Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th, Part 121

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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D. F. McCREA

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pies the farm on which he was born, March 24, 1851. He is a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Cooper) Greer.

Thomas Greer was born in County Down, Ireland, and when five years old was brought to America by his parents, Matthew and Isabella (Bruce) Greer. About 1819 they settled in Washington County, Pennsylvania, from which section Thomas Greer later came to Butler County. He had five children, namely : John M., Robert B., William H., Matthew S. and Samuel W.

Matthew S. Greer obtained his educa- tion in the schools of Jefferson Township. The only time he ever left the home farm to work, was for a short period on the con- struction of the Western Pennsylvania Railroad when he stretched the first tele- graph wire into Butler. With this excep- tion, Mr. Greer has devoted himself to the cultivation and improvement of his land. All of his surroundings indicate thrift and comfort, while his residence is one of ele- gance and fine proportions. It is of mod -. ern type, of brick construction and slate roof and contains ten rooms. It is by far the finest private residence in this section of the county.

On January 6, 1892, Mr. Greer was mar- ried to Miss Elizabeth Young, who is a daughter of Lewis and Mary (Stepp) Young. The father was a carpenter and lived in different sections in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia and served as a soldier in the Civil War. He died in 1894. He married Mary Stepp, who survives, and they had the following children : Mary M., Clara B., Sarah C., Amanda A., John Wes- ley, Mary S., Hattie M., Thomas L. and Elizabeth, and one infant deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Greer have two sons and one daughter : Anna Elizabeth, William Thomas and Robert Lewis, all students. Mr. and Mrs. Greer are active members of the Lutheran Church and he is a member of the church council. He is an Odd Fel-

low and is connected with Saxonia Lodge, No. 496, at Saxonburg and has passed all the chairs, while Mrs. Greer is a charter member of the auxiliary order of Rebekah Mr. and Mrs. Greer are hospitable people and their beautiful home is frequently the scene of pleasant family and social gath- erings.

ROBERT II. BROWN, who comes of one of the earliest pioneer families of But- ler County, Penna., was for many years owner and proprietor of the well known Brown's Mills in Forward Township, which are not now in operation. He owns a farm of fifty-one acres at that point, and is now living a retired life in the enjoy- ment of the fruits of his early toil. He has been a resident of Butler County for more than eighty-four years, having been born on the old homestead at Brownsdale, Sep- tember 11, 1824, and has never lived else- where. He is a son of Adam and Sarah (Brown) Brown, a grandson of Adam Brown, and a great-grandson of Adam Brown.

Adam Brown, Sr., the great-grand- father, came to this country from Ger- many, and at the time of his death was liv- ing at Newville, Penna. He came out to what he called the Indian territory, now Butler County, and purchased a tract of 400 acres of land. He had four sons : John, Joseph, Adam and Ray.

Adam Brown, grandfather of the sub- ject of this sketch, also was a native of Germany but very quickly mastered the English language. Prior to the Revolu- tionary War, he built the first wharves in Baltimore, his father being the contractor for the work. He came into possession of the 400 acres of land which his father had purchased at what is now Brownsdale, and settled there in the woods. The town was not laid out until many years later. He continued to reside on that place until his death. He and his wife were parents of

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the following children: John, Adam, Jo- seph, Thomas Ray, Betsy ( McAndlass), Martha ( White), and Peggie ( White).

Adam Brown, father of Robert H., was born within one mile of the big spring at Newville, in Cumberland County, Penna. lle was a small boy at the time the family removed to Butler County, and he here ac- quired a good education. The home prop- erty was all left under his care, and he also purchased and cleared the land on which the subject of this sketch now lives. He was married to Sarah Brown, who was no relation although bearing the same sur- name, and they both died on this place. The following were the children born to them: Robert H .; Adam, deceased; John, deceased; Joseph, deceased; Nancy (Ham- mel) ; Ruth (Anderson) ; Sarah (Layton), deceased; and Margaret Ann, deceased wife of R. Henderson.

Robert H. Brown was about nine years old when his parents moved from Browns- dale to the farm on which he now lives. He has spent his life since on this place except a period of eleven years, when he lived at Brush Creek, having sold the farm to Philip Gelbach, but at the end of that period repurchased it. The first mill on the farm had been built by Reese Evans, prior to the coming of the Browns, and Adam operated it for some years, but as soon as his sons arrived at sufficient age they took charge of it. They later tore it down and erected a big merchant mill, which was destroyed by fire about 1858 or 1859. Robert H. Brown later built the mill which is now standing, and conducted it with a high degree of success for many years. He at the same time engaged in farming operations. During the early years Brown's Mill was the only one in this section, and was patronized from far and near. Now, as his old friends drive by the unused building, the wish is often heard expressed that "old Bob was still in the business." The location is admir-

able for a modern milling plant, on the Glade Run, and at the forks in the road.

Mr. Brown was married in 1851 to Miss Margaret Wilson, who died without issue. He subsequently formed a second marital union with Miss Cynthia Miller, by whom he had the following children: Estella ; Mary and Wilda, twins; Robert; John; and Nora Byrle. Religiously, he is a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is an unswerving Republican in poli- tics, but was too busy with his mill to think of running for office. He was in the milling business for more than a half century, and in that time witnessed a wonderful trans- formation in the character and conditions of the country, its villages and cities, and in its citizenship.

A. H. SARVER, vice president of the Farmers National Bank, at Butler, with large manufacturing interests at different points, has maintained his home in this city for the past twenty years. He belongs . to one of the old established families of Western Pennsylvania, and was born at Sarver, Butler County, in 1866. He is a son of John F., a grandson of Benjamin and a great-grandson of Benjamin Sarver.

It was the elder Benjamin Sarver who was born in Germany and came to what is now the village of Sarverville, in Butler County, almost before any other venture- some settler had penetrated that far into the wilderness. He built there one of the earliest flour mills in the country, and the little settlement was first known as Sar- ver's Mill and the succeeding village re- tained the name of the founder of the place. It is probable that Benjamin Sar- ver (2) was born at Sarver's Mill, near which he acquired property, and left a number of descendants. The late John F. Sarver was born on the old Sarver home- stead, in 1839, followed farming there for many years and later engaged in a mer- cantile business at Ekastown, where his

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death took place in 1904. Like his father and grandfather, he was a man of sterling character.

A. H. Sarver was reared on the home- stead and attended school at Prospect, after which he followed school teaching for four years. He then engaged in the car- riage business at Ekastown, and later was with the firm of Martincourt & Company, at Butler, for eight years. Still later he was manager for the Durant-Dorit Car- riage Company of Flint, Michigan, for the district embraced by Western Pennsyl- vania and West Virginia. For the last seventeen years he has been manager in the same territory for the Brookline Manu- facturing Company, and during the last year also for the Buick Motor Company, for the same district. He is the owner of the Washington Buggy Company, of Washington, Pennsylvania, which is under the management of his brother, D. K. Sar- ver, and Jacob Wyant. Mr. Sarver also owns a half-interest in the Diamond Auto- mobile Company, of Pittsburg, and is also officially connected and personally in- terested in financial institutions.

In 1893, Mr. Sarver was married to Miss Ottie Pillow, and they have one child, Eleanor. Mr. Sarver is a member and a trustee of the First Presbyterian Church at Butler.

SUMNER B. BADGER, general mer- chant at Boydstown, Oakland Township, and formerly postmaster, was born Au- gust 29, 1865, in Brady Township, Butler County, Penna., and is a son of Thomas and Sarah (Anderson) Badger.

The Badger family has been established in Butler County for a great many years, it being the birthplace of Grandfather James Badger. He was the father of seven children, all of whom were born in Butler County, where many of them be- came people of more or less prominence.

Thomas Badger, father of Sumner B., was born in Slippery Rock Township, But-

ler County, where he lived until he was eight years old, at which time his father moved to Brady Township and on the home farm there he spent the remainder of his life, a period of seventy-one years, his death occurring on May 13, 1907. He married Sarah Anderson, whose mother, Rachel Anderson, was a daughter of Stephen Mckinley, a close relative of the late President William McKinley. The Badger and Anderson families were dou- bly connected, Samuel W. Badger, a brother of Thomas, marrying Susan An- derson, a sister of Mrs. Thomas Badger. To Thomas and Sarah Badger were born eleven children, all but two of these surviv- ing, the oldest and the youngest being de- ceased: Anderson, who died aged sixteen months; and C. C., who was a Cumberland Presbyterian minister, who died in Decem- ber, 1904. The others are as follows: James, who lives at Wurtemberg, Law- rence County; Thomas J., who lives in Brady Township; Rachel, who is the wife of Andrew Mcclintock, lives at Ellwood City; Lizzie, who is the wife of Henry Young, resides also at Ellwood City; Mar- tha, who is the wife of J. W. McKissick, the village blacksmith of Boydstown; Jen- nie, who is the wife of Peter Bowers; Sum- ner B .; David S., who resides in Lawrence County ; and John, who lives in Concord Township, Butler County. The venerable mother, now in her seventy-sixth year, re- sides with one of her daughters.

Sumner B. Badger grew to manhood on the home farm in Brady Township and was educated in the public schools and West Sunbury Academy and was grad- uated from the latter institution in 1891. He had qualified himself so thoroughly that he then passed the State examination demanded for teachers and thus secured a permanent certificate. He began to teach in Lancaster Township and after one term there, taught two terms in Brady Town- ship and five years in Concord Township, during three years of this period being also

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in a mercantile business at Troutman, un- der the firm name of Balsiger & Badger. In July, 1895, after selling his interest at Troutman to his partner, Mr. Badger came to Boydstown and in the same sum- mer erected his present commodious build- ing, which he utilizes both as a store and a dwelling. In October, 1895, he was ap- pointed postmaster at this point and served until 1903, when Rural Mail Deliv- ery, Route No. 2, was established, out from Butler.

Mr. Badger was married (first) June 27, 1893, to Miss Emma Z. Wick, who died February 22, 1899. She left two children: Lois P. and Ruth M. Mrs. Emma Wick was educated at Sunbury Academy and prior to her marriage was a teacher in the public schools. On September 15, 1908, he was married (second) to Miss Sadie Robb, who is a daughter of Christy Robb. Mrs. Badger is a cultured, educated lady and was a member of the same graduating class at the West Sunbury Academy, as Mr. Badger. She has also been a success- ful teacher, following her vocation in Clin- ton and Oakland Townships. Mr. Badger is an elder in the North Butler Presbyte- rian Church and for eight years has been superintendent of the Sunday School. In polities he is not active, although, at all times he is ready and willing to promote public movements which promise to con- tribute to the general welfare. He is an honorable business man.

JOHN W. KALTENBACH, Justice of the Peace at Renfrew, and one of Penn Township's prominent farmers, was born in Cranberry Township, Butler County, Penna., July 31, 1837, and is a son of Jacob and Katherine (Geiss) Kaltenbach.

The father of Mr. Kaltenbach was born in Baden, Germany, and came to America in 1832 and died of cholera in 1850. He learned the cabinetmaker's trade and worked for one year at Pittsburg, after which he moved to Harmony, in Butler

County, and continued to work there at his trade until 1848. He died on a farm that he acquired in Connoquonessing Township. His five children were: Mrs. Catherine Moss of Allegheny; John W .; Mary, wife of Alexander Stevenson, of Allegheny; Jacob, residing on the old home place, and Margaret, deceased, who was the wife of John Newell. He was a worthy member of the German Lutheran Church and both he and wife were re- spected members of their community.

. John W. Kaltenbach attended the Graham School in Connoquenessing Town- ship and remained on the home farm until 1859, going then to Pittsburg, where he worked in a meat market until 1861, when he enlisted for service in the Civil War, entering Company K, Seventy-first Regi- ment, Penna. Volunteer Infantry. This service was prolonged to three years and eight months and during this long period Mr. Kaltenbach participated in twenty-two battles, escaping all injury except a slight wound at the second battle of Bull Run. He was a brave and fearless soldier and on every occasion did his fully duty. He is a member of the Union Veteran Legion at Butler.

After his return from the army, Mr. Kaltenbach embarked in a mercantile business at Petersville, where he continued for five years. In 1871 he came to his present farm which contains about 140 acres. It was then rough, neglected land, but all that state has long since passed away under his management, and he has ninety acres of it under a fine state of cul -. tivation, while, for the last twenty-six years oil has been purchased here and eight wells are now pumping. His im- provements are of a substantial character and the value of his place ranks with the best in Penn Township.

In 1866 Mr. Kaltenbach was married to Rachel Sauer, who is a daughter of Sam- uel Sauer, of Mercer County, and they have eight children, namely: Della May,

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wife of Harvey Smith of Connoquenessing Township; John H., of Scio, Ohio; Minnie B., wife of William C. Dietrich, who re- sides on the Kaltenbach farm; William H., who operates the oil well industry; Sam- uel and Montgomery, both residing at home, and Miles, who is an oil operator in West Virginia. Mr. Kaltenbach and wife belong to St. John's Reformed Church, in which he has been on elder for many years. In politics he is a Republican, with inde- pendent tendencies. His fellow citizens have testified to their esteem and confi- dence by electing him, at various times, to township offices, and he has accepted all except those of constable and supervisor. He is one of the oldest justices of the peace in Butler County in point of service, hav- ing held the office continuously for the past twenty-five years.

HERMAN SCHILLING, owner of a fine farm of 100 acres in Forward Township, · Butler County, Penna., located about three and a half miles east of Evans City, on the Freeport road, is a representative of that sturdy German class who came to this country at an early period, with little or no means, and by dint of hard labor and careful saving made a home and accumu- lated a competency. He was born in Ger- many, September 23, 1836, and is a son of Lawrence and Margaret (Metz) Schilling, and grandson of John Schilling, who was a farmer and spent his entire life in his native land.

Lawrence Schilling was- a boy of fifteen years when his father died, and it became necessary for him to assist in the support of the family. He learned the trade of a wagon maker, and conducted a shop in Germany until 1856, when he moved to America, locating near Evans City. Butler County, Penna., whither his son, Herman, had preceded him some two years. He rented a farm for about six months, then purchased of Hugh Wallace the farm on which the subject of this sketch now lives.

The place was but little cleared and was provided with a small log shanty, in which the family lived some years. He contin- ued on this place all his days, dying in 1888, at the age of eighty-seven years. His wife preceded him to the grave some nine years, dying at the age of sixty-nine years. They were married in Germany, and were parents of three children: Christina, who never came to America, married John Heim and both are now de- ceased; Dorothy, who was the first of the family to move to America, the year of her arrival being 1853, located first at Pittsburg, where she married John Helm, and later moved to Evans City, Pennsyl- vania, where he carried on blacksmithing, and Herman, who is the youngest of the family.

Herman Schilling was reared to matur- ity in his native land and received fair edu- cational training in the schools of that country. He assisted his father in the lat- ter's shop until 1854, in which year he emigrated to America. After forty-nine days on the water, during which time they encountered storms and a rough sea, he arrived in New York City, thence made his way by rail to Pittsburg, Penna. From the latter point he made the journey in a peddler's wagon to Evans City, which was then a very small place. His first occu- pation there was hauling coal to the school houses for Martin Wahl, who had a coal bank, and for this work he received the paltry sum of $3.00 per month and his board. He continued for five months, saving most of his wages, and then worked for John Birmingham, a farmer located near Pittsburg, until the arrival of his parents in 1856. With them he settled on his present farm, which he started in to clear of its timber and brush, and in time placed it under a high state of cultivation. He helped to tear down the old log cabin which stood on the place and to erect the large frame house which replaced it and still stands in a good state of repair.

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Upon the death of his father, Herman Schilling succeeded to the ownership of the farm, and is still actively engaged in its cultivation, following general farming.

Mr. Schilling was married on July 14, 1861, to Miss Matilda Schilling, who also was born in Germany, and was a daughter of Godfrey Schilling. She died February, 1906, at the age of sixty-six years. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Schilling: Emma, who became the wife of John Horneffer, both now de- ceased, left two children who live with the subject of this sketch, Elizabeth and Lewis; George, who died in 1888, at the age of twenty-three years; Matilda, wife of William Miller, by whom she has four children, Elizabeth, Martha, Esther and Freeda; Lewis, who runs the home farm, married Freeda Burkert and has two chil- dren, Emma and Herman; and Elizabeth, who died at the age of twenty-six years, was the wife of Hugo Miller. Politically, Mr. Schilling is a Democrat. In religious attachment, he is a member of the Luth- eran Church.

DAVID PORTER KELLY, formerly one of the best known and most highly re- spected residents of Bruin, Penna., died at his home in this place, on February 13, 1905, after a long, useful and exemplary life of sixty-nine years. He was born in Parker Township, Butler County, Penna., March 12, 1836, and was a son of David and Jane (Tweedy) Kelly.

The late David P. Kelly grew to man's estate in Parker Township and attended the district schools, acquiring a good edu- cation which he later supplemented by tak- ing an active and intelligent interest in both public and local affairs. A large part of his life was given to his agricultural pursuits, which he carried on with the careful and thorough methods which in- sured success, but his time was also de- manded by his fellow citizens who desired his judicious services in many public of-

fices. At the time of his death he was serving as a member of the School Board of the borough of Bruin. In his political attitude he was a Prohibitionist, and on every occasion espoused the cause of tem- perance. For many years he was a ruling elder in the United Presbyterian Church at Fairview.

Mr. Kelly was twice married, (first) to Margaret McGarvey, who died October 17, 1872, leaving two children: Nancy J., who is deceased; and Salina M., who is the wife of Frank Black, a resident of Bruin. Mr. Kelly was married (second) on May 6, 1878, to Miss Sarah M. Glenn, who was born in Clay Township, Butler County, Penna. She is a daughter of John and Dorcas (McElvain) Glenn. Her father accompanied his mother and brothers from Westmoreland County, Pennsylva- nia, to Clay Township, Butler County, where his father had previously pur- chased land. Later John Glenn served as captain of a company in the War of 1812, and in subsequent years became a man of substance and a prominent citizen of Clay Township, serving many years as a justice of the peace. He died in 1874, when aged eighty-two years. One of his sons, Samuel Glenn, was a very prominent citizen of Butler County. He served in the Civil War as a member of Company G, One Hundred Thirty-seventh Regiment, Penna. Volunteer Infantry, and participated in the memorable battles of South Mountain, Antietam, Chancellorsville and Crampton Gap. Later he engaged in teaching school and was well known in educational circles and for three years was the able county superintendent of the schools of Butler County. He was a valued member of Dick- son Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at West Sunbury.

Mrs. Kelly was carefully educated at the West Sunbury Academy, and was so apt a pupil and so receptive a student that when only seventeen years of age she se- cured a certificate entitling her to teach

MR. AND MRS. DAVID P. KELLY

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school, and she continued to teach for about twelve years, both in Butler and Venango Counties, and still recalls that as a very enjoyable period of her life. Mr. and Mrs. Kelly had four children, namely : Lucy H., who is deceased; Bessie W., who is the wife of Harvey Snow, of Petrolia; Ethel G., who resides with her mother at Bruin; and Bertha E., who is deceased. . Mrs. Kelly is a member of the United Presbyterian Church at Fairview and is very active in both the Home and Foreign Missionary Societies of this body. Miss Ethel G. Kelly is possessed of musical tal- ent and is a member of the church choir.

JOHN C. SAY, capitalist, and one of Butler's most active business men, is ex- tensively engaged in the real estate busi- ness and is manager of the East Oakland Land Company, of which he was the or- ganizer. Mr. Say belongs to a family that had reached the American colonies before the days of the Revolutionary War, and that has belonged to Butler County since the closing years of the Seventeenth Cen- tury. He was born at Crawford Corners, Butler County, Penna., May 31, 1858, and is a son of David and Abigail (Fletcher) Say.

David Say, father of John C. Say, was a son of James Say, who settled in the northern part of Butler County, prior to 1800. David Say was born in 1810 and became a man of large property. In his earlier years he was a drover and bought cattle in the western part of the State and drove them across the mountains, dispos- ing of them in the East. 'For many years he was a large farmer and stockraiser. Five of his children still survive: David R., residing in Maryland; Thomas, resid- ing in Clarion County; Mary A. (Wen- ner), residing in Butler; Elizabeth (Neu- nemaker), living in Venango County, and John C.

John C. Say was reared from infancy in Clarion County and there he first en-

gaged in business, becoming early inter- ested in lumber. For about twenty years he engaged in buying timber tracts in Clar- ion and Forest Counties and manufactured lumber, and after retiring from that in- dustry conducted a store at Tylersburg for six years, and then came to Butler. For four years he carried on a retail lumber business, but for the past eight years he has devoted his attention to dealing in real estate, almost entirely handling his own property. He has been an important fac- tor in improving the city, in the way of putting out trees, constructing sidewalks and clearing unsightly places, together with erecting high class houses, one ex- ample being the Monroe Hotel. He was the organizer of the East Oakland Land Company, which purchased the St. Paul's Orphan Home property, a tract of forty acres, on which this company is building fine brick residences of modern style and equipments. Since its organization, he has been general manager, secretary and treas- urer. As a citizen he has been very active and has served usefully on the city council.

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Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th, Part 121

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