F RANK J. L. WILEY. William Wiley, father of the subject of this sketch, WAS born near Winchester, Va., in 1791, and in 1806 came with his mother, Mary Wiley, to Washington county, where he followed his trade, that of bricklayer, and died in 1869. He was one of the early Abolitionists of the county. His wife, Martha Harbison to whom he was married in 1817, was born near Freeport, Armstrong Co., Penn., in 1800. She was a daughter of John and Massy Harbison who were among the first settlers of Butler (then Allegheny) county, Penn., and who were married at Brownsville, Washington Co., same State, in 1787, the result of their union being eleven children, two of whom l were killed before their mother's eyes by Indians, as related elsewhere in this volume, where is also given an account of the capture by the savages of Massy Harbison and her children, and her marvelous escape from her captors. Edward White, father of Massy, was a soldier in the Revolution, while John Harbison, her husband, was an Indian scout or spy. Massy was a good rifle shot, and during attacks by the Redskins on the blockhouse, which was within sight of her home, she would seize her rifle and do her part in driving off the invaders. Edward White moved from New Jersey to Brownsville after the Revolution. To Mr. and Mrs. William Wiley were born eleven children, as follows: John (deceased); Martha (deceased at the age of sixteen years); Elizabeth (deceased in infancy); Thomas, in Washington; Henry (deceased); Maria (deceased), married to William Warwick; Frank J. L., the subject proper of this sketch; William C., in Washington, Ellen, wife of William R. Donaldson, in Wheeling, W. Va.; Jane, deceased wife of Capt. Fred. Rainbow; and Annie (Mrs. Adam Harbison), in Canonsburg Penn. The mother died at Wheeling, W. Va., in 1882, at the age of eighty-two years. Frank J. L. Wiley was born in Washington, Penn., of which fair city he has been a lifelong resident. He received his education at the public schools of the borough, and learned the trade of plasterer, which he still follows. Politically he has been an active Republican, he has held various offices of trust, such as borough councilman, judge of elections, etc. Socially he is a Freemason and in religion a member of the M. E. Church.

Text taken from page 346 of: Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893). Transcribed February 1997 by Marcia Rothman of Langley, WA as part of the Beers Project. Published January 1997 on the Washington County, PA USGenWeb pages at http://www.chartiers.com/.

[ [Back to Beers Table of Contents] [Back to Beers Project Page]