Henry Cassius Mays and Anna L. Riley

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Husband Henry Cassius Mays ^{1 2}

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           Born: 26 Mar 1858 - Rockland Twp, Venango Co, PA 1 2
     Christened: 
           Died: 31 Jul 1936 2
         Buried:  - Rockland Cemetery, Rockland Twp, Venango Co, PA 3

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         Father: Lewis Asbury Mays (1831-1897) 4 5 6
         Mother: Ruth Burgwin (1830-1894) 5 6

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       Marriage: 26 Jul 1891 1

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Wife Anna L. Riley ^{1 2}

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           Born: 6 Jun 1870 - Cranberry Twp, Venango Co, PA 2
     Christened: 
           Died: 14 Oct 1896 2
         Buried:  - Rockland Cemetery, Rockland Twp, Venango Co, PA 3

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         Father: Bernard Riley (      -      ) 1
         Mother: Bridget Farley (      -      ) 1

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Children

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1 F Anabel Riley Mays ⁷

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            AKA: Anna Belle R. Mays 1
           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Hugh Gilson Crawford (      -      )
           Marr: 2 Nov 1920 - Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co, UT 7

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2 M Henry S. Mays ¹

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           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

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General Notes: Husband - Henry Cassius Mays

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He obtained his education in the local public schools, and remained at home until seventeen years old, spending the next four years in milling near Titusville, Pennsylvania, becoming miller at the Diamond mill. Returning to the farm when twenty-one years old, he worked there for the four years following, until he began operations in the oil fields. In company with his brother Edward he bought a string of tools and engaged as a drilling contractor, their activities in Venango and Butler counties during the succeeding three years being mostly in the sinking of big wells, in which they generally received a share as their pay. They then began to operate on the farm where they now reside, in 1893 leasing three adjoining tracts and for a time working in partnership with J. W. Fielder, whom they bought out. Their first production was a small one, but they continued drilling as well as producing on those leases for over twenty years, until forty wells had been sunk, thirty being producers, twenty-eight of which are still yielding, and paying well. At Coal City, five miles west of their home location, the brothers bought two leases comprising 125 acres with seven wells in operation, and have sunk fifty since, with the rather remarkable record of striking no dry holes, all of the fifty-seven still producing. Only about half of the home lease has been developed, their rights in that territory including the oil on the old home farm and two properties adjoining, one the C. B. Neeley farm; they bought the fee of these two tracts, with an area of 130 acres, in 1917. The Mays Brothers bought leases in Mahoning County, OH, and Lawrence County, PA, which two counties adjoin, with five wells yielding at the time they took possession, and they have sunk fifty-two more there, all of which are produc-ing a fine grade of oil. Their success may be attributed largely to good judgment and ability in valuing oil territory, which has been amply proved by the fact that all the wells they have sunk have proved profitable pro-ducers. In this respect they had a record second to none of the operators in the various fields which they entered. Mr. Mays was a good citizen, but prefered to use his influence unofficially, taking no part in public life. [CAB, 844]

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General Notes: Wife - Anna L. Riley

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After her parents died she spent some years with an aunt in Chicago, Illinois.

1 Charles A. Babcock, Venango County, Pennsylvania, Her Pioneers and People (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Co., 1919), Pg 844.

2 Alan R. Jones, Threads of Venango (Indiana, PA: A. G. Halldin Publishing Co., 1984), Pg 233.

3 Venango County Historical Society, Venango County Pennsylvania Cemetery Records and Early Church Histories, Vol. 5, Rockland Township (Franklin, PA: Venango County Historical Society, 1997), Pg 114.

4 —, History of Venango County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: Brown, Runk, & Co., Publishers, 1890), Pg 1028.

5 Charles A. Babcock, Venango County, Pennsylvania, Her Pioneers and People (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Co., 1919), Pg 843.

6 Alan R. Jones, Threads of Venango (Indiana, PA: A. G. Halldin Publishing Co., 1984), Pg 226.

7 Joan S. Hanson & Kenneth L. Hanson, Marriages from Venango County Sources (Apollo, PA: Closson Press, 1994), Pg 50.