JAMES SAMPSON, a patriarchal
son of the Keystone State, a retired agriculturist, and, in his younger
days , a
typical follower of Nimrod,
is a native of Westmoreland county, born in 1806. William Sampson, his
father, came,
when a young man, in company
with several brothers, from their native home in Ireland to the shores
of Columbia,
and made a permanent settlement
in Westmoreland county. William married Mrs. Mary (Neal) Beazell, daughter
of
the pioneer of the Monongahela
Valley, Matthew Neal, and widow of Matthew Beazell. To them were born four
children: James (formerly
president of the Peoples Bank), Harvey, Thomas and Dorcas. The latter married
Elijah
Teeple. To her marriage
with Matthew Beazell five children were born: Catherine, Elizabeth, Margaret,
William
and John. In 1812 William
Sampson moved to Horse Shoe Bottom, in Carroll township, Washington county,
where he successfully followed
farming and distilling, at the time of his death owning 200 acres of land,
part of
which he had bought at $12
per acre. In his day grain was cut with a sickle, and he was famed far
and near for his
dexterous handling of that
primitive implement, and for the amount of wheat, barley, oats or grass
he could cut in a
day. He died at the age
of forty-five years.
James Sampson, of whom this
sketch more especially treats, married in 1840, Miss Mary, daughter of
Robert
Grant, of Carroll township.
This lady died March 25, 1888. To them were born nine children, of whom
two died in
infancy. Harriet first married
Thomas Reeves, by which union there were two daughters: Mary (wife of Harvey
Fry,
by whom she has one son)
and Lena (wife of Harry Nuttall, of Pittsburgh; they have one son). Mrs.
Reeves was
again married, this time
to Joseph Truman, since deceased. Mrs. Truman, who is a lady of true refinement,
now
resides with her father
on the home farm. William Sampson married Miss Lou Welch, daughter of John
Welch, of
Mt. Vernon, Ohio, and to
them five children were born: Mary, Sarah, John, Lulu and Willie. Kate
married Capt.
Jenkins, and to her two
children were born, Mary and Virginia. Jennie married T. J. Weddell, and
has three
children, James, Jessie
and Mary. Harvey married Miss Jennie Yorty, to whom six children were born:
Bertie,
Grace, James, Ada, Frank
and Ethel. John married Mary V. Williams, and to them five children were
born:
Gertrude, Howard, Grant,
Helen and Alice M. Ada Ethel married C. R. Dallas, of Pittsburgh, they
are the parents
of four children: James
S., Sarah, Charlie and an infant, deceased.
Mr. Sampson has been a hardworking,
honest and frugal man, and, though now past the eighty-sixth milestone
on
his journey through life,
is keen and bright in intellect. In middle life he was fond of hunting,
and took great pride in
being the owner of the fleetest
dogs in his section. Many a time, after doing a hard day’s work on the
farm, he
would spend almost an entire
night in the pursuit of game, accompanied by his faithful dogs. In politics
he has been
a Whig, Know-nothing, and
Republican, in the ranks of which latter party he has voted since its organization.
Now,
in peaceful retirement,
the owner of 1,200 acres of land, Mr. Sampson finds himself surrounded
with the comforts
that come to the sunset
of a well-spent, industrious life.
Text taken
from page 656 of:
Beers, J.
H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania
(Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co.,
1893).
Transcribed
May 1997 by Laura M. Thomas of Enfield, CT as part of the Beers Project.
Published
May 1997 on the Washington County, PA USGenWeb pages at http://www.chartiers.com/.