Samuel M West
SAMUEL M. WEST, a retired business man of Apollo, Pa., and a veteran of the Civil war, was born in Westmoreland county, Pa., Jan. 23, 1841, son of Adam and Sarah West.
Adam West was a shoemaker and followed the trade through life. He was a hard-working and highly respected man and died in his native State in 1843. His wife survived him for many years, her death occurring in 1876. They were parents of eight children, the only survivor of the family being Samuel M.
Samuel M. West was reared by an aunt after the death of his father, and he resided with her and enjoyed school advantages until he enlisted for service in the Civil war. This was the fall of 1861, when he entered Company C, 4th Pa. Vol. Cav., as a private, later becoming first sergeant. He joined his regiment at Harrisburg, Pa., and from there the command was sent to Washington, D. C., where it was placed under the leadership of General McClelland. This regiment gave a good account of itself, and as a member of it Sergeant West participated in sixty-seven engagements. It took part at Malvern Hill and White Oak Swamp, and at Gettysburg its activity prevented General Stuart making his proposed connection with the other Confederate forces. At Antietam the 4th Pennsylvania Regiment was a part of the advance guard and in that fierce engagement the brave Colonel Childs was killed. While the battle was in progress Mr. West was one of those detailed to give care to the wounded and dying soldiers. In the spring of 1864 he took part in the battle of the Wilderness, having re-enlisted in the same company and regiment in which he had served out his first term, and after the surrender of General Lee his regiment went into camp at Lynchburg, Va., where it lay until honorably discharged, July 13, 1865.
Mr. West then returned home and on Oct. 26, 1865, in Westmoreland county, was married to Margaret Townsend. Four sons and one daughter were born to them: Carrie Isabel, Robert T., Harry H., Clayton D. C. and Elmore Murray.
After his marriage, Mr. West interested himself in farming, both in Pennsylvania and in Virginia, continuing agricultural work until he moved to Apollo, Pa. Here he went into the teaming and draying business and was so engaged until 1907, when failing health, undoubtedly due to his years of army exposure, compelled him to retire from active life. He is a member of Whitworth Post, No. 89, G. A. R. In politics he is a Republican, and for nine years served in the office of constable at Apollo.
Source: Pages 928-929, Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and Present, J.H. Beers & Co., 1914
Transcribed November 1998 by Jeffrey Bish for the Armstrong County Beers Project
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