History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, Part 166

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

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ALEXANDER SNODGRASS, farmer, post-office Greenville, was born in what is now Greene Township June 28, 1828, and is a son of John Snodgrass, a na- tive of Ireland, who came to Mercer County about 1825. In 1827 he married Anna, daughter of Thomas and Isabella (McClellan) Listen, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Crawford County, Penn., and who settled north of Greenville, in West Salem Township, at an early date, where both died. John

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Snodgrass located in Greene Township after his marriage, and there reared six sons and four daughters: Alexander, John, deceased; Thomas, Margaret, Isabella, Amos, Mary, William, deceased; Robert and Jane. His parents died on the old homestead in Greene Township, in the faith of the United Presby- terian Church. Alexander has passed his whole life in Mercer County. He was married June 28, 1859, to Jane, daughter of John and Rachel (McMillen) Ferguson, the former a native of Ireland, and the latter of Fayette County, Penn. John Ferguson immigrated to Westmoreland County, Penn., with his parents, John and Ann (Johnston) Ferguson, in 1790, and removed with his father to this township in the spring of 1798. He served as captain in the War of 1812, and spent the balance of his life in this township. Mrs. Snod- grass has reared three daughters: Mary E., wife of John Reed, of Hempfield Township; Rachel J., wife of Charles Reigle, of Sugar Grove Township, and Annabel, deceased. Mr. Snodgrass and wife are members of the United Pres- byterian Church, and in politics he is a Democrat. He and wife are de- scendants of two old families, and are well-known citizens of this county.

SPEIR FAMILY .- Among the early settlers of West Salem Township was John Speir, Sr., a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, and the only 'son of John Speir, a wholesale merchant of that city. At the age of twenty-one his father set him up in the mercantile business in Edinburgh, which he carried on about two years. In 1788 failing health compelled him to sell out his stock, and he immigrated to Baltimore, Md., soon afterward removing to Pittsburgh, Penn., where he went into business. The dishonesty of his partner forced him to again give up business, and he removed to Little Beaver, Beaver Co., Penn. While in Pittsburgh he was married, in 1796, to Miss Ann Harnit, who was born and reared near Baltimore, Md. During the Revolutionary War Mrs. Martha Washington boarded at the tavern of her parents, at Warm Springs, Va., where Washington occasionally visited his wife. At that time Mrs. Washington presented to Miss Harnit an eight-gallon iron kettle, which is now owned by her grandson, Erwin Brown, of West Salem Township. John Speir and wife, with their three eldest children, removed from Beaver County to West Salem Township in the fall of 1801, locating about one mile west of the site of Greenville. They reared the following children: John H., born April 3, 1797; Polly, February 2, 1799; Margaret, May 29, 1801; Annie, Sep- tember 5, 1803; Samuel S., September 9, 1805; Elizabeth, February 8, 1808; Robena, June 22, 1810, and James, April 26, 1813. All were reared and died in Mercer County. The father died March 26, 1813, and his widow afterward married Alexander Nelson, and died September 2, 1841. They were Baptists in faith, and old-line Whigs in politics.

John H. Speir, the eldest son of John Speir, was born April 3, 1797, at Little Beaver, Penn., and grew up in West Salem Township. He was mar- ried in 1820 to Sarah, daughter of John Smail, a native of Germany, who came from Westmoreland County to West Salem Township in 1812-13. They reared twelve children: Mary Ann, deceased wife of David Artherholt, de- ceased; Seth, of Greenville; Silas, deceased; Cordelia, widow of Joseph Mc- Mahan; Marilla, deceased wife of Henry McMahan; Sidney, of Missouri; Evi, of Illinois; Ely, deceased; Lynn S., of Greenville; Lyman B., of the same borough; John S., of Kansas, and Sarah, widow of Benjamin McMahan. The father was a prosperous farmer of West Salem Township, and one of the local organizers of the Republican party. He died August 11, 1860, and his widow survived him until August 14, 1878.

JAMES SPEIR was born in West Salem Township April 26, 1813, and was the youngest child of John Speir, who settled in the township in 1801. James

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grew to manhood in West Salem, and married Nancy, daughter of Andrew and Polly (McLaughlin) Brown. She was born in this township, and reared eight children: Elon, Eliza, deceased wife of Eri Calvert; Polly, wife of Jacob Reed; Irene, Smith, Sadie, Elmina and John H. Mr. Speir learned the carpenter's trade, and in connection with undertaking followed that business many years. He afterward settled on the farm where the remaining years of his life were passed, and where he died July 8, 1888. His wife died September 5, 1886, in the Baptist faith, to which denomination Mr. Speir also belonged. Politi- cally he was a Republican, and throughout his mature years was recognized as one of the most successful farmers of his native township. Though a quiet, unassuming man, he was nevertheless progressive and enterprising, while his character and every-day life were strongly marked with the golden stamp of charity and integrity.

ELON SPEIR, farmer, post-office Greenville, was born in West Salem Town- ship September 1, 1835, and is the eldest son of James Speir, previously spoken of. Excepting seven years spent in Ohio, our subject has always lived in his native township. His principal vocation has been farming, though he was engaged in the meat business one year in Ohio and six years in Mercer County. Mr. Speir was married, March 5, 1861, to Miss Catharine, daughter of Rev. Jacob Morris, who bore him two children: James and Catherine A. Mrs. Speir died March 16, 1867. He was again married, March 15, 1869, to Miss Emma, daughter of Joseph and Mary M. (Bigler) Kitch, early settlers of Otter Creek Township. Four children are the fruits of this union: Osta, Albert, Orra and Grace. Mr. Speir and wife are members of West Salem Baptist Church. He is an ardent Republican, and does what he can toward furthering the educational and religious interests of his township.

JOHN H. SPEIR, farmer, post-office Greenville, youngest son of the late James Speir, was born in West Salem Township. He was married, March 1, 1877, to Maggie C., daughter of John and Catharine Loutzenhiser, early set- tlers of West Salem Township. Mrs. Speir was born in West Salem, and is the mother of two children: Myrta and Elda. Politically Mr. Speir is a Re- publican, and one of the enterprising farmers of the township.

JOHN TEMPLETON, farmer, post-office Greenville, was born in Armstrong County, Penn., January 24, 1824, and is a son of William and Rachel (Starr) Templeton, natives of Pennsylvania, and grandson of Philip Templeton, one of the first commissioners of Armstrong County. They were married in Arm- strong County, and in 1845 came to Greenville, and for two years kept the Exchange Hotel. They then bought a farm in West Salem Township, where they resided until death, the father dying in 1865, and the mother in 1877. They reared nine children: Philip, Robert, who died at the age of sixty years; John, Chambers, William, Culbertson, James Y., Margaret, who married J. W. James, and Mary E., who became the wife of A. R. Davis. The parents were members of the United Presbyterian Church, and died in that faith. Our subject was reared in his native county, and in 1846 followed his parents to Mercer County. In the spring of 1849 he crossed the plains to California, where he was successfully engaged in the mines nearly two years. He then returned to Mercer County and purchased his present homestead, where he has since resided. Mr. Templeton was married, January 5, 1852, to Sarah, daughter of Jeremiah and Margaret (Steele) Bates, of Greene Township, Mercer County. She was born in Crawford County, but removed to Greene Township with her parents in childhood. Five children are the fruits of this union: Chambers, William, John, Mary M., widow of Philip Reimold, and Grant. Mrs. Templeton died April 2, 1884, in the faith of the Methodist Epis-

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copal Church. Mr. Templeton is a Republican, and one of the largest land owners and leading stock dealers of the county.

J. Y. TEMPLETON, county commissioner and farmer, was born July 25, 1833, in Armstrong County, Penn., and is a son of William and Rachel Templeton, spoken of in the sketch of his brother John. Our subject was educated in the district schools and in the Greenville public schools. In 1851 he was married to Melvina Bates, daughter of Jeremiah and Margaret (Steele) Bates. Her father was in the War of 1812, and Robert Steele, her grandfather, was a soldier under Gen. Harrison in the same war. Our subject's union gave him four children, but only two survive: Margaret, married J. F. Turner, son of Allen Turner, and has three children, Mary E., Frances M. and Julia; and Francis M., who married May Mclaughlin, daughter of Richard Mclaughlin; Lizzie and Charles are dead. Mr. Templeton owns 118 acres of good land in West Salem Township, on which his son resides. He was census collector of the township in 1880, and was assessor of the same for two terms. In 1887 he was elected county commissioner, which position he is now filling. He be- longs to the R. T. of T., and he and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a Republican. In 1849 William Templeton and four sons went to California with the view of mining. The father, Philip and William traveled by water, while John and Chambers went overland with a mule team. The two last remained about two years, and the others for one year, and all were quite successful.

FRANCIS TRUNKEY, deceased, was born in Hartland, Conn., December 1, 1803, and was a son of Charles and Mary (Ganyard) Trunkey, the former a native of France, and the latter of Connecticut. Charles Trunkey died in Connecticut, and his widow subsequently came to Vernon Township, Trumbull Co., Ohio, where she spent the remaining years of her life. Francis was reared in Connecticut, but ere reaching his majority he came to Trumbull County, Ohio. He was married, January 1, 1828, to Rachel, daughter of John and Catharine Fell, pioneers of West Salem Township. She was born on the old homestead, in West Salem, July 6, 1807, and is the mother of the following children: John, Charles, Ursula, Francis, Orilla, Cyrus and George, all of whom are dead excepting Orilla, who resides with her aged mother on the old homestead. Soon after marriage Francis Trunkey located on a por- tion of his father-in-law's land, which he cleared up and improved, enduring the usual trials and hardships incident to pioneer life. He was a plain, prac- tical, Christian man, upright and honest, and thoroughly respected by the community in which he resided up to his death, August 1, 1875. He died in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which denomination his widow has been a life-long adherent. He was an ardent Democrat, and the political and judicial eminence to which his eldest son, John, attained, has made the name of Trunkey familiar in nearly every home in Pennsylvania.

*HON. JOHN TRUNKEY, late supreme judge of Pennsylvania, was descended from an honored ancestry. On the paternal side he was of Huguenot descent, dating back to the Revolution, his ancestor being one of the soldiers who came over with LaFayette to take a part in our struggle for freedom. The name was originally Tronquet. John Trunkey was born October 26, 1828, in Trumbull County, Ohio, very near the Mercer County line. His father's farm was partly in Mercer County, Penn, and partly in Ohio. Here he grew up a quiet, silent young man, not giving himself much to social pleasure, but intent on doing his duty in the home and in the community. Feeling within himself that there was some better thing in store for him than cultivating the soil, honora-

* Communicated.

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ble and dignified though that employment may be, he sought and obtained what preparation was within his reach for professional life.

In the year 1849 he entered the office of Samuel Griffith, Esq., in Mercer, and commenced the study of the law. Here the same quietness and peace characterized him as in the home. He did not mingle much with society, but gave diligent attention to study, striving to master the principles of law, and make himself familiar with the rules of practice. He was admitted to the bar in 1851, and became associated with Mr. Griffith, his preceptor, in the prac- tice of the law. But his reading and study continued. He was very careful in the preparation of his cases. No matter what the case was, before a justice of the peace or the court of common pleas; whether there was involved the matter of a few dollars or thousands, or the liberty and life of his client, every case was most carefully and conscientiously prepared. On the 29th day of September, 1853, he was united in marriage to Miss Agnes, daughter of the late Hon. William S. Garvin, who was ever the light of his dwelling, and his advisor and comforter in the days that followed. Three children were born to them while they resided in Mercer: William Garvin Trunkey, a member of the bar of Warren County; the other two are not living. God took them early to his home above.

In 1866 Mr. Trunkey was elected to the office of president judge of the Twenty-eighth Judicial District, then composed of Mercer and Venango Counties. In 1876 he was re-elected to the same office. Venango County, to which he had in the meantime removed, then, and since 1874, constituted the twenty eighth district. In 1877 he was elected a justice of the supreme court of this commonwealth, and entered upon its duties in January, 1878. On the common pleas bench he was most patient and generous, listening to the tedious details of business, hearing the arguments of counsel, giving every possible opportunity to the parties in controversy, and saturating his own mind with the spirit of the case, and striving to deal truly and impartially with all parties in- volved. At the time of Judge Trunkey's elevation to the bench business had great- ly increased in the courts, growing out of the great impetus given to trade by the oil discoveries. The number of cases entered on the appearance docket, at the Angust term 1866, being more than ten times greater than the number en- tered at the corresponding term this year, 1888, and the business of the crimi- nal courts was correspondingly larger. The result of this increase of business was the accumulation of cases awaiting trial when the new judge came upon the bench. A herculean task was before him, for the statute required that all actions should be reached and have a fair opportunity of trial at least within one year after they had been commenced. But the Judge girded himself for the work, opening the courts at 8 o'clock in the morning, and sit- ting until six in the evening, and often holding night sessions. The amount of work performed therefore was prodigious. During his first year on the bench he tried in Venango County no less than 120 indictments in the Quarter Sessions and Oyer and Terminer, and 136 cases in the Common Pleas, and he heard and decided 244 cases at argument courts, besides doing a vast amount of work at Chambers, and keeping the business of the populous and important county of Mercer well in hand. With all this pressure of business there was no undue haste. Every man who had business with the courts felt that he was fully heard, and his cause carefully considered. Such was the confidence of the bar and of the people in both his disposition and ability to mete out exact justice between litigant parties, that but few writs of error were taken to his judgments, and such was the correctness of his rulings in the main, that, not- withstanding the great number of novel and difficult questions which grew out

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of the mining industries of this county in the earlier years of his service in the Common Pleas, but eight of his judgments were reversed during the eleven years that he sat in that court. As a justice of the supreme court he manifested the same patient care and industry that had characterized his work in the court below, listening to the arguments of counsel, making himself familiar with the entire case, reading the "paper books," and then carefully, thoughtfully and conscientiously preparing the opinions assigned him, in good, terse English, that will be a monument of his judicial acumen in the days to come. He did not so much seek rhetorical ornament, or strive to em- bellish his style by tropes and figures, as to set forth the truth and get at the gist of the matter in hand. He did not even seek to parade his knowledge of books, but to set forth the principles of the law and their application to the matter in hand. He loved justice and truth and righteousness, and brought them to bear in all his official work. But the last two or three years of his labors on the bench were years of suffering and affliction. An insidious disease was sapping the foundations of health and life, and causing the strong man to feel the burden of his daily toil. This disease was developed in the nasal passages, and soon approached the citadel of life, with most dangerous compli- cations. Yet the gravity of the situation was known to but few, even of his friends. He worked on, yet never complained, not a murmur ever escaped his lips. On the bench hearing arguments, or in his study preparing opinions, there seemed to be the same close mental application, although physical suf- fering was wearing out his life's energy.

In the month of June, 1887, by the advice of his medical counsel, he went to London, England, to be treated by a medical expert. The time spent in London was a period of great suffering, yet he was patient, resigned and trustful, feeling that he was in the hands of a wise and kind Providence, and that all would be well. But the time came when he felt and knew that the end was near. He did not fear the change. Placing his hand in that of his life partner, he spoke kindly of distant friends, and then engaged in prayer for loved ones on that side the water, and on this side; for the church in Franklin, the church of his love; thanked God for the gift of his Son, and his hope of eternal life through him, and for the forgiveness of all his sins. A little later he folded his hands on his bosom; closed his eyes for the last sleep; a little while and the change came; the angels escorted him up to the home, and he passed in to "see the King in his beauty." "Softly as the

shadow of a summer cloud death fell on him." As a religious man Judge Trunkey was eminently careful and conscientious. To him there was a yet higher duty he owed to the church and to its great Head, than to all secular affairs. Religion was an active principle in his life, and all he said or did was influenced by it. After his removal to Franklin he was elected a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church, and at once entered upon the active duties

of that office. He delighted in visiting the poor and the afflicted, and was generous, almost to a fault, in alleviating the wants of the destitute. At that great convocation, the Pan Presbyterian Council, representing 20,000,000 of adherents, which opened its sessions in London in July, and in which Judge Trunkey was to have sat as a representative from the New World, Rev. Dr. Blakie, of Edinburgh, arose in his place, and, in a feeling announce- ment, declared that "the death of Judge Trunkey is a great loss to Presby- terianism in America." He was a successful Sabbath-school superintendent. During the two years of his incumbency of that office, he never entered the school without the most thorough preparation of the lesson of the day. Indeed, the secret of his success in life was, that he made a point of being

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thoroughly prepared for the matter before him by careful reading and patient thinking.

In person Judge Trunkey was about six feet tall, slender, erect in his car- riage, and deliberate yet quick in his movements. In manner he was always courteous, and as approachable as a child. He had a wonderful amount of charity and good feeling toward others. No words of bitterness or quick cen- sure ever escaped his lips, but, on the contrary, he always had words of apol- ogy and excuse for the evil words and deeds of those around him. There is this crowning fact in his life: from his boyhood until he laid him down to die, in a strange land, he led a pure, sweet and virtuous life. No one ever heard him utter a word, or a sentence, that might not have been uttered in the presence of any company. With all the high positions to which he had attained and adorned, there were, in the judgment of his friends, still greater possibilities before him. But these possibilities were not to be realized in this life, but they are and will be in the blessed life on which he has entered, where the redeemed of the Lord shall be made kings and priests unto God. Such a man was John Trunkey. As a star rises to the zenith without haste, without rest, he rose to a high and higher manhood. He strove for the best thought, the truest speech, the sincerest action. He dealt justly, loved mer- cy, and walked humbly with God. Surely his life was a successful and happy one. He was happy, too, in his death. It came in the fullness of his mental vigor, before his clear sight was darkened, or his natural force abated. To him it could not come amiss. He lived in the knowledge that life here is a part of life hereafter, and death a transition. Immortality was not with him a theory, but a fact, of which he was conscious. He strove to live as an im- mortal, and death has consummated his life.

JOHN TUNISON, farmer, post-office Greenville, was born in West Salem Town- ship, two miles north of Greenville, July 12, 1833, and is a son of James and Hannah (Miller) Tunison, deceased pioneers of West Salem. In the last decade of the eighteenth century, Richard Tunison, a native of New Jersey, came from Westmoreland County, Penn., with a family of three children: Zebulon, Sarah, who married John Klingensmith, and James, and settled northwest of the site of Greenville. The mother died ere their coming, when James was an infant. Richard Tunison passed the balance of his days on the farm which he settled. James, the father of our subject, was five years old when his father settled in this county, and he spent the rest of his life in West Salem Township. He served in Capt. Gilliland's company in the War of 1812. He married Hannah Miller, a native of Westmoreland County, Penn., and a daughter of Christopher and Sophia Miller, who settled in West Salem Township at an early date. They reared twelve children: Seovelia, Amos (deceased), John, Elizabeth (deceased), Sophia, Mary, Martin, Rebecca, Reuben, Sarah, Jennie and Samantha. The parents were life-long members of the Lutheran Church, and in politics Mr. Tunison was a Democrat. He was killed in Greenville, by his horses running away, October 11, 1854, and his widow survived him until March 16, 1886. Our subject was reared on the old homestead, and learned the blacksmith trade, at which he worked seven years. On the death of his father he returned to the old home and took charge of the same till the younger children had grown up. Mr. Tunison was married July 4, 1859, to Miss Margaret J., daughter of Solomon and Elizabeth Holler. She is a native of West Salem Township, and the mother of five children: Robert E. (deceased), Alice A. (deceased), James S. (deceased), Addie J. and Harry J. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in politics Mr. Tunison is one of the leading Democrats of West Salem Township, as well as one of its most enterprising farmers.

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AMOS TUNISON, deceased, was a son of James Tunison, and was born in West Salem Township January 13, 1830, and here grew to manhood and was married to Eliza Hubble, who bore him one son, William F. She died, and he was again married in 1858 to Mrs. Elizabeth (Esslin) Stevenson, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Mowry) Esslin of Allegheny County, Penn. Mrs. Tunison had by her first husband, John Stevenson, two children: Elizabeth A. and John E. By her marriage with Mr. Tunison she was blessed with four children: James H., Chambers R., Samuel, deceased, and Amos. Mr. Tuni. son was a Democrat, and was highly respected as an upright, honest man. He dealt considerably in horses, and was known all over the county. He died suddenly April 11, 1885, and was buried by the Lutheran minister, of which faith his widow has been a life-long member.

THE WOODS FAMILY were among the earliest settlers of West Salem Town- ship. William and Mollie (Laird) Woods, natives of Ireland, immigrated to Philadelphia and thence to Westmoreland County, Penn., about 1792. In 1797 William took up the tract of land in West Salem whereon his grandson, Willis O. Woods, now lives, upon which he settled permanently the following year. Four children were born ere the removal of the family to this county, viz. : Jane, Alexander, Thomas and Rebecca. William, now a resident of Page County, Iowa, was the first born in their new cabin home, his birth occurring in January, 1800. Mary, John W. and Betsy were born subsequently. John W. was born on the old homestead in 1804, and grew to manhood under the parental roof. He was married January 6, 1835, to Jemima, daughter of Pat- rick Mclaughlin, a native of Ireland, whose parents settled in this township in April, 1800. Mrs. Woods was born in Kinsman, Ohio, May 15, 1815, but came to West Salem in infancy. She is the mother of thirteen children: Laird, Electa J., deceased; Wilson, deceased; Elizabeth, deceased; John W., Alexander, Simeon, deceased; Oscar, deceased; Lyman B., Emeline, Willis O., Charles S. and Hattie. Mr. Woods always followed farming, and died on the homestead March 17, 1869. He was a deacon of West Salem Baptist Church many years, and his widow has been a life-long member of the same organiza- tion. He was a Republican in politics, and an upright, honest and liberal- hearted citizen, whom everyone respected. He was a kind father and husband, and his memory is revered by numerous descendants. .

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History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, Part 166

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