USA > Pennsylvania > Westmoreland County > History of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 65
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JOHN ALBRIGHT BRANT, one of Westmoreland's younger and most capable and energetic merchants, is a representative of an old and honored family of the state of Pennsylvania.
John Brant, grandfather of John Albright Brant, followed the occupa- tion of a wagoner on the old pike in its most palmy days. He was a Re- publican and a staunch adherent of his party. He was twice married ; by his first wife he had children : Abraham, of whom later ; Joseph, John H., Mary, who married James Shannon ; and Sarah. By his second wife he had chil- dren : George M., Lizzie and McGinnis. Jolin Brant died at an advanced age.
Abraham Brant, son of John Brant by his first wife, was born on the old pike between Berlin and Cumberland, on the farm of his parents, June 5, 1821. He had the advantage of a good common school education, and upon arriving at a suitable age learned the trade of a stone mason. Later in life he removed to Ligonier township, where he purchased a farm on which he resided. He bought out a woolen mill in 1871 and engaged in the manufac- ture of yarn, blankets and cloth. The mill was located in Ligonier township
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and he conducted the operations personally for many years until his death. He died February 4. 1896, and was buried in Brant's cemetery in Ligonier town- ship. He was an active and loval member of the Evangelical church, and served in all the various offices of that institution. He was a Republican, and was elected to many of the township positions of trust. He married, August 28, 1850, Catherine Kimmel, a member of the prominent Westmoreland county family of that name. She died September 26, 1877, aged fifty-one vears, and was buried in Brant's cemetery. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Brant were:
Ephraim K. (twin), born May 28, 1851 ; is a farmer ; married Lizzie Ober, and lives in Stahlstown. Julie K. (twin), born May 28, 1851 ; married Eman- uel Smith, of Ligonier township, and has children : Abram J., Stella M., Myrtle, and Harry W. Emma, born March 21, 1855 ; married Joseph Naugle, of Laughlinstown, and has children: Ira, Nevin and Ilga. John A., of whom later.
John Albright Brant, youngest child and second son of Abraham and Catherine (Kimmel) Brant, was born in Ligonier township, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, September 26, 1861. He was educated in the common schools of the district and later attended the California State Normal school, from which he was graduated in 1887. He commenced his business career by working in the woolen mill of his father, and was actively engaged there for eighteen years, during this time thoroughly mastering every detail of the business, from the wool on the sheep's back to the finished product. While thus occupied and prior to 1888 Mr. Brant taught in the township schools for thirteen winters, with unqualified satisfaction to all concerned. He pur- chased the "Ligonier Echo" in 1888. This was a small and struggling paper with a subscription list of one hundred and twenty-five names, and Mr. Brant's energy and capable handling worked this up in the course of three years to a list of seven hundred and thirty-five. He then sold out his interest in the paper to his partner. I. M. Graham, who conducts the paper at the present day (1906). Mr. Brant's next business venture was in Ligonier, where for five years he owned and conducted a livery stable. Selling out this business he bought a saw mill, and for two years was engaged in lumbering. He then purchased a farm in Ligonier township, and for one year followed agricultural pursuits. He bought from the Horner heirs in 1902 the mercantile business at Stahlstown, and here he now conducts a well stocked and flourishing gen- cral store. In all his various business enterprises he has shown marked ability, and each change has marked a step forward on the road to prosperity. He is an enthusiastic Republican, and has filled very acceptably a number of the town offices, among them those of clerk and collector of taxes. He is a member of the Evangelical church at Ligonier. He married, September 11. 1889, Jessie MI. Shafer, born September 6, 1870, daughter of Edward and Rachel ( Naugle) Shafer. Edward Shafer is a prominent farmer of Ligonier town- ship, is a Republican, and a member of the Lutheran church. His wife died in 1901. The children of Mr. and Mrs. John A. Brant are as follows: Noss Dean, born Jannary 25. 1891: Willa G., August 9, 1893: and Edward E., September 27. 1900, died January I, 190I.
CHARLES WALTER SHUEY, an enterprising and progressive citizen of Greensburg, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, contractor for all kinds of masonry work, is a member of an old and honored family of the county.
John Shuey, grandfather of Charles Walter Shuey, was a farmer in
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Hempfield township. He married Sarah Aultman, and they had children : Margaret, died at the age of fifty-three years, was the wife of Israel Busn, of Greensburg, and had two children: Franklin, married Sadie Harold; and Nannie. Michael Daniel, horn 1843; died 1876; married Laura France, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and had one child, Joseph. Katharine, married Amos Klingensmith. David, of whom later. Franklin, a farmer in Hempfield township. Robert, a farmer of Hempfield township; married Sarah Brough- Jer, daughter of Henry and Lucinda ( Walter) Broughler, of Greensburg, and had three children : Olive, died at the age of ten months : Robert, Clarence. Jacob, a farmer of Hempfield township; married Jennie Higgins, daughter of John Johnston and Lydia ( Walter) Higgins, of Pleasant Unity. They have one child, Ruth. William, married Mary Shively, and has children: Hattie, Anna, Maurice, Franklin, William, Charles, and Thomas. Elizabeth, mar- ried Isaac Varner, and had two children : Maurice and Maud.
David Shuey, second son and fourth child of John and Sarah (Aultman ) Shuey, was born in Hempfield township, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, June 8, 1850. His education was acquired in Smith's schoolhouse. He ob- tained a position with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company as brakeman and Hagman, and was in their employ fifteen years. He is a member of the First Reformed Church of Greensburg, and in politics is a Democrat. He married, October 6, 1873, Margaret Kettering, daughter of William and Eliza ( Brin- dle ) Kettering, and they have children: Alice, born September 1I, 1875; died in her eleventh year. Charles Walter, of whom later. Gertrude, born May 2, 1880, died February 27, 1906. Ada Thomas, born August, 1886, died March 29, 1898. Edward Jacob, born April 27, 1878, married Bird Keener, of Greensburg, daughter of John and Alice L. (Wentzel) Keener, and they have one child, John Edward, born July 31, 1905. Pearl, born June 9, 1893.
Charles Walter Shuey, second child and eldest son of David and Marga- ret ( Kettering) Shuey, was born in Greensburg, Westmoreland county, Penn- sylvania, April 27, 1876. He was educated in the Greensburg public and high schools. He was then apprenticed to the trade of bricklaying with Sam- uel Heister, of New Kensington, and has followed this line of work with great success, making a specialty of taking contracts for bricklaying, etc. He is very energetic and determined, and is considered one of the rising young men of the district. He married, April 24, 1900, Catherine Sheppard, and they have one child, Alfred Charles, born July 28, 1902. He is a member of the United Brethren church, and affiliates with the Democratic party. A sketch of Simon P. Shuey, a cousin of Charles Walter Shuey, is also to be found in this work.
JOHN DEAN CALDWELL, M. D., was born November 1, 1873, at Hollidaysburg, Blair county, Pennsylvania . He is one of the four children surviving of five of Jonathan M. and Elizabeth ( Olmes) Caldwell, the others of whom are: David, proprietor of the Poplar Grove stock farm, West Vir- ginia ; Mathilda, wife of A. F. Clark, of Mounds, Indiana; and Carl, who re- sides on Poplar Grove farm.
The Caldwell family is one of the oldest families of Blair county, having settled there in the days of the Indians, and the first white child born in Juniata Valley was a Caldwell. The founders of the American branch of the family were two brothers, who came from Scotland, and one of whom later became governor of North Carolina. A son of one of these brothers was Samuel Caldwell, the great-grandfather of Dr. Caldwell; the son of Samuel
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
Caldwell was David, who was born at Warriors Mark, Pennsylvania. He, in his day, was one of the most prominent figures of Blair county, for many years an associate judge and an important factor in the Republican party; in his early days he was a Whig. He engaged extensively in various lines of manu- facturing and was the owner of iron mines in addition. His wife was Sarah Martin, by whom he had five children: Rebecca, who was the wife of the Hon. Jonathan Dean, of the supreme bench of Pennsylvania; Ellie, wife of Hon. James Freoff, of Colorado, who was judge of Leadville county for many years : Jonathan M., see forward; Fannie, who is the only one of the children living, a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Jonathan MI., father of Dr. Caldwell, was born in 1855, at Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, and after finishing his schooling was associated with his father in the iron manufacturing business, the tannery business and in the mining industries. He died at the early age of thirty-nine years, his wife preceding him to the grave, having died when thirty-four years old. Upon the death of the parents the children were taken by their grandfather, the Hon. David Cald- well, and were under his control until his death, which occurred in 1895.
John D. Caldwell, M. D., was reared by his grandfather with his brothers and sisters. His literary education was acquired at Washington College and Jefferson College, at which latter he took a classical course. He took up the study of medicine with Dr. H. H. Brotherland, of Hollidaysburg, and later graduated at the University of Pennsylvania, medical department. in the spring of the year 1899. After graduation he took up practice at Galena, Kansas, where he was located for two years, during which time he was also extensively engaged in lead and zinc mining enterprises. He returned to Pennsylvania in 1901 and later located at Herminie, where he has built up a remunerative practice and has gained an enviable reputation as a practitioner and skilled surgeon. He is a member of the American Medical Association, the Pennsylvania State Medical Society, the Somerset County Medical Society. of Myersdale, Lodge No. 551, F. and A. M., of the Modern Woodmen of America, the K. O. T. M. and the A. O. N. W. He is also a member of the Jonathan Ashurst Junior Surgical Society. Politically he is a Republican, but has never taken an active interest in politics. In 1895 Dr. Caldwell married Ida MI. Hughes, of Hollidaysburg, a daughter of William V. Hughes, of the firm of W. V. Hughes & Son, contractors and builders. Two children were born of this marriage-William H. and Elizabeth O. Caldwell. The family has always occupied a prominent social position and claims many distinguished members, mong them Jonathan Caldwell Calhoun, of national fame, whose mother's name was Caldwell.
SAMUEL CLARENCE WEIMER. In the death of Samuel C. Weimer, which occurred December 20, 1904, the borough of West Newton lost one of its prominent, enterprising, business men, a man whose prominence proved conclusively what can be accomplished by strict attention to business, and by a steadfast determination to succeed, and the large measure of success achieved by him was the direct result of his own ambition and effort. He was a native of West Newton, born September 10, 1846, and hence was in the fifty-ninth year of his age when he died. His parents were Samuel Bossart and Catherine Lucetta ( Ilanna ) Weimer.
Samuel C. Weimer acquired a good, English education in the West New- ton Academy. January 1, 1872, he was one of the organizers of the firm of Riehey & Weimer, merchants, and they established a department store, which became the largest enterprise along those lines in that section of the county.
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
In 1876 he purchased his partner's interest in the business, and conducted the same up to his death. He was a member in the organization of the Van Dyke, Weimer & Taylor banking firm, which conducted an extensive business, and which later disposed of its business to the First National Bank. It was largely owing to his efforts that the plant of the United States Radiator Works was located in West Newton, adding greatly to the growth and development of the town. He was chairman of the building committee of the United Presbyterian church, contributed liberally toward the building of the same, served in the capacity of trustee and treasurer, filling the latter office for more than a quarter of a century. He was a Republican in politics, and exercised a potent influence in behalf of the party whose principles he advocated. A short time prior to his death, failing in health, he retired from business and led a quiet life. Mr. Weimer married, October 3. 1883, Margaret J. Corey, daughter of James B. and Elizabeth Ann ( Kidd) Corey, the former named being one of the well known coal operators of the Monongahela valley, residing at Braddock, Penn- sylvania. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Weimer: Elizabeth L. C. and Mary H. The family hold membership in the United Presbyterian church of West Newton.
GEORGE H. JOHNSON, of Parnassus, is the son of Samuel and Mary Johnson, and was born March 20, 1857, in England, whence he emi- grated in 1884 to the United States. His first home was in Pittsburg, where for three years he engaged in mill work. He then moved to Milltown, Alle- gheny county, and later to Westmoreland county, devoting himself in both places to farming and the dairy business. In July, 1904, he established a milk store in New Kensington, which he has successfully conducted down to the present time. He is a member of Ben Hur Court, of New Kensington. He married, before leaving England, Emily Ann Chapman, and their children, all of whom were born in the native land of their parents, are: William A., engineer at the glass works in Arnold, married Myrtle Hilty, and has one child, Kenneth ; Ada May, at home; Sidney Samuel, also engineer at the Arnold glass works, married Blanche Hilty.
CHARLES C. CROWELL is a representative of the fifth genera- tion of the Crowell family in the state of Pennsylvania. The original Ameri- can progenitor was John Crowell, who immigrated to America in the first half of the eighteenth century, having landed in the city of Philadelphia on the 19th day of August, 1729. Notwithstanding his age he served in the revo- lution. ( See Pennsylvania Archives, second series, vol. 13, page 619.) There he maintained his home for some time, after which he removed to Chester county, where he passed the closing years of his life and where in the year 1758 his son Henry, the great-grandfather of Charles C. Crowell, was born.
Henry Crowell afterwards removed to York county, near Hall postoffice, where he purchased a tract of land upon which he continued to reside until his death in 1833, and where his son Daniel was born on the 12th day of July, 1803. Daniel Crowell removed from the old homestead in York county, first to Trumbull county, Ohio, where he was married on the 5th day of March, 1835, to Hannah Carroll, daughter of Jonathan Carroll. Shortly afterwards he again removed to Mercer county, Pennsylvania, where his son, Daniel V. Crowell, was born on the 14th day of December, 1843, and in the same year he again removed to Adamsburg, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and there he resided until his death on the 11th day of June, 1876. Daniel V. Crowell married, January 19, 1865, Emma Caroline, youngest daughter of
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Joseph and Elizabeth Kamerer, both of whom were descended from old pioneer families of Westmoreland county. Emma C. Crowell was born May 14, 1842. Her paternal ancestor was one of the petitioners to the Colonial authorities for assistance in defending the Westmoreland frontier against the Indians prior to the burning of Hannastown ( 1782). They continued to reside at Adamsburg ( where their only son, the subject of this review, was born February 1, 1866) until some twenty-five years ago, when they removed to their present place of residence near Greensburg. In politics Daniel V. Crow- ell is a Republican, so likewise was his father. Both he and his wife are members of the Dutch Reformed church. He served under General Richard Coulter in the renowned Eleventh Pennsylvania Regiment in the civil war, hav- ing enlisted when seventeen years old.
Charles C. Crowell is a member of the bar of his native county, being en- gaged in the practice of his profession in Greensburg. He secured his educa- tional training in the public schools of Adamsburg and thereafter continued his studies in the Greensburg Seminary, from which institution he was grad- uated in 1891. He read law under the preceptorship of John F. Wentling, one of the talented and honored members of the Westmoreland bar, and was ad- mitted to practice at the May term of the court in 1893. He served as second lieutenant and battalion adjutant in the Tenth Regiment of Pennsylvania Vol- unteers in the Spanish-American war. Mr. Crowell married January 4. 1899. Henrietta M. Turney, youngest daughter of the late Hon. Jacob and Mary S. Turney. They have one son, Daniel V. Crowell, born June 21, 1901. In politics Mr. Crowell is an advocate of the principles of the Republican party, and adheres to the faith of the Dutch Reformed church.
R. F. GRAHAM. The father of R. F. Graham, of Vandergrift, was Andrew Graham, who was a cooper by trade and a large manufacturer in company with John Hackett. Their factory was situated for seven years at Belle Vernon.
Mr. Graham married Mary A. Riddell, and their children are: Lindsey, Mary A., John M., Andrew, Joseph, R. F., mentioned hereafter ; and Eliza- beth. Mr. Graham has now retired from business. He is a resident of Web- ster. His wife is deceased.
R F. Graham, son of Andrew and Mary A. (Riddell) Graham, was born June 8. 1866, in Fayette county, where he was educated in the common schools. At an early age, under the instruction of his father, he thoroughly learned the coopers' trade, in its various branches. Subsequently he became foreman in the keg department of the Allegheny workhouse. In 1896 he moved to Westomerland county and for some years was engaged in mercantile business at Vandergrift, which is still his place of residence. He was one of the organizers of the Apollo Cooperage Company, of Apollo, which was char- tered May 19, 1904, with Van T. Shepler as president, H. F. Jack as vice-pres- ident, and R. F. Graham as secretary, treasurer and general manager. Their factory is situated in West Apollo and turns out all kinds of tight barrels and kegs. The company employs twenty-five men, whose average output is two hundre ! and fifty barrels daily. Their machinery is the best and of the most modern description. Mr. Graham is associated with the American Insurance Company. Fraternally he is a member of the I. O. O. F., the R. A., and Apollo Lodge. No. 437 F. and A. M., in which he holds the rank of past master. Mr. Graham married Edith P. Fell, and they have three sons: Vernon F., Robert C., and Ernest S.
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
SAMUEL W. HAMILTON. The father of Samuel W. Hamilton, of Vandergrift, was William R. Hamilton, who was born in 1811, in Alle- gheny county, where he was reared to farm life. As a young man he moved to Armstrong county, settling on a farm between Putneyville and New Bethle- hem, on which he lived until about ten years before his death, when he retired and moved into New Bethlehem, but died in Allegheny. During the active period of his life he was one of the most progressive farmers in the county, and was recognized as a leader in the agricultural district in which he lived. He was an experimenter in all branches of his calling. He is entitled to the honor of having been one of the most active of the abolitionists and a member of the underground railroad. In the ranks of the Republican party he was an influential factor, but would never accept office. In early life he was a mem- ber of the United Presbyterian church and later of the Presbyterian, and was for many years a church worker and officer. Mr. Hamilton married Ann C. Hamilton, and their children were: Windfield Scott, ranchman at Douglas, Wyoming ; Samuel W., mentioned hereinafter ; William Finley, also ranch- man at Douglas, Wyoming ; Edward Alexander, in pottery business at New Bethlehem; Margaret R., wife of the Rev. R. J. George, of Allegheny ; Clara Belle, wife of W. T. Putney, of New Bethlehem; Anna M., wife of Charles Sedgwick, of Toledo, Ohio; and one deceased. Mr. Hamilton, the father, died in 1894.
Samuel W. Hamilton, son of William R. and Ann C. ( Hamilton) Hamil- ton, was born March 17, 1843, in Allegheny county. When he was a year old his parents moved to Armstrong county, on a farm and there he acquired his education in the schools, afterward attending the Dayton ( Pennsylvania) Academy, and finishing with a commercial course at the Iron City College. On September 25. 1862, he enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Third Regi- ment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, in which he served to the close of the war. On April 20, 1864, the entire brigade with the exception of five com- panies was captured at Plymouth, North Carolina, and for ten months and eleven days was confined in Andersonville, Charleston and Florence. On Feb- ruary 28, 1865, they were released on parole and after a month in camp were sent home, Mr. Hamilton being honorably discharged at Pittsburg in April, 1865. On his return home he completed his education and was afterward pressed by his friends to accept the nomination for treasurer of Armstrong county. He consented, and with but two weeks for a campaign, received the nomination by a large plurality. After another two weeks' campaign he was elected by a handsome majority. Upon the expiration of his term of office he engaged in the oil business at Parker's Landing, but three years later disposed of his interest and went to New Bethleham, where he embarked in the foundry business, with which he was prominently identified for fifteen years. At the end of that time he disposed of the business and became a hardware merchant in Apollo, continuing until 1896, when the borough of Vandergrift was founded .. He then removed his business to that place, where he has since conducted it successfully. In September, 1904, he was appointed postmaster of Vander- grift, an office which he still holds. He belongs to Whitworth Post, No. 89, G. A. R., of Apollo, and is a Republican in politics. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and for the last four years has served as superintendent of the Sunday school. Mr. Hamilton married in 1867, Jennie, daughter of William and Mollie (Quigley) Cochran, of Armstrong county, and their chil- dren are: John B., assistant postmaster of Vandergrift ; Allison A., manager of his father's hardware business ; Mary Leonora, graduate of Indiana Normal
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
school and teacher in Vandergrift; and Anna Belle, at home, attending Kneff College, Philadelphia.
LOUCKS, LOUX, OR LAUX FAMILY. Peter Loucks, (usual. spelling on Bucks county records, church and civil, Loux), the progenitor of the American branch of the family, was born in Germany in the year 1706. He came to America in the ship "Friendship," arriving in Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, September 20, 1738; he was probably unmarried when he arrived. He settled in Bedmister township, Bucks county, about 1749, and in 1762 purchased from Chief Justice Allen one hundred and eighty-five acres of land, and in 178t, purchased another farm in the same township for his second son, Jacob Loucks. He resided on the former piece of property many years before the deed was executed; he probably purchasd it on the installment plan, as did nearly all of the settlers on Allen's plot of six thousand six hun- dred and three acres in Bedminster, paying down a small amount and the deed being executed when payments were all made. He was a member of the To- hickon Reformed church. His wife, Catharine Loucks, whom he married about 1748 or 1750, was the first child born in Bedminster township. Their children were: Barbara, who became the wife of Jacob Solliday, January 10, 1773: John, who settled in Plumstead township, Bucks county, and at his death. left a family; Jacob, who married and settled in Bedminster about 1781, and Peter. Jr., mentioned hereafter. Mr. Loucks died on the homestead in Bed- minster township, near Deep Run Mennonite church, about the year 1795.
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