History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, Part 163

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

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WILLIAM M. FLETCHER, farmer and veterinary surgeon, post-office Green- ville, was born in what is now Greene Township, Mercer Co., Penn., March 5, 1835. His father, Alexander Fletcher, was born in Crawford County, Penn., and was a son of Hugh and Sarah (Fullerton) Fletcher, natives of Ireland, and pioneers of Crawford County. Alexander grew to manhood in his native county, and afterward worked for Thomas Kinsman, of Kinsman, Ohio, for several years. He then purchased and settled on a farm in Greene Township. He married Jane, daughter of Joseph McClurg, a native of Ireland and an early settler of West Salem Township. They reared five children: William M., Lemuel A., who died from disease contracted in the army; Sarah M., wife of Hugh Bean; Mary A. and Leander, deceased. The parents were members of

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the United Presbyterian Church, and died upon the old homestead. Politi- cally the father was a Democrat. William M. has always made his home in this county. He was married December 24, 1857, to Mary E., daughter of Sam- uel and Margaret McBroom, natives of Brooke County, W. Va., and early set- tler of West Salem Township. Mrs. Fletcher was born in that township, and is the mother of five children: Samuel A., deceased; Lizzie, wife of Dr. A. O. Moreland, of Jamestown, Penn. ; Orran M., James C. and William A. The family belong to the United Presbyterian Church, and politically Mr. Fletcher is a Democrat. He removed from Greene Township to his present homestead in the spring of 1881. For forty years he has been a veterinary surgeon, and devotes most of his attention to that business.

SAMUEL FOULK, deceased, farmer of West Salem Township, was born in Virginia June 22, 1818, and was a son of Daniel and Elizabeth Foulk, who removed to Trumbull County, Ohio, when Samuel was a boy. The subject of this sketch grew to maturity in that county, and was there married to Leah, daughter of David and Christina Arner, April 16, 1842. Her parents were natives of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Foulk was born in Westmoreland County, Penn., and is the mother of three children: Alvin, deceased; Elizabeth J., wife of Robert McMurray, of Pymatuning Township, and John H. In the spring of 1854 Mr. Foulk and family came from Ohio to West Salem Township, where he resided up to his death, April 17, 1887. He was a Democrat, a Methodist in belief, and an upright, honest man, kind and affectionate to his wife and family, to whom he left a comfortable competence, the result of his own indus- trious habits.

JACOB GAHRING, farmer, post-office Greenville, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, December 4, 1824, and is a son of Martin and Anna (Elsiser) Gahr- ing, both of whom spent their lives in Germany. Jacob grew to manhood in his native land, and in 1852 immigrated to Venango County, Penn., where he was married August 31, 1859, to Amelia, daughter of John Benninghoff, of that county. She was born in Clearfield County, Penn., December 25, 1830, and had four children by this marriage: Lucy A., Sadie E., Christina and Wilson J., all of whom are living. In the spring of 1870 Mr. Gahring pur- chased his present homestead in West Salem Township, upon which he then settled and has since resided. His wife died in the Reformed faith, March 28, 1882. Mr. Gahring and family belong to the Lutheran Church, and politically he is a Democrat. He is one of the wealthy farmers of West Salem.

ABRAHAM K. HARNIT, farmer, post-office Greenville, was born in West Salem Township December 25, 1825. His parents were Peter and Catharine (Everhart) Harnit, pioneers of Mercer County. The former was born in Beaver County, Penn., March 22, 1798, and was a son of Samuel and Bar- bara A. Harnit, who were married August 9, 1795, and both of whom died in Beaver County. Peter grew to manhood in that county, and then came to Mercer County, where he was married January 23, 1823, to Catharine, daugh- ter of Frederick and Catharine (Keck) Everhart, a pioneer family of West Salem Township. Her father carried on the first pottery in this part of the county. Mr. Harnit first located on the Cossitt farm, but soon afterward purchased a place nearer Greenville, which he sold to Daniel Knappenberger in the spring of 1836, and removed into the borough. He subsequently pur- chased and settled on the Joseph B. Nelson farm, in West Salem Township, which he also sold and again moved to Greenville. He finally bought and settled on the farm where his sons, Abraham K. and Madison, live. He died in Greenville January 15, 1864, his widow surviving him until February 24,

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1878. They reared eight children: Samuel, Abraham K., John, Maria, Linus, Marvin, Madison and Ann, all residents of the county except Samuel, who lives in Michigan. Abraham K. was reared in his native township, and mar- ried June 10, 1856, Mrs. Sarah Smith, nee Lawton, a native of Yorkshire, England, who has borne him five children: Silas, Catharine (wife of Oscar Brockway), Peter, Daniel and Anna S., all living. Politically Mr. Harnit is a stanch Democrat, and one of the oldest native residents of the town- ship.

JACOB HASENPLUG, farmer, post-office Greenville, was born in Centre County, Penn., October 20, 1830. His grandfather, Henry Hasenplug, emigrated from Germany to America during the Revolution, and after the war married a Miss Siebold, of Union County, Penn. His father, Jacob Hasenplug, was born in Union County July 16, 1796, there grew up and married Annie Lichty, a native of the same county. They afterward removed to Centre County, where Jacob operated a tannery and brewery. In the fall of 1834 they re- moved to West Salem Township, Mercer County, and reared six children: George E., deceased; Elizabeth, wife of Jonathan Showers; Jacob; Maria, widow of William Dillon; John H. and Daniel. They settled in the forests of West Salem, in a hewed log house which Mr. Hasenplug erected after coming. The mother died in 1871, and her venerable husband, at the ripe old age of ninety-three years, resided on the old homestead, peacefully awaiting the call to join her in that home beyond the grave, until his death August 7, 1888. Both died in the faith of the Evangelical Association, of which church they were members many years. Politically he was a Republican. Our subject has resided in West Salem since the fall of 1834. He learned the shoemaker's trade, which he followed at Maysville for twenty years, but since the spring of 1882 he has been engaged in farming. In the fall of 1862 he was drafted, and enlisted in Compay D, One Hundred and Sixty-ninth Regiment, Pennsylvania Militia, and served nine months. Mr. Hasenplug was married in April, 1855, to Mary Ann, daughter of Jeffrey and Ann (Morford) Bentley, of West Salem Township. She was a native of Mercer County, and reared nine children: Elizabeth, wife of Charles Buell; Emma, wife of Squire Jewell; Elmer E., Arminta, Ida, Charles, Ella, Sadie and Lorinda, all of whom are living. Mrs. Hasenplug died in the Baptist faith May 7, 1875. Our subject is a Republi- can, and one of the well known citizens of the township.

THE HOMMER FAMILY. - Jacob Hommer, a native of Germany, and a Revo- lutionary soldier, was one of the early settlers of West Salem Township. He grew up in Maryland, and was twice married. His first wife was Mary Siler, who bore him three sons and four daughters: John, Joseph, Jacob, Polly, Lena, Susan and Elizabeth. The mother died in Maryland, and he married Mrs. Hannah (Booth) Schaffer, and with two sons, John and Jacob, and his four daughters, by his first marriage, immigrated to Mercer County in 1809 (Joseph remaining in Maryland), where he purchased and settled on a tract of land partly lying within the present limits of Greenville. Two daughters, Hannah and Rachel, were born of his second marriage. His cabin stood on the west side, where Samuel West now lives. The parents both spent the balance of their lives on this farm, upon which they were interred. John, the eldest son, married Catharine Harsh, in Maryland, and after coming to Mercer located at the Big Bend, in Delaware Township, where his father purchased him 100 acres. He died there, and his sons still live on the old homestead.

Joseph, the second son, was born in Maryland May 15, 1791, there learned the shoemaker's trade, and came to West Salem Township about two years after the rest of the family. He married Magdalena Everhart, who was born

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in Westmoreland County, Penn., October 18, 1800, and came to Mercer County early in the present century. They located on a part of his father's farm, where he followed the shoemaking trade. They reared seven children: Catharine, wife of Thomas Boles, of this county; Josiah, Uriah, Mary, wife of Martin Woodford, of Kansas; Julia A. ; Paul, deceased, and Felecia, deceased. The parents were originally Lutherans, but afterward joined the Methodist Episcopal Church. They died in Greenville February 28 and September 5, 1864, respectively, and are buried in the family grave yard. Joseph was a Whig, and then a Republican in politics, and was at Erie during the War of 1812.

Jacob, the third son of Jacob Hommer, Sr., was also a native of Maryland, and came with his parents to West Salem Township in 1809. He served at Erie in the War of 1812, and subsequently married Mary, daughter of John and Hannah (Booth) Schaffer, born in Maryland March 15, 1798. Her father died in that State, and her mother married Jacob Hommer, Sr. Jacob and Mary Hommer reared the following children: David, Jacob, William M., Hannah, wife of Charles H. Fry; Joseph, deceased; Elizabeth, widow of Benja- min Loutzenhiser; Mary L., deceased, wife of Samuel West, and four died in infancy. All of the living children are residents of Greenville. After mar-

riage Jacob settled on a part of the old homestead, where his daughter, Mrs. Loutzenhiser, now lives. He died May 5, 1837, and his widow afterward married Levi Gravat, and died April 6, 1875. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in politics he was a Republican. Of the daughters of Jacob Hommer, Sr. : Polly, first married Jacob Rusher and after- ward John Boston; Lena, married David Haun; Susan and Elizabeth, married Irvin and Richard Carr, respectively, of Mercer County; Hannah, became the wife of Paul Everhart, and Rachel married William Best.

ROBERT S. HOWE, farmer, post-office Greenville, was born near Oil City, Venango Co., Penn., June 25, 1834, and is a son of Samuel and Sarah (Sproule) Howe, natives of Venango and Crawford Counties, Penn., respect- ively, and of Irish parentage. They were married in Mercer County and settled near Oil City, and they spent the balance of their lives in Venango County. They reared four sons and three daughters, Robert S. and two of the daughters being the only survivors. Our subject grew up in his native county, and went to school in the typical log building of the pioneer days. He was married March 2, 1854, to Elizabeth, daughter of John Benninghoff, deceased. She was born in Cherry Tree Township, Venango Co., Penn., September 3, 1831, and is the mother of six living children: Emma, wife of John McElheney; Elmer E., Curtin J., William B., Catharine and Eva. In March, 1868, Mr. Howe located on his farm in West Salem Township, where his son Curtin J. now lives. In 1883 he erected his residence near Greenville, and has since resided there. The family are attendants of the Lutheran Church, and in politics Mr. Howe is a Republican.

ALEXANDER and MARGARET HUNTER, natives of the County Tyrone, Ireland, were among the early settlers of West Salem Township. The former was born November 13, 1761, and the latter in April, 1768, and they were married in the County Tyrone, Ireland, October 2, 1786. They left their native county for America June 16, 1788, and arrived at Philadelphia August 22 following. They remained there till August, 1790, and then removed to Cumberland County, Penn., and in November, 1793, to Fayette County. Here they lived till April, 1812, when they came to Mercer County and settled on a tract of 400 acres of land in West Salem Township, still principally owned by their descendants. Alexander Hunter was a pioneer surveyor of Mercer County,

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and a man of fine education and extensive knowledge. He was the principal surveyor of this locality from 1812 up to his death, and devoted nearly his entire attention to that profession. He reared a family of nine children: Jane, who married Thomas Gilliland, and remained behind in Fayette County; James, Matthew, Betty, who married James Mossman, and at his death Robert Brion, and subsequently David Parker; Peggy, who became the wife of John Mossman; Ebby, who married Hugh Mossman; Alexander, Hiram and Elliott, all of whom are dead except Hiram, a resident of Wisconsin. The eight youngest came to this township with their parents, the eldest son, James, being then in his twenty-third year, and the youngest, Elliott, in his fifth year. The mother died on the old homestead April 8, 1838, and her husband survived her till March 24, 1847. They were life-long members of the Covenanter Church, and Mr. Hunter was an elder in the Greenville congregation many years. Politically he was a Whig, and one of the prominent men of pioneer days.

COL. SILAS HUNTER, farmer, post-office Jamestown, Penn., was born on the homestead where he now resides May 26, 1832. His father, James Hunter, was born in Philadelphia, Penn., December 5, 1789, and had reached man- hood ere the coming of the family to Mercer County in the spring of 1812. He was married February 23, 1815, to Sarah Dowlin, who died without issue April 5, 1817. He was again married July 27, 1820, to Isabella, daughter of Christopher and Elizabeth North. She was born in Maryland in June, 1793, and came to Mercer County with her parents when a small child, her mother carrying her on horseback across the Mountains from Westmoreland County, Penn., whither they had removed from Maryland. They settled in what is now Greene Township, on the farm where her nephew, Samuel North, resides. She grew to womanhood on that farm, and upon her marriage took up her abode on the old Hunter homestead, in West Salem Township, where the balance of her life was passed. She had the following children by this union: Alexander, deceased; Margaret, wife of James J. Christy, of Kinsman, Ohio; Harrison, of Jamestown; David A., of Emporia, Kas .; James, deceased; Silas, Matthew C., deceased; John M., deceased, and Anderson McLean, of Emporia, Kas. James Hunter followed farming all his life, and died May 4, 1869. Both he and wife were members of the United Presbyterian Church. In politics he was a Whig and afterward a Republican, and together with his brother Matthew served in the War of 1812. He was an upright, honest man, and left to his descendants the record of a spotless reputation. His widow survived him over nineteen years, and died June 5, 1888, at the remarkable age of ninety-five years. She retained her memory up to the last, and was always happy when relating pioneer remin- iscences. She was kind and motherly, and her long life was a blessing to her children and descendants. Our subject, Silas, grew to manhood on his present homestead, and in the spring of 1856 removed to Kansas. In 1861 he enlisted in the First Kansas Infantry, subsequently serving as first lieu- tenant in the Second Regiment Indian Home Guards, and major of the Eleventh Regiment United States Colored Infantry, from which he was trans- ferred with the same rank to the Fifty-seventh United States Colored Infantry. He afterward filled the ranks of lieutenant-colonel and colonel, successively, of the last mentioned regiment, and was mustered out December 20, 1866. He was then, for meritorious services, commissioned first lieutenant of the Thirty-eighth United States Infantry, with eighteen months' advance pay, but declined the position. Upon the sickness of his father he returned to Mercer County, and on his death took charge of the old homestead. Col.

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Hunter was married February 9, 1871, to Sarah C. Sinclair, of Jamestown, Penn., who is the mother of five children: James, Charles, Mary, Stanley and Alice. The family belong to the United Presbyterian Church. Politically Col. Hunter is a stanch Republican, and in 1878 was elected sheriff of Mercer County, and served one term. He has always taken a deep interest in the growth and prosperity of his native county.

ALEXANDER HUNTER, deceased farmer, was born in Fayette County, Penn., September 20, 1801, and came with his parents, Alexander and Margaret Hun- ter, to West Salem Township in the spring of 1812, where he ever afterward lived. He was married June 8, 1827, to Catharine, daughter of Adam and Catharine Miller, who came to West Salem Township from Maryland in the fall of 1802, and settled on a farm now owned by Joseph Calvert and W. H. Johnston. Adam Miller was a soldier in the War of 1812, and both he and wife died in this township, Mrs. Hunter was born on the farm previously men- tioned, July 6, 1807, and has reared a family of twelve children, eleven of whom are living: Alexander and Adam, of Crawford County, Penn. ; Marga- ret, deceased; Albert, of Crawford County; Isabel, wife of James Johnston, of Canada; Lydia, wife of John Amons, of Venango County, Penn .; Esther, wife of Lyman Jackson, of Tennessee; Amos, of Lawrence County; Jane, wife of John McMurray; Sarah, wife of Truman Hall, of Orangeville, Ohio; Alvin and Marilla. Mr. Hunter followed farming and resided on the old homestead from the spring of 1812 up to his death, January 2, 1886. His widow sur- vives him, and has been a life-long member of the Seceder and the United Presbyterian Church, and has lived in Mercer County eighty-one years. Polit- ically Mr. Hunter was a Republican, a straightforward, honest man, and has left a large and respected family.

MATTHEW HUNTER came to Mercer County with his parents, Alexander and Margaret Hunter, in the spring of 1812. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. After coming to Mercer County he married Elizabeth Atchison. To them were born eight daughters and one son: Margaret, deceased; Deborah, deceased wife of James Tompkins; Jane, deceased wife of William Angelo, deceased; her second husband was Hiram McCormick; Alexander, of Cali- fornia; Elizabeth, wife of Joseph Morford; Mary A., widow of Samuel W. McDowell; Isabel, wife of Philip Templeton, of Battle Creek, Iowa; Sarah, deceased, and Esther, wife of Lyman Powers, of Wisconsin. Mrs. Hun- ter died May 22, 1873, in the faith of the United Presbyterian Church. Her husband survived her till December 18, 1880, when he, too, passed away.

WILLIAM HARRISON JOHNSTON, farmer, post-office Greenville, was born in what is now Lawrence County, Penn., September 29, 1819, and is a son of Edward and Nancy (Coleman) Johnston, the former a native of Mifflin County, Penn., and the latter of New Jersey. They were married in Lawrence County, Penn., and in 1803 came to West Salem Township, where they settled and lived about twelve years. Mr. Johnston was a soldier in the War of 1812. He was a man of good education, and during his residence in West Salem he taught school several terms, first in a log building on the farm still owned by his descendants. He returned to Lawrence County, and leaving his family he crossed the Mountains and followed school-teaching in Eastern Pennsylvania. In the spring of 1835 he again came to West Salem Township and located on his land. His wife died here in July, 1838, and he survived her until November, 1858, both dying in the Seceder faith. They reared five children: Polly, deceased, wife of William Wiley, of Trumbull County, Ohio; Jane, widow of William Reed, of Lawrence County, Penn .; James M., deceased; John C., of Lawrence County, and William Harrison. Our subject has lived

bis

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in West Salem Township since his sixteenth year. He was married April 18, 1844, to Margaret J., daughter of George and Margaret (Ewing) Moore, one of the pioneer families of Mercer County. Mrs. Johnston was born in New Bedford, Penn., September 18, 1824, and is the mother of five children: Nancy J., wife of Silas Laughlin; Marilla, wife of Clinton Hobart; Emma, wife of Henry Hyde; Lurancy, wife of Andrew Storier, and Ella, who died April 28, 1879, in her nineteenth year. Mr. Johnston is a member of the Baptist Church, and his wife of the Presbyterian. Politically he is a Repub- lican, and one of the oldest and most respected citizens of the township.

PETER KLINGENSMITH was one of the first settlers of West Salem Township. He was born in Westmoreland County, Penn., December 2, 1776, there grew up, and in the fall of 1796 accompanied his father, Daniel, and the Loutzen- hisers, Kecks and Christys to the Shenango Valley on a prospecting tour. It is claimed by his daughter, Mrs. Joseph Lininger, that he built a cabin on the tract he selected (now the William Bortz farm, in the southeast corner of West Salem Township), and remained in the valley with a few others through the winter of 1796-97, hunting and trapping, while the balance of the party re- turned to Westmoreland County. Mr. Klingensmith was married in 1798 to Catherine Smith, also a native of Westmoreland County, born February 3, 1777. They reared twelve children, the eldest, Susan, being born in the cabin on the Shenango October 17, 1799. She became the wife of William Mc- Laughlin. The remaining children were: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Catharine, who married Daniel Lininger; Elizabeth, became the wife of John Merritt; Hannah, wife of John Bowman; Peter, Isaiah, Mary Magdalena, widow of Joseph Lininger; Philip and Daniel, all of whom are dead except Mrs. Bow- man and Mrs. Joseph Lininger. All were born on the old homestead, settled by Mr. Klingensmith in 1796. He served in the War of 1812, and was one of the well-known and most successful hunters of pioneer days. He bore a very strong antipathy to the Indian race, firmly believing that the only good Indians were dead ones. About 1827 he sold his homestead and removed into Pyma- tuning Township, where both he and wife spent their declining years. They are interred in one of the old pioneer cemeteries of that locality, and many of their descendants are residents of the county.

DANIEL KNAPPENBERGER, one of the oldest living residents of West Salem Township, was born in Lehigh County, Penn., April 12, 1813, and is a son of Henry Knappenberger, who died in that county. Daniel grew up in his native place, and there married Miss Mary Rumfelt, a native of Lehigh. In the spring of 1836 he and wife, with two children, James and Daniel, came from Lehigh County to West Salem Township, where he purchased and settled on the farm upon which he still resides. He reared the following children: James, Daniel, deceased; Reuben F., Maria, wife of Samuel West, of Green- ville; Catharine, Lydia, wife of C. Eckeroads; John, Caroline, wife of O. Mill- er; Emeline, deceased wife of Clarence McQuiston, and Sarah, wife of Frank Callahan. Mrs. Knappenberger died April 22, 1881, in the Lutheran faith, to which church the whole family belong. Mr. Knappenberger has been a life- long Democrat, and, though old and feeble, bids fair to live several years yet. Reuben F. Knappenberger was born on the old homestead April 10, 1840, and has always made his home in West Salem Township. He learned the wagon- maker's trade in Greenville, and in the fall of 1882 started his present wagon shop, where he has since carried on quite a successful business. He was mar- ried January 4, 1866, to Miss Alavesta R. Biery, a native of Lehigh County, Penn., who is the mother of two children: Wilson N. and Mary L. The fam- ily are Lutherans, and Democratic in politics.

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DAVID LININGER, farmer, post-office Greenville, was born in West Salem Township October 18, 1818. His parents, Henry and Catharine Lininger, were natives of Virginia. Henry's father died when the former was a small boy, and he subsequently learned the shoemaking trade. He was married in Virginia, and removed to Mercer County early in the present century and settled on the farm in West Salem Township, a part of which is embraced in the homestead of his son Jacob. Henry and Catharine Lininger reared four sons and five daughters, viz. : Daniel, deceased; Polly, deceased wife of Isaac Klingensmith, deceased; Sarah, deceased wife of Abraham Klingensmith, deceased; Elizabeth, wife of Lambert Haun, of Hickory Township; Lydia, deceased wife of Justus Mclaughlin, deceased; Joseph, deceased; David; Rebecca, wife of David Sherbondy, of Greene Township, and Jacob. After Henry Lininger located in this township he worked occasionally at shoemak- ing for the pioneers, but devoted most of his energy toward clearing up his land. Both he and wife were members of the Reformed Church, and died on the farm where they first settled. David grew to maturity in this township, and received very meager educational advantages. He married Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel and Sarah Artherholt, early settlers of Pymatuning Town- ship. She was born in Trumbull County, Ohio, March 11, 1818, and has reared the following children: Lorinda, wife of C. Hum; Joel; Ransom, deceased; Samuel; Sarah, wife of Jacob Reimold; Catharine, deceased; Dianthy, wife of Wendell Brockway; Ellen, wife of Sumner Brockway, and Cora, wife of Norman Blackstone. Mr. Lininger is an adherent of the Repub- lican party, and is one of the prosperous farmers of his native township.

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History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, Part 163

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