HEADER
Thomas T Meredith
THOMAS THORETT MEREDITH, merchant and postmaster at Widnoon, Armstrong Co.,
Pa., is the proprietor of the largest general store in the county outside of
Kittanning. He was born in Madison township, April 22, 1864, son of Thomas and
Margaret (Rhodes) Meredith.Owen Meredith, his grandfather, was a native of Chester county, Pa., born
Oct. 20, 1783. He married Ann McFadden, of Lancaster county, Pa., and they
were pioneers of what is now Madison township, Clarion county, where they
cleared and improved a farm of 150 acres. They made their home here until
about 1850, when they came to Madison township, Armstrong county, where Mr.
Meredith owned a tract of 160 acres, and there they resided the remainder of
their lives. Mr. Meredith died May 24, 1866, and his wife passed away June 17,
1848. Their children were as follows: Jonathan E., James, Thomas, Aquilla,
Madison, Evaline (married to James Gibson), Cynthia (married to John Wallace),
and Sarah (married to James Truitt).Thomas Meredith, son of Owen, was born in what is now Clarion county, Pa.,
Oct. 20, 1815, and was here reared to manhood. He taught school and followed
farming until 1862, when he went to Mahoning, at the mouth of Mahoning creek,
and kept the toll house until 1868, when he located at Duncanville, now
Widnoon, in Madison township, and founded the mercantile business now owned by
his son Thomas T. This he conducted with success until his death, Jan. 3,
1882. Mr. Meredith married Margaret Rhodes, daughter of Joseph Rhodes, who was
a native of Armstrong county, and was among the pioneers of Madison township.
Mrs. Meredith’s mother was Elizabeth (Myers) Rhodes. Seven children survived
Mr. Meredith: Madison W.; Alda R., widow of Dr. S. W. Keller; Thomas T.; Owen
C.; Tillie I., wife of John C. Fox; Ney O.; and Eva M., wife of Alfred H.
Unger.Thomas T. Meredith was reared in Madison township, and received his
education in the common schools there. He began his business career as clerk
in his father’s store, and after the death of the latter, in 1882, took charge
of the business until he attained his majority. He then entered into
partnership with his mother and the business was conducted under the firm name
of Mrs. M. Meredith & Son until 1893, when he purchased the interest of
his mother and has since conducted the business alone. Up to this time the
business was an ordinary country store, but Mr. Meredith at once began to
enlarge it, making improvements as his patronage increased until now he has
the largest store of his kind in the country outside of Kittanning. He has
also conducted an undertaking business since 1897, and has proved himself an
enterprising, honorable and efficient business man.On May 6, 1888, Mr. Meredith married Alice M., daughter of William and Mary
J. (Henderson) Craig, of Madison township, and they have had three children:
Byron W., Thomas T., Jr., and Margaret E. Mr. and Mrs. Meredith are members of
the Reformed Church. He is a thirty-second-degree Mason, and a member of the
Consistory of the Valley of Coudersport, Pa., also Widnoon Lodge, No. 1139, I.
O. O. F. Mr. Meredith has served as postmaster of Widnoon since 1885, giving
most satisfactory service. He is a Republican in political sentiment.Source: Pages 665-666, Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and
Present, J.H. Beers & Co., 1914
Transcribed September 1998 by James R Hindman 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:
These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format, for any presentation, without prior written permission.Return to the Beers Project
Â
Return to the
Armstrong County Genealogy ProjectÂ
Return to the
Armstrong County Genealogy Project
Return to the
Armstrong County Genealogy Project
(c) Armstrong County
Genealogy Project
About Author
