BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
History of Clinton County, Ohio
Its People, Industries and Institutions
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Albert J. Brown, A.M.
Supervising Editor
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With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and
Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families
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ILLUSTRATED
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B.F. Bowen & Co., Inc.
Indianapolis, Indiana
1915
Contrib. by Sharon Wick
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LAWRENCE
EGAN, a well known business man of Wilmington, Ohio, during the
past eleven years, has been engaged in the coal, buiding supply and
sewer pipe business in this city, with an office and yard on Sugar Tree
street. Today he holds a distinctive position of prestige among
the successful business men of Clinton county and has had much to do
with advancing the material interests of the city of Wilmington and in
helphing to make it one of the most important commercial centers of this
section of the state. Such a man cannot fail to interest, for he
is not only a representative citizen in his sphere of endeavor, but here
he has established a reputation for honor and integrity.
Lawrence Egan, who was born in County Tipperary,
Ireland, Jan. 11, 1851, is the son of Lawrence and Margaret (Maher)
Egan, the former of whom was born in County Tipperary in 1830,
and who died in 1892. Mr. Egan's paternal grandparents were
Lawrence and Catherine (Butler) Egan, the latter of whom was
Lord Butler's sister, but who, nevertheless, married a man without
rank or title. The Butlers owned a big estates and Lord
Butler's sister, the grandmother of Mr. Egan, had a life
estate, and as long as there was a son named Lawrence in the
family, he was entitled the fruits of the estate. The Egans
had a large amount of property in an early day in Ireland, but during an
insurrection the Catholics had all of their property confiscated.
The Egans, who were good Catholics and who wanted to avoid
confiscation, deeded their land to old Captain Butler, a lord,
and the great-grandfather of Lawrence Egan. The Butlers
refused the land but instead gave them positions as overseers on the
estate so they would not cause so much trouble. Mr. Egan's
grandparents lived and died in Ireland and were good Catholics.
His maternal grandparents also lived and died in that country.
Lawrence Egan, Sr., was a gardener and served an
apprenticeship of seven years in learning his trade. In 1851 he
came to New York state and later emigrated to Kentucky, where he worked
on the railroad. Within a few months he emigrated to Clarksville,
Warren county, Ohio, and worked for John Hadley, a railroad
contractor. In 1852 his family joined him and when the family
emigrated to Ohio they were accompanied by Lawrence, Jr., the
subject of this sketch. The family was sixteen weeks in the trip
across the ocean from Liverpool to New Orleans, and six weeks in the
trip up the river. In 1857 the Egan family came to
Wilmington, Ohio, where the father worked on the Cincinnati, Wilmington
& Zanesville railroad as a section boss for many years.
Eventually, however, he purchased a farm in Clinton county and there
died. He and his wife and family were good Catholics. They
had seven children, of whom Lawrence was the eldest; Richard
is a policeman in Wilmington; Thomas is a druggist in Wilmington;
Patrick is a resident of Anderson, Indiana; John is
a druggist in Wilmington; Mary is a wife of Thomas
Maher, of Kokomo, Indiana, and Margaret, who is single, lives
in Wilmington.
Lawrence Egan attended the public schools
and after finishing his education worked in a grocery for some time.
He had been compelled to go work at the age of nine years. After
reaching maturity he rented land for several years, and was finally
married in Clinton county, Ohio. After his marriage, he engaged in
the grocery business in Wilmington for a short time, and then sold out
and started a retail coal business. Here he has been engaged in
business for the past eleven years, with his office and yard on Sugar
Tree street.
In 1888 Mr. Egan was married to Jennie
Spinks, a native of Kentucky and the daughter of William
Spinks, now deceased, who was a farmer in Washington township, near
Wilmington.
Mr. and Mrs. Egan have had three children,
Catherine, Lawrence W and Mary Ellen. Lawrence W. assists his
father in the coal business.
Source: History of Clinton County, Ohio - Publ. 1915 by B. F.
Bowen & Co., Indianapolis, Ind. - Page 392 |
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