Member of the Constitutional Convention of 1837-38 and Sheriff of Allegheny County
Andrew Bayne was born in Finley Township in 1794. When still quite young he was earning a living as a carpenter and also becoming involved in politics. He was elected county Sheriff on the Whig Party ticket in 1837. Bayne’s duties as Sherriff included overseeing executions both within Allegheny County and in adjacent townships that did not have a Sherriff of their own.
Bayne was one of several candidates sent to the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention of 1837-1838. He later served as a member of the state legislature (running at least once on the Anti-Masons ticket) for
two terms.
Andrew Bayne died at age 87 in 1881. His daughter, Jane Bayne Teece, inherited his home and 4 acres of land. She in turn left these to her sister, Amanda Bayne Balph, with the provision that their family’s estate would revert to Bellevue Borough as a park and a library, named in honor of their father. Mrs. Balph died in 1912 at which point the house and grounds became the property of Bellevue Borough. By 1914, two rooms of the Balph’s home on the property had been turned into a public library. The building remains a public library to this day.
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