BIO: Edward Knox HUM, Beaver County, PA
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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.
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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-
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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.