JAMES HODGENS. The family, of which this gentleman is a worthy member, is one of the earliest to make a settlement in Buffalo township, and one of the most highly respected and esteemed in the county. Thomas Hodgens, grandfather of the subject proper of this biographical memoir, was a native of County Armagh, Ireland, whence, in the spring of 1807, he emigrated with his family to America. After a brief sojourn in Philadelphia they came to Washington, this county, and in the spring of 1808 Mr. Hodgens purchased a farm in Buffalo township, near the village of Taylorstown, on which they settled. Here Grandfather Hodgens ended his pioneer life, dying in 1821, at the age of sixty-five years, his wife following him to the grave several years later. In his native land Thomas Hodgens has been, in religious faith, a strict Seceder, but after coming to this county, for reasons sound and just, no doubt, he associated himself with the Christian (or Disciple) Church, dying an earnest and devout member thereof, after having taken an active interest in the establishment and welfare of that Society in his township.
Of the four children comprising the family of Thomas Hodgens, a son, by name Isaac, was born in 1794, in County Armagh, Ireland, where he received an excellent educational training under the preceptorship of Alexander Campbell, who afterward came to this country, and established, at Bethany, W. Va., an academy, now known as Bethany College, where Isaac Hodgens (who had immigrated with his parents) completed his education. During their voyage across the Atlantic, the vessel on which were the Hodgens family was boarded by a British man- of-war (probably for the purpose of impressing some of the able-bodied sailors of the merchant ship into the regular navy, as was the custom in those days in time of war for Great Britain was then at war with France), and by some means Isaac became separated from the rest of the family, and was carried off by the warship. Later, however, he was placed on board the American ship "Martha," and ultimately restored to his parents. In Buffalo township he passed the rest of his active life, engaged in agricultural pursuits, and distinguished himself among his fellows as a man of unimpeachable character, a great reader, deep thinker and possessed of much knowledge. He was a zealous Democrat, and a personal friend of Andrew Jackson. So popular was he, and in such high esteem was he held by the community in which he lived, that he held every position of honor and trust in his township that could be conferred upon him by the people. He served as associate judge of the courts, also as county commissioner, and in the militia of his early times he took an active and conspicuous part, rising to the exalted rank of major-general.
In 1822 Isaac Hodgens married Isabella McCarrell, daughter of Ludawick and Martha (Lemon) McCarrell, the former of whom came from Ireland to Washington county, Penn., in 1790, the latter being a native of the county; they were the parents of a large family. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hodgens resided on the old homestead in Buffalo township till 1835, when they moved into Taylorstown; but after one year's residence there they purchased a farm (now occupied by R. W. Crothers) adjoining the village, and here they passed their declining years, the father dying February 24, 1860, the mother in June, 1872. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom five yet survive, viz.: James, Martha (Mrs. Vance), Isaac (in Kansas City), William L. (a farmer in Iowa) and Robert A. (in Washington county, Pennsylvania).
James Hodgens, whose name opens this sketch, is the fourth child of Isaac and Isabella (McCarrell) Hodgens, and was born September 19, 1829 on the old original homestead in Buffalo township. His rudimentary education he received at the public schools of the neighborhood of his boyhood home, afterward completing his literary training at Jefferson College; and in all his studies, from the child's primer up, he proved an apt and diligent scholar, remarkably quick and intelligent such a one as the philosopher might have had in his mind's eye when he penned the immortal axiom: "The boy is father to the man." At college he found a favorite study in mathematics, in connection with which he learned civil engineering, of which science he made himself master; and in after life he practiced surveying, in connection with farming and stock raising, for forty years. Mr. Hodgens remained on the old homestead up to the time of his father's death, and then took charge of his present farm in the same township, comprising 250 acres of prime land. In addition to his home interests he owns property in Iowa and elsewhere. He is a prominent member and supporter of the U. P. Church at Taylorstown, and in his political preferences is an active and influential Democrat. He has served as justice of the peace and in other township offices of trust.
On December 24, 1863, James Hodgens was united in marriage with Mary E. Farrar, a native of Washington county, Penn., and a member of an old representative family, of whom special mention will presently be made. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hodgens, and of them six are yet living, viz.: Thomas Milton (cashier of the State Savings Bank, in Butte City, Mont.), Ella Maude, Isaac Walter, James Oscar, Albert McClees and Ralph Morrow.
The FARRAR family in Washington county are descended from James Farrar, who at the commencement of the Revolutionary war resided in Hunterdon county, N. J., where he and his eldest son, James, did blacksmith's work for the American army during its operations in that State. Two other sons John and Peter were soldiers in Washington's army, and were both killed at the battle of Long Island. In 1775 Andrew Farrar (another son of the original James Farrar), together with his wife, Margaret (Moore) Farrar, a lady of Irish parentage, crossed the Alleghany mountains into western Pennsylvania and settled in Mt. Pleasant township, this county, where he died November 5, 1832, the father of a large family seven of them being sons, all of whom he reared to maturity.
Aaron Farrar, who was the eighth child, married Jane Griffith, a native of Washington county, born in 1812, and five children came by this union, to wit: Margaret A., Jennie M., John G. (deceased), Mary E. (Mrs. James Hodgens) and Harriet N. (deceased at the age of two years). Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Farrar resided in Mt. Pleasant township until 1845, and then moved to Buffalo township, where he purchased a farm near Taylorstown. A year after settling on this farm Mr. Farrar was summoned to his long home January 6, 1845, passing away in the thirty-sixth year of his age, at peace with all the world. For years he had been a constant and earnest member of the Presbyterian Church, and his life was one of exemplary piety.
Text taken from page 816 of:
Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893).Transcribed March 1997 by Neil and Marilyn Morton of Oswego, IL as part of the Beers Project.
Published March 1997 on the Washington County, PA USGenWeb pages at http://www.chartiers.com/.[ [Back to Beers Table of Contents] [Back to Beers Project Page]