Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th, Part 65

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

USA > Pennsylvania > Butler County > Butler > Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th > Part 65

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The Industrial Club was formed in June, 1903, through the efforts of Miss Margaret Brandon (deceased) of Butler, in the in- terests of the foreign children of Lyndora. The school meets every Saturday after-

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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY

noon at the public school building in Lyn- dora, and conducts a kindergarten and sew- ing classes for the foreign children of that district. At the present time there are over one hundred children enrolled, and an average attendance of sixty. The expenses of the school are met entirely by the In- dustrial Club, which is composed of a num- ber of young ladies of Butler. At the pres- ent time the club is composed of thirty active members, and fifty honorary mem- bers. The president of the club is Miss Mary Williams; Miss Maude Sutton is vice-president; Miss Juliet Campbell, sec- retary ; Miss Mary Pillow, treasurer; Mrs. Harvey Wilder and Miss Iona Leidecker, superintendents of sewing classes, and Miss Edith Galbreath and Miss Florence Roessing, superintendents of kindergarten.

The Butler Educational and Industrial School for Foreigners was organized in December, 1906, and opened a night school for foreigners at Lyndora in March, 1907. The society is composed of representatives from all of the churches of the town and philanthropic societies, and is financed by the business firms, individual subscriptions and the Standard Steel Car corporation. The first officers were Levi M. Wise, presi- dent; E. J. Randall, secretary, and D. L. Cleeland, treasurer. The purpose of the society is to teach the foreign population the English language and instruct them in good citizenship and American customs. The Lyndora school has a total enrollment of about 500, and an average attendance of about seventy. The teacher in charge is E. Hale Sipes. The following are the of- ficers and board of directors in 1909: W. D. Brandon, president; H. W. Love, secre- tary ; D. L. Cleeland, treasurer; C. H. Gil- lespie, Rev. R. B. Miller, Miss Mary A. McKee, George A. Henney, C. E. Cronen- wett, Rev. Geo. C. Miller, Levi M. Wise, Rev. M. H. Milne, Mrs. J. L. Marsh.

The Elm Street Night School for Italians was organized in May, 1905, by the Wo- mans Missionary Society of the United

Presbyterian Church. A Sabbath school and mission was established during the summer, and in November, 1905, Rev. Michael Renzetti was installed as mission- ary. The night school has an attendance of about thirty, and the Sabbath school en- rollment of about sixty, while the mem- bers of the mission number about seventy- eight. The teachers of the night school are Miss Mary McKee, Miss Madge Douglass. Mrs. E. II. Dodds, Mrs. Eleanor Trum- bull. The night school and the Sunday services are held in a rented building, but in the near future it is expected that a suitable house of worship will be erected. A lot has already been purchased, and money for the building has been appropri- ated by the Board of Home Missions of the United Presbyterian Church.

GRAVEYARDS AND CEMETERIES.

The first burial place in the borough of Butler was the old cemetery on the corner of North McKean and East North Streets on the present site of the high school build- ing. This plot of ground was included in the tract of land donated by John and Samuel Cunningham and Robert Graham to the governor of the State for the use of Butler County. In the original plot of the town Lots No. 150, 151 and 152 lay on the east side of McKean Street, and between the alley and North Street. At a sale of lots held August 15, 1804, Lot No. 150 was sold to Abraham Brinker and John Cun- ningham "for use of a graveyard" for $10. The next day Lot Number. 151 was sold for the same purpose to the same par- ties for $10, and Lot Number 152, on the corner, was sold to James Brown for the same price, but the deed was subsequently made out to John Negley. In 1826 John Negley and his wife, Elizabeth, conveyed lot No. 152 to Norbert Foltz, and the latter in turn conveyed it by a deed dated June 10, 1828, "to the burgess and assistant burgess and the town council of Butler, and their successors, for burial purposes

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forever." The consideration was $50. This purchase made the cemetery com- plete, and the same year the town council took steps towards enclosing the ground with a stone fence which was the practice at that time. A committee of the council was appointed to present the subject to the people of the borough at a public meet- ing held in the court house June 10, 1828, and $300 was subscribed for that purpose.

The first person buried in the cemetery was Charles McGinnis, who died in 1805, and many pioneers and some notable peo- ple found their last resting place on earth in this cemetery.

As early as 1856 the town council passed an ordinance forbidding further inter- ments in this cemetery, and for half a cen- tury the grounds were practically neg- lected. About 1866 an attempt was made by the Butler School Board to condemn the old burial ground for school purposes. The project met with an indignant protest by the citizens of the town, and for the time being further efforts were abandoned. About 1880 the late Colonel John M. Sul- livan, Thomas Robinson, Col. James C. McKee, William Campbell, Jr., and others, raised a fund for the purpose of beautify- ing the grounds and taking care of the graves that were marked on the old plot. In the years that had intervened after further burials had been forbidden by the town council, the stone fence had been re- moved and the grounds were practically

abandoned by the borough council.

1902 the borough council undertook to sell the property for the purpose of paying the liens against it for paving Mckean Street and North Street. This met with opposi- tion from those who had relatives buried in the old cemetery, and others who from patriotic and other reasons wished to see the old burial place preserved as a park. A part of the original fund raised in 1880 was at that time in the possession of William Campbell, Jr., and this was turned over to the city council for the purpose of

repairing the grounds. In 1905 the ques- tion of condemning the old cemetery for the purpose of erecting a High School building on the grounds was again brought up, and there being no resistance at this time the project was carried through. In November, 1905, all of the known graves in the cemetery were removed to a plot which the school board purchased in the North Cemetery, and there reinterred, and the proper markers placed at each grave. The following year the construction of the new high school building was commenced, and completed in 1908. In the main entrance to the school building a tablet has been erected on which is inscribed the names of John Cunningham and Samuel Cunningham, the founders of the borough of Butler, both of whom were buried in the cemetery.

Over seven hundred graves were removed from this old cemetery and of this number only eighty-three could be identified by means of a tomb-stone or other mark.

Those identified included the names of many families who are among the first set- tlers of the borough and of the county. A plot with the graves marked may be seen at the office of the superintendent of the public schools of the city in the high school building. A similar plot of the ground purchased by the school board in the north cemetery with all of the graves properly marked is also on file at the same place.

St. Peter's Catholic Cemetery, the sec- ond burial place in Butler, was laid out in 1830 on ground deeded for the purpose by Sarah Collins, a daughter of Stephen Low- rey. An addition was made to it in 1834 of ground deeded to the Catholic Church by Valeria Evans, a daughter of Mrs. Col- lins, and her husband, E. R. Evans. This cemetery is located on College Street, and was used for burial purposes until about 1880, when the interments were discon- tinued. Many of the Catholic pioneers of

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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY

the town and surrounding country are buried in this old grave yard.

South Cemetery. What is known as the South Cemetery on the hill south of the creek is owned by the German and English Lutheran and the United Presbyterian Congregations. In 1850 John Negley deeded land to the German Lutherans and subsequently to the English Lutherans for burial purposes and still later the MeQuis- tion heirs deeded a small tract of land adjoining on the west, to the United Pres- byterian Church. The enclosure which comprises about seven acres occupies a commanding position and is an ideal spot on which to establish God's acre. In this old cemetery lie the remains of many pioneer settlers of Butler and the sur- rounding community, including those of John Negley, the donor of the ground, who succeeded the Cunninghams as owner of the mill property and who was identified with nearly every movement for the betterment of the town.

The Butler Cemetery Association was chartered by act of March 24, 1851. Seven acres of ground were purchased from Ebenezer Graham lying on the north line of the borough overlooking the town. Soon after the incorporation of the asso- ciation steps were taken towards laying out the ground in lots and at the same time the borough council passed an ordinance forbidding interments in the old cemetery on North Mckean Street. Additional pur- chases of ground were made from time to time and from 1851 to 1857 this cemetery was one of the principal burial places of the borough. For many years Col. John M. Sullivan was president of the Associa- tion, Major Cyrus E. Anderson, secretary, and R. C. McAboy, superintendent and treasurer. The officers in 1908 were P. W. Lowery, president, George C. Stewart, sec- retary, Louis B. Stein, treasurer, and T. C. Campbell, R. B. Fowser and L. O. Purvis, directors. In 1902 P. L. King took charge as superintendent. The first interment in

the cemetery was in December, 1852, when Robert Howard Hill, who had died from scarlet fever, was buried there. Many of the prominent and well known early set- tlers are buried in this cemetery, and scores of graves are marked by handsome monuments. A curious feature about this cemetery association is the fact that each purchaser of a burial lot received a deed for it in fee simple, and is the outright owner of the ground. This circumstance has caused the association much trouble in keeping the grounds in proper condition, as they have been unable to assess the lot owners for the necessary funds to carry on the work. An effort is to be made in the near future to remedy this defect.

The North Side Cemetery Association was chartered July 2, 1887, and has been duly incorporated. Thirty acres of ground were purchased of Charles Duffy adjoin- ing the old cemetery on the north and was laid out in lots. The leading spirit in the new organiation was John S. Campbell, who was also the first president. In 1908 John S. Campbell was president, Harvey Colbert, secretary, and P. L. King, super- intendent. D. S. Mccullough was the first superintendent of the ground and filled that position until 1902, when he was suc- ceeded by Mr. King. Many substantial and costly monuments have been erected during the past twenty-two years, and several of the pioneers of the town have found their last earthly homes, in this cemetery.

Calvary Cemetery Association was incorporated July 9, 1887, by Rev. William A. Nolan, then pastor of St. Paul's Cath- olic Church, Charles Duffy, George Shaff- ner, William H. Reihing, David Niggel, Thos. F. Niggel, William G. Vinroe, Pat- rick Kelley, Daniel Mclaughlin, N. J. Criley, D. H. Wuller, John McCune, P. A. Golden, Hugh D. McCrea, Jacob Faller, Jos. J. Lavery, and Charles F. Cane. Thirty-five acres were purchased from Charles Duffy immediately north of the

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North Side Cemetery, twenty of which be- long to St. Paul's Congregation and fifteen to St. Peter's. The grounds lie immedi- ately at the top of the hill and form an ideal burial place. Improvements have been going on rapidly, and in a few years this cemetery will be one of the beautiful spots about the town.

This combination of three cemeteries is embraced in one enclosure and is dedicated to the uses of all denominations. The entire aica now covers about one hundred acres. The location is admirably suited for the purpose to which it is dedicated, and in time it will become a beautiful city of the dead.

SOCIETIES AND NATIONAL ORDERS.

The Sterling Club is a social organiza- tion organized about 1890, and at the pres- ent time has a membership of about 100. During the first two or three years of its existence the club had rooms in the Berg Bank building on the corner of Main and Jefferson Streets, but when the Campbell building was completed on South Main Street in 1891, the club secured a lease of the entire third floor and fitted up elegant apartments which they still occupy. The rooms consist of parlors, billiard-room, dining-room, and ball-room. The present officers of the club are Edward S. Riddle, president; Samuel Walker, vice-president ; John H. Jackson, secretary; James O. Campbell, treasurer; and the following board of governors: John Murrin, John H. Wilson, Robert M. Little, James A. Feldman.

The Country Club was organized in 1904 by a number of business men of Butler who were interested in golf and athletics. Golf links were established on rented ground at Lyndora, and the following year the club purchased the George Huselton farm in Penn Township, on the line of the Pittsburg & Butler Electric Railway. A clubhouse was erected and a number of improvements made, `which make the place

an ideal location for a country resort. The club was incorporated and capitalized at $25,000.00. The president of the club in 1908 was Edward Bredin, and the secre- tary John Brandon.

The Masonic Order in Butler is repre- sented by Butler Lodge Number 272, F. & A. M., which was chartered March 7, 1863, and instituted August 3rd of the same year. The charter members and first offi- cers were James Bredin, W. M .; David A. Agnew, S. W .; Felix E. Negley, J. W .; William Criswell, treasurer; Geo. W. Cro- zier, secretary; Jos. P. Patterson, John McCarnes, J. J. Sedwick, Hugh McKee and Andrew Fitzsimmons. From this parent lodge several other prosperous lodges in Butler County have been organized. The hall is in the Reiber Block on Main Street, and the present membership is about 150. The present officers are B. R. Williams, W. M .; Geo. W. Hazlett, S. W .; John S. Douglass, secretary; and Harvey Colbert, treasurer.

Butler Chapter Number 273, R. A. M. was chartered December 27, 1890, and con- stituted March 24, 1891. The first officers were as follows: William C. Thompson, H. P .; Charles N. Boyd, K .; Francis M. Coll, S .; Josiah B. Black, treasurer; and Newton Black, secretary. The place of meeting is in the Reiber Block on South Main Street. The present officers are John H. Douglass, H. P .; C. D. Holmes, K .; J. H. Wilson, Scribe; W. A. Stein, Secre- tary; and P. W. Lowry, treasurer.

In addition to the membership of the two Masonic lodges mentioned above, there are a large number of members of Knight Templars who belong to the lodges of Greenville and Pittsburg. In January, 1909, the local lodges purchased the prop- erty of Miss Sarah B. McQuistion on South Main Street for $25,000, and an ele- gant Masonic Temple will be erected within the next two years.

Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The pioneer secret society of the town is Con-

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noquenessing Lodge, No. 278, I. O. O. F., which was instituted December 11, 1847, the charter having been granted on No- vember 8th. The charter members were Jacob Ziegler, Alfred Gilmore, John Gra- ham, and Dunlap MeLaughlin. The first members admitted at the same meeting were John H. Negley, William Balph, Cor- nelius Coll, and Thomas W. Wallace. The first officers elected were Alfred Gilmore, N. G., Jacob Ziegler, V. G., John Graham, secretary, and Dunlap Mclaughlin, treas- urer. The second meeting of the lodge was held on the 23d of December, 1847, in the court house. This lodge has been quite prosperous during its existence, and at the present time is one of the strongest lodges in the county. The meetings were held in a hall rented for the purpose until 1887, when a lot was purchased on West Jeffer- son Street, and a two-story brick building erected, which is now occupied by the Peo- ple's Telephone Company. In 1899 the Henry C. Heineman property was pur- chased at the corner of Main and Cunning- ham Streets, upon which the present mag- nificent temple was built in 1906, at a cost of about $90,000.00. The trustees are David E. Dale, Alexander Mitchell and E. I. Brugh. The managers of the club rooms are Thomas H. Greer and Raymond S. Cornelius. The officers in October, 1908, were Geo. R. Slentz, noble grand; Jesse E. Neyman, vice-grand; John E. Flack, secre- tary; Harley McClelland, recording secre- tary; William Cromm, treasurer. The membership was 226.

Clement Encampment No. 238, I. O. O. F., was organized in 1897, and at the present time has a large membership. The meetings are held in the Odd Fellows' Temple on South Main Street. The officers of the Encampment are W. A. Ashbaugh, C. P .; W. J. Snyder, H. P .; T. C. Patter- son, S. W .; C. D. Frazier, Jr. W .; S. M. Swartzlander, scribe; and D. E. Dale, treasurer. The trustees are J. L. Garro- way, John J. Shiering and H. L. Richey.

Ziegler Lodge No. 1039, I. O. O. F., is an off-shoot of the parent society and was instituted April 23, 1892, with twenty-four charter members. The first officers were Dr. G. J. Peters, N. G., J. H. Conard. V. G., S. M. Swartzlander, secretary, A. M. Bor- land, assistant secretary, and Dr. N. M. Hoover, treasurer. The lodge prospered from the start, and now has a membership of over two hundred. The lodge room is on Center Avenue, in Springdale. The officers of the lodge in January, 1909, were Camden McKee, noble grand ; O. F. Rhoda- berger, vice-grand; S. M. Swartzlander, secretary; R. L. Kirkpatrick, treasurer; and the trustees were J. W. Brown, S. M. Swartzlander and J. L. Garroway.

A. O. U. W. The first lodge having an insurance feature to be organized in Butler · was Butler Lodge Number 94, Ancient Or- der of United Workmen. This lodge was instituted January 18, 1876, and had for its charter members Lewis P. Walker, S. R. Diffenbacher, T. A. Templeton, A. L. Reiber, T. B. White, David Cupps, Alex- ander Mitchell, H. Gumpper, Elliott Robb, T. S. Greene, D. A. Heck, C. Rehbun, Sam- uel Walker, and John F. Lowrey. The lodge embraced in its membership some of the best citizens in the borough, and at one time its membership was over three hundred.

Knights of Honor. A. L. Reiber Lodge, No. 679, K. of H., was instituted January 22, 1877, with twenty-nine charter mem- bers. It had a steady growth and was fairly prosperous for many years.

Royal Arcanum. Butler Council, No. 219, Royal Arcanum, was instituted May 3, 1880, with sixteen charter members. This was a benevolent and insurance society which accomplished a great deal of good but has been driven out of the field by the younger organizations. C. C. Cochran is secretary.

A. L. of H. Butler Lodge No. 732, A. L. of H., was instituted September 30, 1881, with twenty-five charter members, includ-

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ing several business men of the community. This society has held its own among the fraternal associations of Butler and has had a fairly prosperous career.

B. P. O. E. Butler Lodge, No. 170, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, is one of the later fraternal societies in Butler. It was chartered and organized July 10, 1890, by J. B. Black, William T. Mechling, F. M. Coll, J. D. Northrup, E. W. Tibbles, Wm. H. Reihing, I. G. Smith, and Dr. Lysander Black. The first officers were J. B. Black, E. R., W. T. Mechling, E. L. K., F. M. Coll, E. L. K., J. D. Northrup, E. L. K., E. W. Tibbles, secretary, and I. G. Smith, treasurer. The lodge grew rapidly and within the first year had a membership of fifty. Its pres- ent membership is about two hundred and fifty. The first home of the lodge was in the brick building on the corner of Main and Diamond Streets, formerly occupied by the Butler County National Bank. The present quarters are in the Bickel building on South Main Street, where the lodge has the entire third floor fitted up as a lodge room, parlors, and a club-room. In 1907 the lodge purchased the Geis Building on East Cunningham Street, adjoining the Majestic Theater, where permanent quar- ters will soon be established. The Order of Elks is a purely social and benevolent society, the underlying principle being charity. Bert Forquer is the present ex- alted ruler and J. A. Heineman, secretary.

C. M. B. A. Branch Number 56, C. M. . B. A., was organized March 16, 1889, with the following charter members: Joseph Rockenstein, Bernard Kemper, Jr., A. Rockenstein, Joseph Niggel, Harry Grieb, Norbert T. Weser, Ed McShane, Albert Frank, Andrew Liebler, John Kappler, John Garber, Casper Eyth, Thomas H. Gallagher, Henry C. Plohr, J. N. Harvey, Thomas J. Moran, Charles McCarthy, J. C. Wagner, Fred J. Morall, Theodore D. Pape, W. J. McCafferty. The organiza- tion was effected through the efforts of

Bernard Kemper and William H. O'Brien, the latter having previously belonged to the branch at Oil City. The first president of the local branch was Joseph Rocken- stein.

The present membership of the C. M. B. A. is 207, and the officers are H. T. Rat- tigan, president ; Earl F. Young, vice-presi- dent; Charles E. Connell, recording secre- tary; C. Dugan, financial secretary; Jas. W. Bayer, treasurer; Rev. M. Stenger and Rev. P. K. Collins, spiritual advisors. The association meets the first and third Tues- days of each month in the Rockenstein building.

Branch No. 92, L. C. B. A., was organ- ized September 17, 1891, by Supreme Deputy Mrs. J. A. Royer, of Erie, Penn- sylvania, with seventeen charter members. The presiding officers have been Lena Grieb, M. C. Rockenstein, and Amelia Shaffner.

The Knights of Columbus is a social and beneficiary order which was first estab- lished in Butler in 1904. The order now has 125 members and has handsomely ap- pointed club rooms in the Stein Building on South Main street. The present officers of the order are John Murrin, grand knight; M. F. Carroll, deputy grand knight; F.B. Duignan, chancellor; Clarence Kelley, recorder; L. C. Yungert, financial secretary; E. A. McShane, treasurer; E. H. Burke, advocate; and B. McKeown, warden. In 1908 the order took over the membership and club rooms of the Young Men's Institute, which has been in exist- ence for several years and had club rooms in the Stein Building.

Keystone Camp No. 8, Woodmen of the World, is the strongest fraternal and in- surance order in point of membership in Butler. It was organized in 1892, and at the present time has 683 members in good standing. The present officers of the camp are P. C., W. E. Cooper; C. C., J. B. Hutch- inson; Adv. Lieut., James Wood; Clerk, Samuel Hughes; Banker, J. L. Emerick;

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Watchman, Henry Beck; Sentry, F. L. Stauffer; Managers, F. H. Davy, E. Miller, and E. B. Bell; Physicians in Butler, M. E. Headland, L. R. Hazlett, W. J. Grossman, R. J. Grossman, W. S. Patterson, W. B. Clark; Homewood, C. B. McAboy; Ren- frew, J. L. Campbell, R. S. Keeler; Evans City, E. Cuthbert; Elwood, R. L. Lowry ; Callery, H. R. Wilson.

Lyndora Hall Association was organized in 1905 for social purposes by the foreign residents of Lyndora and Bredinville. A charter was secured on August 5th of that year, the subscribers being Earnest Calde- rora, John Buccos, H. L. Connelly, John Bungar, W. E. Merwin, John Tonko, and Joseph A. Kalina.

The Galli Society was organized in Au- gust, 1905, for social and musical purposes, by the Belgian and French residents of the Southside. The society owns a lot and a hall on Ziegler Avenue, and the French Band of the Southside is a musical organ- ization which owes its existence to this society. The president of the society at the time the charter was granted was Emile Chenot, Victor Bayonet was secre- tary, and Arthur Dumont, treasurer. John Werry is the musical director.

The Italian Fraternal and Beneficial So- ciety of Butler was organized in 1908 among the Italian residents of the town for social and beneficial purposes. The society has an insurance feature, and its purpose is to help its members who may be in distress from sickness or misfortune. The subscribers to the charter were Pietro Fosatti, Cesare Binnuci, Fiori Mazzanti, and Leonard DeFoggi.

Butler Ruling. Number 729, Fraternal Mystic Circle, was organized in 1899 with 125 members. It has had a prosperous growth and at the present time has 154 members. The officers are W. K. Hays, worthy ruler; C. P. Hoffman, vice ruler; Bert Teitsworth, past worthy ruler; Geo. W. Amy, chaplain; Harry L. Graham, re- corder; and Dr. W. J. Grossman, collector.

The order is fraternal, with an insurance feature. The meetings are held in the K. of P. Hall in the Reiber Building. Dr. W. J. Grossman is grand ruler for the dis- trict comprising the States of Pennsyl- vania and New Jersey.

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Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th, Part 65

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