[p. 753] a representative business man of Ellwood City, senior member of the firm of Milliken & King, dealers in furniture, and undertakers, was born May 10, 1850, in Greene County, Pennsylvania, and is a son of Abraham S. and Jane (Gwynn) Milliken.
On both sides, the grandparents of Mr. Milliken were very early settlers in Greene County and the grandson recalls the stories of the wildness of the country at that time, the abundance of game and the necessity of carrying fire-arms, even when going to church, in order to be protected from the Indians. They lived near old Fort Girard, which was orginally erected to protect the early settlers from the savages. The grandparents all died in Greene County, except Grandfather Milliken, who passed away in old age in Ohio. The father of Mr. Milliken was born in Jefferson Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania, and died aged eighty-four years. He had two brothers and a sister who reached mature years. The brothers, John and Benoni Milliken, moved to Wisconsin, where they died. The sister, Mrs. Margaret Clark, who is ninety years of age, resides at Bolivar, Tuscarawas County, Ohio, where Mr. Milliken had the pleasure of visiting with her in 1906. On the maternal side, two sons and four daughters of Joseph and Martha Gwynn, lived into middle or advanced age. John Gwynn lived and died near Carmichaels, Pennsylvania, where he owned a considerable estate. Josiah Gwynn owned the old farm and died on an adjoining one. Elizabeth married a Mr. Gore and both are deceased. Martha and Margaret never married. The former still survives, aged ninety years, but the latter died in 1906. The mother of Mr. Milliken died aged seventy-six years.
Abram S. Milliken was a tailor by trade and was also a farmer and miller. He owned a grist mill and farming land and devoted the larger part of his life to agricultural pursuits. He married Jane Gwynn and they reared a family of which but two survive: Isaac Franklin and Jesse Abram. The latter is a carpenter and contractor, residing at Pittsburg. He married Lizzie Hogue, a daughter of Norval Hogue and they have eleven children.
Isaac F. Milliken attended the Gwynn school in Cumberland Township, Greene County, during boyhood, and later, with his brother, entered Monongahela College, where he was graduated in 1873. He then taught school for some six years, following which he served an apprenticeship of three and one-half years in the painting trade and afterward followed the same, during the summer seasons, until 1881, when he entered into the furniture business at Jefferson. Since that time he has been continuously interested in this line. He carried on a furniture business for three years, at Nineveh, and after disposing of it, started up in the same business at Beallsville, Washington County, where he remained until 1897, when he came to Ellwood City. In connection with furniture dealing, including the handling of pianos, Mr. Milliken has been an undertaker for many years, probably twenty-eight, and during this time he has interred the bodies of 1600 people. The firm of Milliken & King, the junior member being Mr. Milliken's son-in-law, enjoy the confidence and patronage of the best city trade and both partners are known to be men of sterling integrity.
Mr. and Mrs. Milliken are both members of the First Presbyterian Church of Ellwood City. Their family is as follows: George Leslie, Reason Franklin, Leonora, Alva Otto, John and Russell Dewey. George Leslie resides at New Brighton and is traveling salesman for Heyworth & Dewhurst, of Pittsburg, wholesale groceries. He married Allie Dodds and they have two sons, Charles and Harold. Reason Franklin is engaged at West Pittsburg, being timekeeper and paymaster of the silk mill in West Pittsburg. Leonora married James R. King, and they reside on improved property of their own, at Ellwood City. They have two children, Lois E. and Dorothy. Alva Otto has been stationed at St. Louis, Missouri, where he is auditor of the accounts of the Armour Packing Company. John Milliken is credit man for the wholesale dry goods house of Ferguson & McKinley, one of the largest concerns in the country. One daughter died before the family came to Ellwood City. The family home is situated in that part of fhe city known as the Circle, and is a beautiful modern residence. Mr. Milliken is a member of the Odd Fellows, the Tribe of Ben Hur, the Protective Home Circle, the True Blues and Good Templars. He is a Prohibitionist from conviction and asserted his views when there were only few votes cast for the temperance ticket in Greene County. He has frequently been tendered offices of trust and responsibility and is the present nominee for County Commissioner, on the Prohibition ticket. He is consistently temperate in all things himself, and believes such laws should be made that will protect those who are not strong enough to resist temptation. He is a level-headed business man, is public spirited to a large degree, and is one of Ellwood City's best citizens.
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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