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Title: History of Pittsburgh and environs, from prehistoric days to the beginning of the American revolution Vol. 3 / By George Thornton Fleming.
Author: Fleming, George Thornton, 1855-1928.
Pg. 831, 832
JOHN WILLIAM HERRON- For nearly 200 years the name of HERRON has stood for progressive business and industrial activities in the U. S., and for considerably more than a 100 years has been identified with the growth and prosperity of the city of Pittsburgh.
(I) MR. HERRON’S earliest ancestor in this country was FRANCIS HERRON, who was born in County Antrim, Ireland, and came to the U. S. in 1734, bringing three younger brothers, DAVID, WILLIAM and JAMES, and two sisters, MARY and ELIZABETH. They settled in Franklin Co., Pa., in 1745, the locality where they lived still being known as HERRON’S Branch. FRANCIS HERRON married MARY McNUTT, and they were the parents of three sons and two daughters: JOHN, JAMES, WILLIAM, MARY and SARAH.
(II) JAMES HERRON, second son of FRANCIS and MARY (McNUTT) HERRON, was born in 1754, and served with the colonies during the Revolutionary War, with the rank of major. He died in 1829. He married NANCY DAVIDSON, and they were the parents of six children: JOHN, WILLIAM, DAVIDSON, JAMES, NANCY and SARAH.
(III) JOHN HERRON, eldest son of JAMES and NANCY (DAVIDSON) HERRON, was born at HERRON Branch, April 3, 1792, and in 1812 came to Pittsburgh, then still little more than a frontier town, and, of course, accessible only by wagon from the East. Here he entered the lumber business, confident that the water facilities of the city would make it a general distributing center for the limitless areas beyond. His judgment was amply vindicated, and he attained wealth and position. He married, in 1817, CLARISSA ANDERSON, daughter of MAJOR WILLIAM and NANCY (CAIN) ANDERSON.
(IV) WILLIAM A. HERRON, son of JOHN and CLARISSA (ANDERSON) HERRON, was born in Pittsburgh, Aug. 7, 1821. He received an excellent education, and his entrance into the business world was in the capacity of clerk with the early dry goods firm of A. Wray & Co. Later he became a member of the firm of HERRON Brown & Co. (1846), one of his father’s many interests, and of which his father was the head. This was one of the early coal concerns. Thereafter he became engaged in the lumber business, in association with a brother-in-law, RICHARD SILL, and was also a member of the HERRON-Blackburn Co., which built a railroad to facilitate the distribution of coal. In 1855 he established a banking business on Sixth Ave., at the corner of Wood St. Within the next decade he was instrumental in the organization of the German Bank, the Iron City Trust Co., and the Third National Bank. He was the first president of the People’s Savings Bank of Pittsburgh, with the establishment of which he was closely identified. Later, after six years of public service as clerk of the court of Allegheny Co., he entered the real estate business (1863), and in 1877 received into partnership his son, JOHN W. HERRON, and still later receiving his son, RUFUS H. HERRON, as a partner (1883). This business was conducted under the name of WILLIAM A. HERRON & Sons, and was an active force in the rapid growth of the city witnessed during the latter part of the 19th century. WILLIAM A. HERRON married LOUISE JEANNETTE HILLS.
(V) JOHN WILLIAM HERRON, youngest son of WILLIAM A. and LOUISE JEANNETTE (HILLS) HERRON, was born in Pittsburgh, Dec. 1, 1851. He received his early education in the Minersville public school, thereafter entering the Western University of Pa., now the University of Pittsburgh, followed by private instruction at Newell Institute. He then became associated with his father in the real estate business, as heretofore outlined. Through his business activities, MR. HERRON early won his way to a position of prominence in this city. On July 1, 1902, he organized the Commonwealth Trust Co. out of the real estate business of W. A. HERRON & Sons, and he was elected president and director of that institution, which office he still holds. He is also a trustee of the Mary E. Schenley estate, director of the North Penn Coal Co., and trustee of the Pittsburgh Association for the Improvement of the Poor. He is a member of the Duquesne Club, also of the Pittsburgh Golf Club, Allegheny Country Club, Oakmont Country Club, and the University Club of Pittsburgh.
MR. HERRON married JANE C. ROSS, daughter of WASHINGTON and MARGARET (COPLEY) ROSS; two daughters: ALICE VIRGINIA and DOROTHY ROSS. Their residence is No. 4845 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh.
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