James Harvey Irwin

 


biography

 

 

Irwin, James Harvey, deceased, was in his day one of the representative businessmen of Allegheny county. He was born in Mifflin township on September 16, 1825, and was a lineal descendant of one of the oldest families in that section of the state.

His paternal grandfather, Joseph Irwin, was born in the southern part of Ireland in 1710. In 1732, more than forty years before the Declaration of Independence, he came to America taking up a tract of land and obtaining the patent, calling it "Wormwood Farm" and located in what is now Miffling township. There he followed the vocation of a farmer until his death which occurred in 1790. There his son, James Irwin, grew to manhood; married Miss Margaret Whittaker, the daughter of a neighboring farmer, and one of the children born to this union was James H Irwin, the subject of this sketch.

On June 10, 1860, he was married to Miss Eliza West, daughter of Matthew and Mary West who were among the early settlers of the county. To this marriage there were born three children: James Kennedy Irwin; Ettie M Irwin; and Dessie Irwin, who is now the wife of R L Thompson of Ben Avon. After his marriage, Mr Irwin located at East Bethlehem, Washington county, Penna.

In 1870 he came to Pittsburg and soon after began dealing in real estate and investing in various enterprises in which, owing to his sound business judgment, he was usually successful. He continued in this business all his life and from the very nature of his occupation, he formed many acquaintances, a large majority of whom became steadfast friends.

Politcally Mr Irwin was a whig in his earlier years. Upon the organization of the republican party he became one of its staunchest adherents, and remained so until 1876 when he voted for Tilden, and from that time until his death he was a supporter of democratic principles. He was a member of the United Presbyterian church, and died firm in that faith on February 9, 1901. His widow is still living and is a resident of Ben Avon, a beautiful suburb of Pittsburgh.

The son, J Kennedy Irwin, MD, who is well known in Pittsburgh as a physician and specialist on diseases of the eye, was born in Washington county, Penna, September 18, 1852, but shortly afterward removed to Allegheny county, and has since resided there. Dr Irwin attended the common schools of Allegheny county, and later St Vincent's college at Latrobe, Penna, where he was graduated in a classical course in 1882, receiving the degree of master of arts. He then entered Illinois state pharmaceutical college and was graduated in pharmacy in 1884. Then he attended Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, and graduated from that institution in 1888 with the degree of MD. For four years after graduating he practiced in Philadelphia with Professor L Webster Fox, a prominent lecturer of ophthalmology. At the end of that time he came to Pittsburg, where he has taken an eminent position among the leading physicians of the city. He resides in Ben Avon, has offices in the Smith building, and devotes the major portion of his time to diseases of the eye. Dr Irwin is a member of the Philadelphia county medical society, the American medical association, the alumni of Jefferson Medical College, is medical examiner for the New York life insurance company, and chief medical director for the Order of Unity.

He was married in 1891 to Margaret, daughter of Richard M Webb and Pauline Miller Webb, her father having been a prominent leather manufacturer in Jersey City, New Jersey. They had two children: James H Irwin, Jr and Richard Webb Irwin. Mrs Irwin died July 4, 1896, and is sincerely mourned by a large circle of friends.

Memoirs of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania; personal and genealogical. Vol. 1 p 260
Contributed by Marta Burns.

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