Elmer, bom October 4, 1861, is in the shoe business in Denver, Colorado.
He married and has children: Lelia and Lura, both graduates of the Uni-
versity of Colorado, and now engaged in teaching; Donald, is a pupil in the
Denver High School. Children of Joseph and Mary Hannah (Eakin) Mer-
cer: 5. Jennie T., born February 2, 1873, married Rev. F. G. Wright, of
Guthrie, Oklahoma. 6. John N., see forward. 7. Elizabeth M., born
November i, 1877, married Owen Ramsey, a foreman in an oil refinery at
Lawrenceville, Illinois. 8. William D., born June 13, 1882, is a United
Presbyterian missionary, now at Salkote, India.

(VII) John N. Mercer, son of Joseph and Mary Hannah (Eakin,)
Mercer, was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, August i, 1874, on the
farm on which he is still living. He was educated in the public schools of
Greene township, and at the academy at Hookstown, from which he was
graduated. One year was then spent at the Beaver High School and
another at Beaver College. He cultivates the homestead farm on which he
was born, making a decided success of this enterprise. He is a member
of the Republican party, and has been an exceptionally active worker in
its interests. He has been honored by election and appointment to a
number of public offices, among these being road commissioner, which
office he filled for three years ; during this time he was also secretary and
treasurer of the board; as auditor he rendered excellent service to the
community. Mr. Mercer married, December 17, 1905, Effie L., daughter
of Alexander L. Moore, of Beaver county. They have children: Mary
Elizabeth and Joseph Alexander. Mr. and Mrs. Mercer are members of
the United Presbyterian Church.



796 PENNSYLVANIA

The introduction of the Dawson family into England, ac-
DAWSON cording to Burke and other writers on the British peerage,

was in 1066, Sir Marmaduke D'Ossone having been one
of the Norman noblemen who were in the company of William the Con-
queror. For services rendered in battle he is said to have received a
grant of an estate from his successful leader, and to have resided in
England for the remainder of his life. By an easy process the name be-
came Anglicized to Dawson, as it has since been retained, with the many
variations, Dowson, Dowse, Dowsing and Dowsett. Bearers of the name are
found in all English speaking countries and colonies, and it may be safely
asserted that it has penetrated to nearly all Christian and heathen lands,
carried forward by the commercial enterprise and the religious zeal of in-
dividuals.

(I) The emigrant ancestor of the branch of the Dawson family of
whom complete record is herein given, was John Dawson, who came from
the north of England, either from Whitehaven, in Cumberland, or from
Yorkshire, to Maryland, previous to 1700. It is uncertain whether he
made direct settlement in Maryland or found his way to that colony by
way of Philadelphia. It is recorded that he emigrated when a young man
and was quite advanced in years when his death occurred. This is sup-
posed to have taken place before 1720, from the fact that his son Thomas,
who died in 1800, aged ninety-two years, barely remembered the event as
one which happened in his childhood. He married Rebecca, daughter of
John Doyne, who was an Irish gentleman who held a grant of land on
Chickamoxon creek, in Charles county, about thirty miles below the present
site of the city of Washington, D. C. They made their home on Broad
creek, in Prince George county, where he died. Children of John and
Rebecca (Doyne) Dawson: i. John, died unmarried in early life. 2.
George, a resident of Montgomery county, Maryland. 3. William, died
in early life, unmarried. 4. Thomas, of whom further. 5. Nicholas, lived
in Loudon county, Virginia. 6. Eleanor, married a Mr. Bayne.

(II) Thomas Dawson, son of John and Rebecca (Doyne) Dawson, was
bom at Broad Creek, Prince George county, Maryland, in 1708, died in
Montgomery county, Maryland, in August, 1800. He married Elizabeth,
daughter of John Lowe, of Prince George county, Maryland, who was
an ancestor of Governor Lowe, of Maryland. Children of Thomas and
Elizabeth (Lowe) Dawson: i. Benoni, of whom further. 2. Mary, mar-
ried Benjamin Mackall, the second of her family to marry into the Mackall
family, her brother Nicholas L. being the third. 3. Sarah, married William
Blackmore. 4. Eleanor, married Lawrence Allnut. 5. Nicholas L., born
1751, died in Montgomery county, Maryland, 1831, married Mary Mackall.
6. Verlinda H., married James Allnut, a brother of Lawrence, husband of
her sister Eleanor. 7. Robert Doyne, born 1758; married Sarah N. Chis-
well ; died in Montgomery county, Maryland, in August, 1824. 8. Eliza-
beth, died unmarried. 9. Rebecca, married Benjamin Mackall, nephew of



BEAVER COUNTY 797

Benjamin Mackall, husband of her sister Mary. 10. Jane, married Weaver
Johns.

(III) Benoni Dawson, eldest child of Thomas and Elizabeth (Lowe)
Dawson, was born in Maryland, 1742, died in Beaver county, Pennsyl-
vania, May 6, 1806. After his marriage he moved to Western Pennsyl-
vania (now Fayette county) where he joined the family of his uncle,
George Dawson, who had preceded him into that locality. After a short
stay with his relatives he continued his westward way and settled in the
lower corner of what is now Beaver county, the town of Georgetown being
situated on land once his property. He had brought with him his family
and all his possessions, including seven slaves, and while in Fayette county
sent men ahead with his cattle, having given them orders to clear land for
a homestead. He built a mill on Mill Creek. He was a member of the
Episcopal Church and is quoted as being "a good man to the poor." In
the new community his wise and just judgment was widely felt for good,
the strength of his character lending weight to his counsel. He married
Rebecca Mackall. Children of Benoni and Rebecca (Mackall) Dawson:
I. Thomas, born about 1765, died at Georgetown, Pennsylvania, aged
fifty-two years; married Nancy Dawson, and became the father of nine
children. 2. Benoni, of whom further. 3. George, lived on Mill Creek,
died aged about fifty years; married Jane Mackall, and of this marriage
five children were born. 4. Mackall, lived and died near Georgetown,
Pennsylvania; married and had children. 5. Nicholas, born 1772, died near
Calcutta, Ohio, in 1855; married Rachel Moore, born August 31, 1777,
died July 19, 1846; they were the parents of twelve children. 6. Mary,
married James Blackmore, and became the mother of four children. 7.
Elizabeth, married Charles Blackmore, and had three children. 8. Rebecca
Mackall, married William White; they were the parents of nine children.

9. Nancy Brooks, married John Beaver, and was the mother of one child.

10. John L., died near Wooster, Ohio; married Mary Cotton; of this
marriage were born eight children. 11. Benjamin, of whom further. 12.
Robert D., died aged twenty-one years, unmarried. 13. James M., died
without issue.

(IV) Benoni (2) Dawson, second son and child of Benoni (i) and
Rebecca (Mackall) Dawson, was born in Frederick, Maryland, August
20, 1768, died in Beaver county, Pennsylvaina, November 14, 1844. He
moved from the south to the north side of the Ohio river, and there pur-
chased a farm of two hundred and fifty acres (now owned by Lewis
Davidson), clearing and cultivating the same. He served two terms, of
six months each, as a frontier guard against hostile Indians, the service
being known among those engaged therein as "standing on the station."
He married Katherine P. D. McKennon, a native of Scotland, daughter
of Rev. Daniel McKennon, born in Annapolis, Maryland, October 20, 1775,
died in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, December 18, 1848. Children of
Benoni (2) and Katherine P. D. (McKennon) Dawson: i. Elizabeth, born



798 PENNSYLVANIA

April 22, 1794, died in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, unmarried. 2. Benja-
min, born June 20, 1796, died October 22, 1817; married Sarah Bayne.
3. Rebecca, born October 11, 1798, died February 5, 1844; married, April
5, 1838, John Cristler. 4. Robert, of whom further. 5. James, of whom
further. 6. Sarah, born December 20, 1806, died unmarried. 7. Ruth,
born July 30, 1809; married, November 3, 1837, Isaac Evans.

(V) Robert Dawson, second son and fourth child of Benoni (2) and
Katherine P. D. (McKennon) Dawson, was born on his father's farm
near Ohioville, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, July 30, 1801. He followed
the farmer's occupation throughout his entire active career. After his
marriage he lived for two years in Ohio township, then took up his resi-
dence in Columbiana county, Ohio, later returning to his native place
and settling on land now a part of the Ferguson farm, there residing for
eight years. He then purchased one hundred acres of land near Fairview,
thereon erecting a substantial brick house, still used as a residence by his
daughter Catherine, also building a smaller house of brick, which is also
standing at the present time. Before his death, December 2, 1882, he had
acquired two hundred acres' adjoining, making his farm three hundred
acres in extent. Honor and industry were the two cardinal principles of
his daily life, the first gaining for him the respect and esteem of his
friends and neighbors, the second providing him and his family with
plenty of the goods of this world. He continued in the faith of his fathers
and was a member of the Episcopal Church, and supported the Whig
party in all political issues.

He married, February 9, 1826, EHzabeth, daughter of Ruel Reed,
who died October 22, 1864. Children of Robert and Elizabeth Dawson
(of whom only one is living) : i. Mary Ann, died unmarried in 1909. 2.
Catharine, aged eighty-five years, lives in the old brick house erected by
her father, the only survivor of her generation. 3. Benoni, a farmer of
Ohio township, died in 1909. 4. Ruel Reed, a resident of the state of
Washington, died in 1908; married Salina Reed, who died in Kansas; they
were the parents of seven children, all of whom live in the west. 5.
Robert Doyne, a veteran of the Civil War, served in the One Hundredth
Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, was for a long time confined
in Libby Prison. 6. Rebecca, died unmarried, October 29, 1864. 7. Daniel,
Debolt, of whom further. 8. Willam M., died unmarried in 1887.

(VI) Daniel Debolt Dawson, fourth son and seventh child of Robert
and Elizabeth (Reed) Dawson, was born on the old homestead near Fair-
view, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, November 14, 1844, died near there
August 18, 1908. Here his early life was spent and in young manhood he
became a farmer, inheriting a portion of his father's estate he added some
land to his share and became the owner of seventy-five acres. He built a
substantial dwelling and remodeled a barn that stood on the property,
there residing until his death. With his wife he was a member of the
Reformed Church. In political life he had always adhered to the prin-




CixA^L.4/-^



BEAVER COUNTY 799

ciples of the Republican party, but in his later life, when the question of
temperance became more and more of a national issue, he took a firm
stand for the Prohibition party, using his utmost effort and every influence
in its behalf. In the early part of the war of the Rebellion, when it was
thought that a few battles would cause the conflict to come to a decisive
end, he enlisted for ninety days in Knapp's Battalion of Heavy Artillery.
When at the expiration of that term of service the end of the struggle
seemed so indeterminate, he re-enlisted in the One Hundrdth Regiment
Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and was at Appomattox Court House
just prior to the close of the war.

He married, May 28, 1868, Sarah Jane, born April 6, 1841, daughter
of John and Jane Cochran, natives of near Venice, Pennsylvania. Children
of Daniel Debolt and Sarah Dawson: i. Robert Doyne, a farmer, lives
near New Galloway. 2. Stewart Cochran, died in infancy. 3. Jennie
Elder, married W. H. Speerhas, and lives in Industry. 4. John Alfred, a
dairyman of near New Middletown, Ohio. 5. Ruel Reed, a farmer of
Alberta, Canada. 6. Cochran, died in infancy. 7. Howard Debolt, of whom
further. 8. Eva Matilda, married Harry A. Henderson, and lives in Ohio
township.

(VII) Howard Debolt Dawson, sixth son and seventh child of Daniel
Debolt and Sarah Jane (Cochran) Dawson, was born in Ohio township,
Beaver county, Pennsylvania, on the old homestead, October 3, 1883. He
attended the public schools of his native township and completed his
studies at Pennsylvania State College. After his graduation from the latter
institution he engaged in farming on the homestead, later purchasing the
interests of the several heirs and becoming sole owner of that property,
where he now makes his home. Although general farming plays a prom-
inent part in his operations, he gives his most careful attention to the cul-
tivation of fruit and vegetables. Applying the newest and most scientific
methods to the culture of these specialties he has met with remarkably
consistent success, gaining a wide reputation for the excellency of his
products. Upon his property are four wells, whence flow both oil and gas,
about two barrels daily being the amount of the former product obtained
therefrom. For the purpose of closer relations with others engaged in
his pursuits. Mr. Dawson is a member of the Local Grange of the Patrons
of Husbandry. Both he and his wife are members of the Reformed
Church, and in his national political action he supports the Progressive
party, although locally his stand is taken firmly for Prohibition.

Mr. Dawson married, June 15, 1909, Ethel A., a native of Ohio town-
ship, daughter of Frank R. and Nettie (McMahan) Wright. Children of
Howard Debolt and Ethel A. Dawson: i. John Debolt, born May z8,
1910. 2. Elsie Ruth, born October 16, 191 1. 3. Robert Doyne, born July
17, 1913, died in infancy.



8oo PENNSYLVANIA

(IV) Benjamin Dawson, son of Benoni (q. v.) and
DAWSON Rebecca (Mackall) Dawson, was born in Beaver county,
Pennsylvania, where he died, aged about fifty years. His
occupation was that of ferry-master on the Ohio river. He married EHza-
beth Wilkinson, who lived to a very great age, hers being the unusual dis-
tinction of seeing her granddaughter's grandchildren. Children of Benja-
min and Elizabeth (Wilkinson) Dawson: i. Amos, of whom further.
2. Joshua Wilkinson, married Mary McLaughlin; died in Greene county,
Indiana. 3. George, born July 12, 1804, died near Calcutta, Ohio, August
9, 1866; married Narcissa Beaver Dawson. 4. John Low, married Phoebe
Dix. 5. Nancy, married Thomas Blackmore. 6. Catharine, married Dr.
John Dixon, and lived in Athens county, Ohio. 7. Olivia, married Harrison
Harvey; died in Wellsburg, West Virginia. 8. Rebecca, married Peter
Fisher; lived in Cameron, Missouri. 9. Eliza, married Michael Fisher;
lived near Calcutta, Ohio. 10. Amassa, married Henry Fisher; lived near
Calcutta, Ohio. 11. Myrtilla, married Dr. James Scroggs.

(V) Amos Dawson, eldest child of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Wilkin-
son) Dawson, was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where he met
his accidental death in 1852. After his marriage he and his wife for a
time made their home upon the old homestead, later moving to a triangular
tract of land, one hundred acres in extent, west of Little Beaver creek,
and near the Ohio state boundary line. He was an ardent Democrat, sin-
cere and earnest in his efforts for the advancement of that party. He
met his death in Little Beaver creek, being drowned while washing a flock
of sheep. He married Rebecca, daughter of Mackall Dawson, his first
cousin. Children of Amos and Rebecca Dawson: i. Benjamin, married
Susan Hughes; dies in Ohio township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. 2.
Mackall, of whom further. 3. Joshua, deceased; married Margaret Camp.
4. James L. B., married Mary Ann Smith; lives at Beaver Falls, Penn-
sylvania. 5. Thomas, a captain in the Union army during the Civil War,
lives in Nebraska. 6. Scroggs, deceased; married Arvilla Calhoun; lived
in Beaver county, Pennsylvania. 7. Amos, deceased; married a Miss
Hamilton; lived near Smiths Ferry, Pennsylvania. 8. Cynthia, married
Benoni Dawson, who afterward married Ann E. Johnson. 9. Benoni, de-
ceased. Two other children who never attained maturity.

(VI) Mackall Dawson, son of Amos and Rebecca (Dawson) Dawson,
was born near Ohioville, Pennsylvania, in 1827, died in Darlington town-
ship, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, in February, 1901. He spent his early
life in the vicinity of his birthplace, attended the public schools, and
worked on the home farm. After his marriage he settled on a farm owned
by his father near Ohioville and there remained for eight years, living
for two more years on a near-by farm. He then entered the oil business
and was a producer at Smiths Ferry for a period covering twenty years.
His ventures in this industry were rewarded with remunerative success
and during his continuance in the same he had amassed a comfortable



BEAVER COUNTY 8oi

competence. In 1890 he moved to Brighton township, residing there for
but a short time before he went to Darlington township, purchasing a
farm of sixty-five acres in the southeast corner of the township, where
he lived until his death. He and his wife were members of the Presbyterian
Church, and his political faith was strongly Republican. In all of his
business transactions his dealings bore the stamp of the strictest integrity
and he held the respect and confidence of his associates.

He married Susan, daughter of Michael and Eliza (Dawson) Fisher,
born in Columbiana county, Ohio, in 1831. The wedding ceremony was
solemnized at Bridgewater, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. Eliza (Dawson)
Fisher was a daughter of Benjamin Dawson, and a sister of Amos Dawson,
the father of Mackall. Michael Fisher was a son of Paul Fisher, and
was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, which was also the birth-
place of his father. Michael Fisher moved early in life to a farm near
Calcutta, Ohio, which he cultivated, also becoming the owner of a great
deal of land in that vicinity. He was the father of the following children :
I. Elizabeth, deceased; married Samuel Richardson. 2. Rebecca, deceased;
married Dr. Manuel George. 3. Mary Jane, died in Beaver county, Penn-
sylvania; married Amos Wilkinson. 4. Susan, of previous mention, mar-
ried Mackall Dawson, whom she survives to the present time. 5. George
D., died near Ohioville, Pennsylvania. 6. Myrtilla, died unmarried in
Pennsylvania. 7. Nancy, unmarried, lives at Smiths Ferry. 8. John, died
in Meigs county, Ohio. 9. Minerva, died in young womanhood. 10.
Catharine, married John Montgomery; lives in Beaver county, Pennsyl-
vania. II. Benjamin, lives on the old homestead. Children of Mackall
and Susan (Fisher) Dawson: i. Amos, died aged eight years. 2. Blanche,
died aged six years. 3. Jennie, married Albert Veon; lives in Darlington
township; has five children; John, Delbert R., Walter, Carl, Edmund. 4.
Laura, unmarried. 5. Edmund, of whom further. 6. John, died aged
twenty-six years. 7. An infant, died unnamed. 8. Elizabeth, died in
infancy.

(VII) Edmund Dawson, son of Mackall and Susan (Fisher) Daw-
son, was born in Ohio township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, December
6, 1863. He attended the public schools of Ohio township, and for a time
was his father's assistant on the farm and in the oil business. Since the
death of his father in 190 1 he has conducted operation on the home farm,
where he specializes in dairying, also doing general farming. He is a
Progressive in all political action, and belongs to the Presbyterian Church,
in which he is an elder. Mr. Dawson's knowledge along agricultural lines
is wide and thorough, gained through a life-long acquaintance with farms
and farming, and he is known as one of the successful agriculturists of
the locality. Although never given to public service, he is held in high
esteem by his neighbors, and fulfills all the duties of good citizenship.



8o2 PENNSYLVANIA

(V) Dr. James Dawson, third son and fifth child of Benoni
DAWSON (2) and Katharine P. D. (McKennon) Dawson, was born
on the old Captain Daniel Dawson farm in Ohio township,
Beaver county, Pennsylvania, January 25, 1804, died August 21, 1846. The
farm on which he spent his early life is now the property of Lewis Davidson,
of Beaver, Pennsylvania. As a boy James Dawson attended the public
schools of Ohio township, and worked on the home farm. In young manhood
he held the ambition for the life of a physician, casting over such a profes-
sion the mantle lent by youthful simplicity and innocence, which saw only
the beauty of such a life of service. For this he studied diligently and was
rewarded with a diploma entitling him to practice medicine. Soon after
his marriage he moved to Pughtown, West Virginia, and there engaged in
professional work, becoming one of the most popular physicians in that
region. In maturity the occupation he had chosen became even more full
of interest and fascination to him, and although the rosy dreams of youth
were erased by the stern realities of the life of self-sacrifice demanded of
a doctor in many ways, he became only the more zealous in its pursuit.
After the death of his wife he remarried, and a few years later returned
to the county of his birth, settling in Ohioville, where he continued in the
practice of medicine. He was an indefatigable worker, and in the pressure
of work neglected the care of his own physical condition, so weakening
himself that he succumbed to a severe attack of illness in the forty-second
year of his age. He who had so unfailingly relieved the pain of others, who
had restored the blessing of life to not a few, bringing them back from the
Valley of the Shadow, was unable to lift a finger to stay his soul in its
homeward flight, nor could all the skill of the profession of which he was
an able master keep him in the presence of his loved ones, and Dr. James
Dawson passed from this life amid the whispered blessings of those who
knew the purity, sweetness and goodness of his character. Dr. Dawson
was a member of the Episcopal Church and as regular in attendance at
its services as the exigencies of his profession would permit. The same
influences prevented him from taking the position he was qualified to fill
in the public life of the communities in which he resided, and although he
personally supported the Republican party, was debarred from the par-
ticipation in political action that he would have enjoyed.

He married (first) Mertilla White, born on the farm now owned
by William Hunter, in Ohio township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, De-
cember 15, 1807, died in Pughtown, West Virginia, June 9, 1833; (second)
Mrs. Rachel Moore, who after his death remarried, her second husband
being Henry Pittinger. She died about 1900. The only child of the first
marriage of Dr. James Dawson was William White, of whom further.
Children of the second marriage of Dr. James Dawson: i. Mertilla, married
Milo Reed, and both are deceased. 2. Benoni, died in Pittsburgh, Penn-
sylvania, in 1912; married (first) Mary Mansfield; (second) Matilda
Thayer; (third) Mrs. Elizabeth . 3. Catherine, married W. F. Lyon;



BEAVER COUNTY 803

lives in Rochester, Pennsylvania. 4. Henry Clay, died in young manhood.
5. James, killed in Colorado by hostile Indians.

(VI) WiUiam White Dawson, son of Dr. James and Mertilla (White)
Dawson, was bom at Pughtown (then Fairview), West Virginia, May
27, 1833, died in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, February 9, 1908. In
graded instruction he never advanced further than the public schools, but
being of a naturally studious nature, he read much of the world's best
literature and in every way that presented itself improved his store of
general knowledge. His mother dying when he was an infant in arms,
he spent his early life under the care of his two maiden aunts and an
uncle, living on their farm of one hundred and forty acres. His life with
these relatives was of the happiest, and though the tenderness of mother
love was denied him by adverse fortune, all the refining and uplifting
influences of a Christian home were his. At the death of his aunts and
uncle he inherited the farm on which he had been reared, and there spent
the remainder of his life. His generosity and liberality were proverbial
throughout the neighborhood, qualities probably induced by the realization
of the advantages that had been his through the presence of those virtues
in others. The operations that he conducted upon his farm were general
in character, and his stables were well-filled with stock of excellent grade.