Indiana County, Pennsylvania, her people, past and present, Volume I, Part 144

Author: Stewart, Joshua Thompson, 1862- comp
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago, J. H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 930

USA > Pennsylvania > Indiana County > Indiana County, Pennsylvania, her people, past and present, Volume I > Part 144

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We have the following record of the six Washington married Barbara

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HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Canton, Ohio, and had children James and beth, born Jan. 17, 1842, at Water Street, was Joseph, both unmarried.

a teacher in the public schools, and died un- (2) Anna Maria Oatman, the second daugh- ter, was born Sept. 8, 1816. About the year 1839 she became the second wife of Maj. Sam- uel Caldwell, then a widower with three liv- ing children. He was the fourth child and fourth son of Maj. David Caldwell, eldest son of Robert Caldwell, who came from County Derry, Ireland, was of Scotch parentage, and settled at Barree, on the Little Juniata (close to the present station of Barree on the Penn- married Oct. 21, 1875; Robert, born in Hunt- ingdon Dec. 24, 1843, died there Jan. 11, 1848; Letitia Maria, born in Franklin township (Elizabeth Forge) Oct. 3, 1845, taught public school in Huntingdon and Blair counties, and married Prof. A. W. Greene, a teacher in the Tyrone schools, and has four children, Orville Caldwell, Samuel Maurice (married and has one child ), Mary Lois and Maria Letitia (they live in Clarinda, Iowa) ; and Samnel sylvania railroad), in the year 1754. His Dean, born at Huntingdon Nov. 3, 1847. brother Charles settled near Alexandria, some After successfully operating an axe factory at Water Street for many years Maj. Samuel Caldwell went into the manufacture of "blooms" at Elizabeth Forge. But the great depression in the iron trade coming on, he failed in his new enterprise. He was county surveyor for six years, and passed much of his time in the woods tracing old lines and settling disputes as to boundaries, being con- sidered one of the best land surveyors in the country. About 1850 he purchased a farm in Black Log valley, in the lower end of Hunt- ingdon county, to which he removed his fam- ily, which consisted then (1852) of his wife and four children, the children of his first wife not being at home then. This farm he named "Hickory Grove," from the large quantity of hickory which grew upon the place. Here he farmed until his death, which occurred May 1, 1857, though he still surveyed a great deal, often being from home weeks at a time. It was while on one of his surveying trips that he contracted the cold which ter- minated in his death. He died of pneumonia, which was little understood at that day. His widow moved with her four children to Shade Gap in 1858, where at Milnwood Academy they received a fair educational training. which stood them all in good stead in after years, when they were obliged to hoe their own rows. All four taught in the public schools of Huntingdon and Blair counties. three miles distant, at the same time. These emigrants had previously stopped at the set- tlement in Cumberland county (now Frank- lin) known as the "Cannogojig" (Conoco- cheagne). Maj. David Caldwell, eldest son of Robert, became the sole owner of the old homestead. He married Rebecca Dean, daugh- ter of Matthew Dean, of Canoe Valley, whose wife and several children were massacred by the Indians in 1780, and became the father of twelve children, from whom are descended all the Caldwells of the counties of Huntingdon and Blair. For his first wife Maj. Samuel Caldwell married Mary, daughter of Israel Cryder, who lived near the old Caldwell home- stead at Barree. She was born Aug. 15, 1802, and died April 18, 1835. She was the mother of five children : Susanna, born April 22, 1827. was accidentally poisoned and died Aug. 29. 1836; David, born Nov. 13, 1828, was a lawyer at Huntingdon, and died in Tyrone, Pa., April 6, 1893; Israel Cryder, born Jan. 22, 1830, married Rebecca Ellen Riddle, and died June 21, 1896, leaving two children. John R. and Samuel Horace, both of whom have families. the former living in Toledo, Iowa, where he is a lawyer of fine reputation, the latter employed in the shops at Wilmerding, Pa. (Israel C. Caldwell was a merchant and land speenlator, with this peculiarity that he was always buying but never sold, and about a year before his death there was a general Samuel Dean Caldwell, tenth and last child of Maj. Samuel Caldwell, collected and com- piled the greater part of the family history used in this article. After teaching for ten years he went to the city of Washington and in the spring of 1874 entered the government service. He has been there ever since, with but few intermissions in his employ. The first two years he was in the treasury department, was afterward in the postoffice department, (three years), United States Senate (seven years as private secretary and stenographer. collapse of his business affairs) ; Hannah Mary, born Dec. 9, 1831, married Feb. 22, 1869, N. L. Tabler, and lives near Minooka, Ill. (they have three children living. Ella, Rebecca and Mary ; one is deceased ) ; Rebecca Harriet was the fifth child of Samnel and Mary ( Cryder ) Caldwell. By his second wife, Anna Maria (Oatman). Major Caldwell had five more children, namely : William Calvin, born at Water Street. Pa., May 16, 1840, was war department, national board of health a commercial traveler, and died unmarried Nov. 16. 1880, at Tyrone, Pa. : Rebecca Eliza-

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HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

several sessions as assistant reporter to the the foot of the plane at the rate of seven dol- official reporters of House debates, and the lars per week, or rather one dollar per day Sunday and weekdays. He says further that as he (Oatman) in his last letter had talked of leaving that place (presumably Williams- burg) he does not know where to address his letter. He adds in a postscript that the name of his boy is "Abert" (meaning Albert). balance of the time acting as private secretary to different members of the House and Sen- ate) and-for the last eight years-with the Indian Bureau of the interior department. Among his personal friends he has had the pleasure of numbering such men as James G. Blaine, Simon Cameron, Samuel J. Randall, R. Milton Speer, Gen. Harry White, William GEORGE T. BUCHANAN, wholesale grocer, of Indiana, has one of the largest es- tablishments in that line in western Pennsyl- Walter Phelps, John Kean, Jr., Joseph Mc- Kenna, W. D. Washburn, John II. Mitchell, J. N. Dolph, P. B. Plumb, Gilbert A. Pierce, vania, and is probably best known in business and R. R. Hitt. Mr. Caldwell still owns his circles in that connection. He has acquired old home in Shade Gap, Pa., but in 1890 he bought a little farm six miles north of Wash- ington, at Bethesda, Md., in Montgomery county, where he entertains in true Pennsyl- vania style those of his friends who take the trouble to hunt him up. On Oct. 29, 1874, he married Jennie Gertrude Ardinger, daughter of Hon. Charles G. Ardinger, of Williamsport, Md., and they have had four children, three daughters, all deceased, and one son, who sur- vives. Samuel Dean, Jr. The latter, born March 15, 1882, is a graduate of the Western high school of Washington, D. C.

(3) Jane Oatman, third daughter of Jacob and Mary (MeReady) Oatman, died when about nine or ten years old.

(4) Rebecca Oatman, fourth daughter of Jacob and Mary (McReady ) Oatman, married Douglass Wray, by whom she had several chil- dren. Her second husband was a Hodgman, and in 1873 they were living in Berea, Ohio. Her daughter Sarah married a man named Howard. On April 12, 1836, Douglass Wray and his wife Rebecca wrote a letter from Mer- cer, Pa., addressed to Joseph Oatman, Hunt- ingdon, Pa .; the postage on it was eighteen cents, and the letter was folded in the old style, there being no envelopes used in those days.

(5) Nancy Oatman, fifth daughter of Jacob and Mary (McReady) Oatman, married a Dickson, and had two children: Walter, who is deceased, and Mary, Mrs. Bundy, who had two children, Clara and Frank (they live at Decatur, Illinois).

other important interests in this section of the State, however, and in all his associations is known as a man of unquestionable ability and integrity. He was born June 27, 1867, in Cherryhill township, Indiana county, son of William L. and Mary M. (Widdowson) Buchanan. The family is of Scotch-Irish ex- traction, and Mr. Buchanan's great-grand- father was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, of Scotch parentage. He and his wife came to this country from the North of Ireland, after their marriage, and settled first in Butler county, Pa., where he followed farming and distilling. Thence they removed to West- moreland county, Pa., where he died, in Loyal- hanna township. His children were: William, Arthur, John, George, Frances, Margaret, and perhaps others.

George Buchanan, grandfather of George T. Buchanan, was born in 1810 in Butler county, Pa., and in his youth attended the country schools near home. When a boy he would gather hickory bark after his work was done, to make a fire bright enough to enable him to study evenings, and by perseverance he became a well-educated man, following school teaching for some time. He learned the trade of carpenter, and was engaged prin- cipally as a cabinetmaker and farmer. After his marriage he located in Loyalhanna town- ship, Westmoreland county, where he was em- ployed at his trade, and thence removed to Rayne township, Indiana county, where he passed the remainder of his life, dying there in 1861, when fifty-one years of age. He was a devout member of the Wesleyan Methodist Church and became quite well known in that denomination, being a local preacher. But his absorbing public interest was the subjection of slavery and the slave traffic. He threw all his influence into the anti-slavery cause, and being endowed with considerable talent as a campaigner and public speaker took consider-

(6) Sarah Ann Oatman, sixth daughter of Jacob and Mary (McReady) Oatman, mar- ried William Campbell. In a letter written by William Campbell to Joseph Oatman, dated A. P. R. R. (Allegheny Portage Railroad) Aug. 24, 1839, he speaks of a fine boy having been born to them, and says he will be seven months old on the 15th of September. He says he is still living at No. 2, and hitching at able part in the Abolition movement in that

Leo. T. Buchanan

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HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

capacity, as well as in his connection with the Buchanan had been promoted June 13, 1862, "underground railway," by means of which he helped many slaves to escape and gain their freedom. He was always outspoken and un- compromising in his stand against slavery, and having the courage of his convictions and the gift of presenting his views well was a strong influence in the anti-slavery ranks for a number of years. In his earlier manhood Mr. Buchanan was a Free-soiler, the only one in Loyalhanna township, and he joined the Re- publican party upon its formation. His wife, Ann (Irwin), was born in 1820 in Ireland, and early left an orphan, coming to America with her father's people when twelve years old. She died April 2, 1892, when seventy- two years old, in Mechanicsburg, Indiana county. She, too, was a member of the M. E. Church. Mr. and Mrs. Buchanan had a fam- ily of six sons and three daughters, the daugh- ters dying in infancy. The sons were: Wil- liam L .; James S., of Rayne township ; George, who is deceased; Dr. John I., deceased ; Cyrus A., of Indiana ; and Harvey S., of Indiana.

William L. Buchanan was about fourteen years old when his father moved the family to Rayne township, Indiana county, and there he grew to manhood. He began his education in the subscription schools, his first teacher being his cousin, William Buchanan, and later went to public school. His first work for him- self was as a farm laborer, working by the month, and later he drove mules on the old Pennsylvania canal. After coming to Indiana county he farmed during the summer season, in the winter and spring being employed in the lumber woods and at rafting. He served in the Union army throughout the Civil war. under two enlistments. In 1861 he became a private in Company A. 61st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Creps and Col. O. H. Rippey. of Pittsburg, enlisting in Indiana county, for three years. The com- mand was attached to the Army of the Poto- mac. He had assisted in the organization of the company, and went with it to the front. seeing thirty-eight months of hard service in the field before he was incapacitated. He took part in the battle of Fair Oaks. the seven days' fight, the engagements at Malvern Hill and Antietam, and all the battles of his command up to and including Gettysburg, and subse- quent activities. In 1863-64 he was a member of a light brigade of picked men from regi- ments of different corps, who did skirmish and reconnoitering duty. After Chancellorsville this brigade was disbanded, the men being returned to their respective regiments. Mr.

at Harrison's Landing, to first sergeant. At the end of his term he was discharged, Feb. 14, 1864, at Brandy Station, Va., and reen- listed for three years, on the field, in the same company and regiment. He came home on a thirty-day furlough, during which time he married, and after rejoining his regiment again saw considerable active service until he lost an arm at Fort Stevens, in the defenses of Washington. whither the 6th Corps, to which the 61st Regiment was attached, had been sent. They met Early as he was moving out to the works in his march on the city, and in the encounter Mr. Buchanan received a minie ball in his right arm, close to the shoul- der, his injuries being so severe that the mem- ber was amputated on the field. He was taken to a hospital in Washington and thence to a hospital in Philadelphia, from which he was discharged Oct. 18, 1864. Up to the time he was wounded at Fort Stevens he had never lost a day's duty on account of sickness, though slightly injured several times. He was in command of his company at the time, all the commissioned officers having been either wounded or away on furlough. The regiment stood first in loss of officers during the Civil war, and ranked about fourteenth or fifteenth in loss of men.

From the time of his return from the army until his retirement a few years ago Mr. Buchanan was engaged in farming. milling. stock dealing and merchandising, having farms in Cherryhill (115 acres) and Green (sixty acres) townships. Indiana county, and conducting stores at Dixonville and Indiana. For several years he was located at Marion Center. this county, engaged in the hotel business. and eventually removed to the borough of Indiana. where he dealt in agri- cultural implements for some years. Thence he removed to Dixonville, where he was in business nine years. having a general mer- chandise store. He retired shortly before the death of his wife, and has not been engaged in any active business pursuits since. now mak- ing his home in Indiana. Mr. Buchanan was one of the organizers of the Marion Center National Bank. and served as director until 1911. when he resigned. He is still a large stockholder in the Savings & Trust Company of Indiana. His ability and honorable deal- ings brought him success in his enterprises. and he has had high standing in the various communities where he has become known through his business associations.

Mr. Buchanan is a member of the Veteran

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HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Legion and G. A. R., Post No. 28, and also of Pennsylvania, and his foresight has enabled the Cosmopolitan Club of Indiana. In poli- him to do more than keep abreast of the de- ties he is a Republican but independent in mands of his trade-he anticipates them and voting, supporting what he regards as the best men and measures.

On March 22, 1864, Mr. Buchanan married Mary Matilda Widdowson, of Cherryhill township, Indiana county, daughter of Thomas and Jane (Lydie) Widdowson, and she died at Indiana March 25, 1906. She was a mem- ber of the Baptist Church and one of its de- voted workers, a member of the missionary societies and interested in other church activi- ties. She is buried at Oakland cemetery. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Buchanan: Josephine, who died in infancy ; George T .; and William Orrin, of Larimer, Pa., who carries on an extensive mercantile business, having establishments at Irwin and Larimer, in Westmoreland county, this State.

has attractive propositions for his customers which keep the trade interested in every line he carries. His reputation for just and hon- orable dealing has proved a valuable asset in his independent career. Mr. Buchanan has become interested in various other industries in the locality, being a director of the Savings & Trust Company of Indiana, a director of the Indiana Woolen Mills Company, and as- sociated with several enterprises which are factors in the development and prosperity of this section.

On May 21, 1891, Mr. Buchanan was mar- ried to Jennie R. Davison, of Indiana county, daughter of William S. Davison, of Green township, and they have two children: Edith, who is a graduate of the Indiana State normal school ; and William Paul.

George T. Buchanan received his early edu- cation in the common schools of Indiana, and Mr. Buchanan is a prominent member of the Baptist Church, which he is serving as deacon, and he has also been interested in the Sunday school, of which he has been superin- tendent since 1902. He labored zealously and contributed liberally to secure the establish- ment of the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion at Indiana, whose building was erected in 1912-13. He has been a director of this institution since its formation. Fraternally he holds membership in Indiana Lodge. No. 313, F. & A. M., of the borough of Indiana, was a member of the second class to gradu- ate from the Indiana high school, in 1883. Subsequently he attended the State Normal School at Indiana, and then taught for two terms before entering upon his business career. He was associated with his father in the im- plement business for a time, after which they were interested in partnership in the general merchandise business at Dixonville. In May, 1890, the year following the Johnstown flood, Mr. Buchanan engaged in the retail grocery business at Johnstown, where he remained and he also belongs to the Cosmopolitan Club. four years. His next experience was as traveling salesman for Francis H. Leggett & NATHAN CHARLES HARVEY, cashier Indiana county, has been connected with that institution ever since he came to the borough, Co., of New York City, wholesale grocers, for of the First National Bank of Glen Campbell, whom he sold goods on the road for a period of ten years. At the end of that time he settled down in Indiana, buying a half in- in 1902. He is associated with other impor- terest in the wholesale grocery establishment tant business enterprises there, and has be- come thoroughly interested in the general wel- fare of the place, where he has proved him- self a most valuable citizen. with which he has since been connected. In 1909 he bought out his partners, and has since carried on the business alone. He has a very commodious building, 40 by 120 feet in dimen- Mr. Harvey was born June 29, 1868, at sions and three stories high, and occupies Jersey Shore, Lycoming Co., Pa., son of Elijah three warehouses besides. Mr. Buchanan has made a most creditable record since he en- tered this concern. His success in building up and holding trade, his business now amounting to four hundred thousand dollars annually, is the best evidence of his progres- sive and enterprising nature and executive ability, which combined with untiring energy

and Mary (Lamason) Harvey. His father was a native of Minnesota and was a contrac- tor and builder by occupation. Nathan C. Harvey acquired his early education at Jersey Shore, attending the elementary and high schools there, and the Jersey Shore Academy, and later studied at the Eclectic Institute there, from which he was graduated. He then have brought him such high success. His became a drug elerk, and took a course at the active policy has been the means of advanc- Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. In 1902 ing his business to a foremost place among the Mr. Harvey came to Glen Campbell and en- prosperous concerns of the kind in western tered the First National Bank as assistant

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HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

cashier, continuing to hold that position until elected cashier, May 3, 1910. He holds in- terests in the Lasoya Oil Company of Glen Campbell (whose field is at Chelsea, Okla.) and the Giant Electric Light, Heat & Power Company, being one of the directors of both these companies. His opinions on financial questions and general business conditions are highly esteemed by those who have had the opportunity to realize the comprehensive grasp he has on such matters. He is at pres- ent serving the borough in the capacity of school director. Mr. Harvey is a thirty-second degree Mason and a Shriner, is a member of the Episcopal Church, and in his political views is a Republican.

On Oct. 15, 1897, Mr. Harvey was united in marriage with Edith Scott, of Elmira, N. Y., daughter of Winfield S. and Caroline (Dietehie) Scott.

DANIEL HOWARD owns the valuable traet of 200 acres in Blackliek township, In- diana county, where he lives, and is one of the wide-awake business farmers of his sec- tion. He was born in that township Nov. 17, 1855, son of Isaac and Rebecca (Baroon) Howard, and is a grandson of Adam Howard, a native of Westmoreland county, Pa., who had a family of four children, namely : George, Jacob (who died unmarried). Isaac and John. Of these, George Howard married Sarah Baroon, of Center township, Indiana county, and they had the following children : Alexander married Mary Rankin : Jane mar- ried Harvey Stewart, of Center township; Isaac married Mary Dixon and (second) Nancy E. MeCracken; Lizzie died young; Margaret married John Mack.

Isaac Howard, son of Adam, was born in Blackliek township, Indiana county, and died there: he was laid to rest in the Lutheran cemetery in Center township. In religious connection he was a Lutheran. All his life he followed his trade, that of carpenter, residing in Blackliek township but working all over the surrounding territory as well, in Indiana and Westmoreland counties. He was particularly in demand as a barn builder, his experience and reliability bringing him plenty of work in that line. He married Rebecca Baroon, of Center township, who is buried in the Lutheran cemetery in that township. Mr. and Mrs. Howard had a family of four children : Sarah, who married David Altman, a farmer of Blackliek township; Levi, who died when ten years old; Daniel; and James, who died when two years old.

Daniel Howard attended the MeCrea brick school in Blackliek township and worked at home until he reached the age of seventeen. From that time he worked for himself, for three years in the employ of his uncle George Howard, being twenty years old when he went to work for William Smith, with whom he re- mained about twenty-five years, engaged in farming on his present place. He has since followed agricultural pursuits on his own ac- count, and now owns about two hundred aeres, 160 of which are under excellent cultivation. He has cleared much of this land himself, and has made numerous improvements, being con- stantly on the alert to discover and apply new methods of doing his work and conducting his farm, anything which will increase its value and productiveness. He does a large butter and egg business, having been very successful in that line. Mr. Howard has been an active man, and has acquired other interests besides his farm, being a stockholder in the First National Bank of Blairsville and in the Far- mers' Blacklick Township Telephone Com- pany. Public affairs have also received some share of his attention, he having served his township for three years as supervisor of roads and for ten years as member of the board of school directors. In political association he is a Republican, and he favors the temperance cause. He and his family are members of the Hopewell M. E. Church.

In 1880 Mr. Howard married Sarah Eliza- beth Smith, daughter of William and Ann C. (Brineker) Smith, the former his longtime employer. Four children have been born to this union: Mabel, born Oct. 1, 1880, who died June 30, 1901 ; William Roy, born March 25, 1887, who resides with his parents; George Smith, born March 11, 1892, at home: and Laura Alice, born Feb. 23, 1903.

EDWARD O'NEILL, proprietor of the leading general merchandise store at Mitchells Mills, Indiana county, and owner of 200 acres of land in Green township, was born in that township March 27, 1846. son of Edward and Catherine (Kneedler) O'Neill. He is a vet- eran of the Civil war. in which he received dangerous wounds.

Mr. O'Neill's paternal grandfather was a native of Ireland, and coming to America in young manhood settled in Center county, Pa., where he spent the remainder of his life.

Edward O'Neill, father of Edward, was born in 1799 in Center county, and in 1840 came to Indiana county and settled near She- loeta, afterward removing to Mitchells Mills,

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Indiana County, Pennsylvania, her people, past and present, Volume I, Part 144

Author: Stewart, Joshua Thompson, 1862- comp Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Chicago, J. H. Beers & co. Number of Pages: 930

Author: Stewart, Joshua Thompson, 1862- comp
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago, J. H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 930