Indiana County, Pennsylvania; her people, past and present, Volume II, Part 6

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 6

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).

George Findley Mathews, son of Archibald, was born Aug. 19, 1815, and obtained his edu- cation in the subscription schools, such as they were. He worked on the home place and made farming his life occupation, operating a tract of two hundred acres where he carried on general agriculture and stock raising, also

Company, in 1894 returning to the old Find- ley farm where three generations of his fam- ily had lived before him. Here he has since devoted his time to general farming and stock raising, also dealing in stock and making a specialty of dairying, keeping twenty cows. He owns and operates two hundred acres, and by hard work has kept his property in first- class condition, being noted for his well- directed industry and thrifty management. Many up-to-date ideas have been put into practice on his place, which bears every mark of intelligent care. Mr. Mathews has inter- ested himself in local affairs, serving two terms as school director and three terms as clerk of the township election board. Politi- cally he is a Republican, though he votes in- dependently. His religious connection is with the Presbyterian Church, which he has served as trustee and member of the building com- mittee.

On March 15, 1888, Mr. Mathews married dealing in stock. He was an energetic and in Buffington township Louisa V. Clark, a progressive man, succeeded in his various un- native of that township, daughter of Thomp- son Clark, who was justice of the peace in Buffington township for many years. Six children have been born to this union : Jennie Rebecca, who married Frederic Knoepfle and now resides at Johnstown, Pa. (she graduated from the State normal school at Indiana and taught for four years prior to her marriage) ; Annie Laura, who was educated in the local public schools and at summer normal under Professors Campbell and Weaver, and has taught school for two years ; Lester Clark, now living at home, who was educated in the local public schools and at summer normal under Professors Campbell and Weaver; and Edith Adele, George Herbert, Jr., and Mabel, all at home. dertakings, and was a substantial and re- spected citizen of the township. His mother was devotedly cared for at his home during her declining years. He died on the farm Aug. 10, 1893, when a few days less than seventy-eight years old, and is buried in the family lot near the home. He was a member and trustee of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Mathews was married in Philadelphia to Re- becca Jane Mathews, daughter of William Mathews, and she also died on the farm and is buried in the cemetery there. Mrs. Mathews, too, was a member of the Presbyterian Church. She was the mother of seven children: Eliza- beth, who married R. B. Hamilton ; John Find- ley, who is on the homestead ; Jennie R., who died young; William, who died when two years old; Robert I., who died in 1900 at

Altoona; George Herbert; and Annie, who horough of Indiana, Indiana county, was born died young.

GEORGE HERBERT MATHEWS, youngest son of George F. Mathews, was born June 24, 1863, on the farm and grew to manhood there, at- tending the local public schools and later a commercial college at Altoona. In his early manhood he worked on the home place and also did considerable teaming, hauling bark, ties and other timber products. For some time he was engaged in the mercantile business at Buffington, this county, where he was post- master for eight years, and for ten years he was established on the Clark homestead in

ELMER W. ALLISON, druggist, of the there July 9, 1866, son of Robert W. and Nancy (Lewis) Allison. After taking a pub- lic school course in his native place he entered the State normal school at Indiana, and taught school some years in the county. He then entered the employ of Daugherty Brothers, an old established drug firm of that place, with whom he remained for a period of eight years, when, having become thoroughly familiar with the business, he commenced on his own account. He has been successful from the start, and has been conducting his own place for sixteen years at the present writing

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HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

(1912). Mr. Allison's standing as a business sons, and Jane and Elizabeth were the man and record as a good citizen of the com- daughters. munity show him to be a worthy member of a The first wife, Hannah Graham, died, and John Allison married Martha Taylor. They had three children : Samuel, who died in boy- hood; Martha, and Hannah. John Allison was married a third time, to Polly Ohara. family which has always been known for high character and usefulness. He has been par- ticularly prominent as a member and worker of the Presbyterian Church, in which he is an elder and Sunday school teacher, and for nearly thirty years has been a member of the choir. He has considerable musical talent and is endowed with a good voice, and his devo- tion to the church has been highly appre- ciated. In June, 1907, he was elected a mem- ber of the school board of Indiana, and is still serving. Mr. Allison's maternal great-grand- father, John Wilson, was one of the organizers and an elder of the first Presbyterian Church founded in Indiana, in 1807, and from that time continuously down to the present both the Wilsons and Allisons have been active factors in the welfare of the Presbyterian de- nomination in this vicinity.

On Oct. 26, 1892, Mr. Allison was united in marriage to Mary L. Tiffany.

The following account of the Allison fam- ily, "A Sketch of the Allison Family, Espe- cially the Line of the Compilers, Mary C. and James L. Allison, Aug. 21, 1906," shows the' line of Elmer W. Allison, brother of Mary C. and James L. Allison.

The line of descent of this family, of which the compilers are members, from Robert Alli- son is through John Allison, Robert W. Alli- son and Robert Wilson Allison, father of James L. and Elmer W. Allison.

Robert Allison, the great-great-grandfather, was a member of a family that fled from Scot- land during the time of the persecution of the Protestants. They settled in the North of Ire- land, and leaving there in 1750, came to

Robert W. Allison was born in Franklin county, Pa., Jan. 11, 1780, and he was twelve years old when his father built the first mill referred to above. The members of the family must then have been quite young when they moved from Franklin county. The sons of America and settled in Cumberland county, John Allison all learned the trade of their Pa. In 1752 he married a lady by the name father, that of miller. There was not suffi- cient grain to be ground to keep them busy all the year, so they farmed and " 'tended the mill" as occasion required. of Beckie Baird, a granddaughter of Charles Stuart, a descendant of the house of Stuart. Robert and Beckie had been passengers on the same vessel and formed an acquaintance at that time which resulted in their marriage two years later. The result of this union was six sons and one daughter. The names of the sons were Tate, John, Andrew, Robert, James and Thomas, and the daughter was Jane, wlio married William Hamilton.

John Allison, one of the above named six sons, and our great-grandfather, married Han- nah Graham. They had five sons and two daughters. Robert W., John, James, Andrew and a son that was killed when a boy were the

Before the family had been raised the father, with part of them, made a settlement on Plum creek, Armstrong county, at a place where the Altimus mill is now located. This place was not long in their possession, as the Indians drove them away. They took all their belongings that could be carried on the backs of their horses and fled to a fort built on the land now within the limits of Homer City. After the Indian troubles had quieted Allison bought twenty acres of land at the junction of Twolick and Yellow creeks, within the pres- ent boundary of Homer City. On this tract, and on the bank of Yellow creek, he and his boys built a "grist" mill, the first one con- structed in that locality, if not the first one within the bounds of Indiana county. All of the machinery and iron used in the building of the mill were carried on the backs of horses, on "pack saddles," from Franklin county, Pa. When this mill was worn out a new one was constructed on the bank of Twolick creek. The water to turn the mill was taken from Yellow creek and the "tail race" emptied the used water into Twolick creek. This latter mill stood just above where the present mill building now stands and near the place where the old "water power" mill stood.

It was while " 'tending the mill" that Rob- ert W. Allison became acquainted with a young girl, Mary Wilson, who "packed grists" to the mill and waited until the "grist" was ground and took the flour or meal home with her. This Mary Wilson was the daughter of John Wilson, a pioneer settler of Indiana county. He had moved to a tract of land two miles south of Indiana, on a small farm that had been cleared, a few acres only, by some one a few years before. This location was desirable on account of the natural

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HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

meadow land that was found along the run of Washington township, Indiana county, on south of Indiana, and which furnished hay Oct. 10, 1849. She was born Dec. 23, 1828, and pasture for the horses and cattle. This and died Nov. 2, 1892. Her husband, Robert Mary Wilson told us often that she and her Wilson Allison, was born Aug. 17, 1822, and died June 25, 1899. This union resulted in the birth of five sons and three daughters. sister hauled the hay from this meadow land to their home by means of hand sleds, during the winter, and hauled sufficient to feed the Mary Catherine was born Aug. 5, 1850. She stock, and that they did this until they had lives at the old home, formerly known as the sufficient land cleared so that they could raise their own hay.

John Wilson, with his family, moved to this 1879. farm at the close of the Revolutionary war, in which he had served for five years as a member of the "Washington Life Guards." He put in two winters at Valley Forge at the darkest periods of the war, and many times has his daughter, our grandmother, told us of their anxiety concerning his welfare and his suffer- ings and privations, accounts of which he had related to them.

John Wilson was one of the men who laid out the town of Indiana. The streets were plotted and marked among the trees and un- derbrush and for many years after the loca- tion was fixed there were few buildings. (Thomas MeLain was another pioneer who helped lay out the town of Indiana.)

John Wilson was a ruling elder and promi- nent in organizing the Presbyterian Church in Indiana. He was buried in the old Lutheran graveyard, but the grave is un- marked and its location is unknown.

The friendship that the young miller, Rob- ert W. Allison, had formed for the farmer's young lass, Mary Wilson, ripened into love, Robert Wilson was horn Dec. 30, 1858. He is a practicing physician of Wilkinsburg, Pa., having located there immediately after his graduation from Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. He married Martha, daughter of Samnel and Martha Kerr McElroy, of Wil- kinsburg, Pa., on Sept. 24, 1891. They have one daughter, Anna Lewis, born Nov. 5, 1894. and on Nov. 18, -, they were united in marriage. This young couple took up their abode in a cabin on the old Loughry farm, joining the Wilson farm, more recently known as the Allison farin, or the "Ortondale Stock Farm." They moved from that farm to one adjoining it on the south, known as the Banks farm, where they lived many years, and where Nancy Anna was born May 8, 1862. On our father, Robert W. Allison, was born and .June 20, 1888, she was married to Henry Turk, lived until he was eight years old. They then of Parkers Landing, where they reside. Their moved to the Wilson farm, where Robert W. children are Mary Allison, born June 16, 1892; died, on Nov. 2, 1857, aged seventy-seven John Howard, born Feb. 13, 1894; Elizabeth Gertrude, born Feb. 16, 1900; and Charlotte Lewis, born March 31, 1901. years. Grandmother, wife of Robert W., died at the same place, in March, 1863, aged eighty- five years.

John Scott, who is unmarried, and lives in

Robert W. and Mary Wilson Allison raised Indiana, was born May 8, 1862.

a large family of children, viz .: Robert Wil- son, John W., James, Martha, Hannah, Anne, Jane, Sarah, Elizabeth and Mary S., all of whom are now dead.

Elmer Watt, who is a druggist at Indiana, was born July 9, 1866. On Oct. 26, 1892, he married Mary Louise, daughter of B. B. and Josie Tiffany, of Indiana, Pa. Their children

Robert Wilson Allison, father of the writers, are Marion Estell, born Sept. 25, 1896, and married Nancy Lewis, daughter of James and Elinor Louise, born Feb. 23, 1904. Catherine Loughry Lewis, pioneer residents Elizabeth Gertrude was born July 6, 1870.

"Repine Farm," adjoining Indiana on the west. This farm was purchased by father in

James Lewis was born July 9, 1853, and is now superintendent of the public schools of Wilkinsburg, Pa. He married Anna Eliza- beth, daughter of James Harvey and Mar- garetta Rankin Bruce, of White township, near Indiana, Pa., on Sept. 19, 1883. She died on Aug. 29, 1910. They located in Punxsutawney, Pa., soon after their marriage, where Mr. Allison had charge of the public schools for nineteen years, or until he took charge of the schools of Wilkinsburg, in Sep- tember, 1902. Their children are: Mary Edith, born Aug. 28, 1884; Margaretta Bruce, born June 9, 1886; James Lewis, born Feb. 11, 1892, and Robert Wilson, born May 10, 1895.

David Milton, who died on the old home- stead, adjoining Indiana, on Dec. 20, 1906, was born Sept. 16, 1856. On Nov. 18, 1886, he married Elizabeth Hamilton, daughter of William and Hamilton, of White township, north of Indiana. They had one son, Edwin Hamilton, born Aug. 19, 1891.

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HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

She is married to Edward C. Green, of East married. They died, respectively, Sept. 17, 1843, Oct. 26, 1854, and Nov. 25, 1892.

Brady, Pennsylvania.

John W. Allison, son of Robert W. and Mary Wilson, married Margaret Hutchison. After their children were all born, the family moved to Clinton county, Iowa, where the par- ents both died. John died on April 8, 1867, ten years after locating in his new home. Their children, of whom Hutchison and Mary Jane died some time after they located in Iowa, are: Newton, Thomas, Clark, and others who are living some place in the West.

James S., youngest son of Robert W. and Mary Wilson Allison, married Lucinda Rice, of Indiana, Pa. Their children are: Robert Wilson, Elizabeth and Martha, who went with their parents to Clinton county, Iowa, in 1866. The children are all married and live in that section of the country, but the father was drowned in the Mississippi river June 19, 1895, and the mother died at Lyons, Iowa, since that time.

Martha, eldest daughter of Robert W. and Mary Wilson Allison, was married to James Johnston on April 20, 1836, and she died March 12, 1880, her husband having died many years previous. Her children were : James, deceased, who married a Miss Hill, and they have a family of children living in Center township; John W., who married a Miss Mc- Feeters, living, with a family of children, in Center township; and Mary Jane, who is mar- ried and living in the southern part of In- diana county.

Hannah, a daughter of Robert W. and Mary Wilson Allison, was married to Joseph White, of Center township, on Oct. 6, 1842. She died on July 4, 1881, long after her husband, leav- ing one son, William W., who married Jane Campbell, of Center township. They raised a family of children and William is living in Homer City.

Anne, a daughter of Robert W. and Mary Wilson Allison, was married to James W. Alli- son Oct. 4, 1848, and she died July 18, 1850, leaving a daughter, Anna Mary, who died in 1860.

Jane, a daughter of Robert W. and Mary Wilson Allison, was married to George W. Johnston, of Center township, on June 3, 1844. She died Aug. 17, 1847, leaving one daughter, seph D., who first married a Miss Harrold, Mary Jane, who married John Feit. She died, leaving one son, George J. Feit, of Indiana, Pennsylvania.

James, son of John and Hannah Graham Allison, married a Miss McCracken. They spent their lives on a farm in Center town- ship, where they reared their family, of whom Nancy married Joshua Reed and is living in Homer City; Joshua married Elizabeth Fair and they with their four children are living in Kansas; Robert married a Miss Alexander, and they with their one child are living in Homer City.

John, son of John and Hannah Graham Al- lison, married Jane Henry. They spent their entire lives on the farm in Center township, where some of their children reside. Their son, John H., married Sarah Fair, and they spent their lives on a farm adjoining that of the father until the death of the husband, but the wife is still living there with two un- married daughters, Flora and Hattie. Walter, their eldest son, is married and living in Kan- sas; Robert Orr, their second son, married Catherine Wilson, and they live on a farm in Center township, they having raised a family of thirteen; the youngest son, James H., married Elizabeth Johnston, and, with one daughter, Belle, they are living in Indi- ana.

Isabelle, daughter of John and Jane Henry Allison, was married to Jackson Miller, of Center township. They had one daughter and two sons.

Mary Jane, daughter of John and Jane Henry Allison, was married to France, of Bolivar, Pennsylvania.

Andrew, son of John and Hannah Graham Allison, went "West," as it was then known, and his history is not known.

Jane Delia, daughter of John and Hannah Graham Allison, was married to William Dickie. They lived on a farm in White town- ship, where their children, George, Lavinia, Elizabeth, Hannah, Mary, James and Ursula, were reared.

George, son of William and Jane Allison Dickie, married Jane Dixon. They had five children : William, married to a Miss Fair, and living in Blacklick township (have two daughters and one son) ; Nancy, married to .J. H. Ogden, of Homer City (two sons) ; Jo-

who died leaving two daughters, Mrs. Elmer Campbell, of Indiana, Pa., and Jennie (de- ceased), and (second) Jennie Campbell, they

Sarah, Elizabeth and Mary S., daughters having three daughters, Pearle (married to of Robert W. and Mary Wilson Allison, never J. T. Henry, Blairsville, Pa., and has chil-

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HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

dren), Mabel (married to Clarence Smith, In- he married again and is living in Iowa; Mor- diana, Pa.) and Esther (at home with her ris M., who married Irene Stear, of Smicks- parents in Indiana). burg, now deceased, has two sons and is liv-

and died leaving no children.

George C. Dickie married Margaret Ann Johnston, and lives in Indiana, Pa. Their children are: Clark, a dentist, of Vander- grift, Pa .; Laura, married to Dr. Nix, living at Wehrum, Pa .; the mother of one child; and Belle, Mrs. Glen, of Vandergrift, Pa., who has one child.

Lavinia, daughter of William and Jane Al- lison Dickie, was married to Jacob Kaufman, of Center township. Of their children, James married Miss Mikesell; Banks married Miss Boyer; Nannie died, and Jane married John Baker. Those married have children.

Hannah, daughter of William and Jane Al- lison Dickie, was married to T. B. Allison, of Marchand, Pa. Of their children, Jane mar- ried Samuel Brown, their children living about Marchand; Nancy married T. B. McComb, Marchand, and their one daughter is married to Dr. Miles Grube, Lindsey, Pa .; Nancy was married a second time to Robert St. Clair, late of Denver, Colo., she having died before her husband, and they left some children : David B. married first Jemima Coulter, and second Mrs. Laura Hamilton.

Elizabeth, daughter of William and Jane Allison Dickie, married John McMullin, who moved to Illinois. They had two sons.

Mary, daughter of William and Jane Al- lison Dickie, was married to Samuel Ray, of Armstrong township. Of their children, Rich- ard married Miss Anderson, and had three sons and one daughter; George married Miss Jefferson. Young; and Jane married Robert Johnston.

James, son of William and Jane Allison Dickie, went to California in the excitement of '49, and died there.

Ursula, daughter of William and Jane Alli- son Dickie, married a minister by the name of Jordon, and they moved South before the war.

Elizabeth Dickie married Frank Brosky, ing in Sibley, Iowa (he married a second time) ; Emma is married to Dr. O. K. Moore, of Knox, Pa., and they have the following children, Allie (married, has two children), Freda, Mamie, Charlie and Otis, at home; Anne, married to Joseph Strattan, of Strat- tanville, is living with their family at that place; Winfield Scott married Carrie Strat- tan, of Strattanville, and was killed a few years ago, leaving Otis, Howard, Guerney, Morris, John and Rose, all at home with their mother in Indiana, Pennsylvania.

Jane is a teacher of music at Indiana, Penn- sylvania.

Martha, daughter of John and Martha Tay- lor Allison, was married to a Mr. Hendrick- son, of Homer City. Of their children, Will- mina married Rev. John Flickinger; Pemelia married William McKissen, of Homer City, and died leaving one daughter; Elizabeth, de- ceased, was not married; Samuel married a Miss Boyd, and they live along the W. P. railroad.

Hannah, daughter of John and Martha Tay- lor Allison, was married to Richard Peddi- cord, of Center township. She lived to a ripe old age, and of her children Mary Ann mar- ried William Hill, of Homer City, and they have a family ; Amanda married James Flick- inger, of Homer City, and they have a family ; Sarah married a Mr. MeMasters, and they have a family ; Hannah married Albert Jami- son and has a family; Clara and T. Benton, unmarried, are living in Virginia; and

LEARD. The Leards of Blacklick town- ship, Indiana county, are one of the best known among the pioneer families of their part of Pennsylvania. The family is of Scotch origin, but for generations the home of this branch has been in the North of Ireland, where Zachariah Leard, the founder of the line in Indiana county, was born and grew to manhood. There he married Judith Elliott, and with their family they left their native land in February, 1796, coming to America. Proceeding across Pennsylvania to the west of the Allegheny mountains, they settled in what is now Young township, Indiana county, on a farm near Ebenezer Church, establishing a permanent home there, where the parents passed the remainder of their lives. Mr. Leard followed farming. He died on his farm

Elizabeth, daughter of John and Hannah Graham Allison, was married to Michael Trainer, of Clarion county, Pa. They had five children, of whom the compilers knew nothing except of John, who married Caro- line Burnham and raised their family on a farm near Strattanville, Pa. The wife is liv- ing. Of their children, James married a lady in Chicago, but he lived only a few years after his marriage; John Core married Blanche Smith, of Strattanville, but she lived only a short time after their marriage, and about 1820, and was buried in the cemetery of

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HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, of which ert Smith, and by that union there were six he was a faithful member. His wife sur- children : Elenor, who is buried in Ebenezer cemetery; William, a machinist, who is now living retired in Blacklick township; Jane, de- ceased; John, deceased, who is buried in Mis- souri (he was married) ; Sarah, who died at the age of eighteen years; and James, who died in boyhood. The mother of these chil- dren died on the farm, and is buried in Eben- ezer cemetery. vived him several years, dying about 1826, and is buried beside him. She, too, was a member of the Ebenezer Church. They were the parents of eight children, viz .: Mary, born April 1, 1785, who married James Hart, of Young township, Indiana Co., Pa .; Wil- liam, born March 31, 1788; James, born Nov. 2, 1790; Eleanor, born in Ireland March 20, 1793, Mrs. McCoomb; John, born in America May 16, 1796; Judith, born May 26, 1799, who married William Stewart, of Saltsburg, Pa .; Samuel, born Dec. 2, 1801, who died young; and Zachariah, born Oct. 12, 1807.

John Leard, third son of Zachariah and Ju- dith (Elliott) Leard, was born May 16, 1796, in Young township, and there grew to man- hood. Continuing to reside on the homestead until three years after his father's death, he then moved to Eldersridge, in the same town- ship, to farm the Robert Elder place for his wife's mother, Mrs. Robert Elder. He was on that farm until 1828, when he moved to Blacklick township and bought a tract of 226 acres opposite the village of Livermore. There was a log house on the property, and he and his family occupied it until 1836, when he built the substantial brick dwelling which still stands on the place. The bricks used in its construction were made on the farm. Other improvements were made on the tract from time to time, and as the land became cleared and available for cultivation Mr. Leard en- gaged extensively in farming and stock rais- ing, prospering throughout life. He died there in March, 1858, aged almost sixty-two years, and was buried in the Ebenezer Church cemetery. He was a faithful member of that church, and served as one of the trustees. In politics he was a Whig. He took a great in- terest in the local militia, in which he held the was married to Mary Ann Elder, daughter of Robert and Mary (Smith) Elder, and a de- scendant of one of the oldest families of Young township. Mrs. Mary Ann (Elder) Leard also died on the homestead, and is bur- ied in the family plot in Ebenezer Church cemetery. She was the mother of five chil- dren: Zachariah, Maria Ann (married Rob- ert Elder, of Livermore), Margaret (married David Morrow), Robert (married Nancy Jane Sterling) and Judith (died in infancy). For his second wife Mr. Leard married Jane Smith of Eldersridge, sister of John and Rob-

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Indiana County, Pennsylvania; her people, past and present, Volume II, Part 6

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