Philo V. Paul    

Philo V. Paul, a substantial farmer and landowner of Washington county, proprietor of a well improved place on Rural Mail Route No. 3 out of Washington, president of the county agricultural extension bureau; and one of the best known agriculturists in this section of the state, is a native of Washington county, a member of one of the real pioneer families here, and has always had his home in this county. He was born on the old Paul homestead place in South Strabane township, May 1, 1863, a son of William and Martha (Vance) Paul, both members of old families in Washington county and the latter of whom is still living, as is set out in a properly appreciative memorial sketch of the late William Paul presented elsewhere in this work and to which the attention of the reader is respectfully directed in this connection for further details regarding the settlement of the Paul and the Vance families in Washington county.

Reared on the farm, Philo V. Paul attended the Gabby school and then took a course in Washington and Jefferson College. From the days of his boyhood he was an active and helpful factor in the labors of developing and improving the home farm and early became associated with his father in its operation, the two carrying on as a practical partnership until the death of the elder Paul in 1914. Even prior to that time Philo V. Paul had bought a portion of the near-by Vance acres, the place where his mother was born, and he now resides there, a place of two hundred and eighty acres, on which he is carrying on his general agricultural, dairying and wool-growing operations in accordance with the most highly approved methods of modern agriculture. As noted above, Mr. Paul is the president of the local bureau of the agricultural extension movement and he has for years been an influential factor in the general promotion of the highest standards of farm life and farm development in this section of the state. He is a Royal Arch, Knights Templar and Scottish Rite Mason and a Noble of the Mystic Shrine and is one of the active members of the Washington Kiwanis Club, whose motto is “We Build”, a sentiment with which he is in hearty accord. He also is a member of the Washington Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry and he and his wife are members of the Third Presbyterian church of Washington. They are republicans and have ever given their interested attention to local civic affairs. Mr. Paul has for many years given his close attention to local Masonic affairs and is a past commander of Jacques de Molay Cornmandery No. 3, Knights Templars, in Washington. Mrs. Paul is an active member of the local chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star and has long taken a prominent part in the activities of that interesting auxiliary to the Masonic order, now serving as district deputy grand matron of the order in this district. She also is a member of the local auxiliary to the American Legion by right of the service of her two sons in the World war, is a member of the locally influential Get Together Club and is also affiliated with the Young Woman’s Christian Association and with the auxiliary to the Young Men’s Christian Association.

On April 27, 1892, in Canton township, this county, Mr. Paul was united in marriage to Miss Lucy M. Weirich, who was born in that township, August 3, 1868, a daughter of W. W. and Mary (Christie) Weirich, the latter of whom was born in West Middletown, Pennsylvania, February 23, 1845, and died at her home in Canton township, on January 18. 1906. She was a daughter of John F. and Lucinda (McElroy) Christie, the latter of whom also was born in West Middletown, Pennsylvania, the McElroys having been among the early settlers there. John F. Christie, who became a well known grocer in Washington, where his last days were spent, was a native of Ohio. He and his wife were members of the Christian church. W. W. Weirich, who is now living in Washington, a retired farmer, was born in Canton township, this county, November 21. 1845, a son of Samuel K. and Anna Charlotte (Schaffer) Weirich, both of whom also were born in this county, members of pioneer families. Samuel K. Weirich, who became a well-to-do farmer, served for some time as a member of the board of county commissioners from his district. He was born in 1818 and died in 1902. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and were republicans. W. W. Weirich is a member of the First Christian church in Washington. He is a republican and at one time and another held various local offices in his old home township.

To Philo V. and Lucy M. (Weirich) Paul have been born six children, namely: Samuel Huston, born February 23, 1893; J. William, born May 3, 1894; Hugh Hanna, born April 15, 1896, who died on November 9, 1909; an infant son, born November 21, 1898, who died at birth; Martha Vance, born September 29, 1900, who died on August 8, 1921; and an infant son, born April 27, 1905, who shortly afterward died. Samuel Huston Paul, elder son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul, rendered service during the time of this country’s participation in the World war and received his training at Camp Lee, Virginia. He is now associated with the operations of the Marland Oil Company of Meeker, Colorado, where he resides. On July 1, 1925, he was united in marriage to Miss Arletta Prindle, of Fruita, that state. He is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason.

J. William Paul, who is now associated with his father in the operations of the home farm in the vicinity of Washington, went into army service during the World war with Company H of the One Hundred and Tenth Regiment (infantry) of the Pennsylvania National Guard, which he had joined on March 29, 1917, the month prior to the beginning of hostilities on the part of this country, and after a period of intensive training at Camp Hancock (Georgia) was sent overseas with the American Expeditionary Forces and was in service in France for twelve months —a trained sniper and scout. He received his discharge at Camp Merritt on March 28, 1919, after just one day under two years of military service, and returned home. He also, like his father and brother, is a Scottish Rite Mason. On December 17, 1919, J. William Paul was united in marriage to Miss Florence Mounts, who was born February 2, 1894, daughter of Joseph C. and Martha (McElree) Mounts of Washington.

History of Washington County, Pennsylvania, 1926; Forrest, Earle Robert, Chicago: S.J. Clarke Pub. Co., pages 210-212  Search Hundreds of 1880s-1890s Pennsylvania County History Books for biographies and historical information on your ancestors.  View the book page images on line and print them out for your genealogy file!  Free Access to the old history books - plus birth & death records, census images and ALL other records at ancestry.com.