USA > Pennsylvania > Westmoreland County > History of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 28
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Mr. MeCarty has been twice married. His first wife was Ella, daughter of Simon and Hittie (Linton) Small, natives of Philadelphia. Mr. and Mrs. McCarty had children : Mary Hester, Agnes Ella, Hugh Simon, and George Linton, who died in infancy. The others are at home. The mother of these
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children died February 26, 1891, and March 2, 1897, Mr. McCarty married Susan H. Small, a sister of his first wife. By this marriage he is the father of two sons : David H. and Charles Joseph.
JOSEPH BULLERS. The father of Joseph Bullers, of New Ken- sington, was John Bullers, born in 1801, in England, and in 1842 emigrated to the United States, settling in Jefferson county. He had been a lace maufac- turer in the old country, but on coming to his new home engaged for the re- mainder of his life in farming. He was a member of the Baptist church. Mr. Bullers married, in England, a Miss Shaw, and of their ten children six died in the old country. Those whom they brought with them to the United States were : William, Edwin, James and Ebenezer. After the death of his wife Mr. Bullers married Adeline Harrington, and their children were : Henry, deceased ; Mary Ann, married J. Jones, of Jefferson county, and is now deceased ; Jo- seph, mentioned hereafter : Elizabeth, wife of E. J. Irwin, of Jefferson county ; Emily, married John Campbell; Rachel, wife of William Kirkman ; Catherine, wife of W. N. Humphrey : Lucy, married William Clark ; one who died in in- fancy ; Thomas, deceased ; Charles G., a farmer in Jefferson county ; and Elmer, a farmer on the homestead. Mr. Bullers, the father, died in 1888.
Joseph Bullers, son of John and Adeline ( Harrington) Bullers, was born October 14. 1845, in Jefferson county, where he was educated in the common schools. When but sixteen years of age he engaged in the lumber business for himself at Brookville, and continued it successfully for forty years. In con- nection with this he labored in summer as a farmer and drover. He is the only man in that part of the country who deals in pine timber. In 1885 he moved to New Kensington, established himself in the mercantile business, and the fol- lowing year built a large store-house on the corner of Ninth street and Fourth avenue, which is one of the finest in the borough. He has there successfully continued the business ever since, carrying a general line of groceries and country produce. Since becoming a resident of the town he has built twenty houses. He belongs to Brookville Lodge No. 217. I. O. O. F .. In politics he is a Republican, and at one time was a member of the borough council. Mr. Bullers married Hannah F., daughter of James and Susan ( Keys) Suffolk, the former English and the latter of Irish parentage. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Bullers were: Arthur, died at the age of seven years: Amos, who is on his father's farm in .Jefferson county, married Annie Coughern, and has two children: Florence and Helen: Vernie, wife of Joseph Dewitt, of New Kensington, and one who died in infancy.
FRANCIS M. CURTIS, of New Kensington, is the son of Dr. Charles Curtis, who came from Rutland, Vermont, to Parnassus, Pennsylvania, where he practiced medicine for a few years, after which he moved to Colum- bus City, Iowa, and there engaged in the practice of his profession during the remainder of his life. Dr. Curtis married Martha, daughter of David McClain, one of the first publishers of the old Pittsburg Gasette, and two children were born to them : Phoebe, and Francis M., mentioned hereafter. Dr. Curtis died about 1859.
Francis M. Curtis, son of Charles and Martha ( McClain) Curtis, was born May 12, 1857, in Iowa, and was but two years old at the time of the death of his father. His mother then returned to her old home at Freeport, Pennsyl- vania, the boy receiving his education in the common schools of that place and of Indiana county. Afterward he attended the Elder's Ridge Academy, grad-
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
uating at the end of two years. In 1877 he became clerk for the firm of Wilson & Manifold, general merchants of Parker's Landing, Pennsylvania. In 1883 he was admitted to partnership, the style of the firm becoming Manifold & Curtis, under which name the business was conducted for the next ten years. In 1893 he moved to New Kensington and there established a department store, which he has successfully conducted down to the present time under the firm name of Frank Curtis & Company. Mr. Curtis was one of the pioneer merchants of New Kensington, and his business has increased until he has now the largest store of its kind in the Allegheny valley. He is a director of the Logan Trust Company, of New Kensington, and one of the trustees of the Young Men's Christian Association. He is a member and trustee of the Presbyterian church of New Kensington. Mr. Curtis married Susan, daughter of Peter King, of Emlenton, Pennsylvania, and one child was born to them, who died in infancy.
ALEXANDER LESLIE. The family of which Alexander Leslie, of New Kensington, is a representative first comes into notice in the person of Mr. Leslie who was keeper of the ferries near Valley camp about the time of the building of the canal which ran through the Allegheny valley, where he lived and ended his days. His children were : William, deceased : David, men- tioned hereafter : James, deceased : George, a farmer in Lower Burrell township : Thomas, deceased ; and two daughters, one of whom was married to Thomas Marshall and the other to Alexander Marshall.
David Leslie was born in 1812 or '13 near New Kensington, and passed his life as a farmer in Lower Burrell township. In politics he was a staunch Republican and held the office of school director. He was a member of the Presbyterian church. He married Mary Haltz, of Allegheny county, and their children were: George R., a farmer of Lower Burrell township: Agnes R .: William H., a farmer on the homestead : James, a real estate broker in South Sharon : Alexander, mentioned hereafter : and Elizabeth, wife of John Ed- monds. of Carleton, Missouri. The death of Mr. Leslie, the father, occurred in 1892.
Alexander Leslie, son of David and Mary ( Haltz) Leslie, was born Oc- toher 25. 1859, and received his primary education in the common schools, from which he passed to the acdemy at Tarentum and thence to Duff's Business College, Pittsburg, where he graduated. For four or five years he was a teacher in his native county. About 1882 or '83 he established himself in the drug business at Parnassus, where he remained until 1892. He then moved to New Kensington, where he was one of the pioneer settlers, purchasing the second lot sold in the town. In that place he has ever since conducted a drug business. He has been elected to the office of school director. He belongs to Lodge No. 548, F. and A. M., of Verona, Pennsylvania, and in the sphere of politics adheres to the Republican party. He is a member of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Leslie married Ada, daughter of Peter King.
ALBERT H. SNYDER. Jacob Snyder, great-grandfather of Albert H Snyder, of New Kensington, emigrated from Germany and settled in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, where he passed his life as a farmer. He married Mar- garet Helzel, and their children were: Jacob: William ; John, mentioned here- ¿fter : Tobias : George : Thomas ; and Mary, married Alexander Davis.
John Snyder, son of Jacob and Margaret ( Helzel ) Snyder, was born April 3. 1823. in Bedford county, and in early life learned the trades of stonemason, bricklayer and plasterer, which he followed until 1868. He then engaged in
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
mercantile business at Reimersburg, Clarion county, continuing for twenty-two years and retiring in 1890. He was a member of the Reformed church. Mr. Snyder married Sarah J., daughter of John Felix Keller, and their children were: William D., mentioned hereafter : Elliott E., Emma F., married J. J. Anderson ; Albert C., Annie B., wife of William H. Anderson ; David E. ; Mary L., married Richard B. Wick ; and two who died in infancy. The death of the father of the family occurred August II, 1904.
William D. Snyder, son of John and Sarah J. (Keller) Snyder, was born January 1. 1851, in Clarion county, where he received his education in the com- mon schools and at the Clarion Collegiate Institute. In early life he assisted in his father's business and was freight and ticket agent for the Huntington & Broad Top railroad for two years. In 1892 he moved to New Kensington, where for three years he was engaged in the grocery business. For the last few years he has been in the employ of his son, A. H. Snyder, in the real estate, in- surance and mortgage loan business at No. 913 Fifth avenue, New Kensington, Pennsylvania. He was a member of the first school board of New Kensington, and for two terms held the office of borough clerk. He is a Republican in pol- itics, and belongs to the Masonic fraternity. Since the age of nineteen he has been a member of the Reformed church. Mr. Snyder married Anna M., daughter of James A. and Mary Mortimore, and their children were: Ida Flor- ence, died at the age of fifteen years ; Albert H., mentioned hereafter : Virgilia P., who is a stenographer and typewriter for the Pittsburg Reduction Works; John Lloyd, employed as a clerk by J. H. Eckley, of New Kensington ; and three who died in childhood.
Albert H. Snyder, son of William D. and Anna M. (Mortimore) Snyder, was born August 9, 1876, at Reimersburg, Clarion county, where he received his education in the Clarion Collegiate Institute. During his school days he assisted his father in the latter's business, and after completing his education worked five years as a clerk for a real estate and insurance firm. Since March. 1900, he has been successfully engaged for himself in the real estate, loan and general insurance business. He belongs to Lodge No. 512, B. P. O. E., of New Kensington, and in politics is a staunch Republican. He is a member of the Reformed church of New Kensington. Mr. Snyder married S. Bertha, daughter of G. W. and Elvira Stewart, of Clarion county, and they have one child, Eugene Clyde Stewart Snyder.
ELMER J. BAXTER. The grandfather of Elmer J. Baxter, of Par- nassus, was James Baxter, who passed his entire life as a farmer in Lower Bur- rell township. He belonged to the Democratic party, and was a member of the Presbyterian church. His children were: John, Robert, Andrew, mentioned hereafter : and James.
Andrew Baxter, son of James Baxter, was born in Westmoreland county, and like his father was a lifelong farmer. He was a member of the Presby- terian church of Parnassus. His wife was Susanna, daughter of William and Susanna Milligan, and their children were : William C., a farmer in Westmore- land county : Harriet, wife of John Culp : Elmer J., mentioned hereafter ; Nancy J., married Frank M. Eyler ; Newton J., a dentist in Jeannette ; Margaret S .. wife of Newton Anderson : Elizabeth L., Ida F., and Sallie M. The death of Mr. Baxter occurred in 1900.
Elmer J. Baxter, son of Andrew and Susanna ( Milligan) Baxter, born September 18, 1862, in Upper Burrell township, and was received his primary education in the common schools, from which he advanced
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
to Parnassus Academy and Reedsburg Normal school. After teaching for three terms in his native township and for two years at Parnassus he purchased the shoe store of A. Cook, of that town, and for three years conducted the bus- iness. He then engaged in the hardware and implement business for about six years, the first three years under the firm name of Alter & Baxter, and the remainder of the time under that of Baxter & Wills. His next venture was in the real estate. loan and insurance business, which he has successfully conducted to the present time. He has recently organized, in partnership with H. H. Bax- ter, what is known as the New Kensington Fiber Plaster Company for the manufacture of wall plaster and other fire-proof products. In 1900 he was elected school director and in 1903 was re-elected for three years. For that length of time he was president of the board and is now treasurer. He has been chairman of the board of health for four years. In politics he is a Pro- hibitionist. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church of New Kensington. Mr. Baxter married Carrie, daughter of Aaron and Mary A. Reimer, and their children were : Lelia I., died in childhood ; Lola L., Flora E., and Ruth C.
DAVID THOMAS. John and Anna Thomas were the parents of David Thomas, of New Kensington, who was born July 12, 1860, in South Wales, and received his education in the common schools of his native country. After leaving school he learned the trade of a weaver. In April, 1881, he came to the United States and settled in Pittsburg, where for some time he followed his trade. In 1884 he obtained a position with the Metropolitan Insurance Com- pany at Youngstown, Ohio, where he remained two years and a half, at the end of that time returning to Pittsburg and resuming his trade. In 1886 he became proprietor of the St. David's Hotel, Pittsburg, which he successfully conducted for fourteen years. December 10, 1900, he purchased what was then known as the Hotel Will of New Kensington, of which he immediately took possession, changing the name to the Hotel Kensington, and has been the pro- prietor ever since. In 1902, in partnership with Thomas J. Thomas, he engaged in the business of importing cockles or shell fish from the old country and pros- ecuted the undertaking for two years. In February, 1904, he was elected a member of the council of New Kensington, for a term of three years. and has since been largely instrumental in obtaining the new station at that place, and also other improvements. He is a member of Gomer Lodge. No. 64, I. O. O. F .. Madock Lodge, No. 229, K. P .. in which he has passed all chairs and holds the rank of past chancellor, and Cap Sheaf Lodge. No. 159. Heptasophs, all of Pittsburg. He is esteemed loyal knight of Lodge No. 512, B. P. O. E. of New Kensington, and also belongs to the Homeless Twenty-six. In politics he is a staunch Republican.
Mr. Thomas married in 1886, Elizabeth, widow of William R. Reese, and daughter of the late Thomas B. Jones of Allegheny. Pennsylvania, and they have two daughters: Sarah, graduated from Savres' Business College, of New Kensington, and is now stenographer for the Pittsburg works; and Maisie, at home. By her former marriage Mrs. Thomas was the mother of the follow- ing children : William R., manager of the Hotel Kensington : Annie, at home : Elizabeth. at home : and John T., employed as a clerk by the United States Steel & Tin Plate Company.
EUWER FAMILY. The family of which Robert Allen Euwer and Archie Nelson Euwer, of New Kensington, are representatives, was planted in this country by three brothers, Patrick, Samuel and John Euwer, who emi-
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
grated from Ireland in. 1796. Patrick never married, Samuel settled on a farm at Sandy creek. Allegheny county; and left numerous descendants, and John was the founder of the Westmoreland county branch of the family.
John Euwer was born about 1767, in Ireland, and on coming to this coun- try settled in Plum township, Allegheny county, where he purchased some two hundred and seventy acres of land and engaged in farming during the remain- der of his life. He was a member of the Reformed Presbyterian church. Mr. Euwer married Nancy McMillen, of the Ligonier valley, and their children were : Jennie, wife of James McMath, farmer of Penn township, Allegheny county ; Archibald, mentioned hereafter ; Daniel, merchant of Blairsville and later of Pittsburg: Nancy, wife of Robert Euwer; Mary, wife of Thompson Graham, of Freeport, Pennsylvania ; John Nelson, merchant ; Eliza, wife of Robert Shearer ; Samuel, merchant of Newcastle, Lawrence county, Pennsyl- vania : James, farmer on the homestead ; and Isabel, wife of George Hender- son, merchant of Newcastle. Mr. Euwer, the father, died in 1838.
Archibald Euwer, son of John and Nancy ( McMillen) Euwer, was born in 1799, in Plum township, Allegheny county, where he passed his entire life as a farmer. He was a member of the Reformed Presbyterian church. Mr. Euwer married Mary, daughter of Ebenezer and Nancy ( Mitchell) Gill, and their chil- dren were: John, mentioned hereafter: Nancy Jane, deceased ; Ebenezer G., merchant of Trafford, Pennsylvania ; Matthew G., retired merchant of Par- nassus ; and Archie Nelson, farmer of Iowa, who during the Civil war enlisted in Company C, One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volun- teers, commanded by Colonel Pierson, and served over three years in the Army of the Potomac, participating in all the battles from Fredericksburg to the sur- render of Lee. The death of Mr. Euwer, the father of the family, occurred in 1843.
John Euwer, son of Archibald and Mary (Gill) Euwer, was born July 8, 1832, in Plum township, Allegheny county, and received his education in the common schools. At the age of sixteen he took charge of his father's farm, and until 1885 was engaged in agricultural pursuits. He then moved to Par- nassus and there engaged in mercantile business, retiring February 7, 1901, since which time he has given his attention to real estate. In 1866 he left the homestead and purchased the Walnut Hill farm in Westmoreland county, on which he lived twelve years. In 1879 he bought a farm on Puckety creek, which he sold six years later on moving to Parnassus. He is a member of the Re- formed Presbyterian church. Mr. Euwer married, January 11, 1855, Isabella M., daughter of Robert and Annie Allen, natives of Scotland, and their chil- dren were: Anna Mary, wife of J. McKee Swank ; Amelia Jane ; Margaret G., died at the age of three years ; Robert Allen, mentioned hereafter ; Archie Nel- son, also mentioned hereafter ; Ida May, stenographer for the Central Railroad Company; Elvira Bell, stenographer in Pittsburg; Florence C., kindergarten teacher in Allegheny City ; and Lizzie Emma, deceased, graduate of Slippery Rock Normal school and for some time a teacher.
Robert Allen Euwer, son of John and Isabella M. (Allen) Euwer, was born May 14, 1862, on his great-grandfather's farm, the homestead of the family, and received his education in the common schools and at the Parnassus Academy. At nineteen he established himself as a butcher at Parnassus in partnership with J. D. Rowan, but at the end of one year sold out and went to. Iowa where he was engaged with William Todd as a cattle shipper. He then returned to Westmoreland county, and in 1881 again established himself as a butcher in Parnassus, continuing the business about three years. He was then
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engaged for about four years in the livery business at Parnassus, after which he once more established himself as a butcher, thus time at Springdale, Alle- gheny county. He continued the business for thirteen years and then returned to Westmoreland county, where he purchased the furniture business of M. G. Euwer & Company, Ltd., entered into partnership with his brother, Archie Nelson Euwer, and established the business under the firm name of Euwer Brothers and Company. The enterprise proved successful and the affairs of the firm are now in a flourishing condition. Since 1891 Mr. Euwer has been president of the Springdale Building & Loan Association of Springdale, Alle- gheny county, Pennsylvania. He is now serving on the council of Parnassus. His political support is given to the Republican party. He is a member and trustee of the Presbyterian church of Parnassus. Mr. Euwer married Sarah J., daughter of the Rev. John Moulton Jones, and they had one child, John Moulton, graduate of Parnassus high school and Pittsburg Academy and now engaged in bookkeeping. Mrs. Euwer died in 1885, and Mr. Euwer subse- quently married Katharine, daughter of Matthew Donnell. The issue of this. marriage is one child, Archie Lloyd Euwer, at present attending Parnassus high school.
Archie Nelson Euwer, son of John and Isabella M. (Allen) Euwer, was born October 24, 1864, on the homestead, and was educated in the common schools and at the Oak Dale Academy, Allegheny. After serving one year as clerk for William Cruikshank, of Verona, Pennsylvania, he entered his father's store in Parnassus in a similar capacity, remaining five years. He then entered into partnership with his father, the connection continuing until February, 1901, when he purchased, in company with his brother Robert Allen Euwer. the furniture business since carried on by the firm of Euwer Brothers and Co. For some years Mr. Euwer held the office of borough auditor. He is a Republican, and a member and trustee of the United Presbyterian church of Logan's Ferry. Mr. Euwer married, October 3, 1895. Claribel, daughter of James M. and Anna (Stevenson) Greer, of Murraysville, Pennsylvania, and they have one child, James Greer Euwer, born August 20, 1901.
JAMES S. HITCHMAN, one of the prosperous and enterprising citizens of Mount Pleasant, traces his ancestry back to an early period, the pio- neer immigrant, who was an officer in an English regiment, having come to America when George III sat upon the throne of Great Britain. He became interested in the condition of the Colonies and sympathizing with them in their struggle for political liberty, he soon resigned his position and identified him- self with the colonial cause, but refused several important military commands in the Continental army during the revolutionary struggle. His delicate sense of honor would not allow him to draw his sword against the country whose uniform he had worn and whose pay he had received for many years. He was a resident of Virginia.
William Hitchman, son of the emigrant ancestor, removed from his home in Virginia to Redstone Creck, in what is now Fayette county, Pennsylvania, and which was then supposed to belong to Virginia. After the close of the Revolutionary war he went to Maryland and there married Nancy Gillespie, who was an estimable woman and a member of a well-respected family, and who bore him twelve children, among whom were the following: James, John, William, Robert, Andrew, Samuel, Gillespie, David, Nellie, Elizabeth. Shortly after his marriage Mr. Hitelman removed to Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland
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county, Pennsylvania, where he followed farming. He was a member of the Presbyterian church.
John Hitchman, son of William and Nancy (Gillespie) Hitchman, was born in 1789. When the war of 1812 broke out he enlisted in a company com- manded by Captain Reynolds, was commissioned first lieutenant, and was or- dered with his regiment to Baltimore, Maryland, where he served until the close of the war. In 1828 he was elected brigade-inspector in the Pennsylvania militia with the rank of major and served in that position until 1836. For several years thereafter he engaged in mercantile business, and in the borough of Mount Pleasant, where the greater part of his life was spent, was highly regarded both as a business man and citizen. He married Mary Thompson, who was a descendant of the Thompson family, widely known and highly respected in the Cumberland valley. She was born at Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, February 18, 1799, and died March 30, 1870, survived by her only child, William J. Hitchman. John Hitchman (father) died in March, 1846, aged fifty-seven years.
William J. Hitchman, only child of John and Mary ( Thompson) Hitch- man, was born at Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, July 8, 1838. Before he was eight years of age his father died and he was left en- tirely to the care of his excellent mother, who instructed him in those right and noble principles of action which characterized his mature manhood. The greater part of his boyhood was spent at Laurelville, which was a small village at the foot of Chestnut Ridge, and early in life he engaged in the tanning busi- ness, which he conducted later on an extensive scale with his father-in-law, James Shields, and subsequently was associated with Mr. Neel in the same in- dustry. Before he attained his seventeenth year he was acting as village school teacher, and served in that capacity for several years. Prior to this he began dealing in stock in a small way, which business he constantly enlarged, and which he still continued to conduct after he became an independently wealthy man. He was early engaged in the manufacture of coke under the firm name of Stone, Hitchman & Co., with ovens in the vicinity of Tarrs. Later they es- tablished ovens known as the Morewood plant, and they conducted an exten- sive business along that line for that day. At the Centennial, in 1876, they received the medal for the best and finest grade of coke. About the year 1880 Mr. Hitchman began to deal extensively in coal and coal lands, and he also operated to some extent in the production of coal in both Westmoreland and Washington counties, both these industries netting him a handsome return.
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