SAMUEL MUNNEL is descended from an old and prominent pioneer family of Washington county. John Munnel was the first ancestor of the family name to settle in America. He and his wife settled in South Strabane township, this county, where they died, having reared eleven children. Samuel Munnel, the father of subject, was born in 1795, in South Strabane township, this county, and in early manhood was united in marriage with Nancy Equiston, of Butler county, Penn. The young people settled on the home farm, where children were born as follows: Isabelle (living in Canonsburg), John (deceased), Robert (a resident of North Strabane township), Sarah Jane (widow of George Taylor, of Washington borough), Samuel (whose sketch follows), Thomas (deceased in his eighteenth year), William (deceased in infancy), James (living in Crafton, Penn.), Catherine E. (wife of John Herron, of South Strabane township), Mary E. (Mrs. Adam Hall, of South Strabane township) and Charles (deceased; his son is a bookkeeper in the Reform School at Morganza). The father was a Democrat, and in religion a member of the Presbyterian Church. He died in 1881 at the age of eighty years, and his widow passed away in March, 1891, at the home of her son Samuel. Samuel Munnel was born on the home farm in South Strabane township, this county, where his youth was passed. He then learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed three years, working for Hugh Reynolds, at $25 a year. He made a trip to the West, and returning to Washington county purchased a sawmill in South Strabane township, conducting same twenty- five years. He afterward bought another mill in North Strabane township, and a portable sawmill. In 1869 he came to Canonsburg, continuing in the mill business, and for the past fourteen years has been engaged in the ice business. In 1860 Samuel Munnel was united in marriage with Miss Margaret Ringland. Her uncle, Thomas Ringland, was Speaker of the House of Representatives. Mrs. Munnel died a few years after her marriage, leaving two children, one that died and Mary Ringland. For his second wife he was married to Nancy E., daughter of Andrew Crawford, and a native of Peters township, Washington county, who bore him four children: Martha, Nannie, Eva and Samuel, all living at home. In 1886 he entered the hardware and building business in partnership with H. W. Taylor. During the war Samuel Munnel was a member of the State militia. In politics he has been a Democrat, serving in various township offices, and in religion is a member and trustee of the Presbyterian Church. His home is situated in the west end of Canonsburg.

Text taken from page 1435 of: Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893). Transcribed January 1997 by Neil and Marilyn Morton of Oswego, IL as part of the Beers Project. Published January 1997 on the Washington County, PA USGenWeb pages at http://www.chartiers.com/.

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