USA > Pennsylvania > Westmoreland County > History of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 9
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Daniel A. Mowry was born in Derry township, Westmoreland county, June 13, 1847, was reared upon the home farm and educated in school No. 15, of his native township. From the age of ten years he was earning money in various ways and when seventeen years of age his name was on the pay roll of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, while at the age of nineteen years he entered upon an apprenticeship to the blacksmith's trade in the town of New Derry. When he had completed his term of indenture he opened a shop in Millwood, which he conducted nine years, doing a large amount of railroad work. In 1878 he re-entered the service of the Pennsylvania Railroad Com- pany in the capacity of a blacksmith for car inspectors in the motive power de- partment, and in 1888 he was placed in charge of the company's store at Derry Station, where he remained until his election to the office of county commis- sioner in 1902. He was six times a nominee for county offices, having been nominated five times for the position of prothonotary. While the Republicans normally have a very large majority, he was defeated on one occasion by only a hundred and fifty votes and he was elected to his present office by a very large majority, which is indicative of his personal popularity and the confidence re- posed in him by his fellow townsmen. He has always been a staunch Demo- crat and an earnest worker for the growth and success of the party. He is now serving as secretary of the board of county commissioners. For thirty-two years he has been a member of the A. O. of U. W. and for more than thirty years of Lamont Lodge, No. 568, A. F. and A. M. He is a member of the Veteran Employers Association of the Pittsburg division of the Pennsylvania railroad, and has been a life long member of Trinity Lutheran church, at Derry, serving as a member of the church council and secretary of the board. Mr. Mowry was married June 14, 1869, to Margaret A. Akins, of Derry township, a daughter of Andrew Akins. They have become the parents of eleven children, of whom nine are living : Maud E., the wife of L. A. Loughner, of Penn town- ship, Westmoreland county ; Mary M., wife of W. P. Best, of Derry Station ; Albert T., of Derry township, foreman in the machine shops at Conemaugh, Pa. ; Andrew J., of Derry township, who is with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company ; Daniel A., an engine preparer at Derry ; Myrtle F., wife of L. S. Kelly, of Derry township : Charles C., Bertha L. and Charlotte J., at home.
AMOS B. KLINE. The Kline family has long been prominent in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. The first of the name to settle here was John Kline, a pioneer, who came from the eastern part of this state shortly after the Revolutionary war. He was a son of Peter Kline, a resident of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in the part which is now Lebanon county, but whether he was a native born or an emigrant from Germany is not known.
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
Peter Kline enlisted as a private in the Revolutionary war, was present at Valley Forge under the command of General Washington, and afterward was assigned to the commissary department and placed in charge of foraging parties. Shortly after the cessation of hostilities he married a Miss Mace, and for sev- eral years devoted his time and attention to farming. Accompanied by his wife and family, Mr. Kline migrated westward and located in the vicinity of Grape- ville, the journey being made on horseback. He made frequent trips to Phila- delphia to examine titles, as he was a conveyancer as well as a farmer. . He never returned from his last trip to the city, and was never thereafter heard of by his family. Their children were: 1. John, settled in the vicinity of Adamsburg, but after his marriage to Nancy Buchman, of Hagerstown, Mary- land, he purchased property in the Manor of Demnark where he thereafter re- sided. He reared a large family, among whom was a son John, of whom later. 2. William, also settled in the vicinity of Adamsburg. 3. George, deceased. 4. Samuel, went to the southwest and was never again heard from by his friends. 5. Polly, married Peter Kemmerer, and located in Illinois. 6. Catherine, mar- ried Daniel Kemmerer, and settled in Iowa.
John Kline, son of John and Nancy ( Buchman) Kline, settled on the farm known under William Penn's patent as Landsdown, in the Denmark Manor district of Penn township. He was energetic, industrious and progressive. He was a prosperous farmer, and also owned and operated the Bouquet mills for several years. He married Elizabeth Knappenberger, daughter of John and Hannah Knappenberger, an old and early settled family in the Manor district. Their children were: Hezekiah J., died in McDonough county, Illinois, in 1869 ; Hannah, died in 1882; William J., A. M., M. D., a practicing physician of Greensburg since 1871 ; he was a member of the state legislature in 1877-8, and a member of the state board of medical examiners at a later date ; Nicholas L., a dentist, now located at Scottdale. Mary Ann, married David L. Snyder ; Henry, enlisted in the union army and died at Newbern, North Carolina, in 1863. aged twenty-one years; Lydia E., married Cyrus J. Snyder ; Amos B .. mentioned hereafter ; Rev. Alpha K., a graduate of Franklin and Marshall Col- lege, and now (1905) a minister in the Reformed church : Jacob, died in in- fancy. John Kline, father of these children, died in December, 1855, aged forty- six years. His wife, who was an energetic and intelligent woman, possessing rare tact, good judgment and christian virtues, died March 11, 1890, in the eighty-seventh year of her age.
Amos B. Kline, son of John and Elizabeth (Knappenberger) Kline, was born near the historic village of Bouquet, Penn township, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, April 19, 1843. He received a liberal education in the common schools and academies of his native county. In September, 1862, he volunteered his services in defense of his country, becoming a member of Company C. Twenty-second Regiment, Pennsylvania Militia, which saw several weeks of service on the southern borders of the state. He served in the capacity of teacher in the public schools for several terms, discharging his duties in a highly creditable manner. During the years 1865 and 1866 he was superintendent of the Curlew and Highland Oil Companies, two organizations operating at Burn- ing Springs, West Virginia. In order to further qualify himself for a business career he entered Eastman's Business College, Poughkeepsie, New York, from which he was graduated in the spring of 1867. He then embarked in the drug and grocery business at Irwin, but two years later disposed of the same and accepted a position as assistant superintendent and bookkeeper with John S. Love, of Pittsburg, who was then constructing the railroad from Hollidaysburg,
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
Blair county. In October, 1873, he became a partner with his brother, Dr. W. J. K. Kline, in the publication of the Westmoreland Democrat and Repub- lican. They enlarged the paper, changed the name to the Westmoreland Dem- ocrat, and made it a live and important weekly, taking a leading part in poli- tics and ably discussing the issues of the day. Mr. Kline took part in the edi- torial work, and was general manager until the fall of 1882, when they sold the paper. They then purchased a large coal field in the vicinity of Pleasant Unity, which they subsequently sold to William Thaw, of Pittsburg. They afterwards purchased three thousand acres of gas coal lands in Manor Valley, and were in- strumental in the building of the Manor Valley railroad, and promoting the Manor Gas Coal Company, in which they held an interest until 1886, since which time Mr. Kline has been dealing in real estate in Westmoreland and Al- legheny counties. During the year 1889 Mr. Kline and his brother, Dr. Kline, purchased several tracts of land and laid out West Wilmerding, an addition to Wilmerding, Allegheny county, on the line of the Pennsylvania railroad. Mr. Kline is an active member of the Reformed church, and during the years 1888 and 1889 contributed liberally of his time ( serving as chairman of the building committee) and means in the erection of the new church edifice known as Den- mark Manor Reformed church, which ranks among the most handsome country churches in western Pennsylvania. He is firm in his allegiance to the principles of the Democratic party. He married, September 17, 1889, Elizabeth B. Kays, daughter of D. L. Kays, of Pittsburg. Their children are : Elizabeth, Madeline and Arthur Burnadotte.
CHARLES F. EHALT, the genial and well known proprietor of Hotel Ehalt, at Greensburg, formerly known as the Station House, and Union Hotel, is a native of the town in which he now resides, born December 31, 1858, to Jacob and Lydia (Coshey) Ehalt, whose family consisted of seven children : Sybilla E., Mary E., Alice M., Annie E., Gertrude T., Jacob E., and Charles F. Jacob Ehalt (father) was born in Wurtemberg, Bavaria, July 8, 1821, and his wife, who was a daughter of Samuel Coshey, was a native of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. In 1851 Jacob Ehallt built the hotel known as the Sta- tion House, on the present site of the hotel conducted by his son Charles F., and during the years 1869-70 completely remodeled the same. Being a man of the strictest integrity and unimpeachable character, he was never refused a license by the court. He was a staunch Democrat, and a member of the Catholic church, as was also his wife. His death ocurred October 8, 1885.
Charles F. Ehalt was educated in the public schools of Greensburg and St. Vincent College, at Latrobe, where he completed his studies at the age of sixteen. He succeeded his father in the hotel business, and in 1888 remodeled the structure and built an extensive addition thereto. Being brought up in this line of work he is thoroughly familiar with all the details of management, and therefore a large degree of success has attended his well directed efforts. He and his family reside in a private house adjoining the hotel, but entirely sep- arate from it. Mr. Ehalt is a member of the Catholic church, and since attain- ing young manhood has cast his vote with the Democratic ticket. He has always taken an active part in local politics, and has served seven years as a member of the city council to the satisfaction of his constitutents. He was one of the organ- izers, and is now a director in the Merchants' Trust Company, a well and favor- ably known banking institution of Greensburg. Mr. Ehalt married, October 2, 1888, Mary J. Ruffner, of Derry township, a daughter of James and Elizabeth
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
Ruffner. Their children are Helen R., born July 8, 1890; Edgar, October 15, 1891 ; Mary J., April 23, 1893 ; Jane F., October 27, 1894 ; Sybilla E., September 11, 1898; and Charles F., Jr., June 20, 1900.
WILLIAM DONALDSON, burgess of South Greensburg, West- moreland county, is a man who throughout his active career has exhibited clear- ness of perception and soundness of judgment, and has always enjoyed an en- viable reputation for moral worth and integrity of character. He possesses true public spirit and uses his influence to enhance the best interests of the city, supporting all worthy enterprises. He was born in Brooks county, West Vir- ginia, November 7, 1854, a son of William and Elizabeth F. (Charlton) Don- aldson, who emigrated from New Castle on the Tyne, Northumberland county, England, in 1849, settling in East Elizabeth. Allegcheny county, Pennsylvania, where he followed his trade of miner.
William Donaldson acquired a good English education in the common schools, and after completing the same pursued a course of study at the Scran- ton Mining School. He became a practical miner, was thorough and conscien- tious in the performance of his duties, and his perseverance and integrity was crowned with the success merited by those who steadily pursue their way through life. He was elected on the Democratic ticket to the office of burgess of South Greensburg, in which capacity he is now serving. He is a member of Knights of Pythias, and Covenant Lodge, No. 259, of Penn Station, West- moreland county. Mr. Donaldson married February 17, 1876, Mary Altman, born October 22, 1860, in Westmoreland city, a daughter of Eli and Margaret (Seigfriet) Altman. Their children are as follows: James E., born September 26, 1879, married Mary A. Lauffer, and resides in Greensburg; Mary E., born August 14, 1882, became the wife of Richard Mellon Murdock, and resides in South Greensburg ; Henry C., born June 9, 1887; Priscilla J., born March 8, 1889 : and Margaret S., born October 22, 1892.
AMOS K. HUTCHINSON. Greensburg possesses in Amos K. Hutchinson a public-spirited citizen. His paternal grandfather came from Ire- land, while his grandfather on his mother's side was a native of Germany. He is a son of Joshua and Susan ( King) Hutchinson, and was born September 30, 1858, in Greensburg, Pa.
Amos K. Hutchinson attended the common schools of Greensburg. At the age of thirteen he obtained employment on the Pennsylvania railroad, at the same time attending school during two winters. He continued to work for this railroad until he was within three months of his majority. In March, 1903, he was elected chief of police, and was re-elected in 1904-05-06, his administra- tion of the duties of the office proving in the highest degree satisfactory to all concerned. He has also given evidence of his zeal in the public service by be- coming a member of the volunteer fire department, No. 3. He belongs to the Eagles, No. 723, and Woodmen of the World, No. 18, of Westmoreland county. Mr. Hutchinson married, June 3, 1880; Elizabeth, daughter of George and Susan Rohrbacher, and their children were : Carrie S., John C., George E., Walter J., Samuel L., deceased ; and Clarence M. Mr. Hutchinson and his children sustained a severe bereavement in the death of the wife and mother, who passed away November 14, 1902.
JOHN H. KING. The family of which John H. King, of Greensburg, is a representative, is one which has long been resident in this country. His great-grandfather was a native of the United States and was the
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
father of John King, who was born in Somerset county where he followed the calling of a farmer. His political influence was given to the Whigs, and he was a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He married Eliza- beth, daughter of Michael Noff, a Somerset county farmer of German descent, and they were the parents of a danghter and two sons, one of whom, David J., is mentioned hereafter. Mr. King died in 1839.
David J. King, son of John and Elizabeth (Noff) King, was born No- vember 6, 1820, at Confluence, Somerset county, where he was educated in the subscription schools. At the age of eighteen he went to Westmoreland county and settled near Mount Pleasant. He devoted himself to agricultural pursuits, and was active as a citizen, filling the offices of tax collector, assessor and school director. Until 1863 he was a Republican, but in that year joined the Demo- cratic party to which he adhered during the remainder of his life. He was a dcacon in the Presbyterian church. He married Mary Ann Simpson whose great-grandfather, Thomas Simpson, came from Holland in 1736 and settled in Indianatown, Indiana county. About 1775 he moved to Westmoreland county, where, in 1780, he built a house near Mount Pleasant which is still standing and has always remained in the possession of the family. He served in the Contin- ental army during the Revolutionary war, and his son, William Simpson, was the father of a daughter, Mary Ann, who was born in 1823, near Mount Pleasant, and became the wife of David J. King, as mentioned above. The fam- ily is closely related to that of General Ulysses S. Grant. The following chil- dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. David J. King: Rebecca, married David Music : William S. : John H., of whom later : David Blennett : Fannie, married Joseph W. Stoner ; Theodore; Theophilus; Byron W .: Frank A. ; and Mary- tta. Mr. King died in Westmoreland county in 1893, and his wife, Mary A., died August 7, 1905, aged eighty-two years.
John H. King, son of David J. and Mary Ann (Simpson) King, was born December 29, 1819, in Mount Pleasant, where he received his preparatory edu- cation in the public schools, afterward entering Duff College, Pittsburg. On completing his education he devoted himself for four years to the profession of teaching, and then engaged in mercantile business at New Stanton. At the end of eight years he sold his store and became manager of a large flouring mill, a position which he retained for ten years, and was then forced to resign on account of his health. He moved to Greensburg where he has since been en- gaged in business as a general contractor. He was chosen in 1903, to fill the office of tax collector. He belongs to the R. A., and the K. M. His political views and principles are those of the Republican party, and he is a member of the German Reformed church. He married, in 1878, Lizzie M., born March I, 1849, in West Overton, Westmoreland county, danghter of Frederick S. and Sally (Ingals) Hunker, and their children were: Harry Earl, born March I, 1885 ; died March 9, 1885 : and Charles F., born April 2, 1889.
ROMAYNE M. WALDRON, D. V. S. Few members of the veter- inary profession are better known in western Pennsylvania than is Dr. Waldron. who is engaged in the practice of his profession in Greensburg. Westmoreland county, where he also conducts one of the largest sales and exchange stables in this portion of the state. Educated in all the principles and modern methods of his profession, he is enthusiastic in its practice and his services are valued highly, being in constant demand in Westmoreland and adjoining counties.
Dr. Waldron claims the fair Emerald Isle as the place of his nativity, hav- . ing been born in county Roscommon, Ireland, August 7, 1859, and having there
R. M. Waldron
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
been reared to maturity, while he secured excellent educational advantages in the schools of his native county. He is a son of Michael and Catharine (Ro- mayne) Waldron, who were likewise born and reared in Ireland, and who are now deceased, the father having been a farmer and stockman by vocation. In 1879, when nineteen years of age, Dr. Waldron came to America, and here he took up the study of the veterinary science, finally entering the celebrated To- ronto Veterinary College, in the city of Toronto, Canada, where he was gradu- ated as a member of the class of 1887, receiving his degree of Doctor of Veter- inary Surgery. He has made a thorough and systematic study of veterinary science. The sacrifice and suffering entailed upon the domestic animals which minister to our well-being and pleasure, on account of the ignorance prevailing as to their treatment, awakened in Dr. Waldron an overmastering desire to learn how to cure and alleviate their sufferings, and the result has been his successful and noteworthy career as an able and enthusiastic member of his profession, in which he has attained high prestige. Soon after his graduation Dr. Waldron located in Greensburg, and here he has built up a large and important business in the direct line of his profession, while in the connection he established an exchange stable, in which department of his business he has expanded the en- terprise until it is one of the largest and most important in western Pennsyl- vania, the number of horses and mules handled averaging from one hundred to one hundred and fifty head per month, while through this source he supplies the greater amount of such stock utilized in the mines of this section of the state. Dr. Waldron is not the only representative of his family in the United States, as is evident when we note that his three brothers are well established in their respective lines of endeavor, as follows : Dr. Lewis P., is a successful phy- sician and surgeon of Akron, Ohio; Thomas A. is a veterinary surgeon of Uniontown, Pennsylvania ; and Michael is a prosperous farmer residing near Brownsville, Fayette county, this state. In politics Dr. Waldron gives an un- compromising allegiance to the Republican party, and he is one of the active workers in its local ranks, while he is essentially progressive and public-spirited as a citizen, though he has never sought the honors or emoluments of public office. He is a member of the Catholic church.
As a leading member of his profession in this locality Dr. Waldron is con- sidered an authority and is frequently called in consultation over serious or complex cases, few ever passing through his skilled treatment without relief. He is a member of various professional organizations, is held in high esteem by his professional confreres, and is a frequent contributor to veterinary pub- lications. He is well and favorably known in his home city, and is a reliable and progressive business man and loyal citizen. Dr. Waldron married, Jan- uary 31, 1889. Elizabeth Lutz, born and reared in Westmoreland county, be- ing a daughter of Dr. David Lutz, one of the representative dental surgeons of Fayette City, where he is still engaged in the practice of his profession. Dr. and Mrs. Waldron have six children, namely : Louis David, Romayne M., Jr., Cath- erine A., Edith E., Josephine E., and Mary L.
JOHN RICHEY HAYDEN. Among the retired citizens of the borough of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, no man stands higher in the estimation of his life long neighbors than John R. Hayden, who descended through the following genealogy :
(I) Ebenezer Hayden, the grandfather, was of Scotch-Irish parentage. The family settled in New Jersey and came to Westmoreland county, Penn- sylvania, in 1774. Mr. Hayden was a man of exceptional qualifications. He
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
was born in New Jersey, and came to this county in 1774, locating on the Yough river, known as Budd's Ferry, where he conducted a ferry business for eighteen or twenty years. He built large boats for the conveyance of cattle across the river, as that became a leading point for the crossing of large droves of cattle en route to the eastern markets. In this he had many interesting experiences and narrow escapes. Often the entire load of cattle would be capsized in the river, and then the scramble for safety begun, Mr. Hayden often climbing upon the back of some wild steer and riding in safety to land. Mr. Hayden also followed the various vocations of shoemaking, blacksmithing and carpentering, and was recognized as a competent physician and surgeon, although never having taken a medical or surgical course. He was self- taught in this latter profession, and his practice extended over a wide terri- tory of this and adjoining counties. He was a great reader, and deep thinker of more than average intellect. Politically he was a strong Democrat, and in religion was a member of the Baptist church. He married a Miss O'Brien, and their children were: John, William, of whom later, and a daughter who died in childhood. Mr. Hayden died at the age of eighty-nine years.
(II) William Hayden, son of Ebenezer Hayden (I), was born at Budds Ferry, in 1806, and died in 1892. The early part of his life was spent at brick making, but subsequently followed farming. He married, in 1839, Juliann Wiley, daughter of ,Sampson Wiley and wife. They were the parents of six children, all deceased now, but two-John Richey and Mrs. Jessee S. Wall. The names of the children in this family are: Agnes, Catherine, Brinton, John R., William, Hannah Jane. The mother was born in 1819 and died 1882. Among the important historic events recounted with great pleasure by the family, and with which William Hayden participated, was the reception given to General Lafayette on his return visit in 1825. It was tendered him in Ros- traver township, this county, at the old Rohoboth Church. Mr. Hayden received a good common school education ; was politically a stanch Democrat and a hearty supporter of Jackson, both in the campaign of 1828 and 1832. On the maternal side the grandfather, Sampson Wiley, came from Ireland in 1795 and married Anna McGrew. Their children were: William, Sampson, Joseph, James, Nathan, Mary, Elizabeth, Nancy, Juliann and Hannah.
(III) John R. Hayden, the fourth child of William and Juliann ( Wiley) Hayden (2), born March 2, 1846, in Sewickley township, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, received his education both at the common and private schools of his native county. His active career was commenced as a farmer and brick manufacturer, but later he became a coal operator, which branch of business he followed from 1882 to 1892. During the last named year he was elected poor director of Westmoreland county and succeeded himself, holding the office five terms or ten years, which record has never been made in the county before. It was in 1903 that he removed to the fifth ward in the borough of Greensburg, where he erected one and purchased two good residences on Alexander street. The principal business with which he is connected at this time, is that of a large foundry at Hunkert, he being the president of the Greensburg Wheel and Supply Company. Mr. Hayden's life has been an exemplary one in all respects. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Greensburg, belongs to the Masonic fraternity, and is advanced to the high degree of Knights Templarship. Politically he is a supporter of the Democratic party.
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