History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, Part 109

Author:
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1288

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

children were born: Margaret L., Martha A., David A., James B., Elizabeth J., Matthew Eli, William E., Sarah M., Samuel A. and Thomas M., all of whom are living except the first mentioned. The mother died a few years ago. Our subject was reared in Salem Township, and followed farming till February 14, 1864, when he enlisted in the Second Pennsylvania Cavalry, and served until the close of the war, returning to his home in August, 1865. He still continued to work upon a farm till the spring of 1874, when he came to Greenville and worked at the carpenter's trade about three years. . He then followed the butcher's trade until the spring of 1880, when he purchased an interest in the meat market of James A. Clark. He remained with Mr. Clark up to Decem- ber, 1883, when J. A. Lyons bought out Mr. Clark. Our subject subsequent- ly purchased Mr. Lyon's interest and has since continued the business alone. Mr. McClimans was married September 3, 1868, to Miss Adda E., a daughter of Clinton George (deceased), of Sugar Grove Township. She was born in Erie County, Penn., and is the mother of three children: Jennie (deceased), Adella F. and George L. The family belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church of Greenville, in which body Mr. McClimans has been steward about six years. Politically he is a Republican, of strong temperance proclivities, and is a member of the G. A. R. and the F. M. C.

PHINEAS E. McCRAY, secretary and auditor of the P. S. & L. E. Railroad, was born July 9, 1857, at Harmonsburg, Crawford Co., Penn. He was edu- cated in the schools of his native town, obtained a knowledge of telegraphy, and at the age of sixteen years entered the employ of the Shenango & Alle- gheny Railroad as an operator, which position he filled for a few years, when he was appointed chief clerk in the general office. On May 1, 1880, he was appointed auditor, and in 1882 he was made secretary of the W. P. & S. C. Railroad, one of the connecting lines. In 1885 he was appointed secretary of the P. S. & L. E. Railroad. In 1875 Mr. McCray became a resident of Greenville, and has filled the office of borough auditor, and is the present sec- retary and auditor of the Greenville Water Company. He is a member of the F. & A. M., Lodge No. 290, of Greenville, also a member of the P. H. C. No. 18. Mr. McCray was married in 1886 to Miss Annetta, daughter of Hon. James C. Brown, of Greenville. Politically he is a Republican.

DR. M. J. MCELHANEY, physician and surgeon, was born in Greene Town- ship, Mercer Co., Penn., October 23, 1838. He comes of pioneer stock, his father, James McElhaney, having been born a short distance north of James- town, in Crawford County, and his mother, Margaret (Mahan) McElhaney, be- ing a native of Mercer County. His grandfather, Matthew McElhaney, was a native of Ireland, and one of the earliest settlers of South Shenango Township, Crawford Co., Penn., coming there in the latter part of the eighteenth cen- tury, when the whole country was yet a wilderness and the Indians still roamed the forest. Both he and wife died on the old homestead, where they reared a family of six sons and six daughters. That was one of those good old-fashioned Irish families, who believed in the scriptural injunction to in- crease and multiply, and who knew nothing of the new American idea that large families are unfashionable. Only three of the twelve children are now living, one son and two daughters. James was the second oldest, and was born in South Shenango Township in 1800, and there grew to manhood. In 1820 he was married to Miss Margaret Mahan, whose parents emigrated from Ireland to Westmoreland County, Penn., and thence to Mercer County about 1800, locating some three miles southeast of Jamestown, where Margaret was born in 1802. Her father served from this county in the War of 1812, and both her parents died on the old homestead, leaving a large family, a son and

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daughter, now residing in Crawford County, being the only survivors. Soon after their marriage James McElhaney and wife settled in Greene Township, Mercer County, one and one-half miles west of Jamestown. They reared a family of three sons and three daughters, viz .: John K., living near the old home; Isabella, deceased; James, deceased; Mrs. Jane Snodgrass, residing across the line in Crawford County; M. J., of Greenville, and Leander, who died while serving in the army during the Rebellion. The mother died on the old homestead in August, 1870, and the father in January, 1887. The whole family adhered to the United Presbyterian faith, from the grandparents on both sides down to the present generation. Dr. McElhaney grew to ma- turity on his father's farm, and received his education in the public schools. At the age of eighteen he began teaching school in his neighborhood, and sub- sequently attended the academies at Meadville and Jamestown, Penn. He continued to teach for several years, and was assistant teacher in the James- town Academy a portion of the time while attending that institution. In the spring of 1863 he began his medical studies under Dr. Gamble, of Jamestown, Penn., and in the winter of 1865-66 attended lectures at Buffalo Medical University. He commenced practice in the spring of 1866 at Hartstown, Crawford County. In the winter of 1869-70 he again attended lectures at Buffalo Medical University, where he graduated February 22 of the latter year. Dr. McElhaney then removed his office to Brookfield, Trumbull Co., Ohio, where he continued in active practice for fifteen years. In the spring of 1885 he sold out and took a course of study in the Post Graduate School of New York, and then located in Greenville, where he has since won and re- tained a good practice. Dr. McElhaney was married September 24, 1867, to Miss Letitia Wilson, of Hartstown, Crawford County, and has a family of one son and four daughters. The family belong to the United Presbyterian Church, and the Doctor is a strong advocate of temperance. He served in the ninety days service in the Rebellion, and is a member of John C. Dickey Post No. 433, G. A. R., of Greenville.

JOHN G. McFATE, farmer, was born near Oil City, Venango Co., Penn., December 16, 1837. His father, Joseph, was a native of Westmoreland County, Penn., and removed with his parents to Venango County when about two years old, where he spent nearly all of his days, dying in Crawford County in 1878. Joseph McFate married Margaret McKnight, a native of County Donegal, Ireland, who immigrated with her parents to Sugar Lake, Crawford Co., Penn., when nine years of age. She reared eight children, and died in Crawford County in 1882. The parents were life-long members of the United Presbyterian Church. Our subject was the third eldest in the family, and grew to manhood on the old homestead in Venango County, and received a common-school education. He began teaching at eighteen, and taught four winter terms. He was married February 14, 1866, to Miss Lizzie A. Birch- field, of Meadville, Penn. The following children have been born of this union: Willis (deceased), Howard C., Percy (deceased), Cornell R., Le Grand, La Pierre, Mary E. and Derwood. In 1866 he removed to Cleveland, Ohio, where he was engaged in the real estate business until the spring of 1874, when he located on his present homestead, in the eastern suburbs of Green- ville, where he has since been engaged in farming. Mr. McFate is a Repub- lican in politics, and the family belong to the United Presbyterian Church of Greenville, in which body he has been a ruling elder about eleven years.

JESSE MCQUISTON, proprietor livery stables, was born in Westmoreland County, Penn., October 18, 1825, and is a son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Showers) McQuiston, natives of the same county. In 1833 the family removed

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to Jefferson County, Penn., where they resided until 1849, when the parents went to Lawrence County, to reside with their son, Samuel, where the mother died. The father and Samuel subsequently removed to Illinois, and there died. They reared six sons and three daughters, only two of whom, Nicholas, of Jefferson County, and Jesse, of Greenville, are living. Our subject fol- lowed the lumber trade for many years, and was married in Jefferson County, Penn., to Miss Margaret Davidson, of that county, who bore him three sons: Curtis (deceased), Clarence J., of Sugar Grove Township, and Samuel K., of Youngstown, Ohio. Mrs. McQuiston died in Lawrence County, Penn., April 27, 1855, and he was again married January 1, 1858, in Mercer County, to Miss Margaret Carver, a native of Poland, Mahoning Co., Ohio, but who grew to womanhood in Mercer County. In December, 1859, Mr. McQuiston and family removed from Lawrence County to Greenville, where he worked in a saw-mill about ten years, afterward serving for six successive years as con- stable. In 1869 he began operating a small livery stable, and has since grown into quite a flourishing business. Six children were born of his second marriage: Curtis L., James, Harry P., Fred L., Wilbert (deceased) and Charles Wesley. The family are attendants of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. McQuiston is a Republican in politics.

DR. CHARLES A. MILLER, physician and surgeon, was born in New Castle, Lawrence Co., Penn., August 3, 1857, and is a son of William W. and Adela (Moffet) Miller. The former was born in New York State, and removed with his father, Almon F. Miller, to the vicinity of New Castle, Penn., more than fifty years ago, where the father yet resides. William there grew up and married Adela Moffet, a native of New Hampshire. In 1862 he enlisted in the One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was killed at Chancellorsville May 3, 1863, leaving a wife and two sons to mourn his loss. Charles A. was the eldest, and subsequently went to live with his grandfather. He was educated in the public schools of Lawrence County; read medicine under Dr. J. W. Covert, of New Castle, Penn., and graduated at Pulte Medi- cal College, Cincinnati Ohio. He began practice in 1882, and in the spring of 1885 came to Greenville, where he has since practiced his profession. Dr. Miller is a member of Hahnemann Medical Society, of Cincinnati, and is the only Homeopathic practitioner between the towns of Mercer, Sharon and Meadville. He was married December 13, 1876, to Miss Cally Bell, of Law- rence County. Two children have been born of this union, one of whom is deceased. Politically Dr. Miller is a Republican, and belongs to the Masonic fraternity, A. O. U. W. and P. H. C., and is the local medical examiner for the two last mentioned societies.

WILLIAM H. MILLER, horseshoer, was born in Newburg, Orange Co., N. Y., October 29, 1845, and is a son of Elmer and Alice (McCormick) Miller, the former a native of Orange County, N. Y., of Connecticut stock (his father being a soldier of the Revolution), and his wife a native of Ireland. Elmer Miller died in Chicago in 1852, and his widow returned to Newburg, N. Y., and now resides in Cleveland, Ohio. Our subject grew up in the East, and learned the horseshoer's trade in New York City, after which he spent three years on the road shoeing and treating horses. In 1872 he located in Green- ville, where he has since principally made his home. He was married Sep- tember 23, 1875, to Lovisa, eldest daughter of the late William Laird. Politically Mr. Miller is a stanch Republican, and a member of the P. H. C. He is a local writer of some note on political and other subjects, and many of his articles have recently appeared in the local press.

N. N. Moss, grocery dealer, was born in Trumbull County, Ohio, October

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

24, 1864, and is a son of Nicholas and Ann (Donie) Moss, natives of Ger- many. They emigrated from Germany to Ohio, where our subject was born, and in 1878 removed to Pymatuning Township, Mercer Co., Penn., where the parents now reside. They reared a family of eight children, all of whom are living and adherents of the Catholic Church. Our subject grew up in Trumbull County, and received his education in the common schools of that and Mercer County. In 1886 he came to Greenville and began clerking, and in March, 1887, formed a partnership with J. C. Kahl, under the firm name of Moss & Kahl, which lasted until the spring of 1888, when Mr. Kahl sold out to J. E. Davenny, and the firm became Moss & Davenny. This young firm has built up a good trade and is doing a fair share of the business in their line. Politically Mr. Moss is a Democrat, and a member of St. Michael's Catholic Church.

ROBERT GILLIS MOSSMAN, born in Fayette County, Penn., October 1, 1795, eldest son of William Herdman and Sarah (Gillis) Mossman, died August 25, 1847, in Greenville, Penn. When but four years old his parents removed to West Salem Township, Mercer County, at that time part of Allegheny County, and settled at what was afterward known as Mossmantown. His early educa- tion was quite limited. He received several months' day schooling, and, being bright and studious, he acquired a good knowledge of the rudiments of the English language. His father was a manufacturer of spinning wheels, which trade he learned and worked at when not engaged working on the farm. He married Miss Margaret, daughter of Col. Andrew Christy, September 27, 1821, Rev. Samuel Tait, pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Mercer, officiat- ing. He subsequently removed to Greenville, and settled in what is now the East Ward, part of which is Mossman's addition to Greenville. He carried on several branches of business, such as a furniture factory, woolen mills, grist and saw-mills, tannery and other branches of enterprise. He was a go-ahead man, of unlimited energy, and contributed largely to the development of the business interests of the place. He was a strong supporter of Andrew Jack- son when first elected, but was afterward a Whig. He was the first Whig sheriff of Mercer County, elected in October, 1836. Mr. Mossman was a consist- ent member of the Presbyterian Church, and a man of sterling qualities, hon- ored and respected by everybody. He had eight children, only two of whom are now living, viz. : Rev. William Herdman Mossman, a member of Erie Confer- ence, Methodist Episcopal Church, and Dr. Beriah Edwin Mossman, of Green- ville. Sarah Ann, one of his daughters, married Dr. Reuben E. Breiner, father of Mrs. E. T. Beatty and Mrs. William H. Findley; another daughter, Susan Jane, married Chambers Templeton, father of Edwin S. Templeton, Esq., of this place.

BERIAH EDWIN MOSSMAN, physician and surgeon, was born in Greenville, Penn. He is the fifth son of Robert Gillis Mossman, of that borough, descended from Scotch-Irish ancestors, and Margaret (Christy) Mossman, a daughter of Col. Andrew Christy, a pioneer of 1797. He received a thorough classical and scientific education at the Greenville Academy, and during vacations was under private tutorship. He began the study of medicine in the office of his brother-in-law, the late Dr. R. E. Breiner, in Greenville, in the year 1861: entered the Cleveland Medical College in 1862, from which institution he graduated at the head of his class, March 1, 1864. Returning to Greenville he commenced the practice of medicine on the 9th of the same month, in com- pany with his brother-in-law, with whom he remained until March, 1868, when he entered an office by himself. In 1874 he became associated with Dr. H. D. La. Cossitt, with whom he remained until the death of Dr.Cossitt, which occurred

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March 1, 1877. After a number of years' practice he moved his family to Phila- delphia, and regularly entered the University of Pennsylvania, from which insti- tution he graduated with first honors in March, 1879. He also received the diploma of the Philadelphia Lying-in Charity, March 1, 1879, an institution devoted exclusively to obstetrics and the diseases of females. He then returned to Greenville and engaged in the active practice of his profession, devoting special attention to obstetrics and diseases of women, in which specialty he has built up a large practice. He was for many years the surgeon of the A. & G. W. and S. & A. Railroads, and has successfully performed all the capital oper- ations. In 1870 he became a member of the Medical Society of Pennsylvania, and in 1874 of the American Medical Association. He is a member of the Mercer County Medical Society, and is one of the members who, by zeal and energy and love for the profession, established that organization. For many years he was its secretary, and on January 9, 1877, was elected president. He has contributed a number of valuable articles to the "transactions " of the State society, and various other medical journals, and is a contributor to the American Journal of Obstetrics. The Doctor is a prominent Mason, and at present H. P. of Mound Royal Arch Chapter, a member of Eureka Lodge F. & A. M., North Western Commandery K. T., and a member of Pennsylvania Consistory Scottish Rite Masonry, in which order he has received the thirty- second degree. On September 5, 1872, he married Emma E., daughter of Reuben V. Hilands, of Greenville, and has five children: Beriah E., Nana M., Margie B., Hazel and Roy G. Politically Dr. Mossman is an unswerving Democrat, and in the spring of 1888 came within three votes of being elected burgess of Greenville, which usually gives a large Republican majority, The Doctor is United States examining surgeon for pensions for this district, and one of Mercer County's best known physicians.

THOMAS MOULD, guide and hoop roller in P. L. Kimberly & Co.'s Green- ville Iron Works, was born in Victoria, Monmouthshire, Wales, October 28, 1852, and is a son of Thomas and Hannah (Davis) Mould, he a native of Somersetshire and she of France. In the fall of 1862 the family immigrated to Duncansville, Penn., and subsequently lived in Allentown and Johnstown, whence in 1866 they came to Sharon. Since boyhood our subject has worked in the iron mills of Sharon and Greenville, and learned his trade in the works of P. L. Kimberly & Co., for whom he has worked for the past eighteen years. His mother died in Sharon in 1884, and his father now resides with him, and is a puddler by trade. Mr. Mould was married June 17, 1877, to Miss Priscilla Parry, of Sharon, who is the mother of four sons: Thomas, William H., Rich- ard and Ralph P. The family belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church, and politically Mr. Mould is a Republican. He is also a member of the I. O. O. F., K. of P., A. O. of F. and Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers.

IRVIN M. MOYER, manufacturer of cigars, was born in Montgomery County, Penn .. January 12, 1853, and is a son of Josiah and Mary (Miller) Moyer, also natives of Montgomery County, where both spent their lives. His mother died when Irvin M. was only five years old, his father surviving until 1883. At the age of thirteen our subject left home, and began learning the cigar maker's trade in Quakerstown, Bucks Co., Penn, For several years he worked at his trade in different sections of the State, coming to Greenville in July, 1873. He worked for H. K. Reiss until 1881, when he formed a part- nership with Frank Bortz, under the firm name of Bortz & Co., and bought out Mr. Reiss. In January, 1885, Mr. Moyer purchased his partner's interest, and has since conducted the business. He was married June 3, 1879, to Miss Ella, daughter of James Bortz, of West Salem Township. Two sons are the

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fruits of this union: Ralph and Ray. The family belong to the Lutheran Church, and Mr. Moyer is a stanch adherent of the Democratic party.

H. F. MOYER, hardware merchant, was born in Pymatuning Township, Mercer Co., Penn., July 24, 1861, and is a son of Levi and Elvina (Diefen- derfer) Moyer, natives of this State and residents of Pymatuning Township. Our subject grew up on the old homestead, received his primary education in the common schools, and afterward attended the State Normal at Edinboro three terms. He then taught school one term in the building where he him- self had received his early education, and subsequently spent one course at Duff's Commercial College, Pittsburgh, where he graduated, afterward teach- ing a term in his old district. Mr. Moyer clerked a brief time in Cleveland, Ohio, and in May, 1884, entered the employ of Livingston & Lohr, as book- keeper, which position he filled up to January, 1887, when, Mr. Lohr having previously died, he purchased his interest in the store, and the firm of Livings- ton & Moyer has since continued to do a successful business. Mr. Moyer was married April 20, 1886, to Miss Permilla, daughter of Samuel and Lydia (Bartholomew) Stoyer, of Pymatuning Township. Both he and wife are members of the Reformed Church. He belongs to the P. H. C., and is an adherent of the Democratic party.

OLIVER H. MUNTZ, manufacturer and dealer in harness, etc., was born in New Castle, Penn., April 24, 1863, and is a son of J. H. and Sarah (Rodgers) Muntz, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Lawrence County, Penn., where her parents were among the early settlers. Our subject grew to manhood in Lawrence and Butler Counties, Penn., his parents removing to the latter county in 1875, and are now residents of Centreville, Butler County, where Mr. Muntz carries on the harness business. When thirteen years old Oliver H. entered a printing office in Centreville, where he served one year as a typo, when the paper ceased publication, and he then began learning the harness business in his father's shop. In the fall of 1885 his father estab- lished the harness business in Greenville, and placed our subject in charge of the same. They have since done the leading business in the borough. Mr. Muntz was married April 25, 1882, to Miss Anna, daughter of Pressley Gill, of Centreville, Penn. Three children have been born of this union: Almira, Laura and Raymond. The family belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in politics Mr. Muntz is a Republican. He is the inventor and patentee of the bristle-bone whip, ornamental hame-clip, and a horse-tail holder (a device for tying up a horse's tail), which inventions are valuable to the harness trade.

JOHN NEEL, contractor and builder, was born in Westmoreland County, Penn., February 15, 1830, and is a son of John and Mary (Hendrickson) Neel, he a native of Westmoreland County, of Irish parentage, and she of New Jersey, of German ancestry. In 1831 the parents, with three sons and one daughter, our subject being the youngest, removed from Westmoreland County, Penn., to Mercer County, and located on a farm about four miles south of Greenville, near the old Salem Church. Four daughters were born after their coming to Mercer County, and of the eight children seven grew to maturity and three sons and one daughter survive. The mother died near Greenville forty years ago, and the father in Illinois, whither he and most of the family removed about 1851. Our subject grew to manhood in Mercer County, and learned the carpenter's trade in Greenville. About 1852 he started out as a contractor and builder. For the past twenty years he has been one of the leading contractors in Greenville, and has erected many of the finer buildings in this part of the county. Mr. Neel was married, January

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17, 1856, to Miss Nancy, daughter of William and Ann Young, pioneers of Hempfield, where both died on the old farm one mile east of Greenville, where the water works are now located. Mrs. Neel was born on the old homestead, and was at the time of her death the mother of five children: Lydia A. (wife of Edwin McMannus, of Greenville), William H., Mary (deceased), Curtin (deceased) and Milton. Mrs. Neel died January 14, 1872, in the faith of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Neel is a Republican, and has filled one term as councilman and two consecutive terms as burgess of Greenville.

DANIEL B. PACKARD, M. D., deceased, was born in Trumbull (now Mahon- ing) County, Ohio, September 19, 1817, and died in Greenville, Penn., Sep- tember 19, 1873, having completed his fifty-sixth year on the very day of his death. In 1835 he removed with his parents to Northern Indiana, but returned to his native place within one year. Though thrown upon his own resources at an early age, by characteristic application he secured a fair edu- cation. He commenced the study of medicine in the office of his brother, Dr. John A. Packard, of Austintown, Ohio, and taught school during this period to defray his necessary expenses. He attended medical lectures at Worthing- ton, Ohio, and subsequently at Willoughby Medical Institute, from where he graduated in February, 1842. He soon after began practice at Clarksville, Mercer Co., Penn., removing to Greenville in August, 1842, where he formed a partnership with Dr. H. D. La. Cossitt. Upon the dissolution of this co-partnership Dr. Packard opened an office for himself, and vigorously prose- cuted the arduous duties of his profession until embarking in commercial pur- suits in the spring of 1854, when he gradually relinquished his professional duties and devoted his attention to the interests of his new enterprise. Under the firm name of Packard & Co., his nephews, Warren and John R. Packard, being his partners, he opened the pioneer hardware and iron store of Green- ville May 10, 1854, in the brick block erected by him the previous year. This house has ever since continued to be the leading iron and hardware store in the borough, and one of the largest in the Shenango Valley. Dr. Packard retired from the firm in April, 1870. He was the leading spirit in estab- lishing the dry goods house of Anderson & Packard, and also the queensware and crockery store of D. B. Packard & Co., in which he was interested at the time of his death. In 1859 he erected the "Commercial Block," corner of Main and Canal Streets, and in 1873 remodeled and enlarged that structure. Dr. Packard was married, October 26, 1841, to Miss Celestia, daughter of John Cotton, Esq., of Austintown, Ohio, who, with one son, D. P., an attorney of Greenville, survives him. He took a prominent part in having Thiel Col- lege removed to Greenville, and was one of its warmest supporters up to his death. Dr. Packard was recognized as a sagacious and successful business man, who took an active interest in the growth and development of the social and material prosperity of his adopted county.

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History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, Part 109

Author: Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk Number of Pages: 1288

Author:
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1288