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Charles J. Nieman
CHARLES J. NIEMAN, cashier of the First National Bank of Leechburg, Pa., is
also a member and secretary of the board of directors of that bank. Previously
to his connection with this institution he held other positions of financial
responsibility. Mr. Nieman was born in Allegheny City, this State, March 18,
1870, the youngest son of John C. and Nancy (Zorn) Nieman.John Christian Nieman, the father, was born in the Province of Hanover,
Germany, May 23, 1829, was confirmed there in the Lutheran Church by Rev. Mr.
Stueber, and came to America in 1847. He attended St. John’s Lutheran Church
for the time he came here, though he did not become a member of it until after
his marriage. He had been called on at different times to fill various offices
in the church. In January, 1896, he was elected president of the church and
remained in that position until his death.The family name was spelled “Niemann” by his ancestors. His
father, Fredrich Niemann, a lifelong Lutheran, died in Germany in 1872, at the
age of seventy years; the mother passed away many years before, in 1845, on
Dec. 20th, called in Germany the second day of Christmas.In 1852 Mr. Nieman married Nancy Zorn, daughter of Jacob and Susannah (Mechling)
Zorn. She was born in Lancaster county, Pa., and when a girl came to Allegheny
with the family of Rev. Mr. Friedrich, with whom she was staying. To this
marriage were born seven children, three of whom are deceased, Mary dying at
the age of nineteen, Rebecca when four years old and William H. at the age of
fifty-two; he was formerly an officer in St. John’s Church. The others are:
Sarah, wife of Charles Elste, of Bellevue; Lizzie, wife of G. W. McPherson, of
Bellevue, Pa.; Miss Anna, of Bellevue, Pa.; and Charles J.Jacob Zorn, father of Mrs. Nancy Nieman, was a native of Lancaster county,
this State, and served his country during the war of 1812, being one of the
brave men who fought under Jackson at the battle of New Orleans. Jacob Zorn’s
father also served his country during the Revolutionary war. Jacob Zorn was a
Lutheran in religious faith, as was also his wife; she died when her daughter
Nancy was but two years old.Charles J. Nieman attended the old Second ward public school on North
avenue in Allegheny. The determination of the boy to secure an education was
shown even at this early age, for when a pupil in the public schools during
the day session he attended German school at night. Later he took a course in
the Iron City Commercial College, an institution which was famous in its day.
At the age of sixteen he became the messenger in the railroad offices at the
Union Station, under the late Thomas D. Messler, who at that time was third
vice president of the Pennsylvania Company lines west of Pittsburgh. When
still quite young Mr. Nieman was advanced to the position of clerk in the
auditor’s office for the same company, and after serving fourteen years in
railroad work resigned to accept the position of assistant paymaster for the
American Sheet Tin Plate Company, Vandergrift (Pa.) Works. Later he was
promoted to the position of paymaster at the Vandergrift mills, resigning to
become cashier of the First National Bank at Leechburg, Pennsylvania.The progress of the bank and its growing importance to the business
community afford the best evidences of Mr. Nieman’s success. The deposits of
the First National Bank when he was elected cashier amounted to $250,000, and
in five years they have increased to the total of over $600,000, with total
resources of $8,000,000. This bank is on the “honor roll”, that is,
one possessing surplus and profits in excess of capital. Of the 7,500 national
banks in the United States, only 1,300 occupy this position.In this community where he has spent so much of his early life, little need
be said of Mr. Nieman as a business man. The growth of the institution for
which his most earnest efforts have been made is proof of his efficiency in
his present responsibility. His unfailing courtesy, his genial manner under
all circumstances, make him particularly fitted to meet the exigencies of
modern business life. His acute business sense seems tempered by a manner
which enables him to refuse a proposition with as much grace as another would
have in conferring a favor.Mr. Nieman is essentially a domestic man, devoted to his interesting
family. He married Edith Dawson, daughter of the late Thomas and Eliza (Eggleson)
Dawson, of Bellevue, Pa.; her father was one of the pioneer oil men of the old
Smith Ferry field. Mr. and Mrs. Nieman have two daughters, Grace and Jean. The
handsome family residence standing on Grant avenue, Leechburg, was at one time
the home of Capt. Alfred Hicks, later the home of L. W. Hicks, and then
purchased by Mr. Nieman.Mr. Nieman and family belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church and he has
been secretary of its board of trustees since 1907. He is prominent in
Masonry, a life long member and past officer of the Bellevue Lodge, No. 530,
F. & A. M.; a member of the Duquesne Royal Arch Chapter; Allegheny
Commandery, No. 35, K. T., and Coudersport Consistory, thirty-second degree.
He is associated also with the Odd Fellows Lodge at Leechburg.
Source: Page(s) 551-552,
Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and Present, J.H. Beers &
Co., 1914Transcribed September 1998 by Connie Mateer 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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