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Thomas
Vanatta
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biography
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THOMAS VANATTA,
farmer, post-office Mercer, was born December 20, 1833, in Lawrence
County, Penn., to John, born June 5, 1803, and Mary (Crawford) Vanatta,
born May 23, 1802. The parents were natives of Beaver County, and the
father was of German and the mother of Scotch-Irish extraction. They
came to Mercer County in 1838 and settled in Lackawannock Township,
where he engaged at his trade, that of a carpenter. While working on a
building he fell and broke three ribs loose from the backbone, and two
in front. He served as a justice of the peace in Lackawannock Township
for five years. He died July 25, 1885, and his wife died June 9, 1865.
They were married March 30, 1826, and were members of the Presbyterian
Church. Their children were Benjamin, died January 17, 1837; Hannah,
married Mitchell Roland; Ruth, married Martin Davis; Thomas, Margaret
J., married William Clark; Mary A., died October 18, 1884; John, and
Eliza, married William Ransom. The father was a Democrat until the
breaking out of the war, when he became a stanch Republican. The subject
of this sketch was educated in the common schools and was brought up at
rural pursuits. He began for himself when twenty-four years of age, at
which time he rented the old home place, where be remained until 1881,
when he bought the farm he now lives on. He was married April 13, 1858,
to Elizabeth, daughter of William and Nancy (Boyd) Clark. Her father was
born April 27, 1802, in Ireland, and came to America when twenty-one
years old. Her mother was born January 14, 1801. Her parents were
married in Lawrence County, September 27, 1832, the result being seven
children: Mary, Agnes, Elizabeth, William, Rebecca, Margaret and Samuel.
Her father died November 18, 1882, and her mother, April 26, 1884, and
were members of the Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Vanatta was born May 25,
1835, and has blessed her consort with eight children: Nancy J., John
W., a farmer in Kansas; Robert, Frank, Maggie E., deceased; Elizabeth
A., Sarah E. and Clara M. Mr. and Mrs. Vanatta and their three oldest
daughters are members of the Cool Spring Presbyterian Church. He is a
Republican, and is one of the honest, upright farmers of Mercer County.
History of Mercer County, 1888, page 993
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