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BIOGRAPHIES
20th CENTURY HISTORY
of
BUTLER and BUTLER COUNTY, PA
and
Representative Citizens
Edited and Compiled by
JAMES A. McKEE
Butler, Pa
"History is Philosophy Teaching By Examples"
Published by
Richmond - Arnold Publishing Co.
Geo. Richmond, Pres. C. R. Arnold, Sec'y and
Tres.
CHICAGO
1909
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C.
FOSTER WICK, owner and proprietor of
the hotel at West Sunbury, Butler County,
Pennsylvania, is well known citizen of the
county and the establishment conducted by
him is one which enjoys great
popularity with the traveling public.
He was formerly engaged in buying and
selling and training horses, producing some
with low marks, which established his
reputation in that business.
Mr. Wick was born in West Sunbury in 1853, and
comes of a prominent old family of Butler
County. He is a son of Jeremiah C.
and Rebecca (Glenn) Wick, and a grandson
of Jeremiah Wick, Sr. The last
named came from Westmoreland County,
Pennsylvania, to Butler County at a very
early date and purchased 1,000 acres of
land, just north of West Sunbury. He
was a man of wide prominence in those days
and was extensively engaged in the cattle
business. With Christopher Foster,
who married Jane Glenn an aunt of the
subject of this record, he made many trips
with cattle across the mountains to
Philadelphia. Mr. Foster was
born and reared in Armstrong County, and
also was a man well known in this vicinity.
In those early days, the Glenns and
Wicks were the leading families of
the community. Jeremiah C. Wick
married Rebecca Glenn, a
daughter of Samuel Glenn, who
died in middle life. Mr.
Wick died in 1876, and was survived many
years by his widow, whose death occurred at
St. Louis, Missouri, in 1908, at the age of
eighty-four years. They had eight
children as follows: Clarissa, wife
of Rev. Malsein Rhodes, who is well
known in Butler and now resides in St.
Louis; Laura, widow of Homer
Adams; Walker, who was widely
known through the oil regions of
Pennsylvania, and who died in Colorado in
1904; Carr, who died in West Sunbury
in 1905; C. Foster, whose name heads
this record; Dr. J. Warren Wick of
St. Louis; Jennie, widow of C.
Bunn of St. Louis; and Nettie,
who died in June, 1908, and was the wife of
Walter Hughes of St. Louis.
C. Foster Wick was reared in his native borough and received
his intellectual training in the public
schools. When about twenty years old
he began buying and selling horses, and
training young horses for the track.
Among the best horses trained by him were
Juliet, Sunbury Boy, Mattie
Price, Harry W. and Captain
Roll, all of which were well known to
the racing public in their day. The
last year Captain Roll was
trained, he won eleven races out of thirteen
starts, an exceptional record. Mr.
Wick moved to St. Louis and continued
in the same line of business for a period of
fifteen years, then in 1890 returned to West
Sunbury. He at that time became owner
of the hotel, in which he had previously
owned an interest and which had been
conducted by his brother, Carr
Wick. He placed the establishment
on a good paying basis and continued it with
success until 1902, when it was destroyed by
fire. The business he had built up
warranted him in the erection of a new and
modern structure, which he refurnished now
throughout and in handsome style, and it was
not long before the place was enjoying
greater popularity and patronage than
before.
Mr. Wick was united in marriage with
Miss Anna Cowden, a
daughter of Dr. Cowden of
Portersville, and they became parents of the
following children: Dr. Frank C.,
who died in March, 1906; Bessie, wife
of William McCarrier; Lela,
wife of Prof. L. L. Lock of Brooklyn,
New York; Pauline, wife of Clyde
Russell; and Helen, wife of
Henry Goeddel. Fraternally,
the subject of this sketch became a charter
member of Parker Lodge, Royal Arcanum, to
Which he still belongs.
Source: 20th Century History of
Butler and Butler Co., PA - Publ. 1909 -
Page 1235 |
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EUGENE E. WICK,
a prominent and representative farmer of
Mercer Township, is descended from sterling
German ancestry, and was born on the old
home place in Harrisville, June 4, 1852.
He is a son of Robert Kerr and Bulina
(Rathbun) Wick and a grandson of
Daniel Wick.
The Wick family was originally
established in this country by the great
grand-father of our subject, he having
emigrated from Germany and located in New
Jersey. Daniel Wick,
grandfather of Eugene E., at an early
period came from New Jersey and settled on a
large tract of land in Mahoning County,
Ohio, where he subsequently died. He
served in the War of the Revolution.
He reared a family of six children: Anna,
married Isaac Kimmel;
Robert, father of our subject; Mary,
wife of J . T. Hurst; Daniel M.;
Phoebe J., married a Mr.
Seaton; and H. H., all of whom
are now deceased.
Robert Kerr Wick was born in
Coitsville, Mahoning County, Ohio, and was
reared under the parental roof, remaining at
home until about nineteen years of age.
He early in life engaged in business for
himself, first as a peddler of tinware,
later on making and selling wind mills.
In 1837, when about nineteen years of age,
he located in Harrisville, where he remained
until after his marriage, when he purchased
a farm in Mercer Township, where he followed
farming and sheep raising the remainder of
his life. He dealt in sheep on an extensive
.scale and had at one time 5,000 head. He
became a man of affluence and prominence and
was classed among the enterprising citizens
of Butler County. In political
affiliation he was a Republican and also an
ardent supporter of the temperance cause,
which eventually caused him considerable
trouble and much loss, his barn having been
destroyed by fire by the anti-temperance
people. Robert Wick was
united in marriage with Bulina
Rathbun, a resident of Crawford County,
Pennsylvania, who died in 1895, aged
seventy-five years. Mr. Wick
died in 1902, aged eighty-four years.
Six children were born to the parents of our
subject; Mary, died in infancy;
Elizabeth, widow of S. B. Bingham;
Clara, married R. L. Brown;
Eugene E., subject of this sketch;
Eva; and Margaret.
Eugene E. Wick was reared in Harrisville and
received his elementary schooling in the
public schools. He then attended Grove
City College and Oberlin College at Oberlin,
Ohio, after which he looked after his
father’s business affairs for him. Mr.
Wick owns two tracts of land,
consisting of 240 acres, in Mercer Township,
and follows farming in a general way.
He was married Jan. 5, 1885, to Mary A.
Matthews, a daughter of J. C.
Matthews, of Mill Brook, Mercer County.
They have one daughter, Edna
Almira, a student at Grove City College.
Mr. Wick and family are
members of the Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Wick is a director and one of
the promoters of the First National Bank of
Harrisville. In politics, he gives his
support to the Republican party.
Source: 20th Century History of Butler
and Butler Co., PA - Publ. 1909 - Page 1045 |
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LEONARD
WICK whose valuable farm of ninety
acres is situated in Connoquenessing
Township, is a representative citizen of
this section and one of the successful
agriculturists. He was born Dec. 16,
1851, in Donegal Township, Butler County,
Pennsylvania, and is a son of Conrad and
Sophia (Hetzel) Wick.
The father of Mr. Wick was born in
Germany and was brought to America by his
parents who settled first at Harmony and
then moved into Donegal Township. He
was a stone-mason by trade and he also
engaged in farming, owning a large property.
He was married three times, his last wife
being Sophia Hetzel. Her
father was born in Germany. To this
marriage five children were born, namely:
Elizabeth, deceased, who was the wife
of John Cress; Leonard F.;
Adam, who lives in Connoquenessing
Township; Jacob, who died in
Missouri; and Mollie, who is the wife
of Hartman Endress, of New
Brighton. Conrad Wick
and wife were members of the Lutheran
Church. In 1870 they settled on the
farm in Connoquenessing Township, a part of
which their son Leonard F. now owns.
Leonard F. Wick was nineteen years old when he
accompanied his parents to Connoquenessing
Township and he has resided here ever since.
He owns ninety acres of the original farm
and cultivates seventy acres, raising corn,
oats, wheat, hay, potatoes and buckwheat.
He keeps first class livestock, has ten head
of cattle and the same number of hogs.
In the early winter seasons he does
considerable butchering for his neighbors.
In politics, Mr. Wick is a
Republican but he is not enough interested
to be willing to take on himself the cares
of any office.
Mr. Wick married Miss Emma
Rea, a daughter of Samuel
Rea, of Penn Township, Butler County,
and they have one daughter. Hazel,
who resides with her parents. Mr.
Wick and family belong to St. John’s
Reformed Church. He is a quiet,
industrious, reliable citizen and is held in
esteem by all who know him.
Source: 20th Century History of Butler
and Butler Co., PA - Publ. 1909 - Page 1216 |
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LEWIS C. WICK,
a well known and enterprising
business citizen of Butler, was born in
Slippery Rock Township, Butler County,
Pennsylvania, Dec. 14, 1852, a son of
Henry E. and Elizabeth Wick. His
parents were both natives of this county, in
which he, himself has always resided, with
the exception of four years spent in
Bourbon, Indiana, and Chicago. He be
began industrial life at the age of sixteen
years, entering a general store, where he
acquired a knowledge of busyness methods,
also engaging in the wholesale flour and
feed business at Hilliards, Pennsylvania.
He has remained interested in the
lumber business up to the present time,
being now the proprietor of one of the
principal lumber and planing mills in the
city, and conducting also a similar business
at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
The Butler yard was started in February, 1884, by L.
C. and Walter S. Wick, who in 1885
bought out the firms of Leech Bros.,
McGee & Dunlap, and W. C.
Heiner. In March, 1887, Walter
S. Wick sold his interest to C. E.
Hammond, and in May, 1888, L. C. Wick
bought out Mr. Hammond and has since
been sole proprietor of the business, which
is now in a very prosperous condition.
In addition to his activities in connection with the
above mentioned concern, Mr. Wick is
a large property holder, having over one
hundred houses in Butler and Pittsburg.
He is also a trustee of the Springdale Water
Company, of which he was one of the chief
promoters, a member of the board of managers
of the Butler Silk Mill, and president of
the American Mirror Company, in which he is
one of the largest stockholders. A
business man of more than ordinary sagacity,
he has contributed largely to the success of
the various enterprises with which he is or
has been connected, and his judgment and
experience along the lines of industrial
enterprise are among the potent factors that
have contributed to the present commercial
and industrial prestige of the city of
Butler.
Mr. Wick was first married Feb. 10, 1874, to
Mary Frances Curran, daughter of
Samuel and Sarah Curran
of Slippery Rock, Butler County,
Pennsylvania, who died Dec. 10, 1874. He was
again married Oct. 16, 1878, to Florence
P. Curran, a daughter of Rev. Richard
A. and Elizabeth Curran, of Decatur,
Indiana. To this union have been born
four children—Richard H.; Helen E.
and Louisa O., both of whom are
deceased; and Olive Bartine.
Richard H. Wick is a member of the
firm of L. C. Wick & Son, lumber
dealers of Pittsburg. Olive B.
resides at home with her parents. In
politics Mr. Wick is a stanch
Prohibitionist, casting his vote for that
political party in 1882.
Source: 20th Century History of Butler
and Butler Co., PA - Publ. 1909 - Page 1405 |
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W.
S. WICK, of the lumber firm of W.
S. Wick, at Butler, is also interested
in a number of other Butler enterprises, and
is a substantial and representative citizen.
He was born in 1863, in Butler County, and
is a son o the late Henry E. Wick.
The Wick family is one of the oldest
families of Butler County. Henry E.
Wick was born on the old Wick
homestead, in 1824, and died at Butler
in 1901. He became a man of prominence
in Butler County and was one of Butler's
pioneer merchants.
W. S. Wick enjoyed both educational and social
advantages in youth and early manhood and
before he settled down to a business career,
he spent three years of travel through the
far west, during this time visiting Oregon,
Idaho, Wyoming and other States and
Territories. After returning to Butler
he engaged for three years in a mercantile
business and about 1894 embarked in the
lumber business. He handles all kinds
of lumber, doing both a wholesale and retail
business, and deals also in doors, sash and
blinds. He owns a half interest in the
East End Hardware Store and has stock also
in the plaster and cement mill which is
situated in the western part of the city.
He also owns valuable real estate, being
part owner of the Orphans' Home property.
1904 Mr. Wick was married to Miss Jeanette
Lusk, of Jefferson County, and they have
one daughter, Elizabeth. Mr. Wick
is not an active politician but he always
does a good citizen's duty to uphold the
laws and to further movements for the
general welfare. In this line he
believes the responsibilities of the
successful business man are great.
Source: 20th Century History of
Butler and Butler Co., PA - Publ. 1909 -
Page 1430 |
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