History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 157

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 157


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The first store was opened by a Mr. Snodgrass in 1797, the second by Robert Fulton and James Kirker as partners in 1802 (who soon removed to Zanesville, Ohio), the third by John Gambrell in 1805, the next by John Rowan, and afterwards one by John Latta, who removed to Cinciunati, Ohio. Subsequently George and Alexander Plumer carried on the mercan- tile business. The first blacksmiths were Jeremiah Ong and his brother-in-law, Samuel Reed. Afterwards William Reed had a shop. The first nailer was John Anderson, and the next one William McClintock, who made by hand the wrought nails. The first sad- dler was James Smith, who had his shop on Water Street. William Anderson was the first cooper, and Frederick Steiner the first hatter. The first cabinet- maker was John Robb, the second David Luker, and the third William Brookens. The first painter and chair-maker was a Mr. Cannann, and the second a Mr. Cox. Joseph Vankirk, who kept a tavern, was a surveyor, and also the first postmaster.


The town began to improve in 1806, from which time until 1820, when the National road was com- pleted, there was immense shipping by keel-boat to Pittsburgh. Upon the slacking of the Youghiog- heny River travel by steamers was large; the first steamer to make trips was the "Tom Shriver." When the dams were swept out this trade became impracticable, and boats no longer landed regularly at the wharves. Surveys were made through here for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, but were ineffective. A much more important navigation scheme was that of the transatlantic canal, agitated in Congress and among the people. It was to follow the Youghio- gheny to its head-waters, thence cutting through the mountains a very short but terrible rugged way to the waters of Wills Creek, a tributary of the Potomac. This scheme likewise failed.


The Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad was opened in 1855 from West. Newton to Connellsville,


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C. P. MARKLE & SONS' PAPER-MILLS. WEST NEWTON, PA.


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fifty-eight miles from Pittsburgh, on the Youghio- gheny River. Its president and superintendent was Oliver W. Barnes, assisted by D. W. Caldwell. At West Newton connection for passengers and freight for Pittsburgh was made by the steamer " Folian." The morning train left for Connellsville at 8.30 A.M., reaching there at 9.50 A.M., in time for the stage for Uniontown. The fare from Pittsburgh to Connells- ville was $1.75, and to Uniontown $2.25. A train left Connellsville at 6 A.M. for West Newton, and con- nected with the steamer at 8.80 A.M., in time to reach Pittsburgh at 1 P.M. The local freight and passenger train left Connellsville at 12.80 P.M., and returning left West Newton at 5.80 P.M. The opening of this road had an important bearing on the history and progress of the town, and was hailed with delight by its citizens, many of whom, as well as the people in the surrounding country, took stock in it, and liber- ally subscribed for its building. From that time the town has steadily increased in population and busi- nees. On April 2, 1858, the town, by a vote of ninety- eight to twenty-five, subscribed six hundred dollars to the building of the " Hempfield Railroad," which, however, was never built.


THE TOWN IN 1855.


This year West Newton assumed a new appearance in its trade and progress. The following hotels were kept: Youghiogheny House, corner Main and Second Streets, by George McCune; the Mansion House (just opposite), by Henry Drum; and the Exchange Hotel, corner Main and Water Streets, by A. Lowry. The physicians were Dra. John Hasson, Franklin M. Mc- Conanghy, and J. K. Robinson. The merchants were John Bell, M. P. Smith, Dick & Brother, and A. F. Stevenson ; E. C. Leightty, George Armstrong, and Solomon Stough were grocers and druggists; John Andy manufactured tobacco, snuff, and cigars; H. C. Griffith and Samuel Coldsmith were saddlers and har- nées-makers; Douglass & Mattox were coopers; P. Paul was painter and chair manufacturer; Brookens & Megrail were cabinet-makers and undertakers; and William Sykes, dealer in boots, shoes, hats, caps, etc .; E. W. Dumm was the fashionable tailor and draper ; $. B. Stough, surveyor and conveyancer; George Arm- strong, postmaster; W. M. Sykes kept oyster-saloon and confectionery; and M. Fry had a boot- and shoe- and hat- and cap-store; S. G. Smutz was the daguerrean artist, who "took likenesses, colored or plain, on short notice and in the best manner."


SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS.


The first school-house near the town was just north of it, and on land now owned by the heirs of Charles Robinson, and was built about 1795. Its first teacher was a Mr. Grim, who was succeeded by William Blackburn, Nathaniel Nesbit, and William Baldwin. It was a round log house, with earthen floor and slapboard roof. The windows were greased paper on


sticks, and the chimney was in the centre and started from the joist. In 1809 a school-house was built on the farm of John Caruthers, and its first teacher was William Baldwin. The first school taught in the town was in 1816, by N. Ruggles Smith, in a cabin, which proving too small for the number of scholars it was changed to a larger log building of Col. James B. Oliver. In 1818 the first school-house was here built. It was an eight-square structure, and when erected the best in the county. The first teacher in it was N. Ruggles Smith, afterwards principal of the Greensburg Academy. Among his successors was ex-United States Senator Edgar Cowan. The present school building, an elegant two-story brick building, was erected just after the late war. In 1882 the school board is George Plumer, president; Dr. A. O. Orr, secretary ; Dr. F. H. Patton, treasurer; Benjamin Howard, Dr. J. Q. Robinson, and John Rial. The teachers are: Principal, Prof. J. A. Johnson, sixth room; William S. Vandike, fifth room; Miss Fanny J. Swem, fourth room; Miss Josie Shutterly, third room ; Miss Mary Guffey, second room ; Miss Ella Lawson, first room.


ORDERS, SOCIETIES, ETC. WEST NEWTON LODGE, No. 440, I. O. O. J.


This lodge was chartered June 10, 1851, by George 8. Morris, M. W. G. M., and William Curtis, M. W. G. Sec. The charter members and first officers were : N. G., T. R. Hazzard; V. G., Eli C. Leightty ; Sec., John Klingensmith; Asst. Sec., E. W. Dumm; Treas., George Armstrong. The following are the Past Noble Grands yet members of the lodge: John Baer, James Baer, E. D. Baer, John Beamer, Michael Darr, A. T. Darr, Amos Eisenman, Morrison Fulmer, H. B. Goldsmith, B. Getchy, William Heidersdorf, Eli C. Leightty, William Miller, Martin Nahar, Leonard Nahar, P. J. Rohland, J. G. Ruoff, Simon Sampson, J. A. Stevenson, J. G. Steiner, R. M. Thomas, S. M. Wallace. The officers for 1882 are : N. G., J. H. Brundage; V. G., Wilhelm Lehna; Sec., A. T. Darr; Treas., B. Getchy; Asst. Sec., Amos Eisenman ; Trustees, Martin Nahar, P. J. Rohland, J. M. Baer.


WEST NEWTON COUNCIL, No. 521, ROYAL ARCANUM.


This council was chartered April 30, 1881, by E. A. Keyes, Supreme Regent, and W. O. Robson, Supreme Sec. The charter members were F. H. Patton, A. W. Orr, E. P. Campbell, John Hancock, John M. Wilson, John Darr, T. J. McElroy, James G. Guffey, James Emery, H. A. Douglass, W. W. Gregg, J. R. Porter, John Ingraham, John S. Douglass, William B. Miller, A. O. P. Guffey, Joseph C. Gregg, S. M. Wallace. The officers for 1882 are : P. R., A. W. Orr; R., J. T. McElroy ; V. R., William Miller ; O., F. H. Patton ; Chap., - Gregg ; Sec., E. P. Camp- bell ; Col., J. Wilson ; Treas., A. O. P. Guffey ; G., John Hancock ; S., J. P. Hamilton ; Trustees, James Guffey, John Brown.


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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.


JOSEPH MARKLE POST, Mo. 57, G. A. R.


Its officers for 1882 are : C., Jobn Markle; S. V. C., J .. T. MeElroy ; J. V. C., E. D. Baer; Q .- M., Alfred Catlin; Capt., Edward Welty; Surg., Dr. J. H. Ritchie; O. D., E. Neff, Jr .;. O. G., James Kyle. WIST NEWTON AGRICULTURAL AND DRIVING ASSOCIATION.


Its officers for 1882 are : President, Capt. B. Budd; Directors, Simon Sampson, C. C. Markle, S. C. Weimer, Dr. F. H. Patton, Philip J. Rohland, J. J. Guffey, R. J. Graham, Robert Brown, S. B. Markle, Jr., H. A. Douglass, J. G. Steiner, H. Lowry. This association was organized in 1881, and is arranging elegant grounds for its exhibitions and driving.


THE ROBBSTOWN BRIDGE.


The Robbstown Bridge Company was incorporated in 1881 with the following incorporators: Alexander Plumer, J. C. Plumer, James Bell, Jacob Baughman, Frederick Steiner, Andrew Smith, Joseph Stokely, and William Linn. The bridge was erected over the Youghiogheny River in 1884, and was the first and only one ever built over the river at West Newton. It is a wooden structure with two piers in the centre, and since its construction has been well kept and re- paired. In its building Alexander Plumer and Isaac Steiner were the contractors for the stone-work, and Jacob Mace for the wood-work. The cost was $18,000, of which the State paid $8000, the amount of its stock, but on Sept. 7, 1848, it sold its interest to the company. Bela B. Smith owned the land on the Rostraver, and Andrew Robinson on the West New- ton side. The officers of the company are : Presi- dent, Bela B. Smith ; Secretary, Howard E. Smith ; Treasurer, George Plumer ; Directors, Bela B. Smith, George Pinmer, Benjamin Sampson, Hunter Ritchie, Howard E. Smith. There is no bridge in the State of its age, forty-eight years, that is in such excel- lent condition, or has stood the tests it has endured in all kinds of storms and floods.


BANKS.


James A. Dick organized and started the first bank in 1867, and which is still in operation under his management. Its first place of business was in the Weimer rooms, and in 1870 it was removed to one door east of its present place, to which it was changed in 1875.


The second bank established in the town was the Farmers' Bank, which went into operation after the panic of 1878, and was some four years in existence. Its president was Dr. J. Q. Robinson. Its first cashier was Eli C. Leightty, and the second Capt. John Markle. Its place of business was on the corner of First and Main Streets.


WEST NEWTON CEMETERY


lies on the west of the Youghiogheny River, and is beautifully situated on a high .elevation overlooking the town and commanding a picturesque view of the valley.


THE FIRE DEPARTMENT


was organized in June, 1879, viz. : Chief Engineer, John Arthurs; Assistant Engineer, John Darr ; Hose- men, E. Neff, G. M. Ewing, E. Stevenson; Drivers, Eli Kelley, John Mattox ; Bugler, George Murray.


The engine is a No. 4 Extinguisher. The company is composed of men in the employ of Gen. C. P. Markle & Sons (paper-mill), who own the engine, etc.


VILLAGES AND HAMLETS. PORT ROYAL


is on the Youghiogheny railroad, in the western part. Here, tradition says, the Virginia authorities held the first court ever convened in Westmoreland County.


The extensive distillery of John T. Moes is located here, of which A. C. Hamilton is the United States gauger, and M. S. Taggart store-keeper. The Ohio and Pennsylvania Coal Company in 1882 sank a coal shaft one hundred and seventy feet, and erected a large number of miners' houses. The company's superin- tendent is Austin Shannon. This place was one of the points that suffered greatly during boundary troubles between Virginia and Pennsylvania, which retarded the progress of the early settlements in this region.


SMITHTON


is a flourishing village laid out by J. H. Smith, Esq., proprietor of the large paper-mill located here. It is beautifully situated on the Youghiogheny River and Pittsburgh Division of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail- road.


Smithton Lodge, No. 978, I. O. O. F., was instituted April 20, 1881. Its first officers were: P. G., Wil- liam McLain; N. G., C. H. Weimer; V. G., J. B. Campbell; Sec., Henry Milliron; Treas., William Hitterbran; Con., L. H. Young; War., John Hex- inbaugh; R. S. to N. G., Cyrus Hepler; L. S. to N. G., Thomas Casey ; O. G., H. J. Nicolay ; I. G., D. O. Smith; R. S. to V. G., J. S. Rhoads; L. S. to V. G., Dr. H. Nicolay ; R. S. S., L. Corbet; L. S. S., J. T. King. Its charter members numbered twenty-five.


BELL'8 MILLS.


These mills, saw and grist, were erected on Big Sewickley Creek, at Sewickley Presbyterian Church, in 1848, by Walter and William Bell. Walter and William Bell were born near Carlisle, in the Cumber- land Valley, and removed with their parents to Derry township in Westmoreland, when Walter was in his third year of age. They were the sons of William Bell, who married Rosanna Bell. The latter was twice married, and both times to William Bells, and she and her two husbands were of no kin. Walter Bell married Polly, daughter of Andrew Finley, Esq., and his brother William married her sister Nancy. Walter Bell came to South Huntingdon township in 1810, in which year he and his brother William, both carpenters, built the house now owned and occupied by Daniel Williams. Their grandfather Bell came from North Ireland about . 1740, and settled in the


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Cumberland Valley, and married a daughter of John Jaok.


OTHER VILLAGES.


Mendon is a thriving village in the central part of the township, and south of it is the pleasant hamlet of Centreville. Lying on the Youghiogheny River, and on the Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad, is Jacobs Creek Station and post-office.


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.


THE SMITH FAMILY.


Joseph Smith came from Berks County about 1800. He had a mill on Youghiogheny River, and another on Mineral Run, which were early and very exten- sive mills. He lived on a tract of land on which now stands the growing village of Smithton, which took its name in honor of him, the pioneer settler, who owned its original site. His three children. were Henry, living at Falls City ; Polly, who died in 1875; and Samuel, born in Smithton in 1801, and who died there in 1874. The latter had six children, four of whom live at Smithton, one near Madison, and one is Mrs. Paul Hough, of Redstone, in Fayette County.


THE HOUGH FAMILY.


Joseph Hough at a very early period settled on Jacobs Creek, where he located a large tract of land. He erected a mill, which supplied the wants of the cottlers for miles around. He died in 1847. He had eleven children, of whom seven are living,-Paul, in Redstone, Fayette, Co., three in Westmoreland, one in Iowa, one in Indiana, and one in Missouri. Joseph Hongh, Jr., resides on the old homestead.


THE LEIGHTTY FAMILY.


John Leightty came from Eastern Pennsylvania at the close of the last century and settled in Hempfield township, where he married a Miss Walker. Their children were as follows :


1. Jacob.


2. John, living in Indiana.


8. Sarah, married John Armbust.


4. Mary, married Jonathan Shook, and lives in Unity township.


Of the above, Jacob married Salome Leader, daughter of Michael Leader, who resided on an ad- joining farm. Their children were:


1. Eli C. Leightty (only child), born Feb. 11, 1822. He was raised on a farm until his eighteenth year, when he went to learn the carpenter's trade. In 1839 he located in West Newton, then a town of not over three hundred population. In 1844 he embarked in the grocery and drug business, in which he has con- tinned to the present time. He was elected on the Democratic ticket to the Legislature in 1878, and


served two years. He was there a member of three committees, viz. : Coal and Iron, Vice and Immor- ality, and Constitutional Reform. He was married Sept. 6, 1846, to Hannah E., daughter of Jacob Markle, by whom were borne the following children :


1. Normand M.


2. John M.


8. Adeline.


4. Emma L., married to H. A. Douglams.


Mr. Leightty is a leading member and official of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and most promi- nently identifled with the Masonic and I. O. O. F. orders. He is the oldest merchant in the town in continuous trade, having been in business here thirty- eight years.


THE DICK FAMILY.


Rev. Mungo Dick, of the Associate Reformed Church, came from Dundee, Scotland, about 1800, and settled on Sewickley Creek. He was for many years stationed pastor at Brush Creek, Mount Pleasant, and Sewickley Churches. About 1829 he quit preaching at Mount Pleasant, in 1882 he retired from Bethel (Brush Creek), and in 1886 from Sewickley. In 1815 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Jeremiah Murry, of this county. He was born in 1772, and died in 1840. His wife died in 1876. Their children were:


1. Matilda, died young.


2. Rev. Jeremiah, an eminent Associate Reformed clergyman of Oregon.


8. Mungo, a farmer living on the old homestead.


4. Rev. John N., the pastor of the old Brush Creek Church (now Bethel).


5. Mary Ann, married to Rev. James Greer and deceased.


6. Elizabeth, unmarried.


7. James A., banker in West Newton, born in 1824, and married to Mary A., daughter of James Watt, of Latrobe.


8. David M., removed to Iowa and Missouri, in which latter State he died.


Rev. Mungo Dick, the emigrant and ancestor of the family of this county, was a man of a strong will and great intellectual powers, and for over a third of a century expounded the gospel with great success. He left the impress of his strong mind on three flour- ishing congregations over which he zealously minis- tered with ability and piety.


THE HOUGH FAMILY.


Paul Hough was born in 1809 in Fayette County, and was married in 1832 to Miss Martha Cook. He carried on extensive flour-mills in Fayette City from 1832 to 1845, when he sold his mills and came to Westmoreland County, purchasing the farm now owned by Gen. C. P. Markle, and known as the " Dairy Farm." In 1874 he sold this valuable real estate and came to West Newton. His sons-in-law are ex-Sheriff John Guffey and G. R. Kemp, of Oil City.


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He had two sons who died before his death, one of whom was a Union soldier in the late war. He died in 1879, leaving a wife and seven children, of whom one, E. C. Hough, Esq., is the genial and able editor, publisher, and proprietor of the West Newton Press, one of the best local journals in the State.


THE HECHT FAMILY.


John Hecht, Sr., was born in Würtemberg, Ger- many, in 1800, where, Jan. 12, 1826, he was married to Louise C. Eisele, who was born in 1802. In 1882, with his wife, a son, and daughter, he came to Amer- ica, and settled in West Newton. In September, 1854, be removed to Clarence, Cedar Co., Iowa, where he died May 11, 1880.


THE CUMMINS FAMILY.


John A. Cummins was born in Derry township, May 9, 1796. He came to West Newton in 1856, and died in 1879. For nearly a quarter of a century he was largely identified with its growth and progress.


PETER GREEN.


J. H. Sutherland was a very wealthy planter, who resided in St. Mary's County, Md. He owned eleven claves, of whom one was Peter Green. When the eman- cipation proclamation of President Lincoln went forth these slaves were liberated and scattered in vari- ous directions. The subject of this sketch went South, and was finally captured with a number of others by an Indiana regiment, He went with the regiment and cooked for the colonel, and at the close of the war he drifted around the country, and at last turned up at West Newton. Here he found employment at the paper-mill of C. P. Markle & Sons. Col. Sutherland returned to his old home in Maryland, where he died in 1881, and left the bulk of his fortune to his former ilaves. Peter Green had no difficulty in making him- self known as one of the heirs to the estate, as he had on his person several scars and marks by which his aged mother easily recognized him. The amount of Peter's share of the estate was large, and puts him for the rest of his days in easy circumstances, to enjoy . peace and quiet heretofore unknown to him in his checkered career.


COL. ISRAEL PAINTER.


Col. Israel Painter was born in Hempfield town- ship, Westmoreland County, Pa., Nov. 11, 1810. He was of German descent on both his father's and mother's side. Jacob Painter, his grandfather, after marriage emigrated from Mecklenburg, Germany, and settled in Berks County, Pa. Here four sans and two daughters were born, viz. : Jacob, Michael, John, and Tobias, a daughter married to George Myers, and one married to Christopher Harrold.


Jacob Painter and his wife died and were buried in Berks County. Jacob Painter, their eldest son, mar- ried a daughter of - Rapiere, who lived in Indiana County, and settled on a farm in Hempfield township, situated on the Big Sewickley Creek, eight miles south of Greensburg, which became known for many years as the "Judge Painter place," and now owned by David Fox. By his first wife he had seven chil- dren, viz. : Betsey, Rebecca, Catharine, Tobias, George, Elias, and -. His first wife died, and was buried at Harrold's Church. For his second wife he mar- ried Catharine, daughter of Christopher and Eliza- beth (Mueller) Lobingier. By her he had ten chil- dren, viz. : Polly, John, Jacob, Christopher, George, Joseph, Benjamin, Susan, Israel, and Sophia. Jacob Painter always lived on the farm on which he first settled. He built on the place a stone grist-mill, which he carried on in connection with his farming. He was an energetic, active business man, a member of the Legislature for several terms, justice of the peace for many years, was the Whig candidate for Congress against William Findley, and came within seventeen votes of being elected, and held the posi- tion of associate judge at the time of his death. He was a man of commanding presence, being about six feet in height, heavy set, and weighing about two hundred and twenty pounds. In personal appear- ance his son, Col. Israel Painter, is said to have rel sembled him. He died at the age of fifty-nine, and was buried at Harrold Church. His widow, Catha- rine, survived him about thirty years, lived with her sons, Christopher and Israel, at the " Willow-Tree Farm," where she died, aged eighty-four, and was buried at Markle Cemetery. His daughter Betsey was wife of Gen. Joseph Markle, and mother of Gen. C. P. Markle, of " Millgrove."


Christopher Lobingier, grandfather of Catharine Lo- bingier, the second wife of Judge Jacob Painter, came from Mecklenburg, Germany, and settled in Dauphin County. He was married before leaving Germany. Little is known of him except that he was a farmer, and both he and his wife died, and are buried in Dauphin County. They had one son, Christopher, who married (1766) Elizabeth Mueller, by whom he had eight children, viz .: John, Christopher, Catha- rine, Barbara, Mary, Elizabeth, Susan, and George. His wife died at Stoystown, Somerset Co., Sept. 15, 1815, aged seventy-one years. He settled in Mount Pleasant township in 1772, was a member of the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention of 1776, and of the House of Representatives from 1791 to 1793. He died July 4, 1798, and was buried at the Presby- terian Meeting-house near Pleasant Unity.


His eldest son, John Lobingier, was a prominent man of his times, was associate judge, member of the Legislature, and justice of the peace. He was twice married, and left a large family. He became totally blind before his death. He died at the advanced age of eighty-two years. Israel Painter lived at home


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until he was seventeen years of age. He then taught | tracts of coal lands on the line of the Pennsylvania the district school two terms, was employed as clerk Railroad in North Huntingdon township, selling the coal to the Penn Gas-Coal Company and Westmore- land Coal Company. at Mount Pleasant in his brother Christopher's store one year. He then attended several terms at Jeffer- son College, Cannonsburg.


In 1880, in company with a Mr. Newmeyer, he purchased his brother's store in Mount Pleasant and carried it on one year. He next built the " Mastodon" Salt-Works, and subsequently became interested in the "Fountain" and "Mammoth," and was the owner of them all at the time of his death. In com- pany with Daniel Waltz, he put down a salt-well in Monongalia County, W. Va., and established salt- works there, an enterprise requiring no small amount of pluck and energy, on account of the transportation through an almost unbroken wilderness of everything required in its construction and operation. He was interested in these works from 1882 to 1885. He be- came at an early date an extensive dealer in live- stock,-horses, cattle, hogs, and sheep. His opera- tions in this line of trade took a wide range, extend- ing through the States of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Ken- tucky, and West Virginia, and during the last war his dealings with the government in cattle, horses, and mules were on a large scale. Though not of the same political faith, he enjoyed the acquaintance and confidence of President Lincoln, a relation which was of great service to him in his operations with the government.




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