HEADER
Silas I Neese
SILAS I. NEESE, of Red Bank township, Armstrong county, was born May 24,
1888, on the farm he now occupies, the old homestead of the Neese family.The grandfather of Silas I. Neese was born in Schuylkill county, Pa., and
on coming to Armstrong county settled in Red Bank township, on what was later
known as the Jesse Reinhart farm, near New Salem. Later he moved to Forest
county, Pa., where he continued to carry on general farming until his death,
and he is buried in that county. He was a Democrat in politics. He married
Catherine Shuman, who died Aug. 1, 1885, and is buried in the United
Evangelical cemetery at North Freedom, Armstrong county. They had children as
follows, besides Jacob, father of Silas I. Neese: Susanna, who married Dr.
Emmanuel Rettinger (both are deceased); George, deceased, who married Polly
Haines, and lived at Oak Ridge, Armstrong county; Catherine, who married Aaron
Holben (both are deceased); John, who married Mary Ann Emery, and lived in
Tennessee (she is deceased); Hetty, who was the wife of Eli Haines, of
Emerickville, Jefferson county (both are deceased); Mary, wife of W. R. Darrah
(both are deceased); Sarah, wife of James Steele, of Brookville, Jefferson
county; Isaac, who died in infancy; Lydia, who died in infancy; and Mary, who
was burned to death when two years old.Jacob Neese, father of Silas I. Neese, was born at Leatherwood, Clarion
Co., Pa., and was a child when the family moved to Red Bank township, where he
received a common school education. He worked for his father on the farm and
was twenty-one years old when he went to Forest county, where he continued
with his father until he went into the service during the Civil war. On Aug.
28, 1861, he enlisted from Armstrong county in Company G, 105th
Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, under Captain Freas, and was mustered in at
Pittsburgh for three years� service. This regiment, which was attached to
the 2d Brigade, 2d Division, 3d Corps, Army of the Potomac, was commanded by
Col. A. A. McKnight until his death. Mr. Neese took part with his regiment in
the following notable engagements: Yorktown, April 5-May 2, 1862;
Williamsburg, May 5, 1862; Fair Oaks, May 31, 1862; White Oak Swamp, June 30,
1862; Malvern Hill, July 1, 1862; Bristoe Station, Aug. 22, 1862; second Bull
Run, Aug. 30, 1862; Fredericksburg, Dec. 13, 1862; Chancellorsville, May 1-4,
1863; Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863; Auburn, Kelly�s Ford, Nov. 7, 1863; Mine
Run, December, 1863; Wilderness, May 5-7, 1864. On May 6th he was
injured, receiving a gunshot wound on the right side of his head, and he was
sent to a hospital in Washington, D. C., where he remained for ten days.
Thence he was sent to Baltimore, Md., for two weeks, and from there to York,
Pa., for a short time, until able to rejoin his regiment at Pittsburgh, at
which place he was honorably discharged, Aug. 28, 1864. During his service Mr.
Neese was captured twice and was home twice on furlough.Mr. Neese had bought a farm of thirty acres in Forest county, and after the
war he bought a tract of seventy-three acres, adding to his possessions as he
prospered until he owned two hundred acres. He was actively engaged in general
farming until his death, which occurred Nov. 5, 1910, and he is buried in the
Eddyville cemetery. He was a useful citizen of his locality, serving a number
of terms as supervisor, and he was a prominent member of the McWilliams United
Evangelical Church, in Red Bank township, serving as treasurer of both Church
and Sunday school. Politically he was a Republican.On Aug. 21, 1861, Mr. Neese married Susanna Emery, who was born July 20,
1844, daughter of George and Catherine (Hilliard) Emery. They had a family of
five children, namely: Anna Clara, wife of Albert Wombler, of Jefferson
county; Mary Catherine, wife of A. C. Smith, of Red Bank township; William P.,
who married Margaret Burket, and lived in Red Bank township; Robert E., of Red
Bank township, who married Annie Sherry; and Silas I. The farm was divided
among the children upon the father�s death, Silas I. receiving the
homestead.George Emery, father of Mrs. Neese, was born May 13, 1813, in Northampton
county, Pa., where his father settled after coming to America and passed the
remainder of his life. George Emery came to Red Bank township, Armstrong
county, and bought a farm of one hundred acres, part of which lies over the
line in Jefferson county. He carried on farming all his life, from this region
moving to Tennessee, where he bought a tract of 125 acres, which he cultivated
for twenty years. He died there in 1881 at the age of sixty-eight years, and
is buried in that State. His wife subsequently sold the Tennessee property and
returned to Red Bank township, buying a tract of five acres and a home from
her son-in-law, Jacob Neese. She passed her closing years, however, with her
daughter Sarah, Mrs. Holben, in Butler county. She was born in 1820, daughter
of Francis and Susanna (Eckert) Hilliard, of Leatherwood, Clarion county, and
died in 1908 at the age of eighty-eight years; she is interred in the Lutheran
Church ground in Ringgold township, Jefferson county. Six children were born
to Mr. and Mrs. Emery: Mary Ann, deceased, married John Neese, of Tennessee;
Susanna is the widow of Jacob Neese; John married Maria Fisher, and lived in
Red Bank township (she is deceased); Sarah Jane married John Holben, of Butler
county, Pa.; Catherine, deceased, was the wife of James Duncan, of Coffee
county, Tenn.; Priscilla died when three years old. The father of this family
was originally a Democrat in politics, but later became a Republican, and he
was a Union sympathizer during the Civil war, in which he served two years as
a member of the 2d Pennsylvania Cavalry; he was discharged on account of
sickness. He served as supervisor of his township, and was a member of the
Lutheran Church. His daughter, Mrs. Neese, is a member of the United
Evangelical Church at McWilliams, to which she has belonged for over fifty
years.Silas I. Neese has always resided on the home farm in Red Bank township. He
received his education in the local schools, working for his father until the
latter�s death, when he inherited the homestead property. Politically he is
a Republican. Mr. Neese married Esther Ruth Snyder, daughter of Daniel and
Laura Alice (Weaver) Snyder, of Jefferson county, Pa., and they have one
child, William Ivan, born April 14, 1912.Walter Snyder, grandfather of Mrs. Neese, was a farmer in Porter township,
Jefferson county, until his death. He was of German stock. He was twice
married, and by his first wife, Elizabeth Sherry, had children as follows:
John, who died while serving in the army; Henry, of Jefferson county, who
married Catherine Milliron; Simon, deceased; William, of Oklahoma, who married
Caroline Commandeiner; David, deceased, who married Elizabeth Ellenberger;
Conrad, who died young; Daniel; Catherine, who died young. Mr. Snyder�s
second marriage was to Annie Blanchard, who came from Germany, and they had
four children: George, Mary, Samuel and William Weaver, all deceased. The
mother of this family survives, living with Mrs. Daniel Snyder in Ringgold
township, Jefferson county. She is a member of the Lutheran Church, to which
her husband also belonged. He and his first wife are buried in the Lutheran
graveyard in Ringgold township.Daniel Snyder, father of Mrs. Neese, was born April 19, 1855, in Jefferson
county, Pa., and received his education in the schools of Ringgold township.
Until he reached his majority he worked for his father, later buying the farm
of seventy-five acres from his father in Ringgold township, the place he is
still occupying, and he has been a successful farmer. He has served as
supervisor and school director of his township, is a Democrat in politics, and
holds membership in the Lutheran Church in Ringgold township, Jefferson
county.Mr. Snyder married Laura Alice Weaver, daughter of Amos and Eliza (Albert)
Weaver, and they have had five children: Annie, wife of Robert McCanna, of
Armstrong county; Lowry, living on the farm in Jefferson county, who married
Della Fisher; Mattie, who died when nineteen years old; Esther Ruth, born Dec.
16, 1892, who is the wife of Silas I. Neese; and Iva Alma, at home.Source: Pages 946-947, 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:
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
