John R. Melvin    

JOHN R. MELVIN, farmer, post-office Greenville, was born in West Salem Township, upon the farm where his son, Lester, now lives, August 15, 1802, and is a son of Richard and Agnes (Watson) Melvin, natives of Ireland. They immigrated to Wilmington, Del., in 1792, whence they removed to the Red Stone Settlement, in Westmoreland County, Penn. In the spring of 1798 Richard Melvin came to Mercer County and selected a tract of land in West Salem Township, upon which he built a cabin, and then returned to his home. In 1799 he brought out his family, then consisting of his wife and one son, James R., and took up his residence in his cabin home. Four children were born after their coming to the Shenango Valley: Agnes, who died in girlhood; Sarah, who married William Hollingsworth; John R., and Mary, who became the wife of Michael Reed, all of whom are dead except John B. The father died December 19, 1824, aged fifty-six years, and his widow survived him till 1848. Our subject grew to manhood on the old homestead, and was married November 26, 1829, to Elizabeth, daughter of William Woods, a pioneer of West Salem Township. She bore him eight children, only three of whom grew to maturity: Lester, Emeline, wife of John Laird, of Greene Township, and Franklin, deceased. Mrs. Melvin died June 2, 1846, and he was again married, April 2, 1850, to Rebecca, daughter of Thomas Woods, of Pymatuning Township. No children survive of this union, his second wife dying April 10, 1855. Mr. Melvin was then married to Mrs. Harriet Fell, nee Sponsler, who bore him one son, Charles, of West Salem. He was again married, May 10, 1870, to Annie M., daughter of George and Sarah Logan, of Greene Township. Mr. Melvin has spent his whole life in West Salem Township, and both he and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church. He has always supported the Democratic party; has filled the office of justice of the peace fifteen years in succession, and united seventy-five couples in marriage. He has been one of the most prominent supporters of the public schools since their establishment, and has won and retained the respect and confidence of the best people of his native county.

History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present : including its aboriginal history, its early settlement and development, a description of its historic and interesting localities, sketches of its boroughs, townships and villages, neighborhood and family histories, portraits and biographies of pioneers and representative citizens, statistics, etc. : also, a condensed history of Pennsylvania. Chicago, Ill.: Brown, Runk & Co., 1888, pages 1191-1192.  Read this book on line - Free Trial  Search Hundreds of 1880s-1890s Pennsylvania County History Books for biographies and historical information on your ancestors.  View the book page images on line and print them out for your genealogy file!  Free Access to the old history books - plus birth & death records, census images and ALL other records at ancestry.com.