Francis Elkin and Elizabeth Pratt
Husband Francis Elkin 1 2 3
Born: 4 May 1830 - Omagh, County Tyrone, Ireland 1 4 Christened: Died: 12 Dec 1882 - Smicksburg, Indiana Co, PA 4 5 Buried: - Episcopal Cemetery, Smicksburg, Indiana Co, PA
Father: William Elkin (1803/1804-1896) 1 3 Mother: Martha Beattie ( -1849) 1 2 3
Marriage: - Pittsburgh, Allegheny Co, PA
Wife Elizabeth Pratt 1 2 3
Born: 16 Jul 1833 - Queen's County, Ireland 6 Christened: Died: 2 Jan 1913 - Indiana Co, PA 6 Buried: - Episcopal Cemetery, Smicksburg, Indiana Co, PA
Father: John Pratt ( - ) 6 Mother: Elizabeth Carden ( - ) 6
Children
1 F Elizabeth Caroline Elkin 1 5 7
Born: - Indiana Co, PA Christened: Died: Buried:Spouse: William Elkin (1850-Aft 1906) 1 5 7 Marr: 10 Nov 1875 7
2 M James Henry Elkin 1 5
Born: Christened: Died: Buried:Spouse: M. Ella Oberlin ( - ) 5
3 M Hon. John Pratt Elkin 1 2 8 9
Born: 11 Jan 1860 - West Mahoning Twp, Indiana Co, PA Christened: Died: 3 Oct 1915 10 Buried:Spouse: Adda P. Prothero ( - ) 4 5 8 11 Marr: 17 Jun 1884 4 12
4 M William Carden Elkin 1
Born: Christened: Died: Buried:
5 F Martha Elkin 1
Born: Christened: Died: Bef 1880 Buried:
6 F Martha Cordelia Elkin 1 3
Born: Christened: Died: Buried:Spouse: Jacob Meister ( - ) 3Spouse: William D. McHenry (1863- ) 13
7 M William Francis Elkin 1 5
Born: Christened: Died: Buried:Spouse: Ersie C. Maugans ( - ) 5
8 F Margaret Alicia Elkin 1 5
Born: Christened: Died: Buried:Spouse: Robert McKibben ( - ) 5
General Notes: Husband - Francis Elkin
He came to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1851 and learned the rolling mill trade of Graff & Lindsey, becoming their superintendent and serving three years. In 1851 he came to West Mahoning township, Indiana County, and farmed till 1868, when he removed to Smicksburg and built a foundry, and also engaged in the mercantile business. In 1871 he, in company with others, started the American Tin Plate Company, the first association in the United States to manufacture tin plate on an extended scale.
He came, in 1850, to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he learned the rolling-mill trade. He soon removed to West Mahoning township, Indiana County, and, after farming for some years, he became a resident of Smicksburg, where he built a foundry and opened a store. In 1874 he went to Wellsville, Ohio, and, in company with others, founded the American Tin Plate company, and erected the first mill in America which ever manufactured tin plate. In 1875 he returned to Smicksburg and resumed his mercantile business, which he continued until his death. He was a member and vestryman of the Protestant Episcopal church of Smicksburg, and built the church edifice of that religious denomination at that place. He was a republican, and served his township as school director.
He married and they lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he was employed as superintendent in the iron mills of his uncle, John Lindsey, who died suddenly during a visit to Ireland. The death of Mr. Lindsey left the business in the control of a junior partner, Christopher Zug, who for reasons best known to himself found it convenient to dispense with the services of Francis Elkin. This changed the young couple's plans, and during a visit to his father, William Elkin, who then lived in West Mahoning township, Indiana County, Francis Elkin concluded to buy a farm and engage in agricultural pursuits. After spending several years on the farm they moved to Smicksburg, Indiana County, where they remained until Mr. Elkin's death.
General Notes: Wife - Elizabeth Pratt
She was born on the old family homestead in Queen's County, Ireland, the youngest daughter of her parents. She left Ireland in her eighteenth year [1851] and settled with friends in the city of New York, where she remained a few years, and then moved to Pittsburgh, where she first met and subsequently married her husband.
In religion she adhered to the faith of her ancestors, who for centuries were steadfast in their allegiance to the Church of England. She was confirmed as a member of the church in Ireland before departing for America, and for more than sixty years remained true and devoted to the church of her choice.
She came to America in a sailing vessel, was shipwrecked, and after many trials and vicissitudes was finally landed in New York harbor, having spent nearly three months on the ocean. It was an adventurous voyage and left her in dread of the storms on the sea. She never overcame this feeling, and as a result she was unwilling to revisit the old friends in Ireland whom she dearly loved and often talked about. In her bedchamber at the old home in Smicksburg hung the picture of an Irish maiden who had come to this country, underneath which were printed the following lines, no doubt expressive of her own sentiment:
Erin, my country, though sad and forsaken,
In dreams, I revisit thy sea-beaten shore;
But alas! In a far foreign land I awaken,
And sigh for the friends who can meet me no more.
1 Editor, History of Indiana County, Pennsylvania (Newark, OH: J. A. Caldwell, 1880), Pg 416.
2 Samuel T. Wiley, Biographical and Historical Cyclopedia of Indiana and Armstrong Counties, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: John M. Gresham & Co., 1891), Pg 107.
3 Editor, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, Her Pioneers and People, Vol. II (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Company, 1917), Pg 162.
4 Samuel T. Wiley, Biographical and Historical Cyclopedia of Indiana and Armstrong Counties, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: John M. Gresham & Co., 1891), Pg 108.
5 Editor, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, Her Pioneers and People, Vol. II (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Company, 1917), Pg 163.
6 Editor, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, Her Pioneers and People, Vol. II (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Company, 1917), Pg 164.
7 John W. Jordan, History of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Genealogical Memoirs, Vol. II (Chicago, IL: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1906), Pg 218.
8 J. T. Stewart, Indiana County, Pennsylvania - Her People Past and Present (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Co., 1913), Pg 1201.
9 Editor, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, Her Pioneers and People, Vol. II (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Company, 1917), Pg 165.
10 Editor, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, Her Pioneers and People, Vol. II (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Company, 1917), Pg 167.
11 Editor, History of Indiana County, Pennsylvania (Newark, OH: J. A. Caldwell, 1880), Pg 526.
12 Editor, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, Her Pioneers and People, Vol. II (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Company, 1917), Pg 166.
13
Editor, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, Her Pioneers and People, Vol. II (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Company, 1917), Pg 161.
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