History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 136

Author: George Dallas Albert, editor
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USA > Pennsylvania > Westmoreland County > History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men > Part 136

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"As a manufacturing town Irwin borough is somewhat deficient. The Westmoreland Coal Company have a large shop for repairing cars for their own use, but make no new ones. We found several shoemaker- shops, a couple of carpenter shops, in which considerable work is done, there being in the one owned by Mr. Greenawalt fourteen mechanics constantly employed, and ten in the one owned by Mr. Fulton.

" Our old friend, John McWilliams, Sr., seems to be very busy in the manufacture of copper and tinware. There is one steam flouring-mill in the borough, which is run by Messrs. Beck & Helman, in which a flourishing trade is kept up.

"Owing to the large number of men maintained there by the West- morland and Penn Gas-Coal Companies, the mercantile branch of trade offers special inducements to persons entering business. We found, therefore, a large number of stores, the first of which on our list is that of Jacob Goehring, Esq., on the corner of the railroad and Main Street. Mr. Goehring occupies a large frame building, divided into several separate apartments. The dry-goods and grocery department is fifty feet deep by twenty feet wide, the drug department is forty by twenty, and the wareroom is thirty by fourteen. These are on the first floor, and other commodious warerooms are on the second floor.

" Lewis Elsaman keeps a first-class confectionery and oyster maloon on Main Street, two doors above Twigger's hotel, and next door to him is William Over's boot and shoe house.

"On the corner of Main and Second Streeta, J. J. Hurst & Co. have erected a fine new brick building, which is occupied by them as a store- room. The main room is about ninety feet deep by twenty in width, and is divided into three apartments, the front entrance on Main Street. Next door above in the same building is the drug department and post- office, kept by the mme firm. There are three large rooms up-stairs, two of which are used as warerooms by the firm, and the other is used as a hall by the I. O. of O. F.

" Nearly opposite to this we found our young friend, William A. Shrum, engaged in the mercantile business in company with Mr. Shoe- maker. They have a fine room, an extensive stock of goods, and are doing & good business.

" As we went on up Main Street we found that gentlemanly young merchant, John McWilliams, Jr., located between Third and Fourth Streets, in a large and neatly furnished room, well filled with goods in his lino.

"On the corner of Fourth and Main Streets, Mr. D. W. Highberger holds forth. He has one of the finest store-rooms in the borough, it being fifty feet deep by eighteen in width, well stocked with dry-goods, groceries, boots, shoes, notions. In connection with the store, Mr. Highberger has erected a handsome photograph gallery.

"8. Ridinger & Co.'s large hardware and furniture store was next visited, where we found a fine large room, well filled with goods in their line.

" This part of the town is not much inhabited as yet, but is rapidly growing, there being upwards of thirty new houses in process of erec- tion in this immediate section. In consideration of this fact, this is the most desirable business place in the borough, and we are pleased to see that Messrs. Highberger and Ridinger have availed themselves of it.

"There are two churches completed, the Methodist, . large frame building, and the German Reformed, . large brick building, both of which are numerously attended on occasions of service. The Catholic Church is now in course of completion, and contributes in a very great degree to the improvement in appearance of the lower part of the town. It is situated on the corner of Second and Walnut Streets, fronting towards the railroad, is built of brick, two stories high, and is a fine and substantial building.

" Through the kindness of the gentlemanly assistant superintendent of the Westmoreland Coal Company we were enabled to visit and ex- plore one of the extensive mines of the company in the vicinity of the borough. This is one of the most extensive coal companies in the State, and in busy seasons furnishes employment for upwards of six hundred

men, thereby contributing greatly to the population and business im- portance of the town. The company shipped from this station alone during the year 1867 upwards of 250,000 tons of coal. The works are stopped now, owing to some difficulty in navigation east, but will prob- ably start up soon.

" We found a great many new dwelling-houses just completed or in course of erection, but cannot describe them in detail, further than to May that they are principally all large and substantial frame buildings. The scarcity of brick and the haste with which houses are erected is assigned as the reason why so many of the buildings are frame. They present a handsome appearance in general, however, and particularly the mansions of Simon D. Lauffer, John George, Jacob Painter, and Jacob Goehring, and the brick mansion of Joseph Cort, Esq., is one of the finest and most substantial structures in the county.

"The following is a list of the new houses just finished and in process of erection :

"Dr. Marchand, Henderson, And. McCauley, M. Widaman, Arch. Mathias, D. Kiwell, Dailey, Abner Cort, two buildings; Adam Byerly, Van Dyke, William Wiggle, Sheffler, David, Sharp, John Brown, Bow- man, Joseph Lenhart, A. Hessly, Henry Sanders, Daniel Henry, William Howell, John McCormick, Esq., William Williams, Stephen Ridinger, Simon Highberger, John James, Jonathan Williams, William Ridinger, Josiah Carson, Charles Henry, Jacob Painter, James Fleming, And. Learn, William Kunkle, John G. White, Mra. Stesle, Daniel Lenhart, and Dr. D. D. Taylor.

"In addition to the above there are a number of residences under contract and in contemplation, of which we will speak at our next visit, which we hope to make before long.

"The borough limits extend back to the turnpike, and are being rap- idly built up, giving ample foundation for the belief that ere long Irwin borough will be the most populous town in our county."

BANKS.

The Irwin Deposit Bank was organized in 1868 by Lloyd, Huff & Co., in the old Cort building. They suspended business in the panic of 1873, the same year the bank building was erected. They were suc- ceeded by Beck, Happer & Co., who closed business in 1875. Their successors were B. K. Jamison & Co., who retired in 1880. The Farmers' and Miners' De- posit Bank was established by P. S. Pool & Son, March 9, 1877, in the court building. In September, 1880, the bank was removed to its present eligible location on Main Street. This is a private bank, and was the successor to the banking business carried on a while by W. S. Nicodemus.

ORDERS, SOCIETIES, ETC.

HUNTINGDON LODGE, No. 549, I. O. O. F.,

was chartered Feb. 5, 1858, but the lodge hall and charter having been destroyed by fire, it was rechar- tered April 2, 1873, by William Stedman, M. W. G. M., and James B. Nicholson, M. W. G. S. Its offi- cers for 1882 are: N. G., William Davis; V. G., Daniel Henry ; Sec., M. E. Lindeblad; Asst. Sect., John Gittings; Treas., P. G. Petterson ; Trustees, Robert McElroy, Daniel Henry, J. H. Kerr, Robert Milburn, Edward Davis. It has a membership of one hundred and forty, and meets every Saturday evening in its own hall on Main Street, in the third story of the building it erected and owns.

IRWIN ENCAMPMENT, No. 196, I. O. O. F.

This encampment was originally chartered May 16, 1870, but was rechartered after the fire, April 2. 1873. The charter members and first officers were: C. P., M. L. Momeyer; H, P., R. D. Stewart; S. W.,

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Samuel Darrell; J. W., R. R. McGuire; Scribe, P. Dewalt; Treas., J. L. McQuiston; I. S., Henry Mil- liron ; O. 8., J. C. Carroll.

The officers for 1882 are : C. P., William Davis; H. P., Albert Fish; S. W., M. E. Lindeblad; J. W., Thomas Ramsden ; Scribe, J. H. Kerr; Treas., Daniel Jones ; I. 8., Edward Davis.

It meets the second and fourth Wednesday even- ings of each month, and has a membership of forty.

HIRAM LODGE, No. 09, ANCIENT ORDER OF UNITED BRETHREN,

was chartered Feb. 14, 1872. The charter members and first officers were: P. W. M., H. K. Klingsmith ; W. M., Joseph L. McQuistion; G. F., George H. Kuhn; O, William N. Thompson; Rec., Robert W. Wright; Fin., Henry Bailey; Rec., John Gray ; G., A. H. Hershey; I. W., Nevin Cort; O. W., Daniel Henry.

MARCHAND POST, No. 180, GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC.

This post was instituted Sept. 8, 1880, and named in honor of Dr. Samuel S. Marchand, captain of Company H, One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Regiment Pennsyl- vania Volunteers, who had been promoted from first lieutenant Aug. 23, 1862, and who was wounded and taken prisoner at Fredericksburg, Va., Dec. 13, 1862. He died Feb. 18, 1863, of wounds received at Freder- icksburg, in Libby Prison, Richmond, Va., and the Confederates sent his body home, accompanied by his sword, watch, and all his personal effects. The first officers and charter members were: C., Louis Mar- chand; Sr. V. C., Samuel Wilson ; Jr. V. C., J. C. Frederick; Q. M., D. G. Lindsay; O. D., Thomas Ray; O. G., John Sanders; Surg., John Glisley ; Chap., J. K. Painter; Adjt., J. K. Gallagher; Q .- M .- Sergt., Daniel Henry; Sergt .- Maj., Philip Bussue; James McIlhenny, William Blake, George V. Miller.

The officers for 1882 are : C., J. C. Frederick ; Sr. V. C., Wm. Blake; Jr. V. C., Thomas Ray ; O. D., John Dempster; Q .- M., Joseph Martin; Chap. J. K. Gal- legher; Surg., James McIlhenny ; Adjt., Louis Mar- chand; Q .- M .- Sergt., Daniel Henry; Sergt .- Maj., Philip Bussue. Its membership is fifty-six, and its meetings are held the first and third Wednesday evenings of each month at I. O. O. F. Hall.

WESTMORELAND LODGE, No. 415, KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS.

This lodge was chartered Dec. 5, 1873, with the following charter members: Samuel Wood, Lewis Eisaman, James Gregg, Adam Crampton, D. G. Lind- say, James B. Morton, George W. McIntyre, Philip Freeman, Joseph Shorthouse, John Adams. The officers for 1882 are : P. C., Thomas Johns; C. C., Herman Hackinson ; V. C., George Greeves; P., David Weldon; M. A., R. Hosick; K. R. and S., Magnis A. Lindeblad; M. F., John Adams; M. E., Nelson Bergman ; Trustees, Lewis Swanson, C. H. Schram, George Shorthouse. It has a membership of one hundred and three members, and meets every Tuesday evening.

THE IRWIN CORNET BAND,

of which Will Leigh is leader and B. M. McWilliams teacher, consists of eighteen pieces.

UNION CEMETERY.

This beautiful cemetery, lying about a mile south- east of the borough, was laid out in 1873 and 1874, and the first person therein buried was William F. Weaver, who died April 27, 1874. It comprises fifteen acres of land most eligibly located. The cemetery association was incorporated by the court in August, 1878, with the following incorporators: W. F. Caru- thers, Lewis Eisaman, Joseph Cort, Joseph Lenhart, S. D. Lauffer, S. C. Remsberg, B. B. Copeland, Samuel Gills, John J. Hurst, F. A. Happer, Wil- liam Crookston, John George, Jr., George R. Scull, Louis Marchand, J. I. Marchand. The first board of managers was Joseph Cort, John J. Hurst, F. A. Happer, W. F. Caruthers, Lewis Eisaman, S. C. Remsberg. The presidents have been Joseph Cort, John J. Hurst, F. A. Happer, Louis Marchand. The secretary since its organization has been S. C. Rems- berg. The treasurers have been F. A. Happer, W. F. Caruthers, Thomas H. Irwin, and W. F. Caruthers (present incumbent). The present board of managers is Louis Marchand, W. F. Caruthers, S. C. Rems- berg, Joseph Eisaman, William Wilson, and C. F. Billhimer.

CHURCHES.

For mention of the churches of the borough, see antecedent pages in the history of this township.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

THE COWAN AND EKIN FAMILIES.

In 1761, Matthias Cowan, who had married a Miss Gray, settled in the township. He was a Scotch- Irishman. His children were James, Joseph, George, Martha (married to William Ekin), Mary, Betsey, and Ann (married respectively to three brothers named Hughey), and two daughters who died young and unmarried. Robert Ekin was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, and came to Allegheny County when his son William was four years old, and to this town- ship when he was ten. Robert Ekin and his wife died in 1815, shortly after which Mrs. Matthias Cowan (nee Gray) died. William, son of Robert Ekin, was born in York County, where his father settled on coming to America. He died in 1851, and his wife (Martha Cowan) in 1858. Their children were Rob- ert, born Dec. 24, 1804; Matthias Cowan, born April 24, 1806; Eliza, married to Andrew Christy ; Rachel, married to Samuel Gill; John; Mary, married to Thomas Shaw ; and Margaret, who died young and unmarried. Of these, Matthias Cowan Ekin mar- ried, June 15, 1845, Nancy, daughter of William Rand and Susanna (Patterson) Rand. M. C. Ekin's

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farm lies about four miles south of Irwin Station, between it and the Youghiogheny River, and is the place where his maternal grandfather, Matthias Cowan, first located one hundred and twenty-one years ago, during all of which time the homestead has been in the family and belonging to three gen- erations.

THE MCCORMICK FAMILY.

John and Joseph McCormick, brothers, came from County Tyrone, North Ireland, in 1788, and pur- chased land around what is now Larimer Station. Joseph never married, and died at the advanced age of eighty-seven years. John had married Sarah Sloan in his native country before he emigrated. She was a lady of unusual mental attainments for her day, a midwife of considerable note, and a sister of Dr. William Sloan, an Irish practitioner of much celebrity. Their four children born before their emi- gration were :

1. William.

2. Andrew.

8. Jane. First married to Robert Donaldson ; sec- ondly, to Mr. McDonald, of Franklin County; and the third time to Daniel Hellman, who was killed near Larimer Station by a log rolling over him while clearing land. She had no children.

4. Joseph.

The children born in Westmoreland County were :

5. John, born Aug. 22, 1789.

6. David.

7. Sarah, never married.

8. Samuel, settled at Cadiz, Harrison Co., Ohio.

9. Thomas.

10. Elizabeth, married Samuel Osborne at Stew- artsville, had eight children.

Of the above seven sons, all but David and Thomas lived to be over eighty years of age. John, the fifth child, was born at his father's homestead, across the creek from Larimer Station. He was a tanner, and learned his trade with Caspar Walthour, to whom he was apprenticed in 1804, in his fifteenth year. He built the tannery at Larimer Station, operated it for years, then sold it, and subsequently the land upon which it was erected. He married Esther Sowash, whose ancestors had early settled in Virginia and were of Huguenot extraction. Their children were:

1. William, died in infancy.

2. Eli, born May 14, 1820, and a school-teacher from 1843 to 1854; now magistrate and notary public.

8. John Calvin.

4. Sarah, died young.

5. George.

6. Dr. James Irwin.

7. Silas, attorney-at-law.

8. Samuel.

9. Mary Elizabeth, died in infancy.

10. Albert, died young.

11. Rachel, married John George.

12. Henry H., lawyer in Pittsburgh, Speaker of the House of Representatives in State Legislature in 1874, and six years United States District Attorney for Western District of Pennsylvania.

13. Horace Greeley.

DR. JAMES IRWIN MCCORMICK, the sixth child of John and Esther (Sowash) McCormick, was born in March, 1828. He attended Washington College, Pa., but graduated at Franklin College, Harrison County, Ohio. He subsequently taught school at Johnstown, Greensburg, and other prominent places in the State. In the spring of 1855 he was appointed by Governor James Pollock as superintendent of the Westmore- land County schools, which position he held two years, and by his assiduous labors and genius auc- ceeded in raising the standard of the qualifications of the teachers.

He then opened a Normal School at New Derry, which became a popular institution, and one noted for the thoroughness of its training. While conduct- ing this he read medicine with Dr. William Burrell, and after graduating at the Western Reserve Medical College, at Cleveland, Ohio, he located at New Flor- ence. Shortly after he located at West Fairfield, and took the practice of Dr. Taylor, then elected to the Legislature. In 1871 he removed to Irwin, where he soon acquired a very extensive practice, and took rank as one of the best physicians and surgeons in the county. He was one of the finest classical scholars in the State, and no one in this county ever equaled him in his labors and success in behalf of the free schools. He married Rachel Black, daughter of Samuel and Jane (Mansperger) Black, by whom the following children were born :

1. Emma.

2. Samuel Black.

3. John.

4. Margaret Isabella.

5. William Henry Harrison.

After his wife's death he married her sister, Mar- garet, who bore him children, to wit:

1. Charles.

2. Mary Alice.

3. Eugenia.

4. James Irwin.

Dr. McCormick was a Republican in politics, and once the candidate of his party for Congress. He served several years as United States examining phy- sician for pensions. He was an active member of the Masonic order, and of the Ancient Order of United Brethren. He died Aug. 18, 1881.

THE IRWIN FAMILY.

Among the earliest settlers in this township were Col. John and James Irwin, two brothers, who emi- grated from North Ireland. The former was for sev- eral years an Indian trader; but when emigrants began

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Eli McCormick

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NORTH HUNTINGDON TOWNSHIP.

to pour into the new settlement he entered large tracts of land. He subsequently, after the organization of the county, hecame one of the associate judges of its courts. His brother James married Jane Fullerton, and settled on his farm near Irwin Station. Their son, John Irwin, was born Oct. 9, 1811. He married for his first wife Lydia Hurst, of Mount Pleasant, Jan. 9, 1884, who was born September, 1811, and bore him children as follows :

1. Thomas Hurst, born Sept. 8, 1836.

He married his second wife, Mary J. Dickey, Oct.

1, 1844. She was born Dec. 27, 1818.

The children by the second marriage were:

1. Nancy Hurst, born July 30, 1845, and married to Thomas Stewart.

2. Jane Fullerton, born Feb. 20, 1848, died Aug. 16, 1864.

f. Elizabeth Dickey, twin of above, married May 10, 1875, to James L. Ewing.

John Irwin died June 7, 1856. The original Irwin lands extended from Jacksonville to Wardensville. Judge Irwin left a part of his vast landed domain to his nephew, John Irwin, who upon it laid out the borough of Irwin. The latter was the first man in this region who took out and sold coal, which was then done to accommodate his neighbors. For the first coal lands he sold,-that is, the right to take out the coal,-and reserving the fee to himself, he re- ceived a hundred dollars per acre.

ELI McCORMICK.

The grandfather of the gentleman whose portrait appears herewith, John McCormick, emigrated from County Tyrone, Province of Ulster, Ireland, to America in 1788, and settled at what is now Lari- mer Station, Westmoreland Co., where he purchased a large tract of land. He married Sarah Sloan, of his native isle. They had ten children, nine of whom married and raised families. Their fifth child was John, who was born about one year after their settle- ment in this county. He was apprenticed to the tan- ning trade, which he learned thoroughly, and followed for a number of years. Not being entirely satisfied with this business, he disposed of his tannery, and, being a natural mechanic, he devoted a few years to carpenter work. He then engaged in farming, which he followed about nine years, when he was elected justice of the peace in North Huntingdon township. He was continued in this office until eighty-one years of age. He was a man of rare intelligence, having supplemented his "school learning," which was lim- ited, by extensive and careful general reading. He married Esther Sowash, who was of German descent, and a native of Westmoreland County. They had thirteen children. Those living are Eli, John C., George, Silas, Samuel S., Rachel E., and Henry H. Those dead are William S., Sarah, James I., Mary E., Albert, and Horace G.

John died in 1878, and his wife Esther in 1866.

Eli McCormick was born at Larimer Station, West- moreland Co., Pa., May 14, 1820. He attended the subscription schools of the neighborhood until fifteen years of age, and then engaged in farming. This he pursued for a few years, and then re-entered school, where he remained for two years preparing himself for teaching, to which he devoted a number of years, quitting it permanently in 1854. In 1848 he pur- chased a drug-store in Adamsburg. This he dis- posed of in 1855, and removed to Kittanning, Arm- strong Co., Pa., where he again engaged in the drug business. In 1858 he entered the employ of a drug firm as traveling salesman. He continued in this until 1870, when having been elected justice of the peace in Irwin, where his family had resided for a number of years, he entered upon the duties of his office. In the same year he was appointed notary public, and has held the position ever since.

Mr. McCormick is a thoughtful, intelligent busi- ness man, being a firm believer in the adage " What- ever is worth doing at all is worth doing well." As a teacher he held advanced views, being one of the first in the county to reject and repudiate the rule of brute force in school government, which at that day was the only method employed in the county. In its stead he substituted moral suasion, and appealed to the children's sense of right and wrong. His suc- cess was marked, and many of the pupils who be- came Imbued with his ideas were afterwards success- ful teachers. In short, no matter in what business engaged, he has made it the rule of his life to pre- pare himself thoroughly for his work.

He was married Dec. 29, 1846, to Sophia Kepple, youngest daughter of Jacob Kepple, of Salem town- ship, Westmoreland Co. Their living children are John Q. A., married to Maggie Cooper ; Jacob K., married to Mima Harris ; Edward B., and Roscoe T. Two of their children, James I. and Frank, died young. Their only daughter, Mary, married Wil- liam R. Hanna. They are both dead, and their only child, Roscoe Elton Hanna, resides with his grand- parents.

ANDREW L. McFARLANE.

From County Tyrone, Ireland, came Francis and his wife, Mary (McWilliams) McFarlane, and settled in Westmoreland County. Here they remained but a few years, when they removed to Lawrence County, Pa., where Francis engaged in farming, in which business he was signally successful, and was able at his death to give each of his children a fair pecuniary start in life. The number of his children was four- teen, Andrew L., whose name is the caption of this article, and who was born Sept. 19, 1825, being the youngest. He received a good common-school edu- cation, and began work for himself as a farmer in his native county. In 1844 he came to Westmoreland County to superintend improvements upon his broth-

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er's farm. In the following year, February 19th, he married Mary E. Larimer, youngest daughter of William Larimer, Sr., long a prominent citizen of Westmoreland County. They had six children, two Sarah C .; and Robert S .; who was born, Oct. 1, 1815, of whom are living,-George L., who married Allie Eaton, is engaged in the lumber business, and has his residence in Pittsburgh; Ella F., married Thomas He was educated in the subscription schools of the time, and spent most of his time on the homestead farm till he was about twenty-two years of age, when he entered upon general merchandising and stock- raising and dealing at Stewartsville. He pursued merchandising for three or four years, profitably for the times, and about 1843 gave up merchandising, and removing to a farm in the vicinity of Stewartsville, gave his attention to farming and stock-raising, which business he still pursues. He raises short-horn Dur- hams as his particular pride, taking the utmost inter- est in pure breeds. He also raises good stocks of horses, the Kentucky driving horses and Clydesdale draught horses claiming his particular attention. Boggs, and resides upon a farm in Westmoreland County. Mrs. McFarlane died Oct. 27, 1863, in her thirty-seventh year. May 16, 1865, Andrew L. Mc- Farlane married Jennie A. Davis, of Fayette County. To them were born three children. Those living are Lida F. and Andrew Lewis. Mr. McFarlane has been diligent and eminently successful in business, and has added very largely to his patrimony. His possessions are chiefly land and coal. He is engaged at present in developing his coal, and also carries on an extensive lumber trade. He is a man of sound judgment and correct business principles. He is genial and hospitable, and has a well-appointed home.

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History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 136

Author: George Dallas Albert, editor Publication date: Publisher: Number of Pages:

Author: George Dallas Albert, editor
Publication date:
Publisher:
Number of Pages: