[p. 552] former member of the General Assembly of Pennsylvania, is a prominent citizen of Wampum, Lawrence County, Pa., where he has been engaged in business for many years. He was born in Big Beaver Township, Lawrence County, April 1, 1841, is a son of Robert and Jane (Patterson) McAnlis, and grandson of James McAnlis, after whom he was named.
James McAnlis, the grandfather, was a native of County Armagh, Ireland, and at one time the family name was spelled McAndlis. He came to America in 1822 with his wife, Susan, and seven children, and immediately made his way to Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, coming from Pittsburg on horseback. He purchased 500 acres of land, a heavily timbered tract, in what is now Big Beaver Township, on which he soon erected a log house. This he later replaced with a stone house, a part of which now serves the purposes of a kitchen in the home of the late John G. McAnlis. He cleared a portion of his farm and engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, at the age of seventy-seven years. He left to each of his sons 100 acres of land, and to each daughter 25 acres. The family consisted of eight children, as follows, all of whom were born in Ireland but the youngest: John, William, Robert, James, Jane, wife of Robert Young; Eliza Jane, wife of Isaac Kirkpatrick; Susan, wife of James Patterson, and Margaret, who was born in Lawrence County, and was the wife of James Luke. All are now deceased.
Robert McAnlis was born in Ireland in 1813, and, being a young boy at the time his parents came to America, was practically reared in the woods of Lawrence County. He inherited 100 acres of the home place of his father, and purchased twenty-five acres of a sister. His brother also purchased twenty-fixe acres each of the sisters, and, as the other three had first choice, that which fell to Robert was the poorest, apparently, and considered of little value. This estimate, however, was a false one, as two 3-foot veins of coal were struck, from which many tons were mined. The laborious work of clearing his land, rolling logs, and the hardships of pioneer existence were too much for his constitution and resulted in his death in middle life. He died in 1856. He married Jane Patterson, who also was born in Ireland, and was three years of age when her parents came to America, about one year later than the McAnlis family. These families had been neighbors and friends in the old country and the same relationship existed in this country. James Patterson, father of Mrs. McAnlis, bought 200 acres adjoining the farm of James McAnlis. The mother of Mr. McAnlis died in 1896, aged seventy-six years. She and her husband were parents of eight children, as follows: James, Susan, who died in 1863, was the wife of Scott Daniels; Jane, who married Renwick Cook; Thomas, William, of New Castle; Margaret Sarah, widow of Samuel Work; Robert, of New Castle, and Kirk, who died in February, 1880.
James McAnlis was reared on the home farm, and, as he was the eldest of the family, much of the work fell upon his shoulders when his father died. At the age of twenty-five years he left home and engaged in teaming and boating oil, in the oil fields surrounding Oil City. He continued for two years, then returned to his home for one year, and in the fall of 1867 opened a boarding house at Wampum, which he conducted for five years. In the, meantime, he embarked in the butchering business, which, in connection with buying and shipping stock extensively to Pittsburg, he has since continued, his sons, Robert and Frank, having charge of the business at the present time. Energy, perspicacity and honesty characterized his private business affairs to such an extent, it was not surprising when he was called into public service. In 1898 he was elected to the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania, and in 1902 he was again made the representative of the people in that body. The capable, efficient and conscientious discharge of his duties, and the intelligent manner in which he voted on public questions of importance, attracted much favorable comment. In 1902 he fostered and secured the enactment of the law forbidding first cousins to marry, but it was only after the hardest kind of a fight that this was accomplished. For two weeks his bill lay in the waste-basket and seemed doomed to an ignominious death, but he fought it to a vote and final passage. At his request, Senator Phillips introduced the measure in the State Senate, and after another hard fight was voted to passage in that body.
Mr. McAnlis was united in marriage with Miss Deborah Aley who died in 1873, leaving four children, as follows: Laura, wife of Edward Agnew, a druggist at New Castle, has a son, Benjamin A.; Robert married Elizabeth Shearlock and has a son, Ira, who is attending Ohio Northern University at Ada, Ohio; Eva is wife of C. J. Clark, by whom she has three children, Edwin, Sarah and Collon James, and Edward, who died May 27, 1898, at the age of twenty-seven years. Mr. McAnlis formed a second marital union with Miss Margaret Lowery, a daughter of John and Margaret Lowery, and four children have been the issue—Clara, Nettie, who married A. L. Vogan, of New Castle, and has four children, James, Walter, Robert and Margaret; Frank, who assists his father in the meat market at Wampum, and James. Religiously, Mr. McAnlis is a member of the United Presbyterian Church. He is a Republican in politics, and has served in numerous township offices and is a member of the village council. He is a director of the First National Bank of Wampum, and in connection with his oldest son is owner of sixty acres of land in Big Beaver Township.
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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