James S. Carroll:

James S. Carroll is emphatically loyal to and appreciative of the vigorous borough of Brookville, where his birth occurred on the 19th of November, 1861, and where his activities have been centered during the intervening years and have been marked by definite and worthy achievement. He is cashier of the Jefferson County National Bank. Mr. Carroll is a son of James T. and Mary Ann (Farley) Carroll, the former born at Tomstown, Franklin County, on the 14th of February, 1829, and the latter at Bellefonte, on the 1st of June, 1836. The father died at Brookville, on Nov. 23, 1895, and here the devoted wife and mother passed to the life eternal on the 18th of April, 1906, the memories of both being revered by all who came within the compass of their gracious and kindly influence. Of the two children the younger is James S. and the elder was Charles, born on the 17th of January, 1858, and whose death occurred on the 9th of February, 1862.

James Thomas Carroll, was reared and educated in Franklin and Jefferson Counties, and in his youth he learned the trade of shoemaker, at which he became a skilled workman and to which he devoted his attention for many years. His boyhood was passed with other members of the family in building a home in the wilderness, and he continued his residence in Eldred Township, Jefferson County, until the 28th of June, 1847, when, as a young man of eighteen years, he removed to the village of Brookville, where he passed the residue of his life, a steadfast, upright and unassuming citizen, who proved himself one of the world's workers and who so ordered his course as to merit and command the unqualified esteem of his fellow men. He took a loyal interest and part in community affairs and from 1860 to 1870 was the incumbent of the office of justice of the peace, in which he served with characteristic fidelity and ability. His political support was given to the Democratic party.

James Carroll, grandfather of James S. Carroll, was born near the picturesque river Slaney, in County Wexford, Ireland, and the year of his nativity was 1799. He was a scion of one of the sterling old families of that section of the old Emerald Isle, where he grew to adult age and gained the mental and physical power that well equipped him for the winning for himself of independence and prosperity after coming to America. He was a lad of about sixteen years when, in 1815, he immigrated to the United States, and he first located in the state of Maryland. Within a few years thereafter, at Frederick, that state, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Margaret Keplinger, born in 1801, and whose death occurred at the old homestead in Eldred Township, on June 23, 1873, her remains being laid to rest in the Catholic Cemetery at Corsica.

James Carroll went to Illinois, and at Mount Carroll, Carroll County, that state, his death occurred in June, 1855. From Maryland he had removed with his family to Pennsylvania, and in coming to establish a home in Eldred Township, he and his family arrived at Brookville on the evening of the last day of September, 1841; the sturdy young sons slept in the wagon that night and found themselves covered with snow when they awoke in the morning. The trip to this county was made with team and wagon, as may be inferred from the foregoing, and the father established a home in the wilds of Eldred Township, where he became a substantial citizen. Both he and his wife were devout communicants of the Catholic Church, and Mr. Carroll was of German lineage.

In the following paragraph is given brief record concerning the children of these sterling pioneers:

John Edward was born Nov. 20, 1825; his death occurred May 27, 1890. On the 2nd of August, 1846, he wedded Matilda Anderson, born July 17, 1829, and died on the 7th of January, 1859. On the 4th of April 1861, John E. Carroll contracted a second marriage, when Elizabeth Snyder became his wife; her birth occurred Sept. 22, 1837. Marian, second of the children, was born March 10, 1827, and became the wife of George McLaughlin, who was a prosperous farmer and merchant of Jefferson County and served as sheriff of this county from 1852 to 1855. James Thomas, father of James S., was the next in order of birth, and his marriage to Mary Ann Farley was solemnized on the 9th of December, 1856, due record concerning them having already been entered in this context. William Henry, the fourth child, was born Jan. 16, 1831, and was a resident of Colorado at the time of his death, which occurred June 11, 1902. He was a substantial farmer of the county for a time; the maiden name of his wife was Judith Stahlman. George Alexander was born Oct. 18, 1832, and passed to eternal rest on the 8th of October, 1908. He was a successful agriculturist and merchant of Jefferson County, was influential in public affairs of a local order, and served for a number of years as justice of the peace in Eldred Township.

He married Nancy Jane Pierce, who still survives him. Thomas Moore, born April 6, 1834, was a resident of Brookville at the time of his death, which occurred December 22, 1897, and was a shoemaker by trade and vocation; the maiden name of his wife was Louisa Cherrier. Eliza Lucretia, who was born July 17, 1836, died on the 12th of December, 1903. She became the wife of Joseph L. Wilson, born Dec. 27, 1829, and who died April 12, 1897, a well known citizen of Jefferson County. Margaret C. was born Oct. 30, 1838, and is the wife of Richard R. Snyder, who was born Sept. 22, 1837, their home being at Corsica, in Jefferson County. Sarah Jane was born July 22, 1842, and died in young womanhood. Francis, the youngest of the children, was born Feb. 16, 1845, and died at Nashville, Tenn., on the 17th of May, 1862, while a member of Company B, 18th Regiment, U.S.A.

James S. Carroll, whose name introduces this article, is indebted to the public schools of Brookville for his early education. Leaving school he learned the art of telegraphy, and entered the service of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, his identification with railroad work continuing from 1875 to 1886, in which latter year he became a clerk in the post office at Brookville. In this position he remained until the 1st of October, 1888, when he assumed a clerical position in the Jefferson County National Bank, his service in this capacity leading to a final and merited advancement to the important office of cashier, the duties of which he entered upon the 1st of July, 1890, and in which he has been retained , as a valued and popular officer of this solid and well ordered banking concern, to the present time. He takes a lively interest in all that touches the welfare and progress of his native place, and is an essentially enterprising and public-spirited business man of Brookville, with inviolable vantage place in popular confidence and esteem. Mr. Carroll gives his political support to the Democratic party, and in a fraternal way he is in active affiliation with Hobah Lodge, No. 276, F. & A.M., and Jefferson Chapter, No. 225, R.A.M.

In 1892 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Carroll to Miss Victoria LaVerne Porter, who likewise was born and reared in Jefferson County, and whose father, William L. Porter, was long a prominent and influential citizen of Brookville. Mr. and Mrs. Carroll have no children.

Transcribed by Steven A. Stahlman from “Jefferson County, Pennsylvania – Her Pioneers and People”, Volume II, by Dr. William James McKnight, published in 1917 by the J. H. Beers & Company, Chicago, Ill. Pages 91-93.