The Large Family
Industrious and Patriotic Pioneers of Jefferson
by Deborah C. Morinello, Genealogy Committee

The Large family, who settled in Allegheny County during the late 1700’s, left its imprint on the West Jefferson Hills area. Not only did the family lend its name to an area of Jefferson, but they also left behind a rich history as area landowners and as founders of the Large Distillery. However, the story of the Large family of Jefferson actually began in New Jersey rather than Pennsylvania.
     John Large, the first member of the family to move west and settle in Allegheny County, was born 15 December 1759 in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. John was one of three children born to Samuel and Amy Carman) Large. His siblings were Jonothan Large and Abigail Tracy.
     John’s father, Samuel Large (1717-1820), was of French descent. In A Genealogical and Biographical History of Allegheny County, A, Samuel is described as “an enthusiastic patriot” who helped the American colonies in their fight for independence. A shoemaker by trade, Samuel also owned a farm. Unfortunately, when Samuel sold his farm for $4,000, he was paid in continental money which later proved to be worthless.
     Like his father, John Large must also have been a patriot. According to Allegheny County, PA Revolutionary War Soldiers, he fought in the American Revolution. During 1777 he served as a private in the Hunterton County and Somerset County militias of New Jersey.
     In 1779 John Large also served as a private under Captains Philips, Munson, Snook, Ten Eyck, and Rune in the divisions of Colonels Frelinghreysen, Taylor, and Spencer. In 1791, John Large married Nancy Lowe, daughter of Henry Lowe, and in 1796 the John Large family came to Allegheny county, first settling in Upper St. Clair Township. In 1810 the family moved to Mifflin Township--today Jefferson Hills--where John purchased a farm and built a distillery. John and Nancy had eight children: Hannah Livingston (1792), onathan (1794), Samuel (1796), Henry (1798), Isaac (1800), Thomas (1803), Margaret Patterson (1805), and Nancy Livingston (1818). John Large died in Jefferson on 21 July 1850 and was buried at the Lebanon Presbyterian Cemetery in Mifflin Township. John’s son Jonathan Large, who was born in New Jersey in 1794, was about two years old when his family moved to Allegheny County, locating on the Boggs farm in Upper St. Clair Township. When he was about sixteen, the family settled in Mifflin Township. There Jonathan met and married Esther, daughter of Andrew and Jane (Howe) Finney. Jonathan and Esther had thirteen children: Jane (1818), John (1819), Andrew (1820), Levi (1821), Nancy (1822), Harriet (1824), Samuel (1827), Jonathan (1828), Joshua (1828), James (1831), Isaac (1832), Llewellen (1832), and Henry (1836).
     Jonathan first bought a farm near Lebanon Church and built a distillery and trampmill, which he eventually disposed of. Later he bought the land known as Ferree Purchase on Peter’s Creek in Jefferson Township. On this piece of land a fort once stood in a field known as “fort-field.” In the valley of the Ferree Purchase on the present Route 51, Jonathan Large built his famed distillery. The distillery produced the Monongahela rye whiskey established by his father and which became nationally known for its excellence.
     During his life Jonathan Large became a successful farmer and businessman as well as an active member of the community. In the 1850 U.S. Census for Jefferson Township, Jonathan valued his property at $14,000, a lofty sum for farmers of the area. In addition to his farm and business ventures, Jonathan was instrumental in building up the Pennsylvania militia for which he served as a brigadier-general. After an active industrious and community-oriented life, Jonathan died in 1862, and his wife in 1877. In 1863, Jonathan’s youngest son Henry, who married Anna H. Greenly, purchased his father’s land and continued in the manufacture of the Monongahela rye whiskey.
      Eventually, the Large Distillery was sold to The National Distillery Company. The property was later sold to Homer Reed and then came to the Noble Dick Company who leased it in 1958 to Westinghouse. Westinghouse established a research facility there. Although the Large Distillery has been gone for many years, the area along Route 51 where the distillery once stood is still named Large. Even after two hundred years, the Large family name lives on in Jefferson.