THOMAS McKENNAN, M. D., a well-known prominent and successful physician of Washington county, was born May 21, 1825, in the house where he at present resides in the borough of Washington. In 1800 the first of the family came to Washington county in the person of Col. William McKennan, a merchant, who was born in 1758 at New Castle, Del., a son of Rev. William McKennan, a prominent Presbyterian minister, who had a church for fifty years in Wilmington, Del.; he came to America about the year 1730, and died in Delaware, where he had settled. Col. McKennan at a very early date came from Delaware to West Virginia, to what is now Wellsburg, later moving to Washington. He was present at the battle of Brandywine, in 1777, where he received a wound, from the effects of which he died, and he spent the memorable winter at Valley Forge. He married Elizabeth, a daughter of John Thompson, a prominent citizen of Brandywine Hundred, in Delaware, and a niece of Thomas McKean, a member of the first Congress from Delaware, who later came to Pennsylvania, of which State he became governor; he was one of the Signers of the "Declaration of Independence." Col. William McKennan and his family moved to Charlestown, Va. (now W. Va.), from there to West Middletown, this county, and finally, in 1801, to the borough of Washington, where he died in January, 1810, his widow in 1839, at the age of seventy-eight years. The children born to them were seven in number, as follows: William, John, Thomas McK. T., David, Ann, Rev. James W. and one that died in infancy, unnamed.
Hon. Thomas McK. T. McKennan, the third son of Col. William McKennan, was born in 1794, in Newcastle county Del., and received his primary education in the private schools at Washington. When sixteen years old he graduated from Washington College, in the second class, there being three members in that class. Immediately thereafter be began the study of law under Parker Campbell, an attorney of Washington borough, and November 7, 1814, at the age of twenty- one, was admitted to the bar, and he at once commenced to build up his remarkable career. The year after his admission he succeeded Walter Forward as deputy attorney-general of the county, serving in that capacity until 1817; and his rise at the bar was rapid and honorable, the front in his profession being maintained throughout his life. The degree of LL. D. was conferred on him by Jefferson College. In 1831 Mr. McKennan became a member of the House of Representatives of the United States, remaining in Congress four terms, and declining re-election on account of his urgent professional work at home. In 1842, however, a vacancy occurring in the House through the demise of Joseph Lawrence, Mr. McKennan yielded to the solicitations of his party, and the public demand, and served the balance of the term. He was chairman of the committee of the whole for two months, in the first session of that year, and during his incumbency rendered powerful aid to the more important industries of the country. In 1840 he was chosen a Presidential elector, and in 1848 he was made president of the Pennsylvania Electoral College. In 1850 he was called by President Fillmore to the position of Secretary of the Interior; but for various reasons he had no liking for the office, and a few weeks after his appointment he resigned and returned to his more genial home. Soon after this he became president of the Hempfield Railroad Company, and while attending to its affairs died July 9, 1852, at Reading, Penn.
Mr. McKennan had entered Washington College at a very early age, and passed through the entire curriculum. In February, 1813, he was appointed tutor of ancient languages, in which capacity he served eighteen months; in April, 1818, he was chosen a member of the college corporation, continuing as such up to the day of his death, a period of thirty-four years. For several years he held the position of adjunct professor of languages. The life of Mr. McKennan was one of the purest probity, and among the galaxy of distinguished men of Pennsylvania he exerted great influence in the development of the State, and in his quiet, unobtrusive yet effective way, contributed largely toward the shaping of her political destiny. In his private life he was beloved by all as a loyal citizen, a devoted husband, an affectionate and indulgent patient, and a true friend. He was devotedly attached to children, was a lover of good men, and a supreme detester of all manner of vice and meanness.
In 1815 Mr. McKennan was united in marriage with Miss Matilda, daughter of Jacob Bowman (of German ancestry), one of the pioneer merchants of Brownsville (Penn.). "Old Fort Redstone," as it was then called, and who died there at the age of eighty-two years. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. McKennan as follows: William, ex-United States judge; Jacob Bowman (deceased); Thomas M. T. (who died in infancy); Isabella L. (deceased); Thomas, subject of sketch; Ann E., John Thompson (deceased), and Matilda, wife of George W. Reed, of Pittsburgh. The mother of this family died in March, 1858.
Thomas McKennan, whose name opens this biographical memoir, attended the common schools of his native town, and at an early age entered Washington College, from which he graduated in 1842. He then began the study of medicine, attended the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia, graduating therefrom in 1846, after which he was professionally engaged in the Philadelphia Hospital and Almshouse at Philadelphia, one year, and for the following three years in the practice of medicine at Allegheny. In 1851 he returned to Washington, where he has since been engaged in the active practice of his profession (a period of over forty years) during which experience he has met with unqualified success and gained unlimited popularity. His practice has extended far and wide throughout the surrounding country, and in addition to general pathology he has had many surgical cases, in all of which he has proven eminently successful.
In 1854 Dr. McKennan married Margaret M., daughter of L. W. Stockton, who died in Uniontown, Penn., in 1844. He was widely known in his days as the principal stage proprietor in his section, in fact, as one of the largest in the United States, one of his lines running from Baltimore to St. Louis through Washington. Twelve children were born to Dr. and Mrs. McKennan, of whom three are deceased; of those yet living: T. M. T. is an M. D. and professor in the medical college at Pittsburgh, and the eldest daughter, Matilda, is the wife of James Cummins, of Wheeling, W. Va. Politically Dr. McKennan was originally a Whig, and since the organization of the party has been an uncompromising "black Republican." He has been a trustee of Washington and Jefferson College many years, a member of the board of managers of Pennsylvania Reform School; member of the school board of Washington; trustee of Washington Female Seminary, and president of the board of managers of Washington Cemetery Company.
Text taken from page 14 of:
Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893).Transcribed March 1997 by Neil and Marilyn Morton of Oswego, IL as part of the Beers Project.
Published April 1997 on the Washington County, PA USGenWeb pages at http://www.chartiers.com/.[ [Back to Beers Table of Contents] [Back to Beers Project Page]