he had gained a commanding familiarity. Real estate operations next
claimed his attention and he located at Swissvale, Pennsylvania, be-
coming a partner in the firm of Rice & Facius, a connection still binding,
the company maintaining offices in both Pittsburgh and Swissvale.
While a resident of the latter town, Mr. Rice was elected a member of
the borough council. In 1906 he came to Midland in the employ of the
Midland Steel Company sold its interests to the Crucible Steel Corn-
town. This position he filled with the greatest satisfaction to his em-
ployers, attending to the sale of ground, laying out and naming of the
streets, superintending the erection of houses for the employees of the
company and collecting the rents therefor. When in August, 1912, the
Midland Steel Company sold their interests to the Crucible Steel Com-
pany, Mr. Rice had so ably discharged the duties of his responsible
position that he was requested to remain in his former capacity, an
offer he accepted. Possibly no one has been so closely connected with
all of the influences that have had their effect upon the expansion and
growth of Midland as Mr. Rice. Beginning his relations therewith
when it consisted of nothing but eleven hundred acres of farm land,
•owned by Messrs. Neele, Kane, Briicker and McCoy, he has watched
the seeds of population sprout and its habitations grow until the town
now numbers five thousand inhabitants. His part in the development
of Midland has been that of the diligent promoter and in all matters of
municipal organization and government his services have been freely
and willingly rendered. He is a director of the Midland Savings and
Trust Company, in whose formation he assisted. He is an Independent
in political action, and with his wife belongs to the Roman Catholic
Church. Mr. Rice holds membership in the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, of Rochester, the Knights of Columbus, the Pittsburgh
Athletic Club, and the Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Rice married, in February, 1907, Tirzah M. Farrell, of Pitts-
"burgh, daughter of William J. and Ida (McLaughlin) Farrell. William J.
Farrell was a member of an old Maryland family, and was born in Cum-
berland, that state. Following contracting as an occupation he came to
Pittsburgh where he married in 1880, and where he was residing at his
death in 1905. His wife, Ida, was a daughter of James and Tirzah
(Patch) McLaughHn, her mother a native of England and her father
of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her father was captain of a steamboat



684 PENNSYLVANIA

plying the Ohio river, and during the Civil war was in the Union service.
The mother of Mrs. Farrell is still living, aged eighty-two years. Wil-
liam J. and Ida (McLaughlin) Farrell were the parents of eleven chil-
dren, of whom seven are living.

Children of William C. and Tirzah M. (Farrell) Rice: George H.,
William C. (2), Thomas J. Mr. Rice's home is in Beaver, Pennsylvania,
although business interests require that he spend much of his time in
Midland and Pittsburgh.



Brauer is a name which is frequently heard in this country,
BRAUER and the original holder of it was probably engaged in
brewing, as it literally signifies a brewer.

(I) John Brauer was born in Germany, October 17, 1836, died March
25, 1914. He went with his wife to Pomeroy, Meigs county, Ohio, in
the year 1870. He remained there until 1881, working in the salt mines,
and then removed to Freedom, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where he
obtained employment in the tumbler works. In 1898 he retired to spend
the remainder of his days in quiet and comfort. He was an Independent
in his political opinions, and was a member of the Catholic Church. He
married, in Germany, Catherine Bauer, born November 8, 1843, and has
children : Frank W., see forward ; Catherine, John Jr., Henry and Tillie,
all now living.

(II) Frank W. Brauer, son of John and Catherine (Bauer) Brauer,
was born in Germany, April 5, 1867. He was but three years of age
when he was brought to this country by his parents, and he was reared
and educated in Pomeroy, Ohio. When he came to Freedom, Beaver
county, Pennsylvania, he also found employment in the tumbler factory,
and remained with this concern until 1889. He then removed to East
Liverpool, Ohio, where he worked in a glass house for a period of six
years, and in 1895 returned to Freedom. He obtained a position in the
wholesale house of P. F. Lewis, and in 1904 became associated with
Simon E. Holsinger, wholesale liquor dealer. About two years later he
severed this connection and removed to Aliquippa, where he established
himself in business as a dealer in newspapers, books, confectionery, and
combined with this a five and ten-cent store. He has been very suc-
cessful in this enterprise. He gives his political support to the Republi-
can party, and is a member of the Catholic Church.

Mr. Brauer married, February 10, 1904, Mary Magdalena, bom in
Germany, October 5, 1879, daughter of Jacob and Rosena (Ullrich)
Waechtler, natives of Germany, the former named born September 18,
1856, and the latter named born October 31, 1855, who came to Pitts-
burgh in 1891, removed to Aliquippa in 1895, and still reside there. They
have children : Mary Magdalena, mentioned above ; Conrad, Barbara and
George. Mr. and Mrs. Brauer have children; George Francis, born
November 8, 1904; Herman, born May 17, 1907; Anna, born November
12, 1908; Catherine, born April 6, 1910.




^enyu •^lajord



BEAVER COUNTY 685

This is a German name, represented in Beaver county,
MAJORS Pennsylvania, seemingly by the descendants of several
immigrants who came to Pennsylvania at various times
from the middle of the eighteenth century down to recent years.

(I) Samuel Majors was born and reared in Virginia, from whence
he migrated to Dougherty township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania.

(II) George Majors, son of Samuel Majors, was born in Beaver
county, Pennsylvania, in 1805, died in 1888. He was the owner of two
fine farms, one in Daugherty township, the other in New Sewickley
township. He was a Democrat, and he and his wife were members of
the Methodist church. He married Martha Musser, also a native of
Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and they had children: Mary, married
John Eaton, both deceased; Sarah Jane, now deceased, married Jackson
Boggs; Martha, married CorneHus Miller, and lives in New Sewickley
township ; Abner, see forward ; Robinson, died unmarried at the age of
twenty-two years.

(III) Abner Majors, son of George and Martha (Musser) Majors,
was born in Daugherty township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, May 4,
1837, died September 4, 1910. He was reared on the homestead farm,
and upon the death of his father he purchased the interests in this farm
of the other heirs, and in the course of time added more land to it, so
that at the time of his death it contained one hundred and twenty-seven
acres. While he was engaged to a certain extent in general farming,
he made more of a specialty of fruit growing, and his orchard fruits and
strawberries were justly celebrated. He and his wife were members of the
Presbyterian Church, and he gave his political support to the Republican
party. He married, August 26, 1854, Mary Ann Paine, born in Daugherty
township, Beaver county, November 18, 1836. She was a daughter of David
Paine, who died in 1844, and Ura (Majors) Paine, who died in 1888, and
who married (second) Conrad Frederick, but had no children by her second
marriage. Mary Ann (Paine) Majors had sisters and brothers as follows:
Eliza, married Sam Musser, both deceased; Nancy, married John Hickey,
both deceased; Samuel, died in early youth; Samuel, deceased. Abner and
Mary Ann (Paine) Majors had children: William, died at the age of three
weeks; John, died unmarried at the age of fifty-three years; a son, died
when a few weeks old; George Henry, see forward; Alfred, a farmer, mar-
ried Anna McKee, and lives in Daugherty township; Harley, also a farmer,
married Rebecca Stanley; Frank C, married Mary Rhodes; Benjamin, a
farmer, married Elsie Blinn ; Hugh, married Mary E. Swartz ; Emma, mar-
ried Joseph Brewer.

(IV) George Henry Majors, son of Abner and Mary Ann (Paine)
Majors, was born in Daugherty township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, No-
vember 28, 1859. He attended what was known as the Kettlewood District
School, where he acquired a fairly good education for that time. He was
the able assistant of his father in the conduct and management of the farm,



686 PENNSYLVANIA

and after his marriage he purchased nineteen acres for himself. He con-
tinued to work for his father until 1905, and since that time has devoted
himself to the raising of asparagus, grapes, and orchard fruits of fine
varieties. In 191 1 he built a new house for himself which is fitted up with
all modern conveniences. He takes a deep interest in whatever concerns
the welfare of the community, and gives his political allegiance to the Re-
publican party. He and his wife are members of the Oak Grove Presby-
terian Church. Mr. Majors married, April 6, 1905, Mary Christina Koch,
bom in Franklin township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, May 29, 1862,
daughter of Powell and Christina (Swientzburg) Koch, the former having
been a farmer, and both now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Majors have no
children.



It is interesting and curious to note that of the three gen-
McGEORGE erations of this branch of the McGeorge family in a direct
line who have been residents in America and the United
States, only one has been American-born, the emigrant, William, claiming
Scotland as his birthplace, his son, William, first seeing light on the high
seas, and finally James, a native of Beaver county, Pennsylvania. As to
the name McGeorge, and the fact of the residence of the family in the ex-
treme southern portion of Scotland, there is a tradition to the effect that
they were originally of the McGregor clan, but that, because of religious
differences, they renounced relation to that race of warriors and founded
the family of McGeorge in the south of Scotland.

In this region this record begins with two brothers, the first of a line
of three Williams and Cornelius. Cornelius McGeorge entered the Pres-
byterian ministry and gave his life to the service of that church, leaving
Scotland and coming to the colonies in 1768, settling in Chenango county,
New York, there laboring in the cause of the Master until his death, or-
ganizing several small churches throughout the county and holding services
in all its districts as frequently as he could complete the circuit of towns
and villages.

(I) William McGeorge remained in his native land, and over its hills
and in its valleys watched his sheep until his death, just as over the sea,
three thousand miles distant, his brother shepherded his human flocks and
guided them into the fold. William McGeorge had a son, William, the
American emigrant.

(II) William (2) McGeorge, before his departure for the colonies,
married Julia Haden. The story of his courtship and successful wooing
has a touch of human nature that renders it of more than passing interest.
Julia Haden was the daughter of a retired sea captain, who in his maritime
ventures had amassed abundant wealth. Although the father of his daugh-
ter's suitor was a gentleman highly regarded in the neighborhood and was the
possessor of a comfortable fortune from the successful tending of his flocks,
Captain Haden was irrevocably opposed to the match, even, so the story



BEAVER COUNTY 687

runs, going to the lengths of offering his daughter as many gold pieces as
would cover the top of a Spanish table. That the young English girl (her
father's estate was just across the boundary) married William (2) Mc-
George in 1792 is sufficient proof of the futility of her father's efforts to
dissuade her from the course upon which she had decided. The following
year they immigrated to the United States, their first child being born on
the way across, and settled in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, about ten
miles south of the city of Pittsburgh. He never purchased in that county,
but in 1798 journeyed to Darlington township, Beaver county, and there
bought a farm, although he did not make his home there until 1806. In
Allegheny county he rented farms, which he cultivated with profitable suc-
cess, each fall making a practice of loading a large wagon, drawn by four
horses, with the products of his farm, and crossing the mountains to Phila-
delphia, where he sold his products, receiving in payment provisions and
other articles and commodities necessary and difficult to obtain in the west.
Upon his return to his home, he drove through the surrounding neighbor-
hood with his loaded team, finding a ready market for his goods and reap-
ing a much larger profit than had be accepted cash for his farm products.
He was a shrewd business man and in a later day and generation, with wider
fields of endeavor and opportunity, would have proved his worth among the
ablest of financiers. In the season when farm work was not particularly
pressing he sold goods between Pittsburgh and Qeveland, carrying his
wares in large saddle-bags. He came to Beaver county in 1798, first pur-
chasing two hundred acres of land in Darlington township, where James
McGeorge now lives, and later four hundred acres additional, later occupied
by his son, James. William McGeorge was a member of the Reformed
Presbyterian Church, regular in his attendance and strict in his observance
of all religious laws, especially of those regarding manual labor on the Sab-
bath. His children he reared in strict loyalty and obedience, and despite
the many chafing regulations of conduct that he imposed upon them, held
their loving regard, for there was no rule which they were compelled to obey
that was not binding upon him. He donated the ground upon which the
Reformed Presbyterian Church was later built, but died before its erection,
his death occurring in 1815, aged fifty-five years. His wife, Julia, attained
the unusual age of ninety-seven years, although in her younger days she had
been considered of frail and delicate health. Children of William (2) and
Julia (Haden) McGeorge: i. William, of whom further. 2. James, died
upon the part of his father's estate that he inherited at the latter's death.
3. Jane, married William Jones; lived in Big Beaver township, Beaver
county, Pennsylvania. 4. Sarah, married William Young; their home was
in Big Beaver township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. 5. Mary, married
Joseph Gibson; resided in South Beaver township.

(Ill) William (3) McGeorge, son of William (2) and Julia (Haden)
McGeorge, was born on a ship bound for the American shore in mid-ocean,
1793, died October 11, 1854. His early boyhood was spent in Allegheny



688 PENNSYLVANIA

county, Pennsylvania, and in 1806 he came to Darlington township with
his father and grew to manhood on the homestead in that township. As
his share of the Darlington township farm he received two hundred acres,
later buying one hundred acres of land now occupied by the town of Enon,
and assisted in laying out the lots. He also acquired, for three dollars an
acre, four hundred and eighty acres of land in Belmont county, Ohio, which
was sold by his heirs, and is now valued at two hundred dollars an acre,
rich oil wells having been struck on the property. In his manhood he ad-
hered to the religion of his youth, the Reformed Presbyterian, and being
active in church work, he lived a model and exemplary existence in his
daily life. In the latter years of his life he became an extensive sheep
raiser, owned large flocks, and was uniformly successful in that occupation,
which his grandfather, the first William, had followed in Scotland many
years before. He married Nancy A. Young, born in Allegheny county,
Pennsylvania, February 15, 1798, died in Darlington township, Beaver
county, Pennsylvania, June 14, 1886, daughter of John Young. John Young
was bom in Ireland, and there married, coming with four brothers to Beaver
county, Pennsylvania, and settling on rented farms south of the Ohio river.
He was frugal and saving in his manner of life and soon possessed suffi-
cient funds to purchase a farm in Big Beaver township, on which he lived
until his death, aged seventy-eight years. He was an elder of the Reformed
Presbyterian Church. His children: i. William, made his home in Logan
county, Ohio. 2. John, lived near his brother, William. 3. Robert, a farmer
of Lawrence county, Pennsylvania. 4. Rebecca, married William Scott;
resided in Chippewa township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. 5. Jane, mar-
ried William McCampbell ; lived in Lawrence county, Pennsylvania. 7.
Nancy A., of previous mention, married William (3) McGeorge. Children
of William (3) and Nancy A. (Young) McGeorge: i. Margery Jane, de-
ceased; married John Gibson, who survives her, living in Bellevue, Penn-
sylvania. 2. Mary Ann, married James McKinney; lived first in Butler
county, later in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 3. James, of whom further. 4.
Elizabeth, deceased; married (first) Rev. Samuel Sterrett, deceased; (sec-
ond) Michael George, who lived in Mansfield, Ohio. 5. Margaret, died aged
seventeen years. 6. Jemimah, deceased; married Isaac Kitchen; lived in
East Liberty, Pennsylvania.

(IV) James McGeorge, only son and third child of William (3) and
Nancy A. (Young) McGeorge, was born in a log house on the farm where
he now lives, in Darlington township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, April 5,
1833. He grew to maturity on his father's farm, attending a small brick
school in the woods known as the McGeorge school, finishing his studies at
the Greersburg Academy, where Samuel B. Wilson and James Scott were the
masters who directed the schooling. The only boy in a family of six, there
were many duties for him to perform on the home farm, and he remained
at home until his father's death, when he inherited the homestead, where
he resides at the present time. The house in which he lives, a fine, sub-



BEAVER COUNTY 689

stantial country residence, was built by his father in 1846, the large barns
on the property antedating the house by two years. These last are occupied
by a herd of short-horn cattle of excellent stock, from which he obtains a
large quantity of milk daily, and has for the past thirty years engaged in
the wholesale milk business, supplying the local dealers with much of their
product. Mr. McGeorge is a communicant of the family faith, belonging
to the Reformed Presbyterian Church, and is the oldest member of the con-
gregation. Four times he has been honored by election to the office of elder
in the organization, but each time has refused the election, his modest and
unassuming nature making his loath to place himself in the public eye. He
has been prominent in local affairs as a private citizen, never having entered
the public service, and in the cause of municipal improvements has labored
with good effect. One of the patriarchs of the locality, he still is actively
interested in all affairs of the day, and bears his four-score years remark-
ably well, his five feet eleven inches of sturdy height belying the weight of
so great a burden.

He married, November 17, 1864, Fannie Gettis Craig, born in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, February 18, 1847, died August 8, 1910, daughter of Thomas
and Margaret (Gettis) Craig. Both of her parents were natives of Ireland,
he born in Belfast, about 1798, she in county Down, about 1807. They were
married in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, September 2, 1825, in which city he
was a manufacturer of hand-made nails. Their home was on the present
site of the Nixon Theatre. Thomas and Margaret (Gettis) Craig were the
parents of: i. Jane, born September 22, 1826, died March 2, 1828. 2.
Hamilton, born July 18, 1828, died March 26, 1908; married Martha Bacon;
in partnership with two of his brothers, he operated a brass foundry in Pitts-
burgh which he conducted for many years. 3. Thomas J., born November
12, 1830, died August 21, 1856. 4. Margaret J., born September 12, 1832,
died March 11, 1889; married Brice McGinston; lived in Pittsburgh. 5.
Mary Ann, born May 19, 1834, died October 9, 1837. 6. Elizabeth, born
April 4, 1836, died April 27, 1837. 7. Mary, born February 18, 1838, died
November 25, 1856. 8. James, born June i, 1840, died February 3, 1899;
married Anna Armstrong; he served in the Civil War as captain of Com-
pany H, Twenty-third Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry and was
wounded at Cold Harbor. 9. Sarah Elizabeth, bom June 18, 1842, unmar-
ried; has lived with her brother-in-law, James McGeorge, since the death
of his wife. 10. David Kerr, born October 12, 1844, died February 12, 1872,
unmarried. 11. Fannie Gettis, of previous mention, married James Mc-
George. 12. Minerva Y., born June 16, 1849, died in February, 1913 ; mar-
ried Thomas C. McAnlis; lived at Wampum, Pennsylvania.

Children of James and Fannie Gettis (Craig) McGeorge: i. Margaret
Blanche, born September 29, 1866; married Joseph Richards, a ranch-owner
of Pacific Beach, San Diego county, California, their home. 2. William
Qiffton, born April 14, 1870; manages the home farm for his father. 3.
Minerva Craig, born November i, 1873 ; lives unmarried at home. 4. Thomas



690 PENNSYLVANIA

Hamilton, born March 6, 1876; at the present time (1913) traveling in
California. 5. Elizabeth Sterrett, born April 23, 1878; married Knox
Young, a real estate dealer; lives in Belleview, a suburb of Pittsburgh. 6.
Fannie, born February 9, 1880, died October 13, 1881. 7. Edward Glenn,
born July 23, 1882, died October 28, 1887.



This is one of the many Scotch names which have been
McHATTIE imported either directly or by way of Northern Ireland,

and whose representatives have contributed to the material
and moral advancement of the nation. A considerable number of these
families still demonstrate the Scotch characteristics of thrift and industry
which make for the best form of citizenship.

(I) Peter McHattie, a native of Scotland, came to the United States
in 1859, with his wife, Isabella, also born in Scotland, to make his home with
his son, James, who had already established himself at Leetsdale, Allegheny
county, Pennsylvania. In this home he and his wife spent the remainder
of their lives, retired from business cares. Both were members of the Pres-
byterian Church. Children: i. George, married Jane Jelly; died at Patter-
son Heights, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. 2. James, see forward. 3. Peter,

married Elsie Dufif ; lives near EUwood. 4. William, married , and lives

retired at Aliquippa, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. 5. Adam, a merchant
in California. 6. Belle, married William Russell; died at Sewickley, Alle-
gheny county, Pennsylvania. 7. Ellen, married Lyman Woodworth; lives
at McKeesport, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. 8. Jessie, married Edward
Tracy; died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 9. Elsie, deceased; married John
Probert; lived in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. 10. Jane, died in early youth
in Scotland.

(II) James McHattie, son of Peter and Isabella McHattie, was born
near Glasgow, Scotland, March 7, 1828, died in 1883. His education was
acquired in the common schools of his native land, and he emigrated to the
United States in the company of an elder brother, George. They settled at
first near Pittsburgh and a few years later rented a farm near Leetsdale, Al-
legheny county, Pennsylvania, where they lived for some years. In 1875 he
purchased a farm of two hundred and fifteen acres in Big Beaver township,
Beaver county, Pennsylvania, on which he resided until his death, and on
which some of his daughters are living at the present time. His methodical
and progressive management of this land was not without the desired
results, and he became very prosperous. He erected a number of modern
and commodious buildings, and improved the property to the utmost. He
gave his political support to the Republican party, in whose behalf he was
an ardent worker, and always took the deepest interest in whatever concerned
the welfare of the community in which he resided. Mr. McHattie married,
in October, 1858, Grace Lafiferty, born in Ireland, died in New Galilee,
Beaver county, Pennsylvania. Her parents spent their entire lives in Ireland,
and she had a brother, William, and two sisters, Nancy (LaflFerty) Waugh,



BEAVER COUNTY 691

and Margaret (Lafferty) McLaughlin, who came to America, and are now
also deceased. Mrs. McHattie died February 27, 191 1, at the age of almost
eighty years. She and her husband were members of the United Presby-
terian Church. They had children: i. Rebecca W., married Charles Walker;
lives in New Galilee; they have children: James Arnot, a student in the