Biographical and historical cyclopedia of Indiana and Armstrong counties, Pennsylvania, Part 73

Author: Wiley, Samuel T. ed. cn
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Philadelphia [J.M. Gresham & co.]
Number of Pages: 652

USA > Indiana > Biographical and historical cyclopedia of Indiana and Armstrong counties, Pennsylvania > Part 73
USA > Pennsylvania > Armstrong County > Biographical and historical cyclopedia of Indiana and Armstrong counties, Pennsylvania > Part 73

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He died on Sunday, April 15, 1888, after an illness of only nine days, and although his suf- ferings were intense, yet he bore them with the same Christian courage and fortitude which he ever displayed through life. "His was a heroic life both in peace and war." Rev. Duff was a large, portly man of fine personal appearance, six feet in height and weighing two hundred and fifty pounds at time of his death. Politically he was a republican and later a stanch prohibi- tionist. He took a deep interest in all matters pertaining to the welfare of his fellow-men and of his country. His usefulness was not confined to those of his own congregations, but extended throughout the sections of country where he dwelt. He was well-known as the friend of education and progress, and always ready to lend a helping hand to the needy.

On October 27, 1868, he married Nannie Henry, daughter of James and Sarah (Rich- mond) Henry, who were natives of Ireland, but came to America about 1834 and settled in Frank- lin township, Armstrong county. Mr. Henry was a stone-mason by trade ; also was the owner of a farm ; politically a republican. Mrs. Henry died in 1878 and Mr. Henry in 1883, one eighty- four years of age, and the other about eighty-six.

They were members of the Associate (now U. P.) church, in which he was an elder for many years. They were the parents of nine children, two sons and seven daughters. Both sons served in the civil war. David, the eldest, enlisted in 1862, in the 100th Pa. Vols. and was killed by guerrillas June 2, 1864, near Cold Harbor, Va. James served in the -14th P. V. C. from 1862 to the close of the war, and was killed in July, 1882, on his own farm by being thrown under his mowing machine.

To Captain and Mrs. Duff were born seven children, six sons and one daughter. Two sons died in infancy, their dust resting beside that of their father in the Atwood cemetery. The oldest son is pursuing a course of medicine at a medical college. The others remain at home with their mother, being yet too young to choose their life-work. May they emulate the virtues of their father.

A RCHIBALD FINDLEY, one of Cowan- shannock township's most reliable and substantial farmers, is a son of Abel and Mary (Marshall) Findley, and was born in Wayne township, Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, October 3, 1819. His grandfather, Archibald Findley, was a farmer of Brush Valley, Indi- ana county, where his son, Abel Findley (father), was born April 18, 1784. He removed to Wayne township, Armstrong county, where he purchased land at different times until he had a tract of three hundred and fifty acres. He was a carpenter and cabinet-maker by trade, but after his removal to Wayne township he de- voted the most of his time to agricultural pur- suits. He died February 5, 1850, when he was in the sixty-seventh year of his age. He was a democrat in politics, an active member of the Presbyterian church and was prominent in the organization of the first Sunday-school con- nected with his church in that vicinity. He married Mary Marshall, who was born Septem-

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BIOGRAPHIES OF

ber 26, 1788. Her father, William Marshall, a native of Adams county, Pa., came in early life to near the present site of Dayton, where he reared a family of six sons and three daughters. To Abel Findley and his wife were born six children, three sons and three daughters : Wil- liam M., born June 16, 1817, and died in 1866; Archibald, born October 3, 1819; Mary A., born February 13, 1822, wife of J. K. Orman, of near Elderton ; Catherine, born May 9, 1825, married to John Marshall (now deceased) ; Margaret J., born August 7, 1827, and died in 1830 ; and Abel A., born December 14, 1831, married Margaret McGanghey, and is a farmer of Wayne township.

Archibald Findley was reared on his father's farm, and received a common business educa- tion. He commenced life for himself on the farm of one hundred and sixty acres, on which he now resides, when it was in the woods. He not only cleared out his farm, but has it well improved. He erected all his present build- ings, cultivates his land carefully and raises con- siderable stock.

On October 3, 1848, he married Lavina E. Brink, who was born March 30, 1830, and died March 31, 1852. To their union were born two daughters : Mary E., born October 4, 1849, and wife of John C. McGaughey, a jeweler and sil- versmith of Clearfield county, and Rebecca C., born March 21, 1852, wife of Alexander G. Walker, a farmer of Wayne township. After the death of his wife, Mr. Findley married Eliza Jane McComb, who was born July 18, 1822, and died September 7, 1856, leaving no offspring, as her two children died in their in- fancy. On February 17, 1859, Mr. Findley married for his third wife Mary Kirkpatrick, who was born January 7, 1828, and died August 16, 1890.

Archibald Findley is a republican in politics and has filled the offices of school director and assistant assessor of Cowanshannock township. He has been a member and elder of the Presby-

terian church for over a half century and for the last fifty years was leader of the singing and church choir. He has well discharged every duty in life which has devolved upon him. By honorable toil he has won a competency, and by honesty and straightforwardness has secured the respect of his neighbors.

ADDISON H. GIBSON, a substantial mer- chant of Elderton for the last twelve years, and a man of intelligence and education, is a son of Squire Robert M. Gibson, and was born at Elderton, Armstrong county, Pennsyl- vania, November 30, 1860. His paternal grandfather, Gibson, came from Ireland in 1787 and settled in Indiana county, where he followed farming and stock-raising. He was a member of the Presbyterian church and voted the dem- ocratic ticket. One of his sons, Squire Robert M. Gibson (father), was born in this county, November 1, 1814. He attended the subscrip- tion schools of Plum Creek township and as- sisted his father on the farm until he was sev- enteen years of age, when he entered the em- ploy of a mercantile firm at Shelocta, as a clerk. After one year's experience in mercantile busi- ness he then returned to Elderton, where he opened a general mercantile store, which he conducted for many years. He was an elder in the Presbyterian church, became a prominent republican, served as justice of the peace for twenty-five years, and was president for several years of the Mahoning bank, at Punxsutawney, Jefferson county. He was one of the most prominent men and influential citizens of El- derton at the time of his death.

In 1842 he married a Miss Lytle, of Elder- ton, by whom he had two children, who are both dead. After his first wife's death he mar- ried a Miss Allison, of Cannonsburg, Washing- ton county, who died and left three children, of whom two are living. He married for his third wife a Miss Montgomery, of South Bend. To

ARMSTRONG COUNTY.

547

this third union were born two children : Addi- son H., and Wilda J., born June 7, 1866. Mrs. Montgomery (maternal grandmother) was of Irish descent, and was born near Mount Royal, in Canada, in 1793, and died in Indiana county in 1837.

Addison H. Gibson attended the public schools of Elderton, and at the age of twelve years entered Elderton academy, where for six years he followed a course of English literature and higher mathematics. On leaving the acad- emy, he engaged in the general mercantile busi- ness with his father at Elderton. Afterwards he purchased the establishment and stock of goods of his father and since then has given his time principally to building up the extensive patronage which he now enjoys. His establish- ment is on Main street, and he deals in dry- goods, groceries, hardware, queensware and everything which is usually found in a first- class general mercantile store. He has been very successful as a merchant and in all busi- ness enterprises in which he has invested. He owns some valuable property at Elderton, and is regarded as a man of good financial ability and a citizen of public spirit and usefulness.

A' BRAHAM GOOD. Of those who have steadily followed farming successfully for nearly half a century, is Abraham Good, of Wayne township, Armstrong county. He is a son of Abraham and Margaret (Burkett) Good and was born in Blair county, near Frankstown. Pennsylvania, October 13, 1824. His paternal grandfather Good was a native of Maryland, and one of his sons, Abraham Good (father), was born near Hagerstown, in that State, from which he removed in early life to Indiana county. He died in 1855 at fifty-six years of age. He married Margaret Burkett, by whom he had eleven children, eight of whom are liv- ing.

Abraham Good was reared on his father's

farm, received a common business education, and npon attaining his majority engaged in farming in his native township, which he steadily fol- lowed until 1864, when he came to Wayne township, Armstrong county, where he now owns two hundred and fifty acres of land in two good farms, on one of which he now resides.

On April 26, 1854, he married Hannah C. Irwin, daughter of Benjamin Irwin, and to their union were born five children, four sons and one daughter: Alonzo, who married Isa- bella F. Jewel, and is assisting his father in farming ; Rev. Adolphus C., married to Lydia B. Walker, was graduated from Washington & Jefferson college, and then completed his theo- logical course of study in the Allegheny Sem- inary, after which he was sent, in 1882, as a missionary by the Presbyterian church to west- ern Africa, where he is located, at Lumbarene Gaboon, on the Agowa river ; Elmer E., a iner- chant in Nebraska ; Ulysses S., a farmer and teacher in Nebraska, and Rosa Ida, who died in April, 1864. Mrs. Hannah C. Good died June 4, 1890, when she was in the sixty-ninth year of .. her age. Mr. Good has five grandchildren-his son Alonzo's four sons : James A., Thomas G., Frank J. and Edward C .; and his son, Rev. Adolphus C.'s son : Albert Irwin.

Abraham Good is a stanch republican in poli- tics, and has filled the offices of school director, constable and overseer of the poor, and has served as trustce and elder of Glade Run Pres- byterian church, of which he is a member. To agriculture Mr. Good has devoted nearly fifty ycars of his life, with highly encouraging and very profitable results. The competency which he has acquired, and the valuable farms which he owns, are evidences of his success as a farmer.

GEORGE A. GOURLEY: But few men in the county have had a longer or more suc- cessful career in the mercantile business than

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BIOGRAPHIES OF

George A. Gourley, a resident of Rural Valley and now one of the most substantial farmers of Cowanshannock township. He was born near Saltsburg, Indiana county, Pennsylvania, Feb- ruary 4, 1821, and is a son of John and Martha (Scott) Gourley. The Gourley family traces its ancestry to Ireland, where Samuel Gourley, the grandfather of George A. Gourley, was born. He came to Pennsylvania, where he purchased a farm in Westmoreland county and resided until his death. He was a whig in politics, and married Catherine Dickey, by whom he had several children. John Gourley (father) was born near Hannastown, Westmoreland county. He taught for many years in his native county, was an excellent penman and accountant as well as a skillful surveyor. In 1843 he came to Cowanshannock township, where he died some three years later. In 1816 he married Martha Scott, and to their union were born four- teen children, of whom seven lived to maturity : Lavina, Belinda, Juliet, George A., John, Samuel and Benjamin, who enlisted in Co. D, 62d regi- ment, Pa. Vols., in 1863, and after serving about four months died of quinsy in the hospital near Washington, D. C. Mrs. Gourley's father, a Mr. Scott, was a native of Westmoreland county, from whence he removed to Columbus, Ohio, where he died.

George A. Gourley was reared on the farm and received his education in the schools taught by his father. In 1852 he entered the employ of Philip Mechling, of Kittanning, as a clerk and remained with him until 1856. He then embarked in the general mercantile business at Rural Valley, which he followed successfully for twenty-three years. Since 1879 he has not been actively engaged in any special line of busi- ness and has given a part of his time to the management of his home farm of one hundred and eighty acres of land near Rural Valley, and another farm which he owns but a short distance from the same place.

On September 22, 1860, he married Ellen

Earhart, daughter of Jacob Earhart, of Salts- burg. Their union has been blessed with four children, one son and three daughters : Mary A., wife of Dr. Stockdill, a prominent physician of Rural Valley (see his sketch); Olive B., married to Harper Ambrose, a farmer; Laura B. and George A., Jr.

In politics Mr. Gourley is a republican, and has always voted that ticket. He was remark- ably successful as a merchant, and is prosperous as a farmer. His farms, in appearance and in the crops which they afford, give evidence of his agricultural knowledge and good management.

JACOB S. HAINES, a well-known citizen C and the proprietor of one of the most suc- cessful flouring-mills of Wayne township, is a son of John and Margaret (Mansfield) Haines, and was born in Hempfield township, West- moreland county, Pennsylvania, October 17, 1827. Frederick Haines (grandfather) was a native of Northampton county, where his father, who was a native of Germany, had settled. Frederick Haines removed from his birth-place to Hempfield township and engaged in shoe- making and farming. He was an unassuming, quiet man, a member of the Lutheran church, and in politics was an old-time democrat. He married a Miss Jarett and their union was blessed with six children, three sons and three daughters. Jacob Haines (father) was born in Northampton county and settled in Wayne town- ship in 1844, where he died in the spring of 1880, aged eighty-four years. He was a strong democrat, and a consistent member of the Re- formed church. He married Margaret Mans- field, daughter of Jacob Mansfield, an early settler near Mansfield, Ohio, which city was named after him. They had seven children : Frederick, of Wayne township, who served through the Mexican and the late civil wars ; Benjamin, of Brookville, who is engaged in the milling business; William Alexander, who en-

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ARMSTRONG COUNTY.

tered the Union army from Jefferson county, in the 105th regiment, served three years in the Army of the Potomac, and was killed in a mill after the close of the war; Philip, of Leechburg, who served in the Army of the Potomac until he was wounded and discharged; Hannah, married to Michael J. Smith, owner of a foundry in Red Bank township (see his sketch) ; Catherine and Jacob S.

Jacob S. Haines was reared on the farm and obtained his education in the common schools of Wayne township. Leaving school, he learned milling at Salem, where he continued in that business for seven years. At the expiration of that time he returned to Wayne township and commenced milling, where he now owns a good mill and where he has also been engaged in farming ever since. He enlisted October 1, 1861, in Co. M, 2d regiment, Penna. Cavalry, and served nntil December 16th, when he re- enlisted in the same regiment and served until 1865. He was in the Army of the Potomac, was promoted to sergeant and participated in the battles of Spottsylvania Conrt-honse, Antietam, Gettysburg, the Wilderness and in the fights in front of Petersburg. He made a good record as a soldier and always performed with alacrity whatever duty was assigned him.

On October 10, 1850, he nnited in marriage with Martha Jane Ridgeway, daughter of Ziba L. and Clarissa (Weir) Ridgeway. Mrs. Haines' grandfather, Matthew Ridgeway, went from New England to New York, where he died. Her maternal grandfather, Abraham Weir, was a native of New York, where he also died, and his son, Ziba Ridgeway, removed to Connells- ville, Fayette county, where he reared a family of seven children, five sons and two daughters, of whom the eldest son, William E., entered the Union army from Wisconsin and died in the service. Mr. and Mrs. Haines have three chil- dren : Mary A., who married Abraham Good, of near Smicksburg, and has three children, Martha E., Jacob C. and Emma; William H.,

married to Jennie Bowse, living at East Brady, Pa., and has three sons, Herbert, Cnrt and Dickey ; and Charles W.

In politics Mr. Haines is a republican. He and his wife are members of the Dayton Metho- dist church, of which he is a steward.

TOHN HECKMAN, a leading merchant and highly-respected citizen of Elderton, is the eldest son of Michael Heckman, and was born near Leechburg, Armstrong county, Pennsyl- vania, Angnst 24, 1828. His grandfather Heckman was one of the early settlers of West- moreland connty, and married Maria Iseman, by whom he had nine children. One of these children was Michael Heckman (father), who was born in 1800, in Westmoreland county. He attended the subscription schools of that period. He was a farmer by occupation, own- ing one hundred and fifty acres of land, on which he raised large crops of grain and con- siderable stock. He was an uncompromising democrat, and took an active part in local poli- tics. He died in 1882, a consistent member of the Evangelical Lutheran church. He married and reared a family of seven children, of whom one is the subject of this sketch.

John Heckman was reared on a farm and at- tended school in the log school-honse situated some two miles from his father's house. He began life as a farmer, assisting his father until he was twenty-eight years of age. He then purchased a farm which he tilled until 1868, when he engaged in the huckster business, which he followed for the ensuing seven years. From 1875 to 1885 he was engaged in farming, and then removed to Elderton, where he resided for three years. In 1888 he embarked in his pres- ent general mercantile business on Main street, at Elderton. He carries a complete and care- fully-selected stock of goods, well adapted to the numerous wants of his many patrons.

He married Catherine Dice, danghter of Jolin

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BIOGRAPHIES OF

and Catherine (Sipes) Dice, of Armstrong coun- ty. They have had four children : Michael, Harvey (dead), Thomas M., born in 1857, and Anna Maria, born in 1860, and now a partner with her father in the mercantile business.

Politically, Mr. Heckman is a Jacksonian democrat, and has been elected by his party as inspector of elections, school director and mem- ber of the town council. He has always taken an active part in the work of the Lutheran church, of which lie is an elder and has served as deacon and trustee. He owns a fine two- story brick residence at Elderton, besides his store-room and other valuable property. He has acquired, by honesty and industry, a com- petency, and is known as one of the reliable business men and prosperous citizens of the county. The Heckman family is of German origin, but for over a century has been Amer- ican by citizenship. It is a family that pos- sesses many worthy qualities of character, and ranks as one of the substantial families of Armstrong county.

M ICHAEL HECKMAN, a prominent citi- zen and successful merchant of St. Thomas, is a son of John and Catherine (Dice) Heck- man, and was born April 22, 1855, in Arm- strong county, Pennsylvania. The Heckman family is of German descent, and Michael Heckman's great-grandfather, Philip Heckman, was an early settler of Westmoreland county. He married Maria Iseman, of Armstrong coun- ty, and had a family of nine children. One of his sons, Michael Heckman (grandfather), was born in Westmoreland county in 1800. His son, John Heckman (father), was born August 24, 1828 (see his sketch). In early manhood he followed farming, but during the latter part of his life has been successfully en- gaged in the general mercantile business at Elderton. He is a consistent member of the Evangelical Lutheran church, a thoroughi-

going business man and a strong democrat. He married Catherine Dice, daughter of John and Catherine (Sipes) Dice. They have had five children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the eldest.

Michael Heckman was reared on his father's farm, and at Elderton, and received a good common-school education. Leaving school, he assisted his father on the farm and in the store until 1881, when he engaged, at St. Thomas, in the mercantile business for himself, as junior member of the firm of Hileman & Heckman. In the same year he purchased Mr. Hileman's interest, and formed a partnership with his brothers, Harvey and T. M. Heckman, under the firm-name of Heckman Bros. His brother Harvey dying, he and his brother T. M. have continued in the mercantile business at St. Thomas until the present time. They have in- vested some ten thousand dollars in their busi- ness, and have one of the largest stocks of gen- eral merchandise in that section of the county. Their store-room is commodious and convenient for the display of their choice and well-assorted stock of dry-goods, groceries, hardware, cloth- ing and notions which are necessary to accom- modate their patrons. In addition to his mer- cantile interests Mr. Heckman owns a large amount of valuable farming land in Plum Creek township, which is worth several thousand dol- lars. He has acquired what he owns by his own efforts and judicious management, and never received any material aid from any one.

On April 1, 1885, he married Mary Thomas, the fourth daughter of Johnson and Mary Thomas, of Plum Creek township. To Mr. and Mrs. Heckman have been born four children : Maud E., born April 3, 1885 ; Vernie B., born May 1, 1886, and died Dec. 27, 1887 ; Selah O., born July 13, 1887 ; and John C., born - June 19, 1889.

In politics Mr. Heckman is an active democrat, and has held the offices of overseer of the poor, and auditor and inspector of elections. He is an

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ARMSTRONG COUNTY.

elder of the Lutheran church at St. Thomas, and a member of the Elderton Conclave, No. 1105, Royal Arcanum. Michael Heckman is widely known as an honest, reliable business man, full of enterprise and energy.

M ARGARET CLARK HERRON, an intel- ligent woman of good financial ability and great energy, and a resident of Plum Creek township, is a daughter of William Todd and Jane (Cummins) Clark, and was born on the old Clark homestead in Plum Creek township, Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, May 16, 1826. The Clark family was among the very earliest settled families of Plum Creek town- ship. Joseph Clark (grandfather) and James Clark (great-grandfather) built the first block- house in the county (about 1774), and it was used as a refuge for the families in that neigh- borhood whenever an invasion of Indians was anticipated. His wife was accustomed. to ac- company him in the fields while he plowed, or was otherwise engaged in work, and would stand near him with his gun watching for sudden attacks of Indians. One of their sons, William Todd Clark (father), was born on the home farm April 26,. 1799, received his education in the subscription schools of the county, and followed farming all his life. He was a prominent presbyterian, and was one of the organizers of the Plum Creek Presbyterian church. In 1820 he married Jane Cummins, second daughter of William and Margaret Cum- mins, of Indiana county. They had four chil- dren.

Margaret Clark Herron received a common- school education, and on January 1, 1846, mar- · ried William Herron, son of David Herron, of Westmoreland county, who was born June 9, 1810. He was a carpenter by trade, and died Jan. 10, 1883. To them were born two chil- dren: John C. Herron and Nancy Jane, wife of T. S. Wilson, of Indiana county.

Since her husband's death Mrs. Herron has successfully managed the farm, which contains one hundred and fifty-six acres of well-im- proved land, and kept it in a high state of pro- ductiveness. She resides in a large two-story frame house, and the farm is tilled under lier personal supervision, and in addition to grain- raising she keeps a large herd of cattle. She is a member of the Elderton Presbyterian church. Mrs. Herron is prudent, active and en- ergetic, and occupies a prominent position in her community, not only on account of her family history and respectable connections, but also by reason of her business enterprise and tireless energy.

Joseph Clark (grandfather), married Ann Todd, and their family consisted of two sons, Alexander W., who married Jane Armstrong, and had ten children; and Clark; and six daughters : Barbara, Ann, Louisa, Elizabeth, Margaret and Mary, the wife of Jonathan Agey, and the only one of the family now living.

STEPHEN JONES, one of South Bend township's prosperous and comfortably situated farmers, is a son of John and Mary Jones, and was born in Wales in 1808. He was carefully trained to habits of industry, hon- esty and economy, and received his education in the excellent schools of his native country, from which he emigrated to the United States in 1839. Like many another artisan of the old world, who found all trades there overcrowded, he sought a wider field for work in the new world. For two years he followed his trade in New York city and Pittsburgh. In 1860 he came to Armstrong county, where he purchased his present farm of one hundred and twelve acres, in South Bend township, and has been engaged in farming ever since. His industry here as a farmer has been well rewarded with good crops, while his well improved farm lias increased largely in value since lie purchased it.

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Biographical and historical cyclopedia of Indiana and Armstrong counties, Pennsylvania, Part 73

Author: Wiley, Samuel T. ed. cn Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Philadelphia [J.M. Gresham & co.] Number of Pages: 652

Author: Wiley, Samuel T. ed. cn
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Philadelphia [J.M. Gresham & co.]
Number of Pages: 652