was also brought under submission, which act so incensed van Sweringen
that it is said he publicly broke his sword across his knee and renounced
all allegiance to the Dutch government, shortly afterward moving to Mary-
land. In April, 1669, he, his wife and two children, on their petition to
Lord Baltimore, were naturalized by acts of the general assembly held at
St. Mary's City in that province. This was done in order to become a legal
i6o WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA
land owner, as none but British subjects could become freeholders. He was
an "innholder" at St. Mary's City, owned land there and in Talbot county.
He is named by Lord Baltimore in his proclamation granting a charter to
St. Mary's City in 1668 and appointed an alderman. In 1674 he built the
city "stocks" and "whipping post." In 1686 and in 1687 he was appointed
sherifif of the county. His account of the Dutch settlements on the Delaware
river, written after settling in Maryland, was used by the Maryland council
in settling the boundary dispute that arose between Lord Baltimore and
William Penn. This was executed May 12, 1684, "^^ ^ council at Matapany
Sewall in the Province of Maryland" and the jurat described van Sweringen
as being "of the city of St. Maries, Gent, aged eight and forty years or
thereabouts." He died in 1698. He married (first) about 1659, Barbarah
de Barrette, born in Valenciennes, France, died in Maryland, about 1670.
He married (second) Mary Smith, of St. Mary's City, the ante-nuptial
settlement being executed October 5, 1676. She died several years after
her husband, "in the faith of the English Church." Children of first mar-
riage : Elizabeth, Zacharias, Thomas, of whom further. Children by second
marriage: Joseph, Charles, Eleanor, Theresa, Dorothy, and a daughter
who married William Bladen.
(II) Thomas Swearingen, son of Gerret and Barbarah (de Barrette)
van Sweringen, was probable born in St. Mary's City, Maryland, about
1665. He lived in Somerset county, Maryland, where he owned land and
died in 1710. His wife's given name was Jane and they were the parents
of four sons: Thomas, Van, Samuel, John, of whom further.
(III) John Swearingen, son of Thomas and Jane Swearingen, was prob-
ably bom in Somerset county, Maryland, about 1702, emigrating to Mont-
gomery county and settling on Rock Creek, not far from the present site
of Washington City. Children : Thomas, Samuel, of whom further, Van,
John, and several daughters.
(IV) Samuel Swearingen, son of John Swearingen, was born about
1732, and soon after the close of the Revolutionary War, he settled in what
is now Hanover township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where his home
was a stopping place for Indian scouts. The farm on which he settled is
still the property of his descendants. He married and had children : Wil-
liam, Mary, John Van, Thomas, Samuel, Basil, of whom further, Zachariah.
(V) Basil Swearingen, son of Samuel Swearingen, was born in Beaver
county, Pennsylvania, about two miles from the Kendall Post Office, April
2, 1782. At an early age he became interested in agriculture and during
his lifetime acquired about one thousand acres of land at the head waters
of Kings Creek, which was divided up into several productive farms. Over
his broad acres numerous flocks of sheep grazed and he engaged extensively
in flax raising, his product being of the finest texture, the linen made there-
from rivaling that woven in the factories abroad. This land also is the
property of his descendants. He donated land for the Methodist Episcopal
Cemetery, and in this quiet yard he and his wife lie buried side by side.
He married Sarah Wilcoxen, who died in March, 1856. Their children:
WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA l6l
I. Anthony, drowned while young in the spring near his father's house;
when found his head was at the bottom of the spring, his feet near the sur-
face and he is supposed to have fallen in while trying to reach a leaf at the
bottom, the spring being about three feet deep and walled in on three sides
with rock. 2. Catherine, married Emanuel Dornen. 3. Ruth, died in infancy.
4. Sarah, married John Wallace. 5. Ruth, married John Campbell. 6.
Alletha, married Jonathan Duncan. 7. Samuel, married (first) Rowena
Chapman, (second) Martha Spivey. 8. Mary, married William Ramsey.
9. Jackson, married and had children. 10. William, married Katie Gibson.
II. Duncan, of whom further.
(VI) Duncan Swearingen, son of Basil and Sarah (Wilcoxen) Swear-
ingen, was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, December 5, 1820, died
June 28, 1889, and is buried in Bethel Cemetery. He married, April 28,
1842, Sarah Hogue, the Rev. David Robinson, a young divine, performing
the ceremony. The inexperienced minister, by reason of his excitement,
produced an amusing situation by forgetting to pronounce the young couple
man and wife. Duncan Swearingen occupied a part of his father's large
landed estate, and engaged in farming and wool growing. Children: i.
Mary M., born May 23, 1843 ; married, April 30, 1885, James B. Gibson
and lives at Blair, West Virginia. 2. Washington, born December 14, 1844,
died August 14, 1865, buried in Bethel Cemetery. 3. Amanda J., born De-
cember 6, 1848; married, January 29, 1872, Jesse Boyd. 4. Sarah A., born
November 21, 1849; married, September 17, 1868, David W. Chambers, and
lived near Fairview, Hancock county, West Virginia. 5. Basil Duncan, of
whom further. 6. Jonathan D., born August 22, 1853 ; married, January
10, 1880, Lizzie L. Miller, and lives in Chester, West Virginia. 7. John C,
born October 23, 1855 ; married (first) September 25, 1883, Leila A. Hagerty,
(second) December 13, 1888, Emma Chapman. 8. Samuel, born August
15, 1857; lives unmarried in Hanover township, Beaver county, Pennsyl-
vania. 9. Martha M., born May 20, 1859; unmarried. 10. Amet, born
September 29, 1862.
(VII) Basil uuncan Swearingen, son of Duncan and Sarah (Hogue)
Swearingen, was born in Hanover township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania,
January 15, 1851. He was educated in the public schools of his native
township, and became a farmer, owning a saw mill near Old King's Creek
Church, which he operated until the timber supply of that region was ex-
hausted. About 1898 he moved to Beaver and established in the coal bus-
iness, also owning several teams and doing much hauling in the locality. His
present residence in Beaver is on Fifth street. Since childhood he has been
a member of the United Presbyterian Church, the services of which denom-
ination he regularly attends, and in all political issues sides with the Re-
publican party. He married Rachel Martin, born in Hanover township.
Beaver county, Pennsylvania, in 1853, died December 27, 1913, daughter of
Walter Martin, born in the house that witnessed the birth of his daughter.
The Martin family is of Scotch descent, the grandfather of Walter Martin
having come to this country from Scotland. Both Walter Martin and his
i62 WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA
father held membership in the session of the Old King's Creek Church.
Walter Martin married a Miss Beale. His children: i. Rachel, of previous
mention, married Basil Duncan Swearingen. 2. Samuel, a resident of
Chester, West Virginia. 3. John, a farmer and saw mill proprietor of Han-
cock county. West Virginia. 4. James Harvey, lives in California. 5. David,
died aged about sixteen years. 6. Walter, died aged twelve years. Giildren
of Basil Duncan and Rachel (Martin) Swearingen: i. Duncan Lawrence,
of whom further. 2. Ellsworth Walter, a resident of Woodlawn, Penn-
sylvania. 3. Bella, married Oliver Chambers, and lives in Beaver, Penn-
sylvania. 4. Sadie, married William Sarr, and resides in Beaver, Pennsyl-
vania. 5. Alda, married Joseph Armstrong, and their home is in Daven-
port, Iowa. 6. Emma, lives unmarried at Beaver, Pennsylvania. 7. Fred,
lives in Akron, Ohio.
(VIII) Duncan Lawrence Swearingen, son of Basil Duncan and Rachel
(Martin) Swearingen, was born near Frankford, Hanover township, Beaver
county, Pennsylvania, May 3, 1873. He obtained an excellent education
in the public schools and Ada Normal University of Ohio. He lived on the
home farm until he was fifteen years of age, later apprenticing himself to
and learning the carpenter's trade, first locating in Beaver. In 1898 he
moved to Sewickley, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, as the representative
of the firm of Anderson & Cook, and in 1902 discontinued his connection
with his employers and with Gus Eudick formed the firm of Eudick &
Swearingen. This association lasted for but one year, since when Mr.
Swearingen has conducted an independent contracting and building business.
He is supported by a business record upon which there is no suspicion of a
taint and which testifies to the honorable uprightness that has characterized
all of his dealings in his chosen line. His reward has been prosperity, of
which no share can be too generous for one who has labored with the fidelity
and thoroughness that has been a part of his every operation. His political
convictions are strongly Republican, and fraternally he affiliates with the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, belonging to Sewickley Lodge, No. 692.
He married, in November, 1899, Mary Maud Bradshaw, born in South
Beaver township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, daughter of Thomas B. and
Sarah Alice (Landen) Bradshaw, both residents of Beaver county, Pennsyl-
vania. Children of Duncan Lawrence and Mary Maud (Bradshaw) Swear-
ingen: Ethel, born in 1900; Lawrence Duncan, Jr., died in infancy; Ruth,
died aged eighteen months.
Both paternally and maternally the ancestry of DeWitt
NETTLETON Baldwin Nettleton, M.D., has been resident in the
state of Connecticut for many generations.
(I) Isaac Nettleton, with whom this record begins, was born in that
state and there spent his entire life. He married, had children, and he and
his family were members of the Congregational Church. His children :
Isaac, Emily, Charlotte, Lewis J., of whom further.
(II) Lewis J. Nettleton, son of Isaac Nettleton, was born in Connecti-
WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA 163
cut in 1832, died about 1881. After a public school education, which ex-
tended to a high school course, he studied for the architect's profession, and
was thus engaged throughout his business life. At the time of the war of
the Rebellion he enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Fifteenth Regi-
ment, Connecticut Volunteers, being mustered into service in 1861 and serv-
ing for three years. During this time he was constantly with his regiment,
participating in all its campaigns and battles, one of the more noted of the
conflicts in which he fought being the battle of Fredericksburg. At the close
of the war he returned to employment at his profession, the securing of a
position presenting no difficulty, for he had attained, prior to enlistment, a
reputation as an architect of knowledge, skill and originality. He married
Charlotte A. Baldwin, born in Connecticut in 1834, daughter of David L.
and Martha Pond (DeWitt) Baldwin, both natives of Connecticut, her father
born in 1785, died aged ninety-one years, her mother dying aged fifty-five
years. David L. Baldwin was the owner of a line of ships engaged in the
East India trade, and later in life was judge of the probate court at Milford,
New Haven county, Connecticut. His wife is a member of the Holland
DeWitt family, established in America in the early days of the Ehitch colony
by two brothers, John and Peter, Admiral DeWitt being a member of this
family. David L. and Martha Pond (DeWitt) Baldwin were the parents
of : Richard, Charles, Adam, DeWitt, Martha, Mary, Charlotte A., of
previous mention, married Lewis J. Nettleton. Lewis J. and Charlotte A.
(Baldwin) Nettleton had: Annie Doremus, David Lewis, DeWitt Baldwin,
of whom further, Alfred Lincoln, Oscar Eldridge, died aged three years.
(HI) Dr. DeWitt Baldwin Nettleton, son of Lewis J. and Charlotte
A. (Baldwin) Nettleton, was born in Milford, New Haven county, Con-
necticut, December 11, 1869. He obtained his elementary, preparatory and
classical education in the high school of Milford and a private institution,
then entered the Medical College of Bellevue Hospital, New York, whence
he was graduated M.D. in 1895. In that year he came to Sewickley. Alle-
gheny county, Pennsylvania, and there began the practice of his profession,
continually growing in popular favor until at the present time his is one of
the best established names among the medical fraternity of that region. He
holds membership in several organizations of a professional nature, the
County, State, and American Medical associations, the Academy of Medicine,
the Pittsburgh College of Physicians and the Fort Pitt Medical Club. His
social relations are confined to the Duquesne Club of Pittsburgh and the
Edgeworth Club of Sewickley, while with his wife he holds membership in
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, of Sewickley, serving as vestryman for
five years, and secretary of the vestry for a number of years. Dr. Nettle-
ton was one of the prime movers in the organization and establishment of
the Sewickley Valley Hospital, and has since its erection been president of
the staff. Dr. Nettleton's position in his profession is one to which his
talents and abilities entitle him, and he is a popular member of Sewickley
social circles.
Dr. Nettleton married. January i. 1901. Ellen Dawson Hutchinson,
i64 WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA
born in Sewickley, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, daughter of Francis M.
and Sophia (Cass) Hutchinson, her father dying about 1883. Francis M.
Hutchinson was connected with the early construction of the Pennsylvania
Railroad and was later associated therewith in official capacity. His wife
was a daughter of General Cass, brother of Lewis Cass, who was also in-
terested in the early welfare of the Pennsylvania Railroad, being a heavy
stockholder in that road.
Himself of German birth, William F. Sossong's ancestors
SOSSONG have for many generations been natives of that land, some
members of the family devoting their lives to peaceful agri-
cultural pursuits, others inclining to industrial activity, all performing well
the duty that confronted them, whatever their walk of life. John Sossong
owned land near Zusch, Rhenish Prussia, and passed his entire life in its
cultivation, his death taking place when he was seventy-nine years of age.
As a young man he fulfilled a term of service in the French army. He
married Elizabeth Graber, who died aged seventy-six years, and had children :
I. Elizabeth, died in Germany. 2. Jacob, of whom further. 3. John, de-
ceased. 4. Mary, married a Mr. Marcha, and died in Germany. 5. Eliza-
beth, died in Germany: 6. Charles, a retired merchant ; resides in Carnegie,
Pennsylvania ; married Philomena Easterday. 7. Philip, deceased ; was a
coal miner; lived in Carnegie, Pennsylvania. 8. Kate, married Charles
Shallow, deceased.
(H) Jacob Sossong, son of John and Elizabeth (Graber) Sossong, was
born in Zusch, Rhenish Prussia, February 22, 1827, died in Carnegie, Penn-
sylvania, August 23, 19CK). He was educated and reared in his native land,
and in boyhood became a charcoal burner. When this industry was to a
large extent supplanted by coke manufacturing he was one of the pioneers
in the latter undertaking, building some of the first ovens in the country and
being associated with Baron Stolzenfelz, a wealthy financier, in the founding
of the first companies in that industry. He was superintendent of the
coking interests of the Arensberg Coal Company at Borbeck Essen, his
home being in Bottrop, Westphalia, and he superintended the erection of
the first coke works at Wattenscheid, Levine and Central, all in his native
land. In 1880 he came to the United States, the main object of his emigra-
tion being that his sons might be exempted from the three years of com-
pulsory military service, and settled in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, he and his
sons seven years later establishing a general store at Heidelberg, on the
outskirts of Carnegie. He was connected with this business until his death,
after which his sons continued it. He married Margaret Brill, one of four
children, two sons and two daughters, born in Maringen, Germany. March
13, 1829, and had children: i. Catherine, married Mathias Earthen, a
farmer ; their home is in Wisconsin, where he is the owner of land. 2.
Charles B.. a manufacturer of wagon supplies ; he and his wife, Mary,
reside in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania. 3. John A., a notary public, connected
with the German Building and Loan Association, of Carnegie ; married Mar-
WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA 165
garet Antwerp. 4. William F., of whom further. 5. Minnie C, married
Louis B. Redecker, a contractor ; they make their home with Mrs. Redecker's
mother in Carnegie, Pennsylvania. 6. Mary C, died in 1898, aged sixteen
years.
(Ill) William F. Sossong, son of Jacob and Margaret (Brill) Sossong,
was born in Bottrop, Westphalia, Germany, and until he was eleven years
of age attended the public schools of that place, studying in the evening under
the direction of a private tutor. In 1880 he accompanied his family to
the United States, sailing on the steamer "Leipsig," which arrived in the
Baltimore harbor on September 23, 1880. They proceeded immediately to
Carnegie, Pennsylvania, where he and his two brothers, Charles B. and
John A., obtained employment in the Novelty Works. Here Mr. Sossong
remained for three years, spending the next four years in the service of
Frank Bretthole, proprietor of a general store, where his varied duties gave
him a close insight into mercantile dealing. On February 2, 1887, Jacob
Sossong and his two sons, John A. and William F. Sossong, opened a gen-
eral store in Heidelberg, on the border of Carnegie, a business which was
continued until 1900, when after the death of the father it was sold. In
1897 Mr. Sossong established in real estate dealings in Carnegie, his brother
John A. joining him in 1900, since which time they have been associated
under the firm name of William F. Sossong. They have been the prime
movers in many of the largest real estate deals that have been consummated
in Carnegie, and have directed several extensive building operations in that
place. The firm is always in the market for purchases of property and it is
seldom that they are not in possession of some desirable sites for residences
or cannot fill the wants of anyone seeking a home. The probity of both
members of the firm and their excellent reputation among all with whom
they have had business relations for prompt, fair and generous dealing stands
them in excellent stead when strangers seek information regarding the stand-
ing of the firm. It is not only in the real estate field that Mr. Sossong has
been active, but he is known through his connection with several of Car-
negie's flourishing financial institutions, having since October 5, 1898, been
secretary of the German Building and Loan Association. During his in-
cumbency of this office the Association has developed unusual strength and
resources, the assets thereof having increased from $56,000 in 1899 to $580,-
000 in 1913, a wonderful increase and one doing credit to its officers. In
1907 he was one of the organizers of the Ten Cent Building and Loan As-
sociation, whose assets now amount to $46,000 and which has proved a
veritable boon to small investors and is an institution in which they feel
both pride and confidence, largely due to the responsible citizens who have
stood sponsors for its soundness. The Republican party has long had in
Mr. Sossong an enthusiastic and loyal supporter, and he and his family
are members of St. Joseph's German Catholic Church. The other concerns
with which Mr. Sossong is connected in any considerable capacity are the
Carnegie Trust Company, of which he is a director, the Torrence Land
Company, of which he is manager, and the Domestic Land Company, of
i66 WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA
which he is secretary. His office is at No. i Main street, his residence at
No. 502 Beechwood avenue, Carnegie, Pennsylvania. His fraternal affilia-
tions are with the Knights of St. George and the Knights of Columbus.
Mr. Sossong married, June 16, 1892, Mary Anna Bickar, born in Scott
township, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, daughter of Anthony and Eliza-
beth Bickar, htr father a farmer, deceased, her mother living at the present
time (1914). Children of William F. and Mary Anna (Bickar) Sossong:
1. William J., born August 16, 1893, associated in business with his father.
2. Leo Frederick, born October 30, 1895, a law student in Duquesne Uni-
versity. 3. Viola E., born in 1898. 4. Marie, born in 1900. 5. Clements A.
Dr. Charles G. Eicher is descended on both sides of the house
EICHER from very old Pennsylvania families, both the Eichers and one
branch of his mother's family having been residents of the
state since pre-Revolutionary times. The Eichers were immigrants in the
American Colonies as early as 1740, about which time they came from
Germany, their first residence in the New World seeming to have been
Lancaster county, Pennsylvania.
(I) Joseph Eicher, grandfather of Dr. Eicher, was, however, a native of
Fayette county, Pennsylvania, where he followed the occupation of farmer,
owning his own farm, and where he passed the whole of his natural life.
His wife was Margaret Kern, a daughter of Lieutenant Joshua Kern, who
was a resident of Fayette county prior to the Revolution, and who had the
distinction of serving in the Continental army during that historic conflict.
Mr. and Mrs. Eicher were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
and brought up a large family in that persuasion. They lived a quiet and
retired life, and to them were born ten children, as follows : Samuel, de-
ceased, was a farmer of Fayette county ; William, deceased, was a farmer of
Somerset county ; John ; Joseph, deceased, was a politician of Scottdale,
Pennsylvania ; Henry, a carpenter, who died in Florida ; Isaac, who lives
retired in Florida ; Abraham, who lives retired in Somerset, Pennsylvania ;
Elizabeth, deceased wife of Leonard Harbaugh, of Mill Run, Pennsylvania ;
Catherine, deceased, wife of William Justus, of Ohio; Daniel, who died in
the Andersonville Prison during the Civil War. Five of the brothers served
in the Civil War, in the Army of the Potomac, namely : Joseph, Henry,
Isaac, Abraham and Daniel but with the exception of the last, all came
through the war in safety.
(II) John Eicher, the third child of Joseph and Margaret (Kern)
Eicher, was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, and there passed his child-
hood and youth, living there up to the time of his marriage. He was married
to Martha Cunningham, a native of Somerset county, Pennsylvania, where
she was born about 1831. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Eicher went to
live in Somerset county. Mrs. Eicher having inherited a portion of the old
Cunningham homestead, including that portion of it upon which stood the
original farm buildings, and here the couple made their home, continuing to
live there until their deaths. Mrs. Eicher's parents were Joseph and Nancy
WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA 167
(McClintock) Cunningham, old residents of Somerset county, Pennsylvania,
and both of Scotch-Irish stock. Nancy McQintock was the daughter of i
Revolutionary soldier of that name. Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham were the
parents of six children, as follows: Mary, who became Mrs. William
Eicher, the wife of an elder brother of Mr. Eicher Sr. ; Rachel, deceased
wife of James McClintock; Martha, the mother of our subject; Ann, the
widow of Daniel Rhodes and a resident of Confluence, Pennsylvania ; John,
a veteran of the Civil War; Eston, who died as a young man at home. Mrs.
John Eicher died in 1877, her husband surviving her until the year 191 1,
when he died, having never remarried. They were both members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church and reared a numerous family of children in
that persuasion. Their children were as follows: Virginia, married (first)
Albert Morrow, (second) Charles DeLauter, now living a widow, at Meyers-
dale, Pennsylvania ; Emma, deceased wife of David Luke ; Albert, a mer-
chant of Fort Hill, Pennsylvania ; Margaret, now Mrs. William Kind, of
Boyce, Pennsylvania ; William, a civil engineer, of Bellevue, Pennsylvania ;
Charles Grant, our subject; Ella, died unmarried; Mary, single and lives
with her eldest sister, Mrs. DeLauter. Besides these there were two other
children who died in infancy.
(Ill) Dr. Charles Grant Eicher, the sixth child of John and Martha
(Cunningham) Eicher, was born September 24, 1870, on the old Cunning-
ham estate in Somerset county, Pennsylvania. The elementary portion of