Castleman Street

Castleman Street
Neighborhood	Shadyside
Origin of name	Jacob Castleman

Castleman Street is named for Jacob Castleman, an early settler of Pittsburgh. In 1788, he acquired 246 acres of land, roughly corresponding to the western half of modern Greenfield and part of northwest Hazelwood. He named his estate Castlemania. He had four daughters, one of whom, Rachel, married David Aiken (or Ekin), who had immigrated from Ireland around 1810. (Another daughter, Margaret, married Edward Smith, the son of Devereux Smith, for whom Smithfield Street is named.) In 1814, David's brother George (1777–1845) also came to Pittsburgh. The name Castleman became a common given name in the Aiken family. One of George Aiken's sons was named Castleman (born 1818), and David Aiken's daughter was named Rachel Castleman Aiken in honor of his wife. This Rachel married her cousin Thomas (1814–1873), another son of George Aiken. Their son David Aiken (1833–1889) perpetuated the family names: two of his children were named David Castleman Aiken (died 1908) and Rachel Castleman Aiken (died 1955). The Aiken family were early landowners in what is today Shadyside and helped to develop that neighborhood; see Aiken Avenue, which is named for them. The younger David Aiken owned the land that became the portion of Shadyside between Neville Street and Amberson Avenue. Castleman Street was built through this property to the south of his home, which was located where Amberson Place is today.