Indiana County, Pennsylvania; her people, past and present, Volume II, Part 28

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 28

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

933

HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

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934

HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Pennsylvania. The Second, by order of the Synod, took the name of the Monongahela. It was composed of four ministers-Revs. John Jamieson, Henderson, Warwick and Rankin, with their elders. This was the first presby- tery organized in connection with any of the Reformed Churches west of the Allegheny mountains. Its boundary lines were the Alle- gheny mountains on the east and the Pacific ocean on the west.

Jamieson was a man of decided abilities and theological attainments, so that his pres- bytery placed its theological students under his care, Alexander Porter, Alexander McCoy and David Proudfit.

From 1783 to at least 1816 Mr. Jamieson went about his Master's business. Money he did not need, for every cabin door was open wide to him, while his wife and family were busy at his own cabin raising food, scutching, spinning, weaving, knitting and making the family homespun clothing.

Of the twenty-six religious bodies in Penn- sylvania that Rev. John Jamieson organized through his personality, twenty-four are strong, wealthy United Presbyterian Churches, each under the jurisdiction of one of the following presbyteries: Big Spring, Westmoreland, Conemaugh or Monongahela. Of the two remaining organizations one is a Covenanter Church, Alexandria, Westmore- land county, and the other is the Covenanter Church at Clarksburg, Indiana county.

Rev. John Jamieson was six feet, three inches high, and dignified in bearing. Men- tally he was able, thoroughly educated, and possessed wonderful vigor, energy and endur- ance. His voice was strong, clear and far- John Henry, the first of the family to set- reaching; his oratory magnetic, holding the tle in Indiana county, Pa., was a native of attention of his hearers as well through a long service as a short one. To aid in the civic interests of Indiana county he contracted for the erection of the first county jail. He served as county commissioner for Indiana county for the years 1809, 1810 and 1811. He was actively engaged in educational matters, and was one of the pioneer trustees of the Indiana Academy, incorporated March 28, 1814. It appears in his diary that he was ac- tively and regularly preaching in and around Kittanning from 1813 to Jan. 8, 1815; in Freeport region from 1813, and what is now West Union and Conemaugh, Plumville and Crete up to 1816; his services in these years were held in cabins and barns and log churches.

IIe died in March, 1821, aged seventy-four years, and is buried at Crete, Indiana Co.,

Pa. His wife, Nancy, died in 1841, aged ninety-one, and is buried at Lewisville, In- diana Co., Pa. Their daughter Agnes mar- ried William Thompson, and had three sons and two daughters, to wit: Hon. John Jamie- son Ypsilanti, Rev. Robert, William Gordon, Nancy and Mary. Nancy married Washing- ton Craig, of Clarion county, Pa. Calvin A. Craig, second colonel of the 105th Regiment, who was killed at Deep Bottom, Va., was one of this family. Mary married Alexander Mc- Knight, who left two sons, to wit: Col. Amor Archer McKnight, of the 105th Pennsylvania Volunteers, who was killed while leading a charge at Chancellorsville, Va., and William James McKnight.

William Thompson and wife settled on a farm near Lewisville, Indiana Co., Pa. This farm was deeded by Rev. John Jamieson and Agnes, his wife, to William Thompson and Agnes Jamieson Thompson, his wife, the deed being dated March 26, 1817, and afterward known as the "John Gallagher Farm."

Col. Robert M. Thompson, of New York City, is a son of John Jamieson Ypsilanti Thompson and grandson of William and Agnes (Jamieson) Thompson. The Colonel has a world celebrity in naval, athletic, finan- cial and charitable circles .- [Contributed by Dr. W. J. McKnight.]

MATTHEW H. HENRY, now living re- tired at Blairsville, Indiana county, is a mem- ber of a family of Scotch-Irish extraction which has been associated with the growth and progress of Indiana county for over eighty years.

Ireland, born near Londonderry, in County Derry, where he grew to manhood. There he married Margaret Miller. In 1833, with his wife and one child, he sailed from Belfast, Ireland, for the New World, and after a seven weeks' passage landed in New York. Making their way west by canal and the other means of transportation then available, they located first in Young township, Indiana county, where they rented the farm of Matthew Har- bison. After farming there for a short pe- riod they moved to Armstrong township, same county, settling on a tract of seventy-three acres of uncultivated land. They were the pioneers in that section. Mr. Henry built a little log house and made strenuous efforts to clear the land. Three years later, when his hard work was meeting with some success, he met with an accident at a barn raising from

935

HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

the effects of which he died in March, 1838. engaged in the retailing of meat and other He was buried in the West Union cemetery, products. Then he turned over the business near the homestead farm. The widow, left to his sons and has since lived retired in Blairsville. In 1896 he was elected county commissioner, which office he filled for three years. While a resident of Young township he filled the office of school director for six years, and was for eight years assessor of the township. He is a member of the United Presbyterian Church and was elder of his church in Young township for nine years. He has filled the office of elder in Blairsville Church for four years. Mr. Henry is a stanch Republican, though not a politician in the ordinary meaning of the word. He is con- sidered a thoroughly good citizen. with five small children to care for, and eking out an existence as best she could, had a hard struggle, but she worked day and night to keep her family together and succeeded. She grew her own wool and flax, carded it and wove it into cloth, and rode on horseback from her home to Blairsville to dispose of the prod- uct for the necessaries of life. It was a trip of thirty-two miles. In spite of toil and hard- ships she lived to the age of seventy-three years, dying in 1876 at her home, a comfort- able frame structure which had supplanted the log cabin. She bore her struggles with the Christian fortitude for which she was On Feb. 14, 1862, Mr. Henry married in Young township, Indiana county, Mary Jane Lowman, who was born in that township in 1843, a daughter of Jacob and Susan Low- man. Mrs. Henry died in January, 1894, the mother of eight children: (1) John G., born at West Lebanon, Pa., Dec. 16, 1862, is a traveling salesman for the United States Steel Company and resides in Des Moines, Iowa. On Dec. 30, 1886, he was married at Indiana, Pa., to Clara Thomas, and they have one daughter, Mary Thomas, born June 21, 1896, at No. 204 Coltart Square, Pittsburg, Pa. (2) noted, and instilled her faith into her chil- dren, whom she lived to see surrounded with comforts. She was a consistent member of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in every sense of the word. The five children were as follows: Sarah Jane, who married John Cold- well, resided in Armstrong township, and died in Young township; Catherine married Rob- ert Blakley (deceased) and (second) Samuel M. Knox; Margaret married William Dean, and both are deceased; John married Martha Forsythe and passed all his life on the home farm (both are deceased) ; Matthew H. is Susan Elizabeth, born Dec. 20, 1866, married mentioned below.

Matthew H. Henry was born in the little log cabin on the homestead farm Aug. 18, 1838, five months after the death of his father. Though he never knew the love or devotion of a father he was tenderly cared for by a sac- rificing mother. His opportunities for ac- quiring an education were limited to the ad- vantages afforded by the local school, which was two miles distant from the home. He grew up on the farm and worked it with his the homestead in Young township. On June brother John until twenty-one years old, af- 9, 1897, he married Lyda M. Cribbs, who was horn May 20, 1876, and they have four chil- dren : Mathew Frank, born Jan. 29, 1898; Mary Esther, April 4, 1899; Ruby, July 13, 1901; John, Feb. 3, 1904. (4) Clark M., born March 12, 1872, succeeded his father in the meat business at Blairsville. (5) George H., born Dec. 19, 1874, is with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and resides at New Ken- sington, Pa. On April 18, 1900, he married Lola Belle Shaffer, who was born Nov. 11, 1880, and they have three children, who were born as follows : Albert Franklin, Jan. 22, 1901; Mary Elizabeth, Sept. 27, 1904; and Charles Matthew, Dec. 20, 1908. (6) Mat- thew Hugh Dean, born March 1, 1876, died in 1895. (7) Alexander Ross, born Nov. 13, ter which he spent two years with his widowed sister, Mrs. Blakley, in Young township, op- erating her farm. Returning to the home- stead, he farmed that place with his brother John for one year, and then settled on the Alexander Gilmore farm (in Young town- ship), where for a period of thirty-eight years he was engaged in general agriculture and stock raising. During twenty-five years of this time he was a dealer in all kinds of live stock, buying in western Pennsylvania and finding a market in Philadelphia and other near-by places. He shipped a carload of stock each week for a period of three years. In 1901 he retired from farming and located in Blairsville, where for five years he was

Dr. Albert S. Kaufman, of New Kensington, Pa., born June 11, 1869, and they have had a family of eight children, namely: Mary M., born Aug. 5, 1893; Albert R., Sept. 5, 1895; Grace Elizabeth, July 5, 1898 (died Feb. 21, 1900) ; Anna Bell, Nov. 25, 1900; Ruth D., Feb. 28, 1903 (died Ang. 23, 1905) ; Helen, Oct. 13, 1905; Elanor Louise, June 8, 1908; Lois Caroline, Dec. 9, 1910. (3) Wil- liam Lowman, born Sept. 20, 1869, resides on

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IIISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

1879, is a contractor and builder in Los An- time, but finally devoted all his time to farm- geles, Cal. On July 17, 1907, he married ing, becoming the owner of two farms, one Eartha Miller, of Los Angeles, and they have of 140 acres, and the other of 118 acres. The one child, A. Ross, Jr., born April 17, 1912. (8) Robert S., born Jan. 20, 1882, is engaged with his brother Clark M. in the meat busi- ness. first farm he sold before his death, which oc- curred while he was living with his son Dan- iel, who cared for him in his declining years. His remains were laid to rest in Saltsburg cemetery.

Mr. Henry married for his second wife, July 5, 1901, Sybilla Kells, who was born in Livermore, Pa., daughter of Robert and Mary (Cunningham) Kells, and widow of John Fer- guson, who died May 22, 1895. He is fully mentioned elsewhere in this work.

KEELY is an honored name in Indiana county, where many of its representatives are to be found occupying positions of trust and responsibility in the various communities to which they have scattered. The family his- tory is interesting and in brief is as follows: · Daniel Keely, grandfather of Daniel Keely and great-grandfather of James Milton Keeley, both respected residents of Cone- maugh township, was a native American, who lived for a time in Ligonier Valley, but later moved to Conemangh township, settling near the salt works on the township line, upon a farm which he purchased (now owned by a Mr. McBride and known as the Saltsburg Ex- tension). Daniel Keely followed farming all his long and useful life. He was buried in the Saltsburg cemetery. He married Jane Ed- dings, who was born near Poke Run Church, in Westmoreland county, Pa., and the chil- dren born to them were as follows: John, who married Nancy Watson, was a tanner by trade, and lived near Boiling Springs, Arm- strong Co., Pa .; Samuel is mentioned below ; Hannah married Joe Anderson, a hotel-keeper of Saltsburg; Eliza married John Kipp; An- nie married a Mr. Kennedy; Mary married Henry McKallip, a merchant of Leechburg; Jane married Samuel Culp, a carpenter; Al- ice married John Imon, a farmer; Susan mar- ried Thomas Gleason, a farmer; Amanda mar- ried James Wyatt, an oil developer and farm- er of Crooked Creek, Armstrong county.

Samuel Keely, son of Daniel Keely, was born in 1807, and died in 1882. His birth occurred in what is now known as Saltsburg Extension, Conemaugh township, near the salt works, and he remained with his parents on the farm, later taking charge of the property. He also engaged with Samuel M. Kier, owner of canal boats, and became captain of a sec- tion boat, which ran from Philadelphia to Pittsburg, over the mountains. Mr. Keely was also employed in the salt works for some vanced in character, for he is a practical man,

Samuel Keely married Jane E. Barber, who was born in 1822, and died in 1908, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Barber) Barber. Eighteen children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Keely, but thirteen of them died in infancy, the others being: Daniel; Sarah Elizabeth, who married Isaac Barber, a re- tired oil worker and rural mail carrier of Paulton, Westmoreland Co., Pa .; John, who married Matilda Couch, and is in the oil busi- ness at Pleasantville, Pa., owning thirty-five oil wells: William N., a farmer, living in Nebraska ; and Samuel H., who married Ma- tilda Whatt, mentioned below.

A man of quiet, unostentatious manner, devoted to his family, and a hard worker, Samuel Keely was a most estimable citizen. and a credit to his locality, as well as to his name. He did much to advance agricultural interests in Conemaugh township, and always was willing to try new methods, although many ideas now generally accepted were not thought of in the days of his activity. Trying to practice the Golden Rule in his everyday life, he had developed into a fine character. and earned and held public esteem, although he did not aspire to come before the people as a candidate for office. Such men as he are rare in these days of self-advancement, and his memory is tenderly cherished by his family and by many friends as well, and his example is held up to the rising generation as one to follow, for such a life leads to honor and prosperity.

DANIEL KEELY, son of Samuel Keely, and grandson of Daniel Keely, was born Nov. 12, 1842, on the homestead that his father and grandfather owned. He attended the local schools during the winter, and in the sum- mer, as was the custom, worked on the farm. In 1867 the family moved to his present farm, on which he and his father built the present residence. This was completed and ready for occupancy in the fall of 1867, and they then turned their attention toward the erection of suitable barns and outhouses. The property comprises 116 acres, all of which is operated by Mr. Keely, as a general farmer and stock raiser. His methods are recognized as ad-

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HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

one who realizes that farming does not stand Vandergrift, Pa .; Jane, who married Charles still any more than any other line of busi- Shields; and Myrtle, who is unmarried. ness, and that the man who succeeds is the Mr. Keely has always endeavored to live one who is willing to get out of a rut and use up to his best ideals, and has endeared him- every means at hand to further his ends. His self to all who know him. Never desiring home is beautifully located on the brow of a public life, he has spent his strength in ear- hill, so that there is a magnificent view of ing for his own, and his prosperity has been the Conemaugh and Kiskiminetas rivers. attained through hard, earnest effort, for he has had no outside assistance. His children have been carefully reared to honor their parents and obey the laws, and they have de- veloped into noble men and women, who are the pride of their parents, and substantial citizens of their neighborhoods.

In 1868 Mr. Keely married Margaret Sweeney, by whom he had two children: Mar- garet Jane, who died in infancy ; and Annie, who married Harvey MeClellan, and is now deceased. Mr. Keely's second marriage was to Ruth A. Johnson, by whom he has the following children: William, engaged as a roller in a tin plate mill at New Castle, Pa., married a Miss Waddle and resides in New Castle; Julia married Robert Woodend, cap- tain of a company of the Pennsylvania Na- tional Guard; Emma R. married John C. Frampton, who works in a tin plate mill at New Castle; Samuel B., a teamster, married Martha V. Richards; Roy D. married Mar- garet Weinell; Jennie is at home; Eugenia is at home; Olie is at home.

Mr. Keely is an independent Democrat, and has been active in township affairs, serving on the election board all of his mature life. For nine years he was road supervisor, serv- ing as such with William Bert, Isaac Mc- Laughlin and Thomas Hughes when the ma- cadamized road from Saltsburg to Clarksburg was built, and feels proud of that monument to his enterprise and public spirit. He be- longs to the Presbyterian Church, and is active in its good work. It is difficult to express in so brief a record all that such a man as Mr. Keely has become, has accom- plished. Not only is he a good farmer and business man, but he has developed into the best kind of citizen, one who places public interest before private gains, and whenever he has been in office has given his constitu- ents conscientious service and handled public affairs wisely and capably.

Samuel H. Keely, son of Samuel Keely and grandson of Daniel Keely, was for years a well-known farmer of Young township, this county. While residing in that township he rented land upon which he farmed during earlier years. Eventually, however, he bought the farm upon which he still resides with his wife, and is one of the substantial agricul- turists of the county.

JAMES MILTON KEELEY, dairyman of Cone- maugh township, was born Jan. 14, 1875, son of Samuel H. and Matilda (Whatt) Keeley, at White station, in Conemangh township. Growing up at home, he received a common school training at Sloan's school house. After leaving school he engaged with Ira C. Ewings, a merchant, of Avonmore, Westmoreland Co., Pa., and remained with him for eighteen months. Following that he went to work for J. C. Moore, a hardware dealer, of Saltsburg, and remained with him for another eighteen months. His next position was with P. H. Laughlin & Co., proprietors of the steel mill in Conemaugh township, and he rose to be a sheet roller. Mr. Keeley remained with that firm for over fifteen years, gaining their full confidence, and left them only when the busi- ness was closed. However, as good a work- man as he had no difficulty in placing himself, and he engaged with W. L. Ray, at Adri. Conemaugh township, operating and eropping his farm for two years. Mr. Keeley then bought the J. O'Neil farm of 136 acres, for coming of a long line of agriculturists he is naturally fitted for farming, and since July 15, 1910, when he went on his property, he has developed into one of the most enterprising farmers and dairymen of his township. He keeps about twenty cows, and retails his milk in Saltsburg. His farm is located one mile outside of Saltsburg, so that he is convenient- ly situated for the successful prosecution of his dairy business. As his product is of the best quality, and produced according to the latest sanitary methods, he sells to the best trade in his field of operations. In addition to his herd of cattle Mr. Keeley raises con- siderable stock, including several horses each year, which he sells to the market. His buildings are models of cleanliness and neat- ness, and he is prond of the fact that the inspectors find no fault with his arrangements.

He married Matilda Whatt, and they have had five children, as follows: James Milton ; Hattie Bell, who is unmarried ; Minnie Pearl, who married John Kennedy, and resides at Such a man as he does much to raise the

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HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

standard of excellence in the dairy business and consumers owe him a heavy debt for his conscientiousness and experienced conduct of his affairs.

Mr. Keeley was united in marriage with

John Hopkins, son of John Hopkins, was Eliza Jane O'Neil, daughter of John O'Neil, born in East Mahoning township in 1818, and who was born at Greenville, Indiana Co., Pa. there he grew to manhood's estate. Like his father, he became a farmer, locating on part of the homestead, which is now known as

Mr. and Mrs. Keeley are the parents of chil- dren as follows: Margaret Helen, Nancy Mary, Virginia Pearl, Ralph Kermit and Point Breeze farm and owned by William James Howard. W. Hopkins. There he erected a residence and made other improvements, carrying on farming and stock raising until his death, which occurred April 27, 1898. He is buried

In political faith Mr. Keeley is a Repub- lican, is now registered assessor, and has held a number of other township offices. He be- longs to the Saltsburg Presbyterian Church, in the cemetery attached to the Mahoning in which he is an usher, while for years he United Presbyterian Church, having been one has served as secretary of the Sunday school. of its organizers and a consistent member. A Republican, he held local offices and was a man of sterling integrity. At one time he was a school director and always a friend of the public school system. Like others of his family Mr. Keeley is a man of home instincts, and takes his pleasure in the midst of his family. IIis wife and chil- dren do him honor, and he is exceedingly proud of them, as he has every reason to be. The enterprise he has shown in all of his work demonstrates that in agricultural pur- suits he has discovered his natural calling, and his township is to be congratulated upon

John Hopkins married, in 1851, in East Mahoning township, Miriam Seroggs Work, who was born Nov. 12. 1825, a daughter of Alexander Scroggs and Margaret (Brown) Work. Mrs. Hopkins died April 1, 1864, and the fact that he has returned to it and to the is buried in the same cemetery as her hus- line of business which his ancestors found so profitable, for good farmers are rare and

more needed than any other kind of workers. 1854, a school teacher, who married Dwite H.

WILLIAM WORK HOPKINS, president of the Farmers' Telephone Co., of Armstrong. Jefferson and Indiana counties, is a lumber manufacturer and farmer of East Mahoning township, Indiana county, where he was born, on the Point Breeze farm, now owned by in May, 1881.

him, July 10, 1852.

The Hopkins family is an old and honored one in Indiana county, and is of Scotch-Irish extraction. John Hopkins, the founder of the family in this country, was a native of Ireland, and coming to the United States in 1791, located at Baltimore, Md., where he spent four years. He then returned to Ire- land, but came back here in 1801, spent some time in Philadelphia, and then went to Adams county, Pa. Other sections were visited by him in a search for a permanent home, and in 1808 he came to Indiana county, where. conditions suiting him, he located in what was then Wheatfield township. After eight years he came to the northern part of the county and purchased a farm of 165 acres in what is now East Mahoning township, paving one dollar per acre for same, and there he spent the remainder of his life. dying in 1851, when eighty-one years old. In 1809 he married

Margaret Jamieson, who died in 1854. They were buried in the Mahoning graveyard, near Mahoning U. P. Church, of which they were members.

band. They had children as follows: Will- iam Work; Almira (Myra), born in June, Cole and lives in Nebraska; Alexander Mur- ray, born in February, 1857, a farmer of East Mahoning township, who on March 12, 1891, married Rosetta Hamilton, a daughter of Hugh Hamilton; and Margaret, born in May, 1859, who married Robert G. Work and died

William Work Hopkins was brought up on the homestead and attended the local schools, supplementing his meager educational advan- tages, however, with home reading and study. Working on the farm until eighteen years of age, he then began learning the carpenter's trade with his uncle, John B. Work, of West Mahoning township, who was located near Smicksburg. At first he received fifty cents a day for his labor, and after he became a journeyman his wages were one dollar a day. Completing his apprenticeship, he went to Pittsburg, where he received $2.50 per day. but later returning to Indiana county he lo- cated in Canoe township, and an opportunity presenting itself established himself as a manufacturer of doors, sashes and frames under the name of the Enterprise Lumber Company. acting as secretary, treasurer and bookkeeper of the concern. Eleven years later he came to West Mahoning township, and for

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Indiana County, Pennsylvania; her people, past and present, Volume II, Part 28

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