Indiana County, Pennsylvania; her people, past and present, Volume II, Part 18

Author: Stewart, Joshua Thompson, 1862- comp
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago, J. H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 884

USA > Pennsylvania > Indiana County > Indiana County, Pennsylvania; her people, past and present, Volume II > Part 18

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George Washington MeHenry, son of Isaac and Catharine (MeClelland) MeHenry, was horn March 3, 1830. at what is now Fordham, Jefferson Co., Pa., and there resided until the removal of the family to near Frostburg, Jefferson county. Then he moved to East Mahoning township, Indiana county, taking his parents with him, in 1886, and they lived with him till they died. George W. MeHenry sold his farm and is now living retired at Marion Center, Indiana Co., Pa., where he has had his home since 1905. Mr. McHenry married Rachel M. Swisher, and 'second) Anna Rebecca Keck. The latter was

Ralph Fi MeAny

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HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

born Jan. 26, 1843, near Perrysville, Jeffer- Plumville, in South Mahoning township, Indi- son county, and they became the parents of ana Co., Pa., March 7, 1869, daughter of Jo- seven children, as follows: Rachel died at seph M. and Rebecca (Neal) Wilson. Her father was born in South Mahoning township, her mother in East Mahoning township, and they are now residents of Plumville; Mr. Wilson spent his active years in farming. He is a veteran of the Civil war.

the age of thirteen years; Grant is engineer of the power plant at Lucerne, Pa .; Laotta is the widow of W. L. Stewart, a lawyer, of Indiana, Pa .; Ralph F. is mentioned below; Lelia is deceased; Bessie is the wife of Rob- ert McKee, of Horton; Walter is a veterinary surgeon, of Waverly, Iowa.

Joseph Keck, the maternal grandfather of Dr. MeHenry, was a native of Pennsylvania, of German descent. He was a sawyer by trade and followed that occupation in Jeffer- son county for some years, also devoting some attention to farming. He married Sophia Spare, and both died in Jefferson county.

Until he was sixteen years of age Ralph F. McHenry resided on the home farm in Jeffer- son county, obtaining his early education in the schools of Frostburg. On coming to In- diana county he attended the Pickering Run school, and after academic work taught public school four years in Indiana county. Follow- ing this he entered in 1892 the Western Penn- sylvania Medical College, from which insti- tution he was graduated with his degree of M. D. March 21, 1895. For the ten years that followed he was engaged in practice at Marion Center, on March 11, 1905, coming to Heilwood, where he has since had a suc- cessful professional career. He is a member of the Indiana County and State Medical Societies and of the American Medical As- sociation, is local surgeon for the Pennsyl-, vania Railroad Company, and has charge of the Heilwood hospital. Dr. MeHenry has lone considerable studying along advanced lines, having taken a post-graduate general course in 1899 at the New York Polyclinic ; a post-graduate course in special diagnosis and general surgery, 1901-02; a course in general medicine and surgery at the New York Post Graduate Medical School in 1907; and he did special work in surgery and diag- nosis at that institution in 1911.

Fraternally the Doctor is a thirty-second degree Mason, being a member of the Scot- tish Rite Masons at Williamsport; and Jaffa Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Altoona, Pa. He was one of the charter members of Beth- any Commandery, No. 83, K. T., at DuBois, Pa., and the Indiana lodge of B. P. O. Elks. The Doctor has taken a very active interest in the welfare of the public schools of Indi- ana county, and for the last sixteen years has held the office of school director.

Dr. and Mrs. McHenry have had three chil- dren: Elizabeth, born in November, 1894, now deceased ; Joseph, born June 6, 1896, also deceased; and Ralph Wilson, born May 1, 1910. The Doctor and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church.

CLARK J. CAMERON, D. D. S., has been engaged in the practice of dentistry at Cherry- tree, Indiana county, for over a quarter of a century, and has the reputation of being one of the most reliable men in his profession in this region. He was born in Green township, this county, Feb. 5, 1856, son of Daniel and Margaret (Bartlebaugh) Cameron, both of whom were natives of Indiana county.

Hugh Cameron, the Doctor's grandfather, was a native of Scotland. Settling in Indiana county at a very early day, he passed the remainder of his life here, engaged in farm- ing and lumbering.

Daniel Cameron, father of Dr. Cameron, settled in Green township in the early fifties, purchasing the farm where his son Clark was born, and which is now owned by J. C. Leas- ure. There le farmed until his death, which occurred in February, 1885. He married Margaret Bartlebaugh, daughter of Matthias Bartlebaugh, a native of Indiana county who in his day was a prominent farmer of Green township. He was one of the founders of the local Presbyterian Church. Mr. Bartle- baugh lived to be ninety-six years old, and when ninety years old walked from his home to the borough of Indiana. Mrs. Margaret (Bartlebaugh) Cameron died early in the year 1858, the mother of four children, namely : Emmeline, who became the wife of John McFeaters, of Johnstown, Pa .; Amanda, deceased, who was the wife of S. B. Leasure, of this county; Marlin J., a resident of Al- bany, Oregon, engaged in the lumbering busi- ness; and Clark J. After the mother of these died Mr. Cameron married Rucilla Bar- tlebaugh, for his second wife, and for his third Cordelia McNeal. By the second union there were two children: Phoebe, wife of Robert Dunwiddie, a merchant in Cherryhill township; and Lloyd, deceased. To the third

On Dec. 25, 1890, Dr. MeHenry was mar- ried to Gertrude J. Wilson, who was born at marriage were born: Cordelia, who married 56

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HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Isaac Work, both now deceased; Daniel, a resident of Homer City, this county; Sharp, a resident of Brownsville, Fayette County, Pa., and Howard, who lives at Braddock, Pennsylvania.

Clark J. Cameron, youngest child of Daniel and Margaret (Bartlebaugh) Cameron, ob- tained his early education in public school in Green township, where he followed farm- ing in his youth and young manhood. In 1884 he entered the Philadelphia Dental Col- lege to prepare for his chosen calling, was graduated from that institution in 1885, and immediately thereafter commenced practice in Indiana county, first locating at Cookport. The same year, 1885, he moved to Cherry- tree, where he has since been in active prac- tice, having built up a large and steadily widening patronage. In 1908 he took a spe- cial course in the treatment of teeth and bridge and crown work in the Peeso School at Philadelphia, and he has always made it a point to keep abreast of the times in his ideas and practice, a fact which has been thoroughly appreciated by his patrons in and around Cherrytree.

Dr. Cameron has taken a special interest in the welfare of the public schools in Cherry- tree and is at present serving as school direc- tor, being also secretary of the board. He has been a member of the borough council, and highly public-spirited in advocating and en- couraging all projects for the advancement of the place, being connected with the Cherry- tree Electric Heat, Light & Power Company as secretary, treasurer and member of the board of directors; and he is vice president of the Cherrytree Water Company. He is well known in the fraternities, being a promi- nent member of Cherrytree Lodge, No. 417, I. O. O. F., of which he is chaplain and treas- urer; a member of Susquehanna Lodge, No. 31. A. O. U. W., of which he is financier ; and a member of Indiana Lodge, Royal Arcanum.

On Feb. 19, 1885, Dr. Cameron was mar- ried to Alice Maria Thompson, who was born in Rayne township, this county, daughter of William and Caroline (Shields) Thompson, both of whom were born in Indiana county, and both are now deceased. They were farm- ing people. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson had a family of eight children: Amanda, wife of James M. Martin, living at Mount Washing- ton, Pa .; Martha, wife of Dr. Park, of Marion Center, Indiana county ; Silas W., a resident of Springfield, Ohio; Mary, who married Moorhead Coleman, of Indiana, both now de- ceased; Alice M., Mrs. Cameron ; Harry V.,

a resident of Alberta, Canada; Emma, wife of James Moore, of Indiana county ; and one that died in infancy.

Four children have heen born to Dr. and Mrs. Cameron : Gertrude Gay; Guilford Thompson and Martha Margaret, twins; and Alice Imogene. The Doctor and his family are members of the Presbyterian Church at Cherrytree, and he has been quite active in its work, at present serving as elder.

WILLIAM McQUAID FAIR is known as one of the most progressive dairymen in Center township, Indiana county, where he has been engaged in agricultural pursuits all his life. He belongs to an old family of the county, his great-grandfather, Peter Fair, having been one of the hardy pioneers who settled here in the early days. He was a scout and spy during the French and Indian war.

William Fair, son of Peter, was born in Indiana county. He became the owner of a farm in Blacklick township upon which he lived and died. He married Mary Cribbs, of Indiana county, and they became the parents of the following children: Peter Cribbs; Mary Jane, wife of W. Bell; Sus- anna, wife of J. Bell; Elizabeth, wife of Samuel Doty; Sarah, wife of Abraham Mikesell; Julia, wife of C. Mikesell; Henry, who married Frances Gilger and (second) Augusta Rodgers; and William, who married Hettie Willoer.

Peter Crihbs Fair, son of William, received his education in the subscription and free schools of the home district, but meantime he had to assist his father with the work on the farm, which was extremely laborious in those days. So although the school terms were short he did not attend every day. However, he was a diligent student, and he managed to acquire enough schooling to fit himself for teaching, which profession he fol- lowed for twenty years during the winter season. The rest of the year he was engaged in farming. For a time he worked on a farm in Blacklick township, later buying the Hugh McClaren farm, in Center township, which comprised 120 acres, and there he lived to the end of his days, prospering in his own inter- ests and becoming closely associated with lo- cal affairs, political and social. He not only improved his home place, but was able to ac- quire other property, at one time owning about three hundred acres. He was independent in politics, having progressive ideas in that re- spect as in everything which engaged his at-

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HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

tention, was public-spirited in advocating and Michael and Jennie E. (Keener) Stair, and supporting every movement for the welfare they have had eight children: Gail, Hazel, of the community, was a prominent member Margaret (who died in infancy), Edna May, of the Grange, and in fraternal connection a Roxie, Viola, Margaret Louise, and Paul Mc- Quaid (who died in infancy Oct. 17, 1912).

member of Blairsville Lodge, F. & A. M. He was a good conversationalist, and an interest- ing and forcible public speaker, his intelligent and broad-minded views winning him the re- spect and confidence of all who came in con- tact with him. He was originally a member of the Lutheran Church, later joining the M. E. Church at Homer City. When a young man Mr. Fair married Sarah Young, by whom he had two children: Louisa, who married Robert Wilson and (second) Jesse Long, and Helen, who died young. The mother died aged about forty-three years, and is buried in the Homer City cemetery. Mr. Fair's sec- ond marriage, to Martha Jane Doty, daugh- ter of Nathaniel and Margaret (Reed) Doty, of Westmoreland county, Pa., took place in Westmoreland County. Mrs. Fair still lives on the homestead with her son William. Mr. Fair died June 16, 1903.

William McQuaid Fair, only child of Peter C. and Martha J. (Doty) Fair, was born July 27, 1876, on the farm in Center township where he now lives, and was reared there. He was educated in the locality, being given ex- cellent common school advantages, and from boyhood was his father's assistant with the work on the home place, becoming thoroughly familiar with farm work under an able in- structor. After his father's death he assumed charge of the farm as owner, and has since been engaged in general farming and dairy- ing. He began to make a specialty of dairy- ing a number of years ago, and has been very successful in that line, in which he has profit- ably adopted the most up-to-date methods. In 1905 he built a silo, and he has other mod- ern facilities for the care of his stock and product which stamp him as a wide-awake dairyman, thoroughly alive to the advantages of hygienic surroundings and scientific meth- ods. He las a valuable herd of high-grade Holsteins. His product is shipped to Pitts- burg. He is energetic and reliable in every- thing he undertakes, being considered one of the most substantial men of his township, and he has served his fellow citizens as school di- rector, giving eminently satisfactory service in that capacity. He is a Democrat in poli- tics and takes a keen interest in the welfare of his party; he has served on the board of elections.

Mr. Fair was married Dec. 6, 1903, to Laura Stair, of Center township, daughter of

WILLIAM W. BRILHART, who has been in business as a jeweler and optician at In- diana since 1880, was born in East Mahoning township, Indiana county, Feb. 25, 1847, son of Jacob Brilhart and grandson of John Bril- hart. The latter was born in the Shenandoah valley, in Virginia, whence he came to In- diana county, Pa., in 1820, settling on a tract of 300 acres in East Mahoning township. He married Catherine Huff, who was from near Baltimore, Md. They died in East Ma- honing township.

Jacob Brilhart, son of John, was born in 1802 in Virginia, where he passed his early life, being eighteen years old when he came to Indiana county with his parents. He was a gunsmith by trade, and found consider- able to do at his new home making steel traps for trappers. He succeeded his father on the homestead, where he continued to reside to the close of his long life, dying there in 1884. He married Mary Braugher, of In- diana county, who was born in 1815, and died on the home farm in 1875. Mr. and Mrs. Brilhart were devout Presbyterians in relig- ious faith. He was a Democrat before the Civil war, after which he supported the Re- publican party. He served as postmaster at Mahoning for many years, and was one of the best known men in his locality. To him and his wife were born the following chil- dren : Caroline, Mrs. Peter Beer, of near Du- Bois, Pa .; Jonah H., who died in Indiana; J. Clark, of Grant township, Indiana county, who served during the Civil war in the 206th Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment: Abraham H., of Grant township; John A., of Scottdale, Pa .; and Amanda, Mrs. L. C. Spicker, of the eastern shore of Maryland.

William W. Brilhart spent the first few years of his life on the home farm, but he was only a boy when the family moved to Georgeville, this county, and he received his education in the local schools. In the fall of 1863 he enlisted in Company F, 105th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, for three years or during the war, serving under Capt. William Kunkle and Colonel Miller, in Han- cock's 2d Corps, Army of the Potomac. He took part in the following battles: Culpeper, Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, North Anna River, Cold Harbor, Petersburg,

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HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Hatcher's Run, and Appomattox, and was continued for four years, at the end of that present when Lee gave his sword to Grant. period moving to Elder's Ridge, same county, He was mustered out near Pittsburg in July, practicing there the next five years. His next 1865. and returning home applied himself to learning the business of jeweler, at which he has ever since been engaged. He spent several years in Clarion county, in 1880 mov- ing to the borough of Indiana, where he has change was to Butler county, Pa., where he also became engaged in the drug business, which he sold out on account of ill health in the spring of 1868, returning then to In- diana county. Locating at Blacklick, he

lived and worked up to the present time. He opened a general mercantile business which has established a steady patronage in his line, and has acquired a reputation for honorable of J. H. Bell Company, and in which he was dealing as a jeweler, and for skill in the opti- cal branch, which holds all his patrons. As a citizen he is highly esteemed for his sub- 'stantial worth. He is a member of the Chris- tian Church, and belongs to Post No. 28, G. A. R. In politics he is a Republican.

In 1873 Mr. Brilhart was married to Anna C. Galbraith, of Indiana county, daughter of former sheriff J. C. Galbraith, and they have three children: Geer E., a jeweler, of Pitts- burg; Percy W., a civil engineer, now in Van- couver, B. C .; and William, an optician, who lives at Indiana with his parents.

MILTON SAMUEL BELL, proprietor of the general mercantile business at Blaeklick, Indiana county, conducted under the name of

has ever since been carried on under the name interested until his death. A man of sterling honesty and irreproachable standards, he also had the commercial instinct which made him successful in the management of his business, and his courteous bearing, natural disposi- tion to oblige and intelligent comprehension of the needs of his patrons made his establish- ment one of the most popular in this part of the county. In 1868, under President John- son, he was appointed postmaster, and held that office continuously for many years. He took a deep interest in all that concerned the town of his adoption, her people and institu- tions, being a highly useful citizen in every sense. He died in Blackliek in September, 1896, and is buried in Blairsville cemetery.

On Aug. 31, 1852, Dr. Bell married Mary J. H. Bell Company, is a representative Doty, who was born Jan. 5. 1827, in Indiana of a family which has been resident in this county, and survived him, dying April 18, part of Pennsylvania continuously since Colo- 1906, at the age of seventy-nine; she is buried nial times. John Bell, his great-grandfather, made his home in Westmoreland county. He married Martha Kilerearn, and their children were: John, Walter, James, Jane, Elizabeth and Martha.

in Blairsville cemetery. Mrs. Bell was a de- scendant of one of the passengers of the "Mayflower," having been a daughter of Gillis M. and Jane (Dixon) Doty. She and her husband had a family of seven children : Rebecca Jane, born Sept. 8. 1854, died Sept. 22, 1865; Gillis Doty, horn Jan. 24, 1857, is a hardware merchant in Cleveland, Ohio; 1909; James IIanson, born Oet. 5, 1861, died

John Bell, son of John and Martha (Kil- crearn) Bell, also lived in Westmoreland county, where he followed farming all his life. He and his wife Rebecca (Hanson) be- John Hunter. born April 14, 1859, died in came the parents of ten children, namely : John, James Hanson, Samuel M., Alfred M., in 1862; Sarah Elizabeth, born July 19, 1863, Margaret M., Martha K., Sarah, Elizabeth, Mary and Aligara.

is unmarried : Milton Samuel was born May 12, 1869; Alfred Marks, born Sept. 28, 1871. resides at Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania.

James Hanson Bell. son of John and Re- becca (Hanson) Bell, was born Feb. 28. 1826, Milton S. Bell obtained his education in the public schools of Burrell township. When a hoy he began to clerk in his father's store. and subsequently going out to Ohio clerked for about ten years with his brother in the hardware business. On his return to Black- lick, in 1897, he bought out the general mer- cantile business from his father's estate and has conducted it on his own account ever since, giving all his time and attention to the store. It has enjoyed undiminished popu- on a farm in Derry township, Westmoreland county. He was given an excellent educa- tion, attending public school and the academy at Blairsville, and having decided to enter professional life read medicine with Dr. J. W. Blackburn, of Derry township, Westmore- land county. Later he attended lectures at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, and a medical college in Vermont, from which latter institution he was graduated in 1852. Ile began the practice of his chosen profession larity under his capable management. He at Clarksburg. Indiana Co., Pa., where he has made extensive improvements in the ae-

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HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

commodations, bringing the establishment up- to-date in equipment and convenient arrange- ment, and his genial personality and ready

died when three years old; Brice died when ten years old; William, now living at Oil City, Pa., married Margaret Lemon (who attention to the wants of his customers has is deceased), and had one child, Nancy Jane; kept the business up to the high standards set Sarah is the widow of John Mclaughlin, and resides in Philadelphia; John W. is men- tioned below; Maria died unmarried April 17, 1870, aged twenty-seven years; Brice (2) married Anna W. Barker and now lives at Oil City. by his father. The store is the largest of the kind in Blacklick, and deservedly has a wide patronage from the town and adjacent ter- ritory. Mr. Bell was one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Blacklick, which he serves as director, and his public-spirited interest in the town has made him a sympa- thetic aid of every good movement for its ad- vancement and betterment.

On June 27, 1902, Mr. Bell was married, at Cleveland, Ohio, to Jessie G. Bruce, a na- tive of that city, daughter of Charles Bruce. They have no children. Mr. and Mrs. Bell are members of the Christian Science Church, and both have been ardent admirers of the late Mrs, Eddy and her doctrines. Socially he is an Odd Fellow and Mason, belonging to the I. O. O. F. lodge at Blacklick, and to Halcyon Lodge, No. 498, F. & A. M., of Cleve- land, Ohio, and Thatcher Chapter, No. 101, Royal Arch Masons, of Cleveland. He is a stanch Republican, but takes no active part in politics.

JOHN WIGGINS HENDERSON, late of Armstrong township, Indiana county, who died July 4, 1907, was a native of Center township, this county, born Jan. 6, 1839.

The Henderson family came to this section from Cumberland county, Pa., where Samuel and Elizabeth (Wiggins) Henderson, grand- parents of John Wiggins Henderson, lived. On their removal to Indiana county they set- tled in Center township, where they followed farming the rest of their lives. Their chil- dren were: Samuel, John, Brice, Margaret, Nancy and Sarah.

John Henderson, born in Cumberland county, moved to Indiana county and was engaged in farming and milling in Center township. Later he moved to Tunnelton, in Conemaugh township, this county, where he farmed for a time, and he subsequently re- sided in White township. He was interested in agricultural pursuits all his life. He died in 1871, at the age of sixty-nine years. His wife, Nancy (Wiggins), died near Saltsburg, in Conemaugh township. They had the fol- lowing children: Jane died unmarried in 1900, aged seventy-six years; Samuel died in 1898, at the age of seventy; Nancy married Thomas Wolverton (they were both blind), and had one child, Sarah Jane; Margaret

John W. Henderson was brought up like the ordinary farmer boy and received his education in the common schools of the home neighborhood. He was engaged in farm labor in his youth and early manhood, and also learned and followed the trade of tanner at Tannery village, in Armstrong township. Af- ter his marriage he settled on a tract of sixty- nine acres in that township, upon which he followed general farming for many years. From 1891 until 1895 he was in business at Beaver Falls, Pa., where he had a grocery store, and he also lived in Pittsburg for four years; he was employed as caretaker at the free dispensary there during that period. He was actively interested in the public questions of his day, in early life upholding the prin- ciples of the Republican party, and later becoming a Prohibitionist. He served as school director in Armstrong township. Mr. Henderson was a member of the United Pres- byterian Church, served as elder of the church he attended in Pittsburg, and also held that office in the Crete Church in Center town- ship for many years. He met an accidental death, being thrown from a buggy and killed, at his farm in Armstrong township, July 4, 1906.

On April 14, 1864, Mr. Henderson married Elizabeth Clarissa Mccullough, member of a highly respected family of this section. She was born on the home farm in Armstrong township, Indiana county, received her edu- cation at the Hilltop school and select school in Jacksonville, and began teaching at Elder- ton, Armstrong county, when only fourteen years old. She continued there until she was twenty, teaching twenty-six days a month and receiving fifty cents for each pupil. After two terms in the Derry township (Westmore- land county) school and one term in Green township (Indiana county), she went to Iron- ton, Ohio, to assist her brother, who was prin- cipal of the school there, and then attended Saltsburg Academy for two terms under Prof. Albert Brown. Following this she taught in Young township (Indiana county) for two terms and at the Uncapher school in Arm-

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Indiana County, Pennsylvania; her people, past and present, Volume II, Part 18

Author: Stewart, Joshua Thompson, 1862- comp Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Chicago, J. H. Beers & co. Number of Pages: 884

Author: Stewart, Joshua Thompson, 1862- comp
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago, J. H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 884