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William Bain Ramsey
WILLIAM BAIN RAMSEY, justice of the peace, Second ward, Parker city, Pa.,
was born in Sugar Creek township, Armstrong county, April 21, 1837, son of
George S. and Eliza (Bain) Ramsey, and a grandson of James Ramsey. He is of
Scotch-Irish ancestry.James Ramsey came from Virginia to Armstrong county, Pa., prior to 1820,
settling in Sugar Creek township. He was a tailor, and continued to work at
his trade until old age caused his retirement, living to be ninety-six years
old. He married a Miss Smith, and they had six children, all now deceased,
namely: William; Harriet, who married John Rowe; Fanny, who married Isaac
Colbert; Eleanor, who married Joseph London; George S., and James F.George S. Ramsey, son of James Ramsey, was a man of unusual learning for
his day, being a scholar and familiar with the English and German languages.
Soon after attaining his majority, he settled in Donegal township, Butler
county, Pa., where he followed farming in the summers and taught school in the
winters until two years before his death, at the age of forty-one years, at
that time being auditor of Butler county. He married Eliza Bain, who survived
him. She was a daughter of John and Charity (Sanders) Bain, the former coming
from Gettysburg, Pa., to Armstrong county at an early date, settling in
Madison township, where he cleared a farm from the wilderness on which he
lived until his death. To George S. and Eliza (Bain) Ramsey the following
children were born: William B., John S. (deceased), James H. (deceased), a son
that died in infancy, George W. and Perry M.William B. Ramsey was twelve years old when he accompanied his widowed
mother and the other members of the family from their home in Butler county to
the Bain homestead in Armstrong county, and there he grew to manhood. His
education was secured in the common schools. For a number of years he worked
at Pine Creek Furnace, seven miles from Kittanning, Pa. On Aug. 18, 1862, he
enlisted for service in the Civil war, in Company K, 155th Pennsylvania
Volunteer Infantry, for three years or during the war. He took part in the
battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg. From the last named place
he was sent to hospital at Washington, D. C., and afterward, on account of
poor health, was detailed for light duty, and on April 21, 1864, on account of
continued disability, was honorably discharged from a hospital at
Philadelphia.After Mr. Ramsey sufficiently recovered his strength at home he was
employed in mining and shipping ore for three years, at Lucinda, Clarion
county, Pa., and later from Parker in company with Major W. P. Mobley, and
from Bear Creek to Pittsburgh, Pa., until 1870. He then embarked in the coal
business, opening coal banks at Parker and Karns City, in Armstrong county,
and at St. Joe, in Butler county, and continued in that business until 1886,
when he was elected assessor of the city of Parker. He served in that office
for twenty-three consecutive years. In 1906 he was elected a justice of the
peace, holding over his term, under the new law, from May, 1911, to December,
1911, and on Nov. 7, 1911, was reelected, for a term of six years.Mr. Ramsey was married Oct. 1, 1857, to Georgiana Curren, a daughter of
William and Elizabeth (Garwood) Curren, of Parker, and eight children were
born to them, namely: William C., who is deceased; James H.; Elizabeth, who is
the wife of William Over; Sarah A., wife of Charles Cratty; Homer S.; Robert
G.; Julia A., wife of Dr. Albert M. Hoover; and Jacob M. Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey
have been members of the Methodist Episcopal Church for over a half century.
He belongs to C. A. Craig Post, No. 75, G. A. R., of Parker, which he served
as commander for one year, quartermaster for eight years, and at present as
adjutant, serving his fifteenth year in that office. Politically he is
identified with the Republican party.Source: Pages 797-798, 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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