History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 91

Author: George Dallas Albert, editor
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Scotch-Irish extraction, of which Abraham Fulton was the ancestor, resided near Londonderry, Ireland. His children were James, Abraham, Robert, Joseph, Margaret (married to a Mr. Irvine), and Polly (mar- ried to a Mr. Boyd), who all came to America about 1780, and all settled in Westmoreland County except Joseph, who located in Ohio after remaining a few years in this State. James, who settled in Derry township, married a Miss Laughrey, by which union were born the following children : James, Abraham, Robert, Cochran, Benjamin, and Sarah (never mar- ried). Of these, Benjamin was born in 1791, and married in 1834 Jane Ayres, also of Scotch-Irish birth. He was a reputable farmer, and died in 1859, and his wife in 1872. Their children were Dr. James Ayres Fulton; Nancy E., married to Maj. A. P. Davis, of Pittsburgh; and Violet E., unmarried.

Dr. James A, Fulton was born in Derry township, Jan. 8, 1835. He attended the common schools in his neighborhood, and afterwards Allegheny College, at Meadville. He then taught school seven years in his native township, during which time he read medi- cine with Dr. J. W. Blackburn, of Derry. He at- tended his first course of lectures at Cleveland (Ohio) Medical College, and his second at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. He then located in New Salem, in 1858, in the practice of his profession, in which he has been eminently successful, securing the confidence of the people and the respect of the medi- cal profession. On July 30, 1861, he was mustered into the United States service as first lieutenant of Company H, Fortieth Regiment (Eleventh Pennsyl- vania Reserve Volunteer Corps), and was discharged Oct. 3, 1863, on account of severe wounds received July 2, 1863, at the battle of Gettysburg. He was wounded by a Minie-ball, which went into and through his right leg and lodged in the left, where it was cut out the February following by Dr. Pancoast, of Philadelphia. When wounded the doctor was commanding his company at Round Top. Pre- vious to this, in 1862, during the McClellan campaign and "Seven Days' fighting" before Richmond, he, with all his regiment save Company B, was captured at Gaines' Mill and taken prisoner to Libby Prison, where at the expiration of forty days they were re- leased on parole. After returning from the army he again resumed his practice, now one of the largest in the county, and in which as a successful practitioner he hardly has a superior in Westmoreland. He was married by Rev. James C. Carson, Dec. 26, 1865, to Nancy Sterritt, daughter of Robert and Mary (Bor- land) Shields, by which union were born the follow- ing children : Robert Henry, Wilbur Wilson, Mary Elizabeth, Anna Louise, Jane Helen, and James Guth- rie. Together with his wife, he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which for many years he has been a leading trustee, and is assistant super- intendent of the Union Sunday-school. The doctor

DR. JAMES A. FULTON .- The Fulton family, of | has ever been greatly interested in all moral and

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educational measures for the advancement of society, and which find in him a zealous supporter. In poli- tics he is a stanch Republican, devoted to the prin- ciples of his party, but is not a politician in a partisan or machine sense. As a souvenir of his services to his country when imperiled by a rebellion, he keeps and cherishes the rebel Minie-ball extracted from his person and received at the great battle that decided the destinies of the late civil war. He is a member of the County Medical Society, organized in 1859. His residence is on Pittsburgh Street, where, sur- rounded with a nest home and pleasant family, he assiduously devotes his time and well-known ability to the practice of his honored profession.

DR. J. Q. ROBINSON Was born in Rostraver town- ship, Westmoreland Co., Pa., July 22, 1817, the third in a family of nine children of Thomas and Achsah (Bailey) Robinson. On the father's side the family are of Irish descent.

His grandfather, Alexander Robinson, moved with his family from Chestnut Level, Lancaster Co., Pa., at the close of the war of the Revolution, and settied in Rostraver, on land which he patented, and a por- tion of which is still owned by his descendants. His wife was Martha McCormick. Their children were Mary, Nancy, Elizabeth, John, Alexander, Martha, and Thomas.

Mary was wife of James Cunningham, farmer in Rostraver, seven children ; Elizabeth, wife of William Bingham, farmer in Rostraver, eight children ; Nancy, wife of Thomas Patterson, farmer in Fayette County ; Martha, wife of - Patterson; John, married Hannah, daughter of Rev. James Finley, ten chil- dren; Alexander studied medicine, and died soon after entering upon the practice of his. profession.

Thomas Robinson, his father, was born in Lancaster County, July 22, 1777, was about three years of age when the family moved to Rostraver, and spent the rest of his life on the homestead place, a portion of which came into his possession by purchase from other heirs. He added other lands, and at the time of his death was the owner of upwards of four hundred acres. He built the brick residence now owned by Jesse Fries, a son-in-law. He .married Achsah L., daughter of Daniel and Lucinda (Perry) Bailey. On her father's side she was the lineal descendant in the sixth gen- eration from Thomas Bailey, who emigrated from Eng- land, and was known to be a resident of Boston, Mass., in 1643, and with his wife, Ruth, in Weymouth in 1661. The line is as follows : 1st, Thomas; 2d, John, of Scituate; 3d, Joseph; 4th, Adams; 5th, Daniel ; 6th, Achsah. John Bailey moved from Weymouth to Scituate, and was "among the list of allowed and approved inhabitants in Scituate to whom portions of the common lands were assigned by the joint com- mittee of the court and town in 1673." Married Sarah White, Jan. 25, 1672; children by this union : John, b. Nov. 5, 1763, d. 1752; Sarah, b. October, 1675, died young; Mary, b. December, 1677; Joseph, b.

1679; Benjamin, b. 1682; William, b. 1685; Hannah, b. 1687; and Samuel, b. 1690. No record of his first wife's death. He married Dec. 9, 1699, Rath Clothier. No children by this union. He died in 1718. Joseph, fourth child above, married Mies Adams; children : Joseph, b. 1704; Martha, b. 1707; Ruth, b. 1709; Benjamin, b. 1712; Ebenezer, b. 1714; Seth, b. 1717; Caleb, b. 1720; and Adams, b. 1722. The latter, Adams Bailey, married in 1746, Sarah, fourth child of Jonathan and Sarah (Fields) Howard, of Bridge- water, who was born in 1726. Their children were Beth, b. 1747; Adams, b. 1749; Joseph, b. 1750; Charlotte and Sarah, twins, b. 1752; Charity and Jonathan, twins, b. 1756; Caleb, b. 1759; Ebenezer, b. 1760; Daniel, b. 1765; Caleb, b. 1768 ; and Paul, b. 1770. The three first born in Scituate, all the rest in Bridgewater. Daniel Bailey, tenth child above, mar- ried Lucinda Perry, daughter of Capt. James Perry, of Easton, Bristol Co., Mass., who raised a company of soldiers as early as 1776, was elected their captain, and departed for the seat of war. He served under Washington three years, and was engaged in the battles of Trenton and Princeton. His father before him had been a captain in the colonial service, "a stalwart man of commanding presence." Mrs. Bailey was born in 1774. The children of Daniel and Lu- cinda Bailey were Achsah L., b. Nov. 10, 1789; Har- riet, b. 1791; Alfreda H., b. 1793; George B., b. 1796; Leonard P., b. 1798; Lucinda P., b. 1800; Charlotte Adams, b. 1802; and James P., 1808.

After marriage and birth of three children, the family moved from Bridgewater and settled in the township of Rostraver, at Budd's Ferry, on the Youg- hiogheny. Daniel Bailey died in 1849. His wife July 15, 1811 ..

The children of Thomas and Achsah L. Robinson were Alexander, Lucinda, John Q., Thomas P., Mar- tha, Oliver H., Mary, James P., and Harriet. Lu- cinda is widow of Andrew Jackson Null, living in East Huntingdon township, four children; Thomas P., a widower, two children ; Martha, wife of H. L. Baer, of Scottdale, no children; Oliver H., a farmer living in Rostraver. Thomas Robinson died Oct. 8, 1860, at the homestead in Rostraver. His wife died March 24, 1864. Both are buried at Rehoboth Church.

Dr. John Q. Robinson spent his boyhood and to near his majority at home on the farm. He was educated at the common school, Greensburg Academy, and at Washington College, studied Latin under ex-United States Senator Edgar Cowan, then a teacher at West Newton. In the spring of 1840 taught the district school at Pleasant Hill, Elizabeth township, and con- tinued teaching off and on for about four years. Dur- ing this period, however, he continued his studies with special reference to his chosen profession. Sept. 4, 1844, he commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Biddle at Monongahela City, and remained with him about one year. He then entered the office of Dr. Hasson, at West Newton, and studied with him until

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the spring of 1848. He then went to Philadelphia, where he took a spring course, of lectures, and con- tinued a course of reading and clinical instruction at the Pennsylvania Hospital, remaining altogether eight months. His second course of lectures was taken at the University of New York, from which institution he received his medical diploma in 1849. The same year he commenced the practice of his pro- fession at West Newton, the first two years occupying an office with his old preceptor, Dr. John Hasson, and sharing his large and widely extended practice. Since 1851 he has not been associated with any other physician. He has been in the continuous practice of his profession at West Newton for over thirty-three

committee in the construction of their fine edifice for worship. He married, Nov. 12, 1850, Catharine, daughter of Hon. Jacob F. and Eliza Kreps. Mrs. Robinson was born Oct. 28, 1831, in Greensburg, Westmoreland Co., Pa. Their children are Ada V., Georgianna (deceased), Achsah, Eliza, Martha L., Clara B., and John Q., Jr. Herewith will be found representations of the coat-armor of the Bailey and Perry families.

WILLIAM J. K. KLINE, M.D .- The father of Dr. Kline's great-grandfather was Peter Kline, who lived in Lancaster County, Pa., in that part subsequently organized as Lebanon County, but whether there na- tive born or an immigrant from Germany is not

By the name of BAILEY,

years, only one year less than Dr. Hasson's term of practice in the same place. He is a member of the Westmoreland County Medical Society. Though the doctor has been almost exclusively devoted to his pro- fession, he has always taken interest in the local af- fairs of the borough. He has been a member of the School Board of West Newton for eighteen years, was on its building committee in the erection of its fine school building, and its secretary for a number of years. He was president of the Farmers' Bank of West Newton from its organization to the winding up of its business. He has been a member of the Town Council three years and also its secretary. He has been a member of the Presbyterian Church at West Newton since 1872, and was on the building

known. He was the father of three sons, the eldest of whom was named John. The other two died young, and their names were forgotten. John grew to manhood, and took part in the Revolutionary war, immediately under the command of Washington, at Valley Forge, and after a season of service in active duty was taken seriously ill, and upon recovery was transferred to the commissary department, and placed in charge of foraging parties, or troops the duty of which was to collect supplies for the army. In the pursuance of this duty Kline and his men scoured the country seeking provisions, for which they prof- fered to pay, and which the rebels or patriots willingly sold or gave to the army. But there were numerous Tories in those days in the district of Kline's opera-

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tions, who believed that the war would terminate un- favorably to the rebel cause, and would not sell their goods or willingly contribute their quotas under levies made, saying to. Kline, "Take: the king will repay us !" and he therefore did take. But the war termi- nating unfavorably to the patriotic Tories, they had no king to appeal to for reimbursement, and after the war they became the bitter foes of Kline and his comrades, and poured out their vengeance upon them by deeds of darkness, burning their houses and crops in the night season, etc. Kline, soon after the war, married a Miss Mace, and settled upon a farm near Millersburg, Lebanon Co., which farm he inherited from his father. There he remained for some time, becoming the father of several children, the oldest of whom was called John. The Tories nursing revenge bided their time, but finally visited upon him persecu- tions in the shape of the malicious destruction of bis crops, the burning of his outbuildings, etc., and made life there so uncomfortable that his wife became ter- rorized and entreated him to migrate westward and leave the farm in the possession of a tenant. He resolved to go to Kentucky, and started thitherward on horseback, carrying his boy John before him, his wife and family also riding horseback, and thus they traversed the Allegheny Mountains. Reaching a point four miles west of Greensburg, near what is now called Grapeville, on their way to Fort Pitt, they found the road there forked, and pursued the branch which seemed the more travel-worn, but which, however, led not to Fort Pitt, but to the Manor settlement, as they found on inquiring of " a woman and another person," as the chronicler states, who were making hay in a meadow. One of them asked, "What course, my friends?" Kline informed her that he wished to go to Fort Pitt en route to Kentucky. She replied, " Why, my dear friends, have you not heard of the recent murders committed on the frontiers?" an Indian outbreak having then recently taken place. Kline said " No," and listened to the quick story of the slaughter of men, women, and children, and Mrs. Kline exclaimed, "If that's the case I shall go no farther !" The next thing was what to do, and Kline learned that he could live on " the Painter improvement," and settle there in his trade as a weaver for the time being, and concluded to do so. He sold his horses for want of feed, but not without regret interposed by " little John," who "owned" one of the animals, a beautiful mare.

At that time Mr. Kline held a draft on a Mr. Boggs for £75, which was, however, lost by the failure of Boggs, a fact which, however, did not leave him en- tirely penniless. He loaned money to one John Mc- Kee, a frequent guest of his on his way to and from Philadelphia ; and McKee becoming much in debt, conveyed to Kline in part payment seventy-five acres of land in the centre of what is now Mckeesport. But McKee getting on his feet again, desired to pur- chase back the land, and Kline agreeing, McKee soon

laid out the tract into dwelling-house lots, of which he profitably disposed, founding the city now bearing his name.

In addition to little John, whom we have noticed, the family of the elder John consisted of William, George, Samuel, Polly, and Catharine. William set- tled and raised a family in Adamsburg, where he died, George died single, and Samuel went to the Southwest, and was never heard from by his Pennsyl- vania friends. The daughters married,-one Peter Kemerer, the other Daniel Kemerer,-one of whom eventually settled in Illinois, and the other in Iowa. Mr. Kline was a conveyancer as well as farmer, etc., and made frequent journeys to Philadelphia to ex- amine titles. At last he made a trip to this city, as is supposed, and never returned, and was never after- wards heard of by his family. His absence left his family embarrassed, and they finally lost the farm he had acquired in Manor District, and were thrown upon their own resources.

Little John, now well grown, provided for the family as well as he could, and they moved to and settled in the vicinity of Adamsburg, Westmoreland Co., where John cleared away the forest. He eventu- ally married Miss Nancy Buchman, a native of Ha- gerstown, Md., by whom he had a large family, one of whom, John by name, was the father of Dr. Kline. He enjoyed the customary opportunities for education in those times, and grew up a farmer, subsequently settling in Manor District, Penn township. He was a man of great energy and industry, and was noted for his unswerving honesty in all the business affairs of life. In addition to his farm he became the owner of a mill property at Bouquet, and conducted the busi- ness of the mill for a time. He died when forty-six years of age, leaving a wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Knappenberger, a daughter of John Knap- penberger, a descendant of one of the earliest settlers of the Manor District. The death of her husband. devolved upon Mrs. Kline the care of the family. She was at that time a woman of great energy, as well as mental strength, and now, when almost an octogenarian, her mind is not only unimpaired but bright as in youth. With rare tact, good judgment, and the exercise of the Christian virtues, she reared her family well, always commanding their love.

The family comprised ten children. The first was Hezekiah Joseph, who married, settled in Illinois, and died, leaving one son, now a resident of California, he completing the Western journey of the Klines, which was arrested in the person of his great-grand- father, compelled to settle in Westmoreland County, as related above. The second child was Hannah, deceased ; the third, William J. K .; the next, Nicho- las, a surgeon dentist by profession, now residing in Scottdale; the next, Mary Ann, married to David Snyder, and residing on the old homestead; the next, Henry, who entered the army during the Rebellion, and while faithfully serving his country died at New-

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bern, N. C., in 1864, at about twenty-one years of age. Being drafted for the war, and some of his friends volunteering to take his place, he said, " No; I recog- nize this as > proper call of my country, and I will let no other perform the duty which belongs to me to fulfill." The next in order of the family is Lydia, wife of Cyrus J. Snyder, residing in Penn township, on her grandfather Knappenberger's old farm; the next, Amos, who after a thorough education in the select schools and academy in Westmoreland County took a course in and graduated from the Eastman Business College, at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and is now associate editor of the Westmoreland Democrat. The next is Alpheus, who graduated from Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pa., studied divinity in the theological seminary of that place, and is now a minister of the Reformed Church. Jacob, the last, died in infancy.

Dr. William J. K. Kline was brought up on the homestead farm, attended the common and select schools, Glade Run Academy, and subsequently graduated from Jefferson College, at Cannonsburg, in the class of 1860. During his senior years in col- lege Dr. Kline pursued the elective study of law. His health being at that time quite broken, he spent some time in the oil regions, at the outbreak of the oil excitement, hoping thus to recover his health, but without much avail. Leaving the oil regions he entered the office of Dr. H. G. Lomison, of Greens- burg, and with him read medicine, matriculated at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, took a course of lectures, and then entered Turner Lane Military Hospital, in that city, as a cadet, and subsequently completed his medical course at Long Island College Hospital, and graduated therefrom'in 1864. The battle of Gettysburg being then in progress he pro- ceeded to Harrisburg with the intention of entering a surgical corps, passed examination by the State Medical Board, and was assigned to duty, and a large number of the wounded having been shipped to Har- risburg, he and Dr. J. S. King organized in that city the Walnut Street Hospital, of which they continued in joint charge for the period of nine months, at the end of which the emergency under which the hospital was organized was over. Near the close of his en- gagement there Dr. Kline contracted typhoid fever, which unfitted him for military duty, and on recovery went into private practice at Irwin Station, West- moreland Co., where he followed his profession for some years, being a portion of the time assistant surgeon, and during the absence of Dr. Lomison, the surgeon, in Europe, the acting surgeon for the West- moreland Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. In 1868 Dr. Kline married Miss Emma Tinstman, daughter of the late John Tinstman, of Fayette County, Pa. In 1868-69 he took an extra course of medical lectures at the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York. In 1871 he removed to Greensburg, where he practiced his profession. He

is one of the proprietors of the Westmoreland Demo- crat, and for the first few years of his residence in Greensburg shared with his copartners the editorship of that paper, in addition to his professional practice.

In 1876, Dr. Kline was elected a member of the State Legislature, and served in the sessions of 1877 -78.

JAMES TAYLOR KREPPS, M.D., was born in Upper Middleton, Fayette Co., Pa., Aug. 4, 1847, the third in a family of seven children of Lewis and Sarah Ann (Lewis) Krepps. Jacob Krepps, his grandfather, emigrated with two brothers from Germany, and set- tled in Westmoreland County, Pa., and all who spell the name with a double "p" in this country are the descendants of these brothers.

His grandfather Krepps raised a family of seven boys and three girls, eight of whom are living. All were married and settled in Western Pennsylvania. Lewis Krepps, his father, learned and followed the trade of a machinist, is retired from active business, a resident of Belle Vernon, Fayette Co., Pa.

His mother was a native of the same county, and is still living. Their children were Hannah Elizabeth, Jacob William, James Taylor, Mary Allene, Ann Louisa, Eliza Jane, and Lewis Wilson, all married except Mary Allene and Lewis Wilson. When the doctor was a child his father moved from Upper Mid- dleton and settled in Fayette City, Fayette Co. Here the doctor lived until he was eleven years of age. He then left home, and hired out at three dollars per month to Joseph Krepps, at Allenport, Washington Co., Pa., where he remained five years, attending school during the winter seasons. At the age of six- teen he went for four seasons as cook on the steamer "Gen. George Washington," plying between Belle Vernon and Pittsburgh, continuing his attention at school winters. When twenty years of age he went to work in the ship-yard (Speer's) at Belle Vernon, where he remained two years. He then bought a livery stable in Belle Vernon, and ran it five years. During this period he commenced the study of med- icine with Dr. S. A. Conklin, then of Belle Vernon, now of Canton, Ohio. In the fall of 1872 he attended his first course of medical lectures at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and his second course in the session of 1874-75 at the Jefferson Medical Col- lege, Philadelphia, receiving his medical diploma from that institution in the spring of the latter year. On April 6, 1875, he located at Webster, and has practiced his profession at that place ever since. He carries on a drug-store in connection with his practice. In politics he is identified with the Democratic party. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Webster, also a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

He married March 14, 1871, Laura J., daughter of Thomas H. and Elma E. (Eberhart) Niccolls. Mrs. Krepps was born Oct. 26, 1848. Her grandfather Eberhart was among the first to manufacture glass in

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Western Pennsylvania, and at one time was a large property-owner in Westmoreland County. He died in Redstone township, Fayette Co., March 2, 1882. Her uncle, Dr. Robert Niccolls, was surgeon-general in the army, now a retired physician, living in Bloom- ington, Ill. Her grandfather, John Niccolls, was at one time sheriff of Westmoreland County. Dr. and Mrs. Kropps have children as follows : Allen Lewis, Laura May, Sarah Elma (deceased), and James Taylor, Jr. The doctor has been emphatically the "architect of his own fortune," has "made his own living" since he was eleven years of age, and by his own unaided efforts acquired his literary and medical education. Though among the younger members of the profession, he has attained a standing as a suc- cessful practitioner among the foremost in the county.

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History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 91

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

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