county, married Mamie Cramer, and has one child, Paul ; Henry, unmarried,
lives with his parents; John, a farmer in Rochester township, Beaver
county, married Angle Delchambre, two children : Frank and Albert ; Clara,
married Irvin Brewer and lives in Rochester township, three children, Ed-
ward, Clair and Irvin, twins; Mary, at home; Anton, Jr.
The name of Morris is one which is so well known in
MORRIS the history of this country that an extended introduction in
this place is scarcely necessary. The branch of the family
of which this review treats is and has been for some generations more
especially identified with the agricultural interests of the country.
(I) Ephraim Morris was born in the state of Ohio, and after his mar-
riage lived in Center township, Greene county, Pennsylvania. He was a
farmer by occupation and the owner of considerable land. He married
Martha Roseberry and had children: i. Asa, went to California, where he
died in Yolo county. 2. Thomas, was killed while in service during the
Civil War. 3. John, held the rank of captain during the Civil War; now
lives in Washington, Pennsylvania. 4. James P., a farmer and a justice
of the peace in Greene county, Pennsylvania. 5. Sarah, married (first)
Alexander Black, (second) Judge George Hoskinson, is again a widow,
and lives in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. 6. Martha, now deceased ; married
828 PENNSYLVANIA
George Bayard. 7. Katharine, married Henry Scott; lives in Washington,
Pennsylvania. 8. Phoebe, now deceased; married Jesse Ullom, also now
deceased, who was a merchant for thirty years at Rogersville, Pennsylvania.
9. Matthias, see forward.
(II) Matthias Morris, son of Ephraim and Martha (Roseberry) Mor-
ris, was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, in 1834, died June 24, 1913.
He had the usual education of a farmer's son of that time, and when he
attained manhood commenced farming independently. He bought a home-
stead of one hundred and thirty-seven acres, and soon afterward bought
another farm and removed to that. With the exception of two years,
the remainder of his life was spent on this farm. He was very successful
in his farming operations, and became the owner of about seven hundred
acres of land in that section. He was a staunch Republican, and held a number
of local political offices. Both he and his wife were members of the Disciple
Church. He married Sarah Ullom, born February 22, 1840, died November
12, 1910. She was the daughter of Thompson and Annie (Johnson) Ullom,
who were among the early settlers of Greene county, Pennsylvania. He
was a farmer and an extensive land owner, and was prominent in the
councils of the Democratic party and held several local offices. They had
children: i. Jesse, was a merchant and farmer in Center township, Greene
county, Pennsylvania. 2. George, deceased; was a lawyer in Waynesburg,
Pennsylvania. 3. John Thompson, a physician of Waynesburg, Pennsyl-
vania. 4. Elizabeth, married John Clutter, both deceased. 5. Jennie, de-
ceased; married David Weaver. 6. Sarah, married Matthias Morris, as
above stated. 7. Margaret, married (first) James Lower, (second) Barney
Wiley. 8. Anna, married Lindsay Orndoff; lives in Ohio. 9. Martha, de-
ceased; married William Orndoff; lived in Greene county, Pennsylvania,
10. Kate, died at the age of seventeen years. Mr. and Mrs. Morris had
children: i. Emma, married Ross Miller; lives at Long Beach, California.
2. Thomas, see forward. 3. Jesse L., a farmer in Center township, Greene
county, Pennsylvania. 4. Annie, married Harry Thompson; lives in Greene
county, Pennsylvania. 5. Edward, was killed by a rolling log in Greene
county, Pennsylvania, in 1896. 6. Burrel J., was killed by a derrick while
lifting a stone. 7. Mattie, married John Smith ; lives on the homestead.
8. Matthias Lott, lives on the old homestead.
(III) Thomas Morris, son of Matthias and Sarah (Ullom) Morris,
was born in Center township, Greene county, Pennsylvania, September 24,
1863. He was educated in the public schools of his section of the county,
and his early life was passed as his father's assistant on the farm. He
farmed for himself about eight years, then went to Rogersville, where he
worked as a teamster for a period of sixteen years. November i, 1910,
he removed to Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where he purchased a farm
of one hundred and thirty-six acres in South Beaver and Chippewa town-
ships. He also bought a farm of one hundred and thirty-nine acres, the old
Bradshaw farm, or the Mitchell farm, as it is known, in South Beaver
^
BEAVER COUNTY 829
township. He devotes this land to general produce and fruit raising, and
has been very successful in his methods. He is a Republican, and a mem-
ber of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Mr. Morris married, August 19,
1886, Hattie A. Flenniken (see Flenniken IV), and has had children: Hazel,
died at the age of seven years; Mabel Evangeline.
(The Flenniken Line.)
It is not our part to attempt the solution of historical and critical prob-
lems. It has been commonly alleged that at Mecklenburg, North Carolina,
on May 19, 1775, exactly one month after the battle of Lexington, and
over one year before the Declaration of Independence, a county declaration
of separation from the British Empire was put forth. While some, espe-
cially in North Carolina, staunchly maintain the truth of this narration, it
seems to be the general judgment of historical students that it is not histori-
cal. Among the signatures appended to this alleged document, which may
be found in the printed archives of North Carolina, is that of John Flen-
niken. Perhaps this may be deemed strong evidence that the family was
active in the cause of independence in their southern home. The first com-
ing of the Flenniken family to Western Pennsylvania is assigned to the
year 1767, at about the same time as the Swans, Van Meters, Hughes, etc.
If the father of the immigrant Flenniken brothers was in North Carolina
eight years later he must have been a man past middle life when he came
to Pennsylvania. So far as known to us the name of Flenniken has disap-
peared from North Carolina. Apparent variant forms in the older records,
in which g stands in lieu of k, strengthen the natural impression that the
name is itself a form of Flannagan.
(I) John A. Flenniken, the first member of this family of whom we
have definite information, came from North Carolina, and settled in Frank-
lin county, Pennsylvania, where he was a farmer. He was in that county
as late as 1787. It is said that he represented Greene county, soon after
its erection, in the Pennsylvania legislature, and that he was for many
years one of the associate judges of the court of common pleas of the
county, having been appointed in 1796. Also, that he was a Presbyterian
elder. If all these statements rightly apply to John A. Flenniken, he
must have lived to be a very old man. Whom he married is not known.
Children, so far as known: i. Elias, see forward. 2. James, bom about
1747, died August 25, 1843.
(II) Elias Flenniken, son of John A. Flenniken, was born, probably
in North Carolina, October 22, 1745, died March 16, 1836. He came with
his brother James to Greene county, Pennsylvania, in 1767, one of the very
earliest settlers, and lived among the Indians in this region. From 1777
to the end of the Revolutionary war, he served in the Colonial army as a
teamster. He took out a land warrant, and possessed four hundred acres
at what was then known as Wolf Point, and two hundred and fifty acres
below the mouth of Muddy creek. Of the larger of these tracts, an area
of one hundred and forty-three acres is retained to this day by his grand-
830 PENNSYLVANIA
son, James Darrah Flenniken, and has never been out of the family. He
was one of the organizers of the New Providence Presbyterian Church,
this being one of the first churches in Greene county. He married, about
1780, Mary Dunlap, probably from Franklin, who died April 23, 1836,
Children: i. Elizabeth, married Thomas Blair. 2. and 3. Margaret and
Sarah, twins. 4. Elias. 5. Alexander. 6. Mary, married James Blair. 7.
Joseph Dunlap. 8. John Wilkins, see forward. 9. Jane McCoy, married
Daniel Smith.
(HI) John Wilkins Flenniken, son of Elias and Mary (Dunlap) Flen-
niken, was bom on the old homestead in Cumberland township, Greene
county, Pennsylvania, November 2, 1790, died October 16, 1861. He was
brought up on this homestead, and followed farming with success through-
out his life. During the War of 1812 he started with his team for the seat
of war, but was not needed. He was a trustee of the New Providence
Presbyterian Church. He married, in 1822, Hetty Ann, daughter of John
and Margaret (Darrow) Wright. She was born in Bucks county, Penn-
sylvania, December 29, 1803, died November 23, 1883. Her parents settled
in Greene county in 181 1. Children, all deceased except two: i. Elias
Alexander, born June 2, 1824; married, in 1846, Mary Ann Kerr. 2. Mary
Jane, born March 5, 1826; married Thomas Curl. 3. James Darrah, see
forward. 4. Margaret, born in September, 1830; married Clement Krepps.
5. William Franklin, born July 31, 1838; married (first) Eliza A. Hartman,
(second) Ella Conn. 6. Sarah, born January 21, 1841 ; married Thomas
Laidley. 7. Andrew Stewart, born in 1848; married Anna Patterson. Two-
others died in infancy.
(IV) James Darrah Flenniken, son of John Wilkins and Hetty Ann
(Wright) Flenniken, was born in Cumberland township, June 17, 1828.
He was reared on the farm and educated in the subscription schools. He
followed farming, residing on the old homestead, and was a dealer in live
stock and a buyer of wool until 1889. He was engaged in the hotel busi-
ness at Carmichaels for the next eight years. Since that time he has en-
joyed the fruits of a successful career. The vigor of the family, which
has been shown in the long lives of so many of this line, is well continued
in his person. In 191 1 he cut, split and set one hundred and sixty-seven
fence posts. He enjoys following the hounds and chasing the fox, generally
leading the younger men. He is a member of the Tri-State Fox Hunting-
Club, of Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. In 1867 he became a
member of the General Greene Lodge, of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, of Jefferson township. Two years later he was one of the charter
members of Lisbon Lodge, No. 654, at Carmichaels, and he is today the
last of the active charter members. He was a member of the grand lodge
which met in Philadelphia in 1876, and also attended the grand lodges in
Erie and Harrisburg. Formerly he was an old-line Whig, his first vote
being cast for General Zachary Taylor; in his later years he has been a
strong Republican. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church.
BEAVER COUNTY 831
He married, September 28, 1854, Martha Ann Curl, born in Greene
county, Pennsylvania, March 18, 1834, daughter of John and Sarah (Mc-
Minn) Curl. Her father was a native of Greene county, and a son of
James Curl. Children: i. Elizabeth, born April 23, 1856; married John
Armstrong ; children : Helen, married William Howard, and has children :
Lucille, Elizabeth, Armstrong; John Darrow; Martha; Thomas Russell;
Wilda; Mary, died in infancy. 2. John Fremont, born November 12, 1857;
married Annie Barkman; children: Fred C, married Julia McGrew, has
one child, James; James Blaine, married Jane (June) Byer, one child, Ruth;
Charles B., Albert, twin of Charles B. 3. Mary Margaret, born March
29, i860; married, in October, 1880, George A. Stilwell; children: Charles
Morris; Jennie Belle, died in infancy, this being the first death in the
family; Bertha Darrah, born February 3, 1886, married D. C. Lightner, has
one child, Graham Wells; Andrew Stewart Flenniken, born May 7, 1889;
Albert Metz, born July 24, 1892; Harriet Elizabeth, born in August, 1894.
4. Hetty A., born March 3, 1862; married Thomas Morris (see Morris HI).
5. Jennie Belle, born December 6, 1864; married W. M. Crago; children:
George Rex, married Carrie Call, has two children: John H., Anna Belle;
Ida Florence ; Mary, married Frederick Burnett, and has one child, Leonard.
6. Galena Rebecca, bom April 18, 1867; married Simeon Stillwell ; children:
William, Bessie, deceased; Robert, Harry, Edwin, Alberta, deceased; Mer-
tie, Maud. 7. Harriet Evans, born May 12, 1869; married, June 21, 1902,
Thomas L. Lincoln, died August 21, 1902. 8. Flora Florence, born July i,
1871 ; married, October 6, 1894, Albert G. Crago; children: Mabel Evans,
born July 31, 1895; Margaret, born September 11, 1900; Clarence Flenni-
ken, born July 24, 1902; Emily Christina, born June i, 1910. 9. Charles
Morris, bom November 6, 1873, died July 24, 1887. 10. Robert Ingram,
born May 30, 1876; married October 24, 1899, Daisy Belle Conn; children:
Robert McGonigle, born September 8, 1900; Ruth; Andrew Thompson, died
at the age of five weeks; James Gordon, born May 17, 1906; Harleigh
Emery, born August 26, 1910.
James Cotter, a prominent citizen of Monaca, Pennsylvania,
COTTER is of Irish parentage, and was born May 31, i860, in Beaver
county, Pennsylvania, a son of John and Rose (Geary)
Cotter. His parents were both natives of Ireland, where they were born
in the years 1810 and 1816, respectively. They migrated singly to the
United States, he coming to Bridgewater, Pennsylvania, in 1842, and in
this country they met, being married at Pittsburgh ten years later. Their
deaths occurred in the years 1872 and 1898, respectively. To them were
born four children : Elizabeth ; John, deceased ; Ellen ; James, the subject
of this sketch. The eldest daughter, Elizabeth, married Ephraim Martin,
of New Brighton, Pennsylvania, to whom she bore one child, Cora Martin,
who married James Abbott, with whom she now lives in Fairmont, West
Virginia. They have had born to them ten children, as follows: James
832 PENNSYLVANIA
Clyde, deceased; George William, Lawrence, Edward Millard, Elizabeth
Rose, Clara Martin, Paul, Francis Regis, and twins, John and a little
girl who died in early childhood. Mr. Cotter's second sister, Ellen, lives
unmarried in Beaver county, Pennsylvania.
James Cotter was reared and educated in Bridgewater, and during his
school years also worked on a farm, from fourteen years of age to twenty-
one. He then found employment as a clerk in a store, a position he held
for two years. In the year 1883, when he was about twenty-three years
of age, he began working in the shipping department of the Phoenix Glass
Company of Monaca, though for some time he still resided in Bridgewater.
He finally moved to the scene of his employment, where he still makes his
home at the corner of Indiana avenue and Ninth street. He has now
for some years held the position of manager of the shipping department,
and is a well-to-do property owner in Monaca, where he possesses a fine
residence. He is a director of the Building and Loan Association of
Monaca. In politics Mr. Cotter is independent, casting his vote without
regard to party lines for the candidate or cause he favors. He takes a
keen interest in public affairs. He is a member of Rochester Lodge, Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and of Bridgewater Lodge, No. 265, Knights
of Pythias.
Mr. Cotter married, December 27, 1909, Catherine Richardson, a mem-
ber of a prominent family in Beaver county, but of English origin. Her
paternal grandparents were Robert and Mary (Ross) Richardson, both of
whom lived and died in England. Their son, John, Mrs. Cotter's father,
was bom in England, October i, 1850, and was reared and educated there.
He went to Scotland as a young man, and there met and married Annie
Grant in the year 1873. Annie Grant was a daughter of Colin and Annie
(Robertson) Grant, of Scotland. Mr. Richardson and his wife came, about
1880, to America, settling first at Coming, New York, then in Monaca,
Pennsylvania, and finally to Rochester, in the same state, where they now
live. Mr. Richardson is a glass cutrter, and is employed by the H. C. Fry
Glass Company. Mr. Richardson and his family are communicants of the
Episcopal Church in religion, and in politics he is a Republican. He and
his wife are the parents of seven children, as follows: Mary, now Mrs.
Frank Dawson, of Beaver, Pennsylvania, and the mother of one child,
John Francis Dawson; Catherine, the wife of Mr. Cotter; Dorothy Isabel,
now the wife of Carl Mader, superintendent in the steel mills at Bessemer,
Alabama; Robert, who married Anna Thomas and by her had two children,
Jean and Robert ; Jean Grant, now Mrs. Thomas Scantling, her husband an
optician of Rochester, Pennsylvania; Elizabeth, resides at home; Frances
Winnifred, now the wife of Charles Johnson, of Rochester, formerly book-
keeper with the First National Bank, but now holding a similar position
with the Birmingham Trust Company, of Birmingham, Alabama. To Mr.
and Mrs. Cotter has been born one son, James Cotter. Mr. Cotter, in con-
junction with his two sisters, Mrs. Martin and Miss Ellen Cotter, owned
BEAVER COUNTY 833
until recently a large tract of land in Bridgewater, which they sold to the
railroad company. Mr. Cotter's parents were members of the Roman
Catholic Church. Mr. Cotter's wife is a communicant of the Episcopal
Church.
The Musgrave family, members of which are actively
MUSGRAVE interested in all the worthy enterprises of Beaver county,
Pennsylvania, trace their descent to James Musgrave,
who was born in England, April 26, 1816. He came to America with his
parents when three years of age, and the family settled in Beaver county,
Pennsylvania. For a time Mr. Musgrave lived in the state of Ohio, but
returned to Beaver county, and died on the old homestead, September 12,
1906. He held official position in the Baden Methodist Episcopal Church,
of which his wife was also a member. He married Margaret Hendrickson,
who died on the homestead, September 27, 1872, at the age of fifty-four
years. They had children: i. Josiah, born April 8, 1840, drowned May
24, 1861. 2. Joshua, born November 22, 1841 ; married Kate Bental; lives
in Economy township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. 3. Margaret, born
October 19, 1843 ; married John Noonan ; lives in New Sewickley, Penn-
sylvania. 4. Maria, born March i, 1845, died July 3, 1881 ; married Henry
Douglass. 5. Nelson, born October 2, 1846; married Annie Stewart; lives
in Economy township, Pennsylvania. 6. Lydia, born December 23, 1848;
married (first) Solomon Davis, (second) David Baird; lives in Aliquippa,
Pennsylvania. 7. Reuben, born November 13, 1850, died July 6, 1884;
married Dora Wilson. 8. Eliza Ann, born November 13, 1852; married
Adam Hill; lives in California. 9. James H., see forward. 10. Levi, born
November 4, 1857; married Annie Nichols; lives in New Sewickley, Penn-
sylvania. II. Albert, born March 2, i860, died January 17, 1912; married
(first) Lena V. Armstrong, (second) Stella Shaffer. 12. Emma R., born
July 27, 1862, died March i, 1863.
(H) James H. Musgrave, son of James and Margaret (Hendrickson)
Musgrave, was born in Economy township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania,
July 27, 1855, and with the exception of three years passed in Fayette
county, his entire life has been spent in his native county. He attended
school in Beaver county, and then commenced to assist his father in the
cultivation of the homestead farm. In 1904 he purchased one hundred and
three acres of land which he commenced to farm independently, and on
which his son, Avery R., is now living. He is Republican in his political
opinions, and served as school director for a period of four years. The
entire family has been very active in church work, belonging to the Luth-
eran Church, and Mr. Musgrave has been deacon, trustee, treasurer and a
member of the building committee. Mr. Musgrave married Louisa Bock,
of Bocktown, a daughter of Frederick and Anna Lizzetta (Amsler) Bock,
the former a miller and farmer in Economy township, Beaver county,
Pennsylvania, where he died in 1886 at the age of sixty-five years. They
834 PENNSYLVANIA
had children: i. Charles J., bom May i8, 1848; married Elizabeth KieflF-
ner, now deceased. 2. J. Frederick, born January 16, 1851 ; married Pru-
dence Brown; he is a farmer in Ohio. 3. Louisa, born March 5, 1854,
mentioned above. 4. William H., born April 5, 1856; married Emma Sohn;
lives in Oakdale. 5. Rose, born May 5, 1858; married Samuel C. Gray;
lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 6. Adam, born June 9, 1861, died at
the age of fifteen years. 7. Sophia, born June 30, 1864, died unmarried,
August 4, 1887. 8. Henry J., born September 9, 1867; married Clara Marr;
lives in Conway, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Musgrave have had children:
I. Avery R., see forward. 2. Vira Ada, born October 25, 1887; unmar-
ried, lives with her parents ; is a teacher in the Sunday school and secretary
of the Ladies' Missionary Society. 3. Fern Arbutus, born December 23,
1889; unmarried; organist in the Lutheran Sunday school and a member
of the Ladies' Missionary Society. 4. Hazel A., born September 18, 1891 ;
unmarried; secretary of the Concord Presbyterian Sunday school. 5. Alva
Edison, born March 11, 1893; lives with his parents. 6. Stanley Quay,
born January 13, 1896. 7. Violet Ivy, born March 13, 1900.
(Ill) Avery R. Musgrave, son of James H. and Louisa (Bock) Mus-
grave, was born in Economy township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, Oc-
tober 17, 1884. His early years were spent in his native township, and he
received his elementary education in the public schools of Conway. He
then attended Peirsol's Academy in Beaver, and the Rochester Business
College, then under the management of Mr. Depew. Upon the completion
of this excellent and practical education, Mr. Musgrave was for a time a
clerk in a grocery store in Ambridge, Beaver county, then returned to his
home and became an assistant to his father on the farm. He is now in
the employ of the South Pennsylvania Oil Company of Pittsburgh, and
has charge of the oil-pumping station on his father's farm. He has
been active in working for the interests of the Republican party, and has
served two terms as township auditor. His religious affiliation is with the
Lutheran denomination, and he is a member of that church. Mr. Musgrave
is unmarried.
The McCaw family, now creditably represented in New
McCAW Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and also in other sec-
tions of the country, came to America originally from Ireland,
from whence have come so many families who have furnished us with rep-
resentative men in various walks of life.
(I) Thomas McCaw, the first of the family of whom we have record,
was born in Ireland, and died in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, at about
ninety years of age. He came to Allegheny county, when he was about
twenty-three years of age, and married in Butler county, Pennsylvania,
Elizabeth, who died at an advanced age about six years before her husband's
death, a daughter of James Magee, a native of Ireland and a pioneer set-
tler in Butler county, where he died. They had children, all deceased with
BEAVER COUNTY 835
the exception of George : Jane ; John ; Mary Ann ; James ; Rebecca ; WiUiam
Magee, of further mention ; Susanna ; Margaret ; George ; David.
(II) WiUiam Magee McCaw, son of Thomas and EHzabeth (Magee)
McCaw, was born near Bakerstown, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, Sep-
tember 15, 1831, and died in 1903. His early years were spent on the pater-
nal farm and he acquired his education in the public schools of his section
of the township. He was apprenticed to learn the trade of plastering,
with which he was identified for some years. In 1869 he came to New
Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where he established himself in
the grocery business at the corner of Ninth avenue and Ninth street, and
carried on his business until 1890, at which time he retired from business
responsibilities. During these years he had amassed a comfortable com-
petency, and was the owner of a number of pieces of property in New
Brighton. He took an active part in the religious affairs of the community,
and served as an elder of the United Presbyterian Church of New Brighton
for many years. In political matters he was a Prohibitionist. Mr. McCaw
married, June 11, 1861, Lucy Caroline Anderson, born in West Greenville,
Mercer county, Pennsylvania, March 4, 1841. They had children: Thomas
Walter, born in 1864, in Butler county, Pennsylvania ; Mary Elizabeth, born
in 1866, married Stuart Magee, of New Brighton; George S., born in 1868,
a resident of Dennison, Ohio ; Charles Francis, of further mention. William
Crow Anderson, son of James Anderson, and father of Mrs. McCaw, was
of Irish extraction and was bom in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in