Stitt Family
The Stitt family is one of the oldest and most representative of sound Americanism in Pennsylvania. Members of this family fought during the Revolution, the war of 1812, and in other conflicts for the country of which they were so proud, and the name has always stood for sterling honesty and fidelity to a strong sense of duty.
William Stitt was born in what is now Gilpin township, Armstrong county, and was a miller and farmer during his long and active life. In young manhood he served as a soldier in the Revolution, and the war of 1812, found him just as patriotic, for he once more became a soldier and fought for his country. His two brothers, Samuel and Jacob, were also soldiers in the latter conflict, and the former rounded out his days in what is now Gilpin township. These brothers used, as did all the soldiers of the times, the old flintlock gun. William Stitt was a landowner, and died upon his farm in Gilpin township. His children were as follows: Samuel, John, James, William, Eliza, and Margaret.
Samuel Stitt, son of William, had the following family: William, James, Jacob, Samuel, John, Noah, Joseph, Andrew, Elizabeth, Sarah, and Sophia.
John Stitt, another son of William, was born in what is now Gilpin township, and was a miller and farmer all his life. A fine mechanic, he built the old Stitt mill along Carnahan run in 1818, in what is now Parks township. This was one of the early mills of the county, and all of the wheels were made by hand. So well known and generally recognized was the sterling honesty of Mr. Stitt, and the superiority of his process, that the saying became popular, whenever a comparison of merit was needed, "as good as the wheat in Stitt's mill." Mr. Stitt lived here, operating the mill, until his death in 1832. His remains were interred in a private burying ground on Capt. Henry Truby's hill. His wife bore the maiden name of Esther Frantz. Their children were as follows: Israel, born April 8, 1818; Hiram, Nov. 23, 1819; Delia, Sept. 30, 1821; Lavina, Jan. 3, 1824; Levi, Aug. 18, 1826; Hetty, Sept.. 18, 1828; Leah, Aug. 24, 1830, and John F., July 26, 1833.
John F. Stitt, son of John, was born on the above mentioned date at the old homestead of his father, in what is now Parks township. He was a carpenter and farmer, and like this father a good mechanic. At different periods he was foreman of building gangs, and assisted in the construction of the Canadian Pacific railroad. His latter days were spent in his native township, where he met his death, being killed by a passenger train on the Pennsylvania railroad, on Sept. 22, 1894. His remains were laid to rest in the Stitt cemetery (Laurel Point) in Parks township. He married Anna K. Kauffman, daughter of George and Jane (Eldridge) Kauffman, and she survives, making her home with her son Thomas A. Stitt. Children as follows were born to John F. Stitt and his wife: Harriet I. married George W. Stitt; Esther J. died young; Levi G. married Lida M. Hanna and lives in Parks township; Anna M. married Newton A. Long; Thomas A. is mentioned below; Margaret L. married Levi Schall; Benton F. lives at Columbus, Ohio; Edith A. married Charles R. Lanning, of Parks township; Florence married James Kepple, and (second) Prof. James Bandeen, and they reside in Texas.
THOMAS A. STITT, a farmer of Parks township, was born in that township Jan 21, 1865, son of John F. Stitt, referred to above, and his wife Anne E. (Kauffman) Stitt.
Until he was fourteen years old he attended school, and then began farming, which he has continued ever since with the exception of seven years when he was employed in the Vandergrift Steel Mills. He owns a tract of thirty-three acres of land lying in Parks and Kiskiminetas townships, and also farms his mother's property, making a specialty of raising fruit, which he sells at the Vandergrift markets. Mr. Stitt is unmarried. He belongs to the Grange and takes an intelligent interest in its work. Politically he is an independent voter.
LEVI G. STITT, master mechanic and traveling engineer for the American Sheet and Tin Plate Company, was born in what is now Parks township Oct. 28, 1860, son of John F. and Anne (Kauffman) Stitt. During his boyhood days Mr. Stitt attended school in his native township. At the same time he assisted in running the farm, and helped his father at carpenter work, gaining a practical knowledge of both. Remaining with his father until twenty-two years old, he then entered the employ of P. H. Laufman & Co., at Apollo, as a carpenter, but later became a millwright and was made a master mechanic. From the spring of 1882 until 1886 he worked with this concern, and upon its absorption into the American Sheet & Tin Plate Company, he was continued as its valued employee. He built the present fine plant at Vandergrift, which is the most modern in the country. In addition to his other interests Mr. Stitt owns eighty-three acres in Parks township, which was taken up by A. Fiscus, but later sold to Phillip Carney, from whom Mr. Stitt purchased it. He has a beautiful home built by him in 1909, and equipped with all modern improvements, and the site commands a magnificent view. Mr. Stitt married Lida M. Hanna, daughter of Alexander and Barbara (Ross) Hanna, and they are the parents of the following children: Herbert LeRoy, Arthur P., Nellie C., Goldie (died at the age of four years) and Veryl V. Mr. Stitt is an independent voter politically. His family are Methodists. Fraternally he is a member of Kiskiminetas Lodge No. 617, F. & A. M., of Vandergrift.
Levi Stitt, son of John Stitt and grandson of William Stitt, was born in Allegheny township Aug. 18, 1826. Like so many of the Stitt family he became a skilled general mechanic and millwright, at the same time following farming. He operated a mill and worked at the carpenter's trade, being good in all lines, and so continuing until death, which occurred on his farm in Parks township, April 21, 1902, while he was planting an apple tree. He married Eliza Kerr, daughter of Alexander Kerr. Their children were: Jane, who married Charles Long; Mary, who married David Fetties; Ellen who married Daniel Kunkle; Lavina, who married G. G. Wigle; Eden; John, deceased; Hugh A.; George; Howard; and Trusey, the last named, deceased.
HUGH A. STITT, sheet roller at North Vandergrift, was born in Parks township March 6, 1873, son of Levi and Eliza (Kerr) Stitt, grandson of John Stitt, and great-grandson of William Stitt. As a boy he attended school in his native township, but at an early age commenced working for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, remaining with that company for seven years. In 1893 he went to Apollo to become an employee of the Apollo Iron & Steel Company, which has been absorbed by the American Sheet & Tin Plate Company. Mr. Stitt is now with the Vandergrift plant, and since 1904 has been a sheet roller. His house is on the Stitt homestead. In 1897 Mr. Stitt married Julia Barr, daughter of John Barr, and their children are Esther, Harold and Robert. Mr. Stitt is a Democrat, and since 1910, has been serving on the school board. He belongs to the Lutheran Church.
Source: Pages 459-460, 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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