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 65
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B. Finley was born Aug. 7, 1862. (9) Martha Margaret, born Sept. 2, 1865, married Labana Wolfe and had eight children, all deceased but Hazel and Kramer. 'Mr. Wolfe died and she married Thomas Kramer, being the only one of this large family who married a second time. (10) Susanetta, born June 3, 1869, married William Manross and had seven children: George, who is deceased; Luetta ; Benjamin; William; Finley, deceased; Eli, deceased; and Ira, who married Marie Coch- ran and has one child, William.
Sophia (Bowser) Wyant, mother of these ten children, was born in Franklin township, Armstrong county, May 29, 1828, and is still a hale and hearty woman, living on the farm in Washington township, where this great family was born and brought up, and which place belongs to one of her sons. Her chil- dren gather at the old home each year to cele- brate with her the anniversary of her birth. This has been their custom for years, and the occasion is always looked forward to with a great deal of pleasure by her children, grand- children and neighbors.
in 1835, married Abraham Frick and had six children, thirty-two grandchildren and sixty- three great-grandchildren. Mr. Frick died and she married John D. Wolfe and had four children, fifteen grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. (8) Nancy Bowser, born in 1837, died in 1845. (9) Rosana Bowser, born in 1839, married Archey Bow- ser, and had eight children and ten grand- children. (10) Jennie Bowser, born in 1841, married Adam Grant and had five children and nineteen grandchildren. (II) Joshua C. Bowser, born in 1846, married Kiziah Bow- ser and had three children and thirteen grand- children. He was a musician and served throughout the Civil war, being a member of Company D, 103d Pennsylvania Regiment. (12) John Bowser, born in 1848, died in in- fancy. (13) Mary Bowser, born in 1850, died in infancy. (14) James H. Bowser, born in 1852, married Amanda Bowser and had seven children and twelve grandchildren.
This was a family of strong Baptists, and Mary (Stevens) Bowser was the pioneer Bap- tist in this part of the county. It is said that none of the children ever left the faith of their mother; few if any mothers have had such a following as she; and the end is not yet, for the records show a continual growth.
Mrs. Wyant was a granddaughter of Val- entine Bowser, born in Germany, who mar- ried Elizabeth Fluke. Her father, Abraham Bowser, born in 1803 in Bedford county, Pa., was killed April 10, 1853, by a falling tree. To return to the Wyants. Adam Wyant settled in Washington township, Armstrong county, where he was a farmer, and died May 28, 1882. He held the offices of tax collector and constable. At the first election held in that township, in February, 1859, the votes for the place of holding the election were as follows: Henry Helzel, 69; Adam Wyant, 52; William Groves, 5. Some of Jacob Frick's In 1822 he married Mary Stevens, cousin of Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, a mighty power in the organization of the free school system, and daughter of Benjamin and Sarah ( Milli- gan) Stevens, and they had fourteen children : (1) Benjamin S. Bowser, born Dec. 20, 1823, married Elizabeth Bowser in 1843 and had two children. She died in 1844, and he mar- ried Elizabeth Yerty, by whom he had five heirs conveyed their interest in the residue of children, forty-one grandchildren and sixty- the real estate which their father and mother had left to Adam Wyant, and he conveyed part of it to Christian Yerty Wyant March 21, 1864. Part of the tract to which this be- longed came into possession of the Reeds, who sold four acres to Adam Wyant for $80. The Brethren in Christ Church was organized in that part of what is now Washington township, about 1842, by Rev. George Shoe- maker, and was sometimes called the "Shoe- makerian" Church. The frame church edifice was erected in 1858, on that portion of the "Canton" tract conveyed by George Leasure to Abraham Leasure. For the purpose of conveying a moiety of the edifice and ground to the Church of God, Abraham Leasure con- veyed the lot to Nicholas Leasure, Samuel Stouffer and Adam Wyant on Feb. 13, 1864, and they conveyed it the same day to Abra- eight great-grandchildren. This wife died in 1855, and he married Katharine Yerty. They had eight children and nineteen grandchildren. (2) Elizabeth Bowser, born in 1825, married Fred Bowser, and had eight children, twenty- one grandchildren, and eleven great-grand- children. (3) Sophia Bowser, born May 29, 1828, married Adam Wyant, and had ten children, fifty-seven grandchildren, forty- four great-grandchildren and four great- great-grandchildren. (4) Sarah Ann Bowser, born Oct. 17, 1829, married Jacob Booher, and had eleven children, and thirty grand- children. (5) Dr. Mathias S. Bowser, born in 1831, married Elizabeth Booher, and had seven children, twenty grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. (6) Eli Bowser, born in 1833, died in 1844. (7) Delilah Bowser, born
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HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
ham Leasure and J. C. Plowman, who con- 1864, daughter of Prof. C. A. and Sarah veyed "one-half of a house of worship and Frances (Evans) Gilbert, the former a well- graveyard with all the appurtenances" and the known instructor at the Reid Institute. Dr. eighty square perches on which they were sit- ulated to "John Hovis, chairman of the Stand- ing Committee of the West Pennsylvania Eldership of the Church of God," March 26, 1866, for $302.67, after which the property was jointly owned by these two congregations.
Three of the sons of Adam Wyant served in the Civil war: Andrew H., who was in Company M. 59th Pennsylvania Regiment, 2d Cavalry, was wounded in the right arm at Gettysburg: Martin enlisted Feb. 22, 1865, in Company K, 104th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, and served to the close of the war (he was shot through the thigh) ; Archi- bald M., who was in the cavalry, was wounded in the battle of the Wilderness, being injured when his mule was shot from under him.
J. B. Finley Wyant attended public school in Washington township and later continued his education in the Reid Institute in Clarion county, Pa. After completing his classical course he became assistant principal there for three years, during which time he read medi- cine with Dr. Frank Ross, of Clarion, with whom he had commenced reading previously, while a student. He then entered the Western Pennsylvania Medical College (later known as the Western University of Pennsylvania, now the University of Pittsburgh), graduat- ing with the degree of M. D. on March 28, 1889. He began practice the same year at Templeton, Armstrong county, where he con- tinned for ten years, in 1899 removing to Kittanning, where he has ever since remained. He commands a wide practice, and his stand- ing with the other members of this profession in his community is sufficient testimony of the respect he has gained during his active and useful career. He is a prominent mem- ber of the Armstrong County Medical Society, which he has served as secretary continuously since 1901, and he was its president in 1896; the Doctor has just completed a history of the Society. He is also a member of the Pennsylvania Medical Society and the Amer- ican Medical Association. Socially he is a member of the I. O. O. F. Lodge at Kittan- ning; Blue Lodge No. 244, F. & A. M., of Kittanning, and Royal Arch Masons; the Royal Arcanum, and the Heptasophs.
On Aug. 6, 1885, Dr. Wyant married Mary Louise Gilbert, the ceremony being performed by Dr. B. H. Thomas, Baptist clergyman, who was connected with Reid Institute for forty- five years. Mrs. Wyant was born May 11, in Armstrong county, and his careful analy-
and Mrs. Wyant have had the following chil- dren : Sophia Irene, born Oct. 12, 1886, died Oct. 8, 1904; Sarah Alleine, twin of Sophia Irene, is married to Dr. Edward Ellis Evans, and resides in Mckeesport, Pa. (they have one child, Finley Edward) ; Margaret C., born March 13, 1890, Corbin Wayland, born March 23, 1896, and Mary Louise, born July 20, 1902, are at home; one died in infancy.
The Doctor and his family are members of the Baptist Church and he has been prominent in its work, serving several years as member of the official board, as deacon, financial sec- retary and trustee.
CHARLES E. HARRINGTON, attorney at law and representative citizen of Kittan- ning, was born at Parker City, Armstrong county, in December, 1873, son of Alonzo and Anna. (Gales) Harrington.
Mr. Harrington's paternal grandfather was a native of New York State, coming of stock that settled early in this locality, during Colon- ial days. Some of his family served in the Revolutionary war, and one was a judge of distinction.
Alonzo Harrington came to Armstrong county about 1870, locating at Parker City, where he became largely interested in the oil industry. The following children were born to him and his wife, Anna: Charles E .; Ella. deceased ; Genevieve, deceased ; and Fanny G., who resides with her mother, Mrs. Anna Har- rington, at Parker City, this county. Mrs. Harrington is a daughter of Captain Gales. (deceased), and was born at Sligo, Clarion county, where she lived prior to her mar- riage to Alonzo Harrington.
Charles E. Harrington obtained his liter- ary education under private tuition, and began the study of law in June, 1906, with M. F. Leason, a well known attorney of Kittanning. Mr. Harrington was admitted to the bar in June, 1908, and has been in active practice ever since. During the Spanish-American war he served as a private in Company F., 15th Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was mus- tered out in September, 1899. In 1909 he was the Democratic candidate for county judge, but this being a strong Republican district he was defeated. His natural mental ability and developed talents have gained him standing among the most reliable exponents of the law
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HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
sis of all cases intrusted to him justifies the His descendant, Richard de Gylpyn (the name strong confidence his clients place in him.
In 1901 Mr. Harrington was married to Margaret Cooper, of Parker City, daughter of the late John Thomas Cooper and Sarah (Bailey) Cooper. John Thomas Cooper was a soldier in the Civil war, and was a well known and prominent factor in the oil inter- ests of Pennsylvania. He was prominently identified with the Cooper Brothers, oil oper- ators. Sarah (Bailey) Cooper was a daugh- ter of Elisha Hope Bailey, of a pioneer fam- ily of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Harrington gives substantial aid, as well as personal support, to the Presbyterian Church, of which he is a consistent member.
Mr. Harrington served in the Spanish- American war, and his father, who was a Civil war veteran, of the New York Volun- teer Infantry, died in 1902, from the effects of disease contracted during his service.
DR. JOHN GILPIN was the first of his name in Kittanning-a name that has been kept in prominence there ever since his day by his son, John Gilpin, and grandson, Oliver W. Gilpin, in turn, the former one of the foremost attorneys of the Armstrong county bar in his time, the latter now practicing there as a member of the law firm of Buffington and Gilpin. There are few families whose mem- bers uniformly display such qualities of lead- ership. In professional circles the Gilpins have figured among the most distinguished members of the community for three quarters of a cen- tury, and none have stood higher for honor- able citizenship. They come of a stock which has made this region famous, being descended from Friends who emigrated to Pennsylvania in Provincial days, the ancestors of Dr. John Gilpin moving to Cecil county, Md., where he was born Feb. 24, 1806, a descendant of Samuel Gilpin, founder of the Cecil branch of one of the oldest and most aristocratic fam- ilies in America. Some accounts of the early family history and lineage show that the Gil- pins in England have long been an honored race, striving and achieving, and in view of the fact that so many of the name have shown distinguished ability it is interesting to note that Francis Galton, the English scientific writer, noted for his studies in heredity, in his work on "Hereditary Genius" mentions the Gilpin family as an illustration of his the- ory of transmission.
The first of the line of whom we have rec- ord was Bert de Guylpyn, who came to Eng- land in the train of William the Conqueror.
already undergoing slight change), called "Richard the Rider," performed a signal act of bravery in the time of King John, killing the last wild boar of Westmoreland, which had devastated the land and terrified the peo- ple. Some time previously, about 1206, he had accompanied the Baron of Kendal, who could neither read nor write, to Runnymede, as his secretary, and in recognition of his heroic act the Baron gave him Kentmere Man- or, an estate some four thousand acres in extent in a wild portion of the English lake district, about ten miles distant from Lake Windermere, a "breezy tract of pasture land" as Froissart, the French chronicler, records. Gylpyn thereafter changed his coat of arms from that borne by his forefathers to that having the wild boar upon its shield. This adventure of his, his consequent change of arms, are embodied in an old poem called "Minstrels of Winandermere."
Bert de Gylpyn drew of Normandie From Walchelin his gentle blood,
Who haply hears, by Bewley's sea, The Angevins' bugles in the wood,
His crest, the rebus of his name,
A pineapple-a pine of gold Was it, his Norman shield, Sincere, in word and deed, his face extolled.
But Richard having killed the boar With crested arm an olive slrook,
And sable boar on field of or For impress on his shield he took.
And well he won his honest arms, And well he knew his Kentmore lands.
He won them not in war's alarms,
Nor dipt in human blood his hands.
The arms are those used by the Gilpins to the present day: Or, a boar statant sable, langued and tusked gules. Crest : A dexter arm embowed in armor proper, the naked hand grasping a pine branch fesswise vert. Motto: Dictis Factisque Simplex.
On the estate thus acquired rose the strong- hold known as Kentmere Hall, walled, towered and turreted, with great manorial inclosures, close by a wild stream which leaps down the mountainside. In the early days a Norman church was built nearby, of rubble stone, with thick walls and Norman arched win- dows (twelve in number to represent the Apostles, and arranged in groups of three to give honor to the Trinity), and it still stands, near it an enormous yew tree believed by competent judges to have been there since the Conqueror's time. It is girdled by heavy chains and well protected. In this church, in the sixteenth century, preached occasionally Bernard Gilpin (the name gradually assumed
John Gilpin
A - CIF LE IOX TILDE WINDATIONS
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HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
During the religious controversies of Queen
the present form), a younger son of Kent- mere Hall. Besides his regular charge, by Mary's reign the "Apostle of the North" was royal command, he labored throughout the northern counties, among a people classed in- discriminately by Bishop Carlton as "border
tried on thirteen different accusations, but was liberated by his uncle, the Bishop of Dur- ham. His enemies, however, summoned him robbers," and during the troublous times suc- before Dr. Edmund Bonner, Bishop of Lon- ceeding the death of King Henry VIII. he don. While journeying to the metropolis the lifted up his voice continually for the purity apostle broke his leg, and before he was suffi- ciently recovered to appear for trial Queen Mary died, the reformers were in power, and the charges against him withdrawn. Bernard Gilpin established schools and continued to wield a great influence in ecclesiastical circles until he died. of life, sincerity in religion, against all abuses of the clergy of whatever persuasion. By his fearless and unselfish life, following the prin- ciple "no place too small to occupy, no people too low to elevate," he won the title "Apostle of the North," and as such is immortalized in ecclesiastical history, for his career has af- The "Apostle of the North" was one of the three sons of Edwin Gilpin, one of whom was George Gilpin, minister to the Hague during Queen Elizabeth's reign, who was commis- sioned to form an alliance with the Dutch States against the Spanish, at that time threat- ening Great Britain with the Armada. In an autographi letter of the Queen carried with him on this mission, Elizabeth writes thus : "Having charged Mr. Gilpin, one of our coun- cilors of State, to deliver this letter, it will not be necessary to authorize him by any other confidence than what is already acquired by a long proof of his capacity and of his fidelity and sincerity, assuring you you may trust in him as in ourselves." forded a theme for at least a dozen writers, in- cluding Wordsworth and Wesley. Although reared under Catholic influence he embraced the Protestant faith, and "his charities are re- minders of the distribution of alms from the monasteries, which had recently been abolished by royal mandate. Almshouses had not yet been established to provide for the poor whose necessities had been hitherto relieved through ecclesiastical charity." One biographer says : "The hospitality and charity of Gilpin were unbounded. Every week on the Thursday he ordered that a very great pot should be pro- vided full of boiled meat for the poor." Twen- ty-four of the poorest of his people were his constant pensioners. Every Sunday from The second son of Edwin Gilpin was Wil- liam Gilpin, from whom the Maryland branch of the family is descended, and who married Elizabeth Washington, of Hall Heal, the sister of George Washington's great-grandfather. Michaelmas to Easter he kept open house for all his parishioners; for their entertainment three long tables were provided, one for the gentry, a second for the farmers, a third for the laborers. Like most apostles, Bernard The estate of Kentmere was increased dur- ing the reign of Henry III. by a grant of the Manor of Ulwithwaite to Richard, the grand- son of the first of that name. Gilpin was a fearless man, which the follow- ing story illustrates: Once upon entering Rothbury Church, in Northumberland, he es- pied a glove suspended in a conspicuous place The history of a family, as of a nation, seems to advance in epochs, and from the time of Elizabeth down to the Commonwealth nothing of importance is to be noted. Then the Kentmere Gilpins succumbed to the forces of Cromwell, and the Hall was demolished by his troops, the tower alone left standing. The head of the house, obliged to flee the country, left his estate in a kind of trust mortgage to a friend, but his heir coming home in the time of quiet was unable to get hold of the proper deeds to the estate, and thus it was lost. as a challenge from some horse trooper of the district. Ile ordered the verger to remove it, but that worthy, trembling with fear, said he dared not, so the apostle, procuring a long pole, hooked down the challenge himself, and carrying it with him entered the pulpit and began to preach. During the course of his sermon he paused, and lifting the glove to view said: "I hear there is one among you who has even in this sacred place hung a glove in de- fiance. I challenge him to compete with me in acts of Christian charity." Scott's painting, "Gilpin in Rothbury Church," hangs at Wal- lington Hall, Northumberland, the seat of Charles Treveilyan, Bart., and this spirited scene is also one of the three subjects compos- ing the Bernard Gilpin memorial window in Durham Cathedral.
The division of families at that period of civil war is illustrated by the fact that Thomas Gilpin, of Warborough, was colonel in the regiment of Cromwell's Ironsides at the battle of Worcester. Whether as reaction or not from this scene of strife he soon after re- nounced what his biographer terms "foolish
22
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HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
and wanton delights, as sports and pastimes, 1730 he built another "Kentmere," a large music and dancing," and betook himself into brick dwelling which is still standing, and it the peaceful Quaker fold, where he was a was at this farmhouse that General Howe made his headquarters after the battle of Brandywine. It was also occupied by General LaFayette, who revisited it in 1824. preacher for forty years. His son, Joseph, who came to America after William Penn and who married Hannah Glover, was the founder of the American branch of the family.
With the energy of his race, and ably as- Kentmere was thus lost to the Gilpins, after having been in their possession for thirteen or more generations. Dr. Richard Gilpin, after the restoration, bought Scaleby Castle, an estate situated . in the adjoining County of Cumberland, not far from Carlisle. This was the third great estate owned by the Gilpin family, and the castle is of much historic in- terest, standing near the ruin of an old Pict wall. Here again was ruin, for overconfident in thick walls, a double moat, a drawbridge and portcullis. its former owner, Sir Thomas Musgrave, had also held out against Crom- well with the usual result. Repairing, as well as their impoverished fortunes would permit, the castle's gaping walls and battered roof, the Gilpins occupied it for a time, but after- ward allowed it to fall into decay and be occu- pied by their retainers. In course of time the fortunes of Scaleby were recouped by the marriage of a lady of the house to a gentle- man by the name of Fawcett, who drained the fields, repaired the castle, built a new por- tion around three sides of the court and made it a place of beauty for descendants of his name and Gilpin lineage to dwell within. sisted by his wife, who was a most hospitable and thrifty housewife, Joseph Gilpin soon be- came a man of prominence and prosperity in the neighborhood. Many Indian wigwams were on his farm, and his family of fifteen children grew up in entire harmony with their aborigine playmates. There was plenty and to spare, and the home soon became an ob- jective point for all immigrants arriving in that section of the country, who were cordi- ally entertained and assisted in getting their lands properly located and planned. Friend Gilpin was sole agent in the settling of all of one township-New Garden-in Chester coun- ty, as well as part of Kennett and Marlboro, and had his reward in the gratitude of those whom he aided-but nothing material for his labors. We have the following record of the fifteen children born to himself and wife: (1) Hannah married William Seal and had six children. They lived in Birmingham town- ship, Chester Co., Pa. (2) Samuel married Jane Parker and had seven children. They settled in Elkton, Md., where many of their descendants still reside. (3) Rachel married Joshua Pierce, and had four children. They Joseph Gilpin, the founder of the American branch of this family, was the only son of Thomas Gilpin, of Warborough, above re- ferred to. In 1691 he married Hannah Glover, and in 1695-96, with their two children, and Joseph's relatives, John West and his family, followed Penn the Quaker to the Colonies. They emigrated because of the persecution to which they were subjected on account of be- ing Friends. Hannah's uncle gave her 100 acres of land, and Joseph Gilpin bought 425 acres more for 40 pounds, and they settled in Birmingham, Chester Co., Pa., walking to their new home from Newcastle, where they landed. Darkness coming on before they reached their destination, they passed the night in an Indian wigwam, and the friendliness be- lived in Chester county, Pa. (4) Ruth mar- ried Joseph Mendelhall and had seven chil- dren. They lived in Kennett township, Chester Co., Pa. (5) Lydia married Wil- liam Dean. They had three children, and moved to Wilmington, Del. (6) Thomas was married three times times, first to Rebecca Mendenhall, second to Hannah Knowles, third to Ann Caldwell. They resided at Wil- mington, Del. (7) Ann married Joseph Mil- ler and (second) Richard Hallett. She had five children. (8) Joseph married Mary Cald- well, and they had twelve children. They re- moved to Wilmington in 1761. (9) Sarah married Peter Cooke. They had seven chil- dren, settled in Chester county and afterward removed to York county, Pa. (10) George tween themselves and the aborigines then es- married Ruth Caldwell and ( second) Sarah tablished continued ever after. Joseph Gilpin Woodward. They had three children and lived at the old homestead. (II) Isaac married Mary Painter and had three children. They lived in Chester county, Pa. (12) Moses married Ann Buffington. (13) Alice married Richard Evenson and had five children. (14) immediately busied himself with the prepa- rations of a home, necessarily primitive- nothing in fact but a cave he constructed by the side of a rock-and there he and his fam- ily lived for a considerable time, until he had made some progress clearing the land. In Mary married Philip Taylor and (second)
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