James Duncan and Mrs. Pedan

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Husband James Duncan ^{1 2 3}

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            AKA: James Dunken 4
           Born: 1758 - Scotland 2 3 5
     Christened: 
           Died: 14 Oct 1843 2 3
         Buried: 

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         Father: David Duncan (      -      ) 6
         Mother: 

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       Marriage: 

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   Other Spouse: Elizabeth Wilson (1769-1797) 2 3 4 5

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   Other Spouse: Jane Dundass (      -1820) 5

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   Other Spouse: Sophia Lashell (      -1837) 5

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   Other Spouse: Martha Cooke (Abt 1782-1847) 1

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Wife Mrs. Pedan ⁵

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           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 15 Sep 1823 5
         Buried: 

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Children

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General Notes: Husband - James Duncan

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He was the first sheriff of Centre County, Pennsylvania.

He was born in Scotland and came with his father to the place where Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, now stands some years before the Revolution.
His father erected a cabin there in 1778, in connection with William McMurray, lying between Millheim and Aaronsburg. On account of Indian troubles, he and his family returned to York County in 1782, and subsequently removed to Fredericksburg, Virginia.
James, having had some altercation with his father, wrapped his clothes in a handkerchief, had one of his brothers row him over the Rappahannock, and walked to Lewisburg, where he worked as a day laborer. His father wrote to him to sell the tract of land above mentioned, and allowed him all he received over fifty dollars.
With this start he went to Northumberland, selected a small stock of goods, which he could carry on horseback, and made his way to Aaronsburg in the year 1790. He was the first sheriff of Centre County, Oct. 28, 1800, built Elk Mills, at Millheim (later Mussers) in 1817, and rebuilt Spring Mills in 1822. He took John Forster into partnership, and the firm of Duncan & Forster was known all through western Pennsylvania. Even after stores were established at Bellefonte, people passed them by to deal with Duncan & Forster, on account of superiority in quality, cheapness in price of the latter's goods, and long credit\emdash usually a year\emdash they gave their distant customers.
After conducting a successful business for fifty years, James Duncan, Esq., retired from business in 1840.

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General Notes: Wife - Mrs. Pedan

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from Columbia, PA

1 John Blair Linn, History of Centre and Clinton Counties, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1883), Pg 289, 302.

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

3 John W. Jordan, LL.D., Genealogical and Personal History of Western Pennsylvania (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1915), Pg 114.

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

5 John Blair Linn, History of Centre and Clinton Counties, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1883), Pg 302.

6 John Blair Linn, History of Centre and Clinton Counties, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1883), Pg 301.