HENRY HARRISON HARFORD WEAVER. The Weaver family, with which this gentleman is connected, is of German ancestry, and the earliest pioneer of the name to settle in America was one Adam Weaver. He and his son John located in Washington county, Penn., where the latter purchased 400 acres of land one mile north of Fredericktown, on Fish Pot run, in East Bethlehem township. John Weaver received a limited education, but gained a large fund of general information, becoming a very intelligent citizen. In 1788 he was married to Catharine, daughter of Martin Spoone , and the following children were born to them: Adam, who died in 1860; Sarah, wife of Jonathan Michener, of Seneca county, Ohio (she is now over ninety years of age); Jacob; Martin, a farmer of Seneca county, Ohio; Daniel; Mrs. Elizabeth Ault, who resided at Orville, Wayne Co., Ohio; Mrs. Catherine Huffman; Mrs. Mary Smith; John; Joseph, deceased in 1890, and Margaret. Of this family are yet living Sarah, Martin and Margaret. The parents died on the home farm in East Bethlehem township. John Weaver, son of John and Catharine Weaver, was born August 17, 1799 , in East Bethlehem township, Washington Co., Penn. He attended the rude log cabin schools, and assisted his father in the farm work, using the old-fashioned wooden plow. Their bread was then made entirely from corn, and though whisky was freely used in those days, drunken men were comparatively few. John Weaver learned the tanner's trade at Scenery Hill, Washington county, with a man named Notestine. On March 21, 1822, he was united in marriage with Ann Schoolly, and they had children who were born as follows: William, born December 8, 1822, a merchant of San Francisco; Eli, born April 10, 1824, supposed to have been drowned in North River, Cal.; Mrs. Elizabeth Messmore, born April 22, 1826, died November 28, 1878, in Illinois; Thomas, born October 17, 1828, died September 10, 1888, in San Francisco, Cal.; John, deceased in infancy; E . P., a miner in Montana, born April 7, 1833, and Isaac, born September 9, 1835, who enlisted in the Eighth Illinois Calvary, and died in the army. The mother of this family was laid to rest December 23, 1835, and the father then married Mrs. Jane (Woods) Boon (widow of James Boon), who was born June 24, 1809, in Washington county, Penn., near the Virginia line. To this marriage came the following children: Finley, born February 16, 1838, living in Waynesburgh, Greene Co., Penn.; Henry Harrison Harford, born September 3, 1840; Margaret Jane, born January 12, 1843, wife of John Carpenter, of Seneca county, Ohio; Joseph and Mary N. (twins), born August 9, 1845, the former of whom died October 1, 1854, while the latter is living with her brother Henry; Eleanor S., born June 20, 1848, widow of Alonzo B. Crumrine, living in Waynesburgh, Greene Co., Penn., and Florence C., born April 3, 1851, who died September 30, 1854, at the age of three years, one day before the death of her brother Joseph. The father was a very industrious man, having won success by years of patient toil, and in 1842 erected the house now occupied by his son. He was called from earth June 24, 1876, and was followed by his wife December 29, 1888. He was a member and elder of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and in politics formerly voted with the Whig party, afterward uniting with the Republicans. Henry Harrison Harford Weaver is now residing on the farm where he was born and reared, in East Bethlehem township, Washington Co., Penn. He learned the tannery business of his father, which he followed several years, and then conducted a store in Fredericktown fifteen years. After leaving the latter business he returned to the homestead, and is now a prosperous agriculturist. He is one of the most zealous adherents of the Republican party, and has voted for every nominee of his party since casting his first ballot for Lincoln. In religion he is a member of the Presbyterian Church.

Text taken from page 640 of: Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893). Transcribed May 1997 by Marion L. Smith of San Diego, CA as part of the Beers Project. Published May 1997 on the Washington County, PA USGenWeb pages at http://www.chartiers.com/.

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