USA > Pennsylvania > Westmoreland County > Biographical and historical cyclopedia of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania > Part 94
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97
A. BUSII, M. D., a descendant of two old and respected families of the county, and a popular and successful physician of Washington township, is a son of Eli and Jane (Iddings) Bush, and was born February 11, 1850, in Washington township. Westmoreland county, Pa. His father is a native of this county and by trade a blacksmith, who followed his trade in Washington township until 1889 when he removed to Marion, Ohio, where he now re- sides. Hle is a member of the Presbyterian church, a democrat and in every respect a worthy man. Ilis wife is also a native of this county and has always been a leading member of the Presbyterian church. Jesse Miller, great- grandfather on the maternal side, came into this county from Eastern Pennsylvania at a very early day. He it was who donated the land upon which the Poke Run Presbyterian church now stands-the oldest house of worship in that section of the county.
Dr. A. A. Bush was reared in the neighbor- hood in which he now resides, receiving his early education in the common schools and at the Laird institute at Murrysville; after finishing he began reading medicine and in 1873 entered the Bellevue hospital and medical college of New York city, graduating therefrom in 1875. He
718
BIOGRAPHIES OF
then located at North Washington where he practiced his profession for three years and then removed to Merwin. After six years in the lat- ter place ho removed to Oakland X Roads, where he now resides and has a largo and growing practice. Dr. Bush, prior to entering Bellevue hospital, was engaged for some time in teaching, and is now not only skilled in his profession but . a progressive man in every way. He is a mem- ber of Mount Carmel Lodge, No. 542, I. O. O. F., a prohibitionist and like all other members of his family a member of the Presbyterian church.
Dr. A. A. Bush was married June 1, 1871, to Miss Sarah A., daughter of Henry and Deborah Weister, of Washington township, who is one of the leading women and most earnest Christian- workers of that vicinity. They have two chil- dren : Marchand S., born January 5, 1872, and Jesse M., born November 21, 1876.
Dr. Bush takes great interest in bees and fine stock, to which he devotes considerable time and attention.
B ENJAMIN B. CAMPBELL, of Lower Burrell township, is a son of Rev. Allen D. Campbell, D. D., and Nancy W. (Bakewell) Campbell, and was born July 10, 1828, in Allegheny City, Pa. His father was a native of Baltimore, a graduate of the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania, and received his theological training under Rev. Dr. Mason. His last charge was that of the Second Presbyterian church of Allegheny, after leaving which he lived for about ten years retired from active labor, and died at his home in Allegheny in 1861, in the seventieth year of his age. He was one of the leading ministers of his day, and at one time was pastor of the First Presbyterian church of Nashville, Tenn., of which Mrs. General Jackson was then a member. His wife was a daughter of Ben- jamin Bakewell, of Pittsburg, native of New Haven, Conn., and died in 1862 in her sixty- fifth year.
Benjamin B. Campbell was reared on the site
of Allegheny City, graduated from the Western University, Pittsburg, l'a., in 1845, and from Princeton College the following year, after which he read law with Metcalf & Loomis, of Pitts- burg, and was admitted to the Allegheny county bar in 1849. After a successful practice there for three years he became a member of the firm of Bakewell, Pears & Co., glassware manufac- turers of Pittsburg, with whom he continued until 1880, since which time he has been president of the Bear Creek Oil Refining Company (limited). In 1874 Mr. Campbell moved to his present country home on the A. V. R. R., near Parnas- sus. He has a fine residence with beautiful sur- roundings, fronting the Allegheny river, has a fine literary education and great practical ex- perience in the affairs of life, and in political mat- ters adheres to the doctrines of the Republican party.
Benjamin B. Campbell in 1851 was united in marriage to Miss Lois Jane Wade, a daughter of Major William Wade, formerly of the United States army but latterly a member of the late firm of Knap, Wade & Co., of Pittsburg.
AMES HUTCHINSON CHAMBERS, a union officer of the late war, ex-register and recorder and ex-sheriff of Armstrong county and manager of the leading hotel of Apollo, that county, is a son of John B. and Martha (Guthrie) Chambers and was born in Allegheny township, Westmoreland county, Pa., May 21, 1838. Ilis great-grandfather, James Chambers, was born about 1748 in Ireland, immigrated to Pennsylvania and settled at Chambersburg, Pa. There he married a Miss Hutchinson, by whom he had two children : William (grandfather), and Jane who married Judge Bovard, of Butler county, Pa. After his marriage he removed to (near Apollo) Washington township, where he died in 1848, aged one hundred years. He took up seven hundred acres of land, was captured by the Indians and kept prisoner on an island in
719
WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
.
Lake Erie until the close of the French and Indian war. After this the red men stole his horses, but his stentorian cries brought the sol- diers from the block -house two miles away and they recovered them. His son, William Cham- bers, was born in 1777 and died in 1851. lle married Fannie Bovard, who was born in 1787 and passed away in 1864. Eight children were the issue of their union : James, John B., William, George H., Mary, Jane, Margaret and Nancy. Of these William is still living. John B. Cham- bers (father) was born June 13, 1813. He followed farming until April 1, 1845, when he moved to Apollo, Armstrong county, Pa , where he built the Apollo, a boat which ran between Apollo and Pittsburg, on the Pennsylvania canal. Ile was engaged in the mercantile busi- ness from 1849 to his death October 21, 1886, and at the same time was freight agent. On May 29, 1871, he was elected president of the " Apollo Savings Bank " and was annually re-elected as long as he lived. He was a mem- ber of the First Presbyterian church of Apollo and contributed generously of his means to the erection of churches of all denominations. lle was a man of sterling moral character and was universally esteemed. Ilis various business en- terprises were well managed and the people ever had confidence in his judgment and sagacity. On May 6, 1837, he married Martha Guthrie, a daughter of William and Mary (Hill) Guthrie and who was born in Salem township, August 27. 1811. Her father, William Guthrie, was of Scotch-Irish descent and was a son of John Guthrie, who was one of the early settlers on Beaver run, near Delmont. The offspring of John B. and Martha Chambers were four chil- dren: James II., Samuel II., born June 14, 1840, died February 24, 1889; William G., born December 15, 1842, and Mary Jane, born January 20, 1844, now intermarried with D. A. Heck, of Butler, Pa.
James Hutchinson Chambers spent much of his early life in his father's store. He attended the
common schools, completed his academie course at Saltsburg academy and taught two terms in the schools of his native county. In 1858 he went to Missouri where he found a better field for teaching than then existed in Pennsylvania. He taught till 1861, when he returned home and enlisted as Sergeant in Co. C, 103d reg., Pa. Vols. He participated in all the battles of the Peninsula under MeClellan, was then trans- ferred to North Carolina where he took part in the engagements of Kingston, White Hall, Goldsboro and Plymouth. At the last named battle he was wounded and taken prisoner with Co. F, to which he had been transferred. He was confined in the Confederate prisons at Ma- con, Ga., Charleston, S. C., where he was placed under the fire of the Union batteries and Char- lotte, N. C. On March 1, 1865, he was pa- roled for exchange and was honorably discharged from the service at Annapolis, Md., after serving six months beyond his time of enlist- ment. He was color-bearer of his regiment until 1863, when he was commissioned Sergeant- Major. On May 20, 1863, he was promoted to second Lieutenant of Co. F, and July 4th, for meritorious bravery, was promoted to first Lieu- tenant. After the war he engaged in mercantile business for two years. From 1869 to 1870 he was in the oil business, then embarked again in merchandising at Apollo, which he quit in 1875 to become register and recorder of Armstrong county. After serving two terms he was elected sheriff in 1883. In 1886 he became cashier of Du Bois (Pa.) Deposit Bank and served till 1887. In 1889 he with several others pro- jected the Chambers House at Apollo, which was opened on February 6, 1890.
May 28, 1867, he married Kate R. Brenner, who was born near Jacksonville, this county, December 15, 1847, and is a daughter of George and Elizabeth (Mahaffey) Brenner; the former born December 13, 1813, and a son of Michael Brenner, of York county, Pa., and the latter born June 25, 1812, and a daughter of Joseph Ma-
720
BIOGRAPHIES OF
haffey, of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Chambers have one child, Edith McCrum Chambers, who was born October 5, 1869.
James IL. Chambers resides on the homestead. Hle is a presbyterian, a decided republican and a member of the G. A. R., I. O. O. F. and A. Y. M.
ESSE A. CLEMENTS, a substantial citizen and prosperous farmer, is a son of Jesse and Ann (Barr) Clements, and was born July 31, 1844, in Washington township, Westmore- land county, Pa., where he now resides. Ire- land was the birth-place of his grandfather, James Clements, who in childhood came to the United States with his parents. The family settled in Allegheny county, where, in 1815, Jesse Clem- ents (father) was born. The latter got but a limited education in the poor subscription schools of that day. When yet a young man he took pos - session of the farm now owned and occupied by his son, Jesse A. Clements, on which he re- mained until his death, February 6, 1853, in the thirty-ninth year of his age. Ile was a use- ful member of the U. P. church. Ilis wife was a native of Armstrong county, l'a., a member of the United Presbyterian church and died July 26, 1861.
Jesse A. Clements was born on the old home- stead and educated in the common schools, after which he followed farming until . August, 1861, when he joined the 78th reg., Pa. Vols., and en- tered the service as a soldier to fight for the pre- servation of the Union. Remaining in Camp Wright till September 16, he was mustered into the regular service in which he continued until No- vember 2, 1864, when he was mustered out. Dur- . ing these three years he participated in numerous skirmishes and several battles, among which were the engagements of Stone River, Murfreesboro and Chickamauga. At Stone River he was wounded just below the knee, which caused him to be laid up for a period of nearly six months. Mr. Clements is a stanch republican, a member
of G. A. R. Post, No. 243, and of the United Presbyterian church. He has a fine farm in the gas belt, though the nearest market is six miles distant.
Jesse A. Clements on the 11th day of July, 1867, was married to Margaret Ewer, of Irish de- scent, but a native of Westmoreland county, and to their union seven children have been born, of whom six are living : Robert B., born April 8, 1868; Hayes J., born October 21, 1870; John E., born January 12, 1872; Daniel A., born February 20, 1874; Thomas C., born April 15, 1875, and Knox D., born September 22, 1879. James, who was born November 18, 1887, died on the 7th of April the following year.
$ AMUEL B. COPELAND (deceased) was a son of William and Elizabeth (Arm- strong) Copeland, natives of Ireland who in their youth came to the United States where they grew to maturity and were united in the bonds of matrimony. Allegheny township was the place of their settlement, and there William Copeland carried on farming until his death which occurred in 1858. Both he and his wife were members of the Reformed Presbyterian or Covenanter church, in which he was elder.
In Allegheny township Samuel B. Copeland first saw the light. He was born May 2, 1833, reared on the farm and given a common school education which he used to great advantage in after life. Soon after attaining his majority he went to Londonderry, Ohio, where he embarked in the mercantile business, but his father's death in a short time compelled him to return home. Ile then remained for a while on the homestead farm, but after a few years purchased a farm of his own in Allegheny township, upon which he remained three years, and in 1867 went to Chartiers where he again engaged in the mer- cantile business, continuing there until his death which occurred July 27, 1888, in the fifty-sev- enth year of his age. Ile was a very successful
721
WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
man, had built up a large business which his widow is still conducting. He was intelligent, careful, keen, honest and upright in his methods, and highly esteemed by all who knew him But life is short at best and the grim reaper cut him down long ere he reached the allotted three- score-and-ten. He was not unprepared however, and when the summons came to join the innu- merable caravan he cheerfully obeyed.
In 1862 Samuel B. Copeland united in mar- riage with Margaret, daughter of James MeKit- rick, of Guernsey county, Ohio, who is the mother of ten children : Laura A., now Mrs. David Boyd, of Parnassus; Mina E., now the wife of Rev. W. C. Sampson, of Mckeesport, Pa. ; Ella M., Mary C., Lillian M., Alvin S., James M., William E., Walter L. and Clyde E. M. Mrs. Copeland is still living at Chartier's where she is still carrying on the mercantile business left by her husband, and is a member of the Reformed Presbyterian church in which Samuel B. Copeland was formerly an elder.
OBERT S. DINSMORE, one of the old and favorably known teachers of West- moreland county, and a popular justice of the peace of Lower Burrell township, was born in Plum township, Allegheny county, l'a., July 10, 1829. He is a son of Robert and Mary (Livingston) Dinsmore and is on the re- mote paternal side of Irish extraction. Ilis great-grandfather, Robert Dinsmore, came from Ireland to western Pennsylvania in an early day where he patented three hundred acres of land in the counties of Westmoreland and Allegheny. He had several adventures with the Indians and wolves. He was accompanied to this country by his son, Robert Dinsmore, Jr. (grandfather), who settled in Plum township, Allegheny county, where he died in 1844, aged eighty years. Ilis son, Robert Dinsmore (father) was born in the year 1800. Hle removed to Lower Burrell
township when a young man and followed farming till his death in 1868. He was a far- mer by occupation, a democrat in politics and a man of firm and decided opinions. His wife was Mary Livingston, who was born in the same year as her husband and died in 1865, aged sixty-five years. She was a native of Allegheny township, this county, and was a member of the Presbyterian church.
Robert S. Dinsmore was reared on a farm in Lower Burrell township and attended the rural schools of that day and Freeport and Glade Run academies. Ile commenced life for him- self by engaging in teaching, which he followed for twenty-eight years, during which period he taught thirty-one terms of school. In 1858 he taught one term at Latrobe, and was afterwards principal for one term of Parnassus academy. For the last twenty years he has devoted his time largely to the management of his farm which contains one hundred and twenty-five acres of good farming land. He is a member and elder of Parnassus Presbyterian church. IIe is a democrat and has been elected four times as a justice of the peace but only lifted his com- mission twice and served for two terms. At different times he has held all of the township offices and is now serving as a member of the township school board. That Squire Dinsmore's services as a public official has been satisfactory to his constituents is well attested by the fre- quency of his election to important local offices. April 18, 1861, Squire Robert S. Dinsmore married Isabella Christy, daughter of David II. Christy of Plum township, Allegheny county. She died in 1863, leaving one child, John II., who is now a farmer of Page county, Iowa. On September 3, 1867, he united in marriage with Sarah J. McKee, daughter of William McKee, of Allegheny township. To this second union have been born seven children, six sons and one daughter: Harry II., William M., Mary A., Robert R , Clarence C., Alexander C. and Ben- jamin S.
722
BIOGRAPHIES OF
AMES I. DOUGALL, a respected citizen of Allegheny township and one who did valiant service for his country in the late war, is a son of Samuel and Sarah J. (Huey) Dougall and was born September 15, 1810, in Allegheny township, Westmoreland county, Pa. His great-grandfather was Samuel MacDougall, a native of Scotland, who left that country under peculiar circumstances. Having a friend who loved the daughter of a lord, he assisted the pair to elope. The irate lord collected a posse and gave chase, overtaking the lovers and firing into their carriage. The young lady was killed, but Mr. MacDougall escaped to America, where, in order to avoid detection, he dropped the prefix Mac. The tragic fate of the lady made so deep an impression on his mind that he could never forget or forgive himself for the part he had taken, so he studied for the ministry in the Presbyterian church. He died in Franklin county, Pa., where James Dougall (grandfather) was born and where he died. Samuel Dougall (father) was a native of Franklin county, Pa., born 1801 and came to this country about 1837, locating in Allegheny township. In his younger days he taught school for several years and then engaged in farming which he followed until his death, which occurred in 1882 in the eighty- second year of his age. He was an energetic, active man, a member of the United Presbyterian church and a republican. His wife, a native of Allegheny county, a member of the same church, died in 1877 in the seventy-fifth year of her age.
James I. Dougall received a country school education and in 1861 enlisted in Company D, sixty-second reg. l'a. Vols., serving three years, ten months and four days. He participated in all the important battles in which his regiment was engaged and was twice slightly wounded, once at the Wilderness and once at Boydton Road. Having left the army he returned home and soon engaged in boat-building in Alle- gheny county at which he continued until 1882 when he returned to this county and began
working at the carpenter trade. In April, 1889, he fell from a building he was erecting and broke his leg, since which time he has not been engaged in any particular business. He is a member of the M. E. church at Mt. Hope, of which he is one of the trustees, and in politics is a stanch republican. Mr. Dougall owns a valuable property in Allegheny township and is an excellent gentleman and a good citizen
IMON P. FAULK. A well balanced and well stored mind, a life full of useful purpose, whatever position it may occupy, is of far greater importance than the average re- spectability of the world, and among the posses- sors of these desirable qualities, is Squire Simon P. Faulk, who is one of Westmoreland county's most popular justices of the peace as well as one- of Allegheny township's representative citizens. He was born in Armstrong county, Pa., Novem- ber 19, 1824, and is a son of John and Eliza- beth (Kepple) Faulk. His paternal ancestors were useful citizens and brave soldiers in their French home, from which Henry Faulk (grand- father) immigrated to America. He had been a soldier in the French army and after coming to this country served in the Revolutionary war ; two of his brothers came with him and from the three have descended the numerous Faulk fami- lies of the United States. Henry Faulk was a finely educated man, spoke several languages and died in Stark county, Ohio. His son, John Faulk, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in New Jersey in 1786, fought in the War of 1812, then came to Armstrong county, Pa., where he taught school till 1839. In that year he removed to Allegheny township and served as justice of the peace until his death in 1855. HIe commanded the respect of all who knew him, was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and married a sister of Gen. Broad- head. She died and left five children : Hon. Andrew J., who served as governor of Dakota
723
WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
under President Johnson ; John D. B., Samuel, Henry and Caroline. Some years after Mrs. Faulk's death, Mr. Faulk married Elizabeth Kepple of this county, who died in 1878. By his second marriage he had three sons and two daughters : Simon P., Esther E., Hon. Philip K., who lost an arm in the Wilderness battles and is now a member of the Legislature from South Dakota; David K., of Titusville, who also was a soldier in the late war ; and Charlotte.
Simon P. Faulk was reared principally in Allegheny township, where he received his edu- cation in the rural schools. He learned the trade of tinning which he has followed in con- nection with farming till the present time. He owns a well-improved farm of one hundred and twenty acres of land and has dealt very success- fully in sheep for many years. In 1864 he was appointed as an enrolling officer for his town- ship by Capt. Coulter and served in that capa- city until the close of the war. Ile was a demo- crat until the commencement of the last war, since which he has been a conservative republi- can. Ile served for twenty-five years as justice of the peace, and the vast amount of legal busi- ness which he did during that time may be in- ferred from an examination of his dockets, which show over five thousand cases.
On May 21, 1850, he married Mary Shearer, daughter of John Shearer. They have six children living : John E., who is a successful merchant and owns a large store at the Leech- burg bridge ; James F. C., Harry E., David E., Mary E. and Ada E.
Squire Simon P. Faulk is a member of the Leechburg Presbyterian church. He is recog- nized as a man of fine business ability and stands high in the esteem of the community in which he resides.
S AMUEL GARDNER, a farmer of Wash- ington township, was born August 22, 1825, in Franklin township, Westmore- land county, Pa., and is a son of Thomas and
Sarah (Scovens) Gardner. On his mother's side a great-grandfather was Col. Hand, a native of England and an officer in the British army, who had charge of Duquesne Barracks, near Pittsburg, during the French and Indian war and for whom Fort Iland of this county was named. Robert Gardner (grandfather) was a native of Ireland who came to this coun- try early in life, settling in Huntingdon county, this State. He followed farming all his life except while serving as a soldier in the Revolu- tionary war. His son, Thomas Gardner (father), was born in Iluntingdon county in 1793, edu- cated in the country schools and in 1824 he immigrated to Ohio, but the ague forcing him to leave he returned to the " Keystone State," locating near Murrysville, this county. All his life was devoted to farming except two years that he served in the War of 1812. He was a democrat most of his life but when the Repub- lican party was formed he joined it on account of its anti-slavery principles. He died in 1860 at the age sixty-three years. Edward Scovens (maternal grandfather) was a native of Balti- more, Md., but when a young man farmed a few years in Huntingdon county, this State, then returned to his native city where he fol- lowed the cabinet-making trade until his death in 1853. Politically he was a whig and relig- iously a methodist. His daughter, Sarah (Seo- vens) Gardner (mother), who was also a member of the M. E. church, died in 1868, aged sixty- three years.
Samuel Gardner was reared in the rural dis- tricts of Franklin township, where his education was received and where he worked at home and for the neighbors until 1848, when he removed to his present place of residence and has ever since remained there in the business of farming. Ile owns an excellent farm and the buildings, which are good and substantial, command & beautiful view to the south.
Samuel Gardner was married June 21, 1860, to Jane Ilill, who is a member of the Poke Run
724
BIOGRAPHIES OF
Presbyterian church and who is of Irish descent on both sides, as her grandfathers, William Ilill and William Ross, both were brought by their parents to this country from Ireland. To their union have been born seven children, of whom five are living : Edward A., born Decem- ber 29, 1861 : William R., born June 16, 1865; Frank L., born December 27, 1868; Laura C., born November 28, 1872; and Samuel H., born August 15, 1876. Mrs. Gardner's father, Samuel Hill, served six years as an Assembly- man and three years as Senator in the Legisla- ture of Pennsylvania. He died in 1858.
AMES GRAHAM, a prominent farmer and substantial citizen of Burrell town- ship, is a son of John and Sarah (Gouddie) Graham, and was born January 10, 1838, in county Antrim, Ireland. Ilis father was a cloth or linen finisher in his native country, Erin, and followed the same until his death, which occurred in 1865 at the age of sixty years. In 1848 he came to the United States but, preferring his native country to this, re- turned. His wife was also born in Ireland, same county, and died in 1889 at East Liberty, Pa., having come to the United States in 1875.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.