|
John H. Heiner
|
||
|
|
JOHN H. HEINER, a prominent citizen, whose headquarters are at Bruin, Pennsylvania, for years has been very prominently identified with oil and gas production in
Butler County, having large interests on Bear Creek, in Parker Township. He was born at Kittanning, in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, February 12, 1842, and is a son of Daniel Broadhead and Mary (Graham) Heiner. Capt. Casper Heiner, the great-grandfather of John H., was a Revolutionary soldier. He married Ann G. Broadhead, the only child of Gen. Daniel Broadhead, who served in the Revolutionary War with Gen. Washington, was prominent in Indian warfare, for a time was conomander at Fort Pitt and later served as the first surveyor-general of the State of Pennsylvania. Of their children, John Heiner became the grandfather of John H. Heiner and he settled among the early people at Kittanning, married a lady who was of Virginia birth, and reared a large family. Daniel B. Heiner, father of John H., was a leading business man of Kittanning and a prosperous citizen. He engaged in merchandising and also in the manufacture of furniture and spinning wheels, and for a quarter of a century served as a justice of the peace. He married Mary Graham, who was born at Butler, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Robert Graham, an early settler of that borough. Her father at one time owned a farm in the north end of Butler where now stand some of the best residences. He and Mr. Cunningham donated part of the ground that forms the present site of Butler. The following children were born to this union: Robert G., deceased, who was formerly a captain in the United States Army; John H.; William G., formerly a member of the State Legislature, who is a resident of Kittanning; Daniel B., who resides at Kittanning, was formerly a member of Congress and was United States attorney under the first administration of the late President McKinley and at the present writing (1908) is serving as a Government official in Western Pennsylvania; Mary L., who lives in the old home at Kittanning Sarah K., residing at Washington, Pennsylvania, who is the widow of Rev. J. F. Core; Margaret, deceased; Annie E., who is the widow of Thomas W. Dickson, formerly of Yankton, South Dakota, now of Kittanning; Lydia, the youngest of the family, who is the wife of Major Percy E. Tripp, a graduate of West Point and an officer in the United States Army. John H. Heiner was reared at Kittanning and obtained his education in her excellent schools. During some years of earlier business life he was a member of the firm of Heiner Bros., manufacturers of building supplies, lumber dealers and planing mill operators, but for the past thirty-five years he has given his almost exclusive attention to the oil industry. He is one of the pioneer oil producers of Parker Township, a rich oil field of Butler County, and it is largely owing to his persistance and enterprise that this territory has so greatly prospered. For some years past he has also been developing gas, and supplies gas to Bruin and surrounding territory. Mr. Heiner is also a veteran of the Civil War, enlisting in the Federal Army in the spring of 1861, in Company A, Eighth Regiment, Pennsylvania Reserves, which became a part of the Army of the Potomac. He participated in the memorable battles of Gainesville, the seven days of continuous fighting in front of Richmond, the second battle of Bull Run, South Mountain and Antietam, being wounded at the latter place. He fought also at Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, the Wilderness and all the other engagements in which his regiment took part until the summer of 1864, when he was honorably discharged. He is a charter member of John Croll Post, No. 156, Grand Army of the Republic, at Kittanning. Mr. Heiner married Miss Mary H. Pershing, of Pittsburg, who is a daughter of Rev. I. C. Pershing, D.D., who formerly was president of the Pittsburg Female College, which is no longer in existence, but which was a noted educational institution in its day. Mr. and Mrs. Heiner have three children: Mary C, who is the wife of Paul Sturtevant, a resident of Pittsburg; and Helen G. and John P., both residing at Butler. The family home is situated at No. 107 Standard Avenue, Butler. In politics, Mr. Heiner is a Republican. He has served on the School Board in Parker Township, at times as the president of that body and takes a good citizen's interest in public aifairs. He is a member of the board of directors of the First National Bank at Bruin and was one of the promoters of the same. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Bruin. Source: 20th century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and respresentative citizens, McKee, James A., 1909, page 618-619. |
