My Genealogy Hound

JOHN W. PAINTER, distiller, Pittsburgh and Boston, was born in Westmoreland county, in 1839, and is a son of John and Harriet (Parks) Painter, of Lancaster county. His father was a native of New Jersey, settled in Westmoreland county about 1796, and followed farming as an occupation. William Parks, the father of Harriet Parks, was also an early settler in that county, and represented his county in the legislature for two terms. John W. Painter was educated at Beaver and Hayesville (Ohio) College. His wife is Isabella Cornell, daughter of Robert and Martha (Neely) Cornell, of this county, a native of Scotland. In 1867 Mr. Painter entered the firm of Joseph S. Finch & Co., of Pittsburgh. Mr. Finch died in 1884, and Mr. Painter purchased his interest in 1885. He associated with him J. G. Pontefract, the old firm name of Joseph S. Finch & Co. being retained. Mr. Painter established the famous brand of whisky known as “Golden Wedding Rye,” and other famous brands. The distillery and warehouses belonging to this firm reach from Chestnut street to the Monongahela river, being 280 x 600 feet in dimensions. The warehouses, bonded and free, have a capacity of forty thousand barrels. The daily output of the distillery averages about four thousand gallons. Mr. Painter holds the office of postmaster at Boston, having been appointed in 1887.