Biographies

Joseph Austen.
When he died on December 5 1893 he was the good age of 91. "He was a man well read and was highly respected by all who knew him. He was a man who possessed a wide range of knowledge both from observation and reading. There are few men perhaps in all this country living today that could say as he said when living that they had seen and shaken hands with Lord Wellington. ...... Mr Austin lived a consistent Christian the greater portion of his life, being first a member of the Christian church here then later united with the Lutheran church , remaining an active earnest member until his physical energies became impaired so that he was obliged to remain at his home until his death. For several years he has been a helpless child being well cared for all this time by his only son-in-law, Mr George."

From Ashland Press, 21 December 1893.


JOHN THADDEUS AUSTEN, of Aspinwall, Pa., a prominent citizen, was born March 26, 1864, in Bakerstown, Allegheny county, son of Charles and Anna (Jones) Austen, the former a leading carpenter of that town. He was educated in the public schools, and at the age of fifteen years began to learn the carpenters' trade under his father. After four years spent at this trade he engaged with E. Myrick, of Sharpsburg, in the hardware business and for seven years followed that vocation. For the next eighteen months he was employed in a pipe mill at Pittsburgh and then entered the hardware store of S. J. Saint, of Sharpsburg, where he remained for seven years. He engaged in the feed business under the firm name of Austen Bros., at Etna, and conducted this business for four years.
In 1899 he opened a grocery store in Aspinwall and met with much success in this venture, selling his interest in the business in March, 1903. Since then he has resided in Aspinwall and is one of the leading citizens of that city. He was married, on Jan. 27, 1887, to Hattie E. Robinson, and to them have been born six children, five of whom are now living, viz. : Clarence, Irene, Ruby, Willard and Elizabeth. Mr. Austen is a member of the Sharpsburg Baptist church, the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, the Royal Arcanum, and is a republican in politics. The great-grandfather of Mr. Austen was Charles Austen, a distinguished soldier of England, holding the position of captain in the guards and also serving as a lieutenant in the royal navy. He came to America in a sail-boat in 1820 and was head of this branch of the Austen family in the United States.

From Memoirs of Alleghany County, Pennsylvania, Vol II. Robert L Riggs
reproduced on xx website


SAMUEL AUSTEN, farmer, postoffice Gibsonia, is a son of Thomas P. and Lydia B.(Allison) Austen, former native of England, latter of Richland township, this county, where she was reared, and where she died. Thomas P. came to America with his parents, Charles and Sarah, in 1821. They settled in McCandless township, near Pearce's Mill. Charles Austen died at Bakerstown, Dec 5 1856. There Thomas P. lived until 1844, when he moved to Richland township, and here he remained until his death, in 1886; his wife died in 1878. Samuel was born on the Grubbs farm near Bakerstown, in 1854. He received his education at Bakerstown Academy, and engaged in teaching for several years; then commenced farming, which he has since followed. He married, in 1877, Eliza, daughter of John and Jane Love, of
West Deer township, and they have three children living: Hester S., Thomas P. and Clyde Sylvester. Mr Austen has held the office of school director of the township for seven years. He and family are members of the Presbyterian Church at Bakerstown, of which he is an elder.


Dr Willard Austen, 1887 - 1994
Willard Emerson Austen was born 20 June 1897 in Etna Pennsylvania USA,
the sixth child of Charles Austen (jr) and Hettie Elvira Robinson who were of English, Scottish and Irish ancestry. He was baptized in the Baptist Church, Sharpsburg, PA. He grew up in Aspinwall, PA and graduated from high school there and entered the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Science in 1915 and an MD in 1921. He spent two years in Pittsburgh before going to the Mayo Clinic for two years. He had then determined that Otolaryngology was the area of Medicine that most interested him. In 1925 he went to New York City to begin the special training he needed.

While in New York he met and married Estelle Randolph Bolling who is
reputed to be one of the FFV (First Family of Virginia). This turned out to
be a disaster. They were only married for a couple of years when he got a
divorce following an episode where she threatened him with a gun.

He met and married Johanna Olga Eijkel who was also divorced. Olga
was born in Rotterdam, Holland into a family who manufactured brocaded
linens. There are many stories that she told on herself that arose out of
language misunderstandings.

Sometime during the 1930's, his mother, Hettie E. Austen, desired to
gather her proofs for becoming a member of the Daughters of the American
Revolution. Willard was in New York near to where the ancestor lived
so he undertook the search. He provided the proofs of service of Francis
Beatty and some of the descendants. This also provided his own proofs for
Sons of the Revolution which he joined.

In 1938 Willard realized that Hitler was a threat to everyone in
Europe and insisted that Olga go home for a visit. She was one of ten
children most of whom married and reproduced. When she was there, there was a maid who reported all their activities to Germany! She enjoyed seeing
everyone and for the first time in her life, eating the complete dinner at
the grownups table .

Willard closed his office the end of 1940 and joined the Navy. He
spent 15 years in service some of which was in Iceland and some of which was on board the Aircraft Carrier U.S.S. Bogue submarine hunting. They would go out for six weeks and then return and change personnel. One time he did his six weeks and did not come home as expected. Fortunately it was just that the replacement medical officer got sick and he went back out without calling home. He was released from active service in 1946 with the rank of Captain and served as Otolaryngologist at the U.S. Veterans Administration Regional Office in New York City and then in 1951 transferred to the Veterans Administration Hospital in the Bronx. There are a great many more details on his medical practice.

After the war, Olga and Willard tried to locate her family. She finally determined that she had one sister-in-law, a niece, a nephew and
for a short while her mother.

During the war, Aunt Olga had lived in Scarsdale NY in an apartment. They
stayed there for a while before buying a house.

Willard had met English military people during the war and made
friends. After the war he continued the research of the Austen family. The
friends were a great help and some of the letters that came from them have been kept. Ancestry research was not as active an endeavor at that time. Even so he traced and documented the Austens back to Ambrose Austen who was born in 1757 in Kent. There are a number of side lines. Many of the Austens of Kent and Sussex were "gentlemen" and had coats of arms that were registered. He located those but also rejected them as direct ancestors.

Willard also corresponded with Phillamore's who did research for
him, and a man by the name of Ian Ballyentine. He had copies of the Susan
Austen Grubbs narrative and material from Fred Tice who wrote and published the Tice-Austen pamphlet. He also had the family stories to work from. He did not know Charles (jr) who died two years before he was born. The family held reunions every year either in Pennsylvania or Ohio. He would have heard many stories perhaps over and over again.

Willard Austen died on Christmas Day in 1964 aged 67. They never had any
children.

From Caroline Pinkers

Gail J Austin

Gail Austen, of Funk, and son of Cloyce and Ethel Austin, died of a heart attack at the age of 44. He was a farmer and an employee of the Timken Plant in Wooster. In his neighbourhood he was known for his Christian decorations which he set up outside his home.


Zella Austen

When Zella Austen, daughter of John L and xx Austen established her Office in Wooster in 1945, she was the first woman realtor in Wooster and Wayne County. She was a member of the Wayne Co Board of Realtors as well as a member of the national and Ohio Boards of Realtors where she served on national and State committees.

She was a member of the United Methodist Church, the Fidelis Sunday School Class, Eastern Star, White Shrine, High Priestess Club and Wimodausis.

She retired after 17 years in 1962. She died in August 1969.

She was a member of women's council of NARES and its secretary- treasurer and President.


From Ashland Press

Sources

Caroline Pinkers
Susan Lee
Marjory Austen
Lynn Austin
Fred Tice & Dr Willard Austen
Larry Pearce
Virginia Somerlade

Brian Austen
Austen families histories and research

Edwin Austen 1858 - 1936
b Funk, Ohio. D Jeromesville
Second son of Thomas Austen and Sarah Crumlick