[p. 951] whose finely cultivated farm of 120 acres is located in Perry Township, within twelve miles of the city of New Castle, is a representative agriculturist of this section and is also a survivor of the great Civil War, in which he spent nine months of early manhood. Mr. Aiken was born November 20, 1843, in Perry Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, on a farm adjoining the one he owns, and is a son of Andrew and Rachel (Adams) Aiken.
Andrew Aiken was born in 1802 in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and was brought to what is now Perry Township, Lawrence County, by his father, Robert Aiken, who settled here in 1804. Andrew remained at home, and inherited the property when his parents died, and he carried on agricultural pursuits here through his subsequent life. He married Rachel Adams whose father owned land along Muddy Creek, and she, too, died on the old Aiken homestead. They reared a large family, Isaiah being the tenth in order of birth. The other survivors are: Margaret, who is the widow of John Montgomery, resides at New Castle; Andrew Glenn, who lives at Marshfield, Ore.; Ebenezer Erskine, who lives on the old homestead farm. The members of the family who have passed away were: Jane; John, who died at San Francisco, Cal.; James, who died in Oregon; Robert; Ann Eliza; Martha Ann, who died in Oregon, and David S., who died at Rosebury, Ore.
Isaiah Henderson Aiken and his brothers and sisters all attended the district school as opportunity offered and all grew to be well informed people. He continued to operate the home farm, for his father until he entered the Federal Army in 1861, when he became a member of Company F, One Hundred Thirty-seventh Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and took part in all the hardships and dangers of military life, with his comrades, for the following nine months, when he was honorably discharged. His two brothers, E. E. and David, were members of the famous Roundhead regiment. All escaped serious injury. For one year following his return from the army, Isaiah Henderson Aiken remained on the home farm and then went to Iowa for a time, and after he came back to Perry Township he married and settled on his present property.
Mr. Aiken was united in marriage with Elmira Vangorder, who died September 27, 1905. They had six children, namely: Nancy Margaret, who resides at home; Jennie B. and Andrew Jacob, twins, the former of whom lives in California, and the latter of whom was accidentally killed at the age of fifteen months; William G., residing in California, where he is engaged in a mercantile business; Louisa E., who married Carl Bauder, has two children, Leverne and Floy; and James, who assists his father. Mr. Aiken belongs to the United Presbyterian Church. He is a stanch Republican in his political views.
20th Century History of New Castle and Lawrence County Pennsylvania and Representative Citizens Hon. Aaron L. Hazen Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company, Chicago, Ill., 1908
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