Venango County, Pennsylvania: Her Pioneers and People (Volume 1), Part 97

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 97

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George Shattuck Selden was born Dec. 3, 1822, at Meadville, Pa., and there acquired most of his education, taking a course at Alle- gheny College and later reading law with Judge David Derrickson, of that city. where he was admitted to the bar Dec. 17, 1843. He immediately located in Pittsburgh, where he was admitted to practice a few weeks later, Jan. 17, 1844, and where he built up a large law practice during his residence in that city, making a specialty of patent cases, which he was well qualified to handle, being himself an inventor of considerable merit and possessing practical as well as legal knowledge for that department of practice. He was one of the pioneers in the extraction of oil from cannel coal, being interested in that business in 1855 at Kiskiminetas, Pa., but after establishing a profitable trade in that line he found it demol- ished. like that of many other oil manufac- turers, with the discovery of natural mineral oil in great quantities. In 1861 he returned to Meadville, six years later removing to Phila- delphia. where he followed his profession, part of the time in partnership with Hon. William Freame Johnson, at one time governor of Pennsylvania, occupying an influential position among the legal fraternity. He died Sept. 27, 1894. at Homestead, Pa. Mr. Selden was an Episcopalian in religious connection, and served as vestryman of St. Peter's Church, in Pittsburgh, in 1853, later holding the same position in St. John's Church, Pittsburgh.

On Sept. 22, 1842, Mr. Selden married Elizabeth Wright Clark, daughter of Connor and Jane ( Brooks) Clark, her father a mer- chant of Meadville. Her mother was a daugh- ter of Judge John Brooks. Mrs. Selden was a great-granddaughter of Lieut. Aaron Wright. who served in the Revolution and in the war of 1812. Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. George Shattuck Selden, namely: (1) George

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de Vincent, born Nov. 25, 1843, was a Union soldier at the time of his death, which occurred at Frederick, Md., Sept. 17, 1863, from wounds received at Gettysburg July 3d. He entered the service in 1861, serving on the staff of Gen. James H. Lane in Missouri, later entered the service in 1862 as second lieutenant of Company H, 150th Pennsylvania Volunteers, and had been commissioned second lieutenant of Company H, 2d United States Cavalry, on April 6, 1863, serving with that regiment when injured. (2) Connor Clark, born Sept. 8, 1845, enlisted July 1, 1863, in Company F, 58th Pennsylvania Regiment. On Dec. 9, 1884, he married Mary Wilson, and they have two children, Sophie Louise and Mary Louise. (3) Leon Shattuck, born Aug. 14, 1847, died July 11, 1848. (4) Jennie Louise, born April 10. 1849, died March 7, 1850. (5) Sophie Louise, born Sept. 25, 1851, married Sept. 26, 1876, Harry Rogers. (6) Elizabeth Shattuck, born July 11, 1853, died March 20, 1854. (7) Arthur Cullum, born Feb. 20, 1855, married June 21, 1894. Annie Russell, and has one son, George de Vincent. (8) Elizabeth Pennock, born Sept. 11, 1857, married Sept. 30, 1884, Alexander Henry Lane, and their two children are Edwin Selden and Mildred Hansell. (9) Edwin Van Deusen was next in the family. (10) Jane Clark, born Sept. 9, 1860, died Aug. 27, 1910.

Edwin Van Deusen Selden was born Dec. 23, 1858. at Lawrenceville (now a part of the city of Pittsburgh), Allegheny Co., Pa. The family returning to Meadville in 1861 and re- moving to Philadelphia six years later, he acquired his early education in public and private schools in those cities, closing with a course in the Episcopal Academy at Phil- adelphia. His father and grandfather having attained distinction in the legal profession it was quite natural that he should have felt some inclination toward it, but after a year's study in his father's office, begun in 1876, he turned to business pursuits-and has never had any reason to regret his choice. In 1877 he went to Parker's Landing. Pa., at that time a great oil center. to clerk for his brother, and his mental agility was even then manifested in the rapidity with which he mastered the details of the business, although it was new to him. Before long he had established himself at Oil City, where in 1878 he became a member of the Oil Exchange, one of the leading centers of oil transactions in the world. His own oper- ations made him one of its foremost repre- sentatives, and he was its president for a num- ber of years, taking a prominent part in its

activities during the most exciting period of the oil market and participating in some of the most memorable scenes ever witnessed in any commercial exchange. He was a well known figure on the floor for twenty years or more. With his usual vision and ability to grasp the meaning of transitions in ideas and methods, Colonel Selden was one of the first of the petroleum brokers to realize that speculation in oil certificates had had its day, and he with- drew from that branch to devote himself to refining Pennsylvania oil. being a prime mover in the establishment of the Crystal Oil Works at Rouseville, in which he has since been heavily interested. He formed a partnership with Hon. James A. Fawcett in 1897 for the foundation of this business, and though they met with formidable competition at the outset they persevered until it was established upon a solid basis. Colonel Selden also has heavy investments as an oil producer. His other business interests include responsible financial connections. He was formerly president of the Venango Security, Building & Loan Associa- tion, and at the same time of the Home Savings & Loan Association, of which he is still the 'executive head.

For a number of years Colonel Selden was a prominent member of the Pennsylvania Na- tional Guard, having been first lieutenant and quartermaster of the 16th Regiment of In- fantry from 1888 to 1895; colonel of the 21st Regiment of Infantry from 1898 to 1900; and lieutenant colonel and division inspector of rifle practice from 1900 to 1905, on the staff of Gen. Charles Miller. Socially he holds membership in the Pennsylvania Society of Founders and Patriots of America, the Col- onial Society of Pennsylvania, the Pennsyl- vania Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Ivy and Venango Clubs, and the Masonic fraternity. affiliating with Petrolia Lodge, No. 363, F. & A. M. : Oil City Chapter. No. 236, R. A. M .; Talbot Commandery, No. 42, K. T .; Venango Lodge of Perfection; Pittsburgh Consistory, thirty-second degree; and Zem Zem Temple. A. A. O. N. M. S., of Erie, Pa. His religious connection is with Christ Protestant Episcopal Church of Oil City, which he serves as vestryman and mem- ber of the official board. Colonel Selden has one of the finest libraries in Venango county.

On Jan. 2. 1901, Colonel Selden was mar- ried at Oil City to Cornelia Fuller Earp, who was born Aug. 22, 1873, in Grand Rapids, Mich .. and they have five children, born as follows : John Earp. Jan. 28, 1902; Edwin Van Deusen, Jr., July 5, 1903; Elizabeth, March

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27, 1905; George Samuel, Feb. 1, 1907; Wil- gospel and a citizen, he was equally prominent. liam Kirkpatrick, Nov. 11, 1911.

Rev. Dr. Samuel Earp, father of Mrs. Sel- den, was born May 31, 1844, in West Brom- witch, Staffordshire, England, not far from the city of Birmingham, son of William and Ann (Tansey) Earp. He accompanied his parents to this country when six years old, the family living first at Scranton, Pa., and later at Danville, this State, where Samuel was pre- pared for college in the old Danville Academy under Prof. James Kelso. He was graduated from St. John's College, Maryland, with the degree of bachelor of arts, receiving the mas- ter's degree in later years from Hobart College, and that of doctor of philosophy from Wash- ington and Jefferson College. Though only a boy when the Civil war broke out, he enlisted in a Danville company of militia which was on its way to Antietam when the battle was fought there, and which was subsequently disbanded.

For a year after his graduation from college Dr. Earp was engaged in tutoring at Burling- ton College, in New Jersey, after which he took a three years' course in the General Theo- logical Seminary of New York, being ordained to the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1868. For twenty-one years he was actively engaged in ministerial duties, at the end of which he retired from parochial work and settled at Oil City, Pa., in 1889. His vari- ous charges were at Sewickley, Pa., where he remained for two years ; Grand Rapids, Mich., where he was rector of St. Mark's, the leading parish in the western part of the State; St. Andrew's, New York City, 1877 to 1879; Washington, Pa., where he remained for nearly seven years, there founding Trinity Hall, a school for boys, for Bishop Kerfoot, of Pitts- burgh, and being its first rector ; and St. An- drew's, at Ann Arbor, Mich. While at Grand Rapids he was largely instrumental in the set- ting apart of the diocese of western Michigan, and was a candidate for its first bishop, in 1874, losing by only a few votes. From the time of his removal to Oil City he devoted himself to educational work. continuing teach- ing up to the time of his death, which occurred June 17, 1906. For sixteen years he was a foremost educator of Oil City, his great schol- arship and special aptitude for imparting knowledge leaving a profound impress upon the character of those who came under his care. At the time of his death the Oil City Derrick said of him: "In Dr. Earp this com- munitv has lost a broad-minded, earnest man. and an influence for good that can not be over- estimated. As a teacher, a minister of the

His personal qualities, high character and courteous bearing endeared him to all, and his death will cause a deep feeling of sorrow in many hearts outside of the circle of his immediate relatives and most intimate friends."

On Dec. 22, 1868, Dr. Earp married Mary Elizabeth Johnston, daughter of Col. Robert and Jane ( Kirkpatrick ) Johnston, and a descendant of Maj. John Johnston, of Cumber- land county, Pa., a Revolutionary officer. Four children were born to this union: John Kirk- patrick, born Nov. 18, 1869, is a business man of Oil City, where he resides; Mary Baldy, born Feb. 26, 1871, died Dec. 9, 1873; Cor- nelia Fuller is the wife of Col. Edwin Van Deusen Selden; William Henry Hinsdale, born Mav 30, 1876, died Feb. 24, 1898.

JOHN BOWMAN GLENN, M. D., of Franklin, is one of the oldest physicians in active practice in Venango county, a veteran member of the county medical society, and one of the most popular men in the profession in this section of Pennsylvania. Dr. Glenn belongs to a family which has been settled in this part of the State for over a century, and whose representatives in every generation have shown creditable ideals of service in choosing their life work. His success as a med- ical practitioner, and helpful activities in his personal and civic relations, is his individual expression of the high moral standards and strict sense of responsibility which have char- acterized the members of the family generally. His father, Rev. Robert Glenn, was an earnest minister of the gospel in Venango county for more than twenty-five years, exerting an influ- ence for good which could not fail to be of permanent benefit.

The Glenns are of Scotch-Irish origin. James Glenn, great-grandfather of Dr. John B. Glenn, was the first of the family in this region, removing to Butler county from York county. Pa., prior to the year 1800. He was one of the early farmers in his district, and most respected as a citizen. His wife was a sister of Lord Nelson, of England, and they spent the remainder of their lives in Butler county, where they are buried. Among their children was a son Samuel.

Samuel Glenn, son of James Glenn, was a young man when he accompanied his father from York county to western Pennsylvania before 1800. He was occupied as a farmer and bridge builder. Later he located in the adjoining county of Mercer, in Pennsylvania. .where he died when about eighty years of

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age. He married a Miss Cunningham, of what was then Pinegrove township, Butler county, and they had four children, namely: Robert ; Cunningham, who died when a young man, leaving two sons and one daughter ; Mrs. John Pew, who died in Mercer county ; and Mrs. Joseph Pew (the sisters married brothers), who lived in West Virginia.

Rev. Robert Glenn, son of Samuel Glenn. was born March 22, 1802, in Wolf Creek township, Mercer Co., Pa. He was highly ed- ucated and became one of the early ministers of the Presbyterian Church in western Penn- sylvania. After attending the academy at Canonsburg, Washington Co., Pa., and grad- uating from Jefferson College, at Canonsburg, in 1828, he entered the Western Theological Seminary, at Allegheny, and on the 3d of Feb- ruary, 1831, at a meeting of the Presbytery of Erie held at Mercer, Pa., was licensed to preach. The ensuing year he spent chiefly in supplying the vacant pulpits of the congrega- tions at Amity, Mill Creek and Sandy Lake. At a meeting of the Presbytery of Erie held at Mill Creek, Sept. 12, 1832, he was ordained and installed pastor of the congregation at Mill Creek, Venango county, also giving part of his time to Amity and Sandy Lake. He made his home at Mill Creek, where he had a farm and reared his family. On April 3, 1850, Mr. Glenn discontinued serving the charge at Amity and about the same time that at Sandy Lake. and on June 18, 1850, became the pastor of the Big Sugar Creek Church, supplying both Big Sugar Creek and Mill Creek until his death, which occurred Sept. 6, 1857. He is buried in Mill Creek Church cemetery. Mr. Glenn did notable work in advancing facilities for education in his neighborhood. Largely through his influence select schools were or- ganized and competent teachers secured, and when no more suitable place could be had the church building at Mill Creek was used for school purposes-a modern idea which then found little favor among the strict Presbyte- rians who worshipped there. It was princi- pally due to his efforts that the commodious building of the Utica Academy, since de- stroyed by fire, was erected in 1855.

Mr. Glenn married, in Mercer county, Re- becca Wycoff, who was born in Crawford county, Pa., a daughter of John Wycoff and of Holland-Dutch ancestry. John Wycoff set- tled in Blooming Valley, Crawford Co., Pa., and later in Mercer county. Mrs. Glenn died fifteen years after her marriage, leaving the following children: Sarah J., who was the wife of Thomas Alexander, of Mercer county,

died in 1878; Eliza B. became the wife of Rev. W. W. Mckinney, a Presbyterian minister, who later located in Philadelphia, where he publishes the church paper known as "The Presbyterian"; Caroline F. married James Cassidy, of Utica, Pa., and died June 8, 1863; William Wycoff Glenn died in Coos county, Oregon; Samuel M. Glenn became a Presby- terian minister, educated in the same institu- tions as his father, and is now living at Woos- ter, Ohio, past seventy years old (for a time he was the Presbyterian minister at Clinton- ville, Venango county) ; and Dr. John Bow- man Glenn. For his second wife Rev. Robert Glenn married Mary Ann McCracken, who lived only eight months afterwards. On Dec. 10, 1849. he married (third) Harriet Finley, of Evansburg, Crawford Co., Pa., who sur- vived him. Three children were born to this marriage: Hon. Robert F., an attorney at law in practice at Franklin, Pa., served as a member of the legislature from this district and also as mayor of Franklin ; George Stuart, born Aug. 12, 1855, died Feb. 18, 1873; Har- riet A. resides in the city of Franklin.

John Bowman Glenn was born Dec. 2, 1838, at Mill Creek, in French Creek town- ship, Venango Co., Pa., and spent his early life upon the homestead at Mill Creek. He received his primary education in the local schools, later attending the academy at Utica, this county, and in his early manhood taught school, in Canal township. Utica and North Sandy Creek township. this county. On June I, 1861, he enlisted in Company C, 10th Penn- sylvania Reserves, and served three years in the Civil war, receiving his discharge June 2, 1864. He took part in all the engagements of his company during that period. After his military experience he returned to Venango county and resumed teaching, but had contin- ued it only one term in public school when he began the study of medicine, with Drs. John- ston and Cochran, of Cochranton, Crawford Co., Pa. He completed the regular course at Jefferson Medical College in 1872, and at the time of his graduation became a life member of the Alumni. Meantime he had acquired considerable practical experience in the pro- fession, having begun practice at Polk, Ve- nango county, in 1867. In the fall of 1867. he located at Freedom, in Rockland township. Venango county, where he carried on the gen- eral practice of medicine until his removal to Franklin in November, 1887. There he is still engaged. and though in his eighty-first year retains his zest for all the interests of life, at- tending to his daily duties with little abate-

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ment of energy and enthusiasm. He has kept pace with the advancements in the practice and theory of medicine, and has supported the va- rious activities of the profession whose ob- ject tended toward the diffusion of knowledge and general enlightenment, especially in mat- ters of hygiene. He became a member of the Venango County Medical Society in 1867, at its second meeting, has served as president of this body, and has always been one of its val- ued members. He became a member of the Pension Examining Board during the admin- istration of President Chester A. Arthur, in 1881, and is still serving in that capacity. For ten years he was physician at the County Home, and for the last five years has been the physician to the jail, still acting as such. Dr. Glenn's breadth of character and farsighted- ness fit him well for the larger responsibilities of his calling, though they have made him no less useful in the more restricted activities of private practice. By doing his share in both he has widened his own experience and been enabled to do more for mankind generally.

In November, 1867, Dr. Glenn married Isa- bella Mitchell, daughter of Samuel Mitchell, of Polk, Pa., later of Franklin, Pa. She died in 1910. Their only child, Harriet, is now the wife of Charles Brelling, of Franklin.

Dr. Glenn is a Democrat in political opin- ion, and a faithful supporter of his party.

JAMES A. FAWCETT is a name of most honorable associations in Oil City, where Mr. Fawcett's interests have centered for over a quarter of a century. Like many successful business men of that city he has found his chief interest in the oil business, and though his investments are mostly local he has a na- tional reputation among oil men in the several branches of the industry, being one of the progressive spirits who have joined forces for its advancement and protection. He is equally popular for his achievements in behalf of his home community, which he has served offi- cially and unofficially with unselfish zeal, some of the most significant improvements having been made during his residence there.

Mr. Fawcett came to Oil City from Cleve- land, Ohio, where he was born Aug. 1, 1861. It was during the year of his birth that his uncle, James A. Fawcett, started one of the first refineries at Oil City, operating it until his untimely death in 1865, when he was killed in an accident on the Erie railroad at Susque- hanna, Pa .. He is remembered as a man of ability, of excellent character and fine per- sonality. In May, 1887, Thomas F. Wright

had established the Crystal Oil Works, located at Rouseville, near Oil City, Pa., in which John W. Fawcett and his son James A. had taken some stock. When Mr. Wright's health became impaired, in 1890, James A. Fawcett came here to relieve him of the management temporarily and give him a chance to recuper- ate. But Mr. Wright did not regain his health as he expected, and Mr. Fawcett continued here in charge, he and his father eventually buying the plant. In 1904 James A. Fawcett became sole owner, withdrawing entirely from the Cleveland works. From the comparatively insignificant beginning of four hundred barrels of crude oil daily capacity, and with no facili- ties for the manufacture of by-products, Mr. Fawcett has built up the Crystal Oil Works to a foremost concern. In 1906 Col. E. V. D. Selden acquired a half ownership, which gave increased resources and made enlarge- ment of the plant possible. The plant has been gradually increased to a capacity of one thou- sand barrels of crude oil daily, and the neces- sary machinery installed for the manufacture of wax as well as the numerous other by- products which science has taught the refiners to obtain. The company has catered especially to railroad trade, being one of the largest in- dependent distributors of oils particularly adapted for such use, and enjoys a large for- eign patronage, the output going to practically every civilized land on the globe. The plant now covers eight acres of ground, and holds an important place in the prosperity of Oil City, giving profitable employment to forty-two men constantly. The company owns fifty tank cars, which are kept in regular service distributing the product.

Aside from the Crystal Oil Works Mr. Fawcett has a number of important interests, some of a business character, and others con -. nected with the welfare of his fellow men, in individual and community life. He was a director of the Pure Oil Company before it passed into the ownership of the Ohio Cities Gas Company ; was secretary of the Oil City and Titusville Refiners' Association; and a member of the National Petroleum Associa- tion. His effective participation in the ac- tivities of these various organizations made him an influential figure in oil circles. In his earlier manhood he took an enthusiastic in- terest in military matters, being connected with Brooks Military Academy at Cleveland, and the Cleveland Gatling Gun Battery, so it is not surprising he should have volunteered his services when the United States entered the war with Germany. This he did and was

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commissioned a major, serving until the ar- mistice was signed, Nov. 11, 1918.

From the time he established his residence at Oil City Mr. Fawcett has been prominent in local affairs. Though a Democrat in a Re- publican community with a normal majority of six hundred votes, he was elected mayor by a handsome majority in the fall of 1895, and served from 1896 to 1899, with a record which justified the support that he had received as a candidate. It was during his term that the excellent water system which the city now enjoys was installed, as well as the electric light plant, adequate sewerage facilities, and other noteworthy improvements looking to the conservation of the health and general well- being of the townspeople. Mr. Fawcett has indeed been an open advocate of the best in- stitutions promoted in the city, and every worthy enterprise counting him among its valued supporters. He has been one of the friends of the Y. M. C. A .; a leading member of the Episcopal Church, serving as one of the vestry and secretary of that body; and was one of the organizers of the local lodge of B. P. O. Elks and of the Venango Club. As a Democrat he has been quite prominent in the work of the party in Venango county, and has served as county chairman. He was once nominated as the candidate for the State legis- lature from this district, but was defeated, though he polled an overwhelming home vote. Whether in personal, business or official asso- ciations, no man in the city has more loyal friends.

In 1885 Mr. Fawcett married Carrie C. White, of Cleveland, and they have three chil- dren, Earl W., John W. and Helen. Both the sons completed the course in the Oil City high school, attended Dr. Earp's private school in Oil City, and later graduated from the Jacob Tome School for Boys at Port De- posit, Md. Earl W. Fawcett is now general manager for the Midland Refining Company at Eldorado, Kans. John W. Fawcett is a lieutenant in the quartermaster's department, U. S. A., now serving in France. Helen is the wife of Wellington G. Weidler, of Oil City, now a captain in the quartermaster's depart- ment.

PETER MOORE SPEER was born in Oak- land township, Venango Co., Pa., Dec. 29, 1862. He received his early education in the country schools and at the age of fifteen began teach- ing school. Continuing to teach for several years, he thus earned the money to attend col- lege, meanwhile preparing for college by pri-

vate study. . He entered Allegheny College, Meadville, Pa., as a freshman, attending there one year; also studied at Westminster Col- lege, New Wilmington, Pa., one term, and atterward entered the senior class of Washing- ton and Jefferson College, at Washington, Pa., where he graduated in 1887 with the degree of A. B., being awarded the honor of a com- mencement oration. In 1890 he delivered the master's oration and was awarded the degree of A. M.

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Venango County, Pennsylvania: Her Pioneers and People (Volume 1), Part 97

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

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