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Harry Reynolds
HARRY REYNOLDS, proprietor of the Reynolds Hotel at Kittanning, was
born Oct. 6, 1854, the son of Absalom Reynolds, and grandson of David
Reynolds. A somewhat lengthy account of David Reynolds and his father, George
Reynolds, appears elsewhere in this work.David Reynolds was one of the early settiers of Kittanning, and a pioneer
hotel man, being the first in the place to provide public accommodation for
strangers; he applied for his license at the first court held in Kittanning.
His house, known as the “Kittanning Inn,” was visited by many men of
importance in the State. Judge George Ross stayed there when court was in
session. Mr. Reynolds not only became wealthy, owning large tracts of land
outside the city, but was also prominent in public life. There are few men
whose names are held in higher esteem than his, and he earned the right to be
numbered among the leading men of his time and locality. Energetic and
public-spirited, he served with dignified capability in many of the local
offices, and gave distinction to the Whig party, of which he was an ardent
supporter. He was one of the first county commissioners, and for some years
was postmaster of Kittanning, during its earlier history. His first wife was
Mary Woodward, second daughter of a distinguished pioneer, Absalom Woodward,
and the second, Jane Ross, daughter of Judge George Ross.Absalom Reynolds was born at Kittanning in 1818, and was a son of his
father’s first marriage. He inherited the hotel property, and for many years
was the proprietor of the “Reynolds Hotel.” In political faith he
was a Republican, filling several important offices, among them that of county
treasurer. He was assistant postmaster under his father. Like his father he
was a man of high standing and wide influence, and associated with important
affairs. He married Margaret Heiner Mechling, daughter of Sheriff John
Mechling and his wife Ann Eliza (Heiner), whose father was a soldier in the
Revolutionary war. Mrs. Reynolds was born in 1825 and died in 1908. Mr. and
Mrs. Reynolds became the parents of the following children: Anna, who died
when nineteen years of age; Edwin, who died when six years old; Harry; and
Jessie, the wife of Tyson Hileman.Harry Reynolds was reared in Kittanning, receiving his early education in
the grammar and high schools of the city, and later attended the Edgwood
Boarding School, at New Brighton, Pa., and finally the college preparatory
school at Princeton, N. J., which later was removed to Merchantville, near
Camden. He has taken up the business of his father and grandfather, and for
over thirty-one years has owned and operated the hotel that bears the family
name. His grandfather’s old clock (wall sweep) still used in the hotel is a
historic timepiece, for by it the sittings of the court were timed in the
early days when the hotel was known as the “Kittanning Inn,” the
janitor or court crier coming over from the courthouse — then directly
opposite the “Inn,” which stood on the site now occupied by the
“Reynolds Hotel” –to get the time to ring his hell for the opening
of court. The clock even occupies the same location. Mr. Reynolds also owns a
desk on one drawer of which is written and signed: “This desk was the
first piece of furniture made in Kittanning, and was made in the year 1804, by
Isaac Townsend.” Mr. Reynolds is a member of the B. P.O. Elks, belonging
to Lodge No. 203, Kittanning.In 1876 Harry Reynolds married Sarah A. Reynolds, daughter of William
Reynolds, who married a Welty. They have one child, Margaret, now the wife of
Philip S. Merrill, president of the George B. Merrill, Jr., Lumber Company, of
Jackson, Miss., and son of George B. Merrill, of Williamsport, Pa., founder of
that company. Mr. and Mrs. Philip S. Merrill have three children living:
George B., Jr., Harry Reynolds and Philip S., Jr.Source: Pages 605, Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and
Present, J.H. Beers & Co., 1914
Transcribed October 2001 by Laurel Black Morris for the Armstrong County Beers
Project
Contributed for use by the Armstrong County Genealogy Project (http://www.pa-roots.com/armstrong/)Armstrong County Genealogy Project Notice:
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