Gen. William Ayres

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Husband Gen. William Ayres ^{1 2 3}

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           Born: 19 Jul 1771 - York Co, PA
     Christened: 
           Died: 1 Apr 1843 - ? Butler Co, PA 3
         Buried:  - North Cemetery, Butler, Butler Co, PA

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         Father: [Father] Ayres (      -      )
         Mother: 

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       Marriage: 

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Wife

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           Born: 
     Christened: 
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Children

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1 M William John Ayres ⁴

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           Born: Mar 1811 - Butler, Butler Co, PA
     Christened: 
           Died: 9 Apr 1867 4
         Buried:  - North Cemetery, Butler, Butler Co, PA

         Spouse: Harriet F. McCarns (      -1886) 4
           Marr: 1836 4

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General Notes: Husband - Gen. William Ayres

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He came West, possibly with Washington's army in 1794, during the whisky troubles generally known as "The Whisky Insurrection." He came with the soldiers in the capacity of a tailor. Of his early education, little is known. That he had acquired a liberal amount of knowledge, and that he had a thirst for more, is quite evident from his after pursuits. He read law in the office of that celebrated jurist, Judge Brackenridge, in Pittsburgh, and came to Butler in 1804, as Prothonotary, a position he got by appointment from the Governor. It seems he appointed Henry M. Brackenridge (son of his preceptor, himself afterward a United States Judge and man of letters) his deputy. Young Brackenridge attended to the duties of the office, allowing Ayres time to pursue his professional business.
Commencing his local career with the organization of the county, he availed himself of the opportunities offered by giving a strict attention to business, and by discharging every trust most scrupulously; he thus gained and held the confidence of the people through life. He was a Whig in politics, and had the confidence of his party, and was chosen by it, in 1837, to a seat in the convention then chosen to revise and reframe the constitution of his State, and was one of the minority of that body who voted against the word "white" being placed in that instrument, as a qualification for suffrage.
The following notice of Gen. Ayres is taken from the pen of Josiah Copely, Esq., who was a contemporary and a close observer; it may therefore be deemed reliable. He says, in speaking of his first visit to Butler: "When I was first there, Gen. William Ayres was a leading member of the Butler bar. How long he had been there prior to 1818, I am unable to say, but he was then in the prime of life, a portly man, tidy in his dress, and as fine-looking a man as I ever met. His hair was beautifully silvered, and well and scrupulously kept in order. Although a bachelor\emdash which he continued to be all his life\emdash he had a handsome frame dwelling on the west side of Main street, where, judging from appearances, he lived like a prince. He evidently aimed to be a gentleman of the old school, and kept within the severe proprieties of life, never to my knowledge indulging in dissipation. From the fact that he gradually became wealthy for those days, I infer he was a man of considerable ability in his profession. As a speaker, he was emphatic and precise, keeping prominent all the dignity that was in him, which was not a little. He had a suit once about a tract of land which lay on Slippery Rock Creek. Henry Baldwin, of Pittsburgh, was the opposing counsel. The General in his argument to the jury had often occasion to name Slippery Rock. Baldwin, who sat near him, in a distinct but suppressed voice, pretending to correct him, cried, 'No, Slippery Creek.' 'O, yes,' Ayres would rejoin, 'Slippery Creek.' Then after two or three 'Slippery Creeks' would be uttered, Baldwin, with well simulated solicitude, would exclaim, 'No, Slippery Rock Creek.' Then Ayres, as if blaming himself for the misnomer, would say, 'Well, well, Slippery Rock; yes, that's right,' and so would go on correctly for awhile until Baldwin, in all apparent seriousness, would again interject, 'Slippery Creek.' The poor man became so confused at length that he did not know what was the correct name. Of course, his argument was sadly crippled. Gen. Ayres lived to a pretty advanced age, an eminent member of the bar and a useful and honored citizen." [HBC 1883, 49]

He came to western Pennsylvania in 1794, with the troops sent to quell "The Whisky Insurrection," in the capacity of a tailor. Being ambitious of a more prominent career than his trade offered, he entered the office of Judge Brackenridge, in Pittsburg, and began the study of law. He appears to have been an apt student, not only of law, but of politics, and quick to take advantage of every opportunity for preferment. When Butler county was organized, he was appointed to the office of prothonotary, which then included among its duties those of clerk of the courts, and of register and recorder. He soon became a large land owner, and a powerful factor in the political life of the county. He was admitted to the bar in 1809, and immediately established himself as a successful practitioner. Although a bachelor, he built for himself a comfortable and well furnished home, and lived what was then considered an affluent and luxurious life. He was a lover of books, and surrounded himself with a large private library, devoting his leisure to their study and perusal. At his death he left an estate, of real and personal property, valued at $150,000.

1 —, History of Butler County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: Waterman, Watkins & Co., 1883), Pg 49.

2 —, History of Venango County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: Brown, Runk, & Co., Publishers, 1890), Pg 172.

3 —, History of Butler County, Pennsylvania (R. C. Brown & Co. Publishers, 1895), Pg 151.

4 —, History of Butler County, Pennsylvania (R. C. Brown & Co. Publishers, 1895), Pg 761.