Wesley Simpson Wakefield and Jessie Robinson

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Husband Wesley Simpson Wakefield ¹

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           Born: 30 Oct 1857 - West Wheatfield Twp, Indiana Co, PA 1
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         Father: Jeremiah Wakefield (1823-1887) 2 3 4
         Mother: Lucinda Palmer (1823-1890) 2 4

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       Marriage: 22 Sep 1895 - Greensburg, Westmoreland Co, PA 5

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Wife Jessie Robinson ^{5 6}

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         Father: William Robinson (1818-1884) 6 7
         Mother: Maria Margaret Kemp (1825-      ) 6 7

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Children

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1 F Jessie Virginia Wakefield ⁵

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           Born: 22 May 1897 5
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2 M Paul Vincent Wakefield ⁵

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           Born: 29 Aug 1899 5
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3 M Wesley Simpson Wakefield, Jr. ⁵

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           Born: 5 Feb 1901 5
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General Notes: Husband - Wesley Simpson Wakefield

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He attended the public schools of West Wheatfield township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania, and the higher schools of the county, among others the Indiana Normal, and took a private course of instruction in civil engineering. His first engagement at engineering work was in 1881 as transit man in Kentucky on the Paris, Georgetown & Frankport Railroad, under George W. Luffer, who located the famous Pack-Saddle Hollow line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1882 Mr. Wakefield was appointed assistant engineer by the chief engineer, O. W. Barnes, engaged in the survey of an opposition line to the Pennsylvania system. In the winter of 1882-83, when Mr. Luffer was made division engineer in the location of a line in the Perkiomen Valley in Montgomery and Lehigh counties from Norristown to Allentown, Pennsylvania, Mr. Wakefield was appointed assistant to the chief engineer in charge of the field operations. Having completed that work on May 5, 1884, he engaged in the engineering department of the city of Pittsburgh under the directorship of Edward M. Bigelow, serving continually until August 1, 1903, when he resigned to engage in the private practice of his profession, which he then followed in greater Pittsburgh. When he was first employed by the city he had charge of the extension of the sewer system, and the first great efforts along that line were under his direction. The first sewer in what became a populous section of East Liberty Valley, on Collins avenue, was constructed under his immediate supervision. The Two Mile Run, or Thirty-third Street Basin main trunk line, was also built under his supervision.
The Pittsburgh charter of 1888 made it possible to extend the line of operation in engineering accomplishments by gathering under one head all the municipal engineering divisions. In this Mr. Wakefield's work was no insignificant part, for many important enterprises were carried to a successful issue through his efforts, some of which may be enumerated, as the location of Beechwood and Grant Boulevards, drives and walks in Highland Park; location and estimate of supply main from Reservoir No. 2 to downtown district. He also had charge of the field work in the preparation of plans and estimated cost for the construction of a filter plant, besides other lines of work in the development and extension of Pittsburgh. During the winter of 1893-94, "the hard times winter," so well recalled by the poorer class, when they received one dollar a day subscribed by the citizens of the municipality and augmented one hundred per cent by Andrew Carnegie for laboring in and beautifying the parks, Mr. Wakefield was placed in charge of the engineering in Highland Park. He commenced when all looked unpromising, but took the abandoned reservoir\emdash later known as Lake Carnegie\emdash cleaned it out and put it in beautiful condition. This with many more improvements were made under his direction.
Mr. Wakefield was a member of the Emery Methodist Episcopal church on Highland avenue, and was a member of the board of trustees, which built and dedicated, October 6, 1907, a new church.
He belonged to the Masonic fraternity, including Washington lodge No. 253, F. and A. M., in which he filled all the chairs; Pittsburg Chapter No. 268; Duquesne Commandery No. 72; all Pittsburg Masonic societies.
As a member of the Board of Trade he served on the committee on Municipal Affairs. Politically he was a supporter of the Republican party and took great interest in all local movements.

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General Notes: Wife - Jessie Robinson

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from Greensburg, Westmoreland Co, PA

1 John W. Jordan, LL.D, A Century and a Half of Pittsburg and Her People, Vol. III (New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1908), Pg 208.

2 —, History of Indiana County, Pennsylvania (Newark, OH: J. A. Caldwell, 1880), Pg 426, 427.

3 J. T. Stewart, Indiana County, Pennsylvania - Her People Past and Present (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Co., 1913), Pg 701.

4 John W. Jordan, LL.D, A Century and a Half of Pittsburg and Her People, Vol. III (New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1908), Pg 209.

5 John W. Jordan, LL.D, A Century and a Half of Pittsburg and Her People, Vol. III (New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1908), Pg 212.

6 John W. Jordan, History of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Genealogical Memoirs, Vol. II (Chicago, IL: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1906), Pg 34.

7 John W. Jordan, LL.D, A Century and a Half of Pittsburg and Her People, Vol. III (New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1908), Pg 213.