William Wilson Giffen and Lidie M. Boardman

---

---

Husband William Wilson Giffen ¹

---

           Born: 22 Aug 1866 - East Huntingdon Twp, Westmoreland Co, PA
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

---

         Father: Jesse Giffen (1831-1907) 1 2
         Mother: Rebecca Fisher (1838-1895) 1 3

---

       Marriage: 16 Oct 1895 4

---

---

Wife Lidie M. Boardman ⁴

---

           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

---

         Father: James L. Boardman (      -      ) 4
         Mother: Rebecca Jane Hall (      -      ) 4

---

---

Children

---

1 M William Wilson Giffen, Jr. ⁴

---

           Born: 5 Jul 1896 4
     Christened: 
           Died: 18 Nov 1896 4
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Did Not Marry

---

2 F Ruth Rebecca Giffen ⁴

---

           Born: 7 Mar 1898 4
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

---

3 M Margaret Elizabeth Giffen ⁴

---

           Born: 15 Aug 1904 4
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

---

---

General Notes: Husband - William Wilson Giffen

---

He was born at "Shady Side" farm in East Huntingdon township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. His elementary education was obtained in the "Strohm" Public School, after which he attended the Mt. Pleasant Classical and Scientific Institution, graduating in 1884 after a four-years' course. It was his father's wish that he should succeed him in the ownership and management of the home farm, and to that end he did all in his power to make farm life attractive to the young man, but the business instinct was so strong within the boy that in 1889, being then in this twenty-third year, he left home and went to Pittsburgh to carve out his own career. After a few months he decided that banking was the one thing in life that most appealed to him. He solicited and obtained a situation in the banking house of T. Mellon & Sons. He remained in the employ of this house two years, gaining a practical knowledge of banking and business. In 1891 he formed a partnership with Samuel W. Gault for the purpose of conducting a general real estate business. The firm started with a single office room in the Ferguson building, and came to be one of the foremost among the many successful firms of Pittsburgh. They were among the pioneers in the apartment building development of the city, and erected some of the finest and most elegantly equipped buildings for apartment purposes in the city. Their activities have reached all sections; they bought, built, sold, rented, and energetically promoted every feature of the real estate business. As their business expanded they removed from one office to three on the second floor of the Ferguson building, and from there to spacious offices on the ground floor, 316 Fourth avenue. The business grew beyond ordinary limits, and in August, 1903, Gault and Giffen and John N. Dunn, Esq., founded the Land Trust Company, which took over the active earning business of Gault & Giffen, they retaining the ownership of their real estate. They also took a good working interest in the stock of the Land Trust Company and an active part in the management. Mr. Giffen became vice-president and Mr. Gault manager of the real estate department. The Land Trust Company purchased the title business of John N. Dunn and the Security Title Abstract Company, and they also instituted a general banking business. All these departments were concentrated in the Land Trust building, Fourth avenue, and prospered. Besides his involvement in the two successful enterprises mentioned, he was also president of the First National Bank of Trafford City, and was president, vice-president or director in a number of other active corporations of Pittsburgj. In civic matters he also took an active interest. He was vice-president of the Oakland Board of Trade, and a member of the Pittsburg Chamber of Commerce and Young Men's Republican Tariff Club. He was a member and treasurer of the Oakland Presbyterian church, and an independent Republican in politics.

1 John W. Jordan, LL.D, A Century and a Half of Pittsburg and Her People, Vol. IV (New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1908), Pg 314.

2 John W. Jordan, History of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Genealogical Memoirs, Vol. III (Chicago, IL: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1906), Pg 383.

3 Samuel T. Wiley, Biographical and Historical Cyclopedia of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA: John M. Gresham & Co., 1890.), Pg 450.

4 John W. Jordan, LL.D, A Century and a Half of Pittsburg and Her People, Vol. IV (New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1908), Pg 315.