PARKER S. SPHAR. The Sphar family have been identified with the history of Washington county for many years. Mattern Sphar was born in Switzerland, and, in company with two brothers and one sister, immigrated to America about 1760, at the age of seventeen years. He first settled in Williamsburgh, Va., and on April 21, 1767, took the oath of allegiance under Queen Anne. He was there married to Margaret Shively, and in 1780 came to Washington county, Penn., and purchased of one Col. Cooke 200 acres on the Monongahela river, in what is now Washington county. He took an active part in the Whisky Insurrection, and was a soldier in the war of 1812. He died about 1822, leaving three children, namely: John, Mattern (who moved to Adams county, Ohio, thence to Indiana), and Henry (who lived in this county). John Sphar was born in 1777, in Loudoun county, Va., and when but three years of age came with his parents to Washington county, Penn. He received a subscription-school education in Allen township, and when a young man was married to Susanna Redd, a native of Washington county. They settled on a farm in Allen township, and reared the following children: Mary, wife of John Shively, Guernsey county, Ohio; Jacob, who was first married to Susanna Wood, and after her death to Charlotte Wilson; Elizabeth, wife of Joseph Dunlevy; Daniel, who married Mary Speer, and lived in Kentucky; Ann, wife of William Spah, of Indiana; Barbara, wife of William Hollingshead; Mattern, married to Margaret Coyle, of Ohio; Sarah, widow of Joseph Beazell, of Allen township; Rachel, married to Robert Gailey, of Clarion county, Penn.; John, who married Lucy Ann Scott, and Henry. Of this family three are yet living, viz.: Sarah, John and Henry. The father voted first with the Whig, afterward with the Republican party, and served as supervisor of the township. He and his wife were members of the Baptist Church. He died in 1856, having been preceded by his wife in 1852. John Sphar was born February 26, 1817, on the old place in Allen township, Washington county. In 1839 he was united in marriage with Lucy Ann Scott, daughter of Parker and Sarah (Carson) Scott, all of whom were natives of Fallowfield township. Her parents had twelve daughters, of whom Mrs. Sphar is the only one yet living. Mr. Sphar owns seventy-five acres of the old homestead, where he has followed general farming. He cast a vote for William Henry Harrison, and since the organization of the Republican party has been one of its most earnest supporters, and has served as a member of the school board and also as supervisor. He is no less interested in religious than in political movements, having been licensed as an exhorter and class-leader in the Ebenezer M. E. Church, with which his wife is also identified. Mr. and Mrs. John Sphar have had children as follows: Sarah, wife of William Rodgers, of Fallowfield township; Parker S.; Henry, married to a Miss McElhaney, of Armstrong county, Penn.; James, who died in his twenty-sixth year; John E., living in Allen township; Ann, widow of Ephraim McKee; Gertrude, married to J. H. Redd, and Wesley, deceased at the age of nineteen years. Parker S. Sphar was born April 9, 1842, in Allen township, Washington county, and was reared to manhood on the home place. On September 18, 1862, he was united in marriage with Sarah R. Dunlevy, a native of Allen township, and daughter of Andrew Dunlevy. After his marriage Parker S. Sphar located on ninety-six acres of land in Allen township, containing a good stone quarry adjoining Charleroi. He does an extensive business in building stone, besides general farming. In political opinion he is a Republican, and in religion he and his wife are members of the Ebenezer M. E. Church. Their children are Cora D., wife of Ellsworth Redd, of Fallowfield township; William A., married to Maggie Williams, of Fallowfield township; Andrew and James.

Text taken from page 1071 of: Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893). Transcribed March 1997 by Neil and Marilyn Morton of Oswego, IL as part of the Beers Project. Published March 1997 on the Washington County, PA USGenWeb pages at http://www.chartiers.com/.

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