Samuel Brady Caveny was born in September 1843 in Fayette, Pennsylvania, to Reuben and Mary Caveny. His father was a tailor and stone cutter who owned $1,000 of real estate and $600 of personal property by 1860. He grew up and attended school in Fayette before beginning work as a merchant.

 

He enlisted in the Union army on October 24, 1862, and he mustered in as a private in Company D of the 151^st Pennsylvania Infantry. The regiment took part in the Battle of Chancellorsville and the Battle of Gettysburg. He mustered out on July 27, 1863.

 

He returned to Fayette after leaving the army, and he married Mary Cassell on October 28, 1865. They had at least six children: Reuben, born around 1868; Charles, born around 1869; Mary, born around 1871; Myrtle, born around 1876; Annie, born around 1878; Laura, born around 1880. He worked as a merchant, and by 1870, he owned $200 of personal property. He also served as a local postmaster in the late 1860s. He began training as a dentist around 1872, and he opened his practice soon afterward. He supported the Republican Party, and he served as recorder of Juniata County from 1886 until 1886.

 

The family moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, around 1887, and he was elected alderman around 1895. He also served as a justice of the peace. He applied for a federal pension in March 1891 and eventually secured one. He died of “heart block” in Harrisburg on February 28, 1928.

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