Adams Family
ADAMS. The Adams family, several of whose members now reside in the borough
of Leechburg, Armstrong county, has been settled in this part of Pennsylvania
for several generations.John Adams, grandfather of Samuel J. and Alexander L. Adams, brothers,
lived and died in Allegheny county, Pa. His children were: Samuel, Lewis,
John, Alexander, Mary (who married Joseph McLaughlin) and Joseph.Alexander Adams, son of John, was born in 1813, and died Nov. 10, 1887,
aged seventy-four years. He is buried in Pleasant View cemetery in
Westmoreland county. In his earlier life Mr. Adams did day�s work, and he
also engaged in the manufacture of salt along the Allegheny river. Later he
became the owner of a small farm along Pine Run, in Westmoreland county, and
he was well and favorably known in his community. He was a large man
physically. By his first wife, Eliza (Bollinger), daughter of Peter Bollinger;
he had children: John, who died at the age of eighteen years; Samuel J.; Mary,
who married Andrew Halk; Alexander L.; and Thomas B., who is living in
Allegheny county, Pa. His second marriage was to Hilinda Rankin, and they had
children: Hilinda, Blanch, Esther, Joseph, and Harvey.Samuel J. Adams, son of Alexander, was born Aug. 10, 1844, in Allegheny
township, Westmoreland county, and received his education in public school in
Allegheny county. He went to work at the age of twelve years, assisting his
father, who was then engaged in making salt, and later became employed as an
office boy at Natrona, Allegheny county. His next employment was in a tinshop,
after which he was engaged at coal mines for eight years. Then followed his
service in the Civil war. He enlisted in Company F, 123d Regiment,
Pennsylvania Volunteers, under Capt. John Boyd, of Tarentum, Pa., and served
nine months, upon his discharge re-enlisting, in Company I, 5th
Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery, with which he served until the close of the war.
Returning home after the war Mr. Adams became engaged in construction work on
the Pennsylvania railroad, and later went into the oil country, where he
drilled wells, remaining there until 1882. He has since been located at
Leechburg, Armstrong county. For one year after his arrival at this place he
engaged in mining. For three years he ran a hammer at Major Beale�s mill, in
Leechburg, and then became an engineer in the employ of the Moesta Machine
Company, with which concern he continued for ten years. At the end of that
period, in 1901, he became an employee of the American Sheet & Tin Plate
Company as engineer in charge of the electrical engine. A truthworthy and
reliable man, he has always enjoyed the full confidence of his employers, who
appreciate his faithful service. Mr. Adams has served one year as councilman
of Leechburg, and he has been quite active in church work as a member of the
Hebron Lutheran Church, in which he has held office as deacon and elder. He is
a Mason, belonging to Leechburg Lodge, No. 577, F. & A. M., and to
Pittsburgh Consistory (thirty-second degree). On political questions he is a
Republican.On Sept. 9, 1874, Mr. Adams married Naomi J. Kelly, daughter of Squire John
Kelly, of Bruin, Butler Co., Pa., and they have one daughter, Daisy May, now
the wife of Harry L. Clarke and living in Ellwood City, Pa.; Mr. and Mrs.
Clarke have two children, Naomi J. and Bessie M.Alexander L. Adams, son of Alexander, was born March 16, 1848, in Allegheny
county, Pa. His school days over, he went to work in a tinshop, and when about
eighteen years of age became employed in mines. Later he was engaged at mine
work in Clearfield county, Pa., and about 1881 came to Leechburg, where he
lived for a short time. He was next at Bruin, Butler Co., Pa., for three
years, doing pumping in the oil fields, at the end of that time returning to
Leechburg, where he is now employed at the mines of the American Sheet &
Tin Plate Company. He is an industrious and respected man, well known in his
community.Mr. Adams married Bessie Ashbaugh, daughter of Andrew and Mary (John)
Ashbaugh, and they have two children: Lula is the wife of David McGeary and
has two children, Mary F. and Clair A.; Samuel J. is foreman in a tin mill at
New Castle, Pa. Mr. Adams is a member of the Loyal Order of Moose in fraternal
connection, and belongs to the Lutheran Church. In political sentiment he is a
Republican.Â
Source: Pages 943-944, Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and
Present, J.H. Beers & Co., 1914
Transcribed November 1998 by Kathy Zagorac 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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