USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > Genealogical and personal history of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 27
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66
He married, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ernestina Stolte, born in Schaumburg-Lippe, Germany, October 23, 1832, died October 8, 1902. She came to America in the same year as did Frederick Gottlieb Rohrkaste, 1855, with her mother, her father having died in Germany, and settled in Pittsburgh. Children of Frederick Gottlieb and Ernestina (Stolte) Rohr- kaste: 1. Charles William, of whom further. 2. Mary, died in childhood. 3. Emma, died unmarried. 4. Anna, married Henry Snyder, and lives in Huntingdon, West Virginia. 5. Henry, died in childhood. 6. Albert, a mould-maker, died at New Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, in 1903. 7. Otto, a machinist, died in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, May 28, 1913. 8. Frederick, died in New Brighton, Pennsylvania, in 1908. 9. Dora, died unmarried in 1896.
(II) Charles William Rohrkaste, eldest of the nine children of Fred- erick Gottlieb and Ernestina (Stolte) Rohrkaste, was born on the south side of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, December 1, 1856. His education was ob- tained in several institutions, among them the German schools and the public schools of Pittsburgh, the Western University of Pennsylvania, which he attended for the term of 1872, and the Iron City Business College, where he took a course in bookkeeping, graduating in 1874. After completing his studies he was employed in his father's store until he was twenty-five years of age, in 1891 purchasing an interest in the Anderton Brewery, being until August 1, 1906, brewmaster, in that year selling his share of the business to the Independent Brewing Company. He was then employed for two and a half years in the Union Drawn Steel Works, and has since lived retired, residing since 1906 in the house he built at the corner of Twelfth street and Fifth avenue. Mr. Rohrkaste is the owner of considerable property in New Brighton and Beaver Falls, and is a stockholder in the Federal Title and Trust Company and the Penn Bridge Company. His fraternal con- nections are with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, and the Masonic order, in which latter society he is a member of Beaver Falls Lodge, No.
@.W. Rohrkarte
215
BEAVER COUNTY
478, Free and Accepted Masons; Harmony Chapter, No. 206, Royal Arch Masons; Beaver Falls Commandery, No. 84, Knights Templars. His political attitude has always been independent, and in 1913, when the com- mission form of government was introduced in Beaver Falls, he was elected one of the four commissioners who took over the government of the city.
He married, in 1883, Mary G. Anderton, born in Fallston, Pennsyl- vania, daughter of James Anderton, the founder of the Anderton Brewery in Beaver Falls. They are the parents of three children: 1. James A., a bookkeeper, married Emma Goll, and has one daughter, Janet. 2. Mary A., lives at home. 3. Florence E., lives at home.
It is said that all of the family in the United States who spell GRAY their name "Gray" are descended from thirteen brothers who came to this country from Scotland, settling in different parts of the eastern section of the continent, all marrying, and all having families, whose lines have spread to all parts of the United States. One of these was the grandfather of Cassius M. Gray, of this record, who located on a farm near Waterford, Erie county, Pennsylvania, farming there until his death. He was twice married, his first wife having been born in Ireland, whence she came with her parents in childhood. The family were members of the Presbyterian Church, conducting their lives in strict accord with its tenets. He was the father of: 1. Benjamin, a farmer, owned land near Titusville, Pennsylvania. 2. David, architect by profession, became an oil producer, was fortunate in his operations, amassed a fortune, moved to Denver, Colo- rado, and there died. 3. Joseph, a resident of New York, a newspaper cor- respondent, was the owner of several racehorses whose registered time was exceedingly fast. 4. Emily, engaged in educational pursuits as her life work, and attained high position in that field of endeavor, becoming principal of the Detroit High Schools and also was the incumbent of a responsible office in connection with the Chicago public school system. She was a woman of exceptional mental power, was the possessor of a broad education, an auth- ority upon educational topics, and during her lifetime performed a noble work in the circle in which she moved. Her death was caused by being run over by an automobile in Detroit, in 1909. 5. Samuel, of whom further.
(II) Samuel Gray (2), youngest of the children of his father, who had attained a great age when Samuel was born, was born near Waterford, Erie county, Pennsylvania, in 1826, died in Titusville, Pennsylvania, in 1882. He grew to manhood in the place of his birth, and learned the trade of shoe- maker, following that as his business, and marrying in that locality. In 1868, when the excitement over the oil discoveries throughout the western part of the state was at its height, he moved to Titusville, Pennsylvania, and for a time engaged in the manufacture of "seed bags" for the men in the fields, later entering mercantile lines as a retail shoe merchant. He prospered in this line, having displayed rare good judgment in realizing that at the
216
PENNSYLVANIA
time of such a boom, when speculators and prospectors were flocking toward the wealth-concealing region, there was a sure and safe opportunity for profit in staple lines, inasmuch as everyone must be clothed and shod. He later met with reverses on account of his partner. He remained in Titusville until his death, a Republican in politics, with his wife a member of the Universal- ist church. At the first call for volunteers for the Union army at the be- ginning of the Civil War, he was the first man in his section to offer his services to the government, and he was then not allowed to enlist because of the large family dependent upon him for sustenance and support. To- ward the close of the war he was drafted for service, but before the com- pany of which he became a member reached the front peace had been de- clared. Mr. Gray was a man of commanding appearance and athletic build, being six feet two inches in height, and was a skillful boxer, a sport from which he derived both exercise and enjoyment. He married Calista Ken- dall, born near Waterford, Erie county, Pennsylvania, in 1828, died in 1893, surviving her husband eleven years. Her father was of French descent, and was an early settler on French Creek, Erie county, Pennsylvania. He was a millwright by trade and in early life followed this occupation, later becom- ing proprietor of a cheese factory near Waterford, in the same county. His wife was a native of Cambridge, Pennsylvania. They had, besides Calista, another child, Thomas Jefferson, who was at one time an oil producer and later a farmer near Union, Pennsylvania, both he and his sister living with their Grandfather and Grandmother Kendall in their youth. Children of Samuel and Calista (Kendall) Gray: 1. Harry, proprietor of a store in Titusville, deals in art decorations. 2. Cina, a school teacher, died unmar- ried. 3. Charles, deceased, telegraph operator of the Associated Press, as- signed to the New York Sun. 4. Emma, a school teacher, died unmarried. 5. Addie, died unmarried, taught school. 6. Cassius M., of whom further. 7. Blanche, deceased. 8. Tully, superintendent of a chemical manufacturing plant in Jacksonville, Florida. 9. Margaret, deceased, a school teacher.
(III) Cassius M. Gray, son of Samuel and Calista (Kendall) Gray, was born near Waterford, Erie county, Pennsylvania, March 13, 1864, and when he was four years old was brought to Titusville by his parents, at- tending school in that place until he was sixteen years of age. His first posi- tion was as fireman in a planing mill, after which he worked in a bottling works for two years, then taking up telegraphy. He mastered this art and was employed by the telegraph company, becoming a bookkeeper, and in 1884 entered the employ of the Boughton Acid Works, whose plant was four miles south of Titusville. This factory is the property of the Grasselli Chem- ical Company, who are also the owners of similar manufactories covering several states. After a term of service in the first named plant, Mr. Gray was transferred to the one at Olean, New York, in 1909 becoming super- intendent of the Beaver Falls plant, formerly operating under the title of the Beaver Falls Chemical Company, all three of the branches now doing busi- ness under the common name, the Grasselli Chemical Company, main offices
217
BEAVER COUNTY
at Cleveland, Ohio. There are about fifty men employed in the factory at Beaver Falls, the product of the factory being sulphuric acid. Mr. Gray is a competent chemist in his line, and has been placed at the head of the Beaver Falls branch of the company because of his known dependability and trustworthiness, which have been tried and tested under many conditions during the thirty years of his service in the company's employ. He holds membership in Titusville Lodge, No. 463, Free and Accepted Masons, of Titusville, Pennsylvania; Aaron Chapter, No. 207, Royal Arch Masons; Occidental Council, No. 41, Royal and Select Masters, all of Titusville. He also affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, belonging to both lodge and encampment.
Mr. Gray married, September 24, 1889, Elizabeth M., born in Meadville, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, daughter of Adam and Catherine Gundaker, her father a carpenter, both residents of Titusville, Pennsylvania. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Gray: I. Clarence, died aged eighteen months. 2. Mar- garet, a student in High School.
The record following is of a German family whose years LINDEMAN in this country are but few in number. At the time of writing (1914) there are but two members of the name in this line whose years are mature who claim birth on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. The name was originally spelled Lindemann.
(I) The ancestor with whom this record opens is Christ Lindeman, a native of Prussia, a farmer and believer in the Lutheran faith. He married a member of the Von Mund family, a race wealthy and influential in that country, her father, George Von Mund, marrying into the renowned Fried- land family. The father of George Von Mund was in the German army in the Seven Years War and in that conflict met his death, the family fortunes never being quite so prosperous afterward. George Von Mund is buried in Brandenburg, Prussia. Christ Lindeman was the father of two sons, Christ, Karl, of whom further.
(II) Karl Lindeman, son of Christ Lindeman, was born in Branden- burg, Prussia, Germany, October 6, 1833. His early life was spent in that country and there he attended school, for some years being employed in a hotel at Angermünde, on Lake Munde, Prussia. In 1872 he immigrated to the United States, settling in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh North Side), and for four years held employment as a laborer. He then moved to Beaver Falls, obtaining a position in the Co-operative Glass Works, which he held until his disabling accident in 1902. On October 29 of that year he was returning to his home from his place of business at the regular hour, and was crossing the tracks of the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie railroad, when he was struck by a yard engine and so severely injured that the ampu- tation of both legs was necessary to save his life, but he finally succumbed to the injury, January 10, 1914. He was eighty-one years of age, and despite
218
PENNSYLVANIA
his terrible affliction, which had so handicapped his declining years, he found comfort from the ordered misery of his trouble and had learned the secret of happiness in adversity, the enjoyment of the pleasure of others. At the time of his accident he was a stockholder in the company which employed him. He married, in Germany, Amelia, born in Brandenburg, Prussia, Germany, September 10, 1838, daughter of Samuel and Mary (Von Mund) Groth. Samuel Groth was a shepherd, tending his flocks in the meadows of his native land, Prussia, born in 1800, died 1850, his wife born 1801, died 1880, surviving her husband thirty years. Mrs. Lindeman was a loving and faithful wife to her stricken husband, his capable helpmate in the days of his youth and strength, and she brightened his hours and diverted his mind from the misfortune that had befallen him, tender in attendance, diligent in service, constant in ministration. Both were members of the Lutheran church, a faith to which all generations of the name have adhered since the founding of the church. Children of Samuel and Mary (Von Mund) Groth: 1. Fredericka, married Martin Hasse; died in Germany. 2. Wilhelm, came to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, from his native land, died 1884. 3. Amelia, of previous mention, married Karl Lindemann, Karl and Amelia (Groth) Lindeman are the parents of but one child, Frank C. W., of whom further.
(III) Frank C. W. Lindeman, only child of Karl and Amelia (Groth) Lindeman, was born in Fleith, Brandenburg, Prussia, Germany, May 27, 1862. That country was his home until he was ten years of age, five years of that time being spent in attendance at the public schools, a pursuit which was continued in institutions of a like nature in Allegheny City, Pennsyl- vania, whither his parents came. His education, as far as that which is ob- tained from organized institutions is concerned, was completed by a course in the Iron City College, of Pittsburgh, whence he was graduated. His first business experience was as glass blower in a Beaver Falls factory, where he was employed from 1878 until 1900, his next position being in the service of the Bell Telephone Company of America. Since that time he has been actively connected with the manufacture of medicines, being so engaged at the present time. For twenty years he has been a sympathizer with the So- cialist cause, and for that length of time has been a leader in Socialistic movements in that locality, having served as a member of the Beaver Falls council, his candidacy appearing through the Citizens' ticket. His church is the Lutheran, and he affiliates with the Knights of the Maccabees and the Knights of Pythias. Until 1910 his parents occupied the house in which he now resides, at No. 1610 Third avenue, the former having built a new house not far distant, at No. 1604 Third avenue.
Mr. Lindeman married, July 11, 1889, Lucy, born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, September 9, 1864, daughter of Philip and Louisa (Arnold) Grunnagle. Philip Grunnagle was born in 1834, coming to Allegheny City with his parents in 1850, there becoming a practical machinist and engine builder, in which lime he was engaged until his death in 1912. His wife
219
BEAVER COUNTY
was born in Allegheny City, February 14, 1844, and is living at the present time. She is a daughter of Carl and Christina (Gerhart) Arnold. Carl Arnold was a native of Germany, there educating himself for the ministry, later becoming a teacher in that land. About 1840 he came to the United States, making his home in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, a few years later moving to Allegheny City, where his death occurred, his wife also dying in that place. Children of Frank C. W. and Lucy (Grunnagle) Lindeman : I. Ivan P., born October 8, 1890; assistant engineer of the city of Beaver Falls, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. 2. Edith, born December 10, 1891; lives at home. 3. Roy G., born July 18, 1895. 4. Thelma, born June 22, 1902.
ROSENKEIMER The Rosenkeimer family has only been represented in this country by two generations, but it has made its mark in the industrial world. The grandparents of the present adult generation lived and died in Germany, where they were honored citizens of their respective communities. Rosenkeimer died in his ninety-sixth year. Among his children were Charles, of further mention, and another son who was in the furniture business in Germany.
(II) Charles Rosenkeimer, son of the above mentioned, was born in Duesseldorf, Germany, May 30, 1834, and died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, February 19, 1908. He was educated in the public schools of his native land, and at a suitable age was apprenticed to learn the locksmith's trade. Being strong and able-bodied, he was called upon to serve for some years in the German army. When he was twenty years of age he obtained a fur- lough, and by means of bribes and the use of a disguise, made his escape to a sailing vessel on which he came to America, the voyage lasting five months. He arrived at the city of New York, and there worked at his trade until 1865. Removing to Pittsburgh in that year, he entered the employ of the Pittsburgh Novelty Works, and remained with them several years. He then entered the service of the Howe Scale Company, and these relations were uninterrupted until within one year of the death of Mr. Rosenkeimer, when heart disease compelled him to resign his position. In political mat- ters he was a Republican, and an active worker in the interests of that party. For some time he served as a member of the common counil, and also as a member of the school board of Pittsburgh. In stature he was of medium height, slight of build, but strong and wiry. A few months after his arrival in New York Mr. Rosenkeimer married Lena Howard, born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1838, who came to the United States with friends at about the same time as Mr. Rosenkeimer did, and is now living in Pitts- burgh. They had children: Charles, a scale builder, died in 1890; Lena, married Adam Kemler, resides in Pittsburgh; Kate, married Clarence Thompson, a pipe fitter, lives in Pittsburgh; Hulda, is unmarried and lives with her mother in Pittsburgh; Max, of further mention; Richard Thomas,
220
PENNSYLVANIA
who was captain of the Thirteenth Ward Fire Department, in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, died while undergoing an operation for appendicitis; Lucy, married Harry Lamb, engaged in the real estate business, and they live in Norfolk, Virginia; Emma, married Otto Sues, a molder, and resides in Pittsburgh; Robert, married, is a pipe fitter, and lives in Pittsburgh; Harry, unmarried, a furniture packer by trade, lives in Pittsburgh; Walter, a pipe fitter, lives in Pittsburgh; Oscar, a scale builder, lives in Pittsburgh.
(III) Max Rosenkeimer, son of Charles and Lena (Howard) Rosen- keimer, was born on Liberty avenue, the sixteenth ward, Pittsburgh, July 16, 1866. Until the age of fifteen years he attended the public schools of his native city, and was then apprenticed to learn the trade of scale making with the Howe Scale Works, and in the nine years he remained there worked in every department of this plant and became practically and thor- oughly familiar with every detail of this line of industry. He then entered the employ of the Pittsburgh Scale Company, with whom he remained as a foreman for a period of five years; in 1889 he established himself in busi- ness independently. He opened a repair shop in Pittsburgh, which he con- ducted about six years. Having had a very advantageous offer from the Standard Scale and Supply Company, he went with them as manager of their repair shop in Pittsburgh and filled this position for some years. During 1902-03 he was superintendent of a scale plant for them at Belle- fonte, Pennsylvania, and in the latter year, the new plant of the Standard Scale and Supply Company was opened at Morado, a suburb of Beaver Falls, and Mr. Rosenkeimer was made general manager, a responsible po- sition he has filled with credit since that time. They manufacture scales; and concrete mixers, and they have increased their production about two hundred per cent., and now employ about two hundred men. Mr. Rosen- keimer is a natural mechanic, and has made many improvements on the scales which are constructed under his supervision. He built a comfortable home for himself and family at No. 4712 Fourth avenue, Morado, in 1905, and still resides in it. He is a staunch Republican, but his numerous and responsible affairs leave him no time for political activity. Mr. Rosen- keimer married, in August, 1898, Christina Weiler, born in Pittsburgh, a daughter of John and Christina (Ferner) Weiler; the former is a shoe- maker and was born in Germany, the latter died in October, 1913. Mr. . and Mrs. Rosenkeimer have children: Anna, born February 7, 1902; Wil- liam and Margaret, twins, born July 26, 1905.
Of Irish origin, the McClures of Pennsylvania have made McCLURE a notable record to be placed to the honor of the name, and one of which its many members may well be proud.
(I) County Down is the part of Ireland from which the emigrant came, William McClure having been born in that division not far from Banbridge. He was a millwright, hard-working, simple in his manner of
221
BEAVER COUNTY
life, a member of the peasantry that constitutes the real strength of a na- tion, and had it not been for his choice of a wife his branch of the family would in all probability still be resident in Ireland. He fixed his affections upon a maiden of higher birth and caste than he, she returning his devotion, and because her family could not be reconciled to the match, the young couple came to the United States soon after their marriage, there to live their lives free from false standards and the well-intentioned interferences of relatives. They first made their home in Greensburg, later going to Pitts- burgh, Pennsylvania, in order to take advantage of the more lucrative business opportunities offering in his line. He there followed his trade until his death. Children: 1. James T., of whom further. 2. Frances, died at an advanced age, unmarried. 3. Eliza, died unmarried in old age. 4. Knox, a boot and shoe maker of Pittsburgh, where he and his wife, Caroline, lived.
(II) James T. McClure, son of William McClure, was born in Greens- burg, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in 1800, died in West Middle- sex, Pennsylvania, in 1881. Soon after leaving school he began to learn the shoemaker's trade, and opened a shop in Greensburg. He was of a slender, sinewy build, and it is said that he would frequently walk from Greensburg to Pittsburgh and back in a single day, on the return trip loaded down with huge pieces of leather for use in his trade. As a young man he came to Pittsburgh, opening a store on Borough street, later purchasing a lot at the corner of Butler and Chestnut streets, erecting thereon a workshop and a pretty, tastefully designed cottage, adorned with a front portico. His bus- iness was steady and profitable, and in his older days he retired from busi- ness and accepted an appointment as tax collector of Pittsburgh, later being commissioned sewer inspector of the city. That he did not retire with a for- tune of enviable proportions was due to his tendency to allow his kindly feelings to influence his better judgment, for by the endorsement of a note for about $90,000, which the debtor failed to meet, he lost all of his avail- able goods, his property being sold at a great sacrifice to obtain funds to cancel his rashly incurred obligation. Nor was he alone in his disaster, as the panic of 1873, that had stripped him of his possessions, had caught hundreds of others in its greedy maw, and bankruptcy was familiar to many, a state he barely escaped. He was a Republican in politics and was long a leader in his party councils, working ceaselessly for its advancement with telling result. For many years he was a vestryman of St. James' Episcopal Church on Penn avenue, also being one of the founders and a charter member and vestryman of St. John's Episcopal Church. In 1874 he moved to Middlesex, Pennsylvania, living with his daughter and son-in- law until his death, being buried in the Allegheny Cemetery.
He married Margaret (McKean) Stewart, born in county Down, Ire- land, in 1811, died in 1873, daughter of John McKean. She was a widow, her first husband having been a Mr. Stewart, who died soon after their union. Margaret Mckean's parents were both natives of county Down,
222
PENNSYLVANIA
Ireland, coming to the United States from a district about four miles from Banbridge, whence also came the emigrant ancestor of the McClures. They settled in Pittsburgh about 1818, and there lived the remainder of their lives, Children of John McKean: 1. A daughter, married Henry Snowden, at one time an inn-keeper of Pittsburgh, who later was a gardener and fruit- raiser in Lawrenceville, a suburb of Pittsburgh. 2. Margaret, of previous mention, married (first) a Mr. Stewart, (second) James T. McClure. 3. James, a contractor, was for many years postmaster at Mercer, Pennsyl- vania. 4. John, a stonemason, lived in Mercer, Pennsylvania. 5. William, a scientist, specializing in astronomy, lived in Meadville, Pennsylvania. Chil- dren of James T. and Margaret (McKean-Stewart) McClure: I. Eliza, married a Mr. Park, a hardware merchant of Pittsburgh. 2. Sarah, married R. B. McLean, a farmer and school teacher of West Middlesex, Pennsyl- vania, with whom her father was living at the time of his death. 3. Rebecca H., deceased, married Samuel Burd, and lived in Mercer, Pennsylvania, his home now being in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. 4. James Ellis, of whom further. 5. Emma, married Rev. D. C. Howard, who was an Episcopalian clergyman, rector of St. John's Church, at Pittsburgh; he died in Mount Pleasant, Iowa; Mrs. Howard now lives at Mount Pleasant, Iowa. 6. Warren Fisk, lives in Philadelphia, was until his retirement shipping clerk of the Pencoid Bridge Works.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.