USA > Pennsylvania > A history of the Juniata Valley and its people, Volume III > Part 14
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Hon. Walter Lowrie was twice married; first to Amelia McPher- rin, and second to Mary King Childs. The following children were the outcome of the first union: John C., a missionary in India and later secretary of the board of foreign missions, his entire service in
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this field aggregated sixty years; Matthew, a lawyer of Butler county, Pennsylvania, died young; Mary, became the wife of a Mr. Baird, and died in Pittsburgh; Walter Macon, a missionary to China, was mur- dered by Chinese pirates in the China sea; Eliza, died young; J. Rob- erts, the immediate subject of this review; and Reuben, who became a missionary to China and died after six years' service. There were no children born of the second union, and Mrs. Lowrie survived her. honored husband only a few months.
Jonathan Roberts Lowrie, whose name forms the caption for this article, was born at Butler, Pennsylvania, March 16, 1823. He was the fourth son of Hon. Walter Lowrie and Amelia (McPherrin) Lowrie. He was reared to the age of eight years in the place of his nativity, and after the death of his mother, March 5, 1832, the family home was established in Washington, D. C., where the father was then sec- retary of the senate. The ensuing four years of Mr. Lowrie's life were passed in the national capital, and there he formed the founda- tion for the splendid education he afterward obtained. In 1836, when the father was appointed secretary of the Presbyterian board of for- eign missions, the family removed to New York City. In the latter city, with his brother Reuben, the young J. Roberts attended the Uni- versity of New York. In 1838 he entered the freshman class of Lafay- ette College and in the following year was matriculated as a student in Jefferson College, in which excellent institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1842, with valedictory honors. At Jef- ferson College he was a valued member of the Franklin Literary So- ciety and a charter member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He selected the legal profession as his life work, and immediately after leaving college began the study of law in the city of Pittsburgh, under the able preceptorship of his cousin, Hon. Walter H. Lowrie. He was admitted to the Blair county bar, July 27, 1846, being one of its origi- nal members, and he initiated the active practice of his profession at Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. He was thus launched forth in his busi- ness career at the comparatively early age of twenty-three years, and ere the span of his life covered many more years he had won consider- able renown as a brilliant young attorney. While in the midst of his legal success, however, he was overtaken with ill health, and was obliged to give up the active practice of law, for which he was so emi-
I. Q. Lownie
THEAL. PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILD: N FOUNDATIONS.
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nently well fitted by nature and training. In this connection the fol- lowing statement has been made concerning him: "One especial gift, useful in any walk of life, invaluable in the law, was his in unusual de- gree : he had a native power of persuasion which compelled others to look from his point of view, to see things as he saw them. This must not be confounded with plausibility-the art of making the worse appear the better reason; on the contrary, it arises from logical powers, belief in self, earnestness, and sincerity."
We shall pass over the period of his withdrawal from the practice of law, it being filled with fierce and chafing regret, not unmixed, how- ever, with cheerful resignation. In the spring of 1854 he removed from Hollidaysburg to Warriors Mark, Pennsylvania, in which latter place he became legal adviser to the firm of Lyon, Shorb & Company, at that time the largest iron manufacturing firm in the United States. Its possessions embraced valuable properties in Pittsburgh and St. Louis, and it also held about twenty thousand acres of land and ore rights in central Pennsylvania. His work at first lay chiefly in per- fecting the surveys of its lands and establishing more firmly the titles thereto, this line of work keeping him in the open air and rapidly im- proving his health. With the passage of time his position in connection with this firmn became of vast importance. The financial crisis of 1873 bore heavily upon the business interests of Pennsylvania and particu- larly affected the affairs of the above iron manufacturing concern. Only by the most skillful management was insolvency avoided. Disso- lution, however, was necessary, and Mr. Lowrie was appointed trustee of the assets of the firm, with the herculean task of rescuing the proper- ty from embarrassment. An enormous indebtedness, pressing creditors, and no immediate relief in sight were the difficulties of the situation. For seven long years Mr. Lowrie devoted himself to the work of rehabilitation, with the satisfaction, at the close of that period, of sur- rendering his trust with every dollar of indebtedness of the estate paid in full and of restoring to its owners a large property entirely unen- cumbered. This has been recognized as a triumph of honest, faithful and intelligent business management, which has scarcely a parallel. The arduous and confining work made heavy inroads upon Mr. Low- rie's health, however, and it was not with such astonishing success that he carried on the work of recuperation in this connection. He had
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the best medical attention afforded in this country and even went abroad to the celebrated Carlsbad Springs for relief. All was in vain -he finally returned home to pass his remaining days among his dear ones. His demise occurred in his residence at Warriors Mark, De- cember 10, 1885, at the age of sixty-three years. His remains are in- terred at Warriors Mark.
While in Hollidaysburg, Mr. Lowrie was united in marriage to Miss Mary Lyon, the ceremony having been performed February 15, 1848. She was a daughter of John Lyon, of the firm of Lyon, Shorb & Company. Mrs. Lowrie was called to the life eternal March 7, 1863. She is survived by three children: Sarah Roberts, who is living with her stepmother in the beautiful family home in Warriors Mark; Wil- liam Lyon, a prominent physician and surgeon at Tyrone, Pennsyl- vania; and Roberts Jr., a lawyer of note in Philadelphia. December 27, 1866, Mr. Lowrie married Miss Matilda Hamill Nassau, daughter of Rev. Charles W. Nassau, D.D., of Lawrenceville, New Jersey. This union was prolific of five children, as follows: Charles Nassau, a landscape architect in New York City; Matilda, died in youth; Walter, a Presbyterian minister in New York, where he died in 1901; Cal- houn Stewart, died at the age of seventeen years; and Matthew, a law- yer in the city of Pittsburgh. The widely renowned Lowrie home in Warriors Mark is surrounded by lawns and many rare species of trees and plants. Mr. Lowrie was a botanist of note and collected speci- mens of plant culture from different sections in order to further beau- tify his home grounds. Where once was a potato patch is now a lawn and where there was a cornfield is now a grove. Following are some paragraphs, bearing on Mr. Lowrie's character, taken from an article written by Hon. J. M. Sullivan at the time of Mr. Lowrie's demise. The same appeared in the Butler Citizen:
"The fidelity of Mr. Lowrie's friendships will be attested by all who were honored with his confidence. He was an undemonstrative man; he did nothing for show. He would rather be right than popu- lar. He shrank from public observation, except where duty called. Among the most prominent traits of his character were manly inde- pendence, unflinching firmness, calm, cool self-reliance in business mat- ters, always regulated by the strictest integrity. His large business ex- perience brought him in contact with every phase of character. He was a close observer, and was rarely deceived in the men with whom
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he dealt. He was an earnest, inflexible, upright business man. But, underlying these strong qualities, and only fully discovered by those who knew him best, were the gentlest and tenderest affections. No husband or father had a more loving heart. His sympathies went out to those in suffering and want, and he never turned from an appeal of sorrow. With his own hand he ministered to every case of distress within his reach, and there is many a poor mountaineer today mourn- ing in Mr. Lowrie's death the loss of his last carthly friend. Mr. Lowrie was liberal in his charities, but was always best satisfied when none knew of them but the receivers. Home was his earthly paradise. In its sunlight he gathered strength and inspiration for the weighty business duties of the world.
"Mr. Lowrie, naturally gifted with talents of a high order, was a scholar and a gentleman of refined and highly cultivated tastes. His ample library was an attractive resort to him among the other pleasures of his home. There he enjoyed the companionship of the best authors. He was much interested in geological research, and many fine geo- logical specimens enriched his cabinet. He was almost an enthusiast in the study of botany. His own botanical collection was one of the largest in the state, and was frequently referred to by distinguished botanists for aid in their researches.
"Mr. Lowrie took a deep interest in the affairs of the nation. He was a close observer of current events, and was thoroughly patriotic in all his convictions. He was fearless in declaring his opinions on all questions affecting national or state policy, and always ready to give a reason for his political faith. But he had an innate aversion to the methods of modern politics, and his manly nature shrunk from contact or association with the selfish political tricksters and schemers who have so offensively obtruded themselves into the management of public affairs. He never held nor desired to hold any political position himself, and discouraged his friends from seeking promotion through any of the corrupt channels in these days leading to political prefer- ment. His learning and ability, his manly courage, his broad, well- balanced mind, his calm, cool, intelligent judgment under other aus- pices might have been invoked to render the state valuable service."
From a brief article, written by Rev. Robert Hamill, D.D., who was a college classmate of Mr. Lowrie, the following is here in- corporated :
"Mr. Lowrie's crowning grace was his unpretending modesty. This gave emphasis to all his other excellencies. While possessed of a de- gree of intelligence which rendered him competent to be an instructor, he preferred to take the position of a learner. While he had pro-
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nounced views, intelligently formed, he was ready to defer to others rather than to thrust his own into the front. With attainments and qualities of mind and heart which fitted him to be a leader, he was disposed to shrink from, rather than to court, prominence; ever de- preciative of, rather than disposed to magnify, himself. Developing such characteristics, it is not strange that he should have been uni- versally held in high esteem. He was justly honored and beloved by all :
None knew him but to love him, None named him but to praise him.
Those who were associated with him in all the different walks of life -the community in which he dwelt, the church in which he was a faith- ful office-bearer, as well as those in closer relations-all loved him. While they cherish sacredly his memory, they have never ceased to feel and mourn his loss. May they have grace to emulate his bright example."
Mr. Lowrie was reared in the faith of the Presbyterian church and he was elected and ordained a ruling elder in the church of that denomi- nation in Birmingham and Warriors Mark. He was a careful student of the doctrines and history of the great denomination to which he be- longed, and tried as best he could to glorify Christ through the love and devotion of his individual life. His place in the home and in the church is vacant, but a mansion has been filled in Heaven.
This branch of the Wilson family descends from John
WILSON Wilson, born September 26, 1751, at Newtown, Lima- vaddy county Londonderry, Ireland, emigrated to the United States in September, 1770, landing at New Castle, Delaware. One month later he settled in the Kishacoquillas Valley, two miles west of Reedsville, in then Cumberland (now Mifflin) county, Pennsylvania. He soon afterward moved ten miles farther west in the same valley to what is now Menno township, where he engaged in farming and lived for sixty-one years, dying September 1I, 1832, aged nearly eighty-one years. He joined the Presbyterian church in his native land, and on coming to America brought a church letter or certificate of member- ship, which he deposited with the West Kishacoquillas Presbyterian Church, of which he was ruling elder for about forty years. He mar- ried, in 1782, Margaret Fleming, born at Faggs Manor, Chester county,
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Pennsylvania, December 17, 1764, died June 2, 1829, daughter of John and Mary ( Hayes) Fleming. Children: 1. David, born September II, 1783, died unmarried, June 11, 1822. 2. Mary, born September 30, 1785, died October 8, 1852; married Richard Allison. 3. Ann, born August 28, 1787, died December 29, 1837; married William Hazlett. 4. Sarah, born July 17, 1789, died August 14, 1850; married Robert Reed. 5. Jolin, born July 3, 1791, died March 12, 1870; married Mary Scott, died September 22, 1878, aged seventy-one years. 6. James, born August 22, 1793, died January 6, 1837; he married (first ) Jane, died May 26, 1829, sister of Rev. Matthew B. Hope, D.D., missionary to China, later secretary of General Assembly Board of Education, and still later a professor at Princeton College; he married (second) Isa- bella Stewart. 7. George, of whom further. 8. Margaret, born July 2, 1797, died February 18, 1848; married, March 20, 1825, James Wil- son, of Dauphin county, Pennsylvania; their eldest son, James, a caval- ryman, was killed at Hartsville, Tennessee, in the civil war; another son, Samuel R., was wounded at Fort Blakeley, Alabama, while lead- ing his men, dying eight hours after the amputation of his leg; he was a graduate of Princeton, and preparing for the ministry; John F., an- other son, was a graduate of Princeton, captain in the civil war, was seriously wounded at Vicksburg, and left for dead on the field of bat- tle; he revived, walked from the field, and eventually recovered his health, losing one eye and one arm, permanently disabled; he was com- missioned judge advocate in Virginia under President Lincoln, and was postmaster at Lynchburg, Virginia, eight years under President Grant. 9. William, born August 28, 1799, died March 14, 1881 ; he was a major of militia, and a member of the Pennsylvania legislature ; he married (first) January 21, 1823, Eleanor Bailey, died October 13, 1848, aged forty-six years; he married (second) Mrs. Rebecca Gon- zalis, died January 1, 1875, in her fifty-eighth year. 10. Thomas Jef- ferson, born November 18, 1801, married Margaret Fleming ; children : John F., Joseph C., Thomas J., Elizabeth, Margaret, Sarah and Ma- tilda. II. Rev. Samuel, D.D., born September 24, 1804, graduate Jef- ferson Medical College, Philadelphia, but later studied at Princeton Theological Seminary and became a minister of the Presbyterian church; later opened a female seminary and boys' school, but later returned to the ministry, serving churches in Fayette county and in Illi-
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nois, and in 1886 was living in Fairfield, Iowa; he married Anna Maria Rodgers, of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. One of his sons, Captain John P. Wilson, was shot through both arms at Gettysburg. Later was wounded in the thigh, while serving under General Sheridan, had the leg amputated, but died at the hospital at City Point, April 15, 1865, five hours before President Lincoln was assassinated. Another son, ยท James G. Wilson, became a banker at Streator, Illinois; his brother, Rev. Joseph R. Wilson, D.D., was a professor at Parsons College, Fairfield, Iowa. 12. Robert Fleming, born February 9, 1808, began study for the ministry, but died September 30, 1824. John Wilson, father of the foregoing children, was accompanied to America by his brother David, and two sisters who intermarried with the Black, Get- tys, Fleming and McNitt families of the Juniata Valley.
(II) George, fourth son and seventh child of John and Margaret (Fleming) Wilson, was born in Menno township, Mifflin county, Penn- sylvania, May 28, 1795, died there, August 19, 1862. He grew to manhood at the homestead farm, which was his home until his mar- riage at the age of twenty-five years. He then became the owner of one of his father's farms in Menno township, known as the "Three Spring Farm," and moved thereon with his bride. He was a man of sub- stance and followed agriculture as an occupation, living from marriage until death on the Three Spring Farm. Both George Wilson, his wife and family were members of the Presbyterian church, belonging to the West Kishacoquillas congregation, except one daughter-in-law, Mrs. Robert Fleming Wilson, who was a member at Canonsburg. He married, February 22, 1821, Mary (Nancy), born in the Kishacoquil- las Valley, November 27, 1802, died November 3, 1877, daughter of Robert Taylor. Children: I. Jefferson Taylor, a wealthy farmer, owning, besides the homestead, lands in Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska ; married Sarah Ann Gonzales; children: Henry G., Rebecca G., George T., Robert M. and Nannie T. 2. John Williamson, of whom further. 3. Rev. Robert Fleming, graduate of Jefferson College and Princeton Theological Seminary, ordained a minister of the gospel, November 29, 1856, and served many Presbyterian churches of the Juniata Valley as pastor ; he married, September 24, 1856, Elizabeth C., second daugh- ter of James McCullough, of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania; children : Nannie E., James M., Anna M., and Mary Josephine. 4. Margaret
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Jane, married Andrew W. Campbell; their daughter, Lizzie M., was the only child to reach adult years. 5. Rev. Miles Cooper, graduate of Jefferson College and Princeton Theological Seminary, spent many years in teaching and preaching, being a regularly licensed minister of the Presbyterian church; at the time of his death, June 15, 1870, he was pastor of the church at Sidney, Iowa; unmarried. 6. Henry Smith, a farmer of Mifflin county, owning, beside his fine home farm, lands in Kansas and Nebraska; he married Sarah Elizabeth Fleming; children : George T., Annie, Jennie T., James M., Richard and Joseph F. 7. Nancy Ann, died unmarried. 8. Rhoda Mary, married Joseph W. Fleming, a farmer, merchant, and one time sheriff of Mifflin county ; children: Nannie T., George, John, Mary, Stella and another. 9. Sarah Reed, married John A. Campbell, a farmer.
(III) John Williamson, second son of George and Mary (Nancy) (Taylor) Wilson, was born on "Three Spring Farm," Menno town- ship, Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, June 23, 1823, died in Belleville, Pennsylvania. July 6, 1900. He attended the public school of his day. but he and his elder brother were early drafted into farm service as their father's assistants. He continued on the home farm until his marriage in 1847, then in 1848 rented a farm in Menno township from his uncle, John Wilson, and there remained fourteen years. His wife then failing in health, he was persuaded to give up the farm and take up his residence with her parents, remaining there until the death of Mrs. Wilson soon afterward. Some years prior to his death, George Wilson had purchased a farm adjoining, which with the home farm, he left his sons Jefferson T., John W. and Henry S. John W. sold his interest to his brothers and purchased a farm a mile distant, ad- joining the mill and farms of the McClelands. On this farm, which in early days was the site of a fort, he spent nineteen years, selling out in 1884 and moving to Belleville, where he lived retired until his death, except for the care of his farm properties in Mifflin county, (Pennsylvania). Iowa and Nebraska. He was a wealthy, prominent farmer, but always interested in military affairs. He was an officer of a Mifflin county cavalry company, and subsequently commissioned by the governor as major. During the civil war he volunteered for state defense and materially aided the Union cause. He was a Repub- lican in politics, and held many local offices, including justice of the
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peace, an office he held for twelve years prior to his death. He was interested in the local grange, Patrons of Husbandry, and a director of the Kishacoquillas Turnpike Company. In religious faith a Pres- byterian, he was for many years an active member of the West Kisha- coquillas congregation. It is said of him that he never used intoxi- cants or tobacco in any form, but always was an earnest worker for the cause of temperance. He married (first) in 1847. Margaret N., daughter of "Squire" James Willis, of the adjoining township of Union; he married (second) December 6, 1866, Elizabeth A., daugh- ter of Benjamin Garver, a farmer of the Kishacoquillas Valley. Chil- dren of Major John W. Wilson by his first wife: I. Rachel Matilda, married James C. Fleming, and resides in Tama county, Iowa. 2. Ida, married M. F. Kenyon, now residing in Oregon. 3. George T., deceased. 4. James I. 5. An infant. Children of Major Wilson by second wife: 6. Bettie L., married W. J. McNabb, and resides in Belle- ville, Pennsylvania. 7. John Taylor, of whom further.
(IV) John Taylor, only son of Major John W. Wilson and his second wife, Elizabeth A. Garver, was born in Union township, Mif- flin county, Pennsylvania, March 13, 1874. He obtained his early edu- cation in the public school, prepared at Indiana State Normal, and en- tered the University of West Virginia, whence he was graduated A.B., later LL.B. After a year spent in the office of T. F. Newlin, of Pitts- burgh, he was admitted to Allegheny county bar in 1897, and in 1898 was admitted to the Mifflin county bar, locating at Belleville, where he is well established in general practice. In 1900 he was elected district attorney of Mifflin county, serving with credit until 1904. He was then appointed county solicitor, which office he now holds. He has no criminal practice, but confines his practice largely to the orphan and probate courts. He has been admitted to all state and federal courts of his district, his practice extending to all. He is a Republican in poli- tics, and besides those mentioned has held several public offices, includ- ing that of auditor of Mifflin county 1898 to 1901. After his father's death he succeeded him as justice of the peace, but later resigned. Mr. Wilson is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Royal Arcanum, of Lewistown; the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Belleville; and both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church.
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He married, May 12, 1898, Minnie M. Simpson, born in Hunting- don county, daughter of David R. and Hannah Simpson. Child : John WV. (2), born January 20, 1899. The family residence erected by Mr. Wilson in 1900 stands on the "hill" in Belleville, and bespeaks the fine taste and culture of its owners. Mr. Wilson also owns a farm of one hundred and thirteen acres in Menno township, which is devoted to general farming purposes.
An essentially representative citizen of Warriors
RUMBERGER Mark township, in Huntingdon county, Pennsyl- vania, is George Edwin Rumberger, who is here most successfully engaged in the great basic industry of agriculture. His finely improved farm of eighty acres is eligibly located one mile distant from Warriors Mark and on it he is engaged in diversified agri- culture, stock raising and dairying. A native of the old Keystone com- monwealth, his birth occurred on the farm on which he now resides, April 1, 1870. He is a son of Oliver S. and Elvira (Rider ) Rum- berger, concerning whom a sketch appears on other pages of this work, and as easy access can be had to it further details in regard to the family history are not deemed essential at this point.
To the common schools of Warriors Mark township. George E. Rumberger is indebted for his early educational training. He famil- iarized himself with farming on his father's estate, a part of which he himself now owns. His farm comprises eighty acres and it is splen- didly improved, with spacious, modern buildings. He makes a specialty of dairy work, marketing considerable butter every week. He is a fine business man and a loyal and public-spirited citizen. In politics he is an unswerving Republican and he has served for several terms as school director. He is affiliated with the Grange, and in religious mat- ters is a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church, while his wife is a Lutheran.
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