Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens
Lawrence County Pennsylvania 1897
[p. 431] general foreman of the yards and shops of the W. N. Y. & P. R. R. at New Castle, was born in the above city, May 29, 1859. He is a son of Wilkes and Kate (Lint) Waddington. Our subject's mother was born in New Castle, and was a daughter of Jacob and Mary (Slogge) Lint; the latter attained an age of eighty years; the former, who was born in Lancaster Co., Pa., was a carpenter by trade, and died in New Castle about 1875, being upwards of eighty years of age. Our subject's father was a son of Benjamin and Nancy (Burnley) Waddington, and grandson of Benjamin Waddington, Sr., who was a citizen of England, where he lived his whole life, engaged in the woolen mills, and died in 1845. His son, the grandfather of our subject, was born in England, at Eccles Hill, Yorkshire, in 1794, and departed this life at Ft. Wayne, Ind., Feb. 29, 1876; he was interred in the cemetery at East Brook, where he had long been a resident. He was a member of the M. E. Church, and voted the Democratic ticket. His trade was that of a wool spinner, and he followed it many years in the mills at East Brook. His wife was a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Holmes) Burnley, and she had a brother who fought in the battle of Waterloo under Wellington. Joseph Burnley was born in England in 1766, and came to America in 1832; he was a woolen manufacturer, and died about 1851.
Wilkes Waddington was born in England in 1826, and became a resident of America when he was twelve years of age, his parents emigrating hither at that time. When of suitable age for apprenticing him to a trade, he was taught the trade of a machinist, and shortly became superintendent of the New Castle Manufacturing Co. Later he became a moving spirit in the firm of Shaw, Waddington & Co. on South Mercer Street. There the firm established a foundry and machine shop, and our subject's father continued in business until his death, which was caused by contracting a severe cold, from which he never recovered.
William W. Waddington was brought up in New Castle, and attended the public schools until thirteen years of age, when he went into his father's' shops as a fireman and engineer, and continued in such occupations for two years. He then learned the machinist's trade, and worked at it five years. At the age of twenty-one, he became engineer in New Castle's fire department, and remained there until April, 1882, in which month he was given a position as fireman on the W. N. Y. & P. R. R., and after serving in that capacity fifteen months became an engineer, and held the throttle three years. Following this, he was associated with the James P. Witherow Co. some two years in the machine shops on Jefferson Street. He again accepted a position with the W. N. Y. & P. R. R. as foreman of the round-house, and held that position until August, 1895, when he became foreman of the shops and yards of that company in New Castle, a position he is creditably filling at the present time. Mr. Waddington is the eldest of four sons, born to his parents, all of whom are expert machinists; fine mechanical skill seems to run through the entire family in all its branches. The names of the four brothers are: William W., our subject; Ben L., machinist for the New Castle Wire Nail Co.; Frank W., machinist for the New Castle Steel & Tin-Plate Co.; and Oliver C., the engineer of the New Castle Traction Co.
The marriage ceremony which united our subject and Georgiana Howard for life was performed in New Castle, June 25, 1886; the bride was a daughter of Lewis F. and Martha (Hillman) Howard. Mrs. Waddington is a member of the Baptist Church. Our subject is a Republican in politics. Socially, he is a member of Fidelis Lodge, No. 460, Knights of Pythias, of which he is past chancellor, and has represented it on two different occasions as a delegate to the Grand Lodge. He is also a member of Mahoning Lodge, No. 243, F. & A. M.; Delta Chapter, No. 170; and Lawrence Commandery, No. 62, K. T.
Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens Lawrence County Pennsylvania
Biographical Publishing Company, Buffalo, N.Y., 1897
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Updated: 4 Jul 2001