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Samuel S. Blyholder
SAMUEL S. BLYHOLDER, a leading citizen of Bethel township, who has a
thriving general merchandise business at Center Valley, has been identified
with the activities of his part of Armstrong county in various relations, and
is a man whose ability and sincere devotion to his responsibilities have won
him a high place in the esteem of his fellow citizens. He has been prominently
associated with the advancement of farming interests along the most modern
lines, and has done excellent work in this connection. As the holder of
various public offices he has given great satisfaction to all concerned.Mr. Blyholder was born in Gilpin (then Allegheny) township, Armstrong
county, April 30, 1849. His father, John George Blyholder, was born in 1806 in
Wittenberg, Germany, and the family there is now almost extinct. He came to
this country in 1831, settling in Greensburg,Westmoreland Co., Pa., where he engaged in farming. In 1842 he moved to
Gilpin township, Armstrong county, where he rented land for a number of years,
in 1859 purchasing the farm later owned and occupied by his son Samuel. He
became one of the substantial residents of the locality, held various township
offices, and was a prominent member of the local Evangelical Church, in which
he held office. In politics he was a Democrat. He died in 1883, when he was in
his seventy-seventh year. He was married twice, first to Rosanna Bierer, by
whom he had seven children, of whom three are living: A. B., a farmer, of
Raymore, Mo., who has a family of nine children; J. B., a merchant, at Irwin
station, Pa., who has seven children; and Dr. Caleb, of Pittsburgh, who has
one son. His wife dying he married (second) Mrs. Rachel (Bouch) Conman, who
was born in 1817 in Kittanning township, Armstrong county, and they had two
children, Samuel S. and Maggie, the latter deceased. Mrs. Blyholder died Aug.
30, 1890, at the age of seventy-three. She was a daughter of Isaac Bouch, a
native of Armstrong county, whose parents were pioneers of this county.Samuel S. Blyholder grew to manhood on his father�s farm in Gilpin
township, meantime attending the elementary schools of the neighborhood and
the Irwin high school. He made a specialty of vocal music, which he afterward
taught for ten years. He did not devote all his time to that, however, having
commenced farming, in which he has always maintained the deepest interest. In
1881 he embarked in the hardware business at Leechburg, after his father�s
death, in 1883, disposing of that and purchasing the homestead farm, where he
settled and devoted himself to farming. This place comprises 165 acres of
valuable, highly improved land, well equipped with the most approved
appliances for the conduct of general farming; a steam chopping mill and other
advanced machinery have long been included among his implements. He has been
identified with the most advanced movements for raising agriculture to the
level of the most scientific pursuits, has represented Armstrong county for
sixteen years on the Pennsylvania State board of agriculture, is manager of
the Armstrong County Farmers� Institute, and has for many years been a
prominent member of the Patrons of Husbandry, belonging to Mount Joy Grange,
No. 537. He has held many county and State offices in the Grange, and is at
present overseer of the State organization, and he has organized many granges,
in his own and other counties. He is a recognized authority on agricultural
questions.Mr. Blyholder has from early manhood been actively interested in the
success of the Democratic party in this region, and his efficient work has
been appreciated not only in the organization, but by his fellow citizens
generally, who have supported him for various offices regardless of party
lines. He has served his township as school director and auditor and is still
holding the former position, also acting as justice of the peace, which office
he has filled for eighteen years in Bethel and Gilpin townships. In 1878 he
received the nomination of his party for State Legislature, and although the
county was then Republican by a thousand majority he was beaten by only
fifty-four votes. He was the first Progressive candidate for Congress in 1896,
when he was nominated to run for representative of the then Twenty-first
Congressional district. His nomination was unsolicited on his part, and though
defeated, as was expected in a strong Republican district, he ran ahead of his
ticket. He is one of those Progressives who believe in exercising,
perpetuating and guarding the principles of government of the people, by the
people, and for all the people, and is recognized as a sincere worker toward
the betterment of conditions not only in his home community but all over the
country.In religious matters Mr. Blyholder is a Lutheran, and he has been an
earnest worker in the local church and in the denomination generally, where as
in every other relation of life he has been called upon for various important
services. He has been deacon and trustee of the Evangelical Lutheran Church at
Leechburg, which he has represented in the Synod and General Council, has been
a member of the committee on missions of the Pittsburgh Synod, and a member of
the board of trusteees of Thiel College, at Greenville, Mercer Co., Pa.
Socially he belongs to Leechburg Lodge, No. 377, B.P.O. Elks.On Dec. 30, 1880, Mr. Blyholder was married to Anna D. Sweeney, daughter of
William and Margaret (Johnston) Sweeney, of Westmoreland county, Pa., and
member of an old family of Westmoreland county, Pa. They have had a family of
six children: Orrin C., Elma M. (deceased), Mary F., Samuel W., Adela A. and
Eula I.Source: Page(s) PAGES 347-348,
Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and Present, J.H. Beers &
Co., 1914
Transcribed July 1998 by Pat Godesky 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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