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Jason William Saulis Chappell (207) was born in New York State, Dec 21, 1809. It is not known who his parents were. He spent his boyhood in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, and in his 17th year he entered the printing office of Simon Cameron to learn that trade. He boarded with the family of Mr. Cameron. He spent his spare time studying. He became an excellent scholar, being able to read both Greek and Latin, and decided to become a lawyer. From Harrisburg he went to Pittsburgh and then to Mercer, Pa., June 25, 1837, where he commenced working at his trade as a printer. After a short time he was admitted to practice before the bar at Mercer on the motion of William Stewart, a congressman from Mercer. Being once asked why he did not practice his profession, he replied, "that he could not plead the case of a villain against an honest man." For about a year he edited the "Western Press" at Mercer under the management of J.W. Kuester. He then bought the paper on three years time and continued as its publisher during 1838-39, before selling it again. Immediately after selling the Press he and Richard Hill of the "Greenville Gazette" established the "Freeman's Monitor and Gazette". Chappell soon bought Hill's interest and continued it himself for a time. Not receiving sufficient support he started the Mercer "County Farmer" in June 1842, which he printed three and a half years. This paper also died for lack of sufficient interest. While in Mercer, he married Hannah T. Gibson (208) of Sandy Lake Township. He lived at Mercer for a time, but about 1845 moved to Sandy Lake where he resided for about 36 years. He was the father of seven children five of whom preceded him in death. He left a son James (209) with whom he lived, and a daughter Mrs. Margaret R. Hill (39) of Oil City, Pa. In his will, filed on 17 Dec 1888, he also mentions a grandson, Roy Casle Miller, the son of his oldest daughter. In his last years he lived in indigence and near obscurity on his farm 2 1/2 miles north of Sandy Lake. He suffered from erysipelas, a disfiguring skin desease, and cancer, from which he died on 28 February 1891. He was, at his death, aged 81 years, 2 months and seven days. The Mercer Dispatch and Republican reported that "The remains were not permitted to be seen by friends as he was horriby disfigured, his face not bearing the slightest human resemblance." He is variously reported to have been buried at New Lebanon, and at Fairfield in New Vernon. but a search of the records of those cemeteries and of Oak Hill cemetery at Sandy Lake have not discovered his final resting place. Hannah also probably preceded him in death: in his will is the statement "I also will that gravestones be put to Netty's grave with the dates of birth and death," but there is also some evidence that she divorced him.
[HILL: HistMercer1888, HistMercer1909, JWSCObitMDR1891, JWSCObitGAA1891, MerCtyAtlas, PioneerHistory, PA1870Census, PA1880Census, WillJWSC] |
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