Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens
Lawrence County Pennsylvania 1897
[p. 138] of Mahoningtown is a conductor on the Pennsylvania R. R., and was born in Petersville, Butler Co., Pa., Aug. 4, 1858; he is a son of Dr. George W. and Margaret (Aiken) Welsh, grandson of William Welsh, who was a farmer by occupation and lived to be seventy years old. He served in the War of 1812. His father was a soldier of the Revolution, and was wounded in the shoulder at the Battle of the Brandwine, for which he received a pension many years afterward, when pensions were first allowed. Our subject's father was born in Butler County, near the Conoquenessing River in the year 1818, and died in Butler County in 1861 in the prime of middle life, while living in the village of Petersville, and caring for his large medical practice. His wife was born near Portersville, Butler County, and was a daughter of Andrew and Rachel (Adams) Aiken, the latter a daughter of John Adams, who married Margaret Hall. Andrew Aiken was born in Westmoreland County in 1802, near the Forks of Yough, and came with his parents to Lawrence County in 1804; he was a farmer during his whole life, and passed away obedient to the invisible summons in 1867. He was a son of Robert and Jane (McMains) Aiken, who were identified with farming throughout the extent of their lives.
Our subject passed the years of his youth from the age of three until he was seventeen years old in Perry township, at which time his mother with the family moved to New Castle; his education was obtained in the common schools of Perry township, Lawrence County, and in the Third Ward school of New Castle, where he was a pupil for three terms. Since his tenth year he supported himself, working on farms and elsewhere, picking up jobs here and there, and doing whatever his hand found to do. At the age of twenty-one, he began railroading as a brakeman and continued in that position for two years; then after a short service on the W. N. Y. & P. R. R., he again became a brakeman, and after working for the Pennsylvania R. R. eighteen months in that capacity he was appointed a conductor in October, 1885, and in the past twelve years has given ample evidence of his ability and general trustworthiness.
He was married in Mahoningtown, June 27, 1888, to Rebecca Pitzer, who was born in Mahoningtown, a daughter of John Pitzer, a contractor and builder, who married Mary Rhodes. Three children now compose the household of Mr. and Mrs. Welsh: Margaret Ruth; Paul Andrew; and Gula Louise. They are members in good and regular standing of the Presbyterian Church. Politically, Mr. Welsh is identified with the Prohibition party, whose principles he believes to be the best of any existing political organization. He is a kind and affectionate husband and father, an excellent neighbor, and a valued member of society.
Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens Lawrence County Pennsylvania
Biographical Publishing Company, Buffalo, N.Y., 1897
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Updated: 1 May 2001