BIO: Albert M. JOLLY, Beaver County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Judy Banja & Joe Patterson Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/beaver.html http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/beaver/bios/bbios.htm Index for this bio book. _________________________________________________________________ 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. 325-328. _________________________________________________________________ ALBERT M. JOLLY, whose portrait is presented on the preceding page, has for many years been recognized as one of Beaver county's most substantial and enterprising business men, and is an esteemed resident of Beaver Falls. He is connected with one of the largest contracting concerns in Western Pennsylvania, - that of A. J. Jolly & Sons, his association with this prominent firm dating back to 1877. He was born in December, 1855, at what is now known as Monaca, Beaver county, and is a son of Andrew J. Jolly, and grandson of Kenzie Jolly. Mr. Jolly traces his family line back to Colonel Henry Jolly, of Revolutionary War fame, who after that eventful struggle moved to Marietta, Ohio, where he became a prominent citizen. He presided as judge over the first court ever held in that state. His wife was a Miss Gluiest, who was scalped and tomahawked by the Indians, and, though the wound never healed, she survived this barbarity for forty-three years, dying at an advanced age. Colonel and Mrs. Jolly were the parents of the following children: William, Kenzie, Albert, and Siddy, the wife of Vashel Dickerson. Kenzie Jolly was born in Washington county, Ohio, in 1778, and there resided all his life engaged in agricultural pursuits. He married Elizabeth Dickerson, a daughter of Thomas Dickerson; she was born in 1795 and died aged one hundred years and five months. She was the mother of the following children: Rachel, the wife of John Ankron, of New Orleans, La.; Rebecca, wife of Abner Martin, of Washington county, Ohio; Henry, also of Washington county, Ohio; Dickerson and Andrew Jackson residing in Phillipsburg, Pa.; Alpheus B., a resident of Keokuk, Iowa; William M., who died in his infancy; Electa M., the wife of James Hutchinson, of Washington county, Ohio; and Owen F., a resident of Dayton, Kentucky. Andrew Jackson Jolly, father of the subject hereof, was born in Washington county, Ohio, May 28, 1828, and continued to reside there until 1844, He accepted the opportu- 326 BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES nities afforded by the primitive schools for an education, and at the age of sixteen years, he came to Pittsburg; there he embarked as a boatman on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, beginning as a deck-hand and advancing through various grades until he became captain. This river life was continued until 1866, when he engaged in prospecting and drilling for oil in Beaver county, but soon resumed the life of a boatman, which business he followed until 1872. In that year he entered upon his present business of furnishing stone for building and street-paving. Like many other great enterprises the business of A. J. Jolly & Sons has developed from small beginnings, and is the outgrowth of hard labor, perseverance, and indomitable energy. It required a great amount of work to secure the cobble stone from the river banks, but the greatest task was to meet the opposition of the older firms in the same business; this was happily done, and the present firm now ranks among the foremost and most successful contractors of the state. Their first contract was with the Pittsburg & Lake Erie Railroad Company, for whom they still continue to furnish stone and to do masonry work; they also supply other railroads with stone, and the stone for the court house and custom house at Pittsburg was supplied by them. They erected a bridge across the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, West Va., one and one-half miles long and 103 feet high; they erected the bridge at Parkersburg in the same state and furnished the stone for lock Number 4, on the Monongahela River, and for the bridge at Cold Centre, Pa., on the B. & O. R. R. Politically, Mr. Jolly is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party. He was wedded September 26, 1850, to Miss Sarah Srodes, a daughter of John M. Srodes, of Beaver county, and they are the parents of the following children: William A., deceased; John K.; Albert M.; Marilla E., the wife of David Anderson; Eddie, deceased; and Frank L. Albert M. Jolly acquired his primary education in the district schools of his native town and, in 1874, was graduated from Duff's Mercantile College of Pittsburg. Returning to Phillipsburg in 1877, he became interested in contracting, and was made secretary and treasurer of the firm of A. J. Jolly & Sons; at that time the business was chiefly confined to quarrying, but at the present day they do all kinds of contracting. The subject of this biography gives much attention to the details of the business, and is frequently to be found in the various localities where the work is progressing, - West Virginia having recently been his base of operations. Of the many important contracts completed by this firm were the Government lock on the Muskegon River, the construction of which occupied nearly one year; the large bridge that spans the river at Wheeling, West Va.; several bridges across the Beaver River; the firm built the railroad from Point Pleasant to Huntington, Pa., and also the Twelfth street inclined plane at Pittsburg, one of the first of its kind to carry street cars. They have accepted large contracts from the P. R. R., the B. & O. R. R., and the P. McK. & Y. R. R. The other members of BEAVER COUNTY 327 the firm are J. K. and F. L. Jolly. Aside from his interests with the above firm, our Mr. Jolly is interested in many other enterprises, among which are the Beaver Valley Street Railway Company, of which he was vice-president seven years and is now a stockholder and a director. He was, five years, manager of the Wheeling Street Railway Company; is president of the Sharon Street Railway Company; with other members of his family, he built the Bellaire, Bridgeport and Martin's Ferry Railroad, which was consolidated with the Wheeling lines in the fall of 1898; he is a director of the Ohio River Bridge Company, which owns the bridge which connects Rochester and Monaca, of which company his father is president; he is president of the People's Water Company, a corporation formed to supply the residents of Beaver Falls with pure water at a low rate, and to relieve them from the oppression of the old company (one of the greatest blessings the borough now enjoys); he is a director in the National Bank, a director in the Home Protective Bank & Loan Association, and a director of the Columbia Building & Loan Association. Mr. Jolly has built many dwellings in the village of Beaver Falls, including the handsome residence he has occupied for the past few years. Mr. Jolly was united in marriage March 23, 1882, with Miss Jennie E. Small, a daughter of Elmira Small, and to this union two children have been born: Clarence D., a student in the Chester, Pa., Military Academy; and Leila V., a student in the district school. Socially, Mr. Jolly is a member of the F. & A. M., Valley Echo Lodge, No. 622; Pittsburg Commandery, No. 1, of Pittsburg, Pa., - which is next to the largest Commandery in the United States; the I. O. O. F., of Beaver Falls; Lone Rock Lodge, No. 222, K. of P.; Royal Arcanum; and the Beaver Falls Mechanics' Lodge, No. 28, A. O. U. W. Religiously, he belongs to the Methodist denomination. The father of Mr. Jolly's wife is one of the oldest residents of the county, the date of his birth occurring in March, 1822, and his birthplace being Bridgewater, Pennsylvania. He was a son of Boston Small, who was born in 1781. Boston was one of six brothers who came to Beaver county about the year 1800, at which time the place was a vast forest filled with roaming Indians and wild animals. Those of his family who accompanied Boston to this vicinity were Jacob, a gunsmith; Frederick, a blacksmith; and John, Henry and Peter, farmers. They were the sons of Jacob, who was born in Germany, and who came to America many years prior to the War of Independence. Boston Small was educated in Pittsburg, Pa., and at an early age came down the Beaver valley to the sugar camps, and being favorably impressed with the appearance of the place, he decided to locate there; later he was followed by his five brothers. They bought large tracts of land, which was covered with great quantities of black, red and white oak, and hickory. Boston moved to Bridgewater in 1833, and there he spent his remaining days, being suddenly cut off by 328 BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES an attack of apoplexy, in 1858. He was married, in 1809, to Margaret Graham, who was born September 6, 1788, and was a daughter of Hughey Graham, a soldier of the Revolutionary War. Mrs. Small was born at Fairview, and received her mental training in the old log school in that district. Five children were born to them: Catherine (Calhoon), born in December, 1809; Jane (May), born in 1811; Maria (Swager), born in 1817; Martin, born in 1819; and Socrates J. Boston Small was a devout Christian, a member of the Presbyterian church, and assisted in the building of the churches at Bridgewater and Beaver. He never allowed a morning or evening to pass without having family prayers. He was a Whig, and served as supervisor and school director. Socrates J. Small was mentally instructed in Brighton township, in the old log school house, and was obliged to walk three and one-half miles daily during the terms; when seventeen years of age, he learned the trade of a cabinet-maker. He built the first hearse in the county; at that time the coffins were made of cherry wood, and the undertakers were compelled to take the rough wood, cut it into necessary shapes and boil it in whisky in order to get the requisite color; then the coffin was covered with beeswax melted with a hot iron and polished with a cork. There was no rough box, no handles on the coffin, no ceremony, and it was difficult to secure anything but a wagon to convey the corpse to its final resting place. The coffins were sold for one dollar a foot. Mr. Small had many strange orders to fill while in the undertaking business; one was to furnish a steel casket of polished metal, that weighed three hundred and fifty pounds. Mr. Small first engaged in the business in 1842, with his brother Martin, in the town of Bridgewater, but three years later he sold out and worked for Robert Gilmore and Milton Swager, with whom he had learned the trade. In 1846, he returned to the furniture and undertaking business, - buying out the stock of Mr. Johnson, - and successfully conducted the establishment throughout his active life, - retiring in 1887. A few years prior to 1875, he was in business at Beaver but in that year he moved to Beaver Falls. Mr. Small wedded Elmira Swager, a native of Mercer county, Pa., who came to Beaver county when she was but eight years of age. Eleven children were born to them: Ursula (Johnson), an artist now in the treasury department at Washington, D. C.; Hiram; Margaret (Coleman), of Rochester; George, a farmer; J. Emma (Jolly), wife of the subject hereof; Ann M. (Jolly); Maria (Allen); Kate (Sterling); Eliza (Owery); Frank; and Charles, who died in infancy.