Biographical and historical cyclopedia of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Part 36

Author: Gresham, John M. cn; Wiley, Samuel T. cn
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia [Dunlap & Clarke]
Number of Pages: 1422

USA > Pennsylvania > Westmoreland County > Biographical and historical cyclopedia of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania > Part 36

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BIOGRAPHIES OF

He was an honorable and useful man, held mem- bership in the United Presbyterian church and died in 1815. He took an active part in the "Whiskey Insurrection, " married Margaret Har- ris and reared a family of nine children, of whom one was Samuel Hamilton (grandfather) who was born in 1795. He served under Capt. Markle in the war of 1812, and married Mary Cooper, daughter of John Cooper, who once owned a part of the ground on which the battle of Gettysburg was fought. Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton were the parents of six children, of whom one is Hon. Alexander C. Hamilton, of West Newton.

Joseph Frazier Hamilton was educated in the common schools of Sewickley township. When about ten years of age his father died and he then lived on a farm with his unele, Joseph Ham- ilton, of Sewickley township until he was nine- teen years of age. He was then prompted with a desire to do for himself and began the battle of life with no resources but a strong will and un- tiring energy. Being naturally of a mechanical turn of mind he entered the shop of W. B. Chain, where he learned the trade of blacksmith and carriage builder. At the expiration of his ap- prenticeship he took hold of the Mill Grove car- riage factory, which had been abandoned by his predecessor as unprofitable. In a short time his business had so increased that it was neces- sary for him to employ five or six assistants in order to supply the demand made upon him for Work. Having shown clearly his adaptability for business by his success he proceeded to en- large the sphere of his operations and increase his means of prosecuting the same, and (1888) removed his business to West Newton, where he erected a large three-story factory, 33x 100 feet, especially designed for his work and fitted throughout with all the necessary implements with which to carry on his business after the most improved plans of the day. In addition to the main factory he has built a large warehouse, 16x68 feet, three-stories high. Besides his fac-

tory he owns other valuable real estate in the borough. In the spring of 1890 he associated with him his brother, Daniel E. Hamilton ; the firin name is now Hamilton Bros., and their business has been steadily increasing in volume and popularity. They now employ a large num- ber of men and build all styles of carriages, wagons and hearses. They receive orders for work from Greensburg, Mckeesport, Braddock and Pittsburg. In political faith he is a repub- lican and has served as central committee-man a number of years. He is a firm believer in the principles of his party and is ever willing to contribute to the promotion of the success of the party of Lincoln and Grant. Ile is a member of the Jr. O. U. M. at West Newton.

J. Frazier Hamilton is entirely a self-made man, having won success for himself by his good judgment combined with an iron will and a marvellous capacity for hard work. His career is a practical verification of Daniel Webster's aphorism : " There is always room at the top."

ON. ALEXANDER C. HAMILTON was born December 27, 1821, in Sewick- ley township, Westmoreland county, Pa., and is a son of Samuel and Mary (Cooper) Hamilton. His grandfather, Robert Hamilton, was a weaver in Ireland, but in 1782 he immi- grated to America and settled in what is now Sewickley township, Westmoreland county, Pa., where he followed farming. Five of his broth- ers preceded him to the United States and set- tled near Fort Pitt, on the present site of Pitts- burg, since which time nothing has been heard of them or their descendants. Robert Hamil- ton married Margaret Harris and to them were Dorn nine children. He was, while in Ireland, a member of the Covenanter church, but in this country he became identified with the Associate Reformed, now the United Presbyterian church. Ile was an honorable and conscientious man and lived till 1815. He took an active part in

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the " Whisky Insurrection " of 1794. Samuel Hamilton (father), one of his sons, was born in 1785 on the old homestead farm in Sewickley township, Westmoreland county, Pa. In the war of 1812 he served in Capt. Joseph Markle's troop of cavalry and engaged at the Mississin- ewa towns, Fort Meigs and in several other skirmishes along the River Raisin. Ilis horse was wounded, but he brought him home, and both the horse and the wound are distinctly re- membered by his children. Like his father he was a whig, but in later years became a repub- lican. He married Mary Cooper and they had six children. John Cooper (maternal grand- father) was a native of Chester county, Pa. He was a democrat, a farmer and owned part of the land on which the battle of Gettysburg was fought.

Alexander C. Hamilton was married to Eliza A., daughter of John Marshall, of Westmore- land county, Pa., and they have five children : Mary E., John M., married to Matilda Elliott and living at West Newton ; Samuel, a carriage painter, also living in West Newton; Madge, principal of Scott Haven schools, who was edu- cated at the Indiana State Normal, and Camelia J., wife of C. P. Ray, a farmer in Rostraver township.

Alexander C. Hamilton was educated in the public schools and began life as a farmer on the homestead farm in Sewickley township, West- moreland county, Pa. He is a republican and has always taken an active part in political af- fairs. For ten years he served as justice of the peace in his native township, and for eighteen years he held the office of school di- rector, most of the time being secretary of the board. In 1869 he was elected to the legis- lature of Pennsylvania to represent the counties of Westmoreland and Indiana, which he did with credit to himself and satisfaction to his constituents. Under the administration of Grant he was assistant assessor and deputy collector of internal revenue, and during the war he was

supervisor of the first Order of Draft in West- moreland county, Pa. Although Mr. Hamilton is a resident of West Newton he owns a fine farm in Sewickley township-a part of the old homestead. He is a member of the United Presbyterian church, in which he is a ruling elder and is an affable and highly respected gentleman.

R OBERT D. HUMES was born February 24, 1833, in Tarentum, Allegheny county, Pa., and is a son of James and Mary (Neg- ley) Humes. His grandfather, John Humes, was a native of Ireland, and in his youth immi- grated to America previously to the Revolution- ary war. lle settled at what is now Manor, Westmoreland county, Pa., where he tilled the soil and ran a distillery. During the war for Independence he served as a teamster under Washington, after which he returned to Manor, where he remained until his death. James Ilumes (father), one of his sons, was born in July, 1793, at Manordale, Westmoreland county, Pa., and died at Tarentum, in the adjoining county of Allegheny, September 17, 1865. Hle was by occupation a farmer and a democrat all his life until the late war, when he voted partly with the republicans. He first married Mary, daughter of John Vance, of Elizabeth township, Allegheny county, who bore him two children. Ilis second wife was Mary, daughter of Felix Negley, of Allegheny county, Pa., and they had fourteen children, ten of whom were sons. Fe- lix Negley (maternal grandfather) was of Ger- man descent, and in 1796 settled where the bor- ough of Tarentum, Allegheny county, Pa., now stands. In 1797 he built a saw mill and grist mill and in 1821 he built a carding factory and began carding in 1824 in company with Alex. McAllister. In 1832 Mr. Negley died, and his son Felix carried on the business until 1852, when he also died. Felix Negley, Sr., married Ruth Horton, whose brother Thomas built the

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BIOGRAPHIES OF

first house in Tarentum, a log-cabin, which stood on the right bank of Bull creek, near its mouth. The Negleys and the Hortons were the founders of what is now the flourishing borough of Ta- rentum, Allegheny county, l'a.

Robert D. Humes was educated in the public and private schools of Tarentum, and engaged for a time in farming, but later began the man- ufacture of brick at his native town. In 1861 he went to the oil region and was in the oil business there about a year. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Co. I, one hundred and twenty- third reg. Pa. Vols. The day following his enlistment as a private he was promoted to the captaincy of his company, in which capacity he served until December 18, 1863, when, at the battle of Fredericksburg, he was wounded in the thigh by a rifle-ball and disabled. His regiment was part of the time under command of Fitz John Porter and the remainder under " Fight- ing" Joe Hooker. The Humeses have from time immemorial been members of the Presby- terian church, in which many of them have been elders. Robert D. Humes is an elder in the same church at West Newton, and held the same po- sition before going to that place in 1880. Mr. Humes is a republican and an active worker in his party but has no political aspirations. Mr. Humes has been engaged in the drug business ever since he returned from the war.

LMANDER BUKKET KING, of West Newton, was born July 26, 1847, in Pittsburg, Pa., and is a son of John and Martha (Burket) King. His maternal grand- father, Jacob Burket, was a native and resident of Stoystown, Somerset county, Pa., and fol- lowed the occupation of farming. John King was a resident of Allegheny City, where he died November 12, 1889. Hle was a moulder by trade and worked at moulding all his life. IIe was the father of nine children, seven of whom are living.

Almander B. King was educated in the com- mon schools, and in 1863, at the age of sixteen entered the service of the Government in the second reg., Maryland Volunteers, and remained until the close of the war. He was engaged in the battles of Gettysburg, Fisher Hill, Cedar Creek and various others. After the war he learned the shoemaker trade, at which he has worked ever since though not continuously. Since his marriage he has lived at West Newton and is running a shoe store in connection with work at his trade.

On the 17th of December, 1874, he was united in marriage with Elizabeth, a daughter of John and Elizabeth ( Bryan) Mellender. They have had five children : John A. (deceased), Cora M. (deceased), Winfield L., Elizabeth N., and one deceased.

Mrs. King's mother, Elizabeth (Bryan) Mellender, was born March 7, 1820, and is a daughter of Abraham Bryan, a native of Bucks county, Pa., who migrated to East Huntingdon township, this county, where he died. Elizabeth, one of his nine children, was married March 20, 1845, to John Mellender, who died July 18, 1885. They had five children : Mary E., born April 26, 1846; John A., born September 29, 1847, died in 1874; Samuel P., born May 27, 1852; William D. Il., born November 30, 1853, died in 1861, and Lafayette P., born Sept. 22, 1856. Mrs. Elizabeth Mellender is rather a remarkable woman. She was left at fifteen years of age without a home ; she began earning a livelihood by sewing and spinning by the week at Mount Pleasant and afterwards worked for some time at Greensburg. By economy she soon accumulated sufficient money to purchase a farm of one hundred acres at the foot of Chest- nut Ridge, for which she paid $500. After living on it for several years she, on April 1, 1848, moved to the Mount Pleasant toll-gate and became tollkeeper on the turnpike, and afterwards at the bridge across the Youghiogh- eny river at West Newton, from October 1,

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1862 to 1884. In the meantime she began to deal in real estate, which she has continued ever since. Mrs. Mellender was very much crip- pled when a chill by rheumatism, but recovering from its effects has been a thorough-going and active business woman ever since. With re- markable foresight she purchased land where the railway was afterwards made and realized hand- somely on her investments in land as well as upon several houses which she built and sold. She owns bridge stock and built her present fine residence at West Newton. It is an ell- shaped building, 26x40 feet front and a wing 16x45 feet. That she is a woman of far more than ordinary business ability is evidenced by the fact that she began with nothing and is to- day worth at least $20,000. She is philan- thropic and liberal ; she built the parsonage of the church of God at a cost of some $1,800 and donated it to that church, of which she is a member and a liberal supporter.

R OBERT H. LATIMORE. The Emerald Isle, though small in extent, has sent to the shores of America thousands of men who by industry, energy and good judgment have worked their way up to fortune, and not a few whose fame as orators and statesmen has spread across more continents than one. Among the sons of Erin who left the land of their nativ- ity and became American citizens, and who have fought the battle of life fairly and successfully is Robert II. Latimore, who was born December 22, 1842, in county Tyrone, Ireland, and whose parents were John and Mary Ann (Armstrong) Latimore. His great-great-grandfather was a native of Scotland, but immigrated to Ireland, settling in county Tyrone. Robert Latimore (grandfather) was born, lived and died in that county, where by occupation he was a tiller of the soil. John Latimore (father) was born in county Tyrone, Ireland, in 1815, immigrated to the United States and located in Sewickley

township, Westmoreland county, Pa., where he owns a good farm on which he lives, and also engages in stock-raising. He married in 1937, Mary Ann Armstrong and they have seven children : Robert HI .; Eliza, wife of William Borons, a farmer of Sewickley township ; James, who married Laura Douglass of Rostraver town- ship, who is superintendent of mines and lives in West Newton ; Margaret J., wife of Alex- ander Moreland, of West Newton ; Charles D .; Letitia, wife of R. R. Latimore, of Mansfield, Pa., who is in the coal business with Armstrong & Co .; and William J., who is at home with his father on the farm. James Armstrong (maternal grandfather) was also a native of county Tyrone, Ireland, where he lived and died. He was a large land owner in Ireland and on his property was situated a large flouring mill. His religious faith was that of the Covenanters or Reformed Presbyterians.

Robert II. Latimore married December 31, 1867, Emily, a daughter of Abram Greenawalt of Sewickley township, this county, and to their union have been born four children : Wilmer A., born October 4, 1869, and now at home with his father, engaged as bookkeeper for the firm of which his father is a member, having completed a course of study in Curry Business college; Ger- trude, born June 6, 1872, now attending New Wilmington college, Lawrence county, Pa., where she expects to graduate; Mamie, born September 12, 1875, and Maggie, born November 5, 1883.

Robert H. Latimore was educated in the schools of Ireland and before coming to America worked on a farm. After his arrival in Penn- sylvania he embarked in the coal business as su- perintendent of the mines at Armstrong station on the B. & O. R. R., in which position he con- tinued for seventeen years with no intermission except a period of three months in which he visited Port Rush, a famous watering place in the northern part of Ireland. The visit was made for the benefit of his health and since that time he has never been sick a single week. At

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the expiration of the seventeen years he engaged in the coal business for himself at West Newton, operating what is called the Yough Slope Gas Coal Company's mines. This company mines and ships Youghiogheny gas coal. Mr. Lati- more has been in this business since 1879, and in addition owns and conducts the business of a large general store in West Newton ; he also ships coal to his yards in Pittsburg where it is retailed to the city trade. He owns a valuable farm in Sewickley township and a fine brick residence in West Newton which he built for a home. HIe removed to West Newton in 1879 in order to secure greater educational advantages and all the benefits and enjoyments of town life. Mr. Latimore takes an active interest in the success of the Republican party and is a con- sistent member of the United Presbyterian church at West Newton, of which he was one of the trustees who built the present church edifice in 1883 at a cost of twenty-three thousand dollars. Mrs. Latimore and three of the child- ren are also members of the same church. Robert II. Latimore possesses business qualifica- tions of a high order, a very pleasant and af- fable gentleman, and richly deserves the res- peet and popularity he enjoys. It is an old saying that " man is the architect of his own fortune," and the success of Mr. Latimore is an evidence of its truth.

FAMES H. LAWHEAD, M. D., a success- J

til young physician of West Newton, was born at Morgantown, W. Va., January 5, 1862. He entered the State University and was graduated from there in the class of 1882. He afterwards studied medicine for three years and was subsequently graduated from the Jefferson Medical college, Philadelphia, in 1885. He be- gan practice at Smithfield, Fayette county, in partnership with HI. B. Mathiot, one of the oldest and most successful physicians of Fayette county. Dr. Lawhead remained at Smithfield, practiced

most successfully for two years when he with Dr. Mathiot came to West Newton where they continued in practice together for one year ; their partnership was then dissolved, when Dr. Lawhead entered into co-partnership with Dr. George M. Vandyke of West Newton. They are both young men of ability and by their strict attention to business have succeeded in building up a very lucrative practice. He is a republican and a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge at West Newton.

Dr James HL. Lawhead is a son of Ashbel and Mollie (Lee) Lawhead; the latter was a daughter of William Lee of Clarksburg, W. Va. Dr. Lawhead's maternal grandfather, William Lee, was from near Winchester, Va.

Dr. Lawhead is one of the best-read young physicians in the county and at West Newton his practice is becoming quite extensive and lucrative.

ON. ELI C. LEIGIITY, a prominent citizen of West Newton, was born Feb- ruary 11, 1822, in Hempfield township, Westmoreland county, Pa., and is a son of Jacob and Salome (Leader) Leighty. Ilis grand- father, John Leighty, was of German descent but a native of eastern Pennsylvania, and removed to Westmoreland county, Pa., where he lived and died. In his carlier days he was a blacksmith but spent the latter portion of his life in tilling the soil. He was a member of the German Re- formed church and soldier in the war of 1812. llis sons, John and Jacob, were his only off- spring. Michael Leader (maternal grandfather), also of German extraction, was a native of Franklin county, Pa., and came to Hempfield township, Westmoreland county, Pa., where he lived on the farm adjoining that of John Leighty. Jacob Leighty (father) was a native of West- moreland county, Pa., a farmer by occupation, and died on the homestead farm in Hempfield township. Hle was married to Salome Leader, and was the father of one child: Eli C.

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Eli C. Leighty married Hannah E. Markle, and they have four children : Norman M., John M., Ada E. and Emma. Norman has been twice married, the first wife being Sadie Channells. Ile now lives with his second wife in St. Louis, Mo., where he is engaged in the express busi- ness. John M., who is a house and sign painter, married Allie Swem and resides at West Newton. Emma is the wife of H. A. Douglass, of West Newton, who under Cleveland's admin- istration was appointed deputy collector of In- ternal Revenue.

Eli C. Leighty was educated in the common schools of Westmoreland county, Pa., after which he embarked in the drug business, in which he has been continually engaged from 1844 to the present time and for the last forty- one years he has occupied the same stand. In 1864 he engaged in the oil business in Venango county, Pa., where he drilled several wells, and owns at this time a large farm near Oil City. His business ventures have been very successful, and as a result he owns considerable property in the borough of West Newton. Mr. Leighty is a member of the Methodist church, in which he has held every office to which a layman is eligible and is now president of the board of trustees. In 1884 he was a delegate to the General Conference which met in Philadelphia. Mr. E. C. Leighty has always been an active worker in the interests of the Democratic party and has served his town as member of the council and the school board. In 1878 he was elected to the Legislature of Pennsylvania, and served with credit to himself and the county. Ile is a member of Milner Lodge, No. 287, A. Y. M., of Pittsburg, and also belongs to the West Newton Lodge, I. O. O. F.

R. MARTIN H. LUTZ, D. D. S. Although the various professions are overcrowded with ambitious young men who lack either the ability or some of the

qualities essential to success, it is almost uni- versally conceded that " there is room at the top," and that is where we find Dr. M. H. Lutz, a skillful dental surgeon of West Newton, who is a son of David P. and Aletha A. (Van Swearingen) Lutz, and was born May 3, 1857, in Rostraver township, Westmoreland county, Pa. His grandfather, George Lutz, was of Ger- man extraction though a native of Fayette county, Pa., where he followed carpentry dur- ing the first portion of his life, but latterly en- gaged in farming. David P. Lutz (father) was born April 11, 1826, near Fayette City, Pa., and practiced dentistry for many years, but is now retired and lives on a farm near Fayette City. Besides this farm he also owns property in Fayette county, Pa., in Jeannette, Pa., and in the west. Hle married Althea A. Van Swearingen and to them were born seven chil- dren : Josephine, wife of E. Y. Beggs, of Clear- field, Pa .; George D., a graduate of the State Normal school at California, Pa., who served two years as superintendent of schools at Kansas City, Mo., studied law at Uniontown, was ad- mitted to the bar and is now practicing law at Independence, Mo .; John F., who is engaged in the mercantile business at Jeannette, Pa. ; Bessie, wife of R. M. Waldron, a veterinary surgeon, of Greensburg, Pa .; David P. ; Charles S. and Martin HI,

George Van Swearingen (maternal great- grandfather) was born in Scotland, and during one of the wars concealed himself in a cask on board a ship bound for America and was safely landed in this country, which he never left. Ilis son, George Van Swearingen (maternal grand- father), was born, lived and died near Union- town, Pa., and was a carpenter by trade though in his later years he followed farm- ing.

Martin II. Lutz was educated in the public schools of West Newton, Pa., and engaged for one term in "teaching the young idea how to shoot." He entered the St. Louis Dental

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college in 1878, through which he made his way by his own efforts. Returning home, he prac- tieed a few years as his father's partner, after which he went to Pittsburg. In 1884 he en- tered Philadelphia Dental college from which he graduated in 1885, standing second in a class of fifty-eight. He then opened an office in West Newton and began the practice of den- tistry in that place, where he yet continues. Dr. Lutz has met with very flattering success in his profession which has brought him fame, and fortune is already on the way. Ile commenced on thirty dollars, made his way through two dental colleges and now owns considerable prop- erty in Independence, Mo., and in Jeannette, Pa. His achievements certainly prove that brains and push are the open sesame to the avenues of success. Dr. Lutz, like his father and his grandfather, is an earnest, in- telligent democrat and is a member of the Pres- byterian church.

S HEPARD B. MARKLE, JR., a well- known citizen of Westmoreland county and proprietor of the " Paper Mills " in Sewickley township, is a son of Gen. Cyrus P. and Sarah (Lippincott) Markle and was born at Mill Grove, Sewickley township, Westmoreland county, Pa., May 15, 1844. The founder of the Markle family in Westmoreland county was John Chrisman Merklin (written in this country Markle), who was born at Alsaco on the Rhine about 1678. Religious troubles drove him to Amsterdam, Holland, where he married Jemima, sister of Admiral Weurtz and in 1703 immi- grated to Salem Springs, Berks county, Pa. He had nine children, of whom the youngest was Gaspard Markle, who was born in Berks county, in 1732 and died in 1819. He married Eliza- beth Grim and in 1770 removed to Westmore- land county where his wife died. In 1776 he married Mary Roadarmel and his oldst child by this marriage was Gen. Joseph Markle (grand-

father), who was born in South Huntingdon township, February 15, 1777. Several of his near relatives served in both the war of the Revolution and that of 1812. HIe flat-boated flour to New Orleans from 1799 to 1809, com- manded a company of cavalry under Gen. Har- rison in the war of 1812 and shortly afterwards was elected a major-general of the Pennsylvania militia. He was a presbyterian and a republi- can. He was twice married. His first wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Judge Jacob Painter, whom he married January 18, 1805. They had four children : Shepard B., Mrs. Mary E. Boyd, Elias R. and Gen. Cyrus P. His second wife was Elizabeth Lloyd, by whom he had twelve children, of whom six grew to man and womanhood : Lafayette, an editor ; Joseph, George W., Roxanna, Sidnie and Margaret. Gen. Cyrus P. Markle (father) was born in Sewickley township, April 18, 1810. He was largely engaged in the manufacture of paper and coke for many years. On May 5, 1835, he married Sarah Ann, daughter of James and Margaret Lippincott. She was born at Mount Pleasant June 12, 1814, and died November 26, 1869. To Gen. and Mrs. Markle were born ten children : Margaret A. and Mary E. (twins), born January 28, 1836; Joseph L., born No- vember 7, 1837 ; Jesse II., born January 8, 1839; Cassius C., born October 31, 1840; Shepard B., Jr., and Cyrus P. (twins), born May, 15, 1844 ; Mary Emily, born September 7, 1846; Harriet C., born September 28, 1847 ; Amanda, born July 26, 1850, and Winfield S., born February 14, 1852. Of these Mar- garet A., Cassius C., Shepard B. Jr., Mary Emily and Harriet C. are living. Gen. Markle was a presbyterian and a republican. He served as general of the 13th Legion Pennsylvania Militia for many years.

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Biographical and historical cyclopedia of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Part 36

Author: Gresham, John M. cn; Wiley, Samuel T. cn Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Philadelphia [Dunlap & Clarke] Number of Pages: 1422

Author: Gresham, John M. cn; Wiley, Samuel T. cn
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia [Dunlap & Clarke]
Number of Pages: 1422