Sylvester G Redinger
SYLVESTER G. REDINGER, of Templeton, head of the firm of S. G. Redinger & Son, owns and operates a large sawmill there and is also extensively engaged in building, being one of the best known business men in his section of Armstrong county. Mr. Redinger has attained a foremost position among the honored self-made men of this region by hard work and ambitious endeavor, and he has carried his various undertakings to successful completion by intelligent application of the resources at his command and his faculty of making the most of the opportunities at hand. He was born Feb. 2, 1866, in Jefferson county, Pa., son of Henry and Margaret (Hankey) Redinger.
Henry Redinger was born Aug. 25, 1845, in Red Bank township, Armstrong county, and settled there, for many years following farming and lumbering, also burning charcoal. In 1895 he sold his property, including a general merchandise store at New Salem, Pa., and moved his family to Los Angeles, Cal., returning three years later. He now lives retired at New Salem, Armstrong Co., Pa. Mr. Redinger has always been a stanch Republican and in his earlier life took an active part in politics, holding a number of township offices. He was wounded while fighting as a soldier in the Civil war, in which he served for one year, having enlisted Sept. 5, 1864, at Pittsburgh, Pa., in Company B, 6th Artillery. Mr. Redinger is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. He married Margaret Hankey, who was born May 16, 1846, at Butler, Pa., daughter of John and Mary (Buyers) Hankey, and they have had nine children, of whom Sylvester G. is mentioned below; E. C., a builder and contractor, is now a resident of Los Angeles, Cal. (he is heavily interested in the growing of fancy tropical fruits in Porto Rico, being a pioneer developer of fruit land there, and is county superintendent of Porto Rico); Rev. F. M. is pastor of an M. E. Church at Erie, Pa.; W. H. who died in California, was a teacher and in his day was considered the best educated man in Armstrong county; R. D. is engaged as a farmer on the old homestead; Mary is the wife of W. I. Brocius, of Oakland, Pa.; Urney is the wife of C. A. Smith, of Yatesboro, Pa.; Ortanza is a teacher in Los Angeles, California.
Sylvester G. Redinger received his education in the common schools. At the age of seventeen years he started life for himself, beginning lumbering in Red Bank township, Armstrong county, where he operated for five years. Thence he went to Jefferson county, Pa., for a time, and later to West Virginia, returning from there to Armstrong county, where he located in Madison township, for a period of four years. From that township he moved to Pine township, in 1906 settling at Templeton, which has since been the center of his business activities. Meantime he had commenced building, in 1902 erecting four houses at South Bethlehem, Pa. When he came to Templeton he built a sawmill, establishing the industry which is still one of his principal interests, and also put up five houses, which he rents. In 1907 he built his own home and storehouse, as well as the town hall and ten other buildings in Templeton.
In 1911, he constructed five houses at Braeburn, Westmoreland county, and in the spring of 1912 he remodeled his sawmill, doubling the capacity. The motive force is now 100 horsepower. The business has increased steadily from the beginning, and the trade is drawn from every part of the county, the firm of S. G. Redinger & Sons having a reputation for high-class work that has been gained by conscientious attention to the wants of all customers. Mr. Redinger has been remarkably prosperous, having accumulated considerable real estate and personal property, but his prestige and enviable standing are the best part of his success. Starting life on his own account without capital or influential friends, he has forged steadily ahead, relying upon well-directed labor to gain him the confidence of those he has dealt with. He is the kind of man who prides himself upon being able to "deliver the goods," whatever he undertakes, and as a consequence he has made the name of being one of the most reliable business men in the county. His business has now reached such proportions that he employs constantly from ten to fifteen men, often more, and he keeps two fine cars which he has found valuable in enabling him to keep track of his widely scattered interests, a fifty-horsepower seven-passenger car and a thirty-horsepower five-passenger. Business has received the greater part of Mr. Redinger's attention, but he is a public-spirited citizen and has held office at times, having served six years on the school board while a resident of Red Bank township. He is a Republican in political association, a member of the M. E. Church, and belongs to the Knights of Pythias lodge at Templeton, No. 30.
Mr. Redinger was united in marriage, Jan. 25, 1884, with Emma Holben, of Armstrong county, and they have had five children, four sons and one daughter, namely: C. H., who married Hattie Frazier, of Pine township, Armstrong county; H. H.; M. R.; W. H.; and Margaret, now the wife of William Bole, of Rimesburgh, PA. All of the sons are in business with their father, the firm name being S. G. Redinger & Sons.
Source: Pages 553-554 Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and Present, J.H. Beers & Co., 1914
Transcribed September 1998 by Connie Mateer for the Armstrong County Beers Project
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