USA > Indiana > Biographical and historical cyclopedia of Indiana and Armstrong counties, Pennsylvania > Part 75
USA > Pennsylvania > Armstrong County > Biographical and historical cyclopedia of Indiana and Armstrong counties, Pennsylvania > Part 75
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559
ARMSTRONG COUNTY.
married William McCracken. Mrs. Ralston, who afterwards married James Mitchell, was born February 21, 1785, and died August 2, 1862. She was the second daughter of Capt. Andrew Sharp, who served as an officer in the Revolutionary war under Washington. In 1784 he became one of the pioneer settlers of Plun Creek township, and also purchased a large tract of land on which the town of Shelocta, Indiana county, now stands. In 1794 he trad- ed this land for a farm near a town in Ken- tucky, where his children could receive the advantages of a good education. He embarked on a flat-boat, on Black Lick creek, with his family and several others,-twenty in all, and on the Kiskiminetas, just below the site of Apollo, was attacked by seven Indians. Capt. Sharp, who succeeded in unfastening his boat, which was tied to the shore at the time, and in getting it into the middle of the river, received two wounds, one in the right, and the other in the left side. He shot one of the Indians, and the other six followed the boat twelve miles down the river, and shot the two men who were in the boat with him. After arriving at Pitts- burgh, Capt. Sharp died of his wounds, on July 8, 1794, and his remains were interred there with the honors of war. He married Ann Wood, a native of Cumberland county. He left six children : Hannah Leason, Agnes Ralston, Joseph, James, Ann McCreigh and Margaret Mccullough. David Ralston, the father of James S. Ralston, was born on Plum creek, Armstrong county, in 1804, and died at Indiana, in 1867. He was a merchant and grain-dealer at Shelocta for several years, went, in 1837, to Indiana, and in 1842 was elected sheriff of Indiana county. He was a whig and republican, and was an active and thorough- going man. He made some very profitable investments in oil, and had acquired consider- able wealth at the time of his death. He mar- ried Margaret Sharp, a daughter of James Sharp, and a granddaughter of Capt. Andrew
Sharp. Their children are: Elizabeth, wife of Hon. A. W. Taylor; Nancy, married to J. P. Carter; James S. and Thomas Elder.
James S. Ralston was reared at Indiana, and attended the academy at that place with U. S. Senator M. S. Quay, Judge Silas M. Clark, and other prominent men. Leaving school, he was in the mercantile business with his father for some time in South Bend. In 1860 he en- listed in the United States Navy as a seaman, and served for three years. Returning home at the end of that time, he enlisted (in 1863) in Co. C, 57th regt., Pa. Militia, and was en- gaged in the chase after the Confederate raider, Gen. John H. Morgan. Some time after the expiration of his term of enlistment in the army he embarked in the salt manufacturing business, which he followed very profitably for two years. From 1864 to 1869 he was proprietor of the "Indiana House." In the latter year he removed to his present well-improved farm in Plum Creek township, this county. This farm contains one hundred and fifteen acres of choice farming land, and is situated close to the Indi- ana county line, and on the pike from Indiana to Kittanning.
September 3, 1859, he married Maria An- toinette Bleakney, of South Bend township. They have three sons and three daughters: Ed- win, Mary, Isabella, Bessie, William and Frank.
In addition to his fine farm, Mr. Ralston is the proprietor of a large tract of farming land in the west, and also has a controlling interest in some valuable oil territory. He is a man of prominence, integrity, usefulness and marked individuality. He owns a fine library, gives much of his time to reading, and has made an especial study of political and financial mat- ters. He is a Jacksonian democrat, has served in several township and borough offices, and in June, 1890, was honored by his party witlı a nomination for commissioner of Armstrong county.
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BIOGRAPHIES OF
EMANUEL Z. SCHRECENGOST, one of the active business men of Rural Valley and a Union soldier of the late war, is a son of Daniel and Mary (Crum) Schreeengost, and was born at Kittanning, Armstrong county, Penn- sylvania, August 2, 1829. Conrad Selirecen- gost (grandfather) was born in Germany, from whiel he was emigrated to Berks county, Pennsylvania, and afterwards removed to Val- ley township, Armstrong county, where he died. He was a gunsmith by trade and spent consider- able time in hunting. He was a federalist in politics and a member of the Lutheran churchi. He married a Miss Zortman, by whom he liad nine children, six sons and three daughters. Daniel Schreeengost (father) was born in Valley township, where he died. He was a gunsmith by trade and by industry and thrift lie acquired a farm of three hundred acres of land in his native township. He was an active republican, served as constable for several years and at one time was the candidate of his party for sheriff. He was a member of tlie Evangelical Lutheran ehureh and married Mary Crum, whose father was a German farmer of Plum Creek township. To their union were born seven children, five sous and two daughters : Emanuel Z .; Zepha- uialı, of Plumville, who married Saralı Houser ; Solomon, who served, in 1864 and 1865, in the Army of the Potomac ; Daniel, of Indiana, Pa., married Mary Olilinger, enlisted in Co. M, 139th regiment, Pa. Vols., served until the close of the war and was wounded in the Wil- derness : Aaron, of Rural Valley, wlio married Catherine Hill; Mary, who died in 18 ; and Isabella.
Emanuel Z. Schreeengost was reared in Val- ley township, where he received a common-school education. He learned the trade of blacksmith, which he has followed ever since. On the 20th of March, 1855, he moved to Rural Valley, where he has since been engaged in the carriage manufacturing, blacksmithing and undertaking business. He has prospered and owns a farm
in Cowanshannock township, besides his proper- ty at Rural Valley. In August, 1864, he en- listed in Co. M, 5th regiment, Pa. Heavy Artil- lery, and served until the close of the war.
He married Sarah Hartman, daughter of Henry Hartman, of Armstrong county. To their union were born seven children : Philan- der W., a blacksmith, married Mary Lias and has one child living ; Mary (deceased); Nancy, married John White, a blacksmith and farnier and lias four children -Charles, Earl, Blanche and one unnamed; Melissa, married James Pat- terson and lias had five children Bertha, John Harry (deceased), Walter (deceased), and Nancy ; Emna, married to Addison Tarren, a farmer of Cowanshaunoek township, and has one child, Curtis; James (deceased); Dr. Leander Curtis, who was a graduate of two leading medieal colleges and practiccd medi- cine at Latrobe, Pa., until his death. Mrs. Schirecengost died May 29, 1867, and Mr. Schrecengost married for his second wife, Annie McCurdy, who died. He afterwards married - Mary Richards. To this third union one ehild lias been born : Margaret M.
In polities Mr. Schreeengost is a staneh re- publican. He is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and has been one of its stewards for the last quarter of a century.
W1 ILLIAM C. SLOAN. In a few years but few Union soldiers of the late civil war will be in the land of the living. One who was called out during that struggle was the late William C. Sloan, of Atwood. He was a son of Samuel and Nancy (Cochrane) Sloan, and was born in Cowanshannock town- ship, Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, July 22, 1822. His father, Samuel Sloan (who died December 10, 1883), was born on the 20th of June, 1794, in Indiana county, and came to Armstrong county, where he was engaged in farming until his death. He was a democrat
561
ARMSTRONG COUNTY.
in politics, a member of the United Presbyte- rian church, and married Nancy Cochrane. To their union were born eight children, four of whom-two sons and two daughters-lived till maturity.
William C. Sloan was reared on a farm, and attended the subscription schools of that pe- riod. He was a farmer of Plum Creek town- ship, and owned two hundred acres of well- tilled land. He died without a will, and the heirs still own the farm. On September 21, 1864, Mr. Sloan was called into the service of his country, and went as far as Pittsburglı, where he served until April 12, 1865, when he was honorably discharged.
On July 1, 1852, he married Caroline Mar- shall, a daughter of Robert Marshall, of Day- ton, and a member of the old Marshall family of Armstrong county (see sketch of William Marshall). To their union were born eight children, one son and seven daughters : Mary E., a mute, who teaches in the school for deaf and dumb at Wilkinsburg; Nancy J., married to Thaddeus Stuchel, a carpenter of Pittsburgh, and has three children,-Sloan, Reed and Edith ; Robert Reed, a farmer of Plum Creek township, who married Callie Jewart, by whom he has had two children,-Mary (dead) and Jessie ; Jemima C., married to Dr. Charles Duff, of Pittsburgh ; Margaret, married Harry L. Prugh, a teacher in the public schools, and has one daughter, named Vernie Blanche ; Re- becca, Carrie and Vernie E.
William C. Sloan was a democrat in politics, and had been an elder of the United Presbyte- rian church for ten years before his death, which occurred February 16, 1878, when he was in the fifty-sixth year of his age. By diligence, by honesty, by economy and by good manage- ment, he acquired a very respcetable compe- tency. His life was plain and simple, and though he never thrust himself forward into public notice, yet he was always active in his business affairs. He was a man of good judg-
ment, whose advice was often sought by his neighbors, and generally was successful in all of his undertakings. His remains were en- tombed in Atwood cemetery; but his memory is fondly cherished by his family and his large circle of friends.
M ICHAEL J. SMITH, whose father served under Napoleon Bonaparte from Moscow to Waterloo, is the proprietor of Mahoning Creek foundry in Red Bank township. He was born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, December 23; 1843, and is a son of Jerome and Mary A. (Keiser) Smith. Jerome Smith was born in France, and served under Napo- leon Bonaparte in his famous Russian cam- paign, and, after the defeat at Moscow, Mr. Smith made his way back to France. During this retreat he was compelled to kill his horse and subsist on its flesh for several days. He was also in the battle of Waterloo, where he was wounded by a sabre-stroke of one of Wel- lington's soldiers. He married Mary A. Kei- ser, who lived near Paris, and came to eastern Pennsylvania. He afterwards removed to Em- lenton, Venango county, where he followed his; trade of cooper until his death, which occurred on Oct. 1, 1867 ; he was in the seventieth year of his age. He had eight children, of whom five are still living: Joseph G., a resident of Emlenton; Michael J .; Hannah, wife of Henry Ginter, a stone-mason of near Emlenton; Kate, married to Cornelius Corson, of New Jersey, and Mary A., married to Emanuel Widle, of Dauphin county, Pa., now living at Phoenix, this county.
Michael J. Smith was rearcd at Emlenton, re- ceived a common-school education, and learned the trade of foundryman at Emlenton and with the firm of Jewet & Root, of Buffalo, New York. He then worked at his trade for some years at Harrisville, Butler county, Pittsburgh, and at several other towns. In 1869 he rented
562
BIOGRAPHIES OF
the shop which he now owns, and which was then one and one-half miles above its present location. In 1873 he went to Big Run, in Jefferson county, where he and D. K. Thomp- son built the Big Run foundry, which they carried on until 1883, when he purchased land on Mahoning creek, and built his present shop He manufactures stoves, sled metals and stove liners, beside doing considerable jobbing work. He enlisted twice during the late civil war, but was rejected each time on account of physical disability, as he had lost two of his toes.
On Jan. 1, 1869, he married Joanna Haines, daughter of Jolin Haines, of Westmoreland county, and to their union have been born ten children, of whom seven are living: Bertha L. M., Mary Belle, Harry Cromwell, Annie Olive, Charley Otis, Effie Loretta and Katie Rosetta. Two of those who are dead were William and Adelbert.
In politics Michael J. Smith is a stanch re- publican. He is a member of Lodge No. 891, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Smicks- burg, and has always been an industrious man and reliable citizen. Mr. Smith has prospered in the foundry business, and the standard ex- cellence of his stoves and other ware has cre- ated a large and steady demand for everything which is manufactured in his establishment.
NYEORGE J. SMITH, a descendant of the G Westmoreland county Smith family and the owner of one of Red Bank township's most valuable farms, is a son of John and Catherine (Potts) Smith, and was born in Red Bank town- ship, Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, January 10, 1846. His grandfather, George Smith, was a native of Westmoreland county, from whence he came to Mahoning township, Armstrong county, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death. In early life he was a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church, but in after years he became a member of the
Reformed church. He was a democrat in politics, and married a Miss Nolf, who bore him nine children, four sons and five daughters. John Smith (father) was born February 28, 1816, in Armstrong county. He was a farmer and owned one hundred and seventy-five acres of land, which is now the farm of the subject of this sketch. He was a democrat in politics and filled the office of supervisor of Red Bank town- ship. He was a member of the German Lutheran church, and one of its officers until his death, which occurred May 16, 1875, when he was in the fifty-ninth year of his age. In May, 1839, he married Catherine Potts, who was born March 6, 1820, and died March 24, 1884. She was the daughter of John Potts, a native of Westmoreland county, who removed to Porter township, Jefferson county, and afterwards came to Red Bank township, where he engaged in farming. He was a Revolutionary soldier, a strong democrat, and a member of the German Lutheran church. He married a Miss White- head, and to their union were born thirteen children, five sons and eight daughters. To Mr. and Mrs. John Smith were born six sons and four daughters : Lucinda, born April 22, 1840, and married April 13, 1867, to Adam Hetrick, a farmer of Wayne township; Samuel, who was born April 2, 1842, married Rachel Biddinger, and served two years in the 78th regiment, Pa. Vol. Infantry, during the late war; William D., a farmer of Indiana county, born December 27, 1843, and married Lizzie Watt, and after her death married Lydia Gaston ; George J .; John J., a farmer, born January 3, 1848, and married Hannah McGregor; Daniel B., born February 7, 1850, and died November 12, 1860; Rachel, born February 28, 1852, and died October 26, 1860; Rosanna, born March 23, 1856; Peter H., born April 25, 1858, married Samantha Hetrick and is now engaged in farming; Maggie, born May 20, 1865, married to R. C. Berkey, the proprietor of "Coffin's House," at Kersey, Elk county.
563
ARMSTRONG COUNTY.
George J. Smith was reared on his father's farm, received a good common-school education and in his early manhood was engaged in lum- bering. He afterwards turned his attention to his present business of farming and stock-raising. He owns one hundred and forty-five acres of well-improved land in Red Bank township, which is underlaid with coal, limestone and fire- brick clay.
On Christmas day, 1880, he married Sevilla C. Wise, a daughter of Jonas and Sarah (Fite) Wise, and a member of the Lutheran church. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of two sons and one daughter : Jerry T., born October 7, 1881; James P., born June 12, 1883; and Maggie Amelda, born April 9, 1885.
In politics George J. Smith is a republican and served for three years as supervisor of Red Bank township. Mr. Smithi is noted for being an excellent farmer, as well as a careful busi- ness man and good citizen. His farm is neatly fenced, well-improved and kept in fine order.
THOMAS F. STOCKDILL, M.D., a promi- nent physician of Rural Valley and a skillful and well-known surgeon of the county, is a son of Joseph S. and Catherine (Foster) Stockdill, and was born in Mahoning township, Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, August 4, 1854. The Stockdill family is of Scotch-Irish descent. Clark Stockdill (grandfather) was born in Ireland, which he left to settle in West- moreland county, where he remained but a short time and then came to Mahoning towil- ship, in which he followed farming. In poli- tics he was an old-line whig, and a member of the Presbyterian church. He married and reared a family of eight children, of whom were: Joseph S., Thomas, William, James, George and Margaret. Joseph S. Stockdill (father) was born in Armstrong county, in 1822. In early life he was engaged in mercan-
tile business, but afterwards turned his atten- tion to farming and removed to Wayne town- ship, where he owns two hundred and fifty acres of land which is underlaid with coal and other minerals. His farm is one of the most valuable in the county. He was well known as a stock-raiser for many years, but at the present has retired from active life. He was a whig and is a republican and has served as school director of Wayne township. He is a member of the Protestant Episcopal church, in which he served for many years as a vestry- man. He married Catherine Foster, a daughter of Thomas Foster, and to their union were born seven children, four sons and three daugh- ters: G. Clark, residing on the homestead farm and who has served six terms as county super- intendent; David J. (deceased); Dr. Thomas F., Joshua F., a farmer of near Dayton ; Margery, dead; Alice C., and Mary, deceased ; Mrs. Stockdill is a daughter of Thomas Foster (maternal grandfather), who was a native of Ireland. He settled in Wayne township, where he was a prosperous farmer. He was a demo- crat in politics and a member of the Protestant Episcopal church. He married and had seven children, three sons and four daughters: David, John, Joshua, Margery, Rebecca, Catherine and Martha.
Thomas F. Stockdill was reared on his father's farm and received his education in the common schools and Glade Run academy. He read medicine with Dr. Albert Calhoun, of Goheenville and entered Jefferson Medical col- lege of Philadelphia, from which he was grad- uated in the class of 1878. After graduation, he came to Rural Valley, where he entered upon the practice of his profession. He re- turned to Jefferson Medical college, where he afterwards took a post-graduate course, and acted as assistant demonstrator in the surgical department. He is a skillful surgeon and his services in that line are in great demand over a wide area of territory.
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BIOGRAPHIES OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY.
On October 21, 1881, he married Nettie Gourley, daughter of George A. Gourley, of Rural Valley, and a member of the Presbyter- ian church. Dr. and Mrs. Stockdill have three children : Annie L. O., George F. and Joseph S.
Dr. Stockdill is an active republican and one of the vigilant committeemen of his party. He is a member of Rural Valley Lodge, No. 323, Junior Order of United American Mechanics, and Rural Valley Presbyterian church.
" WILLIAM MARSHALL. In the year 1803, William and Catherine Marshall came to Wayne township, Armstrong county,
and settled upon Glade run, near the present town of Dayton, being the first settlers upon the stream named, and having no neighbors nearer than five miles. They had a family of six sons and three daughters. The names of the sons were : Joseph, William, John, James, Robert and Samuel ; and the daughters were : Elizabeth (McClelland), Mary (Findley), and Margaret (Irwin).
"The family was unable to secure a title to the land on which they first located, and in 1813 moved to the spot where the home of William Marshall now is, where they built a house and lived the remainder of their allotted years."
HOVEY, PERRY, BRADY'S BEND, WASHINGTON, MADISON AND MAHONING TOWNSHIPS.
Historical and Descriptive .- These six town- - ships lie in the northern part of the county.
Nearly all of Hovey, the eastern parts of Perry and Brady's Bend, nearly all of Wash- ington and Madison, and all of Mahoning, . except the central part, are in the Lower Pro- ductive Coal measures and contain veins of the ferriferous lime. The remainder of these town- ships are in the Lower Barren measures and contain some very large areas of the Upper Freeport Coal bed. The Pottsville Conglomer- ate extends along the Allegheny river. Hovey, Perry and Brady's Bend townships are in the Butler Clarion Oil belt.
Hovey Township derives its name from Dr. Simeon Hovey and was formed in 1870, from Perry township. Alexander Gibson and Joseph Thom were early settlers, and in 1812 Elisha Robinson came from Connecticut.
Perry Township was formed in 1845 from Sugar Creek township. Among the pioneers who came between 1796 and 1800, were Wil- liam Love, John Binkerd, Jacob Truby, Isaac Steel and Michael Shapely. Queenstown, which is named after James Queen, was founded about 1848 and was incorporated in 1858.
Brady's Bend Township was organized in 1845. Its territory was a farming district until 1839, when the Great Western Iron works were built. They ran until the panic of 1873, and often employed as high as 1500 operatives.
The town of Brady's Bend owes its origin to the establishment of those works.
Washington Township was created in 1858, and was taken from Sugar Creek township. Henry Watterson founded Wattersonville, which was surveyed into forty-four lots, on August 6, 1842, by Marcus Hulings, Jr. Van Buren was surveyed and laid out on July 19th and 20th, 1837, and named after the seventh presi- dent of the United States.
Madison Township, named after the fourth president of the United States, was taken from the territory of Toby and Red Bank townships on Sept. 22, 1837. In the southwestern part of this township occurred one of Capt. Samuel Brady's most successful fights with Indians, which has been already noticed in this volume. The Holland Land company owned the most of the land in this township. Kellersburg was laid out July 19, 1842, and Duncansville in 1854.
Mahoning Township was erected out of Madi- son, Pine, Wayne and Red Bank townships on September 20, 1851, and was named for Mahon- ing creek, which was declared a public highway in 1808. The Mahoning Navigation company was incorporated in 1858. Oakland was laid out in 1848, by the name of Texas, and Put- neyville was founded in 1841. The Red Bank Cannel Coal company was incorporated in 1871, and their coal vein, No. 5, at Bostonia is the largest cannel coal vein in the United States.
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566
BIOGRAPHIES OF
BIOGRAPHICAL.
E UGENE L. BROWN, a lineal descendant of the Brown family who came over in the Mayflower, and a leading druggist and busi- nessman of Putneyville, is a son of Orlando Howell and Margaret (Graham) Brown and was born at Brookville, Jefferson county, Pa., Sep- tember 11, 1860. The Browns are of Eng- lish descent, and his great-great-grandfather Brown was one of the " Pilgrim Fathers " who came over in 1820. His grandson, the grand- father of E. L. Brown, was a native of Connec- ticut, from whence he removed to Angelica, New York. He was a machinist by trade, and when he removed (about 1830) to Brookville, Jefferson county, he brought workmen with him and built the first machine-shop of that place, where lie afterwards erected a furniture factory. He was an intelligent, well-educated man, and while he was nominally a democrat, yet he ad- hered to no party creed, but voted for the candi- date who, in his estimation, was best fitted for the office. One of his sons, Orlando Howell Brown (father), was born in Angelica, New York, in 1834. He learned the trade of cabinet- maker, and was for a while in partnership with his father. He afterwards removed to Rey- noldsville, Jefferson county, where he engaged in the furniture and undertaking business until his death, in 1879, when he was in the forty- sixth year of his age. He was a democrat, and married Margaret Graham. They had one child: Eugene L., the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Brown died in 1860, and Mr. Brown mar- ried Mary Frier, by whom he had two sons and three daughters. Mrs. Margaret Brown was born in 1838 and died in 1860. She was a woman of fine intellect, and universally beloved. Her great-grandfather Graham was a native of Scotland, from whence he removed to Ireland, and one of his sons emigrated from that coun- try to Pennsylvania and settled at North Wash- ington, where he married a Miss McCalvin, a
daugliter of Hon. McCalvin, a member of the Pennsylvania legislature. Her husband dying early in life, left Mrs. (McCalvin) Graham with five small children, which she reared and gave a liberal and classical education. To the influ- ence of her noble character, her son, Thomas Graham (maternal grandfather), always attrib- uted all the success of his after life.
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