Marcus
W. Saxman (M.W.) was the son of Mathias Saxman, pictured here on the left. The
elder Saxman, owner of numerous coal and coke companies, was one of the leading
coal operators of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Westmoreland County. He owned,
controlled, or developed the Saxman Coal and Coke Company, Derry Coal and Coke
Company, and the Superior Coal and Coke Company. In 1905 all of these companies
were merged into the Latrobe-Connellsville Coal and Coke Company. M.W. Saxman, who was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, in 1867, followed his father Mathias into the coal mining business. In the early years of the 20th century not only was he involved in his father's extensive mining operations, but he was also manager and treasurer of the Kent Coal Company, treasurer of the Unity Coal Company, and treasurer of the Greenwich Coal and Coke Company. In addition to his mining interests, he was also president of the Citizens National Bank, Latrobe, and the director of the Latrobe Trust Company.
In 1905, M.W. Saxman purchased approximately 4000 acres from H.B. McIntire known as the "Jacksonville Field." These various parcels of land which varied from 6 acres up to 220 were located in Young Township. A number of company towns, including McIntyre, would be developed on these lands. The land title of this sale indicates that Saxman sold the Jacksonville Field to the Kent Coal Company. The Kent Coal Company then sold the land to the Jefferson and Clearfield Coal and Iron Company. It is unclear whether or not M.W.Saxman was treasurer of the Kent Coal Company before or after the large sale of land that he transferred to the Company. Both the Kent Coal Company and the Jefferson and Clearfield Coal and Iron Company were subsidiaries of the Rochester and Pittsburgh Coal Company.