BIO: VALENTINE Family, Centre County, Pennsylvania

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Commemorative Biographical Record of Central Pennsylvania: Including the 
Counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion: Containing Biographical 
Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens, Etc. 
Chicago: J. H. Beers, 1898.
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, pages 69-72

VALENTINE. The Valentines of Bellefonte and their connections have descended 
from early and historic families of the State. The Valentine family is in direct 
line of descent from Robert Valentine (1), who died in 1651. His wife was 
Elizabeth Warren, a native of Lambstown, County Wexford, Ireland, whose death 
occurred in Ballynocassick in 1695. Their son, George, of Bally Brummel. County 
Carlow, Ireland, had a son Thomas, who in 1715 married Mary, daughter of Thomas 
and Mary (Hooper) Parke, of Battytean, County Carlow, and became the progenitor 
of the family in America. He was born in 1693, and about 1720 came to America, 
locating in Chester County, Penn. Later he moved into what became Montgomery 
County of the same State, where his death occurred in 1747. Thomas Parke appears 
to have been a farmer in Ireland, owning in 1720 land in Ballileau, Ballaghmore 
and Coolissnactah. In 1724 he came to America bringing with him his family, and 
located in the great valley on the west side of what is now Downington, where he 
had purchased 500 acres of land. He died January 31,1738, and his widow on June 
2 1, 1749. He was an elder in Caln Meeting, and esteemed by Friends.
  Thomas Valentine and family were Friends, and identified with the Kilconnor 
Monthly Meeting in Ireland. Of their children, Robert, a native of Bally 
Brummel, Ireland, married, in 1747,  Rachel Edge, of Providence, Chester Co., 
Penn., and his son Robert, born in 1752, married, in 1773 , Ann Bond. Robert, 
the son of the emigrant, became a recommended minister in 1764, and traveled 
considerably in that capacity, including a visit to Great Britain at the close 
of the Revolutionary war. John Edge, the maternal grandfather of Rachel Edge, 
came to the country from St. Andrews, Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, 
England, and settled in Nether Providence about the year 1685. He was an earnest 
member of the Society of Friends. He had been subjected to heavy fines and 
imprisonment in his native county for refusing to act contrary to his 
conscientious scruples, and on one occasion had to stand public trial.
  From Robert Valentine and Ann Bond came descendants of the name in Centre 
County.  Their children were: Robert married Elizabeth Downing; George married 
Mary Downing; Samuel and Jacob D. died unmarried; Reuben B.  married Sarah 
Downing; Abraham S. married Clarissa Miles; Bond married Lydia Fairlamb; 
Thomazine married Reuben Miller: and Rachael married Maj. Jonathan Kersley, of 
Detroit, Mich.  Ann Bond was the daughter of Samuel and Thomazine (Downing) 
Bond, of West Whiteland, Chester county, and the granddaughter of Joseph Bond, 
who settled at Bristol, in Bucks county, Penn., in the early part of the 
eighteenth century; he was a large land owner, and was one of the petitioners 
for the incorporation of the borough, which was incorporated by letters patent 
from the Crown, November 14, 1720. Joseph Bond and John Hall were the first 
Burgesses of the town. The former represented his county in the Colonial 
Legislature.
  In 1815, Samuel, Jacob D., George, Reuben B., Abram S., and Bond Valentine, 
sons of Robert and Ann Bond, came from Chester county to Centre county, 
accompanied by Jacob Thomas, and leased the old Dunlop iron furnace erected by 
John Dunlop in 1802, and in 1821 purchased it. Mr. Thomas withdrew in 1817, and 
was succeeded by his son, William A.  Thomas. They were all iron-masters, and 
for years were largely identified with the development of the iron interests of 
Centre County.  They built additional forges and in 1824  built the first 
rolling mill in Centre County. In 1842 they abandoned the old furnace, and built 
one just 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 70

outside of the borough of Bellefonte.  Many of the sons of these men succeeded 
them to the business, and some are still connected with it.  Referring to these 
men who built the first Friends Meeting House at Bellefonte, and who by birth 
were members of the Society, a writer says: "The rise of the Friends Meeting in 
Bellefonte seems worthy of some notice. It was established by four or five men, 
who, making no especial profession of religion, yet yielded to a simple 
apprehension of duty, and built a house for the worship of God. All of them 
became faithful humble followers of the Lord Jesus, and to one of them was 
committed the ministry of the Gospel of Christ. Friends Meeting is still 
regularly held in Bellefonte, and is largely composed of the descendants of 
those who established it."  Of the Valentine brothers who came to Centre County, 
George, born in East Caln, September I, 1788, died in Bellefonte, July 13, 1857, 
married Mary Downing, born in Philadelphia, January 22, 1792, died January 27, 
1879. issue: (1) Jacob Downing, born at Bellefonte October 4, 1823, died 
September 16, 1896, in the house in which he was born, it being one of the first 
houses built in Bellefonte. He was an iron-master, "upright and honest, and 
lived in accordance with the Quaker faith."  He married Deborah Downing, a 
daughter of Richard and Sarah G. (Mount) Downing, issue: George, Jacob, Louise, 
Ellen and Robert. (2) Sarah married Dr. George  Fox. (3) Eliza married Thomas S. 
Downing. (4) Reuben B., born in Bellefonte in 1829, where he died in 1871, was 
an iron-master, and one of the most successful managers of the Valentine Iron 
Works. He was also engaged extensively in farming, and was a conscientious and 
upright member of the Society of Friends. In 1857 he married Mary B.  Jacobs, 
who was born at East Whiteland, Chester Co., Penn., a daughter of Joseph and Ann 
(Bowen) Jacobs, issue: Mary and Emily (deceased); Anna J.; Julia (deceased); and 
Caroline M. (5) Caroline married Thompson Millikin. (6) George married Emily 
Jacobs (a sister of Mary B. Jacobs), issue: Jane H., Mary D., Sarah W.  and 
Emily J.
  Taking up the history of the Downing family: Mary Downing (who married George 
Valentine) was the direct descendant of Thomas Downing, who was born in 
Bradninch, in Devonshire, England, in 1691, and who, as early as 1718, resided 
in Chester county, Penn., and from whom descended the numerous families of 
Downings in that county. For generations the Downings were farmers and millers. 
Richard Downing, a son of Thomas, married Mary Edge, and, of their children, 
Jacob Downing married Sarah Drinker, of Philadelphia, and they became the 
parents of Mary (Downing) Valentine. A son of Richard, also named Richard, 
married Sarah G. Mount, and their daughter Deborah became the wife of Jacob 
Valentine. Elizabeth Drinker, the grandmother of Mary (Downing) Valentine, kept 
a diary from 1759 to 1807, which was published in book form in 1889. She was a 
direct descendant of Philip Drinker (1), who was born in 1597 and died in 1647; 
came in 1635 from Exeter, England, and settled at Charlestown, Mass. Henry 
Drinker, the great-great-great-grandson of Philip, the grandfather of Mary 
Downing, married Elizabeth Sandwith. The latter descended from John Jervis, of 
Roscoe, Kings county, Ireland, who came to America in 1688, with a son Martyn, 
and purchased large tracts of land in New Jersey now called Jervis Sound. John 
Jervis was appointed a justice of the peace of New Jersey. Charles, another son, 
was court painter to King George II, a correspondent of the poet Pope, and 
translator of "Don Quixote. "Henry Drinker was an ironmaster and ship owner of 
Philadelphia; was arrested in 1777 and sent to Virginia under pretense of 
hostility to the American cause; he was a member of the. common council of 
Philadelphia, and a large landowner; he was born in 1734, and ,died in 1809. The 
mother of Deborah (Downing) Valentine, Sarah G. Mount, was the daughter of James 
Mount, whose father was Ezekial, the son of Thomas Mount, who came from England 
and was the owner of the land on which the city of Louisville, Ky., was built.  
He had many slaves, and was a man of wealth.
  Referring to the history of the Jacobs family, Mary B. and Emily (Jacobs) 
Valentine are in direct line of descent from John Jacobs (1) (the first of the 
family in America), who in 1700 settled on a portion of the Vanbibber tract of 
land in Providence, Philadelphia County. His death occurred in 1730. His 
grandson, John Jacobs (3), was the Speaker of the first .General Assembly of the 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. His brother, Israel, was a member of Congress in 
1791, and another brother, Jesse, held a captain's commission and served in the 
Revolutionary war, participating in a number of important battles. Ann Bowen, 
mother of Mary B. and Emily (Jacobs) Valentine, was in direct line of descent 
from John Bowen (1), of Whiteland, Chester County, who died in 1715. The 
paternal grandmother of Mary B. and Emily (Jacobs) Valentine was Mary Brinton, 
of Thornburg, Delaware Co., Penn., who was in line from William Brinton (1), of 
Staffordshire, En-

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 71

gland, who settled in Concord, Birmingham Township, Delaware Co., Penn., in 
1684, and was among the earliest converts of George Fox.  He bought large tracts 
of land in Chester County.  He was born in 1630, and died in 1700. His son, 
William, was a member of the Provincial Assembly in 1666, and died in 1751. 
Joseph, of Thornbury, Delaware Co., Penn., the son of William (2), was an 
associate judge of Pennsylvania, and a member of the Provincial Assembly.
  Reuben B. Valentine, of the Valentine brothers coming to Centre County in 
1815, was born in 1793, and died in 1841; married Sarah Downing (a sister of 
Mary Downing, the wife of his brother George), born June 17. 1797, died November 
30, 1843, and their children were: (I) Mary married Dr. Elias W. Hale, a wealthy 
gentleman of influence, of Lewistown, born June 6, 1824, and died February 20, 
1892; issue: Sarah, died young, and Ellen, the wife of G.  Murray Andrews. (2) 
George was killed in a rolling mill at the age of five years. William Valentine 
died unmarried.
  Abraham S. Valentine, another of the original brothers locating in Centre 
county, died August 29, 1862 aged sixty-eight years; married Clarissa Miles, who 
died March 3, 1857, aged forty-nine years; was a member of the original firm and 
the inventor of the ore-washing machine since in general use, the adoption of 
which effected a revolution in the ore mining of this region. He was possessed 
of great business ability and foresight (being "a man far ahead of his time "), 
and it was due largely to his inventions and improvements that the Valentine 
charcoal iron achieved its widespread reputation. At the outbreak of the war of 
the Rebellion he was one of the liberal contributors to a subscription for the 
support of the soldiers' families. Two of his sons, Abram and Bond, were in the 
service for a time. Clarissa Miles, wife of Abram S., was a daughter of Evan 
Miles, who died May 10, 1838, in his sixty-ninth year, and of Rebecca George (of 
the family of George's Hill, Philadelphia), who died July 28, 1845, in her 
seventy-sixth year; both are buried in the graveyard at Milesburg. Evan Miles 
was the son of Richard Miles, and the nephew of Col. Samuel Miles, of 
Revolutionary fame. The latter served as a lieutenant in the expedition to Fort 
Duquesne; was wounded at Ligonia in an attack made by the French and Indians; 
commanded a regiment in 1760, and at the end of the campaign was left in command 
of the forces at Presque Isle (now Erie), Penn. He commanded a regiment in the 
Revolutionary war under Gen. Washington. While leading his regiment at the 
battle of Long Island, August 27, 1776, he was captured, and while a prisoner 
was made a brigadier-general for distinguished service.  He was no less 
distinguished in civil life after the war, holding many responsible positions, 
among them that of mayor of Philadelphia. Richard Miles married Mary Pugh, who 
was a member of the Society of Friends, and in 1792 they located at Milesburg, 
Centre county, where both are buried. He was a captain of militia in the 
Revolution. His Death occurred December 16, 1823, in the eighty-fifth year of 
his age, and that of his wife, December 20, 1794, aged forty-four years. Richard 
Miles was the grandson of Richard, one of the brothers who came from South Wales 
in 1682 or 1683, and settled at Radnor, Pennsylvania.  
  The children of Abraham S. Valentine and Clarissa (Miles) were: (1) Anna 
married S. Stewart Lyon, and their issue are-John; Anna; Clara, the wife of 
William Jasper Nicholas; Mary, the wife of Ellis L. Orvis; and Rebecca. (2) 
Rebecca M. married Evan Pugh, Ph. D., who lived only a few months after 
marriage, and left no issue; he was a scholarly gentleman and distinguished 
educator, and was the first president of the Pennsylvania State College. (3) 
Bond, born March 22, 1834, died April 19, 1889, married Mattie Kenney, who died 
August 25, 1882, in her forty-sixth year; their children are-Evan and Jane (died 
in infancy); Bond; and Edward K. The father of these was for years a member of 
the firm of Shortlidge & Co., of Bellefonte, dealers in grain and coal, and 
latterly he was engaged in the insurance business. "He was closely attached to 
the Society of Friends, and was very devoted to their teachings. He was a man 
possessing a pure Christian character, whom everyone honored. His friends were 
numbered by the hundreds, who looked upon him as a man worthy of imitation, 
because he followed as near as he could in the paths of divine teaching. He was 
courteous, genial, and enjoyed being genial whether in social or business 
life."(4) Abram S., who resides at Atlantic City, N. J., married Eliza U. Natt, 
of Philadelphia, daughter of Thomas J. and Anne Natt, of England, and their 
children are-Charles, Arthur and Edward. Abram S. is connected with the 
Valentine Iron Works at Bellefonte, and for years took an active part in the 
business interests of Bellefonte and vicinity. During the war of the Rebellion 
he was for a time in the service, and contributed largely toward the support of 
the soldiers and their families. (5) Evan M., who resides in Philadelphia, 
married Mary J. Taylor, of Doylestown, who died. Their children are Harry S. and 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 72

Abram S. (6) Samuel and (7) Blanchard died in infancy, (8) and (9) Clara and 
Mary, respectively, unmarried. (10) Henry C. now connected with the Valentine 
Iron Works, married Sarah, a daughter of Thomas, and grand-.daughter of Judge 
Thomas Burnside, and their children are-Stanley, Helen, Rebecca and Henry. Henry 
C. is a member of the borough council.
  Bond Valentine, the youngest of the original Valentine brothers, did not 
remain in the iron business long, but early turned his attention to the law. His 
birth occurred in 1798. His early paternal training was such as to instill in 
his mind those principles of morality which were the guiding and controlling 
influence of his after life. He became a distinguished lawyer, and served in the 
General Assembly, 1830-32, from Centre County. In 1842, influenced by 
conscientious convictions, he abandoned the law that he might devote his life to 
the public ministry in the Society of Friends. The Friends Review in an obituary 
notice, said: "His sterling integrity and the well-known simplicity of his 
character, averse to mere forms, won for him the increased confidence and 
respect of the community, and his addresses have been marked by impassioned 
earnestness. In social circles our friend was very attractive, without reserve, 
original, genial and simple."
  To his first wife, Lydia, daughter of John and Susannah (Ashbridge) Fairland, 
farming people of near West Chester, Penn., and of English descent, two children 
were born, the elder of whom died in infancy; the other is Robert Valentine, who 
has long been at the head of the firm of Valentine & Co., of Bellefonte. Robert 
Valentine is one of the prominent and wealthy citizens of Bellefonte. His second 
wife, to whom he was married in 1861, was Mary Natt, daughter of Thomas J. and 
Anne Natt, born in England, and their children are: Emily and Julia, the latter 
being the wife of Dr. Bond, of Baltimore. The homes of Robert Valentine and 
family, and the family of Reuben B. Valentine, are particularly striking, and. 
are of the several imposing and beautiful places of the mountain town of 
Bellefonte. The former, a modern built, native stone structure, commodious and 
substantial, stands on one of the highest points of the town, and is very 
commanding in point of view. While the other is located a short distance from 
the town on a beautifully situated farm, "Burnham," this suburban countryseat is 
surrounded by spacious grounds, and the old grey limestone house, built by 
Reuben B. Valentine in 1856, is of the Colonial style.