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ISO 


Zovcneri 


HISTORY 


OF 


WESTMORELAND 
COUNTY 


PENNSYLVANIA 


GENEALOGICAL  MEMOIRS 

COMPILED  UNDER  THE  EDITORIAL  SUPERVISION  OF 

JOHN  W.  JORDAN,   LL.D.. 

OF  THE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 


ILLUSTRATED 


VOL.    II, 


NEW    YORK  CHICAGO 

THE  LEWIS  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
190(i 


^.' 


[the  NEW  YORK 

PUBLIC  LIBRARY  I 

ASTOR,  LENOX  MO 
TILDEN   FOUNOATIOKa. 
1906  ^ 


PREFACE 


As  a  proper  acconipaiiimciit  to  jucli  a  narrative  history  as  is  contained 
in  the  first  vohmie  of  tliis  work,  is  the  department  of  Genealogical  and  Per- 
sonal History,  prepared  under  the  editorial  supervision  of  John  W.  Jordan, 
LL.  D.,  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania.  Its  purpose  has  been  to 
present  many  of  the  most  important  family  records  of  Westmoreland  county. 
History,  proper,  of  necessity,  is  a  narrative  of  what  has  been  accomplished 
by  people  in  the  mass,  and  can  take  little  note  of  individuals.  Here  begins 
the  mission  of  the  genealogist  and  investigator  of  the  personal  lives  of  those 
who  have  borne  the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day,  in  tracing  whence  and  from 
whom  they  came,  in  portraying  their  deeds  and  the  spirit  with  which  they  were 
actuated,  and  holding  up  their  effort  as  an  example  to  those  who  come  after- 
ward. The  storv  of  such  achievements  is  a  sacred  trust  committed  to  the 
people  of  the  present,  upon  whom  devolves  the  perpetuation  of  the  record. 
The  custodian  of  records  concerning  the  useful  men  of  preceding  generations, 
and  of  their  descendants  who  have  lived  lives  of  honor  and  usefulness,  Vv-ho 
places  his  knowledge  in  preservable  and  accessible  form,  performs  a  public 
service  in  rendering  honor  to  whom  honor  is  due,  inculcating  the  most  valua- 
ble lessons  of  patriotism  and  good  citizenship.  This  fact  finds  recognition  in 
the  warm  welcome  given  in  recent  years  to  Genealogical  and  Family  His- 
tories. Such  are  in  constant  and  general  demand,  and  are  sought  for  m  the 
great  libraries,  by  book,  magazine  and  newspaper  writers  and  lecturers,  from 
foreign  lands,  as  well  as  from  all  portions  of  our  own  country.  Such  a  work 
as  this  now  in  hand  will  possess  an  especial  value  for  those  who,  out  of  a 
laudable  pride,  seek  to  trace  their  descent  from  those  who  battled  for  the 
making  of  the  United  States,  and  who  may  thus  establish  their  eligibility  to 
membership  in  various  patriotic  orders. 

With  reference  to  the  genealogical  and  biographical  matter  contained 
in  these  pages,  it  is  to  be  said  that  in  its  preparation  the  publishers  have 
observed  the  utmost  care.  With  such  a  mass  of  material,  as  a  matter  of  neces- 
sity, the  work  must  needs  be  committed  to  various  writers.  If,  in  some  cases, 
the  sketch  should  be  incomplete  or  faulty,  the  shortcoming  is  ascribable  to  the 
paucity  of  data  furnished,  many  families  being  without  exact  records  in  their 
family  line.  In  all  cases  the  sketches  have  been  submitted  to  the  subject  or 
to  his  representative,  for  correction  and  revision. 

It  is  believed  that  the  present  work  will  prove  a  real  addition  to  the  mass 
of  literature  concerning  the  people  of  the  historic  region  under  consideration, 
and  that,  without  it,  much  valuable  information  therein  contnined  would  be 
irretrievably  lost,  owing  to  the  passing  away  of  many  custodians  of  faiuily 
records  and  the  disappearance  of  such  matter. 

THE    PUBLISHERS. 


INDE> 


PAGE 

Abl)aticchio,    Archangelo    272 

AcUerman.  Henry  S 72 

Adair.   William  F 503 

Albert.  David   E   2yy 

Albright.  Smith  M 150 

Alcorn  Family    539 

Alcorn,  George  A   540 

.Alcorn,  George  E 540 

Alcorn.  Roliert  N   54° 

Allwine.   Samuel    447 

Alter.   Frank   R 4S9 

Amann.  Peter   254 

Ambrose.  Jacob  T 469 

Anient.  William  S .I24 

Anderson.    Alonzo   L 523 

Anderson,  George  C 269 

Anderson.  John   E    494 

Anderson.   John   R 636 

Andrews.  David  G 332 

.\rmbrust,  John  L 420 

Armitage.  John   L 429 

Armitage,  William    564 

Armstrong.  Robert  A 526 

.\rter.    Daniel    A .^o 

Aspey.  L.   S 469 

Atkinson,    David    S 76 

Bailey.  George  W •. 619 

Bair.  David   5/6  ' 

Bair.  Edward  H S9 

Bamforth.  Henry  613 

Barkell.  W.  J 201 

Barkley.   Emanuel    519 

Barkley,    Harvey    F t78 

Barkley.    John    W .307 

Barnes.    Edward    256 

Barnhart.   Lowry  A 616 

Barr,   John    S 5^7 

Bashiom,    Alexander    610 

Baughman,  Jeremiah    524 

Baiighman,  Wilson   365 

Baxter.  Elmer  J. . .' 184 

Baxter.    Harry   H 497 

Beacom.  James  S 130 

Beale.   John    C 492 

Beamer  Family    402 

Beamer,    Henry    G 555 

Beamer,  Michael 403 

Beamer.    William    J 403 

Beancr.  George  W 592 

Bearer.   Harry  J 242 

Bcatty,    Albert    M 192 

Beatty,  John  F 526 

Bcatty.  John.  Jr • .504 

Becker,    John    G ; 639 

Behm.    Henrv    479 

Bell,    Albert    H 29 


P.\GE 

Bell,  Samuel   535 

Beltz,  Joseph  |Si 

Bender    Fainily    486 

Bender,    Joseph    487 

Bender.   Samuel    487 

Bemiett.    John   W 644 

Best.    Robert    C 589 

Birchfield,  Samuel   E 287 

Black,    F.    A 585 

Black,  John  R 149 

Blair,    Charles   L 596 

Blair.    William    B 586 

Blank,    John    A 645 

Blank,  John  J 496 

Blower.   Daniel   R 499 

Boale.  John  .A 430 

Bolton,    Charles    H 273 

Boltz.   Jacob   A 338 

Borland. .  Harry  C 550 

Borlin,  James    394 

Borlin.    James    B 394 

Boucher,    Charles    W 178 

Boucher    Family    7 

Boucher,    John    N 10 

Bovard,   John    R 324 

Bovard.  Robert  0 595 

Bowman.    Adam    K 89 

Bowman.   William   C 528 

Boyd,    James    K 236 

Bradley.    John    622 

Brant,  Cyrus  C 31S 

Brant.  John   A 4.^6 

Breniser    Family    j'i 

Breniser.   Harry   R 79 

Brinker,   Frank  D 579 

Brinton.   George   M 531 

Brown,   W.    H I97 

Bruner.  R.  Dennis  W 427 

Brunot  Family   I35 

Brunot,   John   B 136 

Bryce,    .A.    H 125 

Bryce    Brothers    Company 125 

Brvce,  J.  M 125 

Bullers.   Joseph    182 

Bumbaugh.    W.    S 233 

Bumer,   Frank    253 

Burk,  George    54^ 

Burns,    Daniel     391 

Bussard.   W.   H 193 

Butler,  Daniel  T   480 

Buttermore.  Sinith  214 

Byerly,  Charles  W 87 

Byers,  Noah    1 77 

Ca  dwell.  John  D 438 

Ci  ipbell,  John  G 560 

Ca-Miahan,    Charles    B 541 


VI 


IXDEX. 


PAGE 

Cams,  William  M 177 

Carpenter,   James  M 217 

Carroll,  James   105 

Carroll,  James  C 607 

Carson,  Albert  J 635 

Caven,   A.   H 196 

Chichester,   Frederick   W 36 

Clifford,    Abram    B 246 

Clifford,  Edward   246 

Clifford,    Edward    M 246 

Clifford   Fainily    245 

Clifford,  Josepii   246 

Cochran,    Robert    H 564 

Cochrane,  James    578 

Coldsmith,    Charles    F I43 

Cole,   Price   J 389 

Connor.  Charles  593 

Connor,    Peter    M 595 

Cooper,    Kenneth    640 

Cort,    Nevin    A 174 

Corwin,   JMyron    310 

Coshey,    Harry    D 106 

Cowan,    Walter   H 297 

Cox,  George  W 199 

Craig,  Andrew   545 

Craig  Family  408 

Crawford,  George  W 517 

Crawford,    John    W 329 

Creighton,    John    H 266 

Cribbs,    James    C 404 

Crise,  Blair  F 343 

Crowell,    Charles    C 440 

Crumley,    Robert    367 

Curtis,  Francis  M 182 

Daily    Independent    234 

Dalbey.    Erank   R 588 

Darr.  Adam  T 223 

Davies.   R.   W 307 

Davis,    Henry    E 527 

Davis,    John    D 517 

Davis,    Philip    H 291 

Davis,  William  N 100 

Dawson,   Garrett  W 536 

DeHaven,   Dennis  E 352 

Denman,    David    M no 

Denman,    Everet    N no 

Dewalt,  Jacob   347 

Dice,  Samuel   S 322 

Diirstein,  Edward  L 350 

Dillinger,   Samuel    117 

Diskin,    Thomas    J t57 

Dom,   William   T.,   Jr g2 

Donaldson,   William 55 

Dorn,  George   n 

Dorn,  Louis   T 12 

Dougherty,    Joseph    T 55S 

Douglass,    James    E 259 

Duff,  Leonard  J 109 

Dugan,    Wilmer   G 197 

Dullinger,  Frank  S '51 

Dunn.   James  T 42 

Ehalt,    Charles    F 54 

Eicher,    Alexander    77 


PAGE 

Eicher,   John   F 171 

Eicher,  Lewis  R 172 

Eiseman,    Cameron   H 475 

E.iseman,    William    H 565 

Elkin,  William  218 

Ellis,    Robert    195 

Erickson,    William    D 570 

Euwer,   A.   N 187 

Euwer   Family    185 

Euwer,  R.    A 186 

Euwer,    William    F 210 

Feather,    Walter    H 627 

Felgar,  George   B.   McC 612 

Ferguson,  William    167 

Findley,  Andrew  B 354 

Findley,    Lloyd    S 13 

Fleming,    Alexander    215 

Flemm,    Charles    M 492 

Flyte,   Guy   B 467 

Fogg,    Charles    H 49 

Foight   Family    85 

Foight,  John  G ii? 

France,    Claud    D 603 

Francis,    Evan  J 557 

Frank    Family    305 

Frank,   John   H 306 

Franklin,  Herbert  E 639 

Frantz,  William    235 

Freeble.   James   L 253 

Freeman,    John    175 

Fretts,    Abraham    0 640 

Frost,   James    319 

Fry,  Charles  S '. 280 

Frye,    Edward    M -. 227 

Fullertou,    Byram    M 509 

Fullerton,    Nathan    N 50S 

Funk,  Cyrus  M 98 

Funk    Family    45.H 

Funk,    William   G 454 

Gaither,  Paul  H 31 

Gallagher,  James  FI 10 

Gallagher,   Thomas   F n 

Gardner,  James    538 

Garwood,    Emor   M 105 

Gay,   Freeman   C 75 

Geyer,   Andrew   J 153 

Geyer,    John    C 353 

Gilbert    Family    471 

Gilbert,   Levi   T 200 

Gilland,   James   E 65 

Gilligan,  John   295 

Girt,   Silas  M .59S 

Glassburn,    Samuel    G 552 

Glinz,    August    . 39i 

<joehring.    Christian     232 

Goehring,    Frederick    232 

Gongaware,   Lewis   W.  ^ 524 

Good,  Frank   60 

Good,    George    W 59 

Goodenow,    Purley    M 560 

■    Goodlin,    John    F 81 

Gosser,    Adam    54<> 

Graham,    Israel    M 3^2 


IXDEX. 


vu 


PAGE 

Graham,   R.   F 44i 

Greenawalt,  Jacob  \V 239 

Grecnawalt,   Rebecca    239 

Greer,    Clarence    W 242 

Gregg,   Curtis   H 128 

Gribbin,  James   152 

Griffith,   David    34° 

Griffith,  George  R 357 

Groft,   William   A 547 

Guffey,  John  C 530 

Guy,  Henry  U 116 

Guy,    John    115 

Haines,    Tobias    616 

Halliman,    Michael    E 229 

Hamilton,    Samuel    \V 442 

Hamor,    George    D 179 

Hargnett,  John  121 

Hargrave,    Frank    B 271 

Harkins,    James    335 

Harkness,    George    \V 434 

Harman,  John  A 45° 

Harrold    Family    581 

Harrold,    Henrv    C 606 

Harrold,    Samuel    L 582 

Harshey,    John    F 425 

Harvey.    David    F 309 

Hawk.  George  W 623 

Hawthorne,  Andrew  248 

Hayden,  John   R 57 

Havmaker.  John  C 59© 

Head  Family  375 

Head.  John  B 376 

Head.  Joseph  C 377 

Head.   William    S 37^ 

Heasley.    John    G 554 

Heckmann.   Oswald    465 

Heffelfinger.  Parker   F 622 

Heimbergcr,  William    537 

Henrv,    Francis    E 449 

Henry,   Harry   T 637 

Henry,   James    C 123 

Henry,  "Paul    633 

Hensel.    .Albert    C 274 

Hensel,    William    A 109 

Herbert,   Robert  W 435 

Herrick,    Herman    483 

Herrmann.   Philipp    277 

Hershev,    W'Hlliam    579 

Hill,  Charles  M 618 

Hine    Family    539 

Hine.    Jacob    M 539 

Hine,    Thomas    D 539 

Hissem.    Reuben    K 351 

Hitchman,  James   S 187 

Mitchman,    William    J 263 

Hodgson,  Robert  537 

Hoffman,   Charles  M 604 

Hoffman,    Charles    W 298 

Holtzer,    Charles    L 205 

Hoofring,  Erick  L 519 

Hopkinson,    James   W 292 

Hornc,   George   R 599 

Horner,  Myers  W 144 


P.\GE 

Horton,  Joseph  C 390 

Houseman,    Frank    400 

Houseman,    Marietta    20 

Houser,  John  J 137 

Howard.  John  L.  . . 206 

(Howard,    William    J 455 

Howell,    George    W 118 

Hoyman,    Michael    D 501 

Hudson,   David  P lor 

Hudson.    William    621 

Hudson,  William  M 41 

Huey,    George    W 417 

Huff,    George    F i 

Huff.  Lloyd  B 67 

Huffman.    E.    P 55r 

Hugg,    Jules    563 

Hughes,   John   W 238 

Hugus.   George   R 621 

Hunger,   George   A 412 

Hunter,   John    A 560 

Hunter.    William    D 249 

Huntley,    Thomas    A 574 

Hurst    Family    161 

Hurst.    Harry    R 163 

Hurst,    William    P   163 

Huston,    John    W 35S 

Hutchinson.    Amos    K 55 

Hutchison.  Alexander  F 615 

Hutton,  David  S 2S1 

Jamison    Family    37 

Jamison,   Robert   S 37 

Jaquette,   Charles  H 202 

Jarrett,    Henry   D ,^45 

Johnson,   George    H 443 

Johnston,    Samuel    D 494 

Johnston,  \V.  W 47 

Jones.   Daniel  W 284 

Jones,   Edwin   .  . .  : 251 

Jones,    Sanniel    230 

,Jones,    Samuel    S ." 238 

Jones,  William  B.,   Sr 275 

Jordan,  Henry  J 145 

Jordan.    Johnston    B 389 

,Kahl,    John     S^ 

Kalp.    J.    Lloyd    T40 

Kaufman,  Albert  S 190 

Ktaggy.   Henry  L 104 

Keating.   James    563 

Keck.    Frederick   L 174 

Keck.  Johann  M 4C3 

Keck,  Leonard  63 

Keefe,  Thomas   574 

Keenan.  Edward  W' 262 

Keller,   Eugene  -A. 3,39 

Keller,  Joseph  P 125 

Kellv.  Michael 475 

Kellv.   Michael  J 476 

Keltz,   William    B 616 

Kenly.   Edward    B 69 

Kennedy.  James   L 68 

Keimedy.   John    W =85 

Kenn.sl,   Jonas    M '. 207 


vm 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Kenney,    Theodore    C 169 

Kepple,    Michael    587 

Kern,  Daniel  M 357- 

Kilgore,  John   P 415 

King,   John   H 55 

Kissell,  Edwin  R 139 

Kline,   Amos    B 52 

Kline.  John  J 456 

Klingensmith,   Joseph   F no 

Koffltr,  Valentine 398 

Koontz,   Lloyd    148 

KreU,    Philip    ' 50 

Krick,   Henry  J 390 

Kromer,   Nicholas    197 

Knhn   Family    418 

Kuhns,   John    B 410 

Kuhns.    Ralph   B 221 

Kunkle,  Cyrus  F 411 

Kunkle,  Daniel   42 

Kunkle,   Elmer  A 649 

Kunkle,    John   E 648 

Kunkle.   J.    L 435 

Kyle,   Edmund  M ; 318 

Laird.   Francis  V 462 

Laird.  James  M 457 

Laird.    Thomas    491 

Lamhing.   M.   A 218 

Landymore.  James  W 6.38 

Lange,  Henry   296 

Larimer,    John    R 510 

Latimore,    William   J 267 

Latta.    John    18 

Lauffer,    Edward    C 507 

Lauffcr.    Jerry    549 

Laughlin.    William   J 386 

Lehman.    Samuel    B 482 

Leighty.  Mrs.  J.  H 175 

Lemmon,   Dayton  0 332 

Lcmmon.  James  Q 285 

Leslie,  Alexander 183 

Lcvenstein,    B.    E ■ 611 

Lewellyn,    Fred    ]\I 206 

Lightcap,   John    S > 304 

Lindquist.   Oscar    543 

Lock,  John   W 600 

Logan,  James  L 605 

Long,    Cyrus    T 107 

Long,  J.  K 99 

Loop.    Samuel    C 551 

Loucks.    Aaron     445 

Loucks,  Ahraham   S 445 

Loucks,    E.    Ralph 446 

Loucks  Family 443 

Loucks,    Martin    S 444 

Loughrev,   James   E 36  - 

Love,    Joseph    P 137 

Love,   Rohert  S 405 

Lowe,    Lester    L 194 

Lowry,  Charles  A 321 

Lowry,  Samuel  O.  W 16 

Lyle.   David    M 126 

Lyrch,    Harry     .  .  . .' 573 


P.\GE 

Lyon,  Robert  A.  F 12 

Lytle,  M.  A 32r 

Macbeth,  Clarence   W 216 

Mabon,  James  1 448 

Maier,    Louis    290 

Maloy,    Patrick    J 155 

Marklc,   Cyrus    629 

Marsh,    Daniel    T 401 

Ma,rtin,    Tliomas    C 628 

Martz    Family    97 

Martz,  George  W 98 

Mason,    Clark    S C13 

Mathias,  J.  Michael  634 

Mayers,   William    K 647 

McAllister,    Frank    J 399 

McCaleb,  John  D 127 

McCann,   Peter   F 179 

McCarty,  David  H 181 

McCarty,    William    506 

McConaughy,   Francis    338 

McConnell,    Alexander    D 13 

McConnell,  Harriet  S 455 

McConnell,   John   N 79 

McCreary,  John    139 

McCullogh,   Welty    131 

McCune,  James 502 

McCurdy,  Joseph  A ■. 6 

McDonald,   Charles   R 556 

McFarland,    John    .361 

McFadyen,  John  W 64t 

McGeary,  Martin   N ' 6(5 

M'clntire,  Samuel  P 477 

Mclntyre,  John  H (,9 

McKcan,   Hugh   C 642 ' 

McKean,   Robert   J 325 

McKelvey,   Samuel   M 176 

McMahon,    Cassius    C 515 

McMa,ster,   Joseph    W , 296 

McMuIlen,    Joseph    H 452 

McMurray,   Humphrey  L 359 

McNaughton,    William    143 

McNutt.    Albert    M 523 

McNutt,    David    O ....283 

McNutt,    Robert    W 513 

McQuilkin,    Robert   R 624 

Mellon.  Thomas  '.  . .  .  407 

Menoher.   John  F ^2^ 

Menoher.  Watson  A \ 32S 

Miller   Brothers    192 

Miller,  Clifford  E 192 

Miller,  Elwood 326 

Miller,   Irwin   C IQ2 

Mitinger,  John  F 60 

Mitinger,   Joseph    E 62 

Mitinger.   William    L 6r 

Momeyer,    Charles    E 554 

Moody,  John  W I55 

Moore,  John  W lOO 

Mcore,    Morrison    R 294 

Moorhead,  James   S 48 

Morgan.    William    T 631 

IMorrison.    Harry    T 532 


IXDEX. 


XI 


PAGE 

Welty,    William    T lot 

Wcngert,    Albert    G 511 

Wenrich,    Henry    E 5H2 

Waitling-Jack    Family    4^8 

Weiitling,    John    F +29 

Workman,    Edward    586 

Wherry.  Charles  O , 449 

\\'lutehead.  Peter  533 

Whitesell  Family   416 

Whitesell.    Harry   W 417 

Whitesell,  James   540 

^\"hitefell.  J.  F 417 

Willets,  Ambrose 493 

Williams.   Albert   K 618 

Williams.   Daniel   M 620 

Williams.  Edward  V 529 

Williams.   Francis   M 548 

Wills.    Charles    T 464 

Willson,  Alexander 643 

Wilson,    Harry    C 416 


P.\GE 

Wilson.    John    A 544 

Wineman,    Gnstavus    A .  .  . 84 

Winenian.  Jacob  E 208 

Winsheimer.    Lawrence    165 

Winsheimer.  Thompson   R 166 

Wirsing.   James  J 22 

Witt.    Daniel    501 

Wolf.  Thnnias  F 633 

Woods.   Alfred  R 189 

Wright.   G.   F 228 

Yonng,   .'Mmon    R 293 

Young,    Andrew    P .■ .  597 

Young,    William   F 324 

Zahniser,    Frank   R 67 

Zillmer,    Frank    W 395 

Zimmerman.    Henry    R 498 

Zuck.    Jacob    R 331 


i*ool. 

Pool.    J. 


I 


I 

k 


HISTORY.OF  WESTMORELAND  COL'iMY 

HON.  GEORGE  ERAXKLIN  HUFF,  the  present  member  of  Con- 
stress  from  the  twentv-first  district  of  Pennsylvania,  whose  home  is  in  Greens- 
burg,  is  the  son  of  George  Huff  HI,  and  was  born  July  i6th,  1842,  at  Norris- 
tcwn,  Pennsylvania.  The  history  of  the  Huff  (originally  von  Hoof)  family, 
is  closelv  identified  with  that  of  Fjerks  county  as  to  its  settlement  in  America. 
Tlieir  ancestry  is  traced  in  the  following  from  the  European  List  of  Heraldry 
and  Genealogy  in  the  \'ienna  Library,  as  translated  by  Gottleib  Hausser,  of 
Altoona,  Pennsylvania. 

"origin   of   the   GEXE.\L0GY   of   the   von    hoof    FAMILY, 

its  first  historical  notoriety,  and  further  circulation  from  authentic  sources." 

The  generation  of  von  Hoof  is  originally  traced  to  have  resided  in 
Bavaria,  where  it  did  in  olden  times  belong  to  the  Knighthood,  free  from  duties 
to  the  Empire.  It  had  its  permanent  estates  near  the  City  of  Passau.  It  is 
noted  in  the  \'ienna  tables  of  genealogy  as  a  generation  which  was  famous 
amono-st  the  Bavarian  Knighthood  and  nobility  and  the  first  ancestor  was 
Baldwin  von  Hoof,  who  dwelled  in  his  own  castle,  so  called  from  the  ancient 
Knights,  and  he  lived  in  the  castle  and  estate  Hoof,  situate  near  Passau.  The 
emblem  in  his  shield  consisted  of  a  cross-log,  signifying  that  his  ancestors  were 
princes.  At  his  helmet  he  wore  an  emblem  resembling  a  flower  pot,  a  lily 
reaching  out  from  it,  which  denoted  that  he  was  of  French  extraction.  This 
is  the  origin  of  the  heraldic  emblem  of  this  generation,  and  the  emblem  yet 
existing  can  be  traced  to  these  tokens  on  shield  and  helmet.  The  maiden  name 
of  Baldwin's  wife  was  Isabelle  von  Stolberg.  Baldwin  came  to  his  death  in  the 
first  crusade  in  the  month  of  July,  A.  D.,  1099,  whilst  taking  part  in  the  storm- 
ing of  Jerusalem.  He  only  left  one  son,  whose  name  was  Waldemar,  who  also 
took  part  in  the  crusade,  but  escaped  with  his  life  and  safely  arrived  in  Ger,- 
many.  After  fighting  for  several  years  as  a  brave  Knight  in  the  Orient,  he 
united  himself  in  the  bonds  of  matrimony  with  Julia  von  Helmhorst.  and  the 
Duke  of  Piavaria  appointed  him  governor  of  the  City  of  Aua:sburg.  \\'aldemar 
died  A.  D.  1154,  and  left  their  sons,  Julius,  Ernst  and  Wolfgang  von  Hoof. 
Julius  took  possession  of  the  family  castle,  but  his  generation  died  out  and 
ceased  to  exist  already  in  the  fourteenth  century.  Wolfgang  preferred  the 
divine  profession,  and  died  as  Bishop  of  Ortia  in  Italy. 

Ernst  was  a  warrior,  and  served  for  a  long  time  in  the  army  of  the  Ger- 
man Emperor.  Fredericus  Barbarossa.  who,  in  consideration  of  his  services, 
endowed  him  with  an  estate  in  the  \'al!ev  of  the  Rems,  Lower  Suavia,  and  who 
also  renewed  the  old  title  of  nobility  and  emblematical  heraldry,  confirmed  bv 
letter  and  approved,  as  can  be  seen  in  the  record  of  Heraldry  in  the  City  of 
Vienna,  and  this  document,  which  has  been  issued  in  Mayence  in  the  vear 

1 172,  is  renewing  the  above  title  of  privileges.     Ernst   flourished   in   Lower 
2—1 


HJSTORy   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


Suavia,  and  his  posterity  is  found  up  to  the  year  A.  D.  1348,  hut  in  that  vear 
they  fell  victims  of  an  epideniic  disease  which  had  come  from  Asia,  and  was 
like  a  pestilence,  commonly  called  the  'black  death,'  and  only  one,  Rudoljih  von 
Hocf,  remained  alive,  but  the  original  estate  was  already  in  other  hands,  and 
Count  Ebcrhard  der  Greiner,  of  Wurtemberg,  employed  him  ar  woodrangcr. 
He  was  stationed  at  Aichelbcrg,  and  his  wife's  maiden  name  was  JVlechtdde 
von  Stadion.  He  died  in  Schorndorf  at  a  very  old  age  in  1394,  and  left  four 
sons,  but  only  one  of  them,  Elias  vcii  Hoof,  marriccl,  a  Christine  Junginger. 
He  purchased  an  estate  in  the  vicinity  of  Schorndorf,  and  lived  there  with  his 
wife  a  very  peaceable  life.  He  did  not  regard  his  old  title  of  nobility,  and  his 
descendants  followed  the  culture  of  grapes  and  husbandry. 

In  the  Peasant's  War  all  the  sons  of  Hoof's  lost  their  lives  in  the 
battle  at  Roeblingen,  except  Elam,  who  was  subseciuently  magistrate  at  Pleidel- 
sheim.  He  was  married  to  Anna  JMaria  Gessler  of  .Besigheim,  and  died,  well 
advanced  in  years,  A.  D.  1567.  His  two  sons'  names  were  Johann  Anton  and 
Jacob  Friedrich  vcii  Hoof.  Johann  Anton's  descendants  removed  to.  Graub- 
uendten  during  the  thirty  years'  War,  and  from  that  time  no  account  could  be 
had  of  them. 

Jacob  Frederick  settled  down  in  rjcsigbeim  as  merchant  and  inn- 
keeper, and  married  Elizabeth  Dietcrich.  He  died  in  the  year  1602.  His  son 
Justus  von  Hoof  served  in  the  Spanish  .\rmy  for  a  long  time  and  also  took 
an  active  part  in  the  campaigns  in  the  Netherlands,  Italy  and  Germany,  and 
finally  settled  d<  wn  in  the  City  of  Lauffen,  on  the  Neckar.  where  he  married 
(jertrude  Loeffler.  He  died  in  the  year  1652,  and  left  three  sons,  whose  names 
were  Conrad,  Wilhclm  and  George  von  Hoof.  The  descendants  of  these  sons 
have  sjjread  over  Wm'tembcrg  and  liaden  and  one  of  them,  Wilhelm,  owing 
to  a  great  famine  which  wSs  prevailing  in  Wurtemberg  in  1771,  moved  away 
and  emigrated,  no  doubt  to  America,  but  no  certain  accounts  of  the  further 
fate  of  the  family  could  be  obtained. 

I.  John  Frederick  von  Hoof,  son  of  Paul  von  Hoof,  was  born  in  Berling, 
Germany,  July  8,  1734,  and  when  a  young  man  emigrated  to  America.  On 
October  25,  1757,  he  was  married  to  Susanna,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Mary 
Elizabeth 'Keim.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation  and  a  Lutheran  in  religion. 
Not  regarding  the  family  title  he  droped  the  von  and  since  1840  the 
name  in  America  has  been  .spelled  "Huff."  John  Frederick  Hoof  died  April 
26,  t8i6,  and  was  buried  in  the  old  graveyard  on  Ranch's  farm  on  the  road 
leading  from  Seisholtzville  to  Huff's  Church,  the  latter  being  in  Herfcrd  town- 
ship. Berks  county.  His  wife,  Susanna,  died  May  12,  1809,  aged  69  years, 
and  was  buried  in  the  same  place.  By  their  marriage  the  following  children 
were  born :  Frederick,  George,  Henry,  Susanna,  with  other  sons  and  daughters. 
Susanna  was  married  to  Abraham  Mensch,  of  Herford  township. 

II.  George  Huff,  son  of  John  Frederick,  and  the  grandfather  of  the  Hon- 
orable George  F.  Huff,  of  Greensburg,  was  born  August  i,  1779,  at  Hufif's 
Church.  Fie  was  a  farmer  and  a  hotel  keeper  and  of  the  Lutheran  religious 
faith  as  had  been  his  father.  He  was  married  to  Anna  IMull,  by  whom  the 
following  named  children  were  born :  Lydia,  married  James  Bartram  ;  Hettie, 
married  Charles  ^IcNuIty :  Maria,  married  David  Sassman ;  and  George 
George  Huff  II.  was  liberal  in  his  donations  to  the  Church,  and  gave  the  prem- 
ises upon  which  was  built  Huff's  Church  and  also  the  land  used  for  burial  pur- 
poses.    He  died  February  24th,  1845. 

III.  George  Huff,  IV,  son  of  George  Huff  III,  was  born  at  Huff's 
Church  in  1813.     He  was  married  to  Caroline  Boyer  and  they  were  the  par- 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUXTV. 


•ents  of  George  Franklin  Huff.  He  was  a  merchant  and  first  lived  at  Huff's 
Church,  and  in  1840  moved  to  Norristown,  and  from  there  to  Middletown,  in 
Dauphin  County,  and  live  years  later  removed  to  Altoona,  Pennsylvania.  He 
died  in  1858. 

The  maternal  genealogy  of  Hon.  George  F.  Huff  is  as  follows : 

I.  ^lichael  George  Kuhns  (Kunzen-Koons)  left  Germany  and  arrived 
in  Philadelphia  on  September  27,  1727,  and  purchased  a  tract  of  land  adjoining 
that  owned  by  Ludwig  Eiiglehart  in  ^Montgomery  county.  On  April  ist,  1732, 
he  was  married  to  Eva  Englehart.  The  last  will  of  Ludwig  Englehart  sets 
forth  among  other  things,  the  following:  "Also  the  seven  children  of  my 
sister,  Eva.  wife  of  George  M.  Kuhns,  namely,  Frederick;  Mary,  wife  of  John 
Stelles ;  r^Iargaret,  wife  of  Johannes  Reimer ;  Susanna,  wife  of  John  Ludwig 
Reimer ;  Catharine  Kuntz,  wife  of  ^Michael  Kreps ;  and  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Jacob 
Seaber  (Zeiber)."  George  j\L  Kuhns  died  in  Montgomery  county  August 
loth,  1759,  and  Eva,  his  wife,  died  at  the  same  place  June  27,  1772. 

H.  Catharine  Kuhns,  daughter  of  George  M.  and  Eva  Kuhns  (I)  was 
born  February  9,  1750,  at  "The  Old  Tavern,"  in  jMontgcmery  count}-.  She 
was  married  to  ^Michael  Kreps  and  they  were  the  parents  of  eight  children. 
IMichael  Kreps  was  born  Janu^iry  23,  1744,  and  died  April  20,  1791.  After 
his  death  his  widow  married  James  Reichard  ( Richard )  and  died  Januarv  6, 
1814.  and  was  buried  at  Swamp  Church  in  Montgomery  county.  The  chil- 
dren born  to  them  were :  Catharine,  Henry,  Eliza,  John,  Jacob,  .Sarah.  Hannah 
and  Philip. 

HL  Sarah  Kreps,  daughter  of  IMichael  and  Catharine  Kuhns-Kreps  (II) 
was  born  February  28.  1784,  at  New  Hanover  Square,  Mcntgomery  countv, 
in  a  house  that  was  erected  in  1754  and  is  still  standing.  On  March  3,  1800, 
she  was  married  to  Henry  Boyer,  by  whom  she  bore  the  following  children : 
Michael  Boyer,  born  July  10,  1801,  and  died  December  21,  1886;  Catharine, 
born  January  23,  1803,  married  to  John  Rhoads  and  died  in  September,  1883  ; 
Elizabeth,  born  September  29,  1804,  married  first  to  John  Gressmer,  on  whose 
death  she  was  married  to  J.  Weidner.  She  died  November  23,  1850.  Sarah, 
born  February  3,  1807,  married  Jacob  Allebach,  and  died  October  13. -1859; 
Henry,  born  June  11.  1809,  married  Nettie  Shilling,  and  died  November  17, 
1858:  Jacob,  born  December  21,  181 1,  and  married  Lucy  Ludwig,  and  died 
]\Iarch  17.  1858:  Hannah,  born  December  5,  1813,  married  Dr.  Charles  F.  Sel- 
lers, and  died  March  20,  1882:  Maria,  born  June  13,  1816,  married  Marshall 
B.  Campbell,  died  October  12,  1862;  Caroline,  born  September  5.  1817.  married 
■George  Huff.  HI.  and  died  February  3.  1876:  Phihp,  born  October  27.  1820: 
Angelinc,  born  February  12,  1822,  married  Rev.  Frederick  W.  Dechant,  and 
died  February  4,  1890. 

IV.  Caroline  Boyer,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Sarah  Kreps-Boyer,  born 
September  5,  1817,  was  married  to  George  Huff  and  became  the  mother  of 
Hon.  George  F.  Huff.  At  the  date  of  her  marriage  her  father  was  Steward 
of  the  County  House  of  Berks  county,  at  Shillington  Post  Office.  Politically 
he  was  a  Democrat.  His  father.  Jacob  Boyer,  was  born  in  17^4  and  resided 
in  Perkiomenville,  ilonteomery  county.  He  had  eleven  children,  including 
Henry.     Jacob  Boyer  died  February   11.  1796. 

Henry  Boyer,  born  October  19.  1778,  was  married  to  Sarah  Kreps.  March 
13,  1800.  and  died  March  18,  i8s7.  He  was  buried  in  Boyertown  cemetery. 
Fie  was  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature,  renresenting  Berks  coimtv 
in  the  years  1823,  1824.  1825.  1826,  and  agn.in  in  183 r.  He  was  the  early 
founder  of  Boyertown,  laid  out  lots  there  in  1835,  and  was  instrumental  in 
Tnaving  it  incorporated  in  185 r. 


HISTORY   OF   IVESTMOREL.-IXD   COUNTY. 


Michael  K.  Boyer,  brother  of  Caroline  Boycr-Huff,  was  born  in  iSoi  and 
was  also  a  member  of  the  Legislature  frcni  Berks  county  in  1836.  lie  was 
Prothonotary  of  the  same  county  in  1848,  and  was  again  in  the  Legislature 
from  Jetiferson  county  in  1855.  He  held  a  positicni  in  the  Land  Department 
in  Washington,  D.  C,  and  died  December  21,  1886. 

IV.  George  Franklin  Huff,  son  of  George  and  Caroline  Boyer-Huff,  is 
widely  known  as  one  of  the  most  enterprising  and  public  spirited  men  in  West- 
moreland county,  and  is  closely  identified  with  nearly  all  of  its  many  industrial 
and  financial  enterprises.  When  four  years  of  age  he  accompanied  his  parents 
to  Middletown,  where  he  attended  the  ]niblic  schools  until  1851,  when  his 
parents  moved  to  Altoona.  There  he  attended  the  public  schools  initil  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  when  he  entered  the  car  shops  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Company  at  Altoona  and  learned  the  car  finisher's  trade.  So  faithful  and  true 
to  every  duty  was  he  that  three  years  later  he  was,  without  solicitation  on  his 
part,  highly  recommended  by  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  to  a  bank- 
ing jiouse  in  Altoona,  that  of  William  M.  Lloyd  and  Comjxuiy.  He  accepted  the 
position  and  in  1865  his  employer  sent  him  to  h^bensburg  to  establish  a  bank 
there.  He  succeeded  remarkably  well  and  a  year  later  was  re-called  to 
Altoona. 

In  1867  he  removed  to  Greenslnirg,  where  he  established  the  banking 
house  of  Lloyd,  Huff  and  Company,  known  as  the  Greensburg  Deposit  Bank, 
and  having  branches  at  Latrobe,  Irwin,  Mount  Pleasant  and  Ligonier.  Tlie 
panic  of  1873  caused  these  several  institutions  to  go  out  of  business,  but  liieir 
pro])erty  ])aid  their  full  indebtedness  with  interest. 

In  1 87 1  ;\lr.  Hufif  established  the  Farmers'  National  Bank  of  Greensburg 
with  a  capital  stock  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  He  was  its  first  presi- 
dent and  remained  as  such  until  1874,  when  he  became  the  active  manager  of 
the  house  as  its  cashier  under  General  Richard  Coulter  as  president.  By  Act 
of  Congress  the  bank  was  reorganized  as  the  Fifth  National  Bank  of  Pittsburg, 
Mr.  Huff  being  elected  its  vice-president,  which  position  he  held  imtil  1876, 
when  he  resigned.  In  1874  he,  with  others,  organized  the  Greensburg  Banking 
Company,  wliich  soon  became  a  leader  in  the  rural  banking  business  of  West- 
ern Pennsylvania.  He  was  cashier  of  this  bank  until  1887,  during  which  time 
through  his  untiring  efforts  and  business  sagacity,  a  very  large  volume  of  busi- 
ness was  secured. 

In  1881  the  First  National  Bank  of  Greensburg  was  chartered,  and  Mr. 
Huff"  became  one  of  its  most  potent  directors,  which  position  he  still  retains. 
Since  then  the  First  National  Bank  has  absorbed  the  Greensburg  Banking 
Company,  and  has  now  a  larger  deposit  and  surplus  than  any  other  institution 
in  the  county. 

Mr.  HufT  also  became  largely  interested  in  the  coal  and  coke  industry  of 
Westmoreland  county.  He  was  the  prime  mover  in  organizing  the  Greens- 
burg Coal  Company,  the  Alexandria  Coal  Company,  Mountain  Coal  Company, 
the  Argsde  Coal  Company,  the  L^nited  Coal  and  Coke  Company,  the  Mutual 
]\Iining  and  Alanufacturing  Company,  the  Manor  Gas  Coal  Company,  the  Madi- 
son Coal  Company,  the  Salem  Coal  Company,  the  Latrobe  Coal  Company,  Car- 
bon Coal  Company,  and  several  others.  Most  of  these  companies  were  since  con- 
solidated in  the  Keystone  Coal  and  Coke  Company,  of  which  Mr.  Huff  is  presi- 
dent. It  and  the  companies  with  which  he  is  connected,  employ  about  7,500 
men  and  produce  now  in  the  neighborhood  of  six  millions  of  tons  of  coal  per 
year,  or  twenty  thousand  tons  per  day.  He  was  also  one  of  the  organizers  of 
the  Southwest  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company,  the  main  line  of  which  passes 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  5 

through  tlie  Connellsville  coking  coal  region,  he  being  its  treasurer  until  the 
offices  were  removed  to  Philadelphia.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Greensburg  Electric  Street  Railway  Company,  the  Greensburg  Fuel  (artificial 
and  natural  gas)  Ccmpany,  and  the  Greensburg  Steel  Company.  He  was 
formerly  president  of  the  Greensburg  Electric  Light  and  the  Westmoreland 
Water  Companies. 

The  development  of  the  Jeannette  natural  gas  region  also  felt  his  potency 
as  well  as  the  general  upbuilding  of  that  sprightly  town.  He  donated  seven 
acres  of  valuable  land  for  manufacturing  purposes  at  Burrell,  a  station  near 
Greensburg.  The  thriving  towns  cf  Youngwood,  Southwest  Greensburg,  and 
other  outlying  sections  of  Greensburg  were  laid  out  largely  by  his  efforts,  and 
he  has  always  been  financially  interested  in  the  Kelly  &  Jones  Company  and  its 
various  improvements. 

He  is  also  a  director  of  the  American  Surety  and  Trust  Company  of  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  the  President  of  the  Westmoreland  Hospital  Association,  and  is 
further  interested  in  coal  companies  outside  of  the  Keystone  Coal  and  Coke 
Company  in  nearly  every  section  of  the  bituminous  region  in  Pennsylvania. 

Adjoining  Greensburg  he  has  a  large  landed  estate  containing  about  500 
acres,  upon  which  the  family  residence  is  built.  It  consists  of  highly  cultivated 
farm  land  and  original  forest,  all  of  which  is  beautified  by  a  system  of  landscape 
gardening  and  parks ;  and  through  the  entire  farm  there  are  winding  driveways 
of  over  four  miles  in  length,  which  are  kept  up  by  Mr.  Huff  and  are  at  all 
times  thrown  open  for  the  pubHc  to  enjoy. 

Air.  Huff  is  a  progressive  Republican.  His  political  career  began  in 
1880  when,  as  a  member  of  the  Chicago  Republican  Convention,  he  was  one  of 
the  306  who  supported  General  U.  S.  Grant  for  a  third  term  as  President.  In 
1884  he  was  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  State  Senator  in  the  Thirty-ninth  Sen- 
atorial District,  composed  of  the  County  of  Westmoreland.  He  was  elected  by 
a  majority  of  seven  hundred,  althciigh  the  county  had  for  long  years  been  re- 
gfarded  as  the  Danocratic  stronghold  of  the  West.  Since  then  the  county  has 
been  generally  Republican. 

In  1888  Mr.  Huff  was  nominated  for  Congress  by  the  Republicans  of 
Westmoreland  county,  but  another  was  selected  under  the  conferee  system. 
In  1890  he  was  chosen  as  Congressional  candidate  by  the  Republicans  in  the 
district  and  elected  by  a  large  majority,  representing  the  counties  of  Westmore- 
land. Indiana,  Armstrong  and  Jefferson.  He  served  in  Congress  until  1893, 
and  in  1894  was  elected  Congressman-at-Large  from  Pennsylvania.  In  1902, 
1904  and  1906  he  was  returned  to  Congress,  and  now  represents  the  counties  of 
\Vestmoreland  and  Butler.  During  his  service  in  the  National  House  of 
Representatives,  Air.  Huff  has  proved  his  ability  to  well  represent  the  large 
and  varied  interests  of  his  constituents,  and  no  member  of  Congress  from  the 
Commonwealth  stands  higher  than  he.  He  is  now  prominently  mentioned  as 
a  candidate  for  the  Governorship  in  1906. 

On  March  16,  1871,  Air.  Huff  was  united  in  marriage  with  Henrietta 
Burrell,  a  daughter  of  the  late  Jeremiah  AI.  Burrell.  twice  President  Judge  of 
the  Tenth  Judicial  District  of  Pennsylvania,  and  later  United  States  District 
Judge  for  the  Territory  of  Kansas.  ludge  Burrell  died  at  Greensburg,  Octo- 
iaer  21.  1856.  (See  sketch  of  Judge  TUirrell  in  that  part  of  the  first  volume  of 
this  series  relative  to  the  Westmoreland  Bench). 

Air.  and  Airs.  Huff  are  the  parents  of  eight  children,  four  of  whom  are 
living,  namely,  Lloyd  Burrell,  Julian  Burrell,  Carolyn  Burrell  and  Burrell 
Richardson. 


6  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

JOSEPH  ALEXANDER  McCURDY,  a  leading  member  of  the 
Westmoreland  county  bar,  residing  at  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  comes  of 
Scotch,  Scotch-Irish  and  English  ancestry.  He  was  born  in  Derry  township, 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  Friday,  December  ii,  1857,  the  second 
son  of  Alexander  J.  and  Sarah  (Pounds)  McCurdy. 

In  an  open  boat,  during  the  days  of  religious  persecution  in  Scotland, 
were  five  brothers  escaping  by  a  dangerous  voyage  from  Galloway  to  the  coast 
of  Down,  Ireland.  These  true  hearted  men  were  named  McCurdy,  and  from 
one  of  them  Joseph  A.  McCurdy  is  descended.  The  Mayflower,  which  crossed 
the  Atlantic  in  1620.  contained  one  of  his  paternal  ancestors  and  two  of  his 
maternal  ancestors.  His  grandmother,  Mary  Doty,  descended  from  Edward 
Doty,  who  was  one  of  the_  forty-one  men  who  signed  his  name  to  the  first  con- 
stitution of  government  ever  subscribed  by  a  whole  people  in  the  history  of 
the  world.  Mr.  McCurdy's  mother,  Sarah  Pounds,  descended  from  Thomas 
Pounds,  who  in  1635  came  from  London  to  New  England,  and  his  wife  was  one 
of  the  children  who  came  in  the  Mayflower.  William  Drummond,  who  came- 
from  Scotland  to  New  Jersey,  had  among  his  grandchildren  Mary  Drummond,. 
the  maternal  grandmother  of  Mr.  McCurdy.  The  maternal  great-grandmother 
was  Sarah  Collier,  descendant  of  William  Collier,  a  London  merchant,  who 
came  to  America  in  1633  and  was  assistant  governor  of  Plymouth  colony  for 
thirtv  vears.  The  great-great-grandmothers  on  the  paternal  side  were  Hannah 
Cannon,  wife  of  Stephen  A.  Pounds,  and  Ella  Cannon,  wife  of  William  Drum- 
mond. Three  of  his  great-grandfathers,  Alexander  McCurdy,  Joseph  Pounds- 
and  Nathaniel  Doty,  were  in  the  War  for  Independence,  and  two  of  his  great- 
great-grandfathers.  Stephen  A.  Pounds  and  William  Drummond,  were  killed 
in  that  struggle.  For  more  than  a  century,  Mr.  McCurdy's  ancestors  have  re- 
sided in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania. 

Alexander  jNIcCurdv,  the  great-grandfather,  w-as  born  in  Leister,  Ireland, 
1744;  came  to  America  in  1756,  settling  on  the  banks  of  "Crooked  Creek,"  in 
Westmoreland  county,  (now  included  within  Indiana  county).  Subsequently 
he  lived  near  the  Salt  Works,  on  the  Conemaugh  river.  He  died  near  Liver- 
more,  aged  ninety-four  years.  He  was  a  Revolutionary  soldier  in  Captain 
Matthew  Scott's  Company,  Thirteenth  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  and  was 
wounded  in  both  arms  in  Yorktown  and  became  a  pensioner.  For  a  short  time 
he  accompanied  his  son  Samuel  in  the  War  of  1812,  and  was  employed  in 
training  soldiers  in  military  exercises.  He  possessed  considerable  wealth,  was 
a  noted  musician,  a  strict  seceder  and  well  known  for  his  knowledge  of  the 
scriptures.  He  was  married  about  1785  to  Jane  Heridenon,  by  whom  were 
born:       U'illiam,  Alexander  H.,  Andrew,  Samuel,  Keziah,- Ann  and  Jane. 

Alexander  Henderson  McCurdy,  the  grandfather  of  J.  A.  McCurdy,  was 
born  at  Crooked  Creek,  1794.  He  was  a  farmer  and  carpenter.  He  was  a 
pump  manufacturer  for  many  years.  He  owned  the  "Piper  Farm."  near 
Latrobe,  where  he  resided  many  years  previous  to  his  death  in  185 1.  About 
1820  he  married  Mary  Doty,  by  whom  was  born :  Samuel  Henderson,  Nath- 
aniel; Alexander  Jackson,  Mary,  Phoebe  and  Jane.  The  mother  of  these 
children,  Mary  (Doty)  McCurdy,  was  born  in  1793  and  died  1887.  She  was  a 
lineal  descendant  of  Edward  Doty,  who  came  in  the  Mayflower.  Rev.  Francis- 
Doty  (son  of  Edward)  was  a  minister  in  the  first  settlement  of  Taunton,  ]\Ias- 
sachusetts.  For  utterances  contrarv  to  some  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers'  practices, 
he  was  driven  to  Long  Island  in  161  t.  The  Dutch  settlement  issued  a  patent 
to  him,  "for  a  Colonic,  Messpath  Kill,  twenty-eight  of  March.  1642."  Some 
of  his  descendants  settled  in  New  Jersey.     Three  of  these,  Nathaniel,  Jonathan 


HISTORY   OF   irESTMOREL.lXD   COUXTY 


and  Zebulon  Dotv,  sons  of  Xathaniel  Doty,  Sr..  (grcat-grcat-grandlathcr)  set- 
tled in  Derry  township,  Westmoreland  county,  about  1785. 

Nathaniel  Doty,  Jr.,  (great-grandfather),  born  1757,  died  in  1844:  he 
had  served  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  He  married  Jane  Cethoven,  and  one  of 
their  children,  jNIary,  was  married  to  Alexander  H.  AlcCurdy,  whose  third  son, 
Alexander  Jackson  ^IcCurdy,  father  of  J,  A,  McCurdy,  was  born  in  Derry 
township,  June  4,  1829.  He  was  a  farmer  and  was  for  some  time  in  the  employ 
of  the  Pennsylvania  canal  and  later  engaged  in  the  ccnstruction  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania railroad.  Politically  he  was  an  active  Republican,  He  died  September 
2,  1S84.  He  married  Rachel  Lightcaj),  who  died  in  1852,  leaving  a 
daughter,  INIary  Susan,  born  February  22.  1852,  who  was  married  to 
\\'illiam  Fishell,  and  died  in  August,  1880,  ]\lr.  !\lcCurdy  married  (second), 
in  1854,  Sarah  Pounds,  born  ^lay  12,  1S33,  eldest  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Mary  (Drumond)  Pounds,  By  the  union  of  Alexander  Jackson  McCurdy 
and  Sarah  Pcamds,  seven  children  were  born :  Rev.  Irwin  Pounds,  D,  D, ; 
Joseph  A.,  see  forward:  Hannah  Alay,  deceased;  John  Druiiiniond;  Ella  S, ; 
William  \\',  and  ^linnie  ]\Iay, 

Jose]jh  A.  McCurdv  was  reared  midst  the  rural  scenes  of  his  father's  home 
in  Derry  township,  and  attended  the  common  schools.  During  1869-70  he  re- 
ceived valuable  instructions  from  Rev.  W.  H.  McFarland.  After  attending 
the  State  Xormal  school  at  Edinbcro,  Pennsylvania,  one  term,  he  commenced 
teaching  when  but  sijcteen  years  of  age.  He  obtained  his  education  by  teaching 
winters  and  attending  school  summers.  He  graduated  from  the  State  Xormal 
school  at  Indiana,  Pennsylvania,  in  1878,  He  was  a  student  in  the  classical 
courses,  first  in  the  University  of  Wooster,  Ohio,  then  in  Lafayette  College, 
Easton.  Pennsylvania,  in  1879-80,  He  was  principal  of  the  schools  at  Mount 
Pleasant,  Pennsylvania,  in  1880-81,  and  became  one  of  the  owners  and  the 
editor  of  the  Mount  Pleasant  Dozen,  which  he  changed  to  the  Journal.  He 
improved  and  greatly  enlarged  the  circulation  of  that  paper,  but  after  two  years 
relinquished  the  editorial  chair  for  his  life-work  in  the  legal  profession.  Mr. 
McCurdy  became  a  law  student  in  the  office  of  Moorhead  &  Head_,  at  Greens- 
burg,  Pennsylvania,  Ajiril,  188,3.  ^\  hile  thus  studying  he  was  principal  of  the 
Greensburg  High  School  one  term.  He  was  admitted  to  the  Westmoreland 
county  bar  August  31,  1885,  and  soon  gained  a  lucrative  i)ractice.  He  has 
been  solicitor  for  his  county  and  attorney  in  many  important  law  cases.  He 
was  district  attorney  of  Westmoreland  ccainty  from  1892  to  1895,  bcin,g  the 
first  Republican  elected  to  that  office.  He  is  the  senior  member  of  the  law  firm 
of  McCurdy  and  Cunningham.  He  was  chairman  of  the  Republican  county 
committee  in  1886,  when  Hon.  Welty  McCullougli  was  elected  to  congress. 
In  his  church  connections  he  is  a  member  of  die  First  Presbvterian  church  of 
Greensburg.  He  has  been  a  director  of  the  Westmoreland  Hospital  Associa- 
tion of  Greensburg  since  its  organization.  Mr.  ^IcCurdy  was  married,  Sep- 
tember 10,  1885,  to  Jane  Brady  Armstrong,  daughter  of  Col,  James  and  Rachel 
(Welty)  Armstrong,  of  Greensburg.  She  died  February  28,  1888,  leaving  an 
infant,  Rachel  Welty,  who  survived  her  but  five  months.  Mr.  McCurdy  was 
married,  June  29,  1897,  to  Florence  Ludwick,  daughter  of  Humphrey  Fuller- 
ton  and  Josephine  Cort   (Zimmerman)   Ludwick,  of  Manor.   I'eniisvlvania, 

BOUCHER  FA:\IILY.  The  name  Boucher  is  purely  of  French 
origin,  although  the  first  ancestor  in  .America  spoke  the  German  language. 
This  was  likely  brought  about  by  the  family  being  among  the  Huguenots,  who 
were  banished  from  France  by  the  Revocation  of  the  E(lict  of  Xantes  in   idSs, 


8  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

Otherwise  he  could  scarcely  have  come  to  America  with  a  French  name  and  a 
German  tongue.  But  this  is  entirely  speculative  and  tlic  family  has  long  been 
recognized  as  distinctively  Pennsylvania  German.  It  was  a  numerous  one  in 
Westmoreland  ccamty  half  a  century  or  more  ago,  particularly  in  Ligonicr 
Vallcv.  but  they  who  bore  that  name  then  are  nearly  all  gone  now,  and  their 
descendants  are  scattered  throughout  the  western  states. 

I.  Daniel  Boucher,  the  founder  of  the  family  in  America,  came  from  the 
German  States  of  France,  most  likely  from  Loraine.  The  tradition  is  that  he 
crossed  the  Atlantic  ocean  in  a  ship  called  the  "President."  In  his  Bible, 
which  the  writer  has  seen,  he  wrote  that  he,  with  his  wife  and  children,  landed 
at  Philadel])hia  on  June  2Cth,  1755.  They  settled  in  Berks  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  what  is  now  known  as  Albany  township,  where  he  purchased  lands 
and  became  a  farmer.  The  location  is  twenty-two  miles  from  the  city  of 
Reading,  on  the  present  railroad  leading  from  Reading  to  Slatington.  He  was 
of  the  German  Reformed  faith  in  religion,  and  was  mainly  instrumental  in 
erecting  a  church  edifice  called  "Bethel,"  near  his  home.  It  has  been  rebiult 
three  times,  but  still  retains  the  name  given  it  by  its  pioneer  founder.  Little 
is  known  of  him  further  than  that  he  lost  heavily  in  the  Revolution,  that  lie 
died  in  the  early  years  of  last  century,  and  that  his  remains  were  buried  in 
the  churchvard  near  the  church  which  he  built.  He  had  sons  named  Peter, 
William,  Philip,  Jacob  and  Henry.  Peter  died  without  issue ;  William  settled 
in  Ross  county,  Ohio,  in  1801  ;  Philip  remained  with  his  father  and  fell  heir 
to  his  estate,  much  of  which  still  remains  in  the  name  of  his  descendants ;  and 
Jacob  settled  in  Schuvlkill  county. 

n.  Henry  Boucher,  youngest  son  of  Daniel  Boucher,  was  born  in  Berks 
countv.  March  10,  1759.  He  was  married  to  Mary  Shoemaker,  and  removed 
to  Hamburg,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  became  a  farmer  and  shoemaker.  In 
1801,  in  company  with  a  neighbor  named  Jacob  Will,  he  started  west  on  horse- 
back for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  lands  and  moving  on  them.  They  rode  as 
far  as  the  Miami  Valley  in  Ohio"  but  there  the  fever  and  ague  prevailed  to 
such  an  alarming  extent  that  tliey  returned,  ai^id  upon  reaching  Somerset 
coimtv,  Pennsvlvania,  purchased  lands,  to  which  they  moved  with  their  fam- 
ilies in  the  spring  of  1802.  The  land  bought  by  Henry  Boucher  is  about  three 
miles  from  Glade.  There  were  four  hundred  and  fifty  acres  in  the  tract,  and 
it  was  conveyed  to  him  by  John  Gross.  He  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days 
there  as  a  farmer  and  died  on  November  19,  1834.  His  \yife,  Mary  Shoe- 
maker, who  was  born  January  22,  1762,  survived  him  until  May  12,  1840. 
They  are  both  buried  in  the  cemetery  at  Glade,  and  the  dates  given  are  taken 
from  their  tombstones.  Their  children  were :  Jacob,  Henry,  Christian,  David, 
Solomon,  John,  Elizabeth,  Magdalene,  Mary,  Rebecca,  Catharine,  Sarah  and 
Hannah.  Christian  died  in  his  youth.  Henry,  Solomon  and  John  brought  up 
large  families  and  lived  and  died  in  Somerset  county.  Hannah  married  Jere- 
miah Strawn,  who  removed  to  Ottawa,  Blinois,  and  was  the  ancestor  of  that 
branch  of  the  Strawn  family. 

HI.  David  Boucher,  son  of  Henry  Boucher  (2).  was  born  in  Haiuburg, 
Pennsylvania,  November  12,  1789,  and  when  twelve  years  old  came  with  his 
parents  to  Somerset  county.  He  was  bred  a  farmer,  and  acquired  land  in 
Turkevfoot  township.  On  'May  19,  1814,  he  was  married  to  ]\Iary  Eve  Fried- 
line,  who  was  born  August  23,  'i794-  They  were  the  parents  of  a  large  family. 
There  were  two  daughters:  Elizabeth,  who  died  when  quite  young:  and  Susan, 
who  was  married  to  Abraham  Brant,  of  Ligonier  \'alley,  and  with  a  large  fam- 
ily survived  her  husband  manv  years.     Their  sons  were:  Daniel,  died  in  Ilh- 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUXTV 


iiois ;  Hiram,  to  whom  \vc  will  refer  hereafter ;  Josiah,  Isaac  and  David,  who 
died  in  California ;  Henry,  who  new  resides  in  Kansas ;  and  John  and  Simon, 
■who  died  in  that  state!  Hiram  alone  remained  in  Ligonier  \'alley,  all  the 
•others  except  Simon  having  gone  to  California  in  search  of  gold  soon  after  its 
•discovery. 

In  1833  David  Boucher  removed  from  Somerset  county  to  Ligonier,  pur- 
chased lands  near  that  place  from  William  Ross,  and  became  a  very  successful 
farmer.  His  wife,  Alary  Eve,  died  at  Ligonier  on  January  11,  1842.  David 
was  a  man  of  deep  convictions,  and  manifested  great  earnestness  in  any  cause 
which  enlisted  his  attention.  In  politics  he  was  a  Whig,  and  later  a  Repub- 
lican. He  was  most  noted,  however,  in  church  work,  being  a  Methodist  of  the 
old  style,  and  by  no  means  lax  in  supporting  his  church  and  in  upholding  its 
principles.  On  November  11,  1844,  he  was  married  to  !\Irs.  Sarah  Stahl,  to 
whom  the  following  children  were  born  :  Charles  Wesley ;  Lucius  Cha])man ; 
Emma,  married  John  ^^'ood ;  and  Anna,  married  Morgan  Beam  ;  they  and  their 
descendants  live  in  and  near  Pittsburg.  David  Boucher  died  April  12,  1868, 
and  his  second  wife  survived  him  until  !Marcli,  1887. 

I\".  Hiram,  son  of  David  Boucher  (3)  and  Alary  Eve,  was  born  in  .Som- 
erset county.  December  7,  1821,  and  came  to  Ligonier  \'alley  with  his  parents 
in  1833.  (Jn  January  26,  1843,  he  was  married  to  Abigail  Slater,  of  Lig- 
onier township,  by  Rev.  Stevens.  He  united  with  the  Alethodist  Episcopal 
church  of  Ligonier,  and  was  one  of  its  leading  members  thrciighout  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life.  He  was  especially  a  potent  factor  in  the  Sunday  school 
work  of  the  church,  and  taught  a  class  of  both  old  and  young  men  for  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Few  men  were  more  competent  for  this  work 
than  he.  Though,  like  many  others  in  the  first  half  of  the  last  century,  he  had 
received  but  a  limited  education  in  his  youth,  yet,  being  more  or  less  of  a  life- 
long reader,  he  became  well  versed  in  the  Bible,  and  was  familiar  with  many 
of  the  books  relating  to  it,  and  in  this  line  of  thought  he  had  few  equals  among 
the  laity  of  his  ccmmunity.  He  spent  his  entire  life  as  a  farmer  in  Ligonier 
\'alley.  and  died  of  bilious  fever  October  18,  1889.  Abigail  Slater,  his  wife, 
was  born  in  Donegal  township,  January  13,  1822,  daughter  of  Samuel  and 
Mary  Show  Slater.  The  first  ancestor  of  the  Slater  family  came  from  Eng- 
land and  became  a  resident  and  farmer  in  Donegal  township  during  the  Revo- 
lution cr  shortly  afterward.  He  had  three  sons  Martin,  Samuel  and  Isaac. 
Alartin  built  and  managed  Alount  Hope  Furnace,  situated  two  miles  southeast 
•of  Donegal.  Samuel  and  Isaac  were  farmers  in  that  township.  Isaac  was  mar- 
ried to  Abigail  Ulrey  shortly  after  the  Revolution.  In  volume  I  of  this  work 
will  be  foimd  the  story  of  the  escape  of  Abigail  Ulery  and  her  sister  from  the 
Indians  during  the  Revolutionary  war.  She  was  born  December  29,  1765, 
and  was  brought  up  on  the  Slater  farm  near  Lig-onier.  LTpon  her  marriage 
"vvith  Isaac  Slater  they  removed  to  Donegal  township,  where  thev  lived  the  re- 
mainder of  their  lives.  Isaac  Slater  died  in  1836,  and  his  wife  Abigail  sur- 
vived him  until  October  29,   1855,  when  she  died  in  her  ninety-second  year. 

The  sons  of  Isaac  Slater  and  Abigail  Celery  were  Joseph  a.nd  Samuel.  The 
latter  born  February  2.  1794.  He  was  their  third  child,  and  was  married  to 
Mary  Show,  who  was  born  in  Maryland,  March  14,  i860,  and  was  brought  up 
near  Connellsville,  Pennsylvania.  In  1824  Samuel  and  Mary  Slater  removed 
from  Donegal  township,  having  purchased  lands  two  miles  southwest  of  Lig- 
onier, from  the  Ulery  heirs,  one  of  whom  was  .Abigail,  Samuel  Slater's  mother. 
L'pon  this  land,  now  known  as  the  Slater  farm,  thev  resided  the  remainder  of 
their  days.     Mary  Show  Slater  died  on  June  27,  iS7r).  and  her  husband  Sam- 


]0  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY 


iicl  survived  her  until  January  30.  1882.  Both  are  buried  in  the  Brant  ceme- 
tery, near  their  old  home.  Their  children  were  Abigail,  Julia,  Christenia,  Isaac, 
Catharine,  Sarah  and  Mary.  It  was  Abigail,  the  oldest  of  the  family  who  was. 
married  to  Hiram  Boucher.  Though  past  four-score  years  and  four,  she  sdll 
survives  him,  and  resides  near  Ligonier. 

The  children  of  Hiram  Boucher  and  Abigail  Slater  were:  Elizabeth,  mar- 
ried to  Dr.  J.  T.  Ambrose,  of  Ligonier;  Mary  Eve,  married  to  William  C. 
Knox,  of  Ligonier  township,  died  April  15,  1892;  Amanda,  married  to  Hamil- 
ton Smith,  of  Ligonier,  (Mr.  Smith  died  August  7,  1897)  ;  Caroline,  married 
to  Rev.  O.  A.  Emerson,  of  the  Pittsburgh  Methodist  Episcopal  Conference ; 
Sarah,  married  to  Hugh  M.  Clififord,  of  Derry,  died  January  11,  1887;  Kate, 
married  to  Dr.  Edward  Al.  Clifford,  of  Greensburg;  David  WHbert,  died  in 
1863,  aged  two  years ;  and  John  Newton,  of  Greensburg. 

V.  John  Newton  Boucher  was  a  teacher  in  the  Westmoreland  schools,  and 
was  graduated  from  Mount  Union  College  at  Alliance,  Ohio,  in  1876.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Greensburg  bar,  and  the  author  of  the  Westmoreland  portion 
of  the  "Twentieth  Century  Bench  and  Bar  of  I'ennsylvania,"  published  by 
Cooper  Brothers,  of  Chicago,  1903,  and  of  the  historical  narratives  cciitained 
in  volume  I  of  this  work,  entitled  "A  History  of  Westmoreland  County." 

VL  The  sixth  generation  of  this  family  are  the  children  of  Dr.  J.  T. 
Ambrose  and  wife;  of  William  C.  Knox  and  wife,  Mary;  of  Rev.  O.  A.  Emer- 
son and  wife;  Lillian,  daughter  of  Hugh  M.  Clififord  and  wife  Sarah,  and  the 
daughter  of  Dr.  Edward  M.  Clifford  and  wife. 

VH.  The  seventh  generation  are  the  children  of  William  and  Alaigail 
Knox  Graham,  of  Ligonier  Valley ;  of  Dr.  A.  H.  Caven  and  Blanche  Emerson 
Caven  of  Youngwood,  Pennsylvania  ;  and  of  Charles  Emerson  and  Sallie  Luke 
Emerson  of  Creighton,  Pennsylvania. 

JAMES  HENRY  GALLAGHER,  the  present  recorder  of  deeds  for 
Westmoreland  county,  was  born  November  23,  1867,  at  New  Alexandria,  West- 
moreland county,  Pennsylvania.  He  is  the  son  of  General  Thomas  F.  Gal- 
lagher and  Elizabeth  Kier  McBride  Gallagher,  his  wife.  She  was  daughtei  of 
Henry  and  Elizabeth  McBride,  of  Loyalhanna  township,  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania. 

To  better  acquaint  the  reader  with  the  progenitors  of  Mr.  Gallagher  it 
may  be  said  that  the  first  to  come  to  America,  was  Thomas  Gallagher  (i), 
born  in  Donegal  county,  Ireland,  July  28,  1750.  He  died  February  21,  1844, 
near  Pleasant  Unity,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  aged  ninety-four 
years.  He  was  buried  in  the  LTnity  Presbyterian  graveyard.  He  married  Isa- 
belle  Mcllhaney,  daughter  of  James  Mcllhane}',  of  Ireland.  She  died  January 
14,  1817,  and  was  buried  in  the  same  church  yard  in  which  her  husband  was 
buried.  They  came  from  Ireland  in  1810,  landing  in  Baltimore,  May  10,  of 
that  year  and  after  visiting  the  Pattersons  and  other  relatives  of  that  section, 
they  came  over  the  mountains  in  "Mountain  Wagons"  to  Greensburg,  tirst 
settling  in  Washington  township,  but  later  in  Unity.  In  Ireland,  Mr.  Gal- 
lagher w-as  an  under-landlord  and  the  proprietor  of  an  inn.  He  was  captain 
of  volunteers  under  the  king  in  his  native  country.  The  children  of  this: 
American  ancestor — Thomas  Gallagher  and  wife,  were :  James,  Thomas,  died 
unmarried  at  Harrisburg,  Penns\lvania,  and  was  buried  in  the  Episcopal  cem- 
etery of  that  city,  where  a  suitable  monument  marks  his  resting  place.  Major 
George,  John.  Mary  Ann  and  Isabella,  who  died  on  board  ship,  aged  ten  years. 

II.     James  Gallagher,  son  of  Thomas   (i)   was  born  in  Irclraid,  October 


HISTORY   OF    JVESTMORELAXD   COUXTY.  ii 

14.  17S9,  died  March  3,  iSSi.  He  married,  February  6,  1821,  Elizabeth  Foster, 
the  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Catherine  Foster,  iice  Harrold.  She  was  born 
December  14,  1802,  and  died  I\farch  29,  1891.  Their  children  were:  i.  i\lajor 
General  Thomas  Foster  Gallagher,  born  January  17,  1822,  died  November  3, 
18S3;  2.  Major  George,  deceased;  3.  \\  illiam  F.,  deceased;  4.  Isabella,  de- 
ceased; 5.  Sarah  Ann,  deceased;  6.  .Mary  Jane,  wife  of  Dr.  Joseph  L.  Cook, 
of  Westmoreland  county ;  7.  ]\lartha,  deceased ;  8.  Elizabeth  F. ;  9.  James  S. ; 
10.  Robert  Taylor,  deceased. 

III.  Major-General  Thomas  F.  Gallagher,  oldest  son  of  James  Galla- 
gher (II)  was  a  lifelong-  merchant  at  New  Alexandria,  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania.  He  had  a  remarkable  career  in  military  and  business  life.  Prior 
to  the'  rebellion  he  was  a  prominent  figure  in  the  Pennsylvania  militia  move- 
ments, and  advanced  from  the  office  of  lieutenant  to  majcr-general,  having 
been  captain-brigadier  and  major-general,  and  after  the  rebellion  became  major- 
general  of  that  body  of  state  troops.  His  record  as  an  officer  during  the  great 
civil  conflict  from  1861  to  1865,  was  one  of  a  marked  success.  He  enlisted 
lulv  2,  1861,  and  was  made  the  colonel  of  the  Eleventh  Pennsylvania  "Re- 
serves" (fortieth  in  line).  During  his  service  he  attained  to  the  rank  of  brig- 
adier-general. He  was  commissioned  as  a  leader  against  the  famous  "IMorgan 
Raiders,"  participating  in  their  capture.  (An  extended  account  of  his  army 
record  will  appear  in  the  Civil  war  chapters,  volume  I  of  this  work).  The  chil- 
dren of  General  Gallagher  and  wife  were :  Elizabeth,  deceased ;  Anna  Maria, 
deceased;  Sarah  Agnes,  deceased;  Margaret  McBride,  wife  of  JefTery  W. 
Taylor.  Esq.,  of  Greensburg ;  Isabella,  wife  of  Dr.  James  R.  Jack,  of  New 
Alexandria;  and  James  H.  (Gallagher. 

I\'.  James  H.  Gallagher  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his 
native  town  and  graduated  from  Duffs  Business  College  of  Pittsburgh;  in 
1887.  Afterwards  he  was  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business  in  Greensburg,  and 
was  deputy  clerk  of  the  Orphans'  court  and  deputy  register  and  recorder  of 
Westmoreland  county.  Mr.  Gallagher  was  elected  in  the  autumn  of  1902,  and 
in  January.  1903.  sworn  into  office,  as  recorder  of  deeds.  His  nomination  was 
accorded  him  without  opposition,  and  he  was  elected  by  three  thciisand,  three 
hundred  and  forty  majority.  He  was  renominated  in  April,  1905,  by  the  Re- 
jniblican  party,  with  no  opposition,  for  another  term  of  three  years,  and  was 
elected  by  a  majority  of  abcait  six  thousand.  He  was  chosen  chairman  of  the 
Republican  county  committee  by  acclamation  in  1904,  and  did  splendid  work 
during  the  Roos'evplt-Fairbanks  presidential  campaign,  aiding  materially  in 
bringing  about  a  majority  of  nine  thousand  two  hundred  and  forty-eight  for 
the  ticket  in  his  county,  dcaible  that  of  any  former  election.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Presbyterian  church,  a  Knight  Templar,  and  also  belongs  to  various 
social  orders. 

GEORGE  Dr)RN,  deceased,  who  was  a  leading  business  man  of 
Greensburg,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  January  i,  1818, 
in  a  pleasant  little  valley  in  Northern  Germany,  near  the  river  Rhine,  in  the 
ancestral  home  of  the  Dorns.  under  the  great  confederation  of  states  that 
formed  an  interregnum  of  the  German  empire  from  1815  to  183;. 

He  was  carefully  trained  to  habits  of  industry,  honesty  and  economy,  and 
received  his  education  in  the  rural  schools  of  the  fatherland.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen  he  conceived  the  idea  of  emigrating  to  this  country,  in  quest  of  more 
profitable  employment  than  he  could  then  secure  in  Germany.  In  1836  he 
located  .in  Pennsylvania.  ?.nd  after  a  considerable  struggle  for  work  obtained 


12  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


employment  on  the  Pennsylvania  turnpike.  Although  young  in  years  his  ex- 
cellent deportment  and  display  of  good  judgment  in  the  care  of  teams  secured 
for  him  the  responsible  position  of  stable  manager  at  Turtle  creek,  where  he 
had  charge  of  all  the  horses  used  on  one  section  of  the  pike.  Atter  a  few- 
years  service  at  the  latter  place  he  removed  to  Greensburg,  where  he  assumed 
control  of  the  pike  stables,  continuing  until  the  building  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Central  Railroad,  which  monopolized  the  trade  and  travel  of  the  state,  and  the 
old  pike,  unable  to  enter  into  competition,  was  soon  abandoned  as  a  public 
highway,  becoming  a  local  thoroughfare.  In  consequence  of  this  great  change 
in  mode  of  travel,  Mr.  Dorn  engaged  in  a  new  line  of  business,  opening  a  large 
livery  stable  at  Greensburg.  As  a  liveryman  he  met  with  remarkable  success, 
and  with  his  usual  energy  soon  controlled  the  leading  livery  stable  in  western 
Pennsylvania,  not  including  Pittsburgh,  and  was  for  over  thirty  years  one 
C'i  the  most  widely  known  and  popular  liverymen  in  his  section  of  the  state. 
In  addition  to  this  line  of  work  he  was  interested  in  various  other  industrial 
enterprises  in  the  county.  George  Dorn  was  a  self-made  man,  worth  over 
■$100,000  at  the  time  of  his  decease,  all  of  which  he  acquired  by  honest  industry 
and  frugalilty.  His  business  obligations  were  always  promptly  met  and  his 
contracts  honorably  fulfilled.  He  was  popular  and  well  liked  both  as  a  citizen 
and  business  man  on  account  of  his  generous  nature  and  sterling  integrity. 
His  life  was  one  of  activity  and  event ;  he  enjoyed  none  of  the  educational  ad- 
vantages of  the  present  era,  nevertheless  he  was  a  man  of  varied  information, 
endowed  with  a  strong  mind,  the  hewer  of  his  own  fortune  and  honest  archi- 
tect of  his  own  fame.  In  1881  he  sold  the  lot  where  the  present  jail  building 
stands.  Politically  he  was  a  strong  Democrat,  and  ever  evinced  a  lively  inter- 
est in  all  pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  the  community.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Evangelical  Lutheran  church,  and  was  noted  for  his  charity  to  the  poor.  He 
was  an  excellent  linguist,  speaking  with  fluency  and  ease  the  German,  French 
and  English  languages. 

George  Dorn  married  Elizabeth  Alayberry,  of  Ligonier,  and  they  had 
children :  Julia,  married  John  Long,  a  son  of  Samuel  Long,  who  was  a  highly 
respected  citizen  of  Hempfield  township ;  George,  bookkeeper  for  Lewis 
Tranger  for  many  years,  died  1872 ;  John,  cne  of  the  owners  of  the  Greens- 
burg brewery ;  Jacob,  died  in  young  manhood ;  Harry  Markle,  died  August  17, 
1895  :  and  Louis  Tranger,  who  has  been  a  partner  in  the  Greensburg  Brew- 
ing Company  for  the  past  seventeen  years,  doing  a  very  successful  business. 
The  death  of  George  Dorn  occurred  July  2.  1885,  and  was  sincerely  mourned 
by  a  large  circle  of  friends.     Airs.  Dorn  passed  away  March  i,  1891. 

ROBERT  ANDERSON  FULTON  LYON.  The  Lyon  family,  of 
Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  was  founded  in  this  country  by  John  Lyon,  son  of 
William  Lyon,  who  with  his  family  emigrated  from  Enniskillen  county,  prov- 
ince of  Ulster,  Ireland,  to  the  province  of  Pennsylvania  in  the  year  1763,  set- 
tling in  Cumberland  county,  now  Milford  township,  Juniata  county,  about  two 
miles  west  of  Mifflintown.  The  warrant  for  the  land  of  two  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-three acres  which  was  granted,  is  dated  September  18,  1766.  The  prov- 
ince granted  in  1773.  John  Lyon  and  others  twenty  acres  of  land  for  use  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  of  Tuscarora,  where  the  remains  of  Mr.  Lyon  were  in- 
terred. He  died  in  1780.  He  married,  in  Ireland,  Alargaret  Armstrong,  sister 
of  Colonel  John  Armstrong,  a  prominent  and  patriotic  Pennsylvanian,  of  pro- 
vincial and  revolutionary  times.  She  was  a  woman  of  bright  intellect  and  fine 
conversational  powers.     She  died  about  1793,  and  her  remains  were  also  in- 


(Mx^(yi^tJttxf a^  nCtacnAmMj 


HISTORY   OF   JVESTMORELAXD   COUXTY.  13 

terred  at  Tuscarora.    Their  children,  all  of  whom  were  born  in  Ireland,  were: 
AN'illiam,  James,  John,  Mary,  Frances,  Margaret  and  Agnes. 

John  Lyon,  third  son  of  John  and  :\largaret  (Arnistrcng)  Lyon,  came  into- 
possession  of  one-half  of  the  old  homestead,  the  other  half  reverting  to  Sam- 
uel Lvon.  He  resided  on  the  old  farm  until  June  i,  1797,  when  he  conveyed 
the  same  to  Stephen  Douglass  and  removed  to  Butler  county,  Pennsylvania,, 
where  he  died  about  1820.  The  will  of  John  Lyon  was  dated  December  3,  1779. 
He  married  Alarv  Harris,  daughter  of  Captain  Thomas  Harris,  and  their  chil- 
dren were:  Thomas  Harris,  John,  James,  Margaret,  Hilary,  Catherine,  and 
Xancy. 

fohn  Lycn,  second  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Harris)  Lyon,  married  Ann 
Harper,  daughter  of  Daniel  and"  Catherine  (Gordon)  Harper.  Their  children 
were:  Gordon  ]\L,  Harris,  Alary,  Daniel  Harper,  John,  Joseph,  George,  Thomas 
Wilson,  and  Catherine. 

Gordon  M.  Lyon,  eldest  son  of  John  and  Ann  (Harper)  Lyon,  married 
(first)  yiary  ^ilarshall,  of  whom  one  daughter,  Elizabeth,  was  born:  she  mar- 
ried R.  P.  Douglass.  ;\Ir.  Lyon  married  (second)  Mary  Anna,  daughter  of 
Jacob  and  Alary  (Byerley)  Kifer.  Their  children  were:  Thomas  Franklin, 
Mary  Emma,  Margaret  Cecelia,  Robert  Andersen  Fulton,  and  Elmer  Ells- 
worth, who  married  Clara  E.  Whitaker. 

LLOYD  S.  FLNDLEY,  engaged  in  the  restaurant  business  in  Greens- 
burg,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  July  9,  1864,  at  West 
Overton,  the  son  of  George  and  Alatilda  (Nef¥)  Findley.  George  Findley  is 
by  trade  a  blacksmith,  and  conducted  a  shop  with  good  success  in  Mount 
Pleasant  for  a  number  of  years.  He  subsequently  removed  to  Kansas,  where 
he  has  resided  for  a  number  of  years.  His  wife  was  Matilda  NefT,  who  died  in- 
November,  1901.  Their  children  were:  Cassins  Markle,  died  in  the  west; 
Robert  Taylor,  Lloyd  S.,  Ada  M.,  died  November  26,  1898:  and  Charles  S. 

Llovd  S.  Findlev  was  formerly  a  conductor  in  the  employ  of  the  Pcnn- 
svlvania  railroad  for  several  years.  He  has  been  doing  a  very  successful  res- 
taurant business  in  Greensburg  for  the  past  ten  years.  Mr.  Findley  married, 
October  16.  1883,  Susan  Barbara  Kuhns,  daughter  of  Reuben  and  Sarah- 
Kuhns,  of  Greensburg.  Their  named  children  were :  Ada  Matilda,  born  Sep- 
tember 30,  1884:  Wilbur  Lloyd.  October  2,  1885:  Sarah,  October  19,  1887, 
died  October  3,  1889;  Florence  May,  July  5,  1889:  Josephine  Marie,  Alay  5,, 
1819:  Susan  Barbara,  April  20,  1893:  Agnes  Naomi,  October  14,  1905:  Roy 
Reuben,  September  16,  1897;  Robert  Taylor,  August  13,  1899:  Francis  Kuhns,. 
April  26,  1901  ;  Margaret  Elizabeth,  Alarch  22,  1903  ;  and  Gladys  Althea,  Feb- 
ruary 10,  1905. 

JUDGE  ALEXANDER  DANIEL  McCONNELL  was  born  in 
Loyalhanna  township,  Westmoreland  county  on  Alarch  10,  1850.  He  is  one  of 
the  two  judges  of  the  several  jury  courts  of  Westmoreland  county,  and  since 
September  i,  1873,  has  resided  at  Greensburg. 

( I )  The  founder  of  the  family  in  the  Cnited  States  was  Daniel  McCon- 
nell,  a  native  of  Dumfrieshire,  Scotland,  born  1710.  When  yet  a  young  man 
he  came  to  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  married  Peggy  Kirk- 
patrick,  a  young  woman  of  Scotch-Irish  ])arentagc.  To  them  were  born  four 
sons  and  several  daughters.  Tlie  sons  were  Sanuiel,  David,  Hugh  and  Daniel. 
The  first  three  of  these  sons  were  married  to  sisters,  daughters  of  Thomas 
Whiteside,  an  English  gentleman,  who  came   to  Lancaster  county,   Pennsyl- 


14  HISTORT   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

vania,  in  the  eighteenth  century,  and  who  there  married  Margaret  Porter.  To 
them  were  liorn  five  daughters  and  three  sons.  The  three  daughters  who  were 
intermarried  with  the  three  McConnell  brothers,  as  above  stated,  were  named 
Rebecca,  Martha  and  Violet.  Samuel,  the  oldest  of  the  three  McConnell 
brothers,  married  Viclet,  the  yongest  of  the  three  Whiteside  sisters,  while 
Hugh,  the  youngest  of  the  brothers  married  Rebecca,  the  oldest  of  the  sisters. 
David  ]\lcConncll  married  Martha  Whiteside,  who  in  order  of  birth  was  the 
third  of  the  five  daughters  of  Thomas  and  Margaret  (Porter)  Whiteside. 

In  respect  to  church  connection  the  McConnells  were  seceders  of  the  old 
type,  while  the  Whitesides  were  Presbyterians.  In  those  days  this  difference 
was  regarded  as  a  very  substantial  matter,  and  the  parents  of  the  respective 
■contracting  parties,  in  each  case,  objected  to  the  marriage  on  that  account,  but 
in  each  case  the  marriage  took  place  in  spite  of  such  objection. 

(II)  David  McConnell,  second  sen  of  Daniel  and  Peggy  (Kirkpatrick) 
McConnell  (I)  was  born  in  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  1764.  lie  mar- 
ried Martha  Whiteside,  in  1785,  and  lived  in  Lancaster  county  until  1800,  when 
he  came  to  Westmoreland  county.  They  had  a  family  of  twelve  children,  all 
of  whom  lived  to  maturity  and  reared  families,  exceut  one,  who  died  in  in- 
fancy. They  nearly  all  located  in  western  Pennsylvania,  where  their  descen- 
dants are  still  to  be  fcanid,  but  many  of  them  are  also  dispersed  throughout  al- 
most all  of  the  northern  and  western  states.  They  have  engaged  in  a  great 
variety  of  pursuits.  .Among  them  are  business  men,  farmers,  and  mechanics. 
The  various  professional  pursuits  have  attracted  many  of  them,  and  among 
them  are  to  be  found  scores  of  teachers  from  all  the  original  laranches  of  the 
family.  At  this  writing  (May,  1905)  there  are  now  living  of  David  McCon- 
nell's  lineal  descendants  four  ministers,  of  whom  Rev.  Samuel  D.  McConnell, 
D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  and  Rev.  David  McConnell  Steel,  both  of  New  York  city,  are 
two;  four  lawyers,  of  whom  two  are  judges,  and  five  physicians.  Of  the  fam- 
ilies of  the  four  sons  of  David  McConnell,  three  of  them  were,  for  many  years, 
represented  in  the  Eldership  of  Congruity  Presbyterian  church. 

(III)  The  eldest  son,  Daniel,  grandfather  of  Judge  Alexander  D.  Mc- 
Connell. was  born  in  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  April  19,  1794,  and  when 
but  six  years  of  age  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Westmoreland  coiunty,  where 
he  continued  to  reside  until  the  time  of  his  death.  He  married,  January  16, 
1817,  Hannah  McBride.  She  was  the  daughter  of  James  McBride,  son  of 
James  JMcBride,  Sr.,  who  had  settled  on  the  Loyalhanna  creek  in  what  is  now 
known  as  Loyalhanna  township,  long  prior  to  the  Revolutionary  war.  Both  of 
these  James  RIcBridcs  performed  military  duty  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  At 
the  date  of  taking  up  the  land  on  Loyalhanna  creek,  the  nearest  neighbor  of 
the  McBrides  was  ten  miles  distant  from  them.  Several  times  they  were  driven 
from  their  lands  by  the  Indians,  but  they  always  returned,  and  the  farm  has 
ever  since  been  held  in  the  McBride  family,  and  is  now  owned  by  another 
James  McBride,  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  original  James  McBride.  Daniel 
McConnell  was  a  farmer  and  resided  on  his  farm  in  Salem  township  until  his 
death,  March  8,  1865.  His  widow,  Hannah  (McBride)  McConnell,  died  at  the 
same  place.  April  14.  1884.  There  they  reared  a  family  of  ten  children — three 
sons  and  seven  daughters.  Of  these  David  Kirkpatrick  McConnell  (IV)  was 
the  eldest  son.  He  was  born  November  18,  1819.  He  also  was  a  farmer. 
David  Kirkpatrick  ^IcConnell  was,  on  October  31,  1844,  intermarried  with 
Harriet  Sloan,  third  daughter  of  John  Steel  Sloan  and  Jane  (Christy)  Sloan, 
of  Salem  township.  \Vestmoreland  county.  The  Sloan  and  Christy  families  were 
both  Scotch-Irish  pioneers  in  Westmoreland  county  and  of  the  Presbyterian 


HISTORY   OF   JFESTMORELAXD   COUXTY. 


15 


faith.  The  Christy  family  located  in  the  neighborhood  cf  Xew  Salem  prior 
to  the  revolutionary  war,  and  the  Sloans  near  the  same  place  a  few  years  later. 
It  therefore  appears  that  the  ancestors  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  as  thev  are 
represented  in  the  families  of  his  four  grandparents,  have  all  been  identified 
with  the  history  of  Westmoreland  ccimty  for  more  than  a  century.  David 
Kirkpatrick  JMcConnell  and  Harriet  (Sloan)  JMcConnell  had  nine  children, 
five  sons  and  four  daughters,  all  now  living  except  John  S.,  who  met  death  by 
an  accident.  David  Kirkpatrick  McConnell(  father  of  Judge  AlcConnell)  died 
on  December  5,  1900,  leaving  to  survive  him  his  widow  whc  still  lives  on  the 
old  homestead  in  Salem  township.     Their  children  are : 

1.  James  Graham  McConnell,  of  Colorado. 

2.  John  Sloan  ]\IcConnell  who  died  in  Colorado  several  years  ago,  but 
whose  family,  consisting  of  a  widow,  Hannah  (Richards)  !\IcConnell,  a  daugh- 
ter, wife  of  Rev.  Charles  Beatty  of  Pittsburgh,  and  a  son  Robert  K.  McConnell, 
who  is  a  member  of  the  Allegheny  county  bar — now  reside  in  Pittsburgh,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

3.  Alexamler  Daniel  McConnell   (\')   of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania. 

4.  Sarah  ]\lcConnell  Reynolds  of  Arkansas,  wife  of  Hon.  J.  E.  Reynolds. 

5.  r^Ielissa  INIcConnell  Fester,  wife  of  James  W.  Foster,  of  Salem  town- 
ship, Westmoreland  county. 

6.  Mary  AlcConnell  P.uchanan.  widow  of  D.  'S].  Puchanan,  of  Salem 
township,  Westmoreland  county. 

7.  Kathcrine  ^IcConnell  Sterling,  wife  of  James  'M.  Sterling,  of  Latrobe, 
Pennsylvania. 

8.  David  Ellsworth  McCcimell,  of  Salem  township,  and 

9.  Robert  Henry  AlcConnell,  of  Mctor.  Colorado. 

(\")  Judge  AlcConnell  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Loyalhanna 
and  Salem  townships.  New  Salem  Academy,  and  \\'ashington  and  Jefferson 
College.  For  several  years  he  was  the  assistant  of  H.  J\L  Jones,  superintendent 
of  public  schools  of  \\^estmoreland  county.  He  located  in  Greensburg,  in  Sep- 
tember, 1873,  as  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools,  and  soon  thereafter  was  elected 
principal  of  these  schools,  and  continued  to  serve  in  that  capacity  until  June  r, 
1876.  On  motion  of  Senator  Edgar  Cowan,  August,  1877,  admitted  to  prac- 
tice in  the  several  courts  of  Westmoreland  county,  and  has  continuously  since 
that  time  devoted  himself  exclusively  to  the  law.  He  was  prepared  for  ad- 
mission to  the  bar  in  the  office  of  the  late  Judge  James  A.  Hunter.  In  politics 
he  has  always  been  a  Republican.  He  was  chairman  of  the  Republican  county 
committee  in  1878.  In  the  following  year  he  was  nominated  as  a  candidate  for 
the  legislature,  but  at  that  time  the  county  was  overwhelmingly  Democratic,  and 
a  reduction  of  the  amount  of  the  Democratic  majority  was  the  full  measure  of 
his  success.  He  received  the  nomination  of  his  party  in  Westmoreland  county 
for  congress  in  1882,  but  the  rule  of  rotation  that  year  threw  the  nomination  in 
the  district  to  Fayette  county.  He  was  nominated  for  judge  of  the  court  of 
common  pleas  in  i88g.  The  Republican  party,  however,  met  defeat  that  year  as 
it  did  for  several  years  thereafter.  A  law  was  enacted  in  1895,  allotting  two 
judges  to  the  tenth  judicial  district,  and  Governor  Hastings,  on  practically  the- 
imanimous  endorsement  of  the  W'estmoreland  county  bar.  appointed  him,  on 
June  17,  1895,  to  the  new  position  thereby  created.  He  received  the  Republican 
nomination,  and  in  November  of  the  same  year  was  elected  for  a  full  term  of  ten 
years  bv  a  majority  of  about  three  thousand.  He  was,  on  April  15,  1905,  without 
opposition,  nominated  to  succeed  himself  by  the  Rei)ublican  party,  and  on  July 
3,  following,  he  was  endorsed  by  the  Democratic  countv  committee  and  his 


i6  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUXTY. 

name  directed  to  be  also  placed  on  tl:e  Democratic  ticl-Lct  as  the  candidate  of  that 
party.  During  his  term  of  office  many  miportant  questions  have  been  presented 
for  solution,  notably  among  these  was  a  recent  c|uestion  pertaining  to  the  law 
governing  the  approval  of  the  contract  for  the  erection  of  the  new  court  house, 
now  in  course  of  construction.  The  correctness  of  the  decision  rendered  bv  him 
in  that  matter,  was  stubbornly  contested  but  it  was  unanimously  approved  by 
both  the  superior  and  the  supreme  courts  of  the  state.  Westminster  College 
conferred  on  Judge  McConnell,  June  i8,  1902,  the  degree  of  LL.  D.,  an  honor 
which  has,  in  the  last  century,  only  been  conferred  on  four  other  members  of 
the  Westmoreland  county  bar,  viz. :  Justice  Coulter,  Hon.  Edgar  Cowan,  Hon. 
H.  P.  Laird  and  Hon.  James  A.  Logan.  Judge  McConnell  is  a  regular  at- 
tendant of  the  First  Presbyterian  church  of  Greensburg.  He  is  one  of  the 
trustees  of  the  Morrison  Underwood  fund  which  by  its  donor  was  devoted  to 
certain  educational  purposes.  He  is  also  a  director  of  the  Westmoreland  Hos- 
pital, located  at  Greensburg.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  society,  and  of 
the  Scotch-Irish  society  of  Philadelphia.  He  was  intermarried,  March  24, 
1876,  with  Ella  J.  Turney,  eldest  daughter  of  Adam  J.  and  Emma  (Eyster) 
Turney.  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania. 

Adam  J.  Turney  was  a  grandson  of  Rev.  John  William  Weber,  a  pioneer 
Reformed  minister,  who  established  numerous  churches  in  western  Pennsyl- 
vania, among  which  is  the  church  on  the  corner  of  Smithfield  street  and  Sixth 
avenue,  in  the  city  of  Pittsburgh. 

Emma  (Eyster)  Turney  is  the  daughter  of  Rev.  Michael  Eyster,  a  Lu- 
theran minister,  who  died,  while  yet  a  young  man,  in  Greensburg.  Judge  Mc- 
Connell and  wife  are  the  parents  of  five  children,  four  sons  and  one  daughter. 
Kirk,  the  eldest  son,  is  a  graduate  of  Washington  and  Jefferson  College,  and  is 
now  a  student  at  law.  Turney,  the  second  son,  is  a  clerk  in  the  bank  of  the 
Barclay  Trust  Company  of  Greensburg,  while  Alexander,  Emma  and  Robert 
are  yet  in  school.  They  were  all  born  in  Greensburg.  Judge  McConnell  be- 
lieves that  his  position  recjuires  him  to  administer  the  law  as  it  is,  rather  than 
as  he  might  desire  it  to  be,  and  that  it  forbids  the  use  of  it  as  a  personal  instru- 
ment wherewith  to  reward  friends  or  punish  enemies,  that  in  the  facts  of  every 
case  is  to  be  found  the  law  of  that  case,  and  that  no  amount  of  patient  labor 
expended  on  the  proper  ascertainment  of  the  facts,  or  of  research,  in  the  ac- 
curate ascertainment  of  the  law,  can  be  anv  greater  than  what  is  due  to  everv 
case  great  or  sluall.  He  believes  too  that  the  epigram  of  President  Roosevelt 
should  be  unflinchingly  applied  in  a  court  of  justice,  viz.:  that  "everv  man 
shall  have  a  square  deal,  no  less,  no  more."  That  faith  he  has  carried  into  act 
on  the  bench,  and  both  political  parties  by  renominating  him  have  given  ap- 
proval of  his  course. 

SAML'EL  O.  W.  LOWRY,  a  real  estate  dealer  and  general  financial 
operator  of  the  firm  of  Lowry  &  Boarts,  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  was  born 
near  the  borough  of  Greensburg,  July  4,  1843.  Rf^bert  Lowry,  fatlier  of  Sam- 
uel C).  W.  Lowry,  was  born  in  the  North  of  Ireland,  and  when  he  was  but  nine 
years  of  age  came  to  Philadelphia  with  an  uncle,  having  lost  his  father  in  early 
childhood.  He  learned  the  cloth  weaver  trade  in  Philadelphia.  In  1839  he 
came  to  W^estmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  having  married  Xacy  Thornton 
in  Philadelphia.  She  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  coming  to  America  in  her  teens. 
Robert  Lowry  walked  the  entire  distance  from  Philadelphia  to  this  county 
and  settled  near  New  Alexandria,  where  he  farmed  with  Samuel  Patterson,  of 
Derry  township.    Later  he  moved  to  Greensburg  vicinity,  where  he  farmed  and 


HISTORY   OF    J]-ESTMORnLAXD    COUXTY.  17 

hauled  ccal  from  a  coal-pit.  He  died,  in  .May,  1898,  aged  eighty-three  years. 
Their  children  were :  :\lary  Jane,  born  1838.  died  May,  1905  :  she  married 
George  Lindsay;  Martha,  born  1840,  died  1868,  married  James  H.  Steel;  ;\lar- 
garetP.  born  1842,  married  Joseph  W.  Steel,  and  died  about  1900;  Samuel 
O.  W.,  born  July  4,  1843;  James  X.,  born  1S45,  was  killed  July  10,  1864,  at 
Spottsvlvania,  \  irginia ;  "he  was  a  soldier  in  the  Union  cause  during  the  Civil 
war:  Matilda,  born  1847,  married  William  Hice,  of  Allegheny  City,  Pennsyl- 
vania; Robert  C.  born  1849,  died  October  21,  1904,  at  Greensburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  was  buried  at  Xew  Alexandria,  Pennsylvania ;  Agnes,  born  about 
i8s I.  married  Rev.  T.  C.  Sproul,  of  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania;  EHzabeth,  born 
1854,  is  single  and  resides  at  New  Alexandria. 

Samuel  O.  W.  Lowry  was  born  July  4,  1843,  obtained  a  good  common 
school  education  in  Westmoreland  county,  and  then  learned  the  trade  of  liar- 
nessmaker  and  satkller.  wliich  he  followed  for  others  and  for  himself  for  sev- 
eral years.  He  enlisted  in  the  Union  army,  February  16,  1864,  as  a  member  of 
Company  K,  Eleventh  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry,  under  Colonel  Rich- 
ard Coulter,  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  assigned  to  the  Fifth 
Army  Corps,  General  G.  K.  Warren  commanding,  the  Third  Division  com- 
manded by  General  Crawford,  and  Second  brigade,  General  Baxter,  command- 
ing. He  saw  much  active  service,  having  participated  in  nearly  all  the  battles 
of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  from  the  "Wilderness"  tight  to  Lee's  surrender 
at  Appomattox,  including  those  great  engagements  known  in  Civil  war  history 
as  Spottsylvania  (where  his  brother  was  killed).  North  Ann,  Cold  Harbor,, 
Petersburg.  Mrginia,  and  Hatch  Run.  He  was  at  the  grand  review  in  Wash- 
ington, in  1865.  and  returned  withcitt  serious  illness  or  any  wounds.  He  rcr 
sumed  his  harness  trade  a  short  time  and  then  became  a  salesman  for  sewing 
machines  on  the  road,  continuing  until  1874.  He  then  embarked  in  the  har- 
ness and  saddle  trade  at  McKeesport,  Pennsylvania,  and  followed  that  until 
1887,  when  he  engaged  in  real  estate  business  at  that  place,  continuing  until 
1897,  when  he  removed  to  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  engaging  in  the  same 
business  and  forming  a  partnership  with  L.  N.  Boats  in  1901.  He  has  numer- 
ous financial  interests,  making  his  a  busy  life.  He  is  secretary  and  treasurer  of 
the  Greensburg  Petroleum,  Gas  and  Mining  Ccmpanv  of  Burkesville.  Ken- 
tucky; also  connected  with  the  Eli  Sell  (ieneral  Merchandise  Company.  He  is 
a  stockholder  and  director  in  the  ^\'ilkinslnIrg  Trust  Company,  besides  real 
estate  interests  at  McKeesport,  Pennsylvania.  His  residence  is  on  a  twenty-five 
acre  farm,  well  improved,  adjoining  the  borough  of  Green.sburg,  where  he  en- 
joys the  comfcTts  of  an  independent  life.  Politically  Mr.  Lowry  is  a  Repub- 
lican. While  a  resident  in  i\IcKeesport  he  served  six  years  as  member  of  the 
school  board  and  the  same  period  as  member  of  the  common  council.  He  is  an 
elder  in  the  N\"cstminster  Presbyterian  Church  of  (ireensburg.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Colonel  .Samuel  Black  Post,  No.  59,  G.  A.  R.,  at  McKeesport,  Pennsyl- 
vania, of  which  he  was  the  commander  in  1897. 

Mr.  Lowry  married,  IMay  11,  1871,  M.  Emma,  daughter  of  Robert  and 
Margaret  (Reed)  Patterson,  both  now  deceased.  Mrs.  Lowry  was  born  July 
31,  1849.  The  children  of  this  union  are:  Maggie  Reed,  born  January.  1875, 
married  GecTge  W.  Rogers.  Robert  J.  N.,  born  .\ugust,  1878,  killed  by  being 
thrown  from  a  mail  car.  of  which  he  was  a  United  States  postal  clerk,  March 
18.  1905.  He  had  served  seven  years  in  the  L'nited  .States  navy  department 
and  was  in  the  .Spanish-.Amcrican  war.  He  had  only  been  married  two  weeks 
when  he  lost  his  life.  Thomas  C,  born  June.  1880,  still  at  home  and  associated 
with  the  Grceitsbtiri;  Rcriezv:  he  was  in  the  navy  three  years.    Nancy  T.,  born 


i8  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


1882,  married  George  L.  Pollins.  Samuel  W.,  born  November  29,  1884,  married 
Mae  Randolph,  September,  1904,  and  they  have  Emma  Grace,  born  November 
15,  1905.  Mary  Emma,  twin  sister  of  Samnel,  born  November  29,  1884.  Un- 
like many  other  prosperous  business  men  Mr.  Lowry  believes  in  enjoying  the 
profits  of  his  business  in  home  life  and  travel.  With  his  wife  and  children  he 
has  made  several  extended  tours  through  the  south  and  west  as  far  as  the 
Pacific  coast.  Although  sixty-two  years  of  age  he  is  scarcely  taken  for  one^of 
more  than  fifty-five.  It  may  be  added  that  he  is  a  lover  of  his  home  and  greatly 
attached  to  the  children  of  his  household,  and  it  is  his  rule  to  present  each  one 
of  his  children  with  a  gold  watch  upon  the  day  they  attain  their  majority. 

HON.  JOHN  LATTA,  one  of  the  best  known  members  of  the  West- 
moreland county  bar,  and  a  man  universally  admired  and  respected  by  the  com- 
munity at  large.  He  was  born  March  5,  1836  in  Unity  township,  Westmore- 
land county,  Pennsylvania,  son  of  Moses  and  Eliza  (Graham)  Latta,  and  is  of 
Scotch-Irish  descent.  The  progenitor  of  the  Latta  family  in  \Ycstmoreland 
county  was  John  Latta,  grandfather  of  Hon.  John  Latta,  who,  with  his  brother 
Moses,  settled  in  Mount  Pleasant  township,  where  the  Mammoth  Coke  Works 
are  now  located.  He  married  a  Miss  Storey  of  New  Jersey,  and  by  her  had 
four  children,  among  them  being  Moses  Latta. 

Moses  Latta,  father  of  John  Latta,  was  born  in  1790  in  Mount  Pleasant 
township,  six  miles  north  of  the  borough  of  Mount  Pleasant,  and  in  early  life 
removed  to  Lenity  township,  where  he  followed  the  occupation  of  farming. 
During  the  war  of  1812  he  enlisted  in  the  company  commanded  by  Captain 
Reynolds,  but  before  his  company  reached  the  seat  of  war,  a  treaty  of  peace 
had  been  signed,  and  the  troops  returned  hccne.  He  married  Eliza  Graham, 
daughter  of  Robert  Graham,  a  native  of  Greensburg,  and  by  occupation  a  horse 
dealer.  Their  children  were :  Mary  Jane,  wife  of  George  R.  Hughes,  who 
resides  on  the  old  Latta  homestead,  and  John,  of  whom  later.  Moses  Latta 
died  in  February,  1848.  when  he  was  fifty-eight  years  old. 

John  Latta  received  his  early  educational  training  in  the  common  schools 
of  his  native  place,  and  subsequently  attended  Sewickley  and  Elder  Ridge 
Academies,  in  which  he  spent  about  five  years,  thus  forming  an  excellent 
foundaticTi  for  a  professional  career.  Determining  to  become  a  legal  prac- 
titioner Mr.  Latta  formulated  all  his  plans  with  that  end  in  view.  He  entered, 
in  1857,  into  the  study  of  law  in  Yale  College,  graduating  from  that  institu- 
tion in  1859,  and  in  November  of  the  same  year  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of 
Westmoreland  county.  He  has  since  been  in  almost  continuous  practice  of  his 
profession.  He  was  elected  state  senator  in  1863,  discharging  the  duties  of 
that  responsible  office  with  efficiency  and  credit.  He  was  elected  to  the  legis- 
lature in  1871  and  1872,  serving  for  two  terms.  Two  years  later  he  was 
nominated  and  elected  lieutenant  governcT  of  Pennsylvania,  serving  in  that 
office  for  four  years ;  he  led  the  state  ticket  in  the  election,  his  majority  being 
something  over  four  thousand.  When  his  term  as  lieutenant  governor  ex- 
pired, Mr.  Latta  returned  to  Greensburg,  resuming  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion. As  a  lawyer  Hon.  John  Latta  holds  an  eminent  place  in  the  ranks  of 
his  profession,  and  is  a  man  of  the  people,  ever  advocating  the  interests  of  the 
poor  and  oppressed.  Added  to  his  other  qualifications  he  is  endowed  with  a 
natural  gift  of  eloquence,  and  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  convincing 
speakers  of  the  county.  Fraternally  he  holds  membership  in  the  Masonic  Or- 
der belonging  to  the  K.  T..  and  is  a  R.  A.  ]\I. :  also  A.  O.  U.  W.  He  married, 
September  12,   1865.  Emma  A.  Hope,  a  daughter  of  C.  C.  Hope,  of  Union- 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORRLAXD   COUXTY.  19 

town,  and  a  sister  of  \\'  H.  Hcpc,  a  land  speculator  of  the  city  of  Alexico.  Four 
children  were  born  to  them,  three  of  whom  are  living:  Cuthbert  H.,  born  Sep- 
tember 7,  1866:  Mary  Maude,  born  March  17,  1868,  married  W.  B.  Ryan, 
general  traffic  agent  for  a  Mexican  railroad,  who  resides  in  the  city  of  JM'exico; 
and  Isabel  G.,  born  February  17,  1875.  Mrs.  Latta  died  in  1876,  and  on  De- 
cember 13,  1877  'Mr.  Latta  married  Rose  McClellan,  a  daughter  of  E.  B.  Mc- 
Clellan,  of  Ludwick  borough,  and  their  children  were:  Rose,  born  December 
21,  1879,  married  Joseph  T.  Brunot,  now  deceased;  Marie  Josephine,  born  July 
2^'.  i88i,  married  R.  T.  Jamison;  John,  born  May  15,  1883,  died  in  1885  ;  Pol- 
lard, born  January  15,  1885;  and  Sarah  Marguerite,  born  October  18,  1886. 

THE  XLXL  FAMILY.  Colonel  :\lillard  Fillmore  Null,  the  present 
capable  prothonotary  of  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  April 
5,  1854,  at  the  old  ^NIcKeans  Stand  (now  Ruffsdale)  in  East  Huntingdon  town- 
ship, \\'estnioreland  countv.  He  is  the  son  of  Hcnrv  Harrison  and  Ellen 
(Dom)  Null. 

Captain  Phillip  Null,  great-grandfather  of  Colonel  M.  F.  Null,  the  Amer- 
ican ancestor,  was  born  at  \\'rightsvill9,  York  county,  Pennsylvania,  al)out 
1755.  His  parents  were  Huguenots,  from  the  French-German  district,  known 
as  Alsace-Loraine  and  were  French  people.  Phillip  settled  in  Reading,  Penn- 
sylvania bout  1 73 1.  In  1780  he  w-ent  as  a  captain  of  the  revolutionary  war 
in  the  militia  to  North  Carolina,  and  was  at  the  battle  of  Camden,  August, 
1780.  where  General  Gates  was  defeated  by  Cornwallis.  He  was  also  under 
the  command  of  General  Francis  Marion,  for  whom  he  named  his  youngest 
son.  He  settled  at  Lincolnton,  North  Carolina,  and  married  Margaret  Beau- 
champ  (  "Bushong")  about  1781.  She  was  of  Rockingham  county,  Virginia. 
Their  eldest  son,  Henry  Null,  the  grandfather  of  Millard  F.  Null,  was  born 
April  24,  1783,  in  North  Carolina,  the  eldest  of  six  children.  The  family  re- 
sided several  years  at  the  home  of  their  grandfather,  Pierre  Beauchamp,  in  \'ir- 
ginia.  They  crossed  the  Alleghany  mountains  in  1799,  locating  in  Westmore- 
land county,  Pennsylvania,  on  land  upon  which  now  stands  St.  Joseph's  Acad- 
emy at  Greensburg.  After  a  few  years  the  family,  except  three  children,  re- 
moved to  Putnam  county,  \'irginia,  locating  on  several  hundred  acres  of  land 
taken  on  an  officer's  script.  His  son  Henry  and  two  married  daughters  re- 
mained in  Westmoreland  county.  Captain  Phillip  Null  died  at  Point  Pleasant, 
\'irginia  in  1834  of  cholera,  while  en  route  to  visit  his  son  Henry  at  Greens- 
burg, Pennsylvania. 

Henry  Null,  grandfather  of  Colonel  jNIillard  F.  Null,  and  one  of  the 
three  who  remained  in  Westmoreland  county,  located  at  "McKeans  Old  Stand" 
in  East  Huntingdon  township.  He  married  Elizabeth  Pool,  of  Reading,  Penn- 
sylvania, May  20,  1804.  They  had  seven  sons  and  two  daughters,  all  reared 
at  McKeans  Old  Stand  (Ruffsdale),  each  child  having  a  farm  given  him  by  his 
father.  Hcnr>-  2sull  began  life's  activities  as  a  farmer.  He  became  promoter 
of  many  large  business  enterprises  and  was  a  large  contractor,  constructing  por- 
tions of  the  old  Pennsylvania  canal  in  Indiana  county.  He.  with  his  sons, 
built  several  miles  of  the  National  Pike  road,  and  also  helped  construct  the 
Washington  and  Bedford  Pike  of  which  he  became  a  charter  member  and  for 
many  years  a  director  of  the  middle  division.  He  procured  the  charter  for  the 
Cross  Pike,  ronnectinc:  the  Philadeli)hia  and  Pittsburgh  Pike  with  the  Wash- 
ington and  Bedford  Pike  of  which  he  built  some  portions.  He  w'as  also  the 
man  who  procured  the  charter  for  the  Slack-Water  navigation  along  the 
Youghioghcny  river.     He  finally  located  at  Rufifsdale,  then  called  "McKeans 


HISTORY   OF   U'ESTMORELAXD   COUNTY. 


Old  Stand"  and  established  a  postoffice  there.  He  owned  some  one  thousand 
five  hundred  acres  of  land,  as  the  fruits  of  his  unceasing  energy  and  toil, 
coupled  with  his  business  sagacity.  He  never  sought  publicity,  but  was  made 
the  candidate  for  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  in  1882,  and  sent  as  a  delegate 
to  the  Harrisburg  Convention  which  nominated  General  \\'illiam  Henry  Har- 
rison for  president  in  1836.  His  manliood  was  such  that  even  those  who  dif- 
fered greatly  from  him  were  ever  ready  to  admit  his  fairmindedness  and  gener- 
osity. In  religion  he  was  a  pronounced  Presbyterian,  as  was  his  good  wife,  both 
of  whom  were  lifelong  Christian  examples  of  true  devotion.  He  died  October 
9,  1845,  after  a  brief  illness.  He  left  a  wife,  six  sons  and  two  daughters,  all 
of  whom  emulated  the  good  name  and  character  of  their  father. 

Henry  Harrison  Null,  father  of  Colonel  Millard  V.  Null,  the  fourth  son 
of  Henry  Null  was  born  February  16,  1815,  at  "McKeans  Old  Stand"  (Ruffs- 
dale)  in  East  Huntingdon  township,  Westmoreland  county.  Pennsylvania.  At 
the  death  of  his  father  lie  became  the  owner  of  the  old  Null  homestead.  He 
married,  July  i,  1845,  EHen  Dom,  daughter  of  Phillip  and  Margaret  (Gerhardt) 
Dom,  of  Wellersburg,  Pennsylvania.  She  was  the  great-granddaughter  of  Sir 
John  Jacob  Hentz  and  wife,  Eleanor  Krauch,  of  Hesse-Darmstadt,  Germany ; 
she  was  a  lady  of  great  prepossession,  cultured  and  beloved  by  all  within  the 
range  of  her  wide  acquaintance,  and  her  kindly  ways  and  charming  graces  were 
fully  retained  throughout  her  entire  life  which  closed  December  27,  1904. 
Their  children  were:  ^larietta,  married  (first)  Andrew  Yont,  now  deceased, 
and  (second),  John  J.  Houseman;  Minerva,  widow  of  Joseph  W.  Hough,  who 
at  the  time  of  his  death  was  treasurer  of  Fayette  cctinty.  Pa. ;  Josephine,  (!Mrs. 
John  Dempsey  Boyd,  of  Uniontown)  ;  Millard  Fillmore,  of  whom  later;  Jessie 
Beuton,  (Mrs.  Samuel  Alwine,  Jr.);  Sumner  F'remont ;  Edwina  married 
(first)  Dr.  Smith  Fuller,  Jr.,  now  deceased;  (second),  James  Clark  Work,  of 
Uniontown,  Pa. ;  Eleanor  Nevada  ;  Henry  Harrison,  Jr.,  married  Elsie  G.  Roth, 
of  Allentown,  Pa. 

At  the  date  of  Henry  Harrison  Null's  death  in  May,  1905,  he  had  twenty- 
five  grandchildren,  twenty-three  of  whom  were  living,  including  the  following: 
By  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Housman,  Harry  Null  Yont ;  by  Mrs.  Hough,  Henry 
Harrison  Null  Gerhardt  Hough  ;  by  Mrs.  Boyd,  Henry  Harrison  Null  Boyd, 
now  superintendent  of  the  H.  C.  Frick  Coke  Comjiany  plants  in  Fayette  county, 
Pennsylvania ;  Burgess  Beauchamp  Boyd,  with  the  same  company  at  Alverton 
and  Tarr ;  Logan  Dempsey  Boyd  ;  Josephine  Null  Boyd.  When  a  youth,  Henry 
Harrison  Null  made  his  first  trip  as  a  wagoner  over  the  Alleghany  mountains 
in  1834.  He  followed  this  from  time  to  time  as  late  as  1861.  From  1845  to 
1872  he  was  an  extensive  farmer.  During  the  last  named  year  he  removed  to 
Greensburg.  having  been  postmaster  at  Rufifsdale  for  twelve  years.  He  also 
served  as  internal  revenue  collector.  He  Was  a  leading  factor  in  the  building 
of  the  Wellersburg  and  West  Newton  Turn  Pike  road,  and  was  for  a  quarter 
of  a  century  president  of  the  Robbstown  and  Mount  Pleasant  Pike  Road  Com- 
pany. He  opened  the  well  known  Null  Hotel  at  Greensburg,  and  operated  it 
until  he  died.  May  16,  1905,  after  many  months  of  patient  suffering.  He  had 
lived  over  ninety  years  and  noted  with  great  interest  the  wonderful  events  of 
the  past  century.  Politically  it  may  be  said  that  this  venerable  man  early  be- 
came a  leader  and  not  from  selfish  motives  but  from  true  principle.  He  cast  his 
first  vote  for  General  Harrison  in  1836,  and  had  voted  for  every  Whig  and 
Republican  presidential  candidate  including  Theodore  Roosevelt  in  the  Au- 
tumn of  1904.  The  subjoined  is  an  extract  taken  from  a  local  paper  the  day 
after  his  death:   "In    1872  the  familv  moved  to  Greensburg.     Here   he  was 


i 


7^,7/.^'/im 


^T  ^J^^^<^. 


HISTORY   OF    U'ESTMORELAXD   COUXTV.  21 


known  as  possessing  a  liberal  and  patriotic  spirit.  In  his  business  relations  he 
was  scrupulously  honest.  He  had  a  large  acquaintance  throughout  the  entire 
county,  and  by  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact  he  was  held  in  highest  es- 
teem. He  was  a  voracious  reader  and  one  of  the  best  informed  men  on  public 
events  in  Greensburg.  His  views  were  liberal  and  he  was  outspoken  in  his 
sentiments.  He  was  opposed  to  capital  punishment  and  an  advocate  of  women's 
rights  and  suffrage,  of  liberty  of  conscience,  and  of  all  principles  of  freedom, 
secular  and  religious.  Strongly  characterized  with  a  humanity  loving  spirit, 
he  was  greatly  interested  in  reforms  for  society  at  large.  He  was  a  whole- 
souled  man,  ever  ready  to  assist  those  who  appealed  to  him.  Until  within  a 
few  months  of  his  death  ]\Ir.  Null  possessed  a  remarkable  memory  of  events 
of  the  early  part  of  the  century.  He  was  a  recognized  authority  en  public  hap- 
penings. Since  1856  he  had  kept  a  diary,  recording  each  day's  happenings 
with  an  accuracy  which  commanded  on  many  occasions  reference  bv  historians. 
These  diaries  contain  a  great  wealth  of  interesting  data." 

^lillard  Fillmore  Null  obtained  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of 
Westmoreland  county,  and  by  a  course  in  Milton  Academy.  He  went  from 
the  school  room  to  serve  as  an  assistant  for  the  engineering  corps  that  laid 
out  the  Southwestern  Pennsylvania  railway.  He  also  taught  school  in  his  na- 
tive county  for  seven  terms.  He  again  took  up  surveying  and  mine  engineer- 
ing for  a  number  of  years,  part  of  the  period  in  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania. 
Later  he  became  associated  with  the  H.  C.  Frick  Coke  Company  at  its' central 
works  as  timekeeper,  paymaster  and  superintendent,  serving  in  all  fourteen 
years.  Politically,  he  inherited  Republicanism  from  his  father.  In  1883  his 
party  induced  him  to  become  a  candidate  for  surveyor,  but  notwithstanding  he 
ran  over  five  hundred  ahead  of  his  ticket,  his  party  was  not  victorious.  From 
that  date  he  has  taken  a  more  active  part  in  politics,  and  in  1900  was  elected  as 
prothonotary  of  Westmoreland  county  and  re-elected  in  1903.  At  the  time 
when  the  Central  High  school  of  East  Huntingdon  township  was  established, 
he  was  a  director  and  had  much  to  do  towards  its  establishment  and  the 
sequel  has  proved  his  wisdom.  He  has  been  connected  with  the  Presbyterian 
church  since  1885,  first  at  his  old  home  and  since  1901  as  a  member  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  church  of  Greensburg.  He  is  an  honored  member  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity,  belonging  to  K.  C.  of  K.  T.  Lodge,  No.  18  at  Greensburg. 
Of  Mr.  Null's  domestic  relations  it  may  be  stated  that  he  married.  ]\Iarch  29, 
1877,  at  Bells  Mills,  South  Huntingdon  township.  Charlotte  Bell,  daus'hter  of 
the  late  ex-Sheriff  William  Bell  and  wife,  Frances  (Bennett)  Bell.  Mr.  Bell 
was  born  January  16,  1816  at  Bells  Mills,  the  son  of  Walter  and  Pollv  (Fm- 
ley)  Bell.  Walter  Bell  was  born  at  Shipi)ensburg.  Pennsvlvania.  in  1769  and 
removed  to  Westmoreland  county  in  1787,  locating  at  Bells  Alills,  for  whom 
they  were  named.  He  died  August  12,  1868.  'He  married  Pollv  Finley, 
daughter  of  Andrew  and  Jane  Finley,  of  Port  Royal  and  came  from  North 
Carolina,  originally.     The  Finleys  were  of  Scotch  extraction. 

William  Bell.  ^Irs.  Null's  father,  was  of  Scotch  blood.  He  died  on 
the  old  homestead,  at  Bells  IMills,  December  24.  1888.  The  family  were  of  the 
Presbyterian  faith.  He  served  as  sheriff  of  this  county  from  1862  to  1865. 
He  was  most  generous  and  noted  for  his  hospitalitv  and  was  acquainted  far 
and  near.  His  wife  was  the  daughter  of  David  and  Sarah  Bennett,  born  i82r). 
near  Port  Royal.  _  David  Bennett  was  the  son  of  lohn  Bennett,  who  emigrated 
from  France.  His  wife  was  Sarah  Hough,  of  German  ancestrv.  Their  chil- 
dren were:  I.  Charles  McCully,  educated  at  the  High  School  aiid  Seminary  at 
Greensburg,  graduating  in  the  classical  course  in  1899.     He  studied  for  a  law- 


22  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

yer  and  registered,  but  is  now  in  the  accounting  department  of  the  Keystone 
Coal  and  Coke  Company.  2.  Walter  Bennett,  attended  the  public  schools  of 
Creensburg  and  Leech's  Business  College  of  the  same  place,  taking  stenography 
and  typewriting.  \\'hen  sixteen  years  of  age  he  served  as  page  two  terms  for 
Senator  Robbins,  in  Washington,  D.  C.  For  the  past  si.x  years  he  has  been 
associated  with  the  American  Sheet  Steel  and  Tin  Plate  Company,  located  at 
Sccttdale,  Pa.  3.  Eleanor  attended  the  common  schools  of  Westmoreland 
county  and  Darlington  Seminary  at  West  Chester,  Pa.  4.  Genevieve.  5.  Millard 
Fillmore.  6.  Galia  Minota.  7.  Henry  Harrison. 

Colonel  M.  F.  Null,  as  he  is  always  called,  is  an  unassuming  man,  who 
may  justlv  be  proud  of  his  ancestry,  and  his  highest  aim  in  life  is  to  be  able  to 
properly  educate  his  family,  that  they  may  bear  well  their  part  as  good  citizens 
and  members  of  society,  as  have  tho  generaticns  before  them,  bearing  the 
name  of  Null. 

CAPTAIN  JAMES  J.  WIRSING,  a  valiant  soldier  in  the  great  war 
of  the  rebellion,  and  one  of  the  highly  esteemed  residents  of  Greensburg,  was 
born  in  Donegal  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  November  9, 
1840,  the  son  of  Jchn  and  J\Iary  (Shafer)  Wirsing.  The  progenitor  of  the 
Wirsing  family  in  America  was  his  paternal  grandfather.  Rev.  John  Casper 
Wirsing,  who  was  born  December  27,  1766,  in  Titzingcn  by  "Waertzburg  on 
the  Main,"  Germany.  He  was  a  commissioned  officer  in  the  German  army,  and 
emigrated  to  America  October  3,  1789.  On  board  the  ship  on  which  he  was 
sailing  he  became  acquainted  with  Catlierinea  Elizabetha  Biltherr,  who  was 
born  in  German v  April  12,  1768,  and  had  scld  her  time  for  a  period  to  pay 
her  passage  to  America.  Mr.  Wirsing  inirchased  her  time  and  they  were  mar- 
ried January  I,  1793.  Soon  after  landing  in  the  United  States  Mr.  Wirsing 
went  to  Baltimore  where  he  remained  some  time,  then  removing  to  Westmore- 
land county,  which  he  made  his  future  home.  He  was  a  local  preacher  in  the 
]\Iethodist  church,  and  was  a  well  educated  man  of  good  address.  In  1825  he 
removed  to  Somerset  county,  near  Petersburg,  Pennsylvania.  He  had  the  fol- 
lowing children:  Catherine:  John,  father  of  Captain  J.  J.  Wirsing;  Henry, 
married  Mary  King,  and  had  a  son,  John  Wirsing,  who  resides  in  Fayette 
county.  Henry,  died  in  1888:  Mary  Ann  Shadrach  ;  Thomas  B. :  Samuel  H., 
married  Catherine  Zipley  and  Helena  Frantz.  The  father  of  these  children 
died  in  1835. 

John  Wirsing,  second  child  and  eldest  son  of  Rev.  John  Casper  Wirsing, 
was  born  January  7,  1798.  By  occupation  he  was  a  farmer,  and  was  very  suc- 
cessful in  that  line.  In  early  life  John  Wirsing  removed  to  Donegal  town- 
ship where  he  held  many  local  offices.  He  was  a  stanch  Democrat,  and  a 
very  active  worker  for  that  organization.  December  18,  1821  he  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Mary  Shafer,  who  was  born  in  Franklin  county,  Pennsylvania, 
May  12,  1801,  a  daughter  of  Peter  Shafer,  who  served  with  Washington  in 
the  war  of  the  revolution  until  the  cessation  of  hostilities.  In  1807  Mr.  Shafer 
removed  to  Donegal  township  where  he  patented  three  hundred  acres  of  land, 
and  where  he  lived  an  industrious  and  exemplary  life.  The  following  named 
children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wirsing:  Peter,  deceased;  Catherine, 
married  John  Kooser  of  Iowa ;  Eliza,  married  W.  R.  Hunter ;  Harriet  married 
H.  M.  Milhof:  Margaret,  deceased;  Thomas,  of  Illinois;  John  S.,  of  Mount 
Pleasant  township ;  Jeremiah,  of  Scottdale ;  and  Captain  James  J.  Wirsing. 

James  J.  Wirsing  was  educated  in  the  common  and  private  schools  of  his 
native  countv,  and  thus  received  an  excellent  foundation  for  a  successful  bus- 


J 


■  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  23 

iness  career.  He  was  engaged  in  farming  until  he  was  about  nineteen,  and 
then  learned  the  trade  of  plasterer  which  he  followed  for  several  years.  When 
the  great  Civil  war  was  in  progress,  and  the  call  for  volunteers  was  urgent, 
Mr.  \Mrsing  assisted  very  materially  in  raising  a  company  of  soldiers  in  the 
Ligonier  valley.  He  was  offered  the  captaincy  of  this  company,  but  declined 
this,  accepting  the  position  of  second-lieutenant.  His  company  joined  the 
Eightv-fourth  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry  at  Arlington 
Heights  in  September.  1862,  and  became  Company  C  of  that  regiment.  He 
was  present  at  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  and  January  12,  1862  was  pro- 
moted to  the  position  of  first  lieutenant.  He  participated  in  the  battle  of  Chau- 
cellorsville,  and  during  that  engagement  was  badly  wounded,  being  shot  twice 
through  the  leg  and  hip,  and  on  this  account  received  a  furlough  of  sixty  days. 
He  repined  his  regiment  on  its  march  to  Gettysburg.  He  was  promoted  to  the 
captaincv  August  29,  1863,  and  commanded  his  company  in  all  of  the  battles 
until  October  2,  1864,  Tn  August  of  that  year  he  was  shot  in  the  breast,  and 
on  October  2  was  shot  through  both  shoulders  and  left  leg  at  Petersburg,  and 
so  badly  wounded  that  he  was  left  for  dead  on  the  battlefield.  He  was  ap- 
proached by  a  rebel  soldier  who  was  in  the  act  of  shooting  him  when  a  confed- 
erate officer  interfered  and  saved  his  life.  He  was  removed  to  Richmond  where 
he  was  confined  in  Libby  prison  for  a  time,  then  paroled  and  sent  to  Annapolis, 
;Maryland.  He  returned  home  on  a  leave  of  absence  after  two  months  in 
Annapolis,  and  being  unable  to  join  bis  regiment  was  honorably  discharged  as 
a  prisoner  of  war  on  January  3,  1865.  From  the  time  of  his  discharge  from 
service  to  1878  he  was  engaged  in  plastering  and  as  clerk  in  a  dry  goods  and 
hardware  store  in  ]\Iount  Pleasant.  In  1878  he  was  elected  treasurer  of  West- 
moreland county,  and  discharged  the  duties  of  that  office  with  honor  and  credit. 
Since  1882  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  real  estate  and  fire  insurance  business, 
and  he  has  been  highly  successful  in  that  line.  As  a  citizen  Captain  Wirsing 
has  the  respect  of  his  townspeople,  who  admire  his  integrity  and  honesty,  and 
his  hospitable,  genial  disposition  has  gained  for  him  many  friends.  In  political 
belief  Captain  W'irsing  accords  with  the  Democratic  party.  He  is  a  prominent 
member  of  the  G.  A.  R..  U.  V.  L.,  Military  order  of  the  Loyal  Legion  of  the 
United  States,  Philanthropy  Lodge,  No.  225,  A.  Y.  M..  and  numerous  other 
organizations.  He  is  a  consistent  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
Captain  Wirsing  was  married,  June  5,  1867,  to  Charlotte  ;M.  Fluke,  daughter 
of  William  S,  Fluke.  ex-sheriff"of  Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania.  Their  chil- 
dren are:  Myrtle,  J.  Edgar,  William  F.,  Herbert,  IMary  E,,  Ralph,  Mabel, 
and  Martha. 

HON.  JOHN  B.  STEEL,  of  Grcensburg,  Pennsylvania,  first  presi- 
dent judge  of  tile  Separate  Orphans'  court  of  W'estmoreland  county,  is  the 
eldest  son  of  William  and  Sarah  Jane  (Brown)  Steel,  born  February  17,  i86r, 
on  the  Hannastown  farm,  the  seat  of  the  famous  old  town  of  Hannastown, 
which  was  burned  bv  the  Indians  in  1772,  in  Hempfield  township,  Westmore- 
land county,  Pennsylvania. 

Judge  Steel  came  from  that  sturdy  Scotch-Irish  race  that  has  done  so 
much  for  the  cause  of  liberty  and  the  development  of  the  country,  being  Scotch- 
Irish  in  everv  line  of  his  ancestrv.  His  great-grandfather,  James  Steel,  was 
born  in  Castle  Blaney,  near  Carrick  Macross,  Ireland,  about  1741,  and  who 
emigrated  to  America  after  the  Steel  Roy  insurrection  (1772")  stopped  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  mountains  at  that  Scotch-Irish  hive  in  Cumberland,  now 
Franklin  county,  and  moved  westwarrl  about  1773,  settling  on  land  in  Sewick- 


24  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUXTY. 

ley  manor,  now  ]\Iount  Pk'asant  twonship,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
about  the  time  of  the  formation  of  Westmoreland  county.  Here  he  bought 
land  from  the  Penns,  and  became  an  important  land  owner  in  his  day  of  land 
that  is  now  in  the  Connellsville  coking  coal  region,  four  hundred  acres  of  the 
land  bought  by  him  has  been  passed  down  through  his  descendants,  and  is  now 
owned  by  his  great-grandson,  Joseph  W.  Steel.  True  to  the  characteristics  of 
his  race  he  became  an  agitator  for  freedom,  was  a  member  of  Mount  Pleas- 
ant Association  formed  to  protect  this  western  country,  was  three  years  in  the 
Revolutionary  army,  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  required  by  all  foreign  born  citi- 
zens, before  Hugh  Martin,  a  justice  of  this  county,  March  3,  1777,  and  served 
with  his  brothers-in-law,  Robert  and  Andrew  Donaldson,  in  the  campaign  of 
the  Jerseys.  He  was  married  (first)  to  Elizabeth  McMasters,  a  sister  of  James 
McMasters,  who  lived  near  his  farm.  They  bad  two  children :  Joseph  Steel, 
intermarried  with  Barbara  lilystone,  of  Franklin  township,  this  county;  and 
Jane  Steel,  intermarried  with  William  Hunter,  near  what  was  then  Louden- 
ville,  now  Perrysville,  Richland  county,  Ohio.  About  the  close  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  James  Steel  was  married  to  Elizabeth  Donaldson,  and  they  had 
three  children:  Elizabeth,  born  September  24,  1785,  intermarried  with  Alex- 
ander Hamilton,  of  what  is  now  Ruffsdale,  Pa. ;  James  Steel,  born  on  the  day 
of  the  adoption  of  the  United  .States  constitution,  September  17,  1787,  inter- 
married with  Martha  ]\lcCutheon,  of  Franklin  township,  this  county,  and 
John  Steel,  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  born  April  7,  1789, 
intermarried  with  his  cousin,  Martha  Walker,  the  daughter  of  Andrew  and 
Sallie  (Donaldson)  Walker,  of  Virginia,  near  Steubenville,  Ohio.  James  Steel, 
the  great-grandfather,  died  September  10,  1823,  and  was  buried  at  the  Middle 
Presbyterian  church,  ]\Iount  Pleasant  tf)wnship,  Westmoreland  county.  Pa. 

John  Steel,  the  granclfathcr,  acquired  the  old  homestead  in  Mount  Pleas- 
ont  township,  and  in  1826  i)urchased  the  Robert*  Hanna  farm  on  which  was 
located  Hannastown,  the  former  county  seat  of  Westmoreland  county,  which 
then  embraced  all  western  Pennsylvania.  This  property  became  the  home- 
tead  farm  of  John  Steel,  the  father  of  Judge  Steel.  To  John  Steel  and 
Martha  Walker  were  born  nine  children :  Sarah,  intermaried  with  Heny 
Byers,  of  Grapeville,  Pa. ;  Eliza,  intermarried  with  Andrew  Machesney,  of 
Greensburg,  Pa. :  James,  intermarried  with  Elizabeth  Hanna,  Pleasant  Unity, 
Pa. :  Joseph  Walker,  intermarried  with  Malinda  Brechbill,  of  Greensburg,  Pa. ; 
John,  intermarried  with  Susan  Geiger,  Beatty,  Pa. ;  Margaret,  intermarried 
with  James  M.  Steel,  her  cousin,  Salem  township,  Westmoreland  county.  Pa. ; 
]\Iary  J.,  intermarried  with  Henrv  T.  Hanna,  of  Smithton,  Pa. ;  Martha  inter- 
married with  Major  David  P.  ^lechling,  of  Greensburg,  Pa. ;  and  William 
Steel,  intermarried  with  Sarah  Jane  Brown,  of  Hannastown,  Pa.  All  of  these 
are  now  deceased,  except  ]Mary  J.  Hanna  and  William  Steel.  John  Steef,  the 
grandfather,  died  Alay  22,  i860,  being  one  of  the  foremost  business  men  and 
largest  land  owners  of  his  county.  He  is  buried  at  the  Congruity  Presbyterian 
church. 

William  Steel,  the  father  of  Judge  Steel,  was  born  October  i,  1833,  and 
was  married  to  Sarah  J.  Brown,  April  3,  i860.  He  is  a  large  owner  of  valu- 
able real  estate  and  coal  land,  has  alwavs  been  identified  with  farming  and  stock- 
raising  interests  of  the  county,  was  Westmoreland's  pioneer  in  the  rearing  of 
shorthorn  cattle,  and  one  of  western  Pennsylvania's  foremost  importers  and 
breeders  of  pure  bred  draft  horses.  William  and  Sarah  J.  Steel,  are  both  liv- 
ing at  the  Hannastown  farm,  in  Salem  and  Hempfield  townships,  this  county, 
and  their  children  are:  Hon.  John  B.  Steel,  of  Greensburg,  Pa.;  Mary  Herron, 


HISTORY   OF    IVESTMORELAXD   COUXTY.  25 

intermarried  with  George  Coleman,  East  End  Pittsburg,  Pa. ;  Eliza  :\Iartha, 
intermarried  with  Samuel  C.  Patterson,  near  New  Alexandria,  Pa.;  Agnes 
Eeatty.  intermarried  with  George  S.  Barnhart,  near  Greensburg,  Pa.;  Helen 
:\lilligan  intermarried  with  Samuel  C.  Hugiis,  near  New  Alexandria,  Pa. ;  IMar- 
garet  Elder,  intermarried  with  Samuel  B.  Moore,  near  Latrobe,  Pa. ;  Clara  Ma- 
finila,  unmarried,  residing  at  home ;  William  Oliver  Steel,  deceased :  Joseph 
Walker  Steel :  Sarah  Jane  Steel,  unmarried  and  residing  with  their  parents ; 
and  Henrietta  :\Iarie,  intermarried  with  L.  A.  Nichols,  of  Wilkinsburg,  Pa. 

On  the  maternal  side  the  ancestry  of  Judge  Steel  is  also  Scotch-Irish  ■.  they 
came  from  Scotland  with  numerous  other  Covenanters,  under  King  James'  con- 
fiscation act,  settling  in  county  Donegal,  Ireland.  :Matthew  Brown,  the  seventh 
grand-ancestor,  was  a  captain  in  Colonel  George  Walker's  famcrus  Derrv  Reg- 
iment which  rendered  such  valiant  service  to  the  cause  of  civil  and  religious 
libertv  at  the  siege  of  Londonderry,  and  at  the  battle  of  the  Boyne.  His  sword 
is  stiil  preserved  an  a  precious  relic  by  Howard  Brown  and  William  Brown, 
his  descendants  in  Pittsburgh.  His  grandson,  also  Matthew  Brown,  by  name, 
left  countv  Donegal  with  his  family  in  1774,  and  came  to  America  in  company 
with  the  Reverends  Dobbin  and  Lynn,  who  afterwards  founded  an  academy 
at  Gettvsburg  and  taught  the  first  abolition  dottrine  on  the  very  field  where 
ninetv  vears  after  freedom  received  her  crowning  laurel.  He  settled  at  Green 
Castle.  Franklin  county,  and  was  there  buried,  leaving  to  survive  him  five  chil- 
dren: David,  the  great-great-grandfather  of  Judge  Steel;  John,  intermarried 
with  Catharine  Foster,  sister  of  Robin  Foster,  of  near  New  Alexandria,  Pa. ; 
moved  to  Sugar  Creek  township,  Armstrong  county.  Pa.;  Andrew,  of  Arm- 
strong county".  Pa. ;  Samuel  Brown  said  to  have  moved  to  Mrginia ;  Mary,  in- 
termarried with   James  Watt,  Franklin  county. 

David  Brown,  the  great-great-grandfather  of  Judge  Steel,  was  married  to 
Margaret  Oliver,  whose  niother  was  an  Erskine,  of  the  house  of  Erskine,  Scot- 
land"; he  purchased  in  1802  the  land  now  owned  by  John  Oliver  Brown,  his  de- 
scendant, at  the  mouth  of  the  White  Thorn  Run,  near  New  Alexandria,  Penn- 
svlvania.  To  them  were  born  six  children :  Alary,  intermarried  with  Nathaniel 
Alexander,  Allegheny  township,  Westmoreland  county.  Pa. ;  Thomas  Oliver 
Brown,  grandfather  of  Judge  Steel;  Elizabeth,  intermarried  with  Thomas 
( iailey,  Clarksburg,  Pa. ;  David,  intermarried  with  :\Taria  Beatty,  Salem  town- 
ship :  Margaret,  intermarried  with  John  Coleman.  Elders  Ridge,  Pa. ;  James, 
intermarried  with  ^Margaret  Elizabeth  Wilson,  of  Salem  township.  On  the 
death  of  David  Brown  he  was  buried  in  the  New  Alexandria  Covenanter  church- 
vard,  and  his  real  estate  became  the  property  of  Thomas  Oliver  Brown,  grand- 
father of  Judge  Steel,  and  James  Brown. 

Thomas  Oliver  Brown  was  married  to  Nancy  Beattie  Brown,  a  daughter 
of  Robert  Beattie  and  :Martha  ('\\'elsh)  Beattie,  and  a  granddaughter  of  'Will- 
iam Beattie,  of  Knock  Bracken,  near  Belfast,  Ireland,  and  came  from  a  fam- 
ily several  of  whose  members  were  banished  for  participation  in  the  Irish 
rebellion  of  1798.  Their  children  were:  Martha  Welsh,  intermarried  with 
:Major  D.  P.  Marshall,  Arkansas:  David  Oliver  Brown,  intermarried  with  Mary 
Stewart.  Saltsburg,  Pa. ;  Sarah  Jane  Brown,  intermarried  witli  William  Steel ; 
Margaret  Erskine,  intermarried  with  John  Elder,  Derry  township,  Westmore- 
land countv.  Pa. :  Nancy  A.,  intermarried  with  Henry  Scanor,  of  Wijifield, 
Kansas:  Mary  Elizabeth,  intermarried  with  James  Monroe,  of  Saltsburg,  Pa.; 
Thomas  Oliver  Brown  is  buried  in  the  Reformed  Presbvtcrian  churchyard  at 
New  Alexandria,  Pa.  All  of  his  children  except  Sarah  Jane  Steel  are  now  de- 
ceased. 


2G  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

Judge  Steel  is  distinctively  a  self-made  man,  worked  on  the  farm,  and 
attended  district  school  and  academy  during  his  early  life,  and  later  entered 
Geneva  College  as  a  classical  student  and  graduated  from  that  institution  in 
1885.  He  read  law  with  Judge  James  A.  Hunter,  was  admitted  to  practice  in 
the  several  courts  of  Westmoreland  county,  August,  1888,  opened  an  office  for 
the  practice  of  his  profession  with  Hon.  Welty  McCullough,  and  on  the  return 
of  the  latter  from  congress  in  the  spring  of  1889  the  law  firm  of  McCullough 
and  Steel  was  formed,  which  continued  until  the  death  of  Mr.  McCullough, 
six  months  later.  He  afterwards  continued  the  business  oi  the  firm  at  their 
former  offices,  and  at  once  sprang  into  full  practice  at  a  bar  composed  of  some 
of  the  leading  legal  minds  of  western  Pennsylvania.  Later  he  took  into  part- 
nership with  him  H.  Clay  Beistel,  who  read  law  at  Dickinson  law  school  and 
in  his  office.  He  has  always  been  a  staunch  Republican,  and  for  many  years 
has  been  one  of  the  leaders  of  his  party ;  he  was  the  chairman  of  the  organiza- 
tion in  1894,  was  the  candidate  of  the  Republican  party  for  president  judge  of 
the  court  of  common  pleas  in  1899,  and  was  defeated  by  one  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-one votes,  by  the  then  present  incumbent.  Judge  Doty,  after  a  most  des- 
perate contest  in  which  almost  thirty  thousand  votes  were  polled.  He  was  put 
forward  by  his  county  and  section  of  the  state  as  a  candidate  for  congressman 
at  large  against  Hon.  Galusha  A.  Grow,  and  was  elected  by  the  Republican 
state  convention  as  a  delegate  at  large  to  the  Republican  national  convention 
that  selected  McKinley  and  Roosevelt.  On  the  creation  of  the  Separate  Or- 
phans' court  judgeship  in  Westmoreland  county  m  1901,  Judge  Steel  was  ap- 
pointed, on  April  26,  of  that  year,  as  president  judge  of  the  Separate  Or- 
phans' court,  to  fill  said  position ;  he  was  conceded  the  nomination  by  his  party, 
and  was  elected  by  a  large  majority  at  the  November  following  for  the  ten 
years'  term  beginning  first  Monday  of  January,  1902.  He  is  one  of  the  trus- 
tees of  the  First  Presbyterian  church  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania.  He  has 
helped  to  organize  and  is  director  in  a  number  of  the  leading  banks  of  his 
county,  is  the  owner  of  and  interested  in  the  development  of  coal  in  Wash- 
ington and  Westmoreland  counties ;  is  one  C'f  the  directors  of  the  John  W. 
Pollins  Company,  the  Greensburg  Finance  Company,  the  Pittsburgh  and  South- 
western Coal  Company,  and  is  a  large  owner  of  coal,  farm  and  town  properties. 

J.  HOWARD  PATTON,  prominent  in  the  business  enterprises  of 
Greensburg  and  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  is  a  descendant  of  fam- 
ilies, many  members  of  whom  have  been  important  factors  in  the  settlement 
and  upbuilding  of  this  commonwealth.  He  was  born  July  29,  185 1.  at  Union 
Furnace,  Huntingdon  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  descends  through  the  follow- 
ing lines  of  ancestry. 

(I)  John  Murray,  a  native  of  Scotland,  came  to  America  late  in  life  with 
his  two  sons,  William  and  John,  and  their  families. 

fll)  William  ]\Turray,  a  native  of  Scotland,  born  February  24.  1690.  emi- 
grated to  America  in  1732.  accompanied  bv  his  father  and  brother  John.  They 
settled  on  the  Swartara  in  the  Province  C'f  Pennsylvania.  He  married  Isabella 
Lindley,  of  Scotland,  who  bore  him  five  sons :  Samuel,  William,  James,  John, 
and  Thomas.    William  Murray  (father)  died  on  his  farm,  July  24,  1773. 

(in)  James  IMurray,  born  in  Scotland,  in  1729,  accompanied  his  parents 
to  America  in  1732.  He  was  the  owner  of  a  farm  adjoining  the  borough  of 
Dauphin.  Dauphin  county,  Pennsylvania,  for  which  he  entered  an  application 
in  the  land  office  in  1768.  He  was  chosen  to  rejircsent  Upper  Paxtang  town- 
ship in  1775.  in  the  committee  of  safety  for  Lancaster  county,  and  attended  the 


I 


i 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  27 

meetings  of  the  committee  in  Lancaster  on  November  8,  9,  and  10.  At  tliat 
time  he  was  a  captain  of  a  company  of  footmen,  of  the  Fourth  Battahon  of  As- 
sociators  in  the  county  of  Lancaster.  At  a  military  convention  representing  the 
tiftv-three  battalions  of  Associators  of  Pennsylvania  on  July  4,  1776,  he  was 
present  as  a  captain.  With  John  Rogers  and  JoTin  Harris,  on  July  8,  1776,  by 
appointment  of  the  Provincial  Conference,  he  superintended  the  electicai  at 
Garbers  Mill,  for  the  sixth  district  of  Lancaster  county,  to  choose  delegates  to 
the  convention  that  assembled  on  the  fifteenth  of  the  month,  which  framed  the 
first  constitution  of  the  commonwealth.  During  the  remainder  of  that  and  the 
following  year  he  was  almost  in  constant  active  military  service  with  his  com- 
pany. His  company,  a  roll  of  which  appears  in  Dr.  Egles  notes  and  queries, 
first  series,  page  7,  and  in  Pennsylvania  archives,  second  series,  volume  XHI, 
page  310,  went  into  the  continental  service  in  July,  or  early  in  August,  1776. 
In  a  return  of  the  troops  quartered  in  and  near  Philadelphia,  made  August  27, 
of  that  year,  it  is  reported  sixty  strong.  It  participated  in  the  battles  of  Tren- 
ton and  Princeton.  He  commanded  one  of  the  companies  of  the  Tenth  Bat- 
talion, Lancaster  county  militia,  and  was  with  the  expedition  up  the  West 
Branch  in  1779.  The  exposure  to  which  Captain  Murray  was  subjected  during 
the  revolutionary  struggle  brought  on  an  attack  of  rheumatism,  from  which  for 
many  years  prior  to  his  death  he  was  a  constant  sufferer.  He  married  Re- 
becca McLean,  a  native  of  Scotland,  who  died  August  7,  1795.  His  death 
occurred  in  his  farm  adjoining  the  borough  of  Dauphin,  Dauphin  county,  Fcb- 
ruarv  15,  1804.  The  remains  of  both  rest  side  by  side  in  the  old  Dauphin  cem- 
etery.   Their  oldest  daughter  was: 

(IV)  Margaret  ^^lurray,  born  1756,  in  Paxtang  township,  Lancaster 
county,  ("now  Dauphin  county)  Pennsylvania,  died  April  27,  1826,  at  Hunting- 
don, Pennsylvania.  She  was  married  May  7,  1776,  by  the  Rev.  John  Elder,  to 
John  Simpson,  (see  page  800,  Vol.  8,  Penn.  Archives)  born  1744.  in  Bucking- 
ham township,  Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania.  His  parents.  John  and  Mary 
Simpson  went  south  and  were  residents  of  North  Carolina  in  1783,  and 
Georgia  in  1791.  The  son  learned  the  trade  of  blacksmithing,  and  in  1763  set- 
tled on  the  Susquehanna  in  what  was  then  Upper  Paxtang  township,  Lancaster 
(now  Dauphin)  county.  He  was  commissioned  second  lieutenant  by  Captain 
James  Murray's  Company,  on  August  15,  1775,  in  the  Fourth  Battalion  of  As- 
sociators of  Lancaster  county.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Cornelius  Cox,  of  the  bat- 
talion, ordered  him  to  remain  in  the  continental  smith  shop  at  Bristol  on  Jan- 
uary' 28,  1777.  He  served  during  the  greater  port  of  the  Revolution,  towards 
its  close  in  command  of  a  company  of  militia,  and  then  returned  to  his  farm. 
In  the  spring  of  1793  he  removed  to  Huntingdon,  where  he  passed  the  re- 
mainder of  his  days.     Their  eldest  daughter  was : 

(V)  Rebecca  Simpson,  born  April  8,  177/,  in  Paxtang  township,  Lancas- 
ter county,  Pennsylvania,  died  October  13,  1845.  '"  Huntingdon,  Pennsylvania. 
She  married,  April  16,  1801,  John  Patton,  born  December  25,  1757,  in  Franklin 
county,  Pennsylvania,  died  I\Iay  23,  1836,  on  his  farm  in  Woodcock  valley, 
Walker  township.  Huntingdon  county.  Pennsylvania.  In  his  earlier  years  he 
resided  in  the  town  of  Huntingdon,  and  the  following  is  taken  from  the  records 
there :  He  was  the  second  sheriff  of  the  county,  being  ap])ointcd  by  the  Free 
Men  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  David  Redick.  vice-president, 
October  29.  17S8:  again,  November  6,  1789,  by  Thomas  Mifflin,  president  of 
council;  December  3.  1790,  by  Thomas  Mifflin,  president  of  council;  December 
3,  1791,  by  Thomas  ^lifflin,  governor;  December  3,  1794,  by  Thomas  Mifflin, 
governor ;   November   5,    1800,  by   Thomas   McKcan.   governor ;   October   27, 


28  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


1806,  'ijy  William  Findley,  governor;  November  3,  1812,  by  Simon  Snvder, 
governor;  October  26.  1818,  by  William  Findley,  governor,  for  a  term  of  not 
less  than  three  years,  and  possibly  six  years,  covering  a  period  of  over  thirty 
years  as  sheriff.     He  was  an  efficient  public  ofificer. 

(VI)  George  W.  Patton,  son  of  John  and  Rebecca  (Simpson)  Patton, 
was  born  September  6,  18 17,  and  died  March  7,  1882,  in  Philadelphia.  He  was 
one  of  the  lessees  of  Union  Furnace  and  manager  at  Blair  Furnace.  He  re- 
moved to  Altoona  in  1852,  and  in  1854  was  chosen  first  chief  burgess  of  the 
town,  re-elected  in  1855,  and  in  i86t  was  appointed  postmaster,  serving  eight 
years,  and  in  1870  was  elected  associate  judge  of  P.lair  county,  subsequently  re- 
moving to  Philadelphia.  He  was  twice  married  (first)  June  10,  1845,  to  Alary 
Burket,  who  died  March  28,  1856,  and  had  issue:  T.  Blair  Patton,  general 
superintendent  of  the  Pennsylvania  industrial  school,  Huntingdon;  William  A. 
Patton,  assistant  to  the  president  of  the  Pennsylvania  railroad,  Philadelphia ; 
and  J.  Howard  Patton,  of  Greensburg,  Pa.  Mr.  Patton  married  (second) 
December  19,  1861,  Emma  J.  Hawksworth,  of  Altoona,  and  had  issue:  IMary 
V.  Patton.  wife  of  Harold  A.  Freeman,  St.  David,  Pa.;  and  Margaret  Murray 
Patton,  who  died  Decembei-  15.  1889. 

((VH)  J.  Howard  Patton,  born  July  29,  1851,  moved  to  Altoona  with  his 
parents  in  1852.  After  receiving  his  education  in  the  public  schools,  he  entered 
the  service  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  in  1870,  spending  ten  years 
in  the  general  superintendent's  office.  He  moved  to  Claridge,  Westmoreland 
county,  in  1885,  where  he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business,  and  was  inter- 
ested in  and  opened  up  the  Claridge  Gas  Coal  Company's  works  of  which  he 
still  has  charge.  He  moved  to  Greensburg  in  1889.  where  he  organized  and  is 
president  of  the  following  companies :  Atlantic  Crushed  Coke,  Lucesco  Coal, 
Huron  Coal,  Howard  Gas  Coal,  Hempfield  Foundry,  Greensburg  Storage  and 
Transfer,  and  other  coal  interests  I'n  Westmoreland  county.  Politically  Mr. 
Patton  affiliates  with  the  Republicans.  He  is  a  Lutheran  in  his  religious  faith. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  being  advanced  to  tlie  deijree  of  a 
K.  T.  ... 

Mr.  Patton  has  been  twice  married  (first)  April  13,  1880,  to  A.  Louisa 
Cunningham,  of  Holdensburg,  Pennsylvania,  who  bore  him  one  child,  Howard 
C.  Patton,  born  February  15,  1881,  who  atended  the  Ohio  Military  Institute,  at 
Cincinnati,  and  is  now  the  superintendent  of  the  Huron  Coal  Company  and 
Howard  Gas  Coal  Company,  in  which  his  father  is  actively  interested.  Mrs. 
Patton  died  November  24.  1882.  For  his  second  wife  ]\'tr.  Patton  married 
Jessie  R.  Geiger,  youngest  daughter  of  the  late  Judge  Levi  Gei^er  and  his  wife, 
Rosalinda  Geiger,  of  LVbana,  Ohio.  While  Mr.  Patton  is  a  busy  man  of  af- 
fairs, he  is  not  so  absorbed  in  business  as  to  forget  the  better  things  of  life — 
the  enjoyment  of  friendship  and.his  family  and  fireside  ties — and  is  ever  readv 
to  take  part  in  any  matter  of  general  interest  to  the  public  and  for  the  better- 
ment of  mankind. 

MICHAEL  JOSEPH  RORKE,  proprietor  of  the  Hotel  Cope,  at 
Greensburg.  Pennsylvania,  was  born  in  Dublin,  Ireland,  September  2,  1866, 
the  son  of  Thomas  and  Jane  (King)  Rorke,  both  of  whom  are  deceased,  died 
when  their  son  Michael  J.  was  quite  young,  and  thus  he  was  left  to  fight  the 
conflicts  of  life  alone.  When  seventeen  years  of  age.  in  company  with  acousin, 
John  Finnegan.  Michsel  J.  Rorke  came  to  America,  landing  in  New  York  Citv! 
February  4,  1883.  The  same  year  he  found  employment  at  the  Blue  Rock 
quarry,   near  Connellsville,   Fayette   county,   Pennsylvania,   making  "Belgium 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  .  29 

Blocks."  Here  he  labored  for  one  year  and  then  engaged  in  the  hotel  business, 
clerkino-  at  the  Yough  House,  at  Connellsville,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  remained 
five  years.  He  then  took  charge  of  a  hotel  at  Scottdale  for  two  years,  then  pur- 
chased a  hotel  in  Homestead,  Pennsylvania,  which  he  operated  for  ten  years, 
after  which  he  sold  the  same  and  leased  the  Hotel  Cope  at  Greensburg,  w^hich 
he  is  now  managing  in  a  highly  successful  manner.  Two  years  after  his  arrival 
in  the  United  States  his  brother  Nicholas  followed  him,  and  has  been  associated 
with  him  in  business  the  greater  part  of  the  time  since.  Nicholas  Rorke  is  mar- 
ried and  the  father  of  three  children.  Michael  J.  Rorke  obtained  a  common 
school  education,  and  this  was  supplementetl  by  attendance  at  Duff's  Business 
College  of  Pittsburg.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church,  and  a 
Democrat  in  politics.  At  Homestead,  Pennsylvania,  in  i8y6,  he  was  elected 
bv  a  majority  to  the  position  of  inspector  of  elections,  and  was  a  member  of 
the  Fire  Company.  He  is  a  member  of  the  O.  of  E.  Lodge,  Xo.  511,  at  Greens- 
burg: the  fire  company  at  Greensburg;  the  C.  AI.  B.  A.  and  the  "L.  and  H."  at 
Homestead.  Mr.  Rorke  was  married  January  /,  1890,  to  .Sarah  U'Xeill, 
daughter  of  Bernard  and  INlariah  O'Xeill,  of  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania,  where 
she  was  reared. 

ALBERT  H.  BELL,  a  prominent  member  of  the  bar  of  Westmoreland 
county,  was  born  in  Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa,  Xovember  20,  1857,  and  is  a  represen- 
tative of  an  old  Westmoreland  county  family.  While  born  in  the  then  far  west, 
he  was  reared  in  the  Ligonier  valley,  removing  to  Greensburg  in  1880,  where 
he  is  now  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession. 

David  Bell  ( grandfather )  was  a  native  of  Westmoreland  county,  and  was 
a  brother  of  Judge  James  Bell,  one  of  the  early  associate  judges  of  the  county. 
David  Bell  was  a  school  teacher  during  the  greater  part  of  his  life ;  in  politics 
he  was  a  Democrat,  and  he  took  a  lively  interest  in  supporting  his  party.  He 
married  A,Iarv  Robinson,  also  a  native  of  Westmoreland  county,  a  daughter  of 
John  Robinson,  who  was  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers,  and  a  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  and  whose  wife  was  Isabella  Guft'ey,  a  sister  of  John  Guffey,  the 
ancestor  of  the  numerous  and  widely  dispersed  Guffey  family. 

John  R.  Bell,  son  of  David  and  Alary  (Robinson)  Bell,  was  born  in  West- 
moreland county,  December  17,  1824.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable  ability 
and  served  the  public  in  various  important  positions.  He  was  a  school  teacher 
for  a  number  of  years :  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  in  Donegal  township,  and 
in  1879  was  elected  clerk  of  the  county  courts,  a  position  which  he  acceptably 
occupied  for  three  years.  After  1883  he  lived  a  retired  life.  He  was  a  staunch 
Democrat,  and  always  took  an  active  part  in  political  affairs.  His  first  wife 
was  Margaret  Singer,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Jane  (Matthews)  Singer. 
Their  children  were:  Airs.  Emma  Lenhart,  of  Greensburg:  Albert  H.,  and 
Airs.  Alay  AI.  Cairns,  deceased.  The  mother  of  these  children  having  died, 
Air.  Bell  married  Alargaret  Kalp,  and  to  them  were  born  three  children,  among 
whom  was  James  E.  Bell,  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Alerchant"s  Trust  Com- 
pany of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania. 

Albert  H.  Bell,  second  child  and  only  son  of  John  R;  and  Alargaret 
(  Singer)  Bell,  attended  the  public  and  private  schools  of  Westmoreland  cunty, 
laying  an  excellent  foundation  for  advanced  studies  in  Mount  Union  College, 
which  he  entered  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years,  and  where  he  pursued  a  two 
years  course.  Following  the  example  of  his  father  and  grandsire,  he  was  a 
school  teacher  in  his  early  manhood,  teaching  for  seven  years  in  \\'estmoreland 
county,  and  conducting  a  normal  class  at  Alount  Pleasant  for  one  year.     Dur- 


30  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUXTV. 

ing  his  father's  term  of  service  as  county  clerk,  from  1880  to  1883,  he  served 
as  deputy  clerk,  entering  upon  his  duties  with  the  advantage  of  a  previous  six 
months  experience  (in  1876)  as  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  prothonotary.  While 
faithfully  discharging  his  duties  as  deputy  clerk,  he  was  also  at  the  same  time 
engaged  in  the  stud\-  of  law  under  the  preceptorship  of  James  S.  jMoorhcad 
and  Hon.  John  B.  Ilcnch,  judge  of  the  superior  court,  beginning  his  reading  in 
the  same  year  in  which  he  entered  upon  his  official  duties.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1884,  since  which  time  he  has  been  successfully  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  He  is  well  equipped,  industrious,  and  takes  rank 
with  the  foremost  of  his  professional  colleagues.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
United  Presbyterian  church  of  Grecnsburg,  in  which  he  has  long  served  as  an 
elder.  He  has  always  been  deeply  interested  in  education,  served  six  years  on 
the  school  board  of  Grecnsburg,  five  years  as  secretary,  and  for  the  past  nine 
years  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  Westminster  College.  He  is 
also  a  member  and  past  officer  of  the  State  Educational  .\ssociation,  and  is  a 
life  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  INIorrison  Underwood  Donation 
Fund,  a  trust  created  for  the  benefit  of  the  Grecnsburg  High  School.  Mr. 
Bell  married,  March  19,  1885,  INlary  C.  Clarke,  of  Grecnsburg,  a  daughter  of 
Judge  James  C.  Clarke.  Their  children  were :  James  Clarke  and  Mary  M. 
Bell,  now  iiursuing  their  studies  in  Westminster  College,  and  .Mliert  H. 
.Bell.  Jr. 

DANIEL  .\.  ARTER,  one  of  the  leading  physicians  of  Grecnsburg, 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  in  Salem  township,  Colum- 
biana county,  Ohio,  October  26,  1828,  the  son  of  Colonel  Simon  and  Elizabeth 
(Burger)  Arter.  He  is  of  English  descent.  His  grandfather,  .'\braham 
Arter,  was  born  in  Maryland.  He  led  a  quiet,  exemplary  life,  and  was  a  con- 
sistent church  member.  He  removed  in  1802,  to  Columbiana  county,  Ohio. 
The  wife  of  Abraham  Arter  was  Magdalena  Hahn,  and  among  their  children 
was  a  son,  Simon  Arter. 

Simon  Arter,  the  father  of  Daniel  A.  .\rter,  was  born  near  Strasburg. 
Maryland,  where  he  was  reared  and  trained  to  the  life  of  a  farmer.  In  political 
belief  he  was  a  Whig,  and  afterwards  a  Republican,  and  was  noted  for  being 
upright  and  liberal  in  his  dealings.  He  was  an  active  member  of  the  Evangeli- 
cal Lutheran  church,  and  was  elected  colonel  in  a  militia  organization.  He 
married,  in  1824,  Elizabeth  Burger,  daughter  of  Daniel  Burger,  of  Ijcdford 
county,  Pennsylvania.  Mrs.  Arter  was  born  in  1806.  Her  grandfather, 
Nicholas  Burger,  emigrated  to  this  country  from  Switzerland,  settling  in  Bed- 
ford county,  and  in  1806  removed  to  the  section  that  is  now  Columbiana  county, 
Ohio.  Seven  sons  and  four  daughters  were  born  to  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Arter, 
among  them  Dr.  Daniel  Arter.  The  death  of  Colonel  Arter  occurred  February 
27,  1883,  after  a  useful  and  well  spent  life. 

Daniel  A.  Arter  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  native  place,  and  later 
the  New  Lisbon  Academy  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1847.  Having  de- 
termined to  become  a  medical  practitioner,  he  entered  into  the  study  of  medicine 
under  the  preceptorship  of  Dr.  D.  Springer,  of  New  Lisbon,  Ohio.  He  con- 
tinued the  study  of  liis  chosen  profession  in  the  Cincinnati  Eclectic  Medical 
College,  where  his  industry  and  earnestness  soon  won  for  him  an  honorable 
place  in  his  class.  He  entered  into  practice  in  Blairsville,  Indiana  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  after  a  five  months  residence  in  that  i)lace  he  removed  to 
Lockport.  Dr.  Arter  removed,  August  2,  185 1,  to  Grecnsburg,  Westmoreland 
county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  physicians 


^.A  faf^'-^^'-S), 


.  L_ac3et-  'f-&ir  ■ 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUXTY.  31 

of  the  town,  conducting  an  active  and  prosperous  practice.  There  has  probably 
been  no  other  physician  in  this  part  of  the  state  that  had  a  hu-ger  chentele,  his 
operations  extending  throughout  Westmoreland  and  into  the  counties  of 
Indiana,  Armstrong,  Cambria,  Fayette,  and  Allegheny,  and  which  is  an  evi- 
dence of  his  widespread  popularity  and  thoroughness  as  a  physician.  He  has 
been  a  hard  and  incessent  worker,  but  with  all  this  he  is  well  preserved,  hale 
and  hearty — looking  many  years  younger  than  he  is.  He  was  one  of  the  or- 
ganizers of  the  Westmoreland  National  Bank,  and  stockholder  in  same ;  also 
served  as  director  of  the  Greensburg  Building  and  Loan  Association  from  De- 
cember 3,  1877,  to  December  4,  1882;  as  president  from  December  4,  1882, 
to  October  5,  1885.  He  resigned  the  presidency,  was  re-elected  director  De- 
cember 5,  1886,  and  has  been  a  director  ever  since.  Dr.  Arter  is  pre-eminently 
a  self-made  man.  Beginning  with  no  capital  but  ambition  and  a  determination 
to  win,  he  soon  acquiretl  a  lucrative  practice  and  an  honorable  place  in  the 
world  of  his  profession,  and  is  the  owner  of  considerable  valuable  real  estate, 
having  handled  considerable  property.  His  political  affiliations  are  with  the 
Republican  party,  and  he  takes  a  deep  and  lasting  interest  in  the  welfare  of 
that  organization.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Jr.  O.  U.  A.  M.,  R.  A.,  A.  O.  U.  W., 
anil  Philanthropy  Lodge,  Xo.  225,  F.  and  A.  M.,  and  trustee  of  Masonic  Fund  of 
Greensburg,  Pennsylvania.  He  is  a  consistent  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  and  has  constantlv  held  the  office  of  trustee  since  1865  except 
about  fourteen  months. 

Dr.  Arter  married  (first)  in  -1851,  Mary  Jane  McCune,  daughter  of  Sam- 
uel McCune,  of  Blairsville,  Pennsylvania.  Their  children  were:  Charlotte  B., 
born  March  3,  1852,  wife  of  Charles  R.  Miller,  of  Greensburg;  Mary  E.,  born 
October  15,  1854,  married  \\'.  B.  Stanley,  a  mechanic,  of  Salem,  Ohio;  S.  Mar- 
cus, born  November  17,  1856,  married  Sarah  E.  Loughrey,  and  is  clerk  in  the 
county  register's  office.  Mrs.  Arter  died  in  1856,  and  Dr.  Arter  married  (sec- 
ond) October  15,  1857,  Caroline  A.  Miller,  daughter  of  Jacob  M.  Miller. 
Their  children  were :  Elsie  B.,  born  October  22,  1858,  and  Anna  S.,  born  July 
II,  1863,  married  H.  S.  Sembower,  of  Uniontown,  Pa.,  and  died  June  18,  1888. 
]\Irs.  Caroline  A.  Arter  died  April  24,  1894. 

PAL'L  HL'GUS  GAITHER,  one  oi  Greenburg's  leading  attorneys, 
was  born  in  Beaver,  Pennsylvania,  March  26,  1852.  His  earliest  American 
ancestor  was  John  Gaither  (English),  settled  at  Jamestown,  Virginia,  in 
1621.  His  grandfather,  on  the  paternal  side,  was  Zachariah  Gaither.  His 
father's  name  was  Samuel,  and  he  was  born  in  Washington  county,  Mary- 
land. (Jctober  26,  1806.  He  was  by  profession  an  attorney-at-law.  Mr. 
(_;aithcr's  mother  was  Lydia  Hugus  Gaither,  born  August  15,  1812,  in  Som- 
erset county,  Pennsylvania.  Her  father  was  Michael  Hugus,  whose  early 
ancestors  were  French  Huguenots. 

Mr.  Gaither  was  raised  in  Somerset.  Pennsylvania,  and  studied  law  with 
his  father.  He  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania, 
in  1875,  being  at  that  time  admitted  to  the  Westmoreland  county  bar.  He 
located  at  Greensburg  in  February,  1886,  in  jjartnership  with  Mr.  J.  A. 
Marchand,  solicitor  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company.  His  present 
j;artner  is  the  Hon.  Cyrus  E.  Woods.  Mr.  Gaither  has  long  been  known  as 
one  of  the  leadin.g  members  of  the  bar  of  Westmoreland  county.  In  his 
office  work,  his  long  connection  with  the  Pennsylvania  railroad,  and  his.  ex- 
tensive corporation  practice  are  sufficient  warrantv  for  his  reputation  for 
ability  in  that  direction.     He  was  a  candidate  for  judge  in    1895,  and  stood 


32  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

so  high  in  the  estimation  of  his  party  that  he  had  no  opposition  for  ths 
nomination.  He  was  defeated  at  the  November  election,  however,  the  county 
going  overwliehiiingly  Repubhcan ;  ijut  he  came  from  the  contest  with  no 
bitterness  of  feehng  and  with  his  reputation  and  integrity  unassailed.  Among 
some  of  the  cases  m  which  Air.  Gaither  was  prominently  concerned  are  those 
of  Robb  vs.  Carnegie,  145  Pa.  324,  a  case  which  became  prominent  in  the 
courts  of  Pennsylvania,  by  reason  of  the  important  legal  questions  involved. 
Also  that  of  Baker  vs.  Westmoreland  and  Cambria  fviatural  Gas  Company, 
157  Pa.  593;  the  case  of  Clarke  et  al.  vs.  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company, 
in  which  the  rights  of  riparian  owners  were  involved,  and  which  is  reported 
in  145  Pa.  438.  Also  the  case  of  Whitehead  vs.  Jones,  197  Pa.  511,  deciding 
the  question  of  the  rights  of  tenants  in  common,  with  respect  to  a  very 
valuable  tract  of  land  ;  anil  also  the  case  of  Case  Manufacturing  Company, 
plaintiff  in  error,  vs.  Peter  H.  Saxman  et  al.,  which  was  tried  in  the  circuit 
court  of  the  United  States,  at  Pittsburg;  appealed  to  the  supreme  court  of 
the  United  States,  and  argued  in  that  court  on  January  16,  1891 ;  reported 
in  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-eighth  United  States  supreme  court  report, 
page  431.  This  case  involved  the  consideration  of  the  law  with  respect  to 
the  novation  of  contracts ;  evidence  that  notes  were  received  as  payment, 
and  acts  of  a  financial  manager  as  binding  on  his  company.  Mr.  Gaither 
is  a  lawyer  of  versatile  ability,  and  can  excel  in  any  branch  of  the  profession 
which  he  enters.  Like  most  country  lawyers  his  practice  has  not  been  ex- 
clusively in  any  one  line.  We  believe,  however,  that  he  is  seen  at  his  best 
in  the  trial  of  a  corporate  case,  when  arguing  questions  of  law  to  the  bench, 
or  upon  a  review  of  his  cause  in  the  appellate  courts.  As  a  jury  lawyer, 
moreover,  he  has  shown  an  ability  approximating  that  of  the  ablest  advocates 
of  his  time.  He  has  long  been  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  has 
traveled  extensively  in  Europe  and  Palestine,  and  has  made  many  addresses 
in  non-denominational  work. 

WILLIAM  B.  PARKS,  a  prosperous  business  man  of  Greens- 
burg,  was  born  September  13,  1838,  in  the  vicinity  of  Courtney  Station, 
Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania,  a  son  of  James  and  Mary  (Woods)  Parks 
James  Parks  (.father)  was  born  in  Tyrone,  Ireland,  where  he  was  reared 
and  educated,  attending  the  common  schools  adjacent  to  his  home.  When 
twenty-five  years  of  age  he  determined  to  seek  a  new  home  for  himself  amid 
new  surroundings  and  accordingly  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  settling 
in  Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
days.  At  the  early  age  of  fifteen  years  he  married,  and  the  death  of  his  wife 
occurred  nine  months  later.  He  married  a  second  time,  this  wife  dying 
one  year  later,  survived  by  one  child,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  years 
he  married  his  third  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Mary  Ann  Woods,  in 
Allegheny  City,  Pennsylvania,  and  they  had  eight  children :  Alexander,  de- 
ceased ;  Martha,  Nancy,  Alice,  deceased ;  Ann  Jane,  William  B.,  mentioned 
hereafter :  Thomas,  and  James,  deceased. 

William  B.  Parks  received  the  educational  advantages  afforded  by  the 
common  schools  of  that  day,  attending  those  in  the  First  ward  in  Allegheny 
City  until  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age.  He  then  engaged  in  the  trade  of 
brick  making  with  his  father,  becoming  an  expert  mechanic,  and  at  the  age 
of  tvventy-two  years  began  an  apprenticeship  at  the  trade  of  machinist,  which 
he  followed  for  twelve  years.     He  then   returned  to  his   former  trade,  brick 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUXTY.  33 

iiiakiii'T,  at  wb.ich  he  labcircd  for  twenty  con.'secutive  years,  and  at  the  ex- 
piration' of  this  period  of  time  located  in  Greensbtirg,  Westmoreland  county, 
established  a  general  merchandise  business,  and  has  conducted  the  same 
with  a  large  degree  of  success  up  to  the  present  time  (1905).  Mr.  Parks 
married,  lulv  25,  1862,  Amanda  Baker,  daughter  of  Joseph  Baker,  who 
bore  him  "three  children,  all  now  deceased.  Her  death  occurred  December 
23,  1865.  Mr.  Parks  married  for  his  second  wife  Eliza  Brugh,  a  daughter 
of'lacob  and  Catherine  (Pool)  Brugh,  the  ceremony  being  performed  March 
28,"  1868.  Their  children  were :  William  B.,  married  Tilly  Askil :  Catherine,. 
married  Frank  Peebling;  C)ma  Stone:  Thomas,  married  Ida  Augustine;  James 
deceased,  married  Lizzie  Orr ;  and  Pearl,  deceased. 

JOSEPH  KE;\IP  ROBIXSOX,  proprietor  of  the  Greensburg 
Steam  Laundrv.  was  born  in  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  March  11,  1862, 
the  son  of  William  and  Maria  AI.  (Kemp J   Robinson. 

The  American  ancestor  was  Irwin  Robinson  (i),  who  was  a  native 
of  Ennis  Killen,  county  of  Fennaugh,  Ireland.  Being  an  English  subject, 
when  the  Revolution  came  on  in  America,  he  was  drafted  into  service  and 
sent  to  this  country  to  take  part  in  that  struggle.  He  was  through  the 
whole  conflict  as  a  British  solilier.  including  the  battle  of  Yorktown.  He 
carried  a  Bible  in  his  pocket,  and  it  was  struck  by  a  Yankee  bullet,  cutting 
quite  a  good-sized  hole  in  the  book.  At  another  time  he  was  struck  by  a 
bullet  in  his  arm,  which  ball  he  carried  the  remainder  of  his  days.  He  was 
present  at  the  surrender'  of  Lord  Cornwallis,  captured  by  W' ashington,  and 
after  peace  was  declared  returned  to  England.  He  soon  found  he  had  been 
fighting  on  the  wrong  side,  and  although  entitled  to  a  pension  from  the 
En.glisii  government,  he  refused  to  accept  it.  and  later  became  one  of  the 
most  loval  Americans.  He  studied  medicine  for  three  years  and  practiced  his 
profession,  especially  in  surgery. 

His  love  affair  was  indeed  quite  full  of  romance.  At  twenty-five  years 
of  age  he  was  a  manly  fellow,  Ave  feet  nine  inches  high ;  hair  brown  and 
straight.  He  "fell  in  love"  with  Catherine  Elliott,  a  beautiful  slender  figure. 
She  had  dark  brown  eyes  and  wore  curly  ringlets.  She  was  but  fifteen  \ears 
of  age,  and  for  this  reason  they  were  forbidden  to  marry.  Several  times 
her  parents  locked  her  up  in  her  bed-chamber.  The  house  was  a  cottage 
of  one  story.  At  the  time  of  the  elopement  her  parents  had  kept  her  full; 
a  month  in  her  room,  her  bed  being  pushed  against  the  wall  made  of  stone, 
but  the  girl  was  not  to  be  outwitted,  and  silently  worked  her  plans  to  com- 
pletion. She  finally  succeeded  in  getting  a  hole  through  the  wall  large 
enou,gh  to  let  herself  out  and  on  one  dark  night  she  crept  through  (the  moon 
bein,g  invisible)  and  met  her  lover  and  they  rode  away  on  horseback  and 
were  married.  They  became  the  parents  of  George  and  Jnlm  Robinson. 
These  three,  with  the  Elliott  family,  left  England  for  Amiriia  in  1702. 
They  came  in  a  sailing  vessel  and  were  on  the  ocean  from  May  until  Sep- 
tember and  encountered  fearful  storms.  Mrs.  Irwin  Robinson  brnught  plenty 
of  flax  along,  thinking,  it  is  related,  that  she  could  not  get  it  "in  the  woods; 
of  America."  They  located  in  what  is  now  Blair  county,  Pennsylvania.  They 
purchased  land  of  a  Mr.  Hollidav.  where  now  stands  the  city  of  Hollidays 
burg.  Pennsylvania.  The  Elliotts  settled  in  the  Ligonicr  valley,  between' 
Fairfield  and  Ross  Furnace.  The  daughter's  love  of  parents  caused  them 
to  settle  in  a  less  productive  country  four  miles  southwest  of  where  Boliver 

2-3 


34 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUXTY 


stands  to-day.  Chambersburg  was  the  nearest  place  at  wliich  supplies  could 
then  be  procured.  They  followed  a  trail  across  the  wild  country  on  pack- 
horses  midst  numerous  tribes  of  Indians.  Land  was  cheap,  four  dollars 
per  acre. 

Irwin  Robinson  was  a  Methodist,  but  Quaker  in  habits  and  language. 
Mrs.  Robinson's  mother's  name  was  Mary  Woods.  She  had  been  a  member 
of  the  Church  of  England  (Episcopalian),  but  became  a  Methodist  and 
three  of  her  sons  became  Methodist  preachers.  The  whole  family  were 
•zealous  in  church  work.  Irwin  Robinson  and  wife,  the  American  founder 
of  this  family,  had  twelve  children :  George,  John,  Jane,  Hance,  Irwin, 
Thomas,  Mary,  James,  William,  Elliott,  Christopher  and  Elizabeth.  George 
was  born  July  5,  1788,  died  November  3,  1869.  He  was  the  grandfather 
of  Joseph  K.  Robinson,  whose  name  heads  this  sketch.  He  married  Susanna 
Brinker,  born  May  23,  1795,  and  died  August  7,  1887.  They  settled  about 
four  miles  from  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  on  a  farm.  Methodist  services 
were  frequently  held  at  their  home.  Their  children  were:  William,  Susanna, 
Elizabeth,  Margaret,  Mary,  John,  Henry,  Jacob,  Daniel,  and  James.  The 
three   latter  always   resided  in   Greensburg,   Pennsylvania   . 

I  11)  ^\'illiam  Robinson,  father  of  Joseph  K.,  of  the  above  named  family, 
w-as  born  in  Hempfield  township,  March  19,  1818,  and'  died  May  31,  1884 
He  was  a  merchant,  owning  a  store  in  Greensburg  for  many  years.  He 
was  a  man  of  much  intelligence  and  a  devoted  Christian  and  prominent  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  church.  He  was  for  many  years  a  class  leader.  Po- 
liticallv  he  was  a  hearty  supporter  of  the  Republican  party,  and  was  an  active 
member  of  the  A.  F.  and  A.  jNI.,  holding  the  various  offices  of  the  order. 
He  married  Maria  Margaret  Kemp,  daughter  of  Solomon  and  Mary  Magdalena 
(W'entling)  Kemp,  March  3,  1847.  She  was  born  November  24,  1825.  Her 
father's  family  were  natives  of  Germany.  Their  children  were:  Emma 
Homer  C.  Mary  S.,  Anna  M.,  William,  Lydia  B.,  George  F.,  Joseph  Kemp 
of  whoni  further,  and  Jessie. 

(Ill)  Of  Joseph  Kemp  Robinson  it  may  be  said  that  he  received  his 
education  in  the  Greensburg  schools  and  learned  the  stone-cutter's  trade, 
following  the  same  for  six  years.  For  five  years  prior  to  this,  however,  he 
was  a  news  agent  at  Greensburg.  He  established  himself  in  the  laundry 
business  in  Greensburg  in  1887,  and  is  now  located  in  a  three-story  brick 
building.  His  business  extends  to  thirty-five  towns  in  Westmoreland  county. 
His  plant  is  fully  equipped  with  all  modern  lanndrv  machinery.  He  was  a 
member  of  Company  I,  Tenth  Regiment  Pennsylvania  National  Guards,  for 
five  years,  but  was  never  called  out  for  actual  service.  He  is  identified  with 
the  Woodmen  of  the  W'orld,  and  is  a  member  of  the  First  Reformed  Church 
at  Greensburg.  He  married,  June  5,  1893,  near  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania, 
Mary  Margaret  Kunkle,  daughter  of  Amos  and  Sarah  (Kepple)  Knnkle, 
farmers  of  Westmoreland  county,  residing  in  Hempfield  townsliip.  ( See 
elsewhere  in  this  work  for  the  Kunkle  family  history).  Their  children  were: 
Helen  K..  W'illiam  H.,  Joseph  J.,  Sarah  Maria  and  Carl  Emery,  all  born  ni 
Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  ^fr.  Robinson's  life  as  a  business  man  has  been 
devoted  to  three  occupations  only — five  years  a  news  agent,  six  years  a  stone- 
cutter and  eighteen  years  a  laundryman.  He  is  an  unassuming,  thorough- 
going business  man,  whom  to  know  is  but  to  admire  and  respect.  He  is 
also  the  proprietor  of  the  large  auditorium  building  on  Maple  avenue,  a 
building  devoted  to  general  entertainment. 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUXTY.  35 

AAIOS  POOL  W'E.WER.  The  names  of  two  well-known  fam- 
ilies of  \\'estmoreland  county  are  borne  by  Amos  Pool  Weaver,  of  Greens- 
burg,  one  representing  his  paternal  ancestry  and  the  other  the  family  to 
which  his  mother  belonged.  Both  patronymics  are  synonymous  with  good 
citizenship. 

lacol)  P.  \\'eaver,  son  of  Jacob  and  Sarah  (Kichl)  Weaver,  was  born 
October  9,  1843,  in  Greensburg,  and  served  as  a  conductor  on  the  Penn- 
svlvania  railroad  under  Andrew  Carnegie.  Later  he  was  engaged  in  the 
planing  mill  and  lumber  yard  business  in  Ludwick  borough,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Pool  &  \\'eaver,  for  thirty  years  was  a  farmer  in  Unity  township, 
and  in  1906  retired  from  the  farm  and  resided  in  Greensburg.  During 
the  Civil  war  he  served  as  a  private  in  Company  C,  Fifty-fourth  Regiment, 
Pennsylvania  A'olunteers,  commanded  by  Colonel  Thomas  Gallagher.  He 
is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  is  a  member  of  Zion  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church.  He  married,  December  24,  1868,  Mary  Jane  Pool,  whose  family 
history  is  given  below. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  \\'eaver  had  children:  Minnie  S.,  Amos  Pool,  mentioned 
hereafter ;  Jacob  P.,  Jennie  P.,  Howard  Z.,  Samuel  P.,  and'  Sallie  K. 

Zachariah  Pool  was  born  March  21,  1780,  in  Baltimore  county,  Mary- 
land, of  English  ancestry  on  his  father's  side  and  through  his  mother  of 
German  descent.  Earlv  in  life  he  went  to  Chambersburg.  Pennsylvania, 
and  in  1812  moved  thence  to  Hempfield  township,  Westmoreland  county. 
His  calling  was  that  of  a  shoemaker,  which  he  followed  in  connection  with 
farming.  Although  never  an  aspirant  to  office  he  was  elected  in  1827  tax 
collector  of  Hempfield'  township.  His  political  principles  were  those  of  the 
Democratic  party,  and  he  was  a  member  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  church. 
j\lr.  Pool  married,  September  19,  1805,  Barbara  PlufFman,  of  Chambers- 
burg, and  fourteen  children  were  born  to  them,  one  of  whom,  Samuel,  is 
mentioned  hereafter.  ]\Ir.  Pool's  industrious  and  useful  life  was  prolonged 
well-nigh  to  the  century  limit,  his  death  occurring  December  6,  1877,  when 
he  had  reached  the  extraordinary  age  of  ninety-seven  years,  eight  months  and 
fifteen  days.  His  descendants  were  numerous,  including,  in  addition  to 
his  fourteen  children,  one  hundred  and  one  grandchihlren,  one  hundre;d 
and  forty  great-grandchildren  and  nine  great-great-grandchildren,  in  all  two 
hundred  and  sixty  four. 

Samuel  Pool,  fifth  child  of  Zachariah  and  Barbara  (.Huft'iian)  Pool, 
was  born  August  12,  181 1,  and  followed  the  trade  of  a  boot  and  shoemaker. 
In  the  sphere  of  politics  he  adhered  to  the  Republicans,  and  in  matters  of 
religion  to  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  church,  of  which  he  was  a  member. 
He  married.  September  18,  1834.  .Sophia  Fredrica  Bierer,  and  of  their  eleven 
children  the  seventh  was  a  daughter.  Mary  Jane,  born  May  19,  184S,  in 
Hempfield  township,  and  became  the  wife  of  Jacob  P.  Weaver,  as  mentioned 
above.  Mr.  Pool  died  September  29,  i8go.  He  was  a  man  whose  character 
was  above  suspicion,  and  he  left  behind  him  an  honored  name. 

Amos  Pool  Weaver,  son  of  Jacob  P.  and  Mary  Jane  fPool)  Weaver, 
Avas  born  September  9,  1871.  in  Greensburg,  Westmoreland  couiitv,  and  is 
a  blacksmith  by  trade,  making  a  specialty  of  that  1)ranch  of  the  business 
known  as  horseshoeing.  He  is  a  public-spirited  citizen,  giving  evidence  of 
being  such  by  serving  as  a  member  of  hose  company  No.  2,  Greensburg 
fire  department,  and  officiating  as  treasurer  of  the  company.  He  also  belongs 
to  the  Grand  Fraternity,  of  which  he  is  treasurer,  and  the  Woodmen  of  the 


36  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUXTV. 

World.  He  is  a  member  of  Zion  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church.  IMr.  Weaver 
married,  December  22,  1898,  in  Greensburg,  ( )ma  Stone,  born  December  2, 
1873,  in  Alleghen\^  City,  Allegheny  county,  daughter  of  William  B.  and 
Eliza  A.  Parks,  the  former  a  merchant  of  that  place.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Weaver 
have  one  child,  Frank  Parks,  born  March   17,   1904.  in  Greensburg. 

JAAIES  E.  LOUGHREY.  One  of  Greensburg's  enterprising  busi- 
ness men  of  the  younger  generation  is  James  E.  Loughrey.  He  is  a  grand- 
son of  John  Loughrey,  who  was  born  in  Derry,  Ireland,  emigrated  to  tlie 
United  States  about  1835,  and  settled  in  Greensburg.  He  married  Jane 
McFarland,  and  the  two  enjoyed  the  respect  of  their  neighbors  and  friends 
in  their  new  home  on  this  side  of  the  sea. 

James  F.  Loughrey,  son  of  John  and  Jane  (McFarland)  Loughrey,  was 
born  in  1849,  in  Greensburg.  where  he  received  his  education  in  the  common 
schools.  When  about  sixteen  years  of  age  he  left  school  and  learned  the 
marblecutter's  trade  with  a  firm  in  Pittsburg,  and  this  calling  he  followed 
all  his  life.  In  1877  he  married  Frances  E.,  daughter  of  David  and  Martha 
(Steel)  Mechling,  the  former  a  farmer  and  a  native  of  Germany.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Loughrey  had  children :  James  E.,  mentioned  hereafter ;  Carrie  E., 
married  in  1902,  William  H.  Fisher,  a  jeweler  of  Greenslnirg,  and  has  one 
child,  Frances  Elizabeth  ;  Martha  and  Jane  F. 

James  E.  Loughrey,  son  of  James  F.  and  I-"rances  E.  (Mechling) 
Loughrey,  was  born  February  27,  1880,  in  Greensburg,  and  was  educated 
in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  town.  After  leaving  school  at  the  age 
of .  sixteen  he  obtained  employment  with  the  Greensburg  Steam  Laundry, 
where  he  remained  four  years  and  a  half.  He  then  became  connected  with 
the  Westmoreland  Laundry,  with  which  he  was  associated  one  year  aiTd 
a  half.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  1901,  he  moved  into  his  own  building  and 
established  the  Keystone  Laundry.  The  undertaking  prospered  and  he  is 
still  busily  engaged  on  the  same  site.  Mr.  Loughrey's  syinpathies  and  affil- 
iations arc  with  the  Republican  party,  to  which  he  gives  the  support  and 
encouragement  of  his  vote. 

FREDERICK  WILLIAM  CHICHESTER.  One  of  the  foremost 
business  men  of  Greensburg  is  Frederick  William  Chichester.  He  is  a  rep- 
resentative of  an  old  New  England  family  which  has  been  for  two  hundred 
years  resident  in  Fairfield  county,  Connecticut.  His  great-great-grandfather. 
Abraham  Chichester,  is  mentioned  in  the  annals  of  the  Revolutionary  war 
as  a  colonel  in  the  Patriot  army.  The  race  has  been  largely  engaged  in 
the  sphere  of  commerce.  George  Alonzo  Chichester,  a  cattle  drover,  was 
the  father  of  George  Edward  Chichester,  who  is  a  leaf-tobacco  merchant 
of  Danbury,  Connecticut.  He  married  Fannie  Van  Vallier  De  Klyn.  and 
four  children  were  born  to  them,  three  of  whom  survive :  Frederick  WilHam, 
of  whom  later;  Edward  G.,  a  broker  in  Pittsburg;  and  Mary  Antoinette, 
at  home. 

Frederick  A\'illiam  Chichester,  son  of  George  Edward  and  Fannie  \'an 
\'allier  ( De  Klyn)  Chichester,  was  born  August  9.  1873.  in  Danbury  Con- 
necticut, where  he  received  his  .education  in  the  public  schools.  From  early 
bovhood  he  had  the  advantage  of  a  thorough  business  training  under  the 
guidance  of  his  father,  and  in  1890  was  offered  and  accented  a  position  as 
general  bookkeeper  with  the  Danbury  National  Bank,  where  he  remained 
four  years.     In   1894  he  went  on  the  road  for  his  father,  covering  territory 


^ 


^^/^.  yj  ^^:i^!>^^u^^'tr^ 


1 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  37 

extending  from  Xew  York  city  to  Omaha,  Nebraska.  After  working  in 
this  capacity  for  about  two  years  he  went  to  Pittsburg,  where  he  was  as- 
sociated with  a  coal  company  until  1898.  He  then  removed  to  Greensburg, 
where  he  engaged  with  the  firm  of  Maxwell  &  Wildman,  succeeding  that 
firm  under  name  of  Chichester  &  Hudson.  In  1902  he  engaged  in  the  whole- 
sale grocery  business  and  has  since  organized  the  Westmoreland  Grocery, 
an  incorporated  company,  and  the  pioneers  of  the  wholesale  grocery  business 
in  Westmoreland  county.  The  enterprise  has  prospered  beyond  the  expec- 
tations of  its  originators  and  the  business  is  growing  rapidly.  Mr.  Chichester 
is  a  member  of  Union  Lodge,  No. -40,  F.  and  A.  M.,  and  Eureka  Chapter, 
No.  10,  both  of  Danburv,  Connecticut.  He  also  belongs  to  Pittsburg  Com- 
mandery,  No.  i,  K.  T.,' Syria  Temple,  A.  A.  O.  N.  M.  S.,  both  of  Pitts- 
burg, in  addition  to  being  identified  with  Greensburg  Lodge,  No.  511,  B. 
P.  O.  E.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Chichester 
married  in  1901,  Laura,  daughter  of  Josiah  Wagner,  a  prominent  farmer  of 
Irwin,   Pennsylvania,  one  child,  George  DeKlyn. 

JAMISON  FA]\IILY.  Robert  S.  Jamison  was  born  near  Greens- 
burg, Pennsylvania.  July  13,  1835,  and  died  March  14,  1903,  at  Redlands, 
California,  where  he  had  gone  a  few  weeks  before  on  account  of  ill  health. 
In  his  youth  he  received  a  fair  common  school  education,  and  having  been 
reared  on  a  farm  became  a  land-holder  almost  as  soon  as  he  was  of  legal 
age.  Although  devoting  much  time  to  other  pursuits,  he  was  a  farmer  all 
his  life,  and  was  a  leader  in  scientific  methods  for  improving  the  land,  using 
labor-saving  machinery  and  introducing  new  and  better  strains  of  live  stock. 
He  took  an  active  part  in  establishing  the  Westmoreland  Agricultural  So- 
ciety, being  its  president  for  a  luunber  of  years.  In  early  manhood  his  mind 
was  attracted  to  the  growing  importance  of  the  coal  and  coke  industry  of 
western  Pennsylvania.  With  keen  foresight  of  the  needs  of  the  future,  he 
began  to  study  the  coal  basins  of  his  own  locality.  In  1880.  associating  him- 
self with  others,  he  began  buying  coal  lands  extensively  in  Westmoreland 
county  and  continued  to  do  so  for  more  than  twenty  years,  and  time  has 
amply  proved  the  wisdom  of  these  ventures.  All  the  properties  purchased 
by  him  have  become  incorporated  into  large  and  flourishing  industries.  At 
the  time  of  his  death  he  was  president  and  large  owner  of  the  coal  and  coke 
company  that  bears  his  name.  In  private  life  he  was  genial,  fair,  uniformly 
courteous  and  charitable.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Second  Reformed  Church 
in  Greensburg,  and  one  of  its  officers  for  many  years.  He  married  Caroline 
Wible,  also  native  to  Greensburg,  who  died  ?ilay  24,  1905.  Both  are  buried 
in  St.  Clair  cemetery.  The  names  of  their  ten  children  are :  Mary  Emma, 
died  1877:  William  W.,  Joseph  Henrv.  died  1865;  John  :\[..  Thomas  S., 
Charles  M..  Robert  S.,  Hugh  D.,  Richard  H.,  and  Jay  C.  "Jamison. 

The  family  history  in  this  country  begins  with  l-'rancis  famison,  Sr., 
who  with  his  wife,  four  sons  anil  two  daughters  emigrated  from  the  north 
of  Ireland  in  1764,  and  settled  in  Franklin  county,  Pennsylvania.  His  chil- 
dren were:  John,  Robert,  Margaret.  Rosanna,  Marmaduke,  and  Francis. 
IVIr.  and  Mrs.  Francis  Jamison,  Sr.,  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age,  and  both  died 
while  on  a  visit  to  their  children  in  Westmoreland  county  and  are  buried 
at  Ridge  Church. 

II._  John  Jamison  (1749-1819)  came  to  Westmoreland  counlv  in  1769 
with  his  brother  Robert,  and  each  took  patent  to  about  three  hundred  acres 


•^8  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

of  land.  Robert  Jamison  located  in  Unity  township,  and  his  grandson, 
Joseph  Jamison,  owns  and  still  lives  at  the  old  homestead.  John  Jamison 
located  in  Hempfield  township,  and  after  remaining  for  more  than  one  hun- 
dred years  in  his  family  the  land  is  now  owned  by  the  Westmoreland  Water 
Company,  the  present  reservoir  covering  the  site  of  the  original  buildings. 
In  1774  John  Jamison  married  Janet  Martin*,  daughter  of  John  Martin, 
of  Big  Cove,  Fulton  county,  Pennsylvania.  She  was  a  sister  of  Hugh  Martin^ 
who  also  came  to  Westmoreland  county  about  that  time.  The  children  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Jamison  were:  Francis,  John,  Hugh,  Robert,  Benjamin, 
James,  Margaret.  Janet,  Mary,  and  Martha.  Hugh  and  James  inherited 
the  old  homestead  and  spent  their  lives  upon  it. 

ni.  Hugh  Jamison  (1785-1873),  father  of  Robert  S.  Jamison,  married 
Jane  Stuart  in  1817.  A  farmer  by  occupation,  he  taught  for  many  winters 
in  the  public  schools  near  his  home.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812. 
His  children  were:  John  (1818-1902),  Daniel  Stuart  (1822-1891),  Hugh 
Martin,  now  living  in  the  state  of  Texas;  Margaret  J.,  now  living  in  Greens- 
burg,  and   Roljert  S.  Jamison    (1835-1903). 

WILLIAM  STOKES  TURNEY,  one  of  the  prosperous,  active  busi- 
ness factors  of  Greensburg,  engaged  in  the  commission  and  storage  business, 
was  born  in  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  July  7,  1857,  the  son  of  Robert  Williams, 
and  Elizabeth  (Cook)  Turney. 

(T)  The  great-great-grandfather  was  a  native  of  Germany,  emigrated  to 
America  and  settled  in  eastern  Pennsylvania,  probably  before  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  His  name  was  Dorney,  but  like  many  other  names  in  this 
country,  it  has  undergone  a  change,  being  now  spelled  Turney. 

(il)  Daniel  Turney,  the  great-grandfather,  was  born  in  the  province  of 
Pennsylvania,  eastern  part,  whence  several  of  his  brothers  departed  for  new 
homes.  One  settled  in  Ohio,  another  in  Tennessee,  one  located  in  North  Caro- 
lina, and  Daniel  Turnev  crossed  the  Allegheny  mountains  to  Westmoreland 
county,  settling  near  the  site  of  "ye  ancient"  Hannahstown,  which  was  Greens- 
burg's  predecessor  as  the  countyseat.  He  was  a  farmer.  Among  his  eight 
children  was  one  called  Jacob,  Sr.,  the  third  child. 

(Ill)  Jacob  Turney,  Sr.,  son  of  Daniel  Turney  (II),  was  born  in  1788, 
early  in  life  located  at  Greensburg,  and  afterwards  held  the  office  of  county 
commissioner,  county  treasurer,  etc.  He  was  an  active  Democrat,  and  on  his 
return  from  a  state  convention  at  Harrisburg,  to  which  he  had  been  sent  as  a 
delegate,  he  contracted  a  cold  while  crossing  the  mountains,  from  the  effects  of 
whicli  he  died  some  years  later,  January  4,  1827.  His  wife,  to  whom  he  was 
married  January  23,  1810,  was  Margaret  Singer,  of  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania, 
born  May  11,  1792.  who  bore  him  seven  children:  Daniel,  Nancy  W'illiams 
(deceased),  Samuel  Singer  (deceased),  formerly  editor  of  the  Aro^iis.  and  later 
postmaster  at  Greensburg  for  twelve  years.  Lucian  B.  (deceased),  Lucinda, 
married  Richard  B.  Kenly ;  Robert  Williams,  and  Jacob,  Jr.,  all  of  whom  are 
now  deceased. 

(IV)  Robert  Williams  Turney,  son  of  Jacol)  Turney,  Sr.,  and  Margaret 
(Singer)  Turnev.  was  born  in  Greensburg.  Pennsylvania,  January  17,  1822, 
died  Julv  28,  1893.  He  learned  the  trade  of  cabinetmaker.  Later  he  was  en- 
gaged by  the  Pennsylvania  company  to  survey  its  original  line,  and  when  com- 


*For  the  story  of  the   capture    of   Janet    Martin  ly  the  Indians,    seepage    114  of  the  first 
volume  of  this  series. 


HISTORY   OF    H'ESTMORELAXD   COUXTV.  39 

pleted  he  was  appointed  as  the  first  passenger  conthictor  on  the  system.  Sub- 
sequently he  was  made  ticket  and  freight  agent  at  Greeiisburg  borough,  which 
otifice  he'  held  at  the  date  of  his  death.  He  married  Elizabeth  Cook,  born  Sep- 
tember 21,  1820,  and  still  surviving.  She  is  the  daughter  of  David  and  Mary 
Cook.  David  Cook  descended  from  Captain  James  Cook,  of  England,  and  was 
a  son  of  John  Cook,  of  the  same  country,  who  settled  in  Hagerstown,  Maryland. 
David  Cook  was  born  in  Hagerstown,  ?^Iaryland,  in  1793,  and  died  in  1865. 
He  came  to  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  clerked  in  a  store.  He  was  also 
countv  commissioner  several  terms,  as  well  as  register  of  will  and  recorder,  be- 
sides serving  two  terms  as  associate  judge  of  Westmoreland  county.  He  was 
an  ow-n  cousin  of  Governor  George  Geary,  of  Pennsylvania.  He  married  JMary 
McKinney,  who  came  from  Glasgow.  Scotland,  when  but  fifteen  years  of  age. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  Alexander  ^IcKinney,  who  came  from  Scotland  and 
settled  at  Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania,  but  later  removed  to  Greensburg.  The 
children  of  David  Cook  and  wife  were :  William  A.,  Mary,  Margaretta,  Jane 
Ann,  Theressa,  and  Charles.  The  children  of  Robert  W.  and  Elizabeth  (  Cook) 
Turney  were:  Anzonnetta,  David  C,  Jacob,  Anna  Belle,  Robert  W.,  Jr.,  Mar- 
cellus  R.,  William  Stokes,  Mary  Elizabeth,  and  Margaret. 

(  V)  William  Stokes  Turney,  the  seventh  child  of  Robert  W.  and  Eliza- 
beth ( Cook)  Turney.  born  July  7,  1857.  at  Greensburg.  Pennsylvania,  received 
a  good  common  school  education  and  was  made  assistant  freight  agent  at 
Greensburg.  Later  he  embarked  in  the  produce  and  commission  business  at 
Greensburg,  which  line  he  is  still  operating  in.  He  votes  the  Democratic 
ticket.  He  has  been  a  school  director  in  his  borough  for  seventeen  years.  He 
has  served  as  deacon  and  elder  in  the  First  Reformed  church  of  Greensburg,  of 
which  he  has  long  been  a  member.  Mr.  Turney  has  been  twice  married  (first) 
March  26,  1877,  to  Mattie  R.  Fry,  born  February  12,  1858,  died  August  25, 
1891.  Their  children  were:  Harry  L..  born  Xovember  5,  1878,  died  August 
18;  1897:  Edward  K.,  born  August  24,  1880:  E.  AIcC,  born  August  23,  1882. 
For  his  second  wife,  ]\Ir.  Turnev  married,  December  29,  1892,  Priscilla  Etta 
Fry.  She  was  born  May  18,  1871.  By  this  marriage,  one  daughter,  Eliza- 
beth Cook,  was  born  Ts'ovember  6,  1893.  Both  of  Mr.  Turney's  wives  were  the 
daughters  of  Isaac  and  Margaret  Fry,  of  Youngstown,  Pennsylvania. 

LE\T  PORTSER.  A  list  of  Greensburg's  respected  citizens  would 
be  incomplete  without  the  name  of  Levi  Portser,  wliose  grandfather,  Christian 
Portser,  came  across  the  sea  from  Germany  as  a  young  man  and  became  a 
farmer  in  York  county.  Later  he  moved  to  Westmoreland,  settling  in  Hemp- 
field  tow'nship  on  what  is  now  the  Sherey  farm.  He  afterward  sold  this  prop- 
ertv  and  removed  to  Delmont,  having  purchased  a  farm  just  outside  of  the 
town,  where  he  lived  during  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

Joshua  Portser,  son  of  Christian  Portser,  was  born  in  Yr)rk  county,  and 
learned  the  trade  of  blacksmith  in  Greensburg.  After  finishing  his  apprentice- 
ship he  opened  a  shop  in  Delmont  which  he  subsec|ueutly  moved  to  the  salt 
works,  returning  later  to  Delmont,  where  he  conducted  a  shop-  until  1833. 
He  then  bought  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  six  acres  in  Hempfield  township, 
four  miles  north  of  Greensburg.  where  he  resided  during  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  In  politics  he  was  first  a  Whig  and  later  a  Republican.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Lutheran  church,  yir.  Portser  married  Elizabeth  Martz,  of  Frank- 
lin township,  and  of  their  nine  children  six  are  living:  Mary,  widow  of  Simon 
Row;  Williani,  who  lives  on  the  homestead:  Levi,  of  whom  later:  i\Iatilda, 
wife  of  Jacob  Mainhart,  of  Pittsburg:  James  D.,  of  Manor  Station  :  and  Sarah, 


40  HISTORY   OF   U'ESTMORELAXD   COUNTY. 

wife  of  James  Orr,  of  Greensburg.     Mr.  IVirtser,  the  father  of  the  family,  died 
in  1874,  at  the  age  of  seventy-one. 

Levi  Portser,  son  df  Joshua  and  EUzabeth  (Martz)  Portser,  was  born 
January  29,  1837,  in  Hempfield  township,  and  received  his  education  in  the 
common  scliools.  At  twenty  years  of  age  he  apprenticed  himself  to  the  trade 
of  plasterer,  which  has  since  formed  the  main  business  of  his  life,  although  he 
has  engaged  to  some  extent  in  contracting  and  building.  He  learned  his  trade 
in  Greensburg,  and  since  1857  that  town  has  been  his  home,  his  part  in  the 
building  and  growth  of  the  place  having  been  no  inconsiderable  one.  From 
1893  to  1898  he  owned  valuable  coal  lands  in  Mellan  and  Franklin  townships, 
Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  rt  the  present  time  is  the  possessor  of  coal 
lands  in  \"irginia  wliich  he  is  developing  with  the  ex]iectations  of  beginning 
shipments  this  s])ring.  In  1903  be  built  the  handsome  modern  residence  in 
East  Greensburg  which  he  now  occupies.  Mr.  Port.ser  served  part  of  an  un- 
expired term  as  burgess  of  East  Greensburg,  being  appointed  to  finish  the  un- 
served time  of  Dr.  George  Culbertson.  He  is  now  |)resident  of  the  school 
board.  He  has  taken  all  the  Masonic  degrees  up  to  that  of  Knight  Temjilar, 
and  is  one  of  the  oldest  members  in  Greensburg  in  point  of  membership,  having 
joined  in  1863.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics.  During  the  Civil  war  he  was 
among  the  three  months  men  sent  out  in  1863.  January  5,  1870,  Mr.  Portser 
married  Isabella,  daughter  of  Robert  and  Caroline  Cochran,  then  residents  of 
Indiana  county,  Pennsylvania.  ]\Ir.  and  Mrs.  Portser  were  the  parents  of  six 
children  :  Rol)ert  K.,  now  an  attorney  in  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  who  served 
in  the  Spanish-.A.merican  war,  in  the  Philippines:  Iden  M.,  a  Greensburg  phy- 
sician; Carrie  B.,  wife  of  Joseph  W.  Steel,  of  Greensburg;  Bessie  V.,  resides 
with  her  father;  Wallace  W.,  who  graduated  from  Bucknel  University,  and  is 
now  employed  by  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company,  with  an  engineering 
corps:  Edwina  I\I.,  deceased.    Mrs.  Portser  died  December  5,  1903. 

CURTIX  PHILIP  STEIXER.  It  is  safe  to  .say  that  no  citizen  of 
South  Greensburg  is  better  or  more  favorably  known  to  the  population  at  large 
than  is  Curtin  Philip  Steiner.  His  great-grandfather,  who  emigrated  to  this 
country  from  Germany,  was  the  father  rf  six  sens,  the  names  of  five  of  whom 
have  been  preserved:  Philip,  Joseph,  John,  Henry,  and  Jacob. 

John  C.  Steiner,  son  of  Philip  Steiner,  mentioned  above,  was  born  '"^  1840, 
in  \\estmoreland  county,  where  he  grew  up  on  a  farm  and  learned  the  ti  ,  if 
a  shoemaker,  whicii  he  followed  for  some  years.  Later  he  engaged  in  farming 
and  other  occupations.  In  July,  1864,  he  enlisted  in  Company  K,  Two  Hun- 
dred and  Eleventh  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  serving-  until  th.'  close 
of  the  war,  and  receiving  a  wound  in  the  bead  from  a  spent  ball.  Wb'"j  living 
in  New  Stanton  he  was  for  fifteen  years  a  justice  of  the  neace,  and  since  his  re- 
moval to  Scottdale,  in  189=;.  has  held  the  same  office.  He  belongs  to  the  G.  A. 
R.,  the  Grange,  the  J.  O.' U.  A.  M.,  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  the  K'.  of  M.  He  is 
one  of  the  leading  Democrats  of  Scottdale,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
church  Mr.  Steiner  married  Harriet  C.  Pool,  and  their  children  are :  Lizzie 
M..  wife  of  Luther  M.  Hays,  of  East  Greensburg;  Curtin  Philip,  of  whom 
later;  Catherine  T.,  wife  of  James  E.  Funks,  of  New  Stanton:  Charles  E.,  of 
Scottdale;  Anna  M..  at  home;  Joseph  M.,  engaged  in  the  cigar  business  in 
Scottdale:  Samuel  O.,  in  partnership  with  his  brother  Joseph  ^I. ;  and  Sarah 
H.,  at  home. 

Curtin  Philip  .Steiner,  son  of  John  C.  and  Harriet  C.  (Pool)  Steiner,  was 
born  October  10,  1863,  in  New  Stanton,  and  received  his  education  in  the  com- 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  41 

mon  scliools.  ^^■l^en  no  more  than  twelve  years  of  age  he  worked  for  neigh- 
boring farmers  during  harvest,  and  when  somewhat  older  was  employed  in  the 
stone  quarry.  About  the  time  of  attaining  his  majority  he  worked  for  one 
vear  in  a  general  store  in  New  Stanton,  after  which  he  found  employment  as  a 
locomotive  fireman  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railway.  This  position  he  held  four 
vears,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  was  made  engineer.  In  1892,  after  running 
his  engine  for  three  years,  he  resigned  his  position  and  engaged  in  the  cigar  bus- 
iness in  Scottdale.  In  1897  he  became  the  proprietor  of  the  Central  Hotel  in 
Scottdale,  which  he  disposed  of  by  sale  six  months  later.  For  some  months 
thereafter  he  represented  a  Pittsburg  house  as  a  traveling  salesman,  and  then 
•went  to  Connellsville,  where  he  once  more  engaged  in  the  cigar  business.  In 
January,  1900,  he  settled  in  South  Greensburg,  and  again  became  the  proprietor 
of  a  hotel  which  his  genial  qualities  as  a  host  soon  made  extremely  popular.  In 
consequence  of  the  fact  that  his  business  speedily  outgrew  the  dimensions  of 
his  building,  Mr.  Steiner  erected,  in  the  summer  and  winter  of  1903,  a  re- 
markably fine  hotel  structure  of  light  pressed  brick,  supplied  with  all  the  mod- 
ern hotel  improvements.  In  April,  1904,  he  took  possession  of  this  building, 
which  he  opened  under  the  name  of  the  Colonial  Road  House  and  which  has 
since  been  one  of  the  leading  hotels  of  Greensburg,  noted  alike  for  the  admir- 
able manner  in  which  it  is  conducted  and  for  the  obliging  qualities  of  its  host. 
]\Ir.  Steiner  also  erected  two  residence  properties  in  Greensburg,  of  which  he 
is  still  the  owner.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
church.  Mr.  Steiner  married,  August  4,  1897,  Mary  L.  Gallagher,  of  Connells- 
ville. and  their  children  are :    James  Donald  and  Joseph  Curtin. 

WILLIAiNI  ]\I.  HUDSON,  one  of  the  leading  and  substantial  busi- 
ness merchants  of  Westmoreland  county,  was  born  in  Hempfield  township, 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  May  2,  1857,  son  of  George  and  Nancy 
R.  (^Mansfield)   Hudson. 

He  is  a  descendant  of  James  Hudson,  a  native  of  Wales,  who  emigrated  to 
the  United  States,  locating  in  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania.  On  the  maternal 
side.  William  M.  Hudson  is  of  Irish  ancestry,  his  great-grandparents  having 
lived  and  died  in  Ireland,  his  grandmother  being  the  first  of  the  family  to  leave 
her  native  land,  and  whose  mother  lived  in  Ireland  at  the  advanced  age  of  one 
hnr-?fied  and  five  years.  His  paternal  grandfather  was  James  Hudson,  who 
■  .  .^Dcrn  in  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania.  In  early  manhood  James  Hudson 
learned  the  trade  of  carpenter.  He  resided  for  some  time  in  Lancaster  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  about  1816  removed  to  Westmoreland  county,  locating  on  a 
smaM'farm  of  about  forty  acres,  which  he  purchased  in  Unity  township,  near 
Pleas'ijiit  Lenity,  where  he  lived  for  about  twenty-five  years.  He  then  pur- 
chased a-  farm  of  about  one  hundred  acres  near  Crabtree,  residing  here  tmtil 
four  or  five  years  prior  to  his  death,  when  he  removed  to  Allegheny  township. 
He  was  independent  in  politics,  voting  always  for  the  man  whom  he  considered 
best  fitted  for  the  position.  He  married  and  had  nine  children,  George  being 
the  only  surviving  member  of  his  family.  James  Hudson's  death  occurred  in 
Allegheny  township,  when  he  was  about  eighty-four  years  of  age,  and  his  wife, 
Mary  ("McCasland)  Hudson,  also  nassed  awav  in  that  township. 

George  Hudson,  father  of  William  M.  Hudson,  was  born  in  Unitv  town- 
ship, November  24,  1819,  received  his  early  education  in  the  common  schools  of 
his  native  place,  and  'subsequently  attended  the  old  Greensburn^  Academy. 
^^'hen  about  twenty-one  years  of  aee  he  commenced  teaching  school,  continuing 
in  this  employment  for  about  sixteen  years,  becoming  one  of  the  well-known 


42  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

early  teachers  of  Westmoreland  county.  He  then  turned  his  attention  to 
farming,  following  this  occupation  in  Salem  and  Hempfield  townships  until 
1879,  when  he  removed  to  Ludwick  horough,  where  he  lived  a  retired  life  until 
1905,  when  he  moved  into  Greensburg  proper.  In  1849  ^i^-  Hudson  married 
Nancy  R.  Mansfield,  of  Unity  township,  daughter  of  Abraham  and  Isabella 
(McGee)  Mansfield.  To  them  eight  children  were  born,  three  of  whom  are 
still  living:  William  M.,  of  whom  later;  Martha  Alice,  and  George  E.  George 
Hudson  is  a  Republican  and  is  now  serving  his  second  term  as  member  of  the 
school  board.  He  is  a  consistent  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  is 
one  of  the  esteemed  men  of  tlie  county. 

William  M.  Hudson  was  reared  at  home  and  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  his  native  place.  In  1879  he  removed  to  Ludwick  borough  with  his 
parents,  and  for  several  years  was  in  the  employ  of  the  firm  of  Donahue  & 
Kuhns,  at  Crabtree,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  had  entire 
charge  of  the  grain  business.  In  1891  he  became  a  member  of  the  firm,  and 
two  years  later  Mr.  Kuhns  died,  his  son,  J.  U.  Kuhns,  taking  his  interest  in  the 
business.  Some  time  later  the  death  of  Mr.  Donahue  occurred,  and  Mr.  Hud- 
son and  Mr.  Kuhns  jiurchased  his  interest  in  the  business,  which  has  since  been 
conducted  under  the  firm  name  of  Hudson  &  Kuhns,  and  which  has  proved  a 
very  successful  business.  Mr.  Hudson  is  a  man  of  character  and  standing, 
has  made  his  own  way  in  the  world,  and  is  in  every  way  worthy  of  the  success 
which  has  crowned  his  efforts.  In  politics  Mr.  Hudson  affiliates  with  the  Re- 
publican party.  He  has  served  as  auditor  of  the  borough  and  two  terms  as 
councilman.  As  a  citizen  he  is  popular  and  well-liked,  and  has  served  with 
honor  and  credit  the  positions  of  trust  and  responsibility  which  he  has  held. 
He  is  unmarried  and  makes  his  home  with  his  father. 

DANIEL  KL'NKLE.  In  a  list  of  Greensburg's  most  respected  citi- 
zens the  name  of  Daniel  Kunkle  would  stand  very  high.  Mr.  Kunkle's  great- 
grandfather, Jacob  Kunkle,  emigrated  from  Germany,  and  after  a  time  settled 
on  a  farm  in  Westmoreland  county  where  he  lived  some  years,  returning  finally 
to  his  former  home  east  of  the  mountains  and  there  ending  his  davs. 

Jacob  Kunkle  had  a  son  who  passed  his  life  in  Westmoreland  county,  and 
was  the  father  of  Michael  Kunkle.  The  latter  was  born  in  Sewickly  township, 
and  was  a  prosperous  farmer,  owning  a  farm  one  mile  north  of  Greensburg. 
He  held  the  rank  of  major  m  a  Westmoreland  county  regiment,  was  a  Democrat 
in  politics  and  an  active  member  of  the  German  Reformed  church.  He  mar- 
ried Mary  Mechling,  and  eight  children  were  born  to  them,  only  two  of  whom 
are  now  living:  Daniel,  of  whom  later;  and  Amos,  a  resident  of  Greensburg. 
Mr.  Kunkle  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight,  and  his  death  was  caused  by  an  ac- 
cident with  a  threshing  machine. 

Daniel  Kunkle,  son  of  Michael  and  Mary  (Mechling)  Kunkle,  was  born 
March  16,  1831,  in  Hempfield  township,  and  received  his  education  in  the  com- 
mon schools.  At  nineteen  years  of  age  he  apprenticed  himself  to  the  painter's 
trade,  which  failing  health  obliged  him  to  abandon  about  six  years  later.  He- 
then-  engaged  in  the  grain  and  lumber  business  in  Ludwick  borough,  in  part- 
nership with  a  Mr.  Lobaugh.  At  the  end  of  six  years  Mr.  Kunkle  withdrew 
from  the  firm,  and  for  more  than  fifteen  years  conducted  a  sucessful  lumber 
business  on  his  own  account.  He  then  retired  and  established  his  two  sons  in 
the  lumber  business  at  Ashtabula  Harbor,  Ohio,  where  the  enterprise  was  con- 
ducted by  theni  for  a  number  of  years.  Since  his  withdrawal  froni  business 
Mr.  Kunkle  has  lived  in  retirement.     He  is  the  owner  of  a  portion  of  the  old 


y^d<^^J^J'i^^-^r\Acr\\><r^^rKy^^ 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  43 

homestead  as  well  as  other  property.  His  record  as  a  citizen  bears  witness  to 
the  regard  in  which  he  is  held  by  his  neighbors,  by  whom  he  has  been  twice 
elected  burgess  of  Ludwick  borough  and  retained  four  years  as  a  member  of 
the  school  board.  His  political  affiliations  are  with  the  Republicans.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Kunkle  married  in  1858,  Rebecca, 
daughter  of  j\lason  Smith,  a  prominent  farmer  of  Unity  township,  and  they 
had  two  sons:  Harry  and  William.  Mrs.  Kunkle  died  in  1882.  and  Mr.  Kun- 
kle married,  October  23,  1884,  Mary,  daughter  of  Samuel  Gault,  by  whom  he 
had  children:  Edna;  Oliver  G.,  born  March  9,  1891,  aged  fifteen  years; 
Daniel  Wrav,  born  April  28,  1901,  aged  five  years;  John  Paul,  born  July  30, 
1903,  aged  three  years. 

HON.  EDWARD  E\'ERETT  ROBEINS,  a  prominent  lawyer  and 
financier  who  has  served  the  public  in  various  important  positions,  including 
that  of  state  senator  and  member  of  congress  and  who  rendered  military  serv- 
ices during  the  recent  war  with  Spain  as  a  major  of  United  States  \'olunteers, 
is  of  English  decent,  tracing  his  ancestry  to  the  earliest  colonial  period. 

(I)  Richard  Robbins,  his  emigrant  ancestor,  came  from  England  in 
i6Jo,  having  voluntarily  expatrated  himself  for  political  reasons,  his  activity 
in  bpposition  to  the  restoration  of  the  monarchy  being  so  pronounced  that  in  or- 
der to  ensure  personal  safety  he  deemed  it  wise  to  come  under  an  assumed 
name  and  in  the  guise  of  a  servant.  He  settled  in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  became  active  in  public  aflfairs. 

(II)  Samuel  Robbins,  son  of  Richard  (i)  served  in  the  Narragansett 
(King  Philip's)  war,  1674-5,  and  was  granted  a  tract  of  land  in  Vohuitown, 
Connecticut,  by  the  general  court.  He  died  in  Watertown,  Connecticut,  October 
21,  1708. 

(III)  Richard  Robbins,  son  of  Samuel  (2),  settled  upon  the  land  above 
referred  to  in  1709.     He  married  Anna  Bathrich,  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,       t 

in   170I.  -  ICL^'-vi-fi'^  VVXMC^iK-  '■iMAJ^^xjUlJ^ 

1  M )     William  Rohbins,  son  of  Brirrtnel  (\),  was  born  in  1795  and  died  in 
Keziah  ]\Iinor. 

(V)  Brintnel  Robbins.  son  of  Moses  (4),  was  born  in  1756  and  died  in 
1836.  He  married  Mary  Boardman  in  1777.  He  enlisted  in  the  War  of  the 
Revolution  at  New  London.  Connecticut,  and  served  in  1775-6,  1778-80  in  the 
companv  comanded  by  Captain  Samuel  Robbins.  He  participated  in  numerous 
battles  and  was  commissioned  ensign  at  the  end  of  the  war.  He  also  bore  an 
active  part  in  the  support  of  tlie  government  during  the  War  of  1812,  and  built 
vessels  on  Lake  Erie  for  Commodore  Perry,  but  only  received  compensation 
for  the  work  after  a  prolonged  litigation.  Before  1790,  with  his  wife  and  two 
children,  he  removed  to  western  Pennsylvania,  s])ending  the  first  winter  in 
Connellsville,  where  he  worked  iron  ore  in  the  Turnbull  furnace.  He  subse- 
quentlv  purchased  a  farm  at  Port  Royal  and  thence  went  to  Long  Run,  where 
he  built  a  flouring  mill.  He  bought,  in  1780,  a  large  tract  of  land  lying  on  the 
Youghiogheny  river  from  the  Pennsylvania  government,  and  which  is  yet  in 
the  possession  of  his  descendants.  He  removed  in  181 2  to  Pittsburg,  where  he 
became  an  extensive  ship  builder  and  coal  operator,  as  well  as  farmer.  He  es- 
tablished the  first  retail  milk  business  in  Pittsburg,  serving  his  customers  frojTi 
a  large  can  conveyed  about  the  town  on  a  wheel  barrow  by  a  colored  servant. 
He  built  in  1813  two  schooners  which  he  loaded  with  a  cargo  of  flour  and 
cheese,  for  the  West  Indies.  At  New  Orleans  the  ves.sels  were  manned  with 
crews  of  Spanish  sailors.     They  were  never  heard  of  after  leaving  the  port. 


44  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

Brintiiel  Robbins  removed  to  Greensbiirg  in  1830,  where  he  lived  the  remaining 
part  of  his  hfe.  He  was  a  pensioner  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  He  died  July 
25,  1836,  and  is  buried  in  Harold  graveyard,  near  Greensburg. 

(VI)  William  Robbins,  son  of  Brintnel  (5),  was  born  in  1795  and  died  in 
1834;  he  was  married  to  Agnes  Sloan.  (5^-v.<^  ^^-«.t<^ 

(Vn)  Joseph  Robbins,  son  of  AN'illiam  (6)  and  Rarehd  Gordon  Robbins, 
was  born  at  Robbins'  Station,  Pennsylvania,  in  1824.  He  was  married  (first) 
to  Rachel  Robbins,  and  after  her  death,  Margaret  Cristy.  He  was  the  pioneer 
coal  operator  in  the  Youghiogheny  district,  opening  up  an  extensive  mine  at 
Osceola  in  1848.  He  was  active  in  public  affairs,  served  as  school  director  for 
twelve  years,  and  was  a  delegate  to  various  Republican  conventions.  He  was 
a  Presbyterian  in  faith  and  membership. 

(\'ni)  Edward  Everett  Robbins,  son  of  Joseph,  was  born  at  Robbins 
Station.  Pennsylvania,  in  September,  1861.  He  began  his  education  in  the 
public  schools  in  that  place,  pursued  advanced  branches  in  Elders  Ridge  Aca- 
demy, and  entered  Washington  and  Jefferson  College,  from  which  he  was  a 
graduate  in  1881,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  with  the  degree  of  master  of  arts,  being 
sixth  in  a  class  of  thirty-six.  He  prepared  for  his  chosen  profession  in  the  law 
department  of  Columbia  University,  New  York,  and  graduated  in  1884,  being 
admitted  the  same  year  to  the  bar  of  Westmoreland  county.  In  the  following 
year  he  was  nominated  for  district  attorney.  He  was  elected  to  the  state  sen- 
ate in  1888,  and  served  efficiently  in  that  body  for  a  term  of  six  years.  Mr. 
Robbins  introduced  and  secured  the  passage  of  the  bill  appropriating  five  thous- 
and dollars  to  the  Childrens'  Aid  Society,  thus  securing  the  present  home  for 
this  deserving  institution.  This  was  the  first  state  aid  for  any  purpose  by  the 
people  of  Westmoreland.  He  also  introduced  the  law  providing  for  free  text 
i)Ooks  in  the  public  schools,  and  was  chairman  of  the  judiciary  committee  of  the 
senate.  He  was  especially  active  in  the  movement  for  equalization  of  taxes 
and  the  enactment  of  a  law  for  this  purpose. 

During  the  fifty-fifth  congress  the  Dingley  tariff  bill  was  enacted  when  the 
coal  and  iron  schedules  were  under  consideration  in  the  house.  Mr.  Robbins 
addressed  the  committee  of  the  whole  with  much  force  and  success.  His  work 
in  behalf  of  a  protective  tariff  was  both  brilliant  and  able.  His  work  for  Cuban 
Independence  and  speeches  for  that  cause  were  widely  read  and  commanded  at- 
tention. He  visited  the  island  of  Cuba  and  understood  the  conditions  there. 
Mr.  Robbins  was  one  of  the  three  members  of  congress  who  volunteered  and 
entered  the  army  at  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  with  Spain  and  was  commis- 
sioned captain  and  quartermaster  First  Brigade,  Third  Division,  First  Army 
Corps,   May   14.    1898. 

In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  has  borne  an  active  part  in  supporting 
the  principles  and  candidates  of  the  party.  When  the  Spanish-American  war 
came  on  he  offered  his  services  to  the  government,  and  was  assigned  to  duty  as 
quartermaster  with  the  rank  of  captain  on  the  staff  of  General  John  A.  Wily, 
commander  of  the  First  Brigade,  Third  Division,  First  Army  Corps,  at  Camp 
Thomas,  Georgia,  by  special  order  No.  143,  issued  from  the  adjutant-general's 
office  at  Washington.  Mr.  Robbins  has  long  been  in  the  National  Guard  of 
Pennsylvania,  serving  as  private,  lieutenant,  major,  brigade  quartermaster,  and 
commissary  general  of  the  state  Dn  the  staff  of  Governor  Stone.  This  exper- 
ience was  of  great  value^o  him  in  the  Spanish-x\merican  war,  and  he  was  de- 
tailed to  the  special  duty  of  equipping  and  shipping  troops  to  the  front.  His 
success  brought  him  a  promoti'rn,  and  August  21,  1898,  by  special  order  196 
lie  was  made  a  chief  quartermaster  with  the  rank  of  major  of  United  States 


I 

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THE 

NEW  YORK 

f  PUBLIC  LIBRARY  1 

pwr.tiaiions. 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAXD   COUXTV. 


45- 


\'olunteers,  and  placed  in  charge  (  f  the  transport  "Seneca,"  and  sent  with 
United  States  commissioners,  Admiral  Schley  and  Gordon  to  Porto  Rico.  He 
served  at  Ponce,  San  Juan,  Santiago ;  was  in  charge  of  the  United  States  trans- 
ports "i\Iobile,"  "^"Chester,"  and  "'Grant."  After  the  conclusion  of  peace, 
Quartermaster-General  Luddington  offered  him  a  commission  as  major  in  the 
regular  army,  but  he  declined  and  tendered  his  resignation  and  was  honorably 
discharged  by  special  order  243  of  the  adjutant-gjneral.  issued  from  Washing- 
ton, receiving  from  the  secretary  of  war,  November  14,  1898,  specially  com- 
mending his  services. 

\\'ith  high  standing  in  his  profession,  Mr.  Robbins  cares  for  a  large  and 
important  personal  practice  and  is  also  solicitor  for  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  and 
the  Ligonier  \'alley  Railroad  companies,  and  professional  adviser  for  various 
corporations  with  which  he  is  identified,  and  which  are  large  commercial  and 
financial  factors  in  the  business  of  his  city  and  county.  He  is  president  of  the 
Garrett  Coal  Company,  organized  the  Pittsburg  and  Baltimore  Coal  Company,, 
a  diretor  in  the  Safe  Deposit  and  Trust  Company,  of  Greensburg,  the  Wilmerd- 
ing  National  Bank  of  W'ilmerding,  Connellsville  Basin  Coke  Company,  and  a 
stockholder  in  other  banks  and  industrial  corporations,  and  in  the  Tribune  Press 
Publishing  Company,  of  Greensburg,  a  member  of  various  clubs — the  Ameri- 
cus,  the  Duquesne  and  the  University.  In  religion  he  is  a  Presbyterian,  and  he 
is  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church  of  Greens- 
burg. 

Mr.  Robbins  married,  December  17,  1897,  Luella  Moore,  daughter  of  J. 
W.  and  Elizabeth  S.  Moore,  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania.  They  had  two 
children:  Edward  E.,  born  December  2,  1900;  and  William  M.,  born  ^larch 
26,  1902. 

JOSEPH  ROBBINS  was  born  April  4,  1824,  at  the  Robbins  home- 
stead, where  he  still  lives.  In  1847  he  embarked  in  the  coal  business,  opening- 
the  first  coal  road  to  run  on  the  Youghiogheny  river,  at  Osceola,  Allegheny 
county,  Pennsylvania.  His  first  venture  was  on  a  lease  on  the  basis  of  one- 
fourth  cents  per  bushel  royalty.  The  coal  was  mined  and  floated  down  the 
river  in  boats,  when  the  water  was  sufficiently  high  to  carry  them,  and  sold  at 
Cincinnati,  at  the  rate  of  ten  cents  per  bushel.  The  means  of  transportation  was 
extremely  ventursome.  about  one-half  of  the  boats  being  lost  in  the  river. 
However,  during  the  first  four  years  of  his  coal  business  he  was  very  success- 
ful, meeting  with  little  or  no  loss,  but  during  the  fifth  year  he  lost  some  boats. 
by  parting  of  the  line  at  Cincinnati.  Several  also  went  over  the  dam  at  Pftts- 
burg,  some  at  Blenerhassett  Island,  and  one  at  Louisville.  During  this  time, 
however,  the  coal  business  had  increased  until  he  was  selling  coal  at  Cincinnati, 
Louisville  and  New  Orleans.  His  coal  was  confi.scated  by  the  Confederate 
government  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  and  he  concluded  the  business  was  en- 
tirely too  hazardous  to  continue,  and  closed  out  his  interests.  The  firm  was, 
knovvn  as  Horn  and  Robbins,  composed  of  Peter  Horn  and  Joseph  Robbins, 
and  in  connection  with  their  coal  business  they  kept  a  general  store  and  oper- 
ated a  sand  works.  In  1857  I\Ir.  Horn  sold  out,  retired  and  went  west.  In 
1859  ^fr.  Robbins  sold  his  coal,  store  and  sand  interests  to  Messrs.  Kellv  and 
Stout. 

In  the  year  of  1847.  when  the  scheme  of  improving  by  slack  water  the- 
Youghiogheny  river  was  taken  up,  Mr.  Robbins  became  one  of  its  most  active 
supporters,  and  aided  in  raising  the  amount  required  to  construct  the  two  dams, 
one  at  Elrods,  and  one  at  Buena  \'ista.   The  company  was  organized  bv  nieet- 


46  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

ing  at  West  Newton.  Alexander  Plummber,  president,  Moses  Robbins,  Will- 
iam Larimer,  Cyrus  ]\larkle  and  Joseph  Robbms  were  the  organizers  and  first 
directors,  and  William  Day  was  selected  as  engineer.  He  had  constructed 
dams  for  the  state  on  the  Kiskiminitas  river  to  feed  the  canal.  The  two  dams 
to  be  constructed  cost  about  $100,000,  and  this  was  raised  by  subscription  to 
the  capital  stock  of  the  Youghiogheny  Navigation  Company.  The  contract 
was  let  to  William  Alston  for  the  first  lock  at  Elrods,  and  Theodore  Swan  for 
the  one  at  Buena  Vista.  These  locks  provided  slack-water  navigation  from 
McKeesport  to  West  Newton.  The  contractors  encountered  great  difficulty  in 
building  the  dams — in  following  the  specifications.  It  required  the  dams  to  be 
built  of  plank  and  filled  in  with  concrete.  It  was  discovered  that  the  plank 
would  not  retain  the  concrete  and  the  dams  would  not  hold  water.  The  com- 
pany had  agreed  with  the  coal  operators  to  have  the  dams  finished  in  1848. 
The  work  was  not  completed  until  1849,  ^^''d  many  coal  works  were  opened 
and  boats  loaded  along  the  river,  and  after  the  river  was  frozen  up  many  of 
the  boats  were  lost.  Navigation  was  opened  in  September,  1849,  '^"d  was 
continued  until  the  winter  of  1861,  when  the  heavy  freeze  caused  the  ice  to 
gorge  and  the  tops  were  taken  oiif  these  dams.  A  committee  was  then  ap- 
pointed to  raise  money  to  repair  the  Navigation  Company's  loss,  consisting  of 
Thomas  S.  Cass,  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  Swan  Caldwell  and  Joseph 
Robbins.  They  met  at  the  office  of  Mr.  Cass,  in  Pittsburg.  Mr.  Cass  was 
then  acting  as  president  of  the  Ft.  Wayne  Railroad,  and  the  matter  was  turned 
over  to  his  clerk  and  subsequently  to  Andrew  Carnegie,  who  was  his  assistant, 
and  these  three  men  raised  the  money  and  had  the  dams  repaired  and  naviga- 
tion resumed.  In  the  winter  of  1865-66  the  ice  was  exceedingly  heavy.  The 
dams  were  then  again  badly  damaged,  and  as  part  of  the  subscriptions  were  yet 
unpaid  Mr.  Robbins  was  required  to  make  up  quite  a  sum  for  the  repairs  al- 
ready done.  About  June  i,  1866,  without  any  apparent  cause,  the  upper  dam 
gave  way  and  the  result  was  that  the  lower  dam  was  broken  and  the  slack- 
water  of  the  Youghiogheny  river  was  gone  forever.  The  washout  in  the  dam 
was  a  break  over  twenty  feet  in  width  and  came  without  warning,  leaving  the 
boats  which  were  being  loaded  along  the  river  at  the  coal  tipples  down  on  the 
bottom  of  the  river,  where  they  remained  until  broken  up  and  destroyed  by  the 
floods  of  the  succeeding  year.  , 

After  this  Mr.  Robbins  retired  to  the  farm  on  which  he  afterwards  lived, 
comprising  about  three  hundred  acres  of  land,  which  was  taken  up  bv  his 
grandfather,  Brintnel  Robbins.  In  addition  to  farming  Mr.  Robbins  was  ac- 
tively engaged  in  other  enterprises,  being  at  one  time  the  general  manager  for 
Thomas  Moore  of  his  large  mining  and  distilling  interest.  He  was  an  organ- 
'  izer  of  the  Metropolitan  National  Bank,  at  Pittsburg,  and  is  still  connected 
with  its  management.  He  took  an  active  part  in  politics  as  a  Republican,  and 
served  for  many  years  as  a  school  director  and  delegate  at  various  conventions. 
Pie  is  an  active  supporter  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  His  business  career  was 
very  successful,  and  his  interests  in  coal  and  other  matters  were  alwavs  exten- 
sive. A  tract  of  coal  which  he  owns  has  been  mined  by  W.  L.  Scott,  and  is 
now  being  mined  by  the  Pittsburg  Coal  Company.  At  the  present  time  Mr. 
Robbins  is  hale  and  hearty,  and  takes  an  active  part  in  business,  politics  and 
everything  about  him. 

JOSEPH  ROBBINS.  The  earliest  known  ancestor  of  the  familv 
of  w'hich  Joseph  Robbins,  of  North  Irwnn,  is  a  representative  was  Brintnal 
Robbins,  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  his  captain 


HISTORY   OF   IVESTMORELAXD   COUXTV.  47 

being  Samuel  Robbins.  His  last  year  in  the  service  saw  him  an  ensign. 
Hezekiah  Robbins,  his  son,  lived  at  Robbins  Station,  on  a  farm,  the  town 
being  named  after  him.  He  built  a  frame  grist  mill  at  Possum  Hollow,  near 
Guffev's  Station,  antl  operated  it,  also  cultivating  his  farm,  following  these 
two  occupations  all  his  life.  He  built  the  United  Pre.sb\terian  church  at 
Circleville.  now  known  as  the  Bethel  church,  and  was  made  an  elder  in  it. 

Thomas  \^'.  Robbins,  son  of  Hezekiah  Robbins,  was  born  July  12,  1812, 
at  Robbins  Station,  and  was  a  farmer  all  his  life.  For  many  years  he  served 
as  justice  of  the  peace,  and  in  politics  was  first  a  Whig,  but  later  a  Repub- 
lican. He  was  a  member  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church.  He  married, 
June  26,  1838,  Sarah  P.,  born  February  7,  181 1,  daughter  of  James  E.  and 
Lydia  (Painter)  McGrew,  of  Sewickley  township,  and  their  children  were: 
Lydia  AL,  born  April  11,  1839,  •i^^'i  December  17,  1889;  Joseph,  mentioned 
hereafter;  Mary  E.,  born  April  10,  1846,  died  June  17,  1847.  Mr.  R-obbins 
died  February  27,  1873.  His  widow  survived  him  for  a  number  of  years, 
her  death  occurring  January  21,   1892. 

Joseph  Robbins,  son  of  Thomas  W.  and  Sarah  P.  (McCirew)  Robbins, 
was  born  August  10,  1841,  on  a  farm  near  Coulterville,  Allegheny  county, 
Pennsylvania.  His  education  was  such  as  the  country  schools  give  and 
was  discontinued  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  when  he  went  to  vv'ork  on  the  farm. 
August  14,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Company  A,  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-fifth 
Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  Captain  A.  L.  Pearson  and  Colonel 
E.  [.  .\llen  commanding.  He  participated  in  the  following  battles:  Antietam, 
Fredericksburg,  Chancellorsville,  Aldie,  Gettysburg,  \\'apping  Heights.  Rap- 
pahannock Station,  Mine  Run,  Wilderness,  Laurel  Hill,  Spottsylvania,  North 
Anne  River,  Telopotomy,  Bethesda  Church,  Cold  Harbor,  Petersburg — as- 
sault, Petersburg — Jerusalem,  Plank  Road,  Petersburg — mine  explosion, 
Weldon  Railroad  and  Peebles  Farm.  This  brilliant  record  came  to  and  end 
at  Hatches  Run,  where  he  was  wounded  in  the  leg,  February  6,  1865.  For 
a  week  he  was  in  a  hospital  at  City  Point,  was  then  transferred  to  Baltimore 
for  a  month,  and  afterward  for  a  month  more  to  York,  Pennsylvania.  He 
left  the  hospital  on  a  twenty-dav  furlough  home,  when  this  ex]Mred  returned 
to  York,  and  was  honorably  discharged  June  2,  1865.  He  then  returned 
to  Westmoreland  county,  near  Stewartsville,  and  in  1900  retired  from  active 
farming  to  North  Irwin,  where  he  purchased  the  property  on  which  he  now 
resides.  He  is  now  serving  on  the  council  and  school  board,  and  is  a  Re- 
publican in  politics.  He  is  a  member  of  the  I'nited  Presb\terian  church, 
of  which  he  has  been  an  elder  seven  years.  He  married,  ]\Iarch  26,  1874, 
Mary  E.,  born  .April  t8,  1857,  daughter  of  William  F.  and  Margaret  (Tay- 
lor) Irwin,  of  Irwin,  and  their  children  were:  i.  Kate  Irwin,  born  I'eb- 
ruary  13,  1875,  died  January  20.  1895.  2.  Sarah  Margaret,  born  Decem- 
ber 15.  1877,  is  the  wife  of  John  Crookston,  of  North  Irwin,  and  has  one 
child.  Robert  Ray.  3.  William  Thomas,  born  .April  25,  i88r,  married 
^largarct  Piper,  of  North  Irwin.  4.  Martha  Jane,  born  March  23,  1883. 
5.  John  Irwin,  born  January  31,  1887.  6.  James  Edward,  born  May  3, 
1890,  died  August  24,  1890.  Mrs.  Robbins,  tlic  mother  of  these  children, 
expired  May  26,  1891. 

DR.  W.  W.  JOHNSTON,  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  in 
Grecnsburg.  was  born  in  Lovalhanna  township,  \\'estmoreland  county,  Oc- 
tober 7,  1852.  a  son  of  Elrod  and  Nancy  f.Mcorn)  Johnston.  .At  the  time 
of   his    father's    death,    Elrod    Johnston    inherited    the    old    family    homestead 


48  HISTORY   OF    WHSTMORELAKD   COUXTV. 

upon  which  he  had  been  born  and  reared  and  on  which  he  spent  his  remain- 
ing days  and  three  of  his  brothers  acquired  adjoining  farms.  His  home, 
was  the  place  of  entertainment  for  the  traveler  and  all  who  came  his  wav, 
the  household  being  noted  for  its  unlimited  hospitality.  He  followed  farm- 
ing throughout  his  entire  life  and  was  highly  esteemed  in  the  conununity 
as  a  reliable  business  man  and  worthy  citizen.  In  politics  he  was  a  Repub- 
lican and  for  many  years  held  local  office.  He  belonged  to  the  Loyalhanna 
Baptist  church,  and  died  in  that  faith  at  the  age  of  eighty-four  years.  He 
was  twice  married,  his  first  wife  being  Nancy  Alcorn,  by  whom  he  had  si.K 
children :  Anna,  widow  of  S.  A.  Wiley,  now  living  with  Dr.  Johnston ; 
Carilla,  w^ife  of  Walter  Shoup  of  Loyalhanna  township;  William;  Ira,  on 
the  old  homestead;  Elrod,  of  Greensburg;  and  Nancy,  wife  of  O.  J.  Closson, 
of  Greensburg.  His  second  wife  was  Elizabeth  Wiley  and  they  had  one 
son,  Harry  K.,  who  resides  on  the  old  homestead  with  his  brother  Ira. 

Dr.  Johnston  spent  his  boyhood  and  youth  on  his  father's  farm  and  in 
the  acquirement  of  his  education  attended  successively  the  common  schools, 
Saltsburg  .\cademy  and  the  Indiana  Normal  school.  In  1877  he  entered 
upon  the  study  of  medicine  under  the  preceptorship  of  Dr.  J.  L.  Crawford, 
of  Saltsburg,  and  in  the  fall  of  1878  matriculated  in  Bellevue  Hospital  Med- 
ical College,  of  New  York,  from  which  he  was  graduted  in  the  spring  of 
1881.  He  then  located  for  practice  in  Saltsburg,  where  for  ten  vears  he 
enjoyed  a  good  patronage  and  then  pursued  a  post  graduate  course  in  New 
York  city,  subsequent  to  which  time  he  has  practiced  in  Greensburg,  with 
a  patronage  that  is  indicative  of  the  public  confidence  in  his  skill  and  ahilit\-. 
He  belongs  to  the  Westmoreland  County  Medical  Society  and  politically 
is  a  Republican,  while  his  religious  faith  is  indicated  by  his  membership  in 
the  Presbyterian  church.  He  was  married,  in  1881,  to  Mary  Ralston,  of 
Congruity,  Pennsylvania,  and  they  had  one  child,  Lloyd  M.  Mrs.  Johnston 
died  in  1888  and  in  1891  Dr.  Johnston  married  Mollie  Lloyd,  of  Delmont, 
W'estmoreland  county.     They  have  two  children,  Nancy  E.  and  Ira  Ralph. 

JAMES  S.  MOORHEAD,  of  Greensburg,  is  the  son  of  James  and 
Jane  Elizabeth  (Sharpe)  Moorhead,  of  Indiana,  Pennsylvania.  His  ancestors 
were  among  the  first  settlers  of  the  present  county  of  Indiana,  his  great-grand- 
father having  been  captured  by  the  Indians  about  1760,  and  taken  to  Quebec, 
where  he  was  exchanged  for  French  prisoners  captured  by  English  soldiers 
and  colonists.  His  maternal  ancestors  were  related  to  the  Sharpes  in  the  Cum- 
berland valley  of  Pennsylvania. 

James  S.  Moorhead  w-as  born  November  5,  1847,  ^n'l  was  educated  at 
Elder's  Ridge  Academy,  and  at  Washington  and  Jefiferson  College,  from  which 
last  institution  he  was  graduated  in  1868.  He  read  law  with  the  firm  of 
Steward  &  Clark,  of  Indiana,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Clark  was  his  cousin  and 
afterward  became  a  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  Indiana  in  1870,  and  on  June  7  of  the  same  year  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  Westmoreland  bar  and  has  since  been  steadily  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  the  law.  Like  most  thorough  lawyers,  he  has  never  turned  aside 
from  his  chosen  profession  to  seek  political  preferment,  unless  it  be  once  in 
1895  when  he  was  a  candidate  on  the  Democratic  state  ticket  for  judge  of  the 
superior  court  of  Pennsylvania.  Even  this  place  was  in  the  line  of  his  profes- 
sion, and  whilst  he  was  defeated,  the  state  going  strongly  Republican  that  year , 
his  friends  had  the  consolation  of  knowing  that  had  he  been  elected  he  wouhJ 
have  brought  to  the  bench  a  mind  eminently  qualified  for  that  high  position. 
He  has,  however,  served  as  a  school  director  for  twelve  years,  and  the  hi^,di 


HISTORY   OF   U'ESTMORELAXD   COUXTY.  49 

standing  of  the  Greensburg  schools  is  in  no  small  measure  due  to  the  interest 
he  manifested  in  this  line  of  work.  He  is  a  lawyer  equally  strong  either  before 
a  court  or  jury,  or  in  giving  the  counsel  essential  to  the  conduct  of  large  busi- 
ness enterprises.  He  has  tried  a  number  of  homicide  cases,  but  his  work  has 
principally  been  in  the  more  lucrative  practice  in  the  civil  courts  below  and  the 
supreme  court  of  Pennsylvania.  Particularly  has  he  tried  many  cases  in  the 
new  branch  of  litigation  which  has  come  before  the  courts  of  the  state  in  the 
last  twenty  years  growing  out  of  the  oil  and  gas  and  coal  industries. 

In  the  case  of  the  Westmoreland  and  Cambria  Natural  Gas  Company  vs. 
DeW'itt,  et  al.  (130  Pa.  State  235),  Air.  Moorhead's  contention  that  a  lease 
for  the  purpose  of  drilling  for  oil  or  gas  is  in  the  nature  of  an  easement  with 
respect  to  the  surface  for  the  puqjose  of  entry,  examination  and  drilling  opera- 
tions and  that  the  real  subject  of  possession  by  the  lessee  is  the  oil  or  gas  ob- 
tained in  the  land,  was  denied  by  the  lower  court,  but  was  sustained  by  the 
supreme  court  of  Pennsylvania.  Of  equal  or  possibly  of  greater  importance 
from  a  judicial  point  of  view  are  the  cases  of  Alilligan  vs.  Dick,  107  Pa.  State 
259;  Gumbert's  Appeal,  no  Pa.  State  496;  Cunningham's  Estate,  106  Pa. 
State  536:  ruling  cases,  in  all  of  which  Air.  Aloorhead  was  the  leading  counsel, 
which  may  be  examined  by  the  student  or  practicing  lawyer  to  advantage. 
Alany  others  may  be  cited,  but  we  deem  these  sufficient  for  this  brief  review. 
His  address  in  memory  of  the  late  Chief  Justice  Alercur  (Pa.  State  Rep.  116,  p. 
XXV')  is  an  illustration  of  his  style  of  English. 

Whether  his  language  be  spoken  or  written,  whether  it  be  in  the  form  of  a 
public  address  or  an  argument  before  a  court  or  a  jury,  it  is  always  character- 
ized by  a  finish  which  is  far  superior  to  that  of  the  average  lawyer.  In  every 
forum  he  advocates  his  cause'  with  the  honesty  of  a  philosopher,  the  precision 
of  a  scholar,  and  with  a  dignity  becoming  the  announcement  of  a  judicial  man- 
date. There  are  probably  members  of  the  bar  in  our  large  cities  who  surpass 
him  in  the  lines  to  which  they  have  devoted  their  special  attention,  but  we 
doubt  whether,  in  the  varied  attainments  of  an  all-around  practitioner,  he  has 
a  superior  either  on  the  bench  or  in  the  bar  of  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Aloorhead, 
aside  from  his  professional  work,  has  found  more  time  than  most  lawyers  to 
read  history,  poetry  and  the  higher  grade  of  fiction.  It  is  not  infrequent  that 
his  addresses  are  adorned  by  classic  references  evoked  from  the  ideal  world  by 
the  genius  of  a  poet  or  the  novelist.  He  is  yet  in  the  vigor  of  his  manhood  and 
we  trust  has  many  years  of  useful  work  before  him. 

CHARLES  H.  FOGG,  one  of  the  most  jjrominent  and  successful 
civil  and  mining  engineers  in  Greensburg,  is  a  representative  of  an  old  and 
honored  family  which  settled  in  America  in  the  seventeenth  century.  The 
founder  of  the  family  was  Samuel  Fogg,  who  came  from  Exeter,  England,  in 
1630,  and  settled  in  Hampton.  New  Hamp.shire.  James  Fogg,  a  descendant  of 
Samuel  Fogg,  and  the  great-grandfather  of  Charles  H.  Fogg,  was  born  in 
Scarboro,  Maine,  in  1771.  James  Fogg,  son  of  James  Fogg,  was  born  in  Saco, 
Maine,  May  10,  1799.  He  married  Elizalieth  P.radbnry,  and  had  children. 
among  them  being  a  son,  James  H.  Fogg,  lifirn  in  Saco,  Maine,  June  10,  1835. 
He  is  a  prosperous  man  of  business,  dealing  in  stock  and  lumber.  He  married 
Lydia  A.  Haley,  daughter  of  Mark  Haley,  and  among  their  children  was 
Charles  H.,  of  whom  later. 

Charles  H.  Fogg,  son  of  James  H.  and  Lydia  A.  (Haley)  Fogg,  was  born 
in  P)iddeford,  Alaine,  February  7,  1861.     He  had  the  advantage  of  a  most  ex- 


50  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

cellent  education,  attending  the  University  of  Maine,  where  he  was  graduated 
as  a  civil  engineer  in  June,  1881.  He  came  to  Greensburg  in  September,  1882, 
having  accepted  a  position  as  assistant  civil  engineer  in  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road Company,  and  held  this  position  for  several  years.  He  then  formed  a 
business  partnership  with  W.  W.  Jamison,  under  the  firm  name  of  Jamison  & 
Fogg,  in  general  civil  and  mining-  engineering.  This  partnership  was  dis- 
solved in  1903,  and  Mr.  Fogg  continued  in  the  same  branch  of  business  alone, 
and  worked  up  a  very  lucrative  business.  Later  he  associated  himself  with 
Morris  L.  Painter,  and  they  are  doing  business  under  the  style  of  Painter  & 
Fogg.  Mr.  Fogg  is  very  enterprising,  energetic,  and  possessed  of  great  de- 
terniination.  He  is  very  systematic  and  accurate  in  his  work,  and  has  the 
reputation  of  being  one  of  the  most  reliable  men  in  his  profession.  He  married, 
December  27,  1887,  Rebecca  Barclay,  daughter  of  Thomas  J.  Barclay,  and  they 
have  six  children:  Hester  B.,  James  Henry,  Sarah  B.,  Joseph  B.,  Rebecca  B., 
Lydia  Ann. 

RE\'.  PHILIP  KRETZ,  pastor  of  the  Most  Holy  Sacrament  church, 
at  Greensburg,  was  born  in  Erie,  Pennsylvania,  March  11,  1857,  son  of  Wende- 
lin  and  Mary  (Volz)  Kretz.  When  twelve  years  of  age  he  entered  St.  Vin- 
cent's College,  in  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  acquired  his  education,  and 
on  July  15,  1880,  was  ordained  to  the  priesthood.  In  October  of  the  same  year 
he  "was  sent  to  Rome  to  study  the  higher  branches  of  theology,  and  upon  his 
return  was  made  a  member  of  the  faculty  in  St.  Vincent's  College,  where  for 
five  years  thereafter  lie  taught  theology.  He  was  given,  in  1889,  a  charge  at  St. 
MarVs  church,  in  Elk  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  remained  for  five  or 
six  years.  He  was  then  sent  to  a  mission  in  the  Alleghanies,  having  charge  of 
St.  Boniface  and  St.  Lawrence  congregations.  He  was  sent  to  Baltimore  in 
1895,  where  he  had  charge  of  Fourteen  Holy  Martyrs  church,  and  in  September, 
1899,  he  was  transferred  to  Greensburg  to  take  charge  of  the  Most  Holy  Sacra- 
ment church.  This  was  the  first  Catholic  property  west  of  the  Alleghanies, 
having  been  purchased  by  the  church  in  1789.  After  coming  to  Greensburg, 
Father  Kretz  saw  the  necessity  of  having  a  more  commodious  school  building, 
and  in  July,  1904,  the  erection  of  the  present  structure,  one  of  the  most  sub- 
stantial buildings  of  Greensburg,  was  began  and  was  ready  for  occupancy 
March  i,  1905.  The  building  is  supplied  with  all  modern  ventilating  appli- 
ances and  the  various  modern  improvements  found  in  the  schools  of  the  present 
and  is  a  handsome  and  substantial  structure.     Father  Kretz  died  August,  1905. 

ALBERT  CHARLES  SNIVELY,  an  attorney  of  Greensburg,  was 
born  in  ]\Iount  Pleasant  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  No- 
vember 29,  1869. 

(I)  John  Snively,  the  great-grandfather,  came  from  Germany  to  Hagers- 
town,  Maryland,  in  1780,  when  but  a  mere  boy.  His  parents  were  of  the 
Lutheran  faith.  He  died  in  1806.  Pie  married  Amy  Wilkinson  and  they  had 
three  sons :  John,  Abraham,  Hugh.  The  last  two  removed  to  Pittsburg  and 
Ohio,  respectively. 

dl)  John  Snively,  the  eldest  son  of  John  (i).  was  the  grandfather  of 
Albert  Charles  Snively.  He  was  born  in  Hagerstown,  Maryland,  1803,  and 
came  to  Mount  Pleasant  township  in  1807.  He,  too,  was  a  Lutheran  :  he  had 
a  fair  common  school  education.  The  date  of  his  death  was  1888.  He  mar- 
ried Catherine  Fausold,  born  in  Cumberland,  Maryland,  1800,  and  came  to 
Westmoreland  county  in  1818.  They  were  married  in  1824.  She  died  in 
1877.     Of  the  ten  children  born  to  her  only  two  now  survive. 


THE 

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.0^^ 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  51 

(III)  Hiram  Snively.  the  father  of  Albert  Charles,  was  born  in  ^^lount 
Pleasant  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  February  4,  1834. 
He  possessed  a  good  common  school  education ;  is  a  Democrat,  and  has  held 
manv  township  offices.  He  was  assessor  live  terms  and  tax  collector  twice. 
During  the  dark  days  of  the  Civil  war  period,  he  was  rejected  from  service  on 
account  of  his  physical  disability.  He  married  Mary  Ann  Chorpenning,  Sep- 
.tember  16,  1858.  She  was  the  daughter  of  David  and  Hester  (Benford) 
Chorpenning.  Her  father  was  born  in  Somerset  county  in  ,1799  and  died  in 
1868.  Her  mother  was  also  a  native  of  Somerset  countv,  born  1807  and  died 
1867. 

( I\')  Albert  Charles  Snively  was  educated  in  the  puljlic  schools  of  ]\Iount 
Pleasant  township,  the  Blount  Pleasant  Institute  and  Greensburg  Seminary. 
He  began  teaching  in  the  public  schools  of  Westmoreland  county  in  1888,  fol- 
lowing it  for  eight  terms.  He  studied  law  with  Albert  H.  Bell  and  G.  Dallas 
Albert.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Westmoreland  county,  January  26, 
1896,  and  has  practiced  his  chosen  profession  ever  since.  He  is  a  supporter  of 
the  Democratic  party,  has  been  tax  collector,  and  is  at  present  school  director  in 
Irwin  borough ;  treasurer  of  the  Irwin  Realty  Company,  and  secretary  of  the 
Sunset  Distilling  Company.  In  church  connections  he  is  a  member  of  the 
}iIethodist  Episcopal  church.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Order,  Mason- 
town  (Pennsylvania)  Lodge,  No.  459;  K.  of  P.  Lodge,  No.  415,  Irwin;  B.  P. 
O.  E.  Lodge,  No.  486,  Jeannette.  For  three  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Na- 
tional Guard  of  Pennsylvania,  in  Company  I,  serving  in  1894-95-96.  He 
married.  July  28,  1903,  in  \\'estmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  Nettie  A. 
Christner.  of  Mount  Pleasant.  Mrs.  Snively  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  and  at  the  Normal.  Her  parents  are  Rev.  A.  Dickey  and  Samantha 
(Pyle)  Christner.  To  I\Ir.  and  jVIrs.  Snively  have  been  born  one  child,  Al- 
"berta  Christner,  born  February  17,  1905,  at  Irwin,  Pennsylvania.  ^ 

DANIEL  A.  MOWRY  is  the  oldest  representative  of  the  fourth  gen-  .^.jtlfi^j* 
eration  of  the  !\Iowry  familv  in  Derry  township,  AVestmoreland  countv.     The    -^ 
family  is  of  Swiss  lineage  and  was  established  in  America  by  the  great-great-  ^ 

grandfather,  who  emigrated  from  Switzerland  and  settled  in  Dauphin  county,  '  ^^ 
Pennsylvania,  about  the  time  of  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  His  °f  "^ 
son.  Michael  Mowry,  removed  from  Dauphin  to  Westmoreland  county,  and  ac- 
quired a  large  tract  of  land  in  Derry  township,  from  the  heirs  of  Major  W'ilson. 
This  tract  has  in  subsequent  years  been  divided  and  subdivided  and  now  a  por- 
tion is  in  possession  of  Daniel  A.  l\Iowry.  The  original  homestead  is  now 
owned  by  ex-Governor  John  Latta,  of  Greensburg.  Michael  Mowry  and  his 
wife  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years.  Their  two  children,  Conrad  and 
Catherine,  were  born  in  Dauphin  county. 

Conrad  Mowry  w^as  reared  upon  the  home  farm  in  Derry  township,  learned 
the  weaver's  trade  and  followed  that  vocation  during  the  active  years  of  his  life. 
He  continued  to  reside,  however,  upon  a  portion  of  the  old  MowTy  home- 
stead, which  had  come  to  him  as  his  patrimony.  He  and  his  wife  JNIatilda 
lived  to  the  age  of  seventy-two  years,  it  being  a  coincidence  that  the  paternal 
grandparents  and  great-grandparents  all  died  at  the  same  age.  Conrad  and 
Matilda  Mowry  also  had  two  children :  John  and  Nancy,  the  latter  the  wife  of 
Alichacl  Shehan. 

John  Mowry.  born  at  the  ancestral  home  in  Derry  township,  December  24. 
1809.  learned  the  cooper's  trade  in  early  life  and  followed  that  pursuit  until 
about  1856.  when  he  entered  tlie  employ  of  the  Pennsvlvania  Railroad  Com- 


HISTORY   OF    U'ESTMORELAXD   COUNTY. 


pany  and  was  thus  engaged  until  his  retirement  from  active  husiness  hfe.  He, 
too,  made  his  home  upon  the  farm  where  he  was  born  and  reared.  He  held 
membership  in  the  Lutheran  church,  in  which  members  of  the  family  have  been 
active  workers  for  more  than  a  century,  many  of  them  holding  office  in  the 
church.  The  political  faith  of  the  family  has  ever  been  in  accord  with  Demo- 
cratic principles,  and  John  JMowry  also  followed  in  the  path  of  his  ancestors  in 
this  particular.  He  died  Decemljer  i8,  1883.  In  early  manhood  he  married 
^lary  A.  Crusan,  who  was  of  Scotch  descent,  the  emigrant  ancestor  having 
come  to  Westmoreland  county  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago.  John  and  Alary 
A.  Mowry  had  nine  children,  of  whom  three  are  living:  Daniel  A.;  Michael 
Y.,  of  Derry  township ;  and  Nancy  R.,  the  wife  of  Samuel  A.  Wareham,  of  the 
borough  of  Derry. 

Daniel  A.  Mowry  was  born  in  Derry  township,  Westmoreland  county, 
June  13,  1847,  was  reared  upon  the  home  farm  and  educated  in  school  No.  15, 
of  his  native  township.  From  the  age  of  ten  years  he  was  earning  money  in 
various  ways  and  when  seventeen  years  of  age  his  name  was  on  the  pay  roll 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company,  while  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years  he 
entered  upon  an  apprenticeship  to  the  blacksmith's  trade  in  the  town  of  New 
Derry.  \\'hen  he  had  completed  his  term  of  indenture  he  opened  a  shop  in 
iMillwood,  which  he  conducted  nine  years,  doing  a  large  amount  of  railroad 
work.  In  1878  he  re-entered  the  service  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Com- 
pany in  the  capacity  of  a  blacksmith  for  car  inspectors  in  the  motive  power  de- 
l^artment,  and  in  1888  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  company's  store  at  Derry 
Station,  where  he  remained  until  his  election  to  the  office  of  county  commis- 
sioner in  1902.  He  was  six  times  a  nominee  for  county  offices,  having  been 
nominated  five  times  for  the  position  of  prothonotary.  While  the  Republicans 
normally  have  a  very  large  majority,  he  was  defeated  on  one  occasion  by  only 
a  hundred  and  fifty  votes  and  he  was  elected  to  his  present  office  by  a  very  large 
majority,  which  is  indicative  of  his  personal  popularity  and  the  confidence  re- 
posed in  him  by  his  fellow  townsmen.  He  has  always  been  a  staunch  Demo- 
crat and  an  earnest  worker  for  the  growth  and  success  of  the  party.  He  is  now 
serving  as  secretary  of  the  board  of  county  commissioners.  For  thirty-two 
years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  A.  O.  of  U.  W.  and  for  more  than  thirty 
years  of  Lamont  Lodge,  No.  568,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Veteran  Employers  Association  of  the  Pittsburg  division  of  the  Pennsylvania 
railroad,  and  has  been  a  life  long  member  of  Trinity  Lutheran  church,  at  Derry, 
serving  as  a  member  of  the  church  council  and  secretary  of  the  board.  Mr. 
Mowry  was  married  June  14,  1869,  to  Margaret  A.  Akins,  of  Derry  township, 
a  daughter  of  Andrew  Akins.  They  have  become  the  parents  of  eleven  children, 
of  whom  nine  are  living:  Maud  E.,  the  wife  of  L.  A.  Loughner,  of  Penn  town- 
ship, Westmoreland  county ;  Mary  M.,  wife  of  W.  P.  Best,  of  Derry  Station ; 
Albert  T.,  of  Derry  township,  foreman  in  the  machine  shops  at  Conemaugh. 
Pa. ;  Andrew  J.,  of  Derry  township,  who  is  with  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Company;  Daniel  A.,  an  engine  preparer  at  Derry;  Myrtle  F.,  wife  of  L.  S. 
Kelly,  of  Derry  township;  Charles  C,  Bertha  L.  and  Charlotte  J.,  at  home. 

AMOS  B.  KLINE.  The  Kline  family  has  long  been  prominent  in 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.  The  first  of  the  name  to  settle  here  was 
John  Kline,  a  pioneer,  who  came  from  the  eastern  part  of  this  state  shortly  after 
the  Revolutionary  war.  He  was  a  son  of  Peter  Kline,  a  resident  of  Lancaster 
county,  Pennsxlvania,  in  the  part  which  is  now  Lebanon  county,  but  whether 
he  was  a  native  born  or  an  emigrant  from  Germanv  is  not  known. 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAXD   COUNTY.  53 

Peter  Kline  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  was  present  at 
Valley  Forge  under  the  command  of  General  Washington,  and  afterward  was 
assigned  to  the  commissary  department  and  placed  in  charge  of  foraging  parties. 
ShoVtlv  after  the  cessation  of  hostilities  he  married  a  Miss  Mace,  and  for  sev- 
eral vears  devoted  his  time  and  attention  to  farming.  Accompanied  by  his  wife 
and  family,  2\Ir.  Kline  migrated  westward  and  located  in  the  vicinity  of  Grape- 
ville,  the  journev  being  made  on  horseback.  He  made  frequent  trips  to  Phila- 
delphia to  examine  titles,  as  he  was  a  conveyancer  as  well  as  a  farmer.  He 
never  returned  from  his  last  trip  to  the  city,  and  was  never  thereafter  heard 
of  bv  his  family.  Their  children  were:  i.  John,  settled  in  the  vicinity  of 
Adamsburg,  but  after  his  marriage  to  Nancy  Buchman,  of  Hagerstown,  Mary- 
land, he  purchased  property  in  the  jNIanor  of  Denmark  where  he  thereafter  re- 
sided. He  reared  a  large  family,  among  whom  was  a  son  John,  of  whom  later. 
2.  William,  also  settled  in  the  vicinity  of  Adamsburg.  3.  George,  deceased.  4. 
Samuel,  went  to  the  southwest  and  was  never  again  heard  from  by  his  friends. 
5.  Pollv.  married  Peter  Kemmerer.  and  located  in  Illinois.  6.  Catherine,  mar- 
ried Daniel  Kemmerer,  and  settled  in  Iowa. 

John  Kline,  son  of  John  and  Nancy  (Buchman  )  Kline,  settled  on  the  farin 
known  under  William  "Penn's  patent  as  Landsdown,  in  the  Denmark  Manor 
district  of  Penn  township.  He  was  energetic,  industrious  and  progressive.  He 
was  a  prosperous  farmer,  and  also  owned  and  operated  the  Bou(|uet  mills  for 
several"  years.  He  married  Elizabeth  Knappenberger,  daughter  of  John  and 
Hannah' Knappenberger,  an  old  and  early  settled  family  in  the  Manor  district. 
Their  children  were:  Hezekiah  J.,  died  in  McDonough  county,  Illinois,  in  1869: 
Hannah,  died  in  1882;  William  J.,  A.  M.,  M.  D..  a  practicing  physician  of 
Greensburg  since  1871  ;  he  was  a  member  of  the  state  legislature  in  1877-8,  and 
a  member  of  the  state  board  of  medical  examiners  at  a  later  date :  Nicholas  L., 
a  dentist,  now  located  at  Scottdale.  ]\Iary  Ann,  married  David  L.  Snyder; 
Henry,  enlisted  in  the  union  army  and  died  at  Newbern,  North  Carolina,  in 
1863,  aged  twenty-one  years ;  Lydia  E.,  married  Cyrus  J.  Snyder ;  Amos  B., 
mentioned  hereafter:  Rev.  Alpha  K.,  a  graduate  of  Franklin  and  Marshall  Col- 
lege, and  now  (1905)  a  minister  in  the  Reformed  church;  Jacob,  died  in  in- 
fancy. John  Kline,  father  of  these  children,  died  in  December,  1855,  aged  forty- 
six  years.  His  wife,  who  was  an  energetic  and  intelligent  woman,  possessing 
rare  tact,  good  judgment  and  christian  virtues,  died  }ilarch  11,  1890.  in  the 
eighty-seventh  year  of  her  age. 

Amos  B.  Kline,  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Knappenberger)  Kline,  was 
born  near  the  historic  village  of  Bouquet,  Penn  township,  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsvlvania,  April  19.  1843.  He  received  a  liberal  education  in  the  common 
schools  and  academies  of  his  native  county.  In  September,  1862,  he  volunteered 
his  services  in  defense  of  his  country,  becoming  a  member  of  Company  C, 
Twenty-second  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Militia,  which  saw  several  weeks  of 
service  on  the  southern  borders  of  the  state.  He  served  in  the  capacity  of 
teacher  in  the  public  schools  for  several  terms,  discharging  his  duties  in  a  highly 
creditable  manner.  During  the  years  1865  and  1866  he  was  superintendent  of 
the  Curlew  and  Highland  Oil  Companies,  two  organizations  operating:  at  Burn- 
ing Springs,  West  Mrginia.  In  order  to  further  qualify  himself  for  a  business 
career  he  entered  Eastman's  Business  College,  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  in  the  spring  of  1867.  He  then  embarked  in  the  drug 
and  grocery  business  at  Irwin,  but  two  years  later  disposed  of  the  same  and 
accepted  a  position  as  assistant  superintendent  and  bookkeeper  with  John  S. 
Love,  of  Pittsburg,  who  was  then  constructing  the  railroad  from  Hollidaysburg, 


54  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

Jjlair  county.  In  October,  1873,  he  became  a  partner  with  his  brother,  Dr. 
VV.  J.  K.  Kline,  in  the  pubhcation  of  the  IV cslmorcland  Democrat  and  Repub- 
lican. They  enlarged  the  paper,  changed  the  name  to  the  IVestmorcland  Dem- 
ocrat, and  made  it  a  live  and  important  weekly,  taking  a  leading  part  in  poli- 
tics and  ably  discussing  the  issues  of  the  day.  Mr.  Kline  took  part  in  the  edi- 
torial work,  and  was  general  manager  until  the  fall  of  1882,  when  they  sold  the 
paper.  They  then  purchased  a  large  coal  field  in  the  vicinity  of  i'leasant  Unity, 
which  they  subsequently  sold  to  Williant  Thaw,  of  Pittsburg.  They  afterwards 
purchased  three  thousand  acres  of  gas  coal  lands  in  Manor  Valley,  antl  were  in- 
strumental in  the  building  of  the  Manor  Valley  railroad,  and  promoting  the 
Manor  Gas  Coal  Company,  in  which  they  held  an  interest  until  1886,  since 
which  time  Mr.  Kline  has  been  dealing  in  real  estate  in  Westmoreland  and  A\- 
legheny  counties.  During  the  year  1889  Mr.  Kline  and  his  brother.  Dr.  Kline, 
purchased  several  tracts  of  land  and  laid  out  West  Wilmerding,  an  addition  to 
Wilmerding,  Alleghenv  county,  on  the  line  of  the  Pennsylvania  railroad.  Mr. 
Kline  is  an  active  member  of  the  Reformed  church,  and  during  the  years  1888 
and  1889  contributed  liberally  of  his  time  (serving  as  chairman  of  the  building 
committee)  and  means  in  the  erection  of  the  new  church  edifice  known  as  Den- 
mark Manor  Reformed  church,  which  ranks  among  the  most  handsome  country 
churches  in  western  Pennsylvania.  He  is  firm  in  his  allegiance  to  the  principles 
of  the  Democratic  party.  He  married,  September  17,  1889,  Elizabeth  B.  Kays, 
daughter  of  D.  L.  Kays,  of  Pittsburg.  Their  children  are :  Elizabeth,  Madeline 
and  Arthur  Purnadotte. 

CHARLES  F.  EHALT,  the  genial  and  well  known  proprietor  of 
Hotel  Ehalt,  at  Greensburg,  formerly  known  as  the  Station  House,  and  Union 
Hotel,  is  a  native  of  the  tovv-n  in  which  he  now  resides,  born  December  31,  1858,^ 
to  Jacob  and  Lydia  (Coshey)  Ehalt,  whose  family  consisted  of  seven  children: 
Sybilla  E.,  Mary  E.,  Alice  M.,  Annie  E.,  Gertrude  T.,  Jacob  E.,  and  Charles 
F.  Jacob  Ehalt  (father)  was  born  in  Wurtemberg,  Bavaria,  July  8,  1821,  and 
his  wife,  who  was  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Coshey,  was  a  native  of  Westmoreland 
county,  Pennsylvania.  In  185 1  Jacob  Ehallt  built  the  hotel  known  as  the  Sta- 
tion House,  on  the  present  site  of  the  hotel  conducted  by  his  son  Charles  F.,  and 
during  the  years  1869-70  completely  remodeled  the  same.  Being  a  man  of  the 
strictest  integrity  and  unimpeachable  character,  he  was  never  refused  a  license 
by  the  court.  He  was  a  staunch  Democrat,  and  a  member  of  the  Catholic 
church,  as  was  also  his  wife.    His  death  ocurred  October  8,  1885. 

Charles  F.  Ehalt  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Greensburg  and 
St.  Vincent  College,  at  Latrobe,  where  he  completed  his  studies  at  the  age  of 
sixteen.  He  succeeded  his  father  in  the  hotel  business,  and  in  1888  remodeled 
the  structure  and  built  an  extensive  addition  thereto.  Being  brought  up  in  this 
line  of  work  he  is  thoroughly  familiar  with  all  the  details  of  management,  and 
therefore  a  large  degree  of  success  has  attended  his  well  directed  efforts.  He 
and  his  family  reside  in  a  private  house  adjoining  the  hotel,  but  entirely  sep- 
arate from  it.  Mr.  Ehalt  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  church,  and  since  attain- 
ing young  manhood  has  cast  his  vote  with  the  Democratic  ticket.  He  has  always 
taken  an  active  part  in  local  politics,  and  has  served  seven  years  as  a  member  of 
the  city  council  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  constitutents.  He  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izers, and  is  now  a  director  in  the  Merchants'  Trust  Company,  a  well  and  favor- 
ably known  banking  institution  of  Greensburg.  Mr.  Ehalt  married,  October 
2,  1888,  Mary  J.  Ruffner,  of  Derry  township,  a  daughter  of  James  and  Elizabeth 


HISTORY   OF   Jl'ESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  55 

Ruffner.  Their  children  are  Helen  R.,  born  July  8,,  1890;  Edgar,  October  15, 
1891 ;  Mary  J.,  April  23,  1893  ;  Jane  P.,  Uctober  2j,  1894;  Sybilla  E.,  September 
II,  1898;  and  Charles  F.,  Jr.,  June  20,  1900. 

WlLLIAAI  DONALDSON,  burgess  of  South  Greensburg,  West- 
moreland county,  is  a  man  who  throughout  his  active  career  has  exhibited  clear- 
ness of  perception  and  soundness  of  judgment,  and  has  always  enjoyed  an  en- 
viable reputation  for  moral  worth  and  integrity  of  character.  He  possesses  true 
public  spirit  and  uses  his  influence  to  enhance  the  best  interests  of  the  city, 
supporting  all  worthy  enterprises.  He  was  born  in  Brooks  county,  West  Vir- 
ginia, November  7,  1854,  a  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth  F.  (Charlton)  Don- 
aldson, who  emigrated  from  New  Castle  on  the  Tyne,  Northumberland  county, 
England,  in  1849,  settling  in  East  Elizabeth,  AUcgeheny  county,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  followed  his  trade  of  miner. 

William  Donaldson  acquired  a  good  English  education  in  the  common 
schools,  and  after  completing  the  same  pursued  a  course  of  study  at  the  Scran- 
ton  Alining  School.  He  became  a  practical  miner,  was  thorough  and  conscien- 
tious in  the  performance  of  his  duties,  and  his  perseverance  and  integrity  was 
crowned  with  the  success  merited  by  those  who  steadily  pursue  their  way 
through  life.  He  was  elected  on  the  Democratic  ticket  to  the  office  of  burgess 
of  South  Greensburg,  in  which  capacity  he  is  now  serving.  He  is  a  member 
of  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  Covenant  Lodge,  No.  259,  of  Penn  Station,  West- 
moreland county.  I\Ir.  Donaldson  married  February  17,  1876,  Mary  Altman, 
born  October  22,  i860,  in  Westmoreland  city,  a  daughter  of  Eli  and  Margaret 
(Seigfriet)  Altman.  Their  children  are  as  follows:  James  E.,  born  September 
26,  1879,  married  ^lary  A.  Lauffer,  and  resides  in  Greensburg:  ]\Iary  E.,  born 
August  14,  1882,  became  the  wife  of  Richard  ;\Icllon  Murdock,  and  resides  in 
South  Greensburg;  Henry  C,  born  June  9,  1887;  Priscilla  J.,  born  March  8, 
1889;  and  Margaret  S.,  born  October  22,  1892. 

AMOS  K.  HUTCHINSON.  Greensburg  possesses  in  Amos  K. 
Hutchinson  a  public-spirited  citizen.  His  paternal  grandfather  came  from  Ire- 
land, while  his  grandfather  on  his  mother's  side  was  a  native  of  Germany.  He 
is  a  son  of  Joshua  and  Susan  ( King)  Hutchinson,  and  was  born  September  30, 
1858,  in  Greensburg,  Pa. 

Amos  K.  Hutchinson  attended  the  common  schools  of  Greensburg.  At  the 
age  of  thirteen  he  obtained  emploxment  on  the  Pennsylvania  railroad,  at  the 
same  time  attending  school  during  two  winters.  He  continued  to  work  for  this 
railroad  until  he  was  within  three  months  of  his  majority.  In  March,  1903,  he 
was  elected  chief  of  police,  and  was  re-elected  in  1904-05-06,  his  administra- 
tion of  the  duties  of  the  office  proving  in  the  highest  degree  satisfactory  to  all 
concerned.  He  has  also  given  evidence  of  his  zeal  in  the  public  service  by  be- 
coming a  member  of  the  volunteer  fire  department.  No.  3.  He  belongs  to  the 
Eagles,  No.  723,  and  Woodmen  of  the  World,  No.  18.  of  Westmoreland 
county.  Mr.  Hutchinson  married,  June  3,  1880;  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  George 
and  Susan  Rohrbacher,  and  their  children  were :  Carrie  S.,  John  C,  George  E., 
Walter  J.,  Samuel  L.,  deceased ;  and  Clarence  M.  Mr.  Hutchinson  and  his 
children  sustained  a  severe  bereavement  in  the  death  of  the  wife  and  mother. 
who  passed  away  November  14,  1902. 

JOHN  H.  KING.  The  family  of  which  John  H.  King,  of 
Greensburg.  is  a  rcjirescntative,  is  one  which  has  long  been  resident  in  this 
country.    His  great-grandfather  was  a  native  of  the  United  States  and  was  the 


56  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

father  of  John  King,  who  was  born  in  Somerset  county  where  he  followed  the 
calling  of  a  farmer.  His  political  influence  was  given  to  the  Whigs,  and  he  was 
a  prominent  member  of  the  IMethodist  Episcopal  church.  He  married  Eliza- 
beth, daughter  of  Michael  Nof¥,  a  Somerset  county  farmer  of  German  descent, 
and  they  were  the  parents  of  a  daughter  and  two  sons,  one  of  whom,  David  J., 
is  mentioned  hereafter.    Mr.  King  died  in  1839. 

David  J.  King,  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  ( Noff )  King,  was  born  No- 
vember 6,  1820,  at  Confluence,  Somerset  county,  where  he  was  educated  in  the 
subscription  schools.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  went  to  Westmoreland  county 
and  settled  near  Mount  Pleasant.  He  devoted  himself  to  agricultural  pursuits, 
and  was  active  as  a  citizen,  filling  the  offices  of  tax  collector,  assessor  and  school 
director.  Until  1863  he  was  a  Repulilican,  laut  in  that  year  joined  the  Demo- 
cratic party  to  which  he  adhered  during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  was  a 
deacon  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  married  Mary  Ann  Simpson  whose 
great-grandfather,  Thomas  Simpson,  came  from  Holland  in  1736  and  settled  in 
Indianatown,  Indiana  county.  About  1775  he  moved  to  Westmoreland  counfy, 
where,  in  1780,  he  built  a  house  near  Mount  Pleasant  which  is  still  standing  and 
has  always  remained  in  the  possession  of  the  family.  He  served  in  the  Contin- 
ental army  during  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  his  son,  William  Simpson,  was 
the  father  of  a  daughter,  ^lary  Ann,  who  was  born  in  1823,  near  Mount 
Pleasant,  and  became  the  wife  of  David  J-  King,  as  mentioned  above.  The  fam- 
ily is  closely  related  to  that  of  General  Ulysses  S.  Grant.  The  following  chil- 
dren were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  David  J.  King:  Rebecca,  married  David 
I\Iusic ;  William  S. ;  John  H.,  of  whom  later ;  David  Blennett ;  Fannie,  married 
Joseph  W.  Stoner ;  Theodore ;  Theophilus ;  Byron  W. :  Frank  A. ;  and  Mary- 
etta.  Mr.  King  died  in  Westmoreland  coimty  in  1893,  and  his  wife,  Mary  A., 
died  Augu.st  7,  1905,  aged  eighty-two  years. 

John  H.  King,  son  of  David  J.  and  Mary  .\nn  (Sim])son)  King,  was  born 
December  29,  1849,  in  Mount  Pleasant,  where  he  received  his  preparatory  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools,  afterward  entering  Duff  College,  Pittsburg.  On 
completing  his  education  he  devoted  himself  for  four  years  to  the  profession 
of  teaching,  and  then  engaged  in  mercantile  business  at  New  Stanton.  At  the 
end  of  eight  years  he  sold  his  store  and  became  manager  of  a  large  flouring  mill, 
a  position  which  he  retained  for  ten  years,  and  was  then  forced  to  resign  on 
aLCOunt  of  his  health.  He  moved  to  Greensburg  where  he  has  since  been  en- 
gaged in  business  as  a  general  contractor.  He  was  chosen  in  1903,  to  fill  the 
office  of  tax  collector.  He  belongs  to  the  R.  A.,  and  the  K.  M.  His  political 
views  and  principles  are  those  of  the  Republican  party,  and  he  is  a  member  of 
the  German  Reformed  church.  He  married,  in  1878,  Lizzie  M.,  born  March  i, 
1849,  in  West  Overton,  Westmoreland  county,  daughter  of  Frederick  S.  and 
Sally  (Ingals)  Hunker,  and  their  children  were:  Harry  Earl,  born  March  i, 
1885  ;  died  March  9,  1885  :  and  Charles  F..  born  April  2,  1889. 

ROMAYNE  M.  WALDRON,  D.  V.  S.  Few  members  of  the  veter- 
inary profession  are  better  known  in  western  Pennsylvania  than  is  Dr.  Waldron, 
who  is  engaged  in  the'practice  of  his  profession  in  Greensburg,  Westmoreland 
county,  where  he  also  conducts  one  of  the  largest  sales  and  exchange  stables  in 
this  portion  of  the  state.  Educated  in  all  the  principles  and  modern  methocis 
of  his  profession,  he  is  enthusiastic  in  its  practice  and  his  services  are  valued 
highly,  being  in  constant  demand  in  Westmoreland  and  adjoining  counties. 

Dr.  Waldron  claims  the  fair  Emerald  Isle  as  the  place  of  his  nativity,  hav- 
ing been  bom  in  county  Roscommon,  Ireland,  August  7,  1859,  and  having  there 


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HISTORY   or    U'ESTMORELAXD   COUNTY.  57 

been  reared  to  maturity,  while  he  secured  excellent  educational  advantages  in 
the  schools  of  his  native  county.  He  is  a  son  of  Michael  and  Catharine  (Ro- 
inayne)  W'aldron,  who  were  likewise  born  and  reared  in  Ireland,  and  who  are 
now  deceased,  the  father  having  been  a  farmer  and  stockman  by  vocation.  In 
1879,  when  nineteen  years  of  age.  Dr.  Waldron  came  to  America,  and  here  he 
took  up  tlie  study  of  the  veterinary  science,  finally  entering  the  celebrated  To- 
ronto \'eterinary  College,  in  the  city  of  Toronto,  Canada,  where  he  was  gradu- 
ated as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1887,  receiving  his  degree  of  Doctor  of  Veter- 
inary Surgery.  He  has  made  a  thorough  and  systematic  study  of  veterinary 
science.  The  sacrifice  and  suffering  entailed  upon  the  domestic  animals  which 
minister  to  our  well-being  and  pleasure,  on  account  of  the  ignorance  prevailing 
as  to  their  treatment,  awakened  in  Dr.  Waldron  an  overmastering  desire  to  learn 
how  to  cure  and  alleviate  their  sufferings,  and  the  result  has  been  his  successful 
and  noteworthy  career  as  an  able  and  enthusiastic  member  of  his  profession,  in 
which  he  has  attained  high  prestige.  Soon  after  his  graduation  Dr.  Waldron 
located  in  Greensburg,  and  here  he  has  built  up  a  large  and  important  business 
in  the  direct  line  of  his  profession,  while  in  the  connection  he  established  an 
exchange  stable,  in  which  department  of  his  business  he  has  expanded  the  en- 
terprise until  it  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  important  in  western  Pennsvl- 
vania,  the  number  of  horses  and  mules  handled  averaging  from  one  hundred 
to  one  hundred  and  fifty  head  per  month,  while  through  this  source  he  supplies 
the  greater  amount  of  such  stock  utilized  in  the  mines  of  this  section  of  the 
state.  Dr.  Waldron  is  not  the  only  representative  of  his  family  in  the  United 
States,  as  is  evident  when  we  note  that  his  three  brothers  are  well  established  in 
their  respective  lines  of  endeavor,  as  follows :  Dr.  Lewis  P.,  is  a  successful  phy- 
sician and  surgeon  of  Akron,  Ohio;  Thomas  A.  is  a  veterinary  surgeon  of 
Uniontown,  Pennsylvania;  and  Michael  is  a  prosperous  farmer  residing  near 
Brownsville,  Fayette  county,  this  state.  In  politics  Dr.  Waldron  gives  an  un- 
compromising allegiance  to  the  Republican  party,  and  he  is  one  of  the  active 
workers  in  its  local  ranks,  while  he  is  essentially  progressive  and  public-spirited 
as  a  citizen,  though  he  has  never  sought  the  honors  or  emoluments  of  public 
office.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  church. 

As  a  leading  member  of  his  profession  in  this  locality  Dr.  Waldron  is  con- 
sidered an  authority  and  is  frequently  called  in  consultation  over  serious  or 
complex  cases,  few  ever  passing  through  his  skilled  treatment  without  relief. 
He  is  a  member  of  various  professional  organizations,  is  held  in  high  esteem 
by  his  professional  confreres,  and  is  a  frequent  contributor  to  veterinary  pub- 
lications. He  is  well  and  favorably  known  in  his  home  city,  and  is  a  reliable 
and  progressive  business  man  and  loyal  citizen.  Dr.  Waldron  married,  Jan- 
uary 31,  1889,  Elizabeth  Lutz,  born  and  reared  in  Westmoreland  county,"  be- 
ing a  daughter  of  Dr.  David  Lutz,  one  of  the  representative  dental  surgeons  of 
Fayette  City,  where  he  is  stil!  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession.  Dr.  and 
.Mrs.  Waldron  have  six  children,  namelv :  Louis  David,  Romayne  M.,  Jr.,  Cath- 
erine A.,  Edith  E.,  Josephine  E.,  and  Mary  L. 

JOHN  RICHEY  HAYDEX.  Among  the  retired  citizens  of  the 
borough  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  no  man  stands  higher  in  the  estimation 
of  his  life  long  neighbors  than  John  R.  Hayden,  who  descended  through  the 
following  erenealogy : 

(I)  Ebenezer  Hayden,  the  grandfather,  was  of  Scotch-Irish  parentage. 
The  family  settled  in  New  Jersey  and  came  to  Westmoreland  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, in  1774.     Mr.  Hayden  was  a  man  of  exceptional  cpialifications.     Tic 


58  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

was  born  in  New  Jersey,  and  came  to  this  county  in  1774,  locating-  on  the 
Yough  river,  known  as  I5udd's  Ferry,  where  he  conducted  a  ferry  business  for 
eigliteen  or  twenty  years.  He  built  large  boats  for  the  conveyance  of  cattle 
across  the  river,  as  that  became  a  leading  point  for  the  crossing  of  large  droves 
of  cattle  en  route  to  the  eastern  markets.  In  this  he  had  many  interesting 
experiences  and  narrow  escapes.  Often  the  entire  load  of  cattle  would  be 
capsized  in  the  river,  and  then  the  scramble  for  safety  begun,  Mr.  Havden 
often  climbing  upon  the  back  of  some  wild  steer  and  riding  in  safety  to  land. 
]\lr.  Hayden  also  followed  the  various  vocations  of  shoemaking,  blacksmithing 
and  carpentering,  and  was  recognized  as  a  competent  physician  and  surgeon, 
although  never  having  taken  a  medical  or  surgical  course.  He  was  self- 
taught  in  this  latter  profession,  and  his  practice  extended  over  a  wide  terri- 
tory of  this  and  adjoining  counties.  He  was  a  great  reader,  and  deep  thinker 
of  more  than  average  intellect.  Politically  he  was  a  strong  Democrat,  and  in 
religion  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church.  He  married  a  Miss  O'Brien, 
and  their  children  were :  John,  William,  of  whom  later,  and  a  daughter  who 
died  in  childhood.    Mr.  Hayden  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-nine  years. 

(II)  William  Hayden,  son  of  Ebenezer  Hayden  (I),  was  born  at  Budds 
Ferry,  in  1806,  and  died  in  1892.  The  early  part  of  his  life  was  spent  at  lirick 
making,  but  subsequently  followed  fanning.  He  married,  in  1839,  Jii'iann 
Wiley,  daughter  of  .Sampson  Wiley  and  wife.  They  were  the  parents  of  six 
children,  all  deceased  now,  but  two — John  Richey  and  Mrs.  Jessee  S.  Wall. 
The  names  of  the  children  in  this  family  are :  Agnes,  Catherine,  Brinton,  John 
R.,  William,  Hannah  Jane.  The  mother  was  born  in  1819  and  died  1882. 
Among  the  important  historic  events  recounted  with  great  pleasure  by  the 
family,  and  with  which  William  Hayden  participated,  was  the  reception  given 
to  General  Lafayette  on  his  return  visit  in  1825.  It  was  tendered  him  inRos- 
traver  township,  this  county,  at  the  old  Rolioboth  Church.  Mr.  Hayden 
received  a  good  common  school  education ;  was  politically  a  stanch  Democrat 
and  a  hearty  supporter  of  Jackson,  both  in  the  campaign  of  1828  and  1832. 
On  the  maternal  side  the  grandfather,  Sampson  Wiley,  came  from  Ireland  in 
1795  and  married  Anna  McGrew.  Their  children  were :  William,  Sampson, 
Joseph,  James,  Nathan,  Mary,  Elizabeth,  Nancy,  Juliann  and  Hannah. 

(III)  John  R.  Hayden,  the  fourth  child  of  W'illiam  and  Juliann  (Wiley) 
Hayden  (2),  born  March  2,  1846,  in  Sewickley  township,  Westmoreland 
county,  Pennsylvania,  received  his  education  both  at  the  common  and  ]irivate 

,  schools  of  his  native  county.  His  active  career  was  commenced  as  a  farmer 
and  brick  manufacturer,  but  later  he  became  a  coal  operator,  which  branch  of 
business  he  followed  from  1882  to  1892.  During  the  last  named  year  he  was 
elected  poor  director  of  Westmoreland  county  and  succeeded  himself,  holding 
the  office  five  terms  or  ten  years,  which  record  has  never  been  made  in  the 
county  before.  It  was  in  1903  that  he  removed  to  the  fifth  ward  in  the  borough 
of  Greensburg,  where  he  erected  one  and  purchased  two  good  residences  on 
Alexander  street.  The  principal  business  with  which  he  is  connected  at  this 
time,  is  that  of  a  large  foundry  at  Hunkert,  he  being  the  president  of  the 
Greensburg  Wheel  and  Supply'  Company.  Mr.  Havden's  life  has  been  an 
exemplary  one  in  all  respects.  He  is  a  memlier  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Greensburg,  belongs  to  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  is  advanced  to 
the  high  degree  of  Knights  Templarship.  Politically  he' is  a  supporter  of  the 
Democratic  partv. 

John  R.  Hayden  married,  in  1868,  near  Irwin,  Pennsylvania,  Sarah  Jane 
Byerly,  daughter  of  William  Findlay  and  Margaret  Ann   (Rankard)    Bverlv. 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  59 

The  .Byerlys  are  farmers,  r^lrs.  Ha_\den  was  born  Xovember  22.  1846,  am! 
received  a  good  education  in  the  pubHc  school  and  also  had  the  advantage  of 
private  instructions  under  Dr.  Andrew  Byerly,  her  uncle,  who  at  present  is 
professor  of  Latin  and  Greek,  and  vice-principal  of  the  J\Iillersville  (Pennsyl- 
vania) State  Normal  school.  Her  father  was  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian 
church  for  fifty  years  in  succession ;  he  died  in  1904.  His  wife,  the  companion 
of  a  long  married  life,  died  October,  1901,  and  they  were  buried  in  L'nion 
cemeterv  at  Irwin,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  and  Airs.  Hayden  are  the  parents  of 
children:  i.  Frank  W.,  born  October  11,  1869,  married  Ella  Weddell,  and 
thev  have  two  daughters — Alildred  and  Gertrude.  2.  Harry  E.,  born  March 
31,'  1872,  died  August  5,  1897.  3.  William  Findlay,  born  July  14,  1874, 
married,  October  21,  1899,  at  Irwin,  Pennsylvania,  Margaret,  daughter  of 
Mr.  and  Airs.  Joseph  B.  Alartin ;  they  have  one  daughter,  Elizabeth  Jane,  Ijorn 
October  18,  1900.  4.  John  B.,  born  January  5,  1877,  married  in  1898  Lydia 
Baer,  and  they  have  a  son,  Clarence  Hayden;  5  Cyrus  H.,  and  6.  Margaret 
B.  (twins)  born  1881.  Cyrus  H.  married,  in  1900,  Mary  Wingert,  and  they 
have  one  daughter,  Louisa.  Margaret  married,  in  1900,  William  K.  Mayers, 
and  they  are  the  parents  of  three  children  living:  Margaurite,  John  Kirk  and 
William  Russell.     One  child  died  in  infancy. 

GEORGE  W.  GOOD,  a  representative  business  man  of  Westmore- 
land county,  Pennsylvania,  well  known  as  a  contractor  and  promoter,  is  a  de- 
scendant by  both  paternal  and  maternal  lines  from  pioneer  stock  of  this  section 
of  the  "Keystone"  state.  He  traces  his  descent  on  both  sides  to  both  German 
and  Swiss  ancestors. 

George  W.  Good,  son  of  Henry  Good,  was  born  in  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1849,  received  his  education  there,  and  lived  in  Plarrison  City, 
until  1873,  when  he  removed  with  his  family  to  Greensburg,  same  county.  Here 
he  was  engaged  in  the  musical  instrument  business  until  1880,  when  he  removed 
with  his  familv  to  Altoona,  Pennsylvania,  and  continued  this  business  for  a  time. 
About  1886  he  returned  to  Greensburg  and  engaged  in  the  general  contracting 
business,  in  which  he  made  a  remarkably  successful  record.  His  first  contract 
of  importance  was  the  construction  of  the  Greensburg,  Jeannette  and  Pittsburg 
trolley  line,  and  was  one  of  the  promoters  and  builders  of  the  Greensburg  and 
Southern  trolley  line.  He  also  executed  large  contracts  for  street  paving  in 
Greensburg,  and  many  others  of  a  public  or  semi-public  nature.  Among  the 
important  buildings  in  the  city  which  he  erected  are  the  following:  The  court 
house,  in  1891,  which  he  erected  in  the  remarkably  short  time  of  forty-seven 
days ;  John  W.  Pollin's  store  building ;  St.  Clair  Opera  House ;  Star  brewery ; 
parochial  school ;  Westmoreland  Grocerv  Company's  building,  and  many  others. 
He  was  always  ready  to  promote  anything  that  promised  for  the  welfare  and 
improvement  of  the  city,  and  allowed  no  opportunity  to  pass  to  further  its  inter- 
ests. He  was  a  man  of  sound  business  judgment  and  keen  discernment,  and  had 
won  the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  who  knew  him.  He  was  a  member  and  dea- 
con of  the  Reformed  church.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  following  organi- 
zations: Greensburg  Lodge,  No.  518,  F.  and  A.  M. ;  Urania  Chapter,No.  192; 
Kedron  Commandery,  No.  18,  K.  T.  He  died  January  6,  1905,  regretted  by  a 
large  circle  of  friends.  He  was  one  of  the  leading  business  men  of  Greensburg, 
and  commanded  unalloyed  confidence  and  regard  in  his  native  county.  He 
married  Maria  Lenhart,  a  native  of  Westmoreland  comity,  daughter  of  Michael 
Lenhart.  whose  ancestors  were  among  the  early  settlers  in  Westmoreland  county, 
and  had  three   children :   Minnie,   married    Curtis   PI.   Greeg,   an   attorney   of 


6o  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

Greensburg;  Lavinia,  wife  of  P.  W".  Hudson,  secretary  of  the  Opera  House 
Company,  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania ;  Frank,  of  whom  later. 

Frank  Good,  only  son  of  George  W.  and  Maria  (Lenhart)  Good,  was  born 
in  Harrison  City,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  February  6,  1872.  Al- 
most his  entire  life  hitherto  has  been  spent  in  Greensburg.  It  was  there  he  re- 
ceived his  early  education  in  the  public  schools,  later  entering  the  high  school  and 
graduating  as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1889.  He  then  entered  the  Westmore- 
land and  Jefferson  College,  where  he  remained  as  a  student  for  two  years,  but 
did  not  complete  the  entire  course.  Withdrawing-  from  this  institution  he  re- 
turned to  Greensburg,  where  he  commenced  the  practical  study  of  law  under 
the  preceptorship  and  in  the  office  of  Curtis  H.  Greeg,  one  of  the  leading  mem- 
bers of  the  bar  in  W'estmoreland  county,  and  continued  these  studies  under  this 
able  tuition  and  guidance  until  he  was  eligible  for  admission  to  the  bar,  which 
occurred  in  April,  1895.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  his  profession  in  Greensburg,  though  other  interests  demand  a  good  portion 
of  his  time  and  attention.  He  became  associated  in  business  with  his  father 
under  the  firm  name  of  Good  &  Company.  He  is  at  the  present  time  ( 1906) 
president  of  the  St.  Clair  Opera  House  Company,  a  very  flourishing  institution. 
His  political  proclivities  are  Democratic,  and  he  is  a  member  of  the  Reformed 
church.  He  is  associated  fraternally  with  the  following  organizations:  West- 
moreland Lodge,  No.  518,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. ;  Urania  Chapter,  No.  192,  R.  A.  M. ; 
Kedron  Commandery,  No.  16,  K.  T. ;  Lodge  No.  511,  B.  P.  O.  E.  Mr.  Good 
married,  C)ctober  16,  1902,  Viola  Frantz,  of  New  Rochelle,  New  York,  daugh- 
ter of  Jacob  F.  Frantz,  president  of  the  Twentieth  Century  Dental  Company,  a 
large  concern  in  the  city  of  New  York.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Good  have  two  children: 
Gertrude,  born  January  i,  1904;  George,  June  15,  1905. 

JOHN  F.  MITINGER.  Among  the  old  and  honored  families  of 
\\'estmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  noted  for  their  honor  and  integrity  of 
character,  mav  be  mentioned  the  ]\litinger  family,  descendants  of  a  German 
ancestry. 

Samuel  Mitinger,  father  of  John  F.  Mitinger,  and  founder  of  the  West- 
moreland county  branch  of  the  family,  was  born  in  one  of  the  New  England 
states,  where  he  was  reared  and  educated.  During  young  manhood  he  came 
to  Pennsylvania  and  located  in  East  Huntingdon  township.  Westmoreland 
county,  near  the  present  city  of  Greensburg,  where  he  identified  himself  with 
agricultural  pursuits,  which  he  continued  until  his  decease,  which  occurred  in 
the  year  1867.  He  was  one  of  the  prominent  farmers  and  dairymen  of  the 
county,  and  was  the  pioneer  in  the  establishment  of  a  milk  route  with  wagon  de- 
livery in  the  city  of  Greensburg.  He  was  a  consistent  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  and  at  the  time  of  his  demise  was  an  advocate  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Republican  party.  He  married  Catherine  Poorman,  who  bore  him 
seven  children,  five  of  whom  are  living  at  the  present  time  (1905)  :  William 
Leonard,  whose  personal  sketch  follows  this  in  the  work ;  James  McConaughv, 
of  Greensburg :  Charles  Austin,  a  resident  of  Wilkinsburg,  a  suburb  of  the 
city  of  Pittsburg:  Lizzie,  at  home';  and  Dr.  Joseph  Edwin,  whose  personal 
sketch  follows  that  of  William  Leonard.  At  the  death  of  Samuel  Mitinger  his 
widow  was  left  with  a  family  of  seven  small  children,  for  whom  she  provided 
to  the  best  of  her  abilitv,  and  as  the  sons  approached  years  of  maturity  they 
proved  themselves  worthy  of  the  devotion  of  their  mother,  being  energetic, 
willing  to  work  and  ready  to  assist  her  in  every  possible  way.  Mrs.  Mitinger 
died  June  29,  1894. 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  6l 

John  F.  Mitinger,  son  of  Samuel  and  Catherine  (PoormanJ  Mitinger,  was 
born  in  South  Huntingdon  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1851.  He  resided  on  the  farm  until  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  when  he 
accompanied  his  parents  on  their  removal  to  Greensburg,  in  which  city  the 
remainder  of  his  life  was  spent.  He  obtained  a  fair  education  in  the  common 
schools  of  his  native  county,  but  owing  to  the  death  of  his  father  the  practical 
duties  and  responsibilities  were  early  placed  upon  his  shoulders.  His  first 
emplovment  after  locating  in  Greensburg  was  that  of  driving  a  work  team,  but 
shortlv  afterwards  he  secured  a  position  as  messenger  in  the  local  office  of  the 
Adams  E.xpress  Company.  Later  he  became  a  c.lerk  in  the  restaurant  and  ice 
cream  business  of  Joseph  Taylor,  with  whom  he  remained  until  1879,  \\'hen  he 
engaged  in  business  on  his  own  account  in  the  building  now  occupied  by  the 
Singer  Sewing  Machine  Company,  in  East  Pittsburg  street,  where  he  contin- 
ued operations  for  a  number  of  years  and  where  he  laid  the  foundation  for  the 
comfortable  fortune  which  he  acquired  during  his  active  career.  In  1886  he 
purchased  what  is  now  known  as  the  Alitinger  Block,  in  South  Alain  street,  re- 
modeling the  building  when  the  growth  of  his  business  demanded  increased 
facilities,  and  there  continuing  to  conduct  a  general  baking  and  confectionery 
business  until  his  death,  his  establishment  being  the  leading  one  in  that  line  in 
the  city.  He  controlled  a  large  wholesale  and  retail  trade,  special  attention  be- 
ing given  to  the  manufacture  of  candies  and  ice  cream.  The  enterprise  is  still 
carried  forward  by  his  brothers,  who  are  classed  among  the  prominent  business 
men  of  the  community. 

Mr.  Mitinger  identified  himself  with  various  civic  and  business  interests  of 
importance,  and  was  essentially  public-spirited  and  progressive  in  his  attitude 
as  a  citizen  and  business  man.  He  was  a  stockholder  and  director  in  the  West- 
moreland National  Bank  and  treasurer  of  the  Greensburg  Building  and  Loan 
Association.  He  early  became  a  member  of  the  Greensburg  fire  department, 
in  which  he  always  evinced  a  deep  interest.  He  was  a  valued  member  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Firemen's  Association,  of  which  he  was  president  in  1900,  and  he 
previously  served  as  president  of  the  Western  Pennsylvania  Firemen's  Associa- 
tion, in  which  about  thirty  counties  are  represented.  He  was  chief  of  the 
Greensburg  fire  department  at  the  time  of  his  death,  having  been  the  incumbent 
for  three  terms.  Honest,  straightforward  and  endowed  with  marked  executive 
ability,  Mr.  Mitinger  amassed  a  handsome  competency,  his  estate  at  the  time 
of  his  decease,  August  i,  1904,  being  conservatively  estimated  at  a  valuation  o^ 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  A  very  considerable  portion  of  this  was  devised 
to  various  institutions,  and  his  bequests  were  the  largest  in  this  line  ever  made 
by  any  citizen  of  Greensburg.  He  remembered  the  church  with  which  he  was 
connected,  the  Greensburg  Hospital,  the  Children's  Aid  Society,  the  Greensburg 
hose  companies,  as  well  as  many  relatives  and  intimate  friends.  His  name  was 
a  synonym  of  honor  and  his  loss  was  deeply  felt  in  the  business  and  social  life 
of  the  city,  with  whose  interests  he  had  been  so  long  and  prominentlv  connected. 

WILLLVM  LEONARD  MITINGER,  son  of  Samuel  and  Catherine 
I'Poorman)  Mitinger,  was  born  in  East  Huntingdon  townshij),  Westmoreland, 
county,  Pennsylvania,  January  3.  1854,  and  is  now  numljered  among  the  busmtss 
men  of  Greensburg. 

He  was  a  lad  of  about  thirteen  years  at  the  time  of  his  father's  death,  and 
from  thenceforth  was  compelled  largely  to  provide  for  his  own  maintenance  aud- 
io depend  upon  his  own  resources.  He  was  enabled  to  avail  himself  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  public  schools  of  his  native  township,  and  after  completing  his 


62  HISTORY   OF    IVESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

studies  became  a  clerk  in  the  shoe  store  of  Theodore  F.  Anshutz,  of  Grecns- 
burg,  and  later  became  an  apprentice  in  the  foundry  of  the  Fisher  and  Hawkly 
Company,  at  Greensburg,  where  he  learned  the  trade  of  iron  moulding,  which, 
however",  he  never  followed  as  an  occupation  after  completing  his  apprentice- 
ship. He  accepted  a  clerkship  in  the  Derry  office  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Company,  and  after  a  short  period  of  time  became  a  locomotive  fireman  in  the 
employ  of  the  same  company.  In  this  capacity  he  served  five  years,  at  the  ex- 
piration of  which  he  was  promoted  to  the  responsible  position  of  engineer, 
in  which  he  continued  for  fourteen  and  half  years,  becoming  one  of 
the  trusted  and  popular  engineers  of  the  Pennsylvania  system.  He  then  ac- 
cepted a  position  as  engineer  for  a  firm  of  railroad  contractors,  after  which  he 
secured  a  clerkship  in  the  office  of  the  county  recorder  of  Westmoreland  county, 
a  position  which  he  continued  to  hold  for  three  years.  Thereafter  he  was  em- 
ployed as  salesman  in  the  store  of  his  older  brother,  John  F.  Mitinger,  whose 
sketch  precedes  this,  with  whom  he  remained  until  1903,  when  he  was  ap- 
pointed secretary  to  Senator  Cyrus  E.  Woods,  chairman  of  judiciary  (general 
committee)  of  the  state  senate,' at  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  remaining  the  in- 
cumbent of  this  office  for  one  term.  Upon  his  return  to  Greensburg  he  re- 
entered the  employ  of  his  brother,  with  whom  he  remained  until  the  death  of 
the  latter,  when  he  assumed  charge  of  the  business  in  association  with  his 
A^ounger  brother,  Dr.  Joseph  Edwin  Mitinger,  whose  sketch  follows  this,  and 
they  have  continued  the  same  most  successfully  up  to  the  present  time._  William. 
L.  Mitinger  has  practically  the  entire  active  management  of  the  business,  and 
is  ably  upholding  the  high  reputation  attained  by  the  concern.  In  1900  iMr. 
]\Iitinger  served  as  census  enumerator  in  Greensburg,  and  has  also  held  otner 
positions  of  trust  and  responsibility.  He  is  an  effective  worker  in  the  interests 
of  the  Republican  party.  Mr.  Mitinger  married,  July  16,  1885,  Elsie  A.  Slack, 
daughter  of  David  and  Elizabeth  Slack,  of  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  of  the 
four  children  of  this  union  only  one  is  living,  Elizabeth  Catherine.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Mitinger  are  members  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  their 
home  city. 

JOSEPH  EDWIN  MITINGER,  D.  D.  S.,  son  of  Samuel  and  Cath- 
erine (Poorman)  IMitinger,  was  born  in  Hempfield  township,  Westmoreland 
county,  Pennsylvania,  January  5,  1863,  and  is  now  one  of  the  representative 
members  of  the  dental  profession  in  Westmoreland  county,  and  engaged  in  the 
successful  practice  of  the  same  in  the  city  of  Greensburg. 

He  acquired  his  early  educational  advantages  in  the  public  schools  and 
seminary  of  Greensburg.  After  leaving  school  he  secured  a  position  in  the 
scale  or  w-eighing  office  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  at  Huff  Station,  being  em- 
ployed as  weighing  clerk,  in  which  capacity  he  had  charge  of  the  weighing  of 
all  coke  handled  at  this  point  by  the  company.  After  following  this  line  of 
work  for  a  period  of  almost  six  years,  he  matriculated  in  the  Pennsylvania  Col- 
lege of  Dentistry,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  where  he  completed  the  prescribed 
course,  graduating  as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1892  and  receiving  his  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Dental  Surgery.  He  at  once  opened  an  office  in  Greensburg, 
where  he  has  since  been  actively  engaged  in  the  work  of  his  profession.  Dur- 
ing the  passing  years  his  practice  has  increased  in  volume  and  importance,  and 
his  offices  are  fully  equipped  with  every  modern  and  practical  device  for  both 
operative  and  laboratory  work.  In  politics  Dr.  Mitinger  gives  an  unqualified 
allegiance  to  the  Republican  party.  He  is  actively  identified  with  the  ]\Iasonic 
order,  and  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  Greensburg  Driving  Club,  of  which  he 


^^h-tX^^^£^X/£^ie>ca^c^^ 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  63 

is  secretary.  He  takes  a  keen  and  active  interest  in  athletic  sports.  Dr.  Mit- 
inger  married,  April  11,  1895,  ]Mary  Clarke  Bray,  born  in  Rockaway,  New  Jer- 
sey, a  danghter  of  John  W.  and  Caroline  Z.  Bray.  Their  children  are  :  Edward, 
born  October  31,  1898;  and  Robert,  born  May  17,  1902. 

LEONARD  KECK.  Both  by  birth  and  lineage  Leonard  Keck,  of 
Greensbnrg,  is  a  German.  Adam  Keck  was  a  native  of  W'urtcmberg  and  there 
followed  the  calling  of  a  farmer.  Llis  son.  Christian  Keck,  was  born  in  the 
same  place  and  devoted  himself  likewise  to  agricultural  pursuits.  In  his  latter 
years  he  emigrated  to  the  Cnited  States,  where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  He  was  a  regular  attendant  and  strict  member  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran 
church.  In  1832  he  married  Rosa,  daughter  of  Andrew  Schwartz,  and  of  their 
ten  children  six  are  now  living,  among  them  Leonard,  mentioned  hereafter. 
Christian  Keck  died  October  9,  1881. 

Leonard  Keck,  youngest  son  of  Christian  and  Rosa  (Schwartz)  Keck,  was 
born  April  12,  1849,  i"  ^^  urtemberg,  and  was  reared  on  a  farm,  receiving  his 
education  in  private  schools.  He  learned  the  trade  of  a  linen  weaver,  which 
he  followed  for  two  years.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  resolved  to  seek  his  for- 
tune in  the  United  States,  and  in  company  with  his  brother  Frederick  embarked 
on  a  westward  bound  vessel  which  landed  them  in  New  York  city,  June  28, 
1866.  Failing  to  secure  any  remunerative  employment  in  that  city  he  proceeded 
to  western  Pennsylvania,  where  he  dug  coal  and  worked  at  whatever  else  of- 
fered for  the  space  of  three  months.  In  1869  he  moved  to  Greensbnrg,  where 
he  became  a  clerk  in  the  store  of  Donohoe  &  Brother,  to  whom  his  services  were 
peculiarly  acceptable  on  account  of  his  ability  to  speak  the  German  language, 
many  of  their  customers  being  natives  of  the  Fatherland.  He  remained  with 
the  firm  eleven  years,  and  in  1880  opened  a  store  on Main  street,  where  his  space 
was  not  one-half  as  large  as  any  one  of  the  three  departments  of  his  present  ex- 
tensive establishment.  This  initial  efifort  was  made  about  the  time  when  Greens- 
burg  began  to  give  promise  in  regard  to  her  future  importance  as  an  industrial 
and  commercial  centre  of'  western  Pennsylvania,  and  for  over  twenty  years 
Mr.  Keck  successfully  conducted  his  Main  street  store,  never  interesting  him- 
self in  politics  or  engaging  in  speculations,  but  giving  his  whole  time  and  at- 
tention to  his  business.  He  soon  acquired  a  patronage  and  an  increase  of  trade 
calling  for  a  far  larger  space  and  stock  of  goods  than  he  then  owned.  To  meet 
this  demand  he  enlarged  his  present  site  on  South  Main  street,  near  the  court 
house,  where  his  establishment  is  divided  into  three  commodious  departments, 
each  of  which  is  under  the  charge  of  an  experienced  manager.  His  sales 
yearly  are  in  the  neighborhood  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and 
he  numbers  among  his  patrons  the  leading  families  of  the  town  and  county. 
Mr.  Keck  married,  October  23,  1872,  Lydia  A.,  daughter  of  George  Hons,  of 
New  Stanton,  and  their  children  are:  Joseph  Edward,  bom  June  30,  1874; 
Charles  Warden,  born  June  26,  1876;  Annie  Marie,  born  August  29,  1885; 
Helen  Winifred,  born  January  3,  1888;  Leonard  B.,  born  October  11,  1890; 
George  E.,  born  October  22.  1893  ;  Richard  Allen,  born  February  11,  1895  :  and 
John  Adam,  born  March  21,  1897. 

COLONEL  ISRAEL  PAINTER  was  born  in  ITcmiifield  tonmship, 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.  November  11,  1810.  He  was  of  German 
descent  on  both  his  father's  and  mother's  side.  Jacob  Painter,  his  grandfather, 
after  marriage  emigrated  from  Mecklenburg,  Germany,  and  settled  in  Berks 
county,  Pennsylvania.    Here  six  children  were  born :  Jacob,  Michael,  John  and 


64  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

Tobias.  One  daughter  was  married  to  George  Myers,  and  the  other  was  mar- 
ried to  Christopher  Harrold.  Jacob  Painter  and  his  wife  died  and  were  buried 
in  Berks  county.  Jacob  Painter,  their  eldest  son,  married  a  daughter  of  a  Mr. 
Rapiere,  who  lived  in  Indiana  county,  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  Hempfield  town- 
ship, situated  on  the  Big  Sewickley  creek,  eight  miles  south  of  Greensburg, 
which  was  known  for  many  years  as  the  "Judge  Painter  place."  By  his  first 
wife  he  had  children :  Betsey,  Rebecca,  Catharine,  Tobias,  George,  Elias.  His 
first  wife  died,  and  was  buried  at  Harrold's  Church.  He  married  (second) 
Catharine,  daughter  of  Christopher  and  Elizabeth  (  Mueller)  Lobingier.  By  her 
he  had  ten  children:  Polly,  John,  Jacob,  Christopher,  George,  Joseph,  JSenjamin, 
Susan,  Israel  and  Sophia.  Jacob  Painter  always  lived  on  tlie  farm  on  which  he 
first  settled.  He  built  on  the  place  a  stone  grist  mill  which  he  carried  on  in 
connection  with  his  farming.  He  was  an  energetic,  active  business  man,  a 
member  of  the  legislature  for  several  terms,  justice  of  the  peace  for  many 
years,  and  was  the  Whig  candidate  for  congress  against  William  Findley,  in 
which  contest  he  came  within  seventeen  votes  of  being  elected.  He  held  the 
position  of  associate  judge  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  a  man  of  com- 
manding presence,  being  about  six  feet  in  height,  heavy  set,  and  weighing  al^out 
two  hundred  and  twenty  pounds.  In  personal  appearance  his  son.  Colonel  Israel 
Painter,  is  said  to  have  resembled  him.  He  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-nine,  and 
was  buried  at  Harrold  Church.  His  widow,  Catharine,  survived  him  about 
thirty  years,  lived  with  her  sons.  Christopher  and  Israel,  at  the  "Willow-tree 
Farm,"'  where  she  died,  aged  eighty-four,  and  was  buried  at  Markle  cemetery. 
His  daughter  Betsev  was  wife  of  General  Joseph  Markle,  and  mother  of  Gen- 
eral C.  P.  Markle,  of  "Millgrove." 

Christopher  Lobingier,  grandfather  of  Catharine  Lobinger,  the  second 
wife  of  Judge  Jacob  Painter,  came  from  Mecklenberg,  Germany,  and  settled  in 
Dauphin  county.  He  was  married  before  leaving  Germany.  Little  is  known  of 
him  except  that  he  was  a  farmer,  and  that  both  he  and  his  wife  died,  and  are 
buried  in  Dauphin  county.  They  had  one  son,  Christopher,  who  married  ( 1766)1 
Elizabeth  Mueller,  by  whom  he  had  eight  children :  John,  Christopher,  Cath- 
arine, Barbara,  Mary,  Elizabeth,  Susan  and  George.  His  wife  died  at  Stoys- 
town,  Somerset  county,  September  15,  1815,  aged  seventy-one  years.  He  set- 
tled in  Mount  Pleasant  township  in  1772,  was  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania 
constitutional  convention  of  1776,  and  of  the  house  of  representatives  from 
1791  to  1793.  He  died  July  4,  1798,  and  was  buried  at  the  Presbyterian  meet- 
ing house  near  Pleasant  Unity. 

Israel  Painter  lived  at  home  until  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age.  He  then 
taught  the  district  school  two  terms,  and  was  employed  as  clerk  at  Mount 
Pleasant  in  his  brother  Christopher's  store  one  year.  He  then  attended  several 
terms  at  Jefferson  College,  Canonsburg.  In  company  with  a  Mr.  Newmyer  in 
1830,  he  purchased  his  brother's  store  in  Mount  Pleasant  and  carried  it  on  one 
year.  He  next  built  the  "Mastodon"  Salt  Works,  subsequently  became  inter- 
ested in  the  "Fountain"  and  "Mammoth"  salt  works  and  was  the  owner  of  them 
all  at  the  time  of  his  death.  In  company  with  Daniel  Waltz,  he  put  down  a 
salt  well  in  Monongah  county.  West  \'irginia,  and  established  salt  works  there, 
an  enterprise  requiring  no  small  amount  of  pluck  and  energy,  on  account  of 
the  transportation  through  an  almost  unbroken  wilderness  of  everything 
required  in  its  construction  and  operation.  He  was  interested  in 
these  works  from  1832  to  1835.  He  became  at  an  early  date  an 
extensive  dealer  in  live  stock — horses,  cattle,  hogs  and  sheep.  His 
operations    in    this    line    of    trade    took    a    wide    range,    extending    through 


HISTORY    OF    irESr.UORELAND    COUXTV 


the    states    of    Pennsylvania,    Ohio,     Kentucky,    and    West     Mrginia,     and 
during  the  Civil  war  his  dealings  with  the  government  in  cattle,  horses  and 
mules  were  on  a  large  scale.      Though  not  of  the  same  political  faith,  he  enjoyed 
the  acquaintance  and  confidence  of  President  Lincoln,  a  relation  which  was  of 
great  service  to  him  in  his  operations  with  the  government.    Through  his  brother 
Christopher  he  became  at  one  time  largely  interested  in  the  cotton  trade,  mak- 
ing a  number  of  trips  to  New  Orleans  in  that  interest.     His  operations  in  real 
estate  were  carried  on  upon  the  most  extended  scale.     These  embraced  the  pur- 
chase and  sale  of  over  one  hundred  farms  in  Westmorland  county  alone,  while 
he  also  operated  largely  in  lands  in  Fayette,  Indiana,  and  other  Western  Penn- 
sylvania counties.     At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  the  owner  of  thirtv-two 
farms.    He  operated  largely  in  oil  and  oil  lands.    From  1865  to  the  time  of  his 
death  Colonel  Painter  gave  much  attention  to  coal  and  coal  lands.     He  was  the 
first  to  introduce  coal  into  the  eastern  market,  western  Pennsylvania,  eastern 
manufacturers  of  gas  using  up  to  that  time  an  imported  coal  as  a  gas  coal  for 
that  purpose.     In  company  with  John  George,  Jr.,  Colonel  Lewis  McFarland 
and  others,  he  purchased  large  tracts  of  coal  lands  on  the  line  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania railroad  in  North  Huntingdon  township,  selling  the  coal  to  the  Penn 
Gas-Coal  Company  and  \\'estmoreland  Coal  Company.    In  company  with  Gen- 
eral Herman  Haught.  John  Derbyshire,  H.  N.  Burroughs.   S.   B.   and  C.   P. 
Markle.  he  bought  and  sold  many  hundreds  of  acres  of  coal  lands  in  Sewickley 
township.     He  built  seventy-four  coking  ovens  in  Bullskin  township,  Favette 
county  in  1873.  and  carried  them  on  till  1879.    He  owned  one  hundred  and  sev- 
enty acres  of  coking  coal  lands  near  IMount  Pleasant  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
He  was  interested  in  contracts  for  the  construction  of  sections  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania railroad,  of  the  Northwest  Pennsylvania  railroad,  also  of  the  Pittsburg 
and   Erie   and   Connellsville   railroads.      He   was   a   stockholder   in   the   Mount 
Pleasant  and  Robbstown  turnpike,  also  in  the  Youghiogheny  Navigation  Com- 
pany.    He  was  prime  mover  in  the  building  of  the  Southwest  Pennsvlvania 
railroad,  also  the  Alount  Pleasant  and  Broad  Ford  railroad,  and  a  director  in 
both,  as  also  in  the  Pittsburg  and  Connellsville  railroad.     He  was  associated 
with  Governor  John  W.  Geary  in  contesting  the  will  of  Stephen  Girard,  in  behalf 
of  the  heirs  of  the  latter  against  the  city  of  Philadelphia.     He  represented  his 
district  in  the  house  of  representatives  from  1846  to  1848;  was  canal  commis- 
sioner from  1849  to  1852;  was  a  delegate  to  the  Democratic  national  convention 
the  party.     He  was  at  one  time  a  candidate  for  his  party  for  nomination  to  con- 
at  Charlestown,  South  Carolina,  identifying  himself  with  the  Douglas  wing  of 
gress,  but  was  defeated  in  the  convention  by  Hon.  Henry  D.  Foster.    His  death 
was  the  result  of  an  accident.    By  a  fall  a  glass  bottle  was  crushed  in  his  hand, 
by  which  the  latter  was  so  cut  and  lacerated  he  survived  the  eft'ect  of  it  only 
ten  days.     He  died  July  4,  1880.     It  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  but  few  men  to  be 
more  prominent  in  business  affairs  than  Colonel  Israel  Painter.     His  energy 
and  will  seemed  inexhaustible.     He  was  constantly  on  the  alert.     With  him  to 
thmk  was  to  act.    Dufficulties  and  obstacles  which  would  have  evcrwhelmed  and 
swamped  most  men  only  inspired  in  him  renewed  exertions.    All  his  enterprises 
were  conductedon  a  large  scale.    To  figure  in  a  small  way  with  him  was  an  im- 
possibility.    In  his  disposition  he  was  wholesouled  and  genial,  consequently  few 
men  commanded  a  wiiler  or  warmer  circle  of  friends. 

JAMES  E.  GILLAND,  proprietor  of  one  of  the  leading  business  es- 
tablishments of  Greensburg,  was  born  in  Franklintown,  York  couiitv.  Penn- 
sylvania, August  12,  1861,  a  son  of  James  and  Mary  Jane  (McDonald)'  Gilland, 

■2 — 5 


66  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

who  had  seven  other  children,  as  follows : 'Mary  Etta,  Lizzie,  William,  Cora, 
Charles,  George,  and  Anna,  deceased.  James  Gilland  (father)  was  born  east  of 
the  Alleghany  Mountains  in  Pennsylvania,  and  later  settled  in  Clarion  county, 
same  state,  where  he  purchased  a  farm,  cultivated  and  improved  the  same  and 
resided  thereon  for  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

James  E.  Gilland  received  a  practical  education  in  the  common  schools  of 
Canada,  Clarion  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  at  the  early  age  of  twelve  years 
left  school  in  order  to  learn  the  trade  of  painter,  which  he  has  followed  through- 
out his  active  career.  At  the  present  time  ( 1905)  he  is  the  proprietor  of  a  store 
located  on  West  Otterman  street,  Greensburg,  which  is  well  stocked  with  all 
kinds  of  paints,  brushes  and  oils,  and  he  also  contracts  for  the  painting  of 
houses,  both  inside  and  out.  He  is  genial  and  pleasant  in  manner,  attends 
promptly  to  the  wants  and  wishes  of  his  patrons,  and  therefore  well  merits 
the  large  patronage  acconled  him.  His  political  views  coincide  with  those  of 
the  Democratic  party,  to  \vhich  organization  he  has  given  his  allegiance  since 
attaining  his  majority.  Mr.  Gilland  married,  July  2,  1885,  Anna  Horner,  born 
in  Berlin,  Germany,  June  31,  1866,  a  daughter  of  Henry  and  Amelia  Horner, 
and  their  children  are:  Walter  M.,  a  painter  by  trade,  employed  by  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad  Company ;  George  R.,  a  barber  by  trade,  employed  in  Pitcairn ; 
Charles,  Lena  E.,  ]\Iargaret,  Clarence,  Mary,  James,  and  Victor. 

^lARTIN  NELSON  McGEARY  is  a  representative  member  of  the 
bar  of  Westmoreland  county,  and  is  of  the  fourth  generation  of  his  family  in 
this  attractive  division  of  the  Keystone  commonwealth,  where  his  ancestors  set- 
tled in  the  eighteenth  century,  while  the  name  has  ever  since  been  honorably 
linked  with  the  industrial  and  civic  history  of  the  county.  Mr.  McGeary  was 
born  on  the  homestead  farm  in  Allegheny  township,  this  county,  September  10, 
i860,  and  is  a  son  of  John  E.  and  Sarah  Jane  (McLaughlin)  McGeary,  both  of 
whom  were  born  and  reared  in  the  same  township,  where  they  still  maintain 
their  home,  the  father  having  devoted  his  active  career  to  agricultural  pursuits 
and  being  one  of  the  prominent  and  influential  farmers  of  the  county,  where  he 
has  ever  commanded  the  unequivocal  confidence  and  esteem  of  his  fellowmen. 
He  is  a  Republican  in  his  political  proclivities,  and  both  he  and  his  wife  have 
long  been  members  of  the  LTnited  Presbyterian  church.  Of  their  seven  chil- 
dren six  are  living,  the  subject  of  this  review  having  been  the  eldest  in  order  of 
birth.  John  E.  McGeary  is  a  son  of  James  and  Margaret  (Elliott)  McGeary, 
the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  Allegheny  township,  this  county,  in  1801, 
while  the  latter  was  born  near  the  city  of  Pittsburg. 

Martin  N.  McGeary  was  reared  to  the  sturdy  discipline  of  the  farm,  and 
after  completing  the  curriculum  of  the  public  schools  entered  the  Pennsylvania 
State  College,  at  State  College,  where  he  remained  as  a  student  for  three  years. 
Upon  leaving  school  he  began  reading  law  in  the  office  of  the  well  known  firm 
of  Marchand  &  Gaithers,  of  Greensburg,  and  he  devoted  himself  with  all  earn- 
estness and  appreciative  effort  to  his  technical  study  until  he  realized  his  ambi- 
tion, being  admitted  to  the  bar  of  his  native  county  April  17,  1887.  Since  that 
time  he  has  pressed  steadilv  forward  to  the  mark  of  his  calling,  has  gained 
recognition  as  one  of  the  well  equipped  lawyers  of  the  county,  and  has  built 
up  an  excellent  practice  of  representative  character.  He  is  known  as  a  strong 
and  spirited  trial  lawyer  and  ever  gives  careful  preparation  to  every  cause  which 
he  presents  before  court  or  jury,  while  in  counsel  he  is  discriminating  and  con- 
servative. In  politics  I\Ir.  McGeary  is  found  stanchly  arrayed  as  a  supporter 
of  the  principles  and  policies  of  the  Republican  party,  and  in  a  fraternal  way 


fOc 


HISTORY    OF    irESTMORELAXD    COUXTV.  67 

-is  identified  with  Westmoreland  Lodge,  No.  518,  A.  F.  A.  AI. :  and  Greensburg 
Lodge,  Xo.  511,  B.  P.  O.  E.  He  is  a  member  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
chiirdi.  :\Ir.'McGearv  married,  July  31,  1901,  Agnes  Huston,  born  and  reared 
in  Fairfield  to\vnship,'this  county,  daughter  of  John  B.  and  Elizabeth  Pluston, 
the  former  of  whom  is  one  of  the  representative  farmers  of  that  locality,  while 
lie  was  formerly  a  successsful  school  teacher. 

FRANK  R.  ZAHNISER,  D.  D.  S.  Dentistry  in  its  modern  form  rep- 
resents both  a  science  and  a  mechanic  art,  and  he  who  would  be  successful  in  its 
practice  must  be  equipped  both  through  natural  predilection  and  most  careful 
and  discriminating  preliminary  training.  Among  the  leading  members  of  the 
profession  in  the  city  of  Greensburg  is  numbered  Dr.  Zahniser,  whose  skill  in 
Tboth  the  operative  and  laboratory  department  of  his  profession  is  of  the  highest 
order  and  who  has  naturally  succeeded  in  building  up  a  profitable  practice  of 
representative  order,  his  finely  equipped  offices  being  located  in  the  \^'clty 
building,  at  130  North  ^Lain  streeet. 

Dr.  Frank  Robinson  Zahniser  is  a  native  of  the  Keystone  state,  having  been 
born  in  :Mercer,  .Mercer  county,  Pennsylvania,  April  15,  1865,  and  being  a  son  of 
M.  J.  and  Elizabeth  (Hurst)  Zahniser,  the  fomier  a  resident  of  Pittsburg,  and 
the  latter  deceased.  Both  parents  were  natives  of  Pennsylvania,  and  represen- 
tative of  old  and  honored  families  of  this  commonwealth,  while  the  genealogy  in 
the  agnatic  line  is  traced  back  to  stanch  German  origin.  The  father  of  Dr. 
Zahniser  was  for  many  years  engaged  in  the  lumber  business,  but  is  now  devot- 
ing his  attention  to  the  real  estate  business  in  Pittsburg.  Of  the  five  children  in 
the  family  Dr.  Zahniser  was  the  second  in  order  of  birth,  while  of  the  number 
three  are  living  at  the  time  of  this  writing. 

Dr.  Zahniser  secured  his  rudimentary  educational  discipline  in  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  county,  where  he  continued  his  studies  until  he  had  at- 
tained the  age  of  fourteen  years,  after  which  he  entered  ]\Iount  Pleasant  Acad- 
emy, at  Mount  Pleasant,  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  remained  as  a  student 
for  three  years.  In  1888  he  matriculated  in  the  Pennsylvania  Dental  College,  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia,  where  he  completed  the  prescribed  technical  course  and 
was  graduated  as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1889,  simultaneously  receiving  his 
well  earned  degree  of  Doctor  of  Dental  Surgery  and  coming  forth  admirably 
well  equipped  for  the  work  of  his  chosen  profession.  That  this  statement  is 
unequivocal  needs  no  farther  voucher  than  the  success  which  has  been  his  in 
his  chosen  field  of  endeavor,  for  through  his  devotion  to  his  profession  and  his 
ability  in  the  same  he  has  built  up  a  lucrative  practice  and  attained  to  no  uncer- 
tain precedence  in  the  connection.  He  opened  an  office  in  Greensburg  shortly 
after  his  graduation  and  here  has  ever  since  continued  in  active  practice.  He 
is  a  member  of  Western  Pennsylvania  Dental  Society.  Dr.  Zahniser  married, 
February  15,  1893,  Jeanette  Suydam,  a  daughter  of  J.  L.  aad  Mary  E.  Suydam, 
of  Greensburg.  where  she  was  reared  and  educated.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Zahniser 
have  two  daughters,  Elizabeth  and  Eleanor.  He  and  his  family  are  members  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  church. 

LLOYD  BURRELL  HUFF.  One  of  the  representative  young  busi- 
ness men  of  Westmoreland  county  is  Lloyd  Burrell  Hufif,  the  oldest  son  of  Hon. 
George  F.  and  Henrietta  Burrell  HufT,  of  Greensburg.  and  grandson  of  the 
Hon.  Jeremiah  Murray  Burrell,  president  judge  of  the  tenth  judicial  district  of 
Pennsylvania,  whose  sketch  appears  elsewhere  in  this  work. 

He  was  born  in  Greensburg  on  the  eighth  day  of  December,  1871,  was  edit- 


68  HISTORY    OF    IVhS'l  MORELAXD    COUXTV. 

cated  in  the  public  scliools,  after  which  he  entered  Trinity  Hall,  a  well  equipped 
preparatory  institution  at  Washington,  Pennsylvania.  In  1889  he  matriculated 
in  the  Rensselaer  Polytechnic  Institute  at  Troy,  New  York.  In  i8yi  he  left 
college  to  enter  the  coal  and  coke  business  with  his  father,  taking  charge  of 
development  work  on  a  large  coal  and  timber  property  near  South  Fork,  in  the 
Allegheny  Mountains;  in  1893  he  returned  to  Greensburg  and  became  treasurer 
and  manager  of  all  the  important  mining  properties  in  that  section.  When  the 
Keystone  Coal  &  Coke  Company,  one  of  the  largest  coal  and  coke  producers  in 
Pennsylvania,  was  organized  he  became  treasurer  and  general  manager,  his 
father,  Hon.  George  F.  Huff,  being  the  president.  Mr.  Huff  has  gained  pres- 
tige in  other  fields  as  an  able  and  progressive  young  business  man,  well  fitted 
for  handling  affairs  of  scope  and  importance,  being  president  of  the  Pittsburg, 
McKeesport  &  Greensburg  Railway  Company,  a  director  of  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Greensburg  and  other  like  enterprises ;  also  identified  with  both  state 
and  national  horticultural  and  improvement  associations.  In  his  political  pro- 
clivities Mr.  Huff  is  a  staunch  Republican,  for  some  years  a  member  of  the  state 
central  committee,  and  a  lo\al  and  efficient  worker  in  his  party.  In  1895  he  was 
appointed  to  the  military  staff  of  Governor  Daniel  H.  Hastings  with  the  rank, 
of  lieutenant-colonel.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Spanish-American  war  he  was 
promoted  to  assistant  commissary  general  of  the  national  guard  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  was  one  of  the  first  to  be  called  into  service  by  the  governor.  He 
received  orders  to  assist  in  the  commissary  arrangements  necessary  to  put  the 
Pennsylvania  soldiers  into  the  field,  which  work  was  accomplished  with  com- 
mendable ability.  He  married,  June  21,  1897,  Eleanor  Warren  Moorhead,  the 
second  daughter  of  Hon.  James  S.  Moorhead,  one  of  the  most  prominent  and 
leading  members  of  the  Westmoreland  county  bar.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Huff  have 
two  children,  Eleanor  Moorhead  and  Elizabeth. 

(For  the  genealogy  of  the  Huff  Family  see  sketch  of  Hon.  George  F.  Huff.) 

JAMES  LAWRENCE  KENNEDY,  LL.  M.  Among  the  native 
sons  of  Westmoreland  county  who  have  here  attained  to  success  and  worthy 
prestige  in  connection  with  the  practice  of  law  is  Mr.  Kennedy,  who  is  one  of 
the  representative  younger  members  of  the  bar  of  the  county,  being  established 
in  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  the  city  of  Greensburg.  He  has  worked  his 
way  to  the  front  through  earnest  and  well  directed  endeavor,  and  in  his  course 
has  held  no  obstacle  as  insuperable,  so  that  his  advancement  has  been  consec- 
utive and  well  defined. 

James  Lawrence  Kennedy  was  born  at  Penn's  Station,  Westmoreland 
county,  Pennsylvania,  June  15,  1866,  and  is  a  son  of  Denis  and  Ellen  ( Keefe) 
Kennedy,  both  of  whom  were  born  in  Ireland.  The  father  immigrated  from  the 
Emerald  Isle  to  America  in  1849,  ^"d  here  began  his  active  career  as  a  day 
laborer,  while  he  eventually  accumulated  a  good  propertv  through  his  faithful 
eff'orts  and  provident  methods,  while  his  intrinsic  integritv  gained  and  retained 
to  him  the  respect  and  confidence  of  his  fellowmen.  He  died  August  3.  1905. 
His  widow  resides  in  Penn  Station.  Both  he  and  his  wife  were  communicants 
of  the  Catholic  church.  They  became  the  parents  of  five  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters, of  whom  James  L.  is  the  fifth  in  order  of  birth. 

James  L.  Kennedy  secured  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  of  the 
borough  of  Penn,  and  later  continued  his  studies  in  the  high  school  at  Greens- 
burg, while  he  early  formulated  plans  for  his  future  career,  determining  to 
a<lopt  the  profession  of  law.  After  careful  preliminarv  reading  under  able  pre- 
ceptors he  entered  the  law  department  of  Catholic  University  of  America  in  the 


HISTORY    OF    U'ESTMORELAXD    COUXTY.  69 

city  of  Washington,  D.  C,  where  he  completed  the  prescribed  course  and  was 
graduated  as  a  member  of  the  class  of  i8g6,  in  March,  receiving  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Laws,  while  in  June,  i8g6,  his  alma  mater  conferred  upon  him  the 
degree  of  Master  of  Laws,  after  he  had  taken  special  post-graduate  work.  He 
studied  economics  under  Charles  P.  Xeill  and  Carroll  D.  \\'right.  while  other 
instructors  were  men  of  distinction  in  their  assigned  departments.  As  private 
legal  preceptors  Mr.  Kennedy  was  favored  in  having  Messrs.  \'incent  E.  Wil- 
liams and  Williaiu  A.  Griffith,  prominent  members  of  the  Westmoreland  county 
bar,  and  he  was  dulv  admitted  to  the  bar  of  his  native  county  in  1892,  at  which 
time  he  was  incumbent  of  the  office  of  court  stenographer.  This  position  he 
continued  to  retain  until  1896,  in  which  vear  he  began  the  active  practice  of  his 
profession,  opening  an  office  in  Greensburg,  where  he  has  since  maintained  his 
headquarters  and  where  he  has  proved  significantly  successful  in  the  various 
departments  of  his  professional  work,  having  a  clientage  of  distinctively  repre- 
sentative character.  Though  he  has  never  been  ambitious  for  )niblic  office  ]\Ir. 
Kennedy  is  a  stalwart  advocate  of  the  principles  and  policies  of  the  Democratic 
party,  in  whose  local  ranks  he  has  been  more  or  less  active  in  the  various  cam- 
paigns. He  clings  to  his  ancestral  faith  and  is  a  communicant  of  the  Catholic 
church,  while  in  a  fraternal  way  he  is  affiliated  with  the  K.  C.  and  the  B.  P.  O. 
E.  He  is  held  in  high  regard  in  the  professional  and  business  circles  of  his 
home  city  and  is  well  entitled  to  this  recognition  as  one  of  the  able  and  popular 
members  of  the  bar  of  Westmoreland  county. 

EDWARD  BARRY  KEXLY,  a  Union  veteran  of  the  civil  war,  book- 
"keeper  for  the  last  eighteen  years  for  Struble  &  Walthour,  proprietors  of  the 
large  Ludwick  planing  mill  and  lumber  yard,  also  justice  of  the  peace  for  sixth 
ward,  Greensburg,  formerly  Ludwick  borough,  now  serving  his  third  term, 
was  born  near  Harvey's  Five  Points,  Westmoreland  countv,  Pennsvlvania, 
March  5,  1845. 

His  great-grandfather,  ^^■illiam  Kenly,  a  native  of  Hartford  countv,  Alarv- 
land,  who  later  removed  to  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  became  verv  wealthy 
through  investments  in  real  estate.  During  the  war  of  the  revolution,  by  a 
colonial  appointment,  he  assisted  in  raising  funds  to  defray  the  expenses  "of 'the 
Continental  army.  In  the  archives  of  the  revolutionary  war  are  found  notes,  or 
scrip  issued  as  Continental  money  bearing  his  signature.  He  was  a  brother-in- 
law  of  General  Josiah  Harmar,  a  resident  of  Philadelphia,  of  revolutionar\-  war 
fame,  and  subsequently  commander-in-chief  of  the  United  States  army,  and 
personallv  in  command  of  troops  defending  settlements  in  the  northwest  terri- 
tory.    William  Kenly  was  the  father  of  one  child.  Dr.  Charles  Jenkins  Kenly. 

Dr.  Charles  Jenkins  Kenly  was  for  manv  vears  a  practicing  phvsician  of 
Phdadelphia.  He  left  that  city  and  came  to 'Bell  townshiiD,  Westmoreland 
county,  where  he  invested  quite  largelv  in  real  estate,  and  being  wealthv  lived 
a  retired  life.  Ten  years  after  his  removal  to  Bell  township  he^  died,  June  23. 
1828.  from  injuries  received  from  being  thrown  from  a  horse,  and  his'remains 
M-ere  interred  in  the  churchyard  at  Murravsville,  Penn.svlvania.  He  married' 
Theresa  Barry,  born  in  Philadelphia,  1784,  and  died  in  Greensliurg,  1863.  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Kenly  were  the  parents  of  five  children— three  daughters  and  two 
sons — who  grew  to  manhood  and  womanhood. 

Richard  Barry  Kenly,  one  of  the  above  named  family,  was  born  in  Hell 
township.  Westmoreland  county.  Pennsylvania.  Februarv  2,  1821.  ,\bout  the 
time  of  his  majority  he  engaged  in  the  drug  business  in  Greensbure,  but  shortly 
afterward  left  the  drug  trade  and  operated  a  general  merchandise  store  for 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 


several  years  at  Weavers  Old  Stand.  After  disposing  of  his  store  he  pur- 
chased the  Kern  farm,  which  was  situated  one  mile  southeast  of  Greensburg: 
in  1855  he  sold  this  farm  to  Robert  Lowry.  On  April  i,  1856,  Mr.  Kenly  re- 
moved to  Ludvvick,  established  a  grocery  and  provision  store,  and  at  the  sam. 
time  opened  the  first  retail  lumber-yard  in  Westmoreland  county,  in  which 
business  he  was  engaged  at  the  time  of  his  death,  March  9,  1886.  In  May, 
1843,  he  married  Lucinda  C.  Turncy,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Margaret 
(Singer)  Turney,  of  Greensburg,  and  sister  of  Hon.  Jacob  Turney,  Jr.,  mem- 
ber of  congress  for  two  terms  from  the  Westmoreland,  Fayette  and  Greene 
district.  Mrs.  Kenly  was  born  September  15,  1819,  died  Juiie  13,  1895.  She 
was  a  noble  woman,  fond  mother,  a  devout  Christian,  and  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kenly  had  eleven  children :  Edward  B., 
Margaret  T.,  Lucy  C,  Nannie  S.,  wife  of  Robert  Hughan,  of  Parnassus,  Penn- 
sylvania;  Carrie  L.,  wife  of  William  Orr;  and  Charles  Harmar,  a  rural  delivery 
mail  carrier.  Five  children  died  from  one  to  seven  years  of  age.  Richard  B. 
Kenly,  the  father  of  the  above  named  family,  was  a  conscientious  Christian  ;  an 
ardent  temperance  man  and  cliristian  worker;  an  elder  in  the  Presbvterian 
church ;  a  public-spirited  citizen,  always  alert  and  working  to  the  best  interests 
of  the  town;  a  school  director  for  seven  terms;  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  five 
years,  and  frequently  a  member  of  the  borough  council.  He  assisted  in  the 
laying  out  of  the  borough  of  Ludwick,  and  was  appointed  by  the  court  to  give 
notice  of  the  first  municipal  election,  June  6,  18^9. 

Edward  Barry  Kenly,  eldest  of  the  children  of  Richard  B.  and  Lucinda 
(Turney)  Kenly,  was  reared  at  the  county  seat,  attended  the  public  schools  in 
the  winter  and  select  schools  in  the  summer.  Early  in  1861  he  graduated  from 
Iron  City  College,  and  was  taking  a  special  course  in  civil  engineering  at  Pitts- 
burg, Pennsylvania,  when  the  Civil  war  broke  out.  he  being  then  sixteen  years- 
of  age.  He  left  his  books  and  enlisted  in  the  Federal  Guards  of  Allegheny  City 
under  Captain  J.  C.  Hull  (who  was  killed  in  the  Battle  of  the  Wilderness,  May, 
1864,)   which  company  was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service,  Julv  4, 

1861,  as  Company  "A,"  Sixty-second  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, commanded  by  Colonel  Samuel  Black,  who  was  killed  at  Gaines'  Mill,, 
Virginia,  June  26,  1862.     Before  embarking  for  Fortress  Monroe,  in  March, 

1862,  Mr.  Kenly  was  detailed  as  clerk  at  headquarters  of  General  Silas  Casey, 
who  commanded  the  Second  Division  of  the  Fourth  Army  Corps  during  the 
Peninsular  Campaign,  famous  for  its  malaria,  muddy  marches  and  hard  fought 
battles,  and  was  retained  in  the  same  position  by  Major-General  John  J.  Peck, 
who  succeeded  General  Casey  in  command  of  the  division  after  the  Battle  of 
Fair  Oaks  or  Seven  Pines,  and  was  with  General  Peck  during  all  of  his  services 
in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  In  April,  1864,  after  the  battle  of  Plymouth, 
North  Carolina.  General  Peck  was  transferred  to  the  Department  of  New  York 
city,  and  Mr.  Kenly  was  directed  to  report  to  E.  M.  Stanton,  secretary  of  war.. 
Upon  his  arrival  in  Washington,  D.  C,  he  was  assigned  to  duty  as  a  clerk  in 
room  No.  54,  war  department,  containing  all  the  reports,  returns  and  papers 
belonging  or  relating  to  the  volunteers  from  the  states  of  Ohio  and  Michigan,, 
where  he  served  until  July  27,  1864,  when  he  was  honorably  discharp-ed  on 
account  of  the  expiration  of  his  three  years'  term  of  enlistment.  Adjutant- 
General  Thomas  offered  him  a  civil  appointment,  but  he  refused  it  in  order  to 
return  home  and  continue  his  studies  at  school.  Several  weeks  after  his  return, 
wh.lst  on  a  visit  to  the  surviving  members  of  his  old  company  in  Allegheny 
City.  Captain  J.  W.  Kirker.  provost  marshal  of  the  Twenty-third  congre'^sionar 
district  of  Pennsylvania,  with  headquarters  in  that  city,  prevailed  upon  him  to- 


HISTORY    OF    IVESTMORELAXD    COUNTY.  71 

accept  a  clerkshio  in  his  office,  where  he  remained  until  it  was  discontnuicil 
several  months  after  the  war  had  ended.  ^Ir.  Kenly  then  went  into  the  oil 
business  in  \\'estern  \'irginia,  continuing  for  about  one  year,  after  which  he 
entered  Dartmouth  College,  but  on  account  of  sickness  and  the  severity  of 
climate  in  New  Hampshire  he  returned  home  before  graduating.  The  two  fol- 
lowing years  he  read  law  with  his  uncle,  Hon.  Jacob  Turney,  but  the  profes- 
sion of  law  not  suiting  him,  he  assisted  his  father  in  the  lumber  business,  and 
since  the  death  of  the" latter  has  continued  along  the  same  line.  In  politics  he 
was  an  active  Democrat  until  President  Cleveland's  second  term,  when  on 
account  of  well  known  differences  he  joined  in  the  rush  and  stampede  of  thous- 
ands of  tariff-protection  and  Union-soldier  Democrats  to  the  Republican  party. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  U.  \'.  L.,  G.  A.  R.,  and  K.  and  L.  of  H.  Mr.  Kenly  mar- 
ried, January  30,  1890,  Eleanor  L.  Crock,  daughter  of  Emanuel  and  Mary 
(Thomas)  Crock.  They  have  two  sons:  Edward  B.,  born  January  25,  1901  ; 
and  William  C.  W.,  born  Februarv  19,  1902.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kenly  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Second  Reformed  Church  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania. 

WILLIAM  WESLEY  ULERICH,  present  county  superintendent  of 
public  schools  for  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  has  served  in  such  edu- 
cational capacitv  for  the  past  twelve  years,  during  which  time  he  has  succeeded 
in  raising  high' the  standard  of  the  public  schools.  He  was  born  in  Ligonier 
Valley.  Pennsylvania,  February  5,  i860,  the  son  of  John  Nicholas  and  Mary 
Ann   (Caylor)   Ulerich. 

The  grandfather,  Samuel  Ulerich,  was  the  first  member  of  this  family  to 
locate  in  Westmoreland  county.  He  came  from  Germany  about  1808,  settling 
in  Carlisle,  Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  tanner  by  trade. 
From  family  records  it  appears  that  he  took  little  part  in  either  politics  or  relig- 
ious work,  but  was  an  industrious,  faithful  citizen  of  his  adopted  country.  His 
wife  was  Marv  Elizabeth  McDowell,  of  whose  family  history  but  little  is  known. 
Their  children  were :    Julia  Ann.  Joseph.  John  Nicholas,  and  William. 

John  Nicholas  L'lerich  (father)  was  born  in  Ligonier  township,  West- 
moreland county,  Pennsylvania,  and  his  wife,  Mary  Ann  Caylor,  in  Unity  town- 
ship, same  county.  The  former  was  born  in  1834,  and  the  latter  in  1833.  They 
followed  farming  for  a  livelihood.  John  Nicholas  had  a  good  common  school 
education.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  E])iscopal  church,  and  in  politics 
was  a  Republican.  For  many  years  he  served  his  district  as  school  tlirector. 
The  mother  was  the  daughter  of  I\Ir.  and  Mrs.  John  Caylor.  Her  father  was  a 
justice  of  the  peace  in  Unity  township  for  many  years. 

William  Wesley  Ulerich,  son  of  John  N.  and  Ann  (Caylor)  Ulerich, 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  county,  the  Ligonier  Classical 
Institute,  and  the  Indiana  State  Normal,  from  which  institution  he  graduated 
in  1884.  He  followed  farm  labor  until  seventeen  years  of  age,  and  then  began 
to  teach  school,  and  has  ever  since  been  connected  with  educational  institutions. 
He  continued  to  teach  until  1884  in  rural  schools,  but  in  the  summer  of 
that  year  was  elected  to  the  assistant  principalship  of  the  Irwin  public  schools. 
He  served  in  that  capacity  one  year,  and  was  then  chosen  as  principal  of  the 
schools  at  Latrobe.  where  he  remained  eight  years.  In  1893  he  was  elected 
county  superintendent  of  public  schools  for  Westmoreland  county,  and  has 
served  twelve  vears  and  is  still  in  office  by  reason  of  his  efficiency.  Politically 
Mr.  Ulerich  has  always  supported  the  Republican  party.  He  is  an  active  mem- 
ber of  the  Latrobe  Methodist  Ejjiscopal  church,  and  is  a  member  of  the  board 
of  trustees  of  that  society;  is  also  chairman  of  the  missionary  and  music  coin- 


72  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAXD    COUNTY. 

mittees.  He  has  been  the  Sunday  school  sii))erintcndent  for  the  past  sixteen 
years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity;  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  the  I.  U.  H. 
Mr.  Ulerich  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Ridgeview  Chautauqua,  serving 
on  its  executive  committees  for  six  years.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Ridge- 
view Park,  and  trustee  of  the  committee  for  six  years.  His  has  been  an  active 
life.  His  efforts  to  build  up  good  schools  and  advance  the  interests  of  his 
chosen  church  have  been  crowned  with  unusual  success.  Mr.  Ulerich  married, 
December  9,  1896,  Nora  B.  Walter,  at  Markleton,  Pennsylvania.  She  possessed 
a  good  public  school  education.  She  died  February  28,  1903.  Her  jjarents 
were  William  and  Mary  Walter.  Fler  father  taught  school  and  later  became  a 
merchant.  Mr.  Ulerich  married  (second),  August  17,  1905,  Anna  Susan 
Keener,  daughter  of  Henry  F.  Keener,  a  minister  of  the  German  Reformed 
church,  and  his  wife,  Julia  Elizabeth.  Henry  F.  Keener  is  deceased,  and  his 
wife  lives  in  Latrobc,  Penns_\lvania.  Anna  Susan  Keener  was  educated  at  the 
Indianan  State  Normal ;  and  at  the  Oswego  State  Normal,  (Jswego,  New  York. 
She  is  a  teacher  by  profession,  principal  of  the  third  ward  primary  school  at 
Latrobe.  She  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church  and  superintendent  of 
the  primary  department  of  the  Sabbath  school  connected  therewith. 

HON.  HENRY  S.  ACKERMAN,  one  of  the  leading  and  substantial 
business  men  of  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  ex-member  of  the 
Pennsylvania  house  of  representatives,  was  born  April  9,  1845,  '"  Unitv  town- 
ship, Westmoreland  county,  a  son  of  Henry  and  Catherine  (Smith)  Ackerman. 
The  progenitor  of  the  Ackerman  family  in  America  was  Philip  Ackerman,  the 
grandfather  of  Henry  S.,  a  native  of  Germany,  who  emigrated  to  this  country, 
settling  in  Unity  township,  Westmoreland  comity,  Pennsylvania.  He  married 
Christina  Reed  and  had  a  son  Henry. 

Henry  Ackerman,  son  of  Philip  and  Christina  (Reed)  Ackerman,  and 
father  of  Henry  S.  Ackerman,  was  born  on  his  father's  farm,  February  2,  1801. 
He  followed  agricultural  pursuits,  owned  an  excellent  farm,  achieved  the  most 
gratifying  success  in  this  line,  and  was  held  in  high  esteem  by  his  neighbors. 
Politically  he  was  a  life-long  Democrat,  and  while  taking  a  livelv  interest  in  the 
affairs  of  that  organization  never  aspired  to  public  office.  He  cast  his  first 
presidential  ballot  for  General  Jackson,  and  served  one  term  as  school  director. 
In  matters  of  religion  Mr.  Ackerman  was  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
church  at  Youngstown,  and  frequently  served  as  local  officer.  In  182'^  Mr. 
Ackerman  married  Catherine  Smith,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Smith,  of  Derry 
township.  They  had  nine  children,  one  of  whom  was  Henry  S..  mentioned 
hereafter.  The  death  of  Henry  Ackerman  occurred  April  5,  1885,  and  his 
demise  was  sincerely  mourned  by  a  large  circle  of  friends. 

Henry  S.  Ackerman  obtained  his  early  education  in  the  common  schools 
of  Unity  township.  After  leaving  school  he  engaged  for  some  years  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  and  later  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter,  which  occupation  he 
followed  with  considerable  success  for  nine  years.  In  T879  he  opened  a  nnisi'' 
store  in  Greensljurg.  op])osite  the  Zimmerman  House.  He  carries  a  full  line  of 
fine  organs  and  other  first-class  musical  instruments,  and  has  established  an 
extensive  and  profitable  trade  in  Westmoreland,  Favette  and  Indiana  counties, 
and  has  several  men  constantly  in  the  field  canvassing.  In  addition  to  musical 
instruments  he  also  handles  the  White  sewing  machine.  Mr.  Ackerman  is  a 
man  of  keen  business  ability,  and  this  with  his  unflagging  energv  and  tenacity 
of  purpose  is  a  prominent  factor  of  his  signal  success  in  business.     Politically 


ck^'nut^ 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  73 

he  is  a  strong  defender  of  the  principles  advanced  by  the  Democratic  party, 
and  works  earnestly  and  untiringly  for  its  success.  In  1880  he  was  nominated 
by  the  Democrats  of  Westmorehnd  county  as  a  candidate  for  the  legislature 
and  was  elected.  During  his  term  in  the  legislature  he  acquitted  his  duties  with 
efficiency  and  credit,  his  conduct  receiving  the  highest  commendation  at  tne 
hands  of  his  party.  In  matters  of  religion  he  accords  with  the  doctrines  of  the 
Lutheran  church.'  Henrv  S.  Ackerman  married,  January  15,  1880,  I^Iollie  C. 
Weaver,  daughter  of  William  Weaver,  of  Mount  Pleasant  township,  West- 
moreland county,  Pennsylvania. 

LEMUEL  OFFUTT,  M.  D.,  one  of  Greensburg's  successful  medical 
practitioners,  was  born  May  8,  185 1,  on  a  farm  between  Darnestown  and  Sen- 
eca Mills,  :\Iontgomery  county,  Maryland,  The  Offutt  family  are  descended, 
from  Scotland  through  the  following  line  of  ancestry  : 

I.  \\"illiam  Offutt,  settled  in  Prince  George  county,  ^ilaryland,  where  he 
-died  in  1734.  He  married  Mary  Brock,  by  whom  was  born  children  including  a 
son  named  William. 

II.  William  Ofifutt,  son  of  William  and  Mary  (Brock)  Ofifutt,  died  in 
IMarvland,  in  1737.  He  married  Jane  Joyce,  and  after  his  death  she  married 
Dr.  James  Doull.  Among  the  children  o'f  William  and  Jane  (Joyce)  Offutt  was 
■one  named  William. 

III.  \\'illiam  Offutt,  son  of  William  and  Jane  (Joyce)  Offutt,  was  born  in 
^Montgomery  county,  Maryland,  February  14,  1729,  died  in  1786.  In  i7'^o  he 
married  Elizabeth  IMagruder,  born  November  8,  1730,  Among  their  children 
was  a  son  James. 

IV.  James  Offutt,  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (IMagruder)  Offutt,  was 
born  April"  23,  1753.  He  became  the  grandfather  of  Dr.  Lemuel  Offutt.  James 
Offutt's  paternal  great-grandfather  with  his  two  brothers  emigrated  from  Scot- 
and  early  in  the  eighteenth  century  and  located  in  Maryland,  engaging  in 
"farming. 

^'.  James  Offutt,  son  of  James  Offutt,  a  farmer  by  occupation,  was  born 
near  Great  Falls,  Maryland,  October  3,  1803.  He  married  Mary  White,  of 
Olney  ^Maryland,  [March  17,  1849,  She  was  the  daughter  of  Samuel  White, 
-^vhose  ancestors  came  from  England.  Among  the  children  of  James  and  Mary 
(\^^^ite)  Offutt  was  Dr.  Lemuel  Offutt,  born  Alay  8,  185 1. 

On  the  genealogical  line  of  Dr.  Oft'utt"s  great-grandmother  (  Elizabeth 
IMaeruder,  born  November  8,  1730)  the  ancestors  trace  back  to  1605,  in  Scot- 
land, when  Alexander  Magruder  married  Ladv  Maro-aret  Deummond,  daughter 
of  "Loaird  of  Avernchiel,  Clan  Campbell."  Alexander  IMagruder  was  born  in 
1560,  in  Scotland.  His  son  Alexander,  an  officer  under  Charles  II,  emigrated 
to  Calvert  county,  Maryland,  in  1652,  and  died  in  1677,  Ffis  son  Samuel  mar- 
ried Sarah  Beall,  born  1669,  died  1734.  He  died  in  Prince  George  county, 
Maryland,  in  1711.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Maryland  house  of  burgesses— 
1701-1707.  He  held  civic  and  military  positions,  rnd  was  a  vestryman  of  St. 
Paul's  Parish.  This  line  of  ancestry  then  runs  through  Ninian  to  his  son  Samuel, 
who  married  Margaret  Jackson,  who  died  in  iSoi.  Samuel  was  born  in  Mont- 
gomerv  county,  [Maryland,  in  1708:  died  1786.  Elizabeth,  their  daughter,  born  . 
November  8,  1730  became  the  great-grandmother  of  Dr.  Offutt  by  marrying 
William  Offutt,  as  above  mentioned. 

Yl.  Dr.  Lemuel  Offutt,  son  of  James  and  ]Marv  (White)  Offutt,  was 
reared  to  farm  labor  and  attended  public  and  parochial  schools,  finishing  his 
■.studies  in  Andrew  Small  Academy.     He  then  taught  school  three  years  and 


74 


HISTORY   OF    JVESTMORELAXD    COUXTV 


read  medicine  under  the  tutorage  of  Dr.  C.  H.  Noursc,  of  Darnestown.  .Mary- 
land, entering  the  medical  department  of  the  Maryland  University,  from  which 
he  graduated  in  1876,  having  been  a  resident  student  in  the  Maryland  Intirm- 
ary  eighteen  months.  He  located  at  Penn  Station,  Pennsylvania,  May  8, 
1876,  and  there  practiced  his  chosen  profession  until  December,  1883,  when 
he  moved  to  Greensburg,  where  he  is  still  an  honorable  and  highly  successful 
physician.  In  politics  Dr.  Offutt  has  ever  adhered  to  the  time-honored  prin- 
ciples of  the  Democratic  party,  but  has  never  sought  or  held  public  office. 
Not  unlike  so  many  generations  of  his  sturdy  Scotch  forefathers,  he,  too,  is 
identified  with  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  is  also  connected  with  numer- 
ous beneficiary  societies.  In  stating  that  Dr.  Offutt  is  a  self-made  man  the 
term  is  used  in  the  true  sense.  By  a  defaulting  county  treasurer  in  Maryland 
his  father  lost  his  property  and  died  when  Lemuel  was  a  small  lad,  hence 
he  was  early  thrown  upon  his  own  resources,  which  were  but  a  good  sound 
l)ody  and  a  determination  to  gain  for  himself  a  place  among  men.  Dr.  Ofifutt 
has  been  twice  married.  In  January,  1877,  he  married  Sarah  E.  Dukes,  of 
Baltimore,  .Maryland.  She  died  in  December,  1900.  They  had  eight  chil- 
dren :  James  H.,  a  contractor ;  Mary  E.,  wife  of  I.  C.  Ruffner ;  Lemuel,  died 
in  childhood :  Sarah  D. ;  Susan  R. ;  William  G.,  died  in  infancy ;  Courtney 
C.,  died  in  infancy,  and  Rose  E.  Offutt.  For  his  second  wife  Dr.  Offutt  mar- 
ried, June,  1904,  Leola  R.  Edwards,  daughter  of  Rev.  Charles  Edwards,  of 
Alliance,  (Jhio. 

DANIEL  REAMER  ULERY.  Among  the  trusty  employes  of  the- 
Pennsylvania  railroad  system  residing  at  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  is  Daniel 
R.  LHerv,  born  May  14,  1869,  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania. 

(I)  Henry  LHery  (grandfather)  came  from  Germany,  his  native  country, 
antl  settled-  in  LTnity  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.  Here 
he  married  Hannah  Hugus,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  Sophia,  who- 
married  Henry  Seaman,  and  they  reared  a  large  family.  Augustus,  born. 
1843,  on  the  old  homestead,  of  whom  later.  Fanny,  married  and  lives  in 
Venango  county,  Pennsylvania.  Herman,  married  Sadie  Blair,  of  West- 
moreland county.     Henry  L'lery  was  by  occupation  a  farmer. 

(II)  Augustus  L'lery  (father),  born  in  1843,  ^^.s  been  a  railroader 
nearly  all  his  life.  He  now  resides  at  Donahoe,  a  few  miles  out  of  Greens- 
burg. He  has  been  division  foreman  on  the  Pennsylvania  railroad  many  years. 
He  married  Elizabeth  Jane  Topper,  whose  brother  and  sisters  were :  Wilson 
J.,  Lovinia,  Louisa,  deceased ;  and  Samuel.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Augustus  Ulery 
had  children :  Daniel  Reamer,  born  May  14,  1869,  and  Louis  Marshal,  born- 
July  22,  1871.  The  last  named  is  still  single  and  remains  at  home.  Polit- 
ically the  father  is  a  Republican,  and  was  reared  in  the  Reformed  church. 

III.  Daniel  R.  Ulery  obtained  his  education  at  the  comon  and  high 
schools  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania.  L'pon  leaving  school  he  had  an  am- 
bition to  achieve  something  in  life  by  his  own  efforts,  and  at  once  entered' 
the  employ  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company,  first  as  a  water-boy. 
Proving  faithful  to  this  trust  he  received  promotion  to  the  agency  at  George- 
Station,  in  1884,  and  remained  at  his  duties  for  seven  years  at  that  point. 
He  w-as  made  agent  at  Donahoe,  July  i,  1891,  where  he  mastered  telegraphy 
and  remained  to  October  i,  1895.  He  has  served  in  the  telegraph  service 
since  1895,  and  no-w  has  charge  of  the  southwest  junction,  "the  tower,"  at 
Greensburg.  Mr.  L'lery  married,  July  2,  1901,  Anna  Elizabeth  Borlin,  daugh- 
ter of  Albert  and  Elizabeth    (Steiner)   Borlin,  of  Hempfield  township.     Mrs. 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAXD    COUXTV.  75; 

Lien's  father  ran  a  livery  and  also  a  restaurant  at  one  time  in  the  Jjorough 
of  Greensburg.  He  served  in  the  Twenty-eighth  Pennsylvania  Regiment 
of  Volunteers  from  Westmoreland  county,  being  in  service  from  1861  to 
1865,  receiving  an  honorable  discharge.  He  was  born  in  Salem  township 
April  24,  1843,  married  Elizabeth  Steiner,  June  25,  1868;  she  was  born  in 
West  Xewton.  October  2,  1848.  To  Mr.  Ulery  and  wife  was  born  one  child,. 
Emily  Elizabeth,  June  29,  1903.  In  1902  Mr.  Ulery  purchased  a  comfortable 
residence  property  at  No.  355  East  Pittsburg  street,  Greensburg,  not  far 
distant  from  the  "Tower,"  where  he  is  employed  as  telegrapher.  His  wife 
is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church,  which  they  both  attend.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Philanthropy  Lodge,  No.  225,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  of  Greensburg,  Penn- 
sylvania;  M.  W.  A.,  No.  10,950;  Branch  No.  2  of  the  Grand  Fraternity;  ancT 
Pittsburg  Division  of  the  Order  of  Railway  Telegraphers,  No.  52.  Fie  also- 
carries  a  protective  policv  in  the  Sun  Life  Insurance  Company  of  Canada. 

FREEMAN  C.  GAY.  The  death  of  Freeman  C.  Gay,  October  11, 
1900,  removed  from  the  town  of  Greensburg,  Westmoreland  county,  one 
of  its  leading  and  substantial  business  men.  He  was  born  in  Donegal  town- 
ship, Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  July  3,  1838,  a  son  of  William 
P..  and  Martha  (Spear)  Gay,  and  grandson  of  Peter  and  Elizabeth  (Hayes) 
Gay. 

Peter  Gav  (grandfather)  was  born  in  Franklin  county,  Pennsylvania. 
He  started  with  his  father  and  two  brothers,  William  and  Joseph,  to  emigrate 
to  Indiana  county,  but  in  their  westward  journey,  when  they  reached  the 
Ligonier  valley,  Mr.  Gay  admired  the  country  so  much  that  he  remained 
there  and  engaged  in  merchandising  and  stock  dealing.  He  was  a  prosperous,, 
business  man,  of  broad  and  liberal  views,  and  was  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  Lutheran  church  of  Donegal  and  a  supporter  in  all  religious  causes,, 
although  he  was  not  a  member  of  any  church.  He  was  a  good  scholar  and 
an  accurate  surveyor.  He  was  an  old  line  Whig  and  served  as  justice  of 
the  peace  for  thirty-five  years.  By  his  marriage  to  Elizabeth  Hayes,  daugh- 
ter of  Lewis  Hayes,  an  early  settler  of  the  county,  five  children  were  born, 
two  sons  and  three  daughters,  all  of  whom  married  and  settled  in  their 
native  county. 

Willliam  B.  Gay  (father)  was  born  September  3,  1815.  He  followed 
throughout  his  active  career  the  quiet  but  useful  calling  of  agriculture,  front 
which  he  derived  a  goodly  livelihood.  He  served  his  township  as  justice 
of  the  peace  for  fifteen  years,  fulfilling  his  duties  to  the  satisfaction  of  all 
concerned.  In  his  political  belief  he  was  a  Jeffersonian  Democrat.  He  mar- 
ried, in  Alarch,  1835,  Martha  Spear,  a  daughter  of  William  Spear,  nf  I'nion- 
town,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Gay  died  April  4,  1864;  he  was  survived  many 
years  by  his  wife,  who  died  January  7,  1883. 

Freeman  C.  Gay,  son  of  William  B.  and  Alartha  (Spear)  Gay,  acquired 
a  liberal  erlucation  in  the  common  schools,  Stahlstown  Normal  school  and 
Sewickley  Academy.  The  first  years  of  his  active  life  were  spent  on  the 
farm,  and  in  1865  he  engaged  in  merchandising,  continuing  the  same  until 
1873.  He  entered  into  partnership  with  Edward  H.  Bair  in  1884,  and  they 
were  engaged  in  a  very  successful  business  up  to  the  time  of  Mr.  Gay's 
death.  The  firm  represented  the  German-American,  Liberty,  Niagara,  Orient, 
Girard,  L'nion,  German  Travelers,  and  Home  Insurance  Companies  of  the 
L'nited  States.  The  North-British,  Lancashire  and  London,  and  Lancashire 
Companies  of  Europe,  and   the   Fidelity   Plate  Glass   Company.     .At  the  age 


76  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

of  twenty-three  years  Mr.  Gay  enlisted  in  Company  K,  Eleventli  Regiment, 
Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  was  appointed  corporal,  and  in  1862  promoted  to 
second'  lieutenant.  He  participated  in  all  the  battles  in  which  his  regiment 
was  engaged  until  the  first  day's  fight  at  Gettysburg,  where  he  was  wounded 
and  taken  prisoner  by  the  Confederates.  He  was  one  of  the  one  hundred 
and  nine  men  who  escaped  through  the  rose  tunnel,  and  likewise  was  among 
those  unfortunates  who  were  recaptured.  After  twenty  months  in  various 
southern  prisons,  where  he  suffered  untold  agony  in  mind  and  body,  he  was 
paroled  March  i,  1865.  For  five  years  he  served  as  superintendent  of  the 
County  Home.  He  was  an  adherent  of  the  principles  of  Democracy.  He 
married.  March  30,  1865,  Harriet  Louise  Jones,  who  was  born  in  Jonesville, 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  January  31,  1846,  a  daughter  of  Robert 
and  Sarah  (Hubbs)  Jones.  Their  children  are:  Elizabeth,  Charles,  and 
James. 

DAVID  SHAW  ATKINSON  is  descended  from  Scotch-Irish  an- 
cestry. His  grandfather  came  to  America  and  settled  in  Maryland  more 
than  a  century  ago.  He  is  a  son  of  Thomas  Atkinson,  who  resided  in  Mount 
Pleasant,  and  who  was  married  to  Elizalaeth  Shavy.  Of  his  ancestry  on  his 
mother's  side,  David  Shaw  was  in  the  Revolutionary  war  and  was  engaged 
at  Hannastown  in  1782,  and  in  the  Indian  conflicts  of  that  age.  From  this 
ancestry  Mr.  Atkinson  took  his  name.  He  was  educated  in  Mount  Pleasant 
College,  where  he  spent  four  years,  read  law  with  Hon.  James  A.  Hunter 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1868.  Shortly  after  his  admission  he  was 
associated  in  business  with  T.  J.  Weddell,  Esc|.,  and  afterward  with  Hon. 
J.  R.  McAfee,  and  still  later  with  John  M.  Peoples,  Esq.  At  present  he  is 
in  partnership  with  William  C.  Peoples,  Esq.  He  has  also,  almost  since  his 
admission  to  the  bar,  been  one  of  the  owners  and  editors  of  the  Tribune- 
Herald,  a  daily  and  weekly  paper  still  published  in  Greensburg.  He  has 
not,  however,  allowed  the  newspaper  business  to  in  any  way  conflict  with 
the  practice  of  the  law,  to  which  he  has  given  his  steady  and  undivided  at- 
tention for  thirty-five  years,  and  in  which  he  has  achieved  abundant  success. 
No  better  indication  of  his  standing  at  the  bar  can  be  given  than  this :  ''That 
when  upon  the  death  of  Hon.  H.  P.  Laird  a  few  years  ago,  it  became  the 
duty  of  the  Westmoreland  Law  Association  to  elect  a  new  president,  there 
were  no  two  opinions  in  the  association  as  to  whom  this  honor  should  be 
given,"  Mr.  .Atkinson  was  unanimously  elected  and  has  since  been  re-elected 
each  year. 

His  firm  has  always  conducted  a  large  general  legal  business,  the  court 
business  falling  mainly  upon  him.  While  not  by  any  means  a  weak  man  in 
any  branch  of  his  profession,  he  is  doubtless  at  his  best  in  the  trial  of  a 
case  or  in  an  argument  before  a  jury;  his  flow  of  language,  his  quick  per- 
ception of  the  strong  points  of  a  case,  and  his  majestic  delivery  which  almost 
approximates  that  of  the  old-time  orator  make  him  a  most  I  formidable  op- 
ponent in  any  case.  He  has  in  the  last  twenty  years  been  senior  counsel  in 
more  than  forty  homicide  cases  in  this  and  other  counties,  and  has  always 
conducted  them  with  great  skill.  He  has  also  been  concerned  in  and  has 
successfully  conducted  a  very  large  number  of  the  most  important  cases, 
involving  the  payment  of  large  sums  of  money,  tried  in  the  civil  courts  of 
Westmoreland  county.  Aside  from  his  law  practice  he  has  been  eneaged 
somewhat  in  banking  and  other  business,  but  not  so  as  to  interfere  with  his 
profession.      He   has   been   a   Republicati    and    has   made    stump    speeches    in 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAXD    COUNTY. 


7T 


every  section  of  the  county,  in  other  parts  of  Pennsylvania  and  in  the  western 
states,  yet,  Hke  few  lawyers,  he  has  steadily  refused  political  preferment. 
Time  and  again  has  a  nomination  which  was  almost  equivalent  to  an  election 
been  offered  him  for  high  positions,  but  in  each  instance  he  has  positively 
declined.  There  is  no  doubt  that  he  could  have  been  in  congress  or  on  the 
bench  years  ago,  had  he  consented  to  become  a  candidate.  His  friends  have 
reason  to  believe  and  hope  that  he  has  yet  before  him  many  years  of  pro- 
fessional usefulness. 

ALEXANDER  EICHER,  deceased,  for  many  years  an  attorney  of 
Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  November  24,  185 1,  in  the  village  of  what 
is  now  known  as  Old  New  Stanton,  in  Hempfield  townshii),  Westmoreland 
county,  Pennsylvania.  His  great-grandfather,  Abraham  Eicher,  'was  born  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  river  Rhine,  in  France,  and  he  was  of  German  and 
French  extraction.  He  was  a  tailor  by  trade.  He  settled  at  Hagerstown, 
Maryland,  and  from  there  moved  to  Ligonier,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, accompanied  by  his  wife,  Elizabeth  Sophia  (Golden)  Eicher,  and'  a 
large  family  which  she  bore  him.  Among  their  children  was  a  son,  Jacob- 
Eicher,  (grandfather)  who  was  born  in  Hagerstown,  Maryland,  in  1800.  He 
was  a  millwright,  a  miller  and  carpenter,  and  a  devout  member  of  the  Baptist 
church,  being  an  elder  therein  for  years.  He  married  Sallie  Slonecker,  a  lady 
of  rare  intelligence,  daughter  of  John  Slonecker.  Among  their  children  was  a 
son,  John  Slonecker  Eicher.  In  1855  Jacob  Eicher  and  his  wife  moved  to- 
Washington  cunty,  Iowa,  and  were  there  buried. 

John  Slonecker  Eicher  (father)  was  born  July  25,  1823,  in  Pleasant 
Unity,  Unity  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.  His  educational 
advantages  were  very  limited,  and  although  he  had  no  trade  or  profession,  was  a 
very  handy  man,  and  for  many  year«  was  known  as  the  best  auctioneer  in  the 
county.  Prior  to  the  Civil  war  he  served  as  fifer  for  five  or  ten  vears  in  the 
state  militia.  In  his  day  he  was  a  factor  of  considerable  importance  in  the 
Democratic  party,  and  held  the  office  of  treasurer  of  Westmoreland  countv  dur- 
ing the  years  1869-70.  He  is  a  Campbellite  in  religion.  Although  advanced 
to  four  score  and  two  years,  he  is  possessed  of  his  powers  of  body  and  mind  to- 
a  good  degree,  and  is  spoken  of  by  many  as  the  very  soul  of  honor  and  manli- 
ness, a  gentleman  of  the  old  style  type,  but  ready  to  accept  the  best  brought 
forth  by  modern  civilization.  He  is  a  man  of  decided,  deep  convictions,  and  has 
yet  to  forsake  a  friend  who  has  aided  him,  though  others  talk  ill  of  him.  He 
married  Mary  Pool,  born  May  20,  1833,  in  Hempfield  township,  Westmoreland 
county,  Pennsylvania,  just  below  the  village  of  New  Stanton,  daughter  of  John 
Pool  and  his  wife.  Betsey  (Houser)  Pool,  who  was  one  of  a  family  of  eight- 
daughters  and  no  sons.  John  Pool  was  a  son  of  Samuel  Pool,  Jr.,  and  brother 
of  the  mother  of  the  Venerable  Harrison  Null,  of  Greensburg,  Pennsvlvania. 
Samuel  Pool,  Jr.,  was  a  .son  of  Samuel  Pool,  the  founder  of  the  Pool  family  in 
Westmoreland  county.  Mrs.  John  S.  Eicher  died  Februarv  14.  1861.  In  1856 
Mr.  Eicher  moved  to  Washington  county,  Iowa,  but  after  a  residence  of  twenty 
months  there  returned  to  Pennsylvania.  He  and  his  wife  were  the  parents  of 
three  children:  .Alexander,  born  November  24,  1851,  mentioned  hereafter; 
John  P..  born  September  30,  1853,  and  Jacob,  born  December  29,  1858. 

-Alexander  Eicher  attended  the  common  schools  of  Hempfield  township 
untd  twelve  years  of  age.  He  then  entered  the  country  store  of  his  maternal 
uncle.  C.  H.  Pool,  in  Pennsville.  Bullskin  township,  Favette  county,  and  re- 
mained there  two  years.  The  following  five  years  he  clerked  in  a  general  store 
m  Pennstadt,  now  Penn  borough,  Westmoreland  countv,  the  projirietors  thereof 


y8  HISTORY    OF    Jl'ESTMORELAND    COUXTY. 

being  J.  F.  &  D.  Landis.  In  1870  he  was  appointed  deputy  in  the  register  and 
recorder's  office  of  Westmoreland  county,  continuing  for  six  years,  three  under 
Clark  F.  Warden  and  three  under  John  M.  Laird.  On  January  10,  1876,  he  en- 
tered the  law  office  of  Archie  A.  Stewart,  in  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  as  a 
clerk,  but  with  the  object  of  becoming  a  lawyer,  and  he  was  engaged  in  that 
office  up  to  his  decease,  September  2^,  1905.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  July 
30,  1880,  and  built  up  a  large  practice.  He  was  engaged  in  a  nunilxT  of  noted 
trials,  among  which  was  the  Painter  case,  the  Ritenour  case,  and  the  B.  F. 
Rynd  case,  which  gave  him  an  excellent  opportunity  to  display  the  legal  talent 
he  so  abundantly  possessed.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  while  a  strict 
partisan  enjoyed'  the  respect  of  the  members  of  the  opposition  party.  He  joined 
the  Christian  church  in  the  early  eighties,  and  was  actively  connected  with  the 
A.  O.  U.  W.,  R.  A.,  and  N.  U.  His  friends  were  not  confined  to  the  limits  of 
Westmoreland  county,  but  were  to  be  found  all  over  the  state.  He  was  ex- 
tremely kind-hearted  and  generous,  possessed  a  fund  of  humor  and  jokes,  with 
which  he  could  entertain  an  audience,  and  therefore  was  popular  and  in  much 
•demand  at  social  gatherings  and  dinners. 

Mr.  Richer  married,  at  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  October  4,  1873,  Ella  M. 
McClelland,  daughter  of  Archibald  and  Mary  (Funk)  McClelland,  the  former 
named  having  been  a  native  of  Ireland,  a  contractor  and  builder.  Her  death 
■occurred  in  the  spring  of  1898.  Their  children  were:  Clark  Warden,  born 
June  17,  1874,  attended  the  schools  of  Greensburg,  and  Washington  &  Jeffer- 
.son  College,  at  Washington,  was  a  member  of  Company  I,  Tenth  Pennsyl- 
vania Regiment,  and  served  in  the  Philippines  during  the  Spanish-American 
war.  He  is  a  lawyer,  a  member  of  the  Westmoreland  county  bar,  and  practiced 
with  his  father  under  the  firm  name  of  Eicher  &  Richer.  He  married  Sarah 
Glunt,  of  Greensburg.  Alexander,  Jr.,  born  April  24,  1878,  also  attended  the 
schools  of  Greensburg  and  Washington  and  Jefferson  College,  of  which  latter 
institution  he  was  a  member  of  the  famous  football  team,  and  in  1898  was 
•elected  captain,  but  went  to  the  war  before  the  season  opened.  He  graduated 
at  the  head  of  his  class  in  Greensburg  high  school,  and  stood  among  the  first 
of  his  class  at  college  in  his  junior  year.  He  served  during  the  entire  period  of 
the  Spanish-American  war  as  a  member  of  Company  I,  Tenth  Pennsylvania 
Regiment,  and  during  this  time  was  never  on  the  sick  list.  He  is  also  a  lawyer, 
a  member  of  the  Westmoreland  county  bar,  and  engaged  in  practice  with  his 
father  and  brother  under  the  firm  name  of  Eicher  &  Eicher.  He  married 
Winona  Gallagher,  who  resided  in  the  vicinity  of  Uniontown.  Mary  McClel- 
land, born  August  25,  1880.  became  the  wife  of  J.  Ed.  Stevenson,  of  Greensburg. 
Elinor  McClelland,  born  March  16,  1882,  became  the  wife  of  Robert  C.  Jones, 
of  Boston,  Massachusetts.  Romayne  McClelland,  born  June  29,  1883.  John 
S.,  born  November  23,  1884.     Archibald,  born  May  23,  il 


BRENISER  FAMILY.  The  numerous  and  well  known  family  of 
which  Harrv  R.  Breniser,  of  Ligonier,  is  a  member,  has  been  for  at  least  a 
century  identified  with  Westmoreland  county.  Peter  Breniser,  so  far  as  is 
known,  spent  his  entire  life  as  a  farmer  in  Derry  township.  His  children  were : 
Abram,  Peter,  Jacob,  mentioned  hereafter ;  Barbara,  married  Tobias  Kimmell ; 
Susan,  married  Cyrus  Cavin  ;  and  Christopher,  a  merchant  at  Hillside. 

Jacob  Breniser,  son  of  Peter  Breniser,  was  born  in  1819,  in  Derrv  township, 
and  "during  his  early  manhood  was  a  farmer  and  stock  drover.     In  1850  he 
moved  to  the  Ligonier  valley  and  settled  about  two  miles  north  of  Ligonier  vil- 
lage.    He  subsequently  moved  to  the  borough,  where  he  engaged  in  mercantile 


HISTORY    OF    JVESTMORELJXD    COUXTY.  79 

business  during  tlie  remainder  of  his  life.  He  married  Sarah  Hargnett,  aiW 
they  had  children:  John,  Albert,  Peter,  mentioned  hereafter;  Susan,  wife  of 
Jolin  lohnson:  Catherine,  married  J.  O.  A.  Blair;  Nettie,  wife  of  William 
Thomas :  Sarah,  wife  of  S.  S.  Dice ;  and  Ida,  married  Charles  Bassart. 

Peter  Breniser,  son  of  Jacob  and  Sarah  (Hargnett)  Breniser,  was  born 
April  12,  1851,  in  Ligonier  township,  and  until  he  was  twenty-five  years  of  age 
remained  with  his  father  on  the  homestead.  He  then  married  and  began 
farming  for  himself  on  the  home  farm.  In  1881  he  moved  to  Ligonier  borough 
and  established  what  is  now  known  as  the  National  Hotel,  of  which  he  was 
proprietor  for  two  years.  He  then  went  to  Greensburg,  where  for  six  years  he 
was  proprietor  of  the  Zimmerman  House.  Thence  he  removed  to  Dubois  and 
for  two  vears  and  a  half  conducted  the  National  Hotel,  after  which  he  returned 
to  the  Ligonier  valley  and  for  a  brief  period  resumed  the  life  of  a  farmer.  In 
1900  he  built  the  Ho'tel  Breniser,  at  Ligonier,  which  he  successfully  conducted 
for  a  time,  and  then  transferred  the  management  to  his  son,  Harry  R.  Breniser. 
]\Ir.  Breniser  married,  October,  1876,  Hulda  J.,  daughter  of  Jesse  Ramsey, 
and  thev  have  three  children:  May,  a  graduate  of  DufT's  Business  College, 
Pittsburg,  now  manager  of  D.  H.  Tollman's  loan  office ;  Harry  R.,  mentioned 
hereafter  ;  and  Hargnett,  at  home. 

Harry  R.  Breniser,  son  of  Peter  and  Hulda  J.  (Ramsey)  Breniser.was  born 
November  5,  1879,  at  the  Breniser  homestead,  and  was  educated  at  the  Iron  City 
College,  Pittsburg,  from  which  institution  he  graduated.  He  is  now  the  success- 
ful proprietor  ofthe  Hotel  Breniser,  which  is  in  all  respects  the  most  modern 
establishment  of  the  kind  in  the  Ligonier  valley.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics, 
member  of  Ligonier  Lodge,  No.  331,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Greensburg  Chapter, 
R.  A.  AL,  K.  T.,  and  Latrobe  Lodge  No.  907,  B.  P.  O.  E.  Harry  R.  Breniser 
married,  March  9,  1906,  Mary  I.  Grove,  a  resident  of  Ligonier,  and  sister  of 
Dr.  W.  W.  Grove,  of  Johnstown,  Pennsylvania,  and  Dr.  J.  O.  Grove,  of  Braden- 
ville,  Pennsylvania. 

JOHN  NEVIN  McCONNELL.  for  some  years  the  enterprising 
representative  of  the  Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society,  at  Greensburg,  Penn- 
sylvania, was  born  June  22,  1876,  at  Salina,  Westmoreland  county,  the  son  of 
Yeakle  Xenophon  and  Rachel  (Yockey)  McConnell.  This  McConnell  family 
came  from  the  north  of  Ireland,  but  were  of  Scotch  descent.  The  paternal  an- 
cestor in  this  country  married  a  pure  Celt,  and  settled  in  Baltimore,  Maryland, 
where  he  was  a  professor  of  Hebrew  in  an  institute  of  learning  that  was  active 
in  the  work  of  the  Reformed  church.  Jacob  Shearer,  of  Germany,  was  the 
maternal  ancestor.  His  wife  was  Christina  De  Hoff,  from  Alsace,  a  French 
province.    They  settled  in  York  county,  Pennsylvania,  near  the  Maryland'  line. 

Samuel  ]\IcConnell,  son  of  the  paternal  ancestor  in  the  L^nited  States,  was 
born  in  Baltimore,  Maryland.  His  wife  was  Catherine  (Shearer)  McConnell, 
the  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Christina  Shearer.  She  was  a  native  of  York  county, 
Pennsylvania.     Among  their  children  was  : 

Rev.  John  ^IcConnell.  born  in  York  county,  Pennsylvania,  June  24,  1823, 
is  still  living,  and  is  the  grandfather  of  John  Nevin  McConnell.  In  March, 
1847,  as  a  volunteer  member  of  Company  "D,"  from  the  District  of  Colunibia, 
Maryland,  in  the  Mexican  war  service,  he  sailed  from  Baltimore  for  Vera  Cruz 
in  May,  returning  in  August,  1848,  when  he  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the  West- 
moreland classis  of  the  Reformed  church  at  Ligonier.  Pennsylvania, 
November  10,  1853,  and  was  ordained  to  the  ministn.-  by  Miami  classis  at  Day- 
ton, Ohio,  July  25,  1855.     He  remained  active  in  the  work  until  a  few  years  ago. 


8o  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUXTV. 


since  which  time  he  has  Hved  a  retired  life.  Rachel  (Humberion)  McCon- 
nell,  wife  of  Rev.  John  McConneli,  was  born  in  l'"rostburg,  Maryland,  August, 
1827.  Her  father  was  born  in  Maryland,  but  his  father  came  from  France,, 
while  the  mother  came  from  England.  Her  mother  (nee  Lohr)  was  born 
in  jMaryland,  in  1795.     The  Lohrs  came  from  Germany  to  Maryland. 

Yeakle  Xenophon  McConneli,  father  of  John  Nevin  McConneli,  was  born 
at  Frostburg.  Allegheny  county,  Maryland,  June  4,  1853,  coming  to  Westmore- 
land county  in  the  early  "seventies."  He  spent  soine  time  in  the  west,  princi- 
pally at  Corydon,  Indiana.  When  about  sixteen  years  of  age  he  began  teach- 
ing school.  From  i8yo  to  1893  he  served  as  deputy  sheriff  of  Westmoreland 
county,  Pennsylvania,  under  Lucian  Clawson.  At  present  he  is  employed  by 
the  Keystone  Coal  Company,  at  Salina,  Pennsylvania.  Politically  he  is  a 
stanch  Democrat,  and  in  religious  faith  an  adherent  to  the  creed  of  the  Reformed 
church.  Rachel  (Yockey)  McConneli,  mother  of  John  N.  McConneli,  was 
born  at  Salina,  Westmoreland  county,  Penn.sylvania,  May  17,  1855.  Her 
father,  Simon  Peter  Yockey,  was  born  at  Perrysville,  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  February,  1820.  His  parents,  Christopher  and  Mary  (Bash) 
Yockey,  came  direct  from  Germany  to  Westmoreland  county.  Mr.  McCon- 
nell's  maternal  grandmother,  Eliza  K.  Yockey,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Whitesell,  was  born  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  about  1822.  Her 
parents,  John  and  Mary  K.  (Clawson)  Whitesell,  were  born  in  the  same 
county.  Mary  K.  Clawson's  parents  came  direct  from  Holland  to  Westmore- 
land county.  Her  ancestors  played  an  important  part  in  the  early  history  of 
this  county,  fighting  Indians,  and  fled  from  what  is  now  Bell  township  to 
Hannastown  for  protection.  Some  were  scalped  and  tortured  in  various  ways. 
The  family  were 'of  the  German  Reformed  church. 

J.  Nevin  McConneli  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of 
Westmoreland  county,  and  in  his  youthful  days  was  not  a  stranger  to  hard 
manual  labor.  Having  an  ambition  to  accomplish  more  in  life's  conflict  than 
seemed  possible  in  the  role  he  was  then  following,  he  by  hard  study  at  night 
time  in  a  few  years  became  competent  to  fill  a  higher  sphere,  and  in  1900  asso- 
ciated himself  with  the  well  known  Equitable  Life  Assurance  Company,  whose 
business  he  managed  at  Greensburg  up  until  1906.  In  the  early  part  of  1905 
he  became  interested  in  coal  lands  and  fire  clay  deposits,  developing  and  market- 
ing the  same.  Like  most  of  his  ancestors  he  is  a  member  of  the  Reformed 
church,  and  during  1904  was  the  superintendent  of  its  Sunday  school.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  F.  and  A.  M.,  Shidle  Lodge,  No.  601,  at  Irwin,  Pennsylvania. 
He  married,  October  26,  1898,  Gertrude  M.  Wise,  daughter  of  Simon  and 
Amanda  (Blank)  Wise.  She  received  her  education  from  the  Greensburg  high 
schools  and  Greensburg  Seminary.  She  passed  from  the  scenes  of  earth  March 
7,  1903.  Her  ancestors  were  prominently  connected  with  Revolutionary  and 
Civil  war  events.  Among  these  are  Major  John  I.  Krebs  (Revolutionary)  and 
Captain  George  A.  Krebs  (Civil  war).  Her  pateranl  grandfather  was  William 
Wise,  a  native  of  Westmoreland  county,  born  1812.  His  wife,  Lydia  Wise,  was 
born  in  the  same  county  in  1813.  Their  parents  settled  in  this  county  soon 
after  coming  from  Germany.  Her  maternal  grandfather  was  Henry  Blank, 
born  in  Westmoreland  county,  in  1829,  and  now  living  at  Greensburg.  Penn- 
sylvania. His  wife  was  Louise  Krebs,  (now  spelled  Cribbs)  born  in  West- 
moreland county,  about  1833,  and  still  survives.  The  ancestors  on  both  sides, 
with  a  few  exceptions,  came  from  Germany,  and  those  who  were  not  Germans 
came  from  France  and  Holland.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McConneli  was  born  one 
son,  Glenn  Withrow,  born  at  Irwin,  Pennsylvania,  December  12,  1900. 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  8i 


HARRY  FRAXKLIX  THOMAS,  druggist  at  Greensburg,  West- 
moreland county,  Pennsylvania,  an  enterprising  and  prudent  business  factor  of 
the  town,  and  whose  place  is  located  on  Pennsylvania  avenue,  is  the  grandson 
of  John  Thomas  and  Catherine  (Weaver)  Thomas.  The  date  of  his  birth  was 
December  i8,  1859,  in  Hempfield  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania. The  great-grandfather  on  the  paternal  side  was  Barnett  Thomas,  of 
the  same  township  and  county.  He  married  and  reared  a  family  of  nine  chil- 
dren, including:  John,  George,  Xathan,  Henry,  Barnett,  Molly,  Betsy,  and 
Mary.    Barnett  Thomas,  father  of  these  children,  was  a  lifelong  farmer. 

John  Thomas,  eldest  son  of  Barnett  Thomas,  was  a  native  of  Hempfield 
township,  \\'cstmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  lived  to  the  advanced  age 
of  eighty-six  years.  He  married  Catherine  \\'eaver,  a  native  of  Westmoreland 
county,  and  died  in  Hempfield  township,  aged  eighty-four  years.  Their  chil- 
dren were:  i.  Jemima:  2.  Xathaniel.  who  when  less  than  twenty  years  of  age 
enlisted  in  the  Mexican  war  and  died  from  sickness  and  an  accident  while  on 
the  march,  having  been  in  all  the  engagements  encountered  by  his  command, 
but  the  last  one  of  the  war.  He  died  aged  twenty-two  years ;  3  and  4.  Barnett 
and  Cyrus  (twins);  5.  Sibella,  now  the  widow  of  John  Stark;  6.  John,  Jr.; 
7.  Jacob :  8.  Abraham  W.  Three  of  these  sons  served  in  Pennsylvania  regi- 
ments during  the  civil  war — Cyrus,  a  major,  died  of  pneumonia,  aged  sixty- 
eight  years :  Abraham  and  Jacob,  the  latter  died. 

John  Thomas,  Jr.,  son  of  John  Thomas,  Sr.,  was  born  in  Hempfield  town- 
ship, Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  February  9,  1834,  and  for  nearly 
half  a  century  has  been  a  horse  farrier  and  veterinary.  He  married  Susan 
Henry,  and  their  children  were :  Emma,  deceased  ;  Harry  F. ;  Ida,  deceased, 
wife  of  Richard  Cribbs :  Alice,  wife  of  James  Gilliland  ;  Mame,  wife  of  George 
Kimmel :  and  Lizzie,  single. 

Harry  F.,  son  of  John,  Jr.,  after  obtaining  a  good  common  school  edu- 
cation, attended  the  Pharmacy  College  at  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  in  1884  and 
1885.  He  then  clerked  for  Will  Brown,  a  Greensburg  druggist  for  about 
thirteen  years  (having  been  in  his  store  prior  to  going  to  college)  and  then  in 
1895,  engaged  in  the  drug  trade,  which  he  still  follows.  Politically  he  is  a  Re- 
publican. He  is  a  devout  member  and  deacon  of  the  Reformed  church,  and  has 
been  a  financial  secretary  and  trustee  of  the  church  cemetery  association.  He 
married  X'annie  A.  Jones,  daughter  of  Phebe  Jones.  The  father  is  deceased. 
To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  have  been  born  four  sons:  John  E.,  born  Julv  19, 
1887;  Paul  L.,  born  November  13,  1889;  Henry  F.,  Jr.,  born  March  28,  1894; 
Howard  J.,  born  X^'ovember  5,  1897,  all  still  living  at  home. 

JOHX  FRAXKLIX^  GOODLIX',  a  grocer,  doing  a  prosperous  retail 
trade  at  Xos.  213  and  215  West  Newton  avenue,  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania, 
was  born  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  September  29,  1870. 

(T)  His  great-grandfather  was  James  Goodlin,  who  married  (first) 
Catharine  Snyder.  They  located  in  Greensburg  and  conducted  a  hotel  which 
stood  where  now  stands  the  "Fisher  House."  Among  the  children  born  by 
their  marriage  was  Henry  A.  Goodlin,  the  grandfather  of  John  F.  Goodlin. 
By  James  Goodlin's  second  marriage  there  was  born  to  him  among  other  chil- 
dren a  son  who  was  killed  in  the  civil  war. 

(II)  Henry  A.  Goodlin,  son  of  pioneer  James  Goodlin  and  his  wife 
Catharine,  was  born  February  13,  1824,  near  Harrold's  church,  where  he  still 
resides,  aged  eighty-two  years.  He  married  Hannah  Baker,  daughter  of 
George  and  Eve  Baker.  At  an  early  day  George  Baker  was  a  cabinet  maker  and 


82  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUXTV. 

furnished  all  the  coffins  for  the  county  home.  Hannah  (Baker)  Goodlin  died 
in  1863.  Henry  A.  Goodin  married  (second)  ]\Iary  Harrold,  daughter  of 
George  Harrold  and  wife.  The  children  by  the  former  marriage  were :  Will- 
iam George  Washington,  born  February  22,  1851  ;  Frank  i\,  born  1852; 
Amanda,  wife  of  Abraham  Altman  ;  Mary  A.,  wife  of  Henry  A.  Wentzel ;  John 
H.,  and  one  daughter  who  died  in  infancy.  By  the  second  marriage  Henrv  A. 
Goodlin  was  the  father  of  Elmer  A.,  George  H.,  Emma,  wife  of  Arthur 
Keener. 

(HI)  William  G.  W.  Goodlin.  father  of  John  F.  Goodlin.  received  a  good 
common  school  education  in  Hempfield  township,  and  farmed  with  his  father 
imtil  1886,  when  he  was  appointed  tip-staff  in  the  Westmoreland  district  court, 
which  place  he  still  holds,  making  a  continued  service  of  twenty  years.  During 
1896  he  removed  to  Greensburg  and  in  the  spring  of  1905  to  his  present  home 
at  No.  219  West  Third  street.  He  is  a  Democrat,  and  a  member  of  the  First 
Reformed  church.  He  married,  March  24,  1870,  Sevila  T.,  daughter  of  Philip 
and  Margaret  (Miller)  Wentzel,  of  Millersdale,  Pennsylvania.  Their  chil- 
dren were:  John  F.,  born  September  29,  1870,  of  whom  later;  James  H.,  born 
April  5,  1872;  Sarah  A.,  born  May  12,  1874,  married  Frank  O.  Boggs ;  Olivci 
P.,  born  May  20,  1876;  Margaret  Jane,  born  August  18,  1878,  married  W.  H. 
Sawash;  William  H.,  born  June  9,  1880;  Mary  L.,  born  October  20,  1882; 
Lilly  A.,  born  December  9,  1884,  wife  of  Harry  Schaff;  Laura  Pearl,  born' 
March  25,  1888;  Lucian  W.  Doty,  born  February  15,  1890,  died  December  9, 
1902.  The  living  children  all  reside  in  Greensburg,  except  Mrs.  Boggs,  who 
resides  in  Jeannette,  a  suburb  town. 

(IV)  John  Franklin  Goodlin,  after  receiving  a  good  education,  tauglit 
for  several  years  in  the  schools  of  Westmoreland  county  and  then  clerked  lor 
W.  F.  Scheibler  in  his  general  store  on  "Bunker  Hill"' for  three  years.  Sub- 
sequently he  engaged  in  trade  with  his  father-in-law  and  brother-in-law,  H.  K. 
and  J.  G.  Myers,  at  Jeannette.  He  sold  out  there  and  embarked  in  the  grocery 
trade  m  Greensburg  with  his  brother,  James  H.,  and  now  operates  at  Nos.  215 
and  215  West  Newton  avenue.  Mr.  Goodlin  married,  when  about  twenty-on't, 
years  of  age,  Sarah  Henry,  of  Middletown.  Thev  have  two  children-  Clark 
Oliver,  born  May  i.  1894.  and  Olive  Margaret,  born  December  29,  1896.  Mr 
Goodlin  IS  a  Republican  in  his  political  views,  believing  tliat  party  but  serves 
the  interests  of  the  masses  of  American  citizens.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are 
members  of  the  First  Reformed  church.  He  is  a  member  of  Golden  Ea-le 
Lodge  and  the  Protected  Home  Circle.  * 

EDWARD  JOHN  PERRY.     As  incumbent  of  the  office  of  burcress 
of   Greensburg  and   as   one   of  the   representative   citizens   of  Westmorefand 
county    Mr.    Perry   is   consistently   accorded   recognition    in   this   compilation 
whie  It  may  be  stated  that  he  is  one  of  the  leading  undertakers  and  florists' 
of  the  attractive  capital  city  of  the  county. 

Edward  John  Perry  is  a  native  of  the  old  Keystone  state  where  the 
family  was  founded  several  generations  ago.  He  was  born  in  Lewisville 
-Chester  county,  Pennsylvania,  March  18,  1864.  and  is  a  son  of  Samuel  C 
and  Mary  Ellen  (Stem     Perry,  of  whose  eight  children  six  are  living   namelv  • 

m'"'^'  ''7^,?4-^''"'r'  ^^<=C^"1^>/  *l^o  resides  in  the  northeastern  part  of 
Maryland:  William  T.,  a  successful  druggist  in  Chester,  Pennsvlvania  •  Ed- 
ward J.,  of  whom  later ;  Albert  Cloud,  engag-ed  in  the  grocerv  business  in 
the  aty  of  Philadelphia ;  George  Elliott,  identified  with  the  same  So  en- 
terprise m  the  same  city ;  and  Anna,  wife  of  Albert  McCauley,  superintendent 


HISTORY    OF    JVESTMORRLAXD    COUXTV.  83 

of  the  Denver  paper  mills  in  the  city  of  Denver,  Colorado.  Samuel  C.  Perry 
was  born  Januarv  17,  1828,  and  the  major  part  of  his  life  was  passed  in 
Chester  countv.  In  his  youth  he  learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  and  his  active 
career  was  devoted  to  contracting  and  building,  in  which  he  was  fairly  suc- 
cessful, being  a  man  of  integrity  and  reliability.  He  died  August  31,  1883, 
at  the  age  oi  fiftv-four  years.  In  politics  he  was  a  stalwart  advocate  of  the 
principles  and  policies  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  both  he  and  his  wife 
were  prominent  and  devoted  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopa|  church, 
while  for  many  vears  he  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  St.  John's 
Church,  in  LeWisville.  In  a  fraternal  way  he  was  identified  with  the  I.  O. 
O.  F.  and  the  K.  P.,  while  in  all  the  relations  of  life  he  commanded  the  con- 
fidence and  esteem  of  those  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  His  wife  is  Mary 
Ellen  Perrv,  nee  Stern,  of  Denver,  Colorado. 

Edward  J.  Perry  passed  his  boyhood  days  in  his  native  town,  in  whose 
public  schools  he  secured  his  early  educational  training,  though  his  school 
work  was  of  very  irregular  order  after  he  had  attained  the  age  of  ten  years, 
since  he  then  began  to  depend  upon  his  own  resources  to  a  very  large  extent. 
He  secured  employment  on  a  neighboring  farm,  remaining  with  the  one 
emplover  for  six  \ears.  within  which  time  he  attended  school  as  ojjportunity 
presented,  and  he  remained  two  years  with  another  farmer  of  Cecil  county, 
Marvland.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  secured  a  position  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  leading  undertaker  and  florist  of  Westgrove.  Chester  county, 
where  he  secured  his  initial  experience  in  the  line  of  enterprise  with  which 
he  is  now  so  successfully  identified.  He  remained  connected  with  this  estab- 
lishment for  a  period  of  four  and  one-half  years,  within  which  time  he  had 
thoroughlv  familiarized  himself  with  all  details  of  the  business.  In  1887 
he  associated  himself  with  Ellsworth  Burtis.  and  engaged  in  the  undertaking 
business  at  Mount  Holly,  New  Jersey,  where  the  enterprise  was  conducted 
about  two  years,  under  the  firm  name  of  Burtis  &  Perry.  He  then  disposed 
of  his  interests  and  shortly  afterward  removed  to  the  city  of  Pittsburg,  where 
he  was  employed  about  eighteen  months,  at  the  expiration  of  which,  in  1890, 
he  came  to  Greensburg,  where  he  has  ever  since  maintained  his  home  and 
where  he  has  become  numbered  among  our  rej^resentative  business  men.  For 
four  and  one-half  years  he  was  here  employed  by  Samuel  N.  Shields,  under- 
taker, and  June  17.  1895,  he  engaged  in  business  for  himself  as  a  funeral 
director,  while  in  1 90 1  he  added  to  his  undertaking  business  the  florist  de- 
partment, while  his  equipments  and  accessories  are  of  the  best  and  his  estab- 
lishment one  of  the  leading  concerns  of  the  sort  in  the  county. 

In  politics  Mr.  Perry  accords  a  stanch  allegiance  to  the  Democratic  party, 
and  has  been  an  active  worker  in  its  cause  for  a  number  of  years  past.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Democratic  county  committee  for  several  terms  as  a 
representative  of  the  Fourth  ward  in  the  city  of  Greensburg,  and  in  Feb- 
ruary. 1903.  was  signallv  honored  in  being  elected  to  his  present  responsible 
poition  as  burgess  for  a  term  of  three  years,  his  election,  furthermore,  in- 
dicating the  high  regard  in  which  he  is  held  in  the  community.  In  a  fraternal 
way  Mr.  Perry  is  affiliated  with  the  following  orders :  Greensburg  Lodge. 
No.  511.  P..  P.  ().  E. :  Greensburg  Castle,  No.  366,  K.  G.  E. :  Greensburg 
Tent.  No.  214,  K.  ^1.;  Westmoreland  Lodge,  No.  840,  I.  O.  O.  F. ;  Aerie 
No.  577.  F.  O.  E. :  Westmoreland  Camp,  No.  18,  \V.  of  W. :  the  Grand  Fra- 
ternity and  the  Homeless,  No.  26.  He  is  secretary  of  the  Westmoreland 
County  Funeral  Directors'  Association,  and  a  member  of  the  board  of  tru.siees 
of  Thiel  College.     Fle  has  also  been  identifierl  with  the  Greensburg  fire  de- 


84  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

partmcnt  for  fourteen  years,  in  which  time  he  has  liUed  all  of  the  various 
offices  in  the  company,  as  well  as  being  captain  for  six  years ;  is  a  member 
of  the  Pennsylvania  State  Firemen's  Association,  and  also  served  one  term  as 
president  of  the  Western  Pennsylvania  Firemans'  Association,  which  comprises 
thirty-six  counties,  as  well  as  being  on  the  executive  board  since  1898.  Mr. 
Perry  married,  January  6,  1897,  Margaret  J.  Horty,  daughter  of  James  Horty, 
of  West  Grove,  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  she  was  born  and  reared, 
and  seven  children  were  born,  one  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  The  names  of 
the  surviving  children  are:  Fred  B.,  Paul  R.,  Edward  J.,  Jr.,  Richard  M., 
Kenneth  C.  and  Elizabeth  C.  He  and  his  wife  are  prominent  members  of  the 
First  Lutheran  church,  he  having  filled  the  office  of  deacon  for  the  past  six 
years. 

GUSTAVUS  ADOLPHUS  WINEMAN,  of  the  firm  of  Wineman 
&  Getty,  dealers  in  furniture  and  musical  instruments,  of  Greensburg,  Penn- 
sylvania, ranks  among  the  thrifty  business  men  of  the  city.  He  was  born 
near  the  present  site  of  Youngwood,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
June  2,  1871,  the  son  of  Andrew  and  Catherine  C.  (Rugh)  Wineman. 

I.  The  American  ancestor  of  this  family  was  John  George  Wineman, 
a  native  of  Germany,  coming  from  Muenchingcn,  Wuertenberg,  with  his  wife, 
Anna  Catherine  (Laundmesser)  Wineman,  and  children:  Barbara,  Jacob, 
Regena.  George,  Andrew,  mentioned  hereafter.  After  coming  to  this  country 
the  children  born  were  John  and  Mary.  The  family  came  from  their  German 
home  across  the  sea  in  the  ship  "Columbia" ;  they  sailed  from  Amsterdam 
July  14,  1831,  and  landed  at  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania.  The  ancestor,  John 
George,  was  born  in  1790,  and  died,  aged  ninety-three  years,  in  1883.  The 
wife  of  the  paternal  ancestor  came  from  those  of  high  official  position  in 
Germany.  They  were  both  strict,  devout  Lutherans.  They  settled  near 
Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  in  Hempfield  township,  on  land  bought  at  eighteen 
dollars  per  acre.  It  is  still  in  possession  of  the  family,  a  spot  sacred  to  every 
member  of  the  generations  descending  from  them. 

n.  .\ndrew  Wineman,  son  of  John  George  and  Anna  Catherine  Wine- 
man, was  born  at  Muenchingen,  canton  of  Ledberg,  in  the  kingdom  of 
Wuertenberg,  Germany,  November  11,  1830.  He  was  less  than  a  year  old 
at  the  date  of  his  parents  coming  to  America.  He  received  a  good  common 
school  education  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  followed  the 
cabinet-making  business  for  a  few  years  at  New  Stanton,  Pennsylvania,  but 
subsequently  settled  on  the  old  farm,  tilled  the  soil,  raised,  bought  and  sold 
stock,  especially  horses  for  the  eastern  city  markets.  He  was  a  strict  Lu- 
theran, and  early  became  a  member  of  the  old  Harrolds  church,  of  which 
he  was  for  many  years  an  officer  and  very  active  worker.  He  also  founded 
the  Youngwood  Lutheran  church  in  1901.  Politically  he  was  a  stanch  Re- 
publican. Mr.  Wineman  married,  when  about  twenty-nine  years  of  age, 
Catherine  Caroline  Rugh,  whose  parents,  Peter  and  Elizabeth  Rugh,  resided 
where  "Hufftown"  now  stands,  a  part  of  Greensburg.  She  was  born  August 
12,  1839.  The  children  by  that  imion  are:  Anna  Margaret,  married;  Eliza- 
beth Amanda,  married ;  Mary  Jane,  single ;  Jacob  Ezra,  married :  Gustavus 
Adolphus,  married ;  Charlotte  Agnes,  married ;  William  Henry,  married :  a 
college  graduate :  and  George  Franklin,  single.  Andrew  Wineman,  father  of 
these  children,  died  February  14,  1904,  and  his  good  wife,  so  long  his  life 
companion,  still  lives  on  the  old  Wineman  homestead,  beloved  by  all. 

Of  the   Rugh   family  it  may  here  be   stated   that  their  ancestor  came  to 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  85 

this  country  about  16S0,  settling  in  eastern  Pennsylvania.  His  name  was 
]\lichael  Ru'gh.  A  member  of  the  family  went  over  the  Allegheny  mountains, 
settlino-  in  what  is  now  Westmoreland  county.  In  the  acts  of  the  assembly, 
September  17,  1785,  it  is  recorded:  "Whereas,  the  Seat  of  Justice  for  the 
countv  of  Westmoreland  hath  not  been  heretofore  established  by  law,  etc., 
etc.,  it  was  enacted  by  the  freemen  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania 
that  five  trustees  be  appointed  to  purchase  a  piece  of  land  in  trust  for  use 
of  the  inhabitants  of  \Vestmoreland  county.  Provided :  That  said  piece  of 
land  be  not  situated  farther  east  than  "nine  mile  run,"  nor  farther  west  than 
"Brushv  Run,''  or  farther  north  than  Loyalhanna,  nor  farther  south  than 
five  miles  south  of  the  old  Pennsylvania  road,  leading  to  Pittsburg,  on  which 
ground  said  courthouse  and  prison."  The  trustees  appointed  to  act  were: 
Benjamin  Davis,  Alichael  Rugh,  John  Shields,  John  Pomeroy,  and  Hugh 
]^Iartin.  ?\Iichael  Rugh  owned  the  land  where  now  stands  the  steel  works 
and  the  borough  of  Hufftown.  Jacob  Rugh  was  2ilichael  Rugh's  son,  and 
the  father  of  Peter  Rugh,  whose  daughter  Caroline  intermarried  with  the 
\Mnemans. 

HI.  Gustavus  Adolphus  Wineman,  son  of  Andrew  Wineman,  received 
a  good  common  school  education  in  the  schools  of  Hempfield  township,  West- 
moreland county,  Pennsylvania,  and  then  learned  the  carpenter's  and  build- 
ers' trade,  following  that  and  contracting  until  1902,  when  he  in  company 
with  H.  M.  Zundell  purchased  the  furniture  business  of  C.  T.  Barnhart, 
who  had  operated  it  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Politically  Mr.  Wineman  is  a 
Republican,  and  in  religious  matters,  like  his  forefathers,  adheres  to  the 
Lutheran  church.  He  first  held  membership  in  Harrolds  church,  but  after 
his  marriage  united  with  the  First  Lutheran  Church  of  Geensburg,  of  which 
his  wife  is  also  a  member,  though  formerly  a  Presbyterian.  JMr.  Wineman 
was  a  member  of  the  borough  council  for  four  years  at  South  West  Greens- 
burg,  and  for  the  past  three  years  has  been  president  of  the  school  board. 
He  was  among  the  first  to  build  in  that  borough,  erecting  several  residences 
which  materially  aided  in  the  growth  and  development  of  the  place.  In  1905 
he  in  company  with  George  S.  Getty,  purchased  the  Greensburg  Trading 
Company  business,  wherein  is  carried  a  full  line  of  furniture  and  household 
supplies  and  musical  instruments,  selling  his  interest  in  the  furniture  estab- 
lishment of  \\'incman  &  Zundel. 

]\Ir.  \\'inenian  married,  December  30,  1896,  Mary  J.  Bierer,  of  Cedar- 
ville,  ^'irginia,  daughter  of  J.  M.  and  Susan  (Painter)  Bierer.  She  was 
born  near  Greensburg.  November  23,  1871,  Her  father's  family  were  prom- 
inent in  the  service  of  the  Union  army  in  Civil  war  days,  volunteering  as 
soldiers  at  Latrobe.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wineman  are  the  parents  of  three  chil- 
dren :  Grace  \'irginia,  John  Bierer,  and  ]\Iary  Caroline. 

In  conclusion  it  should  be  stated  that  everv  old  citizen  around  Greens- 
burg well  remembers  the  eventful,  though  quiet  and  reserved  life  of  John 
George  ^\■ineman,  the  grandfather  of  Gustavus  A,  Wineman,  who  built  up 
both  state  and  church  by  an  honest,  exemplary  life.  Also  the  late  Andrew 
Wineman,  father  of  Gustavus  A.  Wineman,  who  bore  well  his  part  in  making 
the  surrouuflings  of  Greensburg  what  tliev  are  in  a  number  of  ways.  Gus- 
tavus A.  Wineman  is  taking  up  the  duties  laid  down  by  both  father  and 
grandfather. 

FOIGHT   FAMILY.     John    George    Foight.   the   first   ancestor   of 
the   family  in   America,  was  a  son  of  George  Jacol)   Foight,  of   Twinsbaugh, 


86  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

Brockenheim  county,  Wurtemberg  kingdom,  Germany.  He  was  born  No- 
vember 19,  1800.  He  served  an  apprenticeship  with  a  boot  and  shoe  maker 
in  his  native  village  and  learned  that  trade.  In  the  year  1823  he  embarked 
on  a  sailing  vessel  bound  for  America.  It  is  not  known  from  what  port  in 
the  Fatherland  he  sailed,  but  by  reason  of  contrary  winds  his  voyage  lasted 
eighty  days.  He  and  his  fellow  wayfarers  suffered  some  hardships  from 
their  long  cruise,  as  the  good  ship's  commissary  was  exhausted  of  everv- 
thing  but  salt  meats  before  reaching  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  He  settled 
in  Pittsburg,  where  he  began  to  work  at  his  trade  as  a  journeyman.  Some- 
time later  he  married  Eliza  Berlin  Wooster,  widow  of  Charles  Wooster.  This 
Widow  Wooster  was  before  this  time  the  widow  of  one  Pinkerton,  so  that 
she  had  already  outlived  two  husbands,  and  after  her  marriage  with  her 
third  husband  her  maternal  instincts  went  out  to  three  lines  of  children.  In 
1832  John  George  Foight  removed  with  his  family  to  Murrysville,  West- 
moreland county,  where  he  purchased  a  tract  of  twenty  acres  of  land,  erected 
a  log  house  and  shop,  set  up  as  a  master  in  his  trade  and  followed  it  until 
a  few  years  before  his  death.  The  military  sjiirit  ran  high  in  him  and  he 
was  a  member  of  a  vohmteer  militia  company  called  the  "Franklin  Blues."  He 
died  December  31,  1872. 

George  Jacob,  his  father,  according  to  a  translation  of  some  old  German 
papers  brought  to  this  country  and  still  in  the  possession  of  the  family,  was 
an  attache  of  the  Court  at  Wurtemberg.  When  a  mere  lad  John  George 
Foight  saw  Napoleon's  army  as  it  crossed  Germany  in  the  campaign  against 
Russia.  This  pageant  was  stamped  upon  his  youthful  mind  and  he  frequently 
related  it  to  his  family  with  much  pride.  It  is  quite  probable  that  the  spell- 
ing and  pronunciation  of  the  surname  of  John  George  Foight,  either  b\-  ac- 
cident or  design,  was  changed  after  he  came  to  America.  The  German  spell- 
ing of  the  name,  as  attested  by  Germans  of  his  time  and  acquaintance,  was 
"\^jight"  instead  of  "Foight,"'  and  the  pronunciation  accordingly.  It  was 
a  rather  common  occurrence  among  people  of  the  German  nationality  coming 
to  this  country  in  the  early  days  to  endeavor  to  Anglicise  their  names.  This 
early  custom  is  revealed  by  the  old  legal  records  of  the  county. 

Eliza  Berlin,  wife  of  the  American  ancestor  of  the  Foight  family,  was 
the  daughter  of  Jacob  Berlin.  She  was  born  at  Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania, 
in  1800.  With  her  parents  she  crossed  the  mountains  in  1810  and  settled 
in  Pittsburg.  During  the  journey  a  night  was  spent  at  Fort  Ligonier,  where 
a  guard  had  to  be  posted  to  keep  wolves  away  from  the  horses  and  camp. 
The  old  Foight  homestead  was  on  the  line  of  the  northern  turnpike,  which 
before  the  building  of  the  Pennsylvania  railroad,  was  one  of  the  main  thor- 
oughfares between  Pittsburg  and  Philadelphia.  In  her  day  Eliza  Berlin 
Foight  was  famous  for  the  cakes  she  made  and  for  a  beverage  called  "spruce 
beer,"  which  she  supplied  to  travelers  on  the  pike.  She  and  her  husband 
first  attended  Denmark  Manor  Reformed  church,  where  now  repose  their 
remains.  This  church  was  about  five  miles  from  where  thev  lived,  and  before 
they  possessed  a  horse  they  traveled  to  the  church  afoot.  In  the  latter  vears 
of  their  lives  a  Methodist  Episcopal  church  was  estalilished  at  :\rurrvsville 
and  they  united  with  it.  When  a  small  girl  Mrs.  Foight  was  among  the  com- 
pany who  welcomed  Marquis  LaFayette  upon  his  visit  from  France  to  the 
United  States.  She  many  times  spoke  to  her  friends  in  later  vears  of  the 
warm  welcome  extended  "by  the  people  to  the  famous  general  upon  that  oc- 
casion. The  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  George  Foight  were:  Sam- 
uel Berlin,  horn  in  1837,  educated  in  the  common  schools,  after  which  he  was 


"     HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  87 

apprenticed  as  a  compositor.  After  mastering  the  printer's  trade  he  worked 
at  the  case  on  the  Pittsburg  Gazette  (now  Commercial  Gazette)  and  became 
foreman  of  the  composing  room.  He  was  married  to  Margaret  Remaley. 
He  died  of  a  fever  in  December,  1871,  leaving  two  sons,  Harry  S.  and  Frank 
A.,  to  survive  him.  Lucinda.  married  Herman  H.  Beeson,  and  shortly  after 
her  marriage  moved  with  her  husband  to  Columbia  City,  Whitley  county, 
Indiana.  Lucinda  is  now  a  widow,  her  children  all  living  near  her  in  Indiana. 
Satiah,  married  (first)  Oliver  Purcell,  wdio  a  short  time  afterwards  died  in 
Pittsburg,  leaving  one  son.  John.  Satiah  married  (second)  David  Miller, 
and  they  lived  for  a  time  at  McKeesport,  but  now  reside  near  Denmark 
Manor  church.     John  George,  of  whom   later. 

John  George  Foight.  named  after  his  father,  was  born  at  Murrysville, 
November  28,  1842.  He  received  a  common  school  education,  and  by  occu- 
pation is  a  farmer,  fruit  grower  and  dairyman.  In  August,  1864,  he  enliste' 
in  the  Two  Hundred  and  Fourth  Regiment,  Fifth  Light  Artillery,  United 
States  \'oIunteers,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war,  being  mustered  out 
of  the  service  July  4,  1865.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania 
legislature  in  1888.  He  was  instrumental  in  the  organization  of  the  First 
National  P)ank  of  Export,  of  which  he  is  a  director.  John  G.  Foight,  married, 
in  1867,  ^lary  Emeline  Brinker,  a  native  of  Penn  township,  born  in  1847. 
They  are  both  members  of  the  Denmark  Manor  Reformed  church,  and  polit- 
ically Mr.  Foight  has  always  been  a  Republican.  Mary  Emeline  Brinker  was 
a  daughter  of  Josiah  and  Anna  (Kistler)  Brinker.  Jacob  Brinker,  her  great- 
grandfather, is  supposed  to  have  been  born  in  Lancaster  count^•,  Pennsyl- 
vania. The  earliest  record  of  him  is  his  will,  recorded  Xovember  16,  1798, 
by  which  instrument  it  appears  he  was  the  father  of  a  large  faniih-  and 
that  he  was  possessed  of  about  fifteen  hundred  acres  of  land,  much  of  it 
located  in  what  was  then  styled  the  "Opost  Settlement,"  Franklin  township. 
His  wife  was  named  Susannah  and  his  children  were :  George,  Jacob,  Abra- 
ham, ^largaret,  married  one  Earner;  Katren,  wife  of  John  Seeley ;  Susannah, 
wife  of  Jacob  Barleen.  and  one  daughter  (name  unknown)  who  marrieil  a 
man  named  Shaver.  Jacob  Brinker.  her  grandfather,  lived  on  the  land  in- 
herited from  his  father  in  Franklin  township.  It  is  not  known  to  whom  he 
was  married.  On  January  12,  1805,  he  received  a  deed  from  one  Coates,  an 
attorney  for  John  and  Richard  Penn,  proprietors  of  Pennsylvania,  for  three 
hundred  and  thirty-si.x  acres  of  land  in  the  Manor  of  Denmark,  which  land 
his  father  had  purchased  from  the  heirs  of  Penn,  and  had  given  to  him  by 
his  will,  but  for  which  the  father  had  never  received  the  deed.  His  children 
were:  Colonel  Paul  Brinker.  Josiah,  above  named;  Esther,  married  fohn 
Lauffer.  of  Harrison  City;  Sarah,  wife  of  Michael  Byers,  and  Lydia,  married 
(first)  John  Kistler.  and  later,  one  Fink.  Josiah  Brinker  died  in  1888.  John. 
Laufifer,  mentioned  herein,  lived  to  the  ripe  old  age  of  over  a  hundred  vears. 
The  children  of  John  G.  and  :\Iary  E.  Foight  now  living  are:  Samuel  Berlin, 
Paul  R.,  ]\Iary  Elizabeth,  wife  of  J.  Lo.ean  Kemerer;  John  II.,  Jesse  Brinker 
(named  after  his  grandfather),  Annie  E.,  unmarried,  at  honic";  Harrv  W., 
unmarried,  at  home  ;  and  Charles  Curtis,  unmarried,  at  home. 

CHARLES  WESLEY  BYERLY,  who  conducts  a  grocerv  and 
queensvvare  store  in  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  is  a  native  of  Westmoreland 
county.  He  was  born  in  East  Huntingdon  township.  Tamiarv  0,  1860,  the 
son  of  John  and  Harriet  (  Suttle)  Byeriv.  who  farmed  in"  Htmpfield  and  other 
townships  in  Westmoreland  county.     The  father  died  in  Greensburg,  in   Tnlv 


88  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 


1894,  aged  seventy-two  years.  Their  children  were  Artlisa,  died  young; 
\\'illiam  Irwin,  died  aged  about  forty-nine  years ;  Viola,  married  Dempster 
Moore,  who  died  in  Philadelphia;  she  died  I3ecember,  1903;  Margaret,  wife 
of  Thomas  E.  Wible,  of  Greensburg,  Pa. ;  Martha,  died  young ;  Charles  W. ; 
Phebe  Ann,  married  A.  O.  Jones,  of  Greensburg,  Pa. ;  Hattie  M.,  married 
Milton  Given,  of  Greensburg,  Pa. 

Charles  W.  Byerly  attended  the  common  schools  of  his  native  countv, 
and  when  a  young  mair  operated  his  father's  farm  and  a  dairy  for  two  years, 
after  which  he  engaged  in  the  grocery  and  crockery  business,  which  he  has 
followed  the  past  eighteen  years,  commencing  about  1887.  His  place  of 
business,  on  Penn  avenue,  Greensburg,  is  one  of  the  model  business  houses 
of  the  thriving  city.  He  adheres  to  the  political  principles  of  the  Repub- 
lican party.  His  own  business  afTairs  having  fully  absorbed  his  time,  he  has 
never  held  public  office,  except  that  of  school  director  in  Southwest  Greens- 
burg borough.  He  was  a  member  of  Comi)any  I,  Pennsylvania  National 
Guard,  for  five  years,  holding  the  office  of  corporal.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
;\Iethodist  Episcopal  church  of  Greensburg,  and  is  comiected  with  the  Wood- 
men of  the  World,  an  insurance  fraternal  order.  He  married,  April  30,  1885, 
Carrie  E.  Robinson,  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  She  is  the  daughter  of 
Daniel  and  Hannah  Robinson.  Her  father  died  in  1887.  Their  children  were : 
Nellie,  aged  twenty  years;  Marjorie,  aged  eighteen  years;  Hannah,  aged 
sixteen  years ;  Henrietta,  aged  fourteen  years :  and  \lola  M.,  aged  seven  vears. 

JESSE  CLARENCE  WELTY  is  one  of  the  well  known  and  pros- 
perous .farmers  of  Hempfield  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania. 
He  is  also  extensively  engaged  in  dealing  in  live  stock,  and  is  one  of  the 
influential  men  of  this  district. 

John  Steiner  Welty,  father  of  Jesse  Clarence  Welty,  was  a  wagon  builder 
by  trade  and  carried  on  a  successful  business  in  Frogtown,  near  Pleasant 
Unity.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Reformed  church,  and  a  stanch  Democrat. 
He  married  Nancy  Kilgore,  daughter  of  Jesse  Kilgore,  who  was  one  of  the 
leading  farmers  of  Hempfield  township,  and  they  had  eleven  children :  Eliza- 
beth, died  in  infancy ;  Charles,  died  in  infancy ;  Mary,  married  Murrav  Zim- 
merman, son  of  Henry  R.  Zimmerman,  farmer  ancl  thresher  of  Hempfield 
township;  Lelah,  married  Samuel  Gordon,  of  New  Alexandria,  and  has  three 
children  :  Bessie,  Ada  and  Jane ;  Margaret,  married  Harvev  Barclav,  of  Con- 
nellsville,  and  has  two  children:  Harry  and  John;  John  Kilgore,  died  at  the 
age  of  twenty:  Jesse  Clarence,  of  whom  later:  Richard  Steiner,  married  Kate 
SmHth.  daughter  of  Francis  Smith,  who  is  one  of  the  leading  farmers  of 
Unity  township,  and  has  two  children,  Harry  and  Mildred;  William,  died 
in  infancy:  Robert,  died  at  the  age  of  two  years;  Bessie,  married  Ezra  W. 
Kepple,  who  is  in  the  mantel  business  in  Greensburg,  Pennsvlvania,  and  has 
one  child,  ]\IabeI. 

Jesse^CIarence  Welty,  third  son  and  seventh  child  of  John  Steiner  and 
Nancy_  (Kilgore)  Welty,  was  born  in  Frogtown,  near  Pleasant  Unitv,  Penn- 
sylvania, June  23,  1872.  He  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools 
of  the  district,  and  commenced  at  quite  an  early  age  to  assist  his  father  on 
the  farm,  thus  gaining  practical  knowledge  of  the  best  means  of  cultivation. 
Upon  attaining  manhood  he  commenced  farming  operations  for  himself,  which 
has  met  with  unvaried  success.  In  connection  with  the  cultivation  of  his 
farm,  which  is  a  model  in  its  way,  he  commenced  to  deal  in  live  stock,  and 
now  does  an  extensive  business  in  this  direction.     He  married,  Februarv   18, 


HISTORY   OF    irESTMORELAXD    COUNTY.  89 

1897,  ^larv  Immel,  daughter  of  John  and  Nancy  (Rowe)  Immel,  of  East 
Grecnsburg.  Andrew  Rowe,  maternal  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Welty,  came  from 
Germany  "when  a  boy,  settled  in  Pennsylvania,  and  married  Peggie  Hontz. 
Henrv  Immel,  paternal  grandfather  of  ]\lrs.  Welty,  was  in  the  meat  business 
for  a'  livelihood.  The  children  of  ^h.  and  Airs.  Jesse  Clarence  Welty  are : 
John  Franklin,  born  August  18,  1899;  Margaret  Nancy,  Alarch  23,  190 1 ; 
Jesse  Kilgore,  March  13,  1903. 

ADAM  KELLER  BOW]MAN,  one  of  the  leading  business  men  of 
\\'estmoreland  county  and  a  man  prominently  and  actively  identified  with  com- 
munity affairs,  was  born  in  Bell  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
Febru'arv  26,  1854,  son  of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  (Iline)  Bowman.  Joseph 
Bowman  was  born  in  Bell  township  in  1825.  He  was  reared  on  the  home  farm, 
and  on  reaching  manhood  acquired  a  portion  of  the  old  homestead,  where  he 
resided  up  to  1868.  when  he  removed  to  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania.  Here  he 
was  connected  for  a  number  of  years  with  the  mercantile  business,  which  in  1894 
was  sold  to  the  Greer  Brothers,  and  since  that  time  led  a  retired  life.  Mr. 
Bowman  is  a  Democrat,  and  for  several  years  held  the  office  of  councilman  of 
Greensburg.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church,  and  was  for  many  years 
an  officer  of  that  church.  He  married  Elizabeth  Hine,  and  their  children  are: 
Simon,  of  Greensburg;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Lucien  Clawson,  ex-sherift'  and  banker 
of  Greensburg ;  and  Adam  Keller,  of  whom  later. 

Adam  Keller  Bowman  was  reared  at  home,  acquiring  his  education  in  the 
Greensburg  public  schools.  In  1870  he  entered  his  father's  store,  and  some 
two  or  three  years  later  was  made  a  member  of  the  firm,*the  firm  name  being 
changed  from  J.  Bowman  to  J.  Bowman  &  Sons,  Simon  Bowman  also  being 
made  a  member  of  the  firm.  From  this  time  the  management  of  the  business 
was  gradually  assumed  by  Adam  and  his  brother.  Under  their  management 
the  business  prospered  and  grew  to  large  proportions,  becoming  one  of  the 
leading  dry  goods  and  carpet  establishments  in  Greensburg.  In  1898  Adam  K. 
Bowman  retired  from  the  firm,  and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  garment 
hangers.  One  year  later  he  perfected  and  patented  a  self-adjusting  skirt 
hanger,  the  sales  of  which  extend  all  over  this  and  foreign  countries.  In  1902 
the  business  had  grown  to  such  proportions  that  more  commodious  quarters 
were  necessary,  and  Mr.  Bowman  accordingly  erected  a  three-story  factory 
building  on  Penn  .street,  in  Ludwick  borough,  where  the  business  is  now  con- 
ducted on  a  large  and  paying  scale.  Mr.  Bow^man's  life  is  an  example  that  may 
well  be  followed  bv  the  rising  generation  ;  an  illustration  of  what  those  success- 
bringing  qualities,  industry,  perseverance  and  strong  will,  can  do  in  the  way  of 
attaining  for  a  man  a  high  place  in  the  ranks  of  successful  and  prosperous 
people.  Mr.  Bowman  affiliates  with  the  Democratic  party,  and  has  served  one 
term  as  a  member  of  the  borough  council.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
church,  and  takes  a  lasting  interest  in  the  welfare  of  that  organization.  In 
1889  Mr.  Bowman  married  Martha  Elizabeth  Berlin,  of  Greensburg,  and  of 
their  seven  children  five  are  living:  Romayne,  Joseijhine,  IMargcry,  Joseph  and 
Edward. 

EDWARD  HEXRY  B.\IR,  real  estate  dealer  and  member  of  the 
firm  of  Bair  and  Lane,  at  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  March  6.  1859, 
in  the  village  of  Congruity,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  the  son  of 
Henrv  Nicholas  Hacke  Bair  and  Elizabeth   (Keener)  Bair. 

The  grandfather,  David  Bair,  emigrated  from  Lancaster  counl\-,  Pcnnsyl- 


90 


HISTORY   OF    U'ESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 


vania,  to  Penn  township,  Westmoreland  county,  in  the  early  years  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  and  died  January  26.  1852,  aged  sixty  years  and  twenty-four 
days.     He  married  (first)  Elizabeth  Bowers,  and  (second)  Sarah  Bender. 

The  father  of  Edward  Henry  Bair  was  born  in  Penn  township  about  1825 
and  died  January  11,  1873.  He  married  Elizabeth  Eliza  Keener,  daughter  of 
Henry  and  Susan  Keener,  and  moved  to  Congruity  about  1848.  He,  with  his 
brothers  Isaac  and  Sebastian,  were  the  inventors  of  what  was  known  as  the 
tumbling-shaft  threshing  machines  and  was  largely  interested  in  the  machine 
business  at  Congruity  at  the  time  of  his  death  in  1873.  He  was  prominently 
known  throughout  the  country  as  a  manufacturer  of  farm  machinery,  etc.  He 
was  among  the  earliest  undertakers  in  the  county,  and  was  the  first  to  manu- 
facture broadcloth-covered  coffins.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  Trinity  Re- 
formed church  at  New  Salem,  as  was  also  his  wife.  In  politics  he  was  a 
Democrat.  He  took  a  very  active  part  in  the  public  school  system,  and  for 
many  years  served  as  a  member  of  the  school  board  in  Salem  township,  and  was 
a  candidate  for  county  commissioner  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Keener)  Bair  traces  her  ancestry  back  to  the  Ubero  and 
Frantzs  and  her  great-grandfather,  great-grandmother  and  their  daughter 
were  captured  by  the  Indians  about  the  time  of  the  destruction  of  Hannahstown. 
The  great-grandfather  was  murdered  at  the  time,  and  the  two  women  tal<en 
with  the  tribe  of  Indians  to  a  point  along  the  Monongahcla  river,  near  present 
iMcKeesport,  and  after  about  six  months  of  captivity  escaped  and  stole  their 
way  back  to  their  home  just  north  of  Greensburg.  Mr.  Bair's  mother  was  born 
in  1824  and  died  in  1894  at  Congruity,  Pennsylvania. 

Edward  Henry  fiair  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  in  Salem  township 
and  at  the  i-^ew  Salem  Academy.  He  relates  that  perhaps  through  acquaint- 
ance and  sympathy,  more  than  for  any  other  reason,  he  was  made  a  teacher  at 
the  age  of  sixteen  years  in  Salem  township.  After  teaching  for  three  years  he 
was  elected  principal  of  the  New  Salem  schools  and  during  three  summers,  in 
partnership  with  I.  E.  Lauflfer,  had  charge  of  the  New  Salem  Academy.  He 
was  elected  in  1881,  principal  of  the  Scottdale  public  schools,  and  after  two 
years  resigned  to  locate  in  Greensburg  for  the  purpose  of  readins:  law.  Here 
he  took  charge  of  the  Ludwick  schools.  Two  years  later  he  drifted  into  the 
real  estate  business.  He  passed  the  preliminary  law  examination  and  registered 
with  Beacon  and  Newill  (attorneys),  but  owing  to  the  rapid  growth  of  his  real 
estate  business,  he  abandoned  further  law  studies  and  since  then  has  been 
largely  interested  in  Greensburg  real  estate. 

For  more  than  a  dozen  years  he  has  been  identified  with  manv  enterprises, 
having  promoted  the  Westmoreland  Electric  Company :  the  Westmoreland 
Light,  Heat  and  Power  Company  ;  the  Greensburg  Southern  Street  Railway 
Company  ;  the  Westmoreland  Realty  Company  ;  the  Iron  Citv  Land  Companv ; 
the  Atlantic  Land  Company,  and  many  public  enterprises.  He  is  at  present 
the  senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Bair  and  Lane :  vice-president  of  the  Greens- 
burg Furnace  Company :  treasurer  of  the  Greensburg  and  Cambridge  Spring 
railway,  and  a  director  of  the  Merchants'  Trust  Company,  besides  being  largely 
interested  in  numerous  other  enterprises  in  Westmoreland  countv. 

In  his  religion  he  is  identified  with  the  Reformed  church  of  Greensburg, 
and  in  politics  is  a  Democrat.  'Sir.  Bair  is  a  member  of  Westmoreland  Lodge, 
No.  518,  F.  and  A.  M.  of  Greensburg;  Olivet  Council  Lodge,  No.  13,  LVania 
Chapter,  Lodge  No.  192:  Kedron  Commandery,  Lodge  No.  18,  K.  T.,  A.  A.  S. 
R.  Valley  of  Pittsburg,  and  Svria  Temple  A.  A.  O.  N.  M.  S..  and  the  present 
secretary  of  the  Greensburg  ^Masonic  fund.     By  a  vote  of  the  people  in  the  sev- 


HISTORY    OF    JVESTMORELAXD    COUXTV.  91 

eral  boroughs,  June,  1905,  the  first  of  these  ambitions  was  realized,  and  the 
second  one  has  since  made  great  progress.  He  was  married  at  Latrobe,  Penn- 
svlvania,  October  14,  1885,  to  Esther  Mary  Suydam,  daughter  of  Joseph  L. 
and  Mavy  White  Suvdam.  Her  father  until  a  very  short  time  before  his  death, 
at  Coatesville,  Pennsylvania,  was  the  superintendent  of  the  Wilmington  and 
Delaware  railroad.  Mrs.  Bair  was  educated  at  the  schools  of  Coatsville  and 
Latrobe.  Their  children  were:  Paul  Suydam,  Kenneth  Henry,  Helen,  Edward 
Hart,  Esther,  and  Joseph  Lawrence. 

One  of  the  ambitions  of  Mr.  Bair,  in  a  business  sense  and  for  general  ]nib- 
lic  good,  is  to  bring  about  the  consolidation  of  the  numerous  boroughs,  sur- 
rounding the  borough  of  Greensburg  in  order  that  the  place  may  become  a  city 
and  the'leading  one  in  western  Pennsylvania,  for  ideal  homes.  Another  mat- 
ter in  which  he  is  greatly  interested  is  that  the  public  school  system  shall  rise  to 
such  a  standard  as  to  admit  its  graduates  to  any  of  the  large  colleges,  without 
additional  preparation.  It  is  his"  sanguine  belief  that  both  of  these,  his  worthy 
ambitions,  will  be  fully  realized,  and  within  a  short  period. 

I.  R.  SMITH,  a  successful  attorney  and  enterprising  coal  operator  and 
l-.ianufactiirer  of  Scottdale.  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  born 
March  29,  1850,  the  son  of  Jesse  P.  and  Sarah  (Robinson)  Smith,  and  descends 
I'-om  German  ancestry.  His  paternal  grandfather  came  from  Germany  about 
1790  and  settled  in  Cass  township,  Huntingdon  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  was 
a  farmer  of  the  sturdy  type  and  prominent  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
He  married  a  Miss  Parnell,  in  Germany.  They  had  six  sons,  of  whom  ]\lr. 
Smith's  father  was  one.  His  name  was  Jesse,  and  he  was  next  to  the  youngest 
son. 

Jesse  P.  Smith,  the  father,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war  in  the  Union 
army  under  General  George  B.  JMcClellan.  He  was  born  in  Huntingdon 
county.  Pennsylvania,  March  9,  1812.  He  followed  farming  for  a  livelihood. 
In  religion  he  was  identified  with  the  Methodist  Protestant  church,  and  was  a 
Republican  in  his  political  affiliations.  He  married  Sarah  Robinson,  daughter 
of  \'incent  and  Susan  (Hess)  Robinson,  all  of  the  same  county.  They  were  of 
Scotch  parentage.  IMr.  and  Mrs.  Jesse  P.  Smith's  children  were :  Thomas  G. ; 
Samuel  H. :  ^lary  S.  (Mrs.  Cook):  J.  R.,  see  forward:  Eliza  Jane:  Isaac 
Xewton. 

J.  R.  Smith,  son  of  Jesse  P.  Smith,  received  his  education  at  the  common 
schools,  and  later  took  an  academic  course.  He  was  reared  to  farm  labor  in 
Todd  township,  Huntingdon  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  read  law  with  the  well 
known  law  firm  of  Brown  and  Bailey,  of  Huntingdon,  Pennsylvania.  He  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  the  county  of  his  native  city  in  1879,  removing  to  West- 
moreland county  in  1 88 1.  He  was  admitted  to  the  practice  in  tlie  supreme 
courts  in  1887,  and  soon  after  the  organization  of  the  superior  court,  and  also 
a  member  of  the  United  States  court.  Aside  from  his  professional  career  he  is 
interested  in  coal  mining  operations  and  manufacturing  industries  in  Westmore- 
land county.  Pennsylvania,  and  in  the  state  of  West  Virginia.  T-Ie  has  a  law 
office  at  Greensburg.  J!eing  a  firm  believer  in  the  principles  of  the  Republican 
party,  he  has  always  cast  his  vote  with  this  party.  Aside  from  holding  the 
office  of  school  director,  he  has  never  sought  or  held  public  office.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Scottdale.  He  was  married,  October  2, 
1884,  near  Ligonier.  Pennsylvania,  to  Clara  S.  Clifford,  who  received  a  common 
school  and  academic  education.     Her  father,  C.  Myers  Clifford,  and  mother. 


HISTORY   OF    U-ESTMORELAXD    COUNTY. 


Susan  (}iIcElro_v)  Clifford,  are  farmers.  Their  cliildren  are:  Jessie  Anna, 
Clifford  AI..  Vincent  Robinson,  Marquis  AIcElroy,  all  born  in  Scottdale,  Penn- 
sylvania, all  unmarried  at  this  time. 

WILLIAM  THEODORE  DOAI,  Jr.,  an  attorney  practicing  in  the 
city  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  at  that  place  July  lo,  1873,  the  son 
of  William  Theodore  and  Eliza  Jane  (McCullough)  Dom. 

(I)  Philip  Dom,  the  grandfather,  was  a  native  of  Hesse  Darmstadt,  Ger- 
many. He  came  to  America  about  1821,  locating  at  Berlin,  Somerset  county, 
Pennsylvania.  In  religious  faith  he  was  a  Lutheran,  and  in  his  political  views 
was  first  a  Whig  and  upon  the  formation  of  the  Republican  party  became 
identified  with  that  organization.  By  occupation  he  was  a  contractor  and 
builder.  He  aided  in  building  iron  furnaces  at  Wellersburg,  Pennsylvania. 
He  also  helped  to  construct  the  National  pike  road  in  the  Shenandoah  valley, 
between  Winchester  and  Romney,  Virginia.  He  became  a  prominent  citizen, 
both  in  Berlin  and  Wellersburg,  Pennsylvania.  He  married  Margaret  Gerhardt, 
a  native  of  Hesse  Darmstadt,  Germany,  a  granddaughter  of  Sir  John  Jacob 
Hentz,  who  was  the  custodian  of  all  the  public  records  of  the  town  of  Beuern 
in  Hesse  Darmstadt,  Germany.  The  Hentzs  were  very  prominent  among  the 
families  of  that  section  of  Germany. 

(II)  William  Theodore  Dom.  son  of  Philip  Dom,  was  one  of  a  familv  of 
six  brothers  and  two  sisters.  He  was  born  August  10,  1844,  at  Wellersljurg, 
Pennsylvania.  He  was  variously  engaged  as  hotel  keeper,  merchant,  coal  and 
coke  superintendent  and  banker.  He  now  lives  a  retired  life  at  Greensburg. 
Pennsylvania.  His  education  was  obtained  in  the  public  school.  The  church 
of  his  choice  is  the  Presbyterian,  and  politically  he  affiliates  with  the  Republican 
party,  but  has  never  sought  office.  He  married  Eliza  Jane  McCollogh,  who  bore 
liim  three  sons — William  Theodore,  John  McCollogh  and  Welty  McCollogh 
Dom. 

Of  Mr.  Dom's  mother's  family  it  may  be  said  that  tradition  says  that  Hugh 
Brady  (I)  and  Hannah  McCormick,  his  wife,  came  from  the  forks  of  the  Dela- 
ware and  settled  in  Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania,  about  1734.  They  were 
the  parents  of  nine  children. 

(II)  Hugh  Brady,  the  fourth  son  of  Hugh  and  Hannah  (McCormick) 
Brady,  was  born  in  1740,  and  married  Jane  Yoimg,  by  whom  nine  children  were 
born,  including  one  named  James. 

(HI  James  Brady,  born  in  1764,  died  1839.  He  married  Rachel  Speer, 
and  they  became  the  parents  of  six  children,  including  Jane.  James  Brady 
removed  from  the  Cumberland  valley  and  settled  in  Ligonier  valley,  Westmore- 
land county,  Pennsylvania,  at  an  early  day,  but  went  to  Greensburg  to  assume 
the  duties  of  sheriff,  to  which  office  he  was  elected  in  1794,  and  resided  there 
until  his  death.  He  was  elected  to  the  house  of  representatives  for  a  term  of 
three  years.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  state  senate,  three  terms  of  four 
years  each.  In  1806  he  was  speaker  of  the  senate.  He  was  called  by  Governor 
Heister  as  one  of  his  cabinet  and  served  as  secretary  of  the  land  office.  The 
Bradys  were  Presbyterians  and  James  was  the  first  elder  of  this  church  at 
Greensburg,  of  whom  there  appears  to  be  any  record.  He  appeared  as  elder  in 
the  presbytery  in  1802.  In  1808  he  and  his  pastor  were  chosen  delegates  to  the 
general  assembly.  He  frequently  represented  the  church  in  the  meetings  of  the 
presbytery,  and  from  the  numbers  of  committees  on  which  he  served  in  that 
bodv  he  must  have  been  an  active  and  useful  member.     He  was  an  elder  nearly 


HISTORY   OF    IVESTMORELAXD    COUXTV.  93 

forty  \ears.     He  was  a  cousin  of  Captain   Samuel  Brady  and  General  Hugh 
Brady. 

'(I\')  Jane  Brady,  born  T794.  died  1873.  She  married  Jacob  \\elty,  who 
was  born  in  1791,  and  died  in  1864.  They  were  the  parents  of  seven  children. 
The  \\'eltys  came  from  Switzerland. 

I.  lohn  Jacob  Welty,  born  in  1720,  married  Christina  Broff,  and  they 
were  the  parents  of  six  children. 

n.  Henrv  \\'elty,  son  of  John  Jacob,  was  born  in  1764.  died  in  T841.  He 
married  Catherine  Steiner,  and"  they  had  nine  children. 

HI.  Jacob  \N'eltv,  son  of  Henry  Welty,  was  born  1791,  died  i8(>4.  He 
married  Jane  Brady  (I\'),  and  they  were  the  parents  of  seven  children,  in- 
cluding Eliza  Catherine. 

I\'.  Eliz?  Catherine  Welty,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Jane  (Brady)  Welt\-, 
was  born  in  1819,  died  1882.  She  married  John  McCoIlogh,  born  in  1803,  died 
in  1884.  Thev  had  si.x  children.  The  McColloghs  came  from  Scotland  and  the 
name  was  there  spelled  ]\lcColloch. 

I.  John  McColloch"s  parents  removed  from  Scotland  to  the  soutli  of 
Ireland,  where  the  father  died  when  John  was  but  six  months  of  age.  He  was 
the  only  child  in  the  family.  The  McCollochs  were  United  Presbyterians. 
John  came  to  Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  .settled  in  Mifflin  township, 
"but  was  subsequently  removed  to  a  farm  east  of  Newville.  This  farm  is  still 
owned  bv  the  descendants.  He  was  born  in  1740  and  died  in  1808.  He  married 
and  was  the  father  of  eight  children. 

n.  William  ^IcCollogh,  son  of  John  McCollogh,  married  Sarah  McBride, 
and  they  were  the  parents  of  eight  children,  including  John. 

HI.  John  McCollogh  was  born  in  1803  and  died  in  1884.  He  married 
Eliza  Catherine  Welty  (IV),  born  1819,  died  1882.  They  were  the  parents  of 
six  children. 

I\'.  Weltv  McCollogh,  son  of  John  and  Eliza  C.  JNIcCoUogh,  was  born  in 
1847,  died  in  i88g.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Princeton  College,  and  in  1886  was 
elected  to  a  seat  in  congress.  He  married  Ada  B.  Markde,  by  whom  two 
children  were  born. 

I\^  Eliza  Jane  ^klcCollogh.  daughter  of  ;\Ir.  and  Airs.  John  McCollogh, 
was  born  in  1849;  married  \\illiam  Theodore  Dom,  born  in  1844.  They  were 
the  parents  of  three  children — William  Theodore,  of  whom  later:  John,  and 
Welty  Dom. 

iV.  Anna  Weltv  ?^lcCollogh.  daughtei"  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  IMcCollogh, 
was  born  in  1862;  graduated  from  the  I'ennsylvania  College  for  \\'omen ;  mar- 
ried Denna  Charles  Ogden,  bom  in  i860,  and  now  a  prominent  attorney  at 
Greensburg. 

III.  William  Theodare  Dom,  son  of  William  Theodore  and  Eliza  Jane 
(McCollogh)  Dom,  obtained  his  education  at  the  excellent  public  schools  of 
Greensburg.  his  native  city,  and  later  attended  the  Oeensburg  Seminary  and 
finished  at  Washington  and  Jefferson  College.  In  1894  he  registered  as  a  law 
stuflent  with  his  uncle-in-law,  D.  C.  r)gden.  and  in  1896  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
of  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.  January  i,  1904,  he  formed  his  pres- 
ent partnership,  as  a  member  of  the  law  firm  of  Ogden  &  Dom.  For  about 
one  year  he  served  as  official  stenographer  of  the  Orphans  court,  and  from  May 
to  September,  1903,  was  deputy  register  of  wills  of  the  Orphans  court  of  West- 
moreland county,  but  upon  the  death  of  his  chief,  S.  C.  Stevenson,  he  resigned 
to  resume  the  practice  of  law.  Politically  he  is  a  Repulilican,  and  has  been 
active  in  promoting  the  interests   of   liis  party.     He  made   his   first  political 


94 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAXD    COUXTY 


speech  in  1892,  and  during  the  McKinley  campaign  was  very  active.  In  1889 
he  stumped  the  state  for  his  party,  when  Colonel  Barnett  was  a  candidate  for 
state  treasurer.  He  has  been  secretary  of  the  Republican  county  committee 
several  times.  He  is  at  present  a  member  of  the  Grecnsburg  borough  council 
He  is  an  exemplary  member  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church  at  Grecnsburg. 
In  1895  he  joined  the  National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania,  being  a  member  of 
Company  I,  Tenth  Regiment,  and  served  as  company  clerk  until  the  Spanish 
war,  when  he  was  appointed  corporal  and  was  mustered  into  the  service  of  the 
government  at  Mount  Gretna  and  accompanied  the  regiment  to  the  Philippine 
Islands,  where  he  was  detailed  as  battalion  sergeant-major  under  Major  Jiierer. 
He  also  acted  for  a  time  as  regimental  sergeant-major  for  Colonel  Hawkins. 
He  was  a  charter  member  of  the  Order  of  Americus,  which  has  been  absorbed 
by  the  Grand  Fraternity.  He  is  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  511,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  be- 
ing one  of  its  charter  members ;  has  held  various  chairs  and  is  now  secretary 
of  the  order.  He  is  also  a  charter  member  of  Circle  No.  2,  Homeless  Twenty- 
six,  and  Westmoreland  Lodge,  No.  518,  F.  and  A.  M.  Mr.  Dom  married,  No- 
vember 28,  1900,  Lela  M.  Hudson,  at  (ireensburg,  Pennsylvania.  Mrs.  Dom  is 
the  daughter  of  \\"illiam  and  Mary  (Kepple)  Hudson,  whose  ])eople  are  farm- 
ers. .She  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  is  a  graduate  of  Grecnsburg 
Seminary.  The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dom  are:  .Vnna,  bom  at  Grecnsburg, 
Pennsylvania,  November  7.  1901  ;  Lela.  born  at  the  same  place.  May  3,  1903. 

GEOKGE  SLAINE,  a  steamship  agent,  court  interpreter  and  notary 
public,  is  a  native  of  Hungary,  born  at  i\Iarkusfalva.  March  23,  1866,  the  son  of 
George  and  Mary  ((iavulish)  Slaine.  The  father  was  engaged  in  the  farm  and 
dairy  business.  In  religion  he  espoused  the  Catholic  faith,  and  in  politics  was 
independent.  He  received  a  good  common  school  education  and  aiiforded  his 
children  the  same. 

George  Slaine  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  took  a  five  years' 
course  in  the  Gymnasium  College  at  Iglo,  Hungry.  He  came  to  America  in 
1883,  landing  in  New  York  City.  March  ist.  He  served  in  the  L^nitcd  States 
army  as  a  member  of  the  Sixteenth  United  States  Regular  Infantry  Regiment, 
on  the  Western  frontier,  and  was  wounded  and  finally  honorably  discharged 
February  25,  i8go,  as  a  non-commissioned  ofificer.  He  was  discharp'ed  on  ac- 
count of  ill  liealth.  He  was  in  the  command  of  Major  Chaflfe  (now  lieutenant- 
general).  Politically,  Mr.  Slaine  is  a  supporter  of  the  Democratic  party  and 
has  served  as  official  court  interpreter  for  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
for  the  past  sixteen  years.  Of  his  religious  faith  it  may  be  said  that  he  adheres 
to  that  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church,  and  is  a  member  of  several  benevolent 
societies.  After  leaving  the  arnw  Mr.  Slaine  did  clerical  work  for  the  deceased 
Imperial  and  Royal  Hungarian  Consul,  Max  Schamberg,  at  Pittsburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  in  1890  was  employed  bv  John  Dunhill,  a  steamship  agent  at  Greeiis- 
burg,  Pennsylvania.  Since  1894  he  has  been  engaged  in  conducting  a  trans- 
Atlantic  shipping  office,  chiefly  for  passengers  and  foreign  exchange  business, 
issuing  drafts,  or  letters  of  credit.  He  was  married  at  Grecnsburg,  Pennsylvania, 
June  7,  1892,  to  Anna  C,  Hoebing.  daughter  of  Herman  and  Christina  Hoebing. 
■Mrs.  Slaine's  father  was  a  carpenter  by  occupation.  Their  children  were :  Jos- 
ephine, born  October  1.1,  1894,  died  November,  1896;  Rose  Amelia,  born  Octo- 
ber 28,  1896:  Vincent  R.,  born  April  21,  1898:  George  H.,  born  September  21, 
1899;  Joseph  B.,  born  March  20,  1902:  Dorothy  C.  born  Tanuarv  28.  1905. 
These  children  were  all  born  in  Grecnsburg,  Pennsvlvania.     Mr.  Slaine  has  been 


'~^J, 


€  /    t 


^^J^^^^/rC^J 


mSTORY    OF    ]]-ESTMORELA.\D    COUXTY.  95 

an  uncommonly  active,  aggressive  citizen  of  his  adopted  country  and  has  a  fine 
education,  botli  in  Enghsh  and  in  several  other  languages.  He  has  been  a 
loval  citizen  and  is  a  prosperous  business  man. 

WILLIAM  {•.  SCHEIBLER.  The  Scheiblcr  family  is  German. 
The  first  member  of  the  branch  which  located  in  Peimsylvania  was  George 
Scheibler  (I),  who  came  from  Germany  in  1700  and  effected  settlement  in 
.Montgomerv  county.  His  wife's  christian  name  was  Catherine.  They  were 
])ioneer  farmers,  and  reared  two  sons  and  one  daughter:  George,  Catherine 
and  Frederick  Schiebler.  They  were  of  the  Zwingle  Reformed  church  faith. 
The  son  George  went  to  North  Carolina  and  becaiue  -judge  of  the  circuit 
court.     Catherine  remained  at  home,  single. 

( II)  Frederick  Scheibler,  youngest  child  of  the  American  ancestor  and 
his  wife,  was  born  1763,  died  in  1843,  aged  eighty  years,  and  was  burie.d 
in  Hempfield  township,  in  the  old  schoolhouse  cemetery  grounds  known  as 
I'eightners.  Thev  espoused  the  Reformed  religious  creed  and  were  devout 
members  of  that  body.  Politically  Frederick  Scheibler  was  a  firni  supporter 
of  Tefl:'ersonian  Democracy.  He  owned  a  farm,  and  taught  school  in  the  Ger- 
man language  in  the  borough  of  Greensburg  in  an  old  log  school  house.  He 
had  the  "honor  of  establishing  the  first  bank  of  Greensburg,  and  used  to  drive 
back  and  forth  from  his  farm  nights  and  mornings  while  attending  to  the 
banking  business.  His  early  life  was  an  exceptional  one  for  hard  experiences, 
hair-breadth  escapes  and  real  romance.  When  but  fifteen  years  of  age  he, 
being  well  developed  physically,  was  received  as  an  enlisted  soldier  in  the 
Continental  army.  He  was  soon  captured  and  made  a  prisoner  of  war  by 
the  British  forces  and  sent  to  the  military  prison  on  one  of  the  West  Indin 
Islands,  but  made  his  escape  by  being  befriended  by  an  American  sympathizer 
•who  conducted  a  tavern  on  the  island.  When  he  entered  the  tavern  he  was 
a  dejected,  dirty,  ragged  youth,  whose  very  condition  appealed  to  the  sym- 
l^atliv  of  the  innkeeper,  who  told  him  unless  he  would  disguise  that  very 
night  the  officers  from  the  prison  would  be  there  in  the  morning  and  doubtless 
recapture  him.  Consequently  it  was  planned  that  he  be  thoroughly  cleaned 
and  dressed  in  a  good  suit  of  clothes  and  provided  with  a  wig,  or  queue,  then 
commonly  worn.  To  the  queue  as  a  disguise  he  attributed  his  escape,  and 
he  continued  to  wear  the  queue  up  to  his  death.  The  officer  came  to  search 
the  tavern  in  the  early  morning  and  was  informed  that  no  person  of  the  de- 
scription given  was  there.  He  then  went  to  the  bar  of  the  inn  and  there 
beheld  his  prisoner  in  the  role  of  a  neatly  dressed  bartender,  so  perfectly  dis- 
guised that  he  was  not  detected.  He,  too,  was  questioned  about  the  escaped 
])risoner  of  war,  but  feigned  to  be  entirely  ignorant  of  theper.son  sought  after 
by  the  British  officer,  who  finally  purchased  a  drink  and  drank  with  the  new 
bartender.  The  sequel  of  this  narrative  was  that  he  remained  in  the  employ 
of  the  innkeeper  for  six  years,  during  which  period  he  accumulated  a  good 
sum  of  money,  and  then  sailed  for  Xew  York,  but  was  shipwrecked  ofif  the 
coast  and  clung  to  the  wrecked  vessel  for  forty-eight  hours,  after  which  he 
was  picked  up  by  a  passing  boat  and  landed  in  Xew  York.  From  that  citv 
he  walked  the  entire  distance  to  his  home  in  Montgomery  countv,  Pennsyl- 
vania, having  lost  all  of  his  possessions  when  ship  was  wrecked  except 
two  dollars  in  his  vest  pocket.  His  ambition  while  on  the  islands  was  to 
save  his  money,  return  home,  purchase  a  fine  team  of  horses  and  give  his 
people  a  bi?  surprise,  but  the  fates  decreed  otherwise.  The  family  during 
these  seven  lone  vears  of  absence  had  never  heard   from  him  and   believed 


96  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

him  dead.  Just  as  he  was  nearing  the  home  place  he  met  his  father  and 
brother,  who  were  haying.  A  small  stream  had  to  be  crossed  by  means  of 
foot-logs,  one  of  which  was  on  either  side  of  the  wagon  road.  The  father 
started  on  one  and  the  "prodigal  son"  was  about  to  take  the  same  log,  thmk- 
ing  his  father  would  know  him,  but  the  father  then  retraced  his  steps  towards 
the  other  foot-log  and  they  finally  passed  over  the  stream  on  different  paths^ 
the  son  going  on  to  the  house  in  which  he  was  born.  His  shoes  had  given 
out  and  he  was  barefooted,  and  his  attire  covered  with  dust  of  travel  made 
him  present  a  sorry  sight.  He  seated  himself  on  the  door  step  beside  a  sister 
who  was  spinning,  and  said  he  by  her  permission  would  rest  a  while.  He 
asked  many  questions  and  finally  called  for  the  "lady  of  the  house,"  from 
whom  he  requested  something  to  eat.  This  was  soon  provided  him.  While 
eating  he  asked  the  good  woman  what  had  become  of  a  lock  of  hair  she  had 
taken  from  his  head  m  childhood,  whereupon  the  mother  carefully  scrutinized 
her  caller  and  soon  discovered  her  own  long  lost  boy.  The  timid  maiden 
who  had  been  so  shy  threw  ofl:  her  restraint  and  embraced  her  brother.  He 
was  of  a  roaming  disposition,  and  after  a  short  stay  at  home  started  west- 
ward, and  finally  "halted  in  Hempfield  township,  Westmoreland  county,  having 
walked  from  Montgomery  county  over  the  mountains.  Here  he  settled  and 
married  Salome  Leichty,  of  a  prominent  family,  and  the  greataunt  of  the 
late  Hon.  Eli  Leichty.  She  was  born  in  1763,  died  February  5,  1839.  By  this 
union  one  son  was  born — John  Jacob  Sdieibler.  Frederick,  the  father,  was 
of  the  Reformed  church,  and  in  politics  a  Democrat. 

HI.  John  Jacob  Scheibler,  only  son  of  Frederick  and  Salome  (Leichty) 
Scheibler,  "was  born  in  1788,  in  Hempfield  township,  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  at  a  point  near  the  present  borough  of  Youngwood.  He  died 
October  7,  1861.  He  was  a  sturdy  farmer,  and  supported  the  Democratic 
party.  He,  too,  was  of  the  Reformed  church  faith.  He  married  Catherine 
Truxel,  daughter  of  John  Truxel  and  wife;  she  died  May  4,  1841,  and  was 
buried  in  the  cemetery  aforementioned.  To  John  Jacob  and  Catherine 
(Truxel)  Scheibler  were  born:  John,  Jacob,  William,  Elizabeth,,  Hannah 
and  Sarah.  John  and  Jacob  remained  at  home  and  fell  heir  to  farms  for- 
merly possessed  by  their  father.  William  migrated  to  Iowa,  where  he  spent 
the  greater  part  of  his  life  and  where  his  descendants  reside. 

IV.  John  Scheibler,  eldest  son  of  John  Jacob  and  Catherine  (Truxel) 
Scheibler,  born  April  22,  1810,  died  October  2,  1887.  He  married.  May 
13,  1830,  Mary  Sell,  daughter  of  Jacob  Sell  and  wife,  Rev.  Nicholas  P. 
Hacke  performing  the  ceremony.  Mrs.  Scheibler  was  born  April  4,  181 1, 
died  Mav  5,  1883",  and  was  buried  in  the  old  cemetery,  but  the  remains  were 
removed  to  the  St.  Clair  cemetery  at  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania.  The  chil- 
dren born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Scheibler  were :  Simon  G.,  born  March  25, 
1832,  of  Greensburg,  Pa.;  Sarah,  born  June  7,  1834,  married  Jackson  Baker, 
of  Holton,  Kansas;  Hannah,  born  October  16,  1836,  married  Rev.  T.  F. 
Stauffer,  of  Sioux  City,  Iowa,  and  is  now  deceased ;  Julia,  born  January  i, 
1839,  married  Josiah  Rumbough ;  LTriah  Frederick,  born  March  23,  1841, 
married  Mary  Sutman ;  he  died  June  7,  1905  ;  John  S.,  born  January  29, 
1844,  married  Sally  Clarke,  of  Mount  Pleasant,  Pennsylvania;  she  died  in 
1881 ;  he  moved  to  Abilene,  Kansas,  where  he  still  resides;  Jacob,  born 
August  24,  1846,  died  April  12.  1890:  Isaac  P.  O.,  born  June  23,  1849.  died 
single  September  8,  1873;  William  F.,  born  September  28,  1851.  of  whom 
later;  Eli,  born  January  24,  1854,  married  Alice  Weimer,  resident  of  Hemp- 
field township. 


HISTORY    OF    irESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  97 

V.  William  F.  Scheibler,  the  second  youngest  son  of  John  and  2\lary 
(^Sell)  Scheibler,  born  September  28,  1851,  obtained  a  good  common  school 
education  and  attended  the  county  normals.  He  then  followed  the  profession 
of  a  teacher  in  the  Westmoreland  county  schools  for  a  period  of  eleven  years. 
He  farmed  some  during  this  time  and  taught  winter  school.  In  the  spring 
of  18S9  he  removed  to  the  Fifth  ward  of  Greensburg  borough,  known  as 
"Bunker  Hill,"  where  he  engaged  in  general  merchandising,  which  business 
has  grown  to  one  of  large  proportions  and  which  he  still  comlucts.  His 
annual  sales  have  been  as  high  as  $35,000.  He  began  in  a  modest  way  and 
his  good  wife  attended  to  the  little  store,  while  he  "hustled"  in  the  country 
purchasing  and  trading  for  live  stock  and  country  produce,  until  the.  town 
grew  up  around  him,  increasing  his  trade  until  his  whole  time  with  that  of 
several  clerks  was  required  to  handle  the  large  volume  of  business.  He  also 
handled  real  estate  to  quite  an  extent,  and  became  a  prosperous  business 
factor  of  the  borough.  For  several  years  he  has  been  engaged  by  the  officers 
of  the  Street  Railway  Company  to  secure  right-of-way  along  the  rural  lines. 
In  brief  his  has  been  an  active  career,  built  up  by  energy  and  strict  integrity. 
While  other  men  have  sought  ease  and  trifling  pleasures,  Air.  Scheibler  ap- 
plied his  every  energy  in  the  direction  of  his  business,  which  has  been  crowned 
with  an  almost  phenomenal  success.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics.  While 
too  busy  in  the  marts  of  trade  to  seek  out  public  office,  he  served  his  native 
township  as  school  director,  and  upon  moving  to  the  borough  of  Greens- 
burg, where  he  has  lived  and  operated  the  past  sixteen  years,  he  was  made 
a  justice  of  the  peace,  serving  five  years ;  also  member  of  the  school  board. 
He  and  family  are  members  of  Reformed  church. 

He  married,  September  29,  1874,  at  Wilkinsburg,  Pennsylvania,  Cath- 
erine E.  Brugh,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Catherine  Brugh,  the  ceremony  being 
performed  by  Rev.  T.  F.  Stauiifer.  Their  children  were :  Stella  L.,  born 
December  25,  1875,  married  Flarry  E.  Blank,  an  attorney  of  Greensburg.  and 
they  have  a  daughter,  Catherine  \'irginia,  born  September  12,  1902.  Harrv 
S.,  born  July  27,  1877,  married  Jessie  Overly,  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania, 
and  their  children  are :  Ruth  E.,  born  March  13,  1900,  and  Helen  Reed,  born 
October  12,  1902.  He  is  a  traveling  salesman  for  the  Allen  Kirkpatrick  Gro- 
cery Company,  of  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania.  Florence  Ethel,  born  November 
II,  1885,  at  home.  At  both  the  stcjre  and  the  residence  of  Mr.  Scheibler  are  to 
,be  seen  the  evidence  of  education  and  refinement.  The  family  are  greatly 
attached  to  one  another,  even  to  the  rosy-cheeked  grandchildren,  who  are  of 
the  seventh  generation  from  the  founder  of  the  family  in  .Vnurica,  George 
Scheioler,  who  landed  in  a  strange  land  in   1700. 

THE  MARTZ  P'AMIIA'  is  of  German  origin.  Charles  Martz  and 
wife  Katharine  were  the  parents  of  Daniel  Martz,  who  was  born  in  Armstrong 
county,  Pennsylvania,  January  26,  1820.  He  was  a  shoemaker.  He  married  Sara 
Richard,  born  August  2,  1818.  By  this  union  were  born:  Lucinda  (Mrs.  Hill), 
born  January  25,  1848;  Maria  (Mrs.  Willard  Stewart),  born  September  4, 
1849;  James  Dougherty,  born  185 1  :  John,  born  February  25,  1834:  Katharine 
born  .\pril  3,  1856,  died  June  8,  1885:  .Mary,  (Mrs.  UpdegrafT)",  lK)rn  .March 
18,  i860. 

James  D.  Martz,  son  of  Daniel  and  Sara  (Richard)  Martz,  born  1851, 
married  (first)  Margaret  Jane  .\malong,  born  June  2,  1857.  Their 
children  were:  Martha  Jane,  born  December  13,  1876;  George  W.,  born 
February  22,   1878;  Lebens  Bigelow,  born  March   12,  1880;  Rovd  Ellsworth, 


98  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

born  October  6,  1881  ;  Anna  Maud,  born  ]\larch  14,  1884;  Clara  Edith,  born 
February  2,  1886.  The  mother  died  September  8,  1886,  and  Mr.  Martz  mar- 
ried (second)  April  3,  1888,  Lucy  Melinda  (Fry)  x\lexander,  the  daughter  of 
George  and  Lovinia  Fry.  She  was  born  November  10,  1851.  By  the  last  mar- 
riage one  child  was  born,  Leroy,  August  14,  i88g. 

George  W.  Martz,  son  of  James  D.  and  Margaret  Jane  (Amalong)  Martz, 
was  born  February  22,  1878.  He  received  a  good  common  school  education, 
and  with  his  brother  engaged  in  the  billiard  parlor  and  restaurant  business  at 
Greensburg,  and  is  still  of  the  firm  of  Martz  Brothers  in  the  same  line  of  bus- 
iness. In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  is  numbered  among  the  members  of 
the  First  Lutheran  Church  of  Greensburg.  Mr.  Martz  married,  December  24, 
1902,  Mary  Agnes  Ashbough,  daughter  of  William  Jefferson  and  Julia  Etta 
(Cunningham)  Ashbough.  The  father  was  born  August  5,  1858,  and  the 
mother  August  5,  1862.  The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ashbough  were: 
Mary  Agnes,  born  September  26,  1885  ;  Rose  May,  born  April  30,  1887;  Bessie 
Irene,  born  February  16,  1892;  William  Alvin,  born  September  8,  1894;  John 
Milton,  born  August  21,  1897;  Ruth  Jenette,  born  February  6,  1902.  The  chil- 
dren of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  W.  Martz  are :  Mary  Zelma,  born  October  19, 
1903  :  George  Everett,  born  April  26,  1905. 

CYRL'S  M.  P'L^NK,  a  prosperous  farmer  and  saw  mill  operator  of 
Greensburg,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  is  descended  from  a  family 
which  was  among  the  pioneer  settlers  of  the  state. 

( I )  Christian  Funk,  the  founder  of  the  Funk  family  in  the  United 
States,  came  from  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  and  settled  in  Sewickley  town- 
ship, Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  had  received  a  common  school 
education,  and  pursued  the  occupation  of  milling  and  farming.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  United  Brethren  church.  He  married,  and  among  his  children 
was  a  son  Abraham  S. 

(II)  Abraham  S.  Funk,  son  of  Christian  Funk,  (i),  married,  and  had  a 
son  Christian. 

(III)  Christian  Funk,  son  of  Abraham  S.  Funk  (2),  was  twice  married. 
Two  sons  of  the  children  of  the  first  wife  are  jirominent  ministers  in  the  United 
Brethren  church,  Abraham,  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ross,  in  Dayton, 
Ohio,  where  he  is  also  at  present  publishing  agent  of  the  United  Brethren  Pub- 
lishing House.  Several  of  the  sons  of  the  first  wife  were  noted  as  bei^^ig 
exceedingly  stout  and  of  great  strength.  Among  the  children  of  the  second 
wife  were:  David,  of  whom  later:  Joseph,  and  Simon.  All  of  these  are  de- 
ceased. 

(IV)  David  Funk,  son  of  Henry  Funk  (3)  and  his  second  wife,  was  born 
in  Sewickley  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  June  25,  1817.  He 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  the  district,  and  followed  the  occupation  - 
of  farming.  He  was  a  Democrat,  and  a  member  of  the  L^nited  Brethren  church. 
He  married  Hester  Gross,  born  in  New  Stanton,  Westmoreland  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, daughter  of  Joseph  and  Susanna  (Zutzk)  Gross,  both  native's  of 
Westmoreland  county.  Joseph  Gross  lived  in  New  Stanton  many  years,  taught 
school  there,  kept  a  general  store,  was  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  was  elected 
clerk  of  the  court  of  the  county.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  LTnited 
Brethren  church  in  Greensburg,  and  spent  the  latter  years  of  his  life  in  that 
town.  His  wife  survived  him  by  but  a  few  years.  The  children  of  David  and 
Hester  (Gross)  Funk  were:  Joseph  G.,  who  was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Peters- 
burg, during  the  Civil  war ;  Simon  K.,  of  Vinland,  Kansas ;  Cyrus  M.,  of  whom 


HISTORY    OF    ]J-ESTMOREL.L\P    COUXTV.  99 

later:  Christopher,  of  Xew  Stanton,  Pa.;  \\iniam,  of  Cribbs,  Westmorehmd 
county :  Siisana,  died  young :  JMaHnda  E.,  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  Cyrus 
Hodgekin  :  Mary  E.,  wife  of  Robert  F.  Albright;  Henry  Z.,  of  Jeanette,  Penn- 
sylvania; Catherine,  wife  of  John  Irwin;  two  died  in  infancy;  and  David  M., 
of  Latrobe,  Pennnsylvania. 

{V)  Cvrus  yi.  Funk,  son  of  David  and  Hester  (Gross)  Funk,  was  born  in 
Sewicklev  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  December  19,  1846. 
He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  town,  and  upon  leaving 
them  turned  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits,  in  which  he  has  been  very 
successful.  His  farm  is  a  model  of  neatness  and  thrift,  and  as  he  understands 
farming  thoroughly  he  has  made  his  land  very  productive.  During  the  Civil 
war  he  was  ready  to  bear  his  share  in  the  defence  of  his  country,  and  served 
as  a  private  in  Company  E,  Captain  Clark  L.  Brant,  Two  Hundred  and  Sixth 
Regiment  Pennsxlvania  \'ohmteers.  He  entered  the  service  September  i,  1864, 
and  was  honorably  discharged  June  26,  1865,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  at  Rich- 
mond. \"irginia.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  is  a  member  of  the  United 
Brethren  church,  in  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania.  He  contributes  liberally  to  the 
Home  and  Foreign  ^Missionary  Society,  and  to  the  Church  Erection  Society. 

J.  K.  LONG.  Among  the  active  and  representative  citizens  of  West- 
moreland county,  Pennylvania  may  be  mentioned  the  name  of  J.  K.  Long,  who 
was  born  one  mile  south  of  the  town  in  which  he  now  resides,  Greensburg,  in 
Hempfield  township,  October  27,  1863.  He  is  the  youngest  child  in  the  family 
of  Samuel  and  Alary  (Scepter)  Long,  and  a  grandson  of  Nicholas  Long,  who 
was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Westmoreland  county. 

Samuel  Long  (father)  was  born  in  the  vicinity  of  Adamsburg,  West- 
moreland county,  Pennsylvania,  1822.  During  early  life  he  learned  the  trade 
of  blacksmith,  which  occupation  he  followed  continuously  up  to  the  year  1881, 
in  addition  to  that  of  buying  and  selling  coal,  which  latter  line  of  work  he  en- 
gaged in  for  several  years.  He  purchased  in  1881,  his  present  farm,  which 
is  now  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  and  therefore  very  productive.  He 
lias  always  been  an  active  and  earnest  worker  in  the  interests  of  the  Democratic 
party,  particularly  in  Westmoreland  county,  and  being  a  careful  student  of 
politics  his  counsel  was  often  sought  and  followed.  He  married  Mary  Scep- 
ter, daughter  of  Fred  Scepter,  in  1845.    Their  family  consisted  of  six  children. 

J.  K.  Long  attended  the  common  schools  of  Hempfield  township,  thereby 
thoroughly  qualifying  him  for  an  active,  useful  life.  He  accepted,  in  1881,  a  po- 
sition as  teacher  in  the  common  schools,  and  continued  as  such  for  eight  con- 
secutive terms,  discharging  his  duties  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned.  In 
January,  1889,  he  was  appointed  deputy  clerk  bv  James  D.  Best,  clerk  of  the 
courts  of  Westmoreland  cfninty.  and  the  duties  jicrtaining  to  this  res[)onsible 
position  were  performed  in  a  highly  creditalale  and  efficient  manner,  winning 
for  him  the  approbation  of  his  chief.  He  is  a  firm  believer  in  the  principles 
as  laid  down  by  Thomas  Jefiferson,  and  in  the  politics  of  Westmoreland  county 
he  takes  a  keen  and  active  interest.  Mr.  Long  was  married  in  December,  1889, 
to  Rosella  Spiegel,  a  daugliter  of  John  and  Elizabeth  Spiegel. 

JOHN  H.  r^lclXTYRE.  Few  names  arc  more  familiar  to  the  citizens 
of  Greenslnirg  than  is  that  of  John  H.  McTntyre.  He  is  a  son  of  Jolm  and  Sarah 
(Wentzell)  Mclntyre.  and  was  born  April  18,  1875.  He  received  his  education 
In  the  common  schools  of  Hempfield  township,  finishing  his  studies  at  the  age 
of  sixteen,  when  he  went  to  learn  the  painter's  trade  with  his  uncle  L.  P.  Went- 


37i:U)ii 


lOO  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

zell.  That  he  was  as  dihgent  and  apt  to  learn  in  the  shop  as  he  had  been  in 
the  school  room  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  in  the  course  of  time  he  bought  out 
his  uncle,  and  has  since  successfully  conducted  a  paint  shop  in  Greensburg.  He 
has  displayed  much  business  enterprise  and  is  in  all  respects  a  useful  and 
worthy  citizen.  He  married  Bertha,  daughter  of  Joseph  R.  and  Emma  Kling- 
ensmith,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  children :  William  and  Grace. 

^\TLLIA]\I  N.  DAVIS.  One  of  the  county's  enterprising  business 
men  is  William  N.  Davis,  of  Greensburg,  born  November  23,  1873,  in  Arm- 
strong county,  Pennsylvania,  son  of  Isaac  and  Lucy  (Remaley)  Davis,  both 
natives  of  the  same  county. 

Until  reaching  the  age  of  fifteen  William  N.  Davis  attended  the  common 
schools  of  his  native  county,  and  then  for  two  years  was  engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  took  a  position  as  clerk  in  a  general  store 
at  South  Greensburg,  where  he  remained  six  years.  He  then  opened  a  gen- 
eral feed  store  on  Mount  Pleasant  street,  at  the  Pennsylvania  railroad  crossing, 
where  he  has  since  conducted  a  flourishing  business.  He  deals  extensively  in 
everything  pertaining  to  his  line  of  trade.  He  takes  an  active  interest  in  every- 
thing relating  to  the  welfare  of  the  community,  and  supports  with  his  voice  and 
vote  the  principles  advocated  and  u])held  bv  the  Democratic  party.  JMr.  Davis 
married,  April  12,  lyoo,  Laura  \.  Searight,  and  they  have  two  children:  Oliv- 
erettie  Jennie,  born  August  6.  1901  ;  and  William  Remalia  Derry,  born  July  23, 
1903.  Mrs.  Davis  was  born  in  1877.  in  Pittsburg,  and  is  the  daughter  of  Sam- 
uel and  Oliverettie  (Cunningham)   Searight,  both  natives  of  that  city. 

JOHN  WILLIAM  MOORE,  son  of  Ebenezer  and  Nancy  B.  (Hurst) 
Moore,  was  born  April  16,  1837  '"  Rostra ver  township,  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania.  His  paternal  grandfather,  Robert  Moore,  moved  from  Cecil 
county,  Maryland,  in  1780  and  settled  there.  He  married  Jane  Power,  a  sister 
of  Rev.  James  Power,  D.  D.,  who  in  1774  was  the  first  Presbyterian  to  settle 
and  preach  in  the  "Western  Wilds."  Robert  Moore  erected  a  large  two-story 
house  into  which  he  moved  and  lived  during  his  life. 

Ebenezer  Moore,  the  youngest  of  Robert  Moore's  six  children,  was  born 
August  3.  1793.  He  moved  to  the  old  Blackstone  farm  in  Tyrone  township, 
Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania  in  1846,  and  added  to  the  farm  by  the  purchase 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  adjoining  land.  These  two  farms  were  heav- 
ily underlaid  with  coal,  and  it  was  here  that  the  coke  interests  were  started, 
which  have  since  been  developed  by  his  sons  J.  W.  and  P.  H.  Moore.-  Ebenezer 
Moore  was  six  feet  in  height,  and  a  man  of  commanding  presence.  He  was  an 
elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  a  Democrat  in  politics.  He  represented 
Westmoreland  county  in  the  legislature  in  1844,  and  it  is  an  interesting  fact  that 
he  received  all  the  votes  except  five  that  were  cast  in  his  own  township.  He  was 
married  in  May,  1833,  to  Nancy  Blackstone  Hurst,  daughter  of  James  and 
Sarah  Hurst,  of  Mount  Pleasant  township,  Westmoreland  count}-,  Pennsyl- 
vania. They  had  six  children :  one  died  in  infancy ;  Sarah  Jane,  died  February 
23,  1858,  at  the  age  of  thirteen :  James  H. ;  Rev.  R.  B.  Moore,  D.  D. ;  John  W., 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  and  P.  H.  The  old  house  is  standing  in  which  the 
father  and  children  were  born,  and  the  farm  has  been  in  possession  of  the  fam- 
ily for  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  vears. 

John  William  Moore  received  his  early  education  in  the  common  schools 
of  his  native  towaiship  and  Elder's  Ridge  Academy.  He  afterwards  took  a  full 
business  course  at  the  Iron  City  Commercial  College,  from  which  he  was  grad- 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  loi 


uated  in  1856.  In  his  early  lift:  he  was  extensively  engaged  in  stock  dealing  in 
Westmoreland,  Fayette,  and  Greene  counties.  Mr.  Moore  practically  retired 
from  that  business  in  1873.  He  made  an  investment  in  the  Connellsville  Coke 
industry  (at  that  time  just  attracting  public  notice)  and  formed  a  partnership 
with  James  Cochran,  Solomon  Kiester,  and  James  Hurst  for  the  manufacture 
of  coke  at  the  Summit  Coke  Works,  near  Broad  Ford,  Fayette  county,  Penn- 
svlvania.  After  six  years  he  withdrew  from  this  firm,  purchased  the  Red 
Stone  Coke  plant,  three  miles  south  of  Uniontown,  and  engaged  in  the  coke 
business  with  his  brother,  P.  H.  Moore.  Colonel  J.  S.  Schoonmaker  was  ad- 
mitted as  a  partner  in  1881,  and  four  years  later  J.  W.  Moore  withdrew.  He 
bought  two  thousand  acres  of  coal  land  in  Mount  Pleasant  township  in  1S79, 
where  he  built  the  "Mammoth  Coke  W^orks,"  and  put  in  operation  six  hundred 
ovens.  He  increased  his  coke  business  in  1889  by  the  purchase  of  the  "Wynn 
Coke  Works,  near  Uniontown.  He  sold,  August  23,  1889,  his  entire  coke  inter- 
est to  the  H.  C.  Frick  Coke  Company  for  a  large  sum,  and  practically  with- 
drew from  active  business.    He  died  February  19,  1893. 

Mr.  Moore  was  married,  November  22,  i860,  to  Elizabeth  Stauffer,  a 
daughter  of  M.  B.  and  Charlotta  Stauffer,  of  Connellsville,  Pennsylvania,  and 
they  had  six  children.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Staufl:'er  Moore  has  a  beautiful  home  at 
Greensburg,  and  is  largely  interested  in  its  charities.  She  also  maintains  a 
fine  winter  establishment  in  Washington,  D.  C. 

DAMD  PORTER  HUDSON,  an  enterprising  business  factor  of  the 
city  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  ]\lay  4,  1873,  in  Salem  township, 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  son  of  William  and  Mary  (Kepple)  Hud- 
son. The  paternal  grandfather  was  William  Hudson,  whose  parents  lived  in- 
Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  moved  to  W"estmoreIand,  settling  at  Pleas- 
ant Unity,  when  he  was  a  small  boy.  William  Hudson,  Sr.,  was  a  farmer  by 
occupation.  '  He  was  a  supporter  of  the  Republican  party  from  its  organization, 
and  in  religious  matters  affiliated  with  the  Presbyterians.  He  married  Sallie 
Fisliel,  of  Saltsburg,  Pennsylvania.  William  Hudson,  Jr.,  was  a  native  of 
AX'estmoreland  county,  also  a  farmer  and  stockman.  He  married  Mary  Kepple, 
daughter  of  Mr.  and  I\Irs.  John  Kepple.  of  Salem  township,  W^estmoreland 
county. 

David  Porter  Hudson,  son  of  William  Hudson,  Jr.,  and  his  wife,  Mary 
Kepple,  received  a  common  school  education  and  later  attended  the  Greensburg 
Seminary.  After  leaving  school  he  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business,  and 
for  three  years  has  been  connected  with  the  Westmoreland  Savings  &  Trust 
Company.  He  is  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Westmoreland  Grocery  Company 
and  the  Greensburg  Finance  Cmpany ;  one  of  the  organizers  and  directors  of 
the  Pleasant  Unity  National  Bank  ;  and  director  of  the  Westmoreland  &  Sav- 
ings and  Trust  Company.  Politically  Mr.  Hudson  is  a  staunch  supj^orter  of 
the  Republican  party.  He  is  the  present  treasurer  of  the  borough  of  Greens- 
burg. He  is  a  member  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church,  and  of  the  B.  P.  O.  E., 
Uodge  No.  511.  October  25.  1899,  he  was  married  to  Eva  Ammann.  daughter 
of  Fred  and  Laura  (McDowell)  Ammann,  of  Orrville,  Ohio.  Mrs.  Hudson  re- 
ceived a  liberal  erlucation  at  .Mount  I'nion  College  of  Alliance.  Ohio. 

\VILLTAM  THOMAS  WELTY.  who  was  one  of  the  leading  factors 
in  the  business  circles  of  Westmoreland  county,  and  a  man  who  was  always 
held  in  high  esteem  by  his  friends  and  business  associates,  was  born  at  Delmont, 


I02  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

Westmoreland  count)-,  Pennsylvania,  June  5,  1862,  a  son  of  John  H.  and  Mar- 
garet J.   (Craig)  Welty. 

Daniel  Welty,  grandfather  of  William  T.  Welty,  was  bom  in  Greensburg, 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  September  13,  1806.  He  was  an  active 
member  of  the  German  Lutheran  church,  with  which  he  was  connected  from 
his  childhood  to  1847,  when  he  became  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  English 
Lutheran  church.  He  held  office  in  this  church  for  a  long  period  of  time,  and 
during  his  membership,  which  continued  until  his  death,  the  communion  roll 
showed  him  absent  but  twice,  and  on  both  of  these  occasions  he  was  unable  to 
attend  owing  to  illness.  Mr.  Welty  married  Barbara  Bierer,  and  twelve  chil- 
dren were  born  to  them,  seven  of  whom  survive :  Daniel,  resides  in  Pittsburg, 
Pennsylvania  ;  Ehzabeth,  wife  of  Rev.  Samuel  Aughey,  geologist,  late  of  Lin- 
coln, Nebraska ;  Frank  E.,  of  Pittsburg ;  Thomas  J.,  of  Washington ;  Robert 
F.,  of  Turtle  Creek;  Susan,  wife  of  Rev.  V.  B.  Christy,  Ellerton,  Ohio;  and 
Clarissa,  of  Ada,  Ohio.  Daniel  Welty  married  for  his  second  wife  Sarah  A. 
Craig.  His  death  occurred  December  8,  1874,  when  he  was  sixty-eight  years  of 
age.  His  widow  survived  him  several  years.  William  B.  Welty,  son  of  Daniel 
Welty,  participated  in  the  Civil  war.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Flag  Company, 
and  fell  in  the  battle  of  Antietam.  In  the  same  company  were  nine  cousins,  all 
of  whom  were  wounded  and  one  of  whom  later  succumbed  to  his  wounds. 

John  Henry  Welty,  the  second  child  of  Daniel  Welty,  and  father  of  Will- 
iam Thomas  Welty,  was  born  in  Pleasant  Unity,  Westmoreland  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, September  25,  1834.  He  was  reared  at  home,  and  early  in  life  was 
an  assistant  in  his  father's  store  in  Hannahstown,  and  later  was  employed  for 
a  year  in  the  store  of  Lewis  Trauger,  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania.  His  ex- 
perience in  these  stores  gained  for  him  much  valuable  information  relative  to 
the  mercantile  business,  which  was  of  inestimable  aid  to  him  in  later  years.  He 
subsequently  engaged  in  the  general  mercantile  business  for  himself  in  Delmont^ 
Westmoreland  county,  there  conducting  an  eminently  successful  and  prosperous 
business  for  ten  years.  At  the  expiration  of  this  time  he  removed  to  Allegheny, 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Welty  Bros.,  in  the 
carpet  business,  retaining  his  connection  with  this  firm  for  four  years.  In  1886 
he  moved  to  Greensburg,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  business,  and  was  for  a  number  of  years  one  of  the  best  known  and 
highly  res])ected  merchants  of  that  town.  Mr.  Welty  was  a  consistent  member 
of  the  Lutheran  church  for  forty-five  years.  November  10,  1858,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Margaret  J.  Craig,  daughter  of  James  and  Jane  (Brown)  Craig, 
of  Hannahstown,  Pennsylvania.  Her  father  was  one  of  the  well  known  fann- 
ers of  that  section.  Their  children  were :  Duella  M.,  widow  of  J.  ]\L  Bortz,  of 
Greensburg ;  Jennie,  Blanche.  Martha  and  William  Thomas  Welty.  All  of  these 
children  are  deceased  excepting  Duella  M.,  who  resides  in  Greensburg.  John 
H.  \\'elty  died  July  20.  1901,  after  a  useful  and  well-spent  life. 

William  Thomas  Welty,  the  second  child  and  onlv  son  of  John  H.  and 
Margaret  J.  (Craig)  Welty,  was  but  a  boy  when  his  parents  moved  to  Pitts- 
burg where  they  remained  a  short  time.  They  then  returned  to  Hannahstown, 
where  William  T.  was  reared.  His  early  educational  training  was  acquired  in 
the  common  schools  of  this  tow-n  and  later  at  Greensburg  Academy.  In  1883 
then  in  his  twenty-first  year,  he  went  to  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  to  enter  into 
the  employ  of  Mr.  Lewis  Trauger,  then  one  of  the  prominent  dry-goods  mer- 
chants of  that  town.  His  genial  disposition  soon  won  for  him  a  host  of  friends 
in  his  newly  adoi>ted  residence,  and  for  fifteen  years  he  held  a  responsible  po- 
sition in  Mr.  Trauger's  business.  In  1898  Lewis  Trauger  died,  and  Mr.  Welty 


HISTORY    or    U'ESTMORELJXD    COUXTV.  103 

purchased  tlie  entire  stock  of  goods.  This  seemed  a  large  undertaking,  hut  it 
was  one  in  which  he  prospered  even  beyond  his  own  expectations,  and  in  190 1 
he  purchased  the  building  in  which  he  transacted  his  business.  He  enjoyed  the 
contidence  and  respect  of  his  fellow-townsmen,  won  for  him  by  the  upright  and 
general  fair  dealing  which  characterized  all  his  business  transactions.  Mr. 
\\'elty  was  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  Zion  Lutheran  church,  was  for 
over  twenty  years  a  member  of  the  church  choir,  was  a  deacon  of  the  church  for 
several  years,  and  was  always  prominently  and  actively  identified  with  Sunday 
school  work.    He  was  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  of  H.  and  the  J.  O.  U.  A.  M. 

April  27,  1893,  j\Ir.  Welty  was  united  in  marriage  with  Ada  S.  Thomas,  of 
Westmoreland  county,  daughter  of  Abraham  \\'.  anil  Sarah  ( Henry )  Thomas. 
Her  father.  Abraham  W.  Thomas,  was  born  in  Westmoreland  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, June  18,  1839,  a  son  of  John  and  Catherine  Thomas.  He  is  a  member 
of  one  of  the  old  families  of  Westmoreland  county,  and  has  always  been  held  in 
high  esteem  by  his  fellow-citizens.  Until  recent  years  his  life  was  spent  on  his 
farm  three  miles  east  of  Greensburg,  but  he  is  now  a  resident  of  Greensburg. 
When  the  great  Civil  war  was  in  progress  I\Ir.  Thomas  enlisted,  September  14, 
1863,  in  Companv  H,  Seventy-sixth  Regiment,  serving  until  the  close  of  the 
war  when  he  was  honorably  discharged,  July  18,  1865.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
G.  A.  R.  In  religious  matters  he  affiliates  with  the  Reform  church,  in  the  affairs 
of  which  he  was  always  interested.  Mrs.  Welty's  mother,  Sarah  (Henry) 
Thomas,  was  born  in  Hempfield  township,  daughter  of  Nathan  and  Sarah 
(Miller)  Henry.  Her  death  occurred  in  March,  1894.  The  sudden  and  unex- 
pected death  of  Mr.  W'elty,  which  occurred  September  24,  1903,  was  a  great 
shock  to  all  of  Greensburg,  his  death  being  caused  by  a  clot  of  blood  in  an  artery 
leading  to  the  heart.  The  evening  previous  to  his  decease  he  had  been  about  his 
work  as  usual.  By  his  death  the  community  lost  an  honorable  citizen,  and  a 
man  whose  character  remained  unblemished  to  the  last.  ;\[rs.  W.  T.  W^elty  how 
resides  in  Greensburg  with  her  daughter  and  only  child,  Margaret  L.  Welty. 
She  is  an  intelligent  and  accomplished  woman,  an  active  church  worker,  and 
prior  to  her  husband's  death  was  a  member  of  the  church  choir  and  a  teacher 
in  the  Bible  class  of  the  church. 

W  ILLIAM  A.  R(  )DEHA\'ER,  one  of  the  enterprising  business  men 
of  Westmoreland  county,  was  born  in  Preston  county.  West  Virginia,  March 
14.  1867,  and  was  the  son  of  George  and  Sevilla  (Kelly)  Rodehaver,  one  of 
nine  children,  five  of  whom  survive:  William  A.,  Freeman,  Greensburg; 
Amanda,  wife  of  Rufus  Kisner,  of  W'est  Virginia :  John,  in  the  lumber  busi- 
ness in  West  \'irginia  :  and  Emma,  wife  of  Floyd  Ringer,  of  West  \'irginia. 
^\'illi^m  A.  Rodehaver's  wather  was  born  in  Preston  county.  West  Virginia, 
m  Xovember,  1840.  He  is  of  German  descent,  and  was  reared  on  the  home 
farm.  During  his  young  manhood  he  learned  the  trade  of  a  miller,  and  worked 
as  a  journeyman  miller  for  a  number  of  years,  later  purchasing  a  mill  which 
he  still  owns.  He  served  three  years  and  six  months  in  the  Civil  war  as  a 
bugler,  and  is  a  member  of  the  G.  A.  R.  His  wife,  Sevilla  (Kelly)  Rode- 
haver, was  born  in  Preston  county.  West  \'irginia.  and  was  of  (lerman  de- 
scent. She  died  in  the  early  eighties,  and  Mr.  Rodehaver  married  Clara  Wat- 
.son,  by  whom  four  children  were  born,  three  of  whom  are  still  living:  Etta, 
Ada  and  Earl. 

William  A.  Rodehaver  wss  reared  at  home  and  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  his  native  place.  When  about  eighteen  years  of  age  he  commenced 
work  at  the  carpenter  trade  with  his  father.     About  two  vears  later  lie  entered 


I04  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

into  the  shoemaker's  trade,  which  he  followed  for  several  years.  In  January, 
1889,  he  removed  to  Greensburg,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  entered  into  the  employ  of  the  firm  of  Kelly  &  Jones,  and  while  there  learned 
the  trade  of  moulder.  He  retainetl  his  connection  with  this  firm  until  1896,  and 
for  the  four  succeeding  years  he  was  variously  engaged.  Since  1900  he  has 
followed  carpentering  and  building,  in  which  occupation  he  has  been  very  suc- 
cessful. Mr.  Rodehaver  is  an  excellent  citizen,  industrious  and  energetic,  and 
is  one  of  South  Greensburg's  representative  men.  In  political  affairs  he  helps 
support  the  Republican  party.  He  has  served  one  year  as  street  commissioner, 
one  year  as  assessor,  and  is  at  present  a  member  of  the  borough  council.  He  is 
a  member  of  Greensburg  lodge.  No.  366,  K.  G.  E.  He  married,  March  19.  1890, 
Minnie  ISlackson,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Rebecca  (Shircy)  Blackson,  both  of 
whom  are  still  living  and  reside  in  Unity,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania. 
One  child  was  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rodehaver,  Ethel  May,  bijrn  January  9, 
1891,  and  died  October  11,  1891. 

HENRY  LOMESON  KEAGGY  is  well  known  in  Westmoreland 
county,  as  well  as  that  entire  section  of  Pennsylvania,  having  been  for  many 
years  employed  on  the  railroads  in  various  capacities,  and  is  at  the  present  time 
( IQ06)  manager  of  the  Brothers  large  estate.  The  family  which  he  represents 
came  originally  from  Switzerland,  but  have  been  settled  in  America  for  a 
number  of  generations. 

(I)  John  Keaggy,  father  of  Henry  Lomeson  Keaggy,  was  born  in  Switzer- 
land, and  came  to  the  United  States  about  1825.  He  was  a  stone  mason  by  oc- 
cupation, and  died  in  1843.  He  married  Margaret  Lomeson,  born  in  Indiana 
county,  Pennsylvania,  181 1.  died  in  Allegheny  City,  1893.  She  was  the  daugh- 
ter of  John  and  Ann  (Fulkerson)  Lomeson,  the  latter  born  in  Danville,  Penn- 
sylvania. John  Lomeson  (grandfather)  built  a  grist  mill  at  Cherry  Run.  They 
had  si.x  children,  none  of  whom  are  now  living  and  among  whom  were:  Will- 
iam, was  a  farmer  and  died  in  Armstrong  county ;  John,  was  a  farmer  and  died, 
in  ]Michis:an  :  Jerry,  died  near  Homer.  Indiana  county,  Pennsylvania ;  Henrr, 
who  studied  medicine,  became  a  prominent  physician,  and  amassed  a  fortune, 
which  he  left  to  a  nephew.  Dr.  J.  B.  Keaggy,  who  lives  in  Allegheny  City,  is 
married  but  has  no  children. 

John  and  Margaret  (Lomeson)  Keaggy  had  six  children:  William,  mar- 
ried ;  Margaret,  married  ;  Lucy,  deceased,  married  Erastus  Gray,  who  was  a 
railroad  engineer  and  was  killed  by  falling  in  front  of  his  own  engine  at  Bar- 
docks,  on  the  old  Pittsburg  &  Connellsville  Railroad :  David,  married ;  Henry 
Lomeson,  of  whom  later ;  and  John,  married. 

(II)  Henry  Lomeson  Keaggy,  third  son  and  fifth  child  of  John  and  Mar- 
garet (Lomeson)  Keaggy,  was  born  in  Indiana  county,  Pennsylvania,  March 
25,  1845.  He  was  raised  on  the  farm,  receiving  a  common  education,  and  at  the 
age  of  fifteen  years  enlisted  in  Company  G,  One  Hundred  and  Seventh  Regi- 
ment, Pennsylvania  \'olunteers,  December,  i860.  He  served  with  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  until  September,  1862.  He  was  in  six  battles  and  displaved 
bravery  and  courage  remarkable  in  one  so  young.  He  was  wounded  in  the  first 
battle  at  Fredericksburg,  and  was  sent  to  the  hospital  where  he  lay  for  two 
months  and  was  then  sent  home.  He  commenced  working  on  the  Pittsburg  and 
Cleveland  Railroad  in  the  capacity  of  brakeman,  and  worked  his  way  up 
through  the  various  positions  of  conductor  and  train  dispatcher  until  1899, 
when  he  assumed  the  management  of  the  Brothers'  estate,  at  Greensburg, 
W'estmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.   He  is  considered  a  very  eflficient  and  cap- 


HISTORY    OF    jrESTMORELAXD    COUXTV.  lo: 


.able  manager  and  his  services  are  highly  satisfactory  to  his  employers.  He 
married  Margaret  Kissig  Parke,  born  in  Allegheny  City,  Pennsylvania,  June 
19.  1865,  daughter  of  Robert  Alatthias  Parke,  a  Alethodist  preacher,  who  built 
the  first  church  in  Allegheny  City,  preaches  there,  and  defrays  all  the  expenses. 
Robert  M.  Parke  had  a  family  of  five  children,  two  sons  and  three  daughters, 
•of  whom  but  two  are  now  living :  Margaret  Kissig,  wife  of  Henry  L.  Keaggy, 
and  Helen. 

EMOR  i\I.  GARWOOD  is  one  of  the  prominent  business  men  among 
the  younger  generation  of  Greensburg,  and  is  the  first  of  his  family  in  \\'cst- 
moreland  county.  For  over  a  century  the  Garwoods  have  been  land-owners 
and  prominent  citizens  of  Fayette  county,  the  family  estate  being  about  three 
miles  south  of  Brownsville,  in  Luzerne  township.  The  original  ancestors  of 
the  Garwood  family  came  from  England  and  settled  among  the  Quakers  in  the 
eastern  part  of  Pennnsylvania.  (Jbed  Garwood  removed  from  Cumberland 
county  to  Fayette  county,  purchasing  four  hundred  acres  of  land  in  Luzerne 
township.  Xovember  16,  1783.  His  son  Obed  succeeded  to  this  land  and 
lived  and  died  in  Fayette  county.  Benedict  Garwood,  his  son,  brought  up  a 
large  familv  on  the  old  homestead  in  Fayette  county,  and  George,  the  young- 
est son,  was  born  there  in  1839.  Georg^e  Garwood  was  married  to  Rachel  M. 
Haney,  a  native  of  Fayette  county  in  1862.  He  died  Septem- 
ber 28,  1903,  and  his  widow  survived  less  than  a  year,  dying  June  25,  1904. 
They  had  nine  children,  named  respectively,  Edith  F.,  Charles  S.,  Emor  M., 
see  forward ;  Albert  G.,  Frank  E.,  Harry  Clyde,  Nathaniel  E..  Bessie  M., 
and  Evelyn  L.,  the  latter  being  the  wife  of  W.  S.  Rial,  of  Greensburg. 

In  September,  1887.  Emor  M.  Garwood  left  the  farm  and  going  west 
began  business  for  himself  in  Streator.  Illinois,  where  he  was  engaged  as  book- 
keeper for  Powers  Brothers,  a  large  hardware  firm.  He  was  afterwards  assistant 
cashier  of  the  freight  department  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Ouincy  rail- 
road at  Streator.  Leaving  Illinois  in  1889,  he  came  to  Uniontown,  Fayette 
county,  and  shortlv  afterward  removed  to  Westmoreland  county,  where  he 
became  proprietor  of  the  Hill  House  in  Scottdale.  In  October.  1900,  he 
located  in  Greensburg  as  manager  of  the  Monahan  Hotel,  and  in  1902  ]nir- 
cliased  the  Zimmerman  House,  which  has  since  been  singularlv  successful  under 
his  management.  He  married.  July  26,  1887,  Katharine  Chalfant  Cline,  daugh- 
ter of  T.  H.  and  Elizabeth  Cline,  of  P.rownsville.  Thev  have  had  three  chil- 
dren, but  one  of  whom.  Marie  Chalfant,  is  living.  They  are  members  of 
•Christ's  Episcopal  Church,  of  Greensburg.  The  Garwoods  have  been  ReDubli- 
cans  since  the  birth  of  the  party  in  1856,  and  prior  to  that  were  Whigs.  Emor 
M.  Garwood  has  always  been  an  active  worker  in  the  Republican  party,  casting 
his  first  vote  for  Benjamin  Harrison  in  1888.  Though  an  earnest  worker  in  the 
ranks,  he  has  never  sought  oiTicial  position.  He  is  now.  however,  prominently 
spoken  of  as  a  candidate  for  sheriff  of  Westmoreland  county,  in  1907.  and  his 
■energy,  prompt  business  principles  and  substantial  character  eminently  fit  him 
for  the  position. 

J.^MES  CARROLL.  A  tvnc  of  the  successful  self-made  business 
man  is  found  in  James  Carroll,  of  Greensburg.  Mr.  Carroll's  fatlicr.  Joseph 
•^arroll,  was  a  native  of  Allcghenv  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  passer!  his 
life  PS  a  farmer.  He  married  Catherine  ?\lclliianev.  and  their  children  were: 
r)livcr  L.,  deceased:  Tames,  of  whom  bter:  William,  deceased:  TT;innah  de- 
■ceased  :  and  Mary,  widow  of  E.  J.  McEllee,  of  Mount  Pleasant.     When  little 


io6  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

more  than  infants  Air.  Carroll's  children  were  left  fatherless,  and  their  mother 
sold  the  farm  and  moved  to  Elizabeth,  Allegheny  connty. 

James  Carroll,  son  of  Joseph  and  Catherine  (Mcllhaney)  Carroll,  was  born 
November  14,  1848^  in  Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  but  eight 
years  of  age  when  his  father  died  and  his  mother  moved  with  her  children 
to  Elizabeth.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  that  city,  and  about 
his  fifteenth  year  apprenticed  himself  to  the  trade  of  carpenter  in  Pittsburg, 
where  he  remained  until  1878,  working  at  his  chosen  calling.  He  then  went  to 
Mount  Pleasant  where  he  worked  for  eight  years  as  a  carpenter  and  builder, 
and  about  1886  moved  to  Greensburg  where  he  has  since  been  engaged  in  build- 
ing. He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  is  a  member  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
church.  Mr.  Carroll  married  in  1872,  Elvira  J.  Hart,  of  Indiana  county.  They 
were  without  children.  In  1894  Mrs.  Carroll  died  and  Mr.  Carroll  has  since 
remained  a  widower. 

JOSEPH  THOMAS.  One  of  Greensburg's  most  successful  citizens 
is  Joseph  Thomas.  The  parents  of  Mr.  Thomas  were  both  natives  of  Germany, 
having  been  bom  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine.  William  Thomas,  his  father, 
was  a  carpenter  and  cabinetmaker.  He  married  Mary  y\nna  Auen,  and  six  chil- 
dren were  born  to  them,  three  of  whom  survive :  William,  a  florist  at  Sharon, 
Pennsylvania;  Joseph,  mentioned  hereafter;  and  Agnes,  wife  of  Frederick 
IMuehlenbeck,  of  Tarentum,  Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania.  In  1881  Airs. 
Thomas  died,  and  in  1890  her  husband  followed  their  children  to  the  United 
States,  where  he  passed  away  in  1892. 

Joseph  Thomas,  son  of  William  and  Mary  Anna  (Auen)  Thomas,  was  born 
June  9,  1869,  in  Prussia,  on  the  banks  of  the  Rliine,  and  as  early  as  his  four- 
teenth year  apprenticed  himself  to  the  trade  of  a  florist.  Previous  to  this  time 
he  had  attended  the  public  schools,  and  while  learning  his  trade  completed  his 
education  at  the  evening  schools.  In  1888  he  came  to  the  United  States  and 
accepted  a  position  as  landscape  gardener  for  R.  P.  Duff,  of  Pittsburg.  Later  he 
worked  in  the  same  capacity  for  Mrs.  McMasters,  of  Turtle  Creek,  and  in  1890 
became  foreman  for  A.  W.  Smith,  the  well-known  florist  of  Pittsburgh.  This 
position  he  retained  about  eighteen  months,  and  was  then  engaged  as  gardener 
and  florist  by  St.  Xavier's  Academy  of  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  re- 
mained four  years.  He  then  went  to  Greensburg  and  for  six  months  was  em- 
ployed by  D.  M.  Sheerer.  At  this  stage  of  his  career  Mr.  Thomas  engaged  in 
business  for  himself  as  a  florist  and  landscape  gardener.  He  leased  the  Barclay 
lot  on  North  Main  street  for  seven  years  and  there  erected  his  greenhouses.  In 
September,  1902,  he  purchased  a  portion  of  the  Belvedere  farm,  two  and  one- 
half  miles  northwest  of  Greensburg,  where  he  built  extensive  greenhouses  and  a 
substantial  residence.  His  business,  meanwhile,  increased  rapidly  and  he  now 
stands  at  the  head  of  his  line  of  enterprise  in  Greensburg,  having  a  salesroom 
in  the  Wealty  building,  on  Ottoman  street.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and 
is  a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  Mr.  Thomas  married  in  1892, 
Henrietta  Pickert,  and  seven  children  were  born  to  them,  six  of  whom  are  now 
living:  Agnes,  Marie,  William,  Frederick,  Joseph  and  Robert.  In  1902  Airs. 
Thomas  died.  In  1903  Mr.  Thomas  married  Susanna  Clements,  bv  whoni  he  is 
the  father  of  one  child,  Henrietta. 

HARRY  D.  COSHEY,  of  the  Henry  S.  Coshey  undertaking  and 
livery  establishment,  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  at  Greensburg, 
June  3,  1861,  one  of  the  five  sons  of  Air.  and  Airs.  Henry  S.  Coshey. 


HISTORY    OF    irESTMORELAXD    COUNTY.  107- 

The  Coshey  family  is  French.  Harry  D.  Coshey's  paternal  great-grand- 
father came  from  France  to  America  at  an  early  day  and  settled  in  Millersdale,. 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  married  jMiss  Seigfert,  by  whom  one 
child  was  born,  Samuel.  She  lived  to  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-liiree  years. 
The  ancestor,  Coshey  (i),  was  killed  by  the  falling  of  a  tree,  while  felling  tim- 
ber in  Westmoreland  county. 

(II)  Samuel  Coshey,  grandfather  of  Harry  D.  Coshey,  married  Elizabeth 
Heasley  of  this  county,  who  died  when  eighty-four  years  of  age.  He  died, 
aged  si'xtv-two  years.  '  They  were  the  parents  of  ten  children :  Joseph,  died  in 
1904,  aged  seventy-six  years;  Jacob,  Cybilia  and  Louis,  died  young;  Lebious, 
Lvdia  Ann,  Henrv  S.,  Ellen,  William  and  Robert,  now  living. 

(III)  Henry's.  Coshey,  the  father  of  H.  D.  Coshey,  was  born  February 
18,  1836,  four  miles  from  Greensburg.  In  1858  he  married  Elizabeth  Everett, 
daughter  of  John  Everett  and  wife.  Anna  (Everett)  Coshey,  died  August  24,^ 
1903.  aged  seventy-two.  years.  Henry  S.  Coshey  and  wife  were  the  parents 
of  live  sons:  Charles,  Harry  D.,  John,  Edward  and  William,  all  of  whom, 
are  married  and  all  associated  with  their  father  in  business.  The  father  learned 
the  cabinet  making  trade,  and  from  1853  to  1858  was  employed  by  others  at 
this  trade  and  had  much  to  do  as  an  undertaker.  He  embarked  in  business  for 
himself  in  1858,  and  continued  as  a  furniture  dealer  at  Greensburg  until  1879, 
when  he  sold  the  stock  and  engaged  in  undertaking  and  general,  livery  business, 
in  the  same  city  and  is  still  in  business,  assisted  by  all  five  of  his  sons.  In  his 
experience  as  an  undertaker,  covering  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and. 
located  in  the  same  block  for  nearly  all  this  period,  he  has  cared  for  the  remains 
of  about  ten  thousand  people.  In  1905,  with  an  expansion  of  the  undertaking, 
and  livery  business,  Henry  S.  Coshey  required  more  room  than  that  affordetL 
by  his  own  pioneer  quarters,  hence  bought  the  ground  at  the  corner  of  Penn- 
sylvania avenue  and  Tunnell  street,  and  erected  thereon  a  spacious  brick  build- 
ing. It  is  ninety  by  one  hundred  and  twentv-five  feet  on  the  ground,  and  three 
stories  high.  A  suite  of  rooms  for  undertaking  offices  and  morgue  are  on  the 
first  floor,  convenient  to  the  street.  It  is  one  of  the  finest  business  houses  in  the 
city.  Mr.  Coshey's  livery  business  is  large.  He  keeps  twenty-five  horses,  for  hire,, 
and  boards  from  fifty  to  seventy-five  more.  He  has  ten  closed  carriages  for 
funeral  occasions,  and  three  hearses.  He  counts  his  patrons  by  the  thousand. 
Beginning  in  1858,  Mr.  Coshey  has  been  a  reliable,  trustworthy  man,  who  has 
become  widelv  known  in  Westmoreland  county.  Mr.  Coshey  received  a  com- 
mon school  education  and  learned  the  trade  which  was  the  foundation  of  his 
successful  business  career.  The  Cosheys,  as  a  rule,  are  meniljcrs  of  the  Re- 
formed church,  and  in  politics  are  Democrats. 

(IV)  Harry  D.  Coshey  obtained  a  fair  common  school  training,  and 
early  engaged  in  business  with  his  father,  and  is  now  in  company  with  his 
brothers,  relieving  their  venerable  father  of  a  lifelong  responsibility  in  business 
affairs.      He  marriefl   Carrie  Smith,  of  Greensburg,   Pennsylvania. 

CYRUS  T.  LOXG,  among  the  leading  surveyors  and  most  thoroughly 
accurate  civil  engineers  of  western  Pennsylvania,  as  well  as  an  ex-county  sur- 
veyor of  Westmoreland  county,  w'as  born  three  miles  north  of  Mount  Pleasant, 
in  Mount  Pleasant  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  November 
22,  1840,  the  son  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  (Tedrow)  Long.  The  American 
ancestor  of  the  Long  family  was  Jacob  Long  (grandfather),  \i'ho  was  born  in 
Wurtemberg,  Germany,  in  1759.     He  emigrated  to  America,  served  as  a  team- 


io8  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

ster  in  the  war  of  the  revohition,  and  came  to  Westmoreland  county  in  1803. 
He  purchased  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres  near  Mount  Pleas- 
ant, and  died  in  1841,  at  the  age  of  eighty-two  years.  He  had  four  sons  and 
one  daughter,  all  long  since  deceased. 

Jacob  Long  (father  of  Cyrus  T.  Long)  was  born  in  Caernavon  township, 
Lancaster  county,  Peinisvlvania,  November  19,  1797,  and  came  with  his  parents 
to  \^'estmoreland  county  when  but  six  years  of  age.  He  was  a  highly  success- 
ful farmer ;  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  a  staunch  member  of  the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  church.  In  manners,  he  was  a  quiet,  unassuming  man,  and  died 
September  26,  1871.  His  wife  was  Elizabeth  Tcdrow,  youngest  daughter  of 
Mr.  and  Airs.  Henry  Tedrow,  of  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania.  They  had  two 
children :    Cyrus  T.[  and  Nancy,  who  married  William  G.  Kell,  now  deceased. 

Cyrus  T.  Long  received  his  education  in  the  common  public  schools,  and 
at  Sewickley  Academy  which  he  attended  two  and  one-half  years,  when  it  was 
imder  the  charge  of  IVofessors  L.  Y.  C.raham  and  W.  A.  Raub.  He  made  a 
specialty  of  mathematics  during  his  academic  course,  yet  made  much  jjrogress  in 
Greek  and  Latin  studies.  He  began  reading  law  with  Hon.  Henry  D.  Foster 
in  1839,  and  four  vears  later  went  to  Johnstown,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  com- 
pleted his  legal  studies  with  his  cousin,  Cyrus  L.  Pershing,  who  subsequently 
became  judge  of  one  of  the  easteru  Peimsylvania  counties.  In  September,  1864, 
Mr.  Long  was  .admitted  to  the  bar  of  Cambria  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  in 
August,  1865.  to  the  bar  of  Westmoreland  county,  but  he  soon  forsook  that 
prokssion  foV  what  seemed  to  be  more  to  his  natural  liking— surveying,  which 
profession  he  had  commenced  in  his  boyhood  days.  He  was  elected  county 
surveyor  in  Westmoreland  county  in  1871,  and  re-elected  in  1874.  For  a  score 
of  years  and  more  he  has  been  employed  by  individuals  and  large  corporations 
to  do  their  surveying.  He  is  thoroughly  competent  in  this  line,  and  possesses 
a  fine  library  on  the  subject,  as  well  as  a  fine  collection  of  the  best  standard 
books  in  literature  and  science.  The  universal  opinion  in  this  part  of  the  state 
is  that  he  has  few  equals  and  no  superiors,  as  a  practical  engineer  and  surveyor. 
He  married,  Julv  8,  1872,  Barbara  S.  Durstine,  daughter  of  Henry  Durstine, 
near  :\Iount  Pleasant.  Their  children  were:  i.  John  D..  born  February  12, 
1874;  a  graduate  of  Washington  and  Jeflferson  College,  with  a  de- 
gree of  Doctor  of  IMedicine  from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 
For  the  last  four  years  he  has  been  practicing  in  the  United 
States  service  at  T\l'anila,  Philippine  Islands.  2.  Henry  D.,  born 
March  13,  1876,  a  medical  doctor,  who  graduated  from  Johns  Hopkins 
University,  and  now  located  at  Ellis  Island,  New  York,  in  the  service  of  the 
L^nited  States  government.  3.  Edwin  C,  born  April  13,  1878,  attended  Wash- 
ington and  Jefferson  College,  but  left  prior  to  graduation.  When  the  Spanish- 
American  war  came  on,  he  enlisted  from  the  college  he  was  attending,  as  a 
private  soldier  for  one  year  and  was  promoted  to  second  lieutenant  and  served 
as  such  two  vears  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  came  home  and  was  promoted  to 
first  lieutenant,  and  is  stationed  at  San  Francisco,  California.  He  was  appointed 
by  President  ]\IcKinley. 

Mrs.  Long  died  the  last  week  in  December,  1894,  greatly  mourned_  Ijy  a 
well  reared  family.  Mr.  Long  is  still  vigorous,  and  attends  to  the  duties  of 
his  profession  with  the  same  skill  and  industry,  as  would  one  a  score  of  years 
younger.  Politically  he  is  a  Democrat,  but  he  hqs  never  taken  to  campaign 
work,  preferring  to  attend  strictly  to  the  calling  of  his  life  in  which  he  is  a 
master.     He  has  had  an  active  career  in  his  profession,  and  there  are  many 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  109 

results  of  his  work  in  western  Pennsylvania.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian church  at  Greensburg,  his  home. 

LEONARD  J.  DUFF.  Greensburg  recognizes  in  Leonard  J.  Duff 
one  of  the  most  active  and  public-spirited  of  lier  citizens.  He  is  a  son  of  John 
Duff,  born  2\larch  12,  1810,  in  Unity  township,  and  married  Elizabeth  Temple, 
born  October  4,  1821,  in  Westmoreland  county.  They  had  children:  \'incent 
P.,  born  1840;  John  A.,  born  1842;  Agnes,  born  1844;  Susan,  born  1846;  Selie, 
born  1849;  ^^ary,  born  1852;  Rosa,  born  1854;  2\laggie,  born  1856;  and 
Leonard  J.,  mentioned  hereafter.  This  large  family  has  lurnished  to  the  com- 
munity many  good  citizens. 

Leonard  j.  Duff,  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Temple)  Duff,  was  born 
February  12,  1859,  in  Unity  township,  and  obtained  his  education  in  the  com- 
mon schools.  He  takes  an  active  part  in  public  affairs,  and  the  confidence  with 
which  he  is  regarded  by  his  neighbors  is  sufficiently  indicated  by  the  number 
of  offices  to  which  they  have  elected  him.  He  has  served  four  years  as  supervi- 
sor, the  same  length  of  time  as  township  clerk,  and  is  now  serving  a  term  of 
three  years  as  auditor.  His  political  affiliations  are  with  the  Democrats.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  ]\Ir.  Duff  married  in  1880,  Sarah 
Foust,  and  they  have  children:  Isabel  J.,  born  August  16,  1881,  wife  of  Harry 
Lopes;  Joseph  AL,  born  July  6,  1883,  married  Dora  AL  Shirey ;  John  A.,  born 
Alarch  6,  1886;  j\Iary  A.,  born  January  15,  1890;  and  Clarence  E.,  born  Alay 
30,  1893.  The  parents  of  Mrs.  Duff  were  Joseph  and  Susan  (Shaffer)  Foust, 
and  they  had  children:  Elizabeth,  born  December  2,  1846;  Mary,  born  April 
6,  1848 ;  Julia,  born  June  20,  1850 ;  Susan,  born  January  26,  1852 ;  Sarah,  born 
April  2,  1854,  and  became  the  wife  of  Leonard  J.  Duff,  as  mentioned  above; 
Shaffer,  born  January  11,  1857;  John,  born  April  13,  1859;  and  Christian,  born 
October  5,  1861.     Mrs.  Duff  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

FAREWELL  SKIDMORE.  One  of  the  successful  men  of  Greens- 
burg is  Farewell  Skidmore.  He  was  born  October  6,  1848,  in  Sheffield,  Eng- 
land, and  is  the  son  of  Edward  and  IMary  (Sayles)  Skidmore. 

Until  reaching  the  age  of  thirteen.  Farewell  Skidmore  attended  the  com- 
mon schools,  and  then  learned  the  steel  smelter's  trade.  He  emigrated,  in  1872, 
to  the  United  States,  landing  in  New  York  on  the  first  day  of  May  in  that  year. 
He  went  to  Lewistown,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  mained  three  years,  and  then 
moved  to  Pittsburg.  In  that  city  he  was  employed  for  seventeen  years  in  An- 
derson and  Wood's  Steel  works,  prospering  to  such  a  degree  that  at  the  end  of 
that  time  he  was  able  to  purchase  property  in  Greensburg,  whither  he  removed. 
He  set  out  a  grape  vineyard  from  which  be  manufactures  fourteen  varieties  of 
wine  for  which  he  finds  a  market  in  various  states  of  the  union,  and  he  also  deals 
largely  in  fruit  of  all  kinds.  He  married,  March  6,  1869,  Catherine  Melvin, 
and  their  children  were:  Mary  Ann,  born  December  29,  1869,  died  April  9, 
1871 ;  Ada,  born  January  29,  1871 ;  Mary,  born  June  21.  1872,  died  August  i, 
1873;  Farewell,  born  February  10,  1874,  died  August  17,  1874;  Charles, 
born  in  1874,  died  same  year ;  Farewell  Earnest,  born  June  28,  1875  ;  and  Lillie, 
born  in  1879,  died  same  year.  Mrs.  Skidmore  was  the  daughter  of  Thomas  ancl 
Mary  Melvin,  and  was  born  May  10,  1848,  in  Sheffield,  England.  Her  husband 
and  family  suffered  the  affliction  of  losing  her  by  death  Octolx-r  2t^.  1902. 

WILLIAM  A.  HENSEL.  son  of  Jacob  P..  and  Mary  A. 
(Bash)  Hensel  was  born  in  Loyalhanna  township,  Westmoreland 
county,    Pennsylvania,    November   6,    1859,    and    is    descended    from    German 


•J  JO  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

•ancestors  who  were  early  settlers  in  this  county.  After  completing  the  course 
in  the  common  schools  William  A.  Hensel  attended  Delmont  Academy  two 
years.  Leaving  school  at  the  age  of  eighteen  he  taught  two  terms  in  Delmont 
and  nine  terms  in  the  country  schools.  Following  this  he  was  a  clerk  in  a  store 
for  two  years.  In  1890  he  was  elected  county  editor  for  three  years.  After 
completing  that  service  he  engaged  in  the  agency  business,  which  he  still  car- 
ries on.  The  only  society  of  which  he  is  a  member  is  the  Fraternal  Order  of 
Eagles.  He  married,  August  16,  1883,  Margaret  J.  Thomas,  daughter  of  Major 
Cyrus  and  Eliza  (Ernest)  Thomas,  born  March  6,  i860,  in  Hempfield  township. 
They  have  children:  Bertram  T.,  deceased;  Cyrus  Taylor,  deceased;  Mable  E., 
Sarah  ~Sl.,  and  Mary  A. 

DAVID  M.  DENMAN.  One  of  Greensburg's  most  respected  citizens 
is  David  M.  Denman,  a  son  of  John  and  Harriet  (Hogland)  Denman,  born 
July  9,  1833,  in  Herkimer  county,  New  York. 

David  M.  Denman  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of  his 
native  state,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  began  to  learn  the  carriage-maker's  trade, 
which  he  followed  for  eight  years.  He  then  engaged  in  farming  and  for  eigh- 
teen years  devoted  himself  to  this  occupation.  He  kept  forty-five  cows  and  car- 
ried on  a  large  dairy  business.  Deciding  finally  to  relinquish  his  agricultural 
labors  he  sold  the  farm  and  moved  to  Greensburg,  where  he  engaged  exten- 
sively in  the  shoe  business,  conducting  a  factory  and  two  stores.  In  1895  he 
sold  the  factory  and  now  conducts  but  one  store.  He  is  a  Republican  in  poli- 
tics, and  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Greensburg.  Mr. 
Denman  married  in  1858,  Emma  Whiteman,  born  February  15,  1838,  in  Spring- 
field, Otsego  county.  New  York,  and  their  children  are:'i.  Frederick  B.,  who 
lives  at  Butler,  married  Julia  Bard  and  has  four  children:  Nelson,  Thomas, 
Hancock  and  John.  2.  Everet  N.,  who  has  always  followed  the  shoe  business, 
and  is  now  engaged  with  his  father  in  Greensburg,  married  Mary  Kuhns,  and 
has  three  children :  Rachel  K..  David  M.  and  Mary  E.  3.  Minard  R.,  married 
Metta  Roberts,  of  Moundsville,  West  Virginia,  and  has  one  child,  Adelaide.  4. 
Elgirtha.  unmarried,  and  resides  at  home.  5.  Ethel  B.,  wife  of  J.  Frank  Beatty, 
■and  mother  of  two  children,  Elizabeth  and  Frank. 

JOSEPH  FRANKLIN  KLINGENSMITH.  One  of  the  well-known 
men  of  Hempfield  township  is  Joseph  Franklin  Klingensmith.  He  is  the  son 
of  Joseph  Klingensmith,  who  was  born  in  1800,  in  Allegheny  township,  and 
married  Catharine,  daughter  of  Michael  Frey,  of  Unity  township.  Their  chil- 
dren were:  Joseph  Franklin  and  Levi  Kemp  Klingensmith.  Mr.  Klingensmith, 
the  father,  died  in  1886,  in  Hempfield  township. 

Joseph  Franklin  Klingensmith,  son  of  Joseph  and  Catharine  (Frev)  Kling- 
ensmith, was -born  June  20,  1858,  in  Hempfield  township,  and  received 'his  prim- 
ary education  in  the  public  schools.  He  afterward  studied  for  two  years  at 
Greensburg  Seminary,  leaving  in  1880  in  order  to  devote  himself  to  his  chosen 
pursuit  of  agriculture.  In  1890,  in  partnership  with  William  S.  Turney  of 
Greensburg,  he  embarked  in  the  ice  and  commission  business  in  that  town, 'the 
firm  being  known  as  Klingensmith  &  Turney.  They  were  the  first  to  enter 
upon  that  line  of  business  in  their  section  of  the  county.  Later  in  the  same  year 
he  purchased  the  "Gilchrist  farm"  in  Hempfield  township,  two  miles  west  of 
Greensburg,  and  decided  to  lead  thenceforth  the  life  of  a  farmer  and  stockman. 
Intrusting  the  care  of  the  interests  of  the  firm  to  Mr.  Turney,  he  has  since  de- 
voted himself  with  marked  success  to  farming  and  dairying.  'Mr.  Klingensmith 


HISTORY   OF    JJ-ESTMORELAXD    COUXTV.  jji 

married,  October  12,  1882.  at  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  Margaret  M..  daugh- 
ter of  John  and  Alary  RntT,  of  Hemptield  township,  and  they  are  the  parents  of 
the  following  children:  Irene  Estella,  John  Mac,  Levi  Franklin,  Mary  Naomi 
and  Alargaret  Josephine,  all  living. 

B.  FRAXKLIX  \'OGLE,  one  of  the  editors  and  proprietors  of  the 
IJ'cstiuorchind  Democrat,  was  born  in  Greensburg,  \\"estmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  May  10,  1854,  and  is  the  youngest  son  of  Augustus  and  Mary 
Ann  \'ogle. 

His  grandfather,  Augustus  \ogle,  lived  and  died  in  Germany,  where  he 
was  in  active  military  service  for  tifty-six  years,  during  the  greater  part  of 
which  he  held  the  high  rank  of  chi^f-of-staff  in  the  army  of  the  Grand  Duke  of 
Hesse.  On  his  retirement  from  the  army  he  was  signally  honored  by  a  ban- 
quet given  by  the  king,  who  also  presented  him  with  a  silver  tankard  on  which 
was  engraved  a  befitting  inscription  as  a  token  of  esteem. 

Augustus  Vogle  (father)  was  born  in  the  city  of  Darmstadt,  Germany,  Oc- 
tober I,  181 5,  and  was  educated  in  the  military  institutions  of  that  country. 
Shortly  after  his  graduation  he  was  placed  in  command  of  the  military  post 
at  Mayence,  on  the  Rhine,  a  strongly  fortified  station  of  much  importance  on 
the  border  between  France  and  Germany.  He  held  the  rank  of  captain,  and  had 
flattering  prospects  of  high  advancement,  but  owing  to  some  differences  with 
his  superior  officers,  and  being  a  firm  believer  in  the  Republican  form  of  gov- 
ernment, he  resigned  his  position  and  cam.e  to  the  United  States  in  1839,  being 
tiien  twenty-four  years  of  age.  Coming  to  \\'estmoreland  county  almost  di- 
rectly, he  engaged  in  the  tanning  business  at  Greensburg,  and  soon  invented  a 
process  which  so  facilitated  the  art  of  tanning  that  results  formerly  requiring 
nine  months  were  attained  in  one-fifth  of  that  time.  His  new  process  was 
adopted  widely  throughout  the  country,  and  the  art  of  tanning  was  practically 
revolutionized.  He  was  successfully  engaged  in  the  tanning  business  until  his 
sudden  death,  which  resulted  from  drinking  ice  water  while  heated  by  work ; 
lie  died  March  9,  1856.  Mr.  Vogle  was  a  man  of  literary  taste  and  ability,  and 
left  behind  him  a  number  of  sketches  and  short  poems,  some  of  which  gave  evi- 
dence of  much  merit.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  Odd  Fellowship  at 
Greensburg,  having  organized  the  first  lodge  of  that  place.  Decided  in  his  con- 
victions, strong  and  impulsive  in  disposition,  upright  in  character  and  bright 
in  intellect,  he  was  a  man  whose  influence  for  good  was  felt,  and  whose  im- 
press was  necessarily  left  on  his  generation.  He  was  a  typical  blue  eyed  Ger- 
man, a  pronounced  Democrat,  and  an  active  member  of  the  Lutheran  church. 
His  wife  was  Mary  Ann,  a  daughter  of  Michael  Winsheimer,  by  whom  he  had 
five  children.  The  Winsheimers  originally  came  to  this  country  from  near 
Nuremberg,  Germany,  at  an  early  period  in  the  historv  of  Westmoreland 
county.  Mrs.  Mary  .\.  Vogle  died  at  lier  home  in  Greensljurg,  September  12, 
1892.  in  the  sixty-seventh  year  of  her  age. 

B.  Franklin  \'ogle,  a  "worthy  son  of  an  illustrious  sire,"  received  his  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools  of  Greensburg,  and  began  active  life  as  a  printer, 
learning  the  trade  in  the  office  of  the  Democrat,  edited  at  that  time  by  Edward 
J.  Keenan.  a  distinguished  lawyer  and  noted  politician.  After  comi)lcting  his 
trade  he  and  a  com.pany  of  others  purchased  the  equipment  of  Frank  Cowan's 
paper  and  established,  in  September.  1875,  The  Democratic  Times,  which  had 
an  existence  of  two  years,  Mr.  Vogle  being  the  real,  and  E.  J.  Keenan,  Esq.,  the 
apparent  editor,  because  of  the  almost  continuous  illness  of  the  latter  during 
that  time.   Mr.  Vogle  became,  in  1877,  the  editor  of  The  Oil  Times,  owned  bv 


112  HISTORY    OF    iri'.STMORELAND    COUNTY. 

James  F.  Campbell,  and  published  in  the  aetive  oil  field  town  of  Edenburg, 
Clarion  county,  Pennsylvania.  A  year  later  he  became  city  editor  of  Tlic  Daily 
Breeze,  of  Bradford  Pennsylvania,  which  was  afterwards  merged  into  an  es- 
tablished paper  of  that  place,  The  Daily  Era,  of  which  journal  he  was  for 
three  years  city  and  managing  editor,  and  was  at  the  same  time  the  represen- 
tative of  the  Associated  Press  for  the  northern  oil  region.  During  that  period 
Mr.  Vogle  was. likewise  the  special  correspondent  of  that  busy  petroleum  cen- 
tre of  several  of  the  leading  newspapers  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  Mr. 
Vogle  removed  to  Pittsburg  early  in  1882,  and  was  employed  on  the  staiif  of 
The  Leader  of  that  city,  and  also  did  considerable  work  for  several  of  the  morn- 
ing papers  at  the  same  time.  He  returned  to  Greensburg  in  November,  1882, 
and  in  company  with  T.  R.  Winsheimer  purchased  The  Westmoreland  Demo- 
crat, wdiich  they  have  ever  since  edited  and  published.  The  Democrat  is  a  live 
weekly  Democratic'  journal,  and  circulates  largely  among  the  old  families  of 
the  county,  being  the  second  paper  founded  west  of  the  Allegheny  mountains, 
having  been  established  on  May  24,  1799.  Mr.  Vogle  was  the  author  of  an  in- 
tesesting  and  beautifully  illustrated  history  of  Greensburg,  published  by  \'ogle 
and  Winsheimer  in  1899,  the  centennial  anniversary  of  the  incorporation  of 
Greensburg  as  a  borough.  Mr.  Vogle  was  elected  a  director  of  the  Greensburg 
school  district  for  terms  covering  a  continuous  period  of  ten  years.  From  June, 
1890,  to  June,  1900.  He  was  also  chosen  and  served  as  president  of  the  school 
board  for  several  years.  At  the  regular  annual  meeting  of  the  Pennsylvania 
State  Editorial  Association,  held  at  Harrisburg,  in  January,  1903,  Mr.  Vogle 
was  honored  by  election  as  president  of  the  association  for  the  ensuing  year. 
He  married,  June  10,  1901,  Minnie  Jane  Frederick,  daughter  of  John  C.  Fred- 
erick, fisq.,  and  Mrs.  Martha  Oliver  Frederick,  of  Irwin.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Vogle  has  been  born  a  daughter,  Alice  Augusta  Vogle. 

WILLIAM  BORLAND  NEEL,  one  of  the  successful  and  progres- 
sive business  men  of  the  country,  was  born  near  Mount  Pleasant,  Westmore- 
land county,  Pennsylvania,  January  4,  1826,  the  only  son  of  Samuel  and  Rachel 
( Borland)" Neel.  He  is  of  pure  Irish  descent,  his  ancestors  on  both  sides  having 
been  natives  of  north  Ireland.  The  progenitor  of  the  Neel  family  in  America 
was  John  Neel,  who  left  his  native  land,  sailing  for  American  shores,  and  lo- 
cated in  Dauphin  county.  He  married,  and  had  chijdren :  John,  William,  Rob- 
ert, James,  Margaret  Cochran,  Jane  Clark,  Eleanor  Simpson,  and  Agnes  Flem- 
ing. His  death  occurred  October'  7,  1792,  in  Dauphin  county.  Two  of  his 
sons,  John  and  William,  crossed  the  Allegheny  mountains  about  1770  and  set- 
tled near  Mount  Pleasant,  where  they  were  married  to  two  sisters  of  Samuel 
Warden,  who  was  residing  on  the  Warden  farm  one  mile  west  of  the  present 
borough  of  Mount  Pleasant. 

John  Neel,  son  of  John  Neel,  senior,  and  grandfather  of  William  Borland 
Neel,  was  an  elder  of  the  Presbyterian  church  and  one  of  the  six  who  held  the 
first  meeting  of  Redstone  Presbytery,  at  Pigeon  Creek,  Pennsylvania,  Sejatem- 
ber  10,  1781.  He  married.  May  23,  1775,  Margaret  Warden,  and  their  children 
were:  Robert,  John,  Samuel,  Eleanor  Vance,  Margaret,  Andrew,  Martha  Tittle 
and  Mary  Thompson. 

Samuel  Neel,  third  son  of  John  Neel,  Jr.,  was  born  in  1785,  and  was  by 
occupation  a  farmer.  He  inherited  a  portion  of  the  home  farm  and  this  he 
operated  and  lived  upon  until  his  death.  He  was  industrious  and  prosperous, 
having  in  his  possession  a  tract  of  land  comprising  one  hundred  and  seventy 
acres  located  near  Mount  Pleasant.    His  political  belief  was  in  accordance  with 


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HISTORY    OF    JVESTMORELAXD    COUNTY.  113 

the  old  line  Whigs,  but  after  the  formation  of  the  Republican  party  he  joined 
that  organization.    Like  his  father  he  was  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church. 

He  married,  April  i,  1812,  Ruth  Jack,  and  their  children  were:  Lucinda 
Lytle,  and  Rev.  J.  J.  Neel,  who  died  February  10,  1852,  aged  thirty-three  years. 
Ruth  (Jack)  Neel  died  in  1819,  and  Mr.  Xeel  took  for  his  second  wife,  Rachel 
LJorland,  June  25,  1822.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Samuel  Borland,  who  emi- 
grated from  Ireland  to  America  settling  in  "The  Manor,"  Westmoreland 
county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  engaged  in  farming.  He  was  an  officer  in  the 
Revolutionary  war.  At  the  close  he  married  Mrs.  Lidia  Gregg,  at  her  father's 
home,  Winchester,  Virginia.  They  made  their  home  for  a  few  )-ears  in  Bed- 
ford county,  Pennsylvania,  before  moving  to  Westmoreland  county.  He  was  a 
Presbyterian  and  married  Lydia  Gregg,  who  was  born  in  Winchester,  Virginia, 
removing  from  there  to  Bedford,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Neel  had  chil- 
dren :  William  Borland,  of  whom  later ;  Lydia  G. ;  Ruth  Shields  :  and  Margaret 
A.,  who  died  November  28,  1884.  Samuel  Neel  died  October  28,  1862,  at  the 
advanced  age  of  seventy-seven  years,  after  a  useful  and  well  spent  life.  His 
wife  survived  him  ten  years. 

William  B.  Neel  acquired  what  education  the  subscription  schools  of  those 
days  afforded,  and  was  reared  to  agricultural  pursuits.  Immediately  after  leav- 
ing the  s.chool  room  he  engaged  in  farming,  which  occupation  he  has  followed 
ever  since,  ever  being  attended  with  the  greatest  success  in  this  line,  and  has 
now  in  his  possession  four  hundred  acres  of  valuable  and  fertile  farm  land,  and 
also  town  property.  In  about  1859  he  engaged  in  the  stock  droving  business,  in 
partnership  with  William  J.  Hitchman,  continuing  in  this  business  for  about 
twenty  years.  :\Ir.  Neel  was  also  largely  identified  with  the  coal  and  coke  bus- 
iness of  East  Huntingdon  township,  and  purchased  extensive  coal  lands  in  West 
Mrginia  which  he  still  has  in  his  possession,  but  which  have  not  vet  been  de- 
veloped. He  was  also  connected  with  Mr.  Hitchman  in  the  banking  and  real 
estate  business  for  many  years.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the"  First  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Mount  Pleasant  in  1865,  and  is  still  a  director  in  that  institution. 
In  politics  he  is  a  staunch  Republican,  and  takes  the  deepest  interest  in  the  wel- 
fare of  that  organization.  He  is  also  largely  interested  in  educational  pursuits, 
and  served  in  his  township  for  over  ten  years  as  school  director.  In  matters' 
of  religion  Mr.  Neel  adheres  to  the  principles  of  the  Presbvterian  church,  the 
denomination  of  his  forefathers.  He  has  been  elder  of  hischurch  since  1862, 
and  represented  the  Red  Stone  Presbytery  in  the  general  assembly  at  Chicago 
m  1877,  and  again  at  Saratoga  Springs  in  1890.  Mr.  Neel  is  one  of  the  repre- 
sentative men  of  :\Iount  Pleasant,  a  leading  factor  in  business  circles  of  that 
place,  and  a  man  who  by  his  liberal  views,  commendable  industrv,  patient  per- 
severance and  genial,  hospitable  disposition,  has  won  the  confidence  of  his  busi- 
ness associates  and  endeared  himself  to  a  host  of  warm  and  admiring  friends. 
A\illiam  B.  Neel  married  Nancy  J.  Hurst,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Hurst,  a 
prominent  citizen  of  Fayette  county,  Pennsvlvania.  Their  children  were :  John 
]..  a  civil  engineer,  of  Greensburg,  Pa. ;  Samuel,  a  farmer  and  contractor,  of 
W  estmoreland  county  ;  Rachel ;  Ella  May  ;  and  Sarah  H. 

ALEXANDER  POOL,  of  Greensburg.  son  of  William  and  Eliza 
(Seanor)  Pool,  was  born  July  29,  1841,  in  Hempfield  township,  Westmoreland 
county,  Pennsylvania.  His  grandfather  Pool  was  a  native  of  Germanv  and 
sett  ed  in  America  many  years  ago  in  Westmoreland  countv,  where  he  married 
Polly  McAfee,  of  Irish  descent.  William  Pool  and  Eliza  Seanor  were  born  in 
Hempheld  township. 
2—8 


114  HISTORY    OF    JTESTMORELAXD    COUNTY. 

Alexander  Pool  got  such  education  as  the  schools  of  Hempfield  afiforded 
fifty  years  ago.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  enlisted  in  Company  JJ,  Une  Hun- 
dred and  Forty-Second  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  served 
two  years  and  eleven  months.  While  in  the  service  he  was  sick  two  months,  and 
was  subsequently  put  on  duty  in  the  hospital  for  four  months.  After  his  return 
from  the  war  he  went  to  the  oil  fields  of  Pennsylvania  where  he  worked  at  well 
drilling.  Returning  to  his  native  township  he  worked  one  year  for  his  uncle, 
Samuel  Pool  on  a  farm.  He  followed  farming  for  himself  until  1874  when  he 
engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  at  Hunkers  ten  years,  then  engaged  in  the 
insurance  business  for  three  years.  He  then  purchased  a  tract  of  timberlind, 
and  for  two  years  was  in  the  lumber  business.  In  1888  he  purchased  his  pres- 
ent property,  being  the  first  lot  sold  in  south  Greensburg.  He  followed  team- 
ing one  year,  then  entered  the  employ  of  Kelley  and  Jones,  as  inspector,  remain- 
ing about  thirteen  years,  and  one  year  in  the  employ  of  the  Hempfield  Foun- 
dry -Company.  He  then  retired,  and  is  now  enjoying  the  fruits  of  his  many 
years  of  industry.  Mr.  Pool  was  elected,  February  20,  1906,  tax  collector  for 
three  years.  He  married  December  25,  1866,  Mary  Jane  Evans,  born  in  Stark 
county,  Ohio,  April  23,  1837,  daughter. of  Henry  and  Hannah  (Jones)  Evans. 
Their  children  are:  William  H.,  bom  October  20,  1867,  married  Ida  Barnhart, 
and  they  have  one  child,  Vern  Pool;  2.  Linda  May,  born  June  5,  1868,  married 
F.  H.  Liyers,  and  their  children  are:  John  A.,  Herbert,  Harry,  Winifred,  Mary, 
Anna  and  Clift'ord. 

ROBERT  A.  RANKIN.  The  Rankin  family,  of  which  Robert  A. 
Rankin  is  a  member,  came  to  Westmoreland  county  from  Allegheny  county 
in  1866.  Robert  Rankin,  the  grandfather  of  Robert  A.  Rankin,  came  with  his 
family  from  county  Derry,  Ireland,  in  1837,  and  settled  in  Allegheny  county. 
The  tradition  is  that  four  brothers  had  lived  about  four  miles  north  of  Lon- 
denderry,  and  that  two  of  them  came  to  America,  from  one  of  whom  Robert, 
mentioned  above,  was  a  descendant. 

John  Rankin,  Jr.,  the  oldest  son  of  Robert  Rankin,  was  born  October  21, 
1821,  and  came  to  America  as  a  member  of  his  father's  family,  as  above  indi- 
cated, when  he  was  sixteen  years  old.  He  was  brought  up  on  the  farm  and  in 
his  early  years  learned  the  tanner's  trade,  which  he  abandoned  to  resume  farm- 
ing, to  which  vocation  he  has  given  his  entire  life.  He  married  in  1845,  Eliza 
Jane  Kelley,  of  Allegheny  county,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Kelley.  She  died  in 
March,  187Q,  and  was  buried  in  West  Newton  cemetery.  They  had  nine  chil- 
dren :  Margaret  C,  intermarried  with  J.  E.  Cunningham,  who  lives  in  Ros- 
traver  township :  Mary  E.,  intermarried  with  A.  G.  Cunningham,  who  lives  in 
Johnston  county,  Missouri ;  Martha  Jane,  intermarried  with  J.  H.  Smith,  who 
lives  in  Rostraver  township:  Samuel  Stewart,  deceased;  Robert  A.,  referred  to 
hereafter ;  Eliza  Ann,  unmarried  and  living  at  their  home  ;  John  C,  intermarried 
with  Annie  Culbert :  \^''illiam  J.,  intermarried  with  Mollie  Stevens,  who  lives 
in  Rostraver  township;  and  Sallie  B.,  intermarried  with  John  Rader,  who  lives 
in  McKeesport.  John  Rankin,  Jr.,  their  father,  although  now  past  four  score 
years  and  four,  is  yet  living  and  in  good  health  on  the  old  homestead  in  Ros- 
traver township. 

-Robert  A.  Rankin  was  born  May  8,  1857,  and  brought  up  as  a  farmer.  He 
entered  the  common  schools  and  later  spent  three  years  in  Jefferson  Academy, 
Cannonsburg,  Pennsylvania,  after  which  he  returned  home  and  engaged  in 
farming.  He  was  thus  engaged  until  i88q  when  he  was  appointed  clerk  in  the 
prothonotary's  office  under  John  Rial.     In  June,   i88g,  he  married  Margaret 


(K^4-^^  ^^ 


HISTORY   OF    U  hSTMOKELAND    COb'XTV.  115 

Uelle  l-"inle\-,  of  Rostra ver  township,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  G.  and  EHzabeth 
T.  Finley.  '  Her  ancestors  were  early  settlers  in  the  county.  Her  great-grantl- 
lather  was  Rev.  lames  Finley,  who  assisted  in  organizing  and  was  the  first 
pastor  of  the  oklRehobeth  Church  in  Rostraver  township,  a  church  so  noted 
m  W  estmoreland  history.  Among  her  family  were  other  noted  men :  Rev. 
Samuel  Finlev,  president  of  Princeton  College  in  1776;  and  Samuel  Finley 
Breese  :\Iorse,  the  inventor  of  the  electric  telegraph.  Robert  A.  Rankin  was 
also  clerk  in  the  prothonotary's  office  under  R.  A.  Hope,  and  was  deputy  pro- 
thonotarv  under  Lewis  Thompson.  He  was  elected  prothonotary  of  Westmore- 
land county  in  November,  1897,  and  filled  the  office  in  1898,  1899  and  1900.  In 
April,  1900,  on  the  organization  of  the  Westmoreland  Savings  &  Trust  Com- 
pany of  Greensburg,  he  was  elected  assistant  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  in- 
stitution, and  filled  that  position  until  September,  1903,  when  the  governor  ap- 
pointed him  register  of  wills  and  clerk  of  the  Orphans'  court  to  succeed  Samuel 
C.  Stevenson,  deceased.  At  the  close  of  his  term  of  appointment  he  was 
elected  to  the  same  position  in  1905  by  a  majority  over  his  opponent  of  7823 
votes.  He  has  been  president  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  \\'ebster  since 
its  organization,  and  all  these  positions  he  has  filled  with  credit  to  himself  and 
friends.  Since  coming  to  America  the  Rankins  have  been  energetic  and  active 
in  politics.  The  older  members  of  the  family  were  Whigs,  who  became  Re- 
publicans upon  the  birth  of  that  party.  Robert  A.  Rankin  has  been  twice  elected 
chairman  of  the  Republican  committee,  in  1900  and  1901,  in  which  campaigns 
the  partv  was  successful,  the  majorities  reaching  from  4000  to  6000.  For  the 
last  sixteen  vears  he  has  been  a  resident  of  Greensburg.  Both  he  and  his  wife 
were  communicants  of  the  old  Rehobeth  Church  in  Rostraver  township  before 
coming  to  Greensburg,  since  which  time  they  have  been  members  of  the  West- 
minster (Presbyterian)  Church  of  Greensburg,  of  which  Mr.  Rankin  has  been 
a  trustee  and  treasurer  for  many  years. 

JOHN  GUY,  a  well  known  citizen  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  and 
the  possessor  of  a  large  farm  which  is  justly  prized  for  the  size,  variety  and. 
quality  of  its  products,  is  a  descendant  of  good  Irish  stock,  as  are  many  of  the 
sturdy  farmers  of  that  vicinity. 

\\'illiam  Guy,  father  of  John  Guy,  was  born  in  Ireland,  in  1794,  and  emi- 
grated to  the  United  States  in  1820,  locating  in  Westmoreland  county,  Penn- 
sylvania. William  Guy  became  identified  with  the  Democratic  party,  and  was 
a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church.  He  was  a  weaver  by  trade,  but  took  up  the 
occupation  of  farming  in  Hempfield  township,  Pennsylvania.  He  married 
(first)  in  Ireland,  and  had  two  children:  .\  daughter  who  remained  in  Ireland 
when  her  father  came  to  America:  Richard,  born  November  i,  i8r6,  who  came 
with  his  father  to  .America,  and  died  in  1873.  Richard  Guy  married  Catherine 
.-\llshouse,  of  Hempfield  township,  and  the\-  were  the  parents  of  seven  children, 
as  follows:  Mary,  Samuel,  Henr>-,  Hester,  Josephine,  Sarah,  and  Frank,  who 
lives  in  Kansas.  W'illiam  Guy  married  ("second)  in  1824.  Sarah  Frazer.  of  Se- 
wickley  township,  Pennsylvania,  and  they  had  ten  children,  as  follows:  i.  Eliza- 
beth, born  February  6,  i82r).  married  Ro1)crt  McCiill,  of  Hemj)field  townshiji, 
Pennsvlvania.  and  had  five  children  :  I'rank,  Elizabeth.  .Alexander.  .Annie,  and 
Irwin.  Airs.  AIcGill  died  in  1875.  2.  James,  born  September  9,  1827,  married 
Alattie  Rortz,  and  had  the  following  children  :  William.  .Sarah,  i^ichard,  Joseph, 
James.  .Andrew,  Irwin,  Jennie,  and  Adelia.  3.  Susanna,  born  April  27,  1829, 
married  Jonas  Bortz,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  nine  children,  four  of  whom 
died  within  a  period  of  three  weeks  of  diphtheria.     Their  only  children  now 


Ii6  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 


living  are:  Albert,  Annie,  and  Elizabeth.  4.  William,  born  April  8,  1S31, 
married  Hannah  Kepple,  and  had  one  child,  Henry  j\l.,  a  carriage  and  wagon 
manufacturer  in  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania.  5.  Jacob,  born  June  7,  1833,  mar- 
ried (first)  Catherine  Long,  and  they  had  one  child,  Elmer,  a  carpenter.  Jacob, 
married  (second)  Catherine  Kistler,  and  they  had  the  following  children:  Aiil- 
ton,  Cora,  Lydia,  Sarah,  Grace,  Ettie,  Jesse,  Robert.  6.  Sarah  Jane,  born 
^larch  10,  1836,  married  \Villiam  Nipple,  and  had  five  children:  Alary,  Edward, 
Oliver,  Ellen,  Emery.  7.  John,  of  whom  later.  8.  Henry,  born  April  5,  1841,  a 
stone  mason  by  trade,  and  has  helped  to  build  many  of  the  most  important  of 
the  public  buildings  in  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania ;  among  these  may  be  men- 
tioned the  old  Greensburg  Academy,  the  Greensburg  Seminary,  the  Masonic 
Hall,  and  others.  Mr.  Guy  is  a  member  of  the  Second  Lutheran  Church  of 
Greensburg,  and  is  a  Democrat.  He  married,  November  19,  1868,  Mary  Anna 
Small,  daughter  of  John  Small,  who  was  a  farmer  of  Hempiield  township.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Henry  Guy  were  the  parents  of  three  children:  Ella  L.  Melissa,  John 
and  William.  Ella  L.  Melissa  was  born  July  10,  1869,  married  Frank  Shuey,  a 
farmer  of  Hempfield  township,  and  they  had  three  children :  Elsie,  Edna  and 
Charles.  John  was  born  April  23,  1873,  married  Susan  Allshouse,  a  daughter 
of  Reuben  Allshouse,  of  Berry.  They  had  one  child,  Helen.  John  Guy  lost  his 
life  as  the  result  of  an  explosion  in  the  Edgar  Thompson  steel  works  at  Brad- 
dock,  December  26,  1904.  William  was  born  March  29,  1876,  married  Sarah 
Shuey,  a  daughter  of  John  M.  Shuey,  a  farmer  and  thresher  of  Heiupfield 
township,  g.  Anna,  born  June  21,  1843.  She  married  (first)  William  Keppler, 
and  they  had  two  children :  Margaret  Sarah  and  John.  Mr.  Keppler  died  in 
1870,  and  his  widow  married  Elijah  J.  Bricker  and  they  have  one  child,  Harry 
Bricker.  10.  Agnes,  born  March  5,  1846,  married  Henry  Piper,  of  Jeannette, 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  they  have  three  children,  as  follows : 
Emma,  George,  and  Willliam. 

John  Guy,  fourth  son  and  seventh  child  of  William  an<l  Sarah  (  Erazer) 
Guy,  was  born  in  Hempfield  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
February  27,  1839.  He  was  brought  up  on  his  father's  farm  and  received  a 
good  education,  attending  the  common  schools.  He  then  learned  the  trade  of  a 
mason  and  plasterer,  and  has  followed  this  occupation  all  his  life  in  connection 
with  the  cultivation  of  his  farm,  which  is  very  extensive.  For  some  years, 
however,  his  time  has  been  devoted  almost  exclusively  to  the  farming  industry, 
as  was  made  necessary  by  the  increased  size  of  the  crops,  which  was  due  to  his 
progressive  methods.  Mr.  Guy  is  always  on  the  lookout  for  new  and  improved 
farming  machinery  and  methods,  and  is  ready  to  give  them  a  fair  and  practical 
trial.  As  a  result  of  this  his  farm  is  in  excellent  condition,  and  the  yield  of  all 
crops — wheat,  corn,  oats,  potatoes,  etc. — is  abundant  beyond  measure.  His 
farm  consists  of  a  choice  tract  of  forty  acres.  Mr.  Guy  is  always  ready  to  lend 
his  assistance  to  any  movement  which  will  tend  to  the  improvement  or  advance- 
ment of  the  community  in  which  he  lives.  He  married  in  1862,  Mary  Elizabeth 
Kelly,  daughter  of  John  Kelly,  a  farmer  of  Hempfield  township,  I-'ennsvlvania. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Guy  had  one  child,  Ida,  who  died  in  1875. 

HENRY  M.  GUY.  only  child  of  \\'illiam  and  Hannah  (Kepple)  Guy, 
was  born  November  23,  i860,  in  Hempfield  township,  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  is  a  well  known  carriage  and  wagon  maker  of  Greensburg, 
Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Guy  is  of  Irish  descent,  and  a  full  account  of  his  ances- 
try is  given  in  the  jireceding  sketch.  William  Guy,  father  of  Henrv  M.  Guv, 
was  born  April  8,  183 1,  was  reared  on  a  farm,  educated  in  the  common  schools. 


^.  oJ^jk^ 


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HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  117 

engaged  in  farming  and  in  connection  with  this  pursuit,  engaged  in  carpenter 
work  with  his  brother  Richard.  He  followed  farming  and  carpentering  in 
Hempfield  township  until  :\Iarcli  25,  1880,  when  he  removed  to  Greensburg.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Zion  Lutheran  church,  and  in  politics  is  a  Democrat.  He 
married  Hannah  Kepple,  and  they  had  one  son,  Henry  J\I. 

Henrv  ^l.  Guy  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Hempfield 
township,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years  closed  his  school  life.  He  re- 
mained on  the  old  homestead  and  acted  as  assistant  to  his  father  in  the  manifold 
duties  of  farm  life.  He  continued  this  for  about  one  year,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1880  moved  to  Greensburg  and  entered  into  a  business  engagement  with  the 
Pennsvlvania  Railroad  Company  for  one  year.  He  then  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  wagon  making  field  held  out  better  prospects  of  success  for  the  future. 
He  engaged  in  this  line  of  business,  and  has  now  ( 1906)  continued  it  for  a  per- 
iod of  twenty-four  years,  with  an  unvaried  degree  of  success.  He  is  a  member 
of  Camp  Xo!  18,  W.  W.  He  married,  ?ilay  30,  1891,  Anna  M.  Johnson,  daugh- 
ter of  John  and  ilartha  (Anderson)  Johnson,  bom  in  Unity  township,  near 
Youngstown,  Pennsylvania,  November  4,  i860.  JNIr.  Guy  is  a  member  of  the 
Lutheran  church,  and  }ilrs.  Guy  of  the  Reformed  church  of  Greensburg,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

SA:\IUEL  DILLINGER,  a  leading  man  of  affairs  in  the  early  de- 
velopment of  \\'estmoreland  county,  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  born  in  East 
Huntingdon  township.  Westmoreland  county,  October  28,  1810.  He  was  of 
German  descent  in  both  parental  lines.  Daniel  Dillinger,  his  father,  was  born 
in  the  eastern  part  of  Pennsylvania,  August  6,  1787,  and  while  yet  a  boy  crossed 
the  Allegheny  mountains  and  located  in  Westmoreland  county,  near  Bethany. 
Here  he  was  brought  up  on  a  farm,  and  when  he  arrived  at  manhood  married 
Mary  Myers,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Myers.  Their  children  were :  Samuel, 
Christian.  Joseph,  Jacob,  Abraham.  Daniel,  Elizabeth  (married  Alexander 
Myers),  Sarah,  (married  Michael  Sheets),  and  Mary,  married  John  Billheimer. 
Daniel  Dillinger  lived  in  the  vicinity  of  Bethany  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
February  9.  1847,  ^t  the  age  of  fifty-seven  years,  his  widow  surviving  him 
twenty-six  years.  After  her  husband's  death  she  lived  with  her  son  Samuel,  at 
the  home  farm,  where  she  died  June  19,  1871,  aged  eighty-one  years.  The 
husband  and  wife  were  buried  in  the  Mennonite  cemetery,  at  Alverton,  West- 
moreland county. 

Samuel  Dillinger,  eldest  child  of  Daniel  and  Mary  (Myers)  Dillinger,  was 
brought  up  on  the  parental  farm,  and  received  but  a  limited  education.  Early 
in  life  he  was  employed  by  Martin  Stauffer,  near  Jacolj's  Creek,  where  he 
learned  the  business  of  distilling.  He  married  Sarah  Loucks  in  1831,  and  soon 
after  they  purchased  and  located  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  "Home  farm," 
near  Alverton.  Their  children  were :  Annie,  married  Joseph  Hixson ;  Mary, 
married  Abraham  Sherrick :  Catherine,  married  Moses  Hixson ;  Sarah,  married 
Jacob  C.  Fox:  John  L.,  married  Mary  Mclntire;  Elizabeth  L.,  married  C.  T. 
Hanna;  Eliza  L..  married  A.  A.  Plasson  ;  Daniel  L. ;  and  .Samuel  L.,  married 
Katie  Hutchinson. 

Samuel  Dillinger  followed  the  business  of  farming,  buying  and  selling  cat- 
tle and  horses,  etc.  He  had  for  some  years  a  large  Conestoga  wagon  with  six 
horses,  with  which  he  traversed  the  National  Pike,  transporting  merchandise 
between  the  cities  of  Pittsburg  and  Baltimore.  He  subsequentlv  engaged  in 
contract  work,  building  school  houses  and  churches,  and  other  edifices.  He  was 
an  untiring  worker  for  the  free  school  system,  and  was  an  efficient  memlKT  of 


ii8  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

the  board  of  school  directors  for  man}-  years.  In  his  prosperity  he  added  liy  pur- 
chase additional  farms  adjoining  his  "Home  farm,"  vmtil  he  owned  upward  of 
six  hundred  acres  in  one  body,  all  of  which  was  underlaid  with  Connellsville 
coking  coal.  In  addition  to  his  farming  interests,  about  1850  he  purchased  a 
custom  grist  mil!  in  old  Bethany,  and  soon  afterward  erected  in  connection  with 
the  mill  a  distillery,  both  of  which  he  operated  successfully  for  about  thirty 
vears,  until  1881,  when  they  were  entirely  destroyed  by  fire.  The  following- 
year,  with  his  two  sons,  Daniel  L.  and  Samuel  L.,  he  built  a  new  distillery  at 
Ruff"s  Dale,  in  Westmoreland  county,  which  until  his  death  was  successfully 
operated  under  the  firn-i  name  of  S.  Dillinger  and  Sons.  The  business  has  been 
continued  by  his  sons  up  to  the  present  day,  and  is  one  of  the  largest  and  best 
known  in  the  state  of  Pennsylvania.  It  has  a  daily  capacity  of  five  hundred 
bushels  of  grain,  or  a  product  of  fifty  barrels,  and  has  six  warehouses  with  a 
combined  storage  capacity  of  fifty-five  thousand  barrels  of  whisky.  With  his 
sons,  in  1872,  he  erected  a  number  of  coke  ovens  at  Hawkeye,  and  in  1879 
extended  the  coke  business  by  the  erection  of  additional  coke  ovens  at  Tarr  and 
Pennsville,  and  later  with  the  McClure  Coke  Company  at  Alverton,  the  latter 
being  known  as  the  Donnelly  plant.  Dillinger  and  Sons  are  therefore  entitled 
to  rank  among  the  pioneer  coke  operators  of  Pennsylvania. 

Mr.  Dillinger's  activities  were  also  extended  to  important  interests  in  other 
directions.  He  was  one  of  the  projectors  of  the  Southwest  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
way in  1871,  and  served  upon  the  directorate  for  some  years.  As  a  business 
man  he  was  distinguished  for  the  order  with  which  he  conducted  all  of  his  af- 
fairs, for  his  firmi-iess  and  decision,  promptness,  great  energy  and  punctuality. 
He  was  gentle  to  his  employees,  and  straightforward  in  all  his  dealings.  As  a 
citizen  he  was  what  his  character  would  indicate  as  a  business  man,  and  which 
commanded  for  him  the  highest  respect  of  his  fellow  citizens.  He  was  public 
spirited  and  zealous  in  politics.  During  the  administration  of  President  Buch- 
anan and  prior  to  that  time,  he  was  affiliated  with  the  Whig  party.  While  he 
was  opposed  to  slavery,  he  was  also  opposed  to  confiscation  and  the  Civil  war, 
believing  that  slavery  would  terminate  its  own  existence  by  the  education  of  the 
people  to  the  fact  that  it  was  wrong,  and  that  this  course  would  at  the  same 
time  better  prepare  the  slaves  for  their  freedom.  In  this,  like  all  his  other  mo- 
tives, he  was  conscientious  in  what  he  believed,  and  naturally  united  with  the 
Democratic- party.  He  was  never  an  aspirant  for  political  office,  but  always  ad- 
vocated the  nomination  of  the  one  whom  he  thought  to  be  best  qualified  for  the 
position.  He  was  an  honest  man,  and  never  feared  to  express  the  convictions 
of  his  conscience.  He  was  a  constant  friend  and  neighbor,  and  was  ever  ready 
and  willing  to  lend  a  helping  hand  to  the  weak  and  erring  or  downtrodden.  His 
last  illness  was  paralysis  coming  upon  him  suddenly,  and  from  which  he  never 
regained  consciousness.  He  died  August  25,  1889,  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine 
years.  He  was  buried  in  the  Mennonite  cemetery,  at  Alverton.  His  bereaved 
widow,  Sarah,  to  whose  energy,  faithfulness  and  frugality  a  large  portion  of 
his  prosperity  may  be  attributed,  survived  him  about  nine  years,  during  which 
time  she  made  her  home  with  her  son,  Daniel  L.  Dillinger,  at  Greensburg, 
Pennsylvania.  She  died  August  19,  1898,  in  the  ninetieth  year  of  her  age. 
She  w-as  buried  by  the  side  of  her  husband  in  the  Mennonite  cemetery,  at  Al- 
verton, Pennsylvania. 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON  HOWELL,  one  of  the  progressive  busi- 
ness men  of  Greensburg,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  engaged  in  the 
heating,  ventilating  and  tinning  trade  and  kindred  branches,  is  a  representative 
in  the  present  generation  of  an  old  Westmoreland  family. 


HISTORY   OF   JVESTMORELAXD   COUNTY.  119 

William  Howell,  father  of  George  Washington  Howell,  was  born  in  West- 
moreland county,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  for  many  years  a  farmer,  and  then 
engaged  in  the  occupation  of  transporting  coal  on  boats  down  the  Ohio  river. 
He  was  thus  engaged  at  the  time  of  his  death.  His  bodv  was  found  floating 
in  the  ^lonongahela  river,  at  Port  I'crry.  February  12.  1857.  His  pockets  had 
been  turned  inside  out,  and  a  murderous  blow  on  the  side  of  his  head  left  little 
doubt  as  to  the  manner  and  cause  of  his  death.  He  married  in  1847,  Elizabeth 
Michaels,  born  in  1832,  daughter  of  John  and  Mary  Alichaels,  of  Westmore- 
land county.  They  had  three  children  that  grew  to  maturity :  Josiah,  George 
Washington,  of  whom  later:  Julia.  In  1859  Mrs.  Howell  married  John  ^le- 
haffey,  and  had  three  children :  Thomas,  James,  .\nnie.  She  was  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Greensburg.  Pennsylvania,  and  died  Febru- 
ary 26,  1905. 

George  Washington  Howell,  second  son  and  child  of  William  and  Eliza- 
beth (Michaels)  Howell,  was  born  in  Braddock's  Field,  Allegheny  county, 
Pennsylvania,  November  30,  1852.  He  was  the  first  child  born  in  the  house 
which  stood  close  to  the  spring  where,  tradition  says.  Braddock  took  his  last 
drink  and  where  Washington  took  command.  In  memory  of  this  he  was  given 
the  name  of  George  Washington.  He  was  reared  and  educated  partly  in  Alle- 
gheny and  partly  in  Westmoreland  county,  attending  the  common  schools  of 
Wilkinsburg  in  the  former  county,  and  those  of  Cavettsville  in  the  latter.  In 
1871  he  went  to  work  for  James  F.  Ryan  to  learn  the  tinsmith  trade.  He  fol- 
lowed this  business  all  his  life,  having  made  it  a  profitable  one.  He'  worked  in 
Pittsburg  and  Wilkinsburg.  Allegheny  county,  and  in  Greensburg.  Westmore- 
land county,  being  foreman  for  the  following  firms  in  the  hardware  business : 
Shields  &  Mechling;  Turney  Brothers;  and  D.  W.  Bortz  &  Brothers.  In  1899 
he  established  himself  in  business  in  the  same  line,  making  a  specialty  of  tinning 
and  heating  by  means  of  hot  air.  He  has  made  a  decided  success,  being  very 
methodical  and  systematic  in  his  manner  of  conducting  his  business,  and  in  the 
execution  of  orders  entrusted  to  him.  His  political  faith  is  pinned  to  the  Dem- 
ocratic party,  of  which  he  is  a  staunch  adherent.  He  is  a  member  of  Zion  Re- 
formed church.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  following  organizations :  Greens- 
burg Council,  Xo.  44,  R.  A.,  and  J.  O.  U.  A.  'SI.  He  married  (first),  June  26, 
1873,  Jennie  Alexandria,  born  March  20,  1852,  in  McKeesport,  Pennsylvania, 
daughter  of  Thomas  and  Sarah  Alexandria.  Mrs.  Howell  was  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Greensburg.  Pennsylvania,  and  died  there 
February  27,  1887.  The  children  of  George  W.  and  Jennie  (Alexandria) 
Howell  were:  Frank  ^^■illian1,  born  March  29,  1874;  Clyde  ^Nlarsells,  June  28, 
1880;  Mabel  Lorcn,  .\pril  24,  18S2.  Mr.  Howell  married  (second)  Julv  19, 
18S8.  Emma  C.  Smith,  born  January  30.  1859,  in  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania, 
daughter  of  John  and  Xancy  Smith,  of  East  End.  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania. 
John  Smith,  born  in  Reading,  February  9,  1826,  died  July  11,  1885,  was  a  tailor 
by  trade  and  followed  that  occujjation  for  a  number  of  years  in  Greensburg  be- 
fore removing  to  East  End,  Pittsburg,  in  1881.  His  wife,  Nancy  Smith,  born 
December  31.  1824,  died  April  29,  1883.  By  his  second  marriage  Mr.  Howell 
had  three  children  :  George  Wilber.  born  January  8.  1896 :  Clarence  Smith,  De- 
cember 4.  1897:  Mary  Edna,  Xovembcr  2.  1899. 

JAMES  LAYTOX  RUFFXER.  Among  Greensburgs  busy  busi- 
ness men  is  James  L.  Ruffner.  who  represents  the  "Singer."  Illinois  and  Do- 
mestic Sewing  Machine  Companies  in  this  part  of  Pennsylvania. 

His  grandfather,  Simon  Peter  Ruffner,  (I )  of  German  descent,  was  among 


120  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 


tlic  very  early  settlers  in  Derry  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania. 
He  died  aged  about  sixty  years.  His  wife  was  Jane  Layton,  who  was  of  an 
Irish  family  at  the  village  of  Derry.  The  children  born  to  Simon  Peter  and 
Jane  (Layton)  Ruffner  were:  Nancy,  married  Daiiiel  iMurray ;  John,  married 
Catherine  Geary ;  Sarah  and  Mary  (twins)  ;  Sarah  married  Charles  Larkins  and 
Mary  married  Joseph  Miller;  James,  of  whom  later. 

II.  James  Ruffner  (father),  born  September  9,  1835,  in  Derry  township, 
died  March,  1904,  in  same  township.  He  was  a  prosperous  farmer  and  at  his 
death  owned  several  big  farms.  He  was  in  politics  a  Democrat,  and  belonged  to 
the  Roman  Catholic  church  as  did  also  his  family.  He  served  as  supervisor  of 
Derry  township.  He  married,  November  25,  1856,  Elizabeth  Bridge,  born  Oc- 
tober 24,  1835,  the  daughter  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Stahl)  Bridge,  of  German 
descent.  She  died  suddenly  of  heart  failure,  June  30,  1904,  and  is  buried  be- 
side her  husband  in  the  Catholic  cemetery  at  Blairsville,  Pennsylvania.  Their 
children  were:  Catherine  Jane,  born  August  20,  1857,  niarried  Albert  Short; 
James  Layton,  born  December  27,  i860,  of  whom  later;  Annie  Elizabeth,  born 
June  17,  1862,  married  Samuel  Connor,  of  Derry  township;  John  E.,  born  De- 
cembiT  26,  1864,  married  Zora  Enfield;  Mary,  born  September  2,  1866,  married 
Charles  F.  Ehalt,  hotel  proprietor  at  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania ;  Elizabeth  and 
Peter,  died  in  infancy;  Margaret  and  Agnes  (twins),  born  June  9,  1872;  Mar- 
garet, married  William  Kilgore,  and  Agnes  married  John  W.  Luther ;  Sarah 
Gertrude,  born  September  3,  1875,  married  Harry  Fisher,  of  Derry  township. 

III.  James  L.  Ruffner,  born  December  27,  i860,  son  of  James  and  Eliza- 
beth (Bridge)  Ruft'ner,  II,  received  a  common  school  education  in  Derry  town- 
ship, Westmoreland  count)-,  Pennsylvania,  and  later  attended  the  academy  at 
Blairsville,  Pennnsylvania.  After  leaving  the  school  room,  full  of  laudable  am- 
bition, he  engaged  with  the  Singer  Sewing  Machine  Company  as  salesman. 
First  he  was  stationed  at  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  but  after  one  year  was  sent 
to  LTniontown,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  managed  the  agency  for  the  well  known 
company  for  a  period  of  fifteen  years.  He  then  returned  to  Greensburg, 
where  he  has  been  located  the  past  eight  years.  Besides  his  Singer  sewing  ma- 
chine business  he  has  been  active  in  many  other  lines.  Since  1902  he  has  been 
a  wholesale  agent  for  the  Illinois  Sewing  Machine  Company,  wdiose  factory  is 
at  Rockford.  Illinois.  While  never  neglecting  his  duties  in  the  role  of  whole- 
sale and  retail  machine  salesman,  he  has  dealt  in  real  estate  and  been  connected 
with  building  and  loan  companies  both  here  and  in  Sioux  Falls,  South  Dakota. 
He  was  the  manager  for  the  Washington  National  Loan  Association 
of  Washington.  District  of  Columbia,  for  three  years.  He  also 
helped  organize  and  build  two  large  brewing-  plants,  one  at  Ha- 
gerstown,  Maryland,  and  one  at  Shire  Oaks,  Washington  county, 
Pennsylvania,  both  of  which  became  successful  and  which  he  has 
disposed  of  some  time  since.  He  has  erected  several  residences  and  now  owns 
the  commodious  one  in  which  he  lives  at  No.  637  East  Pittsburg  street,  Greens- 
burg, Pennsylvania.  He  also  owns  the  Commercial  Hotel  property  at  Scott- 
dale,  Westnioreland  county.  During  the  winter  of  1905-6  he  went  to  Florida 
anil  there  spent  some  two  months,  during  which  time  he  invested  in  a  fine 
O'-ange  grove  near  DeLand,  Volusia  county,  Florida.  He  also  has  in  embryo 
the  erection  of  a  brewing  plant  at  Jacksonville,  Florida. 

Politically  Mr.  Ruffner  is  an  independent  Democrat,  always  supporting  the 
best  man,  but  everything  being  equal  votes  the  Democratic  ticket.  Both  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Ruffner  are  members  of  the  Greensburg  Roman  Catholic  church. 

He  married,  June  2.  1887,  Annie  E.  Ehalt,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Lydia 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY .  121 

Ehalt,  of  Greensburs-  Their  children  are:  Charles  E.,  born  February  29, 
1S88:'  Tames  Lawrence,  born  January  17,  1890,  died  aged  one  year  and  a  half; 
Elizabeth  Lvdia.  born  Julv  29,  1893 ;  Victor  Leo,  born  July  23,  1895  ;  a  son  and 
dauirhter  (twins),  borii  February  22,  1898,  died  in  infancy;  John  Elmer,  born 
February  21.  1899;  Ralph  Benedict,  born  August  22,  1901  ;  Philip,  born  ]May 
30,  1904,  died  June  14,  1904;  Anthony  Chrysostom  James  Regis,  born  Oc- 
tober 31,  1905. 

•  CHALMERS  RAMALEY,  one  of  the  successful  men  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  a  resident  of  Greensburg,  \\'estmoreland  county,  was  born  June  6, 
1873,  the  son  of  Jacob  and  Susanna  R.  (Cutchell)  Ramaley.  Jacob  Ramaley 
was  born  atout  1829.  He  was  by  occupation  a  millwright,  and  in  the  practice 
of  his  trade  contributed  liberally  to  the  development  of  the  milling  industry  in 
Westmoreland  county.  He  married  Susanna  R.  Cutchell,  daughter  of  Parmenus 
Cutchell,  and  their  children  were:  :\Iurray,  P.  A.,  Dr.  E.  R.,  I\L  J.,  Ida  M., 
IMolly  B..  Blanch  ^L,  and  Chalmers. 

Chalmers  Ramaley  is  one  of  the  energetic  and  prosperous  business  men  in 
the  county.  He  is  an  architect  of  ability,  and  owns  a  sawmill,  several  excellent 
farms  that  are  worked  for  him  by  tenants,  and  other  farms  that  he  buys  for  the 
standing  timber,  after  the  removal  of  which  he  sells  them  and  buys  others,  in 
the  regiilar  course  of  his  business.  Air.  Ramaley  is  now  building  a  large  barn, 
one  of  the  best  in  the  county  in  point  of  construction,  as  it  will  also  be  in  appoint- 
ments when  finished.  Its  location  will  be  convenient  to  the  farms  he  owns,  and 
will  comfortably  house  the  dozen  or  more  working  horses  and  the  other  farm 
products.  Mr.  Ramaley  contemplates  the  building  of  a  house  for  his  family 
which  though  simple  in  architecture,  will  be  one  of  the  finest  residences  in  the 
county.  On  the  hill  near  the  ground  upon  which  this  house  is  to  be  erected  is 
a  spring  of  excellent  w^ater.  It  is  high  above  the  house  and  barn,  and  Mr. 
Ramaley  will  build  a  reservoir  to  supply  them  with  water  and  to  furnish  power 
for  electric  lighting  and  such  light  machinery  as  will  make  housework  and  the 
feed  and  care  of  stock  most  convenient.  Mr.  Ramaley  married,  February  8. 
1900.  Xora  M.  Young,  daughter  of  Xorman  C.  Young,  and  their  children  are : 
Susan,  born  September  14,  1901 ;  Chalmers  E.,  February  i,  1902:  and  Simon 
Stack,  March  27,  1904. 

JOHN  HARGNETT  was  descended  from  a  family  that  had  settled 
in  the  L'nited  States  before  the  Revolution.  He  was  of  the  third  generation 
in  descent  from  the  pioneer  ancestor  who  came  from  Germany. 

(I)  Jacob  Hargnett,  the  grandfather  of  John  Hargnett.  and  the  founder 
of  the  Hargnett  family,  was  born  in  Germany,  December  23,  1736.  He  was  still 
a  young  tnan  when  he  came  to  America  and  settled  near  Hagerstown,  Mary- 
land. He  remained  there  a  few  years  and  then  removed  with  his  family  to 
Westmoreland  county,  where  he  took  up  land  in  the  Ligonier  valley  about  1770. 
The  hostility  of  the  Indians,  however,  compelled  him.  as  it  had  many  other 
pioneers,  to  abandon  tliis  home  in  a  very  short  time.  Tie  accordingly  returned 
to  Maryland,  where  lie  lived  for  the  next  eight  years.  When  peace  had  in  some 
deerree  been  established  on  the  western  border,  he  returned  to  tlic  Ligonier 
valley  and  asfain  settled  on  lands  he  had  previously  occupied.  This  was  situ- 
ated about  two  miles  southwest  of  Fort  Ligonier,  and  is  yet  in  the  possession  of 
some  of  his  descendants.  At  that  time  the  fort  was  garrisoned  and  served  as 
a  place  of  refuere  for  all  pioneers  ^yithin  reach  of  it  in  times  of  Indian  invasions. 
Mr.  Harsrnett  lived  on  this  farm  until  his  death,  which  occurred  at  tlie  advanced 


122  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 


age  of  ninety  years,  in  1826.  His  widow,  Barbara,  survived  him  but  one  year, 
and  they  are  both  buried  in  the  Brant  cemetery  near  their  former  home.  I'heir 
children  were  :    Frederick,  Ester  and  Sarah.- 

(II)  Frederick  Hargnett,  son  of  Jacob  (i)  and  Barabra  Hargnett,  was 
born  in  Hagerstown.  Maryland,  in  1774,  and  was  brought  to  Ligonier  when  his 
parents  removed  to  that  section.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and  suc- 
ceeded to  the  land  taken  up  by  his  father.  In  1803  he  married  Catharine  Tosh, 
and  they  had  eight  children:  Jacob,  born  in  1805;  Henry,  born  July  10,  1807; 
Christina,  born  March  20,  1809,  intermarried  with  Jacob  Miller;  John,"  born 
April  13,  181 1  ;  Ann,  born  August  7,  1813,  intermarried  with  Samuel  King; 
David,  born  August  17,  1818;  Elizabeth,  born  September  21,  1821,  intermarried 
with  Peter  Myers;  Sarah,  born  January,  1824,  intermarried  with  J.  M.  Rren- 
iser.  All  of  the  above  family  of  Frederick  Hargnett  are  dead.  In  politics 
Frederick  Hargnett  was  a  Democrat,  and  in  religious  faith  a  member  of  the 
German  Reformed  church.  He  died  May  3,  1845,  and  his  widow  survived 
him  until  February  15,  1871. 

(III)  John  Hargnett,  the  third  son  of  Frederick  (II)  and  Catharine 
Tosh  Hargnett,  was  born  April  13,  181 1.  His  constitution  being  a  delicate  one, 
he  left  the  farm  in  1830  and  became  a  clerk  in  a  store  in  Ligonier.  Two  years 
later  he  established  himself  in  the  mercantile  business  there,  wliich  he  conducted 
personally  until  old  age  compelled  him  to  retire  from  its  active  duties.  He  was 
for  forty  years  associated  in  business  with  John  T.  McGowan.  It  was  his  cus- 
tom to  make  two  trips  each  year  to  Philadelphia  or  Baltimore,  one  in  the  spring 
and  the  other  in  the  fall,  to  replenish  their  stock  of  goods  for  the  coming  season. 
These  journeys  as  a  rule  were  made  in  stage  coaches,  but  at  times  they  were 
made  on  horseback.  In  either  case  he  was  obliged  to  carry  with  him  the  money 
to  be  paid  for  the  goods  purchased,  and  this  was  no  light  weight,  since  it  was 
useless  with  the  paper  money  of  that  day  to  attempt  to  pay  in  anything  but  gold 
or  silver.  He  made  these  trips  regularly  in  this  manner  for  twenty  years,  until 
the  completion  of  the  Pennsylvania  railroad  rendered  such  long  turnpike  jour- 
neys unnecessary.  Nothing  delighted  him  more,  in  his  declining  years,  than  to 
talk  of  these  old-time  customs,  and  his  conversation  was  always  fraught  with 
interest  and  instruction.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat,  casting  his  first  presi- 
dential vote  for  Andrew  Jackson  in  1832.  In  1834  he  was  appointed  postmas- 
ter of  Ligonier  under  President  Jackson's  administration,  and  held  this  office, 
though  not  consecutively,  for  a  period  of  twenty-seven  years.  In  1863  he  was 
elected  by  his  party  as  a  member  of  the  legislature.  He  united  with  the  Metho- 
dist church  in  Ligonier,  1830,  and  was  one  of  its  most  active  members  until  his 
death.  For  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  ending  in  June.  1870.  he  was 
superintendent  of  the  Ligonier  Methodist  Episcopal  Sunday  school,  which  he 
helped  to  found  when  a  young  man. 

-In  1836  he  married  Susan,  a  daughter  of  David  .\rmor.  She  died  in  1848. 
They  had  two  children:  Pamelia,  born  in  1837,  and  a  son  Armor,  born  1843, 
who  lived  but  fourteen  months,  dying  in  1844.  Pamelia  was  educated  at  the 
Blairsville  Seminary,  now  known  as  Blairsville  College,  and  was  an  honor 
member  of  its  first  graduating  class.  She  married,  June  28,  1858,  Dr.  L.  T. 
Beam,  of  Ligonier,  and  died  July  31,  1859.  Dr.  Beam  afterwards  removed  to 
Johnstown  and  perished  in  the  flood  of  1889.  In  1850  John  Hargnett  married 
Laura  Piatt,  daughter  of  William  Piatt,  of  Berlin,  Pennsylvania.  She  lived 
but  on  year.  In  1854  he  married  Euphemia  Bernetta,  daughter  of  James  and 
Catherine  Carnahan  McDonald,  of  Indiana  countw  The  McDonalds,  as  their 
name  indicates,  came  from  Scotland.     John,  the  first  American  ancestor,  was  a 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  123 

son  of  John  and  Isabella  McCartney  McDonald,  who  lived  near  Edinburgh,  and 
a  grandson  of  John  ^McDonald,  a  captain  in  the  Scottish  army.  In  1772  John 
?vlcDonald,  the  grandson,  when  a  young  man,  visited  his  relatives  in  Rich  Hills, 
county  of  Armagh,  Ireland.  While  there  a  company  was  formed  consisting  of 
himself  and  sixteen  other  young  men,  three  of  whom  were  his  cousins,  and  they 
:dl  came  to  America,  landing  at  Baltimore.  When  the  Revolutionary  war  broke 
out  John  enlisted  in  Captain  Casper  Weitsell's  company,  First  Battalion  Rifle 
Regiment  from  Pennsylvania.  He  rose  to  the  rank  of  captain  of  the  Flying 
Camp  and  served  through  the  war.  Before  entering  the  army  he  was  married 
tc  Jane  Wilson,  and  at  its  close  settled  on  the  lands  which  he  had  taken  up  ih 
k'ork  county,  w-here  they  resided  until  his  death  more  than  twenty  years  after- 
ward. They  had  nine  children,  one  of  whom,  James,  born  in  1779,  married 
Catharine  Carnahan,  and  settled  in  Indiana  county.  He  was  a  farmer  by  oc- 
cupation, and  a  Presbyterian  in  religion,  though  late  in  life  he  united  with  the 
3Iethodist  Episcopal  church  of  which  his  family  were  already  members.  He 
died  April  20,  1852.  They  had  a  family  of  ten  children  :  John,  James,  Samuel, 
Alexander,  Elizabeth,  Mary,  Jane,  Nancy,  Susan  and  Euphemia  Bernetta,  the 
last  of  whom  became  the  wife  of  John  Hargnett,  as  above  indicated.  To  them 
were  born  two  daughters,  Wilhelmina  Piatt  and  May  Idona,  both  of  whom  were 
sent  to  the  Pittsburg  Female  College,  May  being  graduated  in  one  of  its  latter 
classes  before  it  was  destroyed  by  fire  and  merged  with  Beaver  College.  Wil- 
helmina P.  married,  August,  1880,  Dr.  John  S.  Carman,  of  Berlin,  Pennsyl- 
vania. They  have  four  children  living,  namely,  John  Hargnett,  May  Idona, 
Ralph  and  Lorena.  For  some  years  before  his  death  Mr.  Hargnett  was  not  en- 
gaged in  active  business.  In  April,  1896,  he  had  an  mifortunate  accident,  fall- 
ing and  fracturing  his  hip  joint,  the  eiTects  of  which  finally  caused  his  death  on 
June  13,  1896.  He  was  buried  in  the  \'alley  cemetery.  His  wadow  resides  in 
Ligonier. 

JAMES  C.  HENRY.  One  of  the  most  capable  and  enterprising 
business  men  of  Westmoreland  county,  and  a  man  prominentlv  identified  with 
all  community  afifairs  is  James  C.  Henry.  He  was  born  in  Derry  township. 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  February  25,  1858,  son  of  Conrad  J.  and 
Catherine  (Gary)  Henr_\-,  and  grandson  of  Conrad  Henry.  His  grandfather- 
removed  to  Westmoreland  county,  when  his  son  Conrad  was  but  a  small  boy. 
He  located  in  Unity  township,  near  Yoimgstow'n,  where  he  built  and  operated 
a  still  house  for  a  number  of  years.  He  subsequently  sold  this  property-  and 
jjurchased  a  farm  in  Derry  township,  where  he  resided  up  to  the  time  of  his 
death.  Prior  to  the  advent  of  the  railroads,  Mr.  Henry  was  one  of  the  best 
known  teamsters  operating  from  Baltimore  and  Pittsburg,  owning  and  running 
some  three  or  four  six-horse  teams. 

Conrad  Henry,  Jr.,  father  of  James  C.  Henry,  was  reared  at  home,  and  in 
his  young  manhood  drove  one  of  his  father's  teams,  and  had  charge  of  the  teams 
while  on  the  road.  With  the  coming  of  the  railroads,  however,  and  the  conse- 
quent abandoning  of  teams  as  a  means  of  transportation,  young  Mr.  Henry  was 
out  of  employment,  so  having  a  strong  liking  for  farming  he  jnirchased  a  farm 
in  Derry  township,  Westmoreland  county,  which  he  ojierated  and  on  which  he 
resided  until  his  death.  In  politics  Mr.  Henry  was  a  staunch  Democrat.  He 
married  Catherine  Gary,  and  five  children  were  born  to  them,  three  of  whom 
survive :  James  C,  of  whom  later ;  Edward  S.,  in  the  employ  of  James  C. ;  and 
Joseph  L.,  manager  of  the  oil  fields  of  Beaumont,  Texas,  for  James  M.  Guflfey, 
of  Pittsburg.     After  the  deatli  of  his  wife  Mr.  Hcnrv  married  Anna  A.  Downey, 


124  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

of  Cresson,  Cambria  county,  Pennsylvania.  She  was  a  model  mother  and  the 
idol  of  her  step-children.  Five  children  were  born,,  as  follows :  Mary  A. ; 
Emma,  wife  of  James  E.  Brennon,  Latrobe ;  Charles  J.,  Greensburg:  Frank  X., 
Greensburg:  and  Harry  V.,  in  the  office  of  the  superintendent  of  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railway,  California.  Mr.  Henry  died  when  he  was  fifty-four  years  of 
age,  and  his  wife  sold  the  farm  and  removed  to  Greensburg,  where  she  now  re- 
sides at  her  home  on  West  Otterman  street. 

James  C.  Henry,  son  of  Conrad  Henry,  Jr.,  was  reared  at  home,  and  was 
educated  in  St.  Vincent's  Monastery  in  Westmoreland  county.  At  the  age  of 
sixteen  he  removed  to  Maryland,  where  he  was  engaged  in  managing  a  farm  for 
Charles  McFadden.  Mr.  Henr}'  continued  in  the  management  of  this  large 
plantation  of  three  hundred  and  sixty  acres  for  three  years.  After  this  time  he 
returned  to  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  superintended  the  farm  of  Mrs. 
George  Braden  in  Berry  township  for  four  years,  then  removing  to  Greensburg 
where  he  was  engaged  for  four  years  in  overseeing  the  farm  of  the  Sisters  of 
Charity  at  Seaton  Hill.  He  then  formed  a  copartnership  with  Frank  Peifley,  and 
under  the  firm  name  of  Peifley  &  Henry  conducted  a  general  drayage  business, 
which  proved  cj[uite  successful.  Three  years  later  he  sold  his  interest  to  hi;.^ 
partner  and  entered  into  the  plumbing  business  with  John  Walker,  which  he 
continued  for  two  years.  In  November,  1892,  Mr.  Henry  became  one  of  the 
organizers  and  was  made  president  of  the  Greensburg  Coal  &  Ice  Com]:)any, 
limited.  In  1901  the  name  of  the  company  was  changed  to  the  Westmoreland 
Ice  Company,  of  which  Mr.  Henry  was  president,  manager  and  one  of  the  di- 
rectors, all  of  which  offices  he  still  holds.  In  1903  he  organized  the  Henry  & 
Sheffler  Machine  Company,  handling  a  full  line  of  boilers,  engines  and  pumps, 
and  is  treasurer  of  this  company.  Mr.  Henry  may  well  count  his  career  in  the 
business  world  one  of  success  and  credit.  His  industry,  perseverance,  and 
energy,  also  the  straightforward,  upright  manner  in  which  all  his  business 
dealings  have  been  conducted  have  won  a  high  place  for  him  in  the  world  of 
business  and  made  him  one  of  the  best  known  merchants  in  Westmoreland 
county.  As  a  citizen  he  holds  the  esteem  and  respect  of  his  fellow  townsmen, 
and  his  afifable  and  genial  disposition  have  won  for  him  many  friends.  Politi- 
cally Mr.  Henry  is  a  staunch  Democrat,  and  in  religious  matters  he  is  a  devout 
member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  He  is  a  member  and  trustee  of  Amer- 
icus  Lodge,  and  a  member  of  the  Grand  Fraternity. 

JOHN  L.  SHIELDS,  owner  and  editor  of  the  Mount  Pleasant  Jour- 
nal, was  born  near  Salem,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  June  6,  1857,  a 
son  of  Matthew  and  Sarah  (Larimer)  Shields.  During  his  active  working 
life  Matthew  .Shields  followed  the  occupation  of  farming,  but  is  now  living  a  re- 
tired life. 

John  L.  Shields  obtained  his  education  in  the  Chamljersbnrg  Academy  and 
Princeton  College,  entering  the  latter  institution  in  1876,  and  retiring  in  his 
junior  year.  In  1878  he  returned  to  Westmoreland  county  and  engaged  in  the 
newspaper  business  in  Mount  Pleasant.  He  associated  himself  with  his  broth- 
er-in-law, forming  the  firm  of  Kennedv  &  Shields,  editors  of  the  Mount  Pleasant 
'Journal,  then  a  weekly  paper.  This  publication  was  orignally  the  Mount 
Pleasant  Independent,  and  the  first  copy  was  issued  Saturday,  October  ig, 
1872.  The  paper  was  then  a  four  column,  single  sheet  publication,  and  Mr.  E. 
B.  Halsinger  was  the  editor  and  proprietor.  However,  the  real  founder  of  the 
paper  was  Mr.  A.  W.  Fox,  who  owned  the  major  part  and  assisted  in  the  con- 
duct of  the  paper  until  1874,  when  Mr.  A.  C.  Haverstick  purchased  it.     Mr. 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  12  = 


Haverstick  was  succeeded  by  a  Mr.  Cooper,  who  in  turn  sold  his  interest  to 
■Mr.  Job  A.  Stevenson  and  ^ir.  Joseph  A.  ]\lcCurdy,  who  conducted  it  success- 
fullv  until  it  came  into  the  hands  of  ]\lr.  Shields  and  his  brother-in-law,  Decem- 
ber I,  1882.  This  arrangement  existed  until  1885,  when  Air.  Shields  purchased 
the  interest  of  his  partner,  thus  becoming  sole  editor  and  owner  of  the  Mount 
Pleasant  Journal.  In  1896  Mr.  Shields  enlarged  the  paper  to  eight  pages.  It 
is  a  well-edited  publication,  devoted  mostly  to  local  news,  and  in  every  respect 
is  considered  one  of  the  best  in  the  county.  The  plant  is  well  equipped  with 
the  verv  best  and  most  modern  machinery,  and  it  is  operated  with  a  first-class 
gasoline  engine.  The  circulation  is  two  thousand  two  hundred  copies.  The 
Mount  Pleasant  Journal  is  independent  in  politics,  although  its  proprietor  is  a 
strong  Republican.  Mr.  Shields  is  a  member  of  the  B.  P.  O.  E.,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Presbyterian  church.  In  August,  1900,  Mr.  Shields  married  Hannah 
G.  Ramsay,  a  daughter  of  ^Morris  Ramsay,  general  superintendent  of  the  coal 
and  coke  company.  Two  children,  ^ilatthcw  and  James  R.  Shields  were  born 
to  them. 

BRYCE  BROTHERS  COMPANY.  In  the  fall  of  1893  A.  H. 
Bryce  and  J.  "SlcD.  Bryce  formed  a  copartnership  under  the  name  of  Bryce 
Brothers  and  operated  a  factory  of  one  furnace  at  Hammondville,  Fayette 
county,  about  three  miles  south  of  i\Iount  Pleasant.  The  product  consisted  of 
light  blown  tumblers,  stem  and  stable  ware,  decorated  by  the  process  known  as 
needle  etching.  This  class  of  work  had  previously  been  imported  and  this  was 
the  first  concerted  effort  made  to  supplant  foreign  glass  for  fine  table  ware.  In 
two  years  the  demand  had  outgrown  the  product  of  the  plant,  and  it  was  re- 
moved to  Alount  Pleasant  in  July,  1896,  where  a  substantial  brick  building  was 
erected  as  nearly  fireproof  as  possible  to  make  it  when  the  company,  known  as 
Bryce  Brothers  Company,  was  incorporated  with  A.  H.  Bryce  as  president,  J. 
McD.  Bryce  as  secretary  and  treasurer.  These  with  William  McNanghton  con- 
stitute the  board  of  directors.  The  business  has  kept  on  growing  until  at  present 
the  plant  consists  of  three  furnaces,  and  the  buildings  cover  four  acres  of 
ground  and  employ  over  six  hundred  people.  The  company  produces  all  styles 
of  light  tumblers  and  stemware,  suitable  for  the  table  and  buffet,  in  jjlain  as  well 
as  cut,  engraved  sand  blast,  needle  etched  and  color  decorations.  They  find  a 
market  all  over  the  United  States  and  have  a  reputation  for  quality  of  goods 
equal  to  the  best  French  factories,  and  while  succeeding  in  creating  a  trade  in 
this  country  for  the  class  of  goods  they  manufacture  have  been  able  to  curtail 
to  some  extent  the  importations. 

JOSEPH  P.  KELLER.  It  may  safely  be  asserted  that  in  all  West- 
moreland county  there  can  be  found  no  more  popular  host  than  Joseph  P. 
Keller,  of  Mount  Pleasant.  He  is  a  son  of  Michael  Keller,  who  was  born  in 
1813,  in  county  Kerry,  Ireland,  and  about  the  time  of  attaining  his  majority 
emigrated' to  the  United  States.  He  settled  at  Tiffin,  Ohio,  where  he  owned 
and  cultivated  a  farm  of  two  hundred  and  eighty  acres.  While  devoting  most 
of  his  attention  to  his  estate  he  was  interested  in  various  other  enterprises,  being 
a  stockholder  in  the  carriage  factory,  the  woolen  mills  and  the  Standard  Ma- 
chinery ^Manufacturing  Company  of  Tiffin.  In  1849  he  crossed  the  plains  to 
California  in  quest  of  the  gold  fields,  where  he  accumulated  a  considerable  sum 
of  money.  In  1854  he  returned  to  Ohio.  He  married  Margaret  Kinney,  who 
was  born  in  1823,  in  Tiffin,  Ohio,  where  her  parents  settled  on  coming  from 
Ireland,  and  the  following  children  were  horn  to  them  :  Frank.,  chief  ncnnnitant 


126  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 


of  Dillinger  &  Sons'  distillery,  Scottdale ;  Ella,  wife  of  H.  E.  O'Liricn,  of  San 
Francisco,  California ;  Edward  J.,  assistant  cashier  of  the  Merchants'  National 
Bank,  Indianapolis,  Indiana ;  Joseph  P.,  mentioned  hereafter :  James,  teller  in  ^ 
bank  at  Santiago,  California  ;  Eugene,  proprietor  of  the  Hill  House,  Scottdale ; 
Lewis,  a  dentist  in  Tififin,  Ohio;  and  Irvin,  a  physician  in  Baltimore.  Maryland. 
l\Irs.  Keller,  the  mother  of  these  children,  died  in  1900,  and  her  husljand  sur- 
vived her  but  two  years,  passing  away  in  1902.  Mr.  Keller  was  a  well-known 
citizen  and  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  community.  He  was  a 
devout  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 

Joseph  P.  Keller,  son  of  Michael  and  Margaret  (Kinney)  Keller,  was  born 
March  18,  1866.  in  Tiffin,  Ohio,  where  he  received  his  primary  education,  after- 
ward entering  Notre  Dame  University,  South  Bend,  Indiana.  In  1884  he  went 
to  Connellsville,  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  for  about  eighteen  months 
he  was  employed  as  clerk  by  the  Frick  Coke  Company.  He  then  went  to  Mount 
Pleasant,  where  he  was  emplo}-ed  bv  the  same  company  in  the  same  capacity. 
In  1889  he  migrated  to  Chicago  and  while  there  engaged  in  business  on  his  own 
account  as  a  dealer  in  housefurnishing  goods.  He  took  one  of  his  brothers 
into  partnership  and  together  they  conducted  the  business  for  five  years.  At 
the  end  of  that  time  he  sold  out  and  went  to  Scottdale,  where  he  again  became  a 
clerk  for  the  Frick  Coke  Company,  remaining  with  them  until  1900,  when  he 
accepted  the  position  of  teller  in  the  Frist  National  Bank  of  Scottdale.  The  ]30- 
sion  he  held  until  1904,  when  he  resigned  and  went  to  Mount  Pleasant  in  order 
to  become  proprietor  of  the  Cooper  House.  He  caused  the  establishment  to  be 
remodeled  throughout,  and  it  is  now  one  of  the  first-class  hotels  of  the  borough, 
its  popularity  being  greatly  increased  by  the  genial  manners  and  obliging  dis- 
position of  the  proprietor.  As  a  citizen  Mr.  Keller  holds  a  high  place  in  the 
regard  of  his  neighbors,  as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  1904  he  was  nominated 
for  the  legislature  on  the  Democratic  ticket.  He  belongs  to  Lodge  No.  'yyj, 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  of  Scottdale ;  also  to  Modern  Wood- 
men of  America  and  Scottdale  Council.  He  and  his  family  are  members  of 
St.  Joseph's  (Roman  Catholic)  church. 

Mr.  Keller  married.  June  10,  1889,  Emma  K.,  daughter  of  Daniel  and 
Sarah  S.  (Seese)  Shupe,  and  a  native  of  Mount  Pleasant.  The  following  chil- 
dren have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  IMrs.  Keller :  Leo  Paul,  Michael  Eugene, 
Thomas  Lynch,  Edward  Shupe,  Joseph  \\'hitmore,  and  Joseph  Paul,  deceased. 

DA^aD  MILLER  LYLE.  Among  his  ministerial  brethren  of  West- 
moreland county  David  Miller  Lyle,  of  Mount  Pleasant,  holds  a  recognized 
place.  He  is  the  fifth  in  descent  from  Robert  Lyle,  who  with  his  two  brothers, 
John  and  Aaron,  came  from  eastern  Pennsylvania  about  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  settled  in  Washington  county,  their  father  having  come 
from  Scotland  some  years  previous. 

John  Lyle  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Belmont  county,  Ohio.  He  was  a 
farmer  and  a  strict  Presbyterian.  His  wife  was  Isabel  Miller,  and  they  were 
the  parents  of  several  children,  the  youngest  of  whom  was  David,  mentioned 
hereafter.     The  sons  were  all  farmers  and  are  all  now  deceased. 

David  Lyle,  son  of  John  and  Isabel  (Miller)  Lyle.  was  born  in  1829,  in 
Belmont  county,  Ohio,  and  like  his  father  followed  agricultural  pursuits;  He 
was  active  in  public  affairs,  both  political  and  otherwise.  He  was  a  zealous 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  in  which  for  years  he  served  as  elder.  He 
married,  in  March,  1836,  Mary,  born  in  Harrison  county.  Ohio,  daughter  of 
George  and  Nancy    (McCracken)    Love,  of  Scotch-Irish   descent,  and   seven 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAXD    COUXTV.  127 

children  were  born  to  them :  George,  a  farmer ;  John,  engaged  in  mercantile 
business  at  McKeesport,  Pennsylvania :  James,  a  farmer ;  Annabelle.  wife  of 
Brainerd  C.  Lyle.  of  \\'ashington  county.  Pennsylvania :  Sadie,  who  resides  at 
home :  Ella,  wife  of  the  Rev.  William  E.  Guthrie,  a  United  Presbyterian  minis- 
ter of  Mexico.  Pennsylvania:  and  David  Miller,  mentioned  hereafter.  Mr. 
Lvle,  the  father  of  the  family,  died  in  1898.  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine.  He  was  a 
man  of  the  highest  integrity.  His  widow  is  still  living  at  the  old  home  in  Ohio. 
David  Miller  Lyle.  son  of  David  and  Mary  (Love)  Lyle,  was  born  August 
26,  1872,  in  Belmont  county,  Ohio,  near  L'niontown,  and  was  reared  on  the 
farm,  receiving  his  nriman.-  education  in  the  district  school.  He  afterward 
entered  Franklin  College.  Xew  Athens.  Ohio,  from  which  institution  he  re- 
ceived in  1895  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year 
he  matriculated  at  the  \\'estern  Theological  L'niversity,  Allegheny.  Pennsyl- 
vania, graduating  thence  in  the  spring  of  1898.  He  then  went  to  Leisenring, 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  filled  the  pulpit  for  two  years.  In  Jtuie,  1900,  he  went 
to  Blount  Pleasant  in  response  to  a  call  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Reunion  Presby- 
terian church  of  that  place.  Lender  his  ministrations  the  membership  of  the 
church  has  increased,  and  various  improvements  have  been  made  in  the  edifice, 
including  the  placing  of  a  fine  new  pipe  organ.  He  has  endeared  himself  to 
his  parishioners,  to  whose  best  interests  he  is  thoroughly  devoted,  and  is  active 
in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  a  citizen.  Mr.  Lyle  married,  July  21,  1900, 
Florence,  daughter  of  James  G.  Bailey,  of  Xew  Glasgow,  Xova  Scotia,  and  they 
have  one  child,  Donald  Fraser. 

JOHN  DICKEY  McCALEB.  Among  the  old  residents  and  worthy 
representatives  of  Westmoreland  county  and  the  men  who  have  contributed 
largely  to  the  upbuilding  of  that  place,  is  John  Dickey  McCaleb.  a  prominent 
business  man,  and  for  many  years  justice  of  the  peace  and  notary  public  of 
Mount  Pleasant.  He  was  bom  near  Congruity  church,  in  Salem  township, 
AVestmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  August  4,  1824,  a  son  of  John  and  Sally 
(Hosack)  McCaleb,  and  grandson  of  James  McCaleb,  who  was  a  farmer  at 
Har\'eys  Cross  Roads  in  Salem  township,  where  he  lived  for  many  years.  He 
-was  a  man  of  means  and  an  extensive  property  holder.  He  married,  and  the 
•following  named  children  were  born  to  him :  Margaret,  Elizabeth.  Archibald, 
John,  James  and  Martha. 

John,  fourth  child  and  older  son  of  Jeams  McCaleb,  and  father  of  John 
Dickey  McCaleb,  was  born  and  reared  in  Westmoreland  county.  His  boyhood 
was  spent  on  the  home  farm,  and  in  earlv  life  he  commenced  teaching  school. 
which  occupation  he  followed  all  his  life,  devoting  some  fifty  years  to  it.  He 
first  taught  in  the  subscription  schools,  and  later  in  the  public  schools.  He  was 
a  member  and  regular  attendant  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  married  Sally 
Hosack,  a  zealous  and  active  church  worker.  The  following  named  children 
were  born  to  Mr.  and  Airs.  McCaleb:  i.  Jane,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of 
'John  Russell,  also  deceased :  2.  Alargaret.  deceased  :  3.  Mary  Ann,  deceased ; 
4.  Sarah,  deceased:  5.  Jam.es  Russell,  died  at  \'icksburs:  during  the  Civil  war, 
having  enlisted  in  Ohio;  6.  Hannah  E.,  married  John  Hctherington,  of  West- 
moreland county,  both  deceased;  7.  John  D..  mentioned  hereafter:  8.  Helen  S., 
unmarried. 

John  Dickey  McCaleb,  at  the  age  of  ten  years,  left  home  and  went  to  live 
with  Major  Kain,  near  Hannastown,  where  he  remained  for  three  years,  then 
removing  to  Mount  Pleasant,  where  he  found  employment  in  the  firm  of  Cun- 
-ningham  &  Anderson.     .After  remaining  there  for  a  short  time  he  associated 


128  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

himself  with  Peter  BIystone,  conducting  his  store  for  six  months.  At  the  ex- 
piration of  this  time  lie  returned  to  Mount  Pleasant  and  accepted  a  position  in 
the  store  of  Shervvick  &  Braden,  remaining  there  for  some  seven  or  eight  years, 
when  he  severed  his  connection  with  this  firm  and  estahlishcd  himself  in  the 
wholesale  dry  goods  business  in  Philadelphia.  /\ftcr  six  months  he  returned  to 
Mount  Pleasant  and  opened  a  general  store  which  he  conducted  for  some  time 
with  considerable  success.  He  subsequently  formed  a  partnership  with  one  of 
his  former  employers,  John  Shcrwick.  This  arrangement  existed  for  several 
years,  and  Mr.  McCalcl)  tlirn  sold  cmt  his  interest  in  the  business,  and  became 
interested  in  the  oil  business  at  I'ithole.  During  these  years  of  earnest  work 
Mr.  McCaleb  had  accumulated  a  fair  c()m])etency.  all  of  which  he  lost  soon 
after  entering  the  oil  luisiness.  However,  being  undaunted  by  his  misfortune 
and  a  man  of  moral  and  physical  courage,  he  immediately  set  himself  to  work 
to  re-establish  the  fortune  he  had  lost.  He  engaged  in  the  foundry  business  at 
Mount  Pleasant,  where  he  erected  a  fine  plant,  besides  buying  out  three  other 
concerns  in  the  borough.  Owing  to  his  inexperience  in  this  line,  Mr.  McCaleb 
again  met  with  financial  losses,  and  after  four  or  five  years  relinquished  this 
business.  He  then  opened  a  small  store  in  Mount  Pleasant,  and  met  with  con- 
siderable success.  In  18S5  he  was  a])pointed  postmaster  of  the  borough, 
serving  two  terms.  After  his  retirement  from  the  postoffice  he  received  the 
appointment  of  notary  public,  which  office  he  still  holds. 

In  politics  he  accords  with  the  doctrines  of  the  Republican  party,  and  loses 
no  o]iportunity  of  advancing  the  interests  of  that  organization.  He  is  a  man  of 
standing  in  the  community,  and  the  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by  his  fellow- 
townsmen  is  demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
board  council,  member  of  the  school  board,  and  other  minor  ofiices,  the  duties 
of  which  he  acquitted  with  credit  and  efficiency.  In  connetion  with  his  duties 
as  notary  public,  Mr.  McCaleb  acts  as  representative  of  several  of  the  steamship 
companies.  He  has  contributed  his  share  toward  the  building  up  of  the  town, 
having  erected  two  fine  brick  residences  besides  a  number  of  smaller  houses. 
Mr.  McCaleb  was  the  first  man  to  promote  the  organization  of  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Alount  Pleasant  (  1863),  which  was  the  first  organized  National  liank 
in  Westmoreland  county. 

In  185 1  Mr.  iMcCaleb  was  united  in  marriage  to  Sarah  B.  Sherwick, 
daughter  of  Joseph  Sherwick.  She  was  born  in  Westmoreland  county,  in  1827. 
The  following  named  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McCaleb :  i.  Ella,  sec- 
retary of  Vassar  College,  at  which  institution  she  was  educated  and  where  she 
received  the  degree  of  A.  B.  2.  J.  Sherrick  McCaleb,  who  was  educated  in 
Mount  Pleasant.  He  was  engaged  for  eleven  years  as  cashier  of  the  Connells- 
ville  (Pennsylvania)  National  Bank,  and  had  the  remarkable  record  of  making 
but  one  error  during  that  time.  He  now  resides  at  Edgewood,  where  he  is 
state  auditor  and  accountant.  He  married  Katherine  Johnson,  and  after  her 
death  married  Katherine  Roberts.  3.  William  Baird,  superintendent  of  the 
eastern  division  of  the  Pennsylvania  railroad  office  at  Harrisburg.  He  married 
Mary  Reed,  of  Sunbury,  Pennsylvania,  and  they  have  two  children.  4.  George 
H.,  deceased  in  1855.    5.  Effie,  at  home. 

CURTIS  HUSSEY  GREGG,  an  attorney  of  Greensburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania, of  the  firm  of  Gregg  &  Potts,  whose  ancestry  and  personal  career  has 
made  him  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  prominence,  was  born  at  Adamsburg, 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  August  9,  1865.  The  founder  of  this 
family  of  Greggs  in  the  United  States  was  James  Gregg,  one  of  four  brothers 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  129 

who  came  to  this  country  from  the  north  of  Ireland  and  settletl  in  the  Cimiher- 
land  valley,  Pennsylvania.  One  of  the  brothers  settled  in  New  York ;  one  in 
(Jhio  and  the  other  in  central  Pennsylvania.  From  the  latter  sprang  the  Gregg 
family  from  which  descended  ex-Governor  Andrew  Gregg  Curtin. 

The  grandfather  of  Curtis  Hussey  Gregg  was  James  Gregg,  who  was  a 
native  of  the  United  States.  He  married  into  the  Marshall  family,  his  wife  be- 
ing a  native  of  Cumberland  valley. 

The  father  was  James  Gregg,  born  in  Carlisle,  Cumberland  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, June  24,  1821.  He  was  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  in  Adams- 
burg,  \\'estmorcland  county,  Pennsylvania,  until  1876,  when  he  became  treas- 
urer of  the  county.  His  schooling  was  confined  to  a  term  in  Duff's  Business 
College  at  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania.  In  religion  he  espoused  the  Lutheran  faith. 
He  was  "an  old-fashioned,  Simon-pure  Democrat."  He  served  as  treasurer  of 
\\'estmoreland  countv  from  1876  to  1879,  and  as  justice  of  the  peace  in  Greens- 
burg  borough  from  1881  to  1886;  also  school  director  in  Greensburg.  He  died 
January  5,  1889.  His  wife  was  Eliza  Cort  Gregg,  born  January  5,  1826,  still 
living.  She  is  the  daughter  of  George  Byerly,  who  was  a  grandson  of  Andrew 
Byerly,  of  Bushy  Run  battle  fame,  in  the  early-day  Indian  wars  in  Westmore- 
land county,  an  account  of  which  is  given  in  the  general  chapter  of  this  work. 

Curtis  H.  Gregg,  son  of  James  and  Eliza  Cort  Gregg,  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  common  schools  and  the  Greensburg  Seminary,  where  he  pursued  a 
two  years'  course.  He  began  his  business  career  in  an  humble  manner,  serving 
in  the  role  of  a  newsboy  in  Greensburg,  but  through  his  aim  to  accomplish  more 
in  life  he  was  soon  holding  the  position  of  news  editor  for  the  Greensburg 
Press,  and  continued  from  1883  to  1887.  Later  he  taught  school  one  term, 
and  then  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  law,  being  admitted  to  the  bar  August 
4.  188S.  He  studied  with  Hon.  Lucian  \V.  Doty  (later  president  judge  of 
Westmoreland  county),  and  A.  M.  Sloan,  Esq.  He  almost  instantly  forged 
into  the  front  ranks  of  a  bar  numbering  a  hundred  members,  which  body  stands 
among  the  most  talented  in  the  commonwealth.  His  knowledge  and  keen  fore- 
sight into  the  interpretation  of  legal  problems,  together  with  his  forceful  argu- 
ments, compelled  an  early  recognition  and  made  him  a  successful  practitioner. 
Death  causing  a  vacancy  in  the  office  of  the  district  attorney  in  July,  1891,  he 
was  appointed  to  that  office  and  nominated  by  the  Democratic  party  the  same 
year  for  that  office,  but  the  fates  of  political  power  were  against  him.  He  has 
always  been  an  ardent  party  worker,  and  being  possessed  of  rare  gifts  as  a  pub- 
lic speaker  has  been  frequently  drafted  into  hotly  contested  political  campaigns. 
For  four  years  he  served  acceptably  on  the  Greensburg  school  board,  and  has 
been  a  member  of  the  town  council,  of  which  he  was  ]5resident  one  year.  He 
was  among  the  progenitors  of  the  Greensburg,  Jeannette  &  Pittsburg  Electric 
Railway,  and  has  been  initiated  in  all  that  has  tended  to  give  new  life  and 
growth  to  his  home  town.  In  1896  he  was  chairman  of  the  Democratic  county 
committee,  and  a  hearty  supporter  of  Colonel  W.  J.  Bryan.  It  was  in  igoo' 
that  he  was  the  unsuccessful  candidate  for  congress  from  the  Twentv-fourth 
district  in  Pennsylvania,  and  was  the  nominee  of  his  party  for  state  senator  in 
the  Thirty-ninth  district  in  1904.  During  the  time  the  Sj)anish-Amcrican  war 
soldiers  were  enlisting  and  going  to  the  seat  of  war  from  Westmoreland  county. 
^Ir.  Gregg  was  caliefl  upon  to  deliver  more  tiian  thirty  flag-raising  speeches  in' 
various  parts  of  the  county.  They  burned  with  true  patriotism.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  various  civic  societies,  including  the  I.  O.  H.,  B.  E.,  K.  of  M.,  and  G.  F^. 
Mr.  Gregg  is  a  member  of  Zion  Lutheran  church  of  Greensburg,  and  has  been 
the  chorister  there  for  more  than  tv.-enty  years.     Mr.  Gregg  married,  June  2:1, 


I30  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

1890,  Frances  A.  Good,  in  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  George  W. 
Good,  who  died  January  6,  1905.  He  was  the  builder  and  owner  of  many  of 
the  largest  business  blocks  in  Greensburg  and  adjoining  towns.  He  was  presi- 
dent of  the  St.  Clair  Opera  House  Company,  and  director  in  the  John  W.  Pollins 
Company,  a  department  store.  His  wife  was  Maria  C.  (Lenhart)  Good,  who 
still  survives.  Air.  and  Mrs.  Gregg  have  two  sons:  James,  born  May  21,  1891  ; 
George  Good,  born  December  29,  1895 ;  both  born  in  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania. 

DAVID  L.  NEW'ILL,  of  the  law  firm  of  Beacom  and  Newill,  at 
Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  August  15,  1862,  in  Mount  Pleasant  town- 
ship, Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.  The  founder  of  the  Newill  family 
in  this  country  was  Stephen  Newill,  of  Irish  descent,  who  came  to  Mount  Pleas- 
ant township,  Westmoreland  county,  about  1773,  from  New  Jersey.  He  was 
■  by  occupation  a  farmer.  He  was  of  the  Presbyterian  religious  faith.  He  mar- 
ried and  had  children:  James,  Joshua,  John,  Robert,  Thomas  and  Richard, 
all  of  whom  were  soldiers  in  the  War  for  Independence.  The  only  daughter  in 
the  family  of  Stephen  Newill  and  wife  was  Mary,  who  married  Barney  McCaul, 
who  also  served  in  the  same  Vi-ar. 

Robert  Newill,  one  of  the  above  named  sons  of  Stephen,  was  a  farmer,  and 
married  Mary  George.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  as  had 
been  his  father.  Robert  Newill  and  wife  Mary  had  children:  John;  George,  a 
civil  engineer;  James,  who  was  the  grandfather  of  David  L.  Newill;  Sinai 
Craig  and  Ann  iliompson.  James  Newill  had  sons:  James,  George,  John, 
William,  Robert  and  Joshua  (the  father  of  David  L.)  and  one  daughter,  Mary 
Long. 

Joshua  Newill,  the  fifth  in  descent  from  Stephen  the  founder,  was  born 
August  4,  1821.  By  general  occupation  he  was  a  farmer,  but  in  his  young 
manhood  taught  school.  He  was  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  among  other 
local  offices  which  he  held  was  that  of  school  director.  He  died  January  14, 
1898.  His  wife's  given  name  was  Scynthia,  born  August  27,  1828;  died  Jan- 
uary 19,  1905. 

David  L.  Newill,  son  of  Joshua  and  Scynthia  Newill,  graduated  at  Mount 
Pleasant  Institute  in  1884.  He  taught  school  two  terms.  He  read  law  with 
W.  H.  Klingesmith,  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
of  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  August  4,  1888,  and  has  been  in  con- 
stant practice  ever  since.  He  formed  a  partnership  with  Hon.  James  S.  Bea- 
com in  1892,  which  still  continues.  Aside  from  his  professional  career,  Mr. 
Newill  is  interested  in  various  financial  enterprises.  He  is  the  president  of  the 
Westmoreland  Savings  and  Trust  Company,  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania ; 
president  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Youngwood,  Pennsylvania ;  president 
of  the  Greensburg  Finance  Company :  treasurer  of  the  Greensburg  Composition 
Companv,  and  director  of  the  Greensburg  Press  Company.  His  political  affili- 
ations are  with  the  Republican  party.  He  is  a  member  of  Philanthropy  Lodge, 
No.  225,  F.  and  A.  M.,  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania.  He  married,  November 
8,  1888,  Minnie  G.  Myers,  daughter  of  Joseph  B.  and  Julia  Myers.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Newill  are  the  parents  of  one  daughter,  Mabel  M.,  born  August  27,  1889. 

HON.  JAMES  S.  BEACOM,  ex-state  treasurer  and  a  prominent  at- 
torney of  Greensburg,  was  born  December  9,  1853,  in  W^estmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  son  of  Henry  Conlcy  and  his  wife,  Mary  A.  (Spear)  Beacom. 
Of  his  ancestors  it  is  found  that  John  Beacom  came  from  Ireland  to  the  United 
States,  settling  in  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  was  paying  taxes  in  1810. 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAXD    COUXTY.  131 

He  was  the  great-grandfather  of  James  S.  Beacom.  Among  his  children  were 
John,  Jeremiah,  Johnston  and  James,  the  last  named  being  the  subject's  grand- 
father, who  died  early  in  life,  leaving;  two  sons,  Henry  Conley  and  James. 

Henrv  Conley  Beacom,  father  of  James  S.  Beacom,  was  born  in  Alay,  1830, 
and  died  November  18,  1904,  leaving  a  widow,  JMary  A.,  and  five  children: 
lames  S.  Beacom ;  Angeline,  married  Thomas  F.  Hamilton,  superintendent  of 
the  Gautier  Steel  works,  of  Johnston,  Pa. :  Henry  Conley  Beacom,  a  farmer  in 
Iowa ;  John  Wesley  Beacom,  of  Long  Branch,  Cal. ;  and  Eva,  wife  of  Edgar 
Hays,  cashier  of  the  Union  Savings  Bank,  of  Pittsburg,  Pa.  The  father  of  this 
family  became  a  member  of  the  Pittsburg  conference  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church  in  1865,  and  was  a  minister  until  his  death.  Prior  to  his  ministry 
he  taught  school.  His  wife,  ]\Iary  A.  (  Spear)  Beacom,  is  living  in  Pittsburg, 
Pennsylvania. 

James  S.  Beacom  obtained  in  the  public  schools  his  primary  education, 
later  attending  Elderton  Academy,  and  Washington  and  Jeiterson  College, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  the  class  of  1880.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
\\"estmoreland  county,  in  1884,  and  has  since  that  date  practiced  most  of  the 
time.  Politicallv  r^Ir.  Beacom  is  a  staunch  Republican,  and  has  been  a  faithful 
partv  worker,  engaging  in  several  hotly  contested  campaigns.  He  was  a  loyal 
supporter  of  Hon.  Matthew  S.  Quay,  United  States  senator.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  house  of  representatives  of  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania  in  the 
sessions  of  1887  and  1901.  From  May,  1898  to  Alay,  1900,  he  was  state  treas- 
urer, in  which  position  he  effected  some  radical  changes  in  the  management  of 
that  important  office,  leaving  its  finances  in  better  shape  than  for  many  prev- 
ious }ears.  In  the  famous  Silver  campaign  of  1896,  in  which  William  McKin- 
lev  was  nominated  for  president  at  the  Republican  national  convention  at  St. 
Louis,  he  was  one  of  the  delegates  at  large.  In  his  religious  connection  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  for  many  years  has  liecn  a 
member  of  the  board  of  trustees.  Mr.  Beacom  was  married,  July  17,  1888,  to 
Mary  H.  Zimmers,  of  Blairsville,  Pennsylvania,  who  was  a  graduate  of  the 
Blairsville  Female  Seminary.  She  is  the  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  Zim- 
mers. Her  father  was  for  many  years  station  agent  for  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road Company  at  Blairsville,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  and  ]\Irs.  Beacom  have  chil- 
dren :  Robert  Zimmers  Beacom.  Dorothy,  Elizabeth  and  \'irginia. 

HOX.  WELTY  McCULLOGH  was  born  in  Greensburg.  Pennsyl- 
vania, October  10,  1847,  and  was  graduated  from  Princeton  College  in  the 
class  of  1870.  He  read  law  with  the  late  W.  H.  H.  Markle,  Esq..  in  Greensburg, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1872.  Very  early  in  his  professional  life  he  be- 
came a  corporation  lawyer  and  devoted  most  of  his  time  to  railroad  law.  For 
many  years  he  was  solicitor  for  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad  and  other 
important  corporations.  Whilst  he  always  resided  in  Greensburg  and  practiced 
in  our  courts,  he  almost  continuously  kept  an  office  in  Pittsburg  and  practiced 
in  the  .Allegheny  county  courts  as  well.  He  was  renowned  both  there  and  in 
Westmoreland  county  as  a  lawyer  of  high  standing  particularly  in  corporation 
law.  In  the  preparation  of  ])apers  and  in  all  the  varied  work  of  an  all  around 
lawyer,  he  had  but  few  equals  in  either  of  these  counties.  He  was  married  on 
June  13,  1872.  to  Ada  P..  Markle.  of  Greensburg,  a  daughter  of  W.  H.  H. 
Markle.  Esq.,  with  whom  he  had  read  law. 

He  was  scrupulously  careful  to  perform  his  share  of  the  work  or  bear  his 
share  of  the  burdens  that  fell  upon  him  and  his  friends.  He  always  took  an  ac- 
tive part  in  politics,  and  made  many  public  addresses  of  that  character.     In 


132  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

doing  so  he  did  not  select  the  places  easily  accessible  to  his  home,  but  will- 
ingly did  his  share  of  the  work  in  remote  regions  of  the  county.  Nor  did  he 
reaU'v  ever  seek  office,  though  in  1886  he  was  nominated  for  congress  by  the 
Republicans  of  Westmoreland,  h^ayette,  and  Greene  counties.  The  district  was 
strongly  Democratic  but  there  were  two  Democrats  in  the  field  which  divided 
the  vote  of  that  party  and  Mr.  McCullough  was  elected.  Unfortunately  after 
the  close  of  his  term  in  congress  he  was  taken  sick  and  died  August  i,  1889. 
The  bar  associations  of  both  Allegheny  and  Westmoreland  counties  passed 
highly  eulogistic  resolutions  of  his  work  and  merit  as  a  lawyer  and  a  citizen. 
j\Ir.  McCullogh  was  a  man  of  strong  physi(|ue,  a  handsome  face  and  as  has  been 
shown  above  had  talents  of  a  high  order.  One  of  his  leading  characteristics 
was  his  thorough  honesty,  not  only  in  business  matters  but  in  the  expression  of 
opinion  and  in  everytnmg  he  did.  He  could  not  feign  a  friendship  he  did  not 
feel.  Had  he  been  less  sincere  he  might  perhaps  have  been  more  popular.  His 
circle  of  friends  was  not  as  wide  as  that  of  many,  but  all  wlio  knew  him  per- 
sonally were  most  devoted  to  him  and  remained  so  through  life. 

DENNA  C.  OGDEN,  an  attorney  of  the  city  of  Greensburg,  Penn- 
sylvania, was  born  in  Westmoreland  county.  Pennsylvania,  March  16,  i860,  the 
second  son  of  Lieutenant  John  B.  Ogden  and  wife  Bella  J.  (McDowell)  Ogden. 
He  is  the  fifth  in  line  of  descent  from  Joseph  Ogden,  who  was  a  brother  of  the 
eminent  jurist,  David  Ogden,  born  1707:  a  graduate  of  Yale  College,  1728,  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar,  and  in  1772  appointed  judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  New 
Jersey.     He  died  in  1800. 

Joseph  Ogden,  grandfather  of  Denna  C.  Ogden,  was  born  in  New  Jersey, 
in  1710,  and  died  in  the  same  state  in  1772.  He  had  a  son  Joseph,  born  in  1735  ; 
came  to  Fairfield  township,  Westmoreland  county  in  1755  and  there  died  in 
18 1 5.  He  was  among  the  pioneer  band  who  settled  the  county.  Among  his 
children  was  one  son  named  James  Ogden,  born  in  1785,  died  in  1858.  He  had 
a  son,  John  B.  Ogden,  born  July  16,  1825,  and  died  December  19,  1889.  He 
was  lieutenant  of  Company  D,  Fourth  Pennsylvania  Regiment  Cavalry,  during 
the  Civil  war.  He  aided  in  raising  the  regiment  and  was  commissioned  first 
lieutenant.  He  served  under  Colonel  George  H.  Covode.  He  was  twice 
wounded  and  disabled  while  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  He  married,  in  1854, 
Bella  J.  McDowell,  by  whom  three  children  were  born:  Bella  J.  (McDowell) 
Ogden  was  the  daughter  of  Jacob  McDowell,  the  youngest  of  a  family  of  six- 
teen children,  and  whose  father,  Robert  McDowell,  was  of  Scotch-Irish  descent, 
and  located  on  eighteen  hundred  acres  of  land  in  I^igonier  township,  Westmore- 
land county.  He  was  married  in  Fort  Ligonicr.  which  he  and  his  wife  helped 
defend  against  the  Indian  attacks  in  1763. 

Denna  C.  Ogden  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  at  Blairsville 
Academy.  He  read  law  with  Stewart  and  Marlin,  of  Jefferson  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, where  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1882  and  the  following  year  ad- 
mitted to  practice  in  Westmoreland  county,  locating  at  Greensburg.  He  was 
nominated  on  the  Democratic  ticket  for  the  office  of  district  attorney  in  1886, 
conducted  a  remarkable  campaign  and  was  elected  by  a  large  majority,  polling 
more  votes  than  any  of  the  sixteen  Democratic  candidates,  and  was  the  \'oung- 
est  man  ever  elected  to  that  time,  to  such  a  position  in  the  county,  he  being  only 
twenty-six  years  of  age.  Throughout  his  term  of  three  years  he  acquitted  him- 
self manfully  and  treated  all  with  fairness.  He  refused  to  become  a  candidate 
again.     Since  that  date  he  has  built  up  a  lucrative  practice  and  enjoys  a  good 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAXD    COUXTY.  133 


reputation  for  being  an  honorable  legal  adviser.     He  married,  April  5,   li 
Anna  W.  McCullough,  daughter  of  John  AlcCullough,  and  wife,  and  the  sister 
of  Hon.  \\'elty  McCullough,  deceased. 

ANANIAS  SHUMAKER.  the  present  treasurer  of  Westmoreland 
county,  is  of  German  descent,  the  family  name  originally  being  spelled  "Schu- 
jnaker."  At  an  earlv  day  the  ancestors  settled  in  eastern  Pennnsylvania,  some 
of  its  members  living  in  Bucks  county.  The  family  have  nearly  all  been  farm- 
ers, and  the  grandfa'ther  of  Ananias  Shumaker  was  one  of  the  sturdy  farmers 
of  his  time.  He  was  born  in  Allegheny  township,  Somerset  county.  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  married,  lived  and  died  in  the  same  county.  Their  children  were : 
John.  Daniel,  Jacob.  Peter,  Sarah  and  ]\Iary.  They  all  married  and  became 
farmers  in  their  native  county. 

Jacob  Shumaker,  the  third  child  of  the  family,  and  the  father  of  Ananias 
Shumaker,  was  born  in  Somerset  county,  near  \\'ellesburg.  about  181 1.  He 
■married  a  widow,  ]\Irs.  Polly  Earnest,  whose  maiden  name  was  Hoover.  Her 
parents  were  Michael  and  Eve  (Frits)  Hoover,  of  Somerset  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania. They  were  farmers  their  entire  lives.  By  Mr.  Earnest  she  had  one  son 
and  one  daughter,  the  former  died  in  1902.  By  Mr.  Shumaker  she  had  chil- 
dren:  I.  Mary:  2.  John,  died  at  the  age  of  eight  years;  3.  Ananias,  bom  May 
22.  1842:  4.  Elizabeth:  5.  Catherine.  All  married  and  are  residents  of  West- 
moreland county. 

Ananias  Shumaker  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Somer- 
set county,  Pennsylvania,  and  followed  farm  life  chiefly  until  eighteen  years 
of  age  when  he  enlisted  at  Berlin,  Pennsylvania,  as  a  member  of  Company  F. 
imder  Captain  Albert  Heffley,  as  a  private.  His  regiment  was  the  One  Hun- 
dred and  Forty-second  Pennsylvania  Infantry,  commanded  by  Colonel  Com-  , 
mons,  who  was' killed  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  This  regiment  was  a  part  of 
the  Fifth  Armv  Corps  and  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  ;\lr.  Shumaker  was  at 
the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  and  with  his  regiment  during  every  engagement 
in  which  thev  participated,  to  the  close  of  that  greatest  of  American  conflicts., 
being  honorably  discharged  at  Washington,  D.  C,  'May  29.  1865.  During  all 
these  vears  of  warfare  he  was  fortunate  enough  to  have  never  been  captured, 
wounded,  or  in  hospital,  though  several  shots  at  various  times  pierced  his  cloth- 
ing. But  four  or  five  of  his  comrades  fared  as  well,  for  in  many  a  hard  fought 
battle  the  loss  was  great  to  his  command.  When  peace  finally  came,  and  the 
"stars  and  stripes"  were  the  only  colors  flying  over  a  free  people,  Mr.  Shu- 
maker returned  to  his  native  county,  and  on  January  29.  1866,  he  was  married 
to  Mary  Ann  Campbell,  daughter  of  W.  B.  and  Sarah  (Harr)  Campbell,  farm- 
ers of  Cook  township,  \\'estmoreland  county.  Pennsvlvania.  Soon  after  his 
marriage,  he  removed  to  Knox  county.  Ohio,  where  he  embarked  in  the  boot 
and  shoe  trade.  After  two  and  one-half  vears  in  business  in  Ohio,  he  sold  and 
went  west,  locating  at  Tama  city,  Iowa,  then  a  mere  hamlet,  but  now  a  prosper- 
ous railroad  centre.  After  a  short  time  he  returned  to  his  native  coutity,  locat- 
ing in  the  boot  and  shoe  business  at  Latrobe.  but  after  a  few  years  he  sold  and 
became  a  traveling  salesman  for  a  large  boot  and  shoe  wholesale  house — Graff, 
Sons  and  Company,  of  Philadelphia.  Pennsylvania,  for  whom  he  traveled  in 
western  Pennsylvania  for  twenty-one  vears.  leaving  the  road  in  1895.  being 
suceeded  by  his  second  son.  Charles  W.  ShumnVfr.  who  travelcrl  for  the  firm 
until  they  went  out  of  business,  his  term  of  road  life  extending  over  a  oeriod  of 
eight  years.  He  was  one  of  three  partners  in  a  shoe  factory  at  Latrobe.  Penn- 
sylvania,  continuing  from    1885  to   1890.     Politics  engaged  his  attention   for 


134  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

some  time,  and  in  1902  he  received  the  nomination  for  county  treasurer  of  West- 
moreland county,  there  being  three  in  the  field ;  he  showed  his  popularity  by  re- 
ceiving more  votes  than  both  opposing  candidates.  He  was  elected  by  more 
than  four  thousand  majority.  Politically,  Mr.  Shumaker  has  ever  been  an 
active,  working  Republican.  He  was  a  member  of  the  council  of  Latrobe  two 
terms,  in  the  place  in  which  he  had  spent  thirty-two  years  of  his  life.  He  re- 
moved to  the  city  of  Greensburg  (that  being  the  county  seat)  upon  his  election, 
taking  his  seat  January  i,  1903,  and  in  October  of  that  year,  purchased  the  dry 
goods  business  formerly  conducted  by  W.  T.  Welty,  at  No.  128  Main  street, 
Greensburg.  He  built,  in  1905,  an  up-to-date  residence  on  North  Maple  ave- 
nue, the  cost  of  which,  including  the  lot,  was  twelve  thousand  dollars,  provid- 
ing himself  and  family  one  of  the  best  homes  in  the  city. 

Mr.  Shumaker  married  (first),  in  1866,  Mary  Ann  Campl)ell.  Their  chil- 
dren were:  William  Milton,  born  in  Knox  county,  Ohio,  October  22,  1867,  now 
deputy  treasurer  under  his  father;  Blanche,  born  August  16,  1870,  at  Latrobe, 
died  November  3,  1874 ;  Ella,  born  at  the  same  place,  April  3,  1873,  now  at  home 
and  acting  as  her  father's  clerk  and  typewriter;  Charles  Wesley,  born  at  Lat- 
robe, January  21,  1876,  now  manager  of  his  father's  dry  goods  store  in  Greens- 
burg, Pa.;  Ada  j\L,  born  at  the  same  place,  March  16,  1879,  died  April  14, 
1886,  at  the  age  of  eight  years.  William  Milton,  Ella  and  Charles  Wesley  at- 
tended school  as  follows:  William  Milton  went  from  the  Latrobe  high  school  to 
the  State  Normal  at  Indiana,  Pennsylvania,  1884 ;  Dickinson  Seminary,  Will- 
iarnsport,  Pennsylvania,  1883.  The  next  two  years  he  taught  in  the  high  school 
at  Latrobe ;  was  bookkeeper  in  his  father's  store  for  a  year  or  more,  when  he 
accepted  a  position  in  the  First  National  Bank  at  Latrobe,  which  he  held  for 
twelve  years.  From  there  he  entered  his  father's  office  as  deputy  county  treas- 
urer; Ella  attended  the  Pittsburg  Female  Collge  in  1889;  then  attended  Neff 
College,  of  Philadelphia  one  year,  and  now  assists  in  her  father's  office,  he  being 
treasurer  of  Westmoreland  county.  Charles  Wesley  attended  Grove  City  Bus- 
iness College,  of  Mercer,  Pennsylvania,  graduating  in  1892.  He  then  clerked 
in  his  father's  store,  vmtil  he  took  his  place  as  commercial  traveler  which  place 
he  faithfully  filled  eight  years,  until  the  firm  ceased  to  exist.  These  children 
are  all  at  home  and  unmarried.  Mr.  Shumaker's  first  wife  died  April  14,  1894, 
at  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania.  He  married  (second)  Margaret  H.  Henderson,  a 
native  of  Bedford,  Pennsylvania,  the  daughter  of  Hugh  John  and  Jane  ( Reed ) 
Henderson.  Her  grandfather,  John  Henderson,  came  from  Ireland.  Jane  (Reed) 
Henderson,  jMrs.  Shumaker's  mother,  was  the  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Eu- 
pemia  (Moorhead)  Reed.  Her  great-grandfather  and  great-grandmother  were 
Thomas  and  Phebe  jMoorhead.  By  Mr.  Shumaker's  last  marriage  the  follow- 
ing children  were  born:  Henderson,  born  Julv  23,  1897;  Margaret,  born  March 
23,  1899,  died  January  16,  1900;  Isabella  Jane,  born  IMarch  26,  1901  ;  Theodore, 
born  March  11,  1903,  died  in  infancy. 

Mr.  Shumaker  has  been  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  for 
thirty-five  years,  twenty  years  of  which  time  he  has  served  as  president  of  the 
board  of  trustees  at  Latrobe  He  was  on  the  building  committee  when  the 
cfiurch  was  erected  there  in  1881,  and  generously  donated  towards  its  building 
expense.  He  is  a  member  of  a  quarter  of  a  centurv  standing  in  both  the  R.  A. 
and  A.  O.  of  U.  W.  lodges,  at  Latrobe  and  belong:s  to  the  G."a.  R.,  W.  P.  Will- 
iams Post  No.  J.,  in  which  order  he  has  passed  all  the  chairs  and  was  a  delegate 
to  the  state  encampment  in  1886.  No  citizen  of  the  county  stands  higher  in  the 
estimation  of  the  people  than  Mr.  Shumaker.  He  has  ever  been  loyal  to  his 
country,  his  native  state  and  county ;  been  prompt  in  all  his  dealings,  with  his 


HISTORY    OF    IVESTMORELAXD    COUXTV.  135 

fellow  men  bv  the  true  christian  spirit ;  is  a  thoroughgoing  business  man  and  an 
exemplarv  father  and  husband.  Notwithstanding  he  was  for  twenty-one  years 
a  "knight  of  the  road."  mingling  with  all  classes  of  men.  subject  to  tempta- 
tions on  every  hand  and  saw  the  rough  side  of  army  life  in  time  of  the  rebellion, 
yet  alwavs  niaintained  a  manly  character  and  continues  to  enjoy  the  respect  of 
all  about' him.  He  is  now  enabled  to  be  surrounded  with  the  blessings  of  a  well 
reared  family  and  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  labors. 

THE  BRUXOT  FA^HLY  is  one  of  the  old  families  of  France,  which 
first  came  into  national  prominence  during  the  period  of  the  religious  wars  hi 
that  countrs^  in  the  sixteenth  century.  Major  Sanson  Brunot  (great-great- 
grandfather) was  a  distinguished  officer  in  the  French  army  and  has  a  coat  of 
arms  (still  in  possession  of  the  Brunot  family),  which  was  bestowed  on  him  for 
meritorious  conduct  on  the  field  of  battle.  His  son.  Dr.  Felix  Brunot  (great- 
grandfather), was  born  in  Parish  Morey,  France,  January  9,  1752,  and  was  a 
foster  brother  of  General  LaFayette.  He  was  originally  intended  for  "orders" 
bv  his  uncle,  a  Catholic  bishop,  but  experiencing  an  aversion  for  that  calling 
he  was  permitted  to  enter  upon  the  study  of  medicine.  After  graduation  from 
one  of  the  first  medical  schools  of  France  he  joined  General  LaFayette  in  his 
espousal  of' the  patriotic  cause  in  America.  He  came  to  this  country  in  1777, 
was  appointed  surgeon  in  the  Continental  army  under  Washington,  and  ren- 
dered invaluable  service  at  the  battle  of  Brandywine  and  on  many  other  battle 
fields  during  the  revolutionary-  war.  At  the  close  of  that  great  struggle  he  was 
recognized  as  one  of  the  most  successful  physicians  and  skillful  surgeons  in  the 
new-risen  Republic,  in  whose  cause  he  had  patriotically  risked  his  life,  and  with 
whose  destinv  had  unhesitatingly  cast  in  his  fortunes,  Xo  warmer  hearted  and 
more  earnest  friend  of  freedom  than  Dr,  Brunot  ever  came  to  this  continent, 
and  no  man's  sen-ice  was  ever  rendered  in  the  cause  of  American  indpendence 
more  devotedly  than  his.  .After  the  declaration  of  peace  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  "Thirteen  Colonies,"  Dr.  Brunot  located  at  Annapolis,  Maryland,  but 
soon  removed  to  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  enjoyed  a  large  prac- 
tice and  remained  until  1797.  In  that  year  he  came  to  Pittsburg  and  selected 
his  place  of  residence  on  a  beautiful  island  (now  known  as  "Brunot's  Island") 
in  the  Ohio  river,  a  short  distance  below  that  city.  At  his  island  home  he 
entertained  his  foster  brother  and  comrades  in  arms.  General  LaFayette,  and 
George  Rogers  Clarke  and  Herman  Blennerhasset  and  many  other  prominent 
characters  of  American  history.  He  subsequently  removed  to  Liberty  street, 
Pittsburg,  where  he  died  ]\Iay  23,  1838.  He  was  a  public-spirited  citizen,  and 
after  coming  to  Pittsburg  always  took  a  great  interest  in  the  growth  and  pros- 
perity of  that  city.  Dr.  I3runot  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  a  lady 
of  .Annapolis,  by  whom  he  had  one  daughter,  who  married  but  died  without 
issue.  His  second  wife,  Elizabeth  Kreider,  of  Philadelphia,  whom  he  married 
December  17,  1789,  bore  him  six  sons  and  one  daughter.  Of  these  sons,  Breton 
and  Casper  were  physicians ;  Sanson  was  a  prominent  minister  in  the  Episcopal 
church  and  at  one  time  w?s  in  charge  of  the  church  at  Greensburg:  Hilary 
served  as  a  lieutenant  in  the  L'nited  States  army,  and  the  other  two.  Feli.x  and 
James  M..  became  lawyers  and  settled  in  the  southern  states.  James  M.  Bru- 
not was  the  father  of  Hilary  B.  Brunot,  now  practicing  law  in  Brevard,  North 
Carolina.     Susan  Louisa  was  the  only  daughter. 

Lieutenant  Hilary  Brunot  (grandfather)  was  the  fourth  son  and  was  born 
July  14,  1795,  in  a  house  that  is  still  standing  in  Phila(lel])hia,  on  the  bank  of 
the  Schuylkill  river.     When  quite  young  he  entered  the  L'nited  States  Military 


136  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

Academy  at  West  Point,  and  was  a  member  of  one  of  the  early  classes  which 
was  graduated  from  that  institution.  After  graduation  he  was  commissioned 
as  lieutenant  in  the  United  States  regular  army,  and  was  wounded  in  the  sortie 
at  Fort  Erie  during  the  war  of  1812,  and  was  promoted  to  first  lieutenant  for 
gallantry  in  this  battle.  After  the  close  of  that  struggle  he  was  stationed  re- 
spectively at  Fort  Snelling,  Mackinaw,  Green  Bay  and  Newport.  From  the  lat- 
ter place,  Kentucky,  he  was  stationed  at  the  Allegheny  arsenal  in  Pittsburg.  In 
1825  resigned  his  command  in  the  army  and  was  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  white  lead  for  many  years.  His  works  occupied  the  entire  square  upon  which 
the  Union  depot  in  Pittsburg  now  stands.  Lieutenant  Brunot  retired  from  ac- 
tive business  in  1850,  and  died  March  26,  1872.  He  was  an  earnest  Christian, 
a  man  of  great  force  of  character,  and  was  very  active  in  politics.  He  was  a 
Whig  and  later  a  Republican,  and  served  for  many  years  as  a  member  of  the 
city  councils  of  Pittsburg.  He  married.  May  6,  1819.  Ann  Tankard  Reville, 
a  daughter  of  Randell  and  Margaret  Reville,  of  Newport,  Kentucky.  The 
Revilles  were  earlv  settlers  of  Somerset  county,  Afaryland.  To  Lieutenant 
and  Mrs.  Brunot  were  born  nine  children,  of  whom  none  are  living.  Felix  R. 
Brunot,  of  Pittsburg,  one  of  the  children,  was  one  of  the  most  noted  philan- 
thropists of  his  day. 

Hilary  J.  Brunot  (father)  was  educated  in  Sewickley  Academy  and  West- 
ern University  of  Pittsburg.  Leaving  school  he  was  engaged  for  a  short  time 
in  the  white  lead  business.  In  1845  '^^  engaged  in  civil  engineering  and  assisted 
Nathan  McDowell  to  make  test  surveys  for  slackwater  navigation  on  the  j\Io- 
nongahela  river.  In  1849  he  went  with  a  Pittsburg  comjjany  to  California, 
where  he  remained  two  years.  In  1851  he  returned  to  Pennsylvania  and  helped 
locate  and  survey  the  Allegheny  Valley  Railroad.  In  1854  he  resigned  from 
the  engineer  corps  and  went  to  Indiana,  where  he  married  and  then  purchased 
a  stock  farm  in  Rock  Island  county,  Illinois,  upon  which  he  resided  for  five 
years.  In  1859  he  removed  to  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged in  farming  and  speculation  in  coal  lands  until  1873,  when  he  came  to 
Greensburg.  Since  then  he  has  been  dealing  in  coal,  oil  and  gas  lands.  He 
was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  natural  gas  business,  and  with  the  Haymaker 
brothers  put  down  the  first  well  at  Murrysville.  In  1883  he  started  the  Daily 
and  IVccklv  Press,  one  of  the  leading  papers  of  the  country,  which  now  has 
far  more  than  a  local  circulation.  During  the  late  war  Mr.  Brunot  was  mus- 
tered into  the  service  of  the  ITnited  States  at  Camp  Howell,  July  2,  1863,  and 
served  until  August  ifi,  1863,  when  the  regiment,  the  fifty-fourth,  Pennsylvania 
Volunteers,  was  disbanded  and  he  was  discharged.  Hilarv  J.  Brunot  married, 
at  Boone  Grove,  Indiana,  July  12,  1855,  Mary  Bissell.  Their  children  were: 
Ann  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Hilary  B.  Brunot,  Brevard,  North  Carolina ;  Marv  Car- 
oline, widow  of  Dr.  I.  P.  Klingensmith,  of  Blairsville,  Pennsylvania ;  Hilary 
Sanson,  United  States  consul  at  St.  Etienna.  France  ;  Sarah  Louisa :  William 
P..,  died  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years;  Felix  R.,  a  broken  of  Greensburg.  Penn- 
sylvania :  }ilelusina  B.,  wife  of  Joseph  K.  Barclay,  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvrnia  ; 
James  Thompson,  died  in  1902,  and  was  survived  by  his  wife.  Rose  Latta  Bru- 
not, and  an  infant  son,  James  T.  Brunot :  Indiana  Traner,  died  in  infancy  ;  John 
Breton,  of  whom  later.    Hilary  J.  Brunot  died  June  g,  1900. 

John  Breton  Brunot,  son  of  Hilary  J.  and  Mary  (Bissell)  Brunot,  was 
born  at  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  November  6,  1878,  and  received  his  educa- 
tion at  the  high  school.  Grove  City  College  and  University  of  Michigan.  At 
the  last  named  institution  he  took  a  three  year  law  course,  graduating  June  19. 
igo2.     He  was  admitted  to  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession  in  Westmore- 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAXD    COUXTV.  137 

land  coiintv,  Mav.  1904.  Shortly  thereafter  he  became  associated  with  J.  R. 
Spieg-el.  under  the  firm  name  of  Spiegel  &  P.runot.  whose  office  is  in  the  i'ress 
buikiing  at  Greensburg.  Pennsylvania.  Politically  Mr.  Brunot  is  a  supporter 
of  the  Republican  party,  and  in  church  affiliations  is  an  Episcopalian.  He  mar- 
ried, August  26,  1903.  Alice  E.  Turner,  of  Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa,  daughter  of 
John  B.  and  Mary  B.  Turner.  The  father  was  an  early  settler  and  prominent 
ijusiness  man  of  Cedar  Rapids.  ;\Ir.  and  Mrs.  Brunot  have  one  son.  John  B. 
Brunot.  Jr..  born  in  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  November  9,  1904. 

JOHX  J.  HOl'SER,  a  leading  business  man  of  Ruffsdale,  whose 
honorable  and  straightforward  methods  have  brought  to  him  a  large  degree  of 
prosperitx'  and  success,  is  a  native  of  New  Stanton,  Pennsylvania,  born  Decem- 
ber 13.  1866. 

John  G.  Houser,  father  of  John  J.  Houser,  was  born  in  Germany.  When 
sixteen  years  old  he  left  his  native  land  for  a  home  in  the  new  world,  locating 
at  what  is  now  known  as  New  Stanton,  Pennsylvania,  where  for  a  few  }-ears 
he  was  engaged  in  boiling  salt.  Later  he  turned  his  attention  to  farming  in 
South  Huntingdon  township,  which  he  continued  until  1904.  since  which  time 
he  has  lived  in  the  village  of  Rutifsdale.  He  has  held  the  office  of  school  direc- 
tor for  five  or  six  terms,  rendering  efficient  service  in  that  capacity.  He  is  a 
member  and  deacon  in  the  Lutheran  church,  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry,  and  a  director  in  the  Mendon  Grange  Fire  In- 
surance Company  for  several  years.  He  married  Rebecca  Bare,  daughter  of 
Joseph  Bare,  and  eight  children  were  the  issue,  one  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 
The  surviving  members  are:  John  J.,  of  whom  later:  Ida,  wife  of  J.  C.  Hus- 
band, of  Greensburg:  Mary,  unmarried:  Martha,  wife  of  Alfred  N.  Miller: 
Sarah,  wife  of  Frank  Leighty  :  William  P.,  a  clerk  in  the  employ  of  his  brother, 
John  J.,  and  Lula,  unmarried. 

The  common  schools  of  South  Huntingdon  township  and  the  Greensburg 
Seminary,  which  he  attended  one  term,  afforded  John  J,  Houser  the  oppor- 
tunity of  acquiring  a  practical  education  during  his  boyhood  days.  His  first 
■occupation  was  that  of  teacher,  in  which  capacity  he  served  for  seven  years  in 
the  schools  of  East  and  South  Huntingdon  townships.  He  engaged  as  clerk 
with  J.  H.  Ruff,  at  Ruffsrlale,  in  1892,  and  at  the  expiration  of  one  year  he 
])urchased  the  business  which  consists  of  a  general  line  of  merchandise,  and  has 
successfully  conducted  the  same  up  to  the' present  time  (1905).  He  takes  a 
keen  interest  in  everything  pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  the  community  in  which 
he  resides,  especiallv  along  educational  lines,  and  for  one  term  held  the  office 
of  school  director.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  state  convention  of  school  directors 
whicli  convened  at  Harrisburg.  in  1903.  He  was  instrumental  in  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Lutheran  church  of  Ruffsdale,  in  which  he  serves  as  deacon  and 
to  the  support  of  which  he  is  a  liberal  contributor.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  poli- 
tics. He  is  a  charter  member  of  the  Knisrhts  of  Malta,  Lodge  No.  350,  Beacon 
Commanderv  of  Ruffsdale.  Mr.  Houser  married  Cora  M.  Leighty.  daughter 
of  M.  T.  and  Eliza  Leighty.  and  their  chiklren  are:  Grover,  born  June  27,  1894; 
Mildred,  May  7.  1897:  and  Corinne.  December  4,  1901. 

JOSEPH  P.  LO\'E.  a  resident  of  .'\lverton.  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  a  man  prominent  and  active  in  communitv  affairs,  was  born 
in  South  Huntingdon  township.  .August  23.  1844.  son  of  Benjamin  and  Mary 
(Tint«nian)   Love. 

Benjamin  Love,  father,  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  who  emigrated  to  this 
■country  in  companv  with  his  father,  Benjamin  Love,  settling  in  Pennsylvania. 


138 


HISTORY    OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 


He  was  twelve  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  this  country,  and  spent 
the  remainder  of  his  life  in  South  Huntingdon  township,  being  engaged  hi  the 
butcher  business  and  farming.  He  and  his  wife,  Mary  Tintsman,  had  sixteen 
children :  Margaret,  deceased,  wife  of  Frederick  Spielman ;  Robert,  deceased ; 
Elizabeth,  deceased;  Nancy,  wife  of  James  Hough;  Benjamin,  deceased; 
Abram,  a  farmer  ;  Sarah  ;  John,  deceased  ;  Martha  ;  James,  a  carpenter  of  Scott- 
dale  :  Julia,  deceased;  Jane,  died  in  infancy;  David,  a  farmer;  Joseph  P.,  of 
whom  later;  Catherine,  wife  of  Joseph  Ruth,  and  Benjamin,  deceased.  Benja- 
min Love,  the  father  of  these  children,  died  in  1862. 

Joseph  P.  Love  received  a  common  school  education,  and  in  early  life 
learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  at  which  he  worked  for  some  years.  When  the 
cloud  of  war  overspread  the  country  in  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Company  _B,  Six- 
teenth Pennsylvania  Cavalry,  and  served  for  a  term  of  three  years.  Since  his 
return  to  civil  life  he  has  been  engaged  in  various  avocations,  giving  most  par- 
ticular attention,  however,  to  the  butcher  business.  In  his  jjolitical  relations 
Mr.  Love  is  a  strong  Republican,  and  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  for  eleven 
years,  assessor,  collector,  and,  in  short,  in  every  township  office  with  the  single 
exception  of  school  director.  Mr.  Love  is  deeply  interested  in  all  community 
affairs,  and  in  all  the  positions  of  trust  and  responsibility  to  which  he  has  been 
elected,  he  has  discharged  his  duties  most  acceptably.  He  was  appointed,  July 
6,  1904,  a  rural  mail  carrier  by  the  government,  on  No.  3  delivery  from  Mount 
Pleasant.  He  is  a  charter  member  of  the  Knights  of  Malta  lodge  in  Scottdale. 
He  married,  October  31,  1871,  Emma  Tarr,  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Frances 
(Teller)  Tarr.  and  their  children  were:  Jessie  Frances,  wife  of  Dr.  G.  C. 
Kneedler,  of  Alleghenv  City;  Edwin  M..  a  resident  of  Pittsburg,  and  Mazie 
\'iola,  a  graduate  of  the  East  Huntingdon  high  school,  the  Mount  Pleasant 
Institute,  and  for  three  terms  a  teacher  in  the  Alverton  public  school. 

WILLIAM  L.  STONER,  deceased,  for  many  years  a  representative 
citizen  of  Scottdale,  was  born  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  Novem- 
ber 10,  1848,  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Ann  ( Lane)  Stoner. 

In  early  life,  after  acquiring  a  common  school  education,  he  learned  the 
trade  of  carpenter,  becoming  an  expert  mechanic  as  the  result  of  close  appli- 
cation to  his  work  during  his  term  of  apprenticeship,  and  later  became  a  con- 
tractor and  builder,  many  of  the  finest  buildings  in  the  county  standing  as 
monuments  to  his  skill  and  ability  along  these  lines.  Failing  health  forced  him 
to  abandon  his  work  and  in  order  to  recuperate  he  started  for  Colorado,  May 
15,  1888,  but  died  at  Wood  River,  Nebraska,  June  5,  1888,  passing  away  while 
vet  in  the  prime  of  life.  He  was  a  consistent  member  of  the  United  Brethren 
church,  and  a  man  of  exemplary  habits,  honored  and  respected  by  a  wide  circle 
of  friends  and  acquaintances.  Mr.  Stoner  married  Lucy  A.  Null,  daughter  of 
Jonathan  and  Mary  (Seanor)  Null,  and  granddaughter  of  Henry  and  Elizabeth 
(Paul)  Null.  Their  children  are:  Maud'M.,  born  November  12,  1873.  a  grad- 
uate of  the  Currv  Business  College,  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  wife  of  J.  Sheri- 
dan Bradley,  a  merchant  of  Scottdale.  Harry  Null,  born  March  2,  1876.  an 
agent  of  Scottdale,  also  a  graduate  of  the  Curry  Business  College.  He  mar- 
ried Malinda  A.  Brothers,  who  bore  him  one  child.  Vernon  Null,  born  De- 
cember 16,  1901 ;  he  married  (second)  Erma  L.  Gessner,  who  bore  him  one 
child,  Frances  Catharine,  born  July  29,  1904.  Edna  S..  born  January  6,  1880, 
wife  of  Lloyd  Hough,  a  machinist  of  Scottdale.  Nellie  O.,  born  August  9,  1885, 
a  graduate  of  the  East  Huntingdon  high  school,  now  serving  in  the  capacity  of 
teacher  in  the  schools  of  East  Huntingdon  township. 


HISTORY    Of    U'ESTMORELAXD    COUXTY.  139, 

EDWIN  RUTH\'EX  KISSELL.  The  grandfather  of  Edwin  Ruth- 
ven  Kissell,  of  Ligonier  township,  was  WilHam  Kissell,  who  was  born  and 
reared  at  Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  a  stonemason  by  trade.  He 
moved  to  Westmoreland  county  and  settled  in  the  Ligonier  valley,  where  he 
followed  his  trade  during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  William  Kissell  married- 
Sarah  Witter,  and  their  children  were  :  George,  deceased  ;  Frederick,  deceased  ^ 
Denial  C,  mentioned  herafter ;  Franklin ;  John  Wesley,  deceased ;  Matilda,  de- 
ceased ;  Lucinda,  who  became  the  wife  of  Solomon  Grisword,  and  is  deceased ; 
Jerome ;  and  \\'illiam  Albert ;  both  of  whom  are  deceased.  The  father  of  the 
family  died  in  1858. 

Daniel  C.  Kissell,  son  of  \\'illiani  and  Sarah  (Witter)  Kissell,  was  born 
Alarch  28,  1838,  in  Lancaster  City,  and  when  a  child  was  brought  to  West- 
moreland county  by  his  parents.  In  early  life  he  learned  the  carpenter's  trade 
and  followed  it  for  some  years  in  Pittsburg.  For  seven  years  he  was  car  inspec- 
tor at  Irwin  for  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company.  In  1871  he  purchased 
the  property  where  he  now  makes  his  home  and  which  is  known  as  the  Kissell 
Spring  Hotel.  It  was  opened  by  him  about  1877  and  continuously  conducted 
by  him  until  1899,  when  he  resigned  the  management  to  his  son  Edwin  Ruth- 
ven.  Mr.  Kissell  married  Marv  Ann,  daughter  of  Frederick  Snyder,  and  their 
children  are :  DeWitt  Clinton,  Edwin  Ruthven,  mentioned  hereafter ;  John 
\\esley,  \\'illiam  S.,  Mildred  D.,  married  a  Mr.  Jack,  of  Pittsburg;  Luella 
Alontrose,  married  Robert  Gilligan ;  Ralph,  Ray  B.,  and  Kenneth  Kingsley.. 
Mrs.  Kissell  died  in  1898. 

Edwin  Ruthven  Kissell,  son  of  Daniel  C.  and  j\Iary  Ann  (.Snyder)  Kissell„ 
was  born  September  15,  1866,  at  Irwin,  Pennsylvania,  and  when  about  fourteen 
years  old  started  for  Scotland,  but  decided  to  go  west,  where  he  spent  five 
years  as  a  cow  boy.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  returned  to  Pennsylvania  and 
worked  as  a  carpenter  and  builder  until  after  the  death  of  his  mother.  About 
a  year  after  that  event  he  succeeded  his  father  as  proprietor  of  the  Kissell 
Spring  Hotel,  a  position  which  he  has  since  successfully  filled.  The  hotel  is 
situated  five  miles  northeast  of  Ligonier  and  is  one  of  the  best-known  summer 
resorts  in  western  Pennsylvania.  ]\Ir.  Kissell  is  a  member  of  the  West  Fair- 
field church.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics.  He  married  Annie  Esther,  daugh- 
ter of  Xoah  H.  and  Mary  Jane  (Ross)  Clarke. 

JOHX  McCREARY.  who  was  for  many  years  a  prominent  and  suc- 
cessful horse  dealer  in  Westmoreland  count}',  Pennsylvania,  was  born  in  Alle- 
gheny township,  November  28,  1845,  the  son  of  George  and  Sarah  (Kline) 
]\IcCreary. 

John  McCreary  (great-grandfather)  emigrated  to  this  countrv  from  Ire- 
land in  1775.  settling  in  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania.  There  were  three 
sons  in  the  family,  John,  William  and  Henry.  Having  settled  in  a  community 
in  which  the  German  language  was  spoken  and  taught  in  the  parochial  and 
subscription  schools,  they  learned  to  speak  this  language,  and  it  formed  the 
basis  of  their  education.  About  1780  the  three  sons  left  their  homes  for  the 
west,  as  it  was  then  called.  William  and  Henry  went  to  Kentucky,  where  they 
prospered. 

John  McCrcarv  (grandfather)  settled  in  Salem  township  in  the  village  of 
New  Salem,  now  Dclmf)nt.  later  removing  from  there  to  .\llcgheny  township. 
His  children  were:  John,  Elizabeth,  Mary,  Samuel,  Henry  and  George.  John 
was  a  successful  business  man  and  was  extensively  engaged  in  farming  and 
droving.     He  owned  a  fine  farm  in  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  which  he  after- 


I40 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 


ward  made  his  home.  He  was  a  man  of  sterHng  character,  a  Whig  in  pohtics, 
and  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church.  He  died  in  1865.  The  death  of  John 
jMcCreary,  Sr.  occurred  in  1844. 

George  McCreary,  the  youngest  son  of  John  McCreary,  and  father  of  John 
McCrearv,  was  born  on  the  old  homestead,  August  8,  1808.  He  ac(|uircd  a 
common  school  education,  was  a  farmer,  an  uncompromising  Democrat  in  polir 
tics,  and  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  He  was  rugged  in  sincerity  and 
emphatic  expression  and  act.  He  married  Sarah  Kline,  a  woman  of  amiable 
disposition,  who  was  universally  loved.  Their  children  were:  Levi,  John, 
Hiram,  Henry,  Jane,  Susan,  Mary  and  Adda. 

There  were  no  startling  epochs  in  the  life  of  John  McCreary.  In  the  busi- 
ness ho  chose,  that  of  dealing  in  horses,  he  was  successful,  because  he  was 
painstaking,  energetic  and  honest.  He  had  thousands  of  patrons  in  western 
Pennsylvania,  with  whom  he  dealt  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  with 
•ever-increasing  confidence.  He  had  none  of  the  wiles  so  often  practiced  by 
members  of  his  profession.  The  magnitude  of  his  operations  was  remarkable, 
and  for  years  he  maintained  a  large  .sales  stable  in  Brooklyn,  New  York.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church,  and  always  an  active  Democrat.  In 
1884  he  was  the  Democratic  candidate  for  treasurer  of  Westmoreland  county. 
He  made  a  most  gallant  fight,  but  with  all  his  colleagues  on  the  ticket  met  de- 
feat. He  never  faltered  in  his  devotion  to  Democracy.  John  McCreary  mar- 
ried, January  11,  1886,  Bethelda  Cresswell,  daughter  of  Samuel  Stuart  Cress- 
well,  whose  wife  was  Rachel  Hylyer.  Samuel  Stuart  Cresswell  was  a  son  of 
Samuel  Cresswell  and  his  wife.  Elizabeth  Stuart,  a  great-granddaughter  of 
Charles  Stuart,  who  was  defeated  in  a  battle  for  the  British  crown  and  com- 
pelled to  fly  to  Spain.  His  wife  and  two  children,  a  boy  and  a  girl,  were  carried 
to  the  British  colonies  in  America  and  sold  for  their  passage  money.  Thev  de- 
scended from  the  Scottish  Highlands  and  participated  in  quelling  the  Irish  re- 
bellion during  the  reign  of  King  William.  Samuel  Stewart  Cresswell  was  born 
near  McCarricksburg,  Indiana  county,  Pennsylvania,  November  11,  1822,  and 
died  at  Homer  City,  Indiana  county.  May  29,  1902.  Mr.  McCrearWs  devotion 
to  his  father  and  mother  never  wavered.  He  saw  that  they  were  comfortable' 
during  their  lives.  His  business  triumphs  only  increased  his  care  and  concern 
for  those  he  loved.  To  his  widow  he  left  a  handsome  fortune  as  an  evidence 
of  his  devotion.  His  last  illness  found  him  in  the  midst  of  his  well-established 
and  hopeful  enterprises,  and  on  the  second  day  of  November,  1903,  death 
stopped  the  swift  running  current  of  a  useful  and  successful  life. 

J.  LLOYD  KALP.  One  of  Mount  Pleasant's  enterprising  business 
men  of  the  younger  generation  is  T.  Llovd  Kalp.  He  is  a  grandson  of  William 
K.  and  Margaret  (A\'adsworth)  Kalp,  the  former  a  farmer  of  Donegal  town- 
ship. 

William  Andrew  Kalp,  son  of  William  K.  and  Margaret  (Wadsworth) 
Kalp,  was  born  May  15,  1857,  i"  Donegal  township,  was  bred  to  farm  life  and 
educated  in  the  public  and  normal  schools.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  began 
to  teach,  and  for  fourteen  terms  was  an  instructor  in  the  country  districts  of 
Westmoreland  county.  He  taught  for  two  terms  in  Mount  Pleasant,  and  at 
the  age  of  twenty  engaged  in  farming  in  connection  with  his  work  as  a  teacher. 
In  1890  he  gave  uo  his  farm  and  settled  in  ]\Iount  Pleasant,  where  he  soent 
the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  c-^ain  became  a  teacher  and  also  engaged  for  a 
time  in  the  insurance  business.  Later  he  formed  a  nartnership  and  entered  the 
hardware  business,  the  firm  beine  known  as  Kalp,  Mechling  &  Company.  Sub- 
sequently it  became  Kalp  &  Mechling,  remaining  so  until  1901  when  Mr.  Kalp 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAXD    COUXTY.  141 

withdrew  his  interest  in  the  business  and  turjicd  his  attention  to  real  estate 
and  fire  insurance.  He  carried  on  an  extensive  business  in  both  insurance  and 
realty,  and  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Citizens'  Jjuilding  &  Loan  Associa- 
tion, in  which  from  its  inception  until  his  death,  he  held  the  office  of  secretary. 
In  connection  with  C.  E.  AiuUen  he  purchased  and  laid  out  in  building  lots  the 
"Janies  Xeel  farm"  in  the  borough  of  Mount  Pleasant.  He  was  one  of  the 
promoters  of  the  i\Iount  Pleasant  Creamery  Company  and  also  of  the  Mount 
I'leasant  Tool  Company  in  both  of  whicn  he  was  a  stockholder, 
and  of  the  latter  was  secretary  of  board  of  directors.  He  was 
secretary  of  the  Berlin  Electric  Light  Company,  of  Berlin,  Pennsyl- 
vania^ and  also  of  the  Berlin  Water  Company,  being  part  owner  of  both  cor- 
porations. As  secretary  and  treasurer  he  was  connected  with  the  Cedar  Ridge 
Mines  &  Tunnel  Company,  of  Idaho  Springs,  Colorado.  Mr.  Kalp  was  a  benev- 
olent and  public-spirited  citizen  as  well  as  a  successful  business  man,  and  was. 
one  of  the  promoters  of  the  JMount  Pleasant  Hospital  antl  the  free  dispensary,. 
acting  as  secretary  of  both.  In  Donegal  township  he  held  the  office  of  justice 
of  the  peace,  and  in  Mount  Pleasant  borough  served  as  chief  burgess  and  as  a 
member  of  the  school  board.  He  was  also  a  delegate  to  the  Erie  convention. 
He  was  first  member  of  jNIarion  Lodge,  Xo.  562,  F.  and  A.  I\I.,  and  also  be- 
longed to  Urania  Chapter,  Xo.  192,  R.  A.  M.,  Kedron  Commandery,  Xo.  18. 
K.  T.,  Valley  Consistory  of  Pittsburg,  A.  A.  S.  R.,  Gaurgas  Lodge  of  Perfec- 
tion, AIoss  Rose  Lodge,  Xo.  350,  I.  O.  O.  P.,  the  Royal  Arcanum,  and  the 
Loval  Association.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  and  one  of  the  trustees  of 
Lodge  Xo.  868.  B.  P.  O.  E. 

Mr.  Kalp  married,  June  16,  1877,  Ellen  Ulery,  daughter  of  Frederiok  and 
Rachael  (Ellis)  Ulerich,  as  the  name  was  originally  spelled.  Frederick  L'lerich 
was  born  December  16,  1817,  in  Prussia,  and  came  to  the  United  States  when  a 
lad  of  fourteen.  He  settled  near  Stahlstown,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  passed  a  part  of  his  life  as  a  farmer.  His  wife  was  of  Scotch-. 
Irish  extraction,  ilr.  and  Mrs.  Kalp  were  the  parents  of  the  following  child- 
ren:  I.  J.  Lloyd,  mentioned  hereafter.  2.  William  Lawrence,  a  graduate  of 
Bucknell  and  a  teacher  in  Mount  Pleasant  Institute.  3.  Margaret  Ellen,  a  stu- 
dent at  Bucknell.  4.  Maude  Cecelia,  wife  of  J.  D.  Springer,  a  real  estate  and 
insurance  dealer  of  Uniontown,  Pennsylvania.  5.  Kathryn  M.,  a  stenographer. 
6.  Bertha  P.,  a  student  at  Mount  Pleasant  Institute.  7.  Viola  R.  8.  Clyde  F. 
9.  Earl  A.  The  three  last-named  are  attending  the  public  schools.  The  death 
of  Mr.  Kalp  occurred  December  23,  1903,  and  was  lamented  by  all  who  knew 
him  as  that  of  an  upright  and  worthy  citizen  and  a  truly  good  man. 

J.  Lloyd  Kalp,  son  of  William  Andrew  and  Ellen  (Ulery)  Kalp,  was  born 
July  18,  1878.  in  Donegal  township,  and  was  educated  in  the  public  schools. 
Mount  Pleasant  Institute,  graduating  therefrom  in  class  of  1899,  and  at  Buck- 
nell University,  graduating  in  the  class  of  1903.  In  that  year  and  the  preceding 
one  he  was  assistant  to  the  registrar  of  the  University,  and  after  graduation  be- 
came principal  of  the  public  schools  of  Saltsburg,  Indiana  county.  He  came  to 
Mount  Pleasant  upon  the  death  of  his  father,  whom  he  succeeded  in  the  real 
estate  business  and  also  in  the  insurance  interest.  He  is  secretary  of  the  Citi- 
zens' Building  and  Loan  Association,  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Cedar 
Ridge  Mines  and  Tunnel  Company,  director  of  Berlin  Water  Company,  of 
Berlin,  Somerset  county,  and  secretary  of  board  of  directors  of  Mount  Pleas- 
ant Tool  Company.  He  is  identified  with  Marion  Lodge,  Xo.  562,  F.  and  A. 
M.,  the  Royal  Arcanum,  AIoss  Rose  Lodge,  Xo.  350,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  Encampment 


142  HISTORY    OF    ]VESTi\IORELAND    COUNTY. 

No.  310  and  Lodge  No.  868,  B.  P.  O.  E.  He  married,  September  14,  1905, 
Martha  Wolfe,  daughter  of  Charles  Spiker  Wolfe,  deceased,  of  Lewisburg, 
Union  county,  Pennsylvania. 

JOSEPH  W.  SHELAR,  one  of  the  well-known  and  prominent  physi- 
cians of  Westmoreland  county,  was  born  in  Niles,  Trumbull  count}*,  Ohio,  June 
.2,  1859.  The  Shelars  in  America  originally  came  from  Germany,  and  were 
.among  the  early  settlers  of  Pennsylvania.  The  great-grandfather  of  Joseph  W. 
Shelar  was  engaged  in  iron-manufacturing  in  Maryland  before  the  war  of  the 
revolution,  and  his  grandfather  was  a  potter  by  trade,  and  made  the  first  piece 
of  earthen  ware  west  of  the  Allegheny  mountains,  and  is  supposed  to  have  lived 
in  Westmoreland  county. 

J.  E.  Shelar,  father  of  Joseph  W.  Shelar,  was  burn  in  Trumbull  county, 
■Ohio,  in  1833.  When  a  boy  he  learned  the  trade  of  roller,  at  which  he  worked 
up  to  1870,  when  he  was  promoted  to  superintendent  of  the  mills  at  Niles,  Ohio. 
He  served  for  a  time  as  chief  of  police,  and  is  prominent  in  councilmanic  affairs. 
During  the  time  of  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  Mr.  Shelar  enlisted  in  the  Union 
army  in  the  fall  of  1863,  in  an  Ohio  regiment  of  volunteers.  He  entered  as  a 
private,  and  April,  1864,  was  mustered  out  as  a  corporal.  In  1854  he  married 
Celestia  McEIwee,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  McElwee,  a  native  of  Columbiana 
•county,  Ohio.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shelar  were  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
They  were  the  parents  of  ten  children,  five  sons  and  five  daughters. 

Joseph  W.  Shelar,  son  of  J.  E.  and  Celestia  (McElwee)  Shelar,  was  edu- 
•cated  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  place.  His  first  regular  employment 
was  errand  boy  in  a  general  store  at  Niles.  On  leaving  this  employment  he  at- 
tended the  higli  school  of  Niles  for  two  terms,  and  from  1874  to  1877  served  an 
apprenticeship  in  a  printer's  shop.  At  the  expiration  of  this  term  he  removed 
to  Warren.  Ohio,  remaining  but  a  short  time,  when  he  returned  and  found  em- 
ployment in  a  nail  factory.  In  1881  he  removed  to  Mount  Pleasant,  Westmore- 
land county,  Pennsylvania,  and  entered  the  drug  store  of  E.  J.  McElwee  as 
■clerk.  He  remained  there  for  a  year,  and  then  engaged  in  the  management  of  a 
branch  store  of  Mr.  AIcElwee's,  where  he  continued  until  1884.  Mr.  Shelar 
■entered  into  the  study  of  medicine  in  1882,  studying  first  under  the  preceptor- 
ship  of  Dr.  J.  E.  Rigg,  now  of  Wilkinsburg,  Pennsylvania.  In  1883  he  en- 
tered the  Long  Island  College  Hospital  at  Brooklyn,  New  York,  attended  three 
courses  of  lectures,  and  was  graduated  in  1886.  He  began  the  practice  of 
medicine  that  year  at  Stoner,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  continuing 
there  until  1896,  when  he  removed  to  Mount  Pleasant,  where  he  has  since  been 
■engaged  in  an  extensive  and  lucrative  practice.  Dr.  Shelar  makes  a  specialty  of 
diseases  of  the  eye,  ear,  nose  and  throat,  and  his  practice  covers  a  wide  range 
of  territory.  Dr.  Shelar  is  a  member  of  the  surgical  force  of  the  Mount  Pleas- 
ant Hospital,  member  of  the  Westmoreland  County  Medical  Society,  the  Mod- 
ern Woodmen  of  America,  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fllows,  Moss  Rose 
Lodge ;  the  Woodmen  of  the  World,  also  the  Grand  Fraternity.  He  is  medical 
■examiner  for  the  Metropolitan  Life  Insurance  Company,  the  Travelers'  Insur- 
ance Company,  and  two  of  the  fraternal  societies.  His  political  sympathies  lie 
with  the  Republican  party,  in  which  he  takes  an  active  interest.  He  is  a  man  of 
"broad  and  liberal  views,  and  is  well  thought  of  throughout  the  communitv. 

In  1888  Dr.  Shelar  was  united  in  marriage  to  Betta,  a  daughter  of  Solomon 
Stoner,  of  East  Huntingdon  township.  In  1895  I\Irs.  Shelar  died,  leaving  the 
following  children:  Camille  V.,  Ethel  Blanche,  and  Sollie  B.  In  1897  Dr. 
Shelar  married  for  his  second  wife  Anna  M.  Boyd,  daughter  of  J.  F.  and  Han- 
nah Bovd,  of  Scottdale. 


HISTORY    OF    Jl'ESTMORELAXD    COUNTY.  143 

CHARLES  F.  COLDS.MITH,  one  of  the  leading  druggists  of  West- 
moreland county,  was  born  in  Alount  Pleasant,  JMarch  2,  1870,  a  son  of  John 
and  Sarah  (Brehan)  Coldsniith.  John  Goldsmith  was  a  native  of  eastern 
i'ennsylvania,  and  when  a  young  man  removed  to  \\'estmoreland  county.  He 
followed  the  occupation  of  a  hatter,  and  was  also  engaged  in  the  grocery  bus- 
iness. He  served  as  councilman  of  JMount  Pleasant  for  some  time  and  dis- 
charged the  duties  of  that  office  with  credit. 

Charles  F.  Coldsmith  was  reared  in  the  borough  of  JMount  Pleasant,  and 
received  a  good  general  education  in  the  public  schools  of  that  place.  After  leav- 
ing the  school-room  he  entered  in  his  first  regular  employment  in  the  drug  store 
of  .Mr.  'SI.  S.  Kuhn,  remaining  there  for  eleven  years.  In  1897  Mr.  Coldsmii'h 
and  Mr.  Kuhn  bought  out  the  drug  establishment  of  Mr.  E.  J.  McElwee,  and 
conducted  the  business  under  the  firm  name  of  Coldsmith  &  Kuhn.  Previous  to 
this  Mr.  Coldsmith  had  taken  a  course  of  instruction  in  the  Chicago  School  of 
Pharmacy,  and  became  a  thorough  master  of  the  profession.  He  is  also  a  reg- 
istered pharmacist  of  Pennsylvania.  His  partnership  with  Mr.  Kuhn  existed 
until  1901,  when  jMr.  Coldsmith  succeeded  to  the  ownership  and  management 
of  the  entire  establishment,  and  it  is  now  known  as  the  Chrystal  Pharmacy. 
The  store  is  well  stocked  with  a  full  line  of  drugs,  medicine,  etc.,  and  he  makes 
a  specialty  of  filling  prescriptions.  The  business  is  entirely  successful  and  is 
considered  one  of  the  best  drug  establishments  in  the  county.  Politically  Mr. 
Coldsmith  is  a  strong  Republican,  takes  a  deep  interest  in  the  welfare  of  that 
organization  and  is  an  earnest  party  worker.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Royal 
Arcanum,  Independent  Order  Odd  Fellows,  and  Knights  of  Malta.  No.  350, 
Moss  Rose  Lodge,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  No.  868.  He  is 
also  a  member  of  the  National  Association  of  Retail  Druggists,  and  the  West- 
moreland Druggists'  Association.  Mr.  Coldsmith  erected  a  handsome  residence 
on  Eagle  street,  ]\Iount  Pleasant,  where  he  has  since  resided. 

Charles  F.  Coldsmith  was  united  in  marriage  to  Daisy  May  Lozier,  daugh- 
ter of  Henry  Lozier,  of  Mount  Pleasant.  The  following  named  children  were 
born  to  them :  Daisv  Alarie,  deceased ;  Eugene  AIcKinley  and  Gertrude  Gene- 
vieve. They  are  members  of  the  Church  of  God  and  German  Reformed 
church,  respectively. 

WILLIAM  McNAUGHTON.  Among  the  energetic  and  enterpris- 
ing business  men  of  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  perhaps  no  one  has 
attained  to  a  higher  degree  of  success  than  William  McNaughton.  He  was  born 
in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania.  December  14,  1855,  a  son  of  James  and  Mary 
(Griven)  McNaughton.  His  father  was  born  and  reared  in  Philadelphia,  and 
was  by  trade  a  shoemaker.  He  traveled  extensively,  but  spent  the  most  of  his 
life  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania.  He  served  some  eighteen  months  in  the  Civil 
war  in  Knapp  Battery.  He  married  Mary  Griven,  a  native  of  the  north  of 
Ireland,  and  the  following  named  children  were  born  to  them:  James,  William, 
mentioned  hereafter :  Rebecca,  Harry,  Charley,  Jennie,  Kate,  William,  two  chil- 
flren  who  died  in  childhood,  and  George.  The  father  of  this  family  died  in 
1899,  well  advanced  in  years. 

William  ^McNaughton  was  reared  in  Pittsburg,  and  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools  of  that  city.  At  the  age  of  nine  years  he  left  the  school-room,  en- 
tering into  his  first  regular  employment  with  the  McKce  Brothers  Glass  Manu- 
facturing establishment.  His  earnest  and  diligent  work  won  rapid  promotion 
for  him,  and  he  subsequently  became  a  practical  glass  maker.  He  removed  to 
Philadelphia,   Pennsylvania,  remaining  there  some  fourteen  years.    After  this 


144  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

he  removed  to  Findlay,  Uhio,  and  there  became  interested  in  the  manufacture 
of  glass.  He  became  a  member  of  a  glass  firm  there  and  assisted  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  two  glass  plants.  After  some  seven  years  spent  in  the  state  of  Ohio 
Mr.  McNaughton  returned  to  Pennsylvania,  associating  himself  with  the  Bryce 
Brothers  as  manager  of  their  establishment,  and  in  1898  was  admitted  to  the 
firm,  and  is  now  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors.  Mr.  McNaughton  is  pre- 
eminently a  self-made  man.  Thrown  upon  his  own  resources  at  the  tender  age 
of  nine  years,  with  a  very  limited  education,  and  no  capital  except  determina- 
tion to  succeed  and  willingness  to  work,  Mr.  McNaughton  has  by  dint  of  those 
success-getting  qualities — patient  perseverance,  unfailing  energy  and  indomit- 
able will — advanced  himself  to  an  enviable  place  in  the  ranks  of' successful  and 
prosperous  business  men.  In  politics  Mr.  McNaughton  accords  with  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Republican  party,  and  loses  no  o]Jiiortunity  to  advance  the  inter- 
ests of  that  organization.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order 
of  Elks,  No.  868,  Mount  Pleasant ;  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellovv's, 
Jefiferson  Lodge,  No.  12,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania ;  Knights  of  Pythias,  Hylis 
Lodge.  In  1898  Mr.  McNaughton  erected  his  handsome  residence  on  Wash- 
ington street.  Mount  Pleasant.  As  a  citizen  he  has  the  respect  and  esteem  of 
his  fellow  townsmen  and  is  well  thought  of  throughout  the  coiumunity. 

In  1873  Mr.  ]\IcNaughton  was  united  in  marriage  to  Mary  A.  Holmes, 
daughter  of  William  Holmes,  of  Philadelphia.  F'ennsylvania,  and  the  following 
named  children  were  born  to  them :  William,  in  the  employ  of  the  Bryce  Broth- 
ers. Laura,  the  wife  of  Aaron  B.  Shaw,  of  Mount  Pleasant ;  they  have  on© 
child,  Elsie.  Mary,  residing  at  home.  Howard,  living  at  home.  Mr.  Mc- 
Naughton and  his  family  are  members  of  the  church  of  L'nited  Presbyterians. 

MYERS  WORMAN  HORNER,  M.  D.,  physician  and  surgeon, 
whose  office  is  located  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Diamond  streets.  Mount  Pleas- 
ant, is  a  native  of  that  borough,  born  December  27,  1870,  son  of  Isaac  and  Sarah 
(Myers)  Horner,  of  Mount  Pleasant  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Dr.  Horner  was  reared  to  farm  life,  educated  in  the  public  schools,  Alount 
Pleasant  Institute,  and  Central  State  Normal  school,  Lock  Haven,  Pennsyl- 
vania, from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1890.  The  following  three  years  he, 
was  engaged  in  the  vocation  of  teaching,  the  first  year  in  the  district  school  of 
jMount  Pleasant  township,  and  the  two  succeeding  years  as  vice-principal  of 
Mount  Pleasant  schools.  He  then  began  the  study  of  medicine  in  the  Jefferson 
Medical  College,  Philadelphia,  and  graduated  therefrom  in  1896.  The  first 
three  months  after  his  graduation  he  practiced  his  profession  in  the  city  of  Phil- 
adelphia, attending  to  the  practice  of  Dr.  Johnston.  He  then  returned  to  his 
native  place,  jMount  Pleasant,  where  he  has  since  established  for  himself  an 
enviable  reputation  and  gained  a  large  and  remunerative  practice.  The  suc- 
cess he  has  gained  in  his  profession  is  due  to  his  C[uickness  of  perception, 
promptness  in  action,  capability,  and  tender  and  sympathetic  disposition.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  United  States  pension  examining  board  located  at  Scottdale, 
Westmoreland  county,  and  is  a  member  of  the  surgical  staff  of  IMount  Pleasant 
Hospital.  Dr.  Horner  is  a  member  of  the  Westmoreland  County  Medical  So- 
ciety, of  which  he  was  president ;  Pennsylvania  State  Medical  Society,  American 
Medical  Association,  the  Association  of  the  L^nited  States  Pension  Examining 
Surgeons.  He  is  president  of  the  board  of  health  of  Mount  Pleasant.  He  is 
affiliated  with  Marion  Lodge,  No.  562  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  Scottdale; 
Moss  Rose  Lodge,  No.  350,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows ;  Mount  Pleas- 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  145 

ant  Lodge,  Xo.  868,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks ;  the  Protected 
Home  Circle,  American  Order  of  United  Workmen,  of  Mount  Pleasant,  and. 
the  Pike  Run  Country  Club,  He  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  education,  and. 
a  member  of  Alount  Pleasant  fire  department. 

Dr.  Horner  married,  October  31,  lyoi.  Pearl  Elvira  Smith,  who  was  bora 
in  Alonnt  Pleasant,  February  22,  1872,  daughter  of  William  H.  Smith,  of  Mount 
Pleasant.  They  are  the  parents  of  a  child,  Sarah  Smith  Horner,  born  Decem- 
ber 15,  1904.  Dr.  Horner  is  a  member  of  the  German  Baptist  Brethren  church, 
and  Mrs.  Horner  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

JULIUS  REICH^LW.  One  of  the  most  useful  of  Mount  Pleasants 
foreign-born  citizens  is  Julius  Reichman.  He  is  a  son  of  Joseph  Reichman.  He 
is  a  son  of  Joseph  Reichman,  who  was  a  native  of  Austria  Hungary  and  by 
trade  a  miller.  His  wife,  Julia  Reichman,  bore  him  two  sons:  Joseph,  and  Ju- 
lius, mentioned  hereafter.  Mr.  Reichman  is  now  deceased  and  is  survived 
bv  his  widow. 

Julius  Reichman,  son  of  Joseph  and  Julia  Reichman,  was  born  in  Austria 
Hungarv,  and  was  well  educated  in  the  colleges  of  Kaschau  and  Podolin.  In 
1896,  at'  the  age  of  eighteen,  lie  came  to  the  United  States  and  after  being  for 
a  time  variously  employed  obtained  a  position  in  an  exchange  bank  in  New 
York  city.  After  remaining  there  nearly  three  years,  he  became  manager  of  3. 
branch  office  in  the  same  line  at  Catasauqua,  Pennsylvania,  retaining  that  posi- 
tion until  1901.  In  that  year  he  and  his  brother  Joseph  established  their  present 
business  at  2\Ionnt  Pleasant,  under  the  firm  name  of  Reichman  Brothers.  They 
are  steamship  agents  and  deal  exclusively  in  foreign  exchange,  carrying  on  also 
a  legal  business'in  the  execution  of  deeds  and  the  sale  of  property  in  all  parts  of 
Europe.  Their  connection  with  European  attorneys  is  very  extensive,  and  they 
translate  into  all  languages  both  legal  and  private  documents.  The  rules  and 
regulations  for  the  anthracite  regions  of  Pennsylvania  were  translated  by  Mr. 
Julius  Reichman,  under  whose  personal  supervision  the  business  in  Mount 
Pleasant  is  conducted.  April  11,  1905,  Julius  Reichman  bought  his  brother's 
interest  in  the  business  and  is  now  sole  proprietor.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Eagles. 

Joseph  Reichman,  mentioned  above  as  the  brother  of  Julius  Reichman,. 
was  born  in  Austria  Hungary,  and  came  to  this  country  in  189 1,  being  then 
eighteen  years  of  age.  He  had  been  well  educated  in  his  native  country  and 
readily  found  a  position  in  a  banking  house.  He  was  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Reichman  Brothers,  but  did  not  give  his  personal  attention  to  the  business.  He 
is  a  resident  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  is  engaged  under  the 
firm  name  of  John  Nemeth  &  Company  in  a  business  similar  to  that  conducted 
bv  his  brother  in  Mount  Pleasant. 

HENRY  JOHNSTON  JORDAN.  Among  the  popular  citizens  of 
Mount  Pleasant  must  be  numbered  Henry  Johnston  Jordan,  son  of  Johnston 
Barndollar  and  Lovina  Christina  (Shupe)  Jordan,  and  was  born  April  25, 
1859. 

He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  and  while  still  in  his  teens  was  em- 
ployed at  the  Standard  coal  and  coke  works.  He  then  assisted  his  father  for 
two  years  in  the  hotel  of  which  the  latter  was  the  proprietor,  and  in  1888  went 
to  Connellsville,  Pennsylvania,  where  for  five  years  he  was  employed  as  a  clerk. 
In  1893  he  took  charge  of  the  National  Hotel,  of  which  his  father  had  been 
the  previous  proprietor,  and  has  since  conducted  the  same.     On  becoming  the 

2—10 


146  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

head  of  this  estabHshment  in  which  he  has  served  an  apprenticeship  to  the 
hotel  business,  Mr.  Jordan  refitted  it  throughout,  making  of  it  the  largest  and 
best-equipped  hostelry  in  the  borough.  ;\Ir.  Jordan  gives  his  whole  attention  to 
die  duties  of  his  position,  which  he  is  admirably  fitted  to  discharge.  He  has 
always  been  actively  identified  with  every  movement  having  for  its  object  the 
welfare  of  the  borough,  and  although  not  an  otfice  seeker  has  been  frequently 
urged  to  accept  positions  of  trust  which  he  has  steadily  refused  to  do.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  County  and  State  Hotel  Men's  Associations,  a  charter  mem- 
ber of  the  Loyal  Association  of  the  Royal  Arcanum,  No.  97,  and  also  belongs 
to  the  Royal  Arcanum,  No.  592,  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  Ho. 
868,  a  charter  member  of  Mount  Pleasant  Lodge,  a  member  of  the  Pike  Run 
Country  Club,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  charter  members,  also  a  member  of 
The  Homeless  No.  26.  In  political  affairs  he  is  a  staunch  Republican,  and  is 
ever  ready  to  give  of  his  time  and  efforts  for  the  welfare  of  the  organization. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  county  committee.  Mr.  Jordan  married,  January  2, 
1892,  Eliza  A.,  daughter  of  \\'illiam  and  ^lary  Rush,  of  Connellsville,  the 
former  being  now  deceased.  Four  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Jordon  :  Gertrude  E.,  Henry,  died  March  16,  1903,  in  his  seventh  year;  Chris- 
tina Marie,  and  Josephine  Elizabeth.  Mrs.  Jordan  was  born  in  Brownsville, 
Pennsylvania. 

^\'ILLL\M  H.  SAHTH.  In  the  ranks  of  Mount  Pleasanfs  honoud 
citizens  William  H.  Smith  holds  a  foremost  place.  The  father  of  Mr.  Smith, 
Joseph  Smith, 'settled  in  Derry  township  on  a  tract  of  one  hundred  and  thiriy- 
six  acres  of  land,  which  he  cleared  and  on  which  he  erected  good  buildings. 
He  was  a  useful  citizen  and  a  worthy  man,  taking  an  active  part  in  politics  and 
also  in  church  affairs.  Joseph  Smith  married  Christina  Speilman,  who  like 
himself  was  of  German  descent,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  thirteen  children : 
Ephraim,  born  October  8,  1817,  now  resides  near  Pleasant  Unity,  being  the  sole 
survivor  of  the  family  with  the  exception  of  his  brother  William  H.  John,  who 
was  a  shoemaker  in  Derry  township ;  Catharine,  who  died  in  infancy ;  Jacob, 
who  was  a  carpenter  in  Derry  towship :  Mary,  who  became  the  wife  of  Henry 
Bussard ;  Susan,  married  George  Rupert ;  Elizabeth,  who  was  the  wife  of  a 
Mr.  Brinnell ;  Joseph,  who  was  a  tinner,  and  emigrated  to  Ohio  where  he  died ; 
Katie,  married  Henry  Auckeman ;  Christiana,  who  was  the  wife  of  Seth  Baugh- 
man,  and  after  his  death  married  again  and  moved  to  Indiana ;  Jones,  who  was 
a  miller  at  Beaver  Falls,  Pennsylvania ;  Andrew,  who  was  a  laborer  and  fence- 
builder  of  LTnity  township;  William  H.,  mentioned  hereafter.  Mr.  Smith,  the 
father  of  this  numerous  family,  died  on  his  farm  in  1829,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
four. 

William  H.  Smith,  son  of  Joseph  and  Christina  (Speilman)  Smith,  was 
born  October  28,  1825,  in  Derry  township,  just  above  Latrobe,  where  he  passed 
his  boyhood.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  went  to  Liscipes,  Unity  township,  to 
learn  the  blacksmith's  trade,  remaining  there  about  eighteen  months.  In  the 
spring  of  1844  he  went  to  Mount  Pleasant  with  his  employer.  Matthew  McAIil- 
lan,  for  whom  he  worked  eight  months  after  finishing  his  apprenticeship.  He 
and  his  nephew,  Joseph  Smith,  then  bought  out  the  business  which  thev  con- 
ducted together  for  about  a  year.  Joseph  Smith  then  decided  to  go  to  the 
Mexican  war  and  in  consequence  the  business  was  sold  out.  Air.  Smith  for  eigh- 
teen months  thereafter  working  as  a  journeyman  for  W'illiam  H.  Smith.  At 
the  end  of  that  time  Mr.  Smith  purchased  the  business  and  continued  to  conduct 
it  in  that  place  until  1885,  doing  the  work  of  a  general  blacksmith.     In  1876 


THE 

NEW  YORK 

'rUBUJCUBBABY\ 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUXTV.  147 

he  purchased  a  stock  of  hardware  and  established  a  business  under  the  firm 
name  of  Smith  &  Company,  the  business  being  looked  after  by  Mr.  Rumbaugh, 
the  partner,  while  ^Ir.  Smith  gave  bis  attention  to  his  trade.  In  1885,  as  before 
stated,  he  disposed  by  sale  of  the  smithy  and  engaged  personally  in  the  hard- 
ware business.  In  1889  Mr.  Rumbaugh  died,  his  Interest  was  purchased  by  I\lr. 
Smith's  son,  \Mlliam  F.  Smith,  and  the  name  of  the  firm  was  changed  to  its 
present  fonn  of  W.  H.  Smith  &  Son.  ^  They  carry  a  complete  line  of  hardware, 
also  buggies,  wagons,  farm  implements,  harnesses,  robes,  blankets,  and  in  fact 
everything  that  bears  a  relationship  to  the  business..  The  main  storeroom  has  a 
depth  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  with  basement,  and  one  of  the  two  ware- 
houses is  forty  by  forty  feet  and  consists  of  three  stories,  while  the  other,  which 
has  one  story,  is  twenty  by  forty  feet.  This  is  the  largest  hardware  establish- 
ment in  Blount  Pleasant,  and  the  business  has  grown  until  it  has  assumed  a 
magnitude  equal  to  any  of  the  kind  to  be  found  outside  the  limits  of  a  large 
citv.  ^Ir.  Smith's  career  as  a  business  man  contains  a  wholesome  lesson  for 
the  youth  of  the  present  day,  being  an  example  of  one  who  is  a  self-made  man 
in  tiie  best  sense  of  the  term.  Beginning  with  a  salary  of  four  dollars  per 
month,  he  stands  to-day  as  one  of  the  solitl  business  men  of  that  part  of  West- 
moreland county,  his  success  being  entirely  due  to  close  application  to  business 
and  strict  adherence  to  the  principles  of  honorable  and  upright  dealing.  iMr. 
Smith  is  a  public-spirited  citizen,  and  about  1870  laid  out  a  small  addition  to  the 
town,  known  as  Smith's  addition,  through  which  Smithfield  street  runs,  and 
which  consists  of  eight  building  lots  with  a  plot  of  about  one  acre  additional. 
He  served  two  terms  as  burgess  of  ]\Iount  Pleasant,  and  for  nine  years  was  a 
member  of  the  council.  He  has  been  for  many  years  a  devoted  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  in  Mount  Pleasant.  Mr.  Smith  married,  August  10,  1848, 
Sarah,  born  in  Bradford,  Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  Joseph  (libbs.  and  their 
children  were:  George  W.,  a  blacksmith  in  Mount  Pleasant;  Annie  E.,  Nor- 
man, Catharine,  wife  of  S.  C.  Stevenson,  of  Mount  Pleasant ;  Charles  K.,  died 
at  the  age  of  twenty-five  years :  William  F.,  mentioned  hereafter ;  Oma  and 
Pearl  (twins),  the  former  is  deceased  and  the  latter  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  M.  W. 
Horner,  of  Blount  Pleasant.  In  1898  Mr.  .Smith  and  his  children  were  deeply 
afflicted  by  the  death  of  the  wife  and  mother,  who  passed  away  at  the  age  of 
seventy-two.  Mr.  Smith  has  seven  grandchildren  as  follows :  S.  Jean,  Sarah 
E.,  William,  Herbert  N.,  William  Stevenson,  Viola  Stevenson,  and  Sarah 
Horner. 

William  F.  Smith,  mentioned  above,  is  the  junior  member  of  the  hardware 
firm  of  \\  .  H.  Smith  &  Son.  He  is  pa.st  master  of  Scottdale  Lodge.  No.  562, 
F.  and  A.  M.  and  trustee  of  Mount  Pleasant  Lodge,  No.  868,  B.  P.  O.  E.  He 
also  belongs  to  \Moss  Rose  Lodge,  No  350,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  Encampment,  and  Pike 
Run  Country  Club.  He  married  Mary  A.  Shaefifer,  of  Johnstown,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  they  have  two  children  :  S.  Jean  and  Sarah  E. 

GEORGE  J.  SEANOR.  sheriff  nf  Westmoreland  county.  Pennsyl- 
vania, well  and  favorably  known  in  that  section  of  Pennsylvania,  is  a  re]5resen- 
tative  in  the  present  generation  of  a  family  whose  earlier  members  were  among 
the  first  settlers  of  the  state.     The  Seanors  came  originally  from  Germany. 

Adam  Seanor.  grandfather  of  George  J-  Seanor,  was  born  near  Seanors 
churcH.  Westmoreland  county,  toward  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
and  died  in  1864,  aged  about  sixty-nine  years.  In  politics  he  was  a  member  of 
the  \\'hig  party,  and  in  religious  faith  was  a  Presbyterian.  He  married  Eliza- 
heth  Harrold.  born  three  miles  snulli  of  Grccnsburg.  Pennsyl\'ania,  and  Iheir 


148  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

children  were:  Mary,  married  Jonathan  Null,  died  in  1885;  John,  died  1885; 
Lewis,  died  in  Washington  state  in  1904;  George,  died  of  fever  at  the  age  of 
twenty-six;  Adam,  of  whom  later;  William,  died  in  1903;  Henry,  a  resident  of 
Kansas. 

Adam  Seanor.  fourth  son  and  fifth  child  of  Adam  and  Elizabeth  (Har- 
rold)  Seanor,  was  born  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1831.  He 
had  the  advantage  of  a  good  common  school  education,  and  upon  attaining  a 
proper  age  turned  his  attention  to  farming  and  stock  raising.  This  calling  he 
followed  all  the  active  years  of  his  life.  He  is  prominently  identified  with  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  affiliates  with  the  Republican  party.  He  married 
Salina  Tweedy,  daughter  of  William  Tweedy,  and  they  had  ten  children,  the 
names  of  eight  of  whom  are  here  given :  Elizabeth,  born  1854,  died  at  the  age 
of  sixty-seven  years ;  Louisa,  1856,  married  David  Kepple ;  Emma,  1858,  mar- 
ried Wilson  Kepple;  Harry  F.,  July  29,  i860,  married,  September,  1881,  at 
Latrobc,  Pennsylvania,  Larus  P.  JMcKelvy,  ( See  sketch  of  Harry  F.  Seanor)  ; 
William,  1864,  married  Mary  Kepple ;  Elmer,  married  Mattie  Laughlin ;  Mag- 
gie, 1866,  died  May  25,  1905,  married  Samuel  Kepple,  and  was  the  mother  of 
ten  children,  nine  of  whom  survive  her ;  George  J.,  of  whom  later ;  Charles, 
1874,  married  Laura  Hofl:"nian. 

George  J.  Seanor,  son  of  Adam  and  Salina  (Tweedy)  Seanor,  was  born  in 
Salem  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  March  24,  1872.  He 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  Westmoreland  county,  and  farmed  until 
he  attained  his  majority,  when  he  engaged  with  lijs  brother  Harry  F.  in  the 
sale  of  farm  implements  and  machinery  at  home  as  well  as  in  other  cities  for 
three  years.  He  then  went  to  Springfield,  Ohio,  and  accepted  a  position  with 
the  O.  S.  Kelly  Company,  traveling  for  them  as  an  expert  on  steam  street 
rollers  throughout  the  United  States.  He  was  thus  occupied  for  two  years, 
and  then  went  to  the  World's  Fair  at  Chicago  to  take  charge  of  their  special 
exhibit.  At  the  close  of  the  fair  he  returned  to  Westmoreland  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  again  entered  into  business  associations  with  his  brother.  He 
then  entered  the  employ  of  the  McCormiek  Harvest  Machine  Company  as 
salesman,  and  remained  with  them  for  a  period  of  about  five  years.  In  the 
fall  of  1904,  he  was  elected  sheriff  of  Westmoreland  county,  and  is  now  serv- 
ing his  term  of  office  in  that  capacity.  He  was  elected  by  the  largest  majority 
ever  accorded  a  Republican  candidate  for  this  office  in  this  section  of  the  coun- 
try. He  had  previously  served  as  deputy  sheriff  under  his  brother  Harry  F. 
and  also  under  Sheriff  B.  F.  May.  He  has  always  been  active,  prominent  and  in- 
fluntial  in  the  ranks  of  the  Republican  party.  Mr.  Seanor  is  also  largely  inter- 
ested in  real  estate  transactions,  and  in  buying  and  selling  fine  breeds  of  horses. 
Mr.  Seanor  married,  September  24,  1894,  Alice  R.  Keiser,  born  September  14, 
1872,  daughter  of  Adam  and  Maria  (Bolinger)  Keiser.  Mrs.  Seanor's  parents 
were  born  and  married  in  Derry  township,  where  her  father  was  a  farmer  for 
almost  fifty  years,  his  death  occurring  January  17,  1900;  his  wife,  born  May  24, 
1832,  is  still  living.  They  were  both  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Mr. 
George  J.  Seanor  and  his  wife  have  children :  Adam  Carleton,  born  .\ugust  5, 
1895  ;  Anita  Maria,  June  17,  1902. 

LLOYD    KOONTZ,    proprietor    of    the    Mount    Pleasant    Bottling 
works,  one  of  the  leading  industries  of  that  place,   and  one  of  the   leading- 
young    business  men  of  the  borough,  where  he  is  universally  respected  ana 
honored  for  his  many  excellent  traits  of  character,  was  born  October  i,  1879, 
in   Somerset  countv,   Pennsvlvania. 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAXD   COUXTV.  149 

Henry  Koontz,  father  of  Lloyd  Koontz,  was  born  July  6,  1855.  near  Som- 
erset, Somerset  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  there  reared  and  educated.  He  served 
an  apprenticeship  at  the  trade  of  wheelwright,  becoming  an  expert  mechanic, 
and  for  many  years  followed  the  same,  up  to  1902.  In  1885  he  changed  his  place 
of  residence  to  \\"estmoreland  county,  and  at  the  present  time  (1905)  is  a  resi- 
dent of  Zilount  Pleasant.  He  serves  in  the  capacity  of  assistant  to  his  son 
Lloyd,  in  the  bottling  works  operated  by  him.  He  is  an  honored  member  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  By  his  marriage  to  Elizabeth  Baugh- 
man  the  following  named  children  were  born :  Lloyd,  George,  Anna,  Emma, 
and  ;\Iyrtle.  The  family  hold  membership  in  the  Reformed  Church  of  Alount 
Pleasant. 

Lloyd  Koontz,  the  eldest  child  in  the  family  above  mentioned,  was 
reared  in  Mount  Pleasant  and  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools 
thereof.  At  the  early  age  of  ten  years  he  entered  the  bottling  works  of  Fred- 
erick Wehner,  established  by  him  in  1885,  and  operated  by  him  for  a  period  of 
about  eight  years.  The  plant  then  came  into  the  possession  of  George  Baugh- 
man,  who  conducted  the  same  for  a  number  of  years,  Lloyd  Koontz  remaining 
an  employe,  and  in  1902  he  purchased  the  same  from  Mr.  Baughman  and  has 
conducted  it  in  a  successful  manner  ever  since.  He  bottles  all  kinds  of  soft 
drinks,  and  the  plant  has  a  capacity  of  about  eight  hundred  cases  per  day,  and  is 
frequently  taxed  to  its  utmost  limit  in  order  to  supply  the  demand.  Mr.  Koontz 
is  a  charter  member  of  Lodge  Xo.  868,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks.  Lodge  Xo.  496,  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  of  Mount  Pleasant  and  Coun- 
cil Xo.  296,  Roval  Arcanum.     ]\Ir.  Koontz  is  unmarried. 

JOHX"  R.  BLACK.  No  name  stands  higher  in  the  mercantile  circles 
of  Mount  Pleasant  than  that  of  John  R.  Black,  who  comes  of  an  old  Mercer 
county  family.  His  grandfather,  Adam  Black,  was  a  man  who  figured  con- 
spicuously in  local,  state  and  national  affairs,  and  for  several  years  represented 
Mercer  county  in  the  Pennsylvania  legislature.  He  was  prosperous  and  had 
the  reputation  of  being  wealthy.  He  and  his  wife  had  the  following  children  : 
Harriet,  married  Scott  iMcCready.  of  Bedford,  Pennsylvania :  Sarah,  married 
J.  M.  Fitzgerald,  of  ]\Iaquoketa,  Iowa;  Caroline,  married  T.  \V.  ]Morrow,  of 
Butler  county,  Pennsylvania ;  a  daughter  who  died  single :  and  Henry  Calvin, 
mentioned  hereafter.  The  death  of  Mr.  Black  occurred  in  Harrisburg.  in  1848, 
while  he  was  serving  his  fourth  term  as  a  member  of  the  legislature. 

Henry  Calvin  Black,  son  of  Adam  Black,  was  born  in  1838,  and  was  reared 
on  the  farm  in  Mercer  county,  being  but  ten  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his 
father's  death.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  at  Duff's  Business 
College,  Pittsburg.  When  a  young  man  he  engaged  in  mercantile  business  in 
Blacktown,  Mercer  county,  and  later  moved  to  Harrisville,  Butler  county, 
where  he  was  in  business  more  than  thirty-seven  years.  He  was  a  successful 
merchant,  and  was  prominent  in  public  affairs.  He  was  one  of  the  recognized 
leaders  of  the  Republican  partv  in  that  section  of  the  country,  and  was  ever  ready 
to  aid  the  best  interests  of  the  organization.  Though  frequently  urged  to  ac- 
cept office  he  invariably  declined,  but  often  acted  as  delegate  to  conventions. 
He  was  an  artivs  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  in  which  for  many  years 
he  held  the  office  of  elder.  Mr.  Black  married  Adaline,  daughter  of  P.  X.  and 
Jane  (McCoy)  Painter,  of  Mercer  county,  and  the  following  children  were  born 
to  them:  i.  Robert  Xewton,  who  was  a  dry  goods  merchant  at  Grove  City, 
Mercer  county,  and  died  October  8,  1903.  at  the  aee  of  forty-two.  leaving  a 
widow  and  one  child.     2.  Austa  M.,  wife  of  W.  C.  Hawn,  a  merchant  of  But- 


I50  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

ler  coiintv.  3.  John  R.,  mentioned  hereafter.  4.  Florence  E.,  wife  of  C.  W. 
Hood,  a  druggist  of  East  Pittsburg.  5.  Nora  M.  6.  James  G.,  who  was  edu- 
cated at  Grove  City  College,  and  engaged  in  the  dry  goods  business ;  he  mar- 
ried Mabel  Carson,  of  Maquoketa,  Iowa,  and  they  have  two  children:  ]\Iar- 
guerite,  and  Harold  Calvin.  Mr.  Black,  the  father,  died  October,  1894,  at  the 
comparatively  early  age  of  fifty-four. 

John  R.  Black',  son  of  Henry  Calvin  and  Adalinc  (  fainter)  Black,  was  edu- 
cated at  Grove  City  College,  and  learned  the  dry  goods  business  from  his  father 
by  whom  he  was  ultimately  taken  into  partnership,  the  name  of  the  firm  being 
H.  C.  Black  &  Son.  After  the  death  of  his  father  the  firm  assumed  its  present 
style  of  J.  R.  Black  &  Company,  the  junior  partner  being  Florence  E.  (Black) 
Hood,  mentioned  above.  In  1899  they  moved  from  their  native  Butler  county, 
where  thev  had  hitherto  dwelt,  to  Mount  Pleasant,  where  they  succeeded  to  the 
business  of  King  &  Mullen.  The  establishment  has  since  been  enlarged  in 
everv  respect  and  is  now  the  largest  of  its  kind  in  the  borough.  Mr.  Black  be- 
longs to  Mount  Pleasant  Lodge,'No.  868,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  the  R.  A.,  the  Maccabees, 
and  various  other  fraternal  orders.  He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  E'nited 
Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Black  married,  in  1897,  in  Harrisville,  Pennsylvania, 
Ida  M.,  daughter  of  Hon.  W.  P.  Braham,  of  that  place,  and  they  are  the  parents 
of  two  children :  Helen  and  Carl  Braham  Black. 

SMITH  McClelland  ALBRIGHT,  proprietor  of  Albright's 
restaurant  and  confectionery,  one  of  the  leading  and  best  patronized  establish- 
ments in  Mount  Pleasant,  which  he  has  conducted  since  1896,  was  born  in  Pres- 
ton county,  West  Virginia,  in  the  vicinity  of  Kingwood,  October  3,  1862.  His 
parents  are  William  and  Rachel  Albright,  the  former  a  miller  by  trade,  whose 
operations  have  been  conducted  on  an  extensive  scale.  His  grandfather,  David 
Albright,  emigrated  from  Gemiany  and  settled  in  We.st  Virginia,  purchasing 
large  tracts  of  land  near  what  is  known  as  Albrightsville,  a  town  named  in  his 
honor.  He  owned  and  operated  a  large  distillery,  conveying  his  goods  to  and 
from  Baltimore.  Maryland,  by  wagon,  and  in  addition  to  this  he  operated  a 
ferry  across  the  Cheat  river.  He  was  a  man  of  the  strictest  integrity,  and  by 
commendable  industry  and  patient  perseverance  he  carved  out  for  himself  a 
successful  and  enviable  career. 

Smith  McC.  Albright  obtained  the  educational  advantages  aiiforded  by  the 
public  schools  of  his  neighborhood,  which  he  attended  until  fourteen  years  of 
age.  He  then  accepted  a  clerkship,  remaining  until  he  attained  his  majority, 
after  which  he  engaged  in  the  general  merchandise  business  at  Frienrlsville, 
Maryland,  under  the  firm  name  of  Gibson  &  Albright,  where  he  remained 
eighteen  months.  He  then  came  to  Stahlstown,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  the  fall 
of  1886  took  up  his  abode  at  Mount  Pleasant  and  engaged  at  clerking.  The 
following  year  he  returned  to  West  Virginia,  where  he  remained  until  1891,  and 
then  returned  to  ]\Iount  Pleasant,  Pennsvlvania,  and  for  five  years  served  in  the 
capacity  of  clerk.  At  the  expiration  of  that  period  of  time  he  established  his 
present  business,  that  of  restaurant,  ice  cream  parlor  and  confectionery  store. 
He  began  business  in  the  building  adjoining  his  present  place,  and  after  remain- 
ing there  five  years  accumulated  sufficient  capital  to  purchase  ground  and  erect 
a  building  of  his  own.  a  two-story  structure,  wherein  he  conducts  a  large  and 
profitable  trade.  In  1899  he  erected  a  fine  frame  residence  on  College  avenue. 
Mount  Pleasant,  also  a  bakery,  renting  the  latter,  but  this  property  he  disposed 
of  in  T901  at  an  advantageous  price.  In  the  spring  of  1877  he  became  a  mem- 
ber of  Moss  Rose  Lodge,  No.   350,  Independent  Order  of  Odd   Fellows,  of 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  151 

wliich  he  is  now  noble  grand :  a  member  of  Ezra  Encampment.  Xo.  310;  a 
member  of  the  Royal  Arcannm.  Xo.  592 :  and  a  member  of  Imjiroved  (Jrder  of 
He]itasoplis,  Xo.  173. 

Mr.  Albright  married,  December  25.  1SS3,  Keziah  Irvin.  wlin  died  Octo- 
ber. 1885,  leaving-  one  child.  J'.ertha  Grace.  Jannary  i,  1888,  Mr.  Albright  mar- 
ried Dora  A.  Davenport,  a  native  of  Mount  Pleasant,  Pennsylvania,  daughter 
of  Alexander  and  Hanali  Davenport,  natives  of  Xew  York  state.  Two  chil- 
dren are  the  issue  of  this  marriage:  Eva  ^lay,  and  Emma  Leona.  The  family 
attend  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

ELMER  R.  SPRINGER,  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Goodman  & 
Springer,  photographers,  successors  to  A.  M.  Slaufter.  whose  place  of  business 
is  located  at  Xo.  603  Main  street.  Mount  Pleasant,  is  a  native  of  Westmoreland 
county,  Pennsylvania,  born  September  14,  1876,  son  of  Joseph  F.  and  Hannah 
J.  (Davidson)  Springer,  who  were  the  parents  of  thirteen  children,  nine  of 
whom  are  living  at  the  present  time  (1905),  as  follows:  Thomas  Xewton, 
James  Chalfont,  Harry  Johnston,  Lewis  Walter.  Charles  Alden,  Howard,  Elmer 
Rutan.  Emma  Mary,  and  Hallie  May.  The  mother  of  these  children,  who  was 
a  daughter  of  the  late  Rev  James  Davidson,  of  Belle  Vernon.  Pennsylvania, 
died  August  14,  1898.  She  is  survived  by  her  husband,  who  is  a  resident  of 
Circleville.  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  is  leading  a  retired  life.  He  was  a 
farmer  by  occupation,  was  a  Republican  and  later  a  Prohibitionist  in  politics, 
and  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

The  boyhood  of  Elmer  R.  Springer  was  spent  on  his  father's  farm,  and  he 
devoted  his  time  alternatelv  in  assisting  with  the  work  thereon  and  in  attend- 
ance at  the  public  schools,  as  is  the  custom  of  boys  reared  in  the  country. 
L'pon  attaining  his  majority  he  went  to  Scottdale  and  there  learned  the  trade 
of  photography,  and  in  1899  entered  into  partnership  with  Robert  Goodman  at 
the  place  mentioned  above.  This  is  the  oldest  established  photograph  gallery 
in  the  town  of  Mount  Pleasant,  and  their  work,  both  indoor  and  out,  being  of 
a  high  order  of  workmanship  and  finish,  they  receive  a  large  share  of  the 
patronage  of  the  residents  of  the  town  and  also  from  adjoining  towns,  and 
they  have  the  prospect  of  a  long  and  remunerative  business  career  before  them. 
Mr.  Springer  is  a  member  of  Lodge  Xo.  868,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order 
of  Elks,  Royal  Arcanum.  Pennsylvania  Photoghaphers'  Association,  and  the 
volunteer  fire  department  of  Mount  Pleasant.  Mr.  Springer  was  married 
February  21.  1900,  to  Bertha  Laura  Lee,  daughter  of  Robert  T.  and  Eleanor 
Lee,  of  Circleville,  ^^'estmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  they  are  the  pat- 
ents of  one  child,  Laura  Eleanor,  born  June  7.  1903.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Springer 
are  active  and  consistent  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

FRANK  S.  DI'LLIXGER.  proprietor  of  the  Alount  Pleasant  Steam 
Laundry,  is  a  native  of  that  township,  born  July  29,  1876,  son  of  Jolm  and 
Catherine  (Trent)  Dullinger.  and  grandson  of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  Dulliiitrer. 
Samuel  Dullinger  was  a  member  of  the  Reformed  church ;  he  was  survived  by 
his  wife,  who  passed  away  March,  1904.  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninetv-four 
years. 

John  Dullinger  (father)  was  a  native  of  this  section  of  the  counl\-.  He 
was  a  teamster  by  occujjation  and  a  very  prosperous  man  of  business.  During 
the  Civil  war  he  enlisted  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Forty-fifth  Regiment.  Penn- 
sylvania Cavalry,  with  which  he  served  three  years.  He  j)articii)ated  in  twenty- 
eight  battles,  and  the  only  wound  he  received  was  a  slight  one  in  the  hand  at 


152  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  He  was  a  member  of  the  American  Order  of  United 
Workmen,  Lodge  No.  350,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Independent 
Order  of  Red  Men,  and  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  as  is  also  his  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Catherine  Trent,  and  who  bore  him  five  children,  namely  :  William  ;  Emma,  wife 
■of  C.  A.  Springer,  of  Mount  Pleasant ;  Anna,  wife  of  S.  G.  Miller,  of  Home- 
wood  ;  Edwin,  deceased ;  and  Frank  S.,  mentioned  hereafter.  John  Dullinger 
'.father)  died  in  1900,  aged  fifty-six  years.]  His  widow  is  living  at  the  present 
time  (1905),  residing  in  Mount  Pleasant. 

Frank  S.  Dullinger  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town 
and  at  Mount  Pleasant  Institute.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  years  he  began  to  earn  a 
livelihood  for  himself,  becoming  an  employe  in  the  Mount  Pleasant  Laundry, 
then  under  the  proprietorship  of  G.  C.  Galley,  and  there  he  learned  the  business 
thoroughly,  becoming  highly  proficient  in  all  its  branches.  March  18,  1 90 1, 
after  ten  years  service  with  Mr.  Galley,  he  purchased  the  plant  and  has  since 
made  many  changes  therein,  adding  from  time  to  time  new  machinery  to  the 
number  of  seven  machines,  and  at  the  present  time  he  has  one  of  the  most  com- 
pletely equipped  plants  in  that  section  of  the  county.  He  covers  a  large  terri- 
tory outside  of  Mount  Pleasant,  which  includes  Scottdale,  LTnity  and  other 
places,  and  he  has  a  number  of  agencies  in  various  parts  of  the  county.  He 
makes  a  specialty  of  high-class  work,  which  fact  accounts  for  the  extensive 
patronage  accorded  him.  Mr.  Dullinger  is  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  350,  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Royal  Arcanum,  and  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks,  Lodge  No.  868.  Mr.  Dullinger  married,  February  28,  1900, 
Minnie  M.  Clark,  daughter  of  Roger  and  Amanda  Clark,  who  reside  near 
Hemminger  Mills,  Westmoreland  county.  The  issue  of  this  marriage  was  two 
children:  Edmund  and  Clinton.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dullinger  are  active  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  are  among  the  representative  people  of 
Mount  Pleasant. 

JAMES  GRIBBIN,  one  of  the  old  and  honored  residents  of  ■Motmt 
Pleasant,  is  a  native  of  county  Derry,  Ireland,  his  birthplace  being  about  twenty- 
for-T  miles  from  Belfast,  and  the  date  of  his  birth  December  26,  1845.  He  is  a 
son  of  Patrick  and  Frances  (Mulholland)  Gribbin. 

He  was  reared  and  educated  in  his  native  land,  remaining  there  until 
twenty-two  years  of  age,  when  he  went  to  Glasgow,  Scotland,  and  in  i86g  came 
to  the  United  States,  locating  first  at  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  where  he  resided 
for  six  months.  He  then  came  to  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  and  for  seven 
years  was  employed  in  a  wholesale  liquor  establishment  conducted  by  a  cousin. 
In  March,  1877,  he  took  up  his  residence  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
was  employed  as  teamster,  and  in  1880  he  removed  to  Mount  Pleasant,  West- 
moreland county,  his  present  place  of  abode.  The  first  sixteen  years  of  his  resi- 
dence there  he  was  employed  at  the  Standard  Coal  works,  after  which  he  en- 
gaged in  the  hotel  business,  erecting  the  Mount  Pleasant  Hotel,  which  he  con- 
ducted for  eight  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  he  purchased  the  prop- 
erty. This  is  one  of  the  oldest  hotels  in  ]\Iount  Pleasant,  and  also  ®ne  of  the 
best  patronized,  this  being  due  to  the  genialitv  of  the  priprietor,  the  excellence 
of  the  cuisine,  and  the  courteous  treatment  tendered  to  guests  and  patrons. 
Five  years  after  his  arrival  in  this  countrv  Mr.  Gribbin  became  a  natrrphVed 
citizen,  and  since  then  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  all  that  pertains  toward  its 
welfare  and  development.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  exercises  a  notent 
influence  in  behalf  of  the  party  whose  principles  he  advocates.  Mr.  Gribbin  is  a 


HISTORY   OF   IVESTMORELJXD    COUXTV.  153 

man  of  thrift  and  perseverance,  and  he  has  steadily  worked  his  way  njjward 
until  now  he  ranks  among  the  wealthy  and  influential  residents  of  his  coni- 
munity. 

Mr.  Gribbin  married.  June.  1876.  Bridget  Gribbin,  who  bore  him  the  follow- 
ing children :  Alary,  wife  of  John  P.  Logan,  of  Wilmington,  Delaware,  a 
plumber,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  children :  Thomas  and  James  Logan. 
Frances,  wife  of  Michael  ^ilullan,  of  JMount  Pleasant,  who  is  employed  as  bar- 
tender for  Mr.  Gribbin  in  his  hotel:  they  are  the  parents  of  three  children: 
Thomas,  James  and  John  IMullan.  Hugh,  who  asists  his  father  in  the  manage- 
luent  of  the  hotel ;  he  married  Annie  McKinna,  who  bore  him  one  child,  Mary 
Gribbin.  Eliza,  who  resides  with  her  parents.  Frances,  deceased.  The  family 
.attend  St.  Joseph  Catholic  church  of  Mount  Pleasant. 

ANDREW  JOHNSON  GEYER,  a  representative  citizen  of  Scott- 
dale,  in  which  borough  he  has  been  an  active  and  potent  factor  for  many 
years  in  the  promotion  of  its  varied  interests,  political,  financial,  industrial  and 
•social,  was  born  at  Schellsburg,  Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania,  October  27, 
1866,  son  of  Henry  Garber  and  Catharine  (Rettinger)  Geyer,  and  a  representa- 
tive of  a  family  of  which  one  or  more  members  in  each  generation  have  been 
active  participants  in  the  wars  in  which  America  has  engaged. 

John  \\'illiam  Geyer,  the  pioneer  ancestor  of  the  American  branch  of  the 
iamily,  and  a  descendant  of  Flavan  von  Geyer.  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  rebellion 
in  Germany  about  the  year  1400,  was  born  in  Germany,  November  12,  1723. 
In  1749  he  emigrated  to  America,  returned  to  his  native  land  in  1751,  and  the 
following  year  again  came  to  this  country,  locating  in  Pennsylvania,  from 
■whence  he  removed  to  Annapolis.  [Maryland.  He  married,  November  17,  1752, 
Anna  Alarie  Reeler,  who  was  born  in  the  vicinity  of  Reading,  Pennsylvania, 
September  to,  1725.  and  six  children  were  the  issue  of  this  union  :  Conrad,  John, 
Henry,  JNIichael,  Catharine  and  Anna  Margaret.  John  William  Geyer  and 
his  two  sons — Conrad  and  Henry — served  as  privates  in  the  Revolutionary  war, 
and  were  with  General  Washington  during  his  perilous  journey  across  the  Dela- 
Avare  river.  Mr.  Geyer  died  February  7,  1808,  and  his  wife  passed  awav  No- 
vember 26,  1806. 

Henry  Geyer,  third  son  of  John  William  and  Anna  I\Iarie  (Reeler)  Geyer, 
was  born  Februar\-  12,  1756,  died  1833.  ^^y  l^^s  marriage  to  Catharine  Kurtz 
the  following  children  were  born:  Catharine,  Conrad,  Mary,  George,  Eliza- 
beth. Frederick,  Jonas,  Susan,  and  Sarah  Geyer. 

Conrad  Geyer.  eldest  son  of  Henry  and  Catharine  (Kurtz)  Geyer,  was  born 
June  i^,  1792,  in  Philadelohia,  Pennsylvania.  He  married.  May  i,  1833,  Sus- 
aima  Garber,  of  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  born  July  to,  1807,  and  six  children 
were  the  issue  of  this  union,  as  follows:  Mary,  died  in  infancy:  Sarah,  also 
died  in  infancy :  Henry  (Jarber.  John  Calvin,  Anna  Marie,  and  Susanna.  In 
early  life  he  emigrated  to  Berks  and  afterwards  to  Bedford  county,  and  his 
■chief  employment  was  teaming  between  Cumberland,  Maryland,  and  Wheeling, 
Mrginia,  on  the  National  road  or  old  pike.  .\  heavi.ly  loaded  wagon  passed 
over  his  foot  and  from  the  effects  of  the  injiuy  tluis  received  he  died  at  his  home 
in  Schcllsbnre.  Bedford  countv,  July  i,  1864,  in  the  seventy-second  year  of  his 
age.     His  v.ifc  died  July  9,   1879. 

Henry  Garber  Geyer,  eldest  son  of  Conrad  and-  Susanna  (Garber)  Geyer, 
was  born  at  Schellsburg.  Bedford  county.  May  4,  1834.  He  was  reared  on  a 
farm  and  followed  farming  for  a  number  of  vears,  after  which  he  turned  his 
attention  to  carpentering  and  contracting,   which  occupations  he   followed   in 


154  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

the  borough  of  Scottdale,  whither  he  moved  to  on  May  15,  1873.  I"  '^^2  he 
erected  a  large  frame  hotel,  known  as  the  Geyer  House,  which  he  successfully 
conducted  until  his  death,  and  was  the  first  landlord  at  Scottdale  to  obtain  li- 
cense after  the  passage  of  the  local  option  law.  He  was  an  active  member  of 
the  Reformed  church,  which  he  joined  in  Schellsburg,  in  1851.  He  was  a  Dem- 
ocrat in  politics,  but  the  only  office  he  ever  held  was  that  of  squire,  and  his  com- 
mission bearing  the  signature  of  Andrew  G.  Curtin  is  still  in  the  possession  of 
the  family.  Ill  health  prevented  him  from  joining  the  army  in  1862  with  his 
brother  John,  who  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  H,  Fifty-fifth  Regiment, 
Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  and  was  promoted  for  bravery  to  the  rank  of  first 
lieutenant  and  adjutant.  He  married,  January  2,  1863,  Catharine  Rettinger, 
who  was  born  February  20,  1843,  in  the  vicinity  of  Mann's  Choice.  Iledford 
county,  Pennsylvania,  her  parents  having  come  to  this  country  in  1830,  locating^ 
near  Mann's  Choice.  Their  children  are  as  follows :  John  Calvin,  Andrew 
Johnson,  Anna  Mary,  who  became  the  wife  of  George  A.  Smith,  of  Cleveland, 
Ohio :  Margaret  Ellen,  who  became  the  wife  of  J.  J.  Price,  of  Clinton,  Missouri ; 
and  William  Henry.  Henry  Garber  Geyer  (father)  died  December  11,  1884, 
and  since  then  his  widow  has  conducted  the  hotel. 

Andrew  J.  Geyer,  second  son  of  the  late  Henry  Garber  and  Catharine 
(Rettinger)  Geyer,  graduated  at  St.  Vincent  College  in  1888,  after  which  he 
pursued  a  special  course  in  architecture  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  For 
a  number  of  years  he  was  the  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Scottdale  Herald, 
this  being  the  only  Democratic  paper  ever  pubhshed  in  that  borough.  He  has 
been  awarded  the  contract  for  the  designing  of  churches,  school  houses,  business 
blocks  and  dwellings  in  various  parts  of  four  states,  and  in  igoo  he  designed  and 
built  the  Geyer  Theatre  in  Scottdale,  in  the  management  of  which  he  has  since 
been  engaged.  He  was  instrumental  in  the  organization  of  the  Broadway 
National  Bank  in  1902.  and  has  served  since  then  as  a  member  of  the  board  of 
directors,  also  filling  a  similar  position  in  the  F.  A.  Black  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany. He  was  nominated  on  the  Democratic  ticket  for  the  office  of  town  coun- 
cilman, and  was  elected  in  a  Republican  stronghold  by  a  large  majority,  a  fact 
which  testified  to  his  popularity  as  a  citizen.  During  the  Spanish-American  war 
he  enlisted  in  Company  E,  Eighteenth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, and  was  mustered  out  at  the  close  of  hostilities.  In  1884  Mr.  Geyer 
joined  the  Trinity  Reformed  church,  and  since  1901  has  served  in  an  official 
capacity.  He  is  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  562,  Free  and  Accepted  ^Masons ; 
Jerusalem  Chapter,  No.  3,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  this  being  the  oldest  chapter  in 
the  United  States :  Lodge  No.  yjy,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks ; 
and  the  Royal  Arcanum. 

Mr.  Geyer  married,  November  25,  1902,  at  Wilkensburg,  Pennsylvania, 
Nora  Virts  Sewell,  who  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Scottdale,  and  the 
issue  of  this  marriage  was  one  child,  Andrew  Johnson,  Jr.,  born  March  14, 
1904,  at  Scottdale,  Mrs.  Geyer  is  a  daughter  of  Colonel  George  H.  and  Jen- 
nie (Home)  Sewell,  who  were  united  in  marriage  in  1872.  Colonel  Sewell' 
was  born  in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  June  20,  1849,  enlisted  as  a  drummer  boy  in 
Company  B,  First  Maryland  Regiment,  and  was  later  transferred  to  the  secret 
service,  where  he  remained  until  the  close  of  the  war.  His  wife,  who  was  a  na- 
tive of  Allegheny  county,  Maryland,  died  April  23,  1896.  Colonel  Sewell  was 
a  son  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Sewell,  a  lineal  descendant  of  Pocohontas,  who  in 
1835  ^^'3s  appointed  collector  of  the  port  of  Baltimore,  which  position  he  held' 
for  eight  rears. 


ei^mnJa^, 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  155, 

PATRICK  J.  AIALOY,  the  genial  and  popular  proprietor  of  the 
Kromer  House,  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania,  is  a  native  of  that  state,  born  in  North 
Uniontown.  June  15,  1867,  son  of  Patrick  and  Mary  (Mullen)  }iIaloy,  both  na- 
tives of  county  (ialloway,  Ireland.  They  came  to  the  United  States  about 
1S51-52.  visitetl  different  localities,  and  finally  located  in  Pittsburg,  where  they 
remained  until  1865,  when  they  took  up  their  abode  in  Fayette  county  and  have 
since  resided  there.  Patrick  Maloy  served  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  Com- 
pany for  many  years  as  section  boss,  but  is  now  leading  a  retired  life,  enjoying 
the  competence  he  accumulated  during  his  years  of  activity.  Their  family  con- 
sists of  four  children  :  John,  employed  as  clerk  in  the  Kromer  House,  conducted 
by  his  brother,  Patrick  J.  !Maloy ;  Mary;  Patrick  J.,  mentioned  hereafter;  and 
Matthew,  engaged  in  the  construction  of  iron  at  Indianapolis,  Indiana. 

Patrick  J.  Maloy  was  reared  and  educated  at  Uniontown,  his  birthplace, 
and  in  the  spring  of  1900  engaged  in  the  hotel  business  at  jMasontown,  Pennsyl- 
vania, under  the  firm  name  of  Maloy  and  Johnson,  but  the  following  year,  De- 
cember 18,  came  to  the  borough  of  Scottdale  and  has  since  assumed  complete 
control  of  the  Kromer  House.  Under  his  efficient  management  the  hotel  has 
been  entirely  renovated,  and  is  now  the  leading  hostelry  in  that  locality.  The 
house  contains  forty-five  rooms,  which  are  cheerful  and  well  furnished,  and  the 
table  is  abundantly  supplied  with  the  best  that  the  market  affords.  No  one  more 
fully  understands  or  better  provides  for  the  entertainment  and  accommodation 
of  the  public  than  Mr.  ^laloy,  who  is  ever  obliging  and  courteous,  and  in  this 
way  he  has  secured  a  large  and  liberal  patronage.  His  political  affiliations  are 
with  the  Democratic  party,  but  in  local  politics  he  casts  his  vote  for  the  candi- 
date who  in  his  opinion  is  best  suited  for  office.  He  is  a  member  of  Scottdale 
Lodge,  No.  Jjy,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  November  24,  1896, 
I\Ir.  Maloy  was  married  to  Grace  McNally,  and  they  are  -the  parents  of  four 
children :  Raymond  J.,  Josiah  T.,  John  Donald  and  Arnold  Edward.  The  fam- 
ily are  members  of  the  Catholic  church. 

JOHN  W.  ]\IC)ODY,  well  and  favorably  known  in  religious  and  liter- 
ary circles,  was  born  at  ^liddle  Rasen,  Lincolnshire.  England,  October  6,  1846. 
His  father,  John  Moody,  was  a  miller,  his  machinery  having  three  motive 
powers,  wind,  water  and  steam.  When  the  wind  failed,  water  was  used,  and 
when  there  was  a  scarity  of  water  resort  was  had  to  a  steam  engine  of  primitive 
construction.  The  paternal  ancestry  of  Mr.  Moody  were  mostly  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits.  His  father,  besides  being  an  active  business  man,  was 
popular  as  a  local  preacher  in  the  Methodist  denomination.  He  had  not  been 
able  to  acciuire  a  very  extended  education,  but  he  was  possessed  of  a  natural 
eloquence  and  a  gift  of  language  which  caused  his  services  to  be  in  constant  de- 
mand, especiall'-  on  such  occasions  as  the  anniversaries  of  rural  churches,  etc. 
IMr.  Moody's  family  on  the  maternal  side  moved  in  somewhat  higher  circles. 

Mr.  Moody  was  educated  in  the  national  schools  of  England,  and  later 
took  a  classical  course  in  the  Brigg  ( Lincolnshire)  grammar  school,  where 
many  men  of  note  prepared  for  Cambridge  and  Oxford.  Failing  health  obliged 
him  to  curtail  his  studies,  and  when  still  ciuite  a  youth  was  apprenticed  to 
Hinchcliffe  &  Llfjlliday,  of  Hull,  Yorkshire,  England,  to  learn  the  art  of  print- 
ing and  journalism  in  general.  He  remained  here  four  years,  obtaining  a  prac- 
tical knowledge  of  every  branch  of  this  business.  At  the  end  of  this  period  the 
firm  failed  and  went  out  of  business.  Mr.  Moody  was  worn  out  with  his  hard 
work  of  reporting  for  a  morning  newspaper,  The  Uitll  Daily  Express,  and  his 
jihysician  orderetl  him  into  the  country.     At  the  age  of  eigiitecn  years  he  was 


156  HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

again  bound  apprentice,  this  time  to  a  firm  of  grocers,  J.  T.  &  T.  Varlow,  of 
Brigg,  Lincolnsliire,  England.  He  finished  his  apprenticeship  with  this  firm 
and  continued  in  this  business  until  he  was  twenty-three  years  old,  then  again 
turning  his  attention  to  journalism.  For  a  time  he  was  engaged  on  the  Gains- 
borough Nezvs,  at  Gainsborough,  England,  and  then  was  assistant  editor  of  the 
High  Peak  News,  at  Bakewcll,  Derbyshire,  England,  at  the  same  time  editing 
the  Higli  Peak  Tourist's  Guide,  a  society  paper  published  at  Buxton,  the  scene 
of  one  of  the  novels  of  Walter  Scott.  From  Buxton  he  removed  with  his  fam- 
ily to  Preston,  in  Lancashire,  and  there  became  assistant  editor  of  the  Preston 
Chronicle,  a  widely  circulated  paper  under  the  editorship  of  Anthony  Hewitson, 
an  uncompromising  radical. 

i\Ir.  Moody's  thoughts  had  often  turned  to  the  new  world  as  oiifering  a  bet- 
ter field  for  him  than  the  okl,  and  a  favorable  opportunity  offering  at  this  time 
he  took  advantage  of  it  in  the  spring  of  1872  and  came  to  America  for  the  first 
time.  A  few  days  after  landing  he  obtained  employment  on  the  True  American, 
then  owned  by  Naar,  Day  &  Naar,  at  Trenton,  New  Jersey.  The  following 
spring  he  went  into  business  on  his  own  account,  starting  the  Chambersburg 
Weekly  Nezvs,  (afterwards  changed  to  the  Mercer  County  Nezvs)  which  was  a 
■decided  success  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  it  was  a  time  of  great  panic  and 
depression  in  business  circles.  About  this  tinies  Mr.  Moody,  who  had  always 
been  a  great  student,  took  up  the  study  of  theology.  These  studies  finally  led 
to  the  ministry,  and  in  January,  1882,  he  was  unanimously  called  to  the  pastorate 
of  the  Central  Baptist  church,  at  Junction,  New  Jersey,  and  was  there  ordained, 
September  27,  1882.  He  remained  here  for  two  years,  and  his  success  is  at- 
tested by  the  fact  that  the  membership  of  the  church  was  tripled  and  a  new 
church  was  organized  at  Washington,  New  Jersey,  which  is  now  in  a  very 
flourishing  condition.  In  this  work,  as  in  his  entire  subsequent  career,  Mr. 
Moody  gives  much  of  the  credit  of  his  success  to  his  wife.  Again  failing  health 
suggested  need  of  a  change,  and  he  accepted  a  call  from  Athens,  New  York,  a 
beautiful  village  near  the  Hudson  river.  Here  he  labored  for  five  years  with 
his  usual  success,  and  then  removed  to  Monongahela,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
served  as  pastor  for  three  years.  While  in  this  town,  in  association  with  others, 
lie  started  a  denominational  weekly  known  as  Tlie  Baptist  Exponent.  From 
individual  ownership  to  a  joint  stock  company,  composed  of  men  who  knew  noth- 
ing of  journalism  but  insisted  upon  managing  the  affairs,  the  descent  to  failure 
was  swift  and  sure.  ]\Ir.  Moody,  however,  had  retired  from  the  editorshi])  six 
months  before  this  culmination.  From  Monongahela  he  removed  to  Sewickley, 
Pennsylvania,  and  there  was  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  for  five  years.  Dur- 
ing the  greater  part  of  this  time  he  was  a  contributor  to  the  press,  both  secular 
and  relig-ious.  At  the  suggestion  of  friends  he  assumed  control  of  the  Baptist 
E.vpositor  at  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  edited  the  same  for  some  time,  until 
it  was  sold  to  the  Baptist  Coninioiizvealh  of  Philadelphia,  and  incorporated 
therewith.  From  Sewickley  he  assumed  the  pastorate  of  the  old  Peter's  Creek 
church,  at  Library,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  remained  two  years,  and  then  re- 
ceived a  call  from  the  First  Baptist  church  of  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania,  iri 
w'hich  he  served  for  nearly  six  years,  resigning  his  pastorate  in  order  to  organize 
the  Scottdale  Printing  &  Publishing  Company.  This  company,  of  which  he  is 
secretary,  treasurer,  manager  and  editor,  purchased  the  Scottdale  Independent, 
an  old  and  well-established  weekly.  This  paper  was  enlarged  and  improved, 
and  in  September,  1904.  a  daily  edition  was  started,  which  gives  great  promise 
of  success.  While  no  longer  in  the  ministry  Mr.  Moody  frequently  occupies 
pulpits  in  neighboring  towns  and  cities.     Elliott  G.  Moody,  of  Trenton,  New 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  1,57 

Jersey,  who  has  held  various  positions  of  trust  in  the  city  and  state  of  late 
years',  is  the  only  brother  of  John  W.  .Moody,  and  Mrs.  John  Rowe,  of  Barnsley,. 
Yorkshire,  England,  is  his  only  sister. 

John  W.  Aloody  married,  January  26,  1870,  :Mary  Elizabeth  Gray,  one  of  a 
famiiv  of  ten  children,  daughter  of  Air.  and  Airs.  Thomas  Gray,  of  Long  Sut- 
ton, Lincolnshire,  England^  who  subsequently  removed  to  Peterborough,  Eng- 
land, where  they  died  arid  are  buried,  and  where  most  of  the  family  now  reside, 
some  engaged  in  building  and  contracting,  and  others  retired  from  business. 
Air.  Gray,  while  a  farmer  by  occupation,  was  a  mechanical  genius,  constructing, 
with  his'own  hands  some  unique  articles,  both  useful  and  ornamental.  Several 
members  of  this  family  have  inherited  this  gift,  and  have  utilized  it  to  great 
protit  and  advantage  in  the  course  of  their  lives.  Mr.  and  Airs.  Moody  have 
two  children :  \\'allace  Elliott,  born  in  Gainsborough,  England,  December  5, 
1870.  He  is  married  and  has  three  children.  Jessie  Mabelle,  born  at  Trenton, 
New  Jersey,  Alarch  10,  1874.  She  married  W.  W.  Stewart,  eldest  son  of  one 
of  the  oldest  and  wealthiest  families  of  the  rural  districts  of  Allegheny  county, 
and  resides  on  the  old  Stewart  homestead  at  Stewart,  near  Finleyville,  which 
has  been  the  home  of  the  family  for  several  generations.  She  is  the  mother  of 
two  children. 

THOMAS  JOSEPH  DISKIN,an  active  and  enterprising  young  busi- 
ness man  of  the  borough  of  Scottdale,  who  has  contributed  in  no  small  measure- 
to  its  growth  and  prosperity,  was  born  in  the  community  in  which  he  now  re- 
sides. Alarch  2,  187S,  son  of  Thomas  and  Alary  Diskin,  natives  of  Scottdale. 

He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Scottdale  until  ten  years  of  age,  when  his 
parents  removed  to  Bellefonte,  Pennsylvania,  and  he  then  attended  the  public 
schools  of  that  city,  also  the  Bellefonte  Academy,  from  which  institutions  he 
was  graduated.  He  continued  his  studies  at  the  Central  State  College,  graduat- 
ing therefrom  in  February,  1898,  after  which  he  was  a  student  at  Duffs  Busi- 
ness College,  from  which  he  also  graduated.  He  then  engaged  in  the  real  estate, 
mortgages,  and  insurance  business,  which  he  still  continues,  and  in  which  he  has 
achieved  a  large  degree  of  success.  In  the  latter  branch  of  the  business  he  han- 
dles life,  accident  and  fire  insurance,  representing  some  of  the  best  companies, 
namely :  Springfield  Fire  &  Alarine :  Prussian  National,  of  Stettin,  Germany ; 
Teutonia,  of  Allegheny  City ;  Allemannia,  of  Pittsburg ;  Armenia,  of  Pittsburg ; 
Star,  of  Lexington,  Kentucky:  Capital,  of  Hartford,  Connecticut;  New  York 
Life ;  and  the  American  Casuality,  of  Reading.  Since  the  establishment  of  his 
business.  Xovember,  1898.  it  has  steadily  increased  in  volume  and  importance, 
which  fact  is  attributable  to  his  honorable  and  straightforward  methods  of  con- 
ducting business,  and  to  the  high  and  irreproachable  character  he  bears  among 
his  fellowmen,  who  esteem  him  very  highly.  He  has  erected  and  placed  on  the 
market  about  twelve  buildings  in  the  borough  of  Scottdale,  all  of  which  were 
modern  in  their  appointments,  and  by  their  architectural  beauty  added  greatly 
to  the  attractiveness  of  the  locality.  Air.  Diskin  is  an  Independent  in  politics. 
Air.  Diskin  married,  September  15,  1903,  Anna  Irene  Dolan.  of  Butler,  Penn- 
sylvania, daughter  of  Daniel  and  Alargaret  Dolan,  the  former  named  bemg  an 
oil  operator  of  West  Virginia.  One  child  was  the  issue  of  this  marriage,  Mary 
Alargaret.     Air.  and  Mrs.  Diskin  are  members  of  the  Catholic  church. 

JOHN  C.  STEINER.  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  borough  of  Scottdale, 
a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war,  and  an  active  and  public-sjjirited  citizen,  promoting 
to  the  best  of  his  abilitv  the  interests  of  the  communitv  in  which  he  resides,  was 


.J  58  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

born  in  Hempfield  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  Mav  26, 
1839,  son  of  Philip  and  Elizabeth  ( Fox)  Steiner,  and  grandson  of  John  Steiner. 

John  Steiner  (grandfather)  came  from  Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
to  Westmoreland  county  about  the  time  of  his  marriage  or  shortly  afterward. 
He  located  in  Hempfield  township  and  there  purchased  a  farm  of  about  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  acres,  which  he  cultivateil  and  imjjroved,  and  whereupon  he  he- 
sided  until  his  decease,  when  he  was  upwards  of  eightv  years  of  age.  He  was  a 
man  of  character  and  standing  in  the  community,  devoted  to  his  home  and  fam- 
ily, and  a  consistent  member  of  the  Reformed  church.  He  was  a  descendant  of 
a  German  ancestry.  His  wife,  who  was  a  Miss  Wentzel  prior  to  her  marriage, 
bore  him  children :  Jacob,  a  hatter ;  Daniel,  a  mason ;  Joseph,  a  mason ;  Philip, 
mentioned  hereafter:  Henry,  a  blacksmith:  John,  a  farmer:  Hannah,  married 
David  Million:  Elizabeth,  married  Michael  Eisenman ;  and  Marv,  married  John 
B.  Miller. 

Philip  Steiner  (father)  was  born  in  Hempfield  township,  Westmoreland 
county,  1812,  and  died  in  1894,  having  spent  his  entire  life  in  his  native  township. 
He  learned  the  trade  of  hatter  during  his  boyhood  with  his  brother  Jacob  in  the 
village  of  Adamsburg,  Westmoreland  county.  He  followed  this  line  of  work 
for  several  years,  then  gave  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  later 
worked  at  the  trade  of  tinner,  conducting  a  shop  of  his  own  until  he  attained  the 
age  of  sixty-five  years,  when  he  retired  from  active  business.  As  early  as  1845 
he  served  as  supervisor  of  the  township,  and  later  served  as  supervisor,  perform- 
ing the  duties  carefully  and  conscientiously.  He  was  a  member  and  elder  for 
many  years  in  the  Lutheran  church,  and  was  an  adherent  of  Republican  princi- 
ples. He  married  Elizabeth  Fox,  daughter  of  Philip  and  Sarah  (Campbell) 
Fox,  the  latter  a  native  of  Mercer  county,  Pennsylvania.  Their  children  were : 
John  C,  mentioned  hereafter  :  Maria,  wife  of  John  W.  Finxel,  of  New  Staunton, 
Pa. :  Sylvester,  a  resident  of  Millersdale,  Pa. ;  Henry  V.,  a  resident  of  New 
Staunton,  Pa. ;  David  P.,  deceased :  Elsie  C,  wife  of  I.  W.  More,  of  New 
Stranton,  Pa. :  and  Hannah,  died  in  infancy. 

John  C.  Steiner  was  reared  in  his  native  township,  Hempfield,  and  educated 
in  the  public  schools  thereof.  He  worked  at  the  trade  of  tinner  with  his  father, 
and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  learned  the  trade  of  shoemaker  which  he  followed  up 
"to  1885,  conducting  an  establishment  of  his  own  in  New  Staunton,  his  business 
being  one  of  the  best  and  most  extensive  in  that  locality.  In  1879  he  was 
elected  justice  of  the  peace,  which  office  he  filled  until  1894.  Two  years  later 
he  took  up  his  abode  in  Scottdale,  his  present  residence,  and  in  1901  was  elected 
justice  of  the  peace  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  receiving  a  majority  of  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty-six  votes.  This  attested  to  his  popularity,  as  the  borough  has  a 
Republican  majority  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  votes.  He  is  faithful  and  effi- 
cient in  the  performance  of  his  duties,  and  has  had  very  few  reversals  as  he 
weighs  carefully  the  evidence  in  each  and  everv  case  brought  before  him.  He 
also  served  as  constalile  from  1875  to  1879.  He  enlisted,  in  1863,  in  the  Fifty- 
fourth  Pennsylvania  Militia,  and  August  30.  1864,  became  a  member  of  Com- 
pany K,  Two  Hundred  and  Eleventh  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry.  He 
received  a  gunshot  wound  in  the  head  at  the  battle  of  Petersburg,  April  2,  1865, 
and  was  removed  to  a  hospital,  where  he  remained  until  his  discharge  from  the 
service  at  the  close  of  the  war,  June  22,  1865.  He  is  a  member  of  Colonel  Ells- 
worth's Post,  No.  209,  of  Scottdale,  of  which  he  is  past  commander.  He  is  a 
member  of  Three  Graces  Lodge,  No.  934,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  at  Madison,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  of  A.  O.  U.  K.  M.,  No.  342,  of  Scottdale.  He  is  efficient  and  well- 
liked  as  a  public  official,  and  stands  deservedly  high  as  a  citizen  of  the  county. 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  159 

He  married,  August  9,  i860,  Harriet  C.  Pool,  daughter  of  John  and  Elizabeth 
(Hauser)  Pool.  She  was  born  in  Hempfield  township,  and  bore  her  husband 
children:  Curtin  Philip,  a  hotel  proprietor;  Lizzie  M.,  wife  of  L.  M.  Hays,  of 
East  Greensburg,  Pa.  :  Charles  E.,  of  Scottdale,  employed  as  conductor  on  the 
Pennsylvania  railroatl ;  Katie  T.,  wife  of  James  B.  Funk,  of  Xew  Staunton,  Pa. ; 
Samuel  O.,  cigar  manufacturer  of  Scottdale;  Annie  IM.,  unmarried  ;  Joseph  Mc- 
Kee,  cigar  manufacturer.  Scottdale;  and  Sarah  W'.,  unmarried.  The  family 
are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church  of  Scottdale. 

The  firm  of  Steiner  Brothers,  cigar  manufacturers  and  dealers,  conducting 
business  at  No.  103  Pittsburg  street,  Scottdale,  is  composed  of  Samuel  O.  and 
Joseph  AIcKee  Steiner,  mentioned  above.  This  firm  was  successor  to  C.  P. 
Steiner,  who  succeeded  B.  C.  Fritz,  who  was  successor  to  Daniel  Wilhelm. 
\\'hen  the  present  firm  took  charge  of  the  business  in  1896,  it  was  conducted  on 
a  small  scale,  operating  three  hands  a  portion  of  the  time,  but  they  at  once  put 
new  life  into  it,  and  have  increased  gradually  until  at  the  present  time  (1905) 
the}-  give  constant  employment  to  fourteen  people.  They  manufacture  stogies 
exclusivelv,  all  the  various  grades,  and  their  goods  find  a  ready  sale  in  many 
states  of  the  union.  In  their  salesrooms  they  handle  all  kinds  of  cigars,  tobacco 
and  smokers'  supplies,  also  stationery,  newspapers,  periodicals  and  various  other 
articles  along  that  line.  The  proprietors  of  this  business  are  among  the  ener- 
getic young  business  men  of  Scottdale,  are  men  of  character  and  standing,  and 
in  every  way  worthy  of  the  success  which  has  crowned  their  eliforts.  Samuel  O. 
born  September  17,  1873,  is  a  stockholder  in  two  of  the  banks  of  Scottdale.  a 
member  of  the  Lutheran  church,  in  which  he  serves  in  various  official  capacities, 
and  also  active  in  the  Sabbath  School  connected  therewith,  and  a  member  of  the 
A.  O.  L".  W.,  of  which  he  is  a  collector.  He  married,  August  24,  1904, 
Lillian  B.  Leichleiter,  daughter  of  L.  B.  Leichleiter,  of  Everson,  Fayette  county. 
Joseph  IMcKee,  born  February  14,  1875,  is  also  a  stockholder  in  two  of  the  banks 
of  Scottdale,  a  member  of  the  B.  P.  O.  E.,  Scottdale  Lodge,  No.  yyj.  also  R. 
A.  He  married,  November  20,  1901,  Catherine  O'Neill,  daughter  of  Charles 
O'Neill,  of  Everson,  Pennsylvania. 

JOHN  S.  PARKER,  a  prominent  and  influential  merchant,  head  of 
the  J.  S.  Parker  Company,  of  Scottdale,  whose  successful  career  is  ample  evi- 
dence of  what  a  man  can  accomplish  by  energy,  perseverance,  concentration  and 
good  business  sagacity,  was  born  in  West  Newton,  Westmoreland  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, January  28,  1842,  son  of  John  S.  and  Jane  (Graham)  Parker,  natives 
of  Ohio  and  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  respectively. 

John  S.  Parker  (  father )  came  to  Westmoreland  county  when  a  young  man 
from  his  native  state,  CAio,  which  was  then  the  western  frontier  of  civilization, 
and  at  once  engaged  in  mercantile  business  at  West  Newton.  Later  he  re- 
moved to  Reagantown  and  there  conducted  the  same  line  of  business  until  his 
death  in  1857,  ^^  the  age  of  sixty-five  years.  He  was  a  substantial  citizen,  and 
always  took  a  deep  interest  in  every  enterprise  that  tended  toward  the  public 
good.  He  was  stanch  Democrat  in  politics,  a  consistent  memljcr  of  the  Presby- 
terian church,  in  which  body  he  was  active  officially,  and  a  soldier  of  the  War 
of  1812.  His  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Jane  Graham,  was  a  native  of 
Westmoreland  county,  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  a  woman  ef 
remarkable  business  ability.  After  the  death  of  her  husband  .she  conducted  the 
business  successfully  for  many  years,  aided  bv  her  sons.  She  died  in  1882,  aged 
eighty  years.  Their  family  consisted  of  nine  children  :  Sarah  Ann,  deceased, 
who  was  the  wife  of  James  Weddlc ;  Eliza  Jane,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of 


i6o  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


James  P.  Ward:  Rebecca,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of  James  JMcL'une;  Har- 
riet, wife  of  Abraham  Rufif,  of  Mount  Pleasant ;  Nancy  Ellen,  widow  of  James 

B.  Smith,  of  Scottdalc :  Eii])hemia,  wife  of  John  Hurst,  of  Scottdale ;  John  S., 
mentione  hereafter ;  'Richard  G.,  a  resident  of  Huntingdon  township ;  George 

C,  who  is  associated  with  his  brother  John  S.  in  business.  George  C.  was  born 
in  the  vicinity  of  West  Newton,  October,  1847.  He  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools,  and  his  training  in  the  mercantile  line  was  obtained  in  his  father's  store. 
About  1873  he  and  his  brother  Richard  G.  established  a  business  at  Reagantown, 
conducting  a  general  merchandise  store  until  1880,  and  the  following  year  he 
came  to  Scottdale  and  engaged  in  business  with  his  brother  John  S.,  with  whom 
he  has  been  associated  contmuously,  being  at  the  present  time  (1905)  a  member 
of  the  firm.  He  is  one  of  the  organized  stockholders  of  the  Savings  &  Trust 
Company  of  Scottdale.  He  was  married  August,  i8y(),  to  Ida  K.  Fry,  daughter 
of  David  and  Susan  Fry.  They  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of 
Scottdale. 

John  S.  Parker  obtained  his  education  in  the  schools  of  Reagantown  and 
West  Newton.  After  the  death  of  the  father  he  assisted  his  mother  in  the  con- 
duct of  the  store,  rendering  valuable  service.  In  February,  1873,  he  formed  a 
partnership  with  his  brother-in-law,  James  Vt.  Smith,  and  engaged  in  the  mer- 
cantile business  at  Scottdale  under  the  firm  name  of  Parker  &  Smith,  which 
connection  contiiuicd  until  1881,  when  Mr.  Smith  withdrew  and  S.  B.  McMillan 
and  George  C.  Parker  became  members  of  the  firm.  The  name  was  then 
changed  to  J.  S.  Parker  &  Co.,  and  so  continued  until  1884,  when  Mr.  McMillan 
retired  and  the  firm  name  became  J.  S.  Parker  &  Bro.,  and  continued  as  such 
until  1896,  when  the  firm  name  was  changed  to  J.  S.  Parker  Co.,  as  it  stands 
today.  They  began  business  in  a  very  small  way,  their  stock  consisting  of  gro- 
ceries and  a  limited  amount  of  dry  goods.  In  1890  the  grocery  department  was" 
eliminated.  He  now  carries  a  full  line  of  dry  goods,  notions,  jewelry,  men's  and 
boy's  clothing,  ladies'  ready-to-wear  suits,  millinery,  carpets,  window  shades, 
curtains,  linoleum  and  numerous  other  articles  to  be  found  in  a  first-class  general 
mercantile  establishment.  He  has  occupied  the  same  corner,  Pittsburg  and 
Spring  streets,  and  the  old  building  was  enlarged  from  time  to  time  to  meet  the 
growing  demands  of  the  business.  In  1903  it  was  torn  down  and  on  the  site 
was  erected  a  fine  three-story  brick — pressed  gray — building,  66x100,  two  floors 
of  which  thcv  occupy,  there  being  only  one  establishment  in  the  county  which 
occupies  more  floor  space,  and  this  establishment  now  stands  in  the  front  ranks 
of  mercantile  enterprises.  Mr.  Parker  is  one  of  the  energetic,  active  business 
men  of  the  borough,  and  has  taken  a  deep  interest  in  all  enterprises  that  have 
been  inaugurated,  among  which  might  be  mentioned :  The  Scottdale  Iron  and 
Steel  Company,  limited,  the  pipe  mill,  the  machine  shop,  and  in  1901  he  became 
one  of  the  promoters  of  the  Scottdale  Savings  &  Trust  Company,  of  which  he 
is  a  director,  and  January,  1905,  was  elected  president  of  the  same.  He  also 
built  one  of  the  first  houses  erected  in  Scottdale.  He  is  a  member  and  trustee 
of  the  First  Presbyterian  church,  to  the  support  and  maintenance  of  which  he 
contributes  liberally. 

November  11,  1869,  Mr.  Parker  was  united  in  marriage  to  Pauline  Rufif, 
daughter  of  Jonas  and  Ruth  Rufif,  of  ]\Iount  Pleasant  township.  Mrs.  Parker 
died  in  1890,  leaving  five  children:  Richard  H.,  an  associate  of  his  father  in 
business  :  Frank  R..  an  associate  of  his  father  in  business  :  he  married  Olive  An- 
derson, and  their  children  are  :  Clyde,  Gertrude  and  Pauline  :  Jane  G.,  Effie  May, 
Clyde,  who  died  at  the  age  of  six  years.  In  1894  Mr.  Parker  married  for  his 
second  wife,  Mrs.  Charlotte  Johnson,  nee  Trader,  of  Uniontown,  Pennsylvania. 


HISTORY   OF    U'ESTMORELAXD   COUXTV.  i6i 

HURST  FAMILY.  Between  iluckinghani  mountain  and  the 
Wrightstown  line  la)-  two  tracts  of  land  of  one  thousand  acres  each  which  were 
patented  to  John  Reynolds  and  Edward  West,  respectively,  neither  of  whom 
ever  settled  on  the  land  or  made  any  claim  to  it.  On  these  tracts  in  the  first 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century  settled  sons  of  the  earlier  settlers  of  the  commun- 
ity and  a  number  of  Scotch-Irish  emigrants,  who  improved  the  land,  and  later 
they  or  the  representatives  of  those  that  died  thereon,  sold  the  "Improvement," 
and  in  most  cases  the  title  was  acquired  by  "adverse  possession,"  though  some 
of  the  tracts  were  later  confirmed  by  patent.  Among  those  early  settlers  was 
John  Hirst,  as  the  name  was  then  spelled,  who  was  supposed  to  have  been  a  na- 
tive of  England,  and  was  of  English  or  possibly  Scotch-Irish  origin.  He  died 
in  Buckingham  about  1754,  and  his  widow,  Ann  Hirst,  administered  on  his  es- 
tate and  sold  the  "Imjirovement"  and  his  personal  estate.  On  December  11, 
1754,  she  petitioned  the  Orphans'  court  of  Bucks  county,  setting  forth  these 
facts,  and  asked  that  auditors  be  appointed  to  pass  upon  and  settle  her  accounts 
of  administration.  She  also  states  that  the  decedent  left  "divers  children  who 
are  under  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,"  and  asked  that  guardians  be  appointed 
for  them  so  that  the  distribution  of  the  estate  might  be  made.  She  then  gave 
the  names  and  ages  of  the  children,  as  follows : 

"Xancy  Hirst  was  21  on  ye  28th  day  of  July,  1754-" 
"Betty  Hirst  was  20  on  ye  4th  day  of  October,  1754." 
"John  Hirst  was  18  on  ye  3i.st  day  of  August,  1754." 
"William  Hirst  was  14  on  ye  5th  day  of  October,  1754." 
"Sarah  Hirst  was  12  on  ye  5th  day  of  February,  1754." 
"Richard  Hirst  was  10  on  ye  loth  day  of  March,  1754." 
"Judah  Hirst  was  7  on  ye  17th  day  of  May,  1734." 

The  Improvement  was  sold  for  one  hundred  and  fift_\'-four  pounds  and  ten 
schillings,  and  must  therefore  have  been  of  considerable  acreage.  The  balance 
shown  by  the  account  was  two  hundred  and  forty-eight  pounds,  eleven  shillings 
and  two  pence,  but  no  distribution  appears  of  record,  therefore  there  is  nothing 
to  show  who  the  children  were  who  were  already  of  age  in  1754.  Of  the  above 
named  family  John  and  William  Hirst  settled  in  Solebury ;  in  1760  John  Hirst 
married  Hilary  Heston,  daughter  of  Zebulon  Heston,  of  Wrightstown,  having 
applied  for  membership  at  Buckingham  Friends  ^Meeting  in  1759.  Their  chil- 
dren were:  John,  Rebeckah,  Sarah.  Jesse,  David  and  Ann.  They  left  Bucks 
county  about  1774.  William,  the  other  brother,  married  Ann  Thomas,  April 
25,  1761 ;  he  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade. 

Xathaniel  Hurst,  who  is  supposed  to  have  been  one  of  the  older  children  in 
the  family  of  John  and  Ann  Hirst,  left  his  home  in  Bucks  county  and  obtained 
a  warrant  Of  survey  for  three  hundred  acres  of  land  in  Westmoreland  county, 
April  3,  1774,  for  three  hundred  acres  additional,  July  i,  1784,  and 
for  two  hundred  and  eighty-five  acres  and  twenty-three  perches,  Februarv  10, 
1796.  He  and  his  wife  crossed  the  mountains  on  pack  horses,  and  settled  about 
five  miles  from  what  is  now  the  borough  of  Mount  Pleasant,  where  he  took  up 
nine  hundred  acres  of  wild  land,  above  mentioned,  which  is  now^  known  as  the 
Hurst  Settlement.  Here  they  erected  a  log  cabin  and  began  life  under  the 
most  adverse  circumstances,  as  the  Indians  were  on  all  sides  of  them,  and  many 
nights  when  the  husband  and  father  was  out  watching  for  an  attack  bv  the  In- 
dians, the  mother  with  her  little  family  would  seek  shelter  in  the  underbrush, 
feeling  safer  there  than  in  the  cabin.  By  degrees  thcy  cleared  and  cultivated 
the  land,  which  soon  became  productive  and  yielded  tliem  a  goodly  return  for 
their  labor.     They  lived  to  be  well  advanced  in  years,  were  respected  by  their 


i62  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

neighbors,  and  the  supposition  is  that  they  were  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  Their  children  were  as  follows:  Nathaniel,  a  farmer,  who  spent  his 
life  in  Mount  Pleasant  township ;  Thomas,  a  farmer  of  Mount  Pleasant  town- 
ship;  James,  mentioned  hereafter;  and  John,  who  located  and  reared  a  large 
family  on  a  farm  purchased  for  him  by  his  father. 

James  Hurst,  son  of  Nathaniel  Hurst,  the  founder  of  the  family  in  West- 
moreland county,  was  born,  reared  and  spent  his  life  in  Mount  Pleasant  town- 
ship. He  followed  the  occupation  of  farming,  owning  a  portion  of  the  original 
homestead,  possibly  upwards  of  two  Jiundred  acres,  and  was  one  of  the  pros- 
perous and  thrifty  men  of  the  community.  He  married  Sarah  Blackston, 
daughter  of  James  B.  Blackston,  of  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania.  Their  fam- 
ily consisted  of  the  following  cliildren :  James  B.,  mentioned  hereafter ;  Joseph, 
who  was  a  farmer  of  Mount  Pleasant  township  ;  John,  who  resided  for  some 
years  in  Fayette  county,  where  his  death  occurred  ;  Nathaniel,  who  was  a  farmer 
of  Fayette  county ;  Nancy,  who  became  the  wife  of  Ebenezer  Moore,  a  farmer 
of  Fayette  county ;  and  Priscilla,  who  became  the  wife  of  Samuel  Miller,  a 
farmer  who  resided  in  the  vicinity  of  Latrobe. 

James  B.  Hurst,  son  of  James  and  Sarah  (Blackston)  Hurst,  was  born  in 
VVestmoreknd  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1799.  He  w-as  reared  on  the  old  home- 
stead in  Mount  Pleasant  township,  and  prior  to  his  marriage  settled  on  a  farm 
in  Tyrone  township,  Fayette  count}-,  where  he  resided  at  the  time  of  his  death 
from'  apoplexy  in  1845.  About  the  year  1829  he  married  ]\Iary  Long,  daughter 
of  Alexander  Long,  and  her  birth  occurred  in  Tyrone  township,  Fayette  county, 
about  1812  or  1813.  Their  children  were:  Alexander,  deceased:  Prissly,  de- 
ceased ;  Sarah,  deceased-,  who  was  the  wife  of  a  Mr.  Shallenberger ;  William, 
deceased:  John,  mentioned  hereafter;  and  Frances,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife 
of  J.  W.  Shawman.  After  the  death  of  her  husband,  Mrs.  Hurst  was  married 
to  James  Cunningham,  by  whom  she  had  two  children:  Elias  L.,  proprietor  of 
a  hotel  at  North  East,  Pennsylvania ;  and  Mary  J.,  deceased. 

John  Hurst,  son  of  Fames  B.  and  Mary  (Long)  Hurst,  was  born  July  6, 
1839,  in  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  reared  on  his  father's  farm, 
educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  followed  farming  until  his  removal  to 
Scottdale,  Westmoreland  county,  in  1882.  Here  he  established  a  mercantile 
business,  which  was  later  taken  charge  of  by  his  sons,  William  and  Harry  R., 
who  conducted  the  same  for  a  time  and  then  disposed  of  it  to  outside  parties. 
During  this  time,  however,  he  was  employed  at  the  trade  of  carpenter,  which  he 
followed  for  several  years.  In  1903  he  erected  a  fine  pressed  straw  colored  brick 
block,  one  of  the  finest  in  the  borough  of  Scottdale,  at  the  corner  of  Pittston  and 
Hickorv  streets,  in  which  his  son  Harry  R.  has  established  a  dry  goods  store 
on  the  first  floor  and  rear  of  the  second  ffoor,  and  the  front  part  of  the  sec- 
ond floor  is  occupied  by  Mr.  Hurst  and  family  as  a  residence,  and  the 
third  floor  is  divided  into  apartments  for  residential  purposes.  He  is  a 
man  who  has  always  had  the  best  interests  of  the  community  at  heart,  and 
is  ready  to  assist  in  any  way  toward  the  betterment  and  uplifting  of  man- 
kind. He  was  a  member  of  the  school  board  of  the  borough  for  six  years, 
rendering  valuable  service  during  that  period.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Pres- 
hyterian  church.  In  April,  i860,  he  married  Euphemia  Parker,  daughter  of 
lohn  Parker,  who  bore  him  the  following  children:  Mary  J.,  died  in  April, 
"1904,  aged  forty  years ;  she  was  the  wife  of  William  Owen,  also  deceased ; 
Williani,  mentioned  hereafter ;  Harry  R.,  mentioned  hereafter ;  Candace,  wife 
of  G.  F.  Kelly,  who  is  engaged  in  the  real  estate  and  insurance  business  at  Scott- 
dale ;  Gertrude,  unmarried^  James  B.,  who  is  engaged  in  the  clothing  and  fur- 


HISTORY   OF    JJ-ESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  163 

nisliing  business  at  Scottdalc  :  and  Edward,  who  is  a  student  in  the  Tennsyl- 
vania  State  College. 

William  P.  Hurst,  eldest  son  of  John  and  Eupheniia  (Parker)  Hurst,  was 
born  laiuiarv  26.  1863.  He  was  educated  in  the  jniblic  schools  and  remained 
on  the  farm'  until  iSSo,  when  he  came  to  Scottdale  and  in  company  with  his 
brother  Harry  R.  conducted  a  mercantile  establishment  for  several  years.  In 
18S9  lie  engaged  in  the  coal  business,  prospecting  and  locating  coal  properties  in 
Kentucky, ^Vest  \"irginia  and  Ohio  for  other  parties,  and  in  i8yi  began  oper- 
ating on'  his  own  account  at  Smock,  Fayette  county,  wdiere  he  opened  mines 
which  he  operated  until  1894,  when  he  disposed  of  the  same.  In  1895  he  opened 
mines  at  Pine  Hill,  Somerset  county,  which  he  operated  until  1898,  and  then  dis- 
posed of  them.  He  then  entered  \Vest  \'irginia,  locating  in  Barbour  and  Pres- 
ton counties,  where  they  will  operate  on  an  extensive  scale,  and  having  in  view 
the  establishing  of  a  large  coking  plant,  operating  under  the  firm  name  of  the 
^Midland  Coal  and  Coke  Company.  He  was  also  the  promoter  of  the  Clements 
Coal  and  Coke  Company,  Barbour  county,  West  Virginia,  the  Candace  Coal 
and  Coke  Company.  Barbour  county,  West  Virginia,  and  the  Kingwood 
Coal  and  Coke  Company,  Preston  county.  West  Virginia.  Mr.  Hurst  is  man- 
ager of  the  above  named  plants  and  virtually  takes  the  same  roll  for  the  Mid- 
land Coal  and  Coke  Company.  The  whole  scheme  covers  a  territory  of  about 
nine  thousand  acres,  and  all  of  the  properties  produce  a  good  grade  of  coking 
coal.  He  is  one  of  the  live,  energetic  men  of  the  county,  and  stands  in  the  front 
rank  of  the  best  people  in  the  community. 

Harrv  R.  Hurst,  second  son  of  John  and  Euphemia  (Parker)  Hurst,  was 
born  .August  9,  1865.  He  attended  the  common  scliocls  until  sixteen  years  of 
age.  and  then  engaged  at  clerking  for  Keister  &  Co.,  at  Owensdale,  Fa_\-ette 
county,  a  company  store,  where  he  remained  two  years.  He  then  came  to 
Scottdale  with  J.  S.  Parker  &  Co.,  whom  he  served  for  five  or  six  years,  and 
was  then  employed  with  E.  Dunn  at  Connellsville,  proprietor  of  a  dry  goods 
store,  for  five  years.  He  had,  however,  during  this  time  had  charge  of  the  dry 
goods  establishment  of  Hurst  &  Co.,  which  position  he  held  until  engaging  in 
his  present  business,  in  1899,  succeeding  W.  J.  Murphy,  a  dry  goods  mer- 
chant. He  located  on  Pittston  street  and  there  remained  until  1903.  when  he 
moved  into  his  ])resent  handsome  quarters  in  the  block  erected  by  his  father. 
He  has  a  space  of  forty  by  one  hundred  feet,  and  the  first  floor  is  devoted  to 
dry  goods,  notions,  and  ladies  suits,  wdiile  the  second  floor  is  well  stocked  with 
a  full  line  of  carpets,  oil  cloths,  linoleums,  lace  curtains,  window  shades,  etc. 
His  stock  is  clean  and  of  the  very  finest  quality,  up-to-date  in  every  respect, 
and  is  one  of  the  best  selected  and  most  attractive  in  that  section  of  the  county. 
He  is  a  thorough  business  man.  prompt  and  reliable  in  all  his  transactions,  and 
his  name  is  a  synonym  for  integrity.  Mr.  Hurst  married,  January  i,  1896, 
Harriet  .Anderson,  daughter  of  George  W.  and  Amanda  (Smith)  Anderson,  a 
native  of  Westmoreland  county.  Two  children  are  the  issue  of  this  imion  : 
Jolm  R..  and  William  W.    The  family  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  cluirch. 

P.  O.  PETERSON,  president  of  the  Peterson  Business  College,  one 
of  the  leading  educational  institutions  of  the  borough  of  Scottdale,  of  which  he 
was  also  the  founder,  is  a  young  man  of  more  than  usual  business  capacitv,  full 
of  energy,  vigor  and  vim.  He  was  born  in  the  vicinity  of  Pleasant  I'nity,  West- 
moreland county,  Pennsylvania.  May  24,  1876. 

His  great-grandfather  on  the  patern3l  side  came  from  Germany  during  the 
latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  centurv,  and  settled  in   New  Ycirk  state.     Elias 


i64  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

Peterson  (grandfather J,  son  of  the  founder  of  the  family,  was  born  and  reared 
in  New  York  state,  and  when  a  young  man  came  to  Pennsyvania  and  settled 
near  Pleasant  Unity,  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  purchased  a  farm  which 
he  cultivated  and  operated  during  the  remainder  of  his  lifetime.  He  was  one 
of  the  successful  and  representative  farmers  of  his  day  and  communit}-,  and 
wielded  an  influence  for  good  in  his  neighborhood.  He  was  a  devout  Christian 
man,  and  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  was  twice  married.  His 
first  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Margaret  McCall,  bore  him  eight  children, 
all  now  deceased,  but  who  attained  years  of  maturity,  namely :  Thomas,  Elias, 
Henry,  James,  Abner,  John,  Hannah,  and  Margaret.  The  sons  went  west  and 
became  prosperous  and  prominent  men,  James  having  been  a  jurist  in  Kansas, 
Abner  a  jurist  in  Illinois,  and  Henry  a  state  senator  from  Iowa.  His  second 
wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Elizabeth  McChesney,  bore  him  five  children  : 
Jennie,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  ;  Harriet,  who  died  in  young 
womanhood ;  Sarah,  wife  of  George  Geiger,  residing  on  the  old  Peterson  home- 
stead near  Pleasant  Unity ;  Aaron,  a  shoe  dealer  of  Mount  Pleasant ;  and  Noah 
G.,  mentioned  hereafter.  Elias  Peterson  (grandfather)  died  in  1855,  aged  six- 
ty-seven years. 

Noah  G.  Peterson  (father),  son  of  Elias  and  Elizabeth  (McChesney)  Pe- 
terson, was  born  on  the  old  homestead,  reared  to  farm  life,  educated  in  the 
])ublic  schools  and  academies,  and  received  a  business  training  in  the  X'ermilian 
Institute.  During  the  time  of  securing  his  education  he  was  also  engaged  in 
teaching,  beginning  the  latter  vocation  when  a  lad  of  but  sixteen.  He  taught 
and  attended  school  for  some  ten  years  thereafter,  since  which  time  he  has  fol- 
lowed various  callings,  principally,  however,  that  of  farming  and  bookkeeping, 
and  in  1903  he  associated  himself  with  his  son  in  the  conduct  of  the  Peterson 
Business  College  at  Scottdale,  he  taking  charge  of  the  commercial  department, 
bookkeeping,  etc.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Reformed  church.  He  was  married 
November  27,  1873,  to  Rachel  Smith,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Lavina  (Fiscus) 
Smith,  and  three  children  were  the  issue :  A  child  who  died  in  infancy ;  P.  C)., 
mentioned  hereafter ;  and  Elizabeth,  who  was  educated  at  California  State  Nor- 
mal and  Pennsylvania  Business  College,  and  is  now  (1905)  principal  of  the 
shorthand  department  in  the  Peterson  Business  College  of  Scottdale. 

P.  O.  Peterson  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  received  his  primary  education 
in  the  public  schools  of  the  neighborhood.  This  was  supplemented  by  a  course 
at  the  California  State  Normal  school  at  California,  Pennsylvania,  graduating, 
in  the  class  of  1900;  the  Bliss  Commercial  College,  from  which  he  was  gradu- 
ated ;  the  Zanerian  Art  College,  of  Columbus,  Ohio.  He  had,  however,  taught 
public  school  for  five  years  in  Westmoreland  county  prior,  to  attending  the 
State  Normal.  In  1902  he  began  work  as  a  teacher  in  a  business  college  at 
McKeesport.  Pennsylvania,  and  in  the  fall  of  1903  established  the  Peterson 
Business  College  at  Scottdale,  and  although  there  are  two  old  established  insti- 
tutions within  a  radius  of  some  fourteen  miles,  the  school  has  prospered  and 
the  first  class  graduated  in  June,  1904,  comprising  forty-five  finished  pupils, 
which  is  an  evidence  of  the  vim  with  which  the  school  was  inaugurated  and 
started  on  its  way.  The  school  gives  a  complete  and  thorough  business  train- 
ing in  all  its  various  branches,  but  they  make  a  specialty  of  penmanship,  book- 
keeping, shorthand  and  typewriting,  but  at  the  same  time  all  the  other  branches 
relating  to  a  business  education  receive  careful  consideration.  The  attendance 
the  second  year  doubled  the  first,  and  this  is  ample  proof  of  the  popularity  of 
the  institution  and  its  excellent  corps  of  instructors. 

Air.   Peterson  married,   October   10,    1901,  Evalyn  Johnson,  daughter  of 


,i/V4A^J>iAUAA/U^  , 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  165 

W.  L.  and  Catherine  (Hysong)  Johnson,  of  Lycippus,  Westmoreland  county, 
and  two  children  are  the  issue :  Esther  and  William.  The  family  are  members 
of  the  Reformed  church,  in  which  body  Mr.  Peterson  is  deacon  and  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sabbath  school  connected  therewith. 

JAMES  E.  NEWINGHAM,  proprietor  of  the  Newingham  livery  and 
sales  stables,  at  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania,  and  one  of  the  leading  and  substantial 
business  men  of  that  progressive  town,  was  born  in  Allegheny  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, September  7,  1863,  the  son  of  Henry  S.  and  Rose  Ann  (Byerly)  New- 
ingham, both  residents  of  Pleasant  Unity,  Westmoreland  county,  Pemisylvania. 
He  is  the  grandson  of  David  Newingham,  ex-sheriil  of  Westmoreland  county. 

James  E.  Newingham  was  but  a  small  child  when  his  parents  took  up  their 
abode  in  Pleasant  Unity.  There  he  was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  and 
when  a  lad  of  fifteen  years  learned  the  trade  of  saddle  and  harness  making,  in 
which  he  became  very  proficient.  He  worked  at  his  trade  for  eight  years,  and 
then  removed  to  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  for  two  years  in  the 
employ  of  the  firm  of  I.  D.  Pores  &  Company,  in  the  hardware  and  grocery 
business.  His  next  removal  was  to  Scottdale,  where  he  and  his  father  estab- 
lished themselves  in  the  livery  business  in  the  spring  of  1887,  succeeding  Mr. 
\Mlliam  Herbert  in  the  business.  After  three  or  four  years  Mr.  Newingham 
succeeded  to  the  entire  business,  which  he  has  since  conductd  with  the  most 
gratifying  success.  This  is  one  of  the  leading  establishments  of  its  kind  in 
Scottdale,  and  }*Ir.  Newingham  carries  a  full  line  of  driving  and  saddle  horses, 
besides  all  kinds  of  hacks,  carriages,  etc.  He  is  a  live,  energetic  business  man, 
and  is  to  be  congratulated  on  his  well-deserved  success.  He  also  conducts  an 
extensive  business  in  buying,  selling  and  shipping  horses  to  the  eastern  mar- 
kets. He  is  a  patriotic,  public-spirited  man,  and  is  interested  in  all  enterprises 
for  the  public  good.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of 
Elks.  No.  777. 

February  14,  1895,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Mary  Emma  Ogle,  daugh- 
ter of  William  D.  Ogle,  of  Fayette  county.  Pennsylvania.  The  following  named 
children  were  the  issue  of  this  union:  Frank  Ellsworth,  Ralph  H.,  Nellie  B. 
Air.  Newingham  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  German  Reformed  church. 
Their  residence  is  at  124  Market  street,  Scottdale. 

LAWRENCE  WINSHEIMER.  Michael  Winsheimer,  founder  of 
the  family  in  America,  after  locating  at  Greensburg  remained  only 
a  few  years,  when  he  removed  to  Indiana  county,  where  he  bought 
one  hundred  acres  of  w-oodland  at  two  dollars  per  acre  from  the  Holland  Land 
Company,  and  on  this  tract  he  "settled,"  as  one  of  the  pioneers  of  that  section. 
The  tract  was  part  of  the  primeval  forest,  abounding  in  immense  timbers  of 
various  species,  and  inhabited  by  bears,  deer  and  other  wild  animals  of  the 
larger  type.  He  lived  to  be  eighty-seven  years  old,  while  his  wife  died  at  the 
age  of  ninety  years.  Their  remains  are  interred  at  the  Five  Point  school  house, 
north  of  the  town  of  Indiana.  He  was  the  father  of  five  children :  Lawrence, 
George,  Margaret,  married  John  Smith ;  Mary,  married  Augustus  Vogle ;  and 
Michael,  Jr. 

Lawrence  Winsheimer  was  born  June  i,  18 17,  near  Nuremberg,  Germany, 
and  landed  in  America  with  his  parents,  Michael  and  Elizabeth  (Karline) 
\\'insheimer,  December  30.  1837.  The  family  located  at  Greensburg,  West- 
moreland county.  Pennsylvania,  where  Lawrence  continued  to  reside  for  a 
priod  of  sixty-eight  years,  or  until  his  death,  which  occurred  October  28.  1905. 
his  age  being  eighty-eight  years,  four  months  and  twenty-seven  days.    He  was 


i66  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

always  actively  identified  with  the  interests  and  progress  of  the  town,  lie  was  a 
tailor  by  trade,  and  for  over  forty  years  was  engaged  in  the  clothing  business. 
In  politics  he  was  a  loyal  Democrat,  and  never  failed  to  attend  the  polls  and 
cast  his  vote.  He  was  honored  by  his  party  with  election  to  the  office  of  cor- 
oner of  Westmoreland  county  for  three  successive  terms,  and  on  one  of  these 
occasions  received  the  largest  majority,  over  five  thousand,  ever  given  a  Demo- 
crat in  this  county  During  his  incumbency  as  coroner  he  officiated  tempor- 
arily as  sherifif,  because  of  the  technical  disqualification  of  that  official.  He  was 
mayor  of  Greensburg  in  1872,  and  also  served  on  the  town  council  at  other 
times.  He  was  constable  for  several  terms,  and  precinct  register  of  the  Second 
ward  for  the  ten  years  preceding  his  demise,  his  successive  elections  being  made 
almost  unanimous  because  of  his  great  popularity.  He  was  an  intelligent,  ex- 
emplary, upright  citizen;  a  lifelong  and  consistent  memlier  of  the  h'irst  Lu- 
theran Church,  and  for  many  years  an  officer  in  the  congregation.  He  enjoyed 
the  fullest  measure  of  esteem  and  confidence  of  all  who  knew  him,  and  left  an 
honorable  and  untarnished  name  as  the  richest  eulogy  to  an  exemplary  and 
blameless  life. 

Lawrence  W'inslu-imcr  married,  I'ebruary  15,  1845,  Anna  Margaret  Zeise, 
which  imion  continued  for  fifty-seven  years,  or  until  her  death,  which  occurred 
January  18,  1903.  She  was  a  daughter  of  hVederick  and  i'.lizabcth  Zeise,  who 
came  from  Germany  to  America  when  she  was  an  infant  and  also  located  m  the 
vicinity  of  Greensburg.  Their  marriage  was  s'^mething  out  of  the  ordinary. 
The  nuptials  were  performed  by  the  Rev.  M.  J.  Steck,  and  two  other  couples 
were  married  by  the  same  ceremony,  viz. :  Augustus  Vogle  to  Mary  Wins- 
heimer  and  Augustus  Grafif  to  Louisa  Smith.  Of  the  seven  persons  connected 
with  this  triple  weddings  Mr.  \\'insheimcr  was  the  final  survivor.  Lawrence 
W'insheimer  was  the  father  of  six  children:  i.  George  Stineman.  auctioneer, 
living  in  Greensburg,  born  July  21,  1847;  married  Priscilla  Blose  Murray; 
father  of  four  children:  Eva  Gertrude,  married  George  Mendell,  of  Wheeling, 
West  \'irgania :  Etta  Rebecca,  George  Hufif,  mining  engineer,  and  Archie 
Stewart,  died  at  the  age  of  three  and  one-half  years.  2.  Dr.  William  Jack,  den- 
tist, lives  at  Parker's  Landing,  Pennsylvania,  born  March  29,  1849 ;  married 
Jennie  C.  Agnew.  3.  Mary  Elizabeth,  born  August  26,  185 1  ;  married  James 
.Filmore  Steele:  living  in  Greensburg.  4.  Harriet  Lucetta,  born  June  28,  1853; 
married  John  B.  McQuade,  living  in  Greensburg,  and  mother  of  two  children — 
Catherine  and  Lawrence.  5.  Thompson  R.,  of  whom  later.  6.  Dr.  Edward 
Lawrence,  born  November  20,  i860,  dentist,  living  at  Parker's  Landing,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Thomp.son  Rich.\rd  WixsiiEiMER,  horn  November  30,  1856,  educated  in 
the  common  schools  of  Greensburg.  He  began  active  life  by  working-  on  the 
construction  of  the  Southwest  railway  from  (jreensburg  to  Connellsville.  He 
learned  the  printing  trade  in  the  office  of  The  Westmoreland  Democrat,  and 
November  23,  1882,  with  his  cousin,  Benjamin  Franklin  Vogle,  bought  that 
newspaper  plant,  in  which  business  he  has  since  been  continuously  engaged.  He 
has  been  content  to  follow  the  pursuits  of  the  editor  of  a  weekly  newspaper  in 
a  country  town,  doing  his  duty  fearlessly  in  the  discussion  of  public  measures 
and  political  conditions  from  an  absolutely  conscientious  standpoint.  Knowing 
only  the  honest  principles  of  Democracy,  as  established  by  the  founders  of  the 
party,  he  has  always  been  aggressive  in  striking  at  and  exposing  political  crook- 
edness within  the  party,  and  to  his  persistent  efiforts,  perhaps  more  than  any 
other  man,  after  a  fierce  and  prolonged  battle,  in  1903-4,  in  which  friendships 
of  a  lifetime  were  canceled,  were  the  vampires  which  hung  at  the  throat  of  the 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.      '  167 

\\'estnioreland  county  Democracy  shaken  off.  As  a  man  of  keen  perception  in 
the  newspaper  field  and  as  to  his  capabiHtiesin  discovering  and  handhng  live 
subjects,  he  has  full  recognition  with  the  profession  and  reading  public.  He  is 
also  the  business  man  of  77k'  Democrat  and  has  brought  to  that  paper  a  line  of 
patronage  that  keeps  the  plant  in  a  healthy  condition.  The  newspaper  busi- 
ness is  ills  life  work,  although  as  a  side  line  or  diversion  he  has  contributed  tf- 
the  world  something  of  poetry,  music  and  history,  not  of  the  classical  order,  but 
in  the  lines  of  sweetness  and  simplicity  that  appeal  to  the  heart  as  well  as  to  the 
mind.  Like  the  ordinary  political  journalist  he  has  participated  in  the  elevation 
of  local  great  men  to  positions  of  honor,  trust  and  profit,  and  has  subsequently 
shared  in  the  fate  so  common  to  newspaper  men  of  forgetfulness  and  ingrati- 
tude. He  has  contributed  of  his  energies  to  the  development  and  progress  of 
the  community,  while  others,  perhaps,  reaped  the  ultimate  benefits  without  a 
thought  of  his  labors ;  he  has  advocated  morality  in  society,  cleanness  in  politics 
and  public  affairs,  advancement  and  expansion  of  the  local  business  world,  and 
felt  gratified  and  satisfied  when  success  resulted  in  any  of  those  directions.  Mr. 
Winsheimer  married,  April  7,  1881,  Lydia  Melissa  Widaman.  daughter  of  the 
late  John  iMichael  and  Catherine  Miller  Widaman,  of  New  Stanton,  and  later  of 
Irwin. 

WILLIAM  FERGUSON,  member  of  the  firm  of  Owens  &  Fergu- 
son, furnitttre  dealers  and  undertakers,  of  Scottdale,  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  was  born  in  Ayershire,  Scotland,  October  29,  1869,  the  son  of 
John  and  Sarah  (Bell)  Ferguson. 

John  Ferguson  and  his  family  emigrated  to  this  country  from  Scotland  in 
1882.  He  came  here  for  the  purpose  of  assuming  charge  of  some  furnaces  in 
the  vicinity  of  Pittsburg,  but  the  methods  employed  in  such  business  here  were 
so  vastly  different  to  those  he  was  accustomed  to  in  his  native  land  that  he  soon 
gave  up  the  proposition  and  removed  to  East  Huntingdon  township,  near  Scott- 
dale. where  he  purchased  a  small  place.  Mr.  Ferguson  was  a  devoted  member 
of  the  Presbyterian  church  until  his  removal  to  East  Huntingdon,  after  which 
he  affiliated  with  the  L'nited  Brethren  church.  His  wife  was  Sarah  Bell,  and 
their  children  were :  Anna  J.,  deceased  ;  Benjamin,  a  mechanic  of  Dayton,  Ohio  ; 
he  was  oneof  the  first  to  introduce  the  Encaustic  tile  in  America;  Thomas,  a 
marine  engineer  of  New  York  city  ;  William,  deceased  ;  Sarah  H.,  wife  of  Sam- 
uel Campbell,  of  Greensburg;  \\'illiam,  deceased:  John,  deceased:  William, 
mentioned  hereafter :  Ruth,  widow  of  Joseph  Graham,  of  Latrobe,  Pennsyl- 
vania :  Robert,  deceased :  and  Frances  Ellen,  deceased.  The  death  of  John  Fer- 
guson occurred  in  February,  1899. 

William  Ferguson,  eighth  child  of  John  and  Sarah  (Bell)  Ferguson,  ob- 
tained his  education  in  the  public  schools,  first  at  Hurst  and  later  at  Eversam 
school  house.  At  "the  age  of  thii-teen  he  left  school  and  removed  to  Cleveland; 
Ohio,  where  he  was  for  three  years  in  the  employ  of  his  brother.  He  then  re- 
turned to  the  old  homestead  near  Scottdale,  and  found  employment  with  the  Mc- 
Clure  Coke  Company,  being  in  the  emplov  of  this  firm  for  three  years.  He  then 
established  himself  with  J.  W.  Ruth  &  Company  in  the  planing  mill  business, 
and  after  several  years  thus  occupied,  in  company  with  Mr.  D.  N.  Carroll,  es- 
tablished the  Scottdale  planing  mill,  conducting  the  business  under  the  firm 
name  of  Carroll,  Ferguson  &  Company,  and  achieved  considerable  success. 
This  arrangement  existed  for  three  years,  when  Mr.  Ferguson  sold  his  interest 
in  the  planing  mill.  He  then  studied  embalming  in  the  Barns  School  of  Em- 
balming, Chicago,  Illinois,  of  which  institution  he  is  a  graduate.     In   1900  he 


l68  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


formed  a  partnership  with  ^Ir.  James  Owens,  and  in  August  of  that  year  they 
entered  into  their  present  furniture  and  undertaking  business  at  326  Pittsburg 
street,  Scottdale.  Both  of  these  gentlemen  are  enterprising,  progressive  men, 
and  they  conduct  a  very  successful  business,  carrying  a  full  line  of  furniture, 
linoleum,  carpet,  wall-paper,  etc.,  the  embalming  department  being  presided 
over  by  the  proprietors,  who  are  both  capable  embalmers.  They  occupy  a 
building  twenty  by  one  hundred  feet,  two  floors,  with  a  wareroom  sixty-four  by 
one  hundred  feet.  The  business  is  constantly  increasing,  owing  to  the  honest 
and  exact  business  methods  employed.  Mr.  Ferguson  holds  membership  in  the 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  Scottdale  Lodge,  No.  885,  and  the  White  Star  Encampment.  He 
represented  his  lodge  at  a  meeting  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  the  O.  of  A.,  Scottdale  Council,  No.  24,  of  which  he  was  president 
in  1903  ;  and  member  and  ex-treasurer  of  B.  P.  O.  E.,  Scottdale  Lodge,  No. 
■/jy.  Mr.  Ferguson  married,  September  11,  1890,  Sallie  O.  Mumaw,  daughter 
of  George  and  Lizzie  Mumaw,  of  East  Huntingdon  township.  Their  children 
were  Maud  Ruth,  George  Mumaw,  John  Mumaw.  Mr.  Ferguson  and  his  fam- 
ily are  members  of  the  United  Brethren  church,  and  have  their  residence  at  302 
Laucks  avenue,  Scottdale. 

I 

JAMES  P.  OWENS,  one  of  the  progressive  business  men  of  Scott- 
dale, Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  in  Bedford  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, March  19,  1855,  a  son  of  Jonathan  and  Sarah  A.  (Donohoe)  Owens, 
both  natives  of  Bedford  county,  and  grandson  of  William  Owens,  who  was  also 
a  native  of  Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  his  entire  life  was  spent ;  'he 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  and  was  an  excellent  farmer.  His  wife  was 
Elizabeth  McVicker,  and  they  reared  a  family  of  eleven  children,  eight  sons  and 
tliree  daughters,  all  of  whom  removed  to  the  west.  James  Donohoe,  the  ma- 
ternal grandfather  of  James  P.  Owens,  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  who  emigrated 
to  the  L^nited  States,  locating  in  Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  engaged 
for  many  years  in  the  conduct  of  a  tannery. 

Jonathan  Owens,  son  of  William  Owens,  and  father  of  James  P.  Owens, 
was  a  wagon  and  carriage  manufacturer  at  Centerville,  Bedford  county,  a  bus- 
iness which  he  conducted  successfully  for  many  vears.  Politically  he  was  a 
sound  Democrat,  and  a  public-spirited,  exemplary  citizen.  In  church  relations 
he  affiliated  with  the  Roman  Catholic  faith.  He  married  Sarah  A.  Donohoe,  and 
the  following  named  children  were  born  to  them  :  IMary  J.,  wife  of  W.  J.  Miller, 
of  Scottdale;  Alexander,  deceased:  Elizabeth  A.,  James  P.,  mentioned  here- 
after :  Margaret  F.,  wife  of  Martin  Ames,  of  Scottdale :  William  T.,  deceased ; 
Ella  K.,  deceased:  and  Emily,  deceased.  The  death  of  Jonathan  Owens  oc- 
curred in  1866,  and  in  his  demise  the  community  lost  a  useful,  industrious  citi- 
zen.    His  wife  passed  away  in  1874,  in  Cumberland,  Maryland. 

James  P.  Owens  was  reared  in  Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  received 
his  educational  training  in  the  common  schools  of  that  county.  He  worked  the 
home  farm  for  his  mother  until  he  attained  his  majority,  when  he  became  a 
worker  in  the  iron  industry,  being  variously  employed  as  a  puddler.  In  1880 
he  removed  to  Scottdale,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  1886  was 
?ppointed  by  President  Cleveland  postmaster  at  Scottdale,  taking  charge  of  the 
office  on  September  i  of  that  year.  He  was  thus  engaged  for  four  vears,  dis- 
charging his  duties  with  great  credit  to  himself  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
community.  In  1890  he  engaged  in  the  livery  business  and  stock  dealing,  and 
three  vears  later  was  appointed  United  .States  revenue  ganger  of  the  Twentv- 
third  Pennsylvania  district,  which  position  he  resigned  in   1898.     He  took  a 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  169 

course  in  embalming  in  the  Pennsylvania  College  of  Embalming,  and  entered 
into  the  liverv  and  undertaking  business.  In  August,  1900,  he  entered  into  part- 
nership with' \\'illiani  Ferguson,  and  together  they  formed  their  furniture  and 
undertaking  business,  which  they  have  since  conducted  with  the  most  gratify- 
ing success. 

Mr.  Owens  is  a  prominent  active  worker  in  the  ncmocratic  party,  and  has 
held  various  elective  offices  in  his  borough,  among  them  being  that  of  chief 
burgess,  to  which  he  was  elected  in  the  sparing  of  1900.  He  has  also  served  as 
member  of  the  borough  council,  and  for  years  has  been  a  member  of  the  Denio- 
cratic  county  committee.  He  holds  membership  in  the  Benevolent  Protective 
Order  of  Elks,  Xo.  "y.  Scottdale  Lodge,  of  which  he  was  the  first  exalted  ruler 
and  is  the  present  treasurer.  He  is  a  member  of  the  St.  John  the  Baptist's 
Catholic  church.  In  18S0  Mr.  Owens  was  married  to  Eva.  daughter  of  Casper 
Gloss  of  Cumberland.  Maryland.  Her  death  occurred  in  1897.  They  were  the 
parents  of  the  following  named  children:  J.  Raymond,  a  plumber  at  Elkins, 
West  Virginia:  Lulu  ^L.  Maud  A.,  Ralph  f.,  Joseph  V.,  and  Clarence  E. 

THEODORE  C.  KENNEY,  a  prominent  factor  in  the  business  cir- 
cles of  Scottdale.  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  a  man  who  has  veiy 
materiallv  assisted  in  the  upbuilding  and  advancement  of  the  town,  is  the  son 
of  John  A\'.  and  Catherine  (Keller)  Kenney,  both  natives  of  Berks  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  of  Irish  origin.  The  progenitor  of  the  Kenney  family  in 
America  was  the  great-grandfather  of  Theodore  C,  who  emigrated  to  the 
United  States  from  Ireland,  accompanied  by  his  wife  and  family,  locating  in 
Berks  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  a  very  early  day  of  its  settling.  Among  his 
children  was  a  son  named  Thomas. 

Thomas  Kenney.  grandfather  of  Theodore  C.  Kenney,  was  but  five  years 
of  age  when  he  came  with  his  parents  to  this  country,  and  his  entire  life  was 
spent  in  Berks  county.  In  1797  he  married  Rebecca  Mc^lichael,  and  reared  a 
family  of  seven  children,  namely :  Robinson,  William,  John  \V.,  Sariah,  Lu- 
cinda,  ^larg-aret  and  Patty  .\nn. 

John  \V.  Kenney.  third  son  of  Thomas  and  Rebecca  (McMichael)  Kenney. 
was  born  July  5,  1817,  in  Berks  county.  He  was  by  trade  a  mining  engineer, 
which  occupation  he  followed  all  his  active  business  life,  and  in  which  he  was 
verv  proficient :  he  also  owned  and  cultivated  a  farm.  Mr.  Kenney  was  a  pub- 
lic-spirited man,  interested  in  all  local  afifairs,  and  served  his  township  as  school 
director,  besides  holding  various  other  local  offices,  and  was  a  member  of  the 
F.  and  A.  M.  He  was  a  member  of  the  IMethodist  Episcopal  church,  and  an 
earnest  and  efficient  church  work.  Mr.  Kennev  married  Catherine  Keller,  who 
Avas  of  German  origin,  the  daughter  of  Jacob  Keller,  a  farmer  of  Berks  county, 
Pennsylvania.  Their  children  were:  Jacob  Franklin,  deceased:  William  Rob- 
inson, deceased:  Theodore  C.  mentioned  hereafter:  Elizabeth  Ellen,  deceased; 
Thomas  Jefferson,  now  a  resident  of  Pottstown,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  is 
employed  as  a  mill  worker :  Clara,  wife  of  Michael  Bannon,  and  they  live  in 
Geigertown.  Berks  countv,  Pennsylvania:  Aarona  P.,  deceased:  John  Wayne, 
a  farmer  of  Pottstown  :  Webster,  of  Reading,  a  conductor  on  the  Philadelphia 
and  Rearling  railroad:  and  Lucinda,  wife  af  .\dam  Styre,  a  farmer  of  Chester 
county.  Pennsxlvania.  Tlie  death  of  Jolin  W.  Kenney  occurred  in  1898.  at  the 
advanced  age  of  ei<'hty-one  vears,  and  his  wife  passed  away  in  1805. 

Theodore  C.  Kenney,  third  son  of  John  W.  and  Catherine  (Keller)  Ken- 
ney. was  born  in  Carnarvon  township,  Berks  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  there 
received  his  intellectual  traim'ng  in  the  common  schools.     He  learned  engineer- 


lyo  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

ing  with  his  father,  and  receiving  an  advantageous  offer  from  a  Mr.  Richards, 
builder  of  blast  furnaces,  accompanied  him  to  southern  Illinois  and  worked  for 
some  tmie  as  time-keeper.  His  diligent,  conscientious  work  soon  won  for  him 
a  promotion  to  foreman  on  the  construction  of  a  large  furnace.  He  retained 
this  position  for  eighteen  months,  and  then  went  into  the  machinerv  depart- 
ment, where  he  assumed  charge  of  the  blast  engine  and  pumps,  remaining  there 
for  four  and  a  half  years.  He  then  removed  to  Pittsburg,  where  he  was  em- 
ployed as  engineer  in  the  firm  of  Laughlin  &  Company,  running  their  blast  en- 
gine for  nearly  two  years.  His  next  removal  was  to  Scottdale,  October,  1872, 
and  there  he  identified  himself  with  the  "Charlotte  Furnace  Company,"  having 
charge  of  the  blast  engine  and  machinery  of  their  furnace.  In  1880  he  re- 
ceived an  excellent  offer  from  an  Ohio  furnace  company  in  Steubenville,  and 
going  there  assumed  charge  of  a  blast  furnace,  remaining  there  but  five 
months  Mr.  Kenney  then  decided  to  go  into  business  for  himself,  and  believ- 
ing Scottdale  to  be  a  good  field,  removed  to  that  place  and  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  J.  D.  Hill.  They  engaged  in  the  foundry  and  machine  shop  business 
under  the  firm  name  of  Hill  &  Kenney.  In  August  of  1880  they  purchased  land 
on  which  to  erect  their  foundry  and  the  machine  shop  of  Everson,  Macrum  & 
Company.  The  firm  made  a  specialty  of  coke  manufacturers'  supplies,  and 
carried  a  full  line  of  brass  and  iron  fittings,  brass  castings  and  machinery  sup- 
plies. Thev  conducted  a  very  successful  business,  and  the  goods  that  left  their 
shop  won  a  reputation  for  reliability  and  quality.  They  employed  twenty  men 
and  transacted  a  business  of  $40,000  a  year.  This  arrangement  existed  until 
1884.  when  Mr.  Hill  retired  from  the  business  and  Mr.  A.  K.  Stauffer  became 
his  successor,  the  firm  name  changing  to  Kenney  &  Company.  The  works 
have  since  been  enlarged,  new  departments  have  been  added,  and  the  manu- 
facture of  stationary  steam  has  been  added  to  their  business.  '  The  firm  of  Ken- 
ney &  Company  existed  until  December,  1901,  when  it  was  merged  into  a  cor- 
poration of  the  same  name,  capitalized  at  $125,000.  This  was  effected  after  the 
shops- were  destroyed  by  fire,  October  11,  1901,  which  was  almost  a  complete 
loss.  The  business  had  rapidly  increased,  the  transactions  amounting  to  $125,- 
000  per  year.  The  former  officers  of  the  new  corporation  were:  A.  K.  Stauffer, 
president :  E.  L.  Rutherford,  vice-president  and  secretary ;  Walter  L.  Stauffer, 
treasurer ;  and  T.  C.  Kenney,  general  manager.  The  board  of  directors  were : 
A.  K.  Stauffer,  E.  L.  Rutherford,  T.  C.  Kennev.  E.  A.  Humphries,  Worth  Kill- 
patrick.  Robert  Skemp,  B.  F.  Stauft,  John  Dick,  J.  R.  Smith,  B.  F.  Overholt, 
M.  J.  Kennedy,  J.  S.  Parker,  Martin  Loucks.  The  present  officers  of  the  cor- 
poration are :  B.  F.  Overholt,  president :  A.  K.  Stauffer,  vice-president ;  E.  L. 
Rutherford,  secretary ;  and  Walter  F.  Stauffer,  treasurer.  The  present  board 
of  directors  are:  B.  F.  Overholt,  A.  K.  Stauffer,  E.  L.  Rutherford,  E.  A.  Hum- 
phries, J.  A.  Armstrong,  M.  J.  Kennedy,  J.  S.  Parker,  Martin  Loucks  and 
Walter  F.  Stauffer. 

In  1904  Mr.  Kenne}'  resigned  his  position  as  general  manager,  and  in  No- 
vember of  the  same  year  accepted  a  position  with  the  Vulcan  Iron  Works,  man- 
ufacturers of  hoisting  and  haulage  engines  and  general  mining  machinery,  of 
Wilkes-Barre.  He  covers  territory  west  of  the  Allegheny  mountains.  Prompt, 
reliable  and  energetic,  ]\Ir.  Kenney  has  rendered  the  most  valuable  services 
to  the  last  named  firm,  and  also  represents  the  Pennsylvania  Boiler  Works, 
manufacturers  of  all  types  of  boilers,  tanks  and  general  plate  steel  work,  Erie 
Pennsylvania.  His  entire  business  career  has  been  successful,  due  in  a  great 
part  to  his  upright,  honorable  business  methods  and  unimpeachable  integrity. 
Politically  he  is  a  sound  Republican.     He  is  a  member  of  Marion  Lodge,  No. 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUXTY.  171 

^02.  Y .  and  A.  M. :  Urania  Ro_\al  Arch  Chapter.  X'n.  u;-'.  of  Grecnsbnrg.  Kcd- 
ro:i  Comnianderv,  K.  T..  Xo.  18.  of  Greensburg. 

^Ir.  Kenny  married,  April  28,  1874,  Emma  J.  Cant,  of  Pittsburg,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Joseph  Gant.  Their  children  were:  i.  Joseph  C.,  a  machinical  engineer, 
for  six  vears  served  as  superintendent  of  his  father's  works ;  he  is  a  Republican 
in  politics,  and  was  for  three  years  a  memlicr  of  the  borough  council  of  Scott- 
dale:  he  married  Jane  Stillwoggan.  and  they  have  one  child.  Emma  J.  2.  John 
F.,  in  the  emplov  of  the  A\'estinghouse  Machine  Company,  having  charge  of 
one  of  the  order  departments :  he  served  for  over  two  years  in  the  Spanish- 
American  war,  a  member  of  the  Tenth  Pennsylvania  Regiment.  3.  William 
M.,  a  machinist  in  the  employ  of  the  United  States  Steel  Company  of  Pitts- 
burg. 4.  Charles  Morgan,  also  a  machinist  with  the  United  States  Steel  Com- 
pany. 5.  Janet  M.  Mr.  Kenney  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church. 

JOHX  F.  EICHER  was  born  July  12.  1868.  Pie  attended  the  public 
schools  until  he  was  about  fifteen  years  old,  and  then  took  a  position  as  a 
daubler  and  motcher  in  the  sheet  mills  in  Scottdale-,  remaining  there  for  two 
vears.  He  tlien  learned  the  trade  of" carpentering  with  his  father  and  continued 
at  that  for  about  five  years.  In  1888  he  went  to  Greensburg  and -spent  one  vear 
there  as  a  journeyman  carpenter,  thence  to  Jeannette,  remaining  there  four 
years  as  journeyman.  He  then  returned  to  Scottdale  and  worked  as  a  jour- 
neyman there  for  a  short  time,  then  formed  a  partnership  with  his  brother, 
L.  R.  Eicher,  and  did  contracting  and  building  under  the  firm  title  of  Eicher 
Bros.  This  name  existed  for  five  years  and  nine  months,  at  the  expiration  of 
which  time  L.  R.  Eicher  returned  to  journeyman  work  and  John  F.  continued 
contracting  and  building  alone.  To-day  he  is  the  leading  contractor  in  Scott- 
dale and  furnishes  employment  to  some  forty  men,  his  operations  extending 
through  Fayette  and  Westmoreland  counties.  He  has  been  awarded  many  of 
the  largest  contracts  in  that  portion  of  the  state,  among  them  being :  the  public 
school  building  at  Alverton  ;  the  municipal  building  at  Scottdale  ;  the  Fairchance 
public  school  building,  and  numerous  others  of  less  importance.  He  also  does 
considerable  private  building  and  selling  on  his  own  account.  In  1902  the, 
Broadway  Planing  Mill  Company  was  formed,  l\Ir.  Eicher  being  one  of  the 
promoters  and  half  owner  of  the  concern  ;  they  do  a  general  planing  mill  busi- 
ness, with  lumber  yards,  etc.  He  established  the  shoe  business  at  106  Pitts- 
burg street  in  company  with  W.  H.  Niswanger,  where  they  have  a  large  trade, 
the  firm  title  being  Niswanger  and  Eicher.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Scott- 
dale Savings  and  Trust  Company,  the  Broadway  National  Bank,  and  is  one  of 
the  promoters  and  a  stockholder  in  the  Braddock  Trust  Company,  formerly 
known  as  the  People's  Trust  Company,  of  Braddock.  He  also  has  interests  in 
\he  Scottdale  Foundry  and  Machine  Company,  whose  plant  he  erected.  In  local 
aft'airs  he  is  ever  glad  to  further  the  interests  of  the  community,  and  has  served 
on  the  borough  council  for  three  years,  officiating  as  chairman  for  one  year. 
His  politics  are  Republican.  He  is  a  member  of  the  A.  I.  O.  K.  M.  of  Scott- 
dale. 

Mr.  Eicher  married.  July  2,  T887,  C.  Belle  Ridenour.  daughter  of  George 
W.  and  PriscilJa  (liooher)  Ridenour,  of  East  Huntingdon  township,  West- 
moreland county.  They  have  two  children,  Bessie  M.  and  \'.  Elizabeth  Eicher, 
living,  and  one,  Frank  A.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  eleven.  They  attend  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church. 


172  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUXTY. 

LEWIS  R.  EICHER,  contractor  and  Iniilder  of  Scottdale,  was  born 
November  23,  1859.  -He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  native  place,  then 
took  a  course  of  bookkeeping  and  read  medicine  at  the  State  Normal  school  at 
Valparaiso,  Indiana,  during-  the  winter  of  1880-81.  In  the  spring  of  1881  he 
returned  to  Scottdale  and  took  up  the  trade  of  carpentering  with  his  father. 
He  continued  at  that  for  two  years,  and  then  entered  the  sheet  mill,  beginning 
at  the  bottom  and  working  up  through  all  the  grades  to  that  of  roller.  At  the 
end  of  four  years  his  health  failed,  so  he  returned  to  the  carpenter  business, 
working  as  a  journeyman  in  Jeannette  and  Scottdale.  In  1894  he  and  his 
bi'other,  John  F.  Eicher,  formed  a  partnership  as  contractors  and  builders  under 
the  firm  title  of  Eicher  Bros.,  which  firm  existed  for  a  period  of  five  years  and 
nine  months.  Lewis  R.  Eicher  then  withdrew  and  engaged  in  contracting  and 
building  on  his  own  account,  then  entered  the  employ  of  J.  W.  Ruth  as  outside 
foro'nan,  and  during  a  period  of  two  years  erected  the  First  National  Bank,  the 
Savings  and  Trust  Company's  building  and  the  private  residences  of  ^Messrs. 
Hill,  Keister  and  Jarritt.  In  1902  he  again  went  into  contracting  on  his  own 
account,  since  which  time  he  has  erected  the  J.  S.  Parker  block,  the  Overholt 
flats,  the  dwelling  of  George  Warner,  the  dwelling  of  Martin  King,  at  New 
Haven,  Pennsylvania,  and  many  others.  He  confines  his  operations  mainly  to 
Scottdale  and  vicinity,  and  has  as  many  as  fifteen  people  in  his  employ.  Mr. 
Eicher  is  a  stockholder  in  some  of  the  largest  and  most  important  enterprises 
of  Scottdale,  and  is  a  member  of  the  borough  council.  He  is  a  charter  member 
of  the  A.  I.  O.  K.  M.,  No.  342,  Arpad  Lodge,  of  Scottdale. 

Mr.  Eicher  married,  October  20,  1881,  Cynthia  M.  Graft,  daughter  of 
Jacob  L.  and  Harriet  Graft.  Their  children  are :  Charles  F.,  Ruby,  Florence. 
Herman  R.,  Harrison  C,  Leroy,  Ethel  May,  William,  Alfa,  and  Ralph  G..  who 
died  In  infancy.    They  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

JAMES  H.  POOL,  of  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania,  general  manager  of 
the  Broadway  Planing  Mill  Company,  is  a  native  of  Hempfield  township,  West- 
moreland county,  Pennsylvania,  born  November  26.  1854.  He  is  a  son  of  Sam- 
uel and  Sophia  (Bierer)  Pool,  and  grandson  of  Zachariah  Pool  and  John 
Bierer.  Zachariah  Pool  (paternal  grandfather)  was  a  native  of  eastern  Penn- 
sylvania, but  in  his  younger  days  crossed  the  mountains  and  located  in  West- 
moreland county,  where  he  devoted  his  attention  entirely  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits until  his  death  in  1881,  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-eight  years.  John 
Bierer  (maternal  grandfather)  was  a  native  of  Germany,  from  whence  he  came 
to  America,  locating  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  being  one  of  the 
earliest  settlers  in  the  vicinity  of  Greensburg.  His  death  occurred  in  1849,  he 
having  attained  a  ripe  old  age.  Samuel  Pool  (father)  was  a  native  of  West- 
moreland county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  successfully  conducted  extensive 
farming  operations,  from  which  he  derived  a  comfortable  livelihood  and  a  fair 
competence  for  his  declining  years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  English  Lutheran 
church,  and  a  worthy  citizen  of  the  community  in  which  he  resided.  His  wife, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Sophia  Bierer,  died  in  1887.  and  he  then  made  his 
home  with  his  son,  Zachariah  T.  Pool,  at  Greensburg. 

James  H.  Pool  was  reared  on  his  father's  farm,  and  his  boyhood  was  spent 
in  attending  school  in  the  winter  and  assisting  with  the  varied  duties  of  the  farm 
during  the  remainder  of  the  year.  When  seventeen  years  of  age  he  left  his 
home  and  went  to  Greensburg  in  order  to  learn  the  trade  of  carpenter,  and  for 
five  years  thereafter  worked  at  the  same,  having  located  at  Manor  station 
some  eight  miles  from  the  county  seat.    In  the  fall  of  1879  he  took  up  his  resi- 


■  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  173 

deuce  in  Scottdale  and  formed  a  partnership  with  Samuel  J.  Zearlev.  the  tirm 
name  being  Zearley  &  Pool.  They  engaged  in  the  planing  mill  business,  and  in 
their  extensive  mill  and  factory,  which  were  brick  buildings,  et|uipped  with  the 
finest  and  most  improved  modern  machinery,  and  operated  by  a  large  force  of 
skilled  mechanics,  they  manufactured  doors,  sash,  blinds,  frames,  floors,  siding, 
etc.  In  1894  Air.  Pool  purchased  the  interest  of  his  partner  and  operated  the 
plant  alone  for  two  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  he  disposed  of  the 
business  to  Corral  Brothers.  In  1897  he  accepted  the  office  of  general  man- 
ager of  the  Broadway  Planing  Mill  Company,  in  which  capacity  he  is  serving  at 
the  present  time  (.1905).  Mr.  Pool  is  one  of  the  most  enterprising  citizens  of 
Scottdale,  bears  a  full  share  in  the  promotion  of  community  interests,  and  has 
won  for  himself  an  exceptional  record  for  strictest  integrity  and  uprightness. 
Me  is  a  member  and  trustee  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Scottdale,  and  holds 
membership  in  the  Royal  Arcanum  and  the  Protected  Home  Circle.  Mr.  Pool 
was  married  September  24,  1885.  to  Ellen  Rainer,  daughter  of  A.  L.  Rainer,  of 
Scottdale,  and  two  children  have  been  born  to  them,  Edna  B.  and  Gertrude  R. 
Pool.    ]Mrs.  Pool,  the  mother  of  these  children,  died  November  22,  1895. 

ELMER  WELSH,  a  representative  citizen  of  Ruffsdale,  where  he  is 
serving  at  the  present  time  (1905)  in  the  capacity  of  justice  of  the  peace,  is  a 
lineal  descendant  of  John  Welsh,  a  native  of  }^Iaryland,  from  whence  he  mi- 
grated to  the  state  of  Pennsylvania,  settling  in  Beaver  county  about  the  year 
1790.  where  he  took  up  land,  followed  farming  and  was  also  the  proprietor  of  a 
hotel.  In  May,  1905,  he  built  a  new  store  room  and  business  block  on  the 
main  business  street  of  Ruffsdale,  with  residence  and  banquet  hall  in  connec- 
tion, and  does  a  general  merchandise  business,  dealing  in  dry  goods,  notions, 
hardware,  groceries,  furniture,  in  fact  everything  to  be  found  in  a  first  class 
general  merchandise  store,  and  has  built  up  a  good  business.  He  was  a  lieu- 
tenant in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  during  one  of  the  battles  in  which  he 
participated  lost  one  of  his  legs,  thus  incapacitating  him  for  further  active 
service.     He  was  the  fatehr  of  two  sons :  John  and  William  Welsh. 

William  Welsh,  son  of  John  Welsh,  was  born,  lived  and  died  in  Beaver 
county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  followed  farming  and  contracting,  furnishing 
the  stone  for  the  Erie  canal.  His  life  was  a  useful  and  honorable  one,  and  in  all 
the  relations  of  his  career  he  displayed  the  utmost  integrity.  He  married  Beu- 
lah  C.  Cooper,  whose  father  was  a  doctor  of  some  note.  He  practiced  his  pro- 
fession in  Bedford  county,  where  he  also  conducted  a  hotel  for  a  number  of 
years.  Their  children  we're  :  Seth  McClure,  of  whom  later  ;  James  ;  Mary,  mar- 
ried Samuel  Barnes ;  Annie,  married  Anthony  Douhett ;  Beulah,  married  Sam- 
uel McClure;  George  B. :  Sidney:  Benjamin  F.,  deceased. 

Seth  McClure  Welsh,  eldest  son  of  William  and  Bcnlah  C.  (Cooper) 
\\'elsh,  was  born  A.  D..  1819,  in  Beaver  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  a 
farmer  and  a  rural  coal  operator,  which  lines  of  work  he  followed  successfully 
for  a  number  of  years  in  his  native  county.  .Accomjjanied  by  his  family,  in 
1878,  he  went  to  Kansas,  where  his  death  occurred  in  1879.  He  was  also  a 
local  preacher  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  his  influence  for  good 
was  largely  felt  in  the  community.  He  married  Sarah  Ann  Ilannum.  daughter 
of  John  and  Margaret  Hannum.  and  their  children  were:  Philip,  a  farmer  of 
Kansas:  Artcmus.  a  resident  of  Kansas:  :\Iary  J.,  wife  of  Abram  Simberly : 
Anna  M.,  wife  of  Henry  Siebkey :  Charles,  died  in  childhood:  Elmer,  of  whom 
later:  Emma  E.,  wife  of  William  Shanafelt.  of  Portland.  Oregon. 

Elmer  Welsh,  youngest  son  of  Seth  IMcClure  and  Sarah  Ann  (Ilannum) 


174  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

Welsh,  was  born  in  Beaver  county,  Pennsylvania,  March  2,  1S64.  He  was  ed- 
ucated in  the  common  schools  and  the  State  Normal  School  of  Illinois,  and 
when  fourteen  years  of  age  accompanied  his  parents  to  Kansas.  In  that  state 
he  engaged  in  farming,  was  night  machine  maii  two  years  for  the  Consolidated 
Barbed  Wire  Manufacturing  Company,  and  for  a  period  of  one  year  followed 
the  building  of  bridge  abutments.  He  returned  to  Pennsylvaiiia,  in  1886,  set- 
tling in  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  was  engaged  mostly  in  farming  until 
April,  1904,  since  which  time  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  coal  business,  buy- 
ing and  selling  coal  lands  in  Washington  and  \\  estmoreland  counties.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church  of  Scottdale,  and  of  the  Grand  Fraternity, 
Lodge  Xo.  8,  Ruffsdale,  in  which  he  passed  several  chairs.  He  is  a  staunch 
Republican  in  politics,  and  exerts  his  influence  in  behalf  of  the  party  whose 
principles  he  advocates.  He  has  held  several  township  offices,  and  is  serving 
as  justice  of  the  peace,  having  been  elected  to  that  office  in  February,  1905. 
Mr.  Welsh  married  Annie  Porter,  daughter  of  W.  Newton  and  Mary  Porter. 
Their  children  are:  Mary  A.,  born  May  26,  1888,  a  graduate  of  Scottdale  high 
school,  class  of  1905;  Florence  A.,  born  June  28,  1890;  Emma  K.,  born  De- 
cember 24,  1892;  Nelson  P.  and  Nellie  I.,  twins,  born  September  18,  1895; 
Elizabeth  C,  born  August  16,  1897;  W.  Newton,  born  April  12,  1903;  and 
Elmer  Edward,  born  October  i,  1905. 

FREDERICK  L.  KECK,  the  genial  and  poinilar  proprietor  of  the 
Hotel  Albion,  at  Rufifsdale,  Pennsylvania,  is  a  son  of  Christian  Keck,  who  emi- 
grated from  Germany  about  1865  and  settled  at  New  Stanton,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  followed  the  boiling  of  salt  for  a  livelihood  for  a  period  of  almost  five 
years.  He  then  located  in  the  town  of  Morgan,  remaining  for  about  seven 
years,  during  which  time  he  was  engaged  at  general  work.  Later  he  moved 
to  Scottdale  where  he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  for  three  years,  after 
which  he  changed  his  place  of  residence  to  Everson,  Fayette  county,  where 
for  a  period  of  about  eight  years  he  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  and  the 
management  of  a  hotel,  both  of  which  enterprises  proved  financially  success- 
ful. He  married, ,  October  16.  1866,  Anna  Hunker,  daughter  of  John  G.  and 
Ossilla  (Hough)  Hunker,  and  their  children  were:  Anna  N.,  unmarried,  re- 
sides at  home;  Martin  Christian;  Frederick  L.,  of  whom  later. 

Frederick  L.  Keck  was  born  in  Fayette  county,  Pennsvlvania,  Jami^irv  8. 
1878.  His  preliminary  education  was  obtained  in  the  public  schools  adjacent 
to  his  home,  and  later  he  pursued  advanced  studies  at  the  Greensburg  Sem- 
inary. Lipon  attaining  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  engaged  in  the  hotel  business 
in  Ruffsdale,  Westmoreland  county,  and  for  three  years  successfully  managed 
the  old  Ruffsdale  Hotel  which  was  largely  patronized.  In  1902  he  built  the 
hotel  which  he  now  occupies,  known  as  the  Albion,  which  has  accommodations 
for  sixty  guests,  is  equipped  with  all  modern  improvements  which  adds  to  the 
comforts  and  pleasure  of  his  guests,  is  noted  for  its  excellent  cuisine,  and  in  all 
respects  ranks  among  the  leading  hotels  in  the  county  and  well  merits  the 
patronage  of  the  traveling  public.  Mr.  Keck  is  courteous  and  attentive  to  the 
regular  patrons  and  to  the  transient  guests  of  the  house  alike,  and  is  well 
adapted  to  the  line  of  business  he  has  chosen  or  his  life  work. 

HON.  NEVIN  A.  CORT.  Among  the  well-known  members  of  the 
Westmoreland  county  bar  must  be  numbered  Hon.  Nevin  A.  Cort,  of  Greens- 
burg.    He  was  born  March  20,  1867,  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 

He  was  educated  at  the  Greensburg  Seminarv.     At  the  age  of  fourteen 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMOKELAXD   COUXTV.  175 

he  obtained  tlie  position  of  bookkeeper  with  the  firm  of  J.  Bowman  &  Son,  with 
whom  he  remained  two  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  reahzing  the  advantages 
to  be  obtained  from  a  more  extensive  educational  equipment  than  he  feh  hmi- 
self  to  be  possessed  of,  he  attended  school  for  one  year  and  then  taught  for 
two  years.  The  two  years  immediately  following  he  spent  in  the  service  of 
1.  Bowman  &  Son,  his  former  employers,  and  then  entered  Franklin  &  ^lar- 
shall  College,  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  remained  three  years.  On 
leaving  that  institution  he  began  to  read  law  with  A.  .M.  Sloan,  of  Greensburg, 
and  on  February  25,  1893,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Westmoreland  county. 
He  moved  to  Blount  Pleasant,  June  5,  1893,  and  there  entered  upon  the  practice 
of  his  profession.  He  opened  an  office  in  Greensburg,  October  i,  1900,  has 
remained  there  up  to  the  present  time,  and  has  built  up  an  extensive  practice. 
For  nine  years  he  has  held  the  office  of  solicitor  for  the  borough  of  Mount 
Pleasant.  He  belongs  to  Lodge  Xo.  350,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  the  R.  A.,  the  I.  O.  H., 
and  is  one  of  the  charter  members  of  the  B.  P.  O.  E..  Xo.  868,  all  of  Mount 
Pleasant.  In  politics  he  is  on  ardent  Republican,  and  is  \ery  active  in  the 
councils  of  his  party.  Mr.  Cort  married  Mary  E.  Laird,  and  their  children  are: 
1  Iclen  L.,  born  }ilay  9,  1895  ;  Thomas  L.,  born  May  19,  1S96  ;  and  M.  Margaret, 
born  July  31,  1902.  Airs.  Cort  is  the  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Margaret  Laird, 
who  were  descendants  from  Scotch  ancestry.  Mr.  Laird  held  the  position  of 
general  superintendent  of  the  Heckla  Coke  Company  of  the  Connellsville  coke 
region  for  many  years. 

:\IRS.  J.  H.  LEIGHTY,  the  genial  proprietor  of  the  Tarr  Hotel, 
Tarr  Station,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  is  the  daughter  of  Thomas 
and  Harriet  (Buttermore)  Cunningham. 

George  Buttermore.  maternal  grandfather,  was  born  and  reared  in  Fa}'- 
ette  county,  and  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  He  owned  a  large  tract  of  valu- 
able, well  cultivated  land  near  Collinsville,  and  was  a  verv  successful  farmer. 
In  religious  faith  he  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church.  He  married  Barbara 
Smith,  and  their  children  are :  John ;  Xancy,  married  Abram  Franks ;  ]\Iary, 
married  a  Mr.  Lyon;  Catherine,  married  George  Richer:  Thomas:  Jackson; 
.Smith.  M.  D. :  Maria,  married  Abram  Franks:  i\fargaret,  married  Harry 
Franks;  Amanda,  married  Benjamin  Baer ;  and  Harriet,  the  mother  of  Airs. 
Leighty. 

Tliomas  and  Harriet  (  Buttermore)  Cunningham  are  the  parents  of  chil- 
dren :  Charles,  a  well  driller  of  Fayette  county ;  Jennie,  deceased,  married  A. 
M.  L'mbel ;  Lillian  X'.,  of  whom  later;  George,  a  stone  mason  of  Collinsville: 
Carrie,  wife  of  W.  A.  Ganiet :  Laura,  married  William  Waite;  Daisy;  Richard. 
an  engineer  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad ;  Harry,  a  farmer  of  Fayette 
county ;  Blanche,  died  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years. 

Lillian  Cunningham  married,  Xovember.  1881,  J.  H.  Leighty.  Their  chil- 
dren were :  \\'alter  H.  and  Ralph  H.  Mrs.  Leighty  is  now  engaged  in  the  con- 
duct of  the  Tarr  Hotel,  and  has  achieved  gratifying  success  in  this  line.  Her 
house  compares  favorably  with  the  best  equipped  hotels  in  this  section,  and  en- 
joys a  generous  patronage. 

JOHN  FREEM.\X.  The  grandfather  of  Jnlin  Freeman,  of  Li^onier 
village,  was  Jacob  Freeman,  who  was  a  miller  bv  trade  and  lived  and  died  in 
the  Ligonier  valley.  He  and  his  wife  were  the  parents  of  children :  John ; 
James;  George,  of  whom  later;  Polly  married  Abraham  Eicher;  and  Hannah, 
married  John  Anstraw. 


176  HISTORY   Of    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

George  Freeman,  son  of  Jacob  Freeman  and  his  wife,  was  burn  in  1S04, 
in  the  Ligonier  valley,  and  learned  the  shoemaker's  trade  which  he  followed 
in  connection  with  farming  throughout  his  life.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  married  Katie  Kriley,  and  their  children 
were:  Jacob,  deceased;  John,  of  whom  later;  James,  a  retired  merchant  of  Mill- 
wood, Pa.;  George,  lives  in  Ligonier;  Nancy,  married  Joseph  Mathews,  and 
after  his  death  married  Robert  Ewing.  The  death  of  Mr.  Freeman  occurred 
in  1868. 

John  Freeman,  son  of  George  and  Katie  (Kriley)  Freeman,  was  born  Jan- 
uary 26,  1832,  in  the  Ligonier  valle\-,  and  attended  the  old  subscription  schools. 
He  remained  at  home,  assisting  his  father  in  the  labors  of  the  farm,  until  he  at- 
tained his  majority,  and  then  went  to  learn  the  shoemaker's  trade  with  Henry 
Burrell.  After  following  the  trade  for  about  three  years  he  purchased  a  farm  in 
Cook  township  on  which  he  lived  until  1866.  He  then  bought  a  farm  in  Ligonier 
township  to  the  cultivation  of  which  he  devoted  himself  assiduously  until  1889, 
when  he  purchased  a  flour  and  feed  mill  at  Ligonier  and  moved  into  the  village. 
This  mill  he  operated  in  partnership  with  his  sons,  under  the  firm  name  of  John 
Freeman  and  Sons,  until  it  was  destroyed  by  fire  on  July  28,  1899,  since  which 
time  he  has  led  a  retired  life  in  Ligonier  village.  He  belongs  to  the  K.  H.,  of 
Greensburg,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  of  Ligonier,  in  which 
for  seventeen  years  he  served  on  the  board  of  trustees.  Mr.  Freeman  married 
Rebecca,  daughter  of  James  and  Hannah  Guffey,  of  Sewickley  township,  and 
their  children  were :  George,  an  engineer  at  Greensburg  •  James,  died  at  the  age 
of  twenty-one;  Sarah  J.,  died  unmarried;  John  M.,  graduated  from  Jefferson 
College,  and  is  an  attorney  in  Pittsburg;  and  Anna  Lucimla,  wife  of  Charles  B. 
Hollingsworth,  of  Greensburg. 

SAMUEL  M.  McKEL'VEY.  The  grandfather  of  Samuel  M.  McKel- 
vey,  of  Lose,  was  James  McKelvey,  born  in  the  Ligonier  valley,  and  was  edu- 
cated for  the  ministry  of  the  Presbyterian  church  but  was  never  ordained.  He 
spent  his  life  in  his  native  valley  where  he  owned  two  large  farms  to  the  culti- 
cation  of  which  lie  applied  himself.  He  married  Jane  Paterson,  and  their  chil- 
dren were :  Sarah,  married  Marshall  Reed ;  Agnes,  married  Aaron  Wells ; 
Reuben  McKinley,  of  whom  later :  John  Jackson  :  James  P. ;  Jane,  married 
Robert  Adams ;  and  Thomas. 

Reuben  McKinley  McKelvey,  son  of  James  and  Jane  (Paterson)  McKel- 
vey, was  born  April  18,  1822.  in  the  Ligonier  valley  where  he  passed  his  life 
in  agricultural  pursuits.  He  purchased  about  1850,  the  farm  which  is  now  the 
property  of  his  son  James.  Fie  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and 
a  Democrat  in  politics.  He  married  Jane  Menoher,  and  their  children  were : 
Samuel  M.,  of  whom  later ;  Jannie,  married  B.  R.  Robb ;  Sadie,  died  unmarried  ; 
James,  a  farmer  on  the  homestead ;  Samantha :  Permelia,  married  Josiah  H. 
Brant:  Catherine,  married  F.  S.  Robb;  Josephine,  married  C.  C.  Brant;  Agnes, 
married  Jacob  E.  Keffer ;  and  Emma,  married  Herbert  Johnson.  They  are  all 
living  m  the  Ligonier  valley. 

Samuel  M.  McKelvey,  son  of  Reuben  McKinley  and  Jane  (J\Ienoher) 
INIcKelvey,  was  born  December  26,  1849,  in  Ligonier  township,  and  received 
his  education  in  the  common  schools  and  at  the  Ligonier  high  school.  He  be- 
came a  farmer  early  in  life,  and  continued  to  devote  himself  to  the  duties  of  a 
husbandman  until  1881.  In  that  year  he  established  in  Lose  the  general  mer- 
cantile business  which  he  has  ever  since  conducted.  He  w^as  appointed  post- 
master of  Lose  in  1893,  and  held  the  office  until  it  was  abandoned,  July  i,  1905, 


HISTORY   OF    irESTMORELAXD   COUNTY.  ijj 

on  account  of  tlie  establishment  of  rural  free  delivery.  He  and  his  family  are 
members  of  the  Preslnterian  church  of  Ligonier.  I\Ir.  McKelvey  is  a  Demo- 
crat. He  married  Elizabeth  J..  tlauKlUer  oi  John  Johnston.  By  this  marriage 
there  were  no  children.  Two  years  after  the  death  of  his  wife  Mr.  McKelvey 
married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Elizabeth  Matthews,  and  their  chil- 
dren were:  Pearl  C,  married  Robert  Johnson:  Ira  J.,  died  in  childhood:  Mary 
E.,  a  graduate  of  the  township  schools,  and  has  taught  for  two  terms ;  and 
Russell  M.,  is  at  home. 

\MLLIAM  M.  CARNS.  The  paternal  grandfather  of  William  M. 
Cams,  of  Laughlinstown,  was  George  Cams,  who  passed  his  entire  life  in 
Mercer  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  engaged  in  the  lumber  business. 
His  son  George  was  born  in  fiercer  county,  and  was  associated  in  busmess 
with  his  father.  He  also  engaged  in  farming  and  contracting  and  helped  to 
build  the  reservoir  at  South  Fork,  which  so  greatly  added  to  the  disasters 
caused  by  the  Johnstown  flood.  Later  he  moved  to  Westmoreland  county, 
where  he  en2:aged  in  farming  near  Ligonier  on  what  was  known  as  the  "Koon 
farm."  During  the  ^^lexican  war  he  was  proprietor  of  a  hotel  at  Laughlinstown 
known  as  the  Horse  Shoe  Bend  Hotel.  ^Ir.  Cams  married  Rachel,  daughter  of 
Frederick  Mathews,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  Ligonier  valley,  and  their  chil- 
dren were :  Gottfried :  Mary,  wife  of  Frank  Shaffer;  Edward,  Hves  in  Cali- 
fornia ;  Frederick  and  Lizzie,  died  in  childhood ;  William  M.,  mentioned  here- 
after:  and  Philip  AI.  The  death  of  ^Ir.  Cams  occurred  in  1849,  and  was  the 
result  of  smallpox  which  he  contracted  from  emigrants  who  were  guests  at  his 
hotel. 

\^'illiam  ^I.  Cams,  son  of  George  and  Rachel  (Mathews)  Cams,  was  born 
December  3,  1840,  in  Mercer  county,  and  was  six  months  old  when  taken  to 
Westmoreland  county  by  his  parents.  He  was  educated  there  in  the  common 
schools,  and  when  a  mere  boy  drove  the  stage  from  Shellsburg  to  Bedford  and 
from  Somerset  to  Johnstown.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in  Company  K,  Fifth  Reg- 
iment, Pennsylvania  A'olunteers,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was 
wounded  three  times  and  was  imprisoned  for  ninety-one  days  in  York  river 
station  house  and  in  Libby.  He  was  honorably  discharged  at  Cumberland, 
Maryland,  April  17,  1865.  After  his  return  home  he  went  to  Venango  county, 
where  he  worked  by  contract  for  the  Empire  Oil  Company  and  others,  drilling 
no  fewer  than  twenty-seven  oil  wells.  In  1878  he  returned  to  the  Ligonier 
valley  and  went  into  the  lumber  business,  in  which  he  has  been  continuously  en- 
gaged ever  since.  He  is  a  member  of  G,  A.  R.,  Ligonier  Post.  He  is  a  Re- 
publican in  politics. 

XOAH  BYERS.  The  paternal  grandfather  of  Noah  Byers,  of  Rector, 
was  a  native  of  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  when  a  young  man  moved 
to  Somerset  county,  where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  agricultural 
labors.  His  children  were:  Jacob,  mentioned  hereafter:  and  five  daughters. 

Jacob  Byers  was  born  in  Somerset  county,  near  Jenncss  cross  roads,  where 
he  spent  his  entire  life  as  a  farmer.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church 
and  a  Republican.  His  wife  was  Elizabeth  P)cacherker,  and  their  children  were: 
D:  niel.  deceased  ;  John,  deceased  ;  Jacob  and  Henry,  who  are  fanners  in  Ligon- 
ier township:  and  Xoah,  mentioned  hereafter.  The  death  of  Mr.  Byers,  the 
father  of  the  family,  occurred  in  i860.     Mrs.  Byers,  the  mother,  died  in  1895. 

Xoah  Byers,  son  of  Jacob  and  Elizabetli   fBcacherkcr)   Byers,  was  born 

October  9.  1848,  in  Somerset  countv  on  the  home  farm.    He  received  his  cdu- 
2    12 


178  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

cation  in  the  common  schools,  and  in  early  life  worked  as  a  teamster.  In  1875 
he  purchased  the  farm  which  is  now  his  home  and  which  was  formerlv  known 
as  the  "Lewis  Rector  farm,"  in  the  Ligonier  valley.  About  1897  he  erected  a 
fine  building  which  he  named  the  Alountain  Home  and  furnished  with  all  the 
modern  improvements.  Here  during  the  summer  he  has  as  many  guests  as  can 
be  accommodated.  The  building  is  situated  four  miles  south  of  Ligonier,  on 
the  Pittsburg,  Westmoreland  &  Somerset  Railroad,  within  two  hundred  yards 
of  the  Mountain  Home  station,  and  near  it  is  one  of  the  best  flowing  springs  in 
the  Ligonier  valley.  Air.  Byers  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Evangelical 
church  of  Rector.  He  believes  in  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party,  but  is 
extremely  independent  in  his  voting.  Mr.  Byers  married  Susan,  daughter  of 
Noah  and  Sarah  (Zimmerman)  Shawley,  and  they  had  children:  Palmer  A., 
an  engineer  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  at  Pitcairn ;  Etta,  married  Jacob 
Johnston,  and  is  now  deceased  ;  Sarah,  married  H.  L.  Phillips,  of  Wilkensburg, 
Pcm-.^\lvania,  and  has  three  children:  Joseph  Arthur  and  Eta  Alelda  (twins), 
born  July  19,  1900;  and  Noah  Howard,  born  July  18,  1903;  Pearl,  at  home. 

DAVID  H.  STITELY,  of  Ligonier,  was  born  September  30,  1858,  in 
Franklin  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and 
in  early  life  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter,  which  he  followed  for  a  few  years 
in  Irwin,  whence  he  moved  to  East  End,  Pittsburg,  and  there  for  some  years 
worked  as  a  carpenter,  contractor  and  builder.  In  1898  he  went  to  the  Lig- 
onier valley  and  settled  at  Laughlinstown,  where  some  \-ears  before  he  had 
purchased  a  farm  known  as  the  "old  Clark  farm."  In  1901  he  organized  a 
lumber  business  in  Ligonier,  which  he  has  successfully  continued  to  the  jiresent 
time,  furnishing  finished  lumber  and  frames  to  the  Ligonier  vallev.  He  is  a 
member  of  Lodge  No.  585.  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Pittsburg.  Air.  Stitely  married  Alice 
K.  Linthimer  and  they  have  children:  David  H.,  Louise  R.,  Thomas.D.,  and 
Walter  Al. 

CHARLES  W.  BOUCHER.  The  name  of  Boucher  is  undoubtedly 
of  French  origin,  antl  that  branch  of  the  family  of  which  Charles  W.  Boucher, 
of  New  Kensington,  is  a  member,  has  long  been  resident  in  Penns\  Ivania. 
Henry  Boucher  lived  in  Somerset  county,  where  his  son,  Isaiah  Boucher,  was 
born  in  1824.  About  1838  Isaiah  Boucher  went  to  Garret  county,  Alaryland, 
where  for  some  years  he  followed  his  trade,  which  was  that  of  a  tinner.  During 
the  latter  portion  of  his  life  he  was  a  farmer.  From  1875  to  1878  he  was 
county  commissioner  of  Garret  county,  and  in  politics  was  a  steadfast  Republi- 
con.  He  was  a  member  of  the  German  Reformed  church.  Air.  Boucher  married 
Lucretia,  daughter  of  Phineas  and  Adeline  Compton,  and  granddaughter  of 
Henry  Compton,  who  was  a  messenger  boy  in  the  service  of  (General  \Vashing- 
ton  while  in  the  state  of  New  Jersey,  whence  the  Compton  family  originafly 
came.  Air.  and  Mrs.  Boucher  had  children:  Henry  Stewart,  a  merchant  in 
Glade,  Pennsylvania  ;  Phineas  Compton,  lives  on  the  old  homestead  in  Mary- 
land ;  Samuel  A.,  a  physician  in  Bartin,  Allegheny  county,  Alaryland ;  Charles 
W..  mentioned  hereafter:  Arthur  AL,  a  farmer  in  Allegheny  county,  Alaryland; 
and  two  who  died  in  infanc}-.     Air.  Boucher,  the  father,  died  in  1903. 

Charles  W.  Boucher,  son  of  Isaiah  and  Lucretia  (Compton)  "Boucher, 
was  born  A'lay  19,  1865.  in  Grantsville,  Alaryland,  and  in  1892  graduated  from 
the  Baltimore  College  of  Dental  Surgery.  He  opened  an  office  at"  Bruston  Alills, 
West  A'irginia,  Mhere  he  remained  one  year,  and  then  moved  to  New  Kensing- 
ton, being  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  the  new  borough.  He  there  established 


ajA^*^*-^ 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAXD   COUXTY.  179 

liiniself  as  a  dentist  in  partnership  with  Dr.  L.  H.  !■' ranee,  of  Greensburg.  At 
the  end  of  two  years  he  purchased  his  partner's  interest  and  has  since  success- 
fully conducted  the  business  alone.  For  three  years  he  served  as  school  director. 
His  political  principles  are  those  advocated  by  the  Republican  party,  and  he 
is  a  member  and  trustee  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church.  Dr.  Boucher  mar- 
ried Jennie  X..  daughter  of  John  M.  and  Isabel  Hill,  of  Freeport.  Armstrong 
countv,  and  thev  have  two  children:  Lucretia  Isabel,  born  ^lay,  1898;  and 
Margaret  Ruth,  born  June,  1903. 

GEORGE  D.  HAMOR.  On  the  paternal  side  George  D.  Hamor.  of 
New  Kensington,  is  descended  from  ancestors  who  settled  several  generations 
back  in  the  eastern  part  of  Pennsylvania,  while  through  his  mother  he  comes 
of  (ierman  and  Irish  lineage. 

Allen  Nathaniel  Hamor  was  born  in  1820,  in  Blair  county,  and  was  a  mer- 
chant at  Freeport,  Pennsylvania.  During  the  Civil  war  he  served  in  the  Union 
army.  He  was  a  Republican  and  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
Mr.  Hamor  married  Jane  X.  Sniger,  born  in  1818,  near  Saltsburg,  Westmore- 
land county,  and  like  her  husband  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church. 

George  D.  Hamor.  son  of  Allen  Nathaniel  and  Jane  X.  (Sniger)  Hamor. 
was  born  January  27,  1855.  at  Freeport,  Armstrong  county,  where  he  received 
his  preparatory  education  in  the  common  schools,  afterward  attending  Mount 
Union  College,  Ohio.  June  8.  1876.  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Butler, 
Pcnnsvlvania.  In  18S8.  at  the  time  of  the  great  fire  in  Du  Bois,  he  was  a  resi- 
dent of  that  place  and  held  the  office  of  burgess.  He  affiliates  with  Lodge  No. 
512,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  the  Heptasophs  and  Maccabees,  all  of  New  Kensington,  Po- 
litically he  is  a  Republican,  but  has  never  taken  a  very  active  part  in  public 
affairs.  Mr.  Hamor  married,  ^lay  4.  1883,  IMaggie  J.,  daughter  of  Dr.  ^^'iIliam 
A.  Means,  a  prominent  physician  of  DuBois,  and  they  have  two  children  :  Edna, 
born  ]May  3,  1884,  wife  of  S.  M.  Lee,  attorney  at  law  of  Pittsburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania :  and  William  Allen,  aged  eighteen,  student  in  ^^'estern  University.  Pitts- 
burg. 

PETER  F.  McC.\NN.  Among  the  sturdy  and  energetic  men  of 
Westmoreland  county  who  hewed  their  way  to  usefulness  and  distinction, 
Peter  Francis  McCann  stands  prominent.  He  aspired  more  to  usefulness  than 
to  greatness  and  will  leave  his  imprint  on  our  rugged  hills  rather  than  to  leave 
his  name  in  the  halls  of  dubious  fame.  He  was  born  at  Wellcrsburg,  Somerset 
county,  Pennsylvania.  August  12.  1857.  ^'s  father  was  killed  at  the  Boarding 
Shaft  Mines  at  Frostburg.  T^laryland.  when  Peter  was  but  a  child.  At  the  age 
of  thirteen  years,  with  only  two  vears  schooling,  he  began  the  battle  of  life, 
and  his  inborn  energy  enabled  him  to  earn  a  man's  wages.  His  mother,  with 
ber  family,  moved  to  Scottdale,  \^'estmoreland  county,  in  1874.  He  found 
employment  in  the  mills  of  the  Charlotte  Furnace  Company.  In  1876  a  sad 
misfortune  befell  him,  resulting  in  the  loss  of  his  right  arm.  He  was  appointed 
to  a  position  in  the  revenue  service  in  1886  which  be  held  for  four  years.  In 
1892  he  was  nominated  on  the  Democratic  ticket  for  the  office  of  sherifT.  and  in 
one  of  the  most  exciting  contests  in  the  historv  of  the  county  he  was  elected, 
being  the  only  Democrat  to  cscajK-  defeat.  He  was  the  last  of  a  long  continu- 
ous line  of  Democratic  sheriffs.  He  took  charsre  of  his  office  January  2.  1893. 
He  found  sufficient  to  test  his  coinage,  to  challenge  his  judgment,  and  employ 
bis  wits.     Fortunately  for  him  and  his  eight  score  thousand  constituents  that 


l8o  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY 


\v.  possessed  in  the  highest  degree  the  quahties  that  conquered  without  blood- 
shed, and  paved  the  way  for  general  armistry  when  the  troubled  waters  sought 
their  wonted  rest.  His  jurisdiction  lay  within  the  storm  centre  of  the  great 
labor  troubles  that  darkened  the  pages  of  our  social  and  industrial  history.  He 
was  confronted  by  one  of  the  most  serious  and  violent  outbreaks  ever  wit- 
nessed in  the  great  Connellsville  coke  regions.  Ten  thousand  men  participated 
in  the  unhappy  conflict.  Violence  was  threatened  on  every  hand.  j\len  were 
frenzied  in  their  efforts  for  victory.  He  waved  aside  every  appeal  for  military 
force,  and  depended  on  the  deputies  he  had  carefully  selected.  Without  the 
sacrifice  of  a  single  life  he  conquered,  and  received  the  heartfelt  thanks  of  an 
intelligent  and  peace-loving  constituency.  This  is  the  enduring  monument  he 
had  builded — it  is  even  better  than  he  knew. 

Peter  F.  McCann  is  descended  from  Thomas  and  Maria  AlcCann,  both  of 
whom  were  reared  in  county  Longford,  Ireland,  but,  emigrating  to  America, 
were  married  at  the  church,  attached  to  Saint  Vincent's  Arch-Abbey,  near 
Latrobe,  August  5,  1852.  Their  children  were:  (i)  Katherine,  married  James 
A.  Kittl,  now  deceased,  brother  of  Reverands  Ferdinand  and  William  Kittl, 
of  the  diocese  of  Pittsburg.  (2)  James  T.,  unmarried,  served  as  a  director  of 
the  poor  of  Westmoreland  county.  (3)  Peter  F.  (4)  Mary  Ellen,  married  P. 
C.  Coyle. 

f^eter  F.  McCann  was  married  to  Rosalie  L.  Lambing,  August  4,  1884,  in 
the  church  at  Kittanning.  Christopher  Lambing,  the  founder  of  the  Lambing 
family  in  this  country,  was  a  son  of  an  officer  in  the  French  army,  and  came 
from  near  Strasburg  about  1740,  and  settled  in  Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania, 
where  his  tenth  child,  Matthew,  married  Magdalene  Kohn,  in  Adams  county, 
to  which  he  had  previously  moved  in  1798.  His  fifth  child,  Michael  Anthony, 
Mrs.  McCann's  father,  was  born  there  October  10,  1806.  The  family  moved  to 
Long  Run,  Armstrong  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  the  fall  of  1828,  and  to  Manoi- 
ville,  same  county,  two  years  later.  December  i,  1837,  Michael  Anthony  Lamb- 
ing married  Anne  Shields,  and  lived  in  Manorville  the  remainder  of  his  life, 
except  from  1844  to  1856,  dying  December  8,  1886. 

Thomas  Shields  came  to  America  from  County  Donegal.  Ireland,  about 
1745,  and  purchased  a  large  farm  in  the  northern  part  of  Franklin  county, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1767  and  made  it  his  home.  His  son  John,  great-grand- 
father of  Mrs.  McCann,  was  born  on  the  voyage  to  America,  and  about  1771 
married  Mary  Easby.  Their  oldest  child,  William  Casper,  jMrs.  McCann's 
grandfather,  was  born  in  1772.  He  came  to  near  Greensburg,  Westmoreland 
county,  when  a  young  man.  Later  he  bought  a  farm  in  South  Buffalo  town- 
ship, Armstrong  county,  and  May  24,  1805,  married  Man,-  Ruffner.  They 
spent  the  remainder  of  their  lives  on  the  farm.  Anne,  the  sixth  child,  Mrs. 
McCann's  mother,  was  born  July  4,  1814,  married  December  i,  1837,  and  died 
July,  1880.  Rosalie  Lambing  (i\Irs.  McCann")  is  the  youngest  of  five  boys  and 
four  girls,  and  was  born  in  Butler  county,  Pennsylvania,  near  Sugar  Creek 
Church.  The  family  returned  to  Manorville,  June  3.  1856.  where  Rosalie  re- 
mained until  her  marriage.  The  following  children  survive  Mr.  and  Mrs.  P.  F. 
McCann:  Mary  A..  Rosalie  L.,  Idlefonsa,  Josephine  L.,  Peter  F.,  Ir..  and 
Thomas. 

Reverends  A.  A.  Lambing,  of  Williamsburg.  Pennsylvania,  and  M.  A. 
Lambing  of  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania,  are  brothers  of  Mrs.  McCann,  and  both 
are  prominent  in  the  Pittsburg  diocese.  The  former  is  one  of  Pennsvlvania's 
most  distinguished  historians,  and  the  latter  is  equally  prominent  as  a  leader  in 
the  work  of  the  Total  Abstinence  Societv. 


HISTORY   OF    Jl-ESTMORELAXD   COUXTY.  iSi 


Peter  F.  ^IcCann  engaged  in  1897  in  industrial  prusuits.  In  that  yeai 
he  assisted  in  building  the  Old  r^Ieadow  Rolling  Mill  at  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania, 
for  the  manufacturing  of  sheet  iron.  He  was  manager  for  one  year,  when  the 
mill  was  sold.  In  1899  he  went  into  the  business  of  contracting.  He  has  built 
railroads,  trolley  lines,  coke  plants,  reservoirs,  etc.  He  has  built  the  new  state 
road  running  north  from  Greensburg,  which  is  the  first  of  its  kind  in  the 
county,  one  of  the  first  in  the  state  under  the  existing  law.  The  extent  of  his 
operations  may  be  best  measured  b>-  the  fact  that  he  employs  constantly  over 
one  thousand  men.  With  pardonable  pride  he  can  leave  to  history  his  i)art  in 
the  battle  of  life. 

DAMD  H.  :\IcCARTY.  The  father  of  David  H.  JMcCarty,  of  New 
Kensington,  was  Hugh  McCarty,  who  about  1845  °^  '4^  emigrated  from  Ban- 
bridge,  countv  Down,  Ireland,  and  settled  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
worked  at  landscape  gardening  and  other  branches  of  horticulture.  Later  he 
engaged  for  some  years  in  market  ganlening  on  a  tract  of  land  which  now  forms 
a  part  of  Allegheny  City.  In  1868  he  settled  on  a  farm  situated  where  New 
Kensington  now  stands,  and  there  continued  to  labor  as  a  market  gardener  until 
1881,  when  he  retired  and  returned  to  Allegheny  City.  In  that  place  he  held 
at  one  time  the  office  of  poor  director.  He  supported  the  Democratic  party,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  Mr.  McCarty  married  Mary 
McXalley,  a  native  of  county  Armagh,  Ireland,  and  their  children  were:  Ed- 
ward F.,  lives  in  Allegheny  City:  David  H.,  mentioned  hereafter;  Mary  J., 
Louise  E.,  married  Edward  F.  Kelley,  and  after  his  death  becme  the  wife  of 
John  F.  Donovan :  and  Letitia  H.  There  were  also  three  who  died  in  infancy. 
The  death  of  Air.  McCarty  occurred  in  1891,  in  Alleghenv  City,  where  the  clos- 
ing years  of  his  life  had  been  passed. 

David  H.  ]\IcCarty,  son  of  Hu.gh  and  ]\Iary  (McNalley)  McCarty,  was 
born  December  12,  1852,  in  Pittsburg,  and  received  his  education  in  the  com- 
mon schools  of  Allegheny  City  and  Parnassus.  In  his  youth  he  assisted  in 
his  father's  business  both  as  manager  and  as  salesman  until  the  year  of  his 
father's  retirement,  after  which  he  conducted  the  business  alone  until  1891.  He 
then  entered  the  service  of  the  Burrell  Improvement  Land  Company  as  field 
salesman  in  the  Kensington  plan  of  lots,  a  position  which  he  retained  for  two 
years.  When  the  town  was  incorporated  he  was  elected  chief  burgess  for  one 
year,  and  was  re-elected  the  following  year  for  a  term  of  three  years.  After 
serving  about  two  years  of  the  second  term  he  resigned  in  order  to  accept  the 
office  of  postmaster  to  which  he  was  appointed  by  President  Cleveland  for  a 
term  of  three  years,  which  he  completed,  and  then  served  two  years  under  the 
first  McKinlev  administration.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  resigned  and  ac- 
ceited  the  nomination  for  sherifif  of  Westmoreland  countv,  Init  was  defeated 
by  ]].  F.  May.  the  county  being  largely  Republican.  .\t  the  age  of  twenty-one 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  coimcil  of  Alleghcin-  City,  and  during  his  term 
of  office  served  as  chairman  of  the  board  of  health.  For  three  vears  he  was 
poor  director  of  Allegheny  City,  and  in  1904  was  again  a  candidate  for  the 
office  of  sheriflf  of  W'estmoreland  county.  He  belongs  to  Electric  Council,  N. 
U..  and  Lodge  No.  512,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  of  New  Kensington.  He  and  his  family 
are  members  of  St.  Joseph's  (Roman  Catholic)  church  of  New  Kensington. 

Mr.  McCarty  has  been  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Ella,  daughter  of 
Simon  and  Hittie  CLinton)  Small,  natives  of  Philadelphia.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
McCarty  had  children:  Mary  Hester,  Agnes  Ella,  Hugh  Simon,  and  George 
Linton,  who  died  in  infancv.     The  others  are  at  home.     The  mother  of  these 


1 82  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

children  died  February  26,  1891,  and  IMarch  2,  1897,  ]\[r.  IMcCarty  married 
Susan  H.  Small,  a  sister  of  his  first  wife.  By  this  marriage  he  is  the  father  of 
two  sons :  David  H.  and  Charles  Joseph. 

JOSEPH  BULLERS.  The  father  of  Joseph  BuUers,  of  New  Ken- 
sington, was  John  Bullers,  born  in  1801,  in  England,  and  in  1842  emigrated  to- 
the  United  States,  settling  in  Jefiferson  county.  He  had  been  a  lace  maufac- 
turer  in  the  old  country,  but  on  coming  to  his  new  home  engaged  for  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life  in  farming.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church.  ]\Ir. 
Bullers  married,  in  England,  a  Miss  Shaw,  and  of  their  ten  children  six  died  in 
the  old  country.  Those  whom  they  brought  with  them  to  the  United  States 
were :  William,  Edwin,  James  and  Ebenezer.  After  the  death  of  his  wife  Mr. 
Bullers  married  Adeline  Harrington,  and  their  children  were :  Henry,  deceased ; 
j\Iary  Ann,  married  J.  Jones,  of  Jefferson  county,  and  is  now  deceased ;  Jo- 
seph, mentioned  hereafter;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  E.  J.  Irwin,  of  Jefferson  county; 
Emilv.  married  John  Campbell ;  Rachel,  wife  of  William  Kirkman  ;  Catherine,, 
wife  of  W.  N.  Humphrey  :  Lucy,  married  William  Clark ;  one  who  died  in  in- 
fancy ;  Thomas,  deceased :  Charles  G.,  a  farmer  in  Jefiferson  county  ;  and  Elmer, 
a  farmer  on  the  homestead.     Mr.  Bullers,  the  father,  died  in  1888. 

Joseph  Bullers,  son  of  John  and  Adeline  (Harrington)  Bullers,  was  born 
October  14,  1845,  in  Jefferson  county,  where  he  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools.  When  but  sixteen  years  of  age  he  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  for 
himself  at  Brookvillc,  and  continued  it  successfully  for  forty  years.  In  con- 
nection with  this  he  labored  in  summer  as  a  farmer  and  drover.  He  is  the  only 
man  in  that  part  of  the  country  who  deals  in  pine  timber.  In  1885  he  moved 
to  New  Kensington,  established  himself  in  the  mercantile  business,  and  the  fol- 
lowing year  built  a  large  store-house  on  the  corner  of  Ninth  street  and  Fourth 
avenue,  which  is  one  of  the  finest  in  the  borough.  He  has  there  successfully 
continued  the  business  ever  since,  carrying  a  general  line  of  groceries  and 
country  produce.  Since  becoming  a  resident  of  the  town  he  has  built  twenty 
houses.  He  belongs  to  Brookville  Lodge  No.  217,  I.  O.  O.  F.-  In  ]3olitics  he  is 
a  Republican,  and  at  one  time  was  a  member  of  the  borough  council.  I\Ir. 
Bullers  married  Hannah  F.,  daughter  of  James  and  Susan  (Keys)  Suffolk,  the 
former  English  and  the  latter  of  Irish  parentage.  The  children  born  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Bullers  were:  Arthur,  died  at  the  age  of  seven  years;  Amos,  who  is 
on  his  father's  farm  in  .Jefferson  county,  married  Annie  Conghern,  and  has 
two  children :  Florence  and  Helen  ;  Vernie,  wife  of  Joseph  Dewitt,  of  New 
Kensington,  and  one  who  died  in  infancy. 

FRANCIS  M.  CURTIS,  of  New  Kensington,  is  the  son  of  Dr. 
Charles  Curtis,  who  came  from  Rutland,  Vermont,  to  Parnassus,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  practiced  medicine  for  a  few  years,  after  which  he  moved  to  Colum- 
bus City,  Iowa,  and  there  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  during  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  Dr.  Curtis  married  Martha,  daughter  of  David  McClain, 
one  of  the  first  publishers  of  the  old  Pittsburg  Ga::cttc,  and  two  children  .were 
born  to  them  :  Phrelje,  anrl  Francis  M.,  mentioned  hereafter.  Dr.  Curtis  died 
about  1859. 

Francis  M.  Curtis,  son  of  Charles  and  Martha  (McClain)  Curtis,  was  born 
Mav  12,  1857,  in  Iowa,  and  was  but  two  years  old  at  the  time  of  the  death  of 
his  father.  His  mother  then  returned  to  her  old  home  at  Freeport,  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  bov  receiving  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of  that  place  and 
of  Indiana  county.    Afterward  he  attended  the  Elder's  Ridge  Academy,  grad- 


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HISTORY   OF   IVESTMORELAXD   COUXTY.  183 

uating  at  the  end  of  two  years.  In  1877  he  became  clerk  for  the  firm  of  \\'ilson 
&  Manifold,  general  merchants  of  Parker's  Landing,  Pennsylvania.  In  1883  he 
was  admitted  to  partnership,  the  style  of  the  firm  becoming  Manifold  &  Curtis, 
under  which  name  the  business  was  conducted  for  the  next  ten  years.  In  1893 
he  moved  to  New  Kensington  and  there  established  a  department  store,  which 
he  has  successfully  conducted  down  to  the  present  time  under  the  firm  name  of 
Frank  Curtis  &  Company.  .Mr.  Curtis  was  one  of  the  ])ioneer  merchants  of 
New  Kensington,  and  his  business  has  increased  until  he  has  now  the  largest 
store  of  its  kind  in  the  Allegheny  valley.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Logan  Trust 
Company,  of  New  Kensington,  and  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Young  Men's, 
Christian  Association.  He  is  a  member  and  trustee  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
of  Xew  Kensington.  Mr.  Curtis  married  Susan,  daughter  of  Peter  King,  of 
Emlenton.  Pennsylvania,  and  one  child  was  born  to  them,  who  died  in  infancy. 

ALEXANDER  LE.SLIE.  The  family  of  which  Alexander  Leslie,  of 
New  Kensington,  is  a  representative  first  comes  into  notice  in  the  person  of 
Mr.  Leslie  who  was  keeper  of  the  ferries  near  V'allev  camp  about  the  time 
of  the  building  of  the  canal  which  ran  through  the  Allegheny  valley,  where  he 
lived  and  ended  his  days.  His  children  were:  \Mlliam,  deceased;  David,  men- 
tiivned  hereafter;  James,  deceased  ;  Cjeorge,  a  farmer  in  Lower  Burrell  township  ; 
Tliomas,  deceased  ;  and  two  daughters,  one  of  whom  was  married  to  Thomas 
Marshall  and  the  other  to  Alexander  Marshall. 

David  Leslie  was  born  in  1812  or  '13  near  New  Kensington,  and  passed 
his  life  as  a  farmer  in  Lower  Burrell  township.  In  politics  he  was  a  staunch 
Kejniblican  and  held  the  office  of  school  director.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  He  married  I\Iary  Haltz,  of  Alleghenv  county,  and  their 
children  were :  George  R..  a  farmer  of  Lower  Burrell  township  ;  Agnes  R. ; 
William  H.,  a  farmer  on  the  homestead:  James,  a  real  estate  broker  in  South 
Sharon :  Alexander,  mentioned  hereafter ;  and  Elizabeth,  wife  of  John  Ed- 
monds, of  Carleton,  Missouri.  The  death  of  Mr.  Leslie,  the  father,  occurred  in 
1892. 

Alexander  Leslie,  son  of  David  and  Mary  (Haltz)  Leslie,  was  born  Oc- 
tober 25.  1859.  and  received  his  primary  education  in  the  common  schools, 
from  which  he  passed  to  the  acdemy  at  Tarentum  and  thence  to  Duff's  Business 
College.  Pittsburg,  where  he  graduated.  For  four  or  five  >ears  he  was  a  teacher 
in  his  native  county.  About  1882  or  '83  he  established  himself  in  the  drug 
business  at  Parnassus,  where  he  remained  until  1892.  He  then  moved  to  New 
Kensington,  where  he  was  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers,  purchasing  the  second  lot 
sold  in  the  town.  In  that  place  he  has  ever  since  conducted  a  drug  business. 
He  has  been  elected  to  the  office  of  school  director.  He  belongs  to  Lodge  No. 
548.  F.  and  A.  M.,  of  \'erona,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  the  sphere  of  politics 
adheres  to  the  Republican  party.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
Mr.  Leslie  married  Ada,  daughter  of  Peter  King. 

ALBERT  H.  SNYDER.  Jacob  Snyder,  great-grandfather  of  Albert 
li  Snyder,  of  New  Kensington,  emigrated  from  Germany  and  settled  in  Bedford 
county.  Pennsylvania,  where  he  passed  his  life  as  a  farmer.  He  married  Mar- 
garet Helzel,  and  their  chilflren  were:  Jacob;  William:  John,  mentioned  here- 
i.Uer  ;  Tobias  :  George  ;  Thomas  ;  anrl  Mary,  married  .Alexander  Davis. 

Jolm  Snyder,  son  of  Jacob  and  .Margaret  (Helzel)  Snyder,  was  born  April 
3.  1823,  in  Bedford  county,  and  in  early  life  learned  the  trades  of  stonemason, 
bricklayer  and  plasterer,  which  he  followed  until   1868.     He  then  engaged  in 


i84  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

mercantile  business  at  Reimersburg,  Clarion  county,  continuing  for  twenty-two 
years  and  retiring  in  1890.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Reformed  church.  Mr. 
Snyder  married  Sarah  J.,  daughter  of  John  Fehx  Keller,  and  their  children 
were:  William  D.,  mentioned  hereafter;  Elliott  E.,  Emma  F.,  married  J.  J. 
Anderson  ;  Albert  C,  Annie  B.,  wife  of  William  H.  Anderson  ;  David  E. ;  Mary 
L.,  married  Richard  B.  Wick  ;  and  two  who  died  in  infancy.  The  death  of  the 
father  of  the  family  occurred  August  11,  1904. 

William  D.  Snyder,  son  of  John  and  Sarah  J.  (Keller)  Snyder,  was  born 
January  i,  1851,  in  Clarion  county,  where  he  received  his  education  in  the  com- 
mon schools  and  at  the  Clarion  Collegiate  Institute.  In  early  life  he  assisted  in 
his  father's  business  and  was  freight  and  ticket  agent  for  the  Huntington  & 
Broad  Top  railroad  for  two  years.  In  1892  he  moved  to  New  Kensington, 
where  for  three  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  grocery  business.  For  the  last  few 
years  he  has  been  in  the  employ  of  his  son,  A.  H.  Snyder,  in  the  real  estate,  in- 
surance and  mortgage  loan  business  at  No.  913  Fifth  avenue,  New  Kensington, 
Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  member  of  the  first  school  board  of  New  Kensington, 
and  for  two  terms  held  the  office  of  borough  clerk.  He  is  a  Republican  in  pol- 
itics, and  belongs  to  the  Masonic  fraternity.  Since  the  age  of  nineteen  he  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Reformed  church.  Mr.  Snyder  married  Anna  M., 
daughter  of  James  A.  and  Mary  Mortimore,  and  their  children  were:  Ida  Flor- 
ence, died  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years ;  Albert  H.,  mentioned  hereafter  ;  V'irgilia 
P.,  who  is  a  stenographer  and  typewriter  for  the  Pittsburg  Retluction  ^\'orks ; 
John  Lloyd,  employed  as  a  clerk  bv  J.  H.  Eckley,  of  New  Kensington  ;  and  three 
who  died  in  childhood. 

Albert  H.  Snyder,  son  of  William  D.  and  Anna  M.  (Mortimore)  Snyder, 
was  born  August  9,  1876,  at  Reiniersburg,  Clarion  county,  where  he  received 
his  education  in  the  Clarion  Collegiate  Institute.  During  his  school  days  he 
assisted  his  father  in  the  latter's  business,  and  after  comjjleting  his  education 
worked  five  years  as  a  clerk  for  a  real  estate  and  insurance  firm.  Since  March, 
1900.  he  has  been  successfully  engaged  for  himself  in  the  real  estate,  loan  and 
general  insurance  business.  He  belongs  to  Lodge  No.  512,  B.  P.  ().  E.,  of 
New  Kensington,  and  in  politics  is  a  staunch  Republican.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Reformed  church  of  New  Kensington.  Mr.  Snyder  married  S.  Bertha, 
daughter  of  G.  W.  and  Elvira  Stewart,  of  Clarion  county,  and  they  have  one 
child,  Eugene  Clyde  Stewart  Snyder. 

ELMER  J.  BAXTER.  The  grandfather  of  Elmer  J.  Baxter,  of  Par- 
nassus, was  James  Baxter,  who  passed  his  entire  life  as  a  farmer  in  Lower  Bur- 
rell  township.  He  belonged  to  the  Democratic  partv,  and  was  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  His  children  were:  John,  Robert.  Andrew,  mentioned 
hereafter ;  and  James. 

.Andrew  Baxter,  son  of  James  Baxter,  was  born  in  \\'cstmoreland  county, 
and  like  his  father  was  a  lifelong  farmer.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian church  of  Parnassus.  His  wife  was  Susanna,  daughter  of  William  and 
Susanna  Milligan,  and  their  children  were :  William  C,  a  farmer  in  Westmore- 
land county  :  Harriet,  wife  of  John  Culp  ;  Elmer  J.,  mentioned  hereafter;  Nancy 
J.,  married  Frank  M.  Eyler ;  Newton  J.,  a  dentist  in  Teannette :  Margaret  S.. 
wife  of  Newton  Anderson;  Elizabeth  L.,  Ida  F.,  and  Sallie  AI.  The  death  of 
Mr.  Baxter  occurred  in  1900. 

Elmer  J.  Baxter,  son  of  Andrew  and  Susanna  (Milligan)  Baxter, 
was  born  Sejitember  18,  1862.  in  P'pper  Burrell  township,  and 
received  his  primary  education  in  the  common  schools,  from  which  he  advanced 


HISTORY   OF    IVESTMORELAXD   COUXTY.  185 

to  Parnassus  Academy  and  Reedsburg  Normal  school.  After  tcachinsj-  lor 
three  terms  in  his  native  township  and  for  two  years  at  Parnassus  he  purchased 
the  shoe  store  of  A.  Cook,  of  that  town,  and  for  three  years  conducted  the  bus- 
iness. He  then  engaged  in  the  hardware  and  implement  business  for  about  six 
years,  the  first  three  years  under  the  firm  name  of  Alter  &  Baxter,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  time  under  that  of  Baxter  &  Wills.  His  next  venture  was  in 
the  real  estate,  loan  and  insurance  business,  which  he  has  successfully  conducted 
to  the  present  time.  He  has  recently  organized,  in  partnership  with  H.  H.  Bax- 
ter, what  is  known  as  the  New  Kensington  Fiber  Plaster  Company  for  the 
manufacture  of  wall  plaster  and  other  fire-proof  products.  In  1900  he  was 
elected  school  director  and  in  1903  was  re-elected  for  three  years.  For  that 
length  of  time  he  was  president  of  the  board  and  is  now  treasurer.  He  has 
been  chairman  of  the  board  of  health  for  four  years.  In  politics  he  is  a  Pro- 
hibitionist. He  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
of  New  Kensington.  Mr.  Baxter  married  Carrie,  daughter  of  Aaron  and 
Mary  A.  Reimer,  and  their  children  were:  Lelia  I.,  died  in  childhood;  Lola  L., 
Flora  E..  and  Ruth  C. 

DAVID  THOMAS.  John  and  Anna  Thomas  were  the  parents  of 
David  Thomas,  of  New  Kensington,  who  was  born  July  12,  i860,  in  South 
A\'ales.  and  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  country. 
After  leaving  school  he  learned  the  trade  of  a  weaver.  In  April,  1881,  he  came 
to  the  United  States  and  settled  in  Pittsburg,  where  for  some  time  he  followed 
liis  trade.  In  1884  he  obtained  a  position  with  the  Metropolitan  Insurance  Com- 
pany at  Yonngstown,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  two  years  and  a  half,  at  the 
end  of  that  time  returning  to  Pittsburg  and  resuming  his  trade.  In  1886  he 
Tjecame  proprietor  of  the  St.  David's  Hotel,  Pittsburg,  which  he  successfully 
conducted  for  fourteen  years.  December  10,  1900,  he  purchased  what  was  then 
known  as  the  Hotel  Will  of  New  Kensington,  of  which  he  immediately  took 
possession,  changing  the  name  to  the  Flotel  Kensington,  and  has  been  the  pro- 
prietor ever  since.  In  1902,  in  partnership  with  Thomas  J.  Thomas,  he  engaged 
in  the  business  of  importing  cockles  or  shell  fish  from  the  old  country  and  pros- 
ecuted the  undertaking  for  two  years.  In  February,  1904,  he  was  elected  a 
menilier  of  the  council  of  New  Kensington,  for  a  term  of  three  vears.  and  has 
since  been  largely  instrumental  in  obtaining  the  new  station  at  that  place,  and 
also  other  improvements.  He  is  a  member  of  Gomer  Lodge,  No.  64,  I.  O.  O.  F., 
Madock  Lodge,  No.  229,  K.  P..  in  which  he  has  passed  all  chairs  and  holds  the 
rank  of  past  chancellor,  and  Cap  Sheaf  Lodge.  No.  159.  Heptasophs,  all  of 
Pittsburg.  He  is  esteemed  loyal  knight  of  Lodge  No.  512,  B.  P.  O.  E.  of  New 
Kensington,  and  also  belongs  to  the  Homeless  Twenty-six.  In  politics  he  is  a 
staunch  Republican. 

Mr.  Thomas  married  in  1886,  Elizabeth,  widow  of  \Mlliam  R.  Reese,  anct 
daughter  of  the  late  Thomas  P..  Jones  of  .Mleghenv.  Pennsylvania,  aufl  thev 
have  two  daughters:  Sarah,  graduated  from  Savres'  Business  College,  of  New 
Kensington,  and  is  now  stenographer  for  the  Pittsburg  works ;  and  Maisie,  at 
home.  By  her  former  marriage  ]\Irs.  Thomas  was  the  mother  of  the  follow- 
ing children :  ^^■illiam  R.,  manager  of  the  Hotel  Kensington :  Annie,  at  home : 
Elizabeth,  at  home:  and  John  T.,  employed  as  a  clerk  by  the  L^nited  States 
Steel  &•  Tin  Plate  Company. 

EUWER  FAMILY.  The  family  of  which  Robert  Allen  Euwer  and 
."Krchie  Nelson  Euwer,  of  New  Kensington,  are  representatives,  was  planted  in 
this  country  bv  three  brothers,  Patrick,  Sannul   and    Inhn    F.uwer,   who  cmi- 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


grated  from  Ireland  in.  1796.  I'atrick  never  married,  Samuel  settled  on  a  farm 
at  Sandy  creek,  Allegheny  county;  and  left  numerous  descendants,  and  John 
was  the  founder  of  the  Westmoreland  county  branch  of  the  family. 

John  Euwer  was  born  about  1767,  in  Ireland,  and  on  coming  to  this  coun- 
try settled  in  Plum  township,  Allegheny  county,  where  he  purchased  some  two 
hundred  and  seventy  acres  of  land  and  engaged  in  farming  during  the  remain- 
der of  his  life.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  church.  Mr. 
Euwer  married  Nancy  McMillen,  of  the  Ligonier  valley,  and  their  children 
were:  Jennie,  wife  of  James  McMath.  farmer  of  Penn  township,  Allegheny 
countv :  Archibald,  mentioned  hereafter ;  Daniel,  merchant  of  Blairsville  and 
later  of  Pittsburg;  Nancy,  wife  of  Robert  Euwer;  Mary,  wife  of  Thompson 
Graham,  of  Freeport,  Pennsylvania;  John  Nelson,  merchant;  Eliza,  wife  of 
Robert  Shearer ;  Samuel,  merchant  of  Newcastle,  Lawrence  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania ;  James,  farmer  on  the  homestead ;  and  Isabel,  wife  of  George  Hender- 
son, merchant  of  Newcastle.    Mr.  Euwer,  the  father,  died  in  1838. 

.Archibald  Euwer,  son  of  John  and  Nancy  (McMillen)  Euwer,  was  born  in 
1799,  in  Plum  township,  Allegheny  county,  where  he  passed  his  entire  life  as  a 
farmer.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Euwer 
married  Mary,  daughter  of  Ebenezer  and  Nancy  (Mitchell)  Gill,  and  their  chil- 
dren were :  John,  mentioned  hereafter ;  Nancy  Jane,  deceased ;  Ebenezer  G., 
merchant  of  Trafford,  Pennsylvania;  Matthew  G.,  retired  merchant  of  Par- 
nassus ;  and  Archie  Nelson,  farmer  of  Iowa,  who  during  the  Civil  war  enlisted 
in  Company  C,  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-fifth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volun- 
teers, commanded  by  Colonel  Pierson,  and  served  over  three  years  in  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  participating  in  all  the  battles  from  Fredericksburg  to  the  sur- 
render of  Lee.  The  death  of  Mr.  Euwer,  the  father  of  the  familv,  occurred  in 
1843. 

John  Euwer,  son  of  Archibald  and  Mary  (Gill)  Euwer,  was  born  July  8,. 
1832,  in  Plum  township,  Allegheny  county,  and  received  his  education  in  the 
common  schools.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  took  charge  of  his  father's  farm, 
and  until  1885  was  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  He  then  moved  to  Par- 
nassus and  there  engaged  in  mercantile  business,  retiring  February  7,  1901, 
since  which  time  he  has  given  his  attention  to  real  estate.  In  1866  he  left  the 
homestead  and  purchased  the  Walnut  Hill  farm  in  Westmoreland  county,  on 
which  he  lived  twelve  years.  In  1879  he  liought  a  farm  on  Puckety  creek,  which 
he  sold  six  years  later  on  moving  to  Parnassus.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Re- 
formed Presbyterian  churcli.  Mr.  Euwer  married,  January  11,  1855,  Isabella 
M.,  daughter  of  Rol^ert  and  Annie  Allen,  natives  of  Scotland,  and  their  chil- 
dren were :  Anna  Mary,  wife  of  J.  McKee  Swank ;  Amelia  Jane ;  Margaret  G., 
died  at. the  age  of  three  years;  Robert  Allen,  mentioned  hereafter;  Archie  Nel- 
son, also  mentioned  hereafter ;  Ida  May,  stenographer  for  the  Central  Railroad' 
Company;  Elvira  Bell,  stenographer  in  Pittsburg;  Florence  C,  kindergarten 
teacher  in  Allegheny  City ;  and  Lizzie  Emma,  deceased,  graduate  of  Slippery 
Rock  Normal  school  and  for  some  time  a  teacher. 

Robert  Allen  Euwer,  son  of  John  and  Isabella  M.  (Allen)  Euwer,  was 
born  May  14,  1862,  on  his  great-grandfather's  farm,  the  homestead  of  the- 
family,  and  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools  and  at  the  Parnassus 
Academy.  At  nineteen  he  established  himself  as  a  butcher  at  Parnassus  in 
partnership  with  J.  D.  Rowan,  but  at  the  end  of  one  year  sold  out  and  went  to 
Iowa  where  he  was  engaged  with  William  Todd  as  a  cattle  shipper.  He  then 
returned  to  Westmoreland  county,  and  in  1881  again  established  himself  as  a 
butcher  in  Parnassus,  continuing  the  business  about  three  years.    He  was  then 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.    ■  187 

engaged  for  about  four  years  in  the  livery  business  at  Parnassus,  after  which 
he  once  more  established  himself  as  a  butcher,  thus  time  at  Springdale,  Alle- 
ghen\-  county.  He  continued  the  business  for  thirteen  years  and  then  returned 
to  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  purchased  the  furniture  business  of  M. 
G.  Euwer  &  Company,  Ltd..  entered  into  partnership  with  his  brother.  Archie 
Nelson  Euwer.  and  established  the  business  under  the  firm  name  of  Euwer 
Brothers  and  Company.  The  enterprise  proved  successful  and  the  affairs  of 
the  firm  are  now  in  a  flourishing  condition.  Since  1891  J\lr.  Euwer  has  beea 
president  of  the  Springdale  Building  &  Loan  Association  of  Springdale,  Alle- 
gheny county.  Pennsylvania.  He  is  now  serving  on  the  council  of  Parnassus. 
His  political  support  is  given  to  tlie  Republican  party.  He  is  a  member  and 
trustee  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Parnassus.  Mr.  Euwer  married  Sarah 
J.,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  John  Moulton  Jones,  and  they  had  one  child,  John 
]\Ioulton,  graduate  of  Parnassus  high  school  and  Pittsburg  Academy  and  now 
engaged  in  bookkeeping.  ]\Irs.  Euw-er  died  in  1885.  and  Air.  Euwer  subse- 
quently married  Katharine,  daughter  of  Matthew  Donnell.  The  issue  of  this, 
marriage  is  one  child,  Archie  Lloyd  Euwer,  at  present  attending  Parnassus 
high  school. 

Archie  Nelson  Euwer,  son  of  John  and  Isabella  M.  (Allen)  Euwer.  was 
born  October  24.  1864,  on  the  homestead,  and  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  and  at  the  Oak  Dale  Academy,  Allegheny.  After  serving  one  year  as 
clerk  for  William  Cruikshank.  of  Verona,  Pennsylvania,  he  entered  his  father's 
store  in  Parnassus  in  a  similar  capacity,  remaining  five  years.  He  then  entered 
into  partnership  with  his  father,  the  connection  continuing  until  February, 
1901.  when  he  purchased,  in  company  with  his  brother  Robert  Allen  Euwer, 
the  furniture  business  since  carried  on  by  the  firm  of  Euwer  Brothers  and 
Co.  For  some  years  Mr.  Euwer  held  the  office  of  borough  auditor.  He  is  a 
Republican,  and  a  member  and  trustee  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church  of 
Logan's  Ferry.  Mr.  Euwer  married,  October  3,  1895,  Claribel,  daughter  of 
James  M.  and  Anna  (Stevenson)  Greer,  of  Murraysville,  Pennsylvania,  and 
they  have  one  child.  James  Greer  Euwer,  born  August  20.   1901. 

JAMES  S.  HITCHMAN.  one  of  the  prosperous  and  enterprising 
citizens  of  Mount  Pleasant,  traces  his  ancestry  back  to  an  early  period,  the  pio- 
neer immigrant,  who  was  an  officer  in  an  English  regiment,  having  come  to 
America  when  George  III  sat  upon  the  throne  of  Great  Britain.  He  became 
interested  in  the  condition  of  the  Colonies  and  sympathizing  with  them  in  their 
struggle  for  political  liberty,  he  soon  resigned  his  position  and  identified  him- 
self with  the  colonial  cause,  but  refused  several  important  militarv  commands 
in  the  Continental  army  during  the  revolutionary  struggle.  His  delicate  sense 
of  honor  would  not  allow  him  to  draw  his  sword  against  the  country  whose 
uniform  he  had  worn  and  whose  pay  he  had  received  for  many  years.  He 
was  a  resident  of  Virginia. 

William  Hitchman,  son  of  the  emigrant  ancestor,  removed  from  his  home 
in  \'irginia  to  Redstone  Creek,  in  what  is  now  Fayette  county.  Pennsylvania, 
and  which  was  then  supjjosed  tf)  belong  to  Virginia.  After  the  close  of  the 
Revolutionary  war  he  went  to  Maryland  and  there  married  Nancy  Gillespie, 
who  was  an  estimable  woman  and  a  member  of  a  well-respected  family,  and 
who  bore  him  twelve  children,  among  whom  were  the  following:  James,  John, 
William,  Robert,  Andrew,  Samuel,  Gillespie,  David,  Nellie,  Elizabeth.  Shortly 
after  his  marriage  Mr.  Hitchman  removed  to  Mount  Pleasant.  Westmoreland 


i88  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY 


•county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  followed  farming.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church. 

John  Hitchman,  son  of  William  and  Nancy  (Gillespie)  Hitchman,  was 
born  in  1789.  When  the  war  of  18 12  broke  out  he  enlisted  in  a  company  com- 
manded by  Captain  Reynolds,  was  commissioned  first  lieutenant,  and  was  or- 
dered with  his  regiment  to  Baltimore,  Maryland,  where  he  served  until  the  close 
of  the  war.  In  1828  he  was  elected  brigade-inspector  in  the  Pennsylvania  militia 
with  the  rank  of  major  and  served  in  that  position  until  1836.  For  several  years 
thereafter  he  engag'ed  in  mercantile  business,  and  in  the  borough  of  Mount 
Pleasant,  where  the  greater  part  of  his  life  was  spent,  was  highly  re.garded 
both  as  a  business  man  and  citizen.  He  married  Mary  Thompson,  who  was  a 
descendant  of  the  Thompson  family,  widely  known  and  highly  respected  in  the 
Cumberland  valley.  She  was  born  at  Mercersburg,  Pennsylvania,  February 
18,  1799,  and  died  March  30,  1870,  survived  by  her  only  child,  William  J. 
Hitchman.  John  Hitchman  (father)  died  in  March,  1846,  aged  fifty-seven 
years. 

William  J.  Hitchman,  only  child  of  John  and  Mary  (Thompson)  Hitch- 
man. was  born  at  Mount  Pleasant,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  July 
8,  1838.  Before  he  v\'as  eight  years  of  age  his  father  died  and  he  was  left  en- 
tirely to  the  care  of  his  excellent  mother,  who  instructed  him  in  those  right  and 
noble  principles  of  action  which  characterized  his  mature  manhood.  The 
greater  part  of  his  boyhood  was  spent  at  Laurelville,  which  was  a  small  village 
at  the  foot  of  Chestnut  Ridge,  and  early  in  life  he  engaged  in  the  tanning  busi- 
ness, which  he  conducted  later  on  an  extensive  scale  with  his  father-in-law, 
James  Shields,  and  subsequently  was  associated  with  Mr.  Neel  in  the  same  in- 
dustry. Before  he  attained  his  seventeenth  year  he  was  acting  as  village  school 
teacher,  and  served  in  that  capacity  for  several  years.  Prior  to  this  he  began 
dealing  in  stock  in  a  small  way,  which  business  he  constantly  enlarged,  and 
which  he  still  continued  to  conduct  after  he  became  an  independently  wealthy 
man.  He  was  early  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  coke  under  the  firm  name  of 
Stone,  Hitchman  &  Co.,  with  ovens  in  the  vicinity  of  Tarrs.  Later  they  es- 
tablished ovens  known  as  the  Morewood  plant,  and  they  conducted  an  exten- 
sive business  along  that  line  for  that  day.  At  the  Centennial,  in  1876,  they 
received  the  medal  for  the  best  and  finest  grade  of  coke.  About  the  year  1880 
Mr.  Hitchman  began  to  deal  extensively  in  coal  and  coal  lands,  and  he  also 
operated  to  some  extent  in  the  production  of  coal  in  both  Westmoreland  and 
Washington  counties,  both  these  industries  netting  him  a  handsome  return. 

He  was  among  the  early  stockholders  in  the  banking  interests  of  the  bor- 
ough of  Mount  Pleasant,  becoming  interested  in  the  First  National  Bank,  of 
which  institution  he  later  became  a  director,  was  the  active  head  of  the  same 
for  many  years,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  serving  as  vice-president.  Later 
in  company  with  William  B.  Neel  and  J.  C.  Crownover  he  formed  the  Mount 
Pleasant  Bank,  which  they  operated  vmtil  1893,  when  it  became  known  as  the 
Citizens'  National  Bank  of  j\Iount  Pleasant,  and  in  this  he  held  a  directorship 
until  his  death.  He  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  ablest  financiers  of  the 
county,  conservative,  but  just.  In  1884  he  served  as  county  chairman  of  the 
Republican  party,  and  through  his  generalship  the  county  went  Republican, 
the  first  time  in  its  history.  He  never  sought  political  preferment,  although  a 
warm  and  active  supporter  of  the  party.  He  contributed  largely  in  building  up 
the  town  of  Mount  Pleasant,  having  erected  a  goodly  number  of  buildings,  and 
in  various  other  ways  added  to  its  prosperity.  He  was  a  liberal,  broad-minded 
man,  well  and  favorably  known  throughout  the  community,  and  he  possessed 


HISTORY   Op    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  189. 

a  host  of  true  friends,  who  fully  appreciated  his  great  moral  worth  as  a  man. 
and  citizen.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  to  the  support  of 
which  he  contributed  liberally. 

January  2,  1861,  I\lr.  Hitchman  married  Elizabeth  Shields,  daughter  of 
James  Shields,  of  Mount  Pleasant,  and  six  sons  and  two  daughters  were  born 
to  them:  [Mary,  unmarried:  Alice  E.,  also  unmarried;  James  S.,  mentioned 
hereafter :  Edward  T.,  a  coal  operator  at  Wheeling-,  West  Virginia,  head  of  the 
Hitchman  Coal  &  Coke  Company ;  John  D.,  William  M.,  a  teller  in  the  City- 
Savings  &  Trust  Company  of  Blount  Pleasant ;  Walton  ]\I.,  and  Arthur.  Will- 
iam J.  Hitchman.  father  of  these  children,  died  September  26,  1894;  he  was 
survived  by  his  wife,  who  is  living  at  the  present  time  ( 1905). 

James  S.  Hitchman,  eldest  son  of  \\"illiam  J.  and  Elizabeth  (Shields) 
Hitchman,  was  born  in  Mount  Pleasant,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
April  29,  1865.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Mount  Pleasant,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  at  Blairstown,  New  Jersey,  and  then  entered  Princeton  College,  but 
was  shortly  afterward  called  home  to  take  up  business  duties.  In  1886  he  en- 
tered the  First  National  Bank  of  Mount  Pleasant  in  the  capacity  of  teller, 
ser\ing  as  such  until  1893,  when  he  was  appointed  to  the  presidency  of  the 
Citizens'  National  Bank,  which  position  he  held  until  the  reorganization,  April 
2,  1904,  when  it  became  known  as  the  City  Savings  &  Trust  Company  and  he 
was  elected  president  of  the  same.  He  is  also  largely  interested  in  the  coal  in- 
dustry, from  which  he  derives  a  goodly  income.  He  is  a  staunch  Republican 
in  politics,  but  not  in  any  sense  of  the  w-ord  an  office-seeker,  and  exercises  a 
potent  influence  in  behalf  of  the  party  whose  principles  he  advocates.  He  is 
one  of  the  progressive  young  men  of  the  community,  keenly  alive  to  everything 
which  concerns  in  any  way  the  well  being  of  the  town  and  county. 

ALFRED  R.  WOODS,  of  New  Kensington,  is  the  son  of  William  P 
Woods,  who  was  born  in  181 1,  in  the  north  of  Scotland,  whence  he  came  in 
1 83 1  or  '32  to  the  United  States,  settling  in  Center  county,  Pennsylvania.  He 
was  a  shoemaker  by  trade,  but  after  his  emigration  engaged  in  the  lumber  bus- 
iness and  in  farming.  In  1861  he  enlisted  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Fifth  Regi- 
ment, Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  and  served  until  1864,  when  he  received  wounds 
which  proved  fatal.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church.  Mr.  Woods 
married  Mary,  daughter  of  Andrew  \'asbinder,  and  their  children  were: :  Oliver 
P..  deceased :  William  A.,  assistant  warden  of  insane  criminal  asylum,  Ionia, 
Michigan:  Nancy  A.,  deceased  wife  of  William  Covert;  Joseph  V.,  deceased; 
John  B.,  harness  manufacturer  of  Indiana ;  Samuel  j\I.,  also  of  Indiana  ;  and 
Alfred  R.,  mentioned  hereafter. 

Alfred  R.  Woods,  son  of  William  P.  and  Marv  (X'asbinder)  Woods,  was 
born  November  14,  1857,  near  Brookville,  Jefferson  county,  and  received  his 
education  in  the  Soldiers'  Orphan  school,  Dayton,  Armstrong  county,  and  at 
the  Union  Academy.  At  eighteen  he  went  to  learn  the  marble  cutter's  trade 
with  J.  S.  Moore,  of  Brookville,  where  he  remained  sixteen  years.  He  then 
entered  into  partnership  with  A.  B.  jMcLain,  and  together  they  established  the 
marble  and  granite  business  in  Brookville  under  the  firm  name  of  A.  P.  McLain 
&  Company.  At  the  end  of  three  years  they  moved  to  New  Kensington,  being 
among  the  pioneers,  and  there  successfully  contimied  the  business.  Since  the 
spring  of  1905  Mr.  Woods'  son,  Robert  A.,  has  been  sole  proprietor.  In  politics 
Mr.  Woods  is  a  Republican.  He  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Woods  married  Mary,  daughter  of  John  Hains.  and 
their  children  are:  Edna  M.,  wife  of  John  C.  Sullivan  :  Robert  A.,  successor  to 


igo 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


his  father's  business ;  Lillie  E.,  graduate  of  Duff  College,  stenographer  for  D. 
J.  Kennedy,  of  Pittsburg;  Maud  M.,  at  home;  Anna  E.,  in  telephone  office, 
Pittsburg;  James  B.,  at  home;  William  M.,  at  home;  Jackson  E.,  at  home;  and 
Dorothy,  at  home. 

ALBERT  S.  KAUE.MAN,  M.  D.  The  father  of  Dr.  Albert  S.  Kauf- 
man, of  New  Kensington,  was  Harrison  Kaufman,  who  was  born  August  9, 
{840,  in  Indiana  county,  son  of  Samuel  Kaufman,  who  was  born  May  31,  1812, 
died  July  27,  1870,  and  Sarah  (Heckman)  Kaufman,  born  April  28,  181 1,  died 
February  12.  1890.  both  were  born  in  Juniata  county,  Pennsylvania.  Samuel 
Kaufman  was  a  son  of  Joseph  Kaufman  and  Nancy  (Myers)  Kaufman,  born 
August  8,  1794,  died  March  9,  1878;  both  were  born  in  Lancaster,  Pennsyl- 
vania. Harrison  Kaufman  received  his  education  in  the  Plumville  Academy. 
For  twenty-five  years  he  taught  during  the  winters  and  in  the  summers  en- 
gaged in  farming  in  Indiana  county.  For  some  time  he  held  the  office  of  town- 
ship auditor.  He  is  a  Republican,  and  for  thirty  years  or  more  has  served  as 
elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Bethel,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Kaufman  mar- 
ried Margaret,  daughter  of  Levi  and  Jane  Young,  of  Indiana  county,  and  they 
have  children  ;  Albert  S.,  mentioned  hereafter ;  Harry  E.,  minister  of  Pres- 
byterian church  at  Harrisville,  Pennsylvania;  Ella  Blanche,  wife  of  J.  M.  Rob- 
inson, teacher  in  Indiana  county  ;  George  W.,  student  at  Allegheny  Theological 
Seminary ;  and  Grace  E.,  wife  of  Harry  S.  Pounds,  farmer  of  Westmoreland 
county. 

Albert  S.  Kaufman,  son  of  Harrison  and  Margaret  (Young)  Kaufman, 
was  born  June  11,  1869,  in  Indiana  county,  where  he  received  his  primary  ed- 
ucation in  the  common  schools,  passing  thence  to  the  Jacksonville  Academy  and 
the  Indiana  State  Normal  school.  During  four  years  he  taught  in  the  schools 
of  his  native  county.  After  spending  three  years  in  the  office  of  Dr.  W.  L. 
Shields,  of  Jacksonville,  he  entered  Baltimore  Medical  College,  from  which  he 
graduated  in  1893  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine,  afterward  receiving 
the  endorsement  of  Western  Pennsylvania  Medical  College,  of  Pittsburg.  Im- 
mediately after  graduation  he  opened  an  office  in  New  Kensington,  where  he 
has  since  continuously  remained  and  has  built  up  a  successful  pratice.  Dr. 
Kaufman  is  first  vice-president  of  the  Westmoreland  County  Medical  Society, 
is  also  a  member  and  ex-president  of  the  Allegheny  Valley  Medical  Society, 
and  of  the  New  Kensington  Physicians  Association.  He  is  examiner  for  the 
Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society  of  New  York,  Metropolitan  of  New  York, 
Aetna  of  Hartford,  Connecticut,  Sun  Life  of  Canada,  Penn  Mutual  of  Phila- 
delphia. Pittsburg  Life  and  Trust,  Equitable  of  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  Bankers  of 
Des  Moines,  Iowa,  and  Modern  Woodmen  of  America.  At  one  time  he  held 
the  office  of  auditor  of  the  borough.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics.  He  is  an 
elder  in  the  L^nited  Presbyterian  church  of  Parnassus.  Dr.  Kaufman  married 
Susan  E.,  daughter  of  M.  H.  and  Jane  Henry,  of  Indiana  county,  and  they 
have  children:  Mary  M.,  born  August  5,  1893;  Albert  R.,  born  September  5, 
1895;  Grace  Elizabeth,  born  July  5,  1898,  died  February  21,  1900;  Anna  Bell, 
born  November  2.s,  1900 ;  Ruth  D.,  born  February  28,  1903,  died  August  23, 
1905,  and  Helen,  born  October  13,  1905. 

JAMES  M.  PATTERSON,  of  New  Kensington,  is  the  grandson  of 
James  Patterson,  who  was  born  in  1773,  in  county  Down,  Ireland,  and  at  the 
age  of  sixteen  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  settling  for  a  short  time  near 
Stcubenville,  in  Mrginia.     After  three  or  four  vears  he  went  to  Washington 


u{::^^S^ayL^^  /^.^ 


'-'^M/^V- 1 


'""^i;V 


HISTORY   OF   IVESTMORELAXD   COUXTY.  191 

county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  purchased  a  farm,  antl  for  the  remainder  of  his 
life  gave  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits.  In  politics  he  was  allied  suc- 
cessively with  the  Whigs,  the  Know-Nothings.  and  the  Republicans.  For 
about  forty  years  he  served  as  elder  in  the  United  Presbyterian  church  of 
Xorth  Hope.  Mr.  Patterson  married  Mary  Miller,  and  their  children  were: 
Alexander,  Thomas,  James,  mentioned  hereafter;  David,  John,  Jane,  wife  of 
James  Armstrong,  of  West  Middletown  :  Elizabeth,  wife  of  James  Richmond, 
of  \\'est  Finley  township,  Washington  county,  and  about  1868  they  moved  to 
Colorado,  where  both  died :  Margaret,  wife  of  Samuel  Leiper.  of  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Hookstown,  Beaver  county :  Mary,  wife  of  James  Tagert,  of  Alle- 
gheny county.  Mr.  Patterson,  the  father,  lived  to  be  almost  a  centenarian,  his 
death  occurring  about  1867. 

James  Patterson,  son  of  James  and  Mary  (Miller)  Patterson,  was  born  in 
1816,  on  the  old  homestead,  near  West  Middletown,  where  he  remained  until 
after  his  marriage,  settling  then  on  a  farm  adjoining  the  homestead.  In  1848 
he  sold  the  property  and  bought  a  farm  of  ninety-six  acres  near  Goodintent, 
where  he  remained  about  six  years.  He  then  sold  this  farm  and  purchased  an- 
other of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres  on  what  was  known  as  Block- 
house run.  On  this  property  he  made  his  home  until  1866,  when  he  sold  it  and 
went  with  his  son,  James  M.  Patterson,  to  Beaver  county,  where  he  became  the 
owner  of  a  farm  of  two  hundred  and  seventy-three  acres,  situated  some  fifty 
miles  from  his  former  home  at  Tumbleson  run,  near  Hookstown.  He  lived  on 
this  farm  until  about  1885.  when  he  abandoned  agriculture  and  moved  to 
Hookstown  where  he  made  his  home  until  the  death  of  his  wife.  He  then  sold 
his  house  and  resided  with  his  sons  on  the  homestead  during  the  remainder  of 
his  life.  He  was  a  Republican,  and  for  some  years  an  efder  of  the  United 
Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Patterson  married  jane,  daughter  of  Hugh  and 
Esther  Leiper.  of  Hookstown,  and  their  children  were:  James  M,,  mentioned 
hereafter;  Esther  A.,  deceased  wife  of  Alford  Marks,  of  East  Liverpool; 
Hugh,  died  in  childhood;  Sarah,  wife  of  Joseph  Armstrong;  Anna  Mary,  wife 
of  Pollock  Thompson,  near  Frankford  Springs;  Hugh  (2).  farmer  on  the 
homestead;  EHzabeth,  wife  of  Thomas  Ramsey,  near  Mill  Creek  Church, 
Beaver  county  ;  Amanda,  died  unmarried  ;  Anderson,  farmer  on  part  of  the 
homestead;  Delia,  deceased  wife  of  David  Strauss;  Eva.  wife  of  William 
Richmond;  David,  drowned  in  the  old  well  when  about  three  years  of  age. 
The  mother  of  this  family  died  in  1891,  and  the  father  passed  away  in  1895. 

James  M.  Patterson,  son  of  James  and  Jane  (Leiper)  Patterson, Was  born 
July  10,  1843,  near  West  ^liddletown,  on  the  homestead  which  had  been  the 
Ijirthplace  of  his  father  and  the  home  of  his  grandfather.  In  1863  he  enlisted 
in  Company  K,  Sixteenth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  \'olunteer  Cavalrv,  served 
to  the  close  of  the  war  and  was  present  at  the  surrender  of  Lee. 

After  his  return  home  he  engaged  in  farming  until  1875.  when  he  went  to 
Wellsville,  Ohio,  and  there  learned  the  machinist's  trade,  the  practice  of  which. 
however,  he  found  injurious  to  his  health.  He  therefore  took  a  position  with 
the  Brook  Oil  Company  of  Cleveland,  which  he  retained  twelve  or  thirteen 
years.  In  1894  he  moved  to  New  Kensington  and  establislied  himself  in  the 
undertaking  business,  which  he  has  successfully  conducted  to  the  present  time. 
He  is  a  member  of  Xew  Kensington  Post.  Xo.  636,  G.  A.  R..  P.  O.  S.  of  A.,  of 
New  Kensington,  and  Lodge  Xo.  1048,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  also  of  New  Kensington 
In  the  last-named  organization  he  has  passed  all  chairs  and  has  held  for  one 
year  the  office  of  treasurer.  He  is  a  Republican,  and  during  four  vcars  served 
on  the  countv  committee. 


192  HISTORY   OF   WRSTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

ALBERT  M.  BEATTY.  The  great-grandfather  of  Albert  M.  Beatty. 
of  Ligonier,  was  William  Beatty,  who  spent  his  entire  life  in  Armstrong 
county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  followed  the  trade  of  a  wagonmaker  and  was 
also  engaged  in  business  as  an  undertaker.  His  wife  was  Isabella  Colwell,  and 
their  children  were :  James,  mentioned  hereafter ;  .William,  Absalom,  Samuel, 
Jane  married  William  Bowman  ;  and  Margaret,  married  Samuel  Patterson. 

James  Beatty,  son  of  William  and  Isabella  (Colwell)  Beatty,  was  born  in 
1812,  in  Armstrong  county,  and  learned  the  wagonmaker's  trade  which  he  fol- 
lowed in  connection  with  that  of  a  carpenter  and  cabinetmaker,  and  also  en- 
gaged in  the  milling  business.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Mr. 
Beatty  married  Catherine  Richard,  and  their  children  were :  Mary,  married 
Silas  Wareham  ;  Michael,  deceased  ;  William  ;  Miles,  lives  in  Armstrong  county  ; 
James,  a  carpenter  and  builder  in  the  same  county ;  Samuel  A.,  mentioned  here- 
after; John,  a  resident  of  Pittsburg;  Daniel,  also  lives  in  that  city:  and  Cath- 
erine, wife  of  Thompson  Kelley. 

Samuel  A.  Beatty,  son  of  James  and  Catherine  (Richard)  Beatty,  was  born 
February  24,  1847,  '"  Armstrong  county,  and  received  his  education  in  the 
common  schools.  For  some  years  he  worked  among  the  farmers  of  his  native 
county.  In  1865  he  enlisted  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Regiment,  Sixth 
Army  Corps,  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  for  one  year  or  during  the  war,  and 
was  mustered  out  of  service  August  25,  1865.  Mr.  Beatty  married  Elenora 
Hawk,  and  they  had  children :  Ora,  wife  of  Edward  Fry;  Albert  M.,  mentioned 
hereafter:  Wyron  W.,  at  home:  Smith  E. ;  Florence  A.,  at  home;  Gertrude  A., 
married  Edward  Lowry,  of  Ligonier. 

Albert  M.  Beatty,  son  of  Samuel  A.  and  Elenora  (Hawk)  Beatty,  was 
born  July  29,  1870,  and  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools.  In  1893 
he  began  to  learn  the  business  of  a  barber  with  Jacob  Hamilton,  of  Ligonier, 
with  whom  he  remained  one  year,  and  then  opened  an  establishment  of  his  own 
in  partnership  with  C.  L.  Bonser,  after  conducting  the  business  alone  for  two 
years.  The  connection  was  maintained  five  years,  and  in  April,  1902,  Mr. 
Beatty  leased  the  National  Hotel,  in  Ligonier,  of  which  he  has  ever  since  been 
the  successful  proprietor.  He  is  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  964,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of 
Ligonier.  Mr.  Beatty  married  Martha,  daughter  of  James  and  Martha  (Long) 
Gillespie,  and  they  have  two  children :  Margaret,  and  Eugene. 

MILLER  BROTHERS.  Clifford  E.  and  Irwin  C.  Miller,  constitute 
the  firm  of  Miller  Brothers,  proprietors  of  one  of  the  largest  department  stores 
of  Westmoreland  county,  located  at  Arona.  The  former  was  born  April  22, 
1880,  and  the  latter  born  September  28,  1876.  They  are  sons  of  John  W] 
Miller  and  Catherine  (Bussard)  Miller,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  Hemp- 
field  township,  in  1851,  his  parents  being  Lewis  and  Susan  (Fox)  Miller.  John 
W.  Miller  was  reared  in  his  father's  home,  acquired  his  education  in  the  com- 
mon schools  and  when  about  twenty  years  of  age,  in  company  with  W.  H.  Bus- 
sard,  purchased  the  mercantile  business  of  Adam  Miller,  at  Arona.  This  was 
the  nucleus  of  the  present  extensive  house  conducted  by  the  Miller  brothers. 
John  W.  Miller  and  his  partner  conducted  the  business  up  to  the  time  of  the 
former's  death,  in  1881,  when  Mr.  Bussard  purchased  Mr.  Miller's  interest, 
becoming  sole  proprietor  and  carrying  on  the  same  until  1895,  when  it  was 
destroyed  by  fire.  Following  the  death  of  her  first  husband,  Mrs.  Catharine 
Miller' became  the  wife  of  G.  W.  Miller,  in  1884,  and  in  1889  G.  W.  ]Miller 
embarked  in  merchandising  in  Arona.  In  1894  his  wife  became  the  owner  of 
the  business  and  conducted  the  same  up  to  the  time  of  her  death,  in  May,  1902, 


niSlORV    OF    ]]-ESTMORELAXn    COUXTY.  193 

when  Clifford   E.  and   Irwin   C.  purchased  the  same  and  have  since  been  its 
proprietors. 

Clifford  E.  Miller  was  educated  in  the  county  schools  and  at  Leach's  Bus- 
iness College,  in  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania  and  in  Grove  City  College,  where 
he  pursued  a  classical  course.  When  only  nine  years  of  age  Clifford  E.  Miller 
entered  the  store  and  being  apt  and  ambitious,  quick  in  his  movements  and 
courteous  to  the  patrons,  he  soon  became  a  valued  factor  in  the  conduct  of  the 
enterprise  and  it  was  only  a  few^  years  until  he  was  practically  manager  of  the 
business,  tlis  brother,  who  pursued  his  education  in  the  public  schools,  se- 
cured a  position  in  early  youth  with  W.  H.  Eussard,  his  father's  successor, 
with  whom  he  remained  until  the  destruction  of  the  store  by  fire.  He  then  ac- 
cepted a  position  with  the  Madison  Supply  Company,  with  whom  he  remained 
for  eight  years,  four  years  of  the  time  acting  as  general  manager.  In  igo2  he 
t.ccepted  a  position  with  Eli  Sell  and  Company,  of  Greensburg,  with  whom  he 
continued  for  a  year,  when  his  business  interests  in  Arona  demanded  his  at- 
tention and  he  resigned  his  position  there.  The  brothers  have  since  been  closely 
associated  in  the  conduct  of  the  store  and  in  addition  to  their  mercantile  enter- 
prise they  own  and  operate  a  stock  farm.  Their  business  in  Arona  is  a  large 
department  store  and  within  space  of  ten  years  their  trade  has  grown  so  rap- 
idly that  their  floor  space  has  been  increased  from  six  hundred  to  ten  thousand 
square  feet,  while  from  forty  to  fifty  carloads  of  goods  are  purchased  annually. 
The  trade  has  long  since  reached  profitable  proportions  and  in  the  conduct  of 
the  enterprise  the  brothers  display  marked  executive  ability,  keen  discrnment 
and  indefatigable  energy,  iioth  are  supporters  of  the  Democratic  party  and 
they  are  members  of  the  United  Brethren  church,  in  which  Irwin  C.  Miller  is 
now  serving  as  elder  and  also  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees.  Clifford 
E.  was  married,  June  7,  1905,  to  Minnie,  daughter  of  Irwin  W.  Moore,  of  New 
Stanton,  Pennsylvania.  Irwin  C.  Miller  was  married  May  2,  1905,  to  Eleanor, 
daughter  of  Robert  J.  Anderson,  of  Manor,  Penns}-lvania. 

W.  H.  BL'SSARD.  For  three  generations  the  Bussard  family  has 
been  represented  in  Westmoreland  county,  and  in  colonial  days  was  established 
in  Pennsylvania,  the  great-grandfather  serving  as  a  .soldier  of  the  Revolution- 
ary war  in  defense  of  colonial  interests.  Being  captured  by  the  British  troops, 
he  was  imprisoned  and  was  starved  to  death  while  still  held  in  captivity. 

Conrad  Bussard.  the  grandfather,  was  born  in  Northampton  county.  Penn- 
sylvania, and  the  year  1779  witnessed  his  arrival  in  Westmoreland  county,  ac- 
companied by  his  wife  and  one  child.  They  also  brought  with  them  a  cow  and 
around  its  neck  was  fastened  a  bell,  which  is  still  in  possession  of  the  family. 
Conrad  Bussard  secured  a  tract  of  land  near  Irw-in  Station  and  there  success- 
fully carried  on  general  farming  for  many  years.  His  death  occurred  in  1852, 
when  he  was  about  seventy-six  years  of  age. 

Conrad  Bussard.  junior,  son  of  Conrad  Bussard.  senior,  was  born  on  the 
b.ome  farm  at  Irwin  .Station,  in  1812,  and  there  he  assisted  his  father  in  gen- 
eral agricultural  pursuits  until  his  thirty-third  year,  when  he  was  married  and 
went  to  a  home  of  his  own,  settling  at  what  is  now  Bussardtown,  which  place 
was  founded  by  his  father.  In  early  life  he  learned  and  followed  the  cooper's 
trade  and  when  his  labors  had  brought  him  sufficient  capital  to  purchase  land 
he  became  the  owner  of  a  farm  near  .-Xdamshurg  and  there  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  agricultural  pursuits.  In  1865  ''"^'  jnirchased  his  father-in-law-'s  farm, 
which  now  lives  in  the  heart  of  Arona  and  in  the  midst  of  the  richest  coal  fields 
of  Pennsvlvania.     He  afterward  bought  Joseph  Rombaugh's  farm  and  made 

2—13 


194  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

his  home  thereon  until  his  death  in  1881.  He  held  membership  in  the  Brush 
Creek  Lutheran  church  and  gave  his  political  support  to  the  Democracy.  He 
married  Catherine  Shumaker,  daughter  of  William  Shumaker,  who  was  the 
owner  of  the  farm  now  occupied  by  George  O.  Bussard.  Their  children  were : 
Mary,  wife  of  Michael  Erhart,  of  Arona ;  W.  H.,  and  George  O.,  who  is  also 
carrying  on  agricultural  pursuits  in  Arona. 

W.  H.  Bussard  was  reared  at  home,  acquired  a  common  school  education, 
and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years  apprenticed  himself  to  the  blacksmith's  trade 
which  he  followed  for  four  years.  He  afterward  returned  home  and  took 
charge  of  the  property,  his  "brother  George  having  left  home.  There  William 
H.  Bussard  remained  for  a  year,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  purchased  a  half- 
interest  in  the  mercantile  business  of  John  W.  Miller  and  Company,  at  Arona. 
Following  the  death  of  Mr.  Miller,  in  1882,  he  became  sole  proprietor  of  the 
bi'siness,  which  he  conducted  successfully  until  1894,  when  the  store  was  com- 
pletely destroyed  by  fire.  He  then  purchased  the  farm  where  he  now  resides, 
owning  and  operating  a  good  tract  of  land  and  in  addition  he  is  the  owner, of  a 
sa'i'.'mill,  where  he  engages  in  the  manufacture  of  lumber.  He  is  likewise  a 
coal  operator,  having  one  of  the  valuable  coal  banks  of  this  portion  of  the  state. 
Mr.  Bussard  is  a  Phohibitionist  in  his  political  views,  taking  an  active  interest 
in  the  work  of  the  party.  He  belongs  to  the  Free  Methodist  church,  of  which  he 
is  a  steward,  and  he  is  classsed  with  the  leading  and  highly  respected  citizens  uf 
Hcm]3tield  township. 

Mr.  Bussard  was  married  in  1874  to  Eliza  Errett,  daughter  of  Jacob  Er- 
retl,  of  Hempfield  township,  and  they  had  eight  children,  of  wh6m  seven  are 
hving :  Clarence  F.,  a  veteran  of  the  Spanish-American  war ;  Dirbin  J.,  John  W., 
James  H.,  Jennie  E.,  Robert  E.,  and  Clark  E.,  all  at  home. 

LE.STER  L.  LOWE.  Four  generations  of  the  Lowe  family  have  been 
represented  in  Westmoreland  county,  the  great-grandfather  having  removed  to 
Tiuffsdale,  this  county,  from  east  of  the  mountains.  His  son,  George  Lowe,  was 
horn  at  RutTsdale  and  became  a  prominent  farmer  of  that  locality,  spending  his 
■entire  life  there. 

Marks  Lowe,  son  of  George  Lowe,  was  also  born  and  reared  at  Ruft'sdale, 
Lecoming  a  leading  agriculturist  of  that  community,  and  continued  to  make  his 
liome  there  until  his  life's  labors  were  ended  in  death.  He  married  Sarah 
Brant. 

Lester  L.  Lowe,  son  of  Marks  and  Sarah  Lowe,  was  born  at  Ruffsdale, 
July  13,  1855,  and  in  his  youth  became  familiar  with  the  labors  that  fall  to  the 
lot  of  the  agriculturist.  He  acquired  a  common  school  education  and  for  four 
years  engaged  in  teaching  in  the  district  schools.  When  about  nineteen  years 
of  age  he  apprenticed  himself  to  the  carpenter's  trade  and  in  1884  he  accepted  a 
position  with  the  firm  of  Hecla  Coke  Company  at  Hecla  and  Trauger,  which 
company  owned  a  number  of  stores.  He  was  identified  with  the  company  for 
thirteen  vears  and  a  portion  of  the  time  acted  as  manager.  On  the  expiration 
of  that  period  he  removed  to  Ruffsdale,  where  he  was  variously  employed  for 
three  years,  and  during  that  time  he  built  the  Empire  Coke  Works.  In  the 
spring  of  1901  he  came  to  Youngwood,  then  a  mere  hamlet,  containing  only 
three  or  four  houses.  Here  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  lumber  business  and 
also  began  contracting  and  building  in  partnership  with  Charles  R.  Haller,  the 
style  of  the  firm  being  Lowe  and  Haller.  In  the  rapid  transformation  when 
Youngwood  developed  from  a  village  into  a  borough  the  firm  took  an  active  part 
In  its  improvement,  erecting  the  greater  number  of  the  residences  in  the  town. 


HISTORY    OF    JVESTMORELAXD    COUXTY.  195 

Thev  now  own  extensive  property  interests  in  the  town  and  have  laid  out  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  borough. 

Air.  Lowe  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  with  strong  Prohibition  tendencies 
and  in  1892  he  was  a  candidate  on  the  Prohibition  tickets  for  the  state  legisia- 
tr.re.  An  active  and  influential  member  in  the  Reformed  church,  he  is  now 
serving  as  one  of  its  deacons,  and  he  belongs  to  Ruflfsdale  Lodge,  No.  8,  O.  of 
AT.  He  is  accounted  one  of  the  leading  business  men  of  Youngwood.  In  the 
spring  of  1905  he  was  elected  to  borough  council. 

Mr.  Lowe  was  married  in  1894  to  Sadie  Fiscus,  daughter  of  John  Fiscus,  of 
Whitney,  Washington  county,  and  their  children  are:  Ethel  G.,  Mary  E.,  and 
Alvin  F. 

ROBERT  ELLIS.  The  family  of  which  Robert  Ellis  is  a  representa- 
tive had  its  origin,  so  far  as  the  ancestral  history  can  be  traced,  in  Wales.  His 
grandfather  was  a  native  of  that  country  and  when  about  six  years  of  age  was 
brought  to  the  L'nited  States,  the  family  locating  near  Jones  Alill,  in  Westmore- 
land county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  reared.  He  afterward  located  on  a 
farm,  where  he  carried  on  agricultural  pursuits  until  his  death,  which  resulted 
from  being  thrown  from  a  cart  in  which  he  was  standing,  when  the  horses  gave 
a  sudden  "start,  throwing  him  to  the  ground  and  breaking  his  neck.  He  was 
twice  married,  his  second  wife  being  the  grandmother  of  Robert  Ellis.  By  the 
tirst  marriage  there  were  seven  children,  all  of  whom  are  now  deceased.  By  the 
second  marriage  there  were  two  children — James  and  Robert.  The  latter  is 
now  in  his  eighty-eighth  year  and  resides  in  Linn  county,  Iowa,  near  Cedar 
Rapids,  being  the' oldest  living  resident  of  that  section  of  county,  having  located 
there  in  Alay,  1838,  when  the  Indians  were  far  more  numerous  in  that  region 
than  the  white  men. 

James  Ellis,  father  of  Robert  Ellis,  was  born  in  Westmoreland  county  and 
as  his  father  w^as  in  humble  financial  circumstances  at  the  time  of  his  death,  his 
children  were  placed  in  the  homes  of  neighbors  by  whom  they  were  reared. 
On  attaining  his  majority,  James  Ellis  learned  the  cabinetmaker's  trade,  in 
i\iount  Pleasant,  Pennsylvania,  and  afterward  went  to  Ligonier,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  worked  as  a  journeyman,  and  while  there  he  became  acquainted  with 
the  ladv  whom  he  made  his  wife.  Later  he  removed  to  Madison,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  opened  a  shop,  and  in  1856  he  went  with  his  family  to  Indiana,  but 
finding  that  fever  and  ague  were  prevalent  in  the  state  at  that  day,  he  returned 
to  Westmoreland  county,  after  two  weeks  spent  in  the  middle  west.  For  a 
brief  period  he  lived  in  New  Alexandria,  Pennsylvania,  and  then  w'ent  to 
Greensburg,  while  in  1858  he  opened  a  mercantile  store  in  Ludwick,  now 
Greensburg,  at  the  corner  of  West  Ottoman  and  Hamilton  streets,  where  James 
Seanor  is  now  located.  There  he  carried  on  merchandising  until  1895,  when  he 
sold  his  business  and  retired  to  private  life.  In  early  manhood  he  gave  his 
political  support  to  the  Democracy,  but  in  1856  joined  the  new  Republican  party, 
which  in  that  year  placed  its  first  presidential  candidate  in  the  field  and  con- 
tinued one  of  its  supporters  u])  to  the  time  of  his  death.  He  held  membership  in 
the  First  Presbyterian  church  and  he  died  April  22,  1897,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
seven  years,  eight  months  and  seven  days.  He  married  Isabelle  McClintock 
and  of  their  eight  children,  six  are  now  living,  namely :  Maggie,  wife  of  M.  M. 
Clark,  of  Claridge,  Westmoreland  countv :  Elizabeth,  wife  of  W.  J.  Porter,  of 
Premont.  Towa :  Nannie  E.,  wife  of  J.  L.  McKcever,  of  this  county;  RolxTt : 
Albert  C,  who  for  thirty  years  was  a  merchant  at  Pittsburg,  Pa. :  and  Josie, 
-wife  of  J.  C.  Zeak,  of  Morristown,  N.  J. 


196  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAXD    COUNTY. 

Robert  Ellis,  son  of  James  Ellis,  was  born  in  Madison,  Westmoreland 
county,  October  26,  1848,  and  was  a  public  school  student.  At  the  age  of 
twenty  years  he  went  west,  spending  two  years  in  Iowa  and  two  years  in  Mis- 
souri at  farm  work.  He  then  returned  home  and  entered  his  father's  store. 
During  the  following  four  years  he  saved  his  money,  and  in  1876  entered  into 
partnership  with  his  father,  a  business  relation  that  was  maintained  until  1881, 
when  he  sold  his  interest  and  began  an  independent  business  for  himself  at 
Weaver's  Old  Stand,  in  Westmoreland  county.  There  he  remained  for  nine 
years,  enjoying  a  good  patronage,  which  brought  him  a  desirable,  financial  re- 
turn. During  the  latter  part  of  that  period  conditions  changed  much,  the 
Hecla  mines  being  opened  about  two  miles  away  from  that  place.  As  this  left 
him  away  from  the  railroad,  he  began  to  look  around  for  favorable  location,  and 
liecided  and  found  that  Youngwood  furnished  the  opening  that  he  desired.  In 
1890.  therefore,  he  removed  to  the  New  Light  building,  the  first  structure  erect- 
ed in  the  now  prosperous  borough.  There  he  opened  his  line  of  goods  and  con- 
ducted business  successfully  for  ten  years,  when  he  retired  from  active  mer- 
cantile life  and  is  now  enjoying  a  well  earned  rest.  He,  therefore,  owns  sev- 
eral propertites  in  Youngwood,  together  with  the  old  farm  homestead  in  Lud- 
wick,  and  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  substantial  citizens  of  the  county.  Inter- 
ested in  political  questions  and  issues,  Robert  Ellis  has  always  been  a  Republi- 
can and  active  in  community  aflfairs.  is  now  serving  as  president  of  the  school 
board  and  is  secretary  of  the  board  of  trade  in  Youngwood.  He  was  also  for 
five  years  postmaster  at  Weaver's  Old  Stand  and  has  continued  in  the  same  office 
in  Youngwood  ten  years,  and  in  all  that  time  he  never  missed  a  connection  with 
any  train.  It  was  through  his  instrumentality  that  the  postoffice  in  Youngwood 
was  established  in  1891.  Mr.  Ellis  married,  October,  1876,  Charlotte  Byers, 
daughter  of  John  H.  Byers,  who  lived  near  Weaver's  Old  Stand.  There  wert 
three  children  of  this  marriage,  but  only  two  are  living — James  B.  and  Robert 
Ellis,  both  at  home. 

A.  H.  CAVEN,  M.  D.,  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Young- 
wood. is  a  grandson  of  Alexander  and  Esther  (  Brugh)  Caven,  residents  of 
Westmoreland  county,  the  grandfather  following  the  occupation  of  farming. 
Their  son,  Eli  Caven,  born  in  Harrold,  this  county,  was  there  reared  and  still 
resides  upon  the  old  homestead  farm.  He  gives  his  political  support  to  the  Re- 
publican party  and  served  for  several  years  as  justice  of  the  peace.  He  is  a  man 
of  large  influence  locally  and  transacts  much  public  business,  frequently  serving 
as  administrator  of  estates.  He  enjoys  the  unqualified  trust  of  the  general  public. 
For  fifteen  years  he  acted  as  school  director,  and  he  has  long  been  a  member  of 
the  United  Brethren  church,  in  whichfor  many  years  he  has  held  office.  He  mar- 
ried Clara  M.  Campbell,  and  of  their  five  children,  four  are  yet  living:  Mary  A., 
wife  of  Dr.  F.  G.  McKlveen  ;  William  A,,  a  practicing  physician  of  Pittsburg, 
Pa. :  A.  H.,  Addison  V.,  at  home. 

Dr.  A.  H.  Caven  was  born  at  Bottsville,  now  Harrold.  Pennsylvania,  in 
Westmoreland  county,  April  23,  1877,  and  after  attending  the  common  schools, 
became  a  student  in  Ligonier,  Pennsylvania  Classical  Institute,  and  later  in  Ot- 
terbein  University,  at  Westerville,  Ohio.  In  1897  he  began  the  study  of  medi- 
cine, entering  the  Western  Pennsylvania  Medical  College,  at  Pittsburg,  in  which 
institution  he  was  graduated  in  the  spring  of  1901.  He  then  located  in  Pitts- 
burg and  for  six  months  practiced  with  his  brother  at  No.  2126  Fifth  avenue. 
On  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  returned  to  Youngwood,  and  in  the  three 
years  here  passed  has  built  up  a  large  and  gratifying  practice.     He  has  through- 


cy{u^^^^  ^/i^i'-mM^ 


JIISTORV   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUXTV.  197 

out  this  period  been  surgeon  of  the  reunsylvania  Raih-oad  Company.  He  is  a 
member  of  Youngwood  Lodge,  Xo.  667,  I.  (  ).  ( ).  I'..  Woodland  Lodge.  Xo. 
310,  K.  P..  and  Y.  L'.  Lodge,  Xo.  108,  Grand  iM-aternity,  also  Ivy  Comman- 
dery,  K.  of  .M..  Greensburg.  He  also  belongs  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  and  is  serving  as  secretary  of  its  board  of  stewards. 

XICHCJLAS  KROilER,  the  proprietor  of  the  Columbia  Hotel,  at 
Alverton,  W  estmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  is  a  native  of  France,  born 
February  21,  1839.  He  received  his  educational  training  in  the  land  of  his 
birth,  and  in  1869,  in  company  with  his  wife  and  family,  came  to  America, 
locating  in  Connellsville,  Pennsylvania.  He  immediately  found  employment 
in  the  coal  mines,  and  after  ten  years  of  this  occupation  embarked  in  the  busi- 
ness of  photograjjher,  being  thus  engaged  for  six  years.  He  was  then  elected 
to  the  position  of  constable  of  Connellsville,  and  after  serving  for  one  year 
in  this  capacity  removed  to  Everson,  where  he  purchased  a  hotel  known  as 
the  L'reka  House,  which  he  successfully  conducted  for  six  years.  He  then 
erected  what  is  now  known  as  the  Kromer  House,  in  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania, 
and  was  its  proprietor  for  eight  years.  Owing  to  failing  health  Mr.  Kromer  re- 
tired from  active  business  pursuits  for  two  years,  during  this  period  visiting 
his  native  country  and  renewing  his  acquaintance  with  his  relatives  and  the 
friends  of  his  youth.  When  he  was  again  able  to  engage  in  business  he  re- 
moved to  Alverton,  Pennsylvania,  and  there  purchased  property  on  which  he 
erected  the  present  Columbia  Hotel,  and  in  the  conduct  of  which  he  is  npw 
engaged.  This  is  an  excellent  house,  well  known  to  the  traveling  community, 
and  enjoys  a  generous  patronage.  In  religious  faith  Mr.  Kromer  is  a  Luth- 
eran, and  his  wife  affiliates  with  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  Fraternally 
he  is  a  member  of  Castle  Xo.  238.  Knights  of  Pythias,  of  Connellsville,  Penn- 
sylvania;  Lodge  Xo.  242.  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men,  Connellsville;  also  the 
German  Lodge,  of  Connellsville. 

Mr.  Kromer  married  in  1866,  in  France,  Catherine  Weibel,  who  was  born 
June  14,  1844.  daughter  of  Henry  and  Christine  (Clair)  Weibel.  Of  this  mar- 
riage the  following  named  children  have  been  born :  Jacob,  a  resident  of 
Youngwood,  jjroprietor  of  the  Youngwood  Hotel ;  Harry,  a  foreman  in  the 
Scottdale  Foundr_\-  and  Machine  Shop ;  Charles,  an  engineer  in  the  emplov  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  ;  Phillip,  a  roller  in  the  Scottdale  Mills ; 
Catherine,  wife  of  Xicholas  Kaeff,  and  Elizabeth,  wife  of  H.  3il.  Davis. 

W.  H.  PROW'X,  ^I.  D.,  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  in 
Youngwood,  was  born  in  Uniontown,  Maryland,  June  21,  1868,  a  son  of  John 
A.  and  Mary  E.  (Engler)  Brown,  while  his  paternal  grandparents  were  JNIoses 
and  Susan  (Harbaugh)  Brown.  The  grandfather,  who  was  of  Swiss  descent, 
was  a  railroad  contractor  and  lived  and  died  in  Ellicott  City,  Maryland.  John 
A.  Brown  was  born  and  reared  in  Ellicott  City  and  when  a  young  man  went  to 
Uniontown,  where  he  learned  the  trades  of  painting  and  paper-hanging,  be- 
coming a  contractor  in  those  departments  of  business  activity.  In  1884  he  re- 
moved to  Washington,  D.  C,  where  he  was  employed  in  the  treasury  depart- 
ment of  the  government  service.  He  died  in  1895,  at  the  age  of  sixty-three 
years.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat,  and  was  a  man  of  influence  in  the  coun- 
cils of  the  party  in  Maryland,  and  while  there  he  held  a  clerkship  in  the  state 
legislature  of  Maryland  for  several  years.  He  held  membership  in  the  Metho- 
dist Protestant  church.  His  widow  is  still  living  and  resides  with  her  daugh- 
ter at  Armbrust,  I'cnn.sylvania.  They  were  the  parents  of  four  children,  of 
whom  three  are  livmg:  Susie  C,  wife  of  G.  C- Mawkberz,  of  Waynesboro, 
Pa.;  Xellie  G.,  wife  of  T.  F.  Armbrust,  li\'ing  in  the  liorough  of  Armbrust; 
and  W.  H. 


198  HISTORY   OF    IVESTMORHLAND   COUNTY. 

Reared  in  his  parent's  home,  Dr.  Brown  supplemented  his  early  educa- 
tional privileges  by  study  in  the  Western  IMaryland  College,  at  Westnimster, 
Maryland,  and  when  eighteen  years  of  age  he  began  reading  medicine  under 
Dr.  T.  J.  Shreeve,  of  L  niontown,  Maryland,  with  whom  he  remained  for  a 
year,  and  in  the  fall  of  1886  he  matriculated  in  the  University  of  Maryland, 
being  graduated  from  the  medical  department  in  the  spring  of  1889.  He  lo- 
cated for  practice  in  New  Stanton,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  remained  for  three 
and  a  half  years,  and  then  removed  to  Lancaster  county.  I'ennsylvania,  but 
after  a  brief  time  he  went  to  Washington,  D.  C,  where  he  was  located  for  two 
vears.  In  the  winter  of  1895  he  came  to  Youngwood,  where  he  has  built  up  a 
large  and  lucrative  practice,  having  the  confidence  of  his  professional  brethren 
and  of  the  general  public  as  well. 

Dr.  Brown  was  married  in  1902,  to  Irene  M.  Gibbons,  a  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  ^Mary  (Scott)  Gibbons,  of  Washington,  D.  C.  Dr.  Brown  belongs 
to  Woodland  Lodge,  No.  210,  K.  P.,  of  Youngwood;  Painterville  Lodge,  J.  O. 
U.  A.  M.,  of  New  Stanton  ;  and  the  Youngwood  Lodge  of  the  Grand  Frater- 
nity. In  the  line  of  his  profession  he  is  connected  with  the  Westmoreland 
County  Medical  Society,  the  Pennsylvania  State  Medical  Society  and  the 
American  Medical  Association.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Alethodist  Episcopal 
church  and  is  one  of  its  trustees.  When  the  borough  of  Youngwood  was  or- 
ganized he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  town  council,  which  position  he  now 
holds,  and  he  is  a  man  of  sterling  character  and  much  esteemed,  both  pro- 
fessionally and  socially. 

PHILO  N.  PYATT.  The  ancestor  of  Philo  N.  Pyatt  came  to  the 
United  States  from  France  about  1786.  He  was  a  Baptist  and  an  earnest 
worker  in  behalf  of  Christianity  as  he  interpreted  its  teachings.  Taking  part  in 
the  French  revolution,  he  was  deported  by  his  government  and  became  an 
American  citizen.     The  family  name  was  originally  spelled  Payette. 

Rev.  James  B.  Pyatt,  father  of  Philo  N.  Pyatt,  was  born  in  Pittsburg, 
Pennsylvania,  where  his  father  was  engaged  in  contracting  and  building.  The 
former  was  reared  in  his  native  city  and  after  completing  his  literary  education 
he  prepared  for  the  ministry  as  a  student  in  Bethany  College,  in  Virginia,  after 
which  he  was  ordained  as  a  preacher  of  the  Disciple  church.  After  filling  pul- 
pits in  connection  with  several  different  churches,  he  accepted  a  call  to  the  pas- 
torate of  the  church  at  Johnstown,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  remained  for  sev- 
eral years,  and  about  1882  he  went  to  Los  Angeles,  California,  where  several 
members  of  the  family  had  preceded  him.  There  he  died  when  about  eighty 
years  of  age.  He  filled'  the  pulpit  there  on  Sunday  prior  to  his  demise,  and  con- 
tinued his  active  work  in  behalf  of  the  church  throughout  the  years  of  his  man- 
hood. During  the  Civil  war  he  was  chaplain  of  the  Ninth  Pennsylvania  Re- 
serves, and  was  one  of  the  well  known  and  honored  Christian  men  who  joined 
the  army  to  administer  religious  teachings  among  the  soldiers.  He  had  a 
brother, 'Joseph  O.  Pyatt,  who  was  one  of  the  noted  educators  of  the  United 
States,  and  was  also  an  author  of  note.  For  years  he  and  his  wife  were  in- 
structors in  the  Asylum  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  at  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania, 
and  his  reputation  along  educational  lines  extended  throughout  the  United 
States.  Rev.  James  B.  Pyatt  married  Mary  C.  Stevenson,  and  they  had  eight 
children,  but  only  two  are  living,  the  daughter  being  Maggie,  wife  of  William 
Horner,  of  Los  Angeles,  California. 

Philo  N.  Pyatt  was  born  in  Evansburg,  Pennsylvania,  June  9,  \%S^\  and  he 
attended  the  public  schools  between  the  ages  of  six  and  sixteen  years,  when  he 
began  earning  his  own  livelihood.  He  took  up  the  study  of  telegraphy,  and  i'.i 
1873  was  assigned  to  duty  in  an  office  in  Johnstown,  Pennsylvania.   In  187S  he 


FilSTORY    OF    Jl'ESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  199 

• 

left  the  telegraph  service,  and  for  eiglit  years  was  a  trainman  in  the  passenger 
service  of  the  Philadelphia  and  Erie  railroad,  being  located  at  Harrisburg.  In 
1886  he  went  to  Scottdale  where  lie  again  entered  the  telegraph  service,  and  in 
Febrnar\-,  1902,  he  removed  to  Youngwood,  where  he  established  himself  in  the 
mercantile  bnsiness.  but  left  the  active  management  of  his  store  to  his  son, 
while  he  continued  his  duties  as  a  telegrapher.  He  was  promoted  to  the  posi- 
tion of  train  dispatcher  of  the  Pittsburg  division  of  the  Pennsylvania  railroad 
in  July,  1902,  and  is  now  acting  in  that  capacity.  He  votes  with  the  Republican 
party,  and  is  influential  in  political  circles.  He  served  two  terms  as  councilman 
of  Scottdale,  and  during  the  last  year  was  president  of  the  council.  He  is  a 
member  of  Westmoreland  Lodge,  No.  518,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. ;  Scottdale  Council, 
No.  807.  R.  A. :  and  also  belongs  to  the  Baptist  church.  Mr.  Pyatt  married,  in 
1880,  Harriet  E.  Strickler,  a  daughter  of  Isaac  Strickler,  of  South  Huntingdon 
township,  Westmoreland  county.  Their  children  were :  Caleb  F.,  now  de- 
ceased :  Thomas  Earl,  manager  of  his  father's  mercantile  business,  and  postmas- 
ter of  Youngwood :  and  Oscar,  still  in  school. 

GEORGE  W.  CON,  proprietor  of  a  bakery  in  Youngwood,  was  born 
in  Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania,  January  4,  185 1,  and  is  descended  from 
Revolutionary  ancestry,  his  grandfather,  Abraham  Cox,  having  fought  for  in- 
dependence. He  was  an  iron  moulder  by  trade  and  removed  from  the  eastern 
to  the  western  slope  of  the  mountains  when  the  latter  district  was  being  opened 
up,  and  worked  for  its  iron  deposits,  the  old  charcoal  furnaces  being  used  with 
the  iron  moulding  business  in  Fayette  county,  where  he  was  employed. 

To  a  limited  extent  George  W.  Cox  attended  the  public  schools,  but  his 
privileges  in  that  direction  were  not  extensive.  His  active  career  has  been  a 
varied  one,  he  having  been  engaged  in  numerous  business  enterprises  in  diiTer- 
ent  parts  of  western  Pennsylvania.  He  removed,  August  19,  1901,  to  Young- 
wood from  West  Newton,  where  he  was  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  for 
four  years.  On  coming  to  Youngwood  he  established  a  bakery  which  he  is  now 
conducting,  and  in  this  enterprise  is  meeting  with  desirable  sucess.  There  were 
only  four  or  five  houses  in  the  borough  when  he  located  here,  but  with 
the  rapid  growth  of  the  place  his  business  has  also  grown.  He  is  a  man  of 
genial  disposition  and  commercial  integrity,  and  numbers  among  his  friends  the 
best  people  of  the  borough.  He  exercises  his  right  of  franchise  in  support  of 
the  men  and  measures  of  the  Republican  party.  Mr.  Cox  was  married,  in  1872, 
to  Sarah  Keihl,  a  daughter  of  Adam  Keihl,  of  North  Huntingdon  township. 

\\".  HERBERT  NISWONGER,  son  of  John  H.  and  Rebecca  M. 
(Deusenbury)  Niswonger,  was  born  August  13,  1875,  n^^r  Mendon,  West- 
moreland county,  Pennsylvania.  He  attended  the  public  schools  and  worked  on 
the  farm  in  his  native  place  until  he  had  reached  the  age  of  twenty-one  years. 
He  then  struck  out  for  himself,  going  to  Everson,  Fayette  county,  and  took  a 
position  in  a  grocery  store,  in  January,  1897.  He  followed  this  business  until 
February,  1904,  when  he  went  into  partnership  with  John  F.  Eicher  and 
opened  a  shoe  store,  under  the  firm  name  of  Niswonger  and  Eicher,  at  Scott- 
dale. They  carry  the  highest  grade  of  goods,  making  a  specialty  of  the  Drn- 
lap  and  Crawford  shoes  for  men  and  the  Patrician  shoe  for  women.  Mr.  Nis- 
wonger is  the  business  manager  of  the  establishment  and  is  a  man  well  suited 
to  the  'business,  being  of  an  unusuallv  affable  and  enterprising  disposition.  In 
addition  to  this  business  he  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Kinncv  Company,  of  Scott- 
dale, the  Beltom  Coal  and  Coke  Company,  of  West  X'irginia,  and  is  also  inter- 


200  HISTORY    or    WESTMORELAXD    COUNTY. 

ested  in  South  Sharon  Mercer  Company,  of  Pennsylvania.  He  is  active  po- 
litically, a  Republican,  and  always  takes  a  deep  interest  in  public  affairs,  and 
while  a  resident  of  Everson  he  was  elected  tax  collector  of  Upper  Tyron  town- 
ship. He  is  a  member  of  the  Knig-hts  of  Pythias,  ruaster  at  arms,  Scottdale 
Fountain  Lodge,  No.  443,  and  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Puritans,  and  is 
a  member  of  the  Bankers'  Life  Insurance  Comjjany.  Mr.  Niswonger  married, 
June  10,  1897,  Hattie  J.  Crise,  daughter  of  William  and  Kate  Crise,  a  native 
of  South  Huntingdon  township,  Westmoreland  county.  They  have  had  two 
sons  who  died  in  infancy.  They  are  members  of  the  United  Brethren  church, 
Mr.  Niswonger  being  a  trustee.  He  has  twice  represented  his  church  at  the 
Allegheny  conferences,  in  1903  at  Philipsburg,  and  again  in  1904  at  Scottdale. 
He  is  also  active  in  Sabbath  school  work. 

LEVI  T.  GILBERT,  M.  D.,  son  of  Alexander  and  Sarah  (Tarr) 
Gilbert,  was  born  June  8,  1865,  at  Bullskin,  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania.  His 
father  was  born  near  Gettysburg,  Adams  county,  Pennsylvania,  May  23, 
1824,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years  came  to  Fayette  county  where  he 
worked  at  his  trade,  bricklaying,  which  he  had  learned  in  Adams  county,  and 
after  five  years  he  purchased  fifty  acres  of  wild  land  in  Bullskin  township. 
This  he  constantl)-  improved,  clearing  the  land,  erecting  buildings  and  culti- 
vating the  soil.  Later  he  added  twenty  acres,  and  followed  his  trade  in  con- 
nection with  his  farming  until  he  was  seventy  years  of  age.  Most  of  the  brick 
buildings  in  this  section  of  the  country  were  erected  by  him.  In  politics  his 
sympathies  have  been  always  strongly  Democratic,  but  he  has  ever  displayed 
the  tolerance  for  other  people's  views  of  a  true  gentleman.  At  the  advanced 
age  of  eighty-one  years  he  still  displays  his  natural  activity.  His  wife,  Sarah 
Tarr  Gilbert,  a  daughter  of  James  R.  Tarr,  was  born  in  Westmoreland  county, 
near  Tarr 's  Station.  She  died  in  1901,  aged  seventy-one.  Eight  children  were 
born  to  them :  Josephine,  wife  of  Frank  Gilbert,  of  Columbus,  Ohio :  John,  a 
bricklayer,  of  Butler  county,  Pennsylvania ;  Mary,  deceased  wife  of  James 
Marsh,  of  Irwin,  Pennsylvania ;  Minerva,  deceased  wife  of  Irwin  Aluir,  Brad- 
dock,  Pennsylvania ;  Lydia.  wife  of  John  T.  Farmer,  Homewood,  Pennsyl- 
varHa;  James  R.,  a  farmer  at  Bullskin,  Pennsylvania;  Levi  T.,  of  whom 
later;  and  Frank,  who  died  in  childhood. 

Levi  T.  Gilbert  was  reared  on  the  farm  and  lived  there  until  he  reached  the 
age  of  twenty-two  years.  When  he  was  seventeen  years  old  he  began  to 
teach  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town  and  continued  this  vocation  for 
five  years.  His  education  was  acquired  at  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
place,  at  the  Edinboro  Normal  school  and  at  the  Institute  at  Mount  Pleasant, 
Pennsylvania.  In  1888  he  went  to  Mount  Pleasant  to  live,  and  was  employed 
there  for  three  years  in  the  general  store  of  D.  P.  Lowe.  In  189 1  he  removed 
to  Wilkinsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  found  employment.  In  1892  he  took  up 
the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  J.  E.  Rigg,  then  entered  the  Western  Penn- 
sylvania Medical  College,  in  the  "fall  of  1893,  from  which  institution  he  grad- 
uated in  1896.  He  first  took  up  practice  in  Alverton,  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  continued  there,  engaged  in  general  practice,  for  eight 
years.  In  April,  1904.  he  located  at  Scottdale  and  has  established  a  large  prac- 
tice, due  to  his  high  position  in  the  profession  and  also  to  his  genial  and  trust- 
inspiring  disposition.  He  is  a  member  of  the  American  Medical  Association, 
the  Westmoreland  County  Medical  Society  and  the  Pennsylvania  State  Med- 
ical Association.  Also  a  member  of  A.  I.  6.  K.  M.,  No.  342,  the  M.  W.  of  A., 
Camp  9779,  of  which  he  is  also  medical  examiner,   Orpad   Commandery  of 


HISTORY    OF    IVESTMORELAXD    COUXTV.  201 

Scottdale,  of  Phi  Beta  Pi,  of  which  fraternity  he  was  chairman  during  his  col- 
lege days,  and  of  the  Western  Pennsylvania  Alumni  Association.  He  is  also, 
in  addition  to  his  regular  practice,  medical  examiner  for  the  New  York  Mu- 
tual, the  Equitable  and  the  Prudential  Life  Insurance  companies.  He  is  a 
contributor  to  the  New  York  Medical  Journal  and  the  Pennsylvania  Medical 
Journal. 

Dr.  Gilbert  married,  June  12,  1887,  Rebecca  Brooks,  daughter  of  George 
W.  and  Lucinda  Brooks,  of  Fayette  county.  They  have  two  children,  Carl 
A.  and  Earl  \'.  Gilbert.  The  family  is  active  in  church  work,  belonging  to 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  the  doctor  being  class  leader  and  active  iii  the 
Sabbath  school.  He  is  the  owner  of  a  comfortable  home  at  100  North  Chest- 
nut street,  and  is  one  of  the  leading  men  of  his  town,  standing  at  the  head  of 
his  profession,  commanding  the  sincere  respect  and  admiration  of  all  who 
come  in  contact  with  him. 

W.  J.  BARKELL,  son  of  William  and  Eliza  (  Piper)  Barkell,  was 
born  Tulv  16.  1849,  at  Cornwall,  England.  He  received  a  limited  education, 
beginning  to  work  at  the  copper  mines  at  the  age  of  nine  years,  receiving  the 
munificent  sum  of  eight  cents  per  day  for  the  first  year,  ten  cents  per  day  for 
the  second  and  twelve  cents  in  the  third  year.  This  was  for  work  about  the 
offices,  and  at  the  age  of  twelve  he  went  into  the  mines  and  worked  for  the  sum 
of  seven  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  month,  continuing  there  until  he  was  sev- 
enteen vears  old,  his  wages  increasing  yearly  until  he  was  receiving  twenty 
dollars  a  month.  He  then  removed  to  the  north  of  England,  to  a  town  called 
Cramlington,  where  he  found  employment  in  the  coal  mines  and  continued 
there  or  twenty-one  years,  during  fifteen  years  of  which  time  he  was  mine 
boss  and  fire  boss  combined.  In  1887  he  came  to  America  and  located  at 
Scottdale,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  has  since  made  his  home.  He  was  em- 
ploved  for  some  ten  years  in  the  sheet  mill,  then  opened  a  small  music  store  and 
has  since  given  his  entire  attention  to  the  business.  He  is  an  excellent  musician, 
having  taken  up  the  study  of  music  when  a  lad  of  fifteen  years,  giving  atten- 
tion to  both  string  and  brass  instruments,  and  when  twenty-five  years  old  he 
began  to  teach.  While  at  Cramlington  he  conducted  one  of  the  finest  brass 
bands  and  directed  one  of  the  most  excellent  choirs  in  England,  competing 
with  all  the  famed  bands  and  choirs  of  the  country.  For  sixteen  years  he  was 
director  of  the  P.  M.  choir  and  of  the  Cramlington  prize  brass  band,  which 
company  of  musicians  he  organized,  trained  and  perfected.  Five  of  his  former 
pupils  have  come  to  this  country  and  become  successful  teachers  of  band 
music.  Upon  first  coming  to  Scottdale  he  gave  his  entire  attention  for  a 
short  time  to  teaching  music  but  then  entered  the  sheet  mill,  thus  dividing  his 
time  between  music  and  mechanics.  In  his  present  establishment,  which  he 
opened  in  1898,  he  handles  all  kinds  and  grades  of  musical  instruments  and  mu- 
sicians' supplies,  and  in  addition  a  full  line  of  kodaks,  photographers'  supplies, 
bicycles,  sewing  machines,  and  their  necessary  appurtenances.  About  the  year 
1892  or  1893  there  appeared  in  the  Aletronome,  a  musical  journal  published  by 
Carl  Fischer,  of  New  York  city,  a  voting  contest  for  the  most  po])ular  cnrnct- 
ist  and  conductor  in  the  United  States,  the  contest  open  for  six  months.  When 
the  votes  were  counted  it  was  found  that  W.  J.  Barkell  had  received  the  great- 
est number  by  a  larofe  margin,  the  votes  coming  from  all  parts  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada.  The  prize  he  received  was  a  cornet  valued  at  two  hun- 
dred dollars.  His  orchestra  is  in  constant  demand  in  all  narts  of  the  state,  and 
is  composed  of  the  best  talent  to  be  fomid.    He  is  a  member  of  one  of  the  exc- 


202  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

cutive  board  of  the  American  Federation  of  IMusicians,  and  a  member  of  the 
A.  I.  O.  K.  M.,  Arpad  Commandery,  No.  342,  of  Scottdale. 

Mr.  Barkell  married,  (first)  in  1870,  Emma  J.  Bell.  She  died  in  June, 
1884,  at  the  age  of  thirty-three,  leaving  six  children  :  Eliza,  living  at  home ; 
Mary,  wife  of  John  R.  Riebe,  general  secretary  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association,  Berwick,  Pennsylvania ;  William,  a  telegraph  operator  for  the 
LJnion  Supply  Company,  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania,  married  Bessie  Moran ; 
Robert  B.,  a  'clerk  for  the  H.  C.  Frick  Company,  Scottdale,  married  Esther 
Longenecker ;  George  K.,  in  the  employ  of  the  United  States  Express  Com- 
pany, Pittsburg,  married  Cora  Myers;  Emma  J.,  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Barkell 
married  (second),  in  November,  1890,  Sarah  Robson,  of  Scottdale,  a  native 
of  England.  Thev  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  Mr.  Barkell 
being  a  member  of  the  official  board  of  the  same.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
board  of  directors  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and  is  a  stock- 
holder in  the  Scottdale  Machine  and  Foundry  Company. 

CHARLES  H.  JAQUETTE,  son  of  Anthony  and  Mary  Ann 
(Shaw)  Jaquette,  was  born  October  25,  1871,  at  Allegheny  City,  Pennsylvania. 
The  father,  a  native  of  Oswego,  New  York,  died  May  10,  1901,  the  seventieth 
anniversary  of  his  birth.  The  mother  is  still  living,  residing  with  her  son, 
Charles  H.  Jaquette,  and  is  a  native  of  Connellsville,  Pennsylvania. 

The  grandfather  of  Charles  H.  Jaquette,  Peter  A.  Jaquette,  was  a  native 
of  northern  France,  and  son  of  a  French  duke.  He  married  a  native  of  south- 
ern France,  and  they  emigrated  to  America  and  settled  in  New  York  state. 
Their  son,  Anthony  Jaquette,  the  father  of  Charles  H.  Jaquette,  was  reared 
in  New  York  state'  but  settled  in  Pennsylvania  when  a  young  man  and  mar- 
ried a  resident  of  Connellsville,  Mary  A.  Sha-w.  He  was  in  the  oil  business,  a 
producer  in  Green  county,  Pennsylvania,  for  many  years,  but  later  in  life  he 
was  engaged  in  the  tailoring  business  in  Pittsburg  and  Allegheny.  He  accom- 
panied Francis  ]\Iurphy  on  his  lecture  tour,  taking  the  platform  as  a  lecturer 
during  about  three  years,  a  strong  advocate  of  temperance.  He  lived  in  vari- 
ous towns  about  the  country  for  longer  or  shorter  periods,  including  Scott- 
dale, 1875-79 ;  Mount  Pleasant,  1879-82 :  Scottdale,  1882-83  ;  Abilene.  Texas, 
1883-87;  thence  to  Plyattsmouth,  Nebraska;  1892,  Kansas  City;  then  re- 
turned to  Scottdale,  1897,  where  he  lived  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  was 
a  man  who  figured  prominently  in  political  affairs,  and  was  the  candidate  for 
the  legislature  on  the  Independent  ticket  in  1882  and  came  within  twenty  votes 
of  being  elected.  He  was  also  closely  identified  with  the  labor  troubles,  hav- 
ing represented  the  state  of  Pennsylvania  as  arbitrator  in  the  Lorillard  labor 
strike,  the  J.  P.  Clark-Throd  strike  and  others.  He  was  a  public  speaker  of 
more  than  ordinary  ability,  taking  the  "stump"  in  various  campaigns,  usually 
allied  with  the  Republican  party.  He  was  largely  instrumental  in  turning 
Westmoreland  county  from  a  Democratic  stronghold  to  a  Republican  fortress. 
He  enlisted  as  a  private  at  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  war  in  the  Seventh  Vol- 
unteer Infantry,  West  Virginia,  Company  E,  but  was  mustered  out  on  account 
of  sickness  after  two  years  service,  as  second  lieutenant,  each  step  won  by 
bravery.  He  was  tendered  a  captaincy  on  several  occasions  but  refused  to  ac- 
cept the  commission.  After  recuperating  from  his  illness  he  raised  a  com- 
pany at  Morgantown.  Pennsylvania,  and  took  it  to  the  field,  then  joined  his  old 
company  again.  He  served  through  both  battles  of  Antietam  as  well  as  in 
many  of  the  other  principal  battles  of  the  .A.rmy  of  the  Potomac.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  church,  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  and  Grand  Army 


THE 

NEW  YORK 

[PUBLIC  LIBRARY^ 

^  Astor,  Lf nox  and  TUden  I 
Foandsfions. 


(SvA\-  (J.> 


iCVAaA^JOsAJL/ 


HISTORY    OF    UT.STMORF.t.lXD    COUXTV. 


of  the  Republic.  He  had  a  family  of  ten  children:  i.  Mary  Eva,  died  youngf. 
2.  Hannah  M.,  died  young.  3.  John  \\'.,  a  resident  of  Butte,  Montana.  4.  Minnie 
R.,  deceased  wife  of  H.  C.  Deitterich.  5.  Alice,  wife  of  Georo-e  B.  Mellinofer, 
of  Scottdale.  6.  William  A.,  who  went  to  the  Philippines  with  Company  K, 
Fifth  Regulars,  and  served  three  years.  He  enlistetl  first  with  the  Rough 
Riders,  in  Bucky  O'Neal's  regiment  from  Phoenix,  Arizona,  and  was  trans- 
ferred to  Company  A,  first  territorial  Big  Four,  United  States  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, as  corporal  at  the  Georgia  camp.  He  was  then  mustered  out  of  volun- 
teer service  and  joined  the  company,  as  a  private,  going  to  the  Philippines,  and 
was  mustered  out  as  sergeant  major.  He  returned  to  America  but  almost  im- 
mediately re-enlisted,  with  the  Twenty-seventh  Regulars.  Being  an  excep- 
tionally fine  penman,  he  was  called  into  service  at  headquarters,  but  refused  to 
leave  the  boys.  7.  Lucinda,  wife  of  G.  B.  Hitchman,  of  Mount  Pleasant.  8. 
Benjamin  F.,  contracting  painter,  and  proprietor  of  a  tourists'  house.  Los 
Angeles,  California.  9.  Charles  H.,  of  whom  later.  10.  Sarah  Elizabeth,  wife  of 
C.  V.  Leonard,  of  Kansas  City,  Missouri. 

Charles  H.  Jaquette  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Mount  Pleas- 
ant and  Scottdale.  In  1883.  when  a  boy  of  only  twelve  years,  he  began  to 
learn  the  jeweler's  art,  meanwhile  keeping  up  his  studies  at  night.  He  was 
first  employed  at  Abilene,  Texas,  where  he  spent  four  years,  then  went  to 
Kansas  City  and  spent  five  years  more,  fitting  himself  for  his  chosen  work. 
He  then  went  to  Plattsmouth,  Nebraska,  to  fill  a  position  as  watch  inspector 
for  the  B.  and  M.,  a  branch  of  the  C.  B.  and  Q.  R.  R.  This  position  he  filled 
from  1887  to  1891,  at  the  same  time  carrying  on  a  private  business,  handling 
a  general  stock  of  jewelry  goods.  In  1891  he  sold  out  and  went  to  Kansas 
City  and  found  employment  at  his  trade,  at  the  same  time  taking  a  course  at 
the  Kansas  City  School  of  Optics,  whence  he  graduated.  For  three  years  of 
this  time  he  was  head  watchmaker  for  the  Edwards  and  Sloan  Manufacturing 
Company,  and  for  one  year  was  manager  of  the  Emory  Bird  Thayer  Company 
of  the  same  city.  He  then  engaged  in  business  on  his  own  account,  meanwhile 
studying  at  the  South  Bend  (Indiana)  College  of  Optics.  In  January,  1897. 
he  located  at  Scottdale,  and  in  September  of  the  same  year  opened  a  fine  jew- 
elry establishment,  fitting  it  up  in  the  most  modern  and  elaborate  manrer. 
This  business  he  conducted  until  1903,  when  he  .sold  out  to  the  J.  S.  Parker 
Company,  with  whom  he  was  employed  for  a  little  more  than  a  year.  In 
April,  1905.  he  purchased  the  stock  and  business  of  J.  A.  Bobbs,  where  he  is 
fitting  up  a  most  admirable  establishment,  and  will  make  a  specialty  of  optics, 
etc.  He  is  a  business  man  of  the  highest  ability  and  stands  high  in  the  estima- 
tion of  his  fellow-townsmen,  his  position  being  wholly  the  result  of  his  own 
unaided  efforts.  He  is  a  member  of  S.  of  V.,  Camp  125,  and  is  captain  of  the 
military  department  of  this  society;  member  of  Americus,  Royal  Arcanum  -ind 
of  the  American  Insurance  Union.  Mr.  Jaquette  married,  May  22,  1891, 
Bertha  May  Rounds,  daughter  of  Reuben  and  Francis  Rounds.  She  is  a  na- 
tive of  Toulon,  Stark  county,  Illinois,  born  .August  6,  1872.  They  have  four 
children:  Mary  Helen,  Harry  Anthony,  George  William  and  Charles  Glenn. 
They  are  active  members  of  the  Baptist  church. 

ROBERT  RAMSAY.    Among  those  whose  names  and  deeds  form 

part  of  the  histon,'  of  Westmoreland  county  none  will  be  remembered  loneer 

or  with  rnore  respect  and  afifection  than  Robert  Ramsey,  for  many  vears  an 

honored  citizen  of  Shafton.  and  afterward  of  Latrobe  and  of  Mount  Pleasant. 

The  grandfather  of  Robert  Ramsay  was  a  coal  operator,  ownin-r  mines 


204  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUXTY. 

near  Dunfermline,  Scotland,  in  tlic  early  days  of  the  Scotch  coal  niininj^-  in- 
dustry. William  Ramsay  (father),  a  native  of  Scotland,  was  a  miner,  and  in 
1852  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  but  after  remaining  here  four  years  re- 
turned to  the  land  of  his  birth.  In  1863,  however,  he  came  a  second  time  to 
this  country  and  made  his  home  at  Larimer,  in  this  county.  His  wife  was 
Elizabeth  Sharp,  also  a  native  of  Scotland,  and  they  had  a  son  Robert,  men- 
tioned hereafter.  The  death  of  Mr.  Ramsay  occurred  April  16,  1885,  and  that 
of  his  widow  August  13,  1889.  Both  are  buried  in  the  Union  cemetery  at 
Shafton. 

Robert   Ramsay,   son   of   William   and    Elizabeth    (Sharp)    Ramsay,   was 
born  October  28,  1840,  sixteen  miles  northwest  of  Edinburg,  near  Dunfermline, 
county  of  Fife.   Scotland.     At  an  early'  age  he  gave  promise  of  engineering 
ability,  and  embraced  every  opportunity  of  fitting  himself  for  that  profession. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  and  his  wife  came  with  his  parents  to  the  United 
States,  and  he  worked  at  the  machinist's  trade  in  Pittsburg,  afterward  being 
employed  in  the  coal  mines  on  the  Monongahela  river.     In  1865  he  went  to 
Shafton,  where  he  became  mining  engineer  for  the  Shafton  Coal  Company. 
His  services  were  so  satisfactory  that  in  1870  he  was  given  general  charge  of 
the  operations  by  being  advanced  to  the  position  of  superintendent  of  the  com- 
pany, which  position  he  held  for  eleven  years.     He  then  became  associated  with 
Messrs.  Andrew  and  Thomas  ]\I.  Carnegie,  also  natives  of  Dimfermline,  Scot- 
land, by  serving  as  superintendent  and  engineer  at  the  Monastery  mines  and 
coke  works  of  the  Carnegie  Company  until   1883,  when  lie  moved  to  Mount 
Pleasant  to  be  more  centrally  located  and  to  take  general  charge  of  the  mines 
of  the  H.  C.  Frick  Coke  Company,  into  which  company  the  Carnegie  Com- 
pany's coal  and  coke  properties  had  previouslv  been  mersfcd.     Then  followed 
a  long  and  close  connection  with  Messrs.  H.  C.  Frick  and  Thomas  Lvnch  in  the 
management  of  the  vast  Frick  interests.     This  position  he  retained  until   1888, 
when  he  became  general  consulting  engineer  of  the  entire  companv  and  su- 
perintendent of  the  Standard  mines  and  coke  works,  at  that  time  the  largest 
and  most  complete  plant  of  its  kind  in  the  world.    He  had  a  very  orginal  mind 
and  a  strong  natural  bent  toward  things  mechanical,  as  is  evidenced  by  the 
many  new  mechanical  devices  which  he  invented  and  introduced  in  and  about 
the  mines.    In  1886  he  built  the  new  Standard  shaft,  which  has  held  the  world's 
record  for  large  outputs  and  is  considered  by  the  best  authorities  the  finest 
shaft  in   the  country,   his  g-enius  being  esneciallv  manifest  in  the  beautv  and 
simplicity  of  the  design.     This  plant  has  been  the  subject  of  many  articles  in 
technical  and  scientific  journals  from  mining  men  the  world  over.     He  also 
engineered  and  superintended  the  erection  of  the  Mount  Pleasant  water  works 
and  many  other  improvements  made  in  the  Connellsville  coke  resfion  by  the 
Camegie-Frick  interests.     He  and  his  wife  were  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.     Mr.  Ramsav  married,  January  4,   i86r.  Janet,  daughter  of  William 
and  Margaret  (White)  Erskine,  of  Elgin  colliery,  near  Dunfermline,  and  thev 
had  children:  William.  Erskine,  Robert.  Morris  R..  John  A..  Charles  S.,  An- 
drew C,  George  S.,  ATarp-aret,  Elizabeth.  Janet  and  Mary  Stuart.     The  sons, 
as  they  grew  up,  p-ave  evidence  of  having  inherited  their  father's  tastes  with 
no  small  portion  of  his  ability.     The  eldest  son  William  is  an  engineer  on  the 
Pennsylvania  railroad.     Erskine  is  a  minine  and  mechanical  engineer,  banker, 
coal  and  coke  operator  and  iron  manufacturer  at  Rirmin"-ham.  Alabama.     He 
was  also  chief  engineer  and  assistant  genera!  mnnaeer  of  the  Tennessee  Coal, 
Iron   &    Railroad    Company   at    Pjirmingham,    Alabama,    some   fourteen    vears. 
Robert  is  a  mining  engineer  and  superintendent  for  the  H.  C.  Frick  Coke  Com- 


HISTORY    OF    tlT-STMORELAKD    COUXTV.  205 

pany  at  United.  Pennsylvania.  Morris  R.  is  a  mining  engineer  and  coal  oper- 
ator at  Birmigham.  Alabama.  John  A.  is  a  superintendent  for  the  H.  C.  brick 
Coke  Company  at  iNIount  Pleasant,  Pennsylvania.  Charles  S.  has  charge  of 
engineering  and  construction  work  for  his  brother,  Erskine,  at  Birmingham, 
Alabama.  Andrew  C.  is  studying  mining  engineering  at  Lehigh  University. 
George  S.  has  only  recently  finished  school  and  is  engaged  in  engineering 
work.  In  the  spring  of  1898  j\Ir.  Ramsay  sustained  an  attack  of  grip,  from 
which  he  never  fully  recovered.  In  ]\Iay,  1899,  he  set  out  to  visit  his  birth- 
place in  search  of  health,  but  before  reaching  there  was  prostrated  with 
antemia  at  East  Kilbride,  Scotland.  His  death  occurred  August  11,  1899,  his 
wife,  his  daughters,  Elizabeth  and  Janet,  and  his  sons,  William  and  Erskine, 
being  with  him  at  the  time.  His  remains  were  brought  to  this  country  and 
funeral  services  were  held  at  his  late  residence  in  Mount  Pleasant.  He  was 
buried  in  Union  cemetery  near  Shafton,  August  26,  1899.  Mr.  Ramsav  was 
recognized  as  having  no  superior  as  a  mining  and  mechanical  engineer  in  this 
country.  He  was  a  man  whose  intellectual  force,  indomitable  energy  ^nd 
blameless  character  have  built  for  him  a  monument  of  respect  and  love  in  the 
hearts  of  all  who  knew  him.  It  can  truly  be  said  of  him  that  his  works  follow 
him.  The  mechanical  and  mining  genius  characteristic  of  Mr.  Ramsay  was 
shared  by  his  three  brothers.  Morris  Ramsay,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1892, 
was  general  manager  of  the  Southwest  Coal  and  Coke  Company  at  Mount 
Pleasant,  and  had  formerly  been  chief  engineer  of  the  entire  H.  C.  Frick  Coke 
Company.  William  S.  Ramsay  is  superintendent  for  the  H.  C.  Frick  Coke 
Company  at  the  Morewood  mines  near  Mount  Pleasant,  (ieorge  S.  Ramsay  i? 
general  superintendent  and  chief  engineer  of  the  Shawmut  Coal  Company  at 
St.  Marys,  Elk  county,  Pennsylvania,  he  having  previously  held  the  same 
position  for  the  Colorado  Fuel  &  Iron  Company,  of  Colorado.  His  wife  with 
the  children  remaining  at  home  now  live  at  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania. 

CHARLES  L.  HOLTZER,  son  of  William  and  Leah  ( Zeis)  Holtzer, 
is  a  native  of  Westmoreland  county,  born  August  27,  1863,  just  east  of  Greens- 
burg. His  father,  William  Holtzer,  was  born  and  spent  his  life  in  Westmore- 
land countv.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  a  man  well  and  favorably  known  through- 
out that  district.  He  was  an  active  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  His 
father  was  Frederick  Holtzer.  William  Holtzer  died  in  February.  1898,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-nine  years.  His  widow  is  still  living,  a  resident  of  Delmont, 
Pennsylvania.  Their  family  numbered  eight  children:  William,  deceased; 
Robert,  deceased :  Emma,  wife  of  J.  R.  Klinginsmith,  of  Greensburg ;  Jacob 
H.,  a  resident  of  Delmont,  Pennsylvania ;  Charles  L.,  of  whom  later ;  Sad'ie  E., 
wife  of  John  Walters,  of  Pitcairn,  Pennsylvania:  Maggie,  wife  of  Weddle 
Martz,  of  Delmont ;  Theodore  E.,  of  Youngwood,  married  Catherine  Luce,  of 
Pittsburg. 

Charles  L.  Holtzer  was  reared  on  the  farm  and  attended  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  place.  In  1888  he  went  into  the  roofing  business  on  his  own  ac- 
count, at  Delmont,  and  continued  at  that  for  five  years.  He  then  engaged  as 
a  salesman  for  a  sewing  machine  business  at  Greensburg,  which  position  he  re- 
tained for  five  years.  He  then  located  at  Scottdale  and  opened  a  music  store 
and  sewing  machine  establishment.  May  2,  1898,  and  this  business  he  is  con- 
ducting at  the  present  time.  He  has  a  full  line  of  musical  instruments  of  all 
descriptions,  sheet  music,  etc.  He  assumed  the  agencv  for  the  LTnited  States 
Express  Company  at  Scottdale,  April  8,  1904.     ]\ir.  Holtzer  married,  October 


2o6  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

II,  1891.  Alice  Smith,  daughter  of  O.  P.  and  Mary  Smith,  of  Westmoreland 
county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Holtzer  are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church,  he  being 
ordained  a  deacon  in  1903.    He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Maccabees. 

FRED  M.  LEWELLYN,  son  of  Charles  and  Christina  (Protzman) 
Lewellyn,  was  born  March  18,  1871,  at  Morgantovvn,  West  Virginia.  His 
father,  Charles  Lewellyn  (deceased),  born  near  the  Laurel  Iron  Works,  West 
Virginia,  was  a  farmer  and  also  a  cabinet  maker. 

Fred  M.  Lewellyn  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  native  place,  but  at 
an  early  age  began  the  trade  of  cabinet-making  with  Price  Brothers,  Morgan- 
town,  with  whom  he  also  learned  the  business  of  painting.  He  continued  with 
this  firm  until  1889,  when  he  located  at  Scottdale.  He  then,  with  a  partner, 
opened  a  painting  and  decorating  business,  under  the  firm  title  of  Lewellyn 
and  Keister,  with  an  establishment  at  602  North  Broadway.  This  firm  existed 
until  1896,  when  Mr.  Keister  withdrew,  and  the  entire  charge  of  the  business 
was  assumed  by  Mr.  Lewellyn.  At  that  time  the  business  of  the  firm  was  con- 
fined to  contract  painting  and  decorating  in  Scottdale  and  vicinity,  but  when 
Mr.  Lewellyn  took  charge  of  it  he  put  in  a  large  line  of  paints,  varnishes,  pic- 
ture mouldings,  etc.,  in  addition  to  the  former  business.  In  August,  1898,  he 
removed  to  his  present  location,  219  Pittsburg  street,  and  enlarged  the  business 
in  all  branches,  putting  in  a  stock  of  wall  paper,  and  adding  other  art  lines. 
The  establishment  has  constantly  grown  until  it  would  be  a  credit  to  a  place  of 
much  larger  size  than  Scottdale.  The  business  is  divided  into  two  distinct 
lines,  the  painting  and  decorating  department,  where  he  employs  from  eight 
to  ten  men,  and  the  art  department,  which  latter  includes  books,  stationery, 
holiday  goods,  toys,  etc.  He  devotes  his  entire  time  and  attention  to  the  busi- 
ness, and  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  young  business  men  of  the  borough. 
He  married,  in  June,  1892,  Ella  Strickler.  daughter  of  Wilson  (deceased)  and 
Jennie  Strickler.    They  have  one  child,  Charles  A.  Lewellyn. 

JOHN  L.  HOWARD,  son  of  Cornelius  and  Sarah  (Wolf)  Howard, 
was  born  December  9,  1863,  in  Preston  county.  West  Virginia.  On  the  pater- 
nal side  he  is  of  Scotch,  English  and  German  blood,  and  on  the  maternal  side  of 
German  blood.  The  Howards  came  to  this  country  many  generations  ago 
and  settled  in  Delaware,  whence  they  scattered  to  West  Virginia  and  Penn- 
sylvania and  then  farther  west. 

John  Howard,  the  grandfather  of  John  L.  Howard,  was  born  in  Delaware, 
but  went  to  what  is  now  West  Virginia,  then  Virginia,  and  was  a  member  of 
the  legislature  formed  to  secede  from  the  parent  state  and  become  a  distinci 
member  of  the  Union.  He  was  a  man  who  took  a  deep  interst  in  political 
affairs  and  was  a  strong  Republicn.  He  held  many  offices,  and  was  active  in 
business  affairs,  engaged  in  farming,  the  hotel  business  and  various  other 
enterprises,  always  successfully.  His  farms  were  operated  largely  by  his  sons, 
while  he  attended  to  his  other  interests.  His  children  were:  John  W.,  painter 
and  glazier,  of  Indianola.  Iowa;  Thomas  D.,  who  died  about  1891,  a  dealer  and 
manufacturer  in  lumber  at  Grafton.  West  Virginia :  Claus,  carpenter,  of  Okla- 
homa :  Cornelius,  father  of  John  L.  Howard,  is  a  farmer  and  resides  near 
Newberry,  West  Virginia  :  Susan,  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  James  R.  Smoot, 
Newberry :  Martha,  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  John  Powell,  Newberry.  Cor- 
nelius Howard,  son  of  John  Howard  and  father  of  John  L.  Howard,  has  spent 
the  latter  part  of  his  life  on  the  farm  near  Newberrv,  but  was  formerly  in  a 
mercantile  line.    During  the  Civil  war  he  served  the  Union  cause,  in  the  West 


HISTORY    OF    ]VESTMORELASD    COUXTY.  207 

Mrginia  Cavalry,  and  was  mustered  out  at  the  close  of  the  war  as  commis- 
sary sergeant.  For  the  past  forty  years  he  has  been  an  active  member  of  the 
:Me'thodist  Protestant  church.  He  has  three  children:  John  L.,  of  whom  later; 
Senie,  widow  of  John  B.  Fram,  of  Concord,  Nebraska:  James  E.,  tool  dresser, 
of  Smithheld,  \\  est  X'irginia. 

John  L.  Howard  attended  the  public  schools  until  he  reached  the  age  of 
twenty-one  }ears,  when  he  entered  a  general  store  at  Burton,  \\'est  \  irginia, 
that  had  a  postoffice  and  railroad  office  attached.  He  performed  duties  as  a 
clerk  for  eight  months,  then  went  to  Tumelton,  West  Virginia,  in  the  capacity 
of  a  clerk,  his  duties  being  in  connection  with  the  post  and  railroad  offices.  He 
continued  there  for  five  years,  then  for  eight  months  was  connected  with  the 
Montana  Coal  and  Coke  Company,  :\lontana.  \\est  \'irginia,  as  a  clerk  in  the 
companv  store.  He  then  formed  a  partnership  with  J.  R.  Smoot  and  J.  N. 
Bentley,'  under  the  firm  name  of  Smoot,  Bentley  and  Company,  and  established 
■  a  general  store  at  Ten  '\Yi\e,  West  Virginia,  also  handled  lumber,  etc.  They 
did  business  for  five  years,  then  dissolved,  and  Mr.  Howard  became  manager 
of  company  stores  at  Camden  and  Gauley,  West  Virginia.  He  was  employed 
thus  for  eight  months,  and  then  was  forced  by  sickness  to  abandon  the  posi- 
tion. After  recovering  he  formed  a  partnership  with  John  Calvert,  and  en- 
tered the  mercantile  business  at  Smithtield,  doing  business  under  the  firm  name 
of  Howard  and  Calvert.  After  five  \ears  they  sold  out.  and  Mr.  Howard  lo- 
cated at  Scottdale.  He  purchased  the  business  of  F.  W.  Wright,  April  27, 
1904,  situated  at  the  corner  of  Pittsburg  and  Chestnut  streets.  He  carries  a 
full  line  of  dry  goods,  notions,  millinery,  etc.,  ocupying  two  floors.  His  es- 
tablishment is  one  of  the  most  attractive  and  modern  in  this  vicinity.  He  is  a 
member  of  Independent  Order  Odd  Fellows,  Oral  Lodge,  No.  20,  of  New- 
berrv,  West  Virginia ;  Damon  Lodge,  No.  5,  Knights  of  Pythias,  of  Newberry ; 
Wetzell  Lodge,  No.  39,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  at  New  Martinsville, 
\\'est  \'irginia,  and  of  Clarksbury  Commandery,  No.  13,  Knight  Templars 
and  .Adaniram  Chapter,  No.  11.  He  married,  November  11,  1893,  Susie  Blue, 
of  Grafton,  daughter  of  John  W.  and  Mary  Blue.  They  have  one  son,  Walter 
Howard.  Mr.  Howard  is  a  member  of  the  !\Iethodist  Protestant  church,  and 
his  wife  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

JONAS  M.  KENNEL  was  born  January  21,  1867,  at  Champion.  I'^ay- 
ette  county,  Pennsylvania,  son  of  Jacob  H.  and  IMary  (INliller)  Kennel.  The 
mother  is  still  living,  but  the  father  died.  March  21,  1900.  Hfe  was  a  son  of  Solo- 
mon and  Rebecca  (Hoyman)  Kennel,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Somerset 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  of  German  parentage.  Jacob  H.  Kennel  was  a  na- 
tive of  Somerset  county,  a  farmer,  and  during  the  latter  part  of  his  life  a 
stockdealer.  His  life  was  spent  in  Fayette  county  from  the  time  he  was  fif- 
teen years  of  age.  His  farm  was  eighty-six  acres  in  extent.  He  was  the  father 
of  the  following  children:  Jonas  M.,  of  wdiom  later;  Norman,  of  Scottdale,  a 
grocer;  Wilford,  died  in  September,  1903,  w-as  a  grocer  of  Scottdale;  Simon 
of  Champion,  Pennsylvania,  farmer  and  miller ;  Charles,  of  Donegal  township, 
farmer :  William,  of  Scottdale,  mill  worker. 

Jonas  M.  Kennel  was  brought  up  to  farm  life  and  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools.  In  1890  he  engaged  in  the  grocer  business  at  the 
Dexter  Coke  works,  Fayette  county,  and  remained  there  for  three  years.'  He 
then  located  at  Scottdale  and  started  in  business  in  company  with  J.  C.  Kennel, 
under  the  firm  title  of  Kinnel  and  Kennel.  Tliis  firm  existed  for  about  two 
years;  then  J.  C.  Kennel  withdrew  and  was  succeeded  by  O.  D.  Weimer  and 


2o8  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    CObWlY. 

the  business  was  carried  on  under  the  name  of  Weimer  and  Kennel.  ]\lr. 
Weimer  was  succeeded  by  Wilford  Kennel,  and  the  firm  name  became  J.  M. 
Kennel  and  Bro.,  which  name  existed  two  years.  Jonas  M.  Kennel  then  sold 
his  interest  to  his  brother  and  removed  to  Kifertown,  where  he  bought  the  old 
Hickey  stand  and  conducted  that  business  for  some  four  years.  At  the  end  of 
that  time  he  sold  out  and  purchased  the  old  homestead  of  his  father  in  Saltley 
township,  Fayette  county.  He  operated  the  farm  about  one  year,  and  then 
entered  the  employ  of  the  Union  Supply  Company  and  was  employed  at  David- 
son, Summitt  and  Hazelett  during  about  one  year.  He  then  purchased  his 
present  establishment  and  has  continued  there  since,  engaged  in  the  grocery 
business  and  also  dealing  in  tinware,  flour  and  feed.  He  has  built  up  a  large 
business  by  his  practical  and  honorable  methods.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  the 
Iron  Company  of  America,  located  at  Roanoke.  Virginia,  and  is  the  owner  of 
four  valuable  properties,  three  of  them  dwelling  houses  in  the  borough  of 
Scottdale.  He  is  truly  that  noble  American  type,  a  self-made  man,  for  he 
started  at  the  bottom  with  nothing  but  a  large  stock  of  pluck  and  energy.  While 
yet  in  his  bovhood  he  purchased  his  time  of  his  father  by  giving  him  one-half 
of  his  earnings,  continuing  this  until  he  was  twenty-one  years  old.  During 
this  time  he  saved  of  his  share  of  his  earnings  seven  hundred  dollars.  With 
this  as  a  basis,  he  began  his  successful  business  career  at  the  age  of  twenty-one. 
In  politics  his  sympathies  are  Democratic.  He  is  a  member  of  Royal  Arcanum, 
Woodmen  of  the  World,  Modern  Woodmen  and  the  Eagles.  Mr.  Kennel  mar- 
ried, in  June,  1891,  Kate  Dixon,  daughter  of  Andrew  and  Barbara  (Staufifer) 
Dixon,  a  native  of  Fayette  county.  Seven  children:  Grace,  Mary,  Ray,  Edna, 
Annie,  Catherine  (deceased),  and  Ruth  Kennel.  They  are  members  of  the 
United  Brethren  church. 

JACOB  E.  WINEMAN,  controlling  important  business  interests  in 
Youngwood,  Greensburg  and  other  parts  of  Westmoreland  county,  was  born 
in  Hempfield  township,  December  31,  1868,  a  son  of  Andrew  and  Caroline 
(Rugh)  Wineman.  His  father  was  born  in  Germany,  and  was  a  son  of  John 
George  and  Catherine  Wineman  who  came  to  the  United  States  from  Wur- 
temberg,  Germany,  when  their  son  Andrew  was  an  infant,  settling  in  Hemp- 
field  township.  While  they  made  two  removals  at  later  dates  they  continued 
residents  of  that  township.  There  Andrew  Wineman  was  reared.  He  learned 
the  trade  of  cabinet  making  when  nearly  all  furniture  was  made  by  hand,  and 
he  made  many  coffins  used  in  that  .early  day.  Later,  however,  he  withdrew 
from  the  trade  and  following  his  marriage  located  on  the  home  farm  near 
Youngwood,  where  he  residecl  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  There  his  widow 
still  makes  her  home.  Much  of  the  furniture  in  their  home  was  made  by 
him,  and  the  first  cook  stove,  which  he  bought  at  the  time  of  their  marriage, 
is  still  in  use.  Mr.  Wineman  died  February  24,  1904,  in  the  faith  of  the  Luth- 
eran church,  of  which  he  had  long  been  a  member.  His  political  support  was 
given  the  Republican  party.  His  family  are  also  connected  with  the  Lutheran 
church.  He  had  ten  children,  eight  of  whom  are  living:  Anna  M.,  wife  of  A. 
F.  Eortz,  a  hardware  merchant  of  Greensburg;  Lizzie  A.,  wife  of  H.  M.  Zun- 
del,  of  Greensburg:  Mary  J.,  at  home;  Jacob  E. :  Gustavus  A.,  a  furniture 
merchant  of  Greensburg:  Charlotte  A.,  wife  of  Harry  Truxell,  of  Youngwood; 
William  H.,  who  is  working  for  his  brother  Jacob :  and  George  F.,  who  is  also 
working  in  the  meat  market  at  Greensburg. 

Jacob  E.  Wineman,  having  acquired  his  education  in  the  common  schools, 
entered  business  life  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  by  buying  and  selling  cattle. 


HISTORY   OF    IVESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  209 

He  seemed  to  have  a  natural  aptitude  for  the  business  and  became  an  expert 
buver,  so  that  he  was  enabled  to  realize  a  handsome  profit  from  his  investment. 
In  1891  he  decided  to  open  a  meat  market  but,  having  worked  for  the  fimi  of 
Bortz  and  Bierer.  of  Greensburg,  he  was  persuaded  by  them  to  enter  into  a 
partnership  and  opened  a  branch  shop  on  Mill  street,  Greensburg,  the  main 
shop  being  located  on  Pittsburg  street.  The  same  year  Mr.  Bierer  withdrew 
from  the  firm,  and  Mr.  Wineman  and  Mr.  Bortz  contimied  the  business.  In 
1899  Mr.  W'ineman  purchased  his  present  farm  of  one  hundred  acres  in  Hemp- 
field  township  and  removed  to  his  new  home  the  same  spring.  When  the 
town  of  Youngwood  was  laid  out  he  opened  a  butcher  shop,  and  the  firm  are 
now  conducting  markets  in  Greensburg  and  Youngwood,  carrying  on  an  exten- 
tive  business  as  dealers  in  meats.  Mr.  W'ineman  is  a  man  of  much  business  re- 
source and  ability.  He  has  made  judicious  investment  in  property,  owning 
real  estate  in  both  boroughs  as  well  as  his  farm.  He  was  also  one  of  the 
organizers  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Youngwood,  and  is  now  serving  as 
one  of  its  directors.  He  was  also  one  of  the  organizers  and  the  treasurer  of 
the  Youngwood  Building  and  Loan  Association,  and  he  is  a  director  of  the 
Westmoreland  county  Agricultural  Association,  which  has  been  his  connection 
therewith  since  its  organization  sixteen  years  ago.  He  was  married,  Septem- 
ber 13.  1893,  ^o  Rebecca  Bierer,  a  daughter  of  Amos  Bierer,  of  Greensburg. 
Thev  have  become  the  parents  of  five  children :  Andrew,  Amos,  Mary  R.,  John 
and  Catherine,  all  of  whom  are  yet  living  with  the  exception  of  the  second.  In 
his  political  views  Mr.  Wineman  is  a  Republican.  He  belongs  to  the  Lutheran 
church,  in  which  he  served  as  deacon  for  many  years,  and  in  matters  relating 
to  the  welfare  and  improvement  of  the  county  he  is  deeply  and  actively  inter- 
ested, while  in  his  business  affairs  he  displays  the  enterprise,  energy  and  adapta- 
bility that  characterize  the  typical  American  citizen. 

B.  R.  SMITH,  AI.  D.  Among  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Sewickley  town- 
ship, Westmoreland  county,  was  numbered  Samuel  Smith,  who  was  one  of  the 
first  to  locate  in  the  Quaker  settlement  there  who  was  not  a  believer  in  that 
religious  sect.  He  purchased  his  farm  from  one  of  the  original  members  of 
the  Society  of  Friends,  or  Quakers,  and  for  many  years  carried  on  agricultural 
pursuits. 

Cyrus  Smith,  son  of  Samuel  Smith,  was  reared  in  Sewickley  township  on 
the  farm  which  his  father  purchased,  and  in  early  life  adopted  carpentering  as 
his  chosen  occupation.  He  has  since  worked  as  a  builder,  and  for  many  years 
has  resided  in  or  near  Irwin.  He  served  for  three  years  as  a  defender  in  the 
L'nion  cause  in  the  Civil  war,  and  then  took  up  his  abode  in  the  locality  which 
has  since  been  his  home.  He  holds  membership  with  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic.  He  married  Esther  Biggs,  and  their  children  are:  Edward,  a  busi- 
ness man  of  Irwin :  Samuel,  living  in  ^^IcKeesport ;  and  B.  R.,  of  whom  later. 

Dr.  B.  R.  Smith  was  born  near  Irwin,  Pennsylvania,  April  2,  1869.  He 
spent  his  boyhood  days  under  the  parental  roof,  and  acquired  his  education  irt 
the  Irwin  schools,  \\hen  sixteen  years  of  age  he  entered  the  H.  K.  Porter 
Locomotive  Works,  where  he  served  an  apprenticeship  of  three  and  a  half  years 
and  later  he  was  employed  as  a  journeyman  machinist  in  the  Westinghouse 
plant,  at  Wilmerding.  Pennsylvania,  for  two  years.  It  was  while  there  that 
he  entered  upon  the  study  of  medicine  preparatory  to  making  its  practice  his 
life  work,  and  during  the  summer  vacations  of  his  college  course  he  continuecf 
to  work  at  his  trade.  He  began  the  study  of  medicine  in  1891,  reading  under 
the  direction  of  S.  E.  Mowry,  of  Wilmerding,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  same  vear 


2IO  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

he  was  enrolled  in  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York,  from  which  he  was 
graduated  with  the  class  of  1895,  being  one  of  the  honor  men  of  the  class. 
Following  his  graduation  he  located  in  Irwin,  Pennsylvania  and  for  some  time 
was  associated  in  practice  with  Drs.  C.  E.  and  W.  H.  Taylor.  Later  he  took 
charge  for  a  short  time  of  the  practice  of  his  former  preceptor.  Dr.  Mowry, 
who  was  then  ill,  and  in  the  fall  of  1896  came  to  Jeannette,  where  in  intervening 
years  he  has  built  up  a  large  and  enviable  practice.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
county  and  state  medical  societies  and  the  national  medical  association,  and  is 
one  of  the  well  known  practitioners  of  Jeannette.  Fraternally  Dr.  Smith  is 
connected  with  Jeannette  Lodge,  No.  486,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order 
cf  Elks,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  organizers.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican, 
actively  working  in  the  ranks  of  the  party  for  its  growth  and  success. 

EDWARD  ALVIN  MYERS.  The  i\Iyers  family,  to  which  Edward 
Alvin  Myers  belongs,  is  of  German  descent.  The  grandfather  emigrated  from 
Germany  to  the  new  world  and  settled  in  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  pur- 
chasd  a  farm  lying  in  Penn  township,  near  the  present  borough  of  Jeannette. 
This  property  was  later  inherited  by  his  sons,  Solomon  and  John. 

Solomon  Myers  was  born  in  Penn  township,  about  1838,  and  upon  the 
old  homestead  spent  the  days  of  his  boyhood  and  youth  and  continued  to  re- 
side there  until  1900,  when  he  sold  the  property  to  his  son  John,  and  has  since 
been  making  his  home  among  his  children.  He  has  always  voted  with  the 
Democracy,  but  has  never  been  an  aspirant  for  office.  He  belongs  to  the 
Lutheran  church,  and  for  many  years  served  as  one  of  its  ofificials.  He  mar- 
ried Hattie  E.  Schrum,  who  died  in  1891  at  the  age  of  fifty-one  years.  Their 
family  numbered  eleven  children,  of  whom  nine  are  yet  living:  Amos  A.  J., 
resides  at  -Penn  Station ;  Morris  W.,  a  carpenter  of  Jeannette :  Jacob  E.,  a 
lumber  merchant  at  Penn  Station ;  Zachariah,  a  carpenter  at  Penn  Station ; 
Jennie  M.,  wife  of  Aaron  Mowery,  of  Lima,  Ohio ;  Rev.  Solomon  D.,  a  min- 
ister of  the  Lutheran  church,  at  Vandalia,  Illinois ;  John  S.,  living  on  the  old 
homestead  farm :  and  Charles  C,  employed  by  Edward  A.  Myers,  the  young- 
est member  of  the  family. 

Edw-ard  Alvin  Myers  was  born  in  Penn  township,  January  18,  1874.  and 
no  event  of  special  importance  occurred  to  vary  the  routine  of  farm  life  for 
him  in  his  boyhood  days.  After  completing  a  common  school  course  of  study 
he  entered  the  Greensburg  Seminary,  and  at  seventeen  years  of  age  began  his 
business  career  as  a  clerk  in  the  grocery  store  of  Hess  Brothers,  at  Jeannerette. 
He  served  in  that  capacity  for  four  years,  when,  in  recognition  of  his  ability 
and  fidelity,  he  was  made  manager  of  the  business  and  remained  in. that  posi- 
tion for  two  years,  and  September  i,  1897,  with  the  capital  acquired  from  his 
industry  and  economy,  he  established  a  store  of  his  own.  His  straightforward 
business  methods  and  earnest  desire  to  please  his  patrons  soon  secured  him  a 
liberal  patronage,  ami  after  seven  vears  his  store  is  to-day  one  of  the  lar- 
gest and  best  of  the  kind  to  be  found  outside  of  the  principal  cities.  Mr.  Myers 
gives  his  political  allegiance  to  the  Democratic  party  when  national  questions 
are  involved,  but  at  local  elections  votes  independently.  Fie  belongs  to  the 
Improved  Order  of  Heptasophs,  and  to  the  Lutheran  church.  He  married, 
June  7,'  1898.  Lillian  Grove,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  Grove,  of  Jeannette.  They 
have  one  son.  Earl  G.,  and  a  daughter,  Catharine  Arlile,  born  January  10,  1906. 

WILLIAM  F.  EUWER  is  a  representative  of  varied  and  important 
business  interests  in  Jeannette.  He  was  born  in  Allegheny  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, March  31,  1870,  his  parents  being  Matthew  G.  and  Elizabeth  (Logan) 


/ 


HISrOKV    OF    WESTMORELAXD    COUMV.  211 


Einver.  His  father  was  born  in  New  Texas,  Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania, 
and  when  seventeen  years  of  age  began  teaching  school,  which  profession  he 
fullowed  for  three  years,  and  then  acceptd  a  position  in  a  store  in  Allegheny 
City.  Later  he  engaged  in  business  on  his  own  account,  but  met  with  failure  in 
llie  widespread  financial  panic  of  1873,  when  so  many  business  men  went  down. 
He  afterward  accepted  a  clerkship,  and  thus  worked  until  he  had  satisfied  his 
creditors.  He  then  engaged  in  business  for  himself  at  Parnassus,  where  he 
remained  for  six  years.  Later  he  transferred  his  business  to  Verona,  where 
he  remained  up  to  the  time  of  his  retirement  from  business  life.  He  then  again 
took  up  his  abode  in  Parnassus,  where  he  is  now  living  retired.  He  belongs  to 
the  Reformed  Presbyterian  church,  in  which  he  has  served  as  elder  for  many 
years.  To  him  and  his  wife  were  born  seven  children,  of  whom  five  are  yet 
living:  Xorman  L.,  Bertha  S.,  Theodosia  H.,  Xancy  C,  and  William  F, 

William  F.  Euwer  having  mastered  the  elementary  branches  of  learning, 
taught  in  the  common  schools ;  he  continued  his  education  in  Parnassus  Acad- 
emy, and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  entered  the  store  of  the  firm  of  Arthur 
&  .Sliowdelmyer.  at  Allegheny  City,  as  an  errand  boy.  He  was  later  made 
clerk,  having  charge  of  one  counter,  and  subsequently  was  advanced  to  a  gen- 
eral clerkship,  continuing  in  the  store  for  about  three  years,  when  he  resigned 
and  accepted  a  position  with  his  father  in  Verona,  After  two  years  he  became 
a  stockholder  in  the  firm.  In  1897  he  severed  his  connection  with  that  house, 
removed  to  Jeannette,  and  in  partnership  with  George  Wliitmyer,  purchased 
the  furniture  and  carpet  business  of  E,  G.  Euwer,  The  firm  style  of  Euwer 
■&  Company  has  since  been  maintained,  and  the  business  has  steadilv  grown 
until  they  now  carry  a  large  stock  of  goods  and  enjoy  a  constantly  increasing 
and  profitable  patronage.  He  has  other  business  aside  from  merchandising,  be- 
ing one  of  the  directors  in  the  Jeannette  National  Bank,  the  president  of  the 
Jeannette  Oil  and  Gas  Company,  and  the  treasurer  of  the  Jeannette  and  West 
Newton  Street  Railway  Company.  Mr.  Euwer  is  a  Republican,  whose  patriot- 
ism is  stronger  than  his  partisanship.  He  belongs  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  in  which  he  is  serving  as  a  trustee.  He  also  holds  membership  with  the 
Improved  Order  of  Heptasophs  and  with  the  Maccabees.  He  is  regarded  as 
one  of  the  progressive  business  men  of  Jeannette,  having  the  ability  of  quickly 
discerning  a  good  business  opportunity  and  taking  advantage  thereof.  His 
<nterprise  and  energ}-  have  been  the  dominant  factors  in  hissuccess,  and  his 
position  as  one  of  the  substantial  citizens  of  the  county  is  attributable  entirely 
to  his  own  eflforts.  jMr.  Euwer  married  in  1894,  Alice  Whitmyer,  a  daughter 
of  George  Whitmyer,  of  Oakmont.  Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  they 
have  three  children :  Margaret  E.,  Paul,  and  Virginia. 

C,  E.  ML^LLIN.  A  well-known  name  in  the  financial  circles  of 
Mount  Pleasant  is  that  of  C.  E.  Mullin.  The  parents  of  Mr.  Mullin  were 
Vv'illiam  D.  and  Mary  A.  (Shupc)  Mullin.  The  former  died  in  1890,  and  tlie 
latter  resides  in  Mount  Pleasant. 

C.  E.  Mullin  was  born  March  8,  1861,  in  Mount  Pleasant,  where  he  re- 
ceived his  primary  education  in  the  public  schools  and  afterward  attended  the 
Blount  Pleasant  Institute,  graduating  in  1882.  Prior  to  this,  though  in  the 
same  year,  he  graduated  from  the  Iron  Citv  Business  College.  After  com- 
plctmg  his  erlucation  he  engaged  for  a  time  in  the  .grocerv  business  in  Mount 
Pleasant,  and  later  went  into  the  dry  goods  business  under  the  firm  name  of 
The  C,  E,  Mullin  Company.  Subsequently  he  closed  the  business,  and  in 
June,   1895,  became  cashier  of  the  Farmers'  and  Merchants'   National    liank. 


212    .  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUXTY. 

This  institution  was  incorporated  in  1893,  and  carries  on  an  extensive  busi- 
ness, both  foreign  and  domestic.  j\Ir.  Mulhn  has  held  the  position  of  cashier 
continuously  for  the  last  ten  years  and  still  retains  the  office. 

He  was  one  of  the  promoters  of  the  Mount  Pleasant  Tool  Company,  and 
is  now  a  member  of  the  official  board  of  that  institution.  He  was  one  of  the 
organizers  of  the  East  Pittsburg  National  Bank,  at  Wilmerding,  Pennsylvania, 
and  now  belongs  to  the  board  of  directors.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  different 
financial  institutions  of  Pittsburg,  in  the  First  National  Bank  of  Irwin,  in  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Jeannette,  and  in  various  concerns  at  Greensburg.  He 
has  been  a  director  in  the  Citizens'  Building  &  Loan  Association  of  Mount 
Pleasant  since  its  organization.  In  1902  he  formed  a  partnership  with  \V.  A. 
Kalp  under  the  firm  name  of  Kalp  &  Mullin,  and  together  they  purchased  the 
'■James  Neal  farm,"  which  was  situated  within  the  limits  of  the  borough  of 
Mount  Pleasant.  This  estate,  which  consisted  of  ninety  acres,  they  laid  out  in 
town  lots,  disposing  of  them  by  sale.  Mr.  Mullin  is  the  owner  and  manager 
of  several  farms  in  difterent  parts  of  the  county.  He  is  a  member  of  Marion 
Lodge,  No.  562,  F.  and  A.  M.,  of  Scottdale,  Greensburg  Chapter,  Greensburg 
Commandery,  K.  T.,  Valley  Consistory,  No.  320,  of  Pittsburg,  the  Heptasophs 
and  Modern  Woodmen  of  America.  He  is  a  member  of  the  L^nited  Brethren 
church,  and  has  been  for  years  connected  with  the  official  board. 

Mr.  Mullin  married,  October  18,  1894,  Lulu  M.,  daughter  of  W.  H.  Evans, 
o-f  the  vicinity  of  New  Stanton,  Pennsylvania,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  the 
following  children:  Charles  E.,  Paul  E.,  William  D.,  Mary  Genevieve,  and 
Edward  E.  The  mother  of  these  children  died  October  2,  1901,  and  Mr.  Mul- 
lin married,  March  24,  1903,  Mrs.  Sallie  (Woodward)  Shields,  daughter  of 
Joseph  Woodward,  of  Columbia,  Missouri.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mullin  have  one 
child,  Emily  Agnes. 

WILLIAM  FRANKLIN  MORRISON.  The  family  of  which  Will- 
iam Franklin  Morrison  is  a  representative  is  one  well  known  throughout  West- 
moreland county.  Charles  E.  Morrison,  the  father  of  Mr.  Morrison,  was  born 
in  1830,  in  Somerset  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  from  i860  to  1863  engaged  in 
mercantile  business  in  Mount  Pleasant  township.  He  established  a  branch 
store  at  Ruffsdale  in  1863,  and  for  several  years. conducted  the  two.  He  then 
went  to  Donegal  where  he  enga.^ed  in  the  same  line  of  business  with  his 
brother,  Dr.  Morrison,  subsequently  moving  to  Port  Royal.  In  consequence 
of  failing  health  he  withdrew  for  a  time  from  business  and  retired  to  his  farm, 
afterward  returning  for  a  few  years  to  commercial  life.  He  was  active  in  local 
politics  and  held  several  township  offices.  He  was  one  of  the  charter  members 
of  the  Mor.nt  Pleasant  council  of  the  R.  A.,  and  belonged  to  the  K.  P.  He 
and  his  wife  were  members  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

Charles  E.  Morrison  married  Sarah  E.,  daughter  of  Abraham  and  Sarah 
fCorer)  Hays.  The  former  was  a  native  of  Westmoreland  county,  and  spent 
his  life  in  Mount  Pleasant  township  with  the  exception  of  a  few  years  passed 
in  East  Huntingdon  township.  His  farm  consisted  of  two  hundred  and  fifty- 
eight  acres.  He  was  county  commissioner  in  1853-54-55.  and  later  served  as 
poor  director.  In  politics  he  was  a  staunch  Democrat.  He  and  his  wife  were 
the  parents  of  children  :  Sarah  E.,  married  Charles  E.  Morrison,  as  mentioned 
above ;  Kate  and  IMollie,  died  unmarried ;  Lucinda.  married  C.  R.  Booker ; 
Susan,  married  Anthony  Leightey :  a  daughter  died  in  cFTildhood  :  Abraham 
was  killed  in  one  of  the  battles  of  the  Civil  war :  John  ;  Peter :  and  Isarael,  an 
attorney-at-law,   died  in  Pittsburg.     Mr.  Hays  lived  to  the  advanced  age  of 


lIlSrOKY    OF    IVESTMOREL.-LXD    COUXTV.  213 

ninety-three.  j\lr.  and  Mrs.  ]\Iorrison  had  children:  Delia,  married  John  A. 
Rav,'of  Pittsburg,  president  of  the  Burgettstown  National  Uank,  and  of  the 
First  National  Bank,  of  Hickory,  Washington  .county.  Pa.,  who  is  also  agent 
and  real  estate  manager  for  the  Pittsburg  and  Buffalo  Coal  Company :  Charles 
Oscar,  machinist  in  the  Armor  Steel  Plate  works,  at  Homestead,  Pa. ;  and 
^^■illiam  Franklin,  of  whom  later.  2\lr.  ■Morrison  died  in  1885,  in  Ruft'sdale 
where  he  had  resided  for  a  year  previous  to  that  event. 

William  Franklin  Morrison,  son  of  Charles  E.  and  Sarah  E.  (Hays)  Mor- 
rison, was  born  December  8,  1863,  at  Weaver's  Old  Stand,  Mount  Pleasant 
township,  and  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  at  Duff's  Business  Col- 
lege from  which  he  graduated  April  24,  1882.  He  then  became  his  father's 
assistant  in  the  latter's  business,  and  continued  to  serve  in  that  capacity  until 
the  death  of  the  elder  Mr.  ^Morrison,  when  he  closed  the  business  and  went  to 
Johnstown.  After  remaining  there  one  year  as  clerk  he  returned  to  his  old 
home  and  entered  the  service  of  the  United  Coal  and  Coke  Company,  as  book- 
keeper, but  at  the  end  of  a  year  resigned  in  order  to  take  a  position  as  chief 
clerk  and  manager  with  the  J.  D.  Boyd  Coal  Company,  at  Uniontown,  Fayette 
county.  This  position  he  retained  for  nearly  ten  years  when  he  resigned  in 
order  to  enter  the  service  of  the  Armor  Beef  Company,  also  at  Uniontown. 
After  remaining  with  them  one  year  he  tendered  his  resignation,  accepting  the 
position  of  secretary  and  treasurer  with  the  Thompson  Glass  Company,  of 
Uniontown,  and  continued  to  discharge  the  duties  of  his  office  for  three  years. 
He  then  went  to  Mount  Pleasant  where  he  engaged  as  district  manager  with 
the  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company,  of  New  York.  He  has  had  an  eventful 
political  career.  In  1886  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  town  council,  and  in 
1888  was  re-elected  in  Uniontown.  He  was  chosen  to  serve  on  the  board  of 
education  at  Mount  Pleasant  in  1902,  the  same  year  was  elected  president  of 
the  board,  and  in  1905  was  re-elected.  He  has  been  active  in  both  local  and 
state  politics  since  1S87.  and  in  1902  was  elected  to  the  state  legislature,  being 
re-elected  in  1904.  During  his  first  term  he  served  on  the  committee  of  ways 
and  means,  law  and  order,  mines  and  mining,  iron  and  coal  and  manufactures. 
He  is  now  serving  his  second  term,  and  is  chairman  of  the  committee  on  manu- 
factures, and  secretary  of  the  committee  on  mines  and  mining.  He  also  be- 
longs to  the  committee  on  law  and  order,  iron  and  coal,  pensions  and  gratuities 
and  insurance.  He  is  identified  with  the  following  fraternal  orders :  Favette 
Uodge,  No.  228,  F.  and  A.  M. ;  Uniontown  Chapter  Xo.  165:  Uniontown  Com- 
Tiiandery,  No.  49 :  Pittsburg  Consistory ;  Syria  Temple.  Pittsburg ;  Olivett 
Council,  Grcensburg. 

Mr.  Morrison  married  (first)  in  1884,  Anna  B.  Weineman,  of  Greensburg, 
Pennsylvania.  In  1890  she  lost  her  life  through  the  explosion  of  a  lamp  which 
ignited  her  clothing,  and  burned  her  so  badly  she  died  the  next  morning.  Their 
children  were:  I.  Charles  Clyde,  graduate  from  the  Mount  Pleasant  High 
school,  and  then  took  a  two  years'  course  at  Buckncll.  He  is  now  a  student  in 
tlie  law  department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  2.  Verna  ;\label  was 
drowned  while  in  bathing  in  the  Allegheny  river,  near  Summer  Camp,  at  God- 
frey, Pennsylvania,  on  the  afternoon  of  August  19,  1905.  The  accident  was 
caused  by  stepping  into  a  deep  sinkhole,  the  presence  of  which  was  unknown  to 
the  bathers.  She  lost  her  footing  and  was  carried  down  to  her  death.  Her  body 
was  recovered  twenty  minutes  later,  and  medical  skill  cxliaustcfl  in  an  effort  to 
save  her  life,  but  too  late,  the  silver  cord  had  been  broken.  Miss  Morrison  was 
twenty  years  of  age  and  had  graduated  at  the  Grcensburg  High  s::liool  with 
Tionors  in  June.   1905,  about  thirty  days  before  lur  untimely  departure.     She 


214  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

was  an  exceedingly  bright  and  amiable  voung  lady  with  a  large  circle  of  friends- 
who  most  sincerely  mourn  her  death.  Air.  Morrison  married  (secoad),  ApriL 
1892,  Sarah  R.,  daughter  of  Dr.  B.  A.  Pichtner,  of  Somerset  county,  Penn- 
slyvania. 

ALBERT  B.  STAUFFER,  son  of  Henry  W.  and  Mary  C.  (Booker) 
Stauffer  was  born  November  4,  1871,  in  Tyron  township,  Fayette  county,. 
Pennsylvania.  The  great-grandfather  of  Albert  B.  StautTer,  Martm  Stauffer,. 
lived  for  a  number  of  vears  at  Eveston,  following  agricultural  pursuits.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Mennonite  church.  He  had  three  children:  Sarah,  wife 
of  Samuel  Heuth ;  John  T.,  the  grandfather  of  Albert  B.  StauiTer ;  and  Abram 
D.  John  T.  Stauflfer  lived  and  died  in  Westmoreland  county.  In  early  life 
he  was  a  farmer,  but  later  entered  the  baker's  business  and  was  the  pioneer  of 
that  industry  in  Westmoreland  county.  For  some  years  he  operated  from 
twenty  to  thirty  ovens  near  what  is  now  called  Stauffer  Station.  Politically 
he  was  a  Republican,  and  held  the  office  of  constable  for  several  terms.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  N.  B.  church.  He  died  in  1900,  at  Mount  Pleasant,  his 
home  for  the  last  few  years  of. his  life.  His  children  were:  Henry  W.,  David,, 
Mary,  wife  of  John  Swain ;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Young  Yetters ;  Martha,  Cath- 
erine,'wife  of  Benjamin  Kouchenour ;  Joseph,  James,  Frank,  Belle  and  Mead. 
Henry  W.  Stauffer  was  born  and  reared  in  Westmoreland  county  and  followed 
farming  and  butchering  for  a  number  of  years.  During  the  last  few  years  he 
has  partially  retired  from  active  business.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  and  has  filled  most  of  the  offices.  His  children  are  :  Alice, 
wife  of  Albert  Herbert  Martin,  a  butcher,  of  Scottdale ;  Charles  W. ;  Susan, 
wife  of  James  Murphy;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Hugo  Wessing;  Albert  B.,  of  whom 
later:  Lucv ;  Laura,  wife  of  John  Beswick  Rebecca;  Emma;  John  T. 

Albert  P..  Stauffer  was  reared  and  educated  in  his  native  place,  attendmg 
the  public  schools  until  he  reached  the  age  of  eighteen,  then  entering  a  rolling 
mill  at  Scottdale  and  continuing  there  for  some  six  years.  He  then  entered 
the  butcher  business  and  has  continued  at  it  since.  He  is  the  proprietor  of  per- 
haps the  finest  market  in  that  section  of  the  state,  a  market  supplied  with  all 
the  latest  and  improved  machinery  for  working  up  the  meats  and  stocked  with 
the  hig-hest  grades  of  fresh  and  canned  meats.  He  slaughters  all  his  own 
meats,  and  niarkets  his  produce  in  Scottdale  and  its  vicinity.  He  is  successor  to 
his  brother,  C.  W.  Stauffer,  in  the  business,  having  taken  charge  of  it  ]\Iay  24, 
1904.  He  is  one  of  the  best-known  men  of  Scottdale,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Eagles.  His  wife.  Cazie,  daughter  of  Daniel  Fritz,  died  in  1902,  at  the  age  of 
tweiity-four,  leaving  two  children.  Lulu  Marie  and  Mary  Frances  Stauffer. 

SMITH  BUTTERMORE,  son  of  P.  M.  and  Eliza  J.  (Thorndell) 
Buttermore,  was  born  February  7,  1880,  at  New  Haven,  Fayette  county.  Penn- 
sylvania. On  the  paternal  side  the  family  is  of  German  and  Scotch  descent, 
and  on  the  maternal  side  of  English  descent.  The  parents  of  Smith  arc  both 
living,  the  father  being  a  blacksmith  of  New  Haven.  The  grandfather,  George 
Buttermore,  was  a  farmer  but  gave  most  of  his  attention  to  teaming  on  a 
route  between  Baltimore.  Connellsville  and  Pittsburg. 

Smith  Buttermore  was  reared  in  his  native  town  and  educated  in  the  pub- 
lic schools.  In  1900  he  went  into  business  at  Dawson,  Fayette  county,  Penn- 
sylvania. He  established  the  first  bakery  in  that  place,  and  remained  in  busi- 
ness there  until  Tune,  1904.  He  sold  out  and  located  at  Scottdale,  where  he 
succeeded  to  the'bakerv  business  of  W.  H.  EUis,  September,  1904.  the  oldest 


HISTORY   OF    U-ESTMORIlL.L\D    COLWrV.  215 

establishment  of  its  kind  in  Scottdale,  it  having  been  estabhshed  liy  J.  C. 
Anawalt  in  1882.  At  the  death  of  IMr.  Anawalt  his  son  conducted  the  busnicss 
until  -Mr.  Ellis  took  charge  of  it  in  1902.  He  in  turn  sold  it  to  Mr.  LUittennore, 
who  has  continued  there  since.  In  addition  to  a  large  bakery  business  he  has 
an  ice  cream  manufactory,  and  in  both  branches  of  his  trade  has  been  very  suc- 
cessful. His  establishment  is  one  of  the  leading  concerns  of  this  part  of  the 
county,  the  business  covering  a  radius  of  some  six  miles  about  Scottdale.  He 
is  one  of  the  most  prominent  men  of  the  borough  and  is  active  in  politics,  his 
sympathies  being  Democratic.  While  at  Dawson  he  was  a  member  of  the 
central  committee.  ^Mr.  Buttermore  married,  April  25,  1900,  Cora  Edwards, 
daughter  of  Roland  and  Margaret  Edwards,  of  Councilsville.  Mr.  Edwards 
established  the  first  bakery  at  that  place.  They  have  one  child,  Mildred  Butter- 
more.  They  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Scottdale.  Mr. 
Buttermore  is  a  member  of  Royal  Arcanum,  A.  I.  O.  K.  M.,  Omar  Com- 
manderv,  No.  330,  of  Dawson,  of  the  Eagles  and  of  the  Modern  Woochuen  of 
America. 

ALEXANDER  FLEMING  was  born  October  27,  1872.  in  Airdry, 
Scotland,  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Cunningham)  Fleming.  The  family 
sailed  to  America  in  1874  and  located  at  Port  Washington,  Ohio,  where  the 
father  was  employed  as  superintendent  of  the  blast  furnaces.  Lie  was  su])erin- 
tendent  of  various  furnaces  in  Ohio,  then  removed  to  Pennsylvania,  about 
1881.  settling  in  Mifflin  county,  later  in  Huntingdon  county,  where  he  was 
engaged  as  superintendent  of  a  furnace,  thence  going  to  Wampum,  Lawrence 
countv,  and  then  returned  to  Ohio,  about  1884.  He  soon  returned  to  Penn- 
sylvania and  spent  four  years  at  Penn  Furnace,  then  went  to  Bellefonte  and 
operated  the  furnace  for  about  two  years,  then  engaged  with  the  Cameron  Coal 
and  Iron  Company,  as  superintendent.  He  is  at  present  living  at  McKeespnrt, 
Pennsylvania,  and  is  virtually  retired.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  His  children  are:  Isabella,  wife  of  J.  A.  Little,  of  McKeesport ; 
Grahmey,  wife  of  James  Bryce,  of  Homestead,  Pennsylvania :  David,  deceased ; 
Magdaline.  a  music  teacher  at  McKeesport ;  Harry,  a  shipping  clerk, 
McKeesport:  Alexander,  of  whom  later. 

Alexander  Fleming  attended  the  Carnegie  night  school,  then  took  a  special 
course  in  LaFayette  College  at  Easton,  Pennsylvania.  He  studied  chemistry  in 
the  laboratories  of  the  Bellefonte  Furnace  Company,  the  Cameron  Iron  and 
Coal  Company,  the  Joseph  E.  Throo))  Company.  Everett.  Pennsylvania ; 
the  Monongahela  Furnaces,  McKeesport.  He  then  accepted  a  position  with 
the  Carnegie  Steel  Company,  working  at  their  various  plants  in  and  around 
Pittsburg.  In  1897  he  settled  in  Scottdale,  engaged  as  the  chief  chemist 
of  the  H.  C.  Frick  Coke  Company.  He  filled  this  position  for  seven  ycar.s, 
then,  in  1904,  entered  the  business  world  as  an  independent  chenn'st.  opem'ng 
the  laboratory  where  he  is  at  present.  He  has  the  agency  for  the  Climax 
Refining  Company,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  is  distributing  agent  for  western 
Pennsvlvania  and  as  far  as  Altoona,  West  Virginia,  and  Maryland.  He  makes 
a  specialty  of  water  analysis,  and  is  an  expert  in  firebrick  manufacture,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  analysis  of  all  kinds  of  ore,  minerals,  coal,  coke,  etc.  Fie  receives 
commissions  from  all  parts  of  the  L'nited  States,  and  does  the  work  for  most  of 
the  independent  firms  in  the  coke  regions.  He  alreafly  requires  an  assistant  in 
order  to  keep  abreast  of  the  great  volume  of  work  that  pours  in  upon  him.  He 
was  one  of  the  incorporators  and  is  one  of  the  stockholders  of  the  Savage  Hill 
Firebrick  Company,  of  Fairhope,  Pennsylvania.     He  is  vice-president  of  the 


2i6  HISTORY    OF   WESTMORELAND    COUXTY. 

West  Virginia  Fire  Clay  Company,  Thornton,  West  Virginia,  and  it  was 
through  his  experiments  and  professional  skill  that  the  coke-oven  brick  has 
been  "raisel  to  the  present  efficiency.  Formerly  the  life  of  a  fire  brick  in  the 
ovens  was  from  thirty  days  to  one  year,  but  through  Mr.  Fleming's  untiring 
efforts  the  life  of  a  brick  has  been  prolonged  to  last  from  ten  to  twelve  years. 
He  stands  at  the  head  of  his  profession  and  is  a  member  of  the  American 
Chemical  Society.  He  is  also  a  member  of  A.  I.  O.  K.  of  M.,  Scotia  Com- 
manderv,  No.  Ii6,  of  McKeesport ;  Marion  Lodge,  No.  562,  F.  and  A.  M., 
Scottdale ;  Connellsville  Chapter,  283,  R.  A.,  Connelsville :  Uniontown 
Commandery,  49,  K.  T.,  Uniontown,  Pennsylvania;  Scottdale  Lodge,  No. 
y77,  B.  P.  O.  E.  Mr.  Fleming  married,  September  26,  1895,  Josephine  F. 
Gogley,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  (Amick)  Gogley,  of  LTedford  coimty, 
Pennsylvania.  They  have  three  children,  Ruth,  Elizabeth  and  Marion  Flem- 
ing. They  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  Mr.  Fleming 
being  also  a  member  of  the  choir. 

CLARENCE  W.  MACBETH,  formerly  of  the  regular  army  and 
now  an  enterprising  merchant  of  Scottdale,  was  born  in  East  Huntingdon 
township.  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  August  23,  1879.  He  is  a  son 
of  William  H.  and  Louise  (Welty)  Macbeth,  of  East  Huntingdon,  and  his 
father  is  a  prosperous  farmer  of  that  township. 

His  boyhood  and  youth  were  spent  in  attending  the  inililic  schools  and 
assisting  his  father  in  carrying  on  the  homestead  farm.  Just  prior  to  attaining 
his  majority  (July,  1900.)  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  K,  Fifth  Regi- 
ment, United  States  infantry,  for  three  years'  service  in  the  regular  army, 
going  first  to  Fort  Sheridan,  Illinois,  thence  to  Presidio,  California,  and  from 
there  to  Manila,  Philippine  Islands.  During  his  service  in  the  Philippines, 
which  covered  a  period  of  two  years  and  nine  months,  he  performed  active 
duty  in  the  field  for  a  greater  portion  of  the  time,  and  consequently  became 
perfectly  familiar  with  the  strenuous  life  of  a  soldier  in  the  far  east.  His 
regiment,  which  was  almost  constantly  on  the  move,  visited  the  more  important 
islands  except  two,  and  the  following  is  a  partial  list  of  places  at  which  it  was 
stationed,  viz :  Caraman,  Battac,  Bontoc,  F'ayum.  Dolores,  San  Quintin  Xar- 
vacan,  Lopez,  San  Pablo,  Santa  Maria,  Keom,  L^nidegen,  Banguend,  Canyvan, 
Appari,  Laog,  Vigan,  San  Juan  and  San  Tomas.  Besides  participating  in  num- 
erous skirmishes  he  was  subjected  to  other  dangers  equally  as  menacing,  and 
on  one  occasion  during  the  rainy  season  was  exposed  to  a  continuous  down- 
pour, without  even  a  temporary  shelter,  for  twelve  consecutive  davs,  during 
which  time  it  was  utterly  impossible  to  obtain  a  change  of  clothing  and  the 
only  available  food  was  hardtack  and  bacon.  He  was  twice  confined  to  the 
hospital,  once  with  yellow  fever  and  at  another  time  from  the  efifects  of  being 
poisoned  by  impure  food.  In  June,  1903,  his  regiment  was  ordered  home  and 
he  was  mustered  out  at  Angel  Island,  San  Francisco  Bay,  July  23,  1903,  as 
first  sergeant  of  his  company,  there  being  but  thirty-two  left  of  the  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-two  officers  and  men  originally  enrolled.  His  long  sojourn  in 
the  islanfls  enabled  him  to  gather  much  interesting  information  concerning  the 
character  and  mode-  of  life  of  the  natives,  and  he  also  made  two  visits  to  Japan. 
Returning  to  Pennsylvania  after  his  discharge  from  the  army  he  entered  the 
employ  of  the  Union  Supply  Company  of  Painter,  with  whom  he  remained 
for  some  time,  and  he  subsequently  purchased  a  restaurant  in  Scottdale,  where 
he  now  resides.  In  1904  he  established  himself  in  the  grocery  business,  enter- 
ing his  new  field  of  trade  with  a  large  and  well-selected  stock  of  staple  and 


HISTORY   OF   U'ESTMORELAXD    COUXTY.  217 

iancy  groceries,  canned  goods,  preserved  meats,  country  produce,  grain,  leeil, 
etc. .'and  he  has  already  Taid  the  foundation  of  a  successful  mercantile  business 
uliich  promises  to  develop  into  large  proportions  in  the  near  future. 

e)n  February  23,  1904,  Mr.  Macbeth  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Mdna  Williams,  of  South  Huntingdon  township,  daughter  of  Daniel  A.  and 
Rebecca  (Nichols)  Williams.  They  have  one  daughter,  Ruth  Esther  Mac- 
beth.    Mr.  and  Mrs.  Macbeth  attend  the  Presbyterian  church. 

JAMES  McFADDEX  CARPENTER.  The  family  of  which  James 
McFadden  Carpenter,  of  Pittsburg,  is  a  representative,  was  founded  in  this 
countv  bv  Heinrich  Zimmerman,  who  came  hither  about  i(x)8  from  the  canton  of 
Berne,  Switzerland,  and  settled  in  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania.  About  1703 
lie  brou.ght  over  his  family,  which  was  a  large  one,  inchuling  six  sons,  five  of 
whom  became  surveyors  and  scriveners.  He  is  said  to  have  been  much  more 
progressive  than  his  neighbors,  in  that  he  believed  in  educating  his  family 
in  En.glish  and  in  making  them  Americans.  His  wishes  in  this  respect  are 
further  indicated  by  the  fact  that  he  translated  his  name  and  after  coming  to 
this   country   was   known   as   Henry   Carpenter. 

Danief  Carpenter,  one  of  his  sons,  was  the  father  of  a  son  also  named 
Daniel.  This  second  Daniel  was  the  father  of  John  Carpenter,  whose  son, 
Jeremiah  Murrv  Carpenter,  was  born  on  Pocketos  (Puckety)  creek,  at  a  place 
more  recently  known  as  Hamilton's  'SUW.  He  received  a  common  school 
education  and  in  early  life  was  a  teacher.  Later  he  became  a  farmer  and 
also  practiced  the  profession  of  a  surveyor  and  scrivener.  He  held  the 
office  of  justice  of  the  peace,  served  in  the  militia,  and  in  poHtics'was  a 
I\-mocrat.  In  religious  belief  he  was  a  Presbyterian  and  served  as  ruling 
elder  in  the  Laird  (Old  Plum  Creek)  Church.  His  wife  was  Eleanor, 
daughter  of  James  and  Margaret  (Stewart)  McFadden,  and  a  native  of 
?vIiddletown,  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania.  To  them  were  born  six 
children:  Mary  Elizabeth,  married  James  Mcjunkin :  John,  married  Isabella 
Herron  :  James  McFadden,  Jeremiah  Murry,  deceased;  Samuel  Lease,  at  pres- 
ent judge  of  the  district  circuit,  Denver.  Colorado:  who  married  Grace 
Boyd:  and  Bertha  Eleanor,  intermarried  with  William  i\L  McCracken. 

James  McFadden.  tlic  third  child,  was  born  January  30,  1850.  at 
Murrvsville.  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.  The  family  removed  to 
Plum  township,  Allegheny  county,  in  1852,  where  he  received  his  primary 
education  in  the  common  schools,  from  w'hich  he  passed  to  the  academy  at 
Murrvsville  known  as  Laird  Institute.  Wliile  studyin-j  for  his  profession  he 
engaged  in  farming,  teaching  and  surveying,  and  in  October,  1874,  became  a 
niember  of  the  Pittsbur.g  bar,  since  which  time  he  has  been  in  active  prac- 
tice. His  professional  experience  has  lain  especially  along  the  lines  of  min- 
ing and  oil  interests,  and  he  is  known  as  a  concise  and  forcible  speaker.  In 
early  life  he  was  a  Democrat,  but  has  always  been  independent  of  merely 
l)arty  considerations.  Since  1896  he  has  been  somewhat  active  in  politics,  was 
one  of  the  organizers  of  the  "Gold  Democracy"  and  was  a  member  of  the 
convention  that  nominated  Palmer  and  Buckner.  For  himself  he  has  never 
sought  election  to  any  office.  He  is  one  of  the  trustees  of  Western  Tlieo- 
lo.gical  Seminary,  and  a  member  of  the  L'nion  Club  of  Pittsburg.  Since  t88i 
he  has  been  ruline  elder  in  the  Park  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church  of  Pittslnug, 
duriuT  all  of  which  time  he  has  served  as  clerk  of  session.  Mr.  Carpenter  mar- 
ried. June  21.  1876.  Mary  II..  daughter  of  John  L.  L.  and  Rebekah  II.  Knox,  of 


2i8  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUXTY. 

Allegheny,  and  their  children  were :    Alice  Lazear,  Rebckah  Nnox,  who  died  . 
in  her  sixth  year;  Bertha  Eleanor  and  James  McFadden.     Mrs.  Carpenter  died 
July   2,    1899. 

WILLIAM  ELKIN,  one  of  the  best  known  and  most  influential  men 
of  West  Jeannette,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  in  county 
Tyrone,  Ireland.  Mav  2,  1850.  He  is  the  son  of  Hugh  and  Margaret  (Wat- 
son) Elkin,  who  lived  and  died  in  Ireland  and  were  the  parents  of  seven 
children,  three  of  whom  survive :  David,  of  Fayette  county ;  Annie,  widow 
of  William  Lemon,  of  Ireland ;  and  William  Elkin,  of  whom  later. 

On  his  seventeenth  birthday  William  Elkin  left  his  native  place  and  srtded 
for  America  shores,  landing  in  Quebec,  Canada,  thence  to  Glenham,  Dutchess 
county.  New  York,  where  he  resided  for  four  or  five  years,  being  employed  dur- 
ing this  time  in  a  dyeing  establishment.  In  1872  he  removed  to  Pittsburg, 
where  he  was  employed  in  an  iron  works  for  fourteen  years,  with  the  exception 
of  a  few  months  spent  in  Wellsville,  Ohio.  In  1886  Mr.  Elkin  decided  to  enter 
into  business  for  himself  and  accordingly  opened  a  hotel  in  Pittsburg,  at  1240 
Pennsvlvania  avenue.  He  conducted  this  establishment  for  six  years  with  con- 
siderable success,  and  then  selling  out  his  business  removed  to  West  Jeannette, 
where  better  opportunities  presented  themselves  for  an  extensive  and  profitable 
business.  Mr.  Elkin  established  his  hotel  on  property  which  he  had  purchased 
three  vears  prior  to  his  removal  to  that  place,  and  spared  neither  time  nor  labor 
to  make  his  establishment  a  well-equipped  and  commodious  house.  Ever  since 
the  Elkin  House  was  opened  to  the  public  it  has  been  counted  among  the  most 
popular  and  best  paying  hotels  of  that  section,  and  the  proprietor,  Mr.  Elkin, 
is  to  be  congratulated  on  his  well  deserved  success.  As  a  citizen  Mr.  Elkm  is 
held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  his  fellow  townsmen,  which  is  demonstrated  by 
the  fact  that  lie  was  elected  this  spring  to  his  third  term  as  school  director,  and 
is  counted  among  the  most  influential  men  of  Jeannette.  Mr.  Elkin's  political 
sympathies  lie  w'ith  the  Republican  party,  and"  while  he  has  never  aspired  to 
public  office  he  takes  a  deep  and  lasting  interest  in  all  afYairs  bearing  upon  the 
welfare  of  his  town  and  county.  He  is  a  member  of  Jeannette  Lodge,  No.  468, 
B.  P.  O.  E.  and  the  Orangemen's  Lodge.  In  religious  matters  he  affiliates  with 
the  Episcopal  church,  and  was  a  meriiber  of  the  building  committee  during  the 
construction  of  the  church  building  in  1904. 

November  10,  1875,  Mr.  Elkin  was  united  in  marriage  to  Elizalieth  C. 
Elkin,  a  native  of  Indiana  county,  daughter  of  Francis  and  Elizabeth  (Pratt) 
Elkin,  and  a  sister  of  John  P.  Elkin.  Their  children  are:  William  F..  with 
.  his  father  in  the  hotel  business ;  Lilly  May,  teacher  in  the  Jeannette  schools ; 
Margaret  Myrtle,  a  teacher  in  Hempfield  township  schools ;  Charles  Alfred, 
reading  medicine  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania ;  Olive  Florence :  at  home ; 
and  Hazel  Catherine,  at  home. 

VERY  REV.  M.  A.  LAMBING,  pastor  of  St.  John  the  Baptist's 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania,  whose  ancestors  had  come 
from  Alsace  and  Ireland  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  was  born 
in  Armstrong  county,  Pennsylvania,  April  28,  1848. 

His  boyhood  and  youth  were  spent  in  Manorville.  in  the  same  county. 
He  quit  school  when  thirteen  years  old,  as  his  help  was  needed  by  the  family, 
and  learned  shoemaking  with  his  father ;  but  soon  after  left  the  bench  for 
more  lucrative  employment  in  the  oil  business,  working  in  a  refinery  and  also 
in  the  Oil  Creek  and  the  Parker  fields.    He  kept  up  a  course  of  study  through 


/?^.,^::7U.^. 


fpb 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELASD    COUXTY.  219, 

these  years  and,  believing  he  had  a  caU  to  the  priesthood,  entered  St.  Michael's 
Seminarv,  Glenwood,  near  Pittsburg,  ni  the  fall  of  1870.  He  xvas  ordamec 
from  this  institution  bv  Bishop  Tuigg,  June  10,  1876,  and  nnmediately  assigned 
as  as-;istant  to  the  pastor  of  St.  John's  Church,  Southside,  Pittsburg.  In  l-eb- 
ruary,  1878.  he  was  transferred  to  a  like  position  in  St.  I'atnck  s  Church  in 
the  same  citv.    July  17,  1879.  he  was  appointed  to  his  present  charge. 

Scottdaie  was' originally  (,1872-1878)  a  mission  attended  from  Lomiells- 
ville,  but  in  the  latter  vear  it  was  made  a  separate  parish  with  Rey.  Thomas 
M'Enrue  as  its  first  pas'tor.  It  was  a  small  church  of  some  two  dozen  commu- 
nicants when  placed  under  Father  Lambing's  care,  but  being  the  center  of  the 
coke  regions,  which  were  then  opening  up,  it  grew  rapidly  in  numbers.  The 
corner  stone  of  the  present  edifice,  one  of  the  finest  in  that  section,  with  a 
seating  capacitv  of  more  than  four  hundred,  was  laid  in  1881.  Until  August, 
1887,  Tie  had  charge  of  all  the  territory  between  Connellsville  and  St.  N'incent's 
with 'a  population  of  a  dozen  nationalities.  During  most  of  this  time  he  was 
assisted  bv  Rev.  S.  T-  Schramm  and  Rev.  P.  Rigler.  Since  tnen  he  has  had 
charge  of  only  the  "English  and  German  speaking  Catholics  in  and  alK)ut 
Scottdaie,  assisted  by  Rev.  A.  P.  Black  (1901-1903)  and  now  by  Rev.  P.  C. 
Danner.  Father  Lambing  erected  not  only  his  own  church  but  also  St. 
Joseph's  Church,  [Mount  Pleasant,  and  tlie  rectory,  parish  school  and  convent. 
Scottdaie.  Seven  teachers  are  employed  in  the  school,  which  has  an  enrollment 
of  three  hundred  and  thirty.  In  1902  he  was  appointed  dean  over  Westmore- 
land. Indiana  and  Fayette  counties  by  the^ate  Bishop  Phelan,  and  is  known  as 
rural  dean:  he  is  also  a'member  of  impoi^it  church  committees  of  his  diocese. 
A  lifelong  abstainer,  he  is  a  strong  and  «rnsistent  temperance  advocate,  and 
one  of  the  most  widely  known  leaders  o^th^  Catholic  Total  Abstinence  Union 
of  America,  of  which  he  has  been  a  meM)'^!' since  1884.  The  total  abstiiiLnce 
societies  connected  with  his  church  o\^^Ji'\a.rg€  hall.  Since  his  coming  to 
Scottdaie,  ten  young  women  and  four  yw^g  men  of  the  parish  have  entered 
the  religious  life.  Two  of  the  young  riS^,  Revs.  M.  P.  Boyle  and  P.  Diskm, 
were  ordained  into  the  priesthood. 

Father  Lambing  was  a  prominent  figure  in  all  the  labor  troubles  of  the 
coke  regions,  always  striving  for  a  just  and  peaceful  solution  of  disputes  and 
enjoying  the  fullest  confidence  of  the  men  regardless  of  nationality  or  creed, 
and  of  their  employers  and  the  public.  Catholics  and  Protestants  alike  unite 
in  their  praise  of  Father  Lambing  for  the  great  and  good  work  he  has  accom- 
plished in  the  community,  in  the  welfare  of  which  he  has  always  taken  an 
interest  and  an  active  part.  With  tenacity  of  purpose  and  patient  perseverance, 
never  asking  nor  wishing  a  change  of  place,  he  has  labored  with  untiring 
energy  for  his  congregation  and  the  moral  good  of  the  communitv.  His  labors 
have  been  labors  of  love  and  well  done;  his  greatest  pleasure  is  his  Master's 
service  and  the  betterment  of  his  fellowmen.  His  work  is  a  credit  to  himself 
and  an  honor  to  his  church. 

:vrAHLOX  M.  STANTZ.  One  of  the  old  Pennsylvania  families  of 
German  orisrin  is  that  represented  by  Mahlon  M.  Stantz.  of  .Scottdaie.  Tlie 
first  ancestor  of  whom  we  have  any  knowledge  was  Jacob  Stantz  (or  .Stautz, 
as  the  name  was  originally  spelled)  who  came  from  Franklin  county  to  ^^'est- 
moreland  county  about  a  ccnturv  ago.  It  has  not  been  asrertained  whether  he 
was  the  progenitor  who  emigrated  from  Germany  or  whether  he  was  of  Amer- 
ican birth. 

Jacob  Stantz  was  a  blacksmith  hy  trade  and  a  first-class  meclianic.  On  his 


220  HISTORY    or   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

arrival  in  Westmoreland  county  he  settled  on  the  "i'vindif^  farm,"  in  Mount 
Pleasant  township,  and  later  moved  to  South  Huntingdon  townshij),  near  Men- 
den,  where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life.  1  le  owned  a  farm  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  acres  which  he  cultivated  in  connection  with  his  work  as  a 
l)lacksmith.  Me  was  a  memher  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Mr.  Stantz  married 
Susannah  Miller,  and  tiiey  wxtc  the  jiarents  of  the  following  children;  Jolm 
who  was  a  farmer,  and  moved  to  (  )hio.  Leonard,  who  was  a  lahorer,  and  went 
to  Clarion  county,  Pennsylvania.  Jacob,  died  in  early  life.  Christopher,  men- 
tioned hereafter.  Henry,  who  was  a  farmer,  and  died  nu  the  homestead.  I'hili]) 
-\vho  was  a  farmer  in  .South  Huntingdon  townshi)).  Isaac,  who  enlisted  in  the 
■army  during  the  Civil  war  and  died  of  disease  contracted  while  in  service. 
Peter,  who  also  served  in  the  army  and  died  of  wounds  received  in  battle.  A 
daughter  who  became  the  wife  of  Ceorge  Painter,  of  Westmoreland  county. 
Polh .  died  inimarried.  Catharine,  ni,-irried  .Samuel  McMiehael,  of  Westmore- 
land countv.  Mr.  Stantz,  the  lather,  lived  to  be  well  advanced  in  years,  his 
death  occurring  when  he  was  upward  of  eighty. 

Christopher  Stantz,  son  of  Jacob  and  Susannah  (Miller)  Stantz,  was  born 
Jul\-,  \Hi2,  in  Moimt  Pleasant  township,  and  in  early  life  was  a  teamster,  for 
iifteen  years  driving  a  team  between  Tudtimore,  i'hiladelphia  and  Pittsburg. 
I'l'om  ii^39  to  the  end  of  his  life  he  lived  in  South  llnnlingdon  township,  where 
he  engaged  in  the  labors  of  a  farmer.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
church.  Mr.  Stantz  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Jane  McAfee,  who 
bore  him  three  children:  Jemima;  Mary  R.,  who  became  the  wife  of  L.  K. 
Hixson,  of  Alverton ;  and  Emmanuel  M.,  mentioned  hereafter.  After  the 
death  of  his  wife  Mr.  Stantz  married  Catharine,  widow  of  Philip  Heck  and 
<laughter  of  Andrew  i\\erly.  Mr.  .Si.-uitz  died  in  iSi>7,  at  Ihe  .■idvanced  age  of 
■eighty-five  years. 

luiimanuel  M.  Stantz,  son  of  Christopher  and  Jane  (McAfee)  Stantz, 
-was  born  February  20,  1842,  reared  on  the  farm,  and  received  his  education  in 
the  public  schools.  He  remained  at  home  until  he  had  passed  his  majority,  and 
m  1870  had  the  misfortune  to  lo.se  his  right  hand  in  a  clover-seed  huller,  after 
which  lie  secured  a  position  as  stable  boss  for  the  firm  of  Brown  &  Coughran, 
coal  miners.  He  filled  this  position  for  nine  years  and  tlien  retired  to  the  farm 
where  he  remained  from  1880  to  1895,  when  he  removed  to  Scottdale  which  is 
liis  present  ])lacc  of  aliode.  The  family  belong  to  the  llnitcd  liajitist  church. 
Mr.  Stantz  married,  .April  4,  1867,  Calliarine,  (laughter  of  Michael  and  Nancy 
(Fretts)  Myers,  and  the  following  children  Jiave  been  born  to  them:  Jennie, 
died  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years.  Mahlon  M..  mentioned  hereafter.  Millie, 
who  became  the  wife  of  W.  H.  I>ynn,  and  is  ikiw  deee.-ised.  I'dla,  married  John 
Medsgar,  of  Charleroi,  Pennsylvania.  Florence,  ;il  home.  Penjaniin  \\,  ;it 
Iiome.     Ruth,  at  home. 

Mahlon  M.  Stantz,  .son  of  F.mmanuel  M.  and  Catharine  (Myers)  Stantz, 
was  born  September  12,  1869,  educated  in  the  public  schools,  and  when  but 
seventeen  or  eighteen  }'ears  of  age  began  to  learn  Hie  imtcher's  trade.  Fie  was 
employed  for  about  eight  years  in  the  stores  of  tlie  U'.  J.  Raney  Company,  at 
VanderbiU.  In  September,  iScjS,  he  settled  in  Scottdale,  where  he  opened  a 
meat  mnrket  and  has  since  conducted  a  flourishing  Inisiness.  He  supplies  the 
trade  in  Scottdale  and  IJic  suliurbs,  and  in  addition  to  meat  handles  eggs,  but- 
ter and  cheese.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Royal  .Arcanum  and  the  Modern  Wood- 
men of  the  World.  Mr.  Stantz  married,  June  =;,  i8()5,  inorence,  daughter  of 
Henry  and  Mary  Snyder.  Mrs.  St;intz  is  a  native  of  hjisl  Lilierty,  Fayette 
county,  Pennsylvania. 


"  HISTORY   OF   JVESTMORELAXD   COUXTV.  221 

R.\LPH  B.  KUHXS,  a  representative  business  man  of  Westmoreland 
county,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  October  18,  1878,  seven  or  eight  miles  south  of 
the  borough  of  Greensburg,  and  is  tne  son  of  \\'.  H.  and  Mary  (.Kalp)  Kuhns, 
who  are  now  residents  of  Fa}ette  county,  Pennsylvania.  W.  H.  Kuhns  was  born, 
in  Somerset  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1849.  ^^  ^^'^s  formerly  engaged  in  the 
lumber  business  and  also  in  the  conduct  of  several  saw  mills.  He  is  now  em- 
ployed by  the  H.  C.  Frick  Coke  Company  in  Fayette  county.  In  the  year  1877 
he  married  Man."  Kalp,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  the  following  named  chil- 
dren: Anna,  wife  of  A.  J.  Brothers,  of  Fayette  county;  Ora.  married  Frank 
Greenwalt.  of  Fayette  county ;  Olive,  unmarried ;  Ida,  wife  of  Charles  Bush,  of 
Westmoreland  countv ;  Elsie,  at  home :  Sadie,  at  home ;  Walter,  at  home ;  and 
Ralph. 

At  the  age  of  six  years  Ralph  B.  Kuhns  removed  with  his  parents  to  Fay- 
ette county,  near  Laurelville.  There  he  received  his  early  education  in  the 
pubhc  schools,  and  later  took  a  course  in  the  Iron  City  Business  College  of  Pitts- 
burg. (1899-1900).  After  his  graduation  in  1900  he  secured  a  position  as 
clerk  in  the  Union  Supplv  Company's  store,  and  remained  with  them  for  nine 
months.  At  the  expiration  of  this  time  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad  Company  as  clerk  in  the  scale  office  at  Young^vood,  Pennsyl- 
vania. His  next  removal  was  to  Everson.  where  he  was  employed  as  store- 
keeper for  the  same  company.  This  position  he  retained  from  Februar\-  until 
August,  when  he  was  transferred  to  Young^vood,  remaining  there  until  Augtist 
of  the  following  year.  He  then  went  to  Edenborn  as  shipping  clerk  for  H.  C. 
Frick  Coke  Company,  and  at  the  end  of  a  year  was  transferred  to  Sterling  Xo. 
2,  same  companv,  as  paymaster,  continuing  in  this  capacity  until  the  works  were 
closed  up.  October  22,  1903.  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  United  States  Cast 
Iron  Pipe  &  Foundry  Company  at  Scoltdale,  as  shipping  clerk.  He  was  soon 
promoted  to  bill  and  order  clerk,  which  position  he  held  until  he  engaged  in  his 
present  business,  April  i,  1905. 

;Mr.  Kuhns  purchased  the  bakerv-  establishment  at  228  Pittsburg  street, 
Scottdale.  Pennsylvania.  March  31,  1905,  and  one  day  later  took  possession, 
succeeding  Mrs.  C.  M.  Frey.  This  business  was  established  in  1885  by  George 
P.  Frey,  who  conducted  it  until  his  death,  about  1899.  when  his  wife  took  pos- 
session and  carried  on  the  business  until  her  death  in  1905.  It  is  the  intention 
of  Mr.  Kuhns  to  conduct  the  business  along  the  same  lines  which  were  formerly 
followed.  Besides  a  general  bakerv  and  catering  business,  he  also  has  an  ice- 
cream parlor,  which  is  one  of  the  leading  features  of  the  establishment.  A  com- 
modious and  attractive  room  in  the  rear  of  the  apartment  is  devoted  to  this  pur- 
pose, and  in  the  winter  seasons  is  used  as  an  oyster  and  lunch  room,  being  the 
only  one  of  its  kind  in  the  borough.  Mr.  Kuhns  manufactures  his  own  cream, 
doing  a  wholesale  as  well  as  a  retail  business,  his  trade  covering  a  large  ter- 
ritory-. \\'hen  the  Spanish-American  war  broke  out.  Mr.  Kuhns  enlisted,  April 
1898.  in  Company  E.  Tenth  Pennsylvania  \"olunteer  Infantry.  He  served  in 
the  Philippines,  and  saw  much  active  service,  visiting  the  towns  of  Manila, 
Ca\-iti.  ^ialalos.  Malabaao  and  many  others  of  prominence.  Fraternally  Mr. 
Kuhns  is  a  m.ember  of  the  Modern  W'oodmen  of  America.  October  12,  1901,. 
he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Elizabeth  Becker,  daughter  of  Peter  J.  and  Eliza- 
beth Becker,  who  are  natives  of  Scottdale.  They  have  two  children :  Lillian 
and  Florence.  Mr.  Kuhns  and  his  family  have  their  residence  on  Pittsburg 
street,  near  his  place  of  business. 

JAMES  BE^^TA^^X  FRAXKLIX  SMITH.  One  of  the  leading 
merchants  of  Mount  Pleasant  is  James  Benjamin  Franklin  Smith.     He  is  a- 


.222 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 


grandson  of  Joseph  Smith,  whose  son,  David  G.  Smith,  was  born  near  Gettys- 
burg, Adams  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  came 
-to  Westmoreland  county.  He  there  found  employment  in  the  Hurst  settlement 
in  Mount  Pleasant  tow'nship,  and  remained  in  this  vicinity  for  several  years. 
He  then  went  to  what  is  known  as  Painterville,  where  he  was  employed  for 
-twelve  vears  in  the  salt  works,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  engaged  in  mercan- 
tile business  at  New  Stanton,  now  known  as  Old  Stanton.  He  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  Joseph  Bear,  a  farmer  of  Sewickley  township,  and  they  were  the 
parents  of  a  son,  James  Benjamin  Franklin,  mentioned  hereafter.  The  death  of 
-Mr.  Smith  occurred  in  December,  1888.  He  was  a  good  business  man  and  a 
■•worthy  citizen. 

James  Benjamin  Franklin  Smith,  son  of  David  G.  and  Mary  (Bear) 
Smith,  was  born  January  24,  1867,  and  received  his  education  in  the  public 
■schools  and  at  the  Greensburg  Seminary.  In  the  autumn  of  1884,  while  still 
but  a  lad,  he  became  a  teacher,  and  taught  four  terms  in  Hempfiekl  township. 
After  four  years  as  a  teacher,  he  went  as  store  manager  to  the  Alice  mines, 
near  Mount  Pleasant,  Ea.st  Huntingdon  township,  and  held  this  position  four- 
teen years,  although  during  that  period  the  concern  changed  hands  no  fewer 
than  five  different  times.  In  1900  the  Mount  Pleasant  Supply  Company,  by 
whom  he  was  then  employed,  transferred  him  to  the  Klondike  coal  field  in  Fay- 
ette county,  there  to  become  the  manager  of  a  store.  After  holding  this  posi- 
tion ten  months  he  resigned  and  entered  the  service  of  the  American  Supply 
'Company,  as  manager  of  their  store  at  Edenboro.  At  the  end  of  three  months 
the  same  company  transferred  him  to  Lambert,  where  he  opened  a  store  for 
them,  and  after  getting  the  establishment  into  good  running  order  he  was  agaUi 
transferred  to  Gates,  Pennsylvania,  to  open  a  store  there.  At  this  place  he  was 
retained  for  eight  months,  and  in  1902,  when  the  American  Supply  Company 
consolidated  with  the  Union  Supply  Company,  he  resigned  and  entered  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Sharon  Steel  Company,  as  manager  and  purchasing  agent  of  the 
store  at  Ronco,  Pennsylvania.  This  position  he  filled  until  April,  1903,  when 
he  resigned,  went  to  Mount  Pleasant  and  there  purchased  the  dry  goods  estab- 
lishment of  James  S.  Braddock  &  Company,  which  he  has  since  conducted  and 
maintained  as  one  of  the  leading  dry  goods  stores  of  the  borough.  He  is  a 
progressive  business  man,  and  the  strict  attention  which  he  gives  to  the  afifairb 
of  his  establishment  leaves  him  little  time  for  social  enjoyment,  but  he  is  a 
worthy  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  and  the  Modern  Woodmen.  He  and  his 
family  are  members  of  the  First  Reformed  church  of  ]Mount  Pleasant. 

Mr.  Smith  married.  May  28,  1888,  Alice  G.,  daughter  of  B.  F:  and  Nancy 
S.  (McCain)  Miller,  of  New  Stanton,  and  they  have  four  children:  Mamie 
Marie,  Anna  Gertrude,  Benjamin  F.,  deceased,  and  James  Edward.  Mr.  Smith 
is  strictly  and  absolutelv  a  self-made  man  of  whom  it  may  be  truly  said  that  he 
has  been  the  maker  of  his  own  fortune,  and  throughout  his  career  has  set  an 
example  of  total  abstinence,  refraining  not  onlv  from  intoxicating  liquors,  but 
also  from  the  use  of  tobacco  in  every  form. 

A.  N.  SHUSTER,  a  prominent  real  estate  and  insurance  dealer  in 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  in  Penn  township,  near  Boquet, 
May  12.  187.3,  the  son  of  Israel  and  Mary  (Kepple)  Shuster.  His  mother  is 
deceased,  and  his  father  is  a  farmer  in  Penn  township.  A.  N.  Shuster  acquired 
his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  place,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
left  school  and  entered  into  his  first  regular  employment  as  clerk  for  Ed  Fry, 
at  Boquet,  which  position  he  held  for  five  years.    He  then  moved  to  Charleroi, 


HISTORY    OF    irESTMORELAXD    COUXTV.  223 

where  he  acted  as  head  clerk  for  J.  E.  AlcCardle  for  three  years.  He  went  to 
Mnncssen  in  October.  1897,  becoming  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  in  that  town. 
At  the  time  of  his  arrival  there  were  hut  three  families  in  residence  there,  and 
he  and  his  brother  John  ojiened  a  general  store,  the  first  of  its  kind  in  the  place. 
Thev  conducted  the  business  very  successfully  under  the  firm  name  of  Shuster 
Brothers  for  five  years,  when  they  sold  it  to  the  Geer  Brothers.  During  the 
succeeding  year  they  engaged  in  the  conduct  of  a  feed  and  livery  business,  and 
at  the  end  of  the  year  Mr.  A.  N.  Shuster  went  on  a  trip  to  California.  Upon 
his  return  he  organized  a  stock  company  and  erected  the  Monessen  Opera 
House  at  a  cost  of  $45,000,  and  of  this  Mr.  Shuster  has  since  been  manager  and 
director.  He  was  also  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  IMonessen  Savings  and 
Trust  Company,  of  Monessen,  of  which  he  is  now  a  member  of  the  board  of 
directors.  In  May,  1905,  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Milton  Loeb,  and 
established  a  real  estate  and  insurance  business,  which  they  conduct  under  the 
firm  name  of  Shuster  and  Loeb.  They  also  conduct  a  fire  insurance  business. 
In  this  line  they  represent  the  Allegheny  Insurance  Company:  the  Western  of 
Toronto;  the  S.  \'.  E.  A.  of  Gothenburg,  Sweden:  and  the  London,  Liverpool 
and  Globe  Insurance  Companies. 

Mr.  Shuster  has  always  been  actively  identified  with  all  public  aftairs,  and 
was  one  of  the  first  councilmen  elected  in  the  borough,  serving  for  three  years. 
He  was  elected  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  and  in  1903  was  elected  burgess  on 
the  Republican  ticket.  He  has  served  as  a  member  of  the  Republican  County 
Convention  for  the  past  three  years.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  the  B.  P.  O. 
£..  and  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Alonessen  Lodge,  Xo.  J/T,  :  he  was  made  a 
member  of  the  Elks  in  Charleroi :  he  was  one  of  the  charter  members  of  the  K. 
P.,  Monessen  Lodge :  and  also  one  of  the  charter  members  of  the  German  Ben- 
eficial L'nion.  He  has  contributed  his  share  toward  the  upbuilding  of  the  thriv- 
ing borough,  and  erected  the  building  occupied  by  Greer  Brothers,  on  Schoon- 
maker  avenue,  which  is  forty-four  by  one  hundred  feet.  Mr.  Shuster  married, 
March  26,  1898,  Bessie  McFeely,  daughter  of  Scott  and  Anna  McFeely,  of 
Monongahela,  Pennsylvania.  They  have  three  children :  Prather,  Rudell  and 
Catharine,  deceased.     They  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

ADAM  T.  DARR.  Among  the  reliable  business  men  of  West  New- 
ton. Pennsylvania,  is  Adam  T.  Darr,  born  at  the  borough  just  named,  Febru- 
ary 22.  1840,  son  of  G.  Adam  and  Christena  (Kolbe)  Darr,  both  natives  of 
Germany. 

The  father  was  born  in  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  about  1804,  and  died  at 
West  Newton,  Pennsylvania,  April  30,  1879.  He  learned  the  trade  of  car- 
penter, and  later  emigrated  to  .-Kmerica,  landing  at  Baltimore,  Maryland,  about 
1826.  After  a  short  sojourn  in  that  city,  he  went  to  Mount  Pleasant,  West- 
moreland county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  followed  his  trade  a  short  time  and 
then  removed  to  South  Huntingdon  town.ship  of  this  county,  and  later  to  Ros- 
traver  township.  Subsequently  he  moved  to  the  borough  of  West  Newton, 
where  he  followed  carpentering  and  building  the  rcmainrler  of  Iiis  life,  dving 
in  1879.  His  wife  survived  him  until  1884.  Botli  are  buried  in  the  old  West 
Newton  cemetery.  The  children  born  to  G.  .Aflam  and  Christena  f  Kolbe)  Darr 
were  as  follows :  The  first  two  died  young — one  at  sea  while  sailing  for 
America.  3.  Catherine,  born  in  Germany,  married  Christian  Olbey :  she  is  now 
a  widow  residing  in  Kansas.  4.  Henry,  died  1872.  5.  John  C,  now  of  Em- 
poria. Kansas,a  farmer  by  occupation :  he  served  during  the  Civil  war  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Ninety-sixth  Illinois  Infantry  Regiment  for  three  years.     6.  Marv, 


224  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

now  residing  at  the  old  Darr  honicEtend  in  West  Newton, Pennsylvania.  7.  Adam 
T.,  born  February  22,  1840,  at  West  Newton.  8.  Daniel  F.,  a  carpenter  of  West  ■ 
Newton,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Eighth  Pennsylvania  Reserves  in  time  of 
the  rebellion  and  served  faithfullv  for  three  years.  9.  Lucetta  C,  married  John 
Oldbey,  of  West  Newton.  G.  Adam  Darr  and  wife  were  exemplary  members 
of  the  United  Brethren  church,  and  in  politics  he  was  a  supporter  of  the 
Republican  party. 

Adam  T.  Darr  obtained  a  good  common  school  education  at  West  New- 
ton, and  when  twenty-two  years  of  age,  August  22,  1862,  he  enlisted  as  a 
private  in  Company  F,  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-fifth  Pennsylvania  Regiment  of 
Infantry,  serving  in  the  Union  cause  within  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  until 
the  close  of  the  great  civil  war,  being  honorably  discharged  June  29,  1865. 
May  3,  1863,  he  was  seriously  wounded  at  the  memorable  battle  of  Chancellors- 
ville,  and  was  in  the  hospital  at  Washington  and  later  at  Philadelphia,  Pennsyl- 
vania. After  having  sufficiently  recovered  to  enter  into  active  service  he  again 
joined  his  old  command,  and  remained  a  true  soldier  until  the  close  of  the  great 
conflict.  Upon  his  return  from  the  army,  having  seen  much  hard'  service,  he 
resumed  the  peaceful  calling  of  a  civilian  by  taking  up  the  trade  of  a  carpenter 
and  builder,  in  which  he  continued  until  about  1890,  when  he  was  appointed  to 
the  office  of  postmaster  at  West  Newton  by  President  Benjamin  Harrison, 
serving  for  four  years.  In  a  year  or  two  after  retiring  from  the  duties  of  post- 
master Mr.  Darr  engaged  in  the  real  estate  and  insurance  business,  which  he 
still  follows  in  a  successful  manner.  He  is,  and  ever  has  been,  a  staunch  sup- 
porter of  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party,  and  has  been  honored  with 
many  local  offices,  including  that  of  assessor,  tax-collector,  borough  councilman 
and  member  of  the  Republican  county  committee.  Since  1894  he  has  been 
secretary  and  trustee  of  the  West  Newton  Cemetery  Association,  and  from 
1898  has  been  the  secretary  of  the  West  Newton  Building  and  Loan  Asso- 
ciation. He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  has  been  on 
the  official  board  and  trustee  and  treasurer  of  the  West  Newton  Methodist 
Church.  Among  the  various  civic  and  fraternal  societies  to  which  he  has  be- 
longed, he  is  now  identified  with  the  Masonic  order,  being  a  member  of  Blythe 
Lodge,  No.  593,  at  West  Newton ;  Chapter  No.  282,  of  McKeesport,  Penn- 
sylvania :  Lodge  No.  440,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  at  West  Newton  ;  Royal  Arcanum,  No. 
65,  and  J.  C.  Markle  Grand  Army  Post,  No.  623,  of  West  Newton. 

Mr.  Darr  married  April  30,  1872,  at  Allegheny  City,  Pennsylvania,  Mary 
Frances  Luker,  daughter  of  David  and  Harriet  Luker.  The  father  of  Mrs. 
Darr  is  deceased.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  David  Luker  had  children :  B.  F.,  a  merchant 
of  Kittanning.  Captain  J.  Frank,  a  steamboat  captain.  Jennie  A.,  wife  of 
J.  P.  Hamilton:  she  is  deceased.  Mary  Frances,  wife  of  Adam  T.  Darr.  Sadie 
deceased.  D.  W.,  now  of  Allegheny  City,  Pennsylvania.  Amy  E.,  at  home  in 
Allegheny   City. 

IRA  B.  SCHOAF,  D.  D.  S.,  of  West  Newton,  traces  his  ancestry  to 
Conrad  and  Louise  (Islie)  Schoaf,  natives  of  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  where 
the  former  engaged  in  the  occupations  of  shoemaking  and  farming.  They 
were  hard-working,  persevering  and  industrious  people,  characteristics  for 
which  their  countrymen  and  women  are  noted,  and  they  set  an  example  well 
worthy  of  emulation.  Their  death  occurred  in  Germany  in  1856  and  1839, 
respectively. 

Jacob  Schoaf,  son  of  Conrad  and  Louise  (Islie)  Shoaf,  was  born 
in  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  November  24,  1819.  In  1848,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 


HISTORY   OF    iniSTMOKHL.-lXD    COUXTV. 


nine  vears,  he  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  settling  in  \\'est  Newton,  West- 
moreland comity,  Pennsylvania'.  His  first  occupation  was  in  a  stone  quarry, 
after  which  he  worked  as  a  common  laborer  for  Jacob  Baughman  for  a  period 
of  four  vears,  and  then  secured  employment  in  a  tannery,  where  he  remained 
for  twenty  years.  In  1875  he  purchased  the  foundry  belonging  to  a  Mr. 
Downs,  which  he  conducted  with  a  large  degree  of  success  for  many  years,  and 
his  integrity  and  trustworthiness  gained  for  him  an  enviable  reputation  in  busi- 
ness circles.  He  was  the  owner  of  several  valuable  pieces  of  property  in  West 
Xewton,  including  several  tine  residences.  He  served  as  a  member  of  the 
borou,gh  council,  having  been  elected  on  the  Republican  ticket.  On  August  9, 
1849,  lie  married  Lena  Shively,  of  South  Huntingdon  township,  and  their 
children  were  as  follows:  Elizabeth,  John  W.,  Frederick,  Lena,  and   Kate. 

Frederick  Schoaf,  son  of  Jacob  and  Lena  (Shively)  Schoaf,  was  born  in 
West  Xewton,  Pennsylvania,  1859.  O"  attaining  young  manhood  he  entered 
his  father's  foundry  and  later  became  a  partner  in  the  business.  Subsequently 
his  father  withdrew  from  the  firm  and  the  business  was  left  entirely  in  his 
hands,  he  conducting  the  same  in  a  creditable  manner  for  a  number  of  years, 
when  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  hardware  business,  and  a  few  years  later 
disposed  of  his  interest  in  the  foundry.  He  is  one  of  the  leading  merchants  of 
West  Xewton,  his  trade  being  the  largest  and  best  in  that  line,  and  being 
accommodating,  pleasant  and  reliable  is  highly  esteemed  by  his  many  customers 
and  patrons.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church,  and  a  member  of  the  L  O.  O.  F.  He  served  for  a  number  of 
years  as  a  member  of  the  school  board  of  \\'est  X'^ewton.  He  married  Agnes 
Willard,  who  bore  him  six  children,  five  of  whom  survive :  Ira  B..  of  whom 
later :  Frederick,  who  is  attending  DufT  Bros.  College,  Pittsburg ;  Clarence, 
Ralph,  and  Mable. 

Ira  B.  Schoaf  was  born  in  West  Newton,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, April  6,  1883  .  His  early  education  was  acquired  in  the  common  schools 
of  his  birthplace,  and  later  he  pursued  advanced  studies  in  the  academy  of  the 
same  place.  In  the  fall  of  1901  he  entered  the  Dental  Department  of  the 
Western  University  of  Pennsylvania,  at  Pittsburg,  from  which  he  was  gradu- 
ated in  the  spring  of  1904.  After  his  graduation  he  returned  to  West  Xew- 
ton and  opened  a  commodious  office  for  the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  in 
the  short  space  of  one  year  has  built  up  an  extensive  and  remunerative  busi- 
ness. He  is  an  expert  operator,  thorough  in  all  the  departments  of  his  work, 
and  is  recognized  as  an  able,  skillful  and  progressive  member  of  the  profes- 
sion. He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcojjal  church,  and  a  Republican  in 
politics.    Dr.  Schoaf  is  unmarried  and  resides  with  his  parents. 

JAMES  P.  SWAUGER,  a  resident  of  West  Xewton,  Westmoreland 
county,  Pennsylvania,  proprietor  of  the  Yough  Hotel,  and  a  man  largely  inter- 
ested in  community  afifairs,  was  born  in  Clarksburg,  Indiana  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Xovember  5,  1845,  son  of  Samuel  and  Catherine  (Pepple)  Swauger, 
and  grandson  of  \\'illiam  Swauger,  who  was  a  native  of  Germany,  and  by  trade 
a  miller.  He  died  in  1821,  and  his  widow  married  a  Mr.  Stuck,  who  was  also 
a  miller. 

Samuel  Swauger.  son  of  William  Swauger,  and  father  of  James  P. 
Swauger,  was  born  in  Bedford  county,  April  9.  1812.  He  learned  the  trade  of 
miller  from  his  step-father,  followed  that  occupation  during  his  active  working 
life,  and  was  engaged  at  his  trade  in  Bedford,  Westmoreland  and  Indiana 
counties.     In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat,  and  a  member  of  the  Prcsbvterian 


226  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

church.  He  married  Catherine  Pepple,  born  in  Bedford  county,  April,  1814, 
and  fourteen  children  were  born  to  them,  eight  of  whom  survive:  John,  at 
Murrysville,  Pennsylvania :  William,  at  Derry  Station  ;  James  P.,  of  whom 
later;  Samuel  T.,  at  Coldport,  Pennsylvania;  A.  Wilson,  at  Murrysville; 
George,  at  Saltsburg ;  Margaret,  wife  of  Porter  J.  Nesbit,  Aledo,  Illinois ;  and 
Catherine,  wife  of  George  Stark,  Salem  Cross  Roads.  The  father  of  these 
children  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-two  years. 

Tames  P.  Swauger  obtained  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of  his 
native  ijlace,  and  early  in  life  learned  the  trade  of  miller  under  the  instruction 
of  his  father.  He  was  engaged  in  this  occupation  for  about  a  quarter  of  a 
centurv,  and  was  a  skilled  miller  in  both  the  old  burr  and  later  the  roller  sys- 
tem. In  1889  Mr.  Swauger  retired  from  the  milling  business  and  engaged  in 
the  hotel  business  in  West  Newton,  where  he  has  since  been  located.  The 
Yough  hotel,  of  which  Mr.  Swauger  is  the  proprietor,  is  a  first-class  establish- 
ment, and  is  well  patronized.  He  has  won  many  friends  among  his  guests, 
owing  to  his  genial  and  hospitable  disposition.  Politically  he  is  a  strong 
Republican,  and  is  a  firm  advocate  of  the  principles  of  that  organization.  In 
1 87 1  he  married  Edith  Fisher,  daughter  of  Adam  Fisher,  of  Confluence, 
Pennsylvania.  This  marriage  ceremony  was  culminated  in  Maryland,  where 
Mr.  Swauger  resided  for  about  eleven  years  during  young  manhood.  Their 
children  are :  Blanche,  resides  in  Pittsburg,  wife  of  John  F.  Cummings,  who 
is  with  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad ;  Ida,  at  home ;  and  Mazie,  who  lives 
with  Mrs.  G.  M.  Emig,  of  Pittsburg,  by  whom  she  was  reared.  Mrs.  Swauger 
died  in  1878,  and  in  1882  Mr.  Swauger  married  Margaret  Frye,  of  Indiana 
county,  daughter  of  Joseph  Frve,  now  of  Blairsville,  Pennsylvania.  Their 
children  are :  Ethel,  w"ife  of  E.  G.  Shepler,  Monessen :  Grace,  Nellie,  Ruth  and 
John,  all  of  whom  reside  at  home. 

S.  F.  TODD,  an  esteemed  resident  of  Scottdale,  Westmoreland 
countv,  Pennsylvania,  and  a  man  who  by  his  own  exertion  and  perseverence 
has  attained  an  honorable  place  in  the  world  of  successful  business  men,  is 
the  son  of  Daniel  and  Elizabeth  (Merritt)  Todd,  and  was  born  in  Rostraver, 
Westmoreland  countv,  October  11,  1852.  The  Todd  family  in  America  orig- 
inated with  Robert  Todd,  a  native  of  Brittania,  France,  a  captain  in  the  home 
guards,  who  at  the  overthrow  of  the  government  at  the  time  of  the  insurrection 
hastened  from  his  native  land,  finding  a  haven  in  America.  He  lived  and  died 
in  Lancaster  countv,  Pennsvlvania.  "He  had  one  son,  Robert,  the  grandfather 
of  S.  F.  Todd. 

Robert  Todd  removed  from  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  to  Rostraver, 
Westmoreland  county,  in  1779.  He  settled  on  a  farm  located  a  mile  and  a  half 
east  of  Rostraver  postofifice,  and  which  is  now  owned  by  his  grandson,  Robert 
Todd.  When  he  took  possession  of  the  property  it  was  a  wild  tract  of  land, 
but  he  carefully  improved  it,  and  brought  it  to  a  high  state  of  cultivation.  He 
followed  agricultural  pursuits  in  conjunction  with  the  conduct  of  a  tannery 
all  his  active  working  life,  and  achieved  the  most  gratifying  success.  He 
affiliated  with  the  order  of  Quakers.  His  wife  was  Hannah  Hammond,  a  native 
of  France,  bv  whom  were  born  the  following  named  children:  Hannah, 
deceased:  Polly,  who  became  the  wife  of  Peter  Van  Meter,  a  Frenchman; 
Margaret,  married  John  Foot,  of  old  Connecticut  extraction ;  Ann.  marrried 
John  Hasson ;  Robert,  a  farmer  of  Rostraver  township ;  Daniel,  father  of  S. 
F.  Todd ;  Samuel,  a  farmer  of  Rostraver  township ;  James,  formerly  a  steam- 
boat captain,  later  a  merchant.     The  father  of  these  children,  Robert  Todd, 


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HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUXTV.  227 

died  in  1821,  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight  years.  He  was  a  useful,  industrious 
citizen,  a  kind  and  loving-  father  and  hushand,  and  his  loss  was  keenly  felt. 

Daniel  Todd,  sixth  child  and  second  son  of  Robert  and  Hannah  (Ham- 
mond) Todd,  was  born  in  1808,  in  Rostraver  township.  He  obtained  his  edu- 
cation in  the  common  schools  and  the  old  Concord  school  house,  and  upon 
leaving  school  turned  his  attention  to  the  quiet  but  useful  occupation  of  a 
farmer.  In  1847  he  removed  to  .South  Huntingdon  township,  where  he 
engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  a  splendid  farm  of  one  hundred  and  ninety-two 
acres.  He  was  a  regular  and  consistent  member  of  the  jMethodist  Episcopal 
church.  He  married  Elizabeth  Merritt,  a  daughter  of  Jonathan  and  Mary 
(Harrold)  Merritt.  Seven  children,  three  sons  and  four  daughters,  were  the 
issue  of  this  marriage  union :  Hannah,  deceased,  the  wife  of  Oliver  Lenliart ; 
S.  F.,  mentioned  hereafter ;  Daniel,  deceased  :  James,  died  in  youth  :  Elizabeth, 
the  wife  of  Hugh  Espev,  of  East  Huntingdon  township ;  Laura,  who  married 
Robert  Hill,  of  Scottdale.     Daniel  Todd  died  in   1863. 

S.  F.  Todd  received  his  intellectual  training  in  the  public  schools  and 
Normal  school,  spending  two  terms  in  the  latter.  After  the  death  of  his  father 
he  took  up  his  residence  with  his  uncle,  Samuel  Todd,  and  when  a  young  man 
made  a  trip  to  the  west,  remaining  there  for  two  years.  He  then  returned  to 
South  Huntingdon  township  and  followed  agricultural  pursuits  until  1886, 
when  he  removed  to  Scottdale  and  worked  in  the  roUintr-mill  and  clerked  in 
stores  until  1891.  when  he  embarked  upon  his  present  successful  business 
enterprise.  His  present  business  is  that  of  a  stone,  marble  and  granite  dealer. 
His  is  one  of  the  leading  and  substantial  establishments  in  the  county.  He 
deals  in  monuments  of  all  kinds,  from  the  smallest  tombstone  to  the  finest 
mausoleum.  His  place  of  business  is  at  211  South  Broadway.  Mr.  Todd 
contracts  for  the  erection  of  stone  buildings,  and  at  times  employs  as  many  as 
twenty  men.  In  1901  he  erected  one  of  the  most  attractive  modern  houses  in 
Scottdale,  made  of  Cleveland  stone,  and  situated  on  South  Broadway,  where  he 
and  his  niece  reside  in  comfort  and  luxury. 

Politically  Mr.  Todd  strongly  defends  the  principles  of  the  Democratic 
partv.  Public-spirited  and  patriotic,  he  is  deeply  interested  in  all  public  affairs 
and  always  has  the  best  interests  of  the  community  at  heart.  He  has  taken 
pride  in  the  upbuilding  and  growth  of  his  town,  and  is  ever  ready  to  lend  his 
assistance  to  any  enterprise  which  will  advance  the  interests  of  the  public.  In 
the  fall  of  1904  he  was  strongly  solicited  by  members  of  his  party  to  become 
a  candidate  for  county  comptroller,  but  declined.  He  has  served  as  a  member 
of  the  borough  council,  and  during  his  visit  to  Florida  was  placed  on  the 
borough  ticket  for  burgess.  He  returned  four  days  before  election,  and  his 
popularity  was  such  that  he  came  w'ithin  sixteen  votes  of  being  elected  in  a 
district  strongly  Republican.  An  upright,  honorable  man,  Mr.  Todd  enjoys 
the  entire  confidence  of  the  community.  He  has  never  married.  During  his 
mother's  life  he  felt  that  she  needed  his  support,  and  after  her  death  he  took 
care  of  his  sister.  Since  her  marriage  he  has  cared  for  his  niece,  Laura,  the 
daughter  of  Mrs.  Lenhart  and  an  accomplished  young  woman. 

EDW'.ARD  MTLF.S  FRYE,  a  prominent  and  influential  citizen  of 
Monessen,  Pennsylvania,  and  postmaster  of  that  borough,  was  born  at  Grape- 
ville.  Hempfield  township,  ^^'estmoreland  countv,  Pennsylvania,  July  3,  1862, 
the  son  of  Samuel  and  Margaret  (Branthooer)  Fryc.  ancl  is  of  German  origin. 
The  progenitor  of  this  familv  in  .America  was  the  paternal  great-grandfather  of 
Edward  M..  who  emigrated  to  this  country  from  Germanv,  and  engaged  in 
school  teaching,  also  instructing  in  singing  and  German. 


228  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.       ' 

Samuel,  the  father  of  Edward  AI.  Frye,  was  born  on  the  old  homestead, 
at  Delmont,'  Pennsylvania.  In  early  life  he  was  a  contractor  and  builder  of 
houses  and 'barns,  but  later  gave  his  whole  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Reformed  church.  Samuel  and  Margaret  (Brantho- 
over)  Frye  had  children:  Susan  J.,  married  Zephaniah  Painter,  of  Salem 
township;  W.  John,  of  Grapeville ;  Edward  M.,  mentioned  hereafter;  Elmer 
Ellsworth,  a  packer,  of  jeannette ;  Robert  P.,  died  at  the  age  of  two  years ; 
Hettie  deceased,  wife  of  John  McCurdy  ;  Mary  Ann,  married  E.  Allwme ; 
Clara  '  wife  of  W.  J.  Duncan,  of  Harmony  ;  Sallie  Agnes,  married  William 
Allwiiie,  of  Jeannette ;  Nannie,  wife  of  W.  H.  Steiner,  of  Grapeville  ;  Samuel 
P.,  of  Jeannette,  Pa.,  and  one  who  died  in  infancy.  The  father  of  the  above 
mentioned  children  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion.  His  death  occur- 
red in  March,  1905,  and  his  wife  died  in  December,  1904. 

Edward  M.  Frye  acquired  his  early  intellectual  training  in  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  place,  and  later  attended  Delmont  Academy  two  terms ; 
Dayton  Academv  one  term ;  Cavode  Academy  one  term,  and  Grove  City  Col- 
lege two  years,  'Mr.  Frye  worked  his  way  through  the  last  named  institutions, 
teaching  during  the  winter  seasons,  and  studying  in  summer,  from  the  time 
he  was  nineteen  until  he  was  twenty-six  years  of  age.  September  24,  1888,  he 
entered  into  partnership  with  a  Mr.  Painter,  in  Boquet,  Pennsylvania,  engag- 
ing in  the  general  merchandise  business.  This  arrangement  existed  for  one 
year,  when  Mr.  Frye  purchased  the  interest  of  his  partner,  and  conducted  the 
business  alone  until  March  i,  1899,  when  he  removed  to  Monessen  and  opened 
a  shoe  store.  This  he  carried  on  with  considerable  success  for  eighteen 
months,  and  then  sold  out  and  formed  a  partnership  with  John  W.  Manown, 
establishing  a  real  estate  and  insurance  business.  At  the  end  of  a  year  he  pur- 
chase his  partner's  interest,  and  conducted  the  business  alone  in  East 
Monessen.  until  March  I,  1905,  achieving  the  most  gratifying  success.  In 
political  affiliations  he  is  a  supporter  of  the  Republican  party,  and  has  held 
many  elective  offices  in  his  borough.  March  i,  1905,  he  was  appointed  post- 
master of  Monessen,  in  the  duties  of  which  position  he  is  now  engaged.  He 
was  elected  borough  treasurer  in  1900,  and  occupied  this  office  for  five  years. 
He  has  served  as  a  member  of  the  county  committee  for  the  past  fifteen  years, 
and  has  also  served  as  delegate  to  the  state  convention.  Fraternally  he  is  a 
member  of  the  F.  and  A.  M.,  Monessen  Lodge,  No.  638,  Monongahela  City 
Chapter,  No.  249,  R.  A. ;  B.  P.  O.  E.,  No.  773,  of  which  he  has  been  secretary 
since  1904;  K.  P.,  No.  176;  I.  O.  O.  F.,  Monessen  Lodge;  Modern  Woodmen 
of  America  and  Foresters.  He  is  a  director  of  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Monessen,  and  is  a  member  and  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
Edward  M.  Frve  married.  May  13,  1890,  Emaline  S.  Snyder,  daughter  of 
David  and  Mary  (Cline)  Snyder.  They  have  three  children:  Ralph  W., 
Wavne  V.  and  Irene  M. 

G.  FRANK  WRIGHT,  undertaker,  embalmer,  and  furniture  dealer, 
of  Monessen,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  February  19,  1876,  at  Dawson,  Fayette 
county,  Pennsylvania,  a  son  of  Robert  H.  and  Elizabeth  E.  Wright,  and  a 
grandson  of  John  W.  Wright. 

John  W.  Wright  was  born  near  Washington  City,  where  he  lived  until 
his  earlv  manhood,  when  he  located  in  Fayette  county  and  engaged  in  farming. 
He  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years.  He  was  a  church  member  and  a 
consistent  Christian,  a  man  well  liked  and  respected,  although  of  a  retiring 
disposition. 


HISTORY    OF    ]VESTMORELAXD    COUXTY.  229 

Robert  H.  Wright,  father  of  G.  Frank  Wright  and  a  son  of  John  W.  and 
Susan  (Patterson)  \\'right.  is  a  resident  of  Dawson,  Pennsylvania.  He  is  now 
retired  from  business.  He  married  EHzabeth  McBride,  by  wliom  he  had  five 
children,  three  of  whom  are  living,  namely :  G.  Frank ;  2vlargaret,  at  home, 
and  Eva  at  home. 

G.  Frank  Wright  acquired  his  education  at  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
place  and  the  normal  school  at  California,  Pennsylvania.  He  learned  his  pres- 
ent business  with  his  uncle,  ^Ir.  Murphy,  of  jMurphy  and  Company,  Scottdale, 
with  whom  he  was  employed  for  thirteen  years  in  the  undertaking  department 
of  their  establishment,  'ilr.  Wright  located  at  ]\Ionesscn.  December  5,  1902, 
where  he  succeeded  to  the  undertaking  business  of  ]\Ic^lahan  and  McMahan, 
located  on  Fifth  street.  This  establishment  was  not  in  a  flourishing  condition 
when  'Sir.  Wright  took  charge  of  it,  but  he  continued  at  that  stand  for  eigh- 
teen months,  the  business  constantly  enlarging,  and  then  removed  to  his 
present  spacious  quarters  on  Donner  avenue,  in  October,  1904.  In  the  furni- 
ture department  he  handles  carpets,  curtains,  window  shades,  etc.,  and  has 
extended  his  trade  beyond  the  confines  of  the  one  town  into  the  neighboring 
boroughs.  The  undertaking  department  is  complete  in  every  detail,  and  Mr. 
Wright  has  taken  courses  in  embalming  at  the  United  States  Embalming 
School  and  at  instruction  schools  in  New  York  and  Chicago.  In  his  social 
relations  he  is  a  member  of  the  F.  and  A.  M.,  IMonessen  Lodge;  Pittsburg 
Consistor}- ;  B.  P.  O.  E.,  Monessen  Lodge,  No.  773 ;  and  K.  P..  Monessen 
Lodge.  Mr.  Wright  married.  October  12,  1904,  Gertrude  McGill,  daughter 
of  George  C.  McGill,  of  Dawson,  Pennsylvania. 

MICHAEL  E.  HALLIMAN,  real  estate  dealer  and  insurance  man, 
was  born  December  11,  1880,  in  Columbiana  county,  Ohio,  a  son  of  Martin 
and  Mary  E.  (Gorman)  Halliman.  The  father,  a  resident  of  New  Brighton, 
was  born  near  Olean,  New  York,  a  son  of  Michael  and  Anna  Halliman,  born 
natives  of  Ireland,  who  came  to  this  country^  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  New 
York  State.  He  was  a  machinist  in  early  life,  latterly  a  master  mechanic  with 
the  Kennedy  Company,  keg  manufacturers,  of  New  Brighton. 

Michael  E.  Halliman  was  reared  in  Beaver  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  Beaver  Falls.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  years  he 
entered  the  employ  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company  at  Beaver  Falls  as  office 
boy,  and  advanced  through  various  departments,  remaining  through  the 
changes  of  management  until  he  reached  the  position  of  assistant  payma.ster. 
The  plant  was  tlien  purchased  by  the  American  Steel  and  Wire  Companv, 
and  he  remained  with  them  until  they  closed  the  Beaver  Falls  plant,  when  he 
was  transferred  to  the  Twentieth  .street  works  at  Pittsburg,  and  for  one  year 
worked  for  them  as  paymaster.  He  then  was  engaged  as  foreman  of  the 
rivet  department  by  the  Oliver  Iron  and  Steel  Company  of  Pittsburg,  remain- 
ing with  that  company  until  1900.  He  then  came  to  ^Tonessen  as  paymaster 
of  the  local  plant  of  the  Paige  Wire  Fence  Company  and  held  that  position 
until  March  7.  1905.  when  he  resigned  to  take  up  the  real  estate  and  insurance 
business.  His  office  is  at  No.  519  Schoonmaker  avenue,  previously  occupied 
by  E.  M.  Frye,  to  whose  busmess  Mr.  Halliman  succeeded.  In  connection 
with  his  real  estate  business  he  does  a  general  insurance  business,  being  the 
representative  of  eight  fire  insurance  companies,  both  foreign  and  domestic, 
one  life  insurance  company,  the  New  York  Life,  and  two  casualty  companies. 
He  is  also  a  notar\'  public,  and  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Savings  and  Trust 
Company  of  Monessen,  one  of  its  original  stockholders.     For  a  time  he  was 


230  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

a  stockholder  in  the  Paige  Wire  Fence  Company  of  Monessen,  but  has  recently 
sold  his  holdings  in  that  concern.  In  local  affairs  he  has  been  an  active  worker 
for  the  public  good,  in  politics  an  ardent  Republican,  and  is  one  of  the  best 
known  but  most  unassuming  citizens  of  the  town.  He  is  a  member  of  B.  P. 
O.  E.,  Monessen  Lodge,  No.  773,  of  the  K.  C,  and  of  a  Batchelors'  Club  of 
Monessen. 

SAMUEL  JONES,  of  Belle  Vernon,  a  dealer  in  lumber  and  building 
material  of  all  kinds,  also  a  contractor  and  builder,  conducting  his  operations 
at  Monessen  and  Belle  Vernon,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Rostraver 
township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  June  15,  1857,  a  son  of  William 
and  Sarah  Jones. 

His  early  eucation  was  obtained  in  the  common  schools,  and  this  was 
supplemented  by  a  course  in  the  Dufif  Business  College,  and  in  the  Allegheny 
high  school,  which  he  attended  several  terms.  After  completing  his  studies 
he  associated  himself  with  his  father  in  the  lumber  business  at  Belle  Vernon, 
beginning  in  1885  and  continuing  until  1891,  when  he  opened  yards  at  Chaleroi, 
Pennsylvania,  conducting  business  there  for  three  years.  After  disposing  of 
the  same  he  devoted  his  attention  to  the  business  at  Belle  Vernon,  known  as 
the  Belle  Vernon  Planing  Mill  Company,  up  to  1897,  when  the  town  of  Mo- 
nessen was  started.  He  jmrchased  the  first  lots  that  were  sold  in  that  town,  and 
from  its  very  inception  has  been  active  in  all  the  building  operations  therein. 
He  established  the  first  lumber  yards  in  Monessen,  1897,  and  has  contiimed 
to  conduct  the  same  ever  since,  it  being  known  as  the  Monessen  Lumber 
Company.  He  has  been  engaged  in  the  contracting  and  building  business  for 
the  last  two  decades,  and  has  done  as  much  if  not  more  than  any  one  other  man 
in  the  building  up  of  the  town  of  Monessen.  In  1901,  in  company  with  his 
brother,  J.  S.  Jones,  of  Belle  Vernon,  he  opened  up  McMahon,  a  second  addi- 
tion to  Monessen,  comprising  twenty  acres,  which  they  platted  and  sold,  and 
which  proved  a  most  lucrative  investment.  He  was  associated  with  three 
other  men  in  the  organization  of  and  platting  of  the  Erent  Land  Company's 
plat,  an  addition  to  Monessen,  comprising  forty  acres.  This  company,  which 
was  organized  in  1905,  is  composed  of  the  following  members :  Samuel  Jones, 
president ;  George  Nash,  J.  S.  Jones  and  C.  F.  Eggers.  He  is  also  interested 
in  the  Perry  Manufacturing  Company  of  Perryopolis,  Fayette  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, which  was  organized  in  1905  for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing  plas- 
tering and  brick  making  materials,  also  shippers  of  a  fine  grade  of  silica  clay. 
The  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by  his  fellow  citizens  is  evidenced  by  the  fact 
that  he  was  chosen  to  serve  on  the  directorate  of  the  Monessen  Savings  &  Trust 
Company,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  organizers.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  the 
Valley  Deposit  &  Trust  Company  of  Belle  Vernon.  In  all  his  business  rela- 
tions he  is  integrity  personified,  and  is  a  member  of  that  class  whose  honor,  en- 
terprise and  social  qualities  give  character  to  a  community. 

Mr.  Jones  was  married  February  25,  1886,  to  Annie  C.  Murphy,  daugh- 
ter of  Joshua  and  Mary  Murphy,  the  former  of  whom  is  deceased  and  the  lat- 
ter a.  resident  of  Belle  Vernon,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennnsylvania.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Jones  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  They  reside 
at  the  corner  of  Vine  and  Broad  avenue.  North  Belle  Vernon,  Pennsylvania. 

HARMER  S.  NEFF,  of  West  Newton,  a  leading  business  man,  who ' 
has  rendered  valuable  service  to  his  community  in  various  important  official 


HISTORY    OP    WESTMORELAND    COUXTV.  231 

stations,  is  a  native  of  the  borough  in  which  he  now  resides,  born  October  i, 
1862.  son  of  Reuben  F.  and  Ann  (Gressley)   Neff. 

Reuben  F.  NefT  was  born  in  Sewickley  township,  Westmoreland  county,  a 
son  of  Reuben  Neff,  a  farmer.  He  was' reared  on  the  home  farm,  and  on 
reachino-  manhood  engaged  as  a  contractor  in  sinking  coal  mine  shafts.  Dur- 
ing the^Civil  war  he  served  faithfully  and  honorably  for  two  and  a  half  years 
in^the  One  Hundred  and  Fifth  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  participat- 
ing in  some  of  the  most  stirring  campaigns  and  notable  battles  which  marked 
the  annals  of  the  famous  old  .\rmy  of  the  Potomac.  His  capability  was  such 
that  he  was  marked  for  a  lieutenancy,  but  this  preferment  was  withheld  from 
him  through  chicanerv.  On  his  return  from  the  army  he  resumed  his  contract 
work,  but  soon  came  to  his  death  in  the  line  of  his  duty.  He  had  beeii  re-engaged 
in  this  pursuit  not  more  than  three  months,  when  he  was  killed  while  sinking  a 
mine  shaft  at  West  Newton.  His  wife  survived  him  many  years,  remaining  un- 
married, and  devoting  herself  to  the  service  of  her  family,  which  was  left  in 
straitened  circumstances.  They  were  the  parents  of  four  children,  i.  William, 
engage;d  in  the  stock  business  in  Missouri :  2.  Frank,  resides  in  Stephen  county, 
Kansas,  where  he  is  engaged  in  the  stock  business ;  he  has  served  as  county  su- 
perintendent of  schools.^and  is  the  present  clerk  of  court.  3.  Wesley,  a  carpenter 
at  McKeesport,  Pennsylvania.  4.  Harmer  S.  All  these  children  took  employ- 
ment very  early  in  life  in  order  to  assist  their  widowed  mother  in  keeping  her 
family  together. 

Harmer  S.  Neff  worked  upon  a  farm  until  he  was  eleven  years  of  age,  and 
at  fifteen,  engaged  with  a  blacksmith.  His  education  was  necessarily  limited, 
but  his  ambition  enabled  him  to  compensate  for  meagre  school  advantages  by 
directing  him  to  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  from  other  sources.  After  black- 
smithing  with  A.  W.  Smith,  at  McKeesport,  for  a  time,  he  took  a  position  with 
the  Markle  Paper  Company,  in  West  Newton,  his  duties  being  caring  for  their 
machinery.  He  acquitted  jiimself  with  credit  in  this  position  for  several  years, 
developing  the  capabilities  of  a  skilled  machinist,  and  entered  the  employ  of 
the  Osborn  Seagern  Coal  Company,  being  charged  with  the  care  of  the  ma- 
chinery in  their  various  mines  in  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio.  In  1893  he  resigned 
this  position  to  connect  himself  with  the  National  Tube  Works  in  McKees- 
port, with  the  desire  of  entering  upon  a  larger  knowledge  of  a  different  class 
of  machinery.  After  two  years  so  occupied  he  was  for  a  short  time  employed 
in  the  capacity  of  foreman  in  the  machine  shops  of  the  Pittsburg  Coal  Com- 
pany, which  he  left  to  accept  the  position  of  machinist  for  the  United  States 
Radiator  Company  in  West  Newton.  After  two  years  of  this  employment  ( in 
1902)  he  resigned,  with  an  excellent  record  as  a  workman  and  a  man,  never 
once  leaving  a  position  under  compulsion,  but  only  on  his  own  motion  in  order 
to  enter  upon  a  more  desirable  situation.  His  retirement  from  his  last  employ- 
ment was  due  to  his  determination  to  enter  upon  an  independent  career,  and 
he  at  once  opened  a  machine  shop  in  West  Newton,  a  venture  in  which  he 
has  been  eminently  successful,  as  is  attested  by  the  large  and  important  pa- 
tronage which  has  been  accorded  him,  and  which  is  constantly  increasing.  He 
is  actively  identified  with  the  life  of  the  community,  and  his  public  spirit  and 
capability  have  found  cordial  recognition  in  his  election  to  various  positions  of 
usefulness.  He  has  served  one  term  as  a  member  of  the  town  council,  and 
two  terms  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  health,  while  he  is  at  present  a  member 
of  the  school  board.  His  religious  membership  is  with  the  Methodist  Episcojjal 
church,  and  in  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  He  is  a  member  of  West  Newton 
Lodge,  No.  440,  I.  O.  O.  F.    Mr.  Neff  married  in  1882,  Sadie  Harned,  a  daugh- 


232 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 


ter  of  William  Harned,  a  leading-  farmer  of  Bruston  Mills,   West  Viro^inia. 


&' 


They  have  three  children :  Edna,  Frank  and  Gordon.  The  first  named  is  a 
graduate  of  the  California  State  Normal  school,  and  is  a  highly  esteemed 
teacher  in  the  West  Newton  public  schools. 

CHRISTIAN  GOEHRING.  Among  the  leading  business  men  of 
West  Newton,  whose  enterprise,  energy  and  thrift  have  been  leading  and  im- 
portant factors  in  the  material  growth  and  development  thereof,  may  be  men- 
tioned the  name  of  Christian  Goehring,  a  native  of  Wurtemberg,  Germany, 
born  May  17,  1859,  who  possesses  in  a  marked  degree  the  characteristics  of 
his  native  land.  His  parents,  Martin  and  Mar}'  (Hunker)  Goehring,  also  na- 
tives of  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  emigrated  to  the  United  States  with  their 
family,  locating  at  Hunkers  Station,  from  whence  after  a  short  stay  they  re- 
moved to  West  Newton.  They  are  the  parents  of  seven  children,  all  of  whom 
are  living  at  the  present  time  (1905)  :  Christian,  of  whom  later:  Martin,  Jr.,  a 
merchant  of  West  Newton ;  Mary,  wife  of  George  Binder,  of  West  Newton : 
John  G.,  a  druggist  of  West  Newton,  whose  sketch  appears  elsewhere  in  this 
work;  Frederick,  engaged  in  the  furniture  business  in  West  Newton;  William, 
a  dry  goods  merchant  of  West  Newton ;  and  Anna,  wife  of  Harry  Albig,  of 
West  Newton. 

The  common  schools  adjacent  to  his  home  afforded  Christian  Goehring 
the  means  of  obtaining  a  thorough,  rudimentary  education  which  qualified  him 
for  an  active  and  useful  career.  In  1881  he  engaged  in  teaming,  which  occu- 
pation proved  highly  remunerative  and  which  he  followed  up  to  1895,  a  period 
of  fourteen  years.  In  connection  therewith  he  established  a  livery  business  in 
the  town  of  West  Newton,  in  1895,  which  has  also  proved  very  successful,  and 
which  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  establishments  of  its  kind,  receiving 
the  patronage  of  the  best  residents  of  the  town.  It  is  well  equipped  with  ve- 
hicles suitable  for  all  occasions,  and  the  patrons  thereof  receive  at  all  times 
prompt  and  courteous  treatment.  Mr.  Goehring  has  served  as  burgess  of  the 
town  for  four  years,  and  is  now  (1905)  a  member  of  the  town  council,  these 
facts  attesting  to  his  worth  as  a  citizen.  His  religious  views  are  in  accord  with 
those  of  the  Lutheran  church,  of  which  he  is  a  member,  and  his  political  alle- 
giance is  given  to  the  Democratic  party.  In  1882  Mr.  Goehring  married  Lena 
Schoaf,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Lena  (Shively)  Schoaf,  and  granddaughter  of 
Conrad  and  Louise  (Islie)  Schoaf,  her  parents,  now  deceased,  having  been 
among  the  early  settlers  of  West  Newton.  Their  children  are:  Harrv,  a  stu- 
dent in  the  College  of  Pharmacy  in  Pittsburg;  William,  engaged  with  his 
father  in  the  livery  business ;  Paul,  George,  and  Man,-,  all  of  whom  reside  at 
home. 

FREDERICK  GOEHRING,  one  of  the  lending  and  substantial  busi- 
ness men  of  West  Newton,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  February  21,  1871,  the  son 
of  Martin  and  Mary  (Hunker)  Goehring,  who  were  both  natives  of  Wurtem- 
berg, Germany,  where  they  were  reared  in  humble  circumstances.  After  their 
marriage,  they  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  locating  at  Hunkers  Station. 
After  a  short  time  they  removed  to  West  Newton,  where  thev  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  their  lives.  Martin  Goehring  was  a  laborer,  and  was  variously  oc- 
cupied after  he  came  to  this  country.  Mrs.  Goehring  is  still  living.  Their 
children  were:  Christian,  engaged  in  the  liverv  business  at  West  Newton; 
Martin,  a  clerk  in  West  Newton  ;  Marv,  wife  of  George  P.  Buider,  West  New- 


7        '''I^V,-  w. 


■H       '\ 


*-^^^^ 


HISTORY   OF    IVESTMORELAXD    COLWTV. 


233 


ton ;  John  G.,  a  druggist ;  Frederick,  of  whom  later ;  Wilhani  L.,  a  merchant ; 
and  Anna. 

Frederick  Goehring  was  reared  in  West  Newton  and  acquired  his  educa- 
tion in  the  pubhc  schools  of  that  place.  \\'hen  twenty  years  of  age  he  entered 
the  employ  of  Frederick  Schoaf  in  the  foundry  business  in  West  Newton,  re- 
maining there  some  eight  years,  and  was  for  a  short  time  employed  in  the  coal 
company's  store.  However,  Mr.  Goehring  decided  to  enter  in  business  for 
himself,  so  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Henry  A.  McLain  and  they  estab- 
lished a  furniture  business.  Their  business  increased  so  rapidly  during  the 
succeeding  four  years  that  they  were  obliged  to  remove  to  more  commodious 
quarters.  They  established  themselves  in  the  Weimer  building,  where  they 
have  a  large,  attractive  salesroom.  From  the  outset  the  business  has  been  a 
success,  owing  to  the  good  management  and  general  fair  dealing  which  have 
characterized  all  their  transactions.  The  proprietors  are  certainly  to  be  con- 
gratulated upon  their  well-deserved  patronage.  Politically  Mr.  Goehring  is  a 
staunch  Democrat,  and  strongly  advocates  the  principles  of  that  party.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  K.  O.  T.  ]\I.,  and  in  matters  of  religion  he  accords  with  the 
doctrines  of  the  Lutheran  church,  of  which  he  is  a  regular  and  consistent  at- 
tendant. April  9,'  1896,  Frederick  Goehring  married  Martha  B.  McLain, 
daughter  of  Henry  A.  McLain,  and  their  children  are:  Cynthia  Dorothy  and 
Albert  McLain. 

W.  S.  BUMBAL'GH,  president  of  the  IMonessen  Foundry  and  Ma- 
chine Company,  and  prominently,  identified  with  several  other  important  en- 
terprises, although  not  yet  forty  years  old,  has  worked  his  way  forward  to 
the  position  of  affluence  he  now  occupies  among  the  leading  business  men  of 
Westmoreland  county,  solely  through  his  own  personal  eiiforts,  and  he  is  one 
of  the  few  men  whose  past  records  actually  justify  this  apphcation  of  that 
honorable  distinction. 

Born  in  JMorgantown,  West  Virginia,  October  26,  1866,  son  of  James  and 
Isabelle  (Peterson)  Bumbaugh.  W.  S.  Bumbaugh  was  deprived  of  a  mother's 
care  at  the  tender  age  of  eighteen  months,  and  confided  to  the  care  of  his 
sister,  who  resided  in  McKeesport,  Pennsylvania.  It  seems,  however,  to  have 
been  preordained  by  the  inevitable  degree  of  destiny  that  young  Bumbaugh 
should  work  out  his  own  salvation  without  the  aid  of  parent  or  kindred,  as 
when  he  was  eight  years  old  his  sister  was  summoned  to  her  final  resting 
place,  and  the  boy  was.  therefore,  thrown  absolutely  upon  his  own  inherent  re- 
sources to  obtain  sustenance  and  education  as  best  he  could.  That  he  was 
equal  to  the  emergency  and  that  he  fully  accomplishcfl  the  arduous  task,  so 
harshly  meted  out  to  him  by  destiny,  is  amply  attested  by  the  success  he  has 
already  attained,  which,  considering  the  almost  insurmountable  obstacles  he 
was  forced  to  overcome,  seems  little  less  than  phenomenal.  After  the  death 
of  his  sister,  which  occurrred  in  1874,  young  Bumbaugh  set  out  with  a  will  to 
master  the  somewhat  difficult  proposition  of  supporting  himself,  beginning  by 
selling  newspapers,  and  subsequently  accepting  eagerly  any  other  honest  em- 
ployment that  would  contribute  toward  securing  an  existence.  At  the  age  of 
twelve  years  he  entered  the  fomidry  department  of  the  National  Tube  Com- 
pany's works  at  McKeesport  as  an 'apprentice  and  there  obtained  the  knowl- 
edge and  experience  which  ultimately  enabled  him  to  promote  and  establish 
the  industrial  enterprise  of  which  he  is  now  the  official  head.  .After  mastering 
the  foundry  business  in  its  entirety  he  withdrew  from  the  employ  of  the  Na- 
tional Tube  Company  in  order  to  acquire  additional  experience  in  other  parts 


.'?34  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

of  the  country  under  different  conditions,  and  having  accomplished  his  object, 
his  next  move  was  to  obtain  an  opportunity  of  using  his  knowledge  and  ability 
for  his  own  advancement.  Coming  to  Monessen  in  1898,  he  was  soon  able  to 
secure  capital  sufficient  to  organize  the  Monessen  Foundry  and  Machine  Com- 
pany, of  which  he  was  chosen  president,  an  enterprise  which  has  been  success- 
ful from  the  start.  This  concern,  which  was  originally  located  at  the  West 
End,  moved  its  plant  in  1903  to  the  East  End,  where  it  occupies  an  area  of 
three  acres,  and  in  addition  to  carrying  on  an  extensive  general  foundry  busi- 
ness it  gives  its  particular  attention  to  the  manufacture  of  certain  kinds  of 
machinery  for  which  it  is  provided  with  special  facilities.  At  the  present  time 
it  employs  a  force  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  hands,  and  there  is  a  large 
and  constantly  increasing  demand  for  the  products  of  both  departments.  Al- 
though the  Monessen  Foundry  and  Machine  Company  naturally  occupies  his 
principal  attention,  Mr.  Bumbaugh  is  interested  financially  and  officially  in 
several  other  enterprises,  being  vice-president  of  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Monessen,  second  vice-president  of  the  Monessen  Savings  and  Trust  Company, ' 
piesident  of  the  Monessen  Opera  Company,  and  vice-president  of  the  Grand 
View  Cemetery  Association,  all  of  which  he  assisted  in  organizing.  He  is  one 
of  the  incorporators  and  largely  interested  in  the  "Grand  View  Plan"  (so 
called),  a  real  estate  enterprise  which  purchased  a  tract  of  thirty-five  acres 
lying  in  the  western  part  of  the  borough  and  has  divided  it  into  house  lots.  He 
is  also  otherwise  interested  in  the  development  of  real  estate  in  Monessen,  and 
has  erected  several  fine  dwelling  houses  as  an  investment.  Aside  fi'om  his  interest 
in  developing  the  natural  resources  of  Monessen  and  expanding  its  industries, 
he  is  actively  concerned  in  the  public  affairs  of  the  borough,  having  served  as 
a  member  of  the  council  since  1899,  and  in  1904  was  chosen  president  of  that 
body.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  He  is  a  member  of  Monessen  Lodge,  No. 
"yTx  P'-  P-  O-  E.  His  religious  affiliations  are  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  Mr.  Bumbaugh  married,  November  4,  1890,  Dora  Taylor,  daughter  of 
Robert  and  Elizabeth  ( McFarland )  Taylor,  of  McKeesport.  They  have  two 
children.  Hazel  and  Carl  Bumbaugh. 

HARRY  R.  PORE,  manager  and  editor  of  the  Monessen  Daily  In- 
dependent, and  president  of  the  borough  council,  is  a  representative  of  an  old 
and  highly  estimable  Westmoreland  county  family.  He  is  a  son  of  Jacob  and 
Sarah  Ann  ( Miller)  Pore,  and  his  ancestors  on  both  sides  were  among  the  pio- 
neer tillers  of  the  soil  in  this  section  of  the  state.  His  paternal  grandparents, 
Adam  and  Margaret  (Lobinger)  Pore,  resided  in  South  Huntingdon  townhip, 
and  his  mother  was  born  in  Mount  Pleasant,  daughter  of  William  Miller,  of 
that  township.  His  father  in  early  life  followed  the  carpenter's  trade  and  was 
a  well-known  building  contractor  in  South  Huntingdon,  West  Newton  and  ad- 
jacent townships.  He  finally  relinquished  that  business  and  turned  his  atten- 
tion exclusively  to  agricultural  pursuits.  He  owned  a  farm  of  one  hundred 
and  six  acres  in  South  Huntingdon  township,  known  as  the  old  Snyder  place, 
the  fertility  of  which  he  greatly  improved,  making  it  one  of  the  most  valuable 
pieces  of  agricultural  property  in  that  section  of  the  county.  Being  naturally 
domestic  in  his  habits  he  preferred  the  peace  and  tranquility  of  a  simple  life 
and  took  special  delight  in  devoting  his  attention  wholly  to  the  care  of  his 
homestead  and  the  welfare  of  his  family.  In  his  younger  days  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  old  Sewickley  Presbyterian  church,  but  afterward  united  with  the 
same  denomination  in  West  Newton.  Jacob  Pore  died  in  i8go,  aged  sixty-five 
years.     His   widow  is   still  living  and  resides  in  West   Newton.     Jacob  and 


HISTORY    OF    JJ-ESTMORELAXD    COUXTY.  235 

Sarah  Ann  C-^liHer)  Pore  were  the  parents  of  seven  children,  six  of  whom 
grew  to  maturity,  namely :  William  H.,  deceased :  Charles  S.,  a  hardware  mer- 
chant in  :\lonesscn  :  Lu'ella.  residing-  in  West  Newton ;  Harry  R.,  of  whom 
later:  Blanche  E.,  wife  of  L.  S.  Shape,  who  is  in  the  hardware  business  in 
Monessen :  and  Josiah  2\I..  a  resident  of  West  Newton. 

Harrv  R.  Pore  was  born  in  South  Huntingtlon  township,  July,  1872.  He 
pursued  his  preliminary  studies  in  the  public  schools,  was  a  (jraduate  from  the 
Northern  Indiana  Normal  school  at  N'alparaiso  in  i8yy,  and  from  King's  School 
of  Oratory,  in  1900.  Endowed  by  nature  with  elocutionary  ability  of  a  high 
order,  which  was  enhanced  and  perfected  by  the  careful  training  received  at 
the  above  mentioned  school  of  oratory,  he  decided  to  utilize  his  talents  as  a 
means  of  obtaining  a  livelihood,  and  joining  the  ranks  of  public  entertainers 
as  a  monologue  artist  he  toured  through  the  western  states  with  gratifynig 
success,  providing  unassisted  an  entire  entertainment  which  was  invariably 
recci\ed  with  excellent  satisfaction,  emphasized  with  vociferous  applause.  But 
physical  exhaustion  resulting  from  constant  travel,  together  wnth  the  long  con- 
tinued strain  to  which  the  nervous  system  of  a  public  entertainer  is  necessarily 
subjected,  at  length  compelled  him  to  relinquish  that  calling  and  seek  a  less 
arduous  occupation.  Accordingly  he  turned  his  attention  to  journalism  and  in 
Julv.  igoi.  he  established  the  ^'lonessen  Daily  Independent,  of  which  he  be- 
came both  manager  and  editor.  Having  succeeded  in  placing  his  journalistic 
enterprise  upon  a  secure  financial  basis  he  determined  to  control,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  newspaper  business  of  this  locality,  and  with  that  end  in  view  he 
successfully  arranged  in  1903  for  the  consolidation  of  his  paper  with  the 
Monessen  Weekly  Leader,  extinguishing  the  name  of  the  latter  and  issuing 
the  united  organs  under  the  name  of  the  Independent.  The  Alonessen  Daily 
Independent  entered  its  enlarged  field  of  usefulness  under  the  control  of  a 
.=;tock  company  with  A.  M.  Wyant  as  president,  Frank  Bumer  as  secretary  and 
treasurer,  and  Harry  R.  Pore  as  manager  and  editor.  Typographically  it  pre- 
sents an  attractive  appearance,  and  in  its  editorial  policy  and  ideas  it  is  optimis- 
tic, progressive,  keenly  alive  to  the  conditions  within  its  environments  and  ab- 
solutely without  prejudice  in  its  discussion  of  the  important  issues  of  the  day. 
Its  circulation  is  large,  which,  together  with  its  popularity,  establishes  beyond 
question  its  value  as  an  advertising  medium.  It  generally  appears,  unless  en- 
larged to  meeet  the  contingencies  of  some  extraordinary  occasion,  in  four  six 
column  pages,  which  contain  all  the  latest  news,  foreign,  domestic,  local,  etc., 
with  such  selected  matter  from  exchanges  and  other  sources  as  is  deemed  in- 
teresting to  its  readers.  In  politics,  or  "profession  of  faith,"  as  some  news- 
paper wag  has  humorously  called  it.  it  advocates  the  principles  of  Independent 
Republicanism.  Although  not  the  youngest  newspaper  men  in  the  state,  Mr. 
Pore  is  certainlv  entitled  to  be  considered  as  one  of  the  youngest  managing  edi- 
tors within  its  borders,  and  his  future  advancement  in  his  chosen  field  of  use- 
fulness is  exceedingly  promising.  Nor  is  his  activity  confined  solely  to  his 
profession  as  he  takes  a  profound  interest  in  local  public  affairs,  and  at  the 
present  time  is  serving  with  marked  ability  as  president  of  the  borough  council. 
On  October  is,  1902,  Air.  Pore  was  united  in  marriage  at  the  Second 
Presbyterian  church.  Pittsburg,  by  the  Rev.  Edwin  S.  Young,  with  Louise  M. 
Wagner,  who  was  a  schoolmate  at  the  Northern  Indiana  Normal  school.  She 
is  the  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  E.  F.  Wagner,  of  Kilbourn  City,  Wisconsin. 

WILLIAM  FRANTZ.   The  family  represented  in  Monessen  by  Will- 
iam Frantz  was  brought  to  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  by  an  emigrant  from  Ger- 


236  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUXTY. 

many  who  founded  the  Frantz  settlement  near  Leechburg,  Pennsylvania. 
Peter  Frantz  was  a  resident  of  this  settlement,  but  whether  the  founder  or  not 
does  not  appear. 

Henry  Lewis  Frantz,  son  of  Peter  I'rantz,  spent  his  boyhood  in  his  native 
place  and  subsequently  went  to  Pittsburg  where  he  engaged  in  boating.  Later 
he  had  charge  of  a  wharf  and  also  of  the  coal  shipments,  and  some  time  after 
purchased  a  large  tract  of  land  five  miles  above  McKeesport,  where  he  engaged 
in  farming.  .V  number  of  years  later  he  divided  this  property  into  different 
farms  which  he  sold,  and  then  retired  to  McKeesport  where  he  is  still  living. 
He  is  a  man  of  the  highest  moral  rectitude  and  his  always  been  a  Republican 
in  politics.  He  was  for'  many  years  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  but 
latterly  connected  himself  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  denomination.  Mr. 
Frantz  married  Sarah  McCain,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  two  sons:  William 
Shirwell,  mentioned  hereafter :  and  James,  who  lives  in  the  west.  After  the 
death  of  his  wife  Mr.  Frantz  married  Elizabeth  Actor,  and  by  this  marriage  is 
the  father  of  another  son,  Ulysses  Grant,  who  is  a  resident  of  Dakota. 

William  Shirwell  Frantz,  son  of  Henry  Lewis  and  Sarah  J.  (McCain) 
Frantz,  was  born  June  27,  1849,  and  has  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in 
McKeesport  w^here  he  is  engaged  in  the  insurance  business.  He  married  .Sarnh 
Ann  Snyder,  and  the  following  children  have  been  born  to  them :  William, 
mentioned  hereafter;  Laura,  died  in  childhood;  Robert,  superintendent  of  the 
Metropolitan  Insurance  Company  at  Tarentum,  Pennsylvania ;  Jennie,  resides 
at  home ;  George,  a  clerk  in  the  auditor's  office  of  the  United  States  Steel  Com- 
pany, of  Pittsburg;  Edward,  a  mercantile  clerk;  and  Harry,  a  clerk  in  the 
shipping  department  of  the  Seamless  Tube  Works,  McKeesport.  The  two  last 
named  reside  at  home. 

William  Frantz,  son  of  William  Shirwell  and  Sarah  Ann  (Snyder) 
Frantz,  was  born  May  14,  1870.  He  attended  the  ]5ublic  schools  and  then  en- 
tered the  service  of  Samuel  Goldman,  clothier.  Later  he  was  employed  by  Max 
Bachman,  who  was  in  the  same  line  of  business,  and  with  whom  he  remained 
until  coming  to  Monessen  to  engage  in  business  on  his  own  account.  August 
■  I,  1903.  in  partnership  with  James  K.  Boyd,  he  established  the  firm  of  Frantz 
&  Boyd,  clothiers,  furnishers  and  hatters,  starting  with  about  eight  thousand 
dollars  worth  of  stock  which  has  since  been  increased  to  fifteen  thousand.  Their 
stock  and  accommodations  would  do  credit  to  a  city  much  larger  than  ^Mones- 
ren.  Mr.  Frantz  is  master  of  his  calling  in  each  and  every  department,  and  is 
tlioroughly  equipped  for  the  successful  handling  of  the  business  in  any  field 
in  which  he  might  be  placed.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  five  and  ten 
cent  store  at  Donora  and  is  now  one  of  the  firm,  which  is  known  as  that  of 
Jack  &  Company,  and  is  under  the  management  of  Frank  Jack.  Mr.  Frantz  is 
a  member  of  Monessen  Lodge,  No.  638,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  Mc- 
Keesport Chapter,  No.  285.  He  also  belongs  to  Monessen  Aerie,  No.  492,  Fra- 
ternal Order  of  Eagles.  He  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Frantz  married,  October  27,  i8qi,  Ida  May,  daugh- 
ter of  Moses  and  Felicia  Dias,  of  Webster,  Pennsylvania,  and  they  are  the 
parents  of  one  child,  William  Byron  Frantz. 

JAMES  KELLY  BOYD.  Although  a  resident  of  Westmoreland 
county  James  Kelly  Boyd,  of  Monessen,  belongs  by  birth  and  descent  to  Alle- 
gheny county.  He  is  a  son  of  J.  K.  and  Margaret  (W)land)  Boyd,  and  was 
born  December  13,  1871,  in  Allegheny  City,  where  he  was  reared  and  edu- 
cated.    His  father  died  in  1879,  aged  forty-two,  and  his  mother  survives. 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  237 

Air.  Boyd's  first  employment  was  in  the  capacity  of  office  boy  for  James 
\\".  Drape,  of  Pittsburg;-,  and  his  next  was  with  the  U.  P.  Railroad,  whence  he 
passed  to  the  service  of  the  C.  A.  Railroad,  where  he  remained  several  years 
in  the  capacity  of  clerk.  He  then  associated  himself  with  the  \V.  Dewees  Wood 
Company,  of  ]\IcKeesport,  with  whom  he  remained  eight  years.  At  the  end  of 
that  time  he  entered  the  service  of  the  United  States  Steel  Company,  retiring 
some  years  after  as  head  bookkeeper.  He  then  turned  his  attention  to  the 
clothing  business,  formed  a  partnership  with  William  Frantz,  and  in  1903  they 
established  their  present  business  in  Monessen.  Mr.  Boyd  is  a  memlier  of 
Monessen  Lodge,  No.  638,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  the  Fraternal  Order  of 
Eagles,  No.  492,  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  No.  773,  the 
\"ersailles  Council,  No.  238,  Royal  Arcanum,  of  McKeesport,  and  the  Improved 
Order  of  Heptasophs,  No.  81,  also  of  McKeesport.  He  likewise  belongs  to 
the  Knights  of  Pythias,  Monessen,  No.  168.  He  is  a  member  of  the  United 
Presbyterian  church,  of  Monessen.  Mr.  Boyd  married,  February  22,  1893, 
Susan,  daughter  of  John  and  Marv  Toy,  of  Pittsburg. 

E.  M.  MOVER,  founder  and  senior  member  of  the  E.  M.  Moyer 
Company,  jewelers,  of  Alonessen,  is  of  German  origin,  his  grandfather,  I'^ed- 
erick  Moyer.  having  immigrated  from  Germany  early  in  the  last  ccnturv  and 
settled  in  Mifflin  county,  Pennsylvania.  His  father,  Enoch  Moyer,  was  a 
native  of  Alifflin  county,  as  is  also  his  mother,  who  was  before  marriage  Cath- 
erine Baker. 

Enoch  Moyer  was  a  tailor  by  trade  but  relinquished  that  occupation  in 
order  to  engage  in  agriculture,  and  he  resided  upon  a  farm  in  Lewistown, 
Mifflin  county,  for  the  remainder  of  his  life,  which  terminated  in  August.  1866, 
one  month  prior  to  the  birth  of  his  youngest  child,  E.  M.  Aloyer.  the  principal 
subject  of  this  sketch.  His  widow  is  still  living.  Enoch  and  Catherine 
(Baker)  Moyer  reared  a  family  of  four  children,  namely:  Henry  K..  a  retired 
farmer  of  Edgar.  Illinois;  Howard,  a  live-stock  dealer  in  Kansas  City,  Mis- 
souri: Lizzie,  wife  of  J.  E.  Harman,  of  Lewiston,  Pennsylvania,  and  E.'  i\L.  of 
Monessen. 

Born  in  Lewistown,  September  26,  1866,  E.  M.  Moyer  began  his  studies  in 
the  public  schools  and  completed  his  education  at  an  academv.  At  the  age  of 
fourteen  years  he  entered  the  telegraph  service  of  the  Pennsylvania  railroad  as 
an  apprentice,  and  having  acquired  proficiency  as  an  operator  he  followed  that 
business  for  about  fourteen  years,  during  which  time  he  was  emploved  by 
difterent  railroad  companies  in  various  parts  of  the  countrv,  notablv  in 
Elk  Garden.  West  Mrginia,  where  for  a  period  of  eight  years  he  acted  as 
operator  for  the  West  Virginia  Central,  which  was  subse(|uentlv  absorbed 
by  the  Wabash  system.  Relinquishing  telegraphy  he  accepted  a  position  as 
travelling  salesman  for  a  Philadelphia  mercantile  house  (H.  Goldsmith),  with 
which  he  remained  some  two  years.  In  190 1  he  engaged  in  the  jewelry  busi- 
ness at  Monessen,  establishing  the  E.  M.  Moyer  Company,  which  he  owns. 
They  occupy  a  centrally  located  store,  forty-eight  bv  twentv-two  feet,  and  in 
addition  to  carrying  the  largest  and  most  complete  stock  of  jewelry  and  kin- 
dred articles,  they  maintain  a  fully  equipped  repairing  department,  replete  with 
every  facility  in  the  way  of  stock,  appliances,  artisans,  etc.,  for  executing  with 
neatness  and  despatch  the  simplest  as  well  as  the  most  intricate  work  known 
to  the  jeweler's  art.  Since  locating  in  Monessen  Mr.  Moyer  has  become  widely 
and  favorably  known  both  in  business  and  social  circles'.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Eagles,  Lodge  No.  492.  In  1891  he  was 


238  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

united  in  marriage  with  .Miss  Flora  McKinley,  daughter  of  Wilhani  and 
Anna  McKinley,  of  Lonaconing,  Maryland.  Their  children  are:  Vira,  Vesta, 
Frederick,  Bettie  and  Flora. 

SAMUEL  S.  JONES,  a  highly  esteemed  business  man  of  Monessen, 
residing  in  Belle  Vernon,  is  a  son  of  George  W.  and  Eliza  J.  (Minehart) 
Jones,  of  Bridgeport.  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  a  grandson  of  Samuel 
Jones,  the  latter  a  native  of  Virginia,  who  settled  in  Greene  county,  this  state. 

George  W.  Jones  located  in  early  life  at  Bridgeport,  where  he  followed  the 
business  of  a  distiller,  and  was  a  progressive,  public-spirited  citizen.  His 
death  occurred  March  24,  1886,  at  the  age  of  fifty-four  years.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  of  the  Royal  Arcanum. 
Besides  his  widow,  who  is  still  residing  in  Bridgeport,  he  is  survived  by  three 
children,  namely:  George  W.,  a  resident  of  Bridgeport  and  a  travelling  sales- 
man for  T.  C.  Jenkins,  of  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania;  Elizabeth  J.,  unmarried; 
and  Samuel  S.,  of  whom  later. 

Samuel  S.  Jones  was  born  in  Bridgeport,  January  7,  1874.  Having  con- 
cluded his  studies  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  he  entered,  as  an  apprentice,  a 
window-glass  factory,  where  he  acquired  the  art  of  glass-blowing,  and  he  was 
engaged  in  that  industry  some  nine  years.  He  then  became  a  travelling  sales- 
man for  the  Canfield  Oil  Company  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  his  field  of  operation 
embracing  western  Pennsylvania,  southeastern  West  Virginia  and  a  portion  of 
Ohio,  and  he  travelled  in  the  interest  of  that  concern  for  about  three  years. 
In  1902  he  located  permanently  in  Monessen,  where  he  became  associated  with 
D.  A.  Miller  under  the  firm  name  of  the  Monessen  Paint  and  Glass  Company. 
Withdrawing  from  that  firm  a  year  later  he  established  himself  in  business  alone 
as  a  dealer  in  ornamental  mantels,  tile  work,  fireplace,  furniture  and  fixtures, 
and  other  fancv  decorative  materials.  In  addition  to  handling  these  goods  as 
merchandise  he  takes  contracts  for  adjusting  mantels,  etc.,  the  laying  of  tile 
floors,  walks  and  other  ornamental  work  throughout  western  Pennsylvania, 
being  about  the  only  one  engaged  in  that  line  of  business  in  this  section  of  the 
state.  Mr.  Jones  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Order  and  the  Royal  Arcanum. 
He  was  married  January  22,  1896,  to  Lee  Anna  Lenhart,  daughter  of  William 
C.  Lenhart,  of  Fayette  City,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jones  have  two  sons, 
AVilliam  S.  and  George  W. 

ROBERT  TAYLOR,  son  of  Isaac  and  Elizabeth  (Bosler)  Taylor, 
was  born  near  Turtle  Creek,  Allegheny  county.  September  3,  1829.  He  was 
one  of  a  large  family,  but  four  of  whom  are  still  living:  Edward,  residing  at 
the  old  homestead ;  James,  also  at  the  homestead ;  Elizabeth,  living  with  her 
brothers  on  the  farm ;  Joseph,  living  near  Long  Run  Church,  Allegheny  county. 
Isaac  Taylor,  father  of  Robert  Taylor,  was  born  and  reared  in  Allegheny 
county.  ■  L'pon  reaching  manhood  he  located  at  Turtle  Creek,  where  he  man- 
aged a  hotel  for  many  years,  meanwhile  acquiring  valuable  farm  lands.  Later 
he  retired  from  the  hotel  business  and  settled  on  one  of  his  farms,  where  he 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  years. 

Robert  Taylor  grew  up  at  home,  acquiring  his  education  in  the  common 
schools.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  or  .twenty  he  engaged  in  the  tanning  business 
in  the  vicinity  of  Greensburg.  He  carried  on  this  business  for  a  number  of 
years,  and  then  came  to  West  Newton  and  engaged  in  the  lumber  and  the  grain 
business,  in  which  he  prospered,  having  excellent  business  qualifications.  In 
1895,  in  company  with  W.  S.  Van  Dyke  and  S.  C.  Weimer,  he  organized  the 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAXD    COUXTY.  239 

banking  firm  of  \'an  Dyke,  Weimer  and  Taylor,  which  became  the  leading 
banking  institution  of  this  section  of  the  county.  They  sold  the  business  to 
the  First  National  Bank  in  1899.  In  politics  Mr.  Taylor  was  a  staunch 
Republican,  and  served  nine  years  as  a  school  director,  but  refused  other  offices 
which  were  tendered  him.  He  was  a  public-spirited  citizen  and  was  ever  active 
in  anv  movement  to  promote  the  business  welfare  of  West  Newton.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  its  treasurer  for  many  years.  He 
married,  Alarch  18,  1856,  Sidney  ]\larkle,  a  daughter  of  General  Joseph  and 
Elizabeth  (Lloyd)  Markle.  They  had  four  children,  two  of  whom  survive: 
Ada  B.,  wife  of  Dr.  L.  B.  Sutton,  of  \\'est  Xewton ;  and  Caroline,  wife  of  W. 
S.  \'an  Dyke,  a  banker,  of  Pittsburg.  Robert  Taylor  died  in  January,  1899. 
Mrs.  Taylor  still  resides  at  West  Newton. 

REBECCA  GREEXAWALT.  nee  McGrew,  is  the  daughter  of 
Archibald  and  Susanna  (Gilbert)  McGrew,  both  of  Quaker  stock.  Slie  is 
one  of  three  children  surviving  of  eleven.  Her  father,  the  son  of  James  Mc- 
Grew, was  born  in  Sewickley  township,  and  lived  there  throughottt  his  life. 
He  was  a  fanner  and  one  of  the  well-known  men  of  that  section  of  the  county. 
Politically  he  was  a  Democrat,  but  took  no  active  part  in  political  affairs ;  in 
his  religious  faith  he  was  a  Quaker. 

In  i860  Rebecca  McGrew  married  Jacob  W.  Grcenawalt,  second  son  of 
Henry  Greenawalt.  He  was  born  in  \\'estmoreland  county,  October  27,  1837, 
and  attended  the  common  schools  of  that  county,  then  entered  Union  College, 
Lewisburg,  Pennsylvania.  He  went  west  after  leaving  college  and  began  to 
read  law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Mount  Pleasant,  Iowa.  In  the. 
spring  of  the  year  i860  he  returned  home  and  November  22,  i860,  was  admit- 
ted to  the  practice  of  law  in  the  several  courts  of  Westmoreland  county.  Early 
in  .Kpril  of  the  following  year  he  entered  into  a  law  partnership  with  James 
H.  Hunter,  Esq.,  a  msember  of  the  Greensburg  bar.  A  few  days  after,  April 
17,  1 861,  in  response  to  a  call  from  the  president  for  75,000  men,  he,  with 
Richard  Coulter  (afterward  colonel  of  the  Eleventh  Regiment),  raised  a  com- 
pany which  became  Company  I,  Eleventh  Regiment.  He  was  elected  second 
lieutenant,  was  subsequently  promoted  to  first  lieutenant,  and  was  mustered  out 
•of  service  with  his  company  August  i,  1861.  Immediately  after  his  return 
home  he  energetically  set  about  raising  a  company  for  three  vears'  service,  and 
this  company  was  mustered  into  the  army  as  Company  E,  One  Hundred  and 
Fifth  Pennsylvania  \'olunteers.  Upon  the  promotion  of  Captain  Dick  to  the 
rank  of  major  of  the  regiment.  Lieutenant  Greenawalt  was  raised  to  captain, 
September  20,  1861,  and  on  the  resignation  of  Major  Dick,  he  was  promoted  to 
major.  November  29,  1862.  His  next  promotion  was  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant- 
colonel.  May  4.  1863,  and  he  was  with  his  regiment  through  all  the  battles  in 
which  it  participated.  He  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks,  and  while 
in  command  of  his  regiment  at  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness,  fell  mortallv 
wounded.  May  4,  1864.  and  died  a  few  days  after.  May  17.  1864.  His  remains 
were  brought  home  and  interred  with  military  honors  in  the  presence  of  a 
great  concourse  of  his  old  friends  and  nei.ghbor's  at  Mars  Hill,  a  quiet  country 
churchyard.  He  left  a  wiflow  to  mourn  his  untimely  end  but  no  chiMren. 
Colonel  Greenawalt  was  immensely  i)opular  with  his  men.  treating  them  with 
T<indness  and  consideration,  and  avoiding  all  di.splay  of  authority  or  the  use  of 
harsh  langua.ge,  which  tod  often  fell  upon  the  ears  of  the  private  soldier.  He 
liad  the  warm  esteem  of  his  fellow-officers  and  the  confidence  of  his  superiors. 
T!rfg->rh'or  General  Graham,  in  a  letter  to  Governor  Curtain  asking  for  the  pro- 


240  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAXD    COUNTY. 

motion  of  Major  Greenawalt  to  the  rank  of  liuutenant-colonel  in  his  regiment, 
speaks  of  his  conduct  at  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  saying,  "he  exhibited  the 
firmness  and  knowledge  of  a  veteran."  One  who  knew  him  well  says  of  him, 
"he  was  an  earnest,  brave,  patriotic  man,  knowing  no  fear  and  entering  into 
whatever  he  did  with  his  whole  soul — the  longer  he  was  known  the  more  was 
he  respected  and  beloved,  in  all  the  relations  of  life."  Colonel  Greenawalt  was 
a  consistent  Christian,  a  worshipper  in  the  Baptist  church.  His  widow  is  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  an  accomplished  woman  who  is 
held  in  great  esteem  within  the  circle  of  her  friends  and  accjuaintances. 

JOHN  PALANAFSKY.  One  of  the  progressive  business  men  of 
Westmoreland  county,  an  industrious,  useful  citizen,  and  a  man  prominently 
and  actively  interested  in  community  affairs,  is  John  Palanafsky,  proprietor  of 
the  Hotel '  Andrews,  at  Mount  Pleasant,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  born  in 
Autsria,  May,  1867,  and  when  a  lad  of  some  thirteen  years  emigrated  to  this 
country  with  his  parents,  Michael  and  Katie  Palanafsky.  His  father  is  a  resi- 
dent of  Mount  Pleasant,  making  his  home  with  his  son  John. 

John  Palanafsky  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Westmore- 
land county,  and  on  leaving  the  school  room,  entered  into  his  first  regular 
employment  in  the  mines  in  Pennsylvania,  remaining  there  until  1894.  He 
was  then  for  a  time  in  the  employ  of  the  Mount  Pleasant  Brewing  Company, 
and  in  1897  he  engaged  in  the  hotel  business  in  Mammoth,  Westmoreland 
county,  Pennsylvania,  remaining  there  for  two  years  and  seven  months.  In 
1901  Mr.  Palanafsky  purchased  the  Hotel  Andrew  at  Mount  Pleasant.  This 
hotel  is  a  three  story  structure,  located  on  Main  street  near  the  depot.  It  is 
a  first-class  house  and  accommodates  thirty-two  guests.  Politically  Mr.  Pa- 
lanafsky is  a  Democrat.  He  is  one  of  the  enter]:)rising  citizens  of  the  borough, 
and  is  ever  willing  and  anxious  to  lend  his  assistance  to  any  enterprise  for 
the  good  of  the  public.  He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  R.  M.,  No.  337,  and  the 
Eagles,  No.  493.  In  matters  of  religion,  he  is  a  devout  member  of  the  Catholic 
church.  He  married,  in  1890,  Kate  Babrura,  and  their  children  were:  Thomas, 
Katie,  Joseph,  John  and  Alice. 

JOSEPH  E.  NEWCOMER.  The  grandfather  of  Joseph  E.  New- 
comer, of  Monessen,  was  Christian  Newcomer,  a  farmer,  who'  went  fromj 
Maryland  to  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  settled  in  Tyrone  township. 
His  son,  David  M.  Newcomer,  spent  his  life  in  Fayette  county,  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Christian  church.  David  M. 
Newcomer  married  Mary  E.  Walter,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  three  sons: 
William  W.,  president  of  the  Newcomer  School  of  Expression  of  Lima  College, 
of  Lima,  Ohio ;  Lawrence  O.,  pastor  of  the  Christian  church  at  Eaton,  Indiana ; 
and  Joseph  E.,  mentioned  hereafter.  Mr.  Newcomer  died  August  8,  1903,  and 
his  widow  resides  with  her  son  Joseph  E.  At  the  time  of  his  death  Mr.  New- 
comer was  sixty-five  years  old. 

Joseph  E.  Newcomer,  son  of  David  M.  and  Mary  E.  (Walter)  Newcomer, 
was  born  August  8,  1876,  on  the  homestead,  near  Dawson,  Fayette  county, 
where  he  received  his  primary  education  in  the  public  schools,  afterward 
attending  Redstone  Academy,  Uniontown,  and  Mount  L^nion  College,  Ohio. 
Later  he  entered  the  classical  department  of  the  Ohio  Northern  L^niversity, 
whence  he  graduated  in  1897.  He  then  engaged  for  two  years  in  teaching, 
and  in  1898  took  a  business  course.  He  was  five  years  in  the  school  at  Ada, 
taking  a  thorough  course  in  military  tactics,  and   leaving  with  the   rank  of 


HISTORY    OF    H'ESTMORELAXD    COUXTV.  241 

lieutenant-colonel,  the  hii^liest  honor  which  it  is  in  the  power  of  the  school  to 
confer.  The  tirst  school  of  which  he  had  charge  was  his  home  country  school 
in  Fayette  county  and  he  was  for  several  years  vice-principal  of  the  New 
Haven  public  schools.  In  the  autumn  of  i8y«  he  took  up  his  abode  in  JNlones- 
sen  as  principal  of  the  schools  of  that  place,  a  position  which  he  tilled  ftir  three 
years,  resigning  at  the  end  of  that  time  in  order  to  engage  in  the  real  estate 
business.  He  termed  a  partnership  with  Jesse  S.  Cook,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Newcomer  &  Cook,  real  estate  agents,  and  on  August  1,  1^03,  sold  out  to 
Luce  &  Sutman.  April  i,  1904,  he  entered  into  partnership  with  Eli  H.  Wolf, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Newcomer  &  Wolf,  successors  to  Mitchell  &  Myers 
who  had  establishetl  the  business  some  two  years  previously.  The  present  firm 
carries  on  a  general  land  agenc}',  limited  to  .Monessen.  They  have  erected 
several  residence  properties  during  the  last  year,  and  expect  to  construct  in  1905 
at  least  half  a  dozen.  Aside  from  this,  Mr.  Newcomer  has  erected  personally 
some  seven  properties.  The  firm  also  handles  all  kinds  of  insurance,  including 
fire,  life  and  accident.  They  have  the  exclusive  management  of  the  business 
of  the  Monessen  Improvement  Company,  which  is  of  considerable  scope  and 
embraces  a  large  amount  of  property,  and  are  also  special  agents  for  the  Es^en 
plan  of  lots.  They  do  no  little  business  in  placing  loans  on  mortgages,  and 
Mr.  Newcomer  being  a  notary  public,  are  prepared  to  execute  all  legal  papers. 
He  is  a  director  in  the  People's  National  Bank  of  ^lonessen,  and  was  appointed 
executor  of  his  father's  estate,  which  is  of  considerable  magnitude,  lying  chiefly 
in  Fayette  county.  He  belongs  to  the  ^^lasonic  fraternity,  and  is  an  elder  in  the 
Disciple  church  of  Monessen.  also  serving  as  superintendent  of  the  Sunday 
school.  Mr.  Newcomer  married.  September  10.  1902.  Esther  N..  daughter 
of  John  A.  and  Martha  Hunter,  the  former  an  attorney  at  Fort  Recovery, 
Ohio.  ^Ir.  and  Mrs.  Newcomer  have  had  one  child,  Clyde  H.,  who  died  at  the 
age  of  three  months. 

ALLEN  P.  MUSICK.  The  family  of  which  Allen  P.  Musick,  of 
Monessen.  is  a  member  belongs  to  Westmoreland  county.  Samuel  Musick 
married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Abraham.  Brinker.  also  of  this  countv,  and 
among  their  children  was  a  son,  Allen  P.,  mentioned  hereafter.  'Wr.  and  .Mrs. 
Musick  are  now  residents  of  Lycippus. 

Allen  P.  Musick,  son  of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  (Brinker)  Musick,  was 
bom  April  14,  1872,  near  Hannestown,  where  he  received  the  greater  part  of 
his  education  in  the  common  schools,  finishing  with  one  term  at  Greensburg 
Seminary.  .After  leaving  school  he  entered  the  service  of  the  Farmers'  Trading 
Company,  with  which  he  was  connected  for  some  ten  \ears.  During  that 
period. lie  advanced  to  be  head  of  the  force  and  for  several  years  had  charge  of 
the  Hosteller  store.  During  the  two  last  years  he  was  virtually  manager  of 
both  the  Hosteller  and  Whitney  stores  of  the  company,  thus  gaining  a  large 
and  varied  experience  which  has  proved  of  much  benefit  to  him  in  his  own 
personal  business.  In  1901  he  left  this  position  and  went  to  Monessen  anrl 
October  3.  1901,  he  opened  a  grocery  and  provision  store  on  Schoonmaker  ave- 
nue, and  is  still  carrying  on  the  business  on  the  same  site.  He  purchased  the 
property,  this  providing  himself  with  a  residence  and  a  jjlace  of  business.  His 
stock  is  one  of  the  best  selected  in  the  borough  and  he  has  built  uj)  a  flourishing 
trade.  When  he  established  the  business  he  was  associated  with  iiis  brotlur 
under  the  firm  name  of  Musick  Brothers,  and  the  partnership  was  continnefl 
until  February.  1903.  when  Mr.  Musick  bought  out  his  brother's  interest  and 
has  since  conducted  the  business  alone.     He  is  one  of  the  bnanl  of  ilirectors 

2—16 


242  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

of  the  People's  National  Bank  of  jMonessen,  and  was  elected  first  president  of 
Merchants'  Exchange,  also  of  Monessen.  He  belongs  to  the  I.  O.  O.  H. ;  also 
the  F.  and  A.  M.,  of  Monessen.  He  is  a  member  and  trustee  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  and  also  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school.  He  was 
elected  to  the  office  of  councilman  from  the  third  ward  for  a  term  of  three 
years.  Mr.  Musick  married,  September  17,  1894,  May,  daughter  of  W.  J.  and 
Deborah  Peterson,  of  Ligonier,  and  they  have  two  children  :  \\'illiani  S..  and 
Merle  Wilfred  Musick. 

CLARENCE  VV.  GREER.  One  of  the  old  families  of  Penn  town- 
ship is  that  represented  by  Clarence  W.  Greer,  of  Monessen.  He  is  a  son  of 
Joseph  Collins  and  Jennie  E.  Greer,  and  was  born  November  24,  1875,  in  Lum- 
ber Citv,  Clearfield  county,  Pennsylvania. 

He  received  his  education  in  the  schools  of  Johnstown.  His  first  employ- 
ment was  with  the  B.  White  Coal  Mining  Company  at  Anita,  Pennsylvania, 
whom  he  served  as  bookkeeper  and  manager  of  the  company's  store,  positions 
which  he  retained  for  six  years.  He  then  went  to  Nansen.  Elk  county,  where 
he  became  one  of  a  firm  conducting  a  general  store  of  which  he  had  the  man- 
ao-ement  for  a  year  or  more.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  sold  out  his  interest, 
w^ent  to  Monessen  and  formed  a  partnership  with  his  two  brothers,  W.  S.  and 
J.  C.  Greer,  under  the  firm  name  of  Greer  Brothers.  In  April,  1903,  they 
purchased  the  general  merchandise  business  which  had  been  established  hi 
1897  by  Shuster  Brothers.  They  carry  the  heaviest  stock  in  this  line  in 
Monesseen,  occupying  two  rooms  and  employing  a  small  army  of  clerks.  They 
make  the  grocery  department  the  main  feature  of  the  establishment,  and  are 
doing  a  large  and  increasing  business.  Their  store  is  situated  on  Schoonmaker 
avenue.  The  active  member  of  the  firm  is  Mr.  Greer,  he  having  charge  of 
the  conduct  of  the  entire  business.  Mr.  Greer  married.  May  12,  1896,  Mary, 
daughter  of  T-  L.  McKeerer,  of  Irwin,  and  they  have  three  children :  Lois  E., 
I.  C^'illins,  an'd  Janice  M.  Mr.  Greer  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Presby- 
terian church. 

HARRY  J.  BEARER,  a  resident  of  Monessen,  Westmoreland 
countv,  Pennsylvania,  and  member  of  the  firm  of  H.  J.  Bearer  &  Company,  at 
449-4V1  Danv'er  avenue,  was  born  in  Carrollstown,  Cambria  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania,\Time  6.  1875,  a  son  of  John  G.  C.  and  Magdalena  (Hopple)  Bearer,  and 
grandson  of  Francis  Bearer,  a  native  of  Germany,  who  emigrated  to  this  coun- 
try, and  resided  in  Berks  county  for  a  few  years,  later  locating  permanently  in 
Cambria  county,  where  he  followed  the  occupation  of  a  farmer,  and  sulise- 
quentlv  became  the  owner  of  considerable  property. 

John  G.  C.  Bearer  (father)  is  a  resident  and  retired  farmer  of  Spangler. 
Cambria  county,  where  he  was  born  and  reared.  He  is  an  active  Democrat, 
and  a  devout  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  He  married  Magdalena 
Hopple,  and  of  their  children  the  following  named  are  those  now  living:  Frank, 
a  farmer  of  Carrollstown  :  Elmira.  wife  of  E.  M.  Binder,  of  Barnesboro ;  Etta. 
a  nun  of  the  Benedictine  order,  located  at  Carrollstown  ;  Harry,  mentioned 
hereafter :  Fannie,  wife  of  J.  J.  McCormick,  of  Spangler ;  Augusta,  wife  of 
William  M.  Gordon,  of  Barnesboro ;  Adda  and  Edith,  reside  at  home ;  and 
Ralph,  employed  by  his  brother  Harry  J.  as  clerk.  Mrs.  Bearer,  the  mother  of 
these  children,  died  December  31,  1888. 

Harry  J.  Bearer  obtained  his  educational  training  in  the  public  schools  and 
convent  at  Carrollstown,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years  went  to  Charleroi, 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUXTY.  243 

where  he  learned  the  trade  of  tinner  and  roofer.  After  one  year's  residence 
in  the  latter  place  he  removed  to  Altoona,  Pennsylvania,  and  there  completed  his 
trade,  and  remained  for  four  years.  His  next  removal  was  to  Barnesboro, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  conduct  of  a  hardware  store  for  E.  M.  Bnider,  con- 
tinuing until  August,  1900,  when  he  went  to  Alonessen.  Upon  his  arrival  ni 
.Monessen  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  E.  M.  Binder,  and  they  entered 
into  the  tinning  and  roofing  business,  being  the  successors  of  George  Dmkle. 
The  business  was  continued  in  this  way  until  the  spring  of  1905,  when  they 
added  a  full  line  of  shelf  and  heavy  hardware,  paints,  oils,  house  furnishmgs, 
etc.  They  also  have  a  large  trade  in  ceilings  and  cornices.  This  is  one  of  the 
largest  aiid  most  successful  stores  of  its  kind  in  this  part  of  the  country.  He 
is  one  of  the  active  and  prominent  Republicans  of  Monessen,  and  is  interested 
in  all  communitv  affairs.  He  has  served  as  member  of  the  Republican  county 
committee,  member  of  the  school  board  of  ]Monessen,  and  was  for  three  years 
chief  of  the  Monessen  fire  department.  Fraternally  he  holds  membership  in  the 
Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  No.  773,  and  is  a  charter  member  of  same ; 
Knights  of  Cohunbus,  No.  604,  Beaver  Valley  Council.  December  28,  1904, 
Mr."  Bearer  married  Theresa  Lynch,  daughter  of  John  Lynch,  of  Cleveland, 
Ohio.  They  are  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church,  and  their  residence 
is  at  124  McKee  avenue,  ^lonessen. 

DR.  JOSEPH  H.  RICHIE  was  born  in  Richland  county,  Ohio,  Oc- 
tober. 26,  1836,  a  son  of  Andrew  A.  and  Jane  (]\Iarshal)  Richie.  He  is  one 
of  eight  children,  six  of  whom  survive,  namely:  Sarah  J.,  widow  of  Charles 
\'oals,  of  Findley;  Rev.  William  M.,  a  minister  of  a  United  Presbyterian 
church  in  Iowa;  Andrew,  Los  Angeles,  California;  Dr.  Joseph  H.,  of  whom 
later ;  George,  engaged  in  the  fruit  business  in  Florida ;  Margaret,  wife  of 
Andrew  Gibson,  Des  Moines,  Iowa. 

The  paternal  grandfather  of  Dr.  Richie  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  a  school 
teacher,  who  came  to  America  about  1798,  locating  at  ;\Iount  Braddock,  Penn- 
svlvania,  and  went  to  work  at  the  furnace.  Later  he  removed  to  Ohio  and 
jiurchased  a  farm  in  Richland  county,  Ohio,  where  he  lived  during  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life. 

Andrew  A.  Richie,  father  of  Dr.  Richie,  was  born  in  1798,  at  ^It.  Brad- 
dock,  Pennsylvania,  shortly  after  his  parents  emigrated  from  Ireland.  He  was 
reared  in  Richland  county,  Ohio,  and  when  he  reached  his  majority  adopted 
agriculture  as  his  means  of  livelihood.  He  was  a  staunch  Democrat  up  to  the 
time  of  the  civil  war,  when  he  became  a  Republican,  a  bosom  friend  of  John 
T.  Sherman.  He  was  a  consistent  member  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church. 
He  died  in  Richland  county  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-one  years,  while  his 
wife  survived  him  some  years,  dying  in  her  ninety-third  year.  They  are  both 
buried  at  Ontario,  Richland  county,  Ohio,  where  they  were  living  at  the  time 
of  their  death. 

Joseph  H.  Richie  was  reared  in  his  native  place,  and  aci|nired  liis  educa- 
tion in  the  common  schools  and  the  Haysville  Academy.  .\t  the  first  call  for 
troops  in  the  civil  war  he  enlisted  in  the  service,  March  14,  1861,  enlisting  in 
Company  H,  Fifteenth  Ohio  Volunteers.  After  the  expiration  of  his  hundred 
day  service  he  re-enlisted  in  Company  A,  One  Hundred  and  Second  Regiment 
for  three  years  or  until  the  close  of  the  war.  In  this  regiment  he  served  for 
some  nine  months,  meanwhile  having  been  made  sergeant  of  the  company, 
then  was  transferred  to  Company  I,  One  Hundred  and  TU'cntieth  Rcgrmcnt, 
as  hospital  steward.     Some  twenty-two  innnths  later  he  was  mustered  out   as 


244  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

hospital  steward  with  the  promise  of  a  commission  as  second  Heutenant,  when 
the  regiment  was  captured  by  "Dick'  Taylor  and  was  taken  to  Texas  and  held 
prisoners  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  had  gained  some  knowledge  of  medi- 
cine during  his  hospital  service,  and  finding  it  much  to  his  liking  he  took  up 
the  study  under  Dr.  J.  W.  Craig,  of  Ontario,  Ohio.  After  spending  some  time 
with  him  he  entered  the  Western  Reserve  Medical  College,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
whence  he  graduated  in  the  spring  of  the  year,  1867.  He  then  practiced  for  one 
year  with  his  preceptor,  and  in  June,  1868,  removed  to  West  Newton,  where 
he  practiced  for  eighteen  years.  He  then  located  at  the  mining  town  of  New 
England,  Allegheny  county,  where  he  continued  for  seven  or  eight  years, 
and  next  settled  in  Sutersville,  where  he  has  been  located  during  the  past 
twelve  years.  He  is.  one  of  the  most  widly-known  physicians  of  the  county, 
and  is  a'  member  of  the  K.  of  P.,  and  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  In  politics  he  is  a  Repuli- 
lican,  but  has  had  no  time  to  spare  from  the  demands  of  his  profession  to  take 
an  active  interest  in  politics.  Dr.  Richie  married  (first)  in  1868,  Jennie  An- 
derson, of  Shelby,  Ohio ;  she  died  twelve  years  after  her  marriage,  leaving  no 
children.  He  married  (second)  Nancy  Mesner,  of  Allegheny  county,  Penn- 
sylvania. Five  children  were  born  to  them:  Jennie,  Josejjh,  Clara,  Margaret 
and  Ada  Richie,  all  of  whom  are  still  living  at  home. 

DR.  WILLIAM  FULTON  PEAIRS  was  born  at  Mendon,  West- 
moreland county,  Nevember  21,  1865,  son  of  John  W.  and  Dinah  (Boyd) 
Peairs,  one  of  five  children,  three  of  whom  survive:  John  B.,  of  Elizabeth 
township,  this  county;  Sarah  C,  wife  of  Daniel  W.  Weddell,  of  Boston,  Penn- 
sylvania ;  and  William  F.,  of  whom  later.  The  family  is  of  Dutch  descent,  the 
grandfather  of  William  F.,  Elisha  Peairs,  having  come  to  this  country  from 
Flolland.  His  son,  John  W.,  was  born  in  Elizabeth  township,  in  1808,  and 
was  reared  to  a  farm  life.  He  adopted  that  calling,  and  sometime  in  the  thirties 
removed  to  Mendon,  where  he  purchased  a  farm  and  resided  upon  it  until  about 
1874,  when  he  removed  to  Elizabeth  township.  He  bought  a  farm  there  but 
later  retired  from  active  management,  turning  the  work  over  to  his  sons.  He 
died  in  1884,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years.  While  never  an  office  seeker, 
he  was  a  staunch  Democrat  in  politics.  He  was  a  Christian  gentleman  and  a 
member  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church.  His  wife,  Dinah,  born  in  1827,  in 
Allegheny  county,  was  the  daughter  of  John  Boyd,  a  farmer  of  Elizabeth 
township.  She  died  April  13,  1905  ;  she  had  made  her  home  with  Dr.  Peairs 
during  the  latter  years  of  her  life. 

William  ¥.  Peairs  was  reared  in  his  native  place,  attended  the  common 
schools,  then  the  State  Normal  school,  at  California,  Pennsylvania,  after  which 
he  matriculated  at  Wooster  University,  at  Wooster,  Ohio.  After  finishing  his 
course  there  he  taught  in  the  public  schools,  and  meantime  began  to  read  medi- 
cine. In  1889  he  gave  up  teaching  and  continued  his  medical  studies  under  the 
preceptorship  of  Dr.  J.  W.  Malone,  of  Blythedale,  Pennsylvania,  now  of  Brook- 
lyn, New  York.  In  the  fall  of  the  year  1890  he  entered  the  College  of  Phvsi- 
sians  and  Surgeons  at  Baltimore,  Maryland,  whence  he  graduated  with  die 
degree  of  M.  D.  in  1892.  He  located  in  Suterville,  Pennsylvania,  in  the  same 
year,  practicing  for  one  year  in  partnership  with  Dr.  J.  N.  McCune.  He  then 
purchased  the  practice  and  the  residence  of  Dr.  McCune.  and  in  the  intervening 
years  has  built  up  a  constantly  increasing  practice.  He  is  president  of  the 
board  of  health,  vice-president  of  the "  First  National  Bank,  a  member 
of  Blythe  Lodge,  No.  503,  F.  and  A.  M. ;  Duquesne  Chapter,  No.  193.  R.  .-X. 
M. ;  Ascalon  Commandery,  No.  59,  of  Pittsburg,  and  of  Grace  Lodge,  No.  405, 


HISTORY    OF    U'ESTMORELAXD    COUXTY.  245 

K.  of  P.  His  political  sympathies  are  towards  the  Republican  party.  Dr. 
Peairs  married,  October,  1896.  Bertha  Franklin,  a  daughter  of  H.  E.  Franklin, 
of  Suterville,  by  whom  he  has  two  children,  Clyde  and  Edith  Peairs. 

CLIFFORD  FAMILY.  Four  families  named,  respectively,  Prichett, 
Meharg,  Parks  and  ClifTord,  came  to  Ligonier  valley  in  one  delegation,  before 
the  revolution.  They  all  came  from  the  one  section  in  Xew  Jersey,  and  the 
Cliffords  prior  to  that  came  from  England.  Cha_rles  Clifford  was  the  head  of  / 
the  faniilv  in  Westmoreland  county,  and  took  up  about  four  hundred  acres  of 
land  on  which  he  lived  as  a  farmer  during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  This  land 
was  on  Mill  Creek,  about  two  and  a  half  miles  northeast  of  the  present  borough 
of  Ligonier.  The  storv  of  his  capture  by  the  Indians  and  also  of  the  shooting 
of  an  Indian  by  his  son  James,  has  been  told  among  the  Indian  tales  in  the 
first  volume  of  this  series.  Charles  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  the  revolution, 
his  name  beinsr  found  on  a  miscellaneous  list  of  soldiers  of  that  war,  called  the 
■"Original  Depreciation  Pay  List,"  on  file  among  the  public  records  at  Harris- 
burg.  After  securing  his  release  from  the  Indians,  he  returned  to  his  family 
and  remained  there  until  his  death  in  1815.  His  remains  were  interred  in 
Fort  Palmer  cemetery.  In  Ligonier  vallev  Charles  Clifford  married  a  woman 
named  Gordon,  and  their  children  were:  Jane,  married  John  Menoher;  SaraJi. 
married  Robert  Reed :  Edward  ;  Charles,  married  Miss  Lytle,  from  whom  is 
descended  the  Lockport  Cliffords.  Mary,  married  Joseph  Whitesides ;  James, 
married  Mary  Rogers.  It  was  he  who  shot  the  Indian  near  Fort  Ligonier.  He 
and  his  wife. are  buried  in  Fort  Palmer  cemetery;  Joseph,  of  whom  later: 
Thomas,  married  Catherine  Lawson,  and  from  them  is  descended  Colonel  John 
Clifford,  who  built  Oak  Grove  Furnace,  and  was  elsewhere  engaged  in  the  ^^ 
iron  industry  in  Ligonier  valley. 

Joseph  Clifford,  son  of  Charles  Clifford,  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  May  jr 
15,  1764,  died  in  the  Ligonier  valley,  Pennsylvania,  June  9,  1841,  a.ged  seventy- 
seven  years  and  twenty-five  days.  He  was  but  a  lad  when  brought  by  his 
father  to  the  Ligonier  valley,  and  he  spent  his  life  on  the  farm  which  has  been 
in  the  possession  of  the  family  since  April  22,  1772.  The  house  which  he 
built,  with  some  improvements,  is  yet  standing,  and  is  now  the  residence  of  his 
grandson.  Abram  B.  Clifford.  About  1792  he  married  Isabella  Prichett,  born 
December  31,  1772,  died  June  23,  1855.  She  was  a  daughter  of  one  of  the  four 
families  referred  to  above.  They  had  become  tired  of  their  home  in  Ligonier 
valley,  presumably  because  of  the  Indian  incursions,  and  had  concluded  to  move 
back  to  Xew  Jersey  and  take  their  daughter  Isabella  with  them.  On  the  night 
before  they  were  to  start,  Joseph  Clifford  took  Isabella  across  the  hills  to 
Squire  James  Pollock's  place,  at  present  the  Stark  place,  where  they  were  mar;>- 
ried  and  Isabella  remained  a  citizen  of  the  valley  imtil  her  death.  Their  chil- 
dren were:  i.  Mary,  born  February  17,  1793:  married  (first)  Samuel  Riddle, 
and  after  his  death  (second)  John  Taylor.  She  died  December  11,  1875. 
2.  Charles,  born  April  5,  1795,  died  April  19,  1833,  unmarried.  3.  Sarah, 
horn  February    17,   1797,  married  Charles   Menoher,   died  December  4,    18.SO. 

4.  William,    born    September    19,    1799,    died    unmarried,    August    12.    1855. 

5.  Jane,  born  May  4.  1802,  died  unmarried,  October  4,  1835.  6.  Rachel,  born 
December  15,  1804,  married  Thomas  L.  I'eam,  and  is  the  mother  of  Dr.  L.  T. 
Beam,  who  perished  in  the  Johnstown  flood.  She  died  February  14,  1836. 
7.  Edward,  born  July  27.  1807,  died  June  2,  1886.  See  below.  8.  Rebecca, 
born  January   17,   i8ro.  married  William  ?^lcDowcll,  and  died   Mav    14.   18^7. 


246  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

9.     Anil,  born  April  7,  1813,  married  James  Menoher,  and  died  February  8, 
1899. 

Edward  Clifford,  son  of  Joseph  and  Isabella  (Prichett)  Clifford,  was  born 
on  the  Clifford  homestead  now  occupied  by  his  son,  Abram  B.  Clifford,  July 
27,  1807,  died  June  2,  1886,  and  was  buried  at  Fort  Palmer.     Throughout  his 
life  he  was  a  farmer  and  stock  dealer,  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  powers, 
/yand  became  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  of  the  valley  in  his  day.     In  politics  he 
■fTvvas  a  staunch  Democrat,  and  was  twice  chosen  to  fill  the  office  of  tax  collector. 
1  He  married,  March  24,  1831,  Catharine  Myers,  born  March  29,  1808,  died  June 
'8,  1871,  daug-hter  of  Christopher  and  Barabara  Myers,y'and  their  children  were: 
Joseph,   mentioned  hereafter.      Christopher   Myers,  born  June   24,    1834,   died 
April  8,  1900.    Charles  H.,  born  September  17,   1836,  residing  in  Ligonier,  a 
farmer.      Benjamin    Franklin,   born   June    24,    1839,   died    November   2,    1870. 
Abram  B.,  mentioned  hereafter.     George  E.,  born  December  5,  1843.  died  un- 
married. February  28,    1886. 

Joseph  Clifford,  eldest  son  of  Edward  and  Catharine  (Myers)  Clifford, 
was  born  in  Ligonier  township,  Pennsylvania,  January  29,  1832.  In  his  early 
days  he  was  a  teacher  in  Ligonier  township,  and  then  became  a  merchant  in 
Ligonier  in  partnership  with  N.  M.  Marker.  After  that  he  became  a  stock 
dealer,  and  after  the  custom  of  that  day  took  large  droves  of  cattle  by  way  of 
the  Pittsburg  and  Philadelphia  pike  to  the  eastern  market.  Still  later  he 
shipped  stock  from  western  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Chicago,  and  the 
west  to  Philadelphia  and  New  York.  He  was  afterwards  engaged  in  the  mer- 
cantile business  in  New  Florence,  and  in  the  hotel  business  in  Latrobe.  After 
retiring  from  business,  on  account  of  his  health,  he  resided  in  Greensburg.  He 
was  a  man  of  large  build  and  fine  personal  appearance.  He  was  a  Presbyterian 
in  religion,  and  was  a  member  of  Kedron  Chapter  and  K.  T.,  of  Greensburg. 
He  married,  June  29,  1858,  Ellen  Blythe  Bean,  and  their  children  were:  Cath- 
arine Ellen,  Mary  Blanch,  died  in  infancy ;  Lawrence  B.,  and  Josephine. 
Joseph  Clifford  died  at  his  home  in  (ireensburg,  Pennsylvania,  December  29, 
1892,  and  was  buried  in  the  Valley  cemetery  at  Ligonier.  His  family  now  re- 
side in  Latrobe.  Pennsylvania. 

Abram  B.  Clifford,  fifth  son  of  Edward  and  Catharine  (Myers)  Clifford, 
was  born  October  7,  1841,  on  the  same  farm  which  had  been  the  birthplace  of 
his  father.  He  received  his  educatiim  in  the  imblic  schools,  and  has  always 
remained  on  the  homestead,  cultivating  his  ancestral  acres  and  engaging  in 
stock  raising.  Like  his  father  he  has  always  been  a  Democrat  in  politics.  He 
married,  October  27,  1868,  Margaret  C.  Best,  of  Ligonier  valley,  daughter  of 
William  and  Catherine  (Campbell)  Best,  and  their  children  were:  i.  Efhvard 
B.,  married  Mary  Isabelle  BIyth,  of  Wellsville,  Ohio.  They  reside  at  Home- 
stead, Pennsylvania.  2.  Mary,  widow  of  F.  S.  Kleindienst.  3.  Nancv  Maud, 
wife  of  Denny  C.  Marker,  of  Ligonier.  4.  Hargnett  F.,  of  Ligonier.  married 
Nettie  Mclntyre,  of  Wichita,  Kansas.  5.  Willie  May,  resides  in  Wilkens- 
burg,  Pennsylvania.  6.  Simon  Y.,  a  resident  of  Wilkensburg.  7.  Margie 
June,  wife  of  Charles  Robb,  of  Ligonier  valley.  8.  Paul  E.,  resides  at  home. 
9.  Mertha,  died  August  18,  1888,  aged  four  years,  four  months  and  nine  davs. 
There  was  also  one  son  who  died  in  childhood.  The  mother  of  these  children, 
Margaret  Best  Clifford,  died  November  24,  1889,  and  was  buried  in  Valley 
cemetery  at  Ligonier,  Pennsylvania. 

EDWARD  M.  CLIFFORD,  M.  D.,  a  leading  medical  iiractitioner  of 
Greensburg,  was  born  on  the  old  Clifford  homestead  on  Hanna's  Run.  Peim- 


I^CMf^'^^Oc  (/y 


oy. 


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HISTORY    OF    JVESTMORELAXD    COUXTY.  247 

'jvlvania.  October  19.  1856.  eldest  son  of  Christopher  .Myers  and  Susan  (Alc- 
Elroy)  CHfford.  The  early  genealogy  of  the  Clifford  family  is  given  m  detail 
in  the  preceding  sketches.  .  .  ■■"'''■"1".„ 

Christopher  Mvers  Clifford  ^(father)  was  born  on  the  old  Clifford  honic- 
-^stead,  June  24,  1834.  He  was  a  farmer  and  stock  raiser  until  about  fifteen 
vears' before  his  death,  when  he  moved  to  Ligonier  village  and  there  engaged 
in  mercantile  business  during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  married.  January 
3.  1856.  .Susan  .McElroy,  daughter  of  John  D.  and  Sarah  (Alenoher)  McElroy, 
old  residents  of  \\'estmoreland  county^  Both  were  earnest  members  of  the 
L'nited  Presbvterian  church.  Their  clnldren  were:  Edward  JMarcellus,  men- 
tioned hereafter;  Sarah  Clara,  wife  of  J.  R.  Smith,  an  attorney  of  Scottdaie , 
John  McElrov,  a  real  estate  broker  and  banker,  a  resident  of  Braddock,  Penn- 
sylvania;  Charles  Henry,  a  physician  of  Braddock,  Pennsylvania;  Joseph- 
Brackley,  a  phvsician  of'  McKees'port,  Pennsylvania ;  Samuel  James,  a  dentist 
in  Kansas  Citv'.  :Missouri;  Nelson  Myers,  a  bookkeeper  for  the  Westinghouse 
Companv,  in  Trafford  citv  ;  Georgeanna.  died  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years. 
Christopher  M.  Clifford  died  Aprir8,  1900.  His  wife,  Susan  (McElroy)  Clif- 
ford, died  August  25,  1898. 

Edward  M.  Clifford  received  his  primary  education  in  the  common  schools 
adjacent  to  his  home,  and  from  there  passed  to  the  Ligonier  Academy  and 
Independence  Academy,  where  he  pursued  higher  branches.  He  then  taught 
for  two  winters  in  \\'estmoreland  and  Indiana  counties.  He  read  medicine  with 
Dr.  H.  L.  Donlev,  of  Latrobe,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1879  entered  the  Jefferson 
Medical  College',  Philadelphia,  from  which  institution  he  was  graduated  in 
1882  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  During  his  last  year  he  served 
in  the  Philadelphia  hospitals,  thereby  greatly  adding  to  the  knowledge  already 
acquired  and  greatly  benefitting  him  in  many  ways  during  his  subsequent 
career.  In  thespring  of  1882  he  settled  at  \'alley  Forge,  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  practiced  one  year,  moving  thence  to  Scottdaie.  and  remaining  at  that  place 
until  1890.  He  then  took  up  his  abode  in  Greensburg,  where  he  practiced  until 
1903,  when  he  removed  to  Ligonier,  having  purchased  what  was  known  as  the 
Frank  hotel  and  cottages  on  the  site  of  which  he  built  a  sanitarium  and  Ijaths, 
establishing  the  Ligonier  Springs  Hotel  Sanitarium.  This  he  conducted  for 
two  vears,  acting  as  president  of  the  company,  also  as  medical  director.  During 
this  time  he  still  continued  his  practice  in  Greensburg.  devoting  two  days  in 
each  week  to  his  patients  there.  In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1905  he  disposed 
of  the  sanitarium  in  Ligonier,  and  then  resumed  his  residence  and  practic  in 
Oeensburg.  He  married.  .April  11,  1882.  Kate  B.,  daughter  of  Hiram  and 
Abigail  Boucher,  of  Ligonier.  Their  children  were :  Edna,  died  at  the  age  of 
three  years,  and  Grace,  who  is  at  home  with  her  parents. 

JOHN  NELSON  WEDDLE.  M.  D.  One  of  the  oldest  families  of 
Westmoreland  county  is  that  represented  by  Dr.  John  Nelson  Weddle,  of  Mon- 
essen.  One  of  his  ancestors,  in  1755.  came  from  Hagerstown  or  its  vicinity  in 
Pleasant  \'allcy.  Alaryland.  and  settled  in  what  is  now  Rostraver  township, 
Pennsylvania.  He  was  accompanied  by  his  son,  and  together  the  two  erected 
a  log  cabin,  took  up  land  and  began  the  work  of  clearing.  The  son  remained 
to  keep  possession  with  dog  and  gun  while  the  father  returned  to  Maryland,  and 
in  the  spring  of  1756  returned  with  the  other  members  of  the  family.  The 
descendants  of  this  pioneer  ancestor  have  ever  since  resided  in  Westmoreland 
county. 

James  Weddle  was  born  February  4,  1822,  on  the  honiestcad,  which  was 


248  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

situated  on  the  banks  of  the  Youghiogheny  river,  and  was  a  blacksmith,  fol- 
lowing his  trade  at  JNlcKeesport,  Reagantown  and  West  Newton.  At  forty 
years  of  age  he  gave  up  the  business  and  bought  a  farm  in  Sewickley  township, 
which  was  his  home  until  two  years  prior  to  his  death  when  he  moved  to  West 
Newton  and  there  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  was  interested  in 
local  affairs  and  held  various  minor  offices,  among  them  that  of  school  director. 
Mr.  Weddle  married  Sarah  Ann  Parker,  and  five  children  were  born  to  them: 
Nancy,  married  James  Andrews,  of  Westmoreland  county ;  Edward  P.,  a  phy- 
sician in  Scottdale ;  Elizabeth,  married  Frank  Cochran,  of  Scottdale ;  John  Nel- 
son, mentioned  hereafter;  and  Jessie  M.,  married  Ezra  M.  Kirk,  of  Greensburg. 
The  death. of  Mr.  Weddle  occurred  March  28,  1901.  at  his  home  in  West 
Newton. 

John  Nelson  Weddle.  son  of  James  and  Sarah  Ann  (Parker)  Weddle,  was 
born' September  3,  1858,  at  McKeesport,  where  he  received  his  ])rimary  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools,  afterward  attending  the  Indiana  State  Normal  school. 
He  spent  three  years  as  civil  engineer  for  the  Negleys,  of  Pittsburg.  He  stud- 
ied medicine  with  his  brother.  Dr.  Edward  P.  Weddle,  and  in  1887  received 
from  the  Western  Pennsylvania  Medical  College  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Med- 
icine. He  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Braddock,  whence  in 
1893  he  moved  to  Madison,  leaving  that  place  the  following  year  for  West 
Nfwton,  where  he  remained  until  TQOi,  when  he  settled  in  Monessen,  having 
throughout  these  changes  always  continued  to  be  a  resident  of  his  native  state. 
He  is  surgeon  for  the  Pittsburg  Steel  Company,  at  Monessen.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the"  County,  State  and  American  Medical  Societies,  and  belongs  to  the 
Knights  of  Malta^  Monessen  Commandery,  No.  332.  In  addition  to. these  he  is 
one  of  the  charter  members  of  Valetta  Commandery,  Knights  of  Malta,  of 
Braddock.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Dr.  Weddle  married, 
December  26,  1889.  Margaret  Emma,  daughter  of  Robert  and  Harriet 
(Weimer)  Douglas,  of  Newton,  and  three  children  have  been  born  to  them — 
two  daughters  and  a  son :  Lulu,  Harriet,  and  Robert  Edward. 

JOHN  T.  SAYERS.  For  many  years  John  T.  Sayers  has  been  num- 
bered among  the  worthy  citizens  of  Scottdale.  He  is  a  son  of  Charles  and 
Rebecca  (Wells)  Sayers,  who  were  born  and  reared  in  Baltimore  county, 
Maryland.  The  former  was  employed  as  a  skilled  operator  in  rolling  mills. 
Both  are  now  deceased. 

John  T.  Sayers  came  to  Scottdale  in  1880,  and  for  a  number  of  years  was 
employed  as  weighmaster  by  the  Everson  &  Macrum  iron  works.  He  then  en- 
tered the  service  of  the  United  States  Steel  Company,  with  whom  he  remained 
tliree  years.  He  established  himself  in  a  mercantile  business,  in  August,  1900, 
which  he  has  since  successfully  conducted.  He  is  active  in  the  Baptist  church, 
of  which  he  has  been  for  thirty-four  years  a  member.  About  eighteen  years 
ago  he  w-as  ordainod  a  deacon  and  also  holds  the  office  of  president  of  the  board 
of  trustees.  l^Tr.  Siyers  married,  June,  1890,  Elizabeth  Strong.  i\Ir.  and  Mrs. 
Sayers  are  without  children. 

ANDREW  HAWTHORNE.  Among  the  worthiest  of  Scottdale's 
foreign-born  citizens  is  Andrew  Hawthorne.  In  1869  he  emigrated  from 
county  Down,  Ireland,  and  settled  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  where  for 
about  two  years,  he  was  variously  employed.  He  then  went  to  Pittsburg  and 
for  two  years  worked  at  the  Eliza  furnace.  He  moved  to  Scottdale  in  1873, 
where  he  was  employed  as  a  blacksmith  by  the  Charlotte  Furnace  Company. 


HISTORY    OF    irESTMOREL.-lXD    COUXTV.  249 

Since  1895  he  has  been  successfully  engaged  in  mercantile  business.  He  is  a 
good  citizen,  and  has  served  two  terms  as  a  member  of  the  council.  His  politi- 
cal princi])les  are  those  advocated  and  upheKl  by  the  Republican  party.  He  is 
an  active  member  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church  of  Scottdalc.  in  which  he 
was  ordained  an  elder  twenty-eight  years  ago,  and  in  which  for  a  long  ])eriod 
he  has  served  as  a  teacher  in  the  Sundav  school.  Mr.  Hawthorne  married 
Mrs.  Susanna  iMcCullough.  and  their  children  were:  John  ]..  William,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  nine  years  ;  and  Anna  Eliza,  who  was  four  years  old  at  the 
time  of  her  death. 

John  J.  Hawthorne,  the  eldest  of  the  three  children,  was  born  August 
22.  1S74.  and  is  a  clerk  in  the  service  of  the  United  States  Steel  Company.  He 
married  Mav  Marshall,  and  they  have  three  children:  Anna  Frances,  born  May 
14,  1898;  William  Andrew,  born  August,  1899:  and  Elsie  Alerrion,  born  1902. 

JACOB  L.  XAYHOUSE.  The  ancestors  of  Jacob  L.  Xayhouse,  of 
Monessen,  belonged  to  that  ancient  people  which,  more  deeply  than  any  other 
has  stamped  its  influence  upon  the  governments  and  institutions  of  mankind, 
and  which  in  recent  years  has  given  to  the  world  the  names  of  Montefiore, 
Disraeli  and  ZangAvill.  Mr.  Xayhouse  is  the  son  of  Samuel  and  .^arah  (Sumer) 
Xavhouse,  and  was  born  in  Poland,  September,  1877.  His  jjarents  arc  still 
living  in  their  native  land  where  his  father  is  a  hardware  merchant. 

After  receiving  a  thorough  education  in  several  languages.  Jacob  L. 
Nayhouse  came  at  the  early  age  of  fourteen  to  the  United  States.  After 
spending  eighteen  months  in  Elmira,  Xew  York,  he  went  to  Pittsburg,  and 
ever  since  ha?  remained  in  this  part  of  Pennsylvania.  On  coming  to  this 
county  he  found  employment  at  once  as  a  salesman,  and  in  September.  1898, 
went  to  Monessen.  in  company  with  his  brother  Abraham,  with  whom  he 
formed  a  partnership  for  the  purpose  of  engaging  in  the  clothing  and  shoe  bus- 
iness. The  firm  was  known  as  Xayhouse  Brothers,  and  was  the  first  to  enter 
upon  that  line  of  endeavor  in  this  borough.  Under  their  efficient  management 
the  enterprise  prospered,  and  the  connection  was  maintained  until  January  24, 
1905.  when  Mr.  Xavhouse  withdrew  from  the  firm  in  order  to  establish  him- 
self as  a  shoe  dealer  exclusively.  His  place  of  business  is  in  all  respects  one  of 
the  most  thoroughly  eqjuipped  to  be  found  in  western  Pennsylvania,  and  among 
his  specialties  is  the  J.  L.  X.  shoe,  a  style  made  exclusively  to  his  order.  He  is 
the  owner  of  good  real  estate  in  Monessen,  having  built  several  properties,  all 
of  which  he  endeavors  to  make  first-class.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  the  B.  P.  O.  E.,  the. I.  O.  O.  H.,  and  the  D.  U.  B.  In  religion  he  ad- 
heres to  the  faith  of  his  forefathers,  and  is  secretary  of  the  congregation  to 
which  he  belongs.  Mr.  Xavhouse  married,  January  19,  1904,  Xellie  C,  daugh- 
ter of  Louis  Roden,  a  merchant  of  McKeesport. 

WILLIAM  D.  HUXTER,  M.  D.,  a  practicing  physician  of  Mones- 
sen, Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  is  a  native  of  Derry  town.ship,  this 
county,  born  October  21.  1870,  son  of  James  and  Martha  .\.  (Bailey)  Hunter. 
His  father  is  a  native  of  Ligonicr  valley,  and  a  resident  of  Derry  townshi|i. 

William  D.  Hunter  was  reared  in  Westmoreland  and  .Allegheny  counties, 
the  first  six  years  of  his  life  having  been  sijent  in  Pittsbur<r.  .After  receiving 
a  public  school  education  he  entered  the  militarv  academy  at  Portsmouth,  Ohio, 
where  he  took  a  scientific  course  with  a  view  to  entering  West  Point,  to  which 
institution  he  received  an  appointment,  but  was  barred  on  account  of  the  age 
limit.     He  also  had  opjiortunity  to  enter  .Annapolis  .Academy,  btit  was  unable 


250  HISTORY    OF    IVESl  MORELAND    COUNT'Y. 

to  obtain  the  consent  of  his  parents.  After  leaving  the  niiHtary  school  at 
Portsmouth  he  engaged  in  the  contracting  and  building  business  with  his  father, 
and  later  spent  three  years  in  the  machinist's  trade.  He  decided  upon  a  medi- 
cal career,  and  in  1893  commenced  the  study  of  the  profession  under  the  pre- 
ceptorship  of  Dr.  L.  C.  Thomas,  of  Latrobe,  and  J.  C.  Hunter,  his  brother,  of 
Apollo,  Armstrong  county,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Hunter  entered  the  College 
of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  at  Baltimore,  Alary  land,  in  October,  1897,  from 
which'he  was  graduated  April  29,  1901.  While  preparing  himself  for  a  gen- 
eral practice  Dr.  Hunter  made  a  specialty  of  the  study  of  diseases  of  the  eye 
and  ear  and  also  surgery.  After  his  graduation  Dr.  Hunter  practiced  for  one 
year  under  the  preceptorship  of  his  former  instructors,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1902  located  at  Monessen,  where  he  has  since  remained.  He  has  established 
himself  in  an  extensive  and  lucrative  practice,  and  formerly  held  the  position 
of  surgeon  to  some  of  the  mills  of  this  section.  He  is  medical  examiner  for  the 
Pittsburg  Life  &  Trust  Company,  Provident  Savings  Life  Assurance  Society, 
Prudential  Life  Company,  American  Tempernce  Life,  also  some  fraternal  in- 
surance companies.  He'  is  a  member  of  the  American  Medical  Association. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  F.  and  A.  M.,  becoming  a  Mason  at  Charleroi,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  is  now  a  charter  member  of  Monessen  Lodge  No.  638.  A  mem- 
ber of  the  A.  L  O.  K.  M.,  No.  332,  Monessen,  K.  of  P.,  Latrobe  Lodge,  No. 
177,  and  U.  R.  K.  of  P.,  No.  59.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  L'nited  Presbyterian  church.  Dr.  Hunter  married,  October  31. 
1900,  Jennie  C.  Hill,  daughter  of  G.  W.  Hill,  of  Derry  township,  this  county. 
They  have  one  child,  William  D. 

MATTHEW  OSBORN,  proprietor  of  the  Osborn  House,  was  born 
August  25,  1836,  in  North  Huntingdon  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, a  son  of  George  and  Jane  (Cowan)  Osborn,  one  of  four  children, 
three  of  whom  survive;  Judith,  wife  of  Jonathan  W.  Douthitt,  of  Eldorado, 
Kansas;  Eliza,  wife  of  Eli  C.  Cavitt.  Lake  City,  Iowa;  and  Matthew,  of  whom 
later. 

The  paternal  grandparents  were  Archibald  and  Judith  (McWilliams) 
Osborn,  he  being  a  native  of  England  and  she  of  Protestant  Irish  stock,  born 
in  the  north  of  Ireland.  They  were  married  in  this  country  and  later  settled 
in  North  Huntingdon  township,  where  they  lived  and  died.  Their  homestead 
has  passed  out  of  the  possession  of  the  family.  On  the  maternal  side  the 
grandparents  were  Joseph  and  Fannie  (Patton)  Cowan,  both  natives  of  New 
Jersey,  born  just  across  the  line  from  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  their  parents 
"having  immigrated  from  Scotland.  These  grandparents  came  into  Pennsyl- 
vania during  the  days  of  Indian  possession,  and  settled  in  the  vicinity  of  what 
is  now  known  as  Osceola  Hill,  Allegheny  county,  others  coming  with  them, 
namely :  George  Cowan,  a  brother  of  Joseph  Cowan,  and  veteran  of  the  war 
of  1812;  Rachael  and  Sarah,  sisters  in  a  family  of  the  name  of  Hope;  one 
William  Ekin,  whose  farm  is  still  in  the  possession  of  the  Ekin  family,  now  in 
the  fourth  generation.  There  was  one  other  member  of  the  party,  John  Cowan, 
who  was  captured  by  the  Indians  shortly  after  his  arrival  and  taken  bythem 
into  the  Lake  Erie  region,  but  two  years  later,  on  a  trading  expedition,  he 
escaped  and  returned  to  his  people. 

George  Osborn.  son  of  Archibald  Osborn,  was  born  on  the  same  farm  in 
North  Huntingdon  township  where  Matthew  Osborn  was  born,  in  1802.  In 
his  young  manhood  he  learned  the  hatters'  trade,  which  pursuit  he  followed 
during  his  short  life.  He  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-three  on  the  old  home  farm 
where  he  was  born. 


HISTORY    OF    U'ESTMOREL.-IXD    COUXTV.  251 

?klatthe\v  Osborn  grew  up  in  the  place  of  his  birth,  attending  the  public 
schools  until  he  had  reached  the  age  of  sixteen,  when  he  found  employment 
as  a  messenger  from  the  terminus  of  the  Pennsylvania  railroad  station  at 
-  Beath'  Station  to  the  old  Tavern  stand  of  Samuel  LUythe,  a  distance  of  two 
miles,  receiving  ten  dollars  per  month,  and  board.  He  continueil  at  this  for  a 
few  months,  then  accepted  a  position  in  a  store  in  his  home  town,  Jacksonville, 
where  he  worked  for  one  year.  For  the  next  six  or  seven  years  he  was  in  the 
coal  mines  at  Coultersville,  driving  a  mule.  He  went  into  the  mines  of  the 
Yough  Coal  Company  as  a  driver  in  1853.  Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil 
war  he  and  his  brother-in-law  contracted  with  R.  R.  McOuiston  and  Com- 
pany to  haul  coal  to  the  river  and  load  the  boats,  which  proved  a  money-mak- 
ing undertaking.  In  September,  1862,  he  took  charge  of  a  small  coal  property 
for  Scott  Andrews  and  Company,  which  was  incorporated  with  the  Y.  C.  H.  C. 
Company,  and  ^Ir.  Osborn  remained  in  the  position  of  manager  of  the  prop- 
erty until  1880.  In  1883  he  built  a  hotel,  in  company  with  Mr.  Joseph  Hough, 
at  Smithton,  but  some  months  later  he  sold  his  interest  to  his  partner,  and  in 
1884  built  the  modern  hotel  building  in  Suterville  of  which  he  is  pro])rietor. 
His  hotel  has  the  reputation  of  furnishing  the  best  accommodations  between 
McKeesport  and  Connellsville,  and  he  is  one  of  the  best  known  men  of  West- 
moreland county. 

Mr.  Osborn  married,  in  1857.  Elizabeth  Gregg,  of  Westmoreland  county. 
She  died  in  November,  1904,  survived  by  nine  children,  James  H.,  office  clerk 
in  the  machine  shops  of  the  Pittsburg  Coal  Company;  George  E.,  director  of 
the  Suterville  First  National  Bank  :  Oliver  O.,  a  Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad 
conductor :  Jane  C.  and  Anna  G.,  twins ;  Lawrence  E.,  superintendent  of  the 
Douglass  plant  of  the  H.  C.  Frick  Coke  Company;  Maud  H.,  wife  of  C.  M. 
Suter,  of  Suterville ;  Edith  L.  and  Eva  A.  With  the  exception  of  Maud  H., 
the  daughters  all  remain  at  home.  Mr.  Osborn  is  Democratic  in  politics,  and  is 
a  member  of  the  town  council  of  Suterville.  He  is  also  a  member  of  Franklin 
Lodge,  No.  221,  F.  and  A.  M.,  of  Pittsburg,  Duquesne  Chapter,  No.  193,  R. 
A.  M.,  of  Pittsburg,  and  Kedron  Commandery,  No.  18,  K.  T..  of  Greensburg. 

EDWIN  JONES,  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Lane)  Jones,  was  born 
March  8,  1849,  in  Wales,  one  of  six  children,  four  of  whom  survive;  John, 
McKeesport ;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  William  Lape,  Courtney,  Allegheny  county ; 
Henry  J.,  Westmoreland  county ;  Edwin,  of  whom  later.  The  father  and  mother 
were  both  born  in  \\'ales  and  emigrated  to  America  in  1852.  locating  at  Mc- 
Keesport, Pennsylvania.  John  Jones  was  a  butcher  by  trade,  but  worked  in  the 
coal  mines  for  some  time  after  coming  to  this  country.  Later  he  engaged  in 
the  butcher  business,  and  for  many  years  was  identified  with  that  line  of  work 
in  McKeesport.  He  also  opened  and  conducted  a  hotel  there  for  many  years. 
After  his  retirement  he  removed  to  Scott  Haven,  where  his  death  occurred  in 
1902.  His  wife  died  in  1899.  In  politics  he  was  identified  with  the  Republican 
;">arty.  but  was  never  an  office  seeker. 

Edwin  Jones  attended  the  common  schools,  but  at  the  earlv  age  of  sixteen 
years  left  home  and  began  to  shift  for  himself,  going  to  Irwin  Station  and 
finding  employment  in  the  coal  mines  as  a  mule  driver.  Later  he  went  to 
Painter  Town,  where  he  worked  as  a  coal  digger,  then  went  from  there  to 
Noblestown,  Allegheny  county,  where  he  contracted  to  haul  coal  hv  tlie  hun- 
dred weight.  While  there  he  married  Ellen  Doming,  of  Pittsburtr.  About 
1869  he  returned  to  McKeesport  and  worked  in  the  mines  for  a  short  time, 
then  located  at  Moore's  Station,  now  known  as  Scott  Haven,  where  he  was 


252  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

employed  in  the  mines  for  a  number  of  years.  About  1888  he  engaged  in  the 
butcher  business,  which  he  conducted  for  three  years,  then  sold  out  and  settled 
in  Suterville.  He  opened  a  butcher  shop  and  has  conducted  it  since  in  a  very 
successful  manner.  Mr.  Jones  is  a  director  and  stockholder  in  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Suterville,  and  is  one  of  the  leading  business  men  and  best- 
known  figures  of  the  borough.  He  is  a  member  of  Grace  Lodge,  No.  405,  K. 
of  P.,  of  Markleton,  Westmoreland  county. 

ELI  C.  SUTER.  The  ancestors  of  the  late  Eli  C.  Suter,  of  Suter- 
ville, had  their  original  home  in  Germany,  whence  they  emigrated  to  this 
country.  He  was  a  son  of  Henry  and  Susan  (Waltz)  Sutcr,  and  was  born 
July  14,  1819.  at  Ruffsdale. 

At  a  very  early. age  he  left  home  and  began  to  work  his  own  way.  The 
only  education  he  had  was  acquired  by  attending  school  for  a  short  time  while 
he  worked  for  a  farmer  for  the  princely  salary  of  three  dollars  a  month.  Col- 
onel Israel  Painter,  of  Westmoreland  county,  was  attracted  by  the  sturdy  boy 
and  gave  him  a  chance  to  work  on  the  old  turnpike  leading  from  Mount  Pleas- 
ant to  Mononaghela  City.  He  took  this  work  by  contract,  working  at  first 
with  ]5ick  and  shovel.  So  straightened  were  his  circumstances  and  so  care- 
fully did  he  look  after  his  financial  affairs  that  he  has  often  related  how  he 
wore  his  only  pair  of  shoes  to  the  scene  of  his  daily  labors,  and  when  he  ar- 
rived there  took  them  ofif  and  worked  barefooted  in  order  to  save  the  shoe 
leather.  By  his  digging  he  earned  enough  to  buy  a  blind  horse,  and  thus 
added  to  the  remuneration  he  gained  by  his  work  on  the  turnpike  ditches.  In 
this  position  he  gradually  accumulated  enough  to  procure  help,  and  his  work 
was  enlarged  by  taking  contracts  to  repair  the  road.  In  this  way  he  became 
possessed  of  sixteen  hundred  dollars  which  his  friend.  Colonel  Painter,  kept 
for  him,  and  then  turned  his  attention  to  milling,  in  the  different  departments 
of  which  he  engaged  during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  first  bought  a  flour 
mill  known  locally  as  "Waltz's  grist-mill,"  and  after  operating  it  for  several 
years  sold  it  and  moved  to  Millvale,  where  he  purchased  another  flour  mill. 
The  product  of  this  he  hauled  to  the  Youghiogheny  river  and  floated  down  to 
Cincinnati,  bringing  back  with  him  a  cargo  of  merchandise.  The  business 
proved  lucrative,  and  he  was  enabled  to  acquire  one  hundred  and  sixtv  acres 
of  timber  land.  He  also  entered  into  the  lumber  business,  erecting  a  saw  mill 
which  he  operated  by  water  power.  The  situation  not  being  equal  to  the  re- 
quirements of  his  trade  he  sold  it.  and  in  1849  nioved  to  the  neighborhood  of 
what  is  now  Suterville,  on  the  Youghiogheny  river,  where  he  spent  the  greater 
part  of  his  life.  He  there  operated  a  saw  and  a  planing  mill,  managed  a  ferrv 
and  cultivated  a  farm.  At  one  time  he  built  coal  boat  bottoms  and  a  steamboat. 
By  all  these  means,  aided  by  his  industry  and  good  management,  he  graduallv 
built  up  a  business  which  has  become  noted  throughout  western  Pennsylvania. 
In  the  same  manner,  buying  piece  by  piece,  he  became  the  owner  of  extensive 
lands.  He  surrounded  himself  with  a  body  of  competent  men  whom  he  at- 
tached to  him  by  ties  of  personal  friendship.  R.  D.  Brown,  now  seventy-two 
}ears  old,  worked  and  lived  with  "the  Colonel,"  as  he  was  familiarly  known 
among  his  friends,  no  fewer  than  fifty-five  years,  and  was  w^ith  him  in  his  last 
hours. 

Mr.  Suter  was  one  of  the  foremost  men  in  the  slack  water  river  naviga- 
tion movement,  and  a  strenuous  advocate  of  navigation  on  the  Youghioghenv 
river.  He  was  largely  interested  in  getting  an  appropriation  of  five  thousand 
dollars  from  the  legislature  for  this  purpose.     He  laid  out  the  town  of  Suter- 


HISTORY    OF    ll'ESTMORELAND    COUNTV 


253 


ville,  sold  the  entire  plan  of  lots,  cut  the  tiniher  and  built  houses,  yet  never  op- 
pressed any  of  his  purchasers  when  in  financial  straits,  and  was  never  known 
to  press  a  man  beyond  his  ability  to  pay,  or  to  use  to  the  injury  of  another  the 
power  conferred  on  him  by  his  position.  In  religion  he  was  a  Lutheran,  gave 
free  sites  to  all  the  churches  of  that  denomination  in  his  neighborhood,  and 
was  a  liberal  contributor  to  all  church  and  charitable  work.  Mr.  Suter  was 
thrice  married,  one  of  his  wives  being"  Mary  A.  Cowan,  by  whom  he  was  the 
father  of  four  children,  two  of  whom  survive:  Charles,  who, lives  at  home; 
and  C.  M..  who  is  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  in  Suterville.  Mr.  Sutcr's 
rugged  constitution  and  well-knit  frame  enabled  him  to  endure  all  kinds  of 
hardship,  and  he  retained  his  strength  until  near  the  time  of  his  death.  He 
was  a  ttriking  example  of  what  may  be  accomplished  bv  pluck  and  ambition 
and  by  a  determination  to  conquer  adversity.  His  genial  disposition  won 
friends  for  him  in  every  calling  in  life,  and  he  maintained  always  his  habit  of 
self-reliance  and  liis  independent  spirit. 

JAMES  L.  FREEBLE,  one  of  the  best  known  anil  most  extensive 
real  estate  dealers  in  Westmoreland  county,  was  born  Februarv  24,  1877,  in 
Mount  Pleasant,  the  son  of  Thomas  D.  and  Mary  B.  (McKean)  Freeble.  His 
father,  Thomas  D.  Freeble,  was  born  June  25,  1843,  in  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  married  Mary  B.  McKean,  born  July  6,  1844,  daughter  of 
Thomas  H.  McKean.  Thomas  H.  ^IcKean's  grandfather,  the  great-great- 
grandfather of  James  L.  Freeble,  emigrated  to  this  country  from  Ireland  in 
a  very  early  day,  and  was  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Indcjicn- 
dence.  The  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  D.  Freeble  were:  Thomas 
M..  married  lona  Johnson;  A.  G.,  married  Carrie  Mvers,  daughter  of  John 
Myers;  James  L. :  Emma  I\I.  married  John  W.  Dodds,  son  of  J.  W.  Dodds,  of 
Youngstown,  Pennsylvania;  Iva  M.,  and  Benjamin  F.,  who  married  Elizabeth 
Moffat,  of  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania. 

James  L.  Freeble,  third  son  of  Thomas  D.  and  Mary  B.  (McKean) 
Freeble,  received  his  early  intellectual  training  in  the  common  schools  of  his 
native  place,  and  later  attended  Normal  school  for  three  years.  Leaving  school 
at  the  age  of  twenty  he  decided  to  enter  into  a  business  career,  and  in  1898  en- 
gaged in  the  real  estate  business  in  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  has  done 
and  still  continues  to  do  a  very  extensive  business.  He  entered  into  his  business 
life  with  no  capital  but  poverty  and  energy,  and  the  latter  with  his  perseverance 
and  good  business  methods  have  raised  him  to  a  high  degree  of  success  in  his 
chosen  line  of  work.  He  now  ranks  among  the  highest  tax  jiayers  and  ]irop- 
erty  owners  in  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania,  and  it  is  a  known  fact  that  he  does  the 
most  extensive  real  estate  business  in  \\'estmorcland  coimtv.  In  1903  he 
erected  a  three-story  flat  house  known  as  the  Freeble  building,  which  is  situ- 
ated on  Ligonier  street,  between  Spring  and  Weldon  streets,  and  Mr.  Freeble 
conducts  his  business  in  a  suite  of  offices  in  this  building  on  the  first  floor, 
front.    Mr.  Freeble  is  not  married. 

FRAXK  BUMER.  Through  both  his  parents  Frank  Bumer,  of 
Monessen,  is  the  descendant  of  derman  ancestors.  George  I'.umer  emigrated 
in  October,  1879,  from  Rhine-Bavaria  to  the  United  States  and  .settled  at  Mill- 
vale.  .Allegheny  county.  Pennsylvania,  where  he  engaged  in  farming.  His  wife 
was  Mary  Ann  Sherrer,  and  among  their  children  was  a  son  Frank,  men- 
tioned hereafter.     Mr.  Bumer  died  in   1882,  at  Millvale. 

Frank    Bumer,   son   of   George   and    Mary   Ann    (Sherrer)    I'.umer,    was 


254  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

born  March  23,  1861,  in  Rhine-Bavaria,  aud  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his 
native  land,  completing  his  course  of  study  at  the  seminary  in  Alsace-Lor- 
raine. He  was  nineteen  years  old  when  the  family  came  to  this  country,  and 
for  a  time  remained  on  the  farm,  assisting  in  his  father's  labors.  He  also  acted 
as  clerk  in  stores,  was  connected  with  the  management  of  hotels,  and  engaged  in 
various  other  occupations,  all  in  Allegheny  county.  He  there  learned  the  jew- 
elry or  watchmaking  trade,  having  had  an  ambition  from  early  childhood  to 
acquire  this  branch  of  industry,  and  being  endowed  by  nature  with  mechani- 
cal ability.  For  two  years  he  conducted  a  jewelry  establishment  on  Beaver 
avenue,  Allegheny,  doing  his  own  repair  work.  In  1898  he  moved  to  M  ones- 
sen  and  there  erected  the  Hotel  Monessen,  the  second  hotel  built  in  the  borough. 
This  he  opened  to  the  public  in  April,  1899,  and  conductd  it  until  September 
of  the  same  year,  when  he  relinquished  the  proprietorship  in  order  to  engage  in 
the  real  estate  and  insurance  business,  handling  all  kinds  of  insurance  and  in 
his  real  estate  operations  confining  himself  to  Monessen.  In  1903,  in  connec- 
tion with  William  Bertelmann,  he  laid  out  a  plan  of  lots  at  the  head  of  First 
street,  the  plan  being  called  the  "B.  &  B.  plan,"  and  consisting  of  twenty-eight 
lots.  He  has  been  continuously  in  the  real  estate  business  longer  than  any  other 
man  in  Monessen,  and  has  probably  handled  more  property  in  this  borough 
than  has  any  one  else.  In  one  day  his  sales  reached  as  high  as  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars.  In  addition  to  the  hotel  above  mentioned  he  has  built  his 
own  house  and  also  three  other  properties.  He  is  one  of  the  stockholders  in  the 
trust  company  and  also  in  the  opera  house,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  pioneer 
movers,  and  with  which  he  is  further  connected  by  holding  the  office  of  secre- 
tary to  the  board.  In  1899  he  organized  the  German  Beneficent  Union,  of 
which  he  is  secretary,  being  also  a  stockholder  in  their  hall.  He  is  secretary  of 
the  Daily  Independent,  of  Monessen,  and  is  now  serving  his  second  year  as  a 
member  of  the  board  of  education.  He  belongs  to  the  Royal  Arcanum  and  is 
trustee  of  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  No.  773.  In  politics  he 
affiliates  with  the  Republicans.  He  was  the  organizer  of  the  German  Lutheran 
church,  of  Monessen,  and  it  is  through  his  efforts  that  the  congregation  now 
worship  in  a  substantial  and  commodious  edifice.  He  holds  the  office  of  sec- 
retary of  the  church. 

Mr.  Burner  married.  February  12,  1888,  Mary  Auer,  and  they  have  five 
children :  Minnie,  Clara,  Elsie,  Frank  L.,  and  Marie.  Mr.  Bumer's  house  com- 
bines a  residence  and  place  of  business,  and  here  in  1904  he  opened  a  grocery 
store  which  is  conducted  by  Mrs.  Bumer.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  twelfth 
day  of  February  appears  to  be  a  date  of  some  significance  to  Mr.  Bumer.  On 
that  day,  in  1888,  his  marriage  took  place,  as  mentioned  above.  On  the  same 
day  in  1901  he  was  appointed  notary  public,  and  on  February  12,  1905,  his 
appointment  was  renewed. 

PETER  AM.A.NN.  An  American  by  virtue  of  citizenship,  Peter 
Amann,  of  ]\Ionessen,  is  bv  birth  and  parentage  a  German.  Jacolj  .\mann.  a 
native  of  Germany,  was  a  stonecutter  and  contractor,  and  about  1888  emigrated 
to  the  LTnited  States.  He  settled  at  Irwin,  in  this  county,  and  there  engaged  in 
business,  and  built  himself  a  house  in  Penn  township.  He  attended  the  Roman 
Catholic  church.  His  wife,  Charlotte  (Von  Blane)  Amann,  bore  him  the  fol- 
lowing children:  Katie,  deceased  ;  Jacob  W.,  lives  in  Penn  township,  on  the  old 
homestead:  Peter,  mentioned  hereafter:  John,  a  resident  of  Penn  Station:  and 
Ada.  Mr.  .\mann  died  at  his  home  in  Penn  township.Octobcr  22.  1904,  aged 
sixty-six  years. 


HISTORY    OF    IVESTMORELAXD    COUXTY.  255 

f'eter  Amann,  son  of  Jacob  anil  Charlotte  (\  on  Blane)  Aniann,  was  uurn 
August  II,  1875,  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  and  received  his  education  in  the 
.schools  of  his  native  land.  He  was  about  eleven  when  the  family  came  to  this 
country,  and  in  his  new  home  sought  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  at- 
tendance at  night  schools.  His  first  employment  was  on  a  farm,  where  he 
worked  for  two  years,  after  which  he  spent  one  year  in  a  glass  factory  in  Jean- 
nette.  He  was  then  employed  for  a  time  in  a  brickyard  and  for  three  years 
operated  a  machine  in  a  coal  mine.  His  next  venture  was  as  a  clerk,  and  for 
six  years  he  was  employed  in  this  capacity  in  Jeaimette.  In  .March,  1899,  he 
established  himself  in  the  grocery  and  provision  business  at  Alonessen,  begin- 
ning in  a  modest  way,  and  achieving'  success  by  giving  his  exclusive  attention 
to  the  building  up  of  his  business.  He  carries  a  complete  stock  of  staple  and 
fancy  groceries,  his  goods  being  all  of  the  selected  varieties.  His  business  is 
now  one  of  the  finest  of  the  kind  in  the  borough  and  also  the  oldest  of  those 
conducted  under  one  name.  He  belongs  to  the  C.  M.  B.  A.,  the  I.  O.  H.,  the 
F.  O.  E.,  the  B.  P.  O.  E.,  and  the  Knights  of  Columbus.  Mr.  Amann  mar- 
ried, October,  1899.  Laura,  daughter  of  Michael  Doney,  and  they  are  the 
parents  of  one  child,  Agnes  Amann.  Airs.  Amann  is  a  native  of  Wheeling, 
West  A'irginia.  Air.  and  Mrs.  Amann  are  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
church. 

H.  X.  ODBERT.  borough  treasurer  of  Monessen,  and  one  of  the 
prominent  and  influential  factors  in  the  financial  and  industrial  enterprises  of 
the  borough,  is  a  native  of  Belleville,  Washington  countv,  Pennsvlvania,  born 
September  17,  1866,  son  of  Arthur  and  Caroline  (Xewkirk)  Odbert,  both  de- 
ceased, who  were  natives  of  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania.  Arthur  Odbert 
was  a  sucessful  merchant,  a  man  who  took  a  deep  interest  in  educational  and 
leligious  aflfairs,  serving  as  a  member  of  the  school  board  for  twenty-seven 
years,  and  active  in  the  interests  of  the  Alethodist  Episcopal  church. 

H.  N.  Odbert  was  reared  in  Belleville,  educated  in  the  common  schools, 
learned  the  trades  of  carpentering  and  photography,  and  is  now  engaged  in  the 
real  estate  business.  In  1900  he  removed  to  Alonessen.  having  purchased  two 
>ears  previously  a  lot  on  Banner  avenue,  between  Fourth  and  Fifth  streets,  for 
which  he  paid  S532.50,  this  property  at  the  present  time  (1905)  being  valued 
at  anywhere  between  six  to  ten  thousand  dollars,  which  clearly  demonstrates 
the  wonderful  increase  in  the  value  of  real  estate  in  that  borough  during  the 
last  few  years.  Upon  this  lot  Mr.  Odbert  erected,  in  1899,  a  three-story  "brick 
building  for  business  purposes,  which  was  at  that  time  the  most  pretentious 
building  in  the  borough,  he  occupying  the  upper  part  or  third  story  for  a 
photograph  gallery,  which  business  he  conducted  for  some  years.  He  then 
disposed  of  the  same,  and  since  then  has  devoted  the  greater  part  of  his  time 
and  attention  to  the  real  estate  business.  He  has  been  active  in  real  state  oper- 
ations, having  erected  five  or  six  houses  for  private  residences.  January  i,  1906, 
he  purchased  the  hardware  store  on  the  corner  of  Fifth  and  Donner  avenues. 
known  as  the  Shell  Hardware  Company,  and  known  at  the  present  writing  as 
the  Alonessen  Hardware  Company.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  and  original 
stockholders  in  the  Peoples'  National  Bank  of  Alonessen,  and  was  one  of  t'le 
original  board  of  directors,  serving  in  that  capacity  at  the  present  time.  He 
has  taken  a  keen  interest  in  the  conduct  of  the  aflfairs  of  the  borough,  and  is 
row  serving  his  second  term  as  city  treasurer,  having  been  elected  on  the  Re- 
publican ticket.  He  is  one  of  the  live,  broad-minded  men  of  this  part  of  West- 
moreland county,  and  stands  for  all  that  is  just  and  upright,  fullv  deserving 


256  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

the  success  which  has  attended  his  well-directed  efforts.  He  holds  membership 
in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Monessen,  in  which  he  serves  as  trustee 
and  steward,  and  to  the  support  of  which  he  contributes  most  liberally.  Mr. 
Odbert  married,  April  27,  1890,  Emma  J.  Walker,  of  .Mount  Pleasant,  Ohio, 
daughter  of  Elias  and  Frances  H.  Walker.  Two  children  have  been  the  issue 
of  this  marriage :  Frances  and  Ivan  Odbert. 

EDWARD  UARNES,  M.  D.  The  ancestors  of  Dr.  Edward  iiarnes, 
of  Monessen,  were  Scotch-Irish.  His  parents  were  James  and  Eliza  (Patter- 
son) Barnes,  the  former  a  farmer  of  Mercer  county.  Both  are  now  deceased. 
Dr.  Barnes  was  born  November  30,  1849,  in  Mercer  county,  where  he  was 
reared  on  a  farm  and  received  his  primary  education  in  the  public  schools,  later 
attending  the  Edinboro  State  Normal  school.  He  began  the  study  of  medicine 
with  Dr.  Boyd,  also  enjoying  the  instructions  of  Drs.  Gibson  and  Berlin.  He 
entered  the  Eclectic  Medical  College,  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  graduating  in  1882 
with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  The  greater  part  of  Dr.  Barnes'  pro- 
fessional life  has  been  passed  in  Mercer  county  with  some  periods  in  Venango 
and  Lawrence  counties.  Since  April  i,  1903,  he  has  been  engaged  in  active 
practice  in  Monessen.  While  in  New  Castle,  where  he  spent  some  time,  his 
.specialty  was  gynaecologv,  but  he  now  makes  a  specialty  of  chronic  diseases. 
In  1904  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  convention  held  in 
St.  Louis.  He  is  a  member  of  the  National  and  State  Eclectic  Medical  Socie- 
ties, a  director  of  the  State  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  and  belongs  to  the 
ord-r  of  Ben  Hur.  Dr.  Barnes  married,  in  1873,  Laura  Anson,  and  they  were 
the  parents  of  four  sons:  John  G.,  Mant  McGovern,  an  engineer  on  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad;  James  N.,  a  moulder;  and  Byron  Brun,  a  student.  Mrs. 
Barnes  died  in  1882.  and  Dr.  EJarnes  married,  in  1901,  Nettie  Dean.  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Barnes  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

HARRY  E.  RINEHART,  of  Monessen.  to  which  borough  he  re- 
moved on  June  2,  1898,  it  being  then  but  a  small  hamlet  of  a  few  houses,  is  a 
native  of  \Vaynesburg,  (ireene  county,  Pennsylvania,  born  June  27,  1864,  son 
of  Morgan  and  Elizabeth  (  Pettet )  R'inehart,  iDoth  deceased.  Morgan  Rinehart 
(father)  was  born,  reared  and  spent  his  life  in  Greene  county,  where  he  fol- 
lowed his  trade  of  shoemaker.  He  served  four  years  in  the  Civil  war,  being 
a  member  of  the  Eighty-fifth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry,  and 
was  wounded  by  a  piece  of  shell  at  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness.  He  was  a 
son  of  Simon  and  Lettie  Rinehart. 

Harrv  E.  Rinehart  was  reared  in  W^aynesburg,  educated  in  the  public 
schools  thereof,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  removed  to  Pittsburg  and  there 
learned  the  trade  of  painting.  From  thence  he  removed  to  the  coke  regions, 
where  he  spent  several  years,  after  which  he  engaged  in  base  ball  playing, 
starting  with  Scottdale  and  then  going  to  Easton.  Pennsylvania,  where  he  en- 
tered tire  Interstate  League,  and  this  profession  he  followed  up  to  the  year  1890. 
He  t'.ien  located  in  Charleroi,  Westmoreland  county,  and  engaged  at  contract- 
ing, painting.operating  a  large  force  of  men,and  continuing  the  same  up  to  1892. 
He  thjn  moved  to  Gloiister,  New  Jersey,  where  he  resided  for  a  period  of  almost 
two  vears,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  he  removed  to  McKeesport,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  June  2,  1898,  took  up  his  residence  in  IMonessen.  He  came  to  this 
borough  for  the  purpose  of  operating  a  cigar  factory,  which  business  he  suc- 
cessfully conducted  for  three  years,  at  which  time  or  during  which  time  he  was 
largelv  interested  in  real  estate  transactions.     In  T901  a  company  was  formed 


UISTORV   OF    IVESTMORELAXD   COUNTY 


-D/ 


to  manufacture  brick,  the  same  being  composed  of  ilarrx-  E.  Rinehart.  L.  .M. 
Faust,  Adolph  Bees  and  John  INIenefee,  but  during  the  same  year  JMessrs. 
Faust  and  Boes  disposed  of  their  interest  to  the  two  other  members  of  the 
firm,  who  conducted  the  business  under  the  name  of  the  Monessen  Brick 
\\'orks.  The  plant  was  located  at  East  Charleroi,  is  equipped  with  the  most 
modern  machinery  for  the  purpose,  and  its  daily  output  of  fifteen  thousand 
brick  is  largely  disposed  of  in  Monessen  and  adjacent  vilhiges.  The  conduct  of 
this  plant  is  under  the  personal  supervision  of  ^Ir.  Rinehart,  who  is  a  most 
thorough  and  capable  man  in  every  respect,  and  well  qualified  for  the  active 
management  of  men  and  affairs.  He  is  one  of  the  most  progressive  men  of 
the  borough,  and  by  good  judgment  and  business  sagacity  has  accumulated  a 
comfortable  competence.  He  erected  four  buildings  for  business  purposes  in 
Monessen,  also  an  elegant  and  modern  residence  for  himself  and  family  in 
1904,  whilst  Mrs.  Rhinehart  has  erected  three  buildings  for  residential  pur- 
poses. Mr.  Rinehart  was  a  member  of  the  first  borough  council  of  Monessen, 
and  in  1900  was  elected  burgess  of  the  borough,  and  while  an  incumbent  of  this 
office  also  filled  that  of  tax  collector,  serving  for  three  years.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  county  Republican  committee  for  several  years,  and  one  of  the  prom- 
inent factors  in  the  ranks  of  the  party,  wielding  a  wider  and  more  powerful 
influence  than  any  other  man  in  this  section  of  the  county,  and  being  fully  alive 
to  all  things  which  tend  to  promote  the  interests  and  welfare  of  the  candidates 
and  measures  advocated  by  the  party  of  his  choice.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
K.  P.,  being  the  prime  mover  in  the  organization  of  Monessen  Lodge,  No.  185, 
in  which  he  has  filled  the  chairs  of  chancellor  and  commander  two  terms.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  B.  P.  O.  E.  affiliating  with  Lodge  Xo.  yjT,. 

Mr.  Rinehart  married.  November  6,  1890,  Mary  McGrew,  daughter  of 
Zerah  and  Adaline  (  Phillips)  McGrew,  and  granddaughter  of  Nathan  and 
Catharine  (Hayden)  McGrew.  Zerah  McGrew,  who  died  in  1882,  was  born 
and  reared  in  Rostraver  township,  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and  after  his 
marriage  fo  Adaline  Phillips,  who  is  living  at  the  present  time  (1905),  removed 
to  McKees[)ort.  where  he  was  one  of  the  influential  citizens  and  a  member  of  the 
borough  council,  and  where  his  death  occurred.  He  was  well  and  favorably 
known  throughout  the  community,  was  a  devout  Christian,  and  a  charter  mem- 
ber of  the  Christian  church  of  McKeesport,  in  which  he  took  an  active  part. 
He  was  also  a  member  of  the  F.  and  A.  }iL.  L  O.  O.  F.,  and  N.  of  M.  C.  in 
which  he  took  an  active  and  prominent  part.  Mr.  and  Airs.  Rinehart  are  the 
parents  of  two  children :  Harry  F.  and  Virginia  Lucretia  Rinehart.  The  fam- 
ily are  members  of  the  Christian  church. 

JACOB  D.  SHANER.  a  druggist  and  postmaster  of  Suterville,  was 
born  at  Robbins,  Westmoreland  county,  November  6.  1856.  His  grandfather, 
Jonathan  Shaner.  was  the  first  American  ancestor  of  the  family,  having  emi- 
grated from  Germany  and  settled  in  what  is  now  known  as  Shaner's  Station, 
the  place  being  named  for  him.  He  entered  government  land  and  built  a  log 
house,  where  he  lived  during  the  active  years  of  his  life.  Tn  his  latter  vears 
he  retired  and  resided  with  his  children. 

Daniel  Shaner,  a  son  of  Jonathan  Shaner,  was  born  at  Shaner's  Station. 
in  1834,  and  there  he  was  reared,  educated  and  learned  his  trades,  those  of  car- 
penter and  machinist.  While  there  he  married  Susanna  Dewalt.  by  whom  he 
had  ten  children,  si.x  of  whom  are  still  living:  Romeo,  a  resident  of  Moberlv, 
Missouri :  Jacob  D.,  of  whom  later ;  Jonathan  W.,  a  resident  of  IMonongahcla 
City;  Frank  S. :  Mollie,  wife  of  F.  A.  Hamilton,  of  Monongahela  Citv ;  Mar- 


258  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

garet,  wife  of  a  ]\Ir.  Teeple,  also  of  Monongahela  City.  Some  years  after  his 
marriage  he  removed  to  Riverton,  Allegheny  eounty,  where  he  worked  for 
several  years  at  carpentering  and  building,  then  went  to  Boston,  Allegheny 
county,  and  engaged  in  the  sawmill  and  lumber  business.  He  then  located  at 
Buena  Vista  and  took  charge  of  the  engines  and  machinery  for  the  Armstrong 
coal  mines.  He  continued  there  for  about  four  years,  then  went  to  Monon- 
gahela City,  where  he  was  employed  in  the  planing  mills  of  Neal  Blythe  and 
Company  as  foreman.  He  died  there  in  1902.  Politically  he  was  a  staunch 
Republican.  He  was  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war,  serving  in  the  artillery  ser- 
vice during  the  entire  period  of  hostilities :  he  was  a  member  of  the  G.  A.  R. 
In  earlv  life  he  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  but  later 
joined  the  Presbyterian  church. 

Jacob  D.  Shaner  was  reared  in  his  native  place  and  attended  the  common 
.'^chools  until  about  his  tenth  year,  when  he  began  to  work,  firing  the  engines 
at  the  coal  mines  in  Boston.  He  gradually  rose  to  the  position  of  engineer, 
and  continued  at  that  place  until  he  had  reached  the  age  of  twenty-one.  He 
then  removed  to  Buena  Vista  and  was  employed  at  the  mines  for  about  two 
years,  then  returned  to  Boston,  and  was  given  charge  of  the  company  stores  at 
that  place.  After  a  short  time  he  went  to  Monongahela  City  and  engaged  in 
teaming  and  transfer  bus  work,  but  in  1880  he  came  to  Suterville  and  found 
employment  in  the  drug  store  of  his  cousin,  A.  L.  Marsh,  under  whom  he  be- 
gan the  study  of  the  druggist  profession.  After  seven  years  he  went  into  the 
drug  business  for  himself,  and  on  April  I,  1904,  removed  to  his  present  modern 
quarters  in  the  First  National  Bank  building.  He  is  a  member  of  the  junior 
O.  U.  A.  M.  Politically  he  is  a  Re[)ublican,  and  received  his  appointment  of 
postmaster  during  the  AIcKinley  administration  and  is  now  serving  a  second 
term.  Mr.  Shaner  married,  in  September,  1892,  Ann  Pyle,  of  Suterville.  One 
child  has  been  born  to  them,  Thelma  Shaner. 

HENRY  W.  NULL,  an  enterprising  and  prosperous  business  man 
of  West  Newton,  proprietor  of  a  shoe  store  which  is  located  in  one  of  the  best 
business  blocks  of  that  thriving  town,  is  a  native  of  South  Huntingdon  town- 
ship, Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  born  January  5,   1854. 

Captain  Philip  Null,  great-grandfather  of  Henry  W.  Null,  was  born  in 
Wrightsville,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  there  reared  and  educated.  He  was  an 
officer  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  serving  under  Generals  Marion  and  Sump- 
ter.  and  upon  the  cessation  of  hostilities  located  and  resided  for  some  years 
in  Lincolnton,  North  Carolina.  He  then  returned  north  and  for  a  time  was 
a  resident  of  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  living  in  the  vicinity  of 
Greensburg,  from  whence  he  removed  to  West  \'irginia.  locating  on  the  Little 
Kanawa  river  where  he  spent  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  passing  away  at  an 
advanced  age. 

Henry  Null,  grandfather  of  Henry  W".  Null,  was  a  native  of  Lincolnton, 
North  Carolina,  and  was  ten  years  of  age  when  his  parents  removed  to  West- 
moreland county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  resided  until  attaining  manhood. 
Shortly  after  his  marriage  he  located  in  East  Huntingdon  township.  He  was  a 
very  successful  farmer  and  business  manager,  and  became  an  extensive  land 
owner,  his  holdings  lying  both  in  East  and  South  Huntingdon  townships.  He 
was  a  Whig  in  politics.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church.  Bv  his 
marriage  to  Elizabeth  Pool  nine  children  were  born — seven  sons  and  two 
daughters — all  of  whom  with  one  exception  inherited  and  occupied  portions 
of  his   large  landed  estate.     Their  names  are  as  follows :  Joseph,  deceased ; 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  259 

Jonathan,  deceased ;  Jacob,  deceased ;  Henry  H.,  a  resident  of  Greensburg,  now 
(iyo5  )  in  his  ninety-first  year;  Francis  M.,  who  resides  on  a  portion  of  the  old 
homestead  in  East  Hinitingdon  township;  Philip,  deceased;  Andrew  }., 
deceased,  mentioned  hereafter ;  Catherine,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of  Will- 
iam RutT ;  and  Keziah,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of  John  Sloan.  Philip,  who 
died  in  early  manhood  was  the  exception  above  referred  to.  The  father  of 
these  children  died  at  tne  age  of  sixty-five  years. 

Andrew  J.  Null,  father  of  Henry  W.  Nidi,  was  born  in  South  Hunting- 
don township,  Pennsylvania,  in  1822,  on  the  old  homestead  and  resided  thereon 
continuously  all  his  lifetime.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and  bv  diligence 
and  perseverance  accumulated  a  comfortable  comjK'tence  for  his  declining 
years.  He  was  twice  married,  first  to  Matilda  Rufl:,  and  had  one  child,  1!.  F.. 
who  resides  on  the  homestead.  He  married  (second),  Lucinda  Robinson,  bori: 
in  Rostraver  township.  Westmoreland  county,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  .\chsali 
(Bailey)  Robinson,  and  a  direct  descendant  of  Thomas  Bailey,  a  citizen  of 
Boston,  Massachusetts,  in  1650,  and  of  Ezra  Perry,  who  was  a  citizen  of  Sand- 
wich, Massachusetts,  in  1644.  Prominent  among  her  ancestors  were  Captain 
James  Perry,  of  Revolutionary  war  fame,  and  Captain  Nathaniel  Perrv,  who 
distinguished  himself  in  the  French  and  Indian  wars.  Four  children  were 
born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Null,  as  follows:  Lucetta,  wife  of  Dr.  D.  Crise,  of 
Escondido,  California ;  Matilda,  wife  of  Edward  J.  Hatch,  of  Escondido,  Cali- 
fornia:  Henry  W.,  mentioned  hereafter;  and  I\Iary  E.,  deceased,  who  was  the 
wife  of  John  Pool.  Andrew  J.  Null  (father)  died  at  his  home  in  South  Hunt- 
ingdon township,  1866:  he  was  survived  by  his  wife,  who  passed  awav  in  the 
same  place  in  the  year  1890. 

Henry  W.  Null  resided  at  home  until  he  attained  the  age  of  nineteen  vears, 
in  the  meantime  obtaining  a  common  school  education.  When  seventeen  vears 
old  he  began  teaching  in  the  district  school  and  continued  the  same  for  two 
years.  He  then  came  to  West  Newton  and  secured  a  position  in  the  dry  goods 
store  of  N.  P).  Sproat,  and  was  subsequently  employed  for  many  years  in  the 
department  store  of  S.  C.  Weimer.  In  1895  'it;  embarked  in  the  shoe  business 
in  the  Elliott  building  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Second  streets.  West  Newton. 
This  enterprise  proved  a  financial  success,  and  the  steady  growth  of  the  busi- 
ness necessitated  his  removal  to  more  commodious  quarters,  and  accordinglv  in 
the  fall  of  1901  he  erected  a  building  of  his  own,  which  is  one  of  the  best 
business  blocks  in  the  town,  to  which  he  removed.  In  addition  to  the  duties 
devolving  upon  him  in  the  management  of  his  extensive  establishment  .Mr. 
Null  serves  as  a  director  of  the  Farmers'  and  Merchants"  Bank,  rendering  valu- 
able service  in  that  capacity.  He  is  a  member  of  the  school  board  of  West 
Newton,  and  he  has  also  filled  several  other  minor  township  offices.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church,  and  an  advocate  and  strong  sup- 
porter of  Republican  principles.  Mr.  Null  married  in  1884,  Mary  E.  Mcll- 
wain.  of  West  Newton,  daughter  of  Robert  J.  and  Martha  Mcllwaiii,  who  died 
in  1887,  leaving  two  children,  one  of  whom  survives,  Mary  R.  Null.  In  ICJ04 
;Mr.  Null  married  Mary  .\delaide  AfcLaughlin,  daughter  of  Andrew  J.  an<l 
Ella  (Wilgus)  McLaughlin,  of  West  Newton. 

J.AMES  E.  DOUGL.ASS,  of  West  Newton,  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  organizer  of  the  Douglass  Raugh  Coal  and  Coke  Companv,  was 
born  January  8.  185 1.  in  Elizabeth  township,  Allegheny  county,  son  of  John  J. 
and  Mary  S.  (Patterson)  Douglass.  He  is  one  of  the  six  surviving  children  of 
a  family  of  twelve,  the  others  being:  Robert  P.,  superintendent  of  the  Eliza 
furnace  of  the  Jones  and  Laughlin  steel  works  for  more  than  twentv-fivc  vears. 


2(yo  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


now  retired ;  Thomas  P.,  of  Pittsburg,  with  tlie  Jones  and  Laughlin  steel 
works  ;  Margaret,  wife  of  James  H.  AlcCune,  Birmingham,  Alabama  ;  John  S., 
j\I.  D.,  of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania;  Elijah  R.,  superintendent  of  the  coke 
works  at  Connellsville. 

The  paternal  grandfather,  Thomas  Douglass,  came  from  Adams  county, 
while  yet  a  young  man,  buying  a  farm  near  Mt.  Vernon  church,  where  he  spent 
the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  was  survived  by  a  large  family  of  children,  only 
one  of  whom  is  still  living,  Maria,  the  wife  of  T.  W.  Weddell,  resident  on  a 
farm  near  McKeesport,  she  at  the  age  of  ninety-two  and  he  at  the  age  of 
ninety-three. 

John  J.  Douglass,  son  of  Thomas  Douglass,  was  born  January  13,  181 1, 
in  Elizabeth  township,  Allegheny  county,  near  Buena  Vista,  within  three  miles 
of  where  he  spent  the  last  fifty-four  years  of  his  life.  He  learned  the  trade 
of  cooper  in  early  life,  but  followed  it  only  a  short  time.  In  1838  he  bought 
land  at  Douglass  and  moved  there,  and  two  years  later  purchased  a  grist  mill 
which  he  operated  for  many  years.  During  the  war,  in  which  his  sons  were 
fighting  for  the  Union,  it  burned  to  the  ground,  at  the  time  when  his  insurance 
had  just  expired,  and  he  was  compelled  to  buy  flour  for  the  family  supply 
when  that  commodity  was  selling  at  eighteen  dollars  a  barrel.  He  was  a 
staunch  Republican  in  politics,  but  never  a  bigoted  partisan,  and  for  twenty 
years  was  justice  of  the  peace,  a  fact  which  gained  for  him  the  appellation  of 
Squire  Douglass,  a  name  which  clung  to  him  long  after  he  had  retired  from 
the  office.  During  the  greater  part  of  his  life  he  was  a  member  of  the  United 
Presliyterian  church,  but  four  years  prior  to  his  death  joined  the  Presbyterian 
church  and  was  an  honored  elder  at  the  time  of  his  death.  His  generous  dis- 
position, often  imposed  upon  but  never  narrowed,  reduced  his  wordly  posses- 
sions but  gained  him  a  respect  and  admiration  that  made  him  greatly  mourned 
when  his  death  occurred,  September  14,  1894. 

The  maternal  grandfather,  John  R.  Patterson,  was  bom  in  1774.  He  came 
to  Westmoreland  county  from  the  eastern  part  of  Pennsylvania  in  an  early  day 
of  the  county's  history,  and  settled  in  Rostraver  township  on  a  farm  where  he 
resided  up  to  within  four  or  five  years  of  his  death.  During  those  four  or  five 
years  he  lived  at  West  Newton,  where  he  died  in  1886,  at  the  age  of  ninety-five. 
His  wife,  ]\Iary  (Orr)  Patterson,  born  in  1791,  died  in  1853.  Their  daughter, 
the  mother  of  James  E.  Douglass,  was  born  at  Rostraver,  Westmoreland  county, 
April  4,  1817,  died  August  26,  1871. 

James  E.  Douglass  grew  up  and  was  educated  in  the  place  of  liis  birth,  at- 
tending public  schools.  At  the  age  of  twenty  years  he  left  the  farm  and  learned 
the  trade  of  carpenter,  at  which  he  worked  for  ten  years.  In  1883  he  engaged 
in  the  mercantile  business  at  Douglass,  and  was  identified  with  same  for  twenty- 
one  years.  During  a  portion  of  this  time  he  was  postmaster  and  ticket  and  ex- 
press agent  for  the  P.  and  L.  E.  Railroad.  In  1904  he  sold  his  business  to  the 
Federal  Supply  Company,  and  removed  to  West  Newton.  He  organized  the 
Douglass  Coal  Company  in  1892,  and  was  one  of  the  well  known  coal  operators 
of  this  state  until  1899,  when  he  sold  the  mines  to  the  Pittsburg  Coal  Company ; 
he  retained  the  residence  properties,  numbering  some  fourteen  houses.  He  or- 
ganized the  Douglass  Raugh  Coal  and  Coke  Company,  in  1904,  acquiring  four 
thousand  acres  of  land  with  valuable  coal  veins  in  Clarksburg,  West  Virginia. 
They  have  a  seven  foot  vein  of  Pittsburg  coal.  In  addition  to  these  interests  he 
owns  sixty-one  valuable  building  lots  in  McKeesport,  was  one  of  the  organizers 
of  the  First  National  Bank  of  West  Newton,  and  the  Hazelwood  bank  of  Pitts- 
burg, and  two  other  well  known  banks,  and  is  one  of  the  promoters  of  the  \\'est 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  261 

Xewton  and  Webster  street  railway  line,  which  will  shortly  be  in  operation.  He 
is  a  Republican,  and  is  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  West  Xewton.  He  is  a 
member  of  Dallas  Lodge,  No.  508,  F.  and  A.  AL,  of  Pittsburg;  Zernbabie 
Chapter,  No.  162,  R.  A.  AL,  of  Pittsburg;  Pennsylvania  Consistory  and  Syria 
Temple,  A.  A.  O.  N.  J\I.  S.,  of  Pittsburg.  :\Ir.  Douglass  married,  October  3. 
1889,  Lizzie  May  Xicholls.  of  Elizabeth  township.  Their  children  are :  Harry 
Stantley,  born  June  24,  1890;  David  R.,  April  20,  1892;  Margaret  Al.,  June  29, 
1895 ;  and  James  Gordon,  May  8,  1898. 

GEORGE  H.  STE\'EXS.  The  father  of  George  H.  Stevens,  of 
Alonessen,  was  born  in  London,  England,  his  name  being  William  H.  Stevens. 
He  was  a  millwright,  and  after  his  immigration  to  this  country  lived  for  some 
time  in  Xew  York  city.  Thence  he  moved  to  Allegheny,  Pennsylvania,  and 
for  thirty  years  had  charge  of  the  machinery  department  in  the  establishment 
of  Jones  &  Laughlin,  of  Pittsburg.  His  wife  was  Margaret  Watters,  a  native 
of  England,  but  of  Scotch  and  Welsh  extraction,  and  they  were  the  parents  of 
a  son,  George  H.,  mentioned  hereafter.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stevens  both  died  in 
.Allegheny. 

George  H.  Stevens,  son  of  William  H.  and  Alargaret  (Watters)  Stevens, 
was  born  Septembei  6,  1862,  in  New  York  city,  and  received  his  education  in 
the  public  and  high  schools  of  Pittsburg.  In  his  eighteenth  year  he  learned  the 
trade  of  a  glass  mould-maker  at  which  he  was  employed  until  the  autumn  of 
1S87,  in  Pittsburg.  He  was  then  appointed  police  inspector  of  the  south  side 
of  the  city,  and  retained  the  position  until  the  autumn  of  1889,  when  he  re- 
signed in  order  to  accept  a  place  in  the  internal  revenue  department  of  the 
L'nited  States  government,  serving  under  Collector  Warncastle  during  the 
Harrison  administration.  He  was  retired  in  the  autumn  of  1893,  after  which 
he  became  the  proprietor  of  the  Hotel  JvIcKee,  at  Jeannette,  conducting  the 
establishment  until  June,  1903,  when  he  moved  to  Monongahela  City  and  there 
conducted  the  Commercial  Hotel  until  April,  1905.  He  then  took  up  his  abode 
in  Monessen  in  order  to  assume  the  duties  of  superintendent  of  the  Independent 
Brewing  Company,  having  the  Homestead,  Braddock,  Monongahela  City, 
Charleroi,  and  Monessen  plants  under  his  supervision. 

While  a  resident  of  Jeannette  he  assisted  in  the  organization  of  the  Union 
Transfer  Company,  of  which  he  is  one  of  the  directors.  During  the  period  of 
his  residence  in  Monongahela  City  he  was  instrumental  in  the  forming  of  the 
Monongahela  City,  Ellsworth  &  Washington  Street  Railway,  in  which  com- 
pany he  has  served  as  secretary  and  treasurer.  He  also  aided  in  found- 
ing the  Monongahela  Oil  and  Gas  Company  and  the  Monongahela 
Hardwood  Company,  being  one  of  the  directors  of  the  former  and 
secretary  of  the  latter.  Still  another  enterprise  in  the  organization  of 
which  he  took  a  leading  part  is  the  Monongahela  Valley  Oil  Compauv.  with 
excavations  at  Marietta,  Washington  county,  Ohio.  In  this  company  lie  Jidjils 
the  offices  of  secretary  and  treasurer.  During  the  years  in  which  he  made  his 
home  in  Jeannette  he  was  actively  engaged  in  politics,  and  in  1899  was  chosen 
to  represent  his  county  in  the  state  legislature,  being  re-elected  in  190 1  and 
1903.  Each  time  his  majority  increased,  and  he  enjoys  the  distinction  of  Ijeing 
the  only  man  who  has  ever  succeeded  himself  twice  from  this  county.  During 
each  session  he  served  on  a  number  of  committees,  among  them  the'connnittee 
on  appropriations,  and  in  1903  was  chairman  of  the  law  and  order  committee. 
He  is  one  of  the  trustees  of  Monongahela  Lodge,  of  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles, 
^    '  belongs  to  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Mount  Moriah  Lodge! 


262  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

Pittsburg,  Pittsburg  Encampment,  and  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  ot 
Elks,  No.  486,  of  Jeannette,  holding  in  the  last  named  body  the  rank  01  past 
exalted  ruler. '  Mr.  Stevens  married,  June  10,  1894,  Estella  Clyde,  daugnter 
of  Daniel  and  Sarah  Ridenover,  of  Scottdale,  and  they  are  the  parents  of 
three  children:    William  H.,  Daniel  W.,  and  George  H.,  junior. 

EDWARD  W.  KEENAN,  proprietor  of  the  Monongahela  House, 
Monessen,  Pennsylvania,  is  a  native  of  Youngstown,  Westuioreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  born  August  17,  1857,  son  of  John  B.  and  Lucy  (West) 
Keenan. 

John  B.  Keenan  (father)  was  a  son  of  James  Keenan,  better  known  as 
Squire  Keenan.  He  was  born  in  Youngstown,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  throughout  the  active  years  of  his  career  was  the  proprietor  of  a 
hotel.  He  organized  Company  K,  Eleventh  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry, 
and  went  out  with  the  same  during  the  civil  war,  serving  in  the  capacity  of  cap- 
tain, but  shortly  afterward  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  major.  He  was 
wounded  in  the'  shoulder  at  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run,  and  was  killea 
Alav  II.  1864,  at  Spottsylvania  Court  House.  He  and  his  wife,  Lucy  (West) 
Keenan,  were  the  parents  of  the  following  children :  James,  deceased ;  Edward 
W.,  mentioned  hereafter ;  John,  deceased  ;  Frank,  Emma,  deceased. 

Edward  W.  Keenan  attended  the  common  schools  in  the  neighborhood  of 
his  home  until  twelve  years  of  age,  "vvhen  he  was  forced  to  earn  his  own  liveli- 
hood, working  among  the  farmers,  cutting  wood,  in  the  saw  mills,  and  at 
various  other  labors.  He  later  learned  the  shoemaking  trade,  which  he  fol- 
lowed for  five  years,  after  which  he  engaged  in  the  hotel  business.  In  1881 
he  moved  to  Greensburg  and  there  conducted  the  Keenan  House  for  eighteen 
months  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  he  became  the  proprietor  of  the  Msher 
House,  which  he  conducted  for  three  years.  He  then  went  to  Latrobe  and 
assumed  the  management  of  the  Parker  House,  continuing  the  same  for  three 
years.  He  then  returned  to  Greensburg  and  fitted  up  the  Hotel  Stark,  which 
he  operated  two  years  and  then  disposed  of.  He  then  accepted  a  position  as 
travelling  salesman,  and  served  in  that  capacity  until  October,  1903,  when  he 
located  in  Monessen,  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  purchased  the  contents 
of  the  Monongahela  House.  He  completely  refitted  the  hotel,  which  has  ac- 
commodations for  forty  guests,  and  which  is  now  one  of  the  best  equipped 
hotels  in  the  county,  the  service  and  cuisine  being  unexcelled.  Mr.  Keenan  is 
especially  adapted  for  this  line  of  business,  as  he  is  genial,  affable  and  generous, 
which  characteristics  account  for  his  popularity.  In  1889  Mr.  Keenan  was  a 
candidate  on  the  Democratic  ticket  for  the  nomination  of  sheriff,  but  was 
defeated  by  his  opponent.  He  has  alwa\s  taken  a  keen  interest  in  politics, 
being  one  of  the  leading  Democrats  of  the  county.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  church.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks,  affiliating  with  Lodge  No.  773,  and  of  the  G.  B.  LI. 

In  1884  Mr.  Keenan  married  Mrs.  Annie  Jack,  daughter  of  John  Easton, 
who  died  November  6,  1885,  leaving  him  one  child,  John  Hillery  Keenan,  who 
is  now  (1905)  a  student  at  Dickinson  Law  School,  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania.  In 
1892  Mr.  Keenan  married  for  his  second  wife  Alice  Foster,  daughter  of  Henry 
Foster. 

JOHN  A.  SHEETZ.  The  grandfather  of  John  A.  Sheetz,  of  Mo- 
nessen, was  Joseph  Sheetz,  a  native  of  the  eastern  part  of  Pennsylvania,  possi- 
blv  of  Lancaster  countv.     He  was  a  cabinetmaker  and  undertaker  and  lived 


I  I 


HISTORY   OF   jrESTMOREL.-iXD   COUNTY.  263 

to  an  advanced  age,  being  ninety-two  years  old  at  the  time  of  his  ilcatli,  whicli 
occurred  in  the  spring  of  1905.  John  C.  Sheetz..  son  of  Joseph  Sheetz.  was  born 
in  Roxburv,  Somerset  county,  and  has  spent  tlie  most  of  his  life  as  a  mmer. 
He  married  Alalinda  Cope,  and  a  son  was  born  to  them:  John  A.,  mentioned 
hereafter.  Mrs.  Sheetz  is  deceased,  and  her  husband  is  a  resident  of  Berlin, 
Pennsylvania. 

John  A.  Sheetz,  son  of  John  C.  and  ^Malinda  (Cope)  Sheetz,  was  born 
February  9,  1873,  in  Somerset  county,  where  he  passed  the  first  fifteen  years 
of  his  life,  having  learned  the  business  of  cigar  making.  He  went  to  McKees- 
port  and  thence  to  Berlin,  but  soon  after  settled  in  Greensburg,  where  he  made 
his  home  until  his  removal  to  Monessen.  Some  two  years  after  going  to 
Greensburg  he  engaged  in  the  manufacturing  business  on  his  ow^n  account, 
conducting  the  same  for  over  ten  years.  In  the  latter  part  of  1902  he  purchased 
at  Monessen  land  on  which  then  stood  a  small  hotel,  and  to  this  he  added,  mak- 
ing of  the  building  a  substantial  structure,  capable  of  accommodating  from 
thirty  to  forty  guests.  He  gave  it  the  name  of  Sheetz'  Hotel  and  is  still  its 
successful  proprietor.  He  is  one  of  the  stockholders  in  the  Peo]3le's  National 
Bank.  For  manv  years  'Sir.  Sheetz  has  been  active  in  ]:)olitical  affairs,  and  in 
1900,  while  a  resident  of  Greensburg  ,was  chosen  tax  collector,  an  office  which 
he  filled  for  three  years.  He  belongs  to  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of 
Elks,  No.  773.  He  affiliates  with  the  Democratic  party,  which  he  is  ever  ready 
to  assist  to  the  utmost  of  his  power.  Mr.  Sheetz  married,  April  11,  1893,  Ger- 
trude Eholt,  and  they  have  five  childre'n :  Marie,  Paul  E..  John  A.,  junior; 
Perie.  and  Gertrude  E.  Airs.  Sheetz  is  a  native  of  Greensburg.  He  and  his 
family  are  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 

HENRY  GEORGE  SEIDEL.  The  father  of  Henry  George  Seidel, 
of  Greensburg,  was  Christian  Nicholas  Seidel,  who  lived  in  Marburg,  province 
of  Hesse-Cassel,  Germany,  and  held  the  office  of  collector  of  the  port  between 
that  province  and  Sachsen-Wiemar.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
church.  Mr.  Seidel  married  .Agnes,  daughter  of  Nicholas  Dotzenroth,  of  Mar- 
burg, and  they  had  four  sons :  Henry  George,  mentioned  hereafter ;  George, 
lives  in  Bethlehem,  Orange  Free  State,  South  .Africa:  Theodore,  died  in  1901, 
at  home  in  Germany :  and  Jacob,  lives  with  his  widowed  mother  in  the  Father- 
land.    Mr.  Seidel  died  in  1869,  in  Germany. 

Henry  George  Seidel,  son  of  Christian  Nicholas  and  Agnes  (Dotzenroth) 
Seidel,  was  born  June  27,  1857,  in  Marburg,  Hesse-Cassel,  Germany,  and  in 
187 1  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  arriving  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  on 
July  4,  of  that  year.  .After  working  for  a  short  time  in  a  bakery  in  .Allegheny 
City  he  learned  the  business  of  a  barber,  and  in  1884  settled  in  Greensburg. 
He  there  rented  from  Wilson  Baughman  the  shop  which  he  has  since  continu- 
ously occupied  and  in  which  he  has  conducted  a  flourishing  business,  enjoying 
the  best  patronage  of  the  town  and  its  vicinity.  Politically  he  is  a  Republican. 
He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Mr.  Seidel  married. 
December  11.  1900.  Elizabeth  L.,  daughter  of  Joshua  and  .Susan  Hutchinson,  of 
Greensburg.  and  they  are  the  i^arents  of  two  daughters :  .Agnes  Lucetta,  Ijorn 
August  23,  1902:  and  Beatrice  Elizabeth,  born  Deceni1)er  5,  1903. 

WILLIAM  J,  IIITCHMAN,  of  Mount  i'lcasant.  was  held  in  honor 
as  one  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  Westmoreland  count}-,  his  busy 
activities  during  a  long  and  successful  career  having  been  extended  into  all 
those  lines  which  afTord  to  the  man  of  real  ability  a  position  f)f  commanding 


264  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

influence.  He  was  a  potent  factor  in  the  development  of  tlie  southern  part  of 
the  county,  and  aided  largely  in  whatever  could  be  of  advantage,  whether  in 
material,  educational  or  moral  ways,  and  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  most 
accomplished  and  broad-minded  financiers  in  western  Pennsylvania.  Mr. 
Hitchman  came  of  a  distinguished  ancestry,  English  on  the  paternal  side,  and 
Scotch-Irish  on  that  of  the  mother.  His  paternal  great-grandfather  came  to 
America  as  an  officer  in  a  British  regiment  during  the  reign  of  George  HI. 
He  became  interested  in  the  aft'airs  of  the  colonists,  and  sympathized  with  them 
in  their  yearnings  for  political  freedom.  These  considerations  led  him  to 
resign  his  commission  and  identify  himself  with  the  colonial  cause.  His  sense 
of  honor,  however,  would  not  admit  of  his  drawing  his  sword  against  the 
country  whose  uniform  he  had  worn,  and  he  steadfastly  declined  all  overtures 
to  take  military  service,  although  he  was  offered  several  important  posts  in  tlvjr 
continental  army.  His  extreme  sensitiveness  with  regard  to  fine  points  of 
honor  seen:  to  have  been  reflected  in  his  descendants  to  the  present  generation. 
He  made  his  home  in  Virginia,  whence  his  son  William  removed  to  Pennsyl- 
vania, locating  on  Redstone  creek,  in  what  is  now  Fayette  county,  but  which 
was  then  regarded  as  being  within  the  boundaries  of  the  "Old  Dominion." 
William  Hitchman  married  Nancy  Gillespie,  an  estimable  woman,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  a  prominent  family.  They  removed  to  near  Mount  Pleasant,  West- 
moreland county,  where  Mr.  Hitchman  died,  on  what  has  long  been  known  as 
the  Robert  Hitchman  farm.  He  was  the  founder  of  the  Hitchman  family  in 
Westmoreland  county.  His  children  were  six  sons  and  two  daughters :  John, 
James,  Robert,  Samuel,  David,  (hllespie,  Ellen  and  Elizabeth. 

Major  John  Hitchman,  eldest  son  of  William  Hitchman,  was  Ixirn  in 
Westmoreland  county  in  1789,  and  died  in  1846.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
ability,  and  was  a  leading  figure  in  military  afifairs.  When  troops  were  called 
out  for  the  war  with  Great  Britain  in  1812,  he  enlisted  in,  a  company  com- 
manded by  Captain  Reynolds,  under  whom  he  became  first  lieutenant.  He 
accom]5anied  his  regiment  to  Baltimore,  and  was  among  the  defending  forces 
there  until  peace  was  declared.  In  1828  he  was  elected  brigade  inspector  with 
the  rank  of  major  in  the  Pennsylvania  militia,  and  served  in  that  capacity  until 
1836.  For  several  years  he  was  engaged  in  a  mercantile  business.  He  married 
Mary  Thompson,  a  descendant  of  an  old  and  highly  respected  family  of  the 
Cumberland  Valley.  She  was  a  woman  of  strong  character  and  christian 
worth,  with  intelligence  and  culture  far  beyond  her  time  in  the  region  in  which 
she  resided.  She  was  born  in  Mercersburgh,  Pennsylvania,  February  18, 
1799,  and  died  March  30,  1870,  having  long  survived  her  husband,  who  died 
in  March,  1846,  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven  years.  Their  remains  rest  side  bv  side 
in  the  Mount  Pleasant  cemetery. 

William  J.  Hitchman,  only  child  of  Alajor  John  and  Mary  (Thompson) 
Hitchman,  was  born  at  Mount  Pleasant,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsvlvanin 
July  8,  1838.  He  was  only  eight  years  old  when  his  father  died,  and  in 
straightened  circumstances.  Mr.  Hitchman  has  always  felt  that  he  owed  to  his 
revered  mother  much  of  the  better  part  of  his  manhood,  and  that  substantial 
foundation  upon  which  was  built  his  honorable  career  and  its  attendant  suc- 
cess. She  carefully  guarded  his  youth,  instructing  him  in  those  true  and  noble 
lines  of  thought  and  action  which  distinctly  characterized  his  mature  man- 
hood. Educational  advantages  were  meagre,  and  from  her  he  derived  much 
of  the  knowledge  which  there  were  not  schools  to  adef|uatelv  provide.  He 
was  also  brought  up  to  habits  of  thrift  and  industry.  In  his  Ijovhood  at  Laurel- 
ville,  a  small  village  at  the  foot  of  Chestnut  Ridge,  he  was  actively  cmploved 


HISTORY   OF    JVESTMORELAND   COUXTV.  265 

and  carefully  trained  to  labor  and  business  in  the  iiiill.  tlic  shop  and  the  store, 
meanwhile  constantly  adding  to  his  fund  of  general  information,  absorbing 
all  that  stood  in  the  place  of  school  room  instruction,  and  thus  laying  the 
foundations  for  a  useful  and  honorable  future.  Before  he  was  seventeen  years 
okl,  he  was  so  w-ell  advanced  that  he  acquitted  himself  creditably  as  a  teacher, 
following  that  occupation  for  several  years,  and  always  taking  an  active  part 
in  teachers'  institutes  and  in  whatever  effort  arose  for  the  advancement  of 
educational  interests.  Meanwhile,  and  after  entering  the  school  room  as  a 
teacher,  he  continued  to  be  a  student,  and  completed  an  academic  course  in 
his  native  town. 

At  the  threshold  of  his  mature  career,  he  was  tempted  to  enter  the  field 
of  law  and  politics,  for  both  of  which  inviting  domains  he  possessed  a  strong 
predilection  and  considerable  qualifications.  His  judgment,  however,  moved 
him  to  turn  away  from  their  allurements,  with  their  promise  of  early  promi- 
nence and  success,  to  enter  upon  a  business  life.  From  the  beginning,  he 
steadily  progressed,  through  no  fortuitous  circumstances  or  adventitious  aid, 
but  by  diligent  labor  and  the  exercise  of  sound  judgment.  He  saw  his  com- 
mercial undertakings  constantly  widening,  though  at  times  distressing  circum- 
stances arose  that  would  have  led  into  questionable  conduct  one  of  less  moral 
fibre.  In  all  he  held  fast  to  the  loftiest  standards  of  honor,  and  preserved  an 
unimpeachable  integrity.  As  his  means  increased  he  extended  his  activities 
into  fields  which  ever  broadened  before  him,  and  came  to  be  regarded  as  one  of 
the  leaders  of  his  section  of  the  state,  in  all  relating  to  financial  and  real  estate 
affairs.  For  many  years  he  had  been  interested  largely  in  the  banking  houses 
of  Mount  Pleasant,  and  had  accumulated  important  landed  interests,  besides 
investing  largely  in  other  enterprises,  financial,  commercial  and  industrial.  It 
is  to  be  said,  in  order  to  arrive  at  a  just  estimate  of  his  character,  that  at  the 
outset  he  did  not  e.xpect  nor  covet  wealth.  He  entered  upon  his  efl^ort  with 
modest  ambitions,  born  of  his  necessities,  and  his  larger  success  followed  as  a 
natural  outgrowth  of  well  directed  effort.  Nor  when  his  wealth  was  accumu- 
lated did  he  prostitute  it  to  ignoble  purposes.  He  used  it  as  he  did  his  mental 
attributes  and  traits  of  character,  devoting  it  to  the  highest  purposes,  making 
it  useful  to  others  in  providing  avenues  of  employment,  and  contrilniting  liber- 
ally to  all  those  beneficent  agencies  which  make  for  the  better  life  of  the  com- 
munity— the  church,  the  school,  and  those  material  benefits  which  make  for 
healthful  and  happy  homes  and  surroundings. 

Mr.  Hitchman  was  identified  w-ith  the  Republican  party  from  the  vears 
of  its  formation.  He  was  not  old  enough  to  vote  for  its  first  presidential  candi- 
date. John  C.  Fremont,  in  1856,  but  his  sympathies  were  with  "the  Pathfinder"' 
and  the  principles  of  which  he  was  the  representative,  and  he  took  such  jiart  in 
that  stirring  campaign  as  a  non-voter  could.  His  first  vote  was  cast  for  the 
immortal  Lincoln,  in  i860,  and  from  that  time  he  was  numbered  among  the 
most  intelligent  and  devoted  supporters  of  the  party,  and  recognized  as  a  leader 
of  commanding  ability  and  wide  influence,  yet,  withal,  in  no  manner  a  political 
aspirant  or  self-seeking,  but  shaping  his  political  conduct  as  he  did  his  jiersonal 
life— its  mainsprings  honor,  and  its  end  the  betterment  of  .society  at  large,  and 
upholding  of  high  moral  principles  and  ])ractices  by  the  nation  at  large  as  well 
as  by  the  individual.  In  his  personal  life,  he  was'held  in  Imnor  not' alone  for 
his  well  rounded  character,  but  for  his  intellectual  attainments.  He  bad  con- 
stantly enlarged  the  Ixnmdaries  of  his  knowledge,  and  in  every  direction.  He 
was  liberally  informed  in  history,  biography  and  general  literature,  and  had 
long  been  recognized  as  an  indisputable  authority  upon  banking  and  finance. 


266  HISTORY   OF    JVESTMOREL.IXD   COUNTY. 

He  married,  January  2,  1861,  Elizabeth  Shields,  daughter  of  James  Shields. 
\\'ith  her  his  domestic  life  proved  most  fortunate  and  peculiarly  happy.  }ilrs. 
Hitchman  has  ever  been  a  real  helpmeet  to  her  husband,  in  the  broadest  mean- 
ing of  the  word,  sympathizing  with  him  and  affording  her  counsel  and  encour- 
agement in  whatever  commanded  his  interest.  To  them  were  born  six  sons 
and  two  daughters:  James  S.,  Edward  T.,  Arthur,  John  D.,  Wahon  M.,  Wil- 
liam M.,  }\lar\-  and  Alice  E.  Hitchman. 

CHARLES  M.  SLOAN,  AL  D.,  was  born  May  9,  1867,  in  Salen. 
township,  Westmoreland  county,  son  of  John  and  Prudence  (Buchanan)  Sloan: 
he  is  one  of  seven  children,  the  others  being :  Alexander  M.,  an  attorney  of 
Greensburg :  Melissa  J\L,  wife  of  John  A.  Steele,  of  Goff,  Pennsylvania ;  Nan- 
nie J.,  living  at  home ;  James  W.,  of  Nebraska :  Robert  H.,  of  Pueblo.  Colo- 
rado:  David  E..  M.  D.,  of  Charleroi,  Pennsylvania.  John  Sloan,  father  of  Dr. 
Sloan,  was  born  and  reared  in  Washington  township,  this  county,  but  while  yet 
a  voung  man  bought  a  farm  in  Salem  township  and  resided  there  until  about 
1888,  when  he  retired  from  active  pursuits  and  removed  to  Greensburg  where 
he  is  now  residing.  In  politics  he.  is  a  Democrat,  and  was  a  candidate  for  the 
ofifice  of  county  treasurer  against  J.  J.  Kappenberger,  but  was  defeated.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Greensburg,  and  is  one  of 
the  most  highly  esteemed  citizens  of  the  borough. 

Charles  M.  Sloan  received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  and 
Greensburg  Seminary.  He  began  to  teach  school  when  about  eighteen  years 
of  age  and  taught  for  four  years,  then  accepted  a  position  as  manifest  clerk  for 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  continuing  in  that  capacity  for  some  eighteen 
months.  In  1893  he  began  reading  medicine  with  his  brother,  David  E.,  who 
was  then  located  at  Pittsburg,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  year  1894  entered  the 
medical  department  of  the  Western  University  of  Pennsylvania,  whence  ne 
graduated  in  the  spring  of  1897.  In  the  following  June  he  took  the  state  board 
examination,  and  in  August  of  the  same  year  began  practice  at  Madison,  where 
he  has  since  continued  and  has  built  up  a  remunerative  practice.  In  politics  he 
is  a  Democrat  but  holds  liberal  views ;  he  served  for  six  years  as  a  member  of 
the  school  board.  He  is  a  member  of  Westmoreland  Lodge,  No.  518,  F.  and 
A.  M.,  of  Greensburg:  Urania  Chapter,  No.  192,  R.  A.  M.,  of  Greensburg; 
Kedron  Commandery,  No.  18.  K.  T.,  of  Greensburg;  Greensburg  Lodge  B. 
P.  ( ).  E. :  and  the  Westmoreland  County  Medical  Society.  Dr.  Sloan  married 
in  T898,  Tillie  L.  Wilson,  a  daughter  of  Harrison  Wilson,  a  prominent  citizen 
of  Hempfield  township,  and  for  several  years  a  member  of  the  school  board. 
One  child  has  been  born  to  them,  Elizabeth.  They  are  members  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church,  and  one  of  the  most  prominent  families  of  the  county. 

JOHN  H.  CREIGHTON,  proprietor  of  the  Hotel  Creighton.  was 
born  at  McKeesport.  Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania,  November  18,  1861,  son 
of  W^illiam  and  Isabelle  (Hay)  Creighton.  He  is  one  of  two  children  surviving 
of  six,  the  other  being  Jeannette,  wife  of  Jonathan  Watson,  of  Connellsville, 
Pennsvlvania. 

The  paternal  grandparents  were  Peter  and  Jennie  (Telford)  Creighton,  or 
Crichton,  as  it  was  spelled  in  Scotland,  of  which  country  they  were  natives. 
Peter  Crichton  was  a  contractor  and  railroad  builder,  at  which  business  he 
acquired  a  fortune.  He  died  in  Scotland  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven.  William 
Creighton,  his  son,  and  the  father  of  John  H.  Creighton.  was  born  in  Lanack- 
shire,  Scotland,  June  8,   1832.     He  was  reared  in  Scotland  and  acquired  his 


■THE 


PL  : 


HISTORY   OF    IVESTMORELAXD   COUXTV.  267 

education  in  the  common  schools  of  that  country.  In  185C)  he  emigrateil  to  the 
United  States  and  located  at  Port  Perery,  where  he  was  connected  with  tiie 
river  tratSc  running  on  the  coal  boats  for  eight  or  ten  years.  In  1868  he  re- 
moved to  Lariniore  and  for  a  few  vears  worked  in  the  coal  mnies  there,  later 
engaging  in  farming.  He  was  ever  active  in  works  for  the  public  good,  and 
fo?  mant-  vears  served  as  supervisor  of  Larimore.  He  also  served  for  many 
vears  as 'a  member  of  the  school  board.  Politically  he  is  a  Democrat,  and  m  his 
religious  faith  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  His  tirst  wife  died 
about  1868,  and  he  later  contracted  a  second  marriage  with  Catherine  Barnes, 
by  whom  he  has  seven  children:  William,  a  resident  of  Larimore;  Richard, 
deceased :  Robert  and  Daniel,  twins,  both  residents  of  Larimore ;  Belle,  wife  of 
loseph  Loutzenheiser :  Catherine,  wife  of  Robert  Watson;  Johan,  wife  of  A. 
Burtuer. 

John  H.  Creighton  was  brought  up  in  the  place  of  his  birth,  and  attended 
the  common  schools  of  that  town\intil  he  reached  the  age  of  sixteen,  when  he 
began  to  work  in  the  mines ;  for  twelve  or  more  years  he  was  connected  with 
that  line  of  industrv.  During  the  years  1888-89  he  was  tax  collector  of  his 
township.  In  1889  he  accepted  a  position  at  Irwin  as  a  bartender,  and  in  1892 
purchased,  in  companv  with  Alexander  Pool,  Hotel  Pool,  and  was  located  at 
Manor  until  Mav  i.  1894.  He  sold  his  interest  in  the  enterprise  and  went  to 
Europe.  Upon  his  return  to  this  country  he  built  his  widely-known  hostelr} 
in  Hermanie,  where  he  has  since  continued  and  managed  the  hotel  with  great 
success.  In  addition  to  this  he  is  a  director  and  stockholder  in  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Suterville.  He  is  a  member  of  Greensburg  Lodge,  No.  511, 
B.  P.  O.  E.,  and  of  Westmoreland  Lodge,  No.  415.  K.  of  P.  In  politics  he 
votes  with  the  Democratic  party.  Mr.  Creighton  married,  November  25,  1894, 
lennie  Greenawalt,  of  Madison.  Pennsylvania,  a  daughter  of  Simon  Greena- 
walt,  now  of  Wilkinsburg,  Pennsylvania.  Their  children  are:  John  H..  Jr., 
Lucien  D.,  William.  }ilaud,  and  ^Mary.  They  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  and  hold  a  prominent  social  position  in  Sewickley  township. 

WILLIAM  JAMES  LATIMORE.  M.  D.  The  grandfather  of  Dr 
William  J.  Latimore,  of  Herminie.  was  John  Latimore,  a  native  of  Ireland. 
He  married  Mary  Armstrong,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  a  son.  James 
Latimore,  who  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1848.  The  family  were  led  to  come  to 
the  United  States  through  the  example  of  Charles  Armstrong,  a  brother  of 
Mrs.  Latimore.  who  was  the  first  to  seek  a  home  across  the  sea.  James  Lati- 
more married  Elizabeth  Blackburn,  and  five  children  were  born  to  them,  two 
of  whom  are  now  living:  William  James,  of  whom  later;  and  Elizabeth,  wife 
of  Frederick  Pippert,  of  West  Newton. 

William  James  Latimore.  son  of  James  and  Elizabeth  (Blackburn)  Lati- 
more. was  born  April  28,  1874,  in  Armstrong,  the  town  having  received  its 
name  in  honor  of  Charles  Armstrong,  mentioned  above.  The  foundation  of 
Dr.  Latimore's  education  was  laid  in  the  public  schools  of  West  Newton, 
whence  he  proceeded  to  the  State  Normal  school  at  California,  Pennsylvanir' 
and  from  that  institution  advanced  to  \N'estminstcr  College,  Lawrence  county. 
Pennsylvania.  In  1893  he  began  reading  medicine  under  the  guidance  of  Dr. 
L.  ^'.  Sutton,  of  West  Newton,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1895  entered  the  Eclectic 
Medical  Institute  of  Cincinnati.  Ohio,  graduating  in  the  spring  of  1897  with 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  He  then  returned  to  West  Newton,  and 
for  several  months  was  associated  in  practice  with  his  former  preceptor.  Dr. 
Sutton,  after  which  he  went  to  Shaners  Station  where  he  remained  until  Dc- 


268  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

cember,  1902.  He  then  moved  to  Hcrminie  where  he  has  ever  since  been  in 
active  practice.  Dr.  Latimore  belongs  to  Youghiogheny  Valley  Lodge,  No. 
555,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  Greensburg  Lodge,  No.  511,  B.  P.  O.  E.  He  is  a  staunch 
Republican,  and  during  the  last  year  has  been  chairman  of  the  township.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church.  Dr.  Latimore  married,  Feb- 
ruary 2,  1905,  Bertha  Huber,  of  Steubenville,  Ohio.  They  have  one  child, 
William  J.,  Jr.,  born  November  26,  1905. 

CLAYTON  O.  SLATER,  now  serving  his  third  term  under  presi- 
dential appointment  as  postmaster  at  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania,  is  a  native  of 
the  state,  born  in  Ligonier,  August  29,  1861,  son  of  Samuel  and  Drucilla 
(Lowrey)   Slater. 

Samuel  Slater  was  born  in  the  Ligonier  Valley  in  1819.  During  his 
entire  life  he  followed  his  trade  as  a  carpenter  and  builder.  He'  was  a  Presby- 
terian, and  a  Republican  in  politics.  He  married  Drucilla  Lowrey,  born  m 
Ligonier  Valley,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  Lowrey,  a  farmer  there.  Mr.  Lowrey 
died  1886,  and  his  wife  died  1883.  They  were  the  parents  of  eleven  children: 
R.  A.  deceased ;  Mary,  wife  of  J.  H.  Bair,  and  residing  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania ;  John  L.,  deceased ;  Albert  C,  residing  in  Pittsburg ;  Charles  A.,  residing 
in  Latrobe;  Nettie  J.,  widow  of  Max  Bach;  Mattie,  deceased;  Clayton  O.,  of 
whom  further ;  Harry,  deceased ;  and  two  other  children  who  died  in  infancy. 

Clayton  O.  Slater  was  but  three  years  of  age  when  his  parents  removed 
from  Ligonier  to  Latrobe,  where  he  was  reared  and  educated.  He  attended  the 
public  schools  until  he  was  fifteen  years  old,  when  he  entered  the  Latrobe  post- 
office  in  the  capacity  of  clerk,  and  subsequently  became  assistant  to  Colonel 
Oursler,  postmaster,  and  conducted  the  office  for  him  during  his  entire  term. 
Shortly  after  the  inauguration  of  President  Cleveland  the  appointment  as  post- 
master of  a  Democrat  necessitated  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Slater,  who  entered 
the  employ  of  the  H.  C.  Frick  Company  at  Mount  Pleasant.  He  subsequently 
o])ened  a  notion  store  in  Latrobe,  on  the  site  of  the  present  postoffice,  and  con- 
ducted the  business  for  about  twelve  years,  discontinuing  his  connection  with 
it  when  he  entered  upon  his  duties  as  postmaster,  under  appointment  by  Presi- 
dent McKinley,  October  i,  1897.  He  proved  a  most  efficient  officer,  and  has 
been  continued  in  the  office  to  the  present  time,  under  two  successive  reappoint- 
ments, both  by  President  Roosevelt,  the  last  in  January  of  1905.  Mr.  Slater 
well  earned  this  recognition  of  his  ability  and  signally  meritorious  service. 
When  he  first  entered  upon  the  duties  of  postmaster  he  brought  to  them  ample 
experience,  acquired  in  a  subordinate  position,  though  several  years  before.  He 
was,  moreover,  thoroughly  aware  of  the  opportunities  and  necessity  for  improv- 
ing local  postal  facilities,  and  he  at  once  set  himself  to  the  work  of  instituting 
various  reforms  and  improvements.  As  a  result  of  his  effort  was  the  establish- 
ment of  free  delivery  in  Latrobe,  the  securing  of  additional  clerical  assistance 
in  the  office,  and  the  creation  of  three  important  rural  delivery  routes,  to  the 
great  advantage  of  a  large  rural  population.  The  extent  to  which  the  busines' 
of  the  office  has  been  developed  under  the  new  conditions  is  more  clearly  to  be 
apprehended  when  the  fact  is  stated  that  when  Mr.  Slater  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  postmaster,  a  little  more  than  eight  years  ago,  the  a,ggregate  receipts 
of  the  office  were  about  $6,200,  and  the  allowance  for  clerk  hire  was  $,"^00 ; 
while  in  1904  the  receipts  had  been  nearly  trebled,  reaching  a  sum  exceeding 
$16,000,  while  the  amount  paid  out  to  clerks  and  carriers  amounted  to  $7,000. 
Five  postoffice  clerks  are  employed,  four  city  letter  carriers,  and  three  rural 
delivery  carriers,  who  cover  a  distance  of  sevent\-five  miles.     Mr.  Slater  is  n 


^ 


HISTORY   OF    irESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  269 

prot^ressive  citizen,  and  has  constantly  borne  a  full  share  in  the  advancement 
of  conimunitv  interests.  During  two  terms  he  rendered  efficient  service  as 
buro-ess  He  is  affihated  with  Lodge  No.  275,  F.  and  A.  ^l.  In  politics  he  is 
a  Republican.  Mr.  Slater  married,  .March  31,  1886,  Sadie  ^hadle,  of  T.atrobe. 
daughter  of  Amos  Shadle.  a  scion  of  one  of  the  old  Westmoreland  county 
famTlies,  and  a  skillful  photographer.  Mr.  and  :\Irs.  Slater  are  .r.'.Miibev.  of  the 
Preshvterian  church.     They  have  no  children. 

COLONEL  GEORGE  C.  ANDERSON.  How  rapidly  time  is  thin- 
ning the  ranks  of  the  brave  "boys  in  blue"  who  went  forth  in  defense  of  the 
nation's  integritv  during  the  dark  and  stomiyepoch  of  the  civil  war  is  evident 
to  even  the  superficial  observer,  and  the  silvered  heads  of  those  who  appear  in 
the  ranks  of  the  veterans  at  the  various  encampments  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic  show  whither  the  line  of  march  is  tending.  The  younger  genera- 
tion may  well  look  with  admiration  and  honor  upon  these  valiant  sons  of  the 
republic  who  saved  to  the  world  a  grand  and  united  country,  and  though  time 
has  thrown  its  beneficent  influence  over  the  story  of  the  great  conflict  and  the 
animosities  of  the  past  have  been  softened  and  chastened,  yet  never  can  there 
be  aught  but  appreciation  of  the  services  of  the  men  who  followed  the  stars 
and  stripes  over  the  sanguinary  battle  fields  of  the  south.  One  of  the  honored 
veterans  of  the  war  of  the  rebellion  is  Colonel  Anderson,  to  whom  this  brief 
tribute  is  dedicated  and  who  has  long  been  numbered  among  the  prominent 
business  men  and  influential  citizens  of  Latrobe,  Westmoreland  county,  where 
he  has  maintained  his  home  for  nearly  two  score  of  years. 

Colonel  Anderson  was  born  in  Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania.  Septem- 
ber 8.  1836,  a  son  of  Thomas  and  r^Iary  (Rutherford)  Anderson,  both  of  whom 
continued  to  reside  in  the  old  Keystone  state  until  their  death.  The  father  was 
born  and  reared  in  England,  whence  he  came  to  the  LTnited  States  in  1820, 
settling  in  what  is  now  the  city  of  Pittsburg,  and  having  been  for  many  years 
identified  with  the  mining  industrv  in  that  section  of  the  state.  George  C. 
Anderson  received  limited  educational  advantages  in  his  youth,  his  privileges 
having  been  those  afforded  in  the  common  schools  of  the  locality  in  which  he 
was  born,  while  he  early  initiated  his  services  as  one  of  the  world's  workers. 
At  the  age  of  fifteen  years  entered  upon  an  apprenticeship  at  the  trade  of 
brick  laying,  in  which  he  became  a  thoroughly  competent  artisan,  having  re- 
ceived his  instructions  under  the  direction  of  Thomas  Simmons,  of  Pittsburg, 
with  \vhom  he  worked  five  years,  after  which  he  found  employment  as  a  jour- 
neyman at  his  trade,  traveling  throughout  the  south  and  west,  and  gaining  val- 
uable experience  and  knowledge  in  the  connection.  He  thus  continued  until 
there  came  the  call  to  higher  duty,  as  the  unity  of  the  nation  was  thrown  into 
jeopardy  through  armed  rebellion.  Colonel  Anderson  was  among  those  who 
responded  to  President  Lincoln's  first  call  for  volunteers,  and  it  was  his  privi- 
lege ?.lso  to  go  forth  as  a  representative  of  his  native  state.  He  enlisted,  April 
20.  1861,  as  a  private  in  Company  K.  Eleventh  Pennsylvania  \'olunteer  In- 
fantry, for  a  term  of  three  months,  his  regiment  being  commanded  bv  Colonel 
Jarrett.  In  July,  1861,  at  the  expiration  of  his  term,  he  received  his  honorable 
discharge,  but  immediately  re-enlisted  in  the  same  company,  of  w'hich  he  w-as 
made  orderly  sergeant  at  that  time,  while  in  September,  1861,  he  was  elected 
second  lieutenant  of  this  company,  which  was  then  known  as  Companv  K, 
Fifty-third  Pennsylvania  \'ohintccr  Infantry,  commanded  bv  Colonel  John  R. 
Brooke.  The  regiment  left  Camp  Curtiri  and  proceeded  to  the  front,  November 
7,  1861,  and  it  was  the  fortune  of  the  command  to  thereafter  participate  in  many 


270  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

of  the  memorable  engagements  which  marked  the  progress  of  the  great  conflict. 
December  22,  1862,  while  in  the  field,  Colonel  Anderson  re-enlisted,  his  second 
term  having  expired,  and  this  time  he  tendered  his  services  for  three  years  01 
during  the  entire  period  of  the  war.  He  was  promoted  first  lieutenant,  Septem- 
ber 17,  1862,  and  recognition  of  his  faithful  and  valiant  service  was  thereafter 
accorded  in  his  further  promotion,  as  follows:  Captain,  April  23,  1864:  major, 
September  I,  1864;  and  lieutenant-colonel,  November  10,  1864.  His  regiment 
was  assigned  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  (  Second  Army  Corps)  with  which 
he  served  during  the  greater  portion  of  his  time,  which  covered  jiractically  the 
entire  period  of  the  war.  In  the  engagement  at  Spottsylvania  Court  House, 
Colonel  Anderson  received,  wounds  in  the  right  side  of  the  head  and  in  the  left 
breast,  but  aside  from  these  injuries  his  fortune  was  so  propitious  as  to  enable 
him  to  remain  constantlv  at  the  point  of  duty  in  the  various  official  positions  of 
which  he  was  in  turn  incumbent.  He  was  present  at  the  surrender  of  General 
Lee,  and  also  took  part  in  the  Grand  Review  in  the  city  of  Washington,  while  he 
was  mustered  out  June  30,  1865,  receiving  his  pay  and  his  honorable  discharge, 
at  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  July  9,   1865. 

After  the  close  of  his  long  and  faithful  service  as  a  loyal  soldier  of  the  Re- 
public, Colonel  Anderson  returned  to  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  to 
which  section  of  the  state  he  had  moved  in  1855-56.  He  did  not  resume  his 
trade,  but  engaged  in  contracting  and  building.  He  followed  general  con- 
struction for  about  a  third  of  a  century.  During  these  years  he  operated  a 
lumber  and  planing  mill  at  Latrol.ie.  As  he  advanced  in  age  he  wished  to  lead  a 
more  retired  life,  so  in  January,  1902,  he  chartered  his  extensive  business  into  a 
company,  retaining  a  controlling  interest  in  the  stock  himself,  and  dividing  the 
balance  among  his  three  sons,  who  have  since  then  been  the  active  operators, 
with  their  father  as  president  of  the  company.  The  firm  is  styled  George  C. 
Anderson  &  Sons.  They  do  an  immense  business,  amounting  at  this  date  (1905  ) 
to  about  one  thousand  dollars  per  day,  in  the  erection  of  scores  of  residences  and 
office  buildings  throughout  the  state.  The  sons  who  are  connected  with  the 
business  are  William  R.,  Thomas  ?>.  (general  manager),  and  George  E.,  secre- 
tary and  treasurer.  Colonel  Anderson  is  one  of  the  best  known  and  most  hon- 
ored citizens  of  Latrobe,  and  has  ever  been  prominent  in  the  furtherance  of  en- 
terprises and  undertakings  for  the  general  good  of  the  community,  his  public 
spirit  being  exemplified  in  no  uncertain  way,  while  to  him  has  been  given  the 
vmequivocal  confidence  and  regard  of  the  community  in  which  he  has  so  long 
made  his  home.  In  politics  he  is  an  uncompromising  advocate  of  the  principles 
and  policies  of  the  Republican  party,  with  which  he  has  been  identified  from 
practically  the  time  of  its  inception,  and  fraternallv  he  is  a  valued  member  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  The  following  tribute  to  him  is  found  on  page 
59  of  the  "Soldiers'  Register,"  kept  in  the  register's  office  of  Westmoreland 
county:  "George  C.  Anderson,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  Fifty-third  regiment.  Vet- 
eran Volunteer  Infantry,  enrolled  September  9,  1861  :  discharged  June  22, 
1865."  "NOTE:  Colonel  George  C.  Anderson  was  one  of  the  bravest  and 
])est  officers  of  the  regiment.  There  was  no  battle  in  which  he  bore  a  part  in 
which  he  did  not  distinguish  himself." 

(Signed)  ^  JOHN  R.  BROOKE, 

Brigadier-General. 

Colonel  Anderson  married,  October  16,  1867,  Eliza  J.  Belford,  born  in 
1845,  '1  Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania,  reared  in  Youngstown.  Pennsvlvania, 
daughter  of  Af  r.  and  Mrs.  James  Belford.  Their  children  are  •  Willinm  R..  born 
July  26,  1868;  Thomas  B.,  August  26,  1870;  Charles  S.,  April  14,  1873  ;  James 


HISTORY   OF   U'ESTMORELAXD   COUXTY.  271 

Howard,  November  6,  1875:  George  E..  January  2,  1878:  John  W..  February 
22  1880:  .Marv  Tane,  July  9,  1882:  and  Robert  \V.,  July  9.  1885.  James  Ho- 
ward died  February  25,  1878,  and  John  W.  passed  away  September  15,  1881. 
The  other  children' are  living  and  all  still  remain  residents  of  Latrobe,  where 
the  familv  is  one  of  distinctive  prominence  in  business,  civic  and  social  life. 
Thomas  EJelford  Anderson,  the  second  son  of  Colonel  Anderson,  maintained  the 
familv  reputation  for  patriotism  by  serving  with  fidelity  as  a  soldier  of  the 
United  State  armv  in  the  Philippines,  where  he  remained  two  years.  He  is  now 
the  business  manger  of  the  firm  of  George  C.  Anderson  and  Sons,  (Incorpor- 
ated). He  married  Ruth  Keener,  and  they  have  one  child,  Julia  B..  born  in 
1901.  Colonel  Anderson  and  wife  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  at  Latrobe.  Pennsylvania. 

EDMUND  SMITH.  One  of  the  sterling  citizens  and  prominent 
business  men  of  Latrobe.  Westmoreland  county,  is  he  whose  name  initiates  this 
article  and  who  has  here  maintainctl  his  home  for  many  years,  while  his  course 
has  been  such  as  to  win  and  retain  to  him  the  high  regard  of  the  people  of  the 
community.  He  is  engaged  in  the  livery  business,  having  large  and  finely  a{> 
pointed  stables  af  No.  132  Depot  street,  and  catering  to  the  demands  of  a  large 
and  representative  patronage.  He  keeps  an  average  of  about  twenty  head  of 
horses,  and  the  vehicles  sent  out  are  of  the  best  type,  both  in  heavy  and  light 
rigs,  while  the  genial  personality  of  the  proprietor  has  been  an  important  factor 
inthe  upbuilding  of  the  successful  enterprise  at  whose  head  he  now  stands. 

;Mr.  Smith  is  a  native  of  the  fair  old  city  of  Philadelphia,  where  he  was 
born  March  22,  1852.  Edmund  Smith  has  been  in  a  significant  way  the  archi- 
tect of  his  own  fortunes,  since  he  has  been  dependent  upon  his  own  resources 
from  his  boyhood  days,  and  has  shown  in  his  career  that  earnest  endeavor  and 
integrity  of  purpose  will  bring  at  least  a  modicum  of  success,  while  the  disci- 
pline will  develop  the  initiative  power  of  the  individual  and  make  him  a  force  in 
his  chosen  sphere  of  endeavor.  He  secured  a  common  school  education  of 
limited  order,  having  been  but  twelve  years  of  age  when  he  abandoned  his 
studies  to  assume  the  practical  responsibities  of  life.  He  was  identified  with 
farm  work  until  he  had  reached  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  when  he  entered  upon 
an  apprenticeship  at  the  blacksmith  trade,  in  which  he  became  a  skilled  work- 
man and  to  which  he  devoted  his  attention  for  the  long  period  of  thirty-two 
years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  he  established  himself  in  his  present  line 
of  enterprise,  in  which  his  efforts  have  been  attended  with  most  gratifying  suc- 
cess. He  took  ui)  his  residence  in  Latrobe  in  1872,  and  here  he  has  ever  been 
known  as  a  reliable,  and  enterprising  business  man  and  loyal  and  public-spirited 
citizen.  In  politics  he  is  a  stalwart  Republican,  and  he  takes  a  deep  interest  in 
public  affairs  of  a  local  nature,  though  the  honors  and  emoluments  of  public 
office  have  had  no  allurements  for  him.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Royal  Ar- 
canum. Mr.  Smith  married.  December  15.  1873.  Elizabeth  Fisher,  born  and 
reared  in  Westmoreland  county,  this  state,  a  daughter  of  Adam  and  Marie 
'Oats)  Fisher.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  .Smith  have  six  children:  Edmund.  Jr..  engaged 
in  the  blacksmith  business  at  Bradenville.  this  county,  where  he  has  a  pleasant 
home:  Hattie.  remains  at  the  parental  home:  Marie,  wife  of  Nicholas  Dillon, 
and  they  reside  in  Latrobe ;  and  .-Xlcxandcr.  Elizabeth  and  Charlotte,  who  re- 
:nain  with  their  parents. 

FRANK  BENTLEY  HARGRAVE  was  born  :\rarch  4.  1867.  in  West 
Newton.  Westmoreland  county.  Pennsylvania,  son  of  the  Rev.  O.  P.  and'  Re- 
becca   (Harbaugh)    Hargrave.     Henry    Hargrave,    grandfather    of    Frank    B. 


272 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


Hargrave,  emigrated  to  this  countr\-  from  Irelamj  at  a  ver^^  early  day,  and  was 
married  to  Mary  Ann  Peart.  Their  son.  U.  P.  Hargrave,  father  of  Frank 
Bentley  Hargrave,  was  born  January  16,  1828,  in  West  Newton,  Westmoreland 
county,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  ordained  into  the  Baptist  church  ministry,  and 
in  1884  organized  the  first  Baptist  church  in  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  with 
which  church  he  was  connected  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1892.  He 
was  also  moderator  for  many  years  in  the  Pittsburg  Baptist  conference. 

Frank  Bentley  Hargrave,  son  of  the  Rev.  O.  P.  Hargrave,  was  graduated 
fro  niBucknell  University,  at  Lewisburg,  Pennsylvania,  in  i88g.  Deciding  to 
follow  the  legal  profession  he  entered  into  the  study  of  law,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  Westmoreland  and  Allegheny  county  bars  in  1892,  and  since  then  has 
been  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Latrobe  and  Greensburg,  in 
which  he  is  eminently  successful. 

In  politics,  Mr.  Hargrave  affiliates  with  the  Republican  party.  When  the 
Spanish- American  war  was  in  progress  he  enlisted  in  Company  I,  Tenth  Penn- 
sylvania Infantry,  United  States  Volunteers,  and  participated  in  the  battle  of 
Malate,  which  engagement  took  place  July  31  and  August  i,  1898,  and  in  the 
capture  of  Manila,  August  13,  1898.  While  at  Manila  with  his  regiment  he 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  house  of  representatives,  November,  1898. 

ARCHANGELO  ABBATICCHIO.  The  career  of  this  well-known 
and  popular  citizen  of  Latrobe,  Westmoreland  county,  illustrates  what  is  pos- 
sible of  accomplishment  on  the  part  of  the  honest  and  earnest  man  who  comes 
to  our  shores  from  foreign  lands  and  here  puts  forth  His  best  efforts  in  making 
his  way  to  the  front.  Mr.  Abbaticchio  came  from  his  native  land  to  America 
without  financial  reinforcement  or  influential  friends,  and  by  industry  and  good 
management  has  gained  a  position  of  no  questionable  prosperity,  while  he  has 
so  ordered  his  course  as  to  commend  himself  to  the  confidence  and  good  will 
of  those  with  whom  he  has  come  in  contact  in  the  various  relations  of  life.  He 
is  now  the  proprietor  of  the  Latrobe  Hotel,  where  he  offers  excellent  accommo- 
dations to  the  traveling  public  and  where  he  has  built  up  a  large  and  prosperous 
business,  being  one  of  the  successful  hotel  men  of  this  section  of  the  state. 

]\Ir.  Abbaticchio  is  a  native  of  the  famous  city  of  Naples  in  the  fair  land  of 
Italy,  where  he  was  born  January  26,  1842,  the  son  of  Nicholas  and  Pauline  Ab- 
baticchio, who  there  passed  their  entire  lives,  the  father  having  been  a  grocer. 
Archangelo  was  reared  to  manhood  in  his  native  land,  in  whose  schools  of  none' 
the  highest  order  he  secured  his  education.  He  followed  the  trade  of  a  barber 
from  his  fourteenth  year  until  1873,  when  he,  by  having  a  friend  in  Monastry, 
near  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania,  was  induced  to  seek  higher  fortune  in  the  New 
World.  He  landed  in  New  York  City,  July  16,  1873,  and  soon  found  his  way  to 
Westmoreland  county,  where  he  operated  barber  shops  in  Latrobe,  Greens- 
burg, Scottdale,  Connellsville,  Indiana  and  Derry  for  a  period  of  seventeen 
years.  His  was  the  first  Italian  family  to  settle  in  Latrobe,  where  now  so  many 
of  his  countrymen  reside.  While  working  the  above  period  at  his  trade  he 
had  carefully  conserved  his  resources  in  a  financial  way,  and  having  higher  am- 
bitions he  engaged  in  the  hotel  business  at  Latrobe,  where  he  purchased  "The 
Latrobe  House,"  a  good  property  upon  which  many  additional  improvements 
have  been  made  in  the  intervening  years.  He  has  succeeded  in  building  up  an 
excellent  businesss,  havincr  given  his  personal  attention  to  every  detail  during 
the  past  sixteen  years.  His  motto  has  ever  been  "honesty  and  uprightness." 
Indeed  he  may  well  be  called  a  model,  and  his  actions  may  well  be  paterned 
after  by  not  only  the  foreign  born  but  native  born  citizens.     Since  he  landed 


HISTORY   OF    jrESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  273 

on  our  shores  his  theory  has  been  to  save  something  from  his  earnings  each 
year,  be  that  more  or  less,  hence  with  the  passing  years  he  has  added  to  his  re- 
sources, and  has  always  been  wise  enough  to  invest  in  real  estate  properties 
within  his  own  county  and  generally  in  his  home  borough.  From  good  invest- 
ments in  realty  he  has  year  by  year  added  to  his  fortune,  which  has  come  to  be 
a  handsome  competency.  He  now  possesses  thirty-five  residences  and  business 
houses  in  Latrobe.  from  which  he  draws  an  excellent  income.  Besides  this  he 
is  materially  interested  in  local  coal  mine  speculations  and  is  accounted  among 
the  best  financiers  of  Latrobe.  Politically,  Mr.  Abbaticchio  is  a  supporter  of 
the  Democratic  party  in  national  politics.  The  family  including  himself  are  of 
the  Catholic  faith. 

Concerning  his  domestic  relations  let  it  be  said  that  in  1858,  beneath  the 
sunny  skies  of  Italy,  he  married  ^Nlary  Sorrentino,  born  in  Italy,  August  24, 
1842.  and  who  accompnied  her  huslwnd  on  his  removal  to  America.  Mrs.  Ab- 
baticchio came  from  a  family  of  high  standing  and  from  which  came  senators 
and  superior  officials  in  Italy.  Of  their  eight  children,  three  are  still  at  home. 
The  following  are  the  names  of  the  children:  i.  Nicholas,  born  in  Italy,  1859, 
is  now  a  practicing  physician  at  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania.  He  married  Georgia 
Williamson,  of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Marie. 

2.  Albert,  horn  in  Italy,  i860,  is  now  conducting  a  brokerage  and  exchange  busi- 
ness and  sells  steamship  tickets  at  Latrobe.  3.  Pauline,  born  in  Italy,  1862,  was 
educated  at  St.  Xavier  College,  taught  two  years  and  then  took  the  sacred  vows 
of  a  Sister  of  Mercy.  4.  Horace,  torn  in  Italy,  1864,  is  a  merchant  in  El  wood 
City,  Pennsylvania.  He  married  Bessie  Cartright,  of  that  place.  5.  Edward, 
horn  at  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania,  1877,  became  a  prominent  professional  base-ball 
player,  following  it  for  the  last  nine  years,  and  for  the  past  three  years  has  been 
with  the  Boston  Xational  League  team.  He  married  Annie  Connor,  of  Nash- 
ville. Tennessee,  and  they  have  one  son,  Edward,  born  October  27,  1904. 
6.  Caroline,  born  at  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania,  1881,  at  home.  7.  William,  born  at 
Latrobe,  1882,  now  engaged  in  the  wholesale  liquor  trade  at  McKeesport,  Penn- 
sylvania. 8.  Raymond,  born  at  Latrobe,  1883,  now  taking  his  post-graduate 
course  in  law  at  Georgetown  (D.  C.)  College,  from  which  institution  he  grad- 
uated in  1904.  He  was  graduate  in  law  with  the  class  of  June,  1906.  Too 
much  praise  cannot  well  be  given  to  one  whose  educational  advantages  in  a 
forei.gn  land  were  very  limited,  but  who  upon  becoming  an  adopted  citizen  of 
the  I'nited  States  practiced  even  much  self-denial  in  order  that  his  own  children 
might  enter  and  continue  in  colleges  of  a  high  class  until  fitted  to  graduate  with 
high  honors.  Of  such  foreigners  this  country  can  never  have  too  many,  for  in 
their  hands  will  our  free  government  ever  be  secure. 

CH.-\RLES  H.  BOLTr)X.  postmaster  of  Hcrminie,  was  Iwrn  March 

3.  1867.  at  Irwin.  Westmoreland  county,  one  of  nine  children  of  William  and 
Catherine  (Luffler)  Bolton,  ei.ght  of  whom  are  living:  Cora  B.,  wife  of  C.  A. 
Thompson,  of  Irwin.  Pennsylvania:  Ida,  wife  of  John  Soles,  McKeesport, 
Penn.sylvania ;  Emma  B.,  wife  of  John  T.  Small,  of  East  McKeesport ;  Frank 
L.,  also  of  East  McKeesport:  Howard  E.,  who  works  for  Charles  H. :  Nellie 
Hving  at  home :  Gertrude,  wife  of  Frank  Gregg,  of  Irvona,  Pennsylvania  ;  and 
Charles  H. 

The  family  is  of  English  descent,  the  grandfather  of  Charles  H.,  Jonatlian 
Bolton,  coming  from  England  in  1841  and  locating  at  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  the  butcher  business.  He  died  in  his  sixty-fourth 
year  from  an  injury  received  in  an  accident.     His  son,  William,  the  father  of 

2     18 


274  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

Charles  H..  was  born  at  Pittsburg,  Allegheny  county,  in  i"842,  and  was 
reared  at  home,  acquiring  his  education  in  the  common  schools.  At  the  age  of 
tifteeu  he  left  home  and  went  to  Irwin,  wdiere  he  found  employment  in  the 
coal  mines  and  continued  for  fifteen  years.  He  then  engaged  in  the  butcher 
business  at  Circleville,  where  he  still  resides  and  transacts  business.  He  is 
very  active  in  church  work  and  belongs  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  has  served  as  member  of  the  school  board 
for  many  years  and  also  as  township  auditor.  The  wife  of  William  Bolton, 
Catherine  Luffler  Bolton,  was  born  in  1844.  on  Squirrel  Hill,  Allegheny  county, 
a  daughter  of  George  Luffler.  He  was  a  native  of  Germany,  but  came  to  this 
country  in  1838  and  located  in  Allegheny  county,  where  he  followed  his  trade, 
a  carpenter  and  builder. 

Charles  H.  Bolton  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  his  birth- 
place ;  at  the  age  of  fourteen  he  took  charge  of  his  father's  books  and  became 
his  assistant  in  the  butcher  business,  and  at  twenty-one  years  his  father  took 
him  into  partnership.  In  1895  he  severed  his  business  relation  with  his  father 
as  a  partner,  but  was  employed  by  him  for  two  more  years,  during  which  time 
he  was  engaged  in  building  houses  at  Hermine.  In  1897  he  went  into  the 
butcher  business  at  Herminie,  in  company  with  A.  H.  Plough,  under  the  firm 
title  of  Bolton  and  Plough.  Two  years  later  Mr.  Plough's  interest  was  pur- 
chased by  Frank  Bolton,  and  the  firm  for  two  years  did  business  under  the  title 
of  C.  H.  Bolton  and  Bro.  In  1901  Charles  H.  bought  his  brother's  interest  and 
has  since  conducted  the  business  alone.  In  addition  to  this  he  is  connected 
with  C.  A.  Thompson  in  the  real  estate  business,  at  Irwin  ;  owns  a  three-fourth 
interest  in  nine  residence  properties  and  forty  building  lots  in  Herminie  ;  has 
a  one-half  interest  in  the  Scott  farm  in  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania; 
one-third  interest  in  an  oil  farm  in  Washington  county,  on  which  there  are 
six  producing  wells ;  is  the  president  and  organizer  of  the  C.  H.  Bolton  Sand 
Company  of  Irwin  and  McKeesport.  He  received  his  appointment  as  post- 
master in  1902.  during  the  administration  of  President  McKinley.  He  is  one 
one  of  the  leading  business  men  and  financiers  of  that  section  of  the  county. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  and  of  Westmoreland 
Lodge,  No.  518,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  Greensburg.  Mr.  Bolton  mar- 
riedjune  20,  1894,  Margaret  White,  daughter  of  James  White,  of  Jacksonville 
Westmoreland  county,  by  w  hom  he  has  four  children,  three  of  whom  survive : 
Helen,  Fred  and  Margaret  Bolton. 

ALBERT  CLARK  HENSEL,  an  undertaker  and  liveryman  of  Her- 
minie, w'as  born  in  Salem  township,  Westmoreland  county  April  5,  1875,  a  son 
of  Jacob  and  Mary  ( Bash)  Hensel,  one  of  fourteen  children,  eleven  of  whom  are 
still  living,  namely :  William,  of  Greensburg,  engaged  in  the  milk  business ; 
Harvey,  of  Congruity,  Pennsylvania,  an  agent  for  Bradstreet ;  Charles  Mc- 
Quown,  of  Vandergrift :  Wesley,  of  Blissfield,  Michigan,  county  supernnen- 
dent  for  Lanawee  county ;  Margaret,  widow  of  G.  B.  Waugaman,  Greensburg, 
Pennsylvania;  Minnie,  wife  of  J.  G.  Kemp,  Greensburg;  Sarah,  wife  of  Ed- 
ward O'Neil,  Chambersburg,  Indiana ;  Josephine,  a  trained  nurse  in  the  Mc- 
Keesport Hospital ;  Charles,  a  farmer,  at  home ;  Robert,  express  agent  at 
Monroe,  Michigan,  for  the  United  States  Express  Company. 

The  paternal  grandfather  was  William  Hensel,  a  native  and  lifelong  resi- 
dent of  Westmoreland  county.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  also  a  justice  of  the 
peace  for  manv  years  of  Bell  township — Squire  Hensel — as  he  was  called,  be- 
ing one  of  the  best-known  men  of  that  section.     He  died  at  the  age  of  eighty- 


^ 


i^^n^  ^-^^ 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUXTY.  275 

two  vears.  Jacob  Hensel,  the  father  of  Albert  C.  Heiisel,  was  the  son  of 
WilHam  and  Ehzabeth  (Buzzard)  Hensel,  and  was  born  September  18,  1832, 
or  33.  in  Bell  townshij),  this  county.  He  adopted  farming  as  his  occupation, 
and  about  1865  removed  from  Bell  township  to  Loyaltromia  township,  where 
he  still  makes  his  home.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  for  three  years 
served  as  poor  director,  also  many  )ears  as  a  member  of  the  school  board. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  German  Kefi^irm  church,  and  was  an  officer  of  that 
body  for  several  years. 

Albert  C.  Hensel  attended  the  common  schools  of  his  native  place  until  he 
had  reached  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  when  he  went  to  Apolla,  Armstrong 
countv,  Pennsylvania,  and  found  employment  in  the  rolling  mills,  continuing 
there  for  about  three  years.  He  then  learned  the  butcher's  trade,  and  was  em- 
ployed in  various  towns  at  that  business  until  November,  1904,  when  he  pur- 
chased the  livery  business  of  James  Crosby,  of  Herminie,  where  he  is  at  present 
located.  This  liverv  stable  was  in  a  run-down  condition,  but  he  has  fully  re- 
organized the  business,  and  now  has  one  of  the  best-regulated  and  most  pros- 
perous livery  establishmei'ts  in  the  county.  ]\Ir  Hensel  .served  in  Porto  Rico 
during  the  Hispano-American  war,  a  member  of  Company  I\I,  Sixteenth  Reg- 
iment. Politically  he  is  a  Republican,  but  has  never  aspired  to  any  office.  He 
is  a  member  of  Homestead  Lodge,  No.  1049.  ludependent  Order  of  ( )dd 
Fellows.  He  married  April  23,  1902.  Emma  Hylwick,  of  Aladison.  this  county. 
a  daughter  of  Lemuel  Hylwick,  for  many  years  deceased. 

\VILLL-\M  B.  JONES.  SR..  was  born  in  Wales,  June  4.  1848'.  He 
was  the  son  of  Joseph  and  Gwenny  ( Gwellem)  Jones,  and  was  one  of  twelve 
children,  of  whom  two  survive :  Rachel,  wife  of  John  W'atkins,  Monmouth- 
shire. Wales ;  and  William  B.,  of  whom  later.  Joseph  and  Gwenny  Jones 
( father  and  mother)  were  natives  of  Wales  and  spent  their  entire  lives  there. 
Joseph  Jones  was  employed  the  greater  part  of  his  life  as  foreman  in  a  mine. 

\\  illiam  B.  Jones  came  to  America  when  eleven  years  of  age  with  his 
brother.  John  Jones.  Thev  located  in  Oliphant,  Luzerne  countv.  Pennsvl- 
vania,  where  they  were  employed  in  the  mines.  \\'illiam  had  worked  the 
year  previous  in  a  mine  in  Wales  as  a  trapper  boy.  After  spending  two  years 
at  Oliphant,  working  in  the  coal  mines,  William  and  his  brother  went  to 
George's  Creek.  .Maryland,  where  John  went  into  the  hotel  business.  Wil- 
liam, however,  continued  to  work  in  the  mines  for  ten  years,  when  he  came  tc 
Connellsville.  Pennsylvania.  Here  he  continued  mining  for  sixteen  years,  and 
was  fire  boss  the  last  six  years.  Tn  1886  he  accc])te<l  the  same  position  in  the 
coal  mines  at  Port  Royal.  Pennsylvania,  remaining  for  six  years.  He  then 
went  to  Smithton  and  oijcned  a  hotel  known  for  three  years  as  the  Smith 
House.  Later  he  sold  out  and  came  to  Suterville,  where  he  opened  the  Harrison 
House.  \Vhen  his  lease  ran  out.  three  years  later,  he  purchased  the  Suter 
House,  which  was  a  modern  brick  hotel,  and  clianged  the  name  to  the  Hotel 
Jones.  Mr.  Jones  was  very  successful  in  the  hdU-l  business  and  deserves 
much  credit.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and,  being  very  am- 
liitious.  he  attended  the  night  school  while  in  ( )liphant.  In  politics  he  was  a 
liberal  Democrat.  He  was  a  member  of  Smithton  Lodge.  No.  25,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  a  member  of  the  Sons  of  St.  George." 

He  married  in  1872.  Sophia  Gallentine.  of  Salt  Lick  township.  F'ayette 
county,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  John  W.  Gallentine,  a  well  known  divine  of  the 
Church  of  God.  of  Fayette  county,  and  who  is  .still  living  in  the  county.  Mr. 
Jones  had  ten  children,  of  wlmm  fight  survive:  Margaret,  wife  of  Od'ell  Cor- 


276 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 


win,  Bell  \'ernon,  Pennsylvania;  Gwenny,  at  home;  Lena  Leota,  at  home; 
Rac'hael,  at  home;  William,  Jr.,  who  works  for  his  father;  John,  a  miner  at 
Suterville;  Joseph,  who  works  for  his  father;  Charlie  attending  school.  Mr. 
Jones  dieci  February  13,  1906,  but  with  those  who  knew  him  his  memory  will 


lone  be  cherished. 


"& 


DAVID  H.  SMITH,  postmaster  of  Yohoghany  and  a  merchant  of 
Shaners  Station,  was  born  in  Milesville,  Allegheny  county,  October  7,  1S72. 
He  was  the  son  of  Samuel  and  Martha  E.  (Murray)  Smith,  and  was  one  of  a 
family  of  nine  children,  four  of  whom  survive :  Emma,  wife  of  Alfred  Dulin, 
Shaner;  Ruth,  wife  of  William  Brown,  Sewickley  township,  Westmoreland 
county ;' Edward,  Massillon,  Ohio;  and  David  H.,  of  whom  later.  His  father, 
Samuel  Smith,  was  born  in  1833,  probably  in  Washington  county,  on  the 
Yohoghany  river.  He  was  reared  here  and  engaged  in  the  work  of  mining. 
In  1861  he  enlisted  in  the  service  of  Company  D,  Ringold  Cavalry,  serving 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  While  out  on  scout  duty  he  was  severely  mjureu 
by  his  horse  falling  on  him.  The  injury  was  in  the  spine  and  made  him  a  crip- 
ple for  life.  Upon  his  return  from  the  war  he  settled  at  Monongahela  City 
and  resumed  his  work  in  the  mines.  About  1872  he  removed  to  Gratstown, 
and  about  five  ^ears  later  to  Suterville,  where  he  resided  up  to  the  time  of  his 
death,  in  1884!  which  was  occasioned  by  his  being  struck  by  a  train  white 
crossing  the  railroad  track.  His  daughter,  who  was  with  him  at  the  time,  was 
so  badly  injured  that  she  was  made  a  cripple.  Mr.  Smith  was  a  Republican 
in  politics,  and  a  member  of  Rankin  Post,  No.  127,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Boston,  Penn- 
sylvania. Martha  E.  (Murray)  Smith,  wife  of  Samuel  Smith,  was  born  in 
Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  opposite  Monongahela  City,  in  1837.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Margaret  (Carney)  Murray,  natives  of  Ire- 
land. Her  grandfather  was  a  farmer.  Her  grandmother  lived  to  the  age  of 
ninety-eight,  while  her  mother  died  at  McKeesport  at  the  very  advanced  age 
of  one  hundred  and  three. 

The  paternal  grandparents  of  David  H.  Smith  were  John  and  Sarah 
(Boyd)  Smith.  John  Smith  was  born  in  Washington  county,  his  ancestors 
having  come  from  Ireland.  He  was  a  farmer  and  resided  the  greater  portion 
of  his  life  in  Allegheny  county.  He  died  in  1884  at  the  age  of  eighty-two. 
Sarah  (Boyd)  Smith,  his  wife,  was  of  German  parentage,  and  was  the  adopted 
dau.ghter  of  Archibald   Boyd,  a  prominent  farmer  of  Westmoreland   county. 

David  H.  Smith  was  sent  to  the  Soldiers'  Orphans'  school  at  Uniontown, 
where  he  received  his  education.  When  sixteen  years  old  he  left  the  school 
and  returned  to  Suterville,  where  he  was  employed  in  the  mines  for  five  years. 
He  then  entered  the  employ  of  Rhodes  and  Smith,  general  merchants  of  Bly- 
thedale,  as  a  clerk,  remaining  with  them  for  six  years,  after  which  he  came 
to  Shaner  Station  and  was  employed  three  years  in  the  store  of  L.  D.  Sisler. 
In  igoi  Mr.  Smith  engaged  in  business  for  himself,  opening  a  general  store- 
in  Shaners  Station,  where  he  has  built  up  a  prosperous  business.  On  Novem- 
ber 22,  1899,  Mr.  Smith  received  an  appointment  as  postmaster  under  Post- 
master General  Perry  S.  Heath  and  has  held  the  office  ever  since.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Republican.  He  is  a  member  of  Yohoghany  Council.  No.  255,  Junior 
Order  of  United  American  Mechanics  of  Suterville,  and  of  the  Yohoghany 
Valley  Lodge.  No.  555,  of  Coulter,  Pennsylvania.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
school  board,  and  is  one  of  the  well  known  men  of  this  section  of  Westmore- 
land county.     Mr.  Smith  is  unmarried. 


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HISTORY   OF   U'ESTMOREL.-iXD    COUXTV.  277 

PHILIP?  HERRMAXX,  a  merchant  of  Latrobe,  Pfiinsylvania, 
was  born  February  14.  1853,  in  Seckenheim,  Gerniaii\-,  the  son  of  Frank  P..  and 
Eva  C.   (Heckmaim)   Herrmann. 

Phihpp  Hermann  emigrated  to  this  country,  November  15,  i88i,  at  the  age 
of  twentv-eight.  landed  in  New  York  city,  and  later  traveled  to  Latrobe,  Pa., 
whore  he  settled.  He  received  a  part  of  his  educational  training  in  Germany, 
and  also  attended  school  for  two  years  in  Latrobe,  thus  acquiring  a  good 
knowledge  of  the  English  language.  For  the  nine  succeeding  years  after  leav- 
ing school  he  was  occupied  in  farming  and  also  in  the  coal  business.  In  1890 
he^entered  into  partnership  with  August  Schneider,  and  together  they  built  and 
opened  the  Lovalhanna  brewery,  which  since  has  become  one  of  the  largest  and 
most  successful  breweries  in  Latrobe.  ]\Ir.  Herrmann  is  a  large  property 
holder,  and  still  deals  quite  extensivelv  in  the  coal  business.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Lodge  No.  514.  of  Latrobe, 
Pennsvlvania  :  the  B.  P.  O.  E.,  of  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  F.  O.   E. 

.Air.  Hermann  married,  June  22,  1882,  Susanna  Hacker,  and  their  chil- 
dren were:  Philipp,  deceased:  Susanna,  deceased;  Frances  J.,  Charles  J.,  and 
Frederick  \\'.  -Mrs.  Herrmann  passed  away  May  7,  1889,  and  ]\Ir.  Herrmann 
took  for  his  second  wife,  November  6.  1891,  Catharine  Phoebe  Cramer,  born 
June  8,  1863.  daughter  of  John  Cramer.  Their  children  were:  Elsie,  deceased; 
Harrv.  deceased :"  Eddie,  Daisy.  Minnie  and  George.  In  politics  ]\Ir.  Her- 
mann is  a  Republican,  and  has  been  a  councilman  from  the  First  ward.  In 
religious  affairs  Mr.  Herrmann  and  family  are  members  of  the  Reformed 
church. 

DA\"ID  EL\\'OOD  ALBERT.  Most  consistently  may  we  enter 
in  this  work  a  memoir  to  one  who  stood  as  one  of  the  honorecl  citizens  and  suc- 
cessful business  men  of  Latrobe,  Westmoreland  county,  while  he  won  the 
regard  of  the  men  by  reason  of  his  sterling  attributes  of  character  and  at- 
tained to  success  through  his  own  well  directed  efforts.  He  was  a  man  of 
fine  intellectuality,  and  wielded  no  little  influence  in  the  community  with  whose 
civic  and  public  interests  he  wa's  so  intimately  identified,  while  he  was  one  of 
the  prominent  merchants  of  Latrobe  at  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred 
January  6,  1901.  His  life  was  such  as  to  offer  both  lesson  and  incentive,  and 
his  name  will  be  long  held  in  reverent  memory  by  those  who  came  within  the 
sphere  of  his  gracious  and  beneficent  influence.  David  Elwood  Albert  was  born 
in  Youngstown,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  February  19,  1850,  a 
son  of  George  and  Sidney  (Jack)  Albert,  representative  of  oltl  and  honored 
families  of  this  section,  where  both  were  founded  in  the  pioneer  era.  The 
fatlier  of  David  E.  Albert  was  a  well  known  and  influential  citizen  of  this 
county,  where  he  and  his  wife  continued  to  reside  until  death. 

David  E.  .\lbert  secured  his  early  educational  discipline  in  the  public 
school  of  Youngstown  and  supplemented  this  by  academic  stu<l\  and  per- 
sonal application  of  the  most  earnest  and  appreciative  order,  while  he  put  his 
acr|uirtments  to  practical  test  and  utilization  bv  engaging  in  jiedagogic  work, 
having  been  a  successful  and  popular  teacher  in  his  native  countv  for  a  number 
of  years  during  his  early  manhood.  He  finally  established  himself  in  the 
general  merchandise  In'siness  in  A'oungstown,  where  he  built  a  cood  trade  and 
where  he  remained  until  1890.  when  he  removed  his  business  to  Latrobe.  where 
he  opened  and  cquipned  a  general  store,  and  here  he  met  with  gratifving  suc- 
cess from  the  start.  He  was  a  man  of  broad  mentality  and  was  kindlv  nnd  cliari- 
table  in  his  judgment  of  his  fellowmen.     He  was  never  known  tu  cimprumisc 


278  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

with  conscience  or  to  intrigue  with  any  form  of  ciuestionable  undertaking. 
He  stood  "four  square  to  every  wind  that  blows,"  and  thus  gained  and  re- 
tained a  strong  hold  upon  the  confidence  and  regard  of  those  with  whom  he 
came  in  contact,  while  his  loyalty  was  one  of  the  dominating  characteristics 
of  his  strong,  true  nature.  In  politics  he  gave  his  allegiance  to  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  and  his  religious  faith,  exemplified  in  his  daily  walk,  was  that  of 
the  Reformed  church. 

Mr.  Albert  married,  May  14,  1873,  Anna  Kistler  Evans,  born  in  Adams- 
burg,  this  county,  March  3,  1851,  a  daughter  of  Abner  and  Anna  Mary  (Kist- 
ler) Evans,  prominent  residents  of  this  section,  where  they  passed  their  entire 
lives,  the  father  having  devoted  the  major  portion  of  his  active  career  to 
farming.  ]\Irs.  Albert  survives  her  honored  husband,  and  finds  her  greatest 
measures  of  consolation  for  his  loss  in  the  love  and  solicitude  of  their  five 
children,  all  of  whom  remain  beneath  the  home  roof  at  the  time  of  this  writing, 
their  names,  with  respective  dates  of  birth,  being  as  follows:  Bertha  E.,  Sep- 
tember 8,  1874;  George  D.,  September  6,  1876;  Anna  M.,  November  25,  1878; 
Margaret  B.,  September  15,  1881 ;  and  Lucille  E.,  February  6,  1886.  George 
D.  is  one  of  the  popular  young  business  men  of  Latrobe,  having  been  for  sev- 
eral years  employed  as  bookkeeper  in  the  office  of  the  Latrobe  steel  works. 
He  married  Anna  Blair,  of  Westmoreland  County,  October  31,  1905.  The 
family  is  prominent  in  the  social  life  of  the  community,  and  Mrs.  Albert  is  a 
zealous  and  devoted  member  of  the  Reformed  church. 

CHARLES  W.  SAXMAN  was  born  March  23,  1851,  in  Salem 
township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  son  of  John  and  Catherine 
(Osborn)  Saxman,  and  a  descendant  of  the  old  and  honorable  Sa.xman  family, 
which  is  and  has  been  so  prominent  in  this  section  of  the  state.  John  Sax- 
man  (father)  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  He  owned  a  large  farm  near  Har- 
vey's Five  Points,  in  Salem  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  and  his  wife  Catharine  (Osborn)  Saxman,  reared  a  family  of  six 
children.  John  and  Catharine  Saxman  were  leading  members  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church  at  Delmont,  Pennsylvania,  and  took  an  active  part  in 
church  work.  Catharine  (Osborn)  Saxman  was  born  in  1820,  and  died  De- 
cember 3,  1873.  John  Saxman  was  born  in  1815,  and  died  July  29,  1874. 
He  and  his  wife,  Catharine  (Osborn)  Saxman,  reared  a  family  of  six  chil- 
dren: I.  Lovenia  M.,  died  unmarried  Alarch  9.  1904.  2.  William  H.,  en- 
listed to  serve  for  three  years  in  the  civil  war ;  after  serving  about  two  years 
he  was  killed  April  i,  1865.  He  was  a  member  of  Company  F,  Eleventh 
Pennsylvania  \'olunteers,  Richard  Coulter  in  command.  3.  .\lvin  S.,  mar- 
ried Mary  S.  Craig:  he  always  resided  in  Westmoreland  county,  and  his  death 
occurred  in  Greensburg,  March  18,  1895:  aged  forty-five  years,  ten  months,  and 
twenty-three  days.  He  was  a  contractor  and  builder.  4.  Charles  W.,  men- 
tioned hereafter.  5.  Celia  J.,  married  Samuel  Duncan  :  they  reside  on  a  farm 
in  Indiana  county.  Pennsylvania.  6.  Anna  C,  married  S.  H.  Anderson,  now 
resides  in  Vandergrift,  Westmoreland  county. 

Charles  W.  Saxman  acquired  his  early  education  in  the  jniblic  schools  of 
his  native  county,  and  later  attended  Delmont  Academy,  Delmont.  Pennsyl- 
vania, also  Mount  Union  College,  Ohio.  Upon  the  completion  of  his  studies 
he  engaged  in  teaching  for  three  w^inters.  assisting  his  father  on  the  farm  dur- 
ing the  summer  months.  The  ten  succeeding  years  after  the  demise  of  his 
father,  he  continued  the  vocation  of  school  teaching  during  the  winter  months, 
working  the  home  farm  alone  for  the  remainder  of  the  year.     In  the  fall  of 


HISTORY   OF   JVESTMORELAXD    COUXTV.  279 

1885  he  removed  to  Latrabe,  Pennsvlvaiiia.  whore  he  engaged  in  the  mercan- 
tile business  for  two  years.  At  the  expiration  of  that  period  of  time,  foresee- 
ing tliat  better  opportunities  presented  themselves  in  the  real  estate  field,  he 
soTd  his  interest  in  the  former  business  and  gave  his  entire  attention  to  real 
estate  and  fire  insurance.  Shortly  afterward  he  discontinued  the  fire  msur- 
ance  business,  but  continued  with  the  real  estate,  in  which  he  achieved  a  large 
degree  of  success.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  He  is  held  in  high  esteem 
bv  his  fellow-townsmen  as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  1903  he  was  elected 
to  the  office  of  director  of  the  Home  for  the  Poor  of  Westmoreland  county. 
He  also  served  for  sixteen  years  as  notary  public,  is  now  serving  his  fifth 
term,  and  also  served  three  years  as  tax  collector.  After  the  death  of  his 
father  Mr.  Saxman  was  appointed  trusee  of  the  church  in  his  stead,  which 
office  he  held  for  ten  consecutive  years  or  until  his  removal  to  Latrobe.  A 
few  years  later  he  became  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Latrobe 
Mediodist  Episcopal  church,  and  is  still  serving  in  that  capacit_v.  His  family 
are  also  members  of  the  same  church.  The  following  societies  count  Mr. 
Saxman  among  their  members :  The  I.  O.  O.  F.  Lodge  No.  542,  of  Delmont ; 
Latrobe  Council.  No.  368",  R.  A. ;  Silver  Maple  Camp,  No.  19,  \\\  W..  Latrobe  ; 
and  Meridan  Conclave,  No.  177,  L  O.  H.,  Latrobe.  He  married,  in  1884, 
Miss  Roxanna  Markle  Lloyd,  born  December  16,  1861,  daughter  of  George 
and  Elizabeth  W.  Lloyd.  Their  children  are:  :\Iary  Elizabeth,  born  Feb- 
ruary I.  1886;  Helen  Shields,  born  December  31,  1888;  and  Catherine  Louise, 
born  November  20,  1890. 

GEORGE  SEILER.  The  march  of  improvement  and  progress  is 
accelerated  day  by  day  and  each  successive  moment  seems  to  demand  of  men  a 
broader  intelligence  and  greater  discernment  than  did  the  former,  so  that  suc- 
cessful men  must  be  live  men,  with  power  of  initative  and  with  ability  to  control 
and  direct  the  enterprises  with  v^hich  they  are  identified.  Among  the  able 
and  representative  business  men  of  Westmoreland  county  is  numbered  Mr. 
Seiler.  who  has  been  the  maker  of  his  own  success,  and  who  is  identified  with 
important  industrial  activities,  having  been  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
Enterprise  Coal  Company  and  also  treasurer  of  the  Loyalhanna  Brewing  Com- 
pany, while  he  is  one  of  the  popular  and  honored  citizens  of  Latrobe.  with 
whose  civic  and  business  interests  he  has  long  been  concerned.  Mr.  Seiler 
claims  the  old  Kevstone  state  as  the  place  of  his  nativity,  and  here  he  has 
continued  to  live  during  the  entire  course  of  his  life,  never  w'avering  in  his 
allegiance  to  the  fair  old  commonwealth.  He  was  born  in  Allegheny  City, 
Penn.sylvania,  September  10,  1856,  and  is  a  son  of  George  and  Kunirranda 
CShiswohl)  Seiler.  both  of  whom  were  born  and  reared  in  Germany,  whence 
they  came  to  America  when  young,  locating  in  Pennsylvania,  where  they  con- 
tinued to  reside  during  the  remainder  of  their  lives,  the  father  having  been  a 
tanner  by  vocation. 

George  Seiler  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  native  city  until  he  had 
attained  the  age  of  eleven  years,  when  he  began  the  battle  of  life  on  his  own 
responsibility,  turning  his  hand  to  whatever  work  he  could  find  about  the  city 
in  which  he  had  his  home.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  years  he  began  an  appren- 
ticeship at  the  butcher's  trade,  to  which  he  continued  to  devote  his  attention 
for  seven  years  in  Allegheny  City.  He  was  then  married  and  shortly  after- 
ward, in  1879,  came  to  Westmoreland  county  and  located  in  [..atrobe,  where 
he  opened  a  meat  market  and  gave  himself  earnestly  to  the  building  up  of  a 
profitable  trade.     He  gainecf  the  confidence  and  good  will  of  the  community 


28o  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

and  was  careful  and  discriminating  in  his  methuds,  so  that  the  years  bruuglit 
to  him  a  large  measure  of  prosperity,  and  he  was  able  to  expand  his  field 
of  'operations  through  well  directed  capitalistic  investments.  He  continued 
in  the  meat  market  business  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  then  disposed  of 
his  interests  in  that  line,  while  he  has  since  given  his  time  and  attention  largelv 
to  his  other  interests,  the  more  notable  of  which  have  already  been  mentioned. 
He  is  a  man  of  sterling  character,  and  well  merits  the  confidence  in  which 
he  is  held  in  the  community  which  has  so  long  been  his  home.  He  has  a 
desirable  residence  property  and  other  realty  in  Latrobe,  and  is  one  of  the 
public-spirited  citizens  of  the  town.  In  politics  he  is  a  stanch  advocate  of  the 
principles  and  policies  of  the  Democratic  party,  but  he  has  never  been  an  as- 
pirant for  public  office.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  church,  and  is  a 
member  of  the  Catholic  Knights  of  St.  George  of  Latrobe.  Mr.  Seiler  married 
in  1879.  Anna  Gote,  born  in  the  kingdom  of  Bavaria,  Germany,  whence  she 
came  with  her  parents  to  America  when  a  child.  She  died  June  19,  1896,  in 
Latrobe.  and  is  survived  by  four  children :  Edward  G.,  born  September  13, 
1880;  Eleanor  K.,  October  30,  1883;  Hilda  K.,  April,  1887;  and  George  A., 
April  22,  1893.  Edward  G.  married  and  is  a  resident  of  East  Pittsburg,  where 
he  is  in  the  employ  of  the  Westinghouse  Electrical  Company.  The  other 
children  remain  at  the  paternal  home.  Mr.  Seiler  married  (second),  Febru- 
ary I,  1898.  Rosa  Elizabeth  Weis,  born  in  Latrobe,  September  i,  1857,  a 
daughter  of  Michael  and  Rosa  Elizabeth  (Reiser)  Weis,  both  or  whom  were 
born  in  W'urtemberg,  Germany. 

CHARLES  SMITH  FRY,  one  of  the  leading  livery  men  of  the 
borough  of  Latrobe,  was  born  April  19,  1859.  in  Mount  Pleasant  township, 
son  of  Lewis  R.  and  Mary  (Hair)  Fry.  the  great-grandfather  was  John 
Fry,  of  German  ancestry,  who  emigrated  from  one  of  the  eastern  counties  in 
Pennsylvania  and  settled  in  Westmoreland  county  prior  to  1797.  He  married 
before  coming  to  western  Penn.sylvania,  and  among  their  children  were:  jnhn, 
Isaac,  Jonathan,  Michael,  Margaret  and  Catharine. 

John  Fry,  son  of  John  Fry,  the  grandfather  of  Charles  S.  Fry,  was  born 
in  Mount  Pleasant  township,  this  county,  in  1797,  and  died  when  aged  about 
sixty-five  years.  He  married  Sarah  Richard,  by  whom  nine  daughters  and  one 
son  were  born:  Lovinia,  Lydia,  Sarah,  Elizajjeth,  Caroline,  Rebecca,  Mary, 
two  died  young,  and  Lewis  R.  All  married  and  settled  in  Westniorelan'd 
county.     John  Fry  was  a  farmer  all  his  davs. 

Lewis  R.  Fry,  only  son  of  Jolm  and  Sarah  (Richard)  Fry,  was  born  De- 
cember 28,  1832,  in  Mount  Pleasant  township,  on  the  old  Fry' homestead,  and 
has  followed  farming  all  of  his  active  years.  He  now  resides  at  Latrobe  with 
his  son.  Charles  S.  Fry.  but  still  owns  the  old  farm  home  in  Mount  Pleasant 
township.  He  married  Mary  Hair,  daughter  of  John  and  Christina  (Goon) 
Hair.  The  Hairs  were  from  Ireland,  while  the  Goons  were  of  German  extrac- 
tion. John  Hair  and  his  wife  reared  the  following  children :  John,  Tsabell, 
Eliza,  Samuel,  Leah,  Edward,  Thomas  (died  young)  and  Mary,  the  mother 
of  Charles  S.  Fry.  Lewis  R.  and  Mary  (Hair)  Fry  were  the  parents  of  John 
Fry,  born  1857.  married  Caroline  Aukerman  :  Charles  S.  of  whom  later ;  Alice, 
born  1862,  died  aged  two  and  one  lialf  years.  The  father  was  a  farmer,  and 
in  church  faith  a  Lutheran.  He  believed  in  and  always  voted  with  the  Dem- 
ocratic party.  He  held  various  township  and  local  school  offices,  and  served  in 
die  Pleasant  Unity  militia  company.     His  wife.  Mary  (Hair)  Fry,  passed  from 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUXTY.  281 

the  scenes  of  this  Hfe  May  25.  1905.  ami  was  burioil  beside  other  members  of 
the  famih-  at  St.  Paul's  cemetery,  near  Pleasant  Lnity.  ,    ,  .    ' 

Charles  S.  Frv,  son  of  Lewis  R.  and  .Mary  (Hair)  l-ry,  received  his 
e.hication  at  the  district  schools  of  his  native  township,  and  followed  farming 
and  -itockdealing  nntil  1897.  when  he  removed  to  Latrobe  and  there  engaged 
in  the  liverv  business,  which  he  still  follows  in  a  highly  successful  manner 
at  No.  215  ':\Iain  street.  Politically  he  is  an  ardent  Democrat.  He  has  been 
a  member  of  the  Pleasant  Unitv  township  school  board.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fry 
are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church,  and  he  is  a  member  of  the  Fraternal 
Order  of  Eagles.  No.  1188,  at  Latrobe,  of  which  he  is  a  trustee,  American 
Causaltv  Company,  of  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Columbia  Relief  Fund 
Association.  Mr.'  Frv  married,  October  16.  1879.  at  Pleasant  Unity,  Martha 
Amelia  Gallawav,  daughter  of  William  and  Margaret  (Walters)  Callaway, 
who  were  farmers  and"  conducted  a  general  store  at  Lycippus,  Pennsylvania. 
Both  are  now  deceased.  Mrs.  Fry  is  one  of  a  family  of  twelve  children. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  S.  Frv  have  children:  Mary,  born  April  25,  1880;  Mar- 
garet, March  15,  1883:  Lewis  W.,  October  25,  1885:  Laura,  August  7,  1888; 
and  an  infant  'daughter,  born  September,  died  October,  1890 ;  Mildred  L, 
September  2,  1893. 

DAVID  S.  HUTTOX,  M.  D.  The  father  of  Dr.  David  S.  Hutton, 
of  Smithton,  was  Alichael  Hutton,  a  native  of  Rostraver  township,  where  he 
was  born  in  1831.  He  was  reared  on  the  home  farm  and  on  reaching  manhood 
decided  to  devote  himself  to  agricultural  pursuits.  Late  in  the  fifties  he  moved  to 
.Allegheny  county  and  settled  in  Elizabeth,  where  he  was  for  some  time  engaged 
in  mercantile  business.  Subsequently  he  disposed  of  his  interest  and  took  up 
his  abode  on  a  farm  near  Elizabeth,  which  he  cultivated  until  about  1890.  when 
he  retired  from  active  life  and  removed  to  Buena  \'ista.  where  he  now  resides. 
He  has  never  sought  political  preferment,  but  has  been  faithful  in  all  the  duties 
of  citizenship  and  has  steadily  adhered  to  the  Republican  party.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  ]\Iethodist  Episcopal  church,  in  which  he  holds  the  offices  of  steward 
and  trustee.  Mr.  Hutton  married  Lavina  J.  Santee,  and  their  children  are: 
David  S.,  mentioned  hereafter :  John  S.,  an  electrician  at  Buena  Msta :  Charles 
P..  a  farmer  in  King  Citv.  Missouri;  Estelle  Kate,  born  October  8,  1861,  now 
deceased ;  Theodore  F.,  an  electrician  at  Buena  \'ista :  and  Jannette.  widow  of 
Albert  Patterson,  of  Buena  \'ista.  The  mother  of  these  children  died  May  3. 
1902,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four,  having  been  born  in  ( )hio  in  1839.  The  father 
of  these  children  died  October  25,  1905. 

David  S.  Hutton,  son  of  Michael  and  Lavina  J.  (  Santee)  Hutton,  was  born 
Septembtr  17,  1853.  in  Rostraver  township,  and  was  educated  at  the  McKeesport 
-Academy  and  in  the  State  Xormal  school  at  California,  Pennsylvania.  He  as- 
sisted in  the  labors  of  the  home  farm  until  his  twenty-third  or  twenty-fourth 
year,  and  then  for  six  years  taught  in  the  public  schools.  During  that  jx-riod 
he  took  up  the  study  of  medicine  under  the  precei)torship  of  Dr.  R.  S.  Steward, 
of  Buena  \'ista.  now  of  Washington,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1885 
entered  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  in  Baltimore,  ^ilaryland.  grad- 
uating in  the  spring  of  1887  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  Immed- 
iately thereafter  he  settled  at  Shaners"  Station,  and  five  years  later  removed  to 
Smithton.  where  he  has  built  up  a  remunerative  practice.  Dr.  Hutton  devotes 
particular  attention  to  g\-naecplogy,  diseases  of  the  heart,  throat  and  lungs,  and 
to  surgery,  having  taken  special  courses  in  all  these  branches.  He  is  a  member 
■of  the  Pennsylvania  ..State  Medical  .Association  and  the  Westmoreland  Cnuntv 


282  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 


Medical  Society.  Dr.  Hutton  is  now  serving  on  the  town  council.  He  belongs 
•  to  Smithton  Lodge,  No.  978,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  the  K.  O.  T.  M.,  the  Ancient  Order  of 
Foresters  of  America,  Smithton  Lodge,  No.  328,  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Golden. 
Commandery,  and  the  A.  and  I.  O.  K.  of  M.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics. 
Dr.  Hutton  married  in  1887,  Jennie  F.  McConnell,  of  Elizabeth.  Allegheny 
county,  and  their  children  are :  Halsey,  Rienza,  and  Lorn  S.  Mrs.  Hutton  died 
September  19,  1897,  and  in  1899  Dr.  Hutton  married  Anna  L.,  daughter  of 
Josiah  Hough,  of  South  Huntingdon  township.  Of  this  marriage  there  is 
no  issue. 

JOSEPH  SMITH.  John  Smith,  great-grandfather  of  Joseph  Smith, 
of  Smithton,  was  a  business  man  of  Philadelphia,  and  in  1798  purchased 
twenty-two  or  twenty-three  hundred  acres  of  land  in  Huntingdon  township. 
His  wife  was  Brandina  Updegroft.     Mr.  Smith  died  in  Philadelphia. 

Joseph  Smith,  son  of  John  and  Barndina  (L^pdegroft)  Smith,  was  sent  by 
his  father  to  Huntingdon  township  to  look  after  the  property  there.  He  was. 
accompanied  by  his  father-in-law,  Henry  Rhodes,  and  his  family.  On  the  land 
was  an  old  log  house  which  had  been  built  by  Colonel  Hays,  of  the  colonial  leg- 
islature, and  is  probably  one  of  the  oldest  houses  in  the  county,  being  still  in  a 
fair  state  of  preservation.  In  1801  or  1802  Mr.  Smith  built  a  grist-mill,  which 
was  a  landmark  for  many  years,  being  constructed  of  stone.  In  1833  he  was  ap- 
pointed by  Governor  George  Wolf,  justice  of  the  peace,  to  serve  during  life  or 
good  behavior,  and  while  never  a  seeker  for  political  preferment  was  prominent 
in  local  politics.  He  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Henry  Rhodes.  The  death 
of  Mr.  Smith  occurred  in  1852,  when  he  attained  the  advanced  age  of  eighty- 
four. 

Samuel  Smith,  son  of  Josq)h  and  Mary  (Rhodes)  Smith,  was  born  in 
1802,  and  on  reaching  manhood  took  charge  of  the  milling  business  established 
by  his  father  and  made  it  his  life-long  occupation.  He  married  Jane  Hanna, 
and  of  the  seven  children  born  to  them  four  survive :  Julia  Ann,  widow  of  J.  D. 
Hough,  of  Smithton ;  George,  of  Smithton ;  Joseph,  mentioned  hereafter ;  and 
Margaret  J.,  widow-  of  Michael  Silslev,  of  West  Newton.  Mr.  Smith  died  m 
1870. 

Joseph  Smith,  son  of  Samuel  and  Jane  (Hanna)  Smith,  was  born  January 
26.  1837,  at  Smith's  'SUWs,  now  Smithton,  where  he  attended  the  common- 
schools,  afterward  taking  a  business  course  at  Duff's  College.  Pittsburg.  From 
boyhood  up  he  worked  in  the  mill  with  his  father,  acquiring  a  thorough  know- 
ledge of  the  business,  and  when  his  father  retired,  several  years  prior  to  his 
death,  Mr.  Smith  assumed  the  whole  management.  Later  he  gave  up  the  mill- 
ing business,  and  for  some  years  was  employed  in  his  brother's  store  (the  first 
established  in  Smithton).  subsequently  taking  charge  of  the  grain  warehouse  of" 
William  Welch  &  Company,  a  Pittsburg  grain  firm  having  a  branch  at  Smith- 
ton.  When  Mr.  Welch  sold  out  to  D."  H.  Williams,  Mr.  Smith  retained  his 
position,  his  connection  with  the  two  firms  coverin.g  a  period  of  ten  or  twelve- 
vears.  In  1882  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature,  serving  in  the  memorable  ses- 
sion of  1883,  which  lasted  during  an  entire  year.  After  the  expiration  of  his^ 
term  he  returned  home,  and  for  some  years  was  variously  employed.  In  1892  he 
was  elected  justice  of  the  peace,  and  has  since  served  continuously  in  this  office. 
He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  a  member  of  the  Universalist  church.  Mr.. 
Smith  married  in  1868,  Debbie  A.  Francis,  of  Bethany,  and  eight  children  were 
born,  six  of  whom  are  living:  Robert  F.,  proprietor  of  the'  Smithton  mills; 
Leonora,  wife  of  Albert  G.  Lynn ;  Jessie,  at  home ;  William  W.,  at  home ;  Mar- 
garet, at  home ;  and  John  C,  at  home. 


HISTORY   OF   JVrSTMORELAXD    COUXTY.  2S3, 

JACOB  FRICK  ROWE.  The  family  uf  which  Jacoh  Frick  Rowe, 
of  Jacobs  Creek,  is  a  member,  was  founded  in  Westmoreland  county  about  a 
centurv  since  by  Andrew  Rowe,  who  settled  on  a  farm  on  Barren  Run,  in  South 
Huntingdon  township.  He  was  a  local  preacher  in  the  Lutheran  church.  His 
wife  was  Susan  Freed,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  a  son,  Joseph,  mentioned 
hereafter.  Andrew  Rowe,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  was  nearly  ninety  years  old, 
and  his  wife  almost  equalled  him  in  longevity. 

Joseph  Rowe,  son  of  Andrew  and  Susan  ( I'reed )  Rowe,  was  born  near 
\\'est  Xewton,  and  on  reaching  manhood  acquired  a  farm  in  South  Huntingdon 
township,  on  which  he  resided  for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  In  politics  he  was 
a  staunch  Republican,  but  never  an  office-seeker.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
United  Baptist  church,  which  he  served  in  an  official  capacity  for  many  years. 
He  married  .\da  Frick.  and  their  children  were :  Jacob  Frick,  mentioned  here- 
after;  John  Milton,  store  manager  for  the  Pittsburg  Coal  Company,  at  Siuith- 
ton ;  Amos:  Ulysses  G. ;  Harriet  R.,  wife  of  O.  C.  Rhoades,  of  South  Hunting- 
don township:  Caroline  ^L,  married  M.  O.  Shupe,  also  of  South  Huntingdon 
township :  and  David  E.,  resides  at  home  with  his  brothers,  Amos  and  Ulysses 
G.     Mr.  Rowe  died  January  25,  1905,  aged  eighty-one  years  and  one  month. 

Jacob  Frick  Rowe.  son  of  Joseph  and  Ada  (Frick)  Rowe,  was  born  Octo- 
ber 31,  1858,  in  South  Huntingdon  township,  and  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  his  birthjilace  and  West  Xewton  borough.  In  his  twenty-first  year 
he  began  to  teach  and  continued  to  do  so  for  seven  years  in  the  counties  of  Fay- 
ette and  Westmoreland.  He  then  accepted  a  position  in  the  store  of  the  W'av- 
erly  Coal  &  Coke  Company,  at  Smithton,  where  he  was  employed  two  years. 
In  1890  he  moved  to  Jacob's  Creek,  where  he  purchased  property  and  engaged 
in  mercantile  business  for  himself.  In  this  enterprise  he  has  been  very  success- 
ful, and  is  now  one  of  the  leading  merchants  of  the  place.  For  several  years  he 
has  been  postmaster  of  Jacob's  Creek.  ]\Ir.  Rowe  was  one  of  the  original  stock- 
holders in  the  First  National  Bnak  of  \\'est  Xewton,  and  still  retains  his  stock 
in  that  institution.  In  politics  he  affiliates  with  the  Republican  party,  and  has 
been  for  years  actively  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  organization,  although 
never  desiring  office.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church,  in  which  he  serves 
as  clerk.  Mr.  Rowe  married  in  1890,  Annette,  daughter  of  Jacob  Zundel,  of 
Rostraver  township,  and  their  children  are:  Jessie  AL,  Emma,  William  jNIcK., 
Ada,  Edward  S.,  and  Florence. 

DAVID  OLR'ER  McXUTT.  The  father  of  David  Oliver  :\rcXutt, 
of  Jacobs  Creek,  was  John  McXutt,  a  native  of  Ireland,  where  he  was  born 
about  1835.  In  his  early  manhood  he  came  to  the  United  States  to  visit  a  sister 
who  resided  in  Philadelphia,  and  was  so  much  pleased  with  the  country  that  he 
decided  to  remain  and  make  it  his  home,  .\fter  spending  some  time  in  Phila- 
delphia he  settled  in  Greenoak.  .-Mlegheny  cinnily.  where  he  engaged  in  farming. 
On  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war  he  enlisted  in  the  army,  serving  three 
years,  and  after  his  return  home  remained  some  vears  in  .\llegheny  count\-.  He 
then  moved  to  Rostraver  township,  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  purchased 
a  farm,  which  was  his  home  for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  Mr.  McNutt  mar- 
ried Sarah  Clark,  and  of  their  nine  children  cisjht  survive :  William,  resides  in 
Rostraver  township:  Samuel,  a  resident  of  Omaha.  Xebra.ska ;  John,  resides  in 
South  Huntingdon  township;  .\nna,  married  George  Beaumont,  of  Rostraver 
iowt:shi():  Maria,  resides  at  home:  Margaret,  wife  of  Lewis  Carter,  of  I'"avette 
county:  Fannie,  resifles  in  Pittsburg:  and  David  Oliver,  mentioned  hereafter. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  Mr.  McXutt  was  about  sixty-two  years  of  age. 


:284  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

David  Oliver  McXutt,  son  of  John  and  Sarah.  (Clark)  AlcXutt,  was  born 
March  17,  1870,  in  Rostraver  township,  where  he  acquired  his  education  in  the 
common  schools.  Until  he  attained  his  majority  he  was  his  father's  assistant 
on  the  fann,  afterward  accepting  a  position  with  the  Morgan,  Moore  &  bain 
Coal  Company  with  whom  he  remained  eleven  years,  being  promoted  from 'time 
to  time  until  he  becarne  weighmaster  and  outside  foreman.  In  1902  he  resigned 
liis  position  and  in  company  with  Charles  Porter  purchased  the  mercantile 
business  of  L.  D.  Sisler,  in  Jacobs  Creek.  In  this  undertaking  he  has  been  very 
successful  and  is  still  conducting  the  business.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church.  Mr.  McNutt  married,  November,  1899, 
Jonan,  daughter  of  Oliver  Porter,  of  Rostraver  township,  now  deceased.  Mr. 
and  IMrs.  McNutt  have  two  children :  Mary  Olive,  and  William  Porter. 

DANIEL  W.  JONES,  mine  superintendent  for  the  Latrobe  Coal 
'Company  for  many  years,  and  himself  a  coal  operator,  is  one  of  the  most  promi- 
nent and  influential  men  in  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania.  He  is  a  representative  of 
the  third  generation  of  this  branch  of  the  Jones  family  in  this  section  of  the 
country.     He  traces  his  ancestry  to'  Wales  and  Ireland. 

( I )  Daniel  Jones,  grandfather  of  Daniel  W.  Jones,  and  the  founder  of 
the  family  in  America,  emigrated  to  the  United  States'' from  Wales,  and  settled 
in  Pennsylvania. 

(II)  William  Jones,  son  of  Daniel  Jones  (i),  was  born  in  Pennsylvania. 
He  was  one  of  the  originators  of  the  coal  and  coke  business  in  Fayette  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  sent  his  products  down  the  river  by  boat  several  years  before 
railroads  were  installed  in  that  part  of  the  country.  He  was- a  man  of  energy 
and  progress,  one  of  the  men  who  have  helped  the  state  of  Pennsylvania  to  its 
high  position  in  the  industrial  and  commercial  world.  He  married  Mary 
White,  who  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  anrl  among  their  children  was  Daniel 
W.,  of  whom  later.     The  mother  of  Mary  (White)  Jones  was  born  in  Ireland. 

(III)  Daniel  W.  Jones,  son  of  William  (2)  and  Mary  (White)  Jones, 
was  born  near  Connellsville,  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  October  22,  185 1. 
He  acquired  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  county,  and  at  the 
■age  of  nineteen  left  the  schoolroom  to  engage  in  the  active  business  of  life.  He 
obtained  employment  in  the  coal  mines  and  worked  there  in  various  capacities 
for  about  twelve  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  went  to  Latrobe,  Pennsvlva- 
nia  and  accepted  the  position  of  mine  superintendent  for  the  Latrobe  Coal  Com- 
pany, a  position  which  he  has  held  to  the  mutual  satisfaction  and  benefit  of  the 
company  as  well  as  himself.  His  career  in  his  chosen  field  of.emplo\'ment  has 
been  a  remarkbly  successful  one.  Endowed  as  he  is  with  great  energy  and 
force  of  character,  executive  ability  of  no  mean  order,  and  a  power  of  taking  the 
initiative  in  all  matter  of  progress  and  improvement,  it  is  small  matter  for  won- 
der that  Mr.  Jones  should  be  considered  one  of  the  most  valuable  men  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  company  to  which  he  gives  his  services.  A  large  part  of  his  suc- 
cess must  be  attributed  to  his  foresig-ht,  integritv,  strict  attention  to  all  the  de- 
tails of  his  business,  however  trivial  they  may  appear  at  a  glance,  and  to  his 
fidelity  to  all  the  trusts  and  responsibilities  reposed  in  him.  Mr.  Jones  is  a 
public-spirited  man  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word.  He  never  shirks  his  share  of 
the  work  in  connection  with  any  matter  that  will  tend  to  the  welfare  of  the 
community,  and  is  a  charitable  man,  though  in  an  unostentatious  manner,  so 
that  few,  if  any,  know  the  extent  of  his  generosity.  In  politics  Mr.  Jone% 
lends  his  su])port  to  the  Democratic  party,  and  is  a  man  of  considerable  in-  , 
fluence  in  political  circles,  though  his  business  duties  have  precluded  his  holding 


x3  uj^^^u^^-^ 


,       MfW  YORK 
'public  LIBRARY  1 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  285. 

public  office.  Mr.  Jones  is  a  man  of  iligniaotl  appearance  and  pleasing  perst>n- 
alitv.  He  has  devoted  much  of  his  time  to  reading,  and  is  a  ready  and  Huent 
speaker  on  all  topics  of  interest.  He  is  a  believer  in  liberal  education,  and  his 
children  have  had  all  the  advantages  that  money  and  the  best  teachers  could  give. 
He  and  his  family  live  in  a  commodious  and  elegant  d\\  elling  in  Latrobe,  one  of 
the  finest,  if  not'the  finest,  in  that  town.  Mr.  Jones  held  lor  many  years  the 
office  of  vice-president  of  the  People's  National  Bank,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
board  of  directors  of  that  institution ;  he  is  president  and  tlirector  of  the 
Adamston  Coal  &  Coke  Company,  of  West  Virginia.  For  twenty-two  years  he 
has  been  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  is  now  president  of 
the  board  of  trustees.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  following  organizations; 
K.  A..  Xo.  3()8:  Latrobe  Council:  I.  O.  H.,  and  K.  P. 

Mr.  Jones  married  (first)  January  6.  1876,  Julia  Kelly,  born  March  26, 
1856,  near  Scottdale.  Peimsylvania,  died  January  5,  1897.  She  was  the  daugh- 
ter of  Campbell  and  Sarah  Kelly.  Their  children  were:  C.  Kelly,  Mary  V.., 
Thomas  L..  Sarah  N.  Mr.  Jones  married  (second)  January  31,  1905,  Mrs. 
Sarah  F.  (^ Lloyd)  Clinc,  who  bore  him  one  child,  Daniel  Lloyd  Jones. 

JAMES  Q.  LEMMOX.  .M.  D.  The  medical  profession  in  West- 
moreland county  has  an  able  and  popular  representative  in  Dr.  James  O.  Lem- 
mon,  who  is  not  only  a  native  of  the  county  but  also  a  scion  old  and  distin- 
guished pioneer  families  of  this  favored  section  of  the  Keystone  state.  He 
maintaines  his  home  in  the  attractive  little  city  of  Latrobe,  and  controls  a  large 
practice  throughout  the  section  of  the  county  tributary  to  the  town,  while  he 
has  gained  distinction  and  prestige  as  one  of  the  successful  physicians  and 
surgeons  of  his  native  commonwealth,  being  thus  doubly  entitled  to  recognition 
in  a  publication  of  the  province  assigned  to  the  one  at  hand. 

Dr.  Lenimon  was  born  in  Fairfield  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Penn- 
sylvania. January  28.  1852,  and  was  the  first  in  order  of  birth  of  the  three 
children  of  Xathan  W.  and  ^largaret  (Ouinn)  Lemmon,  while  all  of  the  chil- 
dren are  living  at  the  time  of  this  writing.  Thomas  Lemmon.  the  paternal 
grandfather  of  Dr.  Lemmon,  was  born  in  Westmoreland  county  and  located 
in  Fairfield  township,  becoming  one  of  the  pioneer  farmers  of  that  section, 
where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life,  having  been  a  man  of  sterling 
character  and  a  life  long  member  of  the  old-time  "Seceder"  religious  denomina- 
tion. His  death  occurred  in  1863.  The  grandfather  of  Dr.  Lemmon  in  the 
maternal  line  was  James  Quinn,  bom  in  fSgj.  in  county  Derry,  Ireland,  where 
he  was  reared  to  maturity.  In  1817  he  set  forth  to  establish  a  home  in  Amer- 
ica, embarking  on  a  sailing  vessel,  which  proceeded  successfully  across  the 
deep  only  to  be  wrecked  on  the  turbulent  coast  of  Xew  Foundland.  the  sup- 
position having  been  that  the  captain  of  the  vessel  compassed  its  <lestructti)n  in 
order  to  secure  heavy  insurance  idemnity,  for  which  he  had  arranged  shortly 
before  sailing.  The  women,  children  and  others  who  could  not  swim  were 
-afely  conveyed  to  shore  in  the  boats,  while  the  others  on  board,  including  Mr. 
Ouinn.  swam  the  half  mile  to  shore  through  a  rough  and  heavy  sea,  all  csca])- 
ing.  James  Oniiui  lost  all  his  personal  effects  through  this  disaster,  anri  from 
.\'ew  Foundland  he  worked  his  way  to  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  from  which 
point  he  came  to  Westmoreland  coimty.  where  by  thrift,  frugalitv  and  iirudent 
management  he  acquired  a  very  considerable  landed  estate  before  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1868.  He  was  one  of  the  honored  pioneers  of  the  county  and' 
his  life  was  one  of  signal  integrity  and  usefulness,  while  it  was  prolonged  be- 
yond the  psalmist's  span  of  three  score  years  and  ten. 


^86  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

Nathan  W.  Lemmon,  father  of  Dr.  Lcmmon,  was  born  in  Fairfield 
township,  this  county,  in  1820,  and  he  passed  the  closing  years  of  his  life  in 
Derry  township,  where  he  took  up  his  residence  in  1858,  about  six  years  after 
the  birth  of  him  whose  name  initiates  this  sketch.  He  ever  maintained  his 
allegiance  to  the  great  basic  art  of  agriculture  and  became  one  of  the  promi- 
nent and  influential  farmers  of  his  township,  while  as  a  citizen  his  standnig 
w^as  of  the  highest,  implying  his  definite  hold  on  the  confidence  and  regard  of 
his  fellowmen.  He  was  a  staunch  Democrat  in  his  political  proclivities,  but 
was  never  ambitious  for  public  office,  though  he  served  two  terms  as  school 
■  director.  His  marriage  to  Margaret,  the  only  daughter  of  James  Ouinn,  was 
solemnized  in  1850,  and  they,  became  the  parents  of  three  sons:  James  Q., 
Thomas  S.,  and  George  M.  Mrs.  Lemmon  was  summoned  into  eternal  rest 
in  April,  1891,  in  her  sixty-eight  year,  and  he  passed  to  his  reward  January 
18,  1903,  at  the  venerable  age  of  eighty-two  years  and  six  months,  his  demise 
.having  occurred  on  the  old  homestead  farm  which  had  been  continuously  in 
■the  family  possession  for  a  period  of  one  hundred  and  sixteen  years.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lemmon  were  zealous  and  consistent  members  of  the  United  Presby- 
terian church,  with  which  they  became  identified  in  1858,  at  the  time  of  its 
•  organization  through  the  union  of  the  Seceder  and  Associate  Reformed  Pres- 
byterian bodies. 

Dr.  James  Q.  Lemmon  passed  his  youth  in  Derrv  township,  and  early 
began  to  contribute  his  quota  to  the  work  of  the  liome  farm,  while  his  pre- 
liminary educational  discipline  was  secured  in  the  distrct  schools  of  the  neigh- 
borhood. At  the  age  of  sixteen  years  he  entered  the  Latrobe  high  school,  where 
he  continued  his  studies  for  two  years,  after  which  he  put  his  attainments  to 
practical  test  by  teaching  two  winter  terms  in  the  schools  of  Derry  township, 
meeting  with  marked  success  in  his  pedagogic  efiforts.  He  then  took  a  course 
in  Duffs  Commercial  College,  in  the  city  of  Pittsburg,  being  graduated  from 
that  school  as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1872.  For  the  ensuing  three  years  he 
was  engaged  as  a  bookkeeper  for  Murdock,  Covode  and  Company  a  large  mer- 
cantile firm,  whose  head  office  was  at  Ligonier,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  proved 
his  fitness  for  the  work  of  an  expert  accountant,  which  experience  he  says 
was  to  him  a  great  service  in  after  vears,  just  the  discipline  every  man  needs 
regardless  of  what  he  inteds  to  follow  for  a  vocation.  He  then  continued  his 
educational  work  in  the  academic  sense  by  entering  the  Penns\lvania  State 
College,  in  Center  county,  where  he  took  a  special  course  in  the  classics,  as 
well  as  in  the  leading  branches  of  mathematical,  natural  and  physicial  science. 
He  made  especially  gratifying  progress  in  chemistry,  in  which  he  became  very 
proficient  in  both  a  theoretical  and  practical  way.  In  1878-79  he  read  medicine 
under  the  preceptorship  of  Dr.  Jared  Y.  Dale,  a  representative  physician  of 
Lemont,  Center  county,  and  in  September,  1879,  he  matriculated  in  the  medi- 
cal department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the  citv  of  Philadelphia, 
where  he  attended  the  three  regular  and  required  courses  of  lectures  and  also 
two  special  courses.  He  was  graduated  as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1882  and 
received  his  coveted  and  well  earned  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  In  his 
graduation  he  received  second  honors  in  his  class,  having  acquired  a  grade 
average  of  ninety-eight  and  six  tenths  out  of  a  possible  one  hundred,  on  eleven 
examinations  in  a  class  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-nine  members,  of  whom  one 
hundred  and  seventeen  were  graduated  in  1882.  The  remaining  fortv-two 
failed  to  meet  the  requirements  in  point  of  efficiency  demanded  for"  graduation 
in  that  venerable  and  celebrated  institution. 

Shortly  after  his  graduation  Dr.  Lemmon  located  in  Latrobe  where  he  has 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  287 

ever  since  been  actively  and  most  successfully  establishtd  in  the  practice  of  his 
chosen  profession,  representing  a  period  of  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and 
that  filled  with  ceaseless  toil  and  endeavors  and  widi  zealous  regard  for  and 
appreciation  of  the  responsibilities  of  the  exacting  profession  which  demands 
of  its  devotees  all  of  loyalty  and  self-abnegation,  beside  constant  study  and 
investigation.  He  controls  a  large  and  representative  practice,  is  local  ex- 
aminer for  six  of  the  leading  life  insurance  companies  of  the  United  States, 
and  is  held  in  unequivocal  esteem  and  regard  both  as  a  physician  and  as  a  cit- 
izen. -Measured  by  his  success  and  popularity  in  his  community,  Dr.  Lemmon 
rightfullv  enjoys  the  reputation  that  he  has  honestly  won  as  a  skillful  and 
well  qualified  physician  and  surgeon.  He  is  the  owner  of  a  very  fine  medical 
and  literary  library,  and  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  high  attainments,  while  his 
genial  and  gracious  personalit_\-  has  tended  to  heighten  his  i)i)[)ularity  among 
all  classes.  In  politics  he  accords  a  stalwart  allegiance  to  the  Democracy,  and 
both  he  and  Mrs.  Lemmon  are  valued  members  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
church.  The  family  home  is  one  of  the  most  attractive  in  Latrobe,  being 
located  on  East  Main  street  and  being  a  fine  brick  structure,  equipped  with 
modern  improvements,  including  a  steam-heating  plant.  The  beautiful  home 
is  a  center  of  gracious  hospitality,  and  the  family  is  one  of  much  ].)rominence 
in  the  best  social  life  of  the  comnumity. 

Dr.  Lemmon  married,  June  27,  1883,  Martha  Steele,  youngest  daughter 
of  James  and  Elizabeth  (Hanna)  Steele,  of  Unity  township,  this  county.  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Lemmon  became  the  parents  of  one  daughter  and  three  sons,  the 
daughter  having  died  in  infancy  while  the  three  sons  remain  at  the  parental 
home,  their  names  are:  George  Steele,  born  October  18,  1887:  Willis  Chester, 
born  July  I,  1890:  and  James  Russell,  born  December  5,  1894. 

SAMUEL  EDGAR  BIRCHFIELD,  M.  D.  The  spirit  of  a  strong 
and  noble  manhood  burned  in  the  mortal  tenement  of  Dr.  Samuel  E.  Birch- 
field,  who  labored  with  all  zeal  and  ability  in  the  humane  and  exacting  pro- 
fession for  which  he  had  so  eminently  qualified  himself.  He  was  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Latrobe,  Westmoreland  county,  at  the  time 
of  his  death,  in  the  very  prime  of  his  manhood,  and  to  him  was  accorded  the 
unqualified  confidence  of  all  who  knew  him.  He  was  a  physician  and  surgeon 
of  high  attainments,  and  as  a  man  and  citizen  he  stood  representative  of  the 
utmost  loyalty  and  the  highest  integrity  of  purpose  and  personality.  Dr. 
Birchfield  was  a  native  of  the  old  Keystone  state,  having  been  born  in  the 
village  of  Tarentum,  Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania.  December  24,  1854, 
and  having  been  a  son  of  William  and  Rachel  (  McCall )  Birchfield,  who  con- 
tinued to  reside  there  for  the  major  ])ortion  of  their  lives,  the  father  having 
been  engaged  in  agriculture. 

Dr.  Samuel  Edgar  Birchfield  was  reared  to  maturity  in  his  native  county, 
and  after  completing  the  curriculum  of  the  public  schools  continued  his  incur- 
sions into  the  higher  fields  of  academic  study  and  finally  determined  to  adopt 
the  profession  of  medicine  as  his  vocation  in  life.  With  this  end  in  view  he 
took  UY>  a  course  of  technical  reading  and  then  entered  the  medical  department 
of  the  celebrated  University  of  Michigan,  at  Ann  Arbor,  where  he  completed 
the  prescribed  course  and  was  graduated  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medi- 
cine. He  ever  afterward  continued  a  close  and  enthusiastic  student  of  his 
I)rofession,  and  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  representative  phvsicians  and 
surgeons  of  Westmoreland  county  at  the  time  of  his  death.  In  18S1.  shortly 
after  his  graduation.  Dr.  Birchfield  came  to  T^atrobe  and  liere  established  him- 


288  HISTORY   OF   ]r[:STMORELAND    COUXTV. 

self  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  while  with  the  passing  of  the  years  he 
found  himself  growing  in  the  connuence  and  regard  of  the  people  of  the 
community  and  thus  built  up  a  most  flourishing  practice,  which  extended  over 
a  wide  field  and  which  was  thoroughly  representative  in  the  matter  of  client- 
age. He  continued  to  minister  with  all  of  devotion  and  kindliness  to  the 
suffering  and  afflicted  of  this  locality  until  he  was  called  from  his  labors,  being 
summoned  to  the  life  eternal  January  21,  1903,  while  the  community  in  which 
he  had  so  effectively  lived  and  labored  felt  a  sense  of  personal  loss  and  be- 
reavement when  death  stilled  the  earnest  heart  of  this  honored  citizen.  He  was 
a  great  student,  not  only  in  his  profession  but  in  all  other  fields,  scientific, 
and  a  great  Biblical  student.  He  was  always  called  in  to  examine  members 
of  the  graduating  class  in  high  school,  was  consulted  by  all,  and  everybody 
referred  to  him  for  final  decision.  Dr.  Birchfield  was  a  member  of  several 
medical  societies,  and  fraternally  was  identified  with  the  Woodmen  of  the 
World.  In  politics  he  was  a  staunch  supporter  of  the  Republican  party,  and 
while  never  an  aspirant  for  office  was  called  upon  to  serve  as  a  member  of 
the  borough  council  and  also  as  a  member  of  the  local  board  of  education,  in 
each  of  which  capacities  he  manifested  his  loyalty  to  his  home  town  and  its 
highest  interests.     He  was  a  Presbyterian  in  religion. 

Dr.  Birchfield  married,  A]jril  23.  1891,  Juniata  McNamara.  Ixirn  and 
reared  in  Hollidaysburg,  Blair  county,  this  state,  being  a  daughter  of  Robert 
and  Eliza  (McConnell)  AlcXamara.  Mr.  McNamara  was  for  many  years  a 
prominent  merchant  and  irifluential  citizen  of  Hollidaysburg,  where  he  con- 
tinued to  reside  until  his  death,  his  wife  also  being  deceased.  They  became 
the  parents  of  seven  children,  namely  :  Juniata,  Robert,  deceased  ;  William  W., 
Lillian  P.,  Alartha,  John  and  Mary  B.  Mrs.  Birchfield  still  resides  in  the 
pleasant  home  provided  for  her  by  her  lamented  husband,  in  Latrobe,  and 
here  she  is  prominent  in  the  social  life  of  the  community,  while  she  finds 
solace  in  the  devoted  solicitude  of  her  many  loyal  friends.  Of  her  children  we 
enter  the  following  brief  record:  Rachel  H.  was  born  February  22,  1892; 
Eliza  Esther,  June  20,  1893,  died  September  4,  1893 ;  Dorothy  Cornelia,  Jan- 
uary 12,  1895;  and  Henrietta  Marion,  September  6,  1899. 

JOHN  W.  HUGHES,  M.  D.  Among  those  whose  lives  and  labors 
conferred  distinction  and  honor  on  the  history  of  Westmoreland  county  was 
Dr.  John  W.  Hughes,  who  was  one  of  the  able  members  of  the  medical  pro- 
fession in  this  section  of  the  state,  and  who  was  one  of  the  most  popular  and 
influential  citizens  of  Latrobe,  where  he  was  actively  engaged  in  practice  for 
many  years  and  where  he  was  also  prominently  identified  with  business  and 
civic  affairs,  having  been  president  of  the  Citizens'  National  Bank  of  this 
place  at  the  time  of  his  death  which  occurred  September  11,  1902. 

Dr.  Hughes  was  born  near  Corsica,  Jefferson  county,  Pennsylvania, 
March,  1838,  and  was  the  fourth  in  order  of  birth  of  the  children  of  Samuel 
B.  and  Mary  (Wilson)  Hughes.  The  Hughes  family  is  of  Scotch-Irish  lin- 
eage, and  that  branch  of  which  Dr.  Hughes  was  a  representative  was  early 
founded  in  Pennsylvania,  members  of  the  family  having  been  among  the  first 
pioneers  to  settle  west  of  the  Allegheny  mountains  in  this  state.  William 
Hughes,  grandfather  of  Dr.  Hughes,  was  a  farmer  by  vocation,  and  in  early 
life  married  a  Miss  Barnett,  a  representative  of  the  well  known  family  of  that 
name  which  early  settled  near  New  Derry,  Westmoreland  county,  being  promi- 
nent in  the  Presbyterian  church  for  many  generations.  Samuel  B.  Hughes, 
father  of  Dr.  Hughes,  was  born  near  Latrobe,  this  county,  and  died  in  1874, 


HISTOKV    Of    ll-ESTMORELAXD    COUXTY.  289 

at  the  age  of  sixtv-tivc  vears.  He  was  pnmiinemly  idenlifioa  with  lumbering 
and  merchandising  in  I'unxsutawney  and  UrookvUie,  JetTerson  cminty,  and 
continued  resident  of  that  comity  until  liis  demise,  where  he  was  held  m  the 
hio-hest  esteem  as  a  citizen  and  as  a  successful  and  intluential  tiusmess  man. 
He  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Republican  party  at  the  lime  of  its  organization, 
and  both  he  and  his  wife  were  zealous  and  devoted  members  of  the  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  church.  Their  marriage  was  solemnized  about  the  year 
182S.  and  of  their  five  children  only  two  are  living  at  the  time  of  this  writing. 

Dr.  John  W.  Hughes  passed'  his  youth  in  his  native  county,  in  whose 
common  schools  he  secured  his  preliminary  education,  which  he  supplemented 
bv  a  course  of  study  in  the  academy  at  Gladerun,  Pennsylvania,  while  he  took 
up  the  studv  of  medicine  under  an 'able  preceptor,  Dr.  Andrew  J.  Johnson,  of 
lefferson  county,  and  finally  entered  the  Ohio  College  of  .Medicine  and  Sur- 
gery, in  Cincinnati,  where  he  was  graduated  as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1863. 
Very  soon  after  securing  from  this  institution  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medi- 
cine'he  entered  the  service  of  his  country,  which  was  at  that  time  involved  in 
the  great  civil  war.  He  enlisted  in  a  Pennsylvania  regiment  as  assistant  sur- 
geon! but  was  soon  promoted  to  the  responsible  position  of  surgeon  of  the 
Fifth  Pennsvlvania  Cavalry,  ser\'ing  in  this  capacity  until  the  close  of  the 
war.  In  1866  Dr.  Hughes 'located  in  Leechburg,  Armstrong  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  was  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  about  one  year, 
at  the  expiration  of  which  time  he  removed  to  Blairsville,  Indiana  county, 
where  he  continued  in  successful  practice  for  more  than  fifteen  years,  during 
the  greater  portion  of  which  he  was  also  surgeon  for  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road Company.  In  1884  he  came  to  Latrobe,  where  he  continued  to  devote  his 
attention  to  die  practical  work  of  his  noble  profession  until  there  came  to  him 
inexorable  summons  of  death,  and  his  loss  was  one  which  was  dec-ply  felt  in 
the  community  and  in  the  profession  which  he  had  dignified  and  hoiored  b} 
his  able  services.  Besides  controlling  a  large  and  representative  general 
practice  Dr.  Hughes  gave  special  attention  to  the  treatment  of  the  diseases  of 
the  eye.  ear.  nose  and  throat,  and  in  this  department  of  his  work  he  gaine  1 
a  very  high  repute.  He  was  a  man  of  the  highest  professional  attaiimients 
and  ever  kept  in  close  touch  with  the  advances  made  in  the  sciences  of  medi- 
cine and  surgery,  having  recourse  to  the  best  standard  and  periodical  literature 
pertaining  thereto,  holding  membership  in  various  medical  societies  and  being 
a  close  student  and  careful  investigator.  In  1865  he  took  a  complimentary 
and  special  post-graduate  course  in  the  Jefferson  Medical  College,  in  Philadel- 
phia, while  he  also  did  post-graduate  work  in  the  medical  department  of 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the  same  city.  He  was  an  appreciative 
member  of  Loyalhanna  Lodge,  No.  275,  A.  1".  and  A.  M.;  1'.  .\.  Williams 
Post.  No.  4,  G.  A.  R. ;  and  the  I.  O.  O.  I'.  In  his  political  adherency  he  was  a 
stalwart  Republican,  and  ever  took  a  lively  interest  in  the  cause  of  the  "grand 
old  party."  He  was  public-spirited  as  a  citizen,  and  his  influence  was  exerted 
in  the  promotion  of  worthy  objects  for  the  general  good.  He  was  the  founder 
of  the  Citizens'  National  Bank  of  Latrobe  and  was  president  of  the  institution 
at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  one  of  the  influential  and  valued  members  of 
the  Presbyterian  church  in  his  home  town,  and  was  a  member  of  its  board  of 
trustees  for  a  number  of  years  prior  to  his  demise. 

Dr.  Hughes  was  twice  married.  He  married,  July  5,  1865,  Anna  Tor- 
rance, daughter  of  the  late  Hon.  James  Torrence,  of  Punxsutawney.  Jefferson 
county,  and  she  passed  away  in  1870.  leaving  two  sons;  James,  born  May  t8, 
1866,  and  who  is  now  successfully  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business  in  the 


290  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

city  of  Latrobe;  and  Samuel  B.,  born  January  13,  1868,  died  in  1896.  Dr. 
Hughes  married  (second),  January  4,  1877,  Jennie  E.  Zimmers,  who  survives 
him  and  who  still  resides  in  the  attractive  family  homestead  in  Latrobe.  She 
was  born  and  reared  in  Blairsville,  Indiana  county,  where  her  father,  Jacob 
Zimmers,  was  a  prominent  business  man,  and  of  this  second  union  were  born 
three  children :  Elizabeth  Z.,  born  January  28,  1879 ;  John  Jacob,  born  Janu- 
ary 10,  1889;  and  Jean  Lucille,  born  January  17,  1890.  All  of  the  children 
remain  at  the  parental  home,  and  are  popular  in  the  social  life  of  die 
community. 

LOL'IS  M.\IER.  There  is  no  nation  that  has  contributed  to  the 
complex  makeup  of  our  American  social  fabric  an  element  of  more  sterling 
worth  and  of  greater  value  in  supporting  and  fostering  our  national  institutions 
than  has  Germany.  From  this  source  our  republic  has  had  much  to  gain  and 
nothing  to  lose.  Germany  has  given  us  men  of  sturdy  integrity,  indomitable 
perseverance,  high  intelligence  and  much  business  sagacity,  the  result  being 
ihe  incorporation  of  a  strong  and  strength-giving  fiber,  ramifying  through 
warp  and  woof.  A  man  who  may  well  look  with  pride  upon  his  German  lineage 
is  Louis  Maier,  who  came  to  America  from  the  fatherland  when  a  young 
man,  and  who  has  attained  prosperity  through  well  directed  effort,  being  the 
])opular  and  genial  proprietor  of  the  Hotel  Maier,  in  West  Latrobe,  while  he  is 
held  in  high  esteem  as  a  reliable  business  man  and  loyal  citizen  of  his  adopted 
country.  He  is  a  native  of  the  kingdom  of  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  having 
been  born  in  the  town  of  Allmersbach,  November  21,  1861,  a  son  of  Gottlieb 
and  Maria  (Miller)  Maier,  who  are  now  deceased,  the  father  having  long  fol- 
lowed the  vocation  of  farmer. 

Louis  Maier  was  reared  to  maturity  in  his  native  province,  and  in  the  ex- 
cellent national  schools  of  his  fatherland  he  received  his  educational  training 
which  was  such  as  to  well  qualify  him  for  the  active  duties  of  life  and  to  en- 
able him  to  acquire  readily  a  knowledge  of  the  English  language  when  neces- 
sity demanded.  After  leaving  school  Air.  Maier  devoted  his  attention  to  cabi- 
net-making until  1880,  when  he  decided  to  take  the  same  course  as  had  so  many 
of  his  worthy  countrymen,  and  he  came  to  the  United  States,  landing  in  the 
city  of  Baltimore,  September  15.  In  that  city  he  found  employment  and  there' 
continued  to  make  his  home  for  a  period  of  twelve  years,  during  the  latter  por- 
tion of  which  period  he  was  engaged  in  hotel  business,  while  in  the  meantime 
he  married  and  established  a  home  for  himself.  He  removed  in  1892  from  Bal- 
timore to  West  Latrobe,  where  he  erected  the  Hotel  Maier,  which  he  has  since 
successfully  conducted.  The  building  is  an  attractive  and  substantial  frame 
structure  of  three  stories,  and  is  well  arranged  and  admirably  equipped  for  hotel 
purposes.  Mr.  Maier  and  his  wife  are  deservedly  popular  with  the  traveling 
public,  their  guests  manifesting  a  due  appreciation  of  the  accommodations  and 
courtesies  of  the  attractive  hotel.  In  his  political  sympathies  Mr.  Maier  is  an 
advocate  of  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party,  and  he  takes  an  intelligent 
interest  in  public  afifairs,  while  he  is  known  as  a  reliable  and  enterprising  busi- 
ness man  and  loyal  citizen.  He  married,  December  23,  1888,  Ida  E.  Shank, 
daughter  of  John  and  Sarah  (Gardiner)  Shank,  who  were  at  that  time  resi- 
dents of  West  Latrobe.  They  now  make  their  home  in  West  Latrobe,  and  on 
other  pages  of  this  work  appears  an  individual  sketch  touching  the  career  of 
Mr.  Shank  and  offering  due  genealogical  data.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Maier  have  two 
children:  Sarah  Alice,  born  Tvlarch  i,  1894;  and  John  Louis,  born  December 
15,    1901. 


HISTORY   OF    U'ESTMORELAXD    COL'XTV.  291 

GEORGE  W.  TORREXCE.  The  father  of  George  W.  Torrence.  of 
Smithton,  was  James  Torrence,  a  native  of  Scotland,  who  married  Nancy  J. 
Taylor,  who  was  born  and  bred  in  Indiana.  They  were  the  parents  of  six  chil- 
dren, the  sole  survivor  being  George  W.  Torrence,  born  May  21,  1862,  in  \\  ill- 
iamsport,  Pennsvlvania. 

As  earlv  as  his  ninth  year  .Mr.  Tiirrence  began  to  work  for  neighboring 
farmers,  and  in  his  intervals  of  labor  attended  the  common  schools.  At  the  age 
of  twen'tv  he  went  to  work  in  the  Eureka  mines  in  South  Huntingdon  town- 
ship, where  he  was  employed  for  four  years.  He  was  then  employed  for  eigh- 
teen' months  in  the  store  of  Rhoades  Brothers  &  Newcomer,  at  Jacobs  Creek, 
after  which  he  moved  to  Smithton  where  he  opened  a  barber's  shop,  employ- 
ing a  barber  under  whose  instructions  he  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  business.  Two  \-ears  later,  when  Benjamin  Harrison  was  elected  president, 
Mr.  Torrence  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Smithton,  serving  during  the  en- 
suing four  years,  and  for  six  months  under  the  Cleveland  administration. 
When  McKinley  was  elected  Mr.  Torrence  was  reappointed,  and  has  since 
served  continuously.  He  is  a  member  of  Sjnithton  Lodge,  No.  328,  Knights  of 
Pvthias,  and  Greensburg  Lodge,  No.  511,  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of 
Elks.  Mr.  Torrence  married  in  1885,  Ada  May,  daughter  of  W.  N.  Lynn,  of 
Jacobs  Creek,  and  six  children  have  been  born  to  them,  four  of  whom  survive: 
Capitola.  Grace.  B.  Harrison  and  Chalmer.  All  these  children  are  at  home 
with  their  parents.  The  musical  talent  of  the  family  is  remarkable.  Mr.  Tor- 
rence and  all  his  children,  down  to  the  youngest,  are  musicians  and  are  able  to 
play  with  skill  on  various  instruments. 

PHILIP  H.  DAMS.  The  paternal  grandfather  of  Philip  H.  Davis. 
of  Sutersville.  was  Philip  Davis,  a  farmer  of  Staffordshire.  England,  who  emi- 
grated to  the  L'nited  States  in  1841.  settling  in  Trumbull  county.  Ohio,  and 
afterward  purchasing  a  farm  near  Sharon,  Pennsylvania,  adjoining  the  state 
line.  On  this  farm  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life,  and  for  many  years 
conducted  a  dairy.  The  christian  name  of  his  wife  was  Ann.  The  death  of 
Mr.  Davis  occurrred  in  1865,  when  he  was  in  fhe  sixty-sixth  year  of  his  age. 
John  B.  Davis,  son  of  Philip  and  Ann  Davis,  was  born  in  183 1,  in  Staf- 
fordshire. England,  and  was  ten  years  old  when  the  family  came  to  the  L^nited 
States.  He  was  associated  with  his  father  in  the  dairy  business,  and  in  1864 
moved  to  Hubbard.  Ohio,  where  for  four  years  he  held  the  position  of  mine 
foreman.  He  then  removed  to  Bethel.  Pennsylvania,  where  he  served  two 
years  as  mine  boss,  after  which  he  went  to  Coalburg,  Ohio,  and  there  worked 
in  the  mines  for  three  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  returned  to  the  old 
homestead  in  Trumbull  county,  remaining  some  three  years  and  then  retiring 
from  active  life.  After  residing  for  a  year  on  the  state  line  between  Mercer 
county.  Pennsylvania,  and  Trumbull  county.  Ohio,  he  removed  to  Massillon, 
Ohio,  and  there  passed  the  residue  of  his  days.  Politicallv  he  was  a  Demo- 
crat. He  married  Jeannctte.  born  in  1832.  in  Glasgow.  .Scotland,  daughter  of 
Alexander  and  Mary  Thornton,  who  emigrated  to  the  United  States  about 
i8.io.  Mr.  Thornton  purchased  a  farm  near  Sharon,  between  that  place  and 
Sharpsburg.  Six  acres  of  this  land  he  subsequently  sold  at  a  good  price  to  the 
old  Sharpsburg  furnaces,  and  .some  time  later  sold  the  remainder  of  the  farm 
for  twenty-eight  thousand  dollars  to  Strawbridge  &  Trout,  who  desired  it  for 
speculative  purposes.  Lie  then  purchased  for  eighteen  thousand  dollars  a  farin 
of  two  hundred  and  four  acres  situated  back  of  Sharpsburg,  this  land  being 
still   in  the  possession  of  his  heirs.     He  died  on  this   farm  about   1888,  aged 


292  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUXTY. 

eighty-for  years.  The  family  of  Mr.  and  IMrs.  Davis  consisted  of  the  follow- 
ing children:  Alexander,  mine  superintendent  at  Wadsworth,  Ohio;  Anna,  wife 
of  Manna  Joy,  of  Akron,  Ohio;  Philip  H.,  mentioned  hereafter;  Mary,  wife  of 
William  Wilson,  of  Sharon,  Pennsylvania;  Charles,  policeman  at  Massillon, 
Ohio;  Margaret,  at  home.  The  death  of  Mr.  Davis,  the  father,  which  occurred 
February  13,  1904,  was  the  result  of  an  accident.  Within  three  hundred  yards 
of  his  home  he  was  struck  by  a  train  of  the  Pittsburg  &  Fort  Wayne  Railroad. 
His  widow  resides  in  Massillon,  Ohio. 

Philip  H.  Davis,  son  of  John  B.  and  Jeannette  (Thornton)  Davis,  was 
born  Alarch  22,  1858,  in  Trumbull  county,  Ohio,  where  he  received  his  educa-, 
tion  in  the  common  schools.  In  his  eighth  year  he  went  into  the.  mines  as' 
trapper  boy  under  his  father,  who  was  at  that  time  mine  foreman.  For  twenty- 
three  years  thereafter  Philip  H.  Davis  was  connected  with  mining.  In  1880 
he  went  to  Scott  Haven,  and  one  year  later  to  Sutcrsville,  where  in  ^1892  he  was 
given  a  license  for  a  hotel  which  he  conducted  until  1897,  when  he  sold  the 
business  and  removed  to  McKeesport.  After  three  years'  residence  there  lie  re- 
turned to  Sutersville  and  purchased  his  old  hotel,  the  Harrison  House,  of  which 
he  is  now  the  successful  proprietor.  He  is  a  member  of  McKeesport  Lodge, 
No.  136,  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  Lodge  of  Heptasophs,  also  of 
^.IcKeesport,  and  Sutersville  Lodge,  No.  405,  Knights  of  Pythias.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Democrat.  Mr.  Davis  married  in  1879,  Mary  Elizabeth  Harrison,  of 
Sharon,  and  six  of  their  seven  children  are  now  living:  Harry,  storekeeper  of 
the  light  plant  of  the  National  Tube  Works,  McKeesport ;  Frederick,  employed 
in  the  machine  shops  of  the  National  Tube  Works ;  Margaret,  at  home ;  Philip, 
at  home;  ]\Iinta,  at  home;  and  Lillian,  at  home. 

JAMES  W.  HOPKINSON.  The  paternal  great-grandfather  of 
James  W.  Hopkinson,  of  Sutersville.  was  William  Hopkinson,  a  man  of  wealth 
and  influence  in  Derbyshire,  England,  where  he  was  the  proprietor  of  an  inn 
and  the  owner  of  extensive  farm  lands.  His  son,  also  William  Hopkinson, 
was  a  native  of  Derbyshire,  and  married  Ann  Bracknell,  born  in  Nottingham- 
shire, which  was  also  the  birthplace  of  their  son.  James  Hopkinson,  in  1826. 
He  was  reared  on  the  farm  and  educated  in  the  public  schools,  afterward  tak- 
ing up  the  study  of  veterinry  surgery  and  becoming  •one  of  the  best  known 
veterinarians  in  that  part  of  England,  having  charge  of  many  of  the  royal 
stables.  He  belonged  to  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  was 
for  many  years  an  active  worker  and  officer  in  the  Plymouth  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church.  James  Hopkinson  married  Ann  H.,  born  in  1827,  daughter  of 
John  and  Ann  Horsepool,  of  Calverton,  Nottinghamshire,  where  the  former 
was  a  prosperous  manufacturing  confectioner.  He  and  his  wife  were  the  pa- 
rents of  two  sons,  John  and  Thomas,  who  were  in  the  marine  service  of  the 
British  arniy.  The  deaths  of  both  were  the  result  of  wounds,  and  their  bravery 
met  with  recognition  from  the  government.  John  is  buried  at  Bengal,  and 
Thomas  in  the  Ascension  Islands,  Africa.  Of  the  nine  children  born  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Hopkinson  six  survive :  John  T.,  of  Gratztown ;  Sarah,  of  Notting- 
hamshire. England  ;  James  W.,  mentioned  hereafter ;  William,  of  Gratztown  : 
Thomas,  of  Nottinghamshire ;  and  Samuel,  associated  in  business  with  James 
W.  Mrs.  Hopkinson,  the  mother,  only  surviving  member  of  her  family,  re- 
sides in  Hucknall  Toakard,  Nottinghamshire.  The  death  of  the  father  oc- 
curred in  1898. 

James  W'.  Hopkinson,  son  of  James  and  Ann  H.  (Horsepool)  Hopkinson. 
was  born  April  16,  1863,  in  Calverton,  Nottinghamshire,  and  received  his  edu- 


/ 


M.a-M^  (K^/^^rt>PM^ 


HISTORY   OF    JVESTMORELAXD   COUXTV.  293 

cation  in  the  common  schools  and  at  boarding  schools.  His  father  wisheil  liini 
to  go  to  college,  but  the  youth  himself  was  not  inclined  to  it,  and  having  begun 
work  in  the  brickyards  learned  the  arts  of  making  and  burnring  bricks.  At  the 
age  of  nineteen  he  went  to  work  in  the  mines,  where  one  year  later  he  success- 
fully engaged  in  contracting.  In  1887  he  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  land- 
ing'on  lune  6  in  Philadelphia,  whence  he  proceeded  to  Gratztown,  where  he 
became  "a  contractor  for  the  Penn  Gas  Coal  Company.  He  gained  the  good  will 
of  the  workingrnen,  became  a  power  in  the  coal  mines  union  and  for  years  was 
state  delegate  for  the  mines.  He  was  one  of  the  first  members  of  the  Widows' 
and  Orphans'  relief  committee  of  the  i\ lines  Union  of  Great  Britain.  His  in- 
fluence with  the  miners  caused  him  to  be  laid  off  by  the  coal  operators,  and  in 
1893  he  became  manager  of  the'  store  at  Blackburn  owned  by  Thomas  A. 
Sprague,  of  Pittsburg.  For  two  years  he  retained  this  position,  and  in  1895 
engaged  in  business  for  himself  in  Sutersville.  In  1900  he  opened  the  Brown 
Hotel,  which  he  has  since  successfully  conducted.  He  belongs  to  the  Knights 
of  Pythias,  the  Mystic  Chain,  and  the  Sons  of  St.  George,  supports  and  advo- 
cates' the  principle's  and  candidates  endorsed  by  the  Democratic  party,  and  is  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Hopkinson  married,  July  28, 
1890.  Mary,  daughter  of  George  Leah,  of  Gratztown,  now  of  Greensburg,  and 
five  children  have  been  born  to  them,  three  of  whom  are  living:  James,  Amy 
Ruth,  and  Ann  H. 

ALMOX  R.  YOUNG,  of  Latrobe.  Pennsylvania,  was  born  January 
31,  1S53,  in  fiercer  county,  near  Mercer,  Pennsylvania,  the  son  of  Lewis  C. 
and  Margaret  (Glendening)  Young. 

Mr.  Young's  education  was  acquired  chiefly  in  the  public  schools  of  his 
native  town,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years  he  left  the  school  room  to  learn 
the  carpenter's  trade  with  James  A.  Campbell,  with  whom  he  worked  for  sev- 
eral years,  thus  acquiring  a  good  general  knowledge  of  the  business  and  prac- 
tical experience  that  would  be  of  value  to  him  in  later  years.  He  subsequently 
purchased  an  interest  in  a  planing  mill,  which  he  followed  until  1891.  He  then 
came  to  Greensburg,  in  the  fall  of  1888.  and  here  worked  at  carpentering  for 
two  years,  and  during  the  succeeding  two  years  the  real  estate  business  occu- 
pied the  most  of  his  attention,  Mr.  Young  being  engaged  in  this  business  with 
Amos  Steck.  For  the  next  three  years  liis  time  was  occupied  in  selling  buildin,g 
supplies  on  the  road.  At  about  this  time  a  good  opening  presented  itself  for 
starting  a  first-class  laundry  in  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  Mr.  Young,  tak- 
ing advantage  of  this  opportunity,  in  1897,  opened  what  was  known  as  the 
Westmoreland  Steam  Laundry,  now  the  Keystone,  in  which  he  was  eminently 
successful.  In  1901  he  removed  his  business  to  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania,  there 
starting  the  Latrobe  Steam  Laundry,  and  three  years  later  his  son-in-law  be- 
came a  member  of  the  company.  Previous  to  January,  1901.  the  date  that  Air. 
Young  removed  his  business  to  Latrobe,  the  history  of  the  laundrv  business  in 
that  town  was  one  of  failure  and  discouragement,  and  the  prejudice  that  had 
been  established  against  the  former  laundries  of  that  place,  occasioned  presum- 
ably by  poor  management,  was  of  such  a  nature  as  seemed  almost  impossible 
to_  overcome.  Almon  R.  Young  purchased  the  entire  plant,  including  the 
building,  and  set  himself  to  the  task  of  improving  and  entirely  reconstructing 
the  old  place.  It  was  equipped  with  the  newest  and  best  machinery,  anrl  the 
business  started.  Tiie  result  was  what  Mr.  Young  expected,  success.  His 
business  increased  to  such  an  extent  that  new  appliances  and  more  machinery 
were  in  order,  and  the  four  people  whose  names  appeared  on  the  pay  roll  at  the 


294  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

beginning  of  the  business  have  been  increased  to  thirty,  and  the  one  deUvery 
wagon  which  was  used  has  been  supplemented  by  four.  Among  the  interest- 
ing machines  now  in  use  at  the  Latrobe  Steam  Laundry  are  the  dampeners, 
folders,  and  the  steam  collar  and  cufif  ironers.  The  greatest  care  is  exercised 
in  handling  every  article,  and  this  is  one  of  the  great  secrets  of  the  laundry's 
success.  l\lr.  Young's  business  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  flourishing  indus- 
tries of  Latrobe,  and  an  example  of  what  patience,  perseverance,  energy  and 
honest  work  can  do  in  the  way  of  overcoming  obstacles  and  Iniilding  up  a  suc- 
cessful business.  All  told,  the  Latrobe  Steam  Laundry  is  a  model  in  equip- 
ment and  production,  and  the  proprietors,  Mr.  Almon  R.  Young  and  Air.  Harry 
Brindle  are  certainly  to  be  congratulated  on  their  well-deserved  success. 

Mr.  Young  married  Margaret  J.  Madden,  daughter  of  Charles  and  Mary 
J.  (Shivley)  Madden,  and  their  children  were:  Minnie  Madge,  bom  July  3, 
1879;  Cecii  Mary,  August  2,  1881,  married  Harry  Brindle,  November  2,  1903, 
who  is  a  partner  in  business  with  her  father;  Alice  L.,  April  30,  1887;  and 
Maragret  E.,  December  i8,  1892. 

MORRISON  R.  MOORE,  whose  residence  in  McKeesport  is  among 
the  most  modern  and  substantial  in  that  thriving  town,  is  a  son  of  Thomas  and 
Mary  Jane  Moore,  and  his  birth  occurred  in  Sewickley  township,  Westmore- 
land county,  Pennsylvania,  December  27,  1847. 

The  common  schools  in  the  vicinity  of  his  home  afforded  Morrison  R. 
Moore  the  means  of  obtaining  a  practical  education  which  thoroughly  qualified 
him  for  a  life  of  activity  and  usefulness.  After  laying  aside  his  books,  at  the 
.  age  of  seventeen  years,  he  assumed  charge  of  his  father's  coal  yard,  managing 
the  same  successfully  for  one  year.  He  then  returned  to  the  homestead  farm, 
whereon  he  labored  for  a  period  of  time,  and  fur  one  year  thereafter  took  charge 
of  a  set  of  books  for  his  father,  who  was  conducting  a  business  in  Pittsburg. 
From  there  he  moved  to  Buffalo  in  order  to  take  charge  of  his  father's  dis- 
tillery, and  after  serving  five  years  there  assumed  the  management  of  a  dis- 
tillery and  mines  at  Scotthaven  where  he  remained  five  and  one-half  years.  He 
then  located  in  McKeesport  and  erected  the  "Old  Possum  Hollow''  distillery, 
which  he  conducted  successfully  until  1889.  He  built  the  Unity  Pure  Rye 
Whisky  distillery  near  the  town  of  Latrobe,  in  August,  1900,  and  has  since 
continued  the  management  of  the  same. 

Mr.  Moore  married,  in  1869,  Sarah  We1)b.  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Eliza- 
beth (Skaat)  Webb,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  four  children,  all  of  whom 
reside  at  home:  i.  Odessa,  born  March  28,  1871,  graduate  of  the  ^McKeesport 
high  school,  also  of  the  State  Normal  at  Buffalo,  New  York,  for  the  past 
fourteen  years  has  taught  in  the  McKeesport  schools.  2.  Grace  Emma,  born 
August  9,  1875,  graduate  of  McKeesport  high  school  and  Indiana  State  Nor- 
mal, Indiana,  Pa.,  now  a  grade  teacher  in  McKeesport  school,  having  taught 
there  for  the  past  eight  years.  3.  Morrison  B.,  born  October  3,  1877,  graduate 
of  McKeesport  high  school,  and  of  LaFayette  College,  was  one  of  the  four 
honor  men  of  his  class ;  is  a  mining  engineer,  now  in  charge  of  concrete  founda- 
tion construction  work  of  Republic  Steel  works,  Pittsburg.  He  married  Nora 
Reed  in  August,  1903,  and  they  have  one  child,  Morrrison  B.,  Jr.  4.  Helen 
Lottie,  born  November  17,  1881,  a  graduate  of  McKeesport  high  school. 

FRANK  SEUBERT,  a  leading  business  man  of  Latrobe,  who  bears 
a  most  desirable  reputation  for  honest,  straightforward  dealing  at  all  times  and 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  295 

with  every  one,  was  born  in  the  town  in  which  he  now  resides,  January  29, 
1854,  a  son  of  John  A.  and  Catherine  (Buttner)  Seubert. 

John  A.  Seubert  (father),  a  native  of  Germany,  came  to  tliis  country  in 
1848.  acompanied  by  his  wife,  Catherine  (Buttner)  Seubert,  also  a  native  of 
Germany,  and  settled  in  Johnstown,  Pennsyh-ania.  Tlie  following  tw^o  years 
he  was  employed  at  his  trade  of  tailoring,  after  which  he  removed  to  West- 
moreland county,  on  the  pike,  and  tailored  for  the  students  at  St.  \'incent's 
College  for  two  vears.  He  then  took  up  his  residence  in  Latrobe,  purchasing 
a  lot  at  the  first  public  sale  in  that  town,  erecting  thereon  a  house,  and  here  he 
worked  at  his  trade  up  to  1885,  thereby  gaining  a  comfortable  livelihood.  Four 
children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seubert:  Elizabeth  A.,  deceased:  Frank, 
mentioned  hereafter:  John  A.,  resides  in  Denver  and  is  there  engaged  in  the 
cement  roofing  business;  and  \\'illiam  T.,  deceased.  John  A.  Seubert  (father) 
died  December  5.  1895;  he  survived  his  wife  many  years,  her  death  occurring 
at  her  home  in  Latrobe,  June  2,  1882. 

The  educational  advantages  enjoyed  by  Frank  Seubert  were  obtained  at 
the  high  school  of  Latrobe.  where  he  completed  his  studies  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen years.  He  began  his  active  career  by  securing  work  in  the  brick  yard  of 
his  native  town,  but  at  the  end  of  five  years  he  abandoned  this  in  order  to  learri 
the  trade  of  shoemaker  with  Samuel  Gerry,  with  whom  he  remained  two  years. 
Subsequently  he  learned  the  trade  of  painter,  working  at  the  same  during  the 
summer  months  for  five  years,  and  during  the  winter  at  his  former  trade  of 
shoemaker.  At  the  expiration  of  this  period  of  time  he  engaged  in  the  paint- 
ing business  on  his  own  account,  and  bv  earnest  effort  and  conscientious  work 
has  won  a  large  degree  of  success.  He  is  still  engaged  in  the  painting  business, 
also  conducts  a  large  store  at  Xo.  309  W'eldon  street,  and  makes  a  specialty  of 
wall  paper,  mixed  paints  and  painters'  supplies.  He  also  has  been  a  dealer  in 
wall  paper  for  thirteen  years.  He  married,  January  29,  1885,  Mary  Hessler, 
who  was  born  November  3,  1866,  a  daughter  of  Philip  and  Catherine  Hessler. 
Their  children  are:  Catherine  S.,  born  November  2,  1886;  Estelle  G.,  born  Oc- 
tober 15.  1888:  Francis  P..  born  January  8,  1891  :  George  A.,  born  Novem- 
ber 27,  1895:  James  A.,  born  December  18.  1899:  and  Mary  M..  born  De- 
cember 22.  1901.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seubert  and  family  are  members  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  faith,  and  in  political  affairs  he  is  an  Independent.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  C.  M.  B.  A.,  of  Latrobe;  Holy  family  branch  No.  104.  and  the  T.  C.  B.  U., 
also  of  Latrobe. 

JOHN  GTLLIGAN.  a  representative  business  man  of  \A'est  Latrobe. 
achieving  success  bv  means  of  honorable  transactions,  was  born  May  2,  1856, 
in  Kenton  county.  Kentucky,  whither  his  parents — John  and  Anna  (^Morley") 
Gilligan — came  to  upon  their  arrival  from  Galway,  county  of  Conart,  Ireland, 
in  1849  ^nd  1851,  respectively. 

The  common  schools  in  the  vicinity  of  his  birthplace  afforded  John  Gilli- 
gan the  opportunity  of  obtaining  a  good  English  education,  and  upon  laying 
aside  his  books  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years  he  was  apprenticed  to  the  Pittsburg 
Locomotive  works  to  learn  the  trade  of  machinist,  he  serving  a  period  of  four 
years.  He  then  secured  employment  with  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad 
Company,  with  whom  he  remaincrl  fifteen  years.  In  1890  he  established  the 
West  Latrobe  Foundry  and  Machine  Company,  founders,  machinists,  boiler- 
makers  and  blacksmiths,  machinery  and  supplies,  heating  and  ventilating  en- 
gineers. Latrobe,  Pennsylvania,  and  has  continued  the  same  up  to  the  present 
time  (1906).     He  has  been  a  resident  of  Latrobe  for  more  than  fifteen  years, 


296  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

and  is  universally  respected  throughout  the  community.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
K.  of  C,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  Lodge  No.  907,  of  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania.  He  is  a 
Democrat.  I\Ir.  Gilligan  married,  September  14,  1878,  Anna  M.  Soisson,  born 
in  Cambria  county,  Pennsylvania,  August  12,  1855,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Caroline  (Filcer)  Soisson.  Their  children  are:  Thurston  A.,  born  June 
10,  1880;  William  Lewis,  December  27,  1881 ;  John  J.,  May  4,  1884;  Charles 
L.,  July  3,  1886;  Raymond  B.,  June  24,  1889;  Emil  B.,  September  10,  1891 ; 
Mary  j.,  September  10,  1893;  and  Soisson  L.,  December  2,  1899.  Mr.  Gilligan 
and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Catholic  church. 

JOSEPH  W.  McMASTER,  an  enterprising  citizen  and  a  ])rogressive 
business  man  of  Latrobe,  was  born  November  i,  1864,  in  Ligonier  valley, 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  a  son  of  Samuel  C.  and  Jane  (Douglas) 
McMaster. 

Joseph  W.  McMaster  received  his  education  at  the  common  schools  of  the 
neighborhood,  which  he  attended  until  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age,  after 
which  he  worked  on  a  farm  for  a  short  period  of  time.  He  then  turned  his 
attention  to  railroading,  which  line  of  work  he  pursued  for  a  time,  but  being 
desirous  of  seeing  something  of  his  native  country  outside  of  the  environment 
of  his  home  he  went  out  west,  locating  in  the  state  of  Dakota,  where  he  re- 
mained until  1899,  in  which  year  he  returned  to  his  native  state  afid  took  up  his 
residence  in  Latrobe.  He  at  once  established  a  livery  business,  which  pros- 
pered greatly  under  his  management,  and  September  27,  1902,  he  opened  an- 
other livery  establishment  on  Railroad  street,  where  he  is  conducting  business 
at  the  present  time  (1905).  His  place  of  business  is  neat,  attractive,  commo- 
dious in  its  arrangement,  and  well  stocked  with  horses  and  vehicles  suitable 
for  all  occasions.  Mr.  McMaster  married,  June  26,  1896,  Elizabeth  Peth,  born 
in  the  village  of  New  Germany,  Cambria  county,  Pennsylvania,  a  daughter 
of  Erwin  and  Rose  (Kerre)  Peth,  and  three  children  were  born  of  this  union: 
Rose,  Joseph  and  Catherine  McAIaster. 

HENRY  LANGE.  The  father  of  Henry  Lange.  of  Webster,  was 
George  Lange,  born  in  1826,  in  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  where  he  learned  the 
wagonmaker's  trade.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  went  to  Switzerland  and  there 
remained  five  years.  At  twenty-one  years  he  returned  to  Wurteniljcrg  to 
stand  his  chance  of  being  drafted  for  military  service,  but  was  not  drawn,  and 
immediately  emigrated  to  the  United  States.  For  some  years  he  worked  at 
his  trade  on  Pine  creek,  near  Pittsburg,  and  then  moved  to  Belle  Vernon  where 
he  was  employed  by  Christian  Amalong.  A  year  later  he  bought  out  his  em- 
ployer and  continued  in  the  wagonmaking  industry  until  1850,  when  he  en- 
gaged, in  the  livery  business,  maintaining  his  connection  with  it  during  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  He  was  an  active  member  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran 
church.  George  Lange  married  Emily  McCrary,  and  their  family  consisted  of 
six  children,  all  of  whom,  with  the  exception  of  one,  are  now  living:  Henry, 
mentioned  hereafter ;  Clara,  of  Belle  Vernon ;  Regina,  wife  of  Samuel  Du-' 
gan,  of  Coraopolis,  Pennsylvania ;  Josephine,  of  Belle  Vernon ;  and  Wilson, 
also  of  Belle  Vernon.    The  death  of  Mr.  Lange  occurred  February  i,  1885. 

Henry  Lange,  son  of  George  and  Emilv  ( McCrary)  Lange,  was  born 
March  8,  1850,  in  Belle  A^ernon,  and  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his 
native  town.  On  reaching  his  majority  he  purchased  a  team  and  contracted 
with  the  Merchants'  Glass  Company  to  deliver  their  coal.  For  more  than 
eight  years  he  continued  to  do  this,  and  in  1880  sold  his  teaming  business.  He 


HISTORY   OF    IVESTMORELAXD   COUNTY.  297 

then  entered  into  partnership  with  Dr.  A.  C.  Streeter.  and  for  some  ten  years 
they  prospered  as  a  drug  lirni.  'Mr.  Lange  then  purchased  his  partner's  inter- 
est and  estabhshed  his  son,  W".  H.  Lange,  in  the  business.  The  same  year 
Mr.  Lange  bought  of  Frost  &  Carnes  the  old  Webster  Hotel,  one  of  the  land- 
marks of  the  borough,  and  as  the  proprietor  of  this  hostelry  has  been  very  suc- 
cessful.    He  is  liberal  in  his  political  views. 

Mr.  Lange  married  Frances  Biliitter,  of  Portage  county,  Ohio,  and  of 
their  twelve  children  nine  survive :  Wooda  H.,  druggist,  of  Belle  Vernon ; 
George,  in  ice  business  at  Belle  \'ernon ;  Bessie,  wife  of  Samuel  Spears,  of 
Webster :  Edna,  wife  of  Bert  Ammon,  of  Webster :  Fannie  B.,  Catharine  F., 
Grace,  Jessie,  and  Francis ;  all  of  whom  are  at  home.  All  these  children  have 
been  given  the  advantages  of  a  superior  education  and  have  finished  at  the 
head  of  their  classes.  Among  them  are  three  especially  gifted  in  music.  Bessie 
is  an  accomplished  pianist.  Fannie  B.  is  equally  gifted  on  the  violin,  and  the 
attainments  of  Catharine  F.,  who  is  now  but  sixteen,  are  considered  remark- 
able.   The  eldest  son,  \Vooda  H.,  is  a  thirty-second  degree  Mason. 

DR.  WALTER  H.  COWAX,  a  prosperous  and  progressive  general 
jjractitioner  of  \\"ebster,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  is  held  in  high 
esteem  in  the  town  where  he  resides.  He  was  born  in  .\llegheny,  Pennsylva- 
nia, May  30.  1868,  and  is  of  Scotch-Irish  parentage.  His  early  education 
was  received  in  the  public  schools  of  Allegheny,  Pennsylvania,  after  which  he 
attended  the  West  Pennsylvania  Medical  College,  from  which  he  graduated 
in  June,  1898.  He  was  the  resident  physician  at  St.  John's  General  Hospital, 
.\llegheny,  Pennsylvania,  during  1898-99.  He  established  himself  at  Webster, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1901.  At  present  (1906)  he  is  surgeon  for  Pittsburg  &  Lake 
Erie  Railroad.  Dr.  Cowan  is  a  member  of  Henry  IVL  Phillips  Lodge,  Xo.  326, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of  Monongahela  City,  Pennsylvania,  member  of 
the  Monongahela  Chapter,  X'o.  249,  R.  A.  ^L.  and  member  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W. 
In  politics  Dr.  Cowan  is  a  Republican,  and  takes  a  most  profound  interest  in 
the  well  being  of  his  party.  He  displays  a  remarkable  aptitude  in  his  profes- 
sion and  is  socially  a  very  popular  man.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Rostraver 
school  board.  Dr.  Cowan  married  in  1901.  Jane  Morrison,  daughter  of  Col- 
onel Hugh  Morrison. 

JOHX  R.\XKIX.  The  father  of  John  Rankin,  of  Rostraver  town- 
ship, was  Robert  Rankin,  who  was  born  in  1802,  in  county  Donegal,  Ireland, 
where  he  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  became  a  road  contractor.  In  1839  he 
came  to  the  L'nited  States,  settling  in  Elizabeth  township.  Allegheny  countv. 
Pennsylvania,  on  a  farm  which  had  been  bequeathed  to  him  bv  a  cousin  who 
had  preceded  him  to  this  country  and  had  acquired  stven  hundred  acres  of 
land.  Mr.  Rankin  made  this  farm  his  home  during  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  He  affiliated  with  the  Whigs,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  He  married  Margaret  Culbert,  and  of  the  ten  children  born  to  them 
only  two  are  now  living:  John,  mentioned  hereafter;  and  Eliza,  wife  of  John 
K.  Graham,  of  Elizabeth  township,  .Allegheny  county.  TIk?  death  of  Mr. 
Rankin  occurred  in  1854.  and  his  widow  survived  him  twcntv-five  vears, 
passing  away  in  1879. 

John  Rankin,  son  of  Robert  and  Margaret  Rankin,  was  born  Octo- 
ber 2T.  1821,  in  rountv  Donegal,  Ireland,  and  was  in  his  eighteenth  year 
when  he  accompanied  his  jjarents  to  the  I'nited  States,  his  education  having 
been  acquired  in  tlie  common  and  select  schools  of  his  native  country,     .\bout 


298  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

eighteen  months  after  coming  to  tliis  country  he  left  home  and  apprenticed 
himself  to  learn  the  tanner's  trade  in  Elizabeth  township.  Two  years  later  he 
went  to  Connellsville,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade  about  four  months  and 
then  moved  to  Fayette  county.  He  remained  there  but  three  months,  being 
compelled  at  the  end  of  that  time  to  return  home  in  consequence  of  an  injury. 
Later  he  went  to  West  Newton  and  worked  for  about  fifteen  months  in  the 
tanneries,  and  was  then  again  forced  to  go  home  by  reason  of  illness.  His 
first  employer,  Major  John  Rankin,  hearing  of  this  went  to  him  and  persuaded 
him  to  re-enter  his  service,  although  in  the  then  state  of  his  health  he  was  una- 
ble to  do  the  usual  amount  of  work.  On  the  death  of  Major  Rankin,  about 
seven  months  later,  one-third  of  the  farm  on  which  the  tannery  stood  was 
bequeathed  to  Mr.  Rankin,  who  purchased  the  remaining  two-thirds  and  re- 
sided there  until  1866,  when  he  sold  the  property  and  bought  his  present  farm 
in  Rostraver  township,  where  he  has  since  lived.  The  high  esteem  in  which 
Mr.  Rankin  is  held  by  his  neighbors  is  attested  by  the  fact  that  he  has  on 
several  occasions — no  fewer  than  nine — been  given  power  of  attorney  to 
act  as  executor  and  administrator  of  estates.  He  has  served  twelve  years  as 
township  auditor,  and  for  many  years  was  treasurer  of  the  school  board.  He 
belongs  to  the  Repuljlican  party,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
Mr.  Rankin  married  in  1847,  Eliza  J.  Kelly,  and  eight  of  their  nine  children 
survive :  Margaret  C,  wife  of  Elliott  Cunningham,  of  Rostraver  township ; 
Mary  E..  married  Albert  Cunningham,  of  Missouri;  Martha  j.,  vi'V  .-f  Joseph 
Smith,  of  Rostraver  township  ;  Robert  A.,  registrar  of  wills  of  Westmoreland 
county:  Eliza  A.,  at  home;  John  C..  at  home;  William  J.,  lives  in  Rostraver 
townsliip ;  and  .Sally  B.,  wife  of  John  Rader.  of  Allegheny  county,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

A.  A.  PERKINS.  The  father  of  A.  A.  Perkins,  of  Webster,  was 
Jacob  Perkins,  a  native  of  New  York  state,  who  came  as  a  young  man  to 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  married  Elizabeth  Kemerer,  and 
eight  children  were  born  to  them,  of  whom  A.  A.,  mentioned  hereafter,  alone 
survives.  Mr.  Perkins  died  at  a  comparatively  earlv  age.  and  the  children 
were  reared  by  the  self-denying  exertions  of  their  mother. 

A.  A.  Perkins,  son  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  (Kemerer)  Perkins,  was  born 
August  19,  1829,  where  Harrison  City  now  stands,  and  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools.  In  1854  he  engaged  in  the  milling  business,  and  in  1866 
purchased  his  present  mill  in  Webster,  where  he  has  since  carried  on  an  exten- 
sive trade.  Although  never  desiring  or  seeking  ofiice  he  has  always  taken 
the  interest  of  a  good  citizen  in  public  affairs,  and  has  steadfastly  adhered 
to  the  Republican  party.  He  is  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  Mr. 
Perkins  married,  February,  1852,  Lucinda  C.  Baker,  and  their  children  are: 
Amanda  J.,  wife  of  Evan  Caldwell,  of  Forward  township ;  Abbie  A.,  lives  in 
Swissvale,  Allegheny  county  ;  John  N.,  deceased ;  Eva,  married  J.  V.  Shafer, 
of  Swissvale,  .has  one  child,  Kenneth ;  and  Millie,  wife  of  Henrv  Cropp,  of 
Swissvale,  had  five  children :  Fred,  Lizzie,  Elmer,  Winston,  and  Carrie,  de- 
ceased. Mrs.  Perkins  died  in  1863,  and  in  1864  Mr.  Perkins  married  Elizabeth, 
widow  of  Robert  Manes,  and  daughter  of  William  Fleming.  Their  children 
are:  Emma  M.,  Margaret  S.,  William  F.,  employed  in  his  f^.thcr's  mills,  mar- 
ried Amv  Mills,  has  two  children.  William  H.  and  Elizabeth  Elma ;  and  Ella. 
.•\11  the  daughters  are  at  home  with  their  parents. 

CH.-\RLES  W.  HCJFFALVN.  a  prominent  business  man  and  repre- 
sentative citizen  of  Latrobe,  where  he  has  maintained  his  home  for  manv  vears, 


^1 


^Zkld^ytAj 


'Nations,        /' 


HISTORY   OF    ll'ESTMORELAXD   COUNTY.  299 

also  a  veteran  of  the  civil  war  in  uiiich  he  served  with  signal  fidelity  and  valur, 
was  born  at  Roxborough,  i'hiladelphia.  Pennsylvania.  December  i.  183b,  a 
son  of  Nathan  H.  and  Catharine  (Skean)  Hottman.  both  of  whom  were  mem- 
bers of  sterling  pioneer  families  of  the  Keystone  commonwealth. 

Nathan  H.  Hoffman  (father)  was  born  at  Roxborough,  Pennsylvama, 
March  8,  1805,  was  a  wagon  maker  bv  trade  and  followed  the  same  for  many, 
years.  His  wife.  Catharine  (Skean)  Hoffman,  born  1807,  in  Ligonier  valley, 
Westmoreland  county.  Pennsylvania,  bore  him  seven  children,  their  bu'tlis 
occurring  at  Roxborough.  Pennsvlvania.  Theodore  S..  born  June  11.  1829; 
Norris  H..  born  December  14.  1830.  died  at  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
was  buried  Februarv  15.  189s  :  John  M..  born  June  26,  1833.  died  May  10, 
185^.  at  Chestnut  Hill,  and  was  buried  in  Roxborough,  Pennsylvania;  Har- 
rierMatilda.  born  April  8.  1836:  Charles  W..  born  December  i,  1838:  Eliza- 
beth Amanda,  born  December  4.  1842;  Joseph  H..  born  April  23.  1845.  Nathan 
H.  Hoffman  lived  to  attain  the  patriarchal  age  of  eighty-two  years,  his  death 
occurring  November  21,  1887.  in  the  state  of  Kansas,  where  the  closing  years 
of  his  life  were  passed.  He  was  buried  at  Roxborougli.  Pennsylvania,  beside 
his  cherished  and  devoted  wife,  whose  death  occurred  August  i.  1878,  in 
Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania.  She  was  also  buried  in  Roxborough.  Penn- 
svlvania. 

Charles  \V.  Hoffman  passed  his  boyhood  days  in  his  native  city,  and  his 
educational  training  was  somewhat  desultory  in  nature,  being  confined  to  an 
irregular  attendance  in  the  common  schools  which  he  left  when  twelve  years 
of  age  to  initiate  his  services  in  connection  with  the  practical  duties  of  life. 
He  entered  upon  an  apprenticeship  at  the  trade  of  jeweler  and  watchmaker 
with  his  uncle.  John  Smart,  at  Philadelphia,  with  whom  he  served  five  years, 
becoming  a  skilled  workman.  For  several  years  thereafter,  until  the  breaking 
out  of  tile  civil  war.  he  worked  at  his  trade  as  a  journeyman,  in  1866  engaged 
in  the  same  line  of  business  on  his  own  account  in  Greensburg.  but  shortly 
afterward  removed  to  Latrobe  and  there  engaged  in  the  same  business,  build- 
ing up  an  excellent  trade,  which  he  has  continued  to  conduct  up  to  the  present 
time  (1906).  In  all  his  business  relations  he  has  acquitted  himself  in  such 
a  way  as  to  gain  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  all  with  whom  he  has  associated, 
and  his  business  capability  is  recognized  throughout  the  community.  He  has 
alwavs  borne  a  full  share  in  the  promotion  of  community  interests,  and  every 
enterprise  which  has  had  for  its  object  the  material  and  moral  welfare  of 
Latrobe  has  found  in  him  a  willing  and  efficient  advocate. 

^\■hen  the  dark  cloud  of  civil  war  threw  its  pall  over  the  United  States, 
^Ir.  Hoffman  promptly  responded  to  the  call  for  volunteers  and  went  forth  to 
do  valiant  service  in  defense  of  the  union.  He  enlisted  April  22.  1861.  at 
Doylestown.  Bucks  county,  in  Company  T.  Twenty-fifth  Regiment.  Pennsyl 
vania  Volunteer  Infantry,  as  a  private,  and  served  in  said  regiment  ninety 
days.  He  was  discharged  at  Harrisburg.  Pennsylvania.  July  26,  i86r.  at  the 
expiration  of  his  term  of  enlistment.  On  September  12,  1861.  at  Dovlestovvn. 
Bucks  county,  he  enlisted  in  Company  E,  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Regiment, 
Pennsvlvania  \'olunteer  Infantry,  as  a  sergeant  for  three  years,  and  was  dis- 
charged at  Philadelphia.  .September  30.  1864.  He  participated  in  a  number 
of  battles  in  \'irginia  and  South  Carolina:  was  wounded  in  the  leg  at  the  battle 
of  ^\'illiamsburg.  \'irginia.  Afay  5,  1862.  second  day's  battle;  Genernl  George 
B.  McClelland's  Penninsula  campaign.  Fair  Oaks  or  Seven  Pines.  Mav  31 
and  June  i,  1862.  In  the  first  day's  battle  his  company  were  all  taken  prison- 
ers, excepting  six  of  his  comrades,  he  being  out  on  a  scout  at  the  time.     His 


300  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

comrades  were  put  in  Libby  prison,  Richmond,  \'irginia,  and  Weldon,  North 
Carohna,  prisons,  but  finally  were  all  exchanged.  The  colonel  of  the  regiment, 
W.  W.  H.  Davis,  in  the  second  day's  fight  had  his  horse  shot  from  under  him, 
and  was  also  shot  in  the  arm.  Mr.  Hoffman  participated  in  the  battles  at 
Bottoms  Bridge,  Chickahominy  River,  Gains  Mill,  White  Oak  Swamp,  June 
31,  1862;  Malvern  Hill,  July  i,  1862;  Morris  Island,  South  Carolina,  July 
10,  1863;  Fort  Wagner,  July  11,  1863.  At  the  siege  of  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  Johns  Island,  July  6  and  7,  on  the  first  day's  battle,  his  colonel  had 
his  hand  shot,  losing  four  of  the  fingers  of  the  right  hand.  Mr.  Hoffman  was 
placed  in  a  tree  by  General  Hatch  to  call  out  cover  when  the  enemy  were 
about  to  fire  off  their  cannon ;  a  shell  exploded  in  front  of  the  men,  cutting 
the  limbs  of  the  tree  and  tearing  the  clothing  from  Mr.  Hoffman.  He  per- 
formed spy  duty  under  General  Patterson  and  General  George  B.  McClellan, 
in  Virginia;  also  under  Admiral  Dahlgreen.  on  the  South  Carolina  coast,  and 
has  in  his  possession  a  breast  pin  with  a  piece  of  brick  taken  from  Fort 
Sumter,  while  he  and  six  boat  crews,  six  in  a  boat,  soldiers  and  navy  marines, 
were  making  an  attempt  one  night  to  capture  Fort  Sumter,  but  they  were 
surprised  by  the  enemy,  fired  upon,  and  retreated,  one  commander  being  shot 
in  the  arm.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  original  pass  that  Sergeant 
Hoffman  had  in  his  shoe  when  taken  prisoner  by  two  of  the  enemy's  cavalry- 
men near  Charlestown,  A'irginia,  but  by  strategy  made  his  escape,  otherwise 
he  would  have  been  shot  with  the  document  found  on  his  person: 

Provost  ^larshal's  Office.  Charlestown,  Va..  July  19,  1861. 
The   bearer,   Thomas   Johnson,   a   good  and   loyal   citizen   of   the   United 
States,  has  liberty  to  pass  freely  anywhere  within  the  lines  of  the  Ainerican 
army,  and  all  officers  and  soldiers  are  requested  to  respect  his  safeguard  and 
render  him  anv  assistance  necessarv,  bv  authoritv  of 

W'.  W.  H.  Davis, 
Cafitain  25th  Penna.  Regiment, 

Provost  Marshal. 
Thomas  Johnson  is  an  assumed  name.  Charles  W.  Hoffman  is  the  correct 
name  and  was  the  scout  or  spy.  For  his  loyal  and  intrepid  service  in  this 
capacity  and  for  the  injuries  received  in  the  army,  he  is  accorded  a  pension  of 
twentv-four  dollars  a  month  by  the  government.  He  is  identified  with  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  in  politics  is  a  staunch  Republican. 

Mr.  Hoffman  married  Matilda  Ann  Borland,  born  in  Franklin  township. 
Westmoreland  county.  Pennsylvania,  October  23,  1845,  and  she  still  remains 
by  his  side,  having  been  a  devoted  wife  and  mother.  Their  children  are: 
I.  Vertis  B.,  born  October  18.  1874,  at  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania,  died  Mav  21, 
1903.  2.  Byra  James,  born  December  5,  1875,  was  killed  on  the  Pcnnsvlvania 
railroad  in  a  wreck  at  Latrobe.' Pennsylvania.  April  18,  1893.  3.  Theodore 
S.,  born  Februarv  i,  1877,  at  Latrobe,  is  telegraph  operator  in  the  office  of 
the  Loyallianna  Coke  and  Coal  Company,  near  Latrobe.  4.  Jennie  Willson. 
born  December  7,  1879,  at  Latrobe,  married  Frank  Gebhart,  a  civil  engineer 
by  profession,  he  having  charge  of  four  dififerent  mines,  one  of  which  is 
located  near  Latrobe.  j\Tr.  and  Mrs.  Gebhart  reside  in  Masontown.  Fayette 
county,  Pennsylvania.  5.  Paul  E.,  born  May  31,  1881,  at  Latrobe.  is  assist- 
ant suDerintendent  at  the  McFeely  Brick  Company,  near  Latrobe,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

STERLING   FAMILY.      In    the   settlement   of   every   new   country 
there  are  always  transient  settlers  who  make  their  appearance,  perhaps  to  take 


"'   HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  301 

advantage  of  cheap  land,  a  small  tract  of  which  thc\  cultivate  for  a  few 
seasons,  and  then  tire  of  even  the  faint  dawn  of  civilization,  and  press  on  to 
some  wilder  frontier  region,  where  they  exist  by  hunting,  trappmg  and  fishmg, 
duis  spending  an  aimless,  worthless  life ;  but  such  was  not  the  character  of  the 
sturdy  Scotch-Irish  people,  among  whom  was  numbered  the  founder  of  the 
Sterling  familv  of  Pennsylvania,  Joseph  Sterling. 

Joseph  Sterling,  the  American  ancestor  of  the  Sterlings  of  Westmoreland 
couritv,  Pennsvlvania,  emigrated  from  the  north  of  Ireland,  it  seems  quite 
certain,  in  1747.  The  place  of  his  birth  was  in  Londonderry,  Ireland,  m 
1741.  but  of  Scotch  ancestry  it  is  certain.  He  settled  in  one  of  the  eastern 
coimties  of  Pennsvlvania,  probably  in  York  county,  as  his  indenture  for  the 
farm  named  "Sterling's  Nest,"  dated  1783,  is  to  Joseph  Sterling,  of  York, 
Pennsylvania.  Another  farm  bought  by  him  at  an  earlier  date  was  to  Joseph 
Sterling,  of  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania.  In  Westmoreland  county, 
to  which  part  of  Pennsylvania  he  came  in  1780,  he  purchased  a  tract  of  about 
three  hundred  acres  situated  in  Derry  township.  He  made  for  himself  a  name 
in  Derrv  township,  on  what  was- ever  afterw^ard  known  as  "Sterling's  Nest." 
Here  he  enjoved  life  and  vigorously  labored  to  subdue  the  forests  for  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  century,  during  which  period  he  made  for  himself  and  family, 
consisting  of  a  wife  and  four  children,  a  comfortable  home.  He  became  a  man 
of  means  and  much  influence  in  his  community,  and  possessed  the  noble  traits 
of  integrity  and  hospitality,  rearing  his  children  with  a  keen  sense  of  an 
accountability  to  God  and  fair  dealing  with  their  fellowmen.  Let  it  here  be 
recorded  that  his  christian  training  may  be  seen  in  a  goodly  degree  in  the  lives 
of  his  remote  descendants.  He  was  not  an  active  factor  in  politics,  but  in- 
tenselv  loyal  to  his  adoptefl  country  and  obedient  to  its  laws. 

Joseph  Sterling  married  Mary  Porter,  of  Scotch-Irish  ancestry.  Her 
exact  nativity  is  not  known.  Her  ancestors  possessed  strong  intellectual  and 
christian-like  characters,  making  her  an  ideal  helpmate  for  her  husband,  as 
well  as  a  force  in  her  little  circle  in  those  long-ago  days.  Among  her  ances- 
tors was  the  once  well  known  preacher.  Rev.  Porter,  who  was  among  if  not  the 
lirst  to  preach  the  Word  at  Congruity.  It  w'as  he  who,  when  first  coming  to 
this  country,  provided  a  habitation  bv  fastening  logs  on  puncheon  slabs  to  the 
trunk  of  a  giant  tree  which  had  by  wind  or  other  means  been  uprooted  and 
laid  up  some  distance  from  the  earth  at  one  end.  This  formed  a  fastening 
for  one  end  of  the  rude,  improvised  "house,"  which  served  till  a  better  could 
be  provided.  The  children  born  to  ancestor  Joseph  Sterling  and  wife 
Marv  (Porter)  Sterling  were:  Rebeckah,  who  became  the  wife  of  William 
Robinson,  ancestor  of  tlie  Dunlaps,  at  old  Salem  church.  2.  Mary,  who  mar- 
ried a  Mr.  Marshall,  of  Indiana  county,  Pennsylvania,  ancestor  of  the  Hazlcts 
of  Latrobe.  ,5.  Janet,  who  married  Joseph  Glenn,  of  ISutler  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania. 4.  William,  the  only  son,  was  born  at  the  old  Sterling  homestead  in 
1772,  probably  in  York,  Pennsylvania,  but  not  of  a  certainty.  To  the  daugh- 
ters Joseph  Sterling  gave  a  money  portion,  excepting  Mrs.  Robinson  (Rebec- 
kah) to  whom  he  gave  land  now  owned  by  the  heirs,  the  Dunlaps.  Joseph 
Sterling  and  wife  Mary  (Porter)  Sterling  died  and  were  buried  at  old  Salem 
church:  the  former  in  1813  and  the  latter  in   1822. 

In  the  recorder's  office  at  Grecnsburg,  I\-nnsylvania,  may  be  seen  a  copy 
of  the  original  deed,  which  was  beautifully  inscribed  on  heavv  parchment,  the 
same  is  still  in  the  possession  of  the  family  and  well  preserved.  It  is  recorded 
in  deed  book  No.  2,  page  360.  The  instrument  was  from  James  Eaton  and 
wife  and  bears  date  of  June  3.  1793,  recorded  .\|)ril  iq,  I70''>,  by  James  Guth- 


302  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

rie,  recorder.  It  describes  a  tract  in  Derry  township,  consisting  of  two  hun- 
dred and  ninety-four  acres  and  nineteen  perches  of  land — the  old  homestead. 
The  consideration  was  one  hundred  pounds  sterling,  lawful  money  of  Penn- 
sylvania. The  original  will,  made  on  paper,  is  also  in  the  hands  of  the  de- 
scendants, the  substance  being  as  follows:  "Will  of  Joseph  Sterling:  (Dared 
March  29,  1798).  In  the  name  of  God,  Amen!  I,  Joseph  Sterling  of  Derry 
township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  being  sick  of  body,  but  of 
sound  judgment,  mind  and  memory,  calling  to  mind  the  mortality  of  my 
body,  knowing  that  it  is  appointed  for  all  men  once  to  die,  do  this  29th  day  of 
March,  1798,  make  and  ordain  this  my  last  will  and  testament,  in  the  following 
manner  and  form,  and  that  is  to  say :  That  at  my  death  my  body  is  to  be 
buried  in  a  decent  Christian  way  and  manner,  at  the  direction  of  my  execu- 
tors, nothing  doubting  but  at  the  general  resurrection  I  shall  receive  it  again 
by  the  mighty  power  of  God.  And  as  touching  such  worldly  estate,  where- 
with it  has  pleased  God  to  endow  me  with  in  this  life,  I  do  give,  demise,  and 
depose  of  the  same  in  the  following  manner  and  form :  After  the  full  payment 
of  my  just  debts,  of  my  whole  estate  I  bequeath  to  Mary,  my  beloved  wife, 
the  sum  of  ten  pounds  in  lawful  money,  all  my  household  goods,  kitchen 
furniture,  beds  and  clothing,  one  saddle,  one  of  my  best  cows,  six  of  my 
sheep,  of  her  own  choice ;  the  free  possession  of  the  east  end  of  my  mansion- 
house,  part  of  the  kitchen,  together  with  one-third  of  the  profits  arising  from 
my  farm,  during  her  natural  life;  the  grain  to  be  delivered  in'the  bushel  and 
a  sufficiency  of  hay,  fodder,  etc.,  to  maintain  one  horse,  one  cow,  and  six 
sheep.  To  my  loving  daughter  Rebeckah  the  sum  of  one  pound  lawful  money, 
four  years  after  my  decease.  To  my  nephew,  Joseph  Robison,  I  do  give  and 
bequeath  the  sum  of  five  pounds  lawful  money,  to  be  jjaid  to  his  father  four 
years  after  my  decease  for  his  schooling.  To  my  daughter  Mary  I  do  give 
and  bequeath  my  house  clock  to  be  delivered  to  her  at  my  wife's  decease. 
To  my  nephew,  Joseph  Marshall,  I  do  give  and  bequeath  the  sum  of  five 
pounds  lawful  money,  to  be  paid  to  his  father,  four  years  after  my  decease, 
for  the  use  of  said  child's  schooling.  To  my  nephews,  Joseph  Sterling  and 
Samuel  Sterling,  I  do  give  and  bequeath  ten  pounds,  to  be  paid  four  vears 
after  my  decease,  for  the  use  of  said  children's  schooling.  And  my  large 
Bible  to  the  said  Josepn.  All  the  rest  of  my  personal  estate  is  to  be  equally 
divided  betwixt  my  said  children,  William.  Janet,  Rebeckah,  and  Marv,  with 
the  exception  that  Elizabeth  (an  adopted  daughter)  shall  have  a  heifer  two 
years  old.  All  my  books,  excepting  my  Bible,  I  leave  at  the  disposal  of  my 
loving  wife."  Note:  It  should  be  remembered  that  prior  to  the  making  of 
this  will,  Mr.  Sterling  had  already  given  a  portion  of  his  estate  to  each  one  of 
his  four  children  in  land  or  money. 

II.  William  Sterling,  only  son  of  Joseph  and  Marv  (Porter)  Sterling, 
born  in_  1772,  was  a  man  of  strong  character,  with  the  jiighest  sense  of  honor 
prompting  his  every  act.  He  was  a  determined  courageous  man  in  his  convic- 
tions. In  his  religions  faith  he  held  rigidly  to  that  of  the  Presbyterian.  He 
was  a  lover  of  good  people  and  of  Christian  work;  affectionate  as  a  friend, 
and  noted  far  and  near  for  his  hospitality.  It  was  said  of  him  that  "He  was 
gifted  in  prayer  and  mighty  in  the  Scriptures."  which  he  had  read  through 
many  times.  He  also  had  a  genius  for  singing,  and  was  never  more  truly 
delighted  than  when  singing  liymns.  To  him  the  Sabbath  and  the  house  of 
God  w'ere  sacred.  Of  his  means  he  gave  freely  to  the  support  of  the  church 
of  his  choice.  While  not  active  in  politics,  never  aspiring  to  office,  vet  keenly 
alive  to  his  duty  at  the  polls,  he  was  a  supporter  of  the  old  school  Democracv 


HISTORY   OF   irESTMORELAXD   COUNTY.  303 

until  the  davs  of  the  civil  war.  when  he  was  greatly  interested  in  the  success 
of  the  Union  cause.  He  was  anti-slavery,  and  bitterly  opposed  to  whisk> 
in  all  forms.  He  served  as  a  trustee  in  the  old  Salem  church,  which  he  cher- 
ished even  as  his  life.  He  married  Janet  McOuiston,  of  Carlisle,  born  of 
Scotch-Irish  parents,  about  1772.  She  was  once  chased  by  the  Indians  to  the 
fort  at  Hannastown.'  She  was  a  grand  character,  a  true  wife,  noble  mother, 
and  exemplarv  Christian.  She  died  at  a  ripe  old  age,  in  1S45.  Their  children 
were:  Joseph,  James.  Samuel,  Margaret,  IMary,  Sarah,  W  illiam,  Robert,  and 
lane.  After  the  death  of  his  wife  Mr.  Sterling  married  a  Mrs.  Stuart,  of 
Blairsville,  Pennsvlvania,  who  at  his  death  removed  to  that  place,  but  only 
survived  him  a  short  time.  She  was  also  of  an  excellent  family  and  a  devoted 
Christian  ladv.  Each  of  the  five  sons  received  from  their  father  a  good  farm, 
and  the  four  daughters  received  the  equivalent  in  money.  Three  of  the  sons 
became  residents  of  Ohio,  where  their  descendants  still  live.  One  son,  Robert 
Sterling,  lived  and  died  on  the  farm  near  Hillsdale,  and  this  place  is  now  pos- 
sessed by  his  heirs. 

III.  William  Sterling,  son  of  William  and  Janet  (McQuiston)  Sterling, 
was  born  at  the  old  Sterling  homestead,  April  27.  1808.  He  followed  farming, 
and  was  highly  respected  and  very  successful.  His  education,  not  unlike  many 
another  in  "those  early  days  before  the  free  public  school  system  was  estab- 
lished, was  of  necessity  limited,  yet  by  force  of  character,  high  aim  in  life,  and 
through  careful  reading  became  a  well  versed  man.  He  was  a  high-minded 
and  sound  thinking  man.  who  absorbed  but  the  good  from  his  superior  asso- 
ciates with  whom  he  mingled.  He  was  ever  loyal  to  church  and  state,  and  a 
life-long  total  abstainer,  as  had  been  his  father,  even  to  the  use  of  tobacco. 
He  exerted  all  his  influence  for  the  cause  of  temperance,  which  in  his  day  and 
gneration  was  not  as  popular  as  to-day.  Like  all  of  his  forefathers,  he  was 
strictly  of  the  Presbyterian  faith,  exemplifying  it  in  his  daily  walk  with  men. 
For  niany  years  he  was  an  elder  in  the  old  Salem  church,  which  society  had  for 
generations  been  sustained  by  the  Sterlings.  His  brother  Robert  was  also 
an  elder  in  the  same  church,  .\side  from  the  office  of  elder  \\'illiam  Sterling- 
never  held  office,  except  that  of  school  director  in  Derry  township. 

Mr.  Sterling  was  twice  married,  first  to  Elizabeth,  the  sister  of  Dr.  Donald- 
son, well  known  in  Westmoreland  county  educational  history.  By  this  union 
two  children  were  born,  only  one  of  whom  survives,  Jennie  D.  Sterling,  married 
John  Wineman,  now  deceased.  Elizabeth  (Donaldson)  Sterling  died,  and 
for  his  second  wife  Mr.  Sterling  married  Martha  Hartley,  daughter  of  James 
Marshall  and  wife,  of  Indiana  county.  Pennsylvania.  She  was  born  October 
20,  1820.  of  like  ancestry  to  that  of  Mr.  Sterling.  Martha  Hartley  Marshall's 
grandmother  on  her  father's  side  was  Jane  Scott,  and  on  her  mother's  side  was 
Martha  Hartley.  Her  mother's  name  was  Margaret  Kirkpatrick.  William 
and  Martha  Hartley  (Marshall)  Sterling  were  the  parents  of  the  following 
children  :  Wilson  C,  who  became  an  attorney-at-law  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and 
lied  March.  1904.  on  the  farm  on  which  he  was  born.  He  attended  Elder 
Kidge  .Academy,  and  subsequcntlv  graduated  from  Lafayette  Colle.ge.  He 
first  practiced  law  as  a  partner  of  Colonel  Sanderson,  of  ^'oungstown,  Ohio, 
and  later  removed  to  Cleveland,  Ohio.  He  married  .Alice  Reich,  of  Easton, 
Pennsylvania,  who  is  now  residing  there.  Margaret,  died  in  her  young  teens. 
Celia.  Sarah.  James  M.,  of  whom  later;  Edwin.  William.  Nettie,  married 
Thomas  Ehler.  of  Derry  township,  died  OctoIxT  11.  1905.  leaving  a  son, 
Thomas,  aged  two  years. 

James  Marshall  Sterling,  .son  of  William  and   Martha    (Marshall)    Ster- 


304 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY 


ling,  was  born  at  the  old  homestead  in  Derry  township,  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  June  i6,  1855.  He  obtained  a  common  school  education,  and 
followed  farming  on  the  home  farm  until  1887,  when,  upon  his  marriage,  he 
farmed  three  years  in  Derry  township,  near  the  old  place,  and  for  six  years  in 
Salem  township.  In  1896  he  was  -made  police  ofiftcer  for  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  Company  at  Derry,  serving  three  years,  when  he  was  elected  as 
chief  of  police  for  the  borough  of  Latrobe,  his  present  home,  and  is  still 
filling  the  position  with  full  credit  tO'  himself  and  all  law-abiding  citizens  of 
the  borough.  He  is  interested  to  quite  an  extent  in  the  Latrobe  brick  works, 
a  large  plant,  also  in  other  enterprises.  Politically  Mr.  Sterling  is  a  staunch 
supporter  of  the  Republican  party  principles.  In  church  connections  he  is  a 
member  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Latrobe,  of  which  he  has  been 
an  elder  since  1899,  and  had  held  the  same  office  at  the  old  Salem  church 
before  coming  to  Latrobe  to  reside.  He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  at 
Derry,  Pennsylvania,  and  of  the  W.  of  W.,  at  Latrobe.  He  married,  February 
17,  1887,  at  the  old  AlcConnell  farm,  near  Congruity,  Pennsylvania,  Kate 
McConnell,  daughter  of  David  K.  and  Harriet  (Sloan)  McConnell,  and  sister 
of  Judge  Alexander  McConnell,  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania.  (See  the  fam- 
ily history  of  the  McConnells  elsewhere  in  this  work.)  Mrs.  Sterling's  father, 
David  K.  McConnell,  died  in  1900.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  M.  Sterling  have 
children:  Mary  Alice,  born  December  24,  1888,  Eleanor  Culbertson,  born 
May  25,  1892,  both  at  home,  and  attending  the  public  schools  of  Latrobe. 

JOHN  STEEL  LIGHTCAP,  of  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania,  was  born 
October  2.  1S70.  in  L'nity  township,  Westmoreland  county.  Pennsylvania. 
His  mother  dying  in  his  infancy,  he  was  reared  and  educated  by  the  family 
of  Andrew  and  Eliza  Steel  McChesney.  His  great-grandfather  Lightcap  was 
of  German  descent ;  every  other  line  of  his  ancestry  was  Scotch-Irish.  His 
father  was  Samuel  Gilson  Lightcap,  a  leading  farmer  and  stock  raiser,  also 
justice  of  the  peace,  late  of  Unity  township,  and  his  mother  was  Sarah  Mc- 
Chesney. His  grandfather,  on  his  father's  side,  was  William  Lightcap,  a 
son  of  Samuel  Lightca])  and  Rachel  Craighead,  while  his  grandmother,  on  his 
father's  side,  was  Susanna  [McClaren,  a  daughter  of  Matthew  McClaren   (who 

came  from  Ireland  when  he  was  seven  years  old),  and  Pounds,  of  the 

Derry  township  family  of  that  name.  On  his  mother's  side,  his  grandfather 
was  William  McChesney,  who  was  a  son  of  William  McChesney  (who  came 
from  county  Tyrone,  Ireland,  about  1786  and  settled  on  what  was  known  as 
the  William   Penn  McChesney  farm  in  L'^nity  township,  between   New  x-Mex- 

andria  and  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania),  and  liuchanan.     His  grandmother, 

on  his  mother's  side,  was  Elizabeth  McWhirter.  a  daughter  of  William  Mc- 
Whirter  and  Margaret  McChesney. 

John  S.  Lightcap  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Unitv  township, 
graduated  from  the  high  school  of  Greensburg  in  1889;  entered  Washington 
and  Jefiferson  College  in  the  fall  of  1889,  was  graduated  from  the  classical 
department  of  that  institution  in  1893:  taught  school  several  terms;  was  prin- 
cipal of  the  Ligonier  borough  schools  the  winters  of  1894-95-96;  read  law 
with  Judge  John  B.  Steel ;  was  admitted  to  the  Westmoreland  countv  bar 
June  26,  1897.  He  married.  November  8,  1899,  Mary  Zahniser,  a  daughter  of 
R.  M.  J.  Zahniser  and  Elizabeth  Hirst  Zahnister,  of  Greensburg,  formerlv  of 
Mercer  county,  Pennsylvania.  Of  this  union,  one  child,  John  Steel  Lightcap, 
Jr.,  was  born  December  16,  1900.  In  the  spring  of  1902  Mr.  Lightcap  entered 
into  partnership  with  Eugene  Warden,  of  Mount  Pleasant,  a  member  of  one 


HISTORY    OF    irESTMOKELAXD    COUXTV. 


o'-'o 


of  the  old  and  distinguished  faniihes  of  this  county,  under  the  hrin  name  of 
"Ligntcap  and  \\  artlen."  This  tirni  has  at  once  sprung  into  full  practice  in  a 
bar  composed  of  a  number  of  the  leading  lawyers  of  i'enns)lvania,  and  to-day 
enjoys  a  large  and  lucrative  practice  among  the  boroughs,  corporations,  banks, 
individuals  and  firms  of  not  onl_\-  this  but  adjoining  counties.  Although  prac- 
ticing in  Greensburg,  Mr.  Lightcap  has  for  some  years  resided  in  L^trobe, 
where  he  is  a  member  of  the  I'resbyterian  church,  and  interested  in  a  number 
of  business  enterprises. 

FRANK  I'AMILW  (1)  Conrad  Frank  was  the  first  ancestor  in 
America  of  the  Westmoreland  and  Somerset  branches  of  the  Frank  family, 
and  was  the  great-grandfather  of  the  present  John  H.  Frank,  of  Ligonier, 
Pennsylvania.  Conrad  I-"rank  w'as  born  in  Germany  and  came  to  America  in 
his  youth,  arriving  and  first  locating  in  Baltimore,  Maryland.  From  there  it 
is  supposed  he  shortly  afterwards  removed  to  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania, 
for  he  was  married  to  Sallie  Bowers,  of  that  county.  He  served  in  the  Rev- 
olutionary war  "as  that  of  a  private  soldier  on  a  roll  of  Captain  Jacob  Ash- 
mead's  Company  in  the  Second  Regiment  of  Pennsylvania,  commanded  by  Col- 
onel W.  Stewart,  September  8,  1778.'"  "See  page  414,  Volume  Fifteen,  Penna. 
Archives,  Second  Series."  After  the  close  of  the  Revolution  and  prior  to  1787, 
he  removed  with  his  family  to  Somerset  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  lived  in  a 
section  yet  known  as  the  "Glades,"  about  seven  miles  southeast  from  Somerset 
town.  He  lived  to  be  ninety-six  years  old,  and  his  wife,  Sallie  (Bowers)  Frank, 
lived  to  be  eighty.  They  had  six  children :  Henry,  John,  Conrad,  Sallie,  Betsy 
and  Kate. 

(Ilj  John  Frank,  second  son  of  Conrad  and  Sallie  (Bowers)  Frank, 
was  born  in  Somerset  county,  1787,  and  was  a  farmer  by  birth  and  occupation. 
He  remained  in  Somerset  county  till  1839,  w'hen  he  and  his  family  removed  to 
•Westmoreland  county,  locating  in  Ligonier  township.  He  followed  farming 
until  1849.  when  he  took  charge  of  the  turnpike  toll  gate  at  Laughlinstown, 
Pennsylvania,  and  remained  there  until  his  death  in  185 1.  He  was  married  to 
Anna  Hicks,  of  Somerset  county,  and  by  her  had  eleven  children :  Barbara, 
born  March  2,  1813,  died  early  in  life.  Catherine,  born  September  27,  1814, 
married  George  Conrad,  and  died  at  Tower  Hill,  Shelby  county,  BL,  April  11, 
1886.  Henry,  born  August  24.  1816,  married  Isabela  Underwood,  and  died  in 
Ligonier,  October  2,  1889.  Polly,  born  January  30,  1818,  married  John  Belle, 
and  died  in  Ligonier,  December  24,  1874.  .\aron,  born  March  18,  1820,  died 
unmarried  in  Ligonier.  I-"ebruary  25.  1897.  Josiah,  born  November  28,  1821, 
mairicd  Martha  J.  Horrell,  and  died  at  Jenners  Cross  Roads,  Somerset  county, 
June  13,  1894.  Jacob,  born  September  11,  1825,  married  Nancy  Underwood, 
and  died  at  Ligonier,  March  10.  1902.  George,  born  April  18,  1827,  died  un- 
married in  Ligonier.  April  22,  1846.  Julia,  born  April  10,  1829,  died  unmar- 
ried at  Laughlinstown,  .Kpril  7,  1855.  Elizabeth,  born  March  i,  1833,  married 
John  Douglass  anrl  died  in  Ligonier,  November  2,  1859.  One  other  child  died 
when  (|uite  young. 

(Ill)  Jacob  Frank,  fourth  ?on  of  Jolin  and  .'Vnna  (Hicks)  Frank,  was 
born  in  Somerset  county,  September  11,  1825,  and  came  to  Ligonier  with  his 
parents  in  1839.  He  followed  the  occupation  of  his  father  till  1849,  when  he 
opened  a  small  grocery  and  bakerv  in  Ligonier  which  he  carried  on  till  1861, 
when  he  removed  with  his  family  to  Shelby  county,  Illinois.  The  fever  and 
ague  drove  him  from  the  west  after  a  few  months  residence  there,  and  he  re- 
turned to  Ligonier,  to  again  engage  in  the  grocery  and  baking  business.  He 
■i—zo 


3o6  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

and  his  family  also  kept  the  Glessner  House,  in  Ligonier,  from  1867,  to  1872. 
He  tnen  built  a  large  house  which  is  yet  standing  on  the  southwest  corner  of 
Fairfield  and  Loyalhanna  streets,  which  he  immediately  opened_  as  a  summer 
hotel,  conducting  it  as  such  one  hundred  days  each  summer.  He  is  thus  en- 
titled to  the  credit  of  first  engaging  in  the  summer  resort  business  in  Ligonier, 
a  business  which  has  since  done  more  for  Ligonier  and  vicinity  than  any 
other,  and  which  has  given  the  town  and  valley  an  exceptionally  high  standing 
in  that  line  in  Western  Pennnsylvania.  He  married,  April  7,  1847,  Nancy 
Underwood,  of  Ligonier,  a  daughter  of  James  and  Susan  Underwood.  She 
was  born  in  Stoyestown.  Somerset  county,  October  22,  1827,  and  is  living 
at  the  present  time  ( 1906)  in  Ligonier.  jler  father,  James  Underwood,  was 
an  Englishman;  he  came  to  Somerset  county  from  North  Carolina,  about  1820, 
and  was  a  hotel  keeper  in  Stoyestown  and  a  teamster  on  the  Pittsburg  and 
Philadelphia  turnpike.  He  died  at  Lockport,  Pennsylvania,  while  engaged  on 
contract  with  the  Pennsylvania  canal,  in  the  early  thirties,  and  was  buried  near 
Bolivar,  Pennsylvania.  Her  mother,  Susan  (Barron)  Underwood,  was  born 
in  Somerset  county,  April  13,  1795,  died  March  14,  1879,  ^^  Ligonier.  She 
was  a  daughter  of  John  Barron.  Jacob  and  Nancy  (Underwood)  Frank  had 
six  children.  The  first  born  died  in  infancy.  The  others  are:  John  H.,  re- 
ferred to  hereafter;  Joseph  Denny,  born  May  18,  1856,  died  in  March,  1858; 
Alice,  born  September  i,  1858,  married  Albert  C.  Breniser,  at  Ligonier,  Oc- 
tober 19,  1876;  Harry  E.,  born  May  24,  1859,  married  Maude  Griffith,  May  30, 
1893.  They  have  one  child,  Albert  B.,  born  November  7,  1894 ;  Wilbert  W., 
born  January  10,  1864,  died  in  Somerset,  November  19,  1901.  He  was  mar- 
ried March  25,  1886,  to  Susan  Vannear,  of  Ligonier,  and  has  three  children : 
Harry  Floyd,  born  May  13,  1888;  Charles  \'annear,  born  November  9,  1892; 
and  Nancy  Catherine,  born  July  22,  1895. 

(I\')  John  H.  Frank,  second  child  of  Jacob  and  Nancy  (L'uderwood) 
Frank,  was  born  in  Ligonier,  April  i,  1850.  After  his  early  school  days  were 
over  he  went  to  Michigan  to  become  a  clerk  in  a  store,  in  1865,  but  after 
several  months  his  father  bound  him  out  to  learn  the  trade  of  die-sinking  and 
engraving,  when  he  went  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  where  he  worked  constantly 
until  1870,  when  having  finished  his  apprenticeship  he  began  business  on  Dear- 
born street,  Chicago,  Illinois.  Later  he  returned  to  Cincinnati  and  there  worked 
until  1874,  at  which  time  he  was  comjielled  to  relinquish  engraving  Ijecause  of 
eye  trouble.  He  then  returned  to  Ligonier  and  followed  his  father  in  the  hotel 
business.  He  was  thus  engaged  till  1882,  when  without  any  assistance  and 
with  very  little  encouragement  he  embarked  in  the  banking  business  in  his  na- 
tive town,  and  in  this  business  he  has  since  been  continuouslv  engaged.  In 
the  summer  of  1903  the  Bank  of  Ligonier,  which  had  been  founded  and  built 
up  by  Mr.  Frank,  was  chartered  as  the  National  Bank  of  I^igonier,  beginning 
business  July  i.  Li  business  circles  and  jiarticularly  as  a  banker,  Mr.  Frank 
has  earned  a  very  enviable  reputation  for  accuracy,  punctuality  and  integrity, 
and  as  a  result  was  elected  president  of  the  new  organization.  The  caution 
and  success  with  which  the  bank  has  always  been  conducted  and  the  public 
confidence  which  it  enjoys  under  his  management,  may  in  some  degree  be 
shown  by  the  fact  that  though  less  than  two  and  a  half  years  old,  with  a  capital 
■  stock  of  $50,000,  it  has  a  deposit  of  $230,000  surplus,  and  profits  of  $22,000, 
and  gross  assets  of  $330,000.  In  addition  to  the  banking  business,  in  the  last 
quarter  of  a  century  Mr.  Frank  has  engaged  in  other  pursuits  and  generally 
with  a  remarkable  degree  of  succcess.  In  1879  with  Richard  P..  Mellon,  of 
Pittsburg,  and  Albert  C.  Breniser,  of  Ligonier,  he  built  the  first  telegraph  line 


HISTORY    OF    IVESTMORELASD    COUXTV.  307 

to  operate  between  Ligonier  and  Latrobe,  a  distance  of  ten  miles.  It  was  snc-, 
cessfullv  operated  by  him  till  1883,  when  it  was  purchased  by  the  Ligonier 
\'allev  Railroad  Conipany.  .Mr.  Frank  has  since  been  manager  of  the  Western 
Union  interests  at  Ligonier.  He  projected  and  built  in  i8yo.  Frank's  Hotel 
and  Cottages,  which  has  become  one  of  the  most  noted  summer  resorts  in  west- 
ern Pennsylvania.  It  was  annually  opened  June  i  anil  closed  September  1, 
and  remained  under  his  management  till  1899.  In  these  and  other  undertak- 
ings he  was  ably  assisted  by  his  brother,  the  late  W'ilbert  W.  Frank,  who  when 
in  health  was  a  most  accurate  and  careful  business  man. 

Mr.  Frank  married,  November  26,  1872.  Anna  Kibel,  born  September  18, 
1852,  daughter  of  George  and  Frances  (Rush)  Kibel.  Her  parents  were  born 
in  Hapstein,  Hesse-Darmstadt,  Germany,  and  came  to  America  in  1830,  land- 
ing in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  and  locating  near  Emmettsburg,  that  state.  George 
Kibel  removed  later  to  Greensburg,  I'ennsxlvania,  and  in  1840  to  Ligonier, 
where  in  the  palmy  turnpike  days  he  successfully  carried  on  a  stage  coach  and 
carriage  manufacturing  establishment.  He  died  March  13,  1872,  and  his  wife 
survived  him  till  September  15,  1888.  John  H.  and  Anna  K.  Frank  have  three 
children:  William  K.,  born  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  July  22,  1874,  now  cashier  of 
the  Jeannette  National  Bank,  of  Jeannette,  Pa.  He  was  married  to  Alda  .Mt- 
man,  October  12,  1897.  and  they  "have  one  child,  Ruth  Anna,  born  in  Jeannette, 
October  i.  1899.  Josephine  Alice,  born  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  July  22,  1874,  edu- 
cated at  St.  Xaviers  Academy,  near  Latrobe.  Pa.  She  was  married  to  Edward 
G.  Schneider,  of  Cincinnati  Ohio,  February  8,  1899.  They  have  had  four  chil- 
dren:  Edward  F.,  born  January  7,  1900,  died  February  13,  1900;  Louis  F., 
born  July  6,  1902;  and  William  F.  and  Clififord  F.,  born  December  16,  1904. 
3.  G.  ClilTord,  born  in  Ligonier.  May  i,  1876.  After  some  five  years  spent  in 
T.  Mellon  and  Son's  Bank,  in  Pittsburg,  he  became  cashier  of  the  Bank  of 
Ligonier,  in  1897,  and  retains  the  same  position  -under  the  present  national 
organization. 

JOHN  W.  B.ARKLEY.  M.  D.,  a  prominent  and  capable  physician  of 
Ligonier,  was  born  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  February  10,  1868. 
He  is  a  son  of  Joseph  W.  and  Maria  (Beistel)  Barkley.  and  grandson  of  Jacob 
and  Elizabeth    fFrick)    Barkley. 

Jacob  Barkley  (grandfather),  born  March  26,  1798,  was  a  Westmoreland 
farmer.  He  and  his  wife,  Elizabeth  ( Frick)  Barkley,  born  November  18, 
1802,  reared  a  large  family — fourteen  children — and  several  of  his  sons  were 
soldiers  in  the  Civil  war,  and  marched,  fought  and  suffered  in  that  terrible  con- 
flict. He  died  December  25,  1868,  at  his  home,  aged  seventy-one  years ;  his 
wife  died  July  4,  1855,  aged  fifty-three  years.  Joseph  W.  Barkley  (father). 
born  in  Westmoreland  county.  Pennsylvania,  about  1826,  received  a  common 
school  education  and  learned  the  trade  of  a  carpenter.  This  ocupation  he  fol- 
lowed the  greater  part  of  his  lifetime,  but  in  his  later  years,  however,  he  be- 
came a  farmer.  He  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  serving  the  same  in  various  official  capacities.  He  was  a  Democrat, 
and  held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  for  many  years  in  Donegal  township. 
He  married  Maria  I'eistel.  daughter  of  John  Beistel,  of  Donegal.  The  cere- 
mony was  performed  .April  8,  i8(')0.  The  children  of  this  marriage  were: 
I.  Sarah  Idella.  married  Freeman  Muir.  of  RuiTsdale,  and  they  are  the  parents 
of  one  son,  Homer  Muir.  2.  George  M..  a  farmer  of  .Abilene,  Kansas;  he  is 
married  and  has  five  children.  3.  .Anna  M.,  married  Frank  P.  Baer,  of  Tarr's : 
they  have  four  living  children.  4.  John  W.,  of  whom  more  hereafter.  5.  Harvey 


3oS  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND.    COUNTY. 

F.,  married  Margaret  W'elty,  and  they  have  two  Hving  children;  lie  is  a  drug- 
gist of  Connellsville,  Pennsylvania.  Joseph  Barkley  died  September  29,  1889, 
and  his  wife,  Maria  (Beistel)  Barkley,  died  October  18,  1898. 

John  W.  Barkley  received  his  early  and  preparatory  training  in  the  county 
schools.  In  1893  he  matriculated  at  Jefferson  Medical  College,  Philadelphia, 
where  at  the  end  of  a  three  years  course  he  graduated.  In  1897  he  came 
direct  from  college  to  Ligonier  where  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Dr.  J.  T. 
Ambrose,  and  for  four  years  they  conducted  a  large  and  successful  general 
medical  practice.  In  1901  Charles  D.  Ambrose,  a  son  of  Dr.  J.  T.  Ambrose, 
having  graduated  from  West  Penn  Medical  College,  was  admitted  to  the  firm. 
This  connection  continued  for  four  years,  when  Dr.  Barkley  withdrew  and 
began  the  establishment  of  a  private  practice.  His  offices  over  the  Bank  of 
Ligonier  are  conveniently  and  tastefully  arranged,  and  here  he  cares  for  his 
large  and  growing  practice.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Westmoreland  County 
Medical  Society,  and  the  Ligonier  Medical  Association.  In  1904  he  became  a 
Free  and  Accepted  JMason,  being  raised  to  that  dignity  b\-  Ligonier  Lodge,  Xo. 
331- 

ISAAC  H.  SHEPLER,  one  of  the  representative  citizens  of  Belle 
Vernon,  Rostraver  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  born 
in  the  above  mentioned  township,  March  20,  1840,  a  son  of  Captain  Joseph 
and  Mary  (Blackburn)  Shepler,  and  a  descendant  on  both  the  paternal  and  ma- 
ternal sides  of  natives  of  Germany  who  settled  in  Virginia,  in  the  vicinity 
of  Winchester. 

Matthias  Shepler,  an  early  ancestor  of  Isaac  H.  Shepler,  with  two  broth- 
ers, P'eter  and  Philip,  moved  from  Virginia  before  the  war  of  the  Revolution 
and  settled  in  Rostraver  township,  Pennsylvania,  taking  up  farms  on  the 
Monongahela  hills.  He  married  Margaret  Houseman,  whose  family  was  one 
of  the  early  settlers  of  the  township,  and  their  children  were :  John,  Philip, 
Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob.  Mary,  Margaret  and  Catherine.  All  were  married 
and  raised  families,  and  their  descendants  are  numerous  in  this  section  of  the 
state. 

Isaac  Shepler,  fourth  son  of  Matthias  and  Margaret  (Houseman)  Shep- 
ler, was  born  in  Rostraver  township,  Westmoreland  county.  He  married 
Sarah  Hill,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Mary  Hill,  and  their  children  were  as  fol- 
lows:  Joseph,  mentioned  hereafter;  Lewis,  died  December,  1881  ;  Mary,  de- 
ceased, was  the  wife  of  James  Wright ;  Samuel ;  Margaret,  died  at  the  age  of 
eighteen;  Elizabeth,  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  Davis  Shepler;  Sarah  E.,  be- 
came the  wife  of  John  Stephens.  Isaac  Shepler  (father)  died  December  10, 
1837;  his  wife  died  July,  1869,  'iged  eighty-seven  years.  Both  are  buried  at 
Fell's  Church.  Joseph  Hill,  father  of  Sarah  (Hill)  Shepler,  at  the  age  of  eigh- 
teen came  to  Rostraver  township,  several  years  before  the  Braddock  expedi- 
tion, the  first  white  settler  of  the  township. 

Joseph  Shepler,  eldest  son  of  Isaac  and  Sarah  (Hill)  Shepler,  was  born 
in  Rostraver  township,  Westmoreland  county,  March  6,  1807.  He  received 
his  education  in  the  district  schools  of  the  town,  and  to  the  age  of  twentv-two 
lived  on  the  homestead  farm.  The  year  following  his  marriage  he  moved 
on  one  of  his  father's  farms,  which  he  conducted  for  eight  years.  In  1836  he 
located  three  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  Putnam  county,  Ohio,  with  the  in- 
tention of  moving  there,  but  on  account  of  the  death  of  his  father  was  per- 
suaded by  his  mother  to  remain  in  Rostraver.  In  1838  he  located  on  the  farm 
which  he  thereafter  made  his  home.     At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  was  chosen 


HISTORY   OF    U'ESTMORELAXD    COLWTV.  309 

captain  of  the  First  Company,  Eighty-eighth  State  Wihnilccrs,  winch  pcisuion 
he  held  for  eight  years ;  was  captain  of  the  .Monongahela  Blues  five  years,  and 
first  lieutenant  of '  the  Rostraver  Cavalry  seven  years.  He  filled  most  of  the 
offices  of  the  town,  having  been  elected  to  the  same  on  the  Democratic  ticket. 
For  almost  half  a  centun-  he  was  a  memher  of  Fell's  :\Iethodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  one  of  its  stanchest  supi^orters.  He  married,  April  16,  1829, 
Mary  Blackburn,  born  in  Rostraver,  ]\larch  28,  1807,  dauglUer  of  Joseph  and 
Nancy  Blackburn.  Their  children  were;  Sarah,  born  Januar\  7,  1830,  became 
the  wife  of  \\illiam  Jones,  farmer  and  hruiker,  residing  in  Rostraver  township. 
\'iolet.  born  Augustao,  1833,  became  the  wife  of  Captain  Martin  Coulson,  a 
resident  of  Allegheny  City.  John  B..  born  February  18.  1835,  married  Jose- 
phine Claywell.  of  Blinois.  Isaac  Hill,  born  March  20,  1840.  mentioned  here- 
after. 

Isaac  Hill  Shepler  was  reared  at  home  and  acquired  his  education  in  the 
common  schools  and  Ames  Commercial  School  in  Syracuse,  New  York,  grad- 
uating from  the  latter  institution,  June  4,  1866.  After  his  marriage  he  rented 
and  farmed  the  adjoining  farm  to  the  homestead  in  connection  with  working 
with  his  father  on  the  home  farm,  and  four  years  later  he  removed  to  the  farm 
owned  by  his  brother-in-law  in  \\'ebster.  consisting  of  two  hundred  and  sev- 
enty acres,  which  he  conducted  for  four  years,  also  assisting  in  the  management 
of  the  home  farm.  During  the  last  year  of  this  period  he  received  a  severe  sun- 
stroke, which  incapacitated  him  for  work  for  one  year,  during  which  time  he 
resided  near  Fell's  Church,  in  Rostraver  township.  He  then  went  west  and 
for  two  years  was  emploved  on  the  CouKson  mercantile  boats  which  had  exten- 
sive government  contracts  through  North  and  South  Dakota,  Nebraska  and 
Montana.  In  1881  he  returned  to  Westmoreland  county,  locating  on  the  Cald- 
well property  in  Rostraver  township,  where  he  farmed  for  two  years.  He  then 
purchased  one-quarter  interest  in  the  Belle  \'ernon  Saw  and  Planing  I\Iill  Com- 
pany, and  for  four  years  served  in  the  capacitv  of  bookkeeper,  contractor  and 
1)uyer.  At  the  expiration  of  this  time  Grover  Cleveland  was  elected  to  the  pres- 
idency, and  Mr.  Shepler  was  offered  and  accepted  a  position  as  ganger,  serving 
four  years  and  one  month.  For  a  period  of  eight  months  under  Andrew  John- 
son's administration  he  served  as  storekeeper.  In  1890  he  purchased  the  mer- 
cantile business  of  P.  Rider  &  Company  in  Belle  Vernon,  and  five  years  later, 
upon  the  expiration  of  his  lease,  built  a  business  building  on  his  home  jirop- 
erty  on  the  hill  where  he  has  since  been  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits.  Dur- 
ing his  residence  in  Belle  \^ernon  he  has  served  on  the  school  board,  as  bor- 
ough assessor,  and  has  been  president  of  the  board  of  health,  and  previous  to 
that  time  he  served  as  school  director,  township  assessor  and  a  member  of  the 
election  board.  He  was  formerly  a  Methodist  in  religion,  but  is  now  a  member 
•of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  for  forty  years  has  been  a  member  of  the 
choir.  Since  1862  he  has  been  actively  identified  with  (iummert  Lodge,  No. 
252,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  at  Fayette  City,  Pennsylvania  :  he  is  a  master 
Mason.  Mr.  Shepler  married.  December  28.  1870.  Evaline  S.  Shepler,  daugh- 
ter of  Samuel  Shepler.  of  Rostraver  township,  and  their  children  are :  James 
Kerr,  bom  December  2.  1872.  a  glass  gatherer:  Mary  B..  born  .September  3. 
1874.  widow  of  Fred.  Jeffries,  resides  at  home :  William  Jones,  born  August 
8.  1876,  a  glass  gatherer:  and  Elizabeth  C,  born  August  19,  1883.  resides  at 
liome. 

DA\-ID  FRANCIS  HARVEY.    The  grandfather  of  David  Francis 
Harvey,  of  Belle  X'ernon,  was  Lee  Harvcv.  a  native  of  Chester  countv.  who 


3IO  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

came  as  a  young  man  with  his  parents  to  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania.  He 
learned  the  cooper's  trade,  which  he  followed  for  years,  later  engaging  ii> 
farming.  Mr.  Harvey  married  Wary  Ann  Ellis,  who  bore  him  a  son,  William, 
mentioned  hereafter.  A  short  time  prior  to  his  death  ^Ir.  Harvey  took  up  his 
abode  with  this  son,  in  whose  home  he  breathed  his  last. 

William  Harvey,  son  of  Lee  and  Mary  Ann  (Ellis)  iiarvey,  was  born 
February  2,  1840,  in  Fayette  county.  In  i86r  he  enlisted  in  Company  C, 
Eightv-fifth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  thus  being  among  the  first 
who  offered  their  services  when  the  government  called  for  defenders.  In  the 
battle  of  Deep  Bottom,  Virginia,  August  16,  1864,  he  lost  a  leg  and  returned 
to  his  home  one  of  those  maimed  heroes  who  have  earned  the  gratitude  of 
their  country.  His  military  experience  being  ended,  he  learned  the  trade  of  a 
shoemaker  and  followed  the  same  for  many  years.  Politically  he  is  a  Repub- 
lican, and  for  two  terms  served  as  jury  commissioner  in  Fayette  county.  He 
belongs  to  George  D.  Bayard  Post,  No.  178,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and 
is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Harvey  married  Jennie, 
born  in  .\ntioch,  ^lonroe  county,  Ohio,  daughter  of  Thomas  Morgan,  a  miller 
of  that  place,  and  seven  children  were  born  to  them :  David  Francis,  mentioned 
hereafter :  .\nna,  wife  of  Harry  Yorty.  of  Eddington,  Bucks  county,  Penn- 
sylvania;  Eva,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of  Linton  Clegg;  Maud,  married 
Guy  Martin,  of  Belle  Vernon ;  Pearl,  at  home ;  Ulysses,  at  home ;  and  Ellis, 
deceased.  For  the  last  fifteen  years  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harvey  have  resided  in 
Belle  Vernon. 

David  Francis  Harvey,  son  of  William  and  Jennie  (Morgan)  Harvey, 
was  born  June  27,  1869,  on  a  farm  about  three  miles  from  Brownsville,  Fay- 
ette county,  and  at  twelve  years  of  age  was  sent  to  the  Jumonville  Soldiers' 
school,  in  Fayette,  where  he  remained  four  years.  He  then  returned  home  and 
for  about  one  year  worked  on  the  farm,  afterward  going  to  work  in  the  win- 
dow-glass factory  in  Belle  Vernon,  where  he  was  employed  thirteen  years.  At 
the  end  of  that  period  he  was  employed  for  a  time  as  a  bartender  in  Browns- 
ville, and  later  served  in  the  same  capacity  in  the  Hotel  Atwood,  in  West 
Brownsville,  Washington  county.  On  April  14,  1905,  the  license  for  the  East 
End  Hotel,  in  North  Belle  Vernon,  was  transferred  to  Mr.  Harvey  and  he  ac- 
quired a  lease  on  the  property  for  eight  years.  He  is  now  the  proprietor  of  ihe 
hotel.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men  and  the  Benevo- 
lent Pfotective  Order  of  Elks.  In  the  sphere  of  politics  he  affiliates  with  the 
Republicans.  r\Ir.  Harvey  married  June  25.  1894,  Mella  Amnion,  of  .Allen- 
court,  \\'ashington  count\-,  and  thev  have  three  children  ;  Harrv,  Glad\-s  and 
Ruth. 

^lYRON  CORWIN.  The  ancestors  of  Alyron  Corwin,  of  Belle 
A'ernon,  were  among  the  old  settlers  of  Westmoreland  county.  It  was  here 
that  James  and  Jane  (Lenock)  Corwin  lived  and  died,  the  latter  passing  away 
in  Belle  Vernon  at  the  great  age  of  ninety-seven  years. 

Barnett  Corwin.  son  of  James  and  Jane  (Lenock)  Corwin,  was  born  in 
Belle  Vernon,  where  for  many  years  he  was  connected  with  boat-building.  He 
was  thrice  married  and  w^as  the  father  of  twenty-three  children.  One  of  his 
\vives  was  Martha  Springer.    At  the  age  of  seventy-six  he  died  in  Belle  Vernon. 

Joseph  Corwin.  son  of  Barnett  and  Martha  ( Springer)  Corwin.  was  born 
in  1844.  in  Fayette  county,  learned  the  trade  of  a  carpenter  and  boat-builder 
under  his  father,  and  has  followed  his  trade  all  his  life.  He  served  in  the 
LTnion  army  during  the  Civil  war,   steadfa.nly  upholds  the  principles  of  the 


HISTORY    or    WESTMORELAND    COUXTV.  311 

Democratic  partv,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church.  Ho  married  Mar- 
garet Culler,  and  thev  are  the  parents  of  three  sons:  .Myron,  mentioned  here- 
after; Joseph  ii.,  who  hves  in  Anihridge,  Pennsylvania ;  and  Harry  A.,  a  resi- 
dent of  Belle  \"ernon.  Mr.  Corwin  now  lives  in  Anibridge,  where  he  still 
works  at  the  carpenter's  trade. 

Mvron  Corwin,  son  of  Joseph  and  .Margaret  (Culler)  Corwin,  was  born 
November  12,  1868,  in  Fayette  county,  and  was  edudcated  in  the  common 
schools.  When  oiilv  twelve  years  old,  he  went  to  work  under  his  father  in  the 
boatyards,  remaining  there  about  four  years.  He  was  then  employed  for  eighteen 
years  in  a  window-sash  factory,  after  which  he  returned  to  the  carpenter's 
trade,  following  that  calling  until  May.  1905,  when  he  leased  the  Springer 
Hotel,  in  North  Belle  \'ernon.  and  has  since  been  the  pr  oprietor  of  that  hos- 
telrv. '  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  served  three  ye  ars  as  councilman  of 
llie  borough.  He  is  a  member  of  Belle  Vernon  Lodge,  No.  356,  Independent 
Order  Odd  Fellows,  and  Pocahontas  Camp,  No.  147,  Improved  Order  of  Red 
Men.  Mr.  Corwin  married,  November  12,  1889,  Barbara,  daughter  of  Louis 
Volk,' of  Rostraver  township,  and  has  one  child,  Smithie,  born  Sept.  15,  i8yo. 

CARL  W.  THEAKSTON.  The  father  of  Carl  \V.  Theakston,  of 
Belle  Vernon,  is  Lvle  Theakston,  son  of  John  L.  Theakston.  Lyle  Theakston 
was  born  in  18^2.  in  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  for  some  years  was 
engaged  in  farming.  For  the  last  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  he  has  been  stable 
boss  and  teamster  for  the  Aubrey  Lumber  Company,  in  West  Brownsville.  In 
politics  he  is  a  staunch  Democrat.  He  married  Leonora  Harrington,  and  their 
children  are:  Minnie,  wife  of  Homer  Walford,  of  \\est  Brownsville:  Harry, 
who  lives  in  the  same  place ;  Carl  W..  mentioned  hereafter :  and  Frederick,  who 
lives  in  West  Belle  Vernon. 

Carl  W.  Theakston,  son  of  Lyle  and  Leonora  (Harrington)  Theakston, 
was  born  January  17,  1876.  in  Brownsville,  and  received  his  preparatory  edu- 
cation in  the  common  schools,  afterward  attending  the  State  Normal  school 
at  California,  Pennsylvania.  At  seventeen  years  of  age  he  accepted  a  position 
in  the  grocerv  store  of  .\.  L.  Harrington,  of  West  Brownsville,  where  for 
about  three  years  he  had  to  a  great  degree  the  management  of  the  business. 
In  .Mav,  1898.  he  took  charge  of  the  Hotel  Province,  which  he  has  since  suc- 
cessfnllv  conducted.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics.  Mr.  Theakston  married, 
June  8,'  189S,  Bessie,  daughter  of  David  J.  Province,  proprietor  of  the  Hotel 
Aubrey,  of  West  Brownsville.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Theakston  have  been  the  ]>arents 
of  one  child  who  is  now  deceased. 

AUGUST  SCHNEIDER,  a  brewer  of  Latrobe.  Pennsylvania,  was 
born  July  16.  i8s,5.  in  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  the  son  of  .\ntone  and  Caroline 
(Haney)  Schneider. 

While  residing  in  Germany  .August  Schneider  learne<l  the  brewing  busi- 
ness with  his  father,  and  worked  there  at  his  trade  for  seven  years,  being  brew- 
ing- master  in  Zurich.  Switzerland.  He  emigrated  to  this  country.  May  i, 
1880,  locating  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  resided  for  four  years.  He  then  went 
to  Carlisle  to  acccept  a  position  as  brewing  master,  which  he  successfully  filled 
for  two  years,  when  he  returned  to  Philadelphia,  remaining  tjiere  two  years, 
during  this  time  being  employed  bv  the  Bergner  F.ngle  Brewing  Company. 
The  succeeding  three  years  he  was  emploved  as  brewing  master  in  Bethlehem. 
Pennsylvania,  and  from  there  went  to  .-Mtoona.  Pennsylvania,  where  he  served 
in  the  same  canacitv  for  Martin  Helle,  the  old  Hickorv  brewerv.     After  four 


!I2  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 


years  of  service  for  this  firm  he  removed  to  Millville,  where  he  was  engaged  for 
six  months  as  brewing  master  of  the  Millville  Enz  Brewing  Company.  With 
these  years  of  service  in  the  various  brewing  concerns  with  which  he  had  been 
from  time  to  time  connected,  Mr.  Schneider  acquired  a  good  general  knowl- 
edge of  the  business,  w'hich  he  put  to  practical  use  when  he  started  the  Ameri- 
can Brewing  Company,  in  which  he  was  engaged  for  four  years.  From  there 
he  went  of  Latrobe,  and  built  up  and  opened  the  Loyalhanna  brewery,  in  part- 
nership with  Philipp  Herrmann.  Mr.  Schneider  superintended  the  building 
of  the  factory,  and  has  retained  the  position  of  superintendent  and  general 
manager  for  four  years.  The  business  has  been  successful  from  the  start,  and 
Messrs.  Schneider  and  Herrmann  are  to  be  congratulated  on  the  well-merited 
success.  Mr.  Schneider  is  a  member  of  the  B.  P.  O.  E.,  No.  905,  of-  Latrobe, 
the  F.  O.  E.,  No.  1188.  of  Latrobe.  Religiously  he  and  family  are  mem- 
bers of  the  German  Catholic  church,  and  he  is  the  organizer  and  leader  of  the 
Catholic  societies  of  Latrobe,  has  also  been  a  delegate.  Mr.  Schneider  is  a 
Democrat.     He  is  one  of  the  prominent  citizens  of  Latrobe. 

Mr.  Schneider  married,  June  19,  1878,  Louisa  Herzog,  who  emigrated  to 
this  country  from  Baden,  Germany.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Andrew  and 
Caroline  Bachele  Herzog.  Twelve  children  were  •born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Schneider:  Alfred  A.,  December  7,  1879,  <l'^fl  February  14,  1904:  Otto  E., 
born  December  7,  1879;  Louis,  December  28,  1880,  deceased;  Frank  J.,  born 
September  26,  1883,  died  March  28,  1884:  Joseph  A.,  born  January  24,  1885; 
Amelia  C,  April  7.  1887,  died  February  16,  1889:  Matilda  K.,  born  September 
29,  1889;  Charles  F.,  October  29,  1891  :  Alois  A.,  April  7,  1894,  died  Sep- 
tember 9,  1898:  Wilhelmina  P.,  March  21,  1897:  Julia  H.,  July  23,  1899;  and 
Stella  M.,  February  9,  1902. 

ISRAEL  M.  GRAHAAL  The  family  of  which  Israel  M.  Graham,  of 
Ligonier,  is  a  representative,  was  founded  in  this  country  by  Barney  Graham, 
who  came  about  1804  from  Donegal,  Ireland,  being  of  Scotch-Irish  descent. 
He  was  a  farmer,  a  man  of  limited  education  and  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  Mr.  Graham  brought  with  him  to  the  United  States  his  wife  and  the 
following  children :  William,  George,  Richard,  Robert,  and  two  daughters.  The 
first  home  of  the  family  was  in  Greensburg.  Pennsylvania,  where  they  re- 
mained about  a  year,  and  then  settled  in  Unity  township,  Westmoreland 
county. 

George  Graham,  second  son  of  Barney  Graham,  was  sixteen  years  old 
when  the  family  came  to  the  United  States,  and  remained  on  the  homestead 
(now  the  "Jacob  Shirey  Farm")  until  the  death  of  his  father.  He  married  in 
1819,  Sarah  Ralston,  who  was  of  English  descent  and  was  born  in  1803,  in 
Westmoreland  county.  Thev  lived  on  the  farm  in  Lenity  township  until  1832, 
when  they  moved  to  a  farm  in  Ligonier  township,  two  miles  south  of  Ligonier.' 

James  Graham,  son  of  George  and  Sarah  (Ralston)  Graham,  was  born 
September  28.  1820.  in  Lenity  township,  and  received  his  education  in  the  com- 
mon schools.  His  occupation  was  that  of  a  farmer,  and  in  the  snhere  of  pol- 
itics he  adheres  to  the  Republican  party.  While  faithful  in  the  duties  of  citi- 
zenship he  has  neither  sought  nor  desired  office.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Lutheran  church,  in  which  he  has  held  official  positions.  ]Mr.  Graham,  now 
aged  eighty-six.  is  in  good  health,  with  powers  of  mind  and  body  unimpaired. 
Mr.  Graham  married  Louise  Bitner,  whose  ancestors  came  to  eastern  Penn- 
sylvania about  1790  and  later  settled  in  Somerset  county.  Her  grandparents 
moved  to  Fairfield  township,  ^^'estmoreland  county,  about  1800,  and  about  180,"? 


HISTORY    OF    IfESTMOKELAXD    COUNTY.  313 

her  parents.  Peter  and  Mary  Uiincr,  took  up  their  abode  in  Ligonier  township. 
Their  daughter  Louise,  who  became  the  wife  of  James  Graham,  as  mentioned 
above,  belonged  to  a  family  of  four  sons  and  ten  daughters,  and  was  born  Jan- 
uary 29,  1821.  in  Ligonier  township,  ^h.  Graham  has  now  retired  from  ac- 
tive labor  and'is  a  resident  of  Ligonier.  He  and  his  wife  have  been  the  parents 
of  six  sons  and  one  daughter,  all  of  w-hom  are  living  with  the  exception  of  one 
son  who  died  in  infancy  m  1854.  IMrs.  Graham  died  September  25,  1901,  aged 
seventv-nine. 

Israel  M.  Graham,  eldest  son  of  James  and  Louise  (Bitncr)  Graham,  was 
born  December  21,  1847,  in  Ligonier  township,  where  he  received  his  prepara- 
tory education  in  the  public  schools,  from  which  he  proceeded  to  Ligonier 
Academy,  advancing  thence  to  Edinboro  (Pennsylvania)  State  Normal  school, 
where  he  graduated  in  1873.  In  1867  he  began  his  career  as  a  teacher  in 
Ligonier  township,  held  the  position  of  principal  at  Blairsville,  Pennsylvania. 
and  for  twelve  years  was  principal  of  the  Ligonier  public  schools.  During 
these  vears  he  took  charge  every  summer  of  the  Ligonier  Normal  and  Scien- 
tific Institute.  In  1889  lie  relinquished  his  work  as  a  teacher,  and  in  1891 
flecame  editor  and  owner  of  the  Ligonier  Echo.  He  has  since  been  contin- 
uously engaged  in  newspaper  work.  He  has  served  three  terms  as,  school  di- 
rector, and  his  third  term  as  justice  of  the  peace  will  expire  in  May,  1907.  In 
1902  and  '03  he  was  largely  instrumental  in  the  erection  of  the  forty  thousand 
dollar  school  building  of  Ligonier.  He  has  been  prosperous  financially,  and 
•since  coming  to  Ligonier  in  1876  has  accumulated  considerable  property.  He 
belongs  to  Ligonier  Lodge.  No.  964.  I.  O.  O.  F..  of  Ligonier.  and  is  a  Repub- 
lican in  politics.  For  about  twenty  years  he  has  served  as  deacon  in  the  Luth- 
■eran  church,  and  for  the  same  length  of  time  has  been  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday  school.  He  also  holds  the  office  of  treasurer  of  the  church,  and  is 
active  in  church  and  benevolent  work. 

Mr.  Graham  married.  i\Iay  20,  1874.  in  Ligonier  township,  Maria  Mc- 
Klveen,  and  they  have  two  children.  Clarence  O.,  born  April  10,  1875.  in 
Blairsville.  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  at  the  Ligonier  Classical 
Institute,  and  is  the  ow-ner  of  a  livery  stable  in  Ligonier,  where  he  resides.  He 
is  married  and  has  three  children :  Edna,  Albert  and  Mary.  Irene,  born  October 
I,  1882.  in  Ligonier,  attended  the  common  schools,  passed  thence  to  Irwin  Fe- 
male College.  Mechanicsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  also  received  a  musical  edu- 
cation. Mrs.  Graham  is  a  daughter  of  William  and  Catharine  McKlveen.  and 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools.  Her  father,  who  is  still  living  at  the 
very  advanced  age  of  ninety,  is  a  retired  farmer  of  Ligonier  township.  He 
has  held  a  number  of  offices,  affording  the  unusual  instance  of  a  Democrat 
elected  in  a  Republican  township.  His  ancestors  emigrated  from  Ireland  and 
first  settled  near  Baltimore,  Maryland. 

JACOB  H.  iMURDOCK.  a  well  known  merchant  in  Ligonier,  West- 
moreland county.  Peiinsvlvania,  and  for  many  years  a  citizen  in  that  town, 
-whose  bravery  and  endurance  were  noted  and  recognized  during  the  Civil  war, 
traces  his  ancestry  to  Scotland. 

(Ij  Daniel  Murdock,  father  of  Jacob  H.  Murdock.  was  born  in  Lebanon 
county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1812.  and  for  some  vears  followed  the  occupation  of 
milling  in  that  county.  He  then  removed  to  Pleasant  Lenity,  w^here  in  connec- 
tion with  his  trade  as  millwright,  he  engaged  for  a  number  for  years  in  the 
Tnilling  business.  Later  he  removed  to  what  is  now  West  Latrobe  and  for 
•some  time  worked  in  what  was  known  as  "Chambers'  mill."  Subsequently  he 


314  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

bought  a  farm  and  followed  agricultural  pursuits  until  within  a  few  years  of 
his  death,  when  he  retired  and  moved  to  Ligonier  where  he  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  his  days.  He  was  a  loyal  adherent  of  the  Whig  party,  but  never 
sought  or  held  public  office.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  His  death  occurred  in  1876.  Daniel  Murdock  married  Anna  Hart- 
man,  and  their  children  were:  i.  Mary  A.,  married  David  Marker;  2.  John, 
married  Mary  Slater,  resides  in  Johnstown  and  has  seven  children ;  3.  Samuel,, 
deceased;  4.  Jacob  H,  of  whom  later;  5.  William  F.,  deceased;  6.  Solomon  K., 
deceased ;  7.  Eliza  K.,  married  Louis  Tranger ;  8.  Henry  H.,  a  banker  in 
Greensburg,  married  Martha  McChesney,  and  has  two  children  ;  9.  George  R., 
deceased;  10.  Leah  J.,  marriel  W.  S.  Martin;  11.  David  H.,  deceased. 

(11)   Jacob  H.   Murdock,  third   son  and  fourth  child  of  Daniel    (i)    and 
Anna    (Hartman)    Murdock,  was  born  in  Unity  township,   Pennsylvania,  De- 
cember 25,  1842.     His  education  was  a  good  one  for  that  time  and  was  ac- 
Cjuired  in  the  common  schools  of  the  district.    His  time  after  leaving  school  was 
occupied  in  working;  on  the  home  farm  until  September  2,  1861,  when  he  en- 
listed.    He  was  'assigned  to  Company  E,  Captain  J.   C.   McCurdy,   Eleventh 
Pennsylvania  Volunteers,   Colonel   Richard  Coulter,  commanding.     Mr.  Mur- 
dock's  military  career  is  of  more  than  ordinary  interest  as  a  record  of  arduous 
and  active  service.     He  was  in  a  number  of  engagements  and  on  August  28, 
1862,  at  the  battle  of  Thoroughfare   Gap,   Virginia,  was  shot  through  both 
legs  just  above  the  knees,  and  was  left  on  the  field,  his  regiment  being  com- 
pelled to  fall  back.     He  received  kindly  attention  from  a  Confederate  soldier 
who  carried  him  out  of  the  line  of  fire  and  cared  for  him  during  the  following 
night,  leaving  him  the  next  day  with  no  shelter  save  the  limbs  of  an  overhang- 
ing tree  and  his  own  blanket  which   Mr.   Murdock  still  preserves.     Here  he 
remained   absolutely  without   food   or  medical   attendance   for  five   days.      He 
was  supplied  with  water  by  an  old  man,  who  was,  however,  unable  to  procure 
any  food  for  him.    On  the  fifth  day  he  was  placed  in  a  bolster  wagon  and  taken 
fifteen   miles  over  a  rough   road   to  Warrentown,   V'irginia,  and  placed   in   a 
church   filled  with   wounded   confederate  soldiers,  which   had   been   converted 
into  a  temporary  hospital.     Here  he  lav  on  a  pile  of  hay  in  a  corner,  utterly 
neglected  and  suffering  almost  intolerable  agony.     His  food  and  the  treatment 
he  received  was  of  the  worst  possible  description.     At  last,  October  18,  to  his 
great  joy,  he  heard  shouts,  cheers,  and  strains  of  martial  music  which  could 
only  have  come  from  the  Union  army.     The  First  Pennsylvania  and  the  First 
New  Jersey  Cavalry  had  captured  the  town,  and  he,  the  only  Union  prisoner 
now   in   it,  was  free.     He  was  placed  in  an  ambulance   for  transportation   to 
W'ashington,   and  after  eleven   days   spent  in  this   conveyance,   during  which 
time  it  was  once  overturned,  at  last  reached  that  city  and  was  placed  in  the 
hospital.     There  the  kindly  care  and  clean  surroundings,  assisted  by  his  sturdy 
constitution,  soon  helped  him  to  the  road  to  health.     As  soon  as  it  was  pos- 
sible for  him  to  do  so  he  rejoined  his  regiment.     January  4,   1864,  he  re-en- 
listed for  three  years,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.     He  was  present 
when  Lee  surrendered  at  Appomattox,  and  marched  in  the  "Grand  Review"  in 
Washington,  at  the  close  of  the  war.     When  mustered  out,  he  had  attained  the 
rank  of  second  lieutenant.     Mr.  Murdock  was  always  in  the  foremost  ranks 
in  any  engagement  in  which  he  took  part,  and  his  bravery  won  him  commen- 
dation on  many  occasions. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  to  Ligonier  and  established  himself  in 
the  mercantile  business,  the  present  firm  name  being  jNIurdock  &  Berkew  and 
has  continued  in  this  business  up  to  the  present  time   (1906).     He  is  also  a 


HISTORY    OF    IVESTMORELAXD    COUXTY.  315-, 

stockholder  in  the  First  National  Bank,  and  is  well  known  in  financial  circles 
as  a  level-headed  bnsiness  man.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  for  twelve 
vears  has  held  the  office  of  councilman  of  Ligonier.  He  is  a  member  of  Post 
No.  324,  G.  A.  R..  Ligonier.  and  of  Ligonier  Lodge,  No.  331,  F.  and  A.  AL 
For  thirty-eight  years,  with  the  exception  of  five  years  when  he  was  away 
from  the  town,  he  has  been  a  member  and  chorister  of  the  Ligonier  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church,  and  is  now  president  of  the  board  of  trustees.  Air. 
Murdock  was  an  untiring  and  energetic  member  of  the  building  committee  in 
charge  of  the  erection  of  the  beautiful  new  church  the  society  recently  com- 
pleted. The  church  is  located  on  the  south  side  of  the  Diamond,  and  is  an 
ornament  to  the  town  and  an  honor  to  the  congregation  erecting  it.  Mr.  JMur- 
dock  married  Alary  E.  Caven,  dau,ghter  of  Alexander  and  Esther  Caven,  and 
thev  have  had  two  children,  of  whom  one  died  in  infancy..  The  other.  Alinnie 
A[.,'  born  Alay  5.  \?'J4.  married  O.  R.  AlcColley,  of  Latrobe.  and  has  one  child, 
Jacob  Eugene. 

JAAIES  C.  SIBEL.  The  grandfather  of  James  C.  Sihel,  of  Lig- 
onier, einigrated  from  German\-  to  the  L'nited  States,  bringing  with  him  his 
son  Alichael,  a  boy  of  ten  years,  and  settled  in  Cook  township.  As  a  youth 
Alichael  Sibel  worked  for  some  time  as  a  driver  on  the  canal,  then  turned  his 
attention  to  agriculture,  and  for  the  remainder  of  his  life  was  a  farmer.  He 
was  an  active  member  of  the  Alethodist  Episcopal  church.  Air.  Sibel  married 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Alary  (Weller)  Deeds,  and  their  children 
were :  Jacob,  a  miner  in  Idaho :  Alaria,  wife  of  .\ndrew  J.  Bell,  a  farmer  of 
Cook  township :  AlCnroe,  a  farmer  in  Fayette  county :  Amanda,  married  Will- 
iam AlcClain,  of  Donegal  township:  James  C,  of  whom  later:  Elizabeth,  wife 
of  T.  J.  AlcClain,  of  Donegal  township ;  and  Edward  H.,  who  was  a  carpenter 
in  Kansas,  where  he  died  in  1899.  Air.  Sibel,  the  father  of  the  family,  died  irr 
1884,  aged  seventy.     Airs.  Sibel  died  in  1868,  aged  fifty-three. 

James  C.  Sibel,  son  of  Alichael  and  Elizabeth  (Deeds)  Sibel,  was  born 
October  27,  1852,  in  Ligonier  township,  where  he  received  his  education  in 
the  common  schools.  When  but  eighteen  years  of  age  he  became  connected 
with  the  stock  business,  buying  horses  and  cattle  in  Westmoreland  and  Som- 
erset counties  and  driving  them  to  Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania.  He  contin- 
ued this  successfully  for  twenty  years,  and  was  one  of  the  largest  stock  ship- 
pers in  that  part  of  the  country.  After  retiring  from  the  stock  business  he 
engaged  for  five  vears  in  farming  in  Ligonier  township,  and  then  purchased 
the  livery  business  of  Deeds  &  L>tle,  which  he  conducted  until  the  morning  of 
February  5,  1906,  when  a  fire  broke  out  or  was  started  in  the  barn,  totally 
destroying  it  with  much  valuable  property.  Fortunately,  however,  all  live 
stock  was  saved.  In  1900  he  was  appointed  for  one  year  mercantile  appraiser 
by  R.  X.  Gay.  of  Greensburg,  then  county  commmissioner.  In  politics  he  is 
a  Democrat.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Alethodist  Protestant  church  of  Stahls- 
town.  Air.  Sibel  married  Sarnantha.  daughter  of  Elijah  and  Alary  (Coleman) 
Hanger,  the  ceremony  taking  place  in  June,  1881.  Air.  and  Airs.  Sibel  have 
had  four  children:  Leroy,  at  home  wMth  his  father;  Alary  E. ;  James  C,  died  at 
the  age  of  two  years  and  a  half :  anrl  John  H.  D..  at  home. 

CYRL'S  C.  BR.ANT.  of  Ligonier.  a  well  known,  progressive  and 
successful  educator,  who  has  already  made  his  mark  and  gives  ])romise  of  at- 
taining to  future  prominence  in  his  profession,  a  son  of  Abraham  and  Susan 
(Boucher)   Brant,  is  one  of  the  few  members  of  that  old  and  numerous  fam- 


^10  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

ily  that  have  not  been  tillers  of  the  soil.  That  occupation  seems  hereditary  in 
the  Brant  family  from  the  time  of  John  Brant,  the  great-grandfather  of  Cyrus 
C.  Brant.  The  family  came  originally  from  Amsterdam,  Holland,  and  settled 
in  eastLrn  ] 'ennsylvania,  coming  from  thence  to  Somerset  and  Westmoi'eland 
counties,  where  they  are  numerous  and  prominent  in  church,  business  and 
political  atifairs.  The  grandfather  of  the  present  generation  whose  history  we 
are  following  was  also  John  Brant.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  a  Republican  in  politics.  He  mar- 
ried a  Miss  Kyle  and  they  reared  a  family  of  six  children,  one  of  whom  was 
Abraham  Brant,  of  whom  further. 

Abraham  Brant,  father  of  Cyrus  C.  Brant,  born  in  Ligonier  township, 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  1813,  died  i860,  aged  forty-seven  years. 
He  followed  farming  throughout  the  active  years  of  his  life,  was  a  reliable 
and  public-spirited  citizen,  and  gave  his  allegiance  to  the  candidates  of  the 
Republican  party,  the  principles  of  which  he  believed  to  be  for  the  best  form 
of  government.  He  married,  1837,  Susan  Boucher,  daughter  of  David  and  Eve 
(Friedline)  Boucher,  granddaughter  of  Henry  and  Mary  (Shoemaker) 
Boucher,  and  great-granddaughter  of  Daniel  Boucher,  the  first  ancestor  of 
this  family  in  this  country.  (A  detailed  history  of  the  Boucher  family  will  be 
found  elsewhere  in  the  work).  Mrs.  Brant  died  April  14,  1894,  aged  seventy- 
nine  years.  They  were  the  parents  of  ten  children:  i.  Elizabeth,  married  J.  C. 
McConaughy,  a  farmer  of  the  valley ;  they  are  the  parents  of  ten  children. 

2.  Mary,  married  J.  H.  McConaughy,  two  children ;  they  reside  in  Ligonier. 

3.  Sarah,  unmarried,  resides  in  Ligonier.  4.  Josiah  H.,  farms  a  portion  of  the 
homestead  farm  near  Ligonier.  He  married  Millie  McKelvey,  1889,  and  their 
children  are:  Harry  McKinley,  Charles  Wilbert,  Paul  Stewart,  Eugene 
Boucher,  Florence  Josephine,  and  Mary  A'irginia:  Josiah  H.  is  a  steward  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Ligonier.  and  a  supporter  of  the  principles 
of  the  Republican  party.  5.  Rebecca,  married  Harry  Marker,  of  Ligonier,  four 
children.  6.  David,  owner  of  a  part  of  the  old  homestead,  a  Methodist  in  re- 
ligion and  a  Republican  in  politics.  He  married  Louisa  Marker,  has  one  child, 
Cora.  7.  Susan,  married  Alexander  Ambrose,  of  Ligonier,  five  children.  8. 
Cyrus  C,  of  whom  later,  g.  Isaac,  deceased.  10.  Abraham,  an  employee  of  the 
Pennsylvnia  Railroad  Company  at  Pitcairn,  Pennsylvania,  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  church,  and  an  adherent  of  the  Republican  party.  He  married 
Emma  McCullough. 

Cyrus  C.  Brant  received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  of  the 
township,  and  this  was  supplemented  by  a  course  at  the  academy  of  Ligonier 
and  Mt.  Union  College,  at  Alliance,  Ohio.  He  chose  teaching  for  a  profes- 
sion and  began  his  work  as  an  instructor  at  Four  Mile  Run  school  when  but 
fifteen  years  old.  He  has  taught  continuously  in  Westmoreland  countv  since 
that  first  school  excepting  the  time  spent  in  college  and  one  year  as  bookkeeper 
for  the  Pittsburg  and  Ligonier  Realty  Company.  He  has  proved  a  capable 
and  successful  teacher,  and  has  acceptably  taught  in  the  boroughs  and  town- 
ships of  Ligonier,  Derry,  New  Florence,  Manor  and  Mount  Pleasant.  Ke 
keeps  well  informed  on  all  matters  pertaining  to  his  calling,  and  while  devot- 
ing his  best  interests  to  the  work  of  instruction  is  still  a  student,  and  is  well 
versed  in  literature  and  topics  of  general  interest,  but  especially  in  the  line 
which  will  aid  him  most  in  his  chosen  field  of  labor.  He  is  a  Republican,  and 
holds  a  commission  as  notarv  public.  Mr.  Brant  married,  September  2.  1903, 
Josephine  McKelvey,  one  of  a  family  of  ten  children  liorn  t(->  McKinley  McKel- 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAXD    COUNTY.  317 

vey,  a  Ligonier  valley  tanner,  and  his  wife.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brant  are  members 
of  the  Presbjterian  church. 

EZRA  G.  XICELY.  The  family  to  which  Ezra  G.  Nicely,  of  Lig- 
onier township,  belongs  is  among  the  oldest  of  the  Ligonier  valley.  Anthony 
W.  Nicely,  grandfather  of  Ezra  G.  Nicely,  was  born  in  1806,  in  Ligonier  town- 
ship, and  there  spent  his  life  as  a  farmer.  He  married  Rose  Anna  Kutz  and 
their  children  were:  John  H.,  of  whom  later;  William,  who  fell  in  the  battle 
of  Bull  Run  ;  Lovina,  wife  of  Jonas  Noel :  Harriet,  married  Abram  Enos ;  Mary, 
wife  of  John  Smith:  Barbara;  Sarah,  married  Adam  Nicely.  The  father  of 
this  family  died  in  189 1. 

John  H.  Nicely,  son  of  Anthony  W.  and  Rose  Anna  (Kutz)  Nicelv,  was 
born  in  1834,  in  Ligonier  township,  and  has  from  his  youth  been  engaged  in 
business  as  a  drover,  having  never  abandoned  this  occupation,  even  temporarily, 
for  any  other.  Mr.  Nicely  married  Mary  Isabel,  daughter  of  George  P.  and 
Keziah  (Gelvin)  Campbell,  and  their  children  were:  Kizzie,  wife  of  Samuel 
Johnson,  Junior;  William  H..  deceased;  George  McClellan,  deceased;  Edward 
J.,  associated  in  business  with  his  brother,  Ezra  G. ;  Anthony,  deceased;  Ezra 
G.,  of  whom  later;  Joseph  M. ;  Minerva,  wife  of  John  Serrena ;  and  Mary  Irene, 
married  George  Freeman. 

Ezra  G.  Nicely,  son  of  John  H.  and  :\Iary  Isabel  (Campbell)  Nicely,  was 
born  March  9,  1872,  and  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools.  When 
only  twelve  years  old  he  was  emplo\  ed  as  clerk  in  the  restaurant  of  E.  G.  Camp- 
bell, at  Greensburg,  where  he  remained  two  years,  and  then  for  one  year  was 
employed  by  his  brother,  who  was  a  butcher  at  Derrv  Station.  For  three  vears 
he  served  as  fireman  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  after  which  he  was  again 
associated  in  business  with  his  brother  at  Derry  Station.  At  the  end  of  a  year 
he  went  to  Idlewild  Park,  where  he  became  the  proprietor  of  a  general  store'and 
also  a  caterer.  In  1902  he  leased  the  Ligonier  House,  which  he  successfully 
conducted  in  connection  with  his  business  as  a  dealer  in  horses  and  cattle  until 
1906,  when  he  sold  his  interest  in  the  hotel  and  retired  to  engage  exclusivelv  in 
his  business  of  stock  dealing.  He  maintains  ahvays  a  fine  stable  of  well-bred, 
valuable  horses  and  conducts  a  large  business.  While  a  resident  of  Idlewild 
Park  he  held  the  office  of  postmaster  and  also  that  of  justice  of  the  peace.  He 
is  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  331,  F.  and  A.  :^I.,  of  Ligonier;  Ligonier  Lodge.  No. 
964,  I-  O.  O.  F.,  also  of  Ligonier,  and  the  J.  O.  U.  A.  M.,  of  Williamsburg. 
Mr.  Nicely  married  Charlotte,  daughter  of  William  and  Catherine  Sophia 
Houseberg,  of  Pittsburg,  and  they  have  two  sons :  William  H.,  born  August 
25,  1896;  and  Garnet  John,  born  January  25,  1900. 

ROBERT  D.  SPRINGER.  Among  the  old  families  of  W^estmore- 
land  county  is  the  race  of  the  Springers,  one  branch  of  which  is  represented  by 
Robert  D.  Springer,  of  North  Belle  X'ernon.  John  Springer  was  one  of  three 
brothers  who  came  to  this  country  from  Sweden  about  the  middle  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century.  He  made  his  way  through  the  wilderness  bv  blazing  the  trees, 
and  took  up  four  hundred  acres  of  land,  part  of  which  lay  in  Westmoreland  and 
part  in  Fayette  county.  On  this  land  he  made  his  home  during  the  remainder 
of  his  life. 

Daniel  Springer,  son  of  John  Springer,  the  emigrant,  was  born  in  1763,  on 
his  father's  farm,  where  he  passed  his  entire  life  of  eighty-two  years.  His  son, 
Joseph  Springer,  vas  born  in  1795,  on  the  same  farm,  and  married  Margaret 
Driver.     He  always  lived  on  the  homestead,  dving  there  at  the  age  of  seventy- 


3i8  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

six.  Their  son,  James  Springer,  born  May  26,  1826,  on  a  farm  in  Washing-ton 
township,  Fayette  county,  was  reared  on  a  portion  of  the  old  Springer  home- 
stead. In  his  nineteenth  year  he  apprenticed  himself  to  the  cabinetmaker's 
trade  in  Belle  \'ernon,  and  for  twenty-seven  years  thereafter  made  that  trade 
his  means  of  livelihood.  In  1855  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  and  has 
served  continuously  ever  since,  a  period  of  half  a  century.  He  has  served  two 
terms  as  burgess  of  Belle  \'ernon,  and  several  years  as  a  member  of  the  school 
board.  He  held  the  office  of  assessor  for  two  terms,  that  of  tax  collector  for 
one,  and  for  ten  years  was  secretary  of  the  town  cnuncil.  He  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  cemetery  board  since  its  organization  in  1867,  and  for  many  years 
served  as  its  president.  For  the  last  forty-six  years  he  has  belonged  to  the 
Independent  (Drder  of  Odd  Fellows,  being  a  charter  member  of  Belle  Vernon 
Lodge,  No.  656,  and  having  previously  affiliated  with  Fayette  City  Lodge.  He 
is  a  staunch  Republican,  and  a  luember  of  the  Christian  church,  in  which  since 
1869  he  has  served  as  elder.  Mr.  Springer  married  Sarah  .\un  Reeves,  and 
their  children  are:  Urville  R.,  commercial  salesman  for  the  Allen  Kirkpatrick 
Company  of  Pittsburg ;  Lanra,  wife  of  A.  H.  Cunningham,  of  Allegheny,  Penn- 
sylvania;  Amanda,  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  E.  M.  Kyle,  merchant  of  Belle 
Vernon:  Nancy,  wife  of  J.  P.  Baughman,  ex-burgess  of  Jeannette ;  Robert  D., 
mentioned  hereafter :  Joseph  O.,  twin  to  Robert  D.,  with  whom  he  is  associated 
in  business:  Anna  B.,  wife  of  S.  W.  Murphy,  of  North  Belle  Vernon,  commer- 
cial salesman  for  tlie  Arbuckle  Company ;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Dr.  P..  B.  Martin, 
of  Allegheny;  and  Frank  A.,  postmaster  of  Belle  X'ernon. 

Rolaert  D.  Springer,  son  of  James  and  Sarah  Ann  (Reeves)  Springer,  was 
born  September  3.  i860,  in  Belle  Vernon,  Fayette  county,  where  he  was  edu- 
cated in  the  common  schools.  From  his  fourteenth  year  he  ran  on  the  river 
from  Pittsburg  to  Brownsville,  and  in  1881,  being  then  twenty-one  years  old, 
engaged  in  the  livery  business  in  Belle  Vernon.  Two  years  later  he  disposed 
of  "the  business,  and  in  1884,  in  partnership  with  his  brother,  Joseph  O.  Springer, 
engaged  in  the  meat  business  in  Belle  Vernon.  This  enterjjrise  the  two 
brothers  have  since  successfully  conducted.  Mr.  Springer  is  a  Republican  in 
politics.  He  married  in  1894,  Cora  B.,  daughter  of  the  late  John  S.  Reeves,  of 
North  Belle  Vernon,  who  served  during  the  Civil  war  as  captain  of  Company 
D,  Twenty-second  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Cavalry.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Springer 
have  four  children :  Joseph  E.,  Clara,  Helen,  and  Sarah.  Joseph  O.  Springer, 
twin  brother  of  Robert  D.,  married  Hannah  Gray,  of  New  Castle,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Januarv  21,  1892,  to  whom  was  born  three  children;  Robert  G.,  Laura 
M..  Bessie  E. ' 

EDMUND  M.  KYLE.  The  father  of  Edmund  M.  Kyle,  of  Belle 
\'ernon.  was  William  Kyle,  born  in  1816,  at  Perryopolis,  Fayette  county, 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  reared  and  educated.  From  1845  and  1855  he 
was  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  glass  in  Fayette  City,  and  then  went  into 
the  mercantile  business  with  which  he  was  identified  until  1868.  Under  the 
administration  of  President  Grant  he  was  appointed  by  the  collector  of  internal 
revenue  storekeeper  at  Gibsonton,  and  the  greater  part  of  his  service  was  ren- 
dered at  that  place.  He  held  the  appointment  for  sixteen  years  under  the  ad- 
ministrations of  Presidents  Grant,  Hayes,  Garfield  and  Arthur,  retiring  from 
the  service  in  1884.  and  afterward  leading  a  strictly  private  life.  Mr.  Kyle 
married  Margaret  M.,  born  in  1826,  daughter  of  James  and  Hester  (.Sisley) 
McCrory.  both  natives  of  Fayette  countv.  The  former  belonged  to  a  family 
which  has  been  resident  in  Favette  countv  more  than  one  hundred  and  fiftv 


HISTORY    OF    Jl'ESTMORELJXD    COUXT)'.  319 

years.  His  father  settled  near  Uelle  \enion,  where  he  took  up  a  large  tract 
of  land  from  which  he  was  thrice  driven  by  the  Indians  and  forced  to  take 
refuge  in  the  forts.  Mrs.  Kyle's  grandmother  lived  to  the  extraordinary  age 
of  one  hundred  and  four  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kyle  were  the  parents  of  ten 
children,  seven  of  whom  are  living:  James  P..  a  resident  of  lielle  \"ernon ; 
Lewis  M.,  proprietor  of  the  Kyle  Hotel,  at  Belle  \'ernon :  Edmund  M..  men- 
tioned hereafter:  William,  lives  at  Belle  \'ernon  :  Samuel,  a  resident  of  the 
same  place :  Xaomi,  wife  of  Marion  Roley,  of  Belle  X'ernon  ;  and  Sarah,  resides 
at  home.  The  deceased  members  of  the  family  are :  ^\'ilson  M.,  Emma  L.,  and 
Mary,  who  became  the  wife  of  Oliver  Mur])h\-  and  is  survived  by  seven  chil- 
dren :  Mazie,  Lewis.  Emma,  Clarence,  German.  John  and  Cjrace.  William 
Kyle  died  October  27,  1894,  in  Belle  \'ernon.  where  he  had  resided  since  1865. 
His  widow  is  still  living  and  is  a  resident  of  Xorth  Belle  N'ernon. 

Edmund  ^L  Kyle,  son  of  William  and  Margaret  ^L  (McCrory)  Kyle, 
was  born  December  7,  1850,  in  Fayette  City,  and  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools.  As  early  as  his  twelfth  year  he  began  to  work  for  wages,  and  until 
his  seventeenth  year  labored  at  whatever  oiTered  to  return  him  a  dollar.  At 
the  age  of  seventeen  he  became  a  clerk  in  the  store  of  i\Iartin  &  Pearsol,  in  Belle 
N'trnon,  remaining  there  until  1873.  On  May  9  of  that  year  he  formed  a  part- 
nership with  J.  A.  Pearsol,  one  of  his  former  employers,  under  the  firm  name 
of  E.  M.  Kyle  &  Company,  and  they  embarked  in  business  in  Belle  X'ernon. 
When  the  partnership  had  lasted  about  four  years,  Mr.  Kyle  purchased  the 
interest  of  'Sir.  Pearsol  and  has  since  carried  on  the  business  alone.  In  1894 
he  built  his  present  commodious  business  block  in  North  Belle  \'ernon,  where 
he  now  conducts  one  of  the  largest  department  stores  in  the  borough.  He  has 
served  at  different  times  as  a  member  of  the  school  board  in  the  old  borough, 
member  of  the  council  in  the  borough  of  Xorth  Belle  \'ernon,  and  as  county 
committeeman.  He  belongs  to  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of 
Belle  \'ernon,  and  to  the  Royal  Arcanum.  Politically  he  is  a  staunch  Republi- 
can. Mr.  Kyle  married  in  i'874,  Amanda  C,  daughter  of  James  M.  Springer, 
for  many  years  a  well  known  justice  of  the  peace  in  Belle  \^ernon.  Thev  have 
two  daughters :  Hester  E..  at  liome ;  and  Fannie  L..  wife  of  Frank  De  \'inney, 
of  Belle  N'ernon.  Mrs.  Kyle  died  April  6,  1904,  at  the  age  of  fifty-four,  having 
been  horn  .April  16.  1850.  Mr.  Kyle's  daughter,  Mrs.  be\'inney,  keeps  house 
for  her  father. 

JAMES  FROST.  Both  by  Ijirth  and  parentage  James  Frost,  of 
Belle  \'ernon,  is  an  Englishman.  He  is  a  son  of  James  and"  Eliza  (Weller) 
I-rost,  and  was  born  .\ugu.st  24,  184 1.  in  London,  England,  one  of  a  famib 
of  seven  children.  Both  his  parents  died  when  he  was  quite  young,  in  conse- 
fjuence  of  which  his  educational  advantages  were  very  limited  and  he  was 
early  thrown  upon  his  own  resources. 

In  1869  James  Frost,  Jr.,  emigrated  to  the  I'nited  States,  settling  in 
Pittsburg,  where  he  was  variously  employed  until  the  following  year.  He 
then  went  to  Gibsonton  and  for  two  years  was  employed  in  the  distillery,  after 
which  he  went  to  Gray's  Landing  and  entered  the  distillery  of  William'  Gray 
&  .Sons,  where  he  thoroughly  learned  the  business.  After  remaining  there 
eight  years  he  was  offered  and  accepted  the  position  of  distiller  at  the  Gib- 
.sonton  distillery,  which  he  held  for  twenty-two  consecutive  years.  In  Novem- 
ber. 1902,  he  took  charge  of  the  Hotel  Birmingham,  the  leading  hostelry  of 
Belle  Vernon,  of  which  he  is  still  proprietor.  He  is  a  ReDublican  in  politics. 
He  married  in   1872,   Mary  Ann,  daughter  of  Ellis  and   Marv  J.    (Barnhart) 


320  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTS 

Johnson,  the  former  a  prominent  farmer  of  Green  county,  PennsVy'^'.  ^^.^, 
and  Mrs.  Johnson  are  both  remarkable  for  longevity,  the  former  'i}S  '"  ^^^.^ 
eighty-iifth  year  and  the  latter  in  her  eighty-sixth.  They  have  been  i  P^  ^^^ 
of  ten  children,  of  whom  the  following  are  now  living:  William"  _^ 
assists  his  father  in  the  hotel;  Harry  W..  proprietor  of  a  hotel,  and  ^^^^ 
engaged  in  the  Moss  distillery  at  Port  Royal;  James  R.,  lives  at  home, 
for  three  years  has  been  employed  in  the  Bellinger  distillery ;  Ulysses  S.,  res. 
at  home  and  is  a  telegraph  operator;  John  D.,  at  home;  and  Flora  R.,  at  home, 

S.  HULIiERT  SMITH  is  now  residing  in  the  home  of  his  grandson, 
Hulbert  S.  Herrington.  of  Latrobe,  and  while  only  a  few  years  of  his  life 
have  been  passetl  in  Westmoreland  county  he  has  been  so  prominently  identi- 
fied with  the  business  and  civic  affairs  of  the  old  Keystone  state,  that  it  is  most 
consonant  that  a  tribute  be  accorded  him  in  this  publication.  In  both  the  pater- 
nal and  maternal  lines  Mr.  Smith  is  a  representative  of  staunch  colonial  ancestry, 
while  he  himself  is  a  native  of  the  old  Empire  state  of  the  Union,  having  been 
born  in  the  town  of  Exeter,  Otsego  county,  New  York,  January  i8,  1815,  so 
that  he  is  ninety  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  this  writing.  He  is  a  son  of  Samuel 
B.  and  Elizabeth  (Baker)  Smith,  both  of  whom  passed  their  entire  lives  in  ^ 
Otsego  county,  where  the  father  followed  the  vocation  of  farming  for  many 
years,  being  an  influential  citizen  of  that  section. 

S.  Hulbert  Smith  received  excellent  educational  advantages  in  his  youth, 
having  continued  his  studies  until  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  later  hi. 
taught  in  a  district  school  near  Johnstown,  Pennsylvania,  and  also  in  the 
borough.  He  came  to  Pennsylvania  and  located  in  Holiday.sburg,  Blair  county, 
in  1836,  was  a  clerk  there  for  about  two  years,  and  then  went  to  Johnstown, 
where  he  also  served  as  clerk  at  the  junction  of  the  Pennsylvania  canal  and 
the  Portage  Railroad,  teaching,  as  above  stated,  in  the  winter  time,  and  later 
permanently  identified  himself  with  the  industrial  interests  of  the  town  by 
purchasing  an  iron  foundry,  which  he  continued  to  operate  successfully  for  a 
period  of  five  years.  Nearly  a  half  century  ago  Mr.  Smith  founded  the  first 
banking  institution  in  Johnstown,  the  same  having  been  started  under  the  firm 
name  of  Bell.  .Smith  &  Company,  while  the  original  quarters  of  the  bank  were 
in  the  lower  western  room  of  the  old  Cambria  hotel  or  tavern,  which  had  been 
erected  by  a  man  named  Hamilton  and  which  he  long  conducted.  The  bank 
owners  rented  the  room  mentioned,  with  cellar  beneath,  for  the  sum  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  while  the  lease  provided  also  for  the  installing  of 
double  windows,  with  all  proper  locks  and  bars.  Later  he  sold  to  what  is  now 
the  First  National  Bank.  He  continued  to  reside  in  Johnstown  for  many 
years,  but  subsequently  lived  in  New  York  and  other  places.  He  moved  to 
Latrobe  in  April.  1887.  In  the  first  year  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  con- 
struction Air.  Smith,  who  was  engaged  at  the  time  in  the  iron  business,  erected 
the  first  iron  railroad  bridge  at  Johnstown,  Pennsylvania ;  also  another  a  few 
miles  distant,  east  of  Johnstown,  for  the  same  road.  Early  in  life  Mr.  Smith 
supported  the  Democratic  party,  but  of  late  years  has  not  given  politics  anv 
attention.  For  many  years  he  has  been  identified  with  the  Presbvterian  church 
and  is  a  devout  man. 

He  married  in  the  spring  of  1839.  Susan  Anderson,  of  Massachusetts,  who 
was  his  life  companion  for  fifty-eight  vears ;  she  died  April  16,  1879.  Their 
children  were :  Frances  J.,  married  Hiram  Herrington,  of  Latrobe.  Pennsvl- 
vania ;  William  H.,  married  and  now  resides  in  Kansas ;  Jessie,  married  Dr. 
Edward  Breman,  of  Altoona.  Pennsvlvania,  both  are  now  deceased.     Of  his 


t 


JIJSTORV    OF    ]rESTMORELAXD    COUXTV.  321 

four  "Tandchildrcn.   three  are   living.     The   deceased  one   was    llulhert-Sniith 
Herrington,  who  left  two  sons:    Francis  H.  and  Arthur  Smith  Uerruigton. 

.M.  A.  LYTLE.  The  Lytle  family  is  of  Irish  lineage  and  was  founded 
in  America  h\  Frances  Lvtle,  a  native  of  Ireland,  whence  he  emigrated  to 
America,  accompanied  by 'his  wife.  They  settled  in  the  Ligonier  \'alley  in 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  'followed  farming  until  his  life's  labors  were  ended 
in  death.  He  was  a  very  active  man  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  influential 
in  community  affairs.  lii  his  family  were  tive  children  :  Nancy,  wife  of  Thomas 
Smith;  Janej  wife  of  John  Braden ;  John,  William,  and  Francis. 

Francis  Lytle,  grandfather  of  M.  A.  Lytle,  was  born  in  the  Ligonier  \  al- 
ley, about  four  miles  east  of  Ligonier  borough,  upon  a  farm  on  which  he  spent 
his  entire  life,  and  he  gave  his  undivided  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits.  He, 
too,  was  a  very  active  and  helpful  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and 
his' benevolences  were  many.  He  died  about  i860.  His  wife  bore  the  maiden 
name  of  Eliza  Hammill,  and  they  were  parents  of  four  children:  Francis, 
Hugh,  John  and  Anna,  wife  of  George  Shaffer,  of  Johnstown,  Pennsylvania. 

Hugh  L\tle,  the  father,  was  born  on  the  old  family  homestead  in  the 
Ligonier  \'all'ey.  November  20,  1820.  and  in  early  manhood  began  farming  on 
his  own  accouiit  on  a  tract  of  land  which  adjoined  his  father's  farm,  and  which 
he  continued  to  cultivate  and  improve  until  1884,  when  on  account  of  impaired 
health  he  retired  from  active  business  life  and  removed  to  Ligonier,  where  he 
died  April  23,  1888.  He  was  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Ligonier 
for  many  years.  He  married  Mary  J.  Hammill,  daughter  of  Allen  and  Jane 
(Graham)' Hammill,  and  a  granddaughter  of  Robert  Hammill,  who  emigrated 
from  Ireland  to  America.  Mr.  and  Airs.  Hugh  Lytle  had  nine  children,  of 
whom  two  died  in  infancy,  the  others  being:  Jane  G.,  wife  of  William  McElroy ; 
Frances  W.,  deceased ;  Anna,  deceased  wife  of  Dr.  J.  H.  Nichol ;  IMathew  A. ; 
Ella  N.,  a  teacher  of  music  in  Loveland.  Colorado;  Lucy  E.,  at  home;  and 
Martha,  wife  of  Rev.  T.  L.  Jamieson,  of  Pitcairn,  Pennsylvania. 

M.  A.  Lytle,  son  of  Hugh  Lytle,  was  born  on  his  father's  farm  in  the 
Ligonier  Valley,  May  17,  1858,  and  after  attending  the  common  schools  pur- 
sued a  course  in  boo'kkeeping  in  Youngstown,  Ohio.  For  a  number  of  years 
thereafter  he  gave  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  was  then  called  to 
public  office.  In  politics  he  has  always  been  a  stanch  Republican,  and  in  1894 
was  elected  clerk  of  the  courts  of  Westmoreland  county  for  three  years,  and 
was  also  deputy  prothonotary  for  three  years.  Like  the  family,  he  has  always 
adhered  to  the  faith  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  has  fully  sustained  the  ex- 
cellent reputation  w^hich  the  Lytles  have  alw-ays  born  in  the  valley.  In  April, 
1905,  he  removed  to  Greensburg  and  purchased  the  bakery  business  of  John 
McFall,  which  he  is  still  conducting.  Air.  Lytle  wedded  Ada  J.  Smith,  daugh- 
ter of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Boyd)  Smith.  The  marriage  was  celebrated  Sep- 
tember 25,  1879,  and  they  have  two  children:  \'esta  Ann,  born  July  23,  1880,  a 
graduate  of  \\'estm!nster  College  at  New  Wilmington,  Pennsylvania:  and  H. 
Arthur,  born  March  24.  1883,  a  bookkeeper  for  Armour  &  Company,  at  i'itts- 
burg,  Pennsylvania. 

CHARLES  A.  Lr)WRV.  one  of  the  oldest  business  men  in  Ligonier. 
conducting  a  furniture  and  undertaking  establishment,  was  born  in  .Somerset 
county,  Pennsylvania.  February  9.  1847.  His  father.  William  Lowry,  was  born 
in  Bedford  county.  Pennsylvania,  in  1820.  and  for  a  number  of  years  was  one 
of  the  old  stage  drivers  on  the  pike  between  Pittsburg  and  Philadelphia.    Later 


32: 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 


he  became  proprietor  of  the  hotel  about  a  half  mile  from  Jennerstown,  Somer- 
set county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  remained  for  several  years.  In  1856  he 
went  to  California,  where  he  was  driver  of  a  mail  stage  for  a  considerable  per- 
iod, and  while  in  the  west  he  also  made  his  home  in  Salt  Lake  City  for  a  time. 
In  i860  he  returned  to  his  old  home  in  Pennsylvania,  and  the  following  year 
enlisted  in  the  Union  army,  becoming  a  member  of  Company  C,  Fifty-fourth 
Regiment  of  Pennsylvania  X'olunteers,  with  which  he  served  for  three  years. 
He  then  re-enlisted  and  continued  with  the  army  until  the  close  of  the  war,  re- 
turning to  his  home  with  a  creditable  military  record.  He  held  membership 
in  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  married  Jane  Richmier,  and  they  had  six 
children :  Charles  A.,  Abraham,  William  and  John,  all  deceased ;  Joshua,  who 
is  living  in  Downingtown,  Pennsylvania ;  and  Margaret,  wife  of  Jeremiah 
Heckman. 

Charles  A.  Lowry,  having  obtained  his  education  in  the  public  schools,  be- 
gan learning  the  cabinet  maker's  trade  when  sixteen  years  of  age,  as  an  ap- 
prentice under  Henry  Hoffman,  at  Jenner's  Crossroads,  where  he  remained  for 
four  years.  He  then  came  to  Ligonier,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade  for  Sam- 
uel Weiner  for  one  year,  on  the  expiration  of  which  period  he  embarked  in  busi- 
ness for  himself,  forming  a  partnership  with  J.  W.  Ambrose,  for  the  conduct  of 
a  furniture  and  undertaking  business  at  Ligonier.  They  carried  on  this  enter- 
prise for  five  years,  when  Mr.  Lowry  withdrew  and  started  an  independent 
business,  which  he  has  since  successfully  concaicted,  and  he  is  to-day  one  of  the 
oldest  and  most  prominent  merchants  of  the  borough.  He  is  also  interested  in 
public  affairs  relating  to  the  welfare  and  improvement  of  the  locality.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  is  a  charter  member  of  Ligonier 
Lodge,  No.  964,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  in  which  he  has  passed  all  the  chairs.  He  is  like- 
wise a  charter  member  of  the  Knights  of  Honor  Lodge,  No.  1244  in  which  he 
has  filled  all  the  ofifices,  and  he  belongs  to  the  J.  O.  A.  M.  at  Ligonier.  His 
political  labors  and  ballot  endorse  Democratic  principles,  and  he  has  held  local 
-office,  serving  as  councilman  for  one  term,  as  school  director  two  terms,  as 
judge  of  elections,  assessor  and  in  other  positions.  Mr.  Lowry  married  Sarah 
Hicks,  a  daughter  of  William  and  Lydia  Hicks,  and  granddaughter  of  Abram 
and  Eve  Hicks.  They  had  eight  children :  Olive  I.,  wife  of  Thomas  Kuhn ; 
Lydia  M.,  wife  of  James  Tinkom ;  Annie,  wife  of  John  Dennis ;  Edward  W. 
and  Mathew  B.  S.,  at  home;  and  three  who  died  in  infancy. 

SAMUEL  S.  DICE.  The  Dice  family  has  for  more  than  a  century 
been  represented  in  Westmoreland  county.  Ephraim  Dice,  the  grandfather, 
was  born  in  this  county  in  1808,  and  in  early  life  learned  the  cabinet-making 
trade,  which  he  followed  throughout  his  business  career  in  or  near  Mount 
Pleasant.  He  had  four  children  :  William  ;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  James  Patterson  : 
and  Samuel  and  Alexander,  both  deceased.  Ephraim  Dice  has  outlived  his 
children  and  is  still  quite  active.     He  makes  his  home  at  Mount  Pleasant. 

William  Dice,  son  of  Ephraim  Dice,  was  born  in  Mount  Pleasant,  West- 
moreland county,  about  1844,  and  for  a  number  of  years  was  engaged  in  the 
furniture  business  with  his  father  in  his  native  town.  About  1873  or  1874  he 
removed  to  Ligonier,  where  he  opened  a  furniture  store,  which  he  conducted 
successfully  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1893.  In  politics  he  was  a 
stalwart  Democrat,  active  in  the  local  work  of  the  party,  and  he  served  as  school 
director,  councilman  and  in  other  ofifices.  He  married  Margaret  Henry,  a 
daughter  of  George  and  Mary  Henry,  and  to  them  were  born  two  children: 
Sanniel  S.  and  Edith  O. 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAXD    COUXTY.  325 

taken  of  wild  parsnips  under  the  impression  that  they  were  sweet  myrrh.  Mr. 
Bovard  himself  had  also  partaken  of  the  vegetables,  but  having  eaten  but  a 
small  quantity  he  recovered  from  the  etfects.  This  happened  after  the  removal 
of  the  family  to  South  Huntingdon  township,  where  Air.  Eovard  died  at  the 
age  of  eighty-four. 

Oliver  Bovard,  only  surviving  son  of  Oliver  Bovard,  mentioned  above, 
was  born  on  the  Alount  Pleasant  farm,  a  portion  of  which  now  forms  the  site 
of  the  college,  and  on  reaching  manhood  remained  at  home,  becoming  in  course 
of  time  the  owner  of  the  estate  on  which  he  passed  his  entire  life.  In  politics 
he  was  a  staunch  Republican  and  held  several  minor  township  offices,  being 
possibly  the  only  Republican  ever  elected  in  that  strong  Democratic  district. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  being  very  active  in  anything 
that  would  further  its  interests.  Mr.  Bovard  married  Mathilda  S.  Farr,  and' 
eight  of  their  eleven  children  are  now  living:  James  I.,  a  resident  of  East 
Greensburg :  Robert  Oliver,  lives  in  South  Huntingdon  township :  Charles  ll., 
lives  in  South  Huntingdon  township:  \\'illiam  F.,  resides  in  East  Greensburg; 
John  R.,  of  wiiom  later;  Mary  J.,  wife  of  Sherman  Ross,  of  East  Greensburg. 
Emma  M. :  Rosa  F.,  who  resides  with  her  brother  Charles  R.  Mr.  Bovard  died 
when  he  was  in  his  eightieth  year. 

John  R.  Bovard.  son  of  Oliver  and  Alathilda  S.  (Farr)  Bovard,  was  born 
October  29.  1859,  in  South  Huntingdon  township,  Westmoreland  county.  Penn- 
sylvania. He  remained  at  home  until  he  was  twenty-two  years  of  age.  his  edu- 
cation being  acquired  in  the  common  schools,  then  attending  the  Mount  Pleas- 
ant Institute  for  two  years,  and  after  that  the  Alount  Union  College  for  two 
years.  In  188 1  he  commenced  his  career  as  a  teacher,  and  for  sixteen  conse- 
cutive years  he  taught  in  the  schools  of  Westmoreland,  the  last  seven  years  of 
this  time  being  principal  of  the  North  Belle  Vernon  school.  In  1897  he  turned 
his  attention  to  commerce  and  entered  into  partnership  with  R.  J.  McKean. 
Their  line  of  business  was  that  of  general  merchandise,  and  as  they  were  both 
enterprising,  wide-awake  men,  the  firm  soon  had  an  enviable  reputation  for 
prosperity  and  sound  business  principles,  a  reputation  which  it  has  continued 
to  hold.  Mr.  Bovard  is  a  stanch  Republican,  and  has  served  one  term  as  tax 
collector,  fourteen  years  as  borough  clerk  of  North  Belle  Vernon,  and  for  the 
past  seven  years  has  been  a  member  of  the  school  board.  He  is  secretary  of  the 
board  at  the  present  fime,  having  held  all  the  various  offices  in  that  bodv.  He 
is  a  member  of  Gummert  Lodge,  No.  25,  Free  and  Accepter  Masons  of  Fayette 
City :  of  Uniontown  Lodge  of  Perfection,  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rites : 
of  Belle  \"ernon  Lodge,  No.  656,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows ;  of  Belle 
Vernon  Lodge,  No.  531,  Royal  Arcanum;  of  Western  Council,  No.  79,  Junior 
Order  Ignited  American  Mechanics.  Mr.  Bovard  is  a  member  and  regular  at- 
tendant of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  is  a  trustee  of  that  institution.  In 
1887  Re  married  Eliza  J.  McKcan,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Jessie  (Tweedie) 
iMcKean.  of  Fern  Cliff,  as  their  country  home  near  Belle  Vernon  is  called. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bovard  are  the  parents  of  one  child,  Mary  Margaret. 

ROBERT  JOHN  ^IcKEAN.  Scotland  was  the  original  home  of 
the  ancestors  of  Robert  John  McKcan,  of  North  Belle  Vernon.  His  ^rand- 
falher,  William  McKean,  was  the  owner  and  operator  of  the  Kelton  Hill  farm,- 
an  extensive  property  in  Kirkcudbrightshire,  near  the  town  of  East  Gallowav. 
He  married  Alary  Brown,  and  among  their  children  was  a  son.  Sanuiel,  men- 
tioned hereafter.  Mr.  McKean  died  on  the  farm  on  which  he  had  passed  his 
life. 


32; 


'VD    ( 


326  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

Samuel  McKean,  son  of  William  and  Mary  (Brown)  McKean,  was  born 
in  1833,  in  Scotland,  where  he  was  educated  for  the  ministry.  In  1853  he  came 
to  the  United  States  and  settled  in  Rutland,  Vermont,  where  he  remained  one 
year,  and  after  a  sojourn  of  some  six  months  in  Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania, 
took  up  his  abode  in  Washington  county,  same  state.  While  there  he  abandon- 
ed his  intention  of  entering  the  ministry  and  engaged  in  gardening  and  horticul- 
ture, in  which  he  has  been  very  successful.  In  1877  he  moved  to  Rostraver 
township,  where  he  continued  in  the  same  line  of  business,  his  establishment 
being  widely  known  as  Fern  Clifif  Gardens.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and 
while  never  an  office  seeker  has  served  several  years  as  a  member  of  the  school 
board.  He  belongs  to  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  the  Knights 
cf  Pythias,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  McKean  mar- 
lied,  just  before  leaving  his  native  land,  Jessie,  born  in  1831,  in  Kirkcudbright- 
shire, Scotland,  daughter  of  John  and  Jeannette  (Carter)  Tweedie.  the  former 
a  cabinet-maker  by  trade.  Doth  he  and  his  wife  died  in  their  native  country. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  McKean  were  the  parents  of  the  following  children :  Mary,  wife 
of  Christopher  Cribbs,  of  Greensburg;  William  A.,  resides  at  home;  Jennie, 
married  C.  B.  Copeland,  of  Charleroi ;  Margaret,  wife  of  James  P.  Williams,  of 
California,  Pennsylvania:  Samuel  M.,  lives  at  North  Belle  Vernon;  Eliza,  mar- 
ried John  R.  Bovard,  of  Belle  \'ernon ;  Robert  John,  mentioned  hereafter ; 
Martha  Ann,  wife  of  W.  H.  Calvert,  of  Charleroi ;  Katherine,  married  R.  K. 
Johnson,  of  Gibsonton ;  and  Charles  J.,  resides  at  heme. 

Robert  John  McKean,  son  of  Samuel  and  Jessie  (Tweedie)  McKean,  was 
born  October  30,  1867,  in  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  educated 
in  the  common  schools  of  Gibsonton.  For  two  years  after  attaining  his  ma- 
jotity  he  was  employed  in  the  recorder's  office  in  Greensburg,  and  then  re- 
turned to  North  Belle  Vernon,  where  for  three  or  four  years  he  was  employed 
in  a  clerical  capacity  in  the  department  store  of  E.  M.  Kyle.  He  then  accepted 
a  position  with  the  California  Coal  Company,  in  whose  service  he  remained 
some  two  years,  when  he  resigned  in  order  to  accept  a  position  as  store  manager 
for  the  mercantile  house  of  J.  E.  McCardle.  of  Charleroi.  In  1897  he  resigned 
this  position  and  organized  the  mercantile  firm  of  McKean  &  Bovard,  to  which 
he  devoted  himself,  bringing  to  the  enterprise  the  aid  of  his  many  years  of  ex- 
perience in  the  mercantile  field.  The  business  has  prospered  and  the  partners 
now  constitute  one  of  the  leading  firms  of  North  Belle  Vernnn.  Mr.  McKean 
belongs  to  Belle  \'ernon  Lodge,  No.  656.  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows ; 
Tvlonongahela  Lodge,  No.  362,  Knights  of  Pytliias ;  Charleroi  Lodge,  No.  494, 
Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  North  Belle  Vernon  Council,  No.  78, 
Junior  Order  of  United  American  Alechanics,  of  Belle  Vernon.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Presbyterian  church,  in  which  for  a  number  of  years  he  has  served 
as  president  of  the  Young  People's  Societv.  He  is  unmarried  and  resides  with 
his  parents. 

ELWOOD  MILLER,  contract  ind  builder  in  Belle  Vernon,  Ros- 
traver township,  is  the  grandson  of  John  vliller,  a  native  of  Germany.  John 
E.  Miller  was  for  several  years  a  sailor  ii  '  German  merchant  marine  trade^ 
and  later  emigrated  to  America  and  settl  n  Juniata  county,  Pennsylva'nia, 
where  he  was  connected  with  canal  transpo       ion. 

John  E.  Miller,  son  of  the  above  named  _,  ..im  E.  Miller,  was  born  in  Juniata 
county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1849.  From  his  seventh  year  he  was  brought  up  by 
William  Jones,  then  residing-  on  a  farm  near  Fells  Church.  Rostraver  township, 
and  who  is  now  vice  president  of  the  Valley  Deposit  and  Trust  Company  in 


V 


\ 


HISTORY    Of    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  327 

Belle  Vernon  and  who  resides  in  North  Belle  Vernon.  John  E.  Mille>,  when 
still  quite  a  young  man,  located  in  Belle  \'ernon  and  worked  some  years  in  the 
mines.  He  then  engaged  in  market  gardening,  which  he  followed  for  a  num- 
her  of  years,  and  late  in  the  nineties  he  gave  up  gardening  to  accept  a  position 
with  the  Belle  \"ernon  Water  Compan}-,  by  whom  he  is  still  employed.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican.  He  has  served  several  years  as  a  member  of  the 
school  board  of  Rostraver  township.  He  is  a  member  and  regular  attendant 
at  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Py- 
tln'as,  and  the  Improved  Order  of  Redmen.  He  is  popular  and  highly  respected 
by  his  fellow  citizens  of  Belle  \'ernon.  Upon  reaching  his  twenty-first  year 
John  E.  IMiller  married  Eliza  J.  Thompson,  of  Washington  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, daughter  of  Valentine  and  ^Mary  A.  Thompson.  They  had  five  children, 
all  of  whom  are  living:  Evaline,  wife  of  G.  W.  Johnson,  in  Charleroi ;  William 
L.,  who  holds  a  position  with  the  People's  Gas  Company  in  ,  Belle  Vernon  ; 
James  A.,  employed  by  the  American  Window  Glass  Company  in  Belle  Vernon  : 
Edward  K.,  a  window  glass  gatherer  in  Belle  Vernon  ;  and  Elwood,  of  whom 
later. 

Elwood  Miller,  the  son  of  John  E.  and  Eliza  J.  (Thompson)  Miller,  was 
born  in  Belle  Vernon,  Pennsylvania,  May  29,  1874.  He  lived  at  home  with 
his  parents  until  about  his  sixteenth  year,  attending  the  common  schools  during 
that  time.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  apprenticed  himself  to  a  carpenter  and 
learned  that  trade.  He  finished  his  apprenticeship  within  three  years,  and  then 
for  about  six  years  worked  as  a  journeyman  carpenter.  He  was  then  oiifered 
and  accepted  the  position  of  superintendent  in  the  contracting  firm  of  A.  B. 
Kline,  of  Charleroi,  which  position  he  held  for  five  years,  and  in  September, 
1904,  he  resigned  from  it  to  engage  in  business  for  himself.  He  commenced 
contracting  and  building  on  his  own  account,  has  been  very  successful  and  is 
fast  becoming  one  of  the  leading  contractors  of  Belle  Vernon.  Mr.  Miller  is 
steadfast  in  his  adherence  to  the  Republican  party.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
present  borough  council  of  North  Belle  Vernon,  is  chief  of  the  fire  department, 
and  a  member  of  the  Protective  Home  Circle.  He  is  one  of  North  Belle  Ver- 
non's best  known  men.  Mr.  ]\Iiller  married  Alice  Richards,  daughter  of  Josejih 
and  Jane  (Barton)  Richards,  of  Belle  \'ernon.  Mrs.  ?yliller  and  her  parents 
are  natives  of  England.  To  Mr.  Miller  and  his  wife  were  born  four  children  : 
Lloyd  A.,  Bessie  Caryl,  Robert  A.,  and  John  E. 

LAUREN  C.  THOMAS,  ]\I.  D.  This  able  and  representative  mem- 
ber of  the  medical  profession  in  Westmoreland  county  is  established  in  practice 
at  Latrobe,  and  aside  from  his  precedence  as  a  physician  and  surgeon  he 
merits  consideration  in  this  work  on  the  score  of  being  a  scion  of  one  of  the 
old  and  honored  families  of  this  favored  section  of  the  Keystone  state.  Dr. 
Thomas  was  born  in  Ferguson  township,  Centre  county,  Pennsylvania,  March 
16,  i860,  a  son  of  John  E.  and  Lucy  (Emerick)  Thomas,  natives,  respectively, 
of  Ferguson  township,  Centre  county,  Peimsylvania,  and  Harris  township. 
Centre  county,  Pennsylvania,  while  both  are  now  deceased,  the  father  having 
devoted  his  active  career  to  educational  pursuits  and  having  been  one  of 
the  sterling  and  honored  citizens  of  Centre  county,  where  he  was  principal 
of  a  preparatory  school. 

Dr.  Thomas  secured  his  early  educational  training  in  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  county,  and  later  continued  his  studies  in  the  Pine  Grove  Acad- 
emy and  Seminary,  at  Pine  Grove,  Centre  county.  In  1885,  after  a  careful 
preliminary  course  of  reading  under  a  private  preceptor,  he  matriculated  in 


328  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

the  celebrated  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  in  the  city  of  Baltimore, 
^Maryland,  where  he  completed  the  prescribed  technical  course  and  was  grad- 
uated as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1887,  receiving  his  well  earned  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Medicine  and  coming  forth  admirably  equipped  for  the  practical 
work  of  his  exacting  profession.  Later  on,  with  the  commendable  desire  to 
further  fortify  himself,  he  took  special  post-graduate  work  in  his  profession 
in  leading  medical  colleges  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  in  whose  hospitals  he 
also  availed  himself  of  the  superior  clinical  advantages  afforded.  It  may 
furtlier  be  said  that  he  keeps  in  close  touch  with  the  advances  made  in  both  de- 
partments of  his  profession,  having  recourse  to  the  best  standard  and  periodical 
literature  and  retaining  membership  in  leading  medical  societies,  including  the 
American  Medical  Association,  and  Westmoreland  County  Medical  Society. 
After  devoting  two  years  to  post-graduate  work  and  general  practice  in  the 
city  of  Philadelphia  Dr.  Thomas  came  to  Latrobe,  where  he  has  ever  since 
maintained  his  home  and  where  he  has  built  up  a  large  and  representative  prac- 
tice, while  to  him  is  accorded  the  unequivocal  confidence  and  esteem  of  the 
people  of  the  community  in  which  he  has  lived  and  laljored  to  goodly  ends, 
being  recognized  as  a  progressive  and  public-spirited  citizen  and  having  taken 
an  active  interest  in  local  affairs.  In  politics  he  gives  a  staunch  allegiance  to  the 
Republican  party,  and  in  its  ranks  he  is  an  active  and  cft'ective  worker.  In 
recognition  of  his  eligibility  and  of  his  hold  upon  popular  esteem  he  was  elected 
to  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania  as  representative  of  Westmoreland  county, 
in  1901.  He  served  for  two  years  as  a  member  of  the  lower  house  and  made 
an  excellent  record  in  the  general  assembly,  while  he  is  still  active  in  polit- 
ical aft'airs  in  his  county.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  school  di- 
rectors of  Latrobe  for  nearly  a  decade,  and  in  all  that  concerns  the  welfare 
and  progress  of  his  home  town  and  county  he  ever  shows  a  lively  and  loyal 
interest.  In  a  fraternal  way  he  is  identified  with  the  B.  P.  O.  E.,  and  the  K.  P. 
Dr.  Thomas  married,  April  22,  1880,  Martha  Scott,  born  and  reared  in 
Huntingdon  county,  this  state,  a  daughter  of  George  and  Elizabeth  ( Bell ) 
Scott,  well  known  residents  of  that  county,  where  the  father  was  a  prominent 
and  influential  farmer.  They  are  now  both  deceased.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas 
have  two  children,  Lucy  E.,  born  February  17,  1884;  and  Walter  Scott,  liorn 
March  23,  1886.  Lucy  E.  was  graduated  in  the  Latrobe  High  school  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  class  of  1902,  and  then  became  a  student  in  Wilson  College,  at  Cham- 
bersburg,  where  she  continued  her  studies  until  about  six  months  prior  to  the 
time  when  she  would  have  been  graduated  in  the  institution,  which  she  was 
compelled  to  leave  on  account  of  severe  illness.  Walter  S.  was  graduated  in 
the  high  school  at  Latrobe  in  1904,  and  is  now  a  student  in  the  State  College  of 
Pennsylvania,  of  Centre  county. 

WATSON  A.  MEXOHER,  the  leading  contract.)!-  and  builder  of  the 
Ligonier  valley,  was  born  on  the  old  family  homestead  in  that  valley,  Novem- 
ber 3,  1858.  His  ancestors  for  several  generations  have  resided  in  the  same 
locality.  The  valley  was  the  home  of  his  great-grandparents  for  here  was  born 
his  grandfather,  Charles  Menoher,  who  throughout  his  entire  life  followed 
farming  two  miles  east  of  the  borough  of  Ligonier.  He  married  a  Miss  Clif- 
ford, and  their  children  were  :  John  ;  Joseph  ;  Samuel :  Thomas  :  William  ; 
Jane,  wife  of  McKinley  McKelvey;  Rebecca,  wife  of  William  McCollv:  Bell, 
wife  of  James  ;\IcKelvy ;  and  Melissa,  wife  of  Michael  Fry. 

William  Menoher,  son  of  Charles  I\Ienoher,  was  born  in  Ligonier  t  ^wn- 
ship,  WestUK Ireland  county,  in   1822  or  1823,  and  after  attaining  his  majuritv 


HISTORY   OF    JVESTMORELAXD    COUNTY.  329 

devoted  his  energies  to  agricultural  pursuits  in  the  Ligonior  valley  until  his 
death.  His  farm  is  now  the  property  of  his  son,  Henry  D.  F.  .Mendher. 
William  Menoher  was  a  consistent  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  at 
Ligonier.  His  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Catherine  Austraw,  was 
a  daughter  of  John  Austraw,  of  the  Ligonier  valley.  They  had  eight  children : 
Charles ;  John  F..  proprietor  of  Hotel  Menolier,  at  Ligonier ;  Lenson  B. ; 
\\'atson  A. ;  Henry  D.  F.,  living  on  the  old  homestead ;  Harry  A. ;  Elsie  D., 
the  wife  of  r\loses  B.  Parson ;  and  Ada  Maud,  wife  of  George  A.  Freeman. 

Watson  A.  Menoher,  having  obtained  his  literary  education  in  the  pub- 
lic schools,  began  learning  the  trade  of  carpenter  as  an  apprentice  to  Robert 
Orr  when  seventeen  years  of  age.  He  was  thus  employed  fcjr  two  years  when 
he  went  to  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  worked  for  Benjamin  Simpson  for 
two  vears,  and  then  began  business  for  himself  as  a  contractor  and  builder 
in  the  borough  of  Ligonier.  He  also  moves  buildings  and  has  successfully 
carried  on  business  to  the  present  time,  being  now  the  leading  contractor  and 
builder  of  the  Ligonier  valley,  the  business  constantly  increasing.  In  his  polit- 
ical affiliations  ^Ir.  Menoher  is  a  staunch  Democrat,  and  fraternally  he  is  con- 
nected with  Ligonier  Lodge,  No.  964,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  in 
which  he  has  passed  all  the  chairs.  He  married  Ellen  N.'  Nicely,  daughter 
of  A.  A.  and  Elizabeth  Nicely,  and  granddaughter  of  Adam  and  Hester 
Nicely.  They  have  five  children:  Lola  AL,  born  January  21.  i8go:  Marion 
Florence,  August  24.  1891  ;  Ford  \'ictor,  November  i,  1892;  Emerson  Lester, 
October  29,   1895;  and  George  Ernest,  February  11,  1901. 

JOHN  W.  CRAWFORD  traces  his  ancestry  back  to  Ireland,  whence 
his  grandfather,  Harvey  Crawford,  emigrated  to  America,  settling  at  Loud- 
man,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  followed  the  cooper's  trade  throughout  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life.  He  had  three  children :  Joseph  and  Jacob,  and  a 
daughter. 

Joseph  Crawford,  father  of  John  W.  Crawford,  was  born  in  York,  Penn- 
sylvania,  in  1816,  and  in  early  life  he  learned  the  trade  of  tinner,  whicii  he 
followed  throughout  his  business  career.  He  removed  to  the  Ligonier  valley 
about  1853.  settling  at  Donegal,  where  he  continued  to  reside  for  a  half  cen- 
tury. He  died  June  13,  1903.  He  was  a  very  active  member  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church  for  a  number  of  years.  His  wife  bore  the  maiden  name 
of  Lydia  Miller,  and  their  children  were:  Mary,  married  James  Hays;  John 
W.:  Araminta,  married  James  Nichols:  Ida  Belle,  deceased;  Henry  Chap- 
man :  Samuel  W. :  Laura,  widow  of  William  Watt ;  Harvey :  Cora ;  Charles ; 
Alyrtle,  deceased  wife  of  Edwin  Kevs ;  and  one  that  died  in  infancv. 

John  W.  Crawford  was  born  in  Lavansville.  Somerset  countv.  Pennsyl- 
vania, January  22,  1 85 1,  and  at  the  usual  age  entered  the  iniblic  schools,  therein 
mastering  the  common  branches  of  English  learning.  He  afterward  learned 
tile  trade  of  tinner  with  his  father,  and  when  twenty-two  years  of  age  he  be- 
gan working  for  John  H.  Aliller.  at  Somerset,  in  whose  emplov  he  remained 
for  five  vears.  He  then  removed  to  Lavansville.  where  he  established  a  tin 
store  .vhich  he  conducted  for  two  years,  when  he  went  to  Donegal,  West- 
njf  .and  muntv.  and  continued  in  the  .same  line  of  business  for  eighteen 
iths.  He  came  to  Ligonier  in  1880,  and  purchased  the  busine.';s  of  John 
iiln.  Here  he  has  since  been  continuously  engaged  in  merchandising,  con- 
lurting  a  general  .store,  in  which  he  carries  a  line  of  stoves,  hardware,  tin- 
ware, groceries,  paints,  oils,  and  he  also  does  a  general  furnace  and  roofing 
business.     He  has  erected  all  the  l)tiil<lings  which  he  occupies,  and  has  inatie 


330  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

extensive  general  improvements.  His  trade  has  continually  increased,  and  he 
is  a  worthy  representative  of  the  commercial  and  industrial  interests  of  the 
borough.  His  political  views  are  in  accord  with  the  principles  of  the  Repub- 
lican party,  and  he  has  been  elected  councilman  of  Ligonier,  capablv  serving 
for  five  years.  ]\Ir.  Crawford  married  (first)  Amanda  Beistel,  a  daughter 
of  John  Beistel,  of  the  Ligonier  valley,  and  their  children  are :  Clark  Dawson, 
w'ho  was  in  the  Spanish-American  war,  at  Porto  Rico  until  the  close  of  hos- 
tilities, and  afterward  joined  the  marines  at  Philadelphia,  where  he  served  fo 
thirteen  months.  Charles  E.,  a  tinner,  at  Ligonier;  Anna  M.,  wife  of  Herbert 
Nicely;  Nettie  B.,  wife  of  David  Hawk;  Harvey  and  Frank,  who  are 
tinners,  at  Ligonier ;  Florence  W. ;  twins  who  died  in  infancy ;  and  Cora  B., 
at  home.  Mrs.  Crawford  died  April  7,  1904.  Mr.  Crawford  married  (sec- 
ond), July  20,  1905,  Bella  J.  Ramsey,  daughter  of  Cnlbertson  Ramsey,  of  Fort 
Palmer.  Mr.  Ramsey  is  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war,  and  a  prominent  member 
of  the  United  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Crawford  and  his  wife  are  com- 
municants of  the  same  faith  at  Ligonier. 

HARRY  B.  STOM.  The  ancestors  of  Harry  B.  Stom,  of  Ligonier 
borough,  have  resided  in  the  Ligonier  valley  through  several  generations.  His 
great-grandfather,  Henry  Stom,  was  a  resident  of  Somerset  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  followed  weaving  all  his  life,  so  far  as  is  known.  He  married 
Elizabeth  Kendall. 

Samuel  Stom  (grandfather),  only  child  of  Henry  and  Elizabeth  (Kendall) 
Stom,  was  horn  and  reared  in  Somerset  county.  In  early  life  he  began  farming 
in  that  countv,  and  was  very  successful,  investing  his  surplus  earnings  in  ad- 
ditional land  until  he  had  accumulated  considerable  real  estate.  About  1849 
he  removed  to  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  remained  for  two 
years,  and  in  185 1  he  took  up  his  abode  in  Ligonier  township,  Westmore- 
land county,  where  he  carried  on  agricultural  pursuits  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  February,  1883.  He  was  one  of  the  progressive  and  influential 
farmers  of  his  locality,  and  was  a  member  of  the  original  Dunkard  church. 
He  married  Sarah  Schultz,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  seven  children, 
one  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  The  others  are :  Henry,  enlisted  in  the  L'nion 
army,  August  22,  1862,  and  was  wounded  in  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  his 
death  occurring  soon  afterward  in  Herwood  hospital,  in  Washington,  D.  C. ; 
John ;  Elizabeth ;  Sarah ;  Susan ;  Emanuel  A.,  a  farmer  of  Cook  township, 
Westmoreland  county,  deceased. 

John  Stom,  son  of  Samuel  Stom,  was  born  in  Somerset  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, March  5,  1835,  ^ri"^'  came  with  his  father  to  Westmoreland  county  in 
1S51,  being  then  sixteen  years  of  age.  Here  he  engaged  in  farming  until 
August  22,  1862,  when  in  response  to  his  country's  call  for  aid,  he  enlisted  in 
Company  C,  Eighty-fourth  Regiment  of  Pennsylvania  \^olunteers,  becoming 
third  corporal.  He  served  for  twenty-eight  months,  during  which  time  he 
was  in  twenty-one  battles.  He  was  wounded  at  Chancellorsville,  May  3,  186 
and  was  mustered  out  of  service  as  first  sergeant,  in  December,  1864.  near 
Hatchers  Rini.  Since  his  return  to  the  north  he  has  devoted  his  attention  prin- 
cipally to  agricultural  pursuits.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  has  filled 
several  local  offices,  including  that  of  township  supervisor.  He  holds  mem- 
bership in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  is  active  in  its  work,  is  serving 
on  the  board  of  trustees,  and  is  a  class  leader.  He  married,  November  8, 
1866,  Mary  E.  Barron,  daughter  of  Levi  and  Christina  (Brant)  Barron,  and 
their  children  were:  Sarah   A.,  born  August  2,   1867,  died  August  2,   1891;' 


HISTORY    or    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  331 

Harry  B. ;  Isadora,  born  July  3,  1871 ;  Anna  L.,  born  May  11,  1873,  married 
H.  G.  Robbins :  Kate  K.,  born  August  28.  1875:  Ivie  F.,  born  July  22.  1877; 
Olive  E.,  born  Tulv  26,  1879:  Tames  W'.,  born  October  8,  i88r  ;  and  John  C., 
born  April  11,  1888. 

Harry  B.  Stem  was  born  November  14.  1869,  in  Ligonier.  and  having 
acquired  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Ligonier,  he  attended 
the  Ligonier  Classical  Instistute.  Following  the  completion  of  his  education 
he  remained  upon  the  home  farm  until  twenty-one  years  of  age.  when  he  ac- 
cepted the  position  of  ship])ing  clerk  for  Booth  &  Flinn,  contractors  of  Pitts- 
burg, Pennsylvania,  with  whom  he  reniaiiied  for  five  years.  He  was  employed 
bv  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  as  express  and  freight  messenger  in 
1894-5,  after  which  he  returned  to  the  old  homestead  and  devoted  a  part  of 
his  time  to  farming,  but  during  the  winter  was  employed  in  a  commission 
office.  He  went  to  Swissdale  in  1903,  where  he  engaged  in  merchandising 
for  a  vear.  after  which  he  returned  to  Ligonier.  where  in  company  with  W. 
H.  Lowrv  he  established  what  is  known  as  The  Colonnade,  a  general  stationery 
and  confectionery  store,  which  has  become  a  factor  in  commercial  circles  in 
Ligonier,  and  a  profitable  source  of  income  to  the  proprietors.  Mr.  Stom  has 
exercised  his  right  of  franchise  in  support  of  the  men  and  measures  of  the 
Republican  party  since  attaining  his  majority,  has  been  a  member  of  the  county 
central  committee  for  several  years,  has  filled  almost  every  township  office,  and 
is  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  representatives  of  his  party  in  the  county. 
He  was  appointed  rural  free  deliverv  carrier  June  15,  1905,  after  a  competitive 
examination  in  which  he  attained  the  high  average  of  ninety-eight  per  cent. 
His  route  is  No.  2,  and  covers  twenty-two  miles,  starting  at  the  town  of  Ligo- 
nier. Mr.  Stom  is  stockholder  and  secretary  of  the  Ligonier  American  Pub- 
lishing Company,  a  new  journalistic  enterprise  of  the  town, 

JACOB  R.  ZUCK,  a  leading  book  dealer  and  stationer  of  West- 
moreland county,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  at  Mount  Pleasant,  December  25, 
1843,  son  of  Samuel  and  Susan  (Keister)  Zuck.  He  is  of  German  descent. 
His  paternal  grandfather,  David  Zuck,  was  of  German  parentage,  and  was 
born  in  eastern  Pennsylvania,  near  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century.  He 
removed  to  Somerset  county  and  there  married  Esther  IMiller,  and  their  chil- 
dren were :  John,  Jacob,  David,  Samuel,  mentioned  hereafter,  and  Justice. 

Samuel  Zuck,  father  of  Jacob  R.  Zuck,  was  born  March  10,  1821,  and 
reared  in  Westmoreland  county.  He  learned  the  trade  of  harness  and  saddle 
making  and  was  engaged  in  that  occupation  for  about  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
He  later  learned  the  trade  of  butcher,  which  he  followed  for  a  few  years 
previous  to  his  retirement  from  active  life.  He  married  Susan  Keister,  daugh- 
ter of  Conrad  Keister,  whose  ancestors  were  among  the  earliest  settlers  of 
Westmoreland  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Zuck  had  children :  Charles  Sumner, 
died  in  early  childhood  ;  Rev.  W.  F.  J.,  a  ininistcr  of  the  United  Brethren 
church  at  .Annville,  Pennsylvania ;  Laurence  K.,  a  butcher  of  Mount  Pleasant ; 
and  Jacob  R.,  mentioned  hereafter.  Mrs.  Samuel  Zuck  died  .\pril,  1900.  and 
Samuel  Zuck  passed  away  December  3,  1904,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eig'hty- 
four  years,  after  a  useful  and  well-spent  life. 

Jacob  R.  Zuck  acquired  his  early  educational  training  in  the  common 
schools  of  Mount  Pleasant  and  subsequently  attended  Mount  Pleasant  College. 
In  early  life  he  commenced  working  in  the  harness  makers'  trade,  continuing 
in  this  business  for  three  years.  He  enlisted  in  Comjjany  B,  Twenty-ei,ghth 
Regiment,   Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  known  as   Garyes  regiment.  October   5, 


^7^2  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

1861.  He  served  in  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  was  later  transferred 
to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  was  severely  wounded  in  the  battle  of  An- 
tietam.  He  was  honorably  discharged  in  January,  1863,  on  account  of  dis- 
ability. From  1862  to  1878  he  was  engaged  as  clerk  in  a  general  merchan- 
dise business.  In  1879  ^''^  entered  into  the  book  and  stationery  business 
and  has  since  been  engaged  in  that  line  of  business,  in  which  he  has  met  with 
the  greatest  success.  Mr.  Zuck  received  the  appointment  of  postmaster  by 
President  AIcKinley,  October  i,  1897,  and  was  reappointed  by  President 
Roosevelt  in  January,  1902.  His  political  affiliations  are  with  the  Repub- 
lican party.  He  held  the  office  of  school  director  in  his  town  for  sixteen  years, 
and  was  a  member  of  the  council  of  his  borough  for  two  terms.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Robert  Worden  Post,  No.  16^,  G.  A.  R.,  and  was  its  commander 
in  1888;  R.  A.,  No.  592;  Mt..  Pleasant 'Lodge,  No.  198;  and  A.  O.  U.  W. 
In  religious  matters  Mr.  Zuck  is  a  member  of  the  United  Brethren  church, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees.  Mr.  Zuck  married.  May  i,  1S67, 
Emma  Smitle}-,  daughter  of  John  and  Sarah  Smitley.  They  have  two  chil- 
dren :  Edwin  E.,  March  8,  1871,  engaged  in  the  printing  business  in  Mount 
Pleasant;  and  Ora  D..  born  July  29,  1875,  in  the  postoffice  with  his  father. 

DAYTON  O.  LEMMON,  one  of  the  oldest  and  best  known  citizens 
of  Mount  Pleasant,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  there  born  Janu- 
ary 20,  1847,  the  son  of  James  and  Sarah  (Sandles)  Lemmon,  and  grandson  of 
James  Lemmon,  who  emigrated  to  this  country  from  Ireland.  James  Lemmon, 
father  of  Dayton  O.  Lemmon,  was  born  and  reared  in  Mount  Pleasant  town- 
ship. He  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising  and  dealing  all  his  life.  He 
■was  an  industrious  and  prosperous  farmer,  and  an  excellent  citizen.  He  held 
the  office  of  constable  for  many  years,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  known  as  the  Middle  church.  He  married  Sarah  Sandles,  and  their 
children  were  Rhoda,  the  widow  of  James  Irwin;  Vananburg  A.,  deceased; 
Carlisle  S.,  a  hardware  merchant  of  P.raddock,  Pa. ;  Elizabeth,  deceased,  mar- 
ried Benjamin  Miller;  George  W.,  a  constable  of  Hazleton,  Pa.;  Dayton  O., 
of  whom  later;  and  Allie,  married  James  Nihn. 

Dayton  O.  Lemmon  acquired  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of 
Westmoreland  county,  and  assisted  his  father  with  the  farm  work  until  he  was 
about  twenty  years  of  age.  He  then  learned  the  trades  of  stone  mason  and 
bricklaying,  and  was  for  some  years  engaged  in  the  Coke  works,  building  ovens. 
He  established  himself  in  the  livery  business  in  Mount  Pleasant  in  1882,  and  is 
still  engaged  in  that  occupation,  being  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  prosperous 
liverymen  in  the  county.  His  political  belief  accords  with  the  doctrines  of  the 
Republican  party,  and  he  is  deeply  interested  in  the  welfare  of  that  organiza- 
tion. He  is  also  interested  in  educational  affairs,  and  was  for  four  years  school 
director  of  his  town,  and  has  held  many  minor  offices.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
I.  O.  H.,  and  in  religious  affairs  is  a  consistent  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  Mr.  Lemmon  married  Almira  Tedrow,  daughter  of  John  and  Phoebe 
Tedrow,  formerly  of  Somerset  county.  Their  children  were :  O.  Gertrude ; 
Maybel,  who  at  the  age  of  four  years  met  her  death  accidentally  by  fire ;  Rav- 
mond,  born  .August  30.  1894;  and  Helen  and  Ruth,  (twins),  born  June  22, 
1901. 

D.A.VID  G.  ANDREWS,  for  six  years  prior  to  his  death  the  nroprietor 
of  the  Andrews  House,  a  well-known  hostlery,  was  born  on  the  old  homestead 
farm  in   Mount  Pleasant  townshiji,  Westmoreland  county,   Pennsylvania,  .Au- 


HISTORY    OF    JVESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  333 

giist  10,  1S46,  son  of  William  and  Hannah  (^iiunter)  Andrews,  whose  family 
consisted  of  five  children :  Anna  J.,  David  G.,  Elizabeth,  married  Francis  Leas- 
ure,  of  Greensburg;  Frank  W.,  of  Irwin;  and  Albert  A.,  a  farmer,  who  resides 
on  the  old  homestead.  William  Andrews,  father  of  these  children,  was  born 
and  reared  in  Westmoreland  county,  and  followed  farming  in  iMount  Pleasant 
township  throughout  the  active  years  of  his  life.  He  was  an  active  member  of 
the  United  Presbyterian  church,  in  which  body  he  served  as  elder  for  a  number 
of  years. 

David  G.  Andrews  acquired  a  thorough  and  practical  education  in 
the  Blount  Pleasant  Institute,  from  which  he  was  graduated.  He  then  turned 
his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  continued  the  same  until  1886,  when 
his  health  failed  and  he  was  forced  to  abandon  that  arduous  occupation.  He 
changed  his  place  of  abode  to  the  village  of  Mount  Pleasant,  and  the  following 
four  years  acted  as  a  messenger  between  Pittsburg  and  ;\lount  Pleasant.  He 
then  established  the  hotel  known  as  the  Andrews  House,  which  he  conducted 
successfully  for  six  years,  and  of  which  he  was  the  proprietor  at  the  time  of  his 
decease,  February  18,  1901.  He  was  genial  and  courteous,  considerate  of  the 
wishes  of  his  patrons,  and  commanded  the  respect  of  all  with  whom  he  was 
brought  in  contact.  He  was  a  member  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church,  a 
member  of  the  Order  of  United  WorkmeUj  Royal  Arcanum,  and  Heptasophs. 
Mr.  Andrews  married  Anna  J.  Kilgore,  daughter  of  William  and  Anna 
(Fisher)  Kilgore.  and  granddaughter  of  Daniel  Kilgore,  a  farmer,  whose  peo- 
ple were  among  the  original  settlers  of  Westmoreland  county.  Their  children 
were:  i.  Eva  May.  born  May  t6,  1878;  she  graduated  from  the  iMount  Pleas- 
ant high  school  in  1893.  [Mount  Pleasant  Institute,  1896,  and  from  the  vocal  de- 
partment of  the  same  in  1903.  -She  is  a  violinist  of  note,  having  pursued  her 
studies  under  H.  F.  Dunspangh.  and  in  the  University  School  of  Morgantown, 
West  Virginia,  and  she  received  instruction  in  vocal  music  for  a  number  of 
years  from  Frank  Milton  Hunter,  of  Pittsburg.  She  is  now  teaching,  giving 
instruction  on  the  piano,  violin,  also  vocal  music.  2.  W'illiam  Pattison,  born 
May  17,  1883;  he  graduated  from  Mount  Pleasant  Institute,  class  of  June, 
1904.  and  is  now  pursuing  a  general  course  in  Leech's  Business  College, 
Greensburg.  He  is  a  noted  performer  on  the  flute.  3.  Xettie  Viola,  born  Feb- 
ruary 14,  1886,  died  October  23,  1886. 

SAMUEL  WARDEN.  The  branch  of  the  Warden  family  of  which 
Sannicl  Warden  was  a  worthy  representative,  traces  its  ancestry  to  Samuel 
^^'a^dcn.  who  was  born  in  the  north  of  Ireland  in  1745,  and  when  about  twenty 
years  of  age  emigrated  to  America,  settling  in  York  county,  Pennsylvania, 
from  whence  after  a  short  period  of  time  he  came  to  what  is  now  East  Hunting- 
don township.  \\'cstmoreland  county.  He  took  up  a  tract  of  three  hundred  and 
seventy  acres  of  land  near  the  site  of  iMount  Pleasant,  which  he  cultivated  and 
improved  to  a  high  state  of  perfection.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  old 
Middle  Presbyterian  church,  which  was  organized  in  1776.  and  also  served  in 
the  capacity  of  elder  and  trustee.  He  married,  in  1776.  Mary  Clark,  of  Arm- 
strong county,  Pennsylvania.  Their  children  were:  Robert,  born  July  8,  1777, 
removed  to  C)hio  :  Isabella,  born  December  17,  1778,  died  young;  John,  born 
October  2,  1780.  went  to  Ohio;  Martha,  born  October  14,  1782,  married  John 
Latta ;  Paul,  born  November  25.  1784:  and  Sanniel,  Jr.,  born  October  18.  1786, 
died  in  182.;.  The  father  of  these  children  died  January  8,  1815,  aged  seventy 
years,  and  the  mother  died  February  4,  1836,  in  the  ninety-fourth  year  of  her 
age. 


334  HISTORY    OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

Paul  Warden,  third  son  of  Samuel  and  Alary  (Clark J  Warden,  was  born 
November  25,  1784,  on  the  old  homestead  farm  located  about  one  mile  from 
Mount  Pleasant.  He  devoted  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  being  a 
man  of  practical  and  progressive  ideas,  succeeded  in  all  his  undertakings  and 
■eventually  became  the  owner  of  several  farms  in  North  and  South  Huntingdon 
townships. .  In  partnership  with  W.  B.  Hayes,  of  Pittsburg,  he  sank  the  first 
shaft  for  coal  west  of  the  Allegheny  mountains,  at  Shafton.  He  was  a  con- 
sistent member  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church  of  Mount  Pleasant,  which  he 
joined  about  the  year  1800.  He  married,  August  23,  1821,  Mary  Fleming,  of 
Mount  Pleasant,  and_their  children  were:  Samuel,  born  August  8,  1822;  Will- 
iam, born  November  23,  1823,  died  July  5,  1844;  Robert,  born  August  21,  1825, 
served  as  major  of  the  Twenty-eighth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  and 
died  in  the  hospital  at  Winchester,  Virginia,  July  4,  1862;  James,  born  August 
I,  1827;  John,  born  August  8,  1829,  died  at  Summitville,  Pa.,  in  September, 
1853 ;  Clarke  F. ;  and  Eleanor,  died  August  i  r,  1844,  at  the  age  of  eleven  years. 
Paul  Warden,  father  of  these  children,  died  in  June,  1855. 

Samuel  Warden,  eldest  son  of  Paul  and  Mary  (Fleming)  Warden,  was 
born  on  the  old  homestead  August  8,  1822.  He  followed  farming  for  a  liveli- 
hood for  a  number  of  years,  later  was  one  of  the  pioneer  coal  operators  at  Irwin, 
and  for  a  number  of  years  was  engaged  in  the  coal  business  at  Alberton.  He 
was  a  prominent  and  useful  man  in  the  community,  was  one  of  the  organizers 
of  the  First  National  P.ank  of  Irwin,  and  for  years  was  a  director  in  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Mount  Pleasant.  For  one  year,  1899-90,  he  served  as  chief 
burgess  of  Mount  Pleasant,  having  been  elected  on  the  Democratic  ticket.  For 
about  forty-five  years  he  served  as  elder  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church  of 
Mount  Pleasant,  and  for  the  long  period  of  fifty-seven  years  never  was  absent 
from  his  place  on  Communion  Sunday.  Mr.  Warden  married,  March  6,  1845, 
Margaret  Andrews,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Margaret  (Neil)  Andrews,  and 
their  children  were :  Mary  Eleanor,  deceased :  John  Andrews,  a  resident  of 
Mount  Pleasant;  Elizabeth  M.,  unmarried;  Clark  P.,  deceased;  Martha,  un- 
married ;  a  child  who  died  in  infancy ;  Samuel  Neil,  and  Alice,  unmarried. 

MORRIS  RAMSAY,  whose  death  occurred  in  Dr.  Sutton's  private 
hospital  at  Allegheny  City,  Pennsylvania.  December  29,  1892,  was  a  native  of 
Dumfermline,  Scotland,  born  June  4,  1848,  the  third  son  in  the  family  of  Will- 
iam and  Elizabeth  (Sharp)  Ramsay,  both  natives  of  Scotland,  and  possessing 
in  a  large  degree  the  excellent  characteristics  of  that  country.  William  Ram- 
say and  his  wife  and  family  first  came  to  the  United  States  in  1852,  but  after  a 
residence  of  four  years  here  they  returned  to  their  native  land.  In  1863,  how- 
ever, they  emigrated  a  second  time  to  this  country  and  settled  at  Larrimer, 
W'estmoreland  county.  Pennsylvania.  Their  deaths  occurred  April  16,  1885. 
and  August  13,  1889,  respectively,  and  their  remains  were  interred  in  Irwin 
cemetery.  Westmoreland  county. 

Morris  Ramsay,  after  completing  a  common  school  education,  began 
learning  the  trade  of  machinist  at  Dumfermline,  his  birthplace,  and  completed 
the  sam'e  at  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  in  which  city  his  parents  located  upon 
their  arrival  in  this  country  in  1852.  From  1864  to  1869  he  worked  in  the 
mines  of  the  Westmoreland  Coal  Company,  and  in  the  latter  year  was  appointed 
mining  boss  at  the  Shafton  coal  mines,  in  which  capacity  he  served  for  ten 
years.  He  then  removed  to  Houtzdale,  Clearfield  county.  Pennsylvania,  and 
was  superintendent  of  the  Kittanning  Coal  Company's  mines  for  two  years. 
In  1882  he  became  superintendent  of  mines  at  Morewood ;  he  was  transferred 


HISTORY    OF    IVESTMORELAXD    COUNTY.  335 

two  years  later  to  the  position  of  mining  engineer  for  the  Frick  Coke  Company, 
his  services  in  this  capacity  being  of  great  value  to  his  employers.  In  1886  he 
was  made  superintendent  by  the  above  company  of  their  coke  plants  at  Alore- 
wood,  Warden.  Dillinger,  Alice  and  Tarr's.  The  ovens  at  these  works  num- 
bered 1 151,  of  the  eight  thousand  owned  or  operated  by  the  Southwest  Coal  and 
Coke  Company.  These  extensive  mines  and  works  were  operated  upon  an  in- 
telligent and  practical  basis,  and  every  improvement  that  engineering  talent  and 
long  practiced  experience  could  devise  has  been  introduced  by  this  company. 
Among  the  works  of  Air.  Ramsay's  engineering  in  the  Cdnnellsville  coke  region 
are :  The  Rist  tipple,  the  air  shaft  at  Morewood,  the  Trotter  plant  and  the  new 
Henrv  Clav  coke  works  near  IJroad  Ford,  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania.  ?\Ir. 
Ramsav  was  a  member  of  Hiram  Lodge,  Xo.  69,  A.  O.  U.  W.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  ]\Iount  Pleasant,  and  one  of  the  honorable, 
representative  citizens  of  that  borough,  whom  to  know  was  to  admire. 

Mr.  Ramsay  married,  r^iarch  15,  1870,  Sadie  Greer,  a  native  of  Larrimer, 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  a  daughter  of  George  A.  Greer. 
Their  children  were  as  follows:  William,  born  1870,  became  general  superin- 
tendent of  the  coal  and  coke  works  at  Tinicum  after  his  father's  death.  Sadie 
M.,  born  March  16,  1873,  widow  of  James  H.  Eaton,  of  Brownsville,  Pennsyl- 
vania. Lizzie  S.,  born  August  14,  1874.  died  February  5,  1904;  she  was  the 
wife  of  Emmor  Saunders.  Hannah  G..  born  June  17,  1876,  wife  of  John  L. 
Shields.  George  M.,  born  March  25,  1878,  a  resident  of  Oliver,  Pennsylvania, 
employed  by  the  coke  company  of  that  place.  An  infant,  born  January  29, 
1880,  died  in  infancy.  ]klary  C,  born  April  13,  1881,  wife  of  Harry  M.  Stahl, 
of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania.  Jeanet  R.,  born  September  30,  1882,  died  at  the 
age  of  nine  years.  Robert  A.,  born  September  16.  1884.  a  resident  of  Ten- 
nessee, a  civil  engineer.  Alice  I.,  born  Alarch  13,  1886,  resides  at  home  with 
her  mother.  Xellie,  born  October  4,  1887,  died  at  the  age  of  four  years.  In- 
fant, born  January  3.  1890,  died  in  infancy.  Adelaide  Frick,  born  February  3, 
1892.  She  is  one  of  the  sweet  singers  of  the  land,  and  is  gradually  gaining  an 
enviable  reputation  as  a  skillful  and  accomplished  musician.  Mrs.  Sadie  M. 
Ramsay,  widow  of  IMorris  Ramsay,  resides  in  a  comfortable  home  in  Mount 
Pleasant,  is  highly  esteemed  in  the  community,  and  enjoys  the  acquaintance  of 
a  wide  circle  of  friends. 

JAMES  HARKINS.  One  of  the  prominent  residents  of  Westmore- 
land county  and  a  worthy  representative  of  the  same,  is  James  Harkins.  He 
was  born  in  Blairsville,  Indiana  county,  Pennsylvania,  September  6,  1863,  a  son 
of  Peter  and  Mary  (Mortan)  Harkins.  His  father  was  a  native  of  county 
Cork,  Ireland,  who  emigrated  to  this  country  during  young  manhood  and  found 
employment  on  the  West  Pennsylvania  Railroad.  During  the  war  of  the  Re- 
bellion he  enlisted  in  Company  D,  Two  Hundreclth  and  Sixth  Pennsylvania 
Volunteer  Infantry,  from  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania.  He  married  ]\Iarv  Mor- 
tan, a  direct  descendant  of  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence. They  were  members  of  the  Catholic  and  Methodist  churches,  respec- 
tively. The  following  named  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harkins : 
Margaret,  wife  of  W.  H.  Smith,  deceased,  of  Altoona,  Pennsvlvania :  Tohn,  a 
farmer  of  Indiana,  Pennsylvania ;  Frederick,  a  railroad  employee  of  Kansas 
City.  Missouri :  Charlotte,  widow  of  Dr.  L.  S.  Goodman,  who  was  engaged  in 
the  drug  business  in  Mount  Pleasant  for  some  fifteen  years.  Mrs.  Goodman  is 
one  of  the  resident  physicians  of  the  flarrishurg  Insane  Asylum,  a  graduate  of 
the  Women's  ^Medical  College  of  Philadelphia.     James,  mentioned  hereafter. 


336  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

Peter  Harkins,  the  father  of  these  children,  died  in  1865  from  disease  con- 
tracted in  the  Civil  war.  His  widow  survived  him  four  years,  passing  away  in 
1869. 

James  Harkins,  third  and  youngest  son  of  Peter  and  Alary  Harkms,  re- 
mained in  Indiana  county  until  he  was  six  years  old,  and  the  succeeding  six 
years  he  spent  in  the  Orphans'  School  in  Beaver  county,  Pennsylvania.  He 
attended  school  in  Uniontown,  Pennsylvania,  for  four  years,  and  at  the  age  of 
sixteen  removed  to  j\lount  Pleasant,  and  there  found  employment  in  the  drug 
store  of  Goodman  &  Heath,  with  which  firm  he  remained  until  1883.  In 
that  year  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Goodman,  died,  and  Mr.  Harkins  assumed 
charge  of  the  establishment  for  his  sister.  Dr.  Goodman.  He  conducted  the 
store  for  ten  years,  and  then  bought  out  the  business,  which  he  carried  on  until 
1902.  In  1882  Mr.  Harkins  had  taken  up  the  study  of  medicine,  graduating 
from  the  Cincinnati  (Ohio)  Eclectic  College.  He  followed  the  profession  of 
medicine  for  two  years,  then  turned  his  entire  attention  to  the  drug  business. 
In  1902  he  sold  out  the  drug  business  and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
roofing  slate  at  Bangor,  Pennsylvania,  being  associated  in  business  with  James 
K.  Husband,  and  conducting  the  business  under  the  firm  name  of  Husband  & 
Company.  They  have  an  extensive  plant  and  give  employment  to  some  eighty 
people.     They  also  manufacture  blackboards. 

]\lr.  Harkins  is  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  National  Guard,  and  Feb- 
ruary 4,  1888,  he  enlisted  as  private  in  Company  E,  and  at  once  began  to  take 
a  deep  and  lasting  interest  in  the  organization.  In  1889  he  was  commissioned 
second  lieutenant,  and  1893  first  lieutenant.  He  accompanied  the  regiment  to 
the  Philippines  during  the  Spanish-American  war,  serving  for  sixteen  months 
as  first  lieutenant,  July  31,  1898,  the  company  had  a  brush  with  the  Spaniards. 
Thev  endured  the  trials  and  hardships  incident  to  a  life  in  that  country  with 
great  fortitude,  and  returned  to  Pennsylvania  in  1900,  when  Mr.  Harkins  was 
commissioned  battalion  adjutant  with  rank  of  first  lieutenant  of  Colonel  James 
E.  Bartlett's  staiif,  and  is  the  senior  officer  with  the  rank  of  first  lieutenant  in 
the  state.  Mr.  Harkins  has  participated  in  four  presidential  inaugurations,  and 
is  a  member  of  the  Sons  of  Veterans,  in  which  he  ranks  as  major.  In  politics 
Mr.  Harkins  is  a  strong  Republican  and  takes  an  active  interest  in  the  afifairs 
of  that  organization.  He  has  been  elected  to  many  local  offices,  and  is  at  pres- 
ent a  memlDer  of  the  council  of  the  Second  ward.  He  has  served  as  member  of 
the  school  board  for  three  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  No.  868,  Mount  Pleas- 
ant Lodge,  and  is  one  of  the  charter  members  of  thirty  who  formed  the  original 
membership,  all  of  whom  were  already  Elks.  This  is  the  only  lodge  in  exist- 
ence that  has  that  record. 

October  2,  1890,  i\Ir.  Harkins  was  united  in  marriage  to  Grace  Husband, 
daughter  of  James  K.  Husband,  of  Mount  Pleasant.  They  have  a  family  of 
two  sons,  Lewis  T.,  and  James,  Junior. 

J.  A.  TAYLOR,  son  of  Thomas  and  Annie  (Clarkson)  Taylor,  was 
born  July  28,  1875,  in  Yorkshire,  England.  He  was  reared  and  educated  in 
his  native  land.  At  the  age  of  twelve  he  began  an  apprenticeship  in  a  grocery 
at  Castleford,  England,  and  at  the  age  of  nineteen  was  manager  of  an  estab- 
lishment of  considerable  magnitude.  He  came  to  America  in  1899  and  settled 
in  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania.  He  entered  the  establishment  of  C.  M.  Jarrett  as 
a  clerk  and  held  that  position  for  three  years.  He  then  went  into  business  for 
himself,  first  as  successor  to  Mr.  Scott,  later  a  sucessor  to  Mr.  Carter,  beginning 


HISTORY    OF    irESTMORELA.XD    COUXTV.  337 

in  a  modest  way.  The  business  has  grown  so  that  at  the  present  time  he  is  one 
of  the  leading  business  men  of  the  borough.  He  keeps  a  fuU  hue  of  staple  and 
fancy  groceries,  making  a  special  feature  of  teas,  of  which  he  keeps  the  highest 
qualities.  As  a  dealer  in  fresh  vegetables  he  is  easily  the  foremost  trader  in  that 
vicinitv,  and  conducts  a  thoroughly  up-to-date  business  in  general,  his  personal 
experience  in  all  branches  of  the  trade  making  him  a  highly  practical  and  re- 
liable grocer.  Politically  he  is  Independent,  with  the  best  interests  of  the  com- 
munitv  ever  at  heart.  He  is  a  member  of  A.  I.  O.  K.  I\I.,  Orpad  Conimandery 
of  Scottdale,  the  Eagles  and  the  .\mericus  Brotherhood.  Mr.  Taylor  married, 
in  September,  1899,  Florence  Newton,  a  native  of  Uirmingham,  England.  Tiiey 
have  one  child,  Ralph  Taylor.     They  are  members  of  the  Episcopal  church. 

JOHN  T.  TARR,  of  Mount  Pleasant,  where  he  is  now  leading  a  re- 
tired life,  enjoying  to  the  full  the  ease  and  comfort  which  is  the  fitting  sequel 
to  a  life  of  usefulness  and  activity,  is  a  representative  of  one  of  the  old  and  well 
known  families  of  southern  Westmoreland  county.  Gasper  Tarr,  father  of 
John  T.  Tarr,  was  born  and  reared  near  what  is  now  known  as  Tarr  Station, 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  followed  the  occupation  of  farming, 
which  proved  highly  remunerative,  and  he  was  considered  one  of  the  wealthy 
men  of  his  day.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Alethodist  Episcopal  church,  and  a 
Republican  in  politics.  He  married  Annie  Taylor,  who  bore  him  children : 
Nancy,  wufe  of  John  Reese ;  Anna,  who  became  the  wife  of  Henry  Tinsman, 
and  after  his  death  of  Daniel  Frick :  INIartha,  wife  of  Joseph  Teeters :  Mary  M., 
wife  of  Alichael  Fry ;  Casper,  a  retired  farmer  of  New  Stanton ;  John  T.,  men- 
tioned hereafter ;  and  Ellen,  wife  of  George  Hockey. 

John  T.  Tarr  was  born  at  Tarr  Station,  East  Huntingdon  township,  West- 
moreland county,  Pennsylvania,  April  8,  1837.  He  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools,  and  for  a  number  of  years  thereafter  was  employed  in  the  coal 
mines  at  Tarr  Station.  Later  he  became  a  resident  of  Bullskin  township, 
Fayette  county,  where  he  purchased  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  seventeen  acres 
of  land,  whereon  he  conducted  operations  for  about  fifteen  years.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1900,  he  retired  from  active  pursuits,  having  accumulated  a  sufficient  com- 
petence for  the  remainder  of  his  days,  and  changed  his  place  of  abode  to  Mount 
Pleasant.  He  is  a  member  and  trustee  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  churcn  of 
Mount  Pleasant.  .\t  the  present  time  (1905)  he  is  serving  as  councilman  of. 
Mount  Pleasant,  having  been  elected  to  that  office  on  the  Republican  ticket. 
In  1863  he  enlisted  in  Company  K,  Two  Hundred  and  Eleventh  Regiment, 
Pennsylvania  \'olunteers.  participated  in  several  battles  and  was  honorably  dis- 
charged at  the  termination  of  hostilities  between  the  north  and  south.  Mr. 
Tarr  married  Rose  Bashium,  daughter  of  Nicholas  Bashium,  a  native  of  France, 
and  their  children  were:  i.  .Austin  T.,  born  April  28,  1861,  engaged  in  an  ex- 
tensive butchering  business  in  Mount  Pleasant  township ;  he  married  Rhoda 
Lemmon,  and  they  had  nine  children :  Minnie,  Oma,  Bessie,  Van  Amberg, 
Morris,  William,  Clififord,  Orphus,  Margaret.  2.  Joseph  A.,  a  butcher  of  Lat- 
robe.  3.  Sarah  A.,  died  in  infancy.  Mrs.  Tarr,  mother  of  these  children,  died 
in  1864.  For  his  second  wife  Mr.  Tarr  married  Mary  M.  Hodgkins,  daughter 
of  Abram  and  Mary  (Jones)  Hodgkins,  of  Westmoreland  county,  I'ennsyl- 
vania.  Their  children  w'ere:  Bertha  J.,  wife  of  A.  O.  Olsen,  of  Mount  Pleas- 
ant. Paoli  A.,  who  was  a  graduate  of  Ann  Arbor  Law  School,  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  of  West  Virginia,  in  1902,  and  three  months  later  died  of  typhoid 
fever.  Anna  Laura,  who  became  the  wife  of  Dr.  L.  H.  Eshelman,  of  Marion, 
Indiana:  she  died  just  ten  weeks  previous  to  the  death  of  her  brother,  Paoli  A., 
leaving  two  children  :  Harvey  Davis,  and  Orvilla  Jennings  Eshelman. 

8—38 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY 


JACOB  A.  BOLTZ,  who  in  1901  retired  from  his  business  interests 
and  is  now  leading^  a  quiet  life  at  his  home  in  Mount  Pleasant,  is  a  citizen  of 
whom  his  native  township  and  county  may  be  justly  proud,  as  he  has  always 
been  honorable  in  business,  prompt  in  action,  intelligent  in  his  views  and  ex- 
emplary in  his  life.  He  was  born  in  Mount  Pleasant,  September  23,  1845,  ^ 
son  of  John  H.  and  Elizabeth   ( Shalcnbergcr )    Boltz. 

John  H.  Boltz  (father)  was  born  and  reared  in  Berks  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania. In  early  life  he  learned  the  trade  of  cabinet-maker.  He  possessed  a 
large  amount  of  mechanical  genius,  and  skill,  and  this  he  turned  to  good  ac- 
count as  a  machinist,  which  line  of  business  he  conducted  for  some  years  in 
Canton,  Ohio.  He  also  followed  this  trade  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  from 
whence  he  removed  to  Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
making  clock  cases.  From  there  he  moved  to  Mount  Pleasant,  and  shortly 
afterward  purchased  the  plant  of  Daniel  Shellenberger,  a  gunsmith,  and  com- 
menced the  manufacture  of  machinery.  He  manufactured  one  of  the  first 
threshing  machines  that  was  ever  built  in  the  county,  and  eventually  built  up 
an  extensive  manufacturing  business,  the  product  of  his  plant  being  threshing 
machines,  reapers,  and  all  kinds  of  machinery.  .  He  took»an  active  interest  in 
local  affairs,  and  was  nominated  by  his  fellow  citizens  to  several  offices  of 
trust.  He  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  in  Mount  Pleasant  for  a  number  of 
years,  was  chief  burgess  of  the  town  for  several  years,  and  a  member  of  the 
school  board.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat.  He  married  Elizabeth  Shellen- 
berger, of  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  who  bore  him  two  children:  J.  A., 
and  Lydia  D.,  wife  of  William  Heffinger.     Mr.  Boltz  died  in  1889. 

J.  A.  Boltz  attended  the  common  schools  adjacent  to  his  home,  and  later 
pursued  advanced  studies  at  Mount  Pleasant  Institute,  from  which  institution 
he  was  graduated.  He  then  learned  the  trade  of  moulder,  and  in  1863  entered 
into  partnership  with  his  father  in  the  foundry  in  Mount  Pleasant,  and  this 
connection  continued  under  the  firm  name  of  J.  H.  Boltz  &  Son  until  the 
death  of  the  father  in  1889.  Mr.  Boltz  continued  the  business  alone  up  to  1901, 
since  which  time  he  has  led  a  retired  life.  He  is  a  staunch  Republican  in  poli- 
tics, and  exercises  a  potent  influence  in  behalf  of  the  party  whose  principles  he 
advocates.  He  was  a  member  of  the  state  central  committee  for  one  term, 
chief  burgess  of  Mount  Pleasant  for  two  terms,  and  served  one  term  on  the 
borough  council.  He  is  a  member  of  the  K.  P.,  in  which  order  he  passed  all 
chairs"  and  the  I.  O.  R.  M.,  of  :\Iount  Pleasant.  He  organized  the  N.  O.  A.  M., 
of  Mount  Pleasant,  which  has  since  disbanded. 

FRANCIS  McCONAUGHY,  M.  D.,  deceased,  who  engaged  in  a 
general  practice  of  medicine  for  many  years  in  various  counties  of  his  native 
state,  Pennsylvania,  was  a  grandson  of  James  McConanghy.  who  settled  in 
Westmoreland  county  in  tlie  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  coming  thence 
from  Lancaster  county,  but  later  located  in  Indiana  county,  where  some  of 
his  descendants  still  reside. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  McConaughy  were  John  and  Margaret  (McCurdy) 
McConaughy.  The  former  was  born  in  Fulton  county,  Pennsylvania,  Feb- 
ruary 22,  1783,  but  in  later  years  removed  to  Westmoreland  county,  settling 
in  Ligonier  valley,  where  he  followed  farming  very  successfully.  He  was 
a  member  and  elder  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  a  strong  advocate  of  tem- 
perance, and  a  Whig  and  Republican  in  politics.  His  death  occurred  July 
21,  1870.  His  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Margaret  McCurdy,  whom  he 
married  March  31,  1808,  was  a  daughter  of  James  McCurdy,  of  Westmore- 


HISTORY   OF   U'ESTMORELAXD    COUNTY.  339 

land  countv.  and  a  relative  of  the  Rev.  Elisha  McCiirdy.  Their  children  were : 
Jane,  married  Samuel  Xesbit ;  James,  member  of  the  medical  profession ; 
Francis,  of  whom  later ;  John,  a  minister  of  the  Presbyterian  church :  Xancy 
and  Isabella  (twins),  the  former  married  Robert  Brown,  and  the  latter  mar- 
ried William  Coleman;  Mary  Ann,  married  John  Bell;  Robert,  a  physician; 
David,  a  physician,  residing  in  Latrobe,  married  Anna  Brown,  daughter  of 
James  L.  Brown,  of  }iIadison,  Pa ;  Melinda,  wife  of  Llo_\d  Shallenberger.  of 
Clarion.  Pa.;  and   ^^lartha,  married  Judge  Cummins. 

Dr.  Francis  McConaughy  was  born  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylva- 
nia. March  8,  1813.  He  graduated  at  the  Jefferson  Medical  College,  Phila- 
delphia, and  for  a  short  period  thereafter  practiced  his  profession  in  Blount 
Pleasant.  He  then  moved  to  West  Xewton,  where  he  practiced  for  about 
twelve  years,  from  there  moved  to  the  state  of  Ohio,  where  he  practiced  in 
Ashland  for  a  number  of  years.  He  returned  to  his  native  state  in  1861, 
locating  in  Blairsville,  Indiana  county,  and  his  practice  extended  through- 
out that  town,  Mount  Washington  and  Ligonier.  Eventually  he  returned 
to  Alount  Pleasant  and  continued  his  practice  there  until  com])elled  to  retire 
on  account  of  the  infirmities  of  old  age.  He  thoroughly  understood  the  cause 
of  disease,  and  was  thus  able  to  forecast  its  course  by  its  particular  symptoms. 
He  enjoyed  a  lucrative  practice,  which  bore  unmistakable  evidence  of  his  skill 
and  ability.  He  married  Sophia  .\.  Lobingier,  daughter  of  John  and  Elizabeth 
(Smith)  Lobingier.  granddaughter  of  John  and  Sophia  (Myers)  Lobingier, 
and  a  descendant  of  an  old  and  honored  family  of  Westmoreland  county.  John 
T,obingier  (grandfather)  was  born  about  the  year  1770  in  Westmoreland 
county,  being  the  third  generation  of  the  family  in  that  county.  He  followed 
farming  and  milling  for  many  years,  and  a  number  of  years  prior  to  his  death 
changed  his  place  of  abode  to  Mount  Pleasant.  He  was  one  of  the  associate 
judges  of  W'estmoreland  county.  He  married  Sophia  Myers,  and  their  chil- 
dren were:  Elizabeth,  married  Mr.  McConnell ;  Mary,  married  Jasper  Mar- 
icle  :  John  ;  Jacob  :  Susan,  died  in  childhood  ;  Christopher  ;  George  ;  Hannah, 
married  Sheppard  Maricle ;  Sophia,  married  a  Mr.  Young;  Catherine,  married 
Rev.  James  Darsey.  a  minister  of  the  Disciple  Church.  John  Lobingier  (fath- 
er) was  born  in  Mount  Pleasant.  He  followed  farming  throughout" the  active 
years  of  his  life,  was  an  active  member  of  the  community,  and  was  promi- 
nently identified  with  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  married  Elizabeth  Smith. 
daughter  of  Jacob  and  Mary  Smith,  and  their  children  were :  Sophia  A.,  widow 
of  Dr.  Francis  McConaughy.  who  died  December  18.  1893  :  Jacob  S..  a  farmer 
of  ]Mount  Pleasant  township:  Mary  Elizabeth,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of 
Henry  Freed  :  Levmia  Emily,  unmarried  :  Eliza  Catherine,  wife  of  Paterson 
Grififin  ;  John  M.,  died  in  childhood:  .Anna  M..  unmarried:  William  H.,  de- 
ceased :  and  Josephine  L.,  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  George  Griffin.  John  Lob- 
ingier. father  of  these  children,  died  in  1885. 

EUGEXE  A.  KELLER.  Probably  no  man  in  Scottdale  is  better 
qualified  for  the  position  which  he  is  called  upon  to  fill  than  is  Eugene  A. 
Keller.  He  was  born  October  14.  1868.  in  Tiffin.  Ohio,  and  was  e'rlucated 
in  the  public  schools  and  at  Heidelberg  College,  enjoving  the  further  advan- 
tage of  a  course  at   Kenni.son's  Business  College,  at  Tiffin. 

Mr.  Keller  came  to  Westmoreland  countv  in  :March.  i8(jo.  and  took  a 
position  as  clerk  in  the  store  of  the  Union  Supplv  Companx-  at  Mooreworjd. 
After  remaining  there  about  ten  months  he  went  to  Chicago,  taking  a  clerk- 
ship with  the  firm  of  Keller   Brothers,      At  the  end  of  a  few  niontlis  he  re- 


340  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

signed  and  tlien  spent  some  time  in  traveling  through  the  West  and  South. 
During  this  period  he  was  connected  with  Chicago  hotels  and  also  with  the 
Fred  Harvey  system  of  dining-car  service,  thus  becoming  thoroughly  familiar 
with  all  branches  and  departments  of  the  hotel  business.  He  took  charge  of 
the  Hill  House,  Scottdale,  January  i,  1903,  and  has  since  had  the  building 
refurnished  and  supplied  with  steam  heat  as  well  as  every  other  facility  for 
comfort  and  convenience.  It  is  centrally  situated  and  is  capable  of  accom- 
modating a  large  number  of  guests.  Mr.  Keller  is  to-day  the  proprietor  of  one 
of  the  model  hotels  of  the  county.  He  is  a  good  citizen  as  well  as  a  genial 
host,  and  is  ever  ready  and  willing  to  assist  when  appealed  to  in  behalf 
of  the  public  welfare.  He  is  a  member  of  the  B.  P.  O.  E.,  Lodge  No.  777, 
and  of  the  F.  O.  E.,  Lodge  No.  1007,  both  of  Scottdale,  being  trustee  of  the 
latter  organization.  He  is  a  member  of  St.  John's  Roman  Catholic  church  of 
Scottdale. 

D.-\VID  GRIFFITH,  one  of  Scottdale's  most  progressive  and  re- 
spected citizens,  is  a  son  of  John  Griffith,  a  native  of  Wales,  who  emigrated 
to  the  United  States  in  1848,  and  settled  in  western  Pennsylvania,  where  for  a 
time  he  worked  in  a  puddling  furnace  for  the  William  Everson  Company, 
of  Pittsburg.    In  1853  he  returned  to  his  native  land  and  there  died  in  1866. 

David  Griffith,  son  of  John  Griffith,  mentioned  above,  was  born  in  Wales, 
and  in  1870  came  to  this  country,  making  his  home  in  Apollo,  Armstrong 
countv,  Pennsylvania.  After  working  there  for  two  years  at  puddling,  he 
moved  to  Allegheny  and  there  spent  one  year.  He  went  to  Scottdale  in  1873, 
where  he  was  one  of  the  pioneers,  there  being  then  but  three  houses  in  the 
town,  and  he  was  one  of  the  first  puddlers  who  worked  in  the  mill.  He  opened 
a  mercantile  business  in  Scottdale  in  1885,  which  he  conducted  for  six  years. 
Since  then  he  was  withdrawn  from  the  cares  of  commercial  life,  but  is  active 
in  the  discharge  of  all  the  duties  of  a  public-spirited  citizen.  He  has  done  much 
for  the  improvement  of  Scottdale,  having  built  the  entire  block  between  Hickory 
and  Grant  streets  on  Pittsburg  street.  For  two  terms  he  served  as  a  member 
of  the  council.  He  is  a  charter  member  of  Lodge  No.  443,  K.  of  P.  and  since 
1870  has  belonged  to  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  having  passed  all  the  chairs  in  both  or- 
ganizations. Politically  he  is  a  Republican.  Mr.  Griffith  married,  in  Eng- 
land, before  coming  to  the  L'^nited  States,  Mary  Richards,  but  the  marriage 
has  been  a  childless  one.  Mr. Griffith  is  recognized  by  his  fellow-citizens 
as  a  leader  in  everv  project  having  for  its  end  the  welfare  of  the  community. 

BENJAMIN  F.  OVERHOLT.  Martin  Oberholtzer,  the  ancestor 
of  the  Overholts  of  Westmoreland  county,  also  of  a  numerous  family  in  Bucks 
county,  Pennsylvania,  as  well  as  of  those  of  Stark  and  Tuscarawas  counties, 
Ohio,  was  born  thirty  miles  from  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  Germany,  in  the 
year  1709,  and  died  in  Bedminster  township,  Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania, 
April  5,  1744.  The  date  of  his  arrival  in  Pennsylvania  has  not  been  ascer- 
tained, but  it  was  probably  when  he  was  quite  a  young  man.  Prior  to  his  set- 
tlement in  Bucks  county  he  resided  on  the  Skippack,  in  what  is  now  Mont- 
gomery county,   where  he  married,   November  2.   1736,  Agnes  ,  born 

April  18,  1713,  died  November  2.  1786..  After  the  death  of  Mr.  Oberholtzer 
she  became  the  wife  of  William  Nash,  by  whom  she  had  four  children.  'Mr. 
Oberholtzer  and  his  wife  were  among  the  earliest  members  of  the  old  Deep 
Run  Mennonite  congregation  in  Bedminster,  and  are  buried  in  the  grave- 
yard there.     Their  children  were  : 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  341 

I.     Barbara,  born   in   Bucks  county,    Pennsylvania,   November   10,    1737, 
died  }ilay  8,  1823.     She  was  the  wife  of  Christian  Fretz,  and  has  left  numer- 
ous descendants  in  Bucks  county  and  elsewhere.     2.     Henry,  mentioned  here- 
after.    3.     Maria,  born  December  19,  1740.     4.     John,  born  August  8,   1742, 
died  December  7.  1742.    5.     Alartin,  born  in  Bucks  county,  December  20,  1743; 
he   married   Esther   Fretz,   daughter  of   Christian   Fretz,   of   Tinicum.    Bucks 
countv,    I'ennsylvania,    who    came    from    Baden,    Germany,    with    his    brother 
John  about  1720,  settled  first  in  Upper  Salford.  Montgomery  county,  and  re- 
moved to  Bucks  county  about  1740.     Their  children  were:  Elizabetli,  born  in 
Bucks  county,   1770,  became  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Abraham  W'elty,  a  r^len- 
Tionite  minister   in   Westmoreland  county,   and   they   removed   later   to   Ohio. 
Agnes,  born  in  Bucks  county,   1773,  died  in  Westmoreland  county,  June   14, 
1845  ;  she   was   the   wife   of   Christian   Stauffer,   of   Fayette   county,   born    in 
Lancaster  county,  1778,  died  in  Fayette  county,  July  6,  1852.     Issue,  two  sons 
and  five  daughters.     Christian,  born  in   Bucks  county,  August   1774,  died  in 
Harrison  county,   Ohio,    1846.     He  went   from   Bedminster  township,   Bucks 
county,  to  Westmoreland  county,   1800,  and  from  there  to  Harrison  count \, 
Ohio.   1818.     He  married  Rebecca  Grundy,  born  June  2,   1775,  died  in  Stark 
county.  Ohio,  February  7,  1857 ;  issue :  Joseph.  Martha,  John,  Esther,  Fannie, 
Rebecca  and  Anna.   Barbara,  born  in   Bucks  county.   1775,  died  in  Tuscara- 
was county,  Ohio,  January   16,  1873.     She  married,  in  Westmoreland  county, 
the  Rev.  Mathias  Burchfield.  who  died  in  Tuscarawas  county,  C)hio,   March 
16.   1822.     Henry,  died  unmarried.     ]Mary,  married,  in  Westmoreland  county, 
Christian  Noffzinger,  issue,  six  children.     Magdalena,  born  in  Bucks  county, 
married  John   Mumma,  of  Westmoreland  county,  removed  to  Ohio  in    180Q, 
and  from  there  to  Adams  county,  Indiana,  in   1853.     Martin,  born  in  Bucks 
county,  1784,  died  in  Westmoreland  county,  February  14,  1814.     He  married, 
October,  1806,  and  his  children  were :  Jacob,  .\braham,  Esther,  Martin.     Isaac 
diefl  in  Westmoreland  county,  unmarried.     Abraham,  born  in  Bucks  countv, 
died  in  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio.     Married  Susan  Crites,  issue :  John,  Cath- 
arine, Abraham,  Elizabeth,  Esther,  .\nna,  Martin,  Isaac,  Jacob  and  Christian. 
Esther,   died   in   Westmoreland   county   in   early   life.     Sarah,   born    in    Bucks 
county.  April   17,   1791,  died  in  Ohio,  December  3,   1857.     She  married,  Jan- 
uary 9,  1816,  Philip  Welty,  of  Westmoreland  county,  and  later  moved  to  Stark 
county.  Ohio.    Joseph,  born  in  Bucks  county.  June  19,  1793.  died  in  Hunting- 
don,  Indiana,  February,   1873.     He  married,  April   13,   1817,   Barbara   Kline, 
born    Glades,    Pennsylvania,    May    16,    1797,    died    in    Indiana,    1870.      Issue: 
Abraham,  Elizabeth,  Jonas.  Joseph,  John,  Jacob,  Margaret,  Mary  and  Isaac. 
Anna  born  in  Westmoreland  county,  April  8,  1802,  died  January  15,  1839.  She 
married,  1822,  Gabriel  Weimer,  born  in  Somerset  countv,  Pennsvlvania,  [Mav 
13.  1801.  removed  to  Ohio.  181=;.  and  died  in  Wilnrnt.  Stark  countv    l<"ebruarv 

12,   1876. 

Henry  Overholt.  eldest  son  of  Martin  and  Agnes  Oberholtzer.  was  Imrn 
in  Bucks  county,  Penn.sylvania,  February  5,  1739.  died  in  Westmoreland 
county,  Penn.sylvania.  1813.  He  married,  January  "3.  1763.  Anna  Beitler.  born 
in  Milford  township,  Bucks  countv,  March  24,  1745,  died  .April  5,  1835,  daugh- 
ter of  Jacob  and  .Anna  (Meyer)  Beitler  or  Beidler!^  tlie  former  a  native  of  Ger- 
many and  the  pioneer  of  the  Bucks  county  family  of  that  name,  and  the  latter 
a  daughter  of  Hans  Meyer,  the  rjioneer'  settler'  in  Upper  Salford  township, 
Mont.gomery  county,  Pennsylvania.  Henry  Overholt  and  wife  resided  on 
a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres  near  the  Dccn  Run  meeting 
house  until  .April  25,  1800.  when  he  conveved  the  farm  ti.  .\ndrew  Loux  and 


342  HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

removed  with  his  family  to  Westmoreland  county,  settling  on  a  tract  of  wild 
land  at  West  Overton,  East  Huntingdon  township.  The  children  of  Henry 
and  Anna   (^BeidlerJ    Overholt  were: 

I.  Agnes,  born  October  15,  1765,  died  June  15,  1830.  She  married 
Christian  P"retz,  of  Bucks  coimty,  and  removed  to  Westmoreland  county.  2. 
Maria,  born  in  Bucks  county,  December  22,  1766,  became  the  wife  of  John 
Myers.  3.  Jacob,  born  in  Bucks  county,  October  15,  1768,  died  in  West- 
moreland county,  May  10,  1847.  He  was  a  veterinary  surgeon.  He  married 
Elizabeth  Detweiler,  born  in  Bucks  county,   March  8,   1775,  died  September 

20,  1849,  issue:  John,  Henry,  Annie,  Jacob,  Susan  and  Martin.  4.  Anna, 
born  in  Bucks  county.  November  25,  1770,  died  in  Westmoreland  county, 
March  15,  1845.  She  became  the  wife  of  Peter  Loucks,  born  in  Bucks  county, 
December  19,  1760,  emigrated  to  Fayette  county,  1800,  and  later  to  West- 
moreland county,  where  he  died  July  10,  1825.  Their  children  were :  Cath- 
arine, Henry,  Jacob,  Mary,  Martin,  Nancy,  John,  Peter  and  Sarah,  all  but 
the  last  three  born  in  Bucks  county.  5.  Martin,  born  in  Bucks  county,  No- 
vember, 1772,  died  in  Sangamon,  now  Logan  county,  Illinois,  June  18,  1835. 
He  married  Catharine  Overholt,  daughter  of  Abraham  C)verholt,  of  Bucks 
county,   born    November    i,    1781,    died    in    Westmoreland    county,    December 

21,  1866.  Issue:  Susanna,  Esther,  Anne,  Abraham,  Henry,  John  and  Martin. 
6.  Barbara,  born  in  Bucks  county,  April,  1775,  married  Jacob  Durstine,  born 
in  Bucks  county,  April  3,  1773,  died  in  Westmoreland  county.  Issue :  Anna, 
Abraham,  John.  Henry,  Jacob,  Martin,  Catharine  and  Samuel.  7.  Elizabeth,, 
born  in  I3ucks  county,  June  12.  1777,  died  in  Fayette  county,  1833.  She  mar- 
ried ]Martin  Stauffer.  born  in  Lancaster  county,  August  31,  1780,  died  in  Fay- 
ette county,  Alarch  8,  1869.  Issue :  Abraham,  Henry,  Anna,  Sarah  and  John. 
8.  Henry,  born  in  Bucks  county,  July  10,  1779,  removed  with  his  parents  to 
Westmoreland  county  in  1800.  In  1809  returned  to  Bucks  county  to  marry 
a  Miss  Myers,  but  before  the  day  set  for  the  wedding  was  kicked  by  a  horse 
and  died  April  10,  1809.  9.  Sarah,  born  February  18,  1781-82,  died  unmar- 
ried. 10.  Abraham,  born  in  Bucks  county,  April  19,  1784,  died  in  West 
Overton,  Westmoreland  county.  January  15,  1870.  Married,  April  20,  1809, 
Maria,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Abram  and  Ann  Nicely  Stauffer,  born  in  Fay- 
ette county,  July  13,  1791,  died  in  West  Overton,  November,  1874.  .\braham 
was  a  weaver,  miller  and  distiller,  and  was  the  first  man  to  discover  and  use 
coal  in  Westmoreland  county.  11.  Christian,  born  in  Bucks  county,  July 
18,  1786,  died  in  Hancock,  (  )hiii,  January  11,  1868.  Married.  No- 
vember. 181 1,  Elizabeth  Stauffer.  issue:  Abraham.  Sarah,  Henry,  .\nna.  Eliza- 
beth and  Christian.  He  was  a  farmer  and  distiller,  and  in  1858  left  West- 
moreland county  with  his  son  Abraham  and  removed  to  Fostoria,  Seneca 
county,  Ohio.     12.     Susanna,  born  January   13.   1789,  died  unmarried. 

Abraham  Overholt,  tenth  child  of  Henrv  and  Ann  (Beitler)  Overholt,, 
was  born  in  Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania,  April  19,  1784.  In  young  manhood 
he  learned  the  trade  of  weaver  and  followed  this  occupation  until  1810.  when 
he  turned  his  attention  to  farming.  In  1812  he  purchased  one  hundred  and 
fifty  acres  of  the  homestead  farm,  including  a  log  distillery,  for  which  he  paid 
seventy-five  hundred  dollars.  Later  he  erected  a  stone  distiller\-  and  lirick 
mill,  and  the  former  he  replaced  in  1859  with  one  of  the  finest  distilleries 
in  the  state  of  Pennsylvania.  His  long  business  career  was  one  of  success 
and  prosperity,  which  was  in  some  part  due  to  his  straightforward  dealings, 
untiring  energy,  patient  perseverance  and  tenacity  of  purpose.  He  was  ac- 
tively interested  in  educational  affairs,  and  was  one  of  the  earlv  advocators  of 


.^^7^^^:^^ 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAXD    COUXl'V.  343 

the  present  school  system  in  Pennsylvania.  In  politics  he  was  a  strong  Re- 
publican, and  ever  alive  to  the  interests  of  his  party.  He  married,  April  20, 
1809,  Maria  Stauflfer,  born  in  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  July  i,-^,  ijiji, 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  Abraham  and  Ann  Nicely  Stauffer.  She  bore  him 
eight  children,  six  sons  and  two  daughters.  The  death  of  Abraham  Over- 
holt  occurred  January  15,  1870,  in  Westmoreland  county,  and  in  his  demise 
the  communitv  lost  one  of  its  foremost  and  useful  citizens.  His  genial  and  hos- 
pitable disposition  won  for  him  a  large  circle  of  friends,  who  sincerely  mourned 
his  loss.    His  wife  died  in  West  Overton,  November.  1874. 

Henry  S.  Overholt.  eldest  chdd  of  Abraham  and  Maria  (Stautter)  Over- 
holt,  w-as  born  August  10,  18 10.  He  was  employetl  by  his  father  as  bookkeeper 
until  1S44  when  he  was  admitted  to  the  firm.  He  was  a  straightforward  busi- 
ness man,  and  achieved  most  gratifxing  success  in  his  active  career.  He  mar- 
ried, Februarv  10.  1846.  .•\bi,gail  Carpenter,  born  March  13,  1824,  daughter  of 
B.  F".  and  Mary  (Sarvcr)  Carpenter,  of  \'ersailles  township,  Allegheny  county, 
Pennvlvania,  and  a  descendant  cf  a  Scotch-Irish  ancestry.  Their  children 
were:  Sarah  A.,  wife  of  A.  S.  R.  Overholt;  Benjamin  F.,  mentioned  hereafter; 
Maria  C.  Abigail  C.  wife  of  Dr.  J.  R.  Smith,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio ;  Abram  C, 
of  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania :  Henry  C,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio ;  Jennie  C,  wife  of 
Nathaniel  Miles.  The  death  of  Henry  Overholt  occurred  June  18,  1870.  His 
widow  subsequently  moved  to  Cleveland,  c:)hio,  where  she  resided  several  years. 
She  then  returned  to  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania,  where  slie  died  August  28,  1898. 

Benjamin  F.  Overholt  obtained  his  intellectual  training  in  the  common 
schools  of  Westmoreland  county,  in  Westerville  University,  Ohio,  and  the 
Mount  Pleasant  Institute  of  his  native  county.  He  later  atttended  Bryant  and 
Stratton's  Business  College,  in  Philadelphia,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
with  high  honors.  He  engaged  in  the  distillery  business  with  his  father,  con- 
tinuing until  the  death  of  the  latter  in  1870,  and  two  years  later  he  and  A.  S. 
R.  Overholt.  his  brother-in-law,  purchased  the  distillery,  conducting  it  until 
1873.  when  they  disposed  of  the  same.  In  the  same  year  they  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  coke,  and  five  years  later  their  sixty-two  ovens  were  purchased 
by  the  firm  of  A.  C.  Overnolt  &  Co.,_  who  added  to  the  plant  forty-eight  addi- 
tional ones.  In  1875  Benjamin  F.  Overholt  was  made  the  general  manager  of 
the  .A.  C.  Overholt  &  Company's  coke  business,  and  since  then  he  has  acquitted 
the  duties  of  this  responsible  position  with  the  greatest  efficiency  and  credit, 
and  liis  conduct  in  the  management  of  the  concern  has  won  much  commenda- 
tion from  his  superiors.  In  political  relations  Mr.  Overholt  affiliates  with  the 
Republican  party,  and  is  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  518,  Order  of  Solon,  at 
Greensburg,  Peimsylvania.  Mr.  Overholt  married  July  16,  1884,  Florence 
M.  Osterhoiit,  born  at  Glenwood.  Su.squehanna  county,  I'ennsylvania,  Julv  19, 
1859.  died  September  27.  1900,  daughter  of  William  H.  Osterhout,  of  Ridg- 
way.  Elk  county,  Penns\Ivania.  They  had  four  children::  William  Henry,  born 
April  9,  1886.  died  March  23,  1893;  Helen  .\bi,gail.  born  .Vugust  26,  1890; 
Ravmond  Dean,  born  April  17,  1893;  IMildred  Jessamine,  born  I'ebruarv  10, 
i8g6. 

BLAIR  FRANCIS  CRISE,  :\L  D.  The  family  from  which  is  de- 
scended Dr.  Blair  Francis  Crise,  of  Ruffsdale,  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  coimty. 
The  .great-grandfather  of  Dr.  Crise  was  a  German,  while  his  wife  was  of  Irish 
birtli.  They  came  from  Georgetown  to  Westmoreland  county  about  1750  or 
1755,  and  .settled  in  East  Huntingdon  townshii).  where  Mr.  Crise  became  the 
possessor  of  a  tract  of  land  and  followed  the  calling  of  a  farmer.     He  was  evi- 


344  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

dently  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  He  and  his  wife  were  the  parents  of 
two  sons :  Andrew,  who  was  a  successful  agricuUurist ;  and  George,  mentioned 
hereafter.  Thus  jMr.  Crise  at  his  death  left  behind  him  those  who  were  able 
to  carry  on  the  work  which  he  had  begun,  and  to  lay  foundations  for  the  pros- 
perity of  their  descendants. 

George  Crise,  son  of  the  pioneer  ancestor  mentioned  above,  was  a  success- 
ful farmer  of  East  Huntingdon  township,  and  in  connection  with  his  brother 
Andrew  owned  a  considerable  tract  of  land  which  they  redeemed  from  the 
wilderness,  erecting  log  cabins  in  which  they  made  their  homes.  George  Crise 
married  Mary  Wallace,  a  native  of  Westmoreland  county  and  a  member  of  the 
Lutheran  church,  and  their  children  were:  i.  William,  of  whom  later.  2. 
George,  who  was  a  farmer,  realizing  large  profits  on  his  butter,  and  becoming 
so  wealthy  that  he  was  able  to  move  to  Beach  City,  Ohio.  He  served  in  the 
Union  army  during  the  Civil  war,  enlisting  from  his  home  county  of  Westmore- 
land. He  married  Rachael  Stoughton,  and  after  her  death  a  Miss  Stoughton, 
Cousin  of  his  first  wife,  now  his  widow  and  a  resident  of  Greensburg. 
3.  Margaret,  married  Joseph  Hough,  of  Westmoreland  county,  where  she  and 
her  husband  passed  their  lives.  4.  Mary,  married  John  Hough,  of  this  county. 
5.  Another  daughter  who  married  Joseph  Snyder,  and  soon  after  died.  6.  Mar- 
tha, who  became  the  second  wife  of  Joseph  Snyder,  mentioned  above,  with 
whom  she  emigrated  to  Missouri. 

William  Crise,  son  of  George  and  Mary  (Wallace)  Crise,  was  born  Sep- 
tember 26,  1818,  and  spent  his  life  in  East  and  South  Huntingdon  townships. 
He  owned  and  cultivated  a  farm,  in  addition  to  which  he  followed  the  trade  of 
caqjenter,  and  carried  on  a  contracting  and  building  business,  erecting  the 
houses  of  many  members  of  the  Westmoreland  county  branch  of  the  family. 
He  took  a  deep  interest  in  county  affairs  and  filled  many  of  the  local  offices, 
among  them  that  of  assessor.  Politically  he  was  a  Democrat.  Mr.  Crise  mar- 
ried Sallie,  daughter  of  Peter  and  Catharine  (Smith)  Hough,  and  their  children 
were:  i.  Marion,  a  carpenter  at  Regantown,  married  Harriet  Weaver.  2. 
George,  unmarried,  lives  at  Maitland,.  South  Dakota,  where  he  is  a  prominent 
land-owner  and  the  possessor  of  gold  mines.  3.  David,  who  was  a  carpenter 
at  Jacob's  Creek,  Westmoreland  county,  married  Maria  Burch,  and  after  her 
death  Sarah  J.  Coon,  who  bore  him  two  children.  David  Crise  was  drowned 
in  the  Youghiogheny  river,  in  February,  1905.  4.  James,  died  at  the  age  of 
eighteen.  5.  William,  a  farmer  of  South  Huntingdon  township.  6.  Blair 
Francis,  mentioned  hereafter.  7.  Daniel,  a  farmer  of  Clarion  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, married  Etta  Clark,  and  has  five  children.  8.  ]\Iilton,  a  farmer  and 
teacher  of  South  Huntingdon  township.  9  and  10.  Two  daughters  who  died 
in  childhood.  Mr.  Crise,  the  father,  died  January  11,  1896,  and  his  wife,  who 
was  born  May  17,  1824,  passed  away  in  1900. 

Blair  Francis  Crise,  son  of  William  and  Sarah  (Hough)  Crise.  was  born 
December  17,  1854,  and  received  his  preparatory  education  in  the  public 
schools,  afterward  attending  Mount  L^nion  College,  and  the  Southwest  State 
Normal  school  at  California,  Penns\-lvania.  In  1875  he  began  to  teach  in 
South  Himtingdon  township  and  continued  to  do  so  for  six  years.  During  this 
time  he  took  up  the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  Lewis  Sutton,  of  Alendon,  and 
in  188 1  entered  Jeft'erson  Medical  College,  Philadelphia,  graduating  April  2, 
1883,  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  For  four  years  thereafter  he 
practiced  his  profession  at  Smithtown,  South  Huntingdon  township,  and  then 
moved  to  Madison  where  he  remained  three  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he 
took  up  his  abode  in  Mendon,  succeeding  to  the  practice  of  his  old  preceptor. 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUXTY.  345 

and  has  since  continued  to  make  his  lionie  in  that  village.  In  1891  he  built  for 
himself  a  modern  house,  the  foundation  being  of  stone  taken  from  the  malt 
house  owned  by  his  grandfather  Hough  which  was  erected  in  1829.  Dr.  Crise 
takes  an  active  interest  in  public  atTairs  and  has  served  on  the  board  of  educa- 
tion. During  that  time  his  influence  was  constantly  exerted  to  raise  the 
standard  of  education  in  his  township.  He  is  medical  examiner  for  several 
insurance  companies  and  for  the  Consolidated  fraternity.  August  i,  1903,  he 
became  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  K.  M.  and  of  Omar,  No.  330,  of  Dawson.  He 
subsequently  withdrew  from  them  and  organized  Beacon  Commandery  No. 
350.  of  Ruffsdale.  September  21,  1904.  of  which  he  is  past  commander.  May  8, 
1905,  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Grand  Commandery  to  re])resent  this  organiza- 
tion. He  is  a  member  of  the  Church  of  God.  Dr.  Crise  married,  July  i,  1886, 
Maggie,  born  in  South  Huntingdon  township,  daughter  of  Michael  and  Isa- 
bella (Sniull)  Hewitt.  They  have  no  children.  Dr.  Crise,  while  making  his 
home  at  Mendon,  has  his  office  at  Ruffsdale. 

HENRY  D.  J.-\RRETT.  In  the  ranks  of  the  old-established  and  in- 
fluential business  men  of  Scottdale  Henrv  D.  Jarrett  holds  a  prominent  posi- 
tion. He  is  the  grandson  of  John  AI.  Jarrett,  who  was  born  in  1780,  in  Ohio. 
There  is  a  tradition  in  the  family  to  the  effect  that  Mr.  Jarrett  early  in  life 
shot  an  Indian,  and  that  in  consequence  he  left  his  native  state  and  went  to 
West  \'irginia,  where  he  worked  as  millwright,  erecting  most  of  the  mills  in 
that  section  of  the  state  and  also  in  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  mar- 
ried Lourenia  Baker,  and  they  had  children :  William,  John  M.,  George,  An- 
drew, Thomas,  mentioned  hereafter;  Henry,  Sarah,  deceased:  Betsey,  de- 
ceased :  Ellen,  who  became  the  wife  of  George  Ridgeway ;  and  Nancy.  The 
death  of  Mr.  Jarrett,  the  father  of  the  family,  occurred  in  1840. 

Thomas  Jarrett,  son  of  John  M.  and  Lourenia  (Baker)  Jarrett,  was  born 
July,  1824.  in  !Morgantown,  West  \  irginia.  and  was  a  nailer  by  trade.  For 
some  years  he  was  superintendent  of  the  Laurel  iron  works,  in  West  \'irginia, 
belonging  to  Chess  Smith  &  Company,  but  has  now.  at  his  advanced  age. 
withdrawn  from  the  cares  of  business,  and  resides  in  t'niontown,  l^enns\lvania. 
living  a  retired  life.  He  married  Ellen  McShane.  and  their  children  were: 
Mary,  wife  of  John  Jones:  Emma,  married  Charles  Janewine ;  Judd  E.,  mar- 
ried Sindie,  daughter  of  Lawson  and  Sarah  Conaway :  Henry  D.,  mentioned 
hereafter:  Fannie,  wife  of  Joseph  Rist :  John  M. :  Maggie,  deceased;  Cornelius 
M. ;  Lonerina.  wife  of  Edwin  Lynch  :  Walter  C. ;  Oliver  W. ;  and  Abner  C. 

Henry  D.  Jarrett,  son  of  Thomas  and  Ellen  ( .McShane)  Jarrett.  was  born 
June  4.  1853.  in  Monongahela  county.  West  Mrginia,  and  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools.  L'ntil  attaining  his  majority  he  worked  on  the  farm,  and  in 
1874  moved  to  Fayette  county,  where  he  remained  until  1880.  In  that  \  ear 
he  went  to  Scottdale  and  established  himself  in  the  retail  coal  business,  which 
he  has  successfully  carrried  on  for  the  last  twenty-five  years.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Air.  Jarrett  married  Elizabeth,  daugh- 
ter of  P'rederick  and  .Sarah  Eberhart.  and  their  children  were:  Frederick  T., 
born  September  8,  1881,  employed  by  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company: 
William,  born  r)ctober  29.  1883.  died  October  3,  1892:  and  Rav  and  Ralph 
(twins"),  born  March  24.  1886 ;  Ray  died  in  infancy,  and  Ralph  is  still  living, 
anrl  employed  by  the   Pennsylvania  Railroad  Comjjany. 

(;E0RGE  \\'.  SMITH.  One  of  Westmoreland  county's  old  families 
finds  in  George  W.  Smith,  of  Mount  Pleasant,  a  worthy  representative.     Mr. 


346  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

Smith  is  a  grandson  of  Joseph  Smith,  who  settled  in  Derry  township  on  a 
tract  of  one  hundred  and  thirtv-six  acres  of  land  which  he  cleared  and  on  which 
he  erected  good  buildings.  He  was  widely  and  favorably  known  as  a  good 
citizen,  taking  an  active  part  in  politics  and  earnestly  interested  in  church  mat- 
ters. He  married  Christina  Speilman,  who,  like  himself,  was  of  German  de- 
scent, and  thirteen  children  were  born  to  them :  John,  a  shoemaker  in  Derry 
township :  Catharine,  died  in  infancy ;  Jacob,  a  carpenter  in  Derry  township ; 
Marv,  married  Henry  Bussard ;  Susan,  married  George  Rupert ;  Elizabeth, 
married  a  Mr.  Brinnell :  Joseph,  a  tinner,  emigrated  to  Ohio,  where  he  died; 
Katie,  married  Henry  Auckeman  :  Ephraim.  born  October  8,  1817,  resides  near 
Pleasant  Unity,  being  the  sole  survivor  of  the  family  with  the  exception  of  his 
brother  William  H. ;  Elizabeth  (2).  married  Seth  Baughman  after  whose  death 
she  married  again  and  moved  to  Indiana :  James,  a  miller  at  Beaver  Falls,  Pa. ; 
Andrew,  a  laborer  and  fence  builder  of  Unity  township :  and  William  H..  of 
whom  later.  Mr.  Smith,  the  father  of  the  family,  died  on  his  farm  in  1829, 
being  then  sixtv-four  years  of  age. 

William  H.  Smith,  son  of  Joseph  and  Christina  (Speilman)  Smith,  was 
born  October  28,  1825,  in  Derrv  township,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  went  to 
Lirippelas,  Unity  township,  to  learn  the  blacksmith's  trade.  In  the  spring  of 
1844  he  went  to  IMount  Pleasant  with  his  employer,  Matthew  ]\IcMillan.  for 
whom  he  worked  eieht  months  after  finishing  his  apprenticeship.  He  and  his 
nephew.  Joseph  Smith,  then  purchased  the  business  which  they  conducted  to- 
gether for  about  a  year.  The  latter  then  went  to  the  Mexican  war,  and  in  con- 
sequence I\Ir.  Smith  sold  the  business  and  for  eighteen  months  thereafter 
worked  as  a  journeyman  for  a  Mr.  Smith.  He  then  bought  out  his  employer 
and  on  the  same  site  carried  on  the  work  of  a  general  Iilacksmith  until  188=;. 
He  established  himself  in  the  hardware  business  under  the  firm  name  of  Smith 
and  Company  in  1876,  the  management  of  the  enterprise  being  entrusted  to 
Mr.  Rumbaugh,  the  partner,  Mr.  Smith's  attention  being  given  to  his  trade. 
He  sold  the  smithy  in  1885.  and  from  that  time  attended  personally  to  the 
hardware  business.  In  1889,  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Rumbaugh,  his  interest  was 
purchased  bv  Mr.  Smith's  son,  William  F.  Smith,  and  the  firm  became  W.  H. 
Smith  and  Son.  Their  establishment  is  the  largest  of  the  kind  in  Mount  Pleas- 
ant, and  the  business  has  attained  to  very  extensive  proportions.  About  1870 
Mr.  Smith  laid  out  a  small  addition  to  the  town,  known  as  Smith's  addition, 
through  which  Smithfield  street  runs,  and  which  consists  of  eight  building 
lots  with  a  plot  of  about  one  acre  additional.  He  was  for  tvi'o  terms  burgess 
of  Mount  Pleasant,  and  served  as  a  member  of  the  council  for  nine  years.  He 
is  a  member  of  long  standing  in  tlie  Mount  Pleasant  Presbvterian  church  to 
which  he  is  earnestly  devoted.  He  married,  August.  1848,  Sarah,  born  in 
Bradford.  Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  Joesph  Gibbs.  and  their  children  were: 
George  W.,  of  whom  later :  Annie  E. ;  Norman  :  Catharine,  wife  of  S.  C.  Stev- 
enson, of  Mount  Pleasant ;  Charles  K.,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-five :  William 
F.,  junior  member  of  the  firm  of  W.  H.  Smith  and  Son:  Oma  ?nd  Pearl 
(twins)  :  the  former  is  deceased  and  the  latter  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  M.  W.  Homer, 
of  Mount  Pleasant.  Mrs.  Smith,  the  mother  of  these  children,  died  in  1898 
at  the  age  of  seventv-two. 

Georee  W.  Smith,  son  of  William  TI.  and  Sarah  (Gibbs)  Smith,  was 
born  April  26,  1848.  in  ]\Iount  Pleasant,  where  he  received  his  education  in  the 
common  schools.  In  early  life  he  learned  the  blacksmith's  trade  with  Wel- 
inger  Brothers,  at  Economy,  Pennsylvania,  remaining  with  them  three  vears. 
He  then  returned  to  Mount  Pleasant  and  for  eisfhteen  month  worked  for  his 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  347 

father,  after  which  he  went  to  northwestern  ]\Iissouri,  where  for  about  five- 
years  he  was  engaged  in  business  for  himself.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he 
again  returned  to  Mount  Pleasant,  and  for  eight  years  was  in  partnership  with 
his  father.  He  purchased,  in  1892,  the  old  plant  which  for  about  forty  years 
had  been  operated  by  his  father,  and  in  partnership  with  his  son  Herbert  has- 
continued  the  business  down  to  the  present  time.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
N.  P.  L.,  Lodge  No.  6,  of  Mount  Pleasant.  Mr.  Smith  married  Satora,  daugh- 
ter of  James  and  Christina  Simpson,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  sons: 
^^"illiam  S.,  a  moulder  at  Denver,  Colorado;  and  Herbert  N.,  is  in  partnership 
with  his  father. 

ERASTUS  K.  SHERRICK.  Among  those  respected  citizens  of 
Scottdale  whose  names  now  belong  to  the  past  must  be  numbered  Erastus  K. 
Sherrick.  He  was  a  grandson  of  .Abraham  Sherrick,  who  was  born  and  reared 
in  East  Huntingdon  township,  where  he  engaged  in  farming.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Church  of  God  at  Alount  Pleasant.  His  wife  was  a  Miss  Overholt, 
and  their  children  were:  Jacob  O.,  mentioned  hereafter;  Reuben,  Martin, 
Abram  H.,  Mary,  married  Albert  Stevenson;  Susanna,  married  Jacob  Stoner;- 
and  Anna,  wife  of  Abram  ^^'alte^s. 

Jacob  O.  Sherrick,  son  of  .\braham  Sherrick,  was  born  on  the  old  home- 
stead near  Mount  Pleasant,  and  for  years  was  engaged  in  business  as  a  distiller. 
He  married  Mary  Steck,  and  they  had  children:  Sampson,  William,  Albert, 
Erastus  K.,  mentioned  hereafter :  Malissa,  wife  of  Dallas  Bingaman  ;  Anna- 
bella,  married  W.  A.  Loucks ;  Laura,  wife  of  John  Chamberlain;  and  Julia, 
married  C.  R.  Ryan. 

Erastus  K.  Sherrick,  son  of  Jacob  O.  and  Mary  (Stcck)  Sherrick,  was 
born  .April  16.  1856.  on  the  homestead,  and  as  he  reached  maturity  became  one 
of  the  active  business  men  of  the  township.  He  belonged  to  the  L  O.  O.  F. 
and  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Sherrick  married 
Mary  Etta,  daughter  of  H.  W.  and  Susanna  (Gross)  Beeson,  and  they  had' 
children:  i.  Jacob  O.,  born  December  18,  1877,  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  and  at  the  Ohio  L'niversity.  and  for  about  five  years  was  engaged  in 
teaching.  He  is  now  connected  with  the  H.  C.  Frick  Company.  He  married 
Gertrude  Harvey,  of  Hardin  county,  Ohio.  2.  Daisy  Estella.  born  November 
2.  1879.  3-  ^lary  E.,  born  .Augu.st  11,  1881,  a  graduate  of  the  Scottdale  higli 
school  and  the  State  Normal  school,  and  is  now  a  teacher  at  Scottdale.  4. 
Martha  D.,  born  October  2.  1884,  graduated  from  the  Scottdale  high  school, 
and  is  now  a  teacher  in  East  Huntingdon  township.  5.  E.  Ralph,  born  January 
17,  189.V  Two  of  this  family  died  in  childhood.  The  death  of  Mr.  Sherrick 
occurred  October  13,  1899.  He  was  in  the  prime  of  life,  being  but  forty-three 
years  of  age,  and  it  was  felt  that  his  family,  his  friends  and  the  communitv  at 
large  had  alike  sustained  a  great  loss  and  that  a  i)lace  was  left  vacant  which 
could  not  easily  be  filled. 

JACOB  DE\V.AI,T.  .A  name  thoroun-hly  identified  with  tin-  cual  in- 
terests of  Westmoreland  county  is  that  of  Jacob  Dewalt,  of  Scottdale.  He  is 
a  grandson  of  Jacob  Dewalt.  who  was  born  ?nd  reared  in  Westmoreland 
county,  and  all  his  life  folllowed  the  callin<r  of  a  salt-boiler.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Presbyterian  church.  His  wife  was  Elizabeth  Kiehl.  and  thev  had  children: 
Michael.  John,  Peter,  Tacoli,  mentioned  hereafter;  William,  Henry,  Thomas, 
Amy,  married  Daniel  Kiehl;  Diana,  married  Henry  Kiehl;  Susanna  married' 
Samuel  Hoy;  and  Alargaret,  married  John  Alorrison. 


;348  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

Jacob  Dewalt,  son  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  (Kiehl)  Dewalt,  was  born  in 
Westmoreland  county,  and  in  early  life  was  a  salt-boiler.  During  his  latter 
years  he  was  a  farmer.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He 
married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Peter  Kiehl,  of  Adamsburg,  Pennsylvania, 
and  their  children  were:  Michael,  married  Elizabeth  Shoof,  and  is  now  de- 
ceased ;  Eliza  Jane,  married  Allis  Ball,  and  is  also  deceased ;  John,  married 
Diana  Mains ;  Sarah  Ann,  married  John  Robison,  and  is  deceased  as  is  also 
her  husband ;  Catherine,  married  William  Elrod ;  Susanna,  married  Daniel 
Shaner.  both  she  and  her  husband  l:)eing  now  deceased :  Margaret  E.,  widow  of 
James  Simeral ;  William,  married  ^MolHe  Sims;  Elizabeth,  died  young:  Jacob, 
mentioned  hereafter ;  James,  married  Susan  Sims :  Thomas,  married  Caroline 
Gailey;  and  Anna,  married  Nora  Pollard.  Mr.  Dewalt,  the  father  of  these  chil- 
dren, died  in  1852. 

Jacob  Dewalt.  son  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  (Kiehl)  Dewalt,  was  born  July 
26.  1840,  in  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  and  worked  on  the  farm  until  reaching  the  age  of  fourteen.  He  then 
entered  the  coal  mines,  where  he  was  gradually  advanced,  finally  attaining  to 
the  position  of  superintendent  of  mines  for  the  Pittsburg  Coal  Company  at  Glen 
Shaw,  Allegheny  county.  He  filled  this  position  for  about  six  years,  when  he 
resigned,  and  for  the  last  two  or  three  years  has  held  himself  aloof  from  the 
cares  of  business.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Plainly 
as  Mr.  Dewalt  has  demonstrated  himself  to  be  a  successful  business  man,  he 
has  proven  by  his  actions  that  he  is  no  less  a  patriotic  citizen.  He  enlisted  in 
Comjiany  F,  Twenty-eighth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry,  com- 
manded by  Colonel  John-W.  Garry,  July  6,  1861,  and  after  serving  two  years 
re-enlisted  for  three  years,  or  the  duration  of  the  war,  and  passed  througli  the 
entire  Sherman  campaign.  Mr.  Dewalt  married,  December  30,  1869,  Sarah, 
daughter  of  Robert  and  Sarah  McMillan,  of  Allegheny  county,  and  their  chil- 
dren were :  John  Nolen,  died  at  the  age  of  four  years ;  Ella,  resides  at  home ; 
Robert,  a  foundryman  of  West  Newton,  married  Ella  jMartin,  and  has  two 
•cliildren  :  Pauline  and  Alford  :  and  Maggie,  died  in  infancy. 

WTLLIAM  J.  TODD.  One  of  the  thriving  business  men  of  Scott- 
dale  is  William  J.  Todd,  who  was  born  October  26,  1852,  in  county  Down, 
Ireland,  and  emigrated  to  the  United  States  in  1872. 

He  settled  for  a  short  time  in  Pittsburg,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1873  went 
to  Scottdale  where  he  entered  the  service  of  the  Charlotte  Furnace  Company 
with  whom  he  remained  two  years.  He  was  then  employed  for  six  months  at 
th  Lamont  furnace,  after  which  he  returned  to  Scottdale  and  worked  steadily 
at  the  furnace  for  eight  or  nine  years.  His  next  enterprise  was  the  imrchase  of 
the  confectionery  and  fruit  business  which  was  carried  on  by  his  father-in-law 
in  Scottdale.  This  business  he  conducted  for  two  years,  and  at  the  end  of  that 
time  sold  out  and  took  tlie  position  of  manager  in  the  general  store  of  J.  B. 
Lott  and  Company,  a  position  which  he  retained  for  eight  years.  He  was  next 
emploved  for  nearlv  ten  years  by  the  Adams  Express  Company,  and  then  en- 
gaged in  the  local  express  business  for  himself,  conducting  the  business  for 
three  vears.  He  went  into  the  grocerv  business  April  18,  iSgg.  which  he  has 
since  carried  on  successfully,  having  built  up  a  flourishing  trade.  He  belongs  to 
the  K.  P..  affiliating  with  Lodge  No.  443,  and  is  a  member  of  the  United.  Pres- 
bvterian  church,  in  which  for  eighteen  years  he  served  as  treasurer  and  trustee. 
l\rr.  Todd  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Robert  and  Jane  (Burk)  IMcAvoy.  and 
their   children   were:   ]\lary   J.,  born   iNIay    10,    1877,   married   Jacob  Ludy,  of 


HISTORY    OF    IVESTMORELAXD    COUXTV. 


349 


Connellsville,  Pa.:  Anna  Bell,  born  June  13.  1880,  died  December  8.  1888; 
Walter  L.,  born  iNIarch  7,  1882,  dietl  July  7,  1892;  William  James,  born  June 
26,  1886,  died  March  5.  1887;  Margaret  May,  born  February  4,  1888;  Robert, 
born  January  2j,  1890,  and  died  Mav  28,  1893 ;  and  George  William,  born  ]May 
28,  1893. 

GEORGE  PARFITT.  Few  men  in  Westmoreland  county  enjoy 
greater  popularity  than  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  George  Parfitt,  of  Mount  Pleas- 
ant, who  belongs  to  a  family  of  fourteen  children  born  to  John  and  Jane  (Sil- 
cox)  Parfitt.  John  Parfitt.  a  native  of  England,  was  a  miner  by  occupation.  He 
was  an  active  and  consistent  member  of  the  Alethodist  Episcopal  church,  in 
which  he  was  a  local  preacher.  His  wife  was  Jane  Silcox,  and  of  their  four- 
teen children  the  following  reached  maturity :  Anna,  died  in  England ;  Thomas, 
a  coal-miner  at  Irwin ;  Grace,  who  lives  in  England  and  is  the  wife  of  Matthew 
Brooks ;  John,  who  was  a  coal-miner  and  died  December  16,  1902,  in  Duquesne,, 
Allegheny  county ;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  John  Webb,  of  Herminie,  Pennsylvania ; 
George,  mentioned  hereafter;  and  James,  engaged  in  the  real  estate  and  insur- 
ance business  at  Youngstown,  Ohio.  All  these  children,  as  well  as  those  who 
died  in  infancy,  were  born  in  England.  In  1872  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Parfitt,  by  the- 
aid  of  their  son  George,  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  and  settled  at  Irwin, 
\\'estmoreland  county,  where  for  the  remainder  of  his  life  Mr.  Parfitt  worked 
as  a  coal  miner.    His  wife  died  in  1884,  and  he  passed  away  in  1887. 

George  Parfitt,  son  of  John  and  Jane  (Silcox)  Parfitt,  was  born  in  Som- 
ersetshire, England,  and  in  ^Nlay,  1866,  came  to  the  United  States,  taking  up  his 
abode  at  Irwin,  where  he  was  employed  in  the  coal  mines.  Very  soon  after  his 
arrival  in  this  country  he  sent  for  his  brothers,  John  and  James,  and  later  for 
his  father  and  mother.  He  worked  in  the  mines  at  Irwin  until  May,  1882.  and 
then  went  to  Barn  Hill,  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio,  to  assume  the  position  of  su- 
perintendent of  mines  for  the  Tuscarawas  Coal  Company.  After  filling  this  po- 
sition seven  months  he  went  to  Coshocton,  Ohio,  as  developing  miner"  for  John. 
Casingham  &  Company.  There  he  remained  until  1883.  when  he  removed  to 
Gufifies'  Station  and  in  that  place  engaged  in  coal  mining  until  October  27, 
1886.  He  then  moved  to  Mount  Pleasant,  where  he  mined  coal  for  the  Illi- 
nois Steel  Company,  later  the  Southwest  Coal  and  Coke  Companv,  remaining 
with  them  until  1889.  At  this  period  of  his  life  he  entered  upon  a  new  field' 
of  endeavor,  namely,  that  of  commerce.  Purchasing  of  W.  B.  Neel  a  lot  ort 
Quary  street,  he  there  erected  a  store  house  and  engaged  in  mercantile  busi- 
ness.He  was  the  first  settler  in  that  part  of  East  Huntingdon  township,  and  it 
was  in  honor  of  him  that  the  place  v,-as  named  Parfittown.  In  1891  he  entered 
the  service  of  the  H.  C.  Frick  Southwest  Coal  and  Coke  Com])anv,  with  whom 
he  remained  until  April  17,  1897,  in  the  capacity  of  night  watchman,  when  he 
became  the  proprietor  of  the  Hotel  Parfitt,  which  he  has  since  successfully  con- 
ducted, placing  it  by  his  admirable  management  among  the  leading  hotels  of 
the  township.  In  1877  he  served  as  constable  of  North  Huntingdon  township. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Elks  Lodge  Xo.  868,  of  Mount  Pleasant,  and  in  politics 
affiliates  with  the  Democrats. 

Mr.  Parfitt  married  Agnes  C.  daughter  of  John  and  .Ann  McTntvre,  and 
they  had  children:  John,  born  July  17,  1867:  .Ann.  died  in  infancy;  W.George, 
horn  September  22,  1870.  is  a  locomotive  engineer  on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohic>. 
Radroad.  and  married  Mary  Coruthers ;  Alexander,  born  September  i,  1872, 
IS  a  stationary  engineer  in  Colorado,  and  married  .Agnes  Kiddv :  Jane  Ann' 
born  February  15,  1875,  died  August  27,  1880;  .Agnes,  born  Tiilv'8    1877    wife- 


350  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

of  Harry  I.  Queer;  Alartha,  born  February  13,  1879,  '^^''fe  of  G.  W.  Meredith, 

■  of  Mount  Pleasant;  Robert,  born  April  2,  1881,  married  J.  Wilson,  and  lives  at 
Mount  Pleasant;  Arthur  Lock,  born  September  30,  1882,  married  Antoine 
Benedict;  Benjamin  F.,  born  March  24,  1884,  married  Maud  Spence,  and  is  a 
resident  of  Mount  Pleasant;  Thomas,  born  January  i,  1886;  Webb,  born  Oc- 
tober 2^,  1887;  Grace,  born  October  22,  1889;  and  Jessie  May,  bom  May  7, 
1801. 

HENRY  C.  PORTER.  Among  the  enterprising  and  prosperous  citi- 
zens of  Scottdale  must  be  numbered  Henry  C.  Porter.  He  is  a  grandson  of 
Moses  Porter,  who  was  born  in  Fayette  county  where  he  spent  his  entire  life  as 
a  farmer.  He  was  an  active  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  His 
wife  was  Emma  Louwade,  and  their  children  were : :  Kenn,  deceased ;  Lindley, 
a  physician   in  Oregon;   Samuel,   deceased;  George,  a  farmer  in   Westmore- 

;iand  county;  Elias  C.,  also  a  farmer  in  the  same  county;  James  D.,  of  whom 
later;  Rebecca,  married  John   Kieser ;  and  Lydia. 

James  D.  Porter,  son  of  Moses  and  Emma  (Louwade)  Porter,  was  born  in 
1835,  in  Fayette  county,  and  has  devoted  his  life  to  agricultural  ].)ursuits  in  or 
near  his  native  county,  where  he  now  lives.  He  is  a  member  of  the  United 
Baptist  church.     He  married  Lizzie  Williams  and  their  children  are:  Thomas 

"W.,  a  grocer  of  Scottdale ;  Moses  B.,  engaged  in  the  same  business  in  the  same 
place;  Emma,  married  M.  F.  Stoner,  of  Scottdale;  Margaret,  married  Harsh 

•Ohns:  Alice,  married  M.  B.  Gault ;  George  W.,  a  resident  of  Scottdale;  G. 
Ellis,  a  druggist  in  California ;  and  Henry  C.,  of  whom  later.  After  the  death 
of  his  wife  Mr.  Porter  married  Lizzie  Ohns.  and  their  children  were:  Gertrude, 
married  William  Dull ;  Nellie,  married  Amner  Gault ;  Winnie,  married  William 
Johnson;  Mamie,  at  home;  Olive,  at  home;  Alexander,  at  home. 

Henry  C.  Porter,  son  of  James  D.  and  Lizzie  (Williams)  Porter,  was  born 
September  9,  1870,  in  Fayette  county,  where  he  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools,  and  until  attaining  his  majority  remained  on  the  homestead  assist- 
ing his  father.  He  then  worked  for  a  time  on  the  neighboring  farms,  and  also 
acted  as  clerk  in  his  brother's  grocery.  He  purchased  the  milk  route  of  W.  H. 
McBeth,  in  Scottdale,  in  1899,  and  has  ever  since  continued  the  business  which 
he  has  made  very  succcessful.  the  output  being  about  forty  gallons  daily.  He 
belongs  to  the  Iroquois,  of  Collinsville,  and  the  A.  O.  U.  W.,  Lodge  No.  286,  of 
Scottdale,  in  which  latter  organization  he  has  passed  all  chairs.  He  also  be- 
longs to  the  American  Insurance  LTnion,  Chapter  No.  114.  He  and  his  family 
are  members  of  the  Reformed  church.  Mr.  Porter  married  Clara  Mabel, 
daughter  of  W.  H.  and  Wilty  McPieth,  and  their  children  were:  M.  Grace; 

■  Clyde ;  Irene ;  William  ;  and  Fay,  who  died  in  childhood. 

EDWARD  L.  DIIRSTEIN.  No  one  among  the  German-American 
citizens  of  Scottdale  is  more  deservedly  popular  than  Edward  L.  Diirstein.  His 
father,  Lewis  Diirstein,  was  born  in  Germany,  and  about  1845  or  1850  emi- 
grated to  the  L^nited  States.  He  settled  in  Allegheny  county,  where  for  many 
years  he  led  the  life  of  a  farmer,  and  then,  having  been  seized  with  the  "gold 
fever,"  started  with  some  other  fortuneseekers  for  California.  He  walked  about 
eleven  hundred  miles  of  the  distance,  but  failed  to  realize  his  expectations  and 
returned  to  the  farm  which  he  continued  to  cultivate  during  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  His  wife  was  Eliza- 
beth Ober,  also  a  native  of  Germany,  and  their  children  were :  Jacob,  a  farmer 
in  Allegheny  county ;  Louis,  deceased ;  Edward  L.,  mentioned  hereafter ;  Lena, 


NEW  VORK 
PUBUCUBRABV' 


lfHj«iJJatto"s 


HISTORY    OF    U'ESTMORELJXD    COU.XTY.  351 

wife  of  John  Beriier,  of  Illinois;  Elizabeth,  married  Leonard  Marline,  of  Pitts- 
burg; Matilda,  deceased;  and  Mary,  who  lives  in  Denver,  Colorado.  i\lr. 
Diirstein,  the  father  of  the  family,  died  April,  1875. 

Edward  L.  Diirstein,  son  of  Lewis  and  Elizabeth  (Ober)  Diirstein,  was 
born  September  16,  1877,  in  Allegheny  county,  and  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools.  At  the  age  of  si.xteeu  he  went  to  learn  the  trade  of  baker  with 
the  Glenwood  iJaking  Company,  of  Pittsburg,  with  whom  he  remained  nine 
years.  After  working  ten  or  twelve  years  as  a  journeyman,  he  purchased, 
February  16,  iyo2,  the  bakery  and  confectionery  of  L.  J.  Colier,  of  Scottdale. 
His  success  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  in  1903  he  built  and  equipped 
the  largest  bakery  in  Scottdale,  situated  on  South  Broadway.  There  he  con- 
ducts in  connection  with  the  bakery  a  general  ice  cream  and  confectionery  bus- 
iness, his  estal)lishment  being  extensively  patronized.  He  is  a  member  of  St. 
John'  Roman  Catholic  Church,  of  Scottdale.  Mr.  Diirstein  married  i\lary, 
daughter  of  Robert  and  2\largaret  Findlay,  of  Tyrone  townhip. 

REUBEN  K.  HISSEAL  Among  the  progressive  and  influential  citi- 
zens of  Mount  Pleasant,  few  have  had  a  wider  sphere  of  usefulness  than  Reu- 
ben K.  Hissem,  who  was  born  in  Hempfield  townhip,  June  30.  1842.  He  is  a 
descendant  in  direct  line  from  Thomas  Hissem,  a  native  of  Westmoreland 
county,  Pennylvania,  where  he  was  reared,  educated,  and  followed  the  quiet 
but  useful  occupation  of  farming  throughout  the  active  years  of  his  career. 

(I)  Abner  Hissem,  eldest  son  of  Thomas  Hissem,  was  born  in  Hempfield 
township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  spent  his  entire  life  in 
the  vicinity  of  his  birthplace,  giving  his  attention  to  farming  and  distilling.  In 
religious  faith  he  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  married,  in 
1804,  Mary  Walker,  and  had  children:  i.  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Samuel  Fox;  2. 
Jane,  wife  of  Joshua  Evans;  3.  Samuel,  a  farmer  by  occupation,  of  whom 
later;  4.  Ruth,  wife  of  Jonas  Ruff:  5.  Mary,  wife  of  Frederick  Spielman ;  6. 
William,  married  Mary  Poter;  7.  Abner,  married  Catherine  Ziglar;  8.  Anna, 
wife  of  David  Kintigh ;  9.  Thomas,  married  Sarah  Klingsmith ;  10.  Jesse,  mar- 
ried Catherine  Howenstein ;  11.  Emily,  died  at  the  age  of  four  years. 

(H)  Samuel  Hissem,  third  child  and  eldest  son  of  .Abner  (I)  and  Mary 
(Walker)  Hissem,  was  born  July  4,  181 1,  in  Hempfield  township,  Westmore- 
land county,  Pennsylvania.  Upon  attaining  the  age  when  he  should  take  up 
the  practical  duties  of  life  for  himself,  he  directed  his  attention  to  farming  and 
<listilling.  abandoning  the  latter  after  several  years,  but  continuing  the  former 
up  to  the  time  of  his  death  which  occurred  January  30,  1882.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Middle  Presbyterian  church  for  more  than  half  a  century,  and 
a  ruling  elder  of  the  same  for  eleven  years.  He  was  a  staunch  Republican  in 
jjolitics.  Samuel  Hissem  married  Elizabeth  Kintigh.  daughter  of  Adam  and 
Sarah  Kintigh.  of  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  ancl  their  children  are: 
I.  Sarah  J.,  wif£  of  J.  A.  Stevenson,  of  Mount  Pleasant.  2.  Reuben  K.,  of  whom 
later.  3.  Mary  M.,  wife  of  Dr.  R.  E.  Fulton  of  Mount  Pleasant 

(HI)  Reuben  K.  Hissem,  second  child  and  only  son  of  Samuel  (2)  and 
Elizabeth  (Kentigh)  Hissem.  was  educated  in  the  common  .schools  of  his  na- 
tive township  and  at  Mount  Pleasant  Institute.  He  assisted  his  father  in  the 
cultivation  and  management  of  the  homestead  farm  until  he  was  twenty-one 
years  of  age.  when  he  assumed  entire  charge  of  the  same,  continuing  along 
liuse  lines  until  1894.  in  which  year  he  leased  the  property  and  since  then  has 
directed  nis  energies  into  various  other  channels.  He  was  one  of  the  prime 
movers  in  the  organization  of  the  Farmers  and  Merchants  National  Bank  of 


352 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 


Mount  Pleasant,  in  1893,  was  elected  its  f.rst  president,  and  has  served  in  that 
capacity  up  to  the  present  time  (1900J.  He  is  a  member  of  the  directorate  of 
the  Savings  and  Trust  Company  of  Scottdale,  First  National  Bank  of  Jean- 
nette,  Jeannette  Savings  and  Trust  Company,  and  the  Greensburg  Finance 
Company,  discharging  his  duties  in  these  different  positions  with  efficiency  and 
credit.  He  was  a  prominent  factor  in  what  is  known  as  the  old  rolling  mill, 
and  was  a  director  of  the  same  until  it  was  merged  into  the  present  syndicate. 
He  is  a  public  spirited,  patriotic  citizen,  takes  great  pride  and  pleasure  in  the 
advancement  and  growth  of  his  town  and  community,  and  has  assisted  mate- 
rially in  the  prosperity  of  various  industrial  enterprises.  He  is  a  Republican  in 
politics,  and  exercises  a  potent  influence  in  behalf  of  the  party  whose  principles 
he  advocates.  For  six  consecutive  years  he  served  as  school  director.  He  be- 
longs to  the  Middle  Presbyterian  church,  and  has  been  a  ruling  elder  in  that 
institution  for  almost  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

Reuben  K.  Hissem  married,  November  15,  1871,  Louise  J.  Andrews, 
daughter  of  John  and  Hannah  (Carnahan)  Andrews,  representatives  of  an  old 
and  highly  respected  family.  She  was  reared  in  a  home  of  plenty  and  chris- 
tion  culture,  attended  the  United  Presbyterian  church,  but  on  her  marriage 
joined  the  Mount  Pleasant  Middle  Presbyterian  Church,  of  which  Mr.  His- 
sem is  the  senior  elder.  In  her  religious  life  she  was  active  and  consistent ;  her 
presence  was  seldom  missed  from  the  regular  service,  and  her  help  was  much 
appreciated  in  all  that  pertained  to  God's  kingdom.  To  her  a  christian  profes- 
sion meant  a  christian  life — devoted,  kind,  cheerful.  She  died  at  her  home 
near  Mount  Pleasant,  Pennsylvania,  October  21,  1904,  aged  sixty-two  years. 
The  funeral  services  were  in  charge  of  her  pastor,  Rev.  G.  C.  Fisher,  of  the 
Middle  churches,  who  was  assisted  by  Rev.  Howard  Wilson,  of  the  United 
Presbyterian  church,  and  Rev.  W.  H.  Tussing,  of  the  Reformed  church  of 
INlount  Pleasant.  The  remains  were  interred  in  the  Middle  Church  cemetery. 
Her  life  was  sweet  and  beautiful ;  her  death  a  triumph,  opening  the  door  to  a 
glorious  immortality.  She  lies  asleep  near  the  church  she  loved  and  almost  in 
sight  of  the  home  where  she  spent  her  youth,  and  of  the  home  her  presence  as  a 
wife  and  mother  made  so  happy,  and  her  absence  leaves  a  great  vacancy  in  the 
hearts  of  those  who  knew  and  loved  her.  Four  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hissem:  i.  Elizabeth  F.,  wife  of  Frank  D.  Barnhart,  of  Mount  Pleasant; 
2.  Pearl  A.,  wife  of  Dr.  N.  F.  Silsly,  of  Scottdale,  Pa. ;  3.  Mary  Olive,  wife  of 
Rev.  T.  A.  Gibson,  of  Bergetstown,  Washington  county ;  and  4.  Ada  M.,  a 
graduate  of  Washington  Seminary,  who  resides  at  home  with  her  father 

DENNIS  E.  DE  HAVEN.  No  more  popular  man  than  Dennis  E. 
De  Haven  can  be  found  within  the  limits  of  Scottdale.  He  is  a  great-grandson 
of  Daniel  De  Haven,  who  came  from  Holland  to  the  United  States,  and  settled 
near  Vallev  Forge,  where  he  engaged  in  farming.    His  wife  was  Betsey  Smith. 

William  S.  De  Haven,  only  child  of  Daniel  and  Betsey  (Smith)  De  Haven, 
was  born  in  1804  near  Harrisburg,  and  all  his  life  followed  the  carpenter's 
trade.  He  was  a  member  of  the  German  Lutheran  church.  He  married  Elinor 
Harding,  and  their  children  were:  Jessey ;  Dennis,  of  whom  later;  George; 
Louise;  Catharine;  and  Mary. 

Dennis  DeHaven,  son  of  William  S.  and  Elinor  (Harding)  De  Haven, 
was  born  about  1835  or  1836,  in  Wellersburg,  Somerset  county,  and  in  early 
life  was  a  carpenter  and  plasterer.  This  calling  he  abandoned  in  1861,  when 
he  enlisted  in  Company  D,  Second  Regiment,  Maryland  \'olunteers,  and  served 
until  the  close  of  the  war.     He  married  Sarah  C.  Johnson,  and  their  childreu 


HISTORY    Of    U'ESTMOKEL.iXD    COUNTY.  353 

were:  Mary  Ellen,  died  in  childhood;  John  H.;  Dennis  E.,  of  whom  later; 
Ida  Alay,  niarried  Wesley  W.  Grove ;  and  Alice,  died  in  childhood.  Having 
survived  the  hardships  and  perils  of  the  war  and  received  an  honorable  dis- 
charge in  1865,  ^Ir.  De  Haven  was  on  his  way  home  to  his  family  when  he 
was  unfortunately  killed  by  an  accident  which  befell  him  at  Little  Capeon, 
JMaryland. 

Dennis  E.  De  Haven,  son  of  Dennis  and  Sarah  C.  (Johnson)  De  Haven, 
was  born  January  2,  1861,  in  W'allersburg,  Somerset  county,  and  in  boyhood 
attended  the  common  schools.  When  about  sixteen  or  seventeen  he  began 
working-  in  the  coal  mines,  and  continued  to  do  so  for  seventeen  years.  He 
moved  to  Scottdale,  in  1895,  and  took  a  position  with  Mr.  Wible,  a  contractor, 
who  was  building  the  Frick  car  shops,  afterward  becoming  manager  of  the 
pool  and  billiard  parlor  presided  over  by  his  brother.  At  the  end  of  a  year  he 
opened  a  restaurant  which  he  has  conducted  with  great  success  ever  since, 
having  an  extensive  patronage.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Maccabees,  of  Scott- 
dale. IMr.  De  Haven  married  Caroline  Hudson,  and  their  children  were : 
Charles  T. ;  Viola:  Mildred;  Ethel;  May;  Ida;  Hazel:  and  Marie. 

JOHN  C.  GEYER.  The  family  of  which  John  C.  Geyer,  of  Scott- 
dale, is  a  worthy  representative,  was  founded  in  the  province  of  Pennsylvania 
some  time  between  the  close  of  the  French  and  Indian  war  and  the  opening  of 
the  Revolutionary  war.  The  pioneer  ancestor,  who  was  a  native  of  Germany, 
served  as  a  soldier  under  General  Washington,  and  after  the  cessation  of  hos- 
tilities settled  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 

Coonrod  Geyer  (grandfather),  son  of  the  immigrant  ancestor,  was  born 
in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  from  which  he  migrated  in  early  life  to  Berks,  and 
later  to  Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  followed  teaming  as  a  means  of 
livelihood,  his  route  being  between  Cumberland,  Maryland,  and  Wheeling, 
Virginia  (now  West  Virginia),  on  the  national  road  or  old  pike.  A  heavily 
loaded  wagon  passed  over  his  foot  and  from  the  effects  of  the  injury  thus 
received  he  died  at  his  home  in  Bedford  county,  in  the  sixty-fourth  year  of 
his  age. 

Henry  G.  Geyer  (father),  son  of  Coonrod  Geyer,  was  born  at  Reading, 
Berks  county,  Pennsylvania,  May  4,  1833.  At  an  early  age  he  came  with  his 
parents  to  Bedford  county,  same  state,  where  he  was  reared  to  manhood  on  a 
farm,  in  the  meantime  attending  the  common  school,  and  assisting  with  the 
varied  duties  of  the  homestead  farm.  He  removed  to  Scottdale  in  1873,  ^"d 
there  engaged  in  hotel  keeping,  in  which  line  of  business  he  achieved  a  large 
degree  of  success.  In  1882  he  erected  a  large  frame  hotel,  now  known  as  the 
"Geyer  House"  and  successfully  conducted  it  until  his  death,  December  11, 
1884.  He  was  the  first  landlord  at  Scottdale  to  obtain  license  after  the  passage 
of  the  local  option  law.  Scottdale  had  only  been  laid  out  as  a  town  shortly 
before  Mr.  Geyer  took  up  his  residence  there,  and  had  his  life  been  spared  a 
few  years  longer  he  would  have  been  an  important  factor  in  its  growth  and 
development,  as  he  was  a  man  oi  enterprise  and  energy,  good  business  quali- 
fications, and  executive  ability.  For  more  than  twenty-one  years  he  was  a 
member  of  the  German  Reformed  church,  during  which  time  he  frequently 
served  as  an  officer.  Mr.  Geyer  married,  January  2,  1863,  Catherine  Rcdingcr, 
who  was  born  in  Bedford  county,  Pejinsylvania,  1841,  and  the  issue  of  this 
union  was  seven  children,  four  sons  and  three  daughters.  Mrs.  Geyer,  with  the 
as.sistance  of  her  sons,  is  conducting  the  "Geyer  House." 

2—23 


354  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

John  C.  Geyer,  son  of  the  late  Henry  G.  and  Catherine  (Redinger)  Gever, 
was  born  in  Juniata  township,  Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania,  November  2, 
1863.  When  ten  years  of  age  liis  parents  removed  to  Scottdale,  Westmoreland 
county,  where  he  attended  the  common  schools  for  five  years.  In  1878  he  en- 
tered the  Scottdale  rolling  mill  where  he  learned  the  trades  of  rolling  and  boil- 
ing, following  the  same  for  a  period  of  six  years.  Since  the  death  of  his 
father,  December  11,  1884,  he  has  assisted  his  mother  in  the  management  of  the 
"Geyer  House,"  which  is  one  of  the  leading  hotels  in  Scottdale.  It  has  a  fine 
location,  is  modern  in  all  its  appointments,  the  cuisine  is  excellent,  and  there- 
fore it  merits  the  extensive  patronage  accorded  to  it  by  the  traveling  public. 
Mr.  Geyer  was  a  member  of  the  council  of  Scottdale  in  1891,  and  during  his 
tenure  of  office  the  first  paved  street  in  the  town  was  laid.  He  is  now  (1905) 
serving  his  second  term  as  school  director  of  East  Huntingdon  township.  When 
he  was  first  elected  the  township  was  $13,000  in  debt,  $8,000  of  which  was 
paid  the  first  year  and  the  remainder  the  second  year,  which  was  a  very  cred- 
itable showing  indeed,  and  testified  eloquently  to  the  energy  of  the  men  who 
were  responsible  for  the  same.  He  is  a  member  of  Trinity  German  Reformed 
■church  at  Scottdale,  which  was  organized  July  20,  1873.  ^"d  contributes  lib- 
erally toward  its  support  and  maintenance.  He  advocates  the  principles  of  the 
Democratic  party,  and  aids  with  his  vote  the  success  of  its  candidates.  He  is 
a  member  of  Scottdale  Lodge,  No.  885,  and  White  Star  Encampment,  No. 
286,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  Fountain  Lodge,  No.  443,  K.  P..  and  Scottdale  Council,  No. 
192,  J.  O.  V.  A.  M.  He  is  a  past  officer  in  the  K.  P.,  and  J.  O.  U.  A.  M.. 
dnd  twice  represented  the  latter  at  their  state  council,  once  at  Harrisburg  and 
once  at  Erie.  He  married,  January  24,  1884,  Laura  A.  Milliron,  daughter  of 
Samuel  Milliron,  of  New  Stanton,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.  Their 
children  were:  Daisy  M.,  Grover  Cleveland,  John  C,  died  Januarv  13,  1890; 
George  W.,  Grant  G.,  Garfield  J.,  Griffith  E.,  Greeley  H.  and"  Garner  R.  Geyer. 

ANDREW  B.  FINDLEY,  a  representative  citizen  of  Scottdale, 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  March  16,  1843,  the  son  of 
Jesse  and  Mary  (Trout)  Findley.  On  the  paternal  side  he  is  of  Scotch-Irish 
descent,  and  on  his  mother's  side  is  of  German  descent. 

Jesse  Findley  (father)  was  born  and  reared  in  Somerset  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  was  a  shoemaker  by  trade.  In  politics  he  was  a  staunch  Demo- 
crat. He  married  !\Iary  Trout,  and  they  had  children  as  follows :  George, 
William,  a  stone  mason  of  Everson,  Pennsylvania ;  Jesse  C.  died  at  the  age  of 
twenty-eight  years ;  a  child  who  died  in  infancy ;  Andrew  B.,  mentioned  here- 
after :  Isabelle,  unmarried ;  Mary,  accidentally  killed  when  twenty  years  of 
age;  and  John,  a  farmer  of  Iowa.  Jesse  Findley.  Sr.,  died  in  January,  1850. 

Andrew  B.  Findley  obtained  a  common  school  education,  and  was  com- 
pelled to  earn  his  own  living  at  a  very  early  age,  being  but  seven  years  old  at 
the  death  of  his  father.  He  was  engaged  in  working  around  among  the  farm- 
ers of  the  section  until  he  was  about  eighteen  years  old,  when  he  turned  his 
attention  to  the  trade  of  carpenter,  which  he  learned  with  Jacob  H.  Hays.  He 
was  but  eight  months  at  this  occupation,  however,  when,  in  1863,  lie  enlisted 
in  the  Civil  war.  Company  F,  One  Hundred  and  Third  Pennsylvania  Volun- 
teers, under  the  command  of  Captain  Thomas.  He  enlisted  for  a  term  of  three 
years,  but  was  discharged  on  account  of  disabilities  after  two  years  of  active 
service.  After  six  months  he  re-enh'sted  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war. 
After  his  return  to  civil  life  Mr.  Findley  gave  his  attention  to  his  trade  of  car- 
penter, in  which  he  was  occupied  for  about  thirty-five  years,  being  extensively 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  355 

engaged  in  building  and  cunlracting.  In  1S78  he  was  appointed  by  Governor 
Hovt  policeman  around  the  coal  and  iron  works  of  Scottdale,  and  served  in  this 
capacity  for  six  years.  He  was  then  given  charge  of  the  carpenter  and  mill- 
wright work  in  the  W.  H.  Everson  Company,  being  thus  occupied  for  twelve 
years.  He  was  employed  as  millwright  for  the  Carbon  Iron  Company  of 
Pittsburg  for  two  years.  He  then  returned  to  Scottdale,  and  entered  the  service 
of  the  National  pipe  and  foundry  works,  being  engaged  in  carpenter  work 
with  this  firm  for  seven  years.  He  was  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  in 
Scottdale  for  about  two  years,  and  in  1900  established  a  milk  route,  beginning 
with  the  sale  of  three  gallons  of  milk  a  day.  The  business  is  constantly  increas- 
ing, and  he  now  sends  out  about  eighty-five  gallons  of  milk  daily.  In  politics 
he  is  a  stanch  Republican,  and  was  elected  to  the  council  in  1891  to  serve  for 
two  years.  He  also  served  his  borough  as  constable  for  five  years,  and  was 
deputy  sheriff  under  John  Guffey  for  two  years.  He  was  one  of  the  seven  men 
who  were  appointed  to  break  up  the  "Molley  McGuire  gang"  at  Irwin,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  arresting  about  forty  of  them.  Mr.  Findley  is  the  present  com- 
mander of  Colonel  Elsworih  Post,  No.  209,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Scottdale.  He  is  a 
■charter  member  of  the  R.  A.,  Xo.  807,  of  Scottdale,  in  which  he  has  passed  all 
the  chairs.  He  also  holds  membership  in  the  J.  O.  of  A.  M.,  No.  102,  of 
Scottdale,  having  passed  all  the  chairs  in  this  order  also.  Mr.  Findley  married 
(first)  Sarah  Gross,  daughter  of  David  Gross,  who  bore  him  three  children: 
Carrie  May,  deceased,  was  the  w-ife  of  George  P.  Frey :  William  K.,  died  at 
thirty  years  of  age:  Minnie,  died  in  childhood.  The  mother  of  these  children 
died  in  1878,  and  for  his  second  wife  ;\Ir.  Findley  married  Elizabeth  Rowe, 
daughter  of  Jacob  and  Hannah  Rowe.    They  had  one  child  who  died  in  infancy. 

LEWTS  S.  RHOADES,  justice  of  the  peace  of  Mount  Pleasant  bor- 
ough, Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  in  South  Huntingdon 
township,  April  2,  1858,  the  son  of  Daniel  F.  and  Rebecca  (Armstrong) 
Rhoades. 

John  Rhoades  (grandfather)  was  born  in  Smithton,  South  Huntingdon 
township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  there  he  lived  all  his  life, 
following  the  occupation  of  a  farmer.  He  married  a  Miss  Sowash,  and  their 
children  were:  Daniel  F.,  Peter,  Josiah.  Maria,  who  married  Lowry  Wilgus. 

Daniel  F.  Rhoades  (father)  was  also  born  in  South  Huntingdon  township 
in  1821.  and  he  resided  there  all  his  life,  following  farming  very  successfully. 
He  was  a  member  and  deacon  in  the  Free  Will  Paptist  church  at  Jacobs  creek. 

Daniel  F.  Rhoades  married  Rebecca  Armstrong,  daughter  of  Robert  and 
Elizabeth  Armstrons?,  and  their  children  were:  Hannah  Maria,  Elizabetli  S.. 
Eewis  S.,  of  whom  later;  Noah  E.,  cashier  in  the  National  Bank  at  Smithton, 
Pa.:  Oville  C,  married  Hattie  Rowe.     Emma  (j.,  married  John  A.  Linn. 

Lewis  S.  Rhoades  obtained  his  early  education  in  the  common  schools  of 
his  native  place,  his  intermediate  education  at  the  West  Newton  High  school, 
and  his  higher  education  in  the  California  State  Normal,  from  which  institution 
he  was  graduaterl  in  1880.  He  worked  his  way  through  the  last  named  school 
by  teaching,  and  after  graduation  taught  for  two  years.  He  then  established 
himself  in  the  mercantile  business  in  Jacobs  creek,  where  he  remained  for  eight 
years,  and  achieved  good  success  in  this  line.  During  the  iieriod  he  lived  in 
Jacobs  creek  he  held  the  position  of  postmaster.  His  next  removal  was  to 
Smithton,  where  he  was  employed  by  the  Waverly  Coal  and  Coke  Comjjany 
for  three  years  as  assistant  superintendent.  He  removed  to  Mount  Pleasant 
horough  in  1895,  and  was  for  eighteen  months  engaged  in  the  drug  business. 


3^6  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

\t  the  expiration  of  that  time  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace, 
and  has  suice  given  his  entire  attention  to  the  duties  of  that  office.  He  was 
appointed  in  September,  1903,  mercantile  appraiser  by  the  county  commission- 
ers for  the  term  of  1904.  In  his  political  affiliations  Mr.  Rhoades  is  an  ardent 
Republican  and  has  been  very  active  in  the  affairs  of  his  party  since  he  attamea 
his  majority.  He  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  in  Smithton,  south  Hunting- 
don township,  and  served  a  term  of  five  years.  He  acted  as  a  delegate  to  the 
state  convention  at  Harrisburg,  and  has  been  secretary  or  held  some  other 
prominent  iiosition  in  almost  everv  countv  convention  since  1879.  Fraternally 
he  holds  membership  in  the  M.  W.  of  A.,  Lodge  No.  7082,  of  Mount  Pleasant, 
in  which  he  has  passed  all  the  chairs ;  the  N.  P.  L.,  Lodge  No.  606,  of  Mount 
Pleasant  in  which  he  is  a  charter  member,  and  was  secretary  for  two  years  ;  he 
is  also  a  charter  member  and  trustee  of  the  K.  M.,  Lodge  No.  361,  of  Mount 
Pleasant.  He  married,  Februarv  26,  1885,  Sarah  E.  Duncan,  daughter  of  John 
and  Isabelle  (Campbell)  Duncan,  and  their  children  are:  Flora  G.,  born  De- 
cember 20,  1885;  Edith  R.,  born  November  16,  1887,  a  graduate  of  the  Mount 
Pleasant  High  School;  Isabelle  D..  born  May  10,  1890:  Robert  L.,  born  Feb- 
ruary 6.  1893:  Esther  E..  born  August  10,  1896;  and  Zelpha  Naomi,  born 
March  4,   1900. 

CHARLES  C.  TRIECE.  The  great-grandfather  of  Charles  C. 
Triece,  of  Ligonier,  emigrated  from  Germany  to  the  United  States  and  set- 
tled in'  Somerset  county,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  as  a  farmer. 
His  son,  Conrad  Triece  (grandfather),  was  born  in  Somerset  county,  where  he 
passed  his  entire  life.  Like  his  father,  he  was  a  farmer,  and  also  for  some 
time  kee])cr  of  a  toll  gate.  Conrad  Triece  was  the  father  of  two  sons :  Thomas 
and  Henry.  Henry  triece  (father)  was  born  in  Somerset  county,  learned  the 
millwright's  trade,' and  when  a  young  man  moved  to  Indiana  county.  He  set- 
tled inBlairsville  where  he  bui'lt  a  mill  and  during  the  remainder  of  his  life 
devoted  himself  exclusively  to  the  milling  business.  He  was  an  active  mem- 
ber of  the  IMethodist  Episcopal  church  and  a  Republican  in  politics.  Henry 
Triece  married  Susan  Balentine,  and  their  children  were:  i.  William,  a  physi- 
cian of  South  Haven,  Mich. ;  2.  Elizabeth,  married  John  Trezise,  and  is  now  de- 
ceased ;  3.  Fanny,  married  Isaac  Wynn ;  4.  Letitia,  who  was  the  wife  of  the  late 
William  Battles:  5.  Thomas  J.,  a 'railroad  engineer  of  Cumberland,  Md. :  6. 
Charles  C,  mentioned  hereafter;  7.  Lillie,  married  S.  C.  Coyl,  of  McKeesport, 
and  is  now  deceased ;  8.  Henry,  who,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war,  enlisted 
with  the  ninety  days  men,  then  re-enlisted  and  was  killed  just  before  the  sur- 
render at  Appomattox ;  9.  John  W.,  enlisted  at  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  war, 
and  served  until  he  fell  in  battle  in  1863:  10.  Sarah,  died  in  infancy;  11.  Annie, 
died  at  the  age  of  twenty-one;  12.  Jesse  M.,  a  millwright  at  Blairsville.  The 
death  of  the  father  of  this  numerous  family  occurred  in  1882,  aged  seventy- 
eight  vears.  The  mother  was  injured  by  a  fall,  and  died  February  i,  1901, 
aged  eighty-four  years. 

Charles  C.  Triece,  son  of  Henry  and  Susan  (Balentine)  Triece,  was  born 
January  14,  1854,  in  Indiana  county,  where  he  was  educated  in  the  common 
"schools'  and  learned  the  trade  of  a  millwright  with  his  father.  For  a  number  of 
vears  he  followed  his  trade  in  Illinois  and  other  parts  of  the  west.  He  pur- 
chased, in  1897,  what  was  known  as  "Hoover's  mill,"  south  of  Ligonier,  which 
had  been  built  about  1775,  and  which  he  operated  until  the  autumn  of  1904.  He 
then  moved  to  Ligonier  and  built  a  mill  in  partnership  with  Andrew  Stoner, 
which  they   operated  under  the  firm  name   of  Triece  &   Stoner.     He  after- 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  357 

ward  purchased  his  partner's  interest,  and  has  since  continued  the  business 
alone,  his  mill  being  the  largest  and  most  modern  in  the  Ligonier  valley,  with 
a  capacity  of  sixty  barrels  daily.  He  belongs  to  Progress  Lodge.  No.  524, 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Chicago,  and  is  a  member  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church  of 
Ligonier,  in  which  he  holds  the  office  of  steward.  He  is  a  Republican  in  poli- 
tics. He  married,  December  29,  1874,  Narcissa  Jane,  daughter  of  Daniel  and 
Susan  Wagoner.  She  was  a  resident  of  Cookport,  Intliana  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

GEORGE  R.  GRIFFITH.  Jesse  Griffith,  grandfather  of  George  R. 
Griffith,  of  Ligonier,  passed  his  life  as  a  farmer  in  Jenners,  Somerset  county, 
Pennsylvania.  He  was  the  owner  of  large  tracts  of  land  which  he  had  inher- 
ited from  his  father.  He  married  a  ]\Iiss  Conley.  of  Bedford  county,  and  their 
children  were :  Samuel,  mentioned  hereafter ;  \Villiam,  Allen  and  Jehu. 

Samuel  Griffith,  son  of  Jesse  Griffith,  was  born  in  1804,  in  Somerset  county, 
and  in  early  life  engaged  in  the  hotel  business  in  Jenners,  in  connection  with 
farming.  In  1845  li^  '^^'as  elected  sherifif  of  Somerset  county,  and  at  the  time 
of  his  death  was  still  in  office.  In  jjolitics  he  was  a  Whig.  He  married  Eliza- 
beth Hillegass,  in  1830.  and  they  had  children:  Caroline,  wife  of  F.  G.  Xef?: 
Lydia.  married  Dr.  Joseph  Covode ;  Ivlargaret,  married  James  iMortimore ; 
Simon  H.  who  enlisted  in  1864,  at  Camp  Reynolds,  in  the  Fifth  Heavy  Artill- 
ery, and  at  the  end  of  a  year  lost  his  life ;  George  R.,  mentioned  hereafter. 
The  death  of  Mr.  Griffith,  the  father,  occurred  in  1848;  the  mother  died  in  1887. 

George  R.  Griffith,  son  of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  (Hillegass)  Griffith,  was 
born  December  27,  1844,  at  Jenners,  Somerset  county,  and  in  June.  1863,  en- 
listed in  the  Fifty-fourth  Regiment,  state  troops,  participating  in  the  Morgan 
raid.  In  .\ugust.  1864,  he  enlisted  in  Company  H,  Two  Hundred  and  Eleventh 
Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  in  which  he  was  advanced  to  the  rank  of 
second  lieutenant.  On  account  of  illness  he  resigned  about  March  i.  1865,  at 
Point  Rocks,  Virginia.  After  his  return  to  civil  life  he  engaged  for  three 
years  in  mercantile  business  at  Hooversville,  and  then  moved  to  Oak  Grove, 
Westmoreland  county,  where  he  was  in  business  for  twelve  years.  At  the  end 
of  that  time  he  settled  in  Ligonier  and  established  the  business  which  he  has 
successfully  conducted  to  the  present  time.  Since  1903  he  has  been  a  member 
of  the  council  of  Ligonier.  He  was  also  councilman  of  the  borough  of  Ligo- 
nier. In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  Mr.  Griffith  married  Esther  A.  i\Iickey, 
daughter  of  Daniel  and  Margaret  Mickey,  of  Ligonier,  Pennsylvania :  their 
children  were :  Ida  G..  wife  of  H.  F.  Menoher,  of  Ligonier ;  Maud  E.,  wife  of 
H.  E.  Frank,  of  Somerset  county :  Lousetta  H.,  wife  of  R.  A.  Wilt,  of  Ligo- 
nier; Nellie  D.,  at  home:  and  Denny  Ross,  at  home. 

DANIEL  M.  KERN,  a  well-known  printer  and  publisher,  and  prom- 
inent citizen  of  Ligonier.  Westmoreland  county.  Pennnsylvania,  is  one  of  those 
progressive  and  enterprising  young  men  who  have  helped  Pennsvlvania  to 
the  proud  position  which  she  has  justly  attained.  Jacob  Kern,  grandfather  of 
Daniel  yi.  Kern  was  a  resident  of  the  state  of  Pennsylvania.  Aaron  H.  Kern, 
son  of  Jacob  Kern,  and  father  of  Daniel  M.  Kern,  was  born  in  Springfield. 
Pennsylvania.  He  entered  the  employ  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company 
m  .\ugu.st.  1887,  as  brakeman,  and  by  his  fidelity  and  close  attention  to  the 
duties  of  his  position  soon  earned  promotion  to  the  position  of  conductor,  a 
position  which  he  holds  at  the  present  time  (1906).  He  is  a  member  of  the 
United  Brethren  church.     He  is  also  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  6,  I.  O.  O    F  , 


358  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

of  Youngwood,  Pennsylvania  ;  B.  of  K.  T.,  and  A.  O.  U.  W.,  at  Greensburg. 
He  married  Permelia  J.  Pool,  daughter  of  John  and  Maria  Jr'ool,  and  they  have 
four  children :  John  O.,  conductor  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad ;  Daniel  I\I., 
of  whom  later;  Joseph  C,  died  in  infancy;  Maggie  O.,  a  clerk  in  the  Fiscus 
&  Riblett  store  in  Youngwood,  Pennsylvania. 

Daniel  M.  Kern,  second  son  and  child  of  Aaron  H.  and  Permelia  J.  (Pool) 
Kern,  was  born  in  Madison,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  February 
24,  1877.  His  education  was  received  in  the  common  schools  of  his  native 
town,  and  as  he  was  a  very  ambitious  boy  succeeded  in  acquiring  here  a  fair 
amount  of  knowledge.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  years  he  went  to  the  Tribune 
office  in  Greensburg  to  learn  the  trade  of  printer.  He  commenced  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  ladder  and  remained  in  this  office  for  seven  years,  obtaining  a  very 
thorough  and  practical  knowledge  of  what  was  to  become  his  life's  work.  He 
then  resigned  this  position  and  went  to  Ligonier  where  he  accepted  a  position 
as  foreman  in  the  office  of  the  Echo,  remaining  there  for  six  years.  He  estab- 
lished himself  in  business  in  February,  1904,  associating  himself  with  Thomas 
Davitlson,  and  opening  a  printing  office  under  the  firm  name  of  Kern  &  David- 
son. A  year  later  he  bought  out  his  partner's  interest,  and  has  since  success- 
fully conducted  the  business  alone.  Mr.  Ivern,  in  connection  with  J.  S.  Kimmel, 
of  Greensburg,  and  Harry  B.  Stom,  formed  the  Ligonier  American  and  Pub- 
lishing Co.,  of  which  Mr.  Kern  is  president.  The  business  of  this  company  is 
editing  and  publishing  The  Ligonier  American,  an  independent  weekly  news- 
paper devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  Ligonier  valley,  and  the  work  of  a  general 
printing  office.  The  first  issue  of  the  American  appeared  in  April,  1906.  The  . 
office  of  the  company  is  located  in  the  J.  H.  Frank  block  in  Ligonier.  He  has 
energy  and  force  of  character,  is  quick  to  see  the  trend  of  the  times  and  take 
advantage  of  every  opportunity  that  presents  itself.  LInder  these  circumstances 
it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  he  is  considered  one  of  the  rising  young  men  of 
Westmoreland  county. 

JOHN  W.  HUSTON.  The  great-grandfather  of  John  W.  Huston, 
of  Ligonier,  was  Archibald  Huston,  who  was  born  in  1763,  in  the  parish  of 
Killen,  county  Caven,  Ireland,  and  in  1812  emigrated  to  the  United  States, 
settling  in  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  subsequently  lived  in  several 
other  counties  of  the  same  state,  finally  taking  up  his  abode  in  Westmoreland 
county,  where  he  ended  his  days.  He  brought  with  him  to  this  country  his 
six  sons :  John ;  Richard ;  Archibald :  George  :  William,  of  whom  later ;  and 
Joseph.     He  was  a  contractor  of  public  works. 

William  Huston,  son  of  Archibald  Huston,  was  born  in  1808,  in  Ireland, 
and  was  but  four  years  old  when  the  family  emigrated.  Early  in  life  he  set- 
tled at  what  was  then  Huston  Station  and  is  now  Lake  Hall,  having  previously 
been  engaged  in  farming.  In  his  new  abode  he  worked  as  a  contractor  and 
builder,  and  was  also  employed  in  railroad  work.  At  one  time  he  kept  a  gen- 
eral store  in  Fairfield,  and  later  did  contract  work  in  West  Virginia.  He  pur- 
chased a  farm  in  St.  Clair  township  and  was  the  proprietor  of  hotels  in  La- 
trobe,  Johnstown  and  Pittsburg.  He  served  as  .sheriff  of  Westmoreland  coimty 
from  1859  to  1862.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  belonged 
to  the  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Huston  married  Mary,  daughter  of  John  Ben- 
nett, of  Fairfield,  and  their  children  were :  William ;  Archbald ;  Agnes,  mar- 
ried George  L.  Miller,  one  of  the  prominent  engineers  of  Pennsylvania ;  Eliza- 
beth, was  for  twenty-five  years  a  missionary  among  the  Indians;  John,  was  a 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUXTY.  359 

surgeon  in  the  army  and  died  about  1864;  and  Dixon,  of  whom  later.  Air. 
Huston,  the  father  died  in  1881,  at  Ligonier. 

Dixon  Huston,  son  of  W  illiam  and  Mary  (Bennett)  Huston,  was  born  m 
Fairfield  township,  and  for  about  twenty-five  years  was  supervisor  for  the 
Pennsylvania  railroad.  In  1880  he  settled  in  the  Ligonier  valley,  where  he 
passed'  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  retirement.  He  belonged  to  Johnstown 
Lodge,  F.  and  A.  AL,  of  Johnstown,  and  was  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian 
church  of  Ligonier.  He  married  Margaret,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Trankful 
Xaugle,  and  "their  children  were:  Joseph:  and  John  \\'.  of  whom  later.  Mr. 
Huston  died  in  May,  1902.  .Margaret  (his  widow)  resides  in  her  own  home 
at  Ligonier. 

lohn  W.  Huston,  son  of  Di-xon  and  Margaret  (Xaugle)  Huston,  was 
born' June  11,  1866,  in  New  Florence,  receiving  his  education  in  the  common 
schools  and  at  Blairsville  Alilitary  Academy  from  which  he  graduated  in  the 
class  of  1883.  His  calling  is  tha't  of  a  civ'il  engineer,  and  since  1889  he  has 
worked  in  Texas,  California,  Mexico,  Kansas,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Pennsylvania, 
West  \'irginia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Florida  and  Okla- 
homa. Since  1888  Mr.  Huston  has  been  engaged  in  the  production  of  crude 
petroleum.  He  married  Cora  M..  daughter  of  Emmet  and  Emmaline 
(Douthett)  Law-son,  and  they  have  one  child,  Helen,  who  was  born  October  14, 
1902. 

REV.  HU.MPHREY  LUDWICkMcML'RR.\Y.  The  McMurrays 
are  of  Scotch-Irish  ancestors  who  came  to  .\merica  in  1790,  settling  in  eastern 
Pennsylvania.  They  came  to  Westmoreland  county  in  1800,  one  brother  re- 
maining there  and  two  others  going  farther  and  settling  in  Ohio. 

The  earliest  ancestor  of  whom  there  is  any  definite  information  was  Cap- 
tain Acheson  McMurray,  grandfather  of  Rev.  Humphrey  L.  McMurray.  a 
large  land  owner  and  farmer  near  Harrison  City.  Captain  McMurray  had  a 
taste  for  military  life  and  was  commissioned  first  lieutenant  of  the  Fifth 
Cavalry,  .\ugust  12,  1821,  and  captain  in  the  Sixtieth  Regiment  belonging  to 
First  Eiri^ade,  composed  of  the  militia  of  Fayette  and  Westmoreland  counties, 
Pennsvlvania,  May  5.  1823.  He  married  Elizabeth  Linsabigler,  and  their  chil- 
dren were:  Joseph,  Ephraim,  William,  .\lbert,  John,  Susannah  (Mrs.  Samuel 
Jones),  Agnes,  Ellen  (Mrs.  John  Caldwell).  Captain  McMurray  was  an  elder 
of  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Harrison  City,  Pennsylvania.  He  died  January, 
1870,  aged  seventy-five  years. 

William  Plain  McAlurray,  son  of  Captain  Acheson  and  Elizabeth  (Linsa- 
bigler) McMurrav,  and  father  of  Rev.  Humphrey  L.  AlcMurray.  w^as  born 
near  Harrison  City,  Pennsylvania,  October  25,  1825.  He  was  a  farmer  all  his 
life.  For  twenty  years  he  farmed  for  Colonel  Paul  Prinker,  and  then  nioved 
to  Delmont  on  the  farm  of  Hon.  John  Hugus.  This  move  was  made  in  order 
to  give  his  children  the  better  educational  advantages  Delmont  afiforded.  After 
the  children  completed  their  studies  he  removed  to  a  farm  near  Waterloo,  Iowa, 
W'here  his  death  occurred  in  the  winter  of  1896.  aged  seventy-one  years.  He 
was  a  Presbyterian  until  his  marriage  when  he  joined  the  Lutheran  church.  In 
politics  he  was  a  Democrat.  He  married,  November  18,  1847,  Amy  Louisa 
Berlin,  a  daughter  of  Henry  Berlin,  and  their  children  were:  i.  Henry  .'\lbert, 
born  September  10.  1848,  learned  the  trade  of  a  millwright,  and  now  resides  in 
Albuquerque,  Xew  Mexico;  he  is  unmarried.  2.  Humphrey  Ludwick  referred 
to  hereafter.  3.  Ellen  Elizabeth,  born  March  12.  1852.  widow  of  James  Brown, 
resides  in  Santa  .\na.  California,  with  her  two  children  :  TTarnld  and  Tla  r)rown. 


360  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

4.  Amy  Brinker,  born  August  21,  1854,  wife  of  W'illiani  Edgar  Steck,  residents 
of  Excelsior  Springs,  Missouri ;  they  have  no  children  hving.  5.  WilUam  Z.  B., 
born  August  19,  1856,  superintendent  of  a  rice  mill  at  Savannah,  Georgia.  He 
married  Lottie  Crawford,  of  Hampton,  Iowa,  and  is  the  father  of  three  children : 
William  B.,  a  law  student  at  Iowa  City  College,  Iowa  City,  Iowa ;  Maud  A., 
and  Norma.  6.  Margaret  Arabella,  born  September  25,  1858,  deceased,  was  the 
wife  of  James  Tuffts.  7.  Mary  Jane,  born  December  5,  1863,  married,  Novem- 
ber 2,  1887,  Ralph  jNieade,  proprietor  of  a  lumber  yard  at  Santa  .-Xna ;  they 
have  four  children:  Amy,  Mildred,  Lawrence  and  Dorothy  Meade.  8.  Sarah 
Louisa,  born  July  10,  1869,  principal  of  the  high  school  at  Santa  Ana.  9. 
Thomas  Oscar,  born  July  20,  1870,  manager  of  a  cracker  factory  at  Nashville. 
Tennessee.  10.  Bert  Clifford,  born  November  4,  1871,  manager  of  a  store  in 
Santa  Ana ;  he  married  Lillian  Augusta  Masters,  December  6,  1903.  William 
B.  McMurray,  although  a  man  in  moderate  circumstances,  gave  ^\\  his  chil- 
dren the  advantages  of  good  education.  The  daughters  were  all  competent  in- 
structors and  followed  that  vocation.  Mrs.  JMcMurray  is  living  at  the  present 
time  (1906)  and  makes  her  home  with  her  daughter  Jennie  in  Santa  Ana, 
California. 

Rev.  Humphrey  L.  McMurray  was  born  near  Boquet,  Salem  township, 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  February  18,  1850.  He  first  attended 
the  public  schools  in  the  vicinity  of  his  home,  later  attended  Delmont  Academy 
for  several  years,  then  spent  one  year  at  the  Capital  University,  Columbus, 
Ohio,  two  years  at  Thiel  College,  Mercer  county.  Pennsylvania,  and  a  full 
term  at  the  Lutheran  Theological  Seminary,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  graduated  in  1877.  In  the  same  year  he  was  ordained  a  minister  of  the 
gospel  by  the  Pittsburg  Synod.  His  first  call  was  from  the  Ligonier  parish, 
of  which  he  became  pastor  in  March,  1877.  The  parish  then  consisted  of  four 
churches  which  were  located  at  Ligonier,  Youngstown.  Latrobe  and  Derry. 
Each  of  these  churches  now  maintain  their  own  pastor  and  each  pays  him  more 
salary  than  the  four  paid  Rev.  McMurray,  who  served  them  all.  His  pastorate 
was  very  successful,  both  spiritually  and  financially.  The  churches  at  Ligo- 
nier and  Latrobe  were  remodeled  and  enlarged,  and  the  debt  resting  on  the 
Youngstown  church  entirely  paid  ofif.  In  1882  he  resigned  to  accept  a  call 
from  the  Lewisburg  and  Ithaca  congregation  in  Ohio,  where  he  spent  eighty 
happy,  fruitful  years.  Two  splendid  new  churches  were  built  and  stand  as 
monuments  of  his  work  in  that  field.  In  1890  he  accepted  a  call  from  the 
home  mission  board  of  the  general  council  to  organize  a  mission  in  Duluth, 
Minnesota,  among  the  Scandinavians.  Here  he  gathered  a  congregation  and 
built  a  handsome  church.  To  those  who  have  done  mission  work  this  seems 
little  short  of  miraculous,  for  to  start  an  English  congregation  in  a  town  where 
the  foreign  element  predominates  tests  indeed  the  quality  of  the  minister  under- 
taking it.  He  severed  his  connection  with  the  mission  in  1894  and  accepted  a 
call  to  St.  John's  Church.  McKeesport.  Pennsylvania,  where  he  remained  two 
years,  going  from  there  to  a  congregation  calling  him  at  Humboldt  Park,  Chi- 
cago. Illinois.  This  he  regards  as  an  unfortunate  and  mistaken  move.  Here 
he  lost  his  son,  a  lad  of  nine  years,  and  other  misfortunes  followed.  After  two 
years  he  was  called  by  his  old  and  first  congregation,  and  here  he  has  spent 
eight  happy,  successful  years.  Since  his  return  to  Ligonier,  Pennsylvania,  in 
1898,  the  new  church  has  been  finished  and  dedicated,  and  the  congregation  is 
in  a  prosperous  condition.  He  is  an  earnest  and  well-beloved  minister  of  the 
Evangelical  Lutheran  church,  is  courteous  and  kindly  in  disposition,  exceed- 
ingly popular,  and  is  highly  esteemed  for  his  cordial  bearing  towards  all  with 


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HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  361 

whom  he  comes  in  contact.  His  work  as  a  minister  has  been  lovingly,  faith- 
fully and  conscientiously  performed,  and  when  he  shall  be  called  to  his  reward 
beyond,  he  will  respond,  bearing  many  sheaves  gathered  for  the  blaster. 

Rev.  Humphrey  L.  ]\lc:\Iurray  married,  June  13.  1877,  Elizabetli  Jenkms, 
a  daughter  of  Robert  Jenkins,  then  of  Robbins  Station,  now  of  the  East  End, 
Pittsburg.  He  brought  his  bride  to  the  parsonage  at  Ligonier  where  he  was 
then  stationed.  Thefr  children  were:  i.  Jennie  Alay,  graduated  from  the  pub- 
lic schools,  high  school  of  Chicago,  and  from  Thiel  College,  which  conferred 
upon  her  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  2.  Emma  Berlin,  educated  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  Duluth.  Minnesota,  Chicago,  Illinois,  and  at  Irving  College,  :^Ie- 
chanicsburg.  Pennsylvania.  3.  Robert  Jenkins,  died  in  Chicago.  Illinois.  July 
3,  1896,  aged  nine  years.  Both  daughters  are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church, 
and  reside  at  home.  Robert  Jenkins,  father  of  :\Irs.  :\Ic:Murray,  was  a  native 
of  Scotland,  where  he  obtained  a  knowledge  of  coal  and  coal  mining.  He  came 
to  the  United  States  when  twenty  years  of  age.  came  west  over  the  Pennsyl- 
vania canal  and  became  one  of  the  very  earliest  coal  operators  and  shippers. 
His  mines  lay  along-  the  Youghioj;heny  river,  by  which  he  made  his  shipments 
to  all  the  lower  Ohio  and  Alississippi  river  cities.  He  was  among  the  first  to 
use  steamboats  for  towing  purposes,  and  an  early  boat  used  for  that  purpose 
was  called  the  "Robert  Jenkins."  Part  of  her  machinery  came  from  Germany, 
and  her  advent  upon  tlie  river  was  a  great  event.  :\Ir.  Jenkins  subsequently 
removed  his  operations  to  the  Monongahela  and  later  sold  out  to  the  Pittsburg 
Coal  Co.  He  was  very  successful  and  became  wealthy.  He  is  still  living 
(1906),  but  in  poor  health. 

COLONEL  JOHN  !^IcFARLAND,  of  Ligonier.  was  in  his  day  one 
of  the  leading  men  of  Westmoreland  county.  •  He  was  born  in  Ligonier,  Sep- 
tember 26.  1800.  and  died  June  30,  1886,  his  eventful  life  covering  almost  a 
century.  His  father  was  Thomas  McFarland,  whose  Scotch  and  English^  an- 
cestors, on  account  of  religious  persecution,  fled  from  Scotland,  taking  refuge 
in  county  Down.  Ireland,  and  changing  their  name  from  "Stewart"  to  Mc- 
Farland. "Son  in  a  far  land."  His  mother,  Hannah  Dinsmore.  from  county 
Antrim.  Ireland,  was  the  daughter  of  a  fuller  of  cloth  who  operated  a  fulling 
mill.  Thomas  and  Hannah  McFarland  settled  in  Ligonier  about  the  time  of 
the  Revolutionary  war,  making  their  home  a  mile  and  a  half  from  town  on 
the  hill  overlooking  the  immediate  valley.  It  is  now  owned  by  the  heirs  of 
Joseph  Fry.  and  part  of  the  log  house  in  which  John  ^IcFarland  was  bom  is 
still  standing. 

In  appearance  Colonel  IMcFarland  was  always  a  handsome  man,  large  ami 
firmly  formed,  his  presence  and  bearing  were  that  of  a  distinguished  gentle- 
man of  the  old  school.  Even  when  more  than  four  score  years  had  whitened 
his  dark  hair,  he  was  still  erect,  his  keen  blue  eye  had  lost  none  of  its  lustre, 
nor  had  his  strong  intellect  failed  him.  He  was  a  man  who  could  read  men, 
and  possesssed  great  business  insight,  being  able  to  look  into  and  measure  the 
future  outcome  of  business  projects  with  almost  unerring  certainty.  In  tliis 
his  mind  was  marvelous,  and  had  he  lived  in  our  day,  with  such  mental  gifts, 
he  could  easily  have  amassed  an  immense  fortune. 

There  were  but  few  schools  in  Westmoreland  county  when  he  was  a  \outh, 
indeed,  his  entire  schooling  covered  a  period  of  but  six  months.  Like  all 
young  men  of  that  primitive  age  he  was  brought  up  as  a  farmer,  and  his  first 
employment  away  from  the  farm  was  on  the  Pennsylvania  canal,  when  it  was 
in    course    of    construction    across    the    state.       This  work  in  a  srreat  degree 


362  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

changed  the  whole  course  of  his  life;  it  taught  him  to  handle  laboring  men, 
and  a  few  vears  afterward  he  was  a  contractor  in  the  building  of  the  W  est 
Penn  railroad.  Later  he  was  engaged  in  still  larger  railroad  contracts  m  Law- 
rence county  and  elsewhere.  In  this  business  he  was  successful  and  laid  up  a 
reasonable  competence  for  those  days,  when  fortunes  were  measured  with 
fewer  figures  than  thev  are  now.  About  this  time  he  acquired  a  large  amount 
of  real  estate,  which  graduallv  grew  in  value  and  added  to  the  accumulations 
of  his  old  age.  From  Colonel  John  Ramsey  he  purchased  the  mill  property 
at  Ligonier :  this  he  owned  for  nearly  fifty  years,  selling  it  to  the  late  \\ .  A. 
Bair,  in  1866.  Though  his  business  compelled  him  to  be  away  from  Ligonier 
a  great  deal,  he  never  severed  his  relations  with  the  place  of  his  birth.  He 
built  a  brick  residence  there  in  1830,  a  palatial  one  in  those  days,  which,  with  a 
few  exterior  changes,  is  still  standing  and  is  the  home  of  Mr.  John  H.  Frank. 
Earlv  in  the  centurv  he  became  interested  in  the  military  affairs  of  the  country, 
and  was  made  a  colonel  in  the  state  militia.  By  this  title,  "Colonel."  he  was 
alwavs  thereafter  known,  although  he  was  never  directly  connected  with  any 
of  the  wars  in  which  the  United" States  was  engaged.  He  took  great  interest 
in  the  Mexican  war  and  eciuipped  and  sent  to  the  front  Chauncey  Forward 
Sargent,  the  only  soldier  the  valley  furnished  for  that  war. 

"About  1840  he  became  interested  in  politics.  He  had  always  been  a  Dem- 
ocrat, and  being  a  leader  in  his  county,  was  put  up  as  a  candidate  for  state 
senator,  to  which  position  he  was  elected  in  1850,  serving  with  great  satis- 
faction to  his  constituents  for  the  term  of  three  years.  His  opponent  in  this 
election  was  none  other  than  the  renowned  John  Covode,  whom  he  defeated 
at  the  polls. 

He  married,  July  17.  1832,  Elizabeth  Elder,  a  descendant  of  Colonel 
Robert  Elder,  the  RevolutionarV  soldier,  and  sister  of  the  late  Colonel  Samuel 
Elder.  She  was  born  May  5,  1813,  died  December  5,  1840,  leaving  three 
daughters:  Marv,  Josephine  and  Martha.  He  married  (second),  August  20, 
1844.  Julia  A.  Tantiinger.  born  in  1812.  died  May  18,  1849.  %  her  he  had  two 
sons :  James  Burns  and  William  Wallace,  and  one  daughter  Agnes,  all  of  whom 
died  in  infancy. 

One  of  his  favorite  ambitions,  which  he  probably  acquired  wdiile  a  con- 
tractor on  the  railroad,  was  the  building  of  a  railroad  from  the  main  branch  of 
the  Pennsylvania  into  Ligonier  valley.  With  his  usual  business  sagacity,  he 
easily  foresaw  the  great  advantage  such  a  road  would  be  to  that  locality,  filled 
as  it  was  with  timber,  coal,  stone  and  many  other  marketable  products.  He 
even  advocated  this  project  in  the  fifties,  when  in  the  senate,  and  introduced  a 
bill  providing  for  its  charter.  The  road  was  at  length  projected  by  popular 
subscription,  and  Colonel  McFarland  headed  the  list  by  subscribing  and  pay- 
ing S3.000.00,  which  was  then  an  immense  sum  compared  with  what  it  is  to- 
day. He  was  elected  president  of  the  proposed  Ligonier  Valley  railroad, 
though  it  was  finally  completed  under  another  organization,  headed  by  Judge 
Thomas  IMellon.  of  Pittsburg.  Before  the  advent  of  the  railroad  he  made 
many  trips  eastward  on  horseback,  in  carriages  and  by  stage  coach,  passing 
over  the  old  turnpike,  and  in  his  old  age  was  wont  to  dwell  on  that  romantic 
period  of  our  state's  history.  All  his  life  he  had  been  a  reader  of  books  and 
knew  more  alx)ut  them  than  most  men  of  his  day.  In  his  earlier  days  he 
had  mingled  with  the  most  eminent  men  of  the  state,  and  had  acquired  through 
these  associations  a  polish  and  address  usually  found  only  among  elderly  men 
in  our  large  cities.  There  were  few  prominent  men  in  the  fifties,  in  the  state, 
whom  he  did  not  know  intimately.     These  as.sociations  had  polished  anrl  de- 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUXTY.  363 

veloped  his  powers  of  conversation,  until  he  became  one  of  the  most  charming 
companions  socially  one  would  meet  in  a  lifetime.  He  was  a  strictly  honest 
man.  a  lover  of  justice,  and  ever  faithful  to  an  old  friend. 

During  the  greater  part  of  his  life  he  was  a  member  of  the  United  Presby- 
terian church,  then  known  as  the  "Seceders."  This  society  had  no  place  of 
worship  at  that  time  in  Ligonier.  and  it  was  his  custom  to  ride  on  horseback 
everv  Sunday  morning  to  the  church  near  Fort  Palmer,  about  seven  miles  north 
of  Ligonier.  there  to  mingle  with  his  neighbors  in  their  religious  devotions. 
A  quiet  and  unobtrusive  charity,  so  quiet  indeed  that  even  those  who  were 
benefitted  by  it  often  knew  nothing  of  its  source,  characterized  his  entire  life, 
and  this  doubly  endeared  him  to  those  who  knew  him  best. 

His  declining  years  were  spent  almost  entirely  in  retirement  and  in  looking 
after  his  own  estate.  Surrounded  by  all  the  comforts  that  loving  friends  could 
give,  firm  in  the  faith  of  his  church,  he  passed  peacefully  away  while  on  a  visit 
at  the  home  of  his  daughter  Mary.  June  30.  1886.  and  was  buried  in  the  old 
Ligonier  cemetery.  His  three  daughters  who  grew  to  womanhood  were  all 
born  and  reared  in  the  ^IcFarland  homestead  in  Ligonier.  and  educated  in 
the  Ladies"  Seminaries  of  Washington  and  Blairsville.  Pennsylvania.  Mary 
married  Rev.  Benjamin  Kelso  Ormond.  D.  D..  a  descendant  of  the  Revolution- 
ary soldier.  Colonel  Thomas  Kelso.  Dr.  Ormond  is  a  minister  of  the  Presby- 
terian church,  and  their  home  is  in  Toledo.  Ohio,  where  their  four  children  also 
reside.  They  are :  John  McFarland  Ormond.  attorney-at-law.  married  Lucy 
Jameson,  of  AA'arren.  Ohio.  Josephine  E..  married  John  Robb  Calder.  attor- 
nev-at-law.  ^NL  Georgia  Ormond.  sculptor.  Nannie  P.,  married  Frank  Will- 
ard  Thomas,  publisher.  Josephine,  the  second  daughter  of  Colonel  John  ^Ic- 
Farland.  married  Thomas  G.  Stewart,  commission  merchant,  who  died  in 
Baltimore.  1889.  Mrs.  Stewart  died  on  September  22.  1869.  leaving  one  son, 
Frank  ^L  Stewart,  now  secretari-  of  the  Stock  Growers'  Association  of  Buffalo 
Gap.  South  Dakota.  He  married  Rose  Taylor,  of  Baltimore.  Marviand.  The 
third  daughter.  Martha,  married  Rev.  John  Calvin  Boyd.  D.  D..  a  minister  in 
the  L'nited  Presbnerian  church,  who  died  in  Pittsburg  in  August.  1903.  His 
wife  died  iNIay  16.  1869.  leaving  one  son.  William  McFarland  Boyd,  who  is 
now  master  mechanic  with  the  \^"eslinghouse  Company  of  Braddock.  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  married  Jessie  Xeely.  There  are  seven  great-grandchildren,  namely : 
Jane  and  Isabella  Stewart.  Martha  yi.  and  Helen  Boyd.  Dorothy  Ormond, 
Thomas  and  Margaret  Elder  Thomas. 

S-ARGEXT  FAIRLY.  The  early  ancestor  in  America  of  the  Sar- 
gent family  was  one  William  Sargent,  the  first  record  of  whom  appears  in  the 
general  court  records  of  ^Massachusetts  in  1633.  There  an  act  of  court  was 
passed  protecting  certain  grantees  of  land  then  at  Agawam.  now  Ipswich,  in 
their  rights,  and  ^^'illiam  Sargent  was  one  of  them.  The  court  records  also 
show  that  in  1639  he  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  fidelity  to  the  colony  of 
Massachusetts.  The  Sargent  family  numbers  among  its  members  many  of  the 
most  noted  men  in  our  histon.-.  they  being  all  descended  from  the  common  an- 
cestor. William  Sargent. 

Elijah  Sargent  was  the  sixth  in  line  from  \^'illiam.  He  was  born  in  1786. 
near  Methuen.  Massachusetts.  In  his  earlv  years  he  immigrated  west,  set- 
tling near  Chambersburg.  Pennsylvania.  From  this  place  he  enlisted  in  the 
War  of  1812.  Later  in  life  he  lived  in  Greensburg  and  in  Ligonier.  in  both 
places  being  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  shoes.  In  1822  he  married  Matilda 
Tannehill.  of   Somerset.   Pennsylvania.     He   died    at   Lieonier.    November    i. 


364  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

1850.  His  wife  died  in  Ligonier,  March  31,  1852.  Both  are  buried  in  the  old 
St.  Clair  cemetery  in  Greensburg.  Their  children  were  as  follows:  i.  Lydia 
L.,  died  in  Ligonier,  1849;  ^-  Sarah  J.,  living  at  present  (1906)  in  Larned, 
Kansas  ;  3.  Chauncey  Forward  ;  4.  Matilda  ;  5.  James  Tannehill ;  6.  Susan  H. ; 
7.  Linda  C. :  8.  William  Dunlap. 

Chauncey  Forward  Sargent  grew  to  manhood  in  the  county,  and  later 
was  engaged  in  business  in  Harrisburg,  Philadelphia,  and  at  Bellwood,  Penn- 
sylvania. When  a  young  man  he  learned  the  printer's  trade  in  Greensburg, 
and  in  1846,  while  a  citizen  of  Ligonier,  he  chanced  to  visit  Greensburg  when 
a  company  was  being  formed  for  service  in  the  Mexican  war.  Among  the 
volunteers  were  many  of  his  intimate  friends  and  they  induced  him  to  enlist 
with  them.  In  that  way  he  became  a  member  of  the  Second  Regiment  in  the 
Mexican  war,  and  was  the  only  soldier  in  the  Mexican  war  from  Ligonier  val- 
ley. The  service  of  the  regiment  is  fully  given  in  that  part  of  Volume  i  of 
this  work  which  relates  to  the  Mexican  war.  Mr.  Sargent  was  with  the  regi- 
ment in  the  march  under  General  Scott  from  Vera  Cruz  to  Mexico,  and  was 
seriously  wounded  at  Chepultepec  just  outside  of  the  City  of  Mexico,  and  lay  in 
the  hospital  there  for  many  months.  The  wound  disabled  him  more  or  less 
during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  Though  absent  from  Westmoreland  for 
many  years  he  was  all  the  while  intimate  with  our  interests  and  associated  with 
our  best  people.  He  was  an  intimate  friend  and  companion  of  such  men  as 
General  Richard  Coulter,  Colonel  John  McFarland,  Colonel  John  W.  Johnston, 
Henry  C.  Marchant,  Thomas  J.  Barclay,  Colonel  James  Armstrong,  and  many 
others.  He  had  many  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  which  greatly  endeared  him 
to  his  friends,  who  in  Westmoreland  county  were  legion.  He  took  a  great  in- 
terest in  the  early  history  of  Westmoreland  county,  and  particularly  in  that 
part  of  it  which  related  to  the  Mexican  war,  and  we  believe  attended  all  the 
]\lexican  war  veteran  reunions  in  their  annual  meetings.  He  was  connected 
with  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  in  the  early  years  of  its  history, 
serving  as  mail  agent,  passenger  conductor,  and  later  as  station  master  with 
headquarters  at  Harrisburg.  On  leaving  that  employment  he  engaged  in  the 
news  business  at  Philadelphia,  which  has  since  become  the  Union  News  Com- 
pany. He  married,  July  29,  1862,  Annie  Isett,  daughter  of  John  S.  Isett,  an 
iron  manufacturer  of  Spring  Creek,  Pennsylvania.  They  had  children  named 
Lewis  Henry,  George,  Annie  and  Florence.  He  died  at  Bellwood,  Pennsyl- 
vania, December  19,  1904,  and  was  buried  in  the  new  St.  Clair  cemetery  at 
Greensburg.     His  widow  resides  at  Reading,  Pennsylvania. 

James  Tannehill  Sargent  also  learned  the  trade  of  printer  in  Greensburg, 
and  in  later  years  owned  and  edited  a  paper  in  Iowa,  and  still  later  one  in  South 
Dakota.  He  was  instrumental  in  raising  a  companv  in  Iowa  for  service  in 
the  Civil  war,  and  was  elected  its  first  lieutenant.  He  served  his  time  and  re- 
turned home  without  any  serious  injury,  having  participated  in  Grant's  cam- 
paign around  Vicksburg.     He  died  at  Yankton,  South  Dakota,  in  1900. 

Susan  H.  Sargent  was  married  to  Dr.  J.  Mathiot  Cummings,  who  lived 
and  practiced  medicine  in  Ligonier  and  Beaver  Falls  for  many  years  and  moved 
later  to  Kansas.  Dr.  Cummings  was  born  in  Ligonier,  and  was  the  son  of  Dr. 
Samuel  Cummings,  who  in  his  day  was  one  of  the  leading  pioneer  physicians 
of  that  place.  Dr.  J.  Mathiot  Cummings  died  in  1905,  jjut  his  wife  is  still 
living  in  Larned,  Kansas. 

Linda  C.  Sargent  and  Matilda  Sargent,  who  is  now  Mrs.  Frank  Conncly, 
are  also  livin.o-  in  Larned,  Kansas. 

William  Dunlap  Sargent,  the  youngest  son.  was  born  in  Ligonier.     After 


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HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  365 

the  familv  moved  to  Harrisburg  he  became  a  telegraph  operator  on  the  Penn- 
s>  Ivania  railroad.  At  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  war  he  was  appointed  a  tele- 
•'Vaph  operator  in  the  government  service  and  was  assigned  to  duty  at  the 
headquarters  of  General  A.  E.  Burnside,  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  was  thus 
engaged  at  the  time  of  the  Alorgan  raid.  He  left  the  service  on  account  of  ill 
health,  and  returned  to  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  engaged  as 
manager  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company's  offices,  but  was  later 
removed  to  Chicago  on  the  staff  of  C.  H.  Summer,  electrician  under  General 
Anson  Stager.  Later  Mr.  Sargent  removed  to  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania, 
wliere  he  became  superintentlent  of  the  American  District  Telephone  Company, 
which  was  instituted  in  1873  under  his  supervision.  In  1877  he  became  asso- 
ciated with  Thomas  E.  Cornish,  who  had  secured  a  license  for  eastern  Penn- 
sylvania and  the  states  of  Delaware  and  New  Jersey  for  the  telephone  business, 
with  headquarters  in  Philadelphia,  and  remained  with  hiin  until  1882,  when 
lie  accepted  a  position  with  the  New  York  and  New  Jersey  Telephone  Com- 
panv.  with  headquarters  in  Brooklyn,  New  York,  of  which  company  he  is  now 
vice  president.  He  married  in  1903,  Mary  Eorward  Kooser,  a  daughter  of 
Judge  Francis  1.  Kooser,  of  Somerset.  They  reside  in  Brooklyn,  New  York. 
All  the  children  of  Elijah  Sargent  had  inherited  from  their  parents  qual- 
ities which,  with  their  added  industry,  made  them  prominent  in  life  beyond 
their  fellows  of  equal  opportunities. 

WILSON  BAUGHMAN,  late  of  Greensburg,  came  from  an  old  and 
very  numerous  Pen^isylvania  German  family.  He  was  the  third  son  of  Daniel 
and  Mary  McCready  Baughman,  who  had  six  children,  three  girls  and  three 
bovs.  all  of  whom  grew  to  manhood  and  womanhood.  They  lived  on  a  farm 
in  Hempfield  township,  Westmoreland  county,  and  were  a  thrifty  and  indus- 
trious people,  Daniel  Baughman  being  regarded  as  a  good  farmer.  The  old 
homestead  was  near  Hannastown. 

Wilson  Baughman  was  born  December  29,  1836.  He  was  taught  to  do 
general  farm  work,  and  was  sent  to  the  country  schools  until  he  was 
thirteen  years  old.  at  which  time  he  came  to  Greensburg.  being  employed  as  a 
clerk  in  the  general  store  of  Augustus  Stoy.  the  store  occupying  the  lot  on 
v.hich  the  Keck  building  now  stands.  He  remained  in  the  employ  of  Mr. 
Stoy  for  six  years,  when  he  purchased  the  book  store  of  Samuel  B.  Laufer. 
L'nder  his  management  the  stock  of  books  was  increased  rapidly,  and  he  soon 
built  up  a  large  trade  not  only  in  Greensburg  but  in  the  surrounding  sections, 
and  in  later  years  had  customers  from  all  parts  of  the  county,  for  he  was  a 
pioneer  in  the  stationery  business.  His  store  was  at  first  in  the  McCuIlough 
building.  Afterwards  he  built  and  occupied  the  building  known  yet  as  the 
Baughman  building  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  West  Pittsburg  streets.  He 
remained  in  this  business  about  thirty  years,  and  sold  out  and  abandoned  it 
only  when  other  business  matters  demanded  his  entire  attention  When  he 
retired  from  this  business  he  had  undoubtedly  the  largest  book  store  and 
stationery  business  in  the  county.  In  1881,  on  the  death  of  Thomas  J.  Barclay, 
the  leading  Greensburg  banker,  he  became  president  of  the  Barclay  Bank,  a 
position  which  he  filled  with  great  credit  to  himself  and  his  business  associates 
until  his  death.  He  married  Sarah  S.  Barclay,  a  daughter  of  John  T. 
Barclay  and  a  sister  of  Thomas  J.  Barclay.  She  was  born  in  Greensburg, 
March  15,  1834,  died  March  13,  18184.  She  was  undoubtedly  a  woman  of  more 
than  ordinary  intellectual  attainments,  and  was  credited  by  her  husband  for 
bringing  about  in  a  large  degree  the  success  which  attended  his  efforts  in  life. 
The  Barclay  family  is  treated  of  elsewhere  in  these  pages. 


366  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

Mr.  Baughman  was  noted  all  his  life  for  paying  most  strict  attention  to 
whatever  business  he  engaged  in.  He  had  great  faith  in  real  estate  invest- 
ments and  in  the  future  of  Greensburg.  He  accordingly  invested  his  accum- 
ulations largely  in  real  estate  in  this  vicinity.  This  rapidly  increased  in  vahie 
and  made  him  at  his  death  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  the  county.  He  was 
by  nature  a  man  of  athletic  build,  lived  an  abstemious  and  most  exemplary  life. 
and  was  apparently  in  perfect  health  until  his  death,  which  occurred  suddenU- 
and  without  previous  sickness,  on  December  12,  1895.  Mr.  Baughman's 
leading  characteristic  was  his  lifelong  close  attention  to  business.  While 
with  a  limited  circle  of  friends,  to  whom  he  was  most  loyal,  he  was  known  as  a 
man  of  jovial  disposition,  who  relished  most  keenly  all  kinds  of  amusement, 
yet  the  summing  up  of  his  life  is  that  he  was  essentially  a  man  of  business. 
He  had,  however,  an  acute  intellect  and  an  energetic  disposition  which 
would  have  made  him  successful  in  any  vocation  he  might  have  chosen  to  fol- 
low. Though  he  led  an  extremely  busy  life  he  had  found  time  to  delve  deeply 
into  the  best  English  and  American  literature.  Both  he  and  his  wife  were 
active  workers  in  the  Episcopal  church  of  Greensburg,  and  in  his  will  he  re- 
membered his  church  in  a  substantial  way. 

FRANK  M.  WELCH.  The  grandfather  of  Frank  M.  Welch,  of  New 
Kensington,  was  Elisha  Welch,  who  was  born  near  Chicago  and  was  one  of 
the  pioneers  of  Illinois,  where  he  led  the  life  of  a  farmer.  He  married  Mary 
Osborn,  of  West  Virginia,  and  two  of  their  children  were  massacred  by  In- 
dians, the  survivors  being :  Edwin  Elisha,  a  soldier  in  the  Union  army,  served 
three  years  and  re-enlisted,  and  a  short  time  after  was  taken  prisoner  and  was 
in  Andersonville  prison  several  months,  and  died  in  the  prison.  He  served  in 
Company  B,  One  Hundred  and  Twelfth,  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  and  had 
seen  hard  service  during  his  first  three  years  campaign.  Alfonzo,  local  preacher 
in  Welch,  Washington  state.  Lucy,  wife  of  Patrick  Foley.  George  H.,  men- 
tioned hereinafter.  Mr.  Welch,  the  father,  was  one  of  the  victims  of  an 
epidemic  of  cholera. 

George  H.  Welch,  son  of  Elisha  and  ^lary  (Osborn)  Welch,  was  born 
April  18,  1841,  near  St.  Vincent,  Illinois,  and  in  i86i  enlisted  in  Company  B, 
One  Hundred  and  Twelfth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  \'olunteers,  serving  three 
years.  After  the  war  he  went  to  Allegheny,  where  he  worked  for  about 
fifteen  years  at  the  cooper's  trade,  and  for  the  remainder  of  his  life  was  in 
business  for  himself  as  a  drayman.  His  wife  was  Annie  Kelley.  and  their  chil- 
dren were :  George  H.,  Edwin  E.,  of  Alliance.  Ohio :  Frank  ]\L.  mentioned 
hereinafter ;  Ida,  wife  of  George  Eckert,  of  Allegheny :  Annie,  wife  of  John 
Engeman,  of  East  Pittsburg:  ]\Tary,  and  John,  of  Alliance,  Ohio,  employed  on 
the  Fort  Wavne  railroad.  The  death  of  the  father  of  the  familv  occurred  Tulv 
25,  1885. 

Frank  ^I.  Welch,  son  of  George  H.  and  Annie  (Kelley)  Welch,  was 
bom  September  i,  i8fi6,  in  Allegheny  City,  where  he  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools.  At  the  age  of  eleven  years  he  began  working  as  an  errand 
boy  for  W.  P.  Price,  with  whom  he  remained  about  eighteen  months.  After 
working  for  the  same  length  of  time  for  John  Liniegrover,  he  served  for  two 
years  as  bartender  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel  and  was  then  employed  for  a 
time  by  his  father.  In  t886  he  took  a  position  with  the  .-\dams  Express  Com- 
pany, which  he  retained  until  i8gi.  From  that  year  until  i8gg  he  was  travel- 
ling salesman  for  Walker  Stratman's  fertilizer  plant,  and  was  then  elected  su- 
perintendent of  the  plant,  a  position  which  he  retained  until  1902.  In  that 
year  he  moved  to  New  Kensington  and  leased  the  Hotel  Windsor,  of  which  he 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUMTY.  367 

is  still  tlie  successful  proprietor.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Homeless  Twenty- 
six,  of  I'ittsburg,  and  Lodge  Xti.  112,  American  Mechanics,  of  AUeghcnv  City, 
in  which  he  has  passed  all  chairs.  Mr.  Welch  married  .\niiie  Haines,  of 
Rochester,  Pennsylvania. 

ROBERT  CRUMLEY.  Stonebridge  Crumley,  grandfather  of  Rob- 
ert Crumley,  of  New  Kensington,  was  born  in  Germany,  whence  he  emigrated 
to-  the  L'nited  States,  settling  in  X'irginia,  where  he  passed  the  remainder  of 
his  life.  He  married  and  was  the  father  of  the  following  children :  William, 
died  in  the  hospital  during  the  war  of  1812:  Rebecca,  died  immarried  :  John, 
died  in  Indiana:  Rachel,  and  Henry,  mentioned  hereinafter. 

Henry  Crumley,  son  of  Stonebridge  Crumley,  was  born  January,  1800, 
in  Frederick  county,  X'irginia,  and  was  a  tanner,  following  his  trade  for  a 
number  of  years.  He  also  worked  as  a  teamster  between  Baltimore  and  West 
Virginia.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  Mr.  Crumley  mar- 
ried Adeline  Lailor,  and  their  children  were :  Hattie,  of  Parkersburg,  West 
X'irginia :  Peachey,  deceased :  Andrew  J.,  of  Williamstown,  West  X'irginia ; 
Henry  and  Robert  (twins),  the  latter  mentioned  hereinafter.  The  death  of 
Mr.  Crumley  occurred  in  1884. 

Robert  Crumley,  son  of  Henry  and  Adeline  (Lailor)  Crumley,  was  born 
July  17.  1849,  ori  the  old  homestead  in  Frederick  county,  Virginia,  and  in  early 
life  learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  at  which  he  worked  for  a  number  of  years  in 
Parkersburg,  West  X'irginia.  He  also  worked  as  a  carpenter  and  millwight 
in  the  oil  fields.  In  1864  he  was  employed  by  the  government  as  a  teamster. 
remaining  in  the  service  until  the  close  of  the  war.  On  Xlay  18,  1892,  he  ar- 
rivctl  in  Xew  Kensington,  being  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers,  and  has  ever  since 
worked  there  as  a  carpenter  and  millwright,  having  fitted  up  the  rolling  mills. 
He  is  treasurer  of  the  Carpenter's  L'nion,  and  affiliates  with  Lodge  Xo.  1048, 
I.  (_).  C).  F.,  in  which  he  has  passed  all  chairs.  He  is  also  treasurer  of  the 
Encampment.  ^Ir.  Crumley  married  Mary  Belle  Davis,  of  X'irginia,  and  their 
children  were:  Herbert  D.,  a  student  at  Mount  L'nion  College,  C)hio :  Clara 
Estella,  wife  of  Samuel  Love,  of  Braddock,  Pennsylvania :  Edward  H.,  a 
graduate  of  Parnassus  high  school,  and  clerk  of  Pittsburg  tin  works :  Carl 
Robert,  timekeeper  for  the  Union  Springs  Manufacturing  Company  of  Xew 
Kensington :  Floyd  Glendale,  storekeeper  at  the  Pittsburg  works  of  the  Amer- 
ican Sheet  &  Tin  Plate  Company :  Ulmont  Sherman,  at  school.  The  mother 
of  these  children  died  March  4,  1892,  and  ]\lr.  Crundey  subsequently  married 
Ro.xannah  Huffman. 

William  E.  Taylor,  half-brother  of  Mr.  Crumley,  enlisted  in  the  United 
States  army  as  assistant  sergeant  on  the  old  Savannah,  and  is  still  in  the  ser- 
vice, being  now  stationed  at  Honolulu. 

HARRY  H.  PFEIFFER.  Charles  Pfeiffer,  father  of  Harry  H. 
Pfeifter  of  Xew  Kensington,  was  born  in  (Germany,  and  in  1880  emigrated  to 
the  United  States,  settling  in  Pittsburg,  where  for  about  five  years  he  worked 
at  his  trade  of  ^shoemaker.  He  then  moved  to  Saxonburg,  Butler  county, 
where  he  conducted  a  livery  business  for  about  fourteen  \'ears.  In  1896  he 
went  to  Xew  Kensington  and  there  for  some  years  continued  in  the  same  line 
of  work.  He  is  now  employed  by.  the  Independent  Brewing  Company.  He 
affiliates  with  the  Maccabees  and  is  a  member  of  the  German  Lutheran  church. 
Mr.  Pfeift'er  married,  befrire  leaving  Germany.  Amelia  Cilantz,  and  they  had 
children:  Annie,  wife  of  William  Sayer,  of  Pittslnirg :  Charles,  of  Xew  Ken- 
sington: Lizzie,  clerk   in   Kaufman's  store,  Pittsburg;  Albert,  roller  at  Can- 


368  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

onsburg.  Pennsylvania ;  ^\"illiam,  of  New  Kensington ;  Harry  H.,  mentioned 
hereinafter;  and  Herman,  of  New  Kensington.  The  mother  of  these  children 
died  in  1887,  and  Mr.  Pfeift'er  subsequently  married  Mrs.  ]\Iinnie  Wagner, 
lice  Konrumph,  and  their  children  were :  \\'alter,  Fritz,  Wilber,  and  How- 
ard, deceased. 

Harry  H.  Pfeift'er,  son  of  Charles  and  Amelia  (Glantz)  Pfeift'er,  was 
born  January  30,  1884,  in  Saxonburg,  where  he  received  his  education  in  the 
common  schools.  He  learned  the  plumber's  trade  with  W.  T.  Griffith,  of 
Pittsburg,  and  in  1904  engaged  in  business  for  himself  in  New  Kensington, 
where  he  is  now  building  up  a  very  profitable  connection.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  First  Lutheran  church. 

WILLIAAI  STEEL,  of  Salem  township,  was  born  in  ;\Iount  Pleas- 
ant township,  October  i,  1833,  on  the  Steel  homestead  farm,  on  land  taken  up 
by  his  grandfather,  James  Steel,  which  land  was  granted  to  him  by  the  Penns. 
In  1826.  his  father,  John  Steel  purchased  a  large  farm  near  Hannastown,  in 
Salem  and  Hempfiekl  townships,  and  in  1835  he  moved  to  it,  bringing  his  son 
William  with  him.  This  is  perhaps  one  of  the  most  historical  spots  in  western 
Pennsylvania,  for  on  it  was  situated  the  famous  Hannastown,  our  first  county 
seat,  a  fuller  description  of  which  will  be  found  in  the  first  volume  of  this 
series  of  books.  It  was  originally  the  farm  oi  Judge  Robert  Hanna  and  con- 
tained three  hundred  acres. 

William  Steel's  grandfather,  James  Steel,  was  born  at  Castle  Blaney,  near 
Carrick  Macross,  Ireland,  about  1741.  He  came  to  America  after  the  Steel 
Boy  Insurrection  in  1772.  On  his  way  westward  he  sojourned  a  short  time 
east  of  the  mountains  in  the  noted  Scotch-Irish  settlements,  in  what  was  then 
Cumberland  county,  now  Franklin  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  came  westward 
across  the  mountains  in  1773,  settling  on  land  in  Sewickley  Manor,  now  Mount 
Pleasant  township,  of  this  county,  arriving  there  about  the  time  of  the  forma- 
tion of  Westmoreland  county  (1773).  Here  he  bought  land  from  the  Penns 
and  became  a  prominent  land  owner  in  his  day.  This  land  has  since  became 
innnenscly  valuable,  for  it  is  in  the  coking  coal  region  of  the  celebrated  Con- 
nellsville  seam.  The  tract  contained  four  hundred  acres  and  has  never  since 
been  out  of  the  Steel  name,  but  has  passed  down  through  his  descendants  and 
is  now  owned  by  his  great-grandson,  Joseph  W.  Steel,  of  Greensburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution  for  three  years,  and  was  in  the 
campaign  of  the  Jerseys  with  Robert  and  Andrew  Donaldson,  his  brothers-in- 
law.  Like  all  Scotch-Irish,  he  was  an  agitator  for  freedom.  He  was  also  a 
member  of  the  Mount  Pleasant  Associators,  a  very  important  pioneer  military 
organization.  He  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  before  Justice  Hugh  IMartin, 
March  3,  1777,  as  is  shown  by  our  court  records. 

James  Steel  married  (first)  Elizabeth  McMasters.  a  sister  of  James  Mc- 
IMasters,  who  owned  the  farm  on  which  Hecla  is  now  located.  He  had  the  fol- 
lowing children  by  her:  i.  Joseph,  intermarried  with  Barbary  Blystone,  of 
Franklin  township.  2.  Jane,  intermarried  with  William  Hunter,  whose  de- 
scendants still  live  near  Perrysville  and  Lowdensville  in  Richland  county, 
Ohio.  His  wife  dying  about  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  he  married  Eliza- 
beth Donaldson,  who  is  said  to  have  been  his  cousin.  By  this  union  were  born 
three  children:  3.  Elizabeth,  born  September  24,  1785,  intermarried 
with  Alexander  Hamilton,  of  near  Ruffsdale,  Pennsylvania.  4.  James,  born 
September  17,  1787,  the  day  upon  which  the  United  States  constitution  was 
ratified.  He  was  intermarried  with  Martha  McCutcheon,  of  Franklin  town- 
ship.    5.    John,  the  father  of  William  Steel,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.     John 


-(UX^T^ 


7^^^ 


HISTORY   Of    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  369 

Steel  was  born  \pril  7.  lySf).  and  was  married  to  his  cousin,  iMartha  Walker,  a 
dauo-hter  of  Andrew  and  Sallev  (Donaldson)  Walker,  of  Virginia,  their  place 
bein^'o-  now  included  in  that  part  of  West  Virginia  which  lies  near  Steuben- 
ville^'Ohio.  lames  Steel,  the  father,  was  the  owner  of  slaves  in  Westmoreland 
county  all  of"  whom  he  manumitted  as  is  shown  by  our  court  record.  He  died 
September  10.  1823,  and  is  buried  at  the  .Middle  Presbyterian  church  yard, 
Mount  Pleasant  township. 

John  Steel  acquired  the  homestead  in  Mount  Pleasant  township  and,  as 
is  noted  above,  purchased  the  Robert  Hanna  farm  in  1826.  Upon  his  removing 
there  it  became  the  homestead  farm  of  the  Steels,  and  at  his  death  he  be- 
queathed it  to  his  son,  William  Steel,  the  present  owner.  The  children  of 
John  and  :\Iartha  (Walker)  Steel  were  as  follows:  i.  Sarah,  intermarried 
with  Henry  Byers,  of  Grapeville,  Pennsylvania.  2.  Eliza,  intermarried  with 
Andrew  ^lachesnev,  of  Greensburg.  3.  James,  intermarried  with  Elizabeth 
Hanna,  of  Pleasant  Unitv,  Pennsylvania.  4.  Joseph  Walker,  intermarried 
with  :Malinda  Brechbill,  oi'  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania.  5.  John,  intermarried 
with  Susan  Geiger,  near  Beatty,  Pennsylvania.  6.  Margaret,  intermarried 
with  Tames  M.  Steel,  of  Salem  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania. 

7.  .Marv  I.,  intermarried  with  Henry  T.  Hanna,  of  Smithton,  Pennsylvania. 

8.  Martha",  intermarried  with  Jilajor  David  P.  :\techling,  of  Greensburg,  Penn- 
sylvania. 9.  William  Steel,  born  October  i,  1833.  intermarried  with  Sarah 
Jane  Brown,  of  near  Xew  .Mexandria.  Pennsylvania.  All  of  this  family  are 
now  dead  except  William  Steel  and  :Mary  J.  Hanna.  John  Steel,  their  father, 
was  one  of  the  best  of  business  men  and  one  of  the  largest  land  owners  in  his 
countv.  His  wife  dying,  he  contracted  another  marriage,  with  Mary  Byers,  by 
whom  there  were  no  children.  He  died  IMay  22,  i860,  and  was  buried  in  the 
Congruitv  Presbyterian  church  yard.  Sarah  J.  Brown,  the  wife  of  Willi!im 
Steel,  was  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Oliver  and  Nancy  Beatty  Brown,  and  was 
born  and  brought  up  near  Xew  Alexandria.  For  her  family  genealogy  see 
the  sketch  of  Judge  John  B.  Steel.  Mrs.  Sarah  J.  Brown  Steel,  after  a  linger- 
ing illness,  died  March  25.  1906,  and  was  buried  in  the  New  Alexandria  ceme- 
tery. The  children  of  this  union  were:  i.  John  B.,  (see  sketch  of  Judge 
John  P..  Steel  above  referred  to).  2.  Mary  Herron,  intermarried  with  George 
X.  Coleman,  of  East  End,  Pittsburg.  3.  Eliza  Martha,  intermarried  with 
Samuel  C.  Patterson,  and  living  near  X'^ew  Alexandria,  Pennsylvania.  4. 
Agnes  Beatty,  intermarried  with  George  S.  Barnhart,  who  lives  near  Greens- 
burg. Pennsylvania.  5.  Helen  .Milligan,  intermarried  with  Samuel  O.  Hugus, 
and  lives  near  New  Alexandria  Pennsylvania.  6.  Margaret  Elder,  intermar- 
ried with  Samuel  B.  Moore,  and  lives  near  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania.  7.  Clara 
Malinda,  residing  at  home.  8.  William  Oliver  Steel,  deceased.  9.  Joseph 
Walker  Steel.  10.  Sarah  Jane  Steel,  both  of  whom  are  unmarried  and  resid- 
ing at  their  home.  ii.  Henrietta  Alarie,  intermarried  with  L.  A.  Nichols,  and 
lives  in  Wilkinsburg,  Pennsylvania. 

William  Steel  has  added  many  acres  by  purchase  to  the  Hannastown 
farm  since  he  has  been  the  owner.  It  lies  between  the  Jamison  No.  2  and 
Jamison  No.  3  plants  of  the  Jamison  Coal  and  Coke  Company,  and  is  under- 
laid with  a  thick  vein  of  coking  coal.  All  his  life  he  has  been  a  very  successful 
farmer.  He  was  the  first  in  the  county  to  engage  in  the  breeding  of  sliort 
horned  cattle.  .A  herd  of  short  horns  which  he  raised  and  disjjoscd  of  in  18S2 
has  been  felt  in  all  jjarts  of  the  county.  He  has  also  been  a  great  fancier  of 
liorses.  has  made  two  trips  to  .Scotland  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  horses, 
and   has   made   three   importations   of  the   Clydesdale  horses  to   his    farm   in 

2-24 


J70  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

Hempfield  township.  The  Steel  family  have  for  generations  been  members  of 
the  '"Seceder"  church  and  later  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church,  although 
the  family  of  William  Steel  are  largely  members  of  the  Covenanter  church,  of 
which  Mrs.  Steel  and  her  ancestors  have  been  influential  members  for  several 
generations.  jNIr.  Steel  has  always  been  an  active  and  energetic  member  of  the 
Republican  j^arty.  In  1866  and  1867  he  built  his  present  splendid  residence 
and  barn,  which  are  without  doubt  among  the  best  in  Westmoreland  county. 
His  chief  characteristics  are  his  untiring  energy,  foresight,  industry  and  in- 
tegrity. Although  seventy-three  years  old  he  is  still  actively  engaged  in  busi- 
ness relative  to  his  estate. 

■  JACOB  G.  \\'EA\'ER,  a  well-known  mill  nwncr  in  Westmoreland 
county,  Pennsylvania,  is  a  descendant  of  a  family  which  has  been  prominently 
connected  with  the  commercial  and  church  interests  of  the  state  for  a  great 
many,  years. They  came  originally  from  Germany. 

(I)  Rev.  John  W'illiam  Weber,  founder  of  what  is  now  known  as  the 
Weaver  family,  was  born  in  Fehdingen,  province  of  Wittgenstein,  Germany, 
March  5,  1735.  He  received  his  earher  education  in  Westphalia,  Germany, 
and  took  a  course  of  theological  studies  in  Stockhohn,  .Sweden.  He  emigrated 
to  America  in  1762  and  settled  in  New  Jersey.  He  had  charge  of  Reformed 
churches  in  Northampton  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1782-3.  Reformed  people 
from  the  eastern  counties,  as  well  as  from  Maryland  and  Virginia,  came  as 
settlers  to  W'estmoreland  county  some  years  before  the  Revolution,  and  thus  in 
1782-3  we  find  a  request  was  made  to  Rev.  Coetns  for  a  Reformed  minister. 
Answering  their  petition.  Rev.  John  William  Weber  was  accordingly  sent 
tham.  and  he  entered  upon  his  work  in  the  beginning  of  June,  1783.  He 
preached  at  Harrolds  and  Brush  Creek,  in  Hemjifield  township ;  at  Kintighs, 
in  Mount  Pleasant  township :  at  the  Ridge,  in  Unity  township :  and  he  was  the 
founder  of  the  German  Evangelical  Lutheran  church  at  Sixth  and  Smithfield 
streets,  .Pittsburg,  Penns3dvania,  where  most  probably  no  stated  services  or  or- 
ganized-'congregation  existed  before  he  came,  as  there  were  less  than  one  hun- 
dred rude  log  huts  outside  the 'fort  at  that  time.  His  pastorate  over  these 
churches  extended  over  a  period  of  thirty-three  years.  On  his  arrival  he  had  to 
find  a  home  in  a  rude  log  cabin  until  he  secured  a  more  suitable  place.  He  pur- 
chased a  farm  on  the  Sewickley  creek,  afterward  owned  by  Colonel  Israel 
Painter,  and  here  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life,  his  death  occurring  in 
July,  1816.  He  was  buried  in  Milliron  cemetery,  and  a  suitable  monument 
marks  hjs  last  resting  place. 

He  married  (first)  October  5,  1767,  Maria  Agnes  Born,  a  native  ofOber- 
cortens,  Baden-Baden,  Germany,  with  whom  he  became  acquainted  on  ship- 
board, while  crossing  the  ocean  jn  1762.  She  was  born  January  18,  1743. 
Their  children  were :  John,  born  July  17,  1768;  Marie  Catherine.  June  21, 
1770:  Elenora  Phillippena,  January  ,20,  1772;  John  William,  Jr.,  July  31,  1774. 
in  JMorrisvill^,  Sussex  county.  New  Jersey:  Elizabeth,  November  29,  1776,  in 
Plainfield,  Northampton  county,  Pennsylvania;  Abraham,  January  23,  1779; 
Jacob.  March  ,22,  1781  ;  John.  Nicholas,  July  25,  .1784. 

The  mother  of  these  children  died  at  the  birth  of  John  Nicholas.  ~Rev. 
Jdhn  William  married  (second')  Mrs.  Maria  Robinson,  November  11,  1784,  a 
(laughter  of  Adam  Sarver.  of  Greensbnrg,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  married  by 
Rev.  Finley,  and  by  this  marriage  their  children  were:  I\laria  Martha,  born 
October  11,  1785:  a  son,  born  August  12,  1787:  Daniel,  July  15,  1789:  Maria 
Magdalena,  November  28,  1790:  Hannah,  April  9,  1791  ;  Anna  Margaretta, 
June  20,   1793;  Catharine,   April   12,   1795:  Adam,   Alay   20,   1797;  Susanna, 


^  V.  /^^^j^>t^^c^ 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  371 

September  16.  1799;  Christena.  May  14,  1802:  Daniel  Lewis.  August  26.  1804. 
(II)     John   William   Weaver,   Jr.,  son  of   Rev.   John   William    (i)    and 
^laria  Agnes   (Born)   Weaver,  was  born  in  Morrisville,  Susse.x  county.  New 
Jersey,  July  31,  1774.     He  removed  with  his  family  to  what  is  now  known  as 
Weaver's  Mills.  Cook  township,  in  18 1 2.  where  he  purchased  a  farm  of  three 
hundred  acres  of  land,  most  of  it  heavily  timbered,  and  resided  there  until  his 
death.  December  28,   1828.    Several  years  prior  to  the  purchase  of  the  above 
mentioned  farm,  a  grist  mill  had  been  built  thereon,  and  Mr.  Weaver  continued 
the  milling  business  in  connection  with  farming  throughout  the  active  years  of 
his  life.     He  was  a  man  of  giant  strength,  and  weighed  three  hundred  pounds. 
His  wife,  also,  was  of  extraordinary  size  and  strength,  and  weighed  upward 
of  two  hundred  pounds.     After  the  death  of  her  husband,  she  continued  to  live 
on  the  farm  until  her  death.  May  9,  1855.     Their  remains  are  buried  side  by 
side  in  the  cemetery  near  the  site  of  the  old  Dutch  Reformed  church,  two  miles 
south  of  Ligonier.   Pennsylvania,  now  destroyed,  they  being  members  of  the 
same.     This  is  one  of  the  oldest  church  organizations  in  the  Ligonier  valley. 
A  suitable  monument  marks  their  grave.     Their  children  all  lived  to  maturity, 
and  were  of  more  than  average  size.       John  William  Weaver.  Jr.,  married,  in 
1802.  -Anna  ^lary  Ankeny,  born  January  11,  1787,  of  Somerset  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  their  children  were:    i.    Christian  .\.,  born  September  4,  1803,  mar- 
ried  Magdalena  ^lechling,  of  Greensburg,   Pennsylvania.  December   5,    1826. 
For  his  second  wife  he  married  Anna  Catharine  Kinsley,  of  Stutgart,  Germany, 
at  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  October   14,   1841  :  all  his  children  are  dead  ex- 
cept Mrs.  Sophie  L.  Howland.  of  Wilkinsburg,   Pennsylvania.     2.    Elizabeth, 
born   May  25.   1805,  married  Solomon  Blank,  of  Hempfield  township.     Two 
of  their  daughters — Josephine  M.  Zimmerman  and    j\Iary  Feightner — residp  in 
Greensburg.     Elizabeth  Blank  died  ]\Iarch  3,  1895.     3.    Mary  Ann,  born  No- 
vember 2,   1806,  died  unmarried  September   13,   1890.     4.    William,  of  whom 
later.     5.    Rosanna.  married  Frederick  Amborse,  and  left  a  family  of  four  sons 
and   three   daughters.     6.    Jacob,   married   Matilda   Harrold,   of   Adamsburg. 
Pennsylvania,  and  left  a  family  of  two  sons  and  three  daughters.    Jacob  died 
April    16,   1896.     7.    Margaret,  married  Daniel  Rhoads,  of  Somerset  county, 
Pennsylvania,  no  children ;  died   Mav  9.   1855.     8.    Catherine,   married   John 
Gensinger,  of  Wilkinsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  had  children :  George  and  Will- 
iam,   residents   of   Wilkinsburg.    Pennsylvania.     9.       Martha,    born   June    14. 
1816.  died  July  14,  1901.  unmarried.     10.    John,  born  April  18,  1817,  married 
Susan  Ankney,  had  two  sons  and  seven  dau.ghters :  died  in  Prohibition,  Ohio, 
March    19.    1905.     11.    Hannah,   married    William   Rumbaugh,   of   Hempfield 
township,  and  left  four  sons  and  three  daughters.     12.    Joseph,  born  February 
18,  1819,  married  Xancy  Rice,  of  Brownsville,  Pennsylvania,  left  one  son  and 
one  daughter:  died  February  13,  I887.    13.  George,  married  Anna  Catherine 
Wilson,  left  two  daughters:  died  September  26,    1851.     14.    Isaac,  born  Xo- 
veniber  25,  1824,  married  Elizabeth  Shupe :  died  December  9,  1901,  leaving  one 
son:  Richard  Shupe  Weaver.     15.    Lewis  M.,  born   Februarv   18,   1828,  died 
May  19,  1903.  uumarriefl. 

(Ill)  William  Weaver,  fourth  child  and  second  son  of  John  William, 
Jr.,  (2).  and  Anna  Mary  (Ankeny)  Weaver,  vvas  born  September  18,  1807. 
He  resided  at  home  at  the  time  of  his  father's  death,  took  charge  of  the  mill, 
atul  lived  with  his  mother  until  his  marriage.  Fie  was  what  may  be  called  a 
four  square  man,  strong  on  all  sides,  of  sterling  honesty  and  integritv,  and  a 
leader  in  the  community  in  which  he' lived.  He  was  a  staunch  Democrat  all  his 
life,  his  first  presidential  vote  being  cast  for  General  Jackson,  and  he  never 
failed  to  record  his  vote  at  the  elections.     He  served  as  a  school  director  for 


■i^-jz  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

manv  vears,  and  was  a  commissioned  officer  in  the  militia  of  the  state.  He 
was  a  inember  of  the  Pleasant  Grove  Presbyterian  church  from  his  early  man- 
hood, and  served  as  a  ruling  elder  for  more  than  half  a  century.  He  was 
wiileh-  known  as  a  churchman,  took  a  scholarship  in  the  organization  of  Wash- 
ington and  Jefiferson  College,  represented  his  church  in  her  several  church 
courts  at  Presbytery  frequently,  and  was  several  times  a  member  of  the  synod. 
His  seat  in  the  church  was  seldom  vacant,  and  as  a  Bible  reader  he  had  few 
equals  among  the  common  people.  At  the  death  of  his  father  in  1828  he  took 
charge  of  the  grist  mill  and  continued  to  operate  it  until  1842,  when  he  became 
the  owner  of  the  same,  the  property  having  been  partitioned  and  he  taking  that 
part  at  the  valuation  placed  upon  it,  his  brother  Isaac  accejjting  the  remainder. 
William  continued  the  business  until  March  4,  1861,  when  his  son,  Jacob  G. 
Weaver,  succeeded  him.  He  resided  on  the  old  homestead  until  his  death, 
April  15,  1896.  He  married,  September  7,  1837,  Jane  Grove,  of  Donegal 
township,  born  September  16,  181 1,  died  April  16,  1888.  Their  children  were: 
I.  Marv,  born  September  10,  1838,  married  Lewis  N.  Phillippi,  resides  in 
:\Iilan,  Kansas.  2.  Jacob  G.,  of  whom  later.  3.  Margaret,  born  April  27, 
1846,  married  J.  W.  Phillippi,  of  Kregar,  Pennsylvania.  4.  \Mlliam  C.,  born 
October  17,  1847,  married  Sarah  J.  Prissy,  of  Somerset  county,  and  resides  in 
Somerset.  Pennsylvania.  5.  Lewis  A.,  born  December  12,  1852,  married 
^lary  E.  Lawson.  and  resides  in  Ligonier,  Pennsylvania. 

(R)  lacob  G.  Weaver,  eldest  son  and  second  child  of  William  (3)  and 
Jane  (Grove)  Weaver,  was  born  May  28,  1840.  He  was  engaged  in  teaching 
school  for  several  terms  prior  to  attaining  his  majority.  He  engaged  in  the 
milling  business  Alarch  4,  1861,  in  the  grist  mill  which  had  been  owned  and 
operated  by  various  members  of  the  Weaver  family  for  almost  a  century.  It 
has  been  built  more  than  one  hundred  years  on  land  patented  to  General  Arthur 
St.  Clair  for  services  rendered  during  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  and  was 
afterward  owned  by  John  Spring,  who  built  the  mill  in  1802.  It  was  pur- 
chased bv  John  William,  Jr.,  in  1812,  and  from  that  time  continued  in  the 
Weaver  family.  Jacob  G.  Weaver  operated  it  on  shares  until  1867,  when  the 
entire  mill  was  torn  down  and  a  new  frame  building  erected  on  the  site  of  the 
old  log  house,  and  it  w-as  greatly  enlarged.  The  business  was  then  conducted 
under  the  firm  name  of  \\'illiam  Weaver  &  Son,  until  1886,  when  Jacob  G. 
purchased  the  property  from  his  father,  remodeled  the  mill,  enlarged  the 
building,  equipped  it  with  the  latest  improved  machinery,  thus  making  it  a  full 
roller  process  mill,  with  a  capacity  of  thirty  to  forty  barrels.  He  continued 
to  operate  the  mill  until  1892,  when  he  retired  and  his  son.  William  T.  Weaver, 
took  charge  of  the  business  and  is  still  conducting  the  same  in  the  name  of 
Weaver  Brothers,  making  an  excellent  grade  of  flour. 

In  politics  Jacob  G.  Weaver  has  always  been  a  Democrat.  He  served  as 
school  director  seven  terms,  and  was  commissioned  a  justice  of  the  peace  for 
six  consecutive  terms.  He  was  the  candidate  of  his  party  for  the  legislature, 
but  failed  of  election,  the  county  being  strongly  Republican.  He  has  been  a 
member  of  Pleasant  Grove  Presbyterian  church  for  nearly  half  a  centurv,  and 
a  ruling  elder  for  forty  years.  He  represented  his  church  in  the  presbytery 
many  times,  twice  in  the  synod,  and  ,once  as  commissioner  to  the  general  as- 
sembly. He  took  an  active  part  in  church  matters,  being  a  very  regular  at- 
tendant. The  Pleasant  Grove  church  was  organized  in  1781.  The  first 
church  building  in  which  thev  worshiped  was  built  of  round  logs  and  served 
its  purpose  for  some  years.  When  the  country  became  more  thickly  settled  a 
larger  house  of  worship  was  a  necessity,  and  this  was  built  of  hewn  logs  and 
served  the  triple  purpose  of  church,  dwelling  and  schoolhouse.     The   school- 


HISTORY   OF    U'ESTMORELAXD    COUNTY.  373 

master  occupied  half  of  the  lower  story  ami  the  second  story  as  his  ilwelling 
place,  and  the  other  half  of  the  lower  story  was  used  for  church  services  and  as 
a  schoolhouse,  where  spellin-j.  reading,  writing  and  the  fundamental  rules  of 
arithmetic  were  taught.  There  was  no  time  devoted  to  other  hranchcs  m 
those  days.  The  building  was  thus  used  imtil  1832.  whenit  was  too  small  for 
church  purposes  owing  to  the  increase  in  population,  and  schoolhouses  had 
been  built  in  various  places  in  this  locality,  namely :  Mansville.  Stahlstown,  one 
farther  up  the  vallev,  known  as  the  Franklin  schoolhouse.  and  one  about  one 
mile  east  of  the  location  of  the  old  log  house,  and  which  was  known  as  the 
stone  jug  schoolhouse.  These  schoolhouses  were  all  built  of  stone,  having 
very  thick  walls,  small  windows,  and  were  heated  with  wood  fire  in  what  is 
known  as  the  old  ten  plate  stove.  A  large  and  commodious  church  building 
was  erected  in  1832,  close  bv  the  log  building.  The  new  edifice  was  forty-five 
feet  wide  and  sixty-five  feet  long,  a  fourteen  foot  story  at  the  outer  walls  and 
eighteen  feet  in  the  center.  It  has  a  seating  capacity  of  five  hundred.  The 
walls,  which  are  of  stone,  are  very  thick  and  are  still  used  for  a  church  build- 
ing, the  edifice  having  been  remodeled  in  1892.  covered  with  tin  shingle  roof. 
alf  inside  of  the  walls  made  new.  fitted  with  modern  pews  and  furniture,  and 
heated  with  a  hot  air  furnace.  The  church  is  built  on  five  acres  of  land  con- 
veved  to  the  trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Donegal  township,  "the 
name  being  changed  afterward  to  Pleasant  Grove  Presbyterian  church,"  by 
Robert  Campbell,  who  served  as  a  ruling  elder  in  this  church  for  sixty-five 
vears.  and  who  was  commonly  called  Elder  Bob.  When  a  mere  boy  he  was 
captured  bv  the  Indians :  his  mother  and  a  small  child  were  killed,  their  house 
Ijurned.  and  two  brothers  and  two  sisters  with  Robert  were  carried  off.  One 
brother  never  returned,  the  other  brother  and  the  two  sisters  were  returned 
after  several  years,  but  Robert  was  kept  for  seven  years.  He  then  returned, 
and  lived  and  died  on  the  farm  from  which  he  had  been  carried  off.  The  other 
brother  and  sisters  resided  for  many  years  in  the  same  nighborhood.  Robert 
Campbell  died  in  1857.  at  the  extreine  old  age  of  ninety-nine  years,  and  his 
remains  wer  interred  close  by  the  old  stone  church,  where  a  monument  marks 
his  grave.  Notwithstanding  the  great  age  of  this  church,  it  has  had  but  eight 
))astors.  namely :  Rev.  George  Hill.  Rev.  Samuel  .Swan,  Rev.  Albert  B.  Clark, 
Rev.  David  Harbison,  Rev.  John  A.  Brown.  Rev.  Ross  Stevenson.  Rev.  E.  G. 
McKinley.  and  the  present  pastor.  Rev.  E.  H.  Dickinson.  Mr.  Weaver  owns 
.md  resides  on  the  farm  on  which  he  was  born,  and  is  highly  esteemed  and  re- 
spected by  all  with  whom  he  is  brought  in  contact. 

He  married.  December  4.  i860.  Sarah  Jane  Hood,  born  October  4,  1841, 
in  Cook  township,  daughter  of  John  and  IClizabeth  (3.1cClean)  Hood,  of  Cook 
townshi]).  John  Hood  was  a  son  of  William  and  Catherine  (Fclgar)  Hood, 
pioneer  settlers  of  the  upper  end  of  Ligonier  valley,  and  Methodists  in  religion. 
Elizabeth  (McClean)  Hood  was  a  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Sarah  (iMatthews) 
^[cClean.  w'ho  were  also  among  the  pioneer  settlers  of  the  county.  Eight 
children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Weaver:  i.  John  Hood,  born  January  20, 
1862,  died  August  24.  1877.  2.  Emma  Jane,  born  March  22.  1864.  died  Au- 
gust 12.  1877.  3.  ]\rary  E..  born  July  17.  1866.  married,  Seiitember,  1885, 
Jacob  'SI.  Grove,  a  descendant  of  Revolutionary  stock,  his  great-grandfather 
liaving  served  in  the  \\'ar  of  the  Revolution.  ?ilr.  (jrove  is  a  graduate  of  Iron 
City  Business  College,  is  engaged  in  teaching  school  and  farming  in  Cook 
township,  is  a  Presbyterian  in  religion,  and  a  Democrat  in  politics.  They 
liave  five  children:  Clyde,  born  August  12.  1886,  died  luly  2,  igoi  ;  May  Belle, 
July  IQ,  1880:  William  Earl.  Alay  15,  1891  ;  Jacob  Weaver.  .August  13.  1896; 
]\Iary  Jane,  November  11,  1898. 


374  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

William  T.  born  |uly  24,  1870,  succeeded  his  father  in  the  niilling  busi- 
ness, acquired  a  common  school  education,  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  a 
member  of  the  Pleasant  Grove  Presbyterian  church.  He  married,  December 
21,  1893,  Rachel  Weller,  daughter  of  Ambrose  and  Jane  (Withrow)  Weller, 
and  their  children  are:  Sarah  Jane,  born  May  31.  1895;  William  Barron,  De- 
cember 31,  1897,  died  January  23,  1899;  James  Frederick,-  February  23,  1901  ; 
Hiram  Withrow,  October  27,  1902,  died  September  23,  1903.  Milton  Henry, 
born  August  3.  1873,  died  August  29,  1877.  6.  Josephine  Margaret,  born  No- 
vember 3,  1876,  died  September  10,  1877.  7.  Ross  Stevenson,  born  November 
26,  1878,  married,  October  8,  1903,  Nellie  Buell,  daughter  of  Rev.  John  S. 
Buell,  of  the  United  Brethren  church,  whose  ancestors  came  from  Kentucky 
and  are  related  to  the  Buell  stock,  of  which  General  Buell,  of  military  fame, 
was  a  member.  Ross  S.  Weaver  is  the  proprietor  of  a  general  store  at 
W'eaver's  Mills,  is  a  Presbyterian  in  religion,  and  a  Democrat  in  politics.  He 
has  one  daughter,  Olive  Catharine,  born  September  11,  1905.  8.  Zerelda 
Pearl,  born  October  8,  1882,  is  unmarried  and  resides  at  home  with  her 
parents. 

JOHN  D.  STEIXER.  of  Hempfield  town.ship,  a  farmer  and  carpen- 
ter, was  born  in  the  township  in  which  he  now  resides,  September  6,  1834,  the 
son  of  Daniel  and  Mary  ( Altman)  Steiner,  and  grandson  of  John  and  Susanna 
Steiner,  who  were  the  parents  of  the  following  children:  Daniel,  mentioned 
hereinafter ;  Jacob,  married  Elizabeth  Thomas ;  Anna,  married  David  William  ; 
Joseph,  married  Susanna  Miller ;  Philip,  married  Elizabeth  Fox ;  Henry,  mar- 
ried Anna  Whiteliead  :  Mary,  married  John  Miller;  Elizabeth,  married  Michael 
Iseman;  John,  married  Sophia  Mench.  John  Steiner  (grandfather)  died  1861, 
aged  eighty-four  years,  and  his  wife  died  1835. 

Daniel  Steiner  (father)  was  born  in  Hempfield  township,  Pennsylvania. 
March,  iSoi,  died  April,  185 1.  He  was  a  farmer,  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
church,  and  always  supported  the  Republican  party.  He  married  Mary  Alt- 
man,  and  their  children  were:  i.  Jacob,  married  Polly  Rosensteel,  had  one 
daughter,  Sarah,  who  married  Amos  Miller,  of  Wilkinsburg ;  Polly  (Rosen- 
steel)  Steiner,  died  about  one  year  after  their  marriage  and  Jacob,  married 
Mariah  ^Vlench,  of  [Middletown,  and  their  children  are:  George,  August,  Will- 
iam. Herman  and  Daniel.  2.  Eliza,  married  Jacob  Baker,  of  Armstrong 
county,  and  their  children  are:  Elizabeth,  Kate,  Sophia,  Leah.  John  and 
Sarah.  3.  ^lichael,  married  Katherine  Wentzel,  daughter  of  Philip  Wentzel, 
a  farmer  "of  Hempfield  township,  and  their  children  were :  Philip  Marian,  mar- 
ried Mary  French,  daughter  of  Alexander  French,  and  they  have  four  children  : 
Maggie,  married  Lewis  Jones:  Alice,  married  James  Fox,  and  had  one  son; 
Harry,  married  Leah  Kunkle,  and  had  one  son  ;  George,  resides  at  Lewis  Ratter ; 
Sadie,  deceased ;  and  Anna,  resides  in  Greensburg.  4.  Leah,  married  Philip 
S.  Baer,  a  farmer  of  Hempfield  township,  and  their  chiklren  were :  Henry,  mar- 
ried Matilda  Lee,  had  one  son,  Gilmore :  Kate,  married  Amos  Beirer,  a  farmer 
of  Ohio,  and  their  children  were:  Lillian,  Ray,  Martin,  William  and  Alice,  all 

at  home ;  Adam,  married ;  and  had  one  son ;  Anna,  married 

James  C.  Wentzel,  a  contractor  of  Greensburg,  son  of  Isaac  Wentzel,  and  their 
children  were:  Arthur  W.,  died  July  16,  1890,  aged  eleven 'years,  seven  months- 
anrl  ten  days  :  Garfield,  a  surveyor  for  a  railroad  company  ;  William,  a  musician  ; 
John,  married  Laura  W'right,  and  their  children  were:  Mildred  and  Russel ; 
Tarl,  married  Daisy  Fletcher,  and  their  children  were:  Arthur  and  Elizabeth;, 
Daniel,  married  IMargaret  Fletcher,  one  child,  Ethel;  William,  married  Ena 
Madden,  has  four  children,  and  resides  on  a  farm  out  west;  Lucy;  Elizabeth, 


„«>«4ofcii»' 


/ 


Vt^S'-^'^'^-^^^.^^ 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  375 

and  two  who  died  in  childhood.  5.  John  D.,  mentioned  hereinafter.  6.  Mary. 
married  Isaac  Mench,  and  died  soon  after  her  marriage.  7.  Lucy,  married 
Isaac  Mench.  of  Greensburg.  and  their  chikh'en  were:  Mary,  married  John  Fox. 
of  Middletown,  and  tlieir  children  were:  James,  married  Alice  Steiner,  one  son  ; 
Harry,  an  infant,  deceased  :  Isaac,  married  I^ivinia  Henry,  one  daughter.  Cath- 
erine Minnie:  Lucy;  William,  at  home:  William,  married  Laura  Miller: 
Michael  and  Daniel.  8.  Daniel  D.,  married  Mary  .Miller,  daughter  of  Con- 
rad Miller,  a  farmer  of  Hemptield  township,  and  their  children  were:  Laura, 
married  Jacob  Wentzel,  son  of  David  Wentzel,  a  farmer  of  Hempfield  township ; 
she  died  October  6.  1905 ;.  Lillian,  married  Joseph  Wentzel.  brother  of  Jacob 
Wentzel :  and  three  sons  who  died  in  childhood. 

John  D.  Steiner,  whose  name  heads  this  sketch,  learned  the  trade  of  car- 
penter with  Michael  Miller  and  has  followed  it  during  the  greater  jjart  of  his 
life.  He  is  one  of  the  veterans  of  the  Civil  war,  having  been  a  member  of  Com- 
pany H,  One  Hundred  and  Sixty-eighth  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  under  Cap- 
tain John  Todd  Fulton,  in  the  nine  months'  service,  from  which  he  was  honor- 
ably discharged.  He  tlien  re-enlisted,  in  Company  A.  One  Hundred  and  First 
Regiment,  in  1863.  under  Cajitain  Powell,  and  was  finally  discharged  in  Alay, 
1864.  Mr.  Steiner  is  a  Democrat,  and  in  church  relations  is  connected  with  the 
Lutheran  church. 

He  married,  in  November.  i86r,  Elizabeth  Mench.  and  their  children  were: 
I.  John,  died  in  childhood.  2.  ^Maciah  E..  born  August  5.  1869.  married 
Frank  A.  Steiner,  a  lumber  dealer  of  South  Greensburg,  and  they  have  three 
children:  Stella,  deceased:  Edna  and  Lillian,- at  home.  3.  James  Wakefield, 
horn  April  6.  1871.  married  Laura  Jane  Ong,  and  their  children  were:  ]Mable, 
Grace,  deceased:  Violet  May-,  and  Burnks  Adaline.  4.  John  Todd,  born  Sep- 
tember 6,  1874,  died  September  6.  1880.  .I\lrs.  Elizabeth  (Mench)  Steiner  died 
September  16.  1877.  -^'^''-  Steiner  married  (second)  Elizabeth  Jane  Altman. 
daughter  of  Reuben  G.  Altman,  employed  on  the  Pennsylvania  railroad,  and 
their  children  are:  Arthur  Clarence,  born  Augi'st  5,  1881  :  ^latilda,  born  May 
3,  1884.  married,  June  28.  1904,  Lewis  Rufle.  one  child.  Janet  Irene;  Lucy  M., 
born  December  6.-  1887;  Anna  L.,-  born  December  17,  1889;  all  these  children 
are  at  home. 

HEAD  FA^HLY.  The  first  purely  American  ancestor  of  the  Head 
family  of  Latrobe.  of  which  Judge  John  P>.  Head  and  Joseph  C.  Head  are  mem- 
bers, was  William  B.  Head.  He  was  of  English  parentage,  but  was  born  in  the 
northern  part  of  \'irginia.  From  the  place  of  his  birth  he  removed  to  Frederick 
county,  Maryland,  where  he  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  He  served  in 
the  Revolutionary  war,  died  in ,  and  was  buried  near  his  home. 

His  son  John  was  born  and  brought  up  a  farmer  and  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Sophia  Greene,  of  Maryland.  In  1836  he  removed  from  Frederick 
county,  Maryland,  to  Youn.gstown,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  and 
remained  there  until  his  death.  He  and  his  wife  were  the  parents  of  ei.ght  chil- 
dren. John  Head  was  a  W'hig  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century,  but  became 
a  Democrat  in  the  first  Jackson  campaign.  He  was  born  an  Episco])alian,  the 
American  form  of  the  Church  of  England,  of  which  his  ancestors  were  mem- 
bers, but  became  a  Roman  Catholic.  He  died  near  Youngstown.  in  18,^8.  He 
and  his  wife  are  buried  side  by  side  in  the  Catholic  cemetcrv  near  Latrolic. 

William  S.  Head  was  the  oldest  son  of  John  and  Sophia  Greene  Head,  and 
was  born  on  the  farm  in  Maryland,  in  August,  1823.  When  thirteen  years  of 
age  he  came  to  Westmoreland  county.  Pennsylvania,  as  a  member  of  his  fath'^r's 
family.     He  attended  the  country  schools  in  his  vouth,  and  on  the  death  of  his 


376  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

father  began  clerking  in  a  store  kept  by  WilUam  Anderson,  in  the  then  thriving 
turnpike  village  of  Youngstown.  After  a  few  years  he  formed  a  partnership 
with  Mr.  Anderson,  and  still  later  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  alone  in 
the  same  town. 

In  1852,  when  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  was  completed  as  far  west  as 
Pittsburg,  the  turnpike  business  was  practically  abandoned  and  drawn  to  the 
new  line  of  transportation.  Mr.  Head  removed  at  once  to  the  newly  established 
station  of  Latrobe,  and  erected  the  first  house  in  that  now  populous  town.  He 
also  erected  warehouses,  and  was  soon  e.xtensively  engaged  in  the  mercantile 
business,  and  continued  in  it,  more  or  less,  for  the  greater  part  of  his  life.  In 
1873,  in  company  with  his  brother  Joseph,  he  opened  a  private  bank  in  Latrobe, 
and  upon  the  death  of  his  brother  in  1875,  Joh'"'  B.  Head,  his  son,  became  his 
partner  in  the  bank,  under  the  firm  name  of  W.  S.  Head  and  Son.  In  1888  the 
bank  was  chartered  as  the  First  National  Bank  of  Latrobe.  Mr.  Head  was 
made  president  of  the  new  organization,  which  position  he  filled  with  signal 
ability  till  his  death. 

In  1848  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Sarah  Coulter,  wlio  was  born  in 
Everett,  Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1828.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Joseph 
and  Mary  (Wilson)  Coulter,  and  a  granddaughter  of  Joseph  Coulter,  the  Coul- 
ters having  come  from  Cumberland  county.  They  were  probably  of  Scotch- 
Irish  ancestry.  William  S.  Head  and  his  wife  had  ten  children  born  to  them, 
two  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  Eight  are  yet  living.  They  are:  i.  Mary,  in- 
termarried with  W.  A.  Johnston,  who  resides  in  Latrobe.  2.  John  B.,  see 
sketch.  3.  Joseph  C,  see  sketch.  4.  William.  5.  Richard.  6.  Raymond. 
7.  Harriet.  8.  Julia.  Harriet  and  Julia,  with  most  flattering  prospects  in 
life  before  them,  relinquished  them  all  for  the  benefit  of  others,  and  in  the 
interests  of  their  church  became  nuns  of  the  Benedictine  and  Mercy  Orders, 
respectively. 

Like  his  father.  \\'illiam  S.  Head  was  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  a  Roman 
Catholic  in  religion.  He  was  most  noted  for  his  purely  simple  Christian  char- 
acter, his  high  integrity  and  his  clear  discernment  of  all  business  propositions. 
His  general  intelligence  and  his  dignified  and  honorable  bearing  in  all  walks  of 
life  made  him  one  of  the  prominent  citizens  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  he 
was  properly  ranked  as  one  of  the  leading  bankers  and  business  men  of 
the  county.  He  died  in  Latrobe  on  February  7.  1896.  His  widow,  Mrs.  Sarah 
A.  Head,  though  now  nearing  four-score  years,  still  survives  him  and  resides 
in  Latrobe. 

JOHX  B.  HEAD  was  born  at  Latrobe.  April  4,  1855.  He  attended  the 
parochial  schools  till  he  was  thirteen  years  old,  when  he  entered  Mt.  St.  Mary's 
College,  Maryland,  from  which  institution,  renowned  for  its  thoroughness,  he 
was  graduated  in  1873.  After  graduation  he  entered  his  father's  banking 
hou.se.  as  has  been  indicated.  On  May  2.  1877,  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Naomi  Jones,  a  daughter  of  Alorris  and  ^Margaret  Jones,  of  La- 
trobe. but  formerly  of  Pittsbuf?. 

In  1878  he  began  to  read  law  in  the  office  of  A.  A.  Stewart,  Esq.,  of 
Grecn.sburg,  and  was  admitted  to  the  Westmoreland  bar  in  August,  1880.  Im- 
mediately on  his  admission  he  formed  a  partnership  with  the  late  Hon.  H.  V. 
Laird,  one  of  the  most  erudite  members  of  the  bar.  On  the  dissolution  of  the 
firm  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  James  S.  Moorhead.  The  new  firm  at 
once  took  a  leadership  in  the  most  important  litigation  of  the  countv.  Though 
the  junior  mcm])er  of  the  firm,  Mr.  Head  performed  successfully  his  share  of  its 
arduous  duties.      Brillip.ntlv   successful   in   anv  of  the   varied   branches  of  the 


L 


I 


Yi 


HISTORY   or    IVESTMORELAKD    COUXTV.  277 

lesral  profession,  he  was  probably  most  noted  as  an  advocate.  Wlielher  ad- 
•dr^ssini:  tlie  court  below,  a  jury  of  his  countrymen,  or  the  Appellate  courts,  he 
spoke  apparently  with  et|iial  readiness  and  potency.  In  the  clearness  of  his 
statements,  in  the  logical  deductions  of  his  arguments,  and  in  the  fluency  and 
imritv  of  his  diction,' he  has  been  surpassed  by  no  lawyer  in  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania in  our  dav. 

In  1905  he'  was  nominated  by  the  Democratic  state  convention  at  Harris- 
burg  as  a  candidate  for  a  position  on  the  superior  court  bench  of  the  state,  and 
was^elected  in  November  following.  His  work  on  the  bench  is  almost  entirely 
before  him.  but  it  is  the  concensus  of  opinion  among  those  who  know  him  as  a 
lawver.  that  no  member  of  the  Westmoreland  bar  was  better  fitted  than  he  by 
abilitv.  bv  training  and  by  nature,  to  fill  this  high  ]iosition. 

Aside'  from  his  professional  duties  he  has  found  time  to  delve  deeply  into 
historv,  poetrv,  and  philosophy,  and  into  the  higher  grades  of  fiction  :  and  his 
accom'plishme'nts  in  these  fields  are  manifest  in  the  literary  polish  and  classic 
beauty  of  even  his  extemporaneous  public  speech. 

JOSEPH  C.  HR.M).  Few  men  of  his  years  in  Western  Pennsylvania 
liave  achieved  as  much  success  in  the  financial  world  as  Joseph  C.  Head,  a  na- 
tive of  Latrobe.  He  was  educated  in  the  parochial  schools,  and  was  graduated 
from  Saint  Vincent's  College  in  the  class  of  1878.  When  his  brother.  Judge 
Head,  began  to  read  law.  he  took  the  position  of  cashier  in  his  father's  bank, 
though  he  had  not  reached  his  majority  by  several  years.  This  position  he 
held  until  1888.  when  the  banking  house  of  W.  S.  Head  &  Son  and  the  Citizens' 
Banking  Company  consolidated,  forming  the  First  National  Bank  of  Latrobe, 
of  which  institution  he  was  elected  cashier.  This  bank  has  been  wonderfully 
successful,  and  much  of  its  success  is  due  to  his  management.  It  has  a  capital 
of  $100,000,  surplus  profits  of  $125,000,  deposits  of  over  $1,000,000,  and  has 
paid  in  dividends  to  its  stockholders  over  $300,000.  He  is  now  the  chief  man- 
ager of  the  institution.  He  has  otherwise  branched  out  into  business  projects, 
some  of  which  far  overshadow  his  banking  business.  The  Latrobe  Steel  Com- 
pany, one  of  the  largest  manufacturers  of  steel  in  the  L'nited  States,  was  in- 
duced to  locate  in  Latrobe  largely  through  his  influence,  and  he  is  one  of  its 
chief  stockholders.  He  is  also  president  of  the  Fort  Ligonier  Coal  Company, 
vice-president  of  the  Peters  Paper  Company,  president  of  the  Latrobe  Electric 
Liglit  Company,  and  was  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Latrobe  Street  Railway 
Company  until  it  transferred  its  interests  to  another  corporation.  He  is  a  di- 
rector in  the  Latrobe  P.rick  Company,  and  is  president  of  the  Combination 
Bridge  Company  of  Sioux  City,  Iowa. 

But  perhaps  the  project  which  reflects  most  credit  upon  his  ability  as  a 
financier,  is  the  Latrobe  Trust  Company.  It  was  chartered  on  February  9th, 
1903.  and  was  opened  for  business  April  2nd,  1906.  By  his  untiring  cft'orts 
it  was  organized,  and  Air.  Head  became  its  president.  It  has  a  capital  stock  of 
S200.000.00  and  a  surplus  of  $250,000.00 — a  larger  capital  stock  and  surplus 
than  anv  other  financial  institution  in  the  county. 

C)n  r)ctober  30th,  1S89.  Mr.  Head  was  married  to  Miss  Ella  Showaltcr,  a 
daugjiter  of  William  .A.  Showalter.  who  was  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  at  Lat- 
robe shortly  after  the  completion  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad.  They  have 
three  children:    i.   Eleanor:  2,  Marion:  3,  Cecelia. 

In  politics  Mr.  Head  is  a  Democrat,  and  has  been  councilman  and  city 
treasurer  of  Latrobe.  Socially  he  is  a  member  of  the  Latrobe  Club,  the  Monon- 
galiela  Club,  and  the  Oakmont  Country  Club  of  Pittsburg,  and  the  Hermitage 


378  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

Golf  Club  of  Ligonier.     Like  their  parents,  ]\Ir.  Head  and  family  are  Roman 
Catholics  in  religion. 

PATTERSON  FAjMILY.  The  Pattersons  are  one  of  the  oldest 
Westmoreland  families.  They  are  of  Irish  ancestry  on  the  paternal,  and  of 
Scotch  ancestry  on  the  maternal  side.  They  are  of  that  stout,  sturdy,  uncom- 
promising Covenanter  stock  which  always  stood  firmly  for  their  principles, 
defying  kings,  parliaments  and  ecclesiastical  authority  when  their  rights  of  con- 
science or  of  religious  thought  were  in  danger.  These  qualities  were  trans- 
mitted to  their  descendants,  and  down  to  the  present  generation  we  find  them 
God-fearing,  God-serving  men  and  women  of  the  highest  type,  good  citizens, 
good  fathers,  mothers  and  friends,  good  business  men,  whose  word  is  as  their 
bond. 

The  American  ancestor  of  the  family  was  Samuel  Patterson,  born  in 
Knockbracken,  county  of  Down,  Ireland,  in  1766.  He  was  one  of  a  family  of 
three  children:  I.  Margaret;  2,  James,  who  remained  in  L-eland,  but  two  of 
his  children  are  known  to  have  come  to  America,  namely :  Susanna,  ( Mrs. 
James  Shaw)  who  lived  in  Derry  township.  One  of  her  descendants  is  Doctor 
Tack,  of  New  Alexandria:  and  Elizabeth  (Mrs.  Robert  Beattie),  who  lived  in 
the  same  locality. 

Samuel  Patterson,  the  third  of  the  family,  came  to  America  in  1793,  landing 
at  Philadelphia.  His  future  wife,  Catherine  Campbell,  born  1776,  crossed  on 
the  same  ship.  They  were  married  in  Philadelphia  shortly  after  landing  and 
remained  there  a  year,  where  Samuel  worked  at  his  trade,  weaving.  Catherine 
Campbell's  grandfather  came  from  Scotland  to  America  and  settled  in  Franklin 
county.  He  was  the  father  of  four  sons — William,  Mark,  Andrew  and  John — 
and  one  daughter — Mrs.  Briggs.  John  Campbell's  first  wife  was  Sarah  Fruity, 
of  England.  She  bore  him:  John,  Andrew,  Catherine  (Mrs.  Samuel  Patter- 
son), Mary  (Mrs.  Ramsey,  of  Ohio),  Margaret  (Mrs.  Long),  and  Hannah. 
His  second  wife  was  a  widow — Mrs.  Florinda  Morrow  Shields.  One  of  the 
children  of  this  second  marriage  was  Annie,  who  married  Samuel  Fair.  One 
of  their  descendants  is  Professor  R.  W.  Fair,  a  prominent  educator  of  the  coun- 
try, whose  sketch  and  portrait  appear  in  this  work.  After  a  year  spent  in  Phil- 
adelphia, Samuel  and  his  wife  Catherine  joined  the  Campbells  in  Franklin 
county,  where  two  children — Margaret  and  John — were  born.  Little  is  known 
of  their  life  here,  but  in  the  fall  of  1797  they  came  to  Derry  township,  West- 
moreland county,  crossing  the  mountains  on  horseback,  where  they  made  their 
home  temporarily  with  John  Campbell,  who  had  come  before  them  to  West- 
moreland. Here  Samuel  applied  himself  with  all  the  energy  of  his  race  to  the 
support  of  his  family.  He  worked  at  his  trade  of  a  weaver,  and  his  industry 
and  economy  is  made  apparent  by  the  fact  that  he  soon  purchased  a  farm.  The 
transfer  relates  that  he  paid  for  the  same  three  hundred  English  pounds  in  cash. 
Samuel  now  became  a  husbandman  in  addition  to  his  trade.  In  the  years  fol- 
lowing, children  were  added  to  the  family,  and  all  were  taught  to  bear  their 
share  of  the  farm  and  workshop  burden.  Wife  and  children  all  worked. 
They  raised  the  fiax  and  clipped  the  wool  that  was  woven  into  cloth  and  linen. 
Tliev  were  taught  the  weaver's  art,  as  well  as  how  to  break  the  flax,  how  to 
scutch  and  hackle  it,  how  to  skillfulh-  use  the  distaff,  spinning  wheel,  the  reel 
and  the  loom.  The  old  loom,  pieces  of  which  can  yet  be  seen,  was  made  from 
limber  grown  on  the  farm  and  fashioned  in  a  rude  manner  with  such  tools  as 
they  had.  There  was  also  a  sugar  grove  on  the  farm,  from  which  large  quan- 
tities of  maple  susjar  and  svrnp  were  obtained.  Here  the  pioneer,  with  his  wife 
and  children,  twelve,  labored  and  prospered,  earning  enough  for  present  needs- 


HISTORY    OF    irESTMORELAM)    COUXTY.  379, 

and  laying  by  a  goodly  sum  for  thi.'  tuturo.  Tlic  farm  contained  one  liundrLil 
and  nine  acres,  afterwards  increased  to  two  hundred  acres,  situated  one  and 
one-half  miles  from  New  Alexandria,  and  was  purchased  from  John  Elliott, 
the  deed  bearing  date  of  March  19,  1798,  consideration  three  hundred  pounds. 
Samuel  Craig"  was  the  original  patentee  and  this  was  the  fourth  transfer.  The 
original  log  buildings  Samuel  enlarged  and  im])roved.  In  i860  the  present 
buildings  were  erected  by  his  son  John.  It  was  on  this  farm  that  Samuel  and 
Catherme  lived  and  died,  and  where  ten  of  their  children  were  born.  The 
religious  faith  of  Samuel  was  that  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian,  or  Covenan- 
ter. He  was  the  first  of  this  faith  or  belief  in  the  Dcnistown  (now  New  .Alex- 
andria) neighborhood.  He  was  an  earnest  Christian  and  an  example  to  all 
around  him.  At  least  twice  a  year,  when  there  was  no  church  building  around 
the  neighborhood,  he  made  a  church  of  his  home,  entertaining  all  who  came,  and 
when  the  house  was  too  small,  erected  a  tent  in  a  grove  near  by,  where  preach- 
ing and  prayer  meetings  were  held.  This  was  the  pioneer  congregation  of  the 
Reformed  Presbvterian  church  in  New  Alexandria.  Samuel  and  his  family 
were  largely  instrumental  in  the  building  or  repairing  of  the  old  Associate 
church  of  New  Alexandria,  afterward  called  the  Union  Meeting  House.  He 
was  the  means  of  building  up  the  New  Alexandria  congregation,  which  has 
always  borne  faithful  testimony  to  the  crown  rights  and  royal  prerogatives  of 
the  Heavenlv  King.  This  church  was  the  first  to  debar  its  members  from 
church  membership  and  privileges  for  holding  in  slavery,  human  beings.  One 
of  the  greatest  and  most  eloquent  orators  against  the  crime  of  human  slavery 
was  afterward  pastor  of  this  congregation — Rev.  .-Mexander  iNIcLeod  JMilligarr 
— whose  life  and  portrait  will  be  found  in  \'o\  I  of  this  work. 

So  intensely  loyal  to  church  service  and  so  anxious  was  Sanuiel  Patterson 
for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his  family,  that  often  he  anfl  they  attended  services 
at  Greensburg,  eleven  miles  distant,  going  on  foot  both  ways  when  horses  could 
not  be  found  for  all.  This  family  and  their  neighbors  had  one  of  the  bpst 
-chools  of  that  day.  It  was  held  in  a  log  house  on  the  Patterson  farm.  The 
furniture  was  exceedingly  primitive,  being  of  slabs  and  rude  in  design.  Cath- 
erine Patterson  was  of  the  highest  type  of  womanhood,  courageous  as  our  pio- 
neer mothers  must  have'  been,  she  liraved  the  toils  and  dangers  of  the  forest 
and  mountain,  working  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  her  husband,  his  faithful 
friend  and  valuable  helpmeet.  She  was  a  loyal,  loving  mother,  and  testimony 
is  abundant  as  to  her  high  Christian  character  and  her  perfect  womanhood. 
.She  and  her  husband  lived  in  the  most  perfect  accord  and  were  laid  at  rest  side 
by  side  in  the  churchyard  of  the  Union  Meeting  Ffouse,  where  their  graves  may 
be  seen  to  this  day  marked  by  suitable  headstones.  Samuel  died  October  14, 
1830,  aged  sixty-nine,  and  Catherine.  June  17,  18.^6,  aged  sixty.  They  were 
faithful  servants  of  the  Master  and  left  a  large  family  who  bear  the  same  testi- 
mony and  strive  to  emulate  their  virtues.     Their  children  were: 

I.  Margaret  Patterson,  horn  in  Franklin  county,  1794.  She  never  mar- 
ried. She  was  a  dutiful  daughter  and  worked  in  the  fields  and  at  the  loom, 
sharing  the  family  burden  and  mothering  the  little  ones  as  thev  were  added  to 
the  family.  .Vfter  the  death  of  her  father,  she.  her  brother  Andrew,  and  sis- 
ters Martha  and  Nancy,  purchased  a  house  and  four  acres  in  New  Alexandria, 
where  they  spun,  knit  and  wove  stockings  and  blankets  for  the  entire  neigh- 
borhood, and  great  was  the  fame  of  these  goods.  She  flied  January  16.  T877. 
aged  eighty-three.  2.  John  Patterson,  of  whom  special  notice  later.  3.  James 
Patterson,  b^rn  1798,  on  the  homestead  farm  near  New  Alexandria.  Leaving 
home  in  1826.  he  was  employed  for  several  vears  on  the  construction  work  of 
the  Pennsylvania  canal.     November  18,  1826,  James  married  Jane  Thompson,. 


j38o  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

-dauc^hter  of  Moses  Thompson,   who  was  a  farmer  of   Indiana  county,  near 
Livermore.     After  his  marriage,  James  settled  on  a  farm  near  Lewisville,  In- 
diana county,   where   four  children  were  born:   Thompson,   Myrtella,   Lavinia 
Ann  and  Samuel.     Jane  Thompson  Patterson,  the-  mother  of  these  children, 
died  November   i,   1839.     James  Patterson  took  unto  himself  a  second  wife, 
October  22,   1840,  one  Jane   Barnett,  daughter  of  William   Barnett,  of  New 
Derrv.     To  them  were  born  Rebecca  Jane  and  James  Barnett.     James  Patter- 
son sold  his  farm  in  Indiana  county  in  1836,  moved  to  Derry  township,  where 
he  bought  a  part  of  the  Thomas  Elder  tract.     Here  he  erected  a  house,  barn  and 
otherwise  improved  his  farm,  which  was  his  home  until  his  death  on  November 
17,  1870,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two.     Jane,  his  wife,  died  March  i,  1870,  aged 
^ixty-two.     James  Patterson  always  took  the  deepest  interest  in  public  matters, 
particularly  church  and  educational.     He  was  a  lifelong  member  of  the  Coven- 
anter church  and  lived  strictly  in  accord  with  the  peculiar  principles  of  that 
church,  which  prevented  him  from  seeking  or  accepting  public  office,  their  con- 
tention being  that  God  is  not  mentioned  in  the  constitution  nor  His  law  rec- 
ognized as  the  supreme  authority  in  civil  affairs.     4.     Sarah  Patterson,  born 
■on  the  homestead,  1799.     Married  Thomas  Brown,  December  9,  1841.   Thomas 
Brown  was  a  farmer  of  the  neighborhood.     No  children  were  born  of  this  mar- 
riage, but  Thomas  was  a  widower  previous  to  his  marriage  with  Sarah,  having 
>six  small  children,  and  to  these  children  she  became  a  mother  in  the  truest 
•sense.     Sarah  was  of  a  modest,  unselfish  nature,  strongly  domestic  in  bar  tastes, 
and  for  sixteen  years  filled  the  difficult  part  of  stejimother,  securing  for  herself 
the  love  and  affection  of  these  children,  whom  she  trained  in  the  fear  of  the 
Lord,  and  who  all  became  prominent  and  much  respected  in  the  community. 
They  mourned  her  as  a  true  mother  when  she  was  taken  from  them  December 
20,  1857,  her  death  resulting  from  a  stroke  of  apoplexy.     5.     Samuel  Patter- 
son, bom  on  the  homestead,  1800.     He  left  the  farm  at  an  early  age  to  learn 
the  trade  of  a  carpenter  and  builder.     After  learning  his  trade  he  was  married 
to  Mary  Thompson.     After  his  marriage  he  engaged  in  business  for  himself 
and  became  the  largest  contractor  in  the  community.     He  was  known  far  and 
near  as  "Boss''   Patterson.     He  was  a  thorough   mechanic,  employing  many 
men.     He  would  go  to  the  woods,  select  his  trees,  fell  and  prepare  them  for 
their  place  in  the  building.     He  erected  many  dwellings,  one  of  which  is  now 
■owned  and  occupied  by  his  nephew,  Samuel  C.  Patterson,  which  he  built  in 
1830.     This   dwelling  is  as  firm  and   substantial  as  when  first  erected.     He 
owned  and  lived  in  a  fine  home  just  north  of  New  Alexandria.     He  continued 
in  business  until  advancing  age   and   infirmity  compelled  him  to  retire.     He 
died  at  his  home,  June  13,  1880,  aged  eighty  years.     Mary  Thompson  Patter- 
son, his  wife,  was  born  in  Indiana  county,  in   1810,  and  died  in  1885.     They 
have  no  living  children.     Samuel  was  noted  for  his  expert  marksmanship  with 
the  rifle,  for  his  great  strength  and  for  being  the  most  rapid  cradler  in  the  grain 
field.     He  was  what  was  termed  a  "Racker,"  always  taking  two  steps  forward 
at  each  swing  of  the  cradle.     This  required  great  strength   and  expertness. 
There  was  no  man  in  the  neighborhood  who  was  his  equal  in  the  harvest  field. 
6.     Catherine  Patterson,  born  on  the  home  farm  in   1804,  married  John  Mc- 
Conaughy,  July  2,  1834.     John  was  born  in  Blairsville,  February,  1802.     They 
moved  to  Burlington,  Iowa,  in  1843,  where  Catherine  died  April  t,  1859.     John 
]\IcConaughy  died  at  Washington,  Iowa,  October  16,   1888.     They  were  the 
parents  of  five  children:    i.  John  Calvin,  born  June  i,   183.S  :  married,  June, 
1869,  Lydia  Van  Sickle.     Their  children  were:  William,    ]May,    Frank    and 
Georgia.     2.    Samuel  P.,  born  July  24.  1836:  married.  January  30,  t868,  Mag- 
■gie  J.  Scott.     Their  children  are :  Edmund  M.  and  Jennie  May.     Both  John 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  ,381: 

Calvin  and  Samuel  P.  McConaughy  reside  in  \\"ashing"ton,  Iowa.     3.     Andrew 
J.,  born  July  29.  1842:  married  Jane  W'akinshaw,  in   i86i.     Their  home  is  in. 
Superior,  Nebraska.     Their  children  are :  .Maggie  C,  John  Ira,  Sadie  J.,  Ella 
M.,  Alonzo  D.  and  Samuel  A.,  twins;  Alary  C,  James  H.,  Rosella,  and  Eve- 
lina.    4.     Sarah  J.,  born  April  8,  1844,  died  February  20,  1859.     5.     Robert 
P.,  born  November,  1846,  married,  June  8,  1881,  Emma  il.  Brokaw.     Robert 
lives  in  Washington,  Iowa.     Their  children  are :  George  J.  H.,  Robert  L.,  and 
Leta   Catherine.     7.     ]Martha  Patterson,  born  on  the  homestead,    1805.     She 
never  married.     She  was  associated,  after  the  death  of  her  father,  with  her  sis- 
ters ^Margaret  and  Nancy,  in  their  knitting  and  weaving  business  in  New  Alex- 
andria, of  which  mention  has  been  made.     She  was  a  worthy  member  of  this 
remarkable  family  and  possessed  all  the  attributes  of  true  womanhood.     She- 
died  December  28,  1873.     8.     Mary  Patterson,  born  on  the  home  farm  in  1809. 
She  married  Josiah  Beattie,  who  died  October  9,  1842.     Mary  Patterson  Beat- 
tie  died  September  17,  1S68.     The  children  of  this  marriage  were  five,  of  whom 
two  died  in  infancy.     The  surviving  three  were :  Robert  R.  Beattie.  who  served 
his  country  in  the  Civil  war  and  is  still  a  resident  of  New  Alexandria :  Samuel' 
Patterson  Beattie.  who  died  May  21,  1883.  aged  forty-three  years.     He  was  a 
lifelong,  active  and  influential  citizen  of  New  Alexandria.     His  strong  mind 
and  unsual  ability  for  public  speaking  led  him  to  take  a  lively  interest  and  active 
part  in  the  Sabbath  School  Bible  Society,  temperance,  and  other  reform  move- 
rnents.     The  youngest  child   was  Josiah   Alexander  Beattie.  who  married  J. 
Ella  O'Brian,  June  18.  1879,  to  whom  were  born  seven  children :  Mary,  a  grad- 
uate of  the  Indiana  State  Normal  school,  class  of  1904,  now  a  teacher;  Frank 
N.,  now  a  successful  business  man,  graduate  of  Leech's  Business  College,  1903 ; 
Clara  M.,  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools ;  Tirzah  L.,  a  teacher  in  the  county ; 
J.  Carlisle,  Anna  O.,  and  I^Iargaret  Ellen,  still  attending  school.     9.     Andrew 
Patterson,  born  on  the  homestead,  April   14,   18 12.     Andrew  never  married. 
For  many  years  he  and  his  brother-in-law,  Joseph  Beattie,  owned  and  operated 
a  boat  on  the  old  Pennsylvania  canal,  but  this  was  not  a  particularly  profitable 
venture.     In  1854,  in  partnership  with  his  brother  Robert,  he  bought  the  Rev. 
John  Cannon  farm,  one  and  one-half  miles  west  of  New  Alexandria.     For  fif- 
teen years  they  worked  the  farm,  Andrew  making  his  home  in  New  Alexandria 
with  his  sisters  Margaret,  Martha  and  Nancy,  and  assisting  them  in  their  busi- 
ness.    In  1869  he  sold  his  interest  in  the  farm  to  Robert  and  thereafter  worked' 
and  lived  in  New  .-Mcxandria  until  his  death,  October  18,  1892.     Andrew  was 
a  strong,  faithful  and  useful  member  of  the  Covenanter  church,  adhering  to  and 
practicing  all  their  principles.     He  was  scrupulously  honest,  abhorring  debt, 
particularly  church  debts,  kind-hearted,   faithful   alike   to  his  church  and   his 
family.     He  was  a  Christian  gentleman,  and  his  memory  is  precious  to  his  sur- 
viving friends  and  relatives.    10.  Hannah  Patterson,  ho  died  in  childhood.     11. 
Robert  Patterson,  of  whom  more  hereafter.    12.  Nancy  Jane  Patterson,  born 
on  the  home  farm  in  1821.     In  1847  she  married  Samuel  A.  Steele,  who  was 
born  in  1822.     He  received  his  education  in  the  public  school,  and  was  a  life- 
long tiller  of  the  soil.     He  was  an  elder  in  the   Reformed   Presbyterian  or 
Covenanter  church  in  New  Alexandria.    He  was  a  member  of  the  militia,  but 
took  no  part  in  politics.     Three  children  were  born  to  Samuel  A.  and  Nancy 
Jane  (Patterson)  Steele:  i.  Catherine  Rosanna,  who,  on  September  27,  1876, 
married  Jefferson  C.   Calhoun,  of  Indiana  county,  and  of  whom  was  born : 
Samuel   Steele.  Nancy  Jane  and  Ef?ie  Calhoun.     2.     Samuel  Alexander  Mc- 
Leod,  married,  October  ir,  1877,  Sarah  Jane  Cannon,  to  whom  was  born  two- 
sons:  Samuel  Cannon,  cashier  of  the  Madera  National   Bank,  Madera,  Penn- 
sylvania ;  and  James  Elder  Steele,  a  farmer  near  New  Alexandria,  who  married' 


.382  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

October  11,  1905,  Dessa  Alay  Long.  3.  Mary  Jane  Steele,  married  in  August, 
1875.  Henry  S.  Loughery,  who  died  February,  1887.  She  has  four  daughters: 
Emma  Jane,  died  June,  1887 ;  Anna  Ehzabeth,  married  Fred.  Morgan,  superin- 
tendent for  E!ell  Telephone  Company,  and  lives  in  Greensburg;  Mary  and  Hen- 
rietta, at  home  with  their  mother  in  Greensburg. 

William  John  Patterson  is  the  only  surviving  son  of  John  Patterson,  who 
was  the  second  child  of  Samuel  and  Catherine  (Campbell)  Patterson.  John 
Patterson  was  born  in  Franklin  county,  January,  1796.  He  grew  up  on  the 
farm  of  his  father  in  Derry  township,  which  he  helped  to  clear  and  to  culti- 
vate. Being  the  eldest  son  the  heavier  burdens  fell  on  him  and  these  were 
never  shirked  or  evaded.  The  other  boys,  as  they  grew  to  manhood,  left  the 
farm  and  began  business  for  themselves,  but  John  never  left  his  parents.  His 
education  was  limited  as  his  father's  frequent  rheumatic  attacks  made  it  neces- 
sary for  him  to  take  his  place  in  the  farm  labor.  While  his  school  days  were 
few,  he  was  a  natural  scholar,  and  improving  such  opportunities  as  he  had, 
kept  abreast  of  the  time  and  was  intellectually  superior  to  man\-  who  had 
greater  advantages.  When  his  father  Samuel  died,  he  purchased  the  equities 
of  his  brothers  and  sisters,  and  became  the  owner.  His  mother  remained 
with  him  on  the  farm  until  her  death,  six  years  after  her  husband.  Some  years 
later,  in  the  winter  of  1841,  John  Patterson  married  Margery  Jamison,  daugh- 
ter of  William  Jamison,  from  near  Pleasant  Unity.  Her  mother  was  a  Work- 
man. William  Jamison  was  a  farmer,  carpenter  and  cabinetmaker.  He  was  a 
Presbyterian.  Both  he  and  his  wife  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age.  Margery  was  one 
•of  a  large  family  of  children.  She  was  born  in  1812;  married,  in  1841,  John 
Patterson,  to  whom  she  bore  two  sons :  Samuel  and  William  John.  Margery 
Jamison  Patterson  died  January  27,  1899.  She  was  a  devoted  Christian  wo-" 
man,  of  a  cheerful  hospitable  disposition,  and  retained  her  vigor  and  bright 
cheerful  ways  until  her  death.  Having  no  daughters,  the  manv  duties  of  the 
household  fell  upon  hqr,  but  she  bravely  bore  her  burdens  and  never  com- 
plained. John  Patterson  was  in  his  younger  days  very  lithe  and  active  in  body, 
with  a  quick,  correct  eye,  and  decidedly  of  a  mechanical  turn  of  mind.  He 
was  always  in  demand  at  the  "raisings"  of  the  time,  and  always  given  the  most 
important  corner  to  plumb,  which  he  did  with  his  eye  alone,  without  the  aid  of 
plumb  or  level.  He  was  strictly  opposed  to  the  use  of  into.xicants  and  alwavs 
denounced  their  use.  One  of  his  neighbors,  whose  wife  was  fond  of  her  toddv, 
was  ready  to  raise  a  new  building  and  wanted  John  for  his  corner  man.  John 
would  go  only  on  the  consideration  that  no  whisky  should  be  served  or  drunk. 
This  was  a  hard  condition,  especially  for  the  wife,  but  the  building  was  raised, 
no  drink  served,  and  the  old  lady  remained  sober.  John  was  equally  severe  in 
his  condemnation  of  the  tobacco  habit,  denouncing  it  in  the  severest  terms. 
John  was  of  an  ardent  disposition,  keen  and  zealous.  Negro  slavery  was  a 
question  he  discussed  with  great  fervor,  and  any  one  who  defended  it  was  sure' 
to  have  an  exceedingly  spirited  debate.  John  was  a  member  of  the  militia  of 
his  day  (often  called  the  "Cornstalk  ]\Iilitia").  In  his  younger  days  he  cast  his 
ballot  as  a  voter  of  the  commonwealth,  but  in  later  years  he  became  convinced 
that  this  was  wrong  and  that  every  time  he  did  so,  he  gave  his  consent  and 
sanction  to  human  slavery  and  the  legalizing  of  the  liquor  traffic,  which  were 
both  upheld  and  sanctioned  by  the  laws  of  the  countrv.  He  believed  that 
God's  law  should  be  the  basis  of  all  civil  law  and  that  God  should  be  recog- 
nized in  the  constitution  of  our  country.  After  his  awakening  on  these  topics 
he  ceased  voting  and  connected  himself  with  the  Covenanter  church  of  New 
Alexandria,  to  whose  tenets  he  remained  faithful  until  his  death,  Januarv  25, 
1880. 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUXTV.  383 

Samuel  Patterson,  the  eldest  son  of  John  and  Margery  Patterson,  was 
born  November  17,  i8'4i.  He  was  well  educated,  and  grew  up  on  the  farm, 
assisting  in  all  the  labors  thereof.  It  was  during  his  life  that  the  new  house, 
barn  and  other  improvements  were  built.  He  was  not  a  robust  man  and  sur- 
fered  all  his  life  from  inflammatory  rlieumatism.  In  religion  he  adhered  to  the 
strict  faith  of  the  Covenanters.  He  filled  the  office  of  deacon  for  several  years. 
He  never  married  and  died  October  11,  1879,  at  the  age  of  thirty-eight. 

William  John,  the  second  son  and  only  surviving  member  of  the  family, 
was  born  on  the  farm  which  he  now  owns,  August  22,  1854.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  township  schools  and  at  the  summer  and  winter  terms  of  New 
Alexandria  Academy.  From  earliest  boyhood  he  has  been  a  tiller  of  the  soil. 
He  was  his  father's  valued  assistant  until  his  death,  when  \\'illiam  J.  inher- 
ited the  farm,  his  brother  Samuel  being  dead.  He  has  never  married.  His 
life  has  been  given  to  the  service  of  father,  mother  and  brother,  to  whom  he 
was  especially  tender  and  helpful,  and  whom  he  tended  in  his  last  illness  with 
the  tenderness  of  a  woman  and  the  skill  of  a  trained  nurse.  He  is,  like  all  his 
family,  a  consistent  member  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  or  Covenanter 
church,  believing  with  that  church  that  "Righteousness  exalteth  a  nation," 
that  sin  is  a  reproach  to  any  people,  and  that  to  attain  blessedness  in  a  nation, 
that  nation's  supreme  laws  must  be  enacted  in  accordance  with  Divine  law. 
Believing  this,  he  never  votes,  as  in  his  public  as  well  as  in  his  private  life  he 
wishes  to  "avoid  even  the  appearance  of  evil."  William  J.  is  a  great  reader 
and  has  a  large  and  well  stocked  library  of  historical,  theological  and  other 
works,  by  the  very  best  authors.  He  is  an  enlightened,  useful  man  and  stands 
liigh  in  the  community. 

Samuel  Campbell  Patterson  is  a  son  of  Robert  Patterson,  and  grandson 
of  Samuel  Patterson,  the  first.  Robert  was  born  on  the  homestead  farm  April 
23,  1817.  He  was  educated  in  the  township  and  New  Alexandria  schools. 
On  reaching  a  suitable  age,  he  learned  the  carpenter's  trade  with  his  brother 
Samuel,  with  whom  he  worked  eighteen  years,  ten  of  which  he  was  a 
])artner.  He  was  a  skilled  mechanic  and  a  reliable  builder.  Much  of  the  work 
of  these  builders  stands  to  this  day.  Robert  married,  March  23,  1853,  Dorothy 
Laughlin.  She  was  a  most  remarkable  woman.  Her  father,  John  Laughlin, 
removed  with  his  family  to  the  northern  part  of  the  state,  known  then  as  "The 
Pines,"  expecting  to  engage  in  the  lumber  business.  The  winter  was  very  se- 
vere, there  was  no  provender  for  his  stock,  and  after  much  suffering  the  fam- 
ily returned  to  New  Alexandria,  where  both  John  and  his  wife  soon  died, 
leaving  four  children  :  Eliphet,  a  boy  of  eighteen  :  iMargret.  a  girl  of  sixteen  ; 
and  two  smaller  children.  Eli[)het  at  once  assumed  the  support  of  the  four  and 
.Margrct  cared  for  the  home  and  children.  ISy  their  united  efforts  the' family 
was  kept  together,  the  little  ones  educated  and  cared  for,  until  her  marriage 
with  Robert  Patterson.  John  Laughlin.  her  father,  was  born  September  2, 
1802:  Mary  Armstrong,  her  mother,  bom  July  27,  1799.  married  John  Laugh- 
lin, December  19,  1826.  They  Ijoth  died  in  184 1; :  Mary  died  February  15. 
John  August  13.  The  children  were:  Eliphet,  born  September  22,  1827,  mar- 
ried Caroline  Ann  Crow.  December  9,  1856;  Margret,  May  22,  1830;  Abncr, 
August  22,  1832:  and  James  P.,  .\iiril  17,  1837.  Their  liome  was  the  old 
Laughlin  homestead,  two  miles  north  of  New  Alexandria.  Margret's  early 
struggles  developed  her  character  and  made  her  strong  and  steadfast.  She 
was  an  exemplary  Christian  character  of  the  highest  type,  and'  her  children 
"rise  up  and  call  her  blessed."  She  was  noted  for  hospitality,  and  from  her 
door  no  caller  was  ever  turned  empty  away.  Margret  Patterson  died  August 
9,  1897,  aged  sixty-eight  years.     After  his  marriage  Robert  Patterson  bought 


384  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNIY. 

the  Rev.  John  Cannon  farm,  and  here  was  his  home  for  thirty-five  years.  He 
was  a  successful  farmer,  and  from  a  low  state  of  cultivation  he  brought  it  up 
to  the  highest.  Fruit  trees  were  planted  and  improvements  made  that  soon 
made  it  a  model  farm.  He  was  much  interested  in  educational  matters,  was  a 
good  erader  and  thinker,  and  able  to  express  himself  well  in  speech.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Covenanter  church,  of  which  he  was  a  ruling  elder,  an  office 
which  he  filled  to  the  satisfaction  of  those  over  whom  he  had  rule.  He  was  an 
earnest  Christian  man,  filled  with  the  spirit  of  God  and  always  ready  to  forward 
every  good  cause.  He  worked  with  the  Bible  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the 
local  societies.  He  was  a  strong  temperance  man,  even  from  early  boyhood, 
when  he  refused  to  carry  the  jug  of  home-made  whisky  to  the  harvest  field, 
believing  it  to  be  w'rong.  He  always  labored  for  the  overthrow  of  the  demon 
rum,  and  in  that  day  it  took  courage  to  stand  against  the  custom  of  moderate 
drinking.  He  was  greatly  opposed  to  human  slavery,  and  when  the  first  gun 
at  Sumter  was  fired  he  was  not  surprised.  He  believed  in  and  practiced  all 
the  doctrines  of  the  Covenanter  church  and  was  loyal  to  all  her  teachings. 
Robert  remained  on  the  farm  until  March  i,  1884,  when  he  removed  to  New 
Alexandria,  where  he  bought  a  fine  house,  in  which  he  resided  until  his  death, 
July  24,  1889,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years.  The  children  of  Robert  and 
Margret  Dorothy  (Laughlin)  Patterson  were  three:  Clara,  born  February  11, 
1854,  died  Alay  10,  1871,  at  age  of  seventeen,  just  budding  into  a  promising 
womanhood ;  Samuel  C,  of  whom  more  hereafter ;  Margret  Estella,  born  No- 
vember 16,  1869,  now  Mrs.  William  McClellan  Moore,  whose  sketch  will  be 
found  on  another  page. 

Samuel  C.  Patterson,  only  son  of  Robert  and  Margret  Patterson,  was  born 
on  his  father's  farm,  called  "Spring  Vale  Farm,"  now  owned  and  cultivated  by 
himself,  JNIay  20,  1856.  He  attended  the  township  schools  and  finished  his 
studies  at  the  New  Alexandria  Academy.  He  intended  fitting  himself  for  a 
professional  career,  but  the  plan  failed,  and  in  1884  he  took  possession  of  the 
farm  and  at  once  began  a  systematic  course  of  improvement.  Old  lands  were 
fertilized,  buildings  enlarged  and  blooded  breeds  of  stock  introduced.  In 
1896  dairy  farming  was  made  a  specialty,  as  it  still  is.  Machinery  was  intro- 
duced, an  engine  for  grinding  the  food  and  cutting  fodder  was  installed,  and 
today  this  farm  is  one  of  the  best  operated  in  the  township  of  Salem.  The  old 
brick  house  built  by  his  uncle  and  father,  in  1830,  has  been  improved  by  the 
addition  of  more  windows  and  new  porches,  until  it  is  a  complete  home,  with 
all  the  modern  interior  comforts  of  a  city  home.  Samuel  C.  is  a  total  ab- 
stainer and  strongly  opposed  to  licensing  the  liquor  traffic.  While  taking  no 
part  in  political  matters,  he  is  an  intensely  loyal  American  citizen,  ready  at  any 
time  at  his  country's  call  to  take  up  arms  in  her  defense,  and  ready  to  forward 
any  good  cause  that  will  result  in  good  laws  and  good  government.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Covenanter  church,  where  for  thirteen  years  he  has  held  the 
office  of  ruling  elder.  He  has  been  an  officer  and  teacher  in  the  Sabbath  school 
since  his  youth,  and  is  identified  with  all  the  benevolent  work  of  the  church. 
He  deprecates  our  present  too  general  desecration  of  the  Sabbath  day,  and  be- 
lieves our  laws  should  be  strictly  enforced  and  God's  day  kept  holy.  Having 
connected  himself  with  the  literary  societies  of  the  communitv  when  but  a 
boy,  Mr.  Patterson  has  acquired  the  art  of  public  speaking  and  is  often  called 
upon  in  debate  or  discussion  to  take  a  part.  He  is  a  memlier  of  the  .American 
Bible  and  the  Home  Societies  of  New  Alexandria,  in  which  he  has  helfl  many 
of  the  offices.  He  is  an  interested  stockholder  in  the  Union  Cemetery  Associa- 
tion of  New  Alexandria,  in  the  West  Savings  &  Trust  Company  of  Greens- 
burg,  and  in  the  National  Bank  of  New  Alexandria,  where  he  is  vice-president 


THE 

fl      NEW  YORK       , 
[public  UBRARV 


HISTORY   OF   IV  EST  MO  RELAX  D   COUNTY.  385 

and  director.  Mt.  Patterson  chose  as  his  hfe  partner  EHza  Martha"  Steel,  to 
whom  he  was  united  in  marriasje  at  the  home  of  her  father,  Wilham  Steel, 
lanuary  i,  1884.  (See  sketch""  of  Judge  John  B.  Steel,  Mrs.  Patterson's 
hrother.)  'She  was  educated  in  the  home  schools  of  the  township,  finishing  at 
Greensburg  Seminary.  The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sanuiel  C.  Patterson 
were  all  born  at  their  home  on  Spring  Vale  farm,  and  are  as  follows : 

I.  \\'illiam  Steel,  born  Xovember  22,  1884.  He  was  educated  in  the 
township  schools,  finishing  his  studies  at  the  academy  in  New  Alexandria. 
Steel,  as  he  is  familiarly  called,  is  a  farmer,  first  with  his  father,  then  one  year 
for  George  Stewart,  and  two  years  for  Judge  John  B,  Steel.  February  2,  1903, 
he  married  Ada  Rnmbaugh.  March  12,  1906,  he  removed  to  Canada,  where  he 
is  the  manager  of  a  wheat  farm  of  six  hundred  and  forty  acres,  near  Langdon 
province  ofAlberta,  He  is  a  young  man  of  great  promise  and  possesses  the 
characteristics  of  his  ancestors'  2.  Robert  Carlyle,  born  July  13,  1886;  edu- 
cated in  home  schools  and  at  Greensburg  Seminary.  In  1905  he  entered 
Geneva  College,  where  he  is  now  pursuing  his  studies.  3.  Clara  Sarah,  born 
May  23,  1890.  She  has  attended  Xew  Alexandria  Academy,  Greensburg 
Seminarv.  and  will  finish  her  education  in  higher  institutions  of  learning. 
4.  George  Robert,  born  October  5,  1892.  5.  John  Samuel,  born  April  i.  1899. 
6.  Glen  Laughlin,  born  February  22,  1902.  7.  Joseph  Walker,  born  March  15, 
1904.  The  children  are  receiving  musical  educations,  and  with  piano  and 
cornet  enliven  the  old  home.  ]\Ir.  and  Mrs.  Patterson  are  very  hospitable  and 
understand  to  perfection  the  delicate  art  of  entertaining. 

DAVID  R.  SCHAXTZ.  The  family  of  which  David  B.  Schantz,  of 
Braeburn,  is  a  representative  was  founded  in  this  country  by  Jacob  Schantz,  a 
native  of  Switzerland,  where  he  was  born  about  1710.  In  1737  he  emigrated 
to  Pennsylvania  and  for  some  years  lived  in  Germantown,  removing  in  1745 
to  Montgomery  county.     The  name  of  his  wife  is  not  known. 

Isaac  Schantz,  son  of  Jacob  Schantz,  was  born  January  14,  1748,  in 
Montgomerv  county,  and  married.  May  4,  1774.  Barbara  Ruff,  born  Septem- 
ber 12.  1753.  Their  children  were:  Mary,  Abraham,  see  forward;  Christian. 
Jacob,  Isaac,  David,  \'eronica,  Samuel  and  Joseph.  Isaac  Schantz,  the  father, 
died  October  11,  1802,  on  a  farm  which  now  forms  part  of  the  site  of  Potts- 
town. 

.Abraham  Schantz,  son  of  Isaac  and  Barbara  (Ruf?)  Schantz,  was  born 
in  Westmoreland  county,  December  15,  1776,  and  for  some  years  resided  in 
Canada.  Later  he  moved  to  Harmony,  Butler  county,  Pennsylvania,  not  far 
from  Pittsburg,  and  there  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  married  Allis 
Hunslnirger,  born  January  20,  1775.  Their  children  were:  Moses  H.,  Aaron, 
Catharine,  Isaac,  Elizabeth,  Lena,  Amos,  Mary,  David,  see  forward;  and 
Xancy.  The  mother  of  these  children  died  August  27,  1821,  and  her  hu.sband 
survived  her  many  years,  passing  away  December  25,  1856,  at  Harmony,  But- 
ler county. 

David  Schantz  ("4).  son  of  .\braham  (3),  and  .\ilis  (Hunsbnrger) 
Schantz.  was  born  .-\ngust  16.  181S.  and  married,  October  13,  1839,  Marv 
I'oyer,  born  August  31.  1822.  Their  children  were:  Henry  B.,  Jacob  B.,  .Sarali 
Lienor  B..  .Abraham  B.,  John  I>.,  David  B.,  see  forward  ;  Amos  B.,  Catharine 
B,,  Marv  B.,  Eli  B.,  Martha  B.,  and  Elizabeth  B.  The  death  of  the  mother  of 
the  family  occurred  March  3,  1878.  and  on  March  4,  1883,  Mr.  Schantz  mar- 
ried Catharine  Lutz. 

David  B.  Schantz,  son  of  David  and  Marv   (Boyer)    Schantz,  was  born 

2-25 


386  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

May  25,  1 85 1,  at  Harmony,  Butler  county,  where  he  was'  educated  in  the 
common'  schools.  Until  the  age  of  nineteen  he  worked  on  a  farm,  and  then 
went  to  learn  the  carpenter's  trade  with  Emanuel  Foreman  of  Ohio,  remamnig 
three  years.  He  then  returned  to  Butler  county  and  went  into  business  for 
himself  as  a  contractor  and  builder,  moving  after  eighteen  months  to  Har- 
mony where  he  continued  the  business  for  one  year:  After  spending  six 
months  in  Livingston  county,  Illinois,  he  once  more  sought  his  native  place 
and  there  remained  five  vears.  For  six  years  he  continued  his  business  in  Tar- 
entum  and  for  two  years  in  Duquesne,' after  which  he  returned  for  the  third 
time  to  Harmonv,  remaining  seven  years.  In  1897  he  moved  to  Braeburn, 
where  he  has  since  resided  and  conducted  his  business.  During  the  whole 
course  of  his  career  as  a  contractor  and  builder  he  has  erected  over  one 
thousand  houses,  building  seventy  of  these  in  one  year.  He  has  filled  a  num- 
ber of  township  offices,  "in  May!  1898,  he  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Brae- 
burn under  the  McKinley  administration,  and  has  held  the  office  ever  since.  His 
political  views  and  principles  are  staunchly  Republican.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Church  of  God.  He  married  Julia  Schafl:'er,  and  their  children  were: 
Dora,  wife  of  Harry  G.  Boggs,  of  Braeburn :  Josephine,  wife  of  Ernest  Cham- 
bordon ;  Marv ;  and  Miles  P.,  Isoth  of  whom  died  in  childhood.  The  death  of 
Mrs.  Schantz  occurred  November  13,  1881,  her  age  being  twenty-two  years 
and  seven  months.  Mr.  Schantz  married,  October  2,  1883,  Emma  Schafifer, 
who  bore  him  two  children ;  Dainie  B. ;  and  Russell  L.,  both  of  whom  are  at 
home.  Mrs.  Schantz  died  January  20,  1888,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  and 
I\Ir.  Schantz  subsequentlv  married  Emma  ZoUer,  by  whom  he  became  the 
father  of  eight  children :  Odella  R. :  Elfreda  C. :  David,  died  at  the  age  of  five 
years :  Goldie  B. :  Catharine  E. :  Harold,  died  in  infancy ;  Verna  S. ;  and 
Theodore  G.    All  these  children  are  still  at  home. 

WILLIAM  STR.A^UB.  By  birth  and  parentage  William  Straub.  of 
New  Kensington,  is  a  German,  his  father,  Carl  Straub,  having  been  a  native 
of  the  fatherland.  He  was  a  weaver  by  trade  and  in  1878  emigrated  to  the 
United  States,  settling  in  Paterson,  New  Jersey,  where  he  remained  two  years, 
and  moving  thence  to  Pittsburg,  where  he  has  since  worked  at  his  trade. 

Mr.  Straub  married,  before  leaving  Germany,  Emma  Herr,  and^  their 
children  are :  William,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  Emma,  wife  of  Edward  Krueg, 
of  Hamilton,  Canada ;  and  Anna,  clerk  in  Kaufman's  department  store.  Pitts- 
burg. 

'  William  Straub,  son  of  Carl  and  Emma  (  Herr)  Straub,  was  born  July 
7,  1870,  in  Baden,  Germany,  and  was  eight  years  old  when  brought  to  this 
countrv'bv  his  parents.  He  received  his  primary  education  in  the  schools  of 
Paterson,  afterward  attending  the  Pittsburg  high  school,  from  which  he  grad- 
uated about  1887.  During  four  years  he  was  bartender  for  Lenz  &  Klein- 
smith,  and  for  the  ensuing  nine  years  was  employed  in  a  similar  capacity  by 
Mrs.  .'Kmelia  Holzinger.  In  1902  he  moved  to  New  Kensington  and  bought 
the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel,  of  which  he  has  ever  since  been  the  successful  pro- 
prietor. He  is  a  member  of  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  affiliating  with 
Lodee  No.  533,  of  New  Kensington.  Mr.  Straub  married  Pauline,  daughter 
of  John  Blosl,  and  one  child  has  been  born  to  them;  Carl,  who  died  at  the  age 
of  three  years. 

WII  LIAM  I.  LAUGHLIN.  Robert  Laughlin,  grandfather  of  Will- 
iam T.  Laughlin,  of  New  Kensington,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  in  Ireland  and 
emigrated  to  the  United  States,  settling  in  Baltimore,  where  he  passed  the  re- 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COLWTV.  387 

mainckr  of  his  life,  with  the  exception  of  eight  years  that  he  Hyed  in  Alle- 
gheny county,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  the  father  of  two  sons;  William,  men- 
tioned hereinafter :  and  John. 

William  Laughlin,  son  of  Robert  Laughlin,  was  born  Augnst  3,  1836,  and 
grew  to  manhood  in  Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania.  In  1861  he  enlisted  in 
the  Union  armv  and  served  'three  years.  He  then  returned  home,  after  a 
brief  visit  re-enlisted  and  fell  fatally  wounded  at  Fort  Stevens.  July  12,  1864. 
Before  becoming  a  soldier  he  had  followed  the  carpenter's  trade.  Mr.  Laugh- 
lin married  Xancv  Isabel,  daughter  of  John  and  Mary  Ferguson,  and  they 
were  the  parents  of  two  sons:  Wilham  J.,  mentioned  hereinafter:  and  Robert 
O.,  who  was  born  three  months  after  the  death  of  his  father  and  is  a  carpenter 
and  millwright  of  New  Kensington. 

\\'illiam  J.  Laughlin,,  son  of  William  and  Nancy  Isabel  (Fer- 
guson) Laughlin.  was  born  March  31,  1862,  in  Allegheny  county, 
and  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools.  At  the^  age  of  six- 
teen he  went  to  learn  the  stone  and  marble  cutter's  trade  with  W.  E.  Scott,  of 
Barkerstown.  remaining  two  years.  He  then  went  to  Irwin,  where  he  worked 
two  years,  after  w-hichhe  went  to  Upper  Burrell  township  for  the  purpose  of 
learning  the  carpenter's  trade  with  William  Tailor,  with  whom  he  remained 
eighteen  months.  His  next  removal  was  to  Tarcntum,  where  he  erected  a 
house  for  himself  and  went  into  business  as  a  contractor  and  builder.  His  en- 
terprise prospered  and  he  has  continued  in  the  same  line  of  industry  ever 
since  with  the  exception  of  two  years — from  1901  to  1903 — during  which  he 
was  estimator  for  the  New  Kensington  Lumber  Company.  He  has  erected 
a  number  of  the  principal  buildings  in  New  Kensington,  including  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church,  the  L'nited  Presbyterian  church  and  the  postoffice.  He 
is  a  charter  member  of  Lodge  No.  212,  Maccabees,  in  which  he  has  passed  all 
chairs,  and  also  belongs  to  Lodge  No.  1048,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  New  Kensington. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat  and  is  now  serving  on  the  county  committee.  He 
holds  the  office  of  steward  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  New  Ken- 
sington. Mr.  Laughlin  married  Maggie  C,  daughter  of  Johnson  and  Louise 
(Waugaman)  Porter,  and  they  have  three  children,  all  of  whom  are  at  home: 
Louzetta  B.,  born  1887;  Porter  L.,  1890:  and  ]\Iary  B.,  1893. 

CHARLES  W.  WALLEY.  The  grandfather  of  Charles  W.  Walley, 
of  Parnassus,  was  John  Wallev,  who  was  born  in  Armstrong  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  there  passed  his  life  as  a  farmer.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church.  His  wife  was  Charlotte  Truby,  and  their  children  were : 
Catharine  J.,  wife  of  James  B.  Miller ;  William,  mentioned  hereinafter ; 
Thomas,  John,  James,  Carrie,  married  John  Evans,  and  after  his  death  became 
the  wife  of  Y.  B.  George:  Polly,  wife  of  Benjamin  Evans:  Nancy,  wife  of 
Frank  W.  George;  .Vnna.  wife  of  Reuben  Heger.son ;  Letitia,  wife  of  O.  A. 
Knox.     Mr.  Walley,  the  father,  died  in  188.=;. 

William  Walley,  .son  of  John  and  Charlotte  (Truby)  Walley.  was  born  in 
1837.  in  Armstrong  county,  engaged  in  farming  until  1867,  and  thenceforth 
was,  for  the  remainder  of  his  life,  identified  with  the  oil  business.  He  be- 
longed to  Lodge  No.  1 14,  A.  O.  U.  W.,  of  East  Brady,  and  was  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Walley  married  Susan  McKibben,  who 
bore  him  the  following  children ;  Ada,  wife  of  William  Painter,  of  .Sjiarks, 
Nevada;  Margaret,  deceased,  w-as  wife  of  F.  C.  Munapford;  Charles  W.  men- 
tioned hereinafter;  H.irry  C. :  Laura  B..  wife  of  Preston  Elmore:  and  Frank 
G.  The  mother  of  these  children  died  January,  1876,  and  Mr.  Walley  sub- 
sequently married  Charlotte  Caldwell,  by  whom  he  became  the   fallur  of  six 


388  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

children,  four  of  whom  died  in  infancy  ;  those  who  survived  that  period  be- 
ing:  Maud,  died  at  the  age  of  ten  years ;  and  Edna.  The  death  of  Air.  Walley 
occurred  December  14,  1S93. 

Charles  W.  Walley,  son  of  William  and  Susan  (McKibben)  Walley,  was' 
born  April  6,  1864,  in  Armstrong  county,  and  received  a  common  school  edu- 
cation. At  the  age  of  nine  years  he  became  a  member  of  the  household  of  his 
grandfather,  on  whose  farm  he  grew  to  manhood.  At  twenty  years  of  age  he 
went  to  Nebraska,  where  for  six  years  he  engaged  in  farming.  He  then  re- 
turned to  Wild  Wood  and  went  into  the  oil  business,  which  he  has  successfully 
conducted  ever  since  in  Pennsylvania,  West  Virginia  and  Ohio.  In  1895  he 
moved  to  New  Kensington,  and  in  1902  erected  a  desirable  residence  on  Fifth 
avenue,  Parnassus,  where  he  now  resides.  He  affiliates  with  Lodge  No.  512, 
Maccabees,  and  Lodge  No.  619,  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  of  Littleton,  West 
Virginia.  Mr.  Walley  married  Ada,  daughter  of  William  and  Charlotte  Burt, 
of  Nebraska,  and  their  children  are:  Lillian  E.,  William  Clarence,  Hiram 
Earl  and  Kenneth. 

C.  P.  EMIL  SWENSSON,  son-in-law  of  Johnston  B.  Jordan,  born 
Aalborg,  Denmark,  December  12,  1858,  son  of  Jean  and  Marie  Kathrine 
(Svendsen)  Swensson,  was  educated  at  the  Gymnasium  at  Halmstad,  Swe- 
den, his  parents'  home;  at  the  Chalmers  Polytechnic  Institute,  Gothenburg, 
Sweden,  graduating  as  civil  engineer  and  mechanical  engineer  in  1879 :  and 
at  Munich  and  Turich  as  a  private  student.  Emigrating  to  the  United  States 
in  1881,  his  first  employment  was  as  a  common  laborer  on  the  old  Hudson 
river  railroad  tunnel :  but  only  for  a  very  short  time,  as  he  obtained  a  position 
as  draftsman  for  patent  drawings,  then  with  a  prominent  architect,  and  finally, 
in  1882,  as  assistant  and  later  as  resident  engineer  on  the  South  Pennsyl- 
vania railroad,  a  prospective  Vanderbilt  competitor  of  the  Pennsylvania  rail- 
roail,  and  at  that  time,  from  an  engineering  point  of  view,  the  most  important 
railroad  enterprise  in  the  United  States.  The  latter  road  in  1885  bought  out 
the  new  road,  and  Mr.  Swensson  entered  the  service  of  the  Phoenix  Bridge 
Company,  of  Phoenixville,  Pennsylvania,  as  draftsman,  and  very  soon  began 
to  manifest  a  peculiar  talent  for  the  branch  of  the  profession  known  as  bridge 
and  structural  engineering.  In  1887  he  accepted  an  appointment  with  the 
Keystone  bridge  works  of  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  1892,  when  it  be- 
came a  part  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company,  became  assistant  chief  engineer. 
He  was  made  superintendent  in  1895  and  in  1896  chief  engineer,  in  full  charge 
of  the  bridge  ami  structural  business  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company.  In  June, 
1900,  the  American  Bridge  Company  bought  the  Keystone  P.ridge  Company, 
and  he  was  made  manager  of  the  plant,  but  on  January  i.  1901,  resigned  to 
open  up  his  own  office  in  Pittsburg  as  consulting  and  constructing  engineer. 

Since  entering -upon  his  private  practice  he,  besides  designing,  construct- 
ing and  engineering  structures  of  various  kinds  for  private  parties  has  been 
consulting  expert  for,  important  enterprises  as  follows :  chief  engineer  of  the 
proposed  Pittsburg  elevated  and  subway  system ;  consulting  engineer  to  the 
Pittsburg  rapid  transit  commission  :  consulting  engineer  for  the  Pittsburg  rail- 
ways company ;  designing  and  supervising  engineer  for  Pennsylvania  state 
bridges ;  consulting  engineer  for  the  United  States  Government  in  the  matter 
if  widening  and  increasing  the  headroom  under  the  Allegheny  river  bridges, 
between  Pittsburg  and  Allegheny  City :  consulting  engineer  for  part  of  Boston 
elevated  railroad  :  steel  expert  for  the  builders  of  New  York  subway  and  ele- 
vated, rapid  transit,  etc.  Mr.  Swensson  is  a  member  of  the  American  So- 
cietv  of  Civil  Engineers,  is  vice-chairman  of  its  committee  on  coircrete  and  re>- 


^-^ 


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// 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUXTY.  389 

inforced  concrete:  and  member  of  the  Engineers  Society  of  Western  Penn- 
svlvania,  having  been  its  president  in  1897;  a  member  of  the  American  Society 
for  Testin"-  ^laterials :  a  member  of  the  American  Association  for  the  Ad- 
vancement'of  Science ;  and  a  member  of  the  Junta,  Union,  Duquesne,  German 
and  Country  CUibs  of  Pittsbura;.  He  married  at  .Mount  Pleasant,  W  estmore- 
land  county,  Pennsylvania,  December  25,  1883,  Catherine  Elizabeth  Jordan. 
as  above  mentioned,  and  has  four  children:  t)tto  J.,  ehnstme  J.,  Stuart  J., 
and  Henri  J.  Swensson. 

TOHXSTOX  BORXDALLAR  JORDAX,  a  prominent  business 
man  of  Westmoreland  countv,  was  born  June  27,  1824,  at  Bloody  Run,  Bedford 
county,  Pennsylvania,  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Catherine  (:\Iyers)  Jordan,  and  a 
grandson  of  David  Jordan,  who  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  and 
was  of  English  origin.  Samuel  Jordan  (father)  was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  but 
during  the'greater  part  of  his  active  career  was  engaged  in  the  hotel  business. 
His  death  occurred  in  1834. 

Tohnston  B.  Jordan  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of  his 
native  place,  and  "at  the  age  of  fifteen  years  left  Bedford  county  and  removed 
with  his  father  to  White  Horse  Tavern,  Somerset  county,  remaining  there  for 
three  vears.  He  then  went  to  Bedford,  Bedford  county,  to  learn  the  car- 
penter trade,  and  was  there  engaged  in  that  work  for  six  years.  In  1848  he 
removed  to  :Mount  Pleasant  arfd  conducted  the  Green  Tree  Hotel  for  his 
father,  until  the  death  of  the  latter  in  1854.  He  then  established  himself  in 
the  foundry  business,  associated  with  his  two  brothers,  Henry  and  William, 
and  for  ten  years  they  conducted  a  very  successful  business  under  the  firm 
name  of  Jordan  Brothers.  At  the  expiration  of  this  period  of  time  tJiey  dis- 
posed of  their  plant,  and  for  several  years  thereafter  engaged  in  horse  deal- 
ing. In  1878  he  established  himself  in  the  hotel  business,  in  which  he  has  since 
been  engaged,  conducting  a  most  popular  and  highly  patronized  house.  He 
came  to  Pleasant  Unity  "in  December,  1897,  rented  the  old  hotel  there  and 
subsequently  bought  the  same.  He  refurnished  and  renovated  it,  putting  in 
some  modern  improvements,  and  made  it  one  of  the  best  hotels  in  the  county. 
He  is  one  of  the  most*  popular  and  best-known  hotel  men  in  western  Penn- 
syhania.  Much  of  his  success  is  due  to  his  wife,  who  is  a  most  estimable  lady 
and  known  far  and  near  for  her  good  qualities  and  for  her  noted  chicken  sup- 
pers, which  she  gives  at  frequent  intervals,  and  which  are  largely  patronized 
by  people  all  over  western  Pennsylvania. 

In  1855  Johnston  B.  Jordan  married  Lavinia  Christina  Shoup.  born  Feb- 
ruary 4,  1835,  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Elizabeth  (Whitemore)  Shou]^  and  their 
children  were:  Catherine  Elizabeth,  married  C.  P.  Emil  Swensson:  Daniel 
Shouj).  Harrie  Johnston  married  Eliza  Rush,  and  they  have  four  children : 
Gertrude  E.  Rush,  deceased  :  Christian  and  Josephine  Jordan.  Edwin  Debare, 
married  Mary  Johnson.  They  reside  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  are 
engaged  in  the  millinery  business. 

PRICE  J.  COLE.  Bernard  Cole,  grandfather  of  Price  J.  Cole,  of 
Braeburn,  was  born  in  Ligonier  and  was  one  of  the  first  merchants  of  that 
place,  whence  he  moved  to  Latrobe  where  for  some  years  he  continued  in  the 
mercantile  business.  In  early  life  he  was  a  member  of  the  IMethodist  Episco- 
pal church,  but  later  joined  the  Roman  Catholic.     He  married  Gal- 

braith  and  their  children  were:  Thomas,  deceased  ;  JdIiu.  see  forward;  Matilda, 
\vife  of  Thomas  Seaton  :  and  Robert,  died  in  infancy. 

John  Cole  son  of  Bernard  and (Galbraitli)  Colcy  was  born  in  1838, 


390  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

in  Ligonier,  and  in  early  life  was  employed  as  a  clerk  in  his  father's  store. 
Upon  the  death  of  his  father  he  succeeded  to  the  business  at  Latrobe,  in  part- 
nership with  his  brother  Thomas.  After  some  years  he  purchased  his  brother's 
interest,  and  during  the  remainder  of  his  life  conducted  the  business  alone.  He 
was  a  musician  and  organized  the  first  cornet  band  of  Latrobe  in  which,  for 
years,  he  held  the  office  of  treasurer.  He  married  Mary,  daughter  of  James 
and  Elizabeth  Hudson,  old  residents  of  Westmoreland  county,  and  their  chil- 
dren are :  Ella ;  Price  J.,  see  forward ;  and  Edward,  steel  worker  at  Latrobe. 
Mr.  Cole,  the  father,  died  in  1878. 

Price  J.  Cole,  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Hudson)  Cole,  was  born  September 
8,  1868,  in  Latrobe,  and  was  educated  at  St.  Vincent's  College.  For  eleven, 
years  he  worked  as  telegraph  operator  for  the  Pennsylvania  railroad.  In  1893 
he  went  to  Millwood  where  for  three  years  he  was  engaged  in  mercantile  busi- 
ness, and  in  i8g6  moved  to  Braeburn,  being  one  of  the  first  to  settle  in  the  vd- 
lage.  From  his  arrival  down  to  the  present  time  he  has  been  successfully  en- 
gaged in  business  in  that  place.  For  two  years  he  served  as  justice  of  the 
peace,  having  been  appointed  by  Governor  Stone.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
L  O.  O.  F..  of  Pittsburg.  He  married  Margaret,  daughter  of  Richard  and 
Nancy  Hotham,  and  they  have  three  children:  Frances  M.,  born  November  12, 
1893;  Eunice  Blanche,  born  January  29,  1897;  and  Price  Joseph,  born  Feb- 
ruary 27,  1902. 

JOSEPH  C.  HORTON.  Robert  Horton.  grandfather  of  Joseph  C. 
Horton,  of  New  Kensington,  was  born  and  reared  in  Nova  Scotia,  where  he 
was  engaged  as  a  fish  merchant  during  his  active  life.  His  children  were : 
Thomas,  mentioned  hereinafter;  John,  Albert,  Mary,  Catharine,  and  Esther. 

Thomas  Horton,  son  of  Robert  Horton,  was  born  March,  1812,  in  Nova 
Scotia,  and  in  early  life  followed  the  sea.  He  afterward  became  a  farmer  and 
in  his  latter  years  was  a  cooper.  Mr.  Horton  married  Margaret  Horton,  and 
their  children  are :  Elizabeth,  wife  of  W.  J.  Stevenson ;  Esther,  wife  of  William 
John  Scott :  Caroline,  wife  of  William  E.  McMartin :  John,  of  Canada :  and 
Joseph  C,  mentioned  hereinafter.  Mr.  Horton,  the  father,  died  in  1902,  in 
St.  Mary,  Algoma  district. 

Joseph  C.  Horton,  son  of  Thomas  and  Margaret  (Horton)  Horton,  was 
born  February  15,  1849,  in  Nova  Scotia,  and  received  his  education  in  the 
public  schools  of  Canada.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  went  to  learn  the  car- 
penter's trade  with  L.  and  S.  Lloyd,  of  Belmore,  Ontario,  with  whom  he  re- 
mained three  years.  He  then  worked  for  two  years  as  a  journeyman,  after 
which  he  went  into  business  for  himself  in  Canada  as  a  contractor  and  builder. 
In  1878  he  migrated  to  northern  Michigan  and  there  conducted  his  business 
until  1891,  moving  in  that  year  to  New  Kensington,  where  he  was  one  of  the 
pioneers,  and  where  he  has  ever  since  been  successfully  engaged  as  a  contrac- 
toi  and  builder.  He  belongs  to  the  Orange  Association  of  Canada,  and  is  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Horton  married  Jeannette  McLaod, 
of  Scotch  parentage,  and  their  children  are :  Charlotte,  wife  of  Frank  G. 
Matheson,  of  Detroit,  ]\Iichigan  ;  Joseph  D.,  at  home,  was  for  five  years  as- 
sistant postmaster :  Frank  H.,  order  clerk  in  Reduction  works.  New  Kensing- 
ton ;  Ethel,  graduate  of  New  Kensington  high  school,  now  assistant  teacher ; 
Gertrude,  student  at  high  school ;  Margaret,  at  home ;  and  Bruce  A.,  at  home. 

HENRY  J.  KRICK.  John  Krick,  father  of  Henry  J.  Krick,  of  New 
Kensington,  was  born  in  1827,  in  Germany,  and  when  a  youne  man  emigrated 
to  the  United   States,  settling  in  Pittsburg,  where  he  worked  for  some  time 


t6^<^yM^. 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  391 

as  a  teamster.  Later  he  beeame  for  some  years  a  farmer  near  Leechburg-, 
Westmoreland  county,  and  afterward  moved  to  Hillville,  where  he  was  em- 
plovd  as  a  puddler  in  the  Leechbur"-  furnaces.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Ro- 
maii  Cathohc  church.  .Mr.  Krick  married  r^lary  Keller,  born  in  1827,  in  Ger- 
many, and  their  children  were  :  Tillie,  wife  of  Christopher  Alertz,  of  Pittsburg ; 
Johii  v..  roller  in  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia;  Mary,  wife  of  Peter  Degohn, 
of  McKees  Rocks;  ^laggie,  deceased,  wife  of  Peter  Smith;  George,  killed  on 
the  Pennsylvania  railroad ;  Frank,  died  in  childhood ;  Agnes,  also  died  in  child- 
hood :  Henry  J.,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  and  James  \\illiani,  of  New  K*en- 
sington. 

Henry  J.  Krick,  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Keller)  Krick,  was  born  April  10, 
1872,  on  a  farm  in  Westmoreland  county,  and  received  a  common  school  edu- 
cation. At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  began  working  in  the  Kirkpatrick  mill  at 
Leechburg,  remaining  there  about  six  years.  He  then  moved  to  New  Ken- 
sington, where  he  was  employed  for  six  or  seven  years  as  a  roller  in  the  tin 
mill.  In  September,  1904,  he  leased  the  old  Denmarck  Hotel,  which  he  re- 
christened  the  Park  Hotel,  and  is  now  the  proprietor  of  one  of  the  prettiest 
hostelries  in  the  Allegheny  valley.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Heptasophs.  Air. 
Krick  married  Elizabeth  \'.,  daughter  of  Bernard  and  Bridget  (Lanagh) 
Hampsey,  and  four  children  have  been  born  to  them,  two  of  whom  died  in 
infancy,  the  survivors  bing:  John  Francis,  born  June  24,  1901.  Henrv  James, 
Jr.,  born  January  30,  1906. 

DANIEL  BURNS,  son  of  Daniel  and  Susan  (Fleming)  Burns,  was 
born  October  31.  1872,  in  Salem,  New  York,  and  was  but  ten  months  old  at  the 
time  of  the  death  of  his  father.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and 
at  the  age  of  ten  years  was  employed  as  bell  boy  in  the  Bush  House.  Bclfont, 
remaining  six  years.  He  then  went  to  California  and  after  prospecting  for 
five  months  returned  to  Pennsylvania  and  settled  in  Jeannette,  where  he  had 
charge  of  a  pool  room.  He  held  this  position  until  1891,  and  then  moved  to 
New  Kensington,  one  year  before  its  incorporation.  For  one  year  he  was  pro- 
prietor of  a  pool  room  and  then  for  about  two  years  was  bartender  for  JMulvi- 
hill  &  Herron.  After  this  he  purchased  a  pool  room  on  Fifth  avenue,  which 
he  conducted  for  one  year,  anel  then  leased  the  Merchants'  Hotel,  now  known 
as  the  Hotel  Howard,  of  which  he  was  proprietor  for  three  years  and  a  lialf. 
For  eighteen  months  thereafter  he  conducted  a  liverv  business  on  Third  avenue, 
after  which  he  sold  out  and  for  two  years  engaged  in  business  as  a  contractor. 
In  July.  1903.  he  moved  to  ATonessen  and  for  one  year  conducted  a  newspaper 
business,  at  the  end  of  that  time  selling  out  and  returning  to  New  Kensington, 
where  he  has  since  been  engaged  in  the  iron  business.  From  1901  to  1904  he 
was  a  member  of  the  common  council  of  New  Kensington,  and  for. two  vears 
served  on  the  county  committee.  February  20.  1906,  he  was  elected  chief 
burgess  of  New  Kensington  for  a  term  of  three  years.  He  being  a  Democrat 
anrl  New  Kensineton  being  a  Repuljlican  town  bv  a  large  majority,  shows  his 
high  standing  and  popularity  with  tlie  people.  He  belongs  to  Lodge  No.  512, 
B.  P.  O.  E..  of  New  Kensington,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
church,  to  which  all  his  ancestors  have  adhered.  Mr.  Burns  married  Flizabeth 
S.,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  F.Imira  Brichcr. 

AUGL'ST  GLINZ.  The  parents  of  .August  Glinz,  of  New  Kensing- 
ton, were  Ludwick  and  Louise  Glinz.  natives  of  Germanv,  where  their  son  was 
born  September  21,  1867.  He  landed  in  the  I'nited  States,  August  tS.  1886, 
and  for  four  years  thereafter  lived  in  Philadelphia,  then  moving  to  Pittsburg, 


392 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 


where  lie  was  employed,  as  he  had  been  in  I'liilailelphia,  in  the  capacity  of  bar- 
tender. In  1897  he  opened  a  hotel  for  himself  in  Homestead,  where  he  re- 
mained  four  years.  In  1901  he  purchased  the  International  Hotel  at  New 
Kensington,  of  which  he  has  ever  since  been  the  popular  proprietor.  Mr. 
Glinz  married  Amelia  Mall,  and  their  children,  all  of  whom  are  at  home,  are : 
Louise,  Alvire,  and  Lloyd.  Mrs.  Glinz  is  the  daughter  of  Michael  and  Eliza- 
beth Mall,  the  former  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war  and  a  member  of  Post  One 
Hundred  and  Twenty-eight,  of  Allegheny,  Pennsylvania. 

SIBLEY  E.\]\IILY.  The  first  Sibleys  in  this  country  came  from 
England  in  the  fleet  in  A.  D.,  1629,  and  settled  in  the  town  of  Salem,  Massa- 
chusetts. They  were  supposed  to  be  brothers  antl  their  names  were  John  and 
Richard.     They  both  had  wives. 

John  Sibley  was  born  in  England.  T603,  married  Rachel  Pickworth.  He 
took  the  freeman's  oath  i.n  1635,  and  was  selectman  of  Salem,  Massachusetts, 
1636,  and  selectman  of  Manchester,  1645-58.  Grants  of  land,  including  Winter 
Island  Harbor,  were  made  to  him.  He  died  in  1661,  leaving  four  sons  and  five 
daughters.  His  sons  were:  John,  born  March  4,  1648;  William,  July  8,  1653; 
Joseph,  in  1655  ;  and  Samuel,  February  12,  1657. 

Joseph  Sibley,  third  son  of  John,  was  born  in  1655,  in  Manchester.  On  his 
return  from  a  fishing  voya.ge  he  w'as  impressed  on  board  a  British  frigate  and 
put  to  hard  service  for  seven  weeks,  after  which  he  was  released  and  sent  home. 
He  married  Susanna  Fallet,  and  settled  in  Sutton,  Massachusetts.  They  had 
seven  children,  six  sons  and  one  daughter :  Joseph,  born  November  9,  1684 ; 
John,  September  18,  1687;  Jonathan,  May  i,  1690;  Samuel,  in  1697;  William, 
September  7,  1700:  Benjamin,  September  19,  1703;  Hannah,  August  10,  1722, 
married  Ebenezer  Dagget.  Joseph's  brother  John  was  elected  to  the  general 
court  legislature. 

Benjamin  Sibley,  sixth  son  of  Joseph,  born  SejJtember  19,  1703,  married 
Priscilla  Rich.  He  moved  from  Sutton,  Massachusetts,  to  Union,  Connecticut. 
They  had  six  children,  as  follows:  Priscilla.  born  August  5,  1725;  Benjamin, 
August  17,  1727;  Joseph,  Ezekiel,  Samuel  and  Jonathan,  of  the  dates  of  whose 
births  there  seem  to  be  no  record,  Priscilla  and  Benjamin  being  the  only  ones 
recorded.  In  the  history  of  the  town  of  Sutton.  Massachusetts,  the  statement 
is  made  that  "very  little  is  known  of  Benjamin  (the  father).  He  probably  left 
Sutton  very  soon  after  the  birth  of  his  son  Benjamin.  According  to  Deacon 
Leland  it  appears  by  Sibley  papers  in  the  hands  of  Nathaniel  Sibley,  2d,  that 
he  at  one  time  lived  in  Ellington.  Connecticut.  The  following  scrap  is  found 
\r  the  handwriting  of  Mr.  Baldwin:  'Benjamin  Sibley  was  one  of  the  original 
brothers  and  lived  in  Sutton  a  few  years  when  he  went  to  Union,  Conn.,  and 
died  there-or  in  Ashford.'  "  Aaron  Sibley,  his  grandson,  was  a  representative 
of  Westfield  in  1827  or  1828. 

Ezekiel  Sibley,  third  son  of  Benjamin,  married  Sarah  Yoemans. 

John  Sibley,  son  of  Ezekiel.  was  born  .-Vpril  26,  1774,  at  Ellington,  Con- 
necticut. ,He  married,  April  7,  1793,  Esther  Bellamy,  who  was  born  May  16, 
1777.  and  was  a  relative  of  Governor  Bellamy,  of  Massachusetts.  John  Sibley 
had  three  brothers :  Ezekiel,  Moses  and  Aaron,  the  last  named  bein?  a  half- 
brother.  He  also  had  three  sisters.  John  and  Esther  had  nine  children,  as 
follows:  Esther,  born  March  15,  1794,  died  1870;  John,  Jr.,  June  6,  1797,  died 
June.  1878:  Aaron.  April  16.  1799,  died  April  28,  18^2,  came  to  New  Albion 
with  his  brother  Charles  ;  he  never  married  ;  he  was  killed  while  hunting  squir- 
rels by  a  tree  falling  on  him  during  a  storm  on  April  25.  1842.  Charles.  Tulv  4. 
1801,  (lied  December  14,  1869;  Orrin,  Ajiril   14.   1803,  died  March.   1878:  Ini^ 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  393 

XcvenibtT  16.  1805,  died  Xovember  2,  1891,  also  came  to  Xew  Albion 
in  181 1  :  he  married  Pollv  Hazen,  in  the  town  of  Maryland,  Otsego 
countv.  and  to  them  were  born  Ira,  Levi.  Cyrns,  Lorinda  and  a  pair  of  twins. 
After' the  death  of  his  first  wife  he  married  Miranda  Rockwell  Gowan,  in  New 
Albion.  Thev  afterward  removed  to  Pittsbnrg  and  in  that  city  there  were  born 
to  them  danghters:  Emily,  Eliza  Jane,  :\Iatilda.  Anna  and  Susan,  the  fir.st 
and  third  of  whom  are  still  living.  Sarah,  in  1808,  died  in  infancy.  Cynthia, 
Julv  29,  181 1,  died  1870.  Laura,"  December  12,  1813.  died  1836.  John  Sibley 
(father)  died' in  the  town  of  Westford,  Otsego  county,  in  1849.  He  removed 
from  Ashford.  Connecticut,  to  Otsego  county,  in  1807. 

Charles  Siblev,  third  son  of  John,  was  born  in  Ashford.  Connecticut.  July 
4.  1801.  When  six  vears  old  he"  removed  witli  his  jjarents  to  Otsego  county, 
New  York.  He  married  Sarah  Darling,  born  February  15,  1798,  died  Febru- 
arv  2r,  1885.  They  removed  from  Otsego  county,  Xew  York,  to  the  township 
of' Xew  Albion,  Cattaraugus  county,  in  October,  1832;  in  1842  they  moved 
into  the  town  of  Napoli,  same  county,  where  they  resided  during  the  remainder 
of  their  lives.  They  were  married  in  Westford,  Otsego  county,  May  19,  1818; 
there  were  born  to  them  nine  children,  as  follows:  Harriet,  born  February  26, 
1819.  married  Stephen  A.  Green,  died  in  December.  1891  :  Sherman,  Xovem- 
ber 27.  1820,  married  Mary  Ann  INIoshier,  died  March  14.  1888;  Charlotte, 
September  6,  1822,  married  George  S.  Boyle,  in  1850;  she  is  still  living; 
Amanda.  February  27,  1824.  married  Francis  x\llen,  March  16,  1838;  Judson, 
Mav  30,  1826,  married  Ann  Elisa  :\Iiller.  October  i,  1850,  he  is  still  living. 
Horace  C,  Xovember  16,  1827,  married  ]Mary  Kendall,  October  2,  1850,  died 
January  30,  1852,  in  Xew  Albion  township;  Orrin,  Xovember  ti,  1829.  left 
home  with  a  drover  of  cattle  in  1847.  '^^"ent  to  Philadelphia  :  he  visited  home 
once  or  twice  thereafter,  but  his  whereabouts  have  since  been  unknown  ;  Eben, 
July  20,  1831,  married  Sarah  A.  Gladden.  January  i,  1851,  after  her  death  he 
married  her  sister,  Mary  Gladden.  December  25.  1866;  he  died  September  26, 
1896.  Amenzo,  April  24,  1838,  married  Alzina  Stratton.  ]\Iarch  7,  1838:  he  is 
still  living. 

Ebenezer  Darling,  father  of  Grace  (Darling)  Sibley,  born  T^Iarch  t6. 
1775.  died  October  9.  1815:  he  married  Rebecca  .Xllen.  who  was  born  iMay  23, 
1779.  and  died  April  23,  1865;  to  them  were  born  four  sons  and  five  daugh- 
ters, viz. :  Sarah,  married  Charles  .Sibley,  born  in  Columbia  county.  New  York, 
February  13,  1708,  died  in  Xapoli  February  21.  1885;  John,  born  September 
LS.  1799,  died  1800:  Allen,  born  Anril  11.  1801.  died  June  24,  1856:  Phoebe, 
born  .April  3.  1803;  Luther,  born  June  7.  1805;  Dinah,  born  April  5.  1807; 
Smyrna,  born  April  10.  t8io.  died  September  5,  1856;  William,  born  March 
18,  1812:  Rebecca,  born  Decemlier  25.  1814. 

Claremont  D.  Siblev,  of  Xew  Kensington,  Pennsylvania,  is  the  son  of 
Amenzo  and  Alzina  ("Straton)  Sibley,  and  was  born  .April  9.  1861.  at  Xapoli, 
Catteraugus  countv,  X'ew  York,  where  he  received  his  primary  education  in 
the  common  schools,  afterward  attending  the  Chamberlain  Institute  at  Ran- 
dolph. Xew  York.  \\'hen  twenty  years  of  age  he  entered  the  service  of 
Hevcnor  Brothers  as  clerk  in  their  department  store,  remaining  with  them  nine 
years.  On  March  6.  1891,  he  entered  into  partnership  with  F.  J.  ]\IcAllister  at 
Kinzna.  Pennsylvania,  where  they  conducted  a  furnishing  store  for  two  years. 
In  1892  they  entered  into  business  in  Xew  Kensington,  being  one  of  the  pioneer 
firms  of  the  town,  and  thenceforth  their  trade  steadily  increased.  In  conse- 
quence of  this,  in  1893.  he  consolidated  both  stores  into  one  and  built  the  fine 
store  on  the  corner  of  Xinth  street  and  Fourth  avenue,  which  they  now  occnny 
and  which  is  one  of  the  best  equipped  stores  of  its  kind  in  the  county.    Mr.  Sib- 


394 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY 


ley  is  a  member  of  Lodge  Xo.  512,  B.  P.  O.  E.  of  New  Kensington,  and  Lodge 
No.  242,  Heptasophs,  in  which  he  has  passed  chairs.  He  also  affiliates  witli. 
Lodge  No.  533,  F.  CJ.  E.,  of  which  he  is  now  a  trustee.  In  politics  he  is  a 
staunch  Republican.  Mr.  Sibley  married  Margaret,  daughter  of  Michael  and 
Elizabeth  Shea,  of  Salamanca,  New  York  state,  and  they  have  one  child, George 
W.,  born  July  12,  1894. 

JAMES  BUCHANAN  BORLIN,  a  citizen  of  Greensburg,  West- 
moreland county,  Pennsylvania,  who  has  been  successfully  engaged  in  the  hotel 
and  other  business  enterprises  in  Westmoreland  county  for  a  number  of  years,. 
is  a  representative  of  one  of  the  old  and  honored  families  of  the  state.  The 
name  as  originally  spelled  was  Borland,  but  the  father  of  James  Buchanan 
changed  the  form  to  Borlin. 

James  Borland,  or  Borlin,  as  he  preferred  to  write  his  name,  father  of 
James  Buchanan  Borlin,  was  born  in  Salem  township,  January  19,  1820.  He 
learned  the  trade  of  tanning,  which  he  followed  for  a  number  of  years  in  con- 
nection with  the  butcher  business,  and  then  engaged  in  the  hotel  business.  His 
first  venture  in  that  line  was  the  Western  Inn  (Cope  House),  and  this  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  Harbaugh  House,  corner  of  Main  and  Pittsburg  streets,  and  by 
The  Exchange  (New  Fisher  House).  He  removed  to  Chicago,  Illinois,  in 
1864,  where  he  conducted  the  Cass  House,  corner  of  Canal  and  Mitchell  streets. 
He  returned  to  Greensburg  one  year  later  and  commenced  business  in  the  oil, 
livery  and  teaming  lines,  at  Pit  Hole.  He  built  the  Laird  House  in  1868 
(burned  in  1887),  which  he  conducted  successfully  for  a  number  of  years.  He 
was  a  large  dealer  in  live  stock  of  all  kinds,  part  of  his  business  consisting  of 
taking  horses  overland  to  the  state  of  Iowa,  in  the  fifties,  and  he  shipped  horses 
and  cattle  to  the  New  York  and  Philadelphia  markets.  He  removed  to  Mc- 
Keesport  in  1885.  conducting  the  Jerome  House  there,  then  settling  in  Glen- 
wood,  Pittsburg,  in  1890.  where,  in  association  with  his  son,  James  Buchanan, 
he  opened  the  Electric  Hotel,  which  was  a  very  profitable  venture.  He  sold 
this  in  1899  to  his  son-in-law,  Charles  A.  Warfield,  the  present  owner  and  pro- 
prietor, and  returned  to  Greensburg,  where  his  last  days  were  spent,  his  death 
occurring  September  26,  1899.  He  had  been  elected  sheriff  of  Westmoreland 
county,  in  1877,  by  the  largest  majority  any  candidate  ever  polled  for  any  office 
in  that  county.  He  was  a  consistent  member  of  the  German  Reformed  church. 
He  married  (first)  January  27,  1842,  Hannah  Reamer,  daughter  of  Jacob  and 
-Sarah  (Kemp)  Reamer,  of  Hempfield  township.  Jacob  Reamer  was  one  of  the 
leading  farmers  of  the  township  and  owned  a  farm  on  the  present  site  of  Huff- 
town,  on  which  he  died.  His  father,  Henry  Reamer,  owned  three  hundred 
acres  of  land  at  this  place,  including  what  is  now  known  as  the  County  and  the 
Jerry  Hammer  farms.     James  Borlin  had  six  children  by  this  marriage : 

I.  Albert  Sill,  born  April  4,  1843,  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war.  He  en- 
listed in  the  Twenty-eighth  Pennsylvania  \'olunteers,  and  served  under  the 
following  captains :  Warden,  Jordan,  Newmyer  and  Alfred  Robinson ;  the 
name  of  the  commanding  general  was  John  W.  Geary.  He  was  actively  en- 
gaged in  the  following  battles:  Antietam,  where  he  received  a  wound  from  a 
piece  of  shell,  second  battle  of  Bull  Run,  South  Mountain,  Chancellorsville, 
Bolivar  Heights.  Lookout  Mountain,  Gettysburg.  Fredericksburg,  the  battle  of 
the  Wilderness,  and  a  few  minor  skirmishes.  He  was  honorably  discharged 
in  1864.  He  married  Elizabeth  Steiner,  pnd  had  children:  Carrie,  James  C, 
Annie,  married  Daniel  R.  LHery ;  Bertie,  Daniel  R.,  and  Emeline.  2.  Eliza- 
beth Jane,  married  Simon  B.  Carpenter,  of  Oak  Run.  Shasta  countv.  California, 
where  she  resides.     3.     Jacob  Reamer,  married  Julia  Lahey,  and  had  children  : 


/^"i^^^ni^  iJ^^^zUv 


THE 
NEW  YORK 
f^UBLIC  library'! 
Aster.  Lenov 


\\. 


and  T'ldle, 


•■'■■"■.iIMmbs. 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  395. 

Lucv.  married  Michael  Connolly  :  Elizabeth,  niarrii?il  Harry  Lapmaii ;  James 
and  Harrv  Laird.  4.  Sarah  Melissa,  married  David  Hunter  Kilgore,  and  had 
children:  James  Hunter,  died  in  infancy:  David  Kinkead,  (see  sketch  of  John, 
P.  Kilgore).  5.  Minerva  Caroline,  married  Charles  A.  W'arfield,  of  Howard 
county,  Maryland,  and  has  one  child.  Caroline  Isabella.  6.  Hannah  Lucinda, 
married  Edwin  J.  Gatcliel,  of  New  York  City,  and  has  children :  J.  Edwin,  of 
New  York  City,  married  Ethel  Kirk  Fretts,  daughter  of  Abraham  O.  and 
Mazic  Fretts,  of  Greensburg,  and  they  have  one  child — Katherine  Kirk;  ]Min- 
erva  Caroline,  Alberta  Marion,  married  George  Michael,  of  Wisconsin  :  Harry 
Lomison,  ^larguerite,  Martin  Hartzel,  and  Paul  Hacke. 

James  Borlin  married  (second)  Caroline  Regina  Reamer,  a  sister  of  his  de- 
ceased wife,  and  had  children:  i.  Agnes  Cline,  married  Jesse  Cunningham,  ot 
^^'ilmerding,  and  they  had  children:  Alice,  Edgar.  ^lary,  James  B.,  Caroline, 
Agnes  Selina,  and  Jesse.  2.  James  Buchanan,  of  whom  later.  3.  Amelia- 
Anna,  born  April  23,  1859,  died  September  9,  1862.  4.  Lucy  Bigelow,  mar- 
ried Robert  C.  Roberts,  of  Racine,  \\'isconsin,  and  has  had  two  children : 
Xellie,  deceased :  and  Malcolm.  5.  Mary  Margaret,  married  William  D.  Wal- 
thour,  and  has  children :  Eleanor  and  William  Borland.  (  See  sketch  of  W.  D. 
\\'althour.  6.  Katherine  Klingensmith,  resides  with  her  mother  in  Brushton. 
avenue.  Greensburg. 

James  Buchanan  Borlin,  second  child  and  eldest  son  of  James  and  Caroline 
Regina  (Reamer)  Borlin,  was  born  in  the  Western  Inn  (Cope  House)  Greens- 
burg, Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  September  29,  1856.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  Greensburg  Academy,  and  in  Duff's  College,  Pitt.sburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  commenced  his  business  career  by  working  in  the  capacity  of  clerk 
in  a  number  of  hotels— Laird  House,  Greensburg.  Red  Lion,  Central  Hotel 
(Griswold),  Seventh  Avenue  Hotel,  Pittsburg.  He  served  as  deputy  sheriff 
under  his  father  from  1879  to  1881,  and  was  associated  in  business  with  him 
for  three  years  in  the  Electric  Hotel.  Glenwood,  Pittsburg.  He  very  profitably 
managed  the  Fisher  House  at  Greensburg  from  1893  to  1901.  He  takes  an 
active  and  intelligent  interest  in  all  the  public  affairs,  is  a  man  who  keeps  well 
abreast  of  the  times,  and  is  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  Democratic  partv.  He 
married.  July  28,  1892,  at  Wheeling,  Rev.  A.  Aloore,  Methodist  Episcopal  min- 
ister of  \\'heeling  officiating,  Louisa  Belle  Eastham.  daughter  of  George  and 
Mary  Anna  (Kaempfer)  Eastham,  of  Lone  Tree,  Tyler  county,  West  Virginia. 
They  have  had  children:  James  Eastham,  born  July  3,  1S93:  Mary  Caroline, 
August  28,  1894,  "died  June  6,  1895:  Albert  Reamer,  February  15,  1896,  died 
August  13,  1897:  Alfred  Adrian,  March  19,  1898;  Agnes  Pauline,  January  21,. 
1900. 

FRANK  W.  ZILLMER.  Carl  A.  Zillmcr,  father  of  Frank  W.  Zill- 
mer,  of  Xew  Kensington,  was  born  in  1846,  in  Germany,  and  in  1873  emigrated 
to  the  United  States,  settling  in  Pittsburg,  where  for  a  few  years  he  worked  as 
a  tailor.  In  1893  he  moved  to  New  Kensington,  where  he  purchased  land,  on- 
which  he  erected  a  fine  residence  and  place  of  business,  both  of  which  he  now 
occupies,  being  the  head  of  a  tailoring  establishment.  Mr.  Zillmer  married, 
before  leaving  his  native  land.  Wilhelmina  Butt,  and  their  children  were  :  Frank 
W..  mentioned  hereinafter:  Charles,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-two:  Bertha,  died' 
at  the  age  of  fifteen  :  Emil,  of  New  Kensington  :  \Villiam.  died  at  the  age  of  five 
years;  Edward,  also  died  in  childhood  ;  and  .Annie,  died  at  the  age  of  sixteen. 

Frank  W.  Zillmer,  son  of  Carl  A.  and  Wilhelmina  (Butf)  Zillmer,  was 
born  September  19.  1867,  in  Germany,  and  celebrated  his  sixth  birthday  on 
the  ocean,  the  family  being  then  on  their  way  to  this  country.     He  was  educatccF 


.396  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

.ill  the  common  schools  of  I'ittsburg  and  at  Duff  College,  whence  he  graduated 
in  October,  1886.  He  learned  the  tailor's  trade  under  the  instruction  of  his 
father,  who  in  1892  formed  a  partnership  with  him  under  the  firm  name  of  C. 
A.  Zillmer  &  Son.  They  conducted  business  in  Pittsburg  until  January,  1893, 
when  they  moved  to  New  Kensington  and  there  carried  on  the  business  until 
1903.  In  that  year  Mr.  Zillmer  and  his  brother  Emil  established  themselves  in 
■business  on  Tenth  street  as  dealers  in  newspapers,  cigars  and  tobacco,  but  at 
the  end  of  a  year  dissolved  the  connection.  Kir.  Zillmer  then  purchased  the 
Hotel  Lloyd,  changed  the  name  to  the  Hotel  Franklin,  and  is  now  the  proprietor 
of  a  flourishing  establishment.  From  1899  to  1902  he  was  a  member  of  the 
common  council,  has  served  several  -terms  on  the  county  committee,  and  for 
•eight  or  nine  years  has  been  a  member  of  the  fire  department.  He  affiliates 
with  Lodge  No.  533,  F.  O.  E.,  of  New  Kensington,  and  supports  with  his  vote 
and  influence  the  Republican  party.  Mr.  Zillmer  married  Emilia  Schweis,  and 
they  have  two  children:  Wilhelmina  M.,  born  October  22,  1902;  and  Lvdia  J., 
born  March  2t,.  1904. 

D.  B.  SULLIVAN.  The  grandfather  of  D.  B.  Sullivan,  of  New 
Kensington,  was  Timothy  Sullivan,  a  native  of  county  Kerry,  Ireland,  where 
his  sons  were  born :  T.  Dempsey,  mentioned  hereafter ;  Daniel,  who  emigrated 
to  the  L'nited  States  and  settled  in  Virginia,  where  his  sons  are  now  promi- 
nent in  the  councils  of  the  Republican  party  ;  and  Patrick,  who  was  wounded 
while  serving  in  the  artillery  during  the  Civil  war. 

T.  Dempsey  Sullivan,  son  of  Timothy  Sullivan,  came  to  this  country  about 
1850,  and  settled  in  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  where  he  was  employed 
in  the  navy  department.  He  served  throughout  the  Civil  war  as  a  soldier  in 
the  marine  service.  Subsequently  he  went  to  Virginia,  where  he  purchased  a 
plantation  and  became  a  dealer  in  stock.  He  was  a  Republican  and  a  member 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  His  wife,  Ellen  Foley,  was  brought  to  the 
United  Stales  by  her  brother  when  but  six  years  of  age. 

D.  B.  Sullivan,  son  of  T.  Dempsey  and  Ellen  (Foley)  Sullivan,  was  born 
September  2,  1861,  in  the  Shenandoah  valley,  Shenandoah  county,  Virginia,  and 
received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  state  and  at  the  Wood- 
stock (Virginia)  high  school.  After  serving  an  apprenticeship  for  four  years 
'to  the  carpenter's  trade,  he  was  for  two  years  special  agent  for  the  Mutual  Life 
Insurance  Company,  and  during  part  of  that  time  was  engaged  in  contracting. 
August  19,  1888,  he  arrived  in  Jeannette,  being  one  of  the  pioneers,  and  finished 
many  houses  erected  by  the  Land  and  Improvement  Company.  For  twenty 
years  he  conducted  a  large  business  under  the  firm  name  of  Sullivan  &  Roth. 
In  April,  1902,  he  moved  to  New  Kensington  and  engaged  in  the  real  estate 
and  insurance  business,  building  and  improving  several  properties  which  have 
proved  very  valuable  and  extremely  profitable.  In  February,  1898,  when  war 
with  Spain  seemed  imminent,  he  offered  his  services  to  Captain  Hunt,  of  Bat- 
tery B,  Pennsylvania  \^olunteer  Light  Artillery,  being  the  first  volunteer  from 
New  Kensington.  He  served  through  the  campaign  in  the  West  Indies  until 
regularly  mustered  out  at  the  close  of  the  war.  He  served  six  years  in  the 
common  council,  during  which  time  the  city  was  sewered,  paved,  lighted,  and 
in  many  ways  rendered  one  of  the  prettiest  cities  of  its  size  in  Pennsylvania. 
For  twelve  years  he  served  in  the  volunteer  fire  department  as  chief,  and  is  now 
serving  his  fourth  term.  The  department  is  composed  of  one  hundred  and 
seventy-three  men  who  are  divided  into  three  companies.  He  has  been  chief  of 
the  Citizens'  A'olunteer  Fire  Department  for  four  years,  and  lanuarv  I,  1006, 
was  presented  with  a  very  handsome  gold  medal  bv  'tlie  Citizens'  \'oluiitcer  Fire 


,    I    O  , ^^  C^lJU^t>r^=i.^^ 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  397- 

Company  in  recognition  of  his  services.  IMr:  Sullivan,  for  prompt  and  regu- 
lar attendance,  wai  awarded  a  medal  by  Company  C,  Second  National  Regi- 
ment of  state  militia,  of  which  he  was  for  five  years  a  member.  He  is  president 
of  the  Hampton  Battery  Association,  of  Pittsburg,  composed  of  veterans  of 
Battery  F  of  the  Civil  war,  and  Battery  B  of  the  Spanish  war.  He  is  an  active 
Republican,  and  a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  Although  possessed 
of  no  mining  experience,  Mr.  Sullivan,  with  a  few  others,  answered  the  first 
call  for  help  in  the  rescue  of  the  victims  of  the  Harwick  mine  disaster,  in  which 
one  hundred  and  seventy-eight  men  lost  their  lives. 

Mr.  Sullivan  married.  September  11,  1890,  ]\lary  A.,  daughter  of  the  late 
Joseph  R.  Grafton,  of  Penn  Station,  who  served  through  the  Civil  war  in  Col- 
onel Richard  Coulter's  regiment,  and  their  family  consists  of  four  children : 
Helen,  Grafton,  Clare,  and  D.  B.,  Jr.  During  Mr.  Sullivan's  term  of  military 
service  Mrs.  Sullivan  took  his  place  in  the  office  and  successfully  conducted  the 
business. 

R.  \\'.  DA\  lES.  The  name  of  R.  W.  Davies,  of  Avonmore,  would 
seem  to  indicate  a  Welsh  ancestry.  Mr.  Davies  is  the  son  of  Rev.  J.  M.  and 
Sarah  A.  (Leech)  Davies,  and  was  born  November  17,  1864,  in  Pittsburg,. 
Pennsylvania. 

He  is  now  president  of  the  West  Pennsylvania  Foundrv  &  IMachine  Com- 
pany, situated  at  Avonmore.  This  plant  was  built  in  1894,  as  the  Avonmore 
Foundry  &  Machine  Company,  and  in  1898  was  re-organized  under  the  name 
of  the  ^^'est  Pennsylvania  Foundry  &  Machine  Company.  In  1901  it  was  again 
re-organized,  but  without  change  of  name,  with  the  following  board  of  officers : 
R.  \\'.  Davies,  president  and  manager ;  Charles  A.  Hill,  vice-president ;  H.  F. 
Banfield,  secretarv  and  treasurer ;  and  R.  L.  Davies,  superintendent.  Board  of 
directors:  R.  W. 'Davies,  C.  A.  Hill.  William  Banfield,  H.  F.  Banfield  and  R. 
L.  Davies.  Since  that  time  the  plant  has,  under  the  present  management,  been 
improved  and  enlarged,  and  its  capacity  doubled.  The  grounds  have  an  area 
of  ten  acres,  more  than  three  of  which  are  covered  by  the  buildings.  At  this 
plant  are  manufactured  machinery  for  tin-plate  mills,  and  sheet-mills,  as  well' 
as  plate-glass  machinery,  blast-furnace  machinery,  and  chill  and  sand  rolls,  a 
general  foundry  business  being  carried  on.  This  immense  establishment  gives 
constant  employment  to  an  average  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  men.  A  business 
of  six  thousand  tons  annually  is  carried  on  at  this  plant,  and  shipments  are  made 
from  coast  to  coast,  its  field  of  action  extending  across  the  entire  continent. 

\\  ILMER  GR.ANT  DUGAN.  an  honr)red  citizen  of  Parnassus, 
Westmoreland  county.  Pennsylvania,  who  has  worked  long  and  faithfully  in 
the  causes  of  education  and  religion,  is  descended  from  Irish- Welsh-German 
ancestry. 

George  Dugan.  the  first  of  the  family  of  whom  we  have  anv  record,  and 
probably  the  founder  of  the  family  in  America,  was  born  in  1783,'  had  an  Irish 
father  and  a  Welsh  mother,  and  came  to  Puckety  creek  in  1795.  He  took  up 
farming  as  a  means  of  livelihood,  but  his  education  had  fitted  him  for  more 
learned  duties.  He  was  a  well-educated  man.  was  justice  of  the  peace  for 
twenty  years,  having  been  appointed  by  the  governor.  He  served  as  major  and 
captain  in  the  militia,  and  was  in  service  in  the  War  of  1812.  Hevvas  a  Pres- 
byterian, and  was  a  leading  man  in  the  community  in  religious  as  well  as  educa- 
tional matters.  His  counsel  and  advice  were  sought  by  all  in  trouble,  and  they 
were  freely  imparted.  He  married  Nancy  Alter,  born  1709.  whose  parents 
were  Germans,  who  settled  on  Puckety  creek  about  1800.     She  had  received  a. 


398  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

liberal  education  for  those  days,  was  a  Presbyterian,  and  was  a  fitting  com- 
panion for  her  husband  in  every  way.  They  had  a  number  of  children,  most  of 
whom  died  before  maturity,  and  among  them  was  a  son — John  W. 

John  Westley  Dugan,  son  of  George  and  Nancy  (Alter)  Dugan,  was  born 
■on  Puckety  creek,  one  mile  east  of  Parnassus,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, December  5,  1820.  His  education  was  as  liberal  a  one  as  the  schools  of 
•those  days  were  able  to  furnish,  and  he  was  an  earnest  student  and  profited  by 
his  instruction  in  them.  He  follow^ed  farming  as  an  occupation,  but  lound 
time  for  a  great  number  of  other  duties.  He  was  an  exceptionally  fine  musi- 
cian, and  this  brought  him  in  connection  with  many  churches,  in  all  of  which  he 
held  offices  of  honor.  He  was  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Parnas- 
sus for  fifty  years.  He  was  a  man  of  faithful,  self-sacrificing  disposition,  and 
had  earned  for  himself  the  title  of  "The  peacemaker."  In  politics  he  was  a  Re- 
publican, and  took  an  active  interest  in  the  aflfairs  of  the  community.  He  died 
January  8,  1901.  He  married  Margaret  McElrow,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  and 
"Elizabeth  (McMillian)  McElrow.  Mrs.  McElrow  was  a  niece  of  Dr.  McMil- 
lian,  of  western  Pennsylvania  fame,  and  a  relative  of  Judge  McMillian.  Mrs. 
Dugan  died  May  i,  1875.  Among  the  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dugan  was  a 
son,  W'ilmer  Grant,  see  forward. 

Wilmer  Grant  Dugan,  son  of  John  Westley  and  Margaret  (McElrow) 
Dugan,  was  born  in  Parnassus.  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  December 
25,  1865.  He  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  an  excellent  education,  first  in  the 
public  schools  of  Westmoreland  county,  then  one  year  in  the  Oakdale  Academy, 
one  year  in  the  Pittsburg  Academy,  and  finally,  three  years  in  Grove  City  Col- 
lege. Upon  leaving  college  he  commenced  teaching,  and  made  this  his  life 
work.  He  has  been  the  principal  of  the  Delmont  Academy,  of  the  Green  Tree 
schools,  and  for  the  last  nine  years  of  the  Parnassus  public  schools.  He  is  de- 
voted, heart  and  soul,  to  his  calling,  and  has  met  with  unvaried  success.  His 
pupils  have  always  looked  upon  him  as  a  friend  as  w^ell  as  an  instructor,  nd 
■this  pleasant  feeling  has  remained  undistrubed  up  to  the  present  time.  His 
work  has  been  highly  complimented,  and  he  has  been  enabled  to  make  life  happy 
for  others  as  well  as  for  himself.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  but  his  views 
are  liberal,  and  he  is  ever  ready  to  lend  his  assistance  to  any  measure  furthering 
the  public  good,  irrespective  of  the  party  which  introduced  it.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Parnassus  Presbyterian  church,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty  years  was  made 
superintendent  of  the  Sabbath  school.  He  has  been  an  elder  in  the  church 
for  the  past  ten  years.  He  has  held  many  positions  of  honor  in 
the  churches  of  the  county,  and  was  county  president  of  the  Westmoreland 
Countv  Christian  Endeavor  for  two  years,  being  the  only  layman  who  had  ever 
held  that  position.  He  was  the  first  president  of  the  New  Kensington  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association.  Mr.  Dugan  married,  at  Harmarville,  July  6, 
1905,  Luella  Wills,  daughter  of  David  Scott  and  Rachael  (Hutchman)  Wills, 
both  leaders  in  the  United  Presbyterian  church.  Mrs.  Dugan  was  educated  in 
the  Parnassus  public  schools  and  in  the  Pittsburg  Academy,  and  taught  school 
for  four  years. 

"\^\LENTINE  KOFFLER.  Milton  Koffler,  father  of  \'alentin( 
Kofiler,  of  Arnold,  was  born  in  1836,  in  Germany,  and  at  the  age  of  nineteen 
emigrated  to  the  United  States,  settling  in  Pittsburg,  where  for  a  short  time 
he  worked  at  his  trade  of  shoemaker.  He  was  then  emploved  for  two  years  by 
his  brother-in-law,  Charles  Opperman.  He  next  moved  to  IMcKees  Rocks, 
where  he  made  his  home  on  the  old  McKees  property  and  engaged  in  business 
for  himself  as  a  dealer  in  garden  truck,  continuing  in  this  branch  of  industry 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  399 

for  about  fifteen  years.  He  then  moved  to  the  oKl  Jacob  Flowers  farm,  where 
for  the  remainder  of  his  Hfe  he  gave  his  entire  attention  to  agricuhure.  Air. 
Kotifler  married  Annie  Opperman,  and  their  children  were :  Ehzabeth,  wife  of 
David  Flowers ;  Charles,  drowned  at  the  age  of  eleven  years ;  Mary,  wife  of 
Henry  Trannhauser ;  George,  gardner  in  Bethel  township,  Allegheny  county ; 
\'alentine,  mentioned  hereinafter;  Joseph,  gardener  on  the  old  homestead; 
2\Iargaret,'  wife  of  George  Englert :  Frances,  died  at  the  age  of  nineteen ;  Cath- 
arine, wife  of  Peter  BoWer ;  Nicholas,  butcher :  and  one  who  died  in  infancy. 
The  death  of  Mr.  Koffier,  the  father,  occurred  December,  1901. 

\'alentine  Koftier,  son  of  2^Iilton  and  Annie  (Opperman)  Koffler,  was  born 
Oclober  8,  1857,  in  Pittsburg,  where  he  w-as  educated  in  the  common  schools. 
He  remained  at  home  on  the  farm  until  his  twenty-fifth  year  and  then  served 
an  apprenticeship  of  five  years  to  the  butcher's  business,  after  which  he  estab- 
lished himself  in  business  on  Mount  Oliver  street,  Pittsburg,  where  he  remained 
two  years.  After  spending  two  months  in  Knoxville,  he  purchased  property  in 
Biltz'hoover  and  there  conducted  his  business  for  about  six  years.  He  then 
moved  back  to  Pittsburg  and  for  two  years  was  proprietor  of  a  meat  market  at 
Arlington  and  Locke  avenues.  From  Pittsburg  he  went  to  Mt.  Oliver,  San- 
tliem  "avenue,  remaining  two  years,  after  which  he  returned  to  South  Side  and 
there,  for  about  two  years,  conducted  a  wholesale  meat  business.  Determined 
to  enter  a  new  field  of  endeavor  he  engaged  in  the  hotel  business  at  McKees 
Rocks,  and  at  the  end  of  eight  months  sold  out  and  moved  to  Arnold.  He 
tl:ere  purchased  the  Commercial  Hotel,  of  which  he  has  since  been  the  successful 
proprietor.  ]Mr.  Kofllcr  married  Jennie  Beck,  who  bore  him  three  children : 
Cecilia,  at  home ;  Annie,  who  was  drowned  Christmas  day,  1905  ;  and  Milton, 
died  in  infancy.  After  the  death  of  his  wife  Mr.  Kofifler  married  Barbara, 
<laughter  of  Joseph  and  Mary  Mayer,  and  they  have  the  following  children,  all 
of  whom  are  at  home :   Viola,  Elenora.  Mary,  Edward,  Joseph  and  Milton. 

Cecilia  Koffler,  the  eldest  of  Mr.  KofHer's  children,  graduated  at  the  age 
of  fourteen  as  a  stenographer  and  typewriter  from  Professor  Sayers'  Business 
College,  and  also  took  a  course  in  bookkeeping.  Since  her  graduation  she  has 
held  the  position  as  stenographer  and  typewriter  in  the  Allegheny  Glass  Works, 
in  Allegheny  coimty,  having  proved  herself,  notwithstanding  her  extreme 
youth,  fully  competent  for  her  responsible  duties. 

FRAXK  J.  McAllister.  James  :\lcAllister,  grandfather  of 
Frank  J.  McAllister,  of  New  Kensington,  was  born  in  Scotland,  and  emigrated 
to  the  United  States,  settling  in  Saver,  Pennsylvania.  After  a  brief  sojourn 
there  he  moved  to  Elmira,  New  York,  where  during  the  remainder  of  his  life 
he  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  boots  and  shoes.  He  and  his  family  were 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  His  children  were :  Alfred, 
( )wen  and  James,  mentioned  hereinafter. 

James  McAllister,  son  of  James  McAllister,  the  emigrant,  was  born  in  New 
York  state,  and  for  a  number  of  years  after  reaching  manhood  remained  in  his 
native  state,  engaging,  like  his  father,  in  the  manufacture  of  boots  and  shoes. 
He  spent  three  years  in  Michigan,  during  which  time  he  was  in  business  as  a 
lumber  dealer,  and  then  returned  to  the  state  of  New  York,  where  he  is  still 
engaged  in  the  shoe  business.  Mr.  McAllister  married  Belle,  daughter  of 
Lewis  ALarvin,  of  old  Revolutionary  stock,  and  four  children  were  born  to  them, 
one  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  the  survivors  being:  Nellie,  wife  of  L.  C.  Gault, 
of  New  York  state:  .\nna,  wife  of  F.  L.  Stunrod,  also  of  New  York  state;  and 
Frank  J.,  mentioned  hereinafter. 

Frank  J.  AlcAllister,  .son  of  James  and    Kellr   (Marvin)    McAllister,  was 


400  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

born  September  2^,  1864,  in  Portville,  New  York,  and  received  his  education  in 
the  common  schools  of  Kalamazoo,  Michigan,  Randolph,  New  York,  and  at 
Chamberlain  Institute.  In  1880  he  became  clerk  in  the  general  store  of  S.  W. 
Thompson,  of  Randolph,  New  York,  where  he  remained  eight  months.  He 
then  went  to  Salamanca,  New  York,  where  he  was  employed  in  the  department 
store  of  Havner  Brothers  for  a  period  of  eleven  years.  For  two  years  he  was 
employed  as  general  travelling  salesman  by  Thomas  E.  Gresham,  of  New  York 
City,  after  which  he  formed  a  partnership  with  C.  D.  Sibley  and  for  eighteen 
months  conducted  business  at  Kinzua,  Pennsylvania.  In  September,  1892, 
they  moved  to  New  Kensington,  where  they  now  have  the  largest  clothing  busi- 
ness in  the  Allegheny  valley.  He  affiliates  with  Lodge  No.  512,  B.  P.  O.  E., 
of  New  Kensington,  in  which  he  holds  the  office  of  district  deputy  grand  e.xalted 
ruler.  Mr.  McAllister  married  Mary  L.,  daughter  of  James  O'Donncll,  of  an 
old  Pittsburg  family,  and  a  connection  of  the  Lees.  ]\lr.  and  Mrs.  ?\Ic.\llister 
have  two  children :  Helen  Mary  and  George  F.,  aged,  respectively,  thirteen  and 
eleven  years. 

FRANK  HOUSEMAN.  The  father  of  Frank  Houseman,  of  Arnold, 
was  John  Houseman,  who  lived  and  died  in  Lawrence  county,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  dealt  in  horses  and  stock.  He  married  Catharine  Smith,  and  their 
children  were :  George,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  years ;  Frank,  mentioned 
hereinafter;  and  Effie,  wife  of  William  Brinley,  of  Mercer  county. 

Frank  Houseman,  son  of  John  and  Catharine  (Smith)  Houseman,  was 
born  November  10,  1861,  at  Newcastle,  and  received  his  education  in  the  com- 
mon schools.  At  twelve  years  of  age  he  began  working  at  different  occupa- 
tions, and  in  1887  went  into  business  for  himself  in  Petrolia,  where  he  remained 
until  1893.  He  then  moved  to  Arnold,  where  he  has  since  been  engaged  in 
business  as  a  grocer  and  butcher,  having  built  up  a  large  and  flourishing  trade. 
He  affiliates  with  Lodge  No.  512,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  of  New  Kensington,  Lodge  No. 
95,  K.  O.  T.  M.,  and  Durer  Lodge,  No.  498,  K.  P.,  both  of  Petrolia.  In  politics 
he  is  a  staunch  Republican,  but  has  never  sought  office.  Mr.  Houseman  mar- 
ried Jessie  C,  daughter  of  Thomas  M.  and  Mary  Guthrie,  and  they  liavc  two 
children,  both  of  whom  are  at  home :  Floyd  G.,  and  Frances  E. 

JOHN  H.  TURNER.  John  Turner,  grandfather  of  John  H.  Turner, 
of  New  Kensington,  was  born  in  1785,  in  Westmoreland  county,  and  when  a 
young  man  moved  to  Butler  county,  where  he  became  a  very  successful  farmer, 
acquiring  some  four  hundred  acres  of  land,  which  at  his  death  was  divided 
among  his  heirs.  Mr.  Turner  married  Martha  Crawford,  who  bore  him  three 
children:  Ruth,  died  unmarried;  Jane,  married  Robert  Downey;  and  William, 
mentioned  hereinafter.  After  the  death  of  the  mother  of  these  children,  Mr. 
Turner  married  Peggy  McClachey,  and  their  children  were :  Charles,  Betsey. 
Sarah  Bell,  wife  of  Stephen  Fennessey ;  Mary  Ann,  died  unmarried ;  Margaret, 
wife  of  David  Alexander;  John  M. :  Turner:  Fannie,  died  young;  and  Samuel, 
died  single.  The  death  of  the  father  of  the  family  occurred  in  1843. 
William  Turner,  son  of  John  and  Martha  (Crawford)  Turner,  was  born 
March  21,  1817,  in  Allegheny  township,  Butler  county,  and  inherited  a  portion 
of  the  old  homestead,  on  which  he  resided,  giving  his  attention  to  agricultural 
pursuits.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Turner  mar- 
ried Mary,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Louise  Gibson,  and  their  children  were: 
John  H.,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  Sarah  J.,  married  William  Lambert ;  William 
Finley,  deceased;  Samuel   P.,   contractor  in   Toledo,   Ohio;   Mancel   E.,   con- 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  401 

tractor  in  Texas ;  and  Xewton  Howard,  contractor  in  Allegheny  county,  Penn- 
sylvania.    Mr.  Turner,  the  father,  died  in  1893. 

John  H.  Turner,  son  of  William  and  Alary  (Gibson)  Turner,  was  born 
January  11,  1841,  on  the  homestead,  in  Butler  county,  and  was  educated  in  the 
common  scliools.  .Vugust  19,  1861.  he  enlisted  in  Company  E,  Seventy-eighth 
Regiment,  Pennsvlvania  \"olunteers,  for  a  term  of  three  years,  receiving  his 
discharge  November  8,  1864.  at  Kittanning,  Pennsylvania.  After  his  return 
home  he  worked  for  about  twenty  years  as  a  contractor  in  the  oil  fields,  and 
then  went  to  Butler  .county,  and  engaged  in  the  dairy  business  until  1892,  when 
he  removed  to  New  Kensington.  He  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  place  and 
established  himself  in  the  business  on  the  farm  of  W.  K.  Stewart,  situated  on 
the  edge  of  the  borough.  On  this  land  he  operated  a  dairy  for  eight  years,  and 
then  went  into  the  mercantile  business,  which  he  has  successfully  conducted 
down  to  the  present  time.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of^  New 
Kensington.  IMr.  Turner  married  Mrs.  IMary  C.  Sloan,  daughter  of  David  and 
Elizabeth  Eakin,  and  three  children  were  born  to  them,  all  of  whom  died  in 
infancy. 

DANIEL  T.  :^IARSH.  The  grandfather  of  Daniel  T.  Marsh,  of 
Cowansburg,  was  William  Marsh,  who  lived  and  died  in  Sewickley  township. 
His  wife  was  Dinah  ]\Ianus,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  a  son,  James  Marsh. 
who  was  born  in  1814,  and  was  one  of  several  children. 

James  Alarsh  was  engaged  in  various  enterprises,  being  at  different  times 
in  his  life  a  farmer  and  a  butcher,  and  also,  in  partnership  with  his  brothers, 
building  and  running  a  steamboat,  plying  it  for  a  number  of  years  between 
West  Newton  and  Pittsburg.  He  was  bred  in  the  faith  of  the  Society  of 
I-"riends,  to  which,  though  not  taking  an  active  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  organi- 
zation he  steadily  adhered.  Air.  Alarsh  married  Lovina  Cort,  and  five  children 
were  born  to  them,  two  of  whom  survive :  Daniel  T.,  mentioned  hereinafter ; 
and  Thomas,  who  lives  in  Indian  Territory.  Mrs.  Marsh  died  in  i8s6,  in  com- 
paratively early  life,  and  the  death  of  Mr.  Alarsh  occurred  when  he  was  but 
forty-nine  years  old,  in  his  native  township  of  Sewickley,  where  he  had  pas.sed 
his  entire  life. 

Daniel  T.  Alarsh,  son  of  James  and  Lovina  (Cort)  Alarsh.  was  born  ATav 
22,  1845,  in  North  Huntingdon  township,  and  being  the  oldest  son  remained  at 
home  after  his  father's  death  and  took  care  of  the  familv,  managing  the  home 
farm.  In  1870  he  left  the  homestead  and  settled  on  a  small  farm  of  his  own 
near  Cowansburg,  where  he  remained  some  ten  years.  In  1880  he  engaged  in 
tlie  general  merchandise  business  in  Cowansburg  and  for  twenty-five  vears  has 
been  identified  with  the  commerce  of  the  place,  of  which  he  is  now  serving  his 
third  year  as  postmaster.  Air.  Alar.sh  is  one  of  those  who.  during  the  trving- 
days  of  the  Civil  war,  rallied  to  the  defense  of  the  Union.  In  1864  he  enlisted 
in  Company  H.  "Knap's  Battery."  Light  Artillery,  and  was  subse(|uent!y 
transferred  to  Company  E.  Fifth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Heavy  Artillery, 
serving  eleven  months.  Air.  Alarsh  has  held  the  township  offices  of  auditor, 
collector  and  assessor,  and  for  the  last  twelve  years  has  I)een  a  member  of  the 
school  hoard.  In  1901  lie  was  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  county  treasurer,  but 
failed  to  receive  the  nomination.  He  is  a  member  of  J.  W.  Greenawalt  Post, 
^'o-  399-  G-  A.  R.,  of  Cowansburg,  Westmoreland  Lodge,  No.  518,  F.  and  A. 
AL.  of  Greensburg,  and  Cowansljurg  Council,  No.  165,  J.  O.  U.  A.  M.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Repubhcan.  Mr.  Alarsh  married  in  1869,  Deborah,  daughter  of 
Isaac  Dewees,  of  Sewicklcv  township. 
2-26 


402  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

BENJA^IIX  C.  SHAFFER,  count)-  commissioner  for  Westmoreland 
county,  was  born  in  Brookville,  JelTerson  county,  Pennsylvania,  January  i, 
1867,  a  son  of  Solomon  and  Elizabeth  (Wonderlinge)  Shatter,  and  grandson  of 
Isaac  Shaffer,  a  native  of  Northumberland  county,  Pennsylvania. 

Solomon  Shaffer  (father)  was  born  in  Sunbury,  Pennsylvania,  1822.  re- 
ceived a  common  school  education,  and  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  from  which 
line  of  work  he  derived  a  comfortable  livelihood.  He  gave  his  support  to  the 
candidates  of  the  Republican  party.  His  wife,  Elizabeth  (Wonderlinge)  Shaf- 
ier,  born  in  Easton,  Pennsylvania,  a  daughter  of  Henry  Wonderlinge,  who 
came  to  this  country  from  Switzerland,  bore  him  thirteen  children,  eight  of 
whom  are  living  at  the  present  tiiue  (  1906).  Solomon  Shaffer  died  Septem- 
ber 19,  1905.  survived  by  his  wife,  who  has  attained  the  venerable  age  of  eighty- 
tW'O  vears.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  .Shaffer  held  membership  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church. 

Benjamin  C.  Shaff'er  was  educated  in  tlie  schools  of  Brookville,  and  after 
completing  his  studies  removed  to  Jeannctte,  Westmoreland  county,  and  en- 
gaged in  the  real  estate  business,  continuing  the  same  for  two  years.  He  then 
became  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  now  thriving  town  of  New  Kensington,  and 
there  followed  the  same  line  of  business.  He  purchased  the  Gambrinus  brew- 
ery, which  he  conducted  for  a  number  of  years,  and  in  1905  sold  to  the  trust. 
He  is  now  ( 1906)  engaged  in  various  financial  enterprises,  from  which  he  de- 
rives a  goodly  income.  He  has  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  and  mayor  of 
New  Kensington,  and  in  1905  was  elected  to  the  office  of  county  commissioner 
for  Westmoreland  county  on  the  Republican  ticket.  He  is  a  member  of  the  I. 
O.  ( ).  F.,  K.  P.  and  F.  O.  E.  He  is  a  man  of  strict  integrity,  careful,  indus- 
trious, shrewd,  and  an  agreeable  companion  and  stands  high  in  the  esteem  of 
his  fellow-men.  ^^Ir.  Shaff'er  married,  November  20,  1889,  Rena  McOuiston, 
of  Jefferson  county,  Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  Nicholson  and  Margretta  (Fin- 
ley)  McOuiston,  the  former  having  been  one  of  the  operators  of  the  old  canal 
on  the  Kiskiminetas.  i\Ir.  and  Mrs.  Shaff'er  have  tw-o  sons:  Frank  W.  and 
Joseph  M.     The  family  attend  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

BEAMER  FAMILY.  I\Iichael  Beamer  is  a  descendant  of  a  family 
which  has  been  settled  in  this  country  for  many  years.  They  emigrated  from 
Switzerland  and  brought  the  excellent  traits  of  the  natives  of  that  country — 
thrift  and  industry — to  the  new  world  with  them. 

(I).  Jacob  Beamer,  great-grandfather  of  Michael  Beamer,  with  two 
brothers,  came  to  America  about  1770,  and  settled  in  Hagerstown,  Maryland. 
It  is  supposed  that  they  canie  about  the  time  of  the  x^merican  Revolution,  and 
that  they  were  the  first  of  the  name  to  settle  in  this  country.  They  came  from 
Switzerland.     He  married  and  among  his  children  was  a  son  John. 

(IF)  John  Beamer,  son  of  Jacob  Beamer  (i),  came'to  Westmoreland 
countv,  Pennsylvania,  from  Hagerstown,  Maryland.  On  his  journev  he  passed 
over  the  present  site  of  Pittsburg,  and  settled  in  Franklin  township,  five  miles 
north  of  ^lurrysville,  where  he  took  up  a  tract  of  land,  w-hich  he  cultivated  and 
on  which  he  resided  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  married  Eve  Butenborger, 
and  they  had  children  :  Henry,  nientioned  hereinafter ;  Philip,  married  Cath- 
erine Beamer ;  John,  married  Mary  Aucher ;  Michael,  married  Catherine  Rub- 
right  ;  Catherine,  married  John  Hill :  Jonah,  died  unmarried ;  Margaret'  mar- 
ried George  Fix. 

(ITT).  Henry  Beamer,  eldest  child  of  John  (2)  and  Eve  (Butenborger) 
Beamer.  w-as  born  at  Toneytown.  near  Hagerstown,  Maryland,  con-iing  w-ith 
his   father  to  Westmoreland  countv.    Penns\-lvania,   at   the   age  of   five  vears. 


J^M 


V:..^- 


HISTORY   Of    WESTMORELAND   COUXTV.  403 

Durino-  his  vouth  and  earlv  manhood  he  worked  for  his  father  on  tlie  farm  of 
the  latter,  and  wlien  he  married  hought  a  farm  of  his  own  near  :\iurr_vsville,  on 
which  he  resided  (hiring  the  remainder  of  his  hfe.  His  death  occurred  in  Jan- 
uary,  1S57.     He  married,  ahout    1822,  Ehzabeth  Lauffer,   who  died  in    1843. 

She'  was  the  daughter  of  John  and (Kemerer)  Lauffer,  of  Penn 

township.  The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henry  lieamer  were:  John,  married 
Nancy  Rubright ;  resides  in  \\\^st  Xewton ;  Henry,  married  Juliana  ihirger. 
resides  near  Harrison  City ;  Seth,  married  Alaria  Ludwick ;  Jacob,  married 
Susannah  Brinker,  and  after  her  death  Mary  J.  Hunter,  resides  in  Manor; 
Michael,  one  of  the  subjects  of  this  sketch;  Sarah,  married  (first)  Andrew 
Silvis:  married  (.second)  Adam  Drake,  of  Apollo;  Susan,  died  in  infancy. 

(I\').  Michael  Beamer,  fifth  child  and  son  of  Henry  (3)  and  Elizabeth 
(Lauflfer)  Beamer,  was  born  in  Franklin  township,  \\  estmoreland  county, 
Pennsvlvania.  January  19,  1832.  He  was  educated  in  the  district  schools, 
and  was  brought  up  to  regard  agriculture  as  his  lifework.  He,  however,  en- 
gaged in  mercantile  business  in  I'oquet,  Pennsylvania,  for  several  years.  He 
commenced  tlie  manufacture  of  hickory  handles  in  1861,  establishing  himself  in 
business  in  a  small  way.  By  industry,  thrift,  and  excellent  management,  this 
has  grown  to  its  present  large  proportions.  The  business  has  been  conducted 
under  the  firm  name  of  M.  Beamer  &  Son,  since  1886,  his  youngest  son,  Will- 
iam J.,  becoming  associated  with  him,  and  in  1903  it  was  incorporated  under 
the  name  of  The  Beamer  Handle  Manufacturing  Company,  Manor,  Pennsyl- 
vania. In  the  same  year  they  erected  what  is  considered  the  finest  handle  fac- 
torv  in  the  world.  Thev  employ  between  fifty  and  sixty  men  and  their  goods 
are  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  Since  the  first  establishment  of  his  busi- 
ness, Mr.  Michael  I'leamer  has  devoted  his  entire  time  and  attention  to  the  in- 
terests involved.  He  has  never  sought  preferment  in  church  matters,  but  is  a 
member  and  regular  attendant  at  the  Reformed  church,  of  which  he  was  an 
elder  for  many  years,  and  frequently  a  delegate  to  the  synod.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  American  Order  of  United  \\'orkmcn.  He  has  always  had  the  best  in- 
terests of  the  community  at  heart,  and  any  project  for  its  improvement  or  ad- 
vancement has  had  his  hearty  appro\-al  and  sujjport.  He  is  one  of  the  oldest 
residents  in  Manor,  the  oldest  in  jjoint  of  citizenship.  He  married  (first)  Susan 
Ludwick,  and  they  had  one  child:  James  A.,  one  of  the  subjects  of  this  sketch. 
Mr.  Beamer  married  (second)  Margaret  Burger,  daughter  of  George  and 
Elizabeth  ( Shumakcr)  Burger,  and  they  had  three  children,  of  whom  but  one 
survives,  William  J.,  one  of  the  subjects  of  this  sketch. 

(\').  William  J.  Beamer.  only  surviving  child  of  IMichael  (4)  and  Mar- 
garet (Burger)  P.eamer.  was  born  in  Penn  township,  \W'stmoreland  county,, 
Pennsylvania,  I'cbruary  23,  1862.  He  received  a  public  school  education,  and 
later  took  a  comijlete  course  in  the  Pittsburg  College  of  Pharmacy.  For  sev- 
eral years  he  worked  as  a  clerk,  and  in  1882  established  himself  in  the  drug  busi- 
ness in  Manor,  Pennsylvania,  continuing  this  very  successfully  until  he  asso- 
ciated himself  with  his  father  in  the  business  which  the  latter  had  established. 
(See  above).  He  is  a  director  in  the  Jeannette  National  Bank,  ?nd  stockholder 
in  many  business  corporations.  In  politics  he  was  formerly  a  Democrat  but  is 
now  an  Indepenrlent.  and  has  served  very  acceptablv  as  justice  of  the  peace. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Reformed  church  and  has  been  very  active  in  church 
work :  he  has  served  as  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school  for  twenty  \cars. 
He  is  a  member  of  Lodge  Xo.  225,  Free  and  Accepted  IMasons,  Greensbnrg, 
Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  of  Freemasonry,  Valley  of  Pittsburg.  Ked- 
Ton  Commandery,  No.  18,  Knights  Templar;  Urania  Chapter,  No.  192.  Roval 


404  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

Arch  jMasons,  at  Greensburg.  He  married,  November  27,  1884,  Lula  B. 
Laushner,  daughter  of  Amos  and  Lucy  (Beir)  Laughner,  and  they  have  two 
chiklren :     Lucy  M.  and  Paul  John. 

(V).  James  A.  Beamer,  only  child  of  Michael  (4)  and  Susan  (Ludwick) 
Beamer,  was  born  July  10,  1855.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  and 
at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  entered  the  employ  of  Hartipee  &  Company,  Pitts- 
burg, to  learn  the  trade  of  machinist.  He  then  went  to  Altoona  and  for  four 
years  worked  in  the  locomotive  shop  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  as 
an  apprentice,  after  which  he  was  appointed  to  the  position  of  fireman  on  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  for  a  short  time,  and  then  was  advanced  to  the  position 
of  roundhouse  foreman  at  Everson,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  then  transferred 
to  Derry,  and  later  to  Altoona,  still  in  the  same  capacity.  He  was  advanced  to 
the  position  of  master  mechanic  in  1896,  and  was  stationed  at  Tyrone,  where 
he  is  at  present  (1906).  He  is  progressive  and  enterprising,  and  while  in  Al- 
toona served  as  water  commissioner.  He  is  a  member  of  all  the  different  Ma- 
sonic bodies  in  Altoona,  and  of  the  Ancient  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  of  Free- 
masonry, Valley  of  Pittsburg.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Reformed  church.  He 
married  Sarah  Lauffer,  and  has  two  children  ;  Margaret  and  Blanche. 

]\L  A.  SUTTON,  \l.  D.  The  family  of  which  Dr.  Al.  A.  Sutton,  of 
Avonmore,  is  a  representative,  is  of  English  origin,  and  early  in  the  seventeenth 
century  was  founded  in  Massachusetts,  whence  it  diverged  to  other  states, 
where  its  members  have  filled  offices  of  trust  and  responsibilit}-. 

Jeremiah  .Sutton  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey  and  a  soldier  in  the  patriot 
army  of  the  Revolution.  In  1800  he  migrated  to  Pennsylvania  and  settled  in 
Westmoreland  county,  whence,  one  year  later,  he  moved  to  Butler  county,  and 
there  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

Piatt  Sutton,  son  of  Jeremiah  Sutton,  was  born  in  New  Jersey  and  accom- 
panied his  father  to  Pennsylvania,  finally  settling  with  him  in  Butler  countv. 
He  married  Elizabeth  Sterling,  also  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  and  he  and  his  wife 
spent  the  remainder  of  their  years  in  Butler  county. 

James  Sutton,  son  of  Piatt  and  Elizabeth  (Sterling)  Sutton,  was  born  in 
Butler  county,  and  married  Dorcas  Graham,  a  native  of  the  same  countv.  Their 
family  consisted  of  the  following  children  :  M.  A.,  see  forward :  E.  P. ;  Lizzie, 
wife  of  S.  J.  Irvin :  O.  L. ;  and  H.  W.  The  death  of  the  mother  occurred  in 
1895.  and  that  of  the  father  in  1902. 

AT.  A.  Sutton,  son  of  James  and  Dorcas  (Graham)  Sutton,  was  bom  in 
1861,  in  Liutler  county,  reared  on  his  father's  farm,  and  educated  in  the  common 
schools,  whence  he  passed  to  Westminster  College,  from  which  he  graduated. 
For  seven  years  thereafter  he  was  a  successful  teacher  in  Butler  and  Mercer 
counties  and  then  entered  West  Pennsylvania  Medical  College,  Pittsbur;?,  re- 
ceiving, in  1895,  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  The  same  year  he  settled 
in  Avonmore,  where  he  has  since  successfully  practiced  his  profession.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Indiana  County  Medical  Association.  Lodp-e  No.  272,  Knights  of 
Pythias,  and  the  Maccabees,  the  former  of  Evans  City,  Butler  countv,  and  the 
latter  of  Avonmore.  His  political  principles  are  those  advocated  bv  the  Re- 
DuMicpn  party.  He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Presbvterian  church,  in  which 
be  holds  the  offices  of  elder,  trustee  and  superintendent  of  the  Sundav  school. 
He  married,  in  1000,  Mary,  daughter  of  John  nnd  Jane  Andrews,  of  Avonmore, 
and  two  children  have  been  born  to  them  :  Lillian  and  Irma. 

JAMES  C.  CRIBBS.  a  real  estate  and  insurnncc  agent  at   feannctte, 
comes  of  an  old  Westmoreland  countv  family.     He  is  the  son  of  fohn  M.  and 


/^,J^,^. 


^-"l^ 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  405 

Alaria  (Crock)  Cribbs,  and  graiulson  of  Joshua  and  Elizabeth  (Milk-r)  Cribbs 
and  Thomas  and  L\dia  (Landis)  Crock.  The  parents  of  Mr.  Cribb  are  both 
living :  the  father  is  a  retired  miller  and  sawyer.  He  is  a  native  of  Westmore- 
land comity,  and  was  married  in  Hcmpfield  township.  He  was  born  June,  1833, 
and  when  a  small  cliild  his  father  died  and  lie^  was  reared  by  an  uncle,  Captain 
George  A.  Cribbs.  He  learned  the  milling  Ijusiness  and  operated  the  mill  at 
Radabaugh  Station.  In  his  religious  faith  he  is  a  Lutheran.  He  was  one  of 
seven  children :  George  and  \\'illiam,  both  killed  in  battle  during'  the  Civil  war ; 
James,  died  in  cliildhood :  Louisa,  became  the  wife  of  Henry  Blank,  of  Greens- 
burg  :  Sarah,  became  the  wife  of  John  Harrold,  is  now  a  widow,  residing  in 
Hempficld  township:  Ellen,  widow  of  Henry  Keener,  of  Greensburg :  John  M., 
married  Maria  Crock,  born  March  3,  1836,  and  they  had  a  family  of  ten  children, 
as  follows:  James  C.  of  whom  later:  William  A.,  at  home:  Thomas  J.,  of  Den- 
ver, Colorado:  John  George,  of  McKeesport;  David  J.,  of  Pittsburg;  Alexander 
X..  of  New  Bethlehem:  Ida,  at  home:  W'ade,  of  Irwin;  Beatrice,  at  home;  and 
Henry,  at  home.  \Mlliani  A.,  of  this  family,  was  hurt  in  a  railroad  accident  in 
1880.  losing  his  whole  right  arm  and  left  hand,  but  being  ambitious  and  cner- 
.getic.  has  since  achieved  local  prominence  both  in  business  and  politics.  He 
served  as  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  early  history  of  Jeannette.  and  has  always 
been  a  staunch  Democrat. 

James  C.  Cribbs  was  born  at  Adamsburg,  Westmoreland  county,  in  1858, 
and  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  and  at  the  Greensburg  Academy. 
Before  he  was  fourteen  vears  of  age  he  was  agent  for  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Company  at  Grapeville.  where  he  spent  four  years.  He  then  engaged  in  mer- 
chandising on  his  own  account  at  Grapeville,  as  one  of  the  firm  of  Baughman  & 
Cribbs,  which  existed  for  four  years.  He  then  went  to  Greensburg  and  follow- 
ed the  butcher  business  for  ten  years.  In  1892  he  came  to  Jeannette  and  opened 
a  clothing  store,  which  he  conducted  for  three  years,  and  then  engaged  in  the 
real  estate  and  insurance  business,  which  he  still  follows.  He  is  an  active,  pub- 
lic-spirited citizen  of  the  borough,  has  contributed  largely  to  the  material  suc- 
cess of  the  place,  and  through  his  efforts  some  of  the  factories  have  been  there 
established.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Jeannette  Milling  Company. ' 
Politically  he  prefers  Prohibition  princijjles,  but  is  thoroughly  independent. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  r)rder  of  Heptasophs.  Mr.  Cribljs  married,  September, 
1879.  Lizzie,  daughter  of  Rev.  L.  B.  and  Anna  (Tint.sman)  Leasure.  Their 
children  are:  James  L.,  married  Meredith  Loughry,  one  child,  Alice  E. ; 
Charles  C,  Anna  L.,  Olive  and  Elizabeth,  all  at  home.  The  family  are  ijiem- 
bers  of  the  Reformed  chiirch  at  Jeannette,  Mr.  Cribbs  having  served  on  the 
official  boards  and  as  delegate  to  the  higher  judicial  boards.  He  has  ever  taken 
an  active  part  in  Sunday  school  work,  both  at  home  and  in  the  county,  denomi- 
national and  inter-denominational.  ( Eor  further  history  of  the  Cribbs 
family  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  Cribbs  sketch  of  Greensburg  in  this  work). 

ROBERT  S.  LOVE.  The  progenitor  of  the  Love  family  in  America 
was  of  Iri.sh  descent.  Benjamin  Love  was  born  in  Ireland,  about  1746,  and 
married  Margaret  Gaston,  who  also  was  born  in  Irelanrl,  about  1747.  Thev 
emigrated  to  America  about  1787,  .'•etlled  near  Greensburg.  Pennsylvania.  To 
this  union  was  born  ten  children.  Ilenjamin  Love  died  about  1802.  His  wife 
died  March  9,  1848,  aged  one  huntlred  and  one  years,  one  month,  twentv-one 
da\s,  and  was  buried  in  Tyrone  cemetery.  Four  children  are  buried  with  her: 
.\nnie.  died  January  9,  1857,  ^S^f'  sixty-six  years;  Margaret,  died  December  21, 
1858.  aeed  sixty-seven  years;  John,  died  August  26,  1872,  aged  seventy-two 
years:  Martha,  died  June  15.  1877,  aged  eighty-four  years.    Two  children  died 


4o6  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

while  young-.  Alary  ami  Jane  were  twins,  born  June  28;  1785  ;  one  was  married 
to  John  Morgan,  who  served  fifteen  years  in  congress.  The  other  twin  married 
his  brother,  Mr.  Morgan:  they  moved  to  Indianapolis,  Indiana. 

Benjamin  was  born  June  27,  1795,  married  Mary  Tinsman,  and  to  this 
union  was  born  fourteen  children.     He  died  in  1862. 

Robert  Love  was  born  September  20,  1797.  His  occupation  was  teaming 
for  about  six  or  seven  years,  and  then  he  purchased  a  farm  in  Mount  Pleasant 
township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  engaged  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits  for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  married  Catherine  Lynch,  and 
to  this  union  was  born  six  children:  Margaret  L.,  Benjamin  L.,  James  Lynch, 
Robert  Gaston,  John  and  Mary,  died  while  young.  His  second  wife,  Mrs. 
Sarah  Herr,  bore  him  one  daughter,  Eldora.  who  died  while  young.  He  died 
186S.  in  his  seventy-third  year. 

Robert  Gaston  Love  was  born  January  30,  1836,  on  the  old  homestead  in 
Mount  Pleasant  township,  near  Weavers  Old  Stand.  This  farm,  which  was  in 
the  Love  family  nearly  ninety  years,  was  willed  to  him  at  the  death  of  his 
father.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  but  has  never  been  an  ofiice-seeker.  He 
is  a  firm  believer  in  the  Bible,  does  not  hold  to  any  sect,  but  believes  in  all  the 
commandments  and  ordinances  in  the  church  of  God.  He  has  been  most  liberal 
in  his  support  to  church  and  charitable  work,  and  is  highly  esteemed  in  the 
country  in  which  he  has  spent  his  entire  life.  He  is  now  seventy  years  old. 
He  married  Mary  A.  Herr,  born  January  16,  1846,  daughter  of  Jacob  Herr,  of 
near  Latrobe,  and  sister  of  Susan  Maxwell,  of  United,  (now  deceased).  To 
this  union  was  born  six  children,  four  now  living:  Sadie  U.,  married  Daniel 
Rumbaugh,  of  Greensburg  , Pennsylvania  :  Robert  S.,  married  Mary  E.  Cadman, 
of  West  Elizabeth,  .\nnie  S..  married  Samuel  M.  Steele,  of  Greensburg, 
Pennsylvania.  Lucy  L..  married  Clark  K.  Fox.  of  Mount  Pleasant.  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

Robert  S.  Love,  the  only  boy  living,  resides  on  the  old  homestead.  He 
was  born  June  10.  i86^.  He  received  his  education  in  the  Bvers  school  in 
Mount  Pleasant  town.ship.  He  took  charge  of  the  farm,  which  he  managed 
for  eight  years.  He  then  turned  his  attention  to  carpentering,  which  he  fol- 
lowed for  four  years.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period,  however,  he  returned 
to  the  old  homestead,  wliich  he  has  since  supervised,  while  his  father  lives  a  re- 
tired life.  In  1902  he  purchased  a  choice  lot  in  Yovmgwood,  and  the  same 
year  erected  the  largest  business  building  in  the  borough,  it  being  a  credit  to  the 
town.  January  I,  1902,  Mr.  Love  assisted  in  the  organization  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Youngwood  and  was  made  one  of  the  directors,  which  office  he 
has  since  filled.  He  is  also  a  stockholder  in  the  Youngwood  Building  and  Loan 
Association,  and  thus  his  business  activity  has  contributed  to  the  improvement 
of  the  borough  as  well  as  to  his  individual  success.  Mr.  Love  married,  in  1893, 
Mary  E.  Cadman,  of  West  Elizabeth,  Pennsylvania.  To  this  union  four  boys 
were  born,  three  of  which  are  still  living:  Robert  Gaston,  Jr..  William  Cadman, 
and  Paul  (Irlanda  Love.  In  his  political  views  Mr.  Love  is  a  Democrat,  but  at 
local  elections  he  votes  for  the  candidate  rather  than  the  party.  Mr.  Love  has 
greatly  furthered  benevolent  and  church  work.  He  is  a  firm  believer  in  the 
teachings  of  Christ.  He  also  belongs  to  the  Woodland  Lodee,  No.  310.  K.  of 
P.,  of  Youngwood,- Pennsylvania.  He  is  also  very  attentive  to  the  welfare  of 
his  family,  and  is  one  among  the  best  of  citizens. 

OTTO  S.  WE.W'ER.  There  is  nrobably  ro  more  useful  man  in 
Scottdale  than  Otto  S.  \\'caver,  grandson  of  Philip  Weaver,  who  came  from 
Virginia  to  Westmoreland  count\'  and  settled  near  uliat  is  now  known  as  Men- 


H  C  Cacpcr  J." 


Cr-yuxo^    ^^/i^t^^-^'^^ 


HISTORY   OF    IVESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  407 

don  where  he  was  a  scho...lniaster  for  many  years.  About  1862  he  moved  to 
huhana  countv,  and  there  lived  as  a  farmer  during  the  remainder  cf  his  hfe. 
He  married  M'arv  Ganders,  who  was  of  Irish  descent,  and  their  chikh-en  were: 
|ohn  S.,  mentioned  hereafter:  Fleming,  resides  in  N'irgima  :  Maria,  wife  of 
Thomas  McGiU :  Lucinda,  married  Daniel  Shupe :  and  Elizabeth,  married  John 
Falger. 

"'John  S.  Weaver,  son  of  Philip  and  Mary  (Canders)  Weaver,  was  born  m 
1850,  in  Westmoreland  county,  and  was  twelve  years  old  when  the  family  moved 
to  Indiana  countv.  He  received  his  education  at  home  under  the  instruction  of 
his  father,  whom  he  assisted  in  the  work  of  the  farm.  After  his  father's  death 
he  returned  to  Westmoreland  county,  and  there  engaged  in  farming  until  1870. 
since  which  time  he  has  been  employed  by  the  Coke  Company  as  yard  foreman 
and  coke  burner.  Mr.  Weaver  married  Catherine  Heuburt,  and  their  children 
are:  Otto  S..  mentioned  hereafter.  Lavan  R.,  born  January  4,  1874,  engaged 
with  the  Pittsburg  &  Lake  Erie  Railroad.  Ada,  born  June  30,  1876,  married 
I'.ruce  Parker.  H.  Clav,  born  April  11,  1878,  shearman  in  the  mills  at  Scott- 
dale,  married  Ellmav  Shank,  of  Pennsville,  Penn.sylvania.  Marcus,  born  1881, 
a  mill  worker  at  Scottdale.  Delila,  born  June  30.  1885,  wife  of  Charles  Taylor. 
Wintield  L.,  born  July  15,  1889,  employed  in  the  coke  works  of  A.  L.  Keister  & 
Companv. 

'  Otto  S.  \\'eaver,  son  of  John  S.  and  Catherine  (Heuburt)  Weaver,  was 
horn  December  7,  187 1,  near  Wesley  Chapel,  Westmoreland  county,  and  was 
educated  in  the  common  schools.  He  remained  at  home  assisting  his  father 
until  reaching  the  age  of  twenty,  when  he  entered  the  service  of  the  coke  com- 
pany, by  whofti  he  was  employed  as  a  teamster  for  about  a  year  and  a  half.  He 
then  learned  the  trade  of  barloer  with  Homer  Milliron,  with  whom  he  remained 
four  years,  and  then  established  himself  on  the  site  which  he  has  since  occupied 
and  where  he  carries  on  a  successful  business.  In  July,  1905,  he  sold  out  his 
barber  business  and  engaged  in  the  picture  frame  and  general  art  business, 
opening  up  a  store  on  Pittsburg  street,  Scottdale.  Pennsylvania,  engaging  sev- 
eral salesmen,  and  is  doing  a  good  business.  He  belongs  to  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  No. 
885,  the  F.  O.  E.,  Xo.  1007.  and  is  department  great  commander  of  the  K.  O. 
T.  M.,  Xo.  386,  all  of  Scottdale.  In  politics  he  is  an  active  Republican.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Disciple  church  of  Scottdale.  Mr.  Weaver  married  M.  Luetta, 
daughter  of  Alexander  and  Mary  .Ann  (Arrison)  Johnson,  and  they  had  five 
children:  Ronald,  born  April  27.  1897:  Arthur  Wade,  bom  June,  1899:  Glen 
Johnson,  born  September,  T901  ;  Margaret  Leotta,  born  April  23,  1903,  died 
July  29,  1904:  and  \'erna  Illanch,  born  June  29,  1905. 

THOM.AS  MELLOX.  a  son  of  Andrew  and  Rebecca  (  Wauchob) 
Mellon,  was  born  February  3,  1813,  at  Lower  Castleton,  county  Tyrone,  Ire- 
land, his  family  having  emigrated  to  this  country  and  settled  near  Mtirrysville. 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1818. 

His  education,  begun  at  an  early  age  at  his  mother's  knee,  was  continued 
through  the  usual  country  schools,  the  Greensburg  Academy,  a  preparatory 
school  conducted  bv  Rev.  Jonathan  Gill,  to  the  W'estern  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, from  which  he  was  graduated  with  honors  in  1837.  He  had  already  regis- 
tered at  the  bar  in  September.  1835,  "I'l^'  after  studying  in  the  ofifice  of  Honora- 
l)le  Charles  Shaler  while  also  acting  as  clerk  in  the  ])rothonotary's  office,  he  was 
admitted  December  13,  1838,  and  opened  an  office  the  following  June.  Not 
pa\ing  particular  attention  to  any  one  branch  of  the  law  at  the  expense  of  an- 
otlicr,  Thomas  Mellon  continueri  i->racticine  until  the  first  Monday  of  December, 
1859,  when  he  was  elected  a  law  judge  of  the  courts  of  common  pleas,  orphans' 


4o8  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

court,  and  criminal  court,  of  Allegheny  county.  He  served  on  the  bench  for  a 
period  of  ten  years  and  then  retired  to  private  life,  not  desiring  re-election  as 
various  personal  enterprises  into  which  he  had  embarked  took  up  all  his  time  and 
attention.  He  concluded  to  open  a  banking  house  on  January  i,  1870,  which 
was  known  as  T.  Mellon  and  Sons'  bank  until  the  formation  of  the  Mellon  Na- 
tional bank  on  Julv  I,  1902.  In  addition  to  his  bank  he  early  saw  the  possibil- 
ities of  the  coal  business  :  and  he  was  also  one  of  the  first  to  advocate  the  buying 
of  real  estate,  laying  out  into  lots  and  selling  on  very  liberal  terms  to  people  of 
small  means  desirous  of  owning  their  own  homes.  Several  prominent  citizens 
of  Lio-onier  interested  in  procuring  a  branch  to  connect  with  the  mam  line  of 
the  Pennsvlvania  railroad,  offered  Judge  Mellon,  in  1877,  strong  inducements 
to  assist  tliem  in  its  construction,  this  was  finally  agreed  to  and  he  contracted 
with  these  gentlemen  to  build  the  Ligonier  Valley  railroad,  and  jointly  with  his 
sons  made  such  rapid  progress  that  in  a  very  short  time  trains  were  running  to 
the  great  satisfaction  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  valle>-.  Judge  Mellon  had  a 
wide" circle  of  friends  and  acquaintances  in  Pittsburg  and  the  neighboring  towns 
to  whom  his  wonderful  memory  for  persons  and  events  on  many  occasions  has 
proved  a  mine  of  information,  and  he  was  never  so  busy  he  could  not  find  time 
to  enlighten  some  anxious  inquirer  on  matters  that  happened  years  ago.  Until 
1893  he  was  more  or  less  actively  engaged  in  business,  keeping  separate  and 
distinct  in  his  mind  in  a  truly  marvelous  way  the  many  enterprises  in  which  he 
was  interested:  and  his  clear  perception  and  remarkable  judgment  have  been 
used  on  many  occasions  to  his  great  advantage  and  that  of  his  business  asso- 
ciates. About  this  time  his  eighty  years  of  active  and  useful  life  began  to  tell 
upon  his  never  very  robust  constitution,  so  that  he  has  been  content  to  remain 
quietly  at  home,  feeling  sure  that  his  sons  would  properly  carry  on  the  various 
and  manifold  interests  "he  had  been  instrumental  in  starting,  and  at  the  time  of 
this  article  is  in  his  ninety-third  year.  He  married,  April  22,  1843,  Sarah  J., 
daughter  of  Jacob  Negley,  by  whom  he  had  eight  children,  five  of  whom  lived 
to  manhood. 

CRAIG  FAjMILY.  The  genealogy  of  the  Craig  family  is  difficult 
if  not  impossible  to  trace  now  beyond  Samuel  Craig,  Sr.,  who  was  of  Scotch- 
Irish  descent.  He  resided  for  several  years  in  New  Jersey,  then  removed  to 
Franklin  county,  and  in  1769  removed  to  Westmoreland  county  and  settled 
on  a  tract  of  land  east  of  the  Loyalhanna,  which  he  purchased  from  Thomas 
Eurbridge,  and  which  still  remains  in  the  possession  of  the  family.  The  first 
wife  of  Samuel  Craig  was  Elizabeth  ^McDonald,  a  Scotch  lady,  to  whom  he 
was  married  before  coming  to  the  United  States.  They  were  the  parents 
of  nine  children,  two  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  both  they  and  their  mother 
dying  of  smallpox  within  three  days.  The  surviving  members  of  the  family 
were":  John,  Alexander,  Samuel,  Jr.,  Esther,  Rose,  Elizabeth,  and  Mary. 
Before  liis  removal  to  Westmoreland  county  he  married  his  second  wife,  who 
was  an  Irish  lady,  by  name  Jane  Boyd,  and  in  due  course  of  time  six  more 
children  were  added  to  Jiis  family :  Andrew,  Joseph,  William,  Jane,  Nancy, 
and  Rebecca.  He  and  his  three  eldest  sons — John,  Alexander  and  Samuel. 
Jr.,  served  in  the  revolutionary  army.  Mr.  Craig,  Sr.,  was  a  commissary  and 
his  duties  as  such  called  him  to  Fort  Ligonier,  but  on  the  way  he  was  cap- 
tured bv  Indians  on  Chestnut  Ridge,  and  all  eflforts  to  ascertain  his  fate  were 
without  avail.  His  horse  was  found  dead,  November  2,  1777.  (this  was  about 
the  date  of  his  capture),  perforated  by  eight  bullets,  and  fragments  of  paper 
strewn  along  the  path  indicated  the  route  taken  by  the  Indians.  That  was  all. 
except  that  some  vears  afterward  captives  rescued  from  Indians  were  reported 


QA^c  I  f  ^'  ^^^  ^^cu_ 


/ 


HISTORY   OF    U'ESTMORELAXD   COUXTY.  409 

as  saving  that  an  old  white  man  was  left  behinil  because  he  was  too  sick  and 
infirm  to  come  with  them.     This  rumor,  however,  could  not  be  verified. 

John  Craig,  eldest  son  of  Samuel  Craig,  Sr.,  was  born  April  27,  1753.  He 
was  twenty  years  old  when  he  became  a  soldier  in  the^  revolutionary  war. 
On  one  occasion,  while  scouting  in  the  vicinity  of  Wallace's  Fort,  he  narrowly 
escaped  being  captured  bv  the  Indians.  He  was  pursued  so  hotly  that  lie  was 
obliged  'to  throw  awav  liis  gun.  Relieved  of  its  weight  he  was  just  able  to 
reach  the  fort.  He  served  faithfully  through  the  war,  and  is  mentioned  m 
liistory  as  "famous  in  liorder  Warfare."  He  married  Martha  Clark,  and 
removed  from  his  father's  home,  in  Westmoreland  county,  to  a  farm  of  his 
own  near  Freeport.  Here  he  resided  during  the  remainder  of  his  life,  which 
«nded  in  his  nintv-fifth  year. 

General  Alexander  Craig,  .second  son  of  Samuel  Craig,  Sr.,  was  born 
November  20,  1755.  He  entered  the  army  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  and  later 
was  a  lieutenant  in  the  company  of  Captain  John  Shields.  He  \vas  with  the 
-armv.  under  General  Washington,  that  crossed  the  Delaware,  and  fought  the 
battles  of  Trenton  and  Princeton.  He  endured  the  hardships  of  the  campaign 
in  the  Jersevs.  and  finally  returned  home  to  contend  with  the  Indians.  When 
the  war  of  1812  came  General  Craig  said,  "I  am  growing  old,  but  if  my  service 
can  help  my  country,  I  am  ready  to  go.''  He  was  not  needed,  how-eyer,  and 
lived  on  along  the  lines  of  peace,  amidst  his  kindred  and  neighbors  till  Octo- 
ber 29,  i832,When,  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven,  he  died  and  his  remains  were 
liuried  in  Congruity  cemetery.  General  Craig  married  Jane  Clark,  a  daughter 
of  James  Clark,  Esq.,  who  was  one  of  the  defenders  of  the  fort  at  Hannas- 
tnwn  when  that  place  w^as  destroyed  by  the  Indians.  His  family  consisted  of 
three  sons  and  five  daughters:  James,  died  at  forty  years  of  age;  Alexander, 
died  in  infancy:  Samuel,  also  died  in  infancy:  Elizabeth,  married  Major  Moore- 
liead,  and  died  in  early  life;  Sarah,  [Maria,  ]\largaret  C,  who  had  entered  her 
ninetv-fifth  year  shortly  before  her  death ;  she  had  then  been  the  last  survivor 
of  her  familv  for  more  than  forty-four  years ;  Jane  died  in  early  womanhood. 

Samuel  Craig  Jr.,  third  son  of  Samuel  Craig,  Sr.,  was  first  lieutenant  in 
the  company  of  Captain  Drr.  who  was  the  father  of  the  late  General  Robert 
Orr.  of  Kittanning.  Like  his  father  he,  too,  was  captured  by  the  Indians,  and 
while  crossing  the  ^liami  river  they  attempted  to  drown  him.  He  was  thrown 
into  the  river  and  then  they  tried  to  keep  his  head  under  water  by  pushing 
liim  with  their  paddles.  When  he  evaded  them  and  grasped  the  canoe, 
they  beat  his  hands  ofT  and  thni.st  him  down.  This  they  did  over  and  again 
until  his  strength  was  almost  gone,  and  then  one  of  them  claimed  him  as  his 
l^risoner,  helped  him  into  the  canoe,  and  took  him  under  his  protection.  At 
another  time  Samuel  Craig's  remarkable  nerve,  readiness,  and  .skill  in  sing- 
ing saved  his  life.  He  and  five  other  captives  were  made  to  sit  on  a  log  and 
liave  their  faces  painted  black  to  indicate  their  doom.  At  this  moment  Mr. 
Craig  raised  his  voice  in  song  and  made  the  welkin  to  resound  with  melody. 
He  sang  on  and  on  and'  while  he  sang  some  of  the  Indians  came  up  behind 
and  with  one  fell  stroke  bu''ied  their  tomahawks  in  the  heads  of  all  the  victims 
with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Craig.  I'inally,  after  enduring  great  suftering  and 
many  hardships,  he  was  sold  to  the  English  for  a  gallon  of  whiskey,  was  ex- 
changed as  a  prisoner  of  war,  and  joyfully  returned  to  his  family.  Mr.  Craig 
married  a  daughter  of  Captain  John  Shields,  by  whom  he  had  five  sons  and 
two  daughters.  He  died  in  1808  from  hemorrhage  resulting  from  the  extrac- 
tion of  a  tooth. 

Among  the  descendants  of  Samuel,  Sr.,  and  Elizabeth  (McDonald)  Craig 
•who  are  now  living  are:    Rev.  TI.  T.  ^IcClelland.  D.  D.,  of  Washington.  Penn- 


4IO  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

sylvania ;  Dr.  George  Craig,  of  Rock  Island,  Illinois ;  Mrs.  Mary  Griffin,  of 
Greensbnrg,  Penns\lvania  ;  Mrs.  Jane  E.  Lightcap,  of  Unity,  Pennsylvania; 
and  Professor  William  C.  McClelland,  of  Washington  and  Jefferson  (."ollege. 
Among  the  living  descendants  of  Samuel,  Sr.,  and  Jane  (Boyd)  Craig  are: 
T.  D.  Cunningham,  of  Blairsville,  Pennsylvania ;  Rev.  Freeman  Wallace,  mis- 
sionary to  Mexico ;  Rev.  T.  D.  Wallace,  of  Chicago,  Illinois ;  Miss  Mamie 
Craig,  of  Altoona.  Pennsylvania  :  and  the  Mooreheads,  Hills  and  Ogdens,  of 
Ligonier,  Pennsylvania.  There  are  now  (1905)  no  surviving  grandchildren 
of  Samuel  Craig,  Sr.  The  last  of  these  was  Margaret  C.  Craig,  whose  pru- 
dent chronicling  of  family  history  has  supplied  much  material  for  this  sketch. 
She  was  born  in  1805,  and  died  in  1899,  in  the  old  home  at  New  Alexandria. 
She  was  a  true  Daughter  of  the  Revolution,  and  one  of  the  cherished  memen- 
toes left  by  her  is  the  gold  spoon  presented  her  by  that  order.  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Craig,  a  worthy  representative  of  that  sturdy  race,  born  in  1825,  died  January 
2,  1906.  She  lies  in  the  private  cemeterv  of  the  Craig  family  on  the  home 
farm.  Jane  Maria  Craig,  her  daughter,  was  born  in  1848.  Only  children, 
both,  antl  daughter  and  granddaughter  of  Margaret  C.  Craig.  Here,  mitl  war 
memories  of  other  days,  these  last  survivors  of  their  family  viewed  from  their 
windows  the  victories  of  peace.  The  savage  no  longer  lurks  furtively  about 
to  do  them  harm,  the  wild  things  of  stream  and  woodland  are  gone,  the  woods 
themselves  are  fled  from  before  the  fields,  and  out  of  the  scarred  and  deep- 
pierced  earth  there  comes  a  steady  stream  of  coal,  which,  tumbled  into  cars,  is 
whirled  away  to  a  busy  world  beyond,  over  gleaming  rails  that  trench  upon 
the  very  dooryard  of  the  old  home  of  the  Craig  family. 

J(  )HN  BUGPIER  KUHNS,  deceased,  familiarly  known  as  ■Bud." 
one  of  the  well  known  and  highly  esteemed  citizens  of  Greensburg,  was  a 
native  of  that  city,  born  April  7,  1861.  a  son  of  the  late  Phillip  S.  and  Ellen 
(  Bugher)  Kuhns,  pioneer  residents  of  this  vicinity.  Phillip  S.  Kuhns  was  a 
substantial  business  man,  and  at  his  death.  May  10,  1884,  was  regarded  as  a 
wealthy  man  for  that  time.  He  left  an  estate  valued  at  about  $100,000. 
The  estate  was  left  to  his  widow,  Ellen  (Bugher)  Kuhns,  who  was  noted 
for  her  aristocratic  bearing  and  gentleness  of  demeanor,  and  at  her  death, 
December  18,  1893,  the  estate  went  in  equal  shares  to  her  children.  Phillip 
S.  and  Ellen  ( Bugher)  Kuhns  were  the  parents  of  several  children,  among 
whom  were :  John  Bugher,  Mrs.  Emma  Shallenberger,  'of  Edgewood  Park ; 
Harriet  A.,  Mrs.  Goodman,  of  Indianapolis,  Indiana :  Mrs.  Rachel  Bartholo- 
mew, of  Butler  county ;  and  Aaron  H.  Kuhns,  of  Tacoma,  Washington. 

John  Bugher  Kuhns  received  a  common  school  education  in  Greensburg, 
and  in  1884  graduated  from  the  University  of  Indianapolis.  Upon  graduation 
he  engaged  actively  in  business.  In  1891,  having  previously  converted  his 
share  of  the  estate  into  cash,  he  with  his  brother-in-law,  C.  L.  Goodwin,  re- 
moved to  Dunlo,  in  the  Allegheny  mountains,  where  they  engaged  in  the 
lumber  business.  Mr.  Kuhns  devoted  himself  intelligentlv  and  industriously 
to  the  task  he  had  fixed,  and  within  a  year  after  he  had  entered  the  mountian 
ranges  he  was  esteemed  one  of  the  largest  lumber  men  in  the  state.  The 
mountains  yielded  ricli  returns  for  his  energies,  and  ere  he  left  the  lumber 
fields  he  had  harvested'  everv  available  stick  on  his  vast  possessions.  .About 
1904  Mr.  Kuhns  disposed  of  his  Dunlo  lumber  interests,  and  with  his  wife 
returned  to  Greensburg.  He  was  interested  in  lumber  tracts  in  Somerset 
county.  Pennsvlvania,  and  had  other  investments,  especiallv  in  West  \'ir- 
ginia,  and  his  time  was  principally  spent  in  looking  after  these  holdings.  Mr. 
•Kuhns  was  a  man  of  pleasing  personality,  scrujiulously  honest  in  all  his  trans- 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUXTV.  41-. 

actions,  generous  antl  al\va_\s  lair,  and  althouyh  t'rail  physically,  was  suslaineil 
b\   a  manhood  that  ahvaj-s  seemed  majestic. 

Mr.  Kuhns"  death  was  due  to  ISright's  disease,  and  the  ailment  dated. 
back  twenty  vears,  his  father  and  imcles  on  both  sides  of  the  family  having  died 
of  the  same  disease.  His  life  was  undonbtedly  ])rolonged  by  his  o]3en  air  occu- 
pation, this  particular  field  of  industry  being"  selected  because  of  the  advice  t)f 
Dr.  De  Costa,  of  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Kuhns  was  a  man  of  refined  tastes  and 
scholarly  attainments.  His  reading  was  always  along  the  lines  of  the  classical. 
Burns  was  his  favorite  poet.  He  was  a  great  admirer  of  Alirahani  Lincoln 
and  Henry  George,  because  the\-  believed  in  the  coninnni  man,  and  man's 
justice  to  his  fellowman.  Mr.  Kuhns  was  always  so  kindly  considerate  for 
those  in  his  employ.  He  believed  that  true  philanthropy  consisted  in  good 
wages  for  a  fair  day's  work.  He  despised  the  modern  methods  of  sc|ueezing' 
money  out  of  people  who  earn  their  bread  by  the  sweat  of  their  brow.  All 
those  who  had  been  in  liis  employ  from  far  and  near  that  could  possibly  come,, 
attended  his  funeral  or  sent  messages  of  symijathy.  In  his  younger  days  IMr.. 
Kuhns  was  something  of  an  athlete,  and  greatly  encouraged  through  life  ail 
such  healthy  clean  sports.  He  was  one  of  the  first  to  help  build  u])  an  interest 
in  baseball  in  Westmoreland  county,  and  many  an  old  tinier  will  recall  the 
IMtching  and  batting  and  running  of  Bud  Kuhns.  He  was  also  a  fine  shot  and' 
fond  of  hunting. 

In  1886  Mr.  Kuhns  married  Miss  Tade  Hartsufi'.  a  member  of  a  promi- 
nent New  Castle  family.  They  had  met  while  students  in  the  same  university. 
This  union  was  not  blessed  with  children. 

Mr.  Kuhns  died  at  the  Johns  Hopkins  hospital.  Baltimore,  January  2, 
i<)o6.  and  his  remains  were  interred  in  the  family  plot  in  (ireensburg.  He 
enjoyed  the  acquaintance  of  a  large  circle  of  friends,  not  only  in  Greens- 
burg  but  many  other  places.  He  was  of  a  quiet  and  retiring  disposition,  but 
when  known  was  greatly  beloved,  so  sweetly  unselfish  and  kind  was  he, 
especially  to  those  in  need  or  trouble.  His  greatest  ambition  was  attained, 
for  he  aspired  to  be  like  his  father,  Phillijj  Kuhns.  whose  fine  character  and' 
good  citizenship  still  live  after  twenty  years  in  the  memory  of  his  friends  and 
neighbors. 

CYRUS  F.  KUXKLE,  one  of  the  well-known  business  men  of 
Greensburg,  is  the  great-great-grandson  of  Jacob  Kunkle,  who  emigrated 
from  Germany  to  the  United  States  and  for  a  time  lived  as  a  farmer  in  '\Vest- 
moreland  county,  spending  his  last  years,  however,  in  his  former  home  in 
eastern  Pennsylvania.  He  left  a  son  who  passed  his  life  in  Westmoreland 
county  and  was  the  father  of  Michael  Kunkle,  who  was  one  of  the  leading 
farmers  of  the  county,  an  influential  Democrat,  a  member  of  the  German 
Reformed  church,  and  served  as  major  in  a  Westmoreland  countv  reg;iment. 
He  married  Marv  .Mcchling.  and  of  their  eight  children  two  were  sons:  Dan- 
iel, a  resident  of  Greensburg:  and  Amos,  of  whom  later.  .Mr.  Kunkle  was 
accidentally  killed  by  a  threshing  machine  when  he  had  reached  the  age  of 
si.xty-eight. 

.Amos  Kunkle.  .son  of  Michael  and  Mary  (Mechling)  Kunkle,  was  born 
July  II,  1S38,  in  Hempfield  township,  and  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools.  .At  the  age  of  tweiTtv-one  he  went  to  Greensburg,  where  for  eleven- 
vears  he  was  engaged  with  his  brother  Daniel  in  the  planing-mill  business. 
He  then  returned  to  the  home  farm,  which  he  cultivated  on  behalf  of  his 
mother  during-  the  remainder  of  her  life,  his  frither  being  then  deceased,  .\fter 
the  rleath   of  his   mother  he   bought   the   farm   and    resided    there   until    njoo. 


412  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

when  he  sold  the  coal  land,  retaining  a  large  portion  of  the  estate,  and  moved 
-to  Greensburg,  where  he  has  since  been  engaged  in  building  and  selling  houses. 
While  living  on  the  farm  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  school  board  in  his  dis- 
trict. He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  for  several  years  filled  the  ofSces 
of  deacon  and  elder  in  the  First  Reformed  church,  of  which  he  is  now  one  of 
the  trustees.  ]\lr.  Kunkle  married,  October  5,  1861,  Sarah,  daughter  of  Jacob 
Kepple,  of  Stony  Springs,  Hcmpfield  township,  and  eight  children  have  been 
born  to  them:  John  E.,  an  attorney  in  Greensburg;  Mary  M.,  wife  of  Joseph 
liobinson,  of  Greensburg;  Cyrus  F.,  a  merchant  in  Ludwick  borough;  Elmer 
E.,  in  business  in  Greensburg;  William,  an  attorney  in  Greensburg,  resides 
.at  home ;  Arthur,  in  business  as  a  butcher  in  Ludwick  borough ;  Albert,  at- 
tending the  College  of  Dentistry  in  Philadelphia ;  and  George,  deceased. 

Cyrus  F.  Kunkle,  son  of  Amos  and  Sarah  (Kepple)  Kunkle,  was  born 
September  18,  1866,  in  Greensburg,  and  was  eight  years  of  age  when  the 
family  returned  to  the  farm.  It  was  there  that  he  grew  to  manhood,  assist- 
ing his  father  in  the  labors  of  the  homestead.  In  1896  or  1897  he  engaged 
in  the  dairy  business  and  followed  the  same  four  years,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1 90 1  went  to  Ludwick.  There  he  turned  his  attention  to  commerce,  and  has, 
for  some  time,  been  one  of  the  leading  merchants  of  the  borough,  having  be- 
come so  by  close  application  to  business  and  strict  adherence  to  the  principles 
of  integrity.  He  is  now  serving  on  the  school  board.  He  belongs  to  Greens- 
burg Camp,  No.  18,  W.  O.  W.,  votes  with  the  Republicans,  and  is  a  member 
of  the  First  Reformed  church.  ]\Ir.  Kunkle  married,  March  10,  1897.  Mar- 
garet, daughter  of  Jonas  Langhner,  of  Manor  Station,  and  thev  have  four 
children :     Robert,  Elizabeth,  Evelyn,  and  Cyrus  F. 

GEORGE  A.  HUNGER.  By  descent  George  A.  Hunger,  of  \'an- 
dergrift,  is  a  German,  by  birth  and  education  a  loyal  American  citizen.  His 
•grandfather,  Andrew  Hunger,  was  born  in  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  and  was 
an  influential  factor  in  the  political  life  of  the  province,  serving  for  years  in  a 
capacity  somewhat  analogous  to  that  of  governor  in  the  United  States.  At 
the  time  of  his  death  he  was  one  hundred  and  three  years  old. 

Martin  Hunger,  son  of  Andrew  Hunger,  was  born  in  Wurtemberg,  and 
grew  up  near  the  church  in  which  the  doctrines  of  the. reformation  had  been 
preached  by  its  greatest  apostle,  Martin  Luther.  He  received  a  finished  col- 
legiate education,  and  in  1855,  when  but  twenty-two  years  of  age,  and  when 
a  bright  future  opened  before  him  in  his  native  country,  he  left  home  secretly 
and  emigrated  to  the  United  States.  He  went  directly  to  Armstrong  county, 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  -purchased  a  farm  near  Springs  Church,  on  which 
he  lived  until  i86i-.  His  liberal  education  and  knowledge  of  the  languages 
caused  him  to  be  frequently  called  into  conference  as  an  interpreter  and  ren- 
dered him  a  man  of  influence  in  the  community.  In  1861  he  removed  to  the 
oil  fields,  settling  in  Oil  City,  and  for  some  nine  years  was  an  operator  in 
that  newly  discovered  branch  of  industry.  During  the  first  few  vears  he  accu- 
nnilated  a  fortune,  but  mani])ulation  of  the  market,  together  with  the  action 
of  some  of  his  associates,  practically  threw  him  out  ofbusiness.  In  1870  he 
returned  to  Armstrong  county,  took  up  his  abode  at  Elderton  and  once  more 
became  a  farmer.  He  continued  to  devote  him.self  to  agricultural  pursuits 
until  three  or  four  years  ago,  when  he  retired  and  is  now  living  in  Kittanning. 
He  is  a  staunch  Democrat  and  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Mr.  Hun- 
ger married  Catharine,  daughter  of  George  and  Mary  (  Knepshield)  .\mmond, 
and  they  had  a  son  and  a  daughter:  George  .A...  mentioned  hereinafter:  and 
TVlargarct,    wife    of    Samuel    Lucas,    of   Hite,    Pennsylvania.      The    mother   of 


f-^^T"' 


Q_ri$ 


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"«c.' 


K: 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  415 

these  children  died  in  1891,  and  Mr.  Hunger  subsequently  married  Catharine 
Kanft'man.  Bv  this  marriage  there  were  four  children,  three  of  whont 
survive. 

George  A.  Hunger,  son  of  Martin  and  Catharine  (.Vniniond)  Hunger, 
was  born  June  20.  1857,  near  Spring  Church,  .Armstrong  comity,  and  at  the 
age  of  twelve  or  thirteen  went  to  live  with  William  Crosby,  a  neighboring 
farmer,  for  whom  he  worked  until  he  attained  his  majority.  He  then  appren- 
ticed himself  to  the  brickmaker"s  trade,  and  after  the  expiration  of  his  time 
worked  for  two  years  as  a  journeyman,  afterward  engaging  in  brickmaking 
for  himself.  He  was  chosen  by  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  to  super- 
intend the  manufacture  of  the  brick  for  the  Salina  tunnel,  and  in  this  position 
was  employed  some  fifteen  months.  He  then  went  to  Leechburg,  purchased 
a  brick vard,  and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  brick.  Tn  1895  he  organized 
the  Hvde  Park  Alachine  &  I'^oundrv  Company,  of  which  he  was  elected  presi- 
dent and  manager,  remaining  in  office  until  the  successful  completion  of  the 
plant,  when  he  sold  his  interest  and  retired  from  the  firm.  He  next  removed 
to  what  is  now  \'andergrift,  where  he  had  the  contract  for  building  the  retain- 
ing wall  around  the  steel  plant,  the  neighboring  stone  quarries  being  of  great 
advantage  to  him  in  the  work.  His  present  business  building  was  the  first 
structure  ever  erected  on  the  site  of  Vandergrift,  and  in  this  he  conducted' 
his  transactions  as  a  contractor  and  dealer  in  builders"  supplies,  being  con- 
stantly employed  in  advancing  the  growth  of  the  town.  ^He  was  connected 
with  the  building,  not  only  of  many  residences,  but  also  with  the  erection  of  a 
number  of  the  principal  business  and  office  blocks.  He  carries  a  full  line  of 
lumber  and  mill  work,  doors,  sash,  blinds,  mouldings,  shingles  and  lath,  a  dealer 
in  sand,  cement,  sewer  pipe,  hollow  building  blocks,  Cleveland  sawed  stone, 
glass,  tile,  fire,  red  pressed  and  all  kinds  of  building  brick  and  hard  plaster, 
coal,  hay  and  feed,  also  agent  for  white  pearl  lime. 

During  the  entire  period  of  his  residence  in  Leechburg  he  was  a  member 
of  the  borough  council  and  also  of  the  school  board.  Soon  after  coming  to 
\'andergrift  he  was  appointed  justice  of  the  peace  and  has  served  continuously 
ever  since,  having  been  elected  in  1899  and  1904  for  five  year  terms.  In  1898- 
99  he  was  assessor  for  the  borough  of  \'andergrift,  and  in  the  latter  year  was 
appointed  burgess  of  the  borough  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  Oscar  Lindquist,. 
who  removed  frotn  the  borough  one  month  after  taking  liis  seat.  After  the 
expiration  of  his  term  in  December,  190.^,  Mr.  Hunger  was  elected  to  succeed 
himself  for  another  three  years'  term.  In  1903  he  was  elected  state  delegate 
by  b.is  party.  He  has  acted  as  deputy  coroner  for  eight  years.  Mr.  Hunger 
is  a  director  in  the  \'andergrift  Savings  &  Trust  Company,  the  Vandergrift 
Casmo  Company  and  the  \'andergrift  Savings  &  Loan  Company.  He  is  also 
president  of  the  \'andergrift  Library  Association,  and  the  Vandergrift  News 
Companv.  Fraternallv  he  is  connected  with  the  following  organizations : 
The  F.  &  A.  M.,  the  I.'O.  O.  F.,  the  P.  S.  of  A.,  the  K.  P.  and  the  R.  A.  He  is 
a  Republican  in  politics,  anfl  for  many  years  litis  been  an  active  worker  in  the 
organization.     In  religion  he  is  a  Lutheran. 

^fr.  Himger  married,  December  29,  1880.  Kate  Kie.stler,  of  Leechburg, 
Armstrong  county,  ?nd  their  children  are:  Nellie  E.  A.,  wife  of  James  Hamil- 
ton, of  Tarentum,  Pennsylvania;  William  C,  assistant  to  liis  father;  Samuel 
K..  flagman  on  local  freight,  Pennsylvania  railroad;  .Xrthur  U..  at  Cettvsburg 
College ;  Edith  B.,  John  W.,  at  home ;  Helen,  at  home  ;  (ieorge  A.,  Jr.,  at  home. 

I'.EXJ.XMIX    F.   SHAFFER,   whose  varied   and  extensive  business 
interests  make  him  one  of  the  leading  business  men  of  Ligonier,  was  born  in; 


414 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


.Donegal  township,  Wcstmorelancl  county,  December  26,  1857.  It  is  definitely 
known  that  his  great-grandparents  were  residents  of  that  township  and  there 
occurred  the  birtn  of  his  grandfather,  Adam  Shaffer,  who  spent  his  entire  life 
there  devoting  liis  attention  to  the  cultivation  and  improvement  of  his  farm. 
He  married  a  Miss  Bierly,  and  their  children  were :  William  ;  John ;  Henry  ; 
Susan,  the  wife  of  Joseph  Faust;  Mary,  wife  of  E.  P.  Fry:  Christinna,  wife  of 
Jacob  Harr ;  Nancy,  wife  of  Rev.  John  Welfly ;  and  Julia,  wife  of  Jona- 
than Hay. 

William  Shaffer,  son  of  Adam  Shaffer,  was  born  in  Donegal  township,  in 
1833,  was  reared  to  farm  life,  and  always  followed  agricultural  pursuits.  He 
married  Susan  Weimer  and  they  had  .eight  chiklren :  B.  F. ;  Elizabeth,  who 
died  in  infancy;  Christinna,  deceased  wife  of  Michael  Conroy ;  James;  Nelson 
\V-.,  a  miller  in  Somerset  county,  Pennsylvania;  Edward  B.,  who  is  engaged  in 
partnership  in  the  lumber  and  coal  business  with  his  brother  in  Ligonier ; 
Emerson,  a  farmer  and  dealer  in  lumber  in  Donegal  township  ;  and  John  R.,  a 
farmer  of  Mount  Pleasant  township,  Westmoreland  county. 

Benjamin  F.  Shaffer  is  indebted  to  the  public  schools  of  his  native  county 
for  the  educational  privileges  which  equipped  him  for  his  business  career. 
He  was  reared  to  farm  life  under  the  parental  roof,  and  assisted  in  the  opera- 
tion of  the  home  farm  until  twenty-one  years  of  age.  He  also  carried  the  mail 
from  Jones'  Mill  to  Somerset,  Pennsylvania,  and  on  attaining  his  majority  he 
.began  farming  on  his  own  account,  in  Donegal  township,  on  land  belonging 
to  his  father-in-law.  This  he  continued  to  cultivate  and  improve  for  three 
years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  purchased  a  farm  in  Donegal  township, 
located  on  the  Four  Mile  Run  and  known  as  a  part  of  the  John  Porch  farm. 
There  he  remained  for  twenty  years,  and  gave  his  attention  to  the  tilling  of 
the  soil  in  connection  with  dealing  in  stock.  Subsequently  he  removed  tL. 
-Ligonier  and  purchased  an  estate  on  which  he  has  since  built  several  houses 
and  made  extensive  improvements.  He  also  owns  a  farm  near  the  borough 
line  of  Ligonier,  which  he  is  also  engaged  in  operating.  He  is  likewise  en- 
.gaged  in  the  coal  trade,  which  he  is  conducting  under  the  name  of  the  Smith 
Coal  Company,  and  he  is  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  lumber,  operating  a 
portable  saw  mill.  Tn  July,  1904,  he  and  his  brother  Edward  purchased  the 
lumber  yard  of  J.  W.  Ambrose  and  have  since  carried  on  business  there  under 
the  firm  name  of  B.  F.  Shaffer  &  Brother.  Mr.  Shaffer  has  thus  inaugurated 
and  managed  a  number  of  successful  business  ventures,  which  not  only  con- 
tribute to  his  individual  prosperity  but  also  promote  the  general  welfare,  by 
.advancing  industrial  and  commercial  activity  in  the  borough.  He  is  a  very 
active  member  of  the  Lutheran  church,  and  his  labors  and  financial  support 
have  been  an  important  factor  in  its  upbuilding.  He  married  Laura  C.  Craw- 
ford, a  daughter  of  Alexander  and  Margaret  Crawford,  of  Donegal  township, 
and  they  became  the  parents  of  four  children,  one  of 'whom  died  in  infancy. 
The  others  are  Ida  C,  the  wife  of  Ralph  Erwin,  of  Ligonier;  Norman  L.  and 
Margaret  May,  both  at  home. 

EDWARD  B.  SHAFFER,  born' in  Donegal  township,  March  2, 
1872,  acquired  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of  Westmoreland  county, 
and  in  early  life  began  work  on  the  home  farm,  being  thus  employed  until 
seventeen  years  of  age,  when  he  began  delivering  coal  from  McKeesport  Land- 
ing. He  was  thus  engaged  for  about  seven  years,  and  for  five  years  he  was 
connected  with  the  saw  mill  business.  He  then  purchased  a  farm  at  Jones' 
Mill  and  devoted  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits  for  two  vears,  on  the 
•expiration  of  which  period  he  returned  to  Ligonier  and  joined  liis  brother  in 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  415 

the  lumber  and  coal  business.  They  have  accjuired  a  good  patronage  and  are 
now  conducting  a  successful  business.  He  is  a  member  of  the  iMethodist 
Episcopal  church  at  Ligonier.  He  married  .\ettie  Ringler,  a  daughter  of 
James  and  Elizabeth  Ringler,  of  Donegal  township,  Westmoreland  county. 
She  died  August   11.  1903,  leaving  a  son,  Loren  W'.,  born  November  2,  1892. 

JOHX  P.  KILGORE,  a  member  of  the  Kilgore  Bottling  Company, 
of  Greensburg,  one  of  the  leading  industries  of  that  section  of  \\  estmorelantl 
county,  traces  his  ancestry  to  James  Kilgore,  who  was  of  Scotch-Irish  de- 
scent, and  came  from  his  birthplace  in  Ireland  to  the  Cumberland  \-alley  in 
Pennsylvania  before  1740. 

Captain  David  Plilgore,  son  of  James  Kilgore,  the  immigrant,  was  born  [ 
in    Cumberland    county,    Pennsylvania,    in    1745,    removed    to    Westmoreland 
county  before  the  revolutionary  war  and  in   1776  was  commissioned  captainj 
of  a  company  in  the  Eighth  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Line.     He  sold  a  valua- 
ble mill   property   for   money  with   which   to  clothe   his   company   and   never 
asked   or    received   any    compensation     from     the     government.      He     served  1 
throughout  the  war,  returneil  home,  and  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  many 
years.      He  owned  three  large   farms   in   Westmoreland   and   several   more  inj 
Indiana  county.     He  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.    He  married 
Sarah    Mickey,  of  Cumberland   county,  and  they   had   seven  sons  and   three 
daughters.     He  died  July   11,   1814,  and  his  widow  died  December   14,   1830, 
aged  eighty-six  years. 

John  Kilgore,  son  of  Captain  David  and  Sarah  (Mickey)  Kilgore,  born  I 
in  1777,  died  November  22,  1847.  He  was  a  successful  farmer,  a  staunch  | 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  a  loyal  adherent  of  Democratic  prin-  I 
ciples.  He  married  Xancy  Hunter,  born  in  Irelantl,  February  2,  1772,  died 
December  22,  1852,  daughter  of  Alexander  Hunter,  and  a  descendant  of  a  I 
Scotch-Irish  ancestry.  Their  children  were:  i.  Jesse,  born  September  9, 
1808,  deceased.  He  taught  school  three  terms,  next  conducted  a  store  for  two 
years,  and  then  turned  his  attention  to  farming  in  Hempfield  township.  He 
served  as  justice  of  the  peace  in  1845,  '^^'as  re-elected  in  1887,  and  from  1858 
to  i860  held  the  office  of  county  treasurer.  He  was  a  memlier  of  the  Presbv- 
terian  cjuirch  for  over  sixty  years,  and  a  Democrat  in  politics.  He  married 
(first),  February  12,  1835,  Mary  Poorman,  and  their  children  were:  Xancy, 
died  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years ;  Louisa  C,  married  Joseph  J.  Johnston,  de- 
ceased, who  practiced  law  in  Greensburg;  John  P.,  a  merchant  at  George  Sta- 
tion, married  IVlargaret  Long:  and  Mary,  wife  of  James  Perry,  of  Pittsburg. 
Jesse  Kilgore  married  (second)  Mary  Gilchrist.  2.  David,  born  .April  15, 
1810.  died  September,  1851.  He  married  Emily  G.  Kinkaid,  April  8.  1845, 
and  their  children  were:  William  .Alexander,  ijorn  January  18.  1846,  mar- 
ried Annie  Cope,  and  they  were  drowned  with  their  three  children  in  the 
Johnstown  flood:  Anna  Burrell,  born  July  24.  1847.  married  Frank  Jack,  of 
Pe£)ria,  Illinois;  she  died  January  6,  1905:  David  Hunter,  bom  Mav  10,  1849, 
died  January  21,  1884,  married  Sarah  M.  Jjorlin,  daughter  of  James  Purlin, 
and  they  had  two  children,  a  son  who  died  in  infancx-  and  David  Kinkaid  : 
John  Pressley,  bom  Xovember  10,  185 1.  met  his  death  in  Xovember  1S68,  on 
the  Pennsylvania  railroarl,  while  in  tlie  discharge  of  his  duties  as  passenger 
brakcman.  3.  John,  born  September  12,  181  r,  deceased.  4.  Alexander, 
born  August  10,  1813,  mentioned  later.  5.  .Xancy,  born  Januarv  9,  1816, 
deceased. 

Alexander  Kilgore.  fourth  son  of  John  and  Xancv  (Hunter)  Kilgore,  born 
August  10,  1813,  died  January  12,  1881.    He  was  elected  sherifif  of  Westmore 


"\ 


4i6  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

land  county  in  1871,  which  uffice  he  served  faithfully  the  three  following  years. 
He  married  Elizabeth  Fulwood,  died  September  1900,  daughter  of  David  Ful- 
wood,  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania.  Their  children  were:  i.  David  Ful- 
-'wood,  born  1856,  died  April  I,  1904.  He  married  Elizabeth  Highberger, 
daughter  of  John  H.  Highberger,  of  Greensburg,  and  their  children  were : 
John  Alexander,  David  Fulwood.  Richard  Pollard,  Elizabeth,  Jerome,  Don- 
ald. 2.  Nancy,  married  A.  j\I.  Sloan,  a  sketch  of  whom  appears  elsewhere 
in  this  work.  3.  Gertrude,  married  George  McCIellan  Kilgore,  of  Port 
Washington,  Ohio,  deceased.  4.  Elizabeth,  married  Harr\-  H.  hlsher,  a 
sketch  of  whom  appears  elsewhere  in  this  work.  5.  John  P.,  mentioned 
later.       6.  Alexander. 

John  P.  Kilgore,  second  son  of  Alexander  and  Elizabeth  (Fulwood)  Kil- 
gore, was  born  in  Ludwick,  now  Greensburg,  June  18,  1868.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  the  old  academy,  and  for  the  past  eight  years  has  been  a  member  of 
the  Kilgore  Bottling  Company,  of  Greensburg,  which  enterprise  he  has  man- 
aged most  successfully.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Greens- 
burg, and  a  staunch  Democrat  in  politics.  Pie  is  a  man  of  sterling  principles 
and  commands  the  respect  of  all  who  know  him.  He  married  Ada  Kuhn, 
daughter  of  Frank  B.  Kuhn,  of  Mount  Pleasant  township,  and  their  children 
are:  Robert  Alexander,  born  Marcli  10,  1895;  Helen  Pauline,  and  Rebecca 
Louise. 

HARRY  C.  WILSON.  The  parents  of  Harry  C.  Wilson,  of  Avon- 
more,  are  Perry  B.  and  Sarah  Wilson,  both  natives  of  Fayette  county.  .Mr. 
Wilson  was  a  cooper  by  trade  and  a  good  mechanic.  He  is  an  old  resident 
of  Fayette  county,  and  has  now  retired  from  active  labor.  He  and  his  wife 
are  the  parents  of  four  sons  and  two  daughters :  Lizzie,  wife  of  William 
Henry,  now  deceased;  Media,  at  home;  Abram  C.,  Harry  C.,  mentioned  here- 
inafter; Chester  R.,  born  September  i,  1873,  i"  Fayette  county,  came  in  1895 
to  Avonmore,  and  holds  the  office  of  notary  public ;  and  Charles  Z. 

Harry  C.  Wilson,  son  of  Perry  B.  and  Sarah  Wilson,  was  born  in  187 1.  in 
Fayette  county,  where  he  received  a  common  school  education.  In  1892  lie 
went  to  Avonmore,  where  he  purchased  the  Commercial  Hotel,  which  he  con- 
ducted until  1895,  when  he  disposed  of  the  same.  In  1899,  in  partnership 
with  his  brother,  Chester  R.,  he  embarked  in  the  hardware  business  in  Avon- 
more  ;  under  the  firm  name  of  Wilson  Brothers.  The  connection  was  main- 
tained until  1901,  when  Mr.  Wilson  sold  his  interest  and  his  brother  now  car- 
ries on  the  business  alone.  In  1902  Mr.  Wilson  erected  the  Wilson  Hotel,  of 
which  he  has  since  been  the  successful  proprietor.  It  is  built  on  the  most 
modern  plan  and  furnished  in  the  most  complete  and  artistic  manner,  its  lodg- 
ing capacity  comprising  thirty  rooms.  It  is  a  brick  structure  and  its  entire 
cost,  including  furniture,  was  twenty  thousand  dollars.  Mr.  Wilson  was  one 
of  the  organizers  and  is  director  and  treasurer  of  the  Avonmore  Cemetery 
Company.  Mr.  Wilson  married  .\nnie  Hudson,  daughter  of  James  R.  Hud- 
son, of  Saltsburg,  Penn.sylvania.  and  one  child  has  been  born  to  them,  a 
daughter,  named  Ruth  E. 

WHITESELL  FAMILY.  The  numerous  and  well  known  race  rep- 
resented by  J.  F.  and  Harry  W.  Whitesell,  both  of  Salina.  \yas  planted  in  this 
country  by  John  Whitesell.  a  native  of  Germany,  who  settled  in  Northampton 
county,  but  later  migrated  to  Westmoreland,  taking  up  his  abode  in  Alle- 
gheny township.  He  and  his  wife,  who  was  a  native  of  Holland,  were  the 
parents  of  three  sons:     John,  mentioned  hereinafter;  Jonathan,  and   Philip. 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUXTV.  .    417 

lohn  Whitesell,  son  of  John  Whitcsell,  ihc  ciingrant,  was  born  in  1788, 
in  W'estmoreland  countv,  and  became  a  farmer  of  some  importance,  ownmg 
one  hundred  and  thirty  acres.  He  also  drove  a  four-horse  wagon  between 
i'ittsburg.  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore,  often  passing  the  night  on  the  road 
and  jleepmg  in  the  wagon.  His  wife  was  Catharine  Clawson,  born  m  1782, 
in  Bell  township,  and  their  children  were :  Isaac,  Mary  A.,  James,  Eliza 
Ellen,  lonathan,  Susanna,  Peter,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  and  .\le.Kander.  Of 
lliis  number  Jonathan  only  survives.    Mr.  Whitesell  died  in  1875. 

Peter  Whitesell,  son  of  John  and  Catharine  (Clawson)  Whitesell,  was 
born  in  1830.  in  Bell  township,  where  he  was  reared  and  educated.  In  early 
vouth  he  learned  the  blacksmith's  trade,  which  he  followed  at  Perrysville  where 
he  owned  a  small  farm.  In  1877  he  moved  to  Salina,  where  he  purchased  some 
village  property.  He  married  Xancy  J.,  daughter  of  John  and  Charlotte  Muf- 
fley,"and  their  children  were:  J.  P.,  see  forward;  Harry  W.,  see  forward;  W. 
J.,' see  forward;  G.  L.,  see  forward;  Laura  B.,  deceased;  and  Lillie  P.,  wife  of 
W.  R.  Carnahan. 

J.  F.  Whitesell,  son  of  Peter  and  Xancy  J.  (Muliley)  Whitesell,  was  born 
April  9.  1861,  at  Perrvsville,  where  he  was  educated  in  the  common  schools. 
About  1879  he  w-as  employed  as  clerk,  agent  and  general  manager  for  the 
store  and  office  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  at  Salina,  and  in  1883, 
when  the  station  was  moved  to  its  present  site,  he  took  entire  charge.  This  po- 
sition he  still  retains.  For  ten  years  he  held  the  office  of  township  treasurer, 
was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  for  one  term,  and  is  now  serving  as  school 
director.  Mr.  Whitesell  married  in  1887,  Matilda  C.  Anderson,  and  their  chil- 
dren were:    Howard  A.,  Frank  E.  L.,  Marion  G.,  Hazel  M.,  and  Ruth  I. 

Harry  \\'.  Whitesell,  son  of  Peter  and  Xancy  J.  (Muffley)  Whitesell,  was 
born  December  9,  1864,  at  Perrysville,  where  he  received  a  common  school  edu- 
cation. At  an  early  age  he  was  employed  by  the  Keir  Brothers  at  their  fire- 
brick plant  at  Salina,  and  in  1889  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  superintend- 
ent. The  output  at  that  time  was  eight  thousand  bricks  daily.  The  capacity 
has  now  risen  to  thirty  thousand  and  is  still  increasing.  Tlie  force  of  men 
employed  is  one  hundred  and  fifteen.  Like  his  brother,  Mr.  Whitesell  has 
held  the  office  of  school  director.  Mr.  Whitesell  married  in  1880,  Ann.  daugh- 
ter of  George  .\lmes,  and  they  have  one  son,  Charles  F.  Whitesell. 

W.  J.  Whitesell,  son  of  Peter  and  Xancy  J.  (r^Iuffley)  Whitesell,  was 
horn  in  1870,  and  is  in  the  .service  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company. 
He  married  Lizzie  Barker,  and  their  cliildrcn  are:  Verne,  Lisle,  Mildred, 
Gladys  and  Cari. 

G.  L.  Whitesell.  son  of  Peter  and  Xancy  J.  (Muffley)  Whitesell,  was  born 
in  1874.  and  is  assistant  superintendent  of  the  Keir  fire-brick  works.  He 
married  Margaret  Xixon.  and  four  children  have  been  born  to  them:  Ruhat, 
Bertha,  Dwight  and  Margaret. 

GEORGE  W.  HL'EY,  a  prosperous  and  influential  business  man 
of  Greensbur'g,  whose  fine  stone  residence,  Ross  Place,  named  in  memory  of 
Lord  Ross,  is  located  on  East  Pittsburg  street,  is  a  native  of  Fayette  county, 
Pennsylvania,  born  June  18,  1839,  a  son  of  John  and  Hester  Anna  (Slemmcns) 
Huey,  and  grandson  of  Robert  and  Isabelle  Ross  Huey,  who  came  to  this 
country  from  L'eland  in  1790,  and  who  were  related  to  the  nobles  of  Ireland, 
the  latter  named  having  been  a  connection  of  Lord  Ross.  They  endured  the 
privations  and  rlangers  to  life  from  wild  aniinals  incident  to  a  pioneer  settle- 
ment, they  having  taken   up  tlieir  abode  upon  their  arrival  here  at  the  foot 

2-27 


4i8  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

of  Chestnut  Ridge,  in  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania.  The  grandmother  of 
George  W.  Huev  had  one  encounter  with  a  bear  which  had  captured  a  pig 
from^the  sty;  she  followed  it  among  the  rocks  with  an  axe  for  a  weapon  and 
compelled  it  to  give  up  its  prey. 

John  Huey  (father)  was  born  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  and  when  three 
years  old  was  'brought  by  his  parents  to  this  country,  they  settling  as  afore- 
said in  Fayette  conntv,  near  Mount  Vernon.  He  married  Hester  Anna  Slem- 
mens,  daughter  of  John  Slemmens,  who  was  a  soldier  in  the  revolutionary 
war,  was  taken  prisoner  on  board  a  man-of-war,  and  their  provisions  being 
scarce  the  prisoners  were  allowed  to  swim  to  an  island  to  procure  water- 
melons, the  officers  not  thinking  that  any  would  attempt  to  swim  the  dis- 
tance to  the  other  shore,  which  was  three  miles.  Mr.  Slemmens  and  another 
prisoner  made  the  attempt,  but  when  half-way  across  the  other  man  turned 
back  but  Mr.  Slemmens  kept  on  and  gained  his  liberty.  George  Huey,  brother 
of  Robert  Huey,  served  throughout  the  entire  period  of  the  war  of  1812,  filling 
the  office  of  captain,  and  for  the  remainder  of  his  life  received  a  pension  for 
his  services. 

George  W.  Huey,  son  of  John  and  Hester  Anna  (Slemmens)  Huey,  re- 
ceived his  education  in  the  common  schools  near  Pennsville,  Pennsylvania, 
which  he  attended  until  he  was  twenty  years  of  age.  For  a  number  of  years 
thereafter  he  was  engaged  in  teaching  school,  a  vocation  for  which  he  was 
thoroughly  qualified,  and  then  turned  his  attention  to  the  trade  of  papering  and 
painting,  at  which  he  worked  as  a  contractor  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  after 
which  he  opened  a  paint,  paper,  and  glass  store  on  his  own  account,  which 
he  has  successfullv  conducted  up  to  the  present  time  (1905),  and  which  yields 
him  a  goodly  profit  in  return  for  labor  expended.  On  August  4,  1864,  during 
the  process  of  the  civil  war,  he  enlisted  in  Company  K,  Eleventh  Regiment, 
Minnesota  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  received  an  honorable  discharge  at  the 
close  of  the  war  in  the  city  of  St.  Paul,  Minnesota.  Mr.  Huey  married.  July 
16,  1868,  Sabina  Althea  Cooper,  born  March  26,  1848,  in  Connelsville,  Fayette 
county,  Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  Alford  and  Catherine  (Freeman)  Cooper, 
granddaughter  of  Edmund  Freeman,  who  served  through  the  war  of  1812,  and 
great-great-granddaughter  of  Captain  Wetzell,  who  served  through  the  war 
of  therevolutlon.  Their  children  are  as  follows :  Thomas  J.,  deceased  ;  Ben- 
jamin F..  deceased;  Maude,  deceased;  George  C,  deceased;  Catharine  Blanche, 
a  graduate  and  post-graduate  of  Mount  Pleasant  Institute  of  Music ;  and  Al- 
thea Fern,  a  student  at  the  same  school,  from  which  she  expects  to  graduate 
in  1906. 

KUHX  FAMILY.  Adam  Kuhn,  a  retired  merchant  of  near  Cla- 
ridge.  lives  on  the  farm  that  is  the  southern  limit  of  what  was  Penn's  Manor, 
being  a  part  of  the  five  thousand  or  more  acres  granted  to  William  Penn  by 
the  King  of  England.  The  Kuhn  family  have  contributed  to  the  church  eight 
ministers  and  twenty-one  elders.  Adam  Kuhn  traces  his  ancestry  back  to 
the  year  1700,  when  Adam  Kuhn,  an  ancestor,  was  born  in  the  city  of  Am- 
sterdam. At  the  age  of  forty  he  married  a  lady  in  Holland  named  Eve.  and 
immigrated  to  America,  settling  in  New  Jersey.  His  children  were  Nicholas, 
Mansfield,  Michael,  and  one  daughter,  Mary. 

]\lansfield  Kuhn,  son  of  Adam  Kuhn,  was  a  soldier  and  died  in  the  revnln- 
tionarv  war.  He  had  five  sons  and  three  daughters,  whose  names  were  Archi- 
bald, Adam.  Samuel,  David,  John,  Eve,  Alary  and  Nancy. 

Adam  Kuhn,  son  of  IVlansfield  Kuhn,  was  a  man  of  considerable  literary 
abilitv  and  a   retrular  contributor  for  manv  years  to  the  journal  now  known 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  419 

as  the  "Presbyterian  Banner."  He  was  a  devout  member  of  the  I'resbyterian 
church,  in  wliich  for  years  he  served  as  ruling  elder,  and  the  community  hi 
which  he  lived  felt  his  christian  influence  at  all  times,  as  he  was  an  indefali- 
:gable  worker  in  the  cause  of  Christianity.  His  family  consisted  of  the  follow- 
Tng  children :  Adam  a  banker,  at  Wellsburgh.  \'irginia ;  David,  who  lived  at 
the  old  homestead  near  Alpsville  on  the  Youghiogheny  river ;  James,  a  noted 
Tiieniber  of  the  I'ittsburg  bar,  formerly  professor  of  languages  at  Lafayette 
College;  John,  a  physician  at  McKeesport,  and  Anne,  who  was  Mrs.  Sampson, 
■of  Sampson's  Mills. 

David  Kuhn,  son  of  Adam  Kuhn,  lived  to  the  age  of  ninety-three  years  ;  he 
died-August,  1895.  His  wife  was  Jane  Caven,  daughter  of  Major  William 
Caven,  well  and  favorably  known  in  Allegheny  ctnmty,  having  been  sheriff, 
and  for  manv  years  superintendent  of  the  Pittsburg  and  Philadelphia  turn- 
pike, an  important  highway  at  that  early  date,  before  the  advent  of  railroads. 
Their  family  comprised  five  sons  and  one  daughter:  Adam,  William,  James, 
Edwin,  Robert  and  Sarah. 

Adam  Kuhn,  son  of  David  Kuhn,  was  born  in  Parsales  township,  Alle- 
ghenv  county,  1834.  He  conducted  a  variety  store  in  Altoona  for  a  number 
of  vears,  is  now  retired  and  lives  on  a  farm  at  Claridge.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Presbyterian  church,  and  a  Republican  in  politics.  He  married.  Septem- 
ber 21,  1865,  Emline  Wilson,  at  the  old  Wilson  homestead  near  Clarion,  Clarion 
countv.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Colonel  John  McConnell  and  Ruth  (Go- 
lieen)  Wilson.  Both  her  paternal  and  maternal  grandfathers  were  pioneer 
settlers  of  that  region,  having  come  there  about  the  year  1800,  when  it  was 
all  a  wilderness  and  infested  with  Indians.  Robert  Wilson  was  the  father 
■of  John  Wilson,  and  his  was  the  second  marriage  in  that  settlement.  He  mar- 
ried Sarah  McCtjnnell,  who  was  noted  for  her  beauty  as  well  as  for  her  graces 
.as  a  wife,  mother,  and  housekeeper.  Robert  and  Sarah  \\'ilson  had  nine  chil- 
dren, five  sons  and  four  daughters :  Samuel,  John,  Stewart,  David,  Robert, 
Elizabeth,  Jane,  Nancy  and  Mary  Ann.  About  the  year  1822  Robert  Wilson 
took  the  only  newspaper  in  the  country ;  his  son  John  was  a  good  reader  and 
read  the  news  often,  on  evenings,  to  the  neighbors,  at  the  hospitable  home 
of  the  \\'ilsons.  John  lived  all  his  life  of  more  than  sixtv  years  at  the  old 
homestead.  His  brothers  and  sisters  all  settled  in  that  neighborhood,  and 
their  descendants  are  now  good,  influential  citizens  of  the  community,  and  the 
second  one  of  the  family  is  now  presiding  judge  of  the  court  there. 

Adam  and  Emline  (Wilson)  Kuhn,  of  Claridge,  have  four  children:  i. 
David  Wilson,  born  November  6,  1866,  is  an  alumnus  of  Ohio  University. 
He  studied  law  with  Honorable  D.  J.  NefT,  of  Altoona.  He  practiced  law  in 
Knoxville,  Tennessee,  for  a  few  years,  and  for  five  years  has  been  a  member 
of  the  Pittsburgh  bar,  his  office  being  at  No.  615  Bakewell  building.  He 
married,  September  26,  1896.  at  her  home  in  Brewer,  Maine,  Miss  Antoinette 
Golay.  who  through  her  mother  is  related  to  Clara  Barton,  of  the  Red  Cross 
society.  Her  father,  a  native  of  Geneva,  Switzerland,  came  over  during  the 
civil  war  to  help  the  colored  people  regain  their  freedom.  Miss  Barton  found 
him  wounded  in  a  hospital  in  Washington,  took  him  to  her  own  home  to  be 
nursed,  where  he  met  and  married  her  niece.  In  this  family  there  are  two 
daughters — Katherine  Golay  and  Ruth  Wilson.  2.  Helen,  born  May  17,  \SC)C), 
is  an  accomplished  graduate  of  Hollidaysburg  Seminary.  Siie  speaks  Ger- 
man and  Erencli  as  well  as  English,  and  has  traveled  considerabh-  in  her 
own  country  and  in  Europe.  3.  Harry  Addison,  Ijorn  Se])tember  3,  1871. 
is  a  graduate  of  the  Pennsylvania  State  College.  He  is  a  civil  engineer  of 
some  experiei|ce.   and   is,  with   his  brother,  extensively   engaged   in   the   coal 


420  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

business.  His  office  is  at  No.  6i6  Frick  Uuikling,  Pittsburg.  He  married  in 
Pbiladelphia,  June  20,  1904,  Agnes  Sweeny.  4.  Emily,  born  April  13,  1874, 
took  the  library  course  at  the  Drexel  Institute,  Philadelphia.  She  assisted. 
in  organizing  the  library  of  Alexandria,  Pennsylvania.  She  organized  the  Car- 
negie Library  at  Oakmont ;  was  elected  librarian  at  jMcKeesport.  She  organ- 
ized the  librarv  there  and  remained  in  it  for  one  year. 

JOHN  L.  ARMBRUST,  of  Amibrust,  Westmoreland  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, son  of  William  and  Margaret  Gongaware  Armbrust,  was  born  at 
Old  Stanton,  Pennsylvania,  one  mile  north  of  the  present  New  Stanton,  De- 
cember 26,  1858. 

His  paternal  grandfather,  John  Armbrust,  was  born  in  Germany,  and  came 
to  the  United  States  on  board  the  second  German  ship  that  ever  sailed  from 
that  Empire  to  this  country,  which  took  thirteen  weeks  to  make  the  trip, 
landing  in  Philadelphia.  He  was  a  printer  by  trade  and  edited  a  German 
newspaper  at  Greensburg,  known  as  the  "Star  of  the  West,"  it  being  the 
only  German  newspaper  ever  published  in  Westmoreland  county ;  a  copy  of 
this  paper  is  still  in  the  hands  of  J.  L.  Armbrust.  He  afterward  became  editor 
of  the  "True  Democrat,"  which  was  devoted  to  the  interests  of  that  party. 
He  was  a  well  educated  man  and  taught  German  schools  in  the  county  for 
several  years.  He  was  a  Lutheran  by  persuasion,  and  never  neglected  any 
duty  which  he  thought  belonged  to  him  to  perform.  His  wife  was  Cathrine 
Shatler,  whom  he  married  in  (jermany,  to  whom  was  born  nine  children : 
Cathrine  and  Regina,  born  in  Germnay  ;  Elizabeth,  John,  Jacob,  Daniel.  Wil- 
liam, Michael  and  Mary  Ann,  all  born  in  Westmoreland  county.  William 
Armbrust  (father)  was  born  in  a  log  house  which  stood  adjacent  to  the  site  of 
Ackerman's  music  store  at  Greensburg.  All  of  the  above  family  are  now  de- 
ceased, excepting  Jacob,  of  south  of  Greensburg,  and  Michael,  of  INIyersdale, 
Somerset  county,  Pennsylv.ania,  all  of  which  lived  past  three  score  years  and 
ten. 

William  Armbrust  (father)  was  born  January  4,  1818.  and  learned  the 
trade  of  cabinetmaking  with  a  man  by  the  name  of  Henry  Miller  in  Greens- 
burg. He  followed  his  trade  at  Adamsburg  and  New  Stanton,  now  Old 
Stanton,  till  i860,  when  he  removed  to  Weavers  Old  Stand,  or  I  might  say, 
Armbrust  village,  as  Weaver's  Old  Stand  proper  is  situated  one-fourth  of  a 
mile  southeast  of  Armbrust,  along  the  clay  pike,  near  by  where  the  Greensburg 
and  Mount  Pleasant  road  crosses  the  pike.  When  he  moved  to  the  present 
Armbrust  village  he  purchased  an  old  log  grist  mill,  which  had  port  holes  in 
that  were  used  in  fighting  the  Indians ;  there  was  also  an  old  up  and  down 
saw  mill  adjacent,  and  these  were  both  run  by  water  power  from  the  Big 
Sewickley  creek.  Several  dams  were  built  by  his  father,  as  the  high  water 
would  sometimes  take  the  dams  away.  He  ran  these  mills  night  and  day  for 
many  years,  and  he  also  bought  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  acres  adja- 
cent. There  he  erected  a  new  frame  grist  mill  and  purchased  new  portable  saw 
mills,  which  he  operated  over  the  country.  He  sold  part  of  the  farm  afterwards 
to  H.  F.  Rumbaugh.  now  deceased.  His  trade  in  the  mill  and  lumber  business 
was  quite  extensive.  He  was  appointed  postmaster  under  the  Republican 
administration  in  time  of  the  late  war.     He  was  a  Lutheran. 

He  married,  April  7,  1842,  Margaret  Gongaware,  daughter  of  Jonas  and 
Christena  (Neighly)  Gongaware.  of  near  Adamsburg.  an  old  pioneer  settler 
of  Westmoreland  county.  To  this  union  have  been  born  four  sons  and  four 
daughters:  Lewis  F.,  now  of  Greensburg:  Jonas  W.,  of  Armbrust;  Daniel  W., 
died  in  infancy;  Mary  Jane,  wife  of  C.  E.   Kelly,  of  East  PiJ:tsburg;   .Sarah 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  421 

E..  wife  of  Allen  Wright,  formerly  of  Armbrust,  now  of  St.  Jclni,  Kansas; 
Alice  Christina,  wife  of  Eli  Peterson,  of  Armbrust ;  John  L.,  of  Armbrust,  see 
forward:  and  Emma  Lydia,  wife  of  J.  L.  !\Iiller,  formerly  of  Armljrnst,  now  of 
Radabaugh's  Station. 

John  L.  .-\rmbrust  received  a  common  school  education  in  the  district 
( Ruffs )  school,  and  was  employed  mostly  in  his  father's  grist  and  saw  mill 
and  in  farming  until  about  twenty-four  years  of  age.  He  worked  some  at 
photographing  .and  was  then  employed  by  Israel  Glunt,  of  Greensburg,  in 
the  piano  and  organ  business  for  several  years,  but  still  residing  at  Armbrust, 
his  home.  As  a  matter  of  honor  to  the  Armbrust"s,  the  postofifice  department 
changed  the  name  of  the  postoffice  from  Weavers  Old  Stand,  Pennsylvania, 
to  .-Xmibrust,  Pennsylvania,  bv  which  name  it  is  now  known.  The  only 
building  now  standing  which  was  there  at  the  time  when  William  Armbrust 
(father)  first  settled  there  is  the  old  log  building  or  Armbrust  homestead, 
now  owned  by  Mrs,  Uriel  Graves. 

T.  L.  Armbrust  enlisted  in  Company  I.  National  Guard  Pennsylvania, 
and  "served  five  years  under  the  captaincy  of  J.  'M.  Laird  and  J-  B.  Kenann, 
and  attended  the  inauguration  of  President  J.  A.  Garfield  during  that  term. 
.•\fter  working  several  years  for  Israel  Glunt  he  embarked  in  business  for  him- 
self, commencing  January  i,  1894,  and  has  since  built  up  a  good  trade  in  the 
piano,  organ  and  sewing  machine  business.  He  had  built  a  small  wareroom, 
which  soon  was  too  small  for  his  increasing  business,  and  he  then  built  a  large 
two  storv  frame  building  in  order  to  accommodate  his  trade.  On  December 
19,  1882,  he  was  married  to  Elizabeth  Emma  Graves,  daughter  of  Uriel  Graves, 
of  Xew  York  state,  who  was  a  Lutheran  minister  and  at  the  time  of  his  death 
was  preaching  at  Xorth  Folk,  and  to  this  union  was  added  three  children : 
Luther  Uriel,  at  present  employed  at  clerical  work  at  Youngwood,  Pennsyl- 
vania, for  Pennsvlvania  railroad  :  William  Heart,  deceased  :  Edna  Sarah,  at 
home.  In  politics  Mr.  Armbrust  has  ahva\s  been  conscientious,  voting  for  the 
man  in  preference  to  the  party,  and  although  leaning  toward  the  Republican 
partv  has  voted  for  men  on  the  Democratic  and  Prohibition  tickets,  using 
his  own  judgment.  He  used  his  mind  and  judgment  religiously,  and  in  De- 
cember, 1886,  united  with  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ  by  the  ordinance  of  bap- 
tism, administered  by  Elder  Allen  \\'right,  and  has  since  been  working  and 
identified  with  that  body :  their  faith  entirely  agrees  with  the  Jewish  .scrip- 
tures, they  being  firm  believers  in  a  primitive  restoration  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ. 

Elizabeth  Emma  ( Graves)  Armbrust"s  father,  although  a  minister,  had 
his  heart  set  on  the  love  of  his  country  as  well,  and  in  the  time  of  the  rebellion 
was  the  means  of  getting  more  volunteers  than  any  six  speakers  in  the  towns 
of  ( )rleans  and  Four  Corners.  Jefferson  county.  New  York,  where  he  was 
then  stationed.  His  enemies,  in  order  to  get  him  out  of  their  way.  caused 
him  to  be  drafted,  but  the  church  would  not  sulTer  him  to  go,  so  they  pur- 
chased for  him  a  substitute,  who  never  returned  home.  As  an  orator  he  was 
fine,  few  men  being  able  to  compete  with  him  and  none  excelling  him.  He 
came  to  Greensburg  in  1880  as  a  campaign  speaker  or  lecturer  for  the 
Greenback  party.  Afterwards  he  moved  his  family-  to  Greensburg  and  lived 
there  iust  one  vear :  in  that  year  he  edited  the  "National  Issue."  later  called 
the  "Evening  Star,"  now  called  the  "Evening  Press."  the  first  daily  pajier 
nublished  in  Green.sburg.  He  mnf'c  many  friends  evervwhere  he  went,  was  a 
loving  father,  a  true  friend  and  charitable  to  a  faiilt.  His  wife.  Lucinda  Strong, 
Graves,  was  a  farmer's  daughter;  John  Strong,  her  father,  went  from  IJurks 
county.  Pennsylvania,  with  his  parents  by  overland  route  to  what  v.as  then 


422  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

known  as  Canada  West,  now  Canada,  Ont..  it  taking  them  seven  weeks  to- 
make  the  trip.  They  took  with  them  their  three  children,  one  horse  and  two- 
cows.     John  Strong'died  at  the  age  of  ninety-nine;  his  wife  at  ninety-eight. 

PETER  H.  SAXMAN.  Among  the  Saxmans  of  Westmoreland' 
county,  whose  general  family  historp  appears  elsewhere  in  this  work,  is  one 
member  named  Peter  H.  Saxman,  whi  is  an  important  business  factor  in  his 
line  at  Latrobe,  where  he  has  the  esteem  of  the  entire  community.  He  was^ 
born  October  8,  1849,  on  the  Toner  farm,  adjoining  the  borough  of  Latrobe. 
He  descends  from  a  pioneer  and  American  ancestor.  Christian  Saxman.  The 
father  was  Joseph  Saxman,  born  August  21,  182 1.  The  place  of  his  birth  was 
about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  below  Latrobe,  on  the  Loyalhanna.  By  occupa- 
tion he  was  a  farmer  and  coal  dealer.  Julia  A.  Bollinger,  his  wife,  was  born 
November  13,  1823,  the  daughter  of  Frederick  Bollinger  and  wife.  The  Bol- 
lingers  were  from  a  noted  Millwright  family  of  York  county,  Pennsylvania. 
Joseph  Saxman  and  Julia  Bollinger  were  married  March  26,  1844.  He  was 
a  leading  member  in  the  Reformed  church,  and  voted  the  Republican  ticket 
from  the  first  inception  of  that  political  party.  He  died  January  15,  1862,  in 
Latrobe. 

rVter  H.  Saxman.  son  of  Joseph  and  Julia  (Bollinger)  Saxman,  ob- 
tained a  good  common  school  education,  for  the  date  of  his  schooling,  but  on 
account  of  the  long  distance  which  he  had  to  go  to  attend  the  schools,  as  well 
as  the  inferior  grade  of  such  schools,  his  education  was  necessarily  limited. 
His  father  died  when  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age,  and  he  could  not  attend 
school  thereafter,  but  by  hard  study  at  home,  whenever  an  opportunity  i^re- 
senttd  itself,  he  got  a  fairly  good  education.  While  yet  a  youth  he  began  the 
carpenter's  trade,  working  under  a  veteran  carpenter  and  builder,  Benjamin 
P.  Simpson.  After  mastering  the  trade  he  contracted  and  built  some  of  the 
best  houses  in  and  about  Latrobe.  at  the  same  time  dealing  c[uite  extensively 
in  building  lumber,  farm  machinery,  engines,  wagons,  buggies,  etc.  Through 
good  business  management  he  has  built  up  a  lucrative  trade  and  now  owns 
considerable  valuable  property  in  Latrobe,  where  he  resides,  and  still  operates 
in  the  implement  business.  He  is  also  a  stockholder  in  the  Citizens  NatiomI 
Bank  of  Latrobe.  In  politics  Mr.  Saxman  is  thoroughly  a  Republican.  His 
first  vote  was  cast  for  General  V.  S.  Grant  for  president,  and  he  has  sup- 
ported every  Republican  presidential  nominee  ever  since.  He  has  been  an 
elder  and  deacon  in  the  Latrobe  Reformed  church  for  many  years.  In  frater- 
nal matters  he  is  counted  among  the  worthy  members  of  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  He  was  married  January  28,  1880,  to  L.  May  Helling, 
the  ceremony  taking  place  in  the  Reformed  church  at  Latrobe.  They  had  one 
son,  Clarence  M.  Saxman,  born  December  14,  1880. 

TALLMAN  FAMILY.  The  first  American  ancestor  of  the  Tallman 
family  of  Ligonier  valley  was  John  Tallman,  who  came  from  Wales  shortly 
before  the  Revolutionary  war.  Fie  served  in  the  Revolution,  and  having  taken 
up  land  near  Shamokin,  Pennsylvania,  sold  it  and  was  paid  for  it  in  Continen- 
tal money,  which  he  lost  because  of  its  depression  in  value.  From  Sha- 
moken  he  removed  to  Franklin  connty  and  purchased  property  near  Mercers- 
burg.  While  there  he  operated  a  flouring  mill,  selling  the  flour  in  Baltimore, 
his  son  Isaac  taking  chartre  of  the  transportation  and  sale  of  the  flour.  He 
was  married  to  Dorothy  Ely. 

John  Tallman  and  Dorothy  (Ely)  Tallman  had  a  son  named  Isaac,  as  indi- 
cated above,  who  was  born  in  Franklin  county.  January  20,  1785.  and  came  tf> 


-^  V-  ^AlA 


V  C-A>^^C-C^t_  . 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUXTY.  423 

Westmoreland  couiitv  in  1816,  purchasing  lands  near  Youngstown.  L'nii\- 
township.  Isaac  married  lilary  Mears.  in  1822.  She  was  born  in  Westmore- 
land county,  in  1800.  Isaac  biiilt  a  log  house  on  this  land  in  1820  and  moved 
into  it  when  he  was  married  (1822).  There  they  lived  the  remainder  of  their 
days.  Isaac  being  engagetl  in  farming.  He  died  November  22,  1851.  His  wife, 
Marv  Mears.  was  the  daughter  of  a  revolutionary  soldier,  who  was  in  the  battle 
of  Bunker  Hill  and  afterward  served  through  the  war.  She  died  Ishiy  16, 
1861-     Both  are  buried  in  Unity  churchyard. 

Tohn  Tallman.  of  Ligonicr  valley,  was  a  son  of  Isaac  Tallman.  and  was  iiorn 
on  tiie  Tallman  farm  near  Youngstown,  August  12.  1827.  Succeeding  to  the 
lands  of  his  father,  he  has  spent  his  hfe  mainly  as  a  farmer.  He  married.  June 
7.  1834.  Ruth  Cornahan  Boyd,  born  March  25,  1834.  She  was  the  fifth  child 
of  W'illiam  and  Jane  M.  Cornahan  Boyd.  William  Boyd  was  born  in  1794, 
and  was  a  son  of  Robert  and  Elizabeth  Floyd  Boyd.  William  Boyd  died  in 
1847.  and  was  buried  in  Unity  churchyard.  His  wife  was  born  March  5,  1803, 
and  (lied  in  Ligonier  valley,  October  28,  1902,  in  her  one  hundredth  year,  and 
was  buried  beside  her  husband.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Jolui  Cornahan  and 
Elizabeth  Elliott.  The  Cornahans,  Boyds  and  Elliotts  all  belong  to  old  and 
well  known  families  in  Westmoreland  county,  who  have  figured  prominently 
in  our  history.  Captain  James  Cornahan  has  been  referred  to  many  times  in 
the  Revolutionary  period  of  our  history.  (See  Vol.  I  of  this  work.)  His 
son.  Dr.  James  Cornahan,  was  president  of  Princeton  College  from  183 1  to 
1853.  and  was  one  of  the  leading  educators  of  his  day. 

In  1863  John  Tallman  sotd  his  farm  in  Unity  township  and  removed 
with  his  family  to  a  larger  one,  which  he  purchased  in  the  southwest  part  of 
I'airtield  townshij),  where  his  family  were  brought  up  and  where  he  has  since 
resided.  The  family  consists  of  seven  children,  all  of  whom  are  yet  living. 
The  older  ones  were  born  in  Unity  township  in  the  log  house  in  which  their 
father  was  born,  built  as  we  have  said,  by  Isaac  Tallman  in  1820.  The  chil- 
dren of  John  and  Ruth  C.  Tallman  are  the  following:  1.  .Mice,  wife  of  John 
Calvin  Smith,  lives  in  Fairfield  township.  2.  Elliott  1.,  was  educated  in  Ligo- 
nier .\cademy,  and  became  a  teacher  and  engaged  in  other  business  in  West- 
moreland county  until  1887,  when  he  removed  to  the  "Grand  Prairie"  of  Ar- 
kansas, and  located  in  the  town  of  Stuttgart,  which  was  just  then  founded, 
but  which  has  since  grown  to  a  thriving  city.  He  is  engaged  as  a  planter  and 
real  estate  dealer,  and  in  a  business  way  he  has  kept  pace  with  the  rapid 
growth  of  the  new  country  and  town  in  which  he  located.  In  1895  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Carrie  May  Moody,  of  Memphis,  Tennes.see,  and  they  have 
three  children.  3.  Boyd  J.,  to  whom  we  will  refer  hereafter.  4.  Mary,  wife 
of  Ale.xander  Currie.  lives  in  West  Franklinville,  Xew  York.  5.  Joseph 
George,  lives  in  iiritish  Columbia.  6.  Frank  Edwin,  lives  in  California.  7. 
William  S..  lives  in  Ballarfl,  Washington. 

Boyd  J.  Tallman.  now  judge  of  the  superior  court  of  the  state  of  Wash- 
ington, residing  in  Seattle,  was  born  on  the  farm  near  Youngstown,  October 
4,  1858.  His  boyhood  days  differed  but  little  from  those  of  other  farmer's 
sons,  working  on  the  farm  in  the  summer  and  attending  the  common  schools 
during  the  then  but  four  months'  term  in  the  winter.  He  very  early  became 
a  teacher,  and  afterward  attcntled  the  academy  in  Ligonier  and  the  Inde- 
pendent -Vcademy  near  Fort  Palmer,  a  term  or  two  at  each  ])lace.  fie  con- 
tinued going  to  scliool.  and  engaging  in  teaching  and  in  other  minor  enij)loy- 
ments  until  1883.  when  he  enterecl  the  famous  Washington  and  Jefferson  Col- 
lege ?t  Washington.  Pennsylvania.  There  he  remained  two  years,  but  was  not 
graduated,  though  by  the  time  spent  there  and  by  private  study  he  had  nearly 


424  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

completed  tlie  course.  In  1884  he  began  reading  the  rudiments  of  the  law, 
and  May  15,  1885,  left  his  home  for  Walla  Walla,  Washington  Territory, 
where  he  entered  the  law  office  of  Allen,  Thompson  &  Crowley,  as  a  student. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1886.  In  February,  1887,  he  removed  to  Seat- 
tle, for  he  regarded  it  as  a  more  promising  location  for  a  lawyer.  In  this  his 
judgment  proved  correct,  for  it  has  so  rapidly  increased  in  population  that, 
although  in  1887  it  was  in  its  infancy,  it  has  now  a  population  of  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  and  bids  fair  to  rival  all  cities  in  the  far  west. 
His  entire  time  since  then  has  been  given  to  his  profession.  In  1889,  without 
being  consulted,  he  was  nominated  by  the  county  convention  of  King  county 
as  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  representative  in  the  state  legislature.  This 
office  he  declined  for  professional  reasons,  althou'gh  the  nomination  was 
equivalent  to  an  election.  In  the  fall  of  1900  he  was  nominated  by  the  Repub- 
lican party  of  King  county  in  the  convention  at  Seattle  for  judge  of  the  supe- 
rior court'  of  the  state  of  Washington,  and  on  November  6,  1900,  was  elected 
bv  a  majority  of  six  hundred  and  eighty  votes.  In  1904  he  was  renominated 
for  the  same'  position,  and  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  eleven  thousand  five 
hundred  and  sixty-three  votes,  receiving  the  highest  number  of  votes  cast  for 
any  candidate  on'  the  ticket.  No  stronger  nor  more  eloquent  testimony  as  to 
his  character  as  a  citizen  and  his  standing  as  a  judge  can  be  given  than  is 
shown  bv  the  increased  majority  by  which  those  who  know  him  best  re- 
elected him  to  the  bench. 

For  the  greater  part  of  the  time  that  he  has  been  on  the  bench,  he  has 
had  charge  of  the  equity  courts,  a  branch  of  jurisprudence  which  every  well 
trained  lawyer  knows  requires  for  its  successful  administration  not  only  an 
acute  legal  mind,  but  a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  law  as  well.  During 
this  time  he  has  tried  cases,  some  of  which  involved  millions  of  dollars.  The 
Seattle  Times,  a  Democratic  paper,  speaking  of  this  branch  of  Judge  Tall- 
man's  work,  under  date  of  February  25,  1906,  says:  "Boyd  J.  Tallman's  five 
years  on  the  bench  have  brought  him  high  rank  among  the  lawyers  of  the 
countv.  The  quality  of  service  he  rendered  at  a  time  when  the  bench  con- 
sisted of  but  five  men,  all  carrying  a  burden  too  heavy  for  them,  was  wonder- 
ful. In  the  equity  department  of  the  court  he  deservingly  obtained  the  com- 
mendation of  both  lawyers  and  litigants.  His  decisions  have  rarely  been  re- 
versed in  appellate  courts."  The  Times  speaks  further  as  though  still  greater 
honors  were  in  store  for  Judge  Tallman  in  his  adopted  state. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Unitarian  church,  and  a  trustee  in  the  First 
Church  at  Seattle.  In  July.  1904,  he  visited  his  parents  and  former  home  in 
Ligonier  valley,  after  an  absence  of  over  nineteen  years.  He  was  everywhere 
welcomed  as  one  of  Westmoreland  county's  most  talented  sons,  and  as  one  who 
had  reflected  honor  on  his  native  county  by  achieving  distinction  in  his  new 
home  on  the  far  distant  Pacific  coast. 

WILLIAM  S.  AMENT.  The  paternal  great-grandfather  of  Wil- 
liam S.  Anient,  of  Apollo,  was  a  native  of  Holland,  who  emigrated  to  the 
United  States,  making  his  home  in  Franklin  township,  where  George  Anient, 
one  of  his  sons,  was  born. 

George  Ament  was  the  owner  of  a  farm  near  Export,  on  which  he 
erected  a  grist-mill  and  worked  at  the  blacksmith's  trade.  He  held  the  rank 
of  major  in  the  state  militia.  His  wife  was  Elizabeth  Walton,  and  they  were 
the  parents  of  six  children  wdio  grew  to  maturity. 

George  Anient,  son  of  George  and  Elizaljctli  (Walton)  Ament.  was  for 
fiftv   vears   a   resident   of    North   \\'ashingt(in,    where    for   fortv-five   vcars   he. 


HISTORY   OF   JVESTMORELAXD   COUXTY.  425 

followed  the  calling  of  a  blacksmith.  He  married  Hannah  llartman,  and 
of  the  sixteen  children  born  to  them  ten  reached  maturity :  Katharnie,  wife  of 
G  \V  Hilborn  of  North  Washington;  John,  of  Apollo;  Elizabeth,  wife  of 
I.'d.  Lautier,  of  Apollo;  Jacob,  deceased;  Belle,  wife  of  S.  F.  Hildegrand,  of 
Arnistrons?  countv ;  Jane."  wife  of  George  McLaughlin,  of  Allegheny  town- 
ship; Martha,  wi'fe  of  Samuel  Neal,  of  Marietta,  Ohio;  William  S.,  men- 
tioned hereinafter;  Elmer  E..  of  Wilkinsburg,  Pennsylvania  ;  and  Sadie,  wife  of 
W.  \V.  Hill,  of  Paulton.  The  mother  of  this  family  died  in  1893,  and  the 
death  of  the  father  occurred  in  the  year  following. 

William  S.  Anient,  son  of  George  and  Hannah  (Hartman)  Ament,  was 
born  October  2.  1858,  and  has  always  lived  at  his  native  place.  He  attended 
the  common  schools  and  early  in  life  learned  the  blacksmith's  trade,  working 
with  his  father,  whom  he  succeeded  in  the  business.  He  belongs  to  Apollo 
Lo(lge,  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  is  a  Democrat  in  politics.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Reformed  church.  Mr.  Ament  married.  May  27,  1880,  Alfaretta, 
dauglUcr  of  W.  L.  and  Mary  (Gulp)  ]\IcQuaide,  of  Allegheny  county,  and 
tlicir  children  are :  George  E..  Edward  F,,  of  Vandergrift,  married  and  has 
one  child.  St.  Ehno  James;  Hannah  M..  wife  of  Lawrence  Moore,  of  Zanes- 
ville,  Ohio,  and  mother  of  one  child,  William  Franklin;  Sarah  M..  Charles 
H.,  Elmer  E.,  Toie  A..  Jesse  B..  Florence  E.,  and  Robert  :\lalculni. 

JOHX  FRAXKLLX  HARSHEY,  postmaster  of  Penn  Station,  and 
one  of  the  representative  citizens  of  that  section  of  the  county,  was  born  in 
Salem  township.  Westmoreland  county.  Pennsylvania,  December  6,  1854,  a 
son  of  Henry  W.  and  Leah  (Hartzell)  Harshey,  natives  of  Hannastown, 
Pcnnsvlvania.  Their  family  consists  of  four  children  as  follows :  Sarah  Ann, 
bom  October  24,  1851  ;  Amanda  Jane,  born  October  19,  1853:  John  Franklin, 
born  December  6,  J854;  and  George  Henry,  born  September  21.  1858.  Henry 
W.  Harshey  (father),  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Veronica  (Weber)  Harshey,  was 
A  farmer  by  occupation,  a  member  of  the  Reformed  church,  and  a  Republican 
in  politics.'  Leah  (Hartzell)  Harshey  (mother)  is  a  daughter  of  George  and 
Susanna  (Lauffer)  Hartzell,  natives  of  Unity  townshij).  Westmoreland 
county.    Pennsylvania. 

John  Franklin  Harshey  was  educated  in  the  vicinity  of  his  home,  and 
later  changed  his  place  of  abode  to  Penn  Station,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  now 
resides.  In  1897  he  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Penn  Station  by  the  late 
President  William  McKinley,  and  has  served  in  that  capacity  up  to  the  pres- 
ent time  (1906),  giving  the  utmost  satisfaction  to  all  concerned,  and  in  al! 
resjiects  he  is  a  popular  and  "obliging  public  official.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Reformed  cluirch.  and  in  politics  casts  his  vote  for  the  candidates  of  the 
Re|)ublican  party.  Mr.  Harshey  married,  December  26,  1876,  Lucinda  Alt- 
man,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Leah  (Cribbs)  Altman,  who  were  born  in 
Henipfield  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvajiia,  and  married  in 
the  year  1847.  Jacob  Altman  was  a  mechanic  during  the  early  years  of  his 
life,  but  later  turned  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits,  residing  on  a  farm. 
For  seventeen  years  he  served  as  secretary,  school  director  and  tax  collector 
of  liis  township.  Jacob  .Altman  died  .August,  1896,  aged  seventy-five  years, 
and  his  wife  Leah  died  November,  1896,  aged  seventy-four  years.  They 
were  the  parents  of  eight  children;  John  Christopher,  born  March  27,  1848; 
Elizabeth,  November  3.  I849;  Sarah  Jane,  July  8,  1851  ;  Cyrus  F.,  March  12, 
1853;  Lucinda,  September  14,  1854.  wife  of  John  F.  Harshey;  Marv.  March 
<j,  1856:  Agnes  L,  November  13.  1859;  and  Alice,  February  16.  1862.  Mr. 
and   Mrs.  Harshey  are  also  the  parents  of  eight  children,  as  follows:    Jacob 


426  HISTORY   OP    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

Franklin,  born  September  29,  1877,  married  Laura  Long,  and  tliey  have  two' 
children :  Oliver  M.  and  John  C. ;  they  reside  at  Luxor,  where-he  is  manager 
of  company  store  for  Jamison  Supply  Company,  also  postmaster.  Mary  Leah, 
March  17,  1879,  married  James. C.  Fritchman,  and  they  have  one  child,  James 
Curtis  Harshey ;  they  reside  at  East  McKeesport,  Pennsylvania.  Oscar 
Charles,  April '27,  1882;  Logan  Wilbur,  February  21,  1884;  Elsie  E.,  July 
19,  1886,  is  employed  in  teaching  I'enn  borough  school  and  is  a  graduate  of 
California  State  Normal,  Pennsylvania.  Edna  Luella,  October  8,  1889, 
assistant  postmaster  at  Penn  Station.  Hazel  Naomi,  June  28,  1893.  Lloyd 
C.  March  19,  1898. 

ROBERT  JAMES  STEVENSON.  Although  during  his  lifetime 
a  citizen  of  Philadelphia,  Westmoreland  county  claims  an  interest  in  Robert 
James  Stevenson  by  reason  of  his  connection  with  some  of  her  best-known 
families.  Mr.  Stevenson  was  a  son  of  William  and  Nancy  (Sterrett)  Steven- 
son, both  of  whom,  in  youth,  came  to  America  from  the  north  of  Ireland.  ^Ir. 
Stevenson  was  for  many  years  a  jeweler  in  Pittsburg,  and  in  1868  retired 
and  moved  to  Philadelphia. 

Robert  James  Stevenson,  son  of  William  and  Nancy  (Sterrett)  Steven- 
son, was  born  November  26,  1850,  and  in  1875  graduated  from  Princeton 
L'niversitv.  He  subsequently  entered  the  retail  grocery  business  in  Phila- 
delphia, the  firm  name  being  Stevenson  Brothers.  He  married,  C)ctober  t6, 
1879,  Martha  Jane  Shaw,  who  shortly  became  his  widow,  the  death  of  Mr. 
Stevenson  occurring  November  30,  1879,  when  he  had  just  passed  his  twenty- 
ninth  birthday.  Mrs.  Stevenson  is  a  great-granddaughter  of  Samuel  and 
Sarah  (Lowrv)  Shaw,  who,  with  five  sons,  came  to  America  from  the  north' 
of  Ireland.  One  of  their  sons,  William  Shaw,  married  Mary  Wallace,  a  de- 
scendant of  Sir  William  Wallace,  the  hero  of  Scottish  history.  Williau'i  Shaw, 
son  of  William  and  ]\Iary  (Wallace)  Shaw,  was  born  September  29,  1803. 
and  on  June  7,  1848.  married  Jane  Ekin,  born  January  8,  1822,  daughter  <:)f 
John  and  Margaret  (Shaw)  Stewart.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shaw  were  born 
two  daughters :  INIary  M.,  born  August  7,  1852 ;  and  Martha  Jane,  born  June- 
15,  1855,  became  the  wife  of  Robert  James  Stevenson,  as  mentioned  above. 
IMrs.  Stevenson  and  }vliss  Shaw  are  residents  of  Stewart  Station. 

K.  E.  WEISTER.  The  paternal  great-grandfather  of  E.  E.  Weister. 
of  Avonmore,  was  a  native  of  Germany,  who  emigrated  to  the  L'nitcd  States 
and  lived  for  a  time  in  Philadelphia.  Later  he  moved  with  his  family  to 
Westmoreland  county,  where  he  made  his  home  during  the  remainder  of  his 
life  with  a  son  who  was  the  grandfather  of  Mr.  Weister.  This  son  also 
passed  the  residue  of  his  days  in  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  and  his 
father  are  both  buried  in  Coke  Run  cemetery. 

Joseph  Weister,  son  and  grandson  of  these  pioneers,  married  Rebecca 
Stichenger,  whose  parents  emigrated  from  Germany  and  settled  in  Forest 
county,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Weister  were  the  parents  of  the  fol- 
lowing children :  E.  E.,  mentioned  hereinafter  :  Belle,  deceased  :  Minnie,  wife 
of  Samuel  McCauley,  of  Salina ;  Hetty,  a  resident  of  New  York;  Maggie, 
wife  of  Frank  Hartman,  of  Salina ;  and  Charles,  of  Oklahoma.  Mrs.  Weister 
died  in  1898.  and  the  death  of  her  husband  occurred  August,  190^;. 

E.  E.  Weister,  son  of  Joseph  and  Rebecca  (Stichenger)  Weister,  wa.s 
born  November  10,  1863,  in  Forest  county,  and  when  an  infant  was  taken 
by  his  parents  to  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon  schools  of  Washington   and    llcll   townships.      For  twenty  years  he   lias 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  4^7 

been  ciisjasjcd  in  business  as  a  contractor  in  brick  and  stone  work.  His 
transactions  are  extensive,  not  onlv  in  his  own  but -also  in  adjacent  counties, 
and  he  emplovs  on  an  average  twenty-five  men.  He  belongs  to  Lodge  No. 
250.  Knights  of  Pvthias,  of  Leechburg,  and  in  poHtics  stands  for  prohibition. 
lie  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church,  in  which  he  is  an  active  worker,  hav- 
ing filled  the  various  official  positions  of  the  church  and  being  now  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday  school.  Mr.  Weister  married  in  i8yo,  .Martha  J.,. 
daughter  of  John  Bush,  of  Salina. 

L\COB  E.  MYERS,  a  lumber  merchant  and  contractor  of  Penii 
Station.  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  November  n.  1868. 
a  son  of  Solomon  E.  and  Hettie  (  Sc'hrum)  Myers,  of  Penn  and  Hempfield 
townships,  respectivelv,  and  grandson  of  Jacob  flyers,  who  married  Elizabeth' 
Hainan,  and  had  the  following  children:  John,  deceased:  Jacob,  Joseph, 
David,  George,  Solomon  E.,  Mary  A.,  Israel,  and  Samuel,  deceased. 

Solomon  E..  son  of  Jacob  and  father  of  Jacob  E.  ^Myers,  was  born  Sep- 
tember 18.  1838,  in  Penn  township.  He  married  Hettie  Schrum,  and  their 
children  were:  Amos,  born  1861.  married  Maggie  Altman ;  David  \V..  de- 
ceased: Morris  U..  married  Charlotte  Fisher:  ^laria  J.,  married  Aaron- 
Mowerv  :  Jacob  E..  mentioned  hereinafter :  a  boy  who  died  in  infancy :  Zach- 
ary  T..  married  Catherine  Kemerer :  Edward  A.,  married  Lylia  Grove :  Sol- 
omon D.,  D.  D.,  married  Sophia  Mahler :  John,  married  Annie  Moore :  and 
Charles.  Jacob  E.  Myers'  maternal  grandparents  were  Henry  and  Maria 
(Altman)  Schrum,  who  had  children:  Hettie,  Jackson,  Richard,  Hilary,  Aggie, 
Amos. 

Jacob  E.  Myers,  fifth  child  and  fourth  son  of  Solomon  and  Hettie 
(Schrum)  Mvers^  has  been  engaged  in  the  lumber  and  contracting-  business 
in  Penn  township  for  about  ten  years,  and  in  that  period  has  built  up  an  ex- 
tensive and  lucrative  business.  He  is  interested  in  various  commercial  enter- 
prises, and  is  one  of  the  highly  esteemed  residents  of  the  township.  In  poli- 
tics he  affiliated  with  the  Democratic  party,  and  has  served  as  member  of  the- 
common  council.  In  matters  of  reli.gion  he  accords  with  the  doctrines  of  the 
Lutheran  church.  Jacob  E.  flyers  married  Ernestine  E.  Schroll.  the  daugh- 
ter of  John  and  Ernestine  (Thomas)  Schroll,  granddaughter  of  Michael  ancT 
Katherine  (Martin)  Schroll.  and  great-granddaughter  of  Peter  Schroll.  She 
is  one  of  five  children,  among  whom  were:  Emma,  born  1865:  John.  1867; 
Ernestine.  1871 :  Joseph,  1873.  The  children  of  Mr.  and  Airs.  Jacob  E. 
Mvers  are:  Joseph  E.,  born  1899;  Margaret  R.,  born  1901  ;  and  Paul,  borir 
1903. 

R.  DENNIS  WTNFIELD  BRUNER,  one  of  the  most  energetic 
and  progressive  men  in  the  real  estate  and  insurance  business  in  this  section- 
of  the  country,  is  a  popular  citizen  of  Li.gonier.  Westmoreland  countv.  Penn- 
svlvania,  and  is  a  member  of  a  family  which  has  been  re])resented  in  Penn- 
sylvania for  many  years. 

Moses  Bruner.  grandfather  of  R.  Dennis  W'infield  Pnuu-r.  was  boriT 
Xugust  27.  1825,  died  June  17,  1901.  He  was  a  farmer  of  ('00k  township, 
and  a  memlx-r  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Plis  political  affiliations  were  Dem- 
ocratic. He  married  (first)  Mary  Ann  Campbell,  born  July  6,  1828.  and 
they  hafl  eight  children  :  James,  of  whom  hter :  John,  born  September  7, 
1850:  Henry.  May  5.  18^4,  died  1905:  Matilda,  July  4.  1856.  died  November 
6,  1876:  Lemon,  April  18,  1858:  (jeorsre.  March  30,  i860:  Amos,  September 
24,  1862,  died  November  3,  1876;  William,  June  21;  1865. 


428  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

James  Bruner,  eldest  child  of  Moses  and  Mary  Ann  (Campbell)  Bruner, 
was  born  June  20,  1848.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  Cook 
township,  and  followed  farming  as  an  occupation  all  his  life.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  a  strong  Democrat.  He  married  (first), 
Julv  27,  1874,  Cinderella  Grove,  born  April  16,  1851,  died  November  7,  1876, 
daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Mary  Grove,  and  they  had  one  child:  R.  Dennis 
Winfield,  of  whom  later.  Benjamin  Grove  was  born  March  7,  1824,  died  De- 
cember 19,  1903;  his  wife,  Mary  Grove,  born  September  23,  1821,  still  living. 
He  married   (second)  April   i,   1880,  Malinda  Hood,  and  they  had  children: 

Mollie  E.,  who  married  Ross ;  Loren,  Sarah,  and  three  who  died  in 

infancy. 

R.  Dennis  Winfield  Bruner,  only  child  of  James  and  Cinderella  (Grove) 
Bruner,  was  born  near  Herold,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  Octo- 
ber 4,  1875.  His  early  years  were  spent  on  the  farm  of  his  father,  and  he 
attended  the  public  schools  of  that  district  until  the  age  of  fifteen  years ;  he 
then  came  to  Ligonier  and  attended  a  school  there  for  one  year.  At  the  age  of 
sixteen  years  he  started  in  business  life,  first  as  a  book  canvasser,  trying  to 
get  orders  on  the  "Life  of  Rev.  Spurgeon,  of  London."  He  met  with  excel- 
lent success.  During  the  next  four  years  he  tried  selling  various  lines  of 
■goods,  finally  taking  up  the  sale  of  pianos,  and  making  a  very  profitable  under- 
taking of  it.  He  then  associated  himself  with  the  Grant  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, manufacturers  of  soda  fountains,  and  was  a  salesman  for  them  until 
1902.  He  was  one  of  the  promoters  of  the  Old  Colony  Coal  and  Coke  Com- 
pany, of  which  he  was  the  secretary  for  two  years,  and  is  still  a  stockholder. 
He  is  the  vice-president  of  the  Colonial  Land  Company  of  Pillsbury,  and  one 
•of  the  incorporators  of  the  projected  Westmoreland  railroad.  He  has  been 
for  some  time  engaged  in  the  real  estate  and  insurance  business,  with  com- 
modious offices  on  ^lain  street,  Ligonier.  He  is  a  systematic,  keen-sighted 
man  of  business,  following  closely  the  trend  of  events,  and  although  deliberate 
is  quick  to  see  any  opportunity  for  advanceiuent  and  improvement.  He  has 
many  friends  in  financial  as  well  as  social  circles.  He  has  never  held  public 
ofiice.  but  is  a  staunch  adherent  of  the  Democratic  party.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Presbyterian  church,  and  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  He 
married,  June  5,  1900,  Sophie  E.  Koehl,  born  December  22,  1875.  She  was 
educated  in  the  public  and  high  schools  of  Homevvood. 

Eugene  Koehl,  father  of  Mrs.  Bruner,  was  born  May  31,  1848,  at  Mar- 
Montier,  in  Alsace,  then  a  province  of  France,  now  belonging  to  Germany, 
where  his  father  was  a  brewer  and  large  dealer  in  fine  wines,  owning  his  own 
vineyards.  He  joined  the  French  army,  1864,  going  to  Africa,  where  he 
served  five  years  as  cavalry  sergeant  in  and  along  the  Great  Sahara  Desert. 
Coming  back  to  France  he  served  in  the  Franco-Prussian  war.  At  the  close 
of  war  in  1871  he  came  to  America,  first  stopping  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  for 
two  years,  and  finally  locating  at  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  married 
Elizabeth  Gardner,  of  Murrysville,  Pennsylvania,  in  June,  1874.  The  chil- 
dren were  two  daughters:  Sophia  E.  (Mrs.  Bruner),  and  Minnie  E.  Koehl, 
born  April  2,  1877.  Elizabeth  Gardner,  wife  of  Eugene  Koehl,  was  born  near 
Murrysville,  Pennsylvania,  May  30,  1848,  died  November  28,  1895. 

THE  WENTLING-JACK  FAIMILY.  The  Wentling  familv  of 
Grcensburg  is  descended  from  Daniel  Wentling,  who  came  from  one  of  the 
Pennsylvania  German  counties,  east  of  the  mountains,  mo.st  likely  from  Leb- 
anon countv.  -nd  settled  in  Westmoreland  county  sliortlv  after  the  revolution- 
ary war.     He  lived  and  died  in  Hcmpfield  township.     The  tradition  is  that  he 


HISTORY   OF    U'ESTMORELAXD   COUNTY.  429 

had  served  in  the  revohitionarv  war.  He  liad  a  son  named  Devvalt  W'enthng, 
who  married  (first)  Ehza  Walthour.  and  had  ehiklren  named  Samuel,  Adam, 
I'oHv,  Eliza,  David.  Eliza  Walthour,  his  tirst  wife,  died.  He  was  afterwards 
married  to  Eliza  Fritehman,  who  was  a  daughter  of  John  and  Barbara  Wal- 
thour Fritehman.  Dewalt  W'enthng  lived  in  North  Huntingdon  township,  and 
was  a  farmer  during  the  greater  part  of  his  life.  The  house  in  wliich  they 
lived  is  yet  standing"  near  Biddle  Station,  and  is  now  the  Wenrick  home.  By 
Iiis  second  marriage  the  children  born  were:  Joseph  B.,  now  of  Santa  Bar- 
bara. California:  John  V..  a  member  of  the  Westmoreland  bar;  Sarah  J., 
Lydia.  late  Mrs.  Charles  Fritehman,  of  Irwin,  Pennsylvania. 

John  F.  Wentling  was  educated  in  the  Sewickley  Academy  and  at  Salts- 
burg,  Pennsvlvania,  and  was  at  an  early  age  teacher  in  the  public  schools 
of  Westmorelanil.  In  1866  he  came  to  Greensburg  and  began  to  read  law 
with  James  A.  Logan,  who  afterwards  went  on  the  bench.  In  May.  1868, 
Mr.  Wentling  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  has  been  practicing  in  all  branches 
of  the  legal  profession  with  much  success  ever  since.  In  1872  he  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Xancv  Wilson  Jack,  a  daughter  of  William  Jack,  who  was  a 
well-to-do^ Westmoreland  farmer  and  business  man,  and  who  later  in  life  re- 
moved to  Brookville,  Pennsylvania,  and  from  there  was  elected  to  congress 
in  1840.  The  children  of  MV.  and  Mrs.  John  F.  Wentling  are:  John  R,  Jr., 
of  the  Westmoreland  bar:  Hydie,  married  J-  Covode  Reed,  of  Greensburg; 
Joseph  D.,  of  the  Keystone  Coal  and  Coke  Company ;  Mercedes  Golden. 

William  Jack  was  a  son  of  General  William  Jack,  wdiose  life  and  charac- 
ter are  given  in  the  history  of  the  bench  in  the  first  volume  of  this  series,  he 
having  been  a  judge  of  our  courts  as  early  as  1784.  He  also  is  spoken  of  in 
the  same  volume  because  of  his  heroic  efforts  on  the  afternoon  of  the  burning 
of  Hannastown,  and  figures  largely  in  the  selection  of  Greensburg  as  a  county 
seat  and  otherwise  in  our  early  history.  His  son,  William  Jack,  the  father  of 
Mrs.  Xancv  Wilson  Jack  Wentling.  was  married  to  Harriet  Eason,  and  by 
her  had  the  following  children:  William,  deceased;  Matthew,  decea.sed ;  Eliz- 
abeth, now  Mrs.  James  M.  Latta,  of  Go.shen,  Indiana;  Emma,  now  Mrs. 
Frank  W.  Smith,  of  Washington,  D.  C. :  Harriette,  married  Dr.  Frank  Cowan, 
deceased :  Xancy  Wilson,  married  John  F.  Wentling,  as  noted  above.  She 
was  born  in  1852  and  died  July  18,  1902.  Mrs.  Wentling  was  a  woman  of 
strong  character  and  great  energy,  and  was  abundantly  able  to  take  a  leader- 
ship in  anv  field  she  cared  to  enter.  She  gave  much  attention  to  local  revohi- 
tionarv matters,  and  her  investigations  in  this  direction  have  been  fraught 
with  great  interest  and  profit  to  the  students  of  early  Westmoreland  history. 
Slie  gave  the  best  efforts  of  her  life  to  her  church,  the  Episcopal,  and  the- 
finelv  a]:)pointed  edifice  in  Greensburg  was  built  very  largelv  through  her  un- 
tiring energy  and  enthusiasm.  She  died  at  a  time  when  her  life's  u.sefulness 
had  not  yet  reached  its  highest  point  and  when  her  friends  were  looking  for- 
ward with  bright  liopes  to  many  years  of  companionship  with  her. 

jr)HX  L.  .\K.MITAGE,  of  Xew  Kensington,  comes  of  English  an- 
cestry. His  father.  Robert  F.  H.  Armitage,  was  born  in  1850,  in  Canada, 
where  he  passed  his  entire  life,  his  occupation  being  that  of  a  construction  con- 
tractor and  builder.  He  was  a  meml^er  of  the  Protestant  Iqiiscopal  church. 
He  married  Ellen  Lewis,  of  Xiagara.  and  their  chiUlren  were:  W'illiam  H., 
of  Xew  Kensington;  Ellen,  wife  of  George  Beflford,  of  Canada;  John  L., 
see  forward:  Harriet  M..  wife  of  W.  V.  Crawford,  of  Kutter,  ['enns\lvania  : 
George  C.  of  Xew-  Kensington  ;  Mabel ;  and  Ethel  May.  died  in  childliood. 
John  L.  Armitage,  son  of  Robert  F.  H.  and  Ellen  (Lewis)  Armitage,  was 


430  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

born  November  20,  1873,  '"  Toronto,  Canada,  where  he  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  learned  the  plumbing  and  heating 
trade,  at  which  he  worked  for  three  years  and  a  half.  He  then  came  to  the 
United  States  and  followed  his  trade,  first  at  Buffalo  and  then  at  Pittsburg, 
imtil  1893.  In  that  year  he  moved  to  New  Kensington,  where  he  engaged  in 
business  with  his  brother  William  H.,  under  the  firm  name  of  Armitage  & 
Brother.  This  connection  has  been  maintained  to  the  present  time,  the  busi- 
ness being  the  largest  of  its  kind  in  the  town.  In  1904  he  was  elected  school 
director.  He  affiliates  with  Lodge  No.  81,  Knights  of  Pythias,  Lodge  No. 
451,  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  Lodge  No.  804,  I.  O.  O.  F., 
in  which  he  has  passed  chairs.  He  is  a  staunch  Republican  and  a  member 
•of  St.  Andrew's  Protestant  Episcopal  church.  He  married  Malissa  M.,  daugh- 
ter of  Leonard  and  Leah  Gorman,  of  Armstrong  county,  and  they  are  the  par- 
■ents  of  three  children  :  Mabel  Gorman,  born  July  4,  1899  ;  John  L.,  born  April 
3,  1901  ;  and  Leah  Ellen,  born  February,  1903. 

JOHN  A.  BOALE,  M.  D.  The  grandfather  of  Dr.  John  A.  Boale, 
'of  \'andergrift  Heights,  was  Samuel  Boale,  a  native  of  the  north  of  Ireland, 
Avhence  he  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  settling  in  Pennsylvania.  His  wife, 
.Sarah  Taylor,  was  born  and  bred  near  McKeesport. 

lames  D.  Boale,  son  of  Samuel  and  Sarah  (Taylor)  Boale,  was  born  Jan- 
uarv"  14,  1834.  in  Allegheny  township,  where  he  was  reared  on  the  farm,  re- 
ceiving his  education  in  the  common  schools.  Soon  after  his  marriage  he 
moved  to  Leechburg,  Armstrong  county,  where  he  resided  until  his  death, 
February  7.  1906.  For  a  number  of  years  he  was  engaged  in  various  business 
■  enterprises,  including  the  drug  industry,  and  for  the  last  fifteen  years  has 
been  humane  officer  of  his  district.  He  has  served  one  term  as  burgess  of 
Leechburg,  and  affiliates  with  the  Republican  party.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Reformed  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Boale  married  Sarah,  born  May  2,  1838, 
daughter  of  John  and  Sarah  Ann  (Armstrong)  Armstrong,  both  natives  of 
the  north  of  Ireland,  emigrating  to  this  country  about  the  same  time  as  Samuel 
Boale.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Boale  had  children:  Elizabeth,  widow  of  Captain  R. 
G.  Armstrong,  and  teacher  in  the  Pennsylvania  College  for  Women,  Pittsburg ; 
Anna  M.,  for  many  years  a  primary  teacher  in  Leechburg  and  Vandergrift 
Heights,  died  January  3,  1905 ;  John  A.,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  and  Hugh  A., 
an  attorney  in  Apollo.     The  mother  of  the  family  died  September  24,  1890. 

John  A.  Boale,  son  of  James  D.  and  Sarah  (Armstrong)  Boale,  was  born 
December  18,  1873,  in  Leechburg,  where  he  was  educated  in  the  high  school, 
graduating  in  1893.  In  the  spring  of  1894  he  began  to  read  medicine  with 
iiis  uncle.  Dr.  J.  A.  Armstrong,  a  well  known  physician  of  Leechburg.  The 
following  autumn  he  entered  the  medical  department  of  the  Western  Univer- 
sity of  Pennsylvania;  graduating  therefrom  in  the  spring  of  1897,  with  the  de- 
gree of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  After  practicing  for  one  year  with  his  preceptor. 
Dr.  Armstrong,  in  Leechburg,  he  moved  in  IMarch,  1898,  to  Vandergrift 
Heights,  and  there  entered  upon  his  independent  professional  career,  in  which 
he  has  been  very  successful.  For  two  terms  he  served  as  secretary  to  the  board 
of  health.  He  is  now  serving  his  third  term  as  school  director  and  for  two 
terms  acted  as  chairman  of  the  Republican  county  committee.  He  affiliates 
with  Kiskiminetas  Lodge,  No.  617,  F.  &  A..M.,  of  Vandergrift,  Apollo  Lodge, 
No.  386.  B.  P.  O.,  and  V^andergrift  Lodge,  No.  502,  K.  P.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Presbvterian  church.  Dr.  Boale  is  unmarried.  He  belongs  to 
■Orient  Chapter,  No.  247,  of  Kittanning,  and  Pittsburg  Commandery,  No.  i, 
K.  T..  and  is  a  member  of  the  Westmoreland  Countv  Aledical  Society. 


'^Hf: 


° ''"««,  y^ 


I 


ii 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  431 

ROBERT  EKIX  STEWART, , of  Xurlh  r.rad.lock,  was  born  April 
2,  1841,  at  Stewart  Station,  North  Huntingdon  township,  Westmoreland 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  traces  his  ancestry  to  a  Scotch  lineage. 

John  Stewart,  great-grandfather  of  Robert  E.  Stewart,  was  a  native  of 
Scotland,  and  the  old  family  register  shows  that  he  was  born  on  tiie  27th 
day  of  April,  but  the  figures  for  the  year  have  been  obliterated.  It  is  believed, 
however,  to  have  been  in  the  third  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and 
about  the  middle  of  that  century  the  family  crossed  to  the  north  of  Ireland. 
A  few  years  later  the  younger  branch  of  the  family,  of  which  this  John  Stew- 
art and  his  wife  Elinor  were  the  united  head,  emigrated  from  Londerdcrry 
to  the  province  of  Pennsylvania.  About  the  close  of  the  war  of  the  revolu- 
tion this  family  crossed  the  mountains  and  settled  in  what  is  now  Elizabeth 
township,  Allegheny  county,  having 'purchased  there  a  large  tract  of  land  at 
Round  Hill,  on  which  he  erected  the  first  shingle-roofed  house  in  that  town- 
-ship.  He  assisted  in  the  organization  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Round 
Hill,  and  was  an  active  and  devoted  member  thereof.  He  was  described 
by  one  that  knew  him  as  being  "a  well-to-do  farmer,  a  square-built,  good- 
looking  man."  He  and  his  wife  Elinor  were  the  parents  of  eight  children — 
four  sons  and  four  daughters. 

John  Stewart,  second  son  of  John  and  Elinor  Stewart,  and  grandfather 
of  Robert  E.  Stewart,  was  born  December  26.  1766.  He  was  a  man  of  good 
physique,  generous-hearted,  a  captain  of  militia,  and  followed  the  occupation  of 
his  father,  farming.  He  married  Jane  Cavett,  whose  father,  John  Cavett,  a 
miller,  was  the  first  settler  at  the  place  now  known  as  Cavettsville,  but  origin- 
ally Cavett's  Mill,  and  was  of  the  third  generation  of  Cavetts  born  in  this 
country.  John  Cavett  removed  from  Dauphin  county  to  western  Pennsyl- 
vania in  1770  and  purchased  from  Ephraim  Blaine,  in  1771,  a  large  tract  of 
lands  embracing  what  was  later  known  as  the  Cavetts'  Mill  tract  and  the 
Stewart  Station  property,  of  which  John  Yearl  was  the  original  warrantee. 
John  Cavett  divided  this  land  between  his  sons.  John  and  James,  the  latter 
taking  the  Stewart  Station  tract  which  he  afterwards  exchanged  with  his 
brother-in-law,  John  Stewart,  for  a  mill  site,  part  of  the  Stewart  homestead 
in  Elizabeth  township,  Allegheny  county.  John  Stewart  (2)  died  seized  of 
this  land,  intestate,  leaving  two  sons — John  and  Alexander — and  five  daugh- 
ters. John  purchased  from  his  brother  and  sisters  their  interests  in  said  land, 
and  upon  his  marriage  removed  thereto  and  lived  thereon  until  his  death. 

John  Stewart,  son  of  John  and  Jane  (Cavett)  Stewart,  was  born  Septem- 
ber 15,  1796,  at  the  Stewart  homestead,  at  Round  Hill,  Elizabeth  township, 
Allegheny  county.  Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  prosperous  farmer  and  added 
to  the  tract  from  his  father's  estate,  as  above  stated,  a  tract  adjoining  the  same 
purchased  from  his  cousin,  James  Cavett,  one  of  the  heirs  of  the  vounger 
John  Cavett,  above  named,  making  tlie  total  area  of  his  homestead  propcrtv 
about  three  hunrlred  and  seventy  acres,  a  considerable  jiart  of  which  lav  in 
Allegheny  county,  the  mansion  house,  however,  being  in  Westmoreland  county. 
He  had,  besides,  acquired  valuable  farms  in  other  ])laces.  He  was  a  Whig 
until  the  dissolution  of  that  party,  when  he  became  a  Republican.  He  was"  a 
member  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church.  January  16,  1821,  Mr.  Stewart 
married  Margaret  Shaw,  a  daughter  of  David  and  Jane  (Ekin)  Shaw.  David 
was  the  son  of  Samuel  Shaw,  who,  with  their  young  family  of  five  sons  and 
one  daughter,  emigrated  from  county  Down.  Ireland,  and  settled  in  the  Ju- 
niata valley,  Pennsylvania,  about  the  year  176R.  After  the  death  of  his  fatiier 
David  Shaw  located  in  Versailles  township,  Allegheny  county,  and  in  Decem- 
"ber,   1788.  married  Jane  Ekin,  daughter  of  Robert  and   Margaret    (Jamison) 


432  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

Ekin,    who   had    removed    to    X'ersailles   township    from    York   county,    Penn- 
sylvania. 

Robert  Ekin  Stewart  is  ilic  youngest  ot"  nine  children--seyen  sons  and 
two  daughters — two  of  whom,  a  son  and  a  daughter,  died  in  infancy,  born 
to  John  "and  JMargaret  (Shaw)  Stewart.  He  was  a  farmer's  boy,  but  after 
completing  the  public  school  course  at  the  age  of  thirteen  his  time  was  largely 
spent  at  tlie  academy  and  college  until  iSOo,  when  he  was  graduated  from 
JetTerson  (now  Washington  and  Jefiferson)  College.  The  following  two  years 
were  spent  in  post-graduate  studies.  He  then  took  up  the  study  of  law  under 
the  Hon.  James  P.  Sterrett,  afterwards  chief  justice  of  the  supreme  court 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  completed  the  course  in  the  law  office  of  Hon.  John  P. 
Penney  and  the  Hon.  William  G.  Hawkins,  Jr.,  being  admitted  to  the  bar  of 
Allegheny  county  in  May,  1867,  and  has'since  been  in  active  practice  at  Pitts- 
burg, serving  six  years  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  examiners  for  admission 
to  the  bar. 

Mr.  Stewart  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  exercises  a  potent  influence 
in  behalf  of  the  parly  whose  principles  he  advocates.  He  served  as  school 
director  for  thirteen  years,  and  was  president  of  the  Allegheny  county  school 
directors  for  about  seven  years.  In  September,  1903,  without  solicitation  on 
his  part,  the  nomination  for  district  attorney  of  Allegheny  county  on  the  Re- 
publican ticket  was  tendered  him,  and  he  was  elected  to  the  same  in  the  fol- 
lowing November,  being  the  incumbent  of  the  office  at  the  present  time  (1905). 
From  1882  to  1897,  a  period  of  fifteen  years,  he  was  the  president  of  the 
Braddock  National  Bank.  From  August  6,  1862,  to  May  13,  1863,  he  served  as 
first  lieutenant  of  Company  E,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-third  Regiment, 
Pennsylvania  \'olunteers.  Froitl  March  27,  1865,  to  October  i,  1865,  he  was 
major  of  the  Twenty-fourth  Regiment,  United  States  Colored  Troops.  He 
participated  with  his  regiment  in  the  Antietam  campaign  in  September,  1862, 
and  was  on  the  division  stafif  at  Fredericksburg  and  Chancellorsville.  After 
the  surrender  of  General  Lee's  army  in  April,  1865,  he  was  commander  of  the 
sub-district  of  the  Roanoke,  with  headquarters  at  Burkeville,  Virginia.  For 
many  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Western 
Pennsylvania  Institute  for  Deaf  and  Dumb,  and  of  the  Carnegie  Free  Library 
at  Braddock.  H  is  a  member  of  the  LTnited  Presbyterian  church.  He  has 
been  a  trustee  of  the  general  assembly  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church 
of  North  America  since  1875,  and  a  trustee  and  member  of  the  board  of 
dirctors  of  the  Allegheny  Theological  Seminary  of  said  church  for  about  the 
same  period  of  time.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Pan-Presbyterian  Council  of 
1884,  at  Belfast,  Ireland.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public, and  of  the  Pennsylvania  Commandery  of  the  Military  Order  of  the 
Loyal  Legion. 

Air.  Stewart  married,  July  2,  1868,  Caroline  M.  McMasters,  daughter  of 
John  and  Leonora  (Markle)  ]\IcMasters,  and  her  education  was  acquired  at 
the  Pittsburg  public  schools  and  at  the  Pittsburg  Female  College.  Six  chil- 
dren were  the  issue  of  this  marriage,  as  follows :  Margaret,  born  April  7, 
1869,  educated  at  the  Pennsylvania  College  for  Women  in  Pittsburg:  mar- 
ried, June  II,  1891,  Alva  C.  Dinkey,  president  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Com- 
pany: residence,  Ellsworth  and  Amberson  avenues,  Pittsburg.  John  McMas- 
ters, M.  D.,  born  June  9,  1871,  educated  Westminster  College,  graduated  from 
the  medical  department  of  Western  University,  Pittsburg:  is  now  (1905)  in 
practice  at  Homestead,  Pennsylvania.  Harry  McMasters,  born  November 
23,  1873,  a  graduate  of  the  State  College  in  class  of  1896:  is  now  assistant 
superintendent  of  furnaces  at  the  Dequesne   Steel  Works.  Duquesne.   Pcnn- 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  433 

sylvania.  He  married  Caniille  Hawthorne,  June  28,  lyoo,  and  resides  at  Du- 
quesne.  Robert  E.,  Jr.,  born  Jamiary  23,  1876,  died  October  23,  1890.  Leonora 
.Markle,  born  Mav  5,  1878,  educated  at  Pennsylvania  College  tor  Women  and 
Wilson  College,  nrarried,  October  5,  1905,  Edward  R.  Williams,  of  Homestead. 
James  Sterrett.  born  October  13,  1S80,  a  graduate  of  North  Braddock  high 
school,  spent  one  year  at  Westminster  College,  and  one  year  in  the  medical 
department  of  Western  University.  Caroline,  born  January  11,  1883,  a  grad- 
uate of  North  Braddock  high  school,  and  now  a  student  of  Westminster  Col- 
lege. In  1869,  the  vear  following  his  marriage,  Mr.  Stewart  removed  from 
his  bovhood  home  at  Stewart  Station  to  Turtle  Creek,  Allegheny  county,  and 
later  purchased  property  in  North  Braddock,  whither  he  removed  in  October, 
1875,  his  residence  being  now  located  at  No.  31  North  avenue.  His  law 
office  is  at  No.  424  Fifth  avenue,  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania. 

HUGH  F'RICH,  a  descendant  of  an  honorable  English  family  and 
one  of  the  enterprising  and  progressive  citizens  of  North  Belle  Vernon,  is 
a  native  of  Herefordshire,  England,  born  July  14,  1859,  ^  son  of  Walter  and 
Mary  (  Powell)   Price. 

Walter  Price  (father)  was  for  tnany  years  a  farmer  in  Herefordshire, 
England,  and  also  engaged  in  the  raising  of  live  stock,  making  a  specialty 
of  fine  breeds  of  stock"  In' I'ebrury.  1873,  he  emigrated  to  the  United  States 
and  located  on  a  rented  farm  in  Rostraver  township,  Westmoreland  county, 
where  he  remained  three  years,  after  which  he  removed  to  Fayette  county  and 
purchased  a  farm  at  what  is  now  Arnold  City,  the  town  being  built  on  this 
farm.  In  1898  he  disposed  of  his  property  in  Fayette  county  and  purchased  a 
farm  near  Belle  \^ernon,  Rostraver  township,  Westmoreland  county,  where  he 
engaged  in  market  gardening  until  his  death,  which  occurred  December  5. 
1905.  Mr.  Price  married  (first)  ^lary  Powell,  a  native  of  England,  who  bore- 
him  five  children :  Edward  W.,  Thomas,  Alma  R.,  William  C,  a  machinist  of 
Pittsburg;  and  Hugh,  of  whom  later.  He  married  (second)  Louisa  J.  FarroVv, 
of  London,  England,  who  bore  him  six  children :  Frederick  I.,  Charles,  George 
T.,  Garfield,  Nellie,  deceased,  and  Robert. 

Hugh  Price  was  educated  at  the  Browning  Western  College  at  Bath, 
England.  In  early  life  he  came  to  the  United  States  and  at  the  age  of  nine- 
teen engaged  in  the  live  stock  business  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
in  which  section  he  located  upon  his  arrival  in  this  country,  and  followed  the 
same  successfully  for  more  than  twenty  years.  In  1890,  in  addition  to  the  stock 
business,  he  engaged  in  the  contracting  business,  making  a  specialty  of  drill-: 
ing  wells  for  oil  and  gas,  and  during  his  twelve  years  connection  with  this 
line  of  work  enjoyed  an  extensive  and  lucrative  trade.  In  the  fall  of  1902  he 
was  nominated  and  elected  on  the  Republican  ticket  to  the  office  of  county 
commissioner  and  served  a  term  of  three  years,  discharging  his  duties  with 
promptness  and  ability.  He  received  the  largest  majority  ever  given  to  a  can- 
flidate  for  that  office  in  Westmoreland  county  up  to  that  time,  tliis  fact  aniiDlv 
testifying  to  his  po])iilarity  and  sterling  character.  In  1898  he  was  a  delegate  (o 
the  Republican  state  convention,  and  for  nine  years  has  served  as  a  member 
of  the  North  Belle  Vernon  council.  He  organized  the  Bell  Vernon  fire  company 
and  was  elected  the  first  chief  of  the  same.  He  is  acting  in  the  capacity  of 
vice-president  of  the  Antler  Coal  &  Coke  Company  located  in  McDowell 
county.  West  \'irginia.  From  boyhood  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Episcopal 
church.  He  also  holds  membership  in  the  I.  O.  O.  I'".,  Lodge  No.  656.  of 
Belle  Vernon:  li.  P.  O.  E.,  Lodge  No.  511,  of  Grecn.sburg:  F.  and  A.  M., 
Blue  Lodge,   No.   615,  of   Charleroi ;   Bowensviile   Chapter,   No    164;   Olivet 

2—28 


434  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

Council  No  13,  Greensburg;  McKean  Commandery,  No.  80,  K.  T.,  Charleroi ; 
and  Scottish  Rite  Valley,  of  Pittsburg.  The  town  of  Pricedale,  near  Belle 
Vernon,  was  named  in  honor  of  Mr.  Price. 

Mr  Price  married,  November,  1883,  Mary  Marble  Wilkmson,  daughter 
of  Samuel  and  Lucinda  Wilkinson,  of  Rostraver  township,  who  bore  hun  two 
children-  Lura  L.,  wife  of  W.  H.  Lange,  a  druggist  of  Belle  Vernon,  and 
they  have  two  children :  Mary  Alma  and  Hugh  Henry  Lange ;  and  Thomas 
Edward,  died  in  infancy. 

GEORGE  WESLEY  HARKNESS,  an  enterprising  business  man 
of  Westmoreland  county,  was  born  at  Kittanning,  Armstrong  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, January  18,  1852.  ■  ^  . 
'  William  Harkness  (grandfather),  a  son  of  John  Harkness,  who  emigrated 
to  this  country  from  tlie  north  of  Ireland,  came  to  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  at  an  earlv  date,  and  settled  on  the  Harkness,  now  known  as  the 
Ward' farm.  He  followed  farming  as  an  occupation  throughout  the  active 
years  of  his  career.  His  wife,  Jane  (Stephenson)  Harkness,  of  North  Hunt- 
ingdon township,  bore  him  the  following  children :  James,  married  Elizabeth 
Stauffer;  he  resides  in  Clark  county,  Missouri.  William,  married  Martha 
Higbee ;  he  died  in  Missouri.  Margaret,  became  the  wife  of  Frank  Bradfield. 
Lavinia^  became  the  wife  of  Edward  Brodhead :  they  reside  at  Kittanning. 
John  F.',  married  Eliza  Glendenning.  Robert  S.,  mentioned  hereinafter.  .'\nn, 
became  the  wife  of  Cunningham  Borland:  she  is  now  deceased,  and  Mr.  Bor- 
land resides  in  Missouri.  "Mary,  died  unmarried.  Katherine  D.,  widow  of 
S.  L.  Brown;  she  now  resides  at  Ardara,  Pennsylvania.  William  Harkness, 
father  of  these  children,  died  December  23,  1863,  and  his  wife  passed  away 
February  11,  i860. 

Robert  Stephenson  Harkness  (father)  was  born  on  the  old  Harkness 
farm,  near  Ardara,  Westmoreland  county,  February  28,  1830.  After  his  mar- 
riage' he  settled  in  Allegheny  City,  when  it  was  no  more  than  a  collection  of 
cabins,  and  in  the  fifties  went  to  Kittanning,  Armstrong  county,  remaining 
there  three  or  four  years,  when  he  returned  to  Westmoreland  county,  and 
located  near  the  old  homestead.  He  was  a  plasterer  by  trade,  and  his  handi- 
.work  is  shown  all  through  the  country  surrounding  his  home.  When  the  civil 
war  broke  out  he  enlisted  in  the  Sixth  Pennsylvania  Heavy  Artillery,  being 
mustered  in  at  Pittsburg.  They  were  chiefly  stationed  at  the  forts  guarding 
Washington,  D.  C.  L'pon  his  discharge  Mr.  Harkness  returned  home  and 
resumed  his  trade,  which  he  continued  until  his  death,  April  8,  1888.  His 
wife,  Mary  Margaret  ( Cupps)  Harkness,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Margaret 
(Remaleyj  Cupps,  born  October  8,  1827,  died  September  2,  1900.  Their 
children  were :  George  Wesley,  mentioned  hereinafter.  William,  born  No- 
vember 12,  1854,  died  May  20,'  1868.  Elizabeth,  born  July  11,  i860,  became 
the  wife  of  George  Beals,  and  they  reside  in  Knoxville,  Pennsylvania.  Emma, 
twin  of  Elizabeth,  unmarried,  resides  at  Knoxville,  Pennsylvania.  Mary 
Margaret,  born  June  15,  1867,  became  the  wife  of  Charles  Smith,  and  after 
his  death  of  Joseph  Foley  :  they  reside  in  Pittsburg.  Pennsylvania. 

George  Weslev  Harkness  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools 
of  Westmoreland  county,  whither  his  father's  family  had  returned,  coming 
up  the  Allegheny  river  in  boats,  there  being  no  railway  or  other  means  of 
transportation  save  by  the  pike.  The  return  to  this  county  was  made  when 
George  W.  was  a  little  over  three  years  old.  From  an  early  age  he  worked 
with  his  father  at  the  trade  of  plasterer,  which  he  still  follows,  covering  terri- 
tory for  many  miles  around  his  home  at  .A.rdara  Station,  and  employing  many 


HISiORV   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  435 

men.  He  is  a  member  and  trustee  of  the  Ardara  I^lethodist  church,  and  a 
member  of  Shidle  Lodge,  Xo.  601,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  at  Irwin.  He 
is  a  Republican  in  pohtics,  and,  while  not  caring  to  accept  public  othce,  has 
frequently  served  on  election  boards.  He  is  one  of  the  representative  men  of 
the  comn'iunitv,  and  enjovs  the  acquaintance  of  a  wide  circle  of  friends.  Mr. 
Harkness  married,  April'g,  1874,  Alaria  ^I.  Strickler,  born  October  22,  1854, 
the  ceremonv  being  performed  in  the  old  Laird  Hotel,  since  destroyed  by  fire, 
at  Greensburg.  Peimsylvania.  She  is  a  daughter  of  John  F.  and  Charlotte 
Anne  (  Williams)  Strickler,  of  Mount  Pleasant,  Pennsylvania,  whose  births 
occurred  November  24,  1824.  and  March  15,  1835,  respectively.  John  F. 
Strickler  died  January  18,  i8(X).  The  children  of  George  W.  and  Maria  M. 
Harkness  are:  Will'iam  Strickler,  born  April  27,  1875,  married  Ida  R. 
Schwartz,  March  25,  1897.  At  present  employed  in  Pennsylvania  railroad 
shops  at  Pitcairn,  and  residing  at  same  place.  Eva  ]\Iay,  born  November  7, 
1876,  married  John  F.  Hammers,  of  Indiana,  Pennsylvania,  June  18,  1902,  and 
resides  in  Pittsburg.  ]\laud  Alice,  born  April  20,  1880,  married  George  A. 
Thompson,  of  Swissvale,  Pennsylvania,  July  30,  1903,  and  resides  in  Swiss- 
vale. 

J.  L.  KL'NKLE,  the  genial  and  popular  proprietor  of  the  Kunkle 
Hotel,  Greensburg,  was  born  in  North  Huntingdon  township,  Westmoreland 
countv,  Pennsylvania,  July  8.  1849,  a  son  of  John  L.  and  Sarah  (Baughman) 
Kunkle,  natives  of  North  Huntingdon  township,  members  of  the  Lutheran 
church,  and  whose  deaths  occurred  in  1874  and  1898,  respectively.  John  L., 
Kunkle  (father)  followed  the  quiet  but  useful  calling  of  agriculture  through- 
out the  active  years  of  his  life,  and  was  honored  and  respected  by  all  who  knew 
him. 

The  common  schools  of  his  native  county  afiforded  J.  L.  Kunkle  the 
means  of  obtaining  a  good  education,  he  completing  his  studies  therein  at  the 
age  of  nineteen  years.  For  seventeen  years  therafter  he  assisted  with  the 
work  on  his  father's  farm  and  also  imported  draught  horses,  realizing  there- 
from a  goodly  profit.  At  the  present  time  (1905)  he  is  the  ow-ner  of  the  farm 
in  North  Huntingdon  township,  on  which  his  mother  was  born  and  resided 
during  her  lifetime.  After  abandoning  the  business  of  buyjug  rnd  selling 
horses,  he  leased  the  Hotel  Stark  and  conducted  the  sanu  successfully  for 
twelve  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  (1905)  he  leased  the  house 
which  was  formerly  the  property  of  Dr.  H.  G.  Lomison,  and  which  is  now 
known  as  the  Kunkle  Hotel.  This  is  conducted  in  a  tlioroughly  business-like 
manner,  everything  pertaining  to  the  comfort  of  the  guests  being  attended 
to  promptly,  and  it  therefore  should  receive  a  large  share  of  the  patronage  of 
the  traveling  public.  Mr.  Kunkle  casts  his  vote  with  the  Democratic  party, 
the  principles  of  w^hich  he  believes  to  be  for  the  best  form  of  government. 
He  is  a  good  citizen  and  a  successful  business  man.  Mr.  Kunkle  married. 
May  20,  1869.  Barbara  E.  Altman,  daughter  of  Christopher  and  Rarliara 
(Schull)  Altman,  and  their  children  are:  Sarah  E.  M.,  who  became  the  w'ife 
of  Hunter  Stone:  they  reside  in  East  End,  Pittsburg,  and  are  the  parents  of 
two  children  :  John  L.  K.  and  Daniel  S.  Stone,  John  A.,  Mary  E.,  clied  at  the 
age  of  eighteen  years  ;  and  Laura  L.,  resides  at  home. 

ROBERT  WATSON  HERBERT.  It  is  universally  agreed  that  one 
of  the  best  methods  of  educating  the  masses  is  to  inculcate  the  study  of  the 
able  articles  to  be  found  in  the  columns  of  our  daily  and  weeklv  papers.  To 
■contribute  worthily  to  this  means  of  popular  education  is  to  render  no  incon- 


436  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

siderable  service  to  the  world  at  large.  Among  the  many  able  writers  and 
correspondents  in  the  political  field  must  be  mentioned  the  name  which  heads 
this  narrative,  Robert  Watson  Herbert,  a  native  of  this  country,  and  a  de- 
scendant of  Irish  ancestry,  who  unites  with  the  shrewdness  and  wit  of  that 
country  the  ambition  and  enterprise  which  seem  inherent  in  the  natives  of 
this. 

John  Herbert,  father  of  Robert  Watson  Herbert,  and  the  first  of  the 
family  to  emigrate  to  this  country,  was  born  in  Ireland,  June  24,  1813.  He 
was  the  son  of  Christopher  and  Mary  Herbert.  He  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1849  3'id  made  his  home  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  engaged  in  the 
occupation  of  farming.  His  education  had  been  obtained  in  the  public  school 
in  Ireland,  and  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  educational  matters  in  his  new 
home.  He  served  as  school  director  for  twelve  years,  during  which  time  he- 
made  a  number  of  improvements  in  the  school  system  of  the  town.  He  mar- 
ried Katherine  Dixon,  born  in  Ireland,  April  23,  1823,  daughter  of  George 
and  Catherine  Dixon.  Both  Mr.  Herbert  and  his  wife  were  members  of  the 
Episcopal  church.  Their  children  are :  John,  Christopher,  George  D.,  Alex- 
ander K.,  Frank  D.,  W.  H..  R.  W.,  James  M.,  Mrs.  W.  W.  Keenan,  Mrs.  Riley 
Walton  and  the  late  Jane  Herbert. 

Robert  Watson  Herbert,  son  of  John  and  Katherine  (Dixon)  Herbert, 
was  born  in  Salem  township,  Pennsylvania,  February  24,  1859.  He  received 
his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  his  district  and  in  the  New  Salem 
Acadero'i;.  He  was  a  very  bright  and  studious  pupil,  and  early  showed  an 
aptitude  for  literary  work.  He  became  a  writer  of  more  than  local  reputa- 
tion, being  in  the  employ  of  a  political  newspaper,  and  also  as  correspondent. 
He  was  for  some  time  president  of  the  Pennsylvania  Legislative  Correspond- 
ents' Association.  His  political  affiliations  are  Democratic,  and  he  is  an- 
active  and  valued  supporter  of  his  party.  His  writings  show  a  style  which 
is  clear,  concise  and  trenchant,  and  have  done  most  effective  work.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  also  of  the  Order 
of  the  Golden  Eagles.  He  married,  June  25,  1885,  Margaret  A.  Black,  daugh- 
ter of  Robert  and  Sarah  (McGinley)  Black,  and  a  direct  descendant  from 
revolutionary  stock.  She  was  educated  in  the  Pittsburg  Female  College.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Herbert  have  one  child,  Robert  B.,  born  at  Greensburg,  December 
29,   1886,  educated  at  Kiskiminetas  preparatory  school. 

JOHN  ALBRIGHT  BRANT,  one  of  Westmoreland's  younger  and 
most  capable  and  energetic  merchants,  is  a  representative  of  an  old  and  honored 
family  of  the  state  of  Pennsylvania. 

John  Brant,  grandfather  of  John  Albright  Brant,  followed  the  occupa- 
tion of  a  wagoner  on  the  old  pike  in  its  most  palmy  days.  He  was  a  Re- 
publican and  a  staunch  adherent  of  his  party.  He  was  twice  married;  by  his 
first  wife  he  had  children :  Abraham,  of  whom  later ;  Joseph,  John  H.,  Mary, 
who  married  James  Shannon  ;  and  Sarah.  By  his  second  wife  he  had  chil- 
dren:  George  M.,  Lizzie  and  McGinnis.  John  Brant  died  at  an  advancerl 
age. 

Abraham  Brant,  son  of  John  Brant  by  his  first  wife,  was  born  on  the  old 
pike  between  Berlin  and  Cumberland,  on  the  farm  of  his  parents,  June  5, 
1821.  He  had  the  advantage  of  a  good  common  school  education,  and  upon 
arriving  at  a  suitable  age  learned  the  trade  of  a  stone  mason.  Later  in  life 
he  removed  to  Ligonier  township,  where  he  purchased  a  farm  on  which  he 
resided.  He  bought  out  a  woolen  mill  in  1871  and  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  yarn,  blankets  and  cloth.     The  mill  was  located  in  Ligonier  township' 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUXTY.  437 

and  he  conducted  the  operations  personally  for  many  years  until  his  death.  He 
died  February  4,  1896.  and  was  buried  in  Brant's  cemetery  in  Ligomer  town- 
ship. He  was  an  active  and  loval  member  of  the  Evangelical  church,  and 
served  in  all  the  various  offices  of  that  institution.  He  was  a  Republican,  and 
was  elected  to  many  of  the  township  positions  of  trust.  He  married,  August 
28  1850,  Catherine  Kimmel,  a  member  of  the  prominent  Westmoreland 
county  family  of  that  name.  She  died  September  26,  1877,  aged  fifty-one 
vears.'  and  was  buried  in  Brant's  cemetery.  The  children  of  ^Ir.  and  Mrs. 
.\braham  Brant  were:  .     . 

Ephraim  K.  (twin),  born  May  28,  1851  ;  is  a  farmer :  married  Lizzie  Ober, 
and  lives  in  Stahlstown.  Julie  K.'  (twin),  born  May  28,  1851 :  married  Eman- 
iiel  Smith,  of  Ligonier  township,  and  has  children :  Abram  J.,  Stella  M., 
Myrtle,  and  Harry  \\'.  Emma,  born  IMarch  21.  1855  :  married  Joseph  Naugle, 
of'Laughlinstown;  and  has  children:  Ira,  Xevin  and  Uga.  John  A.,  of  whom 
later. 

John  Albright  Brant,  youngest  child  and  second  son  of  Abraham  and 
Catherine  (Kimmel)  Brant',  was  born  in  Ligonier  township,  Westmoreland 
county.  Pennsylvania,  September  26,  1861.  He  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  the'  district  and  later  attended  the  California  State  Normal  school, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1887.  He  commenced  his  business  career 
by  working  in  the  woolen  mill  of  his  father,  and  was  actively  engaged  there 
for  eighteen  years,  during  this  time  thoroughly  mastering  every  detail  of  the 
business,  from  the  wool  on  the  sheep's  back  to  the  finished  product.  \Miile 
thus  occupied  and  prior  to  1888  Mr.  Brant  taught  in  the  township  schools 
for  thirteen  winters,  with  unqualified  satisfaction  to  all  concerned.  He  pur- 
chased the  "Ligonier  Echo"  in  1888.  This  was  a  small  and  struggling  paper 
with  a  subscription  list  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  names,  and  Mr.  Brant's 
energy  and  capable  handling  worked  this  up  in  the  course  of  three  years 
to  a  list  of  seven  hundred  and  thirty-five.  He  then  sold  out  his  interest  in  the 
paper  to  his  partner,  L  M.  Graham,  who  conducts  the  paper  at  the  present 
day  (1906).  Mr.  Brant's  next  business  venture  was  in  Ligonier,  where  for 
five  years  he  owned  and  conducted  a  livery  stable.  Selling  out  this  business 
he  bought  a  saw  mill,  and  for  two  years  was  engaged  in  lumbering.  He  then 
purchased  a  farm  in  Ligonier  township,  and  for  one  year  followed  agricultural 
jnirsuits.  He  bought  from  the  Horner  heirs  in  1902  the  mercantile  business 
at  Stahlstown,  and  here  he  now  conducts  a  well  stocked  and  flourishing  gen- 
eral store.  In  all  his  various  business  enterprises  he  has  shown  marked  ability, 
and  each  change  has  marked  a  step  forward  on  the  road  to  prosperity.  He  is 
an  enthusiastic  Republican,  and  has  filled  very  acceptably  a  number  of  the  town 
offices,  among  them  those  of  clerk  and  collector  of  taxes.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Evangelical  church  at  Ligonier.  He  married,  September  11.  18S9, 
Jessie  M.  Shafer.  born  September  6,  1870.  daughter  of  Edward  and  Rachel 
(Xaugle)  Shafer.  Edward  Shafer  is  a  prominent  farmer  of  Ligonier  town- 
ship, is  a  Republican,  and  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  His  wife  died  in 
1901.  The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  A.  Brant  are  as  follows:  Xoss 
Dean,  born  January  25,  1891  :  Willa  G.,  August  9,  1893;  and  Edward  E., 
September  27,  1900,  died  January  i,   1901. 

CHARLES  WALTER  SHUEY,  an  enterprising  aiul  jjrogressive 
citizen  of  Greensburg,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  contractor  for  all 
kinds  of  masonry  work,  is  a  member  of  an  old  and  honored  family  of  the 
county. 

John    Shuey.    grandfather   of   Charles   Walter   Shuey,   was   a    farmer    in 


4j8  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY 

Hempfield  township.  He  married  Sarah  Aultman,  and  they  had  children-. 
Margaret,  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-three  years,  was  the  wife  of  Israel  Busii, 
of  Greensburg,  and  had  two  children:  Franklin,  married  Sadie  Harold;  and 
Nannie.  Michael  Daniel,  born  1843;  died  1876;  married  Laura  France,  of 
Fort  Wayne,  Indiana,  and  had  one  child,  Joseph.  Katharine,  married  Amos 
Klingensmith.  David,  of  whom  later.  Franklin,  a  farmer  in  Hempfield 
township.  Robert,  a  farmer  of  Hempfield  township ;  married  Sarah  Brough- 
ler,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Lucinda  (Walter)  Broughler,  of  Greensburg,  and 
had  three  children :  Olive,  died  at  the  age  of  ten  months ;  Robert,  Clarence. 
Jacob,  a  farmer  of  Hempfield  township ;  married  Jennie  Higgins,  daughter  of 
John  Johnston  and  Lydia  (Walter)  Higgins,  of  Pleasant  Unity.  They  have 
one  child,  Ruth.  William,  married  Mary  Shively,  and  has  children:  Hattie, 
Anna,  Maurice,  Franklin,  William.  Charles,  and  Thomas.  Elizabeth,  mar- 
ried Isaac  Varner,  and  had  two  children :  Maurice  and  Maud. 

David  Shuey,  second  son  and  fourth  child  of  John  and  Sarah  (Aultman) 
Shuey.  was  born  in  Hempfield  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
June  8,  1850.  His  education  was  acquired  in  Smith's  schoolhouse.  He  ob- 
tained a  position  with  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  as  brakeman  and 
flagman,  and  was  in  their  employ  fifteen  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  First 
Reformed  Church  of  Greensburg,  and  in  politics  is  a  Democrat.  He  married, 
October  6,  1873,  Margaret  Kettering,  daughter  of  William  and  Eliza  (Brin- 
dle)  Kettering,  and  they  have  children:  Alice,  born  September  11,  1875; 
died  in  her  eleventh  vear.  Charles  Walter,  of  whom  later.  Gertrude,  born 
May  2,  1880,  died  February  27,  1906.  Ada  Thomas,  born  August,  1886, 
died  March  29,  1898.  Edward  Jacob,  born  April  27,  1878,  married  Bird 
Keener,  of  Greensburg,  daughter  of  John  and  Alice  L.  (Wentzel)  Keener, 
and  they  have  one  child,  John  Edward,  born  July  31,  1905.  Pearl,  born  June 
9,  1893.' 

Charles  Walter  Shuey,  second  child  and  eldest  son  of  David  and  ^larga- 
ret  (Kettering)  Shuey,  was  born  in  Greensburg,  Westmoreland  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, April  27,  1876.  He  was  educated  in  the  Greensburg  public  and 
high  schools.  He  was  then  apprenticed  to  the  trade  of  bricklaying  with  Sam- 
uel Heister,  of  New  Kensington,  and  has  followed  this  line  of  work  with 
great  success,  making  a  specialty  of  taking  contracts  for  bricklaying,  etc. 
He  is  very  energetic  and  determined,  and  is  considered  one  of  the  rising  young 
men  of  the  district.  He  married,  April  24,  1900,  Catherine  Sheppard,  and 
they  have  one  child,  Alfred  Charles,  born  July  28,  1902.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  United  Brethren  church,  and  affiliates  with  the  Democratic  party.  A 
sketch  of  Simon  P.  Shuey,  a  cousin  of  Charles  Walter  Shuey,  is  also  to  be 
found  in  this  work. 

JOHN  DEAN  CALDWELL.  M.  D..  was  born  November  i.  1873, 
at  Hollidaysburg,  Blair  county,  Pennsylvania  .  He  is  one  of  the  four  children 
surviving  of  five  of  Jonathan  M.  and  Elizabeth  (Olmes)  Caldwell,  the  others 
of  whom  are :  David,  proprietor  of  the  Poplar  Grove  stock  farm.  West  Vir- 
ginia;  Mathilda,  wife  of  A.  F.  Clark,  of  ]\Iounds,  Indiana;  and  Carl,  who  re- 
sides on  Poplar  Grove  farm. 

The  Caldwell  family  is  one  of  the  oldest  families  of  Blair  county,  having 
settled  there  in  the  days  of  the  Indians,  and  the  first  white  child  born  in 
Juniata  Vallev  was  a  Caldwell.  The  founders  of  the  American  branch  of  the 
family  were  two  brothers,  who  came  from  Scotland,  and  one  of  whom  later 
became  governor  of  North  Carolina.  A  son  of  one  of  these  brothers  was 
.Samuel  Caldwell,  the  great-grandfather  of  Dr.  Caldwell:  the  son  of  Samuel 


NHW   YORK 
'PUBLIC  LIBRA 


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HISTORY  Of   JVESTMORELAXD   COUNTY.  439 

CaUlwell  was  David,  wlio  was  born  at  \\'arriors  Afark,  Pennsylvania.  He,  in 
his  dav,  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  figures  of  Rlair  county,  for  many  years 
an  associate  judge  and  an  important  factor  in  the  Republican  party;  in  his 
early  days  he  wa's  a  Whig.  He  engaged  extensively  in  various  lines  of  manu- 
facturing and  was  the  owner  of  iron  mines  in  addition.  His  wife  was  Sarah 
:\Iartin.\v  whom  he  had  five  children:  Rebecca,  who  was  the  wife  of  the 
Hon.  Jonathan  Dean,  of  the  supreme  bench  of  Pennsylvania;  Ellie,  wife  of 
Hon.  Tames  FreofT,  of  Colorado,  who  was  judge  of  Leadville  county  for  many 
years;'  Jonathan  11.,  see  forward:  Fannie,  who  is  the  only  one  of  the  children 
living,  a  resident  of  Philadelphia.  Pennsylvania. 

Jonathan  M..  father  of  Dr.  Caldwell,  was  born  in  1S35,  at  HoUidaysburg, 
I^ennsylvania,  and  after  finishing  his  schooling  was  associated  with  his  father 
in  the  iron  manufacturing  business,  the  tannery  business  and  in  the_mining 
industries.  He  died  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-nine  years,  his  wife  preceding  him 
to  the  grave,  having  died  when  thirty-four  years  old.  Upon  the  death  of  the 
parents  the  children  were  taken  by  their  grandfather,  the  Hon.  David  Cald- 
well, and  were  under  his  control  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1895. 

John  D.  Caldwell,  U.  D..  was  reared  by  his  grandfather  with  his  brothers 
and  sisters.  His  literary  education  was  acquired  at  Washington  College  and 
Jefferson  College,  at  which  latter  he  took  a  classical  course.  He  took  up  the 
studv  of  medicine  with  Dr.  H.  H.  Brotherland,  of  HoUidaysburg,  and  later 
graduated  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  medical  department,  in  the 
spring  of  the  year  1899.  After  graduation  he  took  up  practice  at  Galena, 
Kansas,  where  he  was  located  for  two  years,  during  which  time  he  was  also 
extensivelv  engaged  in  lead  and  zinc  mining  enterprises.  He  returned  to 
Pennsylvania  in  1901  and  later  located  at  Herminie,  where  he  has  built  up  a 
remunerative  practice  a^id  has  gained  an  enviable  reputation  as  a  practitioner 
and  skilled  surgeon.  He  is  a  member  of  the  American  Medical  Association,  the 
Pennsvlvania  State  ^Medical  Society,  the  Somerset  County  Medical  Society, 
of  Mvcrsdale,  Lodge  No.  554,  F.  and  A.  M.,  of  the  AJodern  Woodmen  of 
America,  the  K.  O.  T.  ^t.  and  the  A.  O.  N.  W.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Jonathan  Ashurst  Junior  Surgical  Society.  Politically  he  is  a  Republican,  but 
iias  never  taken  an  active  interest  in  politics.  In  1895  Dr.  Caldwell  married 
Ida  M.  Hughes,  of  HoUidaysburg.  a  daughter  of  William  V.  Hughes,  of  the 
firm  of  W.  v.  Hughes  &  Son,  contractors  and  builders.  Two  children  were 
born  of  this  marriage — William  H.  and  Elizabeth  O.  Caldwell.  The  family 
has  always  occupied  a  prominent  social  position  and  claims  many  distinguished 
members,  mong  them  Jonathan  Caldwell  Calhoun,  of  national  fame,  whose 
motlier's  name  was  Caldwell. 

SAMUEL  CLARENXE  WEI:MER.  In  the  death  of  Samuel  C. 
Weimer,  which  occurred  December  20,  1904,  the  borough  of  West  Newton 
lost  one  of  its  prominent,  enterprising,  business  men,  a  man  whose  prominence 
proved  conclusivelv  what  can  be  accomplished  by  strict  attention  to  business, 
and  by  a  steadfast  determination  to  succeed,  and  the  large  measure  of  success 
achieved  ?»y  him  was  the  direct  result  of  his  own  ambition  and  efifort.  He  was 
a  native  of  West  Newton,  born  September  10,  1846,  and  hence  was  in  the 
fifty-ninth  year  of  his  age  when  he  died.  His  parents  were  .Samuel  Bossart 
and  Catherine  Lucetta  (Hanna)  Weimer. 

Sanuicl  C.  Weimer  acquired  a  good.  English  education  in  the  West  New- 
ton Academy.  January  i,  1872,  he  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  firm  of 
Richey  &  Weimer,  merchants,  and  they  established  a  department  store,  which 
became  the  largest  enterprise  along  those  lines  in  that  section  of  the  county. 


440  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

In  1876  he  jHirchascd  his  partner's  interest  in  the  business,  and  conducted  tlie 
same  up  to  his  death.  He  was  a  member  in  the  organization  of  the  \'an  Dyke, 
Weimer  &  Taylor  banking  firm,  wliich  conducted  an  extensive  business,  and 
which  later  disposed  of  its  business  to  the  First  National  Bank.  It  was  largely 
owing  to  his  efforts  that  the  plant  of  the  United  States  Radiator  Works  was 
located  in  West  Newton,  adding  greatly  to  the  growth  and  development  of  the 
town.  He  was  chairman  of  the  building  committee  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
church,  contributed  liberally  toward  the  building  of  the  same,  served  in  the 
capacity  of  trustee  and  treasurer,  filling  the  latter  ofiice  for  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  century.  He  was  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  exercised  a  potent  influence 
in  behalf  of  the  party  whose  principles  he  advocated.  A  short  time  prior  to  his 
death,  failing  in  health,  he  retired  from  business  and  led  a  quiet  life.  Mr. 
Weimer  married,  October  3.  1883,  Margaret  J.  Corey,  daughter  of  James  B. 
and  Elizabeth  Ann  (Kidd)  Corey,  the  former  named  being  one  of  the  well 
known  coal  operators  of  the  Monongahela  valley,  residing  at  Braddock,  Penn- 
sylvania. Two  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Weimer:  Elizabeth  L. 
C.  and  Mary  H.  The  family  hold  membership  in  the  United  Presbyterian 
church  of  West  Newton. 

GEORGE  H.  JOHNSON,  of  Parnassus,  is  the  son  of  Samuel  and 
Mary  Johnson,  and  was  born  March  20,  1857,  in  England,  whence  he  emi- 
grated in  1884  to  the  United  States.  His  first  home  was  in  Pittsburg,  where 
for  three  years  he  engaged  in  mill  work.  He  then  moved  to  Milltown,  Alle- 
gheny county,  and  later  to  Westmoreland  county,  devoting  himself  in  both 
places  to  farming  and  the  dairy  business.  In  July,  1904,  he  established  a  milk 
store  in  New  Kensington,  which  he  has  successfully  conducted  down  to  the 
present  time.  He  is  a  member  of  Ben  Hur  Court,  of  New  Kensington.  He 
married,  before  leaving  England,  Emily  Ann  Chapman,  and  their  children, 
all  of  whom  were  born  in  the  native  land  of  their  parents,  are:  William  A., 
engineer  at  the  glass  works  in  Arnold,  married  Myrtle  Hilty,  and  has  one  child, 
Kenneth;  Ada  May,  at  home;  Sidney  Samuel,  also  engineer  at  the  Arnold 
glass  works,  married  Blanche  Hilty. 

CHARLES  C.  CROWELL  is  a  rejjresentative  of  the  fifth  genera- 
tion of  the  Crowell  family  in  the  state  of  Pennsylvania.  The  original  Ameri- 
can progenitor  was  John  Crowell,  who  immigrated  to  America  in  the  first 
half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  having  landed  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  on 
the  19th  day  of  August,  1729.  Notwitlistanding  his  age  he  served  in  the  revo- 
lution. (See  Pennsylvania  Archives,  second  series,  vol.  13,  page  619.)  There 
he  maintained  his  home  for  some  time,  after  which  he  removed  to  Chester 
county,  where  he  passed  the  closing  years  of  his  life  and  where  in  the  }'ear 
1758  his  son  Henry,  the  great-grandfather  of  Charles  C.  Crowell,  was  born. 

Henry  Crowell  afterwards  removed  to  York  county,  near  Hall  postoffice, 
where  he  purchased  a  tract  of  land  upon  which  he  continued  to  reside  until  his 
death  in  1833,  and  where  his  son  Daniel  was  born  on  the  12th  day  of  July, 
1803.  Daniel  Crowell  removed  from  the  old  homestead  in  York  county,  first 
to  Trumbull  county,  Ohio,  where  he  was  married  on  the  5th  day  of  March, 
1835,  to  Hannah  Carroll,  daughter  of  Jonathan  Carroll.  Shortly  afterwards 
he  again  removed  to  Mercer  count}-,  Pennsylvania,  where  his  son,  Daniel  V. 
Crowell,  was  born  on  the  14th  day  of  December,  1843,  ^"fl  ™  the  same  year 
he  again  removed  to  Adamsburg,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  and 
there  he  resided  until  his  death  on  the  nth  day  of  June,  1876.'  Daniel  \'. 
Crowell   married,   January    19,    1865,    Emma   Caroline,   youngest   daughter   of 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  441 

Joseph  and  Elizabeth  Kamerer.  both  of  whom  were  descended  from  old 
pioneer  families  of  Westmoreland  county.  Emma  C.  Crowell  was  born  May 
14,  1842.  Her  paternal  ancestor  was  one  of  the  petitioners  to  the  Colonial 
authorities  for  assistance  in  defending  the  Westmoreland  frontier  against  the 
Indians  prior  to  the  burning  of  Hannastown  (1782).  They  continued  to 
reside  at  Adamsburg  (where  their  only  son,  the  subject  of  this  review,  was 
born  Februarv  i,  1866)  until  some  twenty-five  years  ago.  when  they  removed 
to  their  present  place  of  residence  near  Greensburg.  In  politics  Daniel  \'.  Crow- 
ell is  a  Republican,  so  likewise  was  his  father.  I'.oth  he  and  his  wife  are 
members  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  church.  He  served  under  General  Richard 
Coulter  in  the  renowned  Eleventh  Pennsylvania  Regiment  in  the  civil  war,  hav- 
ing enlisted  when  seventeen  years  old. 

Charles  C.  Crowell  is  a  meijiber  of  the  bar  of  his  native  county,  being  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Greensburg.  He  secured  his  educa- 
tional training  in  the  public  schools  of  Adamsburg  and  thereafter  continued 
his  studies  in  the  Greensburg  Seminary,  from  which  institution  he  was  grad- 
uated in  1891.  He  read  law  under  the  preceptorship  of  John  F.  Wentling,  one 
of  the  talented  and  honored  members  of  the  Westmoreland  bar,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  practice  at  the  May  term  of  the  court  in  1893.  He  served  as  second 
lieutenant  and  battalion  adjutant  in  the  Tenth  Regiment  of  Pennsylvania  \'ol- 
unteers  in  the  Spanish-American  war.  Mr.  Crowell  married  January  4,  1899, 
Henrietta  M.  Turney,  youngest  daughter  of  the  late  Hon.  Jacob  and  Mary  S. 
Turney.  They  have  one  son,  Daniel  \'.  Crowell,  born  June  21,  1901.  In 
jjolitics  Mr.  Crowell  is  an  advocate  of  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party, 
and  adheres  to  the  faith  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  church. 

R.  F.  GR.\HAM.  The  father  of  R.  F.  Graham,  of  \'andergrift,  was 
Andrew  Graham,  who  was  a  cooper  by  trade  and  a  large  manufacturer  in 
company  with  John  Hackett.  Their  factory  was  situated  for  seven  years  at 
P>elle  \'ernon. 

Mr.  Graham  married  Mary  A.  Riddell,  and  their  children  are ;  Lindsey, 
Mary  A.,  John  M.,  Andrew,  Joseph,  R.  F.,  mentioned  hereafter;  and  Eliza- 
beth. Mr.  Graham  has  now  retired  from  business.  He  is  a  resident  of  \\'eb- 
ster.     His  wife  is  deceased. 

R  F.  Graham,  son  of  Andrew  and  Mary  A.  (Riddell)  Graham,  was  born 
June  8,  1866,  in  Fayette  county,  where  he  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools.  At  an  early  age.  under  the  instruction  of  his  father,  he  thoroughly 
learned  the  coopers'  trade,  in  its  various  branches.  Subsequently  he  became 
foreman  in  the  keg  department  of  the  Allegheny  workhouse.  In  1896  he 
moved  to  Westomcrland  county  and  for  some  years  was  engaged  in  mercantile 
liusiness  at  \'andergrift,  which  is  still  his  place  of  residence.  He  was  one  of 
the  organizers  of  the  .Vjjollo  Cooperage  Company,  of  Apollo,  which  was  char- 
tered May  19,  1904,  with  \'an  T.  Shepler  as  president,  H.  F.  Jack  as  vice-pres- 
ident, and  R.  F.  Graham  as  secretary,  treasurer  and  general  manager.  Tlieir 
factory  is  situated  in  \\'est  Apollo  and  turns  out  all  kinds  of  tight  barrels  and 
kegs.  The  company  employs  twenty-five  men,  whose  average  output  is  two 
hundred  and  fifty  barrels  daily.  Their  machinery  is  the  best  and  of  the  most 
modern  description.  Mr.  (iraham  is  associated  with  the  American  Insurance 
Comi^any.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  the  T.  C).  O.  F.,  the  R.  A.,  and  Apollo 
Lodge.  Xo.  437  l'.  and  A.  M.,  in  which  he  holds  the  rank  of  past  master.  Mr. 
Craham  married  Edith  P.  Fell,  and  they  have  three  sons:  X'ernon  F..  Robert 
C,  and  Ernest  S. 


442  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

SAMUEL  W.  HAMILTON.  The  father  of  Samuel  W.  Hamilton, 
of  Vandergrift,  was  William  R.  Hamilton,  who  was  born  in  1811,  in  Alle- 
gheny county,  where  he  was  reared  to  farm  life.  As  a  young  man  he  moved 
to  Armstrong  county,  settling  on  a  farm  between  Putneyville  and  New  Bethle- 
hem, on  which  he  lived  until  about  ten  years  before  his  death,  wli^n  he  retired 
and  moved  into  New  Bethlehem,  but  died  in  Allegheny.  During  the  active 
period  of  his  life  he  was  one  of  the  most  progressive  farmers  in  the  county, 
and  was  recognized  as  a  leader  in  the  agricultural  district  in  which  he  lived. 
He  was  an  experimenter  in  all  branches  of  his  calling.  He  is  entitled  to  the 
honor  of  having  been  one  of  the  most  active  of  the  abolitionists  and  a  member 
of  the  underground  railroad.  In  the  ranks  of  the  Republican  party  he  was  an 
influential  factor,  but  would  never  accept  office.  In  early  life  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Linited  Presbyterian  church  and  later  of  the  Presbyterian,  and  was- 
for  many  years  a  church  worker  and  officer.  Mr.  Hamilton  married  Ann  C. 
Hamilton,  and  their  children  were :  Windfield  Scott,  ranchman  at  Douglas, 
Wyoming;  Samuel  W.,  mentioned  hereinafter;  William  Finlev,  also  ranch-^ 
man  at  Douglas,  Wyoiuing ;  Edward  Alexander,  in  pottery  business  at  New 
Bethlehem ;  Margaret  R.,  wife  of  the  Rev.  R.  J.  George,  of  Allegheny ;  Clara 
Belle,  wife  of  W.  T.  Putney,  of  New  Bethlehem ;  Anna  M.,  wife  of  Charles 
Sedgwick,  of  Toledo,  Ohio;  and  one  deceased.  Mr.  Hamilton,  the  father,  died 
in  1894. 

Samuel  W.  Hamilton,  son  of  William  R.  and  Ann  C.  (Hamilton)  Hamil-' 
ton,  was  born  March  17,  1843,  in  Allegheny  county.     When  he  was  a  year  old 
his  parents  moved  to  Armstrong  county,  on  a  farm  and  tiiere  he     acquired 
his  education  in  the  schools,  afterward  attending  the  Dayton   (Pennsylvania) 
Academy,  and  finishing  with  a  commercial  course  at  the  Iron  City  College.    On 
September  25,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Company  D,  One  Hundred  and  Third  Regi- 
ment, Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry,  in  which  he  served  to  the  close  of  the 
war.     On  April  20,   1864,  the  entire  brigade  with  the  exception  of  five  com- 
panies was  captured  at  Plymouth,   North  Carolina,  and  for  ten  months  and 
eleven  days  was  confined  in  Andersonville,  Charleston  and  Florence.     On  Feb- 
ruary 28,  1865,  they  were  released  on  parole  and  after  a  month  in  camp  were 
sent  home,  Mr.  Hamilton  being  honorably  discharged  at  Pittsburg  in  April, 
1865.     On  his   return  home  he  completed  his  education  and  was  afterward 
pressed  by  his  friends  to  accept  the  nomination  for  treasurer  of  Armstrong- 
county.     He  consented,  and  with  l)ut  two  weeks  for  a  campaign,  received  the 
nomination  by  a  large  plurality.     After  another  two  weeks'  campaign  he  was 
elected  by  a  handsome  majority.    Upon  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  office  he 
engaged  in  the  oil  business  at  Parker's  Landing,  but  three  years  later  disposed 
of  his  interest  and  went  to  New  Bethleham,  where  he  embarked  in  the  foundry 
business,  with  which  he  was  prominently  identified  for  fifteen  years.  At  the  end 
of  that  time  he  disposed  of  the  business  and  became  a  hardware  merchant  in 
Apollo,  continuing  until  1896,  when  the  borough  of  Vandergrift  was  founded- 
He  then  removed  his  business  to  that  place,  where  he  has  since  conducted  it 
successfully.     In  September,    1904,  he  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Vander- 
grift, an  office  which  he  still  holds.     He  belongs  to  \\'hitworth  Post,  No.  89, 
G.  A.  R.,  of  Apollo,  and  is  a  Republican  in  politics.     He  is  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  for  the  last  four  vears  has  served  as  superintendent 
of  the  Sunday  school.     Mr.  Hamilton  married  in   1867,  Jennie,  daughter  of 
Uilham  and  Mollie  (Quigley)  Cochran,  of  Armstrong  county,  and  their  chil- 
dren are :     John  B.,  assistant  postmaster  of  Vandergrift ;  Allison  A.,  manager 
of  his  father's  hardware  business ;  Mary  Leonora,  graduate  of  Indiana  Normal 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  44J. 

school  and  teacher  in  X'andergrift ;  and  Anna  Belle,  at  home,  attending  Kneff 
College,  Philadelphia. 

LOUCKS,  LOUX,  OR  LAUX  FAI^IILY.  Peter  Loucks,  (usual. 
spelling  on  Bucks  county  records,  church  and  civil,  Loux),  the  progenitor  of 
the  American  branch  of'  the  family,  was  born  in  Germany  in  the  year  1706. 
He  came  to  America  in  the  ship  "Friendship,"  arriving  in  Philadelphia,  Penn- 
sylvania, September  20,  1738;  he  was  probably  unmarried  when  he  arrived. 
He  settled  in  Bedmister  township.  Bucks  county,  about  1749,  and  in  1762- 
purchased  from  Chief  Justice  Allen  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  acres  of 
land,  and  in  1781.  purchased  another  farm  in  the  same  township  for  his  second 
son,' Jacob  Loucks.  He  resided  on  the  former  piece  of  property  many  years 
before  the  deed  was  executed;  he  probably  purchasd  it  on  the  installment 
plan,  as  did  nearly  all  of  the  settlers  on  Allen's  plot  of  six  thousand  six  hun- 
dred' and  three  acres  in  Bedminster,  paying  down  a  small  amount  and  the  deed 
being  executed  when  jjayments  were  all  made.  He  was  a  member  of  the  To- 
hickon  Reformed  church.  His  wife,  Catharine  Loucks,  whom  he  married 
about  1748  or  1750,  was  the  first  child  born  in  Bedminster  township.  Their 
children  were:  Barbara,  who  became  the  wife  of  Jacob  SoUiday.  January  10, 
1773 :  John,  who  settled  in  Pluinstead  township,  Bucks  county,  and  at  his  death. 
left  a  "faniilv:  Jacob,  who  married  and  settled  in  Bedminster  about  1781,  and 
Peter.  Jr..  mentioned  hereafter.  IMr.  Loucks  died  on  the  homestead  in  Bed- 
minster township,  near  Deep  Run  Mennonite  church,  about  the  year  1795. 

Peter  Loux,  Jr.,  was  born  in  Bedminster  township,  December  19,  1760. 
He  married  AnnaOverholt,  who  was  born  in  Bedminster,  Bucks  county,  No- 
vember 25,  1770,  daughter  of  tienry  and  Anna  (Beidler)  Overholt,  who  were 
neighbors  of  the  Loucks  family.  April  i,  1793,  Mr.  Loux  purchased  a  farm  of 
one  hundred  and  seventy-six  acres  and  fifty-nine  perches  in  Plumstead  town- 
ship, and  resided  thereori  until  April  i,  1800,  when  he  sold  his  farm  and  re- 
moved with  his  wife's  brothers — Henry  and  Martin  Overholt — to  Fayette 
county,  removing  later  to  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  settled  near  the 
Overholts,  on  the  site  of  what  is  now  Scottdale,  where  he  purchased  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres  and  engaged  in  farming.  He  was  a  member  of  the  ]\Ien- 
nonite  church.  He  died  July  10,  1825,  in  the  sixty-fifth  year  of  his  age  ;  his 
wife  died  March  15,  1845.     Their  children  were  as  follows: 

Catharine,  born  about  1793,  became  the  wife  of  John  W.  Staufifer. 

Henry,  born  1794,  in  Plumstead  township,  Bucks  county,  died  in  West- 
moreland county,  December,  1854;  he  married  (first)  Mary  Myers,  who  bore- 
him  two  children:  John  and  Peter.  He  married  (second)  Barbara  Rosen- 
berger  Staufifer,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Betty  (Rosenberger)  Staufifer,  in 
1840,  and  their  children  were:  Joseph,  Henry,  Mary,  Betsy,  Anna,  and 
Susan. 

Jacob,  born  January  6,  1795.  in  Plumstead  township,  Bucks  county,  died 
near  Scottdale.  Westmoreland  county  September  10,  1880.  He  married 
Catharine  Smith,  widow  of  Christian  Fretz,  October,  1830,  and  their  children 
were:    Martin,  Anna,  Elizabeth,  Jacob,  Samuel,  Maria,  and  Catharine. 

Mary,  born  in  Plumstead  township,  Bucks  county,  March  19,  1797,  died 
April  14,'  1880.  She  married  Jacob  Shupe,  born  March  15,  1789,  died  June 
June  4,  1870.     They  were  the  parents  of  five  children. 

Rev.  Martin,  born  in  Plumstead  township,  Bucks  county,  December  9, 
1798.  When  a  babe  he  was  brought  to  Westmoreland  county  with  his  par- 
ents, and  there  spent  his  entire  life.  He  was  reared  on  the  homestead,  which- 
consisted  of  one  hundred  and  sixtv  acres,  and  later  became  the  owner  thereof,. 


444  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

.to  which  he  subsequently  added  another  farm  adjoining,  which  consisted  of 
one  hundred  and  seventy  acres,  and  these  two  farms  which  were  located  in 
what  is  now  the  borough  of  Scottdale  have  been  built  upon,  but  not  during  the 
lifetime  of  Martin  Loucks.  He  was  a  successful  farmer,  and  also  a  devout 
member  of  the  Alennonite  church,  in  which  he  was  a  minister  for  many  years, 
being  ordained  in  1S33  and  preaching  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  His  labors 
were  confined  to  the  churches  at  what  is  now  Alverton  and  Pennsville.  He 
was  a  man  who  always  had  the  best  interests  of  his  county,  state  and  country 
at  heart.  He  married,  June  15,  1826,  Nancy  Stauffer,  who  was  born  in  Fay- 
ette county,  February  9,  1808,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  eight  children: 
Jacob,  a  resident  of  Scottdale ;  Abraham  S.,  a  resident  of  Scottdale ;  Peter, 
deceased ;  Martin  S.,  a  resident  of  Scottdale ;  John,  a  resident  of  Philadelphia ; 
Elizabeth,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of  David  F.  Stoner,  of  Scottdale ;  Anna, 
unmarried,  a  resident  of  Scottdale ;  and  Catharine,  deceased.  Rev.  Martin 
I.oucks  died  November  7.  1869,  survived  by  his  wife,  who  passed  away  June 
19,  1900. 

Nancy,  who  died  in  early  life. 

John,  born  in  Fayette  county,  .\pril  8.  1802,  died  1885.  He  married,  in 
1827,  Sarah  Bassler,  who  bore  him  the  following  children;  Peter.  John, 
Catharine,  Nancy,  Susan,  Joseph,  and  Solomon. 

Peter,  born  in  Westmoreland  county,  September  21,  1805.  died  in  Elk- 
Tiart,  Indiana,  April  1895.  He  married,  February  i,  1827,  Anna  Pjarkey,  and 
their  children  were:  Susan,  Anna,  Jacob,  William,  John,  .Sarah,  Martin, 
Isaac,  Catharine,  Peter,  Mary,  and  Jonas. 

Sarah,  born  in  Westmoreland  county,  November  29,  1808,  died  October 
19,  1898.     She  was  the  wife  of  Samuel  Dillinger. 

MARTIN  S.  LOUCKS,  one  of  the  representativ^e  business  men  of 
Scottdale,  son  of  the  Rev.  Martin  and  Nancy  (Stauffer)  Loucks,  mentioned 
at  length  in  the  preceding  family  sketch,  was  born  July  2,  1843,  O"  the  old 
Loucks  homestead. 

He  was  reared  on  the  farm,  educated  in  the  common  schools  adjacent  to 
his  home,  and  assisted  with  the  varied  and  arduous  labors  of  the  homestead 
until  1880.  He  then  engaged  in  the  hardware  business  with  Z.  X.  Snyder 
under  the  firm  name  of  Loucks  &  .Snyder,  which  connection  continued  for 
four  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  D.  G.  Morrow  purchased  the  inter- 
est of  Mr.  Snyder  and  the  firm  became  known  as  Loucks  &  Morrow.  They 
conducted  business  under  this  style  until  January  i,  1898,  when  John  S.  Loucks 
was  taken  into  the  firm,  making  the  firm  Loucks,  Morrow  &  Company,  and 
January  i,  1904,  the  firm  name  was  changed  to  Loucks,  Hardman  &  Co.  From 
a  small  beginning  the  business  has  grown  to  be  one  of  the  finest  established 
of  its  kind  in  the  county,  and  they  carry  a  full  line  of  shelf  and  heavy  wood, 
building  materials  of  every  description,  stoves,  tinware,  wagons,  buggies, 
and  farm  implements.  Mi".  Loucks  has  quietly  pursued  a  conservative  and  safe 
course  in  business,  and  has  built  up  an  industry  that  reflects  credit  upon  him- 
self and  from  which  he  derives  a  large  profit.  He  is  one  of  the  original  stock- 
holders in  the  First  National  Bank  of  Scottdale,  a  stockholder  and  director 
in  the  Scottdale  Savings  &  Trust  Company,  a  stockholder  and  director  in  the 
Scottdale  Foundry  and  Machine  Company,  and  a  stockholder  in  the  F.  A. 
Black  Manufacturing  Company,  of  Scottdale.  He  is  a  member  and  trustee  of 
the  Presbyterian  church  of  Scottdale,  and  one  of  the  leading  and  useful  citi- 
zens of  the  communitv. 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  445 

RE\'.  AARUX  LOUCKS.  Jacob  S.  Loucks,  father  of  the  Kev. 
Aaron  Loucks,  was  born  October  10,  1829,  reared  on  the  old  Loucks  home- 
stead, and  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  the  neighborhood.  He  turned 
his  attention  to  farming,  which  occupation  he  followed  with  a  large  degree 
of  success  throughout  the  active  years  of  his  life.  In  addition  to  this  ]ie  was_ 
one  of  the  promoters  and  partners  of  the  lumber  mamifacturing  firm  of 
Loucks,  Larimer  &  Co.,  who  owned  the  first  planing  mill  established  in  Scott- 
dale.  He  also  owned  and  operated  a  feed  store  for  a  number  of  years,  and 
later  he  and  Albert  Keister  established  a  feed  and  flour  business,  they  manu- 
facturing the  latter  commodity.  He  was  one  of  the  promoters  of  the  Electric 
Light  plant  of  Scottdale,  a  stockholder  and  director  of  the  First  National 
Balik  of  Scottdale,  and  also  a  large  stockholder  in  the  old  Meadow  rolling 
mill.  He  also  laid  out  and  had  platted  about  one-third  of  the  borough  of  Scott- 
dale, and  in  many  ways  aided  in  its  growth  and  development.  He  served 
as  a  member  of  the  school  board,  and  was  one  of  the  leaing  members  of  the 
Mennonite  church,  of  which  he  was  a  trustee,  and  to  the  work  of  which  he 
contributed  liberally  both  of  time  and  money,  being  largely  instrumental  in  the 
erection  of  the  church  edifice  at  Scottdale. 

Jacob  S.  Loucks  married,  INLiy  12,  1853,  ^lary  Saylor,  of  Somerset  county, 
Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  John  and  Barbara  Saylor,  who  was  born  Decem- 
ber 20.  1833.  Eleven  children  were  the  issue  of  this  union:  Joseph  R.,  of 
Scottdale :  Alartin  R.,  unmarried,  of  Scottdale ;  David  S.,  a  farmer  of  East 
Huntingdon  township ;  Abraham  R.,  a  farmer,  of  East  Huntingdon  township ; 
Aaron, 'mentioned  hereafter;  John  R.,  a  farmer  of  Scottdale;  George  S.,  a 
farmer  of  East  Huntingdon  township ;  Norman,  who  was  drowned  at  the  age 
of  two  and  one-half  years;  an  infant,  deceased  :^da,  wife  of  the  Rev.  A.  D. 
Martin,  of  Scottdale ;  Cora,  wife  of  Charles  A.  Brilhart,  of  Scottdale. 

Rev.  Aaron  Loucks  was  born  November  20,  1864,  on  the  old  Loucks 
homestead.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Scottdale,  and  for  a  short  period 
of  time  was  a  student  at  the  Chicago  Moody  Bible  Institute.  He  took  up  farm- 
ing and  followed  the  same  until  1900  in  East  Huntingdon  township,  his  opera- 
tions being  in  the  main  successful.  In  1892  he  was  ordained  a  minister  in  the 
Mennonitc  church  by  Ei.shop  John  N.  Derr,  now  of  Martinsburg,  Pennsylvania. 
He  took  up  his  work  in  the  Alverton  Church,  but  since  1893,  when  the  church- 
in  Scottdale  was  built,  he  has  labored  in  the  interest  of  that  congregation.  In 
addition  to  considerable  outside  work  at  different  points,  he  attends  to  the 
duties  and  needs  of  the  church  at  Masontown.  He  is  the  manager  of  The 
Gospel  Witness,  a  religious  weekly,  published  at  Scottdale,  and  director  at 
large  of  the  Mennonite  Board  of  Charitable  Homes  and  Missions.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  board  of  directors  of  Goshen  College,  at  Goshen,  Indiana.  He 
is  also  a  director  and  stockholder  of  the  Scottdale  Printing  Company,  one  of 
the  leading  business  enterjin'ses  of  that  Ijorough.  He  entered  upon  his  minis- 
terial work  with  zeal  and  energy  and  has  been  signally  successful,  many  hav- 
ing been  brought  into  the  church  through  his  earnest  and  conscientious  effort. 
Rev.  Aaron  Loucks  married,  October  28.  1886,  Amelia  C.  Medsgar,  daughter 
of  the  late  Jacob  L.  and  Nancy  Medsgar.  Their  children  are:  Walter  M.,  a 
student  at  Goshen  College,  Goshen,  Inrliana ;  William  J.,  a  student  at  the 
common  schools  of  Scottdale;  and  Aima  May  Loucks. 

ABRAHAM  S.  LOUCKS,  one  of  the  representative  citizens  of  Scott- 
dale, son  of  the  Rev.  Martin  and  Nancy  (Stauffer)  Loucks,  mentioned  at 
length  in  the  preceding  family  sketch,  was  born  .\pril  12,  1838,  on  the  old 
homestead  at  what  is  now  the  borough  of  Scottdale. 


446  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

He  was  reared  on  the  farm,  and  educated  in  the  pnbhc  schools  and  Mount 
Pleasant  College.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  devoted  his  attention  to 
.teaching,  and  taught  for  seven  winter  terms  in  Westmoreland  and  I'ayette 
counties,  a  vocation  for  which  he  was  well  qualified.  His  next  occupation'  was 
that  of  farming,  his  operations  being  conducted  in  Westmoreland  and  Fayette 
counties  until  1867.  He  then  purchased  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
eight  acres  in  Mount  Pleasant  township,  which  he  occupied  and  cultivated 
until  189s,  when  he  removed  to  Scottdale,  his  present  home,  but  he  still  has 
.the  farm  under  his  immediate  supervision.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Scottdale,  of  which  he  was  vice  president  for  a  period 
of  almost  five  years.  He  has  always  had  the  best  interests  of  the  community 
at  heart,  and  although  not  an  ofiice  seeker,  has  taken  a  keen  and  deep  interest 
jn  local  political  affairs.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Scott- 
dale, of  which  he  has  been  an  elder  for  the  past  ten  years,  and  in  1903  he  was 
a  delegate  from  the  Red  Stone  Presbyterian  Church  to  the  general  assembly  of 
the  church  north,  which  convened  at  Los  Angeles,  California.  For  more  than 
three  decades  he  has  been  active  in  the  Sabbath  school  connected  therwith, 
and  all  branches  of  the  work  pertaining  to  the  church  finds  in  him  a  willing  and 
earnest  supporter.  In  1889  he  erected  for  the  use  of  himself  and  family  a 
■beautiful  and  modern  residence  at  the  corner  of  Loucks  and  Chestnut  streets, 
.Scottdale,  which  is  one  of  the  finest  houses  in  that  pleasant  locality. 

Mr.  Loucks  was  married  April  2,  1861,  to  Charlotte  Ager,  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania,  born  October  30,  1841,  died  May  15,  1900.  The  following 
named  children  were  the  issue  of  this  marriage':  Amanda  M.,  who  resides 
at  home.  Dortha  May,  died  August  19,  1897;  she  was  the  wife  of  W.  L. 
Kelly,  of  Scottdale.  Meade IVL,  a  physician,  a  resident  of  Wilkinsburg,  Penn- 
sylvania. He  is  a  graduate  of  Washington  and  Jefferson  College  of  i^'ennsyl- 
vania,  also  the  Pennsylvania  Medical  Universitv,  of  Philadelphia.  Charles  H., 
cashier  of  the  First  National  Bank,  and  burgess  of  Scottdale ;  he  is  a  gradu- 
a'te  of  Meadville  Business  College.    He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Spanish- American 

-war,  a  member  of  Tenth  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  and  served  the  entire  cam- 
paign in  the  Philippine  Islands.  Albert  H.,  a  machinist,  a  resident  of  Marion, 
Indiana.  John  S.,  a  graduate  of  Duff's  Business.  College,  Pittsburg:  he  is  a 
member  of  the  firm  of  Loucks  Hardware  Companv.  Nancv  vVinifred,  who 
resides  at  home.     Petrina  Pearl,  who  died  April  21,' 1888,  in  childhood.  '  Roy- 

■den  Keith,  a  graduate  of  Washington  and  Jefferson  College;  he  is  a  member 
of  the  firm  of  Loucks  Hardware  Company.  Scottdale.  An  infant  son,  de- 
ceased. Ruth,  a  graduate  of  Scottdale  high  school,  now  (1905)  a  student  at 
Mount  Pleasant  Institute.  Amanda  Dortha  May,  and  Nancy  Winifred  were 
all  graduates  of  the  Indiana  (Pennsylvania)  State  Normal  'school.  Amanda 
has  been  engaged  in  teaching  in  the  public  schools  of  Scottdale,  where  Dor- 
tha May  also  taught  prior  to  her  marriage. 

E.  RALPH  LOLTCKS  was  born  September  19,  1882,  son  of  Peter 
S.  and  Mary  A.  (Boyd)  Loucks,  and  grand.son  of  the  Rev.  Martin  Loucks,  of 
East  Huntingdon  township,  Westmoreland  countv,  Pennsylvania,  mentioned 
at  length  in  the  preceding  sketch. 

Peter  S.  Loucks  (father)  was  born  May  3,  1841.  He  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools  of  the  neighborhood,  was  reared  to  farm  life,  and  during  his 
entire  lifetime  gave  a  certain  amount  of  attention  to  farms  and  farming,  own- 
ing considerable  farm  property.  He  became  the  possessor  of  the  old"  home- 
stead, wliich  contained  the  eighty  original  acres,  also  the  additional  eighty 
acres,  in  all  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  and  about  one  hundred  acres  of  this 


\, 


SAMUEL  ALLWINE 


HISTORY   or    WESTMORELAND   COUXTV.  447 

tract  has  been  divided  and  subdivided  into  building  lots,  havint;-  l)cen  laid  out 
and  builded  thereon  under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Loucks,  and  this  is  now  the 
main  part  of  the  borough  of  Scottdale.  He  always  had  the  best  interests  of 
the  community  at  heart^  and  in  every  way  contributed  to  the  promotion  of  its 
welfare.  He  was  one  of  the  promoters  of  the  Scottdale  Bank,  one  of  the 
strongest  financial  institutions  of  this  part  of  the  county,  anil  of  which  he 
served  as  vice  president.  He  with  several  others  purchased  the  Scottdale 
Iron  and  Steel  plant  after  its  failure,  infusetl  new  life  into  the  same  and 
placed  it  in  a  most  prosperous  condition,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was 
president  of  the  same.  He  was  also  part  owner  and  operator  of  the  West- 
moreland Planing  Mill  Company.  He  did  not  let  his  influence  stop  at  home, 
and  his  work  was  felt  in  the  west  as  well  as  the  east,  he  having  purchased 
several  farms  in  Kansas  and  assisted  in  establishing  two  banks,  one  at  La 
Cross  and  one  at  McCrackin,  Kansas.  He  was  a  man  who  never  figured  in 
political  aflfairs,  as  his  training  had  been  along  different  lines,  but  he  did,  how- 
ever, hold  several  local  offices.  He  was  a  consistent  member  of  the  IMethodist 
Episcopal  church.  IMr.  Loucks  married  Mary  A.  Boyd,  of  Mount  Pleasant, 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  George  W.  and  Martha 
Boyd.  Their  children  were  as  follow^s :  Arthur  B.,  born  June  18,  1880.  at- 
tended the  high  school  of  Scottdale,  and  Washington  and  Jefiferson  College, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1903.  He  is  now  engaged  in  the  real  estate 
Inisiness,  and  was  one  of  the  organizers  and  serves  as  vice-president  of  the  F. 
A.  Black  Manufacturing  Company.  He  is  a  member  of  the  B.  P.  O.  E.,  Lodge 
Xo.  ///.  E.  Ralph,  wihose  name  heads  this  sketch,  born  September  19,  1882, 
educated  in  the  high  schools  of  Scottdale  and  spent  one  year  at  Washington 
and  Jefferson  College.  He  is  now  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  F.  A.  Black 
Manufacturing  Company,  of  which  he  was  one  of  ihe  organizers.  He  is  un- 
married. Martha  Grace,  born  August,  1888,  unmarried.  Nancy  Irene,  born 
August,  1890,  unmarried.  Preston  S.,  born  August,  1894,  at  home.  Peter 
S.  Loucks,  the  father  of  these  children,  died  November  6,  1897. 

SAMUEL  ALLWINE  was  born  on  his  fatlier's  farm  in  Salem  town- 
ship. Westmoreland  county.  Pennsylvania,  February  27,  1820,  and  is  a  son  of 
Jacob  and  Catharine  (Smith)  Allwine.  His  paternal  grandfather  was  born 
near  Lebanon,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  followed  the  occupation  of  farming 
all  his  life.  Jacob  .Miwine  (father)  was  born  in  I^ebanon  county,  Pennsylva- 
nia, in  1771,  and  came  to  Westmoreland  county  in  early  days,  \vhen  Hannas- 
town  was  yet  the  county  seat.  -He  followed  agricultural  pursuits,  and  distilled 
some  in  winter.  He  believed  in  the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party,  and 
was  a  faithful  and  devoted  member  of  the  Catholic  church.  He  married  Cath- 
arine Smith.  b\-  whom  he  had  seven  children.  .After  her  deatli  he  married  a 
Miss  Stevenson,  in  1835,  but  to  this  union  no  children  .were  born.  Jacob  All- 
wine  departed  this  life  at  the  age  of  eighty-three  years,  in  1854. 

.Samuel  .Mlwine.  after  leaving  the  subscrij)tion  schools  of  his  youthful 
days,  learned  the  blacksmith  trade  in  Grcensburg,  at  which  he  worked  for 
thirty-five  years,  at  the  same  time  carrying  on  wagon  making.  He  then  en- 
gaged in  the  livery  business,  and  contracted  on  the  S.  W.  P.  R.  R.  for  some 
four  years.  He  purchased  the  hotel  now  known  as  the  Zimmerman  House, 
which  he  enlarged  and  improved  until  it  is  now  one  of  the  best  hotels  in  the 
county.  Owing  to  industry  and  business  ability  Mr.  Allwine  has  succeeded  in 
amassing  considerable  wealth.  He  is  a  .staunch  Democrat,  and  has  served 
twelve  years  as  burgess  of  the  borough  of  Greensburg.     He  is  a  devout  and 


448  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

useful  member  of  the  Catholic  church,  and  is  one  of  the  substantial  citizens  of 
the  county.  Samuel  Allwine  married,  June  22.  1843,  Elizabeth,  a  daughter  of 
Samuel  AUshouse,  and  they  have  had  six  children,  of  whom  three  are  living: 
Samuel,  a  baker  of  Greensburg ;  Henry,  living  at  home  ;  and  Cordelia,  who 
married  B.  B.  Zimmerman,  for  many  years  proprietor  of  the  Zimuiernian 
House. 

JAMES  IRN'IX  MABON,  M.  D.  The  gramlfather  of  Dr.  James 
Irvin  Mabon,  of  Vandergrift  Heights,  was  James  Mabon,  who  was  born  in 
Ireland,  and  as  a  child  was  brought  to  this  country  by  his  parents  who  settled 
in  Westmoreland  count}-.  His  wife  was  Jennie  McQuilkin,  a  native  of  Scot- 
land, who  had  also  been  brought  to  this  country  in  childhood.  Soon  after  their 
marriage  they  settled  on  a  farm  in  what  is  now  Mahoning  township,  Indiana 
county. 

VVilliam  Mabon,  son  of  James  and  Jennie  (McQuilkin)  Mabon,  was  born 
August  16,  1829,  in  South  Mahoning  township,  and  in  April,  1854,  moved  to 
a  farm  near  Marion  Center,  on  Pickering  run.  This  land,  which  he  inherited 
from  his  father,  was  then  part  of  an  unbroken  forest,  but  by  his  efforts  was 
cleared  and  developed.  He  held  at  different  times  nearly  all  the  township 
offices,  and  from  1S82  to  1885  served  as  county  commissioner.  Politically  he 
was  a  Republican.  He  became  in  boyhood  a  member  of  the  old  Beracca 
Church  of  P'umville,  known  as  the  old  seceder  church.  In  later  life  he  joined 
the  United  Presbyterian  church  of  East  Mahoning.  Mr.  Mabon  married  Eliz- 
abeth, born  December  25,  1832,  in  South  Mahoning  township,  daughter  of  John 
and  Maria  (Crotzer)  Lewis,  the  former  of  Welsh  descent  and  the  latter  of 
German  lineage.  Of  the  six  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mabon  two  survive: 
James  Irvin,  mentioned  hereinafter  ;  and  Clark  A.,  an  attorney  of  Wheeling, 
West  Virginia.  The  death  of  the  mother  of  the  family  occurred  September  6, 
1889.  She  was  a  consistent  member  of  the  same  church  as  her  husband.  The 
latter  died  April  22,  1904,  three  days  after  his  removal  to  Marion  Center  from 
the  farm  on  which  he  had  spent  forty-nine  years  of  his  life. 

James  Irvin  Mabon,  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Lewis)  Mabon,  was 
born  July  16,  1858,  in  Marion  Center,  Indiana  county,  where  he  received  his 
education  in  the  common  schools  and  at  Marion  Institute.  At  the  age  of  fif- 
teen he  began  teaching  in  the  public  schools,  and  for  eleven  years  was  an  in- 
structor in  the  schools  of  Indiana  and  Jefferson  countie.=,  three  years  of  the 
time  being  engaged  in  the  Reynoldsville  schools.  In  1885  he  took  up  the 
study  of  medicine  under  the  preceptorship  of  Dr.  Christopher  ^IcEwen, 
of  Plumville,  Indiana  county,  and  in  September,  1886,  matriculated 
in  the  medical  department  of  the  Western  University  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, graduating  with  the.  class  of  1888.  In  April  of  the  same  year 
he  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Penn  Run,  Indiana  county, 
remaining  there  twelve  years.  In  October,  1900,  he  moved  to  Vandergrift  and 
has  since  built  up  an  extensive  practice.  He  is  a  member  of  tne  board  ol 
health.  Fraternally  he  is  connected  with  the  following  organizations :  Indiani 
Lodge,  No.  313,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  Indiana:  Vandergrift  Lo"clge,  No.  502,  K.  P.; 
F.  6.  E.,  and  the  R.  A.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics.  Dr.  INIabon  married, 
October  3,  1883,  Mary  C.  Jenks.  and  their  children  were:  Vera  Amy,  de- 
ceased :  Anna  Elizabeth,  a  gifted  instrumental  musician :  William  Jenks,  and 
Mary  Cornelia.  Mrs.  Mabon  is  a  daughter  of  John  W.  Jenks.  now  deceased, 
a  well  known  tanner  of  Punxsutav  ney,  Jefferson  county,  Pennsylvania,  son  of 
Dr.  John  W.  Jenks,  who  was  the  first  physician  of  that  place,  and  brother  of 


e 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  449 

Georo-e  A.  Teiiks,  who  was  one  of  the  most  pronuncnt  attorneys  of  western 
Pennsylvania  and  held  the  office  of  solicitor  general  under  the  Cleveland  ad- 
ministration. 

CHARLES  OSCAR  WHERRY.  The  grandfather  of  Charles  Oscar 
Wherry,  of  \'andergrift  Heights,  was  Thomas  Wherry,  a  well  known  farmer 
of  Soii'th  Bend.  Penns\-lvania.  where  his  son,  also  Thomas  Wherry,  was  born 
and  reared  to  a  farm  life.  After  reaching  manhood  the  latter  acquired  a  farm 
in  his  native  place,  on  which  he  resided  during  his  remaining  years.  Thomas 
Wherrv,  Jr.,  married  Malena  Rupert,  and  their  children  w-ere :  Harvey,  of 
South  Bend ;  Margaret,  wife  of  Mctor  A.  Hugo,  of  Washington,  District  of 
Columbia;  and  Charles  Oscar,  mentioned  hereinafter.  The  death  of  Mr. 
Wherry  occurred  about  1879. 

Charles  Oscar  Wherry,  son  of  Thomas  and  Malena  (Rupert)  Wherry, 
was  born  May  30.  1875,  in 'South  Bend,  and  was  but  four  years  old  at  the  time 
of  his  father's  death.  His  education  was  acquired  in  the  common  schools,  and 
in  1892  he  obtained  a  position  in  a  grocery  store,  in  Apollo,  where  he  was 
employed  some  two  years.  He  then  entered  the  drug  store  of  W.  G.  Young, 
then  of  Apollo,  now^  of  \'andergrift,  with  whom  he  remained  about  seven 
years.  In  the  autumn  of  1899  he  entered  the  pharmaceutical  department  of 
the  Western  University  of  Pennsylvania,  graduating  in  the  spring  of  1901. 
During  the  leisure  hours  and  vacations  of  his  college  course  he  w-as  employed 
in  various  drug  stores  in  Pittsburg  and  Allegheny  City.  After  graduation  he 
returned  to  Apollo  and  for  two  years  was  employed  in  the  drug  store  of  W.  F. 
Pauly.  In  1903  he  went  to  Vandergrift  Heights  and  opened  his  present  drug 
store,  in  which  he  conducts  a  large  Isusiness.  He  affiliates  with  Apollo  Lodge, 
No.  386,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  of  Apollo,  and  Vandergrift  Aerie,  No.  1058,  F.  O.  E. 
He  is  a  Democrat  and  a  member  of  the  German  Reformed  church.  Mr. 
Wherry  married,  June  26,  1903,  Aletta,  daughter  of  John  R.  Hanna,  of  Apollo, 
one  child.  Purvis  L.  Louise,  now  deceased. 

FRANCIS  ELMER  HENRY,  :\I.  D.,  one  of  the  best  known  of  the 
medical  practitioners  in  this  section  of  Pennsylvania,  traces  his  descent  to 
both  the  Scotch  and  the  Irish. 

Robert  Henry,  grandfather  of  Dr.  Francis  Elmer  Henry,  was  a  native  of 

the  north  of  Ireland,  married  Elizabeth.  ,  who  was  born  in  Scotland 

and  emigrated  to  America.     He  settled  in  Pennsylvania. 

Alexander  Henry,  son  of  Robert  and  Elizabeth  Henry,  was  burn  near 
Freeport,  Armstrong  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1818,  and  died  in  1885.  He 
was  reared  on  his  father's  farm,  and  in  early  manhood  learned  the  trade  of 
a  brick  mason.  He  was  employed  in  the  building  of  the  mills  of  the  Apollo 
Iron  &  Steel  Company  and  put  up  the  first  building  of  furnaces  of  the  jilant, 
and  from  that  time  until  his  death  was  associated  with  the  mills  as  the  master 
brick  mason  and  furnace  builder.  He  taught  his  five  sons  his  trade,  and  under 
his  tuition  they  all  became  skilled  in  building  furnaces  and  as  brick  masons.  Mr. 
Henry  was  Democratic  in  his  political  belief,  a  lifelong  member  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church,  and  a  devout  Christian.  He  married  Alary  Talmage, 
born  opposite  Leechburg,  Westmoreland  county.  Pennsylvania,  in  1829,  the 
daughter  of  Lynus  and  Ilettie  (Crawd)  Talmage,  and  the  granddaughter  of 
Dr.  Samuel  Talmage,  one  of  the  pioneer  physicians  of  western  Pennsylvania. 
Mrs.  Henry  resides  with  her  son  Samuel  at  Vandergrift.  Of  their  nine 
children  six  are  now  living,  as  follow-s :  Samuel  M.,  clerk  in  mills  in  Vander- 
grift; Thomas  T-.  ^L  D.,  resides  in  Apollo;  Charles  W.,  master  furnace  builder 

2-29 


450  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

for  the  American  Sheet  Steel  and  Tin  Plate  Company:  Lizzie  M.,  wife  of  J. 
M.  Bortz,  sheet  heater  of  mills  in  Vandergrift ;  J-'rancis  Elmer,  to  be  men- 
tioned hereinafter;  and  Juliet  D.,  wife  of  ^leredith  C.  Stitt  of  Tarentum. 

Francis   Elmer  Henry,   AI.   D.,  son  of  Alexander  and   Mary    (Talmage) 
Henrv,  was  born  in  Apollo.  Armstrong  county,  Pennsylvania,   November  24, 
1S67.     His  childhood  and  youth   were  passed  at  home  with  his  parents,  and 
he  received  his  education  in  the  common  and  high  schools  of  Apollo.    From  his 
fir.-t  attendance  at  school  he  evinced  a  desire  for  study  and  took  the  greatest 
interest  in  his  school  work.     He  was,  however,  very  ambitious,  and  was  but 
fourteen  vears  of  age,  when,  under  the  tuition  of  his  father,  he  worked  during 
the  summer  months  and  learned  the  trade  of  brick  and  stone  mason.     This, 
however,  did  not  appeal  to  him  as  a  life  work.     In  the  spring  of  1887  he  com- 
menced  the   studv   of  medicine   under   the   preceptorship  of   his  brother.   Dr. 
Thomas  J.  Henry,  at  Apollo.    In  about  six  months  he  entered  the  College  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons  at  Baltimore,  Maryland.    From  this  he  was  graduated 
in  the  spring  of  189 1,  and  for  the  two  years  following  his  graduation  prac- 
ticed in  partnership  with  bis  brother  in  Apollo,  and  for  the  three  subsec|uent 
years  continued  his  practice  independently  in  the  same   town.      In    1896  Dr. 
Henry  removed  to  Newcastle,  Lawrence  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  fol- 
lowed his  profession  for  a.  period  of  about  two  years,  when,  the  mills  closing 
in  that  place,  he  removed  to  Cochrane  Mills,  Armstrong  county,  Pennsylvania. 
Here  he  practiced  his  profession  very  successfully  for  a  period  of  four  years, 
and  then  removed  to  V'and.ergrift  Heights,  where  he  has  established  himself 
permanently  and  built  up  a  ver\-  lucrative  practice.     He  is  recognized  in  the 
medical  profession  as  being  one  of  the  best  read  physicians  in  Westmoreland 
county,  is  progressive  in  his  ideas,  and  well  abreast  of  the  times  outside  of 
his  profession  as  well  as  in  it.     He  is  highly  esteemed  by  all  who  know  him. 
Dr.  Henry  is  Republican  in  his  political  affiliations,  and  is  at  present   (1905) 
burgess  of  the  borough  of  Vandergrift  Heights.    He  has  served  as  the  physi- 
cian  of   the   board   of   health   in   the   boroughs   of   V^andergrift.  Heights   and 
Apollo ;  is  a  member  of  A]3ollo  Lodge,  No.  437,  F.  and  A.  M. ;  member  of  the 
R.    A.    and    a   member   of    the    Methodist    Episcopal    church    of    \'andergrift 
Heights.     He  married  in  1893,  Gertrude  B.  Cochran,  of  Apollo,  daughter  of 
Robert   S.   and   Mary    (Hart)    Cochran.      Their   chililren    are:      Meredith   C, 
Samuel  Paul,  and  Mary  Marjorie. 

JOHN  A.  HARMAN.  The  Harman  family  of  Donegal  township, 
Westmoreland  county,  was  founded  in  America  by  Andrew  Harman,  great- 
grandfather of  John  A.  Harman,  who  immigrated  from  Germany  in  1767,  and 
settled  in  that  part  of  Donegal  township  known  as  Four  INIile  Run,  which  at 
that  early  date  was  practically  an  unbroken  wilderness.  Being  the  first  white 
settler  in  that  region  he  and  his  family  were  completely  isolated  from  their 
own  race  during  their  first  year's  residence  there,  and  saw  only  the  savage  in- 
habitants of  the  forest,  with  whom  they  lived  in  comparative  peace  and  tran- 
quility for  several  years.  Possessing  the  requisite  amount  of  energy  and  per- 
severance, this  sturdy  German  pioneer  succeeded  in  clearing  off  a  good  farm, 
which  he  cultivated  with  prosperous  results  for  the  remainder  of  his  active  ca- 
reer. As  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church  he  was  activelv  identified  with  the 
establishment  and  early  development  of  that  faith  in  Westmoreland  countv, 
and  in  this  particular  sphere  of  usefulness  his  descendants  followed  in  his 
footsteps,  man_v  of  them  having  participated  actively  in  organizing  religious 
and  educational  institutions. 

Andrew  Harman,  grandfather  of  John  A.  Harman,  was  born  at  the  home- 


HISTORY   OF   IVESTMORELAXD   COUNTY.  451 

-Stead  in  Donegal  about  the  year  1768.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  years  lie  was 
seized  by  the  Indians  and  held  in  captivity  for  a  period  of  six  years,  at  the  ex- 
piration of  which  time  he  was  sold  to  the  British,  from  whom  he  made  his 
escape  and  returned  to  his  home.  Adopting  the  occupation  of  a  farmer,  he 
continued  to  reside  in  his  native  township  until  about  the  year  1830,  when  he 
removed  his  family  of  seven  children  to  Indiana  county,  and  his  death  occurred 
in  Mahoning  township,  same  county,  in  1838.  He  took  an  active  part  in 
religious  affairs  and  was  a  charter  member  of  the  first  Lutheran  church  { .Mount 
Zion)  organized  in  Donegal.  The  maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Catherine 
Sondles,  and  thev  were  married  about  the  year  1790. 

Andrew  .A.  Harman,  father  of  John  A.  Harman,  was  born  at  the  family 
homestead  in  Donegal,  April  5,  1805.  He  was  educated  in  the  district  school 
of  his  neighborhood,  and  after  the  conclusion  of  his  studies  learned  the  shoe- 
maker's trade,  which  he  followed  for  some  years.  Relinquishing  that  calhng 
he  turned  his  attention  to  farming  on  the  old  Shaft'er  homestead  at  Four  Mile 
Run.  and  resided  there  for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  In  politics  he  acted  with 
the  Democratic  party,  and  participated  in  local  public  affairs  to  some  extent, 
holding  the  office  of  school  director.  His  religious  affiliations  were  with  the 
Lutherans  and  he  was  an  elder  of  that  church.  He  married,  October  25,  1825, 
Mary  M.  Shaft'er,  born  at  Four  Mile  Run,  July  7,  1809,  of  German  parentage. 
Her  father  was  Jacob  Shaffer,  who  settled  upon  the  farm  situated  some  four 
miles  northwest  of  Donegal,  where  his  son-in-law,  Andrew  A.  Harman,  after- 
wards resided.  Andrew  A.  and  Mary  A.  Harman  were  the  parents  of  twelve 
children. 

John  A.  Harman  was  born  at  the  Shaffer  homestead  in  Donegal  town- 
ship, January  5,  1832.  His  education  was  acquired  in  the  public  schools,  and 
the  early  years  of  his  life  were  spent  at  home  assisting  his  father  in  carrying 
■on  the  farm.  .As  second  sergeant  of  Company  I,  One  Hundred  and  Sixty- 
Eighth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  ^Militia,  he  went  to  the  front  October 
16.  1862.  for  service  in  the  Civil  war,  and  was  honorably  discharged  July 
23.  1863.  On  March  31,  1865,  he  re-enlistcd  in  the  One  Hundred  and 
Third  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  was  mustered  out  as 
a  second  corporal  of  his  company  at  Newberne,  North  Carolina,  June  25, 
1865.  Upon  his  return  from  the  army  he  resumed  farming  at  County  Line  and 
Jacob's  Creek  in  Mount  Pleasant  township,  from  whence  he  removed  in  April, 
1867,  to  a  farm  in  the  vicinity  of  Stahlstown,  Donegal  township,  and  has  re- 
sided there  ever  since.  For  many  years  he  has  devoted  much  of  his  time  to 
veterinary  surgery,  in  wiiich  he  has  attained  much  success,  and  his  professional 
reputation  extends  far  beyond  the  limits  of  his  own  locality.  Mr.  Harman  has 
acquired  prosperity  as  both  farmer  and  veterinary  surgeon,  and  his  earnest 
endeavors,  professionally  and  otherwise,  to  make  himself  useful  are  smcerely 
appreciated  throughout  the  broad  area  of  his  particular  field  of  operation.  As 
a  citizen  of  unfjuestionable  integrity  he  has  ac(|uired  a  far-reaching  influence  in 
all  matters  relative  to  the  political,  moral  and  religious  welfare  of  the  com- 
munity, and  his  activities  in  its  behalf  proved  exceedingly  beneficial.  He  has 
held  the  offices  of  justice  of  the  peace,  assessor,  tax  collector,  school  director 
and  judge  of  elections,  and  has  performed  the  duties  of  each  of  these  import- 
ant positions  with  marked  ability.  Politically  he  acts  with  the  Democratic 
party.  His  religious  services  have  been  rendered  chiefly  in  behalf  of  the 
church  of  his  ancestors.  He  has  occupied  various  positions  of  prominence  and 
trust,  including  those  of  deacon,  elder  and  trustee,  and  his  labors  as  a  member 
of  the  building  committee  which  superintended  the  erection  of  the  present 
"Luthran  church  edifice  in  his  locality  were  especially  valuable.     He  in  one  of 


452  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

the  most  prominent  members  of  Post  596,  Grand  Army  of  the  RepubUc,  of 
Stahlstown,  having  served  as  its  commander  and  vice-commander. 

Air.  Harman  married.  August  31.  1854,  Phoebe  Louisa  Roadman,  a  native 
of  Mount  Pleasant  township,  daughter  of  John  and  Peggy  (McLain)  Road- 
man, who  were  prosperous  farming  people  of  that  township.  Of  this  union 
were  born  twelve  children,  namely:  William  Andrew,  born  July  22,  1855; 
Mary  Elizabeth,  born  January  27,  1857:  James,  a  twin  of  Alary  Eilzabeth, 
died  aged  four  months;  Samuel  M.,  born  September  17,  1858;  Sarah  Malinda, 
born  July  24,  i860;  Julia  A.,  born  Xovember  8,  1862;  Catherme  P.,  deceased, 
born  December  22,  1864;  Calvin,  born  February  12,  1867:  Nettie,  born  June 
22,  1869;  Auradila,  born  October  21,  1871  ;  Flora  E.,  born  November  i,  1874; 
an  infant  who  only  lived  a  few  hours.  Of  these  seven  were  born  in  Mount 
Pleasant  township,  and  the  others  were  born  near  Stahlstown. 

William  Andrew,  who  was  educated  for  a  teacher,  now  resides  m  Al- 
toona,  Pennsylvania,  and  is  a  travelling  salesman.  In  1877  he  changed  his  re- 
ligious faith,  going  from  the  Lutheran  church  to  that  of  the  United  Brethren, 
and  in  1883  became  a  charter  member  of  the  first  L^nited  Brethren  congregation 
established  in  Westmoreland  county.  He  participated  actively  in  propagating 
that  denomination  in  this  part  of  the  state,  and  in  1884  assisted  in  erecting  its 
first  house  of  worship  near  Jones  Mills,  this  county.  On  October  16,  1886,  he 
was  ordained  to  the  ministry.  His  first  wife,  whom  he  married  September 
12,  1875,  was  Emma  C.  Horner.  She  died  and  he  married  (second),  Febru- 
ary 16,  1892.  Ella  B.  Kuhns.  Alary  Elizabeth  married,  October  13,  1877. 
Charles  C.  Hunter,  a  cabinet-maker  by  trade,  and  now  a  merchant  in  Pittsburg, 
this  state.  Samvtel  AL,  who  is  now  following  the  carpenter's  trade  in  connec- 
tion with  farming  at  Derry  Station,  Pennsylvania,  married,  October  2,  1884, 
Rebecca  Hunter.  Sarah  A-Ialinda  married  George  Hellin,  a  carpenter  of 
Scottdale,  this  state,  December  29,  1880.  Julia  A.,  wife  of  William  A.  Hun- 
ter, of  Mount  Pleasant.  They  were  married  August  15,  1880.  Calvin  married 
Allie  Bell,  August  13,  18S8,  and  is  now  following  the  occupation  of  a  car- 
penter at  Summit  Alines,  this  state.  Nettie  is  now  residing  at  Jones  Alills, 
and  is  the  wife  of  David  Burnhart,  whom  she  married  December  25.  1892. 
Auradila  married,  November  16,  1899,  Walter  A.  Robb,  a  farmer  of  Flor- 
ence, Pennsylvania.  Flora  E.  married,  June  17,  1897,  H.  Freeman  Piper,  who 
is  engaged  in  farming  at  Stahlstown. 

JOSEPH  H.  AIcAIULLEN.  George  H.  AIcAIullen,  father  of  Jo- 
seph H.  AIcMullen.  of  Vandergrift,  was  born  December  18,  1829,  near  Alur- 
rysvdle.  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  was  reared  on  a  farm.  As  a  young 
man  he  went  to  Armstrong  countv  and  there  worked  at  his  trade,  that  of  a 
carpenter  and  millwright.  About  1870  he  abandoned  his  trade  and  purchased 
a  farm  in  Armstrong  county,  on  which,  however,  he  remained  but  a  short  time 
and  then  moved  to  another  farm  near  Alarysville,  Alleghenv  county.  There 
also  his  stay  was  a  brief  one,  and  after  other  removals  he  finally  settled  in 
1880,  in  Apollo,  Armstrong  county,  where  he  has  since  resided  and  where  he 
has  ever  since  been  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business.  For  many  years  he 
has  been  overseer  of  the  poor  of  Armstrong  county.  He  is  a  Republican,  and 
a  mmber  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  AIcAIullen  married  Salome  King, 
and  the  following  are  the  six  surviving  children  of  their  family  of  eight : 
Henry  D.,  in  business  near  Pittsburg;  Joseph  H.,  mentioned  hereinafter;  P'hilip 
S.,  civil  engineer  of  Glassport,  Pennsylvania ;  Catharine,  wife  of  James  T. 
Klugle,  of  Apollo;  Alargaret  AT,  wife  of  Thomas  James,  of  East  Brady, 
Pennsylvania ;  and  Eliza,  teacher  in  Vandergrift  schools. 

Joseph  H.  AIcAIullen,  son  of  George  H.  and  Salome  (King)   AIcAIullen, 


\\ 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  453 


,-as  born  April  17,  1859,  in  Armstrong  county,  and  received  his  education  in 
the  public  schools  and  at  a  private  school  in  Delmont  presided  over  by  Profes- 
sors E.  H.  Baer  and  I.  E.  Lawfer.  After  completing  his  course  of  study  he 
taught  for  one  term,  and  in  18S3  engaged  in  the  farm  implement  business  in 
Washington,  Pennsylvania.  His  first  year  was  a  record  breaker,  inasmuch  as, 
during  that  period,' he  placed  one  hundred  and  two  champion  binders  in  one 
county.  At  the  end  of  the  year  he  took  a  trip  through  the  southwest,  visiting 
Texas.  New  Mexico,  Louisiana  and  other  states.  He  then  returned  to  Apollo, 
where  he  was  for  a  time  ticket,  freight  and  express  agent  and  afterward  went 
on  the  road  in  the  passenger  service.  Later  he  was  transferred  to  the  tciket 
office  in  Allegheny," spending  in  all  some  six  years  in  the  railroad  business. 
Finding  advancement  too  slow  he  resigned  and  settled  in  Apollo,  where  for  two 
vears  he  was  a  general  contractor.  He  then  went  to  work  in  the  mills  of  the 
Apollo  Iron  &  Steel  Company,  beginning  as  matcher  and  thence  working  his 
way  up  to  the  position  of  sheet  heater,  heating  the  first  sheets  ever  tiirned 
out  of  the  Vandergrift  mills.  In  June,  1903,  by  the  advice  of  his  physician, 
he  resigned,  to  the"  regret  of  the  management  of  the  mills,  by  whom  he  was 
told  that  his  position  was  open  to  him  should  he  at  any  future  time  care  to 
return.  Soon  after  his  resignation  he  o])ened  a  shoe  store  in  \'andergrift. 
which  he  conducted  for  one  year  and  three  months,  when  he  sold  the  husines.= 
and  retired  from  active  life.  In  September,  1904,  he  was  made  district  organ 
izer  of  the  American  Insurance  Union.  In  November.  1905,  he  organized  the 
A'andergrift  News  Company,  which  publishes  the  leading  weekly  paper  in 
the  Kisiciminetas  valley  known  as  the  Vandergrift  Nezi's.  jMr.  MclMuUen  pur- 
chased in  July.  1896,  one  of  the  first  lots  sold  in  X'andergrift,  and  by  December 
5  was  occupying  the  house  which  he  had  built  thereon,  that  being  the  first  resi- 
dence occupied  in  the  borough.  He  was  the  first  president  of  an  organization 
for  the  regulation  of  the  building  of  houses.  He  subsequently  sold  his  resi- 
dence for  six  thousand  dollars,  and  in  1901  built  a  business  block  on  the  corner 
of  Washington  and  Columbia  streets,  which  he  recently  sold.  He  is  the  owner 
of  a  residence  property  on  Franklin  avenue  and  also  of  his  home  property, 
which  is  situated  on  Custer  avenue.  He  belongs  to  the  K.  P.,  the  W.  W.,  and 
the  K.  ;M.  His  political  affiliations  are  with  the  Republicans,  and  he  has 
served  some  six  years  as  county  committeeman.  He  is  a  member  and  trustee 
of  the  Presbyterian  church.  ^Ir.  ?\IcMullen  married  in  1891,  ^laggie  May 
Stamets.  of  Phillipsburg,  New  Jersey,  two  children :  Trixy,  deceased  ;  and 
Joseph  Thomas. 

THE  FUNK  FAMILY  came  to  America  from  Germany,  near  tlie 
Black  Forest,  in  Baden,  in  the  year  1686.  The  first  ancestor  was  a  minister 
of  the  Mennonite  church,  and  came  over  with  a  colony  of  men  and  women  of 
that  faith.  They  settled  in  Germantown,  Pennsylvania,  and  established  the 
first  regular  Mennf)nite  church  in  the  United  States. 

The  Godshalk  family  came  originally  from  Holland.  They  were  of  the 
persecuted  and  Baptist  sect  and  fled  from  their  native  land  to  America  about 
the  year  1800.  settling  in  New  Jersey.  They  were  farmers  generallv.  but  in 
some  branch  of  the  family  there  has  always  been  a  minister  of  the  Mennonite 
church.  Catherine's  ('mf)ther  of  William  G.  l~unk)  branch  of  the  family  left 
Middlesex  county.  New  Jersey,  about  1820  and  settled  in  Bucks  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, near  Doylestown.  where  she  was  born  in  1827.  She  was  twice  mar- 
ried. Her  first  husband  was  John  Johnson  whom  she  married  in  1854.  Two 
daughters  were  born  of  this  union.  John  Johnson  died  in  18^9.  Slv:  lemained 
a  widow  for  several  years  when  she  married  Samuel   Funk.     Their  children 


454  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

were:  William  G. ;  Sarah,  now  Airs.  J.  Harper,  of  Glenside,  Pa.,  nnd  Amv^ 
now  Mrs.  Howard  Anderson,  of  Riverside,  N.  J.  Mrs.  Funk  is  still  living,  and 
resides  in  Chalfonte,  Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania.  She  is  a  member  of  the 
Mennonite  church  as  was  also  Mr.  Funk,  her  husband. 

WILLIA.M  G.  FUNK,  pastor  of  Unity  church,  Beattv,  Westmore- 
land county,  the  oldest  church  in  that  count}-,  is  a' son  of  Samuel  and  Catherine 
(Godshalk)  Funk,  and  a  descendant  of  a  family  who  has  long  resided  in  the 
state  of  Pennsylvania,  living  on  a  farm  in  Montgomery  county,  which  is  still 
in  the  possession  of  the  Funk  family,  the  deeds  for  which  were  granted  by  the 
descendants  of  William  Peini  in  1702.  Samuel  Funk  (father)  was  born  in 
Montgomery  county,  followed  farming  throughout  the  active  years  of  his 
career,  and  died  in  1877,  aged  seventy-two  years. 

William  G.  Funk  was  born  in  New  Britain  township,  Bucks  countv;  Penn- 
sylvania, September  20,  1865.  He  pursued  his  studies  in  Lafayette 'College,. 
from  which  institution  he  was  graduated,  receiving  the  degree"  of  Bachelor 
of  Arts  in  1892,  and  Master  of  Arts  in  1895.  Later  he  entered  Princeton 
Theological  Seminary,  graduating  from  that  "institution  in  1895.  He  filled 
pastorates  in  Duryea,  Lackawanna  and  Taylor,  remaining  in  Lackawanna 
six  and  a  half  years,  and  at  the  expiration  of  this  period  of  time  he  removed  to 
Beatty  and  assumed  charge  of  Unity  church,  in  which  capacity  he  is  now 
serving.  He  is  a  man  of  sound  doctrinal  views  and  an  earnest  and  convincing 
speaker.  Since  1902  he  has  resided  on  a  farm  of  sixty  acres,  which  he  has 
cultivated  to  a  high  state  of  perfection,  and  which  is  therefore  very  produc- 
tive. He  married  Anna  Kerr,  wIki  was  born  in  Chesterfield,  Burlington  coun- 
ty. New  Jersey,  April,  1867,  a  daughter  of  Burroughs  and  Anna  (Rulon) 
Kerr.  She  bore  him  one  child,  William  K.,  born  November  30,  1898.  Mrs. 
Funk  (lied  in  1899. 

MICH.-\EL  C.  WEIS,  a  venerable  and  esteemed  citizen  of  Latrobe, 
Westmoreland  county,  was  born  September  11,  1830,  in  Zweiflingen,  Germany. 
He  attended  the  common  schools  of  his  native  laml.  and  the  knowledge 
thus  obtained  prepared  him  for  a  life  of  usefulness  and  activitv.  In  the  spring 
of  1852  he  decided  to  come  to  America.  He  remained  in  New  York  for  a 
short  time,  and  finally  located  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsvlvania,  where  for  three 
years  he  was  employed  in  a  wholesale  business  house.  In  1855  he  located  in 
Latrobe,  Westmoreland  county,  and  was  employed  in  the  construction  of  the 
first  tunnel  on  the  Pennsylvania  railroad  east  of  Latrobe.  Observing  the  fer- 
tility of  the  soil  of  Westmoreland  county,  which  was  principally  underlaid  with 
coal,  he  resolved  to  take  up  farming.  By  industry  and  thrift,  for  which  all 
Germans  are  noted,  he  soon  became  sole  owner  of'  two  of  the  finest  farms  m 
Westmoreland  county.  These  farms  are  located  one  mile  north  of  Latrobe, 
having  thereon  dwellings  with  all  modern  improvements.  His  widow  and 
five  children  occupy  the  homestead  at  the  present  time.  Michael  Weis  married 
in  the  summer  of  1855,  Rosina  Elizabeth  Kaiser,  of  Ziittlingen,  Germany,  her 
family  having  immigrated  from  Germany  in  1853.  Their  children  were: 
Karl  C,  Rosina  E.,  Frederick  C,  Christo'pher  C.,' Amanda  M.,  Caroline  C, 
Michael  W.,  Katharine  M..  Frank  L.,  Anna  L.,  Lewis  W.,  seven  of  whom  arc 
living  and  four  dead.  The  oldest  daughter,  Rosina,  in  the  spring  of  1886,  em- 
barked in  the  millinery  business  in  the  town  of  Latrobe,  Pennsvlvania.  Three 
daughters  at  the  present  time  carry  on  business  at  the  Weis  Seller  millinerv 
establishment,  which  has  been  one' of  the  most  prominent  business  stands  in 


A 


HISTORY   OF    U'ESTMORELAXD    COUNTY.  455 

the  town  for  twenty  vears.  The  sons  continue  farming  and  have  estabhshed 
a  hennerv  on  one  of  the  farms.  Mr.  Weis  died  in  the  spring  of  1886,  and  is 
buried  in  Lutheran  cemetery,  Youngsiown,   Pennsylvania. 

WILLIAM  J.  HOWARD,  of  Xew  Kensington,  is  the  grandson  of 
Patrick  Howard,  who  was  born  in  Ireland,  whence  he  came  with  his  wife  to 
the  United  States,  settling  in  Xew  York  city,  where  he  lived  many  years,  be- 
ing engaged  in  business  as  a  contractor,  especially  for  railroad  companies.  In 
the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  moved  to  Pittsburg,  where  he  died.  He  and  his 
wife  were  the  parents  of  the  following  children:  Patrick,  see  forward:  John, 
deceased  ;  Marv  ;  and  Annie. 

Patrick  Howard,  son  of  Patrick  Howard,  the  emigrant,  was  born  in  Ire- 
land and  was  an  infant  when  brought  by  his  parents  to  the  United  States. 
Upon  attaining  his  majority  he  went  into  business  for  himself  as  a  shipper  of 
ore  and  clav  from  Sligo.  'After  some  years  he  purchased  a  farm  near  Sligo 
and  devoted  himself  to  agriculture  in  which  he  was  very  successful,  becoming 
the  owner  of  three  farms.  The  latter  years  of  liis  life  were  spent  in  retire- 
ment at  Clarion.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  He  mar- 
ried Annie  Gagan.  and  the  following  children  were  born  to  them:  Mary,  wife 
of  A.  H.  Siward;  John  E.,  farmer:  Annie,  wife  of  George  Ecker;  AI.  J., 
farmer  on  the  homestead;  T.  P..  clothier  in  McKeesport :  William  J.,  see  for- 
ward:  Catharine  M..  deceased;  Winnie:  and  Daniel  M..  butcher  in  Clarion. 
Mr.  Howard,  the  father,  died  in  1892. 

William  J.  Howard,  son  of  Patrick  and  Annie  (Gagan)  Howard,  was 
born  Januarv  23,  1874.  in  Sligo,  Pennsylvania,  receiving  his  education  in  the 
common  schools  of  that  place  and  at  the  Clarion  State  Normal  School.  At 
eighteen  years  of  age  he  entered  the  service  of  J.  C.  Campbell  &  Company, 
druggists,  where  he  remained  four  years.  He  then  went  into  the  hotel  busi- 
ness at  Rennersburg  where  for  four  vears  he  was  proprietor  of  the  City  Ho- 
tel. After  spending  two  years  in  retirement  at  New  Bethlehem  he  moved,  in 
Mav.  1902.  to  New  Kensington,  where  he  purchased  what  was  then  known 
as  the  Merchants"  Hotel.  This  Iniilding  he  has  since  enlarged  about  one-half, 
changing  the  name  to  the  Hotel  Howard,  and  now  has  one  oi  the  finest  hostel- 
ries  in  the  town.  He  affiliates  with  Lodge  No.  512,  Benevolent  Protective 
Order  of  Elks,  of  Xew  Kensington,  and  in  politics  is  a  staunch  Democrat.  On 
February  20,  1906,  he  was  elected  member  of  the  council  of  New  Kensington, 
by  a  majority  of  165.  The  town  is  strongly  Republican  and  he  is  a  Democrat. 
His  election  is  a  fair  index  of  his  popularity  and  high  standing  in  the  com- 
munity.   He  married  Catharine  M.  Collins,  of  New  Bethlehem. 

MRS.  HARRIET  SLOAN  McCOXXELL,  a  member  of  a  distin- 
guished family  in  Pennsylvania,  whose  ancestors  were  among  the  ])ioneer 
settlers  of  Westmoreland  county,  was  bom  in  Salem  township,  September  17, 
1827,  the  (laughter  of  John  Steel  and  Jane  (Christie)  Sloan.  The  Sloan  and 
Christie  families  were  both  Scotch-Irish  pioneer  .settlers  in  Westmoreland 
county.  The  Sloans  removed  from  Lancaster  to  Westmoreland  county  in  a 
very  early  day  of  its  settling. 

John  Steel  Sloan  was  born  July  26,  1803,  the  son  of  John  and  h'li/.abeth 
CSteel)  Sloan.  He  married,  October  i,  1822,  Jane  Christie,  born  December 
15.  1805,  daughter  nf  James  and  Mary  (McCall)  Christie,  and  who  died  Xo- 
vember  22,  1898.  Their  children  were:  Harriet,  mentioned  hereafter:  Robert 
E..  born  August  9.  1836;  John  T.,  Julv  28,  1839;  and  William  C,  May  25, 
'843- 


456  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

Harriet  Sloan  married,  October  31,  1S44,  David  Kirkpatrick  McConnell, 
born  in  1819,  died  December,  1900.  (Mention  of  Mr.  McConnell's  family  history 
is  made  in  the  sketch  of  Judge  Alexander  D.  McConncll).  Their  children 
were:  James  G.,  born  August  23,  1845  ;  John  S.,  ]\Iay  2,  1847 ;  Alexander  Dan- 
iel, whose  sketch  appears  elsewhere;  Sarah  A.,  born  January  30,  1852;  Har- 
riet M.,  May  28.  1854:  Mary  E.,  March  20.  1858;  Hannah  Kate,  November  15, 
1861 ;  Ellsworth  D.,  June  19,  1864;  and  Robert  S.,  December  8,  1866.  Of  these 
children  all  are  living  except  John  S.,  who  gave  his  life  for  another.  On 
March  7,  1880,  he  saw  a  workman  on  the  track  of  the  Denver  &  Rio  Grande 
railway  menaced  by  a  rapidly  approaching  train  and  ran  to  his  rescue.  This 
he  accomplished,  but  only  after  his  own  foot  was  caught  and  crushed.  There 
was  no  surgeon  nearer  than  Denver,  many  miles  away,  and  he  was  taken 
there,  suffering  the  most  intense  pain.  The  foot  was  amputated,  but  blood 
poisoning  ensued,  which  caused  his  death  about  three  months  after  the  acci- 
dent. 

Mrs.  McConnell's  living  descendants  are  eight  children,  twenty-five 
grandchildren  and  seven  great-grandchildren.  Mrs.  ]\IcConnell  is  an  amiable, 
hospital  woman,  and  is  beloved  by  all  who  know  her.  She  lives  upon  the  Mc- 
Connell  homestead  where  she  came  a  bride  sixty-two  years  ago.  Her  mar- 
riage was  performed  by  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  INIcFaren,  pastor  at  Congruity  for 
forty-two  years,  who  also  baptized  her. 

JOHN  J.  KLINE,  a  prominent  anri  prosperous  merchant  of  Adams- 
burg,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  postmaster  of  the  town  for 
many  years,  is  one  of  its  most  valued  citizens,  having  done  much  to  further 
its  welfare.     He  was  a  grandson  of  John  Kline. 

Jacob  Kline,  son  of  John  Kline,  and  father  of  John  J.  Kline,  was  at  one 
time  proprietor  of  the  Westmoreland  House  in  Greensburg,  Westmoreland 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  died  in  the  early  spring  of  1884,  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enty-one years,  on  the  Brush  Creek  farm,  and  is  buried  in  the  Brush  Creek 
cemetery.  He  married  Caroline  Rugh,  daughter  of  Jacob  Rugh,  at  one  time 
owning  and  living  on  a  farm  below  southwest  Greensburg,  on  what  was 
known  as  the  Rugh  farm.  Mrs.  Kline  died  November  5,  1854,  leaving  an  in- 
fant child — John  J. — and  was  buried  in  the  old  German  graveyard. 

John  J.  Kline,  son  of  Jacob  and  Caroline  (Rugh)  Kline,  was  born  in 
the  Westmoreland  House,  which  building  is  still  standing  in  Greensburg,  op- 
posite the  New  Fisher  House.  He  was  reared  on  a  farm,  obtained  his  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools  of  the  township,  and  completed  a  commercial  course 
at  the  Indiana  Normal  school.  He  then  followed  various  occupations  for  a 
number  of  years,  and  finally  decided  upon  the  mercantile  business  as  being 
suited  to  his  tastes  and  established  himself  in  Adamsburg,  Pennsylvania,  Oc- 
toebr  8,  1884,  in  what  was  known  as  the  James  Gregg  propertv,  and  here  he 
is  still  (1906)  conducting  a  flourishing  business.  His  business  methods  are 
practical  and  systematic,  and  he  has  the  happy  faculty  of  retaining  Custom 
which  he  has  once  acquired.  He  is  enterprising  and  progressive,  and  has  held 
a  number  of  positions  of  public  trust  and  responsibility.  He  has  twice  been 
elected  to  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace,  and  has  served  as  postmaster  of 
Adamsburg  for  si.xteen  years.  Upon  his  first  appointment  as  postmaster,  in 
1884,  there  were  but  three  mails  received  weekly.  Later,  through  the  untiring 
efforts  of  Mr.  Kline,  Adamsburg  was  accorded  a  daily  mail.  When  he  was 
reappointed,  he  again  appealed  to  the  department  at  Washington,  and  by 
continued  effort  in  this  direction  succeeded  in  bavins:  .Vdamsburg  supplied 
with  two  mails  daily.     He  has  also  been  treasurer  of  the  borough  of  .\dams- 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  457 

burg  for  about  twelve  years.  He  married,  October  19,  1879,  ^^lartha  Griffin, 
born  near  Kecksburg,  Westmoreland  county  Pennsylvania,  and  they  had  four- 
teen children,  eleven  of  whom  are  now  living.  Two  daughters  and  one  son 
are  now  married,  and  he  has  two  grandchildren. 

JA^IES  r^lOORE  LAIRD  was  born  in  :\Iurrysville,  Westmoreland 
countv,  Pennsvlvania,  December  13,  1837.  The  founder  of  the  Laird  clan  in 
the  United  States  was  John  Laird,  who  came  to  this  country  from  the  county 
of  Donegal,  in  the  province  of  Ulster,  Ireland,  late  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. The  family  was  Scotch  in  its  origin,  as  the  name  implies,  having  gone 
over  from  Scotland  with  many  others  in  the  reign  of  James  I.  Upon  the 
tombstone  of  this  John  Laird  ('dated  1766.  at  ]\Iarsh  creek,  in  Adams  county, 
Pennsylvania),  there  still  exists,  in  fine  preservation,  the  carving  of  a  curious 
coat  of  arms  bearing  as  a  device  upon  the  shield,  the  severed  limbs  and  the 
spouting  blood  which  was  undoubtedly  intended  to  be  a  memento  to  coming- 
generations  of  the  terrible  time  in  old  Scotland  where  men  gave  their  lives 
for  opinion's  sake.  We  quote  from  a  history  of  the  family  written  by  Dr.  John 
Milton  Duff,  of  Pittsburg:  "In  what  appears  to  us  of  the  present,  the  misty 
past,  the  Laird  family  lived  in  Lanarkshire,  Scotland.  For  some  reason  they 
looked  across  the  channel  to  the  green  fields  of  Donegal  county,  Ireland,  with 
favor,  and  at  an  early  date  were  enticed  to  the  Emerald  Isle,  where  they  lived 
and  prospered.  Late  in  the  eighteenth  century  one  of  the  clan,  John  by  name, 
determined  to  leave  home  and  friends  to  seek  fame  and  fortune  across  the 
Atlantic.  After  a  tempestuous  voyage  he  landed  on  the  American  shores.  He 
immediately  started  inland  in  search  of  a  home.  He  crossed  over  the  broad 
and  rocky  Susquehanna  in  that  beautiful  and  picturesque  Cumberland  valley, 
now  so  famous  in  our  country's  history,  and  there,  in  Adams  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, under  the  shade  of  the  rock-ribbed  Allegheny  mountains,  he  selected 
a  farm  upon  which  he  lived  and  died.  His  youngest  son  William  inherited  this 
farm  which  was  situated  on  Marsh  creek.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  religious 
tendencies  and  was  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  Soon  after  William 
and  his  young  wife  took  charge  of  the  farm  on  March  2;^.  1768,  they  became 
the  happy  parents  of  a  boy  babe  which  was  named  Francis.  At  a  very  early 
age  this  boy  showed  signs  of  more  than  ordinary  intellect.  Fortunately  his 
capacity  for  mental  work  was  supplemented  by  an  earnest  craving  for  knowl- 
edge. His  father,  as  best  he  could,  seconded  his  eiTorts,  and  in  due  course  of 
time  he  entered  Dickinson  College,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1794  with 
honors.  At  his  graduation  he  was  complimented  through  the  Philadelphia 
newspapers  by  thp  celebrated  James  Ross,  the  well-known  author  of  a  Latin 
grammar,  as  the  best  scholar  in  his  class.  Among  his  classmates  were  John 
Kennedy,  subsequently  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  Pennsylvania.and  Roger 
B.  Taney,  author  of  the  Dred  Scott  decision.  After  graduating,  in  company 
with  Mathias  Brown,  afterwards  president  of  Jefferson  College,  he  studied 
theology  for  three  years.  At  the  end  of  this  time,  in  1797.  he  was  licensed 
to  preach  by  the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle.  He  then  turned  his  steps  westward 
and  after  itinerating  for  some  time  as  a  supply,  received  a  call  from  the  churches 
of  Poke  Run  and  Plum  Creek,  and  was  installed  as  pastor  of  those  combined 
congregations  October  22,  1800.  He  went  into  the  field,  giving  up  his  days  to 
unrelenting  toil,  but  the  enthusiasm  of  youth  lent  romance  to  the  drudgeries 
of  his  work.  At  this  time,  over  in  Salem  townshi]),  lived  John  Moore,  who 
was  a  member  of  the  convention  which  founded  the  constitution  of  1776,  and 
who  was  subsequently  president  judge  of  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
when  that  county  embraced  nearly  all  of  the  southwestern  portion  of  the  state. 


458  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

He  was  also  the  first  state  senator  from  Westmoreland  county.  He  died  in  1811 
and  is  buried  at  Congruity.  A  man  of  vigorous  intellect  and  broad  experience, 
as  well  as  a  ripe  scholar,  he  became  a  trusted  friend  of  the  young  pastor  who 
frequently  visited  his  home.  It  happened,  however,  that  the  judge  had  a 
most  beautiful  and  accomplished  daughter,  Mary,  in  whom  the  young  man  soon 
became  interested  and  subsequently  married.  He  soon  afterwards  bought  the 
farm  at  Sardis  on  which  the  "Laird  mansion,"  so  well  known  to  all  residents  of 
Westmoreland  county,  is  located.  He  served  Poke  Run  and  Plum  Creek  as 
pastor  for  thirty-one  years.  He  then  became  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
at  Murrysville,  where  he  served  for  nineteen  years.  He  died  April  6,  1854, 
and  was  buried  in  the  cemetery  at  Murrysville.  Rev.  Dr.  b'rancis  Laird  ex- 
celled as  a  mathematician  and  linguist ;  nevertheless,  he  was  well  versed  in  all 
the  learning  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  and  exerted  wide  educating  and 
christianizing  influences.  As  a  pulpit  orator  he  was  very  logical,  his  manner 
was  unique,  and  his  intonations  rhythmical.  The  moulding  influence  he  had  in 
the  community  will  live  long;  children  and  children's  children's  children  have 
been  taught  to  pronounce  his  name  with  respect  and  reverence.  Laird  church 
(on  the  site  of  the  old  Plum  Creek  church  )  and  the  Laird  Institute  at  Murrys- 
ville, have  been  dedicated  as  monuments  to  his  memory.  He  and  his  wife 
Mary  had  nine  children,  eight  of  whom  lived  to  maturity:  John  M.,  William, 
Robert,  Francis,  Plarrisnn  Perry.  Jane,  Eliza  and  Mary. 

John  Moore  Laird  was  born  at  Locust  Dale,  now  Sardis,  Westmoreland 
countv,  in  1802.  During  his  early  life  he  attended  the  schools  of  his  neigh- 
borhood, and  was  in  addition  tutored  by  his  father.  Rev.  Francis  Laird.  Al- 
though he  did  not  manifest  a  fondness  for  farm  work  during  his  boyhood  as 
occasions  required,  he  assisted  on  the  farm.  He  learned  the  printing  trade 
with  Judge  John  M.  Snowden,  of  Pittsburg,  who  was  editor  of  the  "Mercury." 
After  completing  his  apprenticeship  he  removed  to  Steubenville,  Ohio,  where 
for  a  time  he  edited  a  paper.  Here  he  married  a  most  estimable  lady  in  the 
person  of  Ellen  May  Morton.  The  fruits  of  this  marriage  was  a  daughter, 
Ellen  Mary.  Soon  after  the  birth  of  their  child  the  angel  of  death  entered 
the  home  and  claimed  as  his  victim  the  beautiful,  accomplished  and  loving 
wife  and  mother.  The  death  of  his  wife  was  a  severe  stroke  to  him.  To  make 
matters  worse  he  was  attacked  with  malaria  and,  broken  in  body  and  spirit, 
he  sold  out  his  interests  in  Steubenville  and  returned  to  his  native  county.  In 
time  his  health  improved,  and  feeling  that  he  must  be  active,  lest,  as  he  put 
it,  he  "might  rust  out,"  he  began  to  look  about  for  something  to  do.  Con- 
gruity, midwa}-  between  New  Alexandria  and  New  Salem,  was  then  a  promi- 
nent point  On  the  old  northern  turnpike,  and  he  selected  this  village  as  his 
place  of  abode  and  opened  a  general  store.  In  this  venture  commerciallv,  he 
was  only  partly  successful ;  but  as  subsequent  events  proved,  his  location 
there  was  one  of  the  most  fortunate  circumstances  of  his  life.  Here  he  mar- 
ried Rebecca  Moore,  daughter  of  James  Moore,  Esq.,  a  prominent  farmer  of 
that  vicinity,  antl  who  was  strictly  speaking,  a  helpmate  to  him,  and  a  true 
noble  and  good  woman.  She  died  July  5,  1875,  and  was  buried  in  St.  Clair 
cemetery,  Greensburg.  After  his  second  marriage,  with  the  hope  of  greater 
business  prosperit_\',  he  bought  the  store  of  Mr.  David  Rankin,  Murrysville. 
One  who  knew  Rev.  Francis  Laird  well,  in  writing  of  him  said:  "In  selling 
the  products  of  his  farm  he  always  heaped  the  half  bushel."  John  M.  Laird 
inherited  the  honesty  of  his  father,  and  although  he  did  a  large  business,  he  did 
not  pile  up  profits  as  rapidly  as  many  another  would  have  done  under  like  cir- 
cumstances; he  always  "heaped  the  half  bushel;"  gave  "down  weight"  and  al- 
lowed a  thumb's-breadth  to  the  yardstick.     He  was,  wliile  living  in  Mnrrvs- 


HISTORV   or   IVESTMORELAND   COUXTV.  ■  459 

ville,  elected  justice  of  the  peace,  and  it  is  said  that  he  was  instrumental  in 
bringing  about  an  amicable  settlement  in  the  majority  of  cases  brought  before 
him,  often  times  giving  up  his  fees  in  order  to  harmonize  the  quarrelsome  neigh- 
bors'. He  bought  the  " Pennsylvania  Argus"  in  1850  and  removed  to  Greens- 
burg  where  he  lived  until  his  death.  January  25.  1887.  As  editor  of  the 
"Argus"  he  displayed  a  great  amount  of  tact,  talent  and  energy.  An  extensive 
reader,  a  keeji  observer.~and  close  student  of  men  and  things,  the  products  of 
his  pen  were  forcible,  clean  cut  and  convincing — a  man  of  strong  convictions 
who  was  always  readv  to  stand  bv  his  sentiments  without  fear  of  consequences. 
His  genial  nature  and  kind  heart  were  test  known  to  his  intimates,  but  were 
transparent  to  others  who  knew  him  only  as  the  stern,  unswerving  champion 
of  the  principles  he  advocated.  As  the  exponent  of  JefTersonian  Democracy  he 
was  absolutely  fearless,  and  many  times  the  burning  w^ords  came  as  from  a 
pen  of  fire.  Xecessarily  his  political  enemies  were  numerous:  nevertehless, 
thev  admired  his  sterling  manhood  and  acknowledged  his  honesty  of  purpose. 
He' left  behind  him  fragrant  memories  of  his  just  and  useful  life  and  noble  sac- 
rifices. The  "Argus"  is  an  endearing  monument  of  his  lifework.  Full  of 
years  he  was  borne  tenderly  to  his  last  resting  place  beside  his  sainted  wife  on 
Taiuiarv  27.  1S87.  He  held  but  one  county  office,  that  of  register  and  recorder, 
to  which  he  was  elected  in  November.  1872.  and  served  the  full  term  of  three 
years.  He  likewise,  while  a  resident  of  Greensburg,  held  the  office  of  justice  of 
the  peace  for  several  terms.  In  religion,  like  his  fcrefathers.  he  was  a  true  and 
devoted  disciple  of  Calvin,  and  lived  and  died  in  the  Presbyterian  faith.  His 
second  wife.  Rebecca  Moore  Laird,  was  born  in  Salem  township,  Westmore- 
land county,  Pennsylvania,  and  w'as  a  daughter  of  James  Moore. 

In  April,  1850,'  James  Moore  Laird  came  to  Greensburg  with  his  parents, 
brother  and  sister.  His  father,  as  heretofore  stated,  had  purchased  outright 
the  good  will  and  necessary  appliances  of  the  Pennsylvania  "Argus"  from 
Messrs.  Turney  and  Hacke  (in  which  paper  he  was  one  of  the  principal  stock- 
holders) on  January  i,  1850.  James  Moore  Laird  and  his  brother,  F.  \'.  1!. 
Laird,  became  infatuated  with  the  printer's  art  and  thoroughly  mastered  that 
profession  in  all  its  branches  and  tletails — in  that  day  a  very  simple  acquire- 
ment. However,  the  brothers  kept  pace  with  the  progress  of  improvement, 
and  are  regarded  as  amongst  the  most  skilled  of  the  followers  of  the  "art  pre- 
servative." William,  the  youngest  of  the  trio,  also  became  a  skilled  compo-itor 
when  of  sufficient  age.  but  died  November  22,  1876. 

James  ^loore  Laird  and  Francis  \'an  Buren  Laird,  because  of  their  infat- 
uation for  the  printing  business,  spent  their  whole  lives,  beginning  as  printers' 
"devils,"  in  the  atmosphere  and  amid  the,  to  them,  allurements  of  the  printing 
office.  They  attended  school  at  Murrysville  until  the  ages,  respectively,  of 
thirteen  and  ten  years,  when  their  father  removed  to  Greensburg.  lioth  at- 
tended the  common  schools  there,  working  in  -the  printing  office  mornings  and 
evenings.  Later  James  Moore  Laird  attended  school  in  which  the  higher 
branches  were  taught.  After  that  he  essayed  the  study  of  law  under  the 
tutorship  of  his  uncle.  Senator  Harrison  Perry  Laird.  He  was  then  about 
eighteen  years  of  age,  a  time  in  gne's  life  when  that  particular  study  possessed 
but  little  fascination.  Finding  he  could  not  buckle  down  to  the  tasks  assigned 
him  by  his  preceptor,  a  man  of  stern  and  exactin.g  disposition,  he  abandoned 
further  attempt  in  this  direction,  which  he  always  afterward  regretted,  and 
devoted  thereafter  his  whole  attention  to  acquiring  a  thorough  knowled'^e  of 
the  printing  business.  Later  he  became  foreman  of  his  father's  office,  and 
was  afterwards  "promoted"  to  the  position  of  local  editor.  In  his  father's 
declining  years  much  of  the  editorial  work  also  devolved  upon  him,  and  at  his 


46o  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

father's  death,    January  25,   1887,   he   assumed   charge  of  both  the   local   and 
editorial  work.  "  It  is  for  the  future  historian  to  say,  however,  whether  or  not 
he  made  a  success  of  either.     His  brother,  F.  V.  B.  Laird,  looked  after  and 
successfully  managed  the  business  affairs  of  the  office  (besides  assisting  in  the 
composing'  and  job  printing  department)   and  also  as  proof  reader  and  ex- 
change editor  of  the  "Argus."     He  organized  and  was  elected  the  captain  of 
Company  I,  of  the  Tenth  Regiment,   Pennsylvania  militia,  on  December  31, 
1878,  afterwards  bv  legislative  enactment  raised  to  the  distinction  of  the  Na- 
tional  Guard   of   Pennsylvania.     He   remained   as   its   captain   until   October, 
1882,  when  he  was  elected  major  of  the  regiment.     In  this  capacity  he  served 
until' John  B.  Keenan,  his  successor  to  the  captaincy,  retired  from  the  service. 
His   old   command,   finding   itself   without   a   competent    leader,   and   no   one 
being  willing  to  accept"  the  office,  he  resigned  his  commissiori  as  major  and,  fol- 
lowing a  unanimous  election,  again  assumed  command  of  his  farmer  company. 
This  JDosition  he  held  until  the  outbreak  of  the  Spanish- American  war  inApril, 
1898,  when  his  regiment  was  ordered  by  Governor  Hastings  to  report  for  ac- 
tive service  at  Mount  Gretna,  Pennsylvania,  eighteen  miles  northeast  of  Har- 
risburg.     So  rigid  and  exacting  were  the  requirements  of  the  medical  depart- 
ment, however,"  that  he  was  rejected  because  of  his  age,  although  he  then  not 
only  seemed  to  be,  but  really  was,  in  the  full  vigor  of  manhood.     To  be  thus 
turned  down  after  having  served  faithfully  for  twenty  years  in  the  service  of 
his  state,  in  which  time  he  twice  saw  active  service  in  the  great  industrial 
riots  of  1 89 1  and  1892 — Alorewood  and  Homestead — was  to  him  the  greatest 
humiliation  of  his  life.    Undaunted  by  such  treatment.  Captain  Laird  appealed 
to  General  Alger,  then  secretary  of  war,  to  have  the  decision  of  the  medical 
department  annulled,  and  through  the  kind  offices  of  Representative  Robbins, 
a  member  of  congress  from  his  district,  his  request  was  complied  with.     Soon 
thereafter.  General   Alger  authorized   Governor  Hastings  to  commission  him 
captain  of  the  first  military  companv  to  be  organized  for  active  service  in  the 
state.     It  so  happened  that  the  Third  Battalion  of  the  Sixteenth  Regiment, 
Pennsylvania  A'olunteers,  was  then  being  recruited.     One  company  (M)  was 
alrcadv  partially   recruited   at   Jeannette,  and   he  was  by   Governor  Hastings 
promptly  commissioned  and  assigned  as  its  commander.     Completing  the  or- 
ganization of  Company  j\l,  he  was  ordered  to  report  with  his  new  command 
at  historic  Chickamauga  Park,  Georgia,  and  on  July  18,  1898,  he  departed  for 
that  place  with  one  hundred  and  six  men,  the  full  war  complement.  Here  he  be- 
gan training  his  men  in  the  rudiments  of  warfare.  The  First  and  Second  Battal- 
ions of  the  Sixteenth  Regiment  had  rendezvoused  at  Charleston,  South  Caro- 
lina, and  while  the  Third  Battalion  was  being  recruited,  these  two  battalions  re- 
ceived orders  to  sail  for  Porto  Rico.     His  battalion  was  on  July  27  ordered  to 
Newport   News,    Virginia,   arriving   there   July   28.      It   remained   there   mitil 
August  17,  when  it  was  ordered  to  Middletown,  near  Harrisburg.     The  Third 
Battalion  was  ordered  on  September  13,  to  join  the  First  and  Second  Battal- 
ions in  Porto  Rico,  and  on  September  14  it  sailed  on  the  transport  "Obdam" 
from  Brooklyn,  New  York,  for  that  island,  arriving  at  San  Juan  on  September 
21,  after  a  tempestuous  voyage.    The  Spanish  forces  in  the  forts  at  San  Juan, 
having  ignored  the '  protocol  between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  the  ship 
was  forbidden  to  land.     The  captain  of  the  vessel  then .  chang^ed  its  course, 
and  on  the  following  day  the  harbor  of  Ponce  was  entered.     The  troops  dis- 
embarked without  opposition  on   Sunday,   September  25.  the  city  being  then 
under  the  authority  of  the  LTnited  States  with  General   Miles  in  command. 
The  Second  and  Third  Battalions,  decimated  by  death  from  disease  and  casual- 
ties in  battle,  were  ordered  on  October  11  to  join  the  First  Battalion  at  Ponce, 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  461 

and  on  that  niglit  the  entire  Sixteenth  Regiment  sailed  for  tlie  L'nited  States 
on  the  steamer  ■"^^linnewaska,"  landing  at  Jersey  City  October  18.  Two  months 
later  the  regiment  was  mustered  out  01  service.  Upon  the  return  of  the  Tenth 
Regiment  trom  the  I'hihppines,  Captain  Laird  was  restored  to  his  former  posi- 
tion as  captain  of  Couipany  I, and  ordered  to  reorganize  the  company  for  service 
in  the  national  guard,  which  he  did.  His  commission  having  expired  in  July, 
1900,  he  declined  a  re-election,  after  almost  twent\-lw()  years  of  continuous 
service. 

Captain  Laird's  first  military  experience  was  during  the  civil  war.  \\  hen 
the  state  was  threatened  with  invasion  by  the  Confederate  army  in  June,  1863, 
he  enlisted  in  Company  C,  Fifty-fourth  Regiment,  uniformed  militia,  and  was 
appointed  to  the  position  of  what  was  then  known  as  orderly  sergeant.  With 
his  company  he  was  sworn  into  the  United  States  service  in  camp  near  Wilk- 
insburg.  Because,  however,  of  a  threatened  invasion  from  another  ([uartcr 
by  General  John  Morgan,,  known  as  Guerrilla  Morgan,  the  Fifty-fourth  was 
held  in  camp  for  that  emergency  instead  of  being  hurried  forward  to  partici- 
pate in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  With  other  state  troops  the  Fifty-fourth 
checked  the  progress  of  the  guerrilla  chieftain,  and  his  command  near  Saline- 
ville.  C)liio.  on  Sunday.  July  16.  He  then  changed  his  course,  only  to  encoun- 
ter Shackleford's  Michigan  cavalry  which,  after  a  sharp  engagement,  com- 
pelled the  surrender  of  the  entire  outfit.  The  regiment  then  returned  to  its 
camp,  and  all  immdiate  danger  having  passed,  it  was  nuistered  out  of  service 
as  an  organization. 

!Mr.  Laird  then  resumed  his  place  in  the  office  of  the  "Argus,"  where  he 
remained  until  April,  1864,  when  he  entered  the  job  office  of  William  G.  John- 
ston &  Company,  Pittsburg,  the  better  to  qualify  himself  for  that  branch  of  his 
business.  He  accepted  a  position  in  the  recorder's  office  at  Wirt  court  house, 
West  \'irginia,  in  February.  1865,  which  position  he  held  for  several  months, 
when  the  bottom  fell  out  of  the  oil  business  and  he  returned  to  Pennsylvania. 
While  at  Wirt  court  house,  the  town  was  captured  by  a  band  of  guerrillas  un- 
der command  of  a  Confederate  lieutenant  by  the  name  of  Pomeroy.  All  the 
county  officials,  himself  among  them,  were  taken  prisoners  and  confined  in  a 
hotel.  He  and  David  Flemming,  an  attorney,  were  threatened  with  death, 
the  former  because  of  his  having  instructed  a  comjsany  of  home  guards  in 
military  tactics,  and  the  latter  for  having,  as  Pomeroy  alleged,  given  the  in- 
habitants of  the  town  warning  of  the  presence  of  the  Confederates  whom  he 
met  while  up  in  the  mountains  leasing  oil  territory,  and  of  which  fact  they  had 
sworn  him  to  secrecy.  Mr.  Flemming  proved  his  innocence  of  the  accusation, 
and  upon  the  intervention  of  some  Confederate  sympathizers,  both  he  and 
Laird  were  released  under  parole,  having  first  been  robbed  of  what  nione\-  and 
valuables  they  had  in  their  possession. 

Mr.  Laird  returned  to  Pittsburg  early  in  .April.  1863,  whence  he  brought 
back  to  Wirt  court  house  as  his  bride.  Sarah  r)Oyd  I-'ullwood,  a  former  resi- 
dent of  flreenshnrg.  The  oil  excitement  having  subsided,  as  above  stated.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Laird,  during  the  summer  of  1865,  returned  to  (jrecnsburg,  where  the 
former  again  resumed  his  position  in  the  office  of  the  "Argus."  Mr.  Laird  is 
one  of  the  old  .school  Democrats  but  never  held  any  public  office  other  than 
that  of  a  military  character.  He  is  connected  with  the  I'resliyterian  church, 
having  been  reared  in  that  belief  by  his  parents.  He  was  married  in  Pitts- 
burg, April  13.  186.5.  'jy  Kev.  Dr.  'Joseph  Smith,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  Green.sburg.  His  wife's  maiden  name  was  Sarah  liovd  I'ullwnod.  She 
was  born  October  5,  1836,  and  was  a  grafluate  of  the  Greensb'nrg  Female  Semi- 
nary, then  under  the  direction  of  Rev.  \\'illiani  1).  MiM>re,  later  one  of  the  lead- 


462  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

ing  attorneys  of  the  Allegheny  county  bar.     Her  parents  were  David  and  Airs. 
Eliza  Fullwood.    The  former  died  in  1852. 

Mr.  Fullwood  held  the  offices  of  sheriff  and  prothonotary  of  Westmore- 
land county.  Bayard  Taylor,  the  author  and  writer,  was  a  distant  relative  of 
Mrs.  Laird.  The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Laird  are:  John  Francis  Laird, 
torn  in  Greensburg.  December  18,  1867;  and  Margaret  Inillwood  Laird,  born 
in  Greensburg,  October  9,  1866.  John  Francis  Laird  is  engaged  in  the  mer- 
cantile business  at  Charleroi,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  is  one  of  the  leading  and 
progressive  citizens  of  the  town.  He  married,  April  18,  1899,  Nannie  Minor, 
of  Barberton,  Ohio.  Margaret  Fullwood  Laird  was  married  to  William  J. 
Coshey,  of  Greensburg,  in  October,  1886.  Two  children  were  born  to  them: 
Sarah  and  Louise. 

FRANCIS  VAN  BUREN  LAIRD  was  born  in  Murrysville,  West- 
moreland county,  Pennsylvania,  December  30,  1840.     (See  preceding  sketch.) 
His  limited  education  was  received   in  a  country  school  at  Murrysville.     He 
removed   in    1850   with   his   parents   to   Greensburg,    Pennsylvania,   where   he 
entered  his   father's   printing  office,   remaining  there  until   the  present  time, 
with  the  exception  of  a  temporary  absence  in  the  early  sixties,  when  he  took 
charge   of  the   "Huntingdon.    Pennsylvania,    Monitor,"   a   paper   started   h\    a 
stock  company  at  that  place.     His  eyesight  failing,  he  was  obl'ged  to  quit  the 
printing  business  for  several  years,  joining  an  engineer  corps  engaged  on  the 
survey  of  the  Pan  Handle  railroad,  near  Pittsburg.     He  was  afterwards  en- 
gaged on  the  surveys  of  the  West  Penn  and  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroads, 
respectively.     His  eyesight  having  somewhat  improved  he  again  entered  hi_, 
father's  printing  office,  where  he  remained  until  his  father's  death,  who,  in 
association  with  his  brother,  James  M.,  they  succeeded  in  the  publication  of  the 
"Argus."     F.  \'.  B.  Laird  was  elected  to  council  on  the  Democratic  ticket  in 
Greensburg  in  1876.     Twenty  years  later,  in  March,  1896,  he  was  returned  to 
council  from  the  Third  ward,  Greensburg,  wdiere  he  honorably  served  his  con- 
stituents until  jMarch  1903.     During  most  of  this  time  he  was  chairman  of  the 
police  committee  and  brought  the  force  up  to  a  remarkable  degree  of  efficiency, 
oftentimes  sacrificing  time  and  business  to  personal  direction  of  his  officers. 
He  was  unanimously  elected  president  of  council  in  1898.     He  ruled  the  body 
w-ith  grave  deliberation,  and  some  of  his  rulings  were  and  are  yet  frequently 
referred  to.     He  upheld  the  dignity  of  his  office  with  becoming  grace,  and 
declined  a  re-election,  insisting  that  his  fellow  members  were  entitled  to  the 
honor.     To  the  rigid  discipline  he  enforced  among  the  town's  guardians,  while 
chairman  of  the  police  committee,  together  with  an  almost  constant  surveil- 
lance of  their  every  act,  is  largely  due  the  efficiency  of  the  present  police  de- 
partment.    He  is  not  a  member  of  the  church,  but  attends  regularly  the  Sab- 
bath services  in  the  Presbyterian  church.    He  is  a  most  positive  man  and  is  pos- 
sessed of  rare  moral  courage :  consicientous  to  a  degree,  and  firm  and  unaltera- 
ble  in   his   convictions.      During   President  Johnston's   administration   he   was 
appointed  deputy  United  States  marshal. 

He  was  married  to  Hetty  D.  Welty.  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Alary  Ann 
Drum  Welty,  April  19,  1871.  Mrs.  Laird's  father  was  a  j^rominent  merchant 
in  the  "fifties"  and  was  postmaster  in  Greensburg  during  President  Johnson's 
administration.  .She  is  a  niece  of  General  Richard  C.  Drum,  adjutant  general 
United  States  army,  retired,  who  was  elevated  to  that  exalted  position  from  a 
private  in  the  jMexican  war.  The  Weltys  and  Drums  were  amongst  the  first 
settlers  in  tireensburg.  Three  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Laird,  one 
•of  whom  died  in  infancv. 


( 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  463 

Richard  Drum  Laird,  son  of  1-".  \'.  LI.  Laird,  was  liorn  in  Greensburg,  June 
30,  1872.  He  was  educated  in  the  pubHc  schools  of  Greensburg  and  at  Grove 
City  College,  Grove  City.  Pennsylvania,  where  he  graduated.  He  inherited 
the  military  spirit  from  both  his  father's  and  mother's  side  of  the  house. 
He  went  to  the  Philippines  during  the  war  with  Spain  as  first  lieutenant  of 
Company  1,  Tenth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  X'oluntcers,  the  only  Pennsylvania 
regiment  that  saw  service  in  that  war.  He  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of 
Malate  during  the  first  engagement  with  the  Siianianls.  (  )n  the  return  of 
his  regiment  to  the  L'nited  States  and  the  rcorganizaion  of  the  command,  he 
was  elected  captain  of  Company  L  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Spanish  war 
he  was  a  law  student  and  ready  to  be  admitted  to  the  bar.  At  a  special  session 
of  court  he  was  admitted  to  the  practice  of  law  before  going  to  the  Philip- 
pines. While  on  the  ocean,  returning  to  the  states,  he  was  appointed  and  com- 
missioned a  lieutenant  in  the  regular  army.  The  commission  was  awaitmg 
him  on  the  arrival  of  the  transport  at  San  Francisco.  How'ever,  at  the  earn- 
est request  of  his  parents,  he  declined  the  honor  and  at  once  entered  upon  the 
practice  of  his  chosen  profession.  He  married,  November  15,  1904,  Clara 
Dalby.  of  Greensburg. 

Mary  Rebecca  Laird,  daughter  of  F.  \'.  I!.  Laird,  was  born  in  Greens- 
burg, February  18,  1874.  She  was  educated  in  the  Greensburg  public  schools 
and  the  Greensburg  .Seminary,  and  married,  October  24,  1900,  Frank  W. 
Highberger,  a  confidential  clerk  in  the  offices  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company. 
Soon  after  their  marriage  Mr.  Highberger  was  appointed  representative  gen- 
eral of  the  Carnegie,  or  L'nited  States  Steel  corporation,  in  the  city  of  Mexico, 
where  they  resided  for  two  years.  At  the  solicitation  of  his  wife  Air.  Highber- 
ger resigned  that  position  and  returned  to_Pittsl)urg  in  the  employ  of  the  same 
company.  Mrs.  Highberger  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Phoebe  P)a\ard 
chapter,  D.  A.  R.,  of  Greensburg. 

JOHAXX  MARTI X  KECK,  a  merchant  and  business  man  of  prom- 
inence of  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  founder  of  the  town  of 
Kecksburg,  is  a  native  of  Germany,  born  January  7,  1836. 

The  founder  of  the  Keck  family  in  Germany  was  Jacob  Keck,  who  was 
of  Piohemian-Garman  extraction,  and  served  for  many  years  in  the  German 
army-  He  was  born  September  16,  1575.  On  August  9,  1608,  Kaiser  Rudolph 
conferred  on  Jacob  Keck  a  coat  of  arms  for  his  bravery  as  lieutenant-colonel 
of  his  army  at  Pragg.  Hohemia.  Jacob  Keek's  family  consisted  of  four  chil- 
dren, one  named  Christopher,  born  in  1615.  One  of  his  children,  named 
Christopher,  was  born  in  1655.  He  located  at  Leiduering,  Germany,  in  the 
northeast  part  of  the  black  forest.  He  had  one  son  Martin,  born  in  1698. 
Martin  Keck  had  a  family  of  three  children,  one  named  Christopher,  born 
.August  15,  1738,  and  one  of  his  family.  Johann  Adam  Keck,  was  born  in  1779. 
One  of  his  family  named  Christian  was  born  October  28,  1806,  in  Wittenberg, 
Germany.  He  was  the  ffither  of  the  Keck  family  of  which  Johann  Martin 
Keck  was  a  member.  Christian  Keck  followed  a.gricultural  jjursuits  in  his 
country.  In  1869  he  emigrated  from  his  fatherland,  settling  in  Mount  i'leas- 
ant  township,  Westmoreland  county.  Pennsylvania.  Christian  Keck  was  mar- 
ried in  1831  to  Rosanna  Schwartz,  who  was  born  April  28,  1809.  daughter  of 
Anflrew  Schwartz,  a  salt  dealer  and  farmer.  The  following  children  were 
born  to  this  union :  Adam,  deceased  ;  Andrew,  residing  at  F.aston,  Pennsvl- 
vania ;  Johann  IVIartin,  of  Kecksburg.  Pennsvlvania,  author  of  this  sketch ; 
Christian,  of  Hotel  Albion,  Ruffsdale,  Pennsylvania  :  .Anna,  deceased  ;  John, 
of  Bradford.  Pennsylvania;  Frederick.  decea.sed ;  Jacob,  of  Easton.   IVn'nsvl- 


464  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

vania ;    George,    deceased ;   Leonard,    merchant   of    Greensburg,    Pennsylvania. 

Johann  Martin  Keck  obtained  his  educational  training  in  tlie  schools  of  his 
native  country,  and  followed  the  occupation  of  weaver  and  farmer  in  Germany 
until  1857,  when  he  came  to  Greensburg,  Westmoreland  county.  He  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  salt  at  Painterville  a  few  years  after  his  arrival  here. 
For  several  years  he  mined  coal  and  worked  by  day's  labor,  beginning  at  the 
bottom  rung.  He  was  occupied  in  the  manufacture  of  salt  for  about  eight  years. 
He  then  removed  to  Ludwick,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  opened  the  Eagle  Hotel, 
and  was  about  a  year  engaged  in  the  conduct  of  the  same.  His  next  removal 
was  to  Kecksburg,  Mount  Pleasant  township.  He  purchased  five  acres  of 
ground  there  and  laid  out  the  town.  In  1866  he  entered  the  general  mercantile 
business,  opening  a  store  in  a  room  eight  by  ten  feet,  and  with  but  five  thousand 
dollars'  worth  of  .goods.  The  business  and  holdings  rapidly  increased,  how- 
ever, and  is  now  worth  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  stock  of  goods 
now  carried  is  thirty  thousand  dollars.  His  store  is  the  largest  and  most  com- 
plete in  Mount  Pleasant  township,  and  contains  almost  every  line.  In  1868  he 
was  appointed  postmaster  of  the  town,  being  the  first  man  to  occupy  that  posi- 
tion after  the  establishment  of  the  office.  He  continued  in  this  capacity  for 
about  twenty-six  years.  In  connection  with  his  other  varied  business  inter- 
ests he  was  one  of  the  largest  farmers  in  Mount  Pleasant  township.  In  1903 
he  rented  his  farms  and  retired  from  that  business,  and  for  a  few  years  he 
kept  a  dairy  of  about  forty  cows,  shipping  the  milk  daily  to  Pittsburg.  He 
has  frequently  sold  from  his  farms  one  hundred  and  fifty  hogs  in  one  season. 
In  church  relations  Mr.  Keck  is  an  active  Lutheran. 

Johann  Martin  Keck  married,  June  2g,  1858,  Christina  Hunke-. ,  and  of  this 
union  no  children  were  born.  Mrs.  Keck  died  in  1859.  Mr.  Keck  married 
(second),  December  11,  i860,  Margaret  Ann  Overly,  a  daughter  of  George 
and  Eliza  Overly.  To  this  union  five  children  were  born,  three  who  died 
in  infancy  and  William  G.  and  H.  Edward  surviving,  who  are  now  associated 
with  their  father  in  business  at  Kecksburg,  Pennsylvania.  Mrs.  Margaret 
Keck  died  November  6,  1900. 

CHARLES  T.  WILLS.  Wdliam  Wills,  grandfather  of  Charles  T. 
Wills,  of  Parnassus,  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  whence  he  emigrated  to  the 
L'nited  States,  settling  on  a  tract  of  land  in  Indiana  township,  Allegheny 
county,  Pennsylvania.  On  this  farm  he  resided  during  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  He  was  a  Whig  and  a  member  of  the  L'nited  Presbyterian  church.  His 
children  were :  William.  McCrumm,  Sarah,  wife  of  John  Boyd ;  Mary,  wife 
of  John  Brown ;  Margaret,  wife  of  John  Hutchison ;  and  Robert  Hamilton, 
mentioned  hereinafter. 

Robert  Hamilton  Wills,  son  of  William  Wills,  was  born  in  1817,  in  Alle- 
gheny county,  and  like  his  father  always  gave  his  attention  exclusively  to 
agricultural  pursuits.  For  some  years  he  was  an  elder  in  the  United  Presby- 
terian church.  His  wife  was  Sarah  L.  Lefevre,  and  their  children  were: 
Cyrus,  killed  on  the  battlefield  in  1861  ;  Hiram,  also  died  while  in  service  in 
1861  ;  David,  farmer  in  Westmoreland  county;  John,  deceased:  Josej^h  O.. 
also  deceased  ;  Albert,  deceased  :  Elizabeth,  deceased ;  was  wife  of  John  Young ; 
Charles  T.,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  and  Sarah  B.,  widow  of  John  Wachter. 
The  death  of  the  father  of  the  family  occurred  in  1896. 

Charles  T.  Wills,  son  of  Robert  Hamilton  and  Sarah  L.  (Lefevre)  Wills, 
was  born  March  30,  1861,  on  the  old  homestead  in  Allegheny  covinty,  and  re- 
ceived his  education  in  the  common  schools.  He  remained  at  home  on  the 
farm  until  his  twenty-fifth  year,  and  then  learned  the  carpenter's  trade  with 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUXTY.  ^6$ 

Samuel  Waltcnbaiigh,  of  TarfiUum,  Pennsylvania,  wiili  whom  he  remained 
tliree  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  went  to  I'ittshurg,  where  he  worked 
at  his' trade  until  1892.  when  he  moved  to  Parnassus  and  there  ensjaged  in 
carriage  building  and  blacksmith's  work  in  connection  with  dealing  hi  farni 
implements.  In""  i8g5  he  purchased  the  hardware  and  implement  business  of 
Aller  &  Barter,  which  he  conducted  for  three  years  under  the  firm  nanie  of 
Baxter  &  \\"ills.  He  then  reorganized  the  business  and  for  four  years  it  w^as 
conducted  by  the  firm  of  Wills  &  Rowan.  Since  lyoa  the  style  of  the  firm  has 
been  Charles  T.  Wills  &  Company,  their  business  being  the  most  extensive  of 
its  kind  in  the  Allegheny  valley.  'From  1891  to  1893  he  served  on  the  council 
of  Parnassus,  and  "for  some  years  on  the  county  committee,  being  a  staunch 
Republican.  He  and  his  faniilv  are  members  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
church.  Mr.  Wills  married  Ella,  daughter  of  David  B.  Cams,  and  five  chil- 
dren have  been  born  to  them,  two  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  the  survivors  being: 
Paul  Wilson.  Charles  Eugene,  and  Robert  Hamilton,  all  of  whom  are  at  home. 

OSWALD  HECKMAXX.  The  parents  of  Oswald  Heckmann,  of 
Xew  Kensington,  were  Herman  and  Elizabeth  Heckmann,  natives  of  Germany, 
where  their  "son  was  born  July  27.  1836.  The  boy  grew  to  manhood  in  his 
native  country,  receiving  his  education  in  the  common  schools.  In  1858  he 
emigrated  to  "the  United  States,  landing  on  July  4.  and  settled  in  Pittsburg, 
where  until  1863  he  was  employed  as  a  bartender.  From  that  time  until  1892 
he  was  engaged  in  the  saloon' business  for  himself;  he  then  moved  to  Xew 
Kensington,  where  he  built  the  Hotel  Heckmann,  of  which  he  has  since  been 
the  successful  proprietor,  and  which  is  now-  the  oldest  hotel  in  the  town,  as  he 
is  the  oldest  hotel  manager.  Since  October  13,  1863.  he  has  been  a  member 
of  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  :Men.  affiliating  with  Lodge  Xo.  206,  of  Car- 
negie, Pennsylvania,  having  passed  all  chairs.  For  the  last  twenty  years  he 
has  been  a  member  of  theState  Great  Council,  and  during  four  years  was  a 
representative  in  the  Great  Council  of  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Heckmann  married.  April  11.  1863,  Catharina  Steinheuser.  a  native 
of  Gemiany,  and  the  children  born  to  them  were:  Anna  Catharina,  wife  of 
Andrew  J.  Larkin :  Louise,  wife  of  Philip  K.  ;Mathe\vs ;  Gustave,  city  plumber 
of  Pitt.sburg.  married  Bessie  Jones :  Charles  O..  student  at  Eastman  College ; 
Lillie.  at  home ;  Kate,  also  at  home :  and  four  deceased. 

\\'ILLI.\M  P..  SKELLY.  One  of  the  names  most  prominently  con- 
nected with  the  coal  industry  of  Westmoreland  county  is  that  of  William  B. 
Skelly,  of  Irwin.  He  is  a  great-grandson  of  William  .Skclly,  who  came  from 
county  Cavan.  Ireland,  about  1790.  settling  in  Westmoreland  county,  near 
Stewartsville,  Pennsylvania.  Their  vessel  was  seventeen  weeks  in  making  the 
passage,  and  one  son,  James,  died  and  was  buried  at  sea.  Tliree  sons  arrived 
at  maturity:  William,  see  forw-ard ;  John  and  Robert. 

William  Skelly.  son  of  William  Skelly.  the  emigrant  ancestor,  was  born 
about  1784.  and  was  therefore  six  years  old  when  brought  to  this  country. 
He  served  with  credit  in  the  w-ar  of  181 2.  Subsequently  lie  Ijecame  the  pro- 
j)rietor  of  a  hotel  and  also  engaged  in  farming.  He  resided  at  .Stew^artsville, 
Irwin  (then  Tinker's  Run).  Jacksonville.  Grapeville.  and  Adamsburg.  where 
he  died  in  1867.  He  married  Elizabeth  Byerly,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Eliz- 
abeth (Harmon)  Byerly.  and  their  children  w-ere :  Mary,  married  Joseph 
Cort;  John.  Joseph,  see  forward:  William.  Andrew.  Sarah,  married  Micliae! 
.Sarvcr:  Jane,  married  Cajjtain  George  A.  Cribbs ;  Elizabeth,  married  David 
Rankin:  and  Susanna,  married  (first)  John  Dry;  married  (second)  A.  L. 
Walker. 

2    30 


466  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

Joseph  Skelly,  son  of  \Villiani  and  Elizabeth  (IJycrlyj  Skclly,  was  l)orn 
October  29,  1812,  while  his  father  was  at  the  war.  Up  to  the  time  of  attain- 
ing his  majority  he  engaged  in  farming,  and  then  became  a  teamster,  hauling 
freight  on  tlie  Pittsburg  and  Philadelphia  pike.  I-'or  twenty  years  he  followed 
this  calling,  and  in  1834  retired  to  a  farm  near  Adamsburg.  Thence  he  moved 
to  Larimer  and  finally  to  Stewartsvillc,  where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  He  was  an  active  Democrat,  holding  many  and  various  township  offices. 
Mr.  Skelly  married  in  1848,  Jane  P.oyd,  daughter  of  James  and  Margaret 
(Kennedy)  Boyd,  of  Somerest  county,  the  family  being  of  Virginia  origin. 
Their  children  were:  William  B.,  see  forward;  Annie,  born  January  29,  1851, 
died  at  the  age  of  fourteen  ;  James  P.,  born  May  24,  1853,  died  when  nineteen 
years  of  age;  Joseph  P>.,  born  .April  15,  1855,  died  in  infancy;  Margaret  J., 
born  May  18,  1857,  became  the  wife  of  Dr.  M.  F.  Sowash,  of  Irwin,  and  died 
at  the  age  of  forty-two;  Charles  J.,  born  August  14,  1859;  Mary  C,  born  ATay 
23,  1861,  died  in  infancy;  Sarah,  Ijorn  March  14,  1864.  The  mother  of  these 
children  died  November  2,  1890,  aged  sixty-four,  and  the  death  of  Mr.  Skelly 
occurred  December  2,  1889,  aged  seventy-seven  years. 

William  B.  Skelly,  son  of  Joseph  and  Jane  (Boyd)  Skelly,  was  born 
Februarv  13,  1849,  ''i  Somerset  county,  and  the  same  year  was  brought  by  his 
parents  to  Youngstown,  Westmoreland  county.  His  education  was  ob- 
tained in  the  common  schools  of  the  various  places  in  which  the  family  lived. 
At  a  comparatively  early  age  he  abandoned  farming  and  interested  himself  in 
coal  mining,  successfully  filling  many  of  the  positions  in  and  about  the  mines. 
In  1870  he  associated  himself  with  the  Westmoreland  Coal  Company,  remain- 
ing with  them  until  1878,  when  he  went  to  Kansas,  where  for  three  years  he 
conducted  a  cattle  ranch.  Prior  to  this  he  had  been  interested  in  real  estate, 
particularly  coal  lands,  and  on  his  return  to  Pennsylvania  made  large  pur- 
chases of  coal  lands  for  the  Westmoreland  Coal  Company.  In  1890  he  went 
to  Irwin,  his  present  home.  In  1900,  having  purchased  for  the  company  their 
lands  at  Export,  he  accpiired  property  there  in  his  own  name  and  began  min- 
ing independently,  and  in  1902  organized  the  W.  B.  Skelly  Coal  Company, 
which  is  now  carrying  on  a  flourishing  business.  In  the  conduct  of  his  coal 
operations  Mr.  Skelly  gives  employment  to  a  large  number  of  men  and  distri- 
butes his  output  throughout  the  central  states  and  Canada. 

In  his  political  affiliations  Mr.  Skelly  is  a  staunch  Democrat,  and  has 
wielded  a  strong  influence  in  political  circles.  He  is  not  a  stickler  along  party 
lines,  his  patriotism  taking  precedence  over  every  other  feeling,  and  having 
the  courage  of  his  convictions  casts  his  vote  for  the  candidate  who  in  his  opin- 
ion i.s  best  qualified  for  office,  irrespective  of  party  affiliation.  He  has  served 
as  member  of  the  borough  council,  filling  the  chair  of  president,  and  it  was 
during  his  official  term  that  many  important  improveinents  were  made  in 
Irwin,  such  as  street  paving,  sewerage,  &c.  He  is  always  ready  and  willing 
to  further  any  movement  tending  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  community. 
He  is  a  man  of  broad  and  liberal  views,  a  great  reader  and  student  of  all  the 
main  issues  of  state  and  national  importance,  and  his  counsel  is  often  sought 
and  his  opinions  deferred  to.  Having  a  retentive  memory  he  is  often  con- 
sulted on  events  of  historical  importance.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  and  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  Lodge  No.  511,  of 
Greensburg. 

Mr.  Skelly  married,  October  26,  1897,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Welty)  New- 
myer,  of  Greensburg,  and  a  great-great-granddaughter  of  John  Jacob  Welty, 
who  was  born  in  1720  and  in  1-757  married  Christina  Braff.  John  Jacob  Weltv 
and  wife  had  six  children;  .\nn  Elizabeth,  born  1758;  John,  born  1760.  mnr- 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  467 

ried  a  Miss  Weaver;  Christina,  born  1762;  Henry,  see  forward;  Frederick, 
burn   1767;  and  Margaret,  born  1770. 

Henry  W'elty,  son  of  John  Jacob  and  Christina  {Brafif)  Welty,  was  born 
Xoveniber  4,  1764,  in  Northampton  county,  and  in  1788  went  to  Westmoreland 
county.  He  married  Catherine  Steiner,  and  their  children  were :  Jacob,  born 
Se])tember  16,  1791,,  married  Jane  Brady;  John,  born  March  22,  1793,  married 
Rebecca  Lose;  Henry,  born  September  2,  1794,  married  (first)  Elizabeth 
McKinney;  (second)  Nancy  Herwick ;  (third)  Hannah  Brady;  Lewis,  see 
forward;  Susan,  born  July  25,  1798,  married  John  Kuhns ;  Samuel,  born  Oc- 
tober 25,  1802,  married  JNIary  Lobengier ;  Elizabeth,  born  June  25,  1804,  mar- 
ried John  Klingensniith ;  and  Daniel,  born  September  13,  1806,  married  Bar- 
bara Bierer. 

Lewis  \\'clty.  son  of  Henry  and  Catherine  (Steiner)  Weltv,  was  born 
July  24.  1796,  married  Susan  Wanamaker,  and  their  children  were:  Daniel, 
married  2ilargaret  Beatty :  Henry  K.,  see  forward ;  Matilda,  married  Reuben 
Shrum ;  Jacob,  married  E.   Baer ;  Susan,  Maria,  Samuel,  John  and  William. 

Henry  K.  Welty,  son  of  Lewis  and  Susan  (Wanamaker)  Welty,  married 
Maria  Sarver,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  a  daughter,  Elizabeth,  married 
James  L.  Newmyer,  and  after  his  death  became  the  wife  of  William  B.  Skellv, 
as  mentioned  above.  Mrs.  Skellv  has  in  her  possession  a  valuable  heirloom 
in  the  shape  of  an  old  chest,  of  ancient  workmanship  and  quaint  design,  appar- 
ently the  property  and  probably  the  work  of  one  "H^nrey  Walty,"  and  bearing 
in  the  midst  of  crude  but  lasting  designs  in  color  the  date  1790.  This  was 
undoubtedly  the  work  of  Henry  Welty,  mentioned  above  as  the  son  of  John 
Jacob  Welty,  the  founder  of  the  family,  and  himself  the  progenitor  of  the 
Westmoreland  county  branch  of  the  race. 

GL'Y  BELL  FLYTE,  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  influential  men 
of  Ligonier,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  a  man  who  has  a  variety 
•of  business  interests,  being  a  public  accountant  and  auditor ;  real  estate  broker, 
general  business  man,  and  a  present  member  of  the  house  of  representatives, 
traces  his  descent  from  a  family  which  was  among  the  pioneer  settlers  of  the 
United  States. 

Guy  B_.  Flyte  is  a  grandson  of  Abraham  and  Catherine  (Shaffer)  1-lyte, 
both  born  in  Stroudsburg,  Pennsylvania.  Aloraham  was  a  farmer  of  promi- 
nence and  an  ardent  Democrat.  He  died  in  1865,  aged  fifty-six.  Catherine, 
his  wife,  died  in  1889.  Abraham  Flyte  and  Catherine  Shaffer  were  married 
in  1833.  and  they  were  the  parents  of  five  sons  and  four  daughters :  Sarah. 
Jacob  C,  George,  Alfred,  Peter,  Nelson,  Vesta,  Fanny,  and  Elizabeth,  the  last 
named  dying  in  infancy. 

Jacob  C.  Flyte,  eldest  son  of  Abraham  and  Catherine  (Shaff'er)  Flyte, 
was  born  in  Hinsdale  township.  New  York,  January  20.  1837.  All  his  early 
life  was  spent  on  a  farm,  and  he  received  a  good  education  for  the  time  in  the 
common  schools  of  the  district.  At  the  age  of  twenty  years  he  was  apprenticed 
to  a  blacksmith,  and  after  serving  his  apprenticeship, "engaged  in  business  for 
himself  in  Hinsdale.  New  York.  Here  he  followed  this 'calling  until  1864, 
when  he  purchased  a  farm  in  the  nci,ghborhood,  and  devoted  himself  to  agri- 
cultural pursuits.  In  this  he  was  successful,  but  in  1889  he  gave  it  up  in  or'rler 
to  establish  himself  in  business  in  Hinsdale,  in  the  hardware  line,  which  he 
continued  for  three  years,  and  then  retired  from  active  bu.siness  life.  He  mar- 
ried in  1858,  Mary  .Ann  Flagg.  born  Fcbruarv  14.  1837,  in  Farmersville,  New 
York,  daughter  of  William  H.  and  Ann  (Minor)  Flagg.  She  was  a  scond 
cousin   of   Franklin    Pierce,   president   of  the   United   States,  and  was  of  the 


468  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

Vermont  branch  of  the  Minor  family.  Jacob  C.  and  Mary  Ann  (  Flagg)  Flyte 
were  the  parents  of  children,  as  follows:  i.  Anna  K.,  born  October  13,  1862, 
married  (first)  Jonas  B.  Conrad,  and  had  one  son — Harry  G. — born  Septem- 
ber II,  1886,  was  educated  at  the  Hinsdale  union  free  schools  and  Academy, 
where  he  graduated  in  June,  1905.  He  entered  the  employ  of  the  Union  Sup- 
ply Company,  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania,  and  died  November  26,  1905.  Mr. 
Conrad  died  in  1887,  and  his  widow  married  (second)  Warren  G.  Bryant,  of 
Ellicottville,  New  York.  2.  William  H.,  born  1866,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty 
vears.  3.  Guy  Bell,  see  forward.  4.  Florence  L.,  born  February  6.  1877. 
Mrs.  Flvte  died  August  9,  1902 ;  she  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church. 
J^Ir.  Flyte  is  a  member  of  the  F.  and  A.  M.,  1.  <  ).  O.  F.,  .\.  o.  U.  W.,  and  in 
politics  is  a  Republican. 

Guy  Bell  Flyte,  second  son  and  third  child  of  Jacob  C.  and  Mary  Ann 
(Flagg)   Flyte,  was  born  in  Hinsdale,  New  York,   May  20,    1873.     He  was 
educated  in  the   Hinsdale   union   free   schools  and  Academy,   from  which  he 
graduated  in  1891,  having  had  the  advantage  of  a  good  educational  training. 
His  first  business  venture  was  as  clerk  in  a  store,  in   1891-92.     He  was  then 
emploved  by  the  Exchange  National  Bank  of  Olean,  New  York,  1S93-4.  and 
was  bank  accountant   for  the   Pennsylvania   Tanning  Company,  of   Sheffield, 
Warren  county,  Pennsylvania,   from   1895  to   1898.     In   1899  he  removed  to 
Ligonier,  Westmoreland  county.  Pennsylvania,  having  accepted  a  position  as 
auditor  of  the  Byers-All^n  Lumber  Company,  and  the  Pittsburg,  Westmore- 
land and  Somerset  Railroad  Company.     In  addition  to  this  employment  he  es- 
tablished an  insurance  and  real  estate  business,  which  is  in  a  flourishing  con- 
dition.    He  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  for  himself  in  October,  1905,  and 
associated  himself  in  partnership  with  William  Mackey,  January  i.   1906,  and 
they  are  conducting  a  lumber  business  under  the  firm  name  of  Flyte  &  Mackey. 
Mr.  Flyte  is  a  staunch  Republican,  and  has  always  taken  an  active  and  intelli- 
gent interest  in  the  affairs  of  his  country  as  well  as  his  town.     He  was  elected 
member  of  the  house  of  representatives  in  1904,  and  served  in  the  regular  and 
special  sessions  to  the  satisfaction  and  benefit  of  his  party.     He  is  a  man  of 
great  energy  and  executive  ability,  keen  observation,  and  a  natural  aptitude  for 
seizing  the  opportunity  at  the  proper  moment.     He  married,  ]\Iay    19,   1897, 
iMaud  \'.  King,  born  in  Westfield,  Tioga  count}',  Pennsylvania,  April  14,  1876, 
daughter  of  Milton  and  Almina  (Lewis)   King.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Guy  B.  Flyte 
are  the  parents  of  two  children:    Ardis  Lucille,  born  April  21.   1898;  Mary 
Almina,  September  23,  1903.     ]\lrs.  Guy  B.  Flyte  was  the  daughter  of  Milton 
King",  a  farmer  in  Tioga  county.     He  was  born  in  1845,  '•^"fl  when  eighteen 
years  old.  volunteered  as  a  soldier  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-sixth  I'enn- 
sylvania  Regiment  in  the  civil  war.     At  the  close  of  his  term  of  enlistment  he 
re-enlisted   in  the  Two  Hundred  and   Seventh  Regiment  and  served  till  the 
close  of  the  war.    July  23.  1873,  he  was  married  to  Almina  Lewis,  a  daughter 
of  George  and  Harriet   (White)   Lewis,  of  Bellmont,   New  York.     He  died 
August  20.  1890;  his  wife  died  November  3,  1882.     Milton  King  was  the  .son 
of  James  King,  Jr.,  and  Lavina   (Bowman)    King.     The  original  ancestor  of 
the  King  family  had  come  to  America  in  the  "Mayflower"  in   1620.     James 
King.,  Jr.,  lived  in  New  York  city  and  died  at  Westfield,  Tioga  county,  Penn- 
sylvania.   Lavina  Bowman,  the  grandmother  of  Mrs.  Flyte,  was  a  daughter  of 
Godfrey  Bowman.     He  was  born  in  Connecticut,  and  when  sixteen  rears  old 
settled   in   Luzerne  county,   Pennsylvania.     He  was  a  soldier  in  the   war  of 
1812  in  Captain  Thomas's  company.     He  was  with  Commodore  Perry  in  his 
great  victory  on  Lake  Erie,  and  for  bravery  in  that  battle  received  a  medal 
from  the   State  of  Pennsylvania  with  the  following  inscription :     "Presented' 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  469 

by  the  CV.ninionwcalth  of  J 'oimsylvania  to  Godfrey  Iknvnian  in  testimony  of 
his  patriotism  and  braverv  in  the  naval  action  on  Lake  Erie,  September  10, 
1813."  On  the  reverse  side  of  the  medal  is  a  vignette  of  Commodore  Perry 
with  the  famous  words :  "We  have  met  the  enemy  and  they  are  ours,  "  etc. 
Godfrev  Bowman  married  Susanna  Joseph,  and  died  October  6,  1851. 

L.  S.  ASPEY,  M.  D.  Christo])her  Aspey,  father  of  Dr.  L.  S.  A.spey, 
of  Smithton,  was  born  in  South  Himtinodon  township,  and  was  reared  on  a 
farm.  Soon  after  his  marriage  he  purchased  the  farm  near  Jacobs  creek,  on 
which  he  has  since  resided,  "in  politics  he  is  a  staunch  Democrat,  but  has 
never  been  an  office  seeker.  j\lr.  Aspey  married  Eliza,  born  in  Fayette  county, 
(laughter  of  John  Newcomer,  and  their  children  are:  Albert  A.,  of  Califor- 
nia, Pennsylvania :  Oliver  E.,  at  home ;  Walter  A..  al.=o  at  home ;  and  L.  S., 
mentioned  hereafter. 

L.  S.  Aspev,  son  of  Christopher  and  Eliza  ( Newcomer)  Aspey,  was  born 
December  29,  1870.  in  Fitz  Henrv,  and  was  educated  in  the  common  schools, 
Greensburg  SeminaVv.  and  Ada  University,  Ada,  Ohio.  At  nineteen  years  of 
age  he  began  teaching,  and  for  four  years  was  an  instructor  in  the  Westmore- 
lalid  countv  schools.  In  1894  he  took  up  the  study  of  medicine,  and  in  1895 
entered  the  medical  department  of  the  Western  University  of  Pennsylvania. 
Pittsburg,  graduating  therefrom  in  the  spring  of  1899,  with  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  ^ledicine."  Immediately  thereafter  he  settled  in  Hanoverton.  Co- 
lumbiana countv.  Ohio,  and  for  four  years  successfully  practiced  his  profession, 
removing  in  June,  1903.  to  Smithton,  where  he  has  since  built  up  a  desirable 
practice.  He  is  a  member  of  Gummert  Lodge,  No.  252,  F.  and  A.  M.,  of 
Fayette  Citv,  Pennsvlvania,  Smithton  Lodge,  No.  978,  I.  O.  O.  F,  and  Smith- 
ton  Lodge,  No.  328',  K.  P.  His  political  affiliations  are  with  the  Democrats. 
Dr.  Aspey  married,  June  25,  1P96,  Josephine,  daughter  of  George  and 
Amanda  ( Hough )  Kelly,  of  the  neighborhood  of  Scottdalc.  There  is  no 
issue  of  this  marriage. 

JACOB  T.  AMBROSE,  3il.  D.,  an  honored  physician  and  citizen  of 
Ligonier.  where  he  has  practiced  the  profession  of  medicine  for  the  past 
thiVty-six  years,  is  a  descendant  of  a  family  that  has  been  prominent  in  the 
Ligonier  valley  for  over  one  hundred  years.  He  traces  his  descent  back  to 
Frederick  Ambrose,  his  great-grandfather,  and  his  wife,  Margaret,  whose 
maiden  name  has  not  been  jjreserved. 

Frederick. Ambrose  was  born  ^lay  4,  1738.  He  was  a  farmer  of  Bedford 
(now  Fulton)  comity.  He  came  to  the  Ligonier  valley  in  1790  with  three  of 
his  sons — George.  John  and  Henry — the  latter  being  the  grandfather  of  Dr. 
Jacob  T.  Ambrose.  The  homestead  farm  was  located  about  two  miles  north 
of  Ligonier.  on  Coal  Pit  Run.  It  came  into  the  possession  of  Henry  Ambrose 
in  1804  and  is  still  owned  by  the  family,  one  of  the  fifth  generation  now  culti- 
vating it.  Frederick  Ambrose  died  June  29.  1821.  and  his  wife  Margaret,  born 
1742.  died  1809. 

Henry  .Ambrose,  son  of  Frederick  and  Margaret  Ambrose,  was  born  in 
Fulton  county,  June  20.  1762,  and  came  to  Westmoreland  county,  with  the 
familv,  in  1790.  He  was  a  farmer  all  his  life,  and  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
church.  He  died  January  27,  1833.  He  married  Susan  Walker,  who  died  No- 
vember 22.  1843.  anfl  they  had  five  sons  and  seven  dau-rhters. 

William  Ambrose,  son  of  Henry  and  Susan  (Walker)  .\mbrose,  was 
born  on  the  farm  in  the  valley.  October  14.  1806.  Fie  was  a  tiller  of  the  soil 
and  owned  land  in  the  valley.     In  politics  he  was  a  Whig,  but  when  that  party 


470  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

passed  out  of  existence  became  a  Democrat.  He  held  several  of  the  township 
offices,  although  not  an  office  seeker.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  churcn. 
William  Ambrose  married  in  1828,  Susan  Bitner,  born  in  1803,  daughter  of 
Peter  Bitner,  of  Dutch  descent.  She  was  the  eldest  of  a  family  of  fourteen 
children — four  sons  and  ten  daughters — all  of  whom  reached  maturity,  mar- 
ried and  raised  families,  and  all  lived  in  Ligonier  township  with  one  exception. 
The  Bitner  family  settled  in  Ligonier  valley  in  1801  or  1802,  on  the  farm  now 
owned  by  James  Graham.  William  and  Susan  (Bitner)  Ambrose  had  chil- 
dren :  George  W.,  born  1829,  was  a  farmer  in  Ligonier  \'alley,  died  1881 ; 
jNfatilda,  married  Henry  Karns,  she  died  October  27,  1892;  Matthew,  died  in 
infancy;  Henry  P.,  remained  on  the  homestead  farm,  which  he  purchased  from 
the  heirs,  and  his  son  Albert  now  cultivates  it ;  Henry  P.,  died  January  1,  1904; 
Jacob  T.,  see  forward  ;  Mary  A.,  married  William  Koontz,  she  died  December 
24.  1900 ;  Josiah  W.,  born  1840,  was  a  dealer  in  lumber,  and  is  now  living  in 
Ligonier,  retired  from  active  business  life ;  Alexander,  died  in  infancy ;  Lucinda, 
twin,  widow  of  John  Ray;  Louisa,  twin,  died  in  infancy;  Amanda,  died  in  in- 
fancv.  (M  these  eleven  children  there  are  now  living  (1906)  :  Joseph  W..  Mrs. 
Luncinda  Ray,  at  Wilkinsburg.  Pennsylvania ;  and  Dr.  Jacob  T.  William  Am- 
brose, the  father  of  these  children,  died  January  29,  1868;  his  wife.  Susan,  died 
January  25,  1873. 

Jacob  T.  Ambrose,  fourth  son  and  fifth  child  of  William  and  Susan  ( Bit- 
ner) Ambrose,  was  born  December  6,  1837,  and  was  reared  on  the  farm,  where 
he  remained  until  he  was  of  age.  Lie  attended  the  township  schools  and  the 
Ligonier  Academy.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  commenced  teaching,  and  taught 
in  "the  township  schools  for  twelve  years.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in  the  One  Hun- 
dred and  Thirty-fifth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  \'olunteers,  for  a  term  of  nine 
months.  He  was  in  the  hard-fought  and  bloody  battle  of  Chancellorsville  and 
other  minor  engagements.  He  was  discharged  at  the  expiration  of  his  term, 
and  again  enlisted,  this  time  in  the  state  troops  for  the  defence  of  Pennsyl- 
vania against  Lee.  In  1867  he  commenced  the  study  of  medicine  under  the 
preceptorship  of  Dr.  J.  A.  Miller,  of  Ligonier,  and  in  1870  was  graduated 
from  the  Long  Island  College  of  Medicine,  in  Brooklyn,  New  York.  In  the 
same  year  he  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Stahlstown,  where  he 
remained  for  five  years.  In  1875  he  removed  to  Ligonier,  where  he  has  since 
practiced,  making  a  term  of  service  in  the  valley  of  thirty-six  years.  He  has 
attained  success  in  his  profession,  and  is  the  valued  medical  adviser  of  a  large 
clientele  in  the  valley  and  borough.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  has  served 
as  school  director  and  has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  health  for  ten  years. 
He  is  a  roember  of  the  Lutheran  church,  of  which  he  is  an'  elder.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  the  State  and  County  iMedical  Association,  and  of  the  Ligonier 
Medical  Association.  Dr.  Ambrose's  residence  is  a  handsome  brick  dwelling 
on  Main  street,  Ligonier,  which  he  built  in  1889.  His  offices,  which  are  well 
arranged  and  equipped,  are  in  a  separate  building  adjoining  h.is  home.  He  is 
as  active  and  faithful  in  the  performance  of  his-  duties  now  as  when,  thirty- 
six  years  ago,  he  entered  upon  his  life  work.  His  success  has  been  hardly 
earned  and  well  deserved.  His  large  and  well  stocked  library  shows  that  he 
has  kept  abreast  of  the  times.  His  life  has  not  been  lived  for  himself  alone, 
but  his  skill  as  a  physician,  his  time  and  his  means,  have  been  freely  bestowed 
upon  those  less  fortunately  situated  than  he. 

While  vet  a  medical  student  and  a  teacher.  Dr.  Ambrose  married,  Decem- 
ber 26,  1867,  Susan  Elizabeth  Boucher,  daughter  of  Hiram  and  Abigail 
Boucher.  (See  Boucher  family).  The  children  of  this  marriage  are:  Luella 
M.,  a  teacher  in   Westmoreland  county ;   Flora  \'.,  deceased  :  Lillian,   Xellie, 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUXTV.  471 

dteceased:  Clara,  Charles  D..  received  his  preparatory  educaliun  in  the  Ligo- 
ni'er  schools  and  in  Rev.  Dickinson's  Classical  Institute  in  Ligonier.  He 
studied  medicine  with  his  father,  entered  the  Western  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  graduated  from  the  medical  school  connected  with  that  institution 
in  1900.  Un  leavin--  college  he  hecame  the  junior  member  of  Ambrose  and 
Barkley.  medical  practitioners,  now  Drs.  J.  T.  and  C.  D.  Ambrose.  He  is 
considered  an  able  practitioner;  Frederick,  educated  in  the  same  preparatory 
schools  as  his  brother,  and  attended  the  State  College  for  one  year.  He  is 
now  taking  a  course  in  electrical  engineering  in  the  Western  University  of 
Pennsylvania ;  George,  a  graduate  of  Ligonier  high  school,  now  attending  Rev. 
Dickinson's  Institute.  The  daughters  were  all  eijucated  in  the  Ligonier  public 
and  iiigh  schools  and  in  Rev  Dickinson's  Institute. 

GILBERT  FAMILY.  The  ancestor  of  this  family  was  John  Qil- 
bert,  a  native  of  the  county  of  Cornwall,  England,  who  came  to  Pennsylvania 
about  the  year  1682,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  Florence  (by  some  thought  to 
have  been  his  second- wife),  and  some  children.  He  has  been  supposed  to  be 
the  subject  of  the  following  instance  of  Ouaker  persecution  in  Cornwall : 

"In  ve  9th  month  1663  John  Jenkyn  &  John  Gylbert  of  ye  Perish  of  Dew- 
loe  beeinge  mett  together  to  waite  vpon  ye  Lord  in  ye  house  of  Richard  Tre- 
gennow  of  ye  same  parish  on  a  first  day  of  ye  weeke  there  came  John  Austice 
constable  &  by  warrant  from  Jonathan  Trelawny,  Called  Justice,  took  them  out 
of  ye  house  &  had  them  before  him  whoe  foorthwith  comittcd  them  to  ye 
goale  of  Launceston  for  meetingc  together  to  worshippe  God  although  they 
were  butt  two  beside  them  of  ye  family,  wdiere  they  remayned  untill  ye  Ses- 
sions &  then  were  freed.'' 

He  settled  first  in  Bensalem  township,  Bucks  county,  hut  by  deed  of 
12  ^lo.  19.  1695.  purchased  from  Xickolas  Rideout  a  tract  of  six  hundred 
acres  on  the  south  side  of  Poquessing  creek,  in  Byberry  township,  Philadel- 
phia county;  the  said  creek  being  the  dividing  line  of  the  two  counties.  He 
conveyed  two  hundred  and  sixty-five  acres  of  this  to  John  Carver,  July  2, 
1696,  and  two  hundred  and  fiftv  acres  more  to  his  son  Joseph  Gilbert,  June  5, 
170 1.  .About  this  time  he  removed  to  the  city  of  Philadelphia  and  became  a 
merchant  until  his  death,  8  Mo.  (October.  O.  S.)  13.  171 1.  Hi-;  children  were 
John,  Joseph,  Sarah,  Mary,  Joshua  and  .\I)igail,  of  whom  Joshua  was  burn  in 
this  country,  6  Mo.  10,  1684. 

Joseph  Gilbert  was  born  about  1675.  ^"'1  about  the  year  1699  w-as  mar- 
ried to  Rachel  Livezey,  born  11  Mo.  1.5.  1664,  widow  of  Jonathan  Livezey,  of 
Abinglon  Mectin,g,  and  daughter  of  Robert  and  Mary  Taylor,  of  Springfield, 
Chester  (now  Delaware)  county,  Pennsylvania.  Tradition  states  that  she  was 
brought  to  this  country  bv  her  father  (who  came  from  Cheshire  in  1682)  to 
prevent  her  marriage  to  a  person  disapproved  by  him.  'Her  first  marria.ge  oc- 
curred in  the  spring  of  1687.  Joseph  was  married  again  9  Mo.  16,  1744,  to 
Sarah  James,  born  7  Mo.  i,  1704,  died  in  1789,  daughter  of  Aaron  and  Eliza- 
beth James,  of  Westtown,  Chester  county.  He  settled  on  the  land  obtained 
from  his  father,  in  Byberry,  and  carried  on  farming  the  reamindcr  of  his  long 
life.  Isaac  Comly,  in  his  sketches  of  Byberry,  makes  the  following  notice  of 
him : 

"JfJseph  Gilljcrt  endeavored  to  maintain  a  strict  moral  discipline  in  his 
family ;  he  was  rigidly  temperate  and  bore  such  a  faithful  testimony  against 
the  slavery  of  negroes  that  Benjamin  Lay  could  consider  him  as  his  intimate 
friend,  and  put  up  at  his  house  when  he  came  to  this  neighborhood.  He  also 
protested  against  the  use  of  spirituous  jifjuors,  especially  by  abstaining  alto- 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


g-ethcr  from  them  himself.  He  diligently  attended  religious  meetings  and  en- 
couraged his  family  to  a  regular  observance  of  the  same  practice.  Even  the 
workmen  he  occasionally  employed  were  left  at  liberty  to  go  to  meeting  with 
him  in  the  middle  of  the  week,  but  in  case  they  did  not  incline  to  do  so  he 
enjoined  them  to  suspend  their  labors  till  he  returned.  His  bodily  and  mental 
powers  retained  their  strength  and  vigor  to  old  age.  He  generally  led  his 
reapers  in  the  harvest ;  drank,  nothing  but  water  and  that  from  the  running 
brook,  kept  in  a  jug  in  the  sunshine,  but  he  provided  beer  for  his  workmen. 
After  the  decease  of  Abel  Hinkson  he  occupied  the  head  seat  in  Byberry 
Meeting  and  gave  the  signal  for  closing  the  meeting  as  long  as  he  was  able  to 
attend  it.  He  was  at  different  times  active  both  in  the  capacity  of  elder  and 
overseer  of  the  meeting.     He  died  8  Mo.  20,  1765,  aged  near  90  years." 

Joseph  Gilbert  had  at  least  five  children :  Sarah,  born  i7oo.  married  John 
Baldwin;  Phebe,  born  1701,  married  Henry  Comly ;  Joseph,  born  1703,  died 
1730,  unmarried:  Rebecca,  married  Patrick  Ogilby,  in   1735;  Benjamin. 

Benjamin  Gilbert  is  said  to  have  been  born  in  171 1,  but  probably  earher ; 
was  married  6  Mo.,  1731,  to  Sarah  Mason,  daughter  of  Richard  and  Abigail 
(Seary)  Mason,  of  Dublin  township.  Philadel]3hia  county.  She  died  12  Mo. 
26,  1759,  and  he  married  again,  in  1760,  Elizabeth  Peart,  born  3  Mo.  27,  1725, 
died  8  l\\o.  5,  i8to,  widow  of  Bryan  Peart  and  daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Re- 
becca (Homer)  Walton,  of  Byberry.  He  settled  on  a  farm  wdiich  his  father 
purchased  for  him  in  Richland,  Bucks  county,  where  eight  of  his  children  were 
burn.  In  1749  he  removed  to  a  mill  in  Makefield,  Bucks  county,  but  in  1755, 
at  the  request  of  his  father,  returned  to  Byberry  to  take  charge  of  the  farm. 
Pie  also  purchased,  in  1758,  a  farm  of  about  one  hundred  ami  thirty-six  acres 
near  his  father's,  and  erected  a  mill  thereon,  to  which  he  removed  the  next 
year.  His  mind  was  not  wholly  absorbed  in  his  business,  and  in  1748  he  pub- 
lished a  pamphlet  of  forty-eight  pages  in  defense  of  the  principles  of  the  Soci- 
ety of  Friends  regarding  war.  Again,  in  1769,  he  published  a  volume  of  about 
two  hundred  and  fifty  pages  on  "perfection"  and  "universal  redemption,"  fol- 
lowed in  1770  by  a  volume  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  pages  on  these  and 
cognate  subjects.  By  the  will  of  his  father  Benjamin  Gilbert  inherited  the 
homestead  in  Byberry. 

His  children  by  his  first  wife  were  nine  in  number:  Rachel,  born  11  Mo. 
14,  i~T,2-2,.  married,  in  1754.  Ezekiel  Atkinson,  and  a  second  husband,  William 
Walton:  Abigail,  born  9  Mo.  3,  1734,  married  Benjamin  Walton:  Sarah,  born 
2  'Mo.  24,  1737,  died  8  Mo.  23,  1738:  Joseph,  born  12  Mo.  10,  1738-g,  died 
1807,  unmarried:  Benjamin,  born  i  Mo.  31,  1741,  died  i  Mo.  11,  1809,  mar- 
ried, in  1771.  Rebecca  Watson,  and  in  1788,  Margaret  Anderson;  John,  born 
5  Mo.  2T,.  1743,  married,  in  176S,  Ann  Stackhouse :  Sarah,  born  4  Mo.  26, 
1745,  married,  in  1761,  Daniel  Walton:  Joshua,  born  12  Mo.  19,  1747-8,  mar- 
ried, in  1771.  Mary  Randall:  Caleb,  born  9  Mo.  iq,  1754,  married,  in  1779, 
Martha  Stackhouse.  The  children  bv  his  second  wife,  Elizabeth  (Walton) 
Gilbert,  were  four  in  number:  Jesse,  born  5;  Mo.  4,  T761,  died  3  Mo.  10,  1829, 
married,  3  Mo.  26,  1780,  Sarah  Harding:  Rebecca,  born  1763,  died  8  Mo.  23, 
1842,  married,  8  Mo.  29,  1785,  Joseph  Rakestraw ;  Abner,  born  3  Mo.  2,  1765, 
died  5  Mo.  31,  1831,  married,  i  Mo.  18,  1799,  Ann  Cooper,  born  7  Mo.  7,  1768, 
died  II  Mo.  12,  1846.  daughter  of  George  and  Susanna  (Truman)  Cooper,  of 
Sadsbury,  Lancaster  county:  Elizabeth,  born  9  Mo.  14,  lyCiy.  died  12  Mo. 
26,  1857,  married,  in  1786,  David  Webster,  of  Abins;ton. 

Either  from  a  love  of  change  or  to  provide  a  large  estate  for  his  younger 
children,  Benjamin  Gilbert  disposed  of  his  mill  property  in  Byberry,  in  the 
spring  of  1775,  and  soon  after  reiuoved  to  lands  he  purchased  on  Mahoning 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  473 

creek,  m  Xorthampton  (now  Carbon)  county,  about  nine  miles  from  the  Le- 
hio-h  river  and  on  the  frontiers  of  the  settlements  in  Pennsylvania.  Here  he 
erected  a  dwelling  house,  barn  and  grist  and  saw  mills,  and  seemed  to  be  in 
prosperous  circumstances,  but  on  the  25th  of  4th  Month,  1780,  about  sun-rise, 
a  party  of  eleven  Indians  appeared  on  the  scene  and  made  prisoners  of  Benja- 
min Gilbert,  Elizabeth  his  wife,  their  four  children,  Jesse,  Rebecca,  Abner  and 
Elizabeth:  Thomas  and  Benjamin  Peart,  sons  of  Elizabeth  Gilbert;  Joseph 
Gilbert,  son  of  Benjamin  by  his  first  wife;  Sarah  Gilbert,  wife  of  Jesse,  recently 
married;  Elizabeth  Peart,  wife  of  Benjamin,  and  their  infant  child,  Elizabeth; 
Benjamin  Gilbert,  aged  eleven,  son  of  John  Gilbert,  of  Philadelphia ;  Andrew 
Harrigar,  a  hired  man  of  Benjamin  Gilbert,  and  Abigail  Dodson,  a  neighbor's 
daughter,  who  had  come  that  morning  to  the  mill ;  in  all  fifteen  persons. 
After  securing  such  plunder  as  they  wished  the  Indians  set  fire  to  the  build- 
ings and  hastened  away  with  their  captives  toward  Niagara,  which  they 
reached  about  a  month  later.  On  this  journey  the  prisoners  suffered  great 
hardships  as  well  as  much  abuse,  and  Benjamin  Gilbert  was  condemned  tc 
death,  but  through  the  earnest  pleadings  of  his  wife  the  savages  were  in- 
duced to  abandon  their  design.  According  to  the  custom  they  were  com- 
pelled to  "run  the  gauntlet."  upon  their  arrival  at  the  Indian  town,  and  with 
clubs  and  stones  they  were  sorelv  beaten  and  bruised.  Through  the  kind  in- 
tervention of  the  British  officers  at  Niagara  Fort  Benjamin  Gilbert,  his  wife, 
their  son  Jesse  and  his  wife  were  soon  released,  and  not  long  after  were  sent 
down  the  St.  Lawrence  by  boat  to  Montreal ;  but  owing  to  the  hardships 
through  which  he  had  passed  and  the  exposure  in  open  boats,  Benjamin  Gil- 
bert died  on  6  Mo.  8,  1780,  and  was  buried  the  next  morning  under  an  oak 
near  the  fort  of  Coeur  de  Lac  (or  Coteau  du  Lac).  The  other  captives  were 
mostly  adopted  by  various  families  of  Indians  in  the  jilace  of  relatives  who 
had  been  killed,  and  were  for  a  time  widelv  separated:  but  at  length,  tliorugh 
the  persistent  efforts  of  the  mother  and  the  aid  of  the  British  officers,  all  were 
liberated  and  in  the  year  1782  were  enabled  to  return  to  their  former  home 
and  kindred.  A  narrative  of  their  captivity,  compiled  by  William  Walton, 
believed  to  have  been  a  brother  to  Elizabeth  Gilbert,  was  published  in  1784, 
and  several  editions  have  since  appeared  ;  the  latest  and  best  being  issued  by 
The  Burrowes  Brothers  Company,  of  Cleveland,  C)hio,  in  1904.  The  Gillierts 
being  connected  with  manv  of  the  prominent  families  of  Byberry  and  vicinity, 
their  capture  caused  much  excitement  as  well  as  sorrow  and  anxiety. 

Benjamin  Gilbert.  Jr.,  son  of  the  captive,  learning  that  his  relatives  were 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Montreal,  made  his  way  thither  about  the  time  the  last 
of  them  had  obtained  their  release,  and  assisted  them  in  their  homeward  jour- 
ney. They  did  not  return  to  the  Mahoning  settlement,  but  to  Byberry,  where 
they  arrived  9  Mo.  28,  1782.  Two  of  Elizabeth  Gilbert's  brothers,  Benjamin 
anrl  Daniel  Walton,  who  married  her  step-daughters,  removed  to  Fallowfield 
townshi]).  Chester  county,  and  she  spent  the  last  years  of  her  life  in  that 
vicinity. 

Abner  Gilbert  was  in  his  eighthteenth  year  when  he  returned  from  cap- 
tivity to  Byberry,  the  place  of  his  nativity.  When  about  nineteen  or  twenty 
he  worked  with  Silas  Parry  at  masoning ;  he  also  did  .something  at  coopering 
in  the  winters,  and  lived  with  his  brother  Jesse.  Lie  likewise  took  a  share  of 
his  father's  land  in  Byberry,  but  sold  it  and  removed  with  Jesse  Gilbert  and  his 
family  to  Fallowfield,  Chester  county,  in  1791.  His  half-brother,  lienjamin 
(iilbcrt,  having  purchased  lands  in  Westmoreland  county,  had  removed  and 
settled  there  about  1787.  Benjamin  owned  a  mill  and  farm  in  those  parts, 
and  being  advanced  in  years  and  having  no  children  i>ersu;i<K(l  Abner  to  come 


474 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY 


and  superintend  his  business,  with  expectation  of  making  him  his  principal  heir. 
Accordingh-  the  latter  went  there  in  the  spring  of  1798,  and  being  pleased 
with  the  prospect  returned  eastward  about  the  close  of  the  year  to  get  a 
wife  in  the  person  of  Ann  Cooper,  of  Sadsbury,  Lancaster  county.  They 
should  have  been  married  according  to  the  discipline  of  Friends,  which  re- 
quired a  declaration  of  their  intentions  about  five  weeks  prior  to  the  wedding, 
but  there  being  reasons  for  an  early  return  to  Westmoreland  county  they  took 
the  shorter  method  of  marriage  by  a  justice  of  the  peace,  on  the  i8th  of  ist 
Mo.,  1799,  and  made  the  journey  to  their  future  home  by  horseback  in  mid- 
winter. There  being,  much  snow  that  year  the  bride  did  not  see  the  earth 
for  several  weeks  after  her  arrival.  They  made  an  acknowledgment  to  Friends 
for  the  way  of  their  marriage  and  were  ever  after  members  in  good  standing 
of  the  Sewickley  Meeting.  Abner  Gilbert  realized  the  inheritance  of  a  large 
portion  of  Benjamin's  estate.  This  included  a  tract  of  nearly  three  hundred 
acres  in  Huntingdon  township  (now  Sewickley),  patented  to  James  Hunter,  of 
Philadelphia,  June  9,  1772,  under  the  name  of  "Clover  Hill."  "Abner  Gilbert 
departed  this  life  the  31st  day  of  the  5th  month,  1831.  aged  about  sixty-five 
(66)  vears ;  and  his  memory  is  precious  to  his  surviving  friends,  relatives  and 
acquaintances,  as  a  sincere  Christian  and  an  ui>right-hearted  honest  man." 

Children  of  Abner  and  Ann  (Cooper)  (jilbert :  Elizabeth  (known  as  ^ 
Eliza),  born  11  Mo.  4,  1799,  died  5  Mo.  18,  1862;  married,  4  Mo.  8,  1838, 
Joseph  Cope,  of  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania,  as  his  second  wife ;  issue, 
Racnel  W.  and  Gilbert  Cope.  Benjamin,  born  12  Mo.  13,  1800,  died  4  Mo.  7, 
1887;  married,  i  Mo.  8,  1829,  Lydia  Cope,  born  3  Mo.  12,  1808,  died  8  Mo.  26, 
1882,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Sarah  (Willits)  Cope,  of  Jefiferson  township, 
Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  inherited  the  homestead,  "Clover  Hill," 
and  had  issue :  Sarah  Ann,  unmarried  ;  Alary,  married  Dillon  Gibbons  ;  Eliza, 
married  Joshua  Cope,  both  deceased ;  Samuel,  unmarried ;  Susan,  married 
Jesse  Edgerton,  of  Damascus,  Ohio.  George,  born  4  Mo.  10,  1802,  died  at 
Winona,  Ohio.  3  Mo.  25,  1872;  married  6  Mo.  i,  1826,  Hannah  Cope,  born 
2  Mo.  26,  1805,  died  II  Mo.  2,  1882,  daughter  of  Joshua  and  Alice  (Fisher) 
Cope,  of  Washington  township,  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  inherited 
a  part  of  his  father's  land,  but  about  1870  removed  to  a  farm  near  Winona, 
Ohio.  Issue :  Thomas  Clarkson  and  David  Porter,  died  in  infancy ;  Rebecca, 
married  Alfred  ]Megrail  and  Uriah  Price ;  Ann  Eliza,  deceased,  unmarried ; 
Alice,  married  Edward  Y.  Cope  and  now  his  widow,  living  at  Winona,  Ohio ; 
Joshua,  married  Deborah  Hutton,  both  deceased ;  Abner,  married  Anzonetta 
Walton,  died  in  Indiana :  Sarah,  married  Joshua  Brantingham,  died  at  Wi- 
nona: Edith,  married  William  W.  Newlin,  both  deceased;  .Ellen,  married 
Elisha  Steer,  living  at  Colerain,  Ohio.  Susanna,  born  3  Mo.  12,  1804,  died  9 
Mo.  14,  1873  ;  married.  12  Mo.  26,  1822,  Archibald  B.  McGrew,  born  12  Mo. 
26,  1799,  died  I  Mo.  11.  1843,  son  of  James  and  Elizabeth  (McFerron)  Mc- 
Grew, of  North  Huntingdon  township.  Issue :  Philena  W.,  married  William 
Graham  and  Samuel  Little;  Abner  G.,  married  Mary  Ann  Bruner  and  Sophia 
Williams ;  Elizabeth,  married  Abiram  Blackburn ;  Margaret  Ann,  married 
John  Ingram ;  Mary  Jane,  married  Eli  Price ;  Benjamin  G.,  married  Catharine 
S.  Howell ;  Deborah,  married  Franklin  J.  McKain ;  Isabella,  married  Dr.  J. 
W.  Blackburn  ;  Rebecca,  married  Jacob  Greenawalt ;  Phebe  Catharine,  mar- 
ried Emmor  Shaner  and  John  Naylor  ;  James,  died  in  childhood.  Ann,  born 
II  Mo.  T,  1807,  died  near  Harrisville,  Ohio,  i  AIo.  it,  1893;  married.  12  Mo. 
3,  1841,  James  W.  McGrew,  born  6  Mo.  17,  1808,  died  6  Mo.  6.  1876,  son  of 
Nathan  and  Elizabeth  (Winder)  McGrew,  of  Smithfield  township,  Jefferson 
county,  Ohio.     Issue,  Elizabeth  Ann,  unmarried;  Lydia   B.,  married  Clayton 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUXTY.  475 

Haines,  of  Mcdford.  New  Jersey  :  Gilbert,  married  Eliza  Hall :  Susan  Jane, 
married  Robert  Thomas :  Eliza  G.,  married  Richard  Ashton.  Jesse,  born  8 
Mo.  26,  1810,  died  12  .Mo.   10,  1821. 

WILLIAM  M.  P.\RK.  The  descendants  of  the  old  agricultural 
pioneer  stock  of  \\'estmoreland  county  have  always  supplied  an  element  of  the 
very  first  importance  to  the  common  weal,  and  among  these  descendants  Wil- 
lian'i  M.  Park,  of  Greensburg,  maintains  the  family  tradition.  His  father  and 
grandfather  both  lived  and  died  on  the  same  farm  in  Manor  Valley. 

James  Park  spent  his  life  in  cultivating  the  acres  which  had  descended  to 
him  "from  his  father.  He  married  Jane  \\'atson,  who,  like  himself,  was  the 
offspring  of  pioneer  ancestry.  Her  grandfather  was  of  Scotch-Irish  stock, 
and  emigrated  from  Scotland  in  1769,  settling  in  Westmoreland  county.  At 
a  time  when  that  part  of  the  county  was  suffering  greatly  from  the  ravages  of 
the  Indians,  his  wife  would  go  to  the  fort  to  pass  the  night,  never  knowing 
whether  the  house  would  be  standing  in  the  morning  or  not,  as  each  night  wit- 
nessed the  burning  of  dwellings  by  the  savages.  Robert  Watson,  the  son  of 
these  pioneers,  ?,nd  the  father  of  ■Mrs.  Park,  was  born  in  Westmoreland  county, 
and  was  a  farmer  all  his  life. 

William  M.  Park,  son  of  James  and  Jane  (Watson)  Park,  was  born  June 
29,  1840,  in  Penn  township,  and  obtained  his  education  in  the  common  schools 
of  his  native  county.  His  youth  and  early  manhood  were  spent  in  farming, 
and  in  1866  he  began  to  work  at  the  carpenter's  trade,  combining  with  it  con- 
tracting and  building.  He  is  still  successfully  engaged  in  the  same  line  of 
business.  He  belongs  to  the  Protective  Home  Service  and  is  a  Republican  in 
politics.  He  married  Emma  Elizabeth  Harmon,  and  they  have  eight  children : 
John.  William  J.,  ^lary  W-.,  Samuel  L.,  Fanny,  Nellie,  Emma,  and  Hillary  C. 

Mrs.  Park  is  the  great-granddaughter  of  Harmon,  who  emigrated 

from  Germany  and  settled  in  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  was  killed  by 
the  Indians  about  1775,  as  were  many  others  about  that  period.  His  son, 
Philip  Harmon,  was  born  in  the  county  and  followed  the  calling  of  a  farmer. 

^HCH.AEL  KELLY.  One  of  those  old-time  residents  of  Johnstown 
whose  names  and  deeds  still  live  in  the  memory  of  a  generation  now  rapidly 
passing  away,  was  ]\[ichael  Kelly.  Mr.  Kelly  resided  almost  his  entire  life  in 
Johnstown,  where  he  engaged  in  business  as  a  contractor,  and  was  also  the 
])ro[)rietor  of  a  hotel.  As  a  business  man  his  character  commanded  respect, 
and  as  a  host  his  good  management  and  genially  made  him  deservedly  popular. 
Although  equipped  for  the  battle  of  life  with  nothing  beyond  a  common  school 
education,  he  turned  to  the  best  advantage  each  one  of  his  limited  resources. 
He  and  his  family  were  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  He  mar- 
ried, and  among  the  children  was  a  daughter,  Isabella,  who  was  born  April  5, 
18.^7.  in  Johnstown,  and  became  the  wife  of  Francis,  son  of  James  and  Mar- 
garet Lay  ten.  They  were  the  ])arents  of  one  child,  Edward  J.,  who  was  born 
January  .^i.  1862.  Mr.  Layton  died  June  17,  1865,  and  in  1S72  Mrs.  Layton 
married  George,  son  of  Tobis  and  Magdaline  Fisher.  I'y  this  marrigae  she  has 
no  children.  The  death  of  Mr.  Kelly,  which  occurred  in  1848,  was  lamented 
as  that  of  an  estimable  man  and  a  good  citizen.  Mrs.  Kelly  is  also  deceased, 
and  Mrs.  Fisher  is  the  only  surviving  member  of  the  family.  She  is  a  resi- 
dent of  Derry  Station. 

CAMERDX  H.  EISEMAX.  was  born  in  Latrobe.  Westmoreland 
county,  Pennsylvania,  July  5,   1872,  the  son  of  William  Henry  and  Susanna 


476  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

(Keys)   Eiseman.     William  Henry  Eisenian  and  his  father  both  emigrated  to 
this  country  from  Germany. 

Cameron  Eiseman's  eclucation  was  acquired  chiefly  in  the  common  schools 
of  his  natiye  county,  and  after  leaving  the  school-room  he  entered  into  the 
stock  dealing  business,  being  engaged  chiefly  in  the  trading  of  horses  and  cattle. 
In  1 89 1,  he  established  himself  in  the  livery  business,  and  twelve  years  later, 
1903,  he  built  a  splendid  livery  barn  and  sale  stable.  He  also  deals  extensively 
in  wagons,  purchasing  them  by  the  car  load.  In  politics  he  is  a  straight  Demo- 
crat, and  held  the  office  of  mayor  of  his  city,  being  elected  in  1896,  serving 
one  term.  In  1896  he  married  Rosanna  Schenk,  daughter  of  Frederick  and 
Menesoia  Schenk,  of  Somerset  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  their  children  are: 
Floyd  C.  born  August  29,  1897:  Menesoia.  January  26,  1899;  John  H.,  Jan- 
uary 9,  1901  ;  Ruth,  September  18,  1903. 

MICHAEL  J.  KELLY,  proprietor  of  the  Grand  Central  Hotel, 
Mount  Pleasant,  one  of  the  finely  equipped  and  well  patronized  hotels  in  that 
section  of  the  county,  of  which  he  has  had  charge  since  December  25,  1903,  is 
a  worthy  representative  of  the  foreign-born  citizen,  who,  upon  making  their 
home  in  this  country,  at  once  conform  to  the  laws  and  regulations,  and  also  take 
a  deep  interest  in  all  that  pertains  to  its  welfare  and  prosperity.  He  is  a  native 
of  county  Roscommon,  Ireland,  born  October  28,  1856,  son  of  John  and  Mary 
(Mangle)  Kelly,  both  deceased.  His  maternal  grandfather,  Mr.  Mangle, 
served  in  the  Crimean  war  and  for  said  services  received  a  grant  of  land  in 
county  Roscommon  :  he  formerly  resided  in  the  vicinity  of  Belfast,  Ireland. 
When  Michael  J.  Kelly  was  about  two  years  of  age  his  father,  a  farmer  by  oc- 
cupation, came  to  the  LInited  States  and  located  at  Worcester,  Massachusetts, 
remaining  there  ten  years,  and  then  returned  to  his  native  land,  where  he  died 
at  the  age  of  sixty-four  years.  He  and  his  wife  were  the  parents  of  fourteen 
children,  three  of  whom  are  living  at  the  present  time  ( 1905)  :  Michael  J.,  see 
forward ;  Patrick,  yard  boss  at  the  Standard  Coke  works :  and  Daniel,  who  re- 
sides in  Ireland.  In  1879  he  returned  to  the  United  States  and  located  for  a 
time  at  Bergen  Point,  New  Jersey,  about  eighteen  months.  He  then  came  to 
Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  there  began  the  life  of  a  miner,  finding  em- 
ployment in  Lycinging  Mine  No.  i.  From  there  he  removed  to  Pennville, 
then  to  Mount  Pleasant,  later  to  Bessimer,  and  finally  returning  to 
Mount  Pleasant,  his  present  location.  He  followed  coal  mining  in  these 
various  towns  up  to  1894,  when  he  abandoned  this  line  of  work  and  engaged 
as  bartender  in  a  hotel,  serving  in  that  capacity  for  four  years.  He  then  went 
to  Port  Royal  and  purchased  the  Port  Royal  House,  which  he  conducted  until 
it  was  destroyed  by  fire,  five  years  and  four  months  later.  He  immediately 
returned  to  Alount  Pleasant  and  purchased  the.  Grand  Central  Hotel,  which  he 
opened  December  25,  1903,  and  which  he  has  successfully  conducted  up  to  the 
present  time  (1905).  The  hotel  is  pleasantly  located,  has  ample  accommoda- 
tions for  fifty  guests,  and  the  genial  and  courteous  manner  in  which  the  guests 
are  treated  make  it  a  very  desirable  resting  place  for  the  traveling  public.  ?ilr.  , 
Kelly  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  r^Iount 
Pleasant  Lodge,  No.  868,'  transferred  from  Greensburg.  In  the  county  of 
Durham,  England,  Mr.  Kelly  was  united  in  marriage  to  Ann  Eagan,  daughter 
of  Patrick  Eagan,  and  their  children  are :  John,  Kate,  Delia,  Patrick,  IMicliael. 
Annie,  and  Daniel.  The  family  are  regular  attendants  of  the  Catholic  church 
of  Mount  Pleasant. 


HISTORY   Of   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


All 


SA.ML'EL  I'ETRE  AlclXTlRE.  James  Alclnlirc.  the  earliest  known 
member  of  the  family  in  this  country,  was  of  Scotch  descent,  and  came  to 
Cariisle.  Pennsylvania,  from  Xew  Jersey,  some  time  during  the  latter  half  of 
the  eighteenth  century.  James  and  Hugh  Mclntire  enlisted  from  Carlisle, 
Pennsylvania.  Hugh  .Mclntire  was  a  private  in  Lieutenant  Daniel  Smith's 
company  of  the  Eighth  Battalion,  Cumberland  County  Militia,  in  active  service 
in  January,  1778. 

Hugh  Mclntire,  son  of  James  ^Iclntire,  the  pioneer  ancestcr,  located  in 
the  vicinity  of  \\'ilkinsburg,  Allegheny  cotmty,  Pennsylvania,  at  the  close  of  the 
Revolution.  He  farmed  extensively  and  bred  live  stock.  He  married  Jane 
Carr.  of  Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  from  this  union  nine  children  were 
born.  His  death  occurred  in  1S47.  '"'"'  'i'^  remains  were  interred  at  the  Old 
Stone  Church  at  Nolansburg. 

Hugh  Mclntire,  son  of  Hugh  and  Jane   (Carr)    Mclntire.  was  born  Sep- 


tember 14,  1814,  on  the  farm  near  W'ilkinslnirg.  .\fter  arriving  at  iiiaiurUy  lie 
drove  the  stage  for  a  number  of  years  on  the  old  Pittsburg  and  Philadelphia 
pike,  between  Pittsburg  and  Jacksonville,  and  also  between  Jacksonville  and 
Youngstown.  At  the  same  time  he  conducted  the  lUack  Horse  Hotel  at 
Youngstown.  which  was  located  on  the  present  site  of  (iibson's  harness  shop. 
Abandoning  this  in  1854  he  moved  to  Jacksonville  and  operated  the  Mclntire 
House  until  his  death  in  1865.  a  period  of  eleven  years.  Subse(|uently  his  wife, 
Jane  (Siegfried)  .Mclntire,  whom  he  had  married  December  23.  1840,  con- 
tinued the  hotel  as  a  road  house  during  the  remainder  of  her  life,  her  death  oc- 
curring in  1894.  The  ^IcTntire  Hotel,  or  Road  House,  was  one  of  the  princi- 
pal stations  on  the  "Cnderground  Railway''  preceding  the  Civil  w'ar,  its  proprie- 
tor, Hugh  Mclntire.  having  been  a  prominent  Abolitionist.  Tt  was  for  many 
years  a  noted  resort  for  pleasure  seekers  from  miles  in  either  direction.     Its 


4/8  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

patrons  came  from  Pittsburg,  Allegheny  and  2\icKcesport  on  the  west,  and 
from  Greensbin-g  and  Jeannette  on  the  east,  and  included  many  of  the  most 
notable  residents  of  this  section  of  the  state.  It  was  one  of  the  most  celebrated 
houses  of  its  kind,  and  the  last  of  the  old  stage  houses  on  the  pike.  It  is  still 
standing,  being  at  present  (1905)  occupied  by  Samuel  P.  Mclntire  as  his 
private  residence.  Three  children  were  born  to  Hugh  and  Jane  (Siegfried) 
iVlcIntini:  Annie,  born  1841,  wife  of  John  Ayers,  of  Turtle  Creek,  Allegheny 
county;  Sarah  Ellen,  born  1844,  wife  of  Andrew  Bovard,  of  Greensburg ;  and 
Samuel  Petre,  born  November  27,  1849. 

Samuel  Petre  Mclntire,  only  son  of  Hugh  and  Jane  (Siegfried)  Mclntire, 
was  born  November  2"/,  1849.  He  married,  August  9,  1895,  at  Jacksonville, 
Alice  Miers,  daughter  of  William  and  Susan  (Johnson)  Miers,  of  that  place. 
No  children.  I\lr.  Mclntire  has  always  been  a  Republican  in  politics,  while  in 
religious  matters,  although  not  entertaining  personal  affiliations  with  any 
church,  has  leaned  toward  the  I'nited  Presbyterian  church,  this  being  the  de- 
nomination of  which  his  wife  is  an  active  member. 

HARN'EY  F.  I3ARKLEY,  a  druggist  of  Mount  Pleasant,  Westmore- 
land county,  Pennsylvania,  belongs  to  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  honored  fam- 
ilies of  that  section.  lie  was  born  in  Donegal  township,  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  February  21,  1870,  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Mariah  (Beistel)  Bark- 
ley,  and  grandson  of  Jacob  Barkley,  who  was  a  farmer  of  Westmoreland  county, 
and  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  married  and  had  the  following 
children :  Jacob,  Emanuel,  Sarah,  wife  of  Montgomery  Scott ;  Catherine,  wife 
of  Samuel  Fligler  ;  Susan,  wife  of  Michael  Bixler  ;  Leah,  married  a  Mr.  Miller  ; 
Elizabeth,  married  William  Larimer. 

Joseph  Barkley,  the  father  of  Plarvey  F.  Barkley,  was  born  in  Donegal 
township,  about  1825.  In  early  life  he  was  engaged  for  some  time  in  school 
teaching.  He  later  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter,  which  occupation  he  follow- 
ed for  a  few  years.  Having  a  natural  liking  for  farming,  however,  he  turned 
his  entire  attention  to  this  pursuit,  in  which  he  engaged  during  the  remainder 
of  his  life.  In  political  belief  he  was  a  staunch  Democrat,  and  held  the  office 
of  justice  of  the  peace  for  about  twenty  years,  also  served  as  school  director  for 
some  time.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  was 
very  active  in  church  affairs.  He  married  and  had  two  children  •  William  F., 
a  nurseryman  of  Westmoreland  county ;  and  Emma  E.,  deceased,  who  was  the 
wife  of  kelley  Brothers.  Mrs.  Barkley  died,  and  Mr.  Barkley  married  Mariah 
Beistel,  who  bore  him  children :  Idella,  married  Freeman  Muir ;  George,  a 
farmer  of  Kansas:  Anna  M.,  wife  of  Frank  P.  Baer ;  Dr.  J.  W^,  of  Ligonier ; 
and  Harvey  F.,  mentioned  hereafter.  The  father  of  this  family  died  in  Sep- 
tember, 1889. 

Harvey  F.  Barkley  acquired  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of  his 
native  place,  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  engaged  in  the  vocation  of  teachin.g 
school  in  Westmoreland  county.  He  was  later  employed  in  the  store  of  D.  P. 
Lowe  as  clerk,  remaining  there  for  four  years.  He  then  removed  to  Pittsburg, 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  entered  into  the  study  of  pharmacy,  graduating  in  1901. 
In  1897  he  purchased,' from  a  Mrs.  Duncan,  a  pharmacy  business,  which  he  still 
conducts,  and  in  which  he  has  been  attended  with  the  greatest  success.  Mr. 
Barkley  is  a  member  of  the  T.  O.  H..  No.  173,  of  Mount  Pleasant:  the  I.  O.  O. 
F.,  No.  350,  of  Mount  Pleasant,  in  which  he  is  a  past  grand  :  and  the  B.  P.  O. 
E.,  No.  868.  Mr.  Barkley  married  Lizzie  McKlveene.  and  to  them  one  child 
was  born,  Rav  M.  Mrs.  Barkley  died,  and  Mr.  Barkley  took  for  his  second 
■wife  Margaret  L.  Welty,  daughter  of  J.  S.  Welty.     Three  children  were  born 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUXTY.  479 

of  this  union:  John  W.  and  Harry  S.  (twins),  and  Robert,  who  (Hcd  when 
five  months  old.  Mr.  Barkley  purchased  a  second  store  from  CJraham  &  New- 
comer, of  Coniiellsville,  Pennsylvania,  in  May,  1905.  to  which  place  he  took  his 
family  to  reside. 

JOHN  \\'AINER.  The  parents  of  John  Wainer,  of  New  Kcnsinjj- 
ton,  were  Andrew  and  Annie  Wainer,  natives  of  Hungary ,where  their  son  John 
was  born  November  5,  i860,  receiving  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of 
his  birthplace.  In  1881  he. emigrated  to  the  United  States,  and  settled  in 
Braidwood,  Illinois,  where  for  about  eighteen  months  he  was  engaged  in  general 
labor.  He  then  went  to  Fayette  City,  I'ennsvdvania,  where  he  was  employed 
about  eight  years  bv  the  Pittsburg  Brewing  Company  as  one  of  their  agents. 
For  a  few  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  wholesale  liquor  business,  and  in  1904 
established  a  foreign  exchange  and  banking  business  in  Donora,  Pennsylvania. 
In  1905  he  established  a  branch  in  New  Kensington  under  the  firm  name  of 
Erdely  &  \\'ainer.  the  business  being  now  extensive  and  flourishing.  He"  be- 
longs to  the  National  .Slavic  Society,  No.  241,  of  Fayette  City,  and  the  .Society 
of  Evangelical  Lutherans.  In  the  sphere  of  politics  he  affiliates  with  the  Inde- 
pendents and  his  church  membership  is  with  the  Lutheran  denomination.  Mr. 
\\'ainer  married  .\nnie  L'rieviez,  and  they  have  been  the  parents  of  the  follow- 
ing children:  John,  died  at  the  age  of  twelve  years ;  Mary.  Annie,  Paul, 
•George,  Michael,  and  And,rew.     All  these  children  are  still  at  home. 

HENRY  BEHM.  By  birth  and.  parentage  Henry.  Behm,  of  New 
Kensington,  is  a  German  and  by  right  ,  of  citizenship  an  American. 
He  was  born  in  the  Fatherland  and  educated  there.  In  1887  he 
emigrated  to  the  United  States  and  for  three  years  worked  at  the 
tailoring  trade  in  Philadelphia.  He  then  moved  to  Pittsburg,  where 
for  about  two  years  he  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  clothing.  In 
1892  he  settled  in  New  Kensington  and  continued  in  the  same  business 
five  or  six  years.  About  1897  he  built  the  first  opera  house  ever  erected  in 
New  Kensington  and  for  seven  years  was  its  successful  manager.  He  also 
established  the -Ijill  posting  business  in  New  Kensington  and  vicinity  and  at  the 
same  time  was  engaged  in  other  enterprises.  In  1904,  in  jsartnership,  with  H. 
.\.  Haft,  he-establi.shed' the  manufacture  of  soft  drinks,  the- style  of  the  firm 
being  H.  Behm  &  Company.  They  are  building  up  a  large  and  successful 
business  and  have  one  of  the  best  equipped  plants  in  this  part  of  the  county. 
Fraternally  he  is  connected  with  tlie  following  organizations :  Lod<je  No.  804, 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  New  Kensington  ;  Encampment  No.  209 :  and  Lodge  No.  606, 
Fraternal  r)rder  of  Eagles,  of  Ford  City.  ]\Ir.  'Behm  married  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  Loeb. 

HENRY  J.  SCHOTT.  Adam  Schott,  father  of  Henry  J.  Schott,  of 
New  Kensington,  was  born  in  1824,  in  Germany,  and  in  1858  emigrated  to  the 
United  States,  settling  in  Brady's  Bend,  Pennsylvania,  where  for  some  years 
he  followed  lu's  trade,  which  was  that  of  a  butcher.  Within  a  short  time  he 
purchased  a  farm  on  .Snow  Hill  and  during  the  remainder  of  his  life  gave  his 
attention  to  farming  as  well  as  to  his  trade.  In  politics  he  was  a  Republican 
and  for  six  consecutive  years  filled  the  office  of  supervisor  of  Bradv's  Bend 
township.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  He  married  Catha- 
rine Rohrbacli,  born  in  1826,  in  Germany,  and  their  familv  consisted  of  the 
following  children  :  .\dani  and  Mary-aret,  one  of  whom  died  in  infancv  anrl 
the  other  in  childhood:  John  .•\.,  butcher  of  Leechburg;  Peter,  tool  dresser  in 


48o  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

the  oil  country,  now  at  ilrady's  Bend  ;  Henry  J.,  mentioned  at  length  herein- 
after ;  Elizabeth  A.,  wife  of  James  Storey,  of  West  Virginia ;  and  William  H., 
of  East  Brady.     Mr.  Schott,  the  father,  died  March,   1892. 

Henry  J.  Schott,  son  of  Adam  and  Catharine  (Rohrbach)  Schott,  was 
born  in  Buffalo,  six  weeks  after  the  arrival  of  his  parents  in  this  country,  and 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  Brady's  Bend.  Until  the  time  of  at- 
taining his  majority  he  assisted  his  father  in  the  latter's  business.  He  then 
went  into  business  for  himself  in  the  oil  regions,  where  he  took  an  interest  in 
several  of  the  old  wells,  and  he  is  still  connected  with  a  number  of  oil  enter- 
prises in  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  \'irginia  and  Kentuck}-.  In  1897  he  established 
the  butcher's  business  in  New  Kensington,  which  he  has  successfully  conducted 
ever  since,  and  which  is  now  one  of  the  landmarks  of  the  borough.  Mr. 
Schott  married  Sarah  E.,  daughter  of_  John  and  Elizabeth  Horgenrother,  and 
thev  have  Ijeen  the  jiarents  of  one  child  who  died  in  infancy. 

JOSEPH  A.  WALTON,  one  of  ("irecnsburg's  well-known  and  de- 
servedly popular  citizens,  is  a  grandson  of  Joseph  Walton,  whose  son  Riley  is 
the  proprietor  of  a  hotel  at  Delmont,  and  married  Maria  Herbert.  Their  son 
Joseph  A.,  was  born  December  30,  1872.  in  Delmont,  where  he  obtained  his 
education  in  the  common  schools. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen  Joseph  A.  Walton  left  school  and  entered  the  service 
of  the  firm  of  Kelly  &  Jones,  with  whom  he  remained  for  some  time.  He 
then  became  his  father's  partner  in  the  grocery  business,  which  they  conducted 
for  a  year  and  a  half.  At  the  end  of  that  time  his  father  took  charge  of  the 
hotel  of  which  he  is  now  the  proprietor,  and  Mr.  Walton  became  his  assistant. 
This  position  he  held  for  three  years,  when  he  removed  to  Greensburg  and 
engaged  in  the  dairy  business,  in  which  he  is  still  engaged  at  present  time.  His 
political  sentiments  and  principles  are  those  held  and  supported  by  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  Rlr.  Walton  married,  March  14,  1894,  Aland  Evans,  and  they 
have  six  children:  Arthur  R.,  born  December  10,  1895;  Joseph  A.  E.,  born 
June  19,  1897;  T.  H.  Evans,  born  November  9,  1899;  Mary  Catherine  E., 
born  April  13,  1902;  Virginia  Maud,  born  January  26,  1904;  Ruth  E.,  born 
February  7,  1906.  Mrs.  Walton's  grandfather,  Abner  Evans,  was  of  English 
descent  and  came  from  Hagerstown,  Maryland,  to  Westmoreland  county. 
His  son,  Thomas  Evans,  married  Anna  Thomas,  and  they  were  the  parents 
of  a  daughter,  Maud,  born  February  12,  1876,  in  Greensburg,  and  became  the 
wife  of  Joseph  Walton,  as  mentioned  above.  The  death  of  Mr.  Evans  occurred 
in  1879,  in  Greensburg,  of  which  place  he  had  been  a  worthy  citizen. 

DANIEL  T.  BUTLER,  a  miner  of  intelligence  and  energy  in  Lari- 
mer, Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  prominently  identified  with  church 
work  in  that  county,  and  postmaster  of  the  town  since  1897,  is  a  native  of 
Scotland,  but  of  pure  Irish  descent. 

John  Butler,  father  of  Daniel  T.  Butler,  was  born  near  Ballymena,  county 
Antrim,  Ireland.  August  24,  1820.  He  migrated  to  Scotland  in  1837,  settling 
at  Hollytown,  and  there  found  employment  as  a  coal  miner.  His  education 
had  been  obtained  in  the  Catholic  parochial  schools,  and  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Catholic  church,  and  always  an  ardent  worker  in  the  cause  of  its  advance- 
ment. He  married,  August  14,  1850,  i\Iary  Cunningham,  born  in  Cootehill, 
county  Cavan,  Ireland,  November  25,  1828.  Her  ]iarents  migrated  to  Scot- 
land in  1832.  She.  also,  was  a  member  of  the  Catholic  church.  Their  chil- 
dren were:  Catherine,  born  at  Hollytown.  Lanarkshire,  January  20,  1832; 
Daniel  T.,  of  whom  later;  John,  January  20,  1858:  Patrick,  November  9,  1861, 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  481 

at  Holloytown,  Ayrshire:  Margaret,  January  20,  i860,  at  Aiinack  Lodge, 
Ayrshire,  Scotland :  Bernard,  at  Annack  Lodge,  Ayrshire,  Scotland :  died 
Xoveniber  18.  1S98.     Felix,  January  20,  18 — ,  and  died  iMarch  22,  1887. 

Daniel  T.  Butler,  eldest  son  and  second  child  of  John  and  Mar\-  (Cun- 
ningham) Butler,  was  born  at  Hollytown.  Lanarkshire,  Scotland.  July  31, 
1855.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  country,  and  then 
followed  in  the  footsteps  of  his  father  as  a  coal  miner,  devoting,  however,  a 
considerable  portion  of  his  time  to  farming,  which  gave  him  excellent  results. 
Coming  to  the  conclusion  that  the  United  States  olTered  a  better  field  for 
ambition  and  enterprise,  he  emigrated  to  this  country  in  April,  1883,  anil  set- 
tled at  Larimer.  Westmoreland  county.  Pennsylvania.  Here  he  was  engaged 
in  minin.g  for  fourteen  vears.  In  April  of  that  year  he  was  commissioned  post- 
master of  Larimer,  and  has  since  devoted  his  time  and  attention  to  the  con- 
scientious performance  of  the  duties  which  that  position  entails.  He  has  been 
a  member  of  the  Catholic  church  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  or  Trwin, 
Pennsylvania,  for  many  years,  and  has  always  been  prominently  identified  with 
church  work.  He  is  a  member  of  the  C.  T.  A.  Society  of  Irwin,  and  stewartl 
of  the  visiting  sick  committee.  He  is  a  staunch  Republican,  and  active  in  the 
interests  of  that  party.  Like  most  busy  men,  the  more  Mr.  Butler  does,  the 
more  he  seems  to  find  time  to  do.  and  he  is  ever  ready  to  assist  those  in  need  of 
his  help.  He  married,  June  29,  1874,  Mary  Malloy,  who  was  also  educated 
in  the  parochial  schools  at  Dunlay,  county  Antrim,  Ireland.  She  is  a  daughter 
of  Roger  and  Mary  Mallov.  the  former  of  wlmm  is  a  farmer.  The  children 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Butler,  all  of  whom  received  or  are  receiving  a  good  public 
school  education,  are:  i.  Mary,  born  August  29,  1877,  in  Dunlay,  county 
Antrim,  Ireland,  married  Thomas  Donnelly,  a  miner,  and  resides  in  Larimer, 
2.  John,  .August  15,  1878,  Dunlay,  county  Antrim,  Ireland,  is  a  machinist  anfl 
resides  in  Larimer.  3.  Roger,  March  15,  1880,  Dunlay,  county  Antrim,  Ire- 
land, is  a  machinist.  4.  Patrick,  March  26,  1882,  machinist.  5.  Bernard, 
January  29,  1883,  teamster.  6.  Daniel,  November  10,  1884,  machinist.  7. 
Phili]).  February  26.  1886,  lives  at  Larimer.  8.  Timothy,  January  30,  1888, 
graduated  from  the  public  schools  in  1902,  died  April  18,  1905.  9.  Joseph, 
December  24.  1890.  10.  Michael,  December  24,  1890.  11.  Charles,  January 
16.   1893.     12.     Annie,  October   15,   1897. 

JOSEPH  BELTZ.  The  parents  of  Joseph  Beltz,  of  New  Kensin.g- 
ton,  were  Joseph  and  Paulina  Beltz.  and  his  birth  occurred  January  19,  1864, 
in  Ciermany,  whence,  in  1883,  he  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  settling  in 
Wheeling,  West  \'irginia,  where  for  one  year  he  worked  as  a  laborer.  After 
a  year  in  Pittsburg  he  went  to  Natrona,  Pennsylvania,  and  for  one  vear  was 
emj)loyed  in  the  chemical  works,  after  which  he  became  a  driver  for  Lutz 
&  Son.  brewers,  remaining  in  their  service  about  four  years.  During  the 
next  three  years  he  worked  in  a  similar  capacity  for  Abraham  Greenbaum, 
of  Kittanning,  and  during  one  year  thereafter  was  employed  by  Harrv 
Montgomery,  of  the  same  place.  The  following  year  he  .sj)ent  in  Port 
Cit\',  where  he  was  employed  in  the  glass  works.  His  next  enterprise  was 
the  building  of  the  Fifth  .\venue  Hotel,  at  Port  City,  wliich  he  conducted 
for  one  year.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  sold  the  |)roi)erly  and  ])urciiased 
the  Central  Hotel,  at  New  Kensington,  where  he  is  now  the  oroprietor  of 
the  oldest  and  one  of  the  best  hotels  in  the  town.  During  his  residence  in  Port 
City  he  held,  for  one  year,  the  office  of  street  commissioner,  having  become  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States  in   1888.     He  affiliates  willi  the  Fraternal  Order 

2-  31 


482  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

of  Eagles,  No.  533,  of  New  Kensington,  and  also  belongs  to  the  Heptasophs. 
He  is  an  Independent  in  politics  and  a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
church.  He  married  Margaret  Agnes,  daughter  of  Dennis  and  Sarah  Call, 
and  their  children  are:  Mary  E.,  born  July  16,  1886,  graduate  of  the  paroch- 
ial school;  Edward  J.,  born  1889;  James  A.,  born  1891  ;  Veronica  M.,  born 
1896;  Nora  O.,  born  November  20,  1899,  ^'^d  Catharine  E.,  born  April,  1901. 

SAMUEL  B.  LEHMAN,  of  Greensburg,  a  son  of  Peter  F.  and 
Mary  Ann  (Moser)  Lehman,  was  born  February  9,  1838,  in  the  township  of 
Harrison,  Bedford  county.  His  educational  advantages  were  obtained  in 
the  common  schools  adjacent  to  his  home,  which  he  attended  until  the  age  of 
seventeen  years.  He  then  engaged  in  the  quiet  but  useful  calling  of  agricul- 
ture, in  which  line  of  work  he  was  most  successful,  continuing  the  same  for 
fourteen  years.  He  then  established  a  boarding  house  for  railroad  men, 
which  he  conducted  successfully  for  two  years,  after  which  he  became  pri- 
prietor  of  a  hotel  at  Bridgeport,  near  Hydeman,  Bedford  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  remained  for  a  period  of  eight  years,  or  until  the  hotel  was 
destroyed  by  fire.  He  then  located  in  Scottdale,  Westmoreland  county,  and 
for  four  years  was  employed  at  drawing  coke.  He  then  opened  a  small  store 
at  Lisenring,  Fayette  county,  and  in  addition  to  the  superintendence  of  this 
was  engaged  in  drawing  coke  for  five  j^ears.  He  then  located  in  Cumberland, 
Maryland,  where  for  one  year  and  a  half  he  conducted  a  hotel,  and  the  fol- 
lowing year  he  erected  and  conducted  a  saloon  at  Ellerslie,  Bedford  county, 
disposing  of  the  same  in  order  to  take  up  his  residence  in  Greensburg, 
Pennsylvania,  where  in  1889  he  built  the  hotel  at  the  County  Home  known 
as  the  Lehman  Hotel.  He  retired  from  the  hotel  business  May  i,  1905,  and 
is  now  living  in  retirement. 

In  1865  Mr.  I^ehman  was  married  to  Mary  Reddinger,  born  July  12, 
1844,  a  daughter  of  Michael  and  Catherine  Reddinger,  and  ten  children  were 
the  issue  of  this  union:  Emma  S.,  born  September  18,  1866;  Annastacia, 
born  December  15,  1867,  deceased;  Loretta  F.,  born  July  19,  1869,  deceased; 
Margaret  F.,  born  December  i,  1871,  deceased:  Anna  Catherine,  born  Jan- 
uarv  13,  1874,  became  the  wife  of  Casper  Glasstetter,  and  they  reside  in 
South  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania;  Josephine  F.,  born  January  26,  1876;  Anna 
Rosalie,  born  June  20,  1878,  became  the  wife  of  Edward  C.  Matthews,  and 
they  also  reside  in  South  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania;  George  F.,  born  April 
23,  1880,  deceased;  Charles  H.,  born  February  4,  1882,  deceased;  and  Mary, 
born  June  23,  1888,  deceased.  Mrs.  Lehman,  who  performed  the  duties  of 
wife  and  mother  in  a  most  exemplary  manner,  passed  away  July  2,  1903. 
Mr.  Lehman  married  Mrs.  Mary  J.  Phillips  October  12,  1905,  a  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Eliza   (Gordon)   Johnston. 

JOHN  ANTHONY  MYERS,  for  a  number  of  years  proprietor 
and  manager  of  "Potts'  Hotel,"  at  Penn  Station,  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  is  an  American  of  German  descent.  Karl  Myers,  father  of 
John  Anthony  Myers,  and  founder  of  this  branch  of  the  Myers  family  in 
the  United  States,  was  born  in  Baden-Baden,  Germany,  December  31,  1823. 
He  emigrated  to  America  in  1842,  and  located  in  Fort  Benton,  Missouri  and 
while  there  was  a  volunteer  in  the  state  militia.  He  came  to  Pennsylvania, 
and  for  some  years  resided  in  Chambcrsburg,  removing  in  1857  to  West- 
moreland county,  in  the  same  state.  He  served  during  the  civil  war  as  a 
private  in  the  One  Hundred  and  First  Regiment,  of  Pittsburg,  and  w-as 
honorably  discharged  at  the  close  of  the  war.     He  is  a  shoemaker  by  trade. 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  483 

For  several  vears  he  served  as  liigh  constable  of  Greensburg.  He  married 
while  in  :\lis'souri  and  his  wife  died  there  in  1856.  He  married  Christina 
Pait,  daughter  of  John  Fait,  and  they  had  ten  children:  John  Anthony; 
JMar'y  ^L  ;  Frank  W .,  deceased ;  William  E. ;  Joseph ;  Elizabeth,  deceased  ; 
Emma  C. ;  Agnes  F.,  deceased;  Catharine;  Harry.  He  is  still  living  and  a 
resident  of  Greensburg. 

lohn  Anthony  Myers,  son  of  Karl  and  Christina  (Fait)  Myers,  was  burn 
at  Greensburg,  \Vestmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  October  4,  1858.  His 
earlv  education  was  obtained  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town,  and 
he  then  entered  upon  a  business  career.  He  is  energetic  and  active  and  has 
met  with  success.  In  1896  he  leased  the  "Potts'  Hotel,"  at  Penn  Station,  and 
has  conducted  it  ever  since.  His  genial,  courteous  manners  have  made  it  a  place 
of  popular  resort,  and  ]\Ir.  Myers  has  no  idle  time  on  his  hands.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Catholic  church,  of  the  Catholic  Knights  of  America,  and 
affiliates  with  the  Democratic  party.  He  was  one  of  the  very  first  to  en- 
list in  Companv  I,  Tenth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  National  Guards,  enlist- 
ing in  1879.  He  married,  in  1882,  Alahala  Jane  Erett,  daughter  of  James 
Erett,  a  farmer  of  Hempheld  township,  who  died  during  the  civil  war  and 
is  buried  in  Newport  News,  \'irginia.  John  A.  and  Mahala  Jane  ]\lyers 
have  four  children:  i.  Lulu  Cecelia,  born  April  5,  1883,  married,  at  Penn 
Station.  February  19,  1906,  Frank  Britt,  of  Youngstown,  Ohio.  2.  Charles 
:M..  :\Iay  8,  1885.  3.  Henrietta  R.,  October  17,  1887.  4.  Clara  E.,  De- 
cember 21,  1889,  died  December  6,  1891. 

HERMAN  HERRICK.  The  parents  of  Herman  Herrick.  of  Arn- 
old, were  Robert  and  Jeannette  Herrick,  and  his  birth  occurred  December  8, 
1865,  in  Germany,  whence  he  emigrated,  in  1880,  to  the  United  States,  stop- 
ping for  a  short  time  on  the  way  in  Toronto,  Canada.  Arriving  in  the  oil  regions 
of  Pennsylvania,  he  opened  a  barber  shop  in  Parker,  and  in  1882  went  to 
Pittsburg,  where  for  four  or  five  years  he  was  employed  as  a  barber  by 
George  Pastor.  At  the  end  of  that  time  I\Ir.  Pastor  sold  out  to  Charles  P. 
Berres.  with  whom  :\Ir.  Herrick  remained  for  two  years.  ]Mr.  Berres  then 
took  him  into  partnership  and  they  conducted  the  business  for  five  years, 
after  which  the  partnership  was  dissolved  and  Mr.  Herrick  established  himself 
on  the  corner  of  Sixth  avenue  and  Smithfield  street,  where  he  carried  on  the 
business  alone  for  about  ten  years.  He  was  then  employed  for  about  three 
years  as  traveling  salesman  by  the  firm  of  Raphael  &  Zengschmitt.  In  ]\Iay. 
1905.  he  purchased  the  Hotel  Edna,  at  Arnold,  and  is  now  the  successful 
proprietor  of  one  of  the  best  hotels  in  the  county.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Heptasophs  and  the  German  Beneficent  Union.  Mr.  Herrick  married  Flora 
Raphael,  of  Pittsburg,  and  they  have  two  children:     Rita  and  Ralph  R. 

CHARLES  FL  SMITH.  Both  by  birth  and  parentage  Charles  H. 
Smith,  of  Alverton,  belongs  to  Westmoreland  county.  He  is  a  son  of  David 
G.  Smith,  a  native  of  Pennsvlvania.  who  came  to  this  county  when  a  young 
man,  and  so  may  fairly  be  sa'id  to  belong  to  it.  He  found  emi)loymcnt  at^  the 
salt  works,  and  later  engaged  in  mercantile  business  at  New  Stanton.  This 
calling  he  followed  for  twenty-two  years,  and  during  the  early  part  of  that 
period  conveyed  his  produce  to  Pittsburg  by  wagon  and  returned  with  a  load 
of  goods.  He  took  a  deep  interest  in  local  affairs  and  filled  some  of  the 
township  offices.  He  was  one  of  the  old-line  Democrats.  Roth  he  and  his 
•wife  were  active  members  of  the  Reformed  church.  Mr.  Smith  married  Mary 
Bear,  also  a  native  of  Pennsvlvania,  and  their  family  consisted  of  four  child- 


484  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

ren;  J.  JJ.  F.,  a  merchant  of  Mount  Pleasant;  Alice  M.,  wife  of  Joseph  Kelly, 
of  Hawkeye,  Pennsylvania ;  Charles  H.,  mentioned  hereafter,  and  Cyrus  L. 
P.,  who  died  Xovemher  7.  iyo2.  aged  twenty-seven  years,  and  at  the  time 
of  his  death  was  a  foundryman  in  the  service  of  the  Pennsylvania  Malleable 
Iron  Company.  He  was  a  man  of  many  warm  friends,  loved  and  regretted 
by  all  who  knew  him.  Mr.  Smith,  the  father,  died  December  19,  1888,  at  the 
age  of  fifty-eight,  and  his  death  was  quickly  followed  by  that  of  his  wife,  who 
survived   him   but   twenty-one   days. 

Charles  H.  Smith,  son  of  David  G.  and  Mary  (Bear)  Smith,  was  born 
July  26,  1872,  at  New  Stanton,  where  he  received  his  education  in  the  public 
schools.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  entered  the  foundry  of  Kelly  &  James, 
where  he  was  employed  for  three  years,  after  which  he  worked  for  the  Pitts- 
burg Malleable  Iron  Company.  Later  he  traveled  for  one  year  through  the 
eastern  cities,  working  meanwhile  at  his  trade,  and  then  returned  to  Pitts- 
burg where  he  entered  the  service  of  McCanway  &  Toily.  With  this  firm 
he  remained  several  years,  and, then  organized  the  Iron  City  Brass  Foundry 
Company,  which  he  conducted  successfully  for  two  years  and  then  incorpor- 
ated with  a  capital  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars.  Some  six  months  later 
he  sold  his  interest  and  became  a  stockholder  in  the  National  Foundry  at 
New  Stanton,  with  the  office  of  superintendent  of  the  works.  In  1892,  when 
the  establishment  was  destroyed  by  fire,  he  at  once  secured  some  capital,  went 
to  Alverton  and  established  his  present  business.  He  leased  a  property  which 
had  been  for  some  time  disused  and  there  began  to  manufacture  grav  iron 
castings  of  all  kinds,  coke  ovens  and  sewer  castings,  the  two  latter  a  specialty. 
He  is  operating  in  a  modest  way  and  gives  employment  to  ten  or  twelve  hands. 
In  July,  1905,  he  repurchased  the  Iron  City  Brass  Foundry  of  Pittsuburg, 
organized  a  new  stock  company  and  is  vice-president  of  the  same.  He  has 
already  achieved  a  distinct  success,  being  the  owner  of  a  modern  house  sup- 
plied with  all  the  facilities  for  comfort  and  convenience.  In  the  spring  of 
1905  he  was  elected  county  committeeman  by  a  unanimous  vote.  Mr.  Smith 
is  a  member  of  Fort  Pitt  Lodge  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Pittsburg,  and  the  Junior  Order 
of  L'nited  American  Mechanics,  Painterville  Council,  No.  211.  Politically 
he  is  a  Republican.     He  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Reformed  church. 

Mr.  Smith  married  Daisy  M.,  daughter  of  Nicholas  and  Delia  (Scott) 
Lang,  of  New  Stanton,  and  they  have  five  children :  Violet  Pansie ;  Ray 
Barton:   Mary  Delia;   Mabel   Dlive,   and   Charles   H.,   junior. 

PAINTER  FAMILY.  Jacob  Painter,  the  pioneer  ancestor  of  the 
American  branch  of  the  family,  subsequent  to  his  marriage  emigrated  from 
Mecklenburg,  Germany,  and  settled  in  Berks  county,  Pennsylvania.  Here 
four    sons    and    two    daughters    were    born,    namely:     Jacob,    Michael,    John, 

Tobias,  who  became  the  wife  of  George  Myers,  and  ,  who 

became  the  wife  of  Christopher  Harrold.  Jacob  Painter  and  his  wife  died 
and  their  remains  were  interred  in  the  vicinity  of  their  home  in  Berks  coimty. 
Jacob  Painter,  eldest  son  of  Jacob  Painter,  the  emigrant,  settled  on  a  farm 
in  Hempfield  township,  situated  on  the  Big  Sewickley  creek,  eight  miles  south 
of  Grecnsburg,  which  became  known  for  many  years  as  the  "Judge  Painter 
place,"  and  was  subsc(|uently  the  property  of  David  Fox.  He  built  on  the 
place  a  stone  grist-mill,  which  he  carried  on  in  connection  with  his  farming. 
He  was  an  energetic,  active  business  man,  a  member  of  the  legislature  for 
several  terms,  justice  of  the  peace  for  many  years,  and  at  the  time  of  his  de- 
mise held  the  position  of  associate  judge.  He  was  the  candidate  of  the 
Whig  party  for  congress,  but  was  defeated  by  his  opponent,  William  Findley 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  485 

who  received  seventeen  more  votes.  He  was  a  man  of  commanding  presence, 
being-  about  si.\  feet  in  height,  heavy  set,  and  weighing  about  two  hundred 
and  Uventv- pounds.  He  was  married  twice.  His  first  wife,  who  was  a  Miss 
Rapiere'  daughter  of  a  Mr.  Rapiere.  of  Indiana  county.  Pennsylvania,  bore 
him  several  children.  Mrs.  Painter  died  and  was  buried  at  HarroldV  church. 
His  second  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Catharine  Lobingier,  daughter  of 
Christopher  and  Elizabeth  Lobingier.  bore  him  ten  children,  as  follows- 
Pollv.  ]ohn.  Jacob.  Christopher,  George.  Joseph.  Benjamin.  Susan,  Israel,  and 
Scpiiia.  Jacob  Painter  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-nine,  and  was  buried  at  Har- 
rold  church.  His  widow,  Catharine,  survived  him  about  thirty  years,  lived 
with  her  sons — Christopher  and  Israel — at  the  "Willow-Tree  Farm,"  where 
she  died,  aged  eighty-four,  and  was  buried  at  Markle  cemetery. 

Christopher  Lobingier,  father  of  ;Mrs.  Painter,  was  a  son  of  Christopher 
Lobingier,  who  came  from  Mecklenburg,  Germany,  and  settled  in  Dauphin 
ccuntv,  Pennsylvania.  Christopher  Lobingier,  Jr..  settled  in  Mount  Pleas- 
ant township  in  1772,  was  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  constitutional  con- 
vention of  1776.  and  of  the  house  of  representatives  from  1791  to  1793.  In 
1766  he  married  Elizabeth  Mueller,  by  whom  he  had  eight  children:  John, 
Christopher,  Catharine.  Barbara.  Mary.  Elizabeth.  Susan  and  George.  Mr. 
Lobingier  died  July  4,  1798,  and  was  buried  at  the  Presbyterian  meeting 
hcusenear  Pleasant  Unity.  His  wife  died  at  Stoystown.  Somerset  county. 
September  15.  1815,  aged  seventy-one  years. 

George  Painter,  fourth  son  of  Jacob  and  Catharine  (  Lobingier)  Painter, 
was  born  on  the  farm  in  Hempfield  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Penn- 
svlvania,  in  1803.  During  the  civil  war  he  removed  to  the  Dinsmore  (or 
Sloan )  farm,  where  he  conducted  extensive  operations.  He  married  Polly 
Stantz,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Mary  (Miller)  Stantz,  of  Chambersburg. 
A'irginia.  and  their  children  were:  Jacob,  born  January  6,  1833,  mentioned 
hereinafter:  Israel,  born  August  12.  1834,  mentioned  hereinafter:  Benjamin, 
born  April  I,  1836.  was  a  member  of  the  Fifth  Wisconsin  \'olunteers,  and 
died  about  1879:  and  Lemuel,  born  April  30.  1838,  resides  in  Possum  Hol- 
low. North  Huntingdon  township.  Mrs.  Painter,  the  mother  of  these  child- 
ren, died  August  12,  1840.  In  1844  George  Painter  married  for  his  second 
-wife  Anna  Margaret  Baughman.  daughter  of  John  Baughman.  and  their 
children  were :  Catherine,  married  Jacob  Blyholder.  a  sketch  of  whom 
app,ears  elsewhere  in  this  work ;  Christopher,  married  Catherine  Kuntz,  and 
resides  in  Missouri ;  and  George,  married  .Mice  Cope,  and  resides  in  North 
Huntingdon  township.  George  Painter,  father  of  these  children,  died  in 
1890. 

Jacob  and  Israel  Painter,  the  two  eldest  sons  of  George  and  Polly 
(Stantz)  Painter,  received  a  common  school  education.  They  farmed  with 
their  father,  who  moved  to  their  present  farm  in  1841.  During  the  war  the 
father  removed  to  the  Dinsmore  farm,  where  his  son  George  Painter  now 
resides,  leaving  the  old  homestead  to  Jacob  and  Israel.  These  two  brothers 
have  since  resided  continuously  on  this  farm,  which  they  have  cultivated  to 
a  high  state  of  perfection.  Both  are  memljers  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Jacob 
-erving  in  the  capacity  of  deacon  at  Irwin,  and  Israel  at  Adamsburg.  They 
are  Democrats  in  politics.  Jacob  casting  his  first  vote  for  President  Buchanan. 
Israel  Painter  is  unmarried.  Jacob  Painter  married,  October  25.  i86o, 
Hetty  Louisa  Kunkle.  horn  March  17.  1841.  daughter  of  John  L.  and  Sarah 
I  Baughman )  Kunkle,  of  Westmoreland  county.  Tlieir  children  are :  George 
W..  born  March  21.  1862.  mentioned  hereinafter:  John  L..  born  September 
28.    i8r)4,   unmarried,   resides   at    Irwin;    Charles,   born    September    13.    1867, 


486  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

unmarried,  resides  at  home;  William,  born  April  23,  1871,  died  January  29,. 
1877,  aged  six  years;  Sarah  Annie  Margaret,  born  August  13,  1874,  became 
the  wife  of  John  Walton,  of  Pitcairn,  Pennsylvania;  David,  born  June  15,. 
1877,  married  Ada  L.  Silvis,  and  lives  at  the  old  homestead  ;  Mary,  born  Feb- 
ruary 7,  1882,  unmarried,  resides  at  home;  and  Janet,  born  March  20,  1884, 
unmarried,  resides  at  home. 

George  W.  Painter,  eldest  son  of  Jacob  and  Hetty  Louisa  (Kunkle) 
Painter,  was  born  March  21,  1862.  He  received  a  common  school  education, 
and  from  the  completion  of  his  studies  until  he  was  twenty-two  years  of  age 
farmed  on  his  father's  place.  He  then  went  to  Kansas,  located  at  Hazleto"n, 
and  there  engaged  in  the  livery  business  and  stock  raising.  After  a  residence 
of  three  years  in  that  state  he  moved  to  Missouri,  near  Kansas  City,  and  there 
followed  farming  and  the  raising  of  fine  stock.  He  then  returned  to  Penn- 
sylvania and  settled  on  the  Michael  Clohessy  farm,  near  Irwin,  remaining 
four  years.  The  following  two  years  he  engaged  in  the  feed  business  in 
Irwin,  after  which  he  purchased  his  present  farm,  which  is  located  in  the 
vicinity  of  Irwin  and  consists  of  sixty-seven  acres  of  productive  land.  The 
stone  dwelling  thereon  is  nearly  a  hundred  years  old.  Mr.  Painter  is  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  a  member  of  the  Royal  Arcanum,  and  a 
Democrat  in  politics.  He  served  as  school  director  of  his  township  for  two 
terms,  rendering  valuable  and  efficient  service.  He  married,  November  24,. 
1887,  Margaret  H.  Fullerton,  daughter  of  John  and  Margaret  (Gaut)  Ful- 
lerton,  of  South  Huntingdon  township.  The  issue  of  this  marriage  is  as 
follows:  John  Thurman,  born  November  i,  1888;  William  Clymer,  June 
19,  1890;  Margaret  Jane,  November  11,  1894;  Grace,  December  i,  1896,  died 
at  the  age  of  three  months;  Mabel  Esther,  May  2,  1898;  and  Wayne  Fuller- 
ton,  November  9,  1900. 

BENDER  FAMILY.  The  pioneer  ancestor  of  the  Bender  family 
in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  Jacob  Bender,  a  native  of  Adams 
county,  Pennsylvania,  born  March  16,  1796,  who  purchased  a  farm  south- 
west of  Greensburg,  whereon  he  resided  and  which  he  operated  successfully 
until  his  death.  His  wife,  Catherine  (Bush)  Bender,  wdiom  he  married  De- 
cember 24,  1818,  and  who  died  February  10,  1854,  aged  fifty-seven  years,  bore 
him  the  following  children;  Isaac,  July  6,  1820,  mentioned  hereinafter;  Henry, 
June  14,  1822;  David,  April  8,  1824;  Elizabeth,  August  2,  1826,  unmarried,. 
resHles  in  the  vicinity  of  Irwin;  Hannah  Sarah,  July  4,  1828;  Catherine, 
October  19,  1830,  wife  of  a  Mr.  Milliron ;  Solomon,  December  7,  1832 ;  Mary 
Ann,  October  11,  1834,  wife  of  Reuben  Henry;  and  Benjamin,  December  17, 
1836,  married  Caroline  Sunsil,  and  resides  near  Greensburg. 

Isaac  Bender,  eldest  son  and  child  of  Jacob  and  Catherine  (Bush)  Bender, 
was  born  July  6,  1820.  He  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter,  which  he  followed 
for  many  years  near  Harrison  City  in  addition  to 'farming  one  of  his  father's 
farms.  Later  in  life  he  rented  different  farms  and  pursued  that  vocation  for 
the  remainder  of  his  active  career.  He  married  Mary  Ann  Heintzleman, 
daughter  of  Christopher  and  Mary  Ann  (Overcash)  Heintzleman.  and  their 
children  were;  Sarah  Ann,  born  January  6,  1846,  deceased;  Henry  A.,  born 
August  7,  1847,  deceased  ;  Joseph,  born  March  6,  1850,  mentioned  hereinafter ; 
]\Iary  Ann,  born  April  4,  1852,  deceased  ;  Catherine  E.  born  December  18, 
1854,  unmarried,  resides  near  Irwin;  Jacob,  born  February  18,  1856,  deceased; 
Lucy  .Ann,  born  .\pril  2,  1859,  deceased;  Samuel,  born  April  19,  1863,  men- 
tioned hereinafter ;  and  John  I.,  born  April  4,  1866,  married  Anna  Jacobs,  and 


/J  ^.  /^n^'>t^<^j^^T.<^^ 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  4S7 

resides  near  jeannette.  Isaac  Bender  (father)  died  July  6,  1897.  aged  exactly 
seventv-seven  vears.     His  wife  died  March  12,  1893,  aged  seventy  years. 

Joseph  Bender,  second  son  of  Isaac  and  Mary  Ann  (Heintzleman)  Ben- 
tier,  was  born  at  Slabtown.  near  Harrison  City.  Tennsylvania.  iNlarch  6,  1850. 
He  received  a  common  school  education  and  farmed  until  the  age  of  thirty- 
five,  when  he  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter,  later  taking  up  contracting  and 
building,  which  he  has  followed  ever  since.  He  came  to  Irwin  about  1887, 
built  his  present  home,  and  has  resided  there  continuously  since  that  date,  a 
period  of  almost  twenty  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Reformed  church,  and 
served  as  a  member  of  the  church  committee  for  twelve  years.  He  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat in  politics.  Joseph  Bender  married,  June  9,  1896,  Margaret  E.  (Elgin) 
Laughlin.  daughter  of  Tames  and  Mary  Elizabeth  (McCord)  Elgin,  of  Clarion 
county,  and  wtdow  of  John  L.  Laughlin.  who  died  May  12,  1893.  By  her  mar- 
riage to  Mr.  Laughlin  she  was  the  mother  of  three  children :  Lucy  Gertrude, 
born  June  14,  1887 ;  Sarah  Cornelius,  botn  November  30,  1888 ;  and  John  L., 
Jr.,  born  December  17,  1893.  These  children  live  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bender 
in  Fairmount,  near  Irwin.  Mrs.  Bender's  great-great-grandfather  McCord 
went  from  Ireland  to  Scotland,  and  from  thence  emigrated  to  America,  settling 
in  Delaware.  His  son  was  with  General  Washington  at  \'alley  Forge. 
Joseph  McCord,  son  of  the  Revolutionary  soldier,  and  grandfather  of  Mrs. 
Bender,  came  to  Clarion  county  as  manager  of  some  of  the  first  ore  furnaces 
there,  and  his  descendants  are  still  to  be  found  there. 

Samuel  Bender,  fourth  son  of  Isaac  and  rotary  Ann  (Heintzleman)  Ben- 
der, was  born  April  19.  1863.  about  half  a  mile  from  Murrysville.  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  received  a  common  school  education  and  farmed  with  his  father 
until  about  1893,  when  he  began  farming  on  his  own  accmmt.'  He  has  resided 
in  the  vicinity  of  Irwin  for  more  than  two  decades,  and  has  been  on  his  present 
farm,  which  is  located  just  outside  of  the  borough  on  the  east,  for  four  years. 
He  is  successful  in  his  operations  and  both  he  and  his  brother  are  classed 
among  the  representative  citizens  of  that  section  of  the  county.  He  holds 
membership  in  the  Reformed  church,  and  his  political  allegiance  is  given  to 
the  Democratic  party.  Samuel  Bender  married.  March  19,  1896.  Emma  Ma- 
tilda Stump,  of  Penn  township,  Westmoreland  county,  born  March  10,  1872, 
daughter  of  Henry  and  Carolina  (Wolf)  Stump.  Their  children  are:  John 
Lang,  born  November  i,  1896;  Catherine  Elizabeth,  bom  June  20,  1898;  Mary 
Margaret  born  March  22,  1900,  died  June  18,  1900 ;  Emma  Caroline,  born 
May  25,  1901 ;  Samuel  Henry,  born  September  17,  1902,  died  October  14, 
1902:  and  Howard  Warden,  born  November  25,  1903.  died  September  13, 
1904. 

BARTON  H.  TOWNSEND.  a  roller  in  the  American  Sheet  Steel 
and  Tin  Plate  Company,  at  Vandergrift,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
and  a  well  known  and  popular  citizen  of  Vandergrift,  is  a  descendant  of  one 
of  the  pioneer  families  of  Pennsylvania,  and  one  that  has  a  remarkably  inter- 
esting history. 

(1)  Isaac  Townsend,  the  founder  of  the  family  in  America,  and  the 
great-grandfather  of  Barton  H.  Townsend.  emigrated  to  America,  probably 
between  1770  and  1780,  prior  to  the  burning  of  Hannastown.  He  was  one  of 
three  brothers  who  came  to  .America  and  settled  in  the  vicinty  of  Pittsburg, 
Pennsylvania.  One  of  these  later  settled  near  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  and  Isaac 
Townsend  acquired  some  three  or  four  hundred  acres  of  the  lands  near 
Salina.  Armstrong  county.  Pennsylvania,  which  had  been  granted  to  the 
colonies.     This  was  in  the  early  days  of  the  settlement,  when  the  land  was  filled 


488  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

with  Indians.  Isaac  Townsend  cleared  this  land,  converted  it  into  a  farm,  and 
built  a  cabin  upon  it.  The  night  before  the  burning  of  Hannastown,  the  In- 
dians, on  their  way  to  this  work  of  destruction,  encamped  within  a  short  dis- 
tance of  the  Townsend  cabin.  Both  Isaac  Townsend  and  his  wife  died  on  this 
homestead  farm.  Isaac  Townsend  married  Rachel  King  and  raised  a  family. 
Mrs.  Townsend  was  called  by  the  Indians,  "The  pretty  black-eyed  squaw." 
She  was  in  great  fear  of  them  and  when  they  came,  as  they  frecjuently  did.  on 
their  begging  expeditions,  she  always  acceded  to  their  demands  and  made 
liberal  donations. 

(II)  Isaac  Townsend,  son  of  Isaac  and  Rachel  (King)  Townsend,  was 
born  I  in  the  farm,  near  Salina,  Armstrong  county,  Pennsylvania,  but  in  1833, 
he  went  to  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  purchased  the  farm  on 
which  Vandergrift  now  stands.  Later  he  purchased  the  Speers  farm  adjoin- 
ing his.  thus  makmg  his  farm  one  of  about  two  hundred  acres.  He  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  life  on  this  farm,  cultivating  it  diligently,  and  died  there  in 
his  seventy-ninth  year.  Isaac  Townsend  (2)  married  IVIary  Hill  and  had  a 
number  of  children  :  John  H.,  Eden.  Darius,  Elizabeth.  Levi.  Delilah,  Mary, 
Rachel,  and  Susan. 

(III)  John  H.  Townsend,  son  of  Isaac  and  Mary  (Hill)  Townsend.  was 
born  in  Armstrong  county,  Pennsylvania,  across  the  river  from  Salina,  in  1819. 
He  received  as  good  an  education  as  was  customary  in  those  days,  and  at  the 
age  of  fourteen  removed  with  his  father  to  the  farm  on  the  present  site  of  Van- 
dergrift. This  place  was  his  home  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1885. 
L'pon  the  death  of  his  father  he  purchased  from  the  other  heirs  their  interest 
in  the  estate.  The  first  grist  mill  ever  built  in  this  section  of  the  country  was 
built  in  Apollo  by  Mr.  Townsend  and  his  brother  Eden,  and  was  controlled  by 
them  for  many  years,  with  large  profits.  After  the  building  of  the  railroad 
through  his  farm,  Mr.  Townsend  frequently  predicted  that  a  town  and  manu- 
facturing plant  would  ultimately  be  erected  on  the  site  of  his  farm,  but  he  did 
not  live  to  see  his  predictions  verified.  After  his  death  the  farm  was  sold  by 
the  heirs  to  E.  M.  Hukel.  of  Pittsburg.  Pennsylvania,  who  later  sold  it  to  the 
Apollo  Iron  and  Steel  Company.  Mr.  Townsend  was  a  Democrat  in  politics 
and  served  one  term  of  three  vears  as  county  commissioner.  This  is  the  only 
time  he  sought  or  held  public  office.  He  cultivated  his  farm  in  a  very  practical 
and  scientific  manner  for  those  days,  and  was  considered  one  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful farmers  in  that  section  of  the  country.  Mr.  Townsend  married  Eliza 
Eurkett  and  they  were  the  parents  of  nine  children,  of  wdiom  five  are  now 
(1906)  living,  as  follows:  i.  Newton  E.,  resides  in  Apollo.  2.  Frank  R.,  re- 
sides in  Beatty  Station,  Pennsylvania.  3.  Eaton  A.,  resides  in  Apollo,  Penn- 
sylvania. 4.  Barton  H.,  of  whom  a  sketch  is  appended.  5.  Grant  B.,  resident 
of  A]3ollo,  Pennsylvania. 

(IV)  Barton  H.  Townsend.  fourth  child  and  son  of  the  surviving  child- 
ren of  John  H.  (3)  and  Eliza  (Burkett)  Townsend,  was  born  on  the  present 
site  of  Vandergrift,  Pennsylvania,  June  23,  1863.  He  spent  the  early  years  of 
his  life  on  his  father's  farm,  meanwdiile  acquiring  a  good  education  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  that  section.  Upon  the  death  of  his  father  the  management  of 
the  farm  fell  into  his  hands,  and  he  showed  a  great  amount  of  executive  ability, 
and  conducted  everything  connected  with  it  until  the  sale  of  the  place  in  i88g. 
In  the  following  spring  he  went  to  Apollo,  Pennsylvania,  and  sought  and  ob- 
tained a  position  in  the  mills  of  the  Apollo  Iron  and  Steel  Company,  com- 
mencing at  the  bottom  of  the  ladder  as  a  laborer.  Beginning  in  this  wav,  how- 
ever, enabled  him  to  acquire  a  thorough-and  practical  knowledtre  from  the  very 
start.     His  faithful  performance  of  the  duties  entrusted  to  him  soon  brought 


HISTORY  Ol'    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  489 

about  his  advancement  to  the  position  of  assistant  heater  in  the  hammer  shop, 
and  shortly  after  as  assistant  to  the  heater  in  the  bar  mill.  I'Vum  this  he  was 
promoted  to  be  heater  in  the  bar  mill.  After  the  strike  of  1893  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  sheet  mills  and  was  made  a  pair-heater  and  soon  advanced  to  be 
;;heet-heater.  In  Xovember.  1S96.  upon  the  opening  of  the  new  mills  in  \'an- 
ilergrift.  Air.  Townsend  was  transferred  to  them,  and  was  one  of  the  first  resi- 
dents of  that  town.  He  thus  became  a  resident  of  a  city  which  had  been  erect- 
ed on  the  site  of  the  farm  on  which  he  had  been  born  and  reared.  In  1899  he 
was  advanced  to  his  present  position  of  sheet-roller,  and  his  services  are  highly 
valued  by  the  company  in  which  he  is  employed.  Mr.  Townsend  is  a  man  of 
great  determination  and  force  of  character,  and  these  qualities  have  enabled 
him  to  make  such  rapid  strides  in  his  calling.  He  is  well  liked  by  his  fellow 
■employes  and  has  many  friends  in  the  town  of  \'andergrift.  He  is  independ- 
ent in  his  political  opinions,  casting  his  vote  for  the  candidate  whom  he 
thinks  most  suitable  for  the  office  to  be  filled.  He  has  served  on  the  com- 
mittee on  streets  for  one  term,  and  on  February  20,  1906,  was  elected  burgess 
■of  \'andergrift.  to  serve  a  term  of  three  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  First 
Lutheran  church,  and  also  of  \'andergrift  Lodge,  Xo.  1116,  Independent  Order 
of  C)dd  Fellows,  antl  \'andergrift  Council,  No.  1781,  Royal  Arcanum.  He 
was  also  a  member  of  the  first  town  council  of  the  borough  of  \'anclergrift. 
He  married,  March  8,  1886,  Ada  J.  Burkett.  daughter  of  George  W.  and  Mary 
( Schall)  Burkett.  of  Leechburg.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Barton  H.  Townsend  were 
born  the  following  named  children :  Rex  E.,  deceased :  Grant  B.,  deceased : 
\'cryl  M. :  Mary  E. 

FRAXK  R.  ALTER.  The  family  of  which  Frank  R.  Alter,  of 
Parnassus,  is  a  representative,  had  its  origin  in  Holland.  Jacob  Alter  sailed 
from  Rotterdam  in  the  ship  "Beulah"  and  was  qualified  as  a  citizen  in  Phila- 
delphia, September  10,  1753.  During  the  war  of  the  Revolution  he  served  in 
the  Second  Battalion,  Pennsylvania  Line,  United  States  Infantry.  He  mar- 
ried, between  1760  and  1767.  Margaret,  daughter  of  Henry  and  \'eronica 
(Graafe)  Landis,  and  their  children  were:  \'eronica.  born  October  9.  1769, 
wife  of  Lawrence  La  Fever;  John,  born  September  13,  1771,  married  Helenor 
Sheets;  Jacob,  born  January  i,  1773,  married  Elizabeth  Foutz  ;  David,  men- 
tioned hereinafter;  Esther,  born  February  28,  1777,  wife  of  Michael  Baer ; 
Samuel,  born  March  17,  1779,  died  young;  Susanna,  born  October  30,  1780, 
wife  of  Joseph  Ritner;  Henry,  born  October  25,  1784,  married  Maria  E.  Rein- 
hard;  Abraham,  born  March  13,  1787,  died  unmarried;  and  Margaret,  born 
March  23.  1700,  wife  of  McCullougli. 

David  Alter,  son  of  Jacob  and  Margaret  (Landis)  .\lter,  was  horn  Feb- 
ruary 7,  1775.  He  purchased  the  Miller  estate  on  which  he  erected  the  mills 
long  known  as  the  .\lter  mills,  which  for  half  a  century  ground  large  quantities 
oi'  grain  for  the  inhabitants  of  an  extensive  area  of  the  then  thinly  populated 
region.  David  Alter  served  in  the  War  of  181 2  with  the  rank  of  captain.  His 
lirother-in-law,  Joseph  Ritner,  inentioned  above,  was  at  one  time  governor  of 
Pennsylvania.  Captain  .■\lter  married  Elizalielli  Mcll,  of  German  extraction, 
and  they  were  the  parents  of  a  large  family,  among  their  sons  being  Samuel, 
mentioned  hereinafter;  Jeremiah,  and  Joseph,  fatlier  of  Dr.  David  .Alter. 

.Samuel  .\lter,  son  of  David  and  Elizabeth  (.Mell)  Alter,  was  born  in 
1804,  near  Logan's  Ferry,  Allegheny  county,  and  was  a  black.smith  by  trade. 
As  a  young  man  he  went  to  Allegheny  township,.  Westmoreland  county,  where 
lie  purchased  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  and  thereafter  devoted  him- 
:?c!f  to  farming.     He  served  on  the  school  board,  was  a  Republican  in  politics 


490  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

and  a  steward  and  trustee  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Alter 
married  Ann  Stotler,  and  their  children  were:  David.  Jeremiah,  Jacoli.  men- 
tioned hereinafter ;  Samuel,  Harvey,  Emmanuel,  Emma,  wife  of  David  Stotler ;, 
and  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Samuel  Coulter.  The  death  of  Mr.  Alter,  the  father, 
occurred  in  1882,  when  he  had  reached  the  age  of  seventy-eight. 

Jacob  Alter,  son  of  Samuel  and  Ann  (Stotler)  Alter,  was  born  October 
3,  1842.  and  was  educated  in  the  common  schools.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in 
Company  I,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-third  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volun- 
teers, serving  nine  months.  He  returned  home,  but  after  a  brief  visit,  re- 
enlisted  for  three  years  in  Thompson  Independent  Battery,  or  Company  C, 
Light  Artillery,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  participated  in  the 
battles  of  Antietam,  Fredericksburg  and  Chancellorsville,  and  received  his  dis- 
charge in  Pittsburg,  June  30,  1865.  During  the  two  or  three  years  following- 
he  was  employed  as  watchman  on  the  steamers  "Kenton"  and  "Leonidas," 
plying  on  the  Mississippi  river,  and  in  1869  became  brakeman  for  the  Alle- 
gheny \'alley  Railroad  Company.  While  holding  this  position  he  suiTered  the 
loss  of  a  limb,  and  one  year  later  was  made  night  watchman  at  the  general 
offices  of  the  company  in  Pittsburg.  After  serving  in  this  capacity  twelve 
years  he  solicited  and  obtained  the  position  of  freight  and  ticket  agent  and 
telegraph  operator  at  Chartier's  Station,  a  position  which  he  held  for  many 
years,  but  has  recently  resigned,  having  retired  from  active  labor.  He  be- 
longs to  the  Order  of  Railroad  Telegraphers  and  the  Railroad  Station  Agents 
Association,  is  a  Republican  and  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
Mr.  Alter  married,  Jime  15,  1868,  Jane  H.,  daughter  of  Williams  Morrison,  of 
Alleghenv  township,  and  their  children  are :  Frank  R.,  mentioned  hereinafter ; 
Fred  S.,  Stella  M.,  Nancy  L.,  David,  and  John. 

Frank  R.  Alter,  son  of  Jacob  and  Jane  H.  (Morrison)  Alter,  was  born 
April  3,  1871,  in  Pittsburg,  where  he  received  his  education  in  the  common 
schools.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  entered  the  service  of  the  Allegheny 
Valley  Railroad  Company  as  telegraph  operator,  and  four  years  later  was  ap- 
pointed station  agent  at  New  Kensington,  a  position  which'  he  still  retains. 
For  six  years  he  represented  the  borough  of  Parnassus  in  the  council.  He 
affiliated  with  Verona  Lodge,  No.  548,  F.  and  A.  M.,  of  Verona,  in  which  he 
passed  all  chairs,  and  his  political  allegiance  is  given  to  the  Republican  party. 
Mr.  Alter  married  Minnie,  daughter  of  Wesley  and  Susan  Martin  ;  three  chil- 
dren :  George  H.,  Helen  S.,  and  John  R. 

FRANK  D.  SHEARER.  Germany  was  the  original  home  of  the 
ancestors  of  Frank  D.  Shearer,  of  Braeburn,  the  emigrant  progenitor  being  the 
father  of  Lewis  Shearer,  who  was  born  near  Gettysburg,  and  was  the  father 
of  John  :  Jacob :  Peter,  see  forward  :  Mary,  wife  of  William  Ashbaugh ;  and 
Sarah,  wife  of  Peter  Frantz. 

Peter  Shearer,  son  of  Lewis  Shearer,  was  born  September  19,  1801.  and 
passed  his  entire  life  as  a  farmer  in  Westmoreland  county.  He  married  Eliza- 
beth Snell,  and  their  children  were:  Sarah,  wife  of  Benjamin  Younkins :  Jane, 
wife  of  Nathan  Arb ;  Arminta ;  Abigail,  wife  of  Charles  Abbott:  Israel,  see 
forward  :  John  ;  Hiram  ;  and  Eli. 

Israel  Shearer,  son  of  Peter  and  Elizabeth  (Snell)  Shearer,  was  born  in 
Westmoreland  county,  and  learned  the  ship  carpenter's  trade,  which  he  follow- 
ed for  a  number  of  years,  also  engaging  in  farming.  For  twenty  years  he  was 
an  elder  of  the  Natrona  Presbyterian  church,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was 
serving  in  a  similar  capacity  in  the  Parnassus  church.  He  inarried  Alvira, 
daughter  of  Jackson  and  Elenore  Sloan,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  eleven 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  491 

children,  two  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  The  others  were :  Wilham  :  Klla, 
wife  of  A.  I.  Douglas:  Edwin,  in  business  at  Parnassus;  Preslie,  died  at  the 
age  of  twenty-seven;  Frank  D.,  see  forward;  Harry  L.,  engineer  at  Carnegie ; 
Lewis,  of  Pittsburg,  also  an  engineer;  Annie;  and  Jesse,  of  New  Kensington. 
The  death  of  the  father  of  the  family  occurred  May  24,  1905. 

Frank  D.  Shearer,  son  of  Israel  and  .\lvira  (Sloan)  Shearer,  was  born 
July  10.  1865.  in  P.eaver  county,  and  received  his  education  in  the  schools  of 
Parnassus.  In  early  life  he  entered  the  service  of  the  Allegheny  \'alley  rail- 
road company,  beginning  as  a  fireman,  and  in  1889  was  promoted  to  the  posi- 
tion of  engineer  which  he  still  retains.  In  February,  1905,  he  was  elected 
school  director.  He  belongs  to  the  Bortherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers  and 
Bainbridge  Council,  No.  128,  Junior  Order  of  IJnited  American  Mechanics. 
In  politic-s  he  is  a  Republican.  He  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Natrona 
Presbyterian  church.  He  married  Louise,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Maria 
(Cramer)  Ellerman,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  a  son  and  a  daughter:  Rich- 
ard L.,  bom  June  4,  1893:  and  Helen  'SI.,  born  January  8,  1895. 

THOMAS  LAIRD,  general  superintendent  of  Hecla  Coke  Works, 
Nos.  I,  2  and  3,  si  a  native  of  Glasgow,  Scotland,  born  September  14,  1845, 
the  son  of  Francis  and  Mary  (Buchanan)  Laird.  He  is  the  grandson  of 
Thomas  Laird,  a  native  of  the  west  of  Scotland,  wlio  was  born  in  1792,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church.     He  married  and  had  a  son,  Francis. 

Francis  Laird,  son  of  Thomas  and  father  of  the  present  Thomas  Laird, 
was  born  July  12,  1824.  in  Glasgow,  Scotland.  He  emigrated  to  America  in 
1848,  settling  in  Schuylkill  county,  Pennsylvania.  In  his  native  country  he 
followed  the  occupation  of  a  printer,  and  it  was  his  intention  on  coming  to- 
America  to  follow  that  occupation,  but  became  interested  in  mining.  From 
Schuylkill  county  he  removed  to  Maryland,  thence  to  Kanawha  county.  West 
\'irginia,  and  while  there  held  the  position  of  mine  boss  for  the  Winifred  Min- 
ing &  Manufacturing  Company.  In  1861  he  returned  to  Pennsylvania,  lo- 
cating in  Mercer  county,  thence  to  Trumbull  county,  Ohio,  and  subsequently 
settled  in  Hecla,  Wesmoreland  county.  He  married,  in  Scotland,  ]\Iary  Buch- 
anan, a  daughter  of  William  Buchanan,  a  native  of  Dumbarton,  Scotland, 
where  he  died  when  his  daughter  Mary  was  a  small  child.  By  this  union,  ten 
children  were  born,  five  sons  and  five  daughters.  The  two  eldest,  Thomas,  of 
whom  later,  and  Elizabeth,  were  born  in  Scotland.  Mrs.  Laird's  death  oc- 
curred in  Trumbull,  r)hio.  She  was  killed  by  being  tramped  upon  by  a  horse. 
The  death  of  Francis  Laird  occurred  July  17,  1898. 

Thomas  Laird  acquired  his  literary  education  in  the  common  and  high 
school  of  Sharon,  Mercer  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  entered  into  employment 
as  a  miner  upon  leaving  school,  continuing  in  this  occupation  until  1875,  when 
he,  associated  with  three  others,  engaged  in  the  mining  business  in  fiercer 
county,  under  the  firm  name  of  Baker,  Snedden  &  Comi)any.  He  continued 
in  this  business  until  1882.  when  he  removed  to  .-Xmistrong  county,  where  he 
was  engaged  in  the  coal  business  with  Robert  Snedden  for  one  year,  and  then 
came  to  Allegheny  county,  and  was  for  a  time  employed  as  clerk  in  the  Pitts- 
burg Glass  \Vorks.  In  1884  he  removed  to  Westmoreland  county,  locating  in 
Hecla.  Mount  Pleasant  township.  Here  he  assumed  charge  of  the  Hecla 
Mine  &  Coke  Works,  No.  i,  which  had  been  in  operation  for  two  years.  At 
that  time  he  had  under  his  supervision  300  employees  and  272  ovens.  He  gave 
his  entire  attention  to  this  plant  until  the  opening  of  Hecla  No.  2.  in  1889, 
when  he  was  given  charge  of  this  also,  which  has  500  ovens.  In  1902,  No.  3 
Hecla  was  established,  this  also  being  added  to  Mr.  Laird's  supcrititendencc. 


492  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

and  this  having  300  ovens.  He  has  in  charge  over  a  thousand  men.  This  re- 
sponsible position  calls  for  a  man  of  good  executive  ability  and  keen  judg- 
ment, and  how  well  Mr.  Laird  has  filled  the  requirements  is  attested  1)\-  his 
long  continuance  in  charge  of  same.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  a 
wide-awake,  enterprising  citizen.  He  is  interested  in  educational  affairs,  hav- 
ing served  three  years  as  member  of  the  school  board,  and  is  now  in  his  sec- 
■ond  term  as  secretary  of  same.  He  has  also  served  as  school  director,  coun- 
cilman, and  burgess  of  Wheatland,  Mercer  county,  Pennsylvania.  In  reli- 
gious faith  Mr.  Laird  is  a  supporter  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  at 
Hecla,  of  which  he  is  one  of  the  trustees.  Mr.  Laird  assisted  in  the  erection 
of  this  church,  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  John  Wakefield.  Fraternally  he  is 
a  member  of  the  L  O.  O.  F.,  Moss  Rose  Lodge,  No.  551,  and  was  charter 
member  of  Lodge  No.  814,  L  O.  O.  F.,  P.  G.,  of  New  Virginia,  Mercer 
county,  which  lodge  he  represented  to  the  Grand  Lodge.  While  a  resident  of 
Mercer  county  he  was  also  a  member  of  the  Good  Templars  Sherman  Lodge. 
He  is  now  a  member  of  the  Pike  Run  Country  Club.  October  23,  1867,  he 
married  Margaret  Snedden,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  the  daughter  of  Thomas 
Snedden.  The  children  born  to  them  are  :  I.  Harry  S.,  a  supervisor  of  the  N.  C. 
railroad,  with  headquarters  at  Millsbury,  Pennsylvania;  he  married  Miss 
Bessie  Webber,  (deceased)  and  they  had  one  child,  Thomas  W.  2.  Frank  B., 
a  bookkeeper  in  the  Alice  Mines,  this  county ;  he  married  Miss  Margaret  Kil- 
:gore,  the  daughter  of  John  P.  Kilgore,  and  they  have  three  children — John, 
Harriet  and  Francis.  3.  Mary,  the  wife  of  X.  .A.  Cort,  an  attorney-at-law  of 
Mount  Pleasant  and  Greensburg.  4.  Gene,  the  wife  of  Dr.  C.  D.  Kimball,  of 
New  York  City,  whose  present  residence  is  Denver,  Colorado.  5.  Margaret 
A.,  the  wife  of  Harry  Hurst,  of  Haysville,  Alleghen}-  county,  Pennsylvania. 

CHARLES  M.  FLEMAL  The  father  of  Charles  M.  Flemm,  of 
Braeburn,  was  John  H.  Flemm,  who  passed  his  entire  life  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Freeport,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  worked  as  a  carpenter  and  engaged  in 
Tjarge-building.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church.  He  married  Mar- 
garet Nangle  and  their  children  were :  William,  a  florist  of  Pittsburg ;  Harry 
H.,  a  carpenter  and  builder  of  Freeport:  Charles  ]\L,  see  forward:  Frederick 
C,  a  machinist  of  liraeburn:  Roy,  drowned  in  Freeport  at  the  age  of  nine 
years :  and  Adam  D.,  a  painter  of  Freeport.  The  death  of  Mr.  Flemm  oc- 
curred in   1898. 

Charles  M.  Flemm,  son  of  John  H.  and  Margaret  (Nangle)  Flemm,  was 
born  March  30,  1872,  in  Elizabeth,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  educated  in 
the  common  schools,  and  until  he  was  twenty  years  of  age  worked  as  a  car- 
penter. In  1892  he  moved  to  Braeburn  and  purchased  a  ferry,  where  he  has 
been  continuously  engaged  ever  since,  with  the  exception  of  one  year  spent  in 
the  mercantile  business.  For  one  year  he  held  the  ofifice  of  precinct  register 
and  in  February,  1904,  was  elected  school  director  for  a  term  of  three  years. 
Politically  he  is  a  Republican.  He  married  Isabel,  daughter  of  William  and 
Lucy  Hamilton,  and  they  have  one  child :  John  H.,  born  August  6,  1892,  now  at 
school. 

JOHN  C.   BEALE.     The  family  of  which  John  C.  Beale,  of  Brae- 
burn, is  a  member,  has  for  several  generations  been  resident  in  Pennsvlvanip 
The  founder  was  born  in  England  and  emigrated  with  W-ilttaiT^eTiil,°  settling 
for  a  time  in  Bucks  county,  and  later  moving  to  Mifflin  county,  where  for 
many  years  he  was  judge  of  the  county  courts. 

John  Beale,  son  of  the  founder,  was  born  in  the  eastern  ]iart  of  Pennsvl- 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY 


493; 


vania.  and  was  the  first  of  the  family  to  come  to  W'esiiiiorelaiul  countx.  He 
married  Maragret  Evans,  of  X'irg-iiiia.  and  their  children  were  :   Phoebe,  wife 

of  James  Close:  Jane,  wife  of  Jacob  Phillips;  .Margaret,  wife  of  

^^'ilson  ;  Mary,  died  unmarried:  Thomas,  married  Mary  P.eneanger:  William, 

married Madison,   see    forward :   Washington,   married    Levina 

Smith. 

Madison  Beale.  son  of  John  and  Margaret  (Evans)  ISeale.  was  born  Octo- 
ber 24,  1810,  in  Durrell  township,  where  he  passed  his  entire  life  as  a  farmer. 
He  filled  several  township  offices,  was  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  a  member  of 
the  United  Presbyterian  church. 

Mr.  Beale  married,  in  1833.  Mary  Jane  McCiinncs,  and  their  children 
were:  Jeremiah,  carpenter  in  Allegheny  county:  Sarah  J.,  wife  of  Jonathan 
Artman  :  Teresa:  John  C,  see  forward:  and  one  who  died  in  childhdod.  Mr. 
Beale.  the  fatlier,  died  July  11,  1894. 

John  C.  Beale,  son  of  Madison  and  Mary  Jane  (McClinnes)  ISenle,  was 
born  February  7.  1849.  in  Burrell  township,  where  he  was  educated  in  the  ct)m- 
mon  schools,  and  in  early  life  learned  the  business  of  a  butcher,  to  which  he 
has  given  his  exclusive  attention  down  to  the  jiresent  time.  For  five  vears  he 
held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace,  and  during  the  entire  period  of  his  in- 
cumbency never  had  a  decision  reversed  by  the  higher  courts.  In  the  sphere 
of  politics  he  has  always  affiliated  with  the  Democratic  party.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  United  Presbyterian  church.  He  married  Matilda  Jane,  daughter  of 
Nicholas  and  Dorren  Aker,  and  their  children  are :  Frances,  wife  of  Harry 
Artman.  of  Leechburg:  Louila  Myrtle,  wife  of  Samuel  Hepler,  of  Bracburn  : 
Agnes  Xora,  wife  of  George  Hepler :  Charles  Craton,  with  his  father  in  busi- 
ness :  Elizabeth  Ellen  :  and  Roxinie,  both  of  whom  are  at  home. 

.\MBROSE  \\  ILLETS,  of  New  Kensington,  is  the  son  of  Thomas. 
Willets,  who  was  born  in  England,  and  was  a  miner  by  occupation ;  in  the 
course  of  his  experience  he  was  caught  in  no  fewer  than  twenty-two  gas  ex- 
plosions. In  1865  he  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  landing  on  the  day 
when  President  Lincoln  issued  his  last  call  for  troops.  He  settled  at  Bradv's 
Bend,  Armstrong  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  worked  in  the  iron  ore  mines 
until  about  1878.  He  then  moved  to  Hillville,  Westmoreland  county,  and 
there  engaged  in  coal  mining  until  about  four  years  previous  to  his  death, 
when  he  retired  form  active  labor.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church.  He  married  Sarah  Ann  Pei;ry.  born  in  1822.  in  England,  and 
their  children  were:  John:  Thomas,  died  in  infancy:  Mary  Ann.  wife  of 
Charles  Tustin  :  Eliza,  wife  of  Enoch  Thomas:  .\nibro,se,  mentioned  at  length 
hereinafter:  Tripener.  wife  of  Thomas  Hodge:  Catharine,  died  in  childhood; 
\\'illiani,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-two;  and  Enoch,  died  in  infancy.  The 
death  of  the  mother  of  this  family,  in  1884,  was  quickly  followed  bv' that  of 
the  father,  which  occurred  the  following  year. 

.•\mbrose  Willets,  son  of  Thomas  and  Sarah  ;\nn  (Perry)  Willets,  was 
born  June  5.  1857,  in  England,  and  was  in  his  eighth  year  when  the  family 
came  to  the  Um'tcd  States.  He  received  his  education  in  the  night  schfwls  of 
Leechburg.  Pennsylvania.  In  his  youth  he  worked  in  the  coal  mines,  and 
later  in  the  rolling  mills  at  Leechburg,  and  was  employed  as  a  roller  not  only  in 
that  ijlace,  but  also  at  Cumberland  and  Xew  Kensington  for  nianv  vears.  '  In 
1895.  i"  company  with  several  other  rollers  and  heaters,  he  organized  the 
Hyde»  Park  Iron  &  Steel  Company,  at  Hyde  Park,  Westmoreland  county. 
The  company  was  in  successful  operation  until  1897.  when  it  was  sold  to  tlic 
American   Steel   Sheet   Company.     He   then   moved   to    Xew    Kensintrton  and 


494  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

took  the  position  of  roller  with  the  American  Tin  Plate  Company,  serving  in 
that  capacity  until  January  21,  1905, when  he  was  appointed  street  commissioner 
and  health  officer.  He  belongs  to  the  American  Insurance  Union  and  the 
Amalgamated  Association  of  Iron  &  Steel  Workers.  He  aifiliates  with  Lodge 
No.  651,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Leechburg,  and  the  Tribe  of  Ben  Hur,  New  Kensing- 
ton Court,  No.  II.  In  politics  he  is  a  staunch  Republican.  He  is  a  member  of 
St.  Paul's  Lutheran  church,  of  New  Kensington,  which  he  helped  to  organize 
in  1901,  and  in  which  he  serves  as  chorister,  also  belonging  to  the  church  coun- 
'Cil.  He  married  Emma,  daughter  of  Israel  and  Catharine  Artman,  of  West- 
moreland county,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  four  children  :  Charles  E.,  drug- 
jgist  of  Mars,  Butler  county,  Pennsylvania :  Mary  Effie,  graduate  of  Sayres' 
Business  College ;  E.  Homer,  drug  clerk  at  Charleroi,  Pennsylvania ;  and 
Katie  Irene,  at  home.     The  mother  of  these  children  died  January  20,  1906. 

SAMUEL  D.  J(  IHNSTON.  The  family  of  which  Samuel  D.  John- 
ston, of  Avonmore,  is  a  member,  is  one  of  the  pioneer  families  of  the  county. 
Mr.  Johnston's  paternal  great-grandparents  lived  near  Hannastown  before  the 
Revoluntionary  war,  and  were  the  victims  of  many  assaults  by  hostile  Indians. 

John  Johnston,  one  of  the  sons  of  the  pioneers,  was  born  in  1796,  and  was 
thrice  married,  having  no  issue  by  the  first  marriage.  By  the  second  marriage 
there  were  five  children :  Charles,  Joseph,  Eliza,  wife  of  John  Martin ;  J.  K. 
and  William  F.,  see  forward.     The  third  marriage  was  without  children. 

William  F.  Johnston,  son  of  John  Johnston,  married  Jemima  Dillar,  and 
their  family  consisted  of  the  following  children :  Samuel  D.,  see  forward ; 
Elida  M.,  deceased ;  John  R. ;  Lillie,  deceased ;  Inez,  also  deceased ;  and  Jennie, 
widow  of  Alva  McQuiston,  of  Saltsburg.  The  father  of  the  family  died  in 
1872,  and  was  survived  many  years  by  his  widow,  who  expired  in  1896. 

Samuel  D.  Johnston,  son  of  William  F.  and  Jemima  (Dillar)  Johnston, 
was  born  in  November,  1858,  in  Lovalhanna  township,  where  his  education  was 
acquired  in  the  common  schools,  which  he  attended  until  his  fourteenth  year. 
At  that  time,  in  consequence  of  the  death  of  his  father,  he  assumed  control  of 
the  business,  which  he  successfully  conducted,  under  the  supervision  and  guid- 
ance of  his  mother,  until  his  eighteenth  year.  He  then  went  to  Pittsburg  to 
learn  the  millwright's  trade,  remaining  in  that  city  six  years.  At  the  end  of 
that  time  he  went  to  Ligonier  to  put  in  and  adjust  the  machinery  of  the  Booth 
and  Flvnn  mills,  a  task  which  occupied  him  two  years.  LTpon  its  completion 
he  took  a  position  with  the  Pennsylvania  railroad  company,  which  he  held 
three  years,  and  in  1892  moved  to  Avonmore,  where  he  has  since  resided.  He 
has  been  instrumental  in  the  building  of  many  of  the  principal  structures  in  that 
borough,  the  churches  and  a  number  of  the  best  residences  being  monuments 
ofdiis  handiwork.  In  1903  he  erected  the  building  of  the  National  Cast  Steel 
■Company,  in  whose  service  he  has  continued  to  the  present  time.  He  is  a  Re- 
publican in  politics,  and  a  Presbyterian  in  religious  belief.  December  18,  1889, 
he  married  Martha,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Sarah  Jane  (Couch)  Alcorn,  of 
Bell  township,  and  of  the  three  children  born  to  them  but  one  survives :  Aileen 
Audrey  Johnston. 

JOHN  E.  ANDERSON.  The  paternal  grandfather  of  John  E. 
Anderson,  of  Avonmore.  was  the  first  of  the  family  to  come  to  Pennsylvania. 
He  settled  in  Clarion  countv  and  later  moved  to  Armstrong  county,  where  he 
feared  his  family  and  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  is  buried  in  the 
Leechburg  cemetery. 

His  son,  Samuel  B.  Anderson,  married  Sarah  M.  Hoover,  and  their  family 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  495 

consisted  of  the  following  children :  Martha  Jane,  wife  of  W.  F.  Phillips,  of 
Leechbiirg;  Thomas  J.,  of  Tarentuni ;  Albert  Elder,  deceased;  Maria  Cath- 
arine, wife  of  \\'illiam  Xohl,  of  Canton,  Ohio;  W.  Al.,  of  Leechburg;  John  E., 
of  whom  later;  Samuel  M.,  of  Canton,  Ohio;  and  Laura  JMay,  wife  of  William 
Jack,  of  Canton.  Mrs.  Anderson,  the  mother,  died  in  1902,  after  a  widowhood 
of  fourteen  years,  her  husband  having  passed  away  in  1888. 

John  E.  Anderson,  son  of  Samuel  B.  and  Sarah  M.  (Hoover)  Anderson, 
was  born  December  6,  1859,  at  Donley  Station,  .Vrmstrong  county,  and  in  1871 
accompanied  his  parents  to  Leechburg.  He  attended  the  public  schools  and 
afterward  worked  with  his  father  at  teaming  until  1888.  At  that  time  he  took 
a  position  with  the  Leechburg  Foundry  &  Machine  Company,  and  in  1891,  on 
the  building  of  the  W  est  Pennsylvania  foundry  at  Avonmore,  he  moved  to 
that  place  in  order  to  become  engineer  for  the  West  Pennsylvania  Foundry  & 
Machine  Company.  This  position  he  has  since  continuously  filled.  He  be- 
longs to  Lodge  Xo.  405.  Maccabees,  of  Avonmore,  and  Lodge  No.  651,  L  O. 
O.  P.,  of  Leechburg.  He  is  also  identified  with  Council  Xo.  1045,  Roval 
Arcanum,  of  Leechburg,  in  which  order  he  has  held  several  offices.  In  politics 
lie  stands  for  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Hebron  Lutheran  church.  He  married,  March  26,  1890,  Amanda,  daughter  of 
John  and  Emily  (Williams)  Ray,  of  Saltsburg.  and  they  are  the  parents  of 
four  children :  Sarah  Emily,  John  Ray,  Albert  Elder,  and  Samuel  Alilo. 

WILLLAM  C.  WEICHSEL.  The  father  of  William  C.  Weichsel, 
of  Avonmore,  was  Philip  Weichsel,  a  native  of  Germany,  wdience.  in  1850,  he 
emigrated  to  the  United  States,  settling  in  Wheeling,  \Vest  Virginia.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  Civil  war  he  offered  his  services  to  his  adopted  countrv,  and 
upon  the  expiration  of  his  enlistment,  which  was  in  the  infantry,  re-enlisted, 
this  time  in  the  cavalry,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war. 

]\lr.  Weichsel  married,  in  1853.  in  Wheeling,  West  \'irginiaa,  Barbara 
Rapp,  who  came  from  Germany  in  1852,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  seven 
children :  Henry.  Lizzie,  Edward,  William  C,  see  forward ;  George,  and  two 
who  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Weichsel  died  April  17,  1893,  and  is  survived  by 
his  widow,  who  resides  in  Wheeling. 

William  C.  Weichsel,  son  of  Philip  and  Barbara  (Rapp)  Weichsel,  was 
born  June  12,  1862,  in  Wheeling,  West  A^irginia,  and  received  his  education 
in  his  native  city.  At  an  early  age  he  obtained  employment  in  a  glass  factory 
where  he  remained  until  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  then  worked  in  a  sheet- 
mill  in  \\'heeling  until  1886;  was  afterwards  engaged  at  the  Laughlin  mills  for 
about  eight  months ;  then  entered  the  sheet  mill  of  Wallace  Banficld,  which 
was  subsequendy  made  a  tin  mill,  of  Irondale,  Ohio,  the  first  of  its  kind  in  the 
I'nited  States.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  ]\lr.  W^eichsel  has  been  connected 
with  the  tin  mill  industry  since  its  inception  in  tliis  country,  after  the  passage 
of  the  McKinley  bill.  After  four  years'  experience  in  the  mill  at  Irondale 
he  took  the  position  of  manager  in  the  Oliver  Fifteenth  street  tin  mill,  in 
Pittsburg,  where  he  passed  another  four  years,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  be- 
came manager  of  the  tin  mill  at  .Avonmore.  This  mill  was  built  in  1899.  The 
main  building  is  one  hundred  by  two  hundred  feet,  and  the  tinning  department 
sixty  by  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet.  The  capacity  is  about  fifteen  thousand 
boxes  monthly.  This  plant  gives  employment  to  two  hundred  people,  the  pay- 
roll being  from  ten  thousand  to  twelve  thousand  dollars  monthlv.  The  presi- 
dent is  W.  H.  Hilliard,  of  Pittsburg;  the  vice-president,  M.  M.'  Garland,  and 
the  secretary  and  treasurer  Oliver  Wylie.  of  the  same  city.  Fraternallv  Mr. 
Weichsel  is  connected  with  Franklin  Lodge,  Xo.  122,  V.  and  .\.  :\r.,  Pittsburg, 


496  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

Lodge  No.  405,  Alaccabet's,  Avonniore.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics  ami 
adheres  to  the  faith  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  married,  in  i8yi,  Alice 
daughter  of  Hugh  McBane.  of  Irondale,  Ohio,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  a 
son  and  a  daughter,  Otto  and  Rhea. 

JOHN  JACOB  BLANK,  a  prosperous  and  progressive  agriculturist, 
and  a  descendant  of  an  old  and  honored  German  lineage,  was  born  on  the 
paternal  estate,  in  Hempfield  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
March  2,   1842. 

George  A.  lilank.  grandfather  of  John  J.  Blank,  was  born  about  thirty 
miles  north  of  Philadelphia,  in  Montgomery  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1792. 
At  the  instance  of  his  uncle,  Jacob  Berger,  whose  wife  was  Margaret  Blank, 
sister  of  the  father  of  George  A.,  he  came  to  Westmoreland  county  and  re- 
sided with  them  for  several  years,  they  having  no  children  of  their  own. 
Jacob  Berger  was  a  very  wealthy  farmer  for  his  day,  and  was  prominently 
identified  with  the  affairs  of  the.  community.  By  dint  of  hard  work  and 
prudent  management  George  A.  Blank  ac(|uired  sufficient  capital  to  purchase 
a  farm  in  Hempfield  township,  to  which  he  added  from  time  to  time,  and  at 
his  death  in  1865  was  the  owner  of  about  six  hundred  acres  of  land.  He  was 
a  shoemaker  by  trade,  having  served  his  apprenticeship  at  Germantown,  Penn- 
sylvania. He  was  active  and  influential  in  local  affairs,  was  an  elder  in  the 
Lutheran  church,  and  a  firm  adherent  of  Democratic  principles.  He  married 
Catharine  Shelley,  wlio  was  a  native  of  Montgomery  county,  Pennsylvania, 
and  eleven  children  were  born  to  them.  Mrs.  Blank  survived  her  husband, 
passing  away  in  1873. 

Jonas  IMank,  father  dI  Jnhn  J.  Blank,  was  born  in  Montgomery  county. 
Pennsylvania.  Having  been  reared  on  a  farm  he  naturally  chose  that  occupa- 
tion for  his  life  work,  and  continued  the  same  until  his  retirement  from  active 
business,  thereby  gaining  a  comfortable  livelihood,  and  a  goodly  competence 
for  his  declining  vears.  He  held  all  the  local  offices  in  the  Lutheran  church, 
in  which  body  he  held  membership  for  many  years.  He,  like  his  father,  was  a 
Democrat  in  politics.  He  married,  in  1841,  Charlotte  Bierer.  daughter  of  John 
P)ierer.  who  bore  him  eleven  children.  Mrs.  Blank  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Lutheran  cliurch.  and  in  all  the  relations  of  life  has  iierformed  her  duties  faith- 
fully and  well. 

John  I.  Blank  was  reared  on  a  farm,  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and 
resided  with  his  parents  up  to  the  time  of  his  marriage,  with  the  exception  of 
two  years  spent  in  Venango  county.  After  his  marriage  he  settled  on  his 
present  farm,  in  Hempfield  township,  and  by  making  a  practical  study  of  the 
principles  of  good  farming,  has  been  enabled  to  realize  a  goodly  profit  from  his 
labors.  He  is  thorough-going,  methodical  and  practical,  and  his  farm  is  one 
of  the  best  cultivated  and  most  productive  in  that  section.  He  served  as 
supervisor  of  the  township  for  three  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Greensburg 
Lutheran  church,  and  a  E)emocrat  in  politics,  but  his  first  presidential  vote  was 
cast  for  Abraham  Lincoln. 

December  ig,  i86g,  Mr.  Blank  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Lavinia 
Kepple,  who  was  born  in  Hempfield  twonship,  Westmoreland  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, December  9,  1841,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Margaret  (Demer)  Kep- 
ple. Their  children  are:  Matilda,  born  October  4,  1870,  wife  of  Jacob  Kline, 
and  mother  of  four  children:  Elizabeth,  John,  Wade,  and  Luella  Mary  Kline, 
Irwin  B..  born  March  17.  1873:  Valetta  M..  born  June  27.  1875.  died  February 
17.  1901  ;  she  was  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools  from  the  .age  of  seventeen 
years  until  her  death  at  the  age  of  of  twenty-five :  Cora  L.,  July  7,  1877 ;  Jacob 


HISTORY    Of    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  497 

K.,    October   7,    1879;  George  A.,  December   g,    1S81  ;    T'lnas    P.,    Ausjust  2, 
1887. 

WILLIAM  HARRY  SUTTUX.  J(jhn  1'.  Sutton,  father  of  William 
Harry  Sutton,  of  \'andergrift,  was  born  February  4,  1845,  in  Michigan,  and 
in  early  manhood  migrated  with  his  widowed  mother  to  Johnstown,  Pennsyl- 
vania, wliere  he  found  employment  in  the  rolling  department  of  the  steel 
works.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war  he  enlisted  and  served  for  three 
years,  returning  home  on  his  twenty-first  birthday.  He  resumed  work  in  the 
mills,  but  after  a  short  time  resigned  and  v;ent  to  Indiana  county,  where  for  a 
few  years  he  was  employed  in  farm  work.  Subsequently  he  worked  for  sev- 
eral years  at  coal  mining,  and  later  labored  in  the  oil  fields.  In  1902  he  retired 
and  moved  to  \'andergrift,  where  he  resides  with  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Snyder. 
He  belongs  to  Apollo  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  affiliates  with  the  Republican  party,  and 
is  a  member  of  the  ]\Iethodist  Episcopal  church.  He  married  Anna  A  lank, 
born  June  8,  1848.  in  Somerset  county,  and  their  children  were:  William 
Harry,  see  forward;  Robert  E.,  of  Cokeville :  Sanuiel  M.,  a  roller  in  the  Van- 
dergrift  mills ;  Marj-  E.,  wife  of  Charles  Wilson,  sheet-heater  in  Vandergrift 
mills;  and  Maggie,  wife  of  Albert  Snyder,  roller  in  Vandergrift  mills.  Mrs. 
Sutton,  the  mother  of  the  ^amily,  died  in  Cokeville,  August  6,  1901. 

William  Harry  .Sutton,  son  of  John  P.  and  Anna  (Mauk)  Sutton,  was 
born  July  9,  1869,  in  Indiana  county,  and  until  his  fourteenth  year  attended  the 
common  schools.  During  his  last  winter  at  school  he  rose  early  and  from  six 
o'clock  until  eight  worked  in  the  mines.  He  then  went  home,  changed  his 
clothes,  and  at  the  ringing  of  the  school  bell  was  in  his  seat.  After  his  return 
from  school  he  was  employed  at  home  with  the  chores.  For  the  next  ten 
years  he  was  engaged  in  mining,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  months  following 
the  Johnstown  flood,  when  he  was  employed  by  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Company  in  bridge  repairs.  In  1894  he  moved  to  Apollo  and  secured  employ- 
ment in  the  mills  of  the  Apollo  Iron  &  Steel  Company.  After  working  some 
two  weeks  as  a  laborer  he  was  advanced  to  the  position  of  shearman  and  at  the 
end  of  three  months  was  made  pair-heater,  in  which  capacity  he  served  about 
two  years  and  a  half.  His  next  promotion  was  to  the  position  of  sheet-heater, 
which  he  filled  some  four  years  and  a  half,  and  in  the  spring  of  1901  was  given 
the  place  of  roller,  which  he  now  fills. 

On  coming  to  Vandergrift  he  was  elected  the  first  registrar  and  assessor, 
and  at  the  expiration  of  his  term  was  re-elected.  In  April,  1900,  he  was 
appointed  to  fill  an  unexpired  term  of  three  months  in  the  school  board,  and  at 
the  end  of  this  short  period  was  elected.  Three  years  later  he  was  re-elected, 
and  since  June,  1904,  has  been  president  of  the  board.  He  has  filled  the  office 
of  tax  collector  aufl,  while  a  resident  of  Cokeville,  was  school  director.  He 
belongs  to  Kiskiminetas  Lodge,  No.  617,  F.  and  A.  M.,  the  Royal  Arcanum, 
and  the  American  Insurance  Union.  He  is  a  Republican,  and  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in  which  he  serves  as  secretary  of  the  official 
board  and  assistant  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school.  Mr.  Sutton  mar- 
ried, December  29,  1892,  Tillie  .\gnes  Austravv,  of  Cokeville,  and  they  have 
three  children :  Ira  George,  Harriet  Ethel,  and  Olive  Grace. 

HARRY  H.  BAXTER.  The  great-grandfather  of  Harry  H.  Bax- 
ter, of  Parnassus,  was  Robert  Baxter,  who  was  born  in  1763,  in  Ireland, 
whence  he  emigrated  to  this  country,  settling  in  Alleghenv  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  there  engaging  in  farming.  About  1840,  being  then  advanced 
in  years,  he  moved  to  \\'estmoreland  county  and  took  up  his  abode  on  Puck- 

2-33 


498  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

€ty  creek,  where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  hfe  in  agricultural  pursuits 
Robert  Baxter  married  Ester  Redick,  a  daughter  of  Captain  Redick  of  the 
Scotch  army,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  three  sons:  Andrew,  'Robert, 
and  James,  mentioned  hereinafter.  Robert  Baxter,  the  father,  died' in  1867' 
•having  lived  to  the  extraordinary  age  of  one  hundred  and  four  years. 

James  Baxter,  son  of  Robert  and  Ester  (Redick)  Baxter,  was  born  in 
1794,  m  Allegheny  county,  and  spent  his  after  life  as  a  farmer  in  Westmore- 
land county.  He  was  a  member  of  the  United  Presbvterian  church.  His 
wife  was  Susan  Porter,  and  their  children  were:  Robert,  John,  mentioned 
heremafter;   Andrew,   James,    Mary   Jane   and   Ester. 

John  Baxter,  son  of  James  and  Susan  (Porter)  Baxter,  was  born  in  1822, 
in  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  lived  until  about  the  year  1886,  devoting 
hnnself,  like  his  father  and  grandfather,  to  agriculture.  He  then  removed 
to  Leechburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  retirement. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Free  Methodist  church.  Mr.  Baxter  married 
Margaret  Ann,  daughter  of  Abijah  Hays,  and  their  children  were :  Emma, 
wife  of  John  Williams,  of  Leechburg:  Miriam,  wife  of  Albert  Simons:  Harry 
H.,  mentioned  hereinafter;  Charles  W.,  farmer  on  the  homestead:  Clara  J., 
deceased,  wife  of  J.  W.  Reimer ;  John  R..  roller  in  Canonsburg,  Pennsylva- 
nia; Lcllie  A.,  wife  of  Ira  Butler,  of  Leechburg;  and  Jennie  B.,  deceased. 

Harry  H.  Baxter,  .son  of  John  and  Margaret  Ann  (Hays)  Baxter,  was 
born  in  1856,  on  a  farm  in  Westmoreland  county,  receiving  'his  education  in 
the  common  schools  of  the  neighborhood  and  in 'those  of  Parnassus,  passing 
thence  to  CJberlin  College,  Oberlin,  Ohio.  At  the  age  of  twentv-one  he  began 
farming  for  himself  and  continued  to  give  his  attention  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits until  1888,  when  he  moved  to  Leechburg,  where  for  about  seven  years 
he  was  engaged  in  mercantile  business.  He  then  settled  in  Avonmore,  where 
he  was  for  one  year  secretary  and  treasurer  of  th  West  Penn  Foundry  & 
Machine  Company,  after  which  he  spent  two  years  on  a  farm  and  then  re- 
moved to  Parnassus,  where  he  now  resides.  After  taking  up  his  abode  in 
Parnassus  he  helped  organize  the  New  Kensington  Fiber  Plaster  Company,  of 
which  he  is  general  manager.  The  company  is  building  up  a  trade  in  excess 
of  their  output  which  is  about  twenty-five  tons  daily.  Mr.  Baxter  held  for 
one  term  the  office  of  school  director,  and  in  his  'political  affiliations  is  a 
Republican.  Mr.  Baxter  married  Annie  E.,  daughter  of  Aaron  and  Mary 
A.  Reimer,  and  their  children  were :  Nellie  B.,  wife  of  William  McBane,  o'f 
Avonmore;  Aaron  R.,  student  in  the  Western  University  of  Pennsylvania; 
Albert  W.,  employed  in  general  passenger  department  of  the  Penn'svlvania 
Railroad  Company ;  Harry  S.,  died  at  the  age  of  thirteen ;  John,  at  home ;  and 
Ira,  at  home. 

HENRY  REAMER  ZIMMERMAN,  proprietor  of  a  large  farm 
near  Greensburg,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  is  a  representative 
of  the  third  generation  of  his  family  in  that  county. 

I.  Jacob  Zimmerman,  grandfather  of  Henry  Reamer  Zimmerman,  was 
a  resident  of  Berks  county,  Pennsylvania,  migrated  to  Westmoreland  county 
in  i8oo_,  where  he  purchased  a  farm,  settled  on  it,  and  passed  the  remainder 
of  his  life.     At  his  death  this  farm  fell  into  the  possession  of  his  son  George. 

II.  George  Zimmerman,  son  of  Jacob  Zimmerman,  was  born  in  1798. 
and  died  in  1858.  He  lived  on  the  farm  of  his  father,  which  he  had  inherited, 
and  which  he  cultivated  very  successfully.  He  married,  in  1825,  Elizabeth 
Reamer,  who  died  in  1890.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Jacob  Reamer,  who 
lived  on  his  own  farm,  on  the  present  site  of  Hufftown.     She  was  the  grand- 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


499 


daughter  of  Henry  Reamer,  who  owned  three  hundred  acres  of  land,  which 
is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  fourth  generation.  Henry  Reamer  was  a 
farmer  and  a  miller.  George  and  Elizabeth  (Reamer)  Zimmerman  had 
children:  Jacob,  who  served  in  the  civil  war;  Henry  Reamer,  of  whom 
later;  John,  who  also  took  an  active  part  in  the  civil  war.  He  was  first  ser- 
geant in  Company  I,  Eleventh  Regiment,  and  participated  in  a  number  of  the 
most  important  battles,  notably  the  following :  Gettysburg ;  Antietam ;  The 
\\'ilderness ;  Bull  Run.  He  was  wounded  twice,  and  in  the  battle  of  liull 
Run  he  had  the  tip  of  his  nose  shot  off.  Sophia.  George  Zimmerman, 
father  of  these  children,  died  1858.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics,  a  member 
of  the  Lutheran  church  and  a  deacon  for  many  years. 

III.  Henry  Reamer  Zimmerman,  "second  son  and  child  of  George  and 
Elizabeth  (Reamer)  Zimmerman,  was  born  in  Hempfield  township,  on  the 
farm  which  he  now  owns,  November  4,  1837.  He  received  his  education  at 
the  Stouffer  schoolhouse.  ?Ie  follows  the  occupation  of  farming,  and  for 
many  years  ran  a  thresher.  His  farm  is  a  model  of  cultivation.  He  owns  the 
old  homestead,  with  the  exception  of  sixty-nine  acres,  which  are  in  the 
possession  of  his  brother  Jacob.  He  spends,  not  alone  time  and  labor  on  his 
farm,  but  thought,  and  is  ready  to  adopt  any  new  methods  of  cultivation 
Avhich  have  been  tested  and  met  with  scientific  approval.  He  is  a  staunch 
Republican  and  was  Supervisor  three  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
church  of  Greensburg,  of  which  he  was 'deacon  for  many  years.  He  mar- 
ried, August  29,  1 86 1,  Rev.  George  W.  Mechling  performing  the  ceremony, 
Catherine  Blank,  daughter  of  Ephraim  Blank,  a  farmer  of  Hempfield  town- 
ship. Henry  Reamer  and  Catherine'  (Blank)  Zimmerman  have  had  thir- 
teen children:  i.  Marion  Louis,  born  August  8,  1862,  married  Mary  Welty, 
daughter  of  John  Steiner  and  Nancy  (Kilgore)  Welty.  2.  Melville  Aaron, 
March  7,  1864,  married  Ellen  Beistel,  and  they  have  children :  Nancv  Tane ; 
Catherine  Pearl;  Henry;  Frank;  Mary,  and  Simon.  3.  Charles 'Baker, 
October  7,  1865:  died  June  19,  1885.  4.  Elizabeth  Kate,  April  7,  1867, 
married  Simon  R.  Sommers ;  has  four  children :  Joseph,  Caressa  Grace, 
Charles,  Oliver  Ho\vard.  5.  George  Henry,  May  9,  1870.  6.  Ephriam 
Blank,  November  i,  1871 ;  married  Catherine  Brinker.  7.  John  Isaac,  May 
16,  1873;  married  Elizabeth  Pearl  Brown;  have  one  child:  John  Karl.  8. 
Lucinda  Hannah.  March  5,  1875;  married  Howard  Wagner  and  has  one 
child:  Elma  Romayne.  9.  Minerva  Anna,  August  31.  1S76:  married 
Amos  Hoffman,  and  has  children:  Lcona  Grace,  Josephine,  and  Wilmcr 
Henry.  10.  Ada  Novella,  June  4,  1879;  married  Charles  Thomas  Stouffer. 
II.  Elsie  Mabel.  February  14,  1881 ;  married  Ira  Wingert.  12.  Jane  Kil- 
gore, October  10,  1883.  She  i^  unmarried  and  lives  at  home.  13.  "  Edward 
Joseph,  November   10,   1884. 

DANIEL  R.  BLO\\'ER.  The  ancestors  of  Daniel  R.  Blower,  of 
North  Belle  Vernon,  were  English.  His  grandfather  was  a  miner,  and  his 
father,  Joseph  Blower,  was  put  to  work  in  the  mines  as  early  as  his  eighth 
year.  As  he  reached  manhood  he  became  a  mine  contractor  in  the  building 
of  .shafts,  in  mine  timbering  and  in  general  mining  work.  He  acquired  the 
skill  of  an  expert  in  the  business  as  well  as  a  thorough  knowledge  of  mining 
in  all  its  departments.  In  1882  he  emigrated  to  the  Ignited  States  in  company 
with  his  son  Emanuel,  his  son  Joseph  having  preceded  him  some  years  before. 
The  remainder  of  the  family  followed  him  a  year  later.  He  settled  at  Old 
Eagle  Cnow  Elklone).  Pennsylvania,  and  after  remaining  there  a  short  time 
moved  acnus  th..  river  to  Buffalo  Patch.     One  year  later  he  went  to  River- 


50O  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

view,  where  for  five  or  six  years  he  was  connected  with  mining.  His  next 
migration  was  to  Bunola,  where  he  lived  four  years,  going  thence  to  Lucy- 
ville.  He  was  there  associated  with  mining  for  some  eight  years,  and  during 
his  stay  there  broke  up  housekeeping,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  his  wife  had 
died,  the  children,  with  the  exception  of  three,  being  married  and  having 
homes  of  their  own.  Later  he  went  to  Webster,  and  then  returned  to  Lucy- 
ville,  moving  thence  to  Brownsville  and  afterward  to  Brycedale,  where  he 
is  now  employed  in  mine  timbering  in  mine  No.  2  of  the  Pittsburg  Coal  Com- 
pany. He  married  Ann  Wallet,  and  of  their  twelve  children  the  following 
survive :  Hannah,  who  is  the  wife  of  William  Blower,  of  Belle  Veronon, 
foreman  of  mine  No.  4  of  the  Pittsburg  Coal  Campany ;  Joseph,  who  is  a 
mine  operator  at  Trimble,  Ohio ;  Emma,  who  is  married  to  Frank  Ellis,  of 
Traverse  City,  Michigan;  Emanuel,  who  lives  at  Lucy  ville ;  Elizabeth,  who  is 
ried  to  Elias  L.  Morris,  of  Naomi,  Pennsylvania ;  Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Charles  Elliott,  of  Twilight,  Pennsylvania ;  Enoch,  who  is  mine  foreman  at 
Trimble,  Ohio ;  and  Daniel  R.,  of  whom  later. 

Daniel  R.  Blower,  son  of  Joseph  and  Ann  (Wallet)  Blower,  was  born 
February  19,  1876,  in  Derbyshire,  England,  and  received  his  education  in  the 
common  schools  of  his  birthplace  and  in  the  night  schools  of  Bunola  and 
Riverview.  His  educational  advantages  were  not  as  great  as  had  been  those 
of  the  elder  children,  but  he  was  ambitious  and  availed  himself  to  the  full 
of  every  opportunity.  In  his  twelfth  year  he  began  to  work  in  the  mines  as 
trapper  boy  and  furnace-tender,  afterward  working  in  the  pit  at  cave  dig- 
ging. In  his  eighteenth  year  he  began  to  operate  a  mining  machine  and  con- 
tinued to  do  so  for  two  years,  after  which  he  was  employed  for  one  year  in 
timbering  and  track  laying  on  the  roads.  He  was  then  placed  in  the  position 
of  "hooking  on  slopes,"  and  afterward  in  that  of  "spragging  on  trips,"  work- 
ing four  months  at  each  branch  of  the  business.  His  next  employment  was 
running  a  dynamo  engine  for  one  year,  and  for  eighteen  months  thereafter 
he  was  machine  boss  of  mines.  He  was  then  made  "bratticeing  slope,"  in 
which  capacit)^  he  served  about  three  months,  at  the  end  of  that  time  becom- 
ing fire  boss  of  the  Equitable  mines,  in  Webster.  He. remained  there  some 
five  months,  and  on  April  i,  1902,  was  offered  and  accepted  his  present  posi- 
tion of  foreman  of  Somers  mine  No.  2  of  the  Pittsburg  Coal  Company,  at 
B'rycedale.  He  has  served  one  year  as  a  member  of  the  town  council  in 
North  Belle  \''ernon,  where  he  resides.  He  belongs  to  Charleroi  Lodge.  No. 
615,  F.  and  A.  M.,  Monongahela  Chapter,  No.  249,  R.  A.  M  and  McKean 
Commandery,  No.  80,  Knights  Templar,  of  Charleroi.  He  affiliates  with  the 
Republican  party  and  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He 
married,  November  27,  1901,  Christina  Louise  Harley,  of  Uniontown,  and  two 
children  have  been  born  to  them,  one  of  whom,  John  Harley,  is  now  living. 

WILLIAM  E.  ROPP.  The  grandfather  of  William  E.  Ropp,  of 
West  Newton,  was  in  the  service  of  President  William  Henry  Harrison,  hav- 
ing charge  of  his  landed  estate  at  Cleves,  Ohio.  He  was  John  Ropp,  and 
his  son,  John  L.  Ropp,  was  born  at  Culpeper  Court  House,  Virginia,  and 
when  about  seventeen  years  of  age  went  West  with  his  parents.  He  was 
subsequently  employed  in  Indiana  in  the  construction  of  the  Big  Four  Rail- 
road, and  on  the  completion  of  this  work  was  made  a  conductor  on  the  road 
numing  from  Indianapolis  to  Lawrenceburg.  He  remained  in  this  position 
fifteen  years,  and  then  resigned  in  order  to  accept  the  superintendency  of  the 
Collier  Budd  Coal  Company  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  In  this  position  he  served 
until  his  death.     He  was  a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church  and  a  man 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


501 


of  inrtiience.  He  married  Mary  Miller,  and  tliev  were  the  parents  of  the 
following  children :  lienjaniin,  who  lives  in  Cincinnati ;  George,  who  is  a 
resident  of  the  same  city ;  John  A.,  who  is  foreman  of  the  Reduction  Works 
at  West  Newton;  Ella,  who  is  the  wife  of  Frederick  Michaels,  of  Cincinnati; 
and  ^^'illiam  E.,  of  whom  later.  The  death  of  Mr.  Ropp  occurred  about  1882, 
and  his  widow  passed  away  about  twelve  years  later. 

William  E.  Ropp.  son  of  John  L.  and  Mary  (  Miller)  Ropp.  was  born 
March  31,  1876,  in  Cincinnati,  and  was  but  six  years  old  at  the  time  of  the  death 
of  his  father.  It  was  owing  to  the  heroic  exertions  of  his  mother  that  the  fam- 
ily was  kept  together  and  successfully  reared.  He  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  and  at  Bartlett  Business  College,  Cincinnati.  At  the  age  of  eighteen 
he  was  deprived  by  death  of  the  mother  who  had  done  so  much  for  him,  and 
he  then  acepted  a  position  with  the  I.  &  N.  railroad  as  billing  clerk  in  the 
Indianapolis  office.  Two  years  later  he  resigned  this  position  and  returned 
to  Cincinnati  where  he  entered  the  service  of  the  Cincinnati  Desiccating  Com- 
pany. In  1898  he  went  to  West  Newton  and  entered  upon  the  discharge  of 
the  duties  of  his  present  position,  that  of  assistant  superintendent  of  the  West 
Newton  plant  of  the  American  Reduction  Company  of  Pittsburg.  He  is  a 
member  of  West  Newton  Lodge,  No.  440,  I.  O.  O.  F..  JMcKeesport  Lodge, 
No.  136,  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  Encamp- 
ment. In  the  sphere  of  politics  he  works  with  and  for  the  Republican  party. 
He  married,  April  16.  1905.  Anna  L.  Doughertv,  of  Waynesburg,  Ohio. 

^MICHAEL  DA\TD  H0Y:\IAN.  Prominent  among  the  younger 
generation  of  prosperous  farmers,  in  Mount  Pleasant  township,  is  Michael 
David  Hoyman,  son  of  the  late  Henry  Hoyman,  of  Donegal  township,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  Catherine  (Hays)  Hoyman. 

Michael  David  Hoyman  was  born  in  Donegal,  September  6,  1875.  Reared 
upon  a  farm  his  opportunities  for  acquiring  an  education  were  confined  to 
the  public  schools  of  his  immediate  neighborhood,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
years  he  was  thrown  upon  his  own  inherent  resources  by  the  death  of  his 
father.  Experience  in  various  available  occupations  having  brought  him  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  independent  life  of  a  farmer  was  far  more  desirable 
than  any  other  calling  within  his  reach,  he  accordingly,  in  1892,  purchased 
the  John  Freeman  farm,  which  was  formerly  known  as  the  old  Byerly  farm, 
and  possessing  the  spirit  of  energy  necessary  for  the  rapid  acquirement  of  suc- 
cess he  was  in  due  time  able  to  secure  possession  of  the  entire  property.  He 
is  now  the  owner  of  one  hundred  acres  of  desirably  located  and  exceedingly 
fertile  land,  which  is  well  improved,  and  under  his  able  direction  its  present 
high  state  of  cultivation  will  never  be  allowed  to  deteriorate.  Politically  he 
acts  with  the  Republican  party.  In  his  religious  belief  he  is  a  Methodist. 
On  July  18,  1897,  Mr.  Hoyman  was  united  in  marriage  with  Ethel  Albert, 
who  was  born  in  Mount  Pleasant.  June  5.  1877,  daughter  of  the  late  .^bra- 
ham  Albert,  of  this  townshij) :  and  they  have  four  children :  Phey,  who  was 
born  September  15,  1898:  Catherine,  born  June  17,  1899  (died  July  17, 
1901)  :  .Audrey,  born  June  2,   1902:  and  Helen,  born  May  4.   1904. 

D.\NIEL  WITT,  one  of  the  well  known  and  respected  citizens  of 
Rcatty.  Westmoreland  county.  Pennsylvania,  was  born  in  Jenner  township, 
February  23,  1839,  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Sarah  (Stern)  Witt,  the  former 
named  having  come  to  this  country  from  Germany  at  an  early  day.  He  at- 
tended the  common  schools  adjacent  to  his  home,  completing  his  studies  at 
the  age  of  thirteen  years,  and  then  learned  the  trade  of  stone  mason  which 


502  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

he  has  followed  up  to  the  present  tune  (1905).  July  27,  1862,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Harriet  Freeline,  who  was  born  in  Jenner  township,  Somerset 
county,  December  4,  1848,  a  daughter  of  David  and  Leah  (Kay)  Freeline. 
The  following  named  children  were  the  issue  of  this  marriage:  Eleanora, 
born  January  26,  1863,  wife  of  William  Barren  and  mother  of  two  children : 
Evans  and  F.  B.,  they  reside  in  West  Latrobe.  John,  born  March  11,  1864, 
deceased.  David,  born  May  4,  1865,  resides  at  home.  Anna  M.,  born 
August  17,  1866,  died  November  17,  1902;  she  was  the  wife  of  Herman 
Shaffer,  of  Union,  and  their  children  were  as  follows :  Edward,  James,  Bes- 
sie, Paul,  and  Martha.  Albert  G.,  born  February  27,  1868,  resides  at  home. 
William  Edgar,  born  August  i,  1869,  resides  at  home.  Minna,  born  Janu- 
ary 31,  1870,  became  the  wife  of  Harry  King  and  mother  of  one  child,  Cath- 
erine, they  reside  in  Latrobe.  Maria  Agnes,  born  April  18,  1871,  wife  of  Roy 
Greene,  no  issue;  they  reside  in  Jeannette.  Sarah  Matilda,  born  August  29, 
1872,  wife  of  Fred  Crator  and  mother  of  one  child,  Charles;  they  reside  in 
Greensburg.  James  C,  born  February  20,  1874,  married  Lillie  Abermathey, 
and  thev  have  one  child,  Hazel.  Nancy  J.,  born  July  31,  1876,  resides  at 
home.  Emma  L.,  born  July  31,  1877,  resides  at  home.  Caroline,  born 
March  21.  1879,  became  the  wife  of  Thomas  Johnson,  and  they  .  re- 
side in  Pittsburg.  Ira  M.,  born  March  8,  1881,  resides  at  home. 
Bessie  Ethel,  born  January  25,  1883,  resides  at  home.  Ethel  Pearl, 
born  February  8,  1887,  became  the  wife  of  Harris  Wyble,  a  resident  of 
Youngwood ;  'they  are  the  parents  of  one  child,  Kenneth  Albert,  who  mar- 
ried Maud  Dunlap,  who  died  October  17,  1904,  leaving  three  children:  Edna, 
Daniel  and  Gladys.     Millie  M.,  born  August  8,  1888,  resides  at  home. 

JAMES  McCUNE,  of  Hempfield  township,  is  a  son  of  John  and 
Martha  Jane  (Filbrook)  McCune,  and  grandson  of  James  McCune,  of  Eliz- 
abeth township,  Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania.  His  grandfather,  born 
March  3,  1802,  died  December  28,  1847,  married  Rose  Anna  Graham,  who 
was  born  in  1800.  She  survived  her  husband  many  years  and  her  death  oc- 
curred November  26,  1893.  James  and  Rose  Anna  McCune  were  the  parents 
of  seven  children:  'Gilbert,  born  July  18,  1825;  Catherine,  born  January 
14,  1828;  Samuel,  born  Februarv  10,  1831  ;  ^largaret,  born  September  28, 
1834;  Alvira,  June  19,  1837;  Robert,  born  July  20,  1840;  and  John,  born 
October  13,  1821. 

John  McCune  was  a  native  of  Elizabeth  township,  where  his  early  years 
were  spent  upon  a  farm,  and  the  active  period  of  his  life  was  devoted  to 
agricultural  pursuits.  For  nearly  forty  years  he  resided  in  Hempfield,  and  his 
death  occurred  in  that  township,  April  24,  1899.  He  was  married  February 
18,  1847,  to  Martha  Jane  Filbrook,  who  was  born  in  Huntingdon  township, 
Westmoreland  county,  November  9,  1825.  She  became  the  mother  of  ten 
children:  Anna  Taiie.  born  December  31,  1847;  Emma,  born  October  20, 
•1849;  Thomas  Filbrook,  born  September  24,  185 1  :  James,  see  forward; 
Nancy  Thompson,  born  February  28,  1856;  John,  born  June  25,  1859;  Harry 
Lincoln,  born  Februarv  i,  1861  ;  Mathew  Wilson,  born  February  12,  1863; 
Ida  Belle,  bom  May  17,  1865;  and  Samuel,  born  June  23,  1870.  Mrs.  Martha 
Jane  McCune  died  August  15,  1894. 

James  McCune  was  born  in  Elizabeth  township,  ]\Iarch  10,  1854.  His  par- 
ents came  to  reside  in  Hempfield  when  he  was  eight  years  old,  and  during 
his  boyhood  and  youth  his  time  was  interspersed  between  attending  school 
and  assisting  his  father  upon  the  homestead  farm.  He  has  resided  in  Hemp- 
field continuously  for  more  than  forty  years,  and  is  well  and  favorably  known 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


503 


in  this  locality.  On  [March  6,  1879,  Air.  AlcCune  was  united  in  marriage  witli 
Miss  Elizabeth  Gress,  who  was  born  in  Adamsburg,  this  county,  May  15, 
1857,  daughter  of  Daniel  Gress,  of  that  township.  Mr.  and  Airs.  McCune 
have  a  family  of  seven  children:  John,  born  February  14,  1881  ;  Mary  Gress, 
August  2,  1883;  Alartha  Jane,  July  4,  1885;  Cora  Belle,  JMarch  20,  1887; 
Bessie,  August  17,  18S9;  Daniel  Gress,  August  17,  1893;  and  Emma  Miller 
AlcCune,  December  30,  1897.  All  are  living  at  home  excepting  Mary  Gress, 
who  is  now  the  wife  of  Albert  Whitehead,  of  Erwin,  I'ennsylvania,  and  is 
residing  in  East  McKeesport,  this  state. 

WILLIA.AI  FRANKLIN  ADAIR,  a  resident  of  Salem  township, 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  in  Washington  township,  Feb- 
ruary 13,  185 1,  the  son  of  James  Adair,  who  was  born  about  1815,  and  grand- 
son of  Archibald  Adair,  who  was  a  native  of  Ireland  and  emigrated  to  this 
country. 

November  7,  1878,  Mr.  Adair  was  married  to  Mary  Elizabeth  McCaulcy, 
the  daughter  of  John  McCauley,  who  was  born  in  Ireland  and  emigrated  to 
this  country  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  about  1822,  and  died  in  1875.  The  fol- 
lowing named  children  were  the  result  of  this  marriage  union :  Cleo  Edna, 
born  November  15,  1879,  ''"d  married,  September  15,  1902,  James  M.  Lin- 
hart,  and  one  daughter,  Helen  Adair,  was  born  April  25,  1903 ;  Anna,  born 
May  9,  1881,  married  Robert  F.  Steele,  son  of  John  Steele,  June  4,  1902,  and 
they  have  one  child,  Florence  Eleanor,  born  March  15,  1903;  Carrie  Bell, 
born  November  24,  1882;  John  Floyd,  September  4,  1884;  Laura  Janet,  Sep- 
tember II,   1888,  and  Robert  Calvin,  September  8,   1890. 

JOSIAH  D.  RUBRIGHT.  The  paternal  grandfather  of  Josiah 
D.  Rubright,  of  Weister,  was  a  native  of  Northampton  county,  whence,  about 
1800,  he  migrated  to  Westmoreland.  His  children  were:  Barbara,  John, 
Susan,  Mary,  Catharine,  Nancy,  George,  Noah,  Jacob,  of  whom  later,  and  four 
who  died  early  in  life. 

Jacob  Rtibright,  son  of  the  ])ioneer,  was  born  in  Franklin  townsliip,  and 
was  a  farmer,  owning  and  operating  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  acres.  He 
married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Andrew  Walp,  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812, 
whose  other  children  were :  George,  Reuben,  Caroline,  Sarah  and  Kate  A. 
The  family  were  natives  of  Franklin  township.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rubright  were 
the  parents  of:  Artdrew,  deceased;  James;  Josiah  D.,  of  whom  later; 
George ;  Annie,  deceased ;  Jane ;  Jacob,  deceased ;  a:V'  Mary,  alto  deceased. 
Mrs.  Rubright  died  in  1882  and  the  death  of  Air.  Rubi-.-^^ht  occurred  in  1895. 
Josiah  D.  Rubright,  son  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  fWalp^  Rubright,  was  born 
September  12,  1862,  in  Franklin  township,  and  there  received  his  education. 
He  early  turned  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  in  1901  moved  to 
Washington  township,  where  he  purchased  the  old  J.  C.  Christy  estate.  This 
consists  of  one  hundred  and  eighteen  acres,  which  he  devotes  to  general 
farming.  He  has  been  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Myrtle  Stark,  to 
whom  three  children  were  born :  Alfred,  Homer  and  John.  After  the  death 
of  their  mother  Mr.  Rubright  married  Mrs.  Ramaley,  nee  Kunkle,  who  was 
the  mother  of  two  children  by  her  former  marriage:  Frank  and  Mabel. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rubright  have  one  child:  Mildred  Rubright. 

HENRY  H.  SMITH.  Deming  numbers  among  her  old  residents 
and  worthy  citizens  Henry  H.  Smith.  Air.  Smith  was  born  in  Mrginia,  De- 
cember 20,  1833,  and  is. the  .son  of  Joseph  Smith.  His  education  was  obtained 
in  the  common  schools,  and  h.e  learned  in  early  life   tlie  trade  of  a  wagon- 


504  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

maker,  but  followed  it  for  a  few  ^ears  only,  preferring  to  devote  himself  to 
agricultural  pursuits.  In  these  he  has  passed  nearly  all  his  life.  .In  1862  he 
enlisted  in  the  Fifty-seventh  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteers.  His  poli- 
tical principles  and  opinions  are  those  advocated  and  upheld  by  the  Republican 
party.  He  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church.  He  married, 
in  1859,  Caroline,  a  native  of  Westmoreland  county,  daughter  of  Samuel 
Stairs,  and  the  following  children  were  born  to  them :  John,  Susan,  Joseph, 
Elizabeth,  Isaac,  George,  Esther,  Harry,  Watson,  David,  who  is  deceased; 
James,  and  Isah. 

JOHN  BEATTY,  Jr.  Among  the  many  beautiful  and  fertile  farms 
which  abound  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  which  show  the  results, 
not  alone  of  thrift,  industry,  and  cultivation,  but  also  that  the  most  progressive 
and  scientific  methods  have  been  called  into  play  to  render  them  the  pride  of 
iheir  owners,  we  must  not  overlook  that  belonging  to  John  Beatty,  Jr.,  which 
ranks  as  a  model  farm  in  every  respect.  Mr.  Beatty  traces  his  descent  to  Irish 
and  German  ancestry,  who  nobly  bore  their  share  in  defense  of  the  country  of 
their  adojition. 

Benjamin  Beatty,  grandfather  of  John  Beatty,  Jr..  and  founder  of  the 
family  in  this  country,  was  born  in  the  county  of  Derry.  Ireland,  in  1745.  He 
was  quite  young  when  he  emigrated  from  his  native  land,  and  upon  his  arrival 
here  located  in  the  e'astern  part  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  enthusiastic  and 
patriotic,  and  when  the  colonies  rose  in  revolt  against  the  tyranny  and  oppres- 
sion of  England  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  enlist  in  the  Continental  army  in 
1776.  He  was  one  of  that  brave  band  of  patriots,  who  on  the  night  of  Decem- 
ber 25,  1776,  crossed  the  Delaware  amidst  snow  and  ice,  and  under  the  per- 
sonal command  of  Washington  fought  and  won  the  battle  of  Trenton,  and 
were  equally  victorious  in  other  engagements  during  that  memorable  struggle. 
His  honorable  discharge  from  the  army  is  attested  by  papers  still  in- the  pos- 
session of  some  of  his  descendants.  He  resided  on  a  farm  in  Adams  county, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1785,  and  in  1809  sold  this  and  removed  to  -  Washington 
county,  Pennsylvania.  The  following  year  he  purchased  from  Marmaduke 
Wilson,  his  brother-in-law,  the  farm  known  as  "Sportman,"  at  Beatty  Station, 
Pennsylvania  railroad,  in  Unity  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  immediately  made  his  home  on  it,  and  built  the  first  bank  barn  in  the 
township  the  following  spring.  This  farm  had  been  patented  May  7,  1790,  by 
James  Hunter,  who  had  taken  up  six  hundred  acres  of  land  prior  to  securing 
the  patent,  but  sold  part  of  the  farm,  retaining  for  himself  two  hundred  and 
seventy-six  acres.  The  portion  sold  was  purchased  by  Rev.  Theodore 
Brouwers,  and  is  now  the  property  of  the  Order  of  St.  Benedict  or  St.  Vincent 
Abbey.  He  lived  to  a  hale  and  hearty  old  age,  his  death  occurring  at  Beatty 
Station,  Pennsylvania  railroad,  June  2,  1831.  He  married,  1785,  Martha 
Chamberlain,  of  German  descent,  born  in  1755,  died  September  6,  1845,  '"  ''■^^ 
ninety-first  year.  Their  children  were :  Hamilton,  of  whom  later ;  John,  Jami- 
son, Samuel,  Ann,  married  O'Brien ;  Mary,  married  

Osborn :  Elizabeth,  married  (first)  • '- —  Sloan;  married  (second)  John 

Lightcap ;  Martha,  married  William  Cochrin ;  Marjora.  married  William  J\Ic- 
Farland ;  Susan,  married  Jonathan  Tittle. 

Hamilton  Beatty,  son  of  Benjamin  and  Alartha  (Chamberlain)  Beatty, 
was  born  in  Adams  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1786.  Hamilton  and  his  brother 
John  purchased  the  farm  of  their  father  in  1824,  and  at  their  death  this  prop- 
erty passed  into  the  hands  of  John  Beatty,  Jr.  Hamilton  Beatty  served  with 
honor  in  the  War  of  1812,  and  aided  in  building  Fort  IMeigs.     He  was  an  in- 


%U^  )q)coXCw,  9.. 


(f  ^ 


•'  YORK 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  505 

dustrious  fanner,  a  respected  citizen,  and  served  his  town  in  various  local 
offices.  Politically  he  was  a  Democrat,  and  his  cliurch  affiliations  were  with 
the  Unity  Presbyterian  church,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  most  consistent 
members,  and  filled  the  office  of  elder  for  a  period  of  fifty-six  years.  He  died 
at  his  home  at  Beatty  Station,  July  10,  1871.  He  married,  September  i,  1817, 
Sarah  Anderson,  born  September  27,  1796,  died  May  25,  1879  daughter  of 
Colonel  A\'illiam  and  Nancy  (Tittle)  Anderson.  Thcv  had  seven  children, 
three  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  Those  who  attained  maturity  were :  Nancy 
Tittle,  born  August  i,  1818,  widow  of  John  George,  resides  at  Wilkinsburg, 
Pennsylvania;  John,  Jr.,  born  September  14,  1826,  of  whom  later;  Martha 
Chamberlain,  born  August  9,  1829,  married  Joseph  I'.aldridgc,  died  in  1903. 
Sarah  Ann,  born  March  i,  1835,  widow  of  Major  Samuel  Adams,  resides  in 
Beatty  Station. 

John  Beatty,  Jr.,  second  child  and  only  son  of  the  surviving  children  of 
Hamilton  and  Sarah  (Anderson)  Beatty,  was  born  and  reared  on  the  farm 
which  he  now  owns,  September  14,  1826.  His  education  was  acquired  in  the 
common  schools  of  the  township  and  at  Elders  Ridge  Academy,  Indiana 
county.  After  leaving  school  he  began  his  active  career  as  a  farmer,  an  oc- 
cupation he  has  sucessfully  followed  all  the  busy  years  of  his  life.  The  old 
Beatty  homestead,  his  home,  contains  two  hundred  acres  in  all,  in  a  fine  state 
of  cultivation.  Mr.  Beatty  is  a  well  read  man  on  all  subjects,  especially  in 
agriculture  in  all  its  branches,  and  conducts  his  farming  operations  in  the  most 
approved  modern  method.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  has  served  the 
township  as  school  director  for  twentv  years.  He  has  always  taken  the  deep- 
est interest  in  educational,  religious  and  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  welfare 
of  the  people.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Unity  Presbyterian  church,  in  which  in- 
stitution he  served  for  many  years  as  trustee.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the 
erection  of  the  new  church  edifice  in  1874,  devoting  time  and  labor  to  the  pre- 
paration of  the  ground,  and  the  laying  out  of  the  beautiful  cemetery  at  Unity. 
Pie  is  a  member  of  Gravel  Hill  Grange,  No.  849,  P.  of  H.,  and  of  Latrobe 
Lodge,  No.  30,  A.  O.  of  U.  W.  Mr.  I3eatty  married.  June  20,  1855,  Eliza 
Jane  Chambers,  born  June  22,  1832,  only  daughter  of  William  and  Elizabeth 
(Leasure)  Chambers,  (see  sketch  of  William  Chambers),  and  sister  of  Eli 
Chambers,  former  treasurer  of  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.  Her 
education  was  obtained  at  the  public  schools  and  at  Sewickley  Academy.  She 
was  a  member  of  Unity  Presbyterian  church,  and  died  September  19,  1891. 
The  children  of  John  and  Eliza  Jane  (Chambers)  Beatty  were: 

I.  Charles  Albert,  who  at  the  time  of  his  death,  March  31,  1882,  was  a 
student  at  Jeflferson  Medical  College,  Philadelphia,  having  previously  been 
graduated  from  Washington  and  Jefferson  College.  2.  Lizzie  Leasure,  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  the  township,  the  Latrobe  high  school,  and  at 
the  \\'ashington  Female  Seminary.  She  is  her  father's  home-keeper  and 
faithful  daughter.  3.  Jessie  Quindora,  died  March  15,  1863,  aged  one  year. 
4.  John  Hamilton,  educated  in  the  township  schools,  and  is  a  graduate  of  the 
Latrobe  high  school.  He  is  a  farmer  and  manages  the  homestead  farm,  where 
he  resides  near  his  father.  He  married,  October  12,  1893,  Nettie  Beam,  and 
has  three  children :  Charles  .Albert,  John  Leasure,  and  Julia  Elizabeth.  John 
Hamilton  is  a  Democrat  5.  Sarah  Stella,  educated  in  the  same  schools  as  her 
sister  Lizzie,  and  became  a  professional  nurse,  being  graduated  from  the  West- 
ern Pennsylvania  Hospital  at  Pittsburg,  where  she  is  now  one  of  the  head 
nurses.  6.  Lillian  May,  educated  in  the  .same  schools  as  her  sisters,  and  in 
addition  was  for  three  years  a  student  at  a  Chicago  kindergarten  college.  She 
is  now  director  of  the  indergarten  department  in  the  Bryant  public  school,  in 


5o6  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

Chicago,  Illinois.  7.  William  Chambers,  educated  in  the  public  schools,  and 
is  a  graduate  of  the  Latrobe  high  school,  Greensburg  Seminary  and  Wyoming 
Seminary.  After  this  thorough  preparation  he  entered  Cornell  University  at 
Ithaca,  New  York,  taking  a  four  years'  course  in  mechanical  engineering,  and 
graduating  in  1903.  After  leaving  Cornell  he  was  successively  employed  by 
the  Osborne  Harvester  Company  and  the  Cambria  Steel  Company.  He  is  now 
assistant  superintendent  and  mechanical  engineer  at  the  Iroquois  Iron  Works, 
Buffalo,  New  York.  He  married,  October  30,  1905,  Edith  R.  Graves,  of 
Ithaca,  New  York,  who  is  also  a  graduate  of  Cornell  University. 

WILLIAM  McCARTY.  Andrew  McCarty,  grandfather  of  Will- 
iam McCarty,  of  Parnassus,  was  born  in  Ireland,  and  in  1840  emigrated  with 
his  wife  to  the  United  States,  settling  in  Allegheny  county.  New  York,  where 
he  devoted  the  remainder  of  his  life  to  farming.  His  wife  was  Margaret  Hag- 
gerty,  and  they  had  one  child :  Daniel,  mentioned  hereinafter.  The  death  of 
Mr.  ]\IcCarty  occurred  in  1850. 

Daniel  McCarty,  son  of  Andrew  and  Margaret  (Haggerty)  McCarty,  was 
born  in  1836.  in  Ireland,  and  was  but  four  years  old  when  brought  by  his  par- 
ents to  the  United  States.  For  a  few  years  he  engaged  in  farming  in  Alle- 
gheny county.  New  York.  During  the  Civil  war  he  served  for  a  time  in  the 
LTnion  army,  and  in  1865  settled  in  Clarion  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
worked  on  the  railroad  and  also  engaged  in  mining  in  the  oil  regions.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  Mr.  McCarty  married  Mary  j\Ic- 
Dermott.  and  their  children  were  :  William,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  Catharine, 
wife  of  John  McGregor ;  i\Iargarct,  wife  of  Frederick  Opperman ;  Andrew,  of 
Virginia :  Edward  W.,  of  Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania ;  John,  of  Oil  City ; 
Mary,  widow  of  Jacob  Fechter ;  and  Daniel,  of  Oil  City.  Mr.  McCarty,  the 
father,  died  in  1900. 

William  McCarty,  son  of  Daniel  and  JMary  (McDermott)  McCarty,  was 
born  i\Iay  10,  1859,  in  Allegheny  county.  New  York,  and  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  common  schools.  In  early  life  he  began  working  in  the  mines  of 
Clarion  county,  where  he  was  employed  for  six  years.  He  then  entered  the 
service  of  the  Allegheny  Valley  Railroad  Company  as  a  brakeman,  and  in  1882 
was  promoted  to  the  position  of  conductor,  which  he  has  held  continuously 
ever  since.  He  belongs  to  the  Order  of  Railroad  Conductors,  and  he  and  his 
family  are  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  Mr.  McCaarty  married 
Ellen  Home,  and  their  children  were:  Daniel  B.,  born  September  11,  1888, 
now  learning  civil  engineering;  Mary  E.,  born  August  27,  1895,  died  Novem- 
ber 18,  1904;  and  Elizabeth  \'irginia,  born  November  24,  1897.  Mrs.  McCarty 
is  the  daughter  of  iMichael  and  Ellen  Home,  and  the  granddaughter  of  Ed- 
ward and  Nancy  Home,  the  latter  couple  having  emigrated  from  Ireland  in 
1848  and  settled'  in  A'crmont.     Michael  and  Ellen  Home  were  also  Irish  im- 


WALTER  E.  ROUTSON,  general  manager  of  the  handle  factory 
of  Boucher,  Huff'  &  Company,  at  Ligonier,  was  born  in  Ohio,  June  29,  1879, 
and  is  a  representative  of  a  pioneer  family  of  that  state.  His  paternal  grand- 
father, Jacob  Routson,  was  born  in  that  state,  where  he  followed  farming 
throughout  his  business  career.  He  had  thirteen  children :  Samuel ;  Ora ; 
Joseph ;  Ellen,  the  wife  of  Frank  Branson ;  Harriett,  deceased  wife  of  Isaiah 
Finefrock :  Eliza,  wife  of  Daniel  Swank ;  \\'illiam  ;  and  four  wdio  died  in  in- 
fancy. 

Ora   Routson,   father  of  W^alter  E.   Routson,  was  born   in  Bloomington, 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUXTY.  507 

Ohio,  in  1856.  and  in  early  life  worked  on  his  father's  farm.  Later  he  was 
connected  with  the  grocery  business  for  several  years,  and  subsequently  was 
in  the  employ  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company  as  pressman  for  nine  years. 
Since  that  time  he  has  engaged  in  business  as  a  carpenter.  He  married  JMiss 
Jennie  IIupp,  and  they  have  five  children:  Walter;  Ernest;  Taswell ;  JMyrtle, 
wife  of  Samuel  Cain;  and  Ada  Alice. 

Walter  Routson  largely  acquired  his  education  in  night  schools,  for  neces- 
sity compelled  his  earning  his  own  living  from  the  time  he  was  ten  years  of 
age.  He  began  working  in  a  handle  factory,  and  has  since  been  connected 
with  similar  enterprises,  mastering  the  business  in  all  of  its  departments,  as  his 
ability  won  him  promotion  from  one  position  to  another.  In  IMarch,  1902,  he 
entered  the-  employ  of  Boucher,  Huft  &  Company,  as  general  manager  of  their 
handle  factory  in  Ligonier,  Pennsylvania,  and  by  close  application  and  unre- 
mitting diligence  has  developed  this  into  a  profitable,  productive  enterprise. 
He  married  Bessie  Lusk,  and  they  now  have  three  children :  ]\Iargaret,  born 
March  22,  1901 ;  James,  born  ^larch  27,  1902;  and  Forest  Harold,  September 
23,  1904. 

EDWARD  C.  LAUEEER,  a  farmer  of  Peim  township,  Westmore- 
land county,  Pennsylvania,  a  son  of  Jacob  F.  and  Susanna  (Cribbs)  Lauffer, 
was  born  in  Penn  township,  October  10,  1854. 

Henry  Lauffer  (grandfather)  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  His  wife  was 
.1  Miss  Gress,  and  their  children  were :  Hannah,  j\Iary  Ann,  John,  Jacob  E., 
Samuel  and  Simion. 

Jacob  E.  Lauft'er  (father)  was  born  in  1822,  and  is  still  living,  well  and 
active,  (1905).  He  is  by  occupation  a  farmer,  and  was  an  elder  in  the  Re- 
foimed  church.  He  married  Susanna  Cribbs,  a  daughter  of  Christian  Cribbs. 
;Mrs.  Lauffer  was  born  in  1824  and  died  in  1891.  The  children  of  this  mar- 
riage were  :  Priscilla,  married  Jacob  Fry,  ten  children  ;  she  died  in  1904  ;  Mary, 
wife  of  Z.  Erinker,  five  children :  Henry,  married  Josephine  Beamer ;  four 
children ;  Hannah,  wife  of  James  Steele,  and  mother  of  one  child ;  Edward, 
mentioned  hereinafter;  Z^Iargaret,  married  Aaron  Bushyeager,  five  children; 
Sadie,  wife  of  James  Beamer,  and  mother  of  two  children ;  Nettie,  married 
Elijah  Bushyearer,  eight  children;  William,  missionary  in  France;  Oliver,  was 
-liot  while  hunting. 

Edward  C.  Lauffer  follows  the  quiet  but  useful  occupation  of  a  farmer, 
and  has  achieved  the  most  gratifying  success  in  this  line.  He  is  the  owner  of 
a  farm  in  Penn  township,  comprising  eighty-five  acres  of  well  located  land. 
This  he  has  brought  to  a  high  state  of  cultivation  and  improvement,  and  it 
compares  favorably  with  the  finest  farms  in  the  county.  In  politics  Mr. 
Lauffer  accords  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party,  and  in  religious  faith  is  a 
member  of  the  Reformed  church,  in  which  he  has  been  a  deacon  for  seven 
years.  Edward  C.  Lauffer  married.  June  24,  1880,  Salome  M.  Waughaman, 
a  daughter  of  Jesse  and  Frances  I.Smith)  A\'augaman,  and  one  of  eleven  chil- 
dren, viz:  George,  Albert.  David,  Sarah,  Becky,  Salome,  (Mrs.  Lauft'er); 
Lucy,  Ellen,  Elizabeth  Lydia  and  Laura.  Air.  and  Mrs.  Edward  Lauffer  have 
children:  Harry  G.,  born  December  2,  1881 ;  Jesse  H.,  born  June  27,  1883,  is 
now  attending  the  Franklin  Alarshall  College  at  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania; 
Lloyd,  born  June  13,  1885;  Joseph  I.,  born  April  2,  1887;  Clarence,  born  April 
29,  1889;  Alase,  born  January  15.  1891 ;  Paul,  born  August  19.  1892,  died 
September  4  1894;  Lulu,  born  November  i,  1894;  Edith,  born  September  2, 
1896,  died  December  23,  1896;  Adella,  born  March  27,  1901. 


5o8  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

NATHx\N  N.  FULLERTON.  Among  those  proniinctitly  iilcnti- 
fied  with  the  varied  interests  of  Sewickley  township,  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  may  be  mentioned  the  name  of  Nathan  N.  FuUerton,  a  native  of 
Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania,  born  January  4,  1844. 

The' paternal  grandparents  of  Nathan  N.  Fullerton  were  William  and 
Jane  Fullerton,  natives  of  Scotland,  who  emigrated  to  the  United  States  in 
early  life  and  who  were  united  in  marriage  in  the  state  of  Ohio.  Among  their 
children  was  a  son,  Henry  A.,  lather  of  Nathan  N.  Fullerton,  who  was  born 
in  Ohio,  reared  and  educated  there,  and  also  learned  the  trades  of  shoemaker 
and  miller.  Prior  to  his  marriage  he  came  to  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  conducted  a  grist  mill  near  Buena  Vista  and  later  at  Millville.  He 
then  accepted  a  position  with  the  C.  P.  Markle  and  S.  B.  Markle  paper  mills, 
remaining  in  their  employ  up  to  his  decease  in  1851,  which  was  the  result  of 
injuries  received  by  being  caught  in  the  machinery.  He  was  a  staunch  Whig  in 
politics,  influential  in  the  councils  of  the  party,  but  never  an  office-seeker. 
Throughout  the  greater  part  of  his  lifetime  he  was  an  active  worker  in  the  .Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church.  By  his  marriage  to  Louisa  Newlin,  daughter  of 
Nathan  Newlin,  a  farmer  of  Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania,  eight  children 
were  born,  five  of  whom  survive,  namely:  Nathan  N.,  mentioned  hereinafter: 
Byram  M.,  whose  personal  sketch  follows  in  the  work;  Margaret  J.,  wife  of 
Isaac  T.iomas,  of  Fairmount,  Westmoreland  county:  Henry  B.,  of  Washing- 
ton, Indiana;  and  Mary,  of  Mt.  Washington.  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania. 

Nathan  N.  Fullerton  was  but  twelve  years  of  age  when  deprived  by  death 
of  his  father,  and  being  the  eldest  of  eight  children  he  remained  at  home  and 
assumed  a  portion  of  the  burden  of  rearing  the  family,  which- was  left  in 
straightened  circumstances,  and  the  responsibility  was  no  smSll  one  for  a  bov 
of  such  tender  years.  The  summer  following  his  father's  death  Nathan  N. 
worked  in  the  paper  mills,  but  during  the  winter  of  that  year  attended  school. 
The  following  spring  he  went  to  work  on  a  farm,  and  this  occupation  proving 
congenial  he  decided  to  adopt  it  for  his  life  work.  He  enlisted  August  14, 
1862,  in  Company  A,  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-fifth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers, 
serving  until  the  close  of  the  war  and  his  record  is  an  unusual  one.  He  parti- 
cipated in  thirty-three  battles  and  skirmishes,  was  four  times  struck,  by  minie 
balls  and  fragments  of  shells  but  never  disabled,  and  served  every  day  with  his 
regiment  up  to  the  surrender  of  General  Lee.  He  was  then  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  orderly  under  General  Pearson,  with  whom  he  served  up  to  his  dis- 
charge in  June.  1865.  Mr.  Fullerton  was  never  arrested  nor  served  a  day  in 
the  hospital  during  his  service,  which  was  indeed  a  most  remarkable  record. 
After  his  return  from  the  war  he  again  took  up  farming,  working  for  his  form- 
er employer,  Samuel  Smith,  he  having  entered  his  employ  in  1859.  Ten  years 
after  the  latter  date  Mr.  Smith  became  the  father-in-law  of  Mr.  Fullerton,  and 
after  his  marriage  Mr.  Fullerton  assumed  charge  of  the  property  and  farmed 
the  same  up  to  the  death  of  Mr.  Smith,  when  a  portion  of  the  farm  reverted  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fullerton,  who  now  reside  on  the  same.  For  one  term  Mr. 
Fullerton  served  as  tax  collector  of  Sewickley  township,  filled  a  similar  period 
as  auditor,  and  at  the  present  time  (1905)  is  acting  in  the  capacity  of  assessor 
and  president  of  the  school  board  of  Sewickley  township.  He  is  a  Republican 
in  politics.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church,  in  which  he  served  many 
years  as  trustee;  member  of  J.  W.  Greenawalt  Post,  No.  399,  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic,  of  Cowansburg,  in  which  he  served  as  commander  for  a  period 
of  between  ten  and  twelve  years.  ]\Ir.  Fullerton  married,  February  14.  1869, 
Margaret  Smith,  daughter  of  the  late  Samuel  Smith,  and  four  children  were 
the  issue,  two  of  whom  are  living  at  the  present  time :  Edward,  chief  engineer 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


509 


for  the  Pennsylvania  Gas  Coal  Company,  at  Blackburn  ;  ami  Samuel,  a  carjicn- 
ter,  who  resides  at  home. 

BYRAM  M.  FULLERTOX,  one  of  the  active  and  intelligent  citi- 
zens of  Sewickley  township,  as  well  as  one  of  its  most  substantial  farmers,  was 
born  at  Millville,  Sewickley  township.  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
July  21.  1846,  son  of  Henry  A.  and  Louisa  (Xewlin)  Fullerton,  and  grandson 
of  William  and  Jane  Fullerton,  the  personal  history  of  whom  appears  in  the 
preceding  sketch. 

Byram  ^I.  Fullerton  was  about  eight  years  of  age  when  his  father  was 
killed  by  the  machinery  in  the  mill  at  IMillgrove,  Pennsvlvania.  where  he  was 
employed,  and  owing  to  this  sad  occurrence  he  received  but  a  limited  education. 
At  this  early  age  he  worked  for  Archie  ^NIcGrew,  and  some  two  years  latei 
went  to  the  family  of  Charles  Goehring,  residents  in  the  vicinity  of  Irwin, 
where  he  resided  some  eight  years.  In  1863  he  enlisted  in  Company  K,  Fif- 
teenth Pennsylvania  Cavalry,  known  as  the  Anderson  Cavalry,  and  served  with 
them  until  the  close  of  hostilities,  being  discharged  at  Nashville.  Tennessee,  in 
June,  1865.  Upon  his  return  to  civil  life  he  again  took  up  his  residence  in 
Irwin,  and  the  following  year  was  employed  in  the  brickyards  at  that  place. 
He  then  went  to  work  on  the  farm  of  Henry  Greenawalt,  of  Sewickley  town- 
ship, who  subsequently  became  his  father-in-law,  and  after  his  marriage  he 
removed  to  the  upped  end  of  the  farm  and  cultivated  a  portion  of  the  estate  up 
to  the  death  of  Mr.  Greenawalt,  at  which  time  the  division  of  the  farm  was 
made  and  Mr.  and  Airs.  Fullerton  received  ninety-four  acres  thereof  as  their 
share  of  the  property.  The  ground  is  well  improved  and  highly  cultivated,  and 
by  using  the  latest  improved  machinery  is  made  to  yield  a  bountiful  harvest, 
the  products  being  readily  disposed  of  in  the  nearby  markets.  Air.  Fullerton 
has  served  as  supervisor  of  the  township  for  sixteen  years,  and  has  also  been 
a  member  of  the  school  board  for  a  number  of  years.  He  is  a  Baptist  in  re- 
ligion, a  Republican  in  politics,  and  affiliates  with  Colonel  J.  W.  Greenawalt 
Post  Xo.  399,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  of  Cowansburg.  j\lr.  Fullerton 
married  Xovember  10,  1870,  Alartha  Greenawalt,  daughter  of  the  late  Henry 
Green.awalt.  of  Sewickley  township.  Seven  children  were  born  to  them,  three 
of  whom  survive :  Jacob,  who  assists  his  father  in  the  management  of  the 
farm  :  he  married  Estella  Derr.  Henry,  a  machinist,  resides  at  Smithton,  Penn- 
sylvania :  he  married  Bertha  Lee.    Anna,  who  resides  at  home. 

JESSE  LEE  SXR'ELY,  an  enterprising  and  highly  esteemed  resi- 
dent of  X'orth  Irwin,  born  Alay  20,  1865,  at  .^cme,  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  is  a  son  of  Iliram  Snively,  a  sketch  of  whom  appears  elsewhere 
in  this  work. 

Flis  education  was  received  in  the  common  schools  adjacent  to  his  home. 
At  the  age  of  twelve  years  he  went  to  live  with  his  grandparents  on  their  farm, 
one  and  a  half  miles  from  Alammoth,  and  here  he  remained  until  he  attained 
the  age  of  fifteen  years,  working  and  attending  the  schools,  and  then  returned 
to  his  home  and  resided  there  for  one  year.  .\t  the  age  of  seventeen  he  went  to 
Ohio,  braking  on  the  Cleveland  &  Pittsburg  division  of  the  Pennsvlvania  rail- 
road. Abandoning  this  he  returned  to  his  home,  but  after  a  short  period  of 
time  went  to  West  \'irginia,  near  Kiser,  and  was  employed  witli  a  railway 
construction  company.  I.ater  he  was  employed  for  some  time  with  a  steam 
saw  mill  at  Welty,  near  Mammoth,  after  which  he  procured  a  position  firing 
on  the  Pennsylvania  railroad,  out  of  Derry.  running  to  .Altoona.  This  jjosition 
he  held  for  eleven  years,  coming  to  Irwin.  June  13,  1888.  on  a  night  run.     For 


5IO  HISIORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

three  years  he  was  the  oldest  fireman  on  the  Pittsburg  division,  one  of  which 
was  spent  on  construction  train  work.  He  received  his  promotion  to  the  post 
of  engineer,  December  26,  1898,  running  on  a  coal  train  from  Irwin  to  Derry. 
His  present  run  is  a  day  passenger  from  Irwin  to  Greensburg  by  the  way  of 
Youghiogheny  and  Hempfield  branches.  He  is  also  interested  in  the  real  estate 
business  in  Irwin  and  in  Pitcairn,  in  the  latter  place  having  an  interest  in  the 
firm  of  Shultz  &  Enyeart,  dry  goods  and  groceries,  and  interested  in  the  Su- 
perior White  Oak  Lumber  Company.  Mr.  Snively  is  a  member  of  the  IMetho- 
dist  Episcopal  church,  and  has  served  on  the  official  board  for  more  than  ten 
years.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  a  councilman  in  North  Irwin,  whither 
he  moved  in  1901,  and  purchased  his  present  residence.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers.  r\Ir.  Snively  married,  April  26, 
1892,  Ruth  Twigger,  daughter  of  William  and  Marv  (Armstrong)  Twigger, 
of  Irwin,  Pennsylvania.    They  have  one  child,  ;\Iary  Alta,  born  July  8,  1894. 

JOHN  R.  LARIMER,  a  capable  and  prosperous  farmer  of  the 
present  generation  in  Stahlstown,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  is  a 
descendent  of  a  family  which  has  cultivated  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania  for 
many  generations. 

Thomas  Larimer,  the  great-grandfather  of  John  R.  Larimer,  was  a  farmer 
in  Donegal,  and  was  the  father  of  a  numerous  family,  one  of  whom  was  Rob- 
ert S. 

Robert  S.  Larimer,  son  of  Thomas  Larimer,  was  also  a  farmer,  and 
became  the  owner  of  considerable  property  in  Donegal  township.  He  was  a 
supporter  of  Democratic  principles,  an  elder  in  the  United  Presbyterian 
church.  He  married  Eleanor  Williams,  and  their  children  were :  William 
Y.,  a  farmer  in  Kansas;  Elizabeth,  married  Emmanuel  Auman;  Rachel,married 
Jacob  Barkley :  David,  deceased,  was  ^  veteran  of  the  great  war ;  Richard 
VV.,  died  in  Libby  prison  during  the  war ;  Thomas,  migrated  to  the  west,  and  of 
whom  all  trace  has  been  lost ;  Sarah  Jane,  died  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years ; 
Mary,  married  Wesley  Morrison ;  and  Simon  S.,  of  whom  later.  Robert  S. 
Larimer  died  in  1890,  aged  eighty-four  years;  his  wife  died  in  1880,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-two  years. 

Simon  S.  Larimer,  youngest  child  of  Robert  S.  and  Eleanor  (Williams) 
Larimer,  was  born  on  the  home  farm  in  1845.  He  had  a  thorough  and  practi- 
cal knowledge  of  farming  and  adopted  this  as  his  life  vocation.  He  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat in  politics,  and  has  served  his  township  as  assessor.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  L^nited  Presbyterian  church,  of  which  he  is  an  elder.  He  married,  1868, 
Mary  Amanda  Miller,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Polly  (Nedrow)  Miller,  and 
their  children  are:  John  R.,  of  whom  later;  Lizzie,  married  Nathan  J.  ^lon- 
ticue,  and  has  nine  children ;  Elmer  E.,  a  prosperous  merchant  of  Stahlstown, 
married   Prissie  Kooser,  and  has  two  children. 

John  R.  Larimer,  eldest  child  of  Simon  S.  and  ]\lary  Amanda  (^filler ) 
Larimer,  was  born  in  Cook  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
June  20,  1869.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Donegal  township, 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  remained  on  the  home  farm,  assist- 
ing his  father,  until  his  marriage  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  when  he  bought 
a  farm  of  one  hundred  acres,  one  and  one-half  miles  east  of  Stahlstown,  and 
this  he  has  since  cultivated  and  on  it  made  his  home.  He  is  an  experienced 
and  intelligent  farmer,  and  the  condition  of  his  farm  shows  that  it  is  control- 
led by  a  master  hand.  Following  family  practice,  Mr.  Larimer  is  a  member 
of  the  United  Presbyterian  church,  and  affiliates  with  the  Democratic  party. 
He    married,    June     11,    1891,    Sadie    Monticue,    born   December   26,    1869, 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  511 

daughter  of  Edward  and  Missouri  (Kastner)  Monticue.  Edward  IMonticue 
served  with  honor  in  the  union  army  during  the  civil  war.  Tlic  children  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  R.  Larimer  are :  Ina,  born  September  5,  1892 ;  Simon, 
April  24,  1895;  Earlin,  July  12,  1897;  and  Ivan  ^1.,  July  29,  1901. 

ALBERT  GR-ANT  WEXGERT,  a  valued  and  highly  respected 
citizen  of  Grcensburg,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  who  holds  a 
responsible  position  in  the  Kelly  &  Jones  works,  and  is  a  school  director  in 
his  district,  is  a  representative  of  an  honored  family  of  Pennsylvania,  which 
traces  its  ancestry  to  Germany. 

Peter  Wengert,  grandfather  of  Albert  Grant  Wengcrt,  and  the  pioneer 
ancestor  of  the  family  in  America,  was  born  in  Germany,  and  emigrated  to 
the  L'nited  States  in  the  early  forties.  He  settled  in  Allegheny  county,  Penn- 
.  sylvania,  near  Pittsburg,  where  he  followed  his  trade  of  tailoring  for  a  number 
of  years.  He  then  removed  to  Westmoreland  county,  locating  on  a  farm  in 
Ligonier  township,  in  the  Ligonier  valley,  and  after  a  few  years  removed  to 
Monroe  county,  Ohio,  where  he  was  occupied  with  farming  for  several  years. 
He  returned  to  Westmoreland  county  in  i858,and  settled  on  a  farm  in  Unity 
township.  He  married  Louisa  Schultz,  in  Germany,  and  had  eight  children : 
I.  Mary  Anna,  born  in  Germany,  married  Jacob  Wineman,  a  farmer  of 
Hempfield  township,  and  had  children :  Louisa  and  John.  2.  Barbara, 
born  in  Germany,  died  in  1889.  3.  Philip,  a  farmer  of  Hempfield  township. 
married  (first)  Catherine  Uber,  and  had  children :  Clark  Harrison,  Albert 
Philip,  and  Charles  Arter.  ]\Iarried  (second)  Caroline  Uber,  a  sister  of  his 
deceased  wife,  and  had  children :  Minnie  Eva,  Ira  Wesley,  and  Carrie  Sa- 
lome, who  died  at  the  age  of  two  years.  He  married  (third)  Mary  Spindler, 
and  they  had  children :  Katherine  Ada,  who  died  at  the  age  of  eight  years ; 
Thomas  Peter ;  and  Clarence  Harvey.  4.  Henry,  of  whom  later.  5.  Ja- 
cob, died  at  the  age  of  three  years.  6.  Michael,  married  (first)  Ada  Pool, 
daughter  of  Joseph  and  Caroline  (Baker)  Pool,  farmers  of  Hempfield  town- 
ship. He  married  (second)  Capitola  Hinkle,  and  they  reside  at  Hopwood, 
Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania.  7.  Louisa,  married  Daniel  Armbrust,  of 
Hempfield  township,  and  they  have  ten  children :  Luclla,  married  William 
Smith;  Mary,  married  Charles  Wengert;  Sadie,  deceased;  Irene,  deceased; 
George,  Anna,  John,  Lucian,  deceased ;  Ruth  and  Charles.  8.  IMargaret, 
single,  resides  in  Pittsburg. 

Henry  Wengcrt,  second  son  and  fourth  child  of  Peter  and  Louisa 
(Schultz)  Wengert,  was  born  in  Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania,  September 
29,  1847.  He  was  educated  in  the  district  schools  in  Monroe  county,  Ohio, 
and  returned  with  his  father  in  the  fall  of  1858  to  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  followed  the  occupation  of  farming  for  the  greater 
part  of  his  life.  He  is  a  man  of  considerable  influence  in  his  community, 
affiliates  with  the  Re]niblican  party,  and  has  served  in  the  common  council 
of  the  borough  of  Hufftown  for  two  terms.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church.  He  married,  November  =;,  1S72,  Mary  Emma  Momyer,  daughter 
of  Joseph  C.  and  Louisa  (Blackston)  Momyer.  of  Unity  townshi].-.  and  they 
have  five  children:  Albert  Grant,  of  whom  later;  Delia,  born  August  15, 
1876,  married  Dallas  Atkinson,  who  died  February  i,  1899,  ^"^^  ^'^ey  '^'^'"1  one 
ciiild,  Ralph,  born  September  12,  1897;  George  Robert,  born  February  28, 
1878:  married  Emily  y\man ;  Mary  Elizabeth,  married  Cyrus  Hayden,  son  of 
John  R.  Hayden  (see  John  R.  Hayden  sketch)-,  and  they  have  one  child, 
Louise  Dorothv.  bom  December  24,  1901 ;  Jessie  Laura,  born  September  5, 
1886. 


5ii 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 


Albert  Grant  Wengert,  eldest  child  of  Henry  and  Mar_y  Emma  (Mom- 
yer)  Wengert,  was  born  in  Hempfield  township,  borough  of  Youngwood, 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  August  15,  1873-.  He  was  educated  at 
Todd's,  White's  and  Barnhart's  schoolhouses  in  Henipfielrl  township.  For 
five  years  he  was  engaged  in  various  positions  in  the  gi;ncral  store,  and  then 
as  clerk  in  Kelly  &  Jones  works,  where  he  has  been  for  the  past  three  years, 
and  where  his  services  are  duly  appreciated.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church,  and  is  one  of  the  most  popular  young  men  of  his  neighborhood.  He 
is  active  in  his  support  of  the  Republican  party,  and  has  served  several  temis 
as  director  of  the  schools  of  Hufftown,  where  he  resides.  He  married,  Octo- 
ber 18,  1898,  Lorena  B.  Easton,  born  October  18,  1874,  died  May  4,  1902. 
daughter  of  William  and  Anna  (Lynch)  Easton,  of  Elizabeth,  Allegheny 
county,  PennsA'lvania,  and  had  two  children :  Mary  Lorena,  born  January 
4,   1900,  and  a  child  that  died  in  infancy. 

PHILIP  H.  WALTHOUR.  Among  the  county's  highly  respected 
citizens  must  be  numbered  Philip  H.  Walthour,  of  Greensburg.  Both  the 
paternal  and  maternal  grandparents  of  Mr.  Walthour  emigrated  from  Ger- 
many at  least  a  century  ago.  His  father,  Conrad  Walthour,  was  born  in 
Westmoreland  county,  and  married  Christina  Heck,  a  native  of  the  same 
county,  where  their  descendants  have  continued  to  reside. 

Philip  H.  Walthour,  son  of  Conrad  and  Christina  (Heck)  Walthour,  was 
born  October  24,  1825,  in  Hempfield  township,  and  has  always  lived  in  his 
native  county.  His  neighbors  testified  to  the  esteem  and  confidence  in  which 
they  held  him  by  electing  him  to  the  office  of  school  trustee,  the  duties  of  which 
position  he  discharged  in  the  most  creditable  and  satisfactory  manner.  His 
political  affiliations  are  with  the  Democratic  party,  and  he  is  a  member  of 
the  Lutheran  church.  Mr.  W^althour  married  in  1855,  Hannah  Densmore, 
and  their  children  were :  Angeline,  William,  John  Taylor,  Lewis,  Ida  May,  and 
Clarkson  F.  Mrs.  Walthour  was  born  March  27,  1837,  ""•  Westmoreland 
county,  and  was  a  daughter  of  John  and  Susan  (Greenewalt)  Densmore.  Her 
grandparents  came  from  Germany.  Her  death  occurred  June  26,  1903,  an 
event  which  deprived  her  husband  and  children  of  a  most  excellent  wife  and 
mother. 

JC)HN  K.  RAUB.  The  grandparents  of  John  K.  Raub,  of  \'ander- 
grift,  were  John  and  Mary  (Windrum)  Raub,  both  natives  of  Ireland,  who  as 
children  were  brought  to  the  United  States  by  their  parents.  Both  the  Raub 
and  Windrum  families  took  up  government  land  in  Armstrong  county, 
Pennsylvania. 

John  T.  Raub,  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Windrum)  Raub,  was  born  in 
Whitesburg,  Armstrong  county,  and  resided  on  the  homestead  until  1901, 
when  he  retired  and  moved  to  the  village  of  Whitesburg,  where  he  now  lives. 
He  is  still,  however,  the  owner  of  the  old  farm.  He  is  a  Republican  in  poli- 
tics, and  has  been  repeatedly  pressed  to  run  for  office,  but  has  always  refused 
to  allow  his  name  to  be  used.  For  thirty-three  years  he  has  been  a  ruling 
elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Raub  married  Elizabeth  AlcConnell, 
and  they  had  four  children,  three  of  whom  survive:  John  K.,  mentioned 
hereinafter ;  Wiliam  A.,  of  Vandergrift ;  and  Blanche  R.,  at  home.  The 
mother  of  the  family  died  in  1895. 

John  K.  Raub,  son  of  John  T.  and  Elizabeth  (McConnell)  Raub,  was 
born  November  3,  1871,  in  Whitesburg,  and  received  his  education  in  the 
Mcintosh  public  schools  in  his  native  county.     Prior  to  his  seventeenth  year 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  513 

he  entered  tlie  service  of  the  Apollo  Iron  &  Steel  Company,  beginning  in  a 
minor  position  in  the  galvanizing  department.  From  this  he  rose  step  by 
step  until  he  was  made  extra  roller,  and  in  ^March,  1896,  was  transferred  to 
tlie  \'andergrift  mills,  where  he  was  among  the  first  to  take  part  in  the  turning 
of  the  first  wheel  in  the  new  plant,  l-'or  some  three  months  he  worked  in  the 
capacity  of  rougher,  and  in  June  was  promoted  to  be  one  of  the  regular 
rollers,  in  which  position  he  has  since  served.  He  belongs  to  Vandergrift 
Lodge,  Xo.  1 1 16,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  in  the  sphere  of  politics  adheres  to  the 
Republican  party.  He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
Mr.  Raub  married,  July  20,  1893,  Maggie  Duella  Alcorn,  and  they  have  a 
daughter  and  a  son:  Ouida  Gleson,  and  Clifford  Alcorn.  Mrs.  Raub  is  a, 
daughter  of  James  B.  and  Lucinda  (Hoffman)  Alcorn,  of  Paulton.  West- 
moreland county.  Mr.  Alcorn  was  for  many  years  a  contractor,  but  has  now 
retired,  having  turned  the  business  over  to  his  two  sons,  Adam  and  Lemuel. 

ROBERT  \\'.  ^IcXUTT.  Thomas  McNutt,  father  of  Robert  W. 
McX'utt.  of  \'andergrift,  was  born  in  1848,  in  Indiana  county,  and  wheiT 
about  seventeen  years  of  age  left  home  and  went  to  Apollo,  where  for  a 
short  time  he  worked  on  the  railroad.  Subsequently  for  a  brief  period  he  was- 
employed  in  the  brick  yards,  and  in  1867  entered  the  mills  of  the  Apollo 
Iron  &  Steel  Company.  Beginning  at  the  bottom,  he  worked  his  way  up  to 
the  position  of  roller,  to  which  he  was  promoted  in  the  late  eighties.  For 
thirty-eight  years  he  has  been  continuously  identified  with  the  iron  industry, 
and  his  record  in  the  mills  is  longer  than  that  of  any  other  man  there,  with 
but  one  exception.  Since  March,  1905,  he  has  been  off  duty  on  account  of 
illness.  He  belongs  to  the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees,  is  a  Democrat  in  poli- 
tics and  is  a  member  of  the  ^lethodist  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  McNutt  mar- 
ried Sarah  Buzzard,  and  of  their  seven  children  six  survive :  Robert  W., 
mentioned  hereinafter;  Albert  M.,  roller  in  Vandergrift  mills;  Lillie  May, 
wife  of  H.  E.  Grimm,  of  Vandergrift  Heights ;  Grace  G.,  wife  of  C.  F. 
Shaffer,  roller  in  V'andergrift  mills:  Bertha,  at  home;  Amia  P.,  bookkeeper 
in  A.  J.  Allison's  dry  goods  store.  \"andergrift. 

Robert  W.  McNutt,  son  of  Thomas  and  Sarah  (Buzzard)  McNutt,  was 
born  November  i,  1870,  in  Apollo,  where  he  acquired  his  education  in  the 
common  schools.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  went  to  work  in  the  mills  as 
"pickler's  helper,"  and  from  this  position,  the  lowest  in  the  mills,  worked  his 
way  up  to  that  of  sheet  heater.  In  1894  he  entered  the  B.  F.  Jennings  iron 
works  in  Leechburg,  in  a  similar  capacity,  and  after  a  short  time  was  ad- 
vanced to  the  position  of  roller.  In  the  latter  part  of  1895  he  left  Leechburg 
and  returned  to  Apollo,  where  for  three  years  he  was  employed  in  various 
positions  in  the  mills  of  the  .\pollo  Iron  &  Steel  Company.  Late  in  1897 
he  was  made  roller,  and  in  February,  1898,  was  transferred  to  Vandergrift, 
W'here  he  has  since  worked  continuouslv  in  the  same  capacity.  He  affiliates 
with  Kiskiminetas  Lodge,  No.  617,  F.  and  A.  M.,  is  an  adherent  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic party,  and  a  member  and  officer  of  the  Methodist  E])iscopal  church. 
Mr.  McXutt  married,  March  16,  1893,  Kate  Humphreys,  daughter  of  Robert 
-M.  and  Mary  Jane  Wnfjdall,  of  Sharpsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  they  have  one 
child.  F.<lwin  Roland  McXutt. 

WILL  J.   WALTER.     The   parents   of   Will    J.     Walter,    of   Xcw 
Kensington,  were'  John  and  Hannah  Walter,  natives  of  South  Wales,  where 
their  son,  \\'\\\  J.,  was  born  March  6,  1866,  and  received  his  education  in  the 
common  schools. 
a  -33 


514  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

At  the  age  of  twelve  years  he  became  an  errand  boy  in  the  Hafod 
copper  mills  of  Vivian  &  Sons,  in  Swansea,  where  he  remained  about  three 
years  and  a  half.  He  then  worked  for  two  years  in  the  Landore  steel  works 
of  Dr.  Siemens,  after  which  he  returned  to  the  Hafod  copper  mills,  where 
he  was  employed  as  time  and  pay-roll  clerk  and  later  as  shipping  clerk,  making 
in  all  a  period  of  three  vears.  August  19,  1887,  he  sailed  from  Liverpool  for 
the  United  States,  and  on  his  arrival  settled  in  Pittsburg,  where  he  engaged 
with  ]\Ioorhead  &  McLean  in  the  open  hearth  department,  remaining  until 
1894.  In  1895  he  moved  to  Parnassus  and  entered  the  service  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Tin  Plate  Company,  which  in  1898  was  absorbed  by  the  American 
Tin  Plate  Company.  He  worked  in  the  capacity  of  shearman  until  May,  1902, 
■when  he  was  made  paymaster  of  the  same  plant.  Six  months  later  he  was 
transferred  to  the  New  York  office  of  the  company  to  organize  and  take 
charge  of  the  statistical  labor  and  pay-roll  bureau.  In  December,  1903,  the 
Ame'rican  Tin  Plate  and  American  Sheet  Steel  companies  consolidated,  Mr. 
Walter  retaining  his  position,  and  in  January,  1904,  the  general  offices  were 
removed  to  Pittsburg  and  established  in  the  Frick  building,  where  he  is  stiJI 
in  charge.  In  1898  he  began  to  publish  what  is  known  as  the  Will  J.  Walter's 
Ideal  Readv  Reckoner  for  computing  the  earnings  of  different  classes  of 
mill  workers.  The  utility  of  this  invention  has  secured  for  it  general  rec- 
ognition. 

In  1902  Mr.  Walter  held  the  office  of  auditor  of  New  Kensmgton  bor- 
ough. He  belongs  to  Lodge  No.  1048,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  New  Kensington,  ^in 
wliich  he  holds  the  rank  of  vice  grand,  and  is  past  chancellor  of  Lodge  No. 
81  K.  P.,  also  of  New  Kensington.  He  affiliates  likewise  with  Easier  Lily 
Rebekah  Lodge,  No.  223,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Mercer  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  is 
a  Republican  and  a  member  of  the  Reformed  church.  Mr.  Walter  mar- 
ried Martha  A.,  daughter  of  Richard  and  Sarah  Jones,  of  Wheatland,  Mercer 
countv,  and  their  children  were:  Sarah  E..  bom  May  13,  1890;  Edgar,  born 
February  25,  1892,  died  April  18,  1892:  and  Arnold  C,  born  April  17,  1895. 

JOHN  PATERSON.  The  father  of  John  Paterson,  of  \'andergrift 
Heights,  was  James  Paterson,  who  was  born  in  Kilpatrick,  Dumbartonshire, 
Scotland,  where  he  learned  the  trade  of  ship  cabinetmaker,  at  which  he 
worked  to  the  close  of  his  life.  He  married  Elizabeth  Hamilton,_  and_  two  of 
their  five  children  are  now  living :  William,  shearman  in  Vandergrift  mills  :  and 
John,  mentioned  hereinafter.  'Mr.  Paterson  died  in  1869,  and  his  widow  mar- 
ried Alexander  Hamilton,  bv  whom  she  had  seven  children,  four  of  whom 
survive :  David,  sheet  heater  in  Vandergrift  mills ;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Frank 
McOuade,  of  Alvv,  West  Virginia;  Alexander,  sheet  heater  in  Vandergrift 
mills;  and  James  B.,  of  Tarentum.  In  April,  1879,  the  family  emigrated  to 
the  United  States,  settling  at  McKeesport,  where  the  stepfather  worked  m  the 
coal  mines,  having  been' reared  to  a  miner's  life.  He  is  still  living  and  re- 
sides at  Buena  Vista,  Allegheny  county.  Mrs.  Hamilton  died  August  21, 
1884,  at  Blvthedale,  in  the. same' county,  being  then  in  the  forty-first  year  of 
her  a.ge. 

fohn  Paterson,  son  of  James  and  Elizabeth  ( ?Iamilton)  Paterson.  was 
born"  December  18,  1864,  in  Glas.gow,  Scotland,  and  was  in  his  fifteenth  year 
when  the  familv  came  to  the  United  States.  He  secured  a  position  in  the 
Tube  mills  in  McKeesport,  where,  however,  he  remained  but  four  months, 
the  family  removing  to  Sutervillc,  where  for  some  fifteen  vears  he  worked 
in  the  mines.  In  1895  't?  went  to  Apollo,  obtaining  the  position  of  shearman 
in  the  mills  of  the  AJiollo  Iron  &  Steel  Company.     Later  he  served  for  five 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  515 

years  as  weighmaster  and  then  resumed  his  old  position  of  shearman,  in 
which  capacity  he  is  now  serving.  When  the  \'andergrift  mills  were  opened 
he  was  transferred  thither,  and  in  the  spring  of  1897  hnilt  his  present  resi- 
dence on  A'andergrift  Heights.  He  is  past  master  of  Kiskiminetas  Lodge, 
No.  617,  F.  and  A.  M.,  a  member  of  Orient  Chapter,  No.  247,  of  Kittanning, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Pittsburg  Commandery,  No.   i,  K.  T. 

^lr.  Paterson  married,  June  21,  1888.  Margaret,  born  in  Scotland,  and 
brought  to  this  country  in  1869,  by  her  parents,  James  and  Margaret  (Dun- 
lap)  Buchan,  the  former  a  miner  by  occupation.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are 
now  deceased.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Paterson  are  the  parents  of  the  following  chil- 
dren :  William  Hamilton.  ]\Iargaret  Buchan,  John  Gordon,  James  Frazier, 
Harry  Bradstock,  David  Muir,  Alexander,  Susan  Elma,  twin  to  Alexander ; 
and  Donald  \^'atson.     All  these  children  are  at  home  with  their  parents. 

CASSIUS  C.  :\IcMAHOX.    The  paternal  grandfather  of  Cassius  C. 

McMahon,  of  \'andergrift,  was  Benjamin  F.  McMahon,  a  ph3-sician,  whose 
son.  also  Benjamin  F.  ?kIcMahon,  was  born  in  1827,  in  Ohio,  and  adopted  his 
father's  profession,  receiving  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  After  prac- 
ticing for  a  short  time  he  entered  the  ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  becoming  a  member  of  the  Ohio  conference.  He  is  said  by  those  who 
■knew  him  to  have  been  an  able  speaker,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  pastor 
of  a  church  at  Steuhenville,  Ohio.  ]\Ir.  McIMahon  married  Elizabeth  Davis, 
and  two  sons  were  born  to  them:  John  A.,  deceased;  and  Cassius  C,  men- 
tioned hereinafter.  Mr.  McMahon  closed  his  useful  life  at  the  earlv  age  of 
thirty-four,  his  death  occurring  August,  1861.  His  widow,  with  her  children, 
returned  to  her  old  home  at  Blairsville,  Pennsylvania,  where  she  passed  the  ' 
remainder  of  her  life  and  died  September  9,  1S93. 

Cassius  C.  IMcMahon,  son  of  Benjamin  F.  and  Elizabeth  (Davis) 
McMahon.  was  born  September  17.  i860,  in  Carrollton,  Carroll  countv,  Ohio, 
and  was  but  eleven  months  old  when  his  father  died.  He  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  Blairsville.  and  about  his  sixteenth  year  became  clerk  in  a 
general  store.  Finding  the  confinement  injurious  to  his  health,  he  was  ad- 
vised by  his  physician,  at  the  end  of  two  years,  to  leave  the  store,  which  he 
did  and  went  to  work  in  the  foundry.  After  two  years  and  a  half,  his  health 
being  greatly  improved,  he  resumed  clerical  work  and  for  three  vears  was 
employed  in  the  store  of  J.  M.  Harvey.  He  then  resigned  in  order  to  accept 
a  clerical  position  in  the  office  of  the  master  mechanic  of  the  West  Pennsyl- 
vania division  of  the  Pennsylvania  railroad.  At  the  end  of  five  years  he  again 
resigned,  in  1890.  for  the  purpose  of  associating  himself  in  a  clerical  capacity 
with  the  Apollo  Iron  &  Steel  Company,  remaining  until  the  completion  of  the 
extensive  plant  at  \^andcrgrift.  to  which  he  was  transferred.  When  the  plant 
was  absorbed  by  the  American  Sheet  &  Tin  Plate  Companv  :\lr.  McMahon 
was  promoted  to  the  position  of  assistant  superintendent  of 'tlie  mills  and  in 
July.  1892,  was  made  superintendent  of  the  Hvde  I'ark  plant,  in  which  ]x)si- 
tion  he  IS  now  serving.  He  belongs  to  the  Roval  Arcainnn,  votes  wdth  the  Re- 
publicans, and  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  servino-  as 
president  of  the  board  of  trustees.  Mr.  McMahon  married  in  1897,  Ella  M 
Jack,  of  Apollo,  and  they  had  four  sons :  John  F.,  Cassius  C  deceaserl  •  Rob- 
ert C,  and  ^\■ilbur  Hugh. 

_  John  A.  McMahon,  tlie  deceased  brother  of  Air.  McMalion,  at  the  age  of 
sixteen  became  salesman  in  a  general  store  at  Wilkinsburg.  and  after  remain- 
mg  there  a  short  time  secured  a  position  in  the  I'ittsburg  Dostoffice  where  he 
came  m  time  to  occuj)y  an   important  place.     .After  remaining  several   vears 


0 


1 6  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


he  resigned  in  order  to  accept  a  position  in  the  office  of  the  auditor  of  the 
PennsyTvania  railroad,  a  position  in  which  he  served  during  the  remainder  of 
his  Hfe,  his  death  occurring  June  7,  1893. 

DAVID  J.  OLINGER.  The  grandfather  of  David  J.  OHnger,  of 
Vandergrift,  was  Nicholas  Olinger,  who  was  born  in  Armstrong  county, 
Pennsylvania.  He  married  Maria  Hartman,  also  of  Armstrong  county.  He 
was  a  farmer.  They  had  a  family  of  several  children:  Nancy,  Margaret, 
Adam,  Joseph,  Sarah,  Isaac,  Rebecca.  All  settled  in  western  Pennsylvania 
except  Isaac,  who  went  to  the  state  of  Washington.  The  Olingers  were  Ger- 
mans. 

Joseph  Olinger,  son  of  Nicholas  and  Maria  (Hartman)  Olmger,  was 
born  in  1847,  in  Armstrong  county,  was  reared  on  the  farm,  and  followed  ag- 
ricultural pursuits  until  1893,  when  he  moved  to  Apollo  and  engaged  in  the 
livery  and  teaming  business.  In  1903  he  retired  and  took  up  his  abode  on  a 
farm'  on  the  outskirts  of  Apollo.  He  served  some  years  as  constable,  and  in 
politics  is  a  staunch  Republican.  Mr.  Olinger  married  Mary  A.  Sowers, 
daughter  of  David  Sowers,  born  1817,  died  1893  ;  he  married  Catherine  Shan- 
non, born  1829,  died  1867.  Of  the  eight  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Olinger,  six  survive :  David  T-.  mentioned  hereinafter ;  William  L.,  of  Scott- 
dale -"Burton  E.,  of  Vandergrift;  Lottie,  wife  of  Harry  Fulton,  of  Leechburg; 
Joseph  L.,  of  Leechburg;  and  James,  at  home.  The  mother  of  these  children 
died  Tune,  1896. 

David  J.  Olinger,  son  of  Joseph  and  IMary  A.  (Sowers)  Olinger,  was 
born  June  20,  1872,  in  Armstrong  county,  and  received  his  education  hi  the 
common  schools.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  went  to  work  in  the  mills  of 
the  Apollo  Iron  &  Steel  Company,  in  Apollo,  securing  a  position  in  the  gal- 
vanizing department.  One  year  later  he  was  transferred  to  the  sheet  mill  as 
second  catcher,  and  from  this  position  worked  his  way  u])  to  that  of  roller. 
On  the  completion  of  the  Vandergrift  mills  he  was  transferred  to  that  place. 
He  belongs  to  Kiskiminetas  Lodge,  No.  617,  F.  and  A.  M.,  Orient  Chapter  of 
Kittanning,  No.  247,  and  Vandergrift  Lodge,  No.  11 16,  I.  O.  O.  F.  He  is  a 
Republican'and  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Mr.  Olinger  married,  Au- 
gust 8,  1895,  Mazie  Burkett,  of  Apollo,  daughter  of  G.  W.  Burkett,  and  their 
children  were :  Leslie  J.,  Edward  Dale,  Mabel,  deceased ;  and  David. 

'  JONATHAN  MOORE  WALTERS.  The  father  of  Jonathan 
Moore  Walters,  of  Vandergrift,  was  Philip  Franklin  Walters,  who  was  born 
in  1850,  and  in  early  life  was  a  coal  miner,  but  in  later  years  was  employed  in 
the  mills  of  the  Apollo  Iron  &  Steel  Company,  at  Apolio.  He  is  now  leading 
a  retired  life  in  Cherry  Lane,  Pennsylvania.  He  is  a  Democrat  and  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  Episcooal  church.  Mr.  Walters-  married  Sarah  Elizabeth 
Moore,  and  six  of  their  eight  children  survive :  Minnie  L.,  wife  of  N.  L.  Wol- 
ford,  of  Cherry  Lane;  Jonathan  Moore,  mentioned  hereinafter;  Catharine  A., 
wife  of  J.  G.  Rarick,  of  Cherry  Lane;  Harry  L.,  of  Vandergrift;  Celia  A., 
wife  of  Harry  C.  Campbell,  of  Canal  Dover,  Ohio;  and  Park  Alonzo,  of 
Morning  Sun,  Westmoreland  county. 

Jonathan  Moore  Walters,  son  of  Philip  Franklin  and  Sarah  Elizabeth 
(Moore)  Walters,  was  born  March  it,  1873,  at  Sandy  Creek,  Allegheny 
county,  and  received  a  common  school  education.  At  twenty  years  he  went 
to  work  in  the  mills  of  the  Apollo  Iron  &  Steel  Company,  beginning  as  a 
matcher  and  rising  step  by  step.  In  the  spring  of  1897,  on  the  opening  of  the 
Vandergrift  mills,  he  was  transferred  to  that  place,  and  June  26,  .1897,  was 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  517 

advanced  to  liis  present  position  of  roller.  He  is  a  Prohibitionist  in  politics, 
and  a  member  and  officer  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Walters 
married,  April  6,  1898,  Mary  M.,  daughter  of  T.  T.  Townsend,  a  prominent 
farmer  of  Armstrong  county,  his  farm  being  situated  near  Apollo.  Mr.  and 
]\Irs.  Walters  are  the  parents  of  two  children:  Helen  Beatrice,  and  Dale 
Edward. 

JOHN  D.  DA^'IS.  The  paternal  grandparents  of  John  D.  Davis,  of 
\'andergrift,  were  Archibald  and  Mary  Davis,  whose  son,  Stewart  Davis,  was 
born  about  1842,  in  Blairsville.  Mr.  Davis  was  a  butcher  of  that  place  and 
instructed  Stewart  in  the  business,  eventually  making  him  a  member  of  the 
firm  which  was  know-n  for  years  as  A.  Davis  &  Son.  After  the  death  of 
his  father  Stewart  conducted  the  business  alone  during  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  He  belonged  to  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  and  the  A.  O.  U.  W.,  and  was  a  Demo- 
crat in  politics.  For  twenty  years  he  held  office  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  of  which  he  was  a  member.  Mr.  Davis  married  Amanda  J.  Devinny, 
and  they  had  three  sons :  John  D.,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  Stewart  A.,  second 
vice  president  of  the  American  Sheet  &  Tin  Plate  Company,  Pittsburg :  and 
^^"illiam  Leroy,  assistant  to  Charles  H.  Sloan,  district  manager  of  the  Kiski- 
minetas  \'alley  plants.  ;\Ir.  Davis,  the  father,  died  June  6,  1897,  at  the  age 
of  tifty-five,  and  his  widow  resides  in  Vandergrift. 

John  D.  Davis,  son  of  Stewart  and  Amanda  J.  (Deviimy)  Davis,  was 
born  October  19,  1865,  in  Blairsville,  where  he  received  his  education  in  the 
public  schools  and  at  the  Blairsville  Academy.  Out  of  school  hours  he  was 
emj)loyed  in  his  father's  meat  market.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  went  to 
work  as  a  locomotive  fireman  on  the  West  Pennsylvania  division  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania railroad.  Six  years  later  he  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  en- 
gineer and  for  nine  years  thereafter  ran  an  engine.  In  1899  he  resigned  in 
order  to  accept  a  position  as  locomotive  enginer  w-ith  the  American  Sheet  Steel 
Company,  at  ^'andergrift.  In  }ilay,  1902,  he  was  made  assistant  chief  en- 
gineer, and  in  May,  1905,  became  chief  engineer,  having  full  charge  of  all 
the  motor  power  of  the  Vandergrift,  Lecchburg,  Hyde  Park  and  Saltsburg 
plants.  These  four  plants,  being  under  one  management,  are  known  as  the 
■"\'andergrift-Apollo  I'nit."  Mr.  Davis  belongs  to  the  Brotherhood  of  Loco- 
motive Engineers.  Kiskiminetas  Lodge,  No.  "617,  F.  and  A.  M.,  Duquesne 
Chapter,  No.  193,  R.  A.  M.,  of  Pittsburg,  Allegheny  Commandery  No.  35, 
K.  T.,  also  a  member  of  the  R.  A.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  a  mem- 
ber and  officer  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  :\lr.  Davis  married  in 
1898,  Grace  Henderson,  of  Blairsville.  and  they  have  one  child,  Mildred  Grace 
Davis. 

GEORGE  W.  CRAWFORD.  The  paternal  gran.lfather  of  George 
M".  Crawford,  of  Apollo,  was  Enoch  Crawford,  a  native  of  Maryland.  He 
was  the  first  of  this  branch  of  the  family  to  come  to  Westmoreland  county. 
He  was  twice  married,  his  first  wife  being  Catharine  KeifTer,  who  bore  him 
children:  Margaret.  Levina,  Eliza,  Catharine,  Sarah,  and  Washington  M., 
mentioned  hereinafter.  By  his  second  wife  Rachel  Templeton  he  was  the 
fatlier  of  two  children :  George  W.,  and  Evvline. 

Washington  M.  Crawford,  son  of  Enoch  and  Catharine  (Keiffer)  Craw- 
ford, was  born  April  3,  1827,  in  Washington  township,  and  until  1861  worked 
at  the  blacksmith's  trade-.  In  that  year  he  engaged  in  agriculture  on  the  farm 
now  owned  by  his  son,  George  W.  Crawford.  He  married  Susanna  Gumbert, 
born  March  12,  1826,  in  Allegheny  tow^nship.     Thev  were  the  parents  of  one 


5i8  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

child,  George  W.,   mentioned  hereinafter.     The  deatli  of  Mr.   Crawford  oc- 
curred April  II,  1889,  and  his  widow  passed  away  July  28,  1899. 

George  W.  Crawford,  son  of  Washington  M.  and  Susanna  (Gumbert) 
Crawford  was  born  August  20,  1852,  in  Allegheny  township,  and  was  nine  years 
old  when  his  parents  moved  to  the  farm  in  Washington  township.  There  he 
grew  up  on  the  farm,  receiving  his  education  in  the  common  schools.  On  reach- 
ing manhood  he  became  by  choice  an  agriculturist,  and  now  cultivates  one  of  the 
finest  farms  in  his  district.  His  fields  are  productive,  his  fences  are  well  kept 
and  neat  in  appearance,  and  his  stock  shows  the  care  of  a  master  hand.  His 
farm  consists  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  and  he  is  also  the  owner  of  an- 
other in  Allegheny  township,  comprising  seventy-five  acres.  He  belongs  to 
the  following  fraternal  organizations :  Apollo  Lodge,  No.  437,  F.  and  A.  M. ; 
Mineral  Point  Lodge,  No.  615.  L  O.  O.  F. ;  Leechlaurg  Encampment,  No.  192; 
and  Armstrong  Lodge  No.  412,  K.  P.  He  is  a  staunch  Republican,  and  a 
member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Mr.  Crawford  married.  May  21,  1874,  Hen- 
rietta J.,  born  December  15,  1852.  in  Allegheny  township,  daughter  of  Michael 
and  Catharine  Artman.  The  following  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs,  Crawford :  Morgan  M.,  married  lenza  Haynes,  and  had  one  child,  now 
deceased :  Charles  R.,  married  Ida  Reighly,  and  has  one  daughter :  Frank, 
married  B.  M.  Yonkins,  and  has  three  children  ;  Susan  C,  wife  of  William  P. 
Bortz  and  mother  of  one  child;  Arthur  M.,  James  F>..  George  L.,  and  Clyde  G,- 

JOHN  S.  SNYDER.  .\ni(ing  the  old  families  of  Westmoreland 
county  who  trace  their  descent  from  German  ancestry  must  be  numbered  that 
to  which  belongs  John  S.  Snyder,  of  Donegal  township.  For  more  than  a 
centurv  this  numerous  and  worthy  race  has  been  resident  in  the  county. 

Frederick  Schneider  (as  the  name  was  originally  spelled),  was  a  farmer, 
and  in  1797  came  from  York  county,  Pennsylvania,  to  Westmoreland  county. 
He  was  a  Whig  and  a  member  of  the  Reformed  church.  He  married  j\Iary 
George,  and  their  children  were;  George.  Peter.  Frederick,  John,  Adam,. 
Simon,  mentioned  hereinafter;  Mary,  Katharine,  and  Elizabeth. 

Simon  Snyder,  son  of  Frederick  and  Mary  (George)  Schneider,  was  a 
farmer  and  bricklayer  and  helped  to  build  the  old  academy  at  Greensburg.  His 
political  views  were  those  held  by  the  Democratic  party,  and  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Lutheran  church.  He  married  Elizabeth  Williams,  and  their  chil- 
dren were:  John  S..  mentioned  hereinafter;  Mary  Jane,  married  John  B. 
Robert,  of  Johnstown,  and  the  mother  of  five  children ;  Mary  E..  Susan, 
Emma,  John  and  Richard  W. :  Frederick,  married  Sarah  Beistel,  and  has  two 
children  ;  Anna  and  Lizzie ;  Peter  S.,  married  Amanda  Montague,  and  has 
four  children;  Morris  J.,  Simon  H.,  Elsie  and  Carrie;  Richard  W.,  married 
Louisa  E.  Lllery,  and  has  eight  children ;  Charles  S.,  Elmer  E.,  Annie  L, 
Orrin,  Charlotte,  Ira,  Byron  and  Earl ;  Rachel,  died  in  childhood. 

John  S.  Snyder,  son  of  Simon  and  Elizabeth  (Williams)  Snvder,  was 
born  November  5,  1834,  'n  Donegal  township.  He  taught  school  for  five 
years.  He  then  learned  the  mason  and  bricklayers'  trade  and  for  many  years 
worked  in  Westmoreland  and  neighboring  counties.  Later  he  took  up  car- 
pentering at  which  he  still  works.  His  political  affiliations  are  with  the  Dem- 
ocrats, and  he  belongs  to  the  Lutheran  church.  He  married,  July  2.  i8q7, 
Caroline,  daughter  of  Robert  IMcKee.  of  Fairfield  township,  and  their  chil- 
dren were:  Sarah  Elizabeth,  born  IMav  6,  1858,  became  the  wife  of  Sylvester 
Montague,  and  has  nine  children;  Chalmers  C,  Wesley  Orrin.  Bessie,  Burt, 
Dorsey,  Russell.  Simon,  Fern  and  Alav;  Anna  M.,  married  T.  J.  R.  Johnson, 
and  has  three  children:  Emery,  Oliver  and  Charles;  Ella  M.,  wife  of  Corne- 


HISTORY   OF   irESTMOREL.-LXD   COUNTY.  519 

lius  Kuhiis,  and  has  two  children:  Ida  F.  and  Clarence;  Melda  AL.  married 
John  Coleman,  and  has  three  children :  Dennis  C,  Iva  ^lay,  and  Lucian  Doty ; 
Laura  A.,  married  William  Roadman,  and  has  ten  children:  Frank,  Amelia, 
John.  Irene,  Grace,  James,  Davis,  Charles,  Elvine,  and  an  infant  daughter; 
Alda  E.,  married  \\'illiam  Lindsey,  and  has  two  children :  Ernest  and  Madelle ; 
Effie  A.,  wife  of  William  H.  Baker,  and  had  one  child,  Lloyd,  who  is  now 
deceased :  William  Emery,  died  in  infancy. 

EMANUEL  BARKLEY.  A  list  of  the  leading  farmers  of  Done- 
gal township  would  be  incomplete  without  the  name  of  Emanuel  Barkley.  He 
is  a  grandson  of  Joseph  Barkley,  who  was  a  farmer,  a  Democrat  in  politics 
and  a  member  of  the  United  Brethren  church. 

Jacob  Barkley,  son  of  Joseph  Barkley,  was  also  a  farmer  and  a  Democrat, 
likewise  a  member  of  the  United  Jirethren  church.  He  married  Elizabeth 
Frick,  and  their  children  were :  Susannah,  married  George  Bixlcr,  of  Kansas ; 
Catharine,  married  Samuel  Fligger;  Joseph,  married  Mary  Ann  O'Hara,  who 
bore  him  two  children  :  William  and  Emma.  After  the  death  of  his  wife  he 
married  ^laria  Beistel,  who  was  by  him  the  mother  of  five  children :  Delia, 
George,  John,  Anna  and  Harvey.  Leah,  wife  of  David  JNliller,  and  has  five 
children;  Jacob,  married  Rachel  Larimer;  Elizabeth,  married  William  Lari- 
mer: Sarah,  married  r^Iontgomery  Scott;  Abraham,  married  (first)  Lucinda 
Hafifer,  (second)  Kennedy:  Mary  Ann,  married  James  Bixler ;  Eman- 
uel, mentioned  hereinafter.  Three  other  sons,  George,  David  and  Isaac,  are 
deceased. 

Emanuel  Barkley,  son  of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  (Frick)  Barkley,  was 
born  February  15,  1838,  in  Donegal  township,  and  has  always  been  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits.  In  the  sjihere  of  politics  he  follows'  in  the  footsteps 
of  his  father  and  grandfather  and  adheres  to  the  Democratic  partv.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Barkley  married  Sarah, 
daughter  of  William  Moody,  of  Donegal  township,  and  their  children  are : 
Jacob,  married  Hettie  Campbell,  and  has  four  children :  Emery,  Reuben,  Daisy 
and  Robert  Goodman  ;  Henrietta,  wife  of  John  Knupp,  and  has  one  chikl. 
Goldie :  Katharine,  married  Albert  Moore,  and  is  the  mother  of  two  chil- 
dren :    Raymond  and  Ira. 

ERIC  LUDWIG  HOOFRIXG.  The  father  of  Eric  Ludwig  Hoof- 
ring,  of  \andergrift,  was  Charles  Hoofring,  who  was  a  cabinetmaker  by  trade, 
and  married  Bertha  Watts,  like  himself  a  native  of  Sweden.  Of  the  six 
children  born  to  them  four  are  living:  Charles,  of  Montana:  John,  electrical 
engineer  in  France :  Hedvig,  resides  in  Sweden  ;  and  Eric  Ludwig,  mentioned 
hereinafter.  The  parents  of  these  children  both  died  in  their  native  country. 
Eric  Ludwig  Hoofring,  son  of  Charles  and  Bertha  (Watts)  Hoofring 
was  l)orn  June  10,  1864,  in  Stockholm,  Sweden,  where  he  acquired  his  educa- 
tion in  the  elementary  or  preparatory  schools.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  ap- 
jirenticed  himself  to  the  machinist's  trade  and  also  to  the  profession  of  elec- 
trical engineering.  In  1887,  after  the  expiration  of  his  time,  he  emigrated 
to  the  United  States,  settling  in  New  York  city,  where  he  was  em]5loved  in 
the  John  Stevenson  car  shops  as  a  machinist,  remaining  some  nine  months. 
In  the  summer  of  1888  he  went  to  Pittsburg  and  secured  a  jiosition  as  tool- 
maker  and  electrician  in  the  Lewis  Foundry  &  Machine  Companv,  retaining 
this  position  until  1895.  He  then  accepted'  the  position  of  master  mechanic 
with  the  Lincoln  Foundry  Companv  of  Pittsburg,  and  in  the  spring  of  1902 
was  transferred  to  their  \'andergrift  plant,  the  United  Engineering  &  Foun- 


520  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

dry  Company,  where  he  serves  in  the  same  capacity.  He  affiliates  with  \'an- 
dergrift  Lodge,  No.  751,  R.  A.,  and  supports  with  his  vote  and  influence  the 
men  and  measures  advocated  and  endorsed  by  the  Repubhcan  party.  Mr. 
Hoofring  married  in  1884,  Anna  Larson,  of  Stockholm,  Sweden,  and  of  their 
seven  children  five  are  living:  Bertha,  wife  of  Charles  Wineman,  of  \  ander- 
grift :  Elizabeth,  Charles,  Mary  and  Eric.  All  of  these,  with  the  exception 
of  ]\lrs.  Wineman,  arc  at  home  with  their  parents. 

WILLIAM  L.  J.  PRUGH.  The  great-grandfather  of  William  L. 
J.  Prugh  came  from  Prussia  and  settled  in  the  eastern  part  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  Abner  Prugh,  the  grandfather  of  William  L.  J.  Prugh,  came  west  and  set- 
tled in  Armstrong  county,  Pennsylvania.  The  father  of  William  L.  J.  Prugh,  of 
Vandergrift,  was  William  A.  Prugh,  who  was  born  in  Elderton,  Armstrong 
county,  where  he  received  his  preparatory  education  in  the  public  schools, 
passing  thence  to  Iron  City  College,  Pittsburg.  His  first  employment  was  in 
mercantile  business  in  Allegheny  City,  but  after  some  years  he  disposed  of 
the  business  and  was  then  employed  for  two  years  in  a  mercantile  business  in 
Pittsburg.  In  December,  1876,  he  moved  to  Armstrong  county,  where  he  has 
since  been  engaged  in  teaching  in  the  public  schools,  and  is  now  one  of  the 
best  known  educators  in  the  county.  He  resides  in  the  borough  of  Atwood 
on  a  farm  owned  by  his  sons.  He  is  a  Prohibitionist  in  politics,  and  for  years 
has  served  as  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Prugh  married  Mary 
L.  Boggs,  born  in  Kentucky,  but  grew  up  in  Allegheny  City,  and  of  their  five 
children  four  survive:  Andrew  P.,  heater  in  Leechburg  mills;  William  L.  J., 
mentioned  hereinafter;  Lillian  G.,  wife  of  A.  W.  Hunter,  roller  in  Vander- 
grift mills;  and  Nellie  F.,  wife  of  Ezra  Hoover,  stock  dealer  of  Kittanning, 
Pennsvlvania.     The  mother  of  these  children  died  in  fall  of  1876. 

William  L.  J.  Prugh,  son  of  William  A.  and  Mary  L.  (Boggs))  Prugh, 
was  born  October  21,  1868,  in  Allegheny  City,  receiving  his  education  in  the 
public  schools  of  his  birthplace  and  at  Elderton  Academy.  In  his  fifteenth 
year  he  began  to  work  for  neighboring  farmers,  and  prior  to  his  eighteenth 
year  became  an  instructor  in  the  public  schools,  teaching  four  terms.  On 
May  4.  1890,  he  accepted  a  position  in  the  galvanizing  department  of  the 
Apollo  Iron  &  Steel  Company,  but  at  the  end  of  a  year  was  transferred  at  his 
own  request  to  the  position  of  matcher.  Although  the  change  involved  a  great 
reduction  in  salary  he  felt  that  he  should  be  compensated  by  a  more  congenial 
environment,  and'  the  result  proved  that  he  was  not  mistaken.  Eighteen 
months  later  he  was  made  pair  heater,  in  which  position  he  served  until  the 
strike  of  1893,  after  which  he  was  out  of  the  mill  for  about  one  yean 
During  this  interval  he  went  to  Cambria  county  and  there  taught  in  the  public 
schools,  and  in  the  spring  of  1894  applied  for  the  principalship  of  the  Mox- 
ham  schools.  Stonv  Creek  township.  In  consequence,  however,  of  the  large 
number  of  applicants,  he  returned  to  Appollo  and  made  application  for  a 
position  in  the  mills.  One  week  later  he  went  to  work  as  pair  heater,  and 
the  following  day  received  notice  that  he  had  been  elected  principal  of  the 
Moxham  schools.  He  showed  the  letter  to  the  superintendent  of  the  steel 
works,  who  promised  him  a  better  position  if  he  would  remain,  and  one  month 
later  he  was  given  a  sheet  furnace.  On  the  opening  of  the  mills  at  Vander- 
grift he  was  transferred  to  that  place  and  promoted  to  the  position  of  roller, 
in  which  capacity  he  has  since  served  continuously,  being  advanced  from  the 
small  rolls  to  the  largest  in  the  mills.  He  belongs  to  Kiskiminctas  Lodge,  No. 
617,  F.  and  A.  M..  of  \'andergrift.  and  A^andergrift  Lodge,  No.  502,  K.  P. 
His  political  affiliations  are  with   the  Republicans,  and  he  is  a  member  and 


HISTORY   OF    U'ESTMORELAXD    COUNTY.  521 

steward  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Prugh  married,  in  the 
spring  of  1894,  Wyoming  St.  Clair,  and  they  liave  two  sons :  John  Alexander 
and  Judson  Lee.  Mrs.  Prugh  is  a  daughter  of  John  St.  Clair,  a  veteran  of  the 
civil  war,  granddaughter  of  William  St.  Clair,  and  great-granddaughter  of 
James  St.  Clair,  who  emigrated  from  the  north  of  Ireland  about  1760  and 
settled  in  York  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  served  in  the  revolutionary  army, 
and  was  a  first  cousin  of  Major  General  Arthur  St.  Clair. 

LE\'I  G.  STITT.  The  paternal  ancestors  of  Levi  G.  Stitt,  of  Van- 
dergrift,  in  the  male  line  were  natives  of  Scotland,  while  those  in  the  female 
line  were  born  in  Germany.  John  Stitt,  when  a  young  man,  left  the  "land  of 
brown  heath  and  shaggy  wood"  to  seek  a  home  in  the  New  World,  and  is 
supposed  to  have  settled  in  .\rmstrong  county,  Pennsylvania,  about  1818.  He 
is  entitled  to  the  distinction  of  having  built  on  Carnahan's  Run  the  first  grist 
mill  ever  erected  in  this  section  of  the  country,  the  ruins  of  which  still  remain. 
He  married,  after  settling  in  his  new  home,  Esther  Frantz,  a  native  of  the 
Fatherland. 

John  F.  Stitt,  son  of  John  and  Esther  (Frantz)  Stitt,  was  born  in  1834, 
in  Armstrong  county,  and  was  reared  to  a  mill  life.  He  was  a  natural  me- 
chanic, and  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  never  served  an  apprenticeship 
was  one  of  the  most  skillful  carpenters  and  builders  in  the  county,  where 
many  of  the  substantial  barns  and  residences  were  of  his  erection.  He  was 
one  of  those  men  whose  versatility  enables  them  to  engage  in  almost  any  kind 
of  work  that  presents  itself.  He  is  a  Democrat,  and  attended  the  Lutheran 
church.  !Mr.  Stitt  married  Anna  Coffman,  and  seven  of  their  eight  children 
are  now  living:  Harriet  L,  wife  of  G.  W'.  Stitt,  of  Keister,  Pennsylvania; 
Levi  G.,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  Mary,  wife  of  Newton  Long,  of  Armstrong 
county :  Thomas  A.,  farmer  of  Armstrong  county :  Margaret,  wife  of  Lee 
Shall,  of  Armstrong  county ;  Edith  A.,  wife  of  Charles  Lenning,  of  the  same 
county:  Benjamin  F.,  foreman  for  Berry  Brothers,  bolt  and  nut  works,  Colum- 
bus, Ohio :  and  Nancy  F.,  wife  of  J.  i.1.  Van  Deen,  principal  of  schools  and 
pastor  of  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Stitt,  the  father  of  the  family,  continued 
to  work  as  a  mechanic  until  the  close  of  his  life,  his  death  being  the  result  of 
an  accident.  In  1894  he  was  struck  by  a  train  at  Leechburg,  being  then  sixty 
years  of  age. 

Levi  G.  Stitt,  son  of  John  F.  and  Anna  (Cofl'man)  Stitt,  was  born  Octo- 
ber 28.  i860,  in  Armstrong  county,  and  received  his  education  in  the  "Hills" 
country  school.  In  his  early  years  he  worked  in  the  summer  on  the  farm 
and  during  the  winter  in  the  wagon  shop  with  his  father.  In  1882  he  ac- 
cepted a  position  as  carpenter  in  the  steel  plant  of  Laufman  &  Company,  who 
were  erecting  for  themselves  two  heavy  extra  buildings.  Two  months  later 
he  was  made  boss  carpenter,  having  charge  of  the  erection  of  the  buildings. 
At  the  end  of  two  years  he  was  again  promoted,  lieing  given  entire  charge 
of  all  the  machinery.  The  plant  was  subsequently  transferred,  becoming 
known  as  the  \'olta  Iron  Company,  and  later  as  the  Apollo  Iron  &  Steel  Com- 
pany. It  was  finally  absorbed  by  the  American  Sheet  Steel  Company,  Mr. 
Stitt  retaining  his  position  as  master  mechanic  until  March,  1904,  when  he 
was  promoted  to  general  superintendent.  On  the  building  of  the  enormous 
plant  at  Vandergrift  he  was  called  to  that  place  to  supcrintcnrl  its  erection  and 
when  ground  was  broken  threw  the  first  shovelful  of  earth.  While  still  retain- 
ing control  of  the  Apollo  plant,  he  superintended  the  erection  of  all  the  build- 
ings at  \"andergrift  as  well  as  the  foundation  for  machinery,  placing  the 
machinery  and  putting  it  in  operation.    After  the  building  of  the  plant  he  was 


522  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

transferred  to  Vandergrift  and  made  general  superintendent  of  all  the  A'alley 
plants,  including  those  at  Apollo,  Vandergrift,  Hyde  Park  and  Leechburg. 
The  one  at  Saltsburg  is  now  added,  the  Apollo  plant  having  been  dismantled. 
To  Mr.  Stitt  is  due  much  of  the  credit  for  the  successful  building  of  the- 
mills,  and  it  is  an  acknowledged  fact  that  these  structures,  so  valuable  to  Van- 
dergrift, are  largely  the  result  of  his  brains  and  mechanical  ingenuity.  He  is 
a  born  mechanical  genius,  as  is  abundantly  evident  in  every  department  of 
the  mills  of  the  American  Sheet  and  Tin  Plate  Company,  and  many  of  his 
inventions  are  now  in  use.  For  seventeen  years  he  has  been  a  master  me- 
chanic. He  is  a  member  of  Kiskiminetas  Lodge,  No.  617,  F.  and  A.  -M.,  of 
Vandergrift.  Politically  he  is  a  Democrat.  Mr.  Stitt  married  in  1882,  Lida 
M.  Hanna,  of  Armstrong  county,  and  their  children  are :  Herbert  L.,  em- 
ployed in  the  mills  at  Vandergrift ;  Arthur  P.,  with  the  United  Engineering" 
&  Foundry  Company,  of  Vandergrift ;  Nellie,  at  home ;  Goldie,  deceased :  and 
Veryl  P.,  at  home. 

GEORGE  W.  RUBRIGHT.  The  paternal  great-grandfather  of 
George  W.  Rubright,  of  Apollo,  was  a  native  of  Germany,  whence  he  emi- 
grated to  the  United  States,  settling  in  Northampton  county,  where  he  reared' 
a  family.  Three  of  his  sons  moved  to  the  west,  two  of  them  finding  homes  in 
Ohio. 

Henry  Rubright,  another  son  of  the  emigrant  ancestor,  came  to  West- 
moreland county  and  settled  at  Hannastown,  later  removing  to  Murrvsville, 
where  he  purchased  a  farm  on  which  he  lived  for  many  years.  His  wife  was 
a  daughter  of  Jacob  Saul,  of  Salem  township,  and  they  had  children  :  John, 
George,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  Jacob,  Noah,  three  daughters  who  married, 
respectively,  Frederick  Marsh,  Michael  Beamer  and  John  Beamcr :  ^lary, 
married  Michael  Miller;  three  daughters  who  married  three  brothers  Rema- 
ley :  and  one  unmarried  daughter.  All  these  with  one  exception  settled  near 
the  old  homestead. 

George  Rubright,  son  of  Henry  Rubright,  in  1843  moved  to  Washing- 
ton township,  where  he  purchased  a  farm,  and  in  1845  bought  one  hundred 
and  ten  acres  adjoining.  This  property  is  now  owned  and  occupied  by  his 
son,  George  W.  Rubright.  Later  he  purchased  another  farm  which  is  now 
occupied  by  his  eldest  son,  John.  Mr.  Rubright  married  Catharine  Burnhart, 
of  Hempfield  township,  who  died  in  1852.  leaving  one  child,  John.  Subse- 
quently Mr.  Rubright  married  Elsiah,  daughter  of  William  and  Elizabeth 
(Miller)  Free,  and  five  children  were  born  to  them,  four  of  whom  are  living: 
George  W.,  mentioned  hereinafter;  Henry  T..  David,  and  Elizabeth,  wife  of 
James  Nealey,  of  Armstrong  county.  The  mother  of  these  children  died  in 
1891,  and  Mr.  Rubright  expired  in  1900,  at  the  venerable  age  of  ninety  years. 

George  W.  Rubright,  son  of  George  and  Elsiah  (Free)  Rubright,  was 
born  August  17.  1858,  on  the  farm  which  is  now  his  home  and  on  which  he 
has  always  lived.  He  attended  the  common  schools,  at  the  same  time  assisting 
his  father  in  the  labors  of  the  homestead.  Later  he  learned  the  carpenter's 
trade,  at  which  he  worked  for  a  time  in  conjunction  with  farming.  He  has 
filled  various  township  offices,  and  gives  to  the  Democratic  party  the  support 
of  his  vote  and  influence.  He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Reformed  church. 
Mr.  Rubright  married,  January  7.  1896,  Daisy,  daughter  of  P.  K.  and  Dora 
(Stewart)  Gumbert.  of  Allegheny  township,  and  they  have  been  the  parent'y 
of  one  child,  who  died  in  infancv. 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  =,27, 

ALOXZO  L.  AXDERSOX.  The  father  of  Alonzo  L.  Anderson, 
of  Leechburg,  was  David  Anderson,  a  native  of  Westmoreland  county  and  of 
Scotch-Irish  extraction.  He  was  a  resident  of  Saltsburg,  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  owned  and  cnUivated  a  farm  of  eighty  acres  and  was  at  the  same  time 
proprietor  of .  a  hotel.  He  was  at  one  tune  a  manufacturer  of  salt.  Mr.  An- 
derson married  IMary  Mealmen,  who  bore  him  seven  children,  three  of  whom 
are  living:  Permila'.  wife  of  David  B.  Ashbaugh ;  Fidela,  wife  of  James  A. 
Bair;  and  Alonzo  L.,  mentioned  hereinafter. 

Alonzo  L.  Anderson,  son  of  David  and  .Mary  (Mealnien)  Anderson,  was. 
born  September  30.  1832.  in  A\'estmoreland  county,  where  he  has  spent  the 
greater  part  of  his  life.  Though  reared  on  a  farm  he  yet  turned  his  attention 
to  mining  and  was  for  thirty  years  mine  boss  on  territory  adjacent  to  his  own 
farm.  He  was  also  mine  foreman  at  Keystone  mines,  Somerset  county,  for 
over  three  years.  This  farm  he  has  owned  since  1879.  It  formerly  contained 
one  hundred  and  fourteen  acres  and  was  owned  by  his  father,  who  bought  it 
in  1854  and  erected  the  buildings  in  1864.  Its  area  is  now  seventy  acres,  on. 
which  its  present  owner  raises  crops  which  command  the  highest  market  value. 
It  is  beautifully  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  Kiskiminetas  river  and  occupies 
the  site  of  an  Indian  village.  Mr.  Anderson  married  in  1867  Sadie  J.  Lvons,. 
of  New  Philadelphia.  Ohio,  and  they  have  been  the  parents  of  three  daughters- 
and  one  son:  Ella  M.,  of  New  Philadelphia,  Ohio;  Flossie  E.,  wife  of  W. 
Reed:  Laura,  wife  of  William  :\IcCreary ;  and  David,  deceased.  Alonzo  L. 
Anderson  served  in  the  civil  war. 

ALBERT  MILTON  McXUTT.  The  father  of  Albert  .Milton  .Mc- 
Nutt,  of  Vandergrift.  was  Thomas  McNutt,  who  wafe  born  in  1848,  in  In- 
diana county,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  went  to  Apollo  and  there  for  a  brief 
period  worked  on  the  railroad.  He  was  afterward  for  a  short  time  emploved' 
in  the  brick  yards,  and  in  1867  entered  the  mills  of  the  Apollo  Iron  &  Steel 
Company.  He  rose  from  the  lowest  position  to  that  of  roller,  which  he 
reached  in  the  late  eighties.  For  thirty-eight  years  he  has  been  continuously 
identified  with  the  iron  industry,  and  his  record  in  the  mills  is  longer  thaii 
that  of  any  other  man  there  with  but  one  exception.  Since  March,  1905,  he 
has  been  of?  duty  on  account  of  illness.  He  belongs  to  the  K.  O.  T.'m.,  votes 
with  the  Democrats,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Mr. 
McNutt  married  Sarah  Buzzard,  and  of  their  seven  children  .six  survive: 
Robert  W.,  roller  in  Vandergrift  mills:  .Albert  Milton,  mentioned  hereinafter; 
Lillie  May,  wife  of  H.  E.  Grim,  of  Vandergrift  Heights;  Grace  G.,  wife  of 
C.  F.  Shaffer,  roller  in  Vandergrift  mills ;  Bertha,  at  home ;  and  .Xnna  P., 
bookkeeper  in  .A.  J.  .Allison's  dry  goods  store,  Vandergrift. 

-Albert  Milton  McNutt,  son  of  Thomas  and  Sarah  (Buzzard)  McNutt, 
was  born  January  6,  1873,  in  Clarion  county,  where  he  received  his  education 
in  the  common  schools.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  entered  the  mills  of  the 
.Apollo  Iron  &  Steel  Company  in  the  capacity  of  doubler.  from  which  position 
he  rose  to  that  of  rougher,  and  early  in  1898.  after  his  transfer  to  the  Vander- 
grift mills,  was  made  roller,  in  which  capacity  he  is  still  serving.  He  affiliates 
with  Kiskiminetas  Lodge.  No.  617.  F.  and  A.  M.,  the  Royal  .Arcanum  and  the 
.A.  I.  U.  His  political  principles  are  those  endorsed  by  the  Democratic  party, 
and  he  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  McNutt  married, 
January  17,  1894,  Lillian  P...  daughter  of  S.  L.  Coover,  of  Verona.  Pennsyl- 
vania, an  employe  of  the  Pennsylvam'a  Railroad  Company  and  a  justice  of  the 
peace.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McNutt  have  four  children:  \'iva  F.,  IlaroM  W., 
Albert  A  I.,  and  Roberta  J. 


524  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

DAVID  L.  RIGGLE.  One  of  the  worthy  citizens  of  Deming  is 
David  L.  Riggle,  grandson  of  John  Riggle,  whose  son  George  was  born  April 
2y,  1818,  and  married  Hannah  Turney,  who  was  born  March  18,  1821.  The 
following  children  were  born  to  them :  John  A.,  Leah  C,  Anna  M.,  Philip 
F.,  George  W.,  deceased;  Albert  T.,  James  F.,  David  L.,  mentioned  herein- 
after; Daniel  J.,  Jacob  P.,  and  Oliver. 

David  L.  Riggle,  son  of  George  and  Hannah  (Turney)  Riggle,  was  born 
December  11.  1857,  in  Armstrong  county,  and  received  a  common  school 
education.  The  doctrines  of  the  Democratic  party  have  in  him  a  steadfast 
supporter.  He  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Mr. 
Riggle  married  Maria  Jane  Crowfard  and  the  following  children  have  been 
born  to  them:  Hannah  B.,  born  June  3,  1882;  Lula  M.,  born  August  27,  1883, 
died  April  13,  1904;  Anna  B.,  born  February  8,  1887;  Jessie  O.,  born  April 
26,  1890;  Margaret  P.,  born  January  29,  1S93 ;  Howard  C.,  born  September 
30,  1895:  Hazel  E.,  born  August  2,  1897;  and  Martha  H.,  born  November 
13,  1903.  Mrs.  Riggle  is  a  daughter  of  John  H.  and  Anna  Crowfard,  whose 
children  are :  George  W.,  Anna,  James  P.,  Joanna,  Levi  K.,  Maria  Jane, 
born  April  25,  1862,  and  became  the  wife  of  David  L.  Riggle,  as  mentioned 
above ;  and  Mary  E. 

JEREINHAH  BAUGHMAN,  who  holds  the  responsible  position  of 
conductor  on  a  freight  train  of  the  Pennsylvania  railroad,  is  well  and  favorably 
known  in  Hempfield  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.  The 
founder  of  the  family  in  America  was  John  Baughman. 

David  Baughman,  father  of  Jeremiah  Baughman,  was  a  native  of  West- 
moreland county,  attended  the  common  schools  there,  and  acquired  a  reason- 
ably good  education  for  the  times  in  which  he  lived.  He  was  a  farmer  and 
was  respected  by  all  who  knew  him.  In  politics  he  was  a  Republican,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  Protestant  church.  He  married  Hattie  Fink,  daughter  of 
'George  and  Mary  (Erhart)  Fink,  and  they  had  four  children,  among  them 
being  Jeremiah. 

Jeremiah  Baughman,  son  of  David  and  Hattie  (Fink)  Baughman,  was 
born  in  Hempfield  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  April  8, 
1854.  He  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town, 
and  proved  himself  an  apt  pupil.  He  obtained  employment  with  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  Company,  November  21,  1871,  and  now  holds  the  position 
of  conductor  of  a  freight  train,  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  his  employers, 
as  his  faithful  attention  to  his  duties  has  become  well  known  and  appreciated. 
He  pays  the  strictest  attention  to  the  minutest  details  of  his  work,  and  this 
contributes  not  a  little  to  the  successful  performance  of  his  duties.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Republican,  and  although  taking  a  lively  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the 
community  has  never  found  time  to  do  any  active  work  for  his  party  or  to  hold 
office.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Reformed  church  at  Greensburg.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  the  following  named  organizations :  Lodge  No.  840,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  Greensburg ;  Order  of  Railway  Conductors,  Divis- 
ion No.  433,  Pitcairn,  Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Baughman  mar- 
ried, December  24,  1873,  Elizabeth  Thomas,  daughter  of  George  and  Mary 
Thomas.     Mrs.  Baughman  was  educated  in  the  public  schools. 

LEWIS  W.  GONGAWARE,  of  Penn  township,  is  a  lineal  descend- 
ant of  John  Gongaware.  the  pioneer  of  the  American  branch  of  the  family, 
who  emigrated  from  Germany  in  1725.  The  line  of  descent  is  traced  through 
liis  son,   IMichael  Gongaware,  whose  birtli  occurred  in  Northampton  county. 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY..  525 

Pennsylvania,  in  1730.  He  was  a  clockmakcr  b)-  trade  and  followed  that  line 
of  work  in  Westmoreland  county,  whither  he  removed  early  in  life,  settling 
on  what  is  known  as  the  Gongaware  farm,  near  Ilarrold  Churcii.  His  ticath 
occurred  on  this  farm,  October  26,  1826,  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninetv-si.x: 
years,  and  his  wife,  Catherine,  passed  away  March  22,   1829. 

Philip  G.  Gongaware.  son  of  Michael  and  Catherine  Gongaware,  was 
born  in  1760.  He  was  united  in  marriage  to  Alargaretta  ]\liller,  daughter  of 
John  Peter  and  Catherine  Miller,  and  their  children  were:  Margaret,  Jacob,. 
John.  Elizabeth,  Catherine,  Jonas,  Hannah,  Peter,  Lydia  and  Sarah.  The 
father  of  these  children  died  January  18,  1S29.  and  the  mother  died  in  1823,, 
aged  fifty-seven  years. 

Jacob  Gongaware,  eldest  son  of  Philip  G.  and  Margaretta  (Miller)  Gonga 
ware,  was  born  in  Hempfield  township,  Westmoreland  county,  September, 
1799.  He  removed  to  the  Manor  valley,  near  Harrison  City.  He  married 
(first)  Elizabeth  \Miitehead,  daughter  of  Stofifel  and  Susan  Whitehead,  by 
whom  he  had  the  following  children :  John,  married  Rebecca  Ann  Ridinger, 
and  who  died  at  Penlinger,  Indiana.  March  23.  1855.  Margaret,  became  the 
wife  of  Solomon  Altman.  Eliza,  who  became  the  wife  of  Joseph  I\Iyers.  of 
Irwin.  Pennsylvania.  Lewis  W.,  mentioned  hereinafter.  Jonas,  married 
Sarah  Alshouse.  Mr.  Gongaware  married  (.second)  Annie  Steiner  (nee 
Whitehead),  a  sister  of  his  first  wife.  There  were  no  children  born  of  this. 
union. 

Lewis  W.  Gongaware,  second  son  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  (\Miitehead) 
Gongaware,  was  born  in  Penn  township,  \Vestmoreland  county,  June  3,  1837. 
he  is  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and  is  the  owner  of  a  very  large  farm,  on  which 
he  has  resided  continuously  for  the  long  period  of  sixty-four  years.  He  is 
prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  township,  and  has  served  in  the  capacity  of 
collector  and  supervisor,  discharging  the  duties  thereof  in  an  efficient  and 
capable  manner.  He  holds  membership  in  the  Lutheran  church,  in  which  body 
he  has  held  the  offices  of  deacon  and  elder.  His  political  affiliations  are  with 
the  Democratic  party. 

Mr.  Gongaware  married.  October  26.  1859,  Mattie  Alshouse,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Samuel  and  Lydia  Alshouse,  who  died  Mav  21.  1870,  leaving  him  the 
following  children:  Samuel  Henry,  born  i860,  married  Nance  Avers,  of 
North  Huntingdon  township,  eight  children:  Cyrus,  Lewis,  Amanda,  Emma, 
Henry,  Laura.  Emery  and  Ida.  Jacob  William,  born  1862,  married  Lilly 
Stump,  daughter  of  Samuel  Stump,  of  Greensburg,  issue :  One  child,  Lela. 
Emanuel  N.,  born  1864,  married  Anna  Fox,  daughter  of  John  C.  Fox,  if  Sew- 
ickly  township,  and  their  children  are:  Florence.  Carl,  Refert  and  Hannah. 
Albert  Lewis,  born  1867,  married  Mary  Roda])augh.  daughter  of  Sanniel  Roda- 
baugh.  of  North  Huntingdon  township,  and  their  children  are:  Paul.  George, 
Sarah  Emma  and  Orvil.  Mr.  Gongaware  married  for  his  second  wife 
Emma  J.  Aber,  daughter  of  Eli  and  Hannah  Aber,  and  the  follow- 
ing children  were  born  to  them:  Elmer  R.,  born  September  28,  1871,  died 
October  23.  1889:  Otis  A.,  born  September  22.  1872:  Oley.  born  Julv  9,  1874: 
Laura  M.,  born  November  4,  1876;  O.scar  U.,  born  June  27.  1878:  Waiter  W., 
born  January  28,  1880:  Katie  L..  born  December  30.  1886:  John,  born  July  31, 
1882;  Grovcr  C,  born  February  12,  1885;  Verna  D..  born  March  13,  1890; 
Daisy,  bom  October  11,  1892.  Three  children  died  in  infancy,  making  in  all 
fourteen  children.  The  three  children  that  died  were:  Ehzabcth,  born  Oc- 
tober 31,  7881.  died  September  13,  1886;  Hannah  E.,  born  September  24, 
1888.  died  December  17.  1888:  Simon  P..  born  ^Tav  20.  1894  died  Tulv  27 
1894. 


326  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

JOHN  FRANK  BE  ATT  Y,  former  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  bor- 
ough of  Greensburg,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  is  regarded  as  one 
of  the  rising  young  men  in  that  section  of  the  country.  He  is  the  son  of  John 
M.  and  Elizabeth  Beatty,  both  natives  of  New  Geneva,  Fayette  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  was  born  in  Dawson,  Fayette  county,  Pennsvlvania,  June  24, 
1870. 

He  received  a  good  education  in  the  common  schools  of  his  district,  and 
attended  a  course  in  the  commercial  department  of  the  Kentucky  University, 
•exington,  Kentucky.  His  first  venture  in  business  life  was  in  the  office  of  A. 
C.  Cochran,  who  was  a  large  operator  in  coal  and  coke.  He  accepted  a 
position  as  stenographer  with  Messrs.  Moorhead  &  Head,  attorneys-at-law  in 
■Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  September  30,  1889.  Here  he  remained  for  sev- 
eral years,  and  in  i8g6  was  appointed  court  stenographer  by  Hon.  Lucien  W. 
Doty,  president  judge  of  the  several  courts  of  Westmoreland  county.  This 
office  he  filled  very  acceptably  for  a  long  time,  and  in  1903  was  elected  a 
justice  of  the  peace  of  Greensburg  borough.  He  is  progressive  and  enter- 
prising, and  a  bright  future  is  predicted  for  him.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  married,  August  6.  1896,  Bird  L.  Denman, 
daughter  of  D.  N.  and  Emma  Denman,  and  a  graduate  of  the  Greensburg 
high  school.  They  have  two  children  :  Gertrude  Elizabeth,  born  in  Greens- 
burg, June  8,  1897;  J.  I'rank,  born  in  Greensburg,  November  17,  1900. 

ROBERT  A.  ARMSTRONG.  The  ancestors  of  Robert  A.  Arm- 
strong, of  Leechburg,  were  among  the  pioneers  of  Allegheny  township.  They 
were  of  Scotch-Irish  stock,  the  founder  of  the  family  in  this  country  being 
Robert  Armstrong,  who  in  1823  came  hither  from  the  north  of  Ireland  and 
proceeded  directly  to  Westmoreland  county,  settling  in  Allegheny  township, 
where  he  purchased  eighty  acres  of  land  which  in  due  time  he  brought  under 
subjection.  His  wife  was  Eleanor  McKee,  and  their  children,  seven  in  num- 
ber, had  all  passed  the  period  of  childhood  when  the  family  left  their  native 
land.  They  were :  John,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  Jane,  married  George  Pat- 
terson :  Margaret,  married  John  Boal ;  Elizabeth,  married  William  Copeland ; 
Alexander,  Thomas,  and  David. 

John  Armstrong,  son  of  Robert  and  Eleanor  (McKee)  Armstrong,  on 
taking  up  his  abode  in  Allegheny  township  purchased  two  farms  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  acres,  respectively.  The 
land  was  in  its  primitive  state,  but  by  hard  work  and  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  principles  of  agriculture  he  rendered  it  valuable  and  productive.  Mr. 
Armstrong  married,  before  leaving  Ireland,  Sarah  A.  Armstrong,  a  native  of 
that  country,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  ten  children,  nine  of  whom  grew  to 
maturity :  Adam,  deceased,  was  superintendent  of  public  instruction  and  mem- 
ber of  the  legislature  of  Kentucky  ;  Robert  A.,  mentioned  hereitiafter  ;  David 
B.,  merchant;  John  A.,  a  physician;  Samuel  S.,  retired 'farmer ;  Eleanor,  Eliz- 
abeth, Sarah  A.,  Mary  J.,  and  Margaret. 

Robert  A.  Armstrong,  son  of  John  and  Sarah  A.  (Armstrong)  Arm- 
strong, was  born  in  1829,  in  Allegheny  township,  on  the  farm  adjoining  his 
own,  and  his  education  and  training  were  acquired  in  the  public  school.  Free- 
port  Academy  and  Allegheny  college.  He  turned  his  attention  to  agriculture, 
in  which  calling  he  has  succeeded  beyond  his  most  sanguine  expectations,  be- 
ing the  owner  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  as  good  land  as  there  is  in  the 
township.  This  land  he  maintains  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  and  in  addi- 
tion to  general  farming  carries  on  an  extensive  dairy.  In  1882  he  built  a  fine 
brick  residence  in  the  rear  of  which  is  a  log  cabin,  a  relic  of  the  past,  which  was 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  527 

built  in  1830.  For  twelve  years  he  held  the  office  of  school  director.  Mr. 
Armstrong:  has  been  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Amanda  J.  Rowen, 
who  bore  him  three  children:  Elizabeth  J.,  wife  of  the  Rev.  J.  R.  Wylie;  John 
X..  and  James  C,  both  of  the  National  Tea  Company.  .After  the  death  of  the 
mother  of  these  children  Mr.  Armstrong  married  iMarnaret  J.  Pinkerton.  and 
by  this  union  became  the  father  of  the  following  children:  ^lary  J.,  wife  of 
D.  K.  Swank:  Alexander  M.,  Robert  M.,  David  M.,  deceased;  Amanda  E., 
wife  of  \\'illiam  ^IcKee  :  and  Pearle  A. 

HENRY  E.  DAMS.  The  parents  of  Henry  E.  Davis,  of  New  Ken- 
sington, were  David  and  ^lary  (Josephs)  Davis,  natives  of  Wales,  where  their 
son  was  born  Xovember  i.  1859,  in  IJalely.  Mr.  Davis  died  when  the  boy  was 
about  five  years  old.  and  in  1866  he  was  brought  by  his  mother  to  the  United 
States.  They  settled  in  Ansonia,  Connecticut,  where  they  lived  some  twen- 
tv-five  vears  and  where  the  lad  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools 
and  at  the  academy.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  entered  the  service  of  the 
New  Haven  Copper  Company,  and  later  was  employed  by  the  firm  of  Wal- 
lace &  Sons,  of  Ansonia.  In  1894  he  moved  to  New  Kensington,  and  ob- 
tained a  position  as  sheet  roller  in  the  Reduction  works,  where  he  has  re- 
mained ever  since.  He  affiliates  with  Lodge  No.  512,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  of  New 
Kensington,  and  Lodge  Xo.  212,  ]\Iaccabees,  of  the  same  place,  in  which  he 
has  ])assed  all  chairs.  For  one  term  he  served  on  the  Republican  county 
committee.    He  is  a  member  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church. 

Mr.  Davis  married  Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Michael  and  Catharine  (Hogan) 
Flynn,  of  ( )-xford,  Connecticut,  and  their  children  are :  IMary  E.,  born  Sep- 
tember 16,  1883;  Harry  J.,  born  December  31,  1889;  Helen  C,  born  June  i, 
1892;  and  Jessie  E.,  born  March  16,  1901.  ]\Irs.  Davis  is  a  member  of  the 
Catholic  church. 

JOHX  S.  P.ARR.  The  father  of  John  S.  Barr,  of  Vandergrift,  was 
Thompson  Barr.  who  was  born  in  Centre  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  soon  after 
his  marriage  moved  to  Keokuk,  Iowa.  On  the  breaking  out  of  the  civil  war 
he  enlisted,  and  about  1862  returned  to  Centre  county.  Mr.  Barr  married 
Ellen  Sparr.  also  a  native  of  Centre  county,  and  of  their  four  children  three 
survive :  Jennie,  wife  of  John  B.  Cromer,  of  MahafTey,  Pennsylvania ;  Iowa, 
wife  of  William  Adair,  of  Indiana,  Pennsylvania:  and  John  S.,  mentioned 
hereinafter.  Soon  after  Mr.  Barr's  return  from  the  army  the  mother  of  these 
children  died  and  they  were  reared  by  neighboring  families. 

John  S.  Barr,  son  of  Thomp.son  and  Ellen  (Sparr)  Barr,  was  born  M.irch 
21,  1859,  in  Keokuk,  Iowa,  and  after  his  mother's  death  was  received  into  the 
family  of  John  I'rett,  a  prosperous  farmer  of  Centre  county,  Irish  by  birth  and 
Presbyterian  in  faith.  Mr.  Barr  was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  the  Pine 
Grove  Academy  and  the  State  College,  Centre  county.  In  his  twentieth  year 
he  left  the  home  of  Mr.  Brett  and  went  to  St.  Peter.sbiirg,  Clarion  county, 
where  he  engaged  with  his  father  in  a  mercantile  business,  which  the  latter 
had  established  five  or  six  years  before.  In  18S7  he  moved  to  Pittsburg  and 
accepted  a  position  with  the  Philadelphia  Gas  Company.  In  1889  he  came  to 
Westmoreland  county  to  look  after  the  wells  o.f  the  Pine  Run  Gas  Company, 
but  in  a  short  time  was  transferred  by  the  company  to  their  Leechburg  offices, 
where  he  remained  about  eighteen  months.  In  the  winter  of  1890-91  he  went 
to  the  Flat  Top  coal  regions  in  West  \'irginia  to  accept  the  position  of  pur- 
chasing agent  fr)r  the  Booth  Ijowen  Coal  &  Coke  Company,  remaining  some 
eight  years.     In  189S  he  came  to  Vandergrift  and  secured  a  position  as  clerk 


528  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

in  the  offices  of  the  Apollo  Iron  &  Steel  Company,  but  at  the  end  of  six  months, 
seeing  no  chance  of  promotion,  he  accepted  the  offer  of  a  position  as  matcher 
in  the  mills.  Subsequently  he  was  advanced  by  being  made  doubler  and  later 
pair  heater,  and  in  the  early  spring  of  1901  was  given  the  position  of  sheet 
heater,  which  he  now  holds.  He  affiliates  with  Kiskiminetas  Lodge,  No.  617, 
F.  and  A.  M.,  being  a  charter  member,  and  also  belongs  to  Tancred  Comman- 
dery.  No.  48,  K.  T.,  and  Duquesne  Chapter,  No.  193,  R.  A.  M.,  of  Pittsburg. 
His'  political  views  and  principles  are  those  of  the  Republican  party.  Mr. 
Barr  married  Mary  D.,  daughter  of  William  E.  Branin,  a  real  estate  dealer  of 
Trenton.  New  Jersey,  and  a  member  of  an  old  Quaker  family.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Barr  have  no  children. 

ALFRED  LAWRENCE  TAYLOR.  It  was  emigrants  from  Ireland 
who  planted  in  the  United  States  the  family  to  which  Alfred  Lawrence  Taylor, 
of  Greensburg,  belongs.  Mr.  Taylor  is  a  son  of  Robert  and  Lydia  B.  (Smith) 
Tavlor,  and  \vas  born  August  14,  1872,  in  Armstrong  county.  Until  reaching 
the  age  of  sixteen  he  attended  the  common  schools,  and  then  entered  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Coulter  &  Huff  Coal  Company,  being  to-day  one  of  the  most  cap- 
able and  trusted  men  on  the  force.  As  a  citizen  he  is  as  faithful  to  duty  as  in 
his  business  relations.  :\Ir.  Taylor  married.  May  25,  1899,  Minnie  Oster- 
wise,  and  they  have  two  children :  Josephine,  born  July  4,  1900 ;  and  Henri- 
ella,  born  August  25,  1901.  Mrs.  Taylor  is  of  German  descent.  She  is  a 
daughter  of  Lewis  and  Elizabeth  Osterwise,  and  was  born  March  10,  1878, 
in  Greensburg. 

I 
WILLIAM  CLARENCE  BOWMAN,  a  well  known  citizen  of  Van- 
dergrift,  and  whose  services  as  roller  are  highly  appreciated  by  the  proprietors 
of  the  American  Sheet  Steel  and  Tin  Plate  Company,  is  descended  through 
both  his  father  and  mother  from  the  pioneer  families  of  Armstrong  county, 
Pennsylvania. 

George  Bowman,  grandfather  of  William  Clarence  Bowman,  was  a  son 
of  Bernard  Bowman,  a  native  of  Armstrong  county,  Pennsyhania,  and  mar- 
ried Sarah  Turney,  who  was  also  born  in  Armstrong  county. 

lohn  Philip  Bowman,  son  of  George  and  Sarah  (Turney)  Bowmjui.  and 
grandson  of  Bernard  Bowman,  was  born  and  brought  up  on  his  father's  farm 
m  Armstrong  county  near  the  Forks  church.  May  18,  1848.  Here  he  ac- 
quired a,  thorough  practical  knowledge  of  farming  and  made  that  his  life  oc- 
cupation. He  acquired  a  portion  of  the  old  homestead,  where  he  made  his 
home  and  still  resides  there.  He  is  a  man  of  progressive  ideas,  and  affiliates 
with  the  Democratic  party.  For  many  years  he  served  as  supervisor  and 
school  director,  and  has  held  office  for  several  years  as  overseer  of  the  poor, 
and  is  an  incumbent  of  that  office  at  the  present  time.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Lutheran  church,  is  one  of  the  official  board  of  that  institution,  and  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sabbath  school.  He  married,  October  31,  1872,  Ellen  Mary 
Millen,  born  in  Indiana  county,  Pennsylvania.  August  29,  1849  daughter  of 
Alexander  and  Susannah  Jane'  (Morrow)  Millen,  a  well  known  carpenter  of 
Indiana  county.  Mr.  and  jMrs.  John  Philip  Bowman  have  had  seven  children, 
of  whom  the  following  named  are  now  living:  William  Clarence,  of  whom 
later;  Sarah  Minnie,  wife  of  Edward  Brown,  of  Armstrong  county:  Susan 
Agnes,  wife  of  James  Stitt,  of  Vandergrift  Heights :  Carrie  Belle,  wife  of 
Smith  Shellhammer,  of  .\pollo :  Mary  Flla.  lives  with  her  parents:  and  John 
Turnev  also  lives  with  his  parents. 

William    Clarence    Bowman,    oldest    child    and    son    of   John    Philip    and 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  529 

Ellen  ^lary  (Millcn)  Bowman,  was  born  in  Armstrong  county,  Pennsylvania, 
July  30,  1873.  He  spent  his  early  years  on  his  father's  farm  and  received  a 
good  education  in  the  common  schools  of  the  district.  When  but  seventeen 
years  old  Air.  Bowman  commenced  his  business  career.  He  obtained  employ- 
ment in  Apollo,  with  the  Apollo  Iron  and  Steel  Company,  beginning  as  a  la- 
borer. He  entertained  the  sensible  idea  that  it  was  better  to  commence  at  the 
bottom  of  the  ladder  and  work  his  way  up,  with  a  thorough  understanding  of 
each  successive  step  taken.  At  the  end  of  two  years  he  was  promoted  to  a 
position  on  the  floor  of  the  sheet  mills  as  an  opener.  From  this  time  his  ad- 
vancement was  a  steady  progression — matcher,  donblcr,  catcher,  rougher,  and 
in  Mav,  1895,  he  w^as  advanced  to  the  position  of  a  sheet  roller,  which  he 
holds  at  the  present  time  (1906).  In  the  early  part  of  1897  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  \'andergrift  mills.  During  the  summer  of  that  year  he  built  a 
residence  for  himself  on  Columbia  avenue,  but  he  soon  disposed  of  this  and 
erected  a  most  commodious  residence,  one  of  the  finest  in  the  town,  on  the 
most  desirable  site  in  \'andergrift.  No.  174  \\'ashington  avenue.  Mr.  Bow- 
man is  a  man  of  great  energv  and  perseverance  and  is  certain  to  make  his 
mark  in  the  world.  His  political  faith  is  Democratic,  and  he  is  a  member  of 
the  Lutheran  church.  He  is  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school  attached  to 
that  institution.  He  is  a  member  of  \'andergrift  Lodge,  Xo.  11 16,  I.  O.  O.  F. ; 
Apollo  Lodge.  Xo.  386.  B.  P.  O.  E. :  \'andergrift  Lodge,  Xo.  502,  K.  P. :  and 
\'andergrift  Council.  Xo.  1751.  R.  A.  He  married,  October  i,  1895,  Lillie 
Margaret  McKinstry,  born  June  21,  1878,  daughter  of  Thompson  and  Mar- 
garet (Brown)  McKinstry,  of  Apollo.  They  are  the  parents  of  two  children: 
Mildred  Irene,  born  January  3,  1897;  and  Lillian  Grace,  born  August  13,  1898. 

EDWARD  \'.  \\"ILL[A:\IS.  a  well  known  mining  man  of  West- 
moreland county,  was  born  in  Irwin,  Pennsylvania,  x\ugust  18,  1865,  and 
was  the  son  of  William  and  ^^lary  J.  (Luker)  Williams.  He  was  one  of  a 
family  of  three  children,  of  whom  two  survive :  William  Harry,  engaged  in 
the  commission  business  at  Pittsburg;  and  Edward  V.,  of  whom  later.  His 
paternal  grandfather  came  to  this  country  from  W'ales,  locating  in  Allegheny 
county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  worked  in  the  mines.  William  Williams,  his 
father,  was  horn  in  Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania,  about  1827.  He  was 
reared  at  home,  became  a  miner,  and  followed  this  profession  for  a  number  of 
years.  Later  he  became  a  contractor,  and  some  time  afterwards  owned  and 
operated  a  country  mine.  He  is  still  a  contractor  and  resides  in  Irwin.  Mary 
J.  (Lukes)  Williams,  his  wife,  died  June  19.  1903.  He  married  (seconrl) 
Anna  Owens.  They  have  no  children.  Mr.  Williams  is  a  Republican,  and 
a  member  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church. 

Edward  \'.  \\"illiams  was  reared  at  home,  acquiring  his  education  in  the 
common  schools.  When  sixteen  years  of  age  he  entered  the  Western  I'nion 
telegraph  office  at  Irwin,  where  he  learned  to  be  a  telegraph  operator.  In 
1884  he  went  to  Charleston.  South  Carolina,  wdierc  his  brother  Harry  was 
located,  being  private  secretary  to  J.  H.  Averill.  sui)erintendent  of  the  South 
Carolina  railroad.  Here  he  was  employed  for  throe  months  in  an  office  at 
Charleston.  At  the  end  of  this  time  he  was  given  a  position  at  Branchville. 
South  Carolina,  where  he  remained  for  about  three  years.  In  1887  he  rettuncd 
home  and  soon  after  went  to  Buffalo,  where  he  took  a  business  course  in  the 
Buffalo  Business  University.  He  then  accepted  a  ])osition  in  the  car-tracing 
office  of  the  Buffalo.  Pittsburg  and  Rochester  railroad.  In  1889  he  accei)fcd 
a  position  with  the  Penn  Gas  Coal  Company  as  station  agent,  clerk  and  tele- 
graph operator  at  Gratztown.  One  vear  later  he  was  made  superintendent  of 
2-34 


530  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

mine  No.  4  at  Gratztown.  When  the  Avers  Hollow  mine  was  opened  he  was 
also  made  superintendent  of  this  mine,  and  thus  became  superintendent  of  the 
two  mines.  In  1902  mine  No.  3  at  Blackburn  was  opened  and  the  superin- 
tendency  of  this  mine  was  also  added  to  his  list.  In  November,  1903,  mine 
No.  4  was  shut  down  and  Mr.  Williams  was  transferred  to  mine  No.  3  at 
Blackburn,  where  he  is  now  located.  In  connection  with  the  mines  here  are 
operated  one  hundred  coke  ovens.  Mr.  W^illiams  married  in  1889,  Josephine 
Hunter,  daughter  of  William  Hunter,  of  Donegal  township.  They  have  had 
four  children,  three  of  whom  are  living:  M.  Romayne,  Raymond,  and  Fred- 
erick. Mr.  Williams  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  a  member  of  the  Royal 
Arcanum.     He  resides  in  Irwin,  Pennsylvania. 

JOHN  CALVIN  GUFFEY,  a  prosperous  farmer  of  Westmoreland 
county,  was  born  in  Forward  township,  Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania,  July 
8,  1858.  He  was  the  son  of  James  L.  and  Mary  (Scott)  Gufifey,  and  was  one 
of  a  family  of  ten  children,  seven  of  whom  survive :  Robert  C.,  of  Elizabeth 
township,  Allegheny  County ;  Catharine  E.,  resides  at  home  and  is  the  wife  of 
Alfred  Culp ;  James  L.,  Jr.,  living  at  home;  Sarah  Mary,  wife  of  Finney  Wall, 
of  Forward  township,  Allegheny"  county ;  Dr.  Albert  A.,  of  McKeesport ;  Lu- 
cinda  J.,  wife  of  Sidney  McConnell,  Forward  township,  Allegheny  county; 
and  John  Calvin,  of  whom  later. 

His  father,  James  L.  GuiTey,  was  born  in  1825  on  the  farm  where  John 
C,  now  resides,  and  was  the  son  of  Robert  and  Sarah  (Campbell)  GufTey. 
He  was  one  of  a  family  of  four  children,  all  of  whom  survive :  James  L.,  the 
father  of  John  C. :  Mary  A.,  unmarried  and  resides  at  West  Newton  with  her 
brother  Robert ;  Robert  Campbell,  who  has  retired  from  business  and  lives  at 
West  Newton ;  John  R.,  of  Sewickley  township.  James  L.  Gufifey  was  reared 
in  Sewicklev  township.  Here  he  married  and  soon  after  went  to  Allegheny 
countv,  settling  on  a  farm  of  fifty-six  acres  in  Forward  township,  which  was 
owned  by  his  "father.  This  farm  was  deeded  to  him  and  he  has  added  to  it 
additional  land.  He  is  now  in  comfortable  circumstances  and  possesses  a 
farm  of  about  two  hundred  and  twelve  acres.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics, 
and  for  many  years  has  been  a  ruling  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  His 
wife,  Marv  (Scott)  Guffey,  was  born  in  Elizabeth  township,  Allegheny 
county,  in  August,  1828.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Zaccheus  and  Catharine 
(Andrews)  Scott.  She  died  in  1891.  The  grandfather  of  John  C.  Gufifey, 
Robert  Guffev,  was  born  on  a  portion  of  the  farm  which  our  subject  now 
owns.  In  1798  he  settled  on  this  tract,  consisting  of  sixty  acres,  which  had 
been  given  to  him  bv  his  father,  and  resided  there  up  to  the  time  of  his  death 
at  the  age  of  seventy-six.    He  was  an  industrious  and  hard-working  man,  and 

acquired  two  other  farms.     The  great-grandfather  of  John  C.  GufTey,  

Guffey,  came  to  Westmoreland  county  at  a  very  early  date  from  somewhere 
east  of  the  mountains.  He  was  a  prosperous  farmer,  and  acquired  five  farms 
in  Sewicklev  township.  He  had  one  son,  Joseph,  who  was  a  member  of  the 
legislature  and  a  prominent  man  in  Democratic  politics.  His  father,  William 
Gufifev,  when  he  came  to  the  United  States  from  Scotland,  was  given  a  tract 
of  land  by  King  George  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  state,  upon  which  he  set- 
tled. Late  in  life  he  came  to  Westmoreland  county  atid  was  buried  at  the  old 
Sewickley  church. 

Tohii  Calvin  Gufifey  grew  up  at  home  and  acquired  his  education  in  the 
comnion  schools.  After  liis  marriage  he  came  to  Sewicklev  township.  West- 
moreland county.  Here  he  rented  a  farm  for  three  years.  His  brother.  Will- 
iam F.  (^niffev.  then  came  to  Sewickley  township  and  the  two  brothers  pur- 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  531 

chased  a  farm  of  one  huiulred  aiul  fort}-thrce  acres,  which  thc}-  farmed  .in 
partnership  up  to  the  time  of  WiUiam's  death  in  January,  1905.  John  C.  is 
now  Hving  on  the  farm  upon  which  he  settled  in  1884,  when  he  first  caiue  to 
Sewickley  township.  He  also  has  charge  of  the  farm  owned  by  himself  and 
his  brothers'  heirs.  He  is  Democratic  in  politics  and  has  served  one  term  as 
supervisor.  He  is  serving  his  third  term  as  a  member  of  the  school  board. 
"When  he  was  a  candidate  for  his  second  term  there  were  seven  candidates  and 
he  received  the  highest  vote.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and 
of  Grace  Lodge,  No.  405,  Knights  of  Pythias  of  Suterville.  ]\lr.  Guffey  mar- 
ried in  the  spring  of  1884,  Jennie  ]\Ioffett,  daughter  of  James  F.  Moffett,  of 
Rostraver,  Westmoreland  coimty.  They  have  six  children:  Beulah  C,  at 
home;  James  L.  C.,  was  killed  with  the  subject's  brother  William  F.,  being 
struck  bv  a  train  on  Januarv  27,  1905  :  Mary  A.,  Mabel  M.,  Loren  E.,  and 
Zola  P.  ' 

GEORGE  M.  BRINTOX.  The  ancestors  of  George  M.  Brinton,  of 
Penn  township,  were  English  and  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  Ijeing 
of  the  same  stock  as  that  which  settled  eastern  Pennsylvania,  a  stock  which 
has  throughout  the  history  of  the  state,  constituted  one  of  the  best  and  most 
influential  elements  therein. 

Edward  Brinton  married  Hannah  Pierce,  and  their  son,  George  Brinton, 
married  Esther  Matlack,  and  was  a  resident  of  Biriuingham,  England.  They 
were  the  parents  of  a  son,  Amos  Brinton,  born  December  22,  1754,  in  Birm- 
ingham, married  Annie  Smedley,  and  died  November  28,  1823,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-nine  years. 

John  Brinton,  son  of  Amos  and  Annie  (Smedley)  Brinton,  was  born  De- 
■cember  3,  1784,  in  Birmingham,  and  in  early  manhood  emigrated  to  the  United 
States,  where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life  as  a  farmer.  During  the 
war  of  1812  he  served  in  the  army.  He  married  Sarah  Matlack,  and  their  chil- 
dren were :  Sarah  Ann,  Juliet,  Amos,  George  M.,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  Jani- 
than,  Edward  S.,  Stephen  ]\I.,  Joel  M.,  and  William  P.  The  death  of  Mr.  Brin- 
ton occurred  July  12.  1839,  when  he  was  but  in  the  fifty-fifth  year  of  his  age. 

George  M.  Brinton,  son  of  John  and  Sarah  (.Matlack)  Brinton,  was  born 
Alarch  4,  1814.  and  was  by  occupation  a  farmer,  owning  a  tract  of  land  of  three 
hundred  and  eighty  acres  on  which  Trafford  City  now  stands,  the  old  Brin- 
ton homestead  being  now  used  as  the  schoolhouse.  Mr.  Brinton  married  Su- 
sanna M.  Funk,  and  their  children  were:  Levi,  married  Annie  McKinney; 
Sarah,  married  William  Blackburn ;  Henry,  married  Bella  Pettibone ;  Jane, 
married  Richard  McWilliams ;  Dawer\'.  deceased,  was  married  to  Barbetta 
Sliafer,  left  two  children,  .Susan  and  Elma :  Susan,  wife  of  J.  C.  McGinniss : 
George  M..  mentioned  hereinafter;'  Nora,  died  in  early  childhood;  William  P., 
died  in  early  childhood.  Mr.  Brinton,  the  father  of  the  family,  died  I'cbrn- 
ary  13,  1895,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-one  years. 

George  M.  Brinton,  son  of  George  ^I.  and  Susanna  M.  (Funk)  T'rinton. 
was  born  February  2T,  1857,  and  like  his  father  and  grandfather  has  Icil  the 
life  of  a  farmer.  In  1901  he  purchased  a  farm  of  sixty-eight  acres  in  I'enn 
township,  and  has  since  made  his  home  thereon.  He  has  travelled  exten- 
sively in  the  I'nited  States,  and  in  1888  took  his  family  for  a  trip  which  lasted 
four  years,  during  which  time  they  visited  all  the  principal  cities  of  the  west. 
He  now  holds  the  office  of  tax  assessor.  .He  belongs  to  Turtle  Creek  Lodge, 
^'o-  777-  T.  O.  O.  F.,  and  in  politics  is  identified  with  the  Republican  party. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in  which  he  wields  a 
potent  influence.     Mr.  Brinton  married,  .\pril   12,   1883,  Naomi,  daughter  of 


532 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 


Joseph  and  Mary  (Paterson)  Chadwick,  of  Harrison  City,  and  their  children 
are:  Frank  E.,  born  March  2,  1884;  George  M.,  born  September  23,  1885; 
Naomi  J.,  born  October  18,  1887;  Samuel  C,  born  February  10,  1890,  died 
March  12,  1891  ;  Susan  B.,  born  October  18,  1891 ;  Mary  B.,  born  January  20, 
1894;  Paul  H.,  born  September  17,  1895;  Eliza  M.,  born  July  30,  1897;  John 
C,  born  February  27,  1899;  William  P.,  born  December  24,  1900;  Eugene  A., 
born  November  16,  1902.  Mrs.  Brinton  was  one  of  a  family  of  ten  children, 
the  names  being  as  follows :  Kate,  Elizabeth,  Jennie,  Bella,  John,  Cydonia, 
Simpson,  Naomi,  mentioned  above  as  the  wife  of  George  IM.  Brinton  ;  Urilla, 
and  Edmond. 

JOSEPH  MUSE.  Kentucky  was  the  original  home  of  the  family  of 
which  the  late  Joseph  Muse,  of  Robbins,  was  a  member.  Mr.  Muse  was  a 
son  of  John  Muse,  who  was  born  in  Handy  Lexington,  Kentucky,  and  moved 
to  what  is  now  Elrod,  Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvaia,  and  later  to  the  Muse 
homestead  in  the  same  county.  He  was  twice  married,  his  first  wife  being  Re- 
beca  Edmundson,  by  whom  he  had  five  children:  Fauntley,  born  1821,  married 
Annie  Miller,  and  died  in  1864,  from  the  effects  of  a  wound  received  in  the 
civil  war ;  Joseph,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  Catherine,  born  in  May,  1825,  mar- 
ried John  Ludwick,  of  Allegheny  county;  John,  born  in  March,  1827,  married 
^Martha  Ludwick,  also  of  Allegheny  county ;  and  George,  born  in  1830,  died 
unmarried  while  serving  in  the  army  during  the  civil  war.  Mrs.  Muse,  who 
was  a  native  of  the  same  state  as  her  husband,  died  in  1863,  and  Mr.  Muse 
subsequently  married  Mrs.  Ellen  Wilson,  of  Allegheny  City.  By  this  marriage 
he  was  the  father  of  three  children  :  Harry,  born  in  August,  1864,  married 
and  died  several  years  ago ;  Blanche,  born  in  .September,  1865,  is  unmarried 
and  lives  with  her  mother  at  McKeesport ;  and  Minnie,  born  in  October,  1867, 
married  C.  L.  Jones,  of  jMcKeesport. 

Joseph  Muse,  son  of  John  and  Rebecca  (Edmundson)  Muse,  was  born 
July  29,  1823,  in  Allegheny  county,  on  the  old  Muse  homestead,  which  is  still 
in  the  family.  He  assisted  in  the  care  and  management  of  these  acres  until 
the  occasion  of  his  marriage,  when  he  moved  to  Westmoreland  county,  and 
bought  the  present  Muse  farm,  which  he  cultivated  during  the  remainder  of 
■  his  life.  For  some  time  he  held  the  office  of  supervisor.  He  affiliated  with 
the  Republican  party,  and  vvas  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
Mr.  Muse  married,  October  28,  1848,  Cynthia,  daughter  of  William  and  Sarah 
(Paul)  Campbell,  of  Sewickley  township,  Westmoreland  county.  Mrs.  Muse 
was  born  October  i,  1824.  The  children  of  this  marriage  were:  Rebecca  E., 
bori  September  21,  1849.  married  E.  B.  Sweeny  of  Derry  township;  James, 
born  May  3,  1851,  died  July  27,  1863;  John  J.,  jjorn  February  19,  1853,  lives 
at  home;  George  W.,  born  May  19,  1855,  married  Margaret  Paul  and  lives  at 
West  Newton;  Samuel  P.,  born  May  13,  1857,  died  December  16,  1880; 
Sarah  E.  F.,  born  January  i,  1859.  died  February  26,  1864;  Joseph  P.,  born 
September  ig,  i860;  Fauntley  E.,  born  October  10,  1862,  is  unmarried  and 
lives  in  Montana;  and  Asbury  S.,  born  June  25,  1868.  The  last  named  with 
his  brotliers.  John  J.  and  Joseph  P.,  lives  on  the  homestead.  All  three  are 
unmarried.  The  death  of  I\Ir.  Muse  occurred  October  22,  1886.  when  he  was 
but  little  past  the  prime  of  life,  and  his  widow,  who  survived  him  a  number 
of  years,  expired  November  11,  1902. 

HARRY  THOMAS  MORRISON.  The  birth  of  Harry  Thomas 
Morrison,  of  Vandergrift  Heights,  occurred  March  23,  1861,  in  Copper  Burrell 
township,  where  he  was  reared  on  the  farm  of  his  grandparents  and  educated 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY 


533 


in  the  common  schools.  In  his  twenty-third  year  he  entered  the  service  of 
the  Allegheny  \'alley  railroad  as  engineer  and  watchman  in  the  round  house  at 
Braeburn.  One  year  later  he  resigned  and  accepted  a  position  in  the  Crescent 
Steel  works  in  Pittsburg,  where  he  remained  some  eight  years  in  the  capacit\- 
of  weighniaster.  In  December,  1893,  he  moved  to  Apollo  and  secured  a  posi- 
tion in  the  mills  of  the  Apollo  Iron  &  Steel  Company.  For  a  short  time  he 
worked  in  the  humblest  capacity,  but  soon  rose  to  the  position  of  shearman, 
which  he  filled  for  a  year.  He  was  then  made  weighmaster  and  after  serving 
five  years  again  became  shearman,  that  having  been  made  in  the  interval  a 
better  position,  and  in  this  capacity  he  has  ever  since  served.  In  June,  1897,  hav- 
ing been  transferred  to  the  X'andergrift  mills,  he  removed  his  family  to  the  new 
residence  on  Vandergrift  Heights  which  he  had  built  and  in  which  he  has 
since  resided.  He  is  a  Democrat  and  served  as  first  assessor  of  the  borough 
of  Vandergrift  Heights.  He  affiliates  with  Vandergrift  Lodge,  No.  1751, 
Royal  Arcanum,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Mr.  Morrison 
married,  in  1891,  Maud  ]\I.,  daughter  of  James  G.  Borland,  of  Upper  Burrell 
township,  and  three  children  have  been  born  to  them  :  Alta  JNIercedes,  deceased  : 
Hallie  Lucille,  and  Hazel  Marie. 

PETER  WHITEHEAD.  The  Whiteheads  of  North  Huntingdon 
township  are  of  German  descent,  and  the  original  Teutonic  rendering  of  the 
name  was  Weiskopf.  During  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  a  Ger- 
man couple  of  that  name  emigrated  to  America,  setthng  in  Richmond,  Vir- 
ginia, and  while  at  sea  the  wife  gave  birth  to  a  son,  \^alentine,  whose  star  of 
destiny  led  him  at  an  early  age  into  the  then  almost  unbroken  wilderness  of 
'Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.  \Mien  a  mere  lad  \'alentine  accom- 
panied a  company  of  soldiers  to  Fort  Pitt  (now  Pittsburgh),  where  he  made 
himself  useful  as  guard  over  the  woodpile  and  also  rendered  other  services  to 
the  garrison.  Endowed  with  the  necessary  courage  he  readily  accustomed 
himself  to  the  dangers  and  vicissitudes  of  frontier  life,  and  subsequently  be- 
came actively  concerned  in  numerous  offensive  and  defensive  operations 
against  the  savages.  When  a  young  man  he  located  in  Sewickley  township, 
from  whence  he  removed  to  North  Huntingdon,  and  was  the  founder  of  the 
present  "\\'hitehead  estate  in  that  township.  His  adventures  and  exploits, 
w^hich  were  numerous,  have  been  handed  down  through  his  descendants,  and 
they  serve  to  remind  the  present  generation  of  the  indomitable  courage  and 
prseveranc  displayed  by  their  ancestors  in  the  interest  of  civilization.  "Twice 
was  his  cabin  burned  by  the  Indians  and  his  encounters  with  them  were  manv 
and  fierce.  It  is  related  that  on  one  occasion,  while  plowing,  his  horse  gave 
indications  of  fear  and  refused  to  approach  a  certain  portion  of  timlier. 
Leaving  his  team  Whitehead  made  a  circuit  of  the  field  through  the  woods  and 
shot  an  Indian,  whom  he  surprised  in  amlnish."  The  christian  name  of  his 
wife  was  Mary,  but  her  family  name  cannot  now  be  obtained. 

Peter  Whitehead,  son  of  Valentine,  and  father  of  the  present  representa- 
tive of  the  family  bearing  that  name,  was  born  in  North  Huntingdon,  Feb- 
ruary 24.  1796.  His  entire  life  was  spent  at  the  homestead,  which  he  inher- 
ited, and  he  was  actively  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  May  6,  1867.  In  local  pulilic  affairs  he  was  quite  prom- 
inent, serving  one  term  as  county  commissioner,  and  in  politics  he  was  a 
Democrat.  His  religious  affiliations  were  with  the  Reformed  church,  of 
which  he  was  an  elder.  On  October  11,  1813,  he  married  Barbara  Highber- 
ger,  who  was  born  February  18,  1794.  daughter  of  Daniel  Highberger,  who 
came  originally  from  Montgomery  county.     Barbara  died  November  29,  1834, 


534  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

and  on  January  22,  1837,  Peter  Whitehead  married  her  sister  Catherine.  His 
children,  aU  of  his  first  union,  were:  EHzabeth,  born  March  6,  1815  ;  Maria, 
born  September  20,  1816;  Simon,  born  April  i,  1818:  Ludwig,  born  1820; 
Anna  Catherine,  born  December  10,  1821  ;  John  Andrew,  born  June  21,  1823; 
Margaret,  born  November  24,  1824;  Lucinda,  born  November  18,  1826; 
Sarah,  born  December  3,  1828 ;  Peter,  the  date  of  whose  birth  will  be  given 
presently;  and  Rachel  Jane,  born  August  6,  1S32.  Of  these  the  only  one  now 
living  is  Peter,  the  principal  of  this  sketch. 

Peter  Whitehead  was  bom  July  21,  1830.  Reared  upon  the  farm  and 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Huntingdon  he  has  devoted  the  active  period 
of  his  life  to  the  cultivation  of  the  homestead  property,  which  he  purchased, 
and  like  his  predecessors  has  acquired  a  comfortalDle  prosperity.  He  is  also 
extensively  engaged  in  the  breeding  of  fine  live-stock.  As  a  Democrat  he  par- 
ticipates more  or  less  actively  in  political  affairs,  and  for  the  years  1890-91-92 
served  with  ability  as  supervisor.  For  a  period  of  twenty-five  years  he  has 
been  a  trustee  of  the  Brush  Creek  Reformed  Church,  and  in  various  other 
ways  has  displayed  an  active  interest  in  the  moral  and  religious  welfare  of  the 
community.  Mr.  Whitehead  married,  October  10,  1853,  Sarah  Eisma-n, 
daughter  of  Jacob  and  Susan  Eisman,  of  Hempfield  township.  Of  this  union 
were  born  ten  children,  namely :  Alice  A.,  Agnes,  married  John  Kerr,  and  died 
June  I,  1903,  leaving  three  children:  Clarence,  Alexander  (now  in  the  United 
States  navy),  and  Sarah  Jane.  William  O.,  married  Alice  Gongaware,  and 
resides  in  Pueblo,  Colorado,  having  one  child,  Welty.  Susan  M.,  married 
James  Seanor,  of  Ludwig.  Edwin  G.,  resides  at  the  homestead.  Jacob  E.,  who 
is  the  subject  of  another  sketch  in  this  work.  Harry  W.,  married  Mary  Gonga- 
ware, and  resides  in  Irwin,  having  four  children  :  Hazel,  Walter,  James,  and 
Robert.     Sadie  E.    Olive  C.  B.,  Laura  W. 

SOBER  FAAHLY.  The  grandfather  of  George  and  Andrew  Sober, 
of  Leechburg,  was  George  Sober,  the  descendant  of  German  ancestors  and  a 
resident  of  Northampton  county,  whence  he  came  in  1798  to  Westmoreland 
county.  He  purchased  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  acres  of  land  in  Alle- 
gheny township,  and  turned  his  attention  to  agriculture,  having  formerly 
followed  the  carpenter's  trade.  His  wife  was  Anna  M.  Artman,  whom  he 
married  "on  the  other  side  of  the  mountains."  and  they  were  the  parents  of 
four  children,  three  daughters  and  one  son;  Daniel. 

Daniel  Sober,  son  of  George  and  Anna  M.  (Artman)  Sober,  was  born 
in  1798,  in  Alleghcnv  township,  and  in  course  of  time  inherited  the  home- 
stead on  which  he  passed  his  entire  life  as  a  farmer.  For  some  time  he  held 
the  office  of  supervisor  of  the  township.  He  married  Elizabeth  Spiker.  and 
their  children  were:  John,  George,  mentioned  hereinafter;  Daniel.  David.. 
Andrew,  also  mentioned  hereinafter ;  Christopher,  Mary,  Elizabeth,  Margaret. 
Sarah,  Catharine,  and  Ann  C.  All  these  children  were  born  on  the  homestead 
in  Allegheny  township.  George,  Daniel  and  David,  during  the  civil  war, 
served  one  year  in  Company  K,  Sixty-seventh  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Heavy 
Artillery,  David  dying  in  the  service.  The  death  of  Air.  Sober,  the  father, 
occurred  in  1885. 

George  Sober,  one  of  the  two  surviving  sons  of  Daniel  and  Elizabeth  (Spi- 
ker) SobeV,  was  born  June,  1825,  and  has  passed  his  life  as  a  farmer  in  his  native 
township.  He  owns  the  old  farm  upon  which  he  was  born,  having  bought 
out  the  other  heirs.  On  this  estate  there  is  a  well  of  natural  gas.  The  house 
in  which  Mr.  Sober  lives  was  built  in  1848  and  is  the  third  dwelling  erected 
on  the  farm,  the  first  having  been  a  log  structure.    Until  1866  he  was  a  Demo- 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAXD    COUXTY.  535 

crat,  but  since  that  year  has  adhered  to  the  l\epul)lican  party.  He  married  in 
1853,  r^largaret  Moorhead,  and  their  children  arc :  EHzabeth,  D.  W.,  John 
C.  Charles  F.,  and  Annie.  John  C.  Sober  owns  the  farm  in  conjunction  with 
his  father  and  attends  to  the  general  farming.  He  married  May  Marshall, 
and  they  have  three  children:    .Margaret  E.,  ]\lary  M.,  and  George  M. 

Andrew  Sober,  the  other  surviving  son  of  Daniel  and  Elizabeth  (Spiker) 
Sober,  was  born  in  1836,  and  remained  on  the  homestead  until  1876.  He  has 
faithfully  followed  agricultural  pursuits,  in  which  he  has  been  remarkably 
successful,  owning  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  acres  in  a  high  state 
of  cultivation.  He  has  held  the  offices  of  school  director  and  tax  collector,  and 
like  his  brother  became  a  Republican  in  1866,  having  previouslv  been  a  Demo- 
crat. He  is  a  member  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church,  in  which  he  serves 
as  trustee  and  treasurer,  being  in  this  respect  exceptional  in  his  family,  the 
majority  of  whom  are  Lutherans.  Mr.  Sober  has  been  twice  married.  His 
first  wife  was  Frances  Hill,  to  whom  the  following  children  were  born :  Israel, 
deceased;  Herman,  deceased ;  David,  married  .\nnie  Deiffendoffer,  and  has 
two  children :  Mabel  and  Pearl ;  Henry,  married  Maggie  Garrett,  and  had  one 
child;  Craig,  married  Annie  ^liller,  and  has  two  sons:  Clifford  and  Arthur; 
James,  married  Maggie  ^IcGuire.  and  has  three  children :  Lavinia,  Andrew  and 
Filmore;  John;  Minnie,  wife  of  J.  C.  Stuart,  and  mother  of  two  children;  Ma- 
bel and  Frances:  Herman  (2),  married  Annie  Walters,  and  has  five  children: 
Myrtle,  Vernie,  :\Iaria,  Hazel  and  Clinton  O.  Israel,  the  eldest  of  the  family, 
left  a  widow,  Martha  (Walters)  Sober,  and  one  daughter,  Ellen.  After  the 
death  of  his  wife  Mr.  Sober  married  Catharine  Keppel.  By  this  marriage 
there  were  no  children. 

D.  W.  Sober,  son  of  George  and  ]\Iargaret  (Moorhead)  Sober,  was  born 
in  1858,  in. Allegheny  township,  where  he  was  reared  and  educated.  Untd 
his  twenty-second  year  he  remained  on  his  father's  farm,  and  then  turned  his 
attention  to  the  carpenter's  trade,  which  he  followed  until  1887.  In  that  year 
he  established  himself  in  the  lumber  business  at  Leechburg,  remaining  there 
four  years.  In  1891  he  moved  his  business  to  Avonmore,  and  in  1892  formed 
a  partnership  with  Charles  A.  Hill  and  Thomas  H.  Gough  under  the  firm  name 
of  the  Hill  Lumber  Company.  The  connection  is  still  maintained  and  the 
transactions  of  the  firm  are  extensive.  In  1903  !^Ir.  Sober  built  his  present 
home.  He  has  served  eight  years  on  the  borough  council,  and  is  a  member  of 
the  Lutheran  church,  in  which  he  has  held  many  offices  of  trust  and  respon- 
sibility. Mr.  Sober  married,  Xovembcr  4,  1887,  Mary  E.,  daughter  of  Simon 
P.  and  Mary  (Shearer)  h'aulk.  The  former,  who  is  a  prosperous  farmer  of 
.Alleglreny  township,  was  Ijorn  Xovember  19,  1824,  in  Armstrong  county,  and 
is  the  descendant  of  ancestors  who  served  both  in  the  war  of  1812  and  in  the 
revoultionary  struggle.  His  father  was  an  accomplished  scholar  and  his 
mother  was  granddaughter  of  Daniel  Broadhead.  This  Daniel  was  a  de- 
scendant of  another  Daniel  Broadhead,  who  was  a  captain  in  the  British 
forces,  which,  in  1664.  took  possession  of  Xew  Amsterdam,  which  then  be- 
came Xew  York.  Andrew  J.  Faulk,  brother  of  Simon  P.  Faulk,  was  governor 
of  Dakota  in  1866-69. 

SA;MUEL  BELL.  Ireland  was  the  native  countrv  of  the  late  Sam- 
uel Bell,  of  Bell  townshi]).  Flis  birth  occurred  in  1816,  and  in  1836  he  emi- 
granted  to  the  L'nited  States,  being  the  only  one  of  Jiis  father's  children  to  seek 
a  home  in  the  Xew  World.  He  settled  near  Pittsburg,  where  he  learned  the 
blacksmith's  trade  and  where  he  remained  and  worked  at  his  trade  for  a 
number  of  years.     Later  in  life  he  moved  to   McKeesport  and   subsequently 


536  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

became  one  of  the  agriculturists  of  Bell  township,  where  he  owned  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-four  acres  of  valuable  farm  land.  Mr.  Bell  married  in  1855, 
in  AIcKeesport,  jMary  Irwin,  and  the  following  children  were  born  to  them, 
three  of  whom  are  living :  H.  G.,  attorney,  married  and  has  three  children : 
James,  Verah  and  Samuel;  Charles  D.,  civil  engineer;  and  Alexander  M., 
farmer  on  the  homestead,  married  Martha  M.  Alcorn,  and  has  no  children. 
James,  one  of  the  deceased  sons,  was  for  eighteen  years  clerk  of  the  court. 
In  1892  Mr.  Bell  closed  his  long  and  useful  life,  being  then  seventy-six 
j'cars  old. 

Mrs.  Bell  is  a  daughter  of  Hezekiah  and  Harriet  (Gamble)  Irwin,  the 
former  a  native  of  West  Newton,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  born  in  1808. 
He  was  one  of  the  leading  farmers  of  Westmoreland  county,  owning  one 
hundred  and  thirty-seven  acres  in  his  own  name,  and  in  company  with  his 
wife  having  a  half-interest  in  one  hundred  and  thirteen  acres  more.  He  and 
his  wife  were  the  parents  of  ten  children,  six  of  whom  are  living:  Mary,  born 
1831,  in  West  Newton,  widow  of  Samuel  Bell;  John,  Sarah,  Martha,  Celia, 
and  Hezekiah  D.,  who  has  been  for  twenty  years  clerk  in  the  United  States 
circuit  court.  Mrs.  Irwin  was  a  granddaughter  of  a  member  of  the  Gamble 
family  who  in  1756  emigrated  from  Ireland.  His  son,  John  Gamble,  was 
born  in  1785,  in  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  was  the  owner  of  two  hun- 
dred acres  of  land,  being  one  of  the  well-to-do  farmers  of  the  period.  He 
married  Sarah  Doughill,  and  one  of  their  daughters  was  Harriet,  wife  of 
Hezekiah  Irwin.  Their  other  children  were:  H.  D.,  Samuel  H.,  Elizabeth, 
James,  John,  Mary,  Olive,  and  Hiram.  All  these  grew  to  maturity,  the  sons 
filling  various  ofifices  of  trust  and  responsibility.  The  Gamble  family  was 
represented  in  the  ranks  of  the  revolutionary  army  and  was  also  distin- 
guished for  patriotism  in  the  civil  walks  of  life. 

GARRETT  W.  DAWSON.  Joseph  W.  Dawson,  father  of  Garrett 
W.  Dawson,  of  Vandergrift,  was  born  in  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania,  and 
as  a  young  man  went  to  Wilmington,  Delaware,  where  he  worked  in  the  mills 
of  the  McCullough  Iron  Company,  having  the  honor  of  helping  in  the  manu- 
facture of  the  first  iron  ever  drawn  from  the  furnaces  in  those  mills.  He 
has  since,  for  a  period  of  thirty  years,  remained  continuously  with  the  com- 
pany, and  now  holds  the  position  of  pair  heater.  He  votes  with  the  Republi- 
cans. Mr.  Dawson  married  Susanna  Steele,  and  ten  of  their  thirteen  children 
are  now  living:  Garrett  W'.,  mentioned  hereinafter:  Harry  A.,  of  Wilming- 
ton, Delaware ;  Mamie,  wife  of  a  Mr.  Barber,  of  Newcastle,  Delaware ;  Wil- 
liam, also  of  Wilmington ;  Ndrris,  Frank,  Edward,  Lewis,  Margaret,  and 
Anna  all  of  whom  are  likewise  residents  of  Wilmington. 

Garrett  W.  Dawson,  son  of  Joseph  W.  and  Susanna  (Steele)  Dawson, 
-was  born  August  14,  1872,  in  North  East,  Maryland,  and  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  Wilmington,  Delaware.  As  early  as  his  twelfth  year  he  was 
errand  boy  in  a  wholesale  store,  and  subsequently  entered  the  foundry  of  the 
Malleable  Iron  Company,  of  Wilmington,  where  he  worked  as  a  core  maker, 
being  too  young  for  apprenticeship  to  the  moulder's  trade.  He  was  then  em- 
ployed for  about  six  months  by  the  Edgemore  Iron  Company,  of  Edgemore, 
Delaware,  after  which  he  accepted  the  offer  of  a  position  in  the  mills  of  the 
McCullough  Iron  Company,  in  Wilmington,  remaining  with  them  twelve 
years.  During  this  time  he  rose  from  the  lowest  place  to  that  of  roller  and 
filled  nearly  every  positioii  in  the  mills  because  of  the  advantages  offered 
him  and  because  he  took  advantage  of  those  opportunities.  In  1899  he  went 
to  Vandergrift  to  accept  a  position  with  the  Apollo  Iron  &  Steel  Company. 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 


537 


After  working  for  a  short  time  as  rougher  he  was  made  roller,  being  given  one 
of  the  heavy  mills.  This  position  he  has  held  for  the  last  six  years.  He 
affiliates  with  Kiskiminetas  Lodge,  Xo.  1116,  and  Encampment  No.  284,  I. 
O.  O.  F.  His  political  affiliations  are  with  the  Republicans.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  ever  since  his  arrival  in  Van- 
dergrift  has  served  on  the  official  board.  He  is  now  president  of  the  Epworth 
League.  Mr.  Dawson  married,  June  20,  1901,  Minnie  Cochran,  of  Apollo, 
two  daughters :     Eloise  ^larie,  and  Martha  Larue. 

ROBERT  HODGSON.  The  grandfatlier  of  Robert  Hodgson,  of 
Apollo,  was  Samuel  Hodgson,  who  emigrated  from  England  with  his  family 
and  .settled  in  Chartiers  township,  where  he  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits. 
He  was  the  father  of  eleven  children:  Samuel,  mentioned  hereinafter:  John, 
and  nine  daughters. 

Samuel  Hodgson,  son  of  Samuel  Hodgson,  the  emigrant,  for  many  years 
successfully  carried  on  the  dairy  business  in  partnership  with  his  brother  John, 
and  bought  a  farm  of  thirty-five  acres  in  Chartiers  townshi]x  This  farm  is 
now  a  part  of  the  city  of  Pittsburg.  Mr.  Hodgson  married  iNIatilda  McDowel, 
and  their  children  were:  Mary,  deceased;  Robert,  mentioned  hereinafter; 
Jane,  Isabella,  Alice,  and  Joseph,  deceased.  The  mother  of  these  children  died 
in  1856,  and  her  husband  survived  her  many  years,  passing  away  in  1890,  at 
the  advanced  age  of  eighty-four. 

Robert  Hodgson,  son  of  Samuel  and  ^latilda  (^^IcDowel)  Hodgson,  was 
hern  October  23,  1841,  in  Chartiers  township  (now  the  fifty-ninth  ward  of 
Pittsburg),  Allegheny  county.  He  was  educated  in  his  native  place,  at  the 
age  of  nineteen  became  a  teacher,  and  for  twenty-four  years  thereafter  was 
engaged  in  educational  work.  Fifteen  years  of  this  time  he  was  an  instructor 
in  the  public  schools  of  Pittsburg  and  Allegheny.  In  1884  he  moved  to  Arm- 
strong county,  where  he  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  until  1897,  when  he 
removed  to  Washington  township  and  purchased  his  present  farm,  which  he 
has  successfully  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  fruit.  His  trees  comprise  twelve 
hundred  peach,  three  hundred  apple,  four  hundred  plum,  two  hundred  pear  and 
over  one  hundred  cherry,  besides  all  kinds  of  small  fruits.  He  makes  a  specialty 
of  the  native  peach,  and  has  in  all  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  under  cultivation. 
He  is  a  close  student,  particularly  along  his  chosen  line  of  endeavor.  Mr,  Hodg- 
son married.  May  27,  1870.  Annie  M.,  daughter  of  James  and  Mary  A.  (Berry) 
Obey,  and  their  children  are :  Mary  .A.,  wife  of  Harvey  Jack,  of  Kittanning ; 
Jennie  B.,  wife  of  E.  R.  Cypher;  Lulu  S.,  wife  of  Johnson  P.roski,  of  Wander- 
grift;  Robert  O.,  of  Pittsburg;  and  Edwin  S. 

WILLIAM  IIEIMBERGER.  The  parents  of  William  Hcimbergcr, 
of  Salt-sburg,  were  Philip  and  Theresa  Hluffman)  Heimberger,  both  natives 
of  Germany.  Out  of  their  family  of  six  children  two  emigrated  to  the  United 
States :  William,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  and  Frank,  who  was  a  cabinetmaker, 
and  was  accident;illv  drowned  at  Braddock  during  the  high  water  of  1884. 

William  Heinilurger.  son  of  Philip  anrl  Theresa  (Huffman)  Heimberger, 
was  born  May  17,  1859,  in  IJaden,  Heidelberg,  Germany,  and  was  educated  in 
his  native  country.  Early  in  life  he  was  apprenticed  to  the  machinist's  trade, 
which  he  mastered  to  perfection.  In  obedience  to  the  law  of  the  land  which 
requires  every  male  subject  to  give  three  years  of  his  life  to  military  service,  he 
served  that  length  of  time  in  a  cavalrv  rcsriment.  In  1882  he  emigrated  to  the 
L'nited  States,  arriving  f  Jctober  3.  and  settlerl  at  P.raddock,  Pennsylvania,  where 
for  three  years  he  worked  in  a  machine  shop.    He  next  went  to  Martin's  Ferry, 


538  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

Ohio,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade  for  one  year,  and  then  moved  to  WheeHng, 
West  Virginia,  remaining  there  three  years.  About  this  time  he  became  en- 
gaged in  the  erection  of  rolling-mills  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  and  moved 
from  place  to  place  as  necessity  demanded.  He  continued  in  this  business  for 
eight  years,  but  during  that  tune  made  Ducjuesne  his  place  of  residence.  In 
1897  he  moved  to  Avonmore  and  there  helped  to  organize  the  West  Penn  Foun- 
dry &  Machine  Company,  in  which  he  became  a  stockholder.  Since  that  time 
he  has  been  in  the  service  of  the  company.  The  year  of  his  coming  to  Avon- 
mort  he  purchased  part  of  the  old  Rhea  farm,  consisting  of  sixty-two  acres. 
This  is  one  of  the  old  farms  of  Bell  township  and  was  formerly  the  site  of  an 
Indian  village.  Mr.  Heimbergcr,  while  ploughing,  has  turned  up  many  Indian 
relics  which  he  has  preserved  and  takes  pleasure  in  showing  to  those  interested 
in  these  memorials  of  a  by-gone  age.  Since  taking  possession  of  his  farm  he 
has  greatly  improved  it,  erecting  out-buildings  and  enriching  the  soil.  The 
dwelling  house  was  built  about  1835.  With  the  assistance  of  his  sons  he  is 
enabled  to  manage  the  farm  and  at  the  same  time  attend  to  his  duties  in  the 
machine  shop.  He  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Mr. 
Heimberger  married,  December  20.  1883,  while  residing  at  Martin's  Ferry, 
Anna  Gerke,  a  native  of  that  place.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Heimberger  have  been  the 
parents  of  the  following  children  :  Augusta,  Anna,  deceased  ;  Herman,  William, 
Bertha,  Edward,  and  George. 

JAMES  GARDNER.  The  family  of  which  James  Gardner,  of  Apollo, 
is  a  member  is  of  Irish  origin  and  was  jjlanted  in  this  country  by  Robert  Gard- 
ner who  settled  in  Huntingdon  county.  He  was  a  farmer  and  a  revolutionary 
soldier. 

Thomas  Gardner  son  of  Robert  Gardner,  was  a  farmer,  but  not  a  land- 
owner, and  served  in  the  war  of  1812.  In  1824  he  moved  with  his  family  from 
Hunterdon  county  to  Westmoreland  and  settled  at  Murraysville.  His  wife  was 
Sarah  Scovin,  a  descendant  of  Colonel  Hand, who  was  a  native  of  England  and 
during  the  French  and  Indian  war  had  charge  of  Duquesne  barracks  near  Pitts- 
burg. It  was  in  honor  of  him  that  Fort  Hand  received  its  name.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Gardner  had  children  :  James,  mentioned  hereinafter  ;  Samuel,  Edward,  Rebecca 
J.,  John,  Martha,  Thomas,  Elizabeth,  Ann,  Hannah,  Robert  and  Nancy.  Sam- 
uel and  John  became  tillers  of  the  soil.  The  latter  served  during  the  civil  war 
in  Company  C,  Fourteenth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry,  and 
was  wounded.  Thomas  was  a  private  in  Company  C,  Ninth  Regiment,  Penn- 
sylvania Reserves. 

James  Gardner,  son  of  Thomas  and  Sarah  (Scovin)  Gardner,  was  born 
May  12,  1824,  in  Hunterdon  county,  and  the  same  vear  was  taken  by  his  par- 
ents to  Murrysville,  where  he  received  his  education.  During  the  civil  war 
he  served  with  the  rank  of  first  corporal  in  Company  C,  One  Hundred  and 
Sixty-eighth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  \'olunteer  Infantry,  and  after  remaining 
nearly  one  year  was  honorably  discharged.  Soon  after  the  close  of  the  war  he 
purchased  his  present  farm  of  sixty-five  acres,  upon  which  he  erected  a  house 
in  1870.  His  trade  was  that  of  a  carpenter,  which  he  followed  for  twenty-six 
years,  building  most  of  the  barns  in  his  section  of  the  county.  These  stand  today 
as  monuments  of  his  handwork.  At  the  same  time  he  cultivated  his  farm,  and 
when  his  sons  grew  up  turned  the  land  over  to  them  while  he  plied  his  trade, 
he  has  served  his  township  as  supervisor,  and  is  a  Republican  in  politics.  His 
faith  is  that  of  the  ^Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Gardner  married  in  1847, 
Ann  J.  Walker,  and  their  children  were :  Jane,  deceased  ;  Peninah,  John, Martha, 
deceased ;  Ellen,  deceased  ;  Kate.  Thomas,  William  O.,  Elizabeth,  Belle  and 
Stephen. 


HISTORY   or    WESTMORELAND    COUXTV.  539 

HIXE  FAMILY.  The  family  represented  by  Jacob  ^NI.  Hine,  of 
Apollo,  and  Thomas  D.  Hine,  of  Salina,  was  planted  in  Westmoreland  coiintv 
about  1785.  The  founder  was  Simon  Hine,  who  was  of  Dutch  parentage  and 
by  some  thought  to  be  of  foreign  birth.  He  came  hither  from  Xortha'mpton 
county,  where  he  had  lived  some  time,  and  where  some  of  his  children  were 
born.  He  settled  first  in  the  neighborhood  of  Greensburg,  but  later  moved  to 
what  is  now  known  as  Bell  township,  where  he  purcjhased  from  the  government 
two  hundred  acres  of  land  on  which  he  built  a  log  house.  He  was  a  blacksmith 
as  were  also  some  of  his  sons.  The  iron  which  they  used  was  carried  on  horse- 
back from  Pittsburg,  a  distance  of  thirty  miles.  Simon  Hine  married  a  Miss 
Crissman,  and  their  children,  all  of  whom  were  born  "east  of  the  mountains," 
were:  Jacob,  who  succeeded  his  father  on  the  homestead,  was  a  blacksmith, 
married  and  had  the  following  children:  Peter,  Simon,  Jacob,  Elizabeth,  Susan 
and  Hannah;  John.  Nicholas,  mentioned  hereinafter;  Simon,  Peter,  Catharine, 
Charlotte,  Elizabeth. 

Nicholas  Hine,  son  of  Simon  Hine,  was  born  in  Northampton  countv,  and 
for  a  number  of  years  successfully  followed  the  blacksmith's  trade.  He  pur- 
chased two  hundred  acres  of  land  in  Bell  township,  now  the  property  of  his  son, 
Jacob  M.  Hine.  On  this  land  he  erected  a  substantial  stone  house,  which  is 
now  the  home  of  this  son.  Before  his  death  he  became  the  owner  of  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  acres.  He  held  in  the  township  the  offices  of  supervisor  and  tax 
collector.  He  was  a  staunch  Democrat,  and  adhered  strictly  to  the  tenets  of 
the  Lutheran  church  in  which  he  served  as  elder  and  deacon.  Mr.  Hine  married 
Susanna  Cline,  and  their  children  were:  Mary,  Simon,  Margaret.  Philip,  Su- 
sanna. Charlotte,  John,  Jacob  'SI.,  mentioned  hereinafter;  Thmoas  D..  men- 
tioned hereinafter;  Elizabeth,  and  three  who  died  in  youth.  All  are  deceased. 
with  the  exception  of  Jacob  M..  Thomas  D.,  I\Irs.  Henderson,  Mrs.  Pugh,  and 
Elizabeth.  The  death  of  Mr.  Hine  occurred  about  1865.  He  was  survived  for 
several  years  by  his  widow. 

Jacob  M.  Hine,  son  of  Nicholas  and  Susanna  (Cline)  Hine.  was  bom  De- 
cember 12.  1835.  in  Bell  township,  on  the  homestead  where  he  has  ever  since 
lived  and  of  which  he  is  now  the  owner.  In  1904  he  built  a  barn,  which  is  thus 
far  the  largest  ever  erected  in  the  state  of  Pennsylvania,  in  extent  eighty-six 
by  one  hundred  and  thirty-four  feet,  two  stories  high  and  capable  of  accommo- 
dating one  hundred  head  of  horses  in  addition  to  other  farm  stock.  The  total 
cost  was  twelve  thousand  dollars.  Over  and  above  his  Bell  township  property 
.Mr.  Hine  owns  the  Hotel  Kiskia,  in  Saltsburg.    He  has  never  married. 

Thomas  D.  Hine,  son  of  Nicholas  and  Susanna  (Cline)  Hine.  was  born  in 
1837.  on  the  homestead,  and  early  turned  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits. 
he  is  the  owner  of  a  farm  of  one  hundred  acres,  formerly  the  jjroperty  of  Miss  S. 
Buzzard.  On  this  land,  since  1871,  he  has  made  his  home  and  systematically 
devoted  himself  to  general  farming.  Mr.  Hine  married  in  1868,  Ella  C.  Will- 
iams, and  of  their  seven  children  four  are  living:  Lizzie.  R.  J.,  married  Anna 
Gughenberger,  and  is  the  father  of  two  children ;  Lydia  W.,  and  Sadie  P. 

-ALCORN  F.\M11A'.  The  numerous  and  well-known  race  of  which 
George  E.,  George  -A.  and  Robert  N.  .Alcorn,  all  of  Saltsburg,  are  represen- 
tatives, was  founded  in  this  country  by  two  brothers,  who  about  the  close  of 
the  eighteenth  century  came  hither  from  Donegal,  Ireland.  They  were  George 
and  John  .Alcorn.  The  former  married,  in  his  native  country,  Nancy  Porter, 
and  they  brought  with  them  to  this  country  three  children :  John,  Mattie  and 
Jennie.  Of  this  number.  John  died  on  the  voyage  and  was  buried  at  sea. 
They  settled  in  Bell  townshij),  where  Mr.  Alcorn  purchased  sixty  acres  of  land 


540  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

to  which  he  subsequently  added,  making  in  all  three  hundred  acres.  The  chil- 
dren born  to  himself  and  his  wife  in  their  new  home  were:  John  (2),  men- 
tioned hereinafter ;  George,  also  mentioned  hereinafter ;  and  Peggy.  Mr. 
Alcorn,  the  father,  was  a  staunch  Democrat  and  a  Presbyterian.  His  death 
occurred  in  1830. 

George  Alcorn,  son  of  George  and  Nancy  { Porter)  Alcorn,  was  born  in 
Bell  township,  married,  and  was  the  father  of  four  children:  William,  men- 
tioned hereinafter;  Hannah,  Mary;  and  one  deceased  in  youth.  In  1854  Mr. 
Alcorn,  the  father,  built  the  house  now  occupied  by  his  grandson,  George  E. 
Alcorn. 

William  Alcorn,  son  of  George  Alcorn,  was  born  in  1830,  in  Bell  town- 
ship, and  was  the  owner  of  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  acres.  He 
filled  creditably  several  township  offices.  He  married  Nancy  B.  McCauley, 
born  in  1838,  in  Salem  township,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  a  daughter  and 
a  son:  Ella  J.,  deceased;  and  George  E.,  mentioned  hereinafter.  Mrs.  Alcorn 
died  in  1890,  and  the  death  of  Mr.  Alcorn  occurred  in  1903. 

George  E.  Alcorn,  son  of  William  and  Nancy  B. '(McCauley)  Alcorn, 
was  born  in  i860,  in  Bell  township,  where  he  received  his  education.  After 
spending  three  years  in  Pittsburg,  working  at  the  carpenter's  trade,  he  re- 
turned to  the  homestead,  of  which  he  became  the  owner  on  the  death  of  his 
father,  and  on  which  he  now  lives.  He  has  held  for  some  time  the  office  of 
school  director.  Mr.  Alcorn  married  in  1886,  Anna,  daughter  of  Robert  and 
Jane  Alcorn,  and  they  have  two  sons :  Homer  and  Lawrence. 

John  Alcorn,  son  of  George  and  Nancy  (Foster)  Alcorn,  was  born  Au- 
gust I,  1804,  in  Bell  township,  and  married  Keziah  Nicholas,  born  June  25, 
1808.  The  marriage  took  place  in  1832,  and  their  children  were :  Robert  N., 
mentioned  hereinefter;  Mary  J.,  born  1835;  Nancy,  born  1837;  Martha  M., 
born  1839;  Hulda  K.,  born  1842;  John  (twin  to  Hulda  K.),  deceased;  Delilah, 
born  1845  ;  and  George  A.,  mentioned  hereinafter.  The  father  of  the  family 
died  October  17,  1878,  and  his  widnw  passed  away  January  17,  1899,  in  the 
ninety-first  year  of  her  age. 

Robert  N.  Alcorn,  son  of  John  and  Iveziah  (  Nicholas)  Alcorn,  was  born 
December  25,  1833,  and  has  always  followed  agricultural  pursuits.  His  farm, 
which  consists  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  he  has  owned  since  1865  and 
has  always  maintained  in  the  best  i)ossible  condition,  devoting  it  to  the  pur- 
poses of  general  farming.  In  1875  he  erected  his  fine  dwelling  and  in 
1883  his  spacious  and  convenient  barn.  Like  all  the  other  members  of  the 
family  he  is  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  a  Presbyterian  in  religious  belief.  j\Ir. 
Alcorn  married  in  1875,  Jane  Cook,  born  August,  1835,  and  three  of  their 
four  children  are  now  living:  Belle:  Frank,  a  physician  in  Pittsburg:  and  Jo- 
seph, a  farmer. 

George  A.  Alcorn,  son  of  John  and  Keziah  (Nicholas)  Alcorn,  was  born 
in  1847,  and  is  one  of  the  successful  farmers  of  the  township,  owning  an  estate 
of  one  hundred  and  forty-one  acres.  In  sight  of  the  house  is  an  Indian  camp- 
ing-ground, where  have  been  found  several  interesting  Indian  .relics.  True 
to  the  traditions  of  his  family  Mr.  Alcorn  supports  the  Democratic  partv,  and 
adheres  to  the  faith  of  the  Presbvterian  denomination.  Mr.  Alcorn  is  un- 
married and  his  two  sisters,  Hulda  K.  and  Delilah,  make  their  home  with  him. 

JAMES  WHITESELL.  The  familv  of  which  James  ^^•hitescll,  of 
Salina,  is  a  representative,  was  founded  in  \\'estmoreIand  county  by  an  an- 
cestor of  German  extraction,  whose  birthplace  had  been  the  Fatherland,  while 
his  wife  was  a  native  of  Holland.     Thev  came  from  "east  of  the  mountains." 


HISTORY   OF    IVESTMORELAXD    COUNTY.  541 

settling  in  Allegheny  township,  and  their  sons  were:  John,  mentioned  herein- 
after; Jonathan  and  Philip. 

John  W'hitesell,  son  of  the  pioneer  ancestor,  was  Ijorn  in  1788,  in  Alle- 
gheny tonwship,  and  was  a  fanner  and  also  "a  wagoner,"  hanling  goods  be- 
tween Pittsburg  and  Baltimore,  while  his  sons  attended  to  the  duties  of  the 
farm,  which  consisted  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  acres.  Mr.  W'hitesell  mar- 
ried Catharine  Clawson,  of  Bell  township,  born  in  1782,  and  their  children 
were :  Isaac,  JNIary,  James,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  Eliza,  Ellen,  Jonathan, 
Susan,  Peter,  and  Alexander.  ( )f  this  number  Jonathan  is  the  only  suryiyor. 
The  parents  of  these  children  both  liyed  to  yery  adyanced  ages,  the  father 
dying  in  1875,  ^t  the  age  of  eighty-seven,  and  the  mother  passing  awa)-  in 
1877,  having  lived  to  within  five  years  of  the  century  limit. 

James  W'hitesell,  son  of  John  and  Catharine  (Clawson)  W'hitesell,  was 
born  December  12,  1817,  in  Washington  township,  and  was  a  prosperous 
agriculturist,  his  farm  consisting  of  one  hundred  and  fourteen  acres  of  valu- 
able land  well  underlaid  with  coal  and  gas.  He  built  for  himself  a  fine  resi- 
dence which  is  now  occupied  by  his  son  James,  the  present  owner  of  the  farm. 
Like  all  the  W'hitesells,  he  was  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Mr.  W'hite- 
sell married  Elizabeth  Yockey,  bom  December  2,  1817,  in  Bell  township,  and 
their  children  were :  Abanna,  Martha,  John,  Carpenter,  Christopher,  Susan, 
Mary.  Jonathan.  James,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  and  Samuel  H.  With  the 
exception  of  James.  John.  Carpenter  and  Jonathan  are  the  only  survivors. 
Mr.  W'hitesell.  the  father,  died  July  2,  1899,  and  the  death  of  his  widow  oc- 
curred July  17,  1904. 

James  W'hitesell,  son  of  James  and  Elizabeth  (Yockey)  W'hitesell,  was 
born  in  1857,  on  the  fann  he  now  owns,  in  Bell  township,  where  he  received  his 
education  in  the  common  schools,  subsequently  turning  his  attention  to  agri- 
cultural pursuits.  His  farm,  which  is  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  consists  of 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres.  He  has  held  the  offices  of  tax  collector  and  school 
director.  He  married  in  1885,  Ellen  R.  McGeary,  and  their  children  are:  Edith 
C.  William  J.  F.,  Edna  ]\L,  Paul  C,  Eleanor  G.,  Arthur  J.,  Helen  G.,  and  an 
unnamed  infant.  Mrs.  W'hitesell  belongs  to  one  of  the  old  pioneer  families 
of  Allegheny  township,  where  she  was  born  in  1863,  daughter  of  William  and 
Maria  McGearj-. 

CHARLES  B.  CARNAHAX.  The  ancestors  of  Charles  B.  Carnahan, 
of  Salina.  were  among  the  pioneers  of  Westmoreland  county.  Hither,  in  1792, 
came  David  Carnahan.  from  "east  of  the  mountains."  He  was  the  son  of  Iri.sh 
parents  and  settled  in  Bell  township,  where  he  patented  six  hundred  acres  of 
land  from  the  government.  His  sons  w-ere :  John,  David,  m'entioned  herein- 
after: and  Joseph. 

David  Carnahan,  son  of  David  Carnahan.  the  pioneer,  owned  one  hundred 
acres  of  the  original  six  hundred  taken  up  by  his  father,  and  was  one  of  the 
prosperous  fanners  of  his  day.  His  wife  was  Mary  Bash,  and  their  children 
were:  John.  David.  Marion,  mentioned  hereinafter:  .\dam,  .Samuel,  Washing- 
ton. Mary  and  Elizabeth. 

Marion  Carnahan.  son  of  David  and  Mary  (  Bash)  Carnahan.  was  born 
in  1819.  in  Bell  township,  and  married  Anna  .Alms,  who  bore  him  the  following 
chiklren  :F.  M..  Samuel,  mentioned  hereinafter:  M.  L.,  George,  and  Maria. 

.Samuel  Carnahan,  son  of  Marion  and  Alma  (Alms)  Carnahan.  was  born 
and  educated  in  Bell  township.  For  some  years  he  was  engaged  in  mercan- 
tile business.  He  married  Mattie  Caldwell,  also  a  native  of  Bel!  township,  and 
their  children  were:     William.  Carl.  Arthur.  Harr\-,  and  Charles  I'.,   mcntioncfl 


542  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

hereinafter.     ^Irs.  Carnahan  died   in    1894,  and   the   death  of   Mr.   Carnahan 
occurred  June,  1902. 

Charles  B.  Carnahan,  .son  of  Samuel  and  Alattie  (Caldwell J  Carnahan,  was 
born  in  1874,  in  Bell  township,  where  he  was  reared  and  educated  and  during 
his  youth  was  variously  employed.  He  spent  several  years  in  the  service  of  Wil- 
liam McCauley,  who  bequeathed  to  him  -his  farm  of  one  hundred  and  eighteen 
acres.  Mr.  Carnahan  has  been  in  possession  of  this  valuable  and  productive 
property  since  1897,  and  from  that  time  to  the  present  has  led  the  life  of  an 
energetic  and  successful  farmer.  He  has  served  his  township  as  school  direc- 
tor. Mr.  Carnahan  married,  in  1895,  Mary  E.  Welch,  and  three  children  have 
been  Ijorn  to  them:     ^lartha,  Mary,  and  De  Witt. 

JAMES  THOMAS  DUNN,  a  tinsmith  by  trade,  and  a  respected  citi- 
zen of  Greensburg.  Westmoreland  county.  Pennsylvania,  traces  his  ancestry 
to  Ireland. 

Patrick  Dunn  was  born  in  Dublin,  Ireland.  He  came  to  America  about 
1855,  with  his  only  brother,  John.  They  went  to  Schuylkill  county,  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  shortly  after  separated,  and  Patrick  never  heard  of  his  brother  again. 
Patrick  obtained  employment  in  the  coal  mines,  and  followed  this  occupation 
for  fifty  years.  He  was  an  adherent  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  a  member 
of  the  Catholic  church.  He  died  September  17,  1897.  He  married  He.ster 
Saddler,  daughter  of  Joseph  Saddler,  a  stonecutter  of  Hcmpfield  township. 
The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Patrick  Dunn  were:  Margaret,  died  in  infancy; 
Elizabeth,  married  Thomas  Wallace,  and  had  children ;  Thomas  Augustine 
Francis,  born  June  22,  1884:  Frances  Agatha,  October  7,  1885  ;  Mary  Seliscas, 
I'ebruary  7,  1887;  Rose  Marie,  July  i,  1888;  Henrietta  Elizabeth,  May  8,  1890; 
Rabonnas  Edward,  October  3,  1892;  John;  Adeline;  MaVy,  married  John 
Edenbo,  and  has  children :  John,  Catherine,  Emma,  George,  James,  Elizabeth. 
Sophia.  James  Thomas,  of  whom  later.  lillen.  Sarah.  Augustus.  Mrs. 
Patrick  Dunn  died  September  15,  1905. 

James  Thomas  Dunn,  second  son  and  seventh  child  of  Patrick  and  Hester 
(Saddler)  Dunn,  was  born  in  Hempficld  township,  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  January  17,  1867.  He  was  educatecl  in  xA.gnew's  schoolhouse 
and  at  the  Greensburg  Academy.  He  was  then  apprenticed  to  the  tinsmithing 
trade,  with  Henry  B.  Temple,  of  Greensburg,  where  he  is  still  employed.  He 
has  been  faithful  and  industrious  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties,  and  has  made 
many  friends  both  in  business  and  social  life.  He  married,  October  5,  1888, 
Alice  Elizabeth  Kuhns,  daughter  of  and  Lydia  Kuhns,  and  their  chil- 
dren are:  Thomas  Francis,  born  July  11,  1889.  Josephine,  born  March  5, 
1892.  Patrick  Lawrence,  born  November  27,  1893.  Joseph  Raymond,  born 
December  29,  1895.  Hester  i\larie,  born  January  27,  1900.  Sarah  Alice,  born 
September  8,  1901.  William  Henry,  bnrn  February  4,  1904.  Mr.  Dunn  is  a 
Democrat,  and  a  member  of  the  Catholic  church. 

GEORGE  i\I.  PAHEL,  boss  machinist  in  the  railroad  shops  at 
Youngwood,  was  born  near  Duryea  Station,  April  i,  1864,  and  is  a  son 
of  James  and  Jane  Pahel.  The  father  is  now  residing  with  his  son 
Henrv  in  Duryea,  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  vears.  In  his  earlv 
life  he  followed  the  canal  for  a  number  of  years,  after  which  he 
entered  the  employ  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Companv,  with  which 
he  was  connected  until  his  retirement  from  active  business  life.  In  politics 
lie  is  a  staunch  Democrat,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Reformed  rhnrrh.  in  whi'^b 
he  served  as  deacon  for  a  n"mber  of  venr?.    He  is  also  a  veteran  of  the  ci"'il 


I 


HISTORY   OF    JVESTMORELAXD    COUXTY.  543 

war.  being  one  of  six  brothers  who  enhsted  in  defense  of  the  Union  cause,  and 
two  of  the  number  were  killed  at  the  front.  James  Pahcl  is  now  a  member  of 
Henry  (iibson  Post,  No.  384,  G.  A.  R.  His  children,  six  in  numlicr,  all  yet 
survive:  Henry  ().,  a  locomotive  engineer  on  the  Pennsylvania  railroad  and 
resides  at  Duryea ;  Robert  L..  a  caller  for  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company, 
at  Duryea ;  Jacob  W'.,  conductor  on  the  same  road  anil  lives  at  Duryea ;  George 
M.:  Mary,  wife  of  Abednigo  iSylvester.  of  Duryea:  and  .Matilda,  wife  of  John 
Ecknian,  at  Duryea. 

George  M.  Pahel  ac(|uired  his  education  in  the  public  schools,  and  at  the 
age  of  sixteen  years  entered  the  service  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Com- 
pany, being  engaged  at  repair  work  under  .Andrew  McCuUough.  track  foreman 
of  the  Pittsburg  division.  For  two  years  he  was  located  at  Duryea,  at  the 
end  of  which  time  he  accepted  a  position  in  the  paper  mills  at  West  Newton, 
where  he  was  employed  for  five  years.  In  1887  he  again  entered  the  employ  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company,  accepting  a  position  under  Mac  McClel- 
lan.  roundhouse  foreman  at  Duryea.  in  the  capacity  of  machinist.  In  the  fall 
of  1900  he  was  promoted  and  sent  to  Youngwood  to  act  as  boss  machinist  in 
the  shops  of  this  ])lace.  He  is  an  expert  machinist,  thoroughly  conversant 
with  the  work  of  building  a  locomotive  in  every  part,  and  is  therefore  well 
qualified  for  the  additional  responsibility  given  him.  Mr.  Pahel  married,  Jan- 
uary 9.  1884,  Catherine  E.  Baer.  daughter  of  Ephriam  Baer,  of  West  Newton, 
Pennsylvania,  and  they  have  four  children :  Harry  M.,  William  D.,  Mamie 
and  Sadie.  In  his  political  views  Mr.  Pahel  is  a  Democrat,  and  in  1903  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  borough  council  of  Youngwood.  He  lielongs  to 
Youngwood  Lodge,  No.  667,  I.  O.  O.  P.:  Duryea  Tent,  K.  O.  T.  M..  and  the 
\'oluntary  Relief  Association  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad. 

OSCAR  LINDQUIST.  Sweden  was  the  native  land  of  the  ances- 
tors of  Oscar  Lindquist.  of  Leechburg.  It  was  there  that  his  father,  Hinning 
A.  Lindquist,  was  born  in  1842,  entering  the  railroad  service  early  in  life  and 
becoming  a  railroad  promoter  and  a  builder  of  docks.  He  is  a  skilled  mechanic 
and  engineer,  and  now  holds  the  position  of  chief  engineer  of  the  government 
railroad  in  Sweden.  .-Ml  his  sons  have  inherited  his  mechanical  genius  and  all 
have  served  a  mechanical  apjirenticeship  in  their  native  land.  Mr.  Lindquist 
married  Elsa  Nordberg.  and  five  of  their  seven  children  are  now  living :  Oscar, 
mentioned  hereinafter ;  Otto  B.,  master  mechanic  with  Eastern  Steel  Company, 
Pottsville.  Penn.sylvania :  Theodore  S..  foreman  of  machine  shop,  Pottsville ; 
Charles  E.,  of  Hclsenberg.  .Sweden  :  and  Hulda.  at  home. 

Oscar  Lindcpiist,  son  of  Hinning  A.  and  Elsa  (Nordberg)  Lincknu'st,  was 
born  December  10,  1862,  in  Sweden,  where  he  acfpiired  a  common  school  educa- 
tion. At  the  age  of  twelve  he  entered  on  an  apiirenticeship  in  the  machine 
shops  of  Helsenberg,  in  which  he  was  employed  until  1881.  In  the  sjjring  of 
that  year  he  emigrated  to  the  L'nited  States,  arriving  April  24,  at  the  home  of 
his  uncle  in  Irwin,  Pennsylvania.  A  few  days  later  he  went  to  McKeesj)ort, 
where  he  secured  employment  in  the  National  Tube  works  as  a  roller,  in  which 
capacity  he  served  nearly  ten  years.  In  1890  he  went  to  .Ajiollo.  where  he  was 
given  the  position  of  millwright  in  the  mills  of  the  Apollo  Iron  &  .Steel  Company 
and  was  not  long  after  made  night  su])eriiUendent.  In  this  latter  jjositinn  he 
served  until  1900.  being  transferred  to  the  Vandergrift  mills  on  their  opening 
in  November,  1896.  In  i9'oo  he  was  made  superintendent  of  the  Kirkpatrick 
works  at  Leechburg,  owned  by  the  American  Sheet  &  Tin  Plate  Company,  and 
in  this  position  he  is  still  serving.  On  the  organization  of  the  borough  of  Van- 
dergrift Mr.  Lindquist  was  elected  a  member  of  the  council,  and  some  two 


544  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

months  later  was  appointed  by  Judge  Doty  burgess  of  the  borough  to  complete 
the  unexpired  term  of  H.  W.  Nichols,  who  resigned.  At  the  end  of  the  term 
Mr.  Lindquist  was  elected  to  the  office,  which  he  resigned  on  his  removel  to 
Leechburg  in  1900.  He  was  an  important  factor  in  the  development  and  up- 
building of  the  borough,  more  especially  in  the  construction  of  the  bridge.  He 
belongs" to  Kiskiminetas  Lodge,  No.  617,  F.  and  A.  M.,  of  Vandergrift,  and  was 
a  charter  member  of  Vandergrift  Lodge,  L  O.  O.  F.  He  also  affiliates  with 
Orient  Chapter,  No.  247,  R.  A.  M.,  of  Kittanning,  and  with  Tankard  Comman- 
dery,  No.  48,  K.  T.,  and  Pennsylvania  Consistory,  A.  A.  S.  R.,  both  of  Pittsburg. 
His  political  support  is  given  to  the  Republican  party.  He  was  a  charter  mem- 
ber of  the  First  Lutheran  church  of  Vandergrift,  serving  as  its  treasurer  until 
his  removal  to  Leechburg.  Mr.  Lindquist  married,  January  13,  1884,  Amanda 
Jane  Rogers,  daughter  of  a  deceased  civil  war  veteran  of  West  Elizabeth,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  their  children  were :  William  B.,  in  United  States  Navy  ;  Hilda 
May,  deceased;  Edwin  Rogers,  also  deceased;  Eugene  S.,  and  Charlotte  E., 
both  of  whom  are  at  home. 

JOHN  ADDLSON  WILSON.  The  branch  of  the  Wilson  famil) 
represented  in  Larimer  by  John  Addison  Wilson,  was  founded  by  Robert  Wil- 
son, a  native  of  Ireland,  who  emigrated  to  the  United  States  and  settled  on  a 
farm  a  mile  and  a  half  northwest  of  Larimer.  Agriculture  was  his  life-long 
employment.  He  married  Jane  Irwin,  and  their  children  were:  i.  William, 
born  1819,  married  Nancy  j.  Long,  born  June  22,  1827,  died  October  19,  1889. 
His  death  occurred  April  16,  1884,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five.  2.  John  Irwin, 
born  1821,  married  Nancy  Ritchie,  and  died  1896.  His  widow  is  a  resident  of 
Irwin.  3.  James,  born  1824,  died  May  12,  1847,  aged  twenty-three  years. 
4.  Charles,  mentioned  hereinafter.  5.  Eliza,  born  1831,  married  Robert  A. 
Hope.  6.  Mary,  became  the  wife  of  James  Mason.  7.  Samuel  H.,  married 
Susan  McGrew,  and  lives  at  Kittanning.  Mr.  Wilson,  the  father,  died  January 
8,  1846,  at  the  age  of  seventy,  and  his  widow  expired  February  20,  1862.  aged 
sixty-two  years. 

Charles  Wilson,  son  of  Robert  and  Jane  (Irwin)  Wilson,  was  born  Jan- 
uary 23,  1827,  on  the  farm  near  Larimer.  He  learned  the  brick-laying  trade  at 
Pittsburg  and  followed  it  all  his  life.  He  filled  the  offices  of  assessor  and 
register,  was  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  a  member  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
church.  He  married,  May  22,  1866,  Elizabeth  Jane  Brown,  granddaughter 
of  Henrv  Brown,  who  was  of  Scotch-Irish  descent  and  a  native  of  Penn  town- 
ship. He  was  a  farmer,  and  moved  to  Jefferson  county,  where  he  died.  His 
children  were :  Thomas,  John.  Andrew,  Joseph,  William,  Henry,  David,  ]\Iar- 
garet  and  Sarah.  John  Brown,  son  of  Henry  Brown,  mentioned  above,  was 
born  in  181 7,  and  was  a  resident  of  North  Huntingdon  township.  He  married 
Margaret,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Margaret  Mahaffey,  and  their  children 
were":  Addison,  Elizabeth  Jane,  who  became  the  wife  of  Charles  Wilson,  as 
mentioned  above;  George,  Joseph  Mahaffey,  Annie  M.,  John  and  Ada  T.  Mr. 
Brown  died  in  January,  1892.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson  were  the  parents  of  the 
following  children  :  George  Edward,  born  April  25,  1867,  died  at  the  age  of 
five  years ;  John  Addison,  mentioned  hereinafter,  and  Samuel  Harry,  born  De- 
cember 16,  1874.  Since  ten  or  twelve  years  previous  to  his  marriage  Mr. 
Wilson  was  a  continuous  resident  of  Larimer.  He  never  knew  a  day's  illness 
with  the  exception  of  the  brief  indisposition  preceding  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred September  25.  1884.  He  is  survived  by  his  widow,  who  is  a  resident  of 
Irwin. 

John  Addison  \\'ilson.  son  of  Charles  and  Elizabeth  Jane  (Brown)  Wdson, 


HISTORY    OF    li'ESTMORELAXD    COUXTV.  545 

was  born  Febriiarv  14,  1S72.  at  Larimer.  He  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  and  learned  the  plumbing  trade  at  Pitcairn,  in  that  department  of  the 
Pennsylvania  railroad  where  he  is  still  employed.  In  Xovember,  1904,  he  was 
appointed  justice  of  the  peace  in  Larimer,  and  at  the  February  election  was 
chosen  to  succeed  himself.  He  votes  with  the  Republican  party.  ^Ir. 
W  ilson  married.  July  14,  1893,  Lyda  Jeannette,  dausjhter  of  Siiuire  William 
yi.  and  Harriet  (  Lenhart)  LetTier,  of  Traftord  City.  Pennsylvania,  formerly 
of  Jacksonville.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson  have  three  sons:  iNIurray  \'aughn, 
burn  July  21,  1896;  \\"arren  Dean,  born  May  26,  1899;  and  Kenton  Letfler, 
born  July  25.  1901. 

ANDREW  CRAIG  is  the  representative  in  the  present  generation  of 
a  familv  which  has  been  settled  in  Pennsylvania,  and  which  has  furnished  many 
members  who  have  bravely  done  their  duty  in  the  station  of  life  to  which  they 
were  called. 

Andrew  Craig,  Sr.,  father  of  Andrew  Craig,  Jr.,  was  reared  in  Kittanning, 
Pennsylvania,  and  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  there.  While  he  was  still 
quite  a  youth,  he  commenced  his  business  career  by  working  on  the  boats  which 
plied  on  the  Allegheny  river.  He  was  industrious  and  thrifty,  and  rose,  step 
by  step,  until  he  bad  attained  the  rank  of  captain.  He  was  the  master  of  a 
boat  for  many  years,  and  as  Captain  Craig  was  well  known  throughout  western 
Peimsylvania.  as  he  was  one  of  the  pioneer  river  men.  On  the  completion  of 
the  Allegheny  \'ailey  railroad  from  Pittsburg  to  Kittanning,  Mr.  Craig  left  the 
river  in  order  to  take  charge  of  the  first  engine  ever  taken  over  the  newly 
completed  road  from  Pittsburg  to  Kittanning.  For  a  short  time  he  continued 
in  this  new  occupation,  but  being  then  well  advanced  in  years,  retired  from  so 
active  a  life,  and  spent  the  remained  of  his  days  in  Kittanning. 

-Andrew  Craig,  Jr.,  was  born  in  Allegheny  township,  Westmoreland  countv, 
Pennsylvania,  January  3,  1852.  He  was  reared  on  a  farm  near  Leechburg. 
Pennsylvania,  making  his  home  with  Captain  Henry  Truby,  an  intimate  friend 
and  associate  of  his  father.  Mr.  Craig  remained  with  his  foster  father  until 
his  twenty-second  year,  wdien  he  decided  that  farming  was  not  the  occupation 
he  desired  for  h'is  life  work.  He  w-ent  to  Leechburg  and  there  secured  em- 
ployment as  a  teamster  for  the  mills  of  the  Rodgers  and  liurchfield  Iron  &  Steel 
Company,  his  work  consisting  of  hauling  coal  for  the  use  of  the  mills.  He  per- 
formed this  duty  conscientiously  for  two  years,  and  was  then  advanced  to  a 
position  in  the  mills,  and  from  that  time  has  made  steady  progress  upward, 
rising  from  step  to  step,  though  his  advance  was  gradual.  In  1897,  when  the 
New  Vandergrift  Mills  began  operating,  Mr,  Craig  was  transferred  to  V'an- 
dergrift.  and  late  in  1899  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  sheet  heater,  in  which 
capacity  he  has  served  up  to  the  present  time.  When  he  received  his  apixiint- 
ment  at  the  \'andergrift  mills,  he  removed  his  family  to  Vandergrift  Heights, 
and  purchased  property  there,  in  which  he  now  resides.  In  politics  Air.  Craig 
is  a  staunch  Republican,  and  has  served  as  a  member  of  both  Leechburg  and 
Vandergrift  Heights  councils.  He  is  burgess  of  the  present  borough.  He 
served  several  years  as  a  member  of  the  school  board,  and  is  one  of  the  pro- 
gressive and  representative  men  of  \\nndergrift  Heights.  Mr.  Craig  married, 
September  17.  1874,  Harriet  Grinder,  daughter  of  Peter  Grinder,  a  prominent 
farmer  of  Armstrong  county,  who  is  now  living  in  retirement  at  the  age  of 
eighty-four  years,  and  is  a  well  preserved  man.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Craig  are  the 
parents  of  the  following  namerl  chiUlren :  Harry,  deceased  :  James,  catcher 
in  the  mills  at  \'andergrift,  he  lives  at  X'andergrift  Heights:  Oakie.  wife  of 
2   35 


546  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

Thomas  Hill,  lives  at  \'andergrift  Heights;  Calvin,  bookkeeper  in  the  mills  and 
lives  with  his  parents. 

ADAM  GOSSER.  On  both  sides  Adam  Cesser,  of  Leechbiirg,  is 
the  descendant  of  German  ancestors.  His  paternal  grandfather,  Adam  Gos- 
ser,  was  a  native  of  Northampton  county,  and  carried  on  the  business  of  a 
contractor  at  Creensburg  and  Stoystovvn  pike. 

William  Cosser,  son  of  Adam  Cosser,  was  a  blacksmith  and  followed  his 
trade  at  Adamsburg  and  Leechburg,  retiring  from  active  labor  twenty  years 
prior  to  his  death.  He  was  a  Democrat  and  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
church.  Mr.  Gosser  married  Susanna  Kistler,  a  native,  like  himself,  of  the 
neighborhood  of  Adamsburg,  and  a  member  of  a  pioneer  family  of  German 
origin.  Bv  this  marriage  he  was  the  father  of  four  children :  Louise,  wife  of 
George  Lininger :  Daniel;  Albert  AL  ;  and  Adam,  mentioned  hereinafter.  The 
mother  of  these  children  died  in  Adamsburg  in  1838.  and  Mr.  Gosser  sub- 
sequently married  Lucy  Punt,  who  bore  him  the  following  children :  Jacob  J., 
David,  deceased;  Perry,  Annie,  wife  of  Albert  Anderson;  Sarah  (Mrs.  Coch- 
rain),  deceased;  Harry,  and  Amanda,  deceased.  Mr.  Gosser  died  at  Leech- 
burg, in  1888,  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven. 

Adam  Gosser,  son  of  William  and  Susanna  (  Kistler)  Gosser,  was  born  in 
1836,  in  Adamsburg,  being  reared  and  educated  at  Creensburg.  For  eight 
years  he  operated  a  grist-mill,  and  in  1865  went  to  Venango  county,  and  there 
speculated  largelv  in  oil.  He  was  interested  in  thirty  oil  wells,  and  in  his 
speculations,  which  were  extensive,  experienced  both  loss  and  gain.  In  1883, 
after  eighteen  years,  he  abandoned  the  oil  field  for  agricultural  pursuits.  In 
that  year  he  took  up  his  abode  on  a  farm  in  Allegheny  township,  which  he  had 
purchased  in  1871  from  the  McClellan  estate,  and  on  which  he  has  since  re- 
sided. It  consists  of  one  liundred  and  fifty  acres  and  is  one  of  the  model  farms 
of  the  township.  He  has  held  the  office,  of  school  director,  and  while  in  Ven- 
ango county  was  road  commissioner.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  churcli, 
in  which  he  serves  as  deacon.  ]\Ir.  Gosser  married  in  i860,  Zcruah  Rodabach, 
of  Rodabach  Station,  and  they  have  two  daughters :  Susanna  L.  and  Margaret 
A.  The  former  is  an  accomplished  teacher  of  twenty  years'  experience  and 
also  an  artist  of  considerable  merit,  giving  lessons  to  a  large  number  of  pupils 
in  dra.wing  and  painting.  The  family  residence  was  erected  bv  I\Ir.  Gosser  in 
1892. 

GEORGE  BURK,  a  native  of  Homer.  Infliana  county,  Pennsylvania, 
a  skillful  and  reliable  engineer  on  the  Pennsylvania  railroad,  was  born  May 
19,  1866.  son  of  Andrew  and  Susan  ( Tilford )  Burk,  and  grandson  of  John 
Burk,  born  in  Somerset  county,  by  occupation  a  farmer.  He  was  also  in 
charge  of  the  work  on  the  old  Portage  canal. 

Andrew  Bur.k  (father)  was  born  in  1837,  a  son  of  John  and  Julia  Ikirk. 
He  was  by  occupation  a  mill  hand,  and  was  employed  by  the  Cambria  Iron 
Company,  of  Johnstown,  until  his  death.  May  17,  1889.  He  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany I.  Third  L'nited  States  Cavalry.  He  was  at  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run, 
and  took  an  active  part  in  the  war.  Andrew  and  Susan  (Tilford)  Burk  had 
children:  Mary,  Sophia,  Flora  B.,  Julia  A.,  Elizabeth,  John  C,  George,  of 
whom  later,  Sylvester  and  Alexander. 

George  Burk,  having  made  good  use  of  the  educational  opportunities  af- 
forded him  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  township,  enrolled  himself  in  the 
service  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  at  the  age  of  twenty-three 
years,  and  after  a  long  and  exceedingly  arduous  experiepce  of  ten  years,  was 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  547 

advanced  to  the  position  of  a  regular  locomotive  engineer,  in  which  capacity 
he  has  served  continuously  from  January  27,  1889,  to  the  present  time  (1906). 
He  is  widely  and  favorably  known  in  railroad  circles,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
B.  L.  E.,  and  Blairsville  Lodge,  No.  406,  B.  P.  O.  E.  He  resides  in  Derry. 
He  married,  September  29,  1885,  Jennie  Fry,  born  in  New  Derry,  Westmore- 
land county,  October  27,  1871,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Maria  C.  (Barnes) 
Fry.  Their  children  are:  George  C,  born  January  17,  1889;  Hettie  G.,  born 
January  29,  1890:  Pearl  S..  born  November  12,  1891  ;  Earl,  born  January  5, 
1893;  and  Mary  E.,  born  January  12,  1895.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burk  attend  the 
Lutheran    church. 

\\"ILLL\.M  ARTHL'R  GROFT.  The  grandfather  of  William 
Arthur  Groft,  of  East  Huntingdon  township,  was  John  Groft,  who  was  born 
"east  of  the  mountains,"  but  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  Fayette  and 
A\"estmoreland  counties.  He  was  a  tailor  by  trade,  and  served  in  the  army 
during  the  \\'ar  of  1812.  Politically  he  was  a  Republican.  John  Groft  mar- 
ried Mary  Lint,  a  native  of  Somerset,  Virginia,  and  their  children  were :  John, 
iserved  in  the  ^ilexican  war  and  was  present  at  the  taking  of  the  city  of  Mexico ; 
Katie  Ann,  married  Samuel  King;  Eliza,  married  David  King;  Charles,  was 
a  fanner  in  California,  and  died  there:  Abraham,  a  farmer,  died  in  Ohio; 
Samuel,  a  miller  and  distiller,  died  in  Connellsville  ;  Larne,  married  William 
Peoples,  a  blacksmith:  :\lary,  married  John  L.  Fritz,  of  Sewickley  township; 
Jacob  L^.  a  brickmaker,  died  in  Scottdale ;  Margaret,  married  James  Flem- 
ming;  George  L.,  mentioned  hereafter;  Jeremiah,  died  in  childhood.  The 
parents  of  these  children  are  deceased. 

George  L.  Groft,  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Lint)  Groft,  was  born  August 
3,  1836,  in  Fayette  county,  wdiere  he  was  educated  in  the  common  schools.  At 
twenty-one  he  became  a  farmer,  and  later  worked  as  a  brickmaker,  a  cooper 
and  a  carpenter.  The  greater  part  of  his  life  has  been  spent  in  Sewicklev  and 
East  Hur.tingdon  townships.  In  July.  1863,  he  enlisted  in  Companv  L  Sixty- 
second  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  \'oIunteer  Infantry,  and  was  subsequently 
transferred  to  Company  I,  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-fifth  Zouaves.  He  was 
wounded  in  the  knee  at  Spottsylvania  Court  House,  and  at  second  Hatches 
Run,  February  6,  1865,  was  struck  in  the  left  temple  by  a  minie  ball  which 
broke  the  skull.  After  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  mustered  out  in  Pittsburg. 
October  r,  1903,  he  entered  the  postal  service  as  one  of  the  rural  mail  carriers 
of  Scottdale.  on  route  No.  i.  Mr.  Groft  married  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Jacob 
Shank,  of  BulLskin  township,  Fayette  county,  and  their  children\vere :  Charles 
L..  a  resident  of  Scottdale ;  J.  Franklin,  deceased ;  Emza  Anna,  married  J.  V. 
Leaman,  of  Grafton,  West  Virginia;  Jacob  L.,  a  roller  in  the  mills  in  East 
Huntingdon  township:  :\Iinetta  M.,  maVried  J.  R.  March,  of  Scottdale,  West- 
moreland county;  Ora  M..  deceased;  William  Arthur,  mentioned  hereinafter. 
Mrs.  Groft  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

^\'illiam  .Arthur  Groft.  son  of  George  L.  and  Rel)ccca  (Shank)  Groft, 
was  born  .\i)ril  3,  1876.  on  the  old  homestead,  in  East  Huntingdon  township, 
where  he  received  his  education  in  the  White  schoolhouse.  He  remained  at 
home  with  his  parents  until  he  had  attained  his  majority,  and  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  began  working  in  the  sheet  mill.  Until  he  was  of  age  he  gave  his 
wages  to  his  parents,  reserving  only  what  was  necessarv  to  defrav  the  expense 
of  his  clothing.  .After  his  marriage  he  settled  in  his'pre.sent  home  near  the 
^^'hite  schoolhouse,  where  he  is  very  comfortably  situated.  Since  entering  the 
sheet  mill  he  has  been  continuou.sly  employed  there,  and  has  steadilv  advanced 
\mU\  he  now  holds  the  position   of  roughing  and  extra  roller.     He  and  his 


548  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

family  are  members  of  the  United  Brethren  church,  in  which  he  lias  served  as 
an  officer.  He  married,  December  24,  1899,  Bertha,  born  in  Fayette  county, 
daughter  of  Isaac  and  INIanerva  (Flack)  White,  and  their  children  were: 
Boyd  Eugene,  Donald  Arthur,  and  Harry  Gilbert. 

FRANCIS  M.  WILLIA:\1S,  one  of  the  well  known  and  substantial 
residents  of  South  Huntindon  townshi]),  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
is  a  descendant  on  the  paternal  side  of  a  Welsh  ancestry.  Daniel  Williams, 
great-great-grandfather  of  Francis  ]\1.  W^illiams,  was  born  in  Northampton 
county,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  German  Lutheran  in  religion,  and  his  oc- 
cupation was  that  of  a  farmer.  He  took  up  about  five  thousand  acres  of  land 
near  the  site  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  by  "tomahawk  right."  and  a  por- 
tion of  the  borough  of  Ludwig  is  built  on  this  tract.  Daniel  Williams  applied 
for  patent  No.  3660,  entered  26th  day  of  July,  1769,  for  309  acres  and  ninety- 
six  perches.  Issued  Dec.  31st,  1787.  Six  per  cent,  allowance  for  roads. 
Above  tract  was  old  original  Williams  homestead  at  Greensburg,  called 
"Daniel's  Fancy."  Consideration,  40  pounds,  eight  shillings.  (This  was 
copied  from  patent).  Among  his  children  was  a  son,  Daniel  Williams,  Jr., 
who  was  bom  near  Greensburg,  was  a  well-to-do  farmer,  and  resided  to  a  ripe 
old  age  on  the  farm  acquired  by  his  father.  Among  his  children  was  a  son, 
Thomas  Williams,  born  in  W'estmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  September  8, 
1805  ;  in  early  life  he  learned  and  worked  at  the  trade  of  tanner,  and  after  sev- 
eral years  spent  in  this  occupation  located  on  a  farm  in  South  Huntingdon 
township,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life,  dying  February  8,  1872. 
He  was  a  strict  member  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  church,  a  Democrat  in 
politics,  and  for  several  terms  served  his  township  as  school  director.  By  his 
marriage  to  Margaret  Hough,  daughter  of  David  Hough,  a  family  of  four 
sons  and  four  daughters  were  born,  one  of  whom  was  David  H.  ^^'illiams, 
mentioned  hereafter. 

David  H.  Williams,  father  of  Francis  M.  Williams,  was  born  on  the 
paternal  farm  in  South  Huntingdon  township,  Westmoreland  county,  and  a 
portion  of  his  boyhood  days  were  spent  in  the  home  of  his  grandfather  in 
Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  attended  school  and  acquired  a  good  ed- 
ucation. On  attaining  manhood  he  engaged  in  farming  on  his  father's  farm, 
and  some  three  or  four  years  after  marriage  located  on  the  farm  now  owned 
by  his  son,  Joseph  S.  Williams,  where  he  resided  up  to  his  death,  December  3, 
1904,  at  the  age  of  seventy-one  years.  He  was  successful  in  his  undertakings, 
which  were  conducted  on  an  extensive  scale,  and  thereby  secured  a  competence 
for  his  declining  years.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  w'hile  never  seek- 
ing political  preferment  held  many  of  the  township  offices,  and  was  univer- 
sally esteemed  and  honored  by  a  wade  circle  of  friends.  He  married  Catherine 
Rhoades,  who  bore  him  five  children,-  namely  :  Francis  M.,  mentioned  here- 
after;  John  v..  Joseph  S.,  Jacob  C,  and  Thomas  P.,  all  of  whom  are  living  at 
the  present  time  (1905)  and  reside  in  South  Huntingdon  township. 

Francis  ]\l.  W'illiams  was  born  in  South  Huntingdon  township,  November 
24,  1858.  He  was  reared  at  home,  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  on 
reaching  man's  estate  adopted  farming  as  a  means  of  livelihood.  After  his 
marriage  he  located  on  his  present  farm  and  by  practical  and  progressive 
methods  has  achieved  a  large  degree  of  financial  success  in  the  management 
thereof.  Since  the  death  of  his  father  Mr.  Williams  has  served  in  the  capacitv 
of  president  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Smithton,  of  which  his  father  was 
one  of  the  organizers  and  the  president  up  to  his  demise.  Mr.  Williams  has 
also  served  as  township  auditor,  in  which  office  he  gave  universal  satisfaction. 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  549 

Ik"  is  a  iiieinber  of  the  United  i'resbvterian  church,  and  an  Independent  in 
politics.  In  1886  Mr.  \Mniams  married  Josephine  ]\I.  Hanna,  daughter  of 
Henrv  T.  and  Mary  J.  Hanna,  of  Soutli  Hunting-don  township.  Their  cliil- 
dren  are:   David  H'.  Hettie  C  Mary  E.,  and  John  T.  Wilhanis. 

JERRY  LAUEEER.  The  parents  of  Jerry  I.aufter,  of  Harrison 
City,  were  Jacob  B.  and  Susan  (BerHn)  Lauffer.  and  their  family  consisted  of 
the' following  children:  Martha,  who  died  in  infancy:  Elijah,  married  (first) 
Lizzie  Clark,  (second)  M.  Ferree ;  John,  died  in  1890;  Frank,  now  deceased, 
married  Dot  Mull :  William.  Annie,  Bella,  Jerry,  mentioned  hereinafter  :  Emma 
May.  Harry.  Erbanna,  and  one  who  died  in  infancy. 

[errv  Laufter.  .son  of  Jacob  B.  and  Susan  (lierlin)  Lautfer.  was  born 
March  11.  1868,  at  Harrison  City,  and  found  his  employment  in  the  mines 
at  Manor.  Claridge  and  Pleasant  \'alley.  For  the  last  six  years  he  has  been 
engaged  in  the  general  grocery  business  in  Harrison  City.  He  belongs  to  the 
National  Life  Insurance  Company.  His  political  aififiliations  are  with  the  Dem- 
ocrats, and  he  is  a  member  of  the  Reformed  church.  Mr.  LaufTer  married, 
August  13.  1S91,  Anna  Ferguson,  and  they  have  children:  Wilber  H.,  born 
IMav  4.  1895;  Clarence  A.,  born  April  2.  1902.  and  Florence,  born  December 
14.  1905.  5lrs.  Lauffer  is  a  daughter  of  James  Ferguson,  of  Harrison  City. 
He  and  his  wife  are  the  parents  of  the  following  children:  Archie,  Samuel, 
William.  James.  Frederick.  Hayes.  Anna,  married  Jerry  Lauflfer,  as  mentioned 
above :  and  Theresa.  This  family  of  six  sons  and  two  daughters,  together 
-with  the  numerous  race  of  the  LauiYers.  has  largely  recruited  the  ranks  of  the 
good  citizens  of  the  county.     Mrs.  Lauffer  died  December  22.  1905. 

D.W'ID  D.  W'AGXER.  David  D.  Wagner,  a  representative  citizen 
of  Penn  township,  was  born  in  Sewickley  township,  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  September  29,  i860,  a  son  of  Abia  and  Sarah  (Shrader) 
^\'agner. 

Abia  Wagner  ("father)  was  a  native  of  Sewickley  township.  Westmore- 
land county,  an  active  and  enterprising  merchant,  conducting  this  line  of  busi- 
ness successfully  for  thirty  years  at  Belle  Mill.  Circleville  and  ATadison,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  during  this  period  was  in  the  habit  of  flriving  a  wagon  along  the 
pike  to  Pittsburg  every  other  week,  and  in  this  way  became  well  known  along 
the  old  stage  road,  and  by  honorable  transactions  won  for  himself  an  enviable 
reputation.  He  was  also  engaged  in  the  poultry  business  for  a  number  of 
years,  this  proving  highly  remunerative.  JMr.  Wagner  was  drafted  at  Greens- 
burg.  Pennsylvania,  for  a  three  months  term  during  the  Civil  war,  but  on  his 
return  home  from  that  town  was  kicked  in  the  leg  by  his  horse,  and  in  conse- 
quence of  tliat  member  having  been  broken  by  the  accident  he  was  prevented 
from  active  participation  in  the  conflict.  lie  was  a  member  of  the  United 
Brethren  church.  P.y  his  marriage  to  Sarah  Shrader  the  following  children 
were  born :  Margaret.  William,  Elizabeth,  Louise.  David  D.,  Ella  and  Sarah 
(twins).  Josiah.  Jennie,  John  and  a  child  who  died  in  infancy. 

David  D.  Wagner  was  reared  and  educated  in  the  vicinity  of  his  birth- 
place. He  is  now  and  has  been  for  a  number  of  years  an  employee  in  the 
Westinghousc  Electric  Cfimjiany,  at  East  Pittsburg,  j^erforming  his  duties  to 
the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned  and  with  credit  to  himself.  Fle  holds  member- 
ship in  the  Reformed  church,  casts  his  vote  for  the  candidates  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  and  in  all  respects  is  a  worthv  and  respected  citizen  of  the  great 
commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania. 

Mr.  Wagner  married  Sarah  S.  Kifer,  who  bore  him  two  children:  Michael 


550  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

K.,  born  June  12,  1892 ;  and  Elizabeth  G.,  born  July  14,  1894.  Henry  Kifer,. 
great-grandfather  of-  Mrs.  Wagner,  was  by  occupation  a  farmer,  merchant^ 
and  also  drove  a  merchant  wagon  on  the  stage  road  to  Pittsburg.  He  served 
in  the  War  of  1812  as  a  teamster.  He  married  Sarah  Turner,  and  among 
their  children  was  a  son,  Henry  Kifer,  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Wagner,  who  was 
by  occupation  a  farmer  and  was  the  owner  of  a  tract  of  land  consisting  of 
three  hundred  acres  in  and  about  Jeannette,  Pennsylvania.  He  married  Sus- 
anna Painter,  who  bore  him  the  following  children :  Maria,  became  the  wife  of 
S.  Wanamaker ;  Lamanda,  became  the  wife  of  J.  Holtzer ;  Matilda,  unmarried ; 
Joseph,  married  Elizabeth  Miller ;  Michael,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  Henry, 
married  Anna  Whitehead ;  and  Albert,  married  Sarah  Gongaware.  Henry 
Kifer  (grandfather)  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-nine  years.  Michael  Kifer, 
father  of  Mrs.  Wagner,  was  by  occupation  a  farmer,  and  died  at  the  age  of 
seventy-one  years.  By  his  marriage  to  Elizabeth  Kunkle  the  following  chil- 
dren were  born :  Henry,  married  Rachel  Altman ;  William,  married  Emma 
Loughner ;  John,  married  Elizabeth  Loughner ;  Joseph,  married  Anna  Klingin- 
smith  and  Ida  Ramatta ;  Michael,  married  Lizzie  Rose ;  Sarah  S.,  became  the 
wife  of  David  D.  Wagner ;  Tobias,  married  Lenora  Altman ;  and  Simon,  mar- 
ried Ida  Altman. 

HARRY  CLIFTON  P.ORLAXD.  The  grandparents  of  Harry 
Clifton  Borland,  of  Vandergrift  Heights,  were  John  and  Mary  (Hazlett)  Bor- 
land, the  former  a  farmer  near  New  Kensington,  Allegheny  county.  He  and 
his  wife  were  the  parents  of  a  son,  James  G.  Borland,  who  was  born  May  31,, 
1848,  on  the  homestead,  and  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools. 
He  learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  serving  his  apprenticeship  under  Henry  Yet- 
ter,  of  Lower  Burrell  township,  and  thereafter  always  worked  as  a  carpenter 
and  builder.  After  his  marriage  he  settled  in  Upper  Burrell  township,  where 
he  lived  until  1893,  and  then  removed  to  Apollo.  There  for  seven  years  he 
was  employed  in  the  carpenter  shops  of  the  Apollo  Iron  &  Steel  Company. 
His  transfer  to  the -Vandergrift  plant  in  1898  necessitated  his  removal,  and  he 
then  erected  his  present  residence  on  Vandergrift  Heights.  He  has  since 
severed  his  connection  with  the  mills  and  has  thus  been  enabled  to  devote  more 
time  to  building  and  general  carpentry.  He  is  a  Democrat  and  a  member  of 
St.  Paul's  Lutheran  church.  Mr.  Borland  married  Maria  Younkins,  and  of 
their  six  children  four  survive :  Harry  Clifton,  mentioned  hereinafter :  ^Nlaud, 
wife  of  H.  T.  Morrison,  shearman  in  Vandergrift  mills ;  Samuel  Bertnian,  of 
Apollo :  and  Edward,  at  home. 

Harry  Clifton  Borland,  son  of  James  G.  and  Maria  (Younkins)  Borland, 
was  born  September  16,  1871,  in  Upper  Burrell  township,  and  received  a  com- 
mon school  education.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  began  the  study  of  teleg- 
raphy in  Parnassus,  but  after  one  year,  finding  the  work  too  confining,  re- 
turned home  and  for  another  year  worked  on  his  father's  farm.  He  then 
went  to  Pittsburg  and  for  one  winter  was  employed  in  the  Crescent  steel  works. 
In  the  spring  of  1893  he  moved  to  Apollo,  securing  a  position  in  the  mills  of 
the  Apollo  Iron  &  Steel  Company  as  an  opener  in  the  sheet  mills.  From  this 
beginning  he  was  advanced  successively  to  the  positions  of  matcher,  doubler 
and  catcher,  and  in  1900  was  made  roller,  in  which  capacity  he  is  now  serving. 
He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  has  served  as  a  member  of  the  school  board. 
He  affiliates  with  Brotherhood  Castle,  No.  161,  K.  G.  E.,  and  Vandergrift 
Aerie,  1038,  F.  O.  E.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Mr.  Borland 
married,  December  24,  1895,  Myrta  A.,  daughter  of  Charles  E.  and  Clara  A. 
(Bennett)  Reynolds,  then  of  Apollo.     Mr.  Reynolds  now  resides  in  Tillamook,. 


r^^iXAA^  C.  jJoTta^t^x^ 


'pueT 


v.. 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  551 

Oregon,  where  he  is  engaged  in  the  furnishing  and  undertaking  business. 
Mrs.  Reynolds  is  deceased.  Of  the  four  children  born  to  Mr.  and  ^Irs.  Bor- 
lantl  two  survive:  Charles  Clifton,  and  James  Lerov. 

E.  P.  HUFFMAN.  The  family  of  which  E.  P.  Huffman,  of  Hos- 
teller, is  a  representative,  are  a  race  of  farmers,  having  for  generations  culti- 
vated the  same  lands.  They  trace  their  descent  from  German  ancestors.  Dan- 
iel W.  Huffman  was  born  November  28,  1826,  and  married  Elizabeth  Harmon. 
who  was  born  February  16,  1828.  The  following  children  were  born  to  them: 
Malinda.  Jacob,  Eliah,  E.  O..  mentioned  hereinafter;  Amos,  and  BeW.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Huffman,  the  parents  of  these  children,  are  still  living,  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  a  vigorous  old  age. 

E.  P.  Huft'man,  son  of  Daniel  W.  and  Elizabeth  (Harmon)  Huffman,  was 
educated  in  the  common  schools  of  Westmoreland  county.  After  leaving  school 
he  settled  on  the  homestead  with  his  father,  and  has  ever  since  devoted  himself 
to  the  tillage  of  the  acres  which,  have  descended  to  him  from  his  forefathers.  He 
is  an  energetic,  industrious  farmer  and  an  active,  useful  citizen.  I\Ir.  Huffman 
married  Emma  Summers,  daughter  of  Lehman  and  Margaret  Blystone,  and  they 
have  one  child:  Daniel  Leroy,  born  April  3,  18S3. 

S.\MUEL  C.  LOOP.  The  grandjjarents  of  .Samuel  C.  Loop,  of 
Sewickley  township,  emigrated  from  Germany  about  1818,  and  settled  near 
Greensburg,  where  a  few  \ears  later  the  father  of  the  family  died  and  the 
children  were  reared  b\-  their  widowed  mother. 

Henry  Loop,  one  of  the  sons  of  the  emigrant  ancestors,  was  born  February 
10.  1820,  in  the  vicinity  of  Greensburg,  and  at  an  early  age  entered  the  paper 
mills  of  C.  P.  Markle  &  Sons,  in  Mill  Grove.  He  remained  with  the  firm  many 
years,  continuing  in  their  service  after  their  removal  to  West  Newton.  After 
leaving  them  he  engaged  in  farming,  and  in  1877  purchased  the  William  Shaner 
farm,  in  North  Huntingdon  township,  where  he  resided  for  some  fifteen  vears, 
and  then,  his  wife  having  died  a  few  years  before,  he  retired  from  active  laljor 
and  took  up  his  abode  with  his  children.  He  was  a  staunch  Republican,  and 
for  many  years  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Loop  married 
Martha  E.  Couchenour,  and  of  the  thirteen  children  born  to  them  only  three 
survive:  ilargaret  B.,  widow  of  Presley  Wilson,  of  Sewickley  township; 
Martha  E.,  wife  of  T.  C.  Wilson,  of  Shaners  Station  ;  and  Samuel  C,  mcntione<l 
hereinafter.    The  death  of  Mr.  Loop  occurred  October  24,  1899. 

Samuel  C.  Loop,  son  of  Henry  and  Martha  E.  (Couchenour)  Loop,  was 
born  January  30,  1857,  in  Sewickley  township,  and  received  a  common  school 
education.  In  1876  he  began  working  as  a  farm  hand,  and  after  his  marriage 
settled  in  Sewickley  township  and  has  since  resided  there.  In  1888  he  bought 
and  built  on  a  portion  of  the  B.  R.  Newlin  farm,  now  owned  by  J.  A.  Devvees, 
remaining  there  about  eleven  years,  when  he  rented  his  small  place  and  removed 
to  the  farm  which  is  now  his  home.  This  property  forms  part  of  the  Tames 
Hays  Heiss  estate,  known  as  the  "old  Blackball  coal  farm."  For  the  last  five 
years  Mr.  Loop  has  been  extensively  engaged  in  the  dairy  business  in  connec- 
tion with  his  farming,  and  for  twenty  or  twenty-five  years  has  been  one  of  the 
best-known  live  stock  dealers  in  this  part  of  the  country.  He  has  the  reputa- 
tion of  being  the  best  corn-husker  in  Sewickley,  having,  November  7,  1887,  on 
the  William  Robbins  farm,  husked  one  hundred  and  forty-five  bushels  in  nine 
hours  and  forty  minutes,  that  being  the  first  corn  he  had  husked  that  season. 
.Although  never  an  office  seeker,  Mr.  Loop  has  served  as  township  auditor  and 
for  nine  successive  years  was  a  member  of  the  Sulphur  .Springs  school  board. 


552  HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

He  is  now  serving  his  second  year  on  the  Youghioghen_v  independent  school 
board,  having  been  elected  by  an  overwhelming  vote.  He  belongs  to  Sniithton 
Lodge,  No.  328,  Knights  of  P_\-thia,s,  Uniformed  Rank,  No.  39,  Knights  of 
Pythias.  Knights  of  Malta,  Golden  Gate  Commandery,  No.  340,  of  Sniithton, 
His  influence  is  widely  felt  in  the  councils  of  the  Republican  party,  and  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

I\Ir,  Loop  married,  March  11,  1880,  Emily  H.,  daughter  of  William  and 
Mary  (Cunningham)  Eicher,  of  Somerset  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  their 
children  were:  Willis  W.,  at  home,  was  for  fourteen  months  a  member  of 
the  signal  corps  of  the  LTnited  States  army ;  James  F.,  at  home ;  and  Alice,  lives 
at  McKeesport.  Mrs.  Loop  died  April  21,  1886.  Mr.  Loop  married  (second) 
December  2,  1886,  Edith  S.,  daughter  of  Abner  McLain,  of  Rostraver  town- 
ship, and  of  their  five  children  two  survive :  Albert  C.  and  Barbara  E.  In 
June,  1902,  Mr.  Loop  adopted  a  boy  from  the  McKeesport  police  station  as  a 
legal  heir,  he  having  been  left  there  with  no  one  to  care  for  him.  The  boy, 
whose  name  is  Norman  H.  Loop,  is  now  (1906)  past  eight  years,  and  is  greatly 
attached  to  his  home. 

SA^iIUEL  G.  GLASSBURN.  No  definite  history  is  at  hand  con- 
cerning the  establishment  of  the  Glassburn  family  in  Westmoreland  county, 
but  it  is  known  that  David  and  Elizabeth  (Long)  Glassburn  resided  within  its 
borders.  The  family  name  was  originally  spelled  Glassbrenner,  but  in  later 
times  was  corrupted  to  its  present  form.  David  Glassburn  was  a  nephew  of 
Bishop  Glassbrenner.  a  noted  divine. 

Joseph  L.  Glassburn,  a  son  of  David  and  Elizabeth  (Long)  Glassburn, 
was  born  in  Westmoreland  county,  near  Mendon,  December  21,  183 1,  and  was 
reared  to  farm  life.  Since  attaining  his  majority  he  has  resided  on  a  farm 
which  is  yet  his  home,  and  his  agricultural  labors  have  been  interrupted  only  by 
his  services  in  the  civil  war.  He  served  for  three  years  as  a  member  of  the  Six- 
teenth Pennsylvania  Cavalry.  He  is  an  earnest  christian  gentleman,  a  man 
res])ecte<l  by  all  with  whom  he  is  brought  in  contact,  and  politicallv  an  ardent 
Re])ublican.  He  married  Caroline  Schweitzer,  and  they  became  the  parents  of 
eleven  children,  of  whom  seven  are  living:  Lydia,  wife  of  Samuel  Adams,  of 
Fayette  county ;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  J.  B.  Stonecker,  of  Connellsville ;  Mary,  at 
home :  Samuel  G. ;  Carrie,  wife  of  C.  N.  Snyder,  of  Youngwood ;  George  W.. 
assistant  cashier  of  the  Equitable  Life  Insurance  Company,  at  Pittsburg ;  and 
Flora  E.,  at  home. 

Samuel  G.  Glassburn,  son  of  Joseph  L.  and  Caroline  Glassburn  was  reared 
on  his  father's  farm,  attended  the  public  schools  in  his  youth  and  when  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  began  teaching  in  the  district  schools,  which  profession  he  fol- 
lowed for  three  terms.  He  then  accepted  the  management  of  the  mercantile  bus- 
iness of  his  brother,  D.  W.  Glassburn,  at  Wooddale,  Pennsylvania,  his  brother 
having  been  injured  and  thus  incapacitated  for  active  business.  He  was  thus 
engaged  for  a  short  time  and  later  was  associated  with  other  mercantile  enter- 
prises until  January  28,  1893.  when  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  Company  in  the  capacity  of  fireman  and  thus  served  until  October 
28,  igoi,  when  he  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  engineer.  He  is  a  member 
of  Wide  Awake  Lodge,  No.  601,  B.  L.  F.  and  for  seven  years  served  as  a 
member  of  the  Joint  Protective  Board  of  Locomotive  Firemen,  while  for  the 
past  five  years  he  has  been  general  chairman  of  the  board.  In  this  connection 
he  has  done  important  service  for  the  organization  which  he  represents,  his 
efforts  being  given  in  every  movement  for  the  welfare  of  all.  He  modestly 
disclaims  anv  ereat  credit  for  what  he  has  done,  but  those  whom  he  has  thus 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUXTY.  553 

represented  speak  of  liis  work  in  high  terms  of  praise  and  commendation.  He 
possesses  much  inlluence  among  the  firemen  and  engineers  and  well  merits 
their  entire  confidence.  He  also  belongs  to  Scottdale  Council  of  the  Royal 
Arcanum,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  churcli,  while  his  polit- 
ical allegiance  is  given  to  the  Republican  party.  Mr.  Glassburn  married.  Sep- 
tember 4.  1894,  Daisy  Kain,  of  Scottdale,  Westmoreland  county,  and  to  them 
was  born  a  son,  Eugene,  now  deceased. 

THEODORE  FRELIXGHUVSEX  TAYLOR,  of  Irwin,  who  was 
born  on  the  homestead  farm,  near  Stewartsville,  Pennsylvania,  July  3.  1844,  is 
a  son  of  Samue!  and  Sarah  (Black)  Taylor,  and  grandson  of  Robert  Taylor, 
who  was  born,  reared  and  married  in  Ireland,  and  with  his  wife,  and  possibly 
some  of  his  children,  emigrated  to  the  United  States  and  settled  in  Westmore- 
land county.  Pennsylvania.  While  traveling-  by  wagon  through  the  county 
in  a  search  for  a  good  location,  he  fell  sick  at  what  is  now  Stewartsville  and 
laid  by  there  for  some  time.  It  is  not  known  whether  his  plans  had  originally 
been  to  go  further  west  or  to  settle  in  this  section,  but  while  at  this  place  two 
brothers  by  the  name  of  Neal,  who  had  taken  up  a  tract  of  two  hundred  and 
sixty-seven  acres  on  what  is  now  the  JMcKeesport  road,  were  shot  by  Indians, 
and  their  farm  was  put  tip  later  at  public  sale.  The  Neal  brothers  were  buried 
on  the  place.  Robert  Taylor,  concluding  that  the  time  was  advantageous,  pur- 
chased the  property  and  settled  thereon.  He  was  the  father  of  six  sons,  as  fol- 
lows:  Isaac,  married  (first)  a  I\liss  Larimer,  and  (second)  a  Miss  Bosler; 
James,  went  to  Xenia,  Ohio :  Joseph,  removed  to  Baltimore,  "Maryland :  Samuel, 
mentioned  hereinafter ;  John  and  Robert,  who  also  went  to  Baltimore,  ^Maryland. 

Samuel  Taylor,  fourth  son  of  Robert  Taylor,  was  born  on  the  Taylor  farm. 
He  inherited  the  homestead  and  farmed  it  all  his  life.  He  was  highly  esteemed 
in  the  community,  held  membership  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  was  a  Whig 
and  Republican  in  politics.  He  married  Sarah  Black,  daughter  of  John  Black, 
•of  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.  Their  children  were  :  Adeline,  widow 
of  Dr.  James  Gibson,  resides  in  Johnson  county.  Iowa.  Sarah,  died  about 
1865.  was  the  wife  of  Phineas  Gray,  of  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania.  Hetty,  un- 
married, died  in  Nebraska.  Annie  E.,  wife  of  D.  N.  Shaw,  of  Irwin,  a  sketch 
of  whom  appears  elsewhere  in  this  work.  Theodore  F.,  mentioned  hereinafter. 
Mary,  unmarried,  resides  in  North  Irwin  with  her  brother-in-law,  D.  N. 
Shaw.  Robert,  married  Addie  Waldron,  resides  near  Iowa  Citv.  Iowa. 
I'rances  Jane,  wife  of  Matthew  Slemmens,  resides  in  Oklahoma.  Samuel,  Jr., 
married  Annie  Crooks,  resides  in  Nebraska.  Samuel  Taylor,  father  of  these 
children,  died  at  his  home  in  Westmoreland  county,  1864,  aged  about  seventy 
years. 

Theodore  F.  Taylor,  eldest  son  of  Samuel  and  Sarah  (Black)  Taylor, 
attended  the  common  schools  in  the  vicinity  of  his  home  and  worked  with  his 
father  on  the  farm  until  the  death  of  the  latter.  Theodore  being  then  about 
twenty  years  of  age.  He  remained  and  worked  the  place  for  his  mother  until 
he  attained  the  age  of  thirty-seven,  when  he  abandoned  this  occupation  and 
secured  employment  with  the  Penn  Gas  Coal  Company,  with  whom  he  has  re- 
mained up  to  the  present  time  (1905),  being  located  now  at  the  Yough  shaft, 
just  outside  Irwin.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  an  advo- 
cate of  the  principles  of  Republicanism.  Mr.  Taylor  married,  December  7, 
1876.  Mary  J.  Longhead,  daughter  of  William  and  Hetty  (Bankert)  Longhead, 
<jf  Xorth  Huntingdon  townsiiip.  \\'estmoreland  county,  the  former  namctl 
being  a  son  of  John  Longhead,  who  came  to  this  country  from  Scotland,  set- 
tling first  in  Maryland,  from  whence  he  came  to  Westmoreland  countv,  I'cnn- 


554  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

sylvania,  when  his  son  Willam  was  a  small  baby.  Their  children  are:  Oliver 
Brown,  born  December  4,  1877,  <^'s<i  January  6,  1898:  Sarah  Edna,  born  Feb- 
ruary 23,  1880;  Clara  Gertrude,  born  August  8,  1882,  died  September  14.  1897; 
Harry  Samuel,  born  May  20,  1887;  John  Theodore,  born  July  8,  1890:  and 
Phineas  McKinley,  born  October  3,  1897.  Sarah  Edna  Taylor  is  the  wife  of 
Frank  Leonard  Bolton,  issue,  Ethel  Taylor  Bolton,  and  they  reside  in  East 
McKeesport,  Pemisylvania. 

JOHN  G.  HEASLEY,  of  Greensburg,  a  veteran  of  the  civil  war,  who 
wjllingly  left  his  home  and  business  interests  to  serve  his  country  in  its  hour 
of  peril,  was  born  in  Grapcville,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  July  24, 
1846,  a  son  of  John  and  Sarah  (Banghman)  Heasley,  the  former  named  having- 
throughout  his  active  career  been  engaged  in  the  carpentering  and  jobbing. 

His  educational  advantages  were  very  limited,  being  confined  to  attendance 
at  the  common  schools  of  the  neighborhood  for  a  few  years,  as  at  the  early 
age  of  ten  years  he  began  to  earn  his  own  livelihood,  being  employed  by  John 
Dravo  on  the  Monongahela  river.  From  there  he  went  to  Penn  Station  and 
engaged  in  mining,  which  occupation  he  followed  until  1862,  when  he  enlisted 
in  Company  E,  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-fifth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volun- 
teers, and  served  seven  months  under  Colonel  McKee,  at  the  expiration  of  which 
time  he  received  an  honorable  discharge.  He  then  returned  home,  but  shortly 
after  re-enlisted  in  the  army,  this  time  becoming  a  member  of  the  Two  Hun- 
dred and  Sixty-sixth  Regiment  of  Pennsylvania  \^olunteers,  under  Clark  Bry- 
ant and  Hugh  J.  Brady,  Colonel,  his  term  of  service  being  for  eleven  months. 
Upon  his  return  to  civi!  life  he  located  in  Greensburg,  where  he  has  since  re- 
sided, and  engaged  in  mining.  In  1866  Air.  Heasley  married  Susan  Randa- 
baugh,  who  died  September  21,  1891,  at  her  home  in  Greensburg.  and  her 
remains  were  the  first  to  be  interred  in  the  St.  Clair  cemetery.  She  was  the 
mother  of  the  following  named  children :  William.  Maria,  Sarah.  Ellen,  Harry, 
Hallie,  Catherine.  Homer,  Elizabeth,  Dunkin,  David,'  John  and  Harriet.  Mr. 
Heasley  married  for  his^second  wife  Celia  McGinnis,  widow  of  Jeremiah  Mc- 
Ginnis.  and  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Louisa  ( Wagner)  Thomas,  who  bore  him 
four  children,  namely:  Celia  R.,  born  December  13,  1893:  Daisy  O.,  bom  De- 
cember I.  1895:  Howard,  born  August  11,  1899;  and  Robert  H..  born  January 
II,  1903. 

CHARLES  E.  MOMEYER.  a  representative  citizen  of  Greensburg, 
was  born  in  L'nity  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  January  27, 
1867,  son  of  Joseph  C.  and  Louise  (Blackston)  Momeyer.  Joseph  C.  Momeyer 
was  also  a  native  of  Westmoreland  county,  a  son  of  Willam  Momeyer,  a  native 
of  Germany,  who  came  to  this  country  at  an  early  date.  He  is  a  cabinet  maker 
by  trade,  which  line  of  work  he  followed  in  his  native  county,  where  he  is  now 
residing,  having  attained  the  age  of  seventy-seven  years.  He  and  his,  wife, 
Louise  (Blackston)  Momeyer,  were  the  parents  of  nine  children,  as  follows: 
Clark  W.,  William  A.,  Joseph  S..  George  A.,  Emma,  Libbie,  Jessie,  Alice,  and 
Charles  E.  Momeyer. 

Charles  E.  Momeyer  pursued  his  studies  in  the  common  and  normal  schools 
of  Greensburg,  and  upon  the  completion  of  his  education,  at  the  age  of  nine- 
teen years,  secured  a  position  in  the  shipping  department  of  the  firm  of  Kelly 
&  Jones,  where  he  remained  six  years.  He  then  opened  a  restaurant  in  Greens- 
burg, which  he  conducted  successfully  for  four  years,  realizing  therefrom  a 
comfortable  livelihood,  and  at  the  exjMration  of  this  period  of  time,  in  1894, 
accepted  a  position  as  letter  carrier,  his  present  occupation.     He  is  a  staunch 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAXD   COUNTY.  555 

advocate  of  temperance,  and  casts  his  vote  for  the  candidates  of  the  Prohibition 
party.  2^lv.  Momeyer  married,  September  25,  1895,  JuUa  B.  Weimer,  daughter 
of  Thomas  and  Sarah  (\Mlson)  \\'eimer,  and  their  children  were:  Bruce  P., 
born  December  22,  1901,  in  Grccnsburg ;  and  Oscar  C,  born  June  11,  1897, 
died  October  7,  1897. 

HEXRY  GEORGE  BEAMER.  Switzerland  is  the  land  whence 
the  ancestors  of  Henry  George  Beamer,  of  Manor,  emigrated  to  this  country. 
Jacob  Beamer  was  a  resident  of  Hagerstown,  ^Maryland,  and  it  is  probable  that 
he  was  the  first  of  the  name  to  seek  a  home  on  these  shores  where,  it  would 
seem,  he  landed  about  the  period  of  the  revolution. 

John  Beamer,  son  of  Jacob  Beamer,  came  to  Westmoreland  county,  passing 
in  his  journev  over  the  present  site  of  Pittsburg,  and  settled  in  Franklin  town- 
ship, five  miles  north  of  iMurrysville,  where  he  took  up  land  which  he  cul- 
tivated during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  married  Eve  Butenbarger,  and 
their  children  were:  Henry,  mentioned  hereinafter;  Philip,  married  Catherine 
Beamer:  John,  married  Alary  Aucher :  Michael,  married  Catherine  Rubright ; 
Catherine,  married  John  Hill ;  Sarah,  died  unmarried,  and  Margaret,  married 
George  Fix. 

Henry  Beamer,  son  of  John  and  Eve  (Butenbarger)  Beamer,  was  born  at 
Taneytown,  near  Hagerstown,  Maryland,  coming  to  this  county  with  his  father 
when  about  five  years  of  age.  During  his  youth  and  early  manhood  he  was  the 
assistant  of  his  father  in  the  labors  of  the  homestead,  and  on  the  occasion  of 
his  marriage  bought  a  farm  near  ]\Iurrysville,  and  there  passed  the  remainder 
of  his  life.  Mr.  Beamer  married,  about  1822,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  and 
Susan  (Kemerer)  Lauffer,  of  Penn  township,  and  their  children  were:  John, 
married  Xancy  Rubright  and  lives  at  West  Xewton ;  Henry,  mentioned  herein- 
after ;  Seth,  married  Maria  Ludwick ;  Jacob,  married  Susannah  Brinker  and 
after  her  death  Mary  J.  Hunter,  of  Butler  county,  and  is  a  resident  of  IManor ; 
Michael,  married  Susan  Ludwick,  after  her  death  ^Margaret  Burger,  and  lives 
at  Manor:  Sarah,  married  Andrew  Silvis.  and  after  his  death  became  the  wife 
of  Adam  Drake,  of  Apollo,  Pennsylvania :  and  Susan,  died  at  three  years  of 
age.  Mrs.  Beamer  died  about  .1843,  ^"^1  the  death  of  her  husband  occurred 
December  16,  1856. 

Henry  Beamer,  son  of  Henry  and  Elizabeth  (Laufifer)  Beamer,  was  born 
August  29,  1826,  in  Franklin  township,  and  until  his  marriage  aided  in  tilling 
the  home  farm.  He  then  opened  a  general  merchandise  store  at  Harrison 
City,  and  for  five  years  he  hauled  produce  by  wagon  to  Pittsburg,  returning 
with  goods  for  his  store.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  bought  his  present  small 
farm  near  Harrison  City,  which  lias  been  his  home  for  about  forty  years.  He  is 
a  Democrat,  and  a  member  of  the  Reformed  church,  in  which  for  many  years 
he  has  served  as  deacon  and  elder.  Air.  Beamer  married,  August  29,  1852, 
Julianna  Maria,  daughter  of  George  G.  E.  and  Elizaljcth  (Schumacher)  Bur- 
ger (for  history  of  (ieorge  G.  E.  Burger  see  sketch  of  Joseph  A.  Burger), 
and  they  have  four  children:  Josephine  Louisa,  born  June  2,  1855,  married 
H.  A.  Lauffer,  of  Manor;  Alargarct  Elizabeth,  March  30,  1857;  Annctta  Clar- 
issa, Xovember  19,  1859,  wife  of  Elijah  Kemerer,  of  Turtle  Creek;  and  Henry 
George  mentioned  hereinafter.  Margaret  Elizaljeth  Beamer,  the  second  of 
the  daughters,  is  unmarried  and  lives  at  home  with  her  ])arents.  .\ugust  29, 
1902.  Henry  Beamer  and  wife  celebrated  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  their  mar- 
riage. 

Henry  George  Beamer,  son  of  Henry  anrl  Julianna  Mnria  (  lUirgcr) 
Beamer,  was  Imrn  Septemlier  17,  1863.  at  Harrison  City,  and  received  a  common 
school  education.     Until  the  age  of  nineteen  he  a^i^ii^ti-d  his  father  on  the  farm 


556  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

and  then  assisted  his  brother-in-law,  Henry  A.  Lauffer,  in  his  general  store, 
first  at  Penn  Station,  then  at  Irwin  and  moved  thence  to  the  present  situation 
at  J\lanor.  Air.  Beamer  belongs  to  Philanthropy  Lodge,  No.  225,  F.  and  A.' 
M.,  Greensburg,  Urania  Chapter,  No.  192,  R.  A.  M.,  Kedron  Commandery, 
No.  18,  K.  T.,  all  of  Greensburg,  and  Manor  Council  No.  716,  R.  A.  He  is  a 
Democrat,  and  at  present  a  member  of  the  Manor  school  board.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Reformed  church  and  for  six  years  has  served  as  deacon.  Mr. 
Beamer  married,  December  24,  1896,  Mary  S.  \\'agner,  and  their  children  are: 
Russell  Wagner,  born  November  29,  1897  ;  Henry  George,  born  April  18,  1899 ; 
Ruth  Julian,  born  August  i,  1902;  and  Mary  Elizabeth,  born  January  7,  1904. 
Mrs.  Beamer  was  born  October  9,  187 1,  is  a  graduate  of  Slippery  Rock  State 
Normal  School,  and  prior  to  her  marriage  taught  in  the  public  schools.  She 
is  a  granddaughter  of  John  and  Barbara  (Gronzinger)  Wagner,  and  a  daughter 
of  Gottlieb  and  Elizabeth  ( Schumacher)  Wagner.  The  former,  born  August 
23.  1826,  came  from  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  in  1854,  settling  at  Wheeling, 
West  \'irginia,  whence  he  moved  to  Greensburg,  and  then  to  a  farm  near  Har- 
rison City,  where  he  died  October  2,  1898. 

CHARLES  ROSSELL  McDONALD,  who  has  for  some  years  occupied 
the  responsible  position  of  superintendent  of  the  Hostetter  Connellsville  Coke 
Company,  at  Wliitney,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  is  a  descendant  of 
an  old  Scotch  family,  one  of  whose  members  emigrated  to  America  about  one 
hundred  years  ago. 

Malcolm  McDonald,  grandfather  of  Charles  Rossell  McDonald,  son  of 
IMalcolm  McDonald,  and  founder  of  this  branch  of  the  McDonald  family  in 
this  country,  emigrated  from  Scotland  in  or  about  1790.  and  settled  in  Flat- 
woods,  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania.  Here  he  followed  the  occupation  of 
farming.  He  and  his  family  were  members  of  the  old  Scotch  Covenanter 
church ;  the  descendants  are  now  mostly  Presljyterians.  His  wife,  Parthenia, 
came  over  with  him.  The  children  of  Malcolm  and  Parthenia  McDonald 
were :     ^Malcolm,  David.  John,  Mordecai,  Jane,  Annie. 

Ja'.nes  Guthrie  AicDonald,  son  of  Malcolm  and  Parthenia  McDonald,  was 
born  at  Flatwoods,  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1829.  He  was  reared  on 
the  farm  of  his  father,  and  early  in  life  entered  upon  his  business  career.  He 
engaged  in  business  as  a  clerk  with  a  merchant,  and  was  thus  occupied  for 
some  vears.  He  then  established  himself  in  business,  and  became  a  prominent 
merchant  of  Perryopolis,  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  actively  en- 
gaged in  the  management  of  this  business  until  late  in  life,  and  was  remarkably 
successful.  He  had  many  friends  and  was  highly  respected  and  esteemed  for 
his  integrity  and  business  ability.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  He  married  Alargaret  Rossell,  daughter  of  Charles  and  Sarah  (Lay- 
ton)  Rossell,  and  she  had  two  brothers  and  one  sister:  James,  Abraham  and 
Mary.  The  children  of  James  Guthrie  and  Margaret  (Rossell)  ]\IcDonaln 
are:  Charles  Rossell,  and  Annie  Julia,  now  ]\Irs.  Howard  B.  Cunningham,  of 
Belle  Vernon.  Pennsylvania. 

Charles  Rossell  McDonald,  son  of  James  Guthrie  and  Margaret  (Ros- 
sell) McDonald,  was  born  in  Perryopolis,  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  April 
7,  1862.  He  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  a  good  education  in  the  common 
schools,  and  at  the  normal  school  at  California,  Pennsylvania.  He  engaged  in 
teaching  in  the  schools  for  several  years,  then  accepted  a  position  as  book- 
keeper for  the  Hostetter  Connellsville  Coke  Company.  Here  his  reliability 
and  faithful  attention  to  the  duties  of  his  position  procured  for  him  advance- 
ment, and  during  the  fourteen  years  he  has  been  with  the  company  he  has  ad- 


HISTORY   OF   irESTMORELAXD   COUNTY. 


55? 


vanccd  step  by  stop  and  now  (iqofi)  serves  in  the  capacity  (if  superintendent.. 
He  is  very  methodical  and  SASteniatic  in  his  business  habits,  and  his  ideas  are- 
progressive.  He  has  always  been  greatly  interested  in  educational  work,  and 
has  served  on  the  various  school  boards  where  he  has  resided.  In  politics  he 
is  a  Democrat,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  mar- 
ried, September  8,  1886,  Annie  Mercilla  Alclntire,  who  was  educated  in  the 
Pittsburg  Female  College.  She  is  the  daughter  of  Rev.  John  and  ]\lary  Jane 
(King)  Mclntire,  the  former  of  whom  was  a  minister  in  the  Alethodist  Epis- 
copal church  from  his  early  manhotid  until  his  death.  ^Ir.  and  Mrs.  McDon- 
ald have  one  child  :  Charles  Paul,  horn  in  PerryopoHs,  Pennsylvania,  August 
24,  1887.  He  is  now  a  student  in  Allegheny  College,  Meadville,  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

E\*AX  JAMES  FR.WCTS.  Evan  Francis,  grandfather  of  Evan 
James  Francis,  of  New  Kensington,  was  for  fifty  years  superintendent  of  the 
Pontymoil  tin  plate  works,  Monmouthshire,  England,  owned  by  Copele  Lord 
Ambrey  Lee,  of  the  county  of  Monmouthshire.  Mr.  Francis  married  Esther 
Pope,  who  was  the  first  milliner  in  the  town  of  Pontypool,  England. 

John  Francis,  son  of  Evan  and  Esther  Francis,  married  Louise  Pope,  and 
they  were  the  parents  of  a  son:  Evan  James  Francis,  born  December  22,  1846^ 
in  Pontymoil,  and  in  1873  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  settling  in  Leech- 
burg,  October  9,  1873.  He  immediately  entered  the  sheet  and  tin  plate  mill  of 
Rogers  &  Birchfield,  where  he  remained  one  year,  going  then  to  Demmler,  Al- 
legheny county,  and  entering  the  service  of  Demmler  Brothers,  with  whom  he 
remained  until  1876.  In  that  year  he  returned  to  Leechhurg,  where  he  was 
employed  until  1887  by  the  firm  of  Kilpatrick  &  Beals.  He  then  worked  in 
.•\pollo  and  for  about  one  year  worked  for  Laufman  &  Company,  after  which 
he  went  to  Irondale,  Ohio,  with  Wallace  Banfield  &  Company,  remaining  until 
October,  1889.  His  next  removal  was  to  Xew  Zealand,  where  he  worked  in 
the  first  sheet  mill  ever  erected  in  that  country.  He  took  with  him  the  first 
Bessemer  steel  billets  for  making  sheet  steel  that  had  ever  been  sent  to  Xew 
Zealand.  In  conjunction  with  Charles  Banfield,  Mr.  Francis  invented  the  first 
cinder  bottom  for  .sheet  heating  furnaces.  To  him  belongs  also  the  honor  of 
having  been  the  first  roller  to  use  natural  gas  in  making  sheet  iron  or  tin  plate. 
He  made  this  successful  experiment  in  1874,  while  working  in  the  mills  of 
Rogers  &  Birchfield,  at  Leechburg,  the  gas  being  produced  in  Westmorelanfl 
county.  In  1896  he  moved  to  Xew  Kensington  and  took  a  i)osition  in  the- 
Pittsburg  works  as  roller.  January,  1905,  he  was  appointed  night  superintend- 
ent, which  position  he  now  holds.  He  affiliates  with  Lodge  Xo.  651,  T.  O.  O. 
F.,  of  Leechburg,  and  is  a  member  and  trustee  of  the  Baptist  church  of  Xew 
Kensington. 

Mr.  Francis  married,  in  his  native  country,  Cecilia,  born  .April  12,  1847, 
daughter  of  Edward  and  .Margaret  Thomas,  of  Pontynewynydd.  South  Wales, 
aufl  their  children  were:  Esther  .Ann,  born  May  25,  1872,  wife  of  George  B. 
Campbell,  civil  engineer  of  Duboise ;  Margaret  L.,  born  May  29,  T875,  wife  of 
Robert  Sheppard,  real  estate  agent  of  Xew  Kensington  ;  Leopold  J.,  born  .April 
22.  1878,  of  Follensbee,  West  X'irginia:  Mary  .Ada,  born  October,  1880,  died 
May  II,  188 1 :  Clarence  J.,  born  February  5.  1883,  at  home:  Beatrice  C,  born 
May  26.  1885,  died  January  12.  1892:  Edith  Elizabeth,  born  June  27,  1887, 
died  August  13,  1887:  and  .Augustus  L.,  born  January  i,  1889,'died  February 
I,  1889.     .All  the  deceased  children  are  buricrl  at  Leechburg. 


;558  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

JOSEPH  T.  DOUGHERTY.  A  visitor  in  Vandcrgrift  would  not 
be  long  in  discovering  that  Joseph  T.  Dougherty  is  one  of  the  moving  spirits 
among  the  "mill  men"  and  therefore  one  of  the  representative  men  of  the  com- 
muity.  From  the  hour  that  Mr.  McMurtry  signified  his  desire  to  "give  every 
man  a  show  for  his  white  alley,"  Mr.  Dougherty  has  been  a  progressive  and 
•enthusiastic  promoter  of  every  good  thing.  He  is  an  original  thinker.  His 
mind  is  constantly  at  work  devising  w^ays  and  means  for  the  improvement  of 
men  and  conditions  and  for  the  development  of  all  phases  of  life  in  this  indus- 
trial center.  ImpulsiVe  in  temperament,  generous  in  disposition,  he  does  not 
stop  to  consider  whether  policy  would  sanction  the  carrying  out  of  his  plans. 
,He  is  not  a  trimmer  in  any  sense.  Were  he  more  sauve,  were  his  motives 
mercenary  or  ulterior,  and  did  he  go  about  guided  by  policy,  he  might  be  more 
popular  and  gain  more  votes  at  an  election,  but  he  is  controlled  by  none  of 
these  things.  He  is  an  altruistic  optimist.  If  he  can  help  the  other  fellow  he 
will  gladly  do  it,  cost  what  it  may. 

He  is  positive  in  his  make-up,  a  man  with  iron  in  his  blood.  You  always 
know  where  to  find  him  on  every  issue.  He  has  a  high  moral  sense  of  the  pos- 
sibilities before  the  people  of  Vandergrift.  He  -iS  so  appreciative  of  all  the 
good  things  done  for  the  people  and  is  so  enamoured  of  the  scheme  by  which 
the  company  has  always  been  willing  to  "help  the  people  to  help  themselves" 
that  he  has  not  only  endeavored  to  get  for  himself  and  his  family  all  that  he 
could,  but  has  been  glad  to  co-operate  in  every  endeavor  to  promote  the  indus- 
trial, educational,  political  and  religious  welfare  of  all.  Owing  to  the  public 
spirit  manifest,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  first  school  board,  serving  in 
•  that  capacity  for  five  years,  during  three  of  which  he  was  its  president,  render- 
ing invaluable  service  in  the  construction  of  our  school  buildings  and  bringing 
the  public  school  system  of  our  town  at  once  into  the  front  rank  of  the  county. 
He  was  president  of  an  association  which  fostered  a  Boy's  Brass  Band,  secur- 
ing for  the  young  men  the  necessary  musical  instruments  and  providing 
trained  leadership,  developing  through  their  public  performances  a  civic 
spirit.  In  all  the  agitation  for  the  creation  of  a  Yoimg  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation he  has  been  a  leading  spirit.  When  Mr.  Oscar  B.  Lindquist  was  com- 
pelled to  resign  as  burgess,  owing  to  his  removal  from  the  town,  there  was  a  . 
general  call  for  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Dougherty  as  his  successor.  When 
the  legal  question  was  raised  as  to  the  possibilitv  of  his  being  burgess  and  be- 
ing a  member  of  the  school  board  at  the  same  time,  he  resigned  as  burgess,  pre- 
ferring to  remain  as  a  promoter  of  the  schools.  Mr.  Dougherty  joined  the 
First  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  has  been  one  of  its  most  active  members, 
carrying  into  all  his  church  work  the  same  earnest  and  enthusiastic  spirit. 
He  has  been  and  still  continues  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school,  three 
times  being  elected  a  delegate  to  the  lay  convention  which  meets  at  the  same 
time  of  the  annual  ministerial  conference. 

But  is  is  among  the  working  men  that  his  strong  and  masterful  personality 
has  been  felt.  A  man  of  intense  convictions,  positive  in  utterance,  with  the 
temperament  of  the  orator,  his  magnetic  influence  has  been  felt  in  all  the  gath- 
erings of  the  men.  As  presiding  officer  or  as  the  spokesman  of  the  men  he 
has  had  a  large  place  in  the  shaping  of  legislation,  in  the  evolution  of  policies 
and  in  the  presentation  of  the  wishes  of  the  men  to  their  employers.  No  one 
has  commanded  the  respect  of  the  employers  more  than  he.  Such  has  been 
his  manifest  sincerity  of  purpose  and  down-right  honesty  and  such  has  been 
his  absolute  confidence  in  the  integrity  of  the  promoters  of  Vandergrift  and 
their  real  and  sincere  desire  to  do  all  in  their  power,  not  only  to  make  money 
for  thcniselyes,  Init  to  have  the  world  sec  by  their  actions  that   it   "pays  to 


^ '^ yOet^^/^^^ 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  559 

treat  labor  decently,"  that  we  are  not  surprised  to  know  that  chiring  the  labor 
troubles  of  1903  not  one  man  in  all  the  Kiskiminetas  X'allev  threw  down  his 
tongs  to  join  forces  with  the  strikers,  but  every  last  man  stood  by  the  company. 
W  idows  were  not  pinched,  children  were  not  starved,  men  were  not  crazed  by 
drink  and  passion,  but  in  peace  and  sweet  contentment  every  man  sat  under  his 
own  vine  and  under  his  own  fig  tree.  A  marked  advance  was  made  in  the 
solution  of  labor  troubles  and  a  new  era  began  in  the  industrial  world.  When 
in  times  of  prosperity  a  company  voluntarily  advances  its  men,  when  in  times 
of  depression  the  men  voluntarily  ask  for  a  reduction,  one  may  believe  that 
confidence  and  mutual  interest  dominate  the  life  of  that  industrial  center. 

That  was  a  great  day  in  the  history  of  Vandergrift  when  all  the  working 
men,  at  the  close  of  those  troublous  times,  gathered  together  in  the  Casino  for 
good  fellowship.  By  a  coup  de  etat.  Air.  JMcAIurtry  was  present.  It  must 
have  been  the  proudest  day  of  his  life.  After  the  ostensible  purpose  of  the 
meeting  hadbeen  carried  out,  its  real  object  was  discovered  when,  as  the 
spokesman  of  the  working  men,  Air.  Dougherty,  who  had  championed  the  plan 
from  its  inception,  was  introduced  and  in  a  speech  that  was  a  model  in  composi- 
tion and  with  emotions  stirred  far  beyond  the  ordinary,  presented  to  IMr.  Mc- 
-Murtry  a  loving  cup,  the  gift  of  every  man  in  his  employ,  intrinsically  valued 
at  $4,500.00,  designed  and  wrought  out  by  Tiffany,  but  in  reality  the'  faintest 
evidence  of  the  real  love  and  abiding  affection  of  every  man,  woman,  and  child, 
for  they  all  knew  him  as  a  real  friend  in  every  way.  One  can  now  more  readily 
believe  that  the  armies  of  capital  and  labor  will  yet  meet,  not  as  did  Caesar  and 
I'ompey  at  Pharsalia  in  deadly  conflict,  but  like'  Jacob  and  Esau  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Gilead  in  brotherhood  and  joy — the  fucd  ended.  Such  an  opportunity 
comes  to  few  men.  To  have  been  chosen  by  his  fellows  for  this  high  honor 
was  a  mark  of  distinction  of  which  every  man  might  well  be  proud.  But  this 
was  not  the  only  time  he  was  called  upon  to  represent  his  fellow  workmen  as 
they  sought  to  show  appreciation  of  some  one  with  whom  they  had  been  as- 
sociated in  the  work.  When  jMr.  S.  A.  Davis,  long  the  division  superinten- 
dent of  the  mills,  removed  from  the  town  to  accept  a  still  higher  position  in  the 
company,  Mr.  Dougherty  was  compelled  to  leave  a  sick  room  that  he  might, 
in  the  presence  of  a  great  company,  voice  the  sentiments  of  the  employees,  as 
he  presented  Mr.  Davis  and  his  esteemed  wife  with  beautiful  and  costly  gifts. 
Possessed  of  a  fine  comi^iand  of  language,  a  musical  voice  and  a  commanding 
presence,  as  a  speaker  he  wins  attention  and  hence  is  in  frequent  demand.  A 
fraternal  order  to  which  he  belongs,  when  the  annual  memorial  service  is 
held  for  the  departed  members,  though  professional  speakers  may  come  from  a 
distance,  he  is  always  expected  to  make  one  of  the  addresses. 

Seeking  to  advance  the  interests  of  the  men,  he  was  largely  instrumental  in 
forming  the  Steel  Workers'  Relief  Association,  composed  of  the  workmen  of 
the  various  mills  located  in  the  Ki.skiminctas  \"alley,  and  was  selected  as  the 
first  president,  which  position  he  still  holds.  A  student  of  'men  more  than  of 
hooks,  though  an  industrious  reader,  he  knows  men.  Having  reached  this  in- 
fluential position  while  yet  in  the  prime  of  young  manhood,  the  steps  bv  which 
it  has  been  attained  have  been  those  of  toil.  The  son  of  a  man  who  bravely 
server!  his  country  during  the  Civil  war,  the  greater  part  of  the  education  that 
was  obtained  within  the  walls  of  the  school  room  came  from  attendance  at  the 
Soldiers'  Orphan  School  located  at  Dayton,  Pennsylvania,  where  his  vears 
from  eleven  to  fifteen  were  spent.  Leaving  at  this  youthful  age  he  has  Ijravely 
made  his  way  by  depending  on  his  own  exertions.  Laboring  about  lumber 
mills  and  coal  mines  for  a  time,  he  entered  the  .service  of  the  Pennsvlvania 
railroad,  to  which  he  gave  almost  seven  years  service.     Then  entering  the  em- 


56o  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND  COUNTY. 

ploy  of  the  Apollo  Iron  and  Steel  Co.,  at  Apollo,  Pennsylvania,  in  six  months 
he  had  passed  from  a  subordinate  position  to  the  charge  of  a  pair  of  rolls,  the 
most  responsible  and  best  remunerated  position  among  the  workmen  of  the 
mills. 

Mr.  Dougherty  married,  in  1892,  Lizzie  Belle,  daughter  of  Major  Thomas 
A.  Cochran,  of  Apollo,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  a  son  and  daughter,  Thomas 
Cochran,  and  Margaretta  Loomis. 

PURLEY  M.  GOODENOW,  of  New  Kensington,  is  the  grandson 
of  Thomas  Goodenow,  who  married  Mary  Jenkins,  by  whom  he  was  the 
father  of  the  following  children :  Catharine,  wife  of  Philip  Crowley ;  Lydia, 
wife  of  Simon  Harding;  and  George,  mentioned  hereinafter. 

George  Goodenow.  son  of  Thomas  and  Mary  (Jenkins)  Goodenow,  was 
born  in  Tioga  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  his  life  was  jjassed,  being  emploved 
on  the  railroad.  He  married  Jennie  L.  Johnson,  and  they  were  the  parents  of 
two  sons :  George  Walter,  employed  in  National  lead  and  oil  works.  New 
Kensington;  and  Purlev  M.,  mentioned  hereinafter.  Mr.  Goodenow  died  in 
1883.    ^ 

Purlev  M.  Goodenow,  son  of  George  and  Jennie  L.  (Johnson)  Goodenow, 
was  born  August  15,  1881,  in  Covington,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  educated 
in  the  borough  schools.  In  June.  1896,  he  entered  the  service  of  the  National 
Lead  &  Oil  Company,  New  Kensington,  beginning  as  office  boy,  and  by  strict 
attention  to  business  gradually  rising,  until  in  January,  1904,  he  was  made 
superintendent  of  the  New  Kensington  factory,  a  position  which  he  still  re- 
tains. He  affiliates  with  Ben  Hur  Court,  No.  11,  of  New  Kensington,  and  is 
a  member  of  the  Baptist  church  of  that  place.  Mr.  Goodenow  married,  Octo- 
ber 12,  1904,  Sarah,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Mary  Thomas,  of  New  Ken- 
sington. 

JOHN  A.  HUNTER,  a  young  and  very  capable  farmer  of  Cook 
township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  is  a  representative  of  a  family 
wh.ich  has  been  domiciled  in  this  country  for  several  generations. 

William  Hunter,  father  of  John  A.  Hunter,  volunteered  for  service  at  the 
first  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war,  and  served  with  honor  and  bravery  until  its  con- 
clusion. He  married  Susan  Fry,  and  their  children  were :  George,  lives  at 
Bradenville,  married  Laura  Jones  and  has  two  children;  Sadie,  married  Philip 
Krobough,  of  Latrobe,  and  has  two  children ;  Laura ;  and  John  A.,  of  whom 
later. 

John  A.  Hunter,  youngest  child  of  William  and  Susan  (Fry)  Hunter,  was 
born  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  July  2,  1876.  He  received  his 
education  in  the  public  schools  of  the  district.  His  father  died  when  John  was 
a  very  voung  lad,  and  he  was  thus  earlv  thrown  on  his  own  resources.  He 
began  working  on  a  farm  and  having  learned  it  thoroughly  and  practically, 
understands  agricultural  work  in  all  its  details.  He  is  at  present  ( igo6)  em- 
ployed on  the  farm  of  John  G.  Campbell,  with  whom  he  makes  his  hime.  Mr. 
Hunter  is  highly  respected  and  esteemed  in  the  community  as  a  young  man  of 
integrity  and  strong  moral  character.  He  is  unmarried  and  possesses  a  host 
of  friends.     In  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 

JOHN  G.  CAMPBELL,  a  retired  farmer  of  Harold.  \\'estmore- 
land  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  a  veteran  of  the  civil  war,  is  a  representative 
of  a  familv  which  has  been  identified  with  the  agricultural  interests  of  the  state 
for  a  runiilier  of  vears. 


%^- 


r,,,^ijyC.e.ffMA/y 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  561 

George  Campbell,  father  of  John  G.  Campbell,  was  a  native  of  Cook  town- 
ship, Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  a  prosperous  farmer.  He  was  an 
adherent  of  the  Republican  party,  and  he  and  his  wife  were  members  of  the 

United   Presbyterian  church,      tie  married   Mary  ,  born  in    1813,   died 

1878.  and  the}-  had  children:  William,  Isaac,  James,  John,  of  whom  later;  an 
unnamed  infant,  Betsey,  Mattie,  Mary,  Jane,  married  John  AUis,  of  Illinois ; 
Susan.  Louisa,  married  John  Hood ;  and  Rosa.  But  three  of  these  children — ■ 
John  G.,  Louisa  and  Jane —  are  now  (1906)  living.  George  Campbell  died  in 
1856,  aged  sixty  years. 

John  G.  Campbell,  son  of  George  and  Mary  Camphrll.  was  born  in  Ctiok 
township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  August  4,  1836.  He  received 
his  education  in  the  iniblic  schools  of  Stahlstown,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  his  youth 
and  early  manhood  was  occupied  with  farming.  He  was  filled  with  ardor  and 
enthusiasm  at  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war,  and  enlisted  in  the  union  arnnv 
being  a  member  of  the  One  Hundred  and  First  Pennsylvania  Infantry.  Here 
he  served  with  bravery  and  credit,  and  was  honorably  discharged  at  the  close 
of  the  war.  He  returned  to  Cook  township,  and  in  1865  he  and  his  brother 
James  bought  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  which  they  ])rocecded 
to  cultivate,  and  on  which  he  still  resides.  They  were  thrifty  and  practical  in 
their  methods  of  cultivation,  and  met  with  well-deserved  success  in  their  under- 
taking. Mr.  Campbell  is  a  kind,  helpful  neighbor,  and  has  many  friends  in 
the  community.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  a  member  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic.    He  is  unmarried. 

JAMES  PATRICK  MULVIHILL.  one  of  the  most  enterprising, 
energetic  and  progressive  men  in  Arnold,  A\'estmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
general  manager  of  the  Independent  Brewing  Company  of  Pittsburg,' one  of 
the  largest  br-wing  companies  in  the  I'nited  States,  president  of  the  Monon- 
gahela.  Ellsworth  and  Washington  Street  Railway  Company,  and  director  in  a 
number  of  banks,  is  descended  from  sturdy  Irish  stock. 

James  Mulvihill,  father  of  James  Patrick  Mulvihill,  was  born  in  county 
Limerick,  Ireland,  and  came  to  this  country  with  his  wife  in  1864.  He  set- 
tled in  Hartford,  Connecticut,  and  there  became  a  mill  worker.  He  always 
took  an  active,  intelligent  interest  in  all  matters  of  public  import,  whether 
political,  educational  or  religious,  but  never  held  public  office.  His  political 
affiliations  were  Democratic,  and  he  was  a  consistent  member  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church.  He  married,  in  Ireland,  Johanna  Bigley.  also  a  native  of 
county  Li'iierick,  who  was  a  very  charitable  woman.  Thev  had  six  children  : 
James  Pat-ick  :  Thomas,  Bartholomew,  Margaret,  and  Joh;inna.  Parents  both 
deceased;  mother  died  in  April.  1890.  at  forty-six  vears.  and  father  died 
December  23.   1904.  at  sixty-two  years. 

James  Patrick  Mulvihill.  eldest  son  of  James  and  Johanna  (Bigley) 
^rulvihill,  was  born  in  Hartford.  Connecticut,  October  8,  1865.  He  received 
his  eflucation  in  the  jjublic  schools  of  the  Fourteenth  ward,  Pittsburg.  Penn- 
sylvania, and  completed  it  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years.  He  then  entered  the 
employ  of  the  iron  and  steel  mills,  and  in  1887  became  connected  with  the  tle- 
partmeiit  of  pui)lic  safety  in  Pittsburg.  Here  he  served  with  credit  to  him- 
self and  satisfactirjn  to  the  department,  in  various  grades,  and  was  one  of  the 
selected  men  sent  to  Johnstown.  Pennsylvania,  at  the  time  of  the  great  flood 
m  May,  1889.  The  city  of  Johnstown  presented  him  with  an  engraved  set  of 
resolutions  for  faithful  and  meritorious  performance  of  his  duties.  The  citv 
of  New  Kensington,  Pennsylvania,  was  founded  in  the  month  of  August    1801 

36  a        t        J    r 


562  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

and  Mr.  Mulvihill,  with  his  wife  and  child,  immediately  settled  in  the  new  town, 
being  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  settlement.  His  second  child.  Irene,  was  one 
of  the  first  children  born  in  this  town.  He  opened  and  conducted  successfully 
for  a  number  of  years  the  first  hotel  in  New  Kensington.  The  New  Kensing- 
ton Brewing  Com])any  was  then  organized,  and  built  a  small  brewery,  with  a 
capacity  of  ten  thousand  barrels,  and  Air.  Mulvihill  was  elected  president  of 
the  company.  It  had  a  capital  of  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  afterward  be- 
came a  branch  of  the  Independent  Brewing  Company  of  Pittsburg,  one  of  the 
largest  in  the  United  States,  and  of  which  Mr.  Mulvihill  is  the  general  mana- 
ger. Aside  from  his  connection  with  the  brewing  business,  Mr.  Mulvihill  has 
many  other  business  interests.  He  is  president  of  the  Monongahela,  Ells- 
worth and  Washington  Street  Railway  Company,  as  above  mentioned ;  di- 
rector in  the  First  National  liank  of  New  Kensington  ;  and  director  in  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Monongahela,  Pennsylvania.  He  is  a  strong  Democrat,  and 
has  always  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  affairs  of  his  party,  assisting  them  in 
word  and  deed.  He  has  attended  almost  allthe  state  conventions,  and  was  a 
delegate  to  the  national  convention  in  Kansas  City,  Missouri,  wdiich  gave 
William  J.  Brvan  the  presidential  nomination.  He  has  frequently  been  offered 
nomination  to  various  positions  of  honor  in  his  party,  but  has  invariably  de- 
clined to  hold  public  office.  He  organized  the  first  volunteer  fire  company  in 
New  Kensington,  and  was  elected  its  first  chief.  This  has  since  become  the 
leading  volunteer  company  in  the  state.  He  also  organized  the  first  brass  band 
in  the  town.  He  is  a  devout  member  of  St.  Joseph's  Catholic  church,  and 
chairman  of  the  church  committee.  This  was  the  first  Catholic  church  built 
in  New  Kensington.  He  is  a  liberal  contributor  to  all  charities,  and  to  any 
movement  which  has  for  its  object  the  welfare  of  the  comnumity.  He  is  a 
member  Of  the  following  fraternal  associations :  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order. of  Elks;  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians:  and  Order  of  Heptasophs.  His 
residence,  a  spacious  and  commodious  house  fitted  with  all  modern  improve- 
ments, is  in  Arnold,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  here  he  lives 
with  his  family,  enjoying  all  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  a  delightfully  sit- 
uated country  home. 

He  married,  May  14,  1889,  in  St.  Luke's  Catholic  church,  Carnegie,  Penn- 
sylvania, Annie  Irene  Hampsey,  daughter  of  Bernard  and  Bridget  (Lmer) 
Hampsey.  The  former  was  an  active  Democrat.  Mrs.  Hampsey  is  well 
known  for  her  charity  and  benevolence.  Mrs.  Mulvihill  was  edu- 
cated at  the  famous  (laktlale  Academy,  Oakdale,  Pennsylvania,  from 
which  she  was  graduated  with  honor.  She  taught  school  until  the  time  of  her 
marriage.  She  is  a  woman  of  very  domestic  tastes,  is  a  model  wife  and  mother, 
and  in  spite  of  the  manifold  duties  which  the  care  of  a  large  family  entails, 
finds  time  to  assist  in  all  charitable  and  religious  undertakings.  The  children 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mulvihill  are:  James  Mead,  born  Pittsburg,  Penn.sylvania, 
February  21,  1890,  educated  at  St.  Vincent's  College,  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania; 
Annie  Irene,  October  13,  1891,  New  Kensington,  Pennsylvania,  educated  at 
the  Ursuline  Academy,  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania :  Bernard  Hampsey,  June  ,8, 
1893,  Fort  Pitt,  Pennsylvania,  educated  at  St.  \'incent's  College,  Latrobe, 
Pennsylvania:  William  Herron,  February  12,  1895,  New  Kensington,  Penn- 
s\lvania,  public  schools,  Arnold,  Penns^dvania :  Marguerite  Rosalind,  April 
13,  1896:  Mary  Ruth,  April  13,  1896:  Thomas  Joseph,  January  24,  1898; 
Alexander  Richard,  November  8,  1902;  Johanna  Regina,  Monongahela,  Penn- 
sylvania, August  23,  1904;  Ursula  Clare,  March  17,  1906.  Alarguerite,  Mary, 
Thomas,  Alexander  and  Ursula  were  all  born  in  Arnold,  Pennsvlvania. 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUXTV.  563 

JOHN  SLOAX  SMELTZER.  The  father  of  John  Sloan  Smeltzer, 
of  X'andergrift  Height*,  was  Christopher  C.  Smeltzer.  born  July  25.  1841,  in 
Armstrong  county,  where  he  was  reared  to  a  farm  life.  He  has  always  fol- 
lowed agricultural  pursuits,  in  connection  with  which  he  engaged  for  many 
years  in  threshing.  He  is  a  Democrat  and  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church. 
^Ir.  Smeltzer  married  Sarah  Chrissman.  and  six  of  their  ten  children  are  now 
living:  Ada.  wife  of  Claude  Chambers,  of  G\ove  county.  Kansas:  Robert 
Charles,  heater  in  N'andergrift  mills;  Anna,  wife  of  William  Meeker,  of  Russel 
county.  Kansas  :  Jennie,  wife  of  Uavid  Fox,  of  Pawnee  county,  Kansas  :  Carrie, 
Avife  of  Gibson  Sloan,  of  the  same  county ;  and  John  Sloan,  mentioned  hereinaf- 
ter. Mr.  Smeltzer,  the  father,  now  resides  near  Ellorton,  Armstrong  county. 
John  Sloan  Smeltzer.  son  of  Christopher  C.  and  Sarah  (Chrissman)  Smelt- 
zer. was  born  February  10,  1878.  in  Adams  county.  Ohio,  and  received  a  limited 
common  school  education.  In  1893  he  entered  the  mills  of  the  Apollo  Iron  & 
Steel  Company,  serving  first  in  the  capacity  of  matcher.  Three  months  later 
he  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  doubler,  in  which  he  served  eleven  months 
and  was  then  made  catcher.  Five  months  later  he  became  rougher  and  in  this 
capacity  served  seven  years.  In  July,  1902,  he  was  advanced  to  his  present  posi- 
tion of  roller.  Politically  he  is  a  Democrat.  Mr.  Smeltzer  married,  February 
I.  1898.  Daisy  E.,  daughter  of  Jacob  B.  and  Mary  (Beck)  Shellhammer,  of 
Armstrong  countv.  and  their  children  are:  \'ioIa  M.,  Rita  E.,  Ora  A.  T., 
Iva  E.  an.l  Williard  S. 

JULES  HL'GG.  The  parents  of  Jules  Hugg.  of  Arnold,  were  John 
Battis  and  \'ictoria  Hu.g.g.  his  birth  occurring  February  3.  1843.  near  Lyons, 
France,  and  his  education  being  received  in  the  schools  of  his  native  country 
and  En.gland.  He  learned  the  ,glass-blower"s  trade,  which  he  followed  until 
1870.  In  that  year  he  emigrated  with  his  wife  and  three  children  to  the 
United  States,  settling  in  Xorristown.  Pennsylvania,  where  for  a  short  time  he 
worked  as  a  glass-blower.  After  a  residence  of  seven  months  in  McKeesport 
he  moved  to  Xew  Albany,  Indiana,  remaining,  however,  but  a  short  time,  and 
going  thence  to  Rock  Island,  Illinois,  wher  he  spent  one  year.  At  the  end  of  that 
time  he  returned  to  Pennsylvania  and  took  up  his  abode  in  Belle  Vernon,  where 
he  remained  three  years,  after  which  he  spent  four  years  in  Europe.  On  his 
return  he  settled  at  Albany.  Indiana,  and  after  remaining  five  years  spent  four 
years  in  Pittsburg.  For  three  years  threafter  he  lived  at  Jeannette,  and  in 
1892  moved  to  Arnold,  the  borough  being  but  one  year  old.  He  theie  pur- 
chased property  on  which  he  has  lived  ever  since,  and  for  ten  years  worked  in 
the  mills  as  a  glass-blower.  During  the  last  two  years  he  has  lived  in  retire- 
ment. 

Mr.  Hu.gg  married,  January  22.  1865.  Marie,  born  June  29.  1846,  in  Eng- 
land, daughter  of  (iaspar  and  Melina  (  Wicht )  Theibert,  and  their  children  arc: 
Ernest,  born  December  9.  1865,  now  of  Jeannette;  Minnie,  born  December  i, 
1867,  wife  of  Isaac  Stidard,  of  Pittsburg;  Clarice,  born  June  21,  1870,  wife  of 
Clarence  Lawrence,  of  Arnold;  Lewis,  born  August  20,  1877,  glassblower ; 
Charles,  born  April  28,  1880.  glassblower  at  Reynoldsville.  Pennsylvania  :  and 
Harry,  born  August  12,  1883.  also  of  Reynoldsville. 

JAMES  KFATIXG.  It  was  in  Ireland  that  James  Keating,  of 
Arnold,  was  born  December  20.  1850.  anrl  it  was  thence  he  emigrated  in  1863, 
with  an  aunt,  settling  for  a  short  time  in  Elmira,  Xew  York.  He  then  went  to 
Pennsvlvania,  where  for  a  time  he  worked  about  the  mines  in  Canton  and  I'all 


564  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

Brook.  Later  he  moved  to  Oil  City,  where  he  was  track  foreman  for  the  Oil 
Creek  Railroad  Company,  holding  this  position  for  about  five  or  six  years. 
In  June,  1874,  he  went  to  Parnassus,  where  for  two  years  he  was  employed  in 
a  similar  capacity,  and  then  moved  to  Arnold,  where  he  has  ever  since  resided, 
being  continuously  employed  as  track  foreman.  He  and  his  family  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 

Mr.  Keating  married  Mary,  daughter  of  John  and  Margaret  (Linch)  Mc- 
Nerney,  and  their  children  were:  Michael,  died  in  infancy;  John  W.,  died  at 
the  age  of  thirty-three,  veteran  of  the  Spanish- American  war ;  Annie,  wife  of 
Andrew  Allen,  of  New  Kensington  ;  Alargaret,  at  home,  graduate  of  Duquesne 
College  and  clerk  in  the  postofiice  ;  Thomas,  railroad  engineer,  killed  in  a  wreck 
October  17,  1905:  James,  ticket  agent  at  Arnold  Station;  Mary,  at  home, 
graduate  of  Arnold  high  school  and  now  a  teacher  in  schools  of  that  place ; 
Edward,  died  at  the  age  of  six  years ;  Joseph,  student  at  College  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  Pittsburg;  Francis,  at  home,  graduate  of  Arnold  high  school,  now 
leaching  in  Natrona ;  Charles,  at  home ;  Jane,  also  at  home. 

WILLIAM  AR:\IITAGE.  The  parents  of  William  Armitage,  of 
New  Kensington,  were  Robert  F.  and  Ellen  (Lewis)  Armitage,  and  his  birth 
occurred  in  Toronto,  Canada,  where  he  received  his  education  in  the  common 
schools.  In  1883  he  came  to  the  United  States,  settling  in  New  Kensington, 
where  he  has  followed  his  trade,  which  he  learned  in  Canada  and  which  is 
that  of  a  plumber.  He  belongs  to  Lodge  No.  1048,  I.  O.  O.  F.  and  Lodge 
No.  81,  K.  P.,  in  which  latter  organization  he  has  passed  all  chairs.  He  is  a 
staunch  Republican  and  a  member  of  the  Reformed  church.  Mr.  Armitage 
married  Olive,  daughter  of  George  and  Hannah  Nash,  and  they  have  two 
sons :  William  O.  and  Edward  B. 

ROBERT  H.  COCHRAN.  The  parents  of  Robert  H.  Cochran,  of 
New  Kenshigton,  were  James  and  Martha  (Hull)  Cochran,  his  birth  occur- 
ring August  12.  1841,  in  Scotland.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools 
of  his  native  country,  and  there  learned  engineering.  In  1863  he  emigrated 
to  the  United  States  and  settled  for  a  time  in  Watertown,  Connecticut.  In 
August  of  the  same  year  he  enlisted  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourteenth  Regi- 
ment, Pennsylvania  \'olunteers,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  After 
the  return  of  peace  he  took  up  his  abode  in  Pittsburg,  where  for  nearly  four 
years  he  had  charge  of  the  engines  of  the  firm  of  Brook  &  \'alentine.  He 
then  entered  the  service  of  the  Cambria  Iron  Company,  near  Dunbar,  where 
he  remained  twenty-two  years.  In  1892  he  moved  to  New  Kensington,  where 
he  became  engineer  at  the  brickyards,  and  was  subsequently  employed  by 
different  companies.  For  tw-o  years  he  served  as  health  inspector  and  for 
nearly  five  years  held  the  office  of  street  commissioner.  He  affiliates  with 
Lodge  No.  no.  Knights  of  Pythias,  in  which  he  has  passed  all  chairs,  votes 
with  the  Republicans,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Presbvterian  church  of  Par- 
nassus. 

Mr.  Cochran  married  Annie  Curran,  and  their  children  were :  Elizabeth, 
Martha,  wife  of  Frank  Walley ;  John,  at  home ;  and  two  who  died  in  infancy. 

DAVID  H.  WEBB.  By  birth  David  H.  Webb,  of  New  Kensington, 
belongs  to  the  Welsh  element  which  has  played  so  important  a  part  in  the 
history  and  development  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  born  January  18.  1871,  in 
Wales,  and  in  1884  emigrated  with  his  mother  to  the  L'nited  States. 

They  settled   in   Pittsburg,   where   for  eighteen   months  the  boy  attended 


HISTORY    OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  565 

school,  and  then  went  to  work  in  a  sheet  mill  and  there  remained  four  }ears. 
After  working  eight  months  in  the  tin  plate  mills  of  Ehvood,  Indiana  county, 
he  was  sent  for  bv  W.  H.  Richards,  of  Xew  Kensington,  by  whom  he  was 
given  a  position  in  the  Pennsylvania  tin  plate  works.  In  1903  he  started  the  tin 
plate  works  at  Canonsburg  for  Air.  Richards,  and  rolled  the  first  tin  plate 
produced  in  that  mill  under  the  new  management.  August  21,  1905,  he  was 
promoted  to  the  position  of  general  foreman,  which  he  has  ever  since  re- 
tained. In  February,  1905,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  council  of  New 
Kensington  for  a  term  of  three  years,  and  in  the  spring  of  that  year  was 
appointed  chairman  of  the  finance  committee.  For  two  or  three  years  he 
served  on  the  Republican  county  committee.  At  the  February  election  of 
1906  was  elected  president  of  council  at  Xew  Kensington.  He  afiiliates  with 
Lodge  No.  548,  F.  and  A.  M.,  of  \"erona.  Lodge  No.  572,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  of  New 
Kensington,  the  R.  A.,  and  Lodge  No.  81.  K.  P.,  in  which  he  belongs  to  the 
imiformed  rank.     He  is  a  member  of  Trinity  Reformed  Church. 

WILLIAM  H.  EISE:\IAN,  of  Latrobe,  was  one  of  the  men  who, 
filled  with  patriotic  ardor  and  a  determination  to  stand  by  the  flag  of  the  coun- 
try, left  home  and  friends  for  service  on  the  battlefield.  He  was  born  May 
20,  1838.  in  L'nity  township,  a  son  of  Henry  and  Esther  (Baughman)  Eise- 
man. 

He  obtained  a  practical  education  by  attending  the  schools  in  the  vicinity 
of  his  home,  and  after  completing  the  same  turned  his  attention  to  farming, 
which  line  of  work  he  has  followed  throughout  his  active  career.  He  is  a  prac- 
tical and  progressive  farmer,  and  a  man  of  sound  judgment.  In  1864  Mr. 
Eiseman  enlisted  in  Company  H,  Two  Hundred  and  Eleventh  Regiment  Penn- 
sylvania ^'olunteers.  served  one  year,  during  which  time  he  participated  in 
the  battle  at  Fort  Steadman  creek,  and  at  Petersburg,  which  continued  for 
forty-eight  hours.  He  was  shot  in  the  right  hip  and  knocked  down,  and 
1)ut  for  the  plate  on  his  cartridge  box  would  have  met  instant  death.  Mr. 
Eiseman  married,  June  4,  1863.  Susanna  Keys,  who  was  born  in  Salem  town- 
ship, Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  May  10,  1837.  Five  children 
were  the  issue  of  this  union,  namely :  William  E.,  born  August  16,  1864,  was 
killed  by  electricity  in  Latrobe,  June  16,  1898.  aged  thirty-three  years;  Samuel 
T..  born  July  5,  1866.  resides  in  Latrobe:  Charles  B..  Iiorn  August  2.  1869, 
died  October  31.  1904,  in  the  Loramie  (Ohio)  Hospital :  Cameron  H.,  born 
July  5,  1872.  resides  in  Latrobe ;  and  Esther  C,  born  September  23,  1876, 
resides  in  Latrobe. 

RILEY  WALTON.  The  Walton  family  of  Delmont  is  descended 
from  one  of  three  brothers  who  immigrated  from  England  in  the  time  of  Will- 
iam Penn.  One  of  these  may  have  settled  in  Virginia.  If  so  he  was  perhaps 
the  ancestor  of  George  Walton,  a  native  of  that  state  but  a  Georgian  by  adopt- 
ion, who  was  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  partici- 
pated actively  in  the  defense  of  Savannah  against  the  encroachment  of  the 
British  during  the  Revolutionary  war;  was  a  member  of  congress  from 
Georgia  and  subsequently  chief  justice  of  its  supreme  court. The  only  record 
relative  to  the  origin  of  Judge  Walton  merely  sates  that  he  was  of  obscure 
parentage.  From  this  fact  it  is  reasonable  to  infer  that  he  might  have  been  a 
descendant  of  one  of  the  \\'altons  previously  referrerl  to.  thus  substantiating 
to  some  extent  the  familv  tradition  to  this  effect. 

TJie  great-grandfather  of  Riley  Walton  was  Joseijh  Walton,  who  settled 
in  Westmorclan<l  county  at  an  early  date  and  acquired  ])ossession  of  two  hun- 


566 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 


dred  acres  of  land  lying  in  what  is  now  Penn  township.  Although  exposed 
to  the  hostile  savages,  who  roamed  through  the  forest  at  will  and  frequently 
visited  his  home,  neither  he  nor  his  family  were  ever  molested,  The  maiden 
name  of  his  wife  cannot  now  be  ascertained,  neither  is  there  a  full  record  of 
his  children.  It  is  known,  however,  that  he  had  sons,  'Joseph  and  Boaz,  and  a 
daughter  Caroline. 

Joseph  Walton,  Riley  Walton's  grandfather,  succeeded  to  the  possession 
of  his  fatlier"s  farm,  and  continued  to  reside  there  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred at  the  age  of  about  sixty  years,  about  the  year  1843,  and  was  caused  by 
an  accident.  VVhile  proceeding  on  horseback  from  his  farm  in  Penn  township 
to  Greensburg,  his  horse  stumbled  and  threw  him  violently  to  the  grounil,  his 
head  striking  a  stone  with  such  force  as  to  render  him  unconscious.  The  faith- 
ful animal  stood  by  him,  however,  which  eventually  attracted  someone  to  his 
assistance,    and    he    was   carried    to    a   nearljv    house.     After    regaining    con- 


sciousness he  insisted  upon  resuming  his  journey  in  accordance  with  the  in- 
herent persistency  of  his  race,  and  a  few  hours  later  was  found  lifeless,  sitting 
beneath  the  branches  of  a  shade  tree  upon  the  sheepskin  saddle,  which  he  had 
removed  from  his  horse.  His  back  rested  against  the  trunk  of  the  tree,  and  he 
appeared  as  one  enjoying  a  comfortable  siesta. 

Joseph  Walton,  father  of  Riley  W'alton,  and  the  third  in  line  of  descent 
to  bear  the  christian  name  of  Joseph,  was  born  at  the  homestead  in  Penn  town- 
ship, March  14,  1804.  He  attended  the  district  school,  was  reared  to  the  oc- 
cupation of  a  farmer  and  at  an  early  age  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  upon 
his  own  account.  Prior  to  the  introduction  of  railroads,  merchandise  was 
transported  from  Philadelphia  to  western  points  over  the  turn-pike  roads  in 
wagons.     It  was  a  remunerative  as  well  as  an  extensive  Inisiness,  and  Joseph 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  567 

Walton  engaged  in  it,  placing  a  large  number  of  teams  upon  the  road  and 
practically  establishing  a  regular  freight  line,  which  he  operated  successfully, 
for  a  period  of  fourteen  years.  During  this  time  lie  became  well  acquainted 
along  the  pike,  and  the  thriving  village  of  Delmont,  together  with  its  excellent 
hotel,  met  his  approval  to  such  an  extent  as  to  cause  him  to  open  negotiations 
for  the  purchase  of  the  latter,  which  culminated  in  his  taking  possession  of  that 
property  in  1850.  This  hotel,  which  was  erected  by  Henry  Hugus  about  the 
year  1S40,  was  a  noted  resting  place  on  the  long  stage  line  passing  through 
Delmont.  and  many  distinguished  men.  including  the  famous  Hungarian 
patriotic,  Louis  Kossuth,  have  partaken  of  its  bountiful  hospitality.  About 
the  year  1837  Joseph  Walton  married  Nancy  Elizabeth  Alexander,  a  daughter 
of  Robert  Alexander,  who  immigrated  from  Ireland  with  his  family  and  set- 
tled in  Salem  township,  where  he  found  congenial  neighbors.  The  nuptial 
ceremony  was  attended  by  a  large  number  of  the  young  people  of  the  locality, 
who  came  to  town  on  horseback,  and  remained  to  dance  and  otherwise  cele- 
brate to  an  extent  that  is  known  only  in  a  newly  settled  country.  As  proprietor 
of  the  Hotel  Walton.  Joseph  Walton  acquired  wide-spread  popularity  among 
the  travelling  public.  He  was  also  held  in  high  estimation  by  his  fellow-towns- 
men, and  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1868,  was  the  cause  of  sincere  regret. 
His  wife,  who  survived  him.  attained  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-seven  years, 
dying  April  6.  1905.  Joseph  and  Xancy  Elizabeth  Walton  w^ere  the  parents  of 
eleven  children,  namely:  Joseph  C,  born  September  21,  1838,  died  1895; 
Sarah  Jane,  born  in  1840:  Alexander,  died  in  infancy;  Martha,  died  April  7, 
1873:  Riley,  whose  birth  will  be  recorded  presently;  Emma  AI..  born  in  1849; 
Harriet  Alice,  born  in  1852;  Ella  May  Hugus,  born  in  1854;  Matilda  L.,  born 
in  1856:  Kosanna  J.,  born  in  1858;  and  John  H.,  died  in  infancy.  Joseph  C. 
Walton,  who  was  a  farmer,  married  Elizabeth  Geiger,  daughter  of  Joseph 
Geiger,  and  was  tne  father  of  seven  children.  One  of  his  sons  enlisted  in  the 
regular  army  and  was  never  afterward  heard  from.  Another  son,  Charles 
Walton,  is  now  in  the  insurance  business  in  Latrobe.  Sarah  Jane  Walton  be- 
came the  wife  of  William  Hugus.  Martha  Walton  married  George  Saul  in 
1870,  and  died  thre  years  later,  leaving  two  children,  both  of  whom  are  mar- 
ried and  nave  families.  Emma  ]\1.  Walton  married  William  P.  McChesney, 
and  resides  in  Crabtree.  having  seven  sons  and  three  daughters.  Harriet  Alice 
Walton  is  unmarried.  Ella  May  Hugus  Walton  married  William  B.  Cruthcrs, 
and  has  one  son  and  four  daughters.  Matilda  L.  Walton  married  Jeremiah 
Blose.  a  merchant  in  Delmont,  and  has  had  two  children,  one  of  whom  is  liv- 
ing. Rosanna  J.  Walton  married  Dr.  R.  R.  Bowman,  and  resides  in  Wilkins- 
burg,  this  state,  having  two  children. 

Riley  Walton,  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  Pcnn  township,  May  14,  1846. 
His  childhood  was  spent  at  the  hotel  and  on  his  father's  farm,  and  he  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  Delmont.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  years  he  went 
to  the  oil  region,  where  for  about  four  years  he  was  engaged  in  drilling  wells 
with  varying  fortunes.  Prospecting  for  oil  was  so  uncertain  that  young  Wal- 
ton finally  abandoned  it  and  turned -his  energies  in  other  directions.  Prior  to 
settling  down  permanently  as  proprietor  of  the  Hotel  Walton  he  followed  the 
live  stock  business,  cultivated  a  farm  and  was  for  some  time  engaged  in  mer- 
cantile pursuits.  He  conducted  the  Hotel  Walton  for  the  first  time  in  187 1, 
was  again  called  to  its  management  in  1880.  and  from  1894  to  the  ])resent  time 
he  has  flevoted  himself  exclusively  to  the  interests  of  that  establishment.  Tlu' 
Hotel  \\'alton  is  a  fr.mous  and  decirledly  conspicuous  landmark  an  the  old 
northern  turnpike.  It  has  long  been  noted  for  its  open  hospitality  and  con- 
vivial cheer,  the  same  kind  of  convivial  cheer  that  characterized  the  inns  of 


568  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

old  England  as  described  by  Charles  Dickens.  The  exuberant  Mr.  Weller 
^vould  have  felt  comfortably  at  home  here,  as  other  notable  personages  have 
done  during  the  long  period  of  its  existence,  and  its  present  proprietor  contin- 
ues to  preserve  in  every  particular  its  time-honored  customs.  September  30, 
1869,  Riley  Walton  married  Maria  Herbert,  a  daughter  of  John  Herbert,  whose 
parents  were  Irish  and  come  to  this  country  in  1849.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Walton 
have  had  seven  children,  namely:  John  Herbert,  born  March  7,  1871 ;  Joseph 
Alexander,  born  December  30,  1872:  Catherine  Dixon,  born  August  24,  1875; 
Florence  Riley,  born  May  5,  1877;  Robert  Francis,  born  August  17,  1879,  died 
October  14.  1881  :  Anna  Bertha,  born  January  28,  1883  :  anfl  Nancy,  born  Oc- 
tober 15,  1887.  John  Herbert  Walton,  a  sketch  of  whom  follows  this.  Joseph 
Alexander  Walton,  who  is  residing  in  East  Greensburg,  married,  March  9, 
1894,  Maud  Evans.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Evans,  and  her  grandfather 
served  in  the  Civil  war.  Florence  Riley  Walton,  a  sketch  of  whom  follows 
John  H.  Walton.  Anna  Bertha  Walton  married,  ^Xlay  19.  1902,  Lee  Huff- 
man, and  has  one  son,  Howard  Alfred  Huffman. 

JOHX  HERBERT  W\\ETON.  eldest  son  of  Riley  and  Maria  (Her- 
bert) Walton,  was  born  in  Salem  township,  March  7,  1871.  He  was  educated 
in  the  Delmont  Normal  school,  and  after  completing  his  studies  directed  his 
attention  to  the  dairy  business,  which  he  has  conducted  successfully  for  the 
past  fifteen  years.  He  is  one  of  the  public-spirited  citizens  of  the  community, 
an  active  member  of  the  First  Reformed  Church  of  Greensburg,  and  a  staunch 
supporter  of  the  princijiles  of  Democracy.  He  married.  April  26,  1893,  Mary 
Elizabeth  Kemp,  born  August  7<),  1872,  daughter  of  Uriah  G.  and  Margaret 
( Earnest)  Kemp,  of  Hempfield  township,  and  their  children  were :  Edward 
Kemp,  born  December  10,  1894,  died  January  15,  1904;  Riley,  born  Septem- 
ber 2,  1897:  Thomas  Cole,  born  November  23.  1899;  and  John  Herbert  Wal- 
ton, Jr.,  born  August  25,   1904. 

FLORENCE  RILEY  WALTON,  third  son  of  Riley  and  Maria 
(Herbert)  Walton,  was  born  in  Salem  township,  near  Delmont,  May  5,  1877. 
He  attended  the  normal  school  at  Delmont  and  the  Bunker  Hill  (now  Fifth 
ward)  school,  at  Greensburg,  thereby  qualifying  himself  for  an  active  career. 
He  has  devoted  himself  exclusively  to  the  dairy  business,  conducting  his  opera- 
tions in  Hempfield  township,  and  from  this  line  of  work  has  derived  a  com- 
fortable livelihood.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  casts  his 
vote  for  the  candidates  of  the  Democratic  party.  He  married,  September  i, 
1898,  Cora  Beulah  Armor,  born  l\Iay  10.  1878,  daughter  of  John  William  and 
^larv  (Nicelv)  Armor,  of  Ligonier  township,  and  their  children  are:  Helen 
Mildred,  born  ]\Iarch  12.  1899;  Bertha  Eviyn.  born  November  17,  1900;  Flor- 
ence Eugene,  born  April  14,  1903 ;  Riley  Jr.,  born  December  2,  1905. 

JOHN  KAHL.  r^Iatthias  Kahl,  father  of  John  Kahl.  of  \-an(ler- 
grift,  was  born  about  1849.  on  the  Rhine  in  the  province  of  Prussia,  and 
came  with  his  parents  to  the  Ignited  States  when  but  six  years  old.  They 
settled  at  Greenville,  Pennsylvania,  where  in  after  years  he  entered  the  coal 
mines  in  which  he  worked  until  1885.  In  that  year  he  moved  to  Sharon, 
Pennsylvania,  and  there  engaged  in  the  grocery  business,  with  which  he  has 
since  been  identified.  He  is  a  Democrat  and  has  twice  received  from  his 
party  the  nomination  for  assembyman.  He  was  once  defeated  bv  but  eight 
vote's,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  district  is  overwhelminflv  Republi- 
can.    He  is  a  member  of  the   Roman   Catholic   church.     ]\Ir.   Kahl  married 


HISTORY   OF   U-ESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  569 

Rose  O'Connor,  and  tlieir  family  consisted  of  eight  children,  all  of  whom. 
with  one  exception,  are  now  living:  Rose.  Mary,  .Martha.  Anna,  Alice.  John, 
see  forward :  and  William.  All  these  children,  with  the  exception  of  John,  are 
unmarried  and  reside  at  home. 

John  Kahl,  son  of  :Mattliias  and  Rose  (O'Connor)  Kahl,  was  born  Feb- 
rnarv  11.  1880,  in  Sharon,  and  received  a  common  school  education.  At  the 
age  of  eighteen  he  apiirenticed  himself  to  the  moulder's  trade,  serving  his 
time  in  the  shops  of  the  American  Steel  Foundry  Company,  at  Sharon.  Soon 
after  finishing  his  apprenticeship  he  was  made  assistant  foreman  of  the  shops, 
and  early  in  1903  was  transferred  to  Alliance,  Ohio,  where  he  became  foreman 
of  the  extensive  plant  owned  by  the  company  at  that  place.  He  remained  in 
charge  of  these  shops  until  July,  1904.  when  he  resigned  in  order  to  accept 
a  similar  position  with  the  I'nited  Engineering  &  Foundry  Company,  at  Van- 
<lergrift.  going  thither  with  S.  A.  Wallace,  who  took  charge  of  the  ])lant  at 
that  time  and  under  whom  Mr.  Kahl  had  worked  in  Alliance.  Fraternally 
Mr.  Kahl  is  connected  with  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  the  C.  M.  B.  A.,  and 
the  Iron  Moulder's  Union,  holdin,g  an  honorary  membership  in  the  last- 
named  organization.  He  is  an  Independent  in  politics  and  a  member  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  church.  Mr.  Kahl  married.  June  21.  1903.  Mamie  ^IcFad- 
den.  of  Sharon.  Pennsylvania. 

WILKIAM  EDWARD  TROUTMAX.  The  father  of  William 
Edward  Troutman.  of  Vander,grift,  was  John  Edward  Troutman,  who  was 
born  in  1849,  in  Mercer  count)-,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  reared  on  a 
farm  and  adopted  agriculture  as  an  occupation.  At  the  tiime  of  his  marriage 
he  moved  to  a  farm  one  mile  from  Sharon,  on  which  he  has  since  resided.  He 
is  a  Republican  and  a  member  of  St.  Paul's  Reformed  church.  Mr.  Troutman 
married  Christina  Bartholomew,  and  their  children  are:  Moutz,  of  Sharon; 
Estella.  wife  of  .Samuel  Welsch,  of  .Sharon  :  Permilla.  wife  of  Jesse  Wiimer. 
of  Mercer  county;  Phili]).  at  home;  Cora,  at  liome :  William  Edward,  see 
forward. 

William  Edward  Troutman,  son  of  John  Edward  and  Christina  (Bar- 
tholomew) Troutman.  was  born  May  19,  1873,  in  Mercer  county,  and  re- 
ceived his  education  in  the  common  schools.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  ob- 
tained employment  in  the  Atlantic  nail  works,  where  he  remained  one  year. 
He  then  si)ent  another  year  in  the  blast  furnace  of  Perkins  &  Company  at 
Sharpsville.  after  which  he  secured  a  position  in  the  foundry  of  the  Ashman 
Steel  Casting  Company,  in  Sharon,  there  serving  his  apprenticeship  as  a 
founder.  In  1894  the  foundry  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  Mr.  Troutman 
"betook  himself  to  Cleveland  and  there  entered  the  service  of  the  Cleveland 
Steel  Castings  Company.  One  year  later  he  returned  to  Sharon  and  went  to 
work  for  tlie  American  Steel  Castings  Company,  remaining  three  years.  At 
the  end  of  that  time  he  resigned  and  took  a  trip  to  the  west,  working  in 
foundries  in  Chicago,  St.  Louis  and  Peru,  Indiana,  thus  broadening  his  cx- 
jjerience  and  gaining  an  insight  into  the  workings  of  these  plants.  After 
spending  a  short  time  in  various  foundries  in  the  Pittsburg  district,  he  re- 
turned to  Sharon  and  obtained  employment  with  the  American  Foundries 
Company,  for  whom  he  worked  four  years,  during  the  latter  two  years  serv- 
ing as  general  foreman  of  the  works.  In  July.  T904.  he  moved  to  \'ander- 
grift  to  accept  his  present  position  of  general  foreman  for  the  I'nitcd  Engi- 
neering &  Foimdries  Comjiany.  He  belongs  to  Sharon  Lodge.  Xo.  347.  I. 
<").  O.  F..  is  a  Republican  and  a  member  of  St.  Paul's  Reformed  church. 

Mr.  Troutman  married.  May  19,  1898,  Mary  Ulrich,  of  Mercer  county, 


S70  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

and  three  children  were  horn  to  thein,  hut  one  of  whom  survives:     Pansy 
Troutman. 

HENRY  NEFF.  The  grandparents  of  Henry  Nefif,  of  Vander- 
grift,  were  Henry  and  Ehzabeth  Neff,  both  natives  of  Germany,  the  latter 
belonging  to  a  noble  family  by  whom  she  was  disinherited  for  contracting  an 
unequal  marriage. 

Herman  Neff,  son  of  Henry  and  Elizabeth  Nefif,  was  born  in  1843,  in 
Wurtemberg,  Germany,  and  was  but  two  years  old  when  his  parents  emi- 
grated to  the  United  States.  They  settled  in  Greensburg  and  after  a  short 
time  moved  to  Pittsburg,  where  for  some  years  the  father,  who  was  a  wagon- 
maker  by  trade,  conducted  a  wagon  shop  on  Diamond  alley.  His  latter  years 
were  spent  in  Perryville,  Pennsylvania.  Herman  Neff,  on  the  breaking  out 
of  the  Civil  war,  ran  away  from  home,  enlisting  as  a  three  years  man  on  the 
first  call  for  volunteers.  After  iiis  discharge  he  returned  to  Allegheny  and 
found  employment  in  the  foundry  of  Anshutz  &  Bradbury,  where  he  remained 
but  a  short  time.  After  the  close  of  the  war  he  enlisted  in  the  regular  army 
and  rose  to  the  rank  of  first  lieutenant.  In  1880  he  was  appointed  Indian 
agent  at  Deadwood,  South  Dakota,  with  the  rank  of  captain,  and  in  this  posi- 
tion has  served  continuously  ever  since.  Mr.  Neff  married  Elizabeth,  born 
in  Allegheny  City,  about  1848,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Mary  (Hinkle)  Schaf- 
fer,  both  natives  of  Darmstadt,  Germany,  whence  they  emigrated  early  in  the 
forties,  with  a  number  of  other  colonists,  settling  in  Philadelphia.  Some 
time  later  they  moved  to  Pittsburg,  making  the  journey  by  way  of  the  Erie 
canal.  In  Pittsburg  Mr.  Schaffer  engaged  in  the  cooperage  business,  making 
oil,  fiour  and  other  barrels  and  rapidly  amassed  a  competence.  After  the 
close  of  the  war  they  returned  to  Philadelphia,  where  their  daughter  Elizabeth 
was  married  to  Herman  Neff.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Neff  were  the  parents  of  the 
following  children :  Henry,  see  forward ;  Mary,  wife  of  August  Heilmer, 
a  contractor  of  Allegheny  City ;  Rose,  wife  of  Frederick  Reynolds,  chair- 
maker,  of  Columbus,  Ohio ;  John,  stationary  engineer  at  Allegheny :  Herman 
(twin  to  John),  with  Standard  Manufacturing  Company,  Allegheny:  Edward, 
trunkmaker  of  Allegheny.  Mrs.  Neff  now  resides  in  the  house  in  Allegheny 
where  she  was  born,  but  makes  frequent  trips  to  Philadelphia,  being  the 
owner   of  property   in  both   cities. 

Henry  Neff,  son  of  Herman  and  Elizabeth  ( Schaffer)  Neff.  was  born 
March  30,  1872,  in  Philadelphia,  receiving  his  preparatory  education  in  the 
public  schools  of  that  city  and  Allegheny  and  passing  thence  to  the  Allegheny 
high  school.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  apprenticed  himself  to  the  machinist's 
trade  in  the  Pennsylvania  Iron  Works  Company,  of  Philadelphia,  and  after 
serving  his  time  traveled  for  the  company  for  three  years.  He  then  spent 
two  years  in  the  west,  working  in  Chicago  and  all  the  other  large  cities  as 
far  as  the  Pacific  coast.  On  his  return  to  the  east  he  first  settled  in  Pittsburg, 
where  he  worked  at  his  trade  until  September,  1901,  when  he  moved  to  Van- 
dergrift,  securing  a  position  as  machinist  in  the  shops  of  the  American  Sheet 
Steel  Company,  where  he  has  since  been  continuously  employed.  He  is  a 
member  of  Vandergrift  Aerie,  No.  1058,  F.  O.  E.,  and  is  a  Republican  in 
politics.  Mr.  Neff  married,  May  3,  1892,  Carrie  Hahn,  of  Philadelphia,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  two  daughters :     Caroline  and  Louise. 

WILLIAM  DANIEL  ERICKSON.  Charles  Erickson,  father  of 
\\  illiam  Daniel  Erickson,  of  Vandergrift,  was  born  in  Christiania,  Norway, 
where  he  received  his  education.     At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  emigrated  to  the 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  571 

United  States,  landing  in  Xew  York,  and  for  several  years  was  employed 
on  vessels  plying  between  that  city  and  New  Orleans.  On  his  last  trii)  he 
went  up  the  river  to  St.  Louis  and  thence  to  Chicago,  finding-  einjiloynient  tor 
some  five  vears  on  the  lakes  and  in  the  lumber  regions  of  Michigan.  He 
then  settled  down  in  Chicago  and  for  a  number  of  years  was  bookkeejier  in 
the  wholesale  market  house.  .After  the  destruction  of  this  building  in  the 
Chicago  fire  he  secured  an  ofificial  position  in  the  stockyards,  and  during  the 
last  vears  of  his  active  life  was  liead  bookkeeper  and  confidential  clerk  for  L. 
P).  Dawds  &  Company,  live-stock  commission  merchants.  About  1888  he  re- 
tired from  business.  He  is  an  ardent  Democrat  and  an  active  worker  in  ward 
politics,  for  many  years  serving  as  judge  of  elections  in  his  precinct.  He 
married  Margaret  Calnan,  and  of  their  five  children  four  are  now  living: 
Louis,  of  Chicago :  Charles,  railroad  man  of  Kansas  City ;  Anna,  at  home ; 
and  William   Daniel,  see  forward. 

Villiam  Daniel  Erickson.  son  of  Charles  and  Margaret  (Calnan)  Erick- 
son,  was  born  June  20,  1876,  in  Chicago,  Illinois,  where  he  received  his  primary 
education  in  the  common  schools,  passing  thence  to  the  grammar  and  high 
schools.  In  1893  he  secured  a  position  in  the  mills  of  the  Sergeant  Steel 
Company,  where  he  worked  some  ten  years  in  different  clerical  capacities. 
In  1903  he  resigned  in  order  to  accept  a  position  as  order  clerk  with  the 
-American  Foundries  Company,  at  .Alliance,  and,  this  plant  shortly  after  clos- 
ing down,  was  transferred  to  the  Thurlow  (Pennsylvania)  works  of  the 
same  company,  where  he  served  in  a  similar  capacity.  Some  months  later, 
when  the  Alliance  works  resumed  operations,  he  was  sent  back  to  that  place. 
In  July,  1904.  he  resigned,  accepting  the  same  position  with  the  L'nited  Engi- 
neering &  I'oundries  Company,  at  \'andergrift,  and  in  April,  1905,  was  pro- 
moted to  his  present  position  of  foreman  of  the  cleaning  department.  His 
political  affiliations  are  with   the  Democrats.     He   is  unmarried. 

HARRY  W.  PETT^'.  Richard  Petty,  father  of  Harry  W.  Petty, 
of  \'andergrift.  was  born  in  1837,  in  Alabama,  one  of  a  family  of  thirteen 
children.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  civil  war  he  served  one  year  in  the 
Confederate  army,  the  family  being  Southern  sympathizers.  He  himself. 
however,  was  in  sympathy  with  the  Union  cause  and  a  disruption  of  the  family 
occurred,  after  which  he  went  to  Memphis,  Tennessee,  where  he  enlisted  in 
the  artillery  service  of  the  Union  army,  serving  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He 
then  settled  at  Dixon,  Illinois,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade,  which  was  that 
of  a  blacksmith  and  w^agonmaker.  He  conducted  a  shop  for  ab'.ut  four 
years  and  then  removed  to  Morris,  Illinois,  where  he  continued  to  follow  hi.s 
trade.  .At  the  end  of  three  years  he  engaged  in  the  grocery  business,  with 
which  he  was  identified  until  about  1898,  when  he  entered  the  drygoods  busi- 
ness, to  which  he  .gave  his  attention  until  his  retirement  in  1903.  He  is  now 
living  in  Morris,  Illinois.  He  is  an  ardent  G,  A.  R.  man  and  never  misses  a 
National  Encampment,  no  matter  where  held.  He  also  belongs  to  the  Modern 
Woodmen,  and  in  his  later  years  has  became  a  Prohibitionist  in  politics.  For 
a  number  of  years  he  has  been  the  regular  candidate  for  mayor  of  that  organ- 
ization in   Morris.     He  is  a  member  of  the   P.aptist  church. 

Mr.  Petty  married  Martha  Locke,  and  their  family  consists  of  the  fol- 
lowing children:  Harry  W.,  see  forward;  Minnie  A.,  wife  of  William  \\ 
Buck,  of  Morris.  Illinois ;  and  Cora  E.,  at  home. 

Harry  W.  Petty,  son  of  Richard  and  Martha  (Locke)  Petty  was  born 
April  9.  1870,  at  Morris,  Grundy  county,  Illinois,  and  received  his  preparatory 
education  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town,  passing  thence  to  the  high 


1-J2  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

school,  from  which  he  graduated  in  the  spring  of  1889.  At  twenty 
years  of  age  he  went  to  Chicago  and  there  took  a  complete  business  course  in 
the  Chicago  Athenaeum.  Remaining  in  that  city,  he  secured  a  clerical  posi- 
tion with  the  Sargeant  Steel  Founders'  Company,  by  whom  he  was  employed 
in  various  capacities  until  1900,  when  he  resigned  and  accepted  the  position 
of  chief  clerk  of  the  western  sales  ofifice  of  the  American  Brake  Shoe  &  Foun- 
dry Company.  After  retaining  this  position  two  years  he  became  chief  clerk 
and  assistant  manager  of  the  American  Foundry  Company,  with  whom  he 
remained  two  years.  Since  1904  he  has  had  charge  of  the  order  department 
of  the  United  Engineering  &  Foundry  Company  at  Vandergrift.  He  is  a 
Republican  in  politics. 

Mr.  Petty  married,  October  17,  1900,  Margaret  G.  Hamlin,  a  lineal  de- 
scendant of  President  Adams,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  sons :  Richard 
Hamlin  and  Harry  W.  Petty. 

HARRY  DETTMAR  RICHEY.  Henderson  Richey,  father  of 
Harry  Dettmar  Richey,  of  Vandergrift,  was  born  in  1B43,  O"  ^  farm  in  Alle- 
:gheny  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  served  throughout  the  entire  period  of  the 
"Civil  war  as  a  member  of  Company  K,  One  Hundred  and  Third  Regiment, 
Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry.  He  was  captured  in  the  engagement  at 
Plymouth,  North  Carolina,  and  confined  in  Andersonville  prison  for  eleven, 
month  and  eleven  days,  being  released  only  after  the  close  of  hostilities.  Until 
187 1  Air.  Richey  followed  agricultural  pursuits  and  at  that  time  moved  to  Ems- 
\\orth,  where  he  remained  eighteen  years,  when  he  settled  in  Bellevue,  Penn- 
sylvania, where  he  now  resides  and  serves  as  a  member  of  the  police  force.  He 
is  an  ardent  Republican  and  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Mr. 
Richey  married  Leah  Carroll,  and  two  of  their  four  children  survive :  Harry 
Dettmar,  see  forward:  and  Amelia  M.,  at  home. 

Harry  Dettmar  Richey.  son  of  Henderson  and  Leah  (Carroll)  Richey,  was 
born  September  20,  1869.  in  Allegheny  county,  and  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  Emsworth.  In  his  ninth  year  he  began  to  serve  a  paper  route  and 
for  some  eight  years  carried  daily  papers  to  his  customers.  Soon  after  passing 
liis  seventeenth  year  he  began  an  apprenticeship  at  patternmaking  in  Pittsburg, 
finishing  his  time  in  the  shops  of  the  Fort  Pitt  foundry,  owned  by  Mackintosh 
&  Hemphill,  of  Pittsburg.  He  remained  with  this  firm  for  eight  years,  at  the 
end  of  that  time  resigning  his  position,  and  for  three  years  thereafter  worked  in 
various  shops  in  and  around  Pittsburg.  In  1900  he  went  to  Vandergrift  and 
secured  a  position  in  the  pattern  shops  of  the  Chilled  Roll  Foundry  Company. 
He  worked  as  a  journeyman  until  January  13,  1902,  when  he  was  promoted  to 
the  position  of  foreman  of  the  pattern  shops.  In  April  of  the  same  year  the 
company  became  the  United  Engineering  &  Foundry  Company,  Mr.  Richey 
retaining  his  position  under  the  new  management.  He  belongs  to  the  Royal 
Arcanum,  is  a  staunch  Republican  and  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church. 

Air.  Ridley  married,  November  12,  1892,  Ada  Johns,  of  Bellevue,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  thev  have  three  children:  Alildred  Irene,  Alarv  Etta,  and  William 
Harold. 

JAMES  SINCLAIR.  The  father  of  James  Sinclair,  of  Vandergrift, 
was  Lemuel  Sinclair,  who  was  born  in  Greene  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1821, 
was  reared  on  a  farm  and  always  followed  a,gricultural  pursuits.  Some  few 
years  after  his  marriage  he  moved  to  Wood  county.  West  \^irginia.  and  there 
passed  the  remainder  of  his  life.     He  was  a  Democrat  and  a  member  of  the 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  573. 

Baptist  church.  Mr.  Sinclair  niarricd  F'hoebe  Phillips,  also  a  native  of  Greene 
countv.  and  tne  following  are  their  children:  Thomas,  Joseph,  Sarah,  wife  of 
E.  I.  Flemings ;  and  James,  see  forward.  All  these,  with  the  exception  of  the 
last  named,  are  residents  of  W  ood  county.  West  X'irginia.  The  mother  of  the 
family  died  early  in  life,  and  the  father  passed  away  in  1892,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-one. 

James  Sinclair,  son  of  Lemuel  and  Phoebe  (Phillips)  Sinclair,  was  born 
August  II,  1856,  in  Wood  county.  West  Virginia,  and  was  but  two  years  old 
at  tlie  time  of  the  death  of  his  mother.  He  was,  however,  carefully  trained  by 
his  father,  who  supplied  as  far  as  possible  the  mother's  place,  while  his  sister, 
then  but  six  years  old,  soon  began  to  assume  some  of  the  household  duties. 
Mr.  Sinclair  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  remained  at  home  on  the 
farm  until  his  nineteenth  year,  when  he  went  to  the  oil  fields  of  his  native  county 
and  was  there  employed  some  three  years.  After  one  year  spent  on  the  Ohio, 
river  steamboats,  he  worked  for  two  years  in  the  timber  regions  of  Pleasant 
county.  West  X'irginia. 

In  1882  he  went  to  Pennsylvania,  settling  in  Saltsburg.  where  for  three 
years  he  worked  in  the  coal  mines.  He  then  went  to  Latrobe,  where  he  was 
employed  for  five  years  in  the  paper  mills,  after  which  he  moved  to  Jeannette 
and  there  worked  eighteen  months  in  the  glass  factory.  His  next  removal  was 
to  Greensburg,  where  he  was  employed  about  six  months  in  the  United  States 
glass  factory,  and  after  this  brief  sojourn  proceeded  to  Avonmore.  There  also 
he  found  work  in  the  glass  factory,  remaining  until  October,  1896.  At  that 
time  he  went  to  Apollo  and  entered  the  service  of  the  Apollo  Chilled  Roll 
Foundry  Company,  by  whom  he  was  advanced  on  April  6,  1897,  to  the  position 
of  labor  foreman.  This  position  he  has  since  continuously  retained,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  since  his  appointment  the  foundry  has  been  removed  to 
\'andergrift  and  has  changed  owners.  He  belongs  to  Apollo  Lodge,  Xo.  618, 
P.  O.  S.  of  A.,  and  Apollo  Lodge,  Knights  of  the  Maccabees.  He  is  a  Re- 
publican and  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Mr.  Sinclair  married.  February  14.  1875,  Alice  Corbin,  of  Wood  county, 
West  X'irginia,  and  of  their  family  of  eight  children  six  survive :  James  Tilden, 
foreman  of  work  train  on  West  Pennsylvania  railroad ;  Leroy,  of  Vandergrift ; 
Rosa,  wife  of  James  Serene,  of  .-Xpollo ;  Lawrence,  Ruth,  and  Charles,  all  of 
whom  are  at  home. 

H.\RRY  LYXCH.  George  W.  Lynch,  father  of  Harry  Lynch,  of 
\andergrift,  was  born  January  28.  1848,  in  Saltsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  at  the 
age  of  three  years  was  taken  by  his  parents  to  Pulaski,  same  state,  where  he 
was  reared  to  his  seventeenth  year.  The  family  then  removed  to  Cochran's 
Mills.  .Armstrong  count}-,  where  he  lived  to  the  age  of  twenty-five.  He  then 
went  to  Pittsburg,  where  for  eight  years  he  was  engaged  in  railroad  work, 
afttr  which  he  entered  the  service  of  the  firm  of  Park  Brothers,  proprietors  of 
the  I'llack  Diamond  steel  works  of  Pittsburg.  He  remained  with  this  company 
in  tlie  capacity  of  mclter  more  than  eight  years,  when  he  was  rendered  unfit 
for  his  duties  by  an  attack  of  rheumatism.  After  working  for  a  short  time  in 
the  plumbing  shop  of  the  company,  he  resigned  and  secured  employment  with 
the  I'ittsburg  City  Railway  Company,  remaining  with  them  until  1890,  when  he 
retired  from  active  lalror.  He  belongs  to  the  A.  O.  \J.  W.,  is  a  Republican  and 
a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

Mr.  Lynch  married  Martha  K.  Wismer,  and  their  children  are:  Harry,  see 
forward:   Hannah   Catherine,   wife   of   Charles    Murray.   <if    Pittsburg:    .Marv 


574 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


\'irgiiiia,  wife  of  Xeal  r\Iclnnis,  of  Avalon :  and  Benjamin  Franklin,  of  Pitts- 
burg. 

Harrv  Lynch,  son  of  George  W.  and  Martha  K.  (\\  ismer)  Lynch,  was 
born  January  14,  1873,  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  received  a  common 
school  education.  In  his  eighteenth  year  he  apprenticed  himself  to  the  mould- 
er's trade,  and  in  August,  1892  completed  his  term  of  service.  He  worked  as  a 
journeynian  until  December  6,  1899,  when  he  went  to  Apollo  and  secured  em- 
ployment in  the  Chilled  Roll  foundry,  which  in  1901  was  removed  to  \'ander- 
grift.  Six  months  after  Mr.  Lynch  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  iron  floor, 
continuing  in  charge  for  two  years  and  ten  months.  The  foreman  of  the  steel 
floor  being  then  given  charge  of  the  iron  floor  in  addition  to  his  own,  Mr. 
Lynch  returned  to  the  foundry  and  there  worked  as  a  journeyman  for  one  year, 
when  he  was  made  foreman  of  the  roll  floor,  a  position  which  he  still  retains. 
He  affiliates  with  Mineral  Point  Lodge,  No  615,  L  O.  O.  F..  in'  which  he 
liolds  the  rank  of  past  grand,  and  also  belongs  to  Apollo  Commandery,  No. 
365,  Knights  of  Malta.  His  political  affiliations  are  with  the  Republicans,  and 
he  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Mr.  Lynch  married,  September  17,  1892,  Ella,  daughter  of  James  Hoag,  a 
railroad  man  of  Pittsburg,  and  the  following  children  have  been  born  to  them  : 
Earl  G.,  Charles  Raymond,  Ralph  Clinton,  Benjamin  Franklin,  Harry,  de- 
ceased :  Martha  Catherine,  Helen  Margaret,   Robert,  and   Elizabeth   Freda. 

THOMAS  A.  HUNTLEY,  a  machinist  in  the  H.  C.  Frick  Coal 
Companv  at  Mammoth,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  is  a  native  of 
Fayette  county,  born  January  4,  1867,  the  son  of  Levi  and  Lavinia  (Richards) 
Huntley. 

Robert  Huntley  (grandfather)  lived  and  died  in  southern  Fayette  county. 
He  followed  the  occupation  of  teamster  and  farmer  all  his  life.  He  married  a 
Miss  McCain,  and  their  children  were :  Levi.  James.  Charles  O..  Margaret, 
Fannie  and  Sarah.  1 

Levi  Huntley  (father)  was  born  in  Fayett^ounty,  Jupe  18,  1834.  He  is 
a  blacksmith  by  trade,  an  occupation  which  he  tTas-foitowed  all  his  life.  He 
married  ]Miss  Lavinia  Richards,  and  they  have  children  as  follows:  William, 
Orella,  wife  of  George  Dickson :  Thomas,  see  forward :  Newton,  store  mana- 
ger for  the  Label  Steel  Company :  Robert,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-six  years. 

Thomas  A.  Huntley  obtained  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of  his 
native  county,  and  in  early  life  learned  the  trade  of  blacksmith  with  his  father. 
He  became  very  skillful  and  proficient  in  this  trade,  and  was  occupied  at  it  for 
thirteen  years.  He  then  turned  his  attention  to  the  trade  of  machinist,  and  has 
been  engaged  at  the  H.  C.  Frick  Coal  plant  at  Mammoth  for  the  past  nineteen 
years.  He  holds  membership  in  the  F.  and  A.  M.,  Lodge  No.  225.  of  (jreens- 
burg.  He  married  Ann  Elizabeth  Newill,  daughter  of  W.  G.  and  Ellen  Newill, 
and  six  children  were  born  to  them,  three  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  The  living 
are:  Harry  Edward,  born  December  16,  1888,  now  attending  Greensburg  semi- 
nary; Helen,  born  March  8,  1898;  and  Thomas  N.,  born  January  25,  1901. 

THOM.AS  KEEFE,  general  superintendent  of  the  Buckeye  &  Mullin 
works  at  Staufifer,  Pennsylvania,  is  a  native  of  Ireland,  son  of  William  Keefe. 

\\'illiam  Keefe  (father)  emigrated  from  the  old  country  with  his  family, 
landing  in  New  York  City,  ]\]ay  10,  1870,  removing  later  to  Ritchie  county. 
West  Virginia,  where  he  settled  and  worked  as  a  laborer  until  his  death.  Au- 
gust 27,  1877.  In  religious  faith  he  was  a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
church.     He  and  his  wife  had  the  following  named  children,  all  born  in  Ireland, 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  575 

■who  accompanied  their  parents  to  this  conntry :  Alaroaret,  wife  of  Michael  .Mc- 
Guire :  Catherine,  unmarried;  Bridget,  married  Michael  Quinn  :  James,  a  miner 
in  West  \'irginia ;  and  Thomas,  see  forward. 

Thomas  Keefe  was  but  seven  years  of  age  when  he  came  to  this  country 
with  his  parents.  He  received  a  common  school  education,  and  at  the  early 
age  of  twelve  commenced  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world.  He  entered  into 
his  first  regular  employment  as  a  miner  in  X'irginia,  and  in  1880  renioved  to 
Connellsville,  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  ancl  there  found  employment  as  a 
miner  for  a  steel  company,  with  whom  he  was  engaged  for  several  years.  In 
1900  he  was  given  the  position  of  general  foreman  for  the  H.  C.  Frick  Coal 
Company,  a  position  which  he  occupied  until  A]:)ril,  1905.  He  then  established 
himself  as  superintendent  of  the  Buckeye  &  Mullin  works  at  StaufTer,  and  still 
retains  his  connection  with  this  firm.  Mr.  Keefe  is  a  capable,  reliable  business 
man.  and  well  C|ualified  to  perform  the  responsible  duties  attending  his  present 
position.  In  church  relations  he  accords  with  the  doctrines  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church. 

He  married  Margaret  Ouinn,  daughter  of  James  and  Margaret  Quinn,  of 
Favette  county,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  the  following  named  children  : 
Laura,  resides  at  home;  ]\lay,  died  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years;  William,  died 
when  he  was  fourteen  vears  old ;  Gertrude,  Pearl,  Thomas.  Jr.,  James,  Jackson, 
Mary  and  Leo.  the  last  seven  named  residing  with  their  ])arents. 

JOHN  \\'.  SHUPE,  one  of  the  representatives  of  the  farming  indus- 
try in  the  township  of  Mount  Pleasant,  traces  his  ancestry  to  John  Shupe,  who 
w-as  born  in  Bullskin  township,  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  fol- 
lowed the  occupation  of  farming,  and  where  his  death  occurred.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  United  lirethren  church,  and  cast  his  vote  for  the  candidates 
of  the  Democratic  party.  He  was  the  father  of  nine  children,  four  sons  and 
five  daughters. 

The  line  of  descent  is  traced  through  his  son,  Isaac  Shupe,  who  was  born 
on  the  homestead  farm  in  Fayette  county.  In  1844  he  removed  to  Mount 
Pleasant  township.  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  dev'oted  his  attention  to 
agricultural  pursuits,  thereby  gaining  a  lucrative  livelihood.  He  followed  in 
the  footsteps  of  his  father  both  in  religion  and  politics,  and  was  one  of  the  in- 
fluential men  of  his  adopted  county.  He  married  Margaret  Barnhart,  who  was 
born  in  1822,  a  daughter  of  .\braham  and  Hannah  (Hugus)  Barnhart,  whose 
family  consisted  of  three  daughters.  Abraham  Barnhart  was  born  and  reared 
in  Butler  county,  Pennsylvania,  but  in  early  life  removed  to  Mount  Pleasant 
township,  where  his  death  occurred.  He  w-as  a  large  landholder,  a  successful 
farmer,  an  active  and  consistent  member  of  the  German  Reformed  church,  and 
an  old-time  Democrat.  Two  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shupe:  John 
\\'.,  see  forward;  and  Louis  B.,  who  married.  Sejnember  r_^,  1877,  Caroline 
Bamhart,  daughter  of  William  and  Eliza  (Rugh)  Barnliart,  of  Hempfield 
township,  who  bore  him  three  children :  Cyrus  G.,  Isaac  P.,  and  Car- 
roll B.  Shiipe. 

John  W.  Shupe.  eldest  son  of  the  late  Isaac  and  Margaret  (Barnhart) 
Shupe.  was  born  in  Fayette  county.  Pennsyvania,  I'ebruary  8,  1844.  He  was 
brought  by  his  parents  to  Westmoreland  county  when  an  infant,  received  his 
education  in  the  common  schools  in  the  neigliborhood  of  his  home,  and  re- 
mained with  his  parents  on  the  homestead  farm  until  their  death,  thus  relieving 
their  declining  years  of  a  large  amount  of  responsibility  and  care.  Since  then 
to  the  present  time  (1905)  he  has  given  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits 
with  the  exception  of  two  years,  when    he  was  engaged  as  an  engineer  for  J.  J. 


576  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

Hunt  &  Co.,  coal  operators.  ]\Jr.  Slnqjc  is  a  member  of  the  Reformed  church, 
that  being  the  faith  in  which  he  was  reared.  In  pohtics  he  is  a  staunch  Dem- 
ocrat, and  has  held  the  offices  of  judge  and  inspector  of  elections.  He  is  un- 
married. 

D.W'ID  BAIR  is  a  son  of  Jacob  T.air.  wlio  was  Ijorn  in  Westmoreland 
county  in  1800,  and  became  a  cooper.  He  followed  this  trade  for  a  number  of 
years  in  connection  with  farming.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Alcnnonite 
church.  He  married  Abbie  Rowe,  and  they  had  the  following  children :  David, 
Christian,  Margaret,  wife  of  David  Hull;  Eliza,  wife  of  Harry  Sager;  Ann, 
married  Samuel  Milinger:  Drucilla,  wife  of  Cyrus  Rylie ;  Christina,  married 
James  Barts ;  and  Sarah,  wife  of  Jacob  Swartz. 

David  Eair  was  born  in  Westmoreland  county  in  1838,  antl  in  early  life 
worked  at  the  salt  works  and  milling.  He  subsc(|uently  gave  his  entire  atten- 
tion to  agricultural  pursuits.  In  1862,  when  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  was  in 
progress,  he  enlisted  in  Company  I,  One  Hundred  and  Sixty-eighth  Regiment 
of  Pennsylvania  \'olunteers,  and  served  for  a  term  of  nine  months.  He  is  now 
a  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  Scottdale,  Elsworth  post. 

David  Bair  married  Margaret  E.  Dennison,  and  their  children  were :  Will- 
iam H.,  deceased ;  John  H.,  a  traveling  salesman  for  Sterns  &  Company,  of 
Detroit,  Michigan ;  Christopher  L.,  see  forward :  C.  Elsworth,  Samuel,  Mary  E. 
and  Albert,  of  whom  the  last  four  named  died  in  childhood.  Mr.  Bair  married 
for  his  second  wife  Xancy  Smith,  and  to  this  union  were  born  two  children, 
namely :  James  H.,  a  graduate  of  Alverton  high  school,  now  teaching,  and 
Benjamin  L.,  who  resides  on  the  homestead  farm. 

Christopher  L.  Bair  was  born  in  Kecksburg,  I\lay  16,  1861,  obtained  his 
education  in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  place,  and  at  an  early  age  started 
to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world.  He  immediately  turned  his  attention  to 
agriculture,  and  has  been  occupied  at  this  calling  during  his  entire  working  life. 
He  is  an  excellent  farmer,  and  an  industrious,  useful  citizen.  In  church  rela- 
tions he  is  a  Methodist,  attending  the  .Methoflist  E|)iscopal  church  at  Alveriun. 
Fraternally  he  holds'membership  in  Aloss  Rose  Lodge,  No.  350,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of 
Mount  Pleasant.  He  married  Hattie  E.  Porter,  daughter  of  Samuel  S.  and 
Mary  Ann  (Smith)  Porter.  To  them  four  children  have  been  born:  Smith 
P.,  July  I,  1893;  William  G..  August  6,  1894;  Margaret  E.,  May  23,  1898;  and 
David  R.,  November  4,  1902. 

HENRY  W.  A.  RHODY  (Rohde)  was  born  in  the  city  of  Frank- 
furt-am-Main  ( ()berrad)  August  27,  1870,  was  bajitized  in  the  Lutheran  church 
September  11,  1870,  and  confirmed  in  .St.  Paul's  Lutheran  church  at  Frankfurt- 
am-Main,  April  25,  1884.     He  came  from  an  old  stock  of  Lutherans. 

He  entered  JNIustershule  in  Frankfurt-am-Main  at  the  age  of  five  and  one- 
half,  Realshule  erster  ( first  class)  Ordnung,  passed  examination  at  the  age 
of  eight  and  one-half  and  admitted  to  the  Gymnasium,  where  he  studied  under 
Professors  Monimsen,  Eiselen,  Boettcher,  Mauerer,  Bode  and  other  well  known 
scholars,  advanced  as  far  as  Unter  Tercia.  leaving  school  on  account  of  parents 
emigrating  to  America.  He  was  employed  in  a  drug  store  in  Pittsburg,  Penn- 
sylvania, on  arrival,  later  entered  Dufif's  College,  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and 
graduated  in  1891.  He  entered  the  service  of  Booth  and  Flinn,  Limited,  Pitts- 
burg. Pennsylvania,  1893,  as  bookkeeper,  located  same  year  at  McCance  as  book- 
keeper for  the  same  firm,  holding  the  position  for  eight  years.  For  the  last 
four  years  he  has  had  charge  of  the  company  store,  where  he  holds  the  office  of 
secretary  and  treasurer,  is  also  postmaster  of  McCsnce,  Pennsylvania.     He  has 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  -^jj 

been  an  active  member  of  the  Ligonier  township  school  linard  for  the  last  six 
years,  held  office  as  secretary  on  the  school  board  for  five  years,  always  active 
in  politics,  was  a  delegate  to  the  Republican  state  convention  at  Harrisbiirg  on 
the  anti-Quay  slate,  while  Senator  Quay  was  in  control  of  the  Republican  party 
in  the  state.  He  is  a  member  and  past  master  of  Ligonier  Lodge,  F.  and  A.  Isl., 
member  of  Zocco  Lodge.  L  O.  O.  F.,  member  of  Beulah  Conclave,  Heptasophs. 

He  married,  April  24,  1899,  at  St.  Luke's  Protestant  Episcopal  church, 
Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  Sara  Killikelly  Kelso.  Children  born:  I\Iary  Eliza- 
beth, March  5,  1900,  at  ^NlcCance,  Pennsylvania,  baptized  in  St.  Luke's 
Protestant  Episcopal  church,  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania.  Henry  William,  Jr., 
April  21,  1902,  at  McCance,  Pennsylvania,  baptized  in  St.  Luke's  Protestant 
Episcopal  churcli,  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania.  Sara  Luise,  at  McCance,  Penn- 
sylvania, Alarch  7,  1906,  not  baptized  at  time  of  writing,  will  be  baptized  in  St. 
Luke's  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania.  His  wife  wa& 
born  June  14,  1879,  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania.  Her  parents  died  in  her  in- 
fancy ;  they  came  from  an  old  stock  of  Presbyterian  clergymen  in  Ireland,  and 
several  of  the  cousins  of  ISIrs.  Rhody  are  Presbyterian  clergymen  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. The  three  sisters  of  ]\Irs.  Rhody  are  living  in  Pittsburg.  She  is'  a 
member  of  St.  Luke's  Protestant  Episcopal  church. 

William  Gustav  Rohde.  grandfather  of  Henry  W.  A.  Rhodv,  born  in  18 14. 
was  a  land  owner,  emigrated  in  1859  to  Brazil,  South  America,  where  he 
bought  and  located,  engaging  in  a  plantation.  He  resided  in  Rio  Grando  De 
Sul.  Province  of  Brazil,  South  America.  Wilhelm  Gustav,  his  son,  did  not  go 
along,  being  at  that  time  in  the  service  of  the  Prussian  government.  He  mar- 
ried Susanna  Hoffman  Borntraeger,  a  native  of  Freienseen,  Duchess  of  Hesse- 
Darmstadt,  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-nine  in  Frankfurt-am-Main.  A  Lutheran 
in  religion. 

Wilhelm  Gustav  Rhody  ( Rohde),  father  of  Henry  W.  A.  Rhodv,  was  born 
in  Xeukrug.  Prussia,  January  3,  1842,  educated  in  the  Military  Academv  of 
Berlin,  religion  Lutheran,  baptized  and  confirmed  in  the  Lutheran  chiirch. 
(Ancestors  were  leading  reformers  in  the  time  of  the  reformation).  He 
graduated  at  age  of  nineteen  and  was  commissioned  and  entered  service  in  the 
Thirty-fourth  Pommeranian  Infantry,  where  he  served  as  follows:  Second 
lieutenant  in  the  war  of  Prussia  against  Denmark,  1864;  second  lieutenant  in 
the  war  of  Prussia  against  I'nited  Germany  and  Austria,  1866,  participated  in 
the  famous  battle  of  Koeniggratezt.  where  he  was  advanced  to  captain  of  his 
regiment,  but  afterwards  reduced  to  first  lieutenant  for  reason  in  action  during 
battle,  not-  obeying  orders,  although  he  won  his  point  in  action,  saving  the  flag 
and  a  lot  of  men,  and  was  decorated  with  three  orders.  He  served  as  first 
lieutenant  in  the  war  of  Germany  against  France  in  1870-71,  in  action  battles  of 
Spicheren  Hoehe.  and  taking  of  city  of  Straassburg,  entered  Paris  and  was 
present  at  crowning  of  William  First  as  emperor  of  Germany,  at  Castle  of 
\  ersailles,  France,  received  two  decorations  after  war  and  also 'decorated  with 
the  Iron  Cross,  ( Eisernes  Kreutz),  made  captain  by  brevet.  In  1866  entered 
city  of  Frankfurt-am-Main  after  Austrian  war,  Frankfurt-am-Main  being  a 
free  city  previous  to  the  war  of  1866,  and  stationed  there  with  his  regiment. 
After  the  Franco- Prussian  war  he  resigned  from  the  arinv  in  fall  of  1871  and 
took  charge  of  the  Officers  Club  in  Frankfurt-am-Main,  and  then  held  the  fol- 
lowing government  positions  :  .Assistant  secretary  to  the  postmaster  in  Frank- 
furt-am-Main. 1872-73;  chief  inspector  at  the  state  workhouse  at  Frankfort- 
am-Main  till  spring  <>i  1S76:  assistant  inspector  on  the  government  railways 
between  Frankfurt-am-Main  and  Mainz  on  the  Rhein  till  fall  of  1879;  Pav- 
master  for  the  government  .schools  for  the  district  of  Frankfurt-am-Main  t'iir 

2-37 


578  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

December,  1880;  second  assistant  secretary  to  the  mayor  of  I'rankfurt-am-Main 
till  summer  of  1881  ;  first  assistant  inspector  in  charge  of  government  rdil- 
wavs  between  Frankfurt-am-Main  and  Hanau  till  July,  1884,  when  he  re- 
signed and  emigrated  to  America. 

Wilhelm  Gustav  Rhody,  (father),  emigrated  to  America  by  advice  of  sev- 
eral relatives  on  mother's  side,  who  had  made  fortunes  in  the  new  world.  John 
Hoffman,  his  mother's  cousin,  after  serving  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  as  cap- 
tain of  the  Thirty-fourth  Illinois  Cavalry,  took  an  active  interest  in  politics,  being 
a  follower  of  Lincoln  and  a  great  personal  friend  of  the  late  General  Logan. 
He  had  great  influence  among  the  Gennan-Americans  in  the  city  of  Chicago, 
was  elected  twice  as  treasurer  of  Cook  county,  Illinois,  once  as  sheriff  of  said 
county,  became  a  wealthy  real  estate  owner  of  Chicago,  and  it  was  on  his  advice 
principally  that  his  father  emigrated.  His  father,  however,  being  independent, 
changed  his  mind  and  stopped  oft'  at  Pittsburg,  where  he  became  acquainted 
with  the  late  Judge  White,  of  Allegheny  county,  and  prominent  German-Amer- 
icans. Being  well  educated,  but  not  able  to  master  the  English  language  per- 
fectly, he  settled  on  a  farm  near  Sewickley,  Pennsylvania,  later  moving  to  New 
Castle  on  a  farm,  where  he  now  resides,  with  his  wife,  Susanna  Luise  ( Im- 
melt )  Rhody,  born  in  Freienseen,  Duchess  of  Hesse-Darmstadt,  October  5, 
1841,  daughter  of  Henry  Johann  Immelt,  who  was  a  stage  owner,  running 
stages  from  different  points  to  Frankfurt-am-Main,  died  i860,  at  the  age  of 
fortv-three  vears,  at  Freienseen.     He  was  a  Lutheran  in  religion. 

William  G.  and  Susanna  Luise  Rhody  were  married  in  1868,  and  their 
children  were:  Henry  W.  A.,  born  August  27,  1870.  Christ  William,  born 
JNIarch  21,  1871,  now  married  and  living  in  Chicago:  connected  with  the  Pull- 
man Company.  Marie  Amelia,  born  March  29,  1873,  married  and  living  at 
Perrvsville,  Pennsylvania,  near  Pittsburg.  Herrman  Gustav,  born  May  25, 
1875,  died  at  the  age  of  five  years.  Johanna  Marie,  born  June  13,  1878,  single, 
living  with  parents  at  New  Castle,  Pennsylvania.  All  were  born  in  Frank- 
furt-am-Main. 

Nearly  all  of  the  relatives  of  Susanna  L.  (Immelt)  Rhody  are  now  living 
in  Chicago :  her  father's  folks  were  teachers  in  the  schools  in  the  Duchess  of 
Hesse-Darmstadt,  and  her  maternal  grandmother's  relatives  were  merchants, 
most  of  whom  also  emigrated  in  the  early  forties  to  America  and  all  setflpi  in 
or  about  Chicago. 

JAMES  COCHRANE,  well  and  favorably  known  in  the  industrial 
world  of  Greensburg,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  is  a  representa- 
tive of  a  family  which  has  been  settled  in  Pennsylvania  for  several  genera- 
tions, and  have  chiefly  followed  the  occupation  of  farming. 

John  Cochrane,  grandfather  of  James  Cochrane,  and  the  first  of  the  fam- 
ilv  to  emigrate  to  this  country,  was  born  in  countv  Antrim,  Ireland,  and  came 
to  this  country  with  his  wife  in  the  year  1812.  He  settled  in  Penn  townshi]i, 
Westmoreland  countv,  Pennsylvania.  They  had  three  children:  i.  John, 
born  December,  1814;  died  June,  1887.  He  was  one  of  the  prosperous  farm- 
ers of  Salem  township,  and  married  Mary  Christy,  daughter  of  David  Christy, 
a  farmer  of  Salem  township.  Their  children  were :  Nancy  Jane,  wife  of 
Samuel  Dibel,  a  farmer  in  Armstrong  county,  near  Spring  Church  ;  they  have 
two  children:  May  and  Rose;  Margaret  Anna,  wife  of  John  P.  ]\Ioore,  a 
farmer  of  Salem  township,  and  they  have  two  children :  Mary  Ellen  and 
John  M. ;  James  Wallace,  David  Christy,  Harriet  Emma,  wife  of  John  A. 
McOuilkin,  retired  farmer  of  Washington  township ;  resides  in  Greensburg. 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND  COUNTY.  ^79 

r^Irs.  John  Cochrane  died  in  1877.  2.  Robert,  of  whom  later.  3.  James,  of 
whom  later. 

Robert  Cochrane,  second  son  and  child  of  John  Cochrane,  born  April 
5.  1818,  died  September  14,  1868.  The  greater  part  of  his  life  was  spent  in 
farming  in  Indiana  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  married  Caroline  Miller,  who 
died  January  13;  1894,  She  was  a  daughter  of  Jacob  IMiller,  a  blacksmith 
of  Adamsburg.  Their  children  were :  Anna  Eliza,  married  F.  X.  Hare ; 
Belle,  married  Levi  Portzer :  Margaret,  married  David  Rankin,  and  lives  in 
Clay  county,  Kansas:  Mary,  wife  of  B.  F.  Marlin,  of  Salina,  Kansas;  John, 
born  February  27,  1851,  died  December.  1905:  James,  of  whom  later:  Wil- 
liam Wallace,  born  April  9,  1856:  resides  at  Empire,  Colorado:  Maria  jane, 
bom  1858,  died  1861  ;  Laura,  born  1861,  teaches  school  in  Turtle  Creek;  a 
son  who  died  in  infancy. 

James  Cochrane,  second  son  and  sixth  child  of  Robert  and  Caroline 
(Miller)  Cochrane,  was  born  March  24.  1853.  He  was  educated  in  the  Mart- 
land  school  house  at  Five  Points,  and  upon  leaving  school  was  apprenticed  to 
Levi  Portzer,  his  brother-in-law,  to  learn  the  trade  of  plastering,  an  occu- 
pation in  which  he  is  still  engaged.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church  of  Greensburg,  and  in  politics  is  a  staunch  Democrat.  He 
married.  April  23,  1891,  Lyda  A.  Gongaware,  daughter  of  Lewis  and  Louisa 
(Miller)  Gongaware,  and  they  have  three  children:  i.  Robert  Miller,  born 
July  26,  1892:  Margaret  Wallace,  born  August  4,  1895:  Sarah  Turney,  born 
August   14,   1897. 

James  Cochrane,  third  son  and  child  of  John  Cochrane,  born  1822,  died 
1896.  He  was  a  leading  farmer  of  Washington  township.  He  married  Jane 
Alcorn,  five  children:  i.  John,  married  Anna  Black,  children:  Laura,  Hoiner, 
Florence,  Hazel,  Mary,  Xina,  Lloyd  and  Erma.  2.  Margaret.  3.  James 
Borlin,  married  Minerva  Karns,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Xancy  (Blair)  Karns, 
of  ^\■ashington  township,  children  :  Frank  K,,  James  Clyde  and  Xancy.  4. 
Jennie,  wife  of  Samuel  Stout,  foreman  at  the  planing  mill  of  Struble  & 
AN'althour,  Greensburg.     5.    Ella. 

FRAXK  D.  BRIXKER.  Among  those  farmers  of  the  younger 
generation  upon  whom  rests  the  duty  of  maintaining  the  reputation  estab- 
lished by  their  predecessors  is  Frank  D.  Brinker.  of  Mutual.  He  is  the  son 
of  Simon  Brinker.  who  was  born  in  Wales,  and  migrated  to  this  country,  be- 
coming a  farmer  in  Westmoreland  county.  He  married  Elizabeth  Truxell, 
a  native  of  the  I'nited  States,  and  their  son  Frank  D.  was  born  :\lav  15,  1879! 
He  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  countv,  which 
he  attended  until  reaching  the  age  of  eighteen,  wdien  he  became  his'  father's 
assistant  on  the  farm.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  Frank  D.  Brinker  mar- 
ried. Augest  15,  1902,  Lizzie,  born  April  15,  1882,  in  Latrobe.  daughter  of 
Robert  and  Elizabeth  (^ Welkins)  Goodman,  and  their  children  are:  Robert, 
born  May  5,  1903;  Franklin,  born  June  2,  1904;  George,  br)rn  July  15,  1905,' 

WILLIAM  HERSHEY,  son  of  Jacob  and  Anna  (McCreary) 
Hershey,  residents  of  Penn  townshij),  was  born  Fcbruarv  12,  1849,  at  Old 
Rowan  Farm,  in  Westmoreland  countv,  and  until  the  age  of  eighteen  was 
engaged  in  the  labors  of  the  farm.  He  then  went  into  a  foundrv  at  Irwin 
for  three  years,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  entered  the  service  of  the  West- 
moreland Coal  Companv  at  their  Xorth  Side  mine,  near  Irwin,  since  worked 
out  and  abandoned.     There  he  remained  for  about  six  months",  when  he  he- 


58o  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

came  brakeinan  on  the  shifting  crew  near  the  mine  for  the  Pennsylvania 
railroad.  After  holding  the  position  for  two  years  or  more  he  became  brake- 
man  01")  the  Sewickley  branch  road,  known  as  the  Youghiogheny  branch.  In 
two  years  more  he  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  conductor,  which  he  held 
for  twenty-five  years,  when  the  branch  was  acquired  by  the  Pennsylvania 
railroad.  He  served  this  corporation  in  the  same  capacity  for  another  three 
years,  and  was  then  transferred  to  the  Manor  branch,  running  to  Claridge, 
w'here  he  still  remains.  He  belongs  to  the  Royal  Arcanum  and  in  politics  is 
a  Republican.  He  is  a  member  of  the  German  Reformed  church,  in  which 
for  a  number  of  years  he  has  served  as  elder. 

Mr.  Hershey  married,  July  4,  1871,  Sallie,  daughter  of  George  and  Alice 
(Wise)  Lefifler,  of  Allegheny  county,  beyond  Troy  Hill,  near  Etna  I'ost 
Office,  and  their  children  are :  Harry  DeWitt,  born  April  20,  1872,  married 
Letty  Good,  and  lives  at  Latrobe ;  Daniel  Lot,  born  March  28,  1875,  married 
Emma  Good,  and  lives  at  Irwin ;  Annie  Alice,  born  April  17,  1878,  wife  of 
Joseph  Ayer,  of  Fairmount ;  Jacob  Edward,  born  July  i,  1881,  married  Mabel 
Darrah,  and  is  a  resident  of  North  Irwin ;  Howard  Albert,  born  January 
26,  1885;  Ida  ?\Iav,  born  October  20,  1888;  and  Charles  Victor,  born  June 
28,   1896. 

WILLIAM  B.  BLAIR,  of  North  Huntingdon  township,  Westmore- 
land county,  Pennsylvania,  traces  his  ancestry  to  William  Blair,  who  was  born 
in  county  Antrim,  Ireland,  in  1792.  He  was  reared  and  educated  in  his  na- 
tive land,  and  in  1819,  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven  years,  emigrated  to  this 
country  to  make  for  himself  a  new  home  amid  new  surroundings.  He  first 
located  in  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  and  not  having  sufficient  capital  to  pay 
his  expenses  from  there  to  Mount  Pleasant,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  had 
friends,  walked  the  entire  distance,  working  at  odd  jobs  along  the  way  and 
arriving  with  five  dollars  in  his  pocket.  He  farmed  there  for  some  time,  then 
secured  employment  in  a  distillery,  later  purchased  property  upon  which  he 
erected  his  own  distillery,  and  in  the  spring  of  1838  sold  all  his  holdings  at 
;\Iount  Pleasant  and  purchased  a  farm  near  Irwin,  which  he  operated  until 
his  death.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Lnited  Presbyterian  church,  and  a  Dem- 
ocrat in  politics.  By  his  marriage  to  Margaret  Vance,  daughter  of  Squire 
John  and  Eleanor  (  Neal)  X'ance,  of  Mount  Pleasant,  Pennsylvania,  the  fol- 
lowing children  were  born :  John,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  James  V.,  married 
Sarah  Hurst ;  Eliza  J.,  died  unmarried :  William  W.,  married  Martha  Wray ; 
Eleanor,  became  the  wife  of  Robert  McGuire ;  Mary  Margaret,  became  the 
wife  of  Frank  Hurst ;  Sibbet,  died  unmarried  ;  and  Samuel  N. 

John  Blair,  eldest  son  of  William  and  Alargaret  (Vance)  Blair,  was  born 
in  the  vicinity  of  Mount  Pleasant,  Pennsylvania,  August  30,  1828.  He  re- 
ceived a  common  school  education,  and  assisted  with  the  labors  of  the  home 
farm  from  his  eighth  year,  thus  gaining  a  thorough  knowledge  of  agricul- 
tural pursuits.  He  has  conducted  extensive  operations  on  the  homestead 
farm  near  Irwin,  and  gained  a  reputation  for  progressive  methods  and  hon- 
orablt"  trasactions.  He  served  as  supervisor  for  two  years  during  the  jieriod 
of  the  Civil  war  and  also  held  the  office  of  school  director.  He  holds  member- 
ship in  the  United  Presbyterian  church,  in  which  he  has  been  an  elder  for  three 
decades.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  by  his  vote  and  influence  has  aided 
the  candidates  of  that  great  party  organization.  He  married,  in  1856.  Eliz- 
beth  Barnes,  daughter  of  William  Barnes,  of  North  Huntingdon  township, 
W'estmoreland     county,     Pennsylvania.     Their     children     are :     William    B., 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUXTY.  ^Si 


mentioned  hereinafter;  ]\Iargaret  E.,  became  the  wife  of  J.  K.  \'ance,  and  re- 
sides on  the  Blair  farm ;  Xanc_\'  J.,  became  the  wife  of  W'iUiam  L.  Martin, 
whose  sketch  appears  elsewhere  in  this  work ;  and  Elizabeth,  became  the  wife 
of  Wilson  Fleming-,  and  they  reside  in  Irwin. 

\\'illiam  B.  Blair,  eldest  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Barnes)  Blair,  was 
born  on  the  homestead  farm  near  Irwin,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania. 
He  attended  the  common  schools  of  Fairview  and  Irwin,  thus  acquiring  a  prac- 
tical education  which  prepared  him  for  an  active  career.  He  has  resided 
continuously  on  the  Blair  farm,  which  he  still  operates,  and  which  is  among 
the  best  cultivated  and  therefore  most  productive  pieces  of  property  in  that 
section  of  the  county.  He  is  now  serving  as  school  director,  in  which  ca])ac- 
itv  he  renders  valuable  assistance.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  poltics.  He  is  a 
member  and  trustee  of  the  United  Prsbytrian  church,  to  the  support  of  which 
lie  contributes  liberally.  On  October  20,  1887,  Mr.  Blair  married  Rachel 
White,  daughter  of  James  and  Harriet  (Marchand)  White,  of  Jacksonville, 
Pennsylvania.  Their  children  are:  John  H.,  born  July  30,  1889;  James  W., 
born  August  17,  1891  ;  Charles  E.,  born  Tune  16,  1894:  and  Alvin  W.,  born 
June  8,  r898. 

HARROLD  FAMILY.  The  race  which  numbers  Samuel  Lincoln 
Harrold,  of  North  Huntingdon  township,  among  its  numerous  representatives, 
was  planted  in  Westmoreland  county  by  John  Harrold,  one  of  the  original  Ger- 
man settlers  of  Hempfield  township,  and  founder  of  the  Harrold  settlement, 
jiear  Harrold  church. 

Jacob  Harrold.  a  descendant  of  John  Harrold,  married  Elizabeth,  daugh- 
ter of  Caspar  Walthour.  a  member  of  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  notable 
families  in  western  Pennsylvania.  Their  children  were:  William,  born  April 
5.  1818,  died  unmarried  June  24,  1883;  Caspar  Walthour.  born  August  8, 
1819.  married,  June  8,  1852,  Lydia  Snyder,  of  Kansas;  Matilda,  born  April 
19,  1821,  married,  1847,  Jacob  Weaver,  of  Ligonier;  ]Marie  Elizabeth,  born 
]March  16.  1823,  married  February,  1842,  David  Cort.  and  is  now  a  widow, 
living  in  Illinois;  Daniel,  mentioned  hereinafter;  Sarah,  born  June  18,  1829, 
•died  unmarried  September  29,  1904;  Charlotte,  born  ?ilay  16,  1833,  married, 
November  4,  1852.  J.  M.  Miller,  and  died  February  9,  1902:  Mr.  Miller  lives 
in  Westmoreland  City,  Pennsylvania;  Isabelle,  born  June  13,  1836.  married 
June  23,  1857,  James  Caldwell,  and  lives  near  Irwin.  Mrs.  Harrold,  the  mother 
of  these  children,  died  June  9,  1874,  aged  seventy-six  years  and  ten  months, 
and  the  death  of  the  father  of  the  family  occurred  June  13,  1883,  when  he  had 
reached  the  venerable  age  of  ninetv-two. 

Daniel  Harrold,  son  of  Jacob  and  Elizaljeth  (Walthour)  Harrold,  was 
born  November  10,  1825,  on  the  Harrold  farm,  near  [Manor.  This  tract  of 
three  hundred  and  twelve  acres  came  into  the  family  with  his  mother,  being 
an  inheritance  from  the  \\'althours.  It  is  traversed,  for  about  a  mile  of  its 
length,  by  the  old  Philadelphia  and  Pittsburg  pike.  At  this  time  the  Pennsyl- 
vania railroad  runs  a  mile  north  of  it  and  a  portion  of  it  is  cut  through  bv  the 
electric  railway.  Mr.  Harrold  spent  his  life  as  a  tiller  of  the  soil,  cultivating 
the  acres  which  had  descended  to  him  frim  his  ancestors.  He  served  one  term 
as  supervisor  at  Adamsburg,  and  in  the  sphere  of  politics  adhered  to  the 
Reitublican  party.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Mr.  Harrold 
married,  February  18.  1855,  Louisa,  daughter  of  John  and  Christiana  (Holt- 
zer)  Gress,  of  Adamsburg,  formerly  of  North  Washington,  and  their  family 
consisted  of  the  following  children:     Elizabeth,  unmarried,  and  lives  at  Ma'- 


582  HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

nor:  John,  resides  at  home:  Samuel  Lincoln,  mentioned  hereinafter :  Elmer, 
died  in  infancy :  Jacob,  died  in  infancy :  Agnes  wife  of  Dr.  John  S.  Silvis,  of 
Harrison  Citv,  Pennsylvania :  Anson  Forney,  married  Claude  Hubley,  lives 
in  East  Orange,  New  Jersey :  George,  married  Jean  IMorrow.  lives  in  East 
Orange,  New^Tersev:  Mary  Ann,  taught  four  years  in  the  township  schools 
and  fives  at  home ;' Sarah  Delia,  lives  at  home;  and  Alice  Louise,  the  tirst 
•  graduate  from  the  schools  of  North  Huntingdon  township,  has  taught  school 
fn  the  township  for  six  vears.  The  death  of  Mr.  Harrold  occurred  Septem- 
ber 17,  1888. 

Samuel  Lincoln  Harrold,  son  of  Daniel  and  Louisa  ( Gress)  HarrokU 
received  a  common  school  education  and  taught  school  in  North  Huntingdon 
township  for  ten  years.  He  has  since  devoted  himself  to  the  care  and  man- 
agement of  the  homstead.  succeeding  his  father  as  one  of  the  successful 
farmers  of  the  township.  He  is  active  as  a  citizen  and  has  served  one  term 
as  supervisor  and  two  terms  on  the  school  board.  His  political  principles 
are  Republican.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Brush  Creek  Reformed  church,  of 
which  he  was  at  one  time  deacon,  and  in  which  he  has  served  for  eighteen 
years   as   superintendent  .of   the    Sunday    school. 

Mr.  Harrold's  three  brothers,  mentioned  above,  have  directed  their  ener- 
gies in  the  channels  of  agriculture  and  electricity,  and  have  been  pros])ered  in' 
their  different  calHngs.  John  Harrold  has  traveled  extensively  through  Kan- 
sas, Colorado  and  Missouri,  is  now  living  at  home  unmarried,  and  is  associated 
with  his  brother,  Samuel  Lincoln  Harrold,  in  the  management  of  the  home 
farm.  Anson  Forney  Harrold  is  an  electrical  engineer  and  president  of  the 
American  Transformer  Company  of  Newark,  New  Jersey,  his  home  being  at 
East  Orange,  in  the  same  state.  He  married  Maude  Hubley,  and  two  chil- 
dren have  been  born  to  them :  Hope,  deceased,  and  Elizabeth.  George  Har- 
rold is  connected  with  his  brother,  Anson  Forney  Harrold,  in  the  electrical 
business,  and  also  lives  at  East  Orange.     He  married  Jean  Morrow. 

HENRY  E.  WENRICH.  The  family  of  which  Henry  E.  Wenrich, 
of  North  Huntingdon  township,  is  a  representative,  was  planted  in  this  coun- 
try not  less  than"  two  centuries  ago.  The  earliest  known  progenitor,  though 
not  bv  several  generations  the  emigrant  ancestor,  was  Benjamin  Wenrich, 
who  is  buried  in"  the  Heidelberg  church  cemetery.  Heildelberg,  Berks  county, 
the  date  of  death  being  given  on  his  stone  as  1735.  His  wife.  Marguerite 
Reneau,  died  the  same  year  and  is  buried  beside  him. 

It  is  doubtful  just  how  many  .generations  interevened  between  Benjamin 
Wenrich  and  his  lineal  descendant,  Daniel  Wenrich,  but  the  latter  was  born 
in  the  same  township  and  resided  there  all  his  life.  His  children  were :  John, 
buried  in   Heidelberg  church  cemetery  :   Daniel,  interred  in  the   same   place ; 

Susan,  married  Seltzer :  another   daughter  who  became  the  wife  of 

Caldbach :  a  third  daughter,  who  was  married  to  Lengle :  and 

David,  mentioned  hereinafter. 

David  Wenrich,  son  of  Daniel  Wenrich,  tuarried  (first)  Hannah  Boyer,, 
by  whom  he  had  four  sons  and  one  daughter.  After  her  death  he  married 
Maria  Henrich,  by  whom  he  was  the  father  of  two  daughters  and  two  sons. 
The  latter,  Benjamin  and  William,  both  served  in  the  army  during  the  Civil 
war.  William  died  in  a  hospital  in  the  south  and  Benjamin  survived  luitil 
January,  1897.  The  third  wife  of  David  Wenrich  was  Catherine,  daugiiter 
of  John  and  Susanna  (Hain)  Fischer,  of  Berks  county.  The  former  owned 
immense  tracts  of  land  in  Heidelberg  township  and  also  conducted  a  paper- 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  583 

mill  thereon,  probably  one  of  the  first  paper-mills  in  the  state.  The  children 
of  ^Ir.  and  Mrs.  \\"enrich  were:  Catherine,  who  has  been  since  .\pril,  i80j, 
the  widow  of  James  Ruth,  and  lives  in  Berks  comity;  Elijah,  married  Susan 
Leininger,  and  died  in  September,  1902 :  his  widow  lives  in  Robisonia,  Berks 
county;  Amanda,  who  has  been  since  February,  1897,  the  widow  of  James 
Bechtel,  and  lives  in  Berks  county;  Emma,  who  became  the  wife  of  Franklin 
Wagner,  of  Coatesville,  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania  ;  James,  married  Isabel 
Scaffer,  aiul  lives  at  Reading.  Pennsylvania;  Henry  E..  mentioned  hereinafter; 
Susan,  married  Samuel  Stamm,  and  died  in  18(19,  in  Ohio. 

Henry  E.  \\'enrich,  son  of  David  and  Catherine  (Fischer)  Wenrich,  was 
born  February  14,  1844,  in  Heidelberg  township,  where  he  received  a  common 
school  education  and  worked  on  the  farm  with  his  father  initil  he  attained  his 
majority.  He  then  learned  the  trade  of  the  flouring-mill.  and  at  the  age  of 
twenty-four  ojierated  his  own  tlour-mill,  near  Stouchsburg.  He  continued  to 
do  this  until  the  spring  of  1873.  when  he  went  to  Reading  and  bought  a  gro- 
cery, in  partnership  with  his  brother-in-law,  John  Burkholder,  the  firm  being 
known  as  P.urkholder  &  Wenrich,  and  their  place  of  business  being  situated 
on  the  corner  of  Third  and  Spruce  streets.  At  the  end  of  two  years  he  re- 
turned to  Stouchsburg  and  paid  some  attention  to  farming  until  1880,  when 
he  moved  to  his  present  home  in  North  Huntingdon  township.  Here,  for 
about  twenty-five  years,  he  has  cultivated  a  large  tract  of  land  for  the  West- 
moreland Coal  Company,  the  estate  being  situated  near  Biddle  Station,  which 
is  in  tlie  neighborhood  of  Manor.  In  following  the  calling  of  a  farmer  he 
walks  in  the  footsteps  of  his  ancestors,  who  have  always  been  agriculturists 
and  large  landowners.  In  his  political  affiliations,  also,  Mr.  Wenrich  acts  in 
accordance  with  the  traditions  of  his  family.  He  is  a  Republican,  the  family 
having  been  as  far  back  as  they  are  traceable  \\"higs,  and  having  identified 
themselves  with  the  Republican  party  at  its  organization.  His  church  con- 
nections, which  are  Lutheran,  are  also  an  inheritance  from  his  ancestors.  He 
has  been  a  deacon  and  trustee  of  the  church. 

INIr.  Wenrich  married,  December  24,  1867,  ]\[ary  Burkholder,  and  two 
sons  have  been  born  to  them:  i.  :\Iartin  Luther,  born  June  17,  1869,  at 
Stouchsburg,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  became  a  fireman  on  the  Penn- 
sylvania railroad,  out  of  Pitcairn.  Twelve  years  later  he  was  promoted  to  the 
position  of  engineer  and  is  now  settled  at  Youngwood,  Pemisxlvania.  He  is 
a  member  of  Shidle  Lodge,  F.  and  A.  M.,  Irwin.  2.  Morris' Rambler,  born 
July  27.  1873,  died  October  9,  1878.  and  is  buried  at  Myerstown. 

Mrs.  \\'enrich  belongs  to  an  old  Pennsylvania  family,  the  earliest  known 
ancestor  being  George  Burkholder.  of  Lancaster  county.  His  forefathers 
had  been  Mennonites  for  many  generations,  but  on  his  marriage  with  a  Miss 
Brubeck  he  was  converted  to  the  faith  of  his  wife,  which  was  diat  of  the 
Lutheran  church,  with  which  his  descendants  have  ever  since  been  connected. 

Peter  B.  Burkolder,  son  of  George  P.urkholder,  was  a  farmer  on  a  large 
scale  for  that  region,  his  farm  of  two  hundred  acres  joining  the  town  of 
Strouchsburg,  and  his  home  buildings  being  in  the  town.  He  married  Marie 
Bergman,  and  their  son,  Daniel,  carried  on  a  wagon  shop  in  Strouchsburg.' 
where  he  built  connestoga  wagons.  He  married  Sarah  Reed  and  they  were 
the  paryits  of  a  son,  Augustus,  mentioned  hereinafter.  :Mrs.  Wenrich'  was  a 
dau.ghtcr  of  Benjamin  and  Susan  (Wagner)  Reed,  and  a  granddaughter  of 
Daniel  Reed.  The  latter  was  a  lineal  desccmlant  of  Johannes  Reith,  the  earliest 
known  ancestor,  who  is  buried  in  the  Reeds  church"  graveyard,  near  Strouchs- 
burg. tile  date  of  his  fleath  being  given  at  1735.  Tlie  patronvm'ic  was  variously 
.s])elled  Reith,  Rcid  and  Reed. 


584  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

Augustus  Burkholder,  son  of  Daniel  and  Sarah  (Reed)  Burkholder,  con- 
ducted a  general  store  at  Strouchsburg  for  a  number  of  years,  and  for  a  time 
was  postmaster  there,  being  appointed  by  President  Lincoln.  For  a  few  years 
he  operated  a  foundry  at  Meyerstown,  Pennsylvania,  returning  to  Strouchs- 
burg in  1861.  His  wife  was  Mary  Rambler,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  a 
■daughter,  Mary,  who  was  born  January  10,  1850,  in  Meyerstown,  Lebanon 
county.  Pennsylvania,  and  became  the  wife  of  Henry  E.  Wenrich,  as  men- 
tioned above. 

SAMUEL  WATTERS,  of  Irwin,  was  born  at  Pittsburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania. October  5,  1855,  son  of  William  and  Margaret  (McCullough)  Watters, 
and  grandson  on  the  paternal  side  of  Samuel  Watters,  who  was  a  resident  of 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  a  number  of  years  prior  to  his  death, 
and  who  operated  the  farm  for  James  Irwin,  near  the  town  of  Irwin,  now  the 
property  of  Thomas  H.  Irwin,  and  grandson  on  the  maternal  side  of  John  and 
Martha  McCollough,  of  New  York  City. 

William  Watters  (father)  came  to  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
at  an  early  age.  He  farmed  with  his  father  for  several  years,  later  settling 
at  Jacksonville  and  driving  a  stage  on  the  old  Pittsburg  anil  Philadelphia  pike. 
When  the  Pennsylvania  railroad  was  constructed  anti  the  traffic  on  the  pike 
fell  away,  he  was  one  of  those  to  adapt  himself  to  the  new  enterprise  and 
secured  employment  as  conductor.  He  ran  continuously  until  killed,  in  1865, 
by  the  explosion  of  an  engine  on  the  strip  of  track  known  as  Beatty's  Level, 
near  Beatty's  Station.  He  married  Margaret  jMcCullough,  daughter  of  John 
and  Martha  McCullough,  of  New  York  city,  and  their  children  were:  Agnes, 
became  the  wife  of  William  Milner,  and  they  reside  in  Pittsburg ;  Samuel, 
born  October  5,  1855,  mentioned  hereinafter;  Jennie,  became  the  wife  of 
]\Iilton  Phillipi.  and  they  reside  at  Derry,  Pennsylvania:  John,  married  Ida 
Gilchrist,  and  they  reside  at  Altoona.  Pennsylvania.  After  the  death  of  T^Ir. 
Watters  his  widow  married  Hunter  S.  Love,  of  Westchester,  Pennsylvania, 
an  employee  of  the  Pennsylvania  railroad;  who  later  conducted  a  liotel  at 
Derry  Station,  Penn.sylvania.     Mrs.  Love  died  November  4,  1894. 

Samuel  Watters  received  a  common  school  education,  and  at  the  age  of 
twelve  years  w-ent  into  the  glass  works,  where  he  remained  five  years."  He 
then  took  up  his  residence  in  Derry  and  secured  employment  with  the  Penn- 
sylvania railroad,  tending  the  water  plug  at  that  place.  At  the  age  of  eigh- 
teen he  went  on  the  road  as  fireman,  and  in  the  fall  of  1875  was  promoted  to 
the  post  of  engineer.  His  run  at  first  was  from  Pittsburgh  to  Conemaugh, 
which  he  held  one  year,  and  then  a  vacancy  occurring  on  the  shifter  at  Irwin 
he  transferred  to  that  place.  In  1899  he  took  the  run  on  the  Yough  branch  of 
the  Pennsylvania  railroad,  which  he  has  since  held.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  church,  in  which  body  he  served  as  trustee  six  years  and  treasurer 
five  years.  He  is  a  member  of  Irwin  Council,  No.  44,  Junior  Order  of  L'nited 
American  ^vlechanics.     He  is  a  Republican  in  politics. 

On  August  20,  1876,  ]\Ir.  Watters  married  Jennie  Hunsburger.  l^orn 
September  5,  1859,  daughter  of  John  and  Catherine  (Taylor)  Hunsburger 
of  Blairsville.  Pennsylvania.  John  Hunsburger  died  March  16,  1877,  and  his 
wife,  Catherine,  died  September  2t.  1870.  The  great-,grandparents  .of  Mrs. 
Jennie  f  Hunsburger)  Watters  on  both  sides  of  the  family  were  from  Ger- 
many. The  issue  of  this  union  were :  Alice,  born  June  29',  1877,  became  the 
wife  of  Frank  Brush,  of  Youngwood.  Pennsylvania :  issue,  Samuel  Watters, 
Jennie.  Harry  Diltz.  deceased:  and  Nellie  Rhodes  Brush.  Matilda  Cleophis, 
born   November  28,   1879,  died   November   16,   1881.     Maggie  JNIalvina,  born 


HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  585 

Pebruarv  2^,  18S1,  became  the  wife  of  G.  Brooks  Ross,  ^lay  28,  1901,  issue: 
Chauucey  Brooks  Ross. 

JOHN  W.  KEXXEDY,  son  of  Juhn  and  Julia  Kennedy,  was  born 
January  29,  1858.  in  Huntingdon  county,  I'ennsylvania.  He  attended  the 
pubhc  "schools  of  his  native  county  until  he  was  about  fifteen  years  of  age, 
when  he  began  to  earn  wages  as  a  weigher  in  the  coal  mines.  He  was  identi- 
fied with  mining  operations  for  about  five  years,  then  located  at  Everson, 
P'avette  county,  autl  engaged  in  the  hotel  business,  conducting  the  Everson 
House,  and  continued  a"t  that  for  some  ten  years.  He  next  engaged  in  the 
brewing  business,  and  in  company  with  some  others  erected  the  brewery  at 
Scottdale  and  the  ice  plant  in  connection  with  it.  In  1899  the  two  establish- 
ments were  sold  to  the  Pittsburg  Brewing  Company,  since  which  time  Air. 
Kennedy  has  been  manager  of  the  plants  at  Scottdale  and  Mount  Pleasant. 
He  is  one  of  the  stockholders  of  the  Pittsburg  Brewing  Company  and  devotes 
his  time  and  attention  entirely  to  this  line  of  business.  Mr.  Kennedy  has 
•ever  been  active  in  works  for  the  good  of  the  borough  and  has  done  a  good 
share  in  building  up  the  community.  He  is  the  owner  of  considerable  prop- 
•erty  on  the  main  street  of  Scottdale,  and  his  name  is  one  of  the  best  known  in 
that  part  of  the  state.  Politically  he  is  independent,  but  as  a  rule  he  is  a 
Democratic  voter. 

He  married,  November  30.  1882,  Ellen  T.  Connor,  daughter  of  Mrs. 
Margarett  Connor.  They  have  a  family  of  seven  children:  Robert  J.,  a 
law  student  at  the  Georgetown  Law  School  at  Washington ;  Margarett,  a 
student  at  Seaton  Hill  Seminary,  Greensburg;  jNIary,  a  student  at  the  same 
institution ;  Joseph,  student  at  St.  Vincent's  College ;  Clare,  studying  at  a  paro- 
chial school ;  Frances,  also  at  a  parochial  school ;  John  W.,  Jr.  They  are 
members  of  the  Church  of  St.  John  the  Baptist  at  Scottdale. 

F.  A.  BLACK,  president  of  the  F.  A.  Black  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, is  a  native  of  Connecticut.  He  began  the  manufacture  of  cutlery  in 
Bridgeport,  Connecticut,  in  1879  and  continued  there  until  1891,  when  he 
removed  to  Allegheny,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  w^as  engaged  in  the  same  in- 
dustry until  1902.  His  whole  business  life  has  been  confined  to  this  line  of 
business,  in  which  he  has  a  thorough  and  practical  knowledge  of  every  branch 
of  the  trade,  having  had  personal  experience  in  all  grades  of  the  industry  from 
that  of  mechanic  through  every  department.  The  company  of  which  he  is  the 
head  was  incorporated  November  22,  1904,  successor  to  the  Lahille  Cutlery 
Company,  formerly  of  .Mlcgheny  county,  Pennsylvania.  The  company  was 
incorporated  with  a  capital  of  $1,000,000,  the  officers  being:  F.  A.  Black, 
president :  A.  B.  Laucks,  vice  president ;  E.  R.  Laukes.  secretary  and  treasurer. 
Their  plant  has  a  floor  space  of  about  twenty  thousand  feet,  and  they  furnish 
employment  to  one  hundred  peni^le  in  the  manufacture  of  licrlaw  ptjcket  cut- 
lery. The  products  of  this  company  are  a  distinct  tyjie.  f|uite  dififerent  from 
the  output  of  any  .similar  concern,  being  the  original  concci^tion  of  Mr. 
Black.  His  plant  will  turn  out  annually  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  worth 
of  goods,  which  will  be  disposed  of  to  the  largest  hardware  establishments 
of  the  country,  through  the  central  west.  He  is  one  of  the  ambitious  men 
of  the  country  and  looks  forward  to  the  development  of  one  of  the  great  in- 
dustries of  the  country,  which  will  have  a  fame  extending  throughout  the 
civilized  world. 


586  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUXTY 

WILLIAM  F.  TRIGGES,  general  superintendent  of  the  Paige  War- 
ren Wire  Company  at  jMonessen,  Pennsylvania,  is  a  native  of  Lenawee  county, 
Michigan,  born  September  i8,  1866,  son  of  William  M.  and  Mary  (Fuller) 
Trigges. 

Rev.  Robert  Trigges  (grandfather)  was  a  native  of  Bristol,  England, 
who  emigrated  to  America  in  1839,  landing  at  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  remained  for  a  short  time,  thence  to  Zanesville,  Ohio,  where  he  re- 
ceived a  contract  to  letter  fingerboards  for  road  intersections,  his  first  employ- 
ment in  ( )hio.  He  was  a  miller  and  baker  by  trade  in  his  native  land.  From 
Ohio  he  removed  to  Michigan,  settling  in  Washtenaw  county,  near  Chelsea, 
and  entered  the  itinerant  ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  for 
years  covering  a  large  circuit,  preaching  in  log  cabins  and  school  houses.  He 
lived  to  the  age  of  ninety-two  years,  dying  at  the  home  of  his  son  in  Ripan, 
Wisconsin, 

William  M.  Trigges  (father),  son  of  Rev.  Robert  Trigges,  educated  him- 
self, working  at  the  carpenter's  trade  to  pay  his  way  through  college.  He  at- 
tended Albion  and  Evanston  college  in  Illinois.  He  entered  the  ministry  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in  Michigan,  following  this  calling  for  forty 
years.  He  is  now  living  a  retired  life  at  Morenci,  Alichigan.  He  married 
Miss  Mary  Fuller,  and  of  the  children  born  to  them  was  a  son,  William  F. 

\\'illiam  F.  Trigges  was  reared  in  Michigan  and  obtained  a  common  school 
education  there.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  engaged  in  work  as  a  stationary 
engineer,  following  this  occupation  for  five  years.  He  then  entered  a  machine 
shop  in  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan,  where  he  spent  four  years.  The  ne.xt  two 
years  he  was  employed  as  chief  engineer  for  the  Water  Works  Company  at 
Grand  Rapids.  He  removed  from  there  to  Adrian,  Michigan,  where  he  asso- 
ciated himself  with  the  Hand  Milling  Company  as  chief  engineer,  being  thus 
engaged  for  two  years.  Then,  in  1893,  he  established  himself  with  the  Paige 
Warren  Wire  Company,  at  Adrian,  where  he  was  located  for  six  years,  being 
employed  in  the  engineering  department.  In  tlx;  spring  of  1897  he  removed  to 
Monessen  in  the  interest  of  the  company,  and  was  on  the  spot  at  the  inception 
and  first  move  made  toward  the  erection  of  the  magnificent  plant  at  this  place, 
superintending  the  construction  of  the  plant.  He  has  since  acted  as  general 
superintendent  and  manager  of  the  plant.  His  ability  to  perform  the  responsi- 
ble duties  incident  to  this  position  has  been  fully  demonstrated,  as  the  plant 
each  year  assumes  larger  proportions  and  grows  continuously. 

]\Ir.  Trigges  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  active  in  all  affairs  pertaining 
to  the  welfare  of  the  comnmnity.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  and  is  a 
director  of  the  Monessen  Savings  &  Trust  Company  and  is  also  a  stockholder 
in  the  Paige  Warren  Wire  Fence  Company.  He  has  served  on  the  borough 
council — first  an  unexpired  term  for  three  years  and  is  now  serving  another 
term.     In  1903  he  was  president  of  the  council. 

June  28,  188S,  Mr.  Trigges  married  Eloise  Baldwin,  of  Morenci,  Alichi- 
gan,  daughter  of  Edgar  Baldwin.  They  have  three  children,  viz:  Perc\-,  born 
December,  1889:  Olive.  October,  1893;  and  Morris,  Xovemijer,  1899. '  Their 
home  is  at  50  Reed  avenue,  and  they  affiliate  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church. 

EDWARD    WERKMAN,   of   Hawk   Eve,    was   born   in   Hempfiehl 
township,  October  13.  1858,  a  son  of  John  P.  and  Christine  Werkman. 

Edward  Werkman  attended  the  common  schools  and  remained  on  the 
homestead  until  1882,  when  he  entered  the  service  of  Graul  eS:  Werkman,  bak- 
ers and  confectioners,  with  whom  he  remained  until  1884.     He  then  went  to 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  587 

Ironbrid^e,  where  for  ten  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  general  merchandise 
business.''  While  there  he  established  the  postoffice,  was  made  postmaster  and 
served  in  that  capacity  for  about  ten  years.  In  the  autumn  of  1893  his  store 
was  destroyed  bv  fire,  and  in  the  spring  of  1894  he  purchased  the  farm  on 
which  he  has  since  lived  and  which  at  the  present  time  consists  of  twenty-two 
acres.  This  land  he  has,  for  the  last  twelve  years,  cultivated  as  a  gardener. 
doing  a  general  business.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1894  was  elected  tax  collector  of  East  Huntingdon  township,  an  office  which 
he  filled  for  six  years.  He  belongs  to  the  Knights  of  ^.lalta,  and  he  and  his 
family  are  members  of  the  Reformed  church. 

:\Ir.  Werkman  married.  September  7.  1887.  Elizabeth,  daughter^  of  John 
and  Elizabeth  (Robinson)  Holtzer.  and  they  are  the  parents  of  the  following- 
children  :  John  Edward.  Jennie  Holtzer,  Elizabeth  Christine.  \\'illiam  Holtzer. 
Martha  Agues.  Ruth  Theodosia.  Paul  Holtzer.  and  Sarah  Gail.  Mrs.  Werk- 
man is  a  native  of  Hempfield  township,  having  been  born  there  September 
19,  1865. 

MICHAEL  KEPPLE.  The  Kepple  family  is  of  German  lineage 
and  was  established  in  Westmoreland  county  by  Michael  Kepple.  grandfather 
of  Michael  Kepple.  of  this  review,  who  came  from  Germany  to  the  new  world 
and  purchased  the  farm  upon  which  his  grandson  and  namesake  now  resides. 
However,  at  the  time  of  his  arrival  he  entered  a  tract  of  land  from  the  govern- 
ment, which  is  now  in  possession  of  John  Rugh.  The  Indians  were  then  num- 
erous in  this  part  of  the  state  and  were  often  hostile,  so  that  Michael  Kepple 
built  upon  his  farm  a  block  house,  which  was  still  standing  until  about  fifteen 
or  twenty  years  ago.  After  owning  his  father's  farm  for  a  number  of  years, 
he  sold  that  property  and  purchased  the  farm  now  owned  and  occupied  by 
his  grandson.  It  came  into  his  possession  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  He  was  one  of  three  brothers  who  came  to  America  and  all  settled 
in  Westmoreland  county.  The  grandfather  continued  to  reside  on  what  is  now 
the  old  family  homestead  until  his  life's  labors  were  ended  in  death. 

Jacob  Kepple.  son  of  Michael  Kepple.  was  born  upon  this  farm  in  1795 
and  spent  his  entire  life  there,  passing  away  in  the  fail  of  1857.  His  energies 
were  always  devoted  to  agricultural  pursuits  and  he  lived  the  quiet  life  of  an 
honest  farmer.  His  political  allegiance  was  given  the  Democracy,  and  he  held 
membership  in  the  Lutheran  church,  in  which  he  served  as  deacon  and  elder 
for  many  years.  He  married  Margaret  Deemer  and  they  became  the  parents 
of  ten  children,  of  whom  seven  are  living,  namely :  ?^usam^a,  wife  of  Solomon 
Barnhart ;  Jacob,  of  Greensburg ;  Martha,  wife  of  Reuben  Snyder;  Michael, 
see  forward:  Sarah,  wife  of  .Amos  Kunkle ;  Hannah,  wife  of  William  (Jarry; 
and  Levina,  the  wife  of  John  Blank. 

Michael  Kepple,  son  of  Jacob  Kepple,  was  born  on  the  farm  where  he  now 
resides,  April  7,  1833.  and  is  indebted  to  the  public  school  system  of  the 
county  for  the  educational  privileges  he  enjoyed.  He  was  also  early  trained 
to  farm  life  and  when  still  quite  young  took  diarge  of  the  farm,  continuing- 
its  management  for  his  father  until  1862.  when  he  and  his  brother  George. 
now  deceased,  purchased  the  farm  and  in  partnership  continued  its  operation 
for  fifteen  years  or  more.  Michael  Kej)plc  then  ])urchascd  his  brother's  inter- 
ests and  has  since  been  sole  owner  of  the  property,  which  he  has  placed  under 
a  high  state  of  cultivation.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  is  a  member  of 
the  Lutheran  church,  while  his  wife  belongs  to  the  Reformed  church.  He 
sered  as  church  officer  for  a  number  of  years. 

He  was  married  in  1862  to  Magdalena  Xappenbergcr,  a  daughter  of  Solo- 


-588  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

mon  Nappenberger,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  five  children,  of  whom 
four  are  Hving :  Ida,  wife  of  John  Johnson,  of  Greensbnrg ;  Edward,  an  oil 
well  driller,  of  Missouri ;  Margaret  J.,  wife  of  Leroy  Nicholas,  who  operates 
her  father's  farm ;  and  Ezra,  living  in  Greensburg. 

GEORGE  SHOEMAKER,  owner  of  a  fine  farm  in  Hempfield  town- 
ship, Westmoreland  county,  was  born  in  this  township,  August  9,  1837,  his 
parents  being  Jacob  and  Mary  A.  (Wagner)  Shoemaker.  The  father  was  born 
in  Switzerland,  where  he  was  reared.  Immediately  after  his  marriage,  how- 
ever, he  emigrated  to  the  United  States  and  after  a  voyage  of  six  weeks 
landed  at  lialtimore,  Maryland.  He  proceeded  with  his  young  wife  to  Phila- 
delphia, Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  employed  for  six  months,  and  they  then 
started  for  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania.  Sending  their  trunk  across  this  state  by 
wagon,  he  and  his  wife  walked  and  on  reaching  Westmoreland  county  he  was 
told  that  many  who  went  to  Pittsburg  returned  to  this  county,  so  that  he  and 
his  wife  decided  to  remain  and  locate  in  Hempfield  township,  where  they  lived 
for  ten  or  fifteen  years.  Mr.  Shoemaker  worked  as  a  farm  hand  for  Fred 
Bierer,  and  while  thus  employed  saved  his  money  which  he  put  out  at  interest, 
and  when  he  had  accumulated  sufficient  capital  purchased  a  small  farm  of 
forty  acres.  Through  his  frugal  habits,  careful  management  and  economy  he 
was  at  the  time  of  his  death  one  of  the  well-to-do  farmers  of  the  township, 
leaving  an  estate  of  more  than  thirty  thousand  dollars.  He  voted  with  the 
Democracy  and  was  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  His  death  occurred 
when  he  had  reached  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-five  years.  In  his  family 
were  eleven  children,  eight  of  whom  are  living,  namely :  George :  John,  of 
■Greensburg;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Gottlieb  Wagner,  of  Harrison  City,  West- 
moreland county ;  Rebecca,  widow  of  Joseph  Walters,  of  Oil  City ;  Barbara, 
wife  of  Michael  Potts,  of  Salem  township ;  Westmoreland  county ;  Catherine, 
wife  of  George  Scott,  of  the  same  township ;  Rosanna,  wife  of  Jerry  Bush, 
•of  Grensburg :  and  Sabilla,  also  living  in  Greensburg. 

George  Shoemaker  was  reared  in  his  father's  home  and  in  his  early  bov- 
hood  days  worked  for  Fred  Bierer.  When  his  father  purchased  a  farm  he 
assisted  in  its  cultivation  and  development  until  eighteen  vears  of  age,  when 
he  apprenticed  himself  to  the  wagonmaker's  trade  and  for  fifteen  years  fol- 
lowed that  pursuit.  In  1867  he  purchased  a  farm  of  fifty-five  acres  in  Salem 
township,  where  he  resided  eight  years.  He  then  sold  the  property  and  bought 
a  farm  of  one  hundred  acres  near  Greensburg.  In  1888  he  sold  forty  acres  of 
his  farm  to  the  Keystone  Coal  Company  and  the  same  year  purchased  ninety 
acres  adjoining  Benjamin  Eiseman,  upon  which  he  erected  a  handsome  resi- 
dence, making  it  his  home  continuously  since.  He  is  a  Prohibitionist  in  his 
political  views,  and  religiously  is  connected  with  the  Lutheran  church  of 
Greensburg.  In  1867  he  married  Mary  Painter,  a  daughter  of  Peter  Painter, 
■of  Salem  township,  and  they  have  four  children ;  Marion  P.,  Chalmers  G., 
Mary  L.  and  Pearl.     The  sons  now  operate  the  home  farm. 

FR.\NK  R.  DALBEY,  engineer  in  the  employ  of  the  Pennsvlvania 
l^ailroad  Company  and  a  resident  of  Youngwood,  was  born  in  Derrv  town- 
ship, Westmoreland  county,  March  29,  1874.  a  son  of  Iden  B.  and  Rachel 
(Huston)  Dalbey.  His  father,  residing  in  Greensburg,  this  county,  has  for 
forty  years  been  in  the  service  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  and  is 
now  yardmaster  at  Youngwood.  He  holds  membership  in  the  Presbyterian 
church  and  in  his  political  faith  is  a  Republican.  He  also  belongs  to  the  An- 
<:ient  Order  of  United  ^^'o^kmen  and  the  Royal  .\rcanum.    His  wife  died  when 


HISTORY   OF   U'ESTMORELAND   COUXTY.  589. 

their  son  Frank  was  but  four  years  of  age.  The  other  members  of  tlie  family 
are:  Clara  E.,  wife  of  Richard  D.  Laird,  of  Greensburg  ;  June  E.,  wife  of 
Xevin  Heller,  of  Lancaster :  and  Jessie,  wife  of  Rabe  j\hirsh,  of  Greensburg. 

Frank  R.  Dalbey,  following  his  mother's  death,  was  reared  by  his  mater- 
nal grandmother  and  aunt  in  Greensburg,  and  his  education  was  acquired  in 
the  public  schools  there.  When  only  fourteen  years  of  age  he  started  out  to 
earn  his  own  living,  securing  a  position  in  the  shops  of  Kelley  &  Jones,  in 
Greensburg.  A  year  later  he  entered  the  service  of  the  Pennsylvania  railroad, 
securing  a  minor  ]iosition  in  the  civil  engineering  corps  on  the  southwest  branch 
of  the  road.  After  two  years  in  that  department  he  became  locomotive  fireman 
on  the  Pittsburg  division,  and  when  eight  \ears  had  passed  he  was  promoted 
to  engineer,  in  February,  1900,  which  is  his  present  relation  to  the  company. 
Mr.  Dalbey  votes  with  the  Republican  party,  and  is  a  member  of  Youngwood 
Lodge,  No.  447,  L  O.  O.  F.,  and  of  J.  M.  Guffey  Division,  N.  454,  Brotherhood, 
of  Locomotive  Engineers.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and 
his  friends  entertain  for  him  high  regard. 

Mr.  Dalbey  married.  Xovember  27,  1894,  Anna  N.  Bossert,  a  daughter  of 
Albert  Bossert,  of  Latrobe.  Westmoreland  county. 

PATRICK  AUGUSTLXE  SKELLEY.  One  of  Greensburg's 
worthy  citizens  is  Patrick  Augustine  Skelley.  Mr.  Skelley's  grandfather,  John 
Skelley,  was  of  Irish  descent  and  came  to  Westmoreland  county  some  time  iii- 
the  '20s.  He  settled  on  a  farm  in  Derry  township  between  Derrv  and  Alex- 
andria. He  was  a  veteran  of  the  war  of  1812.  His  wife  was  Catherine  Whet- 
stone, of  German  descent.     Mr.  Skelley  died  on  his  farm  about  1S43. 

Daniel  Skelley,  son  of  John  and  Catherine  (W'hetstone)  Skelley,  was  born, 
probably,  in  Cambria  county,  where  he  was  reared  on  a  farm  near  Summer 
Hill.  He  inherited  his  father's  farm  and  devoted  himself  to  its  cultivation.  He 
married  Catherine  Keelin,  of  Derry  township,  and  of  their  children  only  one 
survives:  Patrick  Augustine,  mentioned  hereinafter.  The  death  of  Mr. 
Skelley  occurred  in  1847. 

Patrick  Augu.stine  Skelley,  son  of  Daniel  and  Catherine  (Kcllin) 
Skelley,  was  born  October  18,  1841,  in  Derry  township,  and  some  time  in  the 
"Gos  entered  the  service  of  the  Pennsylvania  railway  as  brakeman,  but  soon 
after  he  was  forced  by  two  accidents  to  resign  the  position.  He  had  before  this 
become  by  inheritance  the  owner  of  the  farm  and  in  1868  disposed  of  it  by 
sale.  In  1871  he  again  entered  the  railway  service  in  the  capacity  of  fireman, 
and  two  and  a  half  years  later  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  engineer.  This 
was  in  1874  and  he  is  still  at  his  post  of  duty.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church. 

Mr.  Skelley  married  in  1867,  Mary  B.,  daughter  of  James  r^Iagill,  of 
Derry  township,  and  the  following  children  have  been  born  to  them:  Daniel 
J,,  deceased ;  John  H.,  a  resident  of  Duquesne ;  James  A.,  a  jjlumber  in  Salina, 
Kansas;  Raymond  E.,  who  is  preparing  for  the  ])riesthood  at  St.  \"incent's 
College,  Westmoreland  county  :  Genevieve,  resides  at  home :  Blanche,  wife  of 
Robert  M.  Allen,  of  Newcastle;  Marie  and  Imelda ;  both  of  whom  are  at  home 
with  their  parents. 

ROBERT  C.  BEST,  Among  the  locomotive  enQ;ineers  of  West- 
moreland county  Robert  C.  Best,  of  Greensburg,  holds  a  leading  position.  On 
the  paternal  side  Mr.  Best  is  of  Scotch-Irish  descent,  the  founder  of  the  family, 
however,  having  come  from  England.  .According  to  family  tradition  there  is 
a  romance  connected  with  the  emigrant  ancestor  to  the  effect  that  he  and  his 


590  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

bride  made  a  runaway  match  and  fled  across  the  sea  to  seek  their  fortune  in 
the  New  World.  Mr.  Best's  maternal  great-grandfather  was  a  native  of 
Germany. 

Robert  C.  Best  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Ligonier  valley,  learned  the  shoe- 
maker's trade,  and  came  to  Greensburg  a  young  man,  following  his  trade  in 
that  place  during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics 
and  wielded  much  influence  in  his  party,  being  twice  nominated  for  the  office 
of  county  commissioner.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He 
married  Anna  B.  Bierer,  and  nine  children  were  born  to  them,  six  of  whom 
survive :  John,  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business  in  Jeannette ;  Robert  C. 
and  James  (twins),  the  former  mentioned  hereinafter,  the  latter  a  carpenter  in 
Greensburg ;  William,  also  a  carpenter  in  Greensljurg ;  Andrew,  lives  in 
Greensburg  and  is  employed  by  the  Keystone  Coal  &  Coke  Company ;  Henry 
a  stone  and  brick  mason  in  Connellsville.  Mr.  Best  died  a  coni]iaratively 
young  man  and  his  widow  is  still  living  in  South  Greensburg. 

Robert  C.  J3est,  son  of  Robert  C.  and  Anna  B.  (Bierer)  Best,  was  born 
July  13, '1858,  in  Hempfield  township,  and  in  consequence  of  the  death  of  his 
father  was  obliged  at  a  very  early  age  to  contribute  to  the  support  of  the  fam- 
ily. He  desired  to  learn  the  trade  of  a  blacksmith  or  carpenter,  but  was  unable 
to  do  so,  and  later  when  he  wished  to  enter  the  railroad  service  and  his  mother 
objected  he  yielded  in  deference  to  her  wishes.  In  1881  he  left  the  mines  where 
he  was  then  working,  and  entered  the  service  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad 
as  fireman.  Five  months  later  he  resigned  and  engaged  in  the  same  capacity 
with  the  Pennsylvania  railroad.  December  4,  1886,  he  was  promoted  to  the 
position  of  engineer,  which  he  has  since  continuously  held,  being  one  of  the 
best  known  engineers  in  the  service  of  the  company.  Mr.  Best  is  a  member  of 
Westmoreland  Lodge,  No.  840,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Greensburg,  having  passed  the 
chairs,  and  also  belongs  to  J.  M.  Gufifey  Division,  No.  454  Board  of  Locomo- 
tive Engineers.  He  is  Democratic  in  politics,  and  is  a  member  of  the  First 
Reformed  Church  of  Greensburg. 

Mr.  Best  married  in  1888,  Aletta.  daughter  of  William  Hile,  of  Greens- 
burg, and  their  children  are:  Lucy,  Anna  May,  Grtrude,  Robert  H.,  and  an 
infant. 

JOHN  C.  HAY}iL\KER,  born  in  Patton  township,  Allegheny  county, 
Pennsylvania,  September  3,  1853,  is  a  descendant  of  a  prominent  pioneer  fam- 
ily of  Westmoreland  county.  The  first  representative  of  the  family  to  settle 
in  the  United  States  was  Christopher  Haymaker,  a  native  of  Germany,  who 
died  in  1788,  and  lies  buried  at  the  mouth  of  Plum  creek,  where  the  village  of 
Verona  was  later  located. 

Jacob  Haymaker,  son  of  Christopher  Haymaker,  was  one  of  the  early  resi- 
dents of  Franklin  township,  and  served  as  justice  of  the  peace,  gaining  much 
popularity  by  the  efficient  manner  in  which  he  discharged  the  duties  pertaining 
thereto.  He  was  the  father  of  three  sons:  John,  George  and  Michael,  who  all 
became  wealthy  farmers  and  leading  men  of  the  township. 

John  Haymaker,  son  of  Jacob  Haymaker,  was  the  first  of  the  family  to 
settle  in  Westmoreland  county.  He  located  near  Murrysville  and  followed 
the  occupation  of  farming.  He  married  Anna  Newlen,  who  bore  him  thirteen 
children,  among  whom  were  the  following :  William  N.,  of  whom  later  ;  George, 
John,  Frank  Laird.  Mary,  married  Rev.^A.  McElwain,  D.  D. ;  Nancy,  married 
Dr.  Murray  Service,  have  two  children:  Dr.  J.  H.,  and  Dr.  Charles  Service; 
Keziah.  married  William  Chambers;  Elizabeth,  married  J.  W.  Harvev. 

William  N.  Haymaker,  son  of  John  and  Anna   (Newlen)  Haymaker,  was 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


591 


born  in  Franklin  township,  Westmoreland  county.  Pennsylvania.  He  was  by 
occupation  a  farmer  and  was  employed  thus  in  Patton  township  for  forty  years. 
From  there  he  went  to  Turtle  creek,  Allegheny  county,  where  his  death  oc- 
curred. He  served  as  burgess  of  Turtle  Creek  one  term,  and  as  justice  of  the 
peace  of  Patton  township  two  terms.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  He  married  Mary  Simpson,  who  bore  him  two  children:  John  C. 
of  whom  later;  and  Ida.  married  William  F>.  I'.rush.  of  Washington,  "Pennsvl- 
vania.  and  has  four  children :    P>erlin,  Seward,  William  and  Clare. 

John  C.  Haymaker,  son  of  William  N.  and  Mary  (Simpson)  Haymaker, 
married.  November  i8.  1878,  .-\nna  AIcKnight,  daughter  of  John  McKnight, 
and  their  children  are :  Marguerite,  married  Joseph  Fronheiser,  of  Johnstown, 
Pennsylvania:  ]\Iary  S.,  is  now  (1906)  taking  vocal  lessons  in  Xew  York;  and 
Louisa  E.,  attending  preparatory  school. 

HENRY  WILLIAAI  POPE.  Perhaps  no  man  of  Greensburg,  West- 
moreland county,  Pennsylvania,  is  better  known  or  more  highly  esteemed  by 
friends  and  business  associates  alike  than  Henry  W' illiam  Pope.  He  was  born 
in  Hanover,  Germany,  April  12,  1858,  the  son  of  Earnest  and  Frederica  (Ro- 
den)  Pope,  and  one  of  nine  children,  four  of  whom  are  still  living:  Rica,  wife 
of  Edward  Bocke,  Pittsburg ;  Henry  William,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  Anna, 
wife  of  Rheinhart  Walb.  St.  Louis,  ^Missouri ;  and  Dora,  married  Peter  Rheil,  a 
farmer  of  Castle  Shannon,  Pennsylvania.  The  father  of  these  children.  Earnest 
Pope,  was  born  and  reared  in  Hanover,  Germany,  and  en.gaged  in  the  hotel  busi- 
ness in  Paransen.  where  he  resided  and  conducted  his  business  up  to  the  time 
of  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1867,  when  he  was  fifty-two  years  of  age.  After 
his  death  :Mrs.  Pope  married  Lewis  Hampe,  and  of  this  union  one  child  was 
born.  August  Hanipe. 

In  1872  Henry  W.  Pope,  in  comjjany  with  a  brother.  Earnest,  left  his  native 
land,  sailing  for  American  shores.Tliey  located  in  Pittsburg.  Pennsylvania,  and 
one  year  later  their  mother  and  step-father  and  the  other  members  of  the 
family  also  emigrated  to  this  country,  also  settling  in  Pittsburg,  where  Mr. 
Hampe  was  employed  for  a  time,  later  removing  to  a  farm  in  Castle  Shannon. 
In  1888  he  purchased  his  present  liome  farm  in  Hempfield  townsliip,  two  miles 
east  of  Greensburg.  where  he  still  resides. 

Henry  William  Pope  and  his  brother  (who  is  now  deceased)  secured 
employment  in  the  Cunningham  glass  works,  where  Earnest  learned  the  trade 
of  pot-maker,  and  later  accepted  a  po.sition  with  a  St.  Louis  firm,  which  afforded 
him  a  good  salary,  and  where  he  remained  until  his  death,  which  occurred  sev- 
eral years  later. 

Henry  Pope  remained  with  the  Pittsburg  firm  some  six  \-ears,  at  the  expi- 
ration of  that  time  severing  his  connection  with  that  estalilishment  in  order  to 
accept  a  position  as  stationary  engineer  for  the  South  Side  Street  Car  Companv. 
where  he  was  employed  up  to  1880.  He  then  went  to  Chicago  and  for  six 
years  was  connected  with  the  American  boiler  works  as  a  sheet  iron  worker. 
In  1886  he  returned  to  Westmoreland  county,  remaining  with  his  parents  for 
four  years  and  assisting  with  the  farm  work.  In  1890  Mr.  Pope  purchased  a 
portable  saw-mill  and  was  engaged  for  one  year  in  the  saw-mill  business,  when 
he  disposed  of  his  mill  and  entered  the  firm  of  Kelly  &  Jones,  having  charge  of 
their  boilers  and  engines.  This  position  of  trust  and  responsibilitv'he  retained 
until  May,  1904.  He  then  established  himself  with  the  Brown  &  Ketchum 
structural  steel  works,  holding  the  position  of  electrical  engineer,  and  he  was 
given  entire  charge  of  the  machine  shops.  ]\Tr.  Pope  is  a  progressive  business 
man,  an  expert  machinist  and  mechanic,  and  a  man   whose  strais^htforward* 


59-2  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

business  methods  and  genial  disposition  have  gained  for  him  the  respect  and 
contidence  of  his  employers,  and  the  good  will  and  highest  esteem  if  his 
friends  and  acquaintances.  His  political  sympathies  are  with  the  Republican 
party,  and  he  takes  a  lasting  interest  in  the  welfare  of  his  county  and  town. 
The  great  regard  in  which  he  is  held  by  his  fellow  townsmen  is  demonstrated 
by  the  fact  that  he  has  been  chosen  chairman  of  the  borough  council,  having 
served  as  a  member  of  the  council  for  several  years.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  school  board  and  has  been  for  some  ten  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Westmoreland  Lodge,  No.  840,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Greensburg ;  Greensburg 
Lodge,  No.  366,  K.  O.  G.  E. ;  Greensburg  Lodge  W.  O.  W. ;  and  the  Re- 
beccas. 

In  1890  Mr.  Pope  married  Elizabeth  C.  Schefflcr,  of  Llcmpficld  township, 
and  to  them  was  born  one  child,  Albert  Pope. 

GEORGE  W.  BEANER.  He  to  whose  ancestral  and  personal  record 
we  now  briefly  direct  attention  is  a  representative  of  one  of  the  old  and  honored 
families  of  Westmoreland  county,  and  here  he  has  ever  maintained  his  home, 
being  a  resident  of  the  city  of  Greensburg  at  the  time  of  this  writing.  His 
grandfather,  Daniel  Beaner,  was  a  native  of  England,  where  he  was  reared  and 
married.  While  yet  a  young  man  he  emigrated  with  his  wife  to  America  and 
came  to  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  was  identified  with  agricultural  pur- 
suits until  his  death,  while  his  devoted  wife  also  passed  the  closing  years  of  her 
life  in  this  county.  Their  children  were:  Joseph,  a  successful  manufacturer 
of  corks,  at  Beaver  Falls,  Pennsylvania ;  James ;  Michael,  engaged  in  the  tin- 
ner's trade  in  Greensburg;  David,  deceased;  Fannie,  the  wife  of  Ed- 
wards ;  Mary,  the  wife  of  William  Singer ;  and  George,  the  father  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch. 

George  Beaner  was  born  and  reared  in  Westmoreland  count}-,  where  he 
received  a  good  common-school  education,  and  learned  the  cooper's  trade,  at 
which  he  was  engaged  until  the  outbreak  of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  when  he 
promptly  tendered  his  services  in  defense  of  the  Union,  enlisting  in  1862  as  a 
member  of  a  regiment  of  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  and  proceeding  to  the  front. 
He  participated  in  a  number  of  important  engagements  and  was  finally  captured 
by  the  enemy  and  incarcerated  in  Libby  prison,  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  where 
he  died  in  captivity.  He  married  Hannah  Roddy,  who  was  likewise  born  and 
bred  in  Westmoreland  county,  and  she  survived  her  husband  by  many  years, 
dying  on  the  13th  of  ]\Iarch,  1904.  She  was  a  devoted  christian  and  her  gentle 
attributes  of  character  endeared  her  to  all  with  whom  she  came  in  contact.  Of 
her  children  we  enter  brief  record :  John  is  a  resident  of  New  Florence,  this 
county :  Daniel  is  a  prosperous  farmer  in  Somerset  county ;  Lewis  and  Samuel 
reside  in  jMillwood,  Westmoreland  county ;  Mary  is  the  wife  of  Frank  Risher ; 
Jennie  died  in  childhood :  George  W.  is  the  immediate  subject  of  this  review. 

George  W.  Beaner  was  born  in  Somerset  county,  Pennsylvania,  September 
II,  1862,  his  father  having  gone  to  the  front  as  a  soldier  only  a  short  time  pre- 
viously, so  that  he  was  never  permitted  to  know  paternal  care  and  guidance,  but 
has  reason  to  feel  all  of  gratitude  and  veneration  for  the  solicitude  and  self- 
abnegation  manifested  by  his  devoted  mother,  who  kept  watch  and  ward  over 
his  youthful  days  with  unceasing  care.  His  mother  returned  with  her  children 
to  Westmoreland  county  soon  after  his  birth,  and  in  the  public  schools  of  the 
same  he  secured  his  early  educational  training.  He  early  learned  the  trade 
of  sawyer,  and  to  the  same  he  has  devoted  his  attention  during  the  major  por- 
tion of  his  business  career,  being  known  as  one  of  the  most  efficcnt  artisans  in 
the  line  to  be  found  in  this  section.     He  showed  his  filial  devotion  ti)  his  loved 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  593 

mother  by  remaining  at  home  and  providing  for  her  until  she  was  called  for- 
ward to  the  land  of  the  leal,  and  he  has  never  married.  Mr.  Beaner  has  never 
sought  office  of  any  description. 

CHARLES  COXX'OR.  A\"hile  by  birth  and  parentage  Charles  Con- 
nor, of  Norton,  \'ii"ginia,  may  be  said  to  belong  to  Scotland,  by  the  ties  of  loyal 
citizenship  he  is  linked  to  the  United  States.  His  father,  Peter  Connor,  was 
born  in  1827,  in  the  parish  of  Shotts,  Lanarkshire,  Scotland,  and  was  by  occu- 
pation a  miner.  In  1880  he  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  whither  his  two 
sons,  Charles  and  Peter,  had  preceded  him  by  some  months  to  arrange  for  the 
arrival  of  the  remainder  of  the  family.  In  his  new  home  J\lr.  Connor  engaged 
in  mining  in  the  soft  coal  regions,  where  he  resided  during  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  He  was  active  in  the  temperance  movement,  and  was  a  Republican  in  pol- 
itics. In  early  manhool  he  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  but  sever- 
ed his  connection  with  that  body  when  Dr.  James  Morrison  was  expelled  there- 
from for  preaching  the  heresy  of  the  universality  of  the  atonement.  Mr.  Con- 
nor then  united  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  with  which  he  was  thence- 
forth identified.  His  wife  was  Jane  Sneddon,  and  their  children  were : 
Charles,  see  forward;  Peter  ^L,  mine  superintendent  in  Somerset  county,  TV-nn- 
sylvania ;  Mary,  deceased,  wife  of  Robert  Donaldson,  also  deceased  ;  Helen, 
wife  of  John  Cole,  mine  foreman  at  Boswell,  Somerset  county  ;  David,  machinist 
at  Hazelwood,  Pittsburg ;  John,  mine  foreman  at  Sandy  Lake,  Mercer  county, 
Pennsylvania ;  James,  mine  foreman  at  Dunbar,  Pennsylvania ;  William,  mine 
foreman  at  Myersdale,  Somerset  county;  and  Jennie,  wife  of  William  Peg, 
mine  foreman  at  Wallersburg,  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Connor,  the 
father,  died  in  1899.  in  Uniontown,  and  is  buried  in  Oak  Grove  cemetery. 

Charles  Connor,  son  of  Peter  and  Jane  (Sneddon)  Connor,  was  born  April 
30,  1850,  near  Glasgow,  Scotland,  and  received  a  very  limited  education  in  the 
common  schools.  In  his  twenty-fourth  year  he  attended  a  night  school  at  the 
South  Kensington  Museum  of  Science  and  Art,  London,  where  he  took  special 
courses  in  mining  and  mechanics,  both  theoretically  and  practically,  also  in  geol- 
ogy, machine  construction,  drawing,  inorganic  chemistry,  electricity,  mathe- 
matics and  geometry.  In  each  of  these  studies  he  was  granted  first  class  ad- 
vanced certificates.  For  eight  months  yearly  during  a  period  of  five  consecu- 
tive years,  he  walked  four  miles  to  and  from  school,  making  eight  miles  each 
night,  and  in  all  this  time  missed  but  three  nights.  As  early  as  his  ninth  year 
he  went  to  work  in  the  mines  as  trapper  boy  and  gradually  worked  his  way 
up  to  the  position  of  fire  boss  and  assistant  foreman.  In  1879  he  emigrated 
to  the  United  States  and  lived  for  one  year  in  Columbia  county,  Ohio,  where 
he  was  engaged  in  the  mines.  He  then  moved  to  the  banks  of  the  Monon- 
ghela  river,  near  Fayette  City,  where  he  was  employed  some  two  years,  serv- 
ing during  a  part  of  this  time  as  weighmaster  and  shipping  clerk.  Flis  next 
removal  was  to  the  Buffalo  mines  near  Monongahela  City,  and  while  employed 
there  an  explosion  occurred  in  the  mines,  Mr.  Connor  making  two  daring 
rescues.  His  knowledge  of  mining  having  become  evident  to  the  management, 
he  was  employed  in  the  reconstruction  of  the  ventilatfir  and  in  putting  tlic 
mines  in  working  order,  with  the  result  that  tlic  ventilator  was  increased  by 
the  same  fan  from  eighteen  thousand  to  twenty  thousand  feet  to  sixty-nine 
thousand  feet.  He  was  then  offered  the  position  of  foreman  of  the  mine, 
but  declined  it  for  the  reason  that  the  man  then  filling  the  place  was  his  per- 
sonal friend. 

This  work  brought  Mr.  Connor  into  contact  with  James  Louttit,  then  state 
superintendent  of  mines,  through  whose  influence  he  was  offered  and  accepted 

2-38 


594  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

the  position  of  foreman  at  the  Henry  Clay  mines  of  the  Frick  Coal  &  Coke 
Company.  Some,  six  months  later  he  was  oiTered  the  foremanship  of  the 
Leith  shaft  f<jr  the  Chicago  &  Connellsville  Coke  Company,  near  Uniontown, 
where  he  remained  three  years.  He  then  accepted  the  superintendency  of  the 
Rockhill  Iron  &  Coal  Company,  in  Huntingdon  county,  in  which  position  he 
served  seven  years.  In  1893  he  passed  the  examination  for  mine  inspector  and 
was  appointed  state  mine  inspector,  serving  in  this  important  position  seven 
years  and  nine  months.  Three  months  prior  to  the  expiration  of  his  last  term 
he  tendered  his  resignation  in  order  to  accept  the  position  of  general  superin- 
tendent of  mines  of  the  Dominion  Coal  Company,  Nova  Scotia,  Canada,  but 
at  the  end  of  seven  months,  in  consequence  of  the  rigorous  climate  and  his 
failing  health,  he  resigned  in  order  to  become  division  superintendent  of  the 
Redstone  Division  of  the  Pittsburg  Coal  Company.  Four  months  later  he  was 
appointed  by  the  same  company  inspector  of  all  their  mines  on  the  Monon- 
gahcla  and  Youghiogheny  rivers  south  of  Pittsburg. 

In  Tanuary,  1903,  through  much  persuasion,  he  was  induced  to  resign  this 
position"  and  go  to  Norton,  Virginia,  to  open  some  new  mines  and  build  coke 
ovens  for  some  officials  of  the  United  States  Steel  Company.  After  he  had 
opened  the  mines  and  built  four  hundred  furnaces,  everything  being  in  good 
working  order,  the  prices  of  coke  forced  the  company  to  shut  down,  and  Mr. 
Connor  went  to  J.Iaryland  to  open  some  mines  there.  When  his  work  was 
completed  he  returned,  after  an  absence  of  seven  months,  to  Norton,  where 
his  family  was  residing,  and  where  he  had  purchased  and  was  conducting  the 
St.  Charles  hotel.  In  June,  1904,  the  building  was  burned  to  the  ground,  and 
ten  days  later  Mr.  Connor  had  workmen  on  the  site  for  the  erection  of  a  new 
modern  brick  hotel  building  of  fifty-four  rooms,  having  in  this  interval  drawn 
the  plans,  let  the  contract  and  made  all  preliminary  arrangements.  The  build- 
ing was  completed  in  November  of  the  same  year  and  has  proved  a  very 
profitable  investment. 

In  the  Christmas  season  of  1904  Mr.  Connor  went  to  Somerset  county  to  at- 
tend the  death-bed  of  his  mother,  and  on  his  way  home  stopped  at  the  offices  of 
the  Pittsburg  Coal  Company,  Pittsburg,  to  see  his  former  friends  and  employes. 
He  was  urged  to  come  back  and  get  the  mines  at  Webster  in  profitable  working 
order,  and  in  compliance  with  this  request  took  charge  of  the  Equitable,  the 
North  Webster  and  the  Menown  mines,  entering  upon  his  duties  January  9, 
1905.  Throughout  Mr.  Connor's  varied  experience  every  position  in  which  he 
has  served  has  come  to  him  not  as  the  result  of  solicitation,  but  as  a  voluntary 
oflfer.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  has  done  some  campaign  speaking, 
but  declined  to  run  for  the  legislature,  although  urgently  solicited  to  become  a 
candidate.  He  is  connected  with  the  following  fraternal  organizations :  Fay- 
ette Lodge,  No.  228,  F.  and  A.  M. ;  Union  Chapter,  No.  156,  R.  A.  M. :  Union- 
town  Commandery,  No.  49,  Knights  Templar ;  and  Syria  Temple,  A.  A.  O.  N. 
M.  S.,  of  Pittsburg,  and  of  the  Odd  Fellows  and  Knights  of  Pythias.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Mr.  Connor  married,  February  10,  1872,  Jane  Musgrave,  a  native  of 
Northumberland,  England,  and  a  member  of  one  of  the  old  families  of  that 
region.  Their  children  are:  i.  Peter  M.,  mine  foreman  at  Ocean  No.  i,  of 
the  Pittsburg  Coal  Company  at  Scotthaven.  2.  Jeannie  S.,  trained  nurse,  for 
some  time  superintendent  of  the  Morgantown  Hospital  connected  with  the 
University.     3.    Annie   T.,   at   home,   graduate   of    Morgantown    University. 

4.  Charles  W.,  graduate  of  State  College,  now  mining  engineer  at  Ellsworth. 

5.  George  M.,  at  home,  hotel  clerk.  6.  Mary  M.,  attending  College  at  Bris- 
tol, Virginia.     7.     Lizzie  D.,  at  home. 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  595 

Peter  M.  Connor,  son  of  Charles  and  Jane  (Mnsgrave)  Connor,  was  born 
^larch  21,  1873,  in  England,  and  was  six  }ears  old  when  the  family  came  to 
the  United  States.  He  was  edncated  in  the  common  schools  and  in  his  tenth 
year  went  into  the  mines  as  trapper  boy.  He  has  been  since  then  continuously 
connected  with  mining,  rising  step  by  step  until  appointed  lire  boss  of  the 
mines  at  Star  Junction  belonging  to  the  \\'ashington  Coal  and  Coke  Company. 
After  serving  about  eighteen  months  in  this  capacity  he  was  offered  and  accept- 
ed the  position  of  mine  foreman  at  Revere  for  the  W.  J.  Rainey  Company.  In 
a  short  time  he  resigned  in  order  to  accept  the  same  position  with  the  A.  L. 
Keister  Company  of  the  \\'allersburg  mines.  Some  fourteen  months  later  he 
took  charge  of  the  Summer  Hill  mines  of  the  Pittsburg  Coal  Company,  and 
sixteen  months  after  went  to  Virginia,  where  for  one  year  he  had  charge  of 
the  Glamorgan  mines  of  the  Stone  Gap  Colliery  Company.  He  then  returned 
to  Pennsylvania,  and  was  soon  after  made  foreman  of  the  mine  of  which  he 
now  has  charge.  He  belongs  to  Carnegie  Commandery,  No  310,  Knights  of 
^lalta.  and  votes  with  the  Republicans.  He  is  an  attendant,  but  not  a  member, 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  ]\Ir.  Connor  married,  in  1893,  Mary  Jones 
of  Robertsdale,  Huntingdon  county,  and  they  have  three  children :  Bertha, 
Edna  and  Charles. 

ROBERT  OLIVER  BOVARD.  The  European  ancestors  of  Robert 
Oliver  Bovard,  of  South  Huntingdon  township,  were  Huguenots  who,  driven  by 
religious  persecutions  from  their  native  France,  sought  and  found  an  asylum 
on  the  shores  of  the  New  World. 

Oliver  Bovard  came  from  Lancaster  county  to  Westmoreland  county,  and 
settled  on  a  farm  in  what  is  now  Mount  Pleasant.  The  town  growing  up 
around  him  was  first  known  as  Helltown  and  later  as  Slabtown,  and  it  was 
through  his  intervention  that  the  place  was  spared  both  these  ugly  and  objec- 
tionable appellations.  Being  one  day  at  a  gathering  in  the  tavern,  Mr.  Bovard 
rose  and  went  out  with  a  bottle  of  wine  which  he  broke  against  the  side  of  the 
house,  uttering  the  words,  "I  christen  thee  ilount  Pleasant,"  thus  conferring 
upon  the  town  the  felicitous  name  which  it  has  since  enjoyed.  In  1814  Mr.  Bo- 
vard sold  his  Mount  Pleasant  land  and  moved  to  South  Huntingdon  township, 
buying  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  near  the  farm  now  owned  by  his  grand- 
son, Robert  Oliver  Bovard.  On  this  estate  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  The  night  following  that  on  which  he  took  possession  of  his  Mount  Pleas- 
ant farm  he  had  two  horses  stolen  by  the  Indians.  One  of  the  animals  was 
found  later  shot  dead,  presumably  because  it  refused  to  be  ]«rted  from  its  mate 
and  in  consequence  was  so  noisy  that  it  was  killed  by  its  ca])tors,  who  feared 
that  its  cries  might  lead  to  their  detection.  Mr.  Bovard  was  the  father  of  three 
sons:  Oliver,  see  forward;  John,  and  Robert.  The  two  last-named  died  in 
consequence  of  having  been  poisoned  by  wild  parsnips  which  they  mistook  for 
sweet  myrrh.  Mr.  Bovard  himself  had  partaken  of  the  vegetables,  but  in  a 
less  quantity,  and  therefore  recovered.  This  was  after  the  removal  of  the 
family  to  South  Huntingdon  township,  where  Mr.  Bovard  dierl  at  the  advanced 
age  of  eighty-i'our. 

Oliver  Bovard.  only  surviving  son  of  Oliver  Bovard  mentioned  above,  was 
lyjrn  on  the  Mount  Pleasant  farm,  a  portion  of  which  now  forms  the  site  of 
the  college,  and  on  reaching  manhood  remained  at  home,  in  course  of  time 
becoming  the  owner  of  the  estate  on  which  he  passed  liis  entire  life.  In  politics 
he  was  a  staunch  Reoublican,  and  held  several  minor  township  ofifices,  pos- 
sibly the  only  Republican  ever  elected  in  that  strong  Democratic  district. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  in  tlie  work  of  which  he  was  for 


596  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

years  a  prominent  leader.  He  married  Mathilda  Farr,  and  eight  of  their  cl.n-en 
children  are  now  living :  James  I.,  a  resident  of  East  Greensburg ;  Robert 
Oliver,  see  forward  ;  Charles  R.,  lives  in  South  Huntingdon  township ;  \\'illiam 
F.,  resides  in  East  Greensburg;  John  R.,  a  resident  of  North  Belle  Vernon; 
Mary  J.,  wife  of  Sherman  Ross,  of  East  Greensburg ;  Emma  M.,  and  Rosa  F., 
who  resides  with  tlieir  brother,  Charles  R.  The  death  of  Mr.  Bovard  occurred 
when  he  was  in  the  eightieth  year  of  his  age. 

Robert  Oliver  Bovard,  son  of  Oliver  and  Mathilda  (Farr)  Bovard,  was- 
born  November  30,  1855,  in  South  Huntingdon  township,  and  received  his  edu- 
cation in  the  common  schools.  On  reaching  his  eighteenth  year  he  took  Horace 
Greeley's  advice  and  "went  West,"  spending  five  years  in  various  parts  of  the 
western  country,  two  of  those  years  being  passed  in  California.  He  then  re- 
turned to  Westmoreland  county  and  participated  in  the  labors  of  the  home 
farm,  also  purchasing  a  farm  of  his  own,  and  dealing  extensively  in  country 
produce  as  well  as  in  cattle  and  hogs,  shipping  his  products  to  Pittsburg., 
Subsequently  he  sold  this  property  and  settled  on  a  rented  farm  in  South' 
Huntingdon  township.  Two  years  later  he  removed  to  Allegheny  county  and 
at  the  end  of  another  two  years  returned  to  his  native  county  and  township, 
became  by  purchase  the  owner  of  the  homestead,  and  resided  thereon  until 
1902,  when  he  leased  and  removed  to  his  present  farm.  In  1901  he  was  one 
of  forty-one  candidates  for  the  office  of  poor  director,  and  although  compara- 
tively but  little  known  at  that  time  lost  the  nomination  by  but  seventeen  votes. 
In  1903  he  was  one  of  fifteen  candidates  and  received  more  than  five  hundred 
votes  above  the  number  received  by  any  other  candidate.  In  1905  he  was 
again  nominated,  receiving  exactly  five  hundred  more  votes  than  any  other  can- 
didate. At  each  of  his  three  candidacies  Mr.  Bovard  has  polled  every  vote 
in  his  voting  precinct,  and  at  the  last  election  received  every  vote  in  his  neigh- 
boring precinct.  He  is  a  staunch  Republican  and  for  years  has  taken  an 
active  part  in  local  politics.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  in 
which  for  several  years  he  served  as  trustee  and  treasurer,  and  also  as  su- 
perintendent of  the  Sunday  school. 

Mr.  Bovard  married,  in  1886,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Samuel  Ruff,  of 
Hempficld  township.  Five  children  born  to  them  are  at  home  with  their  par- 
ents :  Oliver  William,  Sybilla  Rose,  ]\Iilla  Zeruiah,  Samuel  Rut¥,  and  Ro- 
berta Elizabeth. 

CHARLES  L.  BLAIR.  The  father  of  Charles  L.  Blair,  of  Vander- 
grift,  was  WilHam  Blair,  who  was  born  October  31,  1835,  in  Ireland,  and  in 
1865  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  settling  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania, 
where  for  a  short  time  he  found  employment  in  the  mines.  He  then  moved 
into  the  soft  coal  region,  and  for  some  years  worked  in  the  mines  of  the  Mon- 
ongahela  valley.  His  health  failing,  he  abandoned  mining  and  went  to  work  in 
the  rolling  mills  at  McKeesport,  wher  he  was  employed  until  1898.  He  then 
retired  and  moved  to  Vandergrift,  where  he  now  makes  his  home  with  his  son 
\Mlliam  E.  Blair.  Mr.  Blair  married,  before  leaving  Ireland,  Margaret  [ester, 
and  their  children  are:  William  E.,  heater  in  the  mills,  A'andergrift :  Wilbert 
H..  rougher  in  the  mills,  Vandergrift ;  Amanda,  wife  of  Oscar  Lenquist ;  Sarah, 
wife  of  Edward  Campbell,  superintendent  of  the  Leechburg  mills  of  the  Amer- 
ican Sheet  and  Tin  Plate  Company ;  Charles  L.,  of  whom  further ;  and  three 
deceased. 

Charles  L.  Blair,  son  of  William  and  Margaret  CJester)  Blair,  was  born 
January  13,  1875.  in  West  Elizabeth,  Pennsylvania,  and  acquired  his  education 
in  the  common  schools,  also  attending  a  night  school  in  McKeesport  conducted 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  597 

by  Professor  George  Woods.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  apprenticed  himself 
to  the  machinist's  trade  in  the  shops  of  the  JNlcKeesport  Ahicliine  Company, 
serving  three  years.  He  then  went  to  ApoUo,  where  he  obtained  a  position 
with  the  ApoHo  Iron  and  Steel  Company.  In  1897,  on  the  completion  of  the 
\'andergrift  plant,  he  was  transferred  to  that  place,  and  in  1900  was  made  as- 
sistant foreman  of  the  machine  shop.  In  June,  1905,  he  was  promoted  to  the 
position  of  foreman  which  he  now  holds.  He  belongs  to  the  Royal  Arcanum 
and  is  a  Republican   in   politics. 

Mr.  Blair  married,  June  11,  1894,  Florence,  daughter  of  John  Benjamin, 
of  Apollo,  now  deceased,  and  their  children  are :  Oscar  Tabor,  Margaret  Paul- 
ine, Robert  Benjamin,  and  Charles  Louis. 

AXDRE\\'  P.  YOUXG,  sheet  roller  in  the  \"andergrift  mills  of  the 
American  Sheet  Steel  and  Tin  Plate  Company,  is  descended  from  one  of  the 
■pioneer  settlers  of  Pennsylvania.  He  is  one  of  the  prosperous  and  prominent 
men  of,  \'andergrift,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  of  which  town  he 
is  a  respected  citizen. 

Samuel  Young,  grandfather  of  Andrew  P.  Young,  the  first  of  this  family  of 
whom  we  have  any  record,  located  in  western  Pennsylvania,  near  EUerton,  Arm- 
strong county,  where  he  purchased  a  farm  about  1854,  which  homestead  is  in 
the  possession  of  the  family  to  the  present  day  (1906).  Here  he  resided,  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits,  until  his  death. 

Henry  Young,  son  of  Samuel  Young,  was  born  east  of  the  Allegheny  moun- 
tains in  1839,  and  when  about  fifteen  years  of  age  came  with  his  parents  to 
western  Pennsylvania,  where  they  settled  near  EUerton.  Mr.  Young  was 
brought  up  on  this  farm  and  adopted  farming  as  his  life's  work,  making  a  suc- 
cess of  his  undertaking.  Here  he  resided  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  which 
occurred  in  1882.  During  a  number  of  years  he  was  an  earnest  supporter  of 
the  Republican  creed,  but  later  affiliated  with  the  Democratic  party.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church,  in  which  he  was  an  earnest  worker  and  a 
consistent  christian.  j\Ir.  Young  married  Lucy  Klingensmith,  born  in  Arm- 
strong county,  in  1835,  daughter  of  Adam  Klingensmith,  a  prosperous  farmer 
residing  near  Leechburg,  Pennsylvania.  ^Irs.  Young  is  living  in  Leechburg, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Young  had  seven  chil- 
dren, of  whom  six  are  now  living,  as  follows:  i.  Henry,  resides  in  Vander- 
grift  Heights,  Pennsylvania.  2.  George,  also  a  resident  of  Vandergrift 
Heights.  3.  Andrew  P..  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  4.  Mary,  married  A. 
R.  Beatty,  lives  at  Leechburg.  5.  Rosanna,  married  R.  H.  Keay,  and  resides 
in  Wellsville,  Ohio.  6.  Laura,  married  Hugh  Kepple,  resident  of  Allegheny 
township,  Westmoreland  county. 

Andrew  P.  Young,  third  son  and  child  of  Henry  and  Lucy  (Klingensmith) 
Young,  was  born  in  Armstrong  county,  Pennsylvania,  February  12,  1870.  He 
w-as  but  twelve  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  the  death  of  his  father,  and  immedi- 
ately commenced  to  work  in  order  to  contribute  his  share  towards  the  support 
of  the  family.  For  a  period  of  two  years  he  was  engaged  in  farm  work,  and 
then  his  mother  removed  to  Leechburg  with  her  family,  and  for  the  three  years 
following  young  Andrew  P.  found  employment  at  the  coal  mines.  At  the  age  of 
seventeen  he  secured  a  position  in  the  steel  mill  of  Jennings  &  Company,  in 
Leechburg.  where  he  was  employed  for  the  five  years  following.  In  this  mill  he 
rose  from  the  position  of  a  laborer  to  that  of  a  rougher.  This  latter  position 
he  resigned  in  order  to  accept  a  position  in  the  mills  of  Kirkpatrick  &  Com- 
pany, also  of  Leechburg,  and  here  he  had  worked  but  one  week  as  a  roller 
w^hen  he  was  promoted  to  the  important  position  of  sheet  roller.    He  remained 


598  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

in  the  employment  of  this  company  for  about  six  years,  resigning  to  accept  a 
position  as  roller  in  the  Vandergrift  mills  of  the  Apollo  Iron  and  Steel  Com- 
pany, which  position  he  holds  at  the  present  time  (1906).  Mr.  Young  enter- 
tains liberal  views  on  all  the  important  questions  of  the  day,  finding  time  to 
keep  well  informed  on  all  subjects  of  general  interest.  He'  is  Republican  in 
politics,  and  while  in  Leechburg  served  as  a  member  of  the  town  council,  being 
a  member  at  the  time  of  the  paving  of  the  streets  of  that  town.  He  and  his 
family  are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church,  and  regular  attendants.  Mr. 
Young  is  the  owner  of  the  original  homestead  of  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
eight  acres  which  his  grandfather  purchased  and  cultivated.  He  married, 
October  22,  1891.  Julia  A.  Haines,  of  Leechburg,  daughter  of  Philip  Haines,  a 
railroad  man,  and  they  have  had  four  children :  Ethel  May,  Elma  Myrtle, 
Clifford   Earl,   deceased,   Naomi   Ruth. 

SILAS  M.  GIRT,  sheet  heater  in  the  Vandergrift  mills  of  the 
American  Sheet  Steel  and  Tin  Plate  Company,  and  one  of  the  rising  young  men 
in  the  town  of  Vandergrift,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  is  a  represen- 
tative of  a  family  which  has  been  domiciled  in  Pennsylvania  for  several  genera- 
tions. 

William  Girt,  father  of  Silas  M.  Girt,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1824, 
and  died  in  Bethlehem.  Pennsylvania,  November  22,  1899.  The  place  of  his 
birth  was  probably  Pittsburg,  kit  this  is  not  certain.  He  learned  the  trade  of 
a  machinist  in  Pittsburg,  and  from  thence  removed  to  Bethlehem,  where  for 
thirty-two  years  he  was  connected  with  the  foundry  business.  He  assisted  in 
the  building  of  hundreds  of  the  old  style  threshing  machines,  and  was  con- 
sidered a  master  hand  at  all  he  undertook.  He  was  a  man  of  sterling  charac- 
ter, and  enjoyed  the  love  and  respect  of  all  who  knew  him.  In  politics  he  was 
a  Republican.  His  death  was  caused  by  a  stroke  of  paralysis.  He  was  twice 
married  and  of  his  first  marriage  had  three  children :  Margaret,  married 
George  Shaner,  and  resides  in  Carter,  Tennessee;  Benjamin  F.,  lives  in  New 
Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania ;  Katie,  lives  in  Punxsutawney,  Jefferson  county, 
Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Girt  married  (second)  Jane  Lacox,  and  had  seven  chil- 
dren: I.  John,  a  resident  of  Leechburg,  Pennsylvania.  2.  May,  married 
John  Dickey,  resides  in  Punxsutawney,  Jefferson  county.  3.  Mary,  married 
Ray  France,  superintendent  of  Gas  company,  resides  in  Templeton,  Pennsyl- 
vania. 4.  Silas  M.,  of  whom  further.  5.  Nerra,  married  David  Hopkins  and 
resides  in  Punxsutawney.  6.  Nellie,  married  Charles  Young,  resides  in  Van- 
dergrift.     7.      Emma,   widow    of    Wilson    Perry,    resides   at   Punxsutawne_\'. 

Silas  M.  Girt,  fourth  child  and  second  son  of  William  and  Jane  (Lacox) 
Girt,  was  born  in  Clarion  county,  Pennsylvania,  October  5,  1874.  He  spent  the 
early  years  of  his  life  at  home  with  his  parents,  acquiring  his  education  in  the 
pubHc  schools.  In  the  spring  of  1894  he  commenced  his  iDusiness  career  in  the 
mills  of  the  Apollo  Iron  and  Steel  Company,  at  Apollo,  Pennsylvania,  receiving 
the  position  of  matcher.  Three  years  later  he  was  transferred  to  the  new  mills 
at  Vandergrift,  to  serve  in  a  similar  capacity.  His  diligence  and  strict  attention 
to  the  duties  entailed  by  his  position  earned  for  him  promotion,  and  he  rapidly 
passed  through  the  positions  of  doubler  and  pair  heater,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1901  was  made  a  sheet  heater  in  the  mills,  which  position  he  holds  at  the  pres- 
ent time  (1906).  Mr.  Girt  is  a-Republican,  and  although  he  takes  a  great  inter- 
est in  the  afifairs  of  his  country  as  well  as  of  his  town,  he  has  never  found  time 
for  the  holding  of  any  public  office.  His  opinion  on  all  questions  of  the  day  car- 
ries considerable  weight  and  influence,  as  he  is  known  to  be  a  man  of  libera! 
and  progressive  ideas.     He  is  a  member  of  \'andergrift  Aerie,  No.  1058,  Fra- 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  599 

ternal  Order  of  Easjles :  and  also  of  \"anderoTift  Lodge,  Xo.  45O.  Knights  of 
Pvthias :  Mr.  Girt  married.  December  24,  1901,  Lydia  Hunter,  of  Vandergrift, 
Pennsylvania.  They  have  had  four  children,  of  whom  two  (twins)  died  m 
infancy.     The  surviving  children  are:     William  and  Eva. 

GEORGE  RICHARD  HORNE.  I'cnnsylvania  owes  much  of  the 
success  of  its  industries  to  the  earnestness,  faithfulness  and  strict  attention  to 
duty  which  characterizes  he  work  of  he  descendants  of  immigrants  and  those 
who  have  settled  here  and  are  of  foreign  descent.  In  this  class  may  be  men- 
tioned George  Richard  Home,  a  representative  of  Scotch-Irish  ancestry,  and 
a  roller  in  the  Windergrift  mills  of  the  Amrican  Sheet  Steel  and  Tin  Plate 
Companv. 

His' grandfather,  who  was  the  founder  of  the  family  in  America,  emigrated 
to  the  United  States  and  settled  in  Maryland,  whence  he  came  to  East  Liberty, 
Alleghcnv  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  well  known  contractor  in  his  day, 
and  "furn'ishd  the  stone  for  the  building  of  the  old  Allegheny  court  house  and 
the  countv  jail.  He  died  at  an  early  age.  being  drowned  in  the  Butcher's  Run 
flood  in  i'838. 

Moses  Home,  son  of  the  last  named  Home,  was  born  in  East  Liberty, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1832.  He  was  reared  in  West  Liberty,  Allegheny  county,  re- 
ceiving the  ordinarv'  schooling  that  was  customary  in  that  time.  He  then 
learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  and  for  some  years  after  attaining  manhood  fol- 
lowed this  calling.He  then  turned  his  attention  to  contracting  and  building, 
of  which  he  made  a  decided  success.  In  1868  he  removd  to  Paulton,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  resided  for  about  seven  years,  removing  then  to  Apollo,  Arm- 
strong county,  in  1875.  where  he  resides  at  the  present  day  (igo6).  He  is  a 
strong  Republican,  with  decided  views  on  all  questions  of  the  day,  and  in 
his  younger  days  was  a  conspicuous  and  important  factor  in  the  councils  of 
his  party.  He  "is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  a  zealous 
worker  in  the  cause  of  Christianity.  He  married  Elizabeth  Larimer,  born  in 
Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  183 1,  daughter  of  a  well  known  and  pros- 
perous farmer  of  that  county.  Mrs.  Horne  had  two  brothers,  both  of  whom 
served  in  the  army  during  the  Civil  war,  William  Larimer  and  George  W. 
Larimer,  the  latter  holding  the  rank  of  captain.  IMoses  and  Elizabeth  (Lari- 
mer) Horne  had  seven  children,  of  whom  the  following  four  are  now  living: 
I.  Lydia  E.,  married  H.  T.  Henry,  and  resides  at  Vandergrift.  2.  Aman- 
da L.,  married  John  M.  Smith,  resides  in  Paulton.  3.  Kizzie  C,  married 
L.  T.  Shepler,  resides  in  Blairsville.  4.  George  Richard,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch. 

George  Richard  Horne,  fourth  surviving  child  and  only  son  of  Moses  and 
Elizabeth  (Larimer)  Horne,  was  born  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
opposite  the  borough  of  Apollo,  December  i,  i86g.  He  spent  his  early  years 
under  the  parental  roof  and  received  a  substantial  education  in  the  common 
schools  of  the  district  in  which  he  was  born.  He  began  his  business  career  in 
1888  as  a  steel  worker.  It  was  his  desire  to  get  a  practical  and  thorough  worJ<- 
ing  knowledge  of  this  great  and  growing  industry  from  its  very  beginning,  so 
he  considered  it  advisable  to  start  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder  and  climb  it  rung  by 
rung.  His  first  work  was  in  the  mills  of  the  .Apollo  Iron  and  Steel  Company, 
and.  here  his  diligence  and  application  soon  permitted  him  to  advance  through 
the  various  grades  of  the  work  until,  in  1895,  he  had  attained  the  position  of 
sheet  heater.  In  December  of  1896  he  was  transferred  to  the  new  mills  of  the 
company  at  Vandergrift,  and  in  the  summer  following  was  made  a  sheet  roller ; 
in  which  position  he  has  remained  up  to  the  present  time  (1906).     He  is  con- 


6oo  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


sidered  one  of  the  most  reliable  and  satisfactory  men  in  the  employ  of  the  com- 
pany, and  one  in  whom  they  can  place  implicit  confidence  in  any  emerg'ency. 
Mr.  Home  follows  the  affairs  of  the  nation  as  well  as  the  loal  political  situation 
with  interest,  is  a  staunch  Republican,  but  has  never  aspired  to  public  office. 
He  is  a  member  of  Apollo  Lodge,  No  386,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  and  of  the  Royal  Ar- 
canum. He  married,  in  1891,  Emma  J.  Shmid,  a  native  of  Switzerland,  and 
they  have  four  children :     Herbert  j\l.,  OHie  B.,  George  R.,  Jr.,  and  Phyllis. 

JOHN  WILLIAM  LOCK,  roller  in  the  Vandcrgrift  mills  of  the 
American  Sheet  Steel  and  Tin  Plate  Company,  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the 
town  and  highly  steemed  by  his  fellow  townsmen,  is  a  native  of  England,  and 
comes  from  good  English  stock. 

Arthur  Lock,  father  of  John  William  Lock,  and  the  first  of  his  family  to 
emigrate  to  America,  was  born  in  London,  England,  where  he  was  educated  and 
served  his  apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of  shipbuilding  at  the  Blackwell  docks. 
He  worked  for  some  years  at  this  trade,  and  in  1866,  decided  to  come  to  the 
United  States.  He  remained  in  the  city  of  New  York  but  a  short  time,  and 
then  went  to  Paterson,  New  Jersey,  where  he  obtained  employment  with  the 
Rogers  Locomotive  Company.  In  the  spring  of  1874  he  went  to  Philadelphia, 
in  the  capacity  of  foreman  in  connection  with  the  erection  of  the  exposition 
buildings.  Upon  the  completion  of  this  work  in  1876  he  was  appointed  assist- 
ant foreman  in  the  Philadelphia  shops  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company. 
In  1880  he  was  offered  the  position  of  foreman  in  the  shops  of  the  Westmore- 
land Coal  Company  at  Irwin ;  this  position  he  accepted  and  removed  to  that 
town.  He  resigned  his  position  in  1888  in  order  to  take  a  trip  to  England, 
and  upon  his  return  was  for  a  short  time  assistant  superintendent  of  the  More- 
wood  coke  plant  at  Mount  Pleasant.  In  February,  1889,  he  was  employed  as 
roll-turner  in  the  mills  of  Kirkpatrick  &  Company  at  Leechburg.  He  resigned 
this  position  in  1905  and  removed  to  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  where,  at  the  age 
of  sixty-three  years,  he  is  leading  a  retired  life.  Mr.  Lock  was  a  man  who 
took  an  active  interest  in  all  the  public  affairs  of  the  community  of  which  he 
was  a  member,  and  served  for  some  years  as  school  director.  His  political 
affiliation  is  Republican,  and  he  is  a  member  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church 
of  which  he  has  been  an  active  member  for  many  years,  acting  as  lay  reader. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Royal  Arcanum.  Before  emigrating  to  America, 
Mr.  Lock  married  Caroline  Fatten,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  thirteen 
children,  eleven  of  whom  are  now  living  (1906).  Two  of  these  children  are 
residents  of  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania :  Robert,  assistant  super- 
intendent of  the  sheet  mill  department  of  the  Yandergrift  mills ;  and  John 
William,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

John  William  Lock,  son  of  Arthur  and  Caroline  (Patton)  Lock,  was  born 
in  London,  England,  March  6,  1864.  He  was  but  two  years  of  age  when  his 
parents  emigrated  to  America,  and  he  was  taken  by  his  paternal  grandmother, 
who  was  much  attached  to  him.  He  lived  with  her  for  four  years,  when  she 
died. He  was  then  brough  to  his  parents  by  a  maiden  aunt,  Alice  Lock.  From 
this  time  he  remained  at  home  with  his  parents  until  he  had  attained  the  years 
of  manhood.  He  received  a  good  education  in  the  common  schools  of  the  town 
in  which  he  lived,  and  was  a  studious  and  industrious  pupil.  While  still  quite 
a  young  man  he  learned  the  trade  of  blacksmith,  and  followed  this  occupj^tion 
for  a  number  of  years.  In  1891  he  was  oft'ered  a  position  in  the  sheet  steel  mills 
of  De  Wees,  Wood  &  Company,  in  IMcKeesport,  where  he  was  living  at  this 
time.  He  remained  in  its  employ  for  about  two  years  and  then  went  to  Leech- 
burg, Pennsylvania,  where  he  accepted  a  position  in  the  sheet  mills  of  Kirkpat- 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  6oi 

rick  &  Company.  He  retained  this  position  of  sheet  heater  with  this  company 
up  to  July,  1897,  when  he  resigned  and  came  to  \'andergrift,  and  accepted  a 
similar  position  with  the  Apollo  Iron  and  Steel  Company,  in  which  he  remained 
for  about  eighteen  months.  At  the  end  of  this  period  he  was  advanced  to  the 
position  of  roller,  which  he  has  held  up  to  the  present  time  (1906).  He  has 
always  been  a  trusted  and  faithful  employe  in  all  the  positions  he  has  held  and 
has  deserv-edly  had  the  confidence  of  his  employers  from  the  time  he  commenced 
his  business  career.  He  is  earnest,  energetic,  and  ambitious,  and  these  qualities 
have  helped  not  a  little  to  make  for  him  the  enviable  reputation  he  possesses. 
He  has  many  friends,  not  alone  among  his  fellow  employes,  but  also  in  the 
social  and  political  circles  of  the  town.  He  is  a  staunch  Republican,  and  takes 
a  considerable  interest  in  the  public  affairs  of  the  community  in  which  he 
lives,  having  served  three  years  as  a  member  of  the  borough  council  of  Van- 
dergrift.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church  and  of  Vandergrift 
Lodge.  No.  1 1 16,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  the  Encampment  and  Rebekah  Lodge  of 
the  same  order ;  Apollo  Lodge,  No.  386,  B.  P.  O.  E. ;  Royal  Arcanum,  and  the 
Maccabees. 

Mr.  Lock  married,  ^Lirch  8,  1888,  ^Minnie  Grace  Sleek,  of  Mount  Pleasant, 
daughter  of  George  A.  and  Catherine  (Long)  Sleek.  Mrs.  Lock's  maternal 
grandfather.  Abraham  Long,  was  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Westmoreland 
county,  having  emigrated  from  German}-  and  located  near  where  the  town  of 
New  Stanton  now  stands.  He  was  the  founder  of  a  large  familv  of  descendants, 
many  of  whom  have  been  prominently  identified  with  the  history  of  Westmore- 
land county.  To  ^Ir.  and  Mrs.  Lock  were  born  children:  i.  Edith  Eleanor. 
2.  Carrie  Catherine.  3.  Ann  Elizabeth.  4.  George  Arthur.  5.  Alark  Hen- 
ry.    6.  John  \Mlliam.     7.  Helen  Virginia. 

WILLL\^I  J.  MORGAN,  well  and  favorably  known  in  Pennsylania 
and  in  many  other  states  of  the  L'nion,  is  one  of  the  best  known  citizens  of  Van- 
dergrift. Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  represents  the  second  gener- 
ation of  his  family  in  this  country,  being  descended  from  a  Welsh  family. 

His  father.  Lewis  Morgan,  and  the  founder  of  the  family  in  America,  was 
born  in  Wales,  where  he  resided  until  about  1865  or  1866,  when  he  emigrated 
to  the  United  States.  He  went  immediately  to  Scranton,  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  located.  He  remained  there  but  a  short  time  when  he  remoed  to  Danville, 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  made  his  home  for  a  priod  of  about  twenty-five  years. 
Mr.  Morgan  was  a  machinist  by  trade,  and  while  living  in  Danville  lield  a 
prominent  and  responsible  position  with  the  Branch  Steel  Companv  and  the 
Montour  Iron  and  Steel  Company.  He  resigned  the  latter  position  in  order 
to  enter  into  an  agreement  with  the  Reading  Iron  Company  at  Reading,  to 
act  for  them  in  the  capacity  of  superintendent.  After  remaining  in  Reading 
for  some  time  he  was  offered  an  important  position  by  the  Bucyrus  Company, 
manufacturers  of  steam  dredgers  and  wrecking  machinery,  in  ^lilwaukee, 
Wisconsin.  This  offer  he  accepted,  and  has  been  associated  with  that  com- 
pany since  that  time.  Mr.  Morgan  is  a  man  of  l)road  intelligence  and  liberal 
and  progressive  ideas,  and  gives  his  support  to  the  Republican  party.  ?Te  is  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  church,  and  also  of  the  Masonic  fraternitv.  He  is  a 
man  with  an  excellent  and  wide-spread  reputation  in  the  world  of  mechanics. 
He  married,  in  Wales,  Margaret  \\'illiams,  who  was  born  in  Wales,  and  died 
in  the  L'nited  States  in  1888.  Of  their  seven  children,  five  are  now  living,  as 
follows:  I.  Elizabeth,  married  William  Gillingcr  and  resides  in  Catawissa, 
Pennsylvania.  2.  Edith,  deceased.  3.  Thomas,  resident  in  Chicago.  Illi- 
nois.    4.     William  J.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.     5.     Etta,  married  Charles 


6o2  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY 

Wolford,  lives  in  Alleghenv.  Pennsylvania.  6.  Georgia,  deceased.  7.  Ella, 
unmarried,  resides  in  South  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin.  ]\lr.  Morgan  married 
(second)    Hariet   Rockafellow,    of    Danville,    Pennsylvania. 

William  T-  JMorgan,  second  son  ond  fourth  child  of  Lewis  and  Margaret 
(Williams)  Morgan,  was  born  in  Danville,  Montour  county,  Pennsylvania, 
August  8.  1868.  His  early  years  were  spent  under  the  parental  roof,  and  he 
acquired  a  good  education  in  the  common  schools  of  Danville.  At  the  age 
of  sixteen  years  he  apprenticed  himself  to  the  trade  of  machinist  in  the  shops 
of  the  Montour  Iron  and  Steel  Company,  and  finished  his  apprenticeship  in  the 
course  of  four  years.  At  this  time  (1888)  he  went  to  Pittsburg,  where  he  ob- 
tained employment  in  the  shops  of  Dilworth  Porter  &  Company.  Here  he  re- 
mained but  a  short  time,  and  in  the  fall  of  1888  he  went  west,  as  much  to  see 
something  of  the  world  as  to  gain  a  practical  working  knowledge  of  the 
methods  employed  by  different  companies.  For  the  next  two  and  a  half  years 
his  time  was  spent  in  machine  shops  in  Chicago,  Illinois ;  St.  Louis,  Missouri ; 
Cincinnati,  Ohio ;  and  r^Iemphis,  Tennessee.  His  work  was  of  excellent  char- 
acter, and  he  never  had  the  slightest  difficulty  in  securing  employment.  He 
returned  to  Pennsylvania  in  1891  and  made  his  home  in  Leechburg.  Here 
he  sought  and  found  employment  in  the  shops  of  the  Leechburg  Foundry  and 
Machine  Company.  With  the  exception  of  a  year  spent  with  the  Mesta  Ma- 
chine Companv,  and  a  similar  period  of  time  spent  with  the  Apollo  Iron  and 
Steel  Company,  Mr.  Morgan  has  been  steadily  occupied  with  the  work  of  the 
Leechburg  Foundrv  and  Machine  Company,  up  to  September,  1900,  when_  he 
came  to  Vandergr'ift.  He  was  offered  and  accepted  a  responsible  and  im- 
portant position  in  the  Vandergrift  mills,  and  this  he  has  since  held  to  the 
mutual  satisfaction  of  himself  and  the  company.  Mr.  Morgan  is  a  man  wdio 
has  never  done  a  piece  of  work  mechanically.  Before  he  commences  any  im- 
portant undertaking,  he  considers  it  well  from  every  point  of  view,  with  its 
relation  to  other  work  with  which  it  may  be  connected ;  then,  having  outlined 
his  plan,  he  proceeds  with  the  certainty  that  he  is  in  the  right,  and  that  every 
stroke  of  work  is  done  to  the  best  advantage.  He  possesses  great  influence 
both  among  his  fellow  employes  and  in  the  community  at  large,  having  a  large 
circle  of  friends.  He  is  possessed  of  a  receptive  mind  which  was  stored  with 
many  facts  of  interest  while  he  spent  his  years  away  from  his  native  state. 
His  views  of  all  subjects  are  broad  and  liberal,  and  show  independence  of 
thought.  In  politics  he  is  a  strong  adherent  of  the  Republican  party.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Baptist  church,  and  of  Vandergrift  Lodge,  No.  437,  K.  P. ; 
Leechburg  Council  Royal  Arcanum;  Vandergrift  Aerie,  No.  1038,  Fraternal 
Order  of  "Eagles.  ]\Ir.  ^vlorgan  married,  January  14,  1892,  Elizabeth  Jack,  of 
Leechburg,  Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  Matthew  Jack,  a  contractor  and  team- 
ster of  Leechburg,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Jack  is  no  longer  living.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
William  J.  Morgan  were  the  parents  of  one  child:    Lewis,  deceased. 

JOHN  C.  NOLF,  a  sheet  heater  in  the  American  Sheet  Steel  and 
Tin  Plate  Company,  and  a  representative  man  of  Vandergrift,  is  descended 
from  good  German  and  Scotch  stock.  His  paternal  grandparents  emigrated 
to  America  from  Germany  and  settled  in  Armstrong  county,  Pennsylvania. 
George  Nolf,  father  of  John  C.  Nolf,  was  born  in  Armstrong  county, 
Pennsylvania,  January  15,  1830.  It  was  intended  that  he  should  be  a  farmer, 
and  his  early  training  was  to  that  end.  Upon  attaining  manhood  he  acquired 
the  old  homestead  near  Putneyville,  Armstrong  county,  and  this  he  cultivated 
for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  died  on  this  homestead  September  24,  1889. 
He  took  an  active  interest  in  all  public  aft'airs  that  concerned  the  community 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  603 

of  which  he  was  a  member,  and  affihated  with  the  Rcptiblican  party.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  ^lethodist  Episcopal  church,  in  which  he  was  a  class  leader 
and  active  worker  with  excellent  results.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Intle- 
pendent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  He  married  Julia  Brown,  born  in  Arm- 
strong county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1834.  daughter  of  John  and  Sarah  Brown, 
both  natives  "of  Scotland.  2\Irs.  Nolf  died  in  1867,  aged  thirty-three  years. 
^It.  and  Mrs.  George  Nolf  had  eight  children,  of  whom  the  following  six  are 
now  living:  I.  James  A.,  resides  in  Leechburg.  2.  Matthias,  resides  in  Du 
Bois,  Pennsylvania.  3.  Joseph,  resides  in  Seattle,  Washington.  4.  Sarah 
A.,  married  William  Jacobs,  resides  in  Altoona.  Pennsylvania.  5.  John  C, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch.     6.    Frank,  resident  in  \'andergrift. 

John  C.  Xolf,  fifth  child  and  fourth  son  of  the  surviving  children  of 
George  and  Julia  (Brown)  Nolf,  was  born  in  Armstrong  county,  Pennsylva- 
nia, April  18,  1863.  He  was  but  four  years  of  age  when  he  lost  his  mother, 
and  was  taken  by  the  family  of  Jerry  Bowser,  a  farmer  of  Armstrong  county, 
bv  whom  he  was  reared  up  to  his  fifteenth  year.  He  then  began  his  business 
career,  going  to  Ohio  and  spending  one  summer  on  a  farm  there.  He  then 
returned  to  Armstrong  county,  and  for  a  year  was  employed  in  Caldwell's 
furnace.  He  then  removed  to  Elk  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  obtained 
employment  as  a  driver  for  a  lumber  concern,  and  for  about  seventeen  years 
was  connected  with  lumbering,  mining  and  carpentering  work.  In  1897  he 
came  to  Vandergrift  and  obtained  employment  in  the  mills  of  the  Apollo 
Iron  and  Steel  Company  as  a  matcher.  He  was  diligent  and  capable,  and  rose 
rapidly  through  the  positions  of  doubler  and  pair  heater,  until  in  May  of  1899 
he  was  made  a  sheet  heater,  in  which  capacity  he  has  since  served  the  com- 
pany. Mr.  Nolf  is  active  in  the  afTairs  of  the  community  in  which  he  lives. 
He  possesses  great  energy  and  force  of  character,  and  executive  ability  in  a 
marked  degree.  In  politics  he  favors  the  Republican  party,  and  he  served 
as  school  director  while  a  resident  of  Vandergrift  Heights.  It  was  due  to  his 
advocacy  and  influence  that  the  present  beautiful  brick  school  buildings  was 
erected.  He  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  IMethodist  Episcopal  church, 
in  which  Mr.  Xolf  is  a  steward,  and  has  been  a  member  of  the  board  since  its 
mization. 

Mr.  Xolf  married,  September  2,  1884,  ^largaret  C.  Wadding,  of  Day- 
ton, Armstrong  county,  and  they  had  six  children :  Zula  May  and  Lula 
Grace,  twins  ;  William  Raymond  ;  Inez  Isabelle  ;  John  Willard  :  Leonard.  Mrs. 
Nolf  died  September  24,  1899,  and  Mr.  X^olf  married  (second)  in  1900,  Het- 
tie  A.  dinger,  of  Corsica,  Jefiferson  county,  Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  Joseph 
and  Hannah  M.  (Thompson)  Clinger,  the  former  a  native  of  Armstrong 
county,  and  the  latter  of  Jefferson  county,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nolf 
have  had  one  child  born  to  them :    Earl  Wallace. 

CLAUD  D.  FRANCE,  a  resident  of  Vandergrift,  Westmoreland 
county,  is  a  roller  in  the  mills  of  the  American  Sheet  Steel  and  Tin  Plate 
Company,  and  stands  high  in  favor  with  the  various  members  of  the  company. 
He  is  of  German  descent,  his  grandparents  having  come  to  the  L'nited  States 
many  years  ago. 

Samuel  France,  father  of  Claud  D.  France,  was  born  in  South  Bend 
Armstrong  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1818.  He  was  there  brought  up  and 
educated,  and  was  then  apprenticed  to  the  trade  of  carpenter.  With  the 
exception  of  ten  years  spent  in  the  car  shops  at  Altoona,  his  life  was  spent  in 
Armstrong  county.  The  last  fifteen  years  of  his  life  were  passed  on  a  farm 
opposite  Vandergrift,  and  he  suffered  greatly  during  this  time  from  a  wound 


6o4  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

r.eceived  while  in  active  service  in  the  civil  war.  He  had  served  with  great 
bravery  and  received  commendation  therefor.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics, 
and  during  his  years  of  vigorous  manhood  took  an  active  interest  in  all  affairs 
relating  to  his  town  and  country.  In  later  years  he  became  an  adherent  of 
the  Prohibition  party.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  He  mar- 
ried Sarah  Smeltzer,  and  they  had  four  children:  i.  Ray  M.,  lives  in  Arm- 
strong county.  2.  Jennie  M.,  wife  of  Stephen  Uhern,  of  North  Vandergrift. 
3.  Claud  D.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  4.  Samuel  T.,  a  resident  of  Vander- 
grift. 

Claud  D.  France,  second  son  and  third  child  of  Samuel  and  Sarah  (Smelt- 
zer) France,  was  born  in  Elderton,  Armstrong  county,  December  25,  1873. 
He  lived  with  his  parents  until  he  was  ten  years  of  age,  when  he  went  to  reside 
with  a  sister,  Mrs.  A.  O.  Stitt,  and  an  uncle,  Daniel  Ray,  of  Shady  Plane,  Arm- 
strong county.  He  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of  Arm- 
strong county,  and  in  1888,  when  he  had  not  yet  attained  the  age  of  fifteen 
years,  he  went  to  work  in  the  mills  of  the  Apollo  Iron  and  Steel  Company, 
in  Apollo,  Pennsylvania.  His  first  position  was  in  the  bar  mill  department, 
where  his  occupation  was  the  swinging  of  blooms  and  the  wheeling  of  cinders. 
He  was  employed  in  this  mill  in  various  capacities  for  about  two  years,  and 
was  then  transferred  to  the  sheet  mills.  Here  he  commenced  work  as  a 
scrap  boy,  and  by  faithfulness  and  diligence  he  was  advanced  through  the 
various  grades — opener,  matcher,  doubler,  rougher — and  in  1896  he  went  to 
Leechburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  accepted  a  position  as  roller  in  the  Jennings 
sheet  mills.  Here  he  remained  but  one  year,  however,  and  then  returned  to' 
the  Apollo  mills,  and  for  a  short  time  served  in  the  capacity  of  a  rougher.  In 
the  same  year  (1897)  he  was  advanced  to  the  position  of  a  roller  in  the 
Apollo  mills,  and  at  the  end  of  another  year  was  transferred  to  the  mills  at 
Vandergrift,  Pennsylvania.  This  position  he  now  holds  to  the  mutual  satis- 
faction of  himself  and  his  employers.  Mr.  France's  energy  and  force  of  char- 
acter have  made  him  a  man  of  influence  in  the  town  in  which  he  lives,  and 
his  opinion  on  many  subjects  is  sought  for  and  highly  valued.  He  is  a  Demo- 
crat in  politics,  and  has  served  as  a  member  of  the  borough  council  of  Van- 
degrift  Heights  during  his  residence  of  two  years  in  that  town.  He  has  also 
been  a  member  of  the  county  committee  for  a  period  of  two  years.  He  and  his 
family  are  members  and  regular  attendants  at  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
Mr.  France  is  a  member  of  Vandergrift  Lodge,  No.  11 16,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and 
the  Protected  Home  Circle.  He  married,  February  5,  1895,  Hattie  Gwinn, 
of  Chicord,  Butler  county,  Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  Thompson  and  Anna 
(Shook)  Gwinn.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Claud  D.  France  are  the  parents  of  four  chil- 
dren :     Zuretta  B. ;  E.  A.  Marie ;  Guy  C,  Dora  Louise. 

CHARLES  MILTON  HOFFMAN,  one  of  the  representative  men 
of  Vandergrift  Heigths,  well  and  favorably  known  in  that  town,  is  one  who  has 
not  hesitated  at  the  call  of  his  country  for  men  to  defend  her  from  her  ene- 
mies, to  lay  aside  his  work  and  take  his  place  in  the  ranks  among  the  fore- 
most. The  family  of  Mr.  Hoffman  has  been  represented  in  the  LTnited  States 
for  some  generations. 

Henry  L.  Hoffman,  father  of  Charles  Milton  Hoffman,  was  born  In  West- 
moreland county,  Pennsylvania.  He  married  Nancy  Jane  Buckley,  and  had 
eleven  children,  ten  of  whom  are  now  living:  i.  ]\iaria,  wife  of  Eli  J.  Stitt, 
of  Apollo,  Pennsylvania.  2.  Adam,  resides  in  New  Bethlehem,  Pennsvlvania. 
3.  John  B.,  resides  in  Cumberland,  Maryland.  4.  Anna,  unmarried,  lives  in 
Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania.    5.  Ella  J,,  unmarried,  lives  in  Pittsburg.     6.    Sarah, 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  605 

wife  of  Theodore  Buff,  of  I\Iarietta,  Ohio.  7.  Henry  S.,  a  resident  of  Cali- 
fornia. 8.  Blanche,  wife  of  T.  G.  Bladen,  of  Vandergrift.  9.  Charles  IMilton, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch.     10.     Ida  B.,  professional  nurse  at  Pittsburg. 

Charles  Milton  Hoffman,  fourth  son  and  ninth  child  of  Henry  L.  and 
Xancy  Jane  (Buckley)  Hoffman,  was  born  near  Kittannin,':;-,  Armstrong 
county,  Pennsylvania,  April  22,  1876,  He  acquired  his  education  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  his  native  city,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  commenced  his 
business  career,  obtaining  a  position  in  the  mills  of  Kirkpatrick  &  Company, 
of  Leechburg,  where  he  worked  as  a  scrap  boy  for  some  months.  Pie  was 
diligent  and  faithful  in  the  performance  of  his  duties,  and  was  soon  advanced 
to  the  position  of  opener,  in  which  capacity  he  served  about  half  a  year.  He 
resigned  and  went  to  Apollo,  securing  a  position  in  the  mill  of  the  Apollo  Iron 
and  Steel  Company  as  opener.  He  remained  here  about  a  year  as  opener  and 
was  then  advanced  to  the  shearing,  and  later  put  to  work  as  a  doubler.  In 
the  spring  of  1897  he  was  transferred  to  the  new  Vandergrift  mill,  and  almost 
immediately  thereafter  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  catcher,  and  six 
months  later  to  that  of  rougher.  In  this  capacity  he  served  the  company  for 
a  period  of  five  years,  and  in  1902  was  advanced  to  the  position  of  sheet  roller 
in  the  mills. 

In  1S98,  when  the  United  States  sent  out  a  call  for  volunteers  for  the 
Spanish-American  war,  ]\Ir.  Hoffman  immediately  laid  aside  his  work,  and 
was  one  of  the  first  to  enlist  in  Company  B,  Nineteenth  Regiment,  United 
States  Army.  He  served  in  Cuba  and  Puerto  Rico,  and  was  discharged  at 
the  latter  place  on  April  15,  1899.  He  at  once  returned  to  his  home  and  re- 
sumed his  labors  in  the  mills.  The  same  close  attention  to  details  and  fidelity 
in  the  performance  of  any  task  assigned  him  that  characterized  him  at  the 
beginning  of  his  business  career,  have  adhered  to  him  throughout  his  life,  and 
assisted  him  to  make  the  rapid  strides  in  advance  he  has  achieved.  Mr.  Hoff- 
man is  a.  Republican  in  politics,  and  has  served  one  term  as  a  member  of  the 
borough  council  of  \'andergrift  Heights.  He  is  a  member  of  Apollo  Lodge, 
No.  386,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  and  of  Vandergrift  Lodge,  No.  502,  K.  P.  Mr.  Ploff- 
man  married,  August  3,  1899,  Nannie  A.  Lemon,  daughter  of  James  P.  and 
Ada  (Campbell)  Lemon,  and  they  have  one  child,  Wade  Ferguson. 

J.\MES  L.  LOG.-\X.  Silas  Logan,  father  of  James  L.  Logan,  of 
Vandergrift,  born  about  1825,  in  Corry,  Erie  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  as  a 
young  man  went  to  Wisconsin,  then  situated  on  the  frontier.  He  settled 
among  the  Indians,  but  after  a  shore  time  returned  to  Pennsylvania,  having 
made  both  the  outward  and  homeward  trips  by  wagon.  On  his  return  he  set- 
tled in  Titusville,  where  he  engaged  in  the  oil  business,  later  removing  to 
Blairsville,  where  he  did  some  oil  prospecting.  Subsequently  he  took  up  his 
abode  in  Greensburg,  and  some  time  in.  the  eighties  went  to  Detroit,  where 
he  has  since  resided  on  a  farm  in  the  suburbs.  Mr.  Logan  married  Elizabeth 
Rowan,  and  the  following  are  their  children :  James  L.,  see  forward :  Henry, 
head  bookkeeper  for  the  American  Harrow  Company,  of  Detroit ;  Elsie,  and 
Lena,  both  at  home. 

James  L.  Logan,  son  of  Silas  and  Elizabeth  (Rowan)  Logan,  was  born 
September  6,  i860,  in  Sparta.  Monroe  county,  Wisconsin,  and  received  a  com- 
mon school  education.  About  his  eighteenth  year  he  secured  a  position  as  a 
brakeman  on  the  Pennsylvania  railroad,  but  not  finding  the  associations  con- 
genial resigned  at  the  end  of  a  few  months.  He  then  went  to  Blairsville, 
wiiere  for  about  a  year  he  was  employed  as  a  teamster,  afterward  obtaining 
a  position  as  locomotive  fireman  on  the   Pennsylvania   railroad.     About  two 


6o6  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

years  and  nine  months  later  he  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  engineer, 
which  he  held  for  some  eight  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  resigned  and 
for  the  three  years  following  was  variously  employed.  In  1898  he  moved  to 
Vandergrift,  where  he  became  locomotive  engineer  for  the  Apollo  Iron  and 
Steel  Company,  remaining  in  this  position  about  two  years  and  a  half.  He  then 
accepted  a  position  with  the  Chilled  Roll  Foundry  Company  of  Apollo,  and 
on  the  removal  of  the  foundry  to  Vandergrift  was  retained,  being  transferred 
to  that  place.  He  continued,  however,  to  live  in  Apollo,  where  he  still  resides. 
He  belongs  to  iMineral  Point  Lodge,  No.  615,  I.  O.  O.  F ;  Apollo  Command- 
ery.  No.  365,  Knights  of  Malta;  and  Allegheny  Division,  No.  108,  Brother- 
hood of  Locomotive  Engineers.  He  is  an  Independent  in  politics,  and  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Mr.  Logan  married,  December  22,  1882,  Caroline  Stitt,  of  Blairsville, 
and  of  their  six  children  four  survive,  all  of  them  being  at  home ;  Catht- 
rine;  William,  Orville,  and  Glenn. 

HARVEY  E.  RIGGLE.  The  paternal  ancestors  of  Harvey  E.  Rig- 
gle,  of  Vandergrift  Heights,  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  Westmoreland 
county.  His  grandfather,  Jacob  Riggle,  was  a  native  of  Forks  Church,  Arm- 
strong county,  that  being  the  site  of  an  extensive  settlement  formed  by  the 
family.  Jacob  Riggle  took  up  his  abode  on  a  farm  near  Highfield  school 
house,  being  then  recently  married,  and  it  was  there  that  he  reared  his  sons 
and  daughters. 

John  H.  Riggle,  son  of  Jacob  Riggle,  was  born  in  1847,  in  Armstrong 
county,  and  after  his  marriage  engaged  for  some  years  in  mining,  and  several 
times  changed  his  place  of  abode.  In  1891  he  purchased  the  old  homestead 
where  he  now  resides.  He  has  belonged  for  many  years  to  the  I.  O.  O.  F., 
is  a  Democrat,  and  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Mr.  Riggle  married 
Sarah  E.  Beck,  and  of  their  five  children  four  survive:  Charles  C,,  of  Mc- 
Keesport ;  Harvey  E.,  see  forward ;  Percy  O.,  catcher  in  Vandergrift  mills ; 
*id  Bessie  A.,  at  home. 

Harvey  E.  Riggle,  son  of  John  H.  and  Sarah  E.  (Beck)  Riggle,  was 
born  January  3,  1874,  in  Armstrong  county,  and  received  his  education  in  the 
common  schools,  going  to  work  in  the  mines  as  early  as  his  sixteenth  year. 
Soon  after  his  marriage  he  moved  to  Greensburg  and  thence  to  Apollo,  where 
he  secured  employment  in  the  mills  of  the  Apollo  Iron  and  Steel  Company, 
his  first  position  being  that  of  matcher.  From  this  he  was  advanced  succes- 
sively to  those  of  doubler,  catcher  and  rougher,  and  in  April,  1900,  was  made 
roller,  in  which  capacity  he  has  since  served.  When  the  \'andergrift  mills 
were  opened  he  was  transferred  thither,  and  helped  to  turn  out  some  of  the 
first  plates  produced  in  the  new  plant.  In  June,  1900,  he  became  a  resident 
of  Vandergrift.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics.  Mr.  Riggle  married,  in  1893, 
May  B.  Weiner,  of  South  Greensburg,  and  they  have  been  the  parents  of  the 
following  children :  Harvey  E. ;  Oscar  R. :  Charles  A. ;  Marguerete,  deceased ; 
and  Frank  Dale. 

HENRY  CLEMENS  HARROLD.  One  of  the  most  highly  re- 
spected citizens  of  Hempfield  township  is  Henry  Clemens  Harrold.  He  is  a 
son  of  George  and  Magdalina  Harrold,  and  was  born  October  23,  1831.  in 
Hempfield  township.  He  received  a  common  school  education  and  has  made 
farming  his  life-work.  In  politics  ^Tr.  Harrold  is  a  Democrat.  He  is  a  very 
active  church  member  and  extremely  liberal,  not  only  in  the  material  assistance 
which  he  renders  to  the  work  of  the  church,  lint  in  his  religious  sentiments  and 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  607 

opinions.  He  was  the  chief  promoter  and  benefactor  of  the  Harrold  German 
Reformed  church,  Hemptield  township,  which  was  named  in  his  honor.  In 
this  church  he  served  as  elder,  as  he  did  in  the  church  to  which  he  had  pre- 
viously belonged,  and  as  held  this  office  almost  continuously  since  attaining 
to  man's  estate. 

]^lr.  Harrold  married,  June  4,  1867,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  and 
Rebecca  (Allabaugh)  Ruff,  of  jNIount  Pleasant,  and  they  have  two  sons: 
Harry  Edgar,  born  September  8,  1868,  married  Emma  Jane,  daughter  of 
Lewis  Harrold  (no  relation),  of  Hempfield  township:  and  Allen  Franklin, 
born  April  2,  1870,  married  Cordelia,  daughter  of  Isaac  Alshouse,  of  Hemp- 
field  township. 

PETER  WALTER.  Among  those  citizens  of  Pleasant  LTnity  whose 
faces  are  no  longer  seen  upon  her  streets,  but  who.se  names  and  deeds  still 
live  in  the  memory  of  those  who  knew  them,  is  Peter  Walter.  He  was  a  son  of 
Peter  and  Catherine  Walter,  and  was  born  March  21,  1817,  in  Lebanon 
county,  Pennsylvania.  He  received  a  common  school  education,  as  a  result 
of  which  and  of  the  abilities  with  which  nature  had  endowed  him,  he  was 
successful  and  respected  in  his  passage  through  life.  In  political  aft'airs  the 
Republican  party  received  his  vote  and  his  influence.  He  and  his  family  were 
members  of  the  IMennonite  church. 

]Mr.  Walter  married  Sarah,  born  April  15,  1821,  daughter  of  Solomon 
and  Catherine  Kemmel,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  the  following  children : 
Daniel,  born  September  18,  1841,  died  January  30,  1861 ;  Lydia  E.,  born  De- 
cember 29,  1843;  David,  born  September  20,  1846,  married  Elizabeth  Fergu- 
son and  has  five  children :  Grace,  Maud,  Lawrence,  Jeanette  and  Corea ;  Caleb, 
born  December  8,  1848,  married  Frances  AIcFarlin  and  has  three  children : 
Rolley,  Clyde  and  Mack;  Catherine,  born  March  30,  1851,  became  the  wife  of 
Isaiah  Small  and  has  had  two  children :  Sylvia,  deceased,  and  Dora ;  John  H., 
born  January  3,  1853,  died  1859;  William,  born  November  6,  1855,  married 
Nettie  Schumaker  and  has  five  children:  Goldie,  Blaine,  deceased;  Elina. 
Russell  and  Zell :  George  IM.,  born  April  6,  1858,  lives  in  Kansas,  married 
Lizzie  Victor  and  had  three  children :  Laura,  deceased  ;  [Milton  and  ^IcKin- 
ley  ;  Mary  E.,  born  August  16,  i860,  is  the  wife  of  Plarry  Jennison  and  the 
mother  of  three  children:  Walter,  Ray  and  ]\Iabel ;  Sarah  I.,  born  April  15, 
1863.  The  death  of  Mr.  Walter,  which  occurred  November  24,  1889,  was 
mourned  as  that  of  so  good  a  man  and  upright  a  citizen  deserved  to  be.  His 
widow,  who  enjoys  good  health,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  she  has  num- 
bered eighty-four  years,  resides  on  the  old  homestead. 

JAMES  CALVIN  CARROLL,  a  representative  citizen  of  the  bor- 
ough of  North  Irwin,  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  James  Carroll,  who  with  his 
brother,  the  only  two  children  of  their  parents,  so  far  as  known,  were  "put 
out  to  service"  when  very  young,  thus  losing  all  track  of  each  other  and  their 
family.  James  Carroll  came  from  east  of  the  mountains  and  settled  in  the 
Manor  valley,  later  moving  to  Middletown,  where  his  death  occurred.  IJis 
family  consisted  of  the  following  children:  William,  Adam.  Joseph,  Robert, 
Sarah,  Ellen,  and  Maria  Carroll. 

William  Carroll,  eldest  child  of  James  Carroll,  in  his  younger  days  mined 
a  little,  but  most  of  his  life  was  spent  in  the  salt  factory  on  the  Kiskiminetas 
river,  at  the  (then)  town  of  Hufif,  now  known  as  Salina,  Pennsylvania.  He 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Sarah  LaughHu,  daughter  of  James  Laughlin,  of 
Armstrong   county,   Pennsylvania.     Issue :    Maria,   married   Lcmar  Donehay, 


6o8  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY 


of  Allegheny  City :  Eliza,  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  the  late  Samuel  Hawk ; 
James,  died  unmarried ;  Mary,  married  William  Atkinson,  of  Bloomfield, 
Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania.  Ellen,  married  James  McGuire,  and  after  his  death, 
married  a  Mr.  Crouse,  resided  in  Columbus,  Ohio ;  Wilhelmina,  married  Isaac 
Amos,  resides  in  Wyoming;  Sarah,  married  Daniel  Sweeny,  now  deceased; 
she  resides  in  Freeport,  Pennsylvania ;  John  Calvin,  see  forward ;  George 
married  Rose  Woods,  resides  in  Crabtree,  Pennsylvania ;  Joseph,  died  un- 
married ;  Amanda,  became  the  wife  of  John  Fry,  resides  in  Irwin,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

John  Calvin  Carroll,  second  son  of  William  and  Sarah  (Laughlin)  Car- 
roll, was  born  January  24,  1843,  '^"d  at  the  present  time  (1905)  resides  in  the 
vicinity  of  Irwin,  Pennsylvania.  He  married  Hannah  L.  Kistler,  born  De- 
cember 23,  1843,  the  youngest  of  a  family  of  eighteen  children,  four  of  whom 
died  in  youth  or  infancy,  born  to  Samuel  and  Catherine  (Fink)  Kistler,  of 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.  The  Kistlers  are  an  old  Westmore- 
land county  family,  the  first  of  the  name  here  having  been  Samuel 
Kistler,  grandfather  of  Hannah  L.  (Kistler)  Carroll,  who  presumably  emi- 
grated from  Germany.  Samuel  and  Catherine  (Fink)  Kistler  were  married 
June  22,  1820,  and  the  latter  named  died  February  3,  1855.  After  the  death 
of  his  first  wife,  Samuel  Kistler  married  Eve  Susanna  Loughner,  who  bore 
him  five  children.  Four  children  were  the  issue  of  the  marriage  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Carroll :  James  Calvin,  born  December  2,  1864,  see  forward ;  Harry 
Oburn,  born  May  10,  1866,  married  Mattie  Baker,  and  for  his  second  wife 
Mrs.  Mollv  Paul ;  he  resides  in  North  Irwin,  Pennsylvania :  Willa  May,  born 
July  31,  1871,  died  September  9,  1879;  George  Joseph,  born  August  4,  1873, 
married  Susanna  Gettins,  resides  in  You.ngwood,  Pennsylvania. 

James  Calvin  Carroll,  eldest  son  of  John  Calvin  and  Hannah  L.  (Kistler) 
Carroll,  was  born  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  December  2,  1864. 
He  received  a  common  school  education,  and  began  work  at  an  early  age  as 
trapper  boy  in  the  North  Side  mine  of  the  Westmoreland  Coal  Company,  con- 
tinuing at  this  for  a  year  or  two,  later  mining  coal  for  this  company.  In  1882 
he  secured  a  position  as  freight  brakeman  on  the  Pennsylvania  railroad,  which 
he  filled  for  two  years,  being  then  promoted  to  conductor,  in  which  capacity 
he  served  about  three  years.  He  was  then  made  yard  master  at  Jeannette, 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  resided  until  June  17,  1904,  and  then  purchased  the 
property  in  North  Irwin  which  he  now  occupies.  He  had  previously  built 
the  first  house  in  North  Irwin,  completed  September  22,  1890,  now  occupied 
by  his  brother,  Harry  O.  Carroll.  In  religion  Mr.  Carroll  adheres  to  the 
tenets  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in  which  he  holds  membership.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican,  taking  an  active  interest  in  the  affairs  of  that  great 
organization.  He  was  appointed  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  the  first  burgess 
of  the  borough  of  North  Irwin,  was  president  of  the  council  for  five  years, 
and  is  now  treasurer  of  the  borough. 

Mr.  Carroll  married,  September  29,  1885,  Annie  Kennelty,  daughter  of 
Daniel  and  Elizabeth  (Cox)  Kennelty,  of  Irwin.  Mr.  Kennelty  came  from 
Ireland  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  settling  first  at  Penn  Station,  where  he 
mined  coal,  later  removing  to  Irwin.  The  issue  of  this  marriage  was :  Efifie 
May,  born  January  20,  1887 ;  Frank  Elton,  born  October  9,  1889 ;  Gertrude, 
born  February  26,  1892 ;  John  Calvin,  born  June  13,  1894 :  Elizabeth,  born  July 
2,  1899. 

MARTIN  O.  OVERHOLT.     The  Overholts  are  of  German  origin 
and  are  widely  scattered  throughout  East  Huntingdon  and  adjoining  town- 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  609 

ships  ill  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.  The  fouiuler  of  the  American 
branch  of  the  family  was  Alartin  Overholt,  who  came  from  Germany,  his 
native  land,  he  having  been  born  thirty  miles  from  Frankfort-one-the-Main, 
in  the  vear  1709,  and  settled  in  Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania,  his  death  occurr- 
ing in  "jJed.minster  township,  April  5,   1744.     He  married,  November  2,   1736, 

Agnes  ,  born  April   18,   1713,  died  November  2,   1786.     Mr.  Ovcrhtilt 

and  his  wife  were  among  the  earlist  members  of  the  old  Deep  Run  ^Mennonite 
Congregation  in  Bedminster,  and  their  remains  were  buried  in  the  graveyard 
there.  They  were  the  parents  of  five  children :  Barbara,  Henry,  see  forward ; 
Maria,  and  Alartin.  (A  full  account  of  the  history  of  the  early  members  of 
this  family  is  found  in  the  sketch  of  Benjamin  F.  Overholt,  which  appears 
elsewhere  in  this  work). 

Henry  Overholt,  eldest  son  of  ]\lartin  and  Agnes  Overholt,  was  born  ni 
Bucks  coimty,  Pennsylvania,  February  5,  1739,  died  in  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1813.  He  married,  January  3,  1763,  Anna  Beitler,  born  in 
Milford  township,  Bucks  county,  March  24,  1745,  died  April  5,  1835,  daugh- 
ter of  Jacob  and  Anna  (Meyer)  Beitler  or  Beidler,  the  former  a  native  of 
Germany  and  a  pioneer  of  the  Bucks  county  family  of  that  name,  and  the 
latter  a  daughter  of  Hans  Meyer,  the  pioneer  settler  in  Upper  Salford  town- 
ship, Montgomery  county,  Pennsylvania.  Henry  Overholt  and  wife  resided 
on  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres  near  the  Deep  Run  Meeting 
House  until  April  25,  1800,  when  Tie  conveyed  the  farm  to  Andrew  Lou.x 
and  removed  with  his  family  to  Westmoreland  county,  settling  on  a  tract  of 
wild  land  at  West  Overton,  East  Huntingdon  township.  He  was  a  farmer  and 
distiller  by  occupation.  He  and  his  wife  were  the  parents  of  twelve  children 
— five  sons  and  seven  daughters.  He  died  March  5,  1813.  His  widow  sur- 
vived him  many  years. 

Martin  Overholt,  third  son  of  Henry  and  Anna  (Beitler)  Overholt,  was 
born  in  Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania,  November,  1772.  In  1809  he  purchased 
a  farm  in  Westmoreland  county,  whither  he  had  previously  removed,  and  the 
greater  part  of  his  life  was  devoted  to  farming.  He  married  Catherine  Over- 
holt, daughter  of  Abraham  Overholt,  a  minister  of  the  ]\Iennonite  Church,  but 
not  related  to  this  branch  of  the  family.  She  was  born  November  i.  1781, 
and  bore  her  husband  seven  children,  as  follows :  Susanna,  Esther.  Anne, 
Abraham,  Henry,  John  and  Martin  O.  Martin  Overholt.  father  of  these  chil- 
dren, died  in  Sangamon,  now  Logan  county,  Illinois,  June  18,  1835.  His 
widow  died  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  December  21,   i8fi6. 

Martin  O.  Overholt,  son  of  Martin  and  Catherine  (Overholt)  Overholt, 
was  born  August  17,  1824.  on  the  farm  in  Scottdale,  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  still  resides  and  where  he  has  spent  all  his  life,  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits.  He  has  been  successful  in  this  line  of  work 
and  enjoys  the  reputation  of  being  an  intelligent,  honorable  and  upright  citi- 
zen of  his  native  townsiiip.     Mr.  Overholt  is  unmarried. 

EDWARD  JOHN  RUFF,  a  prosperous  farmer  of  Hempfield  town- 
ship. Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  is  a  representative  of  two  honored 
families  of  this  section  of  the  state. 

Jacob  Ruff,  born  January  26.  1823.  in  llemjjficld  township,  died  ]ul\-  27. 
igoi.  He  was  one  of  the  most  successful  farmers  in  the  entire  district.  He 
married,  January  22,  i86r,  Margaret  Elizabeth  Kiehl.  born  January  26,  1837. 
daughter  of  Daniel  anfl  Katherine  Kiehl,  the  former  born  March  17,  1790. 
died  April   22,    1869;  the  latter  born   February  3,   1794,   died   April   7,    1869. 

They  had  two  children :   George  Leasure  and  Margaret  Elizabeth.     The  chil- 
2-39 


6io  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


dren  of  Jacob  and  IMargaret  Elizabeth  (Kiehl)  Ruff  were:  i.  Daniel  Frank- 
lin, born  November  ",  1861.  2.  Katherine  Rebecca,  July  24,  1863.  3.  Henry- 
George,  March  2,  1865.  4.  Alice,  August  21,  1867.  5.  Edward  John,  see 
forward.  6.  Samuel  Logan,  November  8,  1872,  married  Nellie  Evans,  Octo- 
ber 15.  1890.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Abner  Evans,  a  farmer  of  Hempfield  town- 
ship, and  thev  have  one  child  :  Joseph  Evans  Ruff,  born  August  2,  1895.  7.- 
William  Herman,  a  telegraph  operator,  married  Grace  McGuire,  daughter 
of  Rev.  John  McGuire,  of  Scottdale.  8.  Charles  Abraham,  October  22.  1877, 
resides  at  home. 

Edward  John  Ruff,  third  son  and  fifth  child  of  Jacob  and  Margaret  Eliz- 
abeth (Kiehl)  Ruff,  was  born  in  Hempfield  township,  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  May  22,  1870.  He  acquired  his  education  in  the  common 
schools  of  Hannastown,  Pennsylvania,  and  as  soon  as  he  had  attained  a  suita- 
ble age  he  assisted  his  father  on  the  latter's  farm.  He  thus  acquired  a  thor- 
ough and  practical  knowledge  of  what  later  became  his  life  work,  and  in 
which  he  has  been  exceedingly  successful.  He  affiliates  with  the  Republican 
party,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

ALENANDER  P..\SHI(j:\I,  one  of  the  substantial  citizens  of  West- 
moreland county,  whose  time  and  atlenti(.m  is  devoted  to  agricultural  pursuits 
in  Hempfield  township,  was  born  at  Chains  ^lills.  South  Huntingdon  town- 
ship, September  8,  1846,  third  child  in  the  family  of  Nicholas  and  .Sarah 
(Tarr)  Bashiom. 

Nicholas  Bashiom  (father)  was  born  in  Nomeda,  France,  1798.  He 
left  his  native  land  for  a  Jiome  in  the  new  world,  1821,  hoping  thus  to  improve 
his  material  welfare,  and  upon  his  arrival  on  these  shores  located  in  East 
Huntingdon  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  fol- 
lowed the  trade  of  carpenter.  In  early  life  his  allegiance  was  given  to  the 
Catholic  church,  but  later  he  joined  the  Church  of  God.  He  was  industrious 
throughout  life,  was  temperate  in  all  things,  and  well  deserved  the  success 
which  rewarded  his  efforts.  He  married  Sarah  Tarr,  daughter  of  Collin  Tarr, 
and  their  children  were  as  follows:  Daniel.  Rosanna,  married  John  T. 
Tarr,  and  their  children  were:  Austin,  Joseph,  and  one  who. died  in  infancy. 
Alexander,  see  forward.  Collin,  married  !^Iargaret  Beckner,  and  their  chil- 
dren are :  Nannie.  Alice,  Ray,  Harry,  and  Edward  who  died  when  a  year 
old.  Mary,  died  of  scarlet  fever  at  the  age  of  one  year.  Roxalena,  married 
Daniel  Little,  who  was  killed  on  the  Bahimore  &  Ohio  railroad  at  2\Iount 
Pleasant,  Pennsylvania,  July,  1895.  George,  married  Caroline  Boyer,  daugh- 
ter of  Adam  and  Betsy  Boyer,  and  their  children  are  as  follows:  Frank,  died 
at  the  age  of  two  years:  Charles,  married  Alice  Bristol,  a  daughter  of  John 
Bristol,  a  farmer  of  East  Huntingdon  township ;  Elizabeth,  married  Elmer 
Nile,  a  butcher  by  trade,  and  a  resident  of  New  Salem,  Fayette  county ;  Al- 
bert, Webster  O'rville,  Alexander,  died  at  the  age  of  two  years ;  Austin, 
George,  Viola   (Kosie)  and  Lloyd  Bashiom.     Elizabeth,  died  in  infancy. 

Alexander  Bashiom,  whose  name  heads  this  sketch,  after  completing  a 
common  school  education  entered  the  employ  of  Samuel  Dillinger  &  Sons, 
distillers,  at  Ruffsdale,  and  for  two  decades  worked  at  distilling  for  this  firm, 
which  fact  is  an  eloquent  testimonial  to  his  faithfulness  to  duty  and  efficiency 
in  the  work.  Since  then  he  has  followed  farming  as  an  occupation,  has  al- 
wavs  kept  abreast  of  the  times  in  agricultural  matters,  as  his  highly  cultivated 
and  well  improved  farm  will  attest  to-day.  His  farm  consists  of  a  number  of 
acres  of  choice  land  and  is  situated  in  Hempfield  township.  ]\Ir.  Bashiom  is  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal   church,  and  a  staunch  adherent  of  the 


HISTORY   OF   WEST  MO  RELAX  D   COUXTY.  6ii 


principles  of  the  Republican  party.  In  January,  1864,  when  the  countr\-  was 
passing  through  its  most  crucial  period,  Mr.  Bashiom  oftered  his  services  in 
its  defense,  enlisting  in  Company  B,  Twenty-eighth  Regiment,  participated 
in  a  number  of  battles,  among  which  were  ^lissionary  Ridge,  Rasaca,  Peach 
Tree  Creek,  and  Atlanta,  Georgia,  and  was  honorably  discharged  in  May, 
18O5. 

Mr.  Bashiom  married  (first)  Caroline  Husband,  daughter  of  William 
and  Rebecca  Husband,  and  one  child  was  the  issue,  John,  who  died  at  the  age 
of  two  years.  Caroline  (Husband) Bashiom  died  June,  1872.  Mr.  Bashiom 
married  (second),  April  17,  1886,  Ida  ]\Iay  Keelcr,  daughter  of  Abraham  and 
Margaret  (  Reidenour)  Keeler,  of  Cass  county,  Iowa.  Three  children  were 
the  issue  of  this  union:  Samuel  Dillinger,  born  January  17,  1888;  Alexander, 
born  Augtist  8,  1899,  died  September  8,  1901 ;  and  WiUiam  Allen,  born  July 
15.  1901. 

B.  E.  LE\'ENSTEIN,  one  of  Greensburg's  enterprising  citizens, 
is  a  son  of  Abraham  and  Leon  Levenstein,  and  was  born  in  Russia,  December 
18,  1873. 

He  passed  his  boyhood  and  youth  in  his  native  country,  receiving  his 
education  in  the  common  schools.  In  1890  he  emigrated  to  the  United  States, 
whither  he  had  been  preceded  seven  years  before  by  his  brother  Isaac,  who 
had  settled  in  Pittsburg.  Mr.  Levenstein  took  up  his  abode  in  Mount  Pleasant, 
where  for  one  year  he  was  variously  employed.  In  1891  he  accepted  a  posi- 
tion with  the  Latrobe  brewery  as  a  salesman  on  the  road.  In  1896  he  re- 
signed his  position  with  this  house  and  purchased  a  one-third  interest  in  a 
distillery  in  Mount  Pleasant.  About  a  year  later  he  sold  his  interest  and  ob- 
tained a  position  as  travelling  salesman  for  a  wholesale  liquor  house  of  Pitts- 
burg, He  is  still  in  the  same  line  of  business,  and  is  now  representing  Kline 
&  Company,  of  Pittsburg.  In  1902  he  helped  to  organize  the  Star  Brewing 
Company  of  Greensburg,  and  the  success  of  the  enterprise  warranted  the 
building  of  one  of  the  modern  breweries  of  this  section  of  the  state.  Mr. 
Levenstein  was  made  vice-president  of  the  company  and  with  him  rests  the 
placing  of  all  agencies.  Under  his  skillful  management  the  business  is  grow- 
ing rapidly.  He  is  a  member  of  Americus  Lodge,  and  a  Republican  in 
politics. 

^Ir.  Levenstein  married  in  1897,  Mary  E.  Vocht,  of  New  Stanton.  iMr. 
and  ^Irs.   Levenstein  are  without  children. 

JOHIS  PORCH.  John  Porch,  a  farmer  of  Kecksburg,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  an  old  and  well-known  family  of  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
was  there  born  February  11,  1849,  the  son  of  John  and  Nancy  (Sheiifer) 
Porch. 

John  Porch  (grandfather)  was  the  founder  of  this  family  in  Westmore- 
land county.  It  is  sujjposcd  that  he  came  to  America  from  (lermany  and  set- 
tled in  Donegal  township,  where  he  followed  agricultural  pursuits  all  his  life. 
His  wife  bore  him  the  following  named  children:  George,  Jacob,  Sarah, 
wife  of  Adam  Howard:  Rebecca,  married  John  Wymer ;  Susan,  wife  of 
Emanuel   Barkley;  and  John. 

John  Porch  (father)  was  born  and  reared  in  Donegal  township.  He 
was  a  cooper  by  trade,  and  followed  this  occupation  in  connection  with  farm- 
ing for  a  number  of  years.  The  last  ten  years  of  his  life  he  resided  in  W'oos- 
ter.  Wayne  county.  Ohio.  He  married  Nancy  ShefTer,  and  she  bore  him  chil- 
dren as  follows:     Elizabeth,  wife  of  Joseph     Slater;  Mary,  wife  of  William 


6i2  HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


Overly;  Benjamin,  George,  Jacob,  Jane,  married  William  Newell;  Ellen,  wife 
of  W.  G.  Newell ;  John,  see  forward ;  and  Allen.  The  father  of  these  children 
died  in  1895. 

John  Porch,  following  in  the  footsteps  of  his  ancestors,  has  always  en- 
gaged in  the  occupation  of  a  farmer,  and  has  achieved  the  most  gratifying 
success  in  this  line.  He  married  Eliza  Overly,  daughter  of  John  A.  and  Eliza- 
beth (Griffith)  Overly.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Porch  are  the  parents  of  the  following 
named  children:  Florence,  wife  of  Sanford  Bitner ;  Luther  J.,  a  farmer  of 
Mount  Pleasant  township;  Rachel  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Judson  Grimm;  Sarah 
J.,  the  wife  of  Robert  Altman. 

GEORGE  B.  McCLELLAN  FELGAR.  One  of  the  sons  of  Jacob 
B.  Felgar  is  George  B.  McClellan  Felgar,  of  East  Huntingdon  township.  I\Ir. 
Felgar's  father  was  the  owner  of  more  than  three  hundred  acres  of  land,  the 
value  of  which  was  much  increased  by  his  improvements.  Two  comfortable 
houses  were  erected  by  him  as  well  as  good  out-buildings.  He  served  one 
term  as  supervisor  of  the  township,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Reformed 
church. 

Mr.  Felgar  married  Rachel  Keister,  and  their  family  consisted  of  the 
following  children:  Mary  M.  and  Sara  E.,  who  lives  on  a  portion  of  the 
homestead ;  Andrew  Jackson,  a  farmer  in  East  Huntingdon  tow'nship ;  Isa- 
dore,  wife  of  Charles  Kooser,  of  Scottdale ;  George  B.  McClellan,  see  forward ; 
James,  died  in  childhood;  Emma  C,  married  John  Pool;  Charles  R.,  a  farmer 
on  the  homestead;  John  H..  died  when  a  young  man;  Frederick,  a  farmer 
and  mechanic  in  Monessen ;  and  Willie,  died  in  childhood.  The  mother  of 
these  children  died  in  1871,  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-five.  She  was  a  member 
of  the'  Lutheran  church.  The  death  of  Mr.  Felgar  occurred  in  1897,  when  he 
was  seventy-two  years  old. 

George  B.  McClellan  Felgar,  son  of  Jacob  B.  and  Rachel  (Keister)  Fel- 
gar, was  born  in  1865,  on  the  homestead,  where  his  brother  Charles  R.  now 
lives,  and  was  educated  in  the  public  schools.  When  about  eighteen  years  old 
he  went  to  work  on  a  farm  in  his  native  county,  where  he  remained  two  years- 
He  then  spent  six  months  in  IMissouri,  whence  he  proceeded  to  ^Montana, 
where  for  two  years  he  worked  in  the  quartz  mill  at  Marysville.  At  the  end 
of  that  time  he  set  out  on  his  homeward  journey,  which  he  made  in  a  leisurely 
manner,  availing  himself  of  every  opportunity  of  seeing  the  country.  After 
reaching  home  he  worked  for  two  years  for  his  father,  and  several  months 
after  his  marriage  moved  to  South  Huntingdon  township,  where  for  a  short 
time  he  engaged  in  farming  on  shares.  He  then  went  to  Mount  Pleasant  and 
for  one  year  was  a  teamster,  first  in  town  and  later  at  the  coke  works.  He 
was  then  for  a  time  in  business  as  a  butcher,  but  sold  out  and  returned  to 
East  Huntingdon  township,  settling  on  the  farm  where  his  brother  Andrew 
Jackson  now  lives.  For  one  season  he  farmed  the  estate  on  shares  and  then 
purchased  the  farm  on  which  he  has  since  resided.  The  purchase  was  made 
in  October.  1894.  The  property  consists  of  one  hundred  and  ten  acres  and 
has  been  completely  remodeled  b}-  Mr.  Felgar,  the  improvements  being  of  the 
very  best.  He  carries  on  general  farming,  making  a  specialty  of  the  dairy 
and  keeping  -fifteen  cows,  also  having  a  milk  route  in  Scottdale.  He  is  one  of 
the  stockholders  in  a  company  organized  for  the  purpose  of  breeding  horses. 
His  political  principles  are  those  of  the  Democratic  party.  He  and  his  wife 
are  members  of  the  Reformed  church. 

Mr.  Felgar  married,  ]\ larch  26,   1890,  Dora  E.   Shupe,  and  they  arc  the 
parents  of  one  child,  Arthur  Russell.     Mrs.  Felgar,  wdio  was  educated  at  th.e 


HISTORY   Of   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  613 

Port  Roval  school,  is  a  daughter  of  EH  and  :Mary  (Kaley)  Shupc.  The  father 
died  in  Ixiarch,  1894,  being  upwards  of  sixty  years  of  age,  and  the  mother  is 
now  the  wife  of  John  :\lcAdams,  of  ^Niount  Pleasant. 

CLARK  S.  ;MAS0X,  superintendent  of  the  St.  Clair  Coal  and  Coke 
Company,  a  native  of  Pennsville,  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  born 
Way  6.  1S68,  and  is  the  son  of  Uriah  and  Sarah  (Null)  .Mason.  The  father 
was'  born  in  Somerset  county,  Pennsylvania. 

Clark  S.  [Mason  was  born  on  a  farm  and  passed  his  life  there  until  he 
grew  to  manhood.  In  the  colder  months  of  the  year  he  attended  school  and 
the  remainder  of  the  year  he  devoted  to  agricultural  pursuits,  until  he  was 
eighteen  vears  old.  He  then  devoted  his  whole  attention  to  farming  with  his 
father  until  he  went  with  the  employ  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company  for  which 
he  worked  two  years.  His  next  position  was  with  the  \\'estmoreland  Supjjly 
Company  where  he  spent  three  years.  Experience  in  business  and  faithful 
discharge  of  duty  then  brought  him  to  the  notice  of  the  St.  Clair  Coal  and 
Coke  Company,  and  in  1904  he  became  superintendent  of  its  business,  a  posi- 
tion he  now  holds. 

:Mr.  iXIason  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  but  not  a  politician.  On  the  9th 
day  of  April,  1902,  he  was  married  to  Edith  Topper,  daughter  of  Wilson  J. 
and  Margaret  (Cams)  Topper,  born  June  8,  1878. 

HEXRY  BAilFORTH.  Among  the  good  citizens  of  Greensburg 
must  be  numbered  Henry  Bamforth.  Mr.  Bamforth  was  born  April  26, 
1842.  in  Sheffield,  England,  and  is  a  son  of  Edwin  Bamforth.  He  attended 
the  common  schools,  and  at  the  early  age  of  eleven  was  employed  in  the  steel 
works  of  Jessop  &  Son.  He  served'  his  time  and  when  twenty-four  years  of 
age  emigrated  to  the  United  States. 

;Mr.  Bamforth's  first  home  in  this  country  was  at  Forks  Buffalo,  in  the 
southern  part  of  Virginia,  where  he  remained  one  year.  He  then  recrossed 
the  sea.  and  for  six  years  lived  in  his  native  city.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he 
returned  to  the  United  States  and  settled  in  Pittsburg.  In  that  city  he  made 
his  home  for  seven  years,  being  employed  by  the  firm  of  Park  Brothers. 
Prosperity  attended  him,  and  in  the  course  of  time  he  removed  to  Greensburg 
where  he' built  for  himself  a  desirable  residence.  This  house  has  since  been 
fiis  home,  and  he  has  proved  himself  to  be  in  all  respects  a  most  worthy  and 
public-spirited  citizen,  ever  ready  to  lend  his  aid  to  any  project  having  for  its 
aim  the  advancement  and  welfare  of  his  neighbors.  He  is  a  Republican  in 
politics. 

Mr.  Bamforth  married.  July  10.  1864.  Selena  Charlsworth,  who  was 
torn  in  England,  June  12,  1853.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bamforth  are  the  parents  of 
the  following  children :  Henry,  Joseph  Edwin,  Wilford  James,  Albert  A., 
Sarah  Lily,  Clara  Susia,  and  Emily  Maria. 

\V.  WARXER  SCOTT,  for  a  number  of  years  a  trusted  employe 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company,  and  at  present  a  locomotive  engineer 
•on  that  road,  is  a  representative  of  an  honored  family  of  Westmnrelaiul 
county.  Pennsylvania. 

On  the  paternal  side  he  is  of  English  descent :  on  the  maternal.  Scotch- 
Irish.  William  Scott,  grandfather  of  W.  W^arner  Scott,  was  born  in  Sheffield, 
England,  in  1808.  He  was  but  four  years  of  age  when  he  was  brought  to  this 
country,  and  was  taken  to  Ebensburg.  Cambria  county.  Pennsylvania,  where 
lie  was  reared  and  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  the  town.     When  lie 


6i4  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

had  attained  manhood  he  went  to  Indiana  county,  where  he  conducted  a  tav- 
ern very  successfully  in  the  old  stage  coach  days.  From  there  he  migrated 
to  Blairsville,  owned  and  personally  conducted  the  Central  Hotel.  From 
thence  to  Cokeville,  of  which  town  he  was  appointed  the  first  postmaster,  a 
position  he  held  until  his  death.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church, 
and  in  politics  was  first  an  old  line  Whig,  and  later  a  Republican.  He  died  in 
1894,  having  survived  his  wife  by  about  twenty  years. 

He  married  Elizabeth  Peters,  who  was  born  in  England,  and  her  father 
organized  a  company  who  emigrated  to  this  country,  and  for  their  services 
in  the  colony  were  granted  a  large  tract  of  land  in  Throckmorton  countv, 
Texas,  of  which  Mr.  Scott  received  a  share.  The  children  of  William  and 
Elizabeth  (Peters)  Scott  were:  Mary,  Agnes.  Elizabeth,  Rebecca.  Fanny, 
John  H..  Albert,  of  whom  later;  William,  who  was  killed  in  the  battle  of 
Fredericksburg,  during  the  civil  war ;  Alonzo,  was  drowned  in  boyhood. 

Albert  Scott,  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Peters)  Scott,  w'as  born  in 
Indiana  county,  Pennsylvania.  His  education  was  obtained  in  the  public 
schools  and  in  the  Indiana  normal  school.  Upon  reaching  manhood  he  went 
to  the  oil  fields  in  Venango  county,  and  was  one  of  the  pioneers  in  that  indus- 
try. He  had  followed  this  line  of  work  for  many  years,  having  been  superin- 
tendent for  the  Standard  Oil  Company.  He  is  now  living  a  life  of  retirement 
on  a  farm  near  Greensburg,  Westmoreland  county.  Pennsylvania.  He  affiliates 
with  the  Republican  party.  He  married  Elizabeth  Shaw,  daughter  of  Peter 
Shaw,  the  former  of  whom  came  to  Venango  county  from  New  York  state, 
and  became  the  owner  of  several  farms,  on  which  oil  wells  were  later  discov- 
ered. The  children  of  Albert  and  Elizabeth  (Shaw)  Scott  are:  Agnes,  who- 
died  in  her  thirty-third  year,  and  W.  Warner,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Scott  are  members  of  the  Episcopal  church. 

W.  Warner  Scott,  only  son  and  only  surviving  child  of  Albert  and  Eliza- 
beth (Shaw)  Scott,  was  born  on  the  Shaw  farm,  two  miles  from  Oil  City, 
Venango  county.  Pennsylvania,  February  12,  1873.  He  received  a  good  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools,  and  then  attended  the  Burlington  Militarv  Col- 
lege, at  Burlington,  New  Jersey,  for  two  years.  Upon  the  completion  he  was 
apprenticed  to  the  molding  trade,  which  he  followed  a  short  time.  He  entered 
the  employ  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  in  1892,  as  a  fireman.  His- 
reliability  and  faithful  attention  to  all  the  details  of  his  work  did  not  pass- 
unnoticed,  and,  February  2,  1901,  he  was  advanced  to  the  position  of  engineer, 
on  the  Pittsburg  division.  He  is  enterprising  and  progressive  in  his  views, 
and  takes  an  active  and  intelligent  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  community.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers,  and  in  politics  is  a 
Republican.     He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

He  married,  May  22,  1902,  Mary  Myrtle  Hardy,  born  at  Sherricks  Station,. 
Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  John  W.  and  Anna  (Cunningham) 
Hardy,  and  granddaughter  of  Ash'ford  and  Mary  (Walker)  Hardy,  of  Scotch- 
Irish  descent.  Anna  (Cunningham)  Hardy  was  born  in  Westmoreland  coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  Barnett  and  Mary  (Chance)  Cunningham.  Bar- 
nett  Cunningham  was  born  in  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  a  son  of  Joseph 
H.  and  Keziah  (Nornis)  Cunningham,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  near 
Jacobs  Creek.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  W.  Scott  have  one  child :  Mary  Estelle,  born 
May  31,  1905. 

ROBERT  J.  THOMPSON,  a  police  officer  of  Greensburg,  is  the  sort 
of  Isaac  and  Alargaret  (Irvin)  Thompson,  and  was  born  at  ]\Torris  Hill.  \\'est- 
moreland  county.  Pennsylvania,  March  10.  1862.  He  is  descended  from  grand- 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUXTY.  615 

parents  who  came  from  Ireland.  Mr.  Thompson  left  the  common  schools  at 
the  age  of  sixteen  and  followed  farming  four  years.  He  then  did  mill  work 
three  years,  and  later  went  into  the  employ  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Com- 
pany as  a  brakeman,  holding  that  position  five  years.  After  mining  coal  for 
several  years  he  was  appointed,  in  1902,  on  the  police  force  of  Greensburg,  a 
place  he  now  tills.     His  politics  are  Democratic. 

April  10,  1887,  Mr.  Thompson  married  Lizzie  iNI.  Eisaman.  daughter  of 
Reuben  and  fulia  (Fox)  Eisaman,  born  October  28,  1870.  They  have  five 
children:  Theresa  L.,  born  November  21,  1888;  Myrtle  A.,  December  11, 
1890;  James  R.,  March  20,  1892;  Luella,  October  30,  1895,  and  Freeda  M., 
December  2,  1900. 

ALEXANDER  F.  HUTCHISON,  a  native  of  Fayette  county, 
Pennsylvania,  son  of  William  and  Eliza  (Clegg)  Hutchison,  was  born  De- 
cember 4,  1833. 

After  leaving  school  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  he  learned  the  cooper's  trade 
with  his  father  and  then  s])ent  some  years  as  a  journeyman  cooper  in  different 
parts  of  Pennsvlvania.  where  he  perfected  himself  in  a  knowledge  of  the  trade. 
Mr.  Hutchison  is  a  believer  in  the  political  principles  of  Jefferson  and  Jack- 
son and  votes  the  Democratic  ticket. 

December  8,  1853,  he  married  Dressie  Stillwagon,  who  died  in  1859,  leav- 
ing one  son,  John  S.  In  1866  Mr.  Hutchison  married  Elizabeth  Beacome. 
Of  this  marriage  three  children  were  born :  Robert  E.,  George  B.,  and  Aleck 
S.  Elizabeth  Hutchison  died  in  1874.  In  1885  Mr.  Hutchison  married  Phoebe 
Jones,  who  died  January  20,  1901.  John  S.  lives  at  jNIill  Run,  Springfield 
township;  Robert" married  ^laria  Brinker  and  lives  in  Springfield  township. 
George  E.  married  Phebe  Dile  and  lives  at  South  Greensburg. 

WILLIAM  ROLLASON,  an  active  and  enterprising  citizen  of 
Grefensburg,  is  a  worthy  representative  of  that  class  of  men  whose  bmhs  occur 
in  foreign  countries,  but  who  upon  their  arrival  in  a  new  land  cont'orm  to  its 
form  of  government  and  take  an  active  interest  in  all  that  concerns  its  welfare  ■ 
and  development.  He  was  born  March  22,  1847,  in  Stafford,  England,  son  of 
John  and  Jane  (Etchin)  Rollason. 

He  obtained  a  thorough  education  in  the  lower  branches  of  study  in  the 
common  schools  of  his  native  land,  and  in  1872,  at  the  age  of  twenty-five 
years,  came  to  this  country  and  settled  in  Pittsburg.  Pennsylvania,  .\fter  a 
residence  of  two  years  in  that  city,  he  removed  to  McKeesport,  same  state,  and 
there  established  the  first  puddling  department.  After  a  residence  of  three 
years  there  he  went  out  west,  locating  in  Terre  Haiite,  Indiana,  where  he  re- 
mained four  years.  Upon  his  return  east  he  located  in  Pomeroy.  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  there  followed  his  trade  of  puddling  for  four  years.  After  four  years 
he  chose  the  borough  of  Greensburg  for  his  home,  where  he  now  (1905)  re- 
sides, and  he  is  an  employe  in  the  Iron  \\'orks  of  Kelly  &  Jones,  one  of  the 
leading  manufacturers  in  that  .section  of  the  county.  Mr.  Rollason  subse- 
quently returned  to  his  native  land  for  a  brief  visit,  the  tri])  proving  both 
pleasant  and  beneficial.  For  seven  years  he  faithfully  served  as  a  member  of 
the  common  council,  four  years  of  which  time  he  acted  as  chairman  of  the 
board,  and  for  six  years  or  two  terms  he  served  in  the  capacity  of  school  direc- 
tor, to  which  office  he  has  recently  been  re-elected  for  a  term  of  three  years, 
this  fact 'being  conclusive  evidence  that  his  services  in  that  direction  were  ap- 
preciated. He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  He  is  a  Republican 
in  politics. 


6i6  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

j\lr.  Rollason  married,  June  lo,  1871,  Emma  Banton,  who  was  born  in 
England,  March  17,  1849,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  MilHe  (Eachlar)  Jjanton, 
and  their  children  are:  William,  Jane,  Emma,  Millie,  John,  Thomas,  Eliza- 
beth, Alice,  Charles,  Alable,  and  Richard  E.  Rollason. 

TOBIAS  HAINES,  a  highly  esteemed  citizen  of  Greensburg,  in 
which  town  he  has  made  his  home  for  many  years,  was  born  in  Hemptield 
township,  Westmoreland  county,  i'ennsylvania,  July  21,  1854,  a  son  of  Henry 
and  Sarah  (_ Henry)  Haines,  natives  of  the  same  township,  the  former  having 
been  a  painter  by  trade. 

The  common  schools  of  Westmoreland  county  afforded  Tobias  Haines 
the  means  of  obtaining  a  practical  education,  and  by  improving  his  opportu- 
nities he  became  well  versed  in  the  rudimentary  branches.  At  the  early  age 
of  twelve  years  he  began  to  earn  his  own  livelihood,  scuring  employment  in  a 
brick  yard  and  rema4ning  there  for  seven  years.  He  then  learned  the  trade 
of  plastering,  and  alter  his  term  of  apprenticeship  had  ended  became  an  em- 
ploye of  the  Greensburg  Coal  Company,  with  which  corporation  he  has  been 
connected  for  the  past  twenty-one  years,  and  in  whose  service  he  is  at  the 
present  time  (1905).  As  a  citizen  he  is  active  and  alert,  ever  watchful  for  the 
mterests  of  his  town,  and  for  a  number  of  years  he  served  as  councilman,  hav- 
ing been  elected  from  the  fifth  ward  of  Greensburg.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Independent  C)rder  of  Odd  Eellows,  and  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle,  of 
Greensburg. 

On  February  14,  1878,  Mr.  Haines  was  united  in  marriage  to  Amanda 
Bender,  who  was  born  in  Hempfield  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, October  3,  1859,  ^  daughter  of  Solomon  and  Hannah  (Henry) 
Bender.  Their  children  are:  John,  Harold,  Agnes,  Emma,  Sarah,  Edward, 
Charles,  and  Elizabeth.  ]\Ir.  Haines  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Luth- 
eran church.  They  reside  in  a  fine,  commodious  house  on  Spring  street, 
Greensburg,  which  he  erected  for  his  own  use  in  the  year  1904,  and  which 
is  noted  for  the  hospitality  dispensed  therein. 

WILLIAM  B.  KELTZ.  A  retired  farmer  who  is  now  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  well-earned  leisure,  is  William  B.  Keltz,  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania. 
Mr.  Keltz  is  descended  from  Scottish  ancestors.  His  father  was  Robert  Keltz, 
a  native  of  Ligonier  valley,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  spent  his  entire  life.  He 
married  Sarah  Knox,  whose  forefathers  came  from  Scotland. 

William  B.  Keltz,  son  of  Robert  and  Sarah  (Knox)  Keltz,  was  born 
March  3,  1852,  in  Ligonier  valley,  and  received  his  education  in  the  common 
schools.  At  the  age  of  Sixteen  he  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  which  he 
followed  successfully  for  fifteen  years.  He  then  sold  the  farm  and  moved 
to  Greensburg,  where  he  purchased  land  on  whicli  he  built  for  himself  a 
comfortable  dwelling.  He  is  a  public-spirited  citizen  and  for  nearly  two 
years  has  served  as  chief  of  police  of  South  Greensburg.  He  belongs  to 
Lodge  No.  541,  I.  O.  O.  F.  He  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Reformed 
church  of  Greensburg.     He  is  a  Republican. 

Mr.  Keltz  married  L'rsula  Khums,  who  was  born  December  13,  1853,  in 
Youngstown,  Pennsylvania,  and  they  have  four  children :  Sarah  A.,  Curtis 
A.,  Carrie  J.,  and  James  W. 

LOWRY  A.  BARNHART,  one  of  the  upright,  industrious  and  en- 
terprising citizens  of  Greensburg,  was  born  in  Blairsville,  Indiana  county, 
Pennsylvania,  July  13,  1871,  a  son  of  Daniel  and  Catherine  (Brinkley)   Barn- 


HISTORV   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  617 

hart.  His  grandfather  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  from  wlience  he  came  to 
Pennsylvania,  settling  in  Xew  Alexandria,  Westmorelantl  county,  where  he 
was  killed  by  a  bucket  falling  upon  him  while  digging  in  a  well,  about  the 
3ear  i860.  His  grandmother  came  to  this  country  with  her  parents  when  four 
years  of  age,  they  settling  in  Blairsville,  Pennsylvania.  Daniel  Barnhart 
(father)  was  a  carriage  trimmer  by  trade,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death,  which 
was  occasioned  by  a  hurt  he  received  at  Allegheny  Junction,  he  was  serving 
as   foreman  in   the   Blairsville   shops. 

Lowry  A.  Barnhart  attended  the  common  schools  of  his  neigliborhood 
until  fourteen  years  old,  and  then  went  to  learn  the  trade  of  moulder,  which 
he  has  followed  up  to  the  present  time  (1905)  with  the  exception  of  five 
years  that  he  spent  at  railroading,  being  in  the  employ  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  Companj',  He  is  conscientious  and  thorough  in  the  performance  of 
liis  laber,  and  therefore  merits  the  esteem  and  confidence  reposed  in  him  by 
his  employers.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  JNIaccabees,  and  an  adher- 
ent of  the  principles  of  Democracy,  casting  his  vote  for  the  candidates  of  that 
party. 

^Ir.  Barnhart  married  Alice  A.  Miller,  who  was  born  ]\larch  4,  1868,  in 
Pleasant  Unity  township,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  (Miller)  Miller 
(no  relatives),  the  ceremony  being  performed  June  18,  iSSg.They  are  the 
parents  of  four  children:  Jessie  M.,  born  January  23,  1890:  George  E., 
July  9.  1892:  William  R.,  ^lay  31,  1896:  and  James  M.,  November  26,  1900. 
The  family  arc  members  of  the  Christian  church. 

SICKEXBERGER  EAMILY.  Ilenry  Sickenberger,  a  native  of 
Germany,  who  was  the  first  ancestor  of  this  family  in  America  of  which  there 
is  any  knowledge  and  but  little  is  known  of  him,  save  his  name  and  nativity 
and  that  he  married  and  reared  a  family. 

Henry  Sickenberger,  son  of  Henry  Sickenberger  was  born  in  Germany 
in  1 8 10.  He  became  a  druggist  by  profession  and  followed  the  same  in  his 
native  country,  but  upon  coming  to  this  country  took  up  farming.  He 
married  Mary  Xumen  and  they  effected  settlement  in  Blair  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  moved  to  Indiana  county  in  1846.  There  he  gardened  and  worked 
about  lawns.  He  was  a  Republican  in  politics.  Early  in  life  he  was  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  faith,  but  later  united  with  the  Presbyterian  church.  The 
children  born  to  Henry  and  Mary  (Xumen)  Sickenberger  were:  Sebastian, 
died  in  1899:  Peter:  Henry  C. :  Frank  M.,  born  January  18,  1846.  of  whom 
later:  Mary  .Ann,  wife  of  Mr.  Swank:  Eleanor,  wife  of  Woodman  Turk:  and 
Joseph.  The  mother  died  in  Indiana  county  in  1891,  aged  about  eighty-one 
years. 

Frank  M.  Sickenberger  was  born  January  18,  1846,  at  Hollidaysburg, 
Pennsylvania.  He.  attended  the  common  schools  of  the  section.  He  learned 
the  carpenter  trade  in  Indiana  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  since  living  in  West- 
moreland county  has  been  emi)loyed  by  the  Keystone  Coal  and  Coke  Company, 
and  the  past  eight  years  doing  repair  and  carjicnter  work  for  Lloyd  Huff,  of 
(jreensburg.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  in  religious  belief  and  pro- 
fession is  connected  with  the  Christian  church.-  July  19,  1866,  he  married 
Mary,  daughter  of  Jonathan  and  Elizabeth  (Stevison)  .Mtman,  of  Arm- 
strong county,  Pennsylvania.  Their  children  are:  i.  Harvev  T.,  born 
February  15,  1867,  first  married  Ida  Diviny,  who  died,  and  for  his  second  wife 
he  married  .\nna  George.  2.  Xannie  M.,  born  June  17,  1868,  married  Har- 
rison Patch.  3.  Henry  X.,  born  January  2,  1870,  married  Bertha  George. 
4.     J.  Frank,  born  Xovemher  19,  1872.  now  a  railroad  engineer  on  the  Penn- 


6i8  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

sylvania  svstem  and  lives  at  his  parental  home.  5.  Nettie,  born  June  24, 
■1874  deceased.  6.  Henrietta  May,  born  July  9,  1876,  married  George 
Tru.xell.  7.  Lawrence  W.,  born  April  7,  1878,  married  Minnie  Fainter. 
8  I'.lair  E.,  born  April  4,  1880,  married  Lena  Haukeson,  of  Somerset  county, 
Pennsylvania.  9.  Homer  J.,  born  December  5,  1882.  10.  Emma  B.,  born 
July  13,  1885.  II.  Norris  E.,  born  March  28,  1887.  12.  Chrissie  E.,  born 
September  16,  1889.  13.  Merril  D.,  born  March  18,  1893,  died  when  one 
and  one-half  years  of  age. 

CHARLES  M.  HILL.  One  of  those  men  who  are  sure  to  make 
their  way  in  any  community  and  under  all  circumstances  is  Charles  M.  Hdl, 
of  Latro'be.  The  father  of'iMr.  Hill  was  Joseph  H.  Hill,  who  was  a  carpen- 
ter and  followed  his  trade  nearly  all  his  life.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics 
and  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  His  wife  was  Catherine  Pift'e,  and 
their  children  were:  Katie,  Albert,  Charles  M.,  see  forward;  George  M., 
deceased ;  and  William  H. 

Charles  M.  Hill,  son  of  Joseph  H.  and  Catherine  (Piffe)  Hill,  was  born 
May  19,  i860,  in  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools.'  After  leaving  school  he  worked  four  years  at  the  carpenter's  trade 
and  then  turned  his  attention  to  civil  engineering  which  he  has  followed  suc- 
cussfully  ever  since.  His  political  influence  and  vote  are  given  to  the  Demo- 
crats. Mr.  Hill  married,  in  1886,  Tillie  Longstreath,  and  their  children  are : 
Gertrude  May,  born  August  14,  1887;  Charles  W.,  October  12,  1889;  Katie, 
November  18,  1891  ;  George  A.,  November  21,  1893;  Ida  M.,  September  12, 
1896;  John  D.,  December  31,  1898;  Leroy,  Eebruary  23,  1900;  and  Harry  R., 
June  24,  1903. 

The  father  of  ]\lrs.  Hill  was  John  Longstreath,  a  native  of  Armstrong 
county,  who  all  his  life  followed  the  calling  of  a  miner.  He  married  and 
reared  a  family  of  eight  children,  one  of  whom  was  a  daughter,  Tillie,  who 
was  bom  December  20,  1870.  in  Leechburg.  Pennsylvania,  and  became  the 
wife  of  Charles  M.  Hill,  as  mentioned  above. 

.\LBERT  K.  WILLIAMS,  of  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  conductor 
on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  son  of  David  and  Margaret  D.  (Wise)  Wil- 
liams, was  born  in  Greensburg,  March  25,  1858.  His  education  was  obtained 
in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  city  and  was  concluded  when  he  was  four- 
teen years  of  age.  His  first  employment  was  on  the  Erie  and  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  where  he  remained  six  months  in  the  capacity  of  mail  agent.  He 
then  took  a  place  on  a  steamboat  and  learned  the  baker's  trade  at  which  he 
worked  three  vears.  For  several  years  following  he  cooked  in  restaurants 
and  on  steamboats,  returning  to  Greensburg  in  1879.  Preferring  an  out- 
door life  and  a  more  active  employment  he  next  became  a  brakeman  on_  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  system  and  followed  that  occupation  until  an  injury 
to  one  of  his  hands  compelled  him  to  relinquish  that  kind  of  work,  and  he 
went  to  work  in  the  coal  mines.  Several  years  were  spent  in  mining  and  then 
he  returned  to  the  railroad  service,  where  he  worked  two  years  as  a  brakeman. 
From  1886  to  1888  he  had  leave  of  absence  and  had  other  employment.  In 
1888  he  returned  and  was  employed  as  a  flagman.  In  1898  he  was  promoted 
to  freight  conductor,  and  for  some  years  has  had  a  steady  run. 

Mr.  Williams  is  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  1 14,  Order  of  Railroad  Conduc- 
tors, Pittsburg:  also  of  Lodge  No.  484  Knights  of  Pythias,  Greensburg.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican.  He  was  married  July  22.  1880,  to  Ida  N.  Siii- 
dorf,  daughter  of  John  and  Louisa    (Truxal)    Sindorf,  a  native  of  Greens- 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  619 

burg,  born  December  29,  1859.  Tliey  liave  two  cbildren,  Ida  ]\I.,  born  April 
7,  1881,  and  Clarence  E.,  born  February  28,  1887.  Mr.  Williams  and  his 
family  are  n^embers  of  Christ  Church,  Greensburg;. 

GEORGE  W.  BAILEY.  Prominent  among-  the  successful  agricul- 
turists of  Greensburg,  who  are  noted  for  the  practical  and  progressive  man- 
ner in  which  they  conduct  their  operations,  and  who  derive  goodly  incomes 
from  their  labors,  is  George  W.  Bailey,  who  was  born  in  .Springfield  town- 
ship. Favette  count}',  Pennsvlvania,  Julv  31,  1850,  son  of  J.  Rilev  and  I'ollv 
(White)'  Bailey. 

J.  Riley  Bailey  (father)  was  born  in  Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania. 
June  15,  1814.  His  parents  were  natives  of  this  country,  but  descendants 
of  a  German  ancestry.  J.  Riley  Bailey  followed  the  quiet  but  useful  calling  of 
agriculture,  served  as  supervisor  and  school  director  of  his  township,  and 
was  a  prominent  and  active  member  of  the  Baptist  church.  He  married 
Polly  ^^'hile.  who  was  born  in  Salt  Lake  township,  Fayette  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  whose  parents  were  natives  of  Ireland.  Their  children  were : 
Samuel  W.,  John,  deceased;  E.  K.,  deceased;  Jane,  Fanny,  George  W.,  Wil- 
liam H.,  John,  Rebecca,  and  Anna.  E.  K.  Bailey,  third  son  of  the  above 
named  parents,  was  born  near  Indian  Creek  Baptist  church  in  Springfield 
township,  Fayette  county,  Alarch  25,  1844.  He  served  as  a  private  in  the  Civil 
war.  In  1880  he  was  ordained  to  the  Baptist  ministrv  and  one  year  later 
was  elected  pastor  of  a  charge  in  the  state  of  New  Jersey.  A  few  years 
later  he  returned  to  Pennsylvania  and  was  appointed  pastor  of  a  church  at 
\\'est  Newton,  later  was  engaged  in  gospel  work  at  Greensboro,  and  subse- 
quently was  appointed  pastor  of  the  churches  at  Greensboro  and  Sugar  Grove, 
serving  for  a  little  more  than  one  year  prior  to  his  death,  February  28,  1905, 
during  which  time  he  was  held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  all  the  people  of  that 
comnumity,  regardless  of  church  affiliations.  On  December  21,  1865,  the 
Rev.  E.  K.  Bailey  was  married  to  Arthilla  Skinner,  daughter  of  Abram  and 
Hukla  Skinner,  of  -Mill  Run,  Pennsylvania,  and  ten  children  were  born  to 
them,  four  of  whom  still  survive. 

The  educational  advantages  enjoyed  bv  George  W.  Bailey  were  obtained 
in  the  common  schools  of  the  neighborhood,  which  he  attended  until  he  at- 
tained the  age  of  eighteen  years,  and  since  then  he  has  devoted  his  entire  atten- 
tion to  farming,  and  justly  deserves  the  success  that  his  energy  and  thrift  have 
achieved.  He  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  reliable  men  of  the  conmnmity,  and 
every  duty  devolving  upon  him  has  been  performed  in  a  highly  creditable  and 
efficient  manner.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows. 

On  February  18,  1875,  Mr.  Bailey  married  Anna  'SI.  Hutchinson,  tlie 
ceremony  being  performed  in  Si^ringfield  township.  .Slie  was  born  Ausust  25. 
1852.  in  Fayette  county.  Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  William  and  Elizabeth 
(Smiley)  Flutchinson,  and  died  August  i,  1894.  Ten  children  were  the  issue 
of  this  marriage,  as  follows :  Edmund  H.,  born  December  14,  1875,  died 
June  20,  1904;  J.  Riley,  November  8,  1877;  William  H.,  October  20,  1878; 
Richard,  September  20,  1880,  flied  December  18,  1880:  J.  Alva,  April  29, 
1882:  Jennie  E.,  July  9,  1884:  ,\ldora.  October  4,  1886:  G.,"  January  27,  1889; 
F.  Wayland,  February  14,  1891  ;  and  Russell  Lowell,  February  13,  1893,  <hed 
July  20,  1894.  Two  sons  served  as  privates  in  the  war  of  the  Philippines. 
On  May  23,  1900,  Mr.  Bailey  was  united  in  marriage  to  Mrs.  Marv  M. 
George,  the  widow  of  .Ambrose  George,  and  daughter  of  Rutan  and  Sar;di 


620  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

(Martin)   Davison.     She  was  born  in  West  Newton,  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  J^Iarch  19,  1861. 

DANIEL  M.  WILLIAMS,  traveling  yardmaster  of  the  Pennsylva- 
nia Railroad,  was  born  at  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania,  June  2,  1849,  and  is  the 
son  of  David  and  Margaret  (Wise)  Williams.  His  paternal  grandfather 
was  a  native  of  Wales,  and  coming  to  the  United  States  when  a  young  man, 
married  Margaret  Fiscus,  a  native  of  Westmoreland  county.  He  resided  in 
Greensburg,  and  there  David  Williams,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  born  and  resided. 

Daniel  M.  Williams  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of 
Greensburg,  which  he  left  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years  to  enter  the  employ- 
ment of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  as  a  water-boy  on  a  work  tram. 
After  a  year's  service  there  he  was  a  laborer  for  a  short  time  and  then  became 
a  brakeman  on  a  freight  train,  filling  that  position  for  eighteen  months.  His 
efficiency  brought  him"  promotion  and  he  was  made  conductor  of  a  freight  train. 
In  this  capacity  he  spent  the  next  ten  years  of  his  life.  While  in  the  discharge 
of  his  duties  he  had  the  misfortune  to  suffer  so  severe  an  injury  to  his  right 
hand  that  amputation  was  necessary.  He  continued  in  the  train  service,  how- 
ever, until  1880,  when  he  was  promoted  to  yardmaster.  performing  the  duties 
of  that  position  until  1901.  He  was  then  given  the  place  of  traveling  yardmas- 
ter which  he  now  fills.  He  is  also  roadmaster  at  Radebaugh,  and  holds  a. 
similar  position  on  the  Radebaugh  &  Hempfield  branch  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad. 

In  the  terrible  railroad  riots  of  1887.  when  legal  restraint  was  thrown  to 
the  winds  and  the  wild  passions  of  men  led  them  into  the  commissions  of  all 
sorts  of  excesses,  this  city  and  its  immediate  vicinity  were  the  theatre  of  the 
fiercest,  wildest  and  most" sanguinary  acts  of  that  period.  Mr.  Williams,  then 
yardmaster  at  Derrv.  left  his  place  there  and  proffered  his  services  to  the  offi- 
cials of  the  company  at  this  place.  The  tracks  outside  of  the  Union  Station 
were  then  in  possession  of  the  rioters  and  the  company  was  using  every  effort 
to  get  its  trains  through  to  other  points.  Mr.  Williams  volunteered  to  take 
■charge  of  a  freight  train  and  attempt  to  take  it  to  its  destination.  The  under- 
taking was  full  of  danger  as  the  rioters  were  determined  that  no  train  should 
be  moved.  As  the  train  started  the  strikers  attacked  it,  and  Mr.  Williams 
received  a  bullet  in  the  leg,  making  a  wound  that  was  painful  and  annoying, 
but  he  succeeded  in  his  effort  and  took  the  train  through  to  Erie.  As  a  reward 
for  this  service.  Thomas  A.  Scott,  then  president  of  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road Companv,  presented  Mr.  Williams  with  a  valuable  gold  watch,  chain  and 
pendant  and  a  check  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  This  watch  is  natur- 
ally one  of  the  most  valued  pieces  of  property  Mr.  Williams  has  ever  pos- 
sessed. 

Since  he  entered  upon  his  career  as  yardmaster  Mr.  Williams  has  had  other 
exciting  experiences  while  looking  after  the  interests  of  the  Pennsylvania 
road.  In  i88g  he  captured  two  men  who  had  attempted  to  wreck  a  train  at 
Southwest.  They  were  tried,  convicted  and  sentenced  to  a  term  of  five  years 
■each  in  the  penitentiary.  He  also  captured  several  parties  of  car  robbers  and 
broke  up  a  desperate  gang  of  thieves.  In  1878  he  was  struck  by  a  fast  run- 
ning express  train  in"  the  East  Liberty  yards,  thrown  a  great  distance  and 
severely  injured,  but  finally  recovered. 

As  a  natural  consequence  of  his  long  and  faithful  service,  the  dangers 
he  hits  braved  and  the  injuries  he  has  suffered  in  the  performance  of  his  duty, 
Mr.   Williams  is  highly  esteemed  by  the  officers  of  the  great  corporation  he 


HISTORY   OF   IVESTMORELAXD    COUNTY.  62r 


has  served  for  more  than  forty  years.  In  the  dischari;e  of  his  duties  he  has 
been  fortunate,  and  in  all  the  years  of  his  service  has  never  had  a  wreck.  His 
relations  with  his  fellow  employes  have  always  been  such  that  he  was  popular 
with  them.  He  is  a  member  of  many  fraternal  orders,  both  those  connected 
with  railroad  service  and  those  independent  of  it.  He  is  a  member  of  the  fol- 
lowing associations  and  orders:  N'eterans  Association  of  the  Pittsburg  Divis- 
ion of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad :  The  Yardmaster's  Association  of  the  United 
States;  the  Order  of  Railway  Conductors,  No.  114,  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania;. 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  P^ellows,  Lodge  No.  701,  of  Jeannette :  Lodge  No. 
571,  Royal  Arcanum  of  Derry  Station;  Knights  of  Pythias,  Lodge  No.  225, 
Pittsburg.    His  political  affiliations  are  with  the  Republican  party. 

July  19,  1885,  Air.  \\'illiams  married  Anna  Good,  born  October  7,  1867, 
at  Port  Perrv,  Allegheny  coimty,  Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  William  and 
Clara  (W'oolslaver)  Good.  Of  this  marriage  there  are  two  children:  Cecelia 
May,  born  April  13,  1886,  and  Margaret,  born  April  3,  1896. 

\\'ILLL\M  HUDSON.  Those  seeking  for  a  type  of  the  successful, 
progressive  farmer  will  find  it  in  William  Hudson,  of  Latrobe.  Mr.  Hudson's 
paternal  grandfather  emigrated  to  this  coimtry  from  Ireland,  while  thrtnigli 
his  grandmother  he  comes  of  German  ancestry.  His  parents  were  William  and 
Sarah  (Fishel)  Hudson,  the  former  a  native  of  Lancaster  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, whence  he  came  to  Westmoreland  county.' 

\\"illiam  Hudson  was  born  July  7,  1852,  in  Unity  township,  and  obtained 
his  education  in  the  common  schools  of  Salem  township.  At  the  age  of  four- 
teen he  left  school  and  has  since  devoted  himself  to  agricultural  pursuits.  He 
has  lived  sixteen  years  on  the  farm  which  is  now  his  home  and  which  is  one  of 
the  finest  in  the  township,  I\Ir.  Hudson  being  at  the  same  time  advanced  in  his 
idea.s  and  practical  in  his  methods.  He  is  the  only  man  in  the  county  who 
raises  thoroughbred  English  horses.     Politically  he  is  a  Rcpul)lican. 

Mr.  Hudson  married  Mary  E.,  daughter  of  John  and  Susan  (Dible) 
Kepple,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  two  children:  a  son,  D.,  and  a  daughter 
who  became  the  wife  of  William  Dean.  After  the  death  of  his  wife  Mr.  Hud- 
son married  Sada  K.,  daughter  of  Sehvir  and  Susan  (Kilgorc)  Lattie,  and  on 
being  left  a  widower  for  the  second  time,  married  Emma  J.  Hunter.  By  this 
marriage  he  became  the  father  of  one  child.  Hazel. 

GEORGE  R.  HUGUS.  The  family  of  which  George  R.  Hugus,  of 
Latrobe,  is  a  representative,  is  of  French  origin.  It  was  planted  in  this  coun- 
try by  three  brothers  who  came  from  France  early  in  the  eighteenth  century, 
line  of  them  settling  in  Brown  county,  Pennsylvania,  whence  he  or  his  descend- 
ants emigrated  to  \\'estmoreland  county,  where  Paul  Hugus  was  born  and 
passed  his  life,  dying  at  the  age  of  eighty-three. 

John  Hugus,  son  of  Paul  Hugus,  mentioned  above,  was  born  in  1798,  in 
Westmoreland  county,  and  in  early  life  was  for  several  years  engaged  in  mer- 
cantile business  in  Blairsville,  Pennsylvania.  During  the  remainder  of  his  days 
he  devoted  himself  to  agricultural  pursuits,  always  finding  time,  however,  for 
the  indulgence  of  the  scholarlv  tastes  whicli  formed  a  striking  feature  of  his 
character.  He  read  widely,  could  use  his  pen  with  facility  and  was  an  accom- 
j)lishcd  mathematician.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Reformed  cliurch.  He  mar- 
ried Rebecca  Hackey,  a  native  of  Westmoreland  coimty,  and  thev  were  the 
parents  of  a  son,  George  R..  of  whom  later.  Mr.  Hugus  died  in  May,  1888, 
at  the  venerable  age  of  ninety  years. 

George  R.  Hugus,  son  of  John  and  Rebecca  (Hackey)  Hugus,  was  born, 


622  HISTORY    OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.         '  • 

September  i8,  1835,  in  Unity  township,  and  was  educated  at  the  Sewickley 
Academy.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  left  school  and  engaged  in  farming 
which  he  has  made  the  business  of  his  life.  His  political  principles  and  opin- 
ions are  those  advocated  and  upheld  by  the  Democratic  party.  Mr.  Hugus 
married,  June  3,  1857,  Jane  Latta,  and  their  family  consists  of  three  sons: 
Edward  L.,  born  :\Iay  12,  1859;  John  H.,  April  10,  1864;  and  Harry  R.,  April 
18,  1871. 

Mrs.  Hugus  is  the  daughter  of  Moses  Latta,  who  belongs  to  a  family  of 
English  origin.  He  was  born  in  Mount  Pleasant  township,  and  in  1833  moved 
to  Unity  township,  and  bought  the  farm  where  his  daughter,  IMrs.  Hugus, 
now  lives.  His  wife  was  Elizabeth  Graham,  and  their  daughter,  Jane,  was 
born  April  16,  1834,  in  Unity  township,  and  became  the  wife  of  George  R. 
Hugus,  as  mentioned  above. 

PARKER  F.  HEFFELFINGER.  Among  the  well  known  and 
highly  respected  citizens  of  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania,  may  be  mentioned  the 
name'  of  Parker  F.  Heffelfinger,  a  descendant  of  a  German  origin.  He  was 
born  in  Armstrong  county,  Pennsylvania,  March  20,  1877,  a  son  of  Albert 
and  Mary  (Rosenberger)  Heffelfinger.  The  father  of  Albert  Heffelfinger 
was  for  many  years  a  resident  of  Somerset  county,  fn.im  whence  he  removed 
to  Westmoreland  county  at  an  early  date. 

Parker  F.  Heffelfinger  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of 
Armstrong  county,  and  after  completing  his  studies,  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years, 
he  engaged  in  farming  for  William  Harmon  and  continued  this  occupation 
for  a  period  of  four  years.  On  December  27,  1884,  he  took  up  his  abode  in 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  first  five  years  thereafter  he 
devoted  his  aJ;tention  to  farming,  which  proved  remunerative  to  a  more  or 
less  degree.  He  then  accepted  a  position  as  night  watchman  on  a  railroad, 
running  from  Beatty  to  Donahoe,  in  which  capacity  he  worked  for  one  year. 
He  then  entered  the  employ  of  the  H.  C.  Frick  Coal  Company,  beginning  as 
a  miner  and  gradually  working  his  way  up  until  he  attained  the  responsible 
position  of  stationary  engineer,  which  office  he  is  filling  at  the  present  time 
(1906).  This  was  gained  by  i^erseverance  and  industry,  and  by  faithfully 
and  conscientiously  discharging  the  duties  devolving  upon  him  gained  the 
respect  and  confidence  of  his  employers.  Mr.  Heffelfinger  is  a  Democrat  in 
politics. 

Mr.  Heffelfinger  married,  May  24,  1898,  Nellie  McGuire,  born  April  13, 
1879,  in  Armstrong  county,  Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  Christopher  and  Julia 
McGuire.    Their  children  are :    Myrtle,  Augusta,  and  Celia. 

JOHN  BRADLEY,  of  Latrobe,  son  of  Patrick  and  Julia  Bradley, 
natives  of  Ireland,  from  whence  they  came  to  the  Ignited  States  and  settled 
in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  at  a  very  early  day,  was  born  in 
Blairsville,  Westmoreland  county,  February  11,  1877.  He  acquired  the  educa- 
tion afforded  by  the  public  schools  of  that  vicinity,  which  he  attended  until  he 
attained  the  age  of  nineteen  years,  and  for  a  number  of  years  thereafter  was 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits:  He  then  became  an  employee  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  Company,  retaining  his  position  ten  months,  after  which 
he  secured  employment  in  the  Saxman  Alines,  which  continued  for  three 
years,  and  in  1898  he  came  to  Latrobe.  For  some  time  he  was  employed  on 
the  Stemler  farm,  but  at  the  present  time  (1905)  is  acting  as  traveling  sales- 
man for  M.  R.  Moore.    Mr.  Bradley  is  unmarried. 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  623 

GEORGE  \V.  HAWK.  Among  the  early  settlers  of  Allegheny 
township  was  the  paternal  grandfather  of  George  \V.  Hawk,  of  Paulton,  who 
emigrated  from  Germany  about  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  and 
passed  the  remainder  of  his  life  on  a  farm  in  that  township. 

Samuel  Hawk,  son  of  the  emigrant,  followed  agricultural  pursuits  in 
Allegheny  township  until  some  time  in  the  sixties,  when  he  moved  with  a  part 
of  his  family  to  Iowa,  and  there  spent  his  remaining  years.  His  wife  was 
Eliza  Eck,  and  the  following  were  their  children :  Julia,  deceased ;  Belle 
(twin  to  Julia),  wife  of  a  Mr.  Cline,  of  Kansas:  Katharine,  wife  of  Joseph 
Nelly,  of  Bell  township;  George  W.,  mentioned  hereinafter;  John  (twin  to 
George  W.),  resides  in  Iowa;  Samuel;  Margaret,  wife  of  a  Mr.  Bronner ; 
Mary,  wife  of  a  j\Ir.  Fisher;  Albert;  Jennie,  deceased;  and  Lizzie.  The 
iieatii  of  Mr.  Hawk,  the  father,  occurred  in  1880,  and  was  followed  one  year 
later  by  that  of  his  widow. 

George  \V.  Hawk,  son  of  Samuel  and  Eliza  (Eck)  Hawk,  was  born 
July  4,  1847,  in  Allegheny  township,  where  he  receiyed  a  common  school  edu- 
cation. In  youth  and  early  manhood  he  was  engaged  in  farming,  a  calling 
which  he  abandoned  in  1873  in  order  to  enter  the  service  of  the  American 
Sheet  Steel  Company,  with  whom  he  now  holds  the  position  of  cold  roller. 
He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  in  religious  belief  a  Presbyterian.  Mr. 
Hawk  married,  July  4,  1874,  Mattie  Spahr,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  the 
following  children:  Gertrude,  ^vife  of  George  Anient,  of  Saltsburg;  Ida  M., 
wife  of  Ivan  R.  Shockcy.  of  Paulton;  Marion  Earl,  deceased:  Edith  C. :  and 
Albert  Willis.  Mrs.  Hawk  is  a  daughter  of  Dr.  James  and  Katharine  (Steffy) 
Spahr,  of  ilaysville,  Armstrong  county,  where  the  former  practiced  medicine 
for  a  number  of  years.  He  was  a  soldier  of  the  war  of  1812.  His  death 
occurred  in  1870,  and  his  widow  survived  until  1904. 

JOSEPH  REED.  The  family  of  which  Joseph  Reed,  of  Apollo, 
is  a  representative,  is  of  Irish  origin,  and  was  founded  in  this  country  by  James 
Reed,  who  in  181 1  emigrated  with  his  family  to  the  United  States  and  settled 
in  Washington  township,  \vhere  he  purchased  a  farm.  James  Reed  died  at  the 
extraordinary  age  of  ninety-six. 

John  Reed,  son  of  James  Reed,  was  born  in  1800,  in  Ireland,  and  was 
about  twelve  years  of  age  when  his  parents  emigrated  to  America.  In  early 
life  he  became  a  farmer,  and  later  engaged  in  general  mercantile  business  in 
North  Washington,  where  for  thirty  years  he  served  as  justice  of  the  peace. 
He  also  held  the  office  of  postmaster  at  that  place  for  many  years.  His  wife 
was  Jane  Miller,  and  but  four  of  their  thirteen  children  are  now  livu\i^", 
Joseph,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  Belle,  wife  of  James  Sweeney ;  Mary  Jane,  wife 
of  R.  R.  McQuilkin :  and  Henry  Foster,  of  Wellsville,  Ohio.  The  father  of 
the  family  died  in  1877,  and  the  death  of  his  widow  occurred  in  1883. 

Joseph  Reed,  son  of  John  and  Jane  (Miller)  Reed,  was  born  in  1845, 
near  his  present  home.  He  attended  the  common  schools  and  on  reaching 
manhood  chose  to  devote  himself  to  farming,  in  which  he  is  engaged  at  the 
present  time.  He  owns  and  occupies  the  old  Reed  homestead  which  has. been 
in  the  family  for  more  than  half  a  century.  Mr.  Reed  married,  December 
19,  1868.  Mary  E.,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Katharine  (Coy)  Hartman,  and 
the  following  are  their  children :  Robert  M.,  Calvin  Smith,  James  T.,  Mabel, 
deceased;  Delia  Love,  Ida  Katharine,  John  Stewart,  Harry  Giles,  Maud  Gert- 
rude, Lottie  M.,  and  Joseph  Alonzo. 


624  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

ROBERT  R.  McQUILKIN.  The  paternal  great-grandfather  of 
Robert  R.  McQuilkin,  of  Apollo,  was  born  about  1750,  in  Scotland,  whence 
he  moved  to  Ireland  and  later  emigrated  to  the  United  States.  He  settled  in 
Westmoreland  county,  and  served  in  the  war  of  the  revolution,  participating 
in  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill.    About  1777  he  married  Anna  Robinson. 

Robert  Robinson  McQuilkin,  son  of  the  emigrant  ancestor  and  his  wife 
Anna  (Robinson)  McQuilkin,  was  born  in  1782,  in  Westmoreland  county,  and 
married  Jane  Richey,  a  native  of  county  Down,  Ireland,  who  when  a  child 
was  brought  by  her  parents  to  the  United  States.  The  father  died  on  the  voy- 
age and  was  buried  at  sea,  and  the  mother,  with  her  three  children,  settled  in 
Westmoreland  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McQuilkin  were  the  parents  of  the  fol- 
lowing children:  William,  mentioned  hereinafter;  James,  Andrew  R.,  Robert 
R.,  John,  died  in  infancy  :  ^largaret,  wife  of  a  Mr.  Adair ;  Samuel,  Mary 
Ann,  wife  of  a  Mr.  McKee ;  Jane,  Isabella,  wife  of  a  ]\Ir.  Stewart;  and 
John  (2). 

William  McQuilkin,  son  of  Robert  Robinson  and  Jane  (Richey)  Mc- 
Quilkin, was  born  in  1808,  in  Washington  township,  and  was  a  farmer,  own- 
ing three  hundred  acres  of  land,  of  which  one  hundred  and  fifty  now  belong 
to  his  son,  Robert  R.  McQuilkin.  Mr.  McQuilkin  married  Hannah  Alcorn, 
and  their  children  were :  John,  Robert  R.,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  William 
Richey,  deceased;  Rebecca,  wife  of  Peter  Wangaman,  of  Saltsburg;  Nancy 
J.,  deceased,  wife  of  David  McKee ;  Sarah  Ann,  wife  of  George  Spear ;  also 
deceased ;  and  Belle,  wife  of  F.  B.  Rugh.  The  death  of  Mrs.  McQuilkin 
occurred  in  1882,  and  that  of  Mr.  McQuilkin  in  1892. 

Robert  R.  McQuilkin,  son  of  William  and  Hannah  (Alcorn)  ]\IcQuilkin, 
was  born  in  1844,  in  Washington  township,  near  his  present  place  of  abode. 
In  early  life  he  turned  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits,  which  he  has  suc- 
cessfully and  profitably  followed  to  the  present  time.  He  has  filled  various 
township  offices,  among  them  those  of  tax  collector  and  school  director.  He 
is  a  Democrat  and  a  member  and  trustee  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Mr. 
McQuilkin  married,  March  i,  1870,  Mary  Jane,  daughter  of  John  and  Jane 
(Miller)  Reed,  of  Washington  township,  and  their  children  are:  Harry  Miles, 
of  Kansas  City,  Missouri ;  William  Reed,  of  Vandergrift,  is  married  and  has 
three  children :  Clark,  Ora  and  Wade ;  Robert  Miller,  of  Indiana  Harbor,  In- 
diana ;  F.  Robinson,  deceased :  John  Alcorn,  of  Canal  Dover,  Ohio ;  Merty  Bell, 
deceased ;  Martha  Mabel ;  Tillie  R.,  wife  of  James  H.  Walker,  and  mother 
of  three  children :  Dora,  William  Glen  and  Edna  Lois ;  James  L. 

..cG-  JOHN   C.    STEELE.     The   paternal  great-grandfather  of  John   C. 

Steel,  of  Saltsburg,  was  of  Irish  birth,  and  at  an  early  age  sought  a  home 
among  the  wilds  of  Westmoreland  county.  His  son,  Joseph  Steele,  was  a  man 
of  considerable  means  and  influence,  owning  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and 
thirt}'-five  acres.  His  wife  was  Barbara  BIystone,  who  bore  him  the  follow- 
ing children :  Samuel,  Betsy,  David,  John,  Joseph,  James,  mentioned  here- 
inafter :  and  Absalom. 

James  Steele,  son  of  Joseph  and  Barbara  (BIystone)   Steele,  was  born  in 
Westmoreland  county,  and  became  a  prosperous  farmer  in  Franklin  township. 
He  married  Eliza  Shaw,  also  a  native  of  Westmoreland  county,  and  their  chil-  . 
dren  were :     Mary,   Crissman,   John  C,  mentioned  hereinafter :   Samuel,  de- 
ceased;  Nancy  J.,  .wife  of  W.  A.  Irwin;  and  Harriet  L.  (Mrs.  Wilmot). 

John  C.  Steele,  son  of  James  and  Eliza  (Shaw)  Steele,  was  born  in  184^, 
in  Franklin  township,  where  he  grew  up  on  the  farm,  receiving  his  education 
in  the  common  schools.     He  early  turned  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits, 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  625 

and  is  now  the  owner  of  a  farm  of  seventy-five  acres  of  good  land  well  under- 
laid with  three  veins  of  bituminous  coal  which  has  not  yet  been  disposed  of. 
He  operates  an  opening-  for  his  own  use  and  that  of  any  of  his  neighbors  who 
desire  coal  for  home  consumption.  This  valuable  farm  was  formerly  the  Buz- 
zard estate  and  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Steele  in  1891,  and  under  his  skillful 
management  has  been  rendered  productive.  The  old  log  house  built  by  the 
previous  owner  is  in  a  fair  state  of  preservation.  Mr.  Steele  has  served  the 
township  of  Loxalhanna  as  school  director  of  an  independent  district.  lie  is 
an  adherent  of  the  Republican  party,  and  his  religious  creed  is  that  of  the 
Presbyterian  denomination. 

Mr.  Steele  married  in  1871,  Sarah  E.  Walton.  The  marriage  is  without 
children,  but  Mr.  and  ^Irs.  Steele  have  an  adopted  son,  who  is  now  married 
and  has  one  child.  INlrs.  Steele  is  a  granddaughter  of  Samuel  Walton,  whose 
son,  also   Samuel   Walton,   was  born   in   Washington  township,  and   married 

Long,  a  native  of  Franklin  township,   where  the  following  children 

were  born  to  them :  Sophia,  deceased ;  John,  deceased ;  Margaret,  Samuel, 
Sarah  E.,  born  in  1842,  in  Franklin  township,  wife  of  John  C.  Steele ;  and 
William  H. 

HARRY  LAMBERT  REIGH,  a  resident  of  Greensburg,  West- 
moreland county,  Pennsylvania,  and  who  holds  the  responsible  position  of 
conductor  on  a  passenger  train  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  traces  his  de- 
scent to  an  honored  family  of  Germany. 

Jacob  Reigh,  father  of  Harry  Lambert  Reigh,  was  born  in  Germany.  He 
emigrated  to  America  and  married  at  the  Cove  in  Blair  county,  Margaret 
Greenawalt.  a  native  of  Germany,  who  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-six  years. 
Jacob  Reigh  died  at  the  age  of  forty-five  years.  Among  their  children  were : 
Harry  Lambert,  of  whom  later. 

Harry  Lambert  Reigh,  son  of  Jacob  and  Margaret  (Greenawalt)  Reigh, 
was  born  in  Blair  county,  Pennsylvania,  April  24,  1852.  He  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools  of  Altoona,  and  entered  the  service  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  Company  when  but  thirteen  years  of  age,  as  messenger  boy  for  A.  J. 
Cassat,  Esquire.  From  this  lowly  position  Mr.  Reigh  has  risen,  gradually  and 
surely,  through  the  intermediate  stations  of  brakeman  on  passenger  trains 
and  baggage  master,  to  that  of  conductor  on  passenger  trains,  a  position  which 
he  now  fills  very  acceptably.  His  faithful  attention  to  the  duties  of  his  posi- 
tion and  his  rcliabilitv,  have  been  highly  commended.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  affiliates  with  tlie  Democratic  party.  He  married, 
September  20,  1874,  Carrie  Pearl  Francis,  daughter  of  Robert  and  Mary 
(McDarr)  Francis,  of  Connellsville,  Pennsylvania.  Mrs.  Mary  (McDarr) 
Francis  is  a  native  of  Xenia,  Ohio.  Children  of  Harry  Lambert  and  Carrie 
Pearl  (Francis)  Reigh,  are:  i.  Harry  Cassatt.  born  July  24,  1875:  is  em- 
ployed at  the  Westinghouse  works  at  \Vilmerding;  married  Annie  Blackburn, 
of  Pittsburgh,  and  thcv  have  one  child:  Millard.  2.  Estella.  3.  Leona,  mar- 
ried Garth  Romig,  cm])loyed  in  the  Westinghouse  works,  at  Wilmerding,  and 
has  two  children:    Caroline  and  .\da. 

CYRUS  MILLER  TAYLOR,  well  known  in  railroa.l  circles,  is  in 
the  employ  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company,  holding  the  ]iosition  of 
conductor  with  the  company  for  twenty-five  years.  He  is  a  representative  of 
a  family  which  has  lived  in  Pennsylvania  for  a  luunber  of  generations. 

Daniel  Taylor,  grandfather  of  Cyrus  Miller  Taylor,  was  a  farmer  of 
Ligonier  township.    He  was  a  member  of  the  I'resbyterian  church  and  a  Dcm- 

2-40 


626  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 


ocrat.  He  married  Sarali  Jones,  born  January  30,  1809;  died  October  10, 
1867,  and  they  had  thirteen  children:  i.  Margaret,  born  January  25,  1828. 
2.  Mary,  January  5,  1830 ;  died  January  20,  1852.  3.  Wilhani,  of  whom  later. 
4.  Elizabeth,  May  2,  1833  >  "^i^d  October  28,  1866.  5.  Martha,  February  19, 
1834.  6.  Jacob,  March  8,  1837;  died  October  31,  1839.  7.  Esther,  Decem- 
ber 23,  1838.  8.  Arabella.  March  7,  1840.  9.  Joseph,  March  15,  1842.  10. 
David,  August  4,  1844;  died  December  14,  1844.  11.  Francis,  February  20, 
1846.  12.  Catherine  Peregrine,  February  17,  1848;  died  September  10,  1884. 
13.    Susan,  September  25,  185 1. 

William  Taylor,  third  child  and  eldest  son  of  Daniel  and  Sarah  (Jones) 
Taylor,  was  born  in  Ligonier  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
March  26,  1831.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town- 
ship, and  then  entered  the  employ  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company, 
for  whom  he  was  superintendent  of  the  Cjuarries  for  a  number  of  years.  He 
is  a  Republican  and  has  served  as  county  commissioner  for  Westmoreland 
county  for  two  terms.  He  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church.  He  married  Sarah  Wilt,  born  in  Somerset  county,  Pennsylva- 
nia, June  29.  1834.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Michael  and  Susan  (Barnt)  Wilt, 
the  former  a  farmer  of  Somerset  county,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  twelve 
children:  i.  Caroline.  2.  Margaret.  3.  David.  4.  Isabella.  5.  Rachel. 
6.  Elizabeth.  7.  Cyrus.  8.  Noah,  who  died  of  spotted  fever,  while  serving 
his  country  during  the  civil  war  9.  Michael,  a  soldier  of  the  civil  war.  10. 
Reuben,  who  died  in  the  service  of  his  country  at  the  battle  of  Antietam,  and 
whose  remains  were  interred  at  York.  Pennsylvania.  11.  Mary.  12.  Kath- 
arine. 

The  children  of  Air.  and  Airs.  William  Taylor  were:  i.  Cyrus  Miller, 
of  whom  later.  2.  William  Baxter,  born  February  24,  1861,  was  a  fireman  in 
the  employ  of  the  Pennsylvania  railroad,  and  was  killed,  April  27,  1882,  by 
his  own  engine  backing  over  him.  3.  Mary  Caroline,  May  27,  1864,  married 
Lewis  K.  Hawk,  an  express  messenger  in  the  service  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  Company,  and  they  have  three  children :  Lewis  Taylor,  born  May 
19,  1892;  Ross  Elizabeth,  May  13,  1894:  William  Henry,  .April  11,  1897. 
4.     Frank  Morrison,  February  26,  1867 :  died  May  7,  1870. 

Cyrus  Miller  Taylor,  eldest  child  of  William  (2)  and  Sarah  (Wilt)  Tay- 
lor, was  born  in  Derry  township,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  April 
27, '1859.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Millwood,  and  in  the 
Greensburg  Seminary.  After  leaving  school,  he  sought  and  obtained  employ- 
ment with  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company,  and  has  been  in  their  employ 
for  twenty-five  years,  as  previously  stated.  He  is  at  present  a  conductor,  and 
has  been  a  most  successful  one,  having  never  been  suspended  or  fined  a  single 
day,  for  neglect  of  duty.  He  takes  a  great  interest  in  the  public  afifairs  of  the 
township  and  is  an  ardent  Republican.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
church.  He  married,  June  26,  1883,  Christina  Weaver,  daughter  of  Casper 
and  Alaria  (Messena)  Weaver,  and  they  have  four  children:  i.  Willetta 
Alav.  born  Alay  27,  1884.  2.  Charles  Hazelton,  June  16,  1885.  3.  Arthur  St. 
Clair,  June  26,  1887.     4.    Frank  Messena. 

HENRY  D.WID  SHUEY.  The  ancestors  of  Henry  David  Shuey, 
of  Greensburg,  were  among  the  pioneers  of  Westmoreland  county.  Conrad 
Shuey.  was  born  in  central  Pennsylvania,  whence  he  migrated  to  Greensburg, 
where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life  on  a  large  farm.  He  was  one  of  the 
garrison  of  Fort  \\heeling  and  narrowly  escaped  capture  by  the  Indians.  He 
was  an  active  Whig  and  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  He  and  his  wife 
were  the  parents  of  three  children,  two  of  whom  survived :     John,  of  whom 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  627 

later :  and  Catharine.  This  pioneer  ancestor,  despite  the  ])erils  and  harships 
of  his  lot,  lived  to  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-seven. 

John  Shuey,  son  of  Conrad  Shuey,  was  born  in  1792,  near  Milflin,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  soon  after  his  marriage  started  for  the  West.  Stopping  in  West- 
moreland county,  he  was  so  favorably  impressed  that  he  decided  to  take  up  his 
abode  there,  and  with  that  end  in  view  purchased  the  farm  now  owned  bv 
E.  ^J.  Gross,  on  the  Harrison  City  road,  residin;;-  there  during  the  remainder 
of  his  days.  He  was  a  Whig,  but  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life  became  a  Repub- 
lican :  his  church  membership  was  with  the  Reformed  denomination.  He  mar- 
ried Susanna,  daughter  of  Daniel  Bush,  and  five  children  were  born  to  them, 
the  eldest  of  whom  was  Conrad.  See  forward.  In  1871  Mr.  Shuev  died,  his 
prosperity  having  been  such  that  he  was  able  to  bequeath  a  farm  to  each  of  his 
children. 

Conrad  Shuey,  eldest  child  of  John  and  Susanna  (Bush)  Shuey,  was  born 
April  17,  1814,  on  his  father's  farm,  two  miles  south  of  Harrison  City,  in 
Hempfield  township.  He  was  educated  in  the  subscription  schools  and  earlv 
adopted  the  life  of  a  farmer.  On  the  occasion  of  his  marriage  the  farm  now 
owned  by  his  son,  Henry  David  Shuey,  was  given  him,  and  on  this  propertv, 
situated  one  mile  north  of  Greensburg,  he  resided  during  the  greater  portion 
of  his  life.  He  was  also  the  owner  of  another  farm  in  his  native  township, 
and  about  eight  years  before  his  death  purchased  and  removed  to  a  residence 
near  town.  He  was  a  Republican  in  politics  and  in  1834  united  with  the  First 
Reformed  church,  remaining  a  member  to  the  close  of  his  life.  He  married 
Maria,  daughter  of  John  Holtzer,  of  Franklin  township,  and  among  their  ten 
children  were  two  sons:  Henry  David,  see  forward;  and  Simon  P.  Mrs. 
Shuey  died  and  :\Ir.  Shuey  susbequentlv  married  Sarah  C.  Braughv.  He  died 
May  15,  1893. 

Henry  David  Shuey,  son  of  Conrad  and  Maria  ( Holtzer)  Shuev,  was 
born  June  2,  1853,  on  the  homestead,  where  he  has  thus  far  always  lived,  and 
of  which  he  has  been  for  many  years  the  owner.  His  best  energies  have  been 
successfully  devoted  to  the  tillage  of  these  paternal  acres.  Air.  Shuev  aids 
with  his  vote  and  influence  the  men  and  measures  advocated  and  supported  by 
the  Republican  party,  and  is  a  member  of  the  First  Reformed  church. 

Simon  P.  Shuey.  brother  of  Henry  D.  Shuey,  was  associated  with  him  in 
the  management  of  the  home  farm  during  the  years  of  their  father's  retirement, 
and  for  five  years  after  his  death.  On  the  division  of  the  property  Simon  P. 
Shuey  took  that  part  which  now  constitutes  his  home  farm.  He  owns  another 
farm  of  seventy-two  acres  near  the  town  of  Grapeville,  Pennsylvania.  Like 
his  brother,  he  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  for  four  years  served  as  su!)cr- 
visor  of  the  township.  For  the  same  length  of  time  he  has  held  the  office  of 
deacon  of  the  First  Reformed  church.  He  married,  in  March,  1900.  Margaret 
A.,  daughter  of  George  and  Anna  M.  (Lowman)  Dressman,  of  Hempfield 
townshi]),  and  they  have  one  child,  Allen  G. 

WALTER  H.  FE.\THER.  The  family  to  which  Walter  H.  Feather, 
of  Scotthaven,  belongs  was  planted  in  the  United  States  by  two  brothers,' 
John  and  Christopher  Feather,  who  came  from  Germany  and  settled  in  West 
\irginia.  where  they  acquired  extensive  lands,  almost  tlie  entire  county  being 
owned  in  later  years  by  their  descendants.  John  Feather  was  a  very  influ- 
ential man  in  his  day.  and  for  manv  years  helfl  the  office  of  justice  of  the 
peace.  Both  he  and  his  brother  Christopher  reared  large  families,  their 
descendants  multiplierl  rapidly,  and  the  Feather  family  became  very  numer- 
ous in  West  Virginia. 


628  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND  COUNTY. 

Abraham  P'eather,  son  of  John  Feather,  mentioned  above,  was  born  in 
1818,  in  Preston  county,  West  Virginia,  and  with  his  three  sons  served  in 
the  army  during  the  civil  war.  In  common  with  the  other  generations  of  the 
Feather  family,  he  was  prominent  in  the  work  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  He  married  Elizabeth  Boylon,  born  in  1818,  and  three  sons  were 
born  to  them:  i.  John,  who  died  in  Andersonville  prison;  2.  Josiah,  who  also 
served  in  the  army,  receiving  a  wound  by  which  he  was  crippled  for  life,  and 
who  now  resides  in  Latrobe.  3.  Zaccheus  M.,  of  whom  later.  Few  families 
can  sho^  a  record  of  greater  devotion  to  their  country  in  the  hour  of  need 
than  can  the  Feather  family. 

Zaccheus  M.  Feather,  son  of  Abraham  and  Elizabeth  (Boylon)  Feather, 
was  born  in  1845,  i"  Preston  county,  and  while  still  a  youth  served  with  his 
father  and  brothers  in  the  Union  army.  He  married  Nancy  Metzler,  also  a 
native  of  Preston  county,  whose  paternal  grandparents  emigrated  from  Ger- 
many. Children  born  to  Zaccheus  M.  and  Xancy  ( .Metzler j  Feather:  i.  Effa,. 
who  is  the  wife  of  Edward  Teets,  of  Aurora,  West  Virginia.  2.  Walter  H., 
see  forward.  3.  Anna,  who  resides  with  her  grandmother,  at  Albrights,  West 
Virginia.  4.  Una.  ^Ir.  Feather,  the  father,  lives  in  Preston  county  where  he 
is  the  owner  of  extensive  lands. 

Walter  H.  Feather,  son  of  Zaccheus  M.  and  Nancy  (Metzler)  tealher, 
was  born  April  16,  1872,  in  Preston  county,  where  he  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools.  After  taking  the  preparatory  course  necessary  to  fit  him 
for  the  work  of  a  teacher,  he  began,  at  the  early  age  of  fifteen,  to  practice  his 
profession  in  the  district  schools.  At  the  end  of  one  term  in  West  Virginia 
he  went  to  Uniontown,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  employed  in  the  ImteL 
of  which  his  uncle,  James  I.  Feather,  was  proprietor.  The  following  winter 
he  was  a  teacher  in  the  old  Harper  school  in  Dunbar,  and  the  next  summer 
accepted  a  position  with  R.  Hogsett,  as  bookkeeper.  Mr.  Hogsett  was  one 
of  the  early  coal  and  coke  operators  of  Pennsylvania,  ^^'hen  he  sold  his  busi- 
ness to  W.  J.  Rainey,  Mr.  Feather  continued  with  the  new  firm  and  became 
one  of  their  most  trusted  men,  holding  the  position  of  bookkeeper  and  store 
manager  for  several  years.  He  then  associated  himself  with  the  firm  of  Ben- 
nett &  Talbot,  having  charge  of  the  commissary  stores  on  a  million  dollar 
contract.  The  establishment  was  one  of  the  largest  of  its  kind  in  Cumber- 
land, Maryland.  Some  two  years  after  Mr.  Feather  became  connected  with, 
this  firm  his  residence  was  destroyed  by  fire  and  two  of  his  children  perished 
in  the  flames.  This  was  in  June,  1902.  He  resigned  his  position  and  returned 
to  the  service  of  W.  J.  Rainey  &  Company  with  whom  he  remained  one  year. 
He  was  then  oflfered  and  immediately  accepted  the  position  of  store  manager 
for  the  Shamrock  Supply  Company,  near  Uniontown.  With  this  company  he 
remained  a  number  of  years,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  became  store  mana- 
ger at  Scotthaven  for  the  Federal  Supply  Company,  which  position  he  has- 
continued  to  hold  to  the  present  time.    He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics. 

Mr.  Feather  married,  in  1895,  Lavada  Holliday,  of  Newcastle,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  they  have  been  the  parents  of  the  following  children :  James  I. ; 
Lloyd  Darwin;  Pearl  Viola;  and  Walter  H.,  junior.  The  two  elder  of  these 
children  perished  in  the  fire  above  referred  to. 

THOMAS  C.  M.A.RTIN.  The  grandfatlier  of  Thomas  C.  Martin, 
of  Sewicklev  township,  was  Aaron  F.  Martin,  a  native  of  county  Antrim,  Ire- 
land, who  emigrated  to  the  United  States  and  settled  in  Lancaster  county, 
Pennsylvania,  whence  he  came  to  W'estmoreland  county. 

John  M.   Martin,  son  of  Aaron   Martin,  was  born  in   1805,  probably  Wi 


HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.'  629 

Westmoreland  county,  where  he  was  reared.  He  was  a  farmer  and  for  many 
years  served  as  a  member  of  the  school  board.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics 
and  served  as  elder  in  the  L'nited  Presbyterian  church  at  West  Newton.  He 
married  Jane,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Mary  (Campbell)  lirenncman.  The 
latter  was  the  daughter  of  Patrick  Campbell,  an  Irishman  of  Scotch  descent, 
who  came  to  this  country  and  settled  on  a  farm  which  has  ever  since  been  in 
the  possession  of  the  family  and  which  is  now  occupied  by  his  great-grand.son, 
Thomas  C.  Martin.  It  was  on  this  farm  that  Jane  (Tirenneman)  Martin  was 
born  in  181 5,  and  it  was  here  that  she  and  her  husband,  on  the  occasion  of 
their  marriage,  took  up  their  abode  and  passed  the  remainder  of  their  lives. 
They  were  the  parents  of  eight  children,  six  of  whom  survive:  James  K., 
■who  lives  at  ]\Ialta  Bend,  Missouri;  John  C.  who  is  a  resident  of  Prescott, 
Arizona;  Thomas  C.  see  forward;  Mary  A.,  married  Matthew  M.  Biggs,  of 
Sedgwick.  Kansas ;  Clary  J.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Wilford  S.  Kelley,  of  Ros- 
traver  township:  and  Belle,  resides  at  home  with  her  brother.  Two  sons  are 
deceased ;  Henry  B.,  who  lived  in  \'ermillion :  and  Aaron  F.,  who  at  the  time 
of  his  death  was  city  attorney  of  Atchison,  Kansas.  ^Ir.  Martin,  the  father, 
died  on  the  farm  May  8,  1S73,  after  which  his  widow  resided  with  her  son, 
Thomas  C.  Martin,  until  her  death,  which  occurred  in  1896. 

Thomas  C.  Martin,  son  of  John  M.  and  Jane  (Brenneman)  ^Martin,  was 
born  December  11,  1848,  on  the  farm  where  he  now  lives.  He  was  educated 
in  the  common  schools,  and  after  finishing  his  studies  taught  for  one  term  in 
Illinois.  With  the  exception  of  this  one  year,  spent  partly  in  Iowa  and  jjartly 
in  Illinois,  his  entire  life,  thus  far.  has  been  passed  on  the  homestead,  of 
which  he  took  charge  on  his  return  from  the  \\'est.  In  1883  he  purchased 
the  Blackburn  farm  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  acres,  and  in  1887  the 
Brenneman  farm  of  thirty-eight  acres,  about  the  same  time  inheriting  twenty- 
five  acres  of  the  home  farm.  For  many  years  he  has  taken  an  active  part  in 
the  councils  of  the  Democratic  party.  He  was  nominated  for  county  com- 
missioner and  was  elected  by  the  largest  vote  on  the  ticket.  Later  he  received 
the  nomination  for  county  treasurer,  but  was  defeated,  the  county  having  be- 
come strongly  Republican.  He  has  fre(|uently  been  a  delegate  to  the  state 
convention,  and  belongs  to  the  school  board,  on  which  he  has  served  nine- 
teen years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church.  .  He  married. 
October  23.  1895,  Catherine,  daughter  of  Morgan  Paul,  a  well-known  miller 
•of  Rostraver  town.ship.  Of  this  marriage  there  was  no  issue.  The  death  of 
5.1rs.  Martin  occurred  in  1903. 

CYRUS  MARKLE.  son  of  Jasper  and  Mary  (Lcven.ger)  Markle. 
■vvas  born  October  31,  1822,  on  the  farm  where  he  now  resides.  He  is  one  of 
three  surviving  children  of  a  family  of  eight,  the  others  being:  Shephard, 
a  citizen  of  Sewickley  township;  Sophia,  widow  of  Joseph  Fulton,  of  Irwin, 
Pennsylvania. 

The  paternal  grandfather.  Jasper  Markle.  of  German  descent  and  possi- 
tlv  a  native  of  Germany,  on  coming  to  Westmoreland  county  located  at  what 
is  now  known  as  Millgrove,  bought  land  of  the  government,  and  at  his  death 
was  the  owner  of  several  hundred  acres.  This  was  divided  among  his  chil- 
dren, and  Jasper  Markle,  the  father  of  Cyrus,  received  something  more  than 
two  hundred  acres.  Here  he  spent  his  life  and  here  he  died.  .August  26.  1880. 
at  the  age  of  ninety  years,  one  month  and  eighteen  days.  He  was  born  in  .Se- 
wickley township.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  and  a  con- 
sistent Christian. 

Cvrus   Markle  attended  the  common  schools  and  continued  to  reside  at 


630  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

home  until  1874,  when  he  was  allotted  his  present  farm  of  one  hundred  and 
eight  acres.  He  is  a  cousin  of  General  Joseph  IMarkle,  whose  family  is  the 
subject  of  an  exhaustive  sketch  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  ^Ir.  IMarkle  is  a 
most  highly  esteemed  citizen  of  the  township  of  Sevvickley  and  is  a  member 
and  generous  supporter  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  In  politics  he  casts  his 
vote  with  the  Republican  party.     ]\Ir.  jNIarkle  has  remained  unmarried. 

SARVER  FAMILY.  The  Sarver  family  emigrated  at  a  very  early 
date  to  America,  being  driven  from  their  home  in  Alsace-Lorraine  by  religious 
persecution.  Three  brothers  of  this  family,  with  their  wives  and  children,  and 
a  number  of  other  refugees,  made  their  way  to  England  and  were  helped  on- 
ward to  their  new  home  by  English  Protestants.  They  settled  in  Berks  countv, 
Pennsylvania,  where  they  found  the  religious  freedom  for  which  they  longed, 
and  where  they  engaged  in  the  peaceful  occupation  of  farming.  Thy  belonged 
to  that  great  middle  class  of  people  which  has  always  been  the  backbone  of 
our  country.  They  neither  aspired  nor  attained  to  high  places  in  the  state, 
but  helped  to  support  the  church  of  their  choice,  and  lived  at  peace  with  all 
men.  They  were  upright,  honest  and  honorable  citizens,  and  possessed  the 
virtues  of  industry,  frugality  and  contentment  with  their  lot.  They  were  noted 
for  their  morality,  sobriety  and  family  purity  of  the  colony  which  they  formed. 
They  never  amassed  great  wealth,  but  by  industry  and  economy  attained  a 
competence. 

Jonathan  Sarver  was  born  in  Berks  county,  Pennsylvania,  ami  there- 
grew  to  manhood.     About  1785,  while  still  young,  he,  in  company  with  his 

father-in-law,  ShaeiTer,  crossed  the  Alleghenies  in  wagons  and  settled 

near  (jreensburg,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  bought  a  farm 
near  the  present  town  of  Greensburg,  at  that  time  known  as  the  Amos  Kunkle 
farm,  now  owned  by  George  F.  Huff,  and  forming  part  of  the  Hufif  estate. 
Here  he  lived  and  died.  He  married  and  reared  a  large  family,  one  of  whom 
was  Jonathan. 

Jonathan   Sarver,   son   of  Jonathan   and  ( Shaeffer)    Sarver,   was 

born  on  the  farm  of  his  father,  where  he  grew  to  manhood.  He  migrated  to 
Salem  township,  near  Geary,  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land,  which  he 
cleared,  cultivated  and  made  into  a  profitable  farm,  and  upon  this  built  a  log 
house  and  brought  his  young  bride.  Here  he  labored  until  his  death.  He 
married  Susanna  Klingensmith,  daughter  of  John  Philip  and  Barbara  (Broad- 
sword) Klingensmith.  She  was  born  and  raised  on  a  farm  on  the  present 
site  of  the  Fort  Pitt  glass  works,  near  Jeannette,  her  father  being  the 
owner  of  the  land.  The  Klingensmiths  settled  in  that  section  at  a  very  early 
date,  before  the  war  of  the  revolution.  Their  names  were  among  those  who 
signed  a  petition  to  Governor  Penn  in  1774.  On  the  farm  of  her  grandfather 
stood  a  blockhouse  known  as  "Fort  Philip  Klingensmith,"  which  served  as  a 
place  of  refuge  for  the  surrounding  settlers  during  the  numerous  hostile  at- 
tacks of  the  Indians.  During  one  of  these  attacks,  her  grandfather,  Pilip 
Klingensmith,  and  his  wife  were  killed,  and  her  paternal  uncle,  Peter,  who 
was  then  a  child  of  five  years,  was  taken  captive  by  the  Indians.  He  was 
treated  with  kindness,  grew  up,  married  an  Indian  woman,  and  reared  a  fam- 
ily. He  had  a  faint  recollection  of  his  early  home,  and  in  after  life  paid  a 
visit  to  his  brothers  and  sisters,  but  soon  returned  to  his  Indian  wife  and 
family.  Mrs.  Sarver's  father,  John  Philip  Klingensmith,  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  Lutherg.ni-sm  in  this  section.  The  itinerant  Lutheran  preachers 
always  found  a  warm  welcome  in  his  home,  and  he  would  leave  his  farm 
labors,  go  about  among  the  neighbors  to  invite  them  to  a  meeting  at  his  house. 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  631 

and  held  religious  services  in  the  German  language.  The  children  of  Jona- 
than (2)  and  Susanna  (Klingensmith)  Sarver  were:  John,  Sarah,  Mariah, 
and  Jonathan  (see  forward). 

Jonathan  Sarver,  second  son  and  fourth  and  youngest  child  of  Jonathan 
and  Susanna  (Khngensmith )  Sarver,  was  horn  in  Salcni  township,  near 
Ge^ry,  on  the  homestead  farm,  July  12,  1825,  and  died  October  2,  1905.  His 
early  years  were  spent  on  the  farm  of  his  father,  and  his  education  was  ac- 
quired in  the  common  schools  of  the  district.  Upon  the  completion  of  his 
education  he  commenced  to  teach  school  during  the  winter  months,  assisting 
his  father  on  the  farm  during  the  summer,  and  continued  this  until  he  had 
attained  the  age  of  twenty-five  years.  At  this  periotl  he  married,  and  built  for 
himself  a  log  house  on  a  part  of  his  father's  farm,  and  farmed  for  himself. 
There  he  lived  for  twelve  years  and  then  removed  to  Greensburg,  where,  soon 
afterward,  he  lost  the  entire  savings  of  his  life  in  the  oil  fields,  and  found  him- 
self at  the  age  of  forty  years,  with  a  delicate  wife,  a  family  of  small  children, 
and  without  fortune.  He  immediately  set  to  work  with  unabated  energy  to 
make  a  comfortable  living  for  those  dear  to  him.  He  rented  and  tilled  fields  on 
the  present  site  of  Greensburg  in  the  summer,  and  during  the  winter  acted  as 
teamster,  until,  at  the  age  of  sixty  years,  he  had  bought  the  jjroperty  on  Mill 
street,  where  he  lived  the  remainder  of  his  days.  He  purchased  eight  acres 
of  land  one  mile  out  of  town,  and  this  he  cultivated  as  a  garden.  He  was 
a  man  of  remarkable  physical  strength,  and  although  over  eighty  years  of 
age  at  the  time  of  his  death,  retained  complete  possession  of  all  his  faculties, 
his  eyesight  being  scarcely  dimmed,  and  his  body  active  and  strong.  During 
the  last  summer  of  his  life  he  tilled  six  acres  of  ground  himself.  He  was  a 
man  of  intelligence  and  advanced  ideas  on  all  topics  of  the  day,  and  was  well 
read  in  politics  and  reli,gion.  He  had  been  educated  in  the  doctrines  of  the 
Lutheran  church,  but  abandoned  them  in  favor  of  those  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat  for  a  number  of  years,  but  was 
strongly  opposed  to  slavery  and  cast  his  vote  for  Lincoln,  and  from  that  time 
affiliated  with  .the  Republican  party.  He  married,  in  1850.  Jane  Anne  Ram- 
sey, who  died  in  1887.  Their  children  were:  John  W.,  Charles  R..  Enoch 
T..  James  W.,  Jonathan  E.,  Mrs.  Anna  ]\L  Dunn.  Mrs.  S.  A.  Sheffler,  and 
Hettie  C.,  the  last  named  residing  at  home. 

JOHN  M.  WALTHOUR.  Xo  citizen  of  Greensburg  is  more  popu- 
lar or  more  deservedly  so  than  John  ^L  W'althour.  His  father,  Philip  W'al- 
thour,  was  born  at  Manor  Station,  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  went  to  Greens- 
burg where  he  learned  tlic  carpenter's  trade,  which  he  followed  in  connection 
with  the  building  business  during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  married  Eliz- 
abeth McCormick,  and  of  their  six  children  four  are  now  living:  Samuel, 
who  lives  in  Greensburg:  John  M.  fsee  forward),  Marv  E..  wife  of  C.  T. 
Barnhart.  of  Greensburg:  and  Richard,  a  resident  of  McKeesport.  Mr.  Wal- 
thour  died  at  an  early  a,ge,  his  death  being  the  result  of  a  cold  contracted 
while  assisting  to  extinguish  a  fire  in  the  city  of  Greensburg. 

John  M.  W'althour,  son  of  Philip  and  Elizabeth  (McCormick)  W'althour, 
was  born  April  2.3.  i8.si,  in  Greensburg.  and  was  but  ei.ght  or  nine  years  of 
age  at  the  time  of  his  father's  death,  after  which  event  the  noble  exertions  of 
his  mother  were  the  maintenance  of  the  family.  He  obtained  his  education  in 
the  common  schools,  and  in  his  seventeenth  year  apprenticed  himself  to  C.  H. 
Stark  in  order  to  learn  the  blacksmith's  trade.  He  found  it.  however,  not  to 
his  liking,  and  after  finishing  his  apprenticeship  he  took  uj)  the  trade  of  a 
carpenter  with  R.  M.  Reed  &  Company.    He  served  his  time  and  has  ever  since 


632  HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

been  connected  with  planing-mill  work.     For  the  last  fourteen  years  he  has 
had  charge  of  the  planing  mill  of  J.  Covode  Reed. 

Mr.  Walthour  has  been  for  a  long  period  identified  with  the  fire  depart- 
ment of  Ludwick.  Prior  to  the  organization  of  that  body  he  served  for  many 
years  as  a  member  of  the  Greensburg  fire  company,  of  which  he  is  now  a 
veteran.  When  the  fire  department  of  Ludwick  was  organized  Mr.  Walthour 
was  elected  chief,  and  has  now  held  the  office  seven  years.  In  1904  he  won  the 
Tribune  contest  for  the  most  popular  fireman,  and  was  sent  to  the  St.  Louis 
exposition.  In  1902  he  was  elected  burgess  of  the  borough  of  Ludwick  and 
served  three  years.  Since  1903  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  borough  council. 
He  belongs  to  Americus  Lodge  and  to  the  Carpenters'  L'nion.  Politically  he 
is  a  Democrat.  He  married,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  Elizabeth  Keifer,  by  whom 
he  had  one  child  ;  Catherine,  wife  of  Philip  Baldrich,  of  McKeesport.  After 
the  death  of  his  wife  he  married  Clara  Conner,  by  whom  he  had  three  children, 
two  of  whom  are  living:  James  Richard,  attending  high  school;  and  John 
Covode,  who  is  a  pupil  in  the  public  school.  On  being  left  for  the  second 
time  a  widower  Mr.  Walthour  married  Elizabeth  Caldwell  and  they  have  two 
children  :  Laura  and  Mary. 

ELIAS  HACKEY  SILA'IS.  Among  the  substantial  farmers  of 
Hempfield  township  must  be  numbered  Elias  Hackey  Silvis.  Mr.  Silvis  comes 
of  English  and  German  ancestry.  His  grandfather,  Adam  Silvis,  was  a 
wagonmaker  and  followed  his  trade  at  Delmont  for  many  years.  His  wife 
was  Elizabeth  Long. 

Hezekiah  J.  Silvis,  son  of  Adam  and  Elizabeth  (Long)  Silvis,  was  born 
in  Westmoreland  county  and  learned  the  trade  of  a  cabinetmaker  and  painter 
wliich  he  followed  all  his  life,  being  a  resident  of  Murrysville  and  Export, 
Franklin  township.  He  married  Lucinda  Anmient,  and  they  were  the  parents 
of  six  children,  four  of  whom  survive :  Elizabeth,  widow  of  August  Gockel, 
late  of  Hufiftown ;  Margaret  A.,  wife  of  William  Wallace,  of  Apollo ;  Elias 
Hackey  (see  forward)  ;  and  Mary  J.,  wife  of  Jacob  Amment,  of  Export.  Mr. 
Silvis  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven. 

Elias  Hackey  Silvis,  son  of  Hezekiah  J.  and  Lucinda  (Amment)  Silvis. 
was  born  February  27.  1849,  in  Franklin  township,  and  obtained  his  education 
in  the  common  schools  of  Export.  On  reaching  manhood  he  decided  to  devote 
himself  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  for  some  years  lived  as  a  renter  in 
Franklin.  He  then  moved  to  Penn  township  where  he  was  a  renter  for  four 
years,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  went  to  Hempfield  where  he  rented  the  farm 
adjoining  the  one  on  which  he  now  lies.  This  farm  he  cultivated  for  sixteen 
years,  and  about  1893  purchased  a  portion  of  his  present  property  to  which 
he  removed  in  1899.  Three  years  after  he  bought  the  adjoining  piece  of  land, 
thus  giving  himself  a  farm  of  sixty-two  acres.  In  1904  he  built  a  substantial 
farm  residence  with  modern  improvements,  and  now  has  one  of  the  most 
attractive  homes  in  the  township.  Mr.  Silvis  is  a  good  citizen  and  has  fre- 
quently served  on  the  election  board,  but  has  always  steadily  refused  to  be  a 
candidate  for  office.  He  and  his  sons  are  all  staunch  Democrats,  and  the 
whole  family  are  members  of  the  First  Reformed  church,  of  Greensburg. 
He  married,  in  1873,  Jeannette  S.,  daughter  of  John  P.  Kemerer,  a  prominent 
farmer  of  Export,  Franklin  township,  and  the  following  children  have  been 
liorn  to  them:  Alice  M.,  wife  of  Murray  Walthour,  of  Hempfield  township; 
William  ^^'ilbur,  lives  at  home ;  Lemuel  Offut,  a  resident  of  Hempfield  town- 
ship ;  John  Hezeikah  :  Isaac  Ralph  :  Lucinda  Lydia ;  and  Frank  Clop])er.  The 
four  last-named  members  of  the  family  are  at  home  with  their  parents. 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  633 

JACOB  HEXRY  SIL\'IS,  a  prosperous  farmer  of  Greensbursf. 
AVestmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  August  18,  1875,  the  son 
of  John  and  Lucy  (Long)  Silvis.  John  Silvis  was  born  March  20,  1843, 
and  has  long  been  a  resident  of  Ilcmpfield  township.  He  married  Lucy  Long, 
daughter  of  H.  J.  Long,  born  in  1853;  died  February  10.  1885.  Their  chil- 
dren were :  Annie,  born  May  8,  1873 ;  married.  December,  1896.  Oscar  J. 
Fink:  Jacob  Henry  (see  forward),  and  Ada  E..  born  November  2,  1883. 

Jacob  H.  Silvis  was  born  on  his  father's  farm.  He  purchased  the  farm 
■on -which  he  now  resides  in  1899,  which  comprises  seventy-one  acres  of  excel- 
lent fertile  land,  and  which  is  highly  cultivated.  He  makes  a  specialty  of 
butter-making,  and  has  met  with  excellent  success  in  this  line.  He  always 
keeps  ten  cows — sometimes  more— and  uses  a  cream  separator  of  the  most 
ap])roved  construction.  He  is  a  public-spirited  citizen,  and  has  served  his  town- 
ship as  tax  collector,  and  is  now  acting  as  town  clerk,  his  term  of  office  being 
"two  years.  February  4.  1S97,  Mr.  Silvis  was  married  to  Anna  ^L  Jilcllvaine, 
■born  March  19,  1874,  daughter  of  John  P.  and  Alida  (Marshall)  ^Icllvaine, 
the  latter  the  daughter  of  Samuel  Marshall.  Children  were :  I\Iabel  L..  born 
December  19,  1897 ;  John  Marshall,  born  .April  10,  1899 :  Elsie  V.,  February 
23,  1901  :  Anna  ^[.,  July  9.  1902 ;  and  Charlie  L.,  January  9.  1904. 

Jacob  Sil vis's  uncle,  tjeorgc  Decker,  served  in  the  United  States  army 
■during  the  war  with  Mexico,  and  it  is  said  that  he  was  a  member  of  the  Sec- 
ond Pennsylvania  Regiment. 

PAUL  HENRY,  a  farmer  of  Salem  township,  Westmoreland  coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania,  was  born  March  22,  1845,  son  of  Henry  and  Lavina  (Smith) 
Henry-,  and  grandson  of  Henry  Henry,  who  was  born  in  1809,  and  died  De- 
cember. 1889.  Henry  Henry,  father  of  Paul  Henry,  married  Lavina,  daughter 
of  David  Smith,  and  their  children  are:  Caroline,  born  ]\Iay  12,  1839;  mar- 
ried September,  1865,  to  S.  ^L  Fink,  of  Beaver  Run,  Pennsylvania ;  Kate, 
•married  C.  Amalong;  and  Paul  (see  forward). 

Paul  Henrv  was  reared  on  his  father's  farm.  He  married  Sue  C.  daughter 
of  John  Michael  Fink.  Children  arc:  i.  John  B.  F.,  born  September  16, 
1868:  married  September  3.  1895.  2.  William  F.,  born  April  15,  1870.  3. 
Rebecca  A.,  born  September  23.  1872:  died  February  9.  1873.  4.  Clara  May, 
"born  December  4,  1874:  died  December  19,  1877.  5.  Elizabeth  L.,  born  Feb- 
ruary 28,  1876;  married  AL  McKeown.  6.  Joseph  R.,  born  August  26.  1878: 
died  February  2,  1889.  7.  Alargarct  E.,  born  November  26,  1881 ;  married 
Elmer  Steel. 

THOALAS  FRANKLIN  WOLF.  On  the  maternal  side  the  family 
of  W'clf  trace  their  ancestry  back  to  the  year  1550.  the  earliest  known  ances- 
tor having  been  Jan  de  Voss,  a  burgomaster  at  Handshooten,  in  Flandern, 
who  married  Prientje  Batten. 

Peter  de  Voss,  fourth  son  of  Jan  and  Prientje  (Batten)  de  Voss,  married 
Jannsick  \'an  der  Mers,  and  shortly  afterward  they  had  to  flee  to  Colchester, 
England,  on  account  of  religious  troubles.  Here  he  and  his  wife  forsook 
Catholicism  and  joined  the  Reformed  church.  Later  they  removed  to  Ams- 
terdam. Holland,  and  joined  the  Mennonite  church  there.  The  date  of  birth 
of  their  second  child  (the  only  date  obtainable)  was  August  23,  1622.  A 
daughter.  Sarah  de  Voss,  became  the  wife  of  Pieter  \'an  Sintern  in  1655.  The 
fifth  child  of  this  marriage.  Isaac  \'an  Sintern.  born  September  4.  1660.  mar- 
ried, at  Amsterdam,  Necltje  Classen.     They  left  Hamburg,  Altona,  in  1707, 


634  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

for  Pennsylvania,  and  settled  at  Germantown,  where  the  oldest  daughter, 
]\Iagdalena,  became  the  wife  of  jMartin  Kolb  in  1709. 

Martin  Kolb,  before  mentioned,  was  a  son  of  Dielman  Kolb,  of  W'olf- 
sheim,  in  Baden,  Germany,  whose  widow,  a  daughter  of  Peter  Schumacher, 
came  to  this  country  with  her  father  in  1685,  landing  at  Philadelphia  and  pro- 
ceeding to  Germantown.  The  original  "Copia  Naturalisationis"  given  by 
William  Penn,  by  which  Peter  Schumacher  and  sixty-one  others  were  made 
"freemen,"  and  accorded  all  the  rights  and  privileges  thereof,  is  still  extant, 
preserevd  by  one  of  the  descendants.  Martin  Kolb  came  to  America  and  set- 
tled at  Germantown  in  1707,  and  two  years  later  removed  to  Skippack  and  was 
there  ordained  a  minister  in  the  Mennonite  church. 

Dilman  Kolb,  son  of  Martin  and  Magdalena  (Van  Sintern)  Kolb,  was 
born  ]\larch  2,  1 7 19,  died  October  19,  1799.  He  married  Wilhelmina  Ritten- 
house,  daughter  of  Henry  Rittenhouse,  of  Worcester,  Montgomery  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  great-granddaughter  of  Willem  Rittenhouse,  the  first 
minister  and  bishop  of  the  Mennonite  Church  in  America.  Esther  Kolb, 
daughter  of  Dillman  and  Wilhelmina  (Rittenhouse)  Kolb,  became  the  wife  of 
Samuel  Funk,  son  of  the  Rev.  Jacob  Funk,  a  Mennonite  preacher  of  German- 
town,  the  ceremony  being  performed  April  29,  1788.  Their  daughter,  Elea- 
nor Funk,  born  about  1807,  became  the  wife  of  John  G.  Wolf,  a  resident  of 
Philadelphia.     She  died  in  1887. 

John  G.  Wolf,  before  mentioned,  married  Eleanor  Funk.  Children  were: 
I.  Daniel  Funk,  born  July  i,  1831 ;  married  Margaret  Seelig;  resides  in 
Philadelphia.  2.  Theodore  William,  born  September  7,  1833  ;  married  Eliz- 
abeth Justice,  who  died  in  1881.  In  1886  he  married  Laura  Curran,  and  they 
reside  in  Philadelphia.  3.  Eleanora  Louisa,  born  February  2r.  1835,  became  the 
wife  of  William  Ayers,  of  I'hiladelphia.  4.  John  h'ranklin,  born  January  23, 
1837  (see  forward).  5.  Davis  Paul,  born  January  26,  1839;  died  December 
26,  1886.  6.  Elizabeth  Catherine,  born  February,  1842,  became  the  wife  of 
James  W.  Mcllhenny.  7.  Jacob  Henry,  born  July  12,  1845,  married  Ellen  E.- 
Wallace, resides  in  Philadelphia.  8.  Sarah  Cecelia,  born  December  19,  1847. 
9.     George  Washington,  born  March,   1849. 

John  Franklin  Wolf,  born  at  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  January  23, 
1837  :  married  September  24,  1857,  Jane  Martin.  Children  were  :  i.  Thomas 
Franklin,  born  July  14.  1858.  2.  Agnes  Virginia,  born  February  3,  1861. 
3.  John  Martin  Vickslnirg,  born  July  4,  1863;  died  December  12,  i88r.  4. 
Margaret  James;  died  February  22,  1867.  Jane  (Martin)  Wolf,  the  mother 
of  these  children,  died  February  22,  1867.  Mr.  Wolf  married,  September  18, 
1873.  Priscilla  Murry  Irwin,  who  died  ]\larch  10,  1883,  without  issue.  He 
married,  November  8,  1884,  Elizalieth  Kooser,  issue:  Emeline  Kooser,  born 
August  25   1885. 

J.  MICHAEL  MATHIAS,  a  foreman  in  the  employ  of  the  Penn- 
svlvania  Railroad  Company,  was  born  near  Madison,  Hempfield  township, 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  October  9,  1852,  a  son  of  Michael  and 
Elizabeth   (  Kunkle  )   Mathias. 

Michael  IMathias  (grandfather),  was  also  a  native  of  Westmoreland 
county,  born  about  1779.  He  was  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Hempfield 
township,  where  he  cleared  and  cultivated  a  farm.  His  children  were :  Jacob ; 
George:  Michael  (see  forward):  Susan,  wife  of  Jacob  Albright:  Hannah, 
wife  of  John  Long ;  Sarah,  wife  of  John  Colter ;  and  Maria,  wife  of  Leonard 
Beck. 

Michael  Mathias   (father)    was  born  in  Hempfield  township,  near  Madi- 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  635 

son,  in  1822.  He  lived  there  all  his  life,  giving  his  attention  to  farming  and 
distilling.  Later  he  gave  np  distilling  and  gave  his  entire  attention  to  agricnlt- 
ural  pursuits.  In  politics  he  was  a  staunch  Democrat,  and  in  religious  faith 
a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  He  married  Elizabeth  Kunkle,  and  seven 
children  were  born  to  them,  two  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  The  living  are : 
Urias,  a  carpenter,  of  \\'est  Xewton ;  Mary  Rebecca,  wife  of  John  Lostetter ; 
J.  Michael  (see  forward):  Catherine,  wife  of  Eli  Weaver;  William,  died  in 
"childhood.     :Michael,  the  father,  died  in  1863. 

J.  Michael  Mathias  acquired  a  good  common  school  education,  and  at 
the  age  of  sixteen  commenced  to  earn  his  own  living,  engaging  in  farm  work. 
Two  vears  later  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Pennsylvania  railroad  as  a  laborer, 
and  liis  faithful  and  efficient  work  won  for  him  a  promotion  in  1880  to  fore- 
man, a  position  which  he  has  since  retained,  and  in  which  he  renders  highly- 
acceptable  services.  Politically  he  accords  with  the  principles  advanced  by  the 
Democratic  party,  and  served  for  si.x  years  as  a  school  director.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Lutheran  church,  and  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
No.  885,  of  Scottdale,  ;n  which  he  has  passed  all  the  chairs.  He  married 
Tane  Kellv.  daughter  of  James  and  Christina  Kelly.  Of  this  union  one 
child  was  born:  Katie  May,  born  January  25,  1875,  wife  of  Frederick  Moser, 
of  Scottdale,  and  has  one  child,  Goldie  ^i.,  born  October  14,  1898. 

ALBERT  T.  CARSOX,  a  well  known  and  highly  respected  citizen 
of  \'andergrift,  \\'estmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  is  a  roller  in  the  \'an- 
dergrift  mills  of  the  American  Sheet  Steel  and  Tin  Plate  Company.  The 
Carlson  family  has  been  resident  in  Pennsylvania  for  many  generations. 

(I)  John  Carson,  grandfather  of  Albert  J.  Carson,  lived  on  a  farm  near 
Homer  Citv,  Indiana  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  cooper  by  trade  and  he 
followed  tliis  occupation  during  the  active  years  of  his  life.  He  married  Eliz- 
abeth Steele  and  they  were  the  parents  of  seven  children,  three  of  whom  are 
now  living.  John  Carson  died  at  the  age  of  seventy ;  his  wife  died  at  the  age 
of  ninety-three  years.  The  names  of  the  children  are  as  follows :  Mary, 
John,  James,  William.  Letitia,  Robert.  Thomas,  Of  these  John,  Robert  and 
William  are  now  living. 

(II)  Robert  P.  Carson,  fourth  son  and  sixth  child  of  John  and  Eliza- 
beth (Steele)  Carson,  was  born  on  the  farm  of  his  father  near  Homer  City, 
Indiana  county,  Pennsylvania,  April  15,  1S32,  and  brought  up  at  home.  He 
was  apprenticed  to  the  trade  of  shoemaking.  and  after  finishing  his  apprentice- 
ship located  himself  in  Homer  City  where  he  has  since  devoted  himself  to  the 
trade  he  had  learned.  He  is  a  staunch  adherent  to  the  Republican  party,  and 
a  man  highly  respected  by  the  entire  community.  He  married  IMary  C. 
Foust,  born  in  Brush  Valley,  Indiana  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1843,  daughter 
of  Jesse  and  Maria  (Grumling)  Foust.  When  Mrs.  Carson  was  but  thirteen 
months  old,  her  father,  Jesse  I'"oust,  died,  and  Mrs.  Carson  was  taken  in 
charge  and  reared  by  an  aunt,  Mrs.  Catherine  Myers,  of  Homer  City.  The 
children  of  Robert  P.  and  Mary  C.  (Foust)  Carson  are  as  follows:  Albert 
J.,  see  forward.  Catherine  E.,  wife  of  R.  E.  Roberts,  of  Homer  City,  Pennsyl- 
vania :  John  M.,  superintendent  of  the  Incubator  works  at  Homer  City,  Penn- 
svlvania:  Loie  E.,  wife  of  Perry  Phillips,  of  X'andergrift,  Westmoreland 
county,  Pennsylvania;  Anna  A,,  wife  of  John  F,  Barclay,  of  Vandergrift, 
Pennsvlvania;  Edgar  D.,  resides  in  Wellsville.  Ohio;  Gertrude,  married 
Bruce  Cramer,  of  Cramer.  Pennsylvania:  George  H.,  resides  in  Vandergrift, 
Westmoreland  county.  Pennsylvania:  Stella,  wife  of  Harry  Truzcll,  resident 
in  Homer  Citv,  Indiana  countv,  Pennsvlvania. 


«36  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

(Ill)  Albert  J.  Carson,  eldest  child  of  Robert  P.  and  Mary  C.  (Foust) 
Carson,  was  born  in  Homer  City,  Indiana  covmty,  Pennsylvania,  April  lo, 
1861.  He  spent  the  early  years  of  his  life  at  home  with  his  parents,  acquir- 
ing a  good  education  in  the  public  schools  of  the  neighborhood.  Upon  attain- 
ing the  years  of  manhood  he  went  to  Apollo,  Westmoreland  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, in  1881,  and  secured  a  position  in  the  mills  of  the  Apollo  Iron  and 
Steel  Company  in  the  capacity  of  doubler.  Here  he  remained  for  some  time 
and  was  then  advanced  to  the  position  of  pair  heater.  He  was  very  attentive 
to  all  the  details  of  his  work,  and  his  ambition  met  with  the  reward  it  deserved, 
for  he  was  again  advanced,  this  time  to  the  position  of  sheet  heater,  and  in 
1896  was  made  sheet  roller.  This  position  he  has  retained  up  to  the  present 
time  (1906),  and  upon  the  opening  of  the  new  mills  at  Vandergrift  was 
transferred  to  that  place  and  was  one  of  the  first  rollers  to  assist  in  the  opera- 
tion of  the  new  mills.  His  services  are  highly  appreciated  and  valued  by  the 
■company  as  they  know  they  can  rely  implicitly  upon  his  faithful  attention  to 
all  the  duties  which  his  position  entails.  Mr.  Carson  is  a  man  of  much  local 
influence.  His  well  known  integrity  and  the  uprightness  and  straightforward- 
ness of  his  character  make  his  opinion  sought  and  valued  by  all  the  cojnmunity 
in  which  he  lives.  He  is  a  staunch  supporter  of  the  Republican  party  and 
has  held  a  number  of  public  ofSces.  He  has  been  county  committeeman  and 
served  three  years  as  a  member  of  the  Apollo  borough  council,  and  two  years 
■on  the  borough  council  of  Vandergrift.  He  and  his  family  are  members  of 
and  regular  attendants  at  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  following  organizations:  Kiskiminetas  Lodge,  No.  617,  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons;  Duquesne  Chapter,  No.  193,  Royal  Arch  Masons;  and  Van- 
■dergrift  Lodge,  No.  502,  Knights  of  Pythias. 

Mr.  Carson  married,  November  4,  1884,  Nora  W.  Young,  of  Apollo, 
daughter  of  Lucian  H.  and  Mathilda  A.  (Mahafifee)  Young.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Carson  have  two  children:     Mary  Corinne  and   Naomi   Maxinne. 

JOHN  R.  ANDERSON,  a  machinist  in  the  employ  of  the  Scottdale 
Foundrv  &  Machine  Company,  Scottdale,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, was  born  at  Pollockshaws,  Scotland,  February  3,  1871,  the  son  of  John 
and  Agnes  Anderson. 

Mr.  Anderson  emigrated  to  this  country  in  1892,  settling  in  New  Haven, 
Connecticut,  where  he  remained  but  a  short  time,  being  engaged  at  his  trade 
•of  machinist.  He  then  removed  to  Scottdale  and  there  identified  himself  as 
machinist  with  the  firm  of  T.  C.  Kenney  &  Company.  The  firm  name  was 
subsequently  changed  to  the  Scottdale  Foundry  &  Machine  Company.  Mr. 
Anderson  still  retains  his  connection  with  this  company,  and  being  a  very 
proficient  and  skillful  workman  renders  them  valuable  services.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Royal  Arcanum,  of  Scottdale,  in  which  he  has  passed  all  the 
chairs;  and  is  also  a  charter  member  of  the  K.  of  M..  No.  121,  of  Scottdale. 
Mr.  Anderson  married  Charlotte  Thomas,  daughter  of  John  W.  and  Mary 
Thomas,  and  their  children  were:  Mary  Agnes,  born  February  12,  1895; 
Grace  Irene,  April  i.  1896;  John  George,  October.  1897,  and  Eugene  Lyie, 
February  26,  1901.  Mr.  Anderson  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church  of  Scottdale. 

-  WOSLEY  MOSER,  train  dispatcher  for  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Company,  residing  at  Youngwood,  is  of  Swiss  lineage,  the  family  having  been 
established  in  America  by  his  grandfather,  John  ]\Ioser,  a  native  of  Switzer- 
land, who  with  his  family  came  to  the  United  States,  settling  on  a  farm  near 


HISTORY   OF   IVESTMOKELAND   COUNTY.  62,7 

Hannibal,  Ohio,  where  he  spent  his  remaining  days.  His  son,  John  Aloser,. 
Jr.,  was  also  born  in  Switzerland  and  was  about  twelve  or  fifteen  years  of  age- 
when  he  came  with  his  parents  to  the  new  world.  He  was  reared  upon  the 
Ohio  farm  until  seventeen  years  of  age.  when  he  enlisted. in  the  Union  army. 
Just  before  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  he  went  to  West  Virginia  and  joined. 
a  regiment  of  that  locality,  serving  for  three  years.  At  the  end  of  that  tjme- 
he  was  discharged  on  account  of  disability,  being  ill  with  fever  from  which 
he  suffered  for  six  months.  After  being  nuistered  out  of  the  service  he  re- 
turned to  West  Virginia,  where  he  has  since  been  connected  with  the  sawmill 
and  lumber  business,  his  home  being  now  at  New  Martinsville.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Democrat.  He  belongs  to  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and 
to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  married  Mary  \'an  Camp."  and  they 
have  five  children :  Lydia.  at  home ;  JNIary  L.,  a  teacher  in  the  business  college 
at  Johnstown,  Pennsylvania :  Frederick  O.,  yardmaster  for  the  Pemisylvania 
Railroad  Company,  at  Scottdale,  ^^'estmoreland  county ;  John  at  home ;  and. 
Wosley,  see  forward. 

Wosley  Moser  was  born  in  Wetzel  county.  West  Virginia,  June  5.  i868,„ 
and  was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  completing  his  studies  in  the  Magnolia 
high  school  at  Xew  [Martinsville,  West  Mrginia.  In  1888  he  began  the  study 
of  telegraphy  and  in  July,  1889,  was  given  an  office  on  the  Ohio  River  rail- 
road, at  Clifton,  West  \'irginia.  On  February  4,  1890,  he  went  to  Scottdale,. 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  employed  by  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company 
for  seven  years;  he  then  removed  to  Pittsburg,  where  he  served  the  same 
corporation  for  a  year  and  a  half.  He  was  promoted  to  train  dispatcher  in 
July,  1900,  and  was  located  at  Everson,  but  in  the  following  February  the 
offices  were  removed  to  Youngwood,  where  he  has  since  been  stationed.  Mr. 
JNIoser  married,  November  24,  1889,  Mary  Pickens,  of  Williamstown.  West. 
Mrginia.  and  they  have  two  children,  Floyd  and  Leslie.  They  are  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  at  Youngwood,  and  Air.  Moser  belongs- 
to  Youngwood  Lodge,  No.  667,  I.  O.  O.  F;  and  Woodland  Lodge,  No.  210, 
K.  P..  of  Youngwood.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  his  political  affiliations  and  is 
now'  serving  on  the  school  board  in  Youngwood,  while  in  community  affairs 
he  manifests  a  public-spirited  interest. 

HARRY  T.  HENRY.  The  grandparents  of  Harry  T.  Henry,  of 
Vandergrift,  were  Alexander  and  Mary  Henry,  whose  son,  William  Henry,. 
was  born  June  8,  1841,  in  Apollo,  where  he  learned  the  trade  of  a  stone  and 
brick  mason.  Subsequently  he  was  employed  in  the  shops  of  the  Apollo  Iron 
&  Steel  Company,  in  Apollo,  and  six  years  prior  to  his  death  moved  to- 
Leechburg,  where  he  worked  in  the  mills  during  the  remainder  of  his  life. 
During  the  civil  war  he  served  three  years  in  Com]3anv  I.  Seventy-eighth 
Regiment,  Pennsylvania  \'ohmteer  Infantry,  and  was  afterward  a  member 
of  the  G.  A.  R.  He  was  of  high  standing  in  the  Masonic  fraternity,  was  a 
Republican  in  politics,  an  active  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
and  one  of  the  highly  esteemed  and  influential  citizens  of  Armstrong  county. 
Mr.  Henry  married  Mary  Truby,  and  of  their  four  children  three  survive : 
Bertha,  wife  of  Charles  Morford.  of  Windber,  Pennsylvania;  Ada,  wife  of 
William  Fennell.  of  Salina,  Pennsylvania;  and  Harry  T.,  see  forward.  Mr. 
Henry  died  in  1882  and  his  widow  is  a  resident  of  \'andergrift. 

Harry  T.  Henry,  son  of  William  and  Mary  (Truby)  Henry,  was_  horn 
January  23,  1866,  in  A])ollo.  and  received  a  common  school  education.  In 
June,  1882.  he  went  to  work  in  the  shops  of  the  Apollo  Iron  &  Steel  Company, 
beginning  at  the  bottom,  as  scrap  boy,  and  working  his  way  up  through  the 


638  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

positions  of  opener,  doubler,  matcher  and  rougher,  until  in  1889  he  was  made 
roUer.  ( )n  the  completion  of  the  X'andergrift  mills  he  was  transferred  thith- 
er, and  had  the  honor  of  rolling  the  first  iron  rolled  in  the  mills.  He  has 
since  retained  this  position  continuously,  having  charge  of  one  of  the  large 
mills.  He  is  one  of  the  leading  skilled  rollers  of  the  valley  and  a  representa- 
tive citizen  of  Vandergrift.  While  a  resident  or  Apollo  he  held  the  office  of 
councilman,  and  is  now  serving  on  the  school  board  of  Vandergrift.  He  affil- 
iates with  the  Apollo  Lodge,  No.  386,  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks, 
votes  with  the  Republicans  and  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  Mr.  Henry  married  in  1890,  Lydia  E.  Home,  of  Apollo,  and  they 
have  children :     Mary,  Gertrude,  Harry  T.,  Jr.,  Joseph,  and  Theodore. 

JAMES  WILLIAM  LANDYMORE,  engineer  on  the  Pittsburg 
and  Lake  Erie  Railroad,  is  a  native  of  England,  born  in  the  county  of  Nor- 
folk, in  1842,  son  of  John  S.  and  Mary  (Woods)  Lanilymore,  one  of  nine 
children,  five  of  whom  emigrated  to  America,  settling  in  Canada,  with  the 
exception  of  one,  Jonathan. 

The  paternal  grandfather,  Jonathan  Landymore,  was  a  farmer  and  brick 
manufacturer,  living  at  Sustead,  England.  He  died  at  the  age  of  ninety-two 
years.  He  had  a  family  of  three  sons  and  one  daughter:  Jonathan  S.,  Wil- 
liam B..  and  Isaac,  the  daughter's  name  not  known.  His  son,  Jonathan  S., 
the  father  of  James  W.,  was  also  a  farmer  and  an  extensive  brick  manu- 
facturer. o])erating  a  large  brick  yard.  He  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years. 
His  wife  is  still  living,  a  resident  of  Edingthorp,  North  Walsham,  England, 
being  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-six  years.  The  maternal  grandfather, 
James  Woods,  was  a  farmer  and  harnessmaker,  a  resident  of  the  town  of 
Thagerton,  England,  where  he  died  in  1886.  He  was  the  father  of  four 
children :  Mary,  Christopher,  Robert  and  James  W.,  a  veteran  of  the  Crim- 
ean  war. 

James  W.  Landymore  was  one  of  the  five  sons  of  John  S.  Landymore 
who  came  to  America,  the  others  being :  Augustus,  an  extensive  ranchman 
of  California ;  Charles  A.,  a  resident  of  Dallas,  Texas ;  William  B.,  a  resi- 
dent of  Toronto ;  Jonathan,  an  engine  watchman  for  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
railroad,  resides  in  West  Newton. 

Jomes  W.  Landymore  was  reared  in  his  native  place  and  was  educated 
in  the  cohimon  schools.  After  leaving  school  he  was  articled  for  five  years 
to  study  law  in  the  office  of  Walter  J.  Scott,  but  his  distaste  for  the  law 
was  so  great  that  he  ran  away  at  the  end  of  two  vears  and  went  to  Leeds,  Eng- 
land, and  secured  work  as  an  engine  wiper  for  the  Great  Northern  railroad, 
gradually  advancing  to  the  position  of  fireman  and  then  engineman.  In 
1878  he  emigrated  to  Canada,  locating  at  Richmond  Hill,  C)ntario,  where  he 
found  employment  in  an  agricultural  works.  At  the  end  of  four  }-ears,  in 
1882,  he  came  to  the  United  States  and  settled  in  West  Newton,  where  he 
secured  employment  in  the  Markle  paper  mills.  In  1885  he  went  to  work  as 
fireman  on  the  Pittsburg  and  Lake  Erie  railroad,  receiving  promotion  to  the 
position  of  engineer  in  1887  and  has  since  been  thus  engaged  by  this  road. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers  and  of  the 
Knights  of  Malta.  Politically  he  is  an  independent  voter.  Mr.  Landymore 
married.  April  17,  1875,  Sarah  Ward,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Emma 
(Newell)  Ward,  natives  of  Yorkshire.  England.  Of  this  marriage  were  born 
ten  children,  nine  of  whom  survive:  Herbert  N.,  a  telegraph  operator,  of 
West  Newton ;  William  W.,   an  engineer   for  the   Pittsburg  and  Lake   Erie 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUSIY.  639 

railroad;  Beatrice  M.,  resides  at  home;  Alice  E.,  also  living  at  home;  ^ilinnic 
F.,  at  home;  Jonathan  Thomas,  at  home:  Charles  Amos,  at  home;  James 
W.,  deceased;  Jessie  L.,  at  home;  Harry  R.,  at  home.  The  members  of  thir 
family  belong  to  the  Presbyterian  church  and  hoUl  a  prominent  social  posi- 
tion in  the  town. 

HERBERT  EL\TDGE  FRAXKLIX.  son  of  John  and  Sarah 
(Sails)  Franklin,  was  born  February  24,  1835.  in  Nottinghamshire,  England, 
one  of  nine  children.  His  father  was  born  in  Nottinghamshire  and  his 
mother  was  born  in  Dublin  Barracks,  Dublin,  Ireland;  her  father  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Scottish  Highlanders  and  was  stationed  in  the  Dublin  Barracks 
at  the  time  of  her  birth.  Jonathan  Franklin  learned  the  trade  of  weaving 
and  followed  it  in  England  until  1834,  when  he  emigrated  to  this  country, 
settling  in  Philadelphia,  and  continued  to  follow  that  trade  until  his  death 
at  the  age  of  seventy-four  years. 

Herbert  E.  Franklin  was  eight  years  of  age  when  his  parents  came  to 
America  and  he  was  reared  and  attended  the  common  schools  in  Philadelphia. 
As  early  as  his  ninth  years  he  worked  in  the  mills  as  a  bobbin  winder,  con- 
tinuing until  he  had  served  his  apprenticeship  for  an  expert  weaver,  at  which 
he  was  emploved  until  his  nineteenth  year,  with  the  excption  of  on  year  that 
he  spent  in  the  eastern  part  of  Maryland.  At  nineteen  years  he  began  to  serve 
an  apprenticeship  as  a  plasterer,  but  his  employer  went  out  of  business  and 
Herbert  E.  embarked  on  board  a  whaling  vessel  and  for  three  years  followed 
a  sea-faring  life.  He  sailed  around  the  world,  touching  at  most  of  the  great 
sea-ports,  and  acquired  an  education  such  as  can  be  gained  only  by  wide 
travel.  About  1870  he  went  to  Pittsburg,  but  after  a  few  months  there  re- 
moved to  Green  county,  remaining  there  one  year,  then  went  to  Allegheny 
City,  where  he  remained  but  a  short  time,  next  locating  at  Southton,  where 
he  stayed  until  1876.  He  then  settled  in  Sutersville,  where  he  has  since  resid- 
ed. Mr.  Franklin  married  Jane  Dalzell,  of  Philadelphia,  in  1869.  Five 
children  were  born  of  this  marriage.  In  politics  Air.  Franklin's  sympathies 
are  Republican,  and  he  served  one  term  on  the  school  board  although  he  has 
never  been  an  officeseeker.  H  is  a  mmber  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  a  member  of  the  Sons  of  Temperance,  also  having 
passed  through  all  of  the  chairs.  He  is  one  if  the  most  highly  esteemed  men 
of  that  section  of  the  county  and  wins  the  respect  and  admiration  of  all  who 
come  into  contact  with  him.  He  served  three  years  in  the  Civil  war  and 
was  captured  at  Gettysburg,  spending  two  months  as  a  prisoner  on  Belle 
Island.  With  him  were  his  brothers  Henry  and  Frank,  the  latter  of  whom, 
while  acting  sargeant  major,  was  severely  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Cold 
Harbor. 

JOHN  G.  BECKER,  of  New  Kensington,  is  the  son  of  Conrad 
and  Elizabeth  Becker,  and  was  born  January  27,  1867,  in  Germany,  where  he 
received  his  education  in  the  common  schools.  In  1883  he  emigrated  to  the 
United  States,  settling  in  Pitt.sburg,  where  he  learned  the  baker's  business 
with  Samuel  Beltz,  of  South  Side,  and  in  1886  opened  a  bakery  for  himself 
on  Penn  avenue,  where  he  remained  four  years  and  a  half.  He  then  moved 
to  New  Kensington,  where  he  purchased  on  of  the  first  lots  sold  in  the 
town,  erecting  thereon  a  fine  buikling  in  which  he  conducted  a  bakery,  restau- 
rant and  confectionery  until  .\ugust  14.  1900,  when  he  sold  out  to  his  brother. 
Tanuarv  i,  1901,  he  purchased  the  New  Kensington  opera  house,  in  which 
he  made  extensive  improvements  and  of  which  he  has  been  general  manager 


640  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

ever  since.     He  is  a  charter  member  of  Lodge  No.  1121,  IModern  Woodmen  of 
America,  and  belongs  to  the  First  Enghsh  Lutheran  church. 

j\lr.  Becker  married  Lena  Home,  a  native  of  Germany,  and  their  chil- 
dren are:  August  H.,  Elenora,  Tillie,  Carl,  Josephine,  George  and  Edwartl. 

KENNETH  COOPER.  John  Thomas  Cooper,  father  of  Kenneth 
Cooper,  of  New  Kensington,  was  born  in  1829,  in  Ireland,  and  when  but  eight 
years  of  age  was  brought  to  this  country  by  his  parents,  Charles  and  Mar- 
garet Cooper.  They  settled  for  a  short  time  near  Scranton,  Pennsylvania^ 
and  later  took  up  their  abode  on  a  farm  at  Parker,  Armstrong  county,  where 
they  remained  some  }-ears.  Charles  Cooper  died  at  the  great  age  of  ninety- 
three. 

John  Thomas  Cooper,  son  of  Charles  and  Margaret  Cooper,  was  en- 
gaged during  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  the  oil  business.  He  was  an  elder 
in  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  married  Sarah  Bailey,  and  they  had  the 
following  children :  Albert,  farmer  of  Armstrong  county ;  Mary  Elizabeth, 
wife  of  Franklin  Ottinger :  Thomas,  druggist  of  Allegheny;  Margaret,  wife  of 
C.  E.  Harrington,  of  Kittanning,  Pennsylvaniaa :  Charles,  on  the  old  home- 
stead :  Hope  B.,  superintendent  of  a  coal  mine  at  Rennersburg,  Pennsylvania ; 
Kenneth,  mentioned  hereinafter :  and  Catharine,  unmarried.  The  father  of  the 
family  died  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of  fifty-four. 

Kenneth  Cooper,  son  of  John  Thomas  and  Sarah  (Bailey)  Cooper,  was 
born  November  4,  1880,  in  Parker,  Pennsylvania,  and  received  his  education: 
in  the  common  schools.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  became  clerk  for  F.  M. 
Curtis  &  Company,  of  New  Kensington,  with  whom  he  remained  four  years,, 
and  in  1902  purchased  a  half  interest  in  the  grocery  business  of  A.  W.  Craw- 
ford. This  business  he  has  successfully  conducted  down  to  the  present  time- 
under  the  firm  name  of  Cooper  and  King.  Mr.  Cooper  married  Henrietta 
v.,  daughter  of  S.  H.  and  Agnes  Morrow,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  one- 
child  :     Sarah  Belle  Cooper. 

ABRAHA:\I  0\'ERH0LT  FRETTS,  one  of  the  most  prominent 
and  prosperous  business  men  of  Greensburg,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, largely  engaged  in  leasing  and  speculating  in  coal  and  oil  lands,  is  one- 
of  the  most  enterprising  men  of  this  section.  He  is  a  representative  of  an: 
honored  family  of  Pennsylvania. 

Henry  Fretts,  father  of  Abraham  Overholt  Fretts,  was  considered  one 
of  the  leading  farmers  in  Huntingdon  township  in  his  day,  and  was  a  well- 
known  niember  of  the  United  Brethren  church.  He  was  a  staunch  supporter- 
of  the  Republican  party.  He  married  (first)  Diana  Myers,  of  ^Mount  Pleas- 
ant township,  and  they  had  children:  Emma,  who  died  at  the  age  of  nine- 
years  :  Abraham  Overholt,  of  whom  later ;  Lydia,  married  Martin  B.  Hough. 
Henry  Fretts  married  (second)  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Fretts,  widow  of  Henry 
Fretts,  and  they  had  one  child :     Mary,  who  married  Comp. 

Abraham  Overholt  Fretts,  son  of  Henry  and  Diana  (Myers)  Fretts, 
was  born  in  East  Huntingdon  township,  Pennsylvania,  September  i,  1850. 
He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his  district  and  at  the  Mount  Pleasant 
Academy.  His  first  business  venture  was  in  the  mercantile  line,  in  I\Ionnt 
Pleasant,  and  he  later  became  the  proprietor  of  the  National  Hotel  in  the  same- 
place.  In  addition  to  his  hotel  business  he  conducted  a  livery  stable,  which  was 
a  profitable  undertaking.  He  removed  to  Bradford,  McKean  county,  Pcnn- 
svlvania,  in  1878,  and  there  commenced  the  operation  of  oil  wells,  completing. 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY.  641 

his  first  well  in  the  same  year.  He  left  Bradford  at  the  end  of  three  years 
and  removed  to  Greensburg,  where  he  determined  to  make  his  permanent  home, 
and  where  he  has  resided  since  that  time.  He  has  engaged  very  extensively 
in  leasing  and  speculating  in  the  coal  and  oil  fields,  and  has  been  remarkably 
successful.  He  is  thoroughly  well-posted  in  his  particular  field  of  industry,, 
and  has  the  happy  faculty  of  being  able  to  take  advantage  of  every  oppor- 
tunity as  soon  as  it  presents  itself.  He  has  a  large  circle  of  friends,  and  is- 
highly  respected  in  the  business  as  well  as  the  social  world.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Baptist  church  of  Mount  Pleasant,  and  his  political  affiliations  are 
Republican.  He  married  !Mazie  Reamer,  daughter  of  Philip  and  KatherinQ 
(2\lcMasters)  Reamer,  of  !Mount  Pleasant,  and  they  had  two  children:  Wil-- 
Ham,  who  died  in  infancy ;  and  Ethel  Kirk,  who  married  J.  Edwin  Gatchelv 
of  New  York  City,  and  has  one  child :     Katherine  Kirk. 

JOHX  WILLIAM  .McFADYEX,  an  attorney-at-law  of  Latrobe, 
Pennsylvania,  was  born  October  10,  1876,  the  son  of  John  and  jNIarj-  A.  Rush' 
McFadyen.  His  father,  John  iNIcFadyen,  emigrated  to  this  country  from  Scot- 
land at  the  age  of  seven  years,  and  his  father  and  mother,  John  W.  iMc- 
Fadyen's  grandparents,  were  natives  of  INIonaghan  county,  Ireland,  and  came' 
to  this  country  at  a  verj'  early  day. 

John  W.  McFadyen  received  his  English  education  at  St.  Vincent's  col- 
lege, of  which  institution  he  is  a  graduate.  With  the  idea  in  view  of  becom- 
ing a  legal  practitioner,  he  entered  into  the  study  of  law,  and  November  3, 
1900.  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Greensburg, 
and  two  years  later,  November  3,  1902,  was  admitted  to  the  superior  court, 
and  to  the  superior  court  of  Pennsylvania,  April  20,  1903.  He  later  became  a 
member  of  the  United  States  district  court,  and  also  the  circuit  court.  On 
the  same  day  he  commenced  practice  in  Greensburg,  and  later  removed  his 
office  to  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  is  still  engaged  in  his  profession. 
The  remarkable  industry  that  has  thus  far  characterized  Mr.  ]\IcFadyen's- 
work,  together  with  his  unceasing  diligence  and  studious  habits,  bid  fair  to 
win  for  him  an  enviable  place  in  the  ranks  of  his  profession. 

November  25,  1903,  Mr.  McFadyen  married  ^lary  Gertrude  Kuhn,  who- 
was  born  September,  1879,  in  Latrobe,  Pennsylvania,  the  daughter  of  George 
C.  B.  and  Mary  Catherine  (Tipp)  Kuhn.  One  child  was  born  to  them,  John 
^^'illiam,  December  9,  1904. 

HON.  GEORGE  RHE'S'.  A  man  who,  by  his  sterling  worth  of 
character  and  estimable  qualities  of  mind  and  heart,  has  the  power  of  winning 
to  himself  friends,  is  never  forgotten  by  those  who  have  had  the  privilege  of 
knowing  him  personally.  Such  a  man  was  the  late  Honorable  George  Rhey, 
of  Willwood,  of  which  place  his  paternal  ancestors  were  old  settlers,  their 
venerable  stone  dwelling  having  stood  for  more  than  eighty-five  years  on  land' 
which  has  been  long  in  the  possession  of  \he  family. 

John  Rhey,  father  of  Hon.  George  Rhey,  married  Catherine  Beanier, 
and  their  children  were:  James,  horn  April  23.  181 1;  Nancy,  born  October 
24.  1812;  Mathias,  born  September  28,  1814;  Catherine,  born  November  18, 
1816:  George,  of  whom  later;  Susan,  born  April  25,  1822;  Mary  E..  born' 
December  22,  1824;  Elizabeth,  born  April  15,  1827;  John,  born  May  18, 
1829;  and  Christian,  born  July  15,  1831.  All  these  children  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  youngest  arc  now  deceased. 

George  Rhey,  son  of  John  anrl  Catherine  TBeamer)  Rhey,  was  borrr 
January   26,    1819,    and    received   a   college   education.  After   completing   his 

2-41 


642  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY 

studies  he  read  law  for  a  considerable  period,  but  was  finall}'  forced  to  abandon 
it  on  account  of  his  health.  He  then  engaged  in  the  wholesale  grocery  busi- 
ness in  Pittsburg,  where  he  remained  a  number  of  years.  During  the  latter 
part  of  his  life  he  was  in  the  iron  business  in  Johnstown.  In  the  course  of 
time  he  became  by  inheritance  the  owner  of  the  homestead  in  Alilhvood.  He 
took  an  active  part  in  public  affairs,  was  elected  to  the  legislature,  and  served 
with  credit  to  himself  and  satisfaction  to  his  constituents.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 

Mr.  Rhey  married,  April  25,  1878,  Margaret  A.  Flanigan,  and  they  were 
the  parents  of  one  son  and  three  daughters:  Paul,  born  September  18,  1879, 
deceased;  Mary  E.,  born  October  16,  1881,  wife  of  George  B.  Phillippi,  and  the 
mother  of  one  child,  George  R. :  Susan  T.,  born  November  22,  1884,  married 
Owen  E.  Jones,  of  New  York  City;  and  Catherine,  born  October  14,  1887, 
deceased.  The  death  of  Mr.  Rhey  occurred  March  7,  1888,  and  while  an  irre- 
parable loss  to  his  family,  was  felt  by  the  entire  comunity  as  a  personal  be- 
reavement. He  was  a  man  who  numbered  his  friends  by  the  hundred  and 
inspired  in  all  who  knew  him  sentiments  of  affection  and  esteem.  His  widow 
resides  in  the  old  stone  house  on  the  homestead  in  Millwood. 

Mrs.  Rhey  is  a  daughter  of  John  and  Ann  (Nevin)  Flanigan,  whose 
children  were :  JNlargaret  A.,  born  March  24,  1854,  became  the  wife  of 
George  Rhey,  as  mentioned  above;  Thomas,  born  February  13,  1856,  deceased; 
Mary,  born  May  5,  1857;  John,  born  June  14,  1859,  deceased;  James,  born 
February  4,  1862,  deceased;  Thomas,  born  January  25,  1865;  and  John,  born 
March  19,  1868.  This  family  has  contributed  by  its  two  surviving  sons 
toward   maintaining  the   standard   of   good   citizenship. 

HUGH  C.  McKEAN.  The  grandfather  of  Hugh  C.  McKean,  of 
■  Lecchburg,  was  William  McKean.  a  native  of  Ireland,  who  migrated  to  the 
United  States  and  was  one  of  the  original  settlers  of  Allegheny  township. 
He -was  a  prosperous  farmer  in  his  day,  owning  one  hundred  and  forty  acres 
of  land.  He  was  the  father  of  six  sons :  Robert,  of  whom  later ;  Lingey,  Hugh, 
Thomas,  Cavitt,  and  John. 

-  Robei't  ]\IcKean,  son  of  William  McKean,  was  born  in  1801,  on  the  Alle- 
gheny river,  and"  was  engaged  in  the  construction  of  the  Pennsylvania  canal,  and 
after  its  completion  purchased  ninety-four  acres  of  land.  He  married  Nancy 
McKiverson,  a  native  of  Brownsville,  Pennsylvania,  and  their  children  were : 
William,  deceased ;  James ;  Hugh  C,  of  whom  later ;  Susan,  deceased ;  Eliz- 
abeth ;  Frances ;  and  Robert,  deceased.  Mr.  McKean,  the  father,  was  a  man 
who  was  universally  liked.  He  died  in  1888,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty- 
seven. 

Hugh  C.  McKean,  son  of  Robert  and  Nancy  (McKiverson)  McKean, 
was  born  in  1833,  on  his  father's  farm,  of  which  he  is  now  the  owner.  He  was 
reared  and  educated  in  his  native  township,  and  his  early  life  was  spent  on  the 
Allegheny  river,  acting  as  steamboat  pilot,  which  responsible  position  he  held 
for  thirty-seven  years.  In  1850  he  moved  to  his  present  farm  of  ninety-six 
acres,  which  originally  formed  part  of  his  father's  property,  but  continued  to 
act  as  pilot  until  1875,  when  he  retired  from  the  river.  Since  that  time  he 
has  devoted  himself  wholly  to  agricultural  pursuits.  His  buildings  are  of 
modern  construction  and  were  erected  by  himself.  He  has  held  the  office  of 
school  director  for  several  terms.  Mr.  McKean  married  in  1861,  Mary  E. 
McGeary.  and  their  children  were :  William,  deceased ;  Agnes,  Walter,  Fannie, 
Hugh,  Maggie,  Theresa,  Robert,  and  three  who  died  in  infancy. 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  643 

ALEXANDER  WILLSOX,  of  Pittsburg,  a  member  of  the  Willson 
Bros.  Lumber  Company,  was  born  January  14,  1868,  in  \\'est  Newton,  \\'est- 
moreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  a  son  of  Andrew  Patterson  and  Lavenia  (Cun- 
ningham I   WiUson,  and  a  representative  of  Scotch-Irish  ancestry. 

The  early  years  of  the  hfe  of  Alexander  Willson  were  spent  on  his  fath- 
er's farm,  and  his  education  was  acquired  in  the  public  school  of  Westmoreland 
county,  \\'est  Newton  high  school,  and  Rochester  Business  University,  from 
which  he  was  graduated.  On  the  completion  of  his  school  days  he  went  to 
Philadelphia  and  entered  the  employ  of  George  Watson  &  Son,  building  con- 
tractors, as  a  bookkeeper.  In  1889  he  went  to  Kansas  and  was  engaged  with 
the  Union  :\Iortgage  &  Trust  Compan_\-,  of  Marion,  as  an  examiner  of  lands, 
remaining  for  a  period  of  three  years.  The  following  three  years  he  was  in 
the  employ  of  the  Ash  Grove  White  Lime  Association,  of  Kansas  City,  and 
during  a  portion  of  the  time  was  employed  at  the  heading  and  stave  plant  of 
this  association  at  Black  Rock,  Arkansas.  He  then  entered  the  service  of 
E.  \'.  Babcock  &  Company,  in  May,  1896,  as  an  office  man,  in  which  capacity 
he  remained  for  about  one  and  a  half  years. 

January  i,  1898.  Alexander  ^^'illson  and  his  elder  brother,  Frank  Elliott 
\Mllson.  organized  the  firm  of  Willson  Bros.,  and  entered  the  jobbing  lumber 
trade  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  which  is  one  of  the  greatest  manufacturing 
centers  of  the  country  and  its  wealth  has  been  contributed  to  largely  by  the 
mines  and  forests.  Situated  as  it  is  near  the  western  border  of  the  Keystone 
state  it  is  the  center  of  supply  for  a  wide  territory.  In  the  earlier  days  little 
lumber  was  handled  in  that  market  except  white  pine,  hemlock  and  hardwoods, 
but  today  yellow  pine,  of  both  the  shortleaf  and  longleaf  varieties,  and  of  more 
recent  date  the  products  of  the  Pacific  coast  have  figured  in  the  consuming 
trade.  The  resources  of  the  brothers  were  very  moderate  indeed,  but  they 
had  confidence  in  their  ability  to  carve  out  success  in  their  enterprise,  and 
most  fully  has  their  confidence  been  justified.  During  the  first  business  year 
of  the  firm  it  handled  about  four  hundred  cars  of  lumber,  a  total  in  dollars 
and  cents  of  a  little  more  than  $100,000.  The  business  has  grown  steadily 
year  by  year  until  today  they  conduct  a  business  of  more  than  $1,000,000  an- 
nually. The  company's  handlings  of  lumber  embrace  the  entire  range  of 
building  woods.  It  is  an  important  factor  in  hemlock,  white  pine,  longleaf 
yellow  pine,  poplar  and  spruce,  and  it  is  practically  the  pioneer  institution 
in  Pittsburg  to  develop  a  trade  for  North  Carolina  pine  in  that  district. 

In  1902  the  firm  bought  a  large  interest  in  the  Major  &  Loomis  Company, 
of  Hertford,  North  Carolina,  on  the  line  of  the  Norfolk  &  Southern  railroad. 
This  company  has  a  completely  equi|)ped  band  sawmill,  dry  kilns  and  planing 
mill,  with  a  capacity  of  twelve  million  feet  annually,  and  they  also  have 
North  Carolina  pine  timber  holdings  sufficient  to  continue  the  enterprise  for  at 
least  ten  years.  Of  this  company  Alexander  Willson  is  vice-president  and  a 
director.  During  the  same  year  the  Willson  Bros,  purchased  an  important 
interest  in  the  Conway  Lumber  Company,  of  Conway.  South  Canjlina.  This 
company  has  timber  holdings  aggregating  one  hundred  million  feet  of  short- 
leaf  pine  and  a  complete  band  mill,  dry  kilns  and  planing  mill  equipment. 
Frank  Elliott  Willson  is  the  vice-president  and  a  director  in  this  company. 
In  1903,  through  a  business  connection  formed  with  the  Willson  Brothers, 
who  constituted  the  Willson  Lumber  Company,  of  Elkins,  West  Virginia, 
^^■illson  Bros,  purchased  a  tract  of  twelve  thousand  acres  of  spruce,  hemlock 
and  hardwood  timber  lands  at  Wildell,  \\'est  Virginia,  on  the  line  of  the  coal 
and  iron  division  of  the  West  \'irginia  Central  &  Pittsburg  railroad.     During 


644  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND    COUNTY. 

the  same  vear  this  timber  land  interest  was  organized  into  tlie  Wildell  Lumber 
Companv'with  a  paid  up  capital  of  $150,000.  The  following  year  a  modern 
band  and  resaw  saw  mill  was  built,  as  well  as  a  planing  mill,  with  a  daily- 
capacity  of  seventy-five  thousand  feet.  The  business  of  Willson  Bros,  was 
continu'ed  as  a  copartnership  until  December  31,  1904,  when  it  was  incorporat- 
ed under  the  name  of  the  "Willson  Bros.  Lumber  Company.  Frank  E.  Willson 
became  president  of  the  new  company  and  Alexander  Willson  the  secretary 
and  treasurer.  The  capital  of  the  company  is  $150,000,  which  is  fully  paid 
in,  practicallv  all  of  the  stock  being  held  by  the  two  brothers.  Another  en- 
terprise owned  by  the  company  is  the  Willson  Bros.  Lumber  Company,  of 
Huntley;  Cameron  county,  Pennsylvania,  which  is  a  hemlock  and  white  pine 
operation  with  a  capacity  of  about  ten  million  feet  annually.  The  company 
is  the  sales  agent  of  all  these  enterprises,  every  one  of-  which  is  a  successful 
and  prosperous  institution.  Their  business  is  conducted  in  a  handsome  suite 
of  offices  in  the  Farmers  Bank  building,  Pittsburg. 

Alexander  Willson  married,  June  6,  1905,  Elenore  Hamilton,  daughter  of 
J.  P.  Hamilton,  of  East  End,  Pittsburg.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Willson  occupy  a 
beautiful  home  which  is  located  on  Darlington  road.  Squirrel  Hill.  Mr.  Will- 
son  is  a  man  of  pleasing  personality,  popular  with  his  contemporaries  and 
with  the  trade  at  large,  and  possesses  in  a  marked  degree  the  commercial 
instinct  which  is  the  basis  of  a  successful  business  career. 

JOHN  W.  BENNETT,  a  representative  of  a  well  known  and  highly 
respected  family  of  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  in  Donegal 
township,  April  17,   1862,  a  son  of  Dr.  James  M.  and  Catherine   (Durstine) 

Bennett. 

Dr.  James  AL  Bennett  was  born  in  West  Virginia  in  1817,  and  in  1859 
removed  to  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  settling  in  Donegal  town- 
ship, where  he  was  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  until  his  death.  He 
married  (first)  Alary  Gilbert,  and  of  this  union  one  child  was  born,  Samaria, 
the  wife  of  A.  J.  R.  Lohr,  of  Greeley,  Colorado.  His  second  wife  was  Annie 
Grimes,  who  was  the  mother  of  one  child,  deceased.  In  i860  he  married 
Catherine  Durstine,  and  of  this  union  nine  children  were  born,  namely :  John 
W..  see  forward ;  Henrietta,  wife  of  Philip  C.  Ralp ;  Abram  L.,  a  farmer 
in  Utah;  Tames  E.,  of  Denver,  Colorado;  Joseph,  a  resident  and  farmer  of 
Westmoreland  countv ;  Edward,  a  machinist,  of  Greensburg;  Marion  Ward, 
a  farmer  of  North  Dakota ;  Emma,  wife  of  Edward  Ayres ;  and  David.  Dr. 
James  M.  Bennett  died  January  19,  1887. 

John  W.  Bennett  received  a  good  common  school  education,  and  in  1884 
commenced  upon  an  independent  career,  being  for  five  years  engaged  iii  farm 
work.  He  then  established  himself  in  the  mercantile  business  at  Jones'  Aldls, 
in  which  he  was  very  profitably  engaged  for  seven  years.  At  the  expiration 
of  that  period  he  removed  to  Bakersville,  and  there  bought  out  the  store  of 
J.  Schlag  &  Co.,  and  was  for  six  years  engaged  in  the  conduct  of  same, 
in  1902  he  removed  on  the  farm  where  he  now  resides,  and  where  he  gives 
his  entire  time  and  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits.  His  farm  is  now  in  a  high 
state  of  cultivation  and  improvement,  and  compares  favorably  with  the  finest  in 
the  vicinity.  Politically  Mr.  Bennett  is  a  Democrat,  and  has  served  in  the 
offices  of  township  clerk,  judge  of  elections,  auditor,  school  director,  post- 
master in  Cleveland's  last  administration  at  Jones'  Mills.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  No.  350,  Moss  Rose  Lodge.  Alount 
Pleasant.  In  religious  faith  he  is  a  mem.ber  of  the  Brethren  church  at  Alount 
Pleasant,  and  a  trustee  of  the  same. 


HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUS'iV.  645 

John  \\".  Bennett  married,  December  13,  1883,  Mamie  E.  Sease,  a  (hui.iL;h- 
tcr  of  Henry  and  Elizabeth  (Slonaker)  Sease.  I'o  this  imion  three  ciiil<h-eii 
have  been  born:  Gertrude  M.,  June  13,  1885,  a  graduate  of  the  high  school 
and  the  Peterson  Uusiness  College,  of  Scottdale ;  James  Roy,  May  16,  iSyi, 
resides  at  home;  and  Harry  Joseph,  June  22,  1893,  lives  at  home  with  his 
parents. 

JOHX  ALFRED  BLAXK,  a  prominent  resident  of  Greensburg,  West- 
moreland county,  I'ennsylvania,  a  contractor  in  the  house  papering  and  jiaint- 
ing  industry,  is  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  pioneer  families  of  the  state. 

(I)  Solomon  Blank,  grandfather  of  John  Alfred  Blank,  was  born  in 
Montgomery  county,  Pennsylvania,  October  10,  1807.  He  was  a  shoe- 
maker by  trade,  and  migrated  to  Westmoreland  countv  in  1837.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Lutheran  church,  and  gave  his  strong  support  to  the  Democratic 
party.  He  married  (first)  Catherine  Whistler,  of  Lehigh  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, a  native  of  Holland,  who  came  to  this  country  in  1836.  She  was  a 
sister  of  Whistler,  the  famous  painter.  The  children  of  Solomon  and  Cath- 
erine (Whistlerj  Blank  were:  i.  Thomas,  born  February  14,  1828,  mar- 
ried Keziah  Smith,  daughter  of  Jacob  Smith,  of  Harrison  City,  and  had 
children :  Sylvester,  Oliver  and  Kate,  who,  married  Edward  Hammer,  of 
Greensburg.  2.  Henry,  see  forward.  3.  tieorge  Adam,  born  January  2y, 
1831,  married  Lavinia  Baum,  and  had  children:  George,  Jacob,  Henr\-  and 
Solomon.  4.  Eliza,  born  March  12,  1833,  married  Frederick  Bauinan,  5. 
Lydia,  born  April  12,  1836,  married  Henry  Dixon.  6.  Sophia,  born  (Jcto- 
ber  8,  1839,  married  Philip  P.rindle.  (See  sketch  of  Richard  C.  \\'eltv).  7. 
Susan,  born  October  11,  1841,  married  Henry  Hilligass,  of  Bucks  county. 
Pennsylvania,  and  had  among  other  children :  Charles,  Elmer,  Emma.  8. 
Jonathan  died  at  the  age  of  eight  years.  Mrs.  Blank  died  in  1840.  Mr. 
Blank  married  (second)  Elizaljeth  Weaver,  and  they  had  children:  i.  Marv, 
married  Simon  Feightner,  and  had  children:  Herman,  John.  J<isephine  and 
Thomas.     2.   Josephine,  married  John  Al.  Zimmermann. 

(II)  Henry  Blank,  second  son  and  child  of  Solomon  (i)  and  Cath- 
erine (Whistler)  Blank,  was  born  in  Montgomery  county,  Pennsylvania, 
October  27,  1829.  He  obtained  a  good  education  in  Hempfield  township,  in 
the  Gate,  Dickey  and  Thomas  schoolhouses.  He  is  a  memljer  of  the  First 
Lutheran  church  of  (ireensburg,  and  is  an  active  worker  for  the  Re])ui5lican 
party.  He  married,  September  12,  1850,  Su.sanna  Louisa  Cribbs,  daugjiter 
of  Joshua  and  Elizabeth  (.Miller)  Cribbs,  of  Hempfield  to\\nsl]i]x  Their 
children  were:  i.  John  Alfred,  see  forward.  2.  Elizabeth  Alice,  born 
June  28,  1854,  married  William  F.  Holtzer,  one  of  the  most  prosperous 
farmers  of  Hempfield  townshij},  and  has  children  :  Daisy,  Charles,  Harry, 
Clara,  Lloyd,  Oliver  and  Jennie  May.  3.  Amanda  Jane^  born  October  16, 
1856.  died  December  4,  1904;  she  was  the  wife  of  Simon  \\'ise,  and  had 
children :  Coulter,  Cora,  Gertrude,  Clark,  and  Howard.  4.  Sarah  I'lllen, 
born  September  2.  i860,  died  in  infancy.  5.  Mary  Caroline,  born  l)ecemi)Ci- 
25,  1868,  married  Harry  B.  Lougjirey,  of  Greensburg. 

(III)  John  .Alfred  Blank,  eldest  child  of  Henry  (2)  and  Susanna  Louisa 
(Cribbs)  Blank,  was  bom  in  Hempfield  township,  \VcstmoreIand  countv, 
Pennsylvania,  February  14.  1852.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
of  Adamsburg  and  Grapeville,  and  was  then  ajjprenticcd  to  learn  the  trade 
of  jjainting  with  Amos  Ei.saman,  of  Grccn.-;l)urg.  He  is  at  present  success- 
fully engagefl  in  contracting  for  the  pa])ering  and  jjainting  of  houses  and 
similar  work.     He   has  Iieen   an   active   worker   in   the   political   field   of   his 


646  HISTORY   OF    WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

county  fcr  the  Republican  part_v,  and  was  elected  constable  for  the  first  ward 
in  Greensburg  for  three  3'eairs  in  February,  1905.  He  fills  this  office  very 
acceptably,  and  his  public  spirit  has  won  for  him  many  friends.  He  married 
October  23,  1873,  Jennie  Reamer,  daughter  of  John  and  Hannah  (Pool) 
Reamer,  of  Greensburg,  and  they  have  had  children:  i.  A  child  not  named, 
died  in  infancy.  2.  Henry  Clinton,  born  August  26,  1875,  married  Nannie 
Wallace,   daughter   of   Michael   Wallace,   of   Greensburg,   and   had    children: 

Elizabeth,   Alfred,   Sarah,   one   who   died   in   infancy,   and   .     3.     Johii 

Reamer,  born  January  21,  1879,  married  Maud  George,  of  Greensburg,  and  has 
one  child,  Helen.    4.  James  Howard,  born  August,  1881,  died  February,  1884. 

5.  Lula  Maud,  born  1883,  married  Samuel  S.  Brownfield.  6  and  7.  Jessie 
Bessie  and  Joseph  Dewitt,  born  July,  1886,  died  in  infancy.  8.  Richard 
Charles,  born  November  i,  1895. 

In  the  maternal  line  Mr.  Blank  is  descended  from  a  family  prominently 
identitied  with  the  development  of  Westmoreland  county.  The  Cribbs  family 
traces  its  ancestry  to  the  province  of  Alsace-Lorraine,  in  Germany.  The 
founders  of  the  family  in  this  country  came  to  America  about  1750,  landing  at 
Philadelphia.  Their  children  were  :  George ;  John,  see  forward ;  Jacob,  who 
purchased  land  and  settled  in  Westmoreland  county  shortly  after  the  war  of 
the  revolution ;  Susan,  married  and  resided  in  Philadel|)hia ;  Peter  George, 
who  served  with  bravery  and  was  killed  in  the  war  of  the  revolution. 

(F)  Captain  John  Cribbs,  a  representative  of  the  second  generation  of 
this  family  in  America,  was  a  soldier  of  the  revolution  and  was  killed  at  the 
time  of  St.  Clair's  defeat,  November  4,  1791,  leaving  to  survive  him' a  widow, 
Catherine  (Harrold)  Cribbs,  and  seven  children:  Peter,  married Steel- 
smith  :   Christopher,   see   forward ;   John,   married   Elizabeth   Keififer,   Clarion 

county ;   George,  married  ,   Canton,   Ohio ;   Elizabeth,   married  Joseph 

Berlin :  Mary,  married  George  Repine  ;  Susan,  died  in  infancy. 

(H)  Christopher  Cribbs,  second  son  and  child  of  Captain  John  (i) 
and  Catherine  (Harrold)  Cribbs,  was  born  February  10,  1780.  He  married 
(first),  November  18,  1800,  Mary  Magdalene  Silvis,  born  November  4,  1780, 
and  had  children:  i.  John,  born  August  9,  1801,  died  July  25,  1805.  2. 
Peter,  born  February  3,  1803,  married  Catherine  Miller,  December  30,  1824. 
3.  Catherine,  born  January  13,  1805,  married  Daniel  Miller,  February  25, 
1824.  4.  Sarah,  born  Januani-  15,  1807,  married  Peter  Miller,  October  8, 
1829.     5.    Anna,  born  April  6,  1808,  married  John  Fox,  November  18,  1828. 

6.  Joshua,  see  forward.  7.  Levi,  b.orn  April  10,  181 1,  married  Hannah 
Miller,  September  19,  1833.  8.  Elizabeth,  born  November  2,  1812,  died 
September  20,  1819.  9.  ^lary,  born  November  13,  1814,  married  Jacob 
Miller,  April  17,  1834.  10.  Magdalene,  born  June  6,  1816,  married  Peter 
Smeltzer,  [March  19,  1837.  11.  Samuel,  born  March  14,  i8i8,  married 
Sarah  Smeltzer,  October  27,  1839.  12.  George,  born  April  15,  1820,  mar- 
ried Jane  Skelly,  of  Hempfield  township,  September  4,  1845.  13.  Leah, 
born  November  26,  1821,  married  Jacob  Altman,  ?vlay  20,  1847.  14.  Susan- 
nah, born  April  23,  1823,  Christopher  Cribbs  married  (second),  April  30, 
1847,  Elizabeth  Fisher. 

(HF)  Joshua  Cribbs,  third  son  and  sixth  child  of  Christopher  (2)  and 
Mary  Magdalene  (Silvis)  Cribbs,  was  born  October  fi,  1809.  He  married 
Elizabeth  ^Miller,  Februarv  9,  1832.  and  among  their  children  was  Susannah 
Louisa. 

(IX)  Susannah  Louisa  Cribbs,  daughter  of  Joshua  and  Elizabeth  (Mil- 
ler) Cribbs,  married  Flenry  Blank,  September  12,  1850,  and  their  eldest  child 
was  John  Alfred  Blank,  whose  name  heads  this  sketch. 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  647 

WILLIAM  KIRK  }iL\YERS.  Among  the  merchants  conducting  a 
prosperous  business  at  Greensburg  is  WiUiam  K.  .Mayers  whose  paternal 
great-grandfather's  name  was  Richard.  He  was  born  anti  hvcd  his  entire  Hfe 
in  England.  By  trade  he  was  a  tailor.  He  was  a  dwarf,  weighing  about  the 
same  as  the  famous  Tom  Thumb.  lie  married  a  lady  weighing  nearly  two 
hundred  pounds,  and  among  the  children  born  to  them  was  one  son  named 
Robert. 

Robert  Mayers  was  also  a  native  of  England.  He  also  followed  the  trade 
of  a  tailor,  and  was  not  an  old  man  at  the  time  of  his  death.  His  wife's  maiden 
name  was  Elizabeth,  who  died  prior  to  her  husband,  leaving  several  children. 

Wliliam  2\Iayers,  son  of  Robert  and  Elizabeth  Mayers,  was  born  about 
1841,  in  England^  and  cared  for  his  young  brothers  and  sisters  by  mining  coal, 
which  he  commenced  a  year  after  the  death  of  his  father,  when  but  eight  years 
of  age.  He  had  no  advantages  whatever  for  securing  an  education,  which  he 
has  deeply  regretted  all  his  life.  In  1868  he  came  to  America,  first  touching  at 
Parker's  Landing,  Butler  county,  Pennsylvania.  From  there  he  went  to 
Petersburg,  Peiuisylvania,  remained  there  about  three  years,  engaging  as  a 
coal  miner.  He  married  in  1875  and  has  lived  at  Apollo,  Armstrong  county, 
at  Fairbanks,  Jefferson  City  and  numerous  places  in  this  section  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  his  services  as  a  miner  seemed  most  demanded.  In  1884  the  fam- 
ily removed  to  Greensburg,  and  they  still  reside  in  Carbon,  a  mining  hamlet 
hard  by  the  borough  of  Greensburg.  In  1899  he  became  partner  in  a  general 
store  at  Carbon  ;  the  firm  being  Sowalsh  &  }ilayers.  Mr.  Mayers  bought  his 
partner  out  a  year  later  and  still  continues  in  trade  there. 

January  27,  1875,  he  married  Mary  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Thompson 
and  Margaret  Jane  (Brown)  McKinstry,  born  April  9,  1837.  By  this  union 
the  following  children  were  born:  Charles  Thompson,  May  17,  1876,  married 
Emma  Rosensteel ;  William  Kirk,  October  4,  1877,  married  Maggie  Hayden ; 
James  Raymond,  November  13,  1879:  Maggie  \'iola,  July  8,  1886,  married 
Richard  E.  Kemerer;  Bertha  Elizabeth,  September  19.  1888,  married  Henry 
E.  Blaine:  Daisy  Pearl,  October  14,  1891  :  Walter,  December  i,  1894:  Clar- 
ence, March  20,  1897.  The  mother  of  this  family.  Mary  Elizabeth  (McKin- 
stry) Mayers,  descends  from  James  McKinstry.  who  lived  near  Apollo,  Penn- 
sylvania. He  married  Sarah  Jackson  and  reared  the  following  children :  Jane, 
Kate,  Sarah,  Polly,  Betsey,  William,  James,  Alexander,  Jackson  and  Thomp- 
son. 

Thompson  McKinstry  (grandfather)  was  born  .April  9,  1837.  He  fol- 
lowed farming  and  coal  mining  for  his  livelihood  and  both  he  and  his  wife 
now  reside  in  this  vicinity.  He  married  Margaret  Jane  Brown,  daughter  of 
Charles  and  Jane  (Kirk)  Brown.  They  were  married  when  but  seventeen 
years  of  age,  in  Ireland,  and  came  to  Indiana  county,  Pennsylvania.  The  chil- 
"dred  born  to  them  were:  Mary  Elizabeth,  (mother  of  subject)  April  11,  1859; 
Sarah  Jane,  August  3.  i860:  Ida  Gertrude,  July  26,  1862,  died  July  2.  1881  ; 
Nancy  L.,  October,  1864:  Minnie  M.  Alice,  December  12,  1866;  Harriet  Lydia 
Ella,  December  10,  186S:  Maud,  June  27,  1870;  Ansley  ^L,  February  22, 
1875:  Lilly,  June  25,  1878;  Pearl.  January,  1880. 

William  Kirk  flayers,  son  of  William  and  Mary  Elizabeth  (McKinstry) 
Mayers,  was  born  October  4,  1877,  and  received  a  good  conunon  school  edu- 
cation and  engaged  in  business  early  in  life.  He  married  Ma.ggie  Flayden, 
only  daughter  of  John  R.  Hayden  and  wife  of  Greensburg.  Pennsylvania.  To 
them  have  been  born:  Flarry.  died  in  infancy:  Margaret:  Kirk,  William  Rus- 
sell.    Politically  Mr.  Mayers  is  a  supporter  of  tlie  Democratic  party. 


648  HISTORY   OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY. 

JOHN  E.  KUNKLE,  junior  member  of  the  well  known  firm  of 
Robbins  &  Kunkle,  who  control  a  large  and  important  practice,  having  their 
residence  and  professional  headquarters  in  Greensburg,  the  attractive  judicial 
■centre  of  th§  county,  is  a  representative  of  a  family  that  was  established  in 
Westmoreland  county  in  the  early  pioneer  era,  and  their  name  has  long  been 
linkeil  with  the  history  of  the  old  Keystone  state. 

Michael  Kunkle,  grandfather  of  John  E.  Kunkle,  was  a  worthy  and  in- 
fluential farmer  of  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  spent  his  entire  life,  and 
where  he  met  his  death  as  the  result  of  the  explosion  of  the  wooden  cylinder 
of  an  old  fashioned  tumbling  shaft  threshing  machine. 

Amos  Kunkle,  father  of  John  E.  Kunkle,  was  born  in  Hempfield  town- 
ship, Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  old  homestead  farm.  Dur- 
ing a  greater  portion  of  his  active  career  he  was  actively  identified  with  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  but  for  a  number  of  years  he  was  also  engaged  in  the  lum- 
bering business.  He  has  ever  stood  high  in  the  esteem  of  his  fellowmen,  and 
is  one  of  the  honored  pioneer  citizens  of  the  county.  He  is  now  retired 
from  business  and  maintains  his  home  in  Greensburg.  He  is  a  stalwart  Re- 
publican in  politics,  and  both  he  and  his  wife  have  long  been  active  and 
devoted  members  of  the  First  Reformed  church.  He  married  Sarah  Kepple, 
also  a  native  of  Hempfield  township,  and  of  their  children  seven  are  living, 
John  E.  being  the  oldest  in  order  of  birth.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kungle  are 
representatives  of  old  and  honored  families  of  the  county,  and  both  arc  of 
sterling  German  lineage. 

John  E.  Kunkle  was  born  in  Hempfield  township,  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  August  16,  1862.  He  passed  his  boyhood  days  on  the  old 
homestead  farm,  in  the  meantime  acquiring  his  preliminary  education  in  the 
public  schools.  He  continued  his  studies  under  Messrs.  Chamberlain  and 
Ryckman,  taught  school  in  Hempfield  township  in  the  winter,  and  attended 
the  Greensburg  seminary  in  the  summer,  preparatory  to  studying  law.  He 
then  took  up  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  McAfee,  Atkinson  &  Peoples, 
of  Greensburg,  at  that  time  one  of  the  leading  law  firms  of  the. county.  He 
made  excellent  progress  in  his  technical  reading,  and  December  17,  1887,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  his  native  county, 
as  well  as  later  to  practice  in  the  Superior  and  Supreme  courts.  In  1889 
Mr.  Kunkle  entered  into  his  present  professional  alliance,  this  firm  controlling 
a  large  and  representative  legal  business  and  being  concerned  in  much  import- 
ant litigation.  Mr.  Kunkle  has  shown  himself  a  thoroughly  qualified  trial 
lawyer  and  one  well  informed  in  the  minutiae  of  the  science  of  jurisprudence, 
and  has  ever  fortified  himself  by  close  and  continuous  study  and  by  careful 
and  conscientious  preparation  for  ever_\'  cause  which  he  has  brought  before 
court  or  jurw  He  is  a  close  observer  of  the  unwritten  code  of  professional 
ethics,  and  commands  the  esteem  of  his  confreres  and  the  confidence  and  re- 
gard of  his  clientele,  while  as  a  citizen  he  is  essentially  loyal  and  public-spir- 
ited. He  is  a  member  of  the  Westmoreland  County  Bar  Association,  and  has 
attained  to  high  degree  in  the  ]\Iasonic  fraternity,  a  member  of  Kedron  Com- 
mandery.  Knights  Templar,  Greensburg,  and  has  risen  to  the  thirty-second 
degree.  Ancient  Accepted  Scottish  Rite,  being  identified  with  the  consistory 
at  Pittsburg,  while  he  is  also  affiliated  with  the  various  York  Rite  bodies, 
and  is  a  Noble  of  the  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  the  Nobles  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics.  He  has  long  been  a  member  of  the 
First  Reformed  church  and  for  years  an  elder  in  the  congregation  as  well  as 
secretary  and  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school.  He  is  one  of  the  trus- 
tees of  Franklin  and  T^Iarshall  College,  at  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  and  was 


HISTORY  OF   WESTMORELAND   COUNTY.  649 

for  a  miniber  of  years  a  director  of  St.  Paul's  Orphans'  Home,  Butler,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  is  now  president  of  that  institution. 

Mr.  Kunkle  married,  August  17,  1886,  Alice  Grant  Walthour,  who  was 
born  and  reared  in  Adamsburg,  Westmoreland  county,  daughter. of  Michael 
and  Cordelia  Walthour.  Their  children  are:  Cordelia,  who  died  at  the 
age  of  one  year;  Sara,  Katharine,  Margaret,  John  Edward,  Jr.,  Paul  Wal- 
thour, Alice  Walthour  and  Louisa. 

ELMER  AMZIE  KUNKLE,  proprietor  of  the  "City  Restaurant," 
Greensburg,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  May  28,  1871, 
the  son  of  Amos  and  Sarah  (Kepple)  Kunkle.  He  was  born  on  a  farm  in 
Hempfield  township,  about  one  mile  north  of  Greensburg.  In  1903  he  formed 
a  partnership  with  John  Kettering,  and  they  engaged  in  the  catering  business, 
becoming  the  proprietors  of  the  City  Restaurant.  They  have  been  very  suc- 
cessful in  this  line,  and  the  business  grows  continuously.  Mr.  Kunkle  mar- 
ried, October  22,  1903,  Alice  C.  Kemp,  daughter  of  Arthur  Kemp,  of  Pleas- 
ant L'nitv. 


MAR  2  5  1953