Venango County, Pennsylvania: Her Pioneers and People (Volume 1), Part 107

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 107

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Robert C. Black was born in Butler county, Pa., where he lived and died, passing away in 1850. He grew up on his father's homestead and became the owner of two hundred acres of the paternal property, where he followed farming successfully. Mr. Black married Nancy Ann Kerr, daughter of Thomas Kerr. and she survived him, reaching the age of eighty-six years. Of their large family, John A. is living at Knox. Pa .; Thomas is deceased : William and James lived to be eighty years old; Robert is deceased : Joseph M., born Dec. 30, 1837, in Butler county, now a resident of

Emlenton, has been a prominent citizen of Ve- nango county, having come to Scrubgrass township in May, 1860, and engaged in the production of oil, and he was county commis- sioner for two terms (on May 28, 1862, he married Candace Kohlmyer, and they had four children ) ; Eliza . Jane married James Camp- bell; Julia Ann, Mrs. Atwell, is a resident of Butler county ; Ephraim is twin brother of Mrs. Atwell; Harriet married Daniel Beaty, of To- ledo, Ohio; Caroline married Hovey Campbell, and both are deceased.

Ephraim Black was reared at the old home- stead place in Butler county, and had such educational advantages as the neighborhood afforded. His father dying when he was a mere boy, he began work early, taking charge of the farm when but fifteen years old, and operating it for his mother for several years. When but twenty years old he was appointed postmaster at Anandale, Butler county. He offered him- self for military service there Aug. 4, 1862, be- coming a member of Company F, 134th Penn- sylvania Volunteers, and was sent to Camp Curtin, Washington, D. C., and Arlington Heights, but being taken sick was honorably discharged Feb. 14, 1863, on account of disa- bility. It took him some months to regain his health after reaching home, but when well enough to resume work he decided to try the oil region, and came hither in 1864. His first work here was teaming, which he followed for a year, though he also began drilling in 1864, continuing to work at the wells until his re- moval to Franklin in 1870. He immediately en- tered the employ of the Franklin Pipe Line Company. which was started by Taft & Pain, and within a few years had become one of the stockholders in the company, of which he was elected a director in 1880, at the same time be- coming manager. Mr. Black has been one of the board of directors ever since, and has been chairman of the board for the last five years, with E. E. Grimm, treasurer, and H. F. Grant, secretary. The tankage capacity of the com- pany has reached eighty thousand barrels, in- cluding facilities for handling the Franklin Heavy oil. The present magnitude of the busi- ness may be largely ascribed to Mr. Black's management, and his activities in its behalf place him among the most competent industrial promoters in this region. At present he gives all his business hours to the pipe line business, formerly devoting considerable attention to the production of oil, in which he was equally suc- cessful.

Mr. Black has taken a keen interest in se- curing good government for his home city, and

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himself served a term in the city council, where his work was characterized by the same prac- tical ideas dominating his private affairs. As a veteran of the Civil war he has long been a member of Major Mays Post, of Franklin, and is now serving the organization as trustee. He is a past grand of the I. O. O. F., which he joined in 1872. His religious connection is with the Presbyterian Church, which he formerly served as trustee, at present holding the office of elder. Possessing a fine voice, he also as- sisted with the music, singing in the choir for many years.

On May 2, 1866, Mr. Black was married to Sarah McCoy, daughter of Judge Hiram Craig McCoy, associate judge of Butler county, and representative in the State Legislature from that district. Two children have been born to this union : Fannie May, born March 28. 1867. married Rev. W. P. Hollister, a Presbyterian minister, and died leaving one son, Francis B. Hollister, who is now in the training school at Fort Niagara; Lewis E. graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music, at Bos- ton, Mass., and later studied in Italy, and he is now at the head of the musical department of the University of Virginia, at Morgantown; he married Ethel Jenny, of Massachusetts; they have no children.

WILLIAM S. PACA, of Oil City, secretary and general manager of the Petroleum Tele- phone Company, is a man of large experience in the operation and management of public utilities, by reason of which he has occupied a commanding place in local business con- cerns serving the municipality ever since he settled here. In a comparatively brief resi- dence in the city he has attained a position among its foremost spirits in the promotion of public works and engineering enter- prises, of which he has acquired an expert knowledge. The fact that he is president of the Oil City Chamber of Commerce, and his membership in the American Institute of Electrical Engineers of New York City and in The Telephone Pioneers of America, indi- cate achievements which have been considered deserving of definite recognition. Mr. Paca is a native of Baltimore, Md., born Aug. 27. 1863, and is a direct descendant of that William Paca who was one of the leading American poli- ticians of his period, a signer of the Declara- tion of Independence and governor of Mary- land from 1782 to 1785. He was born Oct. 31. 1740, at Wyehall, Harford Co .. Md., and died there in 1799.

John P. Paca, grandfather of William S.

Paca, had a large estate in Queen Anne's county, Md., and also owned vessels, losing his life on one of them which was caught in the ice and sunk in Chesapeake bay. John Paca, father of William S. Paca, was a grain mer- chant in Baltimore until his death, at the age of fifty-seven years. He married Florence M. Keyes, daughter of Bailey Keyes, who was a prominent merchant in Baltimore, and she survives, making her home in that city.

William S. Paca grew to manhood at his birthplace. and obtained his education in the public schools there. All of his business life has been spent in the telephone business, which he entered in 1882 and in which he has reached the status of an expert, having made himself thoroughly familiar with its details in the course of a comprehensive experience. He was with the Bell Telephone Company in Bal- timore for ten years, during which time he did special work in the development of long dis- tance telephony before the Bell system had any long distance service installed. In fact, he was a real pioneer in that field and in the construction of apparatus for such communi- cation. For several years he was in the serv- ice of the Eastern Electric Company of Balti- more, having served as special electrician in the work preliminary to the operation of the first electric street car operated in the city. In 1896 he was offered a position with the Inde- pendent Telephone Company at Baltimore. be- coming engineer and superintendent, in which capacity he had charge of the construction of plants at Baltimore, Jersey City, Newark (N. J.). Trenton, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo and Erie. as well as some smaller places, being so engaged until his removal to Oil City in 1904. Here he has continued in the same line in his association with the Petroleum Tele- phone Company. whose officers are: Hon. P. M. Speer, president ; C. M. Lamberton, treas- urer; William S. Paca, secretary and general manager : P. M. Speer, W. A. McMaster, Ax- tell J. Byles. R. G. Lamberton, F. N. Chambers, A. W. Hayes and W. S. Paca, directors. Mr. Paca has also done considerable in the ca- pacity of consulting engineer, and for the last two years he has been serving as president of the Oil City Chamber of Commerce. He has come into influence on his own merits entirely, having in all his connections demonstrated his ability to compete with the best talent in his line, his originality and resource enabling him to make a progressive showing in everything he undertakes. He has formed a number of high social connections in the city, belonging to the Elks Club, the Venango. Wanango, Oil

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City Motor, Ivy and Oil City Boat Clubs. Mr. Paca has shown a disposition for unselfishness in his citizenship which has earned him the favorable opinion of all who know him.

Mr. Paca married Florence Winchester, daughter of George H. Winchester, of Balti- more, Md., and a member of the family famous as founders of the Winchester Arms Company, of New Haven, Conn. Of their four children, Ruth is at home; Helen died when eleven years old ; Lieut. William W. Paca is a graduate of West Point Military Academy and now first lieutenant of the 49th Infantry, Regular Army, stationed at Camp Merritt, N. J .; Dorothy is a student at Notre Dame College, Baltimore, Md., taking up vocal music. The family are Episcopalians in religious association.

JOHN OSBORN, late of Franklin, has left many substantial evidences of his life work in that city and at other points in this section of Pennsylvania. Arriving here at a period when business conditions were favorable to material development of the best order, he possessed the constructive skill and intelligence requisite for a prominent part in the work, and set a standard in his line which few others have even approached. Mr. Osborn was the type of builder who takes a conscientious pride in his achievements. He had the ar- tistic sense to realize that to be truly fine a building must be thoroughly adapted to the purpose it must serve, but he also knew that harmony with surroundings and beauty of con- struction are not incompatible with service, and his workmanship was equal to the attain- ment of both. The structures that he erected are notable for good taste and durability, and comprise a flattering percentage of the best buildings in Franklin and other cities in this part of the State. Though he lived to his seventy-fifth year, he continued to be active in business until a short time before his de- cease.

Mr. Osborn was a native of England, born Nov. 20. 1842, at Redruth, in the County of Cornwall. He spent his early life in that country, and received the thorough training characteristic of tradesmen in the Old World. Remaining in England until two years after his marriage, he left his wife and child there and came alone to the United States, where his first location was at Dover, Del. His wife and child joined him six months later. and the family soon moved to Scranton, Pa., where he began contracting, continuing in that loca- tion for several years. About 1881 Mr. Os- born concluded to make a change of residence,

his choice falling upon Franklin, Venango Co., Pa., where he found a permanent home. His work speedily won the recognition that it de- served, and he was one of the busiest con- tractors in the city regardless of the times, being awarded some of the best work under- taken here. It is a well known fact that he was so exacting about the quality of the work he turned over to his patrons that if it satis- fied him there was no question about their opinion of it, and the great demand for his work was founded upon punctilious attention to every detail of the contracts he had. Among the structures which he put up in Franklin may be mentioned the Masonic Temple, Eve- ning News building, Snook block, Franklin Trust Company building, Lamberton National Bank, New Orpheum theatre, the Catholic and Presbyterian churches and the Episcopal Sun- day school. He also made the addition to the high school and added the fourth floor to the Y. M. C. A. building. He had the contract for the larger part of the Polk Institution buildings, and his son and successor is now building a sand plant at that Institution. He laid considerable paving in the city, and also did a great deal of street paving at Butler, Pa., as well as five streets in Titusville, this State. Some of his important work was at Butler and Warren, including a silk mill at the latter place, and he built another silk mill at Kane, Pa., as well as a bank building and an apartment build- ing. He also put up the New Orpheum Theatre at Titusville. After his son John became old enough to assume responsibilities he was taken into partnership, and he is continuing the busi- ness on his own account now.

Mr. Osborn was a most desirable citizen, and highly esteemed for his kindly personality as well as his honesty and loyalty to any person or cause with which he was associated. He took no active part in public affairs, leading a very domestic life, though he was a member in good standing of the B. P. O. Elks lodge of Franklin and the Protected Home Circle. All his life he was a devout member of the Episcopal Church. He passed away at his home in Franklin, on Eagle street. July 19, 1917, and was interred in the Franklin cemetery. the funeral services being conducted by Rev. Martin Aigner, of St. John's Episcopal Church, and the commitment service of the Elks being followed at the grave.

On March 5. 1867, Mr. Osborn was married. at Newquay. England, to Mary Mitchell, a native of Newquay, born Jan. 8, 1844. who died Dec. 5. 1916, and is buried in Franklin cemetery. She, too, was a member of St.

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John's Church. Mr. Osborn's health was never good after her demise, though he was seriously ill only two weeks before his own death. Mr. and Mrs. Osborn reared five children, namely : Anna, the wife of John E. Tarr, of Richmond, Cal., has one son, John; Lida is the wife of F. C. Dailey, of Wilkinsburg, Pa .; John is mentioned below ; Miss Clara lives at home ; Edith is the wife of A. C. Sheasley, of Frank- lin. Mr. Osborn was also survived by a brother and sister, Edwin Osborn, of Franklin, and Mrs. Jabez Floyd, of Scranton.

JOHN OSBORN, only son of John and Mary (Mitchell) Osborn, was born Nov. 1, 1875, in Scranton, Pa., and was a child when the family removed to Franklin, where he acquired all his education in the public schools. All of his business life has been spent with his father and since the latter's death in carrying on the business which the latter established, and for which he has become well qualified under such excellent training and by practical experi- ence. He is considered one of the coming figures in construction work in this section. and it is highly to his credit that he has the reputation of endeavoring to maintain the principles and standards for which his father was noted. Mr. Osborn is unmarried. He is well known in Franklin and other cities in this part of Pennsylvania, and fraternally holds membership with the B. P. O. Elks lodge of his home city.

JOHN LAMB, one of the influential pio- neer residents of Allegheny township, Venan- go county, accomplished more than the aver- age man of his generation in establishing the social order and bringing civilized conditions into that region. He had the dauntless, ener- getic temperament necessary to success in his material enterprises in those primitive times, coupled with the foresight and active intelli- gence which made him a valuable citizen, and an attitude of fellowship and goodwill toward humanity generally which prompted the many kindly and helpful acts that brought him pop- ularity as well as esteem. In business he was venturesome, self-reliant and capable, carry- ing his undertakings through to success, and he showed the same spirit in matters affecting the public welfare, advocating and helping to success many movements which benefited every other member of the community as much as himself.

Mr. Lamb was of Scotch-Irish descent, the youngest of the eight children, three sons and five daughters, born to John and Nancy (Sparks) Lamb, who were among the first

settlers of Center county, Pa. He was born near Bellefonte, that county, June 13, 1806, and was about fourteen years old at the time of his father's death. Reared and educated in his native county, he also learned the trade of tanner there, and with that as his principal means of livelihood came to Venango county in 1827. In 1829 he settled in Allegheny township, where he purchased a small piece of land then in the woods, and as soon as he had built a log house started a tannery, the first in the township. A tradesman was a valuable acquisition to the community, and he was kept busy with that work and the clear- ing of his land, which in time he transformed into one of the largest and finest farms in the county. The tanning business grew also, and Mr. Lamb in addition engaged in the luinber business and merchandising, becoming one of the leading men of affairs in his day. He was genial and hospitable in disposition, and his house, being conveniently situated on the War- ren and Franklin road, became one of the popular stopping places for stagecoaches and travelers over that thoroughfare. His store was a well known trading center, and through his efforts a post office was established there, which was known by his name and kept by him for a number of years. When oil was dis- covered he prospected on his own land and did some development work, engaging in both pro- duction and refining in a limited way, for he did not live to see the era of its extensive exploitation. He served his township as school director, and gave his support to all worthy enterprises, being known as a friend of prog- ress in every direction. Politically he was a Democrat until Lincoln received the presiden- tial nomination, when he changed to the Re- publican party, and he always took part in campaigns and elections. His death, in No- vember. 1863, removed one of the most re- spected men of the township from a sphere of wide usefulness.

On April 23, 1833, Mr. Lamb married Mary Bailey Smith, daughter of Capt. William Smith, of Waterford, Pa., whose family con- sisted of five sons and two daughters. She died in November, 1849, the mother of seven children, namely : William Smith, born Sept. 17, 1834, died in infancy; Alfred, born Dec. 28, 1835, is mentioned below ; John spent over forty years in Idaho, at Silver City, engaged in silver mining and the publication of a min- ing paper, and died at Pleasantville in 1916; David, born in September, 1840, was an oil producer in the Bradford and McDonald fields. and his wide knowledge of the business led

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John Gamle

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to his selection, by prospective purchasers, as investigator of what was thought to be an at- tractive territory in Colorado, where he died while engaged in that work (his home was at Pleasantville) ; Nancy Elizabeth, born Sept. 28, 1842, is the widow of Samuel Queen Brown and resides with her four children in New York City ; Miss Sarah King Lamb, born Oct. 2, 1844, spent ten years with her sister while the latter was living in Philadelphia, subsequently devoted three years to mission- ary work in the South, at Harriman and Huntsville, Tenn., among the mountaineers, and has since resided at the home of her broth- er, Alfred, being now in Pleasantville; Henry Rowan, born April 14, 1849, who died in 1887, was an oil producer in the lower part of Al- legheny county, Pa. On Feb. 1, 1853, John Lamb married (second) Mary Anna May, daughter of Rev. Hezekiah and Margaret (White) May, of Tionesta, Pa., and by this union there was one daughter, Mary S., born April 18, 1854, who married William J. Bleak- ley, of Franklin, Pa., May 17, 1876. Mrs. Mary Anna ( May) Lamb died Nov. 17, 1877.

ALFRED LAMB, now living retired at Pleas- antville, has been a lifelong resident of that portion of Venango county, and like his father has been a strong force in its social and mate- rial progress. Born Dec. 28, 1835, on the home farm in Allegheny township, this county, he was reared there, educated in the local schools, and acquired his early business train- ing in association with his father, whose inter- ests were so varied and extensive as to af- ford unusual opportunity for the development of his judgment and reliability. He continued to live on the farm throughout his active years and kept his interests there and in the im- mediate neighborhood, carrying on general agriculture in the cultivation of the land and making extensive oil developments on the home place as well as on an adjoining tract which he acquired by purchase. The property was kept in trim and attractive condition by judicious improvements in all lines, the old brick house erected by his father was replaced with a modern frame residence, and numerous minor changes added to the value and desira- bility of the old farm. When he left the ' place to give up active cares on account of his advancing years, Mr. Lamb moved into the borough of Pleasantville, where he has since occupied the fine home erected by his brother- in-law, Samuel Queen Brown, in about 1867. Here he has led a comparatively quiet life. with no business responsibilities except such as he chooses to assume. A man of substan- 35

tial character and prompt in attending to all his obligations, he has always been a good citi- zen as well as a competent business man, mind- ful of his duties in every relation of life.

Mr. Lamb married Martha Himrod, daugh- ter of an early and close friend of his mother at Waterford, Pa., who passed away April 6, 1918, after a happy companionship of fifty- two and a half years. Mr. and Mrs. Lamb had no children of their own, but they reared two, a son and a daughter : John H. Lamb was taken into their home when a few days old, his mother having died at his birth, was well educated, being a student of State College, and when he entered business life was given a place in the Bleakley Bank at Franklin, sev- eral years ago accepting his present position as cashier of the Citizens National Bank at New Castle, Pa .; Mary Lamb has lived with her foster parents from the age of four years, caring for them devotedly in their advancing age.

E. CALVIN BEATTY, of Oil City, has devoted his business life to operations in the Pennsylvania and Mid-Continent oil fields, and his extensive holdings and prestige indicate that he possesses the high character and substan- tial qualities for which all the members of his family have been distinguished, as well as the discernment necessary to the efficient admin- istration of his various properties. The Beattys, father and sons, have contributed ma- terially to progress in the conduct of the oil industry no less than to its expansion, their operations representing an appreciable share in its continued growth.

The Beattys are an old Pennsylvania family, whose representatives in every generation have been classed among the worthy and estimable members of their respective communities. They are of that sturdy stock which, origin- ating in Scotland, fled from that country to the North of Ireland during the persecution of the Covenanters, their American ancestor coming thence in the eighteenth century. David Beatty, the great-great-grandfather of E. Cal- vin Beatty, lived in eastern Pennsylvania, and there he and his wife are buried ; her maiden name was Gilmore. Their son Ebenezer Beatty, the great-grandfather. entered his country's service in the Revolution when but eighteen years old, as a drummer boy under Washington, and his posterity have displayed the same spirit. his descendants having been represented in every war since. In 1794 he moved with his family over the Allegheny mountains, settling in Butler county, Pa., on land which is still

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owned by his descendants, and where he was a thrifty farmer throughout his active years. He lived to the age of ninety, and is buried with his wife Jane (Carbray) in Harmony cemetery, Butler county. They were the parents of the following family: David, Henry, Thomas, John and Olive (twins, the latter dying in infancy ), Ebenezer and Charles.

Henry Beatty, son of Ebenezer and Jane (.Carbray) Beatty, was very young when the family moved from east of the mountains, and he spent his life as a farmer in Butler county. He served as a soldier during the war of 1812. His wife Margaret was a daugh- ter of Henry and Elizabeth ( Pizer) Steintorf, and survived him many years, reaching the age of eighty-seven, while he passed away when sixty-seven years old. They were members of the U. P. Church and are buried in the Har- mony Church cemetery in Butler county. They reared children as follows: Henry, Ebenezer S., Elizabeth, Jane, Annie. Mahala, David, John, Margaret and Valentine.

Ebenezer S. Beatty, son of Henry and Mar- garet (Steintorf ) Beatty, was born Dec. 8, 1822, on the old Beatty farm near Harris- ville, Butler county, where he was reared. Being well educated for the times he taught school during his young manhood, from 1845 until 1851, out of school seasons occupying himself with farm work and as a cattle drover, taking stock over the old pike to Philadelphia, and fattening them in Berks county just before turning them into the market. He was in this business until 1865, and meantime, in the early sixties, became interested in a mercantile estab- lishment at Plumer, Venango county, on Cherry run, during the erection of the Humboldt re- finery, continuing to own and operate the busi- ness until 1876. The Humboldt was one of the earliest refineries in this locality, and the first pipe line ran to it, from the Miller Farm. In March, 1867, he removed his home to Venango county and became engaged in the production of oil in the vicinity of Rouseville, where the family resided, continuing to operate in that territory until 1886, in which year he returned to Butler county. From that time until his retirement in 1900 he carried on a hardware business at Harrisville, not far from the old Beatty homestead, and the closing years of his life were spent at Grove City, where his death occurred Oct. 15, 1901. A man of strong char- acter and irreproachable integrity, he filled an influential place among his fellow men, and for twenty-five years held the office of justice of the peace, serving both at Rouseville and Harrisville. He was successful in his oil ven-

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Venango County, Pennsylvania: Her Pioneers and People (Volume 1), Part 107

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

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