Westmoreland News - July 3, 2000

Gravesite unearths mystery in Jeannette

Maria Condo of Jeannette stands near the marker for Henry Allshouse, 
Revolutionary War soldier and state legislator, in an alley near her home. (S.C. 
Spangler/Tribune-Review photo) 
By Bob Stiles
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Maria Condo passed the gray stone nestled among the houses in her Jeannette 
neighborhood for approximately two years before she realized what it was.
"I just thought it was a big rock, because from where you see it ... you don't see the face. 
It's covered with hedges," she said.
But when Condo discovered the purpose of the rock during a conversation with a 
neighbor, she became fascinated. The stone along an unnamed alley between Margaret 
and North First streets in Jeannette is a grave marker.
The stone's inscription reads: "Near this spot in 1836 was laid Henry Allshouse, 
Revolutionary soldier and member of the Pennsylvania Assembly for 20 years. Also his 
son Isaac."
"I thought it was very interesting. I remember I came to see it right away," Condo said.
She said the Allshouse family "was one of the first to settle in this area; it's a very old 
name."
City Foreman Curt Elliott said he learned of the stone about three years ago, shortly 
before a cleanup of high weeds and trash at the site.
Elliott said he had passed the stone many times prior to that cleanup, but didn't realize it 
was a monument because the stone's face and inscription are blocked from the views of 
motorists on Margaret Street by a hedge. The rock's clearly visible side - toward the alley 
- contains no writing.
Jeannette officials said the city maintains the site periodically, although a disagreement 
exists about who is responsible for upkeep.
Neighbor Ronald Rager also takes care of the grounds.
"The only thing I know (about the stone) is I cut the grass," Rager said.
Disagreements exist about the site's history, too.
Some neighbors believe a cemetery had been on the property, and most of the graves 
were moved to another site. Others think the site was a family cemetery plot.
Jim Steeley, executive director of the Westmoreland County Historical Society, said 
either account could be correct, although he tends to believe the land was probably a 
family burial area.
Marlene Niedzalkoski of Margaret Street said she was told by a person who had lived in 
the neighborhood since the 1920s that a cemetery was on the site.
"They exhumed all the graves except the one that had the officer. ... They said he was 
someone very important, and that's why he will be there forever," Niedzalkoski said of 
neighborhood lore.
Each Memorial Day, Mario Maloberti puts a flag at the monument in remembrance of 
Allshouse's service in the Revolutionary War. But as far as the stone's history, Maloberti 
- an American Legion member and an assessor in the county tax office - said he hasn't 
turned up much.
"What I know, that was to be the old St. Clair Cemetery," he said. "It's just listed as the 
St. Clair Cemetery. Whether that's St. Clair out of Greensburg or St. Clair out of 
Jeannette ... I don't know.
"But I'll tell you, that's a nice headstone ... that's a nice piece of granite," he added.
None of the Allshouses listed in the telephone book and reached for comment knew about 
the site.
But a few things are known about Allshouse, based on records at the county historical 
society.
According to the "Biographical and Historical Cyclopedia of Westmoreland County," 
published in 1890 by John M. Gresham & Co. of Philadelphia, Allshouse came to 
America from Europe and settled in New Jersey prior to the Revolutionary War.
During that war, he was taken prisoner by the British and "carried to England," but 
"effected his escape and returned to witness the success of the Colonists and to see their 
efforts crowned with victory and independence in the cause of right," the book states.
Allshouse then moved to Pennsylvania. He purchased "a large tract of land just north of 
the present town of Jeannette," according to the book.
"Here he resided and became prominent in the county and a ... figure in politics, being 
elected to the state Legislature, term after term, for upward of 20 years."
According to the publication, Allshouse was married twice and died at age 88.
E.E. Allshouse, who erected the stone, is Henry Allshouse's great-grandson and was an 
attorney, the publication states.
Whatever it's history, Condo thinks the stone's proximity to homes makes it different.
"I think it's really neat. I just feel it's remarkable," she said.