This series is based upon J. W. Jordans 1913 Genealogical and personal history of the Allegheny Valley, Pennsylvania. Only the structure and formatting have been changed for clearer presentation; the genealogical and biographical content has been preserved.
Showing 1–20 of 20 articles
The Haggerty Family of Bradford, Pennsylvania
This genealogical sketch traces the Haggerty family from Henry Haggerty, a Belfast-born farmer and cattle dealer who settled in Canada in 1835, through his son John, a trained stonemason and livestock buyer, to John’s son John (2), who built a successful career in Pennsylvania. Born in Canada, John (2) Haggerty learned harness making before moving to the United States, where he worked in several towns before establishing himself in Bradford’s baking, oil production, and refining industries. The article also notes the family’s Presbyterian and Methodist ties, political affiliations, and the wider Haggerty branch in Clearfield County.
The Drake Family of Bradford, Pennsylvania
The article traces the Drake family line from Jacob Drake, an English emigrant and Revolutionary War colonel, through several generations in New York and Pennsylvania. It focuses especially on Silas Drake, a farmer and father of a large family, and on his son Lorenzo Dow Drake, a lifelong farmer in Degolia who served the community for decades as a school director and town officer. The sketch continues with Lorenzo’s children, many of whom moved west and pursued varied careers, and concludes with Ida Eliza Drake, educated in Pennsylvania and Ohio and later a teacher and active member of the Universalist…
The McCrea Family of Donegal Township, Pennsylvania
This genealogical sketch traces the McCrea family from county Donegal, Ireland, to western Pennsylvania, beginning with William McCrea and Mary Harkins and following their descendants through several generations. It recounts the life of Daniel McCrea, a farmer and school director in Donegal Township, and his marriage to Sarah Coyle, as well as the careers and families of their children. The article gives particular attention to John Chrysostom McCrea, whose work in the oil fields, police service, and long employment with the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad made him a notable family figure in Bradford and beyond.
The Fisher Family of Bradford, Pennsylvania
This article traces the Fisher family from early English roots through successive generations in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and western Pennsylvania, eventually reaching Bradford. It follows the line from Anthony Fisher of Suffolk to later descendants who served in colonial government, the Revolutionary War, and local business. The account highlights family migrations, marriages, property holdings, church affiliations, and public service, with special attention to William Rowell Fisher and his descendants, including Olive M. Fisher Lain and William Fisher Lain. The result is a detailed genealogical and biographical history showing how the family became part of Bradford’s civic and industrial development.
The Morris Family of South Bradford, Pennsylvania
A detailed family history traces the Morris line from colonial New England to western Pennsylvania, beginning with Lieutenant Edward Morris of Roxbury and Woodstock and following successive generations through Samuel, Lemuel, and Samuel Morris into New York and eventually South Bradford. The account notes the family’s Revolutionary War connections, farming and trading livelihoods, and Methodist faith, while also documenting marriages, children, and public service. It culminates with William Schuyler Morris and his son Jasper Levi Morris, a prominent Degolia farmer and local official whose long tenure as supervisor, tax collector, assessor, and school director reflected the family’s continued civic role…
The Murphy Family of Wilcox, Pennsylvania
This article traces the Murphy family from County Cork, Ireland, to western Pennsylvania, where successive generations worked on railroads, farms, and in the oil industry. It follows Patrick Murphy’s immigration and labor in Wilcox, Minnesota, and Custer City, then profiles his son Timothy B. Murphy, who rose from early hardship to become a successful oil producer and investor in Custer City. The piece also includes the related Sullivan family line, detailing the ancestry of Timothy B. Murphy’s wife, Ellen C. Sullivan, and the many descendants connected to both families across Pennsylvania, New York, and beyond.
The Sutton Family of Bradford, Pennsylvania
This article traces the Sutton lineage from its English roots to Elihu Sutton’s settlement in Sparta, New York, and follows the family through successive generations into Pennsylvania. It outlines the life of John Sutton, a blacksmith and farmer, and his marriage to Sarah Hoffman, then focuses on their daughter Mary Cordelia Sutton and her husband, Lorenzo Barton Prosser. Prosser’s career as a Bradford farmer, town official, Civil War sergeant in the Bucktail Regiment, prisoner at Libby Prison, and later oil producer is detailed, along with the family connections and descendants that link Sparta, Bradford, and other communities.
The Dowrey Family of Harrisville, Pennsylvania
This account traces the Dowrey family from William Dowrey, a Scottish master mechanic who settled in Ohio, through his son James, an expert machinist who established mills and helped develop Harrisville, Pennsylvania. It follows the family’s growth across Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, and beyond, noting marriages, children, occupations, and religious affiliations. The article gives particular attention to James Dowrey’s descendants, including Agnes J. Dowrey Fitzgerald and her children, while also preserving details on the Fitzgerald line, with its connections to oil production, contracting, and medicine. Together, the narrative offers a broad genealogical portrait of a family shaped by industry, migration,…
The Frederick Family of Bradford, Pennsylvania
This genealogical sketch traces the Frederick family from German roots to Pennsylvania, following three generations from Leonard Frederick, who settled in Millerstown, through his son John, a shoemaker and Civil War veteran, to John H. Frederick, a Bradford oilman and South Penn Oil Company superintendent. It also records the Carnahan family line through Sarah A. Carnahan Frederick, linking the family to earlier settlers in Butler and Armstrong counties. Alongside migration, military service, trades, church membership, and children are documented, creating a detailed portrait of interconnected German, Scottish, and Irish-descended families in western Pennsylvania.
The Auerhaim Family of Bradford, Pennsylvania
This genealogical sketch traces the Auerhaim family from its German roots in Prussia to its establishment in western Pennsylvania. It describes several generations, beginning with an industrious grandfather who supported a synagogue and conducted grain and hotel businesses, then follows Moses Mordecai Auerhaim and his children, many of whom settled in American cities. The account focuses especially on Solomon Auerhaim, who emigrated to the United States, built a successful dry goods business in Petroleum Center, Oil City, Erie, and Bradford, and erected the New Auerhaim building. It also outlines the marriages, children, and later careers of his descendants.
The Eby Family of Bradford, Pennsylvania
This genealogy traces the Eby line from Theodore Eby, who immigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania in 1717, through several generations that moved from Lancaster County to Ohio, Indiana, and eventually Bradford, Pennsylvania. It highlights Samuel Eby, a pioneer farmer and German Baptist preacher in Stark County, Ohio, and his descendants, many of whom settled in Indiana and neighboring states. The article closes with the family of Delilah Eby Caldwell, whose marriage connected the Eby line to Bradford, where her husband became a successful oil producer and their children continued to live and work in the community.
The Durfey Family of Venango County Pennsylvania
This article traces the Durfey family from its Rhode Island Durfee origins through successive generations in Connecticut and western Pennsylvania, following the line from Thomas Durfee of Portsmouth to Benjamin Durfey, Joseph Durfey, and Benjamin (2) Durfey, a Connecticut legislator and manufacturer. It then follows Charles Averill Durfey, who moved to Venango County and later Bradford, where he managed oil and real estate interests and served in civic roles, and his son Frank Edward Durfey, who continued the family’s business and public involvement. The piece also includes the Kingsley line connected by marriage to Harmony Kingsley Durfey.
The Holbrook Family of Bradford, Pennsylvania
The name of Holbrook is ancient and distinguished, and is frequently met with in England and the United States. As early as the reign of Richard II. of England one of that name was admitted to the order of Knighthood and “A chevron between three mullets” assigned as his coat-of-arms. Many Holbrooks were early in New England. The name first appears at Weymouth, Massachusetts, 1640, when Thomas Holbrook settled in that part of Weymouth called “Old Spain.” His will, dated December 31, 1668, mentions wife Jane and children: Children (II) Thomas (2) Holbrook Thomas (2), son of Thomas (1) Holbrook,…
The Schermerhorn Family of Venango County, Pennsylvania
This genealogical account traces the Schermerhorn line from Jacob Janse Schermerhorn, a prosperous 17th-century settler in New York’s Mohawk Valley, through successive generations in Schenectady, Herkimer County, and Pennsylvania. It highlights the family’s long association with farming, church life, and local civic affairs, along with notable early landholding and trusteeship disputes over the Schenectady patent. The narrative concludes with Edward Edgar Schermerhorn, an educator who became superintendent of schools in Bradford, Pennsylvania, and his family connections to the Gillespie and Harder lines, linking the old Dutch-American lineage to later life in Venango County and beyond.
The Harris Family of Bradford, Pennsylvania
This article traces the Harris line from early New England settlers through successive generations in Connecticut and New York to the family’s establishment in Pennsylvania, especially in Bradford and McKean County. It outlines the ancestry of Asa Harris and his descendants, including Delpha Harris and Marshall Delos Harris, while also connecting the family to the Moore and Edson lines through marriage. Alongside births, marriages, migrations, and occupations such as farming, shoemaking, lumbering, and business, the account places the family within broader regional history and notes their civic, religious, and military ties.
The Habgood Family of Bradford, Pennsylvania
This family long seated in England was founded in the United States by William Henry Habgood, father of Robert Patton Habgood, of Bradford, Pennsylvania, of the first generation born in the United States. (I) Robert Habgood Robert Habgood was a carpenter and builder of Gloucestershire, England, died in Cheltenham, England. By wife Mary he had children: Children His wife survived him and came to the United States, where she died and is buried at Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. Mr. Habgood and his wife were members of the established Church of England (Episcopal). (II) William Henry Habgood William Henry, only son of Robert…
The Leasures of Bradford, Pennsylvania
This genealogy traces the Leasure family of Bradford, Pennsylvania, to the French Huguenot Le Sueur line and follows its migration through colonial New York, Pennsylvania, and the frontier settlements along the Susquehanna. It describes the family’s early occupations in farming and salt production, their Dutch Reformed and Presbyterian faith, and the hardships of frontier life, including Indian attacks. The article then focuses on George Leasure and his son James W. Leasure, outlining their careers in milling, oil, printing, insurance, and business, as well as James W. Leasure’s many inventions and civic affiliations.
The Fishers of Bradford, Pennsylvania
This account traces several generations of the Fisher family from German-born Joseph and Catharine Fisher to their descendants in Bradford, Lewisburg, Milton, and other Pennsylvania communities. It follows the family’s movement from early settlement near Catawissa through farming, milling, canal work, railroad service, and business ventures tied to the state’s developing industries. The article gives particular attention to Tunis Fisher and his son Jasper Strohecker Fisher, whose careers reflect the transition from canal and oil-era work to railroad and civic leadership in Bradford. Family marriages, children, and later residences are also noted in detail.
The Potter Family of Bradford, Pennsylvania
This article traces the Potter family from John Potter, an early English immigrant to New England, through successive generations in Connecticut and beyond, with detailed notes on marriages, children, occupations, and dates. It follows the line down to Eleazer Potter and his son George Hubbell Potter, who settled in Bradford, Pennsylvania, after military service and a career in the oil industry. Along the way, the narrative highlights physicians, sailors, merchants, and civic leaders, showing how the family moved from colonial Connecticut roots into nineteenth-century life in Illinois and western Pennsylvania.
The Melvin Family of Bradford, Pennsylvania
This genealogical sketch traces the Melvin line from early Massachusetts and New Hampshire roots to the family’s prominence in Bradford, Pennsylvania. It follows several generations, beginning with Patrick Melvin in Chester, New Hampshire, and highlighting Benjamin, John, and John F. Melvin, who became an important pioneer merchant and lumber dealer in McKean County. The article then focuses on Thomas Jefferson Melvin and John Parker Melvin, noting their roles in business, banking, law, and civic life. It also includes detailed family connections, marriages, children, and the related Laney family, placing the Melvins within the broader development of Bradford’s early community.
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