Commemorative biographical record of Washington County, Pennsylvania, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 84

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago, J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1540

USA > Pennsylvania > Washington County > Commemorative biographical record of Washington County, Pennsylvania, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families > Part 84

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T HOMAS G. HAMILTON is one of the suc- cessful agriculturists of Nottingham town- ship, of which he is a native. His father, James R. Hamilton, was born, in 1818, in Peters township, Washington county, and received a classical education. During his earlier years he followed the profession of school teaching, and, being solely dependent upon his daily earn- ings for a livelihood, was obliged to practice strict economy.

In 1846 James R. Hamilton was married to Miss Patience Morrison, a native of this county, and, having managed to save a small amount of his salary, the young man bought a little farm in Not- tingham township, this county, upon which he and his bride began their wedded life. They were poor in worldly goods, but happy and rich in the pos- session of health and love. Dame Fortune soon began to smile upon the brave young couple who met her frowns with such cheery faces, and as years passed on children came to brighten the little home, as follows: Patience B. (wife of James H. Barkley), William H. L., Charles James Reed, John T. G., Joseph G. P., Elizabeth Ann, Mar- garet Elnora and Mary Jane. Of these the three latter are deceased. At the time of his death James R. Hamilton owned 300 acres of land.

Thomas G. Hamilton was born May 30, 1861, in Nottingham township, Washington county, and there passed his boyhood. On January 10, 1883, he made choice of a life companion in the person of Anna C., daughter of Benjamin Crawford, a very prominent farmer of this county. Four chil- dren have been born to this marriage, namely: John Reed, R. Lloyd, Patience May and Thomas Gleen. Mr. Hamilton owns eighty-two acres of the old homestead, and devotes much of his time to stock raising, making a specialty of sheep, in connection with general farming.

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WASHINGTON COUNTY.

R W. GREGG is descended from a family who were among the first settlers in East Pike Run township, this county. Many years ago three brothers, Henry, William and John Gregg, emigrated from the Emerald Isle, and made a permanent settlement in East Pike Run township. Henry took out a pat- ent for 349 acres of land known as the "Burning Mine," which is now owned by one Mr. Duvall. John Gregg was twice married, and William, the second brother, was the grandfather of R. W. Gregg. William Gregg was married to Ruth Jackman, a native of Ireland, and they settled on the farm in East Pike Run township, where five children were born, as follows: Henry (married to Jane Dowler), John (married to Nancy Gregg), Robert (married to Ann Robinson), Andrew and Margaret (Mrs. Crow).

Andrew Gregg was born in March, 1808, in East Pike Run township, grew to manhood on the homestead, and was married to Mary Ann Hug- gins, who was born in 1812 in what is now Allen township, Washington county. Of the children born to this union, six are yet living, namely: Lucy Ann, wife of V. C. Jones, of Fallowfield township; Ruth Ann, married to William Sphar, of Allen township; A. J., living in East Pike Run township; R. W. (whose name opens this sketch); Sarah Jane, wife of Thomas F. Frye, of Chase county, Kans., and J. H., living in Allen township. The father was actively identified with the inter- ests of the Republican party. He died on the old farm in 1872; his widow is yet living on the place.

R. W. Gregg was born in 1848 on the home farm in East Pike Run township, and attended the common schools of the neighborhood. In 1881 he was united in marriage with Emeline Beadle, a native of Fallowfield township, a daughter of Jacob and Mary (Wallace) Beadle, who were born in eastern Pennsylvania, and came to Fallowfield township in an early day; her father died in 1887, her mother in 1872. By this union was born to Mr. Gregg one son, Delbert, who lived about three months and then died. The mother passed away October 17, 1881, and Mr. Gregg afterward mar- ried Lizzie M. Jobes, of Allen township, Washing- ton county, a daughter of William Jobes, whose father, John Jobes, was an early resident of the Monongahela Valley. By this marriage there were two sons: Albert R. and William Andrew. After his first marriage R. W. Gregg settled in Allen township, on the forty-six acres of well-culti- vated land which is now his home. He votes the Republican ticket, and in religious faith he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Mt. Tabor. Mrs. Lizzie M. Gregg died September 1, 1892.

R R. THOMPSON, a native of Chartiers township, is a son of Andrew Thompson, who was born February 7, 1793, also in Chartiers township, and passed his early life on the home farm, receiving a limited education at the subscription schools. On July 6, 1827, he married Miss Elizabeth Bell, who was born May 23, 1797, in Mt. Pleasant township, this county.

Andrew Thompson passed his married life on the farm in Chartiers township now occupied by our subject, and four children were born to him: Mary Ann (deceased April 22, 1870); R. R .; Elizabeth M. (wife of James McBurney, of Hickory, Mt. Pleasant), and Jane (married to Mark Cowden, farmer, of Mt. Pleasant township). Andrew Thompson was a farmer, and in politics a stanch Whig. In church connection he was formerly a Seceder, afterward uniting with the Hickory U. P. Church, of which he remained a member until his death, that event occurring January 23, 1860. Mrs. Thompson was laid to rest March 10, 1871.

R. R. Thompson was born October 6, 1830, on the home farm in Chartiers township, this county, and was educated at the subscription and public schools of the vicinity. On October 4, 1871, he was united in marriage with Jane McBurney, a native of Mt. Pleasant township, this county, a daughter of John (2) and granddaughter of John (1) McBurney. John McBurney (the grandfather) was born in 1764 in County Down, Ireland, and in 1783 emigrated to America, locating in Washing- ton county, Penn. In 1798 he was married to Sarah Hunter, a native of Chambersburgh, Penn. Her grandfather was married in 1790, and then settled in Robinson township, Washington county, his son and grandchild Sarah (then a child of ten years) also making their home in this county. The grandfather died September 2, 1846, and was followed by his wife in 1863, in her ninetieth year.

John McBurney (the father of Mrs. R. R. Thompson) was born June 29, 1802, in Robinson township, Washington county, and in early life changed his residence in Robinson township. On February 7, 1828, he was married to Jane Keys, who was born in 1806, near Poland, Ohio, coming in 1808 to this county with her parents, and set- ting in Mt. Pleasant township. She was a daughter of James Keys, who was born in 1766, in Washington county, and growing to manhood was married in Mt. Pleasant to Jane Mcclellan (born in 1783), and they settled on a farm in Smith township, this county, where seven children were born to them, three of whom are now living: James (in Steubenville, Ohio), Joseph (in Smith township), and Ezra C. (in Emporia, Kans., having located there). The parents of these children are now deceased. Mr. McBurney passed the first

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WASHINGTON COUNTY.

years of his married life on a farm in Mt. Pleasant township, this county, and in 1871 moved to Hickory, also in this county. John and Jane (Keys) McBurney were the parents of the following children: Jane (wife of R. R. Thompson); John (living in Mt. Pleasant township); Sarah (widow of Robert Jeffery, of Canonsburg); James (living in Hickory, this county); Martha (Mrs. James McIlvine, of Mt. Pleasant township); Elizabeth (deceased in 1846, aged six years); William (de- ceased in 1846, at the age of three years); Ezra (living with his family on the old homestead in Mt. Pleasant township), and William A. (who recently ' lost his wife); he has located in Canonsburg, Penn. ; his little daughter, Lizzie, died August 15, 1892. John McBurney was a member of the U. P. Church at Hickory, in which he was an elder for many years. He died April 8, 1883, at his own home in Hickory, Penn. ; his wife died at the home of her daughter Jane in Chartiers township, September 29,1884.

After his marriage to Jane McBurney, Mr. R. R. Thompson settled on his present home of 175 acres of well-cultivated land, where his time is principally employed in farming and stock raising. Mr. Thompson votes with the Republican party, but prefers to devote his principal attention to private business. He and his wife are members of the U. P. Church at Hickory, this county.

M RS. ELLEN J. CARTER, widow of Jolin Carter, is a native of Mt. Pleasant township, a daughter of Matthew Kemps, who was born in Ireland. He was married to Nancy Peoples, and their children were eight in number, as follows: John, James Peoples, Elizabeth Ann, David, Ellen Jane, Thomas Slater, Samuel and Matthew McNary, all born in Wash- ington county. The mother of this family died in 1850, and the father afterward moved to Sigour- ney county, Iowa, where he passed the remainder of his life. Ellen J. Kemps was married in Au- gust, 1865, to John Carter, a native of Washington county, son of William Carter, who was born in Scotland and was married to Ann McKee. In 1819 they immigrated to America, locating in Washington county, Penn., near the town of Washington, but afterward moved to Mt. Pleasant township, same county, where they died. They had seven children, viz .: Margaret, Robert, Janet, Maria, John, Thomas and Margaret Ann.

John Carter was born in 1826, near Washington, Penn., and received a limited education in the schools of Mt. Pleasant township, commencing to work on the farm when but ten years of age. After his marriage to Miss Kemps he bought the farm where his son is now living, which contains 220 acres, and devoted his time to its cultivation

and improvement. Three children were born to this union: William H., married to Maggie White, who bore him one daughter: Margaret Hazel (they are living on the home farm); Leila Ada, a gradu- ate of Curry University, Pittsburgh, Penn., and Robert Leander, a student at the academy, in Hickory, Penn. Mr. Carter was actively interested in politics, voting with the Republican party, but preferring to devote the greater part of his time to private business and domestic pleasures. He died in 1877, in Mt. Pleasant township, deeply mourned by all who knew him as a good friend and honorable, useful citizen. His widow is yet resid- ing on the old homestead. She is a member of the United Presbyterian Church, at Hickory, with which her husband was also connected.

S AMUEL RONEY, a prominent agriculturist of the county, was born September 29, 1820, in a round-log cabin built by his father in West Finley township, Washington Co., Penn. Hercules Roney, his grandfather, was a native of County Donegal, Ireland, whence, when a young man, he emigrated to America, coming direct to Ohio county, W. Va., where he patented 400 acres of land and built a cabin thereon. He also patented a large tract of land in what is now West Finley township, this county. He partici- pated in many perilous adventures with the Indians, and took an active part in the battle in which Crawford was defeated. He erected a blockhouse for many years known as "Roney's blockhouse," and on this historic spot now stands a handsome residence, occupied by John Roney, a descendant of Hercules Roney, who died in July, 1812. He was one of the very first settlers in Washington county, and was among the most widely known of the county's pioneers. He married Margaret, daughter of William Buchanan, a native of West Finley township, and to this union were born five sons and four daughters, all long since deceased.

William Roney, father of subject, was reared on the home farm, where he was born, and where, under his father's preceptorship, he learned prac- tical lessons in agriculture, which in after life served to make him one of the most successful farmers in his township. On November 9, 1809, he was married to Jane Lawrence, who bore him six children: Samuel and Jane (twins), James, Maggie, William and John.

Samuel Roney received his education at the schools of the locality of his birth, and April 15, 1839, being then nineteen years old, he left liome to learn the trade of a tanner, which he followed several years till ill-health compelled him to aball- don it. He then turned his attention to farming pursuits, which he afterward successfully carried on. In May, 1843, he was united in marriage

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with Mary A., daughter of John Sutherland, and the following named children have been born to them: Lizzie, Mary, Maggie Bell, W. G. (a resi- dent of Hopewell township), J. L. (in Claysville, Penn.,) and Samuel A. (who is on the farm with his father). The mother died July 3, 1892, and is buried in Buffalo cemetery. On November 22, 1892, Mr. Roney, with his daughter, Mary, moved to Claysville, where they are now living. In 1843 he joined the Presbyterian Church in West Alexan- der and moved to Upper Buffalo in 1850. In politics he is a lifelong Republican, having cast his first vote in 1841. Mr. Roney is gifted with a re- markable memory, and is considered an authority on all subjects requiring thought and study.

EORGE E. SMITH. George Smith was born in the Emerald Isle, and crossing the ocean at an early date settled near Greens- burgh, Westmoreland Co., Penn. When a young man he was married to Miss Todd, a native of Westmoreland county, who bore him eight children, namely: William, Mary, Thomas, David, Nancy, George, Edward and Martha, all now deceased. The father devoted his life to agri- cultural pursuits.

Thomas Smith was born in 1780, in Westmore- land county, Penn., where his boyhood was passed. He was united in marriage with Nancy, daughter of David Stewart, a prominent. farmer living near Pittsburgh, Allegheny county, and four children were born to their union, as follows: George E., Amelia and two unnamed. The father learned the saddler's trade when a young man, and followed same for some time in Youngstown, Penn. After the death of his wife he removed to Elizabethtown, Ky., where he passed his later years.

George E. Smith was born January 18, 1820, in Youngstown, Penn., and remained there until about ten years of age. He then accompanied his father to Kentucky, where he resided during his minority, and where he cast his first vote. He then returned to Allegheny county, Penn., and saw the first steamboat that landed at Pittsburgh. . On October 30, 1845, he married Phobe, daughter of Thomas and Rebecca Kearns, who lived in Alle- gheny county, about two miles from Pittsburgh. After his marriage he taught school about ten years, then conducted a wholesale grocery business for about four years, and in 1857 came to their present farm in Peters township, Washington county. Soon after locating in this county he was elected a justice of the peace by the Democratic party, and he has held this position for seven consec- utive terms, enjoying the distinction of being the only justice in Washington county who has had but one decision reversed by the higher courts. During thirty-five years of official service he has

won the esteem and confidence of all who know him, and has been intrusted with important business by many citizens of Peters township. He is a member and liberal supporter of the Presbyterian Church at Fairview. Three children have been born to them, namely: Edward T., Rebecca K. (wife of George Hayes), and John S.

EDWARD T. SMITH was born September 5, 1846, in Allegheny county, Penn., and lived there until he was eight years of age, when he came to his pres- ent home in Peters township, Washington county. When a young man he learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed twelve years, and was then ein- ployed as sawyer in a sawmill for five years. On January 5, 1865, he was married to Jennie Ham- ilton, of Nottingham township, daughter of Henry Hamilton. The young couple first settled in Bower Hill, Washington county, and in the spring of 1892 came to the farm in Peters township which was given him by his aunt, Miss Fannie J. Stewart. Edward T. and Jennie Smith are the parents of the follow -. ing children: Margaret A., Carrie (Mrs. Robert Hixon), George H. (deceased), William S., Ada Bell, Susan A. and Amelia T. Mr. Smith owns fifty-one acres of land, also a house and lot in Bower Hill. He is a Democrat in politics, and is past counsellor of the Jr. O. U. A. M. He is a member of Venetia Council, No. 598. In religious faith he is a member of Peters Creek United Pres- byterian Church.

SRAEL WEIRICH. Late in the last century the ancestors of the Weirich family came from Germany, and located in eastern Pennsylvania. There, in Lebanon county, in 1804, Jacob Weirich, the father of subject, was born, and there passed the first few years of his life. At an early age he accompanied his parents westward, settling with them on the original Weirich homestead in Washington county, where the remainder of his long life was spent. The county was then little more than a wilderness, not yet having given evi- dence of those varied resources which have since made it so famous.

The story of his boyhood is that of almost any youth in similar circumstances. In early manhood he was married to Susan, daughter of Fredrick Fos- ter, of Washington, Penn. With small means, but full of confidence and with bright hopes for the fut- ure, the young couple entered upon what proved to be a long and happy married life. Of the five children born to them four survive: Israel, Eliza- beth (Mrs. William Ely), Mary (Mrs. Simon Ash -. brook) and Susan (Mrs. James Mountz). The youngest daughter, Amanda (Mrs. William Mor- ton), died in 1882 from the effects of blood poison- ing. In the spring of 1885, while still active and apparently hale and strong, Mr. Weirich was

Israel Weirich

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WASHINGTON COUNTY.

stricken with paralysis, from the effects of which he died August 12, same year, at the advanced age of eighty-one years. In his life Mr. Weirich, though singularly quiet and unobtrusive, was yet a man of broad views and unselfish aims, ever ready with moral and financial support for any enter- prise which had for its object the advancement or good of the community. In his occupation he had, from small beginnings, reached independence and prosperity through perseverance, industry and fru- gality, coupled with that surest method-strict integ- rity. Always living up to those principles which later in life he openly avowed by uniting with the East Buffalo Presbyterian Church, he was ever rec- ognized as upright and straightforward in business transactions, a kind, indulgent husband and father, and an esteemed neighbor and friend. Regarding bis political views, Mr. Weirich was formerly a Whig, afterward a Republican, but always refrained from participating actively in political affairs. His widow, Mrs. Susan Weirich, a lady wonderfully strong and active for her age, still survives and re- sides in Washington, Pennsylvania.

Israel Weirich, the subject of our sketch, is the oldest child and only son born to Jacob and Susan (Foster) Weirich. Born and raised upon his father's farm, he has followed agricultural pursuits all his life, and his energy, foresight and constant atten- tion to duty have been rewarded with a measure of success beyond the average. Mr. Weirich's boy- hood days would hardly accord with the popular idea of the early life of an only son. The practi- cal side of the gospel of work was among his first lessons. A part of each winter at the district school composed the sum of his school education; and while yet very young he assumed the management of the major portion of his father's increasing in- terests at the sacrifice of opportunities for a more liberal education, a course which he regretted ever afterward. His loss in this respect, however, was a gain in the dearer school of experience, the les- sons of which were constantly turned to practical account in his after life. On March 30, 1859, Mr. Weirich was united in marriage with Saralı, daugh- ter of James and Sarah Thompson, of Buffalo township, and immediately settled upon and took charge of his father's farm in the same township. Three years later he removed to his present home in Canton township, a farm of 225 acres, which he has since been constantly improving until it is one of the most complete and desirable in the county. In 1887 the old homestead, which had originally been one of the old taverns in the days of the stage coach, was removed and replaced by an elegant modern structure, beautifully situated and com- plete in all its appointments. A large family- seven sons and two daughters-have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Weirich, all yet living with the ex- ception of one daughter who died in childhood.

Though his sense of duty compelled him to fore- go his earlier educational advantages, through the influence of extended travel, constant reading and his lively interest in all public affairs, Mr. Weirich is a man of liberal ideas and broad views. Profit- ing by his own experience and fully realizing the benefits of a liberal education, he has sent four sons to Washington and Jefferson College, and his daughter to the Washington Female Seminary. In politics Mr. Weirich is a Republican, though not a strong partisan. He never allowed party lines to restrain him from casting his vote on what he considered the side of justice and right, in favor of whatever political party it might be. He has been a lifelong member of the Presbyterian Church; was for many years a ruling elder in the East Buffalo Church, and was one of the founders of, and is a ruling elder in, the Third Presbyterian Church of Washington, Pennsylvania.

Always cautious and prone to weigh well any enterprise before entering into it, it was his prac- tice, when a course was resolved on, to pursue it with an energy characteristic of his German extrac- tion, and with results which demonstrated bis belief in the truth of the maxim: "Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well."

While good fortune has so uniformly followed him in his various undertakings, Mr. Weirich has ever been ready to extend a helping hand to those who have been less fortunate in this world's affairs. His acts of charity, however, have always been performed in a quiet, undemonstrative manner, rendered the more so by his invariable habit of dis- persing them widely and without regard to sect or creed. If, however, hischarities have been extended in any one direction more than another, it has been with a view to the relief and uplifting of the colored race in the South. Ever a friend of the negroes, with a full realization of their present condition, gained directly by travel and observation in the South, and with a firm belief in a bright future for the race, he has been constant with sym- pathy and financial support for their cause.

OHN PATTERSON CLUTTER, a prosperous farmer and miller, Morris township, is a de- scendant of an old Irish-American family. John Clutter, a native of Ireland, immigrated to New Jersey in early colonial days, and is the earliest ancestor of the family in this country. He moved to Washington county, Penn., in 1788, and located on a farm of about six hundred acres one mile north of Lindley's Mills, where he died in 1828. One of his sons, John, born February 17, 1771, married in Pennsylvania, March 1, 1792. Phoebe Headley, a native of New Jersey, born Octo- ber 16, 1774. In 1792 they located on a farm about one mile northwest of Lindley's Mills, in Morris

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township, where they reared a family of thirteen children, their names and dates of birth being as follows: Nancy, October 29, 1792; Isaac, July 8, 1794; Abraham, October 29, 1795; Jacob, August 5, 1797; Abigail, July 13, 1799; Martha, August 19, 1801; Eunice, May 3, 1804; John P. (the father of the subject of this sketch); Ruth B., October 22, 1808; Joseph, October 2, 1810; Phœbe, February 18, 1813; Hannah, August 18, 1814; Luvina, January 28, 1818; of whom Joseph and Hannah are the only living members. Joseph was married, in Washington county, Penn., and removed to Missouri in 1876, where he now resides. Han- nah married, in 1838, Samuel Booth, who died of typhoid fever in 1839, and in 1851 Mrs. Booth married L. F. Day; Mr. Day died in 1852. He was a Christian gentleman, a strong advocate of the abolition of slavery, and an earnest worker in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, of which Mrs. Day is also a member.

John Patterson Clutter, the eighth child born to John and Phoebe (Headley) Clutter, was born Sep- tember 2, 1807, in Morris township, Washington county. He was reared to farm life, and received but a meager education. He married, in 1835, Margaret Andrew, also a native of Morris town- ship, born January 11, 1816, and seven children were born to them, five of whom are living, as follows: Maria, born July 4, 1836; James Jasper, born August 28, 1838, now a resident of Hamilton, Caldwell Co., Mo .; Thomas H. Benton, born August 2, 1841, a prominent physician of Crest- line, Ohio; Evelina, born September 16, 1844; Samuel B., born August 14, 1846, engaged in the hotel business at Washington; John Patterson; Robert M., born April 10, 1857, connected with the W. & W. R. R. Company, and residing at Waynesburgh, Greene Co., Penn.

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Commemorative biographical record of Washington County, Pennsylvania, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Part 84

Author: J.H. Beers & Co Publication date: 1893 Publisher: Chicago, J. H. Beers Number of Pages: 1540

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago, J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1540