USA > Pennsylvania > A history of the Juniata Valley and its people, Volume II > Part 42
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law, Harrison Moyer, at Middleburg, and two years as a baker, having thereafter bought the establishment of A. L. Eshelman, and this human dynamo is ready to change his habitat from Snyder county to Juniata, little suspecting himself to what extent fame and fortune would smile upon him in this new environment.
At Thompsontown, Juniata county, James A. Cameron was con- ducting a small general store. The place was well located and the town was good, but somehow this particular corner seemed to discourage one storekeeper after another, and tradition had it that no one could make the corner pay. How fate led Charles Meiser to Thompsontown we do not know, but we do know that on a very lucky day for Thomp- sontown, in the year 1900, this man slipped into town, inquired in a seemingly casual manner whether the place was for sale as usual, walked down the road a piece to assure himself that the Pennsylvania railroad was doing business at a sufficiently close distance, and before the town was aware of his presence he had bought out the little stock, consisting of about thirteen hundred dollars' worth of general mer- chandise, and was busily engaged breathing new life into a business that had bordered on failure from its inception. Rapid almost beyond belief were the strides this humble little corner took. One addition would hardly be completed before another would be started; soon the structure, for the most part three stories, measured one hundred and forty by forty feet. Then it was necessary to start outbuildings, one of which, a well-equipped private garage, together with a number of fine automobiles, was completely destroyed by fire during the winter of 1912.
The inventory of the store proper amounts to upward of $30,000, without taking account of the goods handled in special departments, such as pianos and organs, automobiles, farm machinery, etc., which are handled entirely separate and managed by men who are specialists in their respective lines. In this business that Charles A. Meiser has built up, one can purchase anything from a paper of pins to a carload of cement-hardware, groceries, men's wear, women's wear, shoes, millinery, gas engines, implements, fencing, paints, oils, glass, house furnishings-in fact, the slogan, "Meiser Sells Everything," fits the case exactly. In the automobile fraternity, Merchant Meiser is known far and wide as a hard man to meet in competition. The Ford and
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Imperial automobiles could not have a more energetic representative than Merchant Meiser has proven to be. In the piano department Mr. Meiser insured his success by taking on the agency for the very finest of instruments, with the result that his reputation is being still further enhanced. Lauter and Janssen pianos, together with a number of other excellent makes, are being sold near and far by this courageous mer- chant. As a whole, this flourishing business in the small town of Thompsontown is a monument to the enterprise and sagacity of the man who owns it.
Aside from the business which bears his name, Mr. Meiser is a leading spirit in various undertakings through Central Pennsylvania, among which might be mentioned the Northumberland Improvement Company, of which he is a director; the Northumberland Realty Com- pany, of which he is a director; the Farmers' National Bank of Thomp- sontown, of which he is a founder and director; and the Thompson- town Water Company, of which he is an owner. Outside of the state of Pennsylvania, too, he is a prominent stockholder in several large corporations. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, the Patriotic Sons of America, and in politics he is a pronounced Progressive. He has served his community as assessor, school director and councilman.
On December 6, 1891, Mr. Meiser was married to Ida Catherine, daughter of John M. and Sallie (Dreese) Moyer, of Middleburg, Sny- der county, in whom he found an unusually capable and active help- meet, and one to whom he owes much of the efficient management of his complicated business. Their union is blessed with two children: Mary, a student of the Susquehanna Conservatory of Music, graduate of School of Commerce, and a prominent member of the Delaware Literary Society ; and Moyer M., a son, who has already exhibited traits that prove him worthy of his heritage. He is a student at Mer- cersburg, and graduate of the School of Commerce, and former stu- dent of Stevens Hall, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
The Orbison family of Pennsylvania is of Irish descent,
ORBISON the American ancestor, Thomas ( I), being born near Lurgan, Ireland, about 1715, died in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, March, 1779. He came to America in 1740 and pur-
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chased a farm near Welsh Run, in what was then Peters township, Cum- berland county, Pennsylvania. He married (first) October 19, 1744, Elizabeth, daughter of James Miller, who died March 3. 1763; (second) August 12, 1765, Mary Kyle. He left a will which was proved March 10, 1779, and is recorded in the register's office at Carlisle in will book C, page 145. Children of first wife: 1. William, born August 2, 1745, commissioned officer in United States military service during the revo- lutionary war, and killed in "Flying Camp" campaign. 2. Thomas, of further mention. 3. John, born March 27, 1750, died 1827. 4. Susanna, September 20, 1752. 5. Bethiah, November 2, 1755. 6. James, Decem- ber 21, 1757. Children of second wife: 7. Jean, born July 5. 1766.
(II) Thomas (2), son of Thomas (1) and Elizabeth ( Miller) Or- bison, was born September 23, 1747, near Welsh Run, now Franklin county, Pennsylvania, died in Millerstown (now Fairfield), Pennsyl- vania, October 2, 1784. He was a farmer at Willalloways Creek, in York (now Adams) county, where his family resided during the revo- lutionary war, while he was in the United States service, in which he gained the rank of captain. At the close of the war he moved to Mil- lerstown, where he engaged in mercantile business until his death, caused by scarlet fever. He married, April 5, 1774, Elizabeth Bailey, born December 23, 1752, died April 7, 1826, daughter of Benjamin Bailey, an Irish emigrant. His widow married, May, 1787, William Agnew. Children of Thomas (2) and Elizabeth (Bailey) Orbison : I. Isabella, born January 13, 1775; married John Slemmons, of Butler county, Pennsylvania; child: Elizabeth R., married John Hogg, of Butler county. Children of Jolm and Elizabeth R. ( Slemmons) Hogg : Mary Jane, born July 21, 1838; Caroline Harriet, born December 20, 1840, died December 19, 1846; Orbison S., born May 25, 1843; Alice Rachel, born March 31, 1846, died December, 1853 ; Norman Doak, born February 24, 1849, died June 14, 1852; Isabel Elizabeth, born June 29, 1852. 2. William, of further mention. 3. Elizabeth Miller, born Octo- ber 27. 1779: married Samuel Porter.
(III) William, only son of Thomas (2) and Elizabeth (Bailey) Orbison, was born in York (now Adams) county, Pennsylvania, June 27, 1777, died in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, August 23, 1857. He attended the Rev. Alexander Dobbins' school near Gettysburg from 1794 to 1797, when he studied languages, and in April, 1799, com-
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menced reading law with his uncle, James Orbison, at Chambersburg, and was admitted to the bar of Huntingdon county. Until 1830 he prac- ticed in Huntingdon, after which date he devoted most of his time to literary pursuits. He was president of the Huntingdon Bank, chartered in 1814. He purchased large tracts of land in Cromwell township and, having laid out part of the property in town lots, named the town Orbisonia. He married, October 6, 1808, Eleanor Elliott, daughter of Benjamin and Sarah (Ashman) Elliott. Children of William and Eleanor (Elliott ) Orbison : 1. Sarah Harriett, born July 11, 1809, dicd November 25, 1832; married, January 28, 1830, her cousin, Dr. Ben- jamin McMurtrie ; child : Harriet Orbison, born November 25, 1832, died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 7, 1893 ; married, 1855, Richard Rush Bryan. 2. Caroline Elizabeth, born March 16, 1811. dicd Sep- tember 9, 1829. 3. Thomas Elliott, born November 26, 1812. 4. Wil- liam Penn, of further mention. 5. Ellen Matilda, born July 19, 1816; married, May 2, 1837, Dr. John Harris, of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, later of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; during the war of the rebellion she was secretary of the Ladies' Aid Society, and spent much time minister- ing to soldiers in the hospitals. Her husband having been appointed consul to Venice in 1870, she journeycd there with him, remaining until his death in 1881. 6. Henrietta Ashman. born December 12. 1817. died April 12, 1857 ; married, September 16, 1841, Hugh Nelson Mc Allister, of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania; children: Mary Allison, married Gen. James A. Beaver, ex-governor of Pennsylvania: Ellen Elliott. born April 8. 1846, died August 18, 1886; Sarah, married Dr. Thomas R. Hayes, of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. 7. Martha Ann, born December 1, 1819, died September 1, 1824. 8. Louisa Augusta, born October 2, 1821 ; married, April 4, 1850, Samuel Colhoun, died in Colorado, 1883: child: Emma C., married, 1876, Dr. Francis Atwood. of St. Paul. Minnesota, died August, 1882. 9. Edmund Burke, born April 20, 1823. IO. James Henry, born March 23, 1826. 11. Isabella Slemmons, born November 18, 1831, drowned September 14, 1833. 12. Charles Car- roll, born December 1, 1835, died November 20. 1836.
(IV) William Penn, second son and fourth child of William and Eleanor (Elliott) Orbison, was born at Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, No- vember 4, 1814, died February 28, 1898. He was graduated from Jef- ferson College in 1832, and, deciding upon the legal profession as his
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future walk in life, read law with John P. Miles, Esq., at Huntingdon, graduating from the Carlisle Law School in 1835. He was admitted to the Huntingdon county bar November 12, 1835. In the spring of 1836 he entered into partnership with James M. Bell, Esq., continuing with him until 1845. Until the time of his death he and his son, Robert Allison, conducted a law office in partnership. He was president of the First National Bank of Huntingdon from 1871 to 1878, and was a member of the Presbyterian church, in which he was ordained ruling elder. He married, September 16, 1841, Lydia Rebecca Allison, born August 2, 1816, died April 1, 1891, daughter of Robert and Mary ( El- liott ) Allison. Children of William Penn and Lydia Rebecca ( Allison) Orbison : 1. William Allison, born August 29, 1842, died in Philadel- phia, Pennsylvania, June 26, 1893 ; he was for a time a coal merchant, later in partnership with his brother, Robert Allison, and Charles G. Welch, built Huntingdon Car Works. 2. Mary Elliott. 3. Ellen Har- ris. 4. Robert Allison, of further mention.
(V) Robert Allison, youngest child of William Penn and Lydia Rebecca ( Allison) Orbison, was born January 31, 1849. In preparation for the legal profession he took a classical course at Washington and Jefferson College, graduating in 1868, then read law with his father for two years; was graduated from the Albany Law School in 1871, and was admitted to the Huntingdon county bar on May 25, 1871. From September, 1877, to September, 1878, he was a member of the St. Paul, Minnesota, bar, returning in the latter year to Huntingdon. In July, 1880, he was appointed assistant to the assistant attorney-general of the United States, whose business it is to defend the United States in the court of claims, and went to Washington, D. C. This position he held until 1882, when he returned to Huntingdon, receiving in January, 1887, appointment in the office of the secretary of the commonwealth at Har- risburg. On June 1, 1887, he was appointed chief clerk in the attorney- general's office, where he remained four years, and on June 1, 1891, entered the auditor general's office, occupying a position there for one year. Mr. Orbison has always been prominent in civic affairs of Hunt- ingdon, and at the time of the "Old Home Week" celebration in Huntingdon, in connection with J. Murray Africa and several others, he published an exceedingly valuable and interesting pamphlet entitled "Historic Huntingdon," containing so much historical data as was never
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before published in book form. This has had a wide circulation among the libraries of the country, because of its interesting form of compo- sition and the light which it throws upon the history of the locality. In his research for the publication of this work Mr. Orbison unearthed some very old and valuable town documents, among which was a con- tract for the erection of the first court house, which definitely fixed the date of building, a date hitherto unknown. It also contained lists of organization of the townships of Huntingdon county. He was elected chief burgess of Huntingdon, February 16, 1897. the same position having been held by his great-grandfather, Benjamin Elliott, in 1796, and by his grandfather, Robert Allison. Aside from the political posi- tions he has held, Mr. Orbison has been active in county politics, and was a delegate to the Keystone State Convention and chairman of the Huntingdon county committee. In 1912 he was chairman of the Wash- ington county party committee. He is a member of the Presbyteran church, and in 1898 was elected a ruling elder of that denomination. In 1913 he was sent as a commissioner to the great General Assembly in Atlanta. He has been in the past one of the men who have done most to bring Huntingdon to the forefront of cities of its size in Pennsyl- vania, and it may well be hoped that in the future his efforts shall be as well directed and shall bear as abundant fruit as they have in the past.
He married, June 14, 1894. J. Estelle Gregory, born in Hancock, Maryland, daughter of Richmond and Ann Lewis (Snively) Gregory. Children of Robert Allison and J. Estelle (Gregory) Orbison : Allison Estelle, Virginia Gregory.
The Grove family of Pennsylvania is one of the oldest in GROVE length of residence in the state. The immigrant ancestor came over from England soon after William Penn, and on his invitation. For years he was closely associated with that dis- criminating Quaker gentleman, though not of his religion. The eldest son of each succeeding generation was, for many years, named Jacob. Each married and was the parent of children, and in this way the name has been widely perpetuated in the state. As time passed members of the family wandered into other states and territories of the Union until to-day there is not a state in the United States that has not within its borders one or more of the name. The name has always been well and
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worthily borne by the succeeding generations, and is synonymous with integrity, honor and morality.
(I) Jacob Grove, the first of the family of whom any thing definite is known, was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, before the revo- lutionary war, and is thought to have taken part in that glorious con- flict for personal and political liberty. He moved from Lancaster to Huntingdon county before 1800, located in Penn township, took up wild land, cleared and improved it, erecting comfortable log houses for the occupancy of himself and family. He was the parent of a large number of children, among whom was a son Jacob, of whom further below.
(II) Jacob Grove, son of Jacob Grove, was born October 18, 1806, on his father's farm in Penn township, Huntingdon county, Pennsyl- vania. He received his education in the schools of the township, and on reaching maturity began farming on the land on which his children and the children of his son Samuel S. were born, containing two hun- dred acres of fine timber land and one hundred and forty under culti- vation. He was a prominent man and because of his established probity he was selected as guardian of various orphan children, the property of whom he administered with equity and care. He was a member of the Mennonite church and was a devout attendant until the time of his death, June 20, 1892. Than Mr. Grove there was no more highly respected citizen of Huntingdon county. He married Margaret Sum- mers, March 2, 1828, born November 7, 1807, and died January 7, 1872. She was the daughter of a wealthy and influential citizen of Huntingdon county, and was of English descent. Children of Jacob and Margaret (Summers) Grove: 1. Mary, born January 22, 1832. 2. Catherine, born November 4, 1834: died November 24, 1904. 3. An- drew, born March 23. 1836; died June 15, 1890. 4. Elizabeth, born September 17. 1838. 5. Henry, born November 17, 1840. 6. Margaret, born March 17. 1842: died November 24. 1904. 7. Jacob, Jr., born July 21. 1845. Samuel S., of whom further.
(III) Samuel S. Grove, youngest son of Jacob and Margaret (Sum- mers) Grove, was born April 10, 1848. in Huntingdon county, Penn- sylvania, and died in the county of his nativity, November 1, 1902. He was educated in the common schools of the community. Leaving school. he very naturally entered the field of agriculture, as he had been reared
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in the free atmosphere of the farm. He later acquired the homestead and lived there until his death. He did successful general farming, keeping his stock in admirable condition. Among the latter were Per- cheron horses of which he was very proud, and which were the objects of admiration of the county. He was a Democrat, voting and working for the ticket, but never held any office save that of school director. With his wife he was a member of the Reformed church, was a con- sistent Christian, a thoroughly good and honorable man, who was gen- erally esteemed in the township. He married Mary Jane Donelson, born September 16, 1850, in Lincoln township, Huntingdon county, daughter of John H. and Margaret (Shultz ) Donelson, of Lincoln township. They were both of old families who had long been established in Pennsyl- vania. Mr. Donelson was a wealthy and influential farmer. At the outbreak of hostilities between the North and South in 1861 he was assigned the duty of drilling the raw recruits, and was denominated captain. Owing to the age limit, he was not permitted to go to the front, but was kept employed in preparing younger men for active ser- vice. Mr. Donelson was born April 22, 1821, and died January 27. 1887, after a long and useful life. His wife was born May 15, 1825, and died March 30, 1898. Their children were: Elizabeth ; John ; Mar- tin: Catherine: Mary Jane (Mrs. Grove) ; Reuben ; Mehala ; Clara and William ( twins ) ; Emma ; Samuel; Flora and Ellen. Children of Sam- uel S. and Mary Jane (Donelson) Grove: 1. Elmer D., of whom fur- ther. 2. Alice. 3. John D. 4. Nora. 5. Chester.
(IV) Elmer D. Grove, son of Samuel S. and Mary Jane (Donel- son ) Grove, was born August 27, 1871, in Penn township, below Markel- burg, Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania. He received his preparatory education in the schools of the township; after which he attended Juniata College, where he prepared himself for the pedagogic profes- sion. He was the instructor of youth for ten consecutive years, after which he accepted a position with the C. H. Miller Hardware Company in 1902, first in the shipping department and then as shipping clerk, and heid that position for a number of years. For the past three years he has been billing clerk of the Miller Hardware Company of Hunting- don, Pennsylvania, one of the most responsible firms in the state. Mfr. Grove is one of its most valued employees, and justly so, as he has given it energetic and loyal service. He is independent in politics, voting for
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the man he deems best suited to the office. He has never held nor asked for office. He is a member of the Reformed church, supporting it gen- erously on all occasions. He married, June 7, 1899, Mary Blanche Lininger, the daughter of Solomon Lininger (see sketch of Solomon Lininger). Children: I. Edward Rollin. 2. Walter Lininger. 3. Ralph Elwood. 4. Mary Luella.
The Cutshall family of Pennsylvania descends from
CUTSHALL Caspar Cutshall, who emigrated from Germany to the Province of Maryland about 1700. He located in Frederick county, there married and reared a family. Among his de- scendants was Conrad, of whom further.
(I) Conrad Cutshall was born in Frederick county, Maryland, about 1740, and it is thought that he was a revolutionary soldier, as the name Cutshall appears frequently in the records of the war in the state de- partment. He moved, in 1800, from Maryland to Pennsylvania, and located in what is now known as Springfield township, Huntingdon county. He took up wild land, cleared, improved, built log houses and planted grain. Before his death he owned many hundreds of acres of land, and at his death gave to each of his children a farm, except to Peter, to whom he gave nothing. He married Hannah Morrison, born in Frederick county, Maryland, who accompanied him to Pennsylvania. They were buried in the family burial ground on the farm. Among his children was Peter, of whom further.
(II) Peter Cutshall, son of Conrad and Hannah ( Morrison) Cut- shall, was born in Frederick county, Maryland, in 1790, and died, at an advanced age, in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania. He came with his parents when he was ten years old to Pennsylvania. He remained with his father until reaching his majority, when he took up wild land, con- verted it into a farm and there lived and died. It was the old Wilds and Byrd survey, famous in its day. He married Charlotte Lane, born at Lane's mill, Kishacoquillas Valley. the daughter of a prosperous farmer and miller. Children: 1. Dutton, died in Iowa. 2. Albaugh, a soldier in the civil war. 3. Abraham, killed at Sailor's Creek in one of the last engagements of the civil war. April 6, 1865. 4. Jeremiah Morris. of whom further. 5. Samuel. 6. Mary. 7. Susan. S. Caroline. 9. Anna T.
1
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(III) Jeremiah Morris Cutshall, son of Peter and Charlotte (Lane) Cutshall, was born in Springfield township, Huntingdon county, Penn- sylvania. He was reared on his father's farm, and remained a farmer during his life. He combined stock raising with farming, making the two pay him handsomely. He was a man of importance in his town- ship, exerting his influence for the good of the county and township. He was justice of peace for ten or fifteen years, his rulings giving uni- versal satisfaction.
Jeremiah M. Cutshall married Mary A. Brown, born in Springfield township, daughter of John and Susan Margaret Brown. John Brown was a revolutionary soldier, and passed the winter with General Wash- ington at Valley Forge; and is buried in the Baptist cemetery in Spring- field township. His wife Margaret was of German descent, but her forbears came to this country while it was yet in its infancy. J. M. and Mary A. (Brown) Cutshall were members of the Church of God, and he was a Whig, voting with and working for the party. Children : I. J. B., of whom further. 2. Peter B. 3. Allen. 4. Rush. 5. Alice. 6. Rachel, died aged two years. 7. Laura.
(IV) Jeremiah B. Cutshall. one of Jeremiah Morris and Mary A. (Brown) Cutshall, was born December 21. 1853, in Springfield town- ship, Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania. He received an excellent edu- cation in public schools of Springfield township and the summer normal schools under the various county superintendents. He taught two years in Iowa, three years in Ohio, and for the past ten years in the Pennsyl- vania Industrial Reformatory, located at Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. In all he has been an instructor of youth for over twenty-five years. He has been and still is one of the best teachers and disciplinarians in the county. His pupils respect and love him, and on leaving school to enter the business world they still remain his friends. He has taught various branches, some of them the dead languages and higher mathe- matics. Before and after entering the profession of pedagogy he studied under Professor Kidder, a well-known instructor, and others, thus pre- paring himself for his life's vocation. He is a Republican, and he and wife are members of the Baptist church.
He married Mary E. Bolinger. Children: I. S. Ernest, deputy treasurer of Huntingdon county. 2. Reed, died in infancy. 3. Marion Grace, at home.
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About 1712 John Todd left his home in Scotland and emi- TODD grated to the Colony of Maryland, in America. With him came his wife Margaret and three small sons, William, Robert and Thomas. From these sons and others born after reaching America are descended the numerous Todd families in both Maryland and Pennsylvania.
(I) Ira Todd was born in 1835, in southern Maryland. He re- ceived a common school education and while yet a young man began railroading. He moved to Mifflin, Pennsylvania, where he engaged as a locomotive fireman for one month. Demonstrating his mechanical ability and thorough knowledge of machinery, he was promoted to the position of locomotive engineer in 1854 on the Pennsylvania railroad. He continued as engineer for many years, gradually rising until he was made assistant to what would be known at the present time as road foreman of engines, at which time he moved to Harrisburg, Pennsyl- vania. He served the road faithfully and efficiently for years and is now on the retired list, receiving a pension as a small reward for his loyalty and continued service. He is a staunch Democrat. He married Catherine Harvey, born at Newton Hamilton, Pennsylvania, in 1844. She is a member of an old family long resident of Huntingdon county. Children: 1. Ira Chester, unmarried; a piece work inspector in Pitts- burgh, Pennsylvania. 2. William Upton, of whom further. 3. Harry Blair, a chemist in Pittsburgh ; married Eliza Hertzler. 4. Charles K., a drug salesman, lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 5. Donald, died, aged thirty. 6. Frank, a machinist in Pittsburgh. 7. Lida, twin of Frank, married Gustavus Falhaver, a drug clerk in Harrisburg. 8. Josephine, deceased, married H. C. Mank.
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