Venango County, Pennsylvania: Her Pioneers and People (Volume 1), Part 100

Author: Babcock, Charles A.
Publication date: 1879
Publisher:
Number of Pages:

USA > Pennsylvania > Venango County > Venango County, Pennsylvania: Her Pioneers and People (Volume 1) > Part 100

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

Scrubgrass township, owned by his son David M .; Samuel on the west end of the homestead. in Butler county; Ebenezer, on the east end ; David and George, one mile east of Six Points, Butler county ; John and James, the same dis- tance south of that village, their property be- ing now the Fowler and Crawford farms ; Rob- ert J. living first on the homestead, but after- ward in Richland township, Clarion county. Alexander, who was a physician, removed to Washington county, where he lived and died. The brothers George, David and John later settled in Richland county, Ohio.

John Crawford married Isabel Parker, who was born Aug. 21, 1756, and survived him, passing away Dec. 30. 1839. They were the parents of twelve children, namely: William. who married Nancy Reed; James, who married Abigail Coulter : John, who married Margaret. Reed; George, who married Mary Coulter ; David, who married Lucy Applegate; Alex- ander; Arthur; Samuel, who married Fanny Hill; Ebenezer; Mary Parker, Mrs. Turner ; Rebecca; and Robert Jennings, who married Margaret Hemphill. The family were Pres- byterians, and have been represented in the session of Scrubgrass Presbyterian Church since its organization. John Crawford, the father, helped to choose the site and build the first schoolhouse at Lowe cemetery, a half mile south of Crawford Corners. He is buried in that cemetery.

Ebenezer Crawford, son of John and Isabel ( Parker) Crawford, born March 14, 1789. died Jan. 31. 1859, and is buried in Lowe cemetery. Farming was his life occupation, and he followed it upon an extensive scale, acquiring the east half of his father's large property. as previously noted. In 1814 he married Janet Grant. daughter of Alexander and Elizabeth (Johnson) Grant, natives of Scotland, who lived for some time in Lan- caster, Pa., Mr. Grant building and occupying the first stone house erected at that place. Later he removed to Butler county. this State. and eventually to Armstrong county, where he died not long afterward, in 1833. His wife had passed away some time previously. Mr. and Mrs. Ebenezer Crawford had the follow- ing family : Alexander B., who made his home in Emlenton, married Margaret Anderson : John Parker, born Oct. 12, 1816, lived in Scrubgrass township: Eliza died in infancy; Isabel married Harvey Gibson, of Martins- burg, Butler county ; Ebenezer is mentioned below : Matilda J. married Aaron Harvey Crawford, of Emlenton; William R., at one time sheriff of Venango county, married Jane

Digitized by Google

507

VENANGO COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Kerr; Robert J. died unmarried; Elizabeth J. died in infancy ; Samuel W. married Catherine Jane Truby, of Emlenton; Elihu C. was killed by accident in a coal mine when eighteen years old; Emmaline Louther married George W. Livingstone, of Starke, Fla .; Aaron Harvey, of Emlenton, married Martha J. Ross. Five of the eight sons, John P., Ebenezer, William R., Robert J. and Samuel W., went to Cali- fornia in 1850, making the tedious journey overland. All returned safely, pursued trades, became merchants and were large owners of oil and gas lands. The mother of this family died in July, 1877, aged eighty-nine years. .

Ebenezer Crawford, one of the eight sons of Ebenezer and Janet (Grant) Crawford, was born Aug. 26, 1821, at the home near Emlen- ton, and was reared in that vicinity. On his return from California in 1850 he located at Emlenton and established himself in the foun- dry business, becoming one of the successful business men of his day. Later he was ex- tensively interested in the production of oil and gas, owning and operating valuable hold- ings at Parkers Landing and in the Bradford field, as well as at Emlenton, and he was one of that progressive group of local capitalists who founded the Oil City Fuel Supply Com- pany, the forerunner of the present United Natural Gas Company of Oil City. With this important concern he and his son James B. Crawford were connected in turn until the latter's resignation from the presidency in January, 1917, and Ebenezer Crawford con- tinued his association therewith in connection with the operation of his oil and gas prop- erties until his death, which occurred at Emlen- ton Aug. 26, 1897. He was a man of con- summate executive ability and keen financial understanding, managing his affairs with ex- cellent judgment and marked success.

In 1848 Ebenezer Crawford married Eliza- beth Wilson, who was born June 30, 1833, at Freeport. Pa., and died in Buffalo, N. Y., June 19. 1906. They were the parents of five sons and three daughters, six reaching maturity : Clara M., deceased, married M. C. Treat, of Pasadena, Cal .; Emma J. married L. E. Mal- lory, of Bradford, Pa .; James Burton is men- tioned below : George W. is a resident of Pitts- burgh, Pa .; Frederick W., of Columbus, Ohio; Carroll E. died June 2, 1917.

James Burton Crawford was born Oct. 5, 1855. at Emlenton, Venango Co., Pa. He pre- pared for practical business at the Eastman Business College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and was barely of age when he entered the oil business, in 1876, his first operations being at

Emlenton. Pa. Subsequently he was engaged in oil operations in the Bradford field, and in November, 1883, located at Oil City, Pa., where his interests have been centered, prin- cipally in the oil and gas business. He first became associated with the gas companies as accountant, later becoming president and gen- eral manager of the United Natural Gas Com- pany and the Pennsylvania Gas Company (underlying companies of the National Fuel Gas Company of New Jersey), keeping fully up to the requirements of the steadily increas- ing business. He remained at the head of the above companies until Jan. 1, 1917, when he resigned after a successful career, both as re- gards his personal achievements and his ef- forts in behalf of the above mentioned com- panies.

Though not as active as formerly in busi- ness operations Mr. Crawford still retains a number of important connections and attends to the details of their management. He is in- terested in oil and gas production, and is a di- rector of the Ohio Fuel Supply Company, Ohio Fuel Oil Company. Pennsylvania Fuel Supply Company. Granville Fuel & Light Company. and the Oil City National Bank. He is well known in numerous associations besides those of a business nature, taking a broad interest in all the phases of social life in the community, particularly those designed to provide whole- some opportunities for recreation and improve- ment. He is a trustee of the Y. M. C. A. and the First Presbyterian Church, a director of the Wanango Country Club, a member of the V'enango Club and Oil City Boat Club, and a Mason in fraternal affiliation, holding mem- bership in Petrolia Lodge, No. 363, F. & A. M. ; Oil City Chapter No. 236, R. A. M .; Tal- bot Commandery No. 43, K. T .: Venango Lodge of Perfection : Pittsburgh Consistory and Syria Temple. A. A. O. N. M. S., of Pitts. burgh.

Mr. Crawford married Nellie Comstock. of Emlenton, Pa., who died Jan. 7. 1914. the mother of four children: Edith, born Aug. 20. 1881 : Robert A .. born June 14. 1885; Helen. born Aug. 23. 1887 ; and Ronald B., born Oct. 30, 1888. On Jan. 15, 1917, Mr. Crawford married Jeannette Sibley, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Henry Sibley. of Franklin, Pa. She died Nov. 30, 1918.

WILLIAM DOUGLAS RIDER (deceased) was in his day a factor of definite value in the industrial activities of Franklin, having been one of the largest employers of labor there at the height of his business career. His

Digitized by Google

508

VENANGO COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

enterprise and ability to make the most of the opportunities at hand were equalled by few of his contemporaries, and his establishment was a busy center of trade and a clearing house for many commodities which the inhabitants of the locality were glad to exchange in order to pro- cure the necessities which they could not pro- duce. Quick to see the promise in any enter- prise, and diligent in the prosecution of all his undertakings, Mr. Rider made a success in a field which broadened steadily under his judi- cious management and built up a business which in volume and importance compared favorably with the most ambitious in this terri- tory.

Mr. Rider was a native of New York State, born April 27, 1846, at Enfield Corners, near Elmira, son of H. Nelson and Sarah Rider. He received a public school education at El- mira, and spent his early life in the vicinity of his birthplace, in 1869 removing to Franklin, Pa., where he soon embarked in the tin and hardware business. The establishment was carried on for a short time in its early days by the firm of Rider & Hazeltine, but Mr. Rider acquired all the interest and thereafter con- ducted the business on his own account, so that the large proportions it attained within a few vears may be attributed entirely to his efforts. He came at an auspicious period. when the ac- tivities in the oil fields brought about an access of population and local prosperity which as- sured a large trade to merchants enterprising enough to improve the occasion. The growth of his business was a typical story of the times. Commencing in 1870 with five men and three wagons, within a decade he was employing about a hundred people and forty wagons, and the volume of trade had increased from twenty-five thousand dollars annually to about half a million. He manufactured plain tin and sheet iron ware and dealt wholesale in pressed tinware, stoves, brooms and paper- makers' stock, having a large jobbing trade in tinware, stoves, kitchen furniture and similar goods, in that department alone employing two traveling salesmen, who covered a large territory in Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio. His tin shop was equipped with the most up-to-date facilities in the way of ma- chinery and other appliances, and kept about twenty women busy constantly filling orders from various parts of the valley. It was no unusual thing for him to have five hundred stoves in stock, with a large variety of styles. The business was housed in a commodious building at the corner of Eighth and Liberty streets, Franklin, with spacious store and sales

rooms, and he handled a large assortment of glass and other household wares, the exten- sive patronage to which he catered enabling him to keep a comprehensive stock, much more ample and varied than is ordinarily found in a place of the size and consequently affording his customers more satisfactory shopping con- veniences. Like many merchants of the day, he "paid the highest market price in cash for hides, pelts" and other articles which were brought in for trade, and in this connection he came to buy old metals, rope, etc., as well as rags for papermakers, his rag trade in 1877 amounting to eight hundred tons and his iron trade to fifteen hundred tons. In fact, he be- came the most extensive buyer and shipper of rags and other junk in western Pennsylvania, having large quantities brought in by his wagons and hundreds of tons forwarded to him by the various railroads. He employed from twenty-five to fifty women, as the busi- ness required, sorting the rags into the various grades, over twenty different kinds being sent to mills in various parts of the country.

Mr. Rider did not escape the attractions of the oil fields, in which he made investments of considerable value, and for a number of years he was a member of the Oil Exchange. He also embarked in the hotel business, building the "Rider Hotel" at Cambridge Springs, Pa., which he conducted successfully. With all his material interests he found time for public affairs and matters vital to the general wel- fare, serving his fellow citizens in Franklin as a member of the city council, to which he was elected on the Republican ticket, and act- ing as quartermaster of the 16th Regiment. Pennsylvania National Guard. His death oc- curred at Franklin Sept. 13, 1905.

Mr. Rider had one son by his first mar- riage, William Douglas, Jr. On July 16, 1867, he married (second) Louisa Helen Nock, who survives him. To this union were born four children, namely: (1) John Charles, born May 30, 1873. is living at Cambridge Springs, Pa. (2) H. Nelson, born June 9, 1875, is now residing at Pittsburgh, where he is engaged in the real estate business. In February, 1904, he married Anna Teglar. of Erie, Pa., and they have one son, Charles Nelson, born March 30. 1905. (3) Stewart McKee, born Feb. 18, 1878, at Franklin, received his education there in the grammar and high schools and became an ac- countant for the National Transit Company. He is now engaged in the brokerage business at Cleveland, Ohio. During the Spanish- American war he was in the United States Signal Service and was in active duty in Porto

Digitized by Google

509

VENANGO COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Rico. He married May Stainbrook, daughter of M. A. Stainbrook, of Saegerstown, Craw- ford Co., Pa., and they have three children, born as follows: Helen Elizabeth, March 16, 1902 ; William Douglas, Jan. 3, 1904; Catharine May, March 30, 1905. (4) Roscoe Conklin, born Oct. 28, 1881. is engaged in the cold stor- age business at Cambridge Springs in com- pany with his eldest brother, John C., under the name of Rider Brothers. They are whole- sale dealers in produce. He married Isabel Arrott, and they have two children, Roscoe Conklin (born June 26, 1905), and James A. (born Dec. 4, 1914).

Mrs. Rider resides in Franklin, where her interests are centered. She owns valuable real estate at Ninth and Liberty streets which has been in her family for over one hundred years, having come into her possession through her connection with the Ridgways, her maternal ancestors. She was the only child of Henry and Susan ( Ridgway) Nock, and granddaugh- ter of Edward Nock, who came to Franklin in 1843 and built the first rolling mill there. He married Dinah Bates, and their children were : Henry, Harriet, Clementine, Isaiah, Edward and Susan. Of these, Henry Nock married, in June, 1845, Susan Ridgway, daughter of John and Susanna (Titus) Ridgway and de- scendant of Richard Ridgway, the founder of the family in America.

Richard Ridgway was a native of Berk- shire, England, where the name had been prom- inent for many generations. His great-grand- father, Thomas Ridgway, is said to have been held in high favor by both Queen Elizabeth and King James I., and to have been the inti- mate friend and companion of Robert Cecil. the son of Lord Burleigh, who became the first Earl of Salisbury and prime minister to both the sovereigns mentioned. It is said that at the baptism of Thomas Ridgway's eldest son his friend Robert Cecil was godfather, and gave the child his own name, Robert.

Shortly after his first marriage Richard Ridgway, with his wife and eldest child, left Wallingford, Berkshire, and sailed across the Atlantic in the ship "Jacob and Mary" of Lon- don, arriving in the Delaware river in Sep- tember, 1679. On the 12th of that month he was in Burlington, but after a short stay there he removed to Crewcorn, in what is now Falls township, Bucks Co., Pa., where on April 12, 1680, he signed the petition to the governor to suppress the sale of "brandy and strong liquors to ye Indians." On May 3, 1686, the gov- ernor's council recommended him as a "fit per- son for ye Keeping an Ordinary," and his pe-

tition for a license was therefore granted. On Oct. 7, 1690, he bought six hundred acres in Maidenhead, west of the Province line, and running from the Great Meadows at Port Mercer northward for about a mile. Here he lived several years. On Feb. 7, 1697, he pur- chased from John Hollingshead a farm in Springfield township, Burlington Co., N. J., where he afterward resided, giving an acre of this property to the Society of Friends for a meetinghouse and burying ground. The original building has disappeared, but the acre is still used for the purpose intended. On Aug. 8, 1700, he was appointed a judge or justice of Burlington county, holding the office until April, 1720. His first marriage, which took place in England, was to Elizabeth Chamber- layne, of Wiltshire, daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Chamberlayne, and she accompanied him to this country, dying at Crewcorn March 31, 1692. Before Feb. 1, 1693-94, he married (second) Abigail Stockton, daughter of Rich- ard and Abigail Stockton. This marriage "not being to Friends order," the Chesterfield Monthly Meeting appointed Mahlon Stacy and Robert Wilson to inquire and remonstrate with Richard and Abigail, and the result was that, April 25, 1694, the two sent a paper to the Monthly Meeting "condemning their out- going in marriage." From this it would seem that they had been married by a justice of the peace. Richard Ridgway died between Sept. 21, 1722, and April 5, 1723. Abigail survived him only a few years, dying between March 8 and Dec. 19, 1726. By his first marriage there were seven children: Thomas, born July 27, 1677, died Aug. 24, 1724; married 1699 Ann Pharo, and (second) Nov. 6, 1712, Elizabeth Andrews. Richard, born Aug. 27, 1680, died between Feb. 12, 1718-19, and April 4, 1719; he married Oct. 9, 1702, Mary Willits, and (second) Nov. 11, 1714, Mary (Stockton), daughter of Richard and Abigail Stockton; it was her third marriage, her first husband hav- ing been Thomas Shinn, her second Silas Cris- pin. Elizabeth, born April 17, 1682, married Sept. 15. 1704. Richard Willits (brother of Mary, above). William died in infancy. Sarah died in infancy. Josiah was the next in the line we are tracing. Joseph died in infancy. By the second marriage there were also seven : Job married Dec. 7, 1719, Rebecca Butcher, and died in 1761. Abigail married, in 1717, Henry Clothier. John was next in the family. Mary married Dec. 11, 1719, John Ballinger. Jane married, in 1721, Isaac Antrim. Sarah was mentioned in her mother's will as being lame. Joseph, who died in 1760, married Nov.

Digitized by Google

510

VENANGO COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

II, 1727, Sarah Butcher, and (second) Feb. in Pompey, Onondaga Co., N. Y., and died 15, 1737-38, Hannah Allen.

Josiah Ridgway, son of Richard above, was born Sept. 6, 1690, in Crewcorn, Bucks Co., Pa. In 1717 he was constable of Springfield township, Burlington Co., N. J. He married Sarah Ridgway, and their children were : Lott, born Aug. 9, 1718, died Dec. 30, 1784; in December, 1750. he married Susanna Peat. Josiah married, Oct. 12, 1736, Rachel Brown. Noah is mentioned below.

Noah Ridgway was born, about 1730 in Springfield township, Burlington Co., N. J., and in 1793 was living in Westland, Pa. He and his wife Rebecca had two children, Noah and Ann, the latter baptized Oct. 30, 1764.

Noah Ridgway (2), son of Noah and Re- becca Ridgway, was born in Springfield town- ship, Burlington Co., N. J. His wife's name is unknown.

John Ridgway, son of Noah Ridgway (2), was born in 1785 in Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N. J., and died Jan. 9, 1861, in Franklin, Pa. He was a millwright and boatbuilder. He was originally a Friend, but later joined the Presbyterian Church. In 1810 or 1811 he mar- ried Susanna Titus, who was born in 1793, daughter of Peter and Jean Titus, and died Sept. 20, 1854. They had a family of six chil- dren, namely : Samuel, born Aug. 26, 1812, died Aug. 22, 1903 ; he married Isabella Curry, of Oil Creek, Pa., and had children, John, Jane, Susan, Wilson and Stanton. Peter Titus, born Sept. 4, 1814, died Sept. 20, 1877; he married Maria Bunce, of Franklin, Pa., and had chil- dren, Almena, Frederick and Laura. Harriet, born April 1, 1817, died July 21, 1894, unmar- ried. Thomas, born in 1820, died 1885. Susan, born Nov. 29, 1823, died Jan. 1, 1902 ; she mar- ried, in June, 1845, Henry Nock. John, born in 1826, died in 1843.

FREDERICK S. RICH, late of Oil City, was in social and business connections one of its most prominent residents. As president of the Crude Oil Company, he was associated with a number of the leading figures in the oil industry in the Pennsylvania and West Virginia fields and his own activities had taken him over a large part of the territory in this section of the country.

Mr. Rich was of old New England and Revolutionary stock, being a great-grandson of Barzilla Rich, of Connecticut, who mar- ried Esther Loveland, daughter of Solomon Loveland, a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Russell Rich, son of Barzilla and Esther (Loveland) Rich, was born in October, 1800,

about 1846 in St. Johns, Welland County, Ontario, Canada. In 1832 he married Su- sannah Street. who died in 1847 at Amherst, Portage Co., Wisconsin.

John Street Rich, son of Russell and Su- sannah (Street ) Rich, was born April 9, 1837, at St. Johns, Ontario. He had an adventur- ous disposition, for though only a boy at the time of the gold excitement on the Pacific coast, he went out there about 1849 and re- mained several years. He returned to Canada about 1854 and was married at St. Cather- ines, Ontario, on Aug. 8, 1860, to Hannah Robertson.

Mrs. Hannah (Robertson) Rich, wife of John S. Rich, was born Oct. 31, 1835, in Westminster, Ontario. Her parents were Al- exander and Matilda (Simons) Robertson, the former born Feb. 18, 1798, in Foxbar, Glasgow, Scotland, the latter Aug. 26, 1808, in Flamboro, Ontario. They died at Goderich, Ontario, Mr. Robertson Feb. 18, 1855, his wife Aug. 1, 1855.

Mr. and Mrs. John S. Rich were the par- ents of the following children: Edith, wife of Wesley Kinnear, of Pittsburgh; Esther, wife of J. E. Winans, of Los Angeles, Cal .; Alexander, of Dawes, WV. Va .; and Frederick S., late of Oil City.

In 1867 John S. Rich came to Oil City, where he spent the remainder of his life in oil operations as one of the active figures on the Oil Exchange and also as a producer. He acquired considerable property in this region, living on a farm near the present site of the Grandview Sanitarium, and not long before his death buying a property, part of the Adam Cope farm, now known as Rich Hill. Here he had a residence erected, which he never lived to occupy, dying Nov. 13, 1879, in Oil City, at the home of his friend, Judson Trax. He is buried in the family lot in Grove Hill cemetery. Mr. Rich was a Methodist, being one of the founders of Trinity M. E. Church, Oil City.

Frederick S. Rich was born Feb. 24, 1864, at St. Catherines, Ontario, and with his par- ents came to Oil City about 1867. The greater part of his life was spent there, although he was sent back to Ontario to school, attend- ing Upper Canada College at Toronto. He later completed his education at Allegheny College. Meadville. Meantime, when he was a boy of fifteen, his father died, and he early showed the good judgment and wisdom which characterized his active business career by the practical way in which he set about to fit him-

Digitized by Google

511

VENANGO COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

self for his association with the oil industry. His first occupation was as a clerk in the Oil Exchange for a few years. Being anxious to familiarize himself with the field work, he acquired a practical knowledge of it by visit- ing various leases. In this manner he se- cured his information on the various points which constitute an oil man's training, includ- ing tool dressing and drilling, at first hand. In 1884 he was employed by the South Penn Oil Company in Washington county, Pa., near Washington, and himself leased land in Washington county. In 1885 the South Penn Oil Company sent him to Ohio for a few months.

On July 14, 1887, Mr. Rich married Made- leine Bureau Acheson, at Washington, Pa. She survives him with their three children, John S., Madeleine A. and James A. R.

David Acheson, grandfather of Mrs. Fred S. Rich, was born in County Armagh, Ire- land, in 1770 and came to this country in 1788. He settled in southwestern Pennsyl- vania and became prominent in that section of the State. In 1791 he entered into a contract with the government to furnish Indian sup- plies, cavalry and pack horses for use in the army. Later he studied law, and he was a leading man of his day, being Republican rep- resentative to the State Assembly from Wash- ington county for three terms. At this time the State and national capitals were both lo- cated at Philadelphia, and Mr. Acheson be- came well acquainted with President George Washington and many other leading charac- ters of the time. Mr. Acheson died in 1851, and he and his wife are buried at Washing- ton, Pennsylvania.

Charles Louis Valcaulon Bureau, Mrs. Rich's maternal grandfather, was born at Gal- lipolis, Ohio, and was educated for the medi- cal profession, attending college at Washing- ton, Pa. He returned to Gallipolis and prac- ticed medicine until the time of his death, he and wife, Margaret (Hughes), being buried in Gallipolis. His father, John Peter Roman Bureau, a silk merchant of Rheims, France, was one of two hundred colonists who came to this country after the French Revolution. He was present at the overthrow of the Bas- tile and assisted in demolishing this world- famous edifice. Mr. Bureau and his fellow countrymen settled in Ohio, founding the town of Gallipolis. His daughter, Madeleine Ro- maine, married Dr. Francis Julius LaMoyne. who had the first crematory in the United States.

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

Venango County, Pennsylvania: Her Pioneers and People (Volume 1), Part 100

Author: Babcock, Charles A. Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Number of Pages:

Author: Babcock, Charles A.
Publication date: 1879
Publisher:
Number of Pages: