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on the old State canal between Pittsburg and Columbia, where he was employed for two years; after that he was engaged in various pursuits until June, 1864, at which date he enlisted in the Civil War in company A, Fifty-fifth regiment, Pennsylvania volunteers, and served to the close of that memorable conflict. On leaving the army he located in Altoona, where for two years he was employed as a carpenter. He then bought a farm near Lilly, where for eighteen years he engaged in agriculture, at the same time following the carpenter trade to some extent. About 1888 he left the farm and purchased a tract of land in Lilly, on which he built a sawmill and store, and has since been engaged in the successful management of the two enterprises. He conducts a general store, carrying a well-selected stock of general merchandize. In connection with the latter business he is also an undertaker and funeral director. Mr. Rainey has been successful in his various business enterprises, and his success is largely due to his own efforts. Beginning life on his own account when but a boy, he has worked his way steadily to the front, and now ranks as one of the practical and substantial business men of Lilly. For a number of years he supported the principles of the Democratic party, but becoming dissatisfied with the principles of that party and believing the principles of the Republican party were better calculated to promote the interests of the country, he joined the ranks of the latter party, and is now a staunch supporter of the party of Lincoln, Grant and McKinley. He has been a school director, tax collector and assessor, and during Governor Pattison's last term was notary public; in fact, has held nearly all the township offices at various times. He is a member of the Roman |
Catholic church, and gives that organization his hearty support. In 1866 he married Mary J., a daughter of Jno. Brown, who was killed in the battle of Gettysburg in the late Civil War. To their union the following children have been born: Annie, John, George, Alice, Harry, deceased; James, Viny, Mary and Robert. His sons are all associated with Mr. Rainey in business.
NICHOLAS EVANS, superintendent of mines for the Lilly Coal company, is a son of John and Mary (Evans) Evans, and was born in Wales, December 3, 1859. His father, John Evans, a native of Wales, was born in 1825. He emigrated to America with his family in 1862, and located in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, where he worked in the mines continuously until about 1881. In the latter year he embarked in the grocery business in Northumberland county, which he conducted successfully up to the time of his death in 1885. In politics he was a republican, and, while taking a normal interest in political affairs, was not an active politician. His marriage with Mary Evans (who still survives him, and now resides in Baltimore, Maryland) resulted in the birth of nine children, all of whom are living but one. |
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