USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Memoirs of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, personal and genealogical with portraits, Volume II > Part 24
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MADISON B. LYNCH, the able treas- urer of the Port Vue bridge company, · was born at Mckeesport, Pa., May 2, 1879, son of David H. and Melissa (Allen) Lynch, a sketch of the former also being included in this work. Mr. Lynch re- ceived his early educational training in the splendid and thorough schools of McKeesport, and since has supplemented that training by a wide experience in industrial, financial and political affairs. Mr. Lynch is the present toll-keeper of the Port Vue bridge company, and fills that important position with ability. He has been and is now prominently identified with the municipal affairs of Port Vue, having served two terms in his present position as member of the borough council, in which body'he has made a fine record and has brought to bear upon borough matters the skill and ability with which his private affairs are directed. Mr. Lynch is a member of the Masonic fraternity, having; taken his degrees in the Youghio- gheny lodge, of Mckeesport, and'his political affiliations are with the republican party.
LEWIS FORSYTHE, late a resident of Coraopolis, was a native of Allegheny county, having been born at Peters Creek, Dec. 13, 1838. His education was obtained in the Lebanon school, Mifflin township, Allegheny county. For more than forty years he lived in Mifflin town- ship, near Lebanon church (of which he was a trustee for one term), near his birthplace, where he was engaged in farming. In this business he amassed a competency, and in 1889 removed to Coraopolis. He was married, in 1877, to Miss Delilah A. Willock, and five children were born to them, three of whom are still living at Coraopolis. One son is attending Curry college, and the other is employed at the slating and tinning estab- lishment of G. W. McBrier in Coraopolis. The daughter, Lucretia E., is engaged in teaching in the public schools. Mr. Forsythe's life was rather an uneventful one. He belonged to that class of
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whom the poet spoke as keeping the noiseless tenor of their way along the cool sequestered vale of life. Although interested in matters pertaining to the public weal, he never sought political preferment at the hands of his fellow-men, and the only office he ever held was that of supervisor of the roads of Moon township. In this position he discharged his duties with as much fidelity as though the office had been one fraught with importance and paying a high salary. At the time of his death, which occurred on June 1, 1902, he was a member of the First Presbyterian church of Cora- opolis. His death was mourned by a large circle of church associ- ates and neighbors, not as a man of great or public reputation, but as one of generous impulses and sterling worth.
JOHN BRENNAN, one of the earliest settlers of Braddock, was born on the Kyle Rue farm, near Kilkenny, Ireland, March 11, 1845. His grandfather, also named John Brennan, left the Kyle Rue farm to Thomas Brennan, the father of the subject of this sketch. Thomas Brennan came to this country in the sixties, and died at North Braddock in 1891 at the age of eighty-two. John Brennan, the subject of this article, received his education at the National school of the St. John's Roman Catholic church, and at the age of fourteen began clerking in a grocery, where he remained several years. In 1865 he came to America with his father, and, after residing a short time at East Dorset, Vt., they removed to Pittsburg, where the family resided on Washing- ton street. Thence they went to Spring Hill (now Wilmerding), and they were the second family to locate in that place, and became communicants of the St. Thomas' Roman Catholic church of Brad- dock, which was their most convenient place of worship. At Spring Hill Mr. Brennan worked as a miner, and for thirteen years was a heater in the steel plant of Edgar Thompson & Co., now the Carnegie steel works. In 1889 he engaged in the grocery business, and by fair dealing and strict attention, he has been very success- ful. In the same year that he engaged in the grocery business he was elected a member of the council, and was three times re-elected without opposition. A short time after the beginning of his fourth term he was compelled to resign because of changing his residence.
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His faithful services as councilman marked him as a man deserving further honors, and in February, 1901, he was chosen burgess of the borough by a large majority. Mr. Brennan was married, Aug. 15, 1874, to Alice, daughter of Charles and Hannah Sweeny, of Braddock. He and his wife live in a beautiful home at the corner of Fourth and Mills streets. They are members of the St. Thomas' Roman Catholic church of Braddock. In political belief Mr. Brennan has always been a democrat.
JOHN M. CLIFFORD, real estate and insurance agent at No. 721 Braddock Ave., and vice-president of the Citizens' bank of Braddock, was born in Ligonier, Westmoreland county, April 9, 1860. His father, Christopher Myers Clifford, was the son of Edward and Christiana (Myers) Clifford, whose parents were early settlers in Westmoreland county, and his mother, Susanna (McElroy) Clifford, was the daughter of John and Sarah McElroy, also early settlers in that region. John M. Clifford was educated in the schools of his native town, taught school for three terms, and then served for four and one-half years as freight and passenger clerk at Irwin, for the Pennsylvania railroad company. On July 1, 1887, he was transferred from Irwin to Braddock, and was appointed passenger and freight agent, and agent for the Adams express company in Braddock for eight and one-half years. In 1895 he opened a real estate and insurance business, in company with T. G. Aten, under the firm name of Aten & Clifford, and on Jan. 1, 1902, he bought out Mr. Aten's interest. Mr. Clifford's office is centrally located on Braddock avenue, next to the city hall, and is elegantly fitted up. Mr. Clifford was married, in 1883, to Cornelia F., daughter of Abner and Susan (Snodgrass) Cort, and granddaughter of Joseph Cort, an early settler near Irwin. Of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Clifford, John M., Jr., attended the Braddock and Edgewood schools, graduated from the high school and Duff's college in Pittsburg, and is now associated in business with his father, and is assistant cashier of the Citizens' bank of Braddock, Pa. ; Frederick C. graduated from Duff's college with the class of 1903; Gertrude is a freshman in the Edgewood high school, and Alan G., George Edward and Marion are younger chil-
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dren attending the Edgewood schools. Mr. Clifford is a member of Orient lodge, No. 590, F. and A. M., of Wilkinsburg; Shiloh chapter, No. 257, R. A. M. ; Tancred commandery, No. 48, Knights Templars, and of Mystic Shrine, Syria temple, of Pittsburg, Pa .; Pittsburg, No. 11, B. P. O. E .; Royal Arcanum, of Wilkinsburg, and Knights of Maccabees, of Wilkinsburg. He and his family are members of the Presbyterian church of Edgewood, Pa. In politics Mr. Clifford is a republican.
GEORGE W. FORSYTHE, a popular Natrona druggist, justice of the peace there, and one of the foremost citizens of that place, was born in Butler county, Pa., Jan. 9, 1859, and when a boy attended the common and select schools, and the academy at Sharpsburg, which was con- ducted by the Rev. Alexander Calvert. His education completed, he taught school four years, studied medicine for a time with Dr. F. V. Brooks, of Evans City, and after that took up pharmacy. In November, 1881, he began in Natrona a long and successful career as a druggist. In politics a republican, he has always taken a keen interest in the affairs of his party, has served as delegate to various district conventions, and, in 1900, was delegate to the national convention which nominated William Mckinley for president and Theodore Roosevelt for vice- presi- dent. He was a leader in the Pittsburg delegation which urged Mr. Roosevelt's candidacy for the vice-presidency. Mr. Forsythe acted for fifteen years as tax assessor, was elected justice of the peace in 1897, and is now serving his second term in that office. He is clerk of the township commissioners of Harrison township. He was one of the organizers of the First National bank of Natrona and the Tarentum savings fund and loan associa- tion, and is one of the board of directors of the latter company. He is also a director and stockholder in the J. H. Baker manufac- turing company and the Hamilton coal company. On Sept. 1, 1881, Mr. Forsythe married Miss Mary M. Liken, a native of But- ler county, and has three children, O. Lloyd F., De Lorma D. and Carleton R. C. Mr. Forsythe is a great-grandson of Patrick Harvey, a native of Ireland who came to Westmoreland county in a very early day, and to Butler county as early as 1791, where he
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spent the remainder of his days. He served there, in those hardy pioneer times, as a member of Brady's famous band of scouts. He married Miss Jane Burns, a Scotch lady, and they reared a family of three sons and eight daughters. One of the sons, Patrick Harvey, Jr., had a daughter, Annie, a native of Butler county, who married William Forsythe, grandfather of the subject of this sketch. William Forsythe was born in Ireland, but emigrated to America and spent the latter part of his life in Butler county. Robert Forsythe, father of our subject, married Mary A. McCracken in 1863. She was born in Scotland in 1846, and with her parents came to America in 1849, settling on a farm near Freeport, Pa. He was a carpenter by trade, but in later life devoted his attention to farming. In politics he was a republican, and held various township offices. With his wife and family, he belonged to the United Presbyterian church. The man whose name heads this article is one of a family of seven children, six of whom are living, viz. : Samuel N., John E., Lewis N., Robert A., Annie M. (now deceased), and Viola N. Forsythe.
SAMUEL D. MILLER (deceased), of Aspinwall, Pa., for many years agent of the Aspinwall land company, was born in Moon township in September, 1825, and was the son of a farmer. He was edu- cated in the public schools and at the Joseph Travella academy at Sewickley, and, when sixteen years of age, began to learn the carpentering trade with Bruce Tracy. He worked on some of the finest buildings in Sewickley, and was the first burgess of that place, and, in 1865, went to Oil City and engaged in the oil business for six years. He later constructed the waterworks at Oil City, Meadville and Olean, N. Y., and was superintendent of the build- ing of the Allegheny city waterworks. In 1889 he organized the Aspinwall land company, and was the agent of this company until his death in August, 1902. Mr. Miller was also the builder of the Aspinwall waterworks, and was one of the most prominent citizens of that portion of the county. He was married, in 1847, to Mary A., daughter of John H. Little and of his wife, Margaret Clark Little, the former mentioned in history as a volunteer cook during the War of 1812. Samuel Miller and his wife were the parents of
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eleven children, six of whom are now living and are : Samuel D., Jr., manager of the V. Q. Hickman oil well supply company in Pitts- burg; W. C., with a gas company in Ohio; H. G., manager of the Crawford gas company, of Granville, Ohio; W. F., foreman of the Standard oil company's shops in Oil City; Margaret L., wife of Samuel Chase, manager of an oil well supply company, and Ralph A., who succeeded his father as agent for the Aspinwall land com- pany. He was prominently identified with the Presbyterian church of Aspinwall, having been one of its founders and for many years a trustee of that institution. Ralph A. Miller, who succeeded his father as agent for the Aspinwall land company, was educated in the public schools of Oil City, for ten years was a clerk with an oil well supply company, and, in 1898, came to Aspinwall as assistant to his father. On the death of his father, he was appointed agent of the Aspinwall land company, and since has filled that position with signal ability.
HARRY ATWATER, the foreman in the finishing department of the works of the American sheet steel company, was born in the city of Mckeesport in 1861. At that time the population of Mckees- port was but little over 2,000, but the educational facilities were equal to any in the country, and in the public schools of the city young Atwater acquired a good, practical education that has been of great assistance to him in later years. Upon leaving school he obtained employment in the W. Deweese- Wood mills, now oper- ated by the American sheet steel company. His position in the works was a humble one at first, but his aptitude and determination enabled him to surmount all the obstacles as they arose, and promotion natur- ally followed. Step by step he was advanced until, for the last fifteen years, he has occupied the position of foreman in the finish- ing department. None envy him his success, for all know that it has been achieved through patient, intelligent efforts to further the interests of his employers, and that his promotion has come to him as a reward for meritorious service. Having risen from the ranks himself, he knows the capabilities of the men under him, the trials that they have to endure, and consequently there is very little friction in the finishing department under his guiding hands.
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WILLIAM CROSSLAND, a promi- nent citizen of Port Vue, Pa., was born in Mifflin township, Allegheny Co., Pa., May 1, 1856. He is the son of English parents, his father coming to America about 1849, and his mother with her par- ents when she was a child of four years. Her parents settled in Allegheny county, near Pittsburg, about 1838. When Mr. Crossland was five years of age he accom- panied his parents to England, and there remained for nine years, returning to America in 1870. The nine years spent in England were of little advantage to him, for at that time there was no compulsory education in that country and children were put to work at a tender age, he, when nine years of age, being placed in a flax mill as a half-timer, which meant he was to work half the day and attend school the other half, the manufacturer paying for the tuition. For two years he worked and attended school, when he was examined by an inspector in a cursory man- ner, declared to be of full age, and put to doing a man's work. About one year later, he quit the factory and began to work in the mines, and, with the exception of six months spent in a foundry, continued in that occupation during the rest of his stay in England. On his return to his native land, he continued to work in the mines, attending school when opportunity offered, usually about two months during the winter season. He finally succeeded in gradu- ating from the commercial department of Adrian college, Michigan. From 1877 to 1886, Mr. Crossland was prominently identified with leading labor organizations, particularly with the Knights of Labor, which was a flourishing institution at that time. He repre- sented District No. 9, which embraced the railroad and river miners, in the general assembly held at Cincinnati, Ohio, in Sep- tember, 1883, and has had close associations with other organiza- tions, fraternal and political. In 1892 he was a resident of Lincoln township, Allegheny county, when a part of the township was incor- porated under the name of Port Vue borough, and he has since resided at that point and held various elective and appointive offices in that borough. When the first election was held in the borough he was chosen a justice of the peace, but owing to the shortness of the term did not take out a commission. At the organization of the first council in the newly created borough he was elected clerk
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and ably filled that position until March, 1901. In the meantime, he served on the school board as a director of the district for three years and as president of that body for one year. In fact, Mr. Crossland has been more or less directly connected with every movement of importance in the borough's history, and in February, 1903, was again elected justice of the peace, an office which he is now filling. In municipal affairs, Mr. Crossland is independent, voting for the man rather than the party, but in national matters he usually votes with the republicans, though for some time he was an ardent prohibitionist, and still believes that civilization would be more advanced if the manufacturing of alcoholic liquors was prohibited. Mr. Crossland was happily married, in 1883, to Margaret A. McCracken, and they have had born to them five children, two of whom now survive, viz. : Mabel E. and George H. Mr. Crossland's father is still living, but his mother died in December, 1902. He also has five brothers and two sisters residing in Alle- gheny county, Pa.
WILLIAM E. JOHNSTON, M. D., of Etna, Pa., a well-known physician and surgeon, was born in Cranberry town- ship, Butler Co., Pa., Aug. 6, 1854, son of William and Sarah A. Johnston, the latter now residing with him. Dr. John- ston attended the public schools of Butler county and an academy near his home for several terms, during which period he taught in the winter months. He studied law for one year in Butler; with his brother engaged in the mercan- tile business at Hendersonville, Butler county, for three years; read medicine with Elder Crawford, of Butler county, for two years; entered the Starling medical college, of Columbus, and was graduated from that institution in 1882. He immediately began the practice of his profession at Etna, and since has been one of the leading physicians of that city, maintain- ing offices at No. 389 Butler St. He was married, in 1889, to Julia A., daughter of William and Ellen (Ramsey) Kennedy, of Etna, Pa., her father having come from Poland, Ohio, and her mother, a native of Wilmington, Lawrence Co., Pa., but now living in Sharpsburg. Dr. and Mrs. Johnston are the parents of four chil- dren: Leverne and Eleanor, attending school at Etna; Mary
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Elizabeth and Helen Margaret, twins, at home. He and his family are members of the United Presbyterian church, and he is a Mason, past master of his lodge, an Elk and member of the demo- cratic party. Dr. Johnston is closely identified with the Allegheny county, the Pennsylvania State and the American medical associa- tions, and takes great interest in all matters that pertain to his profession and its advancement. The ancestors of Dr. Johnston were originally from Londonderry, Ireland, came to America prior to the Revolutionary war, and his grandfather, Benjamin Johnston, was a soldier of the new republic in the War of 1812. Dr. Johnston was examiner for the pension board, a delegate to the Kansas City convention of 1900, and is now burgess of Etna.
J. WILL MARTIN, of Elizabeth, Pa., a prominent furniture dealer and funeral director, was born at Elizabeth, Oct. 15, 1873, son of Thomas W. and Margaret E. (Penney) Martin, also of Elizabeth, where his father established the present furniture and undertaking business, in 1869, and continued the same with uni- form success until his death, Nov. 6, 1893. His mother died on Dec. 30, 1886, leaving four children, viz. : Rev. Jesse P. and J. Will, twins; Thomas W., Jr., in the undertaking business with Thomas D. Turner, at Wilkinsburg, and John B., a valued employe of the Homestead National bank. J. Will Martin attended the public schools of Elizabeth until 1889 and was graduated at the Pittsburg academy in 1891, well equipped for the business of life. He then secured a position with John Murphy & Co., dealers in undertakers' supplies, and remained with that concern for two years, and, in 1894, assumed control of his father's undertaking business at Elizabeth, which he has successfully continued to the present time. He is also financially interested with his brother-in-law, Edward C. Finney, in the livery business at Clairton, Pa., where they enjoy a splendid patronage. Mr. Martin was married, on Oct. 9, 1895, to Ella D., daughter of Joseph and Arabella (McClure) Finney, of Lincoln township, and their home life is an ideal one. Mr. Martin and his wife are devout members of the United Presbyterian church of Elizabeth, to which they are liberal contributors, both financially and by personal efforts. Mr. Martin's father was an
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elder in the church for several years prior to his death. Jesse P., the twin brother of J. Will, is a United Presbyterian minister, having had charge of the congregation at Verona, Pa., but was compelled to give up active service on account of his health. Mr. J. Will Martin is a member of the Odd Fellows and the Heptasophs, and in politics is with the republican party.
GEORGE BAEHR, electrical engineer of the National tube company's plants at Mckeesport, Pa., was born in Breslau, Germany, April 11, 1870. His primary education was obtained in the schools of Breslau, and at the age of twelve years he came with his parents to America, attending for the next three years the Greene street public school, at Newark, N. J. He then entered the service of the Edison electric company, and while thus employed attended evening school, first at the technical school, Newark, N. J., and later at Cooper institute. After completing this course, he was placed in charge of the dynamo room and instrument gallery of the Edison electric telegraph company, first district sta- tion, at Brooklyn, N. Y. At the end of one year he was made inspector of the company's isolated plants in the city of Brooklyn, and soon afterwards was made superintendent of the underground department. While in this position he invented and patented a quick-break electric switch, and then started into the business of manufacturing his new appliance, and also in making switch- boards of a general character. He continued in this business for about three years, when he sold his interest and took charge of the repairs for the North Hudson electric railway company, of Jersey City, N. J. Three years later he entered the employ of the Crocker & Wheeler electric company, of Ampere, N. Y., where he had charge of outside construction, and continued with them until he accepted his present position at Mckeesport with the National tube company, where he has been for five years. Besides the quick-break switch, which has proved a successful invention, and which is still in use, he has invented a number of other appliances, both before and after entering the employ of the National tube company. In connection with R. C. Crawford, the auditor of the company, he patented a double-run lap weld furnace, which is in
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successful operation in the pipe mill. He also patented a flexible coupling, a lever type controller for electric motors, an electric booster system, a 300-volt ceiling cut-out, a motor, and an arc lamp. His father, George L. Baehr, was a sculptor of note, one of the most noted of his works being the monument of Victory, at Breslau, commemorative of the Franco-Prussian war. He died at Breslau in 1896, his wife, Emilie, the mother of George Baehr, dying at the same place in the same year. George Baehr was mar- ried, in 1891, to Hannah Isabel, daughter of W. H. Smyth, of Jersey City, N. J. To them four children have been born : Grace Emilie, aged ten; William H., aged eight; George L., aged six, and Mary L., aged four. He is a member of Aliquippa lodge, No. 375, Free and Accepted Masons; the Royal Arcanum, and the Ameri- can institute of electrical engineers, and is recognized as an authority upon all matters pertaining to electric power applications and lighting.
ALBERT G. SMITH, gardener on Neville island, son of Peter and Elizabeth Smith, was born on Neville island, Jan. 29, 1863, and received a common-school education. His father, Peter Smith, was born in Germany, and on coming to America, settled in Allegheny county. He was the father of five children : Henry, Elizabeth (deceased), Mary, George M. and Albert. Mr. Smith has in his pos- session the frame of an Emerson upright piano, a relic of the Johnstown flood. Peter Smith died on Neville island, May 5, 1876, in his seventy-second year, and his wife Oct. 31, 1894, in her seventy-first year. Albert G. Smith, subject of this sketch, was married, Feb. 14, 1885, to Miriam L. Cotton, and to them were born two children, Muriel V. and Albert M. Mr. Smith is a resident of Neville township, and has been connected with its government in an official capacity, having served as a member of the board of edu- cation and justice of the peace, which office he still holds. He and his family are members of the Presbyterian church, of which Mr. Smith is one of the trustees. Mr. Smith is an active man in his occupation, and a very prosperous gardener on the island. William Cotton, father of Mrs. A. G. Smith, was born in Mercer county, July 15, 1844; is of Irish extraction, and by occupation a farmer.
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