My Genealogy Hound

W. C. MEYER, of Sharpsburg, was born March 28, 1844, on Chestnut street, Allegheny City, where his father lived. His father, William Meyer, emigrated from Germany to Allegheny, where our subject lived until 1851, when his parents moved to McCandless township, near Pine Creek. There his father died in 1856. The family then moved back to Allegheny, and W. C. went to work in the Banner Cotton factory; from there to the old Hope and Penn Cotton mills; from there to McCully’s glasshouse, corner of Sixteenth and Liberty streets, Pittsburgh; from there to McClintock’s keg-factory, on Sixteenth street, and from there to Hide’s cotton-factory, in the lower part of Allegheny. In the latter part of the year 1858 our subject went to Knapp & Wood’s nut and bolt-factory, on the south side of Pittsburgh, and worked there until 1860 under Robert Lewis afterward firm of Lewis, Oliver & Phillips. Then went to learn the carpenter’s trade with Mr. Happy, of Lawrenceville, and was working at the corner of Thirty-eighth street and Penn avenue, on the round-corner building, laying floor, when the arsenal exploded. Mr. Meyer witnessed the last two explosions. From there he went to McKinney’s sash and door-factory, remaining from 1862 to 1864; then did carpenter job work until the day of Lincoln’s assassination. During this entire time he lived in Allegheny, and was a member of the old Columbia Hose company, then located on River avenue. From there he went to learn the dry-goods business with his brother H. H., at 164 East Ohio street, Allegheny. Mr. Meyer was married June 6, 1867, and in December following moved to Sharpsburg, where he started a dry-goods store in the building on corner of Main and Eighth streets; moved from there in 1872 to the house across the street, owned by P. Prager. In the same year he organized the Sharpsburg Hook and Ladder company. In 1877 he built the storehouse corner of South Main and Fifth streets. In 1881 purchased the plot of ground opposite his store, and built a large dwelling. In 1878 Mr. Meyer was elected to council and school board, and in 1879 was elected burgess; in 1886 he was elected chief of the Sharpsburg volunteer fire-department, and became a member of the National Association of Fire Engineers of the United States.