BIO: John M. KELSO, Beaver County, PA
    
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    BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES.  This Volume Contains Biographical Sketches 
    of Leading Citizens of Beaver County, Pennsylvania.  Buffalo, N.Y., 
    Chicago, Ill.: Biographical Publishing Company, 1899, pp. 168-170.
    _________________________________________________________________ 
    
    JOHN M. KELSO, a veteran of the Civil War, is the proprietor of one of the
  finest general merchandise stores in Beaver county, and resides at New
  Galilee. He was born in Noblestown, Pa., August 31, 1843, and is a son of
  Mark and Mary (Borland) Kelso. John Kelso, the grandfather of John M., was
  born in Franklin county, Pa., in 1750, and obtained his education in the
  East. Upon the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, he volunteered his services
  to the cause of Independence, and, in all, served seven years and six months,
  holding the rank of sergeant major when he retired from the army. He
    
    BEAVER COUNTY  169
    
  was a brave soldier and has an honorable war record. At the close of the war
  he removed to Allegheny county and took up a large tract of wild land, which
  he cleared, and upon this he erected log buildings. He married Miss
  McCormick, who was born in Allegheny county, and they reared six children:
  George; John; Benjamin; Mark, the father of John M.; Jennie (Ormond); and
  Mary (Cook). Politically, he was a Whig. Religiously, he was a member of the
  Associate Reformed church. He passed to the world beyond, in the year 1810.
    
    Mark Kelso was born in Allegheny county, Pa., in 1802, and, notwithstanding
  the many difficulties he encountered, obtained a good education. He assisted
  his father in cultivating the farm, and upon the latter's death succeeded to
  the possession of the old homestead. He was a large sheep-raiser and
  woolgrower, and was proud of the quality of his stock. He was a Whig and
  later a Republican. He was a faithful member of the United Presbyterian
  church, and was an elder therein for years. He died in 1865, and his wife
  survived him many years, dying in 1889, at the age of eighty-one. His union
  with Mary Borland, a daughter of Matthew Borland, of Allegheny county, Pa.,
  resulted in the following issue: Margaret (Nesbit); Mary A. (Woods); John M.,
  the gentleman whose name heads these lines; Matthew B., who died in infancy;
  George H., a farmer; and Joseph A., a merchant, who, prior to his death, in
  1898, was a partner of the subject of this sketch.
    
    John M. Kelso received his mental training in the public schools of
  Allegheny county, and was engaged as a teacher until 1883, when he moved to
  the borough of New Galilee. It was a very small place at that time, there
  being but three stores located there, but our subject predicted its future
  growth, and, in partnership with his brother, Joseph A. Kelso, bought out the
  store of A. F. Reed. There they did business for five years, at the end of
  which time they bought a building of Mr. Porter. In a very short time they
  acquired a large and lucrative trade, and at the present time John M. Kelso
  is the leading merchant of the town. The building in which he is located
  consists of one story, a basement and a stock room, and is without doubt one
  of the most completely stocked stores in Beaver county, carrying a full line
  of dry goods, boots and shoes, hats and caps, clothing, notions, hardware,
  crockery, house furnishings, jewelry, drugs, confectionery, tobacco and
  cigars. He is a man of great energy and enterprise, and the manner in which
  he caters to the wants of his customers has brought him into public favor.
    
    John M. Kelso, fired with the patriotism of an American citizen who loves
  his country, enlisted, in 1864, in Company I, 112th Reg., Pa. Vol. Inf., near
  Pittsburg. After doing garrison duty around Washington, D. C., he was sent to
  the seat of war and took part in some of the hardest-fought battles, such as
  the battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, North Anna River, Cold Harbor,
  Petersburg, Weldon Railroad, and Chapin's Farm. He
    
    170  BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES
    
  was taken prisoner, and was forced to endure the tortures of Libby Prison,
  Belle Isle, and Salisbury, being confined in these notorious places for about
  six months. He was then exchanged, but the harsh treatment to which he had
  been subjected, and the lack of proper food, had undermined his robust
  constitution, and he was stricken with typhoid fever, from which he did not
  recover until after the close of the war.
    
    Mr. Kelso formed a marital union with Caroline H. Imbrie, a daughter of
  Rev. David R. Imbrie, and a granddaughter of Rev. David Imbrie. Her
  great-grandfather was a native of Scotland, who came to New York City, where
  he remained for a short period, and then returned to his fatherland. Upon
  again sailing for this country, he was shipwrecked and lost most of his
  valuables and personal effects, - in fact, the proceeds of most of his
  property. He settled in Service, Pa., buying a large tract of land, which he
  cleared, and then erected houses and barns. He was a successful stock-raiser.
  He married Miss Flack, and they had two children: David; and John, who engaged
  in farming, in Beaver county.
    
    Rev. David Imbrie was educated at Canonsburg, studied for the ministry, and
  was licensed to preach in the Associate Reformed church. He preached for many
  years at Bethel, Lawrence county, Pa., and at Darlington. His death came very
  suddenly and in a very dramatic manner. He died one Sabbath morning as he was
  entering the pulpit. His son, Rev. David R. Imbrie, received his collegiate
  or theological education at Canonsburg. He was pastor of a church at New
  Wilmington, Pa., for more than twenty-five years, and was held in the highest
  esteem. He married Nancy R. Johnston, who was born in Franklin county, Pa.,
  and they had eight children, four of whom are now living, namely: Rev. J. J.,
  who was educated at New Wilmington and in Westminster College, is a graduate
  of the Allegheny Theological Seminary, and now holds two charges in Butler
  county; Rev. D. R., who received the same educational training as his
  brother, and is chaplain of the Allegheny County Workhouse; Nannie I., the
  wife of R. S. Clark, a well-known farmer; and Caroline H., who attended the
  public schools at Ottawa, Kansas, and Bridgewater Academy, Pa. She taught
  school for three years and was then united in marriage with the subject of
  this biography. They are the parents of four children: Frederick L.; George
  N.; Joseph A.; and Nannie I. Religiously, Mr. Kelso is a member of the U. P.
  church and has been an elder since 1888. He is a Republican in politics, and
  held the office of school director for six years.