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David P. Trout, D.D.S.
DAVID P. TROUT, D. D. S., of Leechburg, Armstrong county, one of the oldest
practicing dentists in this part of Pennsylvania, has been located there for
over fifty years. As one of the first dentists to settle there he is one of
the most widely known, and his high reputation has been maintained by
conscientious and satisfactory work which places him among the foremost
practitioners of his profession in this section. Dr. Trout was born Oct. 22,
1839, Allegheny township, Westmoreland county, Pa., and is a great-grandson of
the founder of his family in America.The Doctor’s great-grandfather came to this country from Germany, in
company with one of his brothers, and first settled at Germantown, near
Philadelphia. They separated, and the family never afterward succeeded in
locating the brother mentioned. The great-grandfather married in Philadelphia,
and after living there some years went to the Colony of Virginia, where he
died. His son, Baltzer Trout, grandfather of Dr. Trout, was born at Germantown
and went with his father to Virginia. He was a stonemason by trade. During the
Revolution he served as a soldier in the Colonial forces, was with Washington
at Yorktown, and in his later years received a pension for his services. He
was married in Virginia, his wife’s maiden name being Ritinour, and in 1806
removed to Westmoreland county, Pa., among the pioneers of that region,
settling in the woods three miles from Delmont. There he cleared a tract of
land and continued to make his home for eighteen years; his place is now known
as the Branthouver farm. His family consisted of five sons and two daughters,
all born in Virginia; Henry, who died in Illinois; John, who died in
Westmoreland county, Pa., ; Jacob, who died in Westmoreland county; Baltzer,
who died in Greenfield, Pa.; Daniel, who died in Westmoreland Co; Catherine,
wife of Philip Walters; and Elizabeth, wife of John Jonston. The father of
this family died July 5, 1837, in Allegheny township, Westmoreland county,
Pa., and the mother died in December of the same year; they are buried in the
Poke Run churchyard. Mr. and Mrs. Trout were members of the Methodist Church.Jacob Trout, son of Baltzer Trout, was born Jan. 28, 1798, in Virginia, and
came with his father to Westmoreland county, where he followed farming in
Allegheny township from 1832 until he retired because of his advancing years.
He owned 137 acres, and had a well improved farm, which he cultivated
intelligently, the place showing the result of his good management. Outside of
his farm work he was not particularly active in the community except in his
connection with the Lutheran church, of which he was a prominent member,
taking a leading part in its work. He died June 5, 1868. Mr. Trout married
Mary A. Hawk, daughter of Daniel and Magdalena (Bricker) Hawk. A large family
was born to this union: William R.; Baltzer, who is deceased; Jacob, deceased;
Daniel, living in California; Henry, living in Iowa; David P.; Mary A., who
married George H. Goodsel; Harriet, deceased; Jennie, unmarried; Melvina R.,
who married Cochran Vantine; Jemima, unmarried; and Caroline E., who died
young.William R. Trout, eldest son of Jacob, was born Sept. 26, 1829, in
Washington township, Westmoreland county, Pa., and was reared upon the farm,
where he remained until twenty-four years old. He was educated in the common
schools and at Leechburg Academy, and taught school for fourteen years, for
six terms of that time being engaged in Armstrong county, the balance in
Westmoreland county. For several years he followed farming on part of the old
homestead in Allegheny township, Westmoreland county, and since he retired
from agricultural pursuits, in 1904, he has made his home in Vandergrift, Pa.
He is a member of the Presbyterian Church at Leechburg, and teaches in the
Sunday school. He was made a Mason at Freeport, Pa., in 1866. Mr. Trout has
made a special study of Indian times and history in this section, on which
subject he has become an authority. He married Maggie Lang, daughter of John
Lang, and they had five children; Judson L., who is a residentof Leechburg;
Mary, unmarried; Cora, who married N. H. Slonaker; Anna, who married H. E.
Walthour; and Malvina R., unmarried. Mrs. Trout died in 1891, and is buried in
Pleasant Hill cemetery, in Allegheny township, Westmoreland County.David P. Trout began his education in the common schools and later attended
Leechburg Academy. He then entered the medical department of the University of
Wooster, at Wooster, Ohio, after which he took his course in dentistry under a
private preceptor, at Leechburg, as there were but two schools of dentistry in
the United States at the time. He began practice in 1862 and has continued
without interruption since, for the long period of fifty years maintaining his
standing as one of the leading dental practitioners in this locality. Dr.
Trout owns a fine farm one and a half miles west of Leechburg, in Westmoreland
county. He has been a useful citizen in the borough, giving good service upon
the school board for a period of ten years, and has always given his aid and
influence to progressive movements in the community.On Oct. 21, 1879, Dr. Trout married Mina Cooper, daughter of John Cooper,
who resided at Oakdale, in Allegheny township, Westmoreland county, and died
March 10, 1914, aged ninety-four years; he was able to read the daily papers
without the aid of glasses. He was a nephew of James Fenimore Cooper, the
famous historian and writer of Indian stories. Dr. Trout and his wife have two
daughters, Maude and Maria, both of whom live at home. They have had the
advantages of extensive travel.Dr. Trout is a member of the Presbyterian Church. Socially he is a Mason,
having belonged to Leechburg Lodge, No. 377, F. & A. M., for the last
forty- five years.
Source: Page(s) PAGES 421-422,
Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and Present, J.H. Beers &
Co., 1914Transcribed July 1998 by Caral Mechling Bennett 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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