- O -
JOHN C. OFFUTT
Page 450
John C. Offutt, head of the firm of
Offutt & Co., leading undertakers of New
Castle, Pa., has been a resident of the city
continuously for the past twenty-three
years. He was born in Plain Grove Township,
Lawrence Coimty, Pennsylvania, in
1847, and is a son of John Offutt. The latter
was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania,
and became one of the early settlers
in Plain Grove Township, Lawrence
County, where he followed farming
throughout the remainder of his life. He
was a prominent and aggressive Abolitionist
in the ante-bellmn days.
John C. Oifutt was reared and educated
in his native township, and resided on the
home place until he was nineteen years of
age. He then went to Youngstown, Ohio,
for a brief period, after which he embarked
in the mercantile business at Volant, Lawrence
County. He continued there a few
years, then sold out and moved to Sharon,
Pa., where he resided until 1875. He was
next located in the oil regions one year,
after which he returned to Lawrence County
and conducted his father's farm for
three years. At the end of that time he
bought out a mercantile establishment in
Clarksville, Mercer County, Pa., which he
successfully conducted until 1887, the year
which marked his arrival in New Castle.
In the latter city he engaged in the furniture
and undertaking business in partnership
with William G. Dunn. After a
partnership of two years, he purchased the
interest of Mr. Dunn and for a period of
twelve years continued the business. He
then disposed of the furniture branch of
the establishment, and has since confined
his attention to imdertaking. He is accorded
the patronage of the leading citizens
of New Castle and the tributary
country, and enjoys the confidence and
highest esteem of the people. He has in
association with him one son, Frank B.
Offutt, under the firm name of Offutt &
Co., the latter being a graduate of Trinity
Hall College, of Washington, Pa., and of
the Pittsburg School of Anatomy.
John C. Offutt was united in marriage
in 1873 with Miss Louise E. Bovard, of
Plain Grove, and they are parents of two
children: Martha M., wife of John H.
Mitchell, of New Castle, and Frank B.
Fraternally, Mr. Offutt is a member of the
Masens, Knights of Pythias and Benevolent
Protective Order of Elks. Socially,
he is a member of the Lawrence Club of
New Castle.
EDWIN N. OHL
Pg 831
Edwin N. Ohl, whose comprehensive
business interests make him a dominating
force in the commercial life of Western
Pennsylvania, for many years has been
particularly identified with the iron, ore
and affiliated industries. He was born at
Ohltown, Trumbull County, Ohio, February
3, 1850, and is a son of Michael, Jr.,
and Eliza Jane (Campbell) Ohl.
The Ohl family is of German extraction
and it was established in Trumbull County,
Ohio, by Michael Ohl, the grandfather,
who as the first settler in what subse
quently became the village of Ohltown. He
undoubtedly was a man of enterprise, for
he engaged in fanning, built the first sawmill
in that section and also erected and
operated the first grist-mill. His activities
were ended by his death in 1858, but he
was survived by descendants who have displayed
like energy and enterprise.
Michael Ohl, Jr., father of Edwin N.,
was born June 21, 1819. He followed agricultural
pursuits, presumably on the old
homestead, and learned the trade of wheelwright,
which he put to use in building
mills and machinery all through Trumbull
County. These mills were equipped with
the old tub water-wheel, which was the accepted
form at that time. He met an accidental
death at Warren, Ohio, in 1865. He
was a man of intelligence as well as capacity,
and was well informed concerning the
leading questions of the day. In his political
views he was first a Whig and later a
Republican. He married Eliza Jane Campbell,
who was a daughter of Thomas Campbell,
also of Trumbull County, and they
had six children born to them, namely:
Edwin N.; Mary, who married Dr. E. C.
Fisher, of Chicago, 111.; Henry, who is a
resident of Sharon, Mercer County; Jessie,
who married Clarence L. Harrow; Lissie,
who married H. B. Budd, of Beltrami, Minnesota,
and Charles M., who resides at
Sharon. The mother of the above family,
born July 15, 1831, survived her husband
many years, her death taking place April
21. 1908.
Edwin N. Ohl's life until he was seventeen
years, was spent at work on the farm
and in the mill, and in obtaining a common
school education. Starting out then for
himself, he entered an offce at Mineral
Ridge, Ohio, and was in the employ of
the Mineral Ridge Iron and Coal Company
for one and one-half years. From there
he went to Youngstown, where he was in
the employ of Jonathan Warner for eight
months. In 1869 he came to Pennsylvania,
and on March 1 of that year entered the
employ of Samuel Kimberly, at Sharon,
and with Mr. Kimberly and his son, P. M.
Kimberly, Mr. Ohl remained for more than
thirty years. The Kimberlys operated blast
furnaces, rolling mills and coal mines.
AMien they sold their interests on May 1,
1899, Mr. Ohl became general manager of
the New Castle plant of the Republic Iron
and Steel Company and continued as such
until June 1, 1902, when he resigned in
order to manage his own business interests.
Mr. Ohl assisted in organizing the Cherry
Valley Iron Company, which purchased
one blast furnace at Leetonia, Ohio, and
another at West Middlesex, Pa., and continued
an independent organization until
November 1, 1906, Mr. Ohl being during
this time the vice-president and general
manager. On the above date the Cherry
Valley Iron Company sold its plants, and
interests in iron ore and coal properties
which it had acquired, to the United Iron
and Steel Company, Mr. Ohl being elected
president of this corporation and establishing
the main offce at Pittsburg. Mr.
Ohl is also president of the Pittsburg Iron
Ore Company, with offices at Cleveland,
and serves in the same capacity in three
other affiliated ore companies. He is also
president of the New Castle Portland Cement
Company; is a director in the First
National Bank of New Castle; a director in
the Keystone National Bank of Pittsburg,
and is president of the Fruit, Ohl Company,
general hardware merchants, at
Sharon. This enterprise was established
February 1, 1879, and was incorporated in
1899, in the past thirty years expanding
from a small beginning into one of Mercer
County's most important business concerns.
Mr. Ohl married Katherine F. Bower,
who is a daughter of the late Jobn Bower,
of New Castle. They have one son, Edwin
N., Jr., who was born February 19, 1901.
Mrs. Oiil is a member of Trinity Episcopal
Church, in which Mr. Ohl is a vestryman.
He is identified with the order of Masons,
is past master of Sharon Lodge, No. 250,
F. & A. M.; is past high priest of Norman
Chapter, No. 244, R. A. M.; is past eminent
commander of Rebecca Commandery,
Knights Templar, No. 50, and belongs to
Syria Temple, Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine, of Pittsburg, and to the Consistory
at Pittsburg. In his political views he is a
Republican, but he has never been active
in public affairs.
REV. FLORENCE F. O'SHEA
Pg 488
Rev. Florence F. O'Shea, pastor
of St. Mary's Catholic Church at New Castle,
was born in 1863, in Ireland, in that
beautiful section near the Lakes of Killarney.
Father O'Shea was brought to
America in boyhood and his education was
acquired in the schools and colleges of this
country. He began his classical course in
Bacon Academy, Colchester, Connecticut,
and continued his studies in St. Bonaventure's
College, Allegany, New York, where
he read rhetoric, philosophy and theology,
and in 1889 was ordained to the priesthood
by Rt. Rev. Stephen Vincent Ryan, Bishop
of Buffalo. From the time of ordination
until May, 1892, he was assistant pastor at
St. Peter's Church, Allegheny; going from
there to Huntington, Pennsylvania, as pastor
of Holy Trinity Church. In the fall of
1892 he was transferred to St. James
Church, Sewickley, Pennsylvania, where he
remained for fourteen years, meeting success
in his labors. On October 31, 1907, he
was appointed rector of St. Mary's Parish,
New Castle, and took charge of the same on
the fifteenth of the following November.
St. Mary's Parish has an interesting history
and was never in a more flourishing
condition than at the present time. As far
back as 1831 records are at hand to show
that there were faithful Catholics settled in
and around New Castle, to the spiritual
needs of whom priests came to administer
from Pittsburg. In 1852 a frame church
was erected west of the town by Father
Reid, one of the pioneer priests. In 1854
he was succeeded by Rev. Peter McGarvey,
who was the first resident pastor, and in
June, 1855, he was succeeded by Rev.
Thomas O'Farrell, who continued to minister
to the congregation and missions until
August, 1859. Rev. John C. Farren followed
Father O'Farrell, and after his withdrawal,
in 1862, the congregation was visited
monthly by Rev. Thomas Walsh, of
Brady's Bend, Armstrong County. The
next resident pastor was Rev. James
Canevin, and it was during his incumbency
that, on account of the development of the
iron industries of this section and the consequent
settlement here of laborers from
other points, many of whom were Catholics,
a new church was found to be an absolute
necessity. Father Canevin was a man
of energy and executive ability, and shortly
afterward he purchased a lot situated on
the corner of Beaver and North streets,
and began the erection of a church which
was completed in 1871. It is built of brick,
110 feet in length and 45 feet in width, has
a well proportioned tower in the center in
front and follows the Gothic style of architecture
with some modifications.
Father Hayes succeeded Father Canevin
and in April, 1871, he opened a school, and
in the following month purchased a large
frame building for a pastoral residence.
Prosperity reigned over priest and congregation
until the panic of 1873 affected the
iron industries oT New Castle, and many
of the employes of the great works were
obliged to seek employment in other sections.
This threw many unexpected burdens
on the members of St. Mary, but their
faith never wavered nor their zeal diminished,
and under the guidance of wise
priests, the congregation weathered all the
storms, and under the management of
Father O'Shea and his two assistants, it
has become one of the best and most prosperous
congregations in the Diocese of
Pittsburg. Father Hayes was succeeded
on February 8, 1879, by Rev. Joseph Gallagher,
who served faithfully and well until
his death, which took place August 11,
1906. He is remembered with esteem and
veneration.
Since taking charge of St. Mary's, Father
O'Shea has advanced the parish in many
ways and has added to the efficiency of the
working branches of the church already established.
In 1876 the present school building
was erected and during 1907 Father
O'Shea built additions to it, necessitated
by the large number of students, there being
at present 475 on the roll. The school
is under the care of eight Sisters of the
order of the Sisters of St. Joseph, and their
convent adjoins the pastoral residence on
North and Beaver streets. The advantages
afforded pupils in St. Mary's School
include the work of the primary grades of
the public schools, together with a complete
course in stenography, typewriting, bookkeeping
and two years of instruction in
Latin. Father O'Shea has under his spiritual
care 550 families, comprising about
3,000 souls.
Rev. Patrick E. Maher, first assistant to
Father O'Shea, was bom at Pittsburg,
Pennsylvania, September 13, 1879. Prior to
studying for the priesthood he attended St.
John's and St. Mary's Parochial Schools
in his native city and then entered the
Pittsburg College of the Holy Ghost, and
there completed his classical course in
June, 1900. For the three succeeding years
he attended St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore,
Maryland, and was ordained by his
Eminence Cardinal Gibbons, June 16,
1903. His first assignment was as assist
ant at St. Agnes, Pittsburg, his second
being at St. Thomas, Braddock, and his
third, St. Mary's, New Castle, to which he
came Januaiy 19, 1907.
Rev. Joseph V. Sharp was appointed
second assistant at St. Mary's Church
June 23, 1907. He was bom in Germantown,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; was
educated in the parochial schools of that
city, afterwards entering upon his college
course at Niagara University in September,
1895. In 1896 he entered the Villa
Nova College, where he completed his college
course. In the fall of 1901 he entered
St. Bernard's Seminary, where he made
his philosophical and theological studies,
from which institution he was ordained by
Rt. Rev. B. J. McQuaid on June 9, 1907.
JOHN W. OSTERMEIER
Pg 617
John W. Ostermeier, whose highly
cultivated farm of seventy-six acres lies in
Little Beaver Township, was born in
Snowden Township, Allegheny County,
Pennsylvania, April 3, 1856, and is a son
of John Martin and Elizabeth (Smith)
Ostermeier.
The parents of Mr. Ostermeier were both
born in Baden, Germany, and in 1848 the
father came to America. He was a cooper
by trade, but after reaching Allegheny
County, Pennsylvania, he rented farming
land and in 1852 he was joined by his
wife, who had remained in the old country
until he could establish himself in the new
one. In 1861 they moved to Birmingham,
and there he died in 1880, survived by his
widow for tweny years. They had the
following children: Philomeua, deceased,
was the wife of John Lockinger, also deceased;
Catherine, who married Anton
Kaylor; "William M., deceased; John William,
Elizabeth, deceased, was the wife of
Barney Sheitler, also deceased; Julia, who
married Jacob Fisher; Louise, who died
aged seventeen years, and two who died in
infancy.
John William Ostermeier attended
school after the family moved to Birmingham
in 1861, and then learned the glass
pressing trade, at which he worked from
1864 until June 28, 1882. On July 1 of
that year he started into the hotel business
at Pittsburg, where he continued until
1887, when he took charge of the Windsor
Hotel in Allegheny County. In 1892 he
came to Enon and bought the Enon Hotel,
which he conducted until 1904, when he
sold out to W. J. Offord. Mr. Ostermeier
then turned his attention to farming, and
moved on his present place in April, 1904.
purchasing the property from James Harbison,
in 1903. He follows farming, gardening
and trucking, and also dairying,
and sells his produce in Beaver Palls. He
has a fine place, and in 1904 he further
improved it by erecting a modern tenroom
residence. Mr. Ostemeier is one of
the township's busy and successful men.
In July, 1882, he was united in marriage
with Catherine Weisenberger, and they
have had eight children: William, Elmer,
John, Drusilla, Gilbert, Norman, Henry
and Florence, three of the above, William,
Norman and Florence being deceased. Mr.
Ostermeier is a member of the Lutheran
Church. In his political views he is a Republican.
JOHN S. OURSLER
Pg 614
John S. Oursler, general superintendent
of the Sharon and New Castle District
of the Carnegie Steel Works, has been
a resident of New Castle for the past eight
years, and is identified with many interests
of the city. He was born in 1868, at
Wheatland, Mercer County, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Oursler's boyhood was spent in his
native place, and there he obtained a public
school education. He was twenty years
old when he entered the Oliver Iron and
Steel Company's works at Pittsburg,
where he remained for ten years, becoming
superintendent of the blast furnaces. From
Pittsburg he went to Mingo Junction and
was superintendent of the blast furnaces of
the Aetna-Standard Steel Company for
two years, going then to Youngstown,
Ohio, as superintendent of the blast furnaces
there. After two years at Youngstown,
in August, 1900, he came to New
Castle, as superintendent of the blast furnaces
of the Carnegie Steel Company's
woi'ks, serving as such for two years and
then was made general superintendent of
the district works at South Sharon and the
whole New Castle District. Mr. Oursler's
advance to this important position has been
by gradual steps and brought about by the
thoroughness of his knowledge, his business
capacity and his executive ability. He
is interested in other New Castle enterprises
and is on the directing board of the
Lawrence Savings and Trust Company.
In 1887, Mr. Oursler was married to
Miss Ellen Truesdale, of Sharpsville, Pa.
Mr. Oursler is prominent in Masonry in
Western Pennsylvania. He has attained
the 'thirty-second degree in the organization,
belongs to Blue Lodge, Cliapter,
Council and Commandery at New Castle,
and to the Consistory and Shrine at Pittsburg.
His social connections are numerous,
he being a member of the Lawrence
Country Club, the Duquesne Club and the
Fort Pitt Athletic Club of Pittsburg,.
John C. Offutt, head of the firm of Offutt & Co., leading undertakers of New Castle, Pa., has been a resident of the city continuously for the past twenty-three years. He was born in Plain Grove Township, Lawrence Coimty, Pennsylvania, in 1847, and is a son of John Offutt. The latter was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, and became one of the early settlers in Plain Grove Township, Lawrence County, where he followed farming throughout the remainder of his life. He was a prominent and aggressive Abolitionist in the ante-bellmn days.
John C. Oifutt was reared and educated in his native township, and resided on the home place until he was nineteen years of age. He then went to Youngstown, Ohio, for a brief period, after which he embarked in the mercantile business at Volant, Lawrence County. He continued there a few years, then sold out and moved to Sharon, Pa., where he resided until 1875. He was next located in the oil regions one year, after which he returned to Lawrence County and conducted his father's farm for three years. At the end of that time he bought out a mercantile establishment in Clarksville, Mercer County, Pa., which he successfully conducted until 1887, the year which marked his arrival in New Castle. In the latter city he engaged in the furniture and undertaking business in partnership with William G. Dunn. After a partnership of two years, he purchased the interest of Mr. Dunn and for a period of twelve years continued the business. He then disposed of the furniture branch of the establishment, and has since confined his attention to imdertaking. He is accorded the patronage of the leading citizens of New Castle and the tributary country, and enjoys the confidence and highest esteem of the people. He has in association with him one son, Frank B. Offutt, under the firm name of Offutt & Co., the latter being a graduate of Trinity Hall College, of Washington, Pa., and of the Pittsburg School of Anatomy.
John C. Offutt was united in marriage
in 1873 with Miss Louise E. Bovard, of
Plain Grove, and they are parents of two
children: Martha M., wife of John H.
Mitchell, of New Castle, and Frank B.
Fraternally, Mr. Offutt is a member of the
Masens, Knights of Pythias and Benevolent
Protective Order of Elks. Socially,
he is a member of the Lawrence Club of
New Castle.
EDWIN N. OHL
Pg 831
Edwin N. Ohl, whose comprehensive
business interests make him a dominating
force in the commercial life of Western
Pennsylvania, for many years has been
particularly identified with the iron, ore
and affiliated industries. He was born at
Ohltown, Trumbull County, Ohio, February
3, 1850, and is a son of Michael, Jr.,
and Eliza Jane (Campbell) Ohl.
The Ohl family is of German extraction
and it was established in Trumbull County,
Ohio, by Michael Ohl, the grandfather,
who as the first settler in what subse
quently became the village of Ohltown. He
undoubtedly was a man of enterprise, for
he engaged in fanning, built the first sawmill
in that section and also erected and
operated the first grist-mill. His activities
were ended by his death in 1858, but he
was survived by descendants who have displayed
like energy and enterprise.
Michael Ohl, Jr., father of Edwin N.,
was born June 21, 1819. He followed agricultural
pursuits, presumably on the old
homestead, and learned the trade of wheelwright,
which he put to use in building
mills and machinery all through Trumbull
County. These mills were equipped with
the old tub water-wheel, which was the accepted
form at that time. He met an accidental
death at Warren, Ohio, in 1865. He
was a man of intelligence as well as capacity,
and was well informed concerning the
leading questions of the day. In his political
views he was first a Whig and later a
Republican. He married Eliza Jane Campbell,
who was a daughter of Thomas Campbell,
also of Trumbull County, and they
had six children born to them, namely:
Edwin N.; Mary, who married Dr. E. C.
Fisher, of Chicago, 111.; Henry, who is a
resident of Sharon, Mercer County; Jessie,
who married Clarence L. Harrow; Lissie,
who married H. B. Budd, of Beltrami, Minnesota,
and Charles M., who resides at
Sharon. The mother of the above family,
born July 15, 1831, survived her husband
many years, her death taking place April
21. 1908.
Edwin N. Ohl's life until he was seventeen
years, was spent at work on the farm
and in the mill, and in obtaining a common
school education. Starting out then for
himself, he entered an offce at Mineral
Ridge, Ohio, and was in the employ of
the Mineral Ridge Iron and Coal Company
for one and one-half years. From there
he went to Youngstown, where he was in
the employ of Jonathan Warner for eight
months. In 1869 he came to Pennsylvania,
and on March 1 of that year entered the
employ of Samuel Kimberly, at Sharon,
and with Mr. Kimberly and his son, P. M.
Kimberly, Mr. Ohl remained for more than
thirty years. The Kimberlys operated blast
furnaces, rolling mills and coal mines.
AMien they sold their interests on May 1,
1899, Mr. Ohl became general manager of
the New Castle plant of the Republic Iron
and Steel Company and continued as such
until June 1, 1902, when he resigned in
order to manage his own business interests.
Mr. Ohl assisted in organizing the Cherry
Valley Iron Company, which purchased
one blast furnace at Leetonia, Ohio, and
another at West Middlesex, Pa., and continued
an independent organization until
November 1, 1906, Mr. Ohl being during
this time the vice-president and general
manager. On the above date the Cherry
Valley Iron Company sold its plants, and
interests in iron ore and coal properties
which it had acquired, to the United Iron
and Steel Company, Mr. Ohl being elected
president of this corporation and establishing
the main offce at Pittsburg. Mr.
Ohl is also president of the Pittsburg Iron
Ore Company, with offices at Cleveland,
and serves in the same capacity in three
other affiliated ore companies. He is also
president of the New Castle Portland Cement
Company; is a director in the First
National Bank of New Castle; a director in
the Keystone National Bank of Pittsburg,
and is president of the Fruit, Ohl Company,
general hardware merchants, at
Sharon. This enterprise was established
February 1, 1879, and was incorporated in
1899, in the past thirty years expanding
from a small beginning into one of Mercer
County's most important business concerns.
Mr. Ohl married Katherine F. Bower,
who is a daughter of the late Jobn Bower,
of New Castle. They have one son, Edwin
N., Jr., who was born February 19, 1901.
Mrs. Oiil is a member of Trinity Episcopal
Church, in which Mr. Ohl is a vestryman.
He is identified with the order of Masons,
is past master of Sharon Lodge, No. 250,
F. & A. M.; is past high priest of Norman
Chapter, No. 244, R. A. M.; is past eminent
commander of Rebecca Commandery,
Knights Templar, No. 50, and belongs to
Syria Temple, Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine, of Pittsburg, and to the Consistory
at Pittsburg. In his political views he is a
Republican, but he has never been active
in public affairs.
REV. FLORENCE F. O'SHEA
Pg 488
Rev. Florence F. O'Shea, pastor
of St. Mary's Catholic Church at New Castle,
was born in 1863, in Ireland, in that
beautiful section near the Lakes of Killarney.
Father O'Shea was brought to
America in boyhood and his education was
acquired in the schools and colleges of this
country. He began his classical course in
Bacon Academy, Colchester, Connecticut,
and continued his studies in St. Bonaventure's
College, Allegany, New York, where
he read rhetoric, philosophy and theology,
and in 1889 was ordained to the priesthood
by Rt. Rev. Stephen Vincent Ryan, Bishop
of Buffalo. From the time of ordination
until May, 1892, he was assistant pastor at
St. Peter's Church, Allegheny; going from
there to Huntington, Pennsylvania, as pastor
of Holy Trinity Church. In the fall of
1892 he was transferred to St. James
Church, Sewickley, Pennsylvania, where he
remained for fourteen years, meeting success
in his labors. On October 31, 1907, he
was appointed rector of St. Mary's Parish,
New Castle, and took charge of the same on
the fifteenth of the following November.
St. Mary's Parish has an interesting history
and was never in a more flourishing
condition than at the present time. As far
back as 1831 records are at hand to show
that there were faithful Catholics settled in
and around New Castle, to the spiritual
needs of whom priests came to administer
from Pittsburg. In 1852 a frame church
was erected west of the town by Father
Reid, one of the pioneer priests. In 1854
he was succeeded by Rev. Peter McGarvey,
who was the first resident pastor, and in
June, 1855, he was succeeded by Rev.
Thomas O'Farrell, who continued to minister
to the congregation and missions until
August, 1859. Rev. John C. Farren followed
Father O'Farrell, and after his withdrawal,
in 1862, the congregation was visited
monthly by Rev. Thomas Walsh, of
Brady's Bend, Armstrong County. The
next resident pastor was Rev. James
Canevin, and it was during his incumbency
that, on account of the development of the
iron industries of this section and the consequent
settlement here of laborers from
other points, many of whom were Catholics,
a new church was found to be an absolute
necessity. Father Canevin was a man
of energy and executive ability, and shortly
afterward he purchased a lot situated on
the corner of Beaver and North streets,
and began the erection of a church which
was completed in 1871. It is built of brick,
110 feet in length and 45 feet in width, has
a well proportioned tower in the center in
front and follows the Gothic style of architecture
with some modifications.
Father Hayes succeeded Father Canevin
and in April, 1871, he opened a school, and
in the following month purchased a large
frame building for a pastoral residence.
Prosperity reigned over priest and congregation
until the panic of 1873 affected the
iron industries oT New Castle, and many
of the employes of the great works were
obliged to seek employment in other sections.
This threw many unexpected burdens
on the members of St. Mary, but their
faith never wavered nor their zeal diminished,
and under the guidance of wise
priests, the congregation weathered all the
storms, and under the management of
Father O'Shea and his two assistants, it
has become one of the best and most prosperous
congregations in the Diocese of
Pittsburg. Father Hayes was succeeded
on February 8, 1879, by Rev. Joseph Gallagher,
who served faithfully and well until
his death, which took place August 11,
1906. He is remembered with esteem and
veneration.
Since taking charge of St. Mary's, Father
O'Shea has advanced the parish in many
ways and has added to the efficiency of the
working branches of the church already established.
In 1876 the present school building
was erected and during 1907 Father
O'Shea built additions to it, necessitated
by the large number of students, there being
at present 475 on the roll. The school
is under the care of eight Sisters of the
order of the Sisters of St. Joseph, and their
convent adjoins the pastoral residence on
North and Beaver streets. The advantages
afforded pupils in St. Mary's School
include the work of the primary grades of
the public schools, together with a complete
course in stenography, typewriting, bookkeeping
and two years of instruction in
Latin. Father O'Shea has under his spiritual
care 550 families, comprising about
3,000 souls.
Rev. Patrick E. Maher, first assistant to
Father O'Shea, was bom at Pittsburg,
Pennsylvania, September 13, 1879. Prior to
studying for the priesthood he attended St.
John's and St. Mary's Parochial Schools
in his native city and then entered the
Pittsburg College of the Holy Ghost, and
there completed his classical course in
June, 1900. For the three succeeding years
he attended St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore,
Maryland, and was ordained by his
Eminence Cardinal Gibbons, June 16,
1903. His first assignment was as assist
ant at St. Agnes, Pittsburg, his second
being at St. Thomas, Braddock, and his
third, St. Mary's, New Castle, to which he
came Januaiy 19, 1907.
Rev. Joseph V. Sharp was appointed
second assistant at St. Mary's Church
June 23, 1907. He was bom in Germantown,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; was
educated in the parochial schools of that
city, afterwards entering upon his college
course at Niagara University in September,
1895. In 1896 he entered the Villa
Nova College, where he completed his college
course. In the fall of 1901 he entered
St. Bernard's Seminary, where he made
his philosophical and theological studies,
from which institution he was ordained by
Rt. Rev. B. J. McQuaid on June 9, 1907.
JOHN W. OSTERMEIER
Pg 617
John W. Ostermeier, whose highly
cultivated farm of seventy-six acres lies in
Little Beaver Township, was born in
Snowden Township, Allegheny County,
Pennsylvania, April 3, 1856, and is a son
of John Martin and Elizabeth (Smith)
Ostermeier.
The parents of Mr. Ostermeier were both
born in Baden, Germany, and in 1848 the
father came to America. He was a cooper
by trade, but after reaching Allegheny
County, Pennsylvania, he rented farming
land and in 1852 he was joined by his
wife, who had remained in the old country
until he could establish himself in the new
one. In 1861 they moved to Birmingham,
and there he died in 1880, survived by his
widow for tweny years. They had the
following children: Philomeua, deceased,
was the wife of John Lockinger, also deceased;
Catherine, who married Anton
Kaylor; "William M., deceased; John William,
Elizabeth, deceased, was the wife of
Barney Sheitler, also deceased; Julia, who
married Jacob Fisher; Louise, who died
aged seventeen years, and two who died in
infancy.
John William Ostermeier attended
school after the family moved to Birmingham
in 1861, and then learned the glass
pressing trade, at which he worked from
1864 until June 28, 1882. On July 1 of
that year he started into the hotel business
at Pittsburg, where he continued until
1887, when he took charge of the Windsor
Hotel in Allegheny County. In 1892 he
came to Enon and bought the Enon Hotel,
which he conducted until 1904, when he
sold out to W. J. Offord. Mr. Ostermeier
then turned his attention to farming, and
moved on his present place in April, 1904.
purchasing the property from James Harbison,
in 1903. He follows farming, gardening
and trucking, and also dairying,
and sells his produce in Beaver Palls. He
has a fine place, and in 1904 he further
improved it by erecting a modern tenroom
residence. Mr. Ostemeier is one of
the township's busy and successful men.
In July, 1882, he was united in marriage
with Catherine Weisenberger, and they
have had eight children: William, Elmer,
John, Drusilla, Gilbert, Norman, Henry
and Florence, three of the above, William,
Norman and Florence being deceased. Mr.
Ostermeier is a member of the Lutheran
Church. In his political views he is a Republican.
JOHN S. OURSLER
Pg 614
John S. Oursler, general superintendent
of the Sharon and New Castle District
of the Carnegie Steel Works, has been
a resident of New Castle for the past eight
years, and is identified with many interests
of the city. He was born in 1868, at
Wheatland, Mercer County, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Oursler's boyhood was spent in his
native place, and there he obtained a public
school education. He was twenty years
old when he entered the Oliver Iron and
Steel Company's works at Pittsburg,
where he remained for ten years, becoming
superintendent of the blast furnaces. From
Pittsburg he went to Mingo Junction and
was superintendent of the blast furnaces of
the Aetna-Standard Steel Company for
two years, going then to Youngstown,
Ohio, as superintendent of the blast furnaces
there. After two years at Youngstown,
in August, 1900, he came to New
Castle, as superintendent of the blast furnaces
of the Carnegie Steel Company's
woi'ks, serving as such for two years and
then was made general superintendent of
the district works at South Sharon and the
whole New Castle District. Mr. Oursler's
advance to this important position has been
by gradual steps and brought about by the
thoroughness of his knowledge, his business
capacity and his executive ability. He
is interested in other New Castle enterprises
and is on the directing board of the
Lawrence Savings and Trust Company.
In 1887, Mr. Oursler was married to
Miss Ellen Truesdale, of Sharpsville, Pa.
Mr. Oursler is prominent in Masonry in
Western Pennsylvania. He has attained
the 'thirty-second degree in the organization,
belongs to Blue Lodge, Cliapter,
Council and Commandery at New Castle,
and to the Consistory and Shrine at Pittsburg.
His social connections are numerous,
he being a member of the Lawrence
Country Club, the Duquesne Club and the
Fort Pitt Athletic Club of Pittsburg,.