Century history of New Castle and Lawrence County, Pennsylvania and representative citizens, 20th, Part 95

Author: Hazen, Aaron L. (Aaron Lyle), 1837- comp. and ed. cn
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold publishing co.
Number of Pages: 1058

USA > Pennsylvania > Lawrence County > New Castle > Century history of New Castle and Lawrence County, Pennsylvania and representative citizens, 20th > Part 95

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Bernhard Weltner was reared in his na-

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HISTORY OF LAWRENCE COUNTY

tive land and received his educational training in the common schools. He re- mained at home until he reached his ma- jority, then on April 14, 1882, set sail for America. He landed in New York City, and thereafter until 1886 was located in various parts of the United States, farm- ing being his chief occupation at all times. In 1886 he located at Philadelphia, re- mained there two years, then in 1888 moved to New Castle, where he followed farming and dairying rather extensively. He now does general farming, and is meet- ing with unusual success. He has a large circle of acquaintances throughout his sec- tion of the county, and is exceedingly pop- ular with his neighbors.

Mr. Weltner was united in marriage with Kunigunda Shafer, of Germany. They have no children of their own, but adopted and reared a daughter, Clara, who now is in California. Politically Mr. Weltner is independent, exercising his franchise in favor of the man he deems best fitted for the office at issue. He is a member of the Order of Heptasophs. In religious attach- ment he is a Lutheran.

JOSEPH P. EVANS, a prosperous farmer of North Beaver Township, Law- rence County, Pennsylvania, has a valuable farm of 150 acres located two miles west of Mahoningtown, on the Covert and Cle- land Mill road, just north of Pleasant Hill schoolhouse. He has been a life-long resi- dent of the county, having been born in New Castle February 12, 1859, and is a son of Joshua and Catherine (Sterling) Evans.

Joshua Evans was born in Freetown, Bristol County, Mass., and was a son of Joseph P. Evans, also a native of Massa- chusetts, who was killed by the falling of a tree three weeks before the birth of his son, Joshua. At an early age the latter learned the trade of an ironworker, which he followed in his native state and later at Harrisburg, Pa. While still in his teens he came to New Castle, Pa., but after a short time went west to Indiana. He soon re-

turned to New Castle, where he was there- after employed as an ironworker for many years. He owned various farms about the city at different times, his first pur- chase being on Washington Street, New Castle. He purchased the farm which corners on the farm on which our subject now lives several years prior to the lat- ter's birth, and moved upon it in March, 1859, driving back and forth to his work each day. He died on the home farm in 1902, and was survived by the mother of our subject, who died on November 5, 1907. They had two children, Joseph P. and Mar- garet. He also had two children by an early marriage, one of whom died in boy- hood; the other, B. B. Evans, now resides in Kansas.

Joseph P. Evans was ten years old when his parents came upon the present farm and he was here reared to maturity, re- ceiving his educational training in the com- mon schools. He has always engaged in agricultural pursuits and, farming along modern and up-to-date methods, has made an unqualified success of his work. Fra- ternally, he is a member of the Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows, and Lawrence Encampment, to which his father also be- longed, the latter being at the time of his death the oldest Odd Fellow in Lawrence County.

J. C. STONER, who is engaged in deal. ing in staple and fancy groceries at No. 101 Croton Avenue, New Castle, is an en- terprising and successful merchant in that line. He was born in Slippery Rock Town- ship, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, in 1882, and is a son of J. S. Stoner.

J. S. Stoner, father of J. C. Stoner, who is a retired citizen of New Castle, residing at No. 87 Wallace Avenue, was also born in Lawrence County, where his father had settled at an early day. In 1887 he moved from his farm in Slippery Rock Township to Noblesville, Ind., subsequently locating at New Castle.

J. C. Stoner was five years old when his

JOSHUA EVANS.

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parents moved to Indiana and he was reared at Noblesville. He attended school there and later spent two years at the Cul- ver Military School, subsequently gradu- ating from the Ellwood High School. He was first employed as a time-keeper for the Lehigh Portland Cement Company at New Castle, where he continued for some time. In 1908 he embarked in his present busi- ness, and now handles a large and con- stantly increasing trade. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Pythias, and has many friends both in and outside of these organizations. He stands with New Castle's representative business men.

OSCAR EVANS BRADLEY, D. O., the only practitioner of the science of oste- opathy at Ellwood City, has met with re- markable success in his profession as is evidenced by his record that shows that some 250 patients are treated by him per month. Dr. Bradliey was born at Mem- phis, Scotland County, Missouri, August 30, 1874, and is a son of James H. and Nancy Minerva (Baker) Bradley.

The parents of Dr. Bradley both survive and reside on the father's farm in Mis- souri. The family is an old one in that State, and the grandfather was a captain in the Confederate army during the Civil War. James H. Bradley and wife had a family of four sons and one daughter, namely : Oscar Evans; Augustus C., who resides at Bible Grove, Missouri; Everett L., who is also a resident of Bible Grove; Cora W., who is the wife of Dr. M. P. Browning, residing at McComb, Illinois; Leo I., who resides at Downing, Missouri; and Atlee B., who is a resident of Bible Grove.

Dr. Bradley's elementary education was obtained in the district schools near his home and later he entered the State Nor- mal School at Kirksville, where he re- mained until he had completed the work of the senior year. In 1902 he engaged in teaching school, keeping up with his classes

in the Normal School in the meanwhile, after which he attended the American School of Osteopathy, at Kirksville. The school is still presided over by the venera- ble Dr. A. T. Still, its founder, who, in the current month (August, 1908) celebrates his eightieth birthday. In January, 1903, Dr. Bradley took a post graduate course in osteopathy, at St. Louis, and entered into practice at MeComb, Illinois. In October, 1906, he came to Ellwood City and estab- lished his office in the Dambach Building, on Lawrence Avenue. As a practitioner in a new school of healing, Dr. Bradley has had many prejudices to overcome but his remarkable success, curing cases which had been given up by physicians and surgeons as hopeless, established a confidence that subsequent developments went far to make lasting.

Dr. Bradley married Miss Anna May Browning, who was born and reared near Memphis, Missouri. She is a daughter of William Perry and Sarah E. (Harrington) Browning. Her father served in the Union army during the Civil War, as a member of Company C, Twenty-seventh Regiment, Il- linois Volunteer Infantry. He died in June, 1906. His widow survives and re- sides at Memphis, Missouri. There were six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Brown- ing, namely : Alfred H., deceased; Charles P. and Albert C., both residing in Mis- souri ; Etta, wife of Edward M. Smith, re- siding in Oklahoma; Martin P., who is en- gaged in the practice of osteopathy at McComb, Illinois; and Mrs. Bradley. Dr. and Mrs. Bradley have two sons, Horton Kenneth and Raymond DeLoss. They are members of the Christian Church at Ell- wood City.

E. P. WEINSCHENK, a well known and prosperous market gardener, of She- nango Township, was born in Shenango Township, Lawrence County, Pennsyl- vania, May 20, 1877, son of George G. and Catherine (Sechler) Weinschenk. His father was a native of Germany, and a son

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of John G. and Katherine (Retter) Wein- schenk.

George G. Weinschenk was born in Ger- ardstetten, Wurtemberg, Germany, April 10, 1835, and was reared to maturity in his native land. He began to be self-support- ing at the age of fifteen years. When he was twenty-two he went to Havre, whence, in May, 1857, he sailed for America, land- ing in New York city after an eventful voy- age of thirty-five days. From New York he wended his way westward to New Cas- tle, Pennsylvania, arriving there June 22, 1857. He soon found employment with Mr. Butz, then the leading gardener of New Castle, and continued with him for two years. Afterwards he worked awhile for Mr. Peebles, and then went south, spending some five or six years in and near Louisville, Kentucky. There he had charge of the private gardens of rich planters un- til conditions were changed by the outbreak of the Civil War, when his services being no longer in demand in that locality, he re- turned to New Castle and re-entered the employ of Mr. Butz. After remaining thus occupied for a year he bought a tract of land in Taylor Township, where he was engaged in gardening for some eight years. He then sold out and purchased twenty- four acres of land in Shenango Township, where he is now engaged in gardening, hav- ing about half an acre under glass. He is a man of energy and frugality and has ac- cumulated a fair amount of property in different parts of the county. He and his first wife, Catherine Sechler, were the par- ents of the following children: William Henry, a gardener and florist residing in Shenango Township; Annie M., wife of Charles F. Alborn; Alice; Margaret, who is now deceased, and E. P. By his second marriage there were eight children, the six living being: Rosa, Samuel, Catherine, Sarah, and Ruth. Those deceased are George and Frederick.

E. P. Weinschenk was reared and edu- cated in his native township, attending the Lincoln school, and, later, the New Castle

Business College. He learned market gar- dening under his father, for whom he worked until 1905, at which time he in- herited his present farm of thirty acres. When he became possessed of the property there were almost three acres more, which were taken by the Allegheny & Western Railroad. All but about half an acre is under cultivation, being devoted to the usual table vegetables, such as lettuce, beets, cabbage, onions, parsnips, rhubarb, asparagus, tomatoes, spinach, and rad- ishes. His early lettuce and cucumbers are raised in a greenhouse, 226x60 feet, which he built in 1905. In 1907 he built an addi- tion 112x26 feet. His business requires about ten hands on an average during the summer. In 1905 he built his present resi- dence, a tasteful structure with eight com- modious rooms. He also erected a boiler- house, 30x32 feet in dimensions. Mr. Weinschenk's industry and thorough knowledge of his business have rendered him one of the prosperous and independent citizens of his township. In politics he pays no strict regard to party lines, but votes for the candidate who, in his opinion, is the best qualified to fill the office.

Mr. Weinschenk married Etta M. Boo- her, daughter of William V. Booher, of Mt. Pleasant, Lawrence County. The family are members of the Savannah Methodist Episcopal Church.

JOHN N. LESLIE, who was formerly one of North Beaver Township's most re- spected citizens, died on his home farm there, January 8, 1905. He was born on the old Leslie homestead, three-fourths of a mile west of the farm still occupied by his widow and son, in North Beaver Town- ship, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, No- vember 7, 1833. His father was John Les- lie, who was a son of John Leslie.

The late John N. Leslie was married (first) to Amelia Fullerton, who left four children at death, namely: Charles, who is a farmer in Big Beaver Township; Alice, who is the wife of Samuel Smith, of New

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Castle; Annie, who is the wife of A. L. Wilson, of New Castle; and John H., who lives at New Galilee. Mr. Leslie was mar- ried (second) to Maria Lowry, who is a daughter of Adam Lowry, and four chil- dren were born to this union, namely : Roy G., who lives at New Castle; Bessie, who is the wife of Robert Miller, of Youngstown; Clarence V., who operates the home farm; and Mabel, who is the wife of Scott S. Breast and lives on the old Leslie home place. John N. Leslie purchased his farm prior to his first marriage and all his life carried on agricultural pursuits.

Clarence V. Leslie is one of the enter- prising young farmers of this section. For several years he engaged in a dairy busi- ness, keeping fifteen head of cows and run- ning a wagon to West Pittsburg. He has disposed of his milk business entirely and now devotes all his attention to farming and meets with a large amount of success.

SAMUEL D. KYLE, whose valuable farm of 120 acres is favorably situated on the Mt. Jackson-Darlington Highway, about three miles south of the former place, is successfully engaged here in general farming and stockraising. This is his birth-farm, and he is a son of John and Jane (Dalzell) Kyle. He was born Oc- tober 17, 1871.

The grandfather, William Kyle, came to America from Ireland and in 1817 bought 200 acres of land in North Beaver Town- ship, the present farm being included in this purchase. Of all this large body of land, but one acre had been cleared and William Kyle labored until he had cleared all the rest. His son, John Kyle, was born on this farm, November 30, 1821, and en- gaged in agricultural pursuits here all his life. He died here September 3, 1902, aged eighty-one years. He married a daughter of Hugh Dalzell, an early settler of North Beaver Township, who came from Ireland and purchased land one and one- half miles north of the Kyle farm. Will- iam Kyle purchased his land from James

Sample and paid the sum of $600 for it. The six children born to John Kyle and wife were as follows: William, who lives on the old homestead; Samuel, who died aged one year ; Hugh, Milton and David, all farmers in North Beaver Township; and Samuel D. William Kyle, the oldest son, married Mary Robison and they have three children : Mrs. Rebecca Dice, who has one son, William Renfrew ; Mrs. Iva Kelso ; and John. Hugh Kyle married Margaret Patterson and they have one child, Ger- trude. Milton Kyle married Elizabeth MeKim and they have four children: Will- iam, Robert, Jane and Martha. David Kyle married Nellie McChesney.

Samuel D. Kyle resides on the home farm with his mother, who has reached the age of seventy-eight years. She is a highly esteemed lady and is generally known all through this section. Mrs. Kyle is a mem- ber of the Bethel United Presbyterian Church, while Mr. Kyle holds membership at Moravia. Mr. Kyle is president of the board of directors of the Mt. Air Inde- pendent Telephone Company.

WILLIAM McCONAHY, one of New Castle's leading contractors who has also had a large experience in the lumber busi- ness, has been a resident of this city for a number of years but still retains his farm in Hickory Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, where he was born in 1856.

The father of Mr. McConahy, bearing also the name of William, was a native of Ireland and was sixteen years of age when he landed in the harbor of New York city. He lived in the great metropolis for four years and then came to Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. He acquired a farm in Hick- ory Township and he followed farming and lumbering through his active years. He died in 1875, aged fifty-nine years. Mr. McConahy's mother was Anna Martin, a daughter of John Martin, one of Lawrence County's pioneers.

The present William McConahy spent his early life on the home farm and attend-

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ed the country schools. Prior to starting out to visit many sections of the country to buy timber, he engaged, for several years, in a sawmill and lumber business on the homestead. Later he purchased many acres of standing timber and did a large amount of buying of walnut timber for the export trade. He continued in the business after moving to New Castle, but later be- came mainly interested in general contract- ing, subsequently becoming senior member of the firm of MeConahy & Martin, one which has done extensive contracting all over the city and in parts adjacent.

On June 28, 1893, Mr. MeConahy was married to Miss Hattie Gail McKee, daugh- ter of Dr. C. W. McKee, who was born in Armstrong County, and they have two chil- dren : Cleo A. and Minnie Amanda.

Mr. MeConahy is a member of the Mo- dern Woodmen and the Hoo-Hoo Club, and also of the Lumbermen's Association. He is a representative citizen, loyal, enterpris- ing and public spirited.

NER MARSHALL, a veteran of the Civil War and a prominent citizen of Little Beaver Township, Lawrence County, Penn- sylvania, is the owner of a tract of fifty acres lying about ten miles southwest of New Castle. He was born on a farm ad- joining his present place, September 15, 1835, and is a son of William and Eliza (Early) Marshall.

John Marshall, grandfather of Ner Mar- shall, was born in Ireland and shortly after his marriage came to America, settling in the woods in what is now Little Beaver Township, Lawrence County. He was one of the early pioneers of the vicinity and a good substantial citizen. He and his wife were parents of the following children : James ; Joseph ; Eliza ; John; Anna ; Jane; and William.

William Marshall was born on the farm his father first settled, now owned by Sam- uel Riddle, and there he grew to maturity and aided in clearing the land. He subse- quently bought of his father the place on

which Ner Marshall now lives, the grand- father having purchased it of Isaac Grubb. There William passed the remainder of his days, dying at the age of sixty-three years. He was three times married. His first union, with Eliza Early, resulted in the birth of five children, namely : Ner; Maria, wife of Homer Early ; Almira, wife of John Kayle; Myrvin, deceased; and Harriet Eliza, deceased. Mrs. Marshall was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, and was a daughter of James Early. William Mar- shall formed a second union with Ann Gib- son, who died leaving one son, John Mar- shall. His third union was with Elizabeth Smith, who survived him some years.

Ner Marshall, being the eldest of the family, was called upon to do much of the clearing on the home farm, and as a conse- quence his education was limited to a few months' schooling in the winter months. He lived at home in the old log house until his marriage in 1851, and then moved on to his present farm. He has always engaged in agricultural pursuits, and has a highly improved farm. Most of the improvements were made by Mr. Marshall, including the two houses and barn which adorn the place. In August, 1863, he enlisted as a member of Company H, Forty-sixth Regi- ment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, First Brigade, First Division, Twentieth Army Corps, serving under Captain Alex- ander Selfridge, and Colonel James I. Selfridge. He participated in the battle of Resaca and others of lesser importance, and after the close of the war returned to his home in Little Beaver. He had been de- tailed to service in the medical store, keep- ing the department which supplied the en- tire army and hospitals with hospital and medical supplies. A the close of the war, Dr. R. T. Kramer of Louisville, Kentucky, under whom he had served, offered him $30 per month to remain with him, but he re- fused in order to look after the home farm, at the request of his father.

In 1851, Mr. Marshall was joined in mar- riage with Eliza Kensela, who was born in

HON. ROBERT A. TODD.

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Ireland, where her parents both died. She was young when she crossed the Atlantic to America, and for a time resided with her sister, Lydia Holliday, in Philadelphia. She later came west to Lawrence County. The following children resulted from this union : Mary, wife of William Ryan, by whom she has a daughter, Blanche, who is the wife of William Alexander and has a child, named Louise; James, who lives in the West and has a daughter, Bessie; Ed- ward, who was killed by accident at the age of twenty ; Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Ken- ny, has two sons, Paul and Harry; and William, who has a mail route out of Enon, married Nellie Nolan, and has two chil- dren, Edward and Hugh. Ner Marshall is substitute mail carrier out of Enon Valley. He is a stanch supporter of the Republican party, and has served as supervisor and in other local offices. He is an active member of the local post, Grand Army of the Re- public.

ROBERT STONER, general farmer and dairyman, residing on the old Stoner homestead farm of 100 acres, which is sit- uated in Slippery Rock Township, one mile west of Rose Point, was born on this farm October 16, 1879, and is a son of John Nel- son and Eliza Jane (Dunn) Stoner.

The Stoners were early settlers in Slip- pery Rock Township, the present Stoner farm having been settled on by James Stoner, the grandfather, and John Nelson Stoner was, like his son Robert, born on this place. He was scarcely through school when the Civil War was declared and he entered the Federal Army and served in an infantry regiment for nine months. After he came back from his military serv- ice, he engaged in farming on the home- stead, which he purchased, and continued to reside here until his death. At that time four heirs were left to claim the property, which is amicably held, and is operated by his son Robert. John Nelson Stoner mar- ried Eliza Jane Dunn, whose father came to Lawrence from Butler County. They

had four children, namely : Ive, who mar- ried Robert Armstrong; Maud, who mar- ried John Wilkinson; Nellie, who married Joseph Studebaker; and Robert.

Robert Stoner attended the public schools of Slippery Rock Township and as soon as he was able, assisted his father on the farm. In the course of time he became its sole manager and continues to direct its work as formerly. Mr. Stoner raises the usual crops of this climate and he also does a large dairy business.

When Mr. Stoner was ready to establish his own home, he married Mary Jane Brenard, of Lawrence County, and they have two children, Abraham Brenard and John Nelson. Mr. Stoner and wife belong to the Presbyterian Church at Oak Grove. In political matters, Mr. Stoner is affiliated with the Republican party. He is an indus- trious, honest, upright man and one of the township's best citizens.

HON. ROBERT A. TODD, prominent citizen and postmaster at Ellwood City. was born at Roaring Springs, Blair Coun- ty, Pa., April 18, 1861, and is a son of Robert and Henrietta (Hammond) Todd.

Mr. Todd comes of Scotch and German ancestry. Both parents were natives of Pennsylvania. The father died in 1868, when Robert A. was about six years old. The mother survived to the age of seventy- six years, dying in 1906. The family con- sisted of two sons and one daughter: Rob- ert A., Andrew J., who has resided at Al- toona, Pa., for many years, and Nettie, who married James Morse and lives at Beaver Falls.

Robert A. Todd obtained his education in the common schools of Blair County and at an academy in Holidaysburg, after which he entered the employ of the Holi- daysburg Iron & Nail Company in the ca- pacity of shipping clerk, and remained with that concern for two and one-half years. He then went to the Hartman Steel Company, at Beaver Falls, where he con- tinued from 1883 until 1888, in the latter

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year entering the employ of the Hartman Manufacturing Company as its representa- tive at Kansas City, Mo. In 1891 he came to Ellwood City, in the interests of the same company, and was assistant manager under Mr. Green. Mr. Hartman was then president of the Pittsburg Land Company and for two years Mr. Todd had charge of the real estate of this organization, on a commission basis. In 1893 he was elected the first justice of the peace of Ellwood City, but this office he resigned, at the same time requesting the Governor to ap- point his former opponent his successor. Mr. Todd has been a prominent political factor in this section for many years, and in 1896 he was first elected a member of the Pennsylvania Legislature. His admin- istration of the office so thoroughly satis- fied his constituents that he was re-elected in 1898. In 1901 Mr. Todd was appointed postmaster of Ellwood City by the late President Mckinley and was reappointed by President Roosevelt in 1905.

In June, 1887, Mr. Todd married Miss Mary Graham, who is a daughter of Al- exander and Elizabeth (Phillips) Graham, of Beaver Falls. They have had three children, two sons surviving, namely : Rol- lin G., who, at the age of seventeen, has creditably completed his preparatory course at Geneva College; and Norman, who is a student in the Ellwood City schools. Mrs. Todd is a member of the Presbyterian Church, as was his father, while he was reared by his mother in the Methodist Episcopal faith. He is a Mason, belonging to Lodge No. 599, Ellwood. and to Perfection Lodge, New Castle. He is a man of pleasing personality and has a host of friends.

JACOB EVANS VAN GORDER, vice- president and bookkeeper of the People's Bank of Elwood City, was born in Perry Township, on the old Van Gorder mill property, July 7, 1869, son of Israel and Isabella (Evans) Van Gorder. On the pa- ternal side he is a descendant of one of

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Century history of New Castle and Lawrence County, Pennsylvania and representative citizens, 20th, Part 95

Author: Hazen, Aaron L. (Aaron Lyle), 1837- comp. and ed. cn Publication date: 1908 Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold publishing co. Number of Pages: 1058

Author: Hazen, Aaron L. (Aaron Lyle), 1837- comp. and ed. cn
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold publishing co.
Number of Pages: 1058