James H Minteer
JAMES HARVEY MINTEER, who has followed farming all his life in West Franklin township, Armstrong county, is a descendant of an old and representative pioneer family of this section.
William and Mary (Nicholson) Minteer, his grandparents, were natives of Ireland, of Scotch-Irish descent, and in 1813 settled in what is now West Franklin township, Armstrong Co., Pa., purchasing 200 acres of land and settling another 100 acres. They gave their son William, Jr., 150 acres and their son John fifty acres and allowances. Daniel O'Neil purchased fifty acres of what had been settled, leaving John the remaining fifty acres and allowances. William Minteer cleared and improved his place and he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives there, his death occurring Oct. 30, 1851, when he was seventy-three years old, hers June 1, 1851, at the age of sixty-three. This pioneer couple reared a family of twelve children: James; William; Andrew; John; Joseph; Alexander; Mary, who married Matthew Rayburn; Jennie, who married Willliam Smith; Ellen, who married John Smith; Nancy, who married John Milligan; Elizabeth, who married Robert Galbraith; and Margaret , who married Anthony Williams. The son William served in the Mexican war and John and Joseph three years in the Civil war, in the Fourteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry. William Minteer, the father of this family, and Abram Smith built the First Associate church at Slate Lick in 1815; it was a log structure 33 feet square, and they and their families worshipped there for many years, being obliged to walk five or six miles, each way, to attend services.
John Minteer, son of William, was born on the old homestead April 14, 1825, and there spent sixty-seven years of his life, passing the rest of his days at Worthington, where he died Sept. 24, 1900, in his seventy-sixth year. He married Elizabeth Milligan, daughter of Samuel and Mary (McElwee) Milligan, natives of Ireland of Scotch-Irish descent who came to this country and settled in Clearfield township, Butler Co., Pa., in the early days of the development of that section. Mrs. Minteer died in1902, at the age of seventy-nine years. She and her husband had a family of seven children, four of whom grew to maturity: William, J. Harvey, John (now deceased) and Margaret.
James Harvey Minteer was born on the old Minteer homestead, where he still resides, Oct. 6, 1856, and has passed all his life at that place. He was educated in the local common schools, and has been engaged in farming throughout his active years, now cultivating that portion of the home property which has come into his possession, 130 acres and allowances. He is a successful worker and is counted among the substantial residents of his section.
On Nov. 6, 1874, Mr. Minteer married Ann McMillen, daughter of Oliver D. and Sarah (Witherup) McMillen, of West Franklin township, and they have a family of eight children: Boyd S., Jessie E., Sarah Ellen, Effie R., Ivie, Harvey D., Cora A. and Howard V. Mr. Minteer is a member of the Royal Arcanum. He is independent on political questions.
Source: Pages 670-671, Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and Present, J.H. Beers & Co., 1914
Transcribed September 1998 by James R Hindman for the Armstrong County Beers Project
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