History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 146

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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 146

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THE PREMIUM FLOURING-MILL

is the property of Samuel Walthour, and is on the corner of Railroad and Jefferson Streets. It is forty- five by fifty feet, four stories high, has three run of burrs, and all its machinery is complete and in good running order. Its ground embraces two lots of one hundred feet square, is situated in the heart of the

1 Bee diretobes of these churches on antecedent pages of this township Motory.

" The borough is now building a school-bonse that will be when com- pleted everything that could be desired.

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town, fronting the Pennsylvania Railroad, with siding running past the door. The engine power is sufficient to run three run of burrs and machinery. An excel- lent bored well yields all the water necessary to run the boilers, even in the dryest seasons of the year.

THE PLANING-MILLS

are two, both very large, and owned by Col. George Anderson and O'Brien & Toner.

ORDERS AND SOCIETIES. LOYALHAMNA LODGE, No. 257, F. AND A. M.,

was constituted Sept. 19, 1858, with the following charter members and officers: W. M., John W. Coul- ter; 8. W., Martin Runyen; J. W., Jesse A. Cun- ningham ; S. D., W. O. Hugart; J. D., Samuel Elder ; Sec., D. Zimmerman.

The Past Masters of this lodge are : 1854, John W. Coulter ; 1855, Jesse A. Cunningham ; 1856-58 and 1862, Jesse Chambers ; 1859, J. R. McAfee; 1860, David Mc- Culloch ; 1861, J. J. Bierer ; 1863, James White; 1864, D. C. George; 1865 and 1869, W. H. Watt; 1866, Sebastian Bear; 1867, John Oursler; 1868, Joseph Chambers ; 1870, John G. Lowry ; 1871, S. R. Rut- ledge; 1872, D. W. McConaughy ; 1874, D. P. Harr; 1875, Jacob H. Oursler ; 1876, George L. Miller; 1877, E. H. Fiscus ; 1878, A. G. Chambers; 1879, J. D. Evans ; 1880, D. W. McConaughy ; 1881, Jesse Cham- bers.

The officers for 1882 are : W. M., J. D. Evans ; 8. W., D. E. Welsh; J. W., George B. Anderson ; S. D., J. C. Blair ; J. D., B. McCloy ; Sec., Sebastian Bear; Treas., J. L. Chambers. It has fifty-eight members, and meets the first Monday of each month.

LATROBE LODGE, No. MI, I. O. O. T.,

was chartered May 22, 1858, with the following off- cers: N. G., C. F. Beam; V. G., William Pollick ; Sec., I. M. Keefers; Treas., George Bennett. The officers in 1882 are: N. G., G. C. Kissell ; V. G., Charles L. Mitchell; Sec., B. F. Geiger; Treas., I. D. Pores; Janitor, George Yingling. It meets every Saturday evening.

SHALLUM ENCAMPMENT, No. 141, I. O. O. F.,

was chartered March 24, 1866. Its first officers were : C. P., I. D. Pores; H. P., I. M. Keefers; S. W., Samuel Mccutchen; J. W., George C. Anderson; Scribe, W. H. Williams; Treas., David M. Bear. In 1882 the officers are : C. P., John Mickey ; H. P., S. P. Keys; S. W., George Yingling; J. W., John W. Yingling ; Scribe, D. J. Saxman. It meets the second and fourth Thursday evenings of each month.

LATROBE LODGE, No. 368, ROYAL ARCANUM,

was chartered May 3, 1880. The charter members were A. M. Sloan, James Peters, Henry C. Best, S. 8. Philips, H. G. Chambers, H. E. Hoke, Rev. J. L. Riley, Frederick - Metzgar, D. C. George, T. W. Wei- mer, John W. Yingling, J. K. Barr, S. H. Baker, J.

D. Evans, G. B. Anderson, Reuben Baker, L. A. Hoke, George L. Millet, John Thompson, I. D. Pores, H. P. Fulton, E. C. Richey, Joseph Nichols, Paul A. Gaither, W. H. Ackerman. It meets the second and fourth Monday evenings of each month.

LATROBE LODGE, No. 30, A. O. U. W.,

was chartered Oct. 2, 1871. The first officers were : P. W. M., I. M. Keefers ; W. M., I. D. Pores; G. F., D. C. George ; O., Reuben Baker ; Rec., John Smith ; Fin., R. McWilliams; Rec., J. L. Chambers; G., D. J. Saxman; I. W., Uriah Heacox; O. W., John Oursler.

LATROBE ASSEMBLY, No 978, KNIGHTS OF LABOR,

was chartered Feb. 24, 1877, with the following charter members . Thomas McKernan, Enoch Davis, Sr., Edward Casey, Charles Mitchell, David Mitchell, Howard Keyes, George Sutton, Enoch Davis, Jr., John S. Button, Samuel M. Burns, Bernard Smith, John M. Geiger, John Williams, Jacob Smith, John Burke, Edward Bell, John Davis, Jr., John Flannery.

It was organized June 19, 1880, and rechartered June 80, 1880.

It meets the first and third Friday evenings of each month.

LOYALHANNA LODGE, No. 960, KNIGHTS OF HONOR,

was chartered Sept. 5, 1878. The charter members were W. H. Watt, Henry C. Best, Reuben Baker, S. H. Baker, W. B. Norris, B. S. Kelly, A. P. Fulton, Joseph Nichols, D. C. George, G. B. Whiteman, James Peters, Paul H. Gaither, S. P. Keyes, John Newcomer, A. C. Keepers, J. J. Bierer, L. A. Hoke, C. F. Leachley, A. G. Chambers, George Kuhn, J. P. Klingensmith, A. M. Sloan, J. B. Hysong, J. F. Story, Jacob Fehr, Jesse Chambers, J. C. Campbell, J. W. Yingling, J. U. Horrell, Charles B. Fink, William C. Coleman, E. Pitcairn.

It meets the first and third Thursday evenings of each month.

P. A. WILLIAMS POST, No. 4, G. A. R.,

Its meetings are the second and fourth Friday evenings of each month. It was organized in Greens- burg April 18, 1874, as Maj. John B. Keenan Post, No. 4, and was the first in the county. In April, 1880. it was removed to Latrobe, and its name changed to P. A. Williams. Its first Commander was J. A. Ege, and after its removal here the first was Frederick Metzgar, succeeded by Dr. J. D. Evans. . Its removal was authorized by Chill W. Hazzard, Deputy Com- mander of the State.

The officers for 1882 are: C., Jacob H. Oursler ; S. V. C., S. E. Bell ; J. V. C., A. Shumaker ; O. D., James Peters ; Q.M., Eli Chambers ; Surg., Dr. J. D. Evans; Chap., Rev. T. B. Anderson ; Adj., Frederick Metz- gar; O. G., Thomas Murphy ; Sergt .- Maj., Patrick Mansfield : Q.M .- Serg., T. W. Weimer.

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SCHOOLS.

The directors of the schools are : President, Fred- erick Metzger; Secretary, A. S. Hamilton ; and John Thompson, John S. Houck, D. P. Barr, H. C. Best. The teachers are : Prof. George H. Hugus, Room No. 6; Rollin Gues, Room No. 5; Miss Lizzie Kelly, Room No. 4; Miss Martha White, Room No. 3; Charles Wakefield, Room No. 2; Miss Mary Mc- Kelvy, Room No. 1.

At a meeting of the Board of School Directors of the school district of the borough of Latrobe, Pa., held on the 8th day of February, A.D. 1882, the fol- lowing proceedings were had, viz. :

" Resolved, That the school district of the borough of Latrobe erect a now common-school building according to the general plane and spect- Seations prepared and now in the care and custody of A. S. Hamilton, secretary of the board, and for that purpose that the indebtedness of maid school district should be increased $22,338.10, which is an amount not exceeding five per centum of the last preceding assessed valuation of the taxable property of mid district.

" Resolved, That as such increase of indebtedness exceeds the consti- tationel limitation of the power of the board, that the question of such increase, for the purpose aforesaid, shall be submitted to a vote of the qualified electors of said school district, to be held at the usual place of voting in the mid borough of Latrobe, on Tuesday, the 14th day of March, A.D. 1802, between the boars designated by law ; and as provided by law the board submit to the consideration of the said qualified voters the fol- lowing statement, viz. :

"1. The amount of the last assessed valuation of property, etc., in said district taxable for school purposes (Including territory annexed for school purposes) is $446,642.00.

"2. That said school district is not now in debt, and that the amount of the existing debt of said borough is $3800.00.

"8. The amount of the proposed increase of indebtednees to be in- curred in erection of the new school building, outbuildings, and furni- tare, according to the general plans and specifications, is $22,832.10.

"4. The rate per cent. thereof on the last assessed valuation is .06.

" Resolved, That the president and secretary of the board of school directors of said district are hereby authorized and instructed to make proclamation and give such notice as is required by law of the said election.

" Now, therefore, in accordance with the foregoing resolutions, procla- mation is hereby made that an election will be held at the usual piace of voting in the borbugh of Latrobe, on Tuesday, March 14, A.D. 1882, between the hours of seven o'clock in the morning and seven o'clock in the evening, to determine whether the debt of the maid school die- trict may be increased $22,332.10, for the purpose of providing and erecting a new common-school building, outbuildings, and furniture for the same, and the qualified voters on said question shall each vote = ticket labeled on the outside 'Increase of Debt,' and on the inside con- tain the words ' Debt may be increased,' or 'No increase of debt,' as the voter may choose or desire."

This was voted affirmatively, and the board is now erecting a three-story brick school building with ten rooms on the site of the old school-house.

OTHER BOROUGHS, VILLAGES, ETC. NEW ALEXANDRIA BOROUGH.

By act of Assembly of 10th of April, 1834,-the same act by which Ligonier borough was incorpor- ated,-" the town of New Alexandria or Dennis- ton's town, in the county of Westmoreland," was erected into a borough, under the name and title of the borough of New Alexandria. By the same act the officers and their duties and powers were specified, and the time and place of election were designated. On the second Tuesday of the next May the inhab-

itants entitled to vote were to meet at the school-house in the said borough to elect their first officers.

Early settlers or inhabitants near New Alexandria : E. A. Robinson, George Michel, David McGinley. Alexander Denniston laid out the village of New Alexandria, giving it his name. Some of his de- scendants yet live in the neighborhood.

LIVERMORE BOROUGH.

The borough of Livermore is situated on the south- western side of the Conemaugh River, and on the line of the Western Pennsylvania Railroad. It was, before it was incorporated, a village which sprang into existence by reason of the canal, and was laid out into lots and streets so early as 1827 by one John Livermore, one of the principal engineers on the canal.

John Gallagher was the first burgess, and G. M. Beham was the secretary of the first Council. Its population by the census of 1880 was one hundred and sixty-four. Owing to the local trade it enjoys from the surrounding country, its business is, in com- parison to its population, decidedly good. It contains a hotel, quite a number of stores, a steam grist-mill, railroad station and depot, and is a post-office. It has a Methodist Episcopal and a Presbyterian Church, and is a separate school district.

A number of the inhabitants residing in Derry township, within the limits of now Livermore bor- ough, presented a petition to the Court of Quarter Sessions at November sessions, 1864, desiring to be incorporated, and giving the boundaries and limits of the proposed borough. M. R. Banks made aff- davit that the petition was signed by a majority of the freeholders residing within the limits therein set out. On the 15th of November it was submitted to the grand jury, who duly returned it favorably. On Feb. 13, 1865, the court ordered the presentment of the grand jury in this regard to be confirmed, and that the prayer of the petitioner should be granted, and that part of the township included within the limits described, which included the village of Liver- more, should he incorporated under the name of the " Borough of Livermore;" that the first election should be held at the school-house in the borough, on the 31st day of March, 1865; that John Hill should give notice of the election ; and that Richard Freeland should be judge, and James Duncan and G. M. Beham, inspectors.

NEW DERRY.

The village of New Derry is one of the old-time villages of the township, and like many others it might give occasion to the remark that the town was finished long ago. So would it have been, was it not for the vitality of the country round, and the great material wealth that exists there, for ordinarily a place so near the railroad, and with such competition as was offered by all the novelty and the enterprise which draws and attracts people to new places, the

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place would have been as a business point much in- ferior to what it actually is.

DERRY STATION

is situate on the line of the Pennsylvania Railroad, fifteen miles east of Greensburg, and three west of . the Packsaddle Gorge of the Chestnut Ridge, one of the wildest, most picturesque, and romantic regions traversed by the great highway of Pennsylvania. There was no town or settlement here of any import- ance until 1852, when the railroad was built, and then the first buildings put up were by the railroad company. From a railroad point of view it is one of the most important stations on the road, for here all the freight trains are overhauled, inspected, weighed, and made up into trains according to the several lines of freight-bearing cars, and started anew on their several journeys. The number of these cars that are separated and assorted according to lines will average eighteen hundred daily, and the impor- tance of the station is accordingly manifest. In a few words may the operations at this point be described.

First. The station is located on a straight piece of track one and two-thirds miles in length, one-third of a mile from the western terminus of this straight course, and one and one-third miles from the eastern. The grade of the track is down towards the east, but light and easy. From the station the distance either way is readily traversed with the eye, so that trains by day or night can be seen at any point therein.

Second. A number of sidings are placed on each side of the two main tracks of the road, five on the north side and two on the south side, which, with a third on the south for depositing freight at Derry, make ten tracks, which are all connected with switches so that cars can readily be transferred from one to another. This shifting is done with eastward- bound trains without a locomotive, taking advantage of the down grade in that direction; but with west- ward-bound trains an engine is required.

Third. A corps of officers and employés well organ- ized, and each efficient in his particular duty by long experience with a proper regard for the responsibility of his position. This corps comprises a train-master, dispatchers, weigh-masters, telegraph operators, car- inspectors, and machinists, the duties of which may be briefly stated.

The train-master has charge of the trains between Pittsburgh and Altoona." He is highest in authority at the station, and has a general supervision over all that takes place in the yard. This important post bas long been occupied with great satisfaction to the com- pany, and consequently credit to himself, by Mr. Ed- ward Pitcairn, a gentleman of extensive railroad ex- perience, prompt, exact, and trustworthy at all times.

The dispatchers are two in number; they have control of the cars from the time they arrive in the yard until they leave, make them up into trains, regu-

between Pittsburgh and Altoona, keep records of locomotives, conductors,' engineers, cars, number of them, and whether loaded or empty, etc., which records are daily transmitted in duplicate to the superinten- dents at Pittsburgh and Altoona. Every twenty-four hours on an average they handle, to use the phrase of the road, as many as eighteen hundred cars, at least six hundred more than are handled at the yard in Pittsburgh. A stranger can scarcely understand how all this is done without confusion and innumerable accidents, but with the experience of years, under the guidance of the two gentlemen above named, every- thing runs as smoothly as clock-work, and accidents never happen except for causes beyond their control.

The weigh-masters, as their name indicates, weigh and keep records of the weight of locomotives, com- pany and individual cars, loaded and empty, stock, coal, grain, etc. Practice has made these gentlemen very quick and accurate in their particular business, and it is one of the most interesting features of a visit to their office to see them weigh a car as it passes over the scales in one or two seconds.

The telegraph operators are two in number. It is their duty to keep a full register of the arrival and departure of all trains east and west, to deliver orders to trainmen, to transmit reports of the dispatchers to the superintendents, and such other messages as are daily required in the management of such a stupend- ous business road as the Pennsylvania Central. To accomplish this great work they are provided with what is considered the most complete and convenient telegraphic apartment on the line of the road,-a spacious room on the second floor of the station build- ing, with windows on three sides, so that the whole yard can be surveyed at a glance and the relative situation.of all trains observed by day and night, the headlights of the locomotives and the colored lanterns attached to the trains and carried by trainmen being discernible even in the moonlight for the distance of a mile or more. The office is furnished with four Penn- sylvania Railroad lines and four Western Union lines, and also with signals, etc., as well as provided with speaking-tubes and transmitting-waiters, connecting it with other offices in the building.

The car-inspectors, of whom there are at present six, examine carefully the cars as they arrive, test the wheels, etc., and report their condition to the dis- patchers. If any need repairing, they are turned over to the machinists, who, besides the gang and other laboring men employed generally on the road, will conclude this list. If the repairs to be made are slight the cars are not removed to a special siding ; other- wise they are separated from their trains, shifted to a secure place, where they may be put in order with greater convenience. It is expected that in a short time repair-shops will be erected at Derry, but at present all work is done in the open yard.

Besides these special features of Derry Station, late their movements, supply cars wherever needed | there is another of interest and importance to be al-

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luded to at least. This is a complete wrecking outfit, consisting of locomotives and cars, supplied with hy- draulic hoists, ropes, wrenches, portable telegraph apparatus, etc., which can be forwarded to the scene of a wreck on a few minutes' notice.

There is, moreover, an engine-house at Derry with room enough for six engines; but it is expected that a new one will soon be erected large enough to hold at least thirty locomotives to stable the number that is usually here. One and a half miles east, too, there is a watering trough for supply locomotives with water without stopping.

Before concluding, one word about the card-mani- fest, the key to the modus operandi of Derry. This is a piece of pasteboard about the size of a playing-card, and on it are printed and written figures and state- ments which make it a representative of a particular car and its contents. Now every car has one of these card-manifests, which the conductor carries in his pocket. When, accordingly, a train reaches Derry, the conductor hands his manifests over to the dis- patcher, who from their face can give his orders as to the separation of the cars and their making up into other trains, as well as if he saw the cars themselves. So from the pack of manifests the weigh-master learns what cars are to be weighed, etc.

THE BOROUGH OF DERBY.

The petition of the inhabitants of Derry Station on the Pennsylvania Railroad was filed in the proper court May 14, 1881, in which they prayed for their erection into a borough. The grand jury, at May term of the same year, returned the application which had been presented to them to the court with the en- dorsement that they believed it expedient to grant the prayer of the petitioners. On Aug. 27, 1881, ex- ceptions were filed to the petition and returned, and on Aug. 27, 1881, a remonstrance in support of the exceptions was filed. On Oct. 4, 1881, the arguments on the merits of the petition and the exceptions were heard; and on October the 15th, 1881, the exceptions were dismissed, and a decree of incorporation allowed to be prepared by the solicitor for petitions. This decree was prepared, and on October the 22d, 1881, the court decreed that " the village in said county of Westmoreland, at Derry Station, on the Pennsylvania Railroad, be and the same is hereby erected into a borough, and shall henceforth be deemed an incor- porated borough, and shall be entitled to the several rights, privileges, and immunities conferred upon boroughs by the several acts of Assembly.". It fur- ther decreed that the name of the borough should be "the borough of Derry," and that the boundaries of the same should be the same boundaries fixed in the petition ; that the first election for borough officers should take place on Tuesday, the 8th day of Novem- ber, 1881, and that the place of holding the election should be at school-house No. 28, in Derry township. Henry Neely was appointed judge, and Alexander

Wynn and Manasses Sweeney were appointed inspec- tors. It also decreed that after the expiration of that current school year the borough should be a separate school district, and that after the election of officers after the first election, the said borough should be a separate election district.

The first store was opened 1853, by Hiram Yealy. On March 16, 1882, H. Braden made an addition to the town of fifty lots, fifty by one hundred feet. These are part of the old Blackburn farm, and on the north side of the railroad. The Derry flouring mill was erected in 1877 by Mr. Neely. There are six general stores, of which the principal one is that of Cavin & Lockland. Mr. A. O. Cavin has been here nine years in business. There are three orders,-I. O. O. F., No. 942, A. O. U. W., and Royal Arcanum. J. D. Neely is postmaster, and the post-office was established in 1858.

INCORPORATION.

The town was incorporated as a borough in 1882, and its officials are : Burgess, J. K. Russell ; Council, Emmet Johns, John Huston, Daniel Kist, J. W. Toner, J. G. Alexander ; Clerk, George S. Kinner.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

MATTHEW POTTER MCCLANAHAN.

Hon. Matthew Potter McClanahan is the eldest son of Dr. Matthew and Catharine McClanahan, and was born in Sewickley, Jan. 2, 1806. He was educated in the district schools and New Athens College, Ohio. After leaving college he for a short time engaged in farming. He then turned his attention to merchan- dising, but not being entirely satisfied with the busi- ness, he entered upon the study of dentistry with Dr. Miller, of West Newton. He was married, .first, to Sarah Watson, of his native county, May 22, 1834. To them were born seven children, three of whom died in infancy. Three of his children are still liv- ing, namely, William Elliott, first married to Martha Byerly. They had one child, James, who died when eighteen years of age. William was again married to Hannah Solomon. Susan J., married to Phillip Neth, and Clara, unmarried. One son, John, was a soldier in the late war, and died in a prison hospital at Rich- mond, Nov. 5, 1863. Sarah Watson McClanahan died Dec. 21, 1852. Mr. Mcclanahan was married again, Feb. 11, 1869, to Emeline Willett, of Alle- gheny County. She still survives him.

Mr. Mcclanahan held a number of important town- ship offices, and in 1866 was elected associate judge of the courts of Westmoreland County. He was re- elected in 1871, holding the position for ten years. He possessed many of the sterling qualities of the Irish race from which he sprang.

In all positions of life he discharged his duties with

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fidelity. He was noted for his piety, his upright life, and his devotion to the church-the United Presby- terian-with which he had united many years prior to his death. He died June 8, 1881. Those who knew him best speak of him as an earnest Christian and useful citizen. He left his family valuable pon- sessions, the chiefest of which is his "honored name."

REUBEN BAKER.

Reuben Baker, of Latrobe, was born in Chester County, Pa., Dec. 8, 1887. He is the son of Jacob and Lydia (Lamborn) Baker, who were of English descent.

He received his elementary education in the com- .mon schools, and afterwards attended London Grove Boarding-School, in his native county, an institution under the control of the Society of Friends, of which religious sect his father and mother were members. When in his seventeenth year he was apprenticed to & machinist, Edge T. Cope, with whom he remained nearly five years. He then engaged in agricultural pursuits, which he followed for ten years.

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History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 146

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

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