2. Helen, of previous mention, married John C. Davis. 3. Elizabeth, mar-
ried Thomas Humes, a farmer of Butler, Pennsylvania. 4. Nancy, married
Rev. J. C. Evans, and died in Nebraska. 5. Harriet, married Alexander
Esdon, deceased; lived in Kansas. 6. Robert H., a physician of Allegheny.
7. Allie, deceased ; married Charles Pillow. 8. Martha, married Dr. Thomas
Galbraith, who went to California in 1849, at the time of the gold discovery,
and was very successful in his search for the precious metal, accumulating
a considerable fortune. Children of John C. and Helen (Gilliford) Davis:
Robert Charles, of whom further; Frank L., a blacksmith, lives in the
west.

(Ill) Robert Charles Davis, eldest of the two sons of John C. and
Helen (Gilliford) Davis, was born in Tarentum, Allegheny county, Penn-
sylvania, January 18, 1857. He attended the public schools of his birth-
place and completed his studies at the academy there located. During the
first few years of his business life he engaged in teaming, hauling oil from
the new wells opened in the vicinity. After his marriage he rented and
cultivated his father-in-law's farm for about seven years, in 1890 moving
to Fairview and establishing a general store. Here he still continues, and
although at the beginning of his enterprise his place of business was small
and unpretentious, his increased trade and growing custom have made
necessary a store carrying a complete line of general merchandise, as well
as all commodities needed by the farmers of the region, feed, harness and
farm implements. He has recently, in connection with the management
of his business, begun farming operations on his father-in-law's farm,
an occupation to which he has been for a long time unaccustomed, but in
which he has had considerable experience. He is a Republican in political
sympathy, and with his wife is a member of the United Presbyterian
Church.

Mr. Davis married, July 7, 1881, Ida Olive, daughter of Silas and
Mary (Reed) Moore. Silas Moore, son of William Moore, a pioneer of
Beaver county, Pennsylvania, was a native of Beaver county, and there
lived all his life, born June i, 1820, died March 2, 1913. He was a land
owner and farmer, noted throughout the county for the excellent grade
of horses he bred and for his fine sheep. He was a Republican and promi-
nent in public affairs and served the township in the capacity of supervisor.
He and his family were members of the Four Mile United Presbyterian
Church. He married Mary, daughter of William Reed, an early settler
of Ohio township, likewise a native of Beaver county, Pennsylvania, who
died August 29, 1894. They were the parents of ten children, of whom
six died when under ten years of age. The others are: i. Mary, married



676 PENNSYLVANIA

Thomas Shane, deceased 2. Agnes. 3. Jennie. The three above men-
tioned Hve on the home farm, Agnes and Jennie, both unmarried. 4. Ida
Ohve, of previous mention, married Robert Charles Davis. Child of Robert
Charles and Ida Olive (Moore) Davis, Zelia, died aged twelve years.



The parents of John Robertson, of Washington county,
ROBERTSON Pennsylvania, were among the pioneer settlers in that

section of the state of Pennsylvania, and bore their
share bravely in the upbuilding of that region. John Robertson was l?orn
in Washington county, and was educated in the district schools of that
day. He was a farmer by occupation, and about 1820 located in Hanover
township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where he followed this calling
until his death, November 16, 1862. He married Elizabeth Shillito, whose
father, George Shillito, had served as a soldier during the War of 1812.
He boarded the students of the Service United Presbyterian Seminary
when the country roundabout was still primeval forest. Dr. Anderson was
teacher and preacher at the time. Mr. Robertson and his family were
members of the United Presbyterian Church, and he supported the Re-
publican party. He had children: George Louis, Alexander Allison, see
forward; Margaret; Nancy, Samuel Shillito, Jane, William Wallace.

(II) Alexander Allison Robertson, son of John and Elizabeth (Shil-
lito) Robertson, was born in Raccoon township, Beaver county, Pennsyl-
vania, September 24, 1823, died May 5, 1912. He attended the public
schools at Service, and at a suitable age was apprenticed to learn the
blacksmith's trade, which he did under the supervision of General John
S. Little, of Hbokstown. He was obliged to abandon this trade when he
took charge of the home farm for his parents, and since that time he has
been engaged in general farming. He has a farm of one hundred and
thirty-seven acres, on which he has erected all the necessary buildings. He
has been a Republican for twenty-one years, and is now a member of the
Prohibition party. He has served as a school director and as a member
of the board of road commissioners. For the unusually long period of half
a century he has served as an elder in the Service United Presbyterian
Church. He married, in October, 1849, Margaret, born December 24,
1830, daughter of Richard Calhoon. Margaret (Calhoon) Robertson is
still living, making her home with her son George S. ; also the sister of
Mr. Robertson, Mrs. Mehaffy, resides with him. A. A. Robertson had chil-
dren: I. Sarah Calhoon, married, February 20, 1870, Joseph Mehaflfy, a
merchant, who died December 27, 1912; children: Lily Dixon; Frederick
Ardon, married Sadie Fulton, of Butler county, Pennsylvania, and had
children: Byron Allison, Arthur, Joseph Harold and Frank Fulton. 2.
George Shillito, see forward.

(III) George Shillito Robertson, son of Alexander Allison and Mar-
garet (Calhoon) Robertson, was born September 3, 1854. Until the age
of twenty-two years he was occupied solely with agricultural pursuits, and



BEAVER COUNTY 677

then took up undertaking in connection with his farm work. In his under-
taking business he attends to a considerable clientele. He keeps a full
equipment and is a certified embalmer, having taken his instructions in
Pittsburgh. He cultivates the farm in Hanover township, near Mechanics-
burg, for general products, and has been very successful. He has been a
member of the Service United Presbyterian Church with his family for many
years, and is a strong supporter of the Prohibition party. He has filled
very capably the offices of township commissioner and of road commissioner.
Mr. Robertson married, June 26, 1879, Mary Eflfey Brunton, of Salem,
Illinois, daughter of William and Cynthia (Morris) Brunton, natives of
Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and Salem, Illinois. Children: Claudie
Oscar, of New Brighton, Pennsylvania, married Emma Barow, of East
Liverpool, Ohio; Maggie May, deceased; Allison Eldon, deceased.



The Robertsons of Scotland are members of the Clan
ROBERTSON Donnachaidh, or Duncan, so called, it is said, from

Duncan, its founder, a descendant of the earls of Athol.
He was born about 1275, and inherited from his father, Andrew, a portion
of the earldom of Athol, and was the first of the lairds of Struan or
Strowan. He was an adherent of Robert Bruce, and entertained and
protected that king and his queen when in hiding after the defeat at
Methven in 1306. The clan has distinguished itself in many wars, and is
said to have saved the day at Bannockburn. Many distinguished men in
Europe and America are descended from the Robertsons of Struan. After
the Scottish rebellions many Robertsons fled to Ireland, whence they or
their descendants came to America. For the most part these were engaged
in agriculture. They have been energetic and progressive, and have engaged
in industrial pursuits greatly to the benefit of the country.

(I) John Robertson, the first of the line under discussion here, was
born in Scotland, and died in county Tyrone, Ireland, whither he had
migrated.

(II) William Robertson, son of John Robertson, was born in Tivaney,
county Tyrone, Ireland, in 1753, died in 1791. He married Margaret
Denny.

(III) Matthew Robertson, son of William and Margaret (Denny)
Robertson, was bom in county Tyrone, Ireland. He and his wife and
children were captured by the British during the War of 1812, and were
taken to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he died at the early age of thirty-
seven years. His widow, Rebecca, with her children : William, Archibald,
James and Margaret — later removed to near Coshocton, Ohio, where, al-
though she had but limited means, she contrived to keep her family together
and raise them up to be good and useful citizens.

(IV) Archibald Robertson, son of Matthew and Rebecca Robertson,
was born in county Tyrone, Ireland. He came to America with his parents
during the War of 1812, when they were taken to Halifax as above related.



678 PENNSYLVANIA

He was but a few years old at this time, and received his education in the
pubHc schools of Ohio, walking four miles to the nearest school. This
was held in a small log cabin with oiled paper in lieu of window panes.
He was early apprenticed to learn the millwright's trade, in which he
became proficient, and at the age of twenty-four years, in 1829, built a
steam paper mill at Beaver Falls and operated it until 1849. He then
erected a water power mill of the same kind at Adamsville (a part of
Beaver Falls). He retired from active business life two or three years
prior to his death which occurred July i, 1871. He was prominently in the
public eye in political matters, representing his section in the state senate
in 1851-52, and was collector of internal revenue, 1866-67-68-69. He and
his family were members of the Presbyterian Church. He married Ann
Ray Baker, of Baltimore, and they had two daughters and four sons.

(V) William (2) Robertson, son of Archibald and Ann Ray (Baker)
Robertson, was born in Old Brighton (Beaver Falls), Beaver county,
Pennsylvania, September 25, 1844. He received his education in the public
schools of New Brighton, and at Dufif's Business College, in Pittsburgh.
Upon the completion of his education he entered the employ of Scott &
Company, as clerk, they being coal shippers at Clinton, Pennsylvania. His
next position was with the Pittsburgh Hinge Company, at Beaver Falls,
this later becoming the Baker Chain Company, and in 1900, the Standard
Chain Company, located in Pittsburgh, Mr. Robertson becoming assistant
treasurer, and in 1903 treasurer of this corporation, and still holding that
office. In 1907 he and his son James L. engaged in the clay shipping bus-
iness, their plant being located in Dougherty township, just outside of
New Brighton. The family home is also in that location, but from 1891
to 1903 they resided at Bellevue, Pennsylvania. Mr. Robertson married,
November 12, 1868, Harriet W. Wendt, of South Side, Pittsburgh, who
died September 26, 191 1. They had three children: Anna R.. married
E. W. Arthur, of Cheswick, Pennsylvania; Margaret, married J. E.
Douglas; James Lovejoy, unmarried. The family attends the Presbyterian
Church.



The family to which William Shannon, of Beaver county,
SHANNON Pennsylvania, belongs, traces its family residence to Ire-
land, the garden spot of the British Isles. The home of
the emigrant ancestor was on the banks of the river Shannon, but whether
the family derived its surname because of its close association with the
river, or the latter was named from the family, is uncertain. However, it
is from that locality that the American ancestor came, and it is highly
probable that some such relation existed between the name of the family
and that of the water-course.

(I) Robert Shannon, the father of William Shannon, was born in
Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, November 18, 1799, died in Beaver
county, Pennsylvania, March 8, 1868. His youthful life was passed in the




^



^



1



BEAVER COUNTY 679

locality of his birth, and after his marriage, which was solemnized in
Butler county, made his home in the region north of Pittsburgh. In 1828-
29 he came to Beaver county and purchased one hundred and six acres of
land in Big Beaver township, continuing in his life-long occupation, that
of farming. The farm was partially cleared and was graced with a log
structure occupied by the former owner. Mr. Shannon's first improvement
was the erection of a barn to shelter his live stock, and after the completion
of that work he finished the task of removing the timber and underbrush
from the land. By the time this was accomplished he felt the need of a
new dwelling and caused a substantial frame building to be raised to take
the place of the cabin that had been the home of Mr. Shannon's predecessor
in possession. Before his death he had acquired two adjoining farms, one
of fifty and the other of ninety acres area, and had both under profitable
cultivation. He was a Democrat in political faith, although not a public
servant, and was, with his wife, a member of the United Presbyterian
Church. He lies beside his wife in the Rocky Spring Cemetery, finishing
out with her his earthly residence in the body, while their spirits are
joined in the land of eternal day. He married, in Butler county, Pennsyl-
vania, Nellie Miller, born February 28, 1797, died in Beaver county, Penn-
sylvania, January 9, 1876. Children of Robert and Nellie (Miller)
Shannon: i. Jerusha, bom August 12, 1820; married John Dillan; died
in Beaver county, Pennsylvania. 2. Aaron, born June 3, 1825, died in
Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. 3. Joseph, born November 27, 1826; a farmer;
married Eliza Jane Beatty ; died in Beaver county, Pennsylvania. 4. Samuel,
born September 25, 1828; a farmer of Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where
he died. 5. Nellie, born June 15, 1830; married Levi Dillan; died in Big
Beaver township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. 6. Robert, born September
19, 1831 ; a farmer of Big Beaver township, where he died. 7. Mary, born
October 2, 1834 ; married William Baker, a farmer ; died in Beaver county,
Pennsylvania. 8. George, born October i, 1836; a farmer of Kansas;
died in that state. 9. Rachel, born November 22, 1838, died young. 10.
William, of whom further.

(II) William Shannon, youngest of the ten children of Robert and
Nellie (Miller) Shannon, was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, on
the farm where he now lives, October 4, 1840. He was educated in the
public schools of Big Beaver township, and by experience on the home farm
was fitted for the life of a farmer, which he has since followed, with the
exception of three years devoted to the cause of the Union. He enlisted
on June 20, 1861, in Company K, Tenth Regiment Pennsylvania Reserves.
Among the battles in which his regiment was actively engaged were Dranes-
ville, Mechanicsville, Gaines' Mill, Charles City Cross Roads, Hethesda
Church, Malvern Hill, Groveton, Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericks-
burg, Gettysburg, Bristoe Station, Mine Run, Wilderness, Spottsylvania,
North Anne River, and Tolopotamy, in all of which he participated. He
was taken prisoner by the enemy at the battle of Fredericksburg and for



68o PENNSYLVANIA

twenty-eight days was confined in Libby Prison, but after that time was
placed under less strict guard, and in the following April was exchanged,
returning to his regiment in the latter part of that month. After his
return from the front he assumed the management of the home farm and
upon the death of his father inherited the place of one hundred acres.
He has prospered in the various operations that he has undertaken, mainly
general farming and stock raising, and has added to the property be-
queathed him, now having one hundred and eighty acres. On this property
he built, in 1890, a spacious barn, well-lighted and ventilated, in which his
stock is surrounded with the most healthful of conditions, their quarters
being warm and snug in winter and as cool as the outside temperature will
permit in summer. In 1908 he remodeled his house, making it still more
comfortable and convenient than in its former condition. A Democrat in
political action, Mr. Shannon has served the township as school director,
supervisor and judge of elections. He is a member of the Union Veteran
Legion.

Mr. Shannon married, November 18, 1867, Mary Alloway, born in
Blair county, Pennsylvania, June 5, 1845, daughter of Ajalon and Eliza
Jane Perkins Alloway. Ajalon Alloway was born in New Jersey, was
a carpenter by trade, and after his marriage in Woodbury, Bedford
county, Pennsylvania, moved to Blair county, in that state, where he
died in November, 1882. His wife was born in Louden, Pennsylvania,
and survived her husband eight years, dying in Blair county, in 1890.
Children of WilHam and Mary (Alloway) Shannon: i. Robert, bom
August 25, 1868; a train-dispatcher in the employ of the Pennsylvania
Railroad; lives in Beaver Falls. 2. Aaron, born November 11, 1870; city
ticket agent at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ; lives at Beaver Falls. 3. James,
born October 25, 1873 ; manages the homestead. 4. Elmer, born May 30,
1876; a physician of Ivoryton, Connecticut. 5. Nellie, born February 11,
1879; married Edmund Blair; lives at Koppel, Pennsylvania. 6. Royal,
born November 11, 1881 ; a stenographer of Beaver Falls. 7. William,
born March 9, 1884; an electrician of Woodlawn. 8. Annie, born October
20, 1887; lives at home, unmarried.

Mr. Shannon has recently celebrated his seventy-third birthday and
for one of that age leads a remarkably active and useful life. He at-
tends to regular duties on his farm and has recently assisted in the
hauling of coal taken from a three-foot vein extending under his entire
farm, strenuous labor for one of his years. In the summer of 1913 he
attended the reunion of the veterans of the northern and southern armies
at the historic battle-field of Gettysburg, and with the thousands of his
old comrades and enemies he lived over in memory the scenes of those
terrible years and joined hands with their former foes. During this
time Mr. Shannon slept in a tent, ate his meals at the common mess,
and observed the military routine that governed the encampment except
during the special features provided for the delectation of the veterans.



BEAVER COUNTY 68i

As did the most of the soldiers, he endured the trip and the stay at the
battle-field excellently, deriving therefrom much of pleasure and en-
joyment. Mr. Shannon attributes the fact of his strong and vigorous
physical condition to his abstinence from tobacco or alcohol in any form,
and is earnest and sincere in his warnings to youths to avoid the cultiva-
tion of habits involving the use of these narcotics, a caution that may
well be heeded, especially when confirmed and reiterated by reputable
and well-known authorities. Mrs. Shannon is also a very well preserved
woman for one of her years and still presides over the homestead, being
as spry and active as many women many years younger.



This well-known Beaver county name was worthily borne by
HOLT the late William Humphrey Holt, a prosperous farmer of
Brighton township, a life-long resident of that township. He
was a son of Samuel Jacob and Mary Ann (Taylor) Holt, and a brother
of Richard Smith Holt, now president judge of the thirty-sixth judicial
district of Pennsylvania. The father, Samuel Jacob Holt, was a farmer
of Brighton township and one of the progressive men of his day.

William Humphrey Holt was bom in Brighton township, Beaver
county, Pennsylvania, September i8, 1858, died January 19, 1912. He
obtained a good education in the public schools of the township, and
remained at the home farm until his marriage. He was early taught the
value of industry and from boyhood until assuming man's responsibilities
was his father's assistant. He began life for himself on a rented farm,
prospered, and later purchased a farm of fifty acres in Brighton township.
Here he erected a comfortable dwelling, and lived a useful and contented
life until his death. He was an active member of the RepubHcan party,
serving his township as school director and in other positions of trust.
He was public- spirited and progressive, holding the confidence and
esteem of his community. He was a warm friend of the Patrons of
Husbandry, labored for the prosperity of the local grange, which he
served also as master. He was also interested in other township enter-
prises and organizations and helpful in all things.

Mr. Holt married, December 17, 1884, Rachel Caroline Hamilton,
born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, daughter of William Densmore and
Amanda Hamilton, both born in Pittsburgh and there married. William
Densmore Hamilton in early life was a carpenter, but in 1870 moved to
Beaver, Pennsylvania, shortly afterward purchasing a farm of one hun-
dred and fifty acres in Brighton township, where both he and his wife
resided until death. Of the eight children of WilHam Densmore Hamil-
ton two yet survive, Mrs. Rachel C. Holt and William Densmore (2)
Hamilton. Children of William Humphrey and Rachel C. Holt: i.
Amanda Viola, who attended the public schools of Beaver county and
a Methodist Episcopal Female College; graduated as a deaconess and
has served as a missionary since; she is now stationed at the Crittenden



682 PENNSYLVANIA

Home, Washington, D. C. ; she was also city missionary at Akron, Ohio,
and served as assistant superintendent of the Crittenden Home there;
she has been very successful in her chosen field. 2. Agnes Ferguson,
married Howard C. Young, has two daughters, Mary Caroline and Ida
May Young; resides in Ohio township. 3. John K., died aged two years.
4. Richard Smith, named for his uncle. Judge Richard S. Holt. 5. Mary
Ann, married Wade F. Rail. 6. and 7. William Humphrey (2) and
Samuel J., twins. 8. Sarah Elizabeth. Mrs. Rachel Holt survives her
husband and continues her residence in Brighton township.



Altoona, Pennsylvania, was the birthplace of Thomas Rice,
RICE born in 1845, who for many years was connected with rail-
roading, bridge-building, and steel manufacturing in the em-
ploy of the Carnegie Steel Company. Having filled the required term of
service and having attained the necessary age he was retired from active
labor and is a beneficiary of his former employer's pension system.
Thomas Rice married (first) Margaret Quinn, born at St. Mary's, Mary-
land, in 1848, died in 1880; (second) Mary Keliher, of Hamilton, Canada,
died in 1913. His residence is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mr. Rice
is a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Roman Catholic Church.
By his first marriage he became the father of five children, of whom
four died in childhood, the fifth, William C, of further mention. He has
one child by his second marriage, John M., an engineer, who has been
identified with the Pittsburgh filtration plant, chief draughtsman during
construction, the Pittsburgh City Engineering Corps and the Alabama
Power Company, of Birmingham, Alabama, in the capacity of chief
draughtsman and designing engineer, holding the latter position with
the two last named; he is at present connected with Morris Knowles, the
eminent consulting engineer of Pittsburgh.

William C. Rice, son of Thomas and Margaret (Quinn) Rice, was
born in Pittsburgh, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, June 12, 1874. He
obtained his early education in St. Mary's Parochial School and received
instruction in business forms and methods in a night class at Duff's
Business College, of Pittsburgh. After completing his education he
began a connection with steel manufacturing and construction that lasted
for many years, his beginning being made in the capacity of rivet heater
for the Keystone Bridge Company at Pittsburgh. This continued for
one year, when he became a machinist in the employ of the H. K. Porter
Locomotive Works, remaining there four years. He next held positions
with the Pittsburgh Car Works, the New York Car Wheel Company, of
New York City, and the Consolidated Traction Company, of Newark,
New Jersey, holding the position of foreman in the latter company. He
then entered the employ of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge Company,
m the mechanical department, leaving after a year's service to engage
in the erection of pig iron casting machinery for the Carnegie Steel



BEAVER COUNTY 683

Company at the Lucy Furnace Plant, Pittsburgh, and in the direction of
experiments in the manner of construction best adapted to their uses.
He was afterward employed in a similar capacity for the firm of Jones
& Laughlin, still later spending a year at Struthers, Ohio, and the same
length of time at the Carrie Furnace department of the Homestead Steel
Works. For the next three years he held the position of inspector with
the Carnegie Steel Company, after which time he discontinued all his
relations with the industry he had followed for so long and with which