On 06 August 1792, in Half Moon Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania, John Way was born to Caleb (1761–1834) and Jane Way (1769–1827).

Sometime before 1820—in the Friends Meetinghouse, in the hamlet of Half Moon, in Half Moon Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania—he married Mary Moore (28 February 1801–01 March 1875), who was the daughter of Jeremiah Moore (1755–1834) and Phebe Jones Moore (1757–1845). The couple then moved onto a nearby farm.

On night, in early November 1859, John Way, who was a Quaker abolitionist that operated an Underground Railroad station, received some noteworthy visitors. They were three of abolitionist John Brown’s men—his son, Owen Brown, Barclay Coppock, and Charles Plummer Tidd, who had escaped capture after his failed raid on Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, and were fleeing north—came to his home and asked him for help. Once they informed him that his brother-in-law, Eli Wakefield, of Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, had sent them to him, he gave them room and board and allowed them to rest in his home.

All of Brown’s men managed to escape, and Owen Brown lived to document how they did so. In 1873, a writer, Ralph Keeler, interviewed him for an article that appeared in the March 1874 issue of a popular magazine, the Atlantic Monthly. On-line transcripts of his article, “Owen Brown’s escape from Harper’s Ferry,” are available, so, to find out more about his encounter, do a search for it and then go to one of the websites that have one. However, it contains a few noteworthy mistakes. First, when Owen recounted his story, fifteen years after it occurred, he referred to Eli Wakefield as Benjamin Wakefield, which was his son’s name. Second, he referred to John Way (whose name he could not then recall) as Eli Wakefield’s cousin, rather than his brother-in-law.

On 06 August 1871 John Way died, in Half Moon Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania.

He had twelve siblings, most of whom spent their lives in Half Moon Township:

1) Robert Way (1789–1861) married (1st) Hannah Moore (1803–1838) and (2nd) Martha Cleaver (1818-1889);

2) Hannah Way (1790–1838) married William McNaul (1794–1875);

3) Sarah Way (1794–1852) married David Allen (birth and death dates unknown);

4) William Way (1795–1875) married (1st) Hannah Irwin (1803–1830) and (2nd) Hannah Fisher (1812–1892);

5) Elizabeth Way (17 September 1797–16 April 1856) married Eli Wakefield (15 April 1795–12 February 1862), and then relocated to Brady Township, in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania;

6) Jesse Way (1799–unknown) married Harriet A. Lamborn (1830–unknown);

7) Lydia Way (1802–1864) married Jacob Pennington (1804–after 1848);

8) Caleb Way, Jr., (1805–1874) married (1st) Lydia Allen (1807–1832) and then Elizabeth Cleaver (1812–1887);

9) Mary Jane Way (1805–1871) married Allen Moore (1803–1846);

10) Job Way (1807–1882) married Jane Worthington Barlow (1809–1891);

11) Ann Way (1811–1836) married William Cleaver (1811–1867); and

12) Matilda Way (1813–1858) married John Underwood (1818–1883).


Sources:

—Ancestry summary for Caleb Way: www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/caleb-way_490438

—Ancestry summary for Mary Moore Way: www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/mary-moore_455220

—Ancestry summary for Eli Wakefield: www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/eli-wakefield_29354882

—Linn, John Blair. History of Centre and Clinton Counties, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: Louis H. Evarts, 1883, page 313.

— Keeler, Ralph. “Owen Brown’s escape from Harper’s Ferry. The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 33, March 1874. Boston: H. O. Houghton and Company, pages 342–365.