Biographical and historical cyclopedia of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Part 6

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 6

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

BIOGRAPHIES OF

Pennsylvania Railroad company. He also built the Hecla and Mount Pleasant branch of railroad. IIe next built 23 miles of the Crab- tree branch in Westmoreland county. After completing the last branch he widened his field of operations and removed to West Virginia, where he built eight miles of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad from Morgantown to Fairmont. Returning to Westmoreland he constructed the branch road to the Central coke works, for which he did the grading. In October, 1884, he removed to Greensburg, where he expects to remain for life.

In 1879 Mr. Bennett was married to Addie Barrows, daughter of Perry Barrows, a farmer of Athens county, Ohio. Their union has been blessed with two children, of whom one, a daughter, is living : Mary Eliza, born April 11, 1882.

He entered into partnership with Robert Talbot in the general contracting business under the firm name of Bennett & Talbot. From the organization of the firm until the present they have taken and successfully finished many large contracts at Greensburg and throughout the county.

In politics Mr. Bennett is a democrat. He and his wife are members of the Catholic church.

AMES D. BEST, of Irish-German descent, a popular citizen and the present favorably known clerk of the courts of Westmoreland county, is the fifth child of Robert C. and Anna (Bierer) Best, and was born in Hempfield town- ship, Westmoreland county, Pa., July 13, 1858, His grandfather, John Best, a native of Ireland, was brought to America in his boyhood by his parents, who settled in Ligonier valley, this county. There, near Bottsville, young Best was reared and lived to an advanced age, engaged in the pursuits of agriculture. He always resided near Bottsville, where at one time nearly all the members of the Presbyterian church were Bests.

Robert C. Best (father) was born in Cook town- ship, this county, in 1812; he was a member of the Presbyterian church, a life-long democrat, and lived to the age of fifty-three years. His wife was Anna Bierer, a daughter of David Bierer, who was of German lineare. They reared a family of nine children, of whom seven sons are living. Mrs. Anna Best was born in 1830, and now resides in Greensburg.

James D. Best received his education in the public schools and the normals of Greensburg. When but eight years of age his father died, and for the next seven years he made his home with his uncle, Capt. John Rinkey, of Stahlstown. In 1874 he returned to Hempfield township, where he worked in a brick yard and was also engaged in mining coal. Being industrious and economical he succeeded in saving some money, attended normal school, passed an examination in 1879 under J. R. Spiegel, then county super- intendent, and taught school for two years in his native township. In 1881 he became a fireman on the Pennsylvania railroad, and five years later was promoted to the position of engineer, which he skillfully and satisfactorily filled until 1888, when he resigned to look after his political affairs. In the spring of that year he, by the solicitation of his friends, became a candidate at the democratic primary election of Westmore- land county for the nomination of clerk of the courts, and was successful over several able and worthy competitors. In the general election held the following November, he was elected by a neat majority, being the only successful can- didate on the democratic ticket. Ilis election was secured by the strong support he received from the working classes, by whom he was well and favorably known. Ilis services thus far in the important office which he fills have given ex- cellent satisfaction, and a continuation of his present business methods, courtesy and genial manners will make his administration of the office one of the best and most popular in the history of the county. For a young man, left

fastD . But

WESTMORELAND COUNTY.

without a father at the tender age of eight years, and with a widowed mother to care for, Mr. Best has achieved enviable distinction. Coura- geous, persevering, and possessed of a noble ambi- tion he has pressed onward along the pathway that leads up the hill of life, surmounting difficul- ties and overcoming obstacles, until he now stands in the front rank of the young men of the county. Ile was full of life, vigor and energy, of excellent habits, and labored and studied

"Oft till the star that rose at evening bright,

Toward Heaven's descent had sloped his westering wheel." believing implicity in the old saying,

"There is no excellence without great labor."

James D. Best, on July 3, 1888, was united in marriage with T. May Keltz, of Ligonier, Pa., and they have one child, a son named Robert Edward Best.

J. D. Best is a prominent member of Greens- burg Council, No. 82, Jr. O. U. A. M .; An- drew Carnegie Lodge, No. 325, Brotherhood of Engineers of Pittsburg; Knights of the Mystic Chain and the Odd Fellows. He has always been a democrat, and is identified with the Evangelical Lutheran church, of which his wife is also a member.

ACHARIAH POOL BIERER was born September 7, 1832, in Greensburg, West- moreland county, Pa., and is a son of John M. and Eliza (Pool) Bierer. The Bierer family is an old one, and traces its ancestry back to the Kingdom of Wurtemburg, Germany. The name in the "fatherland " was Buehrer, but it has been Anglicised, and is now almost universally written Bierer. In Germany most of the ancestors were farmers and merchants, though some of them were prominent in the civil and military affairs of the empire. In May, 1804, John Bierer (great-grandfather), with his family took shipping at Amsterdam for the United States. The voyage was long and tedious, the vessel having been carried by storms

to the region of the West Indies, where it was becalmed several weeks. During these weeks a tropic fever carried off many of the passengers, among others Mr. Bierer. About the first of October the vessel landed at Baltimore, Md., and his widow and her three sons journeyed across the mountains, settling near Greensburg, this county. One of these sons, John M. Bierer (grandfather), was about eighteen years of age at that time. For many years he followed the occupation of butchering, but later purchased a farm upon which he took up his residence. Ile married Barbara Holtzer, a native of "old West- moreland," by whom he had ten children. John M. Bierer (father), one of these children, was born in Greensburg, where the First Lutheran church now stands, October 24, 1807. He was a successful farmer, and in 1868 was elected county commissioner, serving with credit for three years. He was also overseer of the poor for some time, and after the erection of the County Home was a poor-house director for two terms. He was an uncompromising democrat, and one of the most active politicians in the county. For many years he served as major in the old militia battalion and was quite efficient and popular. He was married to Eliza Pool, a daughter of Zachariah Pool, who came in early days from Maryland to this county. They had eight children, of whom Zachariah P. is the third, and Capt. J. J. Bierer, of Latrobe, who has served in the Pennsylvania Legislature, another.

Zachariah P. Bierer has been a carpenter and contractor since 1849. He is a sound democrat and has served a number of times as burgess of Greensburg. Although active in political mat- ters, bighearted and popular, he has never sought any county office. When " Morgan, the Raider" was spreading consternation throughout the country and troops were needed to repel or capture the bold invader, Mr. Bierer raised and organized Co. C, of which he was made captain, and gallantly commanded. He is a member of the A. O. U. W., the K. of II., and is a Royal

BIOGRAPHIES OF

Arch Mason, a Knight Templar, and a Scottish Rite degree Mason, having reached the topmost rung of the noble Masonic ladder.

Zachariah P. Bierer was united in marriage, April 17, 1856, with Julia A., a daughter of Jacob Mcintyre, of Greensburg, and they have had eight children, five of whom are living : HI. Foster, Jessie, Mary, Edward K. and John M. II. Foster Bierer, born September 15, 1861, was married to Jenny Colville, and is engaged at the carpenter trade. Edward K. Bierer, a P. R. R. passenger conductor, is married to Margaret, a daughter of Prof. J. S. Walthour, and they have one child named Richard. John M. Bierer, following in the footsteps of his father, is engaged in carpentry.

S AMUEL BIERER. In the early years of the present century, among the worthy and reliable families who came from Ger- many to Westmoreland county was the Bierer family, who scattered descendants throughout the Union are noted for intelligence, patriotism and usefulness. One of these is Samuel Bierer of Greensburg. He was born on West Pitts- burg street, Greensburg, Westmoreland county, Pa., August 30, 1830, and is a son of Frederick and Elizabeth (Lafferty) Bierer. Ilis paternal grandparents, John and Barbara (Müller) Bierer, were natives of the kingdom of Wurtemberg, Germany, where the Bueher (Anglicised Bierer), family had resided for several centuries back. The Bierers were mostly farmers, tradesmen and merchants, though some of them were prominent in the military and civil annals of Germany. John Bierer, with his family, started for America in 1804, but died at sea. His widow and three sons, John, Everhart and Frederick, landed at New York city and came to Greensburg. Frederick Bierer (father) was born in 1791, at Monsheim, in the kingdom of Wurtemburg, and after his arrival at Greens- burg he worked for several years with his

brother John in the butchering business. IIe then removed to Connellsville, Pa., where he was engaged in butchering for many years, and owned forty acres of land, which included the present site of the P. R. R. depot. He went to Pittsburg in 1817, and became a partner with his brother Everhart in the butchering business, but removed to Greensburg in 1823, where he conducted a butcher shop until 1831. In that year he went to Hannastown, where he owned a farm of one hundred and seventy-five acres, and was engaged in farming until his death, June 7, 1854. At his death he owned nearly five hundred acres of land, was con- sidered one of the progressive farmers of the county, and always kept very fine stock. Ile was a strong democrat, belonged to the Ma- sonic fraternity, and was a strict member of the Lutheran church, in which he had served as deacon and elder. Ile was a man of large stature, a peaceable citizen and a popular man in his neighborhood. He married Elizabeth Lafferty, daughter of James Lafferty, of Con- nellsville, Pa. They had twelve children, of whom eleven grew to manhood and woman- hood, and seven of these are yet living. Mrs. Bierer was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Samuel Bierer was educated in the common schools and learned the trade of cabinet-maker, which he followed for five years. He then (1859) engaged in farming, which he success- fully pursued for twenty-eight years. He has been a resident of Greensburg since 1884, and has recently retired from farming and all other business pursuits. He is a democrat in politics, has always voted for the State and National nominees of that party, and believes in an economical administration of public affairs at the county seats as well as at the National capital.

On March 12th, 1857, he united in marriage with Emily E. Boice, of Greensburg. Mr. and Mrs. Bierer are the parents of five children :

WESTMORELAND COUNTY.

Charles E., now employed on the Methodist Recorder, of Pittsburg, Pa .; D Welty, a tele- graph operator; S. Wakefield, who is a teacher and secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association of Greensburg; and Clara E., wife of W. II. Thomas, who is a manager of the scales at Rodebaugh station. Mrs. Bierer is a daughter of Alonzo H. Boice (originally spelled DuBois), a native of New York. He was a son of Mark Boice, was a cabinet-maker by trade, and came to this county in 1810. He married Elizabeth Hardin, a daughter of Richard Hardin, who was a cabinet-maker, and came from Mary- land. He served one year in the war of 1812, and was first sergeant under Major J. B. Alexander.

Samuel Bierer is an active worker in the tem- perance cause, with which he has been identified ever since arriving to manhood. He is a mem- ber of Greensburg Methodist Episcopal church, and is now enjoying in his neat and tasteful home the abundant fruits of over forty years of honest labor.

OL. JOHN A. BLACK. But for the late civil war the military ability and daring bravery of many men would never have been known. To this class belongs Col. John A. Black, of Greensburg, who rose from the .rank of private to the command of his regiment by his distinguished services and gal- lantry on many bloody fields of battle. He was born in Mercer township, Butler county, Pa., August 19, 1828, and is a son of Robert C. and Nancy . A. (Kerr) Black. Col. Black is of Irish descent. Mathew Black, (great grand- father) along with three other brothers, James, John and William, left Scotland about A. D. 1735, and came to Letterkenny, Donegal county, Ireland. Mathew Black had a family of four sons and two daughters. His son, John Black, was born 1770, and came to America about 1795, and married Jane Criswell, at or

near Chambersburg, Franklin county, Pa., when he moved to the headwaters of Slippy Rock, in Mercer township, Butler county, Pa., about 1797. He reared a family of six sons and four daughters, and died October 2, 1832. Jane Criswell, his wife, was born September, 1775, died February, 1864. Robert C. Black, their son, was born January 10, 1804, and married Nancy A. Kerr, November 1, 1827, and died July 9, 1850. Nancy A. Kerr was born Osto- ber 27, 1806. Their family consisted of seven sons and four daughters. All, with the mother, Nancy A. Black, are living and in good health at this date except their second, Thomas K. Black, who died of typhoid fever, June 20, 1851. Robert L. Black, fifth son of Robert C. Black, was born January 27, 1835, and married Sarah Hartley about January, 1856, and took the old farm. He has reared a family of thir- teen children, all living. But one death has occurred on the old farm where the three gen- erations were reared, and that was Robert C. Black, July 9, 1850.

Col. John A. Black was reared on his father's farm and received his education in the old sub- scription schools of Pennsylvania, when they were in the last decade of their existence. His first employment was farming until nineteen years of age, after which he was engaged from 1847 to 1855 in railroading on the Portage road. In 1855 he returned to farming and was steadily engaged in that line until 1861, when he was rudely summoned from his rural life by the sounds of battle and his country's call for troops, to relieve the damaging effects of Bull Run and crush out of armed existence the spirit of rebellion. As an obscure private he passed from the farm to the tented fields, where he was to win promotion and honorable men- tion. On September 21, 1861, Col. Black en- listed as a private in Co. B, Fifty-sixth Pa. Vols., and served until July 1, 1865; he was then honorably mustered out of service with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He encountered all the

BIOGRAPHIES OF

hardships of a soldier's life, and was in the battle of Gettysburg and many others. At the battle of Gettysburg he was captured by the Confed- erates on the first of July and held prisoner four days, when his captors fell into the hands of the Union forces and he was restored to his company. For gallant conduct he was pro- moted in 1863 to second lieutenant on October 16, and became captain November 15 of the same year. Ile commanded a regiment under Meade and led it through the " Battles of the Wilderness," where it made an enviable record for bravery and faithful service. At the battle of " North Anna River," on May 23, 1864, Col. Black had his left arm shot to pieces in the very thickest of the carnage. Ilis shattered arm disabled him from active service until March, 1865, when he was promoted to major, and on the next day commissioned lieutenant- colonel in recognition of his valuable services and distinguished bravery during Grant's march from the Rapidan to the North Anna. He re- mained in command of the Fifty-sixth until it was mustered out in July, 1865. He was of- fered the rank of colonel by brevet, but declined to receive it, as he purposed to retire from mili- tary life to civil pursuits. After the close of the war he engaged for several years in butch- cring. June 18, 1877, he was appointed mail agent on the Southwest Pennsylvania Railway, and held that position for five years. From 1882 to January 1, 1888, he was agent of Ad- ams Express Company at Greensburg. In De- cember, 1888, he was appointed tipstaff by Judge Hunter.

On December 25, 1851, he was married to Margaret L. Kerr, daughter of Thomas B. Kerr. To them were born six children, of whom five are living : Willis Morton, who married Anna Ilazlet, and is an engineer on the Pennsylvania Railroad ; Agnes M., wife of J. M. Scott, of Delano, Butler county, Pa. ; Carrie R., Jessie L., telegraph operator on the West Penn railroad; John Audley, clerk at

Greensburg, and Clarence B., who died Decem- ber 13, 1865.

When the National Guards of Pennsylvania were organized he became successively captain of Co. B., lieutenant-colonel of one of the bat- talions and colonel of the Tenth regiment. HIe commanded this regiment in the Pittsburg labor riot of 1877, and is well remembered there for the firm but judicious manner in which he dealt with the crazed and riotous masses that block- aded the streets of the city. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Union Veteran Legion, and the Society of the Army of the Potomac. In politics he was a democrat until 1863. In that year, because the demo- crats opposed the right of the soldiers to vote, he left that party and joined the republicans ; to these principles he has since adhered. Col. Black served two terms as justice of the peace at Livermore, Pa., and was overseer of the poor for several years in Indiana county, Pa. He is a member of the Presbyterian church.

EORGE A. BLANK, one of Greensburg's prosperous business men and leading gro- cers, was born in Hempfield township, Westmoreland county, Pa., October 5, 1853, and is a son of Jonas and Charlotte (Bierer) Blank. Jonas Blank was born in Montgomery county, Pa., and has always been engaged in farming until lately, when he retired from active business. He is a democrat, a member of the Evangelical church, in which he has held all the local offices, and was very successful in business while en- gaged in farming. On December 2, 1841, he married Charlotte Bierer, daughter of John Bierer. They have had eleven children, of whom three sons and two daughters are living. Mrs. Blank belongs to the same church as her husband. He is a son of George A. Blank, who was born in Eastern Pennsylvania, but removed to this county when Jonas was nine years of age. George A. Blank, an carly settler, was engaged

WESTMORELAND COUNTY.

in farming and was a strict member of the Evangelical Lutheran church. He married Catharine Shelle and their union was blessed with eleven children.

George A. Blank, a grandson of the above mentioned George A. Blank, was educated in the common schools of Hempfield township. Leaving school, he engaged for two years at Greensburg in the piano and organ business and then served as clerk with Bowman & Sons for about seven years, until 1883, when he engaged in the present grocery business.

On February 11, 1883, he was united in mar- riage to Kate Roley, daughter of Sarah Roley, of Greensburg. They have had four children : Margaretta, Ralph, Sarah (deceased), and Irene.

He is a democrat, a member of the Jr. O. U. A. M. and the Evangelical Lutheran church. His grocery establishment is at No. 137 Main street, above the court-house; it is ample in size and convenient in arrangement. Ile carries a large and well assorted stock of staple and fancy groceries, especially selected and well suited to the wants of his large and lucrative patronage.

OUIS W. BOTT, a contractor and builder of Greensburg, was born November 7, 1848, in Donegal township, Westmoreland county, Pa., and is a son of John C. and Magdalena Bott. He was educated in the public schools of Greensburg, his father having removed there when Louis was but an infant. After leaving school he engaged in surveying on the Allegheny Valley railroad for two years, but quit this to learn the carpenter's trade, which he did with Ziegler, Baker & Co., beginning in 1868, at the age of nineteen. After the com- pletion of his apprenticeship he worked as a journeyman until 1883, when he took the con- tract for the erection of public school building No. 2. During his first year as a contractor he did $40,000 worth of business, which is con- vincing evidence of the confidence reposed in his

skill and integrity by his life-long acquaintances. Mr. Bott employs from forty to fifty men in the various lines of his business, and is well known as an honest, reliable and efficient contractor, builder and dealer. He is a man of high character, decided views and considerable ability. Ilis political principles are those of the demo- cratic party. Ile is a member of St. Clair Lodge, No. 53, A. O. U. W., as well as of the Home Circle, and with his wife is identified with the Lutheran church.

On January 25, 1876, Louis W. Bott was united in marriage with Elvira M., a daughter of Isaac Wible, of Greensburg, and their mar- riage has been blest with two children : George W., born January 4, 1877, and Mary Elvira, born December 8, 1884.

ILLIAM BROWN, the late popular and leading druggist and proprietor of the oldest drug store at Greensburg, was a son of Dr. Samuel P. and Mary J. (Nichols) Brown, and was born at Greensburg, West- moreland county, Pennsylvania, October 10, 1842. The Browns are of Scotch-Irish descent, and in Scotland (their original home) they were Covenanters. Dr. Samuel Potter Brown was born in Greensburg, April 10, 1801, where he died May 30, 1860. He was a son of Robert Brown, an early merchant of Greensburg. He was a very prominent physician in his day ; his field of practice extended over Westmoreland and into adjoining counties. He was a demo- crat, a ruling elder in the Presbyterian church of Greensburg, and was always recognized as a warm friend of the educational interests of his town, where he served for years as a trustee of the old Greensburg seminary. In 1830, March 16, he married Mary Jane Nichols, daughter of John Nichols. They had eight children, of whom five are dead.

William Brown was educated in the Greens- burg school and Jefferson college at Cannonsburg.

BIOGRAPHIES OF

Ilis college attendance was during the palmy days of Jefferson, when it received a large number of students from the leading families of the South. In 1858 he assumed charge, as proprietor, of his father's drug store, and has continued suc- cessfully in the drug business ever since.

On January 28, 1862, he married Millie Eyster, second daughter of Rev. Michael Eyster, who was pastor of the Lutheran church at Greens- burg for many years. They have two children : Samuel Potter, born December 9, 1862, who married Maggie A. Hill and Millie Eyster.

William Brown was a democrat, a member of the Presbyterian church and was superinten- dent of its Sabbath School for many years. In 1869 he erected his present fine business build- ing on North Main street, near the court-house, in which he does a large wholesale and retail drug business. His establishment is neatly and handsomely fitted up, and always contained a large and carefully selected stock of fresh and pure drugs, together with all standard proprietary medicines and a choice assortment of toilet arti- cles. He was a thorough and careful pharma- ceutist, and a prompt, accommodating business man. He died in March, 1890.

ILARY J. BRUNOT. Westmoreland county is extremely fortunate in the mineral wealth and agricultural richness of her territory, and very remarkable for the en- ergetie and progressive spirit of her many prom- inent citizens. One of this class is Hilary J. Brunot, a leading business man and capitalist of Greensburg, who is descended from one of the old and highly honorable families of France, and who has had to do largely with the material development of the Monongahela valley, and is the real pioneer of the natural gas region of Pennsylvania. He was born in the Allegheny arsenal, in Pittsburg, Pa., July 24, 1824, and is a son of Lieut. Ililary and Ann Tankard (Reville) Brunot. The Brunot family is one of

the old families of France, which first came into national prominence during the period of the religious wars in that country in the six- teenth century. Major Sanson Brunot (great grandfather) was a distinguished officer in the French army and had a coat of arms (still in pos- sion of the Brunot family), which was bestowed on him for meritorious conduct on the field of battle. His son, Dr. Felix Brunot (grand- father), was born in Parish Morey, France, January 9, 1752, and was a foster brother of Gen. La Fayette. Hle was originally intended for "orders " by his uncle, a Catholic bishop, but experiencing an aversion for that calling he was permitted to enter upon the study of medicine. After graduating from one of the first medical schools of France he joined Gen. LaFayette in his espousal of the patriotic cause in America. He came to this country in 1777, was appointed as a surgeon in the Continental army under Washington, and rendered invaluable services at the battle of Brandywine and on many other battle-fields during the Revolutionary war. At the close of that great struggle he was recog- nized as one of the most successful physicians and skillful surgeons in the new-risen Republic, in whose cause he had patriotically risked his life, and with whose destiny he had unhesitat- ingly cast in his fortunes. No warmer hearted and more earnest friend of freedom than Dr. Brunot ever came to this continent, and no man's service was ever rendered in the cause of American Independence more devotedly than his. After the declaration of peace between . Great Britain and the " Thirteen Colonies," Dr. Brunot located at Annapolis, Md., but soon removed to Philadelphia, where he enjoyed a large practice and remained until 1797. In that year he came to Pittsburg and selected his place of residence on a beautiful island (now known as " Brunot's Island ") in the Ohio river, a short distance below that city. At his island home he entertained his foster brother and com- rade in arms, Gen. LaFayette and George

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Biographical and historical cyclopedia of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Part 6

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