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 II > Part 38
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HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
commissioners is the present assessor. He has brother, married Elsie Huber, and has one also served continuously on the school board child, Harold Blaine; William Powers is de- ceased. of Brady's Bend township for the last twenty- three years with the exception of eighteen Mr. Turney was a consistent member of the Methodist Church, toward the support of which he contributed liberally, and he was a man widely and favorably known as one who always did his duty as he saw it. In politics is ruining so many homes and blighting the he was a Republican. months, part of which time he spent at East Pittsburgh, Allegheny county. He is also a faithful worker in the temperance cause, to stamp out the liquor traffic, which he believes characters and souls of many victims. Mr. Rohrbach is one of the original members of Kaylor Grange, No. 1396, organized by E. O. Snow and himself, and has been officially con- nected with the body ever since.
PETER JOHN TURNEY, deceased, for- merly a carpenter of Cowanshannock town- ship, was born in Armstrong county, Pa., March 5, 1847, a son of Peter Turney.
Isaac Turney, who was the founder of the family in Cowanshannock township, was one of the pioneer agriculturists of that local- ity. He was reared to farming and followed that calling all his life.
Peter Turney, son of Isaac Turney, was also one of the early farmers of Cowanshan- nock township.
Peter John Turney was reared to manhood in his native township, receiving a common school education. When only fourteen years old he enlisted, in the spring of 1861, in Com- pany A, 78th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infan- try, for service during the Civil war, under Col. William Sirwell. He reenlisted, veteran-
izing in the same company, and had the mis- fortune to be wounded in the battle of Chick- amauga, Tenn. Mr. Turney participated in all the battles of his regiment, including those of Stone River, Chattanooga, Lookout Moun- tain and others of less importance, receiving his honorable discharge in 1864.
Upon his return home Mr. Turney learned the carpenter's trade, but after several years went to the oil fields of Parker's Landing,
On Nov. 16, 1881, Mr. Turney married Rebecca C. McElwain, a daughter of James and Esther (Otterman) McElwain, of Perry township, Clarion Co., Pa., and by her had three children: Bert, who is engineer with the Cowanshannock Coal & Coke Company, married Mary Edna Seice, and they have one child, Helen Berneyda; Oscar Cassat, who is an engineer with the same company as his
JAMES M. STONE, junior member of the real estate and insurance firm of Fox & Stone, of Kittanning, was born in 1867, at Pine Furnace, this county, son of James and Caroline (Bossinger) Stone.
James Stone was an expert bookkeeper, and for many years was associated in that posi- tion with various iron manufacturers of Arm- strong county. His death occurred in 1902. He and his wife were the parents of chil- dren as follows: Dr. Henry B .; Annie; Mag- gie; Henrietta, wife of William J. Monks, principal of the Lincoln high school of Cleve- land, Ohio; James M .; and George, who died in 1880 when twenty-one years old.
James M. Stone, after finishing his course in the public schools of this county, entered a store at Kittanning as a clerk, and later be- came employed in the Pennsylvania railroad offices at Pittsburgh, where he remained for three years. In 1894 he became interested in the production of natural gas, and was en- gaged in drilling wells, following this line of endeavor until 1902. In that year he formed a partnership with John A. Fox, of Kittan- ning, under the name of Fox & Stone, the firm carrying on a general insurance and re- alty business, writing insurance for many of the old line companies, and handling some of the most desirable properties in the city and county. As they conduct their business along progressive lines, the partners have met with a fair degree of success.
In 1903 Mr. Stone was married to Mabel
and those in Mckean county, Pa., remaining Copley, daughter of William Copley, of But- there until 1882, when he commenced farm- ler, Pa., and three children have been born ing at the present site of Yatesboro. There of this marriage: James C., Marian and Henry his death occurred March 29, 1899, when he Nathan. Mr. Stone belongs to Blue Lodge was fifty-two years of age.
No. 244, F. & A. M., and Orient Chapter, No. 247, R. A. M. His religious home is in the Presbyterian Church.
WILLIAM A. WRAY, a farmer of Kis- kiminetas township, was born May 9, 1855, in Shady Plain, this county, son of Daniel and Sarah (Frantz) Wray, natives of Pennsyl- vania.
Daniel Wray, his great-grandfather, was
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HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
born in County Antrim, Ireland, in 1754, and Worthington, Armstrong county, a prosperous came to America in the latter part of the and progressive farmer. Helen M. is a suc- eighteenth century. He settled near Mercers- cessful school teacher in her native township. burg, Franklin Co., Pa., but in a short time went to Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland Co., Pa., and afterwards to the site of Saltsburg, where he bought a farm of 200 acres, a por- tion of the town being built on his original homestead. When he purchased this prop- erty it was covered with timber, and the wolves frequently attacked his sheep and drove them to his cabin door. His death occurred in 1825.
Robert Wray, the grandfather of William A. Wray, was born near Mercersburg, Frank- lin Co., Pa., Dec. 8, 1784, and died Aug. 15, 1869. He was a farmer, and came to Kiskimi- netas township with his son in 1820.
Wray, was born at Saltsburg, Indiana Co., Pa., April 1, 1816, and was brought to Kis- kiminetas township in 1820. Here he was reared on a farm, receiving his education in subscription school. In 1840 he commenced teaching school, continuing thus for six win- ters, and in the summer months worked on the farm. At the time of his death he was the owner of 165 acres of land. On Oct. 20, 1840, he married, and he and his wife had seven children, of whom William A. was next to the youngest in order of birth. Politically he was a Republican, while the Presbyterian Church at Elder's Ridge held his membership.
William A. Wray attended school until he attained his majority, and lived at home until his marriage. He owns a good farm at Shady Plain, and in addition to his agricultural inter- ests, is a member of the board of managers of the South Bend Township Mutual Fire Insur- ance Company. For twelve years he was post- master at Shady Plain, and in the years 1900 and 1910 acted as census enumerator for Kis- kiminetas township. At the present time he is township tax collector, health officer and a member of the county board of viewers by appointment of the late Judge W. D. Patton, of whom he was a strong personal friend. He is recognized as a public spirited man, inter- ested in the development of his community. The Republican party has his vote and sup- port.
On Sept. 28, 1887, Mr. Wray was married, in Armstrong county, to Anna M. Anderson, daughter of John B. Anderson, an old set- tler of the county, and resident of Leechburg. Mr. and Mrs. Wray have had children as fol- lows : Sloan S. and Grace A., twins, Augusta, Helen M. and Daniel. Grace A. was married Jan. 25, 1912, to Alfred Boyd Shields, of
WILLIAM BARNHARDT SHAUM, whose widow, Mrs. Elizabeth C. Shaum, lives on part of the old Marshall homestead in Ray- burn township, Armstrong county, was born May 27, 1846, in Rayburn township, and died in April, 1872, in Kittanning. William Shaum, his father, came to this country from Germany, settling in Armstrong county, Pa., where he followed farming and worked at the Bonner furnace. He and his wife, whose maiden name was Altman, had two children, William B. and Charles. The father was a veteran of the Mexican war, during which he was taken pris-
Daniel Wray, the father of William A. oner and suffered many hardships.
William B. Shaum grew up in the locality of his birth and when a youth clerked at Echo, Armstrong county, for a time. This was be- fore his service in the Union army. On Feb. 18, 1864, he enlisted in Company B, 14th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, for three years or during the war, and was discharged Aug. 24, 1865, at Fort Leavenworth, Kans. He was then only in his eighteenth year. Upon his return from the war he again engaged in clerking, being employed in the borough of Kittanning, in the old Iron Store owned by Brown E. Shaum, becoming a member of the firm, though he had no money invested in the business. They were wholesale and retail dealers in dry goods, queensware, hardware and groceries. Mr. Shaum continued thus until his early death, which occurred in April, 1872, when he was only in his twenty-sixth year. He was a Democrat in politics and at- tended the Lutheran Church.
On Oct. 14, 1869, Mr. Shaum was married to Elizabeth C. Marshall, who was born March 26, 1844, daughter of Archibald and Rebecca (Taylor) Marshall, and they had two children, Alice, born Dec. 5, 1870, and William Fran- cis, born July 7, 1872. The son, who was a carpenter by trade and occupation, died un- married Aug. 19, 1902.
Mr. and Mrs. Shaum passed their married life in Kittanning, and he was one of the re- spected young business men of that borough, where by his enterprise and ability he had won the confidence and esteem of all with whom he was associated. After his death his widow removed to Rayburn township, making her home on part of her father's old homestead farm; her daughter resides with her. The Marshall family history is given in detail else- where in this work.
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HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
OTT THOMPSON, of Templeton, Arm- riage was to Mary W. O'Donnell, of Hunting- don county, Pa., whose mother was a cousin of Robert E. Lee. They were married at Red Bank, Pa., in 1851, and to them were born the following children: Lee, who died Jan. 13, 1886, was a member of the State Legisla- ture from this district for two terms, merchant and postmaster at Templeton, and one of the leading citizens of the community (he married Martha Ernsfield, and they had two children, Claire, who is deceased, and Robert B., now serving his second term as postmaster at Free- port, Pa.) ; Ott is mentioned below; Locke, postmaster at Templeton, was also in the hotel business; Strang, of Pittsburgh, Pa., in the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Com- pany, married Reda Richardson and has one child; Eddie died at the age of eight years; Lolla died at the age of seven years.
strong county, has passed all his life in that section, having been born there March 7, 1860, son of Robert Templeton, and grandson of James. and Jane Thompson. The grand- parents were born in eastern Pennsylvania, near Altona, and settled in Clarion county, Pa. He was a millwright. To them were born the following children : Robert, John and Henry. John was for many years a steam- boat captain in the Allegheny river and after the days of boating were over followed the hotel business in the lower and upper oil fields ; he died in Bradford about 1896. Hen- ry, who was engaged in the grocery business, died Aug. 10, 1895, in the East End, Pitts- burgh.
Robert Thompson, father of Ott Thompson, was in his day one of the best known citizens of this part of Pennsylvania. He was born
Ott Thompson obtained his schooling in the
May 30, 1817, and grew to manhood in Arm- home locality, and at an early age began to
strong county, receiving his education there in the common schools. When a young man work with his father, remaining with the lat- ter until his death. He was connected with he went to work in a store for Sam Huston, the hotel business as well as with the store, with whom he remained several years. Not but sold out his interests in the former in the long after his marriage he and his young wife year 1904. In 1906 he built his present store, moved with their household goods by boat to which is stocked with general merchandise, Mahoning, this county, and went into the and he has a patronage drawn from a wide hotel business at Grey's Eddy. Some time later he went to Red Bank, where he was em- ployed in a warehouse for several years, in 1858 building the "Thompson House," a hotel at Templeton, which his brother Henry con- ducted for him for two years. From 1860 territory, being one of the foremost business men of his district. He has taken consider- able part in the management of local affairs, having served six years as supervisor of Pine township and two terms as justice of the peace. In fact, he is a typical member of the
until his death, for a period of thirty-five progressive family to which he belongs.
years, he conducted the hotel himself, being remarkably successful in the business. He also had a general store there; was the first postmaster at Templeton; served ten years (two terms) as justice of the peace, and for two terms represented his district in the State Legislature. Few men were more popular in this region than Mr. Thompson. His circle of acquaintances extended into Jefferson and Clarion counties, and he was universally es- teemed, his busy life bringing him into con- tact with almost all the residents of his lo- cality, and his honorable dealings winning and holding their good will. For many years he was an elder in the Presbyterian Church. In political opinion he was a stanch Republi- can. His death, which occurred Aug. 15, 1895, was regarded as a public loss.
In 1842, Mr. Thompson married Anna Maria Nicholes, of Westmoreland county, Pa., who died the same year, leaving one daughter, Jane, wife of J. H. Patrick, an attorney, of Clarion Co., Pa. Mr. Thompson's second mar-
In 1897 Mr. Thompson was married to Adda Gould of Boggs, township, this county, daughter of Elias and Mary Gould, now of Washington township, this county. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have two sons, Mason and Harold. They are members of the Presby- terian Church, and socially he is a Mason, belonging to Blue Lodge No. 244, at Kittan- ning. In political connection he is a Repub- lican.
SLOAN BANKS, of Bethel township, Armstrong county, at present serving as mem- ber of the board of school directors, was born Feb. 14, 1864, in Kittanning township, this county, son of John and Nancy (Mclaughlin) Banks. The father, who was born in Alle- gheny, Pa., was of Scotch-English descent, his father, John M. Banks, a pioneer and farmer in Kittanning township, coming from Scotland. His mother, a daughter of William McLaughlin, was born in Armstrong county, Pa., and was of Scotch descent. Their fam-
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HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
ily of seven children consisted of four sons and three daughters, namely: Mary E .; Wil- liam, who is deceased; David, deceased ; George, a farmer of Oregon; Belle, who mar- ried John Montgomery, of Armstrong county, and has three children, one son and two daugh- ters; Martha J., married to R. H. McGrow, of Kittanning; and Sloan.
Sloan Banks was born on a farm in Kittan- ning township, and was five years old when his parents moved to their farm in Burrell town- ship. There he assisted with the farm work and attended school, and when of age he went to Pittsburgh, where he was employed for ten years as a street car conductor. Then he be- gan farming in Bethel township, where he has since resided and where he has eighty-six acres of good land, in a fine state of cultiva- tion, devoted to general farming.
On Sept. 26, 1888, Sloan Banks was united in marriage with Susie Wareham, daughter of John and Julia A. (Walters) Wareham, of Bethel township, and they have had three chil- dren, one son and two daughters: Paul, born Jan. 28, 1892; Irene, born March 13, 1895; and Ruby, born June 3, 1901.
In politics Mr. Banks is identified with the Republican party, and he has taken consider- able interest in the welfare of his locality, always supporting worthy movements which promise to benefit the community. He and his wife are members of the Lutheran Church at Bethel.
ABSALOM B. RIGGLE has lived at his present place in Burrell township, Armstrong county, since 1870, and is one of the prosper- ous and respected farmers of that section. He was born in Allegheny township June 24, 1846, and was nearly a year old when his father, Daniel Riggle, moved to Burrell town- ship in 1847. His grandparents, John and Sarah (Shetler) Riggle, were of German ex- traction.
sas (now deceased), and has three children living; D. Thomas, born Oct. 18, 1855, who married Margaret A. Altman, of Burrell town- ship, and has three children; Anna, who died when twelve years old; Maria, widow of John Mccullough, of Pittsburgh; James W., living in California; Augusta, who married Isaiah Spong, of Bethel township, and has five chil- dren ; and Miles A., of Burrell township, mar- ried to Emma Spencer.
On Sept. 4, 1864, Absalom B. Riggle was mustered into the Union army as a member of Company C, 14th Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry, one of the -noted regiments of the State. He was wounded in the shoulder at Front Royal, saw considerable active service, and was discharged while in the Mower gen- eral hospital, at Chestnut Hill, near Philadel- phia, Pa., in August, 1865. Returning to his old home he settled down to general agricul- tural pursuits, in 1867 purchasing from Wil- liam Bahme the farm of forty-three acres in Burrell township upon which he has since made his home. He is a man of substantial worth and highly esteemed in his neighbor- hood.
On Nov. 18, 1869, Mr. Riggle married Su- sanna Farster, of Kittanning township, whose father, Jonathan Farster, was a farmer; he married Margaret Waltenbaugh. Mrs. Riggle has two brothers living, Henry and David Farster. Mr. and Mrs. Riggle have had seven children, three sons and four daughters, name- ly : Preston A., who married Celia Newel and has two children ; Millie, who died when twen- ty-two years of age; Margaret, wife of J. E. Yount, a farmer, of Burrell township (they have three children) ; Ellis W., general agent with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at Verona, Pa., married to Clara Warden (no children) ; Thomas F., a farmer of Burrell township, who married Edith Shafer and has five children ; Luella, who married D. H. Shaw, a miller, of Kittanning, and has two children, died when eleven years old. The family are members of the Lutheran Church, associated with St. Michael's (the Brick Church) in Bur- rell township.
Daniel Riggle, the father, was born May 12, Josephine and Daniel Murry ; and Pearl, who 1812, in Westmoreland county, Pa. For a while he lived in Allegheny township, this county, settling in Burrell township in 1847. He died in 1886, aged seventy-four years, and his wife, Mary Robb, who was born in 1818, daughter of John and Mary (Shotts) Robb, ROBERT W. KIRKPATRICK was born Sept. 5, 1862, on the farm where he now re- sides in Cowanshannock township, and the family had been in Armstrong county since 1798, when his great-grandfather, James Kirk- patrick, settled here. died in 1904, aged eighty-six years. They had a family of twelve children, five sons and seven daughters: Hettie; Saloma, who married Hi- ram Myers, of Bethel township, and had five children; Elizabeth; Absalom B .; John, of Texas, who married and had four children; The Kirkpatricks are of Scotch-Irish origin. Sarah, who married Wilson Hotham, of Kan- James Kirkpatrick was born in Cumberland
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HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
county, Pa., and thence in early life moved to 20, 1898. He married Anna Elder, who was Westmoreland county, this State, where he born Nov. 22, 1824, near Clarksburg, Indiana lived a number of years. In 1798 he located county, daughter of Thomas Elder, and died on Cherry run, near Elderton, in Plum Creek Dec. 26, 1892. They became the parents of (now Cowanshannock) township. At that four children: David, who died when five years old; Rose, who died in 1883, aged twenty-three; Robert W .; and Mary, who died two months after her sister, when eight- een years old.
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time the settlers had many hardships to en- dure besides the ordinary privations of pioneer life, and his house was attacked by Indians who killed two of the inmates. A young child was also wounded, but the mother made her escape with it, reaching Loyalhanna, West- moreland county, where it afterward died. Not long after this occurrence, James Kirk- patrick purchased a large tract of land in what is now Cowanshannock township, cleared and improved his homestead, and passed the re- mainder of his life there, engaging in farm- ing. He was a 'prominent member of the first Presbyterian Church organized at Glade Run, near Dayton, in Wayne township, and served as elder of same. In politics he was a Whig. To him and his wife Mary (Larimer) were born eight children, four sons and four daugh- ters. One of the sons, James, was a soldier in the war of 1812.
David Kirkpatrick, son of James and Mary (Larimer) Kirkpatrick, was born in 1778 in Westmoreland county, and was a young man when he came to Armstrong county with his father. He became a prominent farmer of Cowanshannock township in his day, and died in 1844 in his sixty-seventh year. In politics he was a Whig, in religious connection a Presbyterian. By his first wife, Elizabeth (Varns), he had two children, William and James N. To his second marriage, with Mary Thompson, daughter of John and Jane (Rid- dle) Thompson, were born nine children, namely : John; Moses; Robert B., who en- listed in 1861 in the 78th Regiment, Pennsyl- vania Volunteer Infantry, and served for three years ; Simon; Martha ; Mary, who mar- ried Archibald Findley ; Margaret, who mar- ried Christian Good; Lydia C., who married George F. Currie; and Martha (2).
John Thompson, father of Mrs. Mary (Thompson) Kirkpatrick, was born in Alle- gheny county, Pa., where his father settled on coming from Ireland. He was a farmer by occupation. By his first wife Jane (Riddle), he had three children, and eight children (three sons and five daughters) were born to his second marriage, to a Miss Breck- enridge.
Robert W. Kirkpatrick grew to manhood at the old homestead and received a public school education in the locality. He has always lived on the home farm, now owning and occupying part of the home place, having a tract of seventy acres, which he keeps under excellent cultivation. He is a substantial citi- zen of his neighborhood, progressive in his agricultural work and public-spirited in his attitude on affairs of, general interest to the community, a thoroughly representative de- scendant of the sturdy Scotch-Irish stock which has played so important a part in the development of the State of Pennsylvania. He is a Republican in politics and a Presby- terian in religious connection.
In 1889 Mr. Kirkpatrick married Sarah Adams, daughter of Robert and Jane (Mc- Kelvey) Adams of Westmoreland county. They have had three children, all sons, Ivan E., Robert Earl and Frank K. Ivan E. was married Oct. 18, 1912, to May Catharine Hull, of New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
SAMUEL J. McMAINS, D. D. S., who is engaged in the practice of dentistry in the borough of Leechburg, is one of the sub- stantial and popular citizens of that com- munity in both his professional capacity and his connection with its general welfare. He has served in several local offices, is asso- ciated with various enterprises which mark the progress of the borough, and has a high personal standing in all circles.
The Doctor's paternal great-great-grand- father came to this part of Pennsylvania from Kentucky, settling in what is now known as Baldwin township, in Allegheny county, at a period when that section was a wilderness and occupied by Indians. He was of Scotch descent. Either he or his son John took up from the government 400 acres of land near White Hall, Allegheny county, which was afterward taken from them in a fraudulent manner. An attorney once offered to re- claim the land for the heirs, but it had then
Moses Kirkpatrick, son of David and Mary (Thompson) Kirkpatrick, was born Nov. 30, passed into innocent hands, and William Mc- 1829, on his father's, homestead farm, and Mains, son of John, refused to consent to lived and died on that place, passing away Jan. such an attempt. John McMains, the Doc-
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HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
tor's great-grandfather, was from Allegheny county. He was a ranger in the early days, and told how, in a charge he made with others, he ran after an Indian whom he wanted to capture. The Indian dodged his bayonet and escaped in a thicket. He could have killed the Indian, but desired to take him alive. Mr. McMains married Margaret Kinkaid, daughter of John Kinkaid, and they had the following children: William is men- tioned below; John Kinkaid married Eliza- beth Barns; Enoch married Sarah Shaw; Benjamin married Mary Ann Weller; James married Nancy Thompson; Andrew married Sarah Thompson, cousin of Nancy, his brother's wife; Sarah married Fulton Eckels ; Hannah married James Irwin; one daughter (name not known) died young.
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