Compiled with the help of David Aiken
David and Elizabeth (Stevenson) Aiken.
John Aitken was born in 1827 in Glasgow, Scotland. He emigrated to the U.S. with his wife, Anna (Sneadon) (1830-1893), and their children in 1872. John and his family settled in Union Township (now Banksville) where he worked in the coal mines.
David Aiken’s saloon, located on what is now 1500 Banksville Road (just below Chappel Avenue).
John and Anna’s son David (1853-1930) married Elizabeth (Stevenson) (1858-1916). Elizabeth was born in Union Township to John (a native of Scotland) and Dorothy (Watson), Stevenson (a native of England). David, like his father, was a coal miner and owned several small mines in the area. He leased out the Coal Ridge Mine that stood on Banksville road between what is now a Sunoco gas station and Mt. Lebanon Office Supply. David also built and operated a saloon that stood just below Chappel Ave. (now 1500 Banksville Road).
David and Elizabeth’s graves are unmarked, but a descendant says they are buried above John and Anna. The Aiken family was close friends to the Brazells, who are buried in the lower section of the cemetery.
Mortimer McGregor Aitken (1890-1952)-one of David and Elizabeth’s nine children-was a blacksmith, mine owner and reputed bootlegger. In the 1930s, he owed “Mort Aiken’s Gas Station” on Banksville Road near the present day site of Arby’s restaurant. During Prohibition, Mort sold “near beer”; when the 18th Amendment was repealed, Mort opened a beer garden named “Mort’s Place.”
St. Clair Cemetery 