USA > Pennsylvania > A history of the Juniata Valley and its people, Volume II > Part 30
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(II) John (2), youngest child of Lieutenant John and Margaret (Murray) Simpson, was born in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, June 21, 1798, died in 1873. He grew to manhood there and became a farmer, inheriting a portion of his father's land. He was a Democrat in poli- tics and both he and his wife were members of the Episcopal church. He married (first) Elizabeth Ridenour, born in Huntingdon in 1798. died there in 1851, daughter of Nathaniel and Mary ( Piper) Ridenour, both born in Maryland, but coming to Huntingdon about the year 1800, settling at Third and Penn streets. John (2) Simpson, married (second) Mrs. Mary (Holiday) McAllister. Children of first marriage : I. John Murray, born in Huntingdon, June 5, 1828, died on his farm in Oneida township, Huntingdon county. He was a merchant, then a boatman, later a farmer. He was a Democrat in politics, serving as burgess of Huntingdon, tax collector and supervisor. He married, December 15, 1853, Sarah M. Glasgow, of Mifflin county, daughter of Major James Glasgow, an officer of the revolution ; children : Elizabeth, died in infancy : John G., married Annie Logan; James; Ermina, mar- ried David Smith, of Carlisle; Ella, married Charles Frey, of Hunting- don; William M., married Dolly Shoff; Frank, married Minnie War- fel; and Joseph. 2. George W., a printer, who gallantly died at the head of his regiment, the 125th Pennsylvania, whose colors he was proudly bearing in one of the desperate charges of that great battle. The blood-stained colors are preserved by his sisters in fond remem-
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brance of the gallant youth who gave his life in their defense. 3. James Randolph, of whom further. 4. Anna M., resides in Hunting- don. 5. Lydia M., resides in Huntingdon. 6. Elizabeth, died in in- fancy. 7. Matthias, died in infancy.
(III) James Randolph, third son of John and Elizabeth ( Ridenour) Simpson, was born in Huntingdon, December 13, 1841. He was edu- cated in the public school and spent his early life on the farm. He was for a time clerk in a store, but the war between the states coming on, he entered the Union army, enlisting August 7, 1862, in Company C, 125th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. At the same battle, Antietam, that claimed the toll of his elder brother's life, Mr. Simpson was wounded (being shot through the body), and in April, 1863, was honorably discharged for disability. Returning from the war he taught school two years, beginning the study of law in March, 1864, under the preceptorship of A. W. Benedict. The following August he was placed in charge of the prothonotary's office, for W. C. Wagoner, and in 1866 was elected prothonotary of Huntingdon county for a term of four years. The same year he was admitted to the bar, being now the oldest practicing attorney of that bar. He is a success- ful lawyer and holds a high position in the regard of his legal breth- ren. While his large practice is general in its character, he has given special attention to orphan's and probate court practice. He is a men- ber, and for ten years has been president, of the Huntingdon county bar association. In 1892, on the admission of his son to the bar, he admitted him to a partnership, the firm becoming and still continuing J. R. & W. B. Simpson. He is a Progressive in politics and both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church. Now nearing a half century of legal practice in Huntingdon, Mr. Simpson has a right to review his career with pride and pleasure. Admitted to and honored in all state and federal courts of his district, with a reputation for ability and integrity second to none, he has added to this the high- est regard and esteem of many personal friends and the respect of the entire community. He has aided in the upbuilding of his native borough and added to its archives the record of an honorable, well- spent life. Mr. Simpson married, February 12, 1867, Jennie M. Brown, born in Huntingdon, daughter of John and Jane Brown, of old Hunt- ingdon county, agricultural families. Children: 1. George Ernest.
J. Randolph Simpson
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now engaged in the insurance business in Huntingdon. 2. Warren B., of whom further. 3. Barton L., secretary of the Berwind-White Coal Mining Company and resides in Philadelphia. 4. Helen, married George A. Boomer and resides in Oakland, California. 5. Charles R., a civil engineer, now residing in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Two daughters and a son died in infancy.
(IV) Warren Brown, second son of James Randolph and Jennie M. (Brown) Simpson, was born in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, No- vember 1, 1869. He obtained his education in the public schools and was instructed in the principles of law under the able super- vision of his honored father, who on his admission to the Hunt- ingdon county bar in 1892 admitted him as junior member of the law firm of J. R. & W. B. Simpson, one of the leading firms of the Hunt- ingdon bar.
On April 27, 1898, Warren B. Simpson enlisted in Company A, 5th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, serving until No- vember of the same year, when he was honorably discharged, having spent most of his time in camp at Chickamauga. For many years he has been secretary of the Franklin Building and Loan Association and since 1906 secretary of the Raystown Water Power Company. This latter company he promoted with his brother, George E. Simpson, in 1906 to convert the water power of the Raystown branch of the Juniata to useful purposes. After the incorporation of the company, a dam was completed on December 1I, 1911, eight hundred and fifty feet long, fifty feet high, fifty feet thick at its base, all of solid rein- forced concrete, with a water head of thirty-four feet fall. This dam backs the water eight miles up stream and, aside from its practical side, has created a most beautiful artificial lake, with the mountain in places sloping down to the shores and in other places sheer red sand stone rocks near their summit, three hundred feet above the surface of the lake. But the object of the dam was utilitarian and in a modern plant developing thirty-nine hundred horse power electricity is gathered and sent over wires to light the towns of Huntingdon, Mt. Union, Maple- ton, Smithfield, Williamsburg and smaller towns, also furnishing motive power to several large manufacturing plants. The company is capi- talized at seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars, the officers being : J. E. Smucker, president ; J. R. Simpson, vice-president ; G. E. Simpson,
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second vice-president; W. B. Simpson, secretary and treasurer; J. H. Sweet, H. C. Kinsloe, John B. Kunz, directors.
Mr. Simpson is a Progressive in politics, belongs to the Knights of Pythias, the Patriotic Order Sons of America; the state and county bar associations and both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Simpson was elected a member of the state legislature, serving the sessions of 1907 and 1909. He was one of the working members of the assembly, serving on committees: Electrical Railways, Judiciary, General and Special; Fish and Game. A Republican, he supported the Progressive candidates of 1912 for the presidency and is firm in his belief in the future of that party.
He married, March 22, 1899, Sue E., daughter of Benjamin and Lydia Miller of Huntingdon. Children: Richard Murray, Frederick Miller, Mildred, Robert Brown, Helen Wilkins.
The progenitor of the Dunns herein recorded was Jolin DUNN Dunn, born in Ireland, where his youth was spent. Ile came to the United States when a young man and here married Catherine Harnish, born in Huntingdon county, where their after lives were spent. John Dunn enlisted in a Pennsylvania regiment during the second war with Great Britain and saw hard service on the Niagara frontier. He was out during the winter months and suffered hardships and privations of great severity, the snow on one occasion being stained by the blood from his poorly protected feet while he was compelled to march. John Dunn was a member of the Presbyterian church, his wife belonging to the Reformed church. Children: David, of whom further ; Mary A., died unmarried, September 25, 1878; John, a tanner, died at Bellwood, Pennsylvania.
(II) David, son of John and Catherine ( Harnish) Dunn, was born in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, July 4, 1820, died January 13, 1885. He was one of the earlier "iron men" of the Juniata Valley and at different times was superintendent of the Colerain furnaces in Franklin township; the Rockhill furnace in Cromwell township. Hunt- ingdon county, and at the Atna furnaces in Blair county. About 1853 he abandoned iron manufacture and settled in Huntingdon, where lie established a general mercantile business and operated a line of boats on the old Juniata canal. He transported by these boats, not only his
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own goods, but handled the freight shipments of nearly every merchant in the town until 1862, when he retired from that business. He then formed a partnership with Colonel J. J. Lawrence, then superintendent of the Huntingdon and Broad Top railroad. They operated as Dunn & Lawrence and had two bituminous coal mines in the Broad Top district. This partnership was dissolved in 1866. He then located near Houtzdale, Clearfield county, Pennsylvania, and until about 1870 was there engaged in the manufacture of staves for the Cuban mar- ket. He then purchased the "Hamer farm" of two hundred acres, located in Walker township, three and a half miles south of Hunting- don, where he engaged in agriculture until his death in 1885. He was an elder of the Reformed church, prominent locally and gained a national reputation by appearing before the general synod of United States with what is known as the "Dunn Appeal," winning there a notable victory for his church. This was an appeal from the ruling of the church as to the distribution of moneys contributed for benevo- Jent purposes. Mr. Dunn's contention was that each church should determine to what purpose the money should be applied rather than to leave this to be decided by the classes or synod. Mr. Dunn carried his case to the Potomac Synod, where the appeal was defeated, but believ- ing in the justice of his contention he appealed in person to tlie Gen- eral Synod, gaining from that august body a favorable decision. He was a Whig in politics until 1856; assisted in the formation of the Republican party in Pennsylvania and ever afterward supported that organization, serving in the borough council and on the school board. He married Annie Ferguson, born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, September 14, 1826, who survived him twenty-two years, dying at the home of her son Horace B., November 29, 1907, having made her home with him during the entire period of her widowhood. She was a daughter of David and Margaret (McKibbin) Ferguson, both born in the north of Ireland. After coming to the United States David Fergu- son settled in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, where he became the owner of a large farm in Path Valley near Concord, where he died in 1840. His widow survived him until 1872. He was a Democrat in politics and both were members of the United Presbyterian church. Children of David and Margaret Ferguson: I. William, died in Michigan : a farmer. 2. James, born in Franklin county, a farmer of
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Path Valley and at one time associate county judge. 3. John, a farmer of Pike county, Illinois, where he died. 4. Jane, married David Etnier and died at Mill Creek, Pennsylvania. 5. David (2), died in youthful manhood. 6. Hannah, married George Colgate and removed to Adams county, Illinois, where she died. 7. Joseph, died in Pike county, Illinois, a farmer. 8. Andrew Jackson, died at East Waterford, Juniata county, Pennsylvania, a merchant and farmer. 9. Annie, of previous mention, married David Dunn. Their children were: Horace B., of further mention, and Cora, who died March 31, 1864.
(III) Horace B., only son of David and Annie ( Ferguson) Dunn. was born in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, January 7, 1858. He was educated in the public schools and at Huntingdon Academy. He pursued a course of legal study under the preceptorship of K. Allen Lovell and was admitted to the Huntingdon county bar December 18. 1882. He at once began practice in Huntingdon; has been admitted to the superior court of Pennsylvania and is one of the leading lawyers of the Huntingdon bar. He is a Republican and since 1887 has been actively engaged in public life. In 1887-1890 and in 1891 he was chairman of the Republican county committee. From 1889 until 1895 he was a member of the borough council of Huntingdon. From Janu- ary, 1897, until January, 1903, he was district attorney of Huntingdon county. In 1910 he was elected to the Pennsylvania house of repre- sentatives and in 1912 was reelected and is a member of the house now in session ( 1913). Besides his large private practice, Mr. Dunn is local attorney for R. G. Duni & Company and is a director of Stand- ing Stone National Bank of Huntingdon. He is a member of the County Bar Association: Blue Cross Lodge, No. 295: Knights of Pythias ; Standing Stone Conclave, No. 134, Improved Order of Hepta- sophs. and both he and his wife are members of the Reformed church at Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Dunn married, May 30, 1888, Clara Adelaide Williams, born in Ohio, daughter of Nelson C. and Lucinda D. Williams, both born in Portage county, Ohio: her father deceased. Children: I. David, born July 15, 1891, graduate of Huntingdon high school, was a student at Juniata College, later entered Franklin and Marshall College, whence he was graduated, class of 1911 ; now a student of the Divinity School of Yale University. 2. Robert Williams, born June 1. 1895, member
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of the senior class of 1913 at Huntingdon high school and is president of his class.
The Bell family has been well and favorably known in the
BELL annals of Pennsylvania for many years, and various mem- bers of this family have bravely offered their lives in de- fense of the rights of their beloved country. They have been connected with many important business enterprises, and are represented in the present generation in Huntingdon county by Charles Frederick Bell. secretary and treasurer of the Grange Trust Company.
(1) Charles Bell, grandfather of the man whose name is mentioned above, was a distiller by occupation, a resident of Milroy for many years, where his death occurred. He and his wife were consistent at- tendants at the Lutheran church. He married Rebecca Kelly, born in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, died at Milroy, in the same state, and they had children: George W., see forward; John, lives in Decatur town- ship, Mifflin county, Pennsylvania: James, died in Cresson. Pennsyl- vania ; Charlotta, married Henry Steininger, and lives in Lewistown: Laura, married Hiram Herbster, and lives in Yeagertown, Pennsyl- vania : Eleanore, married the Rev. O. M. Stewart, and lives in Kansas City, Missouri.
(II) George W., son of Charles and Rebecca (Kelly) Bell, was born near McAlevys Fort, Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, March 9, 1841, and died in Mooresville, Pennsylvania, February 6, 1911. He settled in West township, where he was engaged in farming for some years, then purchased the home in Mooresville, where he spent the remainder of his life. During the latter part of the civil war he en- listed in Company K, 205th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and served for about the last nine months of that struggle. During this time he was in active service around Fort Stedman, Richmond and Petersburg. Early in the war he was a member of the militia but saw no active service during this time. He was a Republican in politi- cal opinion, and he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episco- pal church, active in its interests, and he served it for a long period as steward and trustee. He was also a member of the local Grange. He married Ann Gettis, born in West township, December 11, 1846, died in Mooresville, May 2, 1908. She was the daughter of Patrick
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and Victoria (Montgomery) Gettis, the death of the latter occurring in 1879. Patrick Gettis was born in 1800 and died July 2, 1892. He lived in West township, Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, where he was occupied as a carpenter and farmer, being the owner of a farm of two hundred acres. His father, Robert Gettis, was a native of Ireland, and came to this country with his wife, also born in Ireland, in a sail- ing vessel; he was a soldier during the war of 1812, from which he never returned, being probably lost near Lake Erie. Patrick Gettis was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. IIc had children : Alexander, living in Petersburg, Pennsylvania; Martha, married Daniel Baker, and died at Scottdale, Pennsylvania, 1899; Eliza, married Augustus Sisler, and died in Iowa ; William, died unmarried on the old homestead about 1903: Robert, died in the United States service, in 1862, at Falmouth, Virginia: James, killed at Altoona, in the Pennsyl- vania Railroad yards : Agnes, married Leonard Armstrong and lives in Petersburg. Pennsylvania; Ann; one child which died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Bell had children: Rhoda, died in 1892 at the age of twenty ; Charles Frederick, see forward: Ruth, married James G. Miller, and lives in Miller township, Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania ; William, died at the age of three years; Robert Harry, was graduated from the state college, and is now an assistant in the experimental station of the Department of Pomology.
(III) Charles Frederick, son of George W. and Ann (Gettis) Bell, was born in West township, Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, August 18, 1875. His education was an excellent one and was acquired in the public schools of his section of the country and at Juniata Col- lege. For one year he was in the employ of the Pennsylvania Rail- road Company at Wilmerding, Pennsylvania, then, in 1899, became a clerk in the East Pittsburgh National Bank, at Wilmerding, a posi- tion he held for five years. His next field of activity was Pittsburgh, where he held a position in the Mechanics' National Bank until they combined with the First National Bank, when he went to the Mellon National Bank, this, altogether, covering a period of two years. He then returned to Wilmerding, where he obtained the position of assist- ant cashier in the same bank in which he had previously been em- ployed. In 1908 hie removed to Huntingdon county, having become secretary and treasurer of the Grange Trust Company, which had just
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been organized, and which his executive ability has greatly assisted. This bank has a capital of one hundred and twenty-five thousand dol- lars, surplus and undivided, the profits amount to twelve thousand dol- lars, the deposits total two hundred and twenty-five thousand dol- lars, the depositors numbering between one thousand and twelve hun- dred. The stock is held by the largest number of people of any insti- tution here, about two hundred and eighty, almost all of whom are residents of Huntingdon county. The officers are: President, Dr. W. T. Sheaffer ; first vice-president, T. O. Milliken ; second vice-president, Harry W. Read ; secretary and treasurer, Charles Frederick Bell; assist- ant secretary and treasurer, George E. Corcelius. Mr. Bell is a Repub- lican in political matters, and he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Bell married, June 3, 1903, Carrie, born in Huntingdon county, a daughter of John M. and Ann Johnson, and they have had children : Elizabeth, Jane, Robert and Ann.
MILLER This family has been prominent in the Juniata Valley since early days and the name is perpetuated by Millers Ferry, Millersville, and other similar monuments to the pioneers. The first of this branch who can be definitely located is George Miller, born in 1807. He was a blacksmith by trade and in 1840 was elected justice of the peace, an office he held for many years. For four years he owned and operated a boat on the Pennsylvania state canal. He was a Democrat, and a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church until his death in 1889. He married Annie Morrison, born in Lewistown in 1807, daughter of James Morrison, who came to Lewistown from Rising Sun, Pennsylvania, and here followed his trade of shoemaker ; he married Elizabeth Brown, and died at the home of his daughter in Lewistown. Children of George and Annie (Mor- rison) Miller : Mary, married John Fink, both deceased: Joseph A .. of whom further; Ezilda, unmarried: Emmeline, deceased, married Frank H. Wentz.
(II) Joseph A., only son of George and Annie (Morrison) Miller, was born in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, November 29, 1833. He was educated in the public schools, learned the blacksmith's trade. later engaged in the plumbing business, and is now living retired in his na-
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tive town, having there spent his long, busy and successful life. His home, at the corner of North Main and East Third streets, he purchased in 1881. He is a Democrat in politics, and in 1887 was chief burgess of Lewistown. He is a veteran of the civil war, being one of the first to come to the defense of "Old Glory." He enlisted for the three months' service, April 16, 1861, and was one of the first body of troops, numbering five hundred and thirty, who entered the city of Washington. He served about one year, reënlisting after his third month expired in the 78th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. He is a member of the First Defenders Association, and is the owner of a badge presented by the state of Pennsylvania to the members of that association. In religious faith he is a Methodist.
He married, in 1879, Josephine Frey, born in Franklin county, Penn- sylvania, in 1858. Children: I. Joseph G., born in 1880; educated in the public school; graduate of Lewistown high school, and while a student in a trade school in New York City was accidentally shot and killed by a classmate, in January, 1899. 2. Anna M., born December 30, 1884; married in September, 1906, Franklin Conrad, of Sunbury, Pennsylvania, and has one child, Joseph M.
Mr. Miller is rounding out a well spent life in the enjoyment and quiet of his Lewistown home, where he has not only gained a compe- tence, but the good-will and highest esteem of the community in which his entire life has been spent.
Z00K The Zooks of Mifflin county (and in 1880 there were thirty- eight families of the name in that county) descend from
Moritz Zug, a grandson of Hans Zug, born in Switzer- land, a Mennonite minister exiled to Germany. Moritz Zug came to this country in 1742 from Pfaltz, Germany, settling in Lancaster county, now Center township, Berks county, later moved to Whiteland town- ship, Chester county, Pennsylvania, where he died. He left five sons, -John. Christian, IIenry, Abraham and Jacob; and also a daughter, Fanny.
(II) John, son of Moritz Zug or Zook, came to Mifflin county in 1793 with his brother Christian and both lived there after lives there. John Zook had sons, John, Abraham, Christian, Joseph, Jacob, David and Shem, the latter born in 1798, ten years after the next youngest
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son. These sons all married and left issue, except Jacob, who had no children. There were also five daughters.
(III) Abraham, son of John Zook, was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, about 1780 and came to Mifflin county with his father in 1793. He owned a small farm of eighty acres, which he cleared and improved, and on which he lived for many years. This land was in Menno township, where in 1821 he built a saw mill, which later passed to his son Abraham (2), who sold it in 1858 to Jacob Kurtz. In 1831 Abraham Zook built a grist mill, which he operated until 1842, then sold to David Zook. He married and reared a small family. In religious faith he was a member of the Amish Mennonite church and lived strictly in accordance with the tenets of that austere faith. He died at an extreme old age, in fact, the Zook family are noted for their longevity.
(IV) David M., son of Abraham Zook, was born in Menno town- ship, Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, in 1810, died near Allenville, Penn- sylvania, March 25, 1892. He worked with his father on the farm and in the mill until after his marriage. He then purchased a farm and saw mill in the same township adjoining his father's land where he remained for many years lumbering and farming. He finally sold this property and moved to a farm three miles farther north. After this he made several moves, his last being to Allenville, which was his home until death. He was a member of the Amish Mennonite church, as the Zooks have ever been, and in a political faith a Republican. He mar- ried, January 31, 1832, Rebecca Bieler (or Byler), born in Lancaster county, January 22, 1813, died June 15, 1884, daughter of Jonathan Bieler, who came to Mifflin county, a few years later than the Zooks; purchased a hundred-acre farm in Menno township, where he and his wife both died. He and his wife were both member of the Amish church. Children of David M. and Rebecca Zook: I. Barbara, de- ceased, married (first) Solomon King, married (second) Dr. J. K. Metz. 2. Nancy, deceased : married (first) John King, married (sec- ond) Samuel Lantz. 3. Jonathan. 4. Elizabeth, married Jonathan Miller. 5. Abraham, deceased. 6. Eli, deceased. 7. Lydia, married Isaac King. 8. David, born near Allenville, Pennsylvania, April 23, 1844. educated in the public schools and all his life has been a farmer. 9. Solomon. 10. Samuel B., of whom further. 11. Jacob. 12. Moses.
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