USA > Pennsylvania > Westmoreland County > History of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 88
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Oliver Bovard, only surviving son of Oliver Bovard mentioned above, was born on the Mount Pleasant farm, a portion of which now forms the site of the college, and on reaching manhood remained at home, in course of time becoming the owner of the estate on which he passed his entire life. In politics he was a staunch Republican, and held several minor township offices. pos- sibly the only Republican ever elected in that strong Democratic district. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, in the work of which he was for
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years a prominent leader. He married Mathilda Farr, and eight of their eleven children are now living: James I., a resident of East Greensburg; Robert Oliver, see forward ; Charles R., lives in South Huntingdon township ; William F., resides in East Greensburg; John R., a resident of North Belle Vernon ; Mary J., wife of Sherman Ross, of East Greensburg; Emma M., and Rosa F., who resides with their brother, Charles R. The death of Mr. Bovard occurred when he was in the eightieth year of his age.
Robert Oliver Bovard, son of Oliver and Mathilda (Farr) Bovard, was; born November 30, 1855, in South Huntingdon township, and received his edu- cation in the common schools. On reaching his eighteenth year he took Horace Greeley's advice and "went West," spending five years in various parts of the western country, two of those years being passed in California. He then re- turned to Westmoreland county and participated in the labors of the home farm, also purchasing a farm of his own, and dealing extensively in country produce as well as in cattle and hogs, shipping his products to Pittsburg .. Subsequently he sold this property and settled on a rented farm in South Huntingdon township. Two years later he removed to Allegheny county and at the end of another two years returned to his native county and township, became by purchase the owner of the homestead, and resided thereon until 1902, when he leased and removed to his present farm. In 1901 he was one of forty-one candidates for the office of poor director, and although compara- tively but little known at that time lost the nomination by but seventeen votes. In 1903 he was one of fifteen candidates and received more than five hundred votes above the number received by any other candidate. In 1905 he was again nominated, receiving exactly five hundred more votes than any other can- didate. At each of his three candidacies Mr. Bovard has polled every vote in his voting precinct, and at the last election received every vote in his neigh- boring precinct. He is a staunch Republican and for years has taken an active part in local politics. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, in which for several years he served as trustee and treasurer, and also as su- perintendent of the Sunday school.
Mr. Bovard married, in 1886, Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Ruff, of Hempfield township. Five children born to them are at home with their par- ents : Oliver William, Sybilla Rose, Milla Zeruiah, Samuel Ruff, and Ro- berta Elizabeth.
CHARLES L. BLAIR. The father of Charles L. Blair, of Vander- grift, was William Blair, who was born October 31, 1835, in Ireland, and in 1865 emigrated to the United States, settling in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where for a short time he found employment in the mines. He then moved into the soft coal region, and for some years worked in the mines of the Mon- ongahela valley. His health failing, he abandoned mining and went to work in the rolling mills at Mckeesport, wher he was employed until 1898. He then retired and moved to Vandergrift, where he now makes his home with his son William E. Blair. Mr. Blair married, before leaving Ireland, Margaret Jester, and their children are: William E., heater in the mills, Vandergrift ; Wilbert H., rougher in the mills, Vandergrift ; Amanda, wife of Oscar Lenquist ; Sarah, wife of Edward Campbell, superintendent of the Leechburg mills of the Amer- ican Sheet and Tin Plate Company ; Charles L., of whom further ; and three deceased.
Charles L. Blair, son of William and Margaret (Jester) Blair, was born January 13, 1875, in West Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, and acquired his education in the common schools, also attending a night school in Mckeesport conducted
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by Professor George Woods. At the age of seventeen he apprenticed himself to the machinist's trade in the shops of the Mckeesport Machine Company, serving three years. He then went to Apollo, where he obtained a position with the Apollo Iron and Steel Company. In 1897, on the completion of the Vandergrift plant, he was transferred to that place, and in 1900 was made as- sistant foreman of the machine shop. In June, 1905, he was promoted to the position of foreman which he now holds. He belongs to the Royal Arcanum and is a Republican in politics.
Mr. Blair married, June 11, 1894, Florence, daughter of John Benjamin, of Apollo, now deceased, and their children are: Oscar Tabor, Margaret Paul- ine, Robert Benjamin, and Charles Louis.
ANDREW P. YOUNG, sheet roller in the Vandergrift mills of the American Sheet Steel and Tin Plate Company, is descended from one of the pioneer settlers of Pennsylvania. He is one of the prosperous and prominent men of. Vandergrift, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, of which town he is a respected citizen.
Samuel Young, grandfather of Andrew P. Young, the first of this family of whom we have any record, located in western Pennsylvania, near Ellerton, Arm- strong county, where he purchased a farm about 1854, which homestead is in the possession of the family to the present day (1906). Here he resided, en- gaged in agricultural pursuits, until his death.
Henry Young, son of Samuel Young, was born east of the Allegheny moun- tains in 1839, and when about fifteen years of age came with his parents to western Pennsylvania, where they settled near Ellerton. Mr. Young was brought up on this farm and adopted farming as his life's work, making a suc- cess of his undertaking. Here he resided up to the time of his death which occurred in 1882. During a number of years he was an earnest supporter of the Republican creed, but later affiliated with the Democratic party. He was a member of the Lutheran church, in which he was an earnest worker and a consistent christian. Mr. Young married Lucy Klingensmith, born in Arm- strong county, in 1835, daughter of Adam Klingensmith, a prosperous farmer residing near Leechburg, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Young is living in Leechburg, and is a member of the Lutheran church. Mr. and Mrs. Young had seven chil- dren, of whom six are now living, as follows: I. Henry, resides in Vander- grift Heights, Pennsylvania. 2. George, also a resident of Vandergrift Heights. 3. Andrew P., the subject of this sketch. 4. Mary, married A. R. Beatty, lives at Leechburg. 5. Rosanna, married R. H. Keay, and resides in Wellsville, Ohio. 6. Laura, married Hugh Kepple, resident of Allegheny township, Westmoreland county.
Andrew P. Young, third son and child of Henry and Lucy ( Klingensmith ) Young, was born in Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, February 12, 1870. He was but twelve years of age at the time of the death of his father, and immedi- ately commenced to work in order to contribute his share towards the support of the family. For a period of two years he was engaged in farm work, and then his mother removed to Leechburg with her family, and for the three years following young Andrew P. found employment at the coal mines. At the age of seventeen he secured a position in the steel mill of Jennings & Company, in Leechburg, where he was employed for the five years following. In this mill he rose from the position of a laborer to that of a rougher. This latter position he resigned in order to accept a position in the mills of Kirkpatrick & Com- pany, also of Leechburg, and here he had worked but one week as a roller when he was promoted to the important position of sheet roller. He remained
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
in the employment of this company for about six years, resigning to accept a position as roller in the Vandergrift mills of the Apollo Iron and Steel Con- pany, which position he holds at the present time (1906), Mr. Young enter- tains liberal views on all the important questions of the day, finding time to keep well informed on all subjects of general interest. He is Republican in politics, and while in Leechburg served as a member of the town council, being a member at the time of the paving of the streets of that town. He and his family are members of the Lutheran church, and regular attendants. Mr. Young is the owner of the original homestead of one hundred and thirty- eight acres which his grandfather purchased and cultivated. He married, October 22, 1891, Julia A. Haines, of Leechburg, daughter of Philip Haines, a railroad man, and they have had four children: Ethel May, Elma Myrtle, Clifford Earl, deceased, Naomi Ruth.
SILAS M. GIRT, sheet heater in the Vandergrift mills of the American Sheet Steel and Tin Plate Company, and one of the rising young men in the town of Vandergrift, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, is a represen- tative of a family which has been domiciled in Pennsylvania for several genera- tions.
William Girt, father of Silas M. Girt, was born in Pennsylvania in 1824, and died in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, November 22, 1899. The place of his birth was probably Pittsburg, but this is not certain. He learned the trade of a machinist in Pittsburg, and from thence removed to Bethlehem, where for thirty-two years he was connected with the foundry business. He assisted in the building of hundreds of the old style threshing machines, and was con- sidered a master hand at all he undertook. He was a man of sterling charac- ter, and enjoyed the love and respect of all who knew him. In politics he was a Republican. His death was caused by a stroke of paralysis. He was twice married and of his first marriage had three children: Margaret, married George Shaner, and resides in Carter, Tennessee; Benjamin F., lives in New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Katie, lives in Punxsutawney, Jefferson county, Pennsylvania. Mr. Girt married (second) Jane Lacox, and had seven chil- dren: 1. John, a resident of Leechburg, Pennsylvania. 2. May, married John Dickey, resides in Punxsutawney, Jefferson county. 3. Mary, married Ray France, superintendent of Gas company, resides in Templeton, Pennsyl- vania. 4. Silas M., of whom further. 5. Nerra, married David Hopkins and resides in Punxsutawney. 6. Nellie, married Charles Young, resides in Van- dergrift. 7. Emma, widow of Wilson Perry, resides at Punxsutawney.
Silas M. Girt, fourth child and second son of William and Jane (Lacox) Girt, was born in Clarion county, Pennsylvania, October 5, 1874. He spent the early years of his life at home with his parents, acquiring his education in the public schools. In the spring of 1894 he commenced his business career in the mills of the Apollo Iron and Steel Company, at Apollo, Pennsylvania, receiving the position of matcher. Three years later he was transferred to the new mills at Vandergrift, to serve in a similar capacity. His diligence and strict attention to the duties entailed by his position earned for him promotion, and he rapidly passed through the positions of doubler and pair heater, and in the spring of 190I was made a sheet heater in the mills, which position he holds at the pres- ent time (1906). Mr. Girt is a·Republican, and although he takes a great inter- est in the affairs of his country as well as of his town, he has never found time for the holding of any public office. His opinion on all questions of the day car- ries considerable weight and influence, as he is known to be a man of liberal and progressive ideas. He is a member of Vandergrift Aerie, No. 1058, Fra-
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
ternal Order of Eagles: and also of Vandergrift Lodge, No. 456, Knights of Pythias: Mr. Girt married, December 24, 1901, Lydia Hunter, of Vandergrift, Pennsylvania. They have had four children, of whom two (twins) died in infancy. The surviving children are: William and Eva.
GEORGE RICHARD HORNE. Pennsylvania owes much of the success of its industries to the earnestness, faithfulness and strict attention to duty which characterizes he work of he descendants of immigrants and those who have settled here and are of foreign descent. In this class may be men- tioned George Richard Horne, a representative of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and a roller in the Vandergrift mills of the Amrican Sheet Steel and Tin Plate Company.
His grandfather, who was the founder of the family in America, emigrated to the United States and settled in Maryland, whence he came to East Liberty, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. He was a well known contractor in his day, and furnishd the stone for the building of the old Allegheny court house and the county jail. He died at an early age, being drowned in the Butcher's Run flood in 1838.
Moses Horne, son of the last named Horne, was born in East Liberty, Pennsylvania. in 1832. He was reared in West Liberty, Allegheny county, re- ceiving the ordinary schooling that was customary in that time. He then learned the carpenter's trade, and for some years after attaining manhood fol- lowed this calling.He then turned his attention to contracting and building. of which he made a decided success. In 1868 he removd to Paulton, Pennsyl- vania, where he resided for about seven years, removing then to Apollo, Arm- strong county, in 1875. where he resides at the present day ( 1906). He is a strong Republican, with decided views on all questions of the day, and in his younger days was a conspicuous and important factor in the councils of his party. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and a zealous worker in the cause of Christianity. He married Elizabeth Larimer, born in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, in 1831, daughter of a well known and pros- perous farmer of that county. Mrs. Horne had two brothers, both of whom served in the army during the Civil war, William Larimer and George W. Larimer, the latter holding the rank of captain. Moses and Elizabeth (Lari- mer) Horne had seven children, of whom the following four are now living : I. Lydia E., married H. T. Henry, and resides at Vandergrift. 2. Aman- da L., married John M. Smith, resides in Paulton. 3. Kizzie C., married I. T. Shepler, resides in Blairsville. 4. George Richard, the subject of this sketch.
George Richard Horne, fourth surviving child and only son of Moses and Elizabeth (Larimer) Horne, was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. opposite the borough of Apollo, December 1, 1869. He spent his early years under the parental roof and received a substantial education in the common schools of the district in which he was born. He began his business career in 1888 as a steel worker. It was his desire to get a practical and thorough work- ing knowledge of this great and growing industry from its very beginning. so he considered it advisable to start at the foot of the ladder and climb it rung by rung. His first work was in the mills of the Apollo Iron and Steel Company, and. here his diligence and application soon permitted him to advance through the various grades of the work until, in 1895, he had attained the position of sheet heater. In December of 1896 he was transferred to the new mills of the company at Vandergrift, and in the summer following was made a sheet roller ; in which position he has remained up to the present time ( 1906). He is con-
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
sidered one of the most reliable and satisfactory men in the employ of the com- pany, and one in whom they can place implicit confidence in any emergency. Mr. Horne follows the affairs of the nation as well as the loal political situation with interest, is a staunch Republican, but has never aspired to public office. He is a member of Apollo Lodge, No 386, B. P. O. E., and of the Royal Ar- canum. He married, in 1891, Emma J. Shmid, a native of Switzerland, and they have four children : Herbert M., Ollie B., George R., Jr., and Phyllis.
JOHN WILLIAM LOCK, roller in the Vandergrift mills of the American Sheet Steel and Tin Plate Company, prominent in the affairs of the town and highly steemed by his fellow townsmen, is a native of England, and comes from good English stock.
Arthur Lock, father of John William Lock, and the first of his family to emigrate to America, was born in London, England, where he was educated and served his apprenticeship to the trade of shipbuilding at the Blackwell docks. He worked for some years at this trade, and in 1866, decided to come to the United States. He remained in the city of New York but a short time, and then went to Paterson, New Jersey, where he obtained employment with the Rogers Locomotive Company. In the spring of 1874 he went to Philadelphia, in the capacity of foreman in connection with the erection of the exposition buildings. Upon the completion of this work in 1876 he was appointed assist- ant foreman in the Philadelphia shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. In 1880 he was offered the position of foreman in the shops of the Westmore- land Coal Company at Irwin ; this position he accepted and removed to that town. He resigned his position in 1888 in order to take a trip to England, and upon his return was for a short time assistant superintendent of the More- wood coke plant at Mount Pleasant. In February, 1889, he was employed as roll-turner in the mills of Kirkpatrick & Company at Leechburg. He resigned this position in 1905 and removed to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where, at the age of sixty-three years, he is leading a retired life. Mr. Lock was a man who took an active interest in all the public affairs of the community of which he was a member, and served for some years as school director. His political affiliation is Republican, and he is a member of the Protestant Episcopal church of which he has been an active member for many years, acting as lay reader. He is also a member of the Royal Arcanum. Before emigrating to America, Mr. Lock married Caroline Patton, and they were the parents of thirteen children, eleven of whom are now living (1906). Two of these children are residents of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania : Robert, assistant super- intendent of the sheet mill department of the Vandergrift mills; and John William, the subject of this sketch.
John William Lock, son of Arthur and Caroline ( Patton) Lock, was born in London, England, March 6, 1864. He was but two years of age when his parents emigrated to America, and he was taken by his paternal grandmother, who was much attached to him. He lived with her for four years, when she died.He was then brough to his parents by a maiden aunt, Alice Lock. From this time he remained at home with his parents until he had attained the years of manhood. He received a good education in the common schools of the town in which he lived, and was a studious and industrious pupil. While still quite a young man he learned the trade of blacksmith, and followed this occupation for a number of years. In 1891 he was offered a position in the sheet steel mills of De Wees, Wood & Company, in McKeesport, where he was living at this time. He remained in its employ for about two years and then went to Lecch- burg, Pennsylvania, where he accepted a position in the sheet mills of Kirkpat-
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rick & Company. He retained this position of sheet heater with this company up to July, 1897, when he resigned and came to Vandergrift, and accepted a similar position with the Apollo Iron and Steel Company, in which he remained for about eighteen months. At the end of this period he was advanced to the position of roller, which he has held up to the present time (1906). He has always been a trusted and faithful employe in all the positions he has held and has deservedly had the confidence of his employers from the time he commenced his business career. He is earnest, energetic, and ambitious, and these qualities have helped not a little to make for him the enviable reputation he possesses. He has many friends, not alone among his fellow employes, but also in the social and political circles of the town. He is a staunch Republican, and takes a considerable interest in the public affairs of the community in which he lives, having served three years as a member of the borough council of Van- dergrift. He is a member of the Episcopal church and of Vandergrift Lodge, No. 1116. I. O. O. F., and the Encampment and Rebekah Lodge of the same order : Apollo Lodge, No. 386, B. P. O. E .; Royal Arcanum, and the Maccabecs.
Mr. Lock married, March 8, 1888, Minnie Grace Sleek, of Mount Pleasant, daughter of George A. and Catherine (Long) Sleek. Mrs. Lock's maternal grandfather, Abraham Long, was one of the pioneer settlers of Westmoreland county, having emigrated from Germany and located near where the town of New Stanton now stands. He was the founder of a large family of descendants, many of whom have been prominently identified with the history of Westmore- land county. To Mr. and Mrs. Lock were born children : I. Edith Eleanor. 2. Carrie Catherine. 3. Ann Elizabeth. 4. George Arthur. 5. Mark Hen- ry. 6. John William. 7. Helen Virginia.
WILLIAM J. MORGAN, well and favorably known in Pennsylania and in many other states of the Union, is one of the best known citizens of Van- dergrift, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. He represents the second gener- ation of his family in this country, being descended from a Welsh family.
His father. Lewis Morgan, and the founder of the family in America, was born in Wales, where he resided until about 1865 or 1866, when he emigrated to the United States. He went immediately to Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he located. He remained there but a short time when he remoed to Danville, Pennsylvania, where he made his home for a priod of about twenty-five years. Mr. Morgan was a machinist by trade, and while living in Danville held a prominent and responsible position with the Branch Steel Company and the
Montour Iron and Steel Company. He resigned the latter position in order to enter into an agreement with the Reading Iron Company at Reading, to act for them in the capacity of superintendent. After remaining in Reading for some time he was offered an important position by the Bucyrus Company, manufacturers of steam dredgers and wrecking machinery, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This offer he accepted, and has been associated with that com- pany since that time. Mr. Morgan is a man of broad intelligence and liberal and progressive ideas, and gives his support to the Republican party. He is a member of the Baptist church, and also of the Masonic fraternity. He is a man with an excellent and wide-spread reputation in the world of mechanics. He married, in Wales, Margaret Williams, who was born in Wales, and died in the United States in 1888. Of their seven children, five are now living, as follows: I. Elizabeth, married William Gillinger and resides in Catawissa, Pennsylvania. 2. Edith, deceased. 3. Thomas, resident in Chicago, Illi- nois. 4. William J., the subject of this sketch. 5. Etta, married Charles
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY
Wolford, lives in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. 6. Georgia, deceased. 7. Ella, unmarried, resides in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Mr. Morgan married (second) Hariet Rockafellow, of Danville, Pennsylvania.
William J. Morgan, second son ond fourth child of Lewis and Margaret (Williams ) Morgan, was born in Danville, Montour county, Pennsylvania, August 8, 1868. His early years were spent under the parental roof, and he acquired a good education in the common schools of Danville. At the age of sixteen years he apprenticed himself to the trade of machinist in the shops of the Montour Iron and Steel Company, and finished his apprenticeship in the course of four years. At this time ( 1888) he went to Pittsburg, where he ob- tained employment in the shops of Dilworth Porter & Company. Here he re- mained but a short time, and in the fall of 1888 he went west, as much to see something of the world as to gain a practical working knowledge of the methods employed by different companies. For the next two and a half years his time was spent in machine shops in Chicago, Illinois ; St. Louis, Missouri ; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Memphis, Tennessee. His work was of excellent char- acter, and he never had the slightest difficulty in securing employment. He returned to Pennsylvania in 1891 and made his home in Leechburg. Here he sought and found employment in the shops of the Leechburg Foundry and Machine Company. With the exception of a year spent with the Mesta Ma- chine Company, and a similar period of time spent with the Apollo Iron and Steel Company, Mr. Morgan has been steadily occupied with the work of the Leechburg Foundry and Machine Company, up to September, 1900, when he came to Vandergrift. He was offered and accepted a responsible and im- portant position in the Vandergrift mills, and this he has since held to the mutual satisfaction of himself and the company. Mr. Morgan is a man who has never done a piece of work mechanically. Before he commences any im- portant undertaking, he considers it well from every point of view, with its relation to other work with which it may be connected; then, having outlined his plan, he proceeds with the certainty that he is in the right, and that every stroke of work is done to the best advantage. He possesses great influence both among his fellow employes and in the community at large, having a large circle of friends. He is possessed of a receptive mind which was stored with many facts of interest while he spent his years away from his native state. His views of all subjects are broad and liberal, and show independence of thought. In politics he is a strong adherent of the Republican party. He is a member of the Baptist church, and of Vandergrift Lodge, No. 437, K. P .; Leechburg Council, Royal Arcanum ; Vandergrift Aerie, No. 1058, Fraternal Order of Eagles. Mr. Morgan married, January 14. 1892, Elizabeth Jack, of Leechburg, Pennsylvania, daughter of Matthew Jack, a contractor and team- ster of Leechburg, Pennsylvania. Mr. Jack is no longer living. Mr. and Mrs. William J. Morgan were the parents of one child: Lewis, deceased.
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