NO EULOGIUM OF OURS CAN ADD TO THE BRIGHT LUSTER OF OUR PIONEER MEN AND WOMEN. THEIR HEROISM CANNOT BE TOO HIGHLY ADMIRED OR EXALTED. WE CAN CONCEIVE OF VARIOUS SELFISH OBJECTS WHICH MIGHT INDUCE MEN TO PENETRATE THIS HORRIBLE WILDERNESS AT THAT TIME. BUT WHAT, SAVE THE MOST PURE AND LOFTY MOTIVE THAT EVER INFLUENCED MORTALS COULD HAVE TEMPTED THEM TO ATTEMPT AND ENDURE SUCH HARDSHIPS AND BRAVE SUCH PERILS. . .

THOMAS MIFFLIN
Thomas Mifflin was an American soldier and a politician. He was born in Philadelphia in 1744 of Quaker parents. He graduated from Philadelphia College in 1760. In 1772 he became a member of the Pennsylvania Assembly and in 1774 he was elected a delegate to the Continental Congress. He was appointed a Major in one of the t'irst regiments of Philadelphia and accompanied Washington to Cambridge in 177~. In the Battle of Long Island, late 1776, Mifflin succeeded in reuniting Washington's Army. In 1777 he was made a Major-General and became a member in an organization for the purpose of placing Gates at the head of the Continental Army. In 1782 Mifflin was elected to Congress and became President of it the following year. He became speaker of Pennsylvania's Legislature in 1785. In October 1788, Mifflin succeeded Franklin as President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania. From the year 1790-1799, Mifflin served as Governor of Pennsylvania. In 1794 while he was Governor he helped Washington in quelling the Whiskey Rebellion.

THE WHITAKER FAMILY
The Whitakers, or, as they are sometimes referred to in the old records, the Whitacres. According to family tradition the ancestor of this family was a Puritan, who came from England and settled in Jamestown, Viriginia in 1634. About 1650 the ancestors of the Mifflin Township Whitaker's emigrated to St. Mary's County, Maryland. They did not remain there long as "the worms ate the bottoms out of their boats" but went on and settled in Baltimore County, thus becoming colonists of Lord Baltimore. Here in 1726, James Whitaker was born. Later married Mary Saunders also of Baltimore County. They had two sons, Aaron in 1751, and John. Mrs. Mary Whitaker died shortly after the birth of John. James married again to Catherine Petee (or Petit). Within a few years the family moved to Western Pennsylvania. The time of their emigration is uncertain but apparently the Whitakers, the Wests, and the Hays families came over the mountains together Abraham Hays, ancestor of the Hays families of this section, was married to Frances Petit, the sister of the wife of James Whitaker. About 1767 they emigrated from Maryland to Washington County, now Allegheny County, and settled in Mifflin Township, on the Monongahela River about eight miles above Fort Pitt and almost directly across the river from "Braddock's Field". They took possession of their plantation of about 800 acres just twelve years after Braddock's defeat and were among the first white settlers in Mifflin Township. This statement that they were the first white settlers in this region, antedating Sebastian Frederick, cannot be verified. While it is possible that the Whitakers did arrive in Western Pennsylvania before the time of the American Revolution, they must have settled in some other section for a period of time, prior to their coming to Greensprings. Among a list of taxables in Peter's Township, Washington County, in 1781, is to be found the name James Whitaker who is taxed for 300 acres of land, 4 horses, 4 cattle and 3 sheep. Another statement is that James Whitaker settled at Peter's Creek in 1781, afterwards (1785) moving to Greensprings (the old name for this section due to strong springs along the ravine) where he died in 1788. The original log cabin which he built when he came here is still standing (in the Borough of Whitaker). The first title to this land was a "Tomahawk Claim''.

WILL OF JAMES WHITAKER
The Will of James Whitaker is of unusual interest in several ways. It was the first Will entered in the Allegheny County Will Book when this County was formed in 1788. It indicates the first transfer of most of the land on which the present Anne Ashley Church stands; it lists the living members of the family at the time that it was made; it indicated the nature of frontier wealth, and it affords indisputable proof that the Whitakers came from Maryland and that they were slaveholders.
THE WILL, IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN, I James Whitaker of the County of Washington, and the State of Pennsylvania, being in good health, and perfect mind and memory, thanks be given unto God, calling unto mind the Mortality of the body and knowing it is appointed men once to die, do make and ordain this my last will and testament… I give and recommend my soul unto the hands of Almighty God. Who gave it, and my body Irecommend to the earth to be buried in Christian burial at the discretion of my executors. Nothing doubting but at the general resurrection I shall receive it again by the mighty power of God. And as touching such worldly estate where at it has pleased the good God to bless me, I give and dispose of the same in the following manner and form:I give and bequeath to Catherine, my dearly beloved wife, whom I constitute, make and ordain my executrix of this last will and testament, her feather bed and furniture, a cow and calf, a mare, saddle and bridle, a negro boy and a mulatto girl, the half of the sawmill, and, except she marries again, a third part of all my lands, and tenements her lifetime. Also, I give to my son Aaron third part of my lands, the east end, beginning at Weitzel's Run and running straight across to the Monongahela River, after the death of my beloved wife. Also, I give to my son, Abraham one third part of my land running square through, beginning where my son Aaron's part leaves off, and a horse, saddle and bridle, a cow and calf, a feather bed and furniture. Also, I give to my son Isaac the third part of my land square through, beginning where my son Abrahams leaves off, likewise the other half of the sawmill, and at his mother's death the whole of the sawmill, and a mare and bridle, cow and calf, a feather bed and furniture. I give to my daughter Charlotte one Hundred pounds lawful money, of that money that is at Maryland when it is gained by the law, also, a horse, saddle and bridle. Also, I my daughter Mary eighty pounds of the same money at Maryland when it is gained by law. Also, I give daughter Elizabeth one hundred pounds of the same that is at Maryland when it is gained by the law. Also the Mulatto girl, at my dearly beloved wife's death, likewise, a horse, saddle and bridle, a cow and calf, and a feather bed and furniture. Also, I give to my son James eighty pounds of the same money that is at Maryland when it is gained by the law. Also, I give to my son Daniel eighty pounds same money that is at Maryland when it is gained by law. Also, at my death I give to Elinor, a negro wench, her liberty. And after these legacies are all paid and there remains anything behind let it be divided among the whole, provided all my debts are paid… In witness where of I have this sixteenth day of June here set my hand and the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty -eight.

Signed, sealed, pronounced, and declared by the said James Whitaker as his last will and testament in the presence of us who in his presence and in the presence of each other have here unto subscribed our names. Recorded June 23,1789 James M. Whitaker Catherine M. Whitaker Simon Fletcher James Patton Isaac Hays.

Aaron Whitaker -
eldest son of James.Aaron served in the Washington County Militia during the revolution. Aaron's son James, born 1790 saw military service in the War of 1812. Aaron Whitaker (1751-1833) was a giant weighing 400 pounds. He married Martha Ann Roush (1763-1854) daughter of one of the early German settlers in Philadelphia. Aaron Whitaker supplemented his farming efforts by making frequent journeys to New Orleans. He would build a large raft or keel boat on the Monongahela at the edge of his farm, probably somewhere near where the Rankin Bridge now is, load it with produce of various kinds and when the high water came, traveled down the river to the New Orleans market, several times taking the journey alone. At the southern market he would sell both the load and the raft, following which, with his gun, his hounds, he would hunt his way back across Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia to his home here, often meeting with Indians and trading with them on the way. Aaron Whitaker had a typical pioneer family. His children were Catherine, Sarah Ann, James, Nancy, Margaret, Fanny, Aaron, Jr., and Polly. Catherine, married Joseph West, Sr. (born 1757-1841) Sarah Ann (1793-1865) married Joseph West, Jr. (1795-1873). These Wests were father and son, Joseph Sr.'s first wife was the daughter of Colonel Lowry an Indian Fur Trader. She was the mother of Joseph, Jr. whose wife thus became the step-daughter-in law of her sister.*James (1790- 1868) married in 1819, Nancy Gilson (1801-1888) who was the sister of Mrs. Stevenson to whose borne Doctor Stevenson and his wife visited in 1830 in the Homeville section. Nancy (1803-1870) married Thomas West (1793-1863), Margaret married James Irwin, Fanny married John Long. Aaron, Jr. (1804-1847) married Ann Dellenbaugh who after the death of Aaron, Jr. in 1847, married in 1850, William Cox. They had one son, the late well known attorney John F. Cox.

Polly who married Samuel Morrison, was unfortunately murdered by her feeble-minded stepdaughter, the year her brother Aaron, Jr. died 1847 (Mr. Morrison's daughter was by a former marriage). This tragedy occurred in an old log house which stood back of the Homeville School. Aaron Whitaker, Jr., died September 3, 1847, in the old brick house back of Homeville school. His eleven year old daughter, Martha, was sent across the fields to notify her Aunt Polly, only to find her murdered by a blow on the head from a hammer and pushed into an open fireplace by her stepdaughter, Sally Morrison.*It was at James and Nancy (Gilson) Whitaker's home that the first Methodist preaching service was held in 1830 by Dr. Stevenson. The home was a log house located between Second and Third Street near Home Street in Homeville. This location was within the Whitaker Tract. The building burned some time in the early 1890's.(Homestead Methodism Book)

JOHN V. IRWIN
John V.Irwin - Justice of the Peace, Post Office worker in Homestead. Born June 6,1837, in Elizabeth, Pa. The progenitor of this family in America was Joseph, a civil engineer and a native of Scotland. He settled in White Oak Levels, Pa. in 1767, and three years later Joseph returned to has native country to bring his family and that of his brother-in-law here. During his absence the settlers were driven off by the Indians to the vicinity of Fort Duquesne for protection. The Irwins located in Mifflin Township. An old ledger, dated 1784, is yet in the possession of the family. In 1824, Joseph died, leaving three sons and two daughters. His estate was inherited by his sons, James and John, who farmed and died on the homestead. John married Elizabeth Huey, of Dauphin County, Pa. and lived near Six-Mile-Ferry, where he died at the age of 86. His children were: Joseph, Jane, James, Nancy, Presley, John and William.
(History of Allegheny County, Pa.) A. Warner & Co. Publisher 1889.

JAMES SNODGRASS
James Snodgrass, was one of the earliest settlers of Allegheny County. He purchased a tract of several hundred acres in Mifflin Township at about 50 cents per acre from the government. He was one of the organizers of the old Lebanon Church, and taught school in the building. He married and had one son, William J. Snodgrass III, who was born 1840 and grew to maturity. He engaged in the wholesale drug business on Lacock Station, Allegheny, then opened up two coal mines on the Snodgrass Estate and operated these until his death, the coal being shipped on the river to Cincinnati and New Orleans. He had many men in his employ. In addition to this he cultivated his farm and had a general store. He was a Republican. One of the founders of the Lebanon Presbyterian Church, but later affiliated with the Amity Presbyterian Church of Dravosburg. Mr. Snodgrass died in 1889. He married Sarah Creighton Risher, born in Allegheny County 1845, the daughter of John C. Risher. (Genealogical & Personal History of Western Pa. Vol. 111)

JOHN MUNHALL: A RAGS TO RICHES - PIONEER
John Munhall was born in Schuykill County November 16, 1833. Died June 9, 1904. He was 71 years of age. He was hailed at his passing as a "pioneer coal, river, oil, and steel man". He founded Munhall Borough. His parents brought him to Pittsburgh in 1834 as an infant. His early years were filled with hardship and toil, like those of other pioneers. At the age of 10, he was left an orphan and worked in a coal mine, saved every cent he could (about a $100 a year). At 17 he opened a store in Elizabeth. After 6 years in the mercantile business, John Munhall lost all he had made by a sudden depression (the panic of 1857). A year later, he with his brothers, Michael and William, built the steamboat, "J. S. Cosgrove". John Munhall cut the timbers for the boat from the forests, a few miles back from the river. After final completion, Mr. Munhall started into the river business. In 1861 he built the steamboat, "Grey Eagle", which plied the Allegheny River. Shortly afterward he joined with Major William Fre and Charles Lockhart to build other steamboats, including the "Brilliant" and "Albion". With these two steamers he embarked in the oil carrying trade. He retired from the oil bussiness in 1876. He was the owner of a large coal tract, known as "Bellwood Mines". In the meantime Andrew Carnegie was pressing forward with his huge steel enterprises and wanted part of the Munhall farm to establish his great mills. This land was bought and the now Homestead Works of U.S. Steel covers much of the old Munhall Farm. John Munhall withdrew from active business to become an investor in many enterprises. He was interested in steel mills, and a stockholder in the early Carnegie Co. enterprises. He helped organize and develop several of the leading bank houses in Pittsburgh. He watched many of the junior partners ofAndrew Carnegie succeed to positions of influence, such as Charles M. Schwab and his brother Joseph E. Schwab. The latter was Mr. Munhall's son-in-law.

JOHN K. RHODES
John K. Rhodes - farmer - post office, McKeesport. Was born May 21, 1827 in Allegheny County, Pa. His grandfather, Casper Rhodes of German decent, came to this county and was an industrious farmer. His children were: Frederick and Mrs. Katie Webb. Frederick married Jane, a daughter of Alexander Snodgrass, and they had the following children: John K., Ann, Presley, Susan, Alexander and Mary J. John K. was a successful farmer and owned 154 acres of land. He married Margaret, daughter of Andrew McClure. Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes have one son, Sylvester E., who married Bell M., daughter of John Willock, Esq. and they had one son, John K. Mr. Rhodes and family were members of the Lebanon Church.
(History of Allegheny County, Pa.) A. Warner & Co. Publisher 1889.

WILLIAM COX (1807-1891)
William Cox was father of John F. Cox, Joseph Cox. Thomas Cox, William Cox, George Cox, Robert Cox, Sarah Cox, Catherine Cox, Elizabeth Cox and Asa Shinn Cox.Born at Nasby, England. Married 1826 to Hannah Ford who died 1849. William and Hannah Cox came to America in 1831 and settled on Nine Mile Run. This is the Run that comes into the river at the Pittsburgh end of Brown's Bridge (Homestead). Here he ran a salt works for some years. In 1842 he moved to the farm, located where a section of Homestead Park now stands, and continued to live until 1878. In 1850, he was married a second time to the widow of Aaron Whitaker, Jr. - Mrs. Anne Dellenbaugh Whitaker. Mr. Cox was a man of untiring industry and thrift and became quite prosperous for the times in which he lived. He was generous in the support of his church and numerous worthy causes. He was a Methodist and for over half a century belonged to the Franklin Congregation and the Anne Ashley Church which supplanted it. Throughout all his firmness and strictness as a God-Fearing man there was a benevolent gentleness and quietness of disposition which rendered him as kind and companionable. Everyone knew him as "Uncle Billy" or "GrandPap". A good citizen of the Township and Borough, he held various offices as Assessor, Supervisor and School Director, as a matter of duty, but never in any way aspired to honors. In politics he was a "Whig", a strong Abolitionist and later a Republican. His habits of life were simple and temperate. He never used liquor or tobacco in any form. He was without much education, but was well read, a close observer and a man of sense and wisdom. The virtues of honesty and integrity he possessed in the fullest degree and they governed all his dealings with his fellow-men.It is known that Catherine Cox married Boyd W. Kelly of New Kensington, Sarah married A. M. McClure, Elizabeth married Alexander Ashley, Joseph lived in Mifflin Township on the Cox farm (Homestead Park) and some of the sons went to live in Laurence County, Pa.

THOMAS ARMSTRONG
Thomas Armstrong, known to many as Indian Tom, died at the age of 85 on May 6, 1925. Date of birth unknown. Mr. Armstrong was a blacksmith, who for a period of sixty years served this community faithfully and well as a shoer of horses and a worker of iron. He was buried in the Lebanon cemetery. A tablet was erected by those, who as barefoot boys rode the horses of their farms to his shop, also, as an appreciation of the bigness of his heart in bequeathing to Lebanon and Mifflin Churches the whole of his estate, although he was not a member of either. Mr. Armstrong served as a Mifflin Township Commissioner.

JOHN NEEL
John and Dorcas Neel came from the north of Ireland to Pa., settling in Lancaster County. They both were members of the Presbyterian Church. John Neel was a farmer, owning the acres he cultivated with the aid of his sons, most of whom later crossed the mountains in Western Pa. Although both John and Dorcas Neel died in Lancaste, County they left three children: Adam married Molly Snodgrass, they had six children and always remained in Lancaster County, William married Jane Snodgrass, later moved to Western Pa. where he was killed by the Indians. Their children were: Dorcas, Mary, Jane, John, Margaret and William III. John married Mary Cooper, a sister of James Fenimore Cooper, the noted American novelist, they all moved to Allegheny County, where it is believed the John was slain by the Indians. Their children were Colonel John, Archibald, Tabitha, William, Thomas, James and Samuel.

JAMES NEEL
James Neel—son of John and Dorcas Neel was born in Lancaster County Pa., crossed the mountains in wagon drawn by horses. They settled in Versailles Township but later moved to Mifflin where he took up a tract of land on Thompson's Run and there ended his days, a farmer and strict Presbyterian. He was married to Rachael McClure and had children: Dorcas (1775), John F. (1778), Jane (1780 Thomas (1783), James, (1785), Grizella (1788), Reuben (1791), Rachel (1795), Hiram (1799).

JAMES HARVEY NEEL
James Harvey Neel third son and fifth child of James and Rachel (McClure) Neel, was born in Mifflin Township, Allegheny County, Pa. September 30, 1785. He grew up amid the rude surroundings of that pioneer period. Helped to clear and cultivate the "Thompson Run" farm owned by his father and at the latter's death inherited one-half of the estate. He was a very progressive, energetic character, and in addition to his farming and lumbering operations conducted a tannery on his farm and had an interest in a wholesale grocery business in Pittsburgh. For many years his house was the Government Post Office for the neighborhood and he the regularly appointed Postmaster. He prospered in all his undertakings and left behind a goodly estate and honored name. He was a devout Presbyterian, the family all being members of the Lebanon congregation. He married Elizabeth Brierly, born in Mifflin Township, and there died, daughter of Robert and Belle Brierly, and granddaughter of John and Ann (Jackson) Brierly, both born in the North of Ireland.John Flavel Neel eldest son and second child of James H. and Elizabeth (Brierly) Neel, was born at the home farm on "Thompson Run", Mifflin Township, May 9, 1825, and died August 31, 1914, in his ninetieth year. He was living in good health in Dravosburg, prosperous, contented and influential. He grew to manhood on the home farm and obtained his education in the district schools near by. He was his father's assistant for years, then he and his brother Hiram worked the farm together. Later they divided the farm, but John F. did not long retain his Share. He had a well developed capacity for business affairs, and selling his inheritance for cash, he invested his money in different enterprises, with such good results that for many years he had lived a retired life. In 1872 he purchased small farm on the Monongahela river at Dravosburg, which was his home at the time of his death. Mr. Neel married (first), Susanna Forsythe, who died December 21, -1857, leaving her son, James Benjamin, born ten days previous to the mother's death. James Benjamin upon reaching manhood married Sarah Risher. Mr. Neel married (second) in 1873, Mary Ann Ramsey, children were: John Flavel II, born 1878, met his death by drowning 1891; Harry Campbell born 1882; Jessie Ramsey born 1884, parried George F. Lloyd. Frances Folsom born 1887; Tram Alexander born 1889 who married Elizabeth Van Sturdy. Mary Ann (Ramsey) Neel, mother of the five children, was a daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth (Work) Ramsey. Their children were: Susanna, married Alexander Rhodes; Mary A. married John Flavel Neel, Wilson; Margaret married Frederick Baker; Jessie died aged twenty-five years; Nettle married Joseph Osborne.
(Genealogical and Personal History in Western Pa. Vol III)

JOHN C. RISHER
John C. Risher, father of Mrs. William J. Snodgrass was of German decent, settled at Six-Mile-Ferry, near the Snodgrass homestead, where he was the owner of a large tract of land, on which Dravosburg is now located. He died at the age of 70, at the time being the owner of more than 1,000 acres of land. He was largely interested in coal production and owned a string of coal boats on the Ohio and Monongahela rivers.
(Genealogical & Personal History of Western Pa., Vol. 111)

WILLIAM MARSH, SR. ( 1826-1911 )
William Marsh was born in Lancashire, England, came to America in 1870. At first the family settled in the Greensprings section, but soon moved to the Thompson Run community where the Marsh home was located to the right of Duquesne Road in the ravine below where the Brierly Road joins the Duquesne Road. Mr. Marsh was a miner for years in this community. He was married to Mary Hobbes in England, and all the family was born there save James Marsh and Mrs. Phoebe Molzer. She was an infant when the family came to America. James and Phoebe Molzer belong to the Anne Ashley Congregation. Mr. Marsh was strict in his religious observances. He walked to church on Sunday, regardless of what the weather was, because his interpretation of the fourth commandment did not permit him to work his horse on the Sabbath.

JAMES H. HAYES
James H. Hayes - of Scotch-French extraction, brought much activity to this region when he began mining operations in 1828 at the mouth of Streets Run, the former location of Hays Station. The village located there was known as Six-Mile Ferry. James Hayes was a native of Mifflin Township, taught school and worked as a cooper, or barrel maker until he was 28 years of age. He then entered the coal trade which was continued by his decendants for many years who became the river's most successful operators.

DAVID CALHOUN
David Calhoun, a man of Scotch-Irish ancestry, came from Lancaster, Pa., when he was 18 years old. Enlisted in the Continental Army. Saw service throughout the Revolutionary War, wounded in the Battle of Brandywine and finally saw Cornwallis deliver up his sword after the seige of Yorktown.After the war David applied for a government land grant. Those grants were issued to Revolutionary Soldiers upon payment by the soldiers of one dollar per acre for said land. The first house on the Calhoun Estate was a log cabin, built by David Calhoun. The second built by David was a stone Inn, located along the present "West Run Road". David's son, David K. Calhoun, built the third. The fourth. house on this estate was built in 1816. There was an Indian Legend, which was accepted by the old settlers, that a vein of silver existed on the Calhoun estate. An old Indian used to return to this section every year, and obtained silver bullion which he had minted annually. When the first wells were dug on the site of Homestead Park, (now Munhall) traces of silver were found in the water analysis.
(West Homestead Anniversary Book)

THE BRIERLEY FAMILY
The Brierley family had its initiation in America with the advent of John Brierley, a native of the Emerald Isle. John married Ann Jackman December 13,1743 and landed in America July 28,1750 settling in Maryland. His children were: Margaret born 1745, Elizabeth born 1747, Robert born 1749, Henry born 1750, Jane born 1753, George born 1755, Isabella born 1759, John born 1762, Richard born 1764, and Thomas born 1770. Robert Brierley, the eldest son, was born in Ireland and accompanied his parents to Maryland where he was reared. In 1777 he secured a deed for a large tract of land in Mifflin Township, part of which was later occupied by his grandson. Robert married Elizabeth Bell of Maryland and their children were: Anne, who married Isaac Harris; Elizabeth, who became the wife of Harry Neel; Jane married Archibald Job; Thomas married Mary Lynch; Ellen married Samuel Wilson. Thomas Brierley, the only son of Robert and Elizabeth (Bell) Brierley, was born on the old homestead in Mifflin Township in 1800 and died there in the year 1881. He spent his entire life following the even tenor of his way and was an honorable and prosperous citizen. He was married to Mary A., daughter of Thomas and Mary (Kirtland) Lynch. They had six children: Elizabeth, Robert, Mary, who was the wife of John Lyon, Adelaide, wife of William Cox, Emeline and Thomas. Robert Brierley, of the fourth generation in America, was a successful farmer, born on the old Brierley homestead, September 28, 1840. The son of Thomas and Mary (Lynch) Brierley. He was educated in the common schools and on June 5, 1884, married Cordelia Irene, daughter of John and Caroline (Arner) Fink. They had five children. Cornelius, Charles W., Robert E., Jesse A. and Mabel Roberta. Mr. Brierley was one of the prominent and substantial farmers in Mifflin Township and his family were members of the Lebanon Presbyterian Church. Thomas Brierley the youngest child and second of Thomas and Mary (Lynch) Brierley, also born on the homestead October 21, 1851, married Ella S., daughter of Robert and Mary (McFadden) Rath in 1876. They had four children: Thomas B., Clara E., Robert R. and Ella S. Thomas Brierley was a prominent farmer, who like his brother Robert, cultivated the old farm in Mifflin. His religious connections were with the United Presbyterian Church.

John Brierly and Jane Jackson - were married in Ireland, December 13, 1743, and in 1750 came to Pennsylvania, settling in Lancaster county, where John engaged in farming. Children were: Margaret born Elizabeth born 1747, Robert, Henry born 1750, Jean 1753, George born 1755, Isabella born 1759, John 1762, Richard born 1764, Thomas born 1770. R Brierly, son of John and Ann Brierly, was the first settler of the name to come to Mifflin Township and there into after life, was engaged in farming. Children of Robert and Belle Brierly were: Elizabeth, married James H Neel, Jane, Thomas, Presley died young, Mary and Eleanor. Children of James Harvey and Elizabeth Neel: Jane, 1823, married Dr. O'Brien; John Flavel born 1825; Robert born 1828, died in Mifflin Township, was a wheelwright and blacksmith: James Harvey II born 1830 died young; Hiram born 1832; Rachel born 1833 died in infancy.JOHN F. DRAVOJohn F. Dravo—for whom Dravosburg was named, was born in West Newton in 1819 and settled in Mifflin Township in 1840. In 1845 he opened the Dravo Works.We cannot omit the characteristic bravery of American women in the early days of Mifflin Township. In 1799, a widow named Martha Means, drove a four horse team from Harrisburg and settled within the original of Mifflin. She had six children the oldest being fifteen years of age. On one occasion in 1780, Mrs. Neel, rode a horse back to her old home in Lancaster County carrying one child in her arms, while her four year old son rode behind her. This young boy grew to manhood and became well known in Allegheny County as General Neel.Some well known names of other early settlers Forsythe, Huey, McGee, Wall, Crawford, Cochran, Simpson, McKee, Finney, Paterson, Cunningham, West, Willock, Rankin, Large, Carrick, Kenny, Lloyd, McGowan, Livingston, Beam, Dryer, McIver, Scott, Stone, Hoffman, Schultz.

JOHN McCLURE
John McClure I, the ancestor of the Homestead McClures, settled in Cumberland County in 1750, on land now occupied by Carlisle. He died in 1767 and left this tract of 200 acres to his son John, who two years later in 1769, sold this tract and came to Pittsburgh where he had a cousin John Ormsby. John McClure II, became rich by trading with the Indians. He bought the 327 acre tract of land occupied by Amos McAlister on May 15, 1786. Most of Homestead, a section of Munhall, and all of the Steel Works land laid within these acres. The purchase price paid to the government was 54 pounds 10 shillings or about $262.00. When he died (it is asserted that he was killed by the Indians) his son John McClure III inherited the land. This John McClure married Agnes Topping of Westmoreland, and their son Abdiel inherited the land which had come by this time to be known as the McClure Homestead.