USA > Pennsylvania > Westmoreland County > History of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 89
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JOHN C. NOLF, a sheet heater in the American Sheet Steel and Tin Plate Company, and a representative man of Vandergrift, is descended from good German and Scotch stock. His paternal grandparents emigrated to America from Germany and settled in Armstrong county, Pennsylvania. George Nolf, father of John C. Nolf, was born in Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, January 15, 1830. It was intended that he should be a farmer, and his early training was to that end. Upon attaining manhood he acquired the old homestead near Putneyville, Armstrong county, and this he cultivated for the remainder of his life. He died on this homestead September 24. 1889. He took an active interest in all public affairs that concerned the community
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of which he was a member, and affiliated with the Republican party. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he was a class leader and active worker with excellent results. He was also a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. He married Julia Brown, born in Arm- strong county, Pennsylvania, in 1834, daughter of John and Sarah Brown, both natives of Scotland. Mrs. Nolf died in 1807, aged thirty-three years. Mr. and Mrs. George Nolf had eight children, of whom the following six are now living: 1. James A., resides in Leechburg. 2. Matthias, resides in Du Bois, Pennsylvania. 3. Joseph, resides in Seattle, Washington. 4. Sarah A., married William Jacobs, resides in Altoona, Pennsylvania. 5. John C., the subject of this sketch. 6. Frank, resident in Vandergrift.
John C. Nolf, fifth child and fourth son of the surviving children of George and Julia ( Brown) Nolf, was born in Armstrong county, Pennsylva- nia, April 18. 1863. He was but four years of age when he lost his mother, and was taken by the family of Jerry Bowser, a farmer of Armstrong county, by whom he was reared up to his fifteenth year. He then began his business career, going to Ohio and spending one summer on a farm there. He then returned to Armstrong county, and for a year was employed in Caldwell's furnace. He then removed to Elk county, Pennsylvania, where he obtained employment as a driver for a lumber concern, and for about seventeen years was connected with lumbering, mining and carpentering work. In 1897 he came to Vandergrift and obtained employment in the mills of the Apollo Iron and Steel Company as a matcher. He was diligent and capable, and rose rapidly through the positions of doubler and pair heater, until in May of 1899 he was made a sheet heater, in which capacity he has since served the com- pany. Mr. Nolf is active in the affairs of the community in which he lives. He possesses great energy and force of character, and executive ability in a marked degree. In politics he favors the Republican party, and he served as school director while a resident of Vandergrift Heights. It was due to his advocacy and influence that the present beautiful brick school buildings was erected. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which Mr. Nolf is a steward, and has been a member of the board since its organization.
Mr. Nolf married, September 2, 1884, Margaret C. Wadding, of Day- ton, Armstrong county, and they had six children: Zula May and Lula Grace, twins ; William Raymond ; Inez Isabelle ; John Willard : Leonard. Mrs. Nolf died September 24, 1899, and Mr. Nolf married .(second) in 1900, Het- tie A. Clinger, of Corsica, Jefferson county, Pennsylvania, daughter of Joseph and Hannah M. (Thompson) Clinger, the former a native of Armstrong county, and the latter of Jefferson county, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Nolf have had one child born to them: Earl Wallace.
CLAUD D. FRANCE, a resident of Vandergrift, Westmoreland county, is a roller in the mills of the American Sheet Steel and Tin Plate Company, and stands high in favor with the various members of the company. Ile is of German descent, his grandparents having come to the United States many years ago.
Samuel France, father of Claud D. France, was born in South Bend Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, in 1818. He was there brought up and educated, and was then apprenticed to the trade of carpenter. With the exception of ten years spent in the car shops at Altoona, his life was spent in Armstrong county. The last fifteen years of his life were passed on a farm opposite Vandergrift, and he suffered greatly during this time from a wound
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received while in active service in the civil war. He had served with great bravery and received commendation therefor. He was a Democrat in politics, and during his years of vigorous manhood took an active interest in all affairs relating to his town and country. In later years he became an adherent of the Prohibition party. He was a member of the Lutheran church. He mar- ried Sarah Smeltzer, and they had four children: I. Ray M., lives in Arm- strong county. 2. Jennie M., wife of Stephen Chern, of North Vandergrift. 3. Claud D., the subject of this sketch. 4. Samuel T., a resident of Vander- grift.
Claud D. France, second son and third child of Samuel and Sarah (Smelt- zer) France, was born in Elderton, Armstrong county, December 25, 1873. He lived with his parents until lie was ten years of age, when he went to reside with a sister, Mrs. A. O. Stitt, and an uncle, Daniel Ray, of Shady Plane, Arm- strong county. He received his education in the common schools of Arm- strong county, and in 1888, when he had not yet attained the age of fifteen years, he went to work in the mills of the Apollo Iron and Steel Company, in Apollo, Pennsylvania. His first position was in the bar mill department, where his occupation was the swinging of blooms and the wheeling of cinders. He was employed in this mill in various capacities for about two years, and was then transferred to the sheet mills. Here he commenced work as a scrap boy, and by faithfulness and diligence he was advanced through the various grades-opener, matcher, doubler, rougher-and in 1896 he went to Leechburg, Pennsylvania, and accepted a position as roller in the Jennings sheet mills. Here he remained but one year, however, and then returned to' the Apollo mills, and for a short time served in the capacity of a rougher. In the same year (1897) he was advanced to the position of a roller in the Apollo mills, and at the end of another year was transferred to the mills at Vandergrift, Pennsylvania. This position he now holds to the mutual satis- faction of himself and his employers. Mr. France's energy and force of char- acter have made him a man of influence in the town in which he lives, and his opinion on many subjects is sought for and highly valued. He is a Demo- crat in politics, and has served as a member of the borough council of Van- degrift Heights during his residence of two years in that town. He has also been a member of the county committee for a period of two years. He and liis family are members and regular attendants at the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. France is a member of Vandergrift Lodge, No. 1116, I. O. O. F., and the Protected Home Circle. He married, February 5, 1895, Hattie Gwinn, of Chicord, Butler county, Pennsylvania, daughter of Thompson and Anna (Shook) Gwinn. Mr. and Mrs. Claud D. France are the parents of four chil- dren : Zuretta B .; E. A. Marie; Guy C., Dora Louise.
CHARLES MILTON HOFFMAN, one of the representative men of Vandergrift Heigths, well and favorably known in that town, is one who has not hesitated at the call of his country for men to defend her from her ene- mies, to lay aside his work and take his place in the ranks among the fore- most. The family of Mr. Hoffman has been represented in the United States for some generations.
Henry L. Hoffman, father of Charles Milton Hoffman, was born in West- moreland county, Pennsylvania. He married Nancy Jane Buckley, and had eleven children, ten of whom are now living: I. Maria, wife of Eli J. Stitt, of Apollo, Pennsylvania. 2. Adam, resides in New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. 3. John B., resides in Cumberland, Maryland. 4. Anna, unmarried, lives in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. 5. Ella J., unmarried, lives in Pittsburg. 6. Sarah,
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wife of Theodore Buff, of Marietta, Ohio. 7. Henry S., a resident of Cali- fornia. 8. Blanche, wife of T. G. Bladen, of Vandergrift. 9. Charles Milton, the subject of this sketch. 10. Ida B., professional nurse at Pittsburg.
Charles Milton Hoffman, fourth son and ninth child of Henry L. and Nancy Jane ( Buckley) Hoffman, was born near Kittanning, Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, April 22, 1876. He acquired his education in the pub- lic schools of his native city, and at the age of sixteen years commenced his business career, obtaining a position in the mills of Kirkpatrick & Company, of Leechburg, where he worked as a scrap boy for some months. He was diligent and faithful in the performance of his duties, and was soon advanced to the position of opener, in which capacity he served about half a year. Hc resigned and went to Apollo, securing a position in the mill of the Apollo Iron and Steel Company as opener. He remained here about a year as opener and was then advanced to the shearing, and later put to work as a doubler. In the spring of 1897 he was transferred to the new Vandergrift mill, and almost immediately thereafter was promoted to the position of catcher, and six months later to that of rougher. In this capacity he served the company for a period of five years, and in 1902 was advanced to the position of sheet roller in the mills.
In 1898, when the United States sent out a call for volunteers for the Spanish-American war, Mr. Hoffman immediately laid aside his work, and was one of the first to enlist in Company B, Nineteenth Regiment, United States Army. He served in Cuba and Puerto Rico, and was discharged at the latter place on April 15, 1899. He at once returned to his home and re- sumed his labors in the mills. The same close attention to details and fidelity in the performance of any task assigned him that characterized him at the beginning of his business career, have adhered to him throughout his life, and assisted him to make the rapid strides in advance he has achieved. Mr. Hoff- man is a. Republican in politics, and has served one term as a member of the borough council of Vandergrift Heights. He is a member of Apollo Lodge, No. 386, B. P. O. E., and of Vandergrift Lodge, No. 502, K. P. Mr. Hoff- man married, August 3, 1899, Nannie A. Lemon, daughter of James P. and Ada (Campbell) Lemon, and they have one child, Wade Ferguson.
JAMES L. LOGAN. Silas Logan, father of James I .. Logan, of Vandergrift, born about 1825, in Corry, Erie county, Pennsylvania, and as a young man went to Wisconsin, then situated on the frontier. He settled among the Indians, but after a shore time returned to Pennsylvania, having made both the outward and homeward trips by wagon. On his return he set- tled in Titusville, where he engaged in the oil business, later removing to Blairsville, where he did some oil prospecting. Subsequently he took up his abode in Greensburg, and some time in the eighties went to Detroit, where he has since resided on a farm in the suburbs. Mr. Logan married Elizabeth Rowan, and the following are their children : James L., see forward ; Henry, head bookkeeper for the American Harrow Company, of Detroit; Elsie, and Lena, both at home.
James L. Logan, son of Silas and Elizabeth ( Rowan) Logan, was born September 6, 1860, in Sparta, Monroe county, Wisconsin, and received a com- mon school education. About his eighteenth year he secured a position as a brakeman on the Pennsylvania railroad, but not finding the associations con- genial resigned at the end of a few months. He then went to Blairsville, where for about a year he was employed as a teamster, afterward obtaining a position as locomotive fireman on the Pennsylvania railroad. About two
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years and nine months later he was promoted to the position of engineer, which he held for some eight years. At the end of that time he resigned and for the three years following was variously employed. In 1898 he moved to Vandergrift, where he became locomotive engineer for the Apollo Iron and Steel Company, remaining in this position about two years and a half. He then accepted a position with the Chilled Roll Foundry Company of Apollo, and on the removal of the foundry to Vandergrift was retained, being transferred to that place. He continued, however, to live in Apollo, where he still resides. He belongs to Mineral Point Lodge, No. 615, 1. O. O. F; Apollo Command- ery, No. 365, Knights of Malta; and Allegheny Division, No. 108, Brother- hood of Locomotive Engineers. He is an Independent in politics, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Logan married, December 22, 1882, Caroline Stitt, of Blairsville, and of their six children four survive, all of them being at home; Catht- rine; William, Orville, and Glenn.
HARVEY E. RIGGLE. The paternal ancestors of Harvey E. Rig- gle, of Vandergrift Heights, were among the early settlers of Westmoreland county. His grandfather, Jacob Riggle, was a native of Forks Church, Arm- strong county, that being the site of an extensive settlement formed by the family. Jacob Riggle took up his abode on a farm near Highfield school house, being then recently married, and it was there that he reared his sons and daughters.
John H. Riggle, son of Jacob Riggle, was born in 1847, in Armstrong county, and after his marriage engaged for some years in mining, and several times changed his place of abode. In 1891 he purchased the old homestead where he now resides. He has belonged for many years to the I. O. O. F., is a Democrat, and a member of the Lutheran church. Mr. Riggle married Sarah E. Beck, and of their five children four survive: Charles C., of Mc- Keesport ; Harvey E., see forward; Percy O., catcher in Vandergrift mills ; and Bessie A., at home.
Harvey E. Riggle, son of Jolin H. and Sarah E. (Beck) Riggle, was born January 3, 1874, in Armstrong county, and received his education in the common schools, going to work in the mines as early as his sixteenth year. Soon after his marriage he moved to Greensburg and thence to Apollo, where he secured employment in the mills of the Apollo Iron and Steel Company, his first position being that of matcher. From this he was advanced succes- sively to those of doubler, catcher and rougher, and in April, 1900, was made roller, in which capacity he has since served. When the Vandergrift mills were opened he was transferred thither, and helped to turn out some of the first plates produced in the new plant. In June, 1900, he became a resident of Vandergrift. He is a Democrat in politics. Mr. Riggle married, in 1893, May B. Weiner, of South Greensburg, and they have been the parents of the following children : Harvey E .; Oscar R. ; Charles A .; Marguerete, deceased ; and Frank Dale.
HENRY CLEMENS HARROLD. One of the most highly re- spected citizens of Hempfield township is Henry Clemens Harrold. He is a son of George and Magdalina Harrold, and was born October 23, 1831, in Hempfield township. He received a common school education and has made farming his life-work. In politics Mr. Harrold is a Democrat. He is a very active church member and extremely liberal, not only in the material assistance which he renders to the work of the church, but in his religious sentiments and
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opinions. He was the chief promoter and benefactor of the Harrold German Reformed church, Hempfield township, which was named in his honor. In this church he served as elder, as he did in the church to which he had pre- viously belonged, and as held this office almost continuously since attaining to man's estate.
Mr. Harrold married, June 4, 1867, Elizabeth, daughter of John and Rebecca (Allabaugh) Ruff, of Mount Pleasant, and they have two sons : Harry Edgar, born September 8, 1868, married Emma Jane, daughter of Lewis Harrold (no relation), of Hempfield township; and Allen Franklin, born April 2, 1870, married Cordelia, daughter of Isaac Alshouse, of Hemp- field township.
PETER WALTER. Among those citizens of Pleasant Unity whose faces are no longer seen upon her streets, but whose names and deeds still live in the memory of those who knew them, is Peter Walter. He was a son of Peter and Catherine Walter, and was born March 21, 1817, in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania. He received a common school education, as a result of which and of the abilities with which nature had endowed him, he was successful and respected in his passage through life. In political affairs the Republican party received his vote and his influence. He and his family were members of the Mennonite church.
Mr. Walter married Sarah, born April 15, 1821, daughter of Solomon and Catherine Kemmel, and they were the parents of the following children : Daniel, born September 18, 1841, died January 30, 1861 ; Lydia E., born De- cember 29, 1843; David, born September 20, 1846, married Elizabeth Fergu- son and has five children : Grace, Maud, Lawrence, Jeanette and Corea ; Caleb, born December 8, 1848, married Frances McFarlin and has three children : Rolley, Clyde and Mack ; Catherine, born March 30, 1851. became the wife of Isaiah Smail and has had two children: Sylvia, deceased, and Dora ; John H., born January 3. 1853, died 1859; William, born November 6, 1855, married Nettie Schumaker and has five children: Goldie, Blaine, deceased; Elina, Russell and Zell: George MI., born April 6, 1858, lives in Kansas, married Lizzie Victor and had three children: Laura, deceased ; Milton and McKin- ley ; Mary E., born August 16, 1860, is the wife of Harry Jennison and the mother of three children: Walter, Ray and Mabel : Sarah I., born April 15, 1863. The death of Mr. Walter, which occurred November 24. 1889, was mourned as that of so good a man and upright a citizen deserved to be. His widow, who enjoys good health, notwithstanding the fact that she has num- bered eighty-four years, resides on the old homestead.
JAMES CALVIN CARROLL, a representative citizen of the bor- ough of North Irwin, is a lineal descendant of James Carroll, who with his brother, the only two children of their parents, so far as known, were "put out to service" when very young, thus losing all track of each other and their family. James Carroll came from east of the mountains and settled in the Manor valley, later moving to Middletown, where his death occurred. His family consisted of the following children: William, Adam, Joseph, Robert, Sarah, Ellen, and Maria Carroll.
William Carroll, eldest child of James Carroll, in his younger days mined a little, but most of his life was spent in the salt factory on the Kiskiminetas river, at the (then) town of Huff. now known as Salina, Pennsylvania. He was united in marriage to Sarah Laughlin, daughter of James Laughlin, of Armstrong county, Pennsylvania. Issue: Maria. married Lemar Donehay,
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of Allegheny City : Eliza, deceased, was the wife of the late Samuel Hawk; James, died unmarried; Mary, married William Atkinson, of Bloomfield, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Ellen, married James McGuire, and after his death, married a Mr. Crouse, resided in Columbus, Ohio ; Wilhelmina, married Isaac Amos, resides in Wyoming; Sarah, married Daniel Sweeny, now deceased ; she resides in Freeport, Pennsylvania ; John Calvin, see forward; George married Rose Woods, resides in Crabtree, Pennsylvania ; Joseph, died un- married; Amanda, became the wife of John Fry, resides in Irwin, Penn- sylvania.
Jolın Calvin Carroll, second son of William and Sarah (Laughlin) Car- roll, was born January 24, 1843, and at the present time ( 1905) resides in the vicinity of Irwin, Pennsylvania. He married Hannah L. Kistler, born De- cember 23, 1843. the youngest of a family of eighteen children, four of whom died in youth or infancy, born to Samuel and Catherine (Fink) Kistler, of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. The Kistlers are an old Westmore- land county family, the first of the name here having been Samuel Kistler, grandfather of Hannah L. (Kistler) Carroll, who presumably emi- grated from Germany. Samuel and Catherine ( Fink) Kistler were married June 22, 1820, and the latter named died February 3, 1855. After the death of his first wife, Samuel Kistler married Eve Susanna Loughner, who bore him five children. Four children were the issue of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Carroll: James Calvin, born December 2, 1864, see forward; Harry Oburn, born May 10, 1866, married Mattie Baker, and for his second wife Mrs. Molly Paul; he resides in North Irwin, Pennsylvania; Willa May, born July 31, 1871, died September 9, 1879; George Joseph, born August 4, 1873. married Susanna Gettins, resides in Youngwood, Pennsylvania.
James Calvin Carroll, eldest son of John Calvin and Hannah L. ( Kistler) Carroll, was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, December 2, 1864. He received a common school education, and began work at an early age as trapper boy in the North Side mine of the Westmoreland Coal Company, con- tinuing at this for a year or two, later mining coal for this company. In 1882 he secured a position as freight brakeman on the Pennsylvania railroad, which he filled for two years, being then promoted to conductor, in which capacity he served about three years. He was then made yard master at Jeannette, Pennsylvania, where he resided until June 17, 1904, and then purchased the property in North Irwin which he now occupies. He had previously built the first house in North Irwin, completed September 22, 1890, now occupied by his brother, Harry O. Carroll. In religion Mr. Carroll adheres to the tenets of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he holds membership. In politics he is a Republican, taking an active interest in the affairs of that great organization. He was appointed to fill the unexpired term of the first burgess of the borough of North Irwin, was president of the council for five years, and is now treasurer of the boroughi.
Mr. Carroll married, September 29, 1885, Annie Kennelty, daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Cox) Kennelty, of Irwin. Mr. Kennelty came from Ireland at the age of twenty-one, settling first at Penn Station, where he mined coal, later removing to Irwin. The issue of this marriage was: Effie May, born January 20, 1887; Frank Elton, born October 9, 1889 : Gertrude, born February 26, 1892; John Calvin, born June 13, 1894 ; Elizabeth, born July 2, 1899.
MARTIN O. OVERHOLT. The Overholts are of German origin and are widely scattered throughout East Huntingdon and adjoining town-
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
ships in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. The founder of the American branch of the family was Martin Overholt, who came from Germany, his native land, he having been born thirty miles from Frankfort-one-the-Main, in the year 1709, and settled in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, his death occurr- ing in Bedminster township, April 5, 1744. He married, November 2, 1736, Agnes - born April 18, 1713, died November 2, 1786. MIr. Overholt and his wife were among the earlist members of the old Deep Run Mennonite Congregation in Bedminster, and their remains were buried in the graveyard there. They were the parents of five children: Barbara, Henry, see forward ; Maria, and Martin. (A full account of the history of the early members of this family is found in the sketch of Benjamin F. Overholt, which appears elsewhere in this work).
Henry Overholt, eldest son of Martin and Agnes Overholt, was born 111 Bucks county, Pennsylvania, February 5, 1739, died in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in 1813. He married, January 3, 1763, Anna Beitler, born in Milford township, Bucks county, March 24, 1745. died April 5, 1835, dangh- ter of Jacob and Anna (Meyer) Beitler or Beidler, the former a native of Germany and a pioneer of the Bucks county family of that name, and the latter a daughter of Hans Meyer, the pioneer settler in Upper Salford town- ship, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. Henry Overholt and wife resided on a farm of one hundred and seventy-five acres near the Deep Run Meeting House until April 25, 1800, when 'he conveyed the farm to Andrew Loux and removed with his family to Westmoreland county, settling on a tract of wild land at West Overton, East Huntingdon township. He was a farmer and distiller by occupation. He and his wife were the parents of twelve children -five sons and seven daughters. He died March 5. 1813. His widow sur- vived him many years.
Martin Overholt, third son of Henry and Anna ( Beitler ) Overholt, was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, November, 1772. In 1809 he purchased a farm in Westmoreland county, whither he had previously removed, and the greater part of his life was devoted to farming. He married Catherine Over- holt. daughter of Abraham Overholt, a minister of the Mennonite Church, but not related to this branch of the family. She was born November 1, 1781, and bore her husband seven children, as follows: Susanna, Esther, Anne, Abraham, Henry, John and Martin O. Martin Overholt, father of these chil- dren, died in Sangamon, now Logan county, Illinois, June 18, 1835. His widow died in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, December 21, 1800.
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