USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Memoirs of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, personal and genealogical with portraits, Volume II > Part 6
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MEMOIRS OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY
ANSON B. CAMPBELL, insurance agent at Mckeesport, was born in New Lisbon, Ohio, Oct. 23, 1837. He attended the public schools there until 1845, when the family moved to Elizabeth township, Allegheny Co., Pa. Here he attended the public schools, and afterwards studied two years at the Monongahela academy. Mr. Campbell then studied medicine for a year and a half, and, in 1861, gave up his books to join the Union army, as a member of Company M, 100th regiment, Pennsylvania volunteer infantry. This regiment was called by its commander, Col. Daniel Leisure, the "Roundhead regiment," after Cromwell's famous soldiers of that name. Mr. Campbell's war-record is a most creditable one. A short time after his enlistment he was elected second lieutenant, and afterwards became captain of his company. He was with his regiment at the taking of Hilton Head and Bay Point; moved thence to Beaufort, S. C., where he remained until May, 1862, and took part in the capture of a fort on the mainland, which was accomplished after a serious brush with the rebels. He then returned to Hilton Head, and from there went to James island, remaining on the island from June Ist to July 4th, and then came back to Hilton Head. From Hilton Head the regiment was sent by transport to Newport News, Va., and from there went to Aquia creek, and thence to Fredericksburg, stopping about four weeks at the latter place. The Roundheads then went to reinforce Pope in the Slaughter mountains, but arrived too late to be of service, and, on Aug. 16th, retreated to Kelley's Ford and crossed the river with the confederates close behind. Mr. Campbell fought two days at second Bull Run; then fell back with his regiment to Centerville, where they made a stand and remained over Sunday, and on Mon- day helped defeat the rebels at Chantilly. The regiment then marched to Washington, in August, 1862, stayed there one day, and then went into Maryland and took part in the battle of South mountain, on Sept. 14, 1862. Thence they participated in the battle of Antietam, and pursued the rebels to Shepherd's Ford, and then, having lost the trail, camped at Pleasant Valley until Octo- ber 26th. From there they went to Fredericksburg and took part in the battle of that name, on December 13th. At South moun- tain, Mr. Campbell was wounded twice, and, early in 1863, resigned II-5
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to attend the bedside of his mother, who died in March. His war service over, he remained at home until March, 1864, when, with a number of friends, he left for Idaho, the party making the journey by ox-team from Nebraska City until they reached their destination. He reached Virginia City in August, remained there until October, and then, with a party of sixty-five, started for the headwaters of the Yellowstone. Here they built thirteen boats, sawing the lum- ber with whip-saws, and started on a journey which no man had ever made before-a journey fraught with unknown perils and countless hardships. They went, first, 1,000 miles to the Missouri river, then down the Missouri to Sioux City, Ia., being attacked twice on the way by Indians. Mr. Campbell was married in October, 1866, and took a trip of a month to the East at that time. In the same year he began his long and successful career as an insurance agent. In politics Mr. Campbell is a republican. He was elected to the State legislature in 1879 and re-elected in 1881, and has served his borough fifteen years as a member of the school board, being secretary of the board thirteen years. In religion he is a Baptist, has been a deacon thirty years and fifteen years Sun- day-school superintendent. He is a member of the G. A. R.
HENRY FIRESTONE, a well-known Mckeesport merchant, was born in Austria-Hungary in 1864, was educated in his native country and learned the butchers' trade there. In 1881 he came to America, locating at Mckeesport, where he worked four years for the National tube company. July 2, 1885, he started for himself in the meat business at Nos. 340, 342 and 344 Fourth Ave., McKees- port. In 1886 he formed a partnership with a brother, S. Firestone, and the firm conducted a general merchandise business until 1898, since which time the subject of this sketch has been in business alone. Mr. Firestone is recognized as one of McKeesport's most able and energetic business men, and his career thus far has been most successful. Mr. Firestone was married, May 29, 1889, to Miss Ester Roth, daughter of Joseph Roth, men- tioned elsewhere in this book, and has seven children, Bertha, Edith, Annie, Rosa, Lillian, Henry and Ruth. The family reside in Mckeesport, in the fifth ward.
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LOUIS E. ROTZSCH, member of the select council of Mckeesport from the eighth ward, is a native of Mckeesport, born in 1873. He is a son of William and Earnestine Rotzsch, of Germany. Mr. Rotzsch was educated in the public schools, leaving school at fifteen to become a tube worker in. the National tube works. He remained at this employment seven years, then spent three years as a crucible steel worker in the Fort Sterling works, and in 1899 started in the liquor business, in which he has since been engaged. In politics Mr. Rotzsch is a republican, active in local party campaigns, and in 1903 was elected to repre- sent the eighth ward in the select council, receiving at that time almost the entire vote of the ward, but later resigned to become chief of police. Mr. Rotzsch is a member of the Mckeesport Turners' society and of Lodge No. 136, B. P. O. Elks, of Mckees- port.
F. W. WERNKE, of Mckeesport, Pa., the proprietor of the Wernke carriage and wagon works, was born in Pittsburg, Pa., in 1855. He is the son of John F. and Elizabeth Wernke, and was educated in the public schools of Pittsburg and in Iron City college. After leaving school, he was engaged with his father, who was at that time in the carriage and wagon business, known as the firm of S. W. Saward & Co., of Pittsburg, Pa. By strict attention to business, he acquired a thorough knowledge of the carriage and wagon trade. He came to Mckeesport, Pa., and with his brother, C. H. Wernke, started the business which he now con- ducts. In 1894 Mr. Wernke became the sole owner of the carriage and wagon plant, located at the corner of Jerome and Sheridan streets, which is the leading institution of its kind in the city. He is a member of the republican party, a Knight Templar Mason and also a member of the English Lutheran church. He is promi- nently identified with the commercial and social life of Mckeesport.
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CLARENCE E. SOLES, comptroller of Mckeesport, Pa., was born in that city Jan. 26, 1869, and attended the public schools there until 1884. He then entered the Maryland agricultural col- lege and graduated from that institution. Returning, then, to McKeesport, he was, until April, 1894, assistant postmaster. In that year he was elected by the select council of Mckeesport to the office of city clerk, a position which he filled most creditably for nine years. In the spring election of 1903 he was elected to his present position of city comptroller. In politics Mr. Soles is a republican, and in religion a Methodist. He is a member of Ben- Hur lodge, No. 3, and Lodge No. 375, F. and A. M .; also of Mckeesport lodge, No. 136, B. P. O. E. Mr. Soles was married, in 1893, to Miss Jeanette A. Lewis, of Mckeesport, and has one son.
THOMAS MOORE, deceased, for half a century a most prominent citizen of Mckeesport and other places in Alle- gheny county, also for half a century a Freemason, was born in Mt. Joy, Lan- caster Co., Pa., in 1818, and died in Mckeesport, May 10, 1898, after an illness of ten days, of inflammation of the bowels, the disorder being no doubt aggravated by the burden of nearly eighty years. Mr. Moore began his business career in a distillery at the age of eight years, and continued therein until he was seventeen years old, when he learned the coopers' trade. In 1838 he married Miss Mary Jane Wilson, of Westmoreland county, and shortly after- ward engaged in coal mining, and in 1842, after selling out his interest in this industry, bought a flouring mill in Possum Hollow, Allegheny county, from his father-in-law, and had just fully repaired the structure when it was destroyed. Mr. Moore then built a distillery on the same ground and, until 1860, produced the famous Possum Hollow brand of whiskey. In 1859 he had erected a distillery on First avenue, Pittsburg, which he operated two or
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three years, then turning it over to his son-in-law; but in a short time this distillery was converted into a pickle factory, known as the Heinz pickle factory, the plant now being used for the manu- facture of copper tacks. In the meantime, Mr. Moore again turned his attention to coal mining, buying the Wilson and Scott Haven mines, and controlling the output for a radius of twenty-five miles around his headquarters. In 1864 he organized the Youghiogheny Hollow coal company, the capital stock of which was fixed at $500,000, and of this company Thomas Moore was elected presi- dent and William Moore secretary and treasurer. The company, which was at that time one of the largest in the country, purchased 1,000 acres of land at a place known as Shaner Station, and the mines there sunk produced on an average 100,000 tons of coal annually, valued at the place of shipment at $600,000. In 1866 Mr. Moore bought back the Possum Hollow distillery, operated it until 1871, then tore it down and built a new one at Scott Haven, which he completed in 1872. About 1877 reverses occurred in the coal trade, and Mr. Moore suffered with the rest of the operators. In 1878 he located in Mckeesport, purchased land and erected a distillery, which is still in operation, with a capacity of from forty to fifty barrels per day. Connected with it is a warehouse in which may be stored from 40,000 to 50,000 barrels, this distillery being now operated by the heirs to the estate. In 1886 Mr. Moore re-entered the coal trade, bought a large tract of coal land at Manor Station, on the Pennsylvania railroad, but shortly afterward, meeting with a favorable opportunity, sold out. At one time Mr. Moore owned several vessels, which he utilized for distributing his output of coal among the ports of Lake Erie, but, always alive to business speculation, he disposed of these vessels for a distillery at Buffalo, N. Y .; after realizing from it a fortune in five years, reverses came, and he was forced to the wall, temporarily, as men- tioned above. In politics Mr. Moore was a democrat, and twice served his party in the State legislature. His religious views coincided with the doctrines of the Protestant Episcopal church, and at his demise he was a member of St. Stephen's congregation at Mckeesport. To the marriage of Mr. Moore with Miss Jane Wilson there were born six children, viz .: William, deceased; Robert J., deceased; Morrison R. ; Odessa, now Mrs. Fred Crabtree, of Mckeesport; Mrs. Martha Ament, of Shaner Station, and Mrs. Elizabeth Finch, deceased. The honored mother of this family, after a married life of fifty years, passed away April 22, 1889, deeply mourned by the surviving members. April 18, 1893, Mr.
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Moore again married, choosing for his second helpmate. Miss Elizabeth Heath. Hon. Thomas Moore was one of the most sagacious and enterprising of the native-born business men of the Keystone State. He was a man who was very fond of his home, and was at the same time charitable and public-spirited. He hewed his way to fortune, and died one of the wealthiest men of Mckees- port. He won for himself an imperishable name as a promoter of the coal industries of the State, and as a distiller gained a reputa- tion that extends through the length and breadth of the land. His mortal remains now rest in peace in Versailles cemetery, and his unspotted name has been left as a precious heritage to the sur- viving members of his family.
WILLIAM SIEBER, of Mckeesport, Pa., a well-known insurance and real estate agent, was born in Germany in 1848, son of Frederick and Mary Sieber, both natives and life-residents of Ger- many. Mr. Sieber was educated in the splendid schools of the Fatherland, and, on leaving school, learned the glaziers' trade. Four years later he enlisted in the German army, saw two years of active service, five years as a reserve and five years subject to call. During the period of his active service he participated in the Franco-Prussian war, and at the expiration of his term returned home and resumed the glaziers' trade. In 1881 he came to America, settling at Mckeesport and securing a position with the National tube company. He continued in the mill until 1887, when he went into the insurance business, and later added real estate. In 1892 Mr. Sieber returned to Germany on a visit to his father, and on his return to America resumed the real estate and insurance business, with his office at No. 312 Ringgold street, where he has a splendid patronage. He was married, in 1873, to Christina Schilling, who was also a native of the same part of Germany, and to them have been born seven children: Aggie, Alvin, Charles, Henry, William, Jr., Francis and Helen. Mr. Sieber is a member of the Heptasophs, the German Beneficial Union and the democratic party. Mr. Sieber has been a member of the German Protestant church of Mckeesport for fifteen years, and is also a member of the local Turners.
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JOHN JACKEL, SR., wholesale liquor dealer, of Mckeesport, was born in Germany in 1855; attended the public schools until his seventeenth year, and then came to America, arriving at Mckeesport in August, 1871. He worked for several years as a butcher at McKees- port, and in 1876 opened a meat market on Fifth avenue, near Market street. In the following year he sold out and returned to Germany, was gone six months, and during that time met and married Miss Agatha Nicholas, and brought his wife back with him to Mckeesport. He bought out his old business and ran it for several years, and then, in 1882, moved to the corner of Tubeworks alley and Fifth avenue, where he had erected a new brick building. Here he remained in busi- ness several years, then moved to a new location on Sixth street, and had a shop there four years, when, his health failing, he was compelled to give up business for a time. His final venture was in the wholesale liquor business. He started in partnership with William Denney, but at the end of a year, in 1894, Mr. Jackel bought out his partner's interest, and has since then run the busi- ness alone, his location being No. 411 Blackberry alley. Mr. Jackel and wife have seven children, all living: William T., John, Jr., Anna, Katherine, George, Fred and Albert. Of these, William T., the eldest, is in business with his father; John, Jr., has been with Edmundson & Hamilton in the dry-goods business for seven years; Katherine graduated from the high school in 1902, and is at home; George is in the grocery business, and Fred and Albert are in school. Mr. Jackel is an influential member of the German Protestant church, and has been president of the church for six years. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., the Heptasophs, A. O. U. W., German Benefit Union, and the Turners. In politics he is a republican. His home is in the fourth ward. Mr. Jackel, although loyal to his adopted country, retains an affection for his native land, made it a visit in 1903, leaving here on the twenty- fifth anniversary of his marriage, and after a most enjoyable visit with his mother, whom he had not seen for twenty-five years, and whom he found in excellent health, he returned home on October Ist.
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J. J. BEDELL, haberdasher and men's furnisher, of Mckeesport, and alderman from the sixth ward, was born in Finleyville, Washington Co., Pa., in 1871, son of Andrew and Elizabeth Bedell, both now deceased. Mr. Bedell came to Mckeesport with his parents in 1872, and was reared there and educated in the public schools. He left school at an early age to go to work in the National rolling mill, and then, at eighteen, started a men's furnishing business on Fifth avenue, Mckeesport. He is now located at No. 215 Fifth Ave., where he has an extensive patronage and carries a full line of goods. In 1897 he was elected to the common council of Mckeesport, and so pleased his constituents in perform- ing the duties of the office that they re-elected him for three terms. He served two years as president of the council. Mr. Bedell is a republican in politics, and is a leader in local party affairs. In religious belief he is a Presbyterian. Mr. Bedell and family reside in the sixth ward. Mrs. Bedell was formerly Miss Sarah Cherrington, of Mckeesport. Mr. and Mrs. Bedell have three children, Corineen A., Georgia A. and Themala E.
D. M. WHITE, of Mckeesport, Pa., a prominent contractor and real estate dealer, was born in Brookville, Jefferson Co., Pa., Oct. 27, 1860, son of Thomas and Margaret White. When only four years of age, he accompanied his parents . to Elizabeth, Pa., where he attended the public schools, and later began clerking in a grocery store. He went with his father into the carpenters' trade, and was so engaged until his twenty-third year. In 1875 the family removed to McKees- port, where he worked at carpentering until his twenty-sixth year, at that time taking up contracting also and continuing in that line until 1900. He embarked in the real estate business, buying, building and selling, and he has made a decided success of that vocation, being among the most prominent handlers of real estate of Mckeesport. Mr. White was married,
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on Sept. 12, 1882, to Marion Nesbitt, of Mckeesport, Pa., and they have the following five children: John A., D. Wallace, James Edward, Charles and Adelaide. Mr. White is an ardent member of the democratic party, and has served three terms as a member of the common council of McKeesport, despite the fact that the city is overwhelmingly republican. He was first elected to the com- mon council in 1898 for a two-year term; re-elected in 1900, and during that term served as president of that body; again elected in 1902, and his present term will expire in 1904. Mr. White's-con- tinued elections are great tributes to his political strength and per- sonal popularity, as democratic majorities are almost unknown quantities in that city. Mr. White is a Presbyterian in his religious faith and affiliates with the local church of that denomination.
JOHN A. GEETING, son of the late Isaac Geeting, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1846. He has had a long and varied career, being at different times a school teacher, lawyer, editor and public officer, and finally a real estate dealer. Mr. Geeting was educated in the public schools and at Farmers' college, College Hill, Ohio, after which he taught school for five years in Ohio and Indiana. In 1868 he went into the newspaper busi- ness, and was also admitted to the bar, practicing in Washington, Daviess Co., Ind. Mr. Geeting resided in Washington some twenty years, and, while there, took a prominent part in local political issues, and held the positions of justice of the peace, councilman, school director, city commissioner and deputy county clerk, filling the last-named office four and a half years. In 1888 he came to Mckeesport, where for four years and a half he was editor of the Mckeesport Times, and during that time wrote the editorials for every issue of the paper. He was burgess of Reynoldton in 1891, and clerk and water superintendent from 1892 to 1895. He then moved to Duquesne, where he purchased the Observer, and ran that paper two years. He was borough clerk of Duquesne one year. Selling out his business interests in Duquesne, Mr. Geeting spent three years in eastern Maryland, and then returned to Mckeesport, where he has since been engaged in the real estate business. He was at first associated with Gilbert F. Myer. Mr.
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Myer sold his interest in the business to Mr. T. D. Gardner. Mr. Geeting was married, in 1865, to Miss Elizabeth Bacon, of Hamil- ton, Ohio, and has seven children, four of whom are now married. In politics Mr. Geeting is a republican. His home is in the second ward, Mckeesport.
WILLIAM EVANS, of Mckeesport, Pa., a prominent citizen, was born in Pittsburg, Pa , in 1852, and is the son of the late John Evans and his wife, Jane. Mr. Evans was educated in the public schools of his native city, and during the Civil war sold papers to support his widowed mother, his father having died in 1862. At the age of eleven years, Mr. Evans began work in the Woods mill at Saw Mill Run, and four years later went with the J. Painter & Sons mill, in the thirty-fourth ward, Pittsburg. He re- mained with that concern until 1889, when he came to Mckeesport and went with the National rolling mill company, and since has been engaged with that concern, with the exception of one year spent at Homestead. For the past twenty-five years Mr. Evans -. has occupied the responsible position of a roller and is highly regarded by his employers. He was married, in 1875, to Mary Swearer, of Brownsville, Pa., who died on Jan. 20, 1903, leaving two children, John H. and Effie. Mr. Evans is a leading member of the republican party, and was a member of the school board of the thirty-sixth ward of Pittsburg. serving two terms. In 1899 he was appointed a member of the water commission of Mckeesport, and in 1903 was elected, receiving the unanimous vote of the city coun- . cil, and after election, was chosen president of that board for a three-year term. Mr. Evans is prominently identified with a num- ber of the leading fraternal orders, being a Knight Templar Mason and Shriner, a member of the B. P. O. Elks and the Hepta- sophs, and is a contributing member of the. Methodist church. Mr. Evans is a man of genuine worth, who has succeeded in the world by his own efforts, and is a striking example of what ability and energy may accomplish under a republican form of govern- ment.
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JOHN R. ROMINE, civil engineer, son of Charles and Clarisa Romine, was born in New Jersey in 1849. He was educated in the public schools and at Stockton academy, and then learned civil engineering, at which he has since con- tinued. He went to Missouri in 1870, worked there a while, and then was employed in various places until 1885. In that year he came to Mckeesport and formed a partnership with E. J. Taylor, under the name of Taylor & Romine. The partnership was dissolved in 1898, but the name continues. Mr. Romine has been successful in his profession and has had charge of various important engineering works. He and his wife reside in the third ward, Mckeesport. They have one daughter, Louise. Mrs. Romine was formerly Miss Mary J. Balliett, and was a daughter of the late John Balliett. Mr. Romine is a member of the Mckeesport lodge, No. 136, B. P. O. Elks, the Heptasophs and Ben-Hur. He is a member of the board of directors of the Mckeesport and Versailles cemetery association. Mr. Romine was borough engineer of Mckeesport from 1887 to 1889. In political belief he is a republican.
WESLEY C. SOLES, real estate dealer, now, with an interesting family, occupying a cozy and comfortable home at the corner of Penn avenue and Locust street, was born in Mckeesport, Pa., in 1848, son of Lewis and Catherine Soles, who settled in Mckeesport in 1830. W. C. Soles, whose name heads this article, was educated in the common schools; at the age of twenty he was attacked with the western gold fever, and made the trip by going in a small boat from St. Louis, up the Missouri river to the headwaters, or Fort Benton. After spending two years dodging the Indians and panning out gold-dust near where Butte City is now located, he returned to his native city and went into carpentering and contracting work until the spring of 1883, when he embarked in the real estate business, in which he has
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been very successful. His office is located at No. 507 Locust St., and is always busy. He is a republican, and was appointed in 1900 to take the census for the eighth legislative district. He is a mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity, a chapter member, a Knight Templar and a Mystic Shriner. He was married, in 1881, to Miss Emma Smith, daughter of Thomas Smith, of Wilkinsburg, Pa., and has seven children, namely: T. Frank, Eva L., Scott A., Charles W., Robert S., Louis C. and Cynthia Catherine. He is now and has been engaged in many of the business enterprises in the city.
ARCHIBALD D. MCELROY, M. D., of Mckeesport, Pa., a prominent phy- sician, was born in Westmoreland county, Pa., in 1862, a son of Samuel and Elizabeth McElroy. Dr. McElroy was educated in the district schools, which he attended until his fourteenth year, and then accom- panied his parents to Cleveland, Ohio, where he went into the converting department of the Cleveland rolling mill. Four years later he returned to Pennsyl- vania, attended the Ligonier academy for a term, and taught school for a session. - Then he went to Ada, Ohio, and there attended the university dur- ing the summer, taught in the winter, and was graduated in a scientific course in 1887. Returning to Cleveland, he secured employment in the mill for one year, and then went to Braddock, Pa., as assistant ticket agent for the Pennsylvania railroad, for sixteen months. Later he was a train messenger for the Adams express company for a year. Returning to Cleveland, he was employed in the mill for a short time, then took the civil service examination and worked in the Cleveland postoffice for six months. He attended the Cleveland homeopathic medical college, was graduated in 1893, and for a short time practiced in Cleveland. Subsequently, Dr. McElroy removed to Apollo, Pa., where he remained for three years, and, in 1897, came to Mckeesport, where he holds high rank as a gen- eral practitioner of medicine. He was happily married, in 1897, to Mary E. Jackson, of Apollo, Pa., to whom were born two children, Howard and Charles. Dr. McElroy is a member of the Royal Arcanum, the Junior Order of American Mechanics, Knights of Pythias, and the republican party.
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