John J. Hosack    

JOHN J. HOSACK, farmer, post-office Pardoe, was born March 2, 1833, in Mercer County, to David and Rebecca (Paxton) Hosack. David Hosack was a brother of James Hosack, whose sketch appears previously. Our subject was educated in the pioneer schools of this county, and brought up on a farm. His father died when he was eleven years of age, and one year later he started out in the world for himself. He hired out to his neighbors at anything he could get to do. At the age of fifteen he engaged by the month and took his pay in store goods. He was married in 1857 to Martha Barnes, a daughter of George and Margaret (Zeigler) Barnes. Her father was a native of Ireland, and came to America when six years of age. Margaret Zeigler was a daughter of George and Susannah (Lear) Zeigler, who immigrated to America at an early period. George B. Barnes, a brother of Mrs. Hosack, was in the One Hundred and Forty-second Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was killed at the battle of Fredricksburg. Mrs. Hosack’s father was an elder in the Seceder Church. Mr. and Mrs. Hosack have had ten children: James L., married Jennie Donaldson, a native of Scotland, and is the engineer for the Mercer County Coal Company at Pardoe; Margaret R., married J. W. Banister, of Sharpsville; Mary A., married T. E. Armstrong, of Venango County; Jennie S., married Albert Nelson; Susa L., Wilda A., Tillie E., Nellie B., Esta and Fred, both dead. Mr. and Mrs. Hosack are United Presbyterians, and he is a Republican. David Hosack, father of J. J. Hosack, was born in Adams County, near Gettysburg, Penn., in 1790. In the year 1802 he, with his father’s family, immigrated to Mercer County, settling on a tract of land on the south branch of Mill Creek, now a part of Findley Township, where they became the possessors of a large tract of land, a part of which became the property of David. On this farm J. J. Hosack was born, and he is now the resident owner. In 1852 J. J., being of a somewhat rambling disposition, desiring to visit new country, traveled to Pittsburgh by stage, and canal. He then took deck passage on the river from there to Fort Madison, Iowa. The first business he engaged in toward gaining a livelihood was chopping cord-wood on an island in the Mississippi River, two and one-half miles from Fort Madison, where he with three other boys "were monarchs of all they surveyed," they being the only occupants on the island. While thus engaged it became necessary to take their first lesson in baking bread. While here the enjoyment of the situation was interrupted by the subject of this sketch receiving a severe blow on the head from a falling cotton-wood limb, which caused a fracture of the skull, and which caused him to vacate the happy surroundings. From here he went to Livingston County, Ill., traveling a greater part of the distance on foot. Here he spent most of the summer of 1853, and witnessed the execution of George L. Gates, at Ottawa, Ill. In the following fall, receiving word of the serious illness of his mother, he returned home, and has since made his home in Mercer County.

History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present : including its aboriginal history, its early settlement and development, a description of its historic and interesting localities, sketches of its boroughs, townships and villages, neighborhood and family histories, portraits and biographies of pioneers and representative citizens, statistics, etc. : also, a condensed history of Pennsylvania. Chicago, Ill.: Brown, Runk & Co., 1888.  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.