USA > Pennsylvania > Butler County > History of Butler County, Pennsylvania > Part 101
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PROF. EMINEZER MACKEY, Superintendent of the public schools of Butler, was born on Friday. August 14, 1857, in the old homestead near Walker avenue. Butler, Pennsylvania. His mother, Mrs. Sarah Mackey, made it the aim of her life to educate him, and taught him to read almost as soon as he could talk. Pilgrim's Progress, the Bible and Plutarch's Lives were his favorite reading and inexhaustible mines of material for the greater part of thought and play in an otherwise lonely childhood. He attended the district school regularly, with sum- mer terms at Witherspoon Institute. German Lutheran school and elsewhere. Judge Greer and Dr. Brugh are among the names held in dear remembrance as teachers that lifted him up to higher things. After three or four years' study of
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
the higher branches at the Institute. he entered the senior preparatory class of Mercersburg College. The five years under the direct personal influence of such teachers as Hon. E. E. Higbee. D. D., LL. D., Rev. J. B. Kieffer, Ph. D., and others of like ability and self-sacrificing devotion, were doubtless the forma- tive period of his life and the seed-time of his best fruition. lle joined the Col- lege Chapel Reformed church in 1875. In I875, the year of his graduation. he was appointed principal of St. Paul's Orphan Home school. and taught there three annual terms. In the effort to choose and make preparation for a profes- sion, he read Blackstone. studied Gray's Anatomy. and pursued the studies of the first year in theology.
In 1ss1 he was elected principal of the public schools of Butler, then having nine teachers and about 400 pupils. His first work was to introduce a system of regulations and course of study that led to the graduation of the first class in 1855, and the first commencement exercises in the history of education in the borough. His summer vacations have been spent largely in attending State and National educational meetings, in travel through the United States, Canada and Europe, and in special study of psychology and pedagogy at Clark University. Worcester, Massachusetts. Professor Mackey was married December 20, 1893, to Miss Anna Welshons. That he is superintendent of the Sunday school and
treasurer of the Reformed church, president of the Y. M. C. A .. a trustee of Franklin and Marshall College. secretary of the board of directors of the Orphans' llome, president of the Mutual Water Association, and a member of the execu- tive committee of the State Teachers Association, may serve to show that in other lines. as well as that of his life work as teacher, he is endeavoring to realize the motto of his name.
REV. HENRY E. SNYDER was born near Boquet, Westmoreland county. Pennsylvania, January 1. 1864, and is a son of David L. Snyder. His father was born in Westmoreland county, November 19. 1833, taught school for twelve years, and was later engaged in merchandising and farming. He now reside- upon a farm in Penn township, Westmoreland county, which he purchased in 1886. He is a trustee and has been a deacon in the Reformed church, and in politics, he is a Republican. lle married Mary 1., daughter of John Kline, of Penn township, Westmoreland county, in 1856. and has the following children : Addison C. ; Elizabeth E. ; Amanda J .; Henry E. ; Emma S. : Daniel J. : Anne M .. and Norah V. The subject of this sketch received a common school educa- tion, and then attended Delmont Academy, and later, Murrysville AAcademy. Ile next taught school for three years, and in 1855 entered the university at Tiffin. Ohio, where he was graduated in 1885. He afterwards attended Franklin and Marshall Theological Seminary, at Lancaster, completed the full course, gradu- ated May 14, 1891, and was licensed to preach by Westmoreland Classis, at Pleasant Unity, Westmoreland county, on Saturday, May 23, 1891. In June. 1891, he received and accepted a call from Bethany Reformed church of Butler. and has since had charge of that congregation. Mr. Snyder was married May 14, 1891. to Miss Imogene M. Long, of Lancaster, and has two children : Cecil 1 .. , and Alpheus N.
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.
WILLIAM C. NEGLEY, son of John H .. and Mary ( Harper) Negley, and grandson of John Negley, the pioneer, was born in the borough of Butler, December 18. 1850. He attended the public schools of the borough, and passed a short term in what is known as " The Old Stone Academy." In 1865 he entered the United States Academy at Annapolis, and there studied for four years, when he was assigned to service and spent a few years at sea. The con- dition of his health obliged him to abandon the naval service, and returning to Butler he became associated with his father in the publication of the Citizen, fully mentioned in the chapter on the Press. Mr. Negley was married in Janu- ary. 1878, to Mrs. Emma Stauffer, daughter of Squire Armor of Zelienople. To them have been born seven children, three of whom are living : William. Emma and John. Mr. Negley has always been a stanch Republican, and in his capacity as editor of the Citizen has rendered invaluable services to his party in this county.
ELI D. ROBINSON, son of Thomas and Ann Eliza ( De Wolf) Robinson, was born in Penn township, Butler county. March 4, 1855. In 1863 his parents removed to Butler. where he received a practical common school education in the public schools of the borough, and subsequently studied for five years in the Witherspoon Institute. In the winter of 1875-76, he entered his father's law office, and read law for eighteen months, and then abandoned his studies in that direction. Preferring journalism, he purchased the Eagle from his father in 1879, and was one of the editors and publishers of that paper, its political department being under his direction, until February 7, 1895, when he became sole proprietor. He wields an earnest, forceful pen, which is used in the advocacy of positive conviction. Mr. Robinson was married March 11, 1883, to Emily E. Rogers, of Harrisburg, to which union three children have been born : Ann De Wolf ; Bertha Ewing, and Carl Irving. The family are connected with the Methodist Episcopal church, and in politics, Mr. Robinson has always been an ardent Republican.
JAMES MONROE CARSON was born in North Beaver township, Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, November 11, 1857, son of William and Prudence ( Calvin ) Carson, natives of Lawrence county, of Scotch-Irish ancestry. His paternal grandfather, William Carson, was a native of Ireland, who came to America prior to the Revolution, e-poused the cause of the colonists, and served as a sol- dier in the Colonial army in its struggles for independence. After peace was declared he married Rachel Wilson, of Delaware, and located in Virginia, where he remained until 1799, when he settled within the present limits of Lawrence county. His maternal ancestors emigrated from Scotland to western Pennsylvania, towards the close of the Eighteenth century, The subject of this sketch removed with his parents to Marion township, Butler county, in November, 1868, and spent his youth on his father's farm, receiving his education in the public schools and from private tutors. In 1873 he entered the office of the Butler Eagle, as an apprentice to the printing trade, and served the full term of three years. He afterwards worked at his trade in Sharon and Sandy Lake for several years. In lesthe purchased an interest in the Eagle, and entered into partnership with Eli D. Robinson, with whom he was associated, as editor and publisher, under
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
the firm name of Robinson & Carson, until February 7. 1895, when he retired from the firm. Mr. Carson is a Republican, has always taken an active interest in the success of the principles and candidates of his party ; was secretary of the county committee in the presidential campaign of ISSS, and has served on other important party committees and conferences. He received the unanimous indorse- ment of Butler county for State Senator in 1892, but Armstrong county being entitled to the district nomination, it was conceded to the candidate of that county without a contest. In 1891 Mr. Carson was elected reading clerk of the State Senate, and filled the position so acceptably that he was re-elected in 1893, and again in 1895. He was married, in 1882, to Letitia Donaldson, and three daugh- ters have blessed this union, viz. : Luella ; Bessie Prudence, and Bertha May. Mr. Carson and wife are members of the United Presbyterian church, of Butler.
CHARLES E. HIERR, proprietor of the Butler County Record, was born in Somerset, Pennsylvania, February 21, 1850, son of Joseph and Mary ( Koontz) Ilerr. His father settled in Somerset about 1830, and his mother, as well as his maternal grandparents, were natives of that town. The subject of this sketch was reared in his native county, learned the printer's trade in the office of the Somerset Democrat, and subsequently held the foremanship of the Somerset Herald. In 1-77, during the highest stage of the oil excitement at Petrolia, he went to that town and established the Petrolia Record. Its publication was suc- cessfully continued there until June, ISAs. when the establishment was moved to Butler, and the name of the paper changed to " The Butler County Record." Mr. Herr was married on May 25. 182, to Emma B. Patterson, of Bridgeport. Ohio, and ha- three children : Mary ; Edgar, and Helen. He and wife are mem- ber- of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in politics, he has always been inde- pendent.
PROF. P. S. BANCROFT was born in Litchfield county, Connecticut. where his parents and maternal grandparents long resided. llis maternal grandfather. Grove Pinney. Esq., was for several sessions a member of the legislature, and afterward- of the constitutional convention of the State. His paternal grand- father was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, and his father was a native of the latter State. Ili- ancestors on both sides settled in New England at an early day . the Bancroft- coming from England, and the Pinneys from Scotland. Earl Ban- croft, father of the subject of this sketch. moved to Crawford county. Pennsyl- sylvania, when the latter was eight years old. settling on a farm near Meadville. The son was brought up on the farm and educated at Allegheny College, where he graduated in 1855. For two years he taught Greek and Latin in Madison College, Uniontown, Pennsylvania. In Istil he entered the One Hundred and Eleventh Pennsylvania Volunteers, as second lieutenant, and subsequently became a member of the Third Regiment, Veteran Reserve Corps, serving in all nearly four year-, during the last two of which he held the rank of captain. In 1866 Prof. Bancroft married Bella Brinker, youngest daughter of Col. Jacob Brinker, and granddaughter of Abraham Brinker, one of the first settlers of Butler. Three children have blessed this union, viz. : Earl D. ; Flora Gertrude. and Grove G. In 1577 he came to Butler, and was for several years principal of Witherspoon Institute, but finally abandoned teaching to engage in newspaper
HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.
work. In March. Isss, he began writing for the Butler Eagle, and became associate editor of the Butler County Record, October 1, 1999, upon which journal he is still engaged. Prof. Bancroft and family are members of St. Peter's Protestant Episcopal church, of Butler, and in politics, he is a supporter of the Republican party.
W. G. ZIEGLER, son of W. S. and Susan ( Schleppy) Ziegler, was born in Butler township, Butler county, May 25, 185s. His father was a son of George Ziegler of Gettysburg. Pennsylvania, and brother of Capt. Jacob Ziegler the founder of the Democratic Herald, and was born in 1759, and died August 201. 1-46. His mother was a daughter of Jacob Schleppy, one of the early settlers of Butler county, and was born in Luzeine county, and died in this county Feb- ruary 1. ISTS, aged eighty-seven years. His maternal grandmother was a Me- Candless, was born in Ireland, came to Butler county in youth. settled in Muddy Creek township, and died in Butler township, April 25, 1866. His paternal grandmother was a Chritzman, was born in Germany, May 1, 1792, came to America in 1-01. settled in Baltimore, and died in Butler. April 2%, 1565. The subject of this sketch learned the printer's trade in the Herald office. with which he has been connected for the past twenty years, as apprentice, foreman and publisher.
ROBERT MCKER, Son of James and grandson of Thomas McKee, was born in Butler township, Butler county, June 17. 1517. He was reared upon the farm, and in 1947 he married Mary J. Kirk, a daughter of John Kirk, an early settler of Clarion county. They resided upon a farm in Butler township until 1ss, and then removed to Butler, where Mr. McKee died on December is, 1890, leaving two children. Mary A. and James A. The widow resides with her children in Butler. Mr. MeKee was a justice of the peace in Butler town- ship for thirty years, and was a prominent member of the United Presbyterian church.
JAMES .A. MCKEE was born in Batter township. May 11. 1865. son of Robert and Mary MeKec. He was educated in the public schools and at Witherspoon Institute, and subsequently attended Wooster University, at Wooster, Ohio. After completing his education he returned to Butler county, and taught school. In 1888 the family removed into the borough. and he shortly afterwards formed a partnership with W. G. Ziegler, and purchased the Democratic Ilerald, with which he has since been connected as editor and publisher. He is an active member of the Democratic party, has been prominent in the local councils of that organization, and is a member of the United Presbyterian church.
HENRY C. HEINEMAN was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, June 13. 1528, son of Daniel J. and Catherine A. (Roth) Heineman, natives of Ger- many. In July, 1935, the family landed in Philadelphia. and in 1838 came westward to Butler county, settling on a farm near the site of Great Belt, whence they removed to AAllegheny, thence to Philadelphia, and later to Me Kean county. In Is12 they came again to this county and settled in the borough of Butler, where the parents spent the remaining years of their lives. When the family first located in this county, Henry C. worked in a confectionery in Butler, and soon after their return here, he entered the employ of William Campbell & Sons,
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for whom he clerked five years. In January, 1850, he went to California by water, worked in the mines until the following December, and then returned to his home. In March, 1852, he crossed the plains to the Pacific slope and remained working in the mines until June, 1856, when he again returned to But- ler. In February, 1857, he embarked in the book and stationery business, which he has followed continuously up to the present. Mr. Heineman was married, October 29, ISST, to Mary E. Coyle, a native of Ireland. Seven children have blessed this union, all of whom are living. Their names are as follows : Cath- erine Al., wife of W. W. Blackmore: Charles M .; Harry D. ; William J. ; Matilda R. : George E., and Joseph A. Mr. Heineman and family are member- of the Presbyterian church, and politically, are stanch adherents of the Demo- cratic party. Ile ha- filled the office of school director for two terms ; is a mem - ber of Connoquenessing Lodge, Number 278, 1. O. O. F., Butler Lodge, Number 272, F. & A. M .. the R. A .. A. O. C. W., and E. A. U. From the beginning of its history up to the present, he has been prominent in the volunteer fire depart- ment of Butler, and is regarded as the father of the department. Mr. Heineman is one of the oldest business men in the borough, carries on its pioneer book store, and is highly respected by the leading people of the community.
CHARLES M. HEINEMAN, one of the editors of the Times, was born in the borough of Butler July 24, 1862, and is a son of Henry C. and Mary ( Coyle) Heineman. He was educated in the public schools and at Witherspoon Institute, and after his school days had ended he entered his father's store as clerk. During this period he gave some attention to journalism, establishing one or more ama- teur ventures in the journalistic field as early as ISSI. He was one of the founders of the Times in 1884, and has since been the editor of that paper, in connection with his brother, William J. Mr. Heineman was married to Ella. daughter of James Il. Black, November 26, 1885. She is a native of this county and a member of the old family of that name, of whom so many are known here in the trades and professions. Two children have been born of this marriage : Henry N., and Charles C.
JOHN FINDLEY, secretary and treasurer of the Pittsburg Refining Company. Limited, of Pittsburg, was born on the Findley homestead in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, July 19, 1838. Hle is a son of David and Grace ( Cunningham ) Findley, and grandson of John Findley, one of the pioneers of Mercer county, who came there from Westmoreland county about 1799. John Findley, Sr., married Elizabeth Amberson, of Mercer, and became the father of the following children : William, a United Presbyterian minister ; David : John, an Associate Reformed minister ; Patterson, and five who died in infancy. Patterson Findley is the only surviving member of the family. David Findley, the father of our sub- ject, married Grace Cunningham, a daughter of Thomas Scott Cunningham, also a pioneer of Mercer county, who represented his county in Congress several terms. They were the parents of the following children : James Galloway Din- widdie, and Thomas Scott Cunningham, both deceased; John ; Mary Elizabeth; Jennie ; Matilda Grace, wife of W. V. Evans, of Tarentum ; William Oliver, and three who died in infancy. John was reared on the home farm, and received his early education in the public schools, and later graduated at Tron City Com-
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.
mercial College ; removed to Butler county in 1873 and to Butler in IS86. Mr. Findley was married in 1861. to Melissa Painter. a daughter of Philip and Jane ( McCoy) Painter, of Mercer county, and is the father of the following children : William Edgar, formerly court stenographer in Butler, now engaged in the rail- road business in New York city ; Ada Grace ; Charles Donald, also in the rail- road business in New York city ; Norman Painter ; Lucretia Jane, and one who died in infancy. In politics, Mr. Findley is a stanch Republican, has served as a member of the school board for a number of years, and is now secretary of the board. Mr. Findley and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Butler, of which he is treasurer. Ile is also a member of the R. T. of T., and the K. of P., in both of which he has filled positions of trust.
MAJ. CYRUS E. ANDERSON was born in Washington county. Ohio, August 4. 1822. and was reared in Allegheny county. Pennsylvania. He is a son of Robert and Magdalene ( Roth) Anderson, the former a native of Allegheny county. and the latter of Perry county, Pennsylvania, and of German extraction. He served two years at the harness maker's trade in Pittsburg, came to Butler county at the age of fifteen, where he worked in the summer and attended school in the winter until twenty-one years of age. He then engaged in teach- ing, which he followed for fifteen years in Pennsylvania and Jowa. In ISAB he went to Iowa. returned to Pennsylvania in the spring of 1814, located at Mead- ville in 1554, and in 1857 returned to Butler. He was appointed deputy register and recorder that year, and filled the position for three year -. In 1860 he was elected, on the Republican ticket. to the office of register and recorder, and was serving in that capacity when he joined A. G. Reed, in August, 1862, and recruited Company C, One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Pennsylvania Volun- teers, and entered the service as captain of said company. He served in the bat- tles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville ; was commissioned major of his reg- iment February 17. 1563. and was discharged at Harrisburg. May 26, 1863, by reason of expiration of his term of enlistment. Returning home he completed his term as register and recorder. In December. 1863, he became associated with Thomas Robinson in the publication of the American Citizen ; was ap- pointed district deputy provost marshal in 1864, and sold his interest in the Citisen to Mr. Robinson. He served as provost marshal until the close of the war. In [865 he became business manager of the Citizen, and in 1866 purchased the plant and conducted the paper until 1869, when he sold it to John Il. Neg- ley. Ile was elected prothonotary the same year, and after filling that office for one term, he was employed in the various offices in the court house as clerk. In 1×91 he was elected justice of the peace, and in the spring of 1894 he was elected burgess of Butler for a term of three years, which positions he is now fill- ing. Mr. Anderson is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, was at one time a local preacher in that denomination, and has been a teacher of a bible class in the Butler church for thirty-seven years. He is a member of A. G. Reed Post, Number 105, G. A. R., and is connected with the Masonic order, the I. (). (). F., and the R. A. Major Anderson was married in 1847, to Ruth Brown, a daughter of Adam and Sarah Brown, of Cranberry township, Butler county, to which union have been born six children, two of whom died in infancy, Sarah
D.G. Campbell
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Magdalene, and Robert. Those living are : Leonidas L. ; Alvin A. ; Estella E .. and Ulysses S. G.
JOHN T. KELLY, son of Thomas and Miriam Kelly, was born in Washing- ton township, Butler county, Pennsylvania, November 25, 1838, At the age of seventeen he commenced learning the blacksmith's trade, which he followed until June, 1861. He then enlisted in Company C, Eleventh Pennsylvania Reserve, and served in the Rebellion for three years, holding the rank of ser- geant. He participated in all the engagements in which his regiment took part. except South Mountain and Antietam, from Mechanicsville to Bethesda Church. At the Seven Days' fight before Richmond, he was captured, and spent forty days in Libby and Belle Isle prisons. He was wounded at Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, and was honorably discharged from the service, June IB. 1864. Returning to his home in Butler county, he worked at his trade until 1872, in which year he was elected sheriff, on the Republican ticket. At the expiration of his term, he engaged in various enterprises down to May 20, 1892. on which date he was appointed postmaster at Butler, and still occupies that position. Mr. Kelly was married August 25, 1864, to Miss Eliza J. Shira, and their children are as follows: Millie E., and Hallie, both deceased ; Howard A. : Hallet W .; Josie, deceased ; Gertrude ; Amy, deceased, and Jean. Polit- ically, he is a stanch Republican, is a member of A. G. Reed Post. G. 1. R., and colonel of Encampment, Number 45, U. V. L. Both he and wife are mem- bers of the United Presbyterian church, in which denomination he has filled the office of elder for many years.
JOSEPH CRISWELL, clerk of the courts of Butler county, was born in Clin- ton township, Butler county. April 8, 1840. He worked upon his father's farm and attended the common schools of the district at intervals until his twenty- first year, when he enlisted as a private in Company II, One Hundred and Sec- ond Pennsylvania Volunteers. for a term of three years, at the end of which he re-enlisted in the same company. Ile was wounded at the Wilderness, and was honorably discharged at the close of the war. On April 25, 1864, he married Catherine S. Burkhart, a daughter of Elijah and Rebecca ( Richardson) Burk- hart, and settled upon a farm in Butler township. They are the parents of two sons and four daughters, as follows : James B., a resident of Knoxville, Tennes- see : Jean R., wife of John P. Wilson, a lawyer of Pittsburg ; Letitia M., wife of R. C. Little, a resident of Meadville ; Kathleen M., who assists her father in the office : William Clifford. and Josephine. Mr. Criswell is a past master Mason, a member of A. G. Reed Post. G. A. R .. and of Butler Encampment, Number 45, U. V. L. The family are adherent- of the Methodist Episcopal church. ' Mr. Criswell is a stanch Republican, and was elected clerk of the courts in 1890, by a majority of 955. and was re-elected in 1893, by a majority of 1,917, the largest majority given to any man on the ticket. He is one of the most popular officials in the county, and has won and retained a wide circle of friends.
ANDREW GRAHAM CAMPBELL was born on the old homestead farm in Con- cord township, Butler county, July 1, 1542, and is the youngest in the family of Alexander and Eliza Campbell. He was reared upon his father's farm, and also followed milling, his father being the owner of a mill. In Is6> he embarked in
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