monroevillehistorical.org

Dick Glew (standing left) seen with fellow postal workers at the Pitcairn Post Office in 1969.

 Descendants of John Glew (1811-1883).

 John and Ann Glew came to Philadelphia from Derbyshire, England in 1833 and by 1838 the family had settled in Patton Township near Moss Side.

John and his wife, Ann Hough Glew, had eight children (Thomas, Sarah, Martha, Elizabeth, John, Anna, Jonathon, and William).  By trade he was a nailmaker and general blacksmith; his shop at the village (that would become Pitcairn) soon became a local landmark.

In time the shop was passed on to this eldest son, Thomas (1837-1918) who kept up the family business.   According to one early history of Pitcairn: “The old Glew blacksmith shop at the crossroads was for many years a place of exchange of community news, as the farmers came in to have their horses shod and their farm machinery repaired.”

In 1862, John Glew joined the Union Army serving under Captain A. L. Pierson in the 155^th Pa. Infantry Regiment commanded by Colonel Allen.  He saw action at the battle of Antietam, and was later discharged because of a disability incurred by exposure on the battlefield to return to his Patton Township home.  John, his wife, and several of their children are buried in Monroeville’s Crossroads Cemetery.  His descendants have contributed to the growth and development of Pitcairn.

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Sources:

History of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (1889) Chicago: A. Warner & Company.

Pitcairn, Pa, 1894-1969: 75^th Anniversary Souvenir Book.