JOSHUA and ANDREW G. PLYMIRE are descended from a hardy and industrious race of people, who (according to the earliest authentic record) first settled in York county, Penn. The exact date of their immigration to this country is unknown, but they were among the earliest pioneers of that county. The grandfather of Joshua and Andrew G. Plymire moved at an early date to Washington county, Penn, bringing his family with him. The journey was necessarily slow and tedious, the baggage being carried on the backs of horses, while the family usually walked beside them, but they finally arrived in Washington county, and erected their cabin home on the farm which is now the property of their descendants. Years of toil and privations followed, of which the present generation can form no adequate conception, surrounded as we are today by the comforts and luxuries of life. But they struggled bravely on, these heroic pioneers, and prepared the way for the comfortable homes and cultivated fields which we possess. To Mr. and Mrs. Plymire were born children as follows: Henry, Adam, Martin, Barney, John, Samuel, Barbara, Elizabeth and Catherine. In political opinions Mr. Plymire was a stanch Democrat, and in religion he was one of the organizers of the Lutheran Church. John Plymire, a son of the above named pioneer, was born in York county, Penn., and was only two years of age when his father came to Washington county. He passed his boyhood days on the home farm, and received a limited education, as the common lot of the children of the frontier. On attaining mature age he was united in marriage with Catherine Gantz, who was a member of one of the old families of the county, and she bore him the following children: Joshua, Absalom G. (born September, 1824), Sarah (Mrs. Philip Welch), Phoebe (Mrs. William De Normandie), Barbara (Mrs. Joseph England), Andrew G., Mahala (Mrs. Henry De Normandie), Lewis and Mary (wife of J. H. Stewart). After his marriage Mr. Plymire settled on the home place in South Strabane township, where he resided until his death. He united with the Lutheran Church in early youth, and died in that faith in 1870, having been preceded by his wife in 1853; both are now buried in Washington cemetery. In political preferences he was an active Democrat. Joshua Plymire, son of John and Catherine (Gantz) Plymire, was born March 19, 1823, on his father’s farm in South Strabane township, Washington county, and passed his youth at home. He is an active member of the Democratic party, and a liberal supporter of various enterprises tending toward the general improvement. Andrew G. Plymire, third son of John and Catherine Plymire, was born July 12,1833, on the paternal acres. Don December 19, 1867, he was united in marriage with Melissa E., daughter of Jacob Harshman, of Buffalo township, this county, and they have had the following children: Harry, Walter, Boyd, Samuel and Alvin. After his marriage Mr. Plymire came to the farm where he now resides. He is an enterprising citizen, and a member of the Democratic party. In religious connection he is a member of the Presbyterian Church at Washington.

Text taken from page 546 of: Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893). Transcribed May 1997 by LuShelle Fletcher of Grand Island, NE as part of the Beers Project. Published May 1997 on the Washington County, PA USGenWeb pages at http://www.chartiers.com/.

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