James Easton and Elizabeth Reid Calderhead
James was born on April 9, 1769 in Hamilton, Scotland. He married Elizabeth Reid Calderhead, born September 1, 1774. They had at least one son, John.
John Easton and Margaret Lindsay
John and Margaret Lindsay Easton, the parents of Elizabeth Calderhead Easton Wylie were originally form Lanarkshire, Scotland. The voyage to America began on June 25 to June 28 in 1852 for the Easton family. The family had twelve children: James Easton (1824), Thomas (1826), Thomas (1828), Mary (1830), Elizabeth (1832), Margaret (1833), and Jean (1836), William (1838), John (1841), Bryce (1843), Jean (1845), and Marion (1847).
John and his family moved to the United States:
where he was a shoemaker and minder, as he had been in his native land. Both were Covenanters, and both are buried in the Elizabeth Cemetery. Children: James, born August 8, 1924, died in March 1890, at Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, was a coal miner; and had been an invalid may years; Thomas, born January 4, 1826, died December 26 of the same year; Thomas, born February 24, 1828 died May 18, 1860, in Elizabeth township, was a coal miner; Mary, born September 18, 1830, married John Russell, died in Elizabeth township, in December, 1888' Elizabeth Calderhead, mentioned above as having married Mr. Wylie; Margaret, born December 20, 1833, widow of William Kidney, lives in McKeesport; Jean, born December 8, 1836, died August 13, 1838; William, born March 15, 1838 died in Elizabeth, was in active service three years during the Civil War; John, born April 21, 1841, died September 27, 1844; Bryce, born August 23, 1843, enlisted during the Civil War, in August 1862, and died of fever, October 6, 1852, at Sharpsburg, Maryland; Jean, born September 5, 1845, died August 9, 1847; Marion, born March 4, 1847, died March 21 --, in Elizabeth township. 1
Elizabeth Easton and James Wylie
Elizabeth married James Wylie. James, in 1818 had purcahsed 110 acres of land in Elizabeth Township. Elizabeth's family were not meant to be farmers. All of the children had been born in Scotland. When they arrived in America, many of them became coal miners. Elizabeth married James Wylie after coming to work in the household as a maid. James was recently widowed, and had a daughter, Mary Jane. James and Elizabeth had five children together. 2
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James, the future husband of Elizabeth Easton, had married Martha Parkill. They had one child. Then he and Elizabeth had five children: Samuel John (1860), James Renwick (1861), Margaret (1863), Bryce Easton (1865), and William Parkhill (1868).
A descendent of James Wylie and Elizabeth Easton Wylie, Helen Wylie Morrison, recalled her family history:
A descendent of James Wylie and Elizabeth Easton Wylie, Helen Wylie Morrison, recalled her family history:
They lived in a frame house, which was replaced by a brick house built in the 1860s. I remember seeing it, but was never inside. It was demolished in the 1950s (I think) and the barn was still standing at least until 1985. According to family lore, when James’ 1st wife died 2 months after giving birth, he hired Elizabeth Easton as a housekeeper, then married her 3 years later. He was 40 years older and in their 10 years of marriage, they had 5 children. So she was left a widow with 6 children and a farm to run! 3
Maggie Morrison, another descendent of James Wylie and Elizabeth Easton recalled:
Bryce E. Wylie was brought up by his mother as a strict Covenanter. According to my mother, who was somewhat afraid of her grandmother [Elizabeth], they didn’t believe in doing any work on “the Sabbath,” which included cooking & playing—even reading the Sunday papers! Otherwise, my mother spoke of her grandmother’s generosity; though she had very little on the farm, she never visited anyone without taking them something, even if it was only an apple. Elizabeth Easton Wylie was tiny—about 5’ tall (I have a cane said to be hers), & had a very hard life. She was 1 of 12 children, 4 of whom died by age 2! Her family were coal miners. I also found in a trunk in the attic of my mother’s house a diary of a sort—from the 3 or 4 years before she died. Most of the entries (done in pencil) were either reports of sermons she had heard or long prayers and religious ramblings.4
Figures
Fig. 1 - "Elizabeth Calderhead Easton" - originally taken from ancestry.com. Contributed by Robert Hawkins.
Sources
1. Jordan, John W. "Wylie Family of Western Pennsylvania." Genealogical and personal history of Western Pennsylvania Vol. 2, eds. John W. Jordan.
2. Ibid.
3. Interview with Helen Wylie Morrison. Date unknown.
4. Interview with Maggie Morrison. Date unknown.
2. Ibid.
3. Interview with Helen Wylie Morrison. Date unknown.
4. Interview with Maggie Morrison. Date unknown.