USA > Pennsylvania > Westmoreland County > History of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 57
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95
William John Patterson is the only surviving son of John Patterson, who was the second child of Samuel and Catherine ( Campbell) Patterson. John Patterson was born in Franklin county, January. 1796. He grew up on the farm of his father in Derry township, which he helped to clear and to culti- vate. Being the eldest son the heavier burdens fell on him and these were never shirked or evaded. The other boys, as they grew to manhood, left the farm and began business for themselves, but John never left his parents. His (ducation was limited as his father's frequent rheumatic attacks made it neces- sary for him to take his place in the farm labor. While his school days were few, he was a natural scholar, and improving such opportunities as he had, kept abreast of the time and was intellectually superior to many who had greater advantages. When his father Samuel died, he purchased the equities of his brothers and sisters, and became the owner. His mother remained with him on the farm until her death, six years after her husband. Some years later, in the winter of 1841, John Patterson married Margery Jamison, daugh- ter of William Jamison, from near Pleasant Unity. Her mother was a Work- man. William Jamison was a farmer, carpenter and cabinetmaker. He was a Presbyterian. Both he and his wife lived to a ripe old age. Margery was one of a large family of children. She was born in 1812; married, in 1841, John Patterson, to whom she bore two sons: Samuel and William John. Margery Jamison Patterson died January 27, 1899. She was a devoted Christian wo- man, of a cheerful hospitable disposition, and retained her vigor and bright cheerful ways until her death. Having no daughters, the many duties of the household fell upon her, but she bravely bore her burdens and never com- plained. John Patterson was in his younger days very lithe and active in body, with a quick, correct eye, and decidedly of a mechanical turn of mind. He was always in demand at the "raisings" of the time, and always given the most important corner to plumb, which he did with his eye alone, without the aid of plumb or level. He was strictly opposed to the use of intoxicants and always denounced their use. One of his neighbors, whose wife was fond of her toddy, was ready to raise a new building and wanted John for his corner man. John would go only on the consideration that no whisky should be served or drunk. This was a hard condition, especially for the wife, but the building was raised, no drink served, and the old lady remained sober. John was equally severe in his condemnation of the tobacco habit, denouncing it in the severest terms. John was of an ardent disposition, keen and zealous. Negro slavery was a question he discussed with great fervor, and any one who defended it was sure to have an exceedingly spirited debate. John was a member of the militia of his day ( often called the "Cornstalk Militia"). In his younger days he cast his ballot as a voter of the commonwealth, but in later years he became convinced that this was wrong and that every time he did so. he gave his consent and sanction to human slavery and the legalizing of the liquor traffic, which were both upheld and sanctioned by the laws of the country. He believed that God's law should be the basis of all civil law and that God should be recog- nized in the constitution of our country. After his awakening on these topics he ceased voting and connected himself with the Covenanter church of New Alexandria, to whose tenets he remained faithful until his death, January 25. 1880.
383
HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
Samuel Patterson, the eldest son of John and Margery Patterson, was born November 17, 1841. He was well educated, and grew up on the farm, assisting in all the labors thereof. It was during his life that the new house, barn and other improvements were built. He was not a robust man and sur- fered all his life from inflammatory rheumatism. In religion he adhered to the strict faith of the Covenanters. He filled the office of deacon for several years. He never married and died October 11, 1879. at the age of thirty-eight.
William John, the second son and only surviving member of the family, was born on the farm which he now owns, August 22, 1854. He was edu- cated in the township schools and at the summer and winter terms of New Alexandria Academy. From earliest boyhood he has been a tiller of the soil. He was his father's valued assistant until his death, when William J. inher- ited the farm, his brother Samuel being dead. He has never married. His life has been given to the service of father, mother and brother, to whom he was especially tender and helpful, and whom he tended in his last illness with the tenderness of a woman and the skill of a trained nurse. He is, like all his family, a consistent member of the Reformed Presbyterian or Covenanter church, believing with that church that "Righteousness exalteth a nation," that sin is a reproach to any people, and that to attain blessedness in a nation, that nation's supreme laws must be enacted in accordance with Divine law. Believing this, he never votes, as in his public as well as in his private life he wishes to "avoid even the appearance of evil." William J. is a great reader and has a large and well stocked library of historical, theological and other works, by the very best authors. He is an enlightened, useful man and stands high in the community.
Samuel Campbell Patterson is a son of Robert Patterson, and grandson of Samuel Patterson, the first. Robert was born on the homestead farm April 23, 1817. He was educated in the township and New Alexandria schools. (n reaching a suitable age, he learned the carpenter's trade with his brother Samuel, with whom he worked eighteen years, ten of which he was a partner. He was a skilled mechanic and a reliable builder. Much of the work of these builders stands to this day. Robert married, March 23, 1853, Dorothy Laughlin. She was a most remarkable woman. Her father, John Laughlin, removed with his family to the northern part of the state, known then as "The Pines." expecting to engage in the lumber business. The winter was very se- vere, there was no provender for his stock, and after much suffering the fam- ily returned to New Alexandria, where both John and his wife soon died, leaving four children : Eliphet, a boy of eighteen : Margret, a girl of sixteen ; and two smaller children. Eliphet at once assumed the support of the four and Margret cared for the home and children. By their united efforts the family was kept together, the little ones educated and cared for, until her marriage with Robert Patterson. John Laughlin, her father, was born September 2, 1802: Mary Armstrong, her mother, born July 27. 1799, married John Laugh- lin. December 19. 1826. They both died in 1845; Mary died February 15. John August 13. The children were: Eliphet. born September 22, 1827. mar- ried Caroline Ann Crow. December 9, 1856: Margret, May 22, 1830; Abner, August 22, 1832: and James P., April 17, 1837. Their home was the old Laughlin homestead, two miles north of New Alexandria. Margret's early struggles developed her character and made her strong and steadfast. She was an exemplary Christian character of the highest type, and her children "rise up and call her blessed." She was noted for hospitality, and from her door no caller was ever turned empty away. Margret Patterson died August 9. 1897, aged sixty-eight years. After his marriage Robert Patterson bought
384
HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
the Rev. John Cannon farm, and here was his home for thirty-five years. He was a successful farmer, and from a low state of cultivation he brought it up to the highest. Fruit trees were planted and improvements made that soon made it a model farm. He was much interested in educational matters, was a good erader and thinker, and able to express himself well in speech. He was a member of the Covenanter church, of which he was a ruling elder, an office which he filled to the satisfaction of those over whom he had rule. He was an earnest Christian man, filled with the spirit of God and always ready to forward every good cause. He worked with the Bible Society of Pennsylvania, and the local societies. He was a strong temperance man, even from early boyhood, when he refused to carry the jug of home-made whisky to the harvest field, believing it to be wrong. He always labored for the overthrow of the demon rum, and in that day it took courage to stand against the custom of moderate drinking. He was greatly opposed to human siavery, and when the first gun at Sumter was fired he was not surprised. He believed in and practiced all the doctrines of the Covenanter church and was loyal to all her teachings. Robert remained on the farm until March 1, 1884, when he removed to New Alexandria, where he bought a fine house, in which he resided until his death, July 24, 1889, at the age of seventy-two years. The children of Robert and Margret Dorothy ( Laughlin) Patterson were three : Clara, born February II, 1854, died May 10, 1871, at age of seventeen, just budding into a promising womanhood : Samuel C., of whom more hereafter : Margret Estella, born No- vember 16, 1869, now Mrs. William McClellan Moore, whose sketch will be found on another page.
Samuel C. Patterson, only son of Robert and Margret Patterson, was born on his father's farm, called "Spring Vale Farm," now owned and cultivated by himself, May 20, 1856. He attended the township schools and finished his studies at the New Alexandria Academy. He intended fitting himself for a professional career, but the plan failed, and in 1884 he took possession of the farm and at once began a systematic course of improvement. Old lands were fertilized, buildings enlarged and blooded breeds of stock introduced. In 1896 dairy farming was made a specialty, as it still is. Machinery was intro- duced, an engine for grinding the food and cutting fodder was installed, and today this farm is one of the best operated in the township of Salem. The old brick house built by his uncle and father, in 1830, has been improved by the addition of more windows and new porches, until it is a complete home, with all the modern interior comforts of a city home. Samuel C. is a total ab- stainer and strongly opposed to licensing the liquor traffic. While taking no part in political matters, he is an intensely loyal American citizen, ready at any time at his country's call to take up arms in her defense, and ready to forward any good cause that will result in good laws and good government. He is a member of the Covenanter church, where for thirteen years he has held the office of ruling elder. He has been an officer and teacher in the Sabbath school since his youth, and is identified with all the benevolent work of the church. He deprecates our present too general desecration of the Sabbath day, and be- lieves our laws should be strictly enforced and God's day kept holy. Having connected himself with the literary societies of the community when but a boy. Mr. Patterson has acquired the art of public speaking and is often called upon in debate or discussion to take a part. He is a member of the American Bible and the Home Societies of New Alexandria. in which he has held many of the offices. He is an interested stockholder in the Union Cemetery Associa- tion of New Alexandria. in the West Savings & Trust Company of Greens- burg, and in the National Bank of New Alexandria, where he is vice-president
Samuel: Co Alison.
THE
NEW YORK
A
385
HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
and director. Mr. Patterson chose as his life partner Eliza Martha' Steel, to whom he was united in marriage at the home of her father, William Steel, January 1, 1884. (See sketch of Judge John B. Steel, Mrs. Patterson's brother.) She was educated in the home schools of the township, finishing at Greensburg Seminary. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel C. Patterson were all born at their home on Spring Vale farm, and are as follows :
I. William Steel, born November 22, 1884. He was educated in the township schools, finishing his studies at the academy in New Alexandria. Steel, as he is familiarly called, is a farmer, first with his father, then one year for George Stewart, and two years for Judge John B. Steel. February 2, 1903, he married Ada Rumbaugh. March 12, 1906, he removed to Canada, where he is the manager of a wheat farm of six hundred and forty acres, near Langdon province of Alberta. He is a young man of great promise and possesses the characteristics of his ancestors. 2. Robert Carlyle, born July 13, 1886; edu- cated in home schools and at Greensburg Seminary. In 1905 he entered Geneva College, where he is now pursuing his studies. 3. Clara Sarah, born May 23. 1890. She has attended New Alexandria Academy, Greensburg Seminary, and will finish her education in higher institutions of learning. 4. George Robert, born October 5. 1892. 5. John Samuel, born April 1, 1899. 6. Glen Laughlin, born February 22, 1902. 7. Joseph Walker, born March 15, 1904. The children are receiving musical educations, and with piano and cornet enliven the old home. Mr. and Mrs. Patterson are very hospitable and understand to perfection the delicate art of entertaining.
DAVID B. SCHANTZ. The family of which David B. Schantz, of Braeburn, is a representative was founded in this country by Jacob Schantz, a native of Switzerland, where he was born about 1710. In 1737 he emigrated to Pennsylvania and for some years lived in Germantown, removing in 1745 to Montgomery county. The name of his wife is not known.
Isaac Schantz, son of Jacob Schantz, was born January 14, 1748, in Montgomery county, and married, May 4, 1774, Barbara Ruff, born Septem- ber 12. 1753. Their children were: Mary, Abraham, see forward; Christian. Jacob, Isaac. David, Veronica. Samuel and Joseph. Isaac Schantz, the father, died October 11, 1802, on a farm which now forms part of the site of Potts- town.
Abraham Schantz, son of Isaac and Barbara (Ruff) Schantz, was born in Westmoreland county, December 15. 1776, and for some years resided in Canada. Later he moved to Harmony, Butler county, Pennsylvania, not far from Pittsburg, and there passed the remainder of his life. He married Allis Hunsburger, born January 20. 1775. Their children were: Moses H., Aaron, Catharine, Isaac. Elizabeth, Lena, Amos, Mary, David, see forward; and Nancy. The mother of these children died August 27, 1821, and her husband survived her many years, passing away December 25, 1856, at Harmony, But- ler county.
David Schantz (4). son of Abraham (3), and Allis (Hunsburger) Schantz, was born August 16. 1818, and married, October 13, 1839, Mary Boyer, born August 31, 1822. Their children were : Henry B .. Jacob B., Sarah Elenor B .. Abraham B., John B., David B., see forward : Amos B., Catharine B., Mary B., Eli B .. Martha B .. and Elizabeth B. The death of the mother of the family occurred March 3. 1878, and on March 4. 1883, Mr. Schantz mar- ried Catharine Lutz.
David B. Schantz, son of David and Mary (Boyer) Schantz, was born
2-25
386
HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
May 25, 1851, at Harmony, Butler county, where he was' educated in the common schools. Until the age of nineteen he worked on a farm, and then went to learn the carpenter's trade with Emanuel Foreman of Ohio, remaining three years. He then returned to Butler county and went into business for himself as a contractor and builder, moving after eighteen months to Har- mony where he continued the business for one year. After spending six months in Livingston county, Illinois, he once more sought his native place and there remained five years. For six years he continued his business in Tar- entum and for two years in Duquesne, after which he returned for the third time to Harmony, remaining seven years. In 1897 he moved to Braeburn, where he has since resided and conducted his business. During the whole course of his career as a contractor and builder he has erected over one thousand houses, building seventy of these in one year. He has filled a num- ber of township offices. In May, 1898, he was appointed postmaster of Brae- burn under the Mckinley administration, and has held the office ever since. His political views and principles are staunchly Republican. He is a member of the Church of God. He married Julia Schaffer, and their children were : Dora, wife of Harry G. Boggs, of Braeburn ; Josephine, wife of Ernest Cham- bordon : Mary : and Miles P., both of whom died in childhood. The death of Mrs. Schantz occurred November 13, 1881, her age being twenty-two years and seven months, Mr. Schantz married, October 2, 1883, Emma Schaffer, who bore him two children : Dainie B .; and Russell L., both of whom are at home. Mrs. Schantz died January 20, 1888, at the age of twenty-one, and Mr. Schantz subsequently married Emma Zoller, by whom he became the father of eight children : Odella R. : Elfreda C. : David, died at the age of five years : Goldie B .; Catharine E .: Harold, died in infancy; Verna S .; and Theodore G. All these children are still at home.
WILLIAM STRAUB. By birth and parentage William Straub, of New Kensington, is a German, his father. Carl Straub, having been a native of the fatherland. He was a weaver by trade and in 1878 emigrated to the United States, settling in Paterson. New Jersey, where he remained two years, and moving thence to Pittsburg, where he has since worked at his trade.
Mr. Straub married, before leaving Germany, Emma Herr, and their children are: William, mentioned hereinafter : Emma, wife of Edward Krueg, of Hamilton, Canada ; and Anna, clerk in Kaufman's department store, Pitts- burg
William Straub, son of Carl and Emma (Herr) Straub, was born July 7. 1870, in Baden, Germany, and was eight years old when brought to this country by his parents. He received his primary education in the schools of Paterson, afterward attending the Pittsburg high school, from which he grad- uated about 1887. During four years he was bartender for Lenz & Klein- smith, and for the ensuing nine years was employed in a similar capacity by Mrs. Amelia Holzinger. In 1902 he moved to New Kensington and bought the Fifth Avenue Hotel, of which he has ever since been the successful pro- prietor. He is a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, affiliating with Lodge No. 533. of New Kensington. Mr. Straub married Pauline, daughter of John Blosl, and one child has been born to them: Carl, who died at the age of three years.
WILLIAM J. LAUGHLIN. Robert Laughlin, grandfather of Will- iam J. Laughlin, of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, was born in Ireland and emigrated to the United States, settling in Baltimore, where he passed the re-
387
HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
mainder of his life, with the exception of eight years that he lived in Alle- gheny county, Pennsylvania. He was the father of two sons: William, men- tioned hereinafter ; and John.
William Langhlin, son of Robert Laughlin, was born August 3, 1836, and grew to manhood in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. In 1861 he enlisted in the Union army and served three years. He then returned home, after a brief visit re-enlisted and fell fatally wounded at Fort Stevens, July 12, 1864. Before becoming a soldier he had followed the carpenter's trade. Mr. Laugh- lin married Nancy Isabel, daughter of John and Mary Ferguson, and they were the parents of two sons : William J., mentioned hereinafter ; and Robert O., who was born three months after the death of his father and is a carpenter and millwright of New Kensington.
William J. Laughlin, son of William and Nancy Isabel ( Fer- guson ) Laughlin, was born March 31, 1862, in Allegheny county, and received his education in the common schools. At the age of six- teen he went to learn the stone and marble cutter's trade with W. E. Scott, of Barkerstown, remaining two years. He then went to Irwin, where he worked two years, after which he went to Upper Burrell township for the purpose of learning the carpenter's trade with William Tailor, with whom he remained eighteen months. His next removal was to Tarentum, where he erected a house for himself and went into business as a contractor and butilder. His en- terprise prospered and he has continued in the same line of industry ever since with the exception of two years-from 1901 to 1903-during which he was estimator for the New Kensington Lumber Company. He has erected a number of the principal buildings in New Kensington, including the Meth- odist Episcopal church, the United Presbyterian church and the postoffice. He is a charter member of Lodge No. 212, Maccabees, in which he has passed all chairs, and also belongs to Lodge No. 1048, I. O. O. F., of New Kensington. In politics he is a Democrat and is now serving on the county committee. He holds the office of steward in the Methodist Episcopal church of New Ken- sington. Mr. Laughlin married Maggie C., daughter of Johnson and Louise ( Waugaman) Porter, and they have three children, all of whom are at home : Lonzetta B., born 1887 ; Porter L., 1890; and Mary B., 1893.
CHARLES W. WALLEY. The grandfather of Charles W. Walley, of Parnassus, was John Walley, who was born in Armstrong county, Pennsyl- vania, and there passed his life as a farmer. He was a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal church. His wife was Charlotte Truby, and their children were : Catharine J., wife of James B. Miller; William, mentioned hereinafter ; Thomas, John. James, Carrie, married John Evans, and after his death became the wife of V. B. George: Polly, wife of Benjamin Evans; Nancy, wife of Frank W. George: Anna, wife of Reuben Hegerson ; Letitia, wife of (). A. Knox. Mr. Walley, the father, died in 1885.
William Walley, son of John and Charlotte ( Truby) Walley, was born in 1837. in Armstrong county, engaged in farming until 1867, and thenceforth was, for the remainder of his life, identified with the oil business. He be- longed to Lodge No. 114. A. O. U. W., of East Brady, and was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Walley married Susan Mckibben, who bore him the following children: Ada, wife of William Painter, of Sparks, Nevada : Margaret, deceased, was wife of F. C. Mumpford : Charles W. men- tioned hereinafter ; Harry C .: Laura B., wife of Preston Elmore : and Frank G. The mother of these children died January, 1876, and Mr. Walley sub- sequently married Charlotte Caldwell, by whom he became the father of six
388
HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
children, four of whom died in infancy; those who survived that period be- ing : Maud, died at the age of ten years ; and Edna. The death of Mr. Walley occurred December 14, 1893.
Charles W. Walley, son of William and Susan ( Mckibben) Walley, was born April 6, 1864, in Armstrong county, and received a common school edu- cation. At the age of nine years he became a member of the household of his grandfather, on whose farm he grew to manhood. At twenty years of age he went to Nebraska, where for six years he engaged in farming. He then re- turned to Wild Wood and went into the oil business, which he has successfully conducted ever since in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. In 1895 he moved to New Kensington, and in 1902 erected a desirable residence on Fifth avenue, Parnassus, where he now resides. He affiliates with Lodge No. 512, Maccabees, and Lodge No. 619, Fraternal Order of Eagles, of Littleton, West Virginia. Mr. Walley married Ada, daughter of William and Charlotte Burt, of Nebraska, and their children are: Lillian E., William Clarence, Hiram Earl and Kenneth.
C. P. EMIL SWENSSON, son-in-law of Johnston B. Jordan, born Aalborg, Denmark, December 12, 1858, son of Jean and Marie Kathrine (Svendsen ) Swensson, was educated at the Gymnasium at Halmstad, Swe- den, his parents' home ; at the Chalmers Polytechnic Institute, Gothenburg, Sweden, graduating as civil engineer and mechanical engineer in 1879; and at Munich and Turich as a private student. Emigrating to the United States in 1881, his first employment was as a common laborer on the old Hudson river railroad tunnel ; but only for a very short time, as he obtained a position as draftsman for patent drawings, then with a prominent architect, and finally, in 1882, as assistant and later as resident engineer on the South Pennsyl- vania railroad, a prospective Vanderbilt competitor of the Pennsylvania rail- road, and at that time, from an engineering point of view, the most important railroad enterprise in the United States. The latter road in 1885 bought out the new road, and Mr. Swensson entered the service of the Phoenix Bridge Company, of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, as draftsman, and very soon began to manifest a peculiar talent for the branch of the profession known as bridge and structural engineering. In 1887 he accepted an appointment with the Keystone bridge works of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and in 1892, when it be- came a part of the Carnegie Steel Company, became assistant chief engineer. He was made superintendent in 1895 and in 1896 chief engineer, in full charge of the bridge and structural business of the Carnegie Steel Company. In June, 1900, the American Bridge Company bought the Keystone Bridge Company, and he was made manager of the plant, but on January I, 1901, resigned to open up his own office in Pittsburg as consulting and constructing engineer.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.