USA > Pennsylvania > Westmoreland County > History of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 16
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WILLIAM N. DAVIS. One of the county's enterprising business men is William N. Davis, of Greensburg, born November 23, 1873, in Arm- strong county, Pennsylvania, son of Isaac and Lucy ( Remaley) Davis, both natives of the same county.
U'ntil reaching the age of fifteen William N. Davis attended the common schools of his native county, and then for two years was engaged in agricultural pursuits. At the end of that time he took a position as clerk in a general store at South Greensburg, where he remained six years. He then opened a gen- eral feed store on Mount Pleasant street, at the Pennsylvania railroad crossing, where he has since conducted a flourishing business. He deals extensively in everything pertaining to his line of trade. He takes an active interest in every- thing relating to the welfare of the community, and supports with his voice and vote the principles advocated and upheld by the Democratic party. Mr. Davis married, April 12, 1900, Laura V. Searight, and they have two children : Oliv- erettie Jennie, born August 6, 1901 ; and William Remalia Derry, born July 23, 1903. Mrs. Davis was born in 1877, in Pittsburg, and is the daughter of Sam- uel and Oliverettie (Cunningham) Searight, both natives of that city.
JOHN WILLIAM MOORE, son of Ebenezer and Nancy B. (Hurst) Moore, was born April 16, 1837 in Rostraver township, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. His paternal grandfather, Robert Moore, moved from Cecil county, Maryland, in 1780 and settled there. He married Jane Power, a sister of Rev. James Power, D. D., who in 1774 was the first Presbyterian to settle and preach in the "Western Wilds." Robert Moore erected a large two-story house into which he moved and lived during his life.
Ebenezer Moore, the youngest of Robert Moore's six children, was born August 3, 1793. He moved to the old Blackstone farm in Tyrone township, Fayette county, Pennsylvania in 1846, and added to the farm by the purchase of one hundred and fifty acres of adjoining land. These two farms were heav- ily underlaid with coal, and it was here that the coke interests were started, which have since been developed by his sons J. W. and P. H. Moore. Ebenezer Moore was six feet in height, and a man of commanding presence. He was an elder in the Presbyterian church, and a Democrat in politics. He represented Westmoreland county in the legislature in 1844, and it is an interesting fact that he received all the votes except five that were cast in his own township. He was married in May, 1833, to Nancy Blackstone Hurst, daughter of James and Sarah Hurst, of Mount Pleasant township, Westmoreland county, Pennsyl- vania. They had six children : one died in infancy ; Sarah Jane, died February 23, 1858, at the age of thirteen ; James H. ; Rev. R. B. Moore, D. D. ; John W., the subject of this sketch and P. H. The old house is standing in which the father and children were born, and the farm has been in possession of the fam- ily for one hundred and twenty-five years.
John William Moore received his early education in the common schools of his native township and Elder's Ridge Academy. He afterwards took a full business course at the Iron City Commercial College, from which he was grad-
J. D Inone.
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
uated in 1856. In his early life he was extensively engaged in stock dealing in Westmoreland, Fayette, and Greene counties. Mr. Moore practically retired from that business in 1873. He made an investment in the Connellsville Coke industry (at that time just attracting public notice) and formed a partnership with James Cochran, Solomon Kiester, and James Hurst for the manufacture of coke at the Summit Coke Works, near Broad Ford, Fayette county, Penn- sylvania. After six years he withdrew from this firm, purchased the Red Stone Coke plant, three miles south of Uniontown, and engaged in the coke business with his brother, P. H. Moore. Colonel J. S. Schoonmaker was ad- mitted as a partner in 1881, and four years later J. W. Moore withdrew. He bought two thousand acres of coal land in Mount Pleasant township in 1879, where he built the "Mammoth Coke Works," and put in operation six hundred ovens. He increased his coke business in 1889 by the purchase of the "Wynn Coke Works, near Uniontown. He sold, August 23, 1889, his entire coke inter- est to the H. C. Frick Coke Company for a large sum, and practically with- drew from active business. He died February 19, 1893.
Mr. Moore was married, November 22, 1860, to Elizabeth Stauffer, a daughter of M. B. and Charlotta Stauffer, of Connellsville, Pennsylvania, and they had six children. Mrs. Elizabeth Stauffer Moore has a beautiful home at Greensburg, and is largely interested in its charities. She also maintains a fine winter establishment in Washington, D. C.
DAVID PORTER HUDSON, an enterprising business factor of the city of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, was born May 4, 1875, in Salem township, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, son of William and Mary ( Kepple) Hud- son. The paternal grandfather was William Hudson, whose parents lived in. Bedford county, Pennsylvania, and moved to Westmoreland, settling at Pleas- ant Unity, when he was a small boy. William Hudson, Sr., was a farmer by occupation. He was a supporter of the Republican party from its organization, and in religious matters affiliated with the Presbyterians. He married Sallie Fishel, of Saltsburg, Pennsylvania. William Hudson, Jr., was a native of Westmoreland county, also a farmer and stockman. He married Mary Kepple, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Kepple, of Salem township, Westmoreland county.
David Porter Hudson, son of William Hudson, Jr., and his wife, Mary Kepple, received a common school education and later attended the Greensburg Seminary. After leaving school he engaged in the real estate business, and for three years has been connected with the Westmoreland Savings & Trust Company. He is one of the directors of the Westmoreland Grocery Company and the Greensburg Finance Cmpany ; one of the organizers and directors of the Pleasant Unity National Bank ; and director of the Westmoreland & Sav- ings and Trust Company. Politically Mr. Hudson is a staunch supporter of the Republican party. He is the present treasurer of the borough of Greens- burg. He is a member of the First Presbyterian church, and of the B. P. O. E., Lodge No. 511. October 25, 1899, he was married to Eva Ammann. daughter of Fred and Laura (McDowell) Ammann, of Orrville, Ohio. Mrs. Hudson re- ceived a liberal education at Mount Union College of Alliance, Ohio.
WILLIAM THOMAS WELTY, who was one of the leading factors in the business circles of Westmoreland county, and a man who was always held in high esteem by his friends and business associates, was born at Delmont,
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, June 5, 1862, a son of John H. and Mar- garet J. (Craig) Welty.
Daniel Welty, grandfather of William T. Welty, was born in Greensburg, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, September 13, 1800. He was an active member of the German Lutheran church, with which he was connected from his childhood to 1847, when he became one of the organizers of the English Lutheran church. He held office in this church for a long period of time, and during his membership, which continued until his death, the communion roll showed him absent but twice, and on both of these occasions he was unable to attend owing to illness. Mr. Welty married Barbara Bierer, and twelve chil- dren were born to them, seven of whom survive: Daniel, resides in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania ; Elizabeth, wife of Rev. Samuel Aughey, geologist, late of Lin- coln, Nebraska ; Frank E., of Pittsburg; Thomas J., of Washington; Robert F., of Turtle Creek : Susan, wife of Rev. V. B. Christy, Ellerton, Ohio; and Clarissa, of Ada, Ohio. Daniel Welty married for his second wife Sarah A. Craig. His death occurred December 8, 1874, when he was sixty-eight years of age. His widow survived him several years. William B. Welty, son of Daniel Welty, participated in the Civil war. He was a member of the Flag Company, and fell in the battle of Antietam. In the same company were nine cousins, all of whom were wounded and one of whom later succumbed to his wounds.
John Henry Welty, the second child of Daniel Welty, and father of Will- iam Thomas Welty, was born in Pleasant Unity, Westmoreland county, Penn- sylvania, September 25, 1834. He was reared at home, and early in life was an assistant in his father's store in Hannahstown, and later was employed for a year in the store of Lewis Trauger, of Greensburg, Pennsylvania. His ex- perience in these stores gained for him much valuable information relative to the mercantile business, which was of inestimable aid to him in later years. He subsequently engaged in the general mercantile business for himself in Delmont, Westmoreland county, there conducting an eminently successful and prosperous business for ten years. At the expiration of this time he removed to Allegheny, Pennsylvania, where he became a member of the firm of Welty Bros., in the carpet business, retaining his connection with this firm for four years. In 1886 he moved to Greensburg, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, where he en- gaged in business, and was for a number of years one of the best known and highly respected merchants of that town. Mr. Welty was a consistent member of the Lutheran church for forty-five years. November 10, 1858, he was united in marriage to Margaret J. Craig, daughter of James and Jane ( Brown) Craig, of Hannahstown, Pennsylvania. Her father was one of the well known farm- ers of that section. Their children were: Duella M., widow of J. M. Bortz, of Greensburg : Jennie, Blanche, Martha and William Thomas Welty. All of these children are deceased excepting Duella M., who resides in Greensburg. John H. Welty died July 20, 1901, after a useful and well-spent life.
William Thomas Welty, the second child and only son of John H. and Margaret J. (Craig) Welty, was but a boy when his parents moved to Pitts- burg where they remained a short time. They then returned to Hannahstown, where William T. was reared. His early educational training was acquired in the common schools of this town and later at Greensburg Academy. In 1883 then in his twenty-first year, he went to Greensburg, Pennsylvania, to enter into the employ of Mr. Lewis Trauger, then one of the prominent dry-goods mer- chants of that town. His genial disposition soon won for him a host of friends in his newly adopted residence, and for fifteen years he held a responsible po- sition in Mr. Trauger's business. In 1898 Lewis Trauger died, and Mr. Welty
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purchased the entire stock of goods. This seemed a large undertaking, but it was one in which he prospered even beyond his own expectations, and in 1901 he purchased the building in which he transacted his business. He enjoyed the confidence and respect of his fellow-townsmen, won for him by the upright and general fair dealing which characterized all his business transactions. Mr. Welty was one of the leading members of the Zion Lutheran church, was for over twenty years a member of the church choir, was a deacon of the church for several years, and was always prominently and actively identified with Sunday school work. He was a member of the I. O. of H. and the J. O. U. A. M.
April 27, 1893, Mr. Welty was united in marriage with Ada S. Thomas, of Westmoreland county, daughter of Abraham W. and Sarah ( Henry ) Thomas. Her father, Abraham W. Thomas, was born in Westmoreland county, Penn- sylvania, June 18, 1839, a son of John and Catherine Thomas. He is a member of one of the old families of Westmoreland county, and has always been held in high esteem by his fellow-citizens. Until recent years his life was spent on his farm three miles east of Greensburg, but he is now a resident of Greensburg. When the great Civil war was in progress Mr. Thomas enlisted, September 14, 1863, in Company H, Seventy-sixth Regiment, serving until the close of the war when he was honorably discharged, July 18, 1865. He is a member of the G. A. R. In religious matters he affiliates with the Reform church, in the affairs of which he was always interested. Mrs. Welty's mother, Sarah ( Henry) Thomas, was born in Hempfield township, daughter of Nathan and Sarah (Miller) Henry. Her death occurred in March, 1894. The sudden and unex- pected death of Mr. Welty, which occurred September 24, 1903, was a great shock to all of Greensburg, his death being caused by a clot of blood in an artery leading to the heart. The evening previous to his decease he had been about his work as usual. By his death the community lost an honorable citizen, and a man whose character remained unblemished to the last. Mrs. W. T. Welty now resides in Greensburg with her daughter and only child, Margaret L. Welty. She is an intelligent and accomplished woman, an active church worker, and prior to her husband's death was a member of the church choir and a teacher in the Bible class of the church.
WILLIAM A. RODEHAVER, one of the enterprising business men of Westmoreland county, was born in Preston county, West Virginia, March 14. 1867, and was the son of George and Sevilla ( Kelly) Rodehaver, one of nine children, five of whom survive: William .\., Freeman, Greensburg ; Amanda, wife of Rufus Kisner, of West Virginia : John, in the lumber busi- ness in West Virginia : and Emma, wife of Floyd Ringer, of West Virginia. William A. Rodehaver's wather was born in Preston county, West Virginia, in November, 1840. He is of German descent, and was reared on the home farm. During his young manhood he learned the trade of a miller, and worked as a journeyman miller for a number of years, later purchasing a mill which he still owns. He served three years and six months in the Civil war as a bugler, and is a member of the G. A. R. His wife, Sevilla (Kelly) Rode- haver, was born in Preston county, West Virginia, and was of German de- scent. She died in the early eighties, and Mr. Rodehaver married Clara Wat- son, by whom four children were born, three of whom are still living : Etta, Ada and Earl.
William A. Rodehaver was reared at home and educated in the common schools of his native place. When about eighteen years of age he commenced work at the carpenter trade with his father. About two years later he entered
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
into the shoemaker's trade, which he followed for several years. In January, 1889, he removed to Greensburg, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, where he entered into the employ of the firm of Kelly & Jones, and while there learned the trade of moulder. He retained his connection with this firm until 1896, and for the four succeeding years he was variously engaged. Since 1900 he has followed carpentering and building, in which occupation he has been very suc- cessful. Mr. Rodehaver is an excellent citizen, industrious and energetic, and is one of South Greensburg's representative men. In political affairs he helps support the Republican party. He has served one year as street commissioner, one year as assessor, and is at present a member of the borough council. He is a member of Greensburg lodge, No. 366, K. G. E. He married, March 19, 1890, Minnie Blackson, daughter of Jacob and Rebecca ( Shirey) Blackson, both of whom are still living and reside in Unity, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. One child was born to Mr. and Mrs. Rodehaver, Ethel May, born January 9, 1891, and died October 11, 1891.
HENRY LOMESON KEAGGY is well known in Westmoreland county, as well as that entire section of Pennsylvania, having been for many years employed on the railroads in various capacities, and is at the present time ( 1906) manager of the Brothers large estate. The family which he represents came originally from Switzerland, but have been settled in America for a number of generations.
(I) John Keaggy, father of Henry Lomeson Keaggy, was born in Switzer- land, and came to the United States about 1825. He was a stone mason by oc- cupation, and died in 1843. He married Margaret Lomeson, born in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, 1811, died in Allegheny City, 1893. She was the daugh- ter of John and Ann (Fulkerson) Lomeson, the latter born in Danville, Penn- sylvania. John Lomeson (grandfather) built a grist mill at Cherry Run. They had six children, none of whom are now living and among whom were: Will- iam, was a farmer and died in Armstrong county ; John, was a farmer and died. in Michigan : Jerry, died near Homer, Indiana county, Pennsylvania ; Henry, who studied medicine, became a prominent physician, and amassed a fortune, which he left to a nephew, Dr. J. B. Keaggy, who lives in Allegheny City, is married but has no children.
John and Margaret (Lomeson) Keaggy had six children : William, mar- ried ; Margaret, married ; Lucy, deceased, married Erastus Gray, who was a railroad engineer and was killed by falling in front of his own engine at Bar- docks, on the old Pittsburg & Connellsville Railroad ; David, married ; Henry Lomeson, of whom later ; and John, married.
(II) Henry Lomeson Keaggy, third son and fifth child of John and Mar- garet (Lomeson) Keaggy, was born in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, March 25, 1845. He was raised on the farm, receiving a common education, and at the age of fifteen years enlisted in Company G. One Hundred and Seventh Regi- ment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, December, 1860. He served with the Army of the Potomac until September. 1862. He was in six battles and displayed bravery and courage remarkable in one so young. He was wounded in the first battle at Fredericksburg, and was sent to the hospital where he lay for two months and was then sent home. He commenced working on the Pittsburg and Cleveland Railroad in the capacity of brakeman, and worked his way up through the various positions of conductor and train dispatcher until 1899, when he assumed the management of the Brothers' estate, at Greensburg, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. He is considered a very efficient and cap-
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able manager and his services are highly satisfactory to his employers. He married Margaret Kissig Parke, born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, June 19, 1865, daughter of Robert Matthias Parke, a Methodist preacher, who built the first church in Allegheny City, preaches there, and defrays all the expenses. Robert M. Parke had a family of five children, two sons and three daughters, of whom but two are now living : Margaret Kissig, wife of Henry L. Keaggy, and Helen.
EMOR M. GARWOOD is one of the prominent business men among the younger generation of Greensburg, and is the first of his family in West- moreland county. For over a century the Garwoods have been land-owners and prominent citizens of Fayette county, the family estate being about three miles south of Brownsville, in Luzerne township. The original ancestors of the Garwood family came from England and settled among the Quakers in the eastern part of Pennsylvania. Obed Garwood removed from Cumberland county to Fayette county, purchasing four hundred acres of land in Luzerne township, November 16, 1783. His son Obed succeeded to this land and lived and died in Fayette county. Benedict Garwood, bis son, brought up a large family on the old homestead in Fayette county, and George, the young- ·est son, was born there in 1839. George Garwood was married to Rachel M. Haney, a native of Fayette county in 1862. He died Septem- ber 28, 1903, and his widow survived less than a year, dying June 25, 1904. They had nine children, named respectively, Edith F., Charles S., Emor M., see forward; Albert G., Frank E., Harry Clyde, Nathaniel E., Bessie M., and Evelyn L., the latter being the wife of W. S. Rial, of Greensburg.
In September, 1887, Emor M. Garwood left the farm and going west began business for himself in Streator, Illinois, where he was engaged as book- keeper for Powers Brothers, a large hardware firm. He was afterwards assistant cashier of the freight department of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy rail- road at Streator. Leaving Illinois in 1889, he came to Uniontown, Fayette county, and shortly afterward removed to Westmoreland county, where he became proprietor of the Hill House in Scottdale. In October, 1900, he located in Greensburg as manager of the Monahan Hotel, and in 1902 pur- chased the Zimmerman House, which has since been singularly successful under his management. He married. July 26, 1887, Katharine Chalfant Cline, daugh- ter of T. H. and Elizabeth Cline, of Brownsville. They have had three chil- dren, but one of whom, Marie Chalfant, is living. They are members of .Christ's Episcopal Church, of Greensburg. The Garwoods have been Republi- cans since the birth of the party in 1856, and prior to that were Whigs. Emor M. Garwood has always been an active worker in the Republican party, casting his first vote for Benjamin Harrison in 1888. Though an earnest worker in the ranks, he has never sought official position. He is now, however, prominently spoken of as a candidate for sheriff of Westmoreland county, in 1907, and his ·energy, prompt business principles and substantial character eminently fit him for the position.
JAMES CARROLL. A type of the successful self-made business man is found in James Carroll, of Greensburg. Mr. Carroll's father, Joseph Carroll, was a native of Allegheny county. Pennsylvania, where he passed his life as a farmer. He married Catherine Mellhanev, and their children were : Oliver L., deceased : Tames, of whom later : William, deceased ; Hannah de- .ceased ; and Mary, widow of E. J. McEllee, of Mount Pleasant. When little
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
more than infants Mr. Carroll's children were left fatherless, and their mother sold the farm and moved to Elizabeth, Allegheny county.
James Carroll, son of Joseph and Catherine ( McIlhaney) Carroll, was born November 14, 1848, in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, and was but eight years of age when his father died and his mother moved with her children to Elizabeth. He was educated in the common schools of that city, and about his fifteenth year apprenticed himself to the trade of carpenter in Pittsburg, where he remained until 1878, working at his chosen calling. He then went to Mount Pleasant where he worked for eight years as a carpenter and builder, and about 1886 moved to Greensburg where he has since been engaged in build- ing. He is a Republican in politics, and is a member of the United Presbyterian church. Mr. Carroll married in 1872, Elvira J. Hart, of Indiana county. They were without children. In 1894 Mrs. Carroll died and Mr. Carroll has since remained a widower.
JOSEPH THOMAS. One of Greensburg's most successful citizens is Joseph Thomas. The parents of Mr. Thomas were both natives of Germany, having been born on the banks of the Rhine. William Thomas, his father, was a carpenter and cabinetmaker. He married Mary Anna Auen, and six chil- dren were born to them, three of whom survive: William, a florist at Sharon, Pennsylvania; Joseph, mentioned hereafter; and Agnes, wife of Frederick Muehlenbeck, of Tarentum, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. In 1881 Mrs. Thomas died, and in 1890 her husband followed their children to the United States, where he passed away in 1892.
Joseph Thomas, son of William and Mary Anna ( Auen) Thomas, was born June 9, 1869, in Prussia, on the banks of the Rhine, and as early as his four- teenth year apprenticed himself to the trade of a florist. Previous to this time he had attended the public schools, and while learning his trade completed his education at the evening schools. In 1888 he came to the United States and accepted a position as landscape gardener for R. P. Duff, of Pittsburg. Later he worked in the same capacity for Mrs. McMasters, of Turtle Creek, and in 1890 became foreman for A. W. Smith, the well-known florist of Pittsburgh. This position he retained about eighteen months, and was then engaged as gardener and florist by St. Xavier's Academy of Westmoreland county, where he re- mained four years. He then went to Greensburg and for six months was em- ployed by D. M. Sheerer. At this stage of his career Mr. Thomas engaged in business for himself as a florist and landscape gardener. He leased the Barclay lot on North Main street for seven years and there erected his greenhouses. In September, 1902, he purchased a portion of the Belvedere farm, two and one- half miles northwest of Greensburg, where he built extensive greenhouses and a substantial residence. His business, meanwhile, increased rapidly and he now stands at the head of his line of enterprise in Greensburg, having a salesroom in the Wealty building, on Ottoman street. He is a Democrat in politics, and is a member of the Roman Catholic church. Mr. Thomas married in 1892, Henrietta Pickert, and seven children were born to them, six of whom are now living: Agnes, Marie, William, Frederick, Joseph and Robert. In 1902 Mrs. Thomas died. In 1903 Mr. Thomas married Susanna Clements, by whom he is the father of one child, Henrietta.
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