Biography

01/13/1838 - 10/13/1908

Lieutenant Colonel Edward Anderson “E. A.” Irvin (R34) Centre, Clearfield, Clinton Counties, 1905-1906 

Early Life:

Lieutenant Colonel Edward Anderson “E. A.” Irvin, born January 13, 1838, Curwensville, Centre County, Pennsylvania; son of William and Jane Patton Irvin; common schools education; Mount Holly Academy, Princeton, New Jersey at 16; Edge Hill School, Princeton, New Jersey; engaged, mercantile, coal, lumber businesses; member, Presbyterian Church; married, Emma A. Graham, 1860; four children); Lieutenant Colonel, prisoner of war, wounded, Civil War, 1861-1863; unsuccessful candidate, United States Senator, 1899; president, Citizens National Bank, 1903-1908; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1905-1906; died, October 13, 1908, Curwensville, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania; Interment, Oak Hill Cemetery, Curwensville, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. 

Early Career:

Commissioned, Captain, Camp Curtin, Harrisburg, May 29, 1861, K Company, Forty-second Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, otherwise known as the "First Pennsylvania Rifles", and after by order of the War Department, called "Kane Rifles" or simply "The Bucktails" (recognized by the deer tails worn in their hats) Company K, achieved such a reputation of gallantry and sharp-shooting capabilities during the service that the name "Bucktail” became famous in both armies.

At Mechansville, Virginia, captured and confined in Libby prison† for two months, prisoner exchange; participated, Second Bull Run, Maryland campaign.

Promoted, Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment September 10, 1863; badly wounded, struck in the head with a "minnie" ball, battle of South Mountain, Boonsboro, Maryland, September 14, 1863; not mustered out, surgeon discharged, May I, 1863, for wounds received in action.  

Curwensville, Pennsylvania, entertained the Bucktail Reunion of 1893 with Colonel John Irvin as host, and again in 1905 with Colonel Edwin A. Irvin as host.  

President, Citizens National Bank, 1903-1908, merged with the Curwensville National Bank.  

Pennsylvania Politics:

Unsuccessful candidate, United States Senator, 1899.

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 34th district, Centre, Clearfield and Clinton Counties 1905-1906; vacancy, death, Senator Alexander Enis Patton, September 5, 1904; standing committee assignments, Senate of Pennsylvania, extraordinary and regular session, 1906, Corporations, Education, Forestry, Library (Chairman), Military Affairs, New Counties and County Seats. 

Extraordinary session, legislation accomplished by the Senate, 1906, personal registration law, direct primary legislation, enacted; up until this legislation candidates were chosen at conventions.

Legacy 

Lieutenant Colonel Edward A. Irvin founded the town of Irvona, outside of Coalport, Pennsylvania. Town laid out by the Witmer Land and Coal Company, eastern side of Clearfield Creek, incorporated, September 2, 1890; named in honor of Colonel Edward A. Irvin, of Curwensville, Pennsylvania. 

By Act of Pennsylvania Legislature in 1906, $2,500 was appropriated for the erection of a monument "commemorating the embarkation of the Bucktails." The dedication of this monument, April 27, 1908. Colonel Edward A. Irvin, President of the Commission, select the site and was to have presented the monument to the "Bucktails," but his serious illness, which a few months later resulted in his death, prevented him from being present. 

Bucktail Monument

On October 11, 2003, this wish realized as a three-winged monument of black granite. The monument erected on State Street in Curwensville to pay tribute to ""The Bucktails" recruited in Curwensville in 1861 led by Colonel Irvin, later becoming Company K of the 42nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Possibly the most famous company of the Civil War because of their sharp-shooting capabilities, recognized by the deer tails worn in their hats.

Lieutenant Colonel Edward Anderson “E A” Irvin donated the land where this monument now stands.

Cited: 

Cox, Harold. Senate Members "I" (wilkes.edu). Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

Cochran, T.B., (Compiler). Miller, H.P., (Assistant Compiler). (1906). The Pennsylvania Manual, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Biographical Sketches of Senators, page 803, pages 824, 829-834. 

History of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, edited by Lewis Cass Aldrich, Syracuse, NY: D. Mason and Company, Publishers, 1887. Pages 674-675.  

Colonel Edward Anderson Irvin (pa-roots.com)  

†Libby Prison was a Confederate prison at Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. It gained an infamous reputation for the harsh conditions under which prisoners from the Union Army were kept. Additional notes, information and observations provided by Richard Lee Gleason (b. 1952), the compiler of this database ricksgenealogy@gmail.com . Colonel Edward Anderson “E A” IRVIN (gnc.net) 

Curwensville, PA 150th Anniversary (1799-1949), Published for the Curwensville Sesqui-Centennial, July 3rd to 8th, 1949, 177 pages, page 37, 97.  

Scanned version at: Clearfield County PAGenWeb Archives - Area History (usgwarchives.net)  

Swoope, Roland D., Twentieth Century History of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co., 1911, p. 327.  

Clearfield County Comprehensive Plan, 2006 Update, Chapter 4, pages 36-37.

Col. Edward Anderson Irvin (1838-1908) - Find a Grave Memorial