USA > Pennsylvania > A history of the Juniata Valley and its people, Volume III > Part 3
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(IV) William Wallace, eldest son of William J. M. and Dorothy L. (Swanson) Chisolm, was born in Morgan county, Georgia, December 6, 1830, died at the hands of the "Ku Klux Klan," April 29, 1877, one of the last victims of that lawless band that had so long terrorized Kem- per county, Mississippi. He was as well educated as was possible in his native county, which he left at the age of sixteen years, going with the family to the new plantation in Kemper county. He was barely of legal age when in 1851 the death of his father left him the head of the family. Bound not only by his promise to his dying father but by his natural inclination and devotion, he assumed the burden of clearing the debt from the estate and the education of his younger sisters, a task that after years of toil was faithfully performed. In 1856 he married, and from that year dates the beginning of an eventful, prosperous life, tragic only in its ending. With the assistance of his wife, an educated Southern woman, he began a course of study and reading that broad- ened and deepened his outlook on life, preparing for the highier posi- tions he was destined to occupy. At the same time he entered with zest into the development of the agricultural resources of his planta- tion, and soon became marked as one of the leaders in his county. On January 30, 1858, he was chosen magistrate at a special election, and the following October was again chosen at the general election to fill the same office for a term of two years. He filled this important office with honor, and two years later, in November, 1860, was elected probate judge of the county, an office he held through successive reelections until 1867, when he resigned in favor of John McRea, the appointee of the provisional governor of Mississippi. At each of his three elections to
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the office of probate judge his opponent was Judge Gill, an older man, and next to Judge Chisolm the most popular official ever elected in Kemper county. In all these years, while enjoying in so high a degree the respect and confidence of his fellows, Judge Chisolm was a pro- nounced Union man, and an uncompromising foe of the party of dis- union. He was a Whig in sympathy, and himself a slave owner, son of a slave-owning father, yet the property interest did not overbalance his love of country. There being no Lincoln ticket in Mississippi, he voted for Bell and Everett, the nominees of the Southern Unionists against the Breckinridge ticket nominated by the seceding Democrats to oppose Douglas, the regular Democratic nominee. Both as a citizen and as a civil officer, Judge Chisolm was steadily opposed to secession, and re- fused to lend to it any personal aid. He never bore arms except in the third days' militia, and then under protest. Yet, Whig and Unionist as he was, young and inexperienced in politics as he was, his strong character and open defiance of the strong sentiment of the county so impressed and won the respect and hearts of the voters that he was con- tinued in an elective office all through the war period and early recon- struction days. A greater tribute never was paid mortal man than this voluntary homage of his political enemies. After resigning his position as judge he filled other offices in Kemper county, and strove with all his mighty influence to bring order out of the chaos which the changed relations between the races had left the South. Ku Klux bands rode the neighborhood and under cover of the movement to control the negroes many of the lawless characters of Kemper county committed their awful crimes of violence to property and person. In the fall of 1876 Judge Chisolm was elected to congress, and, on April 27 following was foully murdered in his own home at De Kalb, Mississippi, together with his eldest child, Cornelia J., a beautiful young lady of nineteen years of age, who bravely defended her father until stricken down by the cruel blows of human fiends. A son of Judge Chisolm, a lad of fourteen years, John Mann Chisolm, was also killed in the brave fight against overpowering numbers. In his death, Judge Chisolm not only proved the strength of his devotion to law and order, but in dying won a victory for his cause, as the wave of horror that swept over North and South at the brutal murders aroused such a feeling that this was the last lawless outbreak of the reconstruction period. A wonderful
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life was his-duty, its guiding star-and, as son, husband, father, citi- zen and patriot, full of honor from earliest manhood to its tragic end. He was tried by every test, and found "not wanting." Surely an in- spiration, this life lived for a decade among political enemies, at a time when men's worst passions ran rampant, yet honored and so loved that. over his bier passion and hate were swept away and man's better nature revived.
Judge Chisolm married, October 29, 1856, Emily S. Mann, born in Alabama, who survived him until October, 1904. Children: I. Cor- nelia Josephine, born in Kemper county, Mississippi, February 11, 1858, died in De Kalb, Mississippi, April 29, 1877, while defending her father from attack. "Her young life yielded up on the altar of filial love and devotion cannot have been lived in vain. The lesson taught by her example will live long after the generation and spirit that prompted those inhuman acts shall have been forgotten or numbered with the things of the past." The following lines are from a poem to her mem- ory, written by Stephen S. Harding, on the first anniversary of her death :
CORNELIA CIIISOLM :
Hadst thou but died in classic Rome, Where thy great namesake died, Thou wouldst have lived in Parian stone, Supreme in excellence alone ; Through the long ages dim, Thy very name the poet's synonym For filial love and courage deified.
2. Henry Clay, of whom further. 3. Julia August, born October 13, 1861, died November 21 following. 4. John Mann, born October 5. 1862, shared the fate of his father and sister, April 29, 1877. 5. Ida May, born October 16, 1865, died January 11, 1866. 6. William Wal- lace (2), born October 19, 1866; now a practicing lawyer of Hunt- ingdon, Pennsylvania.
Emily S. (Mann) Chisolm, mother of the foregoing children, was a daughter of John W. Mann, of Amelia Island, Florida, a prominent lawyer and a gentleman of high literary and social standing. She was a granddaughter of Thomas Mann, a soldier of the revolution, born in Virginia, of the third generation from the founder in America, a Scotch-
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man and merchant from Edinburgh, owning the ship in which he trans- ported his goods and family to America. Thomas Mann early entered the revolutionary army, and served through the entire struggle that fol- lowed ere liberty was gained. He was shot through the knee at the battle of Cowpens; was again wounded by a party of Tories and left for dead, a ball entering the left side of his chest, passing through into the shoulder, where it remained to his death, aged eighty-four years. He was captured during the battle of Brandywine, and for some time held captive on a British prison ship. The Manns were prominent in the early settlement of Florida, where Thomas Mann held a Spanish grant and was an early settler where Fernandino now stands, being cred- ited with the erection of the first house on the site of the present city. John W. Mann, son of Thomas Mann, married Nancy Gresham, daugh- ter of Rev. Wheeler Gresham, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, ordained by Bishops Asbury and Coke, of the early church. After marriage, Mr. Mann moved to Montgomery, Alabama, where his wife died. Later he moved to Columbus, Mississippi, where he prac- ticed law. During the war he left home on a journey and was never again heard from. He had three children, including Emily S., wife of Judge William Wallace Chisolm.
(V) Henry Clay, eldest son of Judge William Wallace and Emily S. (Mann) Chisolm, was born in Kemper county, Mississippi, October 3, 1859. His boyhood was spent in De Kalb, Mississippi, where his early education was obtained in the city schools and under private tutors. Later he entered Vanderbilt University, Tennessee, but was compelled to leave that institution in 1877 on the death of his father. From March, 1878, until September 8 he held a position in the office of the surgeon-general at Washington, D. C., then resigning and enter- ing a commercial college at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, whence he was graduated in 1879. From that year until 1883 he was a clerk in Gov- ernor Hoyt's office at Harrisburg. In 1883 he spent a few months in Idaho, then returned east and spent a term at Columbia College, Wash- ington, D. C. He had previously spent some time in the study of medi- cine, and in 1885 determined to complete his course and settle down to permanent professional work. In 1885 he entered Hahnemann Medi- cal College in Philadelphia, whence he was graduated M. D., class of 1888. He at once began practice in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in asso-
Henry Gray Chisol
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ciation with Dr. Hugh Pitcairn, but after eighteen months in that city removed to Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. He quickly built up a good practice, and there remains well established and prosperous. He ranks high in his profession, both in medicine and surgery, possessing the confidence of his people and the respect of his brethren of the medical profession. He is a member of the Pennsylvania State Homeopathic Medical Society, the State Medical Society, Huntingdon County Medi- cal Society, the Alumni Association of Hahnemann College ; serves on the Huntingdon Board of Health, and is a member of the medical staff of Blair Memorial Hospital, which he also serves as trustee. Both the doctor and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Mount Moriah Lodge, No. 300, Free and Accepted Masons; Standing Stone Chapter, No. 201, Royal Arch Masons: Huntingdon Commandery, No. 65, Knights Templar; also Jaffa Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Altoona, Pennsylvania. He also is a member of the Knights of Pythias. In political faith he is an ardent Republican, and takes lively interest in public affairs. He was elected state senator in 1896, receiving the largest majority ever given a candidate for that office in the thirty-third district.
Dr. Chisolm married, in Harrisburg. April 28, 1883, Lillian, daugh- ter of John and Catherine Gross. Children: Cornelia, born February 13, 1886, died February 8, 1887: Anna Gresham, born December 31, 1887, married Ellsworth C. Dunkle, and resides in Erie, Pennsylvania ; Emily Mann, born February 22, 1892, residing at home ; William Wal- lace (3), born March 8, 1894, now a student at Hahnemann Homeo- pathic Medical College, Philadelphia.
John McCahan, of Huntingdon, Huntingdon county, McCAHAN Pennsylvania, descends from Protestant Irish stock. The immigrant founder of the family in America, John McCahan, was born in the north of Ireland. In 1792 he came to the United States, first locating in Baltimore, Maryland, where he was apprenticed to Steele & McClain, printers. In 1795 the firm failed, and he went with another firm. Later he settled in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania. At that time there was no postoffice, and few comforts in that section of Pennsylvania. In 1801 he established a business in
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Huntingdon county, which continued until 1833. He also dealt in real estate, in which venture he was successful. When he died, in March, 1857, he was one of the wealthy men of the county, in the upbuilding of which he did his part. He was a large landowner, a man of local prominence, though leading a quiet and unostentatious life. He was a Presbyterian in faith, and was a Whig in politics. He married Martha Anderson, in May, 1803, a native of Pennsylvania, and of Scotch-Irish ancestry. Children: 1. John K., born August 1, 1804. 2. James An- derson, born March 6, 1807, died in infancy. 3. James, born August, 1809. 4. Mary, born August 21, 1812. 5. Thomas, of whom further. 6. Jane, born March 31, 1819.
(II) Thomas McCahan, son of John and Martha (Anderson) McCahan, was born October 14, 1815, in Huntingdon county, and died December 15, 1869, in Walker township, Huntingdon county, Pennsyl- vania. He was reared on his father's farm, received his education in the common school, and became a farmer on reaching his majority. After his father's death, as well as before, he managed the estate, wisely and well. He was also connected with the Mill Creek furnace. He was a Whig during the life of that party, afterward becoming a Republican. Both he and his wife were members of the Baptist church. Before his death he had acquired a large land holding. He married (first) Rachel Higgins, born in 1816, in Blair county, Pennsylvania, died January 20, 1854, in Smithfield township, Huntingdon county, a daughter of a ยท family long resident in Blair county. He married (second) Sarah Peightal. Children by first marriage: I. John, of whom further. 2. Mary, married Howard Smith, ticket agent at Duncannon, Pennsyl- vania. 3. Rachel, died in infancy. Children by second marriage: 4. Jennie, lives in Huntingdon. 5. Harry, lives in Missouri. 6. Minnie, married G. B. Rex, an attorney in Huntingdon.
(III) John McCahan, son of Thomas and Rachel (Higgins) Mc- Cahan, was born November 6, 1848, in Walker township, Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania. His education was received in the common schools of the township, and was necessarily limited. He left the farm when quite young and entered the railroad world, serving in various capacities. He later returned to farming, in Walker township, and purchased three hundred and forty-two acres of land. Here he farmed for years, bringing the land to an unexcelled fertility, and producing a
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heavy yield of grain, corn, and other farm products. Until 1905 he continued on this place, when he sold it for a large sum, and moved to Huntingdon. In 1908 and 1909 he erected a handsome block of com- mercial buildings, which he rents and the management of which is his care. Mr. McCalian is a Republican, aiding his party in every manner in his power, and when a resident of Walker township he was prevailed upon to accept township offices, in each discharging his duties satisfac- torily to his constituency.
He married, August 17, 1871, Maria Nash, of Huntingdon, who died April 16, 1909, daughter of John and Sarah (Lutman) Nash, of Huntingdon ; he died in 1896. Mr. Nash was the editor and proprietor of the Huntingdon Journal. Mrs. McCahan was a devout and consis- tent member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Children of John and Maria (Nash) McCahan: 1. Thomas, born in 1872, an engineer on the H. & B. T. Railway. 2. Jolin, born in 1874, employed by a con- tracting firm. 3. Mary, born in 1876; married Charles Pennell, of Dun- cannon, Pennsylvania. 4. Richard, born in 1878; superintendent of bridge and structural concern in Greensburg, Pennsylvania; married Naomi Maxwell. 5. Frank, born in 1880; is foreman in shops at Greensburg, Pennsylvania, under his brother Richard.
JACOBS This branch of the Jacobs family is of true German and Scotch descent, the grandparents of Roy Warren Jacobs. of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, on both sides, being born in Germany and Scotland, respectively. The paternal grandfather, John Jacobs, married and lived in the province of Omstadt, Germany. until after the death of his wife. In 1840, being thien advanced in years, he came to the United States with three children, settling in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where he died. He was a shoemaker by trade, and a member of the Presbyterian church. His eldest son, Bar- ney, became a farmer of the state of Illinois, married and left five children. Margaret, the only daughter of John Jacobs, married Adam Homan, and died in Black Log Valley, Huntingdon county. John (2). the second son, is of further mention.
(II) John (2), son of John (I) Jacobs, was born in Omstadt, Ger- many, in 1832, and in 1840 was brought by his father to this country. Two years later he was bound out to serve without pay until eighteen
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years of age to Edward Zerner, who taught him the tanner's trade. At an early age he married and settled in Shirleysburg, having as near nothing upon which to start married life as was possible. He secured work upon the Pennsylvania railroad, then in course of construction, receiving as wages eighty cents daily. He only worked one day at this figure, his immediate boss taking an instant liking to the boy and pro- moting him to the position of camp steward at a dollar per day. He worked sixty-one days at this job, then with sixty dollars and eighty cents in his pocket walked home, carrying his shoes in order to save the wear the long walk would subject them to, travelling in his bare feet. Reaching home he decided to begin the butchering business, and a day later walked to a neighboring farmer and purchased a calf, paying therefor five dollars. He then tied the calf's legs together, slung him over his back, and in that manner carried the animal to his home in Shirleysburg. By the aid of his wife the calf was killed and dressed, after which he peddled the meat about town in a basket. This was his first start in a business that was destined to grow to large proportions. He continued his basket peddling of meat for one month, then was able to purchase a horse and wagon, paying therefor the sum of ten dollars and fifty cents, the quality probably being on a par with this low price. Little by little he expanded, until within ten years he was proprietor of a dressed meat business supplying the towns of Shirleys- burg, Mt. Union, Mapleton, Mill Creek, Orbisonia and Shade Gap, employing on the road four teams and three single horses. He later purchased a low-lying farm of one hundred and eight acres, adjoining Shirleysburg borough, principally a duck and frog pond. He cut one load of swamp grass the first year, also sowing a field of buckwheat. When ready to harvest he bargained with a neighbor to cut and flail it out for him, agreeing to give him eleven bushels of the yield. When measured up there was only nine bushels of the grain, but Mr. Jacobs paid up. He then began a systematic plan of drainage and fertilization, with the result that in 1888 he had one of the best farms in the county, selling it in that year for $13,000 cash. In 1889 he retired from busi- ness, living in Shirleysburg until his death, April 24. 1913, aged eighty years nine months sixteen days. His career was a most remarkable one, and again proves that industry and courage can overcome all obsta- cles. He was an elder of the Presbyterian church, and a liberal con-
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tributor to church support. He was always interested in public affairs, but held no offices, and was not a strict party man. His business affairs were well conducted, and all concerned in it felt the inspiration of the owner's example. He was a hard worker, but after his retirement gave himself up to well-earned ease. At the age of eighteen years he mar- ried (first) Isabel Peterson, born in Shade Valley, in 1834, died in Sep- tember, 1892. He married (second) Mrs. Susan Dotsom, of Blair county, Pennsylvania, who survives him. Children by first wife : George E., died in Altoona, in 1911 : Lowry R., now living in Hunting- don, retired; Albert, now a farmer of Mifflin county, Pennsylvania : Mary, died in childhood; John, an employee of the Pennsylvania rail- road, residing in Altoona; Joseph, died in infancy ; Elmer, now a hotel keeper and farmer of Huntingdon: Annie, married W. H. Lightner, a merchant and farmer, now living in Shirleysburg; Roy Warren, of whom further : Harry, an employee of the "East Broad Top" railroad, and a resident of Shirleysburg. Isabel ( Peterson) Jacobs was a daugh- ter of Robert and Ellen Peterson, both born in Scotland. On coming to the United States, Robert Peterson settled in Huntingdon county, purchasing a farm in Shade Valley. He built a sawmill on his farm and in time worked off the timber, converting it into lumber, for which he found a ready sale. He cultivated this farm after clearing it, con- tinuing his residence there until his death at the age of eighty-four years. He and his wife were original members of the Shade Gap Pres- byterian Church, which Robert served as an elder. He lived a quiet. retired life. but was a man of deep piety, widely known for the honesty and purity of his life. He died about 1876, his wife about twenty years prior to that date. He married (second) Susanna Morrow. Children of Robert and Ellen Peterson : John, a farmer, died in Cambria county ; David, a farmer, died in Shade Valley; Mary Ellen, married George Cree, and died in Cambria county ; Jesse, a carpenter and farmer, died in Shade Valley ; Isabel (of previous mention), married John (2) Jacobs ; Anna, married John Mathews, and died in Cambria county ; Belle, mar- ried Daniel Matthews, and died in Cambria county: Reed, died aged nine years; James, a farmer, died in Shade Valley; Elizabeth, married James Dever, and died in Shade Valley.
(III) Roy Warren, son of John (2) and Isabel ( Peterson) Jacobs. was born in Shirleysburg. Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, August 25,
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1866. He was educated in the public schools, and spent his early years on the farm. At the age of sixteen years he began business life as a merchant, opening a grocery novelty store and meat market under his own name. He prospered and a year later opened a meat market at Mt. Union, and the same year bought and sold fifty-six horses, shipped three carloads of cattle and fourteen hundred sheep to a market in Philadelphia, an amount of business that was worthy of a much older and more experienced dealer. He continued this place for two years, then sold out his Shirleysburg business and located in Altoona, Pennsyl- vania, where he established a grocery store, and a month later married. He purchased a home in Altoona, but two and a half months later his bride died. He then sold his home and business in Altoona and returned to his father's home in Shirleysburg, where for seven weeks he was seriously ill with typhoid fever, the same disease that carried off his wife. On his recovery he located in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he entered the employ of the Scranton Steam Heat and Supply Company as an apprentice. He won the confidence of his employers, who at the end of his first year promoted him to be outside superintendent over thirty-seven men. A year and a half later he was admitted to the firm, purchasing a one-third interest that in two years was increased to a half interest. The firm name was then changed to Evans & Jacobs, so continuing one year, when Mr. Jacobs sold his interest and removed to Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, where he established in the same business as at Scranton. Nine months later, in 1889, he located in Huntingdon, still continuing in the heating and supply business. He opened a store on Penn street, in Huntingdon, where he continued in successful busi- ness until 1897. During this period he had perfected and patented an improved boiler and radiator, known to the trade as the "Keystone." The demand for these led to the formation of the Keystone Boiler and Radiator Company, of which Mr. Jacobs was vice-president and man- ager until 1902, when he retired from the company. He then engaged in the coal and real estate business, and has attained the same success in that as in his other business enterprises. He is president of the Broad Top Coal and Mineral Company, president of the Possum Hollow Coal and Coke Company, and a director and large stockholder in the Kishaco- quillas Valley railroad. He was the founder and promoter of the Hunt- ingdon, Lewistown & Juniata Valley Traction Company, and controls
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and practically owns the entire road, which when completed will com- prise fifty-one miles ; the organization was effected in 1906. Mr. Jacobs is also the founder of Jacobs' Addition, just across the river from Ilunt- ingdon, in Smithfield township; and is a large owner of farm land (about sixteen hundred acres) just outside Huntingdon, and consider- able other property in that borough, and other lands that he rents to more than fifty tenants. This record of a busy life, although started under more favorable circumstances, compares favorably with that of his honored father. It is a record extending from boyhood to mature years, and is one of constant progress during the thirty years he has been in active business. Now, in the prime of life, Mr. Jacobs can review the past with satisfaction, and from it the young man of to-day can gather an inspiration that will help him to do likewise. Industry and integrity are the mainsprings of success, and no better illustration of the truth of this can be found than in the lives of John and Roy Warren Jacobs, father and son.
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