McKean County Archives - Page 9 of 10 - Pennsylvania Genealogy

The Morris Family of South Bradford, Pennsylvania

Old town hall, Allegheny City, torn down in 1863

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 in the Bradford area.

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, and community life.

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, … Read more

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.