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George H Clever
GEORGE H. CLEVER, a farmer residing in Wayne township, Armstrong Co., Pa.,
and a veteran of the great Civil war, was born Oct. 17, 1840, on the farm on
which he lives, which is situated near the town of Belknap. He is a son of
Joseph and a grandson of Henry Clever, or Cleaver, the spelling used by some
branches of the family.Henry Clever came from east of the Allegheny mountains and settled in
Westmoreland county, Pa., where he remained for some time. Later in life he
moved to Armstrong county, locating near Echo, where he resided until his
death. His children bore the following names: Henry, Michael, Daniel, Jacob,
Joseph and Christian, the last named marrying a member of the Houser family.Joseph Clever, son of Henry Clever and father of George H., was born in
Westmoreland county, in 1800, and on coming to Armstrong county settled in
Wayne township, first living near Echo and soon after purchasing a farm of 300
acres near Belknap, which at that time was mainly timberland. The clearing of
this land was a great undertaking, but he went at it bravely and spent the
rest of his life here, his death occurring Sept. 22, 1865, when he was aged
sixty-five years; he was buried in Concord Church cemetery. He had donated two
and a quarter acres to this church for cemetery purposes and had served on the
building committee that erected the first church edifice, in 1842. He was a
strict Presbyterian and was one of the founders of the church in his section,
donating the use of his log barn for the first church exercises. Joseph Clever
married Margaret Gould, who was born in 1811 and died Oct. 7, 1884, a daughter
of John and Mary Gould, the former of whom died Feb. 27, 1862, when aged
seventy-three years, nine months; the latter died in 1887, when aged
ninety-eight years. To Joseph Clever and his wife the following children were
born: John; Mary Jane, who married David Zimmerman; Robert; Joseph; George H.;
Margaret, who married Jacob Rupp; Catherine, who married John M. Fleming;
Christiana, who married Michael Smith; David G.; and Elizabeth, who died
young.George H. clever obtained his education in the district schools and
remained assisting his father until 1862, when he enlisted for service in the
Civil war, entering Company K, 155th Pa. Vol. Inf., which was attached to the
Army of the Potomac. His period of service covered the remaining years of the
great struggle and during this time he participated in many of the most
important land battles, including the Wilderness, Spottsylvania,
Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Appomattox Court House, and numerous others. On
Oct. 1, 1864, he was promoted to the rank of corporal, for gallant conduct.
When the war closed Mr. Clever returned home and continued to give his father
assistance until the latter’s death, since when he has operated a part of the
farm for himself and on his portion has erected all the substantial buildings
now in evidence. In addition to its agricultural possibilities his farm has
valuable coal deposits and gas. On his property is the highest elevation in
Armstrong county and during the Civil war it was made use of for flag signal
work, as on a clear day it is possible to see into eight of the surrounding
counties from this point.Mr. Clever married Lavina Rupp, a daughter of Adam and Rosanna (Hartzel)
Rupp, and eleven children were born to them, as follows: John, who lives in
Clarion county, Pa.; Harvey and Jessie M., both of whom are deceased; Bertram,
who lives at Apollo, Pa.; George, who is a resident of Wayne township: Rosie,
who married Bert Cunningham; McCleod, who lives in Wayne township; Maude, who
married Forest Stasey; Matilda, who married Wilson Reesman; Pearl, who died
young; and Oscar, who lives at Templeton, Pa. Mr. Clever and his family are
members of the Concord Presbyterian Church, which he has served both as
treasurer and trustee. In his political views he is a Democrat and for twelve
years he was a school director in the independent school district, and at
present is overseer of the poor in Wayne township. He is not only a well-known
but an important citizen.DAVID G. CLEVER, son of Joseph and brother of George H. Clever, was born
April 20, 1862, and is a farmer in Wayne township. He married Julia A. Thomas,
a daughter of Jacob R. and Lucy A. (Rumbaugh) Thomas, and they have had the
following children: Joseph (deceased), Miles E., Iona M., Margaret L., Clyde
(deceased), Florence Irene, Kosciusko (deceased), Vesta, Noama Ruth, Henry I.
and Laura C.Source: Pages 828-829, Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and
Present, J.H. Beers & Co., 1914
Transcribed October 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:
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