried was a postmaster and after- wards a silk-weaver and served for a time in the German army. He came to the United States in 1863, arriving in July of that year, while his family landed in New York on September 9th of the same year. After a short residence in Yon- kers, N. Y., and Springfield, Ill., Mr. Gottfried came to Pittsburg in 1865, arriving on the day that President Lincoln was shot. He was ever afterwards a resident of Allegheny county, and was engaged in the hotel business from July, 1873, up to the time of his death, which occurred March 3, 1884. He was born Jan. 6, 1829. His wife was born April 30, 1829, and died Jan. 29, 1886. Both were members of the German Evangelical Lutheran church. Julius Gottfried, the subject of this sketch, is the only surviving child of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Gottfried. Ferdinand, who was born in 1848, died Nov. 9, 1871, in Cincinnati, Ohio, of black small- pox, and Arnoldina died when three and a half years old. Julius
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MEMOIRS OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY
Gottfried attended the schools of the sixth ward, Pittsburg, and at an early age went to work as messenger boy for the old Pacific & Atlantic telegraph company, remaining at this position from Octo- ber, 1869, until the spring of 1871. He then went to work for a branch office of the firm of Virtue & Yarston, New York publish- ers, where he remained a short time, and then entered the employ of G. J. Young & Sons, show-case manufacturers, remaining in the employ of this firm until 1874. The next year he spent as a cigar- maker, and then worked as a bar-tender for several years, and on July 3, 1877, started for himself in the saloon business in Pitts- burg. In April, 1878, Mr. Gottfried took charge of Uncle Sam's hotel at New Castle, Pa., and a few months later returned to Pitts- burg, where he had charge of the Manning house until Jan. I, 1881. At this time, in company with his father, he opened a hotel at No. 364 Fifth Ave., Pittsburg, but discontinued it a short time afterwards, and, on March 25, 1881, took charge of the White house at Perrysville, Allegheny county, and remained there until Sept. 9, 1884, when he moved to the sixth ward, Pittsburg, and continued in the hotel business until March 10, 1886, and then became Pitts- burg collector for the Crescent brewing company, of Aurora, Ind. From June, 1887, to July 5, 1889, Mr. Gottfried was employed as a hotel clerk, and then opened, in his own name, a wholesale liquor business in Carnegie, and continued the business until April 30, 1891. He then started a restaurant, which he ran until May I, 1892, when he returned to the hotel business, and was manager of the Commercial house, at Carnegie, until Oct. 2, 1894. He then became a traveling salesman for the Rockford chair and furniture company, of Rockford, Ill., and later was salesman on the road for On A. Wolf & Co., wholesale liquor dealers of Pittsburg. Aug. 21, 1897, Mr. Gottfried embarked in his present business as a wholesale liquor dealer in Carnegie, and has been successful. On Jan. 6, 1881, Mr. Gottfried married Miss Catherine Schmidt, daughter of J. Wolfgang and Margaret (Thoma) Schmidt. Mr. Schmidt died Nov. 7, 1900, at the age of eighty-one. His wife died in 1864. Mrs. Gottfried has six brothers and sisters living-George, John, Elizabeth, Anna, Lucy and Andrew. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Gottfried as follows: Amelia A., stenog- rapher and typewriter for the United States cast-iron pipe and foundry company, of Scottdale; Selina L., a student in bookkeep- ing; Laura L. E., stenographer and typewriter; Julius E. and Herbert E. Mr. Gottfried and family are members of the Lutheran church. Mr. Gottfried is prominent in several select
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MEMOIRS OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY
societies, being a member of Centennial lodge, No. 544, F. and A. M., and Cyrus chapter, No. 280, R. A. M. ; past chief of Mount Moriah lodge, No. 360, I. O. O. F., and past chief of Marshfield castle, No. 476, K. of G. E.
DR. J. A. BURGOON, the eminent Pittsburg specialist and president of the Burgoon medicine company, located at No. 126 Sheridan St., East End, Pitts- burg, was born March 12, 1842, in Clarion county. He is the eldest son of Dennis Burgoon, the name formerly spelled Bur- goyne, of French extraction, and Susanna (Short) Burgoon. He attended the com- mon schools of Clarion county, later tak- ing up the study of medicine, and gradu- ating from the Pennsylvania medical college in 1870. Dr. Burgoon was mar- ried, Sept. 11, 1866, to Sybilla Aaron, daughter of a highly respected citizen of Clarion county, by whom he had two sons, Peter A. and George A., both of whom are now in business for themselves in Pittsburg. Dr. Burgoon came to Allegheny city in 1888, locating on the spot where the postoffice now stands, and remaining there for four years, after which he removed to a more central position, No. 907 Penn Ave., and still later to No. 126 Sheridan St., East End. Dr. Burgoon is one of Pittsburg's self- made men. When he came to Allegheny city, in 1888, he had little beside his rugged energy, his knowledge of his profession and an indomitable will. After prospering some years, he sold half inter- est in his Allegheny laboratory for a big sum, being in the end dragged down by a bank failure. Dr. Burgoon's never-give-up spirit exerted itself, and he started a second time in Pittsburg, where he soon began to build up the fortune and success which have followed. The Chicago Trade Review says of him : "A few years ago Dr. Burgoon started in business penniless, with no stock in trade but an honorable and untarnished name-a reputation for sterling honesty and unlimited ambition and energy-to-day his position is a proud one indeed-his name an honored one wherever known-a loved and a revered name wherever the merits of his remedies have penetrated-a blessed name in thousands of homes where loved ones have been brought up from the dark valley of the shadow of death, once more to take their place at the
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family fireside, thanks to the marvelous power of those remedies which he alone prepares. A few years ago, an unknown physi- cian-to-day, the peer of the highest in the land. A few years ago, the compounder of medicine in a small way-to-day, with facilities increased a thousand fold, unable to meet the demand. A few years ago, in an obscure position-to-day, in a commanding one. He owns and operates the Hutchison cancer hospital at Sewickley, a very noted and modern one in every way, and is the discoverer and owner of the only positive and sure cure for cancer, and has hundreds of cures of malignant cancers to attest to this statement. Not by idleness and wishing for success, not by look- ing back to count the milestones or looking forward with fear to the vista of the future, has Dr. Burgoon attained the pinnacle of a noble ambition, but by unceasing work has he earned name, fame, emol- ument and glory. It was such men and such careers as Dr. Burgoon's that the poet had in mind when he said :
" 'The heights of great men, gained and kept, Were not attained by sudden flight, But they, while their companions slept, Were toiling upward in the night.' "
JUDGE JACOB JAY MILLER, a native of Somerset county, where he was born in 1857, came to Pittsburg many years ago, and has become thoroughly imbued with the Pittsburg spirit. He is the son of the late Jacob D. Miller, a resident of Somerset county and a min- ister in the German Baptist church. He received his early education in the public schools, later attending the Indiana State normal school at Indiana, Pa., from which institution he was graduated in 1879, at twenty-two years of age. He began teaching in the public school at the age of twenty-four, closing his teaching career as principal of the sixteenth ward schools of Pittsburg. He read law in the offices of ex-Judge W. J. Baer, of Somerset, and, in 1881, decided to cast his lot in Pittsburg. In 1884 Mr. Miller was admitted to the Allegheny county bar, and two years later took a course in the law department of the University of Virginia. He had become acquainted with the city during his three years' experience in teaching (from 1881 to 1884), and on returning to
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MEMOIRS OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY
Pittsburg to open his office, he was already prepared to cope with the conditions as they existed. Clients were few in the early his- tory of his career, but while he waited he studied, and it was not long before he had more than he could do. In 1901 he formed a partnership, which was known as Miller, Prestley & Nesbit, both of.his partners studying law under him. In 1902 Mr. Miller was elevated to the bench as judge of the Orphans' court for a term of ten years. In politics he is a stanch democrat, and it is not a little significant that he was chosen from a strong republican section. Judge Miller takes an active interest in public affairs, and his voice has been heard in the service of his party during many cam- paigns. The Duquesne club, the Pittsburg club and the Junta club are places where Judge Miller is well known, being a member of all three. He is also a prominent Mason, being a member of the Duquesne lodge, the Pittsburg chapter and Tancred com- mandery. He is also active in church work, being a vestryman in Calvary Episcopal church, a member of the board of trustees of the diocese of Pittsburg, and also a member of the board of direct- ors of Kingsley house. In 1894 he was married to Annie M. Clark, a daughter of the late Judge Silas M. Clark, of Indiana, who, from 1882 to 1891, was a supreme court justice. His family consists of himself, his wife and one son, Clark Miller.
EDWIN COLLINS HASLETT is a prominent real estate dealer of Allegheny county, and is the son of George M. and Marion W. Haslett, the former a native of Pittsburg, Pa., and the latter of St. Louis, Mo. His father was for many years connected with river navigation, beginning as a cabin boy and filling nearly every position on a steamboat up to that of captain. He died in 1892. Edwin Collins Haslett was born in the city of Pittsburg, Aug. 11, 1865. His education was obtained in the common schools of that city and at Curry institute. Upon finishing his edu- cation, he learned the business of photographer, followed it for a number of years, and, in 1899, turned his attention to real estate, his greatest undertaking along the new line being the founding of Lincoln Place. Securing possession of 106 acres of land lying eight miles from Pittsburg, two and one-half miles from Homestead and
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MEMOIRS OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY
three miles from NnKeesport, he platted it and placed it on the market as a residence suburb. With that energy which has always characterized his undertakings, he has made Lincoln Place one of the most popular residence districts in Allegheny county. More than half of the lots have been sold, several fine residences have been built, streets have been improved, churches and schools established, and a postoffice secured, all of which has been chiefly through his influence or by his efforts. In November, 1892, Mr. Haslett was married to Lulu, the daughter of William and Louisa Platts, of Pittsburg. They have five children, Grace, Margaret, Edwin C., Lulu and George. Mr. Haslett is a member of the Pen- tecostal church. He affiliates with the republican party politically, though he is an ardent advocate of the principles of prohibition. In this regard he teaches by example as well as precept, for he is a man of temperate habits, and is considered one of the most enter- prising and public-spirited men in the beautiful suburb he established.
ROBERT BRINTON KENNEDY, of Whitaker, Pa., a valued employe of the Pressed Steel car company, Carnegie office of Homestead, was born at Fayette City, Pa., July 23, 1867, son of John and Sarah (Stockdale) Kennedy, natives of Washington county, Pa., and of Scotch- Irish descent. His paternal grandfather, Isaac Kennedy, a miller by trade and for many years a resident of Fayette county, Pa., married Lydia Short, and was one of the prominent figures of his day. His maternal grandfather, Allen Stockdale, was a native of Washington, Pa., a stonemason by trade, and mar- ried Letitia Allen. John Kennedy, father of the subject, "fol- lowed the river" for years, beginning at the very bottom and rising to the rank of captain, from which position he retired in 1883, and since 1901 has resided at Whitaker. Captain Kennedy had a family of eleven children, nine of whom grew to maturity, viz. : Joseph, William, Isaac, John, Lewis (deceased), Albert, Robert B. ; Mary, wife of Joseph Hite; Azadell, wife of C. L. Wilson. Robert B. Kennedy was reared in western Pennsylvania and educated in the public schools and at the Iron City business college of Pittsburg, where he was graduated in 1888. He began his business career
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MEMOIRS OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY
as a clerk, and has filled his present position with the Pressed Steel car company since 1900. Mr. Kennedy has been a resident of Whitaker since 1901, and is a charter member of Whitaker tent, No. 425, Knights of the Maccabees, of which tent he was the first record keeper. Mr. Kennedy is a prominent member of the demo- cratic party, and in the spring of 1903 was appointed clerk of Mifflin township to fill an unexpired term, showing the regard in which he is held in the community.
CHRISTIAN F. VONDERA, of Homestead, Pa., a retired shoe merchant and a prominent citizen, was born in Baldwin township, Allegheny Co., Pa., March 27, 1852, son of Henry and Christiana Wilhelmina (Heisterberg) Vondera, both natives of Germany. His paternal grandfather, Frederick Vondera, came to America about 1861, and resided in the South Side, Pittsburg, until his
death. His maternal grandfather,
Christian Heisterberg, came to the United States in 1849, locating in Blossom- ville, Baldwin township, Allegheny county, where he followed his trade of shoemaking. The father of the subject was also a shoe- maker, and came to Pennsylvania from the Fatherland in 1847, settled in Baldwin township, and was there engaged in business for some time. In the fall of 1863 Henry Vondera purchased a tract of land in Mifflin township, now known as the Vondera place, and there resided until his death, in 1897, at the mature age of seventy- four years. He was the father of the following children : Christian F .; Frank H. ; Lena, wife of Frank Bost; Mary, wife of Peter Sorg; Charles H., and Louise, wife of William Hall. Christian F. Vondera was reared in Allegheny county, educated in the common schools, and began his business career on his father's farm. In 1880 he began the shoe business at Homestead, in which he was successfully engaged until 1897, when he retired, and since has resided at the old Vondera place. He was married, on Oct. 3, 1878, to Caroline, daughter of Conrad and Mary (Muth) Keitzer, of Baldwin township, Allegheny county, and they have four living children, viz. : Henry C., William E., Annie C. and Margaret M. Mrs. Vondera's paternal grandparents were Henry and Margaret Keitzer, of Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, who settled in Baldwin
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MEMOIRS OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY
township, Allegheny county, about 1845, and there Henry Keitzer and his son, Conrad, engaged in their trade of wagon-making with much success. Mr. Vondera and his wife are members of the Evangelical Lutheran church, and he is a stanch republican in his political convictions and associations.
JOHN McGROGAN, locomotive en- gineer, residing at No. 323 Second Ave., Carnegie, was born in Beaver county, Pa., Feb. 4, 1860. His parents, John and Joanna MeGrogan, natives of Ire- land, came to America on a sailing vessel in 1845, and after landing in New York, proceeded directly to Allegheny county, where they spent the remainder of their days, Mr. McGrogan following the voca- tion of a miner. Both are now dead; the father died when sixty-five years old, March 14, 1895, and his wife in 1862, at the age of thirty. They were earnest, hard-working people, and devoted members of the Roman Catholic church. Besides John MeGrogan, the subject of this sketch, they reared three other chil- dren: James, who lives at Walker's Mills; William, a resident of West Newton, Westmoreland county, and Margaret, now Mrs. Constantine Gallager, of West End, Pittsburg. John McGrogan received his education in the schools of Allegheny county, and, after school days, worked for a time with his father in the mines. On Feb. 4, 1884, he became a railroad fireman, and on Nov. 16, 1888, was given charge of an engine. He has been a locomotive engineer ever since, always in the employ of the Pennsylvania rail- road company, and is widely known as a man of unusual skill and ability in his profession. He is employed on the Carnegie wreck train, and has associated with him in the wreck crew, Messrs. C. C. Elwarner and E. M. Meyers, whose biographies appear elsewhere in this book. Mr. McGrogan was married, June 16, 1886, to Miss Anna McCaffrey, a native of Carnegie, and a daughter of Peter and Catherine McCaffrey, both now deceased. They were members of the Roman Catholic church. Besides Mrs. McGrogan, Mr. and . Mrs. McCaffrey were the parents of four other children, all living: Charles, a resident of West Newton, foreman for the Pittsburg coal company ; Simon P., foreman for the Pittsburg coal company at Bridgeville, Pa .; James, a railway conductor, and William, a
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MEMOIRS OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY
roller at Mckeesport. Mr. and Mrs. McGrogan have seven chil- dren: Frances, Joseph V., Kitty, Madaline, Irene, George and John. Mr. McGrogan is interested in local politics, and is a promi- nent and popular man in the community. He and his wife are members of the Roman Catholic church.
CHRISTIAN REUKAUF, a promi- nent merchant of the twelfth ward, Alle- gheny city, was born in Saxony, in the southern part of Germany, on July 15, 1833. He is a son of Valentine Reukauf, an old warrior who fought under Napo- leon, and was born in the village of Christus. His occupation was farming, which he did on a large scale, raising many horses and cattle in connection with his agriculture. He became wealthy in his vocation, leaving a considerable share to each of eleven children. Valentine Reu- kauf was educated in the village school, which was unusually thorough at that time, leaving at the age of eighteen years for the life of a soldier, which he followed for eighteen years. He was married at the age of thirty-eight to Rossina Miller, born in 1805, daughter of John Miller, the burgomeister of Christus and a well-known and respected citizen. Christian Reukauf's paternal grandfather was Michael Reukauf, a native of Christus. Christian Reukauf came to this country in 1850, landed in New York but settled in Philadelphia, where he was married and resided fourteen years. He had learned the tailor trade in Ger- many, but after coming to Philadelphia learned the whip-making trade, working for the Bader & Adamson whip company for seven years. He then learned to boil glue, working at that another seven years. After this they moved to Pittsburg, and thence to Allegheny city, where he has since resided. Mr. Reukauf also learned the tanners' trade, being in the employ of Lappe & Hax, tanners, remaining with them for sixteen years. He then went into the grain business and has prospered sufficiently to warrant his continuance in that line. Mr. Reukauf was married in 1850 to Mary Steinbacher, a native of Philadelphia, daughter of Michael Steinbacher, who came from near Wittenburg, Germany. To them were born eight children, four of whom are deceased. Those living are: William, the eldest, a member of the fire department
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in Allegheny, married and has three children; Harry, foreman in Mckinney's hinge factory, also married and has two children; Mary, now Mrs. Riefer, of Allegheny, has three children; and Clara, now Mrs. Fred Streiner, living with her father, and the mother of four children. Those who are deceased were four sons: John, Eddie, Charlie and Augustus. Mrs. Reukauf died in 1902, mourned by all who knew her. She was a woman who was admired for her noble Christian character, her acts of kindness and charity, and for her intelligence. She reared her children in the German Evangelical faith. Mr. Reukauf is a man of fine physique and robust health, having never been sick in his life. In politics, he has been a republican since coming to this country, having cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln. All his sons are also republicans. Mr. Reukauf has been elected member of the board of control in the twelfth ward and was selected as president of the board of control of the twelfth ward public schools in March, 1902. The K. of P. is the only secret organization which claims him as a member. Mr. Reukauf is one of the substantial and reliable cit- izens of the city and is known as a man of honor and integrity.
JACOB TRESSEL, the genial and popular proprietor of the Seventh Avenue hotel, Homestead, Pa., is an ideal land- lord. Courteous and attentive to the wants of his guests, he has made many friends by his good-natured disposition and the skill displayed in caring for his patrons. His chief ambition seems to be the desire to please, and to see that none go away from his house dissatisfied. As a result, his table is surpassed by none in the city, and his café is patronized by the best people of Homestead and vicinity. He was born at Canton, Ohio, Oct. 8, 1869. His parents were Jacob and Mary (Siebert) Tressel, the former a native of Germany, and the latter of Lancaster, Pa., though of German ancestry. Jacob was educated in the public schools of his native town, and at an early age he manifested an inclination to engage in the hotel business. His first experience in this line was as an employe of the Hotel Anderson, at Pittsburg. Later he was at the Palmer house, Chicago, and the Herald Square hotel, New York city. In these celebrated hostelries he learned all the details of the busi-
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