BIO: Edward Knox HUM, Beaver County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Judy Banja & Joe Patterson Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/beaver.html http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/beaver/bios/bbios.htm Index for this bio book. _________________________________________________________________ BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES. This Volume Contains Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of Beaver County, Pennsylvania. Buffalo, N.Y., Chicago, Ill.: Biographical Publishing Company, 1899, pp. 310-315. _________________________________________________________________ EDWARD KNOX HUM. The Beaver National Bank, of Beaver, Pa., was fortunate in having as an originator and promoter the gentleman whose name heads these lines, who now serves efficiently as vice-president of that institution. He is a man of thorough business ability and a sturdy supporter of all enterprises tending to improve the interests of the community, - his name being one familiar to the residents of Beaver county. He was born in Beaver, August 11, 1858, and is a son of James W. and Margaret (Briggs) Hum. His great-grandfather, who established the Hum family in this country, was Jacob Hum, a native of Germany, who settled in Ohio and there followed the trade of a hatter. His business was first located at Columbiana, Columbiana county, Ohio, but he thereafter engaged in a similar line of business at Salem, Ohio. He married a lady of Scotch birth, who bore him the following children: David; John; Jacob; Adam; Margaret; and George. He died at the age of eighty-three years. David Hum, the grandfather of Edward Knox Hum, was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, and early in life undertook the trade of a hatter, but, later, became a merchant of Lisbon, Ohio, where he died at the age of eighty years. He was four times married, and by his first wife, Mary Ann Hickox, who died at the age of thirty-six years, he had the following offspring: Angelina (Hatcher); James Winnard, who married Margaret Briggs; Richard Winchester, an early settler of Lowellville, Ohio; Columbus C., who BEAVER COUNTY 311 lives near Toledo, Ohio; Martha (Throne), of East Palestine, Ohio; and Elizabeth, deceased. His second union, with Rebecca Thorn, was blessed by the birth of a son, John. His third wife's given name was Esther, and his fourth union was with Mary Silverthorn. James W. Hum, a record of whose life appears elsewhere, and the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Deerfield township, Columbiana county, Ohio, February 16, 1827. He left home at the age of ten years to live with his uncle, John Hum, with whom he remained four years. He then began to shift for himself and received employment on a steamer on the Ohio River as a cabin boy, and later learned the trade of boat carpenter. He manifested considerable natural ability in this line, and, after leaving the river, manufactured an ingenious machine known as a fanning mill. Threshing was at this time all done by hand, and this machine was used to clean the grain. It met with marked success on the market and his business increased rapidly, resulting in the employment of a goodly number of men. He subsequently became interested in the lightning rod business, and in 1849 was one of the founders of the American Lightning Rod plant at Philadelphia. The western section of the country was assigned to him, and he established a large wholesale and retail store at No. 19 Market street, Pittsburg. In 1882, he was joined in the business by his son, E. K. Hum, and together they continued until the father retired from active business duties in 1892. He built the home residence, in which Mrs. Hum now lives, in 1868,and he was also possessed of considerable real estate in Bridgewater and Beaver at the time of his demise, March 17, 1895. James W. Hum's faithful companion in the pathways of life was Margaret Briggs, a daughter of Henry and Mary (Westcoat) Briggs. Henry Briggs was born in Dighton, Mass., and was a son of Matthew and Cecelia (Reed) Briggs, and grandson of Matthew Briggs, a blacksmith by trade, who came to this country from England. Matthew, Jr., was born in Dighton, Mass., and was also a blacksmith, following that occupation all of his active clays. By his first wife he had three children, as follows: Matthew, Elizabeth, and Deliverance. He formed a second union with Cecelia Reed and they had five children: Henry, Nancy, Mary, Joseph, and Cecelia. Henry Briggs, the father of Mrs. Hum, learned the trade of a blacksmith, and, in 1836, removed to South Beaver township, Beaver county, Pa., where he purchased a farm. In addition to general farming, he was engaged at his trade all of his active life, but spent his last days in retirement, dying at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Hum, in the eighty-fourth year of his age. His wife survived him several years, and died at the remarkable age of eighty-nine years. She had made several trips to her native state, Massachusetts, and had returned from one of these trips but two months prior to her death. Their children were: Henry, who died young; Mary; Julia; William; Elizabeth; Margaret; and Spencer. Mr. and Mrs. James W. Hum were the parents of the following: Henry Thornton, now 312 BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES of Pike county, Ill., who first married Josephine Blake, by whom he has one child; Harry C., and secondly married Elizabeth Hughes, by whom he has one child, Carl D.; Edward Knox, the subject of this personal history; Mary Elizabeth, deceased, the wife of Frank Robinson, by whom she had one child, Lois; James Weston, a farmer of Columbiana county, Ohio, who married Matilda Hineman, and had the following children, - Edward K., Guy H., Mary A., Martha T., James W., and Wayne A.; Fred Cook, deceased, who married Florence King, by whom he had a son, Forrest, deceased; Arthur Westcoat, an electrical engineer, of Bridgewater, who married Mary Doing, deceased; and Margaret Mott, the wife of Samuel P. Provost, a flour manufacturer and merchant, of Pittsburg. Fraternally, he was a member of the Masonic lodge at Beaver, being one of its charter members. Edward K. Hum attended Beaver College, and while a young man became associated in business with his father, under the firm name of J. W. Hum & Son, wholesale and retail dealers in lightning rods and fixtures, at Pittsburg. Some twelve years later, after the death of his father, he formed a partnership with W. M. Leatherman, the firm name being Hum & Leatherman, at No. 8 Market street, Pittsburg. The subject of this sketch was the leading spirit in the organization and building of the Beaver National Bank, of Beaver, Pennsylvania. It has a capital of $100,000, and its officers, who are among the most substantial and public-spirited citizens of Beaver county, are as follows: Jesse R. Leonard, president; Edward K. Hum, vice-president; Charles M. Hughes, cashier; and W. P. Judd, assistant cashier. The directors are: Jesse R. Leonard; Edward K. Hum; U. S. Strouss, M. D.; Thomas F. Galey; Joseph H. Evans; Winfield S. Moore, and Agnew Hice. The Beaver National Bank is one of the prettiest specimens of business architecture in Western Pennsylvania, being constructed of Cleveland sandstone and having large plate-glass windows. It is richly finished, furnished in elegant style, and its arrangement is most convenient for the transaction of business. The bank has shown its patrons the greatest courtesy, and by their enterprise its officials have made it one of the leading financial institutions in the county. Mr. Hum, although his business was for many years located at Pittsburg, has always been a loyal citizen of Beaver, and when not attending to business affairs he is always to be found enjoying the companionship of his family at his elegant home. In 1885 he built a residence on Third street, in which he resided until 1896, when he disposed of it to James Galey and built his present dwelling, a fine brick structure supplied with all modern conveniences for the highest enjoyment of life. He also owns considerable real estate in Beaver. On September 26, 1882, Edward K. Hum was joined in the holy bonds of wedlock with Emma L. Young, a daughter of Jacob and Lucinda M. Young, of Columbiana county, Ohio, and they have two children, namely: James Winnard and Anna. Fra- BEAVER COUNTY 315 ternally, Mr. Hum is a member of St. James Lodge, F. & A. M., of Beaver; Eureka Chapter, R. A. M., of Rochester; Pittsburg Commandery, No. 1, Knights Templar, of Pittsburg; and Syria Temple of the Mystic Shrine, Pittsburg. A man who has ever faithfully endeavored to be of benefit to his fellow-citizens of Beaver county, the subject of our sketch is held in the highest esteem, and numbers his friends by the score.