Dr. Charles Wesley Burgwin and Effie Odelia Pryor

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Husband Dr. Charles Wesley Burgwin ¹

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           Born: 10 May 1873 - Petrolia, Fairview Twp, Butler Co, PA 1
     Christened: 
           Died: 25 Dec 1946 1
         Buried: 

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         Father: Stephen Burgwin (1839-1922) 2 3 4 5
         Mother: Sarah Jane Maitland (1840-1898) 2 3 4

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       Marriage: 3 Sep 1903 - ? Venango Co, PA

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Wife Effie Odelia Pryor ¹

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           Born: 26 Nov 1873 - Richland Twp, Venango Co, PA 1
     Christened: 
           Died: 1 Feb 1956 - Meadville, Crawford Co, PA 1
         Buried:  - Radle Cemetery, Guys Mills, Randolph Twp, Crawford Co, PA

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         Father: Peter Lovell Pryer (1844-1882) 6
         Mother: Ellen Burns Nickle (1848-1924) 6

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Children

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1 F Gladys Enid Burgwin

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           Born: 23 May 1904 - Parkers Landing, Armstrong Co, PA
     Christened: 
           Died: 21 Oct 1981 - Meadville, Crawford Co, PA
         Buried: 

         Spouse: John Evat Willard Tracy (1903-1984)

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2 M Stephen Lovell Burgwin

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           Born: 2 Apr 1906 - Parkers Landing, Armstrong Co, PA
     Christened: 
           Died: 16 Jul 1971 - Oak Creek, Yavapai Co, AZ
         Buried:  - Sedona Community Cemetery, Sedona, Coconino Co, AZ

         Spouse: Elspeth Adele Toepfer (1906-2002)

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General Notes: Husband - Dr. Charles Wesley Burgwin

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Charles Wesley Burgwin was born at Petrolia, Butler County, Penna. At the age of six months moved to Jefferson, and oil town in Clarion County. At the age of 14 or 15 moved to Turkey City, Clarion County, Penna. At the age of sixteen his father sent him to Clarion Normal School. When he was eighteen he taught school one winter at Alum Rock and the next winter at Chestnut Ridge. Both schools near home. Graduated from Clarion Normal School in June 1895. Taught two years following his graduation at Chestnut Ridge as principal, it being then a two room school.
In September, 1898, he entered the Medical Department at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Michigan from which he graduated in June 1902 but he could not practice medicine in Penna. until after passing a state examination which he did in December, 1902, at Philadelphia and began the practice of medicine in January, 1903 at Parker's Landing, Armstrong County, Penna. On September 3rd 1903 he united in marriage with Effie O. Pryor. They lived at Parker's Landing until September, 1909 when they bought a home and moved to Guys Mills, Crawford County, Penna. the new home looked like a mansion after living cooped up in a few small rooms upstairs, for six years.
For three years he drove horses over the country roads and hard driving it was especially in the muddy season. In 1912, with Mr. Willard C. Waid as a partner he bought his first automobile which of course was a Ford. The community enjoyed the comic side of the combination, a Doctor and an undertaker in partnership but it worked out very well as the undertaker didn't need the car until after the Doctor had made his visit. After moving to Guys Mills he became a man of hobbies which he worked at when people were healthy and he had some spare time. His first hobby was making a collection of moths and butterflies and some bugs and insects. After his collection was completed he bought some goats. They sure are very interesting animals but they would not stay put and after eating some of my shrubs and ruining the neighbor's garden he sold them. One pair of twin kids was a cute sight but full of mischief. One hobby was bees. He worked among them until he learned a lot about them but the rest of the family and the neighbors gave them a wide birth. He extracted the honey and sold it in five pound pails and it was grand honey. One winter most of his bees died so he sold all his bee equipment and that was the end of that hobby.
He and some other men organized the Randolph Lumber Company and he made two or three trips to the eastern part of Penna. State in the interest of that company. He was also interested in an oil and gas Company for some time but one man in the Co. turned out to be a crook and he got out of that without making his fortune. His most extensive hobby was the poultry business. He bought a large store building in the village and converted it into the "Egg-win Poultry Plant." He installed an extensive incubator and hired a man to assist in the business. For about six or seven years we had eggs and chickens everywhere. We used trap nests and kept a record of all the laying hens. It was interesting work but the depression following the World War came along and the prices of eggs became so low that it cost more to produce an egg than you could sell it for so in the fall of 1932 we ate the last old hen we had and the "Egg-win Poultry" business became past history. He gradually converted the building which had housed the poultry business into an apartment house containing seven apartments which he had filled at one time but when World War II came on the government made a lot of regulations for landlords to live up to that he order all the tenants to move out and he used a part of the building to install some machinery he had and spent his spare time making folding chairs. He had created this machine shop several years earlier and arranged for persons who owed him money for professional services could work out their debts. He had just finished making three hundred folding chairs when the building burned on Saturday evening 1945. His machinery was saved but two hundred of the chairs burned.
He was always interested in trying to help the community to better things. With this in view he enlisted John C. Graham, a resident electrician and several other influential citizens and organized The Randolph Light and Power Company in 1920. A stone building was erected and two engines installed. A number of the residents had their houses wired and the village took on a brighter and lighter outlook. Most of the public buildings were wired and the lights almost dazzled the folks who were used to seeing by oil lamps. One interesting feature was that the lights were on only while the engines were running and they were only operated from dark until ten P.M. It established some good habits for folks went to bed when the lights went out. After about five years the Associated Gas and Electric Company bought out our community company and from that time on everybody had electricity for use all the time.
The most extensive and most valuable community project was the consolidation of the schools of the township and the buildings of a two room school building at Black Ash and the Randolph Consolidated Junior-Senior High School building in Guys Mills. All this resulted from the election of Doctor C.W. Burgwin as school director and by his personal efforts, use of time, study of buildings and materials, overcoming opposition, and everlasting devotion to the undertaking that the building was finally brought to completion and put into use in the fall of 1928 and the dedication services were held in May 1929. This is the greatest monument he will ever have. In the fall of 1932 he became discouraged because of continual opposition and resigned from the school board. He was accused of building a much too large a building and now as I copy this in 1954 there has been erected another school building along side containing ten rooms which they say will not be large enough for all the pupils this fall. The new building is a beautifully finished modern building containing a cafeteria capable of seating two hundred children.

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General Notes: Wife - Effie Odelia Pryor

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Effie Odelia Pryor was born on the Peter Pryer homestead which lies about half way between Nickleville and Barrs Corners, Venango County, Penna. When two and one half years of age her parents moved onto a farm about one and one half mile southeast of Davis' Corners, Rockland twp., Venango County, Penna. There she lived until the death of her father, September 15, 1882 when she moved with her sister, Cora, brother Clyde, and her Mother to her grandfather, Daniel Nickle's farm just east of the village of Nickleville, Venango County, Penna. Here she grew to womanhood and received her education in the "Little Red Schoolhouse" at Nickleville, one term at Grove City College in the spring of 1891 and at Clarion Normal School where she graduated in the class of 1895. In the spring of 1892, being 18 years of age and having required the sufficient percentage to receive the signature of the County Superintendent on a very valuable little slip of paper called a teacher's provisional certificate she was eligible to become a school teacher and was fortunate enough to become elected as teacher for the spring term of two months of school at the Lamberton school in Rockland twp. Her work was satisfactory enough for the directors to elect her to teach the winter term of four months at the same school. The next winter she taught the Maple Hollow school in Richland twp. Venango County until the holidays when she resigned and went to Clarion Normal. After graduation she taught the following schools: Nickleville, No 1 two terms; Deloe, Clarion County, one term; Lamertine, Clarion County, one term; Myers, Rockland twp. Venango County. One term; Golinza, Forest County, Penna., one term.
At twelve o'clock noon, on September 3rd, 1903, she became the wife of Charles Wesley Burgwin M.D. a Clarion Classmate. They began housekeeping in rooms upstairs over Frampton's Jewelry store on River Avenue, Parkers Landing, Armstrong Co., Penna. There was born their two children, Gladys Enid and Stephen Lovell.
Realizing that an upstairs apartment on River Ave. Parkers Landing was a very unsuitable place to raise a couple of children they left Parkers Landing and bought the home of Dr. Rouche at Guys Mills, Crawford County, Penna., a small country village but a nice big lawn with grass and flowers. They bought this home in 1909 and moved there in September.
Effie O. (Pryor) Burgwin united with the Methodist Church at the age of seventeen and served the Church in such capacities as; Sunday School teacher of almost all ages; thirteen years as S.S. Superintendent; Epworth League Pres.; Choir Director; leader of young folks in both Church and S.S.; Supt. Of Children's Div. Of the S.S. many years; Member of official Board and other Church offices and committees.
After the death of Doctor Charles Wesley Burgwin, his wife, Effie O. Burgwin sold all personal and real estate property and on May 18, 1947 she came to Meadville to make her home with her daughter Gladys Tracy, and her family.

1 Alan R. Jones, Threads of Venango (Indiana, PA: A. G. Halldin Publishing Co., 1984), Pg 241.

2 —, History of Venango County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: Brown, Runk, & Co., Publishers, 1890), Pg 1119.

3 Charles A. Babcock, Venango County, Pennsylvania, Her Pioneers and People (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Co., 1919), Pg 625.

4 Alan R. Jones, Threads of Venango (Indiana, PA: A. G. Halldin Publishing Co., 1984), Pg 226.

5 —, Commemorative Biographical Record of Central Pennsylvania, Including the Counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion. (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1898), Pg 1451.

6 Mrs. Harold V. Linn, Daniel Smith - Pioneer Settler of Rockland Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania (Venango County, PA: Privately published, 1961), Pg 120.