USA > Indiana > Biographical and historical cyclopedia of Indiana and Armstrong counties, Pennsylvania > Part 80
USA > Pennsylvania > Armstrong County > Biographical and historical cyclopedia of Indiana and Armstrong counties, Pennsylvania > Part 80
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85
Peter Graff grew to manhood near Pleasant Unity, in Westmoreland county. His educa- tion was limited. One of his teachers was the father of the late Gov. Geary. His first em- ployment was as a clerk for his brother Henry, at Pleasant Unity, and afterwards at New Derry, Pa. In 1830, he removed to Blairs- ville, Indiana county, where he with his broth-
er Henry formed a partnership in the general mercantile business under the firm name of H. & P. Graff, doing a large and successful busi- ness. Later they formed a connection with the firm of E. G. Dutilh & Co., commission mer- chants of Philadelphia, for the purpose of transporting merchandise from Philadelphia west, by the Pennsylvania canal and State railroad. It was called the Union Transporta- tion Line. In 1836 he moved to Pittsburgh and took charge of receiving and forwarding the merchandise. Several years later he formed a partnership with Jacob Painter and Reuben Bughman, and engaged in the wholesale grocery business. This firm soon enlarged its field of operations so as to include the manufacture of iron. They obtained control of Buffalo fur- nace near Worthington, and Mr. Graff moved there in 1844, to assume the management of their extensive iron business. They increased their iron interests until they operated furnaces in Clarion and Venango counties, besides man- ufacturing axes, etc., in Pittsburgh. This firm continued until 1864, although Mr. Graff had become sole owner of Buffalo furnace, and oper- ated it until 1865. During that year the Buf- falo Woolen mills were erected for the manu- facturing of woolen fabrics. Isaac Firth and Mr. Graff formed a partnership that lasted for twenty years. In 1885, Mr. Firth retired, and the firm of Peter Graff & Co. was organized which continued until his death, since which time the mills have been operated by E. D. Graff, J. Frank Graff and James E. Claypoole, under the old firm name of Peter Graff & Co.
January 25, 1830, Peter Graff married Susan Lobingier, a daughter of Christopher Lobing- ier, living near Mt. Pleasant, Pa., and a mem- ber of the widely-extended Lobingier family, that has furnished honorable legislators and able jurists, reflecting credit to western Pennsyl- vania. Her great-grandfather, Christopher Lobingier, came from Wittenberg, Germany, prior to 1735, and his son, Hon. Christopher,
-
- Engraved by James P. Prix
Peter path
597
ARMSTRONG COUNTY.
was the father of Christopher, who was the father of Mrs. Graff. Peter and Susan Graff had eleven children, seven sons and four daugh- ters. Of these, one son and two daughters died in early childhood. One son, Dr. Charles H., died in September, 1887, in the prime of life, and in the midst of his usefulness. Seven chil- dren, five sons and two daughters with his wife survive him. Joseph, his eldest son, lives at Manorville ; Mrs. W. H. Kirkpatrick, in Alle- gheny city ; Mrs. C. B. Linton, Clifton Springs, N. Y. ; Edmund D. and J. Frank, at Buffalo Woolen mills; Philip M., at Duluth, Minne- sota; and Peter, at Utica, N. Y.
Peter Graff was a leading democrat, and an influential member of the Lutheran church. He was a man of strong constitution, and had great powers of endurance. At eighty years of age he was as active in business as many men twenty-five years younger. December 1, 1889, he had a stroke of apoplexy, from which he ral- lied. Another followed the 27tli of March, terminating his life April 9, 1890. His fun- eral was the largest ever witnessed in the com- munity, and his remains were entombed with appropriate ceremonies in the Lutheran ceme- tery. From the funeral sermon, preached by his pastor, Rev. J. W. Schwartz, II Samuel, 3: 38, and the king said unto his servants, know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel, we extract the following: "His moral character has always been above reproach. In his dealings with men, he was at all times reliable. In financial affairs, there never was a time that liis word was not as good as his bond. For over fifty years he had been actively engaged in Christian work. Ever since I have known lıim, he has been one of the elders of our church, and nearly all of that time he was superintendent of our Sabbath-school." The Kittanning Standard gave a full account of his life, in which it said: "His Christian character was a prominent trait. He was devoted to the Luth-
eran church, of which he was a member, the building recently erected in Worthington, is a monument of his zeal and liberality." The Kittanning Globe speaking of his death said : "He was 'prominent' among the generation of men now rapidly passing away, and in the course of more than half a century of active business life, was so largely identified with the history and business prosperity of the region in which he lived, that his death will be the sub- ject of deep and sincere regret. He was a pio- neer among the material beginnings of our prosperity, while he so largely helped in build- ing the foundations of the industrial enterprises, with which his foresiglit and business skill were identified, he has built as well a record of an upright, generous and consistent Christian life, that will ever stand as the most enduring mon- ument to his memory."
TOHN A. HALL, an earnest and active ad- vocate of the cause of temperance and a leading prohibitionist of North Buffalo town- ship, is a son of David, Jr., and Margaret (Hindman) Hall and was born in North Buf- falo township, Armstrong county, Pennsylva- nia, June 30, 1832. His paternal grandfather, David Hall, came to North Buffalo township in the initial year of the present century, if not in the latter years of the last decade of the eigh- teenth century. He was a man of prominence and high standing in the community in which he settled. Of the sons born to him before he came to North Buffalo township, one was David Hall, Jr., who was four years of age at the time of his father's settlement west of the Allegheny river, in Armstrong county. David Hall, Jr., upon attaining his majority engaged in farming, which he followed until his death, May 18th, 1884, at ninety-one years of age. He was also engaged for a few years in milling. He mar- ried Margaret Hindman, of Franklin township, and reared a family of six children.
598
BIOGRAPHIES OF
John A. Hall grew to manhood on the old Hall homestead, of which he owns a part to- day. He received a good education in the com- mon schools and has continued his education ever since leaving school, by a wide range of reading. He has made farming his life busi- ness and by his close study of the principles of agriculture has become one of the progressive farmers of North Buffalo township. His finely improved farm of one hundred and thirty-five acres of land is very fertile and highly produc- tive. While raising as large crops as any other farmer in his community, yet at the same time Mr. Hall so conducts his farming as not to im- poverish his land. He is a democrat in poli- tics and has always been an active worker in the temperance cause, and in 1890, without so- licitation upon his part, was made the candidate of the Prohibition party for the office of County Treasurer. Mr. Hall is courteous and polite to all whom he meets and stands high as a gen- tleman in the estimation of his neighbors.
On April 26, 1855, he united in marriage with Agnes, daughter of Dr. Edward Manso, an early homœopathic physician, who studied, in Germany, under Hahnenman, the founder of homœopatlıy. They had three children, of whom two are living: Margaret Ella, married to Frank E. Hine and resides at Tallmadge, Sum- mit county, Ohio, and Warren C. Hall. Mrs. Hall died in 1862 and Mr. Hall married for his second wife, Ann M. Ralston, a native of South Buffalo township, by whom he had four children, of whom three are living : Ed. W., Howard and Flora R.
JOHN HAWK, one of West Franklin township's energetic farmers, is a man who has met with good success in the various kinds of business in which he has been engaged for over thirty years. He is a son of Conrad and Esther (Slonaker) Hawk, and was born in
what is now Lower Burrell township, West- moreland county, Pa., April 6, 1834. The Hawk family is of German descent, and is one of the oldest and most highly respected fami- lies of Westmoreland county. One of its members, Daniel Hawk (grandfather), was born in that county, and engaged in agricul- tural pursuits until his death, which occurred in 1822, when he had attained the advanced age of eighty-six years. He was a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church, married, and had several children, one of whom, Conrad Hawk (father), was born near Greensburg, Westmore- land county, in 1795. He was a farmer of Lower Burrell township, a democrat in politics, a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church, and commanded the respect of the community in which he resided. He died in 1881 at his home in Lower Burrell township, when he was in the eighty-seventh year of his age. He married Esther Slonaker, who was born in Martinsburg, Va., was a member of the Lu- theran church, and died in 1874, when in the sixty-seventh year of her age.
John Hawk grew to manhood on his father's farm, and received a common school education. At the age of sixteen years he went to Pitts- burgh, where he : pent two and one-half years in learning the trade of coach-builder and wagon- maker, at which he worked for twelve years.
On December 27, 1860, he married Mary Bair, daughter of Henry Bair, of Allegheny township, Westmoreland county. They have six children : Adina J., Margaret C., Franklin R., Daniel L., John B., and Mary E. The oldest four were born in Westmoreland county, Pa., and the youngest two in Armstrong county, Pa.
In 1864 he bought a saw-mill on Chartiers creek, which he operated for five years. He then (1869) purchased a farm of one hundred and thirty-four acres in West Franklin town- ship, Armstrong county, Pa., which he has culti- vated ever since. He also purchased a steam
599
ARMSTRONG COUNTY.
thresher and saw-mill, which he has operated with good success.
John Hawk is an influential member of the Evangelical Lutheran church of Worthington, and in 1864 and 1865 built the present house of worship of that denomination in Lower Burrell township, in Westmoreland county. Mr. Hawk is a prominent democrat in his township, has served as a member of the school board, and has always been watchful of the interests and progress of our public schools.
TAMES S. JACK, a successful farmer and stock-dealer of North Buffalo township, is a son of James and Sarah (Douze) Jack, and was born in North Buffalo township, Armstrong county, Pa., April 25, 1846. The Jack fam- ily is of Irish origin, and James Jack, Sr. (grandfather), came to Armstrong county about 1800. He took up a farm in Sugar Creek township, which he tilled until his death. He was an old-line whig, married, and had three children : Samuel, James, Jr., and Washington, all of whom are dead. James Jack (father) was born in 1811; in North Buffalo township, and was a farmer in that township, where he took pride in the fine condition of his farm. In politics he was a whig and republican. He was an active member of the Baptist church at North Buffalo, and married Sarah Douze, by whom he had seven children, four sons and three daughters, of whom five are: George, Margaret, Sarah A., Emma and James S. Mrs. Jack died in 1847, and her remains were in- terred in Slate Lick cemetery. Her father, a Mr. Douze (maternal grandfather), who settled near Slate Lick, was a native of France. He married and had two children, Sarah and George, neither of whom are living. After the death of his first wife, James Jack married, in 1849, Sarah Wilson, who is still living. Mr. Jack died in October, 1865.
James S. Jack grew to manhood on the farm,
and attended the common schools of his native township. He commenced life for himself as a farmer, but soon engaged in stock-dealing, and has driven a considerable amount of stock to the Allegheny stock-yards. He owns a farm of forty acres, and in May, 1890, opened a general store at North Buffalo, where he carries a stock of goods worth three thousand dollars, and has a good trade which is constantly increasing. On the 24th of February, 1864, he enlisted under Captain Kiskadden in Co. L, 14th Pa. Cavalry, for three years, and participated in the battles of Fredericksburg, Winchester and Fisher Hill, as well as in many severe skir- mishes.
On December 9, 1869, he married Mary E. Bruner, daughter of Samuel B. Bruner, a farmer of North Buffalo township, aud to their union have been born nine children, of whom six are living : Clara E., married to Grant Claypole ; Harvey S., Milton, William, Charles N. (deceased) ; Anna M., Curtis E. (deceased) ; Anna (dead), and Maud R.
In politics, James S. Jack is a stanch repub- lican, and during the past nine years has held the offices of tax collector and constable of his township. He is a member of the Baptist church at North Buffalo, and for two years has been one of its trustees. He is a member of Post No. 422, G. A. R., at Slate Lick, and of Council No. 337, Junior Order United Ameri- can Mechanics, at the same place.
J ESSE H. KING, M.D., one of the active and progressive young physicians of Worthington and the western part of the coun- ty, is a son of John and Christina (Wolf ) King, and was born at Cochran's Mills, in Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, November 30, 1861. The King family is of German descent, and John King, Sr. (grandfather), was a native of Armstrong county, where he engaged in farm- ing until his death. One of his sons, John
600
BIOGRAPHIES OF
King (father), was born in 1817, in Armstrong county, where he has always resided. He is a farmer and raises some stock and quite a num- ber of horses. He is a republican in politics, a deacon in the Evangelical Lutheran church, of which both he and his wife are esteemed mem- bers, and is a man who attends strictly to his own business 'affairs. He married Christina Wolf, who was born in Armstrong county in 1822, and is a daughter of a Mr. Wolf, who was a prosperous farmer and well-respected citizen.
Jesse H. King was reared on his father's farm, and received his literary education in the com- mon schools, New York High school and Theil college, in Mercer county. Leaving school, he studied medicine under Dr. J. W. McKee, at Cochran's Mills, and after completing the re- quired course of reading, he entered the western Pennsylvania Medical college, of Pittsburgh, from which he was graduated in the class of 1887. In August of that year he came to Worthington, where he has been successful in gaining a good practice, which promises to be- come large and extensive at no distant day in the future.
Dr. King is a member of the alumni associ- ation of the Western Pennsylvania Medical college, and in politics supports the Republican party. Soon after coming to Worthington he was elected auditor of the borough, which position he still holds.
R OBERT LARDIN, who was for over fifty years a prominent member and active worker of North Buffalo Methodist Episcopal church, and a leading prohibitionist of his township, is a son of Thomas and Christina (Harsh) Lardin, and was born in Butler county, Pennsylvania, July 5, 1810. The Lardin family is of Irish descent, and Thomas Lardin was born in Ireland, from whence he emigrated
to Pennsylvania and settled in Lancaster county. He afterwards, about the year 1795, removed to Butler county, where he engaged in farming and stock-dealing. He served as a soldier in the Uni- ted States army during the war of 1812, was a whig in politics and married Christina Harsh. To their union were born eleven children, seven sons and four daughters: Catherine, Mary, Thomas, John, Jane, Daniel, James, William, Robert, Joseph and Margaret.
Robert Lardin grew to manhood on his father's farm, received a practical English edu- cation and has been engaged in farming ever since attaining his majority.
On January 8, 1833, he married Hannah Pugh, daughter of John Pugh. To their · union have been born eight children, two sons and six daughters: John, born November 6, 1833, married a Miss Whitcraft and is dead ; Elizabeth, born August 28, 1835, married to a Mr. Sassy, and after his death to William Deany ; Mary, born July 29, 1837, and died September 5, 1842; Nancy, born November 18, 1839, and died September 1, 1842; Marga- ret, born March 18, 1842, and married to T. Frazier; Sarah, born July 22, 1844, married to Charles Sipher, and is dead ; Phoebe, born March 19, 1847, and Robert F., born June 23, 1851, and married Mary Green. Mrs. Lardin died February 28, 1853, and for his second wife Mr. Lardin married Mary A. Drane, on April 24, 1855. To this second union have been born seven children, of whom four are: Daniel H., born January 28, 1856, and mar- ried a Miss Doty ; Mary I., born September 28, 1860, and wife of Robert Boney ; Lois M., born August 24, 1867, and married to David Bissett, and William B., born February 18, 1870.
In politics, Robert Lardin is an enthusiastic probibitionist. He is a member of the Method- ist Episcopal church at North Buffalo, and at the time of its erection, in 1876, held the office of steward and class leader in that church.
-
601
ARMSTRONG COUNTY.
W ILLIAM H. LEARD, merchant and justice of the peace of Craigsville, is a member of a family well known for its business ability and moral standing. He is a son of Christopher and Margaret (Shields) Leard, and was born in West Franklin township, Arm- strong county, Pennsylvania, July 17, 1846. The Leard family is of Scotch descent, and Thomas Leard (grandfather) came from the north of Scotland to the United States when he was sixteen years of age, and settled in what is now East Franklin township. He was a member of the Presbyterian church until his death, which occurred in 1875, when he was in the eighty-eighth year of his age. His son, Christopher Leard (father), was born in 1823, and for a number of years was a farmer in West Franklin township, where he still owns about one hundred and eighty acres of land, which is divided into two farms. In Jannary, 1872, he moved to Craigsville and formed a partnership with his two sons, William H. and Joseph S., under the firm-name of Leard & Sons. In 1888 he withdrew from active business pursuits, and since that time has lived a retired life. He is a member of the Presby-' terian church, and a republican in politics, and has held nearly all the township's offices. He married Margaret Shields, who was born in In- diana connty in 1821 and is an esteemed member of the Presbyterian church.
William H. Leard was reared on his father's farm, and attended the public schools of West Franklin township and Elder's Ridge academy. He also took a course in the Iron City Business college, and at twenty years of age entered the employ of Messrs. Campbell Bros., railroad contractors of Altoona, Pa., as a clerk, but was soon promoted to " walking boss," which posi- tion he held for several years. January 1, 1872, he became a member of the mercantile firm of Leard & Sons, of Craigsville. In 1881 Joseph S. Leard withdrew from the firm, and the firm-name became Leard & Son. In
1888 his father retired. He has fine and com- modions sales-rooms and keeps a large and com- plete stock of dry-goods, groceries, clothing, hardware and drugs, which are carefully se- lected to meet the wants of his nnmerons patrons. He has an interest in the flouring- mill at Craigsville, where he is agent for the New England Accident insurance company.
On May 2, 1872, he married Margaret E. Foster, daughter of William A. Foster, of Sugar Creek township. They have three children : Otto R., Royal Boyd and Christo- pher K.
Politically, Mr. Leard is a stanch republican, and has at various times filled most of the township offices. In 1872 he was appointed postmaster of Craigsville, which position he resigned, when he was elected justice of the peace of West Franklin township in 1879. At the end of his term as magistrate he was re- elected and has served ever since. He is a member of Craigsville Council, No. 1192, Royal Arcannm, and a member and elder of the Pres- byterian church of Worthington, of whose Sunday-school he has served as superintendent for some ten years (at different times). He is methodical and exact in his methods and prompt in the disposition of all his legal and business matters. As a justice he is well-liked, as a business man stands high, and as a citizen con- mands the respect of his community.
TOHN K. MAXWELL, M.D., of Worth- ington, has been for the last thirty-five years a well-known and prominent physician of Armstrong and Butler connties. He is a son of Robert and Jane (Kelley) Maxwell, and was born near the present site of Strattonville, Clarion county, Pennsylvania, October 25, 1825. The Maxwell family of Armstrong county is of Scotch-Irish descent, and the Max- well coat-of-arms is a boar's liead, the origin of which is traced back to an early period in the
602
BIOGRAPHIES OF
history of Scotland, when a kiug of that coun- try, being annoyed by the ravages of a very large and fierce boar in one part of his kingdom, declared that the honor of knighthood should be conferred upon the one who would kill the boar, and a Maxwell having succeeded in kill- ing the dangerous animal, was knighted and received as his coat-of-arms a boar's head. Dr. Maxwell repudiates this tradition, and is of opinion that the coat-of-arms has reference to the pig-headedness so notorious iu the whole family. Robert Maxwell (father) was born March 17, 1767, in Frauklin county, Pennsyl- vania, but went when a mere child with his father to Mifflin county, where he afterwards purchased the land on which Lewistown is now built. Iu 1792 he removed to Clearfield coun- ty, where he built a shanty on the present site of Clearfield, Pa., and was employed by the Baring Bros. (English capitalists) to survey the "Bingham Lauds," an extensive body of land which they owned in that section of the coun- ty. He carried a rifle with his compass, and employed Indians to carry the chain, as there were no white settlers within forty miles of his location. He afterwards settled in Clarion county, where he died on St. Patrick's day, 1845 (it being his seventy-eighth birthday). He and his wife were members of the Presbyterian church. He married Jane Kelley, who was born in Penn's Valley, Centre county, in 1780, and died in 1847. Her father, Edward Kelley (maternal grandfather), was a Revolutiouary soldier, and seven brothers of Dr. Maxwell's maternal grandmother were starved to death on a British prison ship on the Delaware river.
Dr. Maxwell grew to manhood near the place of his birth and received a good practical business education. Atthe age of twenty-one years he was appointed county surveyor of Clarion county, and in the same year (1845) commenced to read medicine with Dr. James Ross, of Clarion, Pa. When he completed the required course of reading he entered the medical de-
partment of the University of Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated. In 1855 he came to Worthington, where he practiced until March 3, 1863, when he enlisted in the Union army and was appointed assistant surgeon of the 45th regiment, Pa. Vols. He served until August 31, 1864, was discharged on account of physical disability aud returned to Worthing- tou. After having partly regained his health he resumed the practice of his profession, in which he has continued ever siuce. In 1874 he removed from Worthington to one of his farms in West Franklin township, where he now re- sides. His field of practice embraces the west- ern part of Armstrong and the eastern part of Butler couuties, and he has frequently ridden for two weeks at a time with neither rest uor sleep. His ability and skill have secured for him the extensive practice which he enjoys, while his integrity as a man and his usefulness as a citizen have won hin the respect and es- teem of all who know him. He owns about two hundred and eighty acres of land in West Franklin township and makes a specialty of raising fine stock.
In 1848 Dr. Maxwell married Hannah Lo- baugh, who was a daughter of John Lobaugh, of Clarion county. She died in 1871, and in 1872 he married Mrs. Nanuie (Huston) Cowan, of this county. To this second union have been boru five children, four sons and one daughter : William H., John R., Thomas McC., Robert C. and Jennie C.
Dr. John K. Maxwell is a member of the Presbyterian church and is a Free and Accepted Mason. He is a pronounced republican in pol- itics, has held at different times the various borough offices of Worthington as well as filling some of the offices of West Franklin township. Dr. Maxwell has always been devoted to lıis profession, in which he has attained high and honorable standing. He is a member of the Armstrong County Medical society and the State Medical society of Pennsylvania.
603
ARMSTRONG COUNTY.
J TAMES OBEY, a resident of North Buffalo township and an old and experienced engineer, is a son of Johu D. and Sarah (Benney) Obey, and was born in Pittsburgh, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, July 4, 1827. The Obey family is of German descent and one of its members, the grandfather of James Obey, was born in Baden, Germany, from whence he emi- grated to France, which he left on account of his religion and came to the United States in 1820. He settled in Pittsburgh, Pa., where he lived a retired life. He was a whig in politics, a member of the Protestant Episco- pal church and married Mary Shaffer, by whom he had two children, one son and one daughter. His son, John D. Obey (father), was born in Baden, and came to Pittsburgh with his father. He served in the "Pittsburgh Blues" and participated in the battle of the Cowpens. He was a butcher by trade, but kept a hotel in Pittsburgh for a number of years and for seven years was landlord of a hotel at one end of the bridge over the Monongahela river. He was a whig in politics, a member of the Protestant Episcopal church and married Sarah Benney. To their union were born ten children: Mary (now deceased) ; Nancy, John (deceased); Jane (deceased); James, William (deceased); Sarah, Catherine, Lucy and Edward (deceased). Mrs. Obey was a daughter of John Benney (maternal grandfather), who was born in 1770 in Scotland. He came to Pennsylvania in 1794 and settled on Sandy creek. He was a cabinet- maker by trade, a whig in politics, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and married Nancy Wyburn, who bore him five children, two sons and three daughters.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.