Armstrong County, Pennsylvania her people past and present, embracing a history of the county and a genealogical and biographical record of representative families, Volume I, Part 22

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Chicago, J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 618

USA > Pennsylvania > Armstrong County > Armstrong County, Pennsylvania her people past and present, embracing a history of the county and a genealogical and biographical record of representative families, Volume I > Part 22

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In a letter to Robert W. Smith, in 1880, Dr. Alter says: "In 1836, while engaged in experimenting in electro-magnetism, in Elder- ton, I conceived the idea that the galvanic current could be made available for telegraph- ing by causing the deflection of the magnetic needle, and in accordance made a plan for pointing out the letters of the alphabet by deflection, and was successful at the distance of 120 feet. But having no time nor means to pursue the subject then, I neglected it and did not apply for a patent."

MYRON H. ALTER, son of Dr. David Alter, was born in Freeport, Pa., Jan. 23, 1851. His early education was obtained in the public schools of his native town and at Mt. Union College, Ohio. Graduating from the latter in 1871, three years later he received his A. M. degree. He then took up the study of medi- cine with his father and attended the Univer- sity of Michigan for a time. Returning home, he assisted his father in his laboratory and in the practice of medicine for a few years, then entered the College of Physicians and Sur- geons of Baltimore, from which he graduated in 1878 and located in Kittanning, where he continued in practice for ten years. On ac- count of ill health he sought the mild cli- mate of Southern California, locating in Los Angeles in 1887, where he remained for sev- eral years, but not receiving the benefit he hoped for, he returned to Kittanning, after resting a year at his old home in Freeport, and although a sufferer himself from a com- plication of diseases, he strove to the last to alleviate the suffering of those about him. Having inherited in a large degree his patient, investigating spirit and talent from the father, he was often called upon by his brother physi- cians to make chemical and microscopical ex- aminations for them in special cases. He was one of nature's noblemen, a man of learning ;

in religion he was reticent, but those who knew him well saw clearly his profound rev- erence for truth and his high regard for the Supreme Being and His relation to mankind. He was a member of the Armstrong County Medical Society, The Pennsylvania Medical Society, The American Medical Association, The American and Iron City Microscopical Societies, first president of the Southern Cali- fornia Scientific Association, vice-president and instructor in arts in the School of De- sign at Los Angeles, Cal., and had several literary titles and degrees. He represented the American Medical Association as a dele- gate to the British Medical Association in London in 1883, and visited many of the hos- pitals and colleges across the water in the in- terest of his profession. In his home he was devoted and loving, in his profession ethical, conscientious and faithful, giving his very best for the betterment of the profes- sion and alleviating suffering, ministering alike to the poor and needy as well as the rich. He died Jan. 22, 1896.

THOMAS H. ALLISON was born June 28, 1820, near West Middletown, Washington Co., Pa., son of Rev. Thomas and Ann Alli- son. He received his early education in a common subscription school, extended his course into the Florence Academy and fin- ished in Franklin College, New Athens, Ohio, after which he entered the office of Dr. A. C. Hamilton, of West Middletown, where he pre- pared himself for Jefferson Medical College, and graduated from that school in the class of 1854, well at the head. He practiced his chosen profession for a year or so at Murraysville. and later removed to Elderton, where he prac- ticed until the breaking out of the Civil war. Being largely possessed of patriotic love and devotion for his country, his valor as a soldier, his strong personality soon brought him to the front and he became acting sugeon in the Hammond General Hospital at Point Lookout, Md., and during the invasion of Pennsylvania he was the commissioned sur- geon of the Twenty-ninth Emergency Regi- ment. When the war was over he located at Kittanning, where he had a large practice. Few, if any, men were better known and respected in Western Pennsylvania, not only by his professional brethren but by all who knew him. He was a successful physician. a skillful surgeon, positive in his manner. yet sympathetic and tender, and he possessed a heart overflowing with charity, and all who knew him loved and respected him. In 1843

HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

he married Miss Mary McFadden, of West carly history of Scotland, when the king of Middletown. Two of the children of this that country, being annoyed by a very union still survive, Mrs. J. S. Moore of Chautauqua, and Dr. Thos. M. Allison of Kittanning. In religious matters he was one of the strongest pillars in the M. E. Church of Kittanning, he was a member of the Arm- strong Medical Society, the Pennsylvania Medical Society, and the American Medical Association. He was for many years surgeon for the Allegheny Valley Railroad. He was a member of the Free Masons. His chief diversion from his practice was his devo- tion to his farm and its products, cattle and sheep, and at an early date he brought into Armstrong County the fine Jersey cows of which he was so proud, and also introduced the Aberdeen Angus, as well as the Spanish Merino, Shropshire and Dorset sheep. He was a member of most of the sheep and cattle clubs and associations of the county. wild and fierce boar in one part of his king- dom, declared that the honor of knighthood should be conferred upon the one who would kill the boar. A Maxwell having succeeded in killing the dangerous animal, was knighted and received as his coat of arms a wild boar's head. The Doctor's father, Robert Maxwell, born March 17, 1767, in Franklin County, moved to Clearfield County in 1792, where he built the first house in what is now Clearfield, Pa. There was not another white settler with- in forty miles of his chosen home. John K. Maxwell grew to manhood, received a good practical education, and at the age of twenty- one was appointed surveyor of Clarion Coun- ty. In 1845 he took up the study of medi- cine with Dr. James Ross in Clarion, after which he entered the University of Pennsyl- vania, from which he graduated in 1851, and located in Worthington, where he practiced until March 3, 1863, when he enlisted in the Union Army. On account of his ability he was appointed assistant surgeon of the 45th Regiment, Pa. Vols., and served until Aug. 31, 1864, when he was discharged on account of physical disability, and returned to Worth- ington. After regaining his health he resumed his practice, which was large and lucrative, and continued until the time of his death.

WILLIAM M'BRYOR was born in West- moreland county, Pa., on Nov. 29, 1822, and spent his boyhood days on his father's farm, and attended the school of his native town, but desiring a better education, he entered the Classical Institute of Jefferson, Ohio, from which he graduated in 1847. The same year he entered the office of Dr. John Dixon of Pittsburgh, then attended the University of New York for one term and finally entered into partnership with Dr. John M'Neal of New Salem, Ohio. In 1852 he again entered the University, graduated in medicine in 1853 and located in Apollo the same year to practice his profession, where he remained until his death.

He was interested in the educational in- stitutions of the county and served as presi- dent of the once famous Kittanning Academy, which is now only a matter of history. He was largely active in the organization of the Apollo Savings Bank, the Du Bois Savings Bank and the Westmoreland and Armstrong County Mutual Fire Insurance Company. He was an active Christian worker in the Pres- byterian Church of Apollo, a member of the Armstrong County Medical Society, and often represented that society in the State and na- tional meetings.

In 1848 he married Hannah Lobaugh, who died in 1871, and in 1872 he married Mrs. Nannie Cowan, by whom he had five children, W. H., John R., Dr. Thomas M., a promi- nent physician of Butler, Robert C. and Jennie. Dr. Maxwell was one of the strong Christian characters who exerted an influence on all who came in touch with him, a Presbyterian and member of Kittanning Lodge, F. and A. M.

A. P. N. PAINTER was born at Pine Creek Furnace, Armstrong County, Feb. 16, 1869. He was the son of John P. and Rebecca Neale Painter. He attended the old Pine Furnace school and when he was ten years old his fam- ily removed to Kittanning, where he finished his education in the high school in the class of 1885. Soon after this he entered upon the study of medicine, attended the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia and gradu- ated from there in 1890. After a short resi- dence in the city of brotherly love he re- turned to his native county and located in Kittanning, where with his skill and resource- fulness he built up a large family practice. Few, if any young men, succeeded as he did

JOHN K. MAXWELL, a prominent physician of Armstrong County, was a son of Robert and Jane Maxwell and was born near the pres- ent site of Strattonville, Clarion County, Oc- tober 25, 1825. The coat of arms of the Max- well family was a wild boar's head, and from legend it is learned that it was given in the in retaining such a large following. His en-

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HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

tire time, talents and attention were devoted the State and National Medical Societies, an active worker in the Reformed Presbyterian He died on the 12th day of July, 1912. to the interests of his patients as well as to his society in medicine. He was ethical in Church, a scholarly and a Christian gentleman. his profession, always willing to assist his brethren, was respected and esteemed by the profession and honored and loved by his pa- tients, and left an unsullied record of manly fidelity to the trust imposed. He was a mem -. ber of the American Medical Association, the Medical Society of Pennsylvania and the Arm- strong Medical Society, having served the lat- ter as president and treasurer. He served on the board of Pension Examiners and was a member of the medical staff of the Kittanning General Hospital from its organization until his death, which occurred on May 2, 1910. He married Elizabeth A. Crawford, daughter of George and Eliza Crawford in 1898. He was survived by her, one son, and two daughters; by his father and three brothers, Charley, en- gaged in insurance; James M., the banker, and John H., now president judge of the Arm- strong County Court. Dr. Painter was a grandson of Dr. Samuel S. Neale, Kittanning's second physician, and like his grandfather he was always anxious for his county medical so- ciety's success, was faithful to its best inter- ests and worked for its growth and develop- ment.

He was an active worker in Freemasonry, in Lodge No. 244, having passed the chairs by service from the Blue Lodge through the Royal Arch. He was a member of No. I Com- mandery and of Syria Temple.

JOHN A. ARMSTRONG, A. M., was born in Westmoreland county, Aug. 18, 1838, of Scotch-Irish descent. He was a student of nature and grew up in the schools of his na- tive town, pursuing his studies further in the academies of Leechburg and at Pittsburgh; then entered Jefferson College, where he re- ceived his A. M. degree in 1862. He then be- gan the study of medicine, but in 1863 his pa- triotism was aroused and he became a member of Company K, Pennsylvania militia. In 1864 he enlisted in Company I, 205th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, served until the close of the war, and was honorably dis- charged in 1865. He then resumed his medi- cal studies and the same year he entered Jef- ferson Medical College, from which he gradu- ated in 1867 and located in Leechburg, where he was one of the leading men of his profes- sion. He was an ardent devotee to his chosen calling, always working in harmony with his fellow practitioners for the advancement of the medical profession. He was a member of

WILLIAM WESLEY WOLFF was born in Bethel township, Armstrong county. Prac- tically all of his professional career was pur- sued in Allegheny, Pa., but his affections were deeply implanted in Kittanning, where his brother, Findley P. Wolff, is a prominent at- torney. His early education was obtained in the schools of Kittanning and the Freeport Academy. Later he was employed, during four or five years, as teacher in the public schools, in Armstrong and Clarion counties, and for about two years was a dry goods clerk in Kittanning and Oil City. He then took up a two-year course of reading medicine under the direction of Dr. W. W. Smith of Kittan- ning, and in October, 1878, he entered the Homeopathic Medical College in Cleveland, from which he graduated with the degree of M. D., in March, 1880. Early in the sum- mer of the same year he began the practice of medicine in Freeport, Armstrong county, Pa., and being the only physician of the Homeo- pathic school within the bounds of his loca- tion his practice readily became considerable and his success very gratifying. But having long entertained a dream of the possibilities and opportunities incident to a city practice, when an opening, having promise of such ad- vantages, presented itself, he removed from Freeport and located in Allegheny in the spring of 1884. Inspired with the dignity and be- nevolency of his profession he devoted hin- self unreservedly to the science and practice of cure. His success as a practitioner has been commendable, and he has taken high standing as a citizen and as a useful member of society ; and his appreciation by his neighbors and con- temporaries has been evidenced by their conferring upon him many positions of prefer- ment and distinction. He has long been an office bearer in the North Avenue M. E. church, and he manifests a lively interest in the spiritual activity and growth of that church. He has also been actively and con- spicuously identified with the leading frater- nities, notably the Masonic brotherhood and the Royal Arcanum, and has been repeatedly called upon to fill honorable stations in the supreme council of the latter order.

On the fourteenth day of June, 1899, Dr. Wolff was married to Miss Ada Byron Swin- dell, an estimable young lady of Allegheny, the marriage having been solemnized by Rev.

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J. N. Bruce, D. D., in Westminster Presby- terian church. To brighten their already com- fortable home on the heights, on Perryville Avenue, three children came: William Ed- ward, Harrold Swindell and Ada Elinor.

ROBERT M. MATEER was born in Pine town- ship, now Boggs township, Armstrong county, on the 5th day of October, 1848, and died at Shelocta, Indiana county, on the 18th day of June, 1900. His father, Samuel Mateer, was one of the well known and well-to-do farmers of Armstrong county, and had preceded him to the spirit world only two months, and was the first to break the large and closely knit family circle. Eliza Mateer, his mother, was a daughter of the late Benjamin Ambrose, and survived the doctor a little more than two years, dying Aug. 7, 1903. The doctor is sur- vived by six brothers: James E. B., Harvey J., Samuel S. and Alex M. Mateer, all of Boggs township, and B. Frank, of Kittanning, all of whom are prosperous farmers, and Am- brose M. Mateer, of Ford City, who carries on a large merchandising business in that place. Also at the time of his death the doctor was survived by three sisters : Annie J. Calhoun, wife of William C. Calhoun, a farmer of Boggs township; Maggie, wife of Findley P. Wolff, an attorney of Kittanning, and Eliza- beth, widow of Joseph Banks, of Kittanning.

Dr. Mateer's preparatory schooling was re- ceived in the public school and in Glade Run Academy, and later he was employed four or five years as teacher in the public schools. He read medicine about two years under the su- pervision of Dr. J. M. Pedegrew, of Rural Vil- lage, and entered Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, in October, 1871, and graduated with the degree of M. D., in the class of 1873. In April of that year he began the prac- tice of medicine in Elderton, where by careful attention to business and fair treatment to all he soon found himself engaged in a large and interesting practice. During his last nine or ten years in Elderton, in company with Har- vey Rankin as partner, he was engaged in the drug business. He was also the postmaster.

On Jan. 18, 1874, Dr. Mateer was married to Miss Mary J. Donnelly, an accomplished and highly esteemed young lady of Elder- ton, who, with their two daughters, Mrs. Maude Lowman, wife of Ab. H. Lowman, now of Butler, Pa., and Mattie Mateer, since married to John Whitehead of Vandergrift, Pa., survive the doctor.

HAMILTON KELLY BEATTY was the eldest son of William W. Beatty, late of Manorville, who was for many years a prosperous dealer in and manufacturer of lumber, and while working in the lumber mills, the doctor ac- quired not only a fair knowledge of business and business methods and a valuable acquaint- ance with machinery, but also a large, robust, healthful frame which gave him a strong, im- posing personality and enabled him to go through the trying and embarrassing vicissi- tudes to be met with in a practice so varied in range and character as was that in which he first began his professional career. He was born in the township of Bethel, Armstrong county, in the month of April, 1847. He was the eldest member of a family of five, but all of these had preceded him in death except one brother, William W. Beatty, Jr., of Wilkinsburg, who, with the doctor's wife, formerly Miss Belle Robinson, of Kittanning, are the only near relatives to survive. In July, 1863, when the doctor was just past the age of sixteen, he enlisted for three months' service in the Civil war, in Company "B," Second Battalion, Pennsylvania Infantry. His bat- talion was employed during the time guarding the bridge across the north branch of the Po- tomac, near Cumberland, Md., on the line of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad; and in Janu- ary, 1864, their term of service having ex- pired, the boys were discharged and sent home. In July of that year the doctor again enlisted, this time for a period of one year, in Com- pany "G," 193rd Infantry, later transferred to the Ninety-seventh; and all or nearly all of this term of service was given to bridge guard- ing on Gunpowder river, near Baltimore. The doctor, although yet under the age of nineteen, was advanced to the rank of sergeant of the company, and in June, 1865, their services be- ing no longer required, they were again mus- tered out and sent home,

Immediately after his return from the army Dr. Beatty continued his medical education. After a brief period spent in preparatory studies at Leechburg Academy, he, in company with the late Charles S. Bovard of Manor- ville, entered upon the college course at Westminster College, New Wilmington, Pa., and in the fall of 1869, having had the ad- vantage of a course of preparatory reading of medicine under the supervision of the late Dr. T. C. Mccullough of Kittanning, entered and enrolled as a student in Jefferson Medical Col- lege, Philadelphia. In 1871, he opened an office in Kittanning, where he practiced for

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HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

nine years, then removing to Allegheny, where son. Dr. Beatty was a prominent member of he remained until his death in 1913. He was the Presbyterian church, and one of the board interred in the Kittanning cemetery beside his of trustees of Western Theological Seminary.

CHAPTER XII

KITTANNING BOROUGH-WICKBORO

ARMSTRONG'S EXPEDITION-THE DESTRUCTION OF THE INDIAN FORT-CASUALTIES-OLD KITTAN- NING-EARLY SETTLERS-THE ARMSTRONG PURCHASE-NEW KITTANNING-"THE WHITE ELE- PHANT -KITTANNING IN 1820- EARLY INDUSTRIES-FERRIES AND BRIDGES-FLOODS AND CASUALTIES-OFFICIALS-PUBLIC BUILDINGS-LIGHT AND WATER-FIRE PROTECTION-NEWS- PAPERS-LIBRARIES-ACADEMIES AND SCHOOLS-BANKS-CHURCHES-IRON INDUSTRIES-

OTHER INDUSTRIES-POPULATION-GEOLOGY-GREATER KITTANNING-WICKBORO-GLASS

WORKS-WICK POTTERIES

An explosion heavy enough to be heard distinctly some forty miles away was a thing to marvel at in Western Pennsylvania in the middle of the eighteenth century. That ex- plosion, sounding down the quiet valley of the Allegheny on the ninth September morning of the year 1756, occasioned a great stir at the French Fort Duquesne. The whole garrison probably crowded onto the parade ground to listen for a repetition of this startling sound. But never again did such a portentous note disturb the serenity of the valley. It sounded the knell of the French occupation of Pennsyl- vania and crushed at one blow the ruinous rule of the Latins and their Indian allies.

The commandant of the fort at once sent a detachment to inquire the cause of this explo- sion-for he knew that nothing but gunpowder could have caused so great a sound. When these troops reached the site of Kittanning they realized all that their fears had foretold to them. The great stronghold of the Dela- wares was a smoking ruin, the tepees and cabins a pile of embers, the cornfields laid waste and the savage inhabitants lying in the ruins. Among the dead was their famous ally, Captain Jacobs, the leader of the marauders who had for years terrorized the English set- tlers of this section of Pennsylvania.

This event marks the beginning of recorded history of the now thriving city which is the seat of Armstrong county and was the cul- mination of the plan of retaliation made by the English for innumerable atrocities perpetrated by the French and Indians among the settle- ments west of the Susquehanna. These raids had culminated in the capture of Fort Gran- ville in 1756. the prisoners from that place having been marched to the then great Indian village of Kittanning. Immediately after the

news of the fall of that fort reached the Eng- lish commander at Fort Shirley he notified the governor and council at Carlisle, who at once sent Col. John Armstrong, with Captains Hamilton, Mercer, Ward and Potter and eight hundred men, to destroy the Indian vil- lage. They left Fort Shirley on Sept. 3, 1756, marched up the Juniata, over the mountains and westward over the well defined Indian trail that led to Kittanning.

THE DESTRUCTION OF TIIE INDIAN FORT

The troops reached the town before day- light, being guided to the spot by the whoop- ing of the braves and the sound of their war drums. Creeping down the cliff just behind the present courthouse they hid in a field of corn until the dawn appeared. At one time they feared that they had been discovered by hearing a strange low whistle from one of the savages, but it proved to be only a brave calling to his son.

As the sun rose over the steep hillside and rendered all objects distinct the attack was suddenly begun. At the first firing Captain Jacobs, like the great leader he was, sent the women to the woods and marshaled his braves and fortified themselves in the log dwellings near the center of the village. When he heard the cries of the English he said: "The whites are come at last. Now we shall have scalps enough."

For a time, in the shelter of their cabins. the Indians held the besiegers at bay, but fin- ally certain bold spirits among the attacking force ran forward and fired the roofs of the houses that sheltered the savages, and soon the defenders, though fighting bravely, were compelled to surrender. John Ferguson was

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ASTDI TILD .. .

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HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

the hero of the day. Braving the constant caped. For many days, during which he lost fire of the natives who were sheltered in the the horse, he subsisted on roots and berries, and finally, after a long series of hardships, succeeded in reaching Fort Littleton.

largest of the houses, he stood beneath the walls and held a piece of burning bark against the side until it was in flames. This was the storehouse of a quantity of gunpowder which the Indians were saving to use in a general campaign to destroy the whites. In a few mo- ments it blew up, sending the fragments of the defenders into the air and causing the tre- mendous sound whose echoes resounded even to Fort Duquesne.

Captain Jacobs refused to surrender and probably perished in this explosion. His scalp was afterward shown to Colonel Arm- strong. The power of the Delawares was broken, the French alliance severed and the future of the colonists secured. Burdened with their wounded, the surviving members of the expedition returned to Fort Littleton in triumph.

Sad to say, several of the soldiers had de- serted when the action was at its height and these were met the afternoon of the fight by Armstrong near where he had the night before left Lieutenant Hogg to protect his rear with twelve men. They reported that the few In- dians that had then been discovered near a campfire had developed into a large war party, and after attacking them Lieutenant Hogg was mortally wounded and his force deserted him. From the number of the blankets afterwards found here the spot has since been called "Blanket Hill."

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Armstrong County, Pennsylvania her people past and present, embracing a history of the county and a genealogical and biographical record of representative families, Volume I, Part 22

Author: J.H. Beers & Co Publication date: 1914 Publisher: Chicago, J. H. Beers Number of Pages: 618

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Chicago, J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 618