History of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Vol. II, Part 45

Author: Boucher, John Newton, 1854-1933; Jordan, John W. (John Woolf), 1840-1921
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 860

USA > Pennsylvania > Westmoreland County > History of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 45

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A. A. PERKINS. The father of A. A. Perkins, of Webster, was Jacob Perkins, a native of New York state, who came as a young man to Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. He married Elizabeth Kemerer, and eight children were born to them, of whom A. A., mentioned hereafter, alone survives. Mr. Perkins died at a comparatively early age, and the children were reared by the self-denying exertions of their mother.

A. A. Perkins, son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Kemerer) Perkins, was born August 19, 1829, where Harrison City now stands, and was educated in the common schools. In 1854 he engaged in the milling business, and in 1866 purchased his present mill in Webster, where he has since carried on an exten- sive trade. Although never desiring or seeking office he has always taken the interest of a good citizen in public affairs, and has steadfastly adhered to the Republican party. He is an elder in the Presbyterian church. Mr. Perkins married, February, 1852, Lucinda C. Baker, and their children are: Amanda J., wife of Evan Caldwell, of Forward township ; Abbie A., lives in Swissvale, Allegheny county ; John N., deceased : Eva, married J. V. Shafer, of Swissvale, has one child, Kenneth; and Millie, wife of Henry Cropp, of Swissvale, had five children: Fred, Lizzie, Elmer, Winston, and Carrie, de- ceased. Mrs. Perkins died in 1863, and in 1864 Mr. Perkins married Elizabeth, widow of Robert Manes, and daughter of William Fleming. Their children are: Emma M., Margaret S., William F., employed in his father's mills. mar- ried Amy Mills, has two children, William H. and Elizabeth Elma ; and Ella. All the daughters are at home with their parents.

CHARLES W. HOFFMAN, a prominent business man and repre- sentative citizen of Latrobe, where he has maintained his home for many years,

PaulHoffman -

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also a veteran of the civil war in which he served with signal fidelity and valor, was born at Roxborough, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 1. 1838. a son of Nathan H. and Catharine ( Skean) Hoffman, both of whom were men- bers of sterling pioneer families of the Keystone commonwealth.

Nathan H. Hoffman (father) was born at Roxborough, Pennsylvania, March 8. 1805, was a wagon maker by trade and followed the same for many . years. His wife, Catharine (Skean) Hoffman, born 1807. in Ligonier valley, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, bore him seven children, their births occurring at Roxborough, Pennsylvania. Theodore S., born June 11, 1829 : Norris H., born December 14. 1830, died at Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where he was buried February 15. 1895: John MI., born June 26, 1833. died May 10. 1853. at Chestnut Hill, and was buried in Roxborough, Pennsylvania : Har- riet Matilda, born April 8, 1836; Charles W .. born December 1, 1838; Eliza- beth Amanda, born December 4. 1842: Joseph H., born April 23, 1845. Nathan H. Hoffman lived to attain the patriarchal age of eighty-two years, his death occurring November 21, 1887. in the state of Kansas, where the closing years of his life were passed. He was buried at Roxborough, Pennsylvania, beside his cherished and devoted wife, whose death occurred August 1, 1878, in Bucks county, Pennsylvania. She was also buried in Roxborough, Penn- sylvania.

Charles W. Hoffman passed his boyhood days in his native city, and his educational training was somewhat desultory in nature, being confined to an irregular attendance in the common schools which he left when twelve years of age to initiate his services in connection with the practical duties of life. He entered upon an apprenticeship at the trade of jeweler and watchmaker with his uncle, John Smart, at Philadelphia, with whom he served five years. becoming a skilled workman. For several years thereafter, until the breaking out of the civil war, he worked at his trade as a journeyman, in 1866 engaged in the same line of business on his own account in Greensburg, but shortly afterward removed to Latrobe and there engaged in the same business, build- ing up an excellent trade, which he has continued to conduct up to the present time (1906). In all his business relations he has acquitted himself in such a way as to gain the confidence and esteem of all with whom he has associated. and his business capability is recognized throughout the community. He has always borne a full share in the promotion of community interests, and every enterprise which has had for its object the material and moral welfare of Latrobe has found in him a willing and efficient advocate.

When the dark cloud of civil war threw its pall over the United States, Mr. Hoffman promptly responded to the call for volunteers and went forth to do valiant service in defense of the union. He enlisted April 22, 1861. at Doylestown. Bucks county, in Company I. Twenty-fifth Regiment, Pennsyl vania Volunteer Infantry, as a private, and served in said regiment ninety days. He was discharged at Harrisburg. Pennsylvania, July 26, 1861, at the expiration of his term of enlistment. On September 12. 1861, at Doylestown, Bucks county, he enlisted in Company E. One Hundred and Fourth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, as a sergeant for three years, and was dis- charged at Philadelphia. September 30, 1864. He participated in a number of battles in Virginia and South Carolina : was wounded in the leg at the battle of Williamsburg. Virginia, May 5. 1862, second day's battle : General George B. McClelland's Penninsula campaign, Fair Oaks or Seven Pines, May 31 and June 1, 1862. In the first day's battle his company were all taken prison- ers, excepting six of his comrades, he being out on a scout at the time. His

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comrades were put in Libby prison, Richmond, Virginia, and Weldon, North Carolina, prisons, but finally were all exchanged. The colonel of the regiment, W. W. H. Davis, in the second day's fight had his horse shot from under him, and was also shot in the arm. Mr. Hoffman participated in the battles at Bottoms Bridge, Chickahominy River, Gains Mill, White Oak Swamp, June 31, 1862; Malvern Hill, July 1, 1862; Morris Island, South Carolina, July 10, 1863; Fort Wagner, July 11, 1863. At the siege of Charleston, South Carolina, Johns Island, July 6 and 7, on the first day's battle, his colonel had his hand shot, losing four of the fingers of the right hand. Mr. Hoffman was placed in a tree by General Hatch to call out cover when the enemy were about to fire off their cannon ; a shell exploded in front of the men, cutting the limbs of the tree and tearing the clothing from Mr. Hoffman. He per- formed spy duty under General Patterson and General George B. McClellan, in Virginia : also under Admiral Dahlgreen, on the South Carolina coast, and has in his possession a breast pin with a piece of brick taken from Fort Sumter, while he and six boat erews, six in a boat, soldiers and navy marines, were making an attempt one night to capture Fort Sumter, but they were surprised by the enemy, fired upon, and retreated, one commander being shot in the arm. The following is a copy of the original pass that Sergeant Hoffman had in his shoe when taken prisoner by two of the enemy's cavalry- men near Charlestown, Virginia, but by strategy made his escape, otherwise he would have been shot with the document found on his person :

Provost Marshal's Office, Charlestown, Va., July 19, 1861.

The bearer, Thomas Johnson, a good and loyal citizen of the United States, has liberty to pass freely anywhere within the lines of the American army, and all officers and soldiers are requested to respect his safeguard and render him any assistance necessary, by authority of

W. W. H. DAVIS, Captain 25th Penna. Regiment, Provost Marshal.

Thomas Johnson is an assumed name. Charles W. Hoffman is the correct name and was the scout or spy. For his loyal and intrepid service in this capacity and for the injuries received in the army, he is accorded a pension of twenty-four dollars a month by the government. He is identified with the Grand Army of the Republic, and in politics is a staunch Republican.

Mr. Hoffman married Matilda Ann Borland, born in Franklin township. Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, October 23, 1845, and she still remains by his side. having been a devoted wife and mother. Their children are : 1. Vertis B., born October 18, 1874, at Latrobe, Pennsylvania, died May 21. 1903. 2. Byra James, born December 5, 1875, was killed on the Pennsylvania railroad in a wreck at Latrobe. Pennsylvania, April 18, 1893. 3. Theodore S., born February 1, 1877. at Latrobe, is telegraph operator in the office of the Lovalhanna Coke and Coal Company, near Latrobe. 4. Jennie Willson, born December 7. 1870, at Latrobe, married Frank Gebhart, a civil engineer by profession. he having charge of four different mines. one of which is located near Latrobe. Mr. and Mrs. Gebhart reside in Masontown. Favette county, Pennsylvania. 5. Paul E., born May 31, 1881, at Latrobe. is assist- ant superintendent at the McFeely Brick Company, near Latrobe, Penn- sylvania.

STERLING FAMILY. In the settlement of every new country there are always transient settlers who make their appearance, perhaps to take

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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.

advantage of cheap land, a small tract of which they cultivate for a few seasons, and then tire of even the faint dawn of civilization, and press on to some wilder frontier region, where they exist by hunting, trapping and fishing, thus spending an aimless, worthless life ; but such was not the character of the sturdy Scotch-Irish people, among whom was numbered the founder of the Sterling family of Pennsylvania, Joseph Sterling.

Joseph Sterling, the American ancestor of the Sterlings of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, emigrated from the north of Ireland, it seems quite certain, in 1747. The place of his birth was in Londonderry, Ireland, in 1741, but of Scotch ancestry it is certain. He settled in one of the eastern counties of Pennsylvania, probably in York county, as his indenture for the farm named "Sterling's Nest," dated 1783, is to Joseph Sterling, of York, Pennsylvania. Another farm bought by him at an earlier date was to Joseph Sterling, of Washington county, Pennsylvania. In Westmoreland county, to which part of Pennsylvania he came in 1780, he purchased a tract of about three hundred acres situated in Derry township. He made for himself a name in Derry township, on what was ever afterward known as "Sterling's Nest." Here he enjoyed life and vigorously labored to subdue the forests for more than a quarter of a century, during which period he made for himself and family, consisting of a wife and four children, a comfortable home. He became a man of means and much influence in his community, and possessed the noble traits of integrity and hospitality, rearing his children with a keen sense of an accountability to God and fair dealing with their fellowmen. Let it here be recorded that his christian training may be seen in a goodly degree in the lives of his remote descendants. He was not an active factor in politics, but in- tensely loyal to his adopted country and obedient to its laws.

Joseph Sterling married Mary Porter, of Scotch-Irish ancestry. Her exact nativity is not known. Her ancestors possessed strong intellectual and christian-like characters, making her an ideal helpmate for her husband, as well as a force in her little circle in those long-ago days. Among her ances- tors was the once well known preacher, Rev. Porter, who was among if not the first to preach the Word at Congruity. It was he who, when first coming to this country, provided a habitation by fastening logs on puncheon slabs to the trunk of a giant tree which had by wind or other means been uprooted and laid up some distance from the earth at one end. This formed a fastening for one end of the rude. improvised "house," which served till a better could be provided. The children born to ancestor Joseph Sterling and wife Mary (Porter) Sterling were: Rebeckah, who became the wife of William Robinson, ancestor of the Dunlaps, at old Salem church. 2. Mary, who mar- ried a Mr. Marshall, of Indiana county, Pennsylvania, ancestor of the Hazlets of Latrobe. 3. Janet, who married Joseph Glenn, of Butler county, Pennsyl- vania. 4. William, the only son, was born at the old Sterling homestead in 1772. probably in York, Pennsylvania, but not of a certainty. To the daugh- ters Joseph Sterling gave a money portion, excepting Mrs. Robinson ( Rebec- kalı) to whom he gave land now owned by the heirs, the Dunlaps. Joseph Sterling and wife Mary ( Porter) Sterling died and were buried at old Salem church : the former in 1813 and the latter in 1822.

In the recorder's office at Greensburg, Pennsylvania, may be seen a copy of the original deed, which was beautifully inscribed on heavy parchment, the same is still in the possession of the family and well preserved. It is recorded in deed book No. 2, page 360. The instrument was from James Eaton and wife and bears date of June 3. 1793, recorded April 19, 1796, by James Guth-

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rie, recorder. It describes a tract in Derry township, consisting of two hun- dred and ninety-four acres and nineteen perches of land-the old homestead. The consideration was one hundred pounds sterling, lawful money of Penn- sylvania. The original will, made on paper, is also in the hands of the de- scendants, the substance being as follows: "Will of Joseph Sterling: (Dated March 29, 1798). In the name of God, Amen! I, Joseph Sterling of Derry township, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, being sick of body, but of sound judgment, mind and memory, calling to mind the mortality of my body, knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die, do this 29th day of March, 1798, make and ordain this niy last will and testament, in the following manner and form, and that is to say: That at my death my body is to be buried in a decent Christian way and manner, at the direction of my execu- tors, nothing doubting but at the general resurrection I shall receive it again by the mighty power of God. And as touching such worldly estate, where- with it has pleased God to endow me with in this life, I do give, demise, and depose of the same in the following manner and form: After the full payment of my just debts, of my whole estate I bequeath to Mary, my beloved wife, the sum of ten pounds in lawful money, all my household goods, kitchen furniture, beds and clothing, one saddle, one of my best cows, six of my sheep, of her own choice; the free possession of the east end of my mansion- house, part of the kitchen, together with one-third of the profits arising from my farm, during her natural life; the grain to be delivered in the bushel and a sufficiency of hay, fodder, etc., to maintain one horse, one cow, and six sheep. To my loving daughter Rebeckah the sum of one pound lawful money. four years after my decease. To my nephew, Joseph Robison, I do give and bequeath the sum of five pounds lawful money, to be paid to his father four years after my decease for his schooling. To my daughter Mary I do give and bequeath my house clock to be delivered to her at my wife's decease. To my nephew, Joseph Marshall, I do give and bequeath the sum of five pounds lawful money, to be paid to his father, four years after my decease, for the use of said child's schooling. To my nephews, Joseph Sterling and Samuel Sterling, I do give and bequeath ten pounds, to be paid four years after my decease, for the use of said children's schooling. And my large Bible to the said Joseph. All the rest of my personal estate is to be equally divided betwixt my said children, William, Janet, Rebeckah, and Mary, with the exception that Elizabeth (an adopted daughter) shall have a heifer two years old. All my books, excepting my Bible, I leave at the disposal of my loving wife." Note: It should be remembered that prior to the making of this will, Mr. Sterling had already given a portion of his estate to each one of his four children in land or money.

II. William Sterling, only son of Joseph and Mary ( Porter) Sterling, born in 1772, was a man of strong character, with the highest sense of honor prompting his every act. He was a determined courageous man in his convic- tions. In his religious faith he held rigidly to that of the Presbyterian. He was a lover of good people and of Christian work ; affectionate as a friend, and noted far and near for his hospitality. It was said of him that "He was gifted in prayer and mighty in the Scriptures," which he had read through many times. He also had a genius for singing, and was never more truly delighted than when singing hymns. To him the Sabbath and the house of God were sacred. Of his means he gave freely to the support of the church of his choice. While not active in politics, never aspiring to office, vet keenly alive to his duty at the polls, he was a supporter of the old school Democracy

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until the days of the civil war, when he was greatly interested in the success of the Union cause. He was anti-slavery, and bitterly opposed to whisky in all forms. He served as a trustee in the old Salem church, which he cher- ished even as his life. He married Janet McQuiston, of Carlisle, born of Scotch-Irish parents, about 1772. She was once chased by the Indians to the fort at Hannastown. She was a grand character, a true wife, noble mother, and exemplary Christian. She died at a ripe old age, in 1845. Their children were: Joseph, James, Samuel, Margaret, Mary, Sarah, William, Robert, and Jane. After the death of his wife Mr. Sterling married a Mrs. Stuart, of Blairsville, Pennsylvania, who at his death removed to that place, but only survived him a short time. She was also of an excellent family and a devoted Christian lady. Each of the five sons received from their father a good farm. and the four daughters received the cquivalent in money. Three of the sons became residents of Ohio, where their descendants still live. One son, Robert Sterling, lived and died on the farm near Hillsdale, and this place is now pos- sessed by his heirs.

III. William Sterling, son of William and Janet ( McQuiston) Sterling, was born at the old Sterling homestead, April 27, 1808. He followed farming, and was highly respected and very successful. His education, not unlike many another in those early days before the free public school system was estab- lished, was of necessity limited, yet by force of character, high aim in life, and through careful reading became a well versed man. He was a high-minded and sound thinking man, who absorbed but the good from his superior asso- ciates with whom he mingled. He was ever loyal to church and state, and a life-long total abstainer, as had been his father, even to the use of tobacco. He exerted all his influence for the cause of temperance, which in his day and gneration was not as popular as to-day. Like all of his forefathers, he was strictly of the Presbyterian faith, exemplifying it in his daily walk with men. For many years he was an elder in the old Salem church, which society had for generations been sustained by the Sterlings. His brother Robert was also an elder in the same church. Aside from the office of elder William Sterling. never held office, except that of school director in Derry township.

Mr. Sterling was twice married. first to Elizabeth, the sister of Dr. Donald- son, well known in Westmoreland county educational history. By this union two children were born, only one of whom survives, Jennie D. Sterling, married John Wineman, now deceased. Elizabeth (Donaldson) Sterling died, and for his second wife Mr. Sterling married Martha Hartley, daughter of James Marshall and wife, of Indiana county, Pennsylvania. She was born October 20. 1820, of like ancestry to that of Mr. Sterling. Martha Hartley Marshall's grandmother on her father's side was Jane Scott, and on her mother's side was Martha Hartley. Her mother's name was Margaret Kirkpatrick. William and Martha Hartley ( Marshall) Sterling were the parents of the following children : Wilson C., who became an attorney-at-law in Cleveland, Ohio, and died March, 1904. on the farm on which he was born. He attended Elder Ridge Academy, and subsequently graduated from Lafayette College. He first practiced law as a partner of Colonel Sanderson, of Youngstown, Ohio. and later removed to Cleveland, Ohio. He married Alice Reich, of Easton. Pennsylvania, who is now residing there. Margaret, died in her young teens. Celia, Sarah, James M .. of whom later ; Edwin, William, Nettie, married Thomas Elder, of Derry township, died October 1, 1905. leaving a son, Thomas, aged two years.

James Marshall Sterling, son of William and Martha (Marshall) Ster-

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ling, was born at the old homestead in Derry township, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, June 16, 1855. He obtained a common school education, and followed farming on the home farm until 1887, when, upon his marriage, he farmed three years in Derry township, near the old place, and for six years in Salem township. In 1896 he was made police officer for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at Derry, serving three years, when he was elected as chief of police for the borough of Latrobe, his present home, and is still filling the position with full credit to himself and all law-abiding citizens of the borough. He is interested to quite an extent in the Latrobe brick works, a large plant, also in other enterprises. Politically Mr. Sterling is a staunch supporter of the Republican party principles. In church connections he is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Latrobe, of which he has been an elder since 1899, and had held the same office at the old Salem church before coming to Latrobe to reside. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., at Derry, Pennsylvania, and of the W. of W., at Latrobe. He married, February 17, 1887, at the old McConnell farm, near Congruity, Pennsylvania, Kate McConnell, daughter of David K. and Harriet ( Sloan) McConnell, and sister of Judge Alexander McConnell, of Greensburg, Pennsylvania. (See the fam- ily history of the McConnells elsewhere in this work.) Mrs. Sterling's father, David K. McConnell, died in 1900. Mr. and Mrs. James M. Sterling have children: Mary Alice, born December 24, 1888, Eleanor Culbertson, born May 25, 1892, both at home, and attending the public schools of Latrobe.

JOHN STEEL LIGHTCAP, of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, was born October 2, 1870, in Unity township, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. His mother dying in his infancy, he was reared and educated by the family of Andrew and Eliza Steel McChesney. His great-grandfather Lightcap was of German descent ; every other line of his ancestry was Scotch-Irish. His father was Sammel Gilson Lightcap, a leading farmer and stock raiser, also justice of the peace, late of Unity township, and his mother was Sarah Mc- Chesney. His grandfather, on his father's side, was William Lightcap, a son of Samuel Lightcap and Rachel Craighead, while his grandmother, on his father's side, was Susanna McClaren, a daughter of Matthew McClaren (who came from Ireland when he was seven years old), and Pounds, of the Derry township family of that name. On his mother's side, his grandfather was William McChesney, who was a son of William McChesney (who came from county Tyrone, Ireland, about 1786 and settled on what was known as the William Penn McChesney farm in Unity township, between New Alex- andria and Latrobe, Pennsylvania), and Buchanan. His grandmother, on his mother's side, was Elizabeth McWhirter, a daughter of William Mc- Whirter and Margaret McChesney.

Jolin S. Lightcap was educated in the public schools of Unity township, graduated from the high school of Greensburg in 1889; entered Washington and Jefferson College in the fall of 1889, was graduated from the classical department of that institution in 1893 : taught school several terms ; was prin- cipal of the Ligonier borough schools the winters of 1894-95-96; read law with Judge John B. Steel; was admitted to the Westmoreland county bar June 26, 1897. He married, November 8, 1899, Mary Zahniser, a daughter of R. M. J. Zahniser and Elizabeth Hirst Zahnister, of Greensburg, formerly of Mercer county, Pennsylvania. Of this union, one child, John Steel Lightcap, Jr., was born December 16, 1900. In the spring of 1902 Mr. Lightcap entered into partnership with Eugene Warden, of Mount Pleasant, a member of one

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of the old and distinguished families of this county, under the firm name of "Lightcap and Warden." This firm has at once sprung into full practice in a bar composed of a number of the leading lawyers of Pennsylvania, and to-day enjoys a large and lucrative practice among the boroughs, corporations, banks, individuals and firms of not only this but adjoining counties. Although prac- ticing in Greensburg, Mr. Lightcap has for some years resided in Latrobe, where he is a member of the Presbyterian church, and interested in a number of business enterprises.

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History of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Vol. II, Part 45

Author: Boucher, John Newton, 1854-1933; Jordan, John W. (John Woolf), 1840-1921 Publication date: 1906 Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis publishing company Number of Pages: 860

Author: Boucher, John Newton, 1854-1933; Jordan, John W. (John Woolf), 1840-1921
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 860