|
|
Plympton Ross Berry was born in 1835 a free black man
in Lawrence County,
PA. By the age of sixteen he was a
master brick and stonemason.
In 1851 he was hired to do the brickwork on the Lawrence
County Court
House. March of 1858, P. Ross married Mary
Long. In 1861 he traveled with
his wife and four children
from New Castle, PA by canal boat to Youngstown
after
being awarded the brickwork contract for the original
Rayen
School. P. Ross Berry stood six and one half feet
tall and was well known for
his skill and honesty. He was
held in such high regard that he had white men
working
under him.
He was a leader among the growing community of African
Americans who
moved to Youngstown after the Civil War.
Newly arrived residents were
employed by P. Ross or Lemuel
Stewart. Berry went
on to other major building projects.
He laid the brickwork for the original Rayen School, the
Homer Hamilton
& Company, the parish of St. Columba
Church, Youngstown City Jail,
William Hitchcock Mansion,
First Presbyterian Church, Gov. David Tod's
Mansion,
Baptist Temple, Youngstown's Grand Opera House and Tod
House Hotel.
In 1865, he returned to New Castle to build the Disciple
Church. Lemuel
Stewart, a brick mason and his wife Mary
Richards moved to Youngstown from
New Castle, Pa during
the civil war. The Stewart and Ross family became
friends
and became connected by marriage, setting up a dynasty
that lasted
generations.
In the next generations of the families were doctors,
dentists,
attorneys, musicians and leaders. The
Stewart-Berry family reunions were
very notable community
events.
In 1907, P. Ross and Mary Berry's daughter-in-law, Lenora
Berry founded
St. Augustine's Church of which present
Berry-Stewart family members belong.
December 1908,
Mary Long Berry died. Her obituary in the Youngstown
Vindicator described her as a well-known and highly
regarded
resident.
She was buried in the family plot in Oak Hill Cemetery.
P. Ross Berry laid
brick until the age of 82. His sons,
Charles, Don, Wilson and Plympton
carried on the family
business and specialized in brick mantels. He had eight
children and he lived to see his youngest three graduate
from The Rayen
School. He died on May 12, 1917 and is
buried in the
family plot in Oak Hill Cemetery.