Joseph Guy

JOHN GUY, a well known citizen of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and the possessor of a large farm which is justly prized for the size, variety and quality of its products, is a descendant of good Irish stock, as are many of the sturdy farmers of that vicinity. 

William Guy, father of John Guy, was born in Ireland, in 1794, and emigrated to the United States in 1820, locating in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. William Guy became identified with the Democratic party, and was a member of the Episcopal church. He was a weaver by trade, but took up the occupation of farming in Hempfield township, Pennsylvania. He married (first) in Ireland, and had two children: A daughter who remained in Ireland when her father came to America;: Richard, born November 1, 1816, who came with his father to America, and died in 1873. Richard Guy married Catherine Allshouse, of Hempfield township, and they were the parents of seven children, as follows: Mary, Samuel, Henry, Hester, Josephine, Sarah, and Frank, who lives in Kansas, William Guy married (second) in 1824, Sarah Frazer of Sewickley township, Pennsylvania, and they had ten children, as follows: I. Elizabeth, born February 6, 1826, married Robert McGill, of Hempfield township, Pennsylvania, and had five children: Frank, Elizabeth, Alexander, Annie, and Irwin. Mrs. McGill died in 1875. 2. James, born September 9, 1827, married Mattie Bortz, and had the following children: William, Sarah, Richard, Joseph, James, Andrew, Irwin, Jennie, and Adelia. 3. Susanna, born April 27, 1829, married Jonas Bortz, and they were the parents of nine children, four of whom died within a period of three weeks of diphtheria. Their only children now living are: Albert, Annie, and Elizabeth. 4- William, born April 8, 1831, married Hannah Kepple, and had one child, Henry M., a carriage and wagon manufacturer in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. 5. Jacob, born June 7, 1833, married (first) Catherine Long, and they had one child, Elmer, a carpenter, Jacob, married (second) Catherine Kistler, and they had the following children: Milton, Cora, Lydia, Sarah, Grace, Ettie, Jesse, Robert. 6. Sarah Jane, born March 10, 1836, married William Nipple, and had five children: Mary, Edward, Oliver, Ellen, Emery. 7. John, of whom later. 8. Henry, born April 5, 1841, a stone mason by trade, and has helped to build many of the most important of the public buildings in Greensburg, Pennsylvania; among these may be mentioned the old Greensburg Academy, the Greensburg Seminary, the Masonic Hall, and others. Mr. Guy is a member of the Second Lutheran Church of Greensburg, and is a Democrat. He married, November 19, 1868, Mary Anna Smail, daughter of John Smail, who was a farmer of Hempfield township. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Guy were the parents of three children: Ella L. Melissa, John and William. Ella L. Melissa was born July 10, 1869, married Frank Shuey, a farmer of Hempfield township, and they had three children: Elsie, Edna and Charles. John was born April 23, 1873, married Susan AIlshouse, a daughter of Reuben Allshouse, of Berry. They had one child, Helen. John Guy lost his life as the result of an explosion in the Edgar Thompson steel works at Braddock, December 26, 1904. William was born March 29, 1876, married Sarah Shuey, a daughter of John M. Shuey, a farmer and thresher of Hempfield township. 9. Anna, born June 21, 1843. She married (first) William Keppler, and they had two children: Margaret Sarah and John. Mr. Keppler died in 1870, and his widow married Elijah J. Bricker and they have one child, Harry Bricker. 10. Agnes, born March 5, 1846, married Henry Piper, of Jeannette, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and they have three children, as follows: Emma, George, and William. 

John Guy, fourth son and seventh child of William and Sarah (Frazer) Guy, was born in Hempfield township, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, February 27, 1839. He was brought up on his father's farm and received a good education, attending the common schools. He then learned the trade of a mason and plasterer, and has followed this occupation all his life in connection with the cultivation of his farm, which is very extensive. For some years, however, his time has been devoted almost exclusively to the farming industry, as was made necessary by the increased size of the crops, which was due to his progressive methods. Mr. Guy is always on the lookout for new and improved farming machinery and methods, and is ready to give them a fair and practical trial. As a result of this his farm is in excellent condition and the yield of all crops--wheat, corn, oats, potatoes, etc.-is abundant beyond measure. His farm consists of a choice tract of forty acres. Mr. Guy is always ready to lend his assistance to any movement which will tend to the improvement or advancement of the community in which he lives. He married in 1862, Mary Elizabeth Kelly, daughter of John Kelly, a farmer of Hempfield township, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Guy had one child, Ida, who died in 1875. 

Source: Page(s) 115 - 116, History of Westmoreland County, Volume 2, Pennsylvania by John N Boucher. New York, The Lewis Publishing Company, 1906. 
Transcribed June 2001 by Nathan Zipfel for the Westmoreland County History Project
Contributed for use by the Westmoreland County Genealogy Project (http://www.pa-roots.com/westmoreland/)

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