BIOGRAPHY: The LEVERGOOD Family, Cambria County, PA 

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From Wiley, Samuel T., ed. Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Cambria 
County, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: Union Publishing Co., 1896, p. 299-304
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THE LEVERGOOD FAMILY. – The founder of this old and time-honored family in 
Cambria county was Peter Levergood.
     Peter Levergood, Sr., as he is spoken of, was born in Lancaster county, 
Pennsylvania, in 1785, and died in Johnstown, July 26, 1860, at the age of 
seventy-five years. He was born of German extraction.
     His immediate ancestors are believed to have emigrated to this country from 
one of the Palatinates in Germany.
     They settled in Lancaster county, and when Peter, Sr., entered the world 
they were known as Pennsylvania Dutch.
     Peter Levergood, Sr., was reared upon the Lancaster county farm, where he 
grew to sturdy manhood. He received little school education, but was endowed 
with the advantages of a large, strong frame, a commanding presence, and good 
common sense. He married, very young, Miss Susan Rodfong, a native of York 
county, and fours years later, in 1811, the family moved to Johnstown, then 
called Conemaugh Old Town.
     Jacob Johns, the founder of the town, had sold his property here and 
removed to Somerset county; the property had changed hands several times, and 
the title finally became vested in John Holliday, from whom Peter, Sr., bought 
it, thus becoming the proprietor of the greater portion of the town site; and 
also the old forge, which will be referred to again.
     The town was then practically only so much good farm land, however, and 
when two enterprising men, associated as the firm of Burrell & Brenizer, offered 
him a good price for the property he sold it, and returned to Lancaster county.
     But it seemed to have been foreordained that he should make Johnstown his 
home, though the circumstances under which he returned were certainly very 
unfortuitous. All of his property in Lancaster county was burned, and Burrell & 
Brenizer failed to meet their obligations to him.
     In this desperate strait, as a last resort, he came back here to save from 
the wreck all that was possible. The property became his again, together with 
the forge, which originally stood on the Stonycreek, near to the corner of 
Levergood and Stonycreek streets. The forge was built about 1809 by George 
Buckwalter. James M. Swank's "The Manufacture of Iron in All Ages" says the dam 
of his forge was washed away about 1811, which was the date of Peter, Sr.'s 
arrival in Johnstown, and this untoward event may have accounted for his 
obtaining possession of it, for there can be no doubt that he got it at a 
bargain.
     This forge was subsequently moved to the Conemaugh river, below Johnstown, 
where the school-house now stands on Cinder street, in Millville, and was 
operated down to about 1822.
     At the time of the abandonment of the forge, according to the authority 
referred to above, the firm of Rahm & Beam, of Pittsburg, were the lessees. The 
forge was used to hammer bar-iron out of Juniata pig-iron.
     Mr. Levergood was now naturally and rightly looked up to as the first 
citizen of the town, though it was at that time little more than a settlement.
     Founder Johns made the start, but it remained for men of Mr. Levergood's 
capacity to keep it going. The people had confidence in him. He was not an 
aggressive man, but was a safe leader, feeling his way carefully. He was too 
cautious for his own financial welfare. Much of his time was given to his farm, 
which embraced nearly all of the upper portion of the town, from Franklin street 
to the foot of Green Hill. His farm-house stood on the site of Hager's Block, 
then located on the corner of Bedford and Levergood streets, afterwards 
destroyed in the flood of 1889; here he lived from about the time of his return 
from Lancaster county until cut down by death. His orchard was a short distance 
back of the house, and the family graveyard, now the site of the power-house of 
the Johnstown Electric Light company, and Mr. John Thomas's property, and 
formerly a part of it.
     The graveyard was originally intended for a family burying-ground, but when 
the Lutheran church was organized, Mr. Levergood permitted the congregation to 
bury its dead there, never charging anything for the permission. The first 
interment was made in 1835.
     The house of Mr. Thomas, on the lot adjoining the graveyard, was built by 
the elder Levergood for a parsonage for the Lutheran church as long as he lived. 
He also built a small building on the same lot, and in it, it is said, conducted 
the first Sunday-school ever held in Johnstown. When the present church 
building, one of the first in the city, was projected he gave $1,500 towards its 
erection. A short time previous to his death he willed the parsonage to the 
church. According to law, this bequest was not binding on his heirs, not having 
been made a long enough time prior to the old gentleman's demise to be valid. 
The heirs, however, respected the testator's wish, and deeded the property to 
the church. The Lutherans afterwards sold it to Dr. Lowman, who subsequently 
sold it to Mr. Thomas.
     Peter Levergood, Sr., had not been here a great while until he owned nearly 
the whole of Johnstown, all of Conemaugh borough, and the side of Green Hill; 
all of what is known as Prospect Hill, up to the Goughnour farm, extending a 
mile or more along the Ebensburg road; the rolling-mill site and the land 
beyond, as far down as Hinckston's run, and extending eastward to what is now 
east Conemaugh.
     His purchase from Holliday embraced two hundred and forty-nine acres, less 
those portions which had been previously sold off in lots. Subsequent purchases 
more than doubled those figures.
     In the light of after developments, it seemed strange that this property 
was not considered by Mr. Levergood as being very valuable. To tell the truth, 
he had never any very great hopes of the future of Johnstown, even after the 
discovery of iron ore. Exactly when this discovery was made was not known. In 
1832, Mr. Gordon, an old-time authority, referred to the prospect of making iron 
from native ore in Cambria county, as follows: “And there is iron, as it is said 
by some, but denied by others.” Even in the years immediately preceding his 
death, although the Cambria Iron works were then in successful operation, Mr. 
Levergood was far from placing the same value on property here that outside 
capitalists did. Circumstances had placed him here against his will. Section 
after section of land came into this possession almost without an effort on his 
part, and it is, therefore, not astonishing that he failed to appreciate what 
his envious neighbors would have considered a piece of rare good fortune. It 
would be difficult to estimate the value today of the property he once owned.
     The project of building the Portage railroad and digging the canal started 
the first boom in Johnstown. Until then, according to an old chronicler, “wolves 
and bears relieved the monotony of the night by their howls and growls.”
     The pack-saddle was still an indispensable requisite with the settlers, 
though the Frankstown road was open and flat-bottom boats were running down the 
river to Pittsburgh. With the making of public improvements, property here 
became relatively of great value, and Mr. Levergood suddenly found himself 
wealthy. The lands which had come into his possession, through sheriff sales and 
otherwise, were sold off in lots, and the town grew and spread on a substantial 
basis. Johnstown became a central shipping point for sending and receiving 
freight. People flocked in from other parts of the State and country; the hills 
and valleys round about were cleared for farms, and Johnstown became a market to 
which their produce was brought. Then the rolling-mill was built, and the future 
of Johnstown soon became assured.
     Mr. Levergood gave to the State the property known as the basin in 
Conemaugh borough and right of way through his land down to Hinckston's run for 
the canal. When the State improvements were abandoned, and the canal, etc., were 
bought by the Pennsylvania railroad, the late James Morley and Dr. Henry Yeagley 
approached Mr. Levergood about the purchase of the basin and the stretch of land 
along the canal, including the bed thereof. Mr. Levergood said that he had given 
the property to the State. The two gentlemen insisted, however, and finally Mr. 
Levergood accepted eight hundred dollars for his "interest;" "if I have any," he 
added. The purchasers then sold the land to the Cambria Iron company. The same 
remark which we have just quoted was made by Mr. Levergood when he "sold" the 
public square to Charles B. Ellis and George S. King. Mr. Levergood never 
thought that he owned it, believing it to be a donation to the town by founder 
Johns. There appeared to be a chance for a great speculation, however, according 
to the view of Messrs. Ellis and King, and, after much importunity, Mr. 
Levergood sold his interest, "if he had any," in the square, for six hundred 
dollars. Finally the Cambria Iron company became possessed of whatever interest, 
"if any," Messrs. Ellis and King had in the square, and a few years ago the 
Johnstown council was induced, in order to get a perfect title, to give the 
company two thousand dollars for its interest, "if it had any."
     William Cover, Sr., of the Fourth ward, hauled for the late David Prosser, 
who claimed to have discovered iron ore at this place, the first ore that was 
taken out of the hill north of the city. The ore was sent to either Baker's or 
Conemaugh furnace, situated several miles down the Conemaugh river from 
Johnstown. With the money thus earned Mr. Cover made to Mr. Levergood the first 
payment on property purchased from the old gentlemen. Mr. Cover's father came 
here with Mr. Brenizer, named above, the latter being married to the elder Mr. 
Cover's sister. The elder Cover settled on "Green Hill," and the old farm is 
still in the family. Mr. Brenizer met his death in Johnstown, being accidentally 
drowned.
     Peter Levergood, Sr., purchased from Dr. Anderson the old tannery property 
on Bedford street. He ran it himself for a time, but afterward gave it to his 
son Jacob, who operated it for over half a century. He also built the brick 
business house at the south-eastern corner of Main and Bedford streets for his 
son-in-law, Jacob M. Meyers, who conducted a general store therein.
     The Mansion House property extended on Main street to Bausman alley, and on 
Franklin street to the property of the U. P. church. It was kept as a hotel for 
a number of years, and was even then quite valuable; but one day Mr. Levergood 
in a moment of pique offered it to John Dibert, Sr., for one thousand dollars, 
and it immediately passed into Mr. Dibert's hands. This property is to-day the 
centre of the business portion of the city, and its rentals amount to several 
thousand dollars a year.
     The Johnstown furnace, situated nearly opposite the present site of the 
Pennsylvania passenger station, was built by Peter, Sr., in 1845 or 1846, for 
his sons Jacob and Peter and his sons-in-law Jacob Meyers and Robert P. Linton, 
who operated it for several years with varying success; then at the instance of 
the old gentlemen John Galbraith was induced to come here from Cambria furnace, 
take an interest in the business and become the manager of the furnace. He 
bought John Benshoff's one-fourth interest, and about the same time Major John 
Linton bought Meyers' interest. After a short time the Messrs. Linton bought the 
interest of the Levergoods and the name of the firm became Lintons & Galbraith. 
The firm failed to meet its payments, however, and after a year was summarily 
closed out by Peter, Sr. Rhey, Matthews & Co. then bought it and it was operated 
by them down to 1858, when it was abandoned.
     After the withdrawal of the latter from the furnace firm, Peter, Sr., built 
a foundry for his son Peter near the old American House, on the corner of Coal 
and Railroad streets, in Conemaugh borough; but it also proved a failure, and 
was then sold to Linton & Galbraith, who operated it until they failed. It was 
then sold to the late Jacob Fronheiser, who carried on the business for a while 
and then abandoned it.
     By this time the Cambria Iron works, destined to become one of the greatest 
of their kind in the world, were giving promise of marvelous success in store 
for them. The ground on which the works were built was bought of Mr. Jacob 
Levergood for $3000. It had previously been worked as a farm. The valuable hill 
above the rolling-mill site, filled with minerals, had been given to this son-
in-law, John Benshoff and Mr. Levergood built for the occupancy of the Benshoff 
family the old brick house which still stands just above the Pennsylvania 
Railroad freight station. He also built a frame house further up the Ebensburg 
road. This farm, Mr. Levergood subsequently took back from his son-in-law, 
giving him therefor $16,000, with which to buy a farm in Iowa for himself, his 
six sons and one daughter, and to improve them.
     Peter Levergood, Sr., was married three times. His first wife, as stated 
above, was named Susan Rodfong, whom he married in Lancaster county. She bore 
him all his children. Kittie was the oldest. She married John Benshoff, and died 
after the removal of the family to Iowa.
     Jacob, who died on February 7, 1885, in Johnstown, was the second eldest. 
The other children were: Mary, the wife of Harry Sutton; Phoebe, the wife of 
Robert P., and mother of John P., Wm. and Peter Linton, and Mrs. John H. Clark, 
who died in Johnstown in 1842; Lucinda, who married Jacob Meyers, died in 
Johnstown in 1844; Peter, Jr., who died in 1853 at the age of thirty-one years. 
Three other children died young. Peter, Jr.'s widow, sister of Mrs. Wm. Cover, 
married Thomas Yeakle; her maiden name was Saylor.
     The first wife of Peter, Sr., died in 1840. His second wife was an elderly 
widow, named Mrs. Catherine Fite, whose husband formerly owned the site of what 
is now Coopersdale. Soon after her death, in 1852, he drove to Philadelphia to 
fulfill a contract of marriage made with the mother-in-law of Jordan Marbourg. 
She was a widow of considerable means; but when they came to talk about their 
respective properties, they were unable to agree, and he drove home again alone. 
A short time subsequently he married the widow of the Rev. Sharrets, of Indiana.
     Mr. Levergood was never an active politician, but was an earnest whig. He 
enjoyed the fullest confidence of that party, and was several times called upon 
to be their standard-bearer. He served two terms in the legislature when Cambria 
and Somerset counties composed one legislative district, and was one of the 
three canal commissioners during the term of Governor Ritner. These 
commissioners were a powerful triumvirate. Their duties were to construct and 
maintain the public works, and they consequently had a great deal of patronage. 
Mr. Levergood never liked the office, however, having no taste for politics. He 
was also in 1848 the candidate of his party for congress, but was defeated by 
Job Mann, of Bedford. A few years before his death he was elected burgess of 
Johnstown.
     In referring to his death, the Tribune, a few days afterward, had the 
following: "He died calmly and peacefully, in the full possession of all his 
faculties, and surrounded by as many of his relatives as could conveniently 
gather around his bedside. Relatives reaching through three generations and 
embracing not less than fifty persons, attended the funeral."
     At the time of Mr. Levergood's death only three of his children were 
living: Mrs. Benshoff, Mrs. Sutton, and Jacob Levergood. There were thirty-three 
heirs in all, and each was separately named in the will.
     A gentleman who knew Mr. Levergood well, says: "He was noted for business 
tact and shrewdness, strong personal attachments, especially to members of his 
own family, and for his devotion to the Lutheran church, of which he was all his 
life a leading member."