USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Memoirs of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, personal and genealogical with portraits, Volume II > Part 25
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He was married, Oct. 18, 1865, to Sarah E. Fisher, and to them have been born seven children: Sherman A., Mary E., Miriam, Franklin, Nina, Florence and Albert. He was married a second time to Emma Searings, in June, 1898, and to them was born a daughter, Margrette. Mrs. Sarah E. Cotton was born June 19, 1845, in East Brook, Lawrence county, and died Nov. 25, 1892. Mr. Cotton was a soldier in the Civil war and took part in several important battles, the most noted being Gettysburg. . He was with the army at General Lee's surrender, served under Gen. Phil Sheridan and was honorably discharged after serving almost two years. William Cotton, Sr., grandfather of Mrs. Smith, was born in Ireland, came to this country when but a lad and settled in Mercer county, where he was later employed as a mill roller. He was married to Matilda Cosgrove, and to them were born ten chil- dren, nine of whom are living, William, Jr., being the eldest. Mr. Cotton lived to be seventy, and Mrs. Cotton, seventy-seven, is now living in Oil City. Mrs. Sarah (Fisher) Cotton, mother of Mrs. A. G. Smith, was descended from Thomas G. Fisher and Mary (Burns) Fisher; the former descended from Thomas Fisher and Sarah (Johnston) Fisher, and the latter, Mary (Burns) Fisher, descended from Robert Burns and Eleanor (Bryan) Burns. Mary (Burns) Fisher, grandmother to Mrs. Smith, was a cousin of Scot- land's greatest poet, Robert Burns. The genealogy of the family is very complete, and can easily be traced back many generations farther than has been done.
GEORGE H. COLE, a well-known resident of Neville township, Allegheny Co., Pa., was born in Allegheny city, Feb. 21, 1838, son of George W. and Dorcas W. Cole, his father having been born near Bangor, Me., and coming to Pittsburg in 1823, where he was an active and progressive business man. He con- ducted the first livery stable in Allegheny city, which was located at the corner of Federal and South Diamond streets. His political affiliations were with the whig party. He was married to Dorcas, daughter of Mr. Bragdon, who bore him five children, viz. : Augustus P., Caroline F., George HI., Henrietta R. and Milton. George W. Cole died on his farm on Neville island in his seventy-
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eighth year, and his wife died in Allegheny city at a similar period of her career. George H. Cole accompanied his parents to Neville island when he was a child, and has been a resident of that island for more than sixty years. He was married to Anna M., daughter of Charles and Martha McMillin, and they have had ten children born to them, the living ones of whom are: Minnie, Nettie May, Sadie A., Harry E. and Elmer C. Mr. Cole has been a successful gardener for many years, and has been extensively engaged in that industry. He is one of the progressive and substantial citi- zens of that part of the county and has been connected with the township government in different official capacities.
WILLIAM PERRY BRADSHAW, who for the last twenty years has been a carpenter in the boat yards at Elizabeth, Pa., is a native of Jefferson township, Allegheny county. He is the son of William and Eliza (Dick) Bradshaw, and was born Feb. 24, 1849. William Brad- shaw, the grandfather of William P., came to America in 1796, locating in Rostraver township, Westmoreland county, afterwards moving to Allegheny ·county, and locating at the mouth of Peters creek, in Jefferson township, where a branch of the family still resides. In August, 1903, the family held a reunion at Peters creek, at which were gathered 136 members, representing four generations, that being about one-half of the family now living. After receiving a com- mon-school education, he engaged in agricultural pursuits until he took his present position. Mr. Bradshaw has been twice married. His first wife, whom he married in 1870, was Miss Mary B. Maple. She bore him two children, Jennie and William M. His second marriage was in 1900, to Elizabeth L. Norfolk, of Elizabeth. Politically, Mr. Bradshaw is a republican, and takes great interest in questions of a political nature. He served as school director for five years, has been assessor of Jefferson township, and is now a member of the school board of the borough of Elizabeth. In all these positions he discharged his duties with diligence and fidelity. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and carries the teachings of his church into his daily life. Believing in the old saying that "in union there is strength," he is also a member of
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the ship-carpenters' union, though he is not that kind of a union man that finds pleasure in stirring up trouble between the employer and the workmen, and the fact that he has held his position for twenty years, speaks well for his industry and his skill as a mechanic. Organized labor might be placed on a more substantial basis if more of its members were like him.
J. W. METTLER, general manager for the West Pittsburg oil refining com- pany, a son of Jacob and Sarah Mettler, was born in East Brady, Clarion Co., Pa. His mother was the daughter of John and Sarah Kurtz, born in Ohio, near Mt. Carrick, Monroe county, while his father was born in Baden, Germany. Jacob Mettler came to America in 1847, settled in Pittsburg, where he followed his voca- tion of engineer for many years, and died in Fairview, Butler county, at the age of eighty-one. Sarah Mettler, his wife, died in the same house in her seventy-eighth year. To Jacob and Sarah Mettler were born twelve children, five of whom, besides our subject, are living : J. C. Mettler, of Butler county, foreman for the Forest oil company; J. N. Mettler, of Bradford, a liveryman ; W. M. Mettler, of Baltimore, Md., in the insurance business; Mary Ihlenfeld, whose husband is in the merchant tailoring business, and Sarah Jeffrey, whose husband is in the employ of the. West Pittsburg oil company. J. W. Mettler, the subject of this sketch, was educated in the common schools of East Brady, living on a farm until he was seventeen, and going out at that time to take his place in the world's great struggle for existence. He went first to Warren county, where he became an employe in the lumber busi- ness, but soon left this for a more adventurous life in the employ of the Mississippi logging company, on Lake Superior. At the age of twenty two he returned to Pennsylvania and entered the oil refining business, in which he has been engaged continuously up to the present time. For three years he was with Levi Smith, of North Clarendon; for three more with the Valley oil company, of Oil City, a company which was run successfully under his manage- ment. Selling his interest in this company, he bought the Cora- opolis refinery, meeting with a total loss by fire two years later. Mr. Mettler then started his fortunes anew, in Youngstown, Ohio,
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by entering the wholesale and retail oil business under the firm name of Schultz & Mettler, dealing extensively in horses at the same time. After selling out to the Standard oil company, the firm of Schultz & Mettler opened the Edinburg oil fields in the Mahoning valley, in Ohio. Mr. Mettler sold out a second time, to become superintendent and general manager of the Pittsburg oil refining company, and while in their employ sold the stock twice, realizing for the company, under his able management, great profits instead of their former heavy losses. About six months ago Mr. Mettler organized and built the West Pittsburg oil refinery, of Neville township, of which he is now director and general manager. He is one of the most able oil men of the company, and likewise a shrewd business man in other lines, commanding the confidence of his fellow-men. Mr. Mettler is a man of ability, and has the decision of mind necessary for a good business manager. He organized the Coraopolis savings and loan association, and is its president, director and executor. Interested as well in educational matters, he is a member of the board of education in Coraopolis, and not neglecting the spiritual call, is an active worker in the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Mettler was married, in 1884, to Mida Bangher, daughter of Solomon H. and Catharine Bangher, and to them have been born three children, all of whom are living : Anna May, Clara Belle and Clifford Lavagne.
HARRY E. HENDERSON, of Buena Vista, Pa., a well-known citizen and a prosperous farmer, was born on the old Henderson homestead near Buena Vista, Pa., Jan. 30, 1875, son of James P. and Cynthia M. (Fleming) Henderson, of Allegheny county. Young Henderson attended the Edinburgh State normal school for seven months, the Duquesne college, of Pittsburg, for two years, and also the schools of Slippery Rock, Pa., and received educational advantages that in every way qualified him for a success- ful career. On leaving school, Mr. Henderson devoted his atten- tion to farming on the homestead farm, subsequently was on the clerical force of the Westinghouse air brake company at Wilmer- ding, and during the last year has again taken up farming on the old homestead. He was happily married, in 1895, to Nannie E.,
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daughter of David and Fannie (Douglass) Rankin, and they have one child, Clyde Patterson, born April 29, 1898. He is closely allied to the republicans in political matters, and was elected on that ticket to the council of East Mckeesport, in which body he made a fine record and stood well among his confrères. Mr. Henderson is a member of the Youghiogheny lodge of Masons, at Mckeesport, and also of the United Presbyterian church. He now resides on the old homestead, and is one of the most popular citizens of that township.
PETER F. RHOADES, of Versailles, Pa., a prominent citizen and a popular passenger conductor in the service of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, was born in Indiana county, Pa., July 25, 1852, son of Lewis and Matilda (Breniser) Rhoades, his father having been a prosperous farm- er of Armstrong and Indiana counties, but resided the greater part of his career in the latter county. Mr. Rhoades was educated in the splendid schools of his native county, and when nineteen years of age began railroading, which vocation he has since successfully followed. He has served in all capacities in the transportation department of both the Pan Handle and the Baltimore & Ohio railroad companies, and for the past twenty-three years has been with the Baltimore & Ohio, seventeen years of that time in his present position of passenger conductor. He was mar- ried, in May, 1875, at Pittsburg, to Susan, daughter of Zachariah and Melvina (Wakefield) Taylor, of Indiana county, Pa., and they have four children, viz. : Erda N., wife of B. L. Holt, of Mckees- port; Mabel B., Louis T. and Alice M. He has been closely con- nected with the municipal affairs of Versailles, having served as a member of the council for six years, and for four years was presi- dent of that body. He is prominently identified with the Masonic fraternity, being a Knight Templar and a thirty-second degree Mason, and also a member of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a leading member of the Order of Railroad Conductors, the republi- can party and of the Lutheran church. He has made his home in Versailles for the past sixteen years, and is one of the substantial and highly-respected citizens of that borough.
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REV. JOHN SILL BLAYNEY, pastor of the Glenfield and Haysville Presby- terian churches, was born Aug. 31, 1874, on a farm in Ohio county, W. Va., about one mile from the Pennsylvania line. He received his common-school education at Rice school, about one mile from his home, and prepared for college at home, being tutored in languages by his pastor, William H. Lester, D. D., and in mathe- matics by his cousin, Nicholas E. Murray, a farmer of the neighborhood. Mr. Blay- ney, meanwhile, worked on his father's farm, becoming strong physically, and at seventeen years of age entered Washington and Jefferson college, becoming a member of the class of 1896. His religious education had not been neglected, having Christian parents of the highest character, and a home in which all united in worship and devotion to God. At the age of ten he united with the Presbyterian church of West Alexander, ceasing to be a member of it only when he was ordained to preach the gospel. Upon entering college, Mr. Blayney united with the college Y. M. C. A., assisted in carrying on a mission Sunday school and had charge of a Sunday evening prayer-meeting service, under the direction of the college Y. M. C. A., at Laboratory, about two miles from Washington. He also joined the Philo and Union literary society in his first year in college, and took an active interest in all literary affairs of the society, winning second prize in original oration in the annual contest in 1896. Mr. Blayney took an active part in athletics as well, having charge of the graded athletics for one year. He still holds the record as champion mile runner, tak- ing part in the inter-collegiate contest in Washington, in June, 1895-time, five minutes and four-fifths seconds. He graduated June 24, 1896, and having chosen the ministry as his profession, made the necessary preparations for entering some theological seminary in the fall, choosing the Western, at which he matricu- lated in September, 1896. During his seminary course, he was engaged in missionary and church work, being superintendent of the Westminster Presbyterian church Sabbath-school, of Allegheny, one year, and had charge of a mission in Old Third Presbyterian church, Pittsburg, two years under the Society of improvement of the poor. In January, 1899, Mr. Blayney began supplying the Pres- byterian churches of Glenfield and Haysville, continuing until his
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graduation in May, 1899. Having received and accepted calls from these churches, he went at once to Glenfield, was ordained and installed there on May 25th by the Allegheny presbytery, at which time Dr. S. J. Glass presided and preached the sermon, Dr. J. C. Bruce charged the people, and Dr. William H. Lester, his first and only pastor, charged the pastor. He was installed in Haysville on May 26th, Dr. D. S. Kennedy presiding and preach- ing the sermon, Rev. R. S. Young charging the people, and Rev. H. M. Hosack charging the pastor. The people of Glenfield and Haysville were particularly fortunate in securing such a man as the Rev. J. S. Blayney as pastor. Under his charge the church was strengthened in every way, both through his untiring zeal in the cause and through the exemplary life he led in their midst. He resigned the pastorate here Nov. 15, 1903, to accept a call to the First Presbyterian church, at Wilcox, Pa., to begin work there Jan. 17, 1904. On June 28, 1899, Mr. Blayney was married to Margarite L. Boggs, of Harmony, Dr. J. C. Bruce, of Westminster church, officiating, and Rev. P. J. Slonaker, of Zelienople church, assisting. Margarite L. Boggs was born at Harmony, March 2, 1876, resided there until 1895, and in Allegheny until her marriage. Her father, Detmore P. Boggs, was born Jan. 15, 1844, near Evans City; married, in 1868, to Sarah Miller, of Harmony, who was born March 13, 1847. To them were born eleven children, nine of whom are living: three sons, bankers in Pittsburg; one son, press- man, of Pittsburg, and one son at home; one daughter, Olive M., married to Rev. H. T. Kerr, of Hutchinson, Kan .; another, Amy J., married to Rev. A. B. Allison, of Furrukabod, India; Margarite S., now Mrs. J. S. Blayney, and one daughter at home- making three Presbyterian sons-in-law in one family. The Rev. J. S. Blayney and wife have three children: David Henry, born Aug. 19, 1900; Sarah Margarite, born Jan. 28, 1902, and Lois, born Nov. 9, 1903. Amanda (Sill) Blayney was the daughter of John Sill, who was born Nov. 10, 1809, in Allegheny county, three miles from McKeesport, where he died March 8, 1873, in his sixty- fifth year. His father was Col. Jesse Sill, who served in the War
of 1812. John Sill married Margaret Mullen Mehaffy, Jan. 25, 1830, her parents being of Scotch descent. To John and Margaret Sill were born eleven children, of whom only three survive, one of these being Amanda, the mother of the subject of this sketch, who was born May 9, 1843. All her family were Presbyterians. David M. Blayney, father, was born April 4, 1835, in Ohio county, W. Va. In 1861 he enlisted in Company D, 12th regiment, West
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Virginia volunteer infantry, serving as commissioned officer until discharged at the close of the war. Returning to Ohio county, he resumed his occupation as a farmer, and was married, in 1865, to Minerva Jane Griffith, of Beallsville, Monroe Co., Ohio, who died in 1869, leaving one son, Henry Griffith Blayney. David M. Blayney married Amanda M. Sill, Nov. 13, 1872, and from this union one son is living, John Sill Blayney. He removed from West Virginia in 1901 to West Alexander, his present home. He is of Scotch-Irish lineage, and all of the family are members of the Presbyterian church. Charles Blayney, father of David, was born in County Down, Ireland, in 1788, and is a descendant of Lord Blayney. He came to this country in 1791 and settled on a farm in Ohio county, W. Va. He served in the War of 1812, and after his return married Miss Potter, who had two sons, William and Vincent, and, in 1820, married Nancy Faris, to whom were born eleven children, two sons and three grandsons being ministers of the gospel. Charles died in 1860, aged seventy-two, and Nancy in 1880, aged eighty years.
WILLIAM L. DOUGLASS, of Bos- ton, Pa., a well-known citizen and justice of the peace, was born in Elizabeth town- ship, Allegheny Co., Pa., May 19, 1849, son of Col. William and Margaret (Howell) Douglass. Squire Douglass received his elementary education in the common schools, later attended the Elder's Ridge academy, and completed his classical training at the University of Chicago, from which institution he was graduated in 1871. Subsequently he was admitted to the bar of the supreme court of Illinois, and practiced that profession in Chicago for some time. He was married, in 1876, to Kate I., daughter of Andrew and Jane (Cornell) Werling, of Allegheny county, and they have one daughter, Jane W. In 1882 Mr. Douglass was appointed a justice of the peace by Gov. Henry M. Hoyt, a year later was elected to succeed himself, and since then has continued in that important position, the duties of which he has discharged to the entire satis- faction of his constituency. In 1864 Mr. Douglass enlisted in Battery E, 6th Pennsylvania heavy artillery, then being but fifteen years of age, and served until the close of that struggle. Squire
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Douglass has lived in Boston the greater part of his mature life, and there assisted in the organization of the Boston bridge com- pany, of which he is vice-president. He is also a handler of real estate and insurance, and has devoted considerable time to civil engineering, in which profession he is proficient. In 1895 he joined the Methodist Episcopal church and for a number of years has been a class leader, and is a director in the Bentleyville holi- ness association, which is the oldest camp in the State, and located in Washington county, near the National pike. Squire Douglass is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Masons, the Knights of Malta, the Knights of the Mystic Chain, and other orders, and is one of the leading men in that part of the county.
GEORGE W. PANCOAST, who for eight years has been a member of the council of Elizabeth, Pa., is a native of the borough in which he now lives. He is the son of William and Maria (Lytle) Pancoast, both of whom were old and honored residents of Elizabeth, where he was born Sept. 9, 1846. As a boy he attended the public schools of Elizabeth, receiving a good practical education, after which he went to work in a saw- mill. He has never changed his occupa- tion, and during the years that he has
been engaged in the business he has assisted in the manufacture of millions of feet of lumber. There are few points about a saw-mill that he does not fully understand, and though other men may have selected occupations that seem more dignified, few have lived up to the possibilities of their calling better than he. Mr. Pancoast was married, in 1871, to Miss Angeline Speidel, of Elizabeth, and they have three children: William, Frank and Susie. The daugh- ter is now the wife of Archibald Noble, of Homestead. In politics Mr. Pancoast is a republican, but he is a firm believer in good government, and was elected to the council, in 1895, upon the citi- zens' ticket. His work as a member of the council was approved by his constituents, as was shown by his re-election in 1898 and in 1901. During the eight years that he has been a member of the council, his every action and every vote have been in the interests of the general public, which he has so faithfully tried to serve.
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WM. REYNOLDS LYON, M. D., was born in Indiana, Indiana Co., Pa., Sept. 6, 1869, the eldest of five children of Samuel and Sarah (Lowman) Lyon, the other children being Mary Argyl, George Mulholland, James Campbell and Alice Armstrong. His early education was received in private schools, and at the age of thirteen he entered the employ, in Chicago, Il1., of the western department of the Home insurance company of New York, of which his uncle, George W. R. LYON, M. D. M. Lyon, in association with Gen. Arthur C. Ducat, was manager. After thus spending three years, he entered Phillips' academy, Andover, Mass., where he remained four years, graduating in the class of 1890. The death of his father the following September interrupted his course of study, which he had expected to continue in Yale college, and left him with new responsibilities. He secured a position in the First National bank of Blairsville, Pa., which he occupied until beginning the study of medicine in Jefferson medical college, of Philadelphia, from which noted school he graduated in 1895 with honor. After spending a year in hospital and dispensary work, he located in Glen- field, Allegheny Co., Pa., where he con- tinues in the successful practice of his profession. Dr. Lyon was married to Florence Mary Foote, of West Newton, Pa., daughter of Robert Todd and Catherine (Shields) Foote, June 30, 1898. During his residence in Glenfield, Dr. Lyon has been actively interested in the welfare of the community, and at present MRS. FLORENCE M. LYON. is a member of the borough council and fills the office of elder in the Presbyterian church. William R. Lyon's father was Samuel Lyon, who was born in Bedford, Pa., Feb. 19, 1835, the second son of William and Ruth (Reynolds) Lyon. He read law with his father and was admitted to the Bed- ford county bar in 1858. At the outbreak of the Civil war he recruited a volunteer company, and was commissioned first lieu- tenant of Company H, 107th regiment of the Pennsylvania
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volunteers, Nov. 12- 1861, and promoted to quartermaster July 19, 1862. He was present and engaged in a number of battles, among them being Chantilly, Cedar mountain, Bull Run, South moun- tain, Antietam and Gettysburg, serving throughout the war and afterwards re-enlisting for special service. He married Sarah Lowman, daughter of William and Mary (McLain) Lowman, of Indiana, Pa., in 1868, and afterwards made his home in Blairsville, in which place he died Sept. 13, 1890. During his residence in Blairsville, he engaged in the practice of law in Indiana and Westmoreland counties. William Lyon was the father of Samuel Lyon. He resided in Bedford, Pa., where he practiced law. He married Ruth Reynolds, daughter of William and Jane (Holliday) Reynolds, and a second marriage was to Catherine Mulholland, daughter of George Mulholland. Samuel Lyon, third son of William Lyon, was born Jan. 20, 1775. He was a merchant in Baltmore, Md. He married Hetty Broome, of Wilmington, Del., March, 1800. William Lyon, eldest son of John Lyon, pre- ceded his father to the province of Pennsylvania, coming from Ire- land in 1750. He was assistant surveyor to his uncle, John Armstrong, deputy surveyor and justice of the peace for Cumber- land county. Together they laid out the town of Carlisle, by order of the proprietary, in 1751, and the seat of justice was then perma- nently established there. William Lyon then entered the provin- "cial military service for the defense of the frontier against the French and Indians, and as first lieutenant of the Pennsylvania regiment, appointed Dec. 6, 1757, participated in Forbes' great expedition against Fort Duquesne in 1758. He resigned his com- mission in 1759, and in 1764 was appointed magistrate by Gov. John Penn. On the opening of the Revolution and the suppression of the provincial authority, he was appointed by the supreme executive council, a member of the committee of safety, Oct. 16, 1776; prothonotary for Cumberland county, March 12, 1777 ; clerk of Orphans' court, Feb. 9, 1779; register and recorder, Feb. 10, 1779. He held various court positions by reappointment until 1806. He was appointed by the supreme executive council to .
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