ROBERT D. NESBIT is a son of Robert Nesbit, whose parents John and Martha (Donaldson) Nesbit, came from Cecil County, Md., to Washington county, Penn. John Nesbit was accompanied by three brothers, one of whom soon after retured to Maryland while the others located upon a tract of land which lies upon the boundaries of Chartiers and Canton townships. John settled on 110 acres of land, and children were born to these pioneers, but in the winter of 1837 a deadly fever raged in the neighborhood. Before spring the father and three of the children--John, Margaret and Jane--had died. Of the once happy family now remained a widowed wife and bereaved mother, who clung closely to her one remaining son, Robert. The Death Angel soon called her to join the loved ones gone before, and on April 20,1843, she too died. Robert Nesbit was born in 1800, in Canton Township on his father's farm. 0n June 12, 1828, he was married to Mary Ann Anderson, a native of Chartiers township, this county, and three children were born to them, namely: John A., Sarah (Mrs. Edward H. Daugherty), and Martha (deceased wife of William Stewart). Mrs. Nesbit died September 27, 1837, and he was afterward married to Margaret Shaw, a native of Ireland, who came with her parents to America when but a child. They were married in Washington County, and settled upon the farm where their only son Robert D., is now living. Mr. Nesbit took an active interest in political matters, and in church relation was many years an elder and leading member of the United Presbyterian Church. He died in 1861, and was followed by his wife in 1863. Robert Nesbit was horn March 25, 1841, on the old home farm in Chartier Township receiving his education in the district schools. In 1862 he enlisted in an independent cavalry company for a term of three years, or until the close of the war. This company was afterward organized into the twenty-second Pennsylvania Regiment, and then became a part of the Ringgold Battalion. Mr. Nesbit took part in the Battles of Winchester, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek. In 1865 he received an honorable discharge at Wheeling, W.Va., after which he returned to Chartiers township. On August 26, 1868, he was married to Miss Lizzie Lee, a native of Chartiers Township, daughter of David and Maria (McLaughlin) Lee. They had emigrated from England to Maryland, finally locating in Washington county, Penn., where the remainder of their lives was passed. After his marriage Mr. Nesbit settled on the farm which is now his home. The ]and is not only valuable for its agricultural properties, but also for gas which has been developed thereon. To Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Nesbit the following children have been born: David H., Robert, Maggie, Berta and Lizzie (twins). Mr. Nesbit is actively interested in the Republican Party, and has served as a member of the school board and judge of inspection. He and his wife are members of the United Presbyterian Church and are ever ready to lend a helping hand to further any worthy enterprise.

Text taken from page 1478 of: Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893). Transcribed January 1997 by Tawna Varner Brown of Midlothian, TX as part of the Beers Project. Published January 1997 on the Washington County, PA USGenWeb pages at http://www.chartiers.com/.

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