Mercer County PAGenWeb

J. N. Egbert


J. N. EGBERT, farmer, post-office Sandy Lake, was born December 2, 1823, in Sandy Lake Township. His father, Lewis Egbert, was a native of the eastern part of Pennsylvania, and came to this county with his father, William Egbert. William Egbert was a shoemaker, the first in what is now Sandy Lake Township. He was the father of the following children: Job, was a very prominent man in his day, was for many years a justice of the peace, and finally went to Kentucky, where some of his relatives still live; Clarissa, married Charles Shields; Charlotte, married Daniel Perrine; Ursula, married Enoch Perrine; Elizabeth, married Nathaniel Hazen, and Lewis. The family settled on the farm in Sandy Lake Township that is owned by W. H. Clawson [in 1909], and William and his wife were consistent members of the Baptist Church. Lewis Egbert obtained his education mostly in the old log school-houses, with their slab seats, puncheon floors, slab writing desks and big fire-places. He was brought up to hard labor on his father’s farm, and was married in Virginia to Miss Aseneth Nixon, and settled on the old homestead, where he died in 1872, and his widow died in 1880.

They were the parents of the following children: Edwin, John N., Albert G., Prudence, married John Lamb; Patience, wife of W. H. Clawson, whose sketch is given elsewhere; Harriet, married James Coleman; Thaddeus, Milton, Lewis, Aseneth, Levina, married Edward Taft. Lewis Egbert, whose portrait appears in this work, and the father of the children just named, was for many years a justice of the peace, and was a director of the poor; was a Whig, a strong anti-slavery man, later a Republican, and he and his consort were earnest and active members of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. Edwin, the eldest of his children, was born February 14, 1822, was educated in the common schools, and was married in 1847 to Milcah Grace, a native of Mercer County, and daughter of Bennett Grace, by whom he had two children: Rufus A. and Nancy J. The former is a practicing physician at Bradford, Penn, and the latter married Prof. J. J. Wasson.

Mrs. Egbert died in 1855, and he was again married, to Ruth S. Dorchester, born December 2, 1835, daughter of M. C. and Nancy (Tuttle) Dorchester, natives Connecticut and Mercer County, respectively. Mrs. Egbert’s parents died when she was four years of age, and she was reared by her grandparents, Tuttle, who were early and prominent citizens of this county, they being two of the four to form a Methodist Church in the neighborhood in which they lived. This union has given Edwin the following children: Lillian, Lucy, Newton, Mark, Ezra, Milo, Lizzie, Prudence, Arthur, Lewis, Edwin, Benjamin and Chester.

J. N. Egbert received a common-school education, and was married in 1848 to Ann Fowler, and settled on the farm where he now lives, which contains 100 acres, and was given to him by his father. He and his son William have 300 acres of well-improved land. His union blessed him with seven children: Elizabeth, born January 7, 1847, married [Richard Graham] R. G. Morrison; William, born July 28, 1848, married Sarah Kelley, and has three children, Kate, Thaddeus and Echa; Eliza, married T. Wright; Sarah; Eveline, married Veet Porter; Aseneth, married L. L. McClelland, and Ruth, married Rev. H. H. Wallace of the United Presbyterian Church. J. N. Egbert has from time to been elected to the various township offices, and has served as a justice of peace, which office his son is now filling.

Albert G. Egbert is a retired physician of Franklin, and one of the most worthy citizens of that place. He is known all over Northwestern Pennsylvania as a quiet, unostentatious man, good to the poor, and a liberal contributor to various public enterprises.

In the history of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Jackson Centre it is mentioned that Dr. Egbert gave several thousand dollars toward the erection of the present elegant brick edifice, and it cannot be out of place to herein mention what led to this unsolicited and liberal contribution. When the Doctor was a small boy he and his eldest brother, Edwin, went to a meeting to listen to the preaching of a Rev. Murphey. On this occasion the sacrament was administered, and the reverend gentlemen excluded every one who did not belong to his church. Edwin was an earnest Christian boy, and was deeply affected by this seemingly unchristian act, while the future doctor treasured up a lasting impression. Long afterward Albert attended another meeting, which was presided over by this same Rev. Murphey. He took a seat well up to the front of the church, and when the minister came into the church he suddenly halted just as he reached the pulpit, and, after a few moments of solemn reflection, he said:

“My friends, I am going to preach a different sermon than any I have ever preached. While coming to this pulpit I heard a voice telling me what to say, and that this was my last sermon. I want everybody to commune with us to day.” It was a glorious meeting, and proved to be the last sermon from Rev. Murphey, for on the next day he was stricken with paralysis, and soon died. This new church at Jackson Centre was to supplant Rev. Murphey’s old church, and this last liberal sermon caused Dr. Egbert to subsequently make the unsolicited and liberal contribution of $4,444 to assist in the erection of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church at Jackson Centre.

Thaddeus was a graduate of medicine at both the Ann Arbor and Cincinnati medical colleges, and practiced in Oil City for nineteen years. Milton O. was graduated from the Cleveland Medical College, and retired to Pittsburgh after many years’ practice. The Egberts are one of the most respected families of Sandy Lake Township, and are mentioned in the historical portion of this work.

History of Mercer County, 1888, pages 1052



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