BIO: Ward C. Elliott, Jefferson County, PA

Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Kitty

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http://usgwarchives.net/pa/jefferson/
http://usgwarchives.net/pa/jefferson/beers/beers-bios.htm
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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. 
Chicago, Ill.: J. H. Beers, 1898, pages 1084-1085.
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W. C. ELLIOTT, the proprietor and editor of the Reynoldsville 
Volunteer, in Jefferson county, is the only son and second child of S. 
B. Elliott.
  W. C. Elliott was born on a farm about two and one-half miles south 
of Mansfield, in Richmond township, Tioga county, Penn.  The first four 
years of his life were spent there.  Later he lived for brief periods 
in Mansfield, at Corning, N.Y., Arnot, Penn., and Elmira, N.Y.; his 
home, however, was never more than thirty miles from his birthplace 
until in 1884, when he removed to Du Bois, Penn.  Early in life he made 
a choice of journalistic work, and in 1888 was one of the owners of the 
Du Bois Courier.  On February 16, 1889, he bought the present 
Reynoldsville paper from Frank J. Black, and has ever since conducted 
it, the name having been changed to the Reynoldsville Volunteer, and 
changes made in the location and equipment of the office.  The paper 
was founded in 1874 and known as the Reynoldsville Herald - the second 
newspaper in the town - the Advocate, which was the first, having 
become defunct after a brief life of six months.  The Herald was an 
eight column, four-page paper.  In 1875 the building where it was 
printed was burned, and the paper fell into other hands.  The machinery 
was bought, and the paper was enlarged to a nine-column folio, but it 
did not retain the name very long, for, in 1877, it was called the 
Herald and Star.  In 1878 the name was changed to the Eye.  The size of 
the paper was also changed at that time to a six-column quarto.  Later 
the name was changed from the Eye to that of the Reynoldsville Herald.  
In 1880 it was known as Our Reynoldsville Paper, and in 1881 as the 
Reynoldsville Paper.  It is now an eight-column folio, and under its 
improved management its circulation has been greatly increased.  The 
Volunteer has always been thoroughly loyal to the best interests of the 
community, and has led many a gallant crusade for improvement.
  In March, 1892, Mr. Elliott proposed through its columns that the 
school district of  Reynoldsville should bond the borough to the sum of 
$25,000, for the purpose of erecting a new school house in the center 
of the town where pupils could be prepared to enter college, the need 
of which had long been realized by the tax payers.  He vigorously and 
persistently agitated the question for three months, and on June 25, 
1892, the people, by an almost unanimous vote, gave their consent to 
bonds being issued for that purpose.  A number of other citizens took a 
very active part in bringing about the results.  The school building 
was erected, the finest in Jefferson county, and has but few equals in 
any town of the size of Reynoldsville in Pennsylvania.  Efforts are now 
being made to raise the standard of the schools so high that its 
graduates will be able to enter any college without further 
preparation.  Mr. Elliott is a stanch Republican, and the Volunteer 
reflects his opinions in thoughtful editorials.  He has devoted 
considerable labor to historical matters, among other things, he in 
1894 gave a sketch of Reynoldsville and vicinity, which gave a history 
of that region from the time it was a dense forest, a century ago, to 
the present time.  It was written in a very compact form, but covered 
about fifty pages, and nearly two thousand copies were issued.  This 
little pamphlet will be invaluable in future years, and it may be well 
if other towns had such a public-spirited writer to preserve local 
history.
  On October 22, 1890, Mr. Elliott was married to Miss Ella Hastings, a 
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Barton Hastings, of Brookville, Penn., and two 
daughters, Dorothy and Florence, have blessed the union.  The father of 
these is a member of the Presbyterian Church of Reynoldsville.

1900 Reynoldsville, Jefferson County census -
Ward C. Elliott, 36  
Ella Elliott, 33  
Dollie Elliott, 8  
Florence Elliott, 4