650 - HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. JOSEPH MARKLE POST, No. 57, G. A. R. Its officers for 1882 are : C., John Markle ; S. V. C., J. T. McElroy ; J. V. C., E. D. Baer; Q.-M., Alfred Catlin ; Capt., Edward Welty ; Surg., Dr. J. H. Ritchie ; O. D., E. Neff, Jr. ;. O. G., James Kyle. WENT NEWTON AGRICULTURAL AND DRIVING ASSOCIATION. Its officers for 1882 are : President, Capt. B. Budd ; Directors, Simon Sampson, C. C. Markle, S. C. Weimer, Dr. F. H. Patton, Philip J. Rohland, J. J. Guffey, R. J. Graham, Robert Brown, S. B. Markle, Jr., H. A. Douglass, J. G. Steiner, H. Lowry. This association was organized in 1881, and is arranging elegant grounds for its exhibitions and driving. THE ROBBSTOWN BRIDGE. The Robbstown Bridge Company was incorporated in 1831 with the following incorporators : Alexander Plumer, J. C. Plumer, James Bell, Jacob Baughman, Frederick Steiner, Andrew Smith, Joseph Stokely, and William Linn. The bridge was erected over the Youghiogheny River in 1834, and was the first and only one ever built over the river at West Newton. It is a wooden structure with two piers in the centre, and since its construction has been well kept and repaired. In its building Alexander Plumer and Isaac Steiner were the contractors for the stone-work, and Jacob Mace for the wood-work. The cost was $18,000, of which the State paid $8000, the amount of its stock, but on Sept. 7, 1843, it sold its interest to the company. Bela B. Smith owned the land on the Rostraver, and Andrew Robinson on the West Newton side. The officers of the company are : President, Bela B. Smith; Secretary, Howard E. Smith ; Treasurer, George Plumer ; Directors, Bela B. Smith, George Plumer, Benjamin Sampson, Hunter Ritchie, Howard E. Smith. There is no bridge in the State of its age, forty-eight years, that is in such excellent condition, or has stood the tests it has endured in all kinds of storms and floods. BANKS. James A. Dick organized and started the first bank in 1867, and which is still in operation under his management. Its first place of business was in the Weimer rooms, and in 1870 it was removed to one door east of its present place, to which it was changed in ,1875. The second bank established in the town was the Farmers' Bank, which went into operation after the panic of 1873, and was some four years in existence. Its president was Dr. J. Q. Robinson. Its first cashier was Eli C. Leightty, and the second Capt. John Markle. Its place of business was on the corner of First and Main Streets. WEST NEWTON CEMETERY lies on the west of the Youghiogheny River, and is beautifully situated on a high elevation overlooking the town and commanding a picturesque view of the valley. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT was organized in June, 1879, viz. : Chief Engineer, John Arthurs ; Assistant Engineer, JohnDarr ; Hose-men, E. Neff, G. M. Ewing, E. Stevenson ; Drivers, Eli Kelley, John Matte ; Bugler, George Murray. The engine is a No. 4 Extinguisher. The company is composed of men in the employ of Gen. C. P. Markle & Sons (paper-mill), who own the engine, etc. VILLAGES AND HAMLETS. PORT ROYAL is on the Youghiogheny railroad, in the western part. Here, tradition says, the Virginia authorities held the first court ever convened in Westmoreland County. The extensive distillery of John T. Moss is located here, of which A. C. Hamilton is the United States gauger, and M. S. Taggart store-keeper. The Ohio and Pennsylvania Coal Company in 1882 sank a coal shaft one hundred and seventy feet, and erected a large number of miners' houses. The company's superintendent is Austin Shannon. This place was one of the points that suffered greatly during boundary troubles between Virginia and Pennsylvania, which retarded the progress of the early settlements in this region. SMITHTON is a flourishing village laid out by J. H. Smith sq., proprietor of the large paper-mill locacted here. It is beautifully situated on the Youghiogheny River and Pittsburgh Division of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Smithton Lodge, No. 978, I. O. O. F., was instituted April 20, 1881. Its first officers were : P. G., William McLain ; N. G., C. H. Weimer ; V. G., J. B. Campbell ; Sec., Henry Milliron ; Treas., William Hitterbran ; Con., L. H. Young ; War., John Hexinbaugh ; R. S. to N. G., Cyrus Hepler ; L. S. to N. G., Thomas Casey ; O. G., H. J. Nicolay ; I. G., D. O. Smith ; R. S. to V. G., J. S. Rhoads ; L. S. to V. G., Dr. H. Nicolay ; R. S. S., L. Corbet ; L. S. S., J. T. King. Its charter members numbered twenty-five. BELL'S MILLS. These mills, saw and grist, were erected on Big Sewickley Creek, at Sewickley Presbyterian Church, in 1848, by Walter and William Bell. Walter and William Bell were born near Carlisle, in the Cumberland Valley, and removed with their parents, to Derry township in Westmoreland, when Walter was in his third year of age. They were the sons of William Bell, who married Rosanna Bell. The latter was twice married, and both times to William Bells, and she and her two husbands were of no kin. Walter Bell married Polly, daughter of Andrew Finley, Esq., and his brother William married her sister Nancy. Walter Bell came to South Huntingdon township in 1810, in which year he and his brother William, both carpenters, built the house now owned and occupied by Daniel Williams. Their grandfather Bell came from North Ireland about .1740, and settled in the SOUTH HUNTINGDON TOWNSHIP - 651 Cumberland Valley, and married a daughter of John Jack. OTHER VILLAGES. Mendon is a thriving village in the central part of the township, and south of it is the pleasant hamlet of Centreville. Lying on the Youghiogheny River, and on the Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad, is Jacobs Creek Station and post-office. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. THE SMITH  FAMILY. Joseph Smith came from Berks County about 1800. He had a mill on Youghiogheny River, and another on Mineral Run, which were early and very extensive mills. He lived on a tract of land on which now stands the growing village of Smithton, which took its name in honor of him, the pioneer settler, who owned its original site. His three children were Henry, living at Falls City ; Polly, who died in 1875; and Samuel, born in Smithton in 1801, and who died there in 1874. The latter had six children, four of whom live at Smithton, one near Madison, and one is Mrs. Paul Hough, of Redstone, in Fayette County. THE HOUGH FAMILY. Joseph Hough at a very early period settled on Jacobs Creek, where he located a large tract of land. He erected a mill, which supplied the wants of the settlers for miles around. He died in 1847. He had eleven children, of whom seven are living,—Paul, in gedstone, Fayette, Co., three in Westmoreland, one in Iowa, one in Indiana, and one in Missouri. Joseph Hough, Jr., resides on the old homestead. THE LEIGHTTY FAMILY. John Leightty came from Eastern Pennsylvania at tots close of the last century and settled in Hempfield township, where he married a Miss Walker. Their children were as follows : 1. Jacob. 2. John, living in Indiana. 3. Sarah, married John Armbust. 4. Mary, married Jonathan Shook, and lives in Unity township. Of the above, Jacob married Salome Leader, daughter of Michael Leader, who resided on an adjoining farm. Their children were: 1. Eli C. Leightty (only child), born Feb. 11, 1822. He was raised on a farm until his eighteenth year, when he went to learn the carpenter's trade. In 1839 he located in West Newton, then a town of not over three hundred population. In 1844 he embarked in the grocery and drug business, in which he has continued to the present time. He was elected on the Democratic ticket to the Legislature in 1878, and served two years. He was there a member of three committees, viz.: Coal and Iron, Vice and Immorality, and Constitutional Reform. He was married Sept. 6, 1846, to Hannah E., daughter of Jacob Markle, by whom were borne the following children : 1. Normand M. 2. John M. 3. Adeline. 4. Emma L., married to H. A. Douglass. Mr. Leightty is a leading member and official of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and most prominently identified with the Masonic and I. O. O. F. orders. He is the oldest merchant in the town in continuous trade, having been in business here thirty-eight years. THE DICK FAMILY. Rev. Mungo Dick, of the Associate Reformed Church, came from Dundee, Scotland, about 1800, and settled on Sewickley Creek. He was for many years stationed pastor at Brush Creek, Mount Pleasant, and Sewickley Churches. About 1829 he quit preaching at Mount Pleasant, in 1832 he retired from Bethel (Brush Creek), and in 1836 from Sewickley. In 1815 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Jeremiah Murry, of this county. He was born in 1772, and died in 1840. His wife died in 1876. Their children were : 1. Matilda, died young. 2. Rev. Jeremiah, an eminent Associate Reformed clergyman of Oregon. 3. Mungo, a farmer living on the old homestead. 4. Rev. John N., the pastor of the old Brush Creek Church (now Bethel). 5. Mary Ann, married to Rev. James Greer and deceased. 6. Elizabeth, unmarried. 7. James A., banker in West Newton, born in 1824, and married to Mary A., daughter of James Watt, of Latrobe. 8. David M., removed to Iowa and Missouri, in which latter State he died. Rev. Mungo Dick, the emigrant and ancestor of the family of this county, was a man of a strong will and great intellectual powers, and for over a third of a century expounded the gospel with great success. He left the impress of his strong mind on three flourishing congregations over which he zealously ministered with ability and piety. THE HOUGH FAMILY. Paul Hough was born in 1809 in Fayette County, and was married in 1832 to Miss Martha Cook. He carried on extensive flour-mills in Fayette City from 1832 to 1845, when he sold his mills and came to Westmoreland County, purchasing the farm now owned by Gen. C. P. Markle, and known as the " Dairy Farm." In 1874 he sold this valuable real estate and came to West Newton. His sons-in-law are ex-Sheriff John Guffey and G. R, Kemp, of Oil City. 652 - HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. He had two sons who died before his death, one of whom was a Union soldier in the late war. He died in 1879, leaving a wife and seven children, of whom ens, E. C. Hough, Esq., is the genial and able editor, ,publisher, and proprietor of the West Newton Press, one of the best local journals in the State. THE HECHT FAMILY John Hecht, Sr., was born in Würtemberg, Germany, in 1800, where, Jan. 12, 1826, he was married to Louisa C. Eisele, who was born in 1802. In 1832, with his wife, a son, and daughter, he came to America, and settled in West Newton. In September, 1854, he removed to Clarence, Cedar Co., Iowa, where he died May 11, 1880. THE CUMMINS FAMILY. John A. Cummins was born in Derry township, May 9, 1796. He came to West Newton in 1856, and died in 1879. For nearly a quarter of a century he was largely identified with its growth and progress. PETER GREEN. J. H. Sutherland was a very wealthy planter, who resided in St. Mary's County, Md. He owned eleven slaves, of whom one was Peter Green. When the emancipation proclamation of President Lincoln went forth these slaves were liberated and scattered in various directions. The subject of this sketch went South, and was finally captured with a number of others by an Indiana regiment. He went with the regiment and cooked for the colonel, and at the close of the war he drifted around the country, and at last turned up at West. Newton. Here he found employment at the paper-mill of C. P. Markle & Sons. Col. Sutherland returned to his old home in Maryland, where he died in 1881, and left the bulk of his fortune to his former slaves. Peter Green had no difficulty in making himself known as one of the heirs to the estate, as he had on his person several scars and marks by which his aged mother easily recognized him. The amount of Peter's share of the estate was large, and puts him for the rest of his days in easy circumstances, to enjoy a peace and quiet heretofore unknown to him in his checkered career. COL. ISRAEL PAINTER. Col. Israel Painter was born in Hempfield township, Weetmoreland County, Pa., Nov. 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, Pa. Here four sons and two daughters were born, viz. : Jacob, Michael, John, and Tobias, a daughter married to George Myers, and one married to Christopher Harrold. Jacob Painter and his wife died and were buried in Berks County. Jacob Painter, their eldest son, married a daughter of ____ Rapiere, who lived in Indiana County, and settled on a farm in Hempfield township, situated on the Big Sewickley Creek, eight miles south of Greensburg, which became known for many years as the " Judge Painter place," and now owned by David Fox. By his first wife he had seven children, viz. : Betsey, Rebecca, Catharine, Tobias, George, Elias, and ____. His first wife died, and was buried at Harrold's Church. For his second wife he married Catharine, daughter of Christopher and Elizabeth (Mueller) Lobingier. By her he had ten children, viz. : Polly, John, Jacob, Christopher, George, Joseph, Benjamin, Susan, Israel, and Sophia. Jacob Painter always lived on the 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, was the Whig candidate for Congress against William Findley, and came within seventeen votes of being elected, and held the position of associate judge at the time of his death. He , was a man of commanding presence, being about six feet in height, heavy set, and weighing about two hundred and twenty pounds. In personal appearance his son, Col. 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 Betsey was wife of Gen. Joseph Markle, and mother of Gen. C. P. Markle, of " Millgrove." Christopher Lobingier, grand father of Catharine Lobingier, the second wife of Judge Jacob Painter, came from Mecklenburg, Germany, and settled in Dauphin County. He was married before leaving Germany. Little is known of him except that he was a farmer, and both he and his wife died, and are buried in Dauphin County. They had one son, Christopher, who married (1766) Elizabeth Mueller, by whom he had eight children, viz. : John, Christopher, Catharine, Barbara, Mary, Elizabeth, Susan, and George. His wife died at Stoystown, Somerset Co., Sept. 15, 1815, aged seventy-one years. He settled 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 Meeting-house near Pleasant Unity. His eldest son, John Lobingier, was a prominent man of his times, was associate judge, member of the Legislature, and justice of the peace. He was twice married, and left a large family. He became totally blind before his death. He died at the advanced age of eighty-two years. Israel Painter lived at home SOUTH HUNTINGDON TOWNSHIP - 653 until he was seventeen years of age. He then taught the district school two terms, was employed as clerk at Mount Pleasant in his brother Christopher's store one year. He then attended several terms at Jefferson College, Cannonsburg. In 1830, in company with a Mr. Newmeyer, he purchased his brother's store in Mount Pleasant and carried it on one year. He next built the " Mastodon" Salt-Works, and subsequently became interested in the " Fountain" and " Mammoth," 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 Monongalia County, W. Va., 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 the States of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia, and during the last 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, making 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 purchase and sale of over one hundred farms in Westmoreland County alone, while he also operated largely in lands in Fayette, Indiana, and other Western Pennsylvania counties. At the time of his death he was the owner of thirty-two farms. He operated largely in oil and oil lands ; was president of the " Ozark Petroleum Company" from its organization to its dissolution. He purchased the farms of John Rynd, John Brown, and — Lake, situated in Venango County, and good producing oil territory, and held them at the time of his death. In 1853 he built the " Weaver" Grist-Mill at Painter's Station, at a cost of $25,000, capacity of one hundred and fifty barrels per day, the largest flouring-mill in its day in Western Pennsylvania. He was the owner of the Union Mills at Uniontown, with Henry P. Kifer of the steam grist-mill at Manor, and with Governor Geary of the " Latrobe Mills" at Latrobe. From 1865 to the time of his death Col. Painter gave much attention to coal and coal lands. He was the first to introduce into the Eastern market Western Pennsylvania coal as a gas-coal, Eastern manufacturers of gas using up to that time an imported coal for that purpose. In company with John George, Jr., Col. Lewis McFarland, and others, he purchased large - 42 - tracts of coal lands on the line of the Pennsylvania Railroad in North Huntingdon township, selling the coal to the Penn Gas-Coal Company and Westmoreland Coal Company. In company with Gen. Herman Haught, John Derbyshire, H. N. Burroughs, S. B. and C. P. Markle, he bought and sold many hundred acres of coal lands in Sewickley township. In 1873 he built seventy-four coking ovens in Bullskin township, Fayette County, and carried them on till 1879. He owned one hundred and seventy acres of coking coal lands near Mount Pleasant at the time of his death. He was interested in contracts for the construction of sections of the Pennsylvania Railroad, of the Northwest Pennsylvania Railroad, also of the Pittsburgh and Erie and Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroads. He was a stockholder in the Mount Pleasant and Robbstown pike, also in the Youghiogheny Naviga-tion Company. He was prime mover in the building of the Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad, also the Mount Pleasant and Broad Ford Railroad, and a director in both, as also in the Pittsburgh 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 commissioner from 1849 to 1852; was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention at Charleston, S. C., identifying himself with the Douglas wing of the party. He was at one time a candidate of his party for nomination to Congress, but was defeated in the convention by Hon. H. D. Foster. Iris death was the result of an accident. By a fall a glass bottle was crushed in his hand, by which the latter was so badly cut and lacerated he survived the effect of it only ten days. He died on the 4th day of July, 1880. It has fallen to few men " to fill a larger space" in their locality than did Col. Israel Painter. His energy and will seemed inexhaustible. He was constantly on the alert. With him to think was to act. Difficulties and obstacles which would have overwhelmed and swamped most men only inspired in him renewed exertions. All his enterprises were conducted on a large scale. To figure in a small way with him was an impossibility. In his disposition he was whole-souled and genial, consequently few men commanded a wider or warmer circle of friends. GEN. JOSEPH MARKLE. Gen. Joseph Markle was born in the township of South Huntingdon, Westmoreland County, Pa., Feb. 15, 1777. The family are of German descent. His grandfather, John Chrisman Merklin (written in this country Markle), was born at Alsace, on the Rhine, 654 - HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. about the year 1678. Some time after the Edict of Nantes, in 1685, he fled from Germany, passing down the Rhine into Holland, and settled in Amsterdam. Here he married Jemima Weurtz, or Weurtzen, a sister of the admiral of that name. In 703 he emigrated to the United States, and settled at a place called "Salem Springs," in Berks County, Pa., Here he purchased fifteen hundred acres of land. He was by trade a coach-maker, and established on his purchase a wagon-maker's shop, blacksmith-shop, and grist-mill. He had nine children, of whom Gaspard Markle, the father of Gen. Markle, was the youngest. He (Gaspard) was born in Berks County in 732. He married Elizabeth Grim, and in 1770 removed to Westmoreland County. Not long after his removal to the West his wife died, and in 776 he returned to Berks and married Mary Roadarmel. Gen. Markle was the eldest child by this marriage. Gaspard Markle died in September, 1819, aged nearly eighty-eight years. For several years after the settlement of the family in Westmoreland the neighboring settlements on the Allegheny and Kiskiminetas were harassed by the Indians, and the residence of Gaspard Markle was the post of refuge to which the settlers fled for succor and safety. Gen. Markle's elder brothers were active participants in repelling the attacks of the savages, and distinguished themselves by their courage, intrepidity, and power of enduring fatigue and exposure. Several of the general's near relations were engaged in both the war of the Revolution and that of 1812. George Markle, a cousin; was in the battle of Brandywine. Jacob Markle, a brother of George, was in the naval service under Commodore Barney, and was on board the " Hyder Ally" at the capture of the " General Monk." Barnet Markle, a cousin of both Jacob and Gen. Markle, was also on board the "Ryder Ally" on the same occasion, and was wounded in the engagement. Joseph Roadarmel, the uncle after whom he was named, was in the battle of Long Island in August, 776, was wounded, captured, taken on board a prison-ship lying in the harbor of New York, where he died of the wounds received in the battle. There were four of Gen. Markle's family connection in the troop which he commanded in the war of 1812. One of the first of Gaspard Markle's enterprises after his settlement in Westmoreland County was the erection, in 772, of a grist-mill on Sewickley Creek, which traversed his ancient homestead. Here was made some of the first flour manufactured west of the Alleghenies. It was transported in .flat-boats by Jacob Yoder, a citizen of Reading, in Berks County, to the New Orleans market. This feat of the enterprising Yoder was repeated five different times subsequently by Gen. Markle. The services of his elder brothers being required on the farm, at the early age of thirteen, and for several years thereafter, the duty of transporting from the Eastern cities the supply of salt necessary for the family devolved on Joseph. This was accomplished by pack-horses, and being through an almost unbroken forest, with taverns or habitations of any kind being " few and far between," the dangers and hardships attending one of these journeys can hardly be conceived by people of the present day. His first trip to New Orleans was made in 1799, followed by others in 1800, 1801, 1803, and 1809. From the first trip he returned by what is called the wilderness route by way of Natchez, Nashville, Lexington, Chillicothe, etc. From the vicinity of Natchez to Nashville the route was by the Indian trail through the Chickasaw nation of Indians, a distance of about six hundred and fifty miles. In all this distance there were no houses or white inhabitants, and the traveler was compelled to camp out overnight. The thrilling incidents attending such a journey, its narrow escapes from the fording of rivers and attacks of savages, would fill a volume in their description. From the trip of 1800 Gen. Markle returned by sea, having entered as a common sailor on board the ship " Mars," Capt. George, owned by Tench Cox, of Philadelphia. She carried seventeen guns, with  and was bound from New Orleans to Philadelphia, where she arrived after a passage of thirty-two or three days. From his other trips he also returned by sea, but always as a passenger, his ambition as a sailor being satisfied by the first experiment. Previous to his first voyage his father had retired from active business, and devoted the whole management of the estate upon him. He farmed largely. In 1806 he erected another large grist-mill, and in 1811 he formed a partnership with Simon Drum, of Greensburg, and during that year erected a large paper-mill, the third establishment of the kind erected west of the Alleghenies. Mr. Drum residing at a distance from the paper-mill, its entire superintendence was added to his other duties. He was in the midst of these various employments when the war of 1812 broke out. In May of that year, in prospect of the war, he had raised from among his neighbors a troop of cavalry, of which he was elected captain. Their services were immediately tendered to the President. The acceptance was a long while delayed, but upon the surrender of Hull at Detroit they received orders to join the Northwestern army. Upon arriving with the troop at Pittsburgh, provisions which had been promised were not forthcoming. In this exigency Gen. Markle raised the necessary funds by giving his own note, indorsed by his friends, William Fullerton, Major Joshua Budd, and John Daily, payable at six months, of $1250, which was discounted at the old bank at Pittsburgh. This amount, together with $800 raised by Quartermaster Capt. Wheaton, enabled him to go forward with the troop. On their arrival at headquarters the commander-in-chief assigned them the first rank in the volunteer cavalry. Of the distinguished part which Gen. Markle and his companions in arms bore in the service which fol- SOUTH HUNTINGDON TOWNSHIP - 655 lowed the following general orders issued by Gen. Harrison at the termination of their term of service sufficiently attests: " After (General) Orders. ''HEADQUARTERS, SENECA TOWN, " 16th August, 1813. " The period for which the troop of Light Dragoons commanded by Capt. Markle was engaged being about to expire, the commanding general directs that they proceed to Franklinton for their baggage, and that they be there discharged, or proceed embodied to Pittsburgh before they are discharged, as Capt. Markle may think proper. The General (Harrison) returns Capt. Markle, his subalterns, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers, his thanks for their good conduct whilst under his command. In the course of eleven months' service, in which they have performed as much severe duty as any troops ever did, the General has found as much reason to applaud their steady and subordinate deportment in camp as their coolness and valor when opposed to the enemy, both of which were eminently displayed at the battle of Mississinewa and at the siege of Fort Meigs. " A. H. HOLMES, Adjt. General. " A true extract." A short time after his return from the army he was elected major-general of Pennsylvania militia for the division composed of the counties of Fayette and Westmoreland. Upon his return home he entered upon the duty of retrieving his private affairs, which had greatly suffered during his absence. The dam of his paper-mill had been swept away by an extraordinary flood in the Sewickley. It was repaired, and the manufacture of paper extensively carried on. He supplied a great portion of Western Pennsylvania with paper, and personally distributed large quantities of it through Kentucky and Ohio. His farm, too, in the meanwhile was cultivated with great industry and vigor. His flour-mill was kept constantly employed. He also kept a store, out of which the hands employed by him were partly paid for their services. The profits of the whole were no doubt very great, but the freedom with which he lent his name to his friends ultimately swallowed them up and left him deeply involved. In 1829, in order to relieve himself from the vexation consequent upon his embarrassments, he transferred to two of his sons two tracts of land containing over three ,hundred acres, including the paper-mill, upon the condition of their paying his responsibilities. This condition was faithfully performed by the payment of every dollar for which he was morally or legally bound. He retained the ancient homestead of his father, and thenceforward devoted himself to its cultivation, and from this source, together with the proceeds of his flouring-mill, he supported his family. The political principles of Gen. Markle are sufficiently indicated by his votes cast for President. His first vote was given for Mr. Jefferson. He voted for Mr. Madison in 1808. Being in the army in 1812, lie did not vote. He voted for Mr. Monroe, was in favor of Mr. Adams. In 1828 voted for Gen. Jackson, but became estranged from him and the party in consequence of this course in relation to the tariff from the, and always maintaining strong ground in favor of a protective tariff. lie was -a stanch supporter of his old commander-in-chief Gen. Harrison, and also of Henry Clay, and indeed of every Whig and Republican candidate for the Presidency to the time of h:, death. With one exception (when nominated party as their candidate for Governor, assent to the use of his name was given great reluctance), he never was with his own consent candidate for any civil office, though often urged do so, and a number of times placed upon the ticket against his earnest protest, on one occasion as candidate for the Assembly, and on another occasion in 1838 as a candidate for Congress, on both of which occasions he electioneered against himself. He lacked only about 4000 votes of an election at the time lie ran for Governor in 1844, when Mr. Clay lost the State by over 8000 votes. The general was a great reader, and his memory, especially of facts, dates, and numbers, was remarkable. His hearty good humor, his great fund of information, united with .a vivacity of manner, made him excel in the social circle. Perhaps the most prominent traits of his character were his courage, honesty, hospitality, and benevolence. A physician who practiced several years in his neighborhood says he scarcely ever visited a poor family in sickness where he did not find that Gen. Markle had been in advance of him with a supply of whatever was necessary to their comfort. Traveling ministers of the gospel always found a welcome at his board and fireside, and the poor were never turned away without experiencing his kindness and liberality. During the war of the Rebellion, when Pennsylvania was threatened with an invasion, the general, though eighty-four years of age, promptly responded to the call, and was elected captain of a company formed in the neighborhood for home protection. He was for many years a member of the old Sewickley Presbyterian Church. The general was twice married. His first wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Judge Jacob Painter, whom he married Jan. 18, 1805, and by her he had four children, viz. : Shepard B., a resident of Rostraver township Mary E., widow of John Boyd, living in West Newton ; Elias R., died at the age of fourteen, in 1818 ; and Gen. Cyrus P. (a sketch of whom will be found in this volume). His second wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Col. Joseph Lloyd, of Westmoreland County, whom he married Sept. 27, 1825. By this union there were twelve children, seven of whom are living, viz.: Lafayette, editor of the Nyack Chronicle, 656 - HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. Rockland County, N. Y. ; Joseph and George W., owners and occupants of the old homestead farm ; Roxanna, wife of Dr. William L. Miller, of Allegheny City ; Sidnie, wife of Robert Taylor, of West Newton ; Margaret, living with Mrs. Boyd at West Newton; and Hannah, who died at the age of fifteen. GEN. CYRUS P. MARKLE. Gen. Cyrus P. Markle was born in the township of Sewickley, county of Westmoreland, Pa., April 18, 1810, the third in a family of four children of Gen. Joseph and Elizabeth (Painter) Markle. (For genealogy of family see biography in this volume of Gen. Joseph Markle.) His education was limited to an attendance at the common school. One of the most pleasing incidents of his boyhood, and one remembered with no little pride, was his meeting Gen. La Fayette at Uniontown, Pa., and acting as one of his escort on horseback from that place to the city of Pittsburgh. This occurred when he was fourteen years old. Very early in life he became actively employed in the business enterprises carried on by his father, and foreshadowed in the boy a capacity in the management of affairs which has been a marked characteristic of the man. In 1829, at the age of nineteen, a partnership was formed with an elder brother, Shepard B. Markle, under the firm-name of S. B. and C. P. Markle, which partnership continued for more than half a century. The manufacture of paper was the business in which the firm was chiefly employed, though farming was also quite extensively carried on. Two tracts of land containing over three hundred acres and the paper-mill at Millgrove were deeded them by their father on condition of their meeting certain pecuniary obligations for which he had become liable by undersigning. These obligations were eventually fully met by the firm. For thirty years the firm continued in the manufacture of paper at the " Millgrove" mill. In 1859, in order to meet the increasing demand for their products, and at the same time to avail themselves of better facilities for transportation, they built a large paper-mill (brick) at West Newton. At this mill paper from rags was manufactured until 1865, when they erected a straw pulp-mill (wood), and subsequently the production of wood pulp was introduced. In 1870, Mr. S. B. Markle retired from the firm, since which time the business has been carried on, largely extended, under the firm name of " C. P. Markle & Sons," the firm consisting of Gen. C. P. Markle and his sons, Capt. C. C. Markle and Shepard B. Markle, Jr. In 1881 this firm built at West Newton another mill (brick), designated " Mill B," fifty-three by three hundred and twenty-nine feet, the largest and one of the most complete in the State, and one into which they have introduced all of the latest and most improved machinery. These mills are situated on the bank of the Youghiogheny River, between it and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. (A representation of .them appears on another page of this volume.) In 1880 the firm purchased five thousand acres of coal and timber land in .Milford township, Somerset County, Pa., and in 1881 built thereon extensive wood-pulp works. The pulp-mill is two hundred and fifty by eighty-three feet, the evaporator one hundred and fifty by fifty feet. In addition to the works, a station house, store, and twenty-four dwelling-houses were built by them. The place, named after the general, is named Markleton. It is situated on the Castleman River, on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. A better conception of the magnitude of these works can be formed by a visit to them. Something of an idea may be formed from the representation of them on another page of this volume. About twenty tons of paper are manufactured from the pulp produced at their Markleton and West Newton mills. "While their mills at West Newton are devoted exclusively to the manufacture of printing paper, a very superior quality of hardware paper is produced at the "Millgrove Mill." The firm have their warehouse at 126 Second Avenue, Pittsburgh. 1 While the manufacture of paper has been the leading business of the general, he has also been largely interested in the product of coke. In 1871, in company with John Sherrick, of Mount Pleasant, uncle!' the firm of "Sherrick & Markle," he built on the Mount Pleasant Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad the " Eagle Coke-Works," one hundred ovens. Sold his interest in these works in 1879 to H. Clay Frick. In 1873. he purchased of Peter Sher-rick and William McMasters their farms, two hundred and sixty acres, in East Huntingdon township, near Mount Pleasant, and in company with the former firm, Markle & Sherrick, erected on the Sherrick farm the " Rising Sun" Coke-Works, one hundred ovens. On the McMasters farm C. P. Markle & Sons built the " Bessemer Coke-Works," one hundred and fifty ovens. In connection with these works about fifty tenant-houses were built, also about a mile and a quarter of railroad, which is known in that section as the "June Bug" Branch of the Baltimore and Mount Pleasant Railroad. In company with Col. Israel Painter, Gen. Latimer, Horatio Burrows, and Gen. Haupt, Gen. Markle has operated extensively in coal lands in the township of Sewickley. To the original homestead tract of three hundred acres he has added nine hundred acres adjoining in the townships of Sewickley and South Huntingdon. For a number of years the general and his sons 1 While the firm have been more than ordinarily successful in their business as paper manufacturers, they have met their full proportion of losses by fire. The old frame mill on Sewickley Creek was burned in 1862. In 1876 the brick mill, in 1877 tile frame, and again in 1878 the brick mill at West Newton were burned, but were all rebuilt the same year they were burned. SOUTH HUNTINGDON TOWNSHIP - 657 have taken interest in blooded stock. Four of the finest "Jerseys" in the country may be seen at their stock-farm. Their yearly sales of stock run into the thousands. In all the operations of C. P. Markle & Co. about six hundred men are employed. Owing to a partial stroke of paralysis, from which he has never fully recovered, Gen. Markle has for a number of years left the active conduct of the business to his sons, by whom he is kept thoroughly posted in regard to all operations, and who fully appreciate the value of his advice and mature judgment in all business matters. The general became very early in life interested in the military, a taste undoubtedly inherited from his father. At the age of fourteen he became a member of the Sewickley Artillery Company, afterwards its adjutant, and then captain. Still later he was elected major and finally general of the Thirteenth Legion Pennsylvania Militia, composed of the counties of Washington, Fayette, and Westmoreland. In politics he has been a firm supporter of the principles of the Whig and Republican parties, but, like his father before him, has always been more ready to help a friend to office than to accept official position himself. Indeed, the successful conduct of his extensive business interests, which have made him one of the busiest men of his times, would have precluded his entrance upon public life, even if he had entertained any aspirations in that 'direction. He was interested in the construction of the Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad, and served as one of its directors. He was for many years a member of the Sewickley Presbyterian Church, but at the present time is a member of the church of the same denomination at West Newton. He married, May 5, 1835, Sarah Ann, daughter of James and Margaret Lippincott. Mrs. Markle was born June 12, 1814, at Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland Co., Pa. Their children are as follows : Margaret Ann and Mary Elizabeth, twins, born Jan. 28, 1836. The former, widow of Thomas McMasters, residing at Turtle Creek. She has one child, Rachel, wife of M. C. Miller, Esq. Mary Elizabeth, died June 14, 1843; Joseph L., born Nov. 7, 1837, died July 4,1843 ; Jesse Henry, born Jan. 8, 1839, died June 10, 1843; Cassius C. Markle, born Oct. 31, 1840 ;1 Shepard B. Markle, Jr., and Cyrus P., twins, born May 15, 1844 2 (Cyrus P. died Jan. 8, 1845) ; Mary Emily, born Sept. 7, 1846, wife of John M. Larimer, a merchant at Turtle Creek. Two children living, viz., Cyrus P. Markle and Thomas McMasters Markle. Harriet Cornelia, born Sept. 28, 1847, wife of A. O. Tintsman, living at Turtle Creek. One son, Cyrus Painter Markle. Amanda, born July 26, 1850, died Nov. 18, 1850 ; Winfield Scott, born Feb. 14, 1852, died November, 1853. 1 See biography on another page of this volume. 2 For biography of former see following sketch. Mrs. Markle died Nov. 26, 1869. In the death of this most estimable woman the family, her church, and indeed the entire community in which she lived met with an irreparable loss. She possessed in large measure all the rare qualities which characterize the devoted wife and mother and the truly Christian woman. In the home and social circle she was easily a leader, and she was a helpmeet indeed in the dispensation of a hospitality for which the Markle home has always been distinguished,—a hospitality without stint, extended to the stranger equally with relatives and friends. Honorableness and fair dealing have been the marked characteristics of Gen. Markle in the conduct of his business affairs. A contract once made has always been to him a sacred matter, something to be fulfilled and not shirked, though its fulfillment, as sometimes has happened to him, might entail large loss; but in the long run his successes have abundantly proven the truth of the old adage, " Honesty is the best policy." Though he has uniformly declined official position, few men have exerted a wider personal influence in local and State politics. Men whose candidacy he approved and measures which he favored have always found in him a powerful ally. The Union cause in the late war had no more ardent supporter. Relying upon his discretion and good judgment in all business affairs, his counsel and advice have been frequently sought after by his neighbors and friends. In the development of the material resources of his -locality and the advancement of all interests which look to the betterment of society it would be difficult to find one who has exerted a more commanding influence. SHEPARD B. MARKLE, JR., youngest son living of Gen. C. P. and Sarah. (Lippincott) Markle, was born at Millgrove, Sewickley township, Westmoreland County, Pa., May 15, 1844. He was twin-brother to Cyrus P., who died Jan. 8, 1845. From a fall, which happened when about eighteen months old, and which affected the left limb, he was rendered a cripple for life. Many of the most eminent physicians of the country were consulted without favorable results. Finally horseback riding and "plenty of it" was advised by Dr. Pancoast, of Philadelphia, as the means most likely to bring relief. The sequel proved the wisdom of the doctor's advice, for, though no permanent cure was possible in the -case, he continued to gain daily in strength, and his ability to discharge these many years the varied duties devolving upon an exceedingly busy man is attributed almost solely by Mr. Markle to the benefit he derived from horseback riding. "Sheppy" Markle and his horse became, if not one, at least almost inseparable. The varied business interests of his father, in which he began early in life to participate, gave him ample scope for his favorite exercise. An average of from 658 - HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. twenty-five to thirty miles per day for many years is no exaggeration of the extent of his riding. The necessity for this exercise, together with the important part he was thus enabled early to take in his father's business matters, quite precluded the idea of his entering upon any extended course of study, and in consequence his education was limited to an attendance at the neighborhood district school and a select school at West Newton. In 1870 he became associated with his father and brother, Capt. C. C. Markle, under the firm " C. P. Markle & Sons," in the manufacture of paper, the production of coke, raising of stock, and farming generally. He has given special attention to the stock department. In 1876 he purchased twelve head of registered Jerseys at Philadelphia, the first introduced into Westmoreland County, since which time the operations of the firm in that line, managed principally by Shepard B., have been very extensive, involving many thousands of dollars yearly. For the last five or six years he has been obliged to discontinue his horseback riding, having become too stout to use his favorite mode of conveyance with any comfort to himself or horse. Few men of soundest body, however, ride more miles in the day, or accomplish more in the execution of business. Rain or shine, cold or hot, a man may " set his watch" by the promptness and regularity with which he may be statedly seen with his carriage at his usual places of business. In politics he is a Republican, and though he has neither sought nor desired office, no man in the locality is more liberal of his time and money in forwarding the interests of' the party. He married, June 11, 1874, Isabella, daughter of James P. and Jane K. (Moore) Carothers. Mrs. Markle was born in South Huntingdon township, Westmoreland County, Pa., Oct. 18, 1852. She is the great-granddaughter of the Rev. James Power, one of the pioneer ministers of the Presbyterian Church in Western Pennsylvania. It is not too much to say that the Markle home at " Millgrove," always proverbial for its unstinted hospitality, has lost nothing of its prestige in this respect since Mrs. Markle became its presiding genius. Mr. and Mrs. Markle have children, as follows : Sarah Ann, born June 5, 1875 ; Jane C., born Jan. 29, 1877 ; Maggie McMasters, born Dec. 30, 1878; Mary Emily, born Feb. 23, 1880; and Cyrus Painter, born April 7, 1882. CAPT. C. C. MARKLE. Capt. C. C. Markle was born at Millgrove, Sewickley township, Westmoreland County, Pa., Oct. 31, 1840, the fifth child of Gen. C. P. and Sarah A. (Lippincott) Markle. He received his primary and academic education in the district school of his native place, at Turtle Creek and Mount Pleasant Academy. He took a business course of study at the Iron City College, Pittsburgh. He entered the army Aug. 25, 1861, as second lieutenant Co. E, 105th Regt: P. V. I., Col. McKingly, of Brookeville, commanding ; was promoted to first lieutenant, and afterwards to the captaincy of the company. He was appointed and served as provost-marshal under Gen. Birney, and subsequently was appointed inspector general of forts north of the Potomac, first under Gen. Hoskin, and afterwards under Gen. Hardin, and occupied that position at the time of the expiration of his three years' term of enlistment. He was honorably discharged Sept. 3, 1864. Upon his return from the army he became actively employed in the business enterprises of C. P. Markle & Co., and upon the dissolution of that. firm became a partner in the firm of C. P. Markle & Sons, and since the retirement from that position Of his father, Gen. C. P. Markle, the management of their extensive paper- and coke-works has devolved chiefly upon him. He married Feb. 21, 1865, Mary A., daughter of Jacob S. and Mary (Fox) Overholt. Mrs. Markle was born in Mount Pleasant township, Westmoreland County, July 1, 1846. Their children are Cyrus P., born Feb. 12, 1866 ; Thomas McMasters, born Feb. 25, 1868 ; Mary O., born Sept. 13, 1870 ; Sarah Bessie, born Feb. 2, 1873, died Nov. 27, 1874 ; Jessie Ben-ton, born May 25, 1875 ; and Margaret Z., born March 8, 1878. HON. GEORGE PLUMER. George Plumer was of English descent. His great-great-great-grandparents, Francis and Ruth Plumer, with their children, Samuel, Joseph, Hannah, and Mary, emigrated in 1633 from Newbury, in Berkshire, England, to New England, and in May, 1634, Francis Plumer took the freeman's oath in Boston. Francis Plumer was descended from an ancient and honorable family, which from the time of the barons' wars has always maintained a respectable standing in the midland counties of England. In 1635, Francis Plumer, in company with some of the inhabitants of Ipswich, under the pastoral care of the learned Dr. Parker, obtained leave of the General Court to remove to Quascacunquen, and began a town at that place which they called Newbury, Francis Plumer being one of the original grantees ; and it may be here mentioned that it is stated in a recent history of Essex County that " the meeting-house, which was likewise the school and the town-house, was on land owned by one of the descendants of Francis Plumer, who have held the paternal acres through all the years to this date" (1878). Joseph, the second son of Francis, was born in 1630, married Sarah Cheney, Dec. 23, 1652 ; Jonathan, the youngest son of this couple, was born May 13, 1668, and on the 10th of June, 1696, he married Sarah Pearsall ; John, the eldest child of the last-named pair, was born March 25, 1697, and Jan. 30, 1722, he married Rebecca Wheeler ; and their second son, Jona- SOUTH HUNTINGDON TOWNSHIP - 659 than, was born April 13, 1724, and June 6, 1744, he married Mehitable Herriman. Jonathan Plumer resided in Newbury, the place of his nativity, until the death of his wife, which occurred about the year 1749 or 1750. Her loss was so great an affliction that he decided to seek relief in change of scene. Accordingly he arranged to leave their three sons, who were entitled to a good estate from their mother, with her relatives in Rowley, and traveled southward. In his youth Jonathan Plumer had been converted under the preaching of Dr. George Whitefield, and always took a deep interest in the religious movements of his day. Whitefield in his travels through the colonies had made long visits in the congregations in Southern Pennsylvania and neighboring Maryland, under the charge of the Finleys and Blairs and Smiths, then the great lights of the Presbyterian Church in those regions, and it doubtless was from his'report of them, and of the fertility of the soil, etc., that young Plumer was led to seek his fortune among them. A record prepared in Newburyport many years ago says of him : "Jonathan Plumer (5th) emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1750 ; was commissary to Gen. Braddock in 1755." One of the foremost and most remarkable men of that day in Maryland was Col. Thomas Cresap, who had fixed his residence in what was then called " Old Town," near Fort Cumberland. After the disastrous failure of Braddock, Jonathan Plumer seems to have settled in Old Town, for it is shown in a published correspondence between Governor Dinwiddie to Col. Adam Stephen, at Fort Cumberland, and from the latter to Capt. Dagworthy, at Fort Frederick, that Cresap and Plumer were at the date,—March, 1757, collecting commissary supplies in that country. It is traditional in Mr. Plumer's family that he was also in the army of Gen. Forbes the following year, when that " Head of Iron" took possession of the smoking ruins of Fort Du Quesne and named the place Pittsburgh. The main portion of the army made only a short stay, and then returned to the east of the mountains, Mr. Plumer accompanying them. It was in Old Town, or in Fort Frederick, that Jonathan Plumer, on short acquaintance, married Miss Anna Farrell, who proved a loving wife and helpmeet in all their after-life of dangers and trials. Their oldest son, William, was born in or near Fort Cumberland in 1757, and one other son in 1758, named John ; but while it is certain that the father was in Fort Pitt in 1759, there is nothing now to show that he had his family west of the mountains till in 1761. Col. George Croghan having obtained a grant from the Indians of fifteen hundred acres on the Allegheny River, extending from Two-Mile Run up to the Narrows, Jonathan Burner became interested in the grant, and in the summer of 1761, " by permission of Col. Henry Bouquet, built a cabin and made many valuable improvements thereon" (Binney's Reports, vol. ii., page 95, et seq.), and it was in that cabin, on Dec. 5; 1762, that George Plumer, the subject of this sketch, was born. When Jonathan Plumer built his cabin all that region was in a state of transition. The claim of the British had not been acknowledged by France, and the territory to the westward was held by force of arms. Quebec had fallen the previous year, and the approaching end of French domination seemed certain, but the hopes and fears of the settlers kept them in continued anxiety and alarm. Houses were going up around the fort, but until news of certain peace none could tell in whose territory they would stand. At the last, on the 21st of January, 1763, intelligence was received in Philadelphia that on the 3d of the previous November preliminary articles of peace between France and England had been signed, and as speedily as the army express of those days could reach Fort Pitt, the announcement there was greeted with great joy and thanksgiving. "This peace," says a writer in Mr. Craig's "Olden Time," " removed forever from our vicinity all fear of the arts and arms of the French." And in the " History of Old Redstone" Dr. Joseph Smith says, page 52, " After the encroachments of the French and their Indian allies were successfully repelled, and the treaty of peace signed at Fontainebleau, Nov. 3, 1762, secured to the British crown this long-disputed section of the West, emigrants from Eastern Pennsylvania, Virginia, Scotland, and the north of Ireland began to pour in," etc. Other testimony might be quoted to show that the date of " British dominion" was then fixed as of the third of November, 1762. What is here recited is in explanation, in so far as now may be, of what was said by the few settlers and the officers and soldiers then in and around Fort Pitt, that George, the son of Jonathan Plumer, was the first male child born " to the westward" under the " British dominion." The portion of Croghan's grant owned by Jonathan Plumer was held by him till about 1777, when he sold it back to Croghan ; but he, Col. Croghan, was then in financial troubles, and the whole was sold at sheriff's sale in July, 1783, and bought by Samuel Ewalt, whose old home on the land is yet in good condition. The Plumer cabin stood about one hundred yards east of the Ewalt mansion. George remained with his parents, becoming a noted hunter and scout, and occasionally accompanying parties of surveyors. Soon after the close of the Revolutionary war, Miss Margaret Lowrey, the youngest daughter of Col. Alexander Lowrey, of Donegal, Lancaster Co., Pa., 660 - HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. came over the mountains to visit her sisters, Mrs. Daniel Elliott and Mrs. John Hay. Col. Lowrey was a prominent, wealthy, and influential. Indian trader of that day. Miss Lowrey first met with George Plumer in the store of Mr. Elliott, who introduced him quite kindly to her, as he had a friendly regard for the young " Buckskin." They had occasional meetings, and became engaged; but Mrs. Hay, with whom Margaret was staying, opposed the match, but in the following August of 1784 they made a " runaway match" of it and were married. The first home of the newly-married pair was on the right bank of the Pucketos (now called Puckety) Creek, near Fort Crawford, where the husband had taken up three hundred acres of land and built a log cabin and cleared thirty acres. Here they struggled against cares and trials new to the wife, with no hope of the father's forgiveness. He worked hard, clearing and cultivating the land. Deer, bears,, turkeys, and other game were abundant, and afforded them all the fresh meat- which they needed. They were, however, often annoyed by Indians, and compelled to take refuge at night in the adjoining woods, and occasionally in Fort Crawford. Their neighbors were Samuel Skillen, James Gray, Alexander Logan, and Robert Hays, who had married Mr. Plumer's sister Nancy. George Plumer and Robert Hays being called on to perform one month of military service as scouts, an attorney of Pittsburgh took advantage of their absence to send a surveyor to survey their lands, and had patents taken out before they knew anything about it ; by this they lost their all. Up to this time Mr. Plumer had never met his father-in-law ; their meeting was a curious one. Col. Lowrey had a body of land north of Hannastown, about which there was some litigation.. Preparatory to the trial of the case, Col. Lowrey was out with surveyors, when George Plumer, who was hunting in that direction, accidentally met the party. The surveyors, with whom he was well acquainted, after shaking hands, introduced him to his astonished father-in-law ; but the colonel, having been prejudiced against him by John Hay, was cold and distant, but eyed him sharply. Mr. Plumer, however, maintained his serenity, and making gradual approaches to the colonel, finally invited him to go home with him and see his daughter and grandchildren. But the colonel declined, and after shaking hands they separated. But the old trader's heart was touched, and he followed his son-in-law in a day or so, and entering the cabin unannounced, overwhelmed his daughter and her little sons with embraces, and all was well again. After spending some days with them he told Mr. Plumer that there were three fine tracts of land near the mouth of Big Sewickley Creek belonging to Simon Gratz (with whom he was in extensive business rela tions), and for him to go and make a selection, and he would give it to him and his wife. This was speedily done, and in 1791 George Plumer built .a house on the tract, at the mouth of the Sewickley, and moved into it. After the Plumers had been two years on their new place Col. Lowrey made them another visit, and was so much pleased with improvements by Mr. Plumer's energy and industry that he gave him eight hundred pounds to erect mills. The next year the colonel was out again, and found the saw-mill up, running, and masons at work on the foundation for a grist-mill. He was delighted, and gave Mr. Plumer .three hundred pounds, and sent him burr-stones for his mill. The following year Mrs. Plumer and her sister Mary went East to see their father, and just before they started for home he gave each of them five hundred pounds. Soon after his wife's return Mr. Plumer was taken down with fever, from which he recovered slowly. During his protracted illness a sudden freshet swept away his mill-dam, which in his feeble condition greatly discouraged him, and finally, in connection with his physician's warning against continued hard work, induced him to sell his mills, with some adjoining lands, to Maj. Michael and Adam Frichman. In the following year Mr. Plumer built a large square log house on the upper portion of his farm, to which he removed, and in it spent the remaining portion of his days. Early in 1808 he opened a store in connection with his large distillery and farming business. In 1812, Mr. Plainer was elected to the Legislature, and was reelected in 1813, 1814, 1815, and 1817. On the 24th of June, 1818, he lost his wife, the beloved of his youth. In her cultivated and refined society he had in a great measure overcome the disadvantages of imperfect education, and suited himself for the higher duties which, in the latter years of his life, he was called on to perform. In 1820, Mr. Plumer was elected a representative to the Seventeenth Congress of the United States, and was re-elected to the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Congresses. On the 14th of November, 1821, he was married to his second wife, Miss Martha Dean, of Indiana County, Pa., who survived him some years. In 1826 the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church decided to establish a theological seminary west of the mountains, and a board of directors, consisting of twenty-one ministers and nine ruling elders, was elected by ballot to report the following year a suitable location for it lit or near Pittsburgh. Mr. Plumer was one of the nine ruling elders; he, however, did not favor the site finally selected on Hogback Hill, in Allegheny Town, but advocated the purchase of Braddock's Field. In 1832, Mr. Plumer was again urged to permit his name to be used as a candidate for Congress, but he SOUTH HUNTINGDON TOWNSHIP - 661 declined, and spent the remainder of his days in the quietude of private life. Of the children of George and Margaret Plumer, four, namely, Jonathan, Alexander, John C., and Lazarus Lowrey, were born on Puckety, and the remainder of their children, Mary, Nancy, Sarah, William, Elizabeth, and Rebecca, were .born on the place bounded by the Youghiogheny and Sewickley. All bid Jonathan and Rebecca were married and raised families, and all are deceased except William, whose years go with the century, having been born in 1800, an old man indeed, but still erect in form, remarkably active, and with memory quite unimpaired in all matters of the local history of his native county of Westmoreland, an invaluable assistant in his recollection of men and events of a past generation. The following are .a few of the names of the first Sewickley neighbors of George Plumer : Anthony Blackburn and his sons, Joseph, John, Anthony, and William ; James and John Thompson ; Isaac Miller, a soldier of the Revolution ; Isaac Robb, who bought out John Simerall, who established "Simerall's ferry" and laid out " Robbstown," now West Newton ; Col. Davis, a surveyor; Christian Funk, farmer and miller; Gaspard Markle, the father of that noble man, Gen. Joseph Markle ; Patrick Campbell; Alexander and William Simerall; Nathan McGrew ; James Caldwell, whose father was cousin to the father of John Caldwell Calhoun, of South Carolina; Benjamin and Abner Gilbert; James, David, and Isaac Maines ; James and Abraham Davidson; John Milligan, Esq. ; John Jack; John Carnahan ; John Cooper; James Carothers, a soldier of the Revolution, and others, but these will suffice. We close this sketch of one of the representative men of the early day of Western Pennsylvania with the following notice of his decease from the pen of his nephew, the Rev. William S. Plumer, D.D., at that time editor of the newspaper Watchman of Me South, in which it appeared in Richmond, Va., June 22, 1843 : "Died, near West Newton, Pennsylvania, on the 8th inst., Hon. George Plumer, who was a representative in Congress for six years from the Westmoreland district, aged eighty years, six months, and three days; "It has often been said of him that he was the oldest man living born west of the mountains. He outlived all his brothers, of whom he had seven. He was by nature remarkably generous and kind. A more affectionate relative no man had. He has left a large family of children and grandchildren. His last illness continued more than four weeks. A large concourse of sympathizing friends and acquaintances attended his burial from his own residence, where his pastor, Rev. Mr. Gillett, delivered an appropriate and impressive discourse. By a fall in the winter he received considerable personal injury, but recovered so far as in the month of May to ride several miles to Sewickley Church, where he conducted a prayer meeting with much ability and solemnity. That night he was taken with violent pains through his whole frame. From the first of this attack he believed it would be fatal, and set his house in order. " His views of religious truth were clear and solemn and appropriate.. The blessed doctrine of the perfect righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ imputed to believers lay near his heart and WAS all his hope. He recommended the blessed Saviour to all who visited him. He had spiritual conflicts in his last hours, but hope and faith triumphed. "Thus has fallen asleep one of the best of men, who while living was revered by all good men who knew him; one who proved what uprightness and the fear of God can do for those who are called to drink deeply of the cup of human suffering and sorrow. "May his children and relatives (the editor of this paper is his nephew) and their descendants have like precious faith, and obtain like good report.” ALEXANDER PLUMER. Alexander Plumer was the second child of George and Margaret Plumer, born in their first home on Puckety, Dec. 18, 1786. Feb. 15, 1810, he was married to Susan, daughter of Isaac Robinson, of Versailles township, Allegheny County, Pa. By this union there were two children,—Jean, born April 4, 1811, yet surviving, the widow of Jesse Greer. The mother died 8th of August, 1814. Nov. 3, 1815, Mr. Plumer married Elizabeth Moore, by whom he had four children. His second wife died July 16, 1844. Sept. 7, 1846, he married Miss Eleanor Reynolds, who died April 23, 1860. March 13, 1862, he married Miss Livia E. Maclay, who survives him, residing in Peoria, Ill. Alexander Plumer had an aptitude for business and trade which in more propitious times would have brought him distinction and wealth. He was early placed in his father's store on the farm adjoining Robbstown, and when it was transferred to the village was intrusted with its management. When it was closed out, Mr. Plumer formed a partnership with Messrs. Cromwell & Dent, merchants, in Pittsburgh, and conducted for several years a large general trade, including the receipt ofgoods by wagon from the East, and shipment by keel-boats to Pittsburgh to his partners there for the lower country. Robbstown was then one of the points of river navigation for emigrants to the Ohio country, and A. Plumer & Co. furnished boats and supplies to the "movers." But they were involved in the embarrassments of the Pittsburgh house, the members of which. removed to Missouri, where, on a farm on which he afterwards resided, near St. Louis, the daughter of Frederick Dent married Capt. Ulysses S. Grant. When A. Plumer & Co. were sold out by their creditors he was left with an indebtedness of six thousand dollars beyond their assets. For this he was given an extension of ten years, with annual payments, and to the payment of his firm's debts he bent all his energies. He took charge of the improvement of the Youghiogheny River by dams and wing-walls under supervision of government engineers. Next he made several trading voyages on the lower rivers, and with William T. Nicholls, Samuel Hunter, John Robertson, and his brother-in-law, James Smith brought droves of cattle, sheep, and hogs from Ohio to the Eastern markets. In 1826-27 he built half the distance of turnpike from Robbstown to Williamsport, and was one of the contractors for building the bridge at Robbstown. He put down several wells for salt on the Sewickley Creek, in doing which he invented the plan of casing 662 - HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. wells to shut off the fresh water, afterwards adopted as original in the oil regions of Pennsylvania. Mr. Plumer was an original Jackson Democrat, but in the excitement following the abduction of Morgan he was one of the leaders in the anti-Masonic party in Western Pennsylvania, but was afterwards with the Whig and Repnblican parties. He was a man of strong native powers of mind, a sincere, active Christian, always of cheerful ready humor, and ever ready to do his part in all local and public affairs. He died in West Newton, of which he was the first resident when laid out as a town, Dec. 15, 1875, and was buried the 19th of the month, his eighty-ninth birthday. GEORGE PLUMER, JR. George Plumer was born in the borough of West Newton, Westmoreland Co., Pa., May 11, 1814, the only son of Alexander and Susan (Robinson) Plumer. Losing his mother when but three months old, George Plumer lived with his grandparents on the old homestead farm until be was ten years old. He then entered his father's store, where he was employed as clerk, and was in other ways connected with his father's business for thirteen years. In 1837 he went to Pittsburgh, where for a time he was clerk in the wholesale dry-goods store of Carter Curtiss. Owing to the panic caused by the suspension of payments by the banks his engagement with this firm was short, and he returned to West Newton, where he again became interested with his father in merchandising and in the manufacture of salt. In 1850 be leased the tannery in West Newton owned by the Hon. John Klingensmith for three years, and upon the death of the latter purchased the tannery and carried it on till 1867, when he sold it to H. Croushore, its present owner, and purchased a farm in and adjoining West Newton, in the carrying on of which, together with the busi-ness of notary public, he now chiefly occupies his time. His present fine residence on Main Street, 'West Newton (a representation of which appears on another page of this volume), he built in 1873. He married, April 17, 1860, Lucretia, daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Turney) Cort. Mrs. Plumer was born Oct. 26, 1826, in Hempfield township, Westmoreland County. Her father was born March 5, 1780, in South Huntingdon township ; her mother in Hanover township, Montgomery Co., Pa., April 15, 1786. Her father died May 31, 1859 ; her mother, February, 1860. They had fourteen children, seven sons and seven daughters, all but three of whom are living, are married, and settled in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Iowa, and Colorado. Mr. and Mrs. Plumer have no children, unless, indeed, the church and the church's poor may be called. such, for to these it may be truly said they have been both " father and mother." They have been mem-bers of the West Newton Presbyterian Church over thirty years, and during that time have been closely identified with its every " good word and work." With an interval of but two years, for the last fifteen years Mr. Plumer has been its Sabbath-school superintendent. He was the heaviest contributor in the erection of their fine church edifice. built at a cost of twenty-two thousand dollars, and was chairman of the building committee, and spent the most of his time, gratuitously, for two years in personally over-seeing its construction. Mrs. Plumer has been a teacher in the Sabbath-school during her connection with the church, and for the last year has had charge of the infant department. For many years she has been leader of the choir and its organist. By their contributions to their funds, Mr. and Mrs. Plumer have been made life-members of both the American Bible Society and of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church of the United States. They are also contributing two hundred and fifty dollars yearly to the support of a home missionary in one of the Western Territories. In politics Mr. Plumer is an ardent supporter of the principles of the Republican party, and has al-ways taken an active part in forwarding its interests. He has been called to fill most of the public offices of the borough. All public improvements have found in him a friend and liberal supporter. Indeed, in all qualities which constitute the good citizen it may be truly said of him, he is a " worthy scion of a noble stock." JOHN C. PLUMER. John C. Plumer was born Nov. 28, 1788, at Puckety, Westmoreland Co., Pa. He was the third of four sons, and of the eleven children of George and Margaret Lowrey Plumer. His name (John Campbell) was given to him in honor of an event in early history, the circumstances of which are as follows : On one occasion when his grandfather, Jonathan Plumer, was sorely threatened by the Indians he sought protection for his family in Fort Pitt, and as evidence that his fears were not groundless it is related that on this occasion as they fled, on looking back, they saw the smoke of their cabin ascending. And it was at this time that the family was in the fort during the siege by the Indian chief Killbuck, and while remaining near it, during the following summer, his son George, then a small boy, while attempting to swim in the Monongahela, in company with his elder brother, William, was rescued from drowning by Col. John Campbell. It was this incident which has perpetuated the name of Col. Campbell in the Plumer family. In the home at Puckety the family was living in constant danger, and the Indians becoming openly hostile a removal was necessary. Two nights before leaving, the mother with her four boys, the youngest SOUTH HUNTINGDON TOWNSHIP - 663 a tender babe, was concealed under an overhanging rock, while the father kept watch with his dog and gun. In the spring of 1791 his father came into possession of the land " in the forks of the Youghiogheny and Sewickley Creek," long known as the "Plumer Homestead," and now owned and occupied by the heirs of Abraham Funk. The cabin in which the family lived for some years gave place in 1799 to a hewn log house, large and roomy, and which in that day was a model of architecture. In this house some of the family were born, the parents died, and the different members separated to form their respective homes. It was removed a few years since, and the material now forms another, but the grand old elm, spreading its sheltering arms, and which stood in front, yet remains to mark the spot. At the time of the parents' removal here, John Campbell was between two and three years of age, and his childhood and youth was spent in helping clear and work the farm. In the year 1805, when about seventeen years of age, he went with his brother Alexander on a trading expedition. Their cargo consisted of flour, whiskey, and bacon, which they took on a keel-boat to the salt-works on the Big Kanawha and exchanged for salt. In March, 1810, he started on a more extended expedition. His cargo at this time consisted of three hundred barrels of flour and a quantity of whiskey and bacon which he took to New Orleans on a flat-boat, and finding the market dull he shipped to Havana, and at that place exchanged his cargo for coffee, which he took with him to Philadelphia in a schooner. Here he met his father and a merchant by the name of Kirker, who were there purchasing spring goods, and sending home their goods and a portion of the coffee, which they loaded in six wagons, and shipping the balance of the latter to Pittsburgh, he walked the entire distance of more than three hundred miles in six days. At the age of twenty-four he joined the cavalry troop commanded by Capt. Joseph Markle, and was appointed sergeant on the 12th of September, 1812, and was in the battle of Mississinewa, and at the siege of Fort Meigs. At the latter he acted as a volunteer guide or captain of a picket-guard in advance of Maj. Ball's squadron, which was about to make a sortie from the fort, covering the landing of Gen. Clay's Kentucky troops, numbering twelve hundred men. The surrounding woods were full of Indians and British, ready to cut off any reinforcements that might come to it. He conducted them safely to the fort, and for his bravery and military skill displayed in this hazardous undertaking he was publicly complimented by Maj. James V. Ball (afterwards lieutenant-colonel), commander of the fort. We find the following reference to this incident in Howe's " Ohio :" " Capt. Hamilton was directed to proceed up the river in a periauger, land a subaltern on the left hank, who. should be a pilot to conduct Gen. Clay to the fort." On the morning of the battle at Mississinewa, when the first alarm was given, and while in the act of throwing his holsters adross his horse, the handle of one of "the pistols was carried off by a bullet from a concealed Indian. He was honorably mustered out of service with the troops at Franklinton, Ohio, on the 19th of August, 1813,.after eleven months' service, carrying with him a scar which he received from the bursting of a shell. In 1814 he was elected captain of a troop of cavalry of the militia of Pennsylvania, in the First Brigade of the Thirteenth Division, composed of the militia of the counties of Westmoreland and Fayette, for the term of seven years, and his commission was confirmed to him by Governor Simon Snyder. At the expiration of this time he received an earnest and flattering invitation to accept a second election, but he declined. Mr. Plumer was twice married. His first marriage, April, 1814, was to Miss Elizabeth Peairs, of Round Hill, Allegheny Co., Pa., by whom he had two sons and three daughters, viz., Joseph Peairs, Margaret Lowrey, George Croghan, Susannah Allen, and Elizabeth, the last named the only present survivor. Susannah married the Rev. Thomas Stevenson, an esteemed minister in the Presbyterian Church. She died leaving four children, viz. : John C. P., who on the invasion of Pennsylvania in 1863 went out as a volunteer at the age of sixteen, and soon after died of brain fever, superinduced by exposure on duty ; Anna M., William P., and Thomas C. The latter on the death of his mother was from infancy reared in the home of his grandfather. William P. is the father of the only great-grandchild. Elizabeth married A. F. Stevenson, a merchant in West Newton. Their children are John C. P., Elizabeth M., Susannah M., Martha, Robert H., William F., Walter L., Alexander P., and Joseph E. All are living except Susannah. Mr. Plumer's son Joseph died at the age of seventeen years, and his two remaining children in child-hood. His wife died October, 1827. His second marriage, December, 1828, was to Miss Maria Elliott, of Fayette County. Her parents, Col. William and Ruth (Crawford) Elliott, removed at an early day from Franklin County and settled near Brownsville, Pa., on land which is yet in possession of the Elliott family. By this marriage there were three children,—Elisha James Elliott, Martha, and Ruth Elliott. The son died in infancy. Martha married John P. Hornish, attorney-at-law, of Keokuk, Iowa, who died September, 1874. Their children are John P., Elliott K., Martha, Walter A., Samuel, George P., and Philip Francis. Samuel is deceased, John P. is in the practice of law, and all reside with their mother in Keokuk. 664 - HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. The youngest daughter, Miss Ruth E., owns and resides in the old home on the river-bank in West Newton. His second wife, Maria Elliot, died in 1872, less than one year before her husband. Mrs. Plumer was a woman of strong, well-balanced mind, which she had stored with study of the literature of the past and present, but so reticent in her habit of life that it was only with her husband and children that she would freely discuss questions of the day and the works of her favorite authors. She was a true " helpmeet" of her honored husband, a gentle, loving mother. One who well, knew the wives of Mr. Plumer says of them, "They were both of the best old-fashioned type of Pennsylvania women, abundant in hospitalities, their home always attractive in its order, of deep-toned piety, and ever ready in works of charity and kindness." Mr. Plumer was a man of great industry, energy, and perseverance. Having by principles of economy accumulated a moderate capital, he settled in Robbstown, now West Newton, soon after his first marriage, and built on Water Street his dwelling-house, which in later years he enlarged and improved. This house is the place where all the births, marriages, and deaths in his family have occurred. He bought from his brother Alexander and William Clark their grist- and saw-mills, which adjoined his property, and about 1820 or 1821 he removed the old structures and erected a new grist-mill of stone, which at the time was one of the largest and best in Western Pennsylvania, and to which in later years he built an expensive addition. His dealings in wheat and flour were extensive for those days, and the demand for his quality of flour increasing he purchased of Abraham Funk his mills on Sewickley Creek, and to secure sufficient water-power for his town mill lie built a dam across the Youghiogheny River, which in the time of slack-water navigation he was compelled to raise, and in order to facilitate the passage of heavily-laden boats from above he procured a charter, and erected a lock on the west side. This was followed by much persecution from unscrupulous men, which was met by him with his native firmness and readiness to do the right. In 1866 he sold his mill property, and from that time retired from active business. He was active in superintending the erection of the "Robbstown Bridge" across the Youghiogheny, and was an original stockholder, which interest he retained to the close of his life. In 1819 he was commissioned justice of the peace by Governor William Findley, and discharged the duties of the office with more than ordinary ability, few of his decisions being appealed to court, and in no case were they reversed. "Squire Plumer" was the distinctive title by which he was respectfully known in his community. In 1838 he received an appointment from President Van Buren to 'visit West Point as an inspector, but, taking sick before reaching there, was able for but little duty. This was followed by a long and serious illness. He was elected to the State Legislature in 1830, where he was on the House Committee on Claims, and in 1839 to the Senate, serving in 1840-42. Mr. Plumer was a hard-money Democrat, and during the years of struggle for bank extension and legislative control he was known as the " Old Hickory" of Westmoreland, which appellation had been given to him from his resemblance in features to his great political chief, Andrew Jackson. Mr. Plumer had all the depth and strength of the religious conviction which belonged to his Puritan ancestry. He was in membership with the old Sewickley Presbyterian Church from early life until January, 1851, when an organization was formed in West Newton. He was liberal in church benevolence, was zealous and active, and served as ruling elder from the year 1866 to the time of his death. He exerted a wide influence in church, political, and business interests, and while of positive and decided character, was respectful and courteous in discussion. He was self-educated, a man of stern integrity, a pioneer in the free-school system of the State, and a friend of liberal education. We close this sketch of John C. Plumer, which might justly be more extended, with the following from one who knew him well : "Strong, self-reliant, of great courage, afraid of no man, strongly attached to his own opinions, yet tolerant ; somewhat stern in manner, yet affectionate; his ear ever open to the cry of the widow and the fatherless ; his mental powers of such type that had he possessed the advantages of to-day he would have reached high rank in law, statesmanship, or a military career, in his death, which occurred July 18, 1873, was verified the saying, " Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in his season." He is buried in the cemetery which overlooks the scene of his long and useful life. JACOB FORDNEY KREPS. Jacob Fordney Kreps was born in Greencastle, Franklin Co., Pa., June 15, 1806. His ancestors were Germans, who settled in Lancaster County about the middle of the eighteenth century. His grandfather, Michael Kreps, was a hatter by trade, and established himself in business in the town of Lebanon, then a part of Lancaster County. By industry and frugality he acquired a handsome estate. He raised a family of three sons and two daughters, viz. : Jacob and William (twins), Catharine, Polly, and Michael. Catharine was married to the Rev. Jacob Schnee, a Lutheran minister, who at an early day located in Greensburg, and for a short period ministered to the SOUTH HUNTINGDON TOWNSHIP - 665 Lutheran congregation there. He afterwards united with Mr. Rapp's community, at Harmony, Butler Co., Pa., and was cashier of their bank. His father, Jacob Kreps, was born in Lebanon in the year 1772, and was brought up to the trade of his father. In 1794 he married Catherine Hetterick, daughter of Jacob and Margaret Hetterick, of Pittsylvania County, Va., to which place they had emigrated a short time before from Dauphin County. The engagement having been made he was necessitated to make a journey of more than three hundred miles to claim and bring back his bride. They remained in Lebanon four or five years, and settled in Greencastle in 1798 or 1799, where he carried on his business for many years, employing a number of hands. He made annual business excursions South to dispose of his surplus stock, many of his acquaint-ances having settled in that region. They had seven children, six sons and one daughter, viz.: William, John, Charlotte, Michael, Jacob, Albertus, and Augustus, all now deceased except Jacob and Albertus. On one of these excursions the subject of this sketch accompanied him, and the opportunity was afforded him of taking a boy's view of the institution of slavery. His impressions formed at the time were decidedly unfavorable and were never changed. His opportunities for acquiring a common education were perhaps as favorable as were enjoyed in those early times, having been kept at school from the age of four to thirteen years with some intermission, during the last two years of which, the study of grammar and geography' having been introduced, he acquired a slight knowledge of those branches. At the age of thirteen he was placed in a hardware-store with his uncle, William Kreps, Esq., at Hagerstown, Md., who was also postmaster. This was a great advantage to him, giving him a better knowledge of arithmetic and improving his penmanship. His chief associate in the post-office was his cousin, John M. Kreps, who became a leading minister and D.D. in the Presbyterian Church, and was successor to the celebrated Dr. Mason as pastor of the Rutgers Street Church, city of New York, the only pastorate he ever held, and where he died in the year 1867. (The doctor changed the name from " Kreps" to " Krebs," believing the latter to be the correct orthography.) Mr. Kreps remained with his uncle until the death of the latter, which occurred in 1822. He then returned home to learn the trade of his father. In those days it was considered important (at all events it was very common) for young men, after serving their apprenticeship, to travel some ("take a tramp") in order to see the country and to become more per-fect in their occupation. " Tramp's" of' that period were quite a different genus of men from the tramps with which the country is so much annoyed to-day. The business of manufacturing hats (by hand) was then carried on all over the country, and was profitable and respectable, and journeymen hatters constituted a large class, traveling over the country and stopping to work when necessary. They were united by associations, and were ever ready to give assistance to their comrades when in need.. They were " traveled men," and consequently intelligent. Their acquaintance was sought and they were introduced into the best society of the place. The State of Kentucky was a favorite " tramping-ground," for the reason that in many of her chief towns large shops were located, in which a number of men were employed, besides, the. people of that State, perhaps more than any other, were given to fine dress, and of course it required the very finest " beaver" to complete the dress of a gentleman. At the age of twenty-one, with a comrade, Joseph Gilmore, he started on one of these " tramps," and at the end of the fifth day arrived at Pittsburgh, footsore and weary, but cheerful and happy at the prospect of the pleasure before them. They remained at Pittsburgh a few days to rest and see the sights, boarding with a. Mrs. Beltzhoover, who. lived on the southeast corner of the Diamond. The grand river with its splendid steamers and the busy city were sources of never-ending wonder and excitement to our inexperienced boys. They took passage on board the " Ben Frank-. lin" for Cincinnati and Louisville, remaining a few days at each of these places. While at the latter place they had a new and .strange experience in as-sisting a brother hatter in taking a fiat-boat loaded with hats over the falls. The pilot on this occasion was one Boone, a descendant of the famous Daniel Boone. It seemed to them a dangerous undertaking, and the service was rendered only to accommodate one of their craft. Upon leaving Louisville they visited a number of towns in the interior, among which were Lexington, Frankfort, Lancaster, Harrodsburg, and Bardstown: At Lancaster, Mr. Gilmore concluded to stop. for a while, and Mr. Kreps continued his travels in company with Joseph Lock-wood, also a journeyman hatter. After losing his traveling companion, and being without an intimate friend, a few months was sufficient to satisfy him with such a wandering life, and he set his face homeward. The steamer "Kanhawa," upon which he took passage for Wheeling, collapsed hey boilers at the mouth of Guyannotte River, and twenty-three of the passengers, officers, and crew were either killed or badly injured. The heartrending scenes upon this occasion Made an indelible impression upon the mind of the young traveler. A few months after this he settled in Greensburg, Pa., where, in partnership with James Wood, he carried on his trade for a couple of years. Jan. 20, 1831, he married Eliza, daughter of Adam and Hannah Turney. Mr. Turney came to West-moreland County with his father in 1785. He married, 1811, Hannah, daughter of Rev. J. William Weber, one of three brothers who emigrated from Holland prior to the Revolution. They settled for a time in New jersey, where two of the brothers, John 666 - HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. and Henry, joined the Continental army. Henry was killed during the war. The Rev. Weber (now Weaver) came to Westmoreland County at quite an early day, and was one of the first ministers of his denomination (German Reformed) who preached in the counties of Western Pennsylvania and Ohio, traveling extensively, preaching to the people, and planting churches. He finally settled upon his farm on Big Sewickley Creek, where Col. Painter's mill and salt-works are now located, and where he died in187.. Adam Turney carried on the copper and tinsmithing business for a great many years in Greensburg. He died in 1872. Mr. Kreps returned to Greencastle with his family, December, 18311, where he engaged in different branches of business, railroading, merchandising, etc. In the spring of 1845 he was appointed postmaster, holding the office until 1849, when he resigned and settled in West Newton, where he now resides. In the spring of 1850 he engaged in the foundry business, afterwards adding general merchandising. and was moderately successful. At the commencement of the Rebellion he took a deep interest in every means employed for its suppression. He was called to preside over the first war-meeting that was held in this part of the county, and was elected one of the officers of a company organized for home protection, under the command of the venerable Gen. Joseph Markle as captain. During the summer of 1861 he enlisted nineteen men to make up the quota necessary to fill the ranks of the company commanded by Capt. A. G. Oliver in the Twelfth Reserves, went with them to Harrisburg, saw them sworn in, and accompanied them to their camp at Washington. He never harbored a doubt of the success of the Union arms. He was one of the first men in the county to invest his money in the 5-20 bonds of the government, when so many were doubting and faltering. Five of his sons volunteered, and spent an aggregate of twelve years in the service. One of them, Capt. John W. Kreps, was wounded at Liberty Gap, in Tennessee, June, 1863, and was discharged on account of disability. His brother, Lieut. F. A. M. Kreps, took command of the company, and with a number of officers and men of the Seventy-seventh Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers was captured at the battle of Chickamauga, and after an imprisonment of fifteen months in different prisons, and six escapes and five recaptures (one through the noted tunnel at Libby), he, with Lieut. E. P. Brooks, made a final and successful escape from Columbia, S. C.. Floating in a canoe by night, and under the protection of the colored people during the day, they reached the sea-coast, and paddled several miles out to the gunboat " Nipsic," and were taken to Hilton Head, where they were clothed and sent to Washington. In 1863 Mr. Kreps was appointed a commissioner to visit the Pennsylvania regiments attached to Rosecrans' army in Tennessee, where he spent five or six weeks. Three of his sons were in this branch of the army. In 1864, with a number of other gentlemen, he was again appointed a commissioner to visit the Pennsylvania regiments in front of Richmond and Petersburg, and to supervise the Presidential election of that year. He has always felt a deep interest in the improvement and welfare of his adopted home, and has at different times been elected to a place in the Borough Council and school board. In 1869 he was honored by an election to a seat in the Legislature from the Westmoreland and Indiana legislative district, and served in the session of 1870. Mr. and Mrs. Kreps, although partially reared in another branch of the Christian Church, have for near half a century been attached to the Methodist Episcopal Church. A license to preach as a local preacher is among the many positions of honor and trust to which Mr. Kreps has been called by his church. According to their means they have been liberal contributors to the different benevolent institutions of the church, especially to the Freedman's Aid Society, in which they avee always felt a deep interest. Their family consists of six sons and two daughters living, and one son and one daughter deceased, twenty-eight grandchildren living and six deceased. We give the following personnel of their descendants : Catherine, the eldest, wife of Dr. J. Q. Robinson, of West Newton ; four daughters and one son living, and one daughter deceased. George Rippey Kreps, postmaster, Greenville, Mercer Co., Pa. ; four daughters living and one deceased. Hannah, wife of A. E. Dravo, Sewickley township ; three sons and one daughter living, and one son deceased. Capt. John W. Kreps, proprietor of dry-docks, Allegheny City ; three sons and two daughters living, and one daughter deceased. Maj. Frank A. M. Kreps, business manager of Evening Mail, Allegheny City ; one son and one daughter living, and one son deceased. Lieut. Adam T. Kreps, manufacturer of engines, saw-mills, etc., Greenville, Mercer Co., Pa. ; three sons living. David Dempsey Kreps, manufacturer of lumber, and planing-mill, Greenville ; two sons and one daughter living and one son deceased. Capt. William Augustus Kreps, lumber manufacturer and paning-mill,,, Greenville ; one son and one daughter living. His oldest grandson, Jacob Fordney Kreps, Jr., was appointed one of the pages of the House by Gen. Selfridge, Clerk of the House, at the session of 1870, and in 1879, after a competitive examination, in which twenty-three participated, he was appointed a cadet to the United States Military Academy at West Point from the Twenty-third District by Col. Thomas M. Bayne, M.C., and he expects to graduate in June, 1883. Mr. and Mrs. Kreps still reside at West Newton, where, on Jan. 20, 1881, surrounded by their numerous descendants and a large company of their friends and neighbors, they celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their married life. SOUTH HUNTINGDON TOWNSHIP - 667 JAMES P. CAROTHERS. James P. Carothers was born near Port Royal, South Huntingdon township, Westmoreland Co., Pa., Sept. 18, 1806. His grandfather, James Carothers, emigrated from Ireland, and eventually settled on a farm situated on the Little Sewickley Creek, Sewickley township;about three miles north of the present homestead. He served as a soldier in the war of the Revolution, in a company raised principally in Lancaster County, Pa. He was twice married. By his first wife he .had six children, viz.: John, James, Samuel, Martha, Jane, and Elizabeth. John and Samuel were twins. James was twice married. By his first wife he had two daughters ; by his second, Elizabeth McClure, one son, John Carothers, a farmer, living in South Huntingdon. Samuel married Ruth Elliott, by whom he had two sons and five daughters. He carried on the old homestead farm in Sewickley, and both he and his wife died there. Martha, wife of James Kirker, a merchant in North Huntingdon township. Dr. William Kirker is their only son. Jane, wife of John Richey, a farmer and coppersmith, moved from. South Huntingdon, and settled in Wayne County, Ohio, where they died, leaving a large family. Elizabeth, wife of Charles Hunter, a merchant in Port Royal, no children. Both died there. John Carothers, one of the twins above named, and father of James P., was born in Sewickley township, Westmoreland County, in the year 1789. He was a convert under the preaching of Rev. Dr. Power, whose daughter Isabella he afterwards married. He was a man distinguished for his kindness and charity, and his house was the home of the Christian minister ; his hospitality was shared alike by the poor and the rich. In 1808 he moved from a farm near Port Royal, and settled on the farm which has since been the homestead of the family, situated near Millgrove, on the Greensburg road. It consists of one hundred and eighty-one and a quarter acres, and was a portion of a tract deeded by patent to John Barr and James Wilson, described in the original patent as a certain tract of land called " Bachelor's Hall." At the time of his settlement on the place only a log house had been erected and a small clearing made in the forest. He was by trade a coppersmith, and while he cleared and worked his farm by day, he worked at his trade at night. He had remarkable health and vigor until within a few months of his death, which occurred at the homestead Dec. 2, 1858. His wife died many years before. Both are buried in the Sewickley Church burying-ground. The children of John and Isabella Carothers were as follows : James P., Mary, Catharine, and William Swan. Mary moved to Illinois with her sister Catharine, and died near Rockford, in that State. Catharine was: married to the Rev. Joseph B. McKee, a Presbyterian clergyman, and pastor for several years in the West Newton and Sewickley Churches, and afterwards at Harmony and Indian Creek. He had made preparation to move to Illinois with his family, but was taken sick at West Newton and died there. Eventually Mrs. McKee .moved to Illinois, and subsequently to the State of Minnesota. She has three children, and at the present time she is living with her son John. William Swan was educated at Jefferson College, moved to Illinois, married, and died there. James P. Carothers was two years old when his father moved on to the farm which has ever since been held in the family. Upon the death of his father he came into its possession by will after paying certain specified amounts to his brothers and sisters. As a farmer he was thorough and painstaking. He made many improvements to the residence and farm buildings. In politics he was Republican. For many years he was a member of the Sewickley Presbyterian Church, and was three times elected to the office of ruling elder. He married, May 4, 1843, Jane K.. Daughter of Robert and Mary (Kerr) Moore. Mrs. Carothers was born in Nottingham. township. Washington County, Pa., Oct. 11,1824. On the father's side she comes from one of the oldest families of Rostraver township. Her mother was a granddaughter of the Rev. James Power, D.D., the second clergyman upon the frontier in Western Pennsylvania, and the founder of the old Sewickley Church. Mr. and Mrs. Carothers' children are as follows : John C., born April 14, 1845 ; Mary F., born June 6, 1848 ; Isabella, born Oct 18, 1851. By will of his father, which provided for the payment to his mother and sisters of certain amounts of money, John C. Carothers became the owner of the homestead farm, and carries it on. The family at the homestead consists of himself, mother, and sister Mary F. Isabella is wife of Shepard B. Markle, Jr., living at the old Markle homestead at Millgrove. There were eleven children in the family of Robert and Mary Moore, viz. : David, Eliza, Louisa, Obadiah, Ard, Robert, Maria, Jane K., James, Frances, and John Power. Obadiah died at the age of two, and John Power at the age of twenty. All the rest were married and, except Frances, raised families, and all are deceased except Mrs. Carothers and Louisa, widow of Robert McCullough, who lives in Jackson County, Ill. Mr. Moore was an elder in Pigeon Creek Church over forty years. The following extract from an obituary notice will give something of the estimate in which he was held : " In his death the church lost an efficient member, his family an affectionate husband and father, and the community a useful citizen." He died June 8, 1850 ; his wife Oct. 19, 1838. James P. Carothers died Feb. 5, 1879. We cannot better close this sketch of him than to quote the following from an obituary notice of him written by the Rev. J. C. Maloy, published in the Presbyterian Banner : " A conscientious, upright citizen of more than ordinary intelligence, a man of liberal views in all matters pertaining to the 668 - HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. public good, kind and tender towards any who were in trouble, for integrity of purpose, sound morals, and consistent Christian conduct no man stood higher in the community. In his death the church lost a liberal supporter, and the county one of its best citizens. He was greatly afflicted the last four years of his life. His illness commenced with gangrene in his foot, which defied the skill of his physician, and little by little brought him to the grave. He died as he lived, in full faith in Christ as his Saviour, and in full hope of a blessed immortality." JACOB BAUGHMAN. Jacob Baughman was born in Armstrong County, Pa., March 14, 1802. His grandfather, Henry Baughman, and grandmother, Catharine Conkle, emigrated from Germany with their parents, the former when four years, the latter when two years old, and settled in the " Blue Ridge" region of Pennsylvania, thirty miles from Lancaster City. Here they were married and raised a family of eight children, four sons and four daughters. They moved from the Blue Ridge, and settled in the eastern part of North Huntingdon township, seven and a half miles from Greensburg, where he purchased six hundred acres of land at twenty shillings per acre. Their children were Margaret, John, Adam, Barbara, Catharine, Sarah, Peter, and Henry. Henry was killed by the falling of a tree at the age of twenty-two. All the rest were married and, except Peter and Margaret, raised families. Adam Baughman, his third child, and father of Jacob, married Magdalene, daughter of Peter Roof (or Rugh). She was born near Greensburg in 779; her grandparents emigrated from Germany. Her uncle, Jacob Roof, represented his district in the Legislature for a number of years. There were fourteen children in her father's family, six sons and eight daughters, to each of whom he either gave a home or money to procure one. Six of them settled in Kentucky ; all the rest remained in Westmoreland County. After his marriage Adam Baughman settled on a farm in Armstrong County, about seventy miles up the Allegheny River, and here four children, viz.: Catharine, Michael, Polly, and Jacob, were born. Upon the death of his brother Henry, to whom in the division of their father's estate the homestead had fallen, he sold his place in Armstrong County and returned to Westmoreland, and became the owner of and occupied the homestead until his death. Here the following children were born, viz. : Elizabeth, Margaret, Peter, Anna, Henry, Christian, and Lydia. Henry died at the age of eleven. All the rest were married and raised families, and, with the exception of Polly and Christian, settled in Westmoreland County, and all are deceased (1882) except Jacob, Christian, Anna, and Polly. Catharine was wife of George Krok, one child ; Michael was twice married, and raised a family of fourteen children ; Polly married Joseph Klingensmith, one son ; Elizabeth, wife of Joseph Lenhart, two sons and six daughters; Margaret, wife of George Croushore, six sons and four daughters ; Peter married .Elizabeth Lenhart, three sons and nine daughters ; Anna, wife of John Berlin, six sons and three daughters ; Christian married Sarah Diel, one son and six daughters ; Lydia, wife of Samuel Alshouse, four sons and six daughters. Adam Baughman died at the homestead in 1841, aged sixty-eight ; his wife in 1831, aged fifty-two. Jacob Baughman was an infant when his father moved from Armstrong County to the homestead. Here he lived until he was twenty-two years of age. He received the education afforded by winter attendance at the common school. He married Aug. 5, 1824, Margaret, daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Turney) Cort. Mrs. Baughman was born in Hempfleld township, Westmoreland County, July 24, 1804, the eldest in a family of fourteen children, all but one of whom were married, and settled in Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Iowa. In April, 1825, Mr. Baughman moved on to a farm belonging to his father in North Huntingdon township, five miles from West Newton, which he carried on for three years. During this time he accumulated a capital of $800, with which in the spring of 1828 he came to West Newton, where he purchased of John Richie an acre of ground, upon which a tannery and log house had been erected, for which he stipulated to pay $1200, half down and half upon credit, leaving him $200 working capital. He built a slaughterhouse upon the place, and for seven years carried on there the business of tanning and butchering. At the end of that time he purchased 85 acres lying north of the village, for which he paid $4000, and in 1836 he added 761 acres at $5000, lying on the south and east side of the village, purchased of John Niccolls, Jr., and in the spring of 1837 moved on to the latter property. The house, still a substantial farm residence, was built in 776 by Joseph Van Kirk. Here he resided until 1879. He built upon the place a new tannery and slaughter-house. In 1837 he purchased in West Newton a store, which he carried on for three years, and subsequently, from 1858 to 1865, was interested in a store with Daniel Swaim. He owned and ran a grist- and saw-mill, together with salt-works at the mouth of the Big Sewickley, which he sold to Alexander Plumer in 1845. The same year he purchased the grist- and saw-mills now known as the Apple Mills, on the Big Sewickley, which he operated twenty years, selling them to Mr. Apple in 1865. His dealings for years in grain, flour, cattle, and hogs were very large for the locality, his sales in flour alone often amounting to seven and eight hundred barrels per day, while he kept not only his own but many of the neighboring mills employed in grinding his wheat. Though he operated at dif- SOUTH HUNTINGDON TOWNSHIP - 669 ferent times in any commodity out of which he might realize a profit, he held well on to his original business of farming, tanning, and butchering as sheet-anchors, which from first to last under his vigorous management yielded him sure and ample returns. His dealings in real estate, besides the purchases already mentioned, have been quite extensive in the vicinity of West Newton and in the State of Iowa, in all amounting to several thousand acres, enough, indeed, to give all his children a farm and still have enough left to occupy the time of his old age, either for farming or disposing of in village lots. From the first Mr. Baughman took an active interest in every effort to make West Newton accessible to the markets. To this end he took stock in the West Newton and Somerset plank-road, in the Youghiogheny Slack-Water Navigation Company, in the steamers " Shriver" and " West Newton," plying between West Newton and Pittsburgh, and in the Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad, enterprises which benefited the town, but which yielded to their possessor no dividends. He was on the building committee with Alexander and John C. Plumer, Henry Fulton, William Linn, and Judge Bell in the construction of the West Newton bridge, and when Jacob Mace, its builder, was likely to fail of completing his contract on account of the difficulty of collecting subscriptions, Mr. Baughman came to his rescue by timely raising the necessary funds. Like many others, Mr. Baughman "took a hand" in oil operations, which only resulted in the loss of many thousands invested. In politics he is a stanch Republican, but has never desired or sought office. For many years he was a member of the Lutheran, and his wife of the German Reformed Churches, but for the last twenty-five years they have been members of the Presbyterian Church at West Newton. Their children are as follows : Lavina, born Aug. 28, 1825, married John Parson, a farmer living in Cass County, Iowa. Two children, Simon and Elizabeth. Elizabeth, born Nov. 3, 1826, wife of George Welty, farmer, living at Pleasant Unity, Pa. Nine children, Jacob, Louise, John, Sherman, Susanna, Rose, Cort, Samuel, and Clara. John and Susanna are deceased. William, born June 19, 1828, a farmer in Cass County, Iowa, and a member of the State Legislature, married Barbara Schwartz. Children, Henry, Jacob, Cyrus, John, Emma, Addie, Samuel, Mary, Clara, and Albert. Adam, born Feb. 16, 1830, living in California. Harriet, born Jan. 27, 1832, wife of George Greer. Both deceased. Sarah Ann, born March 7, 1834, wife of William Fritchman. Two children, Edith and Elizabeth. Cyrus, born Feb. 21, 1836, married Martha Ann Clark, living in Cass County, Iowa. Children, Henry, - 43 - Margaret (deceased), Joseph, Lewis, Lavina, Elizabeth, William, and an infant. Martha, born March 2, 1838, wife of William Hayworth, living in Iowa. Henry Harrison, born May 25, 1840, enlisted as private ip Company E, One Hundred and Fifth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, wounded at the battle of Yorktown, from the effect of which he died April 19, 1868. Samuel, born Sept. 15, 1842, enlisted as private in Company E, Thirteenth Regiment of Pennsylvania Cavalry Volunteers, March 10, 1862, promoted to sergeant, and honorably discharged March 10, 1865, at Wilmington, N. C. Now a merchant in West Newton, of the firm of Baker & Co. Married Margaret Baker. Joseph, born May 24, 1844, married Sarah Simrall. Both deceased. Children, Frank, Charles, and Ebenezer. Lucian, born June 2, 1846, married Jane Gracely. Children, Margaret, George, Alvin, Martha, Annie, Wesley, and Ira. Living in Pottawattomie County, Iowa. Ebenezer, born March 21, 1848, married Amanda Smith. Children, Minnie (deceased), Grace, Edward, Mary, James (deceased). A farmer owning and living on the old Niccolls farm. In 1879 Mr. Baughman purchased in West Newton, on Vine Street, the property of Philip Nett, where he has since resided. The family consists of himself and wife, and his son Samuel and wife, and grandson Frank. As will be seen from this account, the Scriptural injunction "to multiply and replenish the earth" has been literally fulfilled in the Baughman family. A patriarch indeed is he who may number at a family reunion ten children, forty-one grand, and fifteen great-grandchildren. The declining years of Mr. and Mrs. Baughman are indeed blessed with the conscious enjoyment of the love and filial regard of this large family circle, and the best esteem of the entire community in which they have lived for more than half a century. DR. LEWIS SUTTON. Dr. Lewis Sutton was born in Rostraver township, Westmoreland County, Pa., April 15,1820. His father relinquishing his trade purchased a farm in Elizabeth township, Allegheny County, Pa. In the year 1824 moved thereon with his family ; at a very early age was placed at labor in assisting his father on the farm. While thus engaged his primary education was not neglected, his father securing for him one or two terms annually at common school, at which he obtained a good English education. At or about the age of eighteen, desirous of furthering his education, obtained the consent of his father, was placed in a select school (Peter Hayden being the teacher), where he commenced studying the languages. He remained with him one year as a pupil, then was placed at a 670 - HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. select school in Elizabeth, Allegheny Co., Pa. (Rev. McKinstry being principal), he remaining about one year under his instruction, at the close of which time, being desirous of a more advanced education, became a student at Washington College, Washington County, Pa.; continued his studies at this college for about two years. At the cloae of that period, being eager to study a profession, selected medicine as his choice. In the year 1845 entered the office of Dr. John Hassn, now deceased, in West Newton, Pa., as medical student, there remaining until the month of Febru-ary, 1846. Through the advice of his preceptor, went to Philadelphia, Pa., in view of facilitating his studies in medicine, where he spent about two months in at-tending anatomical lectures, dissecting, and clinics in Pennsylvania Hospital, at the close of which re-turned to the office of Dr. John Hasson, remaining under his instruction during the summer months. In the fall of this year returned to the city ; entered the office of Dr. A. B. Campbell (now deceased) as a student ; spent much of his time in the doctor's private dissecting-room, in the way of dissecting and securing anatomical knowledge ; at the same time matriculated at the Jefferson Medical College, attending the medical lectures delivered therein. During the session of 1846 and 1847 entered the Philadelphia Hospi-tal for daily medical instruction and bedside experience, remaining at this hospital for one year. After the close of the session at the Jefferson Medical College matriculated for the summer term of 1847 at the Philadelphia Medical Association, at the same time continuing his daily visits at the hospital. In the fall of this year matriculated again at the Jefferson . Medical College for the session of 1847 and 1848, attending the lectures therein during this term. At the close of this session the degree of Doctor of Medicine was conferred upon him. In the month of March, 1848, after receiving his diploma, returned to his father's in Allegheny County, Pa., remaining there a few months, but spent a greater part of his time in traveling. On the 22d of February, 1849, selected Mendon and vicinity as his place of practicing his profession. In due time he built up a large and extensive practice, which he held without interruption till the fall of 1877, when he found his labor and close confinement to business re-quired a rest and relinquishment for a time. He there-fore withdrew from business in his old vicinity, went to Philadelphia, Pa., visited his old alma mater, Jefferson Medical College, became a regular attendant upon the course of lectures delivered therein, also attending the clinics delivered at the most important hospitals in the city. Returning in the month of April, 1878, he resumed practice at his former place. Finding much benefit derived from this course in the way of improving his health as well as medical knowledge, he returned to Philadelphia in the fall of 1878, which he has continued to do for the past five winters regularly, spending his time there in attending lectures and clinics, and in taking special-courses in the science of medicine, such as on the eye, under Dr. Little, chief in ophthalmology. in the Jefferson Medical Hospital; heart and lungs, Dr. Bingham, chief in the medical department in the hospital ; ear and throat, Dr. Trumbull, also chief in the same hospital ; on dermatology, Dr. John V. Shoomaker, principal in the American Hospital for Skin Diseases. For the past ten years has always kept a young physician with him, in the way of aiding him in acute diseases; has for the past five years relinquished much of the general practice, attention to chronic diseases occu-pying much of his time in office practice. John Sutton, the father of Lewis Sutton, was born in New Jersey, Dec. 1, 1782 ; died Aug. 29, 1856 ; was the oldest son of Jonathan and Hannah Sutton ; was raised and educated there; learned the carpenter and cabinet-making trades. Came to Westmoreland County, Pa., the year 1812 ; located at Budd's Ferry, where he worked at his trades. Was married to Amy Budd, Sept. 21, 1813, who was the oldest daughter of Col. Joseph Budd, deceased. After moving, located at the Deep Cut (Rostraver township, Westmoreland County, Pa.), where he continued to labor at his trades. Had five children, three sons and two daughters. About the year 1824 purchased a farm in Elizabeth township, Allegheny County, Pa., where he moved during the same year, at the same time quitting his trades, devoting his whole time to farming and stock-raising. By industry and economy accumulated wealth, investing in lands, and at his death possessed several hundred acres of land and a considerable amount of money. Amy Sutton, the mother of Lewis Sutton, was born at Budd's Ferry, Rostraver township, Westmoreland County, Pa., Dec. 2, 1783 ; was the oldest daughter of Col. Joseph and Susannah Budd ; was married to John Sutton, Sept. 21, 1813 ; died Nov. 13, 1871. Grandfather Joseph Budd died March 16, 1826, aged seventy-four years and twenty-one days. Grand-mother Susannah Budd died Feb. 19, 1849, in the eighty-sixth year of her age. Children of John and Amy Sutton : Joseph, born July 27, 1814 ; was married to Sabina Shields, Jan. 1, 1846. Had eight children, five sons and three daughters. Joseph Sutton died Oct. 22, 1865 ; Sabina Sutton, his wife, died July 24, 1873. Jonathan, born March 3, 1816 ; died July 27, 1817. Susannah, born Oct. 9, 1817 ; was married twice; first husband, Walter Wall, who died ; second hus-band, Robert Scott ; had three children, a daughter by first husband, and a son and daughter by the last. Susannah Scott died Dec. 7, 1881. Lewis was born April 15, 1820 ; married Mary M. Buttmore, April 6, 1853. Mrs. Sutton was born in Hempfield township, West-moreland County, Pa., Dec. 15, 1830. Hannah, born Feb. 18, 182,2, was married-to Brisben Wall ; has a family of four sons. SOUTH HUNTINGDON TOWNSHIP - 671 Children of Jonathan and Hannah Sutton : John, born Dec. 1, 1782 ; Nathan, born Jan. 7, 1784 ; Elsea, born May 5, 1786 ; Susannah, born Oct. 6, 1788; Lewis, born March 31, 1793 ; Zachariah, born July 12, 1795; Manoah, born Sept. 15, 1797 ; Charity, born Aug. 1, 1800 ; Lewis, died April 27, 1882. SAMUEL B. WEIMER. Samuel B. Weimer was born in Donegal township, Westmoreland County, Pa., Jan. 27, 1816, the only child Of David and Mary (Bossart) Weimer. His grandfather, John De Watt Weimer, emigrated from Germany, and eventually settled in Westmoreland County, Pa. David Weimer, his son, settled on a farm in Donegal township, and about nine miles from the old homestead. He married Mary Bossart, widow of Jacob Keifer. Both were members of the United Brethren Church. They lived all their married life on the place above named ; both died and lire buried there. They were devoted Christian people, and commanded the respect of all who knew them. He died July 2,1842, aged seventy-six years, two months, and five days. His wife died Feb. 6, 1849, aged seventy-nine years, one month, and twenty-seven days. Samuel B. Weimer lived at home until he was seventeen years of age. In 1833 he came to West Newton, where he learned the trade of a hatter of David Weimer, a cousin. After learning his trade he continued to work as a journeyman with his cousin until 1839. He then went to Monongahela City, where he carried on his trade eight months. He then returned to West Newton, and after clerking a few months for Jacob Baughman, in company with Daniel Swem he purchased the store, and under the firm of Swem & Weimer carried it on until 1853, when he sold his interest to his partner. Their purchase of Mr. Baughman invoiced $7700 and was mostly upon credit. At the time of the dissolution of the partnership, thirteen years after their purchase, they had paid off this indebtedness and had a good working capital left, and it is but just to say that this marked success was due very largely to the splendid business management of Mr. Weimer. Their store was situated where the Presbyterian Church now stands. For the next two years Mr. Weimer was manager of the business at the warehouses connected with the Youghiogheny Navigation Company, a most responsible position at that time. Upon the completion of the Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad from West Newton to Connellsville, in 1855, he became the agent of the road at West Newton, which position he held for nineteen years, until 1874, from which time. he retired from active business. In politics he was first a Whig, then a Republican. In his earlier years he took an active part in local politics, and was often called to fill local offices. He was member of the school board, judge of elections, and justice of the peace, in the latter office over sixteen years ; took an interest in all public improvements ; was a stock- holder in the Robbstown and Mount Pleasant pike, in the Youghiogheny Navigation Company, and in the Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad. He was a member of the United Presbyterian Church of West Newton from 1851, was for years an elder, and for eighteen years the superintendent of its Sabbath-school. He was indeed a pillar of the church during his entire membership in it. The poor never made their appeal to him in vain. His advice was much sought after, and he was often called, to fill the position of executor of estates and guardian of children. He was pre-eminently a home man. Out of business hours, any one would always know where to find Mr. Weimer. He was a devoted husband, a kind and wisely indulgent father. In his death, which resulted from a combination of diseases ending in paralysis, his family and the community met an irreparable, loss. He died at his residence in West Newton, Sept. 3, 1881. His last words were, " My hopes are bright." His widow, Catharine Lucetta Weimer, whom he married March 17, 1842, was the daughter of Thomas and Esther (Trout) Hanna, and was born in South Huntingdon township, Westmoreland County, Nov. 17, 1824. Her family were among the first settlers of that township. Her great-grandfather, John Miller, was its first justice of the peace. Her brother, Henry T. Hanna, is now living at the old homestead, the fourth generation in the family occupying it. Mrs. Weimer has been a member of the United Presbyterian Church since 1847, first in Sewickley, and of the church at West Newton from the time of its organization. Their children are as follows : Mary Elizabeth, born Dec. 7, 1842, died Jan. 1, 1843 ; Thomas Hanna, born Jan. 27, 1844, died Feb. 8, 1857 ; Saline' Clarence, born Sept. 10, 1846 ; Hester Lucetta, born Dec. 2, 1848, married to George G. Richie, Oct. 29, 1867, died Feb. 16, 1872; and an infant son, born April 17, 1855. Samuel Clarence Weimer, his only surviving child, commenced merchandising in West Newton, in company with his brother-in-law, George G. Richie, firm " Richie & Weimer," Jan. 1, 1872. Aug. 1, 1876, he purchased the interest of his partner, since which time he has carried on the business in his own name, and has done the leading trade in West Newton. The store building (a representation of which appears on another page of this work) is by far the most complete establishment in the region, and is a model in every respect. " A place for everything, and everything in its place," is the motto literally realized. It embraces 10,190 feet of floor-room. Its clerks and other employes number twenty-two. In the conduct of this large establishment the lessons of order and thorough business management taught by the father have not been lost upon the son. ALLEGHENY TOWNSHIP. ALLEGHENY TOWNSHIP was organized in 1796, and received its name from the river that forms its northwest boundary. Its first officers were : Supervisors, Ezekiel Matthews and John Leslie ; constable, Thomas Reed.. Its surface is diversified. The northern part of it abounds in coal, but the major portion of the township is utilized for agricultural purposes, to which it is specially adapted. The soil is fertile and susceptible of the highest cultivation. The farms are well kept, and the residences substantial, which evince a large degree of prosperity. In the northeastern part, near the post-village of Lucesco, is the confluence of the Kiskiminetas and Allegheny Rivers, also the junction of the Allegheny Valley and Western Pennsylvania Railroads. The former runs along the northwestern and the latter along the eastern boundaries of the township, affording a rare convenience, both for travel and transportation, to its inhabitants. Another village and post-office is Shearer's Cross-Roads. EARLY SETTLERS. Among the old settlers were the Stewart family, in 1790 ; the Leechburgs, in 791; Watts (William and John), in 1801; the Dimmits, Zimmermans, Hills, Cochrans, Hawks, before 1800; Bakers, Butlers, Alters, Wilsons, Lauffers, Longs, Trouts, Jacksons, McClellands, Garretts, Dodds, McKees, Copelands, Lynches, Armstrongs, McGossers, Ashbaughs, Townsends, Faulks, Steeles, John Garrett, 1828; Joseph McElroy, in 1820; John Stewart, in 1833; J. H. Crane, in 1849 ; Judge Carpenter, McGearys. William Watt was born near Chambersburg in 781, and died March 5, 1855. PIONEER REMINISCENCES. The following accounts of depredations committed on the early settlers of Allegheny township by the Indians—murders, captures, battles, etc.—are full of interest: Massy Harbison was born in Hamwell township, Somerset County, N. J., March 18, 770, and was the daughter of Edward White, a soldier of the Revolution, who served for three years, in which time he was in every battle but that of Long Island. He heard the roaring of the cannon and the din of war at the battles of Trenton, Monmouth, and Brandywine. After the establishment of peace her father and fatnily moved from New Jersey to Redstone Fort - 672 - (now Brownsville), on the Monongahela River. This was in 783, and in 787, at that place, she married John Harbison. In 789 she and her husband moved to Allegheny township and settled on the head-waters of Chartiers Creek, being among the very first to locate in this region. In 1789 and 790 the inhabitants on the banks of the Allegheny River and in this township enjoyed repose and cleared up much land and built several cabins, but in March, 1791, the Indian war broke out. The first act of Indian aggression and cruelty was the attack of the savages upon the house of Thomas Dick, living below the mouth of Deer Creek, March 18, 1791. Mr. Dick and his wife were made prisoners, and a young man living in the house with them was killed and scalped, and a considerable number of horses stolen. Mr. Dick and and wife were kept prisoners until Gen. Wayne's victory, in the fall of 1794. On the night of March. 2d seven Indians came to the house of Abraham Russ, living two miles below the mouth of Bull Creek, and twenty-three from Pittsburgh, on the Allegheny River, in a friendly manner, leaving their rifles at the door (al well-known token of Indian friendship); and solicited their supper. Their request was complied with and supper procured for them, and they sat down and supped. When they had finished their meal one of the savages went and placed himself against the door to prevent any of the family from escaping, while the rest, with their tomahawks, murdered and scalped four men, old Mrs. Russ (the mother of Mr. Russ), and six children, then plundered what they pleased from the house, bore away their plunder, setting fire to the house and burning the dead bodies with the buildings. Mrs. Dary, daughter of old Mrs. Russ, witnessed an Indian's taking her own child, eighteen months old, and knocking its brains out against the head of her mother, by which means her mother was also killed. She, however, made her escape in pulling open the clapboard-door, with three of her daughters. Agnes Clerk escaped with two children, as did also Catharine Cutwright, who lost her husband and son, murdered in her sight. John Dary, a lad of thirteen years and son of Jacob Dary, the proprietor of the house, but who was absent from home, when he saw the Indians at supper, suspected from their manner that all was not right, and he privately escaped from the house and hid himself in a hollow tree, where he remained until the next morning, when he removed to a hole in some rocks on Little ALLEGHENY TOWNSHIP - 673 Bull Creek. Here he remained until the third day, when he was frightened from his retreat by the appearance of a wolf. Jacob, a younger brother of six years of age, escaped from the house during the bloody conflict and hid himself under a log and covered himself with leaves. While he was thus secreted the Indians repeatedly came upon the log with fire in their hands in quest of those who had escaped. The women and children who had escaped hastened to the river, when they called so as to be heard a mile and a half, and Levi Johnson, Mrs. Russ' son-in-law, ventured at the hazard of his life to cross the river in a canoe for them, by which means seventeen persons were preserved from the savages. The night was very frosty and severe, and those who had thus crossed the river had to run nine miles, many of them nearly naked, without shoes to their feet, and through the woods for a place of shelter. By eleven o'clock that night, William Critchlow and Samuel Orr carried the news of these heart-sickening events to Mrs. Mary Harbison, and to the other eight families within a mile of the Allegheny and Kiskiminetas Rivers. Mrs. Harbison then mounted on a horse, with one child in her arms and another about four years old tied on behind her. Although within two months of confinement she thus traveled seven miles to James Paul's, on Pine Run, where she with her escort and children arrived about daybreak. By the time the sun rose there was between seventy and eighty women and children collected at this retreat. All the men, four excepted, had left them to pursue the Indians. The pursuers first went to the place where the awful massacre had taken place ; there they found the smell which proceeded from the burning of the dead bodies to be so awfully offensive that they were scarcely able to endure it. From thence they went a mile below the Kiskiminetas, on the Allegheny, and erected a block-house called " Reed's Station," where in two weeks all the families who had fled from Allegheny township returned and remained during the summer. John Harbison then enlisted for six months, in a corps raised by Capt. Guthrie, and proceeded to the Miami villages, under the command of Gen. St. Clair, and was in the fatal engagement in which the Indians so completely out-generaled and defeated St. Clair, where he was wounded, on. Nov. 6, 1791. The Indians attacked David McKee and another young man at a fish-basket on the river seven miles from the station, and most brutally massacred them. This was the last Indian barbarity perpetrated on the banks of the Allegheny that season. On the return of John Harbison from St. Clair's expedition, and on his recovery from his wounds, he was made a spy and ordered to the woods on duty, March 22, 1792. The appointment of spies to watch the movements of Indians was so consonant with the desires and interests of the inhabitants that the frontiers along this township now resumed the appearance of quiet and confidence. Those who had been for nearly a year huddled in Reed's Station block-house were scattered to their own habitations, and began the cultivation of their farms. The house of John Harbison was a favorite place for the spies to rendezvous. On May 15th Capt. Guthrie, John Harbison, and other spies came to this house to get supper, and Mrs. Harbison, accompanied by a guard (William Maxwell), went to the spring for water. While there they heard a sound, like the bleating of a lamb or fawn, which alarmed them, and they hastily retreated to the house. Whether it was a decoy, or a warning of future trouble, they were unable to determine. On the night of May 21st two of the spies, James Davis and Mr. Sutton, came to lodge at the Harbison house, and the next morning at daybreak, when the horn blew at the block-house, within sight and distant about two hundred yards, the two men got up and went out. Mrs. Harbison was awake and saw the door open, and thought the men had left it open. She intended to rise immediately, but having a child at the breast, and it being awakened, she lay with it at the breast to get it to sleep again, and accidentally fell asleep herself. The first thing Mrs. Harbison knew from falling asleep was the Indians pulling her out of the bed by the feet, when she looked up and saw the house full of savages, every one having his gun in his left hand and tomahawk in his right. Beholding the dangerous situation in which she was, she immediately jumped to the floor on her feet, with the young child, in her arms, then took a petticoat to put on, having only the one on in which she slept; but the Indians took it from her, and as many times as she attempted to put it on they succeeded in taking it from her, so she had to go just as she had been in bed. While she was struggling with the Indians for clothing, others of them went and took the two oldest children out of another bed, and took the two featherbeds to the door and emptied them. They then began to destroy all they were unable to carry away, and while at this work Mrs. Harbison made for the door, and succeeded in getting out with one child in her arms and another by her side; but the other little boy was so much displeased by being so early disturbed in the morning that he would not come to the door. When she got out she saw Mr. Wolf, one of the soldiers, going to the spring for water, and beheld three of the Indians. attempting to get between him and the block-house, Mr. Wolf being unconscious of his danger; for the savages had not yet been discovered. She then gave a terrific scream, by which means Mr. Wolf discovered his danger and started to run to the block-house, when seven or eight Indians fired at him, but the only injury he received was a bullet in his arm, which broke it, and he succeeded in making his escape to the block-house. When Mrs. Harbison gave the alarm one of the Indians came up to her with his tomahawk as though about to take her life ; a second came and placed his 674 - HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. hand before her mouth and told her to hush, when a third came with a lifted tomahawk and attempted to give her a blow, but the first that came raised his tomahawk and averted the blow, and claimed her as his squaw. The commissary with his waiter slept in the store-house near the block-house, and upon hearing the report of the guns came to the door to see what was the matter, and seeing the danger he was in made his escape to the block-house, but not without being discovered by the Indians, several of whom fired at him, and One of the bullets went through his handkerchief, which was tied about his head, and took off some of his hair. The waiter on coming to the door was met by the Indians, who fired upon him, and he received two bullets through his body and fell dead by the door. The Indians then set up their terrific yells and pushed forward and attempted to scalp the man they had killed, but were prevented from this by the heavy fire which was kept up through the port-holes from the block-house. In this scene of horror and alarm Mrs. Harbison began to meditate an escape, and for this purpose attempted to direct the attention of the Indians from her and to fix it on the block-house, and thought if she could succeed in this she would retreat to a subterranean cavern with which she was acquainted which was in the run near where the Indians then were. So she began to converse with those nearest her, and they began to question her respecting the strength of the block-house, the number of men in it, etc., and being informed there were forty men there and that they were excellent marksmen, they immediately determined to retreat, and for this purpose ran to those besieging the block-house and brought them away. They then began to flog Mrs. Harbison with their whipping-sticks and to order her along. Thus what she intended as the means of her escape was the means of hastening her departure in the hands of the savages. It was, however, the means of the preservation of the fort and the people in it, for when the Indians gave up their attack and retreated some of the white men in the fort had the last load of ammunition in their guns, and there was no possibility of procuring more, for it was all fastened up in the storehouse, which was inaccessible. The Indians, when they had flogged her, took her away with them, and also took her eldest boy, about five years old, for he was still at the door by her side. Her middle boy, of about three years of age, had by this time obtained a situation by the fire in the house, and was crying bitterly to his mother not to go, and making little complaints of the depredations of the savages. But the latter were unwilling to let the child remain behind them, and they took him by the hand to drag him away with them ; but he was so very unwilling to go, and made such a noise by crying that they took him up by the feet and dashed his brains out against the threshold of the door. They then stabbed, scalped, and left him for dead. This inhuman butchery drew from Mrs. Harbison a terrific scream, and drove her almost to blindness, from which she was brought to her recollection by -a blow given her by an Indian across her face and head. During all this agonizing scene she kept her infant in her arms. They then marched her along to the top of the bank, some fifty rods, stopped, and divided their plunder captured, when she counted their number (thirty-two), two of whom were white men painted as Indians. Several of the Indians could speak English well, and some of them she knew, having seen them go up and down the Allegheny River. She knew two to be Senecas and two to be Munsies, for they had called at the shop to get their guns repaired, and she had seen them there. They then went some forty rods and caught her uncle John Currie's horses, and two of whom, into whose custody she was put, started with her towards the mouth of the Kiskiminetas, and the rest went off towards Puckety. When they came to the bank that descended towards the Allegheny the bank was so very steep, and there appeared so much danger in descending it on horseback, that she threw herself off the horse in opposition to the will and command of the Indians. Her horse descended without falling, but the one on which the savage rode who had her little boy fell and rolled over repeatedly, and her little boy fell back over the horse, but was not materially injured. He was then taken up by one of the Indians, who went to the bank of the river, where they had secreted some bark canoes under the rocks, opposite to the island lying between the Kiskiminetas and Buffalo. Not being able to make their horses cross the river, they left the horses behind and took their prisoners in one of the canoes to the point of the island, and then left the canoes. When they landed one of the savages with his tomahawk murdered and scalped her oldest boy in her presence, which caused her to sink senseless to the ground with her infant in her arms. She was brought to mind by severe blows from the savages; but seeing the scalp of her darling boy again relapsed into unconsciousness, when they hid it and led her into the water, which revived her. The Indians then proceeded rapidly forward, crossed Big Buffalo, also Conequenessing Creek (where Butler now stands), thence six miles to Little Buffalo, and crossed it where the old Sarver mill is. Mrs. Harbison, now weary of life, tormented and beaten by the Indians, determined to make the savages kill her to end her miseries. She took from her shoulder a large powder-horn they made her carry in addition to her child, and threw it in contempt on the ground, expecting to be immediately tomahawked. They put it on again, and twice she repeated this proceeding, thus inviting her destruction ; but her action pleased the Indians for her boldness, and they did not molest her. They now changed their positions, putting the Indian behind her who claimed her as his squaw, to protect and keep her from doing herself any injury.