Philip Masson    

PHILIP MASSON, farmer, post-office Mercer, was born March 10, 1837, in what is now Findley Township, to Lewis and Christina (Martin) Masson, natives of France. They came to this county in 1835 and settled where our subject was born. Here the father farmed the greater part of his busy life, although he was by trade a carpenter. He died in 1851, and was buried in the Catholic Cemetery in Jefferson Township. His wife died in 1876, and had blessed him with four children: Joseph; Mary J., deceased, after becoming the wife of A. Besancon; Philip and Lewis, deceased. The father was in the militia until he was fifty years old. Philip Masson was educated in the common schools, and was married in 1861 to Rebecca McDonald, a daughter of Alexander McDonald, who was born and reared in this county and married Rebecca Jennings, by whom he had four children: Mary A., Ellen, John and Rebecca. Her parents were Catholics. Her father died June 14, 1851, and her mother May 29, 1862. Mr. Masson has eight children: Christina R., Mary A., married Newton Robinson; Ellen A., Alphonsus, Cecelia, Ambrose, Anselem and John F. Mr. Masson and his family are members of the Catholic Church in Jefferson Township. He is the possessor of an excellent farm, and is an anti-monopolist. Lewis Masson was on the ocean for thirty-eight days while on a trip to his native country, about two years before his death. The ship was drifted on an island, but the only loss he sustained was his trunk and effects.

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.