|
COLONEL JOHN HERRON CAIN, producer and refiner of lubricating
oils, was born at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, November 18, 1838, son of
Henry P. Cain, a native of Trenton, New Jersey, who came to Pittsburgh in
1832, where he spent the balance of his days. He was engaged in the boot
and shoe business and occupied a room on the corner of Fifth avenue and
Market street for half a century. Our subject was reared and educated in
Pittsburgh, and subsequently was employed as teller in the old Pittsburgh
Trust Company, now the First National Bank. In 1858 Colonel Cain went to
St Louis, Missouri, where he occupied a similar position, and in the
spring of 1860 removed to Chattanooga, Tennessee. In March, 1861, seeing
that a war between the states was imminent, he returned to Pittsburgh,
where he soon afterward enlisted in Company K, Twelfth Pennsylvania
Volunteers, for the three months service. At the expiration of his term he
came home and recruited Company C, One Hundred and Fifty-Fifth
Pennsylvania Volunteers, of which he was elected captain. He served in all
the battles and campaigns of that regiment up to his resignation in
September, 1864. After the battle of Antietam he was promoted to the rank
of major, and subsequent to the battle of Fredericksburg to that of
lieutenant colonel of his regiment. While holding the latter rank he
commanded his regiment at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, and on the 3rd
of July, 1863, was promoted to the colonelcy, and served in that capacity
until his resignation some months afterward. In April, 1865, he came to
Franklin to accept the tellership of the First National Bank, which
position he filled eighteen months, and then went into the oil business.
He followed producing solely until 1885, when he established the Keystone
refinery, and operated it in conjunction with the producing business until
January 1, 1890, when he consolidated with the Franklin Oil Works. Colonel
Cain was married in Franklin, January 13, 1876, to Miss Jennie H., only
daughter of William Elliott, deceased, one of the well-known citizens of
the county. In politics he is a Republican, a member of the G. A. R., also
of the Masonic order and the A. 0. U. W., and is connected with the First
Presbyterian church of Franklin.
History of Venango County, Pennsylvania
: its past and present, including its aboriginal history, the French and
British occupation of the country, its early settlement and subsequent
growth, a description of its historic and interesting localities, its rich
oil deposits and their development, sketches of its cities, boroughs,
townships, and villages, neighborhood and family history, portraits and
biographies of pioneers and representative citizens, statistics, etc.,
etc.
Chicago, Ill.: Brown, Runk & Co., 1890, pages 797-798
Read this book on line -
Free Trial
Search Hundreds of 1880s-1890s Pennsylvania County History
Books for biographies and historical information
on your ancestors. View the book page images on line and print them
out for your genealogy file!
Free Access to the old history books - plus birth & death records, census images and ALL other records at ancestry.com.
|