Euwer Family

EUWER FAMILY. The family of which Robert Allen Euwer and Archie Nelson Euwer, of New Kensington, are representatives, was planted in this country by three brothers, Patrick, Samuel and John Euwer, who emigrated from Ireland in 1796. Patrick never married, Samuel settled on a farm at Sandy creek, Allegheny county, and left numerous descendants, and John was the founder of the Westmoreland county branch of the family.

John Euwer was born about 1767, in Ireland, and on coming to this country settled in Plum township, Allegheny county, where he purchased some two hundred and seventy acres of land and engaged in farming during the remainder of his life. He was a member of the Reformed Presbyterian church. Mr. Euwer married Nancy McMillen, of the Ligonier valley, and their children were: Jennie, wife of James McMath, farmer of Penn township, Allegheny county; Archibald, mentioned hereafter; Daniel, merchant of Blairsville and later of Pittsburg; Nancy, wife of Robert Euwer; Mary, wife of Thompson Graham, of Freeport, Pennsylvania; John Nelson, merchant; Eliza, wife of Robert Shearer; Samuel, merchant of Newcastle, Lawrence county, Pennsylvania; James, farmer on the homestead; and Isabel, wife of George Henderson, merchant of Newcastle. Mr. Euwer, the father, died in 1838.

Archibald Euwer, son of John and Nancy (McMillen) Euwer, was horn in 1799, in Plum township, Allegheny county, where he passed his entire life as a farmer. He was a member of the Reformed Presbyterian church. Mr. Euwer married Mary, daughter of Ebenezer and Nancy (Mitchell) Gill, and their children were: John, mentioned hereafter; Nancy Jane, deceased; Ebenezer G., merchant of Trafford, Pennsylvania; Matthew G., retired merchant of Parnassus; and Archie Nelson, farmer of Iowa, who during the Civil war enlisted in Company C, One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, commanded by Colonel Pierson, and served over three years in the Army of the Potomac, participating in all the battles from Fredericksburg to the surrender of Lee. The death of Mr. Euwer, the father of the family, occurred in 1843.

John Euwer, son of Archibald and Mary (Gill) Euwer, was born July 8, 1832, in Plum township, Allegheny county, and received his education in the common schools. At the age of sixteen he took charge of his father's farm, and until 1885 was engaged in agricultural pursuits. He then moved to Parnassus and there engaged in mercantile business, retiring February 7, 1901, since which time he has given his attention to real estate. In 1866 he left the homestead and purchased the Walnut Hill farm in Westmoreland county, on which he lived twelve years. In 1879 he bought a farm on Puckety creek, which he sold six years later on moving to Parnassus. He is a member of the Reformed Presbyterian church. Mr. Euwer married, January 11, 1855, Isabella M., daughter of Robert and Annie Allen, natives of Scotland, and their children were: Anna Mary, wife of J. McKee Swank; Amelia Jane; Margaret G., died at the age of three years; Robert Allen, mentioned hereafter; Archie Nelson, also mentioned hereafter; Ida May, stenographer for the Central Railroad Company; Elvira Bell, stenographer in Pittsburg; Florence C., kindergarten teacher in Allegheny City; and Lizzie Emma, deceased, graduate of Slippery Rock Normal school and for some time a teacher.

Robert Allen Euwer, son of John and Isabella M. (Allen) Euwer, was born May 14, 1862, on his great-grandfather's farm, the homestead of the family, and received his education in the common schools and at the Parnassus Academy. At nineteen he established himself as a butcher at Parnassus in partnership with J. D. Rowan, but at the end of one year sold out and went to Iowa where he was engaged with William Todd as a cattle shipper. He then returned to Westmoreland county, and in 1881 again established himself as a butcher in Parnassus, continuing the business about three years. He was then engaged for about four years in the livery business at Parnassus, after which he once more established himself as a butcher, thus time at Springdale, Allegheny county. He continued the business for thirteen years and then returned to Westmoreland county, where he purchased the furniture business of M. G. Euwer & Company, Ltd., entered into partnership with his brother, Archie Nelson Euwer, and established the business under the firm name of Euwer Brothers and Company. The enterprise proved successful and the affairs of the firm are now in a flourishing condition. Since 1891 Mr. Euwer has been president of the Springdale Building & Loan Association of Springdale, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. He is now serving on the council of Parnassus. His political support is given to the Republican party. He is a member and trustee of the Presbyterian church of Parnassus. Mr. Euwer married Sarah J., daughter of the Rev. John Moulton Jones, and they had one child, John Moulton, graduate of Parnassus high school and Pittsburg Academy and now engaged in bookkeeping. Mrs. Euwer died in 1885, and Mr. Euwer subsequently married Katharine, daughter of Matthew Donnell. The issue of this marriage is one child, Archie Lloyd Euwer, at present attending Parnassus high school.

Archie Nelson Euwer, son of John and Isabella M. (Allen) Euwer, was born October 24, 1864, on the homestead, and was educated in the common schools and at the Oak Dale Academy, Allegheny. After serving one year as clerk for William Cruikshank, of Verona, Pennsylvania, he entered his father's store in Parnassus in a similar capacity, remaining five years. He then entered into partnership with his father, the connection continuing until February 1901, when he purchased, in company with his brother Robert Allen Euwer, the furniture business since carried on by the firm of Euwer Brothers and Co. For some years Mr. Euwer held the office of borough auditor. He is a Republican, and a member and trustee of the United Presbyterian church of Logan's Ferry. Mr. Euwer married, October 3, 1895, Claribel, daughter of James M. and Anna (Stevenson) Greer, of Murraysville, Pennsylvania, and they have one child, James Greer Euwer, born August 20, 1901.

Source: Page(s) 185-187, History of Westmoreland County, Volume II, Pennsylvania by John N Boucher. New York, The Lewis Publishing Company, 1906.
Transcribed May 2007 by Nathan Zipfel for the Westmoreland County History Project
Contributed for use by the Westmoreland County Genealogy Project (http://www.pa-roots.com/westmoreland/)

Westmoreland County Genealogy Project Notice:

These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format, for any presentation, without prior written permission.