History of Beaver, (Beaver County) Pennsylvania United States of America

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Local History Notes:

BEAVER, a county in the W. part of Pennsylvania, bordering on Ohio, contains 650 square miles. It is intersected by the Ohio and Beaver rivers. The surface is undulating, and the soil highly productive, especially on the river bottoms. The staple productions are wheat, corn, oats, wool, pork, &c. In 1850 there were raised 244,112 bushels of wheat; 226,253 of Indian corn; 329,481 of oats; 17,915 tons of hay, and 498,772 pounds of butter. There were 25 flour and grist mills, 3 paper mills, 13 saw mills, 5 woollen factories, 1 cotton factory, 1 boat yard, 4 manufactories of agricultural implements, 1 of edge tools, and 1 of wooden ware, 5 breweries, 4 iron foundries, 1 wool-carding mill, and 18 tanneries. It contained 60 churches and 2 newspaper establishments. There were 5279 pupils attending public schools, and 367 attending academies or other schools. Extensive beds of bituminous coal and strata of limestone occur in nearly every part of the county, and the forests afford an abundance of timber. The county is liberally supplied with water-power. It is intersected by the Ohio and Pennsylvania railroad. Capital, Beaver. Population, 26,689.

Biographies:

Daniel Agnew, jurist, was born in Trenton, N.J., Jan. 5, 1809. At an early age he went with his parents to Pittsburg, Pa., where he obtained his education and entered the legal profession. He became widely and favorably known as a sound lawyer, and at the revision of Pennsylvania's constitution in 1836, he was a member of the convention called for that purpose. In 1851 he became presiding judge of the Seventeenth judicial district, in 1863 supreme judge, and in 1873 chief justice. He received the degree of LL.D. from both Washington and Dickinson colleges. He resigned from his judge-ship in 1879, "with the reputation of being one of the ablest jurists that ever sat upon the Pennsylvanian bench." In 1880 he was chosen as first president of the constitutional temperance amendment association of New Jersey. He published "A History of the Region of Pennsylvania North of the Ohio and West of the Allegheny River, etc., etc." (1878); and "Our National Constitution: its Adaptation to a State of War" (1863). He died at Beaver, Pa., March 9, 1902.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Thomas Henry, representative, was born in Ireland, May 16, 1781; son of William Henry, who emigrated to the United States in 1783 and settled in Maryland, removing to Beaver county, Pa., in 1796. Thomas was justice of the peace of Beaver county, 1808-10; county commissioner, 1810-14; captain of Pennsylvania militia during the war with Great Britain; proprietor and editor of the Western Argus, 1825-31; county treasurer, 1828-29, and was appointed judge in 1831. He was a representative in the 25th, 26th and 27th congresses, 1837-43. He died at Beaver, Pa., July 20, 1849.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

William Marks, senator, was born in Chester county, Pa., Oct. 13, 1778. At an early age he removed to Beaver, Pa., with his parents, who were among the pioneer settlers of that place. He learned the tanner's trade; was a Democratic representative in the state legislature, 1810-19; and a state senator, 1820-25, and president of that body, 1821-25. He resigned in 1825 to take his seat in the U.S. senate, to which he had been elected by the Democratic legislature, and he was re-elected in 1831, serving 1825-37. He was chairman of the committee on enrolled bills. He died in Beaver, Pa., April 10, 1858.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor