William Fruit

---

---

Husband William Fruit ^{1 2}

---

           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 1877 2
         Buried: 

---

         Father: Richard Fruit (      -1822) 2 3
         Mother: Sarah Wilson (      -1844) 2 3 4

---

       Marriage: 

---

---

Wife

---

           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

---

Children

---

1 F Sarah Fruit ²

---

           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

         Spouse: James Trimble (      -      ) 2

---

---

General Notes: Husband - William Fruit

---

In 1844 William Fruit, of Clarksville, Pennsylvania, a pioneer in the coal business, made his first shipment to Erie. In digging his coal he substituted mules for dogs in hauling coal from his mines, making so much of an innovation upon the plan used at the Curtis bank at Sharon. Loading a canal boat, whose capacity was twenty-seven tons, he started for Erie with the first load of coal that had passed along the canal to that place. He was disappointed on reaching the place. His new fuel was not in demand. He had to consume tons in experi­ments to convince people that it would burn, and was superior to wood for cook­ing and heating purposes. This all involved time and money. Despairing of success, Mr. Fruit was on the eve of dumping his cargo into the lake and returning home in disgust. At that moment Rufus S. Reed, a large share­holder in the canal, took an interest in the cargo and bought it at $2 per ton, giving his note therefor at sixty days. Mr. Fruit had the paper discounted and returned to his home, after an absence of six weeks, rich in experience but poor in purse. The debit side of his loss and gain account was the larger. [HMC 1888, 200]

1 —, History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania. Its Past and Present (Chicago, IL: Brown, Runk & Co., Publishers, 1888), Pg 925.

2 William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Pennsylvania Genealogies; Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1896), Pg 744.

3 —, History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania. Its Past and Present (Chicago, IL: Brown, Runk & Co., Publishers, 1888), Pg 906.

4 —, Book of Biographies, Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of Beaver County, Pennsylvania (Buffalo, NY: Biographical Publishing Company, 1899), Pg 19.