Jacob Alwine (1771-1854) and his Descendants Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Duane F. Alwin Ann Arbor MI 48103 Part II Samuel Alwine, youngest son of Jacob and Catharine (Smith) Alwine, "was born on his father's farm in Salem township, Westmoreland County, Pa., February 27, 1820. After leaving the subscription schools of his youthful days, he learned the blacksmith trade in Greensburg, at which he worked for thirty-five years, at the same time carrying on wagon making. He then engaged in the livery business and contracted with the Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad (SWPRR) for some four years." He purchased the hotel known as the Richmond House "which he enlarged and improved until it (was considered) one of the best hotels in the county. In addition to this, he owned other valuable properties." This establishment would become known as the Alwine Hotel and would later be operated by his son-in-law Bela B. Zimmerman, whence it would be known as the Zimmerman House. [Endnote #5] Except for Samuel, who was well-known in the community of Greensburg, little is known about the children of Jacob and Catharine Alwine. Of the remaining children, we know the following: Catharine (b. Jan. 3, 1802) married Daniel Kuhn; John (b. Abt. 1805) married Anna Shuster; Jacob (b. 1812) married Lavina Kemerer; Theresa (b. April 20, 1815) married John Rush, April 25, 1841; and Sarah (b. unknown) married Henry Brauchler. [Endnote #6] The decennial censuses of Pennsylvania locate John, Jacob and Samuel in Hempfield Township and/or Greensburg from 1850 through 1880. Samuel Alwine was "married June 22, 1843 to Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Allshouse, at St. Vincent's Abbey, Beatty Station, Pa. by Father Stillinger." They had six children, of whom only three reached adulthood: Cordelia Anne (b. Oct. 16, 1846), who married B.B. Zimmerman; Samuel Augustine (b. Aug. 5, 1853), a baker in Greensburg, who married Jessie Beuton Null; and Henry Foster (b. Dec. 21, 1862). As to his social achievements, the biographies of prominent people in Westmoreland County in the late 19th century described Samuel Alwine this way: "Owing to industry and business ability Mr. Alwine has succeeded in amassing considerable wealth. He is a staunch Democrat and served twelve years as burgess of the borough of Greensburg. He is a devout and useful member of the Catholic church and is one of the substantial citizens of the county." [Endnote #7] The Church of the Holy Sacrament was erected in Greensburg in 1848 adjacent to the Catholic cemetery which had been consecrated some twenty years earlier. One history of Westmoreland County includes the following passage in its coverage of the Catholic graveyard in Greensburg: "There are five graves of the Allwines, placed in an exact row, with exact intervals between them, with head- and foot-stones. Two of the graves have ordinary stones, and three, which are those of children, have marble head, foot and side pieces. They are remarkably well executed, and bear upon them simple but suitable inscriptions from Holy Writ. One bears the text, "Suffer little children to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of God." Another bears the words, "Thy will be done," and the third a text from Job, in which he expressed his cheerful resignation under suffering, "The Lord gave and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord." [see Endnote #8] I have not visited this gravesite, nor do I know who else is buried there, although it is likely the children mentioned in this passage were the children of Samuel and Elizabeth Alwine. These three children -- Elizabeth Esther (b. Oct. 30, 1857), Francis Jacob (b. Feb. 13, 1859) and Catharine Josephine (b. April 5, 1861) -- all died in the summer of 1862. [Endnote #9] We can only speculate about the circumstances of their death, though it was likely that it was due to an outbreak of disease that might have affected the entire family. It must have been a tragic loss to a young family to have three children taken from them virtually all at once, and one can imagine the need for the comfort and assistance offered by the Biblical messages inscribed on the grave stones. [To be continued] Endnotes 5. This information was obtained from the Biographical and Historical Cyclopedia of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, compiled, edited and published by John M. Gresham & Co., Philadelphia, Pa., 1890 (pp. 40-41), and George D. Albert's History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, L.H. Everts & Co, 1882 (p. 500). 6. The source of this information is Jerome Allwein's Genealogy of the Allwein-Arnold Families, Philadelphia, 1902 (pp. 18-19). 7. See Biographical and Historical Cyclopedia of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, John M. Gresham & Co., Philadelphia, Pa., 1890 (pp. 40-41). 8. See George D. Albert's History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, L.H. Everts & Co, 1882 (p. 512). 9. Elizabeth Esther died April 22, Francis Jacob died August 12, and Catharine Josephone on August 26, all in 1862. This information is given in Jerome Allwein's Genealogy of the Allwein-Arnold Families, Philadelphia, 1902 (p. 20). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Duane F. Alwin Professor, Department of Sociology Senior Research Scientist & Program Director Survey Research Center Office: 4067 Institute for Social Research Phone: 734-764-6597 Fax: 734-647-4575 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~