USA > Pennsylvania > Westmoreland County > History of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 53
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LEWIS S. RHOADES, justice of the peace of Mount Pleasant bor- ough, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, was born in South Huntingdon township, April 2, 1858, the son of Daniel F. and Rebecca ( Armstrong) Rhoades.
John Rhoades (grandfather) was born in Smithton, South Huntingdon township. Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and there he lived all his life, following the occupation of a farmer. He married a Miss Sowash, and their children were: Daniel F., Peter. Josiah, Maria, who married Lowry Wilgus.
Daniel F. Rhoades ( father) was also born in South Huntingdon township in 1821, and he resided there all his life, following farming very successfully. He was a member and deacon in the Free Will Baptist church at Jacobs creek.
Daniel F. Rhoades married Rebecca Armstrong, daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Armstrong, and their children were: Ilannah Maria, Elizabeth S., Lewis S., of whom later : Noah E., cashier in the National Bank at Smithton, Pa. : Oville C., married Hattie Rowe. Emma G., married John A. Linn.
Lewis S. Rhoades obtained his early education in the common schools of his native place. his intermediate education at the West Newton High school, and his higher education in the California State Normal, from which institution he was graduated in 1880. He worked his way through the last named school by teaching. and after graduation taught for two years. He then established himself in the mercantile business in Jacobs creek. where he remained for eight vears, and achieved good success in this line. During the period he lived in Jacobs creek he held the position of postmaster. His next removal was to Smithton, where he was employed by the Waverly Coal and Coke Company for three years as assistant superintendent. He removed to Mount Pleasant borough in 1895. and was for eighteen months engaged in the drug business.
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At the expiration of that time he was elected to the office of justice of the peace, and has since given his entire attention to the duties of that office. He was appointed in September, 1903, mercantile appraiser by the county commission- ers for the term of 1904. In his political affiliations Mr. Rhoades is an ardent Republican, and has been very active in the affairs of his party since he attained his majority. He was elected justice of the peace in Smithton, south Hunting- don township, and served a term of five years. He acted as a delegate to the state convention at Harrisburg, and has been secretary or held some other prominent position in almost every county convention since 1879. Fraternally he holds membership in the M. W. of A., Lodge No. 7082, of Mount Pleasant, in which he has passed all the chairs ; the N. P. L., Lodge No. 606, of Mount Pleasant, in which he is a charter member, and was secretary for two years ; he is also a charter member and trustee of the K. M., Lodge No. 361, of Mount Pleasant. He married, February 26, 1885, Sarah E. Duncan, daughter of John and Isabelle ( Campbell) Duncan, and their children are: Flora G., horn De- cember 20, 1885 : Edith R., born November 16, 1887, a graduate of the Mount Pleasant High School; Isabelle D., born May 10, 1890; Robert L., born Feb- ruary 6, 1893: Esther E., born August 10, 1896; and Zelpha Naomi, born March 4, 1900.
CHARLES C. TRIECE. The great-grandfather of Charles C. Triece, of Ligonier, emigrated from Germany to the United States and set- tled in Somerset county, where he spent the remainder of his life as a farmer. His son, Conrad Triece (grandfather), was born in Somerset county, where he passed his entire life. Like his father, he was a farmer, and also for some time keeper of a toll gate. Conrad Triece was the father of two sons: Thomas and Henry. Henry Triece (father) was born in Somerset county, learned the millwright's trade, and when a young man moved to Indiana county. He set- tled in Blairsville where he built a mill and during the remainder of his life devoted himself exclusively to the milling business. He was an active mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church and a Republican in politics. Henry Triece married Susan Balentine, and their children were: I. William, a physi- cian of South Haven, Mich. ; 2. Elizabeth, married John Trezise, and is now de- ceased : 3. Fanny, married Isaac Wynn ; 4. Letitia, who was the wife of the late William Battles : 5. Thomas J., a railroad engineer of Cumberland, Md. ; 6. Charles C., mentioned hereafter ; 7. Lillie, married S. C. Coyl, of MeKeesport, and is now deceased ; 8. Henry, who, at the outbreak of the Civil war, enlisted with the ninety days men, then re-enlisted and was killed just before the sur- render at Appomattox : 9. John W., enlisted at the beginning of the Civil war, and served until he fell in battle in 1863 ; 10. Sarah, died in infancy ; II. Annie, died at the age of twenty-one : 12. Jesse M., a millwright at Blairsville. The death of the father of this numerous family occurred in 1882, aged seventy- eight years. The mother was injured by a fall, and died February 1, 1901, aged eighty-four years.
Charles C. Triece, son of Henry and Susan ( Balentine) Triece, was born January 14, 1854, in Indiana county, where he was educated in the common schools and learned the trade of a millwright with his father. For a number of years he followed his trade in Illinois and other parts of the west. He pur- chased, in 1897, what was known as "Hoover's mill," south of Ligonier, which had been built about 1775, and which he operated until the autumn of 1904. He then moved to Ligonier and built a mill in partnership with Andrew Stoner, which they operated under the firm name of Triece & Stoner. He after-
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ward purchased his partner's interest, and has since continued the business alone, his mill being the largest and most modern in the Ligonier valley, with a capacity of sixty barrels daily. He belongs to Progress Lodge, No. 524, I. O. O. F., of Chicago, and is a member of the United Presbyterian church of Ligonier, in which he holds the office of steward. He is a Republican in poli- tics. He married, December 29, 1874. Narcissa Jane, daughter of Daniel and Susan Wagoner. She was a resident of Cookport. Indiana county, Pennsyl- vania.
GEORGE R. GRIFFITH. Jesse Griffith, grandfather of George R. Griffith, of Ligonier, passed his life as a farmer in Jenners, Somerset county, Pennsylvania. He was the owner of large tracts of land which he had inher- ited from his father. He married a Miss Conley, of Bedford county, and their children were: Samuel, mentioned hereafter ; William, Allen and Jehu.
Samuel Griffith, son of Jesse Griffith, was born in 1804, in Somerset county, and in early life engaged in the hotel business in Jenners, in connection with farming. In 1845 he was elected sheriff of Somerset county, and at the time of his death was still in office. In politics he was a Whig. He married Eliza- beth Hillegass, in 1830, and they had children: Caroline, wife of F. G. Neff : Lydia, married Dr. Joseph Covode; Margaret, married James Mortimore ; Simon H. who enlisted in 1864. at Camp Reynolds, in the Fifth Heavy Artill- ery, and at the end of a year lost his life: George R., mentioned hereafter. The death of Mr. Griffith, the father, occurred in 1848 : the mother died in 1887.
George R. Griffith, son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Hillegass) Griffith, was born December 27, 1844, at Jenners, Somerset county, and in June, 1863. en- listed in the Fifty-fourth Regiment, state troops, participating in the Morgan raid. In August. 1864, he enlisted in Company H, Two Hundred and Eleventh Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, in which he was advanced to the rank of second lieutenant. On account of illness he resigned about March 1. 1865, at Point Rocks, Virginia. After his return to civil life he engaged for three years in mercantile business at Hooversville, and then moved to Oak Grove, Westmoreland county, where he was in business for twelve years. At the end of that time he settled in Ligonier and established the business which he has successfully conducted to the present time. Since 1903 he has been a member of the council of Ligonier. He was also councilman of the borough of Ligo- nier. In politics he is a Republican. Mr. Griffith married Esther A. Mickey. daughter of Daniel and Margaret Mickey, of Ligonier, Pennsylvania; their children were : Ida G., wife of H. F. Menoher, of Ligonier ; Maud E., wife of H. E. Frank, of Somerset county : Lousetta H., wife of R. A. Wilt, of Ligo- nier ; Nellie D., at home ; and Denny Ross, at home.
DANIEL M. KERN, a well-known printer and publisher, and prom- inent citizen of Ligonier, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, is one of those progressive and enterprising young men who have helped Pennsylvania to the proud position which she has justly attained. Jacob Kern, grandfather of Daniel M. Kern was a resident of the state of Pennsylvania. Aaron H. Kern, son of Jacob Kern, and father of Daniel M. Kern, was born in Springfield, Pennsylvania. He entered the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in August, 1887. as brakeman, and by his fidelity and close attention to the duties of his position soon earned promotion to the position of conductor. a position which he holds at the present time ( 1906). He is a member of the United Brethren church. He is also a member of Lodge No. 6. I. O. O. F.,
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of Youngwood, Pennsylvania ; B. of R. T., and A. O. U. W., at Greensburg. He married Permelia J. Pool, daughter of John and Maria Pool, and they have four children : John O., conductor on the Pennsylvania Railroad ; Daniel M., of whom later; Joseph C., died in infancy ; Maggie O., a clerk in the Fiscus & Riblett store in Youngwood, Pennsylvania.
Daniel M. Kern, second son and child of Aaron H. and Permelia J. ( Pool) Kern, was born in Madison, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, February 24, 1877. His education was received in the common schools of his native town, and as he was a very ambitious boy succeeded in acquiring here a fair amount of knowledge. At the age of thirteen years he went to the Tribune office in Greensburg to learn the trade of printer. He commenced at the bot- tom of the ladder and remained in this office for seven years, obtaining a very thorough and practical knowledge of what was to become his life's work. He then resigned this position and went to Ligonier where he accepted a position as foreman in the office of the Echo, remaining there for six years. He estab- lished himself in business in February, 1904, associating himself with Thomas Davidson, and opening a printing office under the firm name of Kern & David- son. A year later he bought out his partner's interest, and has since success- fully conducted the business alone. Mr. Kern, in connection with J. S. Kimmel, of Greensburg, and Harry B. Stom, formed the Ligonier American and Pub- lishing Co., of which Mr. Kern is president. The business of this company is editing and publishing The Ligonier American, an independent weekly news- paper devoted to the interests of the Ligonier valley, and the work of a general printing office. The first issue of the American appeared in April, 1906. The office of the company is located in the J. H. Frank block in Ligonier. He has energy and force of character, is quick to see the trend of the times and take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself. Under these circumstances it is not to be wondered at that he is considered one of the rising young men of Westmoreland county.
JOHN W. HUSTON. The great-grandfather of John W. Huston, of Ligonier, was Archibald Huston, who was born in 1763, in the parish of Killen, county Caven, Ireland, and in 1812 emigrated to the United States, settling in Chester county, Pennsylvania. He subsequently lived in several other counties of the same state, finally taking up his abode in Westmoreland county, where he ended his days. He brought with him to this country his six sons : John: Richard; Archibald : George; William, of whom later ; and Joseph. He was a contractor of public works.
William Huston, son of Archibald Huston, was born in 1808, in Ireland, and was but four years old when the family emigrated. Early in life he set- tled at what was then Huston Station and is now Lake Hall, having previously been engaged in farming. In his new abode he worked as a contractor and builder, and was also employed in railroad work. At one time he kept a gen- eral store in Fairfield, and later did contract work in West Virginia. He pur- chased a farm in St. Clair township and was the proprietor of hotels in La- trobe, Johnstown and Pittsburg. He served as sheriff of Westmoreland county from 1859 to 1862. He was a member of the Democratic party, and belonged to the Presbyterian church. Mr. Huston married Mary, daughter of John Ben- nett, of Fairfield, and their children were: William; Archbald; Agnes, mar- ried George L. Miller, one of the prominent engineers of Pennsylvania ; Eliza- beth, was for twenty-five years a missionary among the Indians; John, was a
H. L. Mc Murray
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surgeon in the army and died about 1864; and Dixon, of whom later. Mr. Huston, the father died in 1881, at Ligonier.
Dixon Huston, son of William and Mary ( Bennett) Huston, was born in Fairfield township, and for about twenty-five years was supervisor for the Pennsylvania railroad. In 1880 he settled in the Ligonier valley, where he passed the remainder of his life in retirement. He belonged to Johnstown Lodge, F. and A. M., of Johnstown, and was an elder in the Presbyterian church of Ligonier. He married Margaret, daughter of Joseph and Trankful Naugle, and their children were: Joseph ; and John W. of whom later. Mr. Huston died in May, 1902. Margaret (his widow) resides in her own home at Ligonier.
John W. Huston, son of Dixon and Margaret (Naugle) Huston, was born June 11, 1866, in New Florence, receiving his education in the common schools and at Blairsville Military Academy from which he graduated in the class of 1883. His calling is that of a civil engineer, and since 1889 he has worked in Texas, California, Mexico, Kansas, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Florida and Okla- homa. Since 1888 Mr. Huston has been engaged in the production of crude petroleum. He married Cora MI., daughter of Emmet and Emmaline (Douthett) Lawson, and they have one child, Helen, who was born October 14, 1902.
REV. HUMPHREY LUDWICK MCMURRAY. The McMurrays are of Scotch-Irish ancestors who came to America in 1790, settling in eastern Pennsylvania. They came to Westmoreland county in 1800, one brother re- maining there and two others going farther and settling in Ohio.
The earliest ancestor of whom there is any definite information was Cap- tain Acheson McMurray, grandfather of Rev. Humphrey L. McMurray, a large land owner and farmer near Harrison City. Captain McMurray had a taste for military life and was commissioned first lieutenant of the Fifth Cavalry, August 12, 1821, and captain in the Sixtieth Regiment belonging to First Brigade, composed of the militia of Fayette and Westmoreland counties, Pennsylvania, May 5, 1823. He married Elizabeth Linsabigler, and their chil- dren were: Joseph, Ephraim, William, Albert, John, Susannah ( Mrs. Samuel Jones), Agnes, Ellen (Mrs. John Caldwell). Captain McMurray was an elder of the Presbyterian church at Harrison City, Pennsylvania. He died January, 1870, aged seventy-five years.
William Blain McMurray, son of Captain Acheson and Elizabeth ( Linsa- bigler ) McMurray, and father of Rev. Humphrey L. McMurray, was born near Harrison City, Pennsylvania, October 25, 1825. He was a farmer all his life. For twenty years he farmed for Colonel Paul Brinker, and then moved to Delmont on the farm of Hon. John Hugus. This move was made in order to give his children the better educational advantages Delmont afforded. After the children completed their studies he removed to a farm near Waterloo, Iowa, where his death occurred in the winter of 1896. aged seventy-one years. He was a Presbyterian until his marriage when he joined the Lutheran church. In politics he was a Democrat. He married, November 18, 1847, Amy Louisa Berlin, a daughter of Henry Berlin, and their children were: I. Henry Albert, born September 10, 1848, learned the trade of a millwright, and now resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico ; he is unmarried. 2. Humphrey Ludwick referred to hereafter. 3. Ellen Elizabeth, born March 12, 1852, widow of James Brown, resides in Santa Ana, California, with her two children : Harold and Ila Brown.
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4. Amy Brinker, born August 21, 1854, wife of William Edgar Steck, residents of Excelsior Springs, Missouri ; they have no children living. 5. William Z. B., born August 19, 1856, superintendent of a rice mill at Savannah, Georgia. He married Lottie Crawford, of Hampton, Iowa, and is the father of three children : William B., a law student at Iowa City College, Iowa City, Iowa; Maud A., and Norma. 6. Margaret Arabella, born September 25, 1858, deceased, was the wife of James Tuffts. 7. Mary Jane, born December 5, 1863, married, Noven- ber 2, 1887, Ralph Meade, proprietor of a lumber yard at Santa Ana ; they have four children: Amy, Mildred, Lawrence and Dorothy Meade. 8. Sarah Louisa, born July 10, 1869, principal of the high school at Santa Ana. 9. Thomas Oscar, born July 20, 1870, manager of a cracker factory at Nashville. Tennessee. 10. Bert Clifford, born November 4, 1871, manager of a store in Santa Ana ; he married Lillian Augusta Masters, December 6, 1903. William B. McMurray, although a man in moderate circumstances, gave all his chil- dren the advantages of good education. The daughters were all competent in- structors and followed that vocation. Mrs. McMurray is living at the present time ( 1906) and makes her home with her daughter Jennie in Santa Ana, California.
Rev. Humphrey L. McMurray was born near Boquet, Salem township, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, February 18. 1850. He first attended the public schools in the vicinity of his home, later attended Delmont Academy for several years, then spent one year at the Capital University, Columbus, Ohio, two years at Thiel College, Mercer county, Pennsylvania, and a full term at the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1877. In the same year he was ordained a minister of the gospel by the Pittsburg Synod. His first call was from the Ligonier parish, of which he became pastor in March, 1877. The parish then consisted of four churches which were located at Ligonier, Youngstown, Latrobe and Derry. Each of these churches now maintain their own pastor and each pays him more salary than the four paid Rev. McMurray, who served them all. His pastorate was very successful, both spiritually and financially. The churches at Ligo- nier and Latrobe were remodeled and enlarged, and the debt resting on the Youngstown church entirely paid off. In 1882 he resigned to accept a call from the Lewisburg and Ithaca congregation in Ohio, where he spent eighty happy, fruitful years. Two splendid new churches were built and stand as monuments of his work in that field. In 1890 he accepted a call from the home mission board of the general council to organize a mission in Duluth, Minnesota, among the Scandinavians. Here he gathered a congregation and built a handsome church. To those who have done mission work this seems little short of miraculous, for to start an English congregation in a town where the foreign element predominates tests indeed the quality of the minister under- taking it. He severed his connection with the mission in 1894 and accepted a call to St. John's Church, Mckeesport, Pennsylvania, where he remained two years, going from there to a congregation calling him at Humboldt Park, Chi- cago, Illinois. This he regards as an unfortunate and mistaken move. Here he lost his son, a lad of nine years, and other misfortunes followed. After two years he was called by his old and first congregation, and here he has spent eight happy, successful years. Since his return to Ligonier, Pennsylvania, in 1898, the new church has been finished and dedicated. and the congregation is in a prosperous condition. He is an earnest and well-beloved minister of the Evangelical Lutheran church, is courteons and kindly in disposition, exceed- ingly popular, and is highly esteemed for his cordial bearing towards all with
John Mc Farland
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whom he comes in contact. His work as a minister has been lovingly, faith- fully and conscientiously performed, and when he shall be called to his reward beyond, he will respond, bearing many sheaves gathered for the Master.
Rev. Humphrey L. McMurray married, June 13. 1877, Elizabeth Jenkins, a daughter of Robert Jenkins, then of Robbins Station, now of the East End, Pittsburg. He brought his bride to the parsonage at Ligonier where he was then stationed. Their children were: I. Jennie May, graduated from the pub- lic schools, high school of Chicago, and from Thiel College, which conferred upon her the degree of Bachelor of Arts. 2. Emma Berlin, educated in the pub- lic schools of Duluth, Minnesota, Chicago, Illinois, and at Irving College, Me- chanicsburg. Pennsylvania. 3. Robert Jenkins, died in Chicago, Illinois, July 3, 1896, aged nine years. Both daughters are members of the Lutheran church, and reside at home. Robert Jenkins, father of Mrs. McMurray, was a native of Scotland, where he obtained a knowledge of coal and coal mining. He came to the United States when twenty years of age, came west over the Pennsyl- vania canal and became one of the very earliest coal operators and shippers. His mines lay along the Youghiogheny river, by which he made his shipments to all the lower Ohio and Mississippi river cities. He was among the first to use steamboats for towing purposes, and an early boat used for that purpose was called the "Robert Jenkins." Part of her machinery came from Germany, and her advent upon the river was a great event. Mr. Jenkins subsequently removed his operations to the Monongahela and later sold out to the Pittsburg Coal Co. He was very successful and became wealthy. He is still living (1906), but in poor health.
COLONEL JOHN McFARLAND, of Ligonier, was in his day one of the leading men of Westmoreland county. . He was born in Ligonier. Sep- tember 26. 1800, and died June 30, 1886, his eventful life covering almost a century. His father was Thomas McFarland, whose Scotch and English an- cestors, on account of religious persecution, fled from Scotland, taking refuge in county Down, Ireland, and changing their name from "Stewart" to Mlc- Farland. "Son in a far land." His mother, Hannah Dinsmore, from county Antrim, Ireland, was the daughter of a fuller of cloth who operated a fulling mill. Thomas and Hannah McFarland settled in Ligonier about the time of the Revolutionary war, making their home a mile and a half from town on the hill overlooking the immediate valley. It is now owned by the heirs of Joseph Fry, and part of the log house in which John McFarland was born is still standing.
In appearance Colonel McFarland was always a handsome man, large and firmly formed, his presence and bearing were that of a distinguished gentle- man of the old school. Even when more than four score years had whitened his dark hair, he was still erect, his keen blue eye had lost none of its lustre, nor had his strong intellect failed him. He was a man who could read men. and possesssed great business insight, being able to look into and measure the future outcome of business projects with almost unerring certainty. In this his mind was marvelous, and had he lived in our day, with such mental gifts, he could easily have amassed an immense fortune.
There were but few schools in Westmoreland county when he was a youth. indeed, his entire schooling covered a period of but six months. Like all young men of that primitive age he was brought up as a farmer, and his first employment away from the farm was on the Pennsylvania canal, when it was in course of construction across the state. This work in a great degree
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changed the whole course of his life: it taught him to handle laboring men, and a few years afterward he was a contractor in the building of the West Penn railroad. Later he was engaged in still larger railroad contracts in Law- rence county and elsewhere. In this business he was successful and laid up a reasonable competence for those days, when fortunes were measured with fewer figures than they are now. About this time he acquired a large amount of real estate, which gradually grew in value and added to the accumulations of his old age. From Colonel John Ramsey he purchased the mill property at Ligonier ; this he owned for nearly fifty years, selling it to the late W. A. Bair, in 1866. Though his business compelled him to be away from Ligonier a great deal, he never severed his relations with the place of his birth. He built a brick residence there in 1830, a palatial one in those days, which, with a few exterior changes, is still standing and is the home of Mr. John H. Frank. Early in the century he became interested in the military affairs of the country, and was made a colonel in the state militia. By this title, "Colonel," he was always thereafter known, although he was never directly connected with any of the wars in which the United States was engaged. He took great interest in the Mexican war and equipped and sent to the front Chauncey Forward Sargent, the only soldier the valley furnished for that war.
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