HEADER
Evan Griffith
EVAN GRIFFITH (deceased) was for forth-six years prominently identified
with the development of oil interests in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio,
at Marietta. He was born at Wayland, Ohio, Jan. 18, 1845, son of Evan and
Elizabeth (Lewis) Griffith. The parents were natives of Wales and were among
the pioneers in Portage county, Ohio. The father was a stonemason by trade,
and he assisted in the building of the locks on the Pennsylvania and Ohio
canals, and later purchased a tract of land near Wayland, Ohio. That land he
cleared and improved and it was his place of residence until his death. His
children were: John E., Evan, David E., Thomas E. and Luis E., the two first
named being deceased.Evan Griffith grew up on the homestead and assisted his father there and in
boyhood attended the district schools as opportunity was afforded. In 1865 he
came to Pennsylvania and secured work in Venango county with an oil company at
Two Mile Run, cutting cord wood and rig timbers. In the following year he was
given work at drilling, and in 1867 he engaged in business for himself as a
contractor drilling wells. He followed that business until 1871 and also, from
1869 until 1871, was superintendent of the oil properties of C. D. Angell, at
Scrub Grass, Pa. In 1871 he settled at Parker’s Landing, where he became
associated with W. H. H. Piper, James E. Brown, B. B. Campbell and others in
the oil business. Mr. Griffith had charge of the field interests of the Bear
Creek Refining Company and was chosen treasurer and superintendent of the Bear
Creek Oil Company, holding the latter positions up to the time of his death,
covering a period of over thirty-five years. During this time he had charge of
and drilled all the wells between Parker and Chicora for Piper, Campbell and
the Crawfords, who were the leaders in the development of the Pennsylvania oil
fields at that time, and was also active in the development of oil fields in
Ohio and West Virginia.Mr. Griffith was active and useful in other matters. When the First
National Bank of Parker was organized, in 1901, he was elected president of
that institution, and held the office until his death. It was mainly through
his careful guidance and judicious management that the bank had reached the
prosperous condition in which he left it at death. For nine years he was a
member of the school board, and during the early life of the city served as a
member of the council, and his practical advice was of value in the promotion
of all its early affairs. No one commanded a higher degree of respect than did
Evan Griffith. He was known to be scrupulously honest, careful and methodical
in all his business transactions, and he practiced the Golden Rule in his
everyday life. Mr. Griffith avoided all speculation, and with the greatest
fidelity guarded the interests of others intrusted to him. His charities were
generous and timely, and his public spirit was never regulated by any desire
for private gain. While he left a comfortable fortune to his family, every
dollar of it had been secured through honest methods. His death occurred Oct.
13, 1911. The passing of such a man, one of real worth, is a matter of great
loss to any community. His remains rest in the Hawley cemetery, near his old
home at Wayland, Ohio. For many years he had been an active and open-handed
member of the Presbyterian Church.Evan Griffith was married Sept. 14, 1875, to Mary Amelia Cannon, daughter
of John A. and Mary Jane (McCarn) Cannon, of Parker’s Landing, and one son was
born to them, Evan C. He was educated in the common and high schools of Parker
and at the Pennsylvania State College, and is now assistant cashier of the
First National Bank at Parker City.Source: Pages 590-591, Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and
Present, J.H. Beers & Co., 1914
Transcribed January 1999 by Connie Mateer for the Armstrong County Beers
Project
Contributed for use by the Armstrong County Genealogy Project (http://www.pa-roots.com/armstrong/)Armstrong County Genealogy Project Notice:
These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format, for any presentation, without prior written permission.Return to the Beers Project
Â
Return to the
Armstrong County Genealogy ProjectÂ
Return to the
Armstrong County Genealogy Project
Return to the
Armstrong County Genealogy Project
(c) Armstrong County
Genealogy Project
About Author
