Beginning about 1766 there was a migration of families from Monmouth County, New Jersey to what became Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, which is southeast of Pittsburgh, near Sewickley. Elizabeth is approximately 284 miles due west of Cranbury, New Jersey.  Mrs. Elizabeth J. Wall has mapped out a probable migration route.

“They would have taken Falls Path and crossed the Delaware River at Trenton which took them to Philadelphia. From there they would have picked up the Old Swedes Path also known as the King’s Path laid out in 1684 which went through Darby to New Castle, Delaware. Then following paths that would have taken them across northern Maryland crossing the upper Potomac River, then on to Fort Frederick, then to Will’s Creek (now Cumberland, Maryland). They would then pick up Braddock’s Road (Nemocolin’s Path) to Will’s Mountain. Here Braddock’s Road turned north because he did not think he could get his wagons and artillery over the mountains before him. He went by the narrows of Will’s Creek bringing him to Glades Path. Here the settlers would have turned west following Glades Path which would take them through what is now Westmoreland County, then through Forward Township to the Monongahela River.” (Some might have followed Nemacolin’s Path to the Monogahela River and then turned north.)

Allen Wall and his cousin John Sutton wrote an article for the Elizabeth Herald newspaper in 1888 –“In Olden Times.” Their section on the Jersey Settlement follows:
“In the central portion of Forward Township is a locality known for a hundred years or thereabouts as the ‘Jersey Settlement.’ This is the oldest settlement within the limits of the township, and dates from the year 1766. In that year Thomas, William, Daniel, Samuel, and Benjamin Applegate, James and Walter Wall, all originally from Monmouth County, New Jersey, crossed the mountains and settled here upon the lands still largely owned by their descendants. They left their wives and children behind at their old homes. These two families were connected by intermarriage.

The year in which this settlement was made is well established in the traditions of both families. At this point I rely with confidence on the statement of James Wall, son of Walter the pioneer, frequently made to members of our family. James lived at the old homestead on the hill near Fallen Timber Run, and is doubtless well remembered by many persons now living. He was very positive as to the date of settlement; in his later years when speaking of this matter it was his custom to fix the date by saying that he was four years old when his father came over the mountains. He was born in New Jersey in 1762, and died in September 1855. Having lived a remarkably long and useful life, he died respected and loved by his neighbors as a man of rare purity and integrity of character.

A part of our traditions would indicate that the Walls had previously settled for a short term on the headwaters of the Potomac in Maryland from which point they joined the Applegates when they crossed the mountains into Pennsylvania. They followed the track or road made by the army of General Braddock, and reached the Monogahela at or near Redstone.

It will be observed that this settlement was made within the period when the Indians were complaining of the encroachments of the white men upon their lands on the Monongahela and elsewhere; and when the governors of Virginia and Pennsylvania, through their subordinates, were making strenuous efforts to prevent the settlers from improving their lands and to expel them therefrom. As to the action of the Applegates and Walls during this trying and vexatious period, our traditions are silent. When we consider the fact that they lived near the garrison of Fort Pitt, the official headquarters at that time, and on the highway between that place and the east by the way of Redstone and Cumberland, we may be sure that they were exposed to many annoyances and hardships at this time. If they remained on their lands during this period, they doubtless kept very quiet and did not attempt to improve them further perhaps than clearing little patches for garden stuff near their cabins. Their food came mainly from the forest, which abounded in game and wild fruits. In the fall of 1768, after their homes had been purchased from the Indians, they felt secure in their new homes, and sent for their wives and children who joined them in the following spring. Then, after the rigors of winter had subsided, with freshened courage and new inspirations, they began the real work of clearing and improving their lands.”

Other pioneers were now coming into the neighborhood. In the spring of 1768 Samuel Devore settled in the bend of the river; and before the close of 1769 the following persons had settled on lands now in Forward Township: Donald Munro, who settled on the lands where Elizabeth now stands and afterwards sold them to Col. McKay, a part of which are in Forward; James Perry, Hugh Davidson; Jamess Hallidy; James Dean; William McClure; Richard Parker; Phillip Rodgers; Azariah Davis; Adam McConnell; John Reed; William Niely; Alexander Dunlap; Abraham Miller;’ Zacheus Wilson;  Cornelius Thompson; James, Andrew, Jonathan and Stephen Pearse; and Joseph Warne.”

Ezekiel Dye(Dey) is known to have purchased land in 1789, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Deeds. Sewickley is a few miles west of Elizabeth and is where Ezekiel is said to have owned a saw mill prior to migrating to Ohio. William Egbert migrated to the Jersey Settlement around 1790.

From “The Monongahela of Old,” 1858, footnote p. 107:
“On Coxe’s Run in Luzerne Township, a stranger, from the vicinity of Hagerstown, by the name of Applegate, had somehow got his leg badly broken in the woods, and in that condition was found by an old settler, who at once had him borne to his cabin, where every aid and comfort within reach was provided. But it being late in the fall, and the stranger knowing that the remedy for his misfortune was time and patience, was very anxious to be again among his family and friends. There was then no carriage road across the mountains, nothing but a pack-horse path. To convey him home, eight of the neighbors agreed to carry him on a sort of hammock, swung on two poles like a bier. This they did, all the way to Hagerstown! Four of the men were Michael Cook, William Conwell, Thomas Davidson, and Rezin Virgin.” (It is believed that the man was Jacob Applegate who lived at that time in Berkeley Co., VA, or possibly Thomas Applegate (174501808) who was the first Applegate who went to the vicinity of Allegheny Co., PA with the Wall brothers.”

 

Picture, for a moment, the conditions in southwestern Pennsylvania during the 1770’s through the 90’s. The United States had been just born. Indian attacks such as the attack on Massy White and her children, and the Russ massacre were common in western Pennsylvania. Local battles had been going on with the Indians with no support from the eastern peoples who also were busy with the British until the late 1770’s and then had a government to put together. The Scot’s/Irish background of many of the settlers may have led to their apparent lack of respect for authority. The Washington County Militia was involved in the massacre at Gnadenhutten and the burning of Schoenbrunn in march of 1782. The last official battle of the American Revolution didn’t occur until September 13, 1782. This conflict pitted a company of British Rangers and 238 Indians against six settlers near the Dutch Fork region in Washington County, PA. the Fact that the British and Indians withdrew is an example of the independent nature and fighting ability of the settlers of the area. Another skirmish the next day apparently involved only Indians and settlers with no British troops seen.

While the country we know as the United States of America existed on paper, citizens of all states considered themselves apart of their state first, and associated with their country second. When roll was called in the Continental Congress, the question was always, whether the state was at hand, not whether a particular person was present. State rights was considered a natural right by most, and people hesitated to surrender their state rights to a union of states because of the danger of giving the ‘control of the purse and sword’ to the single group. Basically, it took a long while for the states to accept the fact that they were not separate countries. The eastern peoples were quicker to accept the ideas of states, ‘subservient to the country’ than the people west of the mountains. Even in the East, the separatists ideas slowly came to an end after  the Mount Vernon Compact in 1785 and the Constitutional Convention in 1787. The Shay’s rebellion in western Massachusetts occurred from august 1786 to early 1787. Additional attempts to separate occurred in western N. Carolinain 1776 and late in the 1780’s in Kentucky.

Western Pennsylvania had a history of wanting to be separate. As early as 1775 the Transylvanians petitioned the Continental Congress to be recognized as the fourteenth colony. In 1776 the people in the region claimed by both Pennsylvania and Virginia, announced that they were the new state of Westsylvania. They said that ‘no country or people can be either rich, flourishing, happy or free… whilst annexed to or dependent on any province, whose seat of government is…four or five hundred miles distant, and separated by a vast, extensive and almost impassible tract of mountains…” With both states claiming this land, many peoples took advantage of the difficulty in enforcing state laws in this area until 1781 when Pennsylvania was given control. With this history, is it any wonder that unrest might occur here again in 1794?

Decisions made along the East Coast had little support or effect on the highly independent people west of the mountains. Crime was of little importance because of the attitude of the masses, and courts were few and far between. This independence, naturally, resulted in a political feeling of local power as opposed to federal power. The Democratic Society was strong west of the mountains and emphasized democracy and a strong local government which they felt was guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

The separatist attitude of the states was slow to disappear. Even after the Constitutional Convention on May 14, 1787, while the bickering and competition between the states decreased somewhat, it was retained in the West. In addition, there was little loyalty between the eastern and western regions of Virginia and Pennsylvania.

On January 15, 1788, Lord Dorchester, the governor-general of Canada (aware of the strong feelings against the East) sent his friend John Connolly to Western PA to talk to Gen. John Neville, Gen. Samuel Parsons, and other Pittsburghers sympathetic to the British cause to determine the likelihood of the West separating from the East. He then sent a letter to Lord Sydney advising him to aid the West in separating from the Union. Among the names of the influential people considered sympathetic to the plan to separate the western areas from the rest of the Union was Gen. John Neville who later became an important individual against the whiskey rebellion. Active encouragement began in 1789 and 1790, but seemed not to be a key factor in the coming disagreement.

Indians, often led by the British sill raided the areas west of the mountains. The Indian problem could no longer be ignored by the young country. They sent two major military expeditions against the eastern Indians. The first, in 1790, was led by Gen. Josiah Harmer and the second, in 1791, was led by Gen. Arthur St. Clair. Both expeditions were defeated by the Indians. To pay for the military activity against the Indian and other things, it was decided to put an additional tariff on the sale of whiskey at the source. It wasn’t until 1794 that General Anthony Wayne defeated the British at Fallen Timbers and the British actually withdrew from the region, giving up on any hope of claim to the areas west of the mountains. Had Wayne struck with the same success a year earlier when he was first ready, it is likely that the western people would have had more faith in the new government and the rebellion probably would not have occurred.

Another slap in the face was the rich easterners buying land in western Pennsylvania and western Virginia even though it was already occupied and farmed. The settlers then either had to move or buy their land from the outsiders who may have never left their home in the East. This was permitted by the state of Pennsylvania as a means of producing funds and the state took steps to outlaw the secessionist activities assuring a continued flow of income.

The whiskey tariff, which is often incorrectly thought of as being the only cause of the coming disagreement, was seven cents a gallon. If the settlers were able to sell whiskey in Washington County, it would bring about 25 cents a gallon. Selling whiskey on the eastern side of the mountains would normally bring about 50 cents a gallon. By collecting the tax at the source instead of the point of sale, the western whiskey was taxed 28% while the eastern whiskey had a 14% tax. Collecting the tax based on the output of the still also meant the farmers had to pay tax on the whiskey which they consumed themselves. The registration of stills had to occur in June at the one tax office per county. Washington County had no tax office due to the sentiment against the East and the whiskey tax. If one were to register the still, they would have to go to one of the neighboring counties to do so. Few Washingtonians registered because of the distances involved and the individualistic principles they espoused.

Trials of excise (whiskey) cases were not permitted to be held in the local counties. Instead, the trial was held in the Federal Court in Philadelphia. The time to go to Philadelphia, the costs involved in travel, lawyers and witnesses made the westerners fell that they were being picked on deliberately. A meeting at Redstone Fort in July of 1791 began the organized resistance to the collection of the excise tax. The few attempts at enforcing the excise often resulted in humiliation and sometimes tarring and feathering.

One might say that the insurrection really began in mid August 1791 when a number of armed men painted as Indians were reported to be lurking in some bushes between Pittsburgh and Washington, PA, in an attempt to waylay Neville, but the first tarrying and feather actually occurred a month earlier. By the summer of 1792 Captain Faulkner was tarred and feathered for trying to open a Washington County tax office. Alexander Hamilton, in spite if the wishes of the Congress, set about forcing western farmers to come to Philadelphia for trial.

A confrontation between Marshall Lennox and Gen. Neville and William Miller and some friends occurred at William Miller’s home in Allegheny County. At least one shot was fired by Miller’s (Allegheny Co.) group during the visit by Neville (serving writs) but no one was injured. Alexander Hamilton claimed that the shots missed their targets but most historians assume that no one was aimed at. This same day the Mingo Creek Militia was gathered to fulfill a request for Indian fighters. Two groups of militiamen were selected to pursue Marshall. They went to Neville’s house on the assumption that Lennox had returned there with Neville. The next morning (July 16), thirty men approached Neville’s home demanding an interview. Neville apparently turned and shot and killed Oliver Miller, the nephew of William Miller, and then blew a horn upon which his slaves opened fire from their quarters at the back of the crowd. The militia suffered a number of wounded and retreated to Couche’s Fort for another meeting and to recruit more men.

On July 17, 1794 with James McFarlane in command, around 500 met at Couche’s Fort and advanced on Bower Hill (Neville’s home). The attack began after women and children were permitted to leave. According to legend, a white flag was thought to be seen in a window Neville’s home or someone from the house called out for a truce. McFarlane ordered firing stopped, in the process exposing himself. A shot from the house killed James McFarlane. The attacking troops were outraged and burned the barn, home and several outbuildings after releasing the people in the house unharmed. The militia attacking Bower Hill thought that a Abraham Kirkpatrick, in command of the eleven soldiers protecting Bower Hill, had shot and killed McFarlane.

By August 7, 1794, George Washington began mobilizing 12,950 troops from eastern Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey under Gen. Harry Lee, the Governor of Virginia and father of Robert E. Lee.

Amnesty was offered to those involved in the various acts of defiance by a  presidential commission on August 21, 1794. The required number of signatures was not obtained, in part, because that many felt that by signing they would be admitting guilt. The terms required that the leaders openly declare their submission to the laws in general, and the excise law in particular. At the urging of Hamilton, George Washington determined that troops would be needed to put down the, so called, insurrection. The troops, largely from New Jersey, arrived in Carlisle, Pennsylvania late September 1794. Washington and his troops arrived in Bedford, Pennsylvania on October 19th. By early and mid November the “Watermelon Army” began rounding up suspects in western Pennsylvania. These people, suspects and witnesses together, many of the barefoot and lacking winter clothing, were then marched to Philadelphia to stand trial. David Bradford, one of the leaders of the insurrection, escaped and fled. Most of the army began the trek home on November 19th with the suspects and their guards following six days later. It is often rumored that the remaining troops spent the winter on the campus of Washington Academy, now known as Washington & Jefferson College. The school closed down during this short time, in part, because a number of the students and the trustees of the college were known sympathizers with the rebels.

Because of their unwillingness to submit to the federalist principles of a strong central government, we may thank the independent people west of the mountains for our present day democratic society. Thomas Jefferson resigned hi post of Secretary of State in 1793, in part, in protest because George Washington was agreeing too much with Hamilton and the Federalists. Some feel that Alexander Hamilton caused the Whiskey Rebellion. Thankfully the rebellion failed, almost before it began. It did publicize some of the problems the settlers were having with the government, gave the newly formed government a chance to flex its muscles and, in a sense, redefined the word treason to permit disagreement with the government without being considered treasonous.

This was the atmosphere and the events in the area as William Egbert, with his family, moved to Elizabeth, PA, then called The New Jersey Settlement. The family outline states there were family reasons for the move the Egberts made to Mercer County, Pennsylvania around 1800. The Whiskey Rebellion was certainly a part of their lives while they were in Elizabeth, and could have been part of their reason for leaving. In the records of this insurrection, though my search was not extensive, I found no mention of any Egberts, Walls, Applegates, Perrines or Jobs. There could be many reasons for their exclusion, perhaps they just weren’t caught, or they supported the federalists actions, or they were more interested in starting their own homesteads. It is possible the urging that the family was giving William Egbert to move to Mercer County was because of the problems in the southwestern section of  the state.

Every citizen above middle age remembers vividly the ‘muster days’ of the olden times, when companies would collect at stated places once or twice a year, to go through the prescribed routine of training. The uniforms were as various as the individuals, and the arms presented the same mixed condition, consisting of muskets, wooden guns, broomsticks, corn stalks, canes, etc., ad infinitum. The occasions were made memorable by the number of fights had, the amount of  whiskey consumed and the ‘general good time enjoyed.’ Old grudges were settled on the field of martial combat, and the various champions of the region round about had a fair opportunity to display their powers.

Rev. D.N. Junkin relates substantially the following: About 1821 there were several uniformed companies in the county, the “Mercer Light Infantry”, Capt. Benjamin Junkin; the “Shenango Marksmen,” Capt. William Sheriff; the “Wolf Creek Rangers,” Capt. David Robinson; the “Salem Rangers,” Capt. Samuel Williamson; a company from the vicinity of Harrisville (name unknown: and one from New Castle, Capt. Samuel Byers. These were organized into the One Hundred and Twenty First Regiment Pennsylvania Militia, Capt. Samuel Williamson was elected colonel, Benjamin Junkin, lieutenant colonel, M.O. Junkin, major, and Capt. Samuel Byers, adjutant. These companies were arranged so as to distribute the honors of position. The “Mercer Blues’ or “Light Infantry” was the oldest company, and always occupied the head of the regiment.

Capt. Job Egbert, of Sandy Lake, was a soldier in the War of 1812, probably a member of the “Blues.” He was at Erie, and in after years sported a swallow-tailed coat of blue, trimmed up in buff. The coat grew rusty with years, but on State occasions (reviews) he sported it. He had outgrown it, and it, when buttoned, had split over his hips. On one occasion (a review) Pitt Street, Mercer, near Hackney’s Hotel, was crowded with the formidable array of militia companies marching to and fro, with shrieking and rattling drums. Capt. Egbert, who commanded the Seventh Company, was marching down the street at its head, followed on foot by all the chivalry of Sandy Lake, armed with sticks and brooms, with here and there a rifle or shot gun. The redoubtable captain had for his drummer a Guinea Negro, named Adam; but in default of a fifer, Adam had puckered his voluminous lips, and was whistling the “White Cockade,” and using his drum sticks with zealous skill performing the double functions of fifer and drummer. Another company was marching up the street, and the head of the columns, as they passed through the narrow avenues formed by the spectators, met and could not pass. “Left face.” said Capt. Egbert. “Right face.” said the other chieftain of the other band. This order brought the head of each line in the same direction. “Right face,” said Capt. Job. “Left face,” said the other, causing a movement to the other side for both. By this time the military patience, even of Capt. Job, was exhausted, but not hi military resources. Knowing that the men of his command were more familiar with the terms in driving oxen than with military phrases, he cried out, with the presence of mind worthy of so trying a crisis, waving his sword in the style of an ox wattle, “Come, Whoa Here.” and they “whoaed.” With vociferous laughter they followed their intrepid leader and sallow whistling drummer down into the public square.

Mr. Egbert was the son of William Egbert of Sandy Lake and Rebecca Job of Washington Co., PA. He was born May 17, 1798 and moved with his family to Mercer Co. in 1801.

Lewis Egbert was active in community affairs from early manhood. He was a constable in Sandy Lake Twp in 1821, and was for many years a justice of the peace and was an assessor, a supervisor and a director of the poor. He was a Whig, a strong anti-slavery man and later a Republican.

He was married in 1819 in Ballaire, Belmont Co., OH to Aseneth Nixon, the daughter of John Nixon of that place. He and his consort have been earnest and active members of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. He is survived by his wife, by eleven of his thirteen children and by numerous grandchildren.

Mrs. Asenath Ebert was born in Ohio near Wheeling, West Virginia in 1801. Shortly after her marriage in 1819, she with her husband came to Mercer county and settled in Sandy Lake twp. on the farm now owned by her son-in-law, W.H. Clawson.

She was the mother of thirteen children, all of whom lived to manhood and womanhood. Three of the family, Justus Egbert, Mrs. Sampson Wright (Nancy), and Mrs. James Coleman (Harriet) are dead. Her husband, Lewis Egbert died in 1871. Her descendants living are ten sons and daughters, sixty-three grandchildren, and thirty-seven great-grandchildren.

She with her husband was for many years a faithful member of Zion Wesleyan Church. During her last illness her sufferings were intense, but she was resigned and trustful. She died on Tuesday, March 28th, being in her 82nd year, and was buried on Thursday by the side of her husband in Zion Cemetery. We deeply sympathize with all the sorrowing friends in their bereavement.
 

(4/13/1828-3/28/1896) born Sandy Lake twp., Mercer Co., PA., died at home on South Park St., Frnaklin, PA, buried in Franklin Cemetery, married 10/17/1860, Eliza Phipps (10/19/1835-1925) daughter of Samuel and Amelia (Halyday) Phipps, eleven children. Doctor and oil producer, US House of Rep., 44th Congress (1875-1877), Democrat, graduate of Michigan University, Ann Arbor and Western Reserve Medical School, Cincinnati, OH. in 1856. Started practice in Clintonville, then Cherry Tree, PA until 1861. Served as volunteer surgeon in Civil War with rank of major. Practiced in Oil City 19 years. Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Jackson Centre, PA. Postmaster of Perrines Corners, 1863.

Spent boyhood working on farm and attending school. Studied two terms in Austinburg Academy in Ashtabula, OH and in fall of 1856 received degree of Doctor of Medicine from Western Reserve. That summer he began his practice in Clintonville, Franklin Co., PA in partnership with Dr. W. Lowrie Whann. In the following year he located at Cherry Tree, Venango Co., PA where he practiced for four years. In the beginning of the development of the oil business, when Drake first drilled a successful well, he became a successful operator with his brother, Milton C. Egbert, and in 1861 was one of the largest oil producers, near Petroleum Center. (The land being on the east bank of Oil Creek, opposite the place which became known as Petroleum Centre.) Dr. Egbert was obliged to give up a large medical practice to attend to his increasing oil business. He disposed of his interests in that section and moved to Mercer Co. in 1861 and established the 1st National Bank of Mercer, of which he was president, until he went to Franklin in 1870. In 1876, he was elected to Congress on the Democratic ticket for the district of Erie, Venango, and Warren counties, serving one term. On returning from Congress he devoted time to development of large business interests in oil and coal. Very successful in Franklin lubricating oil field and was pioneer in its development. President of the original Kelipaw Refining Co., the Columbia & Franklin Natural Gas Co., and gave liberally to promotion of many other enterprises. For many years he was president of the Venango Co. Agricultural Society. Contributed to all churches in the city and many in the county and responded to all calls for charity. He also donated the land on which the soldiers Orphan School of Mercer is located.  Responsible in large part for the parks in Franklin. Appointed member of Parks Commission in 1879 and served until his death.
 

From the date of his arrival in Franklin until his death, Dr. Egbert was identified with the progress and improvement of the place. His public spirit, backed by a practical education and skill in business affairs infused itself into his undertakings and associated him with about every important movement of enterprise. He, at one time, owned The Point, and was afterward one-third owner of the Galloway farm, both of which yielded immense quantities of oil. He also engaged largely in coal production during the oil excitement, and at the time of his death owned and operating valuable coal mines in Mercer county. In company with the late Col. Bleakley, he laid a water line from Cranberry township into the city, which is now merged in the Venango Water company plant.

Quiet, unostentatious man, good to the poor and liberal contributor to public enterprises. Married Eliza Phipps, daughter of Sheriff Phipps of Clinton twp. She survived her husband with four sons and three daughters. His funeral largely attended. Following his death, residents of Franklin conducted a public drive to raise funds for the A.G. Egbert Memorial Fountain located in the city’s West Park. It was repaired in 1970, financed by another public campaign. It was again recently (1995) repaired and is a beautiful, large fountain today.

When he was a boy, he and his eldest brother, Edwin, went to a meeting to listen to the preaching of a Rev. Murphy. On this occasion the sacrament was given and the Rev. excluded everyone who did not belong to the church. Edwin was an earnest Christian boy, and was deeply affected by this seemingly unchristian act, while Albert treasured up a lasting impression. Long afterward Albert attended another meeting, which was presided over by the same Rev. Murphy. He took a seat well up in the front of the church, and when the minister came in to the church he suddenly halted just as he reached the pulpit, and after a few moments of solemn reflection, he said, “My friends, I am going to preach a different sermon than I have ever preached, While coming to this pulpit I heard a voice telling me what to say, and that this was my last sermon. I want everyone to commune with us today.” It was a glorious meeting and proved to be the last sermon from Rev. Murphy for the next day he had a stroke and soon died. This experience, for Albert, led him to donate $4,444 to a new church for Cumberland Presbyterian church of Jackson Centre to replace Rev. Murphy’s old church.

Mrs. Eliza Phipps Egbert, widow of Dr. Albert G. Egbert, who passed away at her home on West Park Street on Thursday morning, July 9, was the daughter of Samuel and Amelia Halyday Phipps and was born October 19,1835, on the farm near Clintonville, this county, originally settled in 1797 by her grandfather, John Phipps. Her maternal grandparents, Francis and Sarah Horth Halyday, were the first white settlers on the present site of Oil City, than a part of the reservation of the Cornplanter (i.e., the Seneca tribe of the Iroquois Nation) Indians.

So much of Mrs. Egbert’s long and eventful life has been passed in this city that she may well be considered one of Franklin’s oldest citizens. She had vivid recollections of the town as it was 80 years ago, when she lived here from 1845 to 1847 while her father was sheriff of the county. Later, in the ‘50’s she taught here in the old Academy in association with the late Charles Dale. She also taught school in the lower part of the county and for a year or more in Aledo, Illinois, her teaching experience beginning at the age of 16 and continuing until her marriage to Dr. Egbert on October 17, 1860.

After her marriage, she resided at Cherrytree, where her husband was practicing his profession; then during the early days of the petroleum industry, on the Egbert Farm, now Petroleum Centre; and later in Mercer County. In the autumn of 1869, they came to Franklin where she has since resided and which is the birthplace of many of her 11 children, four of which survive her: Dr. Seneca Egbert, professor of Hygiene at the University of Pennsylvania; Evelyn, of Pittsburgh, and Albert and Mabel, of this city. She also leaves her sister, Mrs. William Cross, of Clinton Township, two brothers, Cyrus D. Phipps, of Rocky Grove, and Harvey C. Phipps, of Pueblo, Col., four grandchildren, Albert Victor Egbert, of Philadelphia, Mrs. Catherine Egbert Sparks, of Wayne, PA, Mrs. Helen Egbert Wingate, of Boston, Mass., and Frederick Taylor Holmes of Waterbury, Conn., and two great grandchildren, Dorothy and David Egbert Sparks, of Wayne, PA.

Mrs. Egbert, with her husband, whose demise occurred on March 28, 1896, were closely associated with the development and civic progress of Franklin, for they felt incumbent upon them to do all they could for the welfare and advancement of the community. Contentment and cheerfulness, a friendly interest and desire to help, to be of use and a good neighbor, were characteristics which endeared her to all who knew her. In her moments of leisure and as an active member of the Wednesday Club, she did work of much literary merit, including essays, historical articles, and not a few poems that often had more than local interest.

Dr. Seneca Egbert, 77, public health authority and president of the Radnor Township Board of Health, died suddenly of a heart attack at 2 am today at his home, 200 East Beechtree Lane, Wayne.
Although Dr. Egbert had suffered other heart attacks, he was apparently in health recently and was active in his duties with the Board.
He was formerly dean of Medico-Chirurgical College and later became a professor of hygiene at the University of Pennsylvania when Medico-Chi combined with the University.
Dr. Egbert was also at one time an officer of the Delaware and Montgomery County Health Association and belonged to the Pennsylvania Public Health Association.
An advocate of “pure air, pure milk, and pure water,” Dr. Egbert as long ago as 1910 said that if the people of the United States had these ingredients, the average span of life would be increased by seven and one-half years.
In 1905, he made a survey of the Schuylkill between Reading and Philadelphia for the State Department of Health and declared it was a “sewer for the adjacent towns.” He said the pollution was inexcusable.
Interested in historic sites, he urged the creation of a park between Chestnut and Race, and Fifth and Sixth streets as a proper setting for Independence Square.
He lived with his daughter, Mrs. Severn Sparks and her husband and her two children. In addition, he leaves a son, Victor Egbert of Philadelphia.
During the World War, Dr. Egbert was a major in the Medical Reserve Corps., stationed at Fort Hancock, GA.
Funeral services will be held at 2 pm from funeral parlor at 1820 Chestnut street. Burial will be at Arlington Cemetery, Delaware County.

(From 1896-1899 he was professor of anatomy, physiology and hygiene at Temple University. He was a member of the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Pennsylvania Medical Society, the American Medical Association, the Society for the Prevention of Social Diseases, and the American Society for the Prevention of Infant Mortality. -- from the Evening Bulletin, Philadelphia, 12/6/1939)

Seneca Egbert, A.M., M.D., son of Dr. Albert G. and Eliza Phipps Egbert, was born February 17, 1863, at Petroleum Center, Venango County, PA. His early life was spent here, in Mercer County, and, after 1869, in Franklin, PA. His preliminary education was received in the public schools of the latter place, including the high school, and at Phillips’ Academy, Andover, Mass. He then matriculated in the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), class of ’84, receiving the degree of A.B. upon graduation, and later, in 1887, the degree of A.M. in course. In 1885, he entered the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, graduating there- from on May 1, 1888, and receiving the Medical News prize for the best thesis and also securing an appointment as resident physician to the Philadelphia Hospital (Blockley) in the competitive examinations of that year. This latter position was not accepted however, as he had already before graduation been Demonstrator of Hygiene in the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania and had received that appointment for the sessions of 1888-89. Continuing in this position, he assisted Professor Samuel G. Dixon in establishing the first laboratory of Hygiene in the University, and was made lecturer on hygiene for 1890-91. He held a similar position during the following year in the Drexel Institute of Philadelphia, and in 1893 was elected Professor of Hygiene and Sanitation in the Medico-Chirurgical College of Philadelphia, a position which he stills holds. He was appointed Vice-Dean of the same college in 1897, and was elected Dean on January 3.1898, continuing in that office ever since.

Dr. Egbert was also visiting physician to the Northern Home for Friendless Children from 1888-1892; Professor of Anatomy, Physiology and Hygiene in Temple College from 1896-1899, and has been lecturer on Hygiene in the Protestant Episcopal Church Training School since its foundation in 1891.

He is a member of the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity; of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia; of the Philadelphia County and Pennsylvania State Medical Societies and the American Medical Association, the American Public Health Association and of the Philadelphia Medical Club.

He has written numerous contributions to medical journals and is the author of  “A Manual of Hygiene and Sanitation” (1898), which is now in its second edition and has been adopted as a textbook in many medical schools and colleges throughout the United States.

subtitle – She started “Safe and Sane Fourth” at Kingessing Playground.
Mrs. Nancy Bredin Egbert, wife of Dr. Seneca Egbert, died yesterday at her home at 4818 Springfield Avenue. She had been an invalid for several years.
Mrs. Egbert was greatly interested in the Kingessing playground and prior to her illness was active in its development. Mainly through her efforts, the ‘safe and sane’ Fourth of July was started at the playground several years before the movement became general.
Besides Dr. Egbert, she is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Catherine Sparks, and a son, Victor Egbert. Funeral services will be held in the Church of Atonement, forty-seventh street and Kingessing avenue on Friday. Interment will be private.

 
Bertric Egbert (1865-1917)

Bertric Egbert was born, like his older brother Seneca, in the village of Cherrytree in Mercer County, PA. The family moved to Franklin in Venango County when he was a boy. He attended public school in Franklin and went to Princeton University graduating in 1886, two years after Seneca. He was engagedin the oil businessat the Eclipse Oil Refinery in Oil City, PA and rose to the position of Superintendent there. Later, his business activities took him further afield in the industry to West Virginia, California, and Oklahoma.

Bertirc married Clara May Irwin, the daugher of Judge Richard L. Irwin and Helen White May of Franklin. The couple was married in Florida and took a honeymoon cruise from there to New York. Bertric and Clara had only one child, a daughter named Helen. He died in Waterbury, Connecticut while visiting his sister, Eliza “Bessie” Egbert Holmes. (notes from Dr. David Sparks)

 
Evelyn Egbert (1869-1943)

Evelyn Egbert was a gifted businesswoman at a time when few women entered the business world. She was a stockbroker in Pittsburgh, PA in the era of Nelly Bly, and carried on that occupation for many years, surviving the Great Depression. When she retired, she returned to Franklin and lived with her sister, Mabel until her death in 1943. She was known in the family as “Eva.” (notes from Dr. David Sparks)

Albert Egbert was also born in Mercer County, Pa and moved to Franklin when he was a child. He attended Princeton University like his older brothers, graduating in 1891, after which he continued at Princeton in graduate studies in engineering. On his return to Franklin, he pursued engineering as a vocation.

It was his avocation, music, however, that occupied a central position in his life. He was a member of the Franklin city band and, more importantly, a founder of the Rotary club Boys’ Band and Drum Corps. He was for years the assistant director of the Rotary band and a patient teacher of instrumental music to hundreds of boys in the city. Albert was known in the family as “Brick.” He never married.
 

(5/18/1838-5/25/1920) born in Sandy Lake twp., Mercer Co., PA, died in Pittsburgh, PA. He married 11/11/1863, Emma Bower Taft (9/16/1846-8/27/1936). Her brother was in the Civil War and was reported missing in action. She volunteered in hospitals because of this. She received a letter from Pres. Lincoln thanking her for her help.

Milton Egbert was identified with the oil industry form the start. He was at Drake’s well when it was struck in 8/1859, and the next day had embarked in the business. He and his brother, Albert, on that day bought the Alex Davidson farm on Oil Creek. This was the first farm ever bought for the purpose of producing oil. The farm, which was known as the Egbert & Hyde farm, is famous in oil history as one of the most profitable of the early period. It was the center of activity during the wildly exciting times on Oil Creek. This remarkable farm was in part responsible for the boom at Petroleum Centre, one of the liveliest towns in the world. It was separated from the Centre only by the creek and at the top of the glory of the wicked city it became necessary for Dr. Egbert to hire a sheriff to keep the lawless from overrunning his property. He was engaged in buying oil and shipping it to New York from 1867-1874, being associated in a partnership under the name of Egbert & Brown. After the end of the partnership he continued as he had before in the production of oil. He was active in many fields, including the great development in McKean Co., PA, the Bradford field. For several years he resided in Bradford and did business there. He was in West Virginia in the formative stage of development and had producing property in Ohio. His activities covered the entire range of the eastern oil fields. The world’s first oil millionaire. He was married in Rouseville, Venango Co., PA in 1863 to Emma Taft. He resided some years in Pittsburgh, PA and had his business office in the Machesney Building on 4th Ave., Pittsburgh.

Riches showered upon him. His interests in the land and wells yielded him thousands a day. Once his safe contained, by tight squeezing, $180,000 and a pile of government bonds. He built a comfortable home and lived on a farm. He and his family traveled over Europe, met “shoals of titled folks” and saw all the sights. In company with John Brown he engaged in oil shipments on an extensive scale. To control this branch of his business was too gigantic a task for the firm and failure resulted. He went to California and returned to operate business in McKean Co., PA. He secured a foothold in the newer fields and lived in Pittsburgh. He was as frank and urbane as in the palmist days of the Egbert & Hyde farm. Probably no parcel of ground in America of equal size ever yielded a larger return, in proportion to expenditure, than the Egbert & Hyde tract.

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Margaret Egbert Thompson

Newspaper Obituary sent by Pamela Forker, Harry Taft Egbert's grandaughter, to David Sparks

Margaret Egbert Thompson, 99, of Claverack, NY, a former Oil City resident, died Saturday, Aug. 14, 1999.

Born Dec. 20, 1899, in Oil City, she was a daughter of Harry Taft and Frances Tonkin Egbert.
Mrs. Thompson was a 1919 graduate of Oil City High School and a 1920 graduate of Hillside School in Norwalk, Conn. She attended Simmons College from 1920-22 before transferring to Barnard College in New York City, graduating there in 1924. She attended graduate school at the University of Michigan.

She briefly taught English at South Side Junior High School until her marriage in 1926 to John Stanley Thompson, who late became president of Thompson Construction Corp. in Albany, NY. THey lived in Brooklyn and Hudson, NY before moving in 1931 to Claverack, NY.

Mrs. Thompson was a lifelong devout Episcopalian and was baptized, confirmed and married in Christ Episcopal Church in Oil City.

She was an avid gardner and was a charter member and past president of the Claverack Garden Club which was founded in 1936. She was the winner of many awards and blue ribbons for her flower arrangements.

Mrs Thompson co-authored with the late Gretta McAmber Sciutto, a Claverack friend and neighbor, a book titled "In the Very Name of Christmas," published March 7, 1951, by Chapmand and Grimes, Inc., of Boston, MA. The book, which had three printings, took its title from Dickens "There Seems A Magic in the Very Name of Christmas." It is a nostalgic  collection of poems, holiday traditions, from many cultures and recipes from all over the world.

She served on the board of trustees of the Claverack Library and volunteered her services as a library aide.

Surviving are three sons, John Henry Thompson of Delmar, NY, Frederick Egbert Thompson of Barrington, RI, and Gust Whyte Thompson II of Claverack; two daughters, Frances Ann Wedd of Longboat Key, FL, and Margaret Mary Meyer of Mechanicsville, VA; and 15 grandchildren.

She also is survived by one niece, Pamela Forker of Oil City; and one nephew, Robin Forker of Hingham, MA.

In addition to her parents and husband, Mrs. Thompson was preceded in death by two sisters, Mary Barnett "Polly" Forker and Winnifred Emma Browne; and a grandson, Frederick S. Thompson.

Interment will be in the Reformed Dutch Church Cemetery in Claverack, NY.

Memorials may be made to Christ Episcopal Church in Oil City.