Bios: L Surnames: Gresham and Wiley, 1889: Biographical & Portrait Cyclopedia, Fayette Co, PA
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______________________________________________________________________
Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia
of Fayette County, Pennsylvania
editorially managed by John M. Gresham
assisted in the compilation by Samuel T. Wiley, A Citizen of the County
Compiled and Published by John M. Gresham & Co. Chicago: 1889
http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/fayette/gresham.htm Table of Contents.
______________________________________________________________________
NOTE: "Brnv & Bdgpt" stands for "Brownsville and Bridgeport"
NAME LOCATION PAGE
Laing, C A Dunbar 443
Lang, George Washington 356
Larden, W M Nicholson 509
Leatherman, J G Georges 510 replaced by next listed bio
Leatherman, Joel G Miscellaneous 577
LeClere, W H Brnv & Bdgpt 283
Leighty, Z T Dunbar 443
Lenhart, G W Brnv & Bdgpt 284
Leonard, Edmund Menallen 357
Lewellen, Aaron Washington 358
Lewellen, J N Uniontown 193
Lewis, Ephraim Washington 359
Lindsey, R H Uniontown 194
Linton, R J Washington 357
Livingstone, George Stewart 554
Long, Kell Dunbar 444
Long, S N Connellsville 463
Longanecker, Dr W A Georges 510
Lyons, J A Springhill 285
p443
CHARLES A LAING, a coke operator of Dunbar, is a native of Ireland, born
August 20, 1837. He came to America in 1851. After his arrival in this
country, he located in Philadelphia where he attended school for a time.
He soon went to Livingston county, New York, where he attended school and
worked in a flouring mill.
In 1854 he removed to Pittsburgh where he was employed as a clerk in a
hardware store for two years. In 1856 he went to the Pacific slope in
search of gold, and for ten years he successfully operated in gold mines,
both in California and Idaho. While on the slope he made two trips
abroad, one to China and one to Central America. He was a pioneer in the
Idaho discovery of gold in 1862. In 1866 he returned to Pittsburgh, and
engaged in the flour and feed business with his brother, George Laing,
with him carried on business for one year when Mr Laing returned to New
York, located in Steuben county where he was engaged successfully in
farming for sixteen years. He sold his farm to the State of New York for
a location of a Soldiers' Home, came to Dunbar in 1883 and engaged in his
present business.
He was married October 29, 1867, to Anna M Gardner, daughter of Andrew
Gardner, the latter a native of Ireland. To their union have been born
four children: John H Laing, Mary A Laing, Maud Laing and George M Laing.
Charles A Laing is a son of John Laing, born in County Mayo, Ireland;
his wife was Sarah Robinson, daughter of Charles Robinson. That had born
to their marriage five children, besides Charles A Laing: John Laing,
George Laing, Mariah Laing, Catherine Laing and Sarah Laing. Mr Laing is
a member of the Pennsylvania Manufacturing Mining and Supply Company. The
headquarters of which is No 1004 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh. His brother,
George Laing, is president of the company.
p356
GEORGE LANG was born in Germany, Wurtemburg ober Lanningham in 1826. He
learned the wagon maker trade, and at the age of sixteen years went to
Switzerland, where he remained five years. At twenty one years of age he
returned to his native State to stand his chance of being drafted into
the military service. He was not drawn and immediately emigrated to
America.
He worked at his trade on Pine Creek near Pittsburgh for some years when
he removed to Belle Vernon, worked for Christian Amalong, and a year
later bought his employer out. He continued wagon making until 1850, when
he engaged in the livery business and continued in it up to the time of
his death, February 1, 1885.
Mr Lang in 1849 married Miss Emily McCrory, daughter of John McCrory, a
descendant of one of the early settled families of Washington county,
Penna. Their union was blessed with six children: Henry Lang, born March
8, 1850; Clara Lang, born may 19, 1852; Regina Lang, October 16, 1855;
Josephine Lang, February 25, 1857; Wilson Lang, March 22, 1862; Estella
Lang, August 15, 1869 (dead).
Mrs Lang, who still resides in Belle Vernon, is a descendant of the well
known Spear family that settled at an early date in Pennsylvania and
Kentucky.
Henry Lang, the eldest son, is a successful druggist at Belle Vernon and
was married in 1872 to Miss Frances Billitter, daughter of Jesse
Billitter and Margaret Ewing Billitter. Their union has been blessed with
six children: Woods Lang, Bessie Lang, Fannie Lang, George Lang, Edna
Lang, and Elsie Lang (the latter being dead).
Wilson Lang, youngest son, is in the livery business in his native town
at his father's old stand. He is an energetic and enterprising citizen
and has built up a successful business.
George Lang, deceased subject of this sketch, was an exemplary citizen,
and was a useful and consistent member of the Evangelical Lutheran church
to which he belonged for many years. He was a man who attended strictly
to his own business, and whose hand was always open to the wants of the
worthy poor.
p509
William M Larden, one of the most extensive farmers and progressive
businessmen of German township, is a son of William Larden and Elizabeth
Miller Larden, and was born twenty one miles north of Pittsburgh in
Canton township, Butler county, Penna, May 24, 1840.
His grandfather, Thomas Larden, was a native of Ireland, settled in
Butler county in an early day where he secured a large tract of land for
an iron dinner pot. His wife was of German descent.
His father, William Larden, was born in 1808 and is a prominent farmer
and a local Methodist Episcopal preacher in Butler county. An
abolitionist, he is now a strong republican. His wife was Miss Elizabeth
Miller of Johnstown who died about 1859.
William M Larden, on leaving school enlisted in 1861 in Company H, Ninth
Pennsylvania Reserves, and was in all the battles of the peninsula
campaign. He fought under Pope at the Second Bull Run and was honorably
discharged in September, 1862, from a hospital on account of disability.
For seventeen years after the war he was actively engaged in the oil
business at Petrolia, Penna, which he very successfully operated.
Subsequently he bought his present beautiful farm containing 250 acres of
choice farming land, richly underlaid with a nine foot vein of coal and
has several rich deposits of lime.
On July 12, 1864, he was married to Miss Martha Miller, daughter of
David Miller of Masontown. Mrs Larden was born August 19, 1843.
William M Larden brought the first registered short horn cattle to
Fayette county and is one of the county's most extensive breeders of that
class of stock. He is republican and an active member of the Methodist
Episcopal church. In the Masonic fraternity he has passed through lodge,
chapter and commandery and has taken the 32d or Scottish Rite degree.
He is a man of good judgment, clear perception and quick action, and has
honorably earned the competency he has acquired.
p577
JOEL G LEATHERMAN of Georges, one who is held in the highest esteem as an
honest man by all who know him, was born on the farm where he now resides
in Georges township, Fayette county, Penna, October 20, 1804, and is a
son of Rev Joseph Leatherman and Mary M Getzendanner Leatherman.
His grandfathers Daniel Leatherman and Christopher Getzendanner were born
in Maryland; they were both farmers in that state. The latter resided and
passed the most of his life on the banks of the Monocacy River.
His father Rev Joseph Leatherman was born in Maryland, removed to
Georges township in 1799, where he purchased from Richard Reed a tract of
land known as "Strawberry Ridge." On this farm now owned by Joel G
Leatherman are seen traces of a village founded prior to Anglo-Saxon
habitation. Tradition locates it a French village in 1730, and evidence
exists to warrant that it was an abiding place of the dim, mysterious
Mound-Builder. Joseph Leatherman was a German Baptist minister and a
democrat. He had two sons: Joel G Leatherman and one who died in infancy.
Joel G Leatherman was raised on a farm. He acquired the limited education
of his boyhood days and has spent a long and quiet life in farming and
stock raising in Georges township.
In 1824 he was married to Miss Diana Showalter, a daughter of Joseph and
Ann Showalter. She died March 27, 1866. Mr Leatherman is now living with
his adopted son Henry J Dougherty, who is also a native of the same
township. He was born in February, 1833, and is a son of James Dougherty
and Rebecca Jennings Dougherty.
His grandfather James Dougherty was a native of Ireland, and came to
America at the close of the Irish rebellion of 1798 in which he was a
prominent actor.
H J Dougherty was married in 1857 to Miss Drusilla M Field, daughter of
David and Rachel Field, and has two children: Alvin F Dougherty is
married to Miss Emma Kerline of Minnesota, and Florence M Dougherty
married E B Fast of Marion county, West Virginia, a dental student
attending his last course of lectures in Philadelphia. Mr Dougherty was
educated in the common schools and Waynesburg College and taught seven
terms of school. He is a charter member of Gallatin Lodge, No 517, IOOF
and a staunch republican. He lacked only twenty three votes of being
elected treasurer of 1887 of Fayette county. The county at that time was
democratic. Mr Leatherman has been a republican since 1856; he is a
member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and has always enjoyed the
entire confidence of his community.
p283
WILLIAM H LeCLERE, a popular and prosperous merchant of Brownsville,
is
a son of John Lewis and Mary Shunk LeClere, and was born in Brownsville,
Fayette county, Penna, February 2, 1854.
John Lewis Le Clere was bonr in 1808 near Paris, France, and learned
the
trade of a weaver. He lived in Paris until 1831, when he came to
Baltimore, and thence in 1832 he removed to near Brownsville. He engaged
in farming until 1847 when he entered John Snowden's foundry and worked
for twenty three years at boiler-making.
In 1870 he retired from work and since then has resided with his son,
William H Le Clere. J L Le Clere's first wife was Miss Barbara Rinecker,
who died in 1845, leaving three children. He married again, and his
second wife was Miss Mary Shunk, daughter of Simon Shunk. she died
December 23, 1875, and left five children: John M Le Clere, William H Le
Clere, Louis C Le Clere, George A Le Clere, and James B Le Clere. He has
been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church for forty years.
William H Le Clere attended the common schools of Brownsville until
he was fourteen years of age, when he entered the glass works and learned
the trade of a glass flattener, which he still continues to pursue.
In July, 1883, he engaged in the grocery business at the old Gabler
stand, corner of Market Street and Hatter's Lane. He has a first class
grocery. He established a furniture store in September, 1886. He carries
a large stock of furniture and is doing a very fine business.
He was married July 15, 1875, to Miss Eliza McClain, daughter of George
W McClain of West Brownsville. Their union has been blessed with four
children: Mary L Le Clere, Harry M Le Clere, Russell B Le Clere, and
William H Le Clere, Jr.
He is a democrat and served from 1885 to 1889 as a member of the town
council. Mr Le Clere is one of the live and successful businessmen of
Brownsville. Thrown upon his own resources early in life, without a
dollar of capital, he has by energy, perseverance, honesty and business
tact built up a very prosperous business in his native town.
p443
ZACHARIAH TAYLOR LEIGHTY is the son of Stephen S Leighty and Eliza
Hutson Leighty and was born in Dunbar township, Fayette county, Penna,
January 2, 1847.
Stephen S Leighty, father of Z T Leighty, was born in Dunbar township,
Fayette county, Penna, and now lives on a farm in that township on the
road from Vanderbilt to New Haven.
He was married twice, the first time to Miss Eliza Hutson by whom he has
nine living children: William Leighty, a physician in Kansas; Henry S
Leighty, an engineer in Illinois; Z T Leighty; Stephen S Leighty;
Margaret Leighty, wife of Milton Blair; Rebecca Leighty, wife of Joseph
Piersol; Anna Leighty, wife of Robert Rankin; Eliza J Leighty, wife of
Davis Woodward; and Agnes C Leighty, wife of George W Cox.
The second time to Miss Mary Hare of West Virginia. By the second union
he has three living children: Emma Leighty, wife of C A Guinn, clerk at
Vanderbilt; Ulysses G Leighty; and John Leighty.
Henry Leighty, the paternal grandfather of Zachariah T Leighty, was born
in Dunbar township, and was a very large landowner and farmer, having
owned several of the farms in the vicinity of Vanderbilt.
He married first time Miss Sarah Smith and had eight children: Henry S
Leighty; Jacob S Leighty; John Leighty; William Leighty; Frances Leighty;
Elizabeth Leighty; Daniel Leighty and Stephen S Leighty.
Henry Leighty's second wife was Widow Secrease, maiden name Varnes, of
Dunbar township, and by her he had five children: Joseph Leighty;
Christopher Leighty; Peter Leighty; Sarah Leighty; and Clarissa Leighty.
Jesse Hutson, maternal grandfather, was also a native of Dunbar
township, and was a farmer; was married to Catherine Oldshoe and had nine
children: Eliza Hutson, Nathan Hutson, Sophia Hutson, William Hutson and
John Hutson (twins), Jemima Hutson, Jesse Hutson, David Hutson, Wesley
Hutson and George Hutson.
Zachariah T Leighty was reared on a farm in Dunbar township, Fayette
county, Penna. He was raised and has always lived upon a farm. He was
educated in the common schools.
He was married twice, the first time to Miss Martha Murphy, daughter of
William Robinson Murphy from near Perryopolis; their children were:
Frederick Cooper Leighty, born December 17, 1872; and Melvinia Belle
Leighty, born August 31, 1874.
The second wife was Miss Anna Duff, daughter of Hugh Thompson Duff, near
Upper Middletown in Menallen township. Mr Leighty has always followed
farming and stock raising. He is an enterprising, straightforward
businessman and is a republican.
p 284
GEORGE W LENHART was born April 25, 1842, in Bridgeport, Fayette
County, Pa, and was reared in that town and attended public schools. In
the fall of 1862 he obtained the position of second clerk on one of the
steamers belonging to the Pittsburgh, Brownsville & Geneva Packet
Company, and held the position about eighteen months, when he was made
clerk upon one of the government boats running between Cincinnati, Ohio,
and Nashville, Tennessee, where he remained for about one year. He then
left the river then in 1865, engaged in the general merchandising
business in Brownsville, and continued at that for about one year, when
he sold out.
In 1866 he formed a partnership with William Chatland, in the
manufacture of crackers in Brownsville, the firm being "Chatland &
Lenhart." Their factory has the capacity for making fifty barrels of
crackers per day, and is well equipped for all the latest improved
machinery.
In 1875 Mr Lenhart was so unfortunate as to have his arm caught in the
cracker roller and so badly crushed that it had to be amputated above the
elbow. After this he took up the "general insurance" business, in which
he has been quite successful in building up a large patronage.
In 1887 when the natural gas was introduced in Brownsville, Mr Lenhart
was made secretary and treasurer of the company, and is at present
holding that position.
He has been elected once as a member of the Borough Council, on the
democratic ticket. He is a member of the Episcopal church and is a member
of the vestry. He belongs to the Masonic Order and the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows.
He was married March 8, 1865, to Miss Sarah, daughter of William
Chatland (his partner in the cracker factory). The have two children:
William (now in the real estate and insurance business in Trinidad,
Colorado) and Bessie.
He is the son of Leonard and Hannah Baldwin Lenhart, both born near
Fayette City, Fayette county, Pennsylvania. His father was for many years
a steamboat builder at West Brownsville, but removed to his farm in
Redstone township in 1860, where he now resides. Mr Lenhart's mother
died in 1858 at the age of forty eight years.
Micheal Lenhart, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was
a native of Carlisle, Pa.
Mr William Chatland, the father of Mrs Lenhart, was born at
Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, England, June 9, 1811. He was the son
of William C and Priscilla Green Chatland. His father was a native of
Meriden, Warwickshire, England, and died in 1819. His mother was born at
Brier Hill, Staffordshire, England, and died in 1814. At nine years of
age he was left an orphan, and his grandmother took him to raise. She
died when he was ten years old, and his Uncle Joseph then took him till
he was thirteen years of age, when he was apprenticed for seven years to
Daniel Claridge, a baker of Coventry.
After he learned his trade he went to London for three and one half
years, then returned to Coventry and established himself in business.
While there he married Elizabeth Manton, the daughter of William Manton,
a farmer of Berkwell. He came to the United States, arrived in New York
City April 20, 1844, thence to Pittsburgh, from there to Washington
county, where he remained till 1852, when he went to California, but was
compelled to leave on account of bad health. He returned to Washington
county, thence to Brownsville in 1854, where he has since resided.
He is a prominent Mason, has been district grand master for Pennsylvania
for fifteen years; district deputy high priest for Pennsylvania for
sixteen years; eminent commander of St Omer commandery, No 7, held at
Brownsville for many years. He is a member of the Protestant Episcopal
church, and a member of the vestry for a great many years.
p357
EDMUND LEONARD, a farmer of Menallen township, is a son of William
Leonard and Mary Van Ort Leonard, and was born near Bentleyville,
Somerset township, Washington county, Penna, June 8, 1825.
Caleb Leonard, great grandfather, was a native of England and died at
103 years of age. He came from New Jersey to Washington county, where his
son Daniel Leonard married Miss Lucretia, a daughter of Dr Jennings. They
reared a family of several children. One of their sons, William Leonard,
father of Edmund Leonard, was born in 1803, and was a farmer and a
Methodist. His wife was a daughter of Richard Van Ort. They had nine
children.
Edmund Leonard was educated in the limited schools of that day. His
first business was in saddle and harness making which he followed for
fifteen years then relinquished it for his present occupation of farming.
March 1, 1849, he was married to Miss Sarah, daughter of William
Hatfield, an associate judge of Fayette county from 1861 to 1865. The
have nine children: William H Leonard (dead), Howard M Leonard, born July
13, 1854, carpenter; Hickman W Leonard, born January 22, 1857, at
Pittsburgh; Ewing A Leonard, February 10, 1860, Pittsburgh grocer; Mary E
Leonard, March 26, 1862; William J Leonard, June 4, 1863, oil driller;
George McClard Leonard, August 13, 1864, carpenter; James T Leonard,
December 9, 1866; Jennie G Leonard, June 22, 1871.
Edmund Leonard is a pronounced democrat and has held various township
offices. He has been a member of Uniontown Baptist church since 1846, and
several years ago was elected deacon. He began life as a poor boy, but by
prudence and frugality has become a man of some means. He is an earnest
man and engages in any enterprise with a determination to win.
p193
JOHN N LEWELLEN, a native of Monongalia county, West Virginia, was
born March 8, 1837. He remained in that county until the age of nineteen
years, working on a farm from childhood until he went to his trade. At
the age of eighteen he came to Fayette county, Penna, and apprenticed
himself to his uncle, James Lewellen of Masontown to learn the
blacksmith's trade.
At the expiration of his apprenticeship, he was married to Mary Ellen
Bradley of Masontown, daughter of James Bradley. He then went to near
Morgantown and worked at his trade for three years carrying on a shop of
his own. From thence he removed to Mount Morris, Greene county, Penna,
and continued to work at his trade for twenty three years.
In 1866 he formed a partnership with his brother Colerman Lewellen and
engaged in the manufacture of wagons, buggies, carriages, etc. The firm
was Lewellen Brothers. They continued in business for sixteen years. In
1882 John N Lewellen sold out his interest in the business to Ben Clovis,
came to Uniontown and engaged in the carriage business with his sons as
partners. They still continue in the same business and have built up a
good trade and are doing good business.
John N Lewellen has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church
since his boyhood and is now an officer in the church. He has five living
children, two boys and three girls: Arabella Lewellen; James W Lewellen;
Carrie Lewellen; Frank E Lewellen; and Myra Lewellen. Frank E Lewellen is
married and resides with his father. Carrie Lewellen, the wife of B F
Billingsley, is now a resident of Minneapolis, Kansas; James W Lewellen
married and is also a resident of Minneapolis, Kansas.
John N Lewellen is a son of William G Lewellen and Mary Norris Lewellen,
both natives of Monongalia county, West Virginia. His father, a farmer,
died in 1880 at the age of sixty four years. His mother died in 1859 at
the age of forty eight years. She was a consistent Christian and an
honorable and respected mother.
The subject of this sketch has been very successful in business. He
started in life very poor but now has a comfortable living and a good
home. While at Mount Morris he continued in the blacksmith business with
his carriage factory. The firm name since coming to Uniontown has been
Lewellen & Son. Their chief aim is to manufacture first class carriage
goods. They make a specialty in repairing in all the branches pertaining
to the trade such as wood work, iron work, painting and trimming. They
have built up quite a reputation in Fayette and adjoining counties and at
present they have a large and commodious carriage shop in Uniontown,
fronting on Main Street eighty feet and extends back seventy seven feet.
They also own shop property, good residence property on Mt Vernon and
Berkeley streets. The junior member, Frank Lewellen has been married
about one year to Lillie Divvens.
p358
AARON LEWELLEN of Belle Vernon was born on a farm near the Pennsylvania
line in West Virginia, January 7, 1844. He grew up on the farm till at
the age of eighteen years when he volunteered as s soldier in the Civil
War, he enlisted in Company I, Fourteenth West Virginia Regiment of
Infantry. He was engaged in all the hard fought battles in which his
regiment his regiment took part; among the more noted were that of Cedar
Creek, when Sheridan arrived after making his famous ride from
Winchester, twenty miles away.
After Mr Lewellen's return home he was married January 16, 1668, to
Leonora Tearnin, granddaughter of John Tearnin, deceased, who was once
treasurer of the county, and a daughter of Joshua Earnin and Catherine
Clegg Tearnin. Her father was a volunteer soldier in the Civil War,
returned home after his discharge and soon sickened and died. Her
mother's death occurred February 15, 1889. Her marriage to Mr Lewellen
has been blessed with seven children: Arabella Lewellen, born January 5,
1869; John Lewellen, born January 29, 1870, died at age three years;
Katie Lewellen, December 16, 1873; Harry Lewellen, August 23, 1876;
Thomas Lewellen, May 27, 1879; Fred Lewellen, September 6, 1882; and
Louis E Lewellen, born July 7, 1889.
Mr Lewellen has lived since his marriage principally in Fayette City
where he was engaged in the coal business. For the past few years he has
lived at Belle Vernon, engaged in the hotel business. He and all his
family are Methodists.
His father, Jacob Lewellen, is a native of West Virginia and removed
from that State to Uniontown during the war. He is now a resident of
Connellsville. Aaron Lewellen's mother's maiden name was Mary Bell. His
grandfather, John Lewellen, settled in West Virginia many years ago.
p359
EPHRAIM LEWIS was born July 8, 1836, at Albany, Fayette county, Penna,
and was educated in the common schools of the county. He began work in
the glass factory as a tender boy, when a mere lad. He moved to Fayette
city, thence to Belle Vernon, to Pittsburgh in 1845, and again to Belle
Vernon in 1846 where he still resides.
He was married in 1861 to Miss Sabina Van Hook, a daughter of Samuel
Van Hook, a native of Virginia, and now a resident of Brownsville, Penna;
he was at one time a part owner of the Belle Vernon Glass Works. Mr Lewis
has six children: Lizzie Lewis, married to John Kittle; Samuel C Lewis,
resides in Bellaire, Ohio; Margaret Lewis, William H Lewis, Mary S Lewis
and Charles A V Lewis, living at home. Mrs Lewis died June 17, 1874.
Mr Lewis is a member of the K of L, of the I O of O F, and has been a
member of the school board for nine years. He owns a comfortable home and
has some good property in the town. He began blowing glass in 1861, and
is still engaged in that business at the Belle Vernon Glass Works. He is
a preceptor of the K of G.
Ephraim Lewis is the son of William Lewis and Margaret Sutton Lewis.
William H Lewis was born in Virginia in 1806, and came to Pennsylvania
when a boy with his parents, who settled at Monongahela City. His father,
Burton Lewis, the grandfather of Ephraim Lewis, was born in Delaware, and
was one of the early settlers of Pennsylvania.
Mr Lewis's mother, Margaret Sutton Lewis, was born in 1804 in
Perryopolis. She lives with her son Ephraim Lewis in Belle Vernon. Her
father, Nathaniel Sutton, was a farmer, one of the early settlers of
Fayette county, and was one of the leading men in the Methodist Episcopal
church. He married Miss Brown (see Alexander Brown's sketch). Ephraim
Lewis's mother has in her possession a table set of four pieces of
pewter ware that has been handed down in the Brown family for over 200
years.
p194
REMEMBRANCE HUGHES LINDSEY, a leading lawyer of the Fayette county bar,
is a son of John Lindsey and Anna Collins Lindsey, and was born in Greene
county, Penna, April 14, 1845.
His ancestry is traced back through that long lived and wonderfully
energetic Scotch Irish race. Scotland being located as the birthplace of
his paternal great grandfather, who left that realm of titled classes and
aristocratic privileges, and south the shores of the new world, for a
home in the land of free institutions and democratic principles. He
landed in the Quaker province and settled in Lancaster county, Penna,
where Mr Lindsey's paternal grandfather, James Lindsey, was born and
reared. He was engaged in mercantile pursuits for a few years and
subsequently moved to Greene county, Penna. His wife was Mary Hughes, a
Green county lady.
Colonel Charles Swan, the maternal great grandfather of Mr Lindsey, was
a prominent man and pioneer settler of Greene county and located there as
early as 1769.
One of James Lindsey's sons, John Lindsey, was born in 1803 and died in
1865. He was a man of prominence and influence in Greene county and
served as prothonotary and sheriff. He married Miss Anna Collins, the
father of whom was of Irish origin and a native of Delaware.
Their eldest son, the late Honorable James Lindsey, was president judge
of the Fourteenth Judicial District and died while in office in 1864.
Judge Lindsey was an able lawyer, a fine jurist and a most exemplary
citizen, as well as one of the most popular judges that ever presided
over the courts of the district. He had a host of most worthy friends
and his death was universally lamented by all.
Remembrance Hughes Lindsey, the youngest brother of Judge Lindsey, at
the age of sixteen entered Waynesburg College, where he continued his
studies until he received the appointment as cadet to West Point and was
graduated from West Point school with highest distinction, and great
credit to himself, in the class of 1869. Soon after his graduation he was
promoted to second lieutenant in the Third Artillery, United States Army,
and served for only a short time when he resigned. He stood high as an
officer in the army, receiving a complimentary letter from General T W
Sherman, an account of his faithful service as an officer, and his
unbending integrity as a gentleman.
While in the army, Mr Lindsey pursued his law studies; returning home he
finished reading law at Waynesburg, sufficiently so to be admitted to the
bar to practice law in 1871. In 1872 he located at Uniontown and began
with remarkable success, the practice of his profession. As a lawyer at
the bar he is quiet and even in his temperament, courteous and polite to
his witnesses; has a penetrating manner and added to this, he has a
polished address and is one of the most finished speakers at the bar. In
1873 he was nominated by his party, the democrats, for the office of
district attorney and was elected by a large majority. He served until
1877 when he declined a re-nomination and has since devoted his time most
assiduously to the interests of his many clients. He has built up a large
and remunerative practice in the courts of Fayette, and his services are
often in demand in the courts of adjoining counties.
On December 27, 1877, he was married to Miss Eliza Willson, daughter of
the late Hon Alpheus Willson.
The true life of a successful lawyer can never be fully and perfectly
written for some of his greatest efforts are made in his library among
his books and briefs and others replete with learning and eloquence
delivered in the judicial forum are often only preserved in "naked
verdicts of juries and formal decrees of courts." So in tracing Mr
Lindsey's career at the bar, as well as any other successful lawyer, we
can only make record of a portion of his legal efforts. There is nothing
of importance in a case that does not receive his whole attention and to
the consideration of which he brings an intelligence and comprehension
that always commands respect.
p194
REMEMBRANCE HUGHES LINDSEY, a leading lawyer of the Fayette county bar,
is a son of John Lindsey and Anna Collins Lindsey, and was born in Greene
county, Penna, April 14, 1845.
His ancestry is traced back through that long lived and wonderfully
energetic Scotch Irish race. Scotland being located as the birthplace of
his paternal great grandfather, who left that realm of titled classes and
aristocratic privileges, and south the shores of the new world, for a
home in the land of free institutions and democratic principles. He
landed in the Quaker province and settled in Lancaster county, Penna,
where Mr Lindsey's paternal grandfather, James Lindsey, was born and
reared. He was engaged in mercantile pursuits for a few years and
subsequently moved to Greene county, Penna. His wife was Mary Hughes, a
Green county lady.
Colonel Charles Swan, the maternal great grandfather of Mr Lindsey, was
a prominent man and pioneer settler of Greene county and located there as
early as 1769.
One of James Lindsey's sons, John Lindsey, was born in 1803 and died in
1865. He was a man of prominence and influence in Greene county and
served as prothonotary and sheriff. He married Miss Anna Collins, the
father of whom was of Irish origin and a native of Delaware.
Their eldest son, the late Honorable James Lindsey, was president judge
of the Fourteenth Judicial District and died while in office in 1864.
Judge Lindsey was an able lawyer, a fine jurist and a most exemplary
citizen, as well as one of the most popular judges that ever presided
over the courts of the district. He had a host of most worthy friends
and his death was universally lamented by all.
Remembrance Hughes Lindsey, the youngest brother of Judge Lindsey, at
the age of sixteen entered Waynesburg College, where he continued his
studies until he received the appointment as cadet to West Point and was
graduated from West Point school with highest distinction, and great
credit to himself, in the class of 1869. Soon after his graduation he was
promoted to second lieutenant in the Third Artillery, United States Army,
and served for only a short time when he resigned. He stood high as an
officer in the army, receiving a complimentary letter from General T W
Sherman, an account of his faithful service as an officer, and his
unbending integrity as a gentleman.
While in the army, Mr Lindsey pursued his law studies; returning home he
finished reading law at Waynesburg, sufficiently so to be admitted to the
bar to practice law in 1871. In 1872 he located at Uniontown and began
with remarkable success, the practice of his profession. As a lawyer at
the bar he is quiet and even in his temperament, courteous and polite to
his witnesses; has a penetrating manner and added to this, he has a
polished address and is one of the most finished speakers at the bar. In
1873 he was nominated by his party, the democrats, for the office of
district attorney and was elected by a large majority. He served until
1877 when he declined a re-nomination and has since devoted his time most
assiduously to the interests of his many clients. He has built up a large
and remunerative practice in the courts of Fayette, and his services are
often in demand in the courts of adjoining counties.
On December 27, 1877, he was married to Miss Eliza Willson, daughter of
the late Hon Alpheus Willson.
The true life of a successful lawyer can never be fully and perfectly
written for some of his greatest efforts are made in his library among
his books and briefs and others replete with learning and eloquence
delivered in the judicial forum are often only preserved in "naked
verdicts of juries and formal decrees of courts." So in tracing Mr
Lindsey's career at the bar, as well as any other successful lawyer, we
can only make record of a portion of his legal efforts. There is nothing
of importance in a case that does not receive his whole attention and to
the consideration of which he brings an intelligence and comprehension
that always commands respect.
p357
ROBERT JOHN LINTON. The world honors those men who have won respectable
and important standing in their life by their own unaided efforts, and in
this class will be found Robert John Linton, son of Joseph and Mary
Linton, who was born July 24, 1834, in County Antrim, Ireland. His
father, while not a rich man, was yet in very comfortable circumstances.
Robert J Linton was raised on a farm, was partly educated in Ireland
where he attended the pay schools of that county, then celebrated for
their thorough training and effective work.
Ambitious and energetic, he sought for a wider sphere of action in the
business world than could be found in Ireland at that time, and upon
attaining his majority came in September, 1855, to Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, with a determination to do something, but with a no
definite idea of what that something would be. In a short time he engaged
with the Adams Express Company, having charge of their trains, continuing
with them but a short time and quitting with a few hundred dollars he has
saved.
He now proposed to secure a better education and attended Twinsburg
Academy for two years. On leaving school he engaged with R C Schmertz &
Co, manufacturers and dealers in glass lamps. He continued in their
employ in Pittsburgh until 1865 when the firm bought out George A Berry &
Co's window glass works at Belle Vernon and increased their capacity from
sixteen pots to forty pots, being four ten-pot furnaces. From 1862 to
1868 he traveled and sold goods for the firm and in the latter years
located at Belle Vernon as general manager of the R C Schmertz & Co's
window glass works.
In 1872 he became a member of the firm and by his active exertions and
good management, has continued to build up their business into its
present prosperous condition. These glass works are the largest of their
kind in the world. The works cover three acres of ground with
improvements amounting to $125,000 and operated on an invested capital of
$200,000, and do a yearly business of $360,000; 312 men are employed and
136,800 boxes of window glass are made on an average every year. Their
goods sell from Boston to San Francisco and from the lakes to the gulf.
Mr Linton was married in 1864 to Miss Caroline S Doolittle, a native of
Henderson, Ohio. They had three children: Robert Linton; Grace Linton and
Clara Linton. Clara Linton married Rev W B Hamilton of Washington, Penna,
missionary, and went to China where she died in six weeks after her
arrival.
Mr Linton is an extensive holder in the Belle Vernon Light and Heat Co.
He is a Mason, is a highly respected member of the Belle Vernon
Presbyterian church and in which he has been an elder for several years.
Robert J Linton has been emphatically the architect of his own fortune.
He is a most excellent and accommodating manager, an honest man, a
consistent Christian, and a worthy, intelligent citizen. He is liberal in
his views, but earnest in his convictions. His thought upon any subject
is good and his expression clear. He is naturally and amply qualified for
leadership in any great enterprise of the business world.
p554
GEORGE LIVINGSTONE, the popular and leading merchant of Falls City, was
born at Brownsville, Fayette county, Penna, May 28, 1847, and is a son of
Austin Livingstone and Phebe Johnson Livingstone.
Austin Livingstone, son of George Livingstone, was born in Fayette
county in 1819 and was a well known citizen of Brownsville. He married
Miss Phebe Johnson and reared a family of eight children: George
Livingstone, James T Livingstone, Rebecca Livingstone, David E
Livingstone, Anna J Livingstone, Austin Livingstone, Adam J Livingstone
and Carrie J Livingstone.
George Livingstone received his education in the common schools, and at
an early age engaged as a clerk for J R Dutton of Brownsville. His next
employment was on the western waters, where he served for several years
as a steamboat clerk, and then engaged in his present general mercantile
business at Falls City. His store is of ample dimensions and tastefully
arranged throughout. His stock of goods and wares are of first class
quality and carefully selected from the leading houses of the Eastern
cities.
In 1868 he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah M Wood of Brownsville.
To their union were born four children: Dora Livingstone (dead); John D W
Livingstone; Brown Livingstone and Mary Luella Livingstone. Mrs
Livingstone died in November, 1880, and Mr Livingstone married for his
second wife Miss Ellen E Campbell, sister of G W Campbell. Mr Livingstone
is a live business man, and a prominent and respected citizen of Falls
City and Stewart township.
p444
KELL LONG was born August 16, 1847, in Franklin township, Fayette
county, Penna. Robert Long, paternal grandfather was born in Lancaster
county, moved to Connellsville and was a blacksmith by trade. He served
as county commissioner of Fayette county for two terms. He was a member
of the United Presbyterian church of Laurel Hill. He was always a very
active worker in the church, and was a ruling elder for many years. He
married Catherine Foster, a native of Lancaster county. They had the
following children: May Long, Sarah Long, William Long, John Long, Samuel
Long, and James Long. John Long is a farmer and lives in Belmont county,
Ohio. Samuel Long is a farmer of Connellsville township.
Gustavus Kell, the maternal grandfather, was born in Ireland. He came
to America and settled in Westmoreland county. He fought at the battle of
Cowpens in the Revolutionary War, and married Abigail Smith of
Westmoreland, and had the following children: Sarah Kell, born September
16, 1821; Selinda Kell, born March 18, 1823; Caroline Kell, born October
10, 1825; and Harriet Kell, born September 6, 1827. Kell Long is the son
of James M Long and Sarah Kell Long.
James M Long was born in Connellsville in 1819 and followed farming.
Kell Long was born and reared on a farm, and was educated in the common
schools. In 1872 he married Miss Leonora Patterson, daughter of Hugh
Patterson of Perry township. In 1873 he went west and engaged as a clerk
with S P Pond & Company, wholesale produce dealers in Burlington, Iowa,
where he remained till 1874. He then returned to New Haven, Penna, and
engaged in the milling grain and agricultural implement business. He was
married the second time to Miss Elizabeth Curry, daughter of James Curry
of Dunbar township. They have four children: James C Long, born December
13, 1877; Mabel Long, born July 23, 1879; Sallie Long, born March 25,
1881, and Ralph Kell Long, born September 7, 1882.
He and his wife are members of the United Presbyterian church at
Connellsville, and he is one of the trustees of the church. He has served
as a member of the school board and of the council several times. His
maternal ancestors were noted for their longevity. His great grandfather
was one hundred and four years old. His great grandfather lived to be
ninety years old, and his grandfather lived to be seventy two years of
age.
p463
SAMUEL N LONG, a prosperous farmer of Connellsville township and a well
known citizen of Fayette county, was born at Connellsville, Fayette
county, Penna, July 14, 1821, and is a son of Robert Long and Catherine
Foster Long.
Robert Long was a blacksmith, and pursued his trade at Connellsville for
twenty years, when he removed to the present from of his son Samuel N
Long, and was engaged in farming from the time of his removal until his
death in 1849 at the age of sixty two years. He was well and favorably
known; a democrat, and had served as county commissioner and was a strong
and active member of the United Presbyterian church of which his wife was
also a member. She died in 1868 aged eighty one years.
Samuel N Long is of Welsh-German descent, reared at Connellsville until
eleven years of age, when he accompanied his parents to their farm in
Connellsville township. His education was received at Connellsville and
under the old subscription schoolmasters and while not full in many
things, yet was practical and sufficient for all business purposes. Mr
Long has made farming his life vocation, and by good management and
intelligent supervision, has achieved great success.
On December 24, 1846, Samuel N Long was married to Miss Jemima Humbert of
Dunbar township. She died in 1854, leaving three children: Humbert Long,
Catherine Long and Hannah Long. He was married in 1855 to Mrs Elizabeth
Cramer of Dunbar township. She died in 1880 and left three sons: Robert
Long, George Long, and James Long. In 1881 Mr Long was married to Mrs
Martha Smith Wilson of near Uniontown.
Samuel N Long owns his father's farm of 103 acres of choice farming land
and has added to it thirty one acres of adjoining land. His farm is one
and a half miles north of Connellsville, and is well improved and in a
good state of cultivation. He is a democrat, served from 1881 to 1884 as
director of the poor, was school director for twenty one years, and has
held nearly all the township offices. He is a member of the First
Presbyterian church of Connellsville and is a large and liberal
contributor to his church. He is a prosperous farmer, a successful
businessman and is well known throughout the county.
p510
Dr WILLIAM A LONGANECKER of German-Irish descent and physician of
Fairchance, was born near Masontown, German township, Fayette county,
Penna, April 19, 1849, and is a son of Jacob F Longanecker and Matilda
Moser Longanecker. He is descended from the well known, industrious and
highly respected Longanecker family of Lancaster county, Penna.
His grandfather, Joseph Longanecker, came from Lancaster county to
German township in early manhood. He was strictly honest and well
respected, and accumulated a large amount of property during his lifetime
and at his death each of his eight children received a valuable farm.
One of his sons, Jacob Longanecker, the father of Dr William A
Longanecker, was born June 17, 1818, and died April 7, 1889. He was a
farmer and stockdealer, owing and residing until 1882 upon the farm of
212 acres where he was born and reared. In 1882 he bought a farm of one
hundred acres adjacent to Smithfield where he resided till February 19,
1889, when he removed to Fairchance and died two months later.
Jacob F Longanecker was a republican and was held in such high respect
as a private citizen and a capable businessman that he was elected county
commissioner in 1855 when Fayette county was strongly democrat. His
management of the county affairs was so acceptable to the people that
many of them solicited him to offer for sheriff, but he declined to make
the race. He was a faithful member of the German Baptist church and a
member of the Masonic order.
He was married February 24, 1842, to Matilda Moser. They had three
children, two daughter, Mary Ann Longanecker and Elmira Longanecker, both
dead; and William A Longanecker. Mrs Longanecker was born January 5,
1819, and is a daughter of Daniel and Susanna Moser.
Dr Longanecker was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools
and Waynesburg College. Leaving college he received a professional
certificate from County Superintendent Joshua V Gibbons and taught six
terms in the common schools. In 1871 he began the study of medicine with
Dr G W Neff of Masontown. In 1874 he attended lectures at Jefferson
Medical College and graduated March 10, 1876. On April 4, 1876, he formed
a partnership with Dr H B Mathiot of Smithfield with whom he continued
till 1886. In 1880 he removed to Fairchance where he is engaged in
successful practice.
On October 19, 1882, he was married to Miss Ida F Mathiot, daughter of
Dr H B Mathiot. Their union has been blessed with two children: Ellen D
Longanecker, born March 10, 1887; and Carrie M Longanecker, born August
3, 1889.
In politics he is a republican and has served as school director of
Georges township. In 1870 he served as assistant census marshall and took
the census of German, Nicholson, Georges and Springhill townships. He is
an active worker in the Presbyterian church while his wife is an earnest
member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Dr Longanecker in 1882 erected
his present fine residence at Fairchance and is enjoying an extensive and
lucrative practice.
p285
JOHN ADAMS LYONS was born in Springhill township, Fayette county, Penna,
July 10, 1824, and is of Scotch Irish and Welsh parentage. He is a
prominent member of one of the old and well-connected families of the
southern part of the county.
He is a son of Major Philip Lyons and Susan Morgan Lyons, the latter
being a daughter of David Morgan, a well-to-do farmer of Fayette county,
who died at the age of fifty four years, February 14, 1787. Major Philip
Lyons was a fine penman, a good mathematician, a successful farmer and
stock-raiser. When twenty six years of age he married Miss Susan Morgan
and unto their marriage were born nine children: George Lyons; Mary
Lyons; Nancy Lyons; Elizabeth Lyons; William Lyons; Morgan Lyons; John A
Lyons; Margaret Lyons; and Samuel Lyons. Philip Lyons was a major in the
militia regiment, was well and favorably known throughout the county
until his death in December, 1845.
William Lyons, grandfather, emigrated from New Jersey to Springhill
township in 1787 which was then almost a wilderness. His capital for
commencing business consisted of a few blacksmith tools, a good span of
horses, and twelve and one half cents in money. He was quiet, attentive
to business and by half a century of hard labor and careful management,
amassed a large estate. At seventy one years of age, he died leaving to
each of his six sons and three daughters a large well-stocked farm.
John A Lyons was educated in the old Grassy Run schoolhouse of his native
township under the subscription school system of his day. In politics he
is a republican. He and his wife are unassuming, useful members of the
Lutheran church at Morris Cross Roads. In 1848 he cast his first
presidential vote for Taylor and in 1852 he voted for Pierce, the
anti-whig candidate. In 1856 he cast his first presidential candidates in
his life, Freemont and Blaine. He was elected over a democrat in a
township where his party was largely in the minority. He was also
appointed to the same office by the county commissioners and collected
the township tax during the same year, having been appointed collector by
the same authority. In 1868 he was nominated by his party for the office
of county commissioner, but was defeated owing to the county being
overwhelmingly democratic. He was school director for his township for
eight consecutive years and has held several other township offices.
In the spring of 1845 he was elected first lieutenant of the Springhill
militia, received his commission of Colonel Mustard at Smithfield which
he resigned the same day and joined the Georges Creek Cavalry serving
with it for seven years. In 1847 his cavalry received a call from the
government to join General Taylor's forces to help defeat the Mexicans.
The company voted almost unanimously to do so, but before it was ready to
start peace was declared.
John A Lyons married Miss Margaret Huhn, daughter of Henry Huhn and
Eliza Showalters Huhn, January 21, 1847. Of this union were born twelve
children: William T Lyons; Susan Lyons, dead; an infant, dead; Henry H
Lyons married Eliza Rhodes; Amzi F Lyons married Samantha Gance; Philip L
Lyons married Ollie J Stentz; Alvin D Lyons married Elma Hill; Estella
Lyons married Alvin J Stentz; John C Lyons, dead; Lou B Lyons married
Belford E Lynn; Thomas Lyons and Benjamin F Lyons.
Mr Lyons grew to manhood on his father's farm. After becoming of age he
engaged in farming and from 1845 to 1849 he rented his father's farm. In
1849 he purchased 130 acres of his present farm near Morris Cross Roads
and removed there. Twelve years later he added twenty six acres to his
original purchase. In 1872 he built a large, handsome frame dwelling
house near the center of his farm and four years later he erected a large
barn near his residence.
Mr Lyons has now almost retired from active business, lives in his
beautiful residence near Morris Cross Roads, superintends his farm and
enjoys the confidence, good will and respect of neighbors.