Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th, Part 115

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1526

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smith business at Carbon Center; Leonard La Verne, who is employed in a pumping station at Clymer, Butler County; and Earl and Gertrude. Mr. Oesterling and family belong to the German Lutheran Church at Butler.

J. EMORY BRANDON, well known resident of Butler, where he is identified with manufacturing interests, had been a representative of the Equitable Life Insur- ance Company for almost a decade and has been a resident of this city for the past sixteen years. He was born in 1857, in Connoquenessing Township, Butler Coun- ty, Pennsylvania, and is a son of John W. Brandon.

The Brandon family is a pioneer one of this county and it was established by the grandfather, John Brandon, in early days. The late John W. Brandon was born in Foreward Township, where his life was partly spent, his business being agricul- ture.

J. Emory Brandon was mainly reared on the family farm, where he resided until he was thirty-three years of age, engaged in farming. When failing health indicated that he must change his mode of life, he left the farm and moved to Butler, where, with the exception of two winters spent in Florida, he has lived ever since. He controls a large territory in the interest of the Equitable Company and does a propor- tionate amount of insurance business. He is interested also in the Spang Manufac- turing Company.

In 1890 Mr. Brandon was married to Miss Nannie Rose, of Mercer County, Pennsylvania, and they have had three children, Rose and Elmer, both of whom are making very satisfactory records at school, and Marie Catherine (deceased). Mr. Brandon is one of the leading mem- bers of the Second Presbyterian Church and a member of the Sessions. His inter- est in politics is that of a fair-minded citi- zen who desires to see the laws upheld and

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the community advanced in business, edu- cation and morals.

GEORGE FORCHT, for the past thirty years auditor of Summit Township, re- sides on an excellent farm of eighty acres on which he has an oil well which has been constantly producing for the past thirty- one years and is one of the oldest in the township. He was born on this farm March 19, 1852, and is a son of John and Margaret (Eitenmiller) Forcht.

The parents of Mr. Forcht were natives of Germany. They came to America in youth and were married at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where they lived for twenty years, the father following his trade of saddler. Of their eleven children, five sur- vive, namely: John P., residing at But- ler; William G., residing in western Can- ada; George; Albert, residing at Hazel, South Dakota; and Amelia, wife of Henry Grohman, residing at Butler. In 1850, the parents of Mr. Forcht moved on this farm where they continued to live until 1879, when they retired to Butler, where the mother died when aged eighty-five years, and the father when aged ninety-four years.

George Forcht has followed farming all his life and has been interested in the oil business to the extent of pumping his own wells. He has had nine wells drilled on his land, six of them proving active, but none are at present operative with the one exception above mentioned. Mr. Forcht married Emma E. Grohman, and they have had a family of ten children born to them, namely: William J., who is a drug- gist at Butler; Gertrude, who lives at home; Lillian, who is a stenographer re- siding at Pittsburg; Verna, who married Archie Schenck, has one child, Earl; and Howard, Arnold, Edna, Arthur, Walter and Margaret. The family home is a com- modious frame residence which Mr. Forcht built in 1889. He is a man of consequence in his community and his fellow citizens

have shown how highly they esteem him by keeping him in the responsible office of auditor for so many years. He is one of the leading members of the German Lu- theran Church at Butler.

JACOB KECK, who enjoys the distinc- -tion of being the oldest justice of the peace at Butler, in point of service, having con- tinuously filled the office for forty-one years, has also been one of the city's use- ful and active business men. He was born in Germany, June 26, 1830, and came to the United States when nineteen years of age.

Mr. Keck came to Butler in 1850 and after serving an apprenticeship to the cab- inetmaker's trade, he worked for seven years as a journeyman and then entered into business as a cabinetmaker and un- dertaker, at Butler, which business he con- tinued for about thirty-three years. He was active also in other lines, in 1884 being interested in a book and stationery busi- ness and also in a merchant tailoring busi- ness. He also acquired property in the vi- cinity of Butler and owns one of the rich farms in the environs of the city. In a business way he has been identified with several organizations and at present is serving as secretary of the Workmen's Building and Loan Association of Butler. In addition to the attention necessarily given to these various business concerns, Judge Keck has completely and efficiently performed every duty attached to the of- fice of justice of the peace. During this period of forty-one years in office and the handling of hundreds and hundreds of cases and the peaceable adjusting of many vexing problems, he has had not more than six cases reversed by the higher courts, and this fact indicates the legal ability and sound judgment possessed by Judge Keck. He has always taken a lively interest in local politics and is a stanch adherent of the Democratic party.

In 1853 Mr. Keck was married (first) to

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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY

Miss Margaret Kradel, who died in 1872, leaving three children, namely: George F., who is engaged in a merchant tailoring business at Butler; Elizabeth, who is the wife of Lewis Keck, residing at Butler; and Louisa, who is the wife of Harry S. Klingler, also of Butler. Mr. Keck was married (second) to Miss Louise T. Trout- man, who is a daughter of Adam Trout- man, of Pittsburg. The two children of the second marriage are: Theodore C. H., who is a well-known attorney at Butler; and Gertrude M., who lives at home. Mr. Keck and family belong to the Lutheran Church.

DR. JAMES HAMILTON RALSTON, one of the leading physicians of Butler County, located at Harmony, Pennsylva- nia, was born January 7, 1865, and is a son of William and Hannah (Riddle) Ral- ston.

John Ralston, great-grandfather of our subject, was among the early settlers of Butler County. He came here from Greensburg, Westmoreland County, Penn- sylvania, but first located at New Castle, Lawrence County, where he contemplated building a mill, but owing to conditions which he deemed not suitable for building, moved up to Slippery Rock, and about 1765 built the first mill in that locality. John Ralston lived to an advanced age and was the father of a large family of chil- dren. He was a man of powerful physique, a citizen of sterling worth, honorable and true in business, and generous and reliable in friendship.

William Ralston, grandfather of our sub- ject, was born in 1800 at Slippery Rock, now Centerville. In 1830 he located on the Little Connoquenessing and died there in 1898 at the advanced age of ninety-eight years. He married Mary Sharp, who was born in Ireland and at the age of thirteen years came to this country with her par- ents, who located near Butler, Pennsylva- nia. The following children were born to

the grandparents of Dr. Ralston: John, died in 1886 in Butler County ; James, who died in Andersonville prison, owned a small farm, which was purchased by his father after his death. Oil was discov- ered on same later on, and there his father erected a mill; Albert is engaged in busi- ness in Oregon; William, father of sub- ject, resides in Butler County; Mrs. Bri- son Martin resides at Whitestown, Butler County; Martha married a Mr. Brown of Unionville; Mary married Isaac McClung of Unionville, Pennsylvania.

William Ralston, our subject's father, was born near Butler, Butler County, Pennsylvania, and is still living, and al- though now in his seventy-second year, is still hale and hearty for one of his years. He is a miller by trade and for many years owned and operated a mill in Concord township and also one in Prospect Bor- ough. He married Hannah Riddle, who was born in Franklin Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Samuel Riddle, who was born and reared at Prospect, where he died aged forty- five years. Mrs. Riddle died aged forty- two years. Mrs. Ralston had two sisters and two brothers, namely: Matilda, mar- ried Dr. Hamilton and died in California ; Rachel, married Robert Borland; Irwin, died in Texas; and Hamilton, who served in the United States Army, died in Ari- zona. William Ralston and his estimable wife were the parents of the following chil- dren : Dr. Samuel Ralston, graduated from the Jefferson Medical College and also took a course of study at the Mt. Union College of Ohio and at Grove City. He married Mary Swain of Harmony, But- ler County ; Mary, deceased wife of Dr. R. E. Redmond of Grove City; Albert, who attended the public schools and Prospect Academy, married Eva Wagle of Pros- pect. He is now deceased; James, the sub- ject of this sketch; and William, who re- ceived his education at Prospect, died un- married.

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James Hamilton Ralston, our subject, was reared at Prospect and obtained his educational training at Grove City Col- lege and at Mt. Union, Ohio, after which he took a four-years' course at Jefferson Medical College, graduating in 1901. Dr. Ralston first embarked in the practice of his profession at Slate Lick, Armstrong County. In November, 1904, he located at Harmony, where he now enjoys a lucra- tive practice as well as the confidence and esteem of all those with whom he has been brought in contact.

In 1885, when just twenty years of age, Dr. Ralston was united in marriage at Dayton, Ohio, with Theodosia Thayer, a daughter of Oscar Thayer of that city. The great-grandfather of Mrs. Ralston served two terms as mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Five children have been born to Dr. and Mrs. Ralston: Mary C., wife of Floyd Wengel of Harmony, has one child, Bruce; William, aged nineteen years, is still at home; Samuel, is in Virginia; Irwin, lives at home; Camilla. Fraternally, Dr. Ral- ston is a member of the Knights of Pyth- ias, and the K. O. T. M. He is also a member of the American Medical Associa- tion, the Medical Association of Pennsyl- vania and the Butler County Medical As- sociation. He is a Republican in politics, as were all of his ancestors.

FREW H. STEWART, general farmer and prominent citizen of Connoquenessing Township, residing on his valuable farm of 150 acres, was born in Lancaster Town- ship, Butler County, Pennsylvania, June 25, 1871, and is a son of Archibald G. and Mary (Hays) Stewart.

The Stewart family is a very old one in Pennsylvania, and, as the name indicates, may be traced to Scotland. Robert Stew- art, the great-great-grandfather of Frew H., was an early settler in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and served in the Revolutionary War. He remained in the

military service of the State, as his name in 1781 is on the pay roll of Captain Evans' company, Second Pennsylvania Regiment. His home was in a remote re- gion, with the nearest neighbor fifteen miles distant. In 1796 he came to Butler County and located at Stewartsville, now Portersville, where he was appointed the first postmaster. He married Margaret, daughter of Colonel Christy, also a Revo- lutionary soldier, and a settler at Porters- ville, in 1800. Of the eleven children born to this marriage, Samuel was the eldest son.

Samuel Stewart, the great-grandfather of Frew H. Stewart, probably accompa- nied his parents to Butler County, as rec- ords show that he built a cabin on the west side of Portersville and lived on the farm now owned by the Cheesman family. In 1803 he moved to Connoquenessing Town- ship, purchasing a farm in the woods. He married Nancy Scott, a daughter of John Scott, and of their twelve children, Will- iam was the second born.

William Stewart, grandfather of Frew H., was born in Connoquenessing Town- ship, in 1805, and in boyhood went to live with his Grandfather Scott on a farm west of Moundsville. He remained there into early manhood and then returned to his father's farm, which he helped to clear and later purchased sixty acres of its northern part. In 1827 he married Eliza Frew, who was born in 1806, a daughter of John Frew, of Lawrence County, Pennsyl- vania, and they had eight children, Archi- bald G. being the sixth in order of birth and the youngest son. They were among the founders of the Moundsville United Presbyterian Church.

Archibald G. Stewart was born in Lan- caster Township, Butler County, Pennsyl- vania, April 30, 1838. He attended C. H. Dunlap's Normal School at Prospect and prepared himself for teaching and spent several years alternately working the home farm and teaching school. He remained on

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the home place about one and one-half years after his marriage, and then moved to Worth Township. In the spring of 1864, he enlisted for service in the Civil War, entering Company A, Sixth Regi- ment, Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery. This regiment was made guard of General Sher- idan's supply train and during almost the whole period of service, until the close of the war, was detailed for this important work. After he returned from the army, in the fall of 1865, Mr. Stewart sold his Worth Township farm and moved into Lancaster Township, where he lived for seven years and then returned to Worth Township for four years, in the spring of 1876, settling on the farm now owned by his son, Frew H. Here Mr. Stewart continued to reside until the fall of 1899, when he retired to Grove City, where he is one of the highly esteemed older citizens. He belongs to the Grand Army Post there and formerly was both chaplain and commander of the Pros- pect Post. During his years of residence in Connoquenessing Township, he served as a justice of the peace and in numerous other offices, being school director, tax col- lector and overseer of the poor. On May 22, 1862, he married Mary E. Hays, who is a daughter of William Hays, of Lancas- ter Township, and of their eight children, the following five grew to maturity : Anna, who resides with her aged parents at Grove City, is the widow of J. W. McJun- kin; Frew H .; Frank W., who is a prac- ticing physician at Colfax, Iowa; Herbert W., a graduate of Grove City College, who is now a student in the Western Theolog- ical Seminary at Allegheny; and Roy M., residing at home, who is a telegraph oper- ator at Grove City. The parents are mem- bers of the Presbyterian Church and for many years the father was a ruling elder in the Mt. Nebo Church.

Frew H. Stewart has devoted himself almost exclusively to agricultural pursuits, . having received thorough training under his father. About one-fifth of his large es-

tate is timbered. He raises corn, oats, wheat, hay, potatoes and buckwheat, util- izing improved machinery and carrying on his operations after the most approved methods. He keeps about twenty head of cattle and nine milch cows, and makes choice butter for private customers at But- ler

Mr. Stewart married Miss Sarah Dutter, who is a daughter of Jesse Dutter, of Franklin Township, Butler County. They are members of the Mt. Nebo Presbyterian Church, Mr. Stewart being one of the eld- ers. He is affiliated with the Republican party, but has always declined political office.

HENRY KECK, one of Summit Town- ship's well known citizens and general farmers, resides on his farm of eighty acres, which is situated adjacent to Green- wood Cemetery, which property once was a part of this farm. Mr. Keck was born on a farm in Summit Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, one and one-half miles distant from this one, February 28, 1854, and is a son of Martin and Mary (Rimp) Keck.

Martin Keck and wife were both born in Germany and both came unmarried to But- ler County and they were later married at Summit. The Kecks and the Rimps owned adjoining farms. There were six children born to Martin Keck and wife, namely : John, while working on a steamboat on the Mississippi River, near Memphis, was attacked by cholera and died there; Mat- thias, who died aged fifty-two years, reared a family of nine children; Lewis, who is a foreman in the plate glass works, lives in Butler; Christian; Henry, and Philip, who follows the blacksmith business in Union County, Iowa. The father of this family died in October, 1886. The venerable mother, who will celebrate her ninety-first birthday on October 18, 1908, resides with her son Henry.

Henry Keck was born on the old Rimp

ROBERT E. GALLAGHER, D. D. S.

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farm, but was small when his parents moved to the old Keck farm and there he was reared. He has lived on his present farm since the fall of 1877 and some years ago sold the land to the township which now is Greenwood Cemetery. With the exception of one summer, during which he worked on a steamboat running on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, he has been engaged in general farming and trucking all his mature life. After his marriage he settled on this farm which was the old homestead of his father-in-law, Adam Ret- tig, who owned three farms in the town- ship.

Mr. Keck married Christina Rettig and they have nine children, namely: Minnie, who married Henry Kurtz, has four chil- dren, Gilbert, Elinor, Merle and Alberta ; Bertha, who married Harry Bowsher; Charles, who married Lillie Cradle, has one child, Florence; Amelia, who married Lewis Frederick, has one child, Leroy; Philip, who works in the glass works at Butler; Lillie, who lives at home; Ferdi- nand, who is engaged in farming in Michi- gan, and Herman and Oliver, both reside at home. Mr. Keck and family belong to the German Lutheran Church. Mr. Keck is interested in the public schools and served four years as school director in his district.

ROBERT EDGAR GALLAGHER, D. D. S., a prominent professional man at Zelienople, is also identified with its busi- ness interests, being treasurer of the Home Realty Company, and interested in other enterprises. Dr. Gallagher was born in Worth Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, October 14, 1865, and is a son of William and Sophia C. (Coulson) Gallagher.

The parents of Dr. Gallagher were both born in Butler County, and the mother still survives. The father died in 1870, aged fifty-seven years. He was a farmer

for many years in Worth Township. The Gallagher family is an old pioneer one of this part of Pennsylvania and was founded in Butler County by John Galla- gher, the great-grandfather of Dr. Galla- gher. He came with his family from County Down, Ireland. James Gallagher, the eldest son of John and the grandfather of Dr. Gallagher, was small when he ac- companied his parents to America. He was twice married, his first wife being Sarah Forester and they lived and died in Muddy Creek Township, Butler County. They had three children, the son becoming the father of Dr. Gallagher. The latter had five brothers and sisters, namely : James, deceased; John, who resides near Petersville; Hannah, who is the wife of Harry M. Lebengood and resides at Cam- den, New Jersey; Stella, who is the wife of Lewis Smith, of Beaver Falls; Malissa, who is the wife of John Kelly and resides at Zelienople.

Dr. Gallagher attended the country schools in Worth Township until he was fifteen years old and then became a stu- dent at Witherspoon Institute, at Butler, following which he taught school for some five years. In 1895 he entered the Penn- sylvania College of Dental Surgery at Philadelphia, where he was graduated in the class of 1898 and then located in that city and practiced there for seven years. In 1905 he came to Zelienople where his skill has built up a large and lucrative practice. Dr. Gallagher keeps fully abreast of the times in his profession and is a member of the C. N. Peirce Dental Society and also of the Western Pennsyl- vania Odontological Society. He belongs to Cosmopolitan Lodge, No. 433, Knights of Pythias, at Philadelphia, and to the Knights of Maccabee at Zelienople. Po- litically he is a Republican. He retains his college membership with Psi Omega fraternity. He is a member of the Episco- pal Church.

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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY

EDWIN MEEDER, one of the foremost merchants of Butler County, and the pres- ent nominee of the Democratic party for representative from this district, was born in Connoquenessing Township, Butler County, Penna., January 24, 1864, son of George and Lena (Millerman) Meeder.

His parental grandfather was Tobias Meeder, a native of Germany, who emi- grated to this country, bringing his fam- ily with him, and settling in Summit Town- ship, Butler County, Penna., near the present site of Summit Station. He was there engaged in farming, but subsequent- ly moved to Connoquenessing Township. He and his wife were the parents of six children-Frederick, George, Tobias, Sa- lome, Magdalena and Caroline. Freder- ick married Caroline Hoelin and lived and died in Cranberry Township. George was the father of the subject of this sketch and is mentioned more fully in the succeeding paragraph of this article. Tobias married Caroline Gerwig and is now a retired farmer. He has resided in Butler County since 1850-thirteen years in Summit, from there to Cranberry Township, and thence to Zelienople, of which place he is now a resident. Salome, who became the wife of John Troll, removed to Minnesota and is now deceased. Magdalena, who was the wife of Victor Buch, moved to Milwaukee, in which city she died. Caroline, who mar- ried Christopher Vogus, died in Wiscon- sin. The father of these children died in 1873 at the age of seventy-three years; the mother died in Germany aged forty- eight years.

George Meeder, who was born in Ger- many January 26, 1828, settled here about 1848. He married Lena Millerman, who is still living, and they were the parents of ten children, of whom four sons and five daughters still survive. Their record in brief is as follows: Phillip, born in May, 1856, now resides on a farm in Con- noquenessing Township; he married Jean- ette Ramsey of Cranberry Township. Ed-

win was born in 1864. Albert H. married Miss Hensel of Zelienople. Theodore W. resides in Cleveland; he married a lady of Mansfield, Ohio, and travels for H. J. Heinz & Co. Magdalena is the wife of Dale Thom, of Connoquenessing Township, a

farmer. Margaret married Jacob Shieves, a farmer of Connoquenessing Township. Catherine became the wife of Henry Ashe, of Saxonburg, a blacksmith, and moved to Tarentum, Allegheny Coun -. ty, where her husband died. Caroline be- came the wife of George Harris of New Castle, a butcher. Dora first married Will- iam Barnhart, a farmer of Connoquenes- sing Township, and after his death be- came the wife of George Preston, a moul- der of New Brighton, Penna.

The father of the above mentioned chil- dren died March 6, 1908, when in his eighty-first year.

Edwin Meeder acquired his literary edu- cation at Witherspoon Institute and Curry University, Pittsburg. He then spent three years teaching in Butler County, after which he taught two years in Minnesota, and then entered into a mercantile busi- ness, in which he continued for a year. He married in Minnesota and then, in 1887, returned to Zelienople, where he was clerk in a store until the spring of 1892. His next industrial employment was as trav- eling salesman, in which he continued for about two years and a half, or until the fall of 1894. For two years thereafter he was engaged in settling the estate of Mr. Ifft. In 1896 he founded the mercantile firm of A. H. Meeder & Co., the business being carried on for eight years subse- quently under that style. In 1904 the part- nership was dissolved, since which time Mr. Meeder has been in business alone. His establishment, which is devoted to gen- eral merchandise, is the largest in the county outside Butler, it having grown from $8,000 to $50,000 per annum. Mr. Meeder is secretary and treasurer of the Zelienople Light & Power Company, and

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for a time was first vice-president of the has gained high standing in his profession First National Bank of Zelienople. He and on many occasions has been counsel in very important cases of litigation, in many of which he secured full justice for his clients. He is a member of the Butler County Bar Association. has been a Democrat from his earliest years of responsibility, and has taken an active part in local politics. Without seeking it he received the nomination for representative on the Democratic ticket in 1908, and there can be no doubt, if his business and personal records afford any clue, that he would make an acceptable public servant.

Mr. Meeder was married, in 1887, to Miss Ida Elling, a daughter of Henry El- ling of Carver County, Minn. Their fam- ily includes two daughters and three sons -Lillian, Lena, Clarence, Victor and Ells- worth.

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Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th, Part 115

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1526

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1526