Col. William Magaw and Adeline Chappotin

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Husband Col. William Magaw ¹

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           Born:  - Pennsylvania
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

       Marriage: 

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Wife Adeline Chappotin ¹

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           Born:  - Rhode Island
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

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Children

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1 M Leon Chappotin Magaw ^{1 2 3}

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           Born: 16 Jul 1827 1
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Sophie Matilda Selden (1829-1862) 1 2 3
           Marr: 1851 4

         Spouse: Susan E. Gray (      -      ) 4
           Marr: 1866 4

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General Notes: Husband - Col. William Magaw

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He was of Scotch descent; came to Meadville, Pennsylvania, in 1809; clerked for some time under Samuel B. Magaw (one of the early merchants); afterward became a prominent merchant himself, and also entered largely into the manufacture of straw paper, of which he was the inventor.

The art of manufacturing paper from straw by the use of alkalies was first discovered and successfully practiced in America by Col. William Magaw, a resident of Meadville, in 1827-28. Col. Magaw, since the fall of 1820, had been the proprietor of a paper-mill on Woodcock Creek, and was accidentally led to the important discovery by chewing a stalk of rye straw, which had been used in the leeching of ashes, the alkali having so affected the texture of the straw as to make it easily converted into pulp. The original idea lay in preparing the straw with alkalies, as paper had been manufactured from straw in Europe by a different process prior to that time. Large quantities of paper were afterward manufactured by the Magaws, at the Red Mill, in Meadville, which was operated as a paper-mill some three years. It was principally for wrapping, box and binding purposes, the enterprise in Crawford County proving quite a success. The product was mostly shipped to Pittsburgh, and other Southern markets.

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General Notes: Wife - Adeline Chappotin

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She was of French descent.

1 Editor, The History of Crawford County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: Warner Beers & Co., 1885), Pg 752.

2 John W. Jordan, LL.D., Genealogical and Personal History of the Allegheny Valley, Pennsylvania (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1913), Pg 586.

3 George P. Donehoo, Pennsylvania - A History (NW) (New York, NY; Chicago, IL: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc., 1926), Pg 204.

4 Editor, The History of Crawford County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: Warner Beers & Co., 1885), Pg 753.