John A. Best and Jennie D. Roberts

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Husband John A. Best ¹

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           Born: 20 May 1838 - Washington, Washington Co, PA 1
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         Father: Samuel Best (      -      ) 1
         Mother: Isabella Dickson (Abt 1806-1881) 1

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       Marriage: 3 Sep 1863 1

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Wife Jennie D. Roberts ¹

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         Father: John E. Roberts (      -      ) 1
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Children

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1 M Grattan G. Best ¹

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           Born: 9 Jun 1864 - Pittsburgh, Allegheny Co, PA 2
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         Spouse: Carrie Brownlee (      -      ) 3
           Marr: 25 Feb 1886 2

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2 F Nellie M. Best ¹

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3 M Albion E. Best ¹

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4 F Jennie I. Best ¹

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5 M John A. Best, Jr. ¹

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General Notes: Husband - John A. Best

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In 1853 he was a newsboy on the Examiner, a weekly newspaper owned at that time by Thomas Grayson, shortly after which he learned the print­ing trade on the same paper. He worked at his trade on the Pittsburgh Dispatch, for some time, and then went to New York. After being there some time he returned to Pittsburgh and started a steam job printing office, and branched out into the mercantile business. On Thanksgiving Day, 1869, he moved to Washing­ton, PA, and opened a general store and printing office on the corner of Main and Chestnut streets, where the Washington Observer was first printed by him under the editorship of Horace Durant. During the financial panic of 1873 he failed and lost every­thing, leaving him in debt, but he eventually paid every cent that he ever owed, and owned one of the largest businesses in the county, occupy­ing No. 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, 83 and 85 North Main street, and constantly added to it.
In 1879 he, with some other public-spirited citi­zens, built the Washington Lead Works, which were destroyed by fire in 1883. He was a believer in Divine healing, and was president of the board of directors of Bethany Home, No. 113 Centre avenue, Pittsburgh, an institution for the educa­tion of young men for the ministry and mission­ary field.

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General Notes: Wife - Jennie D. Roberts

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She was an active worker in the W. C. T. U., of which she was president, and devoted a great deal of time to local charity work.

1 —, Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893), Pg 112.

2 —, Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893), Pg 113.

3 —, Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893), Pg 113, 1241.