Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens
Lawrence County Pennsylvania 1897
[p. 247] whose portrait may be
viewed on the opposite page, is a thrifty and
well-to-do farmer, who lives near New Galilee in Big
Beaver township, Lawrence County, who has
mounted the ladder of success, and now
occupies a position of esteem in his community as a
solid, substantial citizen. He was born in Erie
Co., Pa., in January, 1847, and is therefore just
past the half-century mark. His parents were
John and Martha (Blackwood) Boggs, who were
both of Irish parentage, although a hundred or
more years ago we might find that their ancestors
came from Scotland. Many of the best people
in Pennsylvania to-day are descended from
the long-suffering sons of Erin, for it seems that
to those who have been forced by an iron hand
to yield obedience to unjust decrees and to consider
the divine right of kings the first pillar of
government, there is something ineffably dear
in the sight of the flag waving over a land where
all men are free and equal before the law. From
the sturdy Irish and Scotch-Irish people have
been developed worthy citizens, who would be
an honor to any commonwealth. Western
Pennsylvania is especially fortunate in having
been settled by pioneers who belonged chiefly
to this class, and that their work in building up
this beautiful country was done well goes without
saying. The ardent love of liberty is fostered
and kept alive in such a race, grateful for
the blessings of a free land, and in times of
trouble and deep distress, when our very integrity
as a nation was threatened, the Scotch-Irish
responded nobly to the call, and proved themselves
to be entitled to rank with our best citizens.
America asks for no better class of citizens
than those of kindred speech, who have
sought civil and religious freedom on her shores.
Such were the inducements that drew John
Boggs, when a young man, to abandon his home
in Ireland, and seek a brighter lot in the Western
Continent. He was a struggling, hard-working
farmer after he settled near Erie, Pa.,
and of an intensely religious cast of mind, as he
had been brought up in the faith of the old Covenanters.
Our subject lived in Erie County until he was a strong lad of fifteen years, and grasped whatever educational advantages were offered in the common schools. He was a dutiful son fulfilling his duty to his aged father in every respect and caring for him until the number of his years on earth were completed. Mr. Boggs came to Lawrence County about 1872, where he has made his home since. He chose for his partner Mary Blackwood, whose parents, James and Eliza Blackwood, were also born in Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. Boggs have rejoiced on the occasions of the birth of three children: Ethel L. and Oliver B., and an infant son. The family belongs to the Reformed Presbyterian Church, one branch of which does not allow its members to participate in political affairs, and so, obeying the voice of the church, Mr. Boggs has kept aloof from politics, and has taken no aggressive interest in the oft-recurring elections.
Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens Lawrence County Pennsylvania
Biographical Publishing Company, Buffalo, N.Y., 1897
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Updated: 14 May 2001