Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens
Lawrence County Pennsylvania 1897
[p. 608] who resides in Shenango township, but is employed at Lawrence Junction in the railroad yards of the Pennsylvania Company, was born in Croton, now a part of New Castle, Aug. 8, 1852, and is a son of Lawrence and Christiana (Clouse) Schweikert, the latter a daughter of Philip and Christiana (Ackerman) Clouse. Lawrence Schweikert was born Nov. 22, 1822, in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, and came to this country in 1845, going direct from the port of arrival to Portage Co., Ohio., where he remained but six weeks. Thence he traveled to Cleveland, and next to Youngstown, where he lived one year. One winter he lived in New Orleans, and then came back to Pennsylvania by way of the Ohio River to Pittsburg, and thence to Brady's Bend in the fall of 1847, and worked in that locality for one year. His life was spent in various places from that time to 1853, when he came to New Castle to work in the ore banks at Croton; in 1858 he bought the farm in Shenango township, and in 1861 took full possession. He was a son of Valentine and Cecelia (Schreiner) Schweikert, and grandson of Joseph Schweikert.
The subject of this brief biography was reared in Croton village until he was nine years of age, when his father moved to Shenango township, which has since been his home. He attended the district schools until he was sixteen years old. When the family moved to the new farm in Shenango township it was all in timber, and the boys, together with their father, had a hard time clearing it and preparing it for the large crops of grain and corn that have since been harvested from it. Mr. Schweikert lived under the parental roof until his marriage, when he took up his residence in a comfortable house on a part of his father's farm. He was interested in farming operations until 1893, when he secured work on the Pennsylvania Company's line, beginning work at noon April 12, 1893, at Lawrence Junction.
His marriage took place Dec. 12, 1885, in New Castle, the bride being Mary Jane Kelly, who was born in Butler County, a daughter of Samuel and Sarah A. (Thompson) Kelly. Sarah A. Thompson was a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Patton) Thompson, the former a soldier in the War of 1812. Samuel Kelly was born in Erie, Pa., a son of Aaron and Ruth (Hale) Kelly. Mr. Schweikert is the first in a family of nine born to his parents, and his wife is second in a family of thirteen born to her parents. They are both members of St. Joseph's Catholic Church of New Castle. Our subject is a Democrat in politics. He is rapidly making himself a pillar of the community in which he lives, and is esteemed as a thoroughly honest, capable and industrious citizen.
Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens Lawrence County Pennsylvania
Biographical Publishing Company, Buffalo, N.Y., 1897
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Updated: 23 Jul 2001