Their Stories
Indian captives, southpaw pitchers, a legendary rogue of the oil boom and 49ers out to strike it rich in the Gold Rush are just some of the characters who fill Butler County history.
Their stories also fill shelves in Butler County libraries as many a biography and diary extract illuminate obscure corners of the county's past.
Luanne Eisler, genealogist at the Butler Public Library, said there are a handful of biographies in the noncirculating genealogy section of the library.
“I think we have maybe six or eight that are designated biographies. Now, of course, we have thousands of books with biographical information, some in depth, but they are not categorized as biographies,” Eisler said.
“And, of course, when people want biographical information, there are other sources of information ... obituaries, etc.,” she said.
Judy Silva, the fine and performing arts librarian and archivist at the Bailey Library at Slippery Rock University, said her library has a large collection of local history titles, including biographies and some rare books in the special collections.
Titles at Bailey include “Richard Butler, Patriot,” a biography written by Butler resident Stephen Pozar, covering the life of the Revolutionary War general who lent his name to Butler County and the city, and two books on Russell Wright, an osteopath and longtime team physician for the Olympic weightlifting team after whom Slippery Rock University's alumni house is named.Butler's biography is also for sale at the Butler County Historical Society at 123 W. Diamond St.“It was recently republished with updates. It was originally printed in 2001,” said Pat Collins, administrative director of the society.Butler's biography, as well as biographies on Massie Harbison, a pioneer woman who escaped her Indian captors and made her way back to her Freeport-area farm in 1792, and Rube Waddell, a left-handed pitcher and Baseball Hall of Fame member who played for the Pirates in 1900, are also in the Butler Library, said Eisler.The biographies come from diverse sources.As for Wright's self-published book, Eisler said. “I found it in the donor pile.”“B.D. Phillips' biography was published privately,” she said, about the volume outlining the life of the son of oil and gas magnate T.W. Phillips.Stephen Butler wrote a biography of Harbison.“She really is a significant figure in Butler County history. This is a woman who endured extreme hardships. She survived Indian captivity. It was short-lived, but still and all she survived. It is a riveting picture for anyone doing frontier studies,” Eisler said.
Others must share Eisler's opinion. She said Harbison's is one of the three most-requested biographies, along with those of Waddell and Butler.And it's not just pillars of the community whose deeds have been recorded, said Collins.The historical society has copies of “Ben Hogan's Wild Ride” by Marilyn McCall. It is the story of Hogan, a notorious rakehell who ran a floating gambling and prostitution business between Clarion, Armstrong and Butler counties during the booming oil field years in Western Pennsylvania.And there are other Butler County residents whose lives deserve more attention, Eisler said.“Abie Abraham, who recently died, wrote an autobiography. His nickname was 'The Ghost of Bataan.' He was one of the few survivors of the death march,” she said.In 1942, after their defeat in the Battle of Bataan in the Philippines, up to 80,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war were marched 80 miles by their Japanese captors to a prison camp. Because of physical abuse and executions, 2,500 to 10,000 Filipino and 100 to 650 American prisoners died on the trek.“He went back when the military went to retrieve the bodies,” Eisler said of Abraham.“He's one that I don't have here in the genealogical section. His story should have been told. He received international recognition for his sacrifices and efforts to essentially bring peace to the families,” Eisler said.
Another person who would provide rich material for a biographer, Eisler said, was David Dougal.“He's a fascinating figure. He was a surveyor. He lived with the Indians in Michigan. He had an excellent mind. He bought the first lot in Butler. It's where the (Butler County) symphony building now is,” said Eisler.“Another would be the Cunningham brothers, Samuel and John,” she said. “They built the first mill here that was essentially the founding of Butler.”“The Negley family,” Eisler said, citing another worthy biographical subject. “John Negley was one of the earliest county commissioners. He came in and operated the Cunningham's mill. He had a fine mind that he passed on to his children.”'One of his descendants was Felix Negley, who led a group of 'Argonauts,' men from Butler County who went to the California gold fields in 1849,” Eisler said.“And there was John Negley, who was publisher of the Butler Citizen, a newspaper that was actually in business before the Butler Eagle,” she said.“Mostly people want information on their specific family members or general Butler County information and our history,” Collins said.“I think Butler County has had many notable people. There have been lots of people that have lived through the years that are worthy of a biography,” said Collins.
“We need more women's biographies. It is not that women didn't have interesting, meaningful lives or lives without consequence, it was just kind of the way things were. We had different rules then,” Eisler said.Eisler said Anna Brown, a visiting nurse and social worker who was instrumental in working with the immigrants coming to Lyndora in 1910-20 and providing health care and sanitation to improve their lives or Emma Guffey Miller, a Democratic party activist and feminist, would make good subjects.What makes for a good biography?“I think the common characteristic is that they had a passion for what they did, whatever that was,” Collins said.“You need a good story line,” said Eisler. “I think one of the things that happens with biographies happened with Massie Harbison. There was a period in her life where there was this pivotal moment in her life. It's a fascinating story, whatever happened afterward in this woman's life.”“Most of our lives, we just drift along with the stream,” she said.“There's a few that have lives that change the world in monumental ways,” Eisler said. “I think it is interesting to read biographies of people and try to understand how their experiences have changed them, but I think I don't know what the line is between everyday experiences and revolutionary experiences beyond ourselves.”
Butler County has many famous people populating its history. Some of those who have been the subject of biographies are listed here.PersonalitiesRube Waddell — Left-handed pitcher who played for the Louisville Colonels, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Orphans in the National League, and the Philadelphia Athletics and St. Louis Browns in the American League between 1897 and 1910. Waddell was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946.Massie Harbison — A pregnant Harbison, 22, and her three children were captured in an Indian raid near Freeport on May 22, 1792. She escaped and made her way back to her home farm.Gen. Richard Butler,at left — A Revolutionary War general who gave his name to Butler County and the city of Butler and its General Richard Butler Bridge.Capt. Sam Brady — A frontier scout and the subject of many legends in the history of Western Pennsylvania, best known for jumping across a gorge over the Cuyahoga River to escape pursuing Indians in what is present day Kent, Ohio.Dr. Orrin Bashline — Osteopath and surgeon who established Bashline Hospital, now Grove City Medical Center.B.D. Phillips — son of T.W. Phillips, the oil and gas magnate and philanthropist in his own right.Dr. Russell Wright — Osteopath and team physician for the Detroit Tigers and Olympics weightlifting team.Ben Hogan —A legendary outlaw of the Western Pennsylvania region during the oil boom times of 1852-1878.Publications at ButlerTitles in the Genealogical Section of the Butler Public Library:Ben Hogan“The Life and Times of Ben Hogan” by Marilyn McCall.B.D. and T.W. Phillips“B.D. Phillips: A Life in Letters” by James DeForest Murch.“Second Spring: The Story of My Father Thomas Wharton Phillips” by Margaret Phillips Succop.Massie Harbison“A Narrative of the Sufferings of Massie Harbison From Indian Barbarity Communicated by Herself”“The Journey of Massie Harbison in 1792”Orrin Bashline“Memoirs of 55 Years of Osteopathy and Surgery” by Dr. O.O. BashlineRussell Wright“One Man's Journey from Slippery Rock,” Russell Wright with Dave DilesSamuel Brady“Sketches of the Life and Indian Adventures of Captain Samuel Brady”Rube Waddell“Rube Waddell: Butler's Outrageous Southpaw,” Eric D. DuchessPublications at Slippery RockTitles in Slippery Rock University's Bailey Library collection, all of which do get used by researchers:Rube Waddell“Rube Waddell: The Zany, Brilliant Life of a Strikeout Artist, Alan H. Levy;” Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2000.“Rube Waddell: Butler's Outrageous Southpaw,” Eric D. Duchess; Old Stone House series, v. 3, 1998.“Baseball's One-man Circus: The Erratic Life of Rube Waddell;” Eric D. Duchess, Thesis (M.A.) — Slippery Rock University, 1997.Massie Harbison“History of Butler County, Pennsylvania, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men And Pioneers,” Chicago: Waterman, Watkins & Co., 1883.Richard Butler“Richard Butler: American Patriot,” Kaitlin Remensky; Thesis (M.A.) — Slippery Rock University, 2008.“Richard Butler, Patriot,” Stephen M. Pozar; Butler: Butler County Historical Society (Mechling Bookbindery), 2001.“History of Butler County, Pennsylvania, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men And Pioneers,” Chicago: Waterman, Watkins & Co., 1883.Russell Wright“One Man's Journey from Slippery Rock,” Russell Wright with Dave Diles; Ann Arbor, Mich.: Olympia Sports Press, 1997.
