Section D
John Nixon Egbert Family
Stories,
Photographs and Information
Ann
Fowler Egbert,
wife of John N. Egbert
Richard
Graham Morrison
(“The History
of Mercer County, PA”, pp 369-71)
Richard Graham Morrison since 1899 has been treasurer and general manager of the Sharon Boiler Works of Sharon and has been connected with the founding and growth of the foundry business in Mercer County for the past forty years. He was born near Clarksville, Mercer County, Pennsylvania, July 25, 1844, son of William and Sarah (Graham) Morrison. The family is of Irish ancestry, but his father was born in Huntington County, Pennsylvania, April 1, 1800, his wife being a native of Armstrong County this state, born of Scottish ancestry. About 1842 the family located in Pymatuning township on a tract of land extending across the Delaware township line, and from this locality a removal was made to Brookfield, Ohio, where the mother died in 1856 at the age of thirty-eight years. Eight years afterward the father passed away in Mercer County at the age of sixty-four years. Although the elder Mr. Morrison spent most of his life as a farmer, for a number of years he was engaged in mercantile pursuits in Huntington County, Pennsylvania. While still a young man he also embarked in two hotel ventures, one in Mercer and the other in Brookfield, Ohio. Both of these enterprises were successful although conducted on a strictly temperance basis. The last years of his life were spent as a farmer in Mercer County, his death occurring in 1864. The deceased was an active member of the Presbyterian Church and in politics a Whig and Republican. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. William Morrison, two of whom are living: Richard G. and John L. Morrison.With the exception of the five years which the family spent in Brookfield, Ohio, Richard G. Morrison has always lived in Mercer County, and since 1867 his business life has been passed in connection with the iron interests of the borough. Until 1864 he lived at home and attended the neighboring school, teaching in the winter of the following year near Clarksville. In the spring of 1866 he returned to farming and during the later months of that year attended Oberlin College. In the winter of 1866 Mr. Morrison located at Sharon and in the summer of 1867, after a few months of farming, he obtained a position as bookkeeper with the foundry firm of William McGilvray & Co. Both in this capacity and as general manager of their foundry and machine shop, Mr. Morrison continued with this firm as long as it existed. For a number of years afterward he was bookkeeper for S. Runser & Co., well known boilermakers of Sharon. Mr. Morrison afterward purchased the interest of the principal partner and continued in the business under the firm name of R.G. Morrison & Co.
This was the basis of the business reorganized by Mr. Morrison in 1878 as the Sharon Boiler Works, Limited, and in 1899 incorporated as the Sharon Boiler Works. Since the year named Mr. Morrison has been treasurer and general manager of the business and has been the main factor in developing it to its present importance. The large plant makes a specialty of manufacturing the Wheeler vertical water tube boilers and stationary tubular boilers, it s output also consisting of stand pipes, tanks, blast furnaces, iron shutters, vaults, and prison work and all kings of sheet iron work. A large outside force is also constantly employed in the erection of stand pipes for water works, and among the various cities in the United States and Canada which have specimen of this branch of the business are the following: Kankakee, Illinois; Cornwall, Ontario; Salisbury, North Carolina; Washington, Indiana; Beaver Dam, Wisconsin; Waterford, New York; Berwick, Pennsylvania; Homer, New York; Cobourg, Ontario; Marshal, Michigan; Hamburg, New York; Canton, New York; Rhinelander, Wisconsin; Fort Smith, Arkansas; and Brooklyn, New York. Mr. Morrison’s time and abilities are not entirely absorbed by this large enterprise and generous portions of his time are devoted to religious and charitable affairs of the locality. He is identified with the Presbyterian Church and is a life member of the Sharon Lodge no. 250, A.F. & A.M., having served as secretary of this lodge for two years.
On December 17, 1874, Mr. Morrison married Miss Elizabeth Egbert, a native of Sandy Lake township, Mercer County, born January 7, 1847, daughter of John N. and Ann (Fowler) Egbert, and is a graduate of the Edinboro State Normal School, and prior to her marriage a successful school teacher for eight or ten years at Sharon, Oil City and Franklin, and is a member of several literary societies. Her father was one of the prominent pioneer farmers of the county and also well known as a Republican and a public-spirited citizen, having served his home people both as school director and justice of the peace. Of the seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Egbert six are living, as follows: Mrs. R.G. Morrison, who was a school teacher in early live and is a thoroughly educated and refined lady; William, a resident of Sandy Lake; Eliza J., widow of Thomas Wright, who lives in New Castle, Pennsylvania; Eva, now Mrs. V. Porter, who is a resident of Stoneboro, this county; Aseneth, wife of Samuel McClellan, of Utica, Pennsylvania; and Ruth, who married Homer Wallace.
Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Richard G. Morrison. Sarah Graham, the eldest, is a young lady of marked talents as a writer and who has enjoyed a remarkably liberal education, being a graduate of the Sharon high school, Slippery Rock State Normal and the Leland Stanford, Jr., University of California, graduating in 1901; was preceptress and teacher of English in the Edinboro State Normal, Pennsylvania, of a time after which she spent much time in travel, going around the world. Egbert R. attended Westminster College one year and graduated from the Case School of Applied Science as a Mechanical Engineer in 1904, from that date until April, 1907 was employed as chief draughtsman and estimating engineer at the Union Spring and Manufacturing Company, of New Kensington, Pennsylvania. He then resigned that position of responsibility to become assistant general manager of the Sharon Boiler Works. Mr. Morrison is a young man who stands high in his profession both s a practical engineer and a deep student of mechanics. He is a Junior Member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and has issued a book entitled “Morrison’s Spring Tables.” which has been widely noticed and is highly valued by manufacturers. Briefly speaking the tables, from which the book obtains it’s title, give a close estimate of the various properties of light and heavy springs and thus saves manufacturers much time and thought in arriving at the results which he has formulated.
Mr. Morrison’s wife was formerly Miss Josephine Berghoff, of Cleveland. She was educated at Laurel Institute of Cleveland and the Chicago Kindergarten Institute, and was the head of the kindergarten department, Goodrich Home, Cleveland, Ohio, for four years. The second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Morrison is Gertrude, who has also followed in the footsteps of her elder sister and is a graduate of the Sharon high school, Slippery Rock State Normal School, Rayen high school, Youngstown, Ohio, afterward graduating at Wellesley College, of Massachusetts, taking her sophomore year at Leland Stanford, Jr., University of California. She then taught English two years at the Rayen high school, Youngstown, Ohio, resigning in 1908 to take a course in domestic science at Simmons College, Boston, Massachusetts. She is a contributor to the “Ladies Home Journal” and other magazines.
Thursday evening.
Dear Hazel,For once I have a little of something to write you that will interest you. Recently Mrs. Frank McConnell, of Mercer died. She was Lucy Clawson. Her first husband was Dr. Tom Hogue of Fredonia. Her mother was Patience Egbert, 7th child of Lewis and Aseneth Egbert – grandfather John Nixon Egbert was the 3rd child, and Sara Orr’s grandmother was the 8th (Harriet).
Cousin Lucy was 90 last June. In January she had a very serious operation, lived to get back to her rooms. In February – the 18th – made a new will – it was never witnessed. She was worth somewhere between $65,000 and $100,000. Her first husband left her an estate of $100,000; but she lost $60,ooo of it in the depression of 1932, but it has been so well handled that for some years she has had an income of $5000 a year. In her will she left $200 to the Mercer Presbyterian Church, $50 each to two organizations of the Freedonia Methodist Church, $100 to the Salvation Army, $500 to the Oneida Institute, Oneida, KY… -- I think a school for poor whites. The only money bequests to individuals were $200 to Thad Wasson, and, I think, $200 to some woman who was a friend or had worked for her. Nan Hilton, one of her two remaining cousins, dau. of Uncle T.W. Egbert, got her diamond engagement ring. Somebody I can’t recall and did not know, got her wedding ring and wristwatch. I think Nan also got some linen, and Mabel Egbert, Uncle A.G.’s daughter, got a hand-painted chop plate and tablecloth and napkins. To our very great surprise she left all hand-painted pictures, two walnut wall brackets and two walnut chairs to Gertrude and me. She was a famous needle-woman and the chairs are beautifully needle-pointed. The frames belonged to her mother. The brackets belonged to her grandmother, who would be our great grandmother Aseneth Egbert. They are unmistakably Swiss work and I feel just sure they must have been brought to her by some of her four children when they returned from Switzerland on that wonderful trip of 1867 when Uncle M.C. and wife, Uncle Lewis, Aunt Vine, and Aunt Sis all went ‘over.’ Aunt Vine was engaged to Dick Wright when she left and came back home engaged to Edgar Taft of the presidential family. It was something in those days – and still is something – when four of a family can pick up and go off together on a jaunt to Europe; but M.C. was the world’s first oil millionaire so why not?
One of the pictures I have always admired. It is a pastel by Lucy herself. The others are all by Aunt Sis, one a large oil painting, of two cows standing in a stream, a few sheep on the bank, trees bending over; and one is a large watercolor – by far the best watercolor I ever saw done by Aunt Sis. Two others are medium size, and the rest small bedroom pictures, all typical of her work – a little water, slanting trees reflected in the water, a few birds flitting about.
I wonder if you knew Daisy McClelland’s husband had had a serious operation. I understand she has no telephone, lives so far out in the country it would be very hard to get either a nurse or doctor. I feel very sorry for her.
Oh, I forgot to finish about Lucy’s will. When everything is settled, the residue is to be divided between the Oneida Institute and ‘the Hogue heirs’ – nobody yet knows how many – the executor thought eight and that there would be between $60 and $70,000 to divide after all bills, taxes, commissions, etc. were paid off.
Am enclosing the Egbert family tree – all that I think John will want. Will you please see that he gets it? and this letter might interest Hazel Ann and will not necessitate my re-writing.
Love from both,
Gertrude
Sarah Graham
(notes written in margins – some not readable) – ( on right margin)-my, but we…(are slipping?)..in the..(memory dept.?)..bad! She had a pre-nuptial arrangement with her second husband that they would leave each other nothing. – (on left margin) – You can probably tell him many names unknown to me.)
(I believe
this letter to have been written to Hazel Ann Kerr in or around 1953.
The Hazel
Ann mentioned would be Hazel Ann Hubbard.)
Miss
Sarah Graham Morrison
John
T. Egbert Jr. and Hazel Ann Hubbard
in
Perrines Corners, PA, 1995
Early
Home of John
Thaddeus Egbert & Family
Perrines Corners,
PA
(the white
house between the stop sign and the route845 sign)
Egbert Furniture Store,
Perrines Corners, PA
The brick building to the right
of the white one
(photo taken in 1995)
Map
of Sandy Lake, Mercer Co., PA, in 1873
Map of Mercer County
From History
of Mercer Co, PA, 1888
Florence
Ann (Egbert) Gustafson, b. 9/25/1917
photo from
1935 "The Pennerian,"
yearbook for
Penn High School in Greenville, PA