BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES - SOUTH ANCESTORS RINEHART (Also recorded as REINHART) 120-John Thomas Rinehart (my 4G Grandfather) was born in Germany. He arrived in America on the British ship "Friendship" and took the oath of allegiance to the British crown at Philadelphia on 23 September 1740. He settled in Frederick County, Maryland, where he married 121-Anna Maria (maiden name unknown) and they had five sons, Simon, 60-Thomas Jr., Joseph, John and Barnet. They lived in Maryland until the mid 1770's where son Simon served in Captain Philip Graybill's Company of the German Regiment under the command of Colonel Ludwick Weltner. In 1776, with his wife 121-Anna Maria and five sons, 120-John Thomas moved to what is now southwestern Pennsylvania and settled at the head of the Coal Lick Branch of South Tenmile Creek. Here they made their home and son Simon became active in the movement to form a new state, "Westsylvania". His signature appears on the petition submitted to the Continental Congress in 1779. Interestingly, at about the same time, a petition opposing the formation of the new state was signed by 62-Arthur INGHRAM and 58-Joseph GWYNNE. In 1781, Simon, along with two friends, was killed by the ever present Indians when ambushed at a camp on Laurel Run where they were making maple sugar. 1782* found brothers Thomas, Jr., Barnet, Joseph, and James all members of Captain James ARCHER’S Company, Washington County Militia, whose main duty was to protect the local citizenry from the Indians. Captain ARCHER, who had lost members of his own family to the Indians, was known to be particularly effective in combating them. Unfortunately, about one year after Simons death, brother John met the same fate when he was lured away from the farmhouse by what seemed to be a bawling calf but was a lurking savage who killed and scalped him after a bitter hand to hand fight. This tragedy occurred near Waynesburg, on the family farm, which was later the site of the County Home. When 120-John Thomas died he mentioned both slain sons in dividing his estate, giving their proper share to their children. He died in 1793 at age 70. The date of 121-Anna Maria's death is unknown. Both are buried on the Solomon Gordon farm near Waynesburg, PA. * In 1782 60-Thomas RINEHART Jr, 62-Arthur INGHRAM, and 92-George LEMLEY were all members of Captain James ARCHER’S Militia Company at the same time. This company was made up of volunteers from the Fort Jackson (Waynesburg) area. Concurrently, 58-Joseph GWYNNE was serving in Captain William CRAWFORD’S Militia Company, consisting of volunteers from the Carmichaels area. 60-Thomas RINEHART Jr. (my 3G Grandfather) was born in Frederick County, Maryland in 1746 and he, along with wife 61-Hannah, moved to Washington what is now Greene County, PA with his parents in about 1776. There he enlisted as a member of Captain James ARCHER’S Company, First Battalion, Washington County Militia. He had married 61-Hannah INGHRAM in Maryland in about 1774 and their first child, 30-John, was born, in Pennsylvania, in 1779. All told they had eleven children, 30-John, Thomas, William, Margaret, Elizabeth, Nancy, Jesse, Joseph, Arthur, Levi and Hannah. 60-Thomas Jr. died in 1804 at age 58 and 61-Hannah in 1808 (age unknown). Both are buried on the Solomon Gordon Farm near Waynesburg, Greene County, PA. 30-John RINEHART (my 2G Grandfather), the oldest child of 60-Thomas Jr. and 61-Hanna INGHRAM was born in what is now Greene County, PA in 1779. He lived his entire life there. He married 31-Margaret INGHRAM, a first cousin, about 1809. Margaret's father and John's mother were brother and sister and both were children of 122-William INGHRAM, Sr. This was but one of several inter-family marriages between the RINEHARTS and the GWYNNES during that era. John and Margaret had fourteen children, Nancy, Matilda, Olive, Hannah, 15-Emilene (who became the wife of 14-Lewis DOWLIN), Thomas, Hiram, Presley, Jesse, Levi, Margaret, William, Arthur and Joseph. 30-John died in 1855 at age 76 and 31-Margaret in 1862 at age 82. Both are buried on the Ross Scott Farm, Franklin Township, Greene County, PA. SUPPLEMENTAL BIOGRAPHIC MATERIAL - RINEHART
(Added after initial printing) The following refers to my 4G Grandparents 120-John Thomas Rinehart (1720-1793) and 121-Anna Maria ( -1800) Johannes Thomas REINHARD (John Thomas RINEHART / Thomas RINEHART, Sr.) was born in Palatinate (Germany) around the year 1720. He began his trip to America in the spring of 1740. He took a boat down the Rhine River to the city of Rotterdam, Holland. This took approximately six weeks because they had to pass through about twenty custom inspection houses. Once he reached Rotterdam, there was another delay of three to four weeks. He boarded the ship named "Friendship" and next landed in Cowes, the Isle of Wight off the coast of England. Here he was delayed another three or four weeks. The "Friendship" was a sailing vessel so the wind and weather played an important part in their schedule. The “Friendship” took approximately three months to cross the ocean. It arrived in Philadelphia on September 23, 1740. The passengers were packed in these vessels like sardines, and only the strong survived. On some ships over half the immigrants starved to death before they reached America. After Johannes landed, he was marched to the courthouse where he was required to sign an oath of allegiance to the British. After signing the oath, he was returned to the ship. The passengers were now required to settle all expenses owed to the captain. Most of the immigrants had spent what little they had during the long delays enroute. Some of them were now put on the auction block and sold for an amount to cover their expenses. They would serve from three to eight years for their owner depending on the bill they owed the captain. In due time Johannes met and married Anna Maria (some reports indicate that her maiden name was O’NEIL but documentation is lacking). They had five sons: Thomas Jr., Simon, John, Barnet, and Joseph. After a period of time Johannes and his family migrated to Frederick County, Maryland. At that time the area was occupied largely by German people and the German language was spoken more than English. In approximately 1778, Johannes and his family went to the frontier country that was later to become Greene County, Pennsylvania. There the British had often used the German people as a buffer between them and the Indians. Johannes and his sons were all farmers. There are several stories of the Indians attacking RINEHART family members during their early days on the frontier. Two of Johannes’ sons were killed and there are reports of grandchildren captured and raised temporarily by the Indians. Johnannes died November 29, 1793 in Franklin Twp., Washington (later Greene) County, PA. Notwithstanding the hardships of Johannes RINEHART, his difficult trip to America, his migration to and life on the frontier and his tragic loss of two sons the RINEHART family he founded has been prosperous. They have multiplied and branched out to nearly every state west of the Ohio River. They are found among the more influential, thrifty and hard-working people of their communities. SOURCE: Cousin Robert KIDNOCKER of Chillicothe, OH JAMES BENJAMIN FRANKLIN RINEHART
Cousin James Benjamin Franklin RINEHART (1869-1937) was a 2g grandson of Barnet RINEHART (1758-1822), brother of my 3G Grandfather 60-Thomas RINEHART, Jr. (1746-1804). Not only were we related to him through the RINEHART family line but his wife was Cousin Malinda SOUTH (1868-1939). To bring a third ancestral family into the picture Malinda SOUTH’S mother was Cousin Vylinda EVERLY (1837-1911). In 1906, the Farmers and Drovers Bank in Waynesburg, founded in 1835, the largest bank in Greene County, failed. The failure was a serious blow to the local economy. Many depositors faced bankruptcy and a few noted local citizens were thought to have contributed to the collapse because of mismanagement. However, only one bank official, J. B. Frank RINEHART was tried, convicted and served a prison term for his part in the bank failure. RINEHART, vice president, was the principal operating officer in 1906. Because of the bank’s stability, resources totaled $2.2 million. Forty shares of stock, with a par value of $50, were sold on public sale in March 1906, for $33 per share. RINEHART later said large sums had been lent to local businesses, many of which could not repay when loans came due. More suspicious was the fact in the previous year; the bank had placed some $190,000 in a political pool to elect local Democrats, especially a judge, treasurer, register and recorder. Money from this “slush fund” depleted the bank’s cash account. To cover the shortage, RINEHART was accused of rediscounting, a process of borrowing from other banks. Without the directors’ knowledge, RINEHART borrowed more than $300,000. Some depositors got wind of the scheme and withdrew some $475,000 from the bank compounding the trouble. The transactions were discovered by a bank examiner from Pittsburgh who insisted RINEHART resign. He was also ordered to turn over his real estate holdings and bank stock valued at $300,000. He also deeded to the bank a large block of coal. Directors later voted him vice president again. He was the bank’s largest stock holder. RINEHART continued to borrow from other banks and the debt reached $835,000 when the institution was forced to close its doors. RINEHART posted a $10,000 bond after being charged with a number of offenses. His trial was finally held in Pittsburgh in 1909. When the doors were locked, the bank had $2,367,467 in resources but outstanding loans totaled $2,058,033. Auditors discovered many of the bank records and correspondence had been destroyed. Many forgeries were discovered and RINEHART faced criminal charges at a trial held in Greene County in December 1908. Many local residents brought suit in an attempt to recover their money. A local attorney, Sherman GRIM, allegedly committed suicide because he lost all his money. A grand jury in Pittsburgh indicted RINEHART on more than 100 charges in 1907. RINEHART posted $20,000 bond. After much judicial footdragging, Norman SAYERS, president of a local group of depositors, and a Pittsburgh editor went to Washington and urged President Theodore ROOSEVELT to intercede with the courts. RINEHART went on trial in US District Court in Pittsburgh on Jan. 4, 1909. The trial lasted two weeks and the jury was out for 19 hours before finding RINEHART guilty of 29 counts. He was ordered to serve 15 years in prison. Two local men, James WORLEY and James L. SMITH were found guilty of jury tampering and were fined $1,000. RINEHART also lost his 14-room mansion on Bonar Avenue in Waynesburg, which had cost him $50,000. The home was sold to James L. RUSH in 1912 for $22,500. President TAFT pardoned RINEHART in January, 1913. SOURCE: Historical Edition, GREENE COUNTY MESSENGER, September, 1997 JAMES R. RINEHART
Cousin James R. RINEHART (1832-1910) was a g grandson of Simon RINEHART, brother of my 3G Grandfather 60-Thomas RINEHART, Jr. (1746-1804). Prof. RINEHART’S wife, Ida DONLEY, was a daughter of the Honorable Patrick DONLEY (1805-1891), brother of my 2G Grandfather 22-Rev. Daniel DONLEY (1809-1893). Prof. James R. RINEHART, Professor of Languages at Waynesburg College, was born at Woodsfield, Monroe County, Ohio, in October 1832, and is a son of Simon and Hannah (Morris) RINEHART, natives of Greene County, Penn. His father was of German and Irish extraction. Prof. RINEHART’S great-grandfather, who was a farmer, was among the early settlers of this county, and was killed by the Indians. His grandfather Barnett RINEHART, was born September 8, 1777, in this county. His maternal grandparents were natives of Monmouth County, New Jersey, and were of Scotch and German descent. The RINEHART family have, as a rule, been farmers and very successful in business. Several members of the family have entered the professions and met with unusual success. Prof. RINEHART’S father was a blacksmith by trade. He was a clerk for the county commissioners for several years, and also served as a justice of the peace. He reared a family of four children, of whom the Professor is the third. Prof. RINEHART was educated in Greene County, graduating in the regular classical course at Waynesburg College. He the took up the study of law and was admitted to the bar in 1857. He began the practice of his profession in Clinton, Illinois, and after a short time went to St. Louis, Missouri, where he remained until 1860, then returned to Greene County, Penn. In 1887 he accepted his present position as instructor in Waynesburg College, and has filled the same continuously since that time. Prof. RINEHART was married in 1873 to Miss Ida, daughter of Hon. Patrick DONLEY and Margaret (MORRIS) DONLEY. The Professor is a member of the Masonic Fraternity. SOURCE: HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA (1888) by Samuel P. BATES PROF. A. RINEHART
Cousin A. I. P. RINEHART (1860- ) was a g grandson of Barnet RINEHART, brother of my 3G Grandfather 60-Thomas RINEHART, Jr. (1746-1804). Prof. A. I. P. RINEHART, Superintendent of Public Schools of Waynesburg, Penna., was among the prominent instructors of the county, and a man of marked ability as a teacher. Prof. RINEHART was born in Franklin Township, this county, April 17, 1860, and is the son of William and Elizabeth (PORTER) RINEHART, who were of German and English descent. His parents were natives of Greene County, and descendants of its early settlers. His father was a farmer, and of a family of nine children Prof. RINEHART is the oldest. He received his early education in the common schools and afterward took a course in the Edinboro State Normal School, graduating in 1883. He has since engaged in teaching as a profession, and his work has been confined to Greene County, with the exception of two years that he was principal of the High School at Freeport, Armstrong County, Penn. In 1885 he was elected to his present position of superintendent of schools in Waynesburg. During vacation he has frequently instructed other teachers of the county. In 1888 he taught a very successful term in Jackson Township, his pupils being principally those who had themselves been teachers. Prof. RINEHART is a genial pleasant gentleman, and is held in high esteem by the teachers of Greene County. SOURCE: History of Greene County, Pennsylvania (1888) by Samuel P. BATES |