Samuel Brady Cathcart
SAMUEL BRADY CATHCART, who is ranked among the prominent and progressive farmers of Mahoning township, is a son of Samuel and Margaret J. (McClain) Cathcart, and grandson of Robert Cathcart.
Robert Cathcart was a native of Ireland, and probably the first settler in the limits of what is now Mahoning township, Armstrong Co., Pa., where he located in or before 1805, under an improvement right. He was first assessed in 1806 with 330 acres, one horse and three cattle, at $320. The Bostonia Coal Mines are now located on this land. His two-story red house, the first frame building in that section, was for many years one of the very few for many miles around. On March 10, 1810, the commissioners of the county granted him an order for sixteen dollars for killing two panthers. He cleared the timber from part of his tract, and erecting necessary buildings in time had a fine homestead, where his death occurred in 1847, at the age of seventy-five years. His wife was Jane Thom, and their children who grew to maturity were: Samuel; James; John; Clark; Robert; Mary, who married James McClain; Jane, who married Archie McSparrin; Isabel, who married Philip Clover; Margaret, who married Perry Webster; and Eliza, married to Thomas McSparrin.
Samuel Cathcart, son of Robert, was born in what is now Mahoning township Sept. 10, 1805, and there grew to manhood. In 1844 he purchased 100 acres of land now owned by his son Samuel B., cleared most of it and made extensive improvements thereon, and died there July 9, 1892, at the age of eighty-six years. He was twice married, his first wife being Anna Reed, to which union were born children as follows: Robert, a member of the 103d P. V. I. In the Civil war, who died in Andersonville prison; James, now of Reynoldsville, Pa.; Jane, married to John Anthony; Catherine, married to George Doverspike; Margaret, married to Francis Furlong; and Matilda. All but James are now deceased. Mr. Cathcart married (second) Mrs. Margaret J. (McClain) Brown, daughter of Moses and Sarah (Blakeney) McClain, and widow of William Brown, by whom she had two sons, James I. And William S. Brown, both soldiers in the Civil war. James I. Brown was shot through the lungs in the war, but lived to get home; William S. Died at Yorktown, Va., of disease contracted in the service. Mrs. Margaret (McClain) Cathcart's parents were pioneer settlers of Mahoning township. By her marriage to Mr. Cathcart she had three children: Sarah; Isabel, who married John Leech; and Samuel B.
Samuel B. Cathcart was born in Mahoning township March 31, 1856, and was reared on his father's homestead there. He remained here until 1890, when he purchased the farm of seventy-eight acres adjoining where he now resides, and as he now owns the old homestead his holdings cover 174 acres of land. Mr. Cathcart is an up-to-date farmer and his energy and untiring effort have made him a most prosperous one. He employs all modern methods in the conduct of his farm and his product ranks among the best in the county. A public-spirited citizen, his sterling qualities and upright character have won him the admiration of his community, and he has been called to the position of road supervisor of his township, in which he served for five years, and has also served as overseer of the poor and as school director. In politics he votes the Republican ticket.
On June 6, 1879, Mr. Cathcart married Mary C., daughter of George and Elizabeth (Serene) Houser, of Wayne township, Armstrong county, and they have eight children: Maud L., wife of J. P. Hetrick; Charles M. Who married Alice Anthony; Laura B., who is married to Merle Barnett; John C., who married Nora Hepler; Henry L., who married Phoebe Hepler; Jennie E., wife of Scott Rearick; Lawrence W., and Mary Anabel. Mr. and Mrs. Cathcart are members of the M. E. Church of Oakland, of which he is a trustee.
Source: Pages(s) 706-707, Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and Present, J.H. Beers & Co., 1914
Transcribed October 1998 by Neil G. Anderson for the Armstrong County Beers Project
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