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Alden Neal
ALDEN NEAL, farmer and general merchant of Cowanshannock township, belongs
to a prominent and old settled family of this part of Armstrong county and is
himself one of its representative citizens. He has been thrifty and successful
in the management of his own affairs, and has several times been chosen to
fill township offices, the duties of which he has performed faithfully an
satisfactorily. His father, the late Smith Neal, was one of the largest t
landowners in the eastern part of the county, and a leading man in public and
church matters for many years.The Neal family is of German decent, and the ancestors of this branch,
Henry Neal, was a farmer in the Cumberland valley. He had three brothers who
served in the Colonial Army in the Revolution, an were all killed in the
battle of Brandywine. He married a Miss. Smith, by whom he had three sons:
William, who settled in Armstrong county; john who became a farmer in Butler
county, and Smith.Smith Neal, son of Henry, was born March 5, 1764, in the Cumberland valley,
in Cumberland county, and thence removed to Butler county, Pa., where he
settled in 1796, among its early pioneers. He enlisted in the Colonial Army
during the Revolution, and served one day. He was also a soldier in the was of
1812, and afterward served as a surveyor for the government. The gun that he
carried has been preserved in the family, and is now in the possession of his
great-grandson, Alden Neal. In 1833 Smith Neal removed to Armstrong county,
where he purchased the farm which he cultivated until his death, Aug. 5. 1863,
when he was in the one hundredth year of his age. He was a millwright by
trade. He was a Whig in Politics and a member and a member of the Seceder
Church. He married Sarah Cochran, and they had one son Robert.Robert Neal, born in Butler county July 5, 1778, was a farmer of Butler
county until 1834, when he bought a farm in Armstrong county. He was a member
of the Seceder Church until his death, Dec. 24, 1862. In politics he was a
Whig and afterwards a Republican, and served as the first inspector of
elections in his township. He married Sarah Love, who was born in Pennsylvania
in 1797 and died in December, 1857, and they had five children, three sons and
two daughters: William H. married Eliza Stuchel, and settled near Marion;
Rosetta P. married Thomas H. Marshall, a merchant and farmer of Dayton;
Alexander went to California; Smith is mentioned below; Mary J. (deceased)
married James Hanagan, and after his death married James Temple, of Iowa.Smith Neal was born in Butler county, Pa., Jan. 25, 1822, and was reared on
his fathers farm. He attended the subscription schools of the neighborhood,
and engaged in farming from the time he left school, in Cowanshannock township
and elsewhere. Besides his Cowanshannock township farm of two hundred acres he
also owned the home farm of five hundred acres. Until his death which occurred
June 7, 1899, he was a well-known resident of the township, holding various
local offices and taking an influential part in the activities of the United
Presbyterian Church at Dayton, to which he and all his family belonged. He
served as elder for many years, and represented the Brookville Presbytery in
the general assembly of the United Presbyterian Church held at Philadelphia in
1887. Politically he was a Republican.On May 25, 184-, Mr. Neal married Margaret Sloan, who was born in 1823, a
daughter of Samuel and Nancy Sloan, old settlers of Plum Creek township. To
Mr. and Mrs. Neal were born five children, one son and four daughters: Nancy
Jane, now living in Los Angeles, Cal., Amanda, wife of Johnson Irwin, a
carpenter, of Pomona, Cal.; Sarah C., wife of Samuel Burns, formerly a farmer
of Cowanshannock township, now in Dayton, Pa.; and Margaret and Alexander who
are deceased. Mrs. Neal passed away March 17, 1861, when thirty-nine years of
age. On April 10, 1862, Mr. Neal married (second) Caroline Jewert, of Plum
Creek township. To this second union were born six children, two sons and four
daughters: Loella R., who married John P. Beyer, and after his death became
the wife of A. M. Hines, a resident of Harrisburg and a conductor on the main
line of the Pennsylvania railroad; L. Adda, wife of John Downey, of New
Brighton, the inventor of the “Keystone Driller” and a steam pump;
Alden; Robert E.; who lives on the farm adjoining the homestead; and Mattie
V., who married William Elder, and Alice L., who married L.M. Lukehart, both
now living in Los Angeles, California.Alden Neal was born June 25, 1876, in Cowanshannock township, where he
received his early education in the common schools, later attending Dayton
Union Academy. He began life as a farmer, but in 1902 went to work at the
carpenter�s trade, following same until 1907. He then commenced the general
merchandise business he has carried on, and has built up a profitable trade,
showing a steady increase. he also engages in farming in Cowanshannock
township, and is regarded as one of the substantial men of his locality. he
has been chosen to various local offices, having served as assistant assessor
, auditor and supervisor in his township, in every capacity proving his
fitness and ability. He is a member of the U.P. Church at Dayton, belongs to
the I.O.O.F., Jr. O.U.A.M. and F.A.M., and is a republican in his political
views.On Oct. 23, 1889, Mr. Neal married Margaret Jane Rankin, daughter of
Matthew and Margaret (McCord) Rankin, of Cowanshannock township, and they have
had eight children, namely: Smith, John G., Erastus J., Alexander A., Alice
M., Sarah C., and Jennie Elizabeth and Charles M. (twins), all at home but
Smith and John G., who are in Los Angeles, California.Source: Pages 897-898, Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and
Present, J.H. Beers & Co., 1914
Transcribed November 1998 by Nanci Michalkiewicz 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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