WILLIAM P. IRWIN. This gentleman, one of Carroll township's most respected and reliable citizens, claims descent from honorable Irish ancestry, one William Irwin having emigrated from Ireland to America many years ago, settling on a large tract of land in Chester county, Penn. He was a pioneer agriculturist, and passed the remainder of his life on the farm where his children were born. James Irwin was born in Chester county, Penn., and in 1827 came to Washington county. He was dependent upon his own exertions for a livelihood, and learned the cooper's trade; then began farming in Carroll township, Washington Co., Penn. He married Jane Morton, a resident of Chester county, Penn., and daughter of James Morton. Mr. and Mrs. Irwin were the parents of four children, all of whom are now deceased. They were members of the Presbyterian Church, and in politics he affiliated with the Democratic party. William P. Irwin, whose name introduces this biography, was born October 12, 1815, in Chester county, Penn. His father owned forty acres of land in Carroll township, Washington Co., Penn., which William P. bought, also purchasing a lot in Monongahela City, where he erected a house. In 1850 our subject married Eliza Jane, daughter of Benjamin Dickey, a resident of Fallowfield township. After purchasing his father's farm of forty acres, Mr. Irwin continued to save his earnings, and finally bought an adjoining tract of seventy acres, upon which a handsome house and other buildings have been erected. He has been engaged in general farming and stock raising. Politically he votes with the Democratic party, and in religion he is a member of the Episcopal Church. He has had four children, namely: Mary Jane and Margaret (both deceased), Benjamin D., who manages the farm, and William Porter, also living at home.

Text taken from page 1471 of: Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893). Transcribed February 1997 by Neil and Marilyn Morton of Oswego, IL as part of the Beers Project. Published February 1997 on the Washington County, PA USGenWeb pages at http://www.chartiers.com/.

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